garden harvest.

i had grand plans of posting a play by play of my garden this summer.
i took lots of pictures.  gardens are amazing.  but as my garden started producing, my hours were spent caring for my harvest and not sitting at a computer.

so, enjoy my first year garden experience in a fast replay.

dream, plan, read books, buy seeds.

plant, wonder, weed a little, wait.

get busy with friends, family, vacations.
loose control of the weeds.

weed.

weed.

weed.
cry to my husband who agreed to help weed an hour each morning before he went to work.
(he took one child with him each morning and rotated.)
watch things grow.
be amazed.
pick stuff.
eat lots of radishes.

bewilder over herbs.
eat tons of fresh veggies.

miss the lettuce.

worry about peppers (too small).
worry about tomatoes (too many).
fall in love with the celery.

have grand plans for tomato cages that never materialize.

spend a month trying to figure out sugar snap peas (do you eat the peas or the shell?)

figured out sugar snap peas a little late.

swim with zucchini.

(and, just so you know, i do KNOW you are not supposed to let it grow that big.)

(and, just so you know i'm not crazy, it really does DOUBLE in size every time you look at it.)

smile at sunflowers.

have cucumbers coming out my nose.  literally.
(cucumbers are not my favorite veggie.  just so you know.)

pick fresh basil and freeze homemade pesto.
watch beans climb a metal thing.  it's beautiful.

eat fried green tomatoes and love them.

pick raspberries, blueberries, cherries, apples, pears, plums, blackberries...
drink a sip of cran-raspberry juice with more gratitude.
have a pantry and freezer that is overflowing.
go on vacation.

miss the corn.

let the beans grow a little too long.

pressure can for the first time in my life.

learn to make homemade mint and lemon-balm tea with fresh tea leaves.
start a Sunday tea and scones tradition.

these are potato plants...

dig up the most fun, colorful potatoes ever.

completely wonder over home-grown broccoli.

blanch and freeze for the first time in my life.
fall in love with small pepper plants that grow beautiful peppers.

pick purple cauliflower and baby eggplants on the same night.

um.  eggplant!!  did i tell you we grew EGGPLANT?!!

(still don't know how to eat them... but they are AMAZING!!)

make pickles that are kind of nasty.

fall out of love with cucumbers.

(cucumbers are my worst.  sometimes they taste good.  sometimes they taste NASTY. ??)
eat a real, live, homegrown cabbage.

cabbages are cool.

swim in tomatoes.

can tomato sauce.

can apple sauce.
can jam.
can plum sauce.

can apple pie filling.
can green beans.

can whole tomatoes.
clean up the kitchen again.

take another picture of a pepper.

our garden is still going strong.

we have cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, TOMATOES, peppers, Brussels sprouts,squash, celery, and cabbage still growing.
oh, and a tree full of apples in our driveway.
sigh.

i do still love gardening, like i love raising children.
but, anyone who has had a child knows that with number one you might go into things a bit naive.  with your first child, you might think, "Oh, this is going to be so fun.  Babies are so cute."

And, you are right.  It is fun and they are cute.  But, they are also a lot of work.
my second year garden will be more of a choice than an experiment.  i will choose it again.  but i will know just how much work it takes.

i am amazed at the beauty of this earth.
pearl buck was right.  this IS a Good Earth.

(and, i can not imagine giving birth to a baby and then continuing to pick rice.  then again, the thought of birthing a baby in a garden sounds perfect.  maybe next summer i can bury my placenta near my purple cauliflower. mmm!)

purple cauliflower is cool.  seriously.

as i was showing the professor these pictures he said, "You need to go pick tomatoes tomorrow."
smile.
this is NOT the end.

1-2-3-4-5-6:30

routine is important.
i stink at routine and so i want my children to learn this habit while they are young.
i have been trying to learn to live by a schedule for years.
years.
i do have a schedule for house cleaning that i talk about here, creation cleaning.

i recently heard a talk where Sister Julie Beck told about her mother (who had 11 children) waking them all up by saying 1-2-3-4.
they knew that 1 meant, kneel to pray.  2 meant read their scriptures.  3 meant make their bed.  4 meant get dressed.

last night, we taught our own children a modified plan... 1-2-3-4-5-6:30
1- get up with a smile
2- kneel to pray
3- make your bed
4- get dressed
5- read your scriptures (our scriptures are all upstairs in the living room where we have morning devotional)
and do all of that before
6:30- when we have family prayer and scripture study.
This morning i rolled out of bed and knelt to pray, forgetting that Lily had joined me in the middle of the night.
i knelt right on her head.  oops.

i loved seeing my cute kids curled up on the couch studying their scriptures this morning.
they love knowing exactly what they should be doing when they wake up.

When i write a plan for MY day that also includes EVERY child in my family, it works.
Instead of just writing "clean the house" from 10-12am.  I write "clean the house", bigger kids at school, little kids playing puzzles, coloring in coloring books, reading.
That way i have a plan for them and i don't feel frustrated that they are distracting me.
I plan table activities for them to do while i'm cooking dinner.
This is the blank chart that i print out... i found it here.

i filled out my 'homeschool' schedule twice.
first, i did every day of the week.  then, i did a separate line for each person in our family.
it feels so nice to have a plan and to SEE on paper why my afternoons are a bit hectic.

 have a great day!

