The Birthday of Faith

You were born in the season I love the best
Of pumpkins and hayrides and family fests
Your Daddy's image, your Mommy's girl
I'm proud to be part of your blessed world
May each passing sunset bring memories sweet
May each day becoming carry wished for treats
Happy Birthday, my Mother!
Many more, my friend!
May the blessings of loved ones know no end!!!

Ain't We Sweet?

"Sometimes you feel like a nut!"





















Love my slimming pose!!















This looks like it needs music....





















Not sure what to say....

















Ah! There's the music! Savannah has a well developed funny bone!



Avé is actually pretty hilarious...















Not so sure about me....






















They must get their sense of humor from their Papa ;-)












































maybe sometimes
me....

At any rate, we know how to crack each other up!!

Bon Voyage to Our Migratory Grandparents

The cool breezes blow. The nights grow long. The extra
blankets and woolen socks come out from their summer
slumber. Canadian geese, robins, butterflies, hummingbirds,
and Gram and Pap all make the long voyage to warmer
climates. We are saying goodbye for now to our summer visitors.
Maybe someday we will follow you to your winter getaway,
but for now, we will batten down the hatches, throw another
log on the fire, and set the teapot to simmer. Winter hasn't
really begun yet, but the first snow, the shimmery
icicles, the anticipation of sledding, and maple sugaring,
and crocuses peaking through the snow, is enough for
me to stay content and snugly in my Pennsylvania cabin,
with my sweet country man and precious children. I love
my wonderful life, but we will miss you, Gram and Pap!
Safe travels!! Bon Voyage!!

Lemon Blossoms

We have had this lemon tree for several years now. It is such a novel treat to be able to grow lemons in Pennsylvania! We usually get two or three lemons a year :-) and they are very sweet,
not nearly as tart as the ones from the store, although I don't mind tart, especially these days.
As in the days of being pregnant with twins, I crave sour foods! I figured that lemons were a healthier alternative than all those Sour Tarts I used to indulge in... I will have to wait several months before I can enjoy another one of our home grown lemons, but that's okay. For now the scent of lemon blossoms fills the air and winter in our home defies the bitter cold by producing tropical fruits for us to enjoy! Anyone have any ideas why our Christmas cactus blooms at Easter?

A Walk in the Woods

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a magical day walking in the autumn woods of Pennsylvania. The children always seem to have an optimistic view of homeschooling, but on days when school gets them into a setting such as this they count themselves among the fortunate few that get to spend the fleeting days of fall in the great outdoors.

Certain Tide

Be careful what you wish for
If wishing tends to work
Mostly it does in my case
God allows the blessed quirk
Wishing tends to cause change
Change tends to cause unrest
Unrest can lead to every type
Of grief and unhappiness
If courage and steadfastness
Can carry through the stress
To hope and bright tomorrows
Determination can sort the mess
Along with change and lessons
Learning should also come
Focus and future goals
Tempered by the scorching of the sun
Is it better to have lived with longing
Then never to have longed at all
To climb the treacherous mountain
Able to stand a million feet tall
Or camp out in the valley
Never feeling lightheaded winds
Never dangling above the precipice
Would that be such a sin
To never seek the moment
Of a surmounted obstacle
Perhaps its not a choice
But a calling after all

Have you ever watched the sun rise?
Can you really see it move?
Or do you look away and back again
Snooze a little snooze?
Have you sat to watch a flower grow?
The petals to uncurl
Never force a rose in bloom
Or the feelings of a girl
All life lives change in stages
Natures moments seem so slow
But seasons, weather, lifetimes
Quickly come and go
We could not choose to not have change
Even if we tried
Pick the course, adjust the sail
And ride the certain tide

Slowly but Surely

We make progress around here, it is tortoise speed type progress. Each step seems so slow and laborious, but when we look back over the years, particularly the years in this home, it is encouraging to see how many goals have been accomplished. We have a garden, an orchard, a goat herd and adequate housing for them, chickens and sufficient coops, guineas, a rabbit with hutches for more, new windows upstairs, nice and reliable vehicles, and we are getting more organized and more tidy. It all feels good. There is a lot more that we desire to accomplish, and small tasks filling up every day, but home is where our heart rests, and and our hands work, and our family grows. I am full of contentment and gratefulness.

(Not So) Simple Pleasures

In the process of counting my blessings there are so many things I may take for granted simply because I am so used to them that they hardly feel like blessings, and although I am not a huge history buff there are several fairly common things I am quite certain that I take for granted in light of the fact that even 100 years ago these things either did not really exist or were in very short supply, such as....

-toilet paper (where would we be without it?!!!)
-tissues (my personal ball and chain)
-paper products in general... (although paper work is not necessarily something I count among my blessings)
-clean sheets on a comfortable mattress without straw or bed bugs
-indoor plumbing
-water heater attached to indoor plumbing
-electricity
-double pane windows
-washer and dryer (again laundry isn't exactly a blessing I am counting, but it would be much, much worse if I had to wash it in the creek and dry it on the bushes!!)
-grocery stores that sell fresh fruit and vegetables year round
-automobiles
-paved roads
-telephones
-computers
-easy access to the medical community (although the medical community in general often makes me feel like we are the victims of a conspiracy theory, and I won't even get started on medical insurance companies!!!)
-freezers
-refrigerators (why is fridge spelled with a "d", but refrigerators isn't?)
-electric sewing machines
-the millions of easy access online stores and local stores that eliminate any need for at-home sewing (I do still like to sew, but I am glad that I don't have to make all the clothes for this family of 7 going on 8)
-disposable diapers (I am sorry for the negative impact on the environment, and I am delighted to see some more biodegradable choices starting to come out, I used cloth diapers for one week when I had three babies still in diapers... whew!)( I do actually love hanging clothes out on a clothesline, but glad I do not have to rely on it entirely)
-chain saws (it is an incredible amount of work heating a house with wood even with a chain saw, I can't even imagine how hard it would be on my man to stock up a winter's woodpile with nothing but hand saws and axes as tools)
-aluminum foil and plastic baggies ( when these things came out the housewives treasured their new found good fortune and would carefully wash, dry, and reuse these valuable commodities... many still do, they are part of the original recycling conscious generation, "waste not, want not")


I don't really know what life was like even just 100 years ago. I have enjoyed discussions with my 95 year old grandmother and her colorful depiction of her childhood is shared with obvious nostalgia, memories of pony rides and apple picking, dairy cows and canning, lots of close family, pleasure in work, extreme excitement at the sight of the first vehicle ever to drive by their home (driven by the mail man at a whopping 20 mph!), one room school houses and daily walks to and fro. The older generation enjoys and has become dependent on many of the conveniences we now take for granted, and I don't honestly know if I could survive the "once upon a time", or even if I would want to try. I am grateful to be living in the here and now, but I do want reflect on the past joys and historical accomplishments (Wonder who invented toilet paper and tissues?), and I want to learn from the many who have come and gone before us.