My niece

Matt was out of town, so I invited my niece to a pj party. Pizza. Popcorn. Movie. Ice cream. and BLINK! and Zigity tournaments.
And before she left, I snapped a few, as is customary.

to boot

Then out pops a sneaking Pip...

I love Corynn's wide-mouthed laugh in this one. Who knew zipping a coat could be so HILARIOUS!?!?

Escapees

On our way home from church, we had the surprise of a lifetime when we saw with our own eyes some escaped mountain goats from a local farm. Matt had heard something or other of some nonconformist goats making their getaway but thought nothing of it until we saw them practically in our own backyard.

All three were there grazing, in the clearing just before our lane.

One word: Majestic

I can't get over their scruffy fur and the horns....

Oh MY~the horns! I could lose myself in those beauties

That's Mr. Tumnus there on the right. We look for them every time we leave our driveway, and most often they are there. I hope one day they might venture just a bit further into our yard. Maybe when the apples are falling and the veggies are filling our patch? I might even welcome their nibbles if it means getting a closer look...

Dinner conversation sans words

It is the simplest things in life that are the most beautiful.

The most special moments in life are those that require no money, only heart.

And the petri dish of those multiplying moments is often the dinner table. With the exception of Friday night movie night, every meal centers around the table in our house.

Here is why...

A Mama in the kitchen preparing homecooked food, meals made with "Mama sugar" (bits of love poured by the cupful) for her loves, conveys the message "I work happily for YOU to meet your needs".

Taking time to ENJOY the food helps the cook feel appreciated. It is a nonverbal "Thank you for your hard work. I appreciate it."

Waiting to eat until Papa comes home, well past dark and long after bellies begin their first rumbles, says "Papa, dinner wouldn't be the same without you and you are worth the wait."

Gathering round the table, looking into each others' eyes instead of a TV screen, shows that "YOU are what is important this moment."

Laughing and sharing together makes it obvious that "what you are thinking MATTERS, and we care".

Bowed heads and spoken prayers teach that thankfulness to the Giver and reliance upon Him ought to be the center of everything.

The Liturgy of dinnertime...

Faith and thanks directed to God in prayer.

Strengthening, deepening and enriching the family through communion and fellowship with one another.

All to soon, the approaching end circles round again to the beginning; that is, directed to God and our worship of Him. Matt's voice, comfortable and reassuring, reads scripture. Big and little voices marry with boisterous song, hands meet with loud, rhythmic claps, all the while lips curl and eyes twinkle with merriment. Then heads bow low again in reverent conversation with Father God.

Dinner just wouldn't be the same if any of these things were missing.

Something would be sorely lacking.

And that is how I feel when Mattie is out of town: it almost aches to sit down "together" while the seat at the head of the table is empty.

So glad it is almost over.

We miss you so.

Wish there were sound bites

Because when this man sings, he means it.

Even a stoic girl by nature can get into it.

And THESE two?!? Well, these two require me to MAKE a sound bite, because I never want to forget what two little voices belting out the psalms sounds like.

Even the littlest is impressed.

From the Mouths of Babes

Corynn, after having been sternly spoken to about something she did wrong, whimpered..."sometimes we fall short, Mama." Such big words and thoughts from such a little girl. Words echoed from my very own mouth. I realized how much she looks up to, learns from and imitates me. A humbling and frightening notion.

Recent prayers from the table:

From 5 year old: "Lord, help us to remember that your law is sweeter than honey."

From 2 year old: "Dank you for da yummy Lord duppa bwead. and Pweez. Bawack Obama wuv you."

***I will never regret avoiding rote prayers and instead, encouraging and training the children to pray about anything that is on their hearts. It is likely my most cherished time of the day, and the most eye-opening to their condition. Such big, BIG thoughts have come from their little souls. ***

And some funnies~~~~

From the 2-yr old manlet:

Andrew now, whenever he is poured a glass of milk, asks "Is dis cow's mulk or horse mulk?" Likewise, when served meat the question arises "Is dis horse meat?" (We have never served horse meat OR milk, by the way.)

