The Big White Farmhouse

School’s out for summer!  The kids worked hard to finish up the last of their schoolwork and we are all ready for a nice, long break.  They’ll still read books and do crafts/science experiments/music on their own all summer long, so the learning really doesn’t stop, just Mum’s involvement in it, ha!

A Different Kind of Decluttering

Today I tackled a long overdue chore: shredding four containers worth of personal documents and junk mail.  I threw all the shred in the first bin I found (in hindsight, not my best idea) and tossed it all in the compost pile.

Homestead Project of the Day

I forgot to mention yesterday that the tree company came to cut down the two dead trees.  They cut one of the trees into big chunks and my two biggest boys worked for hours today hauling them up the hill and then cutting them up into firewood.  They worked so hard!  Later, when they were blistered and sore, my daughter went out with the wheelbarrow to stack the pieces on the woodpile.  It definitely takes a family to run a homestead!

Smell Ya Later, School Books!

I went around the house and collected school books; they seemed to be sprinkled everywhere!  Hoping to get everything organized and put away in the next few days so I don’t have to think about anything school-related for awhile.

A Workhorse Laundry Basket

Isn’t it funny how laundry works?  You take one day off and it seems to take three to catch back up!  I’ve had this laundry basket since I went away to college almost 18 years ago (yikes, I’m old) and it’s still going strong.

Working on my 2021 Goals

One of my 2021 goals is to take a deep dive into the Constitution, so I was so excited to find a free course online. I’ve been slowly making my way through the course and have already learned so much!  After dinner, I listened to the second to last lecture. The course continues into Constitution 201 and I definitely want to complete that one too.

I woke up feeling much better and headache free, praise God!  Mark went into town in the morning and due to the pipeline situation, many of the stations were already completely out of gas.  He said that the few that were still open had incredibly long lines.  I’m so grateful that we filled up last weekend!  A little nerve-wracking, but the plan is to stick close to home as much as possible and combine errands when we need to go out.

Wildflower Garden, Year Two

It’s been so exciting to see what flowers are coming back in my front wildflower beds!  The pink one above bloomed overnight and is so beautiful.  It looks like tissue paper.  In other flower news, I bought two “mosquito shoo” geraniums (as bareroots) and they are starting to grow and flower as well!

Back to Decluttering

Week Two, Day Three: I chose these three super old makeup brushes.  I never use them and they just sit in the bottom of my makeup bag, so definitely time to go.

My Latest Read

Update from my TBR Jar post: I decided to try The Wives of Los Alamos (affiliate link) since it was the shortest and so far, so good.  The writing is written entirely in first person plural (we do this, we did that), which is new for me, but isn’t too distracting.  I’ll report back.

Our First Meal from our Broilers!

Our first taste of the chickens we raised and processed – what a surreal feeling!  Mark grilled chicken quarters and I served it with potato salad.  Delicious.

Day 12 was a big day here at the Big White Farmhouse: our very first Processing Day!  (I only took photos during the setup, so they only tell a small part of the story.)  Mark and I slept fitfully the night before, excited and nervous and hopeful that we hadn’t forgotten to purchase anything important!  We started setting up at 7:45am and finished cleanup by around 2:30pm.  We only had 42 birds, but went really slowly so we could learn the right way to complete each step.  And all in all, we’re really happy!  We learned a lot and already have a list of tweaks for the next time.

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On Tuesday, I had a horrible tension headache for most of the day, so I did the bare minimum and napped in between responsibilities.  Guess I needed the break!

Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life. – Saint Pope John Paul the Great

I had a quiet Mother’s Day, which could not have been more perfect for me.  No big fuss or gifts, just a good homemade meal (that I didn’t have to cook!) and a lot of laughter.  What more could a gal ask for?  I’m so grateful for this vocation and for the six souls God has entrusted to my care.