The BLESSINGS of Canning

Our (not so little) seedlings are growing!!  Our tomato plants from seed are looking great.  Today I pulled out a jar of spaghetti sauce that was canned on my due date last year.  While pregnant, I always go past my due date.....and last year due date was celebrated by canning spaghetti sauce! Anyways, I'm going to be honest, while I enjoy being outside, enjoy being in the garden, I do not enjoy the prep or process of canning.  I never have, probably never will.  Last year didn't help between being massively pregnant, and then juggling a newborn.  BUT, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the blessings of canning.  It can make throwing a meal together so easy.


About a week in a half ago, a sweet friend of mine gave birth to her third little son.  A sign up sheet was floating around for meals for them.  I jumped on it because I remember from almost 9 months ago, that is one thing I would have loved, more meals to be ready and not have to cook or worry about dinner!  But, I was a bit stuck.  We are at the point of needing a grocery run and while I can scrounge around for dinner for our family, what I would serve would be an embarrassment for me to serve to another family! ha! I got to really thinking about what I had on hand that could make a suitable meal.

1) We have whole frozen chickens that we butchered for meat.  So I thawed one, roasted it, deboned it it and added some spices.

2) Garden Green Beans, we added garlic to ours because we are garlic fans! :)

3) Jar of apple sauce from when we went picking apples in the fall

4) For dessert, I took a jar of canned apple pie filling and made an apple crisp.  I got a bit apple crazy, but this is what I had on hand and to work with

5) I made a homemade loaf of bread

6) I threw in a jar of apple butter just as an extra.  (see an apple trend! haha!)

All that for very little effort.  The apple crisp, all I made was the topping which took maybe 5 minutes

The "sides" were in jars, ready to be served

I used my bread machine for the bread (10 minutes to throw ingredients together?) and bake in the oven.  A COMPLETELY homemade meal, and mostly farm/local grown as well!

I was sooo thankful for our effort and time spent on canning last year. Hopefully this year we will can even more to decorate our shelves with!

We've been SPRINGing

It's been a bit.  So here's what we've been up to:

We have loosely been doing "school".  Right now our schooling consists of lots and lots of library books.  Natalie is loving it.  Each day it isn't raining or nasty cold, I force myself to take the girls outside.  Oh, I love being outdoors, but it's a chore getting everybody dressed (well the less clothes they wear inside, the easier it is ha!)  and out the door. We enjoy swinging, Natalie picks flowers, torments the chickens, and we go on nature hikes. Emri got her first feel for grass, and well, tried to consume it.  

So that's what we've been doing...just SPRINGing. :) Soon I'll post pictures of our growing garden.  (umm the garden that's taking over my dinning room!) 

learning to be okay with it {1,140}

Discontentment has found it's way into my heart lately.  Right now? Our home. We are getting ready for garden season, which means from now until late fall my kitchen/dinning room will first be a green house, then taken over with noisy, smelly, dirty, canning stuff.  I have a tiny kitchen, with a tiny dinning room.  So that means my dinning room is also an overflow room for extra kitchen gear.  Leaving almost zilch room for a table...a table that's basically worthless.  It collects everything from mail, tools, toys, to buried fruit that has gone bad because it was hidden from the mail, toys, tools, etc.  Oh, have I mentioned that even though we have 3 bedrooms, really only 2 because my husband works from home (which is a blessing) but requires an office?  4 people...2 bedrooms....1,140 square feet is what I have to work with.  The plan was to build a house in a few years.  Then baby #2 came, and it made sense for me to be home.  So that building a house plan in 3 years?  Ha...

God has really been speaking to me.  He saw it fit to give me 1,140 square feet.  He decided that's what we needed for this moment in our lives, no more, no less.  Have I been grateful?  No.  Should I? YES! So I'm working hard on changing that heart of mine.  So in my 1,140 square feet, I looked to find what was beautiful to me.

I love my dishes.  My favorite colors, blue and yellow.  Look at those dainty flowers, aren't they just so pretty?  Did I mention the pattern is called Melissa?  Yes, they were meant for me! 

I've always enjoyed metal art.  This used to hang above my bed in my first "real" apartment.  Now it hangs on the green living room wall to greet you when you walk in.  I think it's beautiful.  

Life through a child's eyes.  Need I say more? 

My disorganized children's book shelf.  Why do I love this?  By looking at how the books are placed, you can tell my 3 year old loves to help herself to books.  And I l.o.v.e. that.  

I cherish this painting.  A family friend painted this for us as a wedding present.  Sunflowers were our wedding flower, along with yellow and blue as the colors.  Isn't this just beautiful?  It's proudly displayed in our living room.  

"But Godliness with contentment is great gain" 1 Timothy 6:6 

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

1,140 square feet is what I have to work with, and I'm learning to be okay with it.  

