Of Mattresses & Moose.

This little space of mine has been quiet over here for quite a few days.

Kevy left for a retreat last Saturday, so I decided that the boys and I would have a retreat, of sorts, of our own - and we kicked it up home to my Madre and Padres for the rest of the week.  I lovingly call HOME the "land of dial-up."  It's not really that bad, but just frustratingly slow enough to not have me be tempted at all to get on-line.

So, while the days were busy with family and cousins, late nights, and crazy adventures - it was still, most definitely a retreat for this little Mama, as well.  A break from technology is sometimes good for the soul.

And speaking of adventures....
My most favorite thing that we did all week long was re-live a childhood memory of mine.  Back in the day when my brothers and cousins and I were all just wee hoolies ourselves, Dad and his brothers would take us all into the heart of the Haynesville woods to their old hunting camp nestled in the middle of nowhere, and while all the rest of my friends were visiting Disney World on their spring and fall breaks, we were camping and canoeing, tenting and bathing in the river, building bonfires bigger than the camp, and going on all sorts of insane adventures that had my young Mama biting her fingernails....because Dad and his brothers were, how we say, cah-razy.

Anyway, one afternoon this past week Dad wanted to take me on a really quick four-wheeler spin to go and dig some "treasure" out of the woods down the road aways.  I knew right then and there that we were in for some good, old fashioned, country, hick-style, the way that only Dad can do, kind of fun.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a stoved up old car hood!
And what, are you asking, did my Daddy-O plan to do with that stoved up old car hood?
Well!  He planned to have the next generation get to experience the fun that his kids had when they were wee hoolies!!!

He's cool like that.

So, first, we both (well, mostly him...I wasn't really much help) almost got hernias pushing and pulling that thing out of the woods.  Then, he attached it with a chain onto the trailer hitch and we dragged it LOUDLY home - disrupting the entire neighborhood, I am sure.  Then, he grabbed an old box spring out of the garage.  (Because, doesn't everyone just have an old box spring laying around in their garage waiting for such an occasion as this?) 

He slapped that baby onto the hood, and away we went!

Cheap, glorious, unadulterated afternoon entertainment for hours, I'm telling you!
Seriously, it was tons of fun.

And those who weren't so excited about the mattress, instead got to ride on the "chariot."
If you come up to my peeps place, they'll treat you like royalty.  You can have first dibs on where you want to ride.  :0)

Yep.  Hours of fun for the whole family!
My boys have now experienced a highlight of my childhood.
My life is now complete.

And to top things off - just looky at what we ran into during our little jaunt:

And the very next day - just looky at what ran onto our lawn....

.....and then down our little dirt road!

Ah yes!  The Country Life!
Doesn't get much better than this, folks!

Beets Me...

This week, we harvested all of our beets.
A first time growing season for me.

 Did you know that beets are really really good for you?
They're a great recovery food after a hard workout, and they're super delish cooked, juiced, or pickled.  At least Kev and I love them.  The boys -not so much.

But, they do however, love puttering in the garden with me; and they're always up for showing off their "brute" strength in pulling things out of the ground with the greatest of ease...and in getting dirty...and in playing hide and seek in the corn.

 I find gardening to be such a funny thing now that I'm older.

When I was young, it used to be the bane of my existence.  My dad planted these behemoth gardens, and the boys' and my summer jobs was to keep that thing weeded.

 Every.  single.  summer.  I said that I would never. ever. EVER voluntarily choose to pull my own weeds when I grew up.  I would never. ever. EVER grow my own garden...

Dad especially, finds my own behemoth gardens each year quite amusing...

And I do too, really.
I'm surprised at how much I love it.

Gardening soothes me.  It brings me peace.
And in a weird way, it brings me closer to my Creator. 

I am still - every single year - in awe when I see sprigs of life poking up out of that ground.
I am still - every single year - amazed and impressed at what growth comes from one little seed.  And I am still - every single year - so thankful and happy at what grows...in spite of me.

 And I love providing for my family.
I love feeling like my Mama.

I love that we've come full cycle.  I used to weed and pick and watch her can things.
Now my boys help me weed and pick and watch me can things.

I also love that garden season is almost over.

Just sayin'...

Here's an easy sneezy - although epic-lly messy - recipe for pickled beets:

Pick, wash, and cut off beet stems down to one inch.

Cook them in boiling water until fork tender.

Peel.  (The peelings will rub right off).

Cut into bite sized chunks.

Know that if you have to go out into public in the next few days, your hands will make you look like you just murdered someone.  Those beets - they stain.

In a pot, take 4 cups apple cider vinegar, 4 cups of the beet juice water they were cooked in, 4 cups sugar (I used significantly less), and 2 tablespoons cloves tied up in cheesecloth.

Put into a pot and heat to boiling.

