In the heat and drought....

Less than 1/2 inch of rain during the past forty days has meant many, many hours filling the tank, driving the tractor and watering trees. Some days I think I go to bed counting slowly to 30 in my head with my arms aching from aiming the fireman's hose to/from each tree while turning the hard steering wheel of the tractor. I just want it to rain. No, that's not true - I just want it to rain without hard winds and slowly soak in overnight with a slow, steady rain. Picky, huh?!
But with all this hot, dry weather I can't help but meditate on the "living water" and "never thirst again". When I have plenty to drink I honestly don't think about water. When it rains abundantly, I take it for granted. Only when I am hot and thirsty do I realize the amazing qualities of water. Only when it is dry and my throat is parched do I long for a cool drink. Recently I have had a drought in my spiritual life as well as on the farm. The living water is there, waiting, and I have chosen to get dry and thirsty. The Word of the Lord has been left stagnant too often and my heart has been drying up. I could chose not to water the pecan trees and watch them dry up quickly and die. What a foolish waste that would be. But how even more foolish a waste it is to let my spiritual growth wither up for the lack of quiet reflection on God's Word. The spring is flowing. Lord, help me to choose to drink from your well of living water. Help me not just to survive, but to grow and thrive so that your fruit will blossom for others. Make me aware of my thirst and feed me your water every moment of every day. Thank you, Lord, for the wonder of physical water and the satisfaction of living water. Let it flow!

Last Year's Weeds

This is the time of year that we attempt to "stay ahead" of all of the spring and summer weeds. OK, usually it's like a race comparable to "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" but not nearly as funny. One thing we have had to deal with this spring is the fact that we had a very nice, somewhat wet, fall. This means that just before frost last year we had a lot of new weeds take root. No problem, it frosted shortly after, right? Well, this spring that has meant two problems. One, more weed seeds just itching to sprout exactly where we don't want them, and two, a matting of old, dead weeds that block the herbicide from getting soaked into the waiting seeds. So what does this have to do with you and anything you would even vaguely be interested in? Sin. Yep. We just cannot get away from the analogy between weeds and sin. Check out Genesis Chapter 3. So as I try to remove the dead weeds, spray for new weeds and determine which can be pulled without damaging the trees' roots (i.e. have shallow roots themselves), I think on my "old mistakes" (aka sins), "new wrong desires" (aka sins), and "bad habits" (aka sins). What a mess! But Jesus is better than Roundup, so I rejoice!! And as I hoe and pull at those weeds, I rejoice even more. For without those horrible weeds I would easily forget how bad the "weeds" are in my own life.

Sucker!!

There is hardly a day that goes by that I do not learn (or usually relearn since I am so poor at actually exercising my attitude and actions to use what I have learned) a lesson from the farm. This morning I was removing suckers from the lower trunks/limbs of the pecan trees. It is frustrating to see all of that new growth and energy being spent on suckers instead of being routed to the growth of the tree and its fruiting capabilities. Hmmmmm...... yep, I let too many little "distracting suckers" (wrong attentions) sap my strength from eternal fruits. I think that I should get a picture of these suckers and paste on my calendar. Just as a reminder of what is really important.

Update on "Gardening Proverbs"

A friend asked me to re-post my "gardening proverbs". Since the Lord has continued to grow me through farming and gardening, I have added some new ones, too. Enjoy!!

Little weeds (sins) are easier than older, bigger ones but both need to be pulled out all the way to the roots.

Some weeds get so entwined with the flowers that you have to take extra time and care to gently pull them.

Nothing will grow without daily nourishment of food (God's word), water (God's Spirit) and nutrients (fellowship with others).

A flower bed of many varieties and colors is more beautiful than one of all the same flower (the church).

Flowers are faithful to follow the light - am I?

Some weeds pop up and seed out quickly, reeking havoc of all within a short while if not dealt with quickly.

Some trees grow slowly and are tender for a long time but produce amazing amounts of fruit later and longer.

