Last evening, last week, last month.... moments with loved ones...

Sometimes my night owl self kicks in and I get nostalgic 'til the wee morning hours.... you can join me if you like, but be warned, things might get sentimental.

Tonight we took our children to a hibachi grill for the first time. Hibachi grills are fascinating experiences and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.


We were joined by my mother-in-law, and father-in-law, and sister-in-law and niece. We decided it would be great fun to put my niece on the spot, so to speak. As you can see here, no one minded wishing her a "Happy Birthday" a few months late!!!

We followed up supper with some mini golf. The evening was perfect for it. A balmy night with laughter and love and fun and good memories that will likely last a lifetime.






As I see how quickly my own children are growing up, I am reminded to cherish every moment at every stage that we are gifted with sharing with the children that cross our paths. Someday we will probably be vague memories to them, but the good feelings, and the love that we have for them will hopefully plant seeds that will help them to have a positive outlook on the world, and the assurance that they are loved by many.

A few weeks ago we were privileged to be able to watch my sister's older children while their Daddy had back surgery. Aren't they adorable?


And a few months ago I was honored with a visit from my Mom and her Mom, my Grandma. These are the ladies who raised me. They are strong, intelligent, and beautiful. I hope I have inherited their genes for youthful aging, can you believe that Grandma is 90?!!! While I was growing up Grandma lived next door, that was a gift that I only now realize the value of, and my Mom was always my best friend, time has tested and tried our relationship, but I am so pleased to say that it is stronger and deeper than ever, and God has been very, very good to me. The older I get, the more I realize how blessed I have been my entire life, and how God has worked everything out for good. It really helps me to trust Him with the future.



And the man that has made all my dreams come true!!!! My life is perfect because of YOU, Darling!!! Thank you for the sensitivity, thank you for the sweetness, thank you for being such a good provider, thank you for your strength, thank you for your patience. We were made to be together. Now all I wish for is safety, and health, and longevity, for all of us, and the blessed continuation of all that we are working at. God is so good!!!! And you reflect Him.

Meet Kohlrabi

One of the more pleasant thoughts of the day... kohlrabi. This vegetable in our garden is new to us. "Kohl" meaning cabbage, kohlrabi is part of the cabbage family, but has the texture more of a potato. Last night we fried slices of it in olive oil and seasoned them with a little salt and pepper, I thought it was very good, but in my opinion most fried foods are delicious, thus the appeal of "Carnie" food! Tonight we were more nutritious about it by adding diced kohlrabi to a steamed rice dish. Again, I thought it was very yummy. I was not unhappy to read that it is high in Vitamin C and Potassium and is reputed to improve circulation and increase energy!! Yipee! Fortunately we have about six more plants ready for harvesting :) I wonder how we should prepare it next? Oh, and for the record, the rest of the family does not mind it, but you will rarely catch any of them raving over a vegetable in general. I have to praise them by saying that they all tried it last night, and I did not hear a single complaint when it was served again tonight. They are all far more inclined to eat a vegetable, common or uncommon, if they have watched it grow in the garden.

Post Holiday - Pre Dreaminess

It takes a lot of work to have fun! The swimming, and bonfires, and picnics, and sleepovers,and parties were all absolutely wonderful, but I am actually looking forward to my somewhat regular routine again today, (with the exception of course of an afternoon Matinee at the movies a little later today). We have gotten some wonderful news that some of our dear friends are moving into the property behind ours, so the already friendly neighborhood is going to get a lot more fun very soon! They have three little boys, well, two at the moment and one due in 5 weeks, so the gender ratios will get evened out around here! That is good news for Chester at this point. As the children were swimming next door yesterday we were chatting with those sweet neighbors about the good news. Apparently both the neighbors have a love of dirt bikes, so visions of tracks racing between the properties were dancing in their heads. I can't say I have a huge love of dirt bikes, but I am delighted at the thought of the community camaraderie and had a lovely sleeping dream of our utopian neighborhood. Definitely not a bad feeling! So in the future when our goats holler their echoing "MAA", and our guineas let out a chorus of cackles it may be drowned out by the sound of roaring engines! Seriously, I do not mind not being the loudest neighbors, I am totally looking forward to the fun! God is good!

