As I got Bella off on the bus this morning I couldn’t help but leave the front door open and let little Miss Lilly come on out and enjoy the absolutely amazing weather. It’s so hard to believe this is really winter with gorgeous weather like this! And the forecast is calling for above average highs 10 days out! What a winter this has been. Although I’m not complaining.

Lilly normally isn’t this dressed up this early in the morning, but she saw Bella putting on a twirly skirt and starting saying “kirt, kirt!!” She had to be like her big sister. And when Bella put her shoes on Lilly went running to find her own shoes. I can foresee that Bella is going to have quite the little shadow over the next few years.

She seems confused as to why I left the door open, lol.

It was so foggy this morning, but as soon as we went outside it started clearing and was gone within 15 minutes.

Watching all the birds flying around.

Silly little cutie.

The last of the fog fading away.

*All photos were edited with my Color Workflow action (opacity turned down) and with the Lilly action set.

Bookmark to:

Just a simple photo of my oldest and youngest from last fall while he helps her stand.  I will always love the simple moments most.

Bookmark to:

One year ago nearly to the day we moved to our new home. Some of our family wasn’t thrilled that we moved so far away from our cute little suburban home and I admit it was a hard decision for us to make. But we had a goal in mind for our children, our family. We wanted to raise our kids in the country, to teach them that there was more to life then video games and the latest, greatest gadget. We wanted to raise them knowing that good things come to those who work for it, that there is pleasure in the peaceful moments and  joy in the simple things.

More has changed in this last year then I could have imagined. We planned on having a large garden and raising a few chickens. What we didn’t really plan out is the direction our lives would go given this land we now live on. About 7-8 years ago I raised a flock of chickens for eggs and started researching and learning about sustainable living. However on our 3/4 acre lot surrounded by growing neighborhoods, my dream felt out of reach. When we moved here 10 acres seemed like Eden-it almost felt like too much land-what would we do with it all? My how things have changed. I’m now itching to buy more land or rent some nearby!

As we learn more and more about the way our food is supplied here in America, we wanted to get away from buying most of it at grocery stores. We grew a garden (another post on that in the next few days) that supplied us with much of our food this summer and is still feeding us now. We now have about 10 mature laying hens and another 20 pullets who should lay soon. We are about 2 weeks away from processing our first batch of meat chickens (we still have a few left for sale). We have a small flock of heritage breed turkeys-most of which are destined for the freezer and a few of which we’ll keep to produce next year’s flock. Since we weren’t quite ready to grow larger animals for meat, we bought a side of beef and a whole pig for our freezer. Next year we hope to raise some pigs ourselves. We plan on bringing a dairy cow into the mix to supply ourselves with fresh milk and to make cheese and butter. If I’m able to buy more land someday we’ll raise grass fed beef, but for now our 5 acre pasture can’t support them.

Our kids have learned to care for the land and the animals. We have a strict no electronic rule during the week and 45 minutes of game time per child on the weekends. We do often have movie night  with the kids on Fridays.  Christian has had time to pursue his love for cooking and tends to make delicious desserts for the family when he gets bored. Garrett likes caring for the chickens. He’s still a kid and sometimes balks at going out to do the chores, but once out there he gets lost in watching them and we don’t see him for 45 minutes.

It’s been a learning experience and many things have gone according to plan and some have not. Next year we plan to expand what we’ve done and offer locally grown, naturally raised meat (this means no GMO’s, antibiotics or hormones and and it means letting the animals free range and feed on forage) as well as possibly some vegetables. With 4 kids in tow things may grow slowly, but we have some big dreams for this place.

Bookmark to:

Over the summer I made a chart to help the kids remember what they needed to do to help around the house. Damian and I feel that along with free playtime, it’s very important that our kids learn to be a contributing member of the family. Whether that means simply helping me sort laundry or cleaning up after dinner or caring for the animals, we want them to help out. We also want them to know what is means to work hard and to appreciate their ability to accomplish tasks.

The chores on this chart are ones that (for the most part) I expect them to do daily during the summer. During the school year I ask them to do less because I do want them to have time to just be kids. We also assign larger chores about once a week such as clearing out dead plants in the garden, cleaning the van inside and out, cleaning out the stalls and so on. We typically pay them for these larger chores instead of giving them an allowance.

I had trouble finding an chart that I liked so I thought I would share the one I made here. I have boxes beside each chore that we fill in with a dry erase marker every week. Each child has a color; for example Garrett is blue, Chris is green and Bella is red. At first I let them pick chores, but after a while (and some arguing about who got which chore) figured out that it was better if I just assign them weekly and try to mix it up. It worked great this summer and for the school year I plan on just assigning 1-2 easy chores per day. The extras will just stay blank and Damian and I will pick up the slack. Although having the kids gone all day makes for less mess.

I had my chart printed as a 12×18 dry erase board at a professional photo lab. For those of you who aren’t photographers, I’m certain there are plenty of other places that will print a dry erase board as well.

I hope you like it!

Download Link

Please note that the file is a layered file (so you can change the chores) and you will need Photoshop to edit it.

The chart is free, but I would love a comment to hear how you handle chores at your house.

Bookmark to:

One of the reasons we moved out here.

You can see it a little bigger HERE.

Bookmark to:

I used to think I needed to keep up with everyone, to have amazing clothes, the perfect hair style, nice cars, live in the best neighborhood, etc. But over the years I’ve learned that I love the simple life with all of my heart.

I love the early mornings with my baby cuddled up beside me as we play and watch the sun rise. I love the sound of my boys thundering down the stairs (and the occasional sleeping bag race down as well). I love the walks through the woods in the fall. Our family gathered around playing a game in the winter. I love the smells of a good, home cooked meal floating through the house.  I love making our house a home that they WANT to come home to, a place they feel safe in. I love the daily challenge of raising my children to be confident, respectful people who love God with all of their hearts. I love the reward of working hard with my hands and growing the food that we eat. I love being there when my children get home from school.  I love the simple moments I find each day.

So while I’m normally found in a t-shirt and jeans, have crazy curly hair that is never perfect, drive the typical mom mini-van, live in the middle of nowhere in the country  and my house is often full of loud, messy kids, my heart is beyond full.

A simple evening last week.

Little Lilly in a big world.

Silly Lilly

Silly Lilly face.

Practicing standing!

He is sooo good with babies. He’s going to make an amazing dad someday.

She takes after me and is fascinated by big, beautiful skies.

What happens when I try to photograph my brood.

*all photos edited with the Peach Fuzz action from the Lilly Set.

Bookmark to:

She’s one! I can’t believe it. My beautiful, tiny little baby is heading into toddlerhood. She has brought so much joy to us with her inquisitive, sweet and feisty little personality. It’s quite a sight to see all 5 of us gathered in the family room, watching Lilly’s latest antics (of course, followed by her squinty eyed cheesy smile). This little girl is loved to the moon and back!

I had so much fun planning and decorating for her party. Lilly has such a bright little spirit and her party seemed to steer naturally toward happy, bright colors. She also ADORES fruit so of course that had to be included. The girl will choose fruit over ANY other food. I made nearly everything with fabric and paper that I had on hand so her party ended up being pretty inexpensive. And the decorations can double as decor for her room.

If anyone wants tutorials on how I made anything, just let me know.

Now for the prettiness!

I made the bunting and paper circles. Lilly’s initials were made by a sweet friend before she was even born.

Torn fabric ribbon garland.

Lilly saying “wow” about the giant balloons.

Individual lemonade jars with blueberries, lemons and raspberries. Yummy!

She loved these cherries!

I made these out of scrapbook paper, fabric that I ruffled and elastic.

I was so worried this cake was going to be terribly hard to make, but it was amazingly simple. I wish I had taken a picture of the inside-it had raspberry filling.

The happy birthday girl.

Her cheesy grin.

That is one big balloon!

Everyone needs a kiss on their birthday. Bella is such a great big sister.

Why is everyone staring at me?

She was a little unsure about getting messy…

…but she got the hang of it. She wasn’t thrilled about how it felt though. A bath soon followed, lol.

Happy Birthday my Lilly girl!

Bookmark to:

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to eat store bought pickles again.

Our sweet neighbors went out of town for a bit and she let me pick the cucumbers that ripened while she was away. I’ve only grown slicing cucumbers and she has the pickling version. Of course I couldn’t let these beauties go to waste so I did some research and decided to make refrigerator pickles out of them.

OMG

They are ah-mazing!

We like our pickles zesty and crunchy…no sweet pickles here! And these were perfect. So far we’ve just been snacking on them straight out of the jars, but hopefully there will be some left the next time we make burgers.

Here is the recipe if you want to try them for yourself.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients:
3 cups distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar (I used sugar in the raw)
8 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 cups hot water
4 pounds kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1) Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds and coriander seeds in a pot. Add hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear ( I heated on low). Cool to room temperature.
2) Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks. Yield: 2 quarts.

Bookmark to:

I’m going to start his by saying, yes, I am the mother of 4. I should really know that babies move like lightning…hehe. But even us seasoned moms forget.

I ran outside to help Bella chase the chickens away from the house (we have 4 that seem to think our back patio is AWESOME!) and when I came back this is what I found.

I think I need more right here.

Hey Daddy!

Uh…was I not supposed to play with this?

Thankfully the paint was the “green” paint, but I still snapped these as fast I could so we could wash her up quickly. She came clean and the floor was fine.

And I have some great photos to show her when she’s older.

Bookmark to:

She loves horses…it’s in her blood.

Bookmark to: