More Hours in my Day

I grabbed an old favorite off the shelf yesterday for a browse while we were out at the beach. More Hours in my Day, by Emilie Barnes is a must read for moms. I'm realizing that now is the perfect time to be working on structuring and organizing my time and our home, before we start up lessons again and our new sweet seventh arrival comes in October and Emilie's book is a great refresher in prioritizing.

A pack of 3x5 cards and a pen handy, I skimmed through the book, jotting down what caught my attention and making a list of the things I sense God placing importance on in my life as well as practical homemaking, nesting things that have been piling up needing my attention.

I'm the type of person that gets discouraged by areas of homemaking that I can't keep up on and I find myself neglecting them further out of frustration, which just complicates and makes it worse. Laundry is one area in particular that frustrates me to no end. Because our washer cannot handle the size loads I need to get done for our family, I'm constantly running to switch loads, tote laundry to the line or tapping my foot waiting for the dryer to finish and then dumping the dry stuff in a massive pile to be attended to when time allows. Annaliese does the majority of her laundry, which is a help. Off my laundry rampage, I'm sure there has to be a better solution somewhere but I haven't found it yet.

This morning I set to work, washing a sink full of dishes first thing (dishwasher repairman due tomorrow!) and hanging out a load of laundry. I'm mercilessly scrutinizing each item as it comes from the wash and have a small pile already for give away and garage sale or swap.

Sean helped me hang new curtain rods in the girl's room, checking off another item on my list, and I began purging the boys room at nap time, pulling out a full kitchen garbage bag of broken toys, ripped books, and general garbage. That felt good.

The cupboard where our drinking glasses are stored was cleared and organized and our two glass fronted cupboards cleaned and organized as well, two more to-do's off my list.

Folks always ask what I the kids are doing while I sew or tidy or clean or bake and the answer is that they are always just nearby. The toddlers were playing with cars, then puzzles, then having lunch and the older kids were playing just outside, working on a computer game, or looking at books on the kitchen hired hands bed. Anytime they needed me, I was able to stop and tend to them and it all works very well.

Papa Day

Busy morning at home with homemade cinnamon rolls rolled into a lovely afternoon at the beach. Someone sweetly asked if it was the a Great Lake we enjoy visiting, but it is just a pretty state park by Cooperstown, NY. We bought our season pass to the state parks yesterday.

There is an old mansion on the hill above the park and after wading and swimming we walked and wandered before Sean started the fire and cooked our kabobs lakeside.

I am truly so thankful for the gift of Sean in my life and in our children's lives. He leads with love and is such a good, good Papa.


After dinner we packed up and took a country drive home, stopping by a sad and neglected farm. Beautiful land, mostly beautiful, but horridly dirty barn and incredibly beautiful land... oh, did I mention that already?

The house and barn are empty but a neighboring farmer grazes his horses and a few beef cows on the land. We slipped through a fence and wandered down to the creek and thundering up to us came a dozen gorgeous and very intimidating horses. I was too scared to take a photo but wish I had. I was too busy checking underneath the horses to make sure there wasn't a stallion upset that we were in his territory and looking for a tree to shove my girls up into.

Turns out the horses were friendly as puppy dogs and wishing for a handout, which we had not. They followed Sean and I and two of our children like the paparazzi and hung their heads over the fence after we crawled back through.
It was a fun little adventure to end our day, one I'm sure our children won't forget for a long while.

Heat

A break to start a few containers of iced tea...

The present sun and blessing of the shade...

Chicken station set up,

Pretty aprons (and pretty maidens),

Handsome fellows of mine...

Daydreaming between chicken catching,

The haze and a view,

The view of one of my legs...




And the other...

And over the sweetly growing bump in the middle...

It was a chicken butchering morning.

Our chickens have had a nice, happy life and we are thankful for the provision of healthy food for our family. (check out those feet - aren't they HUGE? The smallest bird we butchered today was 5.5 lbs dressed (plucked, gutted, etc.)