First day of the rest of her life.

leah and mrs. bumstead- first day of kindergarten 2012-2013

oh, leah.
how i love this feisty child.
i think jakob, my oldest, wore a button down shirt with a tie his first day of kindergarten.
leah is my fifth to start school.
she picked her own outfit-- leopard pants that she got for her birthday.
"because they're the fastest," she explained as i was trying to distract her into picking a sweet skirt with buckle shoes.
i have to pause here and tell you, there was a time that i might have dreamed of 5 little girls wearing peter pan collars or smocked dresses with buckle shoes.
today, i LOVE that they are all so different.

doesn't she look fast?  yes-siree!

i LOVED leah's cheetah pants.
I also have to say-- we have both a spirit and a body.
i know it.
their bodies are small and young, but their spirits are old.
these children may have inherited my eyes-- but their spirits are UNIQUELY theirs.
nature is strong. nurture is not defining, only encouraging or hindering.
leah has taught me much.
a mother's role is not to create a person-- it is to get to know a soul and find ways to nurture in them the goodness that they have always had.
we are discovers NOT inventors.
(actually-- all inventors are discovers anyway, truth is eternal. But, that is a topic for another day.)
i pray daily to really SEE these kids.
i want to see her as she can be...

even my middle school boys brought apple gifts for their first period teacher.
i just picked up some apple hand soap from the dollar store.

I will always remember leopard pants, cheetah backpack, an apple and apple soap in her hand, and a BIG smile on her face.
she asked 100 times if i was going to walk her into her classroom.
we hadn't even arrived at the door before she was explaining that she did NOT need me to walk her to her classroom every day, now that she knew where it was.

i watched her find her seat, sit down to color (a horse, of course), and as i was walking towards the door, she discovered the shelf of books.

i stood for a long time watching outside the door.
my eyes were teary.
i wasn't sad-- i was overflowing with love and HOPE.

i always kiss my kids hand with lipstick so they have some love to remember throughout the day.

books!  that's my girl.

how i hope for that girl.
i hope she will ever love learning.
i hope she will be kind and quick to obey.
she is a BIG spirit.  full of life.
she will be something-- may i guide her with wisdom to be something good.

as i sat looking in, an aide came by and hugged my shoulders.
we chatted for awhile and she could see my teary eyes.
she gingerly asked, "is this your first?"
i love when that happens.
"nope, not my first.  but loved like an only child would be."
i have always wanted seven children and each an only child.

leah begged to ride the bus home.
and, i thought kindergarten only afternoon bus would be fun.
todd had spent the morning home, so i could spend the morning peering into leah's class.
her kindergarten starts at 8:15 and gets out at 10:30 or 10:55 depending on the day.
{it is scarcely more than a preschool.  it's actually LESS than most preschools.}

we waited at the bus stop until she finally pulled up, and just like that she was home again.
home, and just a bit OLDER.

the report i got from her teacher the next morning was that "Leah was great.  I did have to remove her from the books a few times, but other than that she was great."
i heard a full report when she got home.
her teacher is nice.
she sings the days of the week song differently than we do.
and, can i pack her a lunch box to eat at snack time?

while leah was at school, lily said often, "why does leah have to go to school?  i will miss her so much.  i wish we could play together."
i always love the year when one of my younger children becomes the oldest at home.
it is a big year.
lily, eve, and i have had fun together at home.
we paint, and play play-doh, and clean the house together.

life is good.
and as much as i wish i could keep my little ones little forever,
i LOVE watching them grow and become.

 i do love these seasons of life.
And, leopard pants, i love them too!

Morality and Freedom of Religion.

Today i will spend my day doing the laundry, vacuuming my floor, reading some of the 35 books i checked out yesterday from the library to my children.
{i couldn't find any poems by Tennyson at our local library.  shouldn't that be against the law?}
I will attend open houses in the primary, elementary and middle schools.
My son has his first football game this afternoon, my girls will attend a class at church and my boys will join their father for boy scouts later this evening.
Our life is an intricate web of home, family, school, community, church and fellowship.

Yesterday, my 10 year old girl was sassy when i questioned her on how long it took for her to get to the car after school.
My oldest boys have slid gently into their teen years.
A crying, emotional, young female scared me a little bit.  Whoa!
I took the evening off- just me and her.
We shopped together, we went to the library, out to dinner, we planned meals and brought home groceries.
My husband cared for the children at home, ran carpools, and made dinner.
Anna and I laughed together and spoke in fake English accents (she's weird like that).
I told her over and over how much i loved her and how we needed to stay close as she grew.
I explained the importance of being able to communicate with love.
I explained gently that she needed to be respectful always.
I asked her what i could do better.
It was good.
Last night, i was doing the most important thing.
Everyone should learn these lessons in their youth!

My days are spent caring for my home and children, BUT, oh how my heart and mind LOVES to mull over ideas and concepts!!
I am intrigued by educated people who write and reason.
{side note- i am reading Charlotte's Web to my 6 and 4 year old girls at nap time.  Wow!  E.B. White is an AMAZING writer.  His words are like icing.  My young girls are entranced and i'm certain he is speaking way above their vocabulary level.  I know why that classic book is classic.  It is beautiful.  Read it again- you will love it.}
I love to learn new things and I seek truth and goodness.
My husband is a professor (he bugs me talks often about me returning to school to get my PhD.  He knows I will love it.)
He reads much about business and ethics and public policy.
He is a man of refined speech.
it drives me CRAZY when he argues with me about my word choices.
i tell him if he is so smart that he should be able to understand what i MEAN instead of wasting his time making me define my words.  ha!
saying that-- i will admit that i love to listen to him.
he understands things and is much more, shall i say, non-committal, than i am.
i am passionate, he is logical.
i LOVE raising children with him.  we are better people because of all that we have learned raising children.
but, i love the time when we are not raising children, we are just talking about ideas.
i love him most for his ideas.
i get mad at him sometimes for knowing stuff and NOT telling me.
i yearn for the days when we were dating and could just sit for hours and hours in the front of his car, talking and making out.
we need to do that more.