Some plants are beautiful but do not have a sweet fragrance or produce fruit or seeds.

Seeds need lots of loving care to grow into production.

Only God can bring rain and sunshine, warmth and soil to the earth. Our imitations are never as good as the real thing.

It is not ours to choose which trees produce early and which late, which ones grow quickly or slowly, which ones are more hardy in drought or resistant to disease. It is ours to choose whether to water and nourish and care for all of them daily, carefully, lovingly, diligently and with hard work and sweat of brow.

We can complain about the weather or production or problems or we can praise the Lord for the harvest both now and to come.

During the early years the trees need to be staked and tied to a secure post.

Sometimes you have to dig out the old stump before you can plant a new tree.

Fruit is sweeter when it is watered with the sweat of your brow.

A Master Gardener can tell the difference between a weed and a flower. He will teach you to tell the difference, too, if you will listen.

Weeds grow best in flower beds.

Talking about gardening is easy. Chopping, hoeing, weeding, watering and tending to the garden in the heat and rain and wind and sun is hard work.

Some plots have better soil than others but with care each can produce something.

The sweetest melons and grapes are grown when they have been put under stress.

There is an amazing joy in sharing your seeds or young plants with someone who will grow them.

Hybrid plants do not produce viable seeds.

For best flowering, cut off the dead parts.

Everything needs pruning sometime.

Only a miracle can turn a weed into a fruit-bearing plant.

Long overdue Update

My blogging is about like my library books these days - way past time to turn them in!! :) Fortunately, I renew the books online and the blog police don't come get me when I go so long without posting!
Anyway, here's what's going on:
1 - Joanna and Alex Carr are engaged!! Last weekend at the beach he proposed and we got to meet his parents and grandparents who drove all the way up from Alabama just to be there to celebrate. They've now set the date for Aug. 15th at 2pm and we are already into wedding planning mode!
2 - Uncle Carl and I got 44 more trees planted last week right before some very long, heavy rains. And today (Sunday, 3/29) we saw the first green budding leaves on three different varieties!! Wooohooo!! I can't begin to describe how beautiful those little green buds look to us!
3 - School was pretty good last week, we got through a lot of the basics but not really any "extras" like field trips or art projects. However, on Wednesday Ethan began the school day by picking up a poem book of Emma's and reading a poem to me with very little help. He then read 4 or 5 "Rocket Readers" (Level 1) and begged for me to go find Level 2 readers. (Thanks, Karen W for these - they have been great!) All of a sudden I have a reader on my hands - a glorious day for any Mom who has dealt with a very reluctant reader!
4 - Last night we had a "Blurt" Blast and then followed it up with a Pictionary contest after we all shared a meal of homemade lasagna, tomato/basil bread, salads and key lime and chocolate pie (not homemade!) for dessert. All 6 of our children (remember that Katy is now my daughter, too, Shelley!) plus my soon-to-be-son were here and I felt very, very blessed to have such a great time with all of us together. I thought of my dear friends who have family around them except for a son who is overseas serving our country and what a gap that leaves in the "family circle" and said a prayer for these brave young men and their Moms who sorely miss them.
Have a great week and I will try to do better about updating the blog.

In School This Week

We have had several "field days" so far this week. My children have learned:
1 - Horticulture - how to properly plant and water in pecan trees; differences in varieties of trees; proper depth for planting; how to mulch, etc....
2 - Ornithology - found a killdeer nest, marked the location so as not to disturb it, and watching daily for any signs of eggs! Also saw two geese fly over flanking a wounded one - very amazing to see first hand!
3 - Agronomy - the study of soil composition and water tables; decomposition - "Wet clay from down in the hole stinks really bad, Mom! Why??"
4 - Team Teaching - working together to be more efficient and enjoyable
5 - Perseverance - (planting 400+ trees one at a time will do that!!)
6 - Meteorology - they have learned to listen to weather forecasts, study the local conditions and make decisions about how percentages really work (10-20% chance of rain means go ahead and do what you have planned :) !)
7 - Entomology - found several interesting live millipedes and exoskeletons from other "critters" from last summer; chased some grasshoppers; discovered that it only takes 36 warm hours before the local gnats have emerged!
8 - Being neighborly and friendly - a relative and a neighbor both have spent part of the week helping us plant (without any pay) just because they are good friends/neighbors!
9 - Perseverance - did I mention this already??
10 - Hard work is really, really hard work, but is lots more fun when doing it with people you love!

