Thanksgiving Crafts

 Today we had no school, but the littles were still up super early! I could hear the chatter of the little boys come up through the heat vents from downstairs. Soon Sawyer was begging to get out of his room and I heart someone tip-toe down the hall to rescue him. "Hi Joe!" said Sawyer in his little toddler voice. They whispered back down the hall to the playroom. It didn't take long for a fight to break out over some LEGO. Oliver was balling, Hyrum was upset. Once everyone was settled we made a batch of German pancakes and fresh warm syrup. As Sawyer peered through the oven door he pointed and babbled. "Yes, Pancakes!" I respond. "Pa...take!" he repeats. Everything smelled amazing and the kitchen was cozy. 

 

We spent part of the afternoon doing some Thanksgiving crafts. I had seen this cute idea on the internet for handprint turkeys and they all turned out so great! The kids had fun painting their fingers and each turkey looks unique! While each of them waited for a turn painting their fingers, they worked on their thankful trees. I love how the atmosphere changes as we all contemplate what it is we are thankful for. They came up with some good one's this year and it was so fun to read them all and see the differences and similarities. They are all growing up so fast!

A New Pet

We recently had a kitty show up on our door step. It has been hanging around for about a week, but only in the evenings. I've been begging the kids not to pet or feed it because it will never leave if we do. But the other night during a late night pressure canning session with my Mum, it kept Meowing on the back deck, and oh my heart! Mum and I put out a little bowl of milk for it and I've never seen a kitty drink so fast. I then set out a handful of dog food because that's all we had and she gobbled it right up. The poor thing was hungry. 

 

The kids were thrilled to see her the next morning and she's been loyal (as loyal as a cat can be) ever since. She is the friendliest stray kitty I've ever met and even lets Sawyer hold her tail while they walk around the yard together. 

So now we have a cat. She is a fabulous mouser though, so she's actually been very helpful! Camilla named her Paula, I still call her kitty. 

We enjoyed the sunshine for the rest of the day. We harvested a bunch of things from the garden and sawyer pretty much ate a whole container of freshly picked strawberries. 

 

He learned how to pick the green part off and then stuff them in his mouth. I love the amount of fresh fruits and veggies I can get into these guys!!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill. The littles really enjoy the new carpet in the playroom and love reading books and playing on the floor.

On Fire

This morning I woke with a desire to try something new! We still have a crisper full of peaches in the downstairs fridge that desperately need using, so I pulled a bunch up and snagged some homegrown onions and peppers. I followed a new recipe for fire roasted peach salsa and couldn't wait to taste the final product.

 

Part way through I ran to town and grabbed my girl for lunch. I also stopped to quickly grab some groceries. It was nice to be able to leave Sawyer in the care of Camilla so that I could grab a few things. 

When I came back she showed me these pictures. He was giggling so hard he was snorting and it made us both crack up. We swung by Daddy's office to drop something off and then I brought her back to school for the afternoon.

 

I spent the afternoon getting my salsa into jars. It turned out so pretty! I made just a small batch so that we could try it and see if we like it. If we do, it will be something I'll make again next year. 

The sky was on fire at days end. After a busy day it was nice to pause, reflect, and enjoy the view.

 

Baby Bonnet

 

We woke to the gentle sound of rain, which just made me want to sit and knit all morning. I finished a bonnet for baby girl and am so pleased with how it turned out!

 

Sunday Sunrise

This morning I got the chance to go for a quick walk before church. The sunrise was glorious and the quiet let me ponder. There are so many beautiful things in this world if we are looking for them! I've been thinking a lot about joy lately and where our joy truly comes from. 

 

 

A friend shared an acronym for JOY that I love.

 

Jesus

Others

You

Tonight when everyone left the dinner table I felt a lump growing in my throat. Often I find myself alone at the table, surrounded by half eaten plates and a crumb filled table cloth at days end. The littles are finally getting to the age where they are learning to clear their plates without asking and helping out a little bit more, but we still have the odd evenings where everyone clears out in a hurry. 