this morning, as we were dressing and changing morning diapers and helping children finish the last problem on their homework and cutting up fruit for morning breakfasts... we were discussing freedom of religion.
i read the most interesting article last night.
This article, "Restoring Morality and Religious Freedom"  from an apostle in our church- one of the 12.
It is an intriguing article with many equally intriguing references.
{Another great article Overcoming Addiction Through the Atonement-- i have mulled over this for the past week and concluded that i agree.  We overcome addiction or weaknesses NOT by focusing on the addiction, but on our power, with God's help, to choose a different way.  great article.}
THIS is why i couldn't carry all the books i checked out from the library in one trip last night.
i have a new list of "to read" after reading that article.

the article referenced THIS talk "Preserving Religious Freedom", by another apostle, Elder Dallin H. Oaks.
It is the talk i have embedded at the top of this blog.
Elder Oaks is an impressive man, a prominent lawyer and he speaks truth.
i want to learn more.  i want to read this transcript again and read the works that he references.
i want to understand it more, because it is what i believe.
!!!WATCH THE VIDEO-- READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF HIS TALK- slowly!!
it is interesting and true and will give you much to think about as you go on with your daily life.

i believe that morality is essential to a functioning society.
i believe in absolutes- right and wrong.
Evil societies will fall.  Goodness will bring happiness.
I believe that just like we are subject to laws of gravity, whether or not we know they exist, we are subject to laws of morality.
Mainly, if you keep the commandments, you will prosper in the land.
Morality must be taught and adhered to or our societies will crumble.
History is a prime example of that.

i LOVE these quotes Elder Oak's references.  Here is the transcript of his talk where you will find these references.  READ THE TALK!!
I want to read ALL these sources for myself... tomorrow.

In his book, Modern Times, the British author Paul Johnson writes:

“At the beginning of the 1920s the belief began to circulate, for the first time at a popular level, that there were no longer any absolutes: of time and space, of good and evil, of knowledge, above all of value."⁵³

On this side of the Atlantic, Gertrude Himmelfarb describes how the virtues associated with good and evil have been degraded into relative values.⁵⁴

A variety of observers have described the consequences of moral relativism. All of them affirm the existence of God as the Ultimate Law-giver and the source of the absolute truth that distinguishes good from evil.

Rabbi Harold Kushner speaks of God-given “absolute standards of good and evil built into the human soul.”⁵⁵ He writes:

“As I see it, there are two possibilities. Either you affirm the existence of a God who stands for morality and makes moral demands of us, who built a law of truthfulness into His world even as He built in a law of gravity. . . . Or else you give everyone the right to decide what is good and what is evil by his or her own lights, balancing the voice of one's conscience against the voice of temptation and need. . . .”⁵⁶

Rabbi Kushner also observes that a philosophy that rejects the idea of absolute right and wrong inevitably leads to a deadening of conscience.

“Without God, it would be a world where no one was outraged by crime or cruelty, and no one was inspired to put an end to them. . . . [T]here would be no more inspiring goal for our lives than self-interest. . . . Neither room nor reason for tenderness, generosity, helpfulness.”⁵⁷

 Dr. Timothy Keller, a much-published pastor in New York, asks:

“What happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won't!. . . .

“Though we have been taught that all moral values are relative to individuals and cultures, we can‘t live like that. In actual practice we inevitably treat some principles as absolute standards by which we judge the behavior of those who don't share our values. . . . People who laugh at the claim that there is a transcendent moral order do not think that racial genocide is just impractical or self-defeating, but that it is wrong. . . .”⁵⁸

My esteemed fellow Apostle, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, asked:

“[H]ow can a society set priorities if there are no basic standards? Are we to make our calculations using only the arithmetic of appetite?”⁵⁹

He made this practical observation:

“Decrease the belief in God, and you increase the numbers of those who wish to play at being God by being 'society's supervisors.' Such 'supervisors' deny the existence of divine standards, but are very serious about imposing their own standards on society.”⁶⁰

Lily just came to tell me "Mommy, we don't have anymore chocolate chips, except the big ones."
Smelling chocolate on her breath I said, "You'd better not be eating chocolate chips."
She said, "We didn't" and walked back to the kitchen...
George Washington is cringing.
My time is up.
Oh how this stuff intrigues me!!

Here are the articles i want to read later today...
1.  UK Court Rules Christianity Harmful to Children
2.  The Mark News- Should Religion Influence Policy
3.  USA Today- George Washington Thanked God for America
4.  NY Times- The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker
5.  The Economist- Onward and Upwards; Why is the modern view of progress so impoverished?

have a great day!

{picture added later!}

Forgive my typos-- no time to edit... chocolate chips and toddlers are calling!

all finish lines are fake.

I've been thinking about this post I wrote-- Rejoice in the finishes AMIDST your unfinished!

I want to shout to all the world-- especially to the women!!  Rejoice in all that you do!!  You are never done, but you are doing GREAT!!

we don't rejoice enough.

Finish lines, graduations, final exams, even the endings of books, they are ALL man-made and fake. 

In life, we don’t finish, we don’t fail, we don’t succeed.

we are progressing... 

i don't even believe that death is an end... in some ways it is only a beginning.

a "graduation".  

don't you want to laugh at kindergarten graduations?  i do.

Bwahahahaha! you have finished year one... 110 years to go!!

When measuring a man’s speed, finish lines are necessary. 

Ask yourself this question, does the fact that one man is a mere fragment of a second faster across the finish line actually mean that he is faster than the man in second place?
What if there were no finish line?
How would we measure who is faster?

