The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{ramblings} Finding Joy in Ordinary Days

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Sometimes life is hard.  Sometimes life is complicated.  Sometimes it’s hard to see further than the here and now.  It’s in these times that I must be the most intentional.  I try to consciously seek the goodness and the joy in my ordinary days.  Here are a few:  
  • wearing my new sweater for the first time
  • brother giggles
  • baby J’s adorable walking, which looks a lot like tango steps
  • a happy husband doing what he loves
  • fresh vegetables from the local farm
  • warm, handmade quilts on a chilly morning
  • waking up to a clean kitchen
  • windy days and kite-flying off of the back deck 
I encourage you to take a moment and write down 10 good things.  I promise they can change the whole tone of your day.   
“Joy does not simply happen to us.  We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
– Henri Nouwen

{family} A Pirate Birthday Party

This weekend, we celebrated D’s birthday.  Three years old already!  He chose a pirate theme for the big day.  My Memere has trouble with stairs (and my house has many of them!) so we brought the birthday party to her and set up in my parent’s dining room.   

We had a fun day and my heart grew three sizes watching my sweet boy.  He is much like me and doesn’t feel comfortable being the center of attention, so he was a little shy and unsure about the whole experience.  But once the formal festivities were done and the playing began, he was one happy guy.  I mean, who doesn’t love making his big brother walk the plank?  
 
Happy birthday to my big boy, the apple of my eye.  

{home} It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Autumn…

Ever so slowly, I’ve been getting out my Fall decor.  Why is it taking me so long to decorate?  Maybe it has something to do with those three crazy boys of mine!  

Anyway, decorating this time of year is tricky for me.  I tend to be really picky.  I don’t really decorate for Halloween and I don’t like scary things.  Which is humorous in itself, because I’ll be the first to ooh and ahh over the neighbor’s elaborate Halloween Extravaganza display.  But for my own home, I think it boils down to simplicity.  So here are the beginnings of my decorating so far:

Jury is still out whether I’ll keep the plush.  It was mine from my childhood and the boys love it, but I think it borders on cutesy….we’ll see.  I found the print as a free printable.  So cute and a nod to my Texan husband who actually uses the word “y’all”!

 My mantle so far.  I bought the mini pumpkins at the farm where we went pumpkin picking.  I’m kind-of wishing I bought all white, but I also had a little almost-3-year-old helper and he picked his favorites.  So who can complain?  🙂 

Our “carved” pumpkins.  I HIGHLY recommend these things if you have small children or you just don’t like digging your hands in slimy pumpkins.  They poke right into your pumpkin and boom, you’re done.  Instant gratification and double plus: they’re super heroes! (And a Mr. Potato Head pirate just to shake things up a little)

{family} Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch 2011

The boys have been talking about going to the pumpkin patch for weeks now.  We went on Columbus Day with my mom’s homeshooling group.  The hayride and pumpkins were fun, but I think the highlight of the day was the ginormous dirt pile.  M was covered head to toe by the time we left!

And what a bad Mamma photographer I am…baby J didn’t go on the hayride with us (he stayed with my mom), so I have no “Baby’s First Pumpkin” pictures.  Shucks…such is the life of the third baby, no?  🙂 

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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