She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain...

Recently, I have found myself lacking daily in joy and contentment. I've been on edge and restless. Contentious, even. I sure didn't like myself very much during this dry, dark, deserted period.

I am always looking outside of myself for answers to my thoughts and questions, but they never satisfy. But I found the One who can!

I realized I had been allowing the cares of this world to steal away my quiet time with God. When I try to do everything my way, nothing ever works out. How many times have I been around this mountain already? Can I get an Amen! 

After Alfred leaves for work I now read my Bible and pray. Then I watch Joyce Meyer's teaching for the day. I like to take notes as I watch to help me remember important scriptures and principles. This has to be first so I am then free to focus on caring for the family and home God has blessed me with. There is simply no other way around it...God must be in first place!

Hopefully I have finally learned my lesson because it sure gets tiring walking around the same old mountain! I'm ready to pass this test and move on up! 

Gratitude

This week I am thankful for:

~ Visiting with my Aunt Janet and my brothers, Jerry and Dakota.

~ Napping while the rain drums on the roof.

~ Substituting in food prep and subsequent successes.

~ The glow of Yankee Candles and their fragrances wafting through the house.

~ I finally won the battle again the sugar ants using Raid kitchen spray.

(Poisnous, I know, but I already had it on hand. Should've done this months ago!)

What are you thankful for this week?

Randomness

~ I saw a hummingbird yesterday, the first one this year, reminding me that it's time to put the hummingbird feeder back up.

~ I began pulling up my plants from the garden, getting it ready for its Winter rest. We had grand plans for yard work and cleaning out the shed, but the rains returned. Mother Nature has plans of her own which can not be tamed. The work will have to wait for another day.

~ We have had a very wet August. My tomatoes did not fare well with all the rain. I'm not sure if I will plant a garden next Spring. It's a lot of work and I hate weeding! Perhaps container gardening is the way to go?

~ I've been battling sugar ants in the kitchen for weeks now. Does anyone know how to get rid of them?

~ Mama used to make Oatmeal, Raisin, Chocolate Chip Cookies for Christmas every year when I was growing up. I made some this weekend. My, were they good! The secret is to use golden raisins in your cookies for they are softer and sweeter. There's is nothing better than homemade cookies with a glass of milk.

~ I was up at 4:45am this morning. Zeus had to go out and then he wanted to play! So I stayed up in order to let Alfred sleep until the alarm goes off since he has to work. I hope I can get a nap in later!

May your day be filled with beauty...

Gratitude

This week I am thankful for:

~ getting my haircut.

~ winning Brenda's blog giveaway!

~ slightly cooler temperatures.

~ a great first week of homeschool.

~ doggy entertainment.

What are you thankful for this week?

A Blog Award

Rosemi from Women of God kindly presented me with the Sunshine Award. Thank you, Rosemi!!

It is now my turn to pass this award on to 10 bloggers who have brought me sunshine...

1. As I See It Now

2. Aspiring Homemaker

3. It's a Miniature Life

4. My Sewing Serenity

5. Sweet Felicity

6. The Painted Garden

7. A Beautiful Life

8. Canadian Cottage

9. Journeying to the Real Me

10. Little Jenny Wren

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Field Trip: Train Museum

Yesterday we took our first field trip to the Train Museum!

Mr. Conducter...

They had the coolest running model train set!

The Caboose Club spent 6,000 hours designing and putting together this layout.

Some of my favorite parts of the layout:

The Circus and...

The Drive-in Movie Theater...

The details are amazing!

It even has tiny street signs and working stop lights.

 

The girls in front of a mini-train...

Kenzie...

Kayla and Alfred...

We enjoyed our visit!

For more information, please visit their website:

Foley Railroad Museum

Food and Learning

We began another year of homeschool today and finished our lessons earlier this morning. This afternoon we are going to take the girls to a local history museum for an educational outing. I'd like to go on one of the areas nature trails, but it looks like we will get rain again (and all of this week, too).

I have always been one to cook with recipes, but have recently been creative in the kitchen coming up with surprise dinners using what we have on hand from our lean pantry. My cooking inspirations have turned out rather well, I am pleased to say!

I baked a yellow cake and made chocolate frosting from scratch yesterday. My, was it scrumptious! The night before I made fudgy brownies from scratch. I'll be baking peanut butter cookies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies later this week, too. My family loves sweets and I love being able to bake for them.