Almost all finish lines are subjective. 

Didn’t some brilliant teacher (what’s his name anyway?) FAIL Albert Einstein? 

Is it possible that Albert Einstein really FAILED science?

Didn’t Jane Austin’s writing become famous only after she died? 

She wrote.  She was brilliant and classic, even if nobody knew it. 

Had she died without ever having any of her works even published, would she still have been a brilliant writer? 

YES.  YES!!

Brilliance is not determined by FAME or FINISH LINES or the number of questions you can answer on some man’s written test.

I sincerely HOPE that no man ever graduates with his MD and thinks that he has learned all he needs to know to heal people.
I sincerely hope that no woman ever walks back down the isle with her new MRS. title thinking, “We are now ONE.”
Learning takes time and is never ending.
I believe unless we are damned—or stopped. We will be eternally progressing.

SOOOO, why do we need finish lines?

Why?  I’ll tell you.

My son ran cross country last fall.

Cross country is a wonderful sport and it is tough.

I watched this boy run hard.  During the last uphill of the race I could see tears in his eyes and determination on his face. 

Oh how my mother’s heart would ache for this boy as he pushed himself!
I was so proud of his effort and his grit.  

I never cared whether or not he came in first. 

There really is no first and no last. 

There is always someone faster and always many slower.

I loved his effort.  His training.  His ability to endure for a time.

Effort can not be sustained indefinitely.

There MUST be a time when we stop running. 

When we breathe and drink and smile at our mother who is cheering us on from the sidelines.

There must be a time when we joke with our friends on the bus and just enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Racing is good.  TRYING is good.  But, fake finish lines are ESSENTIAL.

We should not need wine or Friday night at the club to feel at peace.

We should not need to numb out with mindless tv or internet to REST.

We need to teach ourselves to FEEL JOY amidst our temporary finish lines and to REST.

I’m afraid society has forgotten how to do this and subsequently we are replacing NUMB for FINISHED.

People need NUMB to replace DONE and at PEACE.
Escape is not REST.  Find rest.  Feel rest.
You are enough.

There is NO END to housework.

There is NO END to parenting.

There is NO END to becoming better and making mistakes.

There is NO END to learning to love.

There is NO END to trying.

There is NO END to learning.

Your jobs have NO END, your problems have NO END.

Life is about learning and growing and climbing.

And so, we must make our own FAKE FINISHES.

We must find temporary resting places. 

We must stop and enjoy the view at the REST STOPS of life or we will miss the whole trip!

Don’t miss it!  Don’t spend your whole life waiting for the finish line you think will come!

Don’t think once they go to school it will be better.
Don’t think once they are potty trained...
Don’t wish for grown kids or a husband who could just put his laundry in the basket.

Another deadline will appear magically once your original deadline is attained.
That is life.
Finish lines are fake.  We must pause and enjoy the race. 

We MUST!!

Neither the turtle or the hare wins unless one of them takes time to pause and enjoy their small victory!

We MUST use the finite scope of this earth life and celebrate our own fake finishes.

Labels are given to men and woman by other men and women, or are self appointed.

Does having a baby make you a “mother” or do you become a mother as you learn and grow?

What about adopted mothers?  When do they become?
When do you label yourself “a writer” or “a runner” or “patient”.

Who get’s to label one an “expert.”

Life is ambiguous and constantly in a state of motion.

Not one person with an organized home would EVER say their house is completely organized.  

Not even the best teacher would ever think they had taught all that they knew.
No child is ever raised.
There is always one more revision to be made on your final drafts.

Label yourself a work in progress and just BE who you are! 

Stop beating yourself up and start being yourself.
Just BE.  

Life is as much about running as it is about knowing when to stop.

Teaching your children to rest and enjoy life is as important as teaching your children to work hard and try!

Allowing yourself moments to rejoice are essential to one’s mental well-being.

Our world is turning into a constant race!!

We are pushing ourselves and our children to be the smartest, the skinniest, the fastest, the cutest, the kindest, the best.
We are chasing unattainable mirages.
We are chasing finish lines that are really only markers of time along an eternal cross country jog.

Do we remember GRACE?  Do we remember that IT IS ENOUGH?
Do we remember that His yoke is easy and his burden is light? 

Climb Mt. Fuji, little snail.  But, slowly, slowly.

i have heard mothers crying that the have failed because their THREE YEAR old was not sharing in nursery.
you can NOT fail if you are not finished.
Three year olds are not ruined, because they are not finished yet.
Neither are we... we are not finished yet.

And, like i tell my running son, you WIN if you keep trying.
Never stop starting!
You can't stop, really.  Life is a swiftly flowing river.
We can float for a time.
We can enjoy the journey for a time.
We can spend our today yearning for tomorrow or mourning our yesterdays, but we can not hold back the current.
Life flows forward.
Just make the next RIGHT choice and celebrate it.

I see so many good, good, good people who beat themselves up by all that they are NOT.

STOP DOING THAT!!

You might not be first, but you are running!  And, that is great.

Stop for a few minutes, relax and make yourself a big ribbon to hang on your wall that says- Number One Mother!! 

Tell yourself that for today you are in first place and REJOICE!

I like fake finishes.

the end.

cooking from scratch.

eve doesn't quite understand finger painting...  cute girl.

i am trying to eat healthier.

fresh fruits, beans, veggies.

REAL food, not processed food.

