what's for supper, mom?

just because they can fly does not mean they don't need their mama anymore!



well, my boy "flew" today. he went on a week long mission trip with the youth group from church. during the week they will hook up with various service projects in the community and through their service they will share the love God and the gospel. i can not tell you how much it blesses me to see C with a heart that is anxious to serve the Lord. he was quite independent about preparing for this trip and i can see him maturing in so many ways...

and yet, i know he'll always come home and stand with the refrigerator wide open asking,

"isn't there anything to eat?"

if you feel led, please pray for this group of jr. high students: for safety on their trip, for the love of God to be demonstrated through their service, and that they would grow and mature in their relationship with the Lord through this experience.

everyday gift: young hearts willing to serve

good times with grandy

B with grandy on father's day

i adore this sweet picture

a few weeks ago S spent the week at boy scout camp. the camp is close enough that we were able to visit him on family night and enjoy dinner and a special bonfire. at the bonfire, the scouts who had been selected for order of the arrow were called out, and C was one of those scouts! it is an honor to be selected because they are voted in by their fellow scouts who believe they demonstrate best the scout oath.

it was so nice that my dad was able to be there. he was once a boy scout himself, earning the rank of life scout. i know he takes a lot of pleasure in seeing his grandsons enjoy scouting.

dad with C and S at scout camp

everyday gift: time with grandy

there are certain advantages...

...to living in town. like stan the ice cream man!

B is having a bomb pop.

everyday gift: an ice cream truck on a hot summer day

moving house...be back soon!

in case anyone has been wondering, i have been buried in moving boxes. i have so many pictures to post, so much to blog about, but, alas! i don't have internet at the "summer house" yet. and there are more boxes to move and miles to go before i sleep. so for now, i will leave you with a picture of what i would rather be doing...

spinning yarn!

my spinning wheel with my lazy kate.
i am plying single yarns into a two ply yarn.

lessons from Little House on the Prairie

this historic stone house makes the perfect setting for the park district classes about Little House on the Prairie. it was built in 1860, about the same time that laura ingalls was living out the pioneer adventures she wrote about in her books. B has had a wonderful time with the
projects they have done: making butter, molasses snow candy (with snow saved in the freezer from this winter!), and soap. and then learning to do laundry... the old fashioned way! she thought it was great fun, although i suspect she would tire of it really soon if was not a game!

a cake of homemade soap

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Churn on Thursday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

laundry day

putting the clothes through the wringer

B carrying water for laundry day




scrubbing on the wash board

swing your partner!

the kids had a great time learning some dance steps

and imagining pa playing his fiddle!

everyday gift: living history lessons

a garden friend

meet LUMPY...

everyday gift: a garden friend

backyard wienie roast

the weather forecast for the weekend was all rain, but friday was beautiful! so we quickly put together a plan for a bonfire and wienie roast. i made gran'mom's recipe for potato salad and put baked beans in the crock pot. mark had already moved our patio furniture so we used the flatbed trailer that was parked and waiting for another load as our table. i spread a checkered tablecloth on the end.

mom and dad enjoying the "tailgate" party

i know we will have a fire pit at our new house, but still, i am feeling very nostalgic about leaving our home in few weeks (are we down to days?!). this will most likely be our last bonfire at this place that holds so many good memories. our first bonfire was in the fall of 1999. the barn was built, but no house. we came out with coolers of food, lawn chairs and blankets. C was almost 4, S only 2, and B...well, we didn't know B yet! my folks and a few other families joined us and we chatted, laughed, and enjoyed the cool fall evening. we were filled with the excitement and anticipation of building our someday home in the country. that fall bonfire would become one of my favorite traditions and it grew as we included new friends. we put boards over sawhorses in the barn to hold all of the potluck dishes. mark would take the kids on a hay rack ride through the newly harvested fields. and as it got dark, flashlights could be seen running between the trees, as the kids played flashlight tag! i can still hear the shouts and laughter.

S and B roasting their hot dogs...and one for me, too! thanks!

B with grammy and their matching pink shirts

everyday gift: hot dogs roasted on a bonfire

the library sale

i am in a little bit of trouble with mark. you see, we are moving soon. very soon. and i am supposed to be getting rid of things so we have less to pack and store.


but saturday morning at 7:25 am, i stole away to the library sale. sadly, they have closed the old main library downtown, the beautiful old library with a huge brick fireplace in the center and dark walnut curved railings down wide open staircases. the elevator was put in later. it is small, has one of those metal gates you pull closed, and clanks when it carries you between all 3 floors. the aisles between the bookshelves are so narrow that you have to turn sideways to pass another patron. but it has that wonderful feel of old books. it is an historic building and i hope they find a worthy purpose for it in the future.


well, i went to say goodbye to the old carnegie library and i came home with a few wonderful keepsakes.

this round table was in the children's department. i think it will make a perfect coffee table in the family room. it is wide, 48" across. i can just picture a rousing game of Settlers of Catan on top or a big bowl of popcorn in the center as we watch a movie. it was a steal at $10!

i have really been taking some teasing over this. i don't care, i absolutely love it. a vintage metal trash can. i only paid 50 cents for it! can't you just see it spray-painted some funky color? i plan to keep it in my laundry room so mark won't have to worry about seeing it, he never goes in there!! ;o)

the only problem with spray painting it would be covering this cool company label. have you ever heard of Yaman & Erbe Mfg. Co. of rochester, new york?

everyday gift: vintage treasures from the library

am empty nest

mr. and mrs. robin have an empty nest.

their hatchlings are now fledglings. i've been watching them from the front porch, the chicks leaving the nest and trying out their wings. newly found freedom! one lands clumsily on the ground and peeps for his mama, who lands not far away than flies to a nearby tree and calls. he is wary of me circling him with my camera so he takes off and flies to a pine tree, near his nest, looking for safety. meanwhile, mama and papa are hovering and watching anxiously, trying to keep track of all four of their babies. i am sure it must be nerve wracking...

although i have years to go before i experience an empty nest, i am feeling the growing pains of a teenager trying out his wings! he has informed me that he no longer needs me to tell him "lights out" at night (my night owl, pushing the boundaries and staying up well past midnight!), he doesn't see the need for his parents to supervise his activities, oh and, by the way, did we know that farm kids can get a permit to get a driver's license early?

i liked it better when he didn't challenge me so much.

but isn't the whole idea of parenting to give them wings and independence?

Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

.

he should go. when the time comes, he should go. and with God's help, we will have shown him the right path, following God's plan for his life. so i will try to have patience with my boy as he tries out his wings. at times he might land clumsily, but i will hover nearby and show him the safety of the tree, until he is ready fly away...

look mom! i can fly!

everyday gift: giving them wings and learning to let go

wordless wednesday

everyday gift: june flowers