Shaking my Head

I wish you could meet Hope. She is a mess. Seriously, some days I just shake my head. 

So in this picture and has posted a note on Jacobs diaper that says STOP. STOL because he would not stop wiggling when she changed his diaper. Then it dawned on her I may be upset so she put a I love you sign on him. 

Pamela

Goat Accessories

Everyone put bows in their baby goats, right? Can you guess which child did this? 

Pamela

Walking

This little boy is so close to walking. He has taken a couple steps. Today he just stood up. Then looked at us like we were crazy for watching him. 

Pamela

Market Place

Grace and Michael have been working a farmers market at a assisted living home. It is twice a month. I have had so much fun doing this with them. 

I love watching them interact with the residents. I love the stories the residents tell me about when they had little children. 

I love working with my children and having time to talk to them.

I am a little sad that they will only be one more week of this farmers market. 

Pamela

A Day at the Park

I don't know about your house but at my house a trip to the park is not about the playground equipment.

Sure we use the swings and the slides and of course there is always a competition to see who can cross the monkey bars without falling. 

But then things change and my daughter rearranges the benches and my son takes time to read to his siblings. I love his heart. I love how they look up to him.

Pamela

Barbies

Every little boy has that one day when his big sister teaches him to play with Barbies. 

Pamela

Ignoring my Baby

When your momma bakes all day and ignores you then you have to be rewarded. 

So today he was rewarded with the spoon that had oatmeal cookie on it. 

  I love this little boy so much. 

Pamela

Lime Pickles

I have been working twice a month at a assisted living home. They have a market place and I sell baked goods and jelly. Sometimes they put in request. How do I say no to a little old lady? So when they asked for lime pickles I went on a search. What I did not realize is that it would take two days to make them.

First you soak them for two hours, then rinse three times and then soak over night. Then cook for 30 minutes before canning them. My husband says they taste like a sweet bread and butter pickle. 

I may have to think about how much time it will take for a recipe before trying it. 

Pamela

Peaches

I  am so excited to stock my pantry for this winter. Wait, who am I kidding it will probably be eaten by fall. 

Jacob could not wait to taste a peach for me. Now that I know they taste okay I will can them for pies. 

Or maybe I will just let this cutie eat them all. 

Pamela

Zucchini Chips

My zucchini has grown out of control this year. So we are freezing it and canning it and making chips. I cannot keep the dehydrator going fast enough.

Even Jacob loves the chips. Some we eat plain and some we add seasoning to. 

Zucchini and squash chips

1 zucchini 

1 squash 

Slice thin

Spray dehydrator and lay out 

Depending upon how thick you slice them will determine how long they take. I normally put mine in before bed and they are ready by morning. 

Pamela

Homemade Pizza

We love pizza. Seriously I could eat it several times a week. But man oh man is it expensive. We love to make pizza at home. Everyone can choose what toppings they want. 

What food do you enjoy making at home instead of buying from a store? 

Pamela

Feeling Beachie

The statements: 1. _Reading__ is my least _favorite subject to teach. No idea why because I love to read___ 2. When I was _little__ I thought _I would be a nun and I was not even Catholic.____ 3. My worst subject in high school was _history, the teacher was a football coach and I just did not think he taught a lot of history.__ 4. I write best __in the middle of the night when the house is quiet and my brain is rested. __.

Daddy's Love

Some days I wish we played the lottery. I wish I won the lottery so this man could stay home every day. Our children are so sad when dad is at work.

I love how they feel so safe in dad's arms. 

Pamela

Canning and Preparing

This week I took part of my farmers market earnings and bought a pressure canner/cooker. I am so excited to be able to stock my pantry with yummy food for this winter. 

I love the before and after colors of the green beans. I am determined to can a bunch more green beans over the next couple of weeks. 

The great thing about these green beans are that someone gave us the jars. I remember thinking I would never be able to use them all. 

Pamela

The Grand Opening

I love Sam's Club, seriously I love to walk around and find a cozy spot and nurse the baby. I love dreaming about buying ten containers of my favorite ink pens. Oh and the mini cafe. I can feed a family of 8 for about $12. WOOP WOOP, no this is not a sponsored post. I just love Sam's. The employes are always helpful and let me tell you when you walk in with seven kids not every place is friendly. 

I have not even started telling you about the samples all over the store. Seriously by the time they give us 8 samples I almost feel like I should buy the product. 

Okay, one more thing. We are business members which means we go in at seven am. Yes we are up that early. And when you arrive that early they have free drinks and pastries and fruit and I mean full size products for FREE. So double win. 

  Can you guess why I am talking about Sam's Club. BECAUSE THEY OPENED IN MY TOWN TODAY. Yes, I am totally screaming. Yes, it was hard to control my excitement walking in today. 

 I only took three children today because I knew my excitement would be too much for them. 

Okay, now that I have shared which store gets me all giddy tell me which one excites you. 

Pamela

Bathing in the Sink

Mommal is in town. That means baths in the sink and long walks. I honestly think she was wetter than he was. 

The kids will be sad to see her leave. 

Pamela

Napping

My poor mom. She is being used as a human pillow. Okay maybe she enjoyed it. I will say this is the longest nap he has had in weeks. 

