The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

June 22, 2020

No.415: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.02

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The weather outside is //

We’ve had such a mild spring, but it looks like we’re back to typical Virginia summer weather this week. I think time in the sprinkler is in order!

On the breakfast plate this morning // It was a bowl not a plate, but I had my new oatmeal concoction again! Cinnamon and spice oatmeal, a big dollop of pumpkin puree, and a handful of raisins and chopped walnuts. Yum.

As I look outside my window // Everything is so green! I loving living in our “forest” this time of year.

As I look around the house // I see so many things: a half-finished puzzle on the dining room table, pans and ingredients on the kitchen counter as the kids cook their breakfasts, a floor that needs to be mopped…again. There are books and a laundry basket and another block creation being built. We certainly won’t win any home decor awards and won’t be seen anywhere on Pinterest, but it’s ours and it’s good. You can tell a family lives here.

On this week’s to-do list //

send in our letter of intent to homeschool in 2020-21
make a checkup appointment for Lucy
list three things we no longer need to sell on ebay
finish lesson planning Weeks 2 & 3
fertilize the fruit plants
finish picking the last of the lettuce

On the menu this week //

Monday: Refrigerator Clean-out Night
Tuesday: lasagna roll ups

Wednesday: teriyaki turkey rice bowls with egg rolls from the freezer

Thursday: homemade pizza

Friday: bean and cheese burritos

Currently reading // My nonfiction book right now is Trials of the Earth, which is a first hand account from a pioneer woman. Really interesting so far! I also just got The Silent Patient, a thriller, off of the holds list at the library. My religious book is still Saint Faustina’s Diary, but I’m almost done – around 100 pages left to go!

What I’m creating at the moment // I sewed up a potholder last week and now I’ve got the bug! I pulled out my paper piecing supplies and I started work on a scrap quilt. It will take me awhile, but I’m excited.

New recipe I want to try this week // This recipe for fluffy pancakes using sourdough starter came up in my Bloglovin’ feed and I think it will be a nice change for breakfast one morning.

June 19, 2020

No.414: 2020 Gratitude // 24 & 25

Welp, my goal of writing everyday this month is a complete wash, but I’m coming back with a clearer head and a calmer heart. Two Sundays ago, I unexpectedly felt compelled to go on an Internet and social media fast. I’ve already shared some of my mental health struggles throughout this lockdown and the protests/riots sort-of put me over the edge. I could feel myself turning…numb, maybe? So I turned it all off: no news articles, no opinion pieces, no following hashtags. No watching the fighting and disagreeing and shaming. No more noise. I craved silence and the best way to have that happen was to shut it all down for awhile. (I hated “giving up” so early in my annual June writing challenge, but truth be told, my heart wasn’t in it from the start this year.)

During the past two weeks, I have done research on my own terms, prayed a lot, and wrestled with ideas and possible actions. I puttered around my house, worked in my garden, and finished a few projects I’ve procrastinated on. I finished three books and am almost done a fourth. I cooked and cleaned and cuddled these little people in my care. I needed this time away from the never-ending information of the Internet to actually think for myself again, you know? Highly recommend, especially for those of us prone to anxiety and depression.

a much needed break from the news and the Internet

easily fixing the tension issues with my sewing machine

green, green, green, everywhere I look

reading outside on the rocking chairs with J

clean, cold water from our well

ham sandwiches with bread that I made and lettuce from our garden

a long phone call with my mama

starting to differentiate between bird calls

jiu jitsu classes back in session for M

watching the little kids play in the sprinkler

coconut primer water that reminds me of being at the beach

Our Lady of Kibeho

how fast D has learned Blender (a free online animation/rendering software)

watching fireflies at dusk

sitting under the twinkling lights on the back porch after the kids go to bed

little brothers wearing big brother hand-me-downs

another student loan paid off!

a beautiful Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

waking up with the sunrise

laughter

a sale on ebay

getting to the bottom of the laundry pile, if only for a little while

homemade blueberry iced tea

the opportunity to snag a deep freezer while they’re back in stock

a new website that I found to buy used books

a good hair day

a jungle of wildflowers in the front flower beds

boxes of fabric given to me by my late grandmother

the sewing lessons she taught me (how I wish I had asked her to teach me more!)

when Lucy naps at my feet

watching a squirrel jump from tree to tree to tree

my six happy, healthy children

watching a movie on a rainy afternoon

an answered prayer

June 8, 2020

No.413: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // COVID-19 Lockdown Week 12

June 6, 2020

No.412: A Rosary Walk

I started the routine of a daily Rosary Walk a few months ago. I was in the middle of the 54-Day Novena and when the long days of lockdown were overwhelming my introverted senses, I would escape outside to walk “the loop” around our property. It was a game changer!

I struggle with keeping focus in prayer. The tabs in my head keep pinging and I’m constantly struggling to remember what I saying (“Sorry, where was I?”) or even what part of a prayer I am on. (“Did I already say an Our Father? I better say it again just in case.”) It often feels frustrating and defeating.

Praying outside is a completely different experience for me. It almost seems counter intuitive, but when I’m physically walking and my senses are overloaded with sights and smells and noises….I’m able to pray in a much deeper way. My head somehow clears itself of all the things and I’m left with only the task at hand. This new routine has become so important to me that I go out in almost any weather now, from sunny days to afternoons of pouring rain.

When I’m overwhelmed, I walk.
When I need to sob away from my kids, I walk.
When I’m so angry, I could burst, I walk.
When I’m frustrated and feeling helpless, I walk.

Without fail, I come away from those 15-20 minutes more at peace and interiorly calm. I rarely come home with some deeper insight and I still don’t have many of the answers I wish I knew. I can only describe it as a deep feeling of knowing that God is faithful, He hears my prayers, and He works all things for good.

Today, I thought I’d take you with me on a recent walk and show you some of the beautiful things I saw: