Thinking: The reason for motherhood

Have you ever considered the why behind motherhood? What is the framework for thinking properly about it? After 25 years of motherhood, I will share two brief thoughts that I think are foundational to our comprehension of this God-given role.

The why behind motherhood is first of all the covenantal love between a man and a woman. It is the beautiful and natural result of that sacred love. Second, our ideas about motherhood are best held within a framework of self-sacrifice (not self-fulfillment or self-glorification).

Yes, it is a giving up of yourself! And this is good, wholesome, and entirely redemptive. God has big purposes in putting us through the school of motherhood, so it will be tough and at times seem to be possibly the least fulfilling thing you have ever done. Hang in there, work is in progress, you are not at the end of the story.

Gardening: Outdoors on the farm

My irises are blooming for the first time since we moved out here (this is our third spring here). I moved the bulbs from our previous house and had given up hope of them ever blooming again. But then~ this!

And this!

I’ve been slowly converting this spot to a whimsical little flower and herb garden. The kids have helped me with various aspects of it. I think this will be all for this year, and hope to expand it again next year.

We added four fruit trees along the front of the property, mainly inspired by some incredible blossoms on my parents’ nectarine trees earlier this spring. We chose two nectarine and two plum trees.

Annalise planted a little pine tree that she brought home from school. I think it is so special to have this tree that she planted.

Asparagus! We have been enjoying it frequently, gave some away, and sold some!

Podcasting

May Episode: Solving Einstein’s Greatest Mystery (Einstein’s Biggest Mistake) This episode also includes an interview with Larry, age 79, who shares about his experience for the past five years with supplementing Dr. Aardsma’s Anti-Aging Vitamins.

Gifting: Homemade “A-Z” Book

Here is another homemade gift idea from Micah, age 8, who loves to be creative with his gifts. He decided to make a book for his older brother called “Things I Love About Ethan” and make a page for each letter of the alphabet, choosing a descriptive word beginning with each letter. He needed help with some ideas for a few of the pages. He drew little pictures on some of the pages, and stapled it all together. Ethan enjoyed the gift very much.

Reading

Here are two outstanding articles I read recently.

The Pain of Being Raised Different – A mature perspective, offering helpful thoughts for parents navigating today’s culture with their children.

When your husband asks, ‘What do you do all day?‘ – Inspired me to clean for an hour! But the deeper philosophy behind the post also rings true with me.

Cooking: Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

This is a great recipe and an excellent go-to for Sunday dinners (I usually make it as a side dish with a pork chop recipe), or for potlucks, or anytime at all! My crew loves it and the excitement is real when they find out this is on the menu for Sunday dinner. Leftovers make a good breakfast side dish, too. Comfort food at its finest.

“To have comfort food, there needs to be a comfort person.” – Rachel Jankovic

Learning: the Merlin Bird ID App

One of my sisters showed us this incredible app: Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab. It will listen to the bird sounds around you and identify them (even multiple bird sounds at once!), showing you images of the birds, and highlighting the bird as it is chirping! We have been enjoying it while working on our front porch. I am very surprised by the wide variety of birds we have around the property. By using this app we discovered this pair of American house finches has a nest up in the corner of our porch!