What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Vibrance

At least she had the decency to color coordinate.



 



Auntie Beth came for a visit and she bears the proof of a smooch.



 
Beef Stew, before

Beef Stew, after

After church, we all shed our fancy duds and babies once again walk around in their skivvies.
The fancy sash never made it entirely off of Ineke, resting atop her mushroom head instead of wrapped around her protruding belly.


Corynn in her very own flower garden this year


Andrew in his very own patch





The garden may be lacking this year...but not the flowers.  

The last day of August is upon us and I know it won't be long before the amazing vibrance of summer moves aside for the more muted burgundy, mustards and rusty hues of autumn.  It's coming.  I feel it in the weighty air.   I am these crazy urges for scented candles, hot showers and comfort food.  Maybe I'll actually pick up some knitting again one of these days.

This weekend is a busy one~ Corynn and Judah are having birthdays on Saturday, the same day I hope to set up at our community rummage sales.  Proceeds go to the girls' room re-do fund and, as that is a (hopefully) fall project, that envelope needs to get filled quickly!  Not to mention, I am tired of the Granary being filled with yard sale bins, adult consignment bins, childrens' consignment bins.  At this point, I am ready to just donate it all and clear out the granary once and for all.  (Well, until the next time, if we are being honest here.)  

I cleaned out our murky, mucky, dank basement last weekend and took a load to scrapmetal, a load of recycleable plastics to the recycle center, set a bunch of stuff for garbage and washed the musty, gross clothes.  It is as spiffy as a wet floor, low ceiling old farmhouse basement can get and I felt pretty accomplished.  When the Granary is emptied too- well, that is going to be a pretty great feeling.

Judah has asked for another backhoe cake (I wonder when he will grow out of these?) and Corynn has chosen macarons for her birthday dessert wish.  I have never made them before and am nervous about the whole thing....but they are something I've always wanted to make- so I am happy for the excuse to actually do it.  Hopefully, they won't be a total flop.  

Usually we have nearby relatives drop by in the evenings which means the house will need to be spiffed up for company before evening too. 

I am not sure how I will accomplish all of this in the midst of having a yard sale- but, we'll see.  

  Amazingly, both Corynn and Judah chose Cheeseburger Soup so I only have to make ONE birthday meal request instead of two- and an easy one at that.  I'll make some lard biscuits to go with it.  The whole meal can be made a day ahead- and possibly the macarons (does anyone know this to be true?)- which would leave Saturday free for the busyness that comes with having a yard sale.

And after the yard sale and birthdays are over, school must inevitably begin again.

Goodbye August.  You've been good to me.  

Let the September Hustle begin.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your flowers are beautiful, but the children even more so! I love how you gave them an area to create a flower patch of their own. What sweet memories they're making!

You know I will be writing a post soon about why I no longer have yard sales. I used to have 2+ a year, as many of my friends would have them and we would combine all our stuff for one big sale.

Cheeseburger soup? That sounds delicious, any chance you could post a pic/recipe or link or it? My children enjoy picking out a birthday meal as well and it's always neat to see what they will ask for!

With an hello and hug from the South, I hope you have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Jeanette and I made macarons a year or two ago and they weren't too difficult and turned out as expected. I don't recall whether they were a "keeper". Actually in a house with 2 teens it is highly unlikely that any were left by the next day to see how well that might have held up. Sounds like a fun party!

Alyssa Spring said...

I haven't stopped by your little space in almost a year - and oh my goodness you children are growing so tall and just glowing with goodness and your flowers are as beautiful as ever.

Abigail said...


Happiest of days to them both, and way to go on the birthday meal request, children! Just don't put in a packet of cilantro from the freezer instead of basil, and it'll be a success (recalling my "easy birthday meal" of goulash with Luci, sigh). I have some lard to spare for those biscuits if you're in need of any. (Har, har.)

Hope your day goes smoothly. Birthdays are busy enough without yard sales! I vote for making the macarons ahead. They keep well overnight in the fridge, and then you're set for the morrow. I hope Saturday doesn't kill you, mostly because I like you bunches, but also because the children have been bemoaning the fact that it'll have been ONE WHOLE MONTH since we've last seen you. Horrors! I don't know if they'd be able to survive five weeks apart!


Abigail said...

p.s. I meant to electronically high-five you for diligently tackling the basement. High five! (..while simultaneously repressing guilt for the state of mine.)

Amy Marie said...

FLOWERS, GLORIOUS, FLOWERS! What is that multi colored pointing hydrangea called? Wowsers. GORGEOUS. Happy Birthday to your kidlets! And thank you for all the beautiful letters, I have quite a pile here, I just need to buckle down and write, I get paralyzed by wanting to make them beautiful like you do and then don't send anything. :P ;)

julie said...

Oh please do post the recipe for Cheeseburger Soup! With fall just around the corner, that sounds so delicious.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing bits of your life and these amazing pictures with us. I am from Germany my and love your blog so much. It is honest and inspiring and your fotos are beautiful.