Hope your Monday is wonderful! May the week ahead be blessed!

Gratitude

This week I am thankful for:

~ Receiving a survey with $2 enclosed. I'll receive $5 more when they receive the survey.

~ Inspiring blog posts such as this one.

~ Homemade pizza which is so much cheaper than takeout or frozen. And it tastes better, too!

~ My honey helped me mow the yard.

~ Accomplishing things around the house and out in the yard.

What are you thankful for this week?

Around My Home

{kitchen}

In my home, you won't find perfection. You'll find pretty pictures and knic-knacs adorning flat surfaces and walls. The color pink dotted throughout and lace and candles. Stacks of books and paper and pens/pencils where studying goes on or journal writing occurs.

{flowers}

Around my home, you won't find expensive things. You'll find flowers in a jar. A child's picture hanging on the fridge. Puppy toys scattered throughout. Music playing and sometimes the tv (mainly at night). There are art supplies, coupons waiting to be filed, and rainbow stars on the windows.

{office}

Around my home, you won't find name brand clothes (unless found uber-cheap at the thrift store). You'll find cute clothes in bright colors, homemade cakes, cookies, or brownies, and our family eating home-cooked meals. I'm all for D-I-Y projects and coming up with creative solutions.

Around my home, you'll find love, laughter, and comfort. You'll find a listening ear, a place to relax, and a place where authencity is celebrated.

My Dog, Zeus

For those of you who aren't on my Facebook page....

This is my husband, Alfred, with Zeus, our Cane Corso (aka Italian Mastiff).

Aren't they adorable? :)

The Nature Table

 Yesterday I created a little nature table. There is not much on it yet, but I'm sure the girls will remedy that situation quickly.

A couple of rocks Kenzie liked (and kept) and a piece of driftwood found on the beach this past Spring are the nature finds. The blue birdhouse I painted and I added the framed picture, a faux rose, and the globe. I like to pretty things up, don't you?

Countdown to Homeschool

This morning I felt a soft breeze that had the slightest hint of Autumn, reminding me that the Summer's heat will soon come to an end. We just have to hang in there a bit longer. This, too, shall pass for change is inevitable.

I have spent the morning puttering around the house, cleaning and organizing our homeschool things for bookwork starts Monday of next week. I can't say learning, for we are learning all of the time from everything we see, hear, and do. Real life is learning. If I had my way, we'd be unschoolers (no forced learning), but I have a husband to compromise with. *smile*

I put a stack of books on hold at the library to use in our homeschool. Dinoasaurs, fossils, Van Gogh, communities, people who help us, how people live in other parts of the world are just a few of the topics we'll be learning about together as our homeschool kicks off.

I want to create a nature table. This one is pretty. I love the bumble bee mobile! I have all kinds of projects and field trips planned. We are definitely not convential homeschoolers. No dry, boring curriculum here! I like to keep things interesting and fun for both the girls and myself.

It's now time for lunch and hungry children are waiting.

Ta ta for now!

This and That

I haven't blogged very much lately. A friend told me about Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and I am hooked!!

Ten bell peppers were harvested from my garden this afternoon! I will dice them up and put them in a bag in the freezer to use in my cooking.

It has been hot as all get out as it is in much of the country in August. It zaps my energy, but the yard must be mowed still, so I've taken to mowing a section at a time rather than trying to do it all in two days time. It will all get done in time.

{A red for the front porch - I am craving bright colors!}

Recently, we picked out paint for our bedroom and the front porch. I happened upon the oops paint and found just the colors I wanted for less than $11 for two gallons! I'll start those projects when it cools down some. Autumn will be here before you know it. I also found two pair of much-needed jeans at the thrift shop for $10.87. I love finding good deals on things we need.

{Bahama Breeze will be used in our bedroom on the walls that do not have white beadboard.}

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Did I tell you we got a new puppy? His name is Zeus. He is 12 weeks old today and weighs 25 pounds. He is a blue brindle Cane Corso Italiano (an Italian Mastiff). He is going to be a very big boy!

Something I have started doing is incorporating drawing with journaling. I don't bother with perfection...they are just quick little sketches. I don't know why I never thought of doing that before, but I am enjoying it immensely!