Aunt Amy

It is really great being a mom! It is also great being an aunt! I am soooo looking forward to lots of visits from my many nieces and nephews! The fun begins tomorrow! Stay tuned for the fun and exciting events planned for this summer! We have been asked several times what kind of vacations we have planned for the summer, but none of us really want to go anywhere far. Even the kids LOVE home. And what makes home even better is sharing it with the ones we love. Aunt Amy always has a big hug and an extra pillow waiting :)

Staying

Staying home to be a mom
Staying home to be a wife
Staying home to be me

Staying power of no
Staying power of I do
Staying power of forever

Staying strong
Staying here
Staying happy

Staying simplified
Staying harmonious
Staying focused

Staying caring
Staying observant
Staying friendly

Staying... a goal, a lifestyle, a promise, a blessing, a gift

Thank you, Honey, for being the staying type too.

Drawbridge Up

The water is high
The water is low
The water has no place to go

The bridge is high
The bridge is low
The bridge is up so the water can flow

Burnt its not
Neither gone
But raised for now to save a home

The sad one knows
The deep one cares
The ones that don't can have their dares

On my walls
On my heart
The way to life does not depart

Flow on by
Flood waters will
Waiting, I stand on a hill

Not an island
Not a cave
Not a coward, not a knave

A home, a heart
A love worth time
Focused now on me and mine

Focused then
On theirs and ours
The sandman and the midnight hours

The bairn, the barn
The carriage and barrow
Broken mirror, black cat, escape is narrow

It all has
Its worthy part
To save the world its horse then cart

First things first
look inside
Last things last, gods will guide

Childlike or childish

In my humble opinion...

-Being childlike has an air of optimism, wanting to pursue joyful pursuits, not worrying too much about the grand scheme of things but living in the moment and wanting to share that happiness with others....
-Being childish is wanting to please yourself no matter who gets trampled or bullied in the process

-Being childlike is openly expressing emotion, wearing feelings on the sleeve, sensitive to hurts and sensitive to comforts, able to be comforted by the ones you trust
-Being childish is throwing a temper tantrum when you don't get your own way and continuing to sulk until you get your own way, making everyone as miserable as you are

-Being childlike is being bonded to the ones that care for you, wanting a connection with parents
-Being childish is clinging to mommy because mommy will always give you what you want, sooner or later, if you whine about it long enough

-Being childlike is following good advice and sound rules even if they seem unpleasant, a child will reluctantly obey bed times and eat vegetables because they trust the person giving the instructions
-Being childish is refusing to listen to any type of advice, unless tricked or bribed, no matter how many consequences you suffer through or inflict on others

-Being childlike is having a fascination for stories, believing the person that says they are fact or fiction, easily accepting the explanations concerning your own existence
-Being childish is thinking that you are the center of your own world and that is all that really matters

Sunday's Child - Birth Announcement

"Sunday's child is fair of face..." Welcome to the world, Rachel-Lee! She is our first kid born here at ChiNook Acres. Yesterday morning Destiny awakened the household with the loud announcement. (Earlier I said it was Savannah... even I get them mixed up from time to time!) The proud parents are Rina and Scrappy Doo, a very fine lineage. Mother and baby both seem to be doing well. All the Pfleegor children are excited and helpful as always, and friends and neighbors have been stopping by to welcome our new arrival. A wonderful occasion for cheer!

Dependent Butterfly

Oh dependent butterfly
flitting to and fro
gathering the nectar
with a touch of her big toe
But this rare breed
of butterfly
content not just to take
but must leave for the flowers
poisons in her wake
The flowers cringe with
memories of bitter harvests
shared
And for the other annuals
they are a little scared
Smiling pansy
Fragrant rose
Laughing daisy
Winsome marigold
All lined up and waiting
for spring's fair visiting friends
unsuspecting, poisons
surely wait for them

New Day!

Each new day is a gift. Loudly peeping baby chicks are a refreshing reminder of life's simple pleasures. First thing this morning the post office called, our baby chicks arrived! As we walked in the front door we could hear them calling out. The cashier handed them to us with a big smile and whispered to the box..."here's your momma". The other customers smiled and made comments like.. "I know what you got!" The whole world seemed like a friendlier place with a box of peeping chicks in hand... I am tempted to carry them with me wherever I go!

Rest

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Matt. 11:9)

Ahhhhh..... sweet rest. Something I long for.... not just physical rest, but rest from worry, from striving, from feeling inadequate, from trying to defend myself, from attempting to make agreements with the disagreeable......

