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.
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!
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!!)
Thank you for the cheer!
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