Panda-isms:
Marshmellows= mashmehehehewoahs
Adele'= A da way

When we were walking to the car after we were done grocery shopping one day, Andrew let go of the cart and started racing to the car. This is something that I have been working on with him. We got in the car and I told him that when we got home he would have to get a spanking because he knows that is not okay and that it is very very dangerous to do that. Then, his big brown eyes got big and round and began bobbing atop his tears when he said in a woefully pathetic voice: "Mama. Spankins hurt. You know dat?! You beweave dat Mama?" Yes, I DO believe that Andrew-they are supposed to!

When Andrew goes on the potty or does something very "grown up" he says "Dats becuz me a BIG boy." but if there is something that he can not do he will say "But Mama! Me just a very wittle boy!!"

And everynight before bed, as I tuck him in, I ask the question "What will you be dreaming of tonight?" and each night he wraps his chubby arms around my neck and says "You, Mama." And then, I turn to putty.

Little Miss Corynn, five year old flowerchild:

Looking at a history timeline book, discovered a drawing of women wearing skirts but not shirts and said in a very matter-of-fact voice "That woman doesn't have a shirt on! She isn't being very HONEST!" Obviously mixing up the word for modest.

Corynn was explaining about a backpack, which she still refers to as "Packpack". Andrew joined in on the conversation and spoke the word properly when big sister corrected him "Andrew. It ISN'T BACKpack, silly. It's PACKPACK."

Speaking of Corynnisms: Kiss is STILL "Tiss" but very quickly she is losing all her mispronunciations and replacing them with large word experimentations.

Miss Adele' is just a mite too young for stories just yet.

And from the Papa, husband extraordinaire

We were talking right along about storing food when he suggested that we dehydrate water to save storage space. Of course, he continued without a jilt and maintained composure and a serious voice the whole time. That just tickled my funny bone. The man cracks me up.

10 Second Tidy

What if someone calls in the morning and very spontaneously, you invite them over~and they will arrive in about 20 minutes or so?

Add to that~a migraine the night before so a full sink of dirty dishes, the last day before grocery day so pantry is bare, you-still in your bathrobe because hubby just left for a business trip and you wanted to see him off, and the day after a mighty full weekend (is it just me or does the house always get TRASHED on the weekend?!?).

What would you do?

This is my lightning quick, hastily done fix to ensure that the house is welcoming when they arrive. (Even if it is in a state of disrepair when they were invited.)

In order of priority.

1) Light smelly candle and put it on the table by the door. When they walk in, if nothing else, it will smell nice.
2) Clean up the first room the guests walk into; in our case, the dining room. First impressions are always important. Clear the table and tidy floor. Push in chairs.
3) Glance in the fridge to evaluate groceries and what you might offer for lunch. Put tea kettle on.
4) Head to the bathroom, picking up toys and hurling them to the toybox as you pass them. Wipe down sink and clean toilet.
5) Shower and while doing so, figure out what food you can offer. English Muffin pizzas for children and chicken quesadillas for adults. CHECK.
6) After you dry off, put load of dirty clothes in the washing machine to wait there until you can wash them. (That's what stinks about having your laundry in your bathroom. There just ain't no hiding it!)
7th) Make peppermint tea and in lieu of the cookies you DON'T have, make individual pudding cups with whipped cream and garnished with leftover pineapple from fridge.
8th) Pick up toys and tidy rooms that you'll be using.
9th) Handwash DISHES (if ONLY I had a dishwasher!!!)

With toilets fresh, sinks empty, the house smelling nice, and the floor relatively free from clutter you can convince people you are a phenomenal housekeeper, even if you haven't swept in days or dusted in weeks.

And remember: food doesn't have to be fancy to be welcoming.

Ask me how I know!!! ;-)

Hello. My name is Rebecca and I have entirely too little time to be doing this-but here goes anyway.

I've done it.

For months and months I've wondered how I could try out making some revenue on blogging, or in the very least, participate in giveaways that require a blog post without filling up our families' memory-box blog with silly things not related at all to our family.

Today, I came across three opportunities that required blogging about a product and I thought, "Well, if ever I were to do it, now is the time!"

And so, Fluffernutter was born. A place where I will blog about giveaways, product reviews, allow advertisements.