Those of you with small spaces and a family, feel free to comment on ways you make it work!  I'm always looking for suggestions! :) 

Why I {we} Decided to Home School

With the school year wrapping up in a couple of months, I've noticed a buzz on the Internet already talking about school in the fall.  I obviously follow a lot of home school blogs, and talk some about this on facebook.  I wanted to share why I decided to home school.  First, to clarify, both (my husband and I) agreed together homeschooling was the best option right now.  While we share many of the same reasons to home school, we also have different reasons, so these are "my" reasons that may or may not be on my husband's list.  

Before getting into the list....I want you to know  my husband and I are both products of the public school system.  We went to small high schools (my graduating class of 90 some was 3x the size of his though!) and both succeeded.  We did not have "bad experiences", both have great sets of parents that supported us through our school years, etc.  We both made good grades and sought higher education after graduation.  

Our choice of homeschooling is not because we think poorly of public school teachers.  My mom retired from the public school system, my brother is currently a teacher. As a music therapy major, many of my college best friends were music ed majors, now teaching in public schools.  I know many wonderful teachers.  

Also, my view of homeschooling for our family, is take it one year at a time. I don't know if we will do it one year, or all of the schooling years.  But through prayer, one year at a time, always reevaluating what's best. 

* I want to be the main influence on my children.  If I send them off to school for 7 hours (just the educational time, not including extra curricular activities), the majority of their day, will not be around me.  I feel like other people would be raising my children, their teachers, peers, etc.  

* I want to choose the curriculum.  Or I want "us" to choose the curriculum.  I think as the child gets older, it's exciting for them to be able to have a say on what route they want to take.  Let's do a study on Pioneer Days, Johnny Appleseed, plants in the garden, how a thunderstorm starts, etc.  I'm also not crazy about the government having huge influence on public schools and what is being taught.  I can't afford a private school.  

* I want to allow my child to learn at her (or his) pace.  Whether that means spending more time on a subject, or advancing because they are catching on quickly.  Teachers do their best, but it is hard to accommodate 25+ students individually.  One cannot expect them to.  

* As a Christian, I want our education to be Christ focused.  

* Better socialization.  WHAT?!? (usually people think home school kids would lack socialization)  In typical school setting, you are stuck with students all your age.  At home, you are around all ages, and if you can get along with your siblings day in and day out, you can get along with quite a variety of people in society! Also, I like intergenerational/ages for socialization, and at home school groups, usually you are around all different ages.  

* Schedule YOU set the schedule. (This isn't a main reason of HS, but a perk!) Take a vacation in September!  Do a 4 day school week!  Zoo day? OK! 

* The most important reason?  We feel this is what God is wanting for our family, for this time.  

I could go on, but I think that highlights our top reasons.  This is not meant to be a "home school is better than public/private school" post.  I do not judge other families that don't home school, there may come a time when we don't.  It's an individual decision, not all families can home school.  One has to pray and decide what is best for you.  I don't regret going to a public school.  

So...my basic plan for the fall?  Keep it simple.  My oldest will be over 3 1/2.  I plan to find a basic basic preschool curriculum (I work with her now off and on on basic things).  I'm thinking 2-3 days of working with her for 30 minutes or less (plus our home school group).  Doing this for about 2 school years and then starting a Kindergarten curriculum the fall she's 5.  Now this could all change, but that's my tentative plan.  At this age, I believe children should learn from play.  My goal is to let my children do the leading on their education.  I don't care about them speaking 10 languages (1 or 2 would be awesome!) or reading at the age of 4, and writing cursive at 4 1/2.  Typically HS students progress faster, but that's not my focus.  I want my children to lead what direction they want to go, and I will help guide them.  

What I am not {and who i am}

I'm an avid blog reader....errrr addict.  I love reading other blogs about natural living, homesteading, being a parent, homeschooling, oh golly the list could go on.  And then it happens, the comparison.  "I'm not that good" "She's got it all together, what am I doing wrong" "Why don't my kids act like that".  I start doubting myself, sliding into a depression of I'm not doing a good enough job.  And then out of the blue, I get a facebook message asking how I've done something that I've posted about, or questions about homeschooling, or a "oh wow, what you are doing is what we are working towards for a future goal".  Internet is funny, you can paint yourself to be whatever you want to be.  While I share my dreams, ambitions, goals, and things we are striving for, I don't want to paint myself as a perfect person because I fall...fall hard...daily, usually hourly.  So this is what I am not:

* I am not a perfect Mom.  Days like yesterday...I just wanted out.  The whining, the constant peeing in the pants, the messy house, the laundry that never ends.  I just couldn't do it.  So when I had the opportunity to bring the baby to the Chiro (first appointment for an 8 month old!), I grabbed her up and jetted.