(we already do eat healthy-- but i'm frustrated finding things to eat!)

i do not have time for extreme, fancy meals.

i need food that tastes good.

i am sick and tired of spending my time and money to prepare food for my family that is not NOURISHING to them.

honestly.

i can't do it anymore.

do you know they make MACARONI AND CHEESE BABY FOOD??!!

come on people?!!

makes me CRAZY.

we live in a day and age where we can feed our families ANYTHING we want to feed them.

we live in a country where food is wasted and plentiful.

what choices are we making?

i am certain that our angel ancestors are cringing at some of the things we choose to put in our mouths.

i believe that our body is a temple.

i also believe that temples are different from churches.

(at least in my religion.)

a church is designed to welcome ALL.

Brigham Young said if our chapels don't smell like smoke, we aren't doing our job.

a temple is reserved for those who are living the higher laws.

keeping the covenants they have made.

in our church, we have an interview with a bishop where he asks us simple questions.

our answers qualify us for a temple recommend or not.

we should ALL require a temple recommend for things that enter our body.

Will this food nourish?

Will it give me energy and be healthy for my body?

Is it good for me?

for me, it works better to focus on what i AM eating that what i am NOT eating.

FEEDING is better than FORBIDDING.

but-- i ALWAYS get frustrated because i don't know HOW to cook real food and i don't have the time to sort through millions of online recipes.

i found a GREAT, GREAT resource!!

This cookbook.

i feel like i can FINALLY eat healthier and it is NOT overwhelming to me.

SCRATCH, by Tammie Dugger

(no, not 19 and counting Duggers.)

Tammy is my new BFF4EVA.

Here is her website-- Nourishing Families.

Here is link to a show that her and her husband did for the Mormon Channel- Creating and Sustaining Wellness (so good).

And here is a link to purchase the cookbook.  It costs $36.98 with shipping and tax.

it's a great cookbook.

full of simple, healthy recipes that i LOVE.

all the recipes are cooked from SCRATCH.

with real food and simple seasonings.

LOVE IT!

really.  

the first few recipes i cooked out of it made me want to call ten people (yeah, i really did do this) and tell them they had to buy this cookbook.

You'll love it.

i promise.

AND-- you'll learn to cook lentils from scratch.

because, lentils are cool.

really.

Here is a great talk on how your physical body influences your spirit.

it's GREAT!

Susan Tanner- The Sanctity of the Body

this story made me smile!

The restored gospel teaches that there is an intimate link between body, mind, and spirit. In the Word of Wisdom, for example, the spiritual and physical are intertwined. When we follow the Lord’s law of health for our bodies, we are also promised wisdom to our spirits and knowledge to our minds (see D&C 89:19–21). The spiritual and physical truly are linked.

I remember an incident in my home growing up when my mother’s sensitive spirit was affected by a physical indulgence. She had experimented with a new sweet roll recipe. They were big and rich and yummy—and very filling. Even my teenage brothers couldn’t eat more than one. That night at family prayer my father called upon Mom to pray. She buried her head and didn’t respond. He gently prodded her, “Is something wrong?” Finally she said, “I don’t feel very spiritual tonight. I just ate three of those rich sweet rolls.” I suppose that many of us have similarly offended our spirits at times by physical indulgences. Especially substances forbidden in the Word of Wisdom have a harmful effect on our bodies and a numbing influence on our spiritual sensitivities. None of us can ignore this connection of our spirits and bodies.

eat healthier!

don't you love the color of these peppers?
home grown peppers, like MOST Oregon garden vegetables, TASTE deeper and healthier.
i can't describe it-- it is DIFFERENT and GOOD.
(like the difference between white bread and wheat bread.)

 have a great day!

scripture time!! we are doing it.

scripture time.
remember this is 6:30 in the morning, so they are all still tired!

this summer i've been reading some books by homeschooling mothers.

not because i want to homeschool, but because i want to know how they do it.

how do other large families run?

i read one book, Large Family Logistics, and was impressed.

she is very organized, has themed days of the week, runs a pretty tight schedule, is very Christian, has a farm and has lots of kids.

her life sounds dreamy and similar but very different from mine.

that book made me want to have a farm and homeschool, just like reading Little House on the Prairie does.

but, this is not my path in life.

a friend of mine [who writes the blog- chocolate on my cranium] said that she didn't learn much from that book.

she was already doing things just like the lady described.

AND, everyone she knew did things this way too.

??!! what??!!  i don't know ANYONE like this.

except Michelle Duggar on 19 and counting.

i found out something.

my kids do WAY less work than these families do.

and, i am WAY more permissive than these mothers are.

{truthfully, i think my kids work hard and i also think that i'm pretty strict...}

i LOVE the perspective that other families bring to my life.

it helps me to feel better about what i am asking my family to do.

and, it helps me reevaluate some things.

i like the balance that my family has.

BUT-- i did need to change some things.

I started with SCRIPTURE TIME.

our scripture time had morphed into scripture lounging, playing, corralling of wild horses, time of day.

children listening sometimes, playing and laughing other times, and parents trying to fit in a small ounce of devotion into the morning.

it was planned for Monday through Friday, but was probably achieved only 3 or 4 times a week.

casual was the name of the game.

things are still casual-- but my focus is shifted.

i believe scripture time is a time for reverence, obedience and pondering.

i had focused much on the FEELING, but i had missed an important ingredient.

OBEDIENCE.

it is important that i teach my children to happily obey.

scripture time is GREAT practice!!

the beginning of the school year is a great time to move up a grade.

i'm sharing with you the changes we made and HOW we changed...

i'm not saying your scripture time should look like ours-- just giving you another example to have in your hat.

1.  SCRIPTURE TIME.

It is IMPORTANT for children to learn to sit quietly for a time during the day.