 

As I sat tonight I wondered to myself how it is possible to feel so alone and forgotten when I'm surrounded by so many people. When I finally finished my cold plate of food, I cleared the rest of the table and did another round of dishes while tears silently slipped down my cheeks. In these quiet moments when my family doesn't notice and my needs aren't being cared for, I offer a quiet prayer. It is often in these moments where I feel closest to Him. When no one else understands, He does. Often when I think of Motherhood, the acronym for joy comes to mind as I selflessly serve. Even though there are sometimes feeling of loneliness or defeat, the eternal joy that comes from fulfilling this divine calling is incomparable to anything else.

“The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.” ~Jeffery R. Holland

 

 

 

 

 

Full Swing

Harvesting is in full swing around here. I brought the pumpkins in yesterday and we have been cooking down tomatoes into sauce and whatever else we can. I wandered up to the top garden with Grampa and Sawyer this afternoon and they managed to find a handful of raspberries to snack on. The weather has been so weird this year and because the berries were late, they seem to be lasting just a little longer. 

I enjoyed watching the two of them search the patch together. Of course that loving grampa let Sawyer eat pretty much every berry they found. Sawyer gobbled them up as quick as they could pick them. Soon his cheeks started to stick out and he looked like a chipmunk. That boy sure loves his berries!

I've been cherishing my late night canning sessions with my mamma. After the tomato sauce has simmered all day on the stove, it is usually ready to jar just after the littles are tucked in for the night. I am almost brave enough to use the pressure canner myself. We've made around 24 quarts of tomato sauce already and the shelves downstairs are almost full. While we wait for the canner to do it's thing, we sit around the kitchen table in the quiet of the night. We talk in hushed voices while keeping an eye on the pressure gauges and set timers and such. Tonight while I finished the last piece of apple pie (ate it right out of the pie plate) my mom swept my floor and tidied the kitchen. "There. Now you're ready for tomorrow." I feel blessed to able to spend this time with her and to learn from her. 

 

 

 

Harvest Time

We have been busy harvesting things from the greenhouse. This time of year is always so wonderful as we get to use and preserve the things that we grow! Grampa's greenhouse always provides us with an abundance of yummy things. I can't count how many batches of salsa I've done already this year! We are so blessed with tomatoes and have shared quite a few with friends. I think we get around 1200lbs of tomatoes each year. This year we made space for more peppers and tried growing more paste tomato varieties. My Mum and I have been busy in the kitchen making things like tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce and the like. The shelves are slowly filling up and so are our hearts. Oliver loves working in the greenhouse with Grampa and helped him snip the tomatoes from the vine and clear things out. Slowly but surely, one row at a time, we are getting the produce into crates and preparing to bring it inside to finish ripening. We managed to grow four decent sized pumpkins this year and even got a few zucchini from the garden!

 

 

 

 

Welcome Autumn

This afternoon Sawyer and I wandered down to the birch tree to check out the colorful leaves! Autumn is one of my very favorite seasons! The smells, the sights, the colors...It was glorious. I pushed him around in his little car and then we sat under the tree and watched the leaves swirl to the ground. He let out a few of his contagious giggles and we enjoyed a little snuggle! I also snagged a bump picture. Baby is twenty-eight weeks now and time is flying by! I'm cherishing the time I have left with Sawyer as the "baby" of the family and soaking him and all of his adorable toddler-ness up! I am so glad that Autumn has come!

 

 

 

Quiet Times

 

Naptime...

 

Bedtime...

 

Peaches for Days

Today my Mum and I processed another few cases of peaches! We had snagged a few cases from a local grocery store and also bought a few extra from a friend of a friend who drives out to B.C every year to pick up a huge load for people. Camilla was home from school and asked if she could help. She happily threw her hair up, tied on a apron and helped us scoop and fill jars. Since I've done this once before I knew what I was doing this time around! We got both pressure canners going and did a double batch because while you have everything out, why not? When Camilla had finished her part, she took my camera outside and snapped some creative pictures of the fresh eggs and sunflowers from the garden. She is such a creative girl!