Have your jars and lids hot and ready.

Cut your beets into bitesized chunks, take out hot jar, fill it up with the boiling sauce, seal.

Done.  Listen for the "pop-popping" of the lids.

Easy.  Messy.  Delish.
Although, mine may taste just a wee bit too clove-y.  This was my first time making pickled beets, and I think I would take the little baggies of cheesecloth out a bit earlier next time.  And maybe not cook them quite so long.  It was a bit of a learning curve for me this year.

Ah well.  Still yummy, and oh so pretty.
The mess - not so much...

Miss Scarlet did it in the kitchen, with the meat cleaver.....

Little Loves...

Why, hello 8 jillion apples....

I loved you in the beginning.

Now, you make me tired.

His and Hers.
Black and Creamy.
Coffee's Delish.
And oh so dreamy...

Couldn't help myself.

Every little boy has taken his turn making morning coffee with their Daddy.
Now it's Ransom's turn.
I love how each boy has done this little ritual...

My boys, from a very young age, have also cooked with me in the kitchen.
Again, now it's Ransom who is becoming more and more interested.
This particular batch of applesauce was "heavily sampled."

The breakfast show with Kevin and Amy.
This involves a bold brew of coffee, a game or two of Cribbage, and us finding ourselves extremely hilarious.  Few truly get our brand of humor.

Quiet moments with crazy boys.
My loudest child is the greatest lover of books, and this is how I often find him most afternoons.  Love.

The final thing on our list of summer items to find - found!
We caught snakes, frogs, toads, and salamanders this summer but no turtles.
Until last week!  We caught a little painted turtle AND a little snapper.
We'll let them go in our little stream, and maybe they'll come back to us next summer.

I got three pumpkins this year.
I planted about 20, but I'm not complaining.  One for each little hoolie.
Hello, Fall.

The last of the tomatoes that I am going to do anything with.

I still have this many times two if anyone would take them off my hands.  My tomatoes started blighting, so I picked them all while they were still green and spread them out on newspapers in my basement.  Now they are ALL ripening.  Holy Hannah.  I was in tomatoes up to my ears.  Now I am trying to pay people to take them.

Shelves filling, filling, filling.
Kaden gets just as excited about this as I do.

This week I have to make pickled beets, and then I have one more batch of bread and butter pickles to make and I am DONE....Unless my neighbor, Lew, brings me over some of his derby beans...then I might be tempted to make another batch of dilly beans.  And then I might go and get some more apples....I haven't reached my goal of 52 quarts yet....
But, THEN I'll be done.

Cozy fires inside.
It's almost time!

Bow season.  It begins.
And then rifle season.
I shall be a widow for a few months.....

Here's to a Happy Happy Weekend!
Enjoy the little things.
See the joy in the small.
Savor the simplicity.

Respite.

These moments of silence that quiet the noise -
They help me to see and to hear Your small voice.

My thoughts, they go racing; my heart it runs wild.
But here, I am quiet - a Dad with His child.

Your love is Eternal, Your grace is far reaching.
I learn from you Father - these lessons You're teaching.

You're gentle.  You're tender.  You love.  You pursue.
When I look in the mirror, I need to see You.

Deep love with abandon; truth mixed with Your grace.
When people see me, do they see Jesus' face?

Do they know I am Yours?  I belong to the One?
Do my actions reflect the deep love of Your Son?

Do my boys see You Jesus, reflected in me?
Or is "busy" and "harried" all that they can see?

Do friends see me walking this journey with You?
Do choices I make show I'm trusting in You?

These things are what matter when this life is done.
Did I live my life well while I raised my three sons.....

Jesse Creations.

Here's a sampling of Jesse's mad skillz:
Today's creation...

This is what he had me write:

I got out of bed.  I freaked, and I saw two monsters in my head!
I put on my suit to scare them away.  But it didn't work. 
I screamed out loud and called for Mom.
She said: "Are you okay?"
I was so freaked out and didn't know what to do.
So I jumped back in bed and sleeped and snoozed.

Kind of rhyme-y.  I was impressed.
"Freaked" is his new favorite word, in case you couldn't tell.
The child still doesn't know his letters, but he's creative, I'll give him that....

For Sale. One Small Child.

Now granted...we've only been parents for a little over eight years now, so that doesn't give us a lot of parenting history.  But, this weekend shall go down in the books as the most epic mess EVER made by one of our children thus far.

It was AH-mazing.

Let me paint the picture for you, if I may.  The big boys were outside playing, I had just put Sir Rancey Pants down for his afternoon nap (which, by the way, he is normally a marathon napper going 3+ and often 4 hours every afternoon), and I was elbow deep in the thick of making applesauce.

About an hour in, I noticed he hadn't fallen asleep yet - I could still hear him happily talking to himself.  While I was somewhat surprised that he was still awake - normally he instantly crashes - I didn't think much of it.  The boys were happily playing outside, I was happily making applesauce, and Ransom was at least "resting" happily.

All was bright and beautiful in my happy little world.
Well.

Cue end of naptime where I was rushing to wrap up my sauce, because I had just about an hour before I had to get ready for work.  I asked Kev if he would get Ransom out of his bed, and within 2 seconds of opening the bedroom door, Kev turns on his heels and walks back into the kitchen.  He looked at me and said:  "Um.  Okay.  You might want to bring your camera.  And prepare to not be impressed."

I hate statements like that.
Instantly I knew two things:
1.  This was going to be history in the making, and
2.  I was going to be SO not impressed.

Well, my camera I did bring.  But, let me just tell you that the pictures do not even BEGIN to do justice to the mess of epic porportions that had taken place in this child's bedroom.  Not only had he thrown everything out of his crib, he had thrown all of his clothes out of his baskets, and he had tossed all of his toys here, there, and everywhere.  But, that wasn't the worst of it.  Said child for sale had gotten his hands onto a brand new bottle of baby powder, and he had shaken out the entire contents all OVER his entire bedroom.  The floor was covered in about 1/4 inch of that fine white film.  All of the bedding had to be shaken out and washed.  All of his toys had to be taken outside and hosed down.  Every square inch had to be dusted, vaccumed, and then scrubbed.  And there was this white plume of dust that was slowly inching its way from his room out into the living room and the rest of my little house.

And the entire time we cleaned, he watched from his bed saying:  "Ho-wy cow."
Holy cow is right, batman.

On the bright side ~ his room got a nice little overhaul.
And it still has the lovliest essence of powder whenever you enter.
And I'm pretty sure it shall forevermore.

"There was never a child so lovely, but his Mother was glad to get him to sleep."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just kidding on the for sale part.
Not so much on the happy to get him to sleep that night part.

My Happy Place.

There is the sweet little slice of Heaven in smalltown Maine where my little family and I absolutely love to visit in the late summer and Fall.  It's a family owned and operated business run by a precious little family whom we love.  They ooze Jesus' love, they live and walk missional community, and they are just some of the coolest people that we know. 

 Pumpkins!  They make me happy...

 The owner's wife happens to have been my husband's Spanish teacher back in the day...and despite that little known fact, she just adores him!  Once or twice - at the very minimum - every Fall we have to go over for a day and get the full farm experience.  We pick apples, we walk through the corn maze, we feed the goats, and we get ourselves a wee little icecream.

Seriously, I love it.
Here's why:

 You never know when you're going to stumble upon an awesome little "field-trippy, hands-on, life skills learning" opportunity.  Mrs. Treworgy was just getting ready to milk one of her goats for their family when she saw us.  So she plopped herself right down on a stool, gave the kids a brief "how to" lesson on milking, and let each one of them have a go at it.

 Poor little Mama.....
But, seriously.  How cool is that?

And then!!!

She told me that she was going to make that little batch of milk into some yogurt, and when she saw the surprise and delight on my face at the mention of such a thing, she promptly invited all five of us back into her kitchen to make yogurt with her.

Here she is telling us what temperature she has to heat the milk.

Who does that?

Seriously, this lady rocks.

So, oh my blessed word - what a fun experience for everyone, right?

And then!!!

 We promptly decided to go get ourselves lost in their fun little (actually, not so little) corn maze.  On a side note:  I took the three littles here myself last year and got so lost I thought I was going to have to call someone to help us find our way out.  No joke.

 See the spot in the middle?  That's the Hall of Fame where you can write your names.

 This year, we had Kevy along to help show us our way...

Although Kaden's navigational skills are better than Kev's and mine put together.
No joke.
We will never win the Amazing Race.  Although, I think we would make pretty good t.v.

And then!!!

Once you make your way out of the maze....IF you make your way out of the maze...

You get one of these!

Can you see why I love this place so much?!
And then!!!
(Last one, I promise...)

 We went and gathered ourselves an insane amount of apples to be cooked down into applesauce and all sorts of other tasties.

 ...but mostly applesauce.
My goal is 52 quarts - one for each week of the year.
We shall see if I meet my goal.
So far, I have made 12 quarts, and I feel tired.

 We tried some family photos in the apple orchard.
So picturesque, you would think.
Not so much.
No family Christmas photos this year.

And then!!!

(Whoops - last one, I swear.)

 We just played around in their wide open spaces.
We fed the goats.
The boys tried to catch a chicken.
And I was in Heaven.

 I think I would like to live here.
Chickens under apple trees.  That makes me happy.

And then!!!

(Man - I'm such a liar...)

 Well....let's just say there's a WHOLE lot of this going on this weekend....

A little boy with an apple.

That makes me really happy, too...