I’m making apple butter! I pulled out the canning supplies for the first time in years, scrounged up some jars from hither and yon, and heated up the kitchen (albeit during a fierce wave of heat and humidity–if a heat wave can actually last months.)
I first used the McIntosh apples from our backyard tree. It produced like crazy this year and the fruit was ready early. Then I acquired two buckets of Golden Delicious, which I am now processing. They are soft, so easy to cut up with the apple corer, and they cook up so nicely for apple butter. For the Golden Delicious, I have boiled the apple butter down a little more on the stove, after the crock pot cooking was done, for a thicker finished product.
Apple butter made in the crock pot is amazing—smells wonderful, tastes delicious, and Steve has been very appreciate of it. On a biscuit or raisin toast… yum. No need to even peel the apples during the process.
I used my immersion blender {affiliate link} to blend it up after cooking, and an apple slicer {affiliate link} has been marvelous, especially for the Golden Delicious which I mentioned are quite soft.
Farmer’s Market I’m hoping to sell some jars of apple butter at the Farmer’s Market in a few weeks, too. Since my last post —a Farmer’s Market has appeared in our town! My mom is hosting it every Saturday morning. During the last several weeks of summer, the girls baked items for it every week. Micah sold lemonade (a dream come true for him!) and homemade mint iced tea.
This was supposed to be a June post, but it has now become a July post. Somehow we always have too much going on around here, but as Steve said recently, “That’s just how we roll.”
It’s good to remember that your own crazy life will look a little different (or maybe a lot different) from anyone else’s. God isn’t in the comparison business; He knows you, and He made you and your family unique.
So here are my ponderings and ideas for this month (updated from June to July!), along with a few happenings, for whatever they’re worth!
Thinking: The Gift of Being There
I hear the door open and a family member enters the house. I may be in the kitchen cooking, or in the back room folding laundry, or working at my desk. After a few moments I inevitably hear the words, “Where’s Mom?” And I call back, “I’m in here!”
My husband or big kid comes to chat for a few minutes about wherever they’ve been, or whatever they are doing next. What a gift it is to be able to simply be there, to be a grounding presence in the lives of my people.
As women we may often feel inadequate. We may not always know what advice to give or how to respond to various situations, but let’s remind ourselves that just being there, lending a listening ear when needed, and providing a steady foundation goes a long, long way.
Gifting: Two gift ideas for Dads
Alas, Father’s Day is over for this year, but dads also have birthdays and may need a few Christmas gifts… so here are two items you may want to consider.
Each child is uniquely gifted by God. One of our roles as parents is to help the child discover those gifts and seek to draw them out to a place where the child is empowered to use those gifts to bless others and add light to the world. How can this be done? Here are some points.
Notice when your child “lights up.”
What activities do they do that they can’t wait to talk you about later? What makes their eyes light up?
One of my sons was looking back on a picture of himself walking in as a player to his very first football game. “Look at my face, Mom. That is pure joy right there.” Yes, it was pure joy, and starting into his fifth year of football, it is still pure joy.
Another son once told me one evening, “Tomorrow morning we are going to be down in the field filming a scene for my shortfilm.” You are?! Well, ok! This happened in a chain of events that did indeed lead up to him producing his first shortfilm.
Listen to what others say.
Other people can be extremely perceptive about your child. Where is your child naturally gifted, where does he shine? Sometimes others will easily pick up on it and they will likely comment on it. I heard someone say about a young man during a drama presentation, “He’s such a gifted communicator,” and I agreed—he delivered his lines with unusual charisma and finesse.
Allow/enable them to try new things.
One of our daughters wanted to make cakes. She wanted to spend her own money to get this cake-making kit {affiliate link}. After she brought it up several times, we ordered the kit. So far she has produced three cakes, each with two layers, with a homemade buttercream frosting. I worked with her step by step on the first cake. Since then, she has needed very little help from me.
Annalise’s Memorial Day cake that she designed and made.
The night before making one of her cakes, she said, “I’m going to get up early tomorrow because I’m going to be so excited about making my cake!”
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!
With all our farm eggs, I decided to make quiche recently. This easy recipe turned out to be delicious (I didn’t put any veggies in it, this time). I used frozen pie crusts and it came together in literally minutes.
Happenings: Grandparents’ Day
Grandparents’ Day at the children’s school was a special, heart-warming occasion. As I observed all the grandparents with the grandchildren, and heard the memories and “favorite things” shared by the children, it made me think about this role in new ways. (Food was mentioned most frequently of all.)
Toby, Olivia, Annalise, Micah, with my Mom (Grandma). It was so special having her there.Here’s my grandbaby… look how big she is already! ~Little Miss Autumn~
Thinking & Growing: The Journey of Child-Raising
Each child truly is an individual for whom God has a plan, a unique path.
As parents we have the trick of at first choosing for them, then guiding them, then eventually seeing them take flight to chart their own course, all while praying and providing advice and feedback along the way. It’s a process of relinquishing control.
There is no box; no magic formula. Although we can’t be certain of the outcome, we can be certain that God will push us out of our comfort zone(s) in parenting, in ways we never expected.
At our house we have had kids playing outside, and laundry hanging on the line! It’s been a whole new world after a long a bitterly cold winter. These warm early spring days can be some of the most enjoyable days of the year, when your skin remembers what it feels like to have sunshine soaking into it.
