LOL Sunday

This one made me laugh because my kids look just like this whenever I make something with Nutella

Love this one because our golden is just like this

When Your Worried

Hearthkeeper for the longhaul and how to stay encouraged and motivated

It  occurred to me the other day as I escorted my eldest child to her first year of high school that I have been a stay at home mom for 12 years now.  Wow that is a long time and I still have a four year old in the house!  I suddenly realized that to a young mom just about to have her first child I would seem to have a wealth of experience and knowledge.  It's funny to think that, because, like most moms I at times feel that I am learning and never mastering my profession.  Maybe that's because raising children is an inherently fluid situation.  Just when you think you've got baby care handled they go and grow into toddlers, and then just when the whole toddler thing becomes easier they are suddenly gradeschoolers... And on and on probably through adulthood.  Children go through such drastic changes of personality, care needs, and emotional maturity that I doubt any parent ever really feels like they have got the whole parenting thing down.

Stay at home moms, or Hearth-keepers as I like to call them, have one of the most challenging and at times mentally exhausting jobs in the world.  Especially when you have a large family.  For me keeping motivated and encouraged through the long haul has been a challenge.  At the worst of times when I had two babies in diapers and they were less than 18 months apart in age I felt good if the house was nominally clean, the children well cared for, and I got to brush my hair.

I think one of the hardest things of being a hearth-keeper is motivation.    Few people realize how much work it takes to keep a house clean and well running when there are people in it 24 hours a day. As apposed to if both husband and wife work and children are shuffled off to school and daycare.  Instead of just coming home at night to a house that has sat empty all day you have you have tons of messes and cleanup that is ongoing.

It is hard to stay motivated because you have no boss standing over you praising you or giving you a talking to when you neglect your work.  If your husband is like mine he is not very observant about how clean and organized the house is and pretty much only notices if dinner isn't at least cooking when he comes home from work hungry and tired.  So although my husband certainly likes to have a clean house he wouldn't really notice a change unless I stopped doing everything.  I have often thought to  myself "Why do I even bother with this since nobody cares?"

This is a very discouraging thought but one I'm sure many hearth-keepers have.  Hearhkeepers are the ultimate self starters in our culture and you need to know that what you do is important.

So how do I stay encouraged and motivated?  One way I have found that is very helpful is keeping a journal like farm wives used to keep.

Back in the day a farm woman would keep a journal of pretty much everything she did.  I have read journals where the woman listed how many eggs the chickens laid, how much milk the cow gave, what the garden was doing, how much she canned and baked, and right along side these homely notes were comments on their children, family, and husband, funny stories, tips on homemaking.

These records were invaluable to the farm wife for allowing her to look back and see what was working and what wasn't, trace back to conditions that might be impacting animal production of food, and also as a record of the foods she produced.  It also undoubtedly was a great encouragement for any woman to see page after page of things she has accomplished and done and also a good memory jolter.  When you have small children you are often exhausted much of the time and writing down things that have happened helps you remember them years later.

I started keeping a journal about 10 years ago when we were in Wyoming and I first started really homesteading and learning new skills.  I noted things like eggs laid each day, what I canned, what I baked and what recipe I used, what the kids did and funny things they said, bible versus that struck me in my devotionals, weather conditions,  things happening in the garden and varieties of veggies that produced well or poorly etc.


I always feel much better after writing down what I do daily and the things I accomplished.  It is self motivational I suppose and also now looking back at past journals very encouraging and uplifting.

Tips for keeping a daily record

Tie it in with a bible study:  Even if you can only read a few verses a day you need time with God and you can note what spoke to you and is helping you in your day.  When I have been super busy with a new baby I would read from proverbs on the day of the month that corralated with the chapter in that book (did you know there are 31 chapters in Proverbs!) and it was perfect.

Wright in things your children said or did, especially the good stuff!

Keep a record of things you accomplished or are going on in your family, even if its only that you folded 4 loads of laundry

Computer FAIL!

Sorry I've been gone guys but our computer had a major problem and I couldn't get onto the net to do anything.  But now I'm back!

100 IDEAS FOR YOUR FALL BUCKET LIST

Here are 100 great ideas to do this fall as a family.  Just click and your there!  These sound like so much fun and fall is my favorite time of year because of the wonderful things to do, baking, and the glorious colors.

http://www.creativefamilyfun.net/2012/09/100-ideas-for-your-fall-bucket-list.html

Canning Enough Fruit to Last a Year For Free!

Well... almost free if you don't count the sugar or the lids.  When we moved to our new town in eastern Oregon I was amazed at how many fruit trees there were in peoples yards.  I think it is one in three houses has at least one fruit tree on it if not more!  So I have been watching with interest what is being grown and how things are ripening along as the summer has progressed.  I am unashamed to admit that I have no problem asking people if I can pick their unused fruit.  I frequently do this and have never been turned down.  In fact most of the time the owners are relieved to have someone pick the unused fruit before it falls on the ground and starts to rot.  I always make a point to pick up the fallen fruit for them and throw it away and usually bring the kind people a dozen eggs as trade for the fresh fruit.

This year I have so far been amazingly blessed to be allowed to glean from a peach tree, a plum, and a pear with two other people wanting me to come pick later on this fall.  Here are some pics of my harvest and canning.  By the way I have been canning almost every day!

The two buckets of plums, I still have one bucket to get through that I will be making into jam and preserves

I canned up twenty quarts of plums for using this winter in baking

The amazing peaches!

Almost done with 30 quarts canned and three pies made

whats left to can

What Courage Is

My first ride on a train!

Funny to think I'm thirty three and just took my first ride on a train.  Sad but true!  I've always wanted to ride a train so when we moved to our new town in Oregon and I heard there was a historic steam engine train that did scenic ride only 20 minutes away I swore we would go before summers end.

So this last weekend we decided to go on up to the Sumpter valley rail and try it out.  It was so much fun and the kids loved it.  The Sumpter train is one of the few wood fired steam engines in operation.  We learned all about it and the local gold mining history.  The train conductors were so nice and every one of them was a volunteer.  There was wildlife to see, a train robbery, and then we explored the town of Sumpter and had ice cream   On the way home the kids got ride in the caboose which of course they loved!  We saw quite a bit of wildlife on the train which was nice too.

I would recommend this to anyone passing our way

A real wood fired steam train!

the boys

at the top of the caboos checking things out

The train robbers

My kids now have a memory

I thought this pic would look great in black and white

One of the real oil lamps they used in the caboose.  Its so neat looking