Here are my blessings for this week:

291. Rain, glorious rain.

292.  Boxes of fruit to preserve

293. My first attempt at raspberry jam set up & canned!

294. Yummy Peach Butter

295. Homemade applesauce, apple muffins, apple pie, apple crisp & apple brownies from 1 box of  Ginger Gold Apples.

296. A freezer full of frozen peach slices to enjoy for months to come

297. shopping at the local farmer’s market

298. fresh corn on the cob

299. harvesting lots of zucchini from our own garden

300. the hope of more produce from our garden: cantaloupe, pumpkins, & potatoes still growing

301. Nana & Papaw are coming next week!

302. Fitting into my pre-6potato jeans

303. Finding our place in our new community

304. Our church home

305. Our baby is nearly walking…

306. Starting our homeschool co-op tomorrow

307. Baby going to bed on his own at night

308. Finding dryer paperwork after much searching

309. Everyone else started back to school

310.  God’s mercies are new every morning

261. Time with my quickly growing eldest daughter

262. Back to School shopping

263. My Father’s World: Countries & Cultures study

264. New Notebooks

265. New Routines

266. Fun VBS for the kiddos

267.  Storytime with my 2 year old

268. A cruising baby boy

269. Peas fresh picked from the garden

270. No more beetles!

271. My sacrificial husband—he gives so much so that I can be at home to take care of our family!

272. Quiet time in the morning

273. Cool breezes

274. Montana summer especially in comparison to Arizona summers!

275. Good friends who call to share their good news!

276.  Our church family where my husband can use his God given talents

277. Friendly neighbors

278. Sisters who are friends

279. A storage room that is now navigatable

280. Time with my grandparents

236.  A baby boy who is on the mend

237. the school year is nearly over

238.  planting baby trees

239. getting to sleep in this morning

240.  chocolate cake & mint ice cream

241. my new Nutrimill

242. new music

243. new books

242. new kitchen tools

(Can you tell we just celebrated birthdays & Mother’s day?)

243. crazy spring weather

244. It is NOT 100 degrees.

245. Family Worship

221. Birthday weekends

222. Phone calls from loved ones

223. Rain

224. Hail—such a fascinating weather phenomenon (as long as its not the damaging kind)

225. God’s love captured in a necklace sweetly given to me by my husband

226. A new week

227. A new month

228. A growing baby boy

229. The light at the end of the tunnel for our school year

230. Cheesecake with fresh raspberries!

231. Sharing a birthday weekend with my best friend.

232. Being able to give my husband one of his best birthdays ever

233. Living close to my grandparents

234. Dreaming of our future home

235. Facebook friends

211. Tulips blooming in our front yard

212. Perfect weather for 3potato’s birthday party at the park

213. Wonderful visit from my in-laws

214. Packets of potential in the form of seeds

215. Long talks with my dad on the phone

216. A sweet husband

217.  My Father’s World curriculum

218. 4potato’s love of  “school time”

219. Yummy golden potatoes wrapped in a red skin roasted in olive oil with a little sea salt

220.  children enjoying playing outside nearly every day

197. Raw Milk once again!
198. Playing 4 square with the family after dinner
199. Reading Farmer Boy aloud to the family
200. Homemade Caramel Sauce
201. A Smiling Boy

202. Helpful 11 year old daughter
203. Nearing the end of a 2 year study with Mystery of History
204. Windy Spring Days
205. My Grandparents & getting to spend time with them again
206. Wild Asparagus—knowing that my grandfather & great grandfather ate from the same plants
207. A loving husband
208. Hope for a future on the land that my great grandfather farmed 80 years ago

209. God’s grace
210. New mercies every morning

I just finished reading Mary Ostyn’s A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family. (Yes I actually finished reading a book!) This is exactly the kind of parenting book I would write if I were to write a book on parenting. Mary and her husband, John, are the parents of 10 kids ranging in age from 5 to earlier 20s. They have adopted 6 of them from 3 different countries.  I was constantly encouraged that Mary operates in the same kind of way that I would like to as the mother of a large family. Of course, there were some differences (For example, their family participates in a lot more outside activities but then again their family has a lot more older kids as well.) As parents they seek to lead their children to the Lord and encourage them to get along above all else. This book is filled with helpful strategies for making the budget stretch, organizing your home, feeding a large family and preserving your marriage.

I highly recommend this realistic and encouraging book for any mom needing advice on how to make it all work when raising a larger than normal family.

FOR TODAY…

Outside my window… It is grey and snow is falling

I am thinking… what should I make for dinner

I am thankful for… my husband

I am wearing… a denim skirt and green/blue shirt

I am remembering…Spring in Arizona

I am currently reading… A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn

I am hoping… that we can find THE place to put down roots

Pondering these words…

I am starved for the Bread of Heaven and I beg for that which is true sustenance and nothing on the earth or in the self can satisfy and I crave desperate for the Body and the Blood and Him, my only hope of righteousness.

- Ann at A Holy Experience

From the kitchen…  Blueberry Coffee Cake

Around the house… trying to figure out how to make a “Family Closet” work

One of my favorite things~ Cheesy Fries