Thanks to Annalise for the amazing action shot!
Daily Planning &List-Making
I love my daily list. In my early years of homemaking, I used those narrow little $1 notepads. Oh for the days when all my tasks could fit so neatly into such a slim space!
Then I upgraded to a journal size, then a school notebook size, and then I recently found my ultimate dream in list-making… what is called an “Organizing Notebook” and is actually 9.5 x 11.5! It allows me to have a little more “margin in my days” literally, haha. I found it at Staples and hope to have such good fortune the next time I need a new notebook.
I have probably made this soup recipe more than any other. I love making it in the winter with fresh rolls. It’s simple and adaptable, and it makes great use of those frozen garden tomatoes. (This summer I will have to share about the no-fail, simplest-ever method for freezing tomatoes.)
I wrote this post in December of 2020, but it has been unpublished until now.
Micah has been extra clingy lately. He turned four in December. Suddenly he wants to never be separated from me, even for a milli-second, it seems. And that’s fine by me; I’ve been around this track a few times before. In his case, we are enjoying a little more uninterrupted bonding time than I had with the others at this age. Many of my four-year-olds had at least one if not two younger siblings.
I am well aware that it won’t last. His Mommy radar will inevitably fade with time. But for right now, it’s on high alert.
As a humorous but on-point illustration, here’s what he did the other day. He was having a fussy Saturday, this or that was causing him to fuss about this or that, all while being underfoot of the many tasks I wanted to accomplish that day. While I was doing laundry, I heard him calling me and fussing for me from the kitchen. Then, I clearly heard him call out: “Mommy, when you hear this bell, that means I need you!” A moment later: “DING!” He rang the bell that happened to be sitting on the counter. (One of those silver bells that you ring at a storefront counter top. It belongs with one of our board games in the basement.)
I followed the call of the bell and came into the kitchen to see what he needed. He was quite pleased with his success and I was amused about the bell.
A little bit later, he came hobbling through the dining room with one flip flop on one foot. (I have no idea why the flip flop.) He hobbled over to the bell and rang it loud and clear. Steve and I both started chuckling and I said, “What do you need, Micah?”
“Mommy, I hurt my foot!” So I went over and comforted him and gave him a kiss.
Micah, now age 5. “Give me an underdog, Mommy!”
Between every mother and child is a built-in Mommy Bell.
Who can understand the jibberish of a toddler? Only Mommy. Have you ever noticed that if a little child is trying to say something, other adults automatically look to the mom to find out what the child is trying to say. And she knows, 99% of the time. The child knows that when nobody else understands, they should tell Mommy. She can help.
I heard once about a little girl whose mother was studying in medical school, whose father was caring for her each day. The daddy of this little girl told me, “I take her to story time at the library, and she goes around the room and sits in the laps of all the mommies there. She doesn’t want me.”
Some days we are just so tired. There are needs on every hand and want to resist, ignore, or avoid that incessant bell. We can become depleted and utterly worn out with all the needs. But we have to mentally step back and remember that being called Mommy is an extremely privileged position to be in.
So on this Mother’s Day, I say let the Mommy bell ring! It’s a beautiful (if exhausting and often incessant) sound, and it signifies a position of infinite worth. Along with that figurative bell come the best hugs and the shining eyes and the tiny bouquets and a lifetime of love. Happy Mother’s Day! ♥
Micah is a thoughtful child and he has a way of saying things that my other kids didn’t necessarily verbalize. Here are three recent little exchanges that give us glimpses into the heart and mind of a four-(soon to be five)-year-old boy.
We have a little section of wall in the hallway where the kids mark their height from time to time. We were looking at it a few days ago and remarking over the growth of each one. Me: “Wow Micah, you are getting so big!” Micah: “Well, I don’t want to grow up and get married. I’m never going to get married!” Me: “Why not?” Micah: “Because then I will have to go away from you. I’m never going away from you!”
So much to share! I’m popping in with some various links, ideas, and news!
Rise and Worship Album
We’ve listened to this album countless times since Joshua brought it to our attention early this year. Refreshing, convicting, artfully done, worshipful, Christ-honoring. I want to fill our home with this kind of soul food.
An idea for children’s artwork
Children go through (sometimes lengthy) stages of wanting to create various types of art. What to do with all the masterpieces? You hate to throw them away, but can’t line all your walls with coloring pages held up by painter’s tape, either. (Side note: Painter’s tape does work well for temporarily hanging art work.)
I have ended up stashing the artwork papers in a “file” (using that term very loosely) and then going back to the collection on various occasions. Does someone need a letter sent to them in the mail? Or a birthday card? Do big brothers need a care package? We pull out the stash and look through. Such cries of delight as my young ones find treasures they had forgotten about. They select the perfect one, we write some words on it, and voila! Ready to go! Now to gather up the artwork spread out all over the floor…
~a small sampling of our current stash~
History Recommendation In my February Patchwork Post, I recommended a history book. Unfortunately, I will have to retract that recommendation, since the denominational and doctrinal ideas ended up being just too distracting from the history we were setting out to learn.
Now THAT’S a fish! Sammy has been fishing as much as he possibly can, lately. Here’s a 4 pound bass he caught while out with his Uncle Tim. (Uncle Tims are just the best. Everybody needs one– and we are blessed with one on each side of the family!)
Treasuring Home 