What is the yoke of Christ? I want it! Is it gentleness? Is it humility? I know I have often failed in both of those areas, but if that is His yoke, if that is the secret to rest, then I want to be gentle, I want to be humble, I want to learn from Him.

Shiloh's Birthday My Baby is 7 !!!!!

My baby turned seven today! She wanted to have a "family day", meaning doing all her favorite things at home with everyone's day devoted entirely to doing them with her. We had pancakes for breakfast with some of our homemade syrup, and after breakfast she opened her gifts. She had been wanting a Baby Alive just forever and she was absolutely delighted to finally have one of her very own. Yesterday, her sisters asked if I would take them shopping so they could spend some of their own money on gifts for their littlest sister. I have to say that I was touched to my depths with their desire to get her something special. They truly succeeded! They got her some beautiful little dolls for her dollhouse and some lovely lockets.
I am so blessed to have such caring children. They are my hearts greatest joy.... along with their darling daddy :) Shiloh's birthday was a marvelous and refreshing day, but also a little sobering. Children grow up so quickly, they are so precious, my wish and prayer for each one of them is for them to grow up healthy and kindhearted and find favor first with God, but also with mankind...
We had a spaghetti luncheon and in the evening Mimi and Poppy joined us for Bocce, that was lots of fun. Shiloh planned all the meals and activities for the day, we wrapped things up with pizza delivery, cake and ice cream, and a movie. Great day all around!
This is the cake that the kids helped Mommy make.....
And this is the cake that the kids helped Daddy make......

On My Birthday

(Cranberry Viburnum blossom)

(A Mudpie cake the children made)






You've asked, Did I have a nice birthday?
And what did I do ?
Well, on my birthday I sat in the sun, a cup of coffee in both hands, and watched my husband hang laundry on the clothesline he just built. On my birthday I planted a tree, and bought three. On my birthday I sat by the river and ate ice cream with my children and sweet man. On my birthday I played Bocce on the lawn, in the evening, with my children and their ever loving father who is my dearest friend. On my birthday I accepted love and believed every kind word I heard and didn't fret over the ones that don't love me. On my birthday I walked in beauty, listened for the beauty, created the beauty, and appreciated the beauty. On my birthday the tone was set for the rest of my year, hopefully!!!

I made some wishes before I blew out the candles.....
And now I am waiting for Him to exceed my expectations!!!


For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21


(Two London Plane trees and a Pear tree waiting to call our backyard home)

(My garden in May, full of hopes)


(My clothesline)

Thanks for asking :)

And then there was rhubarb!!!

And then there was rhubarb! Watch it grow!
The biggest and best, putting on quite a show.

All the other garden plants are tiny, weak, and frail.
Not like this great, fearsomish, huge perennial.

I've never eaten rhubarb, poisonous and tart.
Was she raised in a bubble? Or is this girl just too smart?

Nah, I think I'll try it. Sounds like just the treat
For my birthday diet Rhubarb pie I think I'll eat!!

Certainly Coping

The light breaks through, the day is young
The children are sweet, the man is gone
Gone to work to feed and clothe
The hungry mouths, the little souls
Gone to work to bear the load
To carry on through heat and cold

Here I sit, pondering still
The meaning of life, God's purpose and will
All good things with some coffee or tea
All good things for a girl like me
But plants want their moistened sod, and dishes want their soap
The laundry wants its day in the sun, and I will certainly cope

On Purpose

Our Momma duck hatched 14 babies on Saturday. I suppose the hatching of ducks has happened millions, perhaps billions of times before. The mother duck leads a very uneventful life for about a month... sitting...sitting...sitting...sitting...sitting... her man waits patiently nearby, entirely devoted to her and the cause, and then one day they move to the next phase. I wonder about the instincts of animals, do they ever question their calling? Does a momma duck ever say, "Is this really what the Creator wants me to be doing?" Does the pappa duck ever say, "You know what, I don't have time for this, there are more important things I could be doing, she doesn't need me here to hatch those eggs." In the grand scheme of things what's a few more ducks? Surely there are more important things to be doing than hatching such vulnerable, humble creatures. The circumstances aren't even ideal for ducks here. But he doesn't leave, and she doesn't ask, she just trusts the calling placed in her breast at the dawn of time, and she sits, and she waits, and she nurtures, and she protects.... "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) What purpose has He called me to?
Loving the Lord, my God; loving my neighbor as myself; forgive trespasses as I would want to be forgiven; and specifically.... being nurturing and devoted to the cause my instincts dictate... my husband, my children, my home, my heartstrings tug when God is calling me to His purpose, and right now I believe I am in the center of His will for my life. I am not perfect, but His will is, and He is teaching me the lessons needed to do His will, I don't always get things right, but He is merciful and patient if we are humble and soft hearted, and I believe that all things will work out for good. But I must remember...