Stint on the Soapbox

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made and he said unto the woman, "Did God really say, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden..." Genesis 3:1

"Did God really say...." I hear it everywhere lately. A seed of doubt. The same question broached millenia ago being put forth today.

Did God really say ___________? You can fill in blank with any sort of current religious or politial debate having Biblical root.

Three times in the last month I've heard it asked in front of me on three different topics and my mind was brought back to a beautiful garden I never visited, to those words ushering in rebellion against God.

We appease ourselves that this line of questioning is holy, enlightening. Searching for truth, I've heard it said, relying on the Holy Spirit to give us the answers we need. Meanwhile we discard scripture as outdated, errored, a prehistoric document not held in high esteem or reliable.

Ironically, it was in a public school highschool political class that I remember the subject of absolute truth coming up, brought up by the secular teacher, who acknowledged that truth could not be relative, subject only to the whims and wavering heart of man.

While you might be wondering why I am subjecting Cultivating Home to a controversial political/religious theme, this line of current cultural questioning is so important for parents to become aware of. We need to know how to not brush over our children's (or our own) doubts, and how to not accept our faith as truth because of a feeling we have or because of how we were raised.

There is a evangelical argument that makes my skin crawl, "God said it, that settles it."

I'm not for that line of belief at all. I won't believe that what you are saying, what I hear in a sermon, or what your opinion is simply because you stick a yellow sticky note to it with this statement. I believe in searching the scriptures, reading from scholars who have studied and immersed themselves in the original language and aren't flipping a concordance trying to manipulate one Greek word to their personal beliefs.

I love to listen to Chuck Missler broadcasts because he has a brilliant mind in explaining God's Word. But do you know what I love more? The fact that he tells his listeners not to take his word for fact until they go look it up themselves.

Parents, we must build a foundation for our Christian faith. Talk with your children about how we know God's Word is true. Talk about the history that verifies it, the prophecies in scripture that came true and the statistics of their coming to pass... talk to them about how Jesus referenced and quoted the Old Testament (it seems to be in vogue to believe in Jesus but toss out the rest of scripture).

If you don't know the answers, the apologetics or defending of our faith, remember that we always need to be ready to give an answer for what we believe, pray and ask God to guide your research, get in a Bible teaching church, and pile up your nightstand with a few books that will help you.

R.C. Sproul's, Defending Your Faith:An Introduction to Apologetics, Lee Strobel's A Case for Christ, are two great books to start with.

Now I'll tiptoe off my soapbox. One little fellow is up from a nap and since our plans for a roadtrip to pick up a Suburban tonight are postponed, I need to prep for an at-home dinner.

Blessings,

Hannah

Ducks, turkeys, chicks and farm dreams

Four new ducklings came home. Our pastor hatched out the eggs for his daughters but they live in the city and so we're happy to have them waddling around here.

Andrew has a gift with animals. I've never seen an animal come into contact with him that didn't like him. This morning we picked up turkeys and laying hens from a local hatchery and, sadly, three of the turkeys and three of the chicks did not survive the morning, and sweet Andrew held one little chick as it passed away with the most compassion and love.

Life is crazy and busy and full these days. How busy? I wake up at night and think of things I've forgotten to do, forgotten to schedule or need to pick up and so I think of an acronym for each thing I need to remember. I wake up in the morning wondering what in the world E.F.C.C. stand for and spend the rest of the day trying to remember. :)

We managed a late afternoon trip to a favorite beach and had it all to ourselves. BBQ burgers, sunshine tapioca pudding, chips and mega marshmellows to roast. On the way home, we explored an old farm for sale and dreamed...

The Garden

My life is meant to be a finger pointing, a warm beacon glowing in the darkness.
With my children, how well am I doing of pointing them to Christ?
Do I bang them and rebuke them with scripture, or do I point to the grace and forgiveness and encouragement found in them?