Pamela

Date Night

I am so proud of myself. I rarely complain in a resteraunt because I know they work hard and no one appreciats what they do.

Well my husband and I went to lunch ALONE. We walked into a local pizza place. A plain pizza was $18. It was New York style pizza. I kept looking at the pizza and looking at it. It looked horrible. Normally I would just eat it because we were there. But not this time. I decided if I was going to splurge on a meal with my hubby then it needed to be good. So we walked next door and tried Jimmy Johns. It was decent food. It was nice to have something we could both enjoy. And as a added bonus we bought 6 sub rolls for .50 cents a piece that I will turn into pizza breads for dinner tonight. I may have to go back just for the .50 cent bread. 

Have you ever left someplace because the food did not look good? 

I will say I made sure to be overly nice to the lady making the pizza ( the only employee). She actually encouraged us to try another pizza place that everyone likes. 

Pamela

Strong Bonds

As I type this (not publish because then you would know when I was not home), but as I type I am in my car (isn't technology great) on my way home from a Strong Bonds marriage retreat. We had such a wonderful weekend. This weekend our focus was on the book, 7 Habits of a Succesful Marriage. Even after being married we can use a wake up call and some reminders. 

It was really nice to have time to set next to my husband and talk about our marriage. We ended up at a table by ourselves. I would normally not like that but this weekend we needed time alone. We needed time to not work on home improvements or take care of animals. Just time to set and discuss ways to improve our marriage. Time to work on a family plan. It was a craft project. I don't think I have ever used a glue stick with my husband before.

  I have so much I want to work into our daily life. Things like making a plan and sticking to it for 30 days and then revising it. What a neat idea. 

  When we told the kids we were going to a marriage retreat Faith said we did not need one because we were already close. Hope reminded her it was so we would start holding hands again and never stop. Where were the kids during all of this talking and crafting? Well that is a story for another day. 

Homemade Chips

Zucchini and squash chips. I cannot keep them made. I out them in the dehydrator before bed and they are done to send to work with my husband in the morning.

Jacob likes them plain but my husband adds ranch to him. Now I need to research how long they will keep. 

Pamela 

Corn Corn and More Corn

I am loving life. It is busy and crazy and wonderful.

This week we are focusing on corn. First we will can the corn and freeze a few and eat even more then we will use the empty cobs to make jelly. This is new and fun. Then feed the scraps to the chickens and goats. They love it. 

In between all of that we may have fun throwing the corn around the kitchen and  hitting each other with it. 

The kids still think it is fun so I am using them all I can. I am enjoying the time with them. 

Pamela

No Words

No words needed.

Pamela

Motivation and Clothes

This week my daughter wore the dress I wore almost two years ago when my husband came home from his last deployment. You know when I surprised him by loosing 81 pounds. I really think I need to re motivate myself. I want my clothes back. 

Now to find that motivation again. 

Pamela

Feeling Beachie

The statements: 1. When do you___worry about your health? When I am pregnant and realize I am taking care of more than myself.__ 2. Why is it that_spot on the carpet____? Oh wait, don’t tell me I do not really want to know. 3. During a__thunderstorm____ I __like to sneak out on the porch and watch how beautiful life really is.______ 4. Singing in the _shower______ is__my safe place because no one can hear me.____

Amazing Quality

There is a amazing lady at our farmers market who makes aprons. I recently asked her to make me a apron. After seeing how perfect it was I asked her to make Grace one. 

She surprised Grace by making a matching one for her American Girl doll. I was beyond thrilled. This same vendor made Faiths hoola hoop. 

Pamela

How Does Your Garden Grow

We are learning slowly. I had no idea how amazing the grass was here. I had no idea it would take over my garden. It has destroyed most of my garden. One of the only things that is growing perfectly is the zucchinis. I see lots of zucchini recipes in my future. 

Pamela

My Girl and her Pets

My little girl is growing up so fast. She has really thrived living here.

She comes in regularly with a new animal that she has found. I felt terrible when she brought me this little bird and said it was shaking. We gave it some water and watched it. Sadly a couple of minutes later it was gone. 

Pamela

Garden Fresh

It's happening, it's really happening. We may not have enough veggies for the entire winter but we are having a good trial run at it. This week we pulled out first corn and potatoes out of the garden. I honestly am already looking forward to next year and fixing the mistakes from this year. 

Pamela

Preparing

The kids have been helping me with the farmers market. One of the things they do is draw on the bags for me. This customers love it and it gives the kids something to do while I am preparing. 

Sunday Breakfast

These pictures may not look special to others but to me they are priceless. Let me explain our hero (daddy) leaves early each morning for work and on Saturdays we have the farmers market. So on Sunday we get up and take care of the animals and then set down for a breakfast together. 

It just gives us a few minutes to relax together and laugh together before everyone gets dressed for church. Even if the milk sets on the table longer than I like before being strained. Even if it means there is not time to do breakfast dishes. 

I don't really care about the dirty dishes or not having time to put on make up. I care about having time for my kids and memories. I care that we do not arrive at church stressed and unable to focus. 

Pamela

Green Beans and Time

Our green beans were consumed by the grass so we have bought green beans. Yes it is cheaper than canned but that is only half the benefit. The time setting together has been amazing. Hope looks upset in this picture but she said we should give up TV and do more things like this. 

Pamela