My Little Flower Bed

Out in front of our house is my little flower bed, it's the perfect size for me to keep up. It was fun planting this spring, and I enjoy going out and weeding when it needs it. It's nice to have a little color in the yard:).

This was before the tiger lilies started blooming.

Purple
Yellow

The Tiger lilies are now blooming and just today I was excited to see a humming bird going to the lilies and also my feeder for the first time. :)

Love is More Important

This poem helped remind me of what's truly important. Especially those times when I feel a little discouraged because I have to care for the baby and let the housework wait. I think I will print it out and frame it:). If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love- I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
But have not love- my children learn of cleanliness, not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before in picks up the toys.
Love is present though trials.
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive.
As a mother there is much I must teach my child,
but the greatest of all is…..LOVE.

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

"A gentle and quiet spirit is not only imperishable; it is precious in the sight of God. It's also one of the hardest qualities to cultivate. Far from a sign of weakness, a gentle and quiet spirit is the sign of a woman who is strong in faith, mind and character."

~Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

One Robin's Nest

Last month I discovered a robins nest down by the grain bins in our yard. Over the next few weeks I enjoyed quickly checking it whenever I would take Abigail for a walk by it in her stroller. The mom and dad birds. They were both protective of the nest and would fly quite close to me. You can see the male is a lot darker then the female.

The first time I found the nest it had four beautiful blue colored eggs in it. I love robins:).

A few days later this little fellow had hatched. Then there were two of them. The other two eggs never did hatch.The next time I went down to look there was a huge difference; one of the babies had already flown and this guy was ready to go as well. And finally, the empty nest. It was fun watching for a few weeks:).

Roses

A few days ago my husband surprised me with these flowers. I have always loved red and white roses and these were so perfect. :):)

Gorgeous roses
Beauty Red and White
They are so pretty I just had to take a few pictures:). I love my husband:).

-Doing Some Baking-

Making pies has never been a favorite activity of mine; (although I usually like the end results:)) for some reason I don't really enjoy working with pastry dough. It's funny, but before getting married, I would usually have one of my sisters make the dough while I made the filling for pies:). These days I make my own dough:) and the other day I made two pies, a strawberry and and an apple. If you haven't already you should try out this Strawberry Pie Recipe it has become my favorite pie:).

Getting ready to cook to cook the berries...

Almost ready for the oven..

Finished! A strawberry and apple pie:). What is your favorite kind of pie?

Easy Stovetop Granola

This recipe is a favorite of mine. I have made it quite a few times now and love it! It's great as a cereal with milk, or I also like it sprinkled on top of yogurt as a snack. It's easy and quick to make.

A bowl of yummy granola:)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon molasses
1 cup dried fruit and nuts

Add old-fashioned rolled oats and 1 tbsp butter to the pan and toast for 4 minutes. Spread the oatmeal on a cookie sheet to cool.

Using the same pan, melt butter, molasses, honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir untill well mixed and bubbly.

Add oatmeal back to pan along with any other dried fruits, seeds or nuts that you might like. Cook and stir for another 4-5 minutes.

Spread on a cookie sheet to cool. If you like little clusters of granola, spread it out very loosely and don't over-handle. Place in a 170 degree oven for a few minutes. Turn oven off and let granola rest for another 2-3 minutes before removing from oven. Store in an airtight container. If you like a softer granola, skip this step altogether. If you prefer it more crunchy, let it remain in the oven for a little longer -- it hardens while cooling. Enjoy!

Perspective For Mothers

"As the years go by, you forget the bad parts. Or at least you put them in perspective as unimportant. Before you know it, you're wishing you had a baby around again. But be careful not to wish you life away.

First you wish you were pregnant. And then you wish you had a big belly to show off. But when the belly gets to be a burden, you wish for labor to come. And as soon as it comes, you wish it were over. You wish for the baby, and then you wish he was older. You wish your children toilet trained and done with school. You wish them grown up. And then you get what you wish, and your children are gone, and you've wished motherhood away.

The time it takes to have a baby is so fleeting and so full of everything, that maybe there isn't opportunity to savor it until it's over. And when it's over, you're left with you photographs and your memories and your regrets that you didn't appreciate it all the more at the time. You forget how busy you were and how tired. You remember only how wonderful it was to be a mother, and is.

So savor every morsel of motherhood as it comes along. It's important to make it count."

~~ Alexandra McCall (slightly revised) ~~

2011 Seeding

On May 6th we were finally able to start seeding. Thus far it has been going relatively well with only a few mishaps (getting stuck, having things break etc.). This year we are growing: canola, wheat, flax, lentils, and alfalfa. There is a buddy seat in one of the tractors and Abigail and I have enjoyed riding with Graham.

Inside the tactor.

Looking behind us from inside the tractor.
Here we are stopped to add canola seed to the tank.

Some of the unseeded acres.

The tractor.

Acres already seeded with Canola.

Behind the drill.

Rock Paintings

I thought it would be fun to do a little rock painting, and so, after I found some smooth rocks at my in-laws, I had fun painting the below animals. :) Around a month ago I was able to get a bunch of acrylic paint for 40% off at a craft store so that's is what I used for these.

What I've done so far.

A little piglet, I think this one is my favorite:).

Lion.

Hamster.

Rabbit.