Whimsical Wednesday....

A Daybook.....

For today, Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Outside my window....I see a hammock under a tree, leaves blowing in the breeze, and big billowy white clouds.
I am thinking....I wish it would rain. I would like to go for a run. It's soon quiet time for the kids.
I am thankful for....health, strength, a husband committed to his family, girls who sing while coloring, a baby who always finds me when I am vacuuming, so he can play with it.
From the learning room.....it's always amazing to listen to and watch my girls read.
From the kitchen....I'd really like to learn to make a good sandwich bread. Nothing to heavy, but just right for sandwiches.
I am reading....Captivating by Stasi Eldredge and Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clark and Sally Clarkson
I am hoping....that we will be able to make some decisions soon that need to be made (could I be any more vague?!) , and that our crops make a good yield this year. That our children will have truly grateful hearts and desire to bless others with their own blessings.
I am hearing....my girls singing as they color, my washing machine in the spin cycle, the distant grumble of thunder
Around the house....I need to finish the laundry, wash my kitchen floor, light a candle
One of my favorite things....the stillness of the house during "quiet time", the satisfaction of a good nap after playing hard
A few plans for the rest of the week.....get caught up on housework, maybe bake some things to freeze, in anticipation of vacation bible school next week
Here is a picture thought I am sharing.....

God is faithful. All the time. Anywhere. Whenever I see a rainbow, I am always reminded of that eternal truth.

What I am reading.....

What am I reading? Not a whole lot! I have found that during this season of my life, with a bunch of littles running amok, I don't always have a lot of time for reading. Most reading I do is children books, or the short magazine article. I am reading a daily Bible reading plan, which I am amazed that I have stuck with it. Unfortunately, I don't always have follow through in that area.
But, I do have two books that I have been squeezing in during "quiet times" or after the kids go to bed. I am reading, "Anne of Ingleside" by L.M. Montgomery. I love her books. I read through the Anne series faithfully almost every year. This is actually my second time reading this particular book this year. I love to read this book when I am feeling frustrated with parenting. Not at my children, but frustrated with myself. I just read this book and realize that I take myself too seriously sometimes and that laughing is allowed. Not only allowed, but MUST happen. One of my favorite lines in the book is from Susan, the housekeeper, "Some folks think they (babies) are luxuries,' I said, 'but at Ingleside we think they are necessities.'" It just makes me smile.
The other book I am reading is called, "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson. I am really enjoying this book. Some of my favorite quotes, regarding books...
     "Give us a house furnished with books rather than furniture! Both, if you can, but books at any rate!" by Henry Ward Beecher
"To be a genuine lover of books no house is completely furnished which has not a good many of them, not arranged formally in one room, but scattered all over the house." Margaret E. Sangster
"Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books-even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome." William Gladstone
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." Charles W. Eliot
Shelves of books just make me happy. Especially old books. Old hardback books, that have been well-loved. Dog-eared pages. It just makes me happy.
This book encourages home-teaching according to the Charlotte Mason theory, which has captivated my attention since first hearing about her. She believed in teaching children from "living books". Whole books. Great literature.  So this year for homeschooling, I am taking a step off the edge and trying a free curriculum called Ambleside online. They give you a book list and week by week what you should be teaching, and you do your thing. You can buy the books or get them from your public library. But they are whole books, not textbooks. So I have been having fun getting my packages from Amazon the last few weeks. I want to have a good private library for our children, especially since the public library isn't very close for us to use frequently and is pretty small. Plus, trying school this way has cut my curriculum bill in half. Which is amazing.
I am hoping to instill a love of reading in my children so that in the future that is what they will turn to for entertainment rather then the television or computer.
What are you reading????

What we've been up to.....

I can't believe we are almost halfway through July.....really? Where is the time going? It feels as though we've been going and going these last couple of weeks. But barley is harvested. And the barley straw is baled. And the straw is stacked and tarped. Yay!!!!

 This is one of the enormous stacks of barley straw that we tarped on Saturday night. There is something magical that happens when you are up against the clock, in  our case, a major storm coming our way, and everything and everyone works together. We were able to get two stacks of straw tarped before it got dark, and the storm actually went around us and didn't get us drenched! We were pretty thankful!

 Straw bales in the field, needing to be stacked. There were lots of these. The guys worked so hard!

This is the view of the bins from our house. It's about three to four miles away. You can see pretty far out here!

It is monsoon season here now. We don't consider it officially monsoon until around the 4th of July. This is the time of year when we get some more humidity in the air and some amazing clouds during the day! It is so cool to watch the storms build over the mountains. We got half an inch a couple weeks ago, but before that, it had been a good seven or eight months since we got any rain. Any. We didn't get any winter moisture this past year, which is unusual. We desperately need a good monsoon.

 In other news, if anyone has heard about a raspberry shortage in Arizona, it is due to this little guy. He is known for downing a whole container himself. In five minutes. Flat.

 He's pretty cute, so we cut him some slack around here.

Huckleberry Pie will be turning one in about three weeks now. Sigh. My baby is growing up. He pulls himself up on anything and everything. He is trying to talk. He crawls faster then the speed of light. You think it's safe to open the fridge and boom! There he is, getting smacked in the head with the door. Not that I've ever done that or anything!

And finally, this is the sunrise this past Sunday morning. I was up around five, amazingly, and was quick enough to catch a couple pictures of the sun rising over the mountains. Breathtaking. Thanks for stopping by!