* My kid (I have 2 but youngest has no interest in TV) watches too much TV.  I try to set limits...and most of the time I fail.

* I can't cook.  If you follow me on facebook, you are probably thinking what?!? (As I like to post kitchen creations)  When I was little, I had no interest in cooking.  I stayed clear of the kitchen until forced to set the table or make the tea.  (I was the queen at making sweet tea) To this day, I HAVE to have a recipe.  I'm just n.o.w. barely getting to the point of experimenting and just "putting something together".  And I mean, like in this past month.

* I'm a failure wife.  I get mad easy, have a short temper, and let things fester inside of me.

* My house is never clean.  There might be one room that's clean, but quick, take a picture, because the next instant it won't.  I don't remember a time when everything was really put in its place.  Usually my kitchen looks like this

And rarely does it look like this:

* I crave organization and structure, but severely lack both.  

{and who i am}

* I am a Mom, a Mom that loves to love on her girls every second of my life.  A Mom that has to take life one day at a time, sometimes one breath at a time to make it to the next second or day.  A Mom that tries to make the best decisions, and when I fail, I try to learn from my failures.  Sometimes more frequently than I wish.  

* I am a wife that is married to an amazing man that I don't deserve.  I know He still loves me at the end of the day, no matter what harsh words may come from my tongue. A man that will always embrace me when I hang my head low, muttering an apology, or telling him about some stupid thing I've done.  

* I am a daughter to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.  The ONE that takes my broken pieces, and make something beautiful of it.  

Mamas, You are GOOD!

I've had a hard week.  First the baby got sick.  I tried home remedies, took her to the Dr, got no answers, and then after two nights of her crying/whining/coughing through the night with slight breaks allowing her to sleep 10-30 minutes, and then going back to the crying/whining/coughing spell I took her back to the Dr.  Diagnosis? Ear infection and a viral infection that's settled in her lungs causing fluid in her lungs.  That said, getting some breathing treatments and seeing minimal results, we are back to sleeping.  If you want to call it that.  More like sleeping and waking up 5+ times during the night, requiring Mama to nurse babe back to sleep.  Sleep one hour, nurse,  then repeat.  I'll take it over the crying/whining/coughing though.  On top of that, the big started getting a head cold and has been insanely whiney and misbehaving.  

The weekend came, another weekend of missing church due to sick kid(s), another weekend of not getting my spiritual cup filled, another day of whine whine whine.  

On Sunday, I had, had it! I lost my temper, yelled, doubted myself and my role as a Mother, stomped out of my daughter's room, let the baby cry herself to sleep because I couldn't get her to sleep…I was done. My husband held me, kissed my forehead, and said I love you.  I responded why do you love me?  He said, because you are good.  

Mamas, you are good!  You can do this.  one step at a time. One foot in front of the other.  When you feel like throwing in the towel, take one breath at a time, one step at a time.  You are good, you can do this.  

I mumbled a little prayer, there was no way I could keep going with out God's Grace.  And HE gave it to me. One breath at a time, one step at a time. Both girls ended up napping at the same time (which N.E.V.E.R happens), just in time to get the kitchen cleaned up.  I brewed some more coffee, and sat down to start writing this blog post.  

Mamas, you are good, you can do this.  The first moment you looked down at your child, God bestowed the spirit of Motherhood in you.  

The first picture of Me holding Emri when she was born, just seconds old

Whether you gave birth to your child, adopted your child, or took them in as a foster child, you were given the Spirit of Motherhood.  You can do this, you are good.  And the moment (or in my case many moments) when you feel like you can't keep going, look up to the one who gave you the Spirit of Motherhood.  He will bring you through it, one step at a time, one breath at a time.  Mammas, you are good!

"Leaning on the Everlasting Arms"   

Today I'm joining in on Mindful Mothering Mondays.  Of course I'm blogger illiterate and can't figure out how to put the linky here, but you can read a beautiful post from Lydia and other Mamas Here at Small Town Simplicity

Save a penny!

I've started praying about this blog.  Yes, really praying?  I've neglected it to focus more on my family (which is a good thing!) and I finally feel that I have a somewhat (or not ha!) routine down that maybe I can actually do something with it.  I pray that it blesses others and write about our family's adventures and mishaps, maybe you can give me advice, and maybe I can help you out!  I've  had quite a few people ask me lately how we "do it".  Living basically on one income, both of us at home (my husband has a freelance graphic design business from home), and survive. Well, I don't have an answer because we are still trying to figure it out, living day by day.  But our way of life has changed tremendously, since back in the days of being child free, to these past 7 months when our second daughter was born.  So I thought I'd talk about ways we try to save money, or more like spend money wisely.  I'm not perfect, we sometimes (or many times) make the wrong decisions, but here are some things that have worked well for us.