We're Home!

Got back tonight from 1400+ miles from Texas. Last week included the marriage of our son, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities, the death and funeral of a cousin and a major road trip from 5am Friday morning (when we flew out) until tonight (Sunday). Thanks for all the prayers! I will post details of our trip on our farm blog soon, and details of everything else on this "family" blog whenever I get pictures. Now I'm off to bed to get a good night's sleep in my own cozy bed before beginning to unload the truck, dig holes and plant trees for the next 5-6 days if it will dry off enough. Hope you have a wonderful week and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let me know what you're up to!
-F

Whewww!!

What a very busy but wonderful week last week!
D was off from "work" so we dug 383 holes with a 3' auger, mixed lime by the shovelful into the dirt from the holes, refilled the holes and marked the exact location of the tree for each one. Wednesday I came in from that job at dark, made salads (7 Layer and apple cranberry), tea, pecan pies and a pineapple casserole for Thursday's Thanksgiving meal. The next morning we started back in digging, liming and filling as soon as it was light enough for us to see. I put out the rolls to proof about 8am, and by 10am came in to clean up and finish cooking - peeling 15 pounds of potatoes to cream, making pumpkin pies, and baking the casserole before our 1pm lunch. Wow, oh wow, did Gran outdo herself again with scrumptious turkey and dressing and yams, in addition to my food and my SIL's great fudge pies, beans, peas, collards and cherry pie on top! After eating our fill and doing the dishes, I had a most wonderful time with all 6 of my children (I'm counting my soon-to-be daughter-in-law already because I love having her as one of "my children"!!). We played Apples to Apples, ate more dessert, talked, laughed, ate another piece of pie, played more Apples to Apples and finally called it quits on both the games and food!

Friday we finished digging, liming, refilling and measuring tree holes (along with doing dishes here left over from Thursday). Saturday my youngest daughter and I had a special day together with lots of good girl talk while we traveled to and from my "other Matt's" house to see the new baby that EK and I tried to bring home, but even with sleep deprivation Matt, Lindsey and Lindsey's Grannie wouldn't give her up! So we had to settle for lots of good memories of holding that little precious one and giving Lindsey a birthday hug, too. If they lived closer they might have to worry about us trying to sneak her away!

Sunday was another wonderful shower for Russ and Katy. Aunt Wanda, "Aunt" Janet (she's a cousin but all my children call her "Aunt") and Gran really had a shower that was fit to be in a magazine it was so beautiful and the food so good. I am just overwhelmed at how blessed I am to have such a remarkable, loving, creative and generous family!

This week will be busy, too, as we strive to get the house back into order after a week of neglect last week, start to decorate for Christmas, deal with computer printer problems, hair appointments, getting some work done on the van, regular things like piano and dance and Awanas, and have a few things to do for wedding preparations, too. [BTW, for those who knew about Ethan's accident, his leg was not broken but the bone was chipped. Praise! Thanks for the prayers and notes. He's back up and running (literally) now!]

Have a great start to December!

Fall Fun

Friday night our friends held a "Fear Not" party (a God-centered alternative to Halloween) and we had a blast! Go to Beth's post to read and see pics (I've smuggled these two over here from her!). My two youngest children were "Florence Nightingale" (shown playing the Widow's Mite game with her new friend) and "Wyatt 'IRK' " (shown below in Armor of God relay)! I'm sure it was a lot of hard work for the Herberts but we not only had a great time but also had a lot of discussion on Saturday about Light versus darkness, how "Mr. Rob" showed them that no amount of darkness was stronger than the light, and we talked about being a light in the world. We hope to be invited back to Beth's party again next year (hint, hint!!) but also hope to have one of our own for several families we would like to invite, both believers and non-believers, praying for it to be an evangelical outreach. (I'm gonna needs lots of help to plan it, Beth!)

