Tuesday, August 28, 2012

as it comes to an end...















Everyone has been talking about it... that feeling of fall creeping in. I didn't see it at first, but i'm starting to notice it now. What i have really been seeing though is more the end of summer than the beginning of fall... do you know what i mean? Dry golden grasses, apples full and turning red in the sun, gardens ripe and ready to harvest. I have such mixed feelings about the end of this season. I suppose the way i feel depends on how my day has gone. On those really hectic days i daydream about school starting and actually having quiet mornings to myself again. Then there are days like today where we all work together quite well, really enjoying each other's company, and the thought of them being gone all day just makes me sad. I also haven't accomplished even a quarter of the things i wanted to this summer. It just flew by so fast. I think i will still have time for many of those things once school starts, if the weather holds. One thing i won't have more time for is quality fun time with the kids. I meant to play with them more. It's crazy how easily my adult life gets in the way of that simple little task. I always think i will have time for it later, but some day soon the opportunity will completely disappear... at least for the older ones. I do have a small ray of hope in that department though. We are not signed up for any extracurricular activities this season... sigh.... and it feels so good. Then since i will have so much time to myself during the day, i have a goal to get all of my important things done early so that i can just focus on being mom when they get home (easier said than done... i made the same goal last year). I think this will be a good year for this goal. With maiko and layla gone for so long and even eislee gone for a couple hours, and also, our weekends will no longer be broken up with soccer games... i smile when i think of all the possibilities that will bring. We will see how it works out. My goals usually don't work out the way that i plan them. But at least when we are striving for the best... we get somewhere.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

painting, freezing, canning














  • painting my living room lemon verbena.... and loving it
  • canning albacore and tomato sauce (thanks to lisa)
  • freezing lots of blueberries (thanks to patti)
  • need to pick lots of blackberries and make jelly (blackberry jelly is our favorite)
  • loving sliced veggies drizzled with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and goat cheese..... yum
  • parts of my flower bed are really looking beautiful this year (the part i photographed).... the rest is hanging on but if i don't figure out a way to protect them from the chickens they will be doomed
  • that winter banana tree is just covered with apples this year (hard cider here i come!)
  • after a lot of loss we finally have a steady flock... and we are starting to get eggs again!!
  • i've been experimenting with making flowers out of book pages... we turned a few into hair clips and i really like them.... maybe i'll share a tutorial in the near future.... would you like that?
  • school starts in two weeks and it's bittersweet... on one hand i'm sooo ready for it... but on the other hand i am so sad that summer is already over.... there are definitely some things i'm going to miss
well.... that's what has been going on in our lives lately.... what about you?

Monday, August 13, 2012

three and eight


















goodness... life certainly has been moving at a lightening speed these days and in my attempts to keep up with it i have really been neglecting this space (i just noticed that my banner says spring.... spring?!?..... gees jenny.... it's halfway through august!)... i will try to do better. i really have a lot to share with you. there has been so much going on.... so many changes. poor maiko, his birthday was a bit chaotic. he spent most of it celebrating with a good friend of mine and her family while i took matt to lincoln city. we made the decision to permanently remain a family of six and matt's procedure got scheduled on maiko's birthday. we will be having a "bigger" party for maiko at the end of the month. he really wanted a special "kid's" party like layla had. well, i have an eight year old now. that feels a little crazy. 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

family camp


















we had great weather.... in a great spot by the water.... with some great company.... a perfect trip.