* Stay home!  Seriously...have you not noticed the price of gas?  It takes us 30 minutes to get to the nearest city, and that's just to get to the edge of it.  To get anywhere in the city, that's 40+ minutes.  So, I generally go to town twice a week. Mondays, when I go teach at a Home School academy, and when we go to church.  Typically when we go to church, that's all we do in town, unless we are visiting with friends afterwards.  but when I go to teach, I try to make the most of that trip.  Stop at the grocery store on my way home, any other errands.  Sometimes it becomes the day I dread because of how long it is, and I'm typically alone with two kids, but it saves a lot in gas.  Sometimes we do have to go to town another time during the week, and we maximize it.  What do we need?  What are we about to run out of that we will need in 3-4 days?  I don't remember the last time I was at the mall, or went shopping for fun, etc.

* Food Budget
I hate to use the word budget, because this is one of our downfalls.  We try to budget, do it for a month or so, then stop or just fail at it.  But, since I stopped working, we've had to cut our grocery bill down tremendously. Ironic as I stopped working when I had my second child, so our family grew, and our grocery bill went down.  I got paid every 2 weeks, and would go to Walmart and easily drop $200 right after getting paid.  Not any more.  There was so much CRAP (sorry for the vernacular) that we were buying.  So much processed food that was junk.  We are eating better, making more things from scratch, buying less convenience food, and no junk/filler food we don't need.  Now we are not perfect.  We don't have a "whole foods diet" and I buy stuffing in a box because..well..yeah.  But, no more soda, frozen biscuits, etc.  Most of our "sweets" we make. Last week in the span of 3 days, I made banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and apple pie.  We really don't eat sweets like that real often, that was just kind of a fluke week, but all of that was made from scratch.

* Animals
We've really had to look at what our animals are costing us.  We used to have goats.  We wanted to milk them, but we didn't have the right set up.  So they were pets, not giving us anything in return, and during the winter, we had to buy hay.  So we sold them.  Eventually we'd like to get milking goats...when we are READY!

* Garden
Last year was our first year of canning our garden.  We also went to an apple orchard and did a lot of canning of applesauce, apple pie filling, and apple butter.  Our canned good this year consisted of green beans, spaghetti sauce, and peach jam.  We grew more than just those things, but didn't produce enough to can.  Those have really helped us in cutting down on the food bill.  This year, we plan to grow more, and can more.  Our garden is mostly started from seeds instead of buying plants.  It's really not hard to do seed starts, and our tomatoes from seed did better than the tomato plants we paid outrageous prices for.

* Cloth Diapers
This has really saved us huge money.  I already did a post about this. But living on one income...there's no way we could afford $50/month in diapers

* Breastfeed
The littlest is 7 months and still going strong with breastfeeding!  Cost? $0 I could go on and on about the health benefits, but since it's a money related post, I'll just leave it at that!

* Heat
We invested in an outdoor wood stove. It plugs into our duct work and we have an electric blower to blow the head from the stove into our house.  This saves tremendously on our heating bill.  While the blower is electric, it still costs a lot less to run that, then to run our heat furnace.

* Home Birth
We had an aaaaammmmaaaazzzziiinnnggg home birth experience.  I won't try to convince anybody to do a home birth.  You birth where you feel safest, home, birthing center, hospital.  But I can tell you that it was a great experience for us, we had a qualified midwife, and it fit our lifestyle.  Our home birth was about 20% the cost of a normal uncomplicated hospital birth.

*Vehicles
We drive older vehicles that are paid off, we have no car payments.  We will probably have to replace our van, which is our main family vehicle in a few years. I'm not sure what we will do then, but I can tell you it will be an older van, just a bit newer than what we have now.

* Social Life
When we first got married, we went out all  the time.  I also didn't realize how much "money" we had then compared to now.  We now rarely go out to eat, movies, and we value our money more than to just go blow it.  That doesn't mean we don't ever go out and do anything, but they are treasured dates when it does happen!  We value our friends, and enjoy having them over to visit, and that's free!

*Stop Shopping
Like when I said, stay home.  I don't shop for fun, and if I did, I'd spend money.  When we go grocery shopping, I have a list.  We are not perfect, and probably always buy something not on the list.  But if you stop shopping, except when necessary, you can't spend money!

* Buy Used
Almost anything we buy "big" is used.  And kids?  Most baby gear is used, (EXCEPT CAR SEATS), many toys are used, and all of their clothes was used, or gifted to us.

Those are the main things that come to mind.  We are not perfect, make mistakes, and still trying to figure this out.  But those are some things that have worked well for us.