My oldest daughter went to a costume party because she had a (rare) night off from work, my second son went with his fiance and her family to another family's for a bonfire and marshmallow roast. What did you do for Friday night's celebrations?

Saturday we laid out the (hopefully final!) layout of the orchard, placing 362 flags in their exact spots for the tree holes. Read about it here if you are interested in the progress of the farm. Russ helped for a while in the afternoon and then we went to a rare evening out at a steak house with him ad Katy. I must say that although that was only my third time ever eating at a LoneStar Steakhouse I have been very impressed with the food and service every time. Matt spent the day Saturday with his best friend (since they were 12!) taking pictures in the NC Mountains while his wife was away for the day.

Sunday we got to visit with Joanna for a while; I'm cooking a pot of "Chicken Stew-pid" for supper; the children went and visited with Gran while I cooked. (Yes, she's home from the hospital and doing well although very weak and will have to daily monitor her fluids to ward off another possible attack and potential congestive heart failure.) We played a game of badminton before Joanna had to go back to school, ending when it was getting pretty hard to see the birdie with the new early sunset time.

Tomorrow is a full day of school (including doing a life-sized outline of each child on which we will label their major organs), taking a tractor radiator to a "specialist" about 25 miles away, dropping off soil samples on the way, and getting back in time for dinner and dance classes. I really do loving being a wife, Mom, farmer and homeschool teacher. I can't imagine what joys I would be missing if it were any other way. It may not sound much to you but then you don't see the smiles, feel the hugs, hear the laughter, smell the earth and trees, that I do. My prayer, though, is that your world would be as wonderful to you!
Happy Fall!

Happenin's 'round here....

On the farm -
We've finished the last batch of pear preserves, picked (and eaten!) lots and lots of muscadine grapes, cleared out the garden and planted fall cabbage and collards, transplanted some small pansies into the flower beds which are still beautiful while they await the first frost, tended to the four little pecan trees that we are growing from seed for experimental purposes, picked a few apples and getting ready to harvest more over at a relative's house (hoping to have enough sunny days to dry them), and transplanted two tomato plants from the garden into pots so that we can hopefully continue to have tomatoes after the first few frosts. We've confirmed our tree order and D has plans to help two different pecan growers in the next few weeks as they shake, harvest, dry, sort and package their nuts.


On the home front -
This week we have visited Alamance Battleground for their Living History Days (see Beth's post and pictures), talked a long time about flintlock muskets with the 6yo, crammed in several days of all 8 subjects, went to piano lessons, soccer games, practiced Awana verses, made black walnut ink for the quill pen that we made last week, painted my MIL's rental houses steps (5 sets of steps), sorted fall clothes and packed away summer ones, and will be going to the State Fair . We're planning on helping add to one of the ag exhibits next fall which will include pecans as a NC crop, so we are going to enjoy the fair but also to be thinking/planning how to help with that particular exhibit in the future.

In the family -
My uncle that we went to see a few weeks ago passed away during the early morning hours on Monday. So I took an unplanned trip to my sister's late Tuesday night, rode with her to/from the memorial service, and returned home late Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers for my safety - the drive couldn't have gone any smoother! My aunt and the family are all doing well.