Do I hold myself in higher esteem then my children? Am I an example of perfection or an example of God's grace daily at work?

Do I pile my works before me, comforted by their number, failing to see they are nothing to Him who made me?

Am I soft and gentle or harsh and cruel?

Am I quick to rebuke?

Am I quick to hug, forgive, and pray?

My life is a mere breath. Will it be remembered for being cold and chilling or warm and comforting? What about the atmosphere of my home?

The children weed their gardens with me, removing the plants that would steal sunlight and nutrients from the vegetables. Lord, weed the garden of my heart from things that would steal attention from You.

Garden prayers....

Then the rain comes softly, the beets standing in their leafy red lines, carrots and cilantro doing life together, tall pea plants waving in the wind...

Peonies turn full faces toward the sun in their ruffled elegance.

My life is meant to be radiant. Does my countenance reflect this?

Is their laughter within these walls, a ready seat for guests, love spilling over?

I am so thankful for this life. It may not be understood by everyone, but if you have been blessed by such a connection to earth and family and love....you understand.

Blessings,

Hannah

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Happy Birthday, Diane! Convertible Wrap tutorial.

Diane Estrella was my first mom friend ever!
Sean and I began our family years before our friends and thankfully, I met Diane. We were volunteering at the same food warehouse with our daughters in their carseats napping.
I love her much and today is her birthday!
At first I had a vintage skirt pattern out of vintage fabric in mind for her gift, but since she almost gave me a virtual punch through the wi-fi when I mentioned needing her waist measurements, I decided on this convertible shawl.
Before I show you any pics, please pretend I haven't been playing cinderella today and literally cleaning the fireplace...or sorting clothes in the attic...or roasting a duck...or chasing two two year olds who like to do things like unscrew all the caps off the shampoos and conditioners, climb on top of the table, chuck dishes across the room, and fight over my legs.

So pretend I did my hair, that I'm wearing a black dress and heels, or linen wide leg pants and a blouse and minus the extra girth in my middle and these photos will look much classier. Okay? Thanks. here we go...

There are a few ways to make a convertible wrap and here's a simple one. Measure from hand to hand and that's how long your knit fabric needs to be.

Cut a slit in the middle, wide enough for your shoulders to fit through... you'll see why in a few moments. This photo above shows a basic way to wear the shawl. It looks really cute with my arms down, but I wanted to show the basic shape.
This is a no-sew project, folks! Gotta love it!
Next pick up the front corners of the shawl and toss them over your shoulders. It will look like this.

And like this from the back:

Toss the entire front over your shoulders for this look:

And the back:

Take off the shawl and hold it behind you, sliding your shoulders through the hole. If it feels tight, just cut your slit slightly wider, a teeny tiny bit at a time. Better less than too much.

Drop it down for this look:

Here's the view from the back, excuse my crumpled blouse. If you don't want your back showing at all, drop the top piece down.

Or pull the top piece up over your head if it gets breezy out and throw one front section over your shoulder.

I include the next photo with hesitation. If I had a mirror outside I could have adjusted it cute but hopefully you'll get the general idea on this look.

Take the two front corners and cross them, tucking them in the hole under your arms. Pull the sides back around your hips (which I failed to do).

Now pretend I didn't include that photo.

The back view:

One of my favorites - take hold of the two back corners and tie them around your middle. Again, much cuter without a pregnancy bump but one of my favorite ways to wear the shawl.

Slip the shawl back over your head. This time on the diagonal.

Toss the corners by your hands over your shoulders.

Or pull the back over your head. I'm feeling a bit Mary Magdalene here. If you're looking for drama, this is the look.

Or...pull the top of the circle opening up as a head covering and toss the front portion over your shoulders.

The back view:

I'm sure there are more ways to convert the shawl. If you don't want to make one, there are some sellers on etsy.com that make them and have great ideas on how to wear them. Stop over to Diane's and wish her a happy birthday. She's having some great giveaways this week!