I spend much time entertaining my children and trying to make things fun.

(that IS something good that i do, but it is OK for me to expect just plain compliance sometimes.  even when it might be boring.)

we did a major REVAMP of scripture time.

having a REVERENT scripture time is ESSENTIAL for having children who behave well at school and can sit quietly at church or Sunday school.

it is GOOD for children to learn to sit in their seat, take turns reading, and follow directions.

we did this before-- but, after reading how some other families operate, i have UPPED my game and my expectations.

my kids are age 13,12,10,9,6,4 and 1.  they can ALL sit for 30 minutes a day.

Our Routine.

We start by calling everyone to scripture time (at 6:30am).  They come dressed for school and bring their baskets (see below).

They sit on the couches in the living room and we talk about our schedule (i have a big paper calendar that i have written their events on.)

We recite a memorized quote or scripture if we have one.

We go from youngest to oldest reading from one or two verses of scripture each.

We read a whole chapter.

Then we sing a few songs for eve-- itsy bitsy spider, hokey pokey, if your happy and you know it, and some songs from church.  SO FUN!!

We kneel to pray, todd calls on someone to pray.

And we say our family cheer, "family, forever!  family, forever!  DOOOO GOOD!"

we end with a big family hug, that usually ends with someone crying because the older boys were too rough.

(just keeping it honest.)

2.  read EVERY DAY!

i am not a fan of consistency.  (you know that.)

i like to change things up-- read book of mormon, change to bible, memorize scriptures, sing hymns and scriptures that go with them, follow their sunday school lessons, etc, etc.
but, i'm CONVERTING.
consistence and routine are what is BEST for scripture study.
seriously.  i can FEEL it.
and, if i'm loving a routine you know it is inspired.  (Ha!)

THIS is what works BEST for us.

Pick a book of scripture.

COMMIT to read one chaper a day-- NO MATTER WHAT.

Don't skip weekends!!  Don't skip Sundays!!  (In fact, read TWO chapters on Sunday!)

We mark the chapters that we read on our monthly calendar with a heart.

Our goal is to get 100 days in a row.

My friend Amy said the last time her family missed scripture reading was last year on her birthday. 

She said when she woke up the next morning and realized that they had missed SHE CRIED!

Her kids are just as excited about never missing a day as she is.
wow!!  that example inspired me... we are going to be CONSISTENT with this.
and, the funny thing is it is EASIER to be consistent than it was not to be.

I told my kids that story and, my kids are competitive.

They are LOVING our new consistency.

Many times we read in the CAR!!

We have missed some days this summer-- but we are SO MUCH better than we were when i thought a few missed days was OK.

anna was cranky about SOCKS the morning we made our labels.
i think i may have accidentally, and teasingly, called her a weirdo?!  (oops)
i loved the note her sweet father added to the bottom of her label.

3. EVERYBODY PARTICIPATES!!

i was not a fan of everybody read a verse.

BUT, i have been converted.

we start with lily, todd or i read and she copies line for line.

then we take turns through our whole family until we have finished THE WHOLE CHAPTER.

NO MATTER HOW LONG IT IS.

When i want to go fast and so i just read a whole bunch of verses, my kids get bored and zone out.

When they know there turn is coming, they pay attention more.

There is power in kids being AGENTS.

When they use their agency to read the scriptures, or even repeat the scriptures, they learn a humility and open themselves up to feeling the spirit.

since we have returned to this basic way of having scripture study i can feel a PEACE and REVERENCE in my home that was NOT there before.

i love it!!

4. Playpens?  Caging the baby!!  

many of the ladies i read about have time where they put their baby in a play pen with toys while they are teaching the other children.

REALLY?!!

that was new to me and a bit extreme.

i'm not a play pen mom...

BUT

my BABY is the worst distraction to everyone (myself included) during scripture time.

that seventh child is CONSTANTLY the center of attention.

she has eight people who clap and smile and praise her every moment of the day.

i decided to try out the playpen-- convinced i could make it fun for her.

playpen time was a BIG change.  it was good for a few days to help change things up.

Yes, i did keep the pack and play out for a week while we were formalizing scripture time, but my goal was not to have her in the playpen.

my goal was to teach her to play quietly or look at books and teach the other kids that they CAN NOT play with her for one half hour of the day.

the playpen helped the other kids to understand i was serious about NOT playing with the baby.

she is MINE during scripture time.

i gave her snacks, books, and toys to play with. 

she did great!

5. Baskets.

i made up individual baskets that we keep on our book shelf.  

one per kid.

it has their scriptures and marking pencils, their journals, and other things.

i LOVE the baskets MOST for my younger kids.

i put some paper and pencils in there for them, and a few Friend magazines.

they color their scriptures or in their journal and have things to look at while we are reading.

it keeps them happy and quiet.

Even the baby has a basket!  

Hers is filled with books.

she is learning to sit quietly and play by herself during this time.

i think this will also help her when we go to church-- she is learning there is a time for quiet.

6.  POPSICLES!!

Yup!!  For the first week, i bought brand new, yummy popsicles!

everyone who came quickly, sat nicely and participated respectfully got a great treat afterwards.

if my kids didn't come to scripture time quickly when we called, or got out of their chair, or were sassy, or looked at me wrong (hehe), or played with eve, i would say, "that's one."  

if they got to three they had to sit on a chair and did not get a treat afterwards.

the first two days, we took the best kids to McDonald's for ice cream.

the other kids were shocked.

we had pretty consecutive rewards for great scripture time behavior.

it was summertime and i didn't mind daily popsicles anyway.

anyway.

i was looking around at our scripture time this morning and i was amazed at how far we've come.

we can actually talk about scriptures because we don't have to spend each morning talking about BEHAVIOR.

it is lovely and RIGHT.