In my heart -
Lately everywhere I turn I am reminded that God has a covenant with each of us as believers in the redeeming grace of Jesus. Not a contract (dependent on our actions) , but a covenant (eternal, unbreakable, unchangeable). It's just almost unimaginable that no matter how we screw up we are still His children, still saved by grace, still loved by an Almighty, Eternal Creator. Eph. 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Summertime "school"

A friend asked me about what we do for "school" in the summer. First of all, we stick to a traditional (Aug - May) schedule for the textbooks but since I firmly believe that a lot of learning (maybe most for some children?) is outside the textbooks, I hesitate to put us in that box. Since we have a vegetable garden, small fruit orchard (btw, we got our first blueberries off yesterday morning - yippee!!), and prepping the remaining 15 acres for pecans, we spend lots of time year-round on the farm, but especially in the summer. It is also a time where I purposely read (or re-read) books to try to help me grow spiritually and as a primary teacher to them. Late spring I make out a list (yes, a list!!) of habits that I want to work on with them through the summer. I just started that last year and it worked great. Little things like making sure they are flossing correctly, making their beds and not just throwing on the covers, learning to tie a shoelace, how to properly load/unload the dishwasher, getting better at swimming and diving, learning to do a handstand under the water, etc. That way those with which I work with them consistently are hopefully habits by the time we get back into school mode this fall. Worked well last summer, we will see about this year!

For those who asked earlier, I now have cucumbers, squash and tomatoes coming in from the garden. Fresh basil and parsley are getting clipped from my potted plants and we have eaten plums and blueberries from the orchard. Not enough from ours to can yet, but we picked plums at an Aunt's house last week and made 12 pints of jam so we are definitely into the canning mode already! Ya'll come on down and get some veggies soon!

(copyright notice - painting by Robert Duncan)

Pecan Orchard Tour

Tonight hubby and I went on a "Twilight Orchard Tour" put on by NC Pecan Growers Association. What a great time we had, starting with the good food and fellowship at Lakeview Pecan Orchard and then lots of wonderful information shared by 3 different Co-Op extension agents and several long-time growers. We learned lots, confirmed lots and enjoyed it a great deal. Mr. Bill Bunn of Lake View Pecans has been such a tremendous help and source of great information for us as we make decisions that we feel we can never repay him for his time and trouble. We are really excited about getting some trees in the ground this winter!!

Where, oh where has my little life gone?

The past week has been quite a whirlwind. After New Years, we had some sickness in the family, took down Christmas decorations, sent our 19yo back to work and school for 3 days then off to Mexico on a missions trip, got a burn permit (yippeee!!), began burning these enormous piles of stumps after calling most of the neighbors to warn them of the impending smoke in case they didn't know the ban had been lifted (or had asthma), planned and had two parties for Emma - one for friends and then one for family (see post below), tracking down D's passport which was sent out by Priority Mail instead of Express (even though we had paid for Express) and sweating whether it would arrive before our departure time on Wednesday, laundry and packing for us, dealing with the grief of loss of our friend's mother, hair appointments (can't go overseas looking like a shaggy dog in a muddy yard), cleaning up from farm helpers, party attendees and general family stuff, planning babysitters for our trip, and a few hours sleep stuck in here and there. Needless to say I am really looking forward to the relaxation part of our trip! I'll post details when we return. In the meantime, if you get a chance pray for our daughter's mission trip and her safety as well as comfort and peace for our friend Lindsey and her Dad as they grieve their loss. Thanks and Hasta la vista!!

RAIN!!!

Temperatures here have been ridiculously high for the past week - there is something totally wrong with wearing shorts and having your windows open while you sing Christmas carols and decorate the tree! Even in the South! But in the past 24-hours, the temps have taken a nose-dive, brought in clouds and blessing of all blessings - RAIN - to this drought-stricken land. My 5yo did not want to believe me this morning when I told him to change out of his shorts - until he stepped outside and with a yelp exclaimed "MOM - IT'S SNOWING!!!" "No," his Dad quickly but calmly explained, "that is just rain, son - it's just been so long since you saw it you forgot what it was!" I think we had all forgotten both what rain looked like and what December temps were supposed to feel like. Tonight we cut off all the lights and sounds and sat for a few minutes and just quietly listened to the wonderful sound of rain flowing in the gutters, splattering the windows, and refreshing the whole earth around us, while we sipped some hot cocoa and snuggled under soft blankets. Now that is the perfect evening to me! Thank you , Lord, for rain and seasons.

