Adventures in Domesticity

Today I canned for the first time. (I should note that I had help from my mother-in-law, without whom I would have been a bit lost.) I wanted to share pictures of my lovely jars of nectarines all ready and waiting for the winter to come.

This is my first year for many things. I now make my own yogurt which is a big hit with my husband and older daughter. I was making my own ice cream each week until the ice cream maker broke. Now I'm just waiting for an email back to see if I can get a replacement part for it. And I even tried my hand at making butter, although I was less than happy with the result. I guess I'll just have to try again.

I also froze 2 quart size bags of strawberries, 2 cups of blueberries, 17 cups of zucchini and enough yellow squash for two dinners.

And all this with two babies under 2!

God is good!




Note: The small jar in the pictures is plum butter from my mother-in-law and the patty pan squash are from my mother's garden.

So...

It's been five months since my last post. Since then, so much has happened that I don't think I want to take up ten pages to write it all down. So instead you will get the Cliff Notes version...or "Cliff Notes according to His Beloved".

~March 17, 2009 Baby #2 arrives safe and sound. Another Baby Girl, called Wee Beloved. She is welcomed with open arms by her Papa, Mummy and Big Sister, Baby Beloved.

~April 15 brought the end of our second busy season together. And with having two babies 1 and under at home, I was even more thankful for the day Papa Beloved was finally able to be home with us.

~In May, we packed up the family automobile and headed out for a good ol' American road trip. We covered 11 states in 2 weeks, all with a 15 month old and a 2 month old in tow. :D Best of all, we came home just as sane as we left and more than willing to do it again.



~In July, the girls and I spent a week home alone while Papa Beloved traveled to Chicago for a business trip. We had a sleep over with some of my brothers and sisters, which was so much fun that the following week we had the one brother over who didn't get to come the first time. On both occasions, we had pizza, told stories and stayed up quite late. Hey, what else are big sisters for? :D

~Now as the summer is winding down (which I couldn't be happier about!), I am looking back at good times with my family and plenty of time spent learning more about my Lord. There were some trying moments of course but even in those, God showed Himself faithful and we are all better for the lessons learned.



It's nice being back here blogging away. I'd love to hear about your summers, if anyone is inclined to share. I miss my old friends!

Well, until then...

P.S. For those who are interested, the photos are from our road trip. In order of appearance; 1) Laura Ingalls Wilder's one room school house in De Smet, SD. 2) The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO. 3) Laura Ingalls Wilder's Home in Mansfield, MO.

A Pastor with GUTS!

I am indebted to a friend on Facebook for this story. I had to share it with all of you.

A Pastor with GUTS!

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people... When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem..

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!


The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,'and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. 'If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything.'

A Quick Post...Baby Arrived

Our second daughter arrived safely March 17th just before 10pm. We are still working on a name for her. We want to chose one that will be special, not just something cute.

God blessed us with an easy birth and so far a speedy recovery. I have been so blessed by all the help from the Grandma's who have been coming over to help me get past these first few days. My dear husband has even been here to help me, in spite of it being the middle of tax season. He is my hero! :D

So, I will probably not be posting too often in the next few weeks until we get into a new groove. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us and please continue to pray that God will help us to bond as a family and bless those around us.

A true classic...

So I came across this post on Smockity Frocks and I had to pass it along. (Just click on the video box below to watch for yourself.) You learn something new every day and today I learned that according to Bill Clinton, the "human embryos" that are going to be used for stem cell research as part of President Obama's new plan are not fertilized. I'm still unclear as to how you can have an embryo that isn't fertilized, but you know I'm not a Rhodes scholar. And I have to say that I'm so proud that he was once the President of our great nation. Yeah...what an honor for us...

Attention Homeschoolers!

I am speechless at this story; a mother of three is being told by a judge that although her children are 2 grades ahead in school, that they need to be placed in public school so they can get a "more well-rounded education." I would encourage you to visit the blog, Homeschool Injustice, which has been set up to keep us all posted on the latest happenings in this case. And I would remind all of us that if we will not stand up and be counted now, there will be no one left to stand up when they come for our children. This is a battle for our children's future and it is worth the fight.

A Spring Giveaway!

It's Spring!!!!!!!!! (Or will be soon...) Domestic Lady is giving away a beautiful apron! Pop on over and enter to win! Grandma Ladybug's Spring Giveaway!

A Story of Choosing Life

In this world of surrendering life to the slightest whim, here is a story of a young mother who chose life against all the "wisdom" offered her. I would encourage you to visit Myah's blog, The Story of Faith Hope and read their story.

Nesting

Before my daughter was born, we were house sitting so I missed out on all those cleaning and homemaking times. I think I have a double portion this time.I am now at 37 weeks and in the middle of nesting big time! Just today I rearranged my pantry and washed all the dishes that I have been neglecting. But in the past week, I have washed numerous loads of laundry, including all the clothes for our new baby, made two pair of Easter pantaloons and cut out the dresses, bought, gathered and organized all our birthing supplies and stocked our pantry and freezer with easy-to-put-together meal supplies.

As I was thinking about all the nesting I've done I wondered if any of you would like to share your nesting stories. I was pondering too if nesting is stronger with girls or boys and does it get stronger or weaker the more children you have? I know I'm not the only one who has done this and I would love to read stories from all of you!

Blessings!

As I was posting...

While I was typing the preceding update, our computer died again, hence the delay in posting it. Needless to say, we have had plenty of things come up to keep me from posting with any regularity. But I will try to be here as much as I can. Although with our new baby due in less than a month, who knows...this may just be my last post for another few months!

Is everyone this busy? I guess I'll know if no one answers. :D