Scripture time is important and a great way to start the morning.

But, this is not a post about the importance of a morning devotional.

this is a post about teaching your children to obey and sit quietly.

{i still have a long journey ahead of me with this one!!}

Honor your Father and Mother is one of the ten commandments.

when you obey the commandments, you are blessed.

my children are blessed when they learn to obey.

AND scripture time is GREAT PRACTICE!!

and, lest you misunderstand-- our scripture times are NOT quiet.

but they are FOCUSED.

as we read, we are able to discuss and ask questions and not focusing on the silly behavior of the kids who are not paying attention.

it is good.

{ugh. my time is up today and this post is hard for me to publish.  i keep thinking that people who read will judge that i am too crazy, religious and strict, or that i think my family is so great and it isn't.  these thoughts make it impossible for me to write anything, and so i'm going to ignore them.  i don't have everything figured out, i'm still climbing every day.  take this as a shout out for teaching your children to behave a little better each day!  teaching is SO important.  and, i'm not finished yet!!}

we are there!

visiting the redwoods.
we kept taking pictures next to the BIGGEST tree and then finding one that was bigger.
so fun!!  just look at that cute crew of kids!  i love them.

i'm out of a bloggy habit and it is hard to return.
i have SO MUCH to show and tell you about our summer that it is overwhelming to me.
i have 3 sleeping girls and 20 minutes before i need to pick up the rest of my kids from school.
anna and ellie started elementary school yesterday.
jakob and drew started middle school today.
and, leah starts kindergarten tomorrow!
i was ready for school to come.
i love school.
yet, my eyes filled with tears as i dropped them off yesterday.
another year... my babies are growing up.
i LOVE those kids.

we like trees.

1. Take a Trip!
last week we went on our last family trip before school starts.
i have decided a few things.
First, family trips are IMPORTANT.
you must plan time to ENJOY life together.
important, essential, DON'T LET LIFE PASS without PLANNING FUN!!
Second, you don't have to travel far or spend tons of money to have a great time.
you might see pictures of families traveling to india and think that you need that kind of money to have a good time.
that is wrong.
this world is BEAUTIFUL.
there are fun things right outside your door.
every land is unique.  every state is unique, every town in unique.
i would suggest ASKING around, compiling a list of neat things in your town and PLANNING some day trips.
some of my favorite days are days we are enjoying the land we live in.
(and, we have lived in 4 states since we've been married-- they have been different but ALL equally interesting!)
Third, whatever you are doing-- ENJOY IT!
as a young mother, i learned wise advice from my neighbor.
she said, "Just think of it as taking a TRIP not as taking a VACATION."
if you think trip- it will be a fun experience.
if you think vacation- you will feel robbed.
i agree.
TRIPS are full of adventure, laughter, tired kids, packing, unpacking, washing and great memories.
VACATIONS are boring.  :)

this is our cabin in the trees! staying in a tree house was SO fun!

2.  We ARE there!
my kids are used to driving long distances.
this recent trip was a short (4 hour) drive.
a few times they asked, "Are we there yet?  Are these the redwoods?"
i would always say with excitement, "YES!! WE ARE THERE!!"
they would laugh.
as we traveled and sang and quarreled and stopped to go potty and laughed together, i kept saying...
"THIS IS IT!!  Our family trip!!  WE ARE THERE!"

3.  Just practicing.
i LOVE spending time with my family.
today, they are young and i get to teach them to be people i want to hang out with when i'm older.
i get to teach them how to be good mothers and fathers as they interact with their younger siblings.
while they are young, i get to love them so much that they will WANT to hang out with me when i am old.
i get to enjoy their individuality and help them develop their gifts and talents.
i heard once that kindness, respect, honesty, hard work, faith, repentance, forgiveness, love... these are attributes that can not be taught in Sunday School class.
they are attributes that one does not learn by hearing a preacher (or parent) preach to you.
the qualities that i really want my children to learn, take PRACTICE.
i am so thankful that we get to practice EVERY DAY!!
30 minutes of piano a day might produce an efficient pianist in a few years.
how many days of reminding my children to brush their teeth will produce adults with good hygiene?
how many rehearsed, "i'm sorry i did..., i forgive you for doing..., i love you.  i will never do it again"s will it take for my children to resolve conflict quickly and kindly?
how many times do i have to say "use your utensils" before i will trust they have excellent manners on their first date?
i'm grateful for our daily practice!!

4.  We are BLESSED.
our cup isn't half full, it is at least 3/4 full!
really, it is.
life is SO good.
i don't know what it is exactly (perhaps it is the fact that my house is SHINY CLEAN right now?) that has put this thought so strongly in my soul.
we are blessed and we should thank the Lord with all of our soul.

i like this shot where i can't see what is going on behind me!  

in my last post, i wrote about listening to meg johnson-- a young girl who is paralyzed.
i really think that has opened my eyes a bit to feeling SO grateful for my body.
we are two beings-- an eternal soul and a physical body.
our body is just our earthly CAR.
it is a great blessing and a trial.
the trial part means it is a tool to help our Spirits learn.
wow.
i am grateful for my trusty body.
we have learned a lot together, and hopefully we have many more years as travelling companions.

i love that ellie still wants to hold my hands when we walk.
in fact, i love that my hands are almost NEVER empty!