Another Blog??!!!

As if I don't spend enough time on the computer already, I've started another blog. The sole purpose is to journal our decisions and research about the farm, establishing the pecan orchard, contacts and information, etc. My hope is that in years to come any of our children/grandchildren that are interested in carrying on Sweet Branch will appreciate knowing how we decided to do what we did. In the meantime, it gives me a place to log information and help me "think out loud on paper" as an Economics professor that I worked for during college used to say. If you are interested in farming or pecans you're welcome to check it out. I also love quotes and will accumulate my favorite farming quotes there.

Frugal Friday and other....

Got some good deals at Walgreens this week including 10 packs of 10-snack Reese's for 99c (not each, in total after coupons - they were supposed to be for Halloween but I think they'll be gone before then!), 4 free packs of gum, 4 Clorox supplies and bleach for $1.40 total and 2 gallons of $3 milk. Use Store coupons and manufacturer's on the same item and viola - free (or almost!).

We had another Field Trip this week where we learned about tree identification at a Nature Park and the kids really enjoyed it and are now telling me tree names! Perfect timing since we study trees and wood starting next week for the next 3 weeks. We will definitely have to go back to that park and explore more of their walking trails when it cools down a little and maybe as the leaves are changing. Wanna meet us there??

Pecan Orchard - I am ravenously reading everything on the web and any book I can find about pecans. We go to visit another orchard Saturday morning and it will be interesting to compare that with the one we saw last weekend. In the meantime, we also need to do soil samples and get them back to the Coop extension office, determine what varieties we want, chose a supplier and place our order in the next few weeks. Scary thought when there are so many varieties (over 400!!) and so many suppliers (over 40 commercial ones) and it's the biggest decision we will make (as far as money goes) about the orchard. Everyone we talk to gives us different information about both tree and supplier..... ughh.... pray we will make good decisions because quite frankly we can't afford to replant 500 trees if we make the wrong decisions!

That's a few of the things happening... this weekend's orchard trip, BIL's Birthday bash, Nursery duty Sunday am, a friend's baby shower Sunday afternoon, a family Ice Cream Social Sunday afternoon, my grown children visiting at different points throughout and still lots to be done in the house, flower garden, fruit orchard and yard... WHY am I sitting here blogging??? gotta go - have a great weekend!
-F

The Nut Farm

Tomorrow after church we're headed out on a brief trek across the way to a Pecan Orchard. Not a grove. I just recently learned the difference and lots of other things like Pawnee versus Stuart variety, what pecan weevils are, when to prune pecans, why so many don't produce properly, etc. So in case you haven't guessed - we have decided that our tree farm will be .... ta dah... a pecan farm. Clearing the land should be finished by the end of next week (Lord willing) and then we will burn the piles and piles and piles and piles.... of stumps which we can now finally do thanks to the wonderful rains during the past week. Then we will race against time to try to get some winter ground cover planted and growing in time to be well established before tree planting time in January. My hubby and I have never been so excited and at peace about what to do with the land as we are now so after long and hard prayers we really feel like this is the best use of the land. Normally I don't like to learn scientific names and horticulural details but for some reason I really enjoy it when it comes to pecans. Weird, huh? Maybe it's just because I'm already so nutty? Anyway, tomorrow we head down near Spivey's corner, world famous for its Hog Hollerin' Contest (they just call it the Hollerin' contest now - no kidding!) and check out a great Orchard. We're taking pictures of our farm so we can have some "before" and "after" pictures as well as pictures from our visit tomorrow. I'll holler over to you in a few days and let you know how tasty those pecans are!!