And because I think it is sinful to post without photos, I will include photos of generic things like flowers and birds and so forth here-or the product that is being reviewed. And maybe, just maybe, I can score us a few goodies and some chinking change for our curriculum costs envelope! (Yep, I'm a Dave Ramsey fan! hehehe)

Go check it out here:

http://renaissancefluff.blogspot.com/

Seeds and Spring

I've seen many a blue JAY in my lifetime, but never a bluebird (and I've seen me some birds!!!). UNTIL, that is, I heard the call and saw a blue flutter onto our very own branch upon our very own tree right out of our very own kitchen window.

Each birdsong heard gives me a moments pause. "It is coming!" their high pitched twitters call.

The sun, its rays less pure and more golden, looks and touches with more warmth. A warm, low "It's coming" is heard as it kisses my cheek.

Even the creek babbles in anticipation. "It's coming! It's COMING!" the bubbly cry sputters as it races down the hill to spread the news.

Green heads burst from their frozen brown beds and bound toward their new life in happy relief, "Coming, it is! We feel it!"

And bodies, from homes of every kind, unfurl, uncurl, and crawl out into the sunshine, stretching heavenward and breathing deep. Inhaling calm, after such a long time of protecting from the harsh. We know it. We feel it. It IS coming.

SPRING is drawing near and the world is in a tizzy preparing for that great day!

I too, sit inside with windows open for just a FEW minutes, letting breezes fly into and freshen my home before the cool breeze, preparing for warmed soil and sun. For Springs arrival and the grand reception I'd like to offer her.

After two years of not being able to plant, again I get to till and toil in life-feeding earth. Two years worth of yearning makes the anticipation and planning twice as sweet and twice as exciting.

Oh, the many hours I've enjoyed flipping through seed catalog. How wonderful it felt to place my order and fork over money set aside in white envelope labeled "GARDEN!"

Our very own place, one that Lord willing will someday be ours PERMANENTLY, now has opportunity to plant and plant the many beautiful perennials and fruits that I've dreamed of for so, so very many years.

But alas.

White envelope with many days of scrimping stretches only so far.

The "pretties" I long for will have to be found in the little yellows flowers of pumpkin plants and zucchini, the purple fireworks of chive flowers, the bright shiny reds of tomato and the greens---OH, the GREENS! EVERYWHERE!

I tried where ever possible to order Heirloom seeds so that I might save their babies to plant new, rather than continue ordering and ordering. This way, perhaps NEXT year, envelope might pay for some of those fragrant, superfluous beauties! ;-) I also sought out good storers for my first attempt at root cellaring.

Here is the order, eagerly anticipated and cause for many a good day (and even night) dream. The (H) refers to Heirloom.

(H) Top Crop Green Beans
(H) Kentucky Wonderwax pole beans
(H) Cylindra Beets
(H) Lutz Green Leaf Beets
Brussel Sprouts~ Bubbles Hybrid
(H) Giant Pascal Celery
(H) Chicago Pickling Cucumber
California White GARLIC
Sweet Basil
(H) Progress #9 Garden Pea
(H) Extra Early Little Marvel Garden Pea
Wando Green Pea
Green Arrow Green Pea
(H) Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Peas
(H) Chinese Giant Bell Peppers
Early Spanish Peanuts
Early Jalepeno
Banana Bill Hybrid Pepper
Kennebec Potato
(H) Ground Cherry Tomatoes
Summer Squash Medly
(H) Burgess Buttercup
Waltham Butternut Squash
Ghost Rider Pumpkin
Ebony Acorn

Matt had previously ordered seeds for:
(These are all heirloom, I think...)

Spinach and Mustard Spinach
Lettuce
St. Valery Carrot
Australian Brown Onion
Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage
White Box Radish
Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe
Tendersweet Yellow Watermelon
Sugarbaby Watermelon
Boule d'Or Melon
Gentlemans Corn
Bride Corn
Calypso Bean
Jacob Cattle Bean
Painted Pony Bean
Sunray Tomato
Stupice Tomato

CHUMS

I feel compelled to actually use VOCABULARY instead of just posting redundant photographs all the time. I think it's time to "use my words".

~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was pregnant with baby #2, knowing the little being inside would eventually take up residence OUTSIDE of the serene, solitary womb-home and come into the loud, boisterous real-life world (with a SISTER!), I worried and fretted about how to ensure that my children would grow up to be friends. When said baby turned out to be a wee little Panda-boy, I worried even more, knowing that boys and girls just don't share the same thoughts, interests and mindsets.

HOW could I encourage their relationship to be close without sacrificing their differences and individuality? God made boys and girls different, and rightly so. They ARE different and are HERE to fulfill different purposes.

I have a special bond with my boychild, but I will not (cannot) allow him to become a Mama's boy. Why? Because Mama's boys are not what God intended for men to be, and eventually (even though often without our notice) they DO grow up. Boys need to be encouraged to become strong men and leaders. The Lord knows we need more of those! He can't be that if he is coddled.

In the same respect, I want my daughter to be raised to value her femininity and find not only contentment in her God-given roles, but happiness. She, as a young lady (and she puffs with pride everytime Papa calls her that), needs to be prepared for a life of service. Because that is what the life of a wife and mother IS.

Now, don't get me wrong: I was an upside-down-hangin', haymow jumpin' girl who could tackle the best of them, but I knew (and valued) my God-given role as a someday woman. My lanky legs could race (and beat) just about anyone, but from the time I could speak, when asked what I wanted to be in life, my answer was always "A mother. To A DOZEN children!" ;-)

Boys and girls need different things out of life, need to be treated differently... I am reminded more so every single day that I parent both genders.

So how does one foster a close relationship with children who have entirely different frameworks?

Wellll, since I am the ultimate authority, here is what I suggest....

(I hope you know that the above sentence was said in absolute sarcasm...)

Here are some of the things that have worked for us:

* Don't wait for playdates. WHO NEEDS 'EM?!? I'm not a fan of playdates anyway, for various reasons (don't get me started), but your children don't need to rely on "outside friends" to have fun. Stress the gift of them being together and they'll soon see it for themselves.

* Refer to them as friends. If a child is leaving their brother/sister out of the fun, I remind them that their sibling is their best friend, and that a having a brother or sister to play with ALL the time is God's gift to them.

* Encourage your child to participate in the other childs' interests. Andrew has a doll and Corynn plays with trucks. They play these things, not because it particularly interests them, but because they want to PLAY with each other and share in each others' lives.

* Sharing a room. I'll forever be a fan of sharing rooms, while they are little anyway. It is great fun (and at times a bother) to hear them chatting to each other or singing songs after lights are out. They wouldn't be nearly as close if they didn't live CLOSE in proximity to one another all the time.

*Along those same lines, homeschooling really builds the opportunity for close ties because again, they are sharing most of their time with one another instead of a classroom full of OTHER kids. Let's face it, unless they are twins, siblings often don't go to school "together" anymore. Long gone are the days of the one room schoolhouse.

* Boys need respect and need to feel respected. We tell Corynn often to be respectful to her brother. That means not talking down to him and always speaking respectfully. (This is good training ground for respecting husbands.)

*Girls tend to need more tenderness, so Andrew understands that he must be more gentle with his sisters. He can rough-house all he wants with Matt, but sisters should be treated with care. (Again, I hope that I am helping to raise up a tender husband for one of your daughters out there! hehehe)

* Don't compare your children to their siblings in a negative way. "Well, JOHNNY does SO and so. WHY can't you be more like HIM?!?!" Yikes. That is BAD news. Doing so will only add a hearty measure of resentment toward one another.

* Likewise, when the inevitable argument eventually breaks out-listen to BOTH sides of the story and don't automatically assume the responsible party. There are two sides to every story and each should be given equal attention.

And probably the biggest:

**** There is a zero-tolerance in our home for mocking or name calling. Simply is not tolerated, under any circumstances. The children can speak kindly or not at all.

Children who feel belittled by another will obviously not have a good relationship with the offender. I know I wouldn't want to have a relationship with someone who constantly belittles me or mocks me. I won't expect from my children what I don't expect from myself.

Your home ought to be a safe haven for those you love, and the "Haven" comes not in the form of bricks and mortar but in the presence of those who love you and have your best interest at heart.