Isaiah 55:8-9 (King James Version)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God Moves in Mysterious Ways - lyrics by Cowper.

God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs
and works his sovereign will.

You fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.

His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
and scan his work in vain:
God is his own interpreter,
and he will make it plain.

Being Okay

I'm okay with me, are you okay with you?
I'm okay with my beliefs and my point of view.
Sometimes I'm friendly, sometimes I'm not.
I like the idea of a solitude spot.
I like the thought of friends over for tea,
But only if they are okay with me.

I want to hear insight and differing thoughts.
I don't want to hear a whole bunch of rot.
First it is Jesus, then it is you, then it is me
Or is that just a clue?
Do unto those as you would have them do?
Love them as you love you too?

Love me... truly, deeply? I can love myself?
You can bet your dusty black Bible up on the shelf!
Because I can't love you in spite of your sin
If I am in turmoil, unaccepting within
Nope, I'm okay with me. Jesus loves me too.
The more I can love me, the more I can love you.

Muddy Thoughts

Around here, at this time of year, everything is muddy, including my thoughts. At least this year they are. They are cold, a little gloomy, and waiting. Waiting for sunshine, for warmth, for beauty, and for new life. Blossoms and babies are making a timid appearance and although it is still freezing cold most days, there are some days that offer the hope of change, (and I don't mean for that to sound pro Obama, I am not impressed with his idea of change). May holds the promise of Mother's Day, my birthday and garden planting. I guess I can hold out until then, put on another sweater, wear the rubber boots, and fire up the heater, for just a few more weeks.....

What I have a harder time visualizing is the springtime of the soul. The new life, and positive changes that need to happen in the cold hearts. Seeds of love just don't seem to grow in freezing conditions and the only way I seem to know how to warm them up is with a blow torch... I need to pray for the sunshine of the soul, for a more gentle spirit that leads to gentle answers, perhaps then I will learn how to at least turn away the wrath. I am hoping for the end of winter harshness and the new birth of beginnings that lead to kindness. There is a worse crisis than the economy these days, there is a crisis of wisdom and insight and moral integrity. Shiny things, shiny people, the pursuit of riches and the facade of wealth, they dazzle the weak minded and lead astray the masses. I suppose it has always been thus. I suppose it is a problem as old as time itself. I suppose that in May I will not be so bothered by it.

Christmas Harp Concert

Avé and I had the privilege of joining the Harrisburg Harp Orchestra!

On Friday night we participated in the Harp Felt Christmas Concert!

What a great experience to be part of such a beautiful production!

Here is small segment..... 

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!!

Having trouble viewing? Try this link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMWLy2VWqy0

Growing

My little Shiloh. I was unpleasantly surprised to be unable to find a nice picture of Shiloh among my recent at-home pictures. She is either slightly hiding or headed off somewhere. This is a recent photo of our picnic at the lake, but as you can see she is in a hurry to be somewhere. She reminds me a bit of a hummingbird... usually in motion, slightly elusive, but easily attracted by food!
We are among the many that realize the importance and value of the little honey bee and their services to the world, what a sweet life they lead. 
Lovely Destiny, looking rather concerned about the well-being of the precious arrivals in the chicken coop.
Our pair of broody hens, sat together, hatched young chicks together, and care for them together. What nice friends!
Happy Birthday Chicky Baby! You won't be lonely for long!
Absolutely incredible how each day old peep knows that Mommy Hen has all the answers!
And that is me having a sunny moment........
Gardner Chester showing off his watermelon patch......
We can't wait to taste his crop!
The chicks of the spring are growing big and strong!
Miss Ave´is eager to master the skill of goat milking. 

And Savannah is sweeter than the flowers she loves......
Each day has it dawn and its dusk, its good moments and its not so good moments. It is a blessed thing to grow a little sun if you can, for those days when the sky is dark.......