My "TO DO" list

I know I am famous for it - my "to do" lists. I admit it. If something is not on the list and I do it, I usually add it to the list just so I can mark it off. Sick, huh? I have "daily" lists and "long-term" lists, "school" lists and "chore" lists for each child, "farm improvement lists", "hubby" lists, "wish" lists. As I began school this week I saw that I had lots and lots of things left undone on my "Summer" list. So I decided that I'm going to make an "I didn't plan it but it happened anyway" list. Things we did this summer that weren't on my lists anywhere and not only got done but were some of the best things we did! Here goes....
- Taught 8yo to make a quilt
- Helped 5yo learn to swim and 8yo learn to dive
- Watched sunflowers grow that the birds had "planted" at the base of the bird feeder
- Learned that the best watermelons are a cross between seedless and seeded
- Made and canned Pumpkin Butter
- Made several new friends and spent time with old ones
- Had lots of fun times with old friends
- Learned how to know exactly when to pick watermelons
- Learned not to plant pumpkins in May!
- Read lots of books
- Learned how to treat a dog's joint ailments and how to properly clip their nails
- Made two new "e-pen pals"
- Rejoiced with two couples over the births of babies and one couple over the adoption of one
- Cried with two friends over the loss of parents and gave out lots of hugs
- Spent extra time with hubby to help grow our marriage
- Helped MIL clean and prepare for her out-of-town company
- Given (by God) opportunities to share Christ's forgiveness and salvation with two neighbors
- Able to share lots of flowers from our garden with neighbors and friends from my 8yo's garden row and hopefully plant seeds for friendships and relationships
- Learned about using two new pieces of software
- Taught 8yo to braid hair
- Taught 5yo to make his bed (difficult because it's in a corner) and floss without help
- Canned more tomatoes than planned, more jelly than planned, ate out of the garden more than ever before
- Taught John 3:16 to my 5yo
- Helped my 8yo review her books of the Bible
- Helped my 18yo prep for college (not just pack)
- Prayed way too little
- Found out that a friend's brother was saved and rejoiced with them
- Rocked lots of babies during VBS and Sunday School (I love it!)
- Saved extra money with coupons that was then able to be given to a worthy cause
- Made a new carrying bag (denim) for 5yo to keep his Awanas stuff in
- Discovered several new recipes that didn't work out well :) !
- Discovered a couple of new recipes that we do like!
- Met a "blogger" friend in person just to discover that she is even more precious than I thought!
- Planned (most of) the major components of school
- Kept the garden and orchard alive during the absolute most unimaginable heat and drought ever seen in this area
- Spent too little time in Bible study
- Broke (with God's help) a bad habit
- Hugged and kissed my family a lot but never too much!

Readin', Writin' and RAIN!!

Today we started school - 3rd grade and Kindergarten. It is so very, very strange to not have middle and/or high schoolers in the house anymore. So I'm re-adjusting to teaching only young ones and we all had fun! My daughter is using strictly Rod and Staff but we take her Science and Social Studies topics for the week and do field trips, nature walks, experiments, map work, etc. based on that for both children. Today my 5yo was mad at me when he finished "math" (number recognition and opposites) and demanded that I give him tomorrow's math, too. Then he wanted to know why we weren't doing "adding stuff together" (like big sister) so we did some basic addition, too. (Looks like another math lover, Matt!) For the 5yo I'm just using phonics workbooks I have here already, we do "finding letters" games where he finds the "letter of the day" everywhere he can including circling it on old magazine pages, he practices his letter on the wipe-off board and on paper, today he painted it with Watercolors ("W"), and he finds me three different groups of things that he has as many of as the number of the day (today he found 7 toy soldiers, 7 markers and 7 puzzle pieces).

We finally got a little rain last night after 3 weeks of temps over 100 and no rain. Today it's very hot and muggy but you can almost hear the plants breathing a sigh of relief. I'm very thankful that both our veggie garden (which is now done) and our orchard are both within easy reach of a water hose or we would have had no garden and lost all of our hard work and money in the orchard. When we started planting trees, my hubby walked off the orchard and determined its dimensions in large part by how far 2 connected water hoses would reach. Good planning by him!

Shake,rattle and roll....

That's what my computer monitor is doing right now!! The excavator and loaders are going full steam clearing the rest of the farm today! Yooohoooo!!