Life at Home
I had such a nice Mother’s Day, thanks to my husband and children. At church all the mothers were given these beautiful pink roses. My girls and I wore the matching dresses/skirts that I made recently (last month).
Before we left for church Sunday morning, I requested a few family photos, and everyone was happy to oblige. I used a well-loved basic dress pattern for the younger girls, and made a skirt for my older daughter and myself. Elyse made a tiered skirt with my help, and I’ll have to get a better picture of it someday. I used the Blessed Designs Florinda maternity skirt for mine. I like that pattern so well that I drafted a non-maternity version, and I really like the fit and the flounce at the bottom.
I have been using this enamelware pitcher that I got for a gift a year or so ago. I realized that it would be so much simpler to have a pitcher of water on the table during meals, than to have people getting up to refill their glasses. Also, it simplifies setting the table, because we no longer need to carry glasses to the sink to fill them. We can fill up the pitcher and then stand at the table filling glasses right there. I’m sure lots of people probably do that all the time, but it never occurred to me before!
My lovely mother has been bringing me so many wonderful growing things! She has brought flowers and herbs, salads and broccoli from her greenhouse. It is such a blessing.
She brought me this potted plant, as well as these two beautiful hanging baskets that she made for me.
I now have three different types of mint that Mom brought me: chocolate mint, peppermint, and orange mint. I also have the lavender plant that I brought with us when we moved, a sweet basil, and a rosemary. There are still so many herbs I want to plant. We planted the mint plants around some trees.
We have so many rocks here, and we used some of them to make borders around the mint plants so they wouldn’t get mowed down.
During the winter months, the children painted this birdhouse. We have seen different birds coming by to check it out, including a particular Eastern Bluebird. Unfortunately, it really looks like too small of a hole for the bluebirds to use. But I don’t know, maybe they can make themselves small enough to fit in this hole!? One particular bird seems determined to try.
My husband built this sandbox for the children, and they have already received so much enjoyment from playing in it.
Last week, a sweet friend invited me over to her house to watch her make soap. Elyse and I had such a great time with her, drinking her delicious Kombucha and talking. We were so grateful for her generosity and kindness in inviting us! This is some soap she gave me several months ago~I think it is so beautiful!
Useful works of art:
We found a good deal on some apples, and for several weeks we had an abundance of them. The children (and the man of the house) requested apple dip, which is so delicious.
~Apple Dip~
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl (large if you double the recipe), combine cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix well until all of the brown sugar has been blended into the cream cheese and vanilla. If the mixture is too runny for your liking, add a small amount of brown sugar to the mixture. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add a small amount of vanilla extract. (We make it just as the recipe reads, and we’ve never had to alter it in any way).
2. Serve with slices of apples.
We love this dip, and it is especially useful in autumn, when there is an abundance of apples. I have substituted Rapadura for the brown sugar, and it turns out fine, although the Rapadura does not dissolve quite as well as plain brown sugar.
Last weekend, we were so thankful that some kind friends came and put up this fence for us. It shields the yard from view of the road, and somehow it just seems cozier in the backyard now. Only the front has wood, and the sides are a metal, kind of like a deer fencing. We hope to plant some hedges by the sides with the metal fencing, to give more privacy.
My husband has been busy planting trees. These are apple trees.
He also planted these blueberry bushes,
And a peach tree.
This morning my mom brought us these beautiful strawberries, from her strawberry patch:
Aren’t they just lovely?
But I especially love this little baby hand…
Oh, I have been busy sewing! So many sewing projects, that I had hoped to finish last month, and I’m still working on them. Last month I made the matching dresses and skirts that I mentioned above, and also a table runner for my mother-in-law. Now I have this cute pile of little boy fabric to work on, for a boy who is having a birthday soon.
I do love sewing for my family, and I know that the day will come when I won’t have little ones to sew for. Boys will become men, and not desire train and truck fabrics anymore. How sad that seems right now! But I know that each season has its own joys and blessings.
I love this quote from Carolyn Mahaney’s book, Feminine Appeal:
“Let’s seize the opportunity we have right now to love our children with a phileo kind of love. Though it is easy to become distracted by the constant demands of motherhood, we must not lose sight of this fact: Our children are only young for a very brief time.
When my girls were little, it wasn’t always easy for me to wake up for those 2:00 A.M. feedings. Loneliness sometimes crept in when I missed an activity in order to put them to bed on time. I was eager to get them potty-trained and be done with the dirty diaper routine. Some days it felt as if that season would never end.
But frequently on trips to the grocery store a grandmother would stop to admire my little ones and leave me with this admonition: ‘Honey, enjoy them now because they grow up so quickly.’
How right those women were!…
Moms, you may be up to your earlobes with babies and dirty diapers. Or you may be spending half your life in the car, driving your children to and from numerous activities. In whatever stage of motherhood you find yourself, may I remind you of something? It won’t last very long.”
It is quite sobering to realize that it goes by so fast. I remember those days when I only had small children. It seemed it would never end. It seemed they would always be little and helpless. But now I have a daughter who is taller than I am and able to do everything for herself. As I look back, it really seems like it went by very fast. I’m starting to say things like, “It seems like it was only yesterday…”
A few months ago I went to get my driver’s license renewed. As I was calculating how old I would be the next time I needed to renew it, I realized that my oldest child would be 18! The next time I go to renew my license, my children will be 18, 16, 14, 12, and 8! How can that be!? In just 6 short years, several of my children will be pretty near grown-up. Makes me want to cry, be more diligent, focus, number my days, etc. I was amazed. That night, I got a piece of paper and wrote down all of our ages for each coming year. I just made a column with the years going down the left side of the paper, and wrote all of our names across the top of the page. I couldn’t believe how quickly everyone would be grown up. How short the time is.
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
~Ephesians 5:15-17
I hope you all have a lovely and blessed weekend, filled with friends and family and the things that matter most!
Hi Babychaser~
The girls' dress pattern I was referring to is McCall's M4432. It may be out of print (the date on mine is 2004), but you could probably find it on Ebay.
My new "much loved dress pattern" would be Miss Madeline by The Handmade Dress. No buttons or zippers to mess with and very fast to sew! I posted one I made here:
http://www.artfulhomemaking.com/2011/09/fall-sewing-and-knitting.html
Hope that helps!
Can you share what that "much loved basic dress pattern" is for your girls?? I'm in the market. 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment, Heather!
I learned to sew after I got married, and I'm so glad I learned. It's so much fun, and it is such a useful skill. I'm sure you'll do great!
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know about the typo on my apple dip recipe–I can't believe I typed sour cream! I guess I was probably tired when I typed that out. 🙂 Anyway, I've changed it, and I REALLY appreciate your letting me know!
Blessings to you,
Joy
I am newer to your blog & am enjoying it very much!! I have a sewing machine, but need to re-teach myself to sew. I learned in 6th grade but haven't touched a machine since! I am about to be married & greatly desire good sewing skills. My soon-to-be husband is already talking about the "great" curtains I'll make! 🙂 I also want to sew my own clothes & those of our future family.
On the Apple Dip recipe I noticed the ingredients call for sour cream but the directions say cream cheese. Just wanted to let you know! I can't wait to try it ~ sounds delicious!
Whoops, I didn't mean to leave such a long comment!
Have a blessed day!
~Heather