I know that our Father in Heaven designed FAMILIES to teach us all that we need to know to return to live with Him again.
Our bodies are great gifts from Heaven, and great trials that will help make us stronger.
(Not sure why i'm writing that in there, but i just feel it so strongly.)
This life is NOT a vacation.  It is designed as a trip!
it is not supposed to be easy, it is supposed to be a great experience.
"all these things shall be for your good and shall give thee experience."

i've missed you this summer!

there.

mint tea and applesauce.

i woke up early this morning, it is my nature these days.
my house was quiet with remnants of a filled labor day in the air.
my kitchen is still, with 43 jars of freshly canned applesauce shining triumphantly on my counter.
my children are sleeping with belly's full of picnic food (probably more dessert than salads) and apples from the tree.
i can still hear drew saying, "cold apples are hard to eat.  i like apples picked right from the tree the best."
i can still see leah's eyes glowing as she tells me about squishing the fallen apples and throwing them to the cows in the pasture.
my children have a beautiful life.

on my counter, next to the apples is a box of pears- also given to us by friends who have abundance.
there is a pile of garden grown vegetables- picked from our very own garden.
i am anxious to make zucchini sweet relish today and to can apple pie filling from our remaining apples.
our freezer is literally bursting with berries awaiting jam.

i don't can because it is cheaper, although it is.
(most of the fruit i get for free from friends who have more than they can eat.)
i can because it is REAL and good and healthy and i love it.
my kids love it.

in the morning i slip on my garden clogs and grab a bowl.
we have recently learned to make tea with the mint and lemon balm and lavender we have growing in our garden.
my yard is blooming and beautiful, the sun is shining in the early morning crispness.
i see a few utensils stuck in the dirt and some random shoes in my bushes.
baby eve loves to throw things off the balcony.

armed with fresh picked mint leaves in my white ceramic teapot, i sit down with my journal and my scriptures to welcome in the morning and to thank heaven for all i've been given.
in the quiet morning hours, i can feel angels near me.
i am filled with joy and feel so sweetly the love and grace of my Savior.

i LOVE being a mother.
i think the world is BEAUTIFUL.
i know that there is a God and that He knows me.
He loves me.
He has blessed me abundantly.
i LOVE the life i live.
every day.
although i can't wait for the time that i can travel the world, i have learned that you don't have to travel far to stand in AWE.
this morning, in my home, i feel heaven.

my children are awake and around me now.
i remembered to take a moment with each of them, to smile at them, to hold them tightly, to tell them how grateful i am for them, individually.
because i AM.

we got home late last night.
we had played hard at a picnic with friends and family.
my kids had spent the day playing, laughing, finding frogs, sliding, swinging, eating, exploring.
i had organized the children's games at the picnic and felt glad to have that checked off my list.
we went from the picnic to apple picking.
we came home with trunks full of apples and pears to counters already full of produce that i have to preserve.
cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and a bowl full of blackberries...
my kids were dirty and tired.
i was tired.
my mind raced with all that needed to happen quickly.
baths, books, bed, apples, peppers, zucchini, laundry, packing for a family vacation, quick errands around town the next day.
i sat down at the table and began my list.
when my husband called to brag to his parents about our bountiful counters, i whined to my mother in law about my husband's optimistic pre-trip plans.
(we leave early Wednesday morning for a family vacation down to the redwoods.  we're staying in a tree house hotel.  i am so excited and anxiously getting ready.)
i tucked my children into bed with damp hair and not enough sweetness (allowing one boy and one girl to stay up and help with applesauce).
my husband and kids immersed themselves in apples.
i gathered the laundry and lost myself in Mormon Channel- where i listened to Meg Johnson, a girl who was paralyzed at the age of 25 when she accidentally jumped from a red rock cliff. (listen to it here)
i watched videos where she showed how she can cook an egg and tie an apron and get herself into bed.
she was smiling and happy.
it took her 18 minutes to make her husband eggs.

it took her 6 minutes to wipe up an egg that had cracked on the floor.

i am blessed.
midnight came, my kids had long since been sent to bed and todd and i were just finishing up our last jars of applesauce- we canned 43.
he was cranking while i pushed the apples down with the plunger.
apples splattered, again, and we laughed together.
he looked into my eyes and just kissed me big and long.
a sweet, cinnamon-y kiss.
then and there, i knew how abundantly blessed i am.
i thought once again-- THIS is the life i always wanted.
i am LIVING MY DREAM.

i LOVE john 10:10.  it says.
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

my life is an ABUNDANT life!

early last night, my apples looked a little overwhelming and heavy.
they looked like a burden and a responsibility.
but, in the quiet morning light, my 43 jars of applesauce shine like trophies.
i feel honored to have them on my counter tops.
they are a symbol to me of good friends, hardworking children, and a husband who values goodness.

my children are my real apples.
they are delicious and beautiful and sometimes feel like a lot of work.
but, in the early morning light, i see their bounty and i feel abundantly blessed.
as my children woke up one by one this morning, i could see within them boxes of apples still needing to be cared for, and jars and jars of applesauce just waiting to be enjoyed.
they are both bounty and potential.
and i love them.
i am SO grateful for a husband that lives confidently optimistic at all we can accomplish together.
i hope i never forget these moments together with family and apples.
life is GOOD!!!

(this is my LAST week before school starts.  i am going to soak in every moment of summer we have left.  starting now!!)

mystery vegetable.

do you know what this is?

 it's a lemon cucumber!

cute, isn't it?
my kids LOVE them.
my kids insist that they taste like a lemony cucumber.
i think they taste like a regular cucumber but have a suggestive name.
i can't wait to grow more of these next year.

ps.  how do you cook your summer corn?
we love to bake corn in the oven-- skins and all.
it comes out perfect and is easy to peel once the silk has dried out in the oven.
mmm.  don't you love summer produce?