Now, if you'll excuse me...is that a squabble I hear ?!? ;-)

It's rest time...

which means blog-time in this neck of the woods. It's either now or midnight. And frankly, I'll be five shades to the wind by that point.



The other day I walked into the living room to see THIS. NOT at rest time. Or at least, not at REAL rest time. My childer-two foraged around for ALL their children (obviously, entirely too many) and gave EACH of their children a stuffed animal (and the older ones books!) and tucked them in all soundly and went to bed because "we needed resting up a bit".

Can you count how many sleeping babies there are in this picture?!

Three's company

As many times as I post photos of all three children together, one might assume I say something like "Hey kids, I want to get a picture of you all together!"

Au contraire!

These moments are all the spontaneous outpourings of pleading children "Can I hold the baby, PLEASE?!?!" All. day. long. And obviously, of children who love each other.

I don't know why, after all these times, I still feel amazed at these little moments I walk into.

Splittin' Wood

Since we got our woodstove, which *still* seems surreal to me, we have had to split wood every other weekend in order to have supply enough to burn for two weeks.

Now, anyone with half a brain knows that seasoned wood is best to burn in your woodstove, and those who are wise split a years supply of wood the season BEFORE you need it, so it can properly "cure".

But WE, on the other hand, had opportunity to get a woodstove and install it (along with a chimney) only a month before winter hit hard-so, obviously, we didn't have the luxury of working ahead.

We don't burn "green wood" (that's a no-no): it has been cut for a long time (logs cut into workable "chunks") but the splitting of the wood from "chunks" into pieces is a rather long process, and requires more than just a one-time work day. Especially to heat this monstrosity of a house.

So, as I was saying, Matt heads out there every other weekend to restock our wood supply. Sometimes, his dad helps him. Other times, I do. But the hardest worker is always Matt.

The wood splitter is actually a makeshift Mcgyver contraption using a lawn mower engine and a hyrdaulic pump. For the record, I just IM'ed Matt at work to ask what the "pump thingie" was. (just keepin' it real, folks)

Sometimes you get a stubborn log and Matt, with his strong Man-arms has to show it a thing or two.

Oh yeah! You TELL 'em Mattie!

And sure enough~ he gets that piece of wood to submit to him, right and proper.


But most of the time it works splittingly well. (Ha! I crack myself up!) HA HA! CRACK myself up! hehe

***

Now MY job, is to "catch" the pieces that are split and toss them into the bucket of the tractor.

Which is on par to working your obliques, your abdominals, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps and...well-a fully body workout. In my opinion, anyway.

SOMETIMES, my job is to keep the large halves that need to be cut again from falling to the ground. Because that would hurt! and my toesies and I have a special relationship.

After the bucket is loaded full up, Matt hops on the tractor and heads to dump the load into the truck.

Now would be a good time to mention that we own neither the tractor nor the truck nor the woodsplitter. Matt's parents graciously let us use them. So~you KNOW what Matt dreams about at night.

See?! He's trying to butter me up...

When he sees it just doesn't work, he gets his head back in the game and gets the load dumped and sets the tractor up again.

Oh~ you are saying "Ah. That isn't all that much work." I hear ya people and I have to say- "IT SHO' IS!" Because that tractor bucket gets filled up 4/5 times for a small load and more than that for a large load. That's a lot of wood to be chuckin', thankyouverymuch.

replaced

Me, dressed in Matt's warm and comfy coveralls and Shamik, my devoted Siamese from way back in the days of middle school. (He's not only still kicking, but no worse for the wear!)

I began the morning dreading wood-splitting time. Whenever I split wood, I am sore for the rest of the night.

But as we were splitting wood, it suddenly dawned on me I was enjoying myself. Just being NEAR Matt does that to me.

THEN, it occurred to me, that in the not so distant future, my young son will be old enough to take my place as Matt's wood-splitting sidekick, and THAT realization sort of made me sad.

That was enough to make me be a bit more thankful for the season of life we are in presently. We are shouldering all the work ourselves, and that is hard...but we are doing it together and that makes it worthwhile.

Not to mention, when I collapsed into bed with aching abs, back and shoulders--I knew I could actually say I had exercised without meaning too. And you know, I LIVE for those moments! :-)