Jam, Jam, and more Jam!

I've made more jam this summer than I ever have...and I don't even have a garden this year!

First I made strawberry jam with all the strawberries we picked at a local patch. It disappeared in a hurry!

Then our sweet friends invited us over to pick apricots from their laden tree. Because the apricots were so ripe, it was quick and easy to pit them. I used maple syrup to sweeten it. It's quickly disappearing, as well!

As we were leaving they said, "Hey, take some rhubarb! All the rain has made it grow like crazy!" So we picked a little rhubarb and I thought...I bet I can make jam out of this, too! So I found a recipe and loosely ;-) followed it to make Orange Rhubarb jam. Also delicious! Many mornings Anna will have toast with all 3 kinds of jam!

I definitely miss gardening, but it seems that we've been extra busy this summer (I'm not sure with what??), so it's been a little bit of a relief not to have to spend hours in the garden...even though that's one of my favorite therapies. Next year, hopefully, I'll be back in the garden!

4th of July

We started the morning off EARLY since Aaron ran the in 15K Freedom Run. He did awesome, finishing 6th overall and first in his age division!

I had to wake up everyone but Isaac to go watch him finish his race!

It was such a beautiful morning, so we went back down to the lake after breakfast. Grace loved riding the train!

Then it was back home for a late lunch and mandatory naps for everyone! I'd say Jacob had a good nap, if his hair was any indication!!

Then we went out to Ponderosa Trails to grill steaks and shoot off fireworks! The mosquitoes were awful until I pulled out my Young Living Citronella oil and slathered it on everyone and put a few drops around us on the deck! It was a fun evening...so much so that I didn't take any pictures!

Anna is 14!

We started the morning off with a bike ride to Clive's for a late breakfast.

Then we decorated the house while she was confined to her room (which she hated because she was reading a book. haha!). When she came out, everyone sprayed her with silly string! Then she opened her gifts from all of us over lunch when Aaron was home.

I took Grace to Dollar General and she picked out a notebook and some pens for Anna.

Jacob had me order this blanket off Amazon and paid for half of it. Anna thought it was hilarious.

Isaac gave Anna one of his stuffed animal horses.

 Then we had the neighbor kids over for a cherry spitting contest! It was fun and the littles ended up covered in cherry juice.

For her birthday supper, she chose Olive Garden.

 And she got a free dessert, which she did NOT have to share with her siblings! 

The next weekend, we celebrated with my family at Ponderosa Trails. Binga (my mom) painted her a Gypsy Vanner (her favorite horse)! It's beautiful and Anna loves it.

 It is so hard to believe she's 14 already. She's off at horse camp this week. Next week she'll take her learner's permit test (with much protesting) and will be driving!! 

She is sweet and patient with little ones (except her siblings! haha).

She is smart and strong and STUBBORN. I'm not worried about anyone taking advantage of her...she's not scared to fight (just ask Jacob) or stand up for what's right.

She is organized and loves structure and routine, which challenges this disorganized, unstructured Mama!

She basically has a photographic memory for words and random facts. She knows about all there is to know about dogs and horses (and other random animals).

Most importantly of all, she loves Jesus. We are so blessed (and challenged!) to be her parents!!!

17 Years

We celebrated our 17th anniversary this month. It's really hard to believe it's been that many years already! 

Look at us, so young and in love! ;-) 21 and 23, ready to take on the world together!

Look at us now...not quite as young but still in love! I can honestly say that I love him more deeply now than I did on the day I said "I do". 

God has used marriage to refine both of us, in many ways. Marriage will quickly show you just how selfish you actually are...yikes! Marriage will also pull you closer to the Savior (if you let Him).

I have been so blessed by this man for the last 17 years...

1. He is quick to apologize.

2. He is forever acting like a junior high boy...most of the time it makes me laugh...and now we're at the fun stage where he can make at least on of our kids die of embarrassment with his antics!

3. He loves me better than anyone else on earth could possible love me, especially when I am completely unlovable.

4. He works hard. Crazy hard. And he does it so I can stay home and raise our kids. He rarely complains about the long hours he often puts in. 

5. He is a man of integrity. Which has a lot to do with how many hours he often works.

6. He is such a good father to our brood. He has worked really hard to give each one of them special one-on-one time with him, even if it's just a game of checkers every evening. 

7. He listens (well, most of the time...) and he is almost always quick to do better (except for the dirty clothes on the floor.....haha!)

8. He has a one track mind. Sometimes that drives me CRAZY, but it's the reason he's such an amazing husband and father.

9. He loves the Lord and has really been striving to continually draw our family closer to the Lord.

10. He's hot. What can I say? ;-)

11. He makes me laugh and he lets me cry (but that still really bothers him!).

12. If he sets a goal, he's going to reach it. *see number 8*

13. He's a good friend. He's my best friend.

14. He compliments me every single day. Sometimes it's ridiculous (see number 2), but he makes me feel loved every single day.

15. He goes along with my hair-brained ideas. To my credit, they've always turned out great, but he's no longer surprised if he comes home from a weekend away and I've completely rearranged several rooms of the house...or torn out carpet...or painted. HA!! 

16. He's willing to jump in and help however he can with homeschooling the kids. Unless it's math...

17. He is the perfect match for me. It is so evident that God created him to be my husband. And I love growing old together (yes, we're getting old!), dreaming dreams, and working hard together.

Happy 17, baby! Here's to many, many more!

Beauty in the Storms

 We have had more than enough rain this spring already. We've had so much flooding...some days it takes us an hour to make the 26 mile drive to the "big town" because so many roads are closed due to flooding. Farm ground has been decimated from floods, too much rain, strong winds or even hail. It's almost July 4th and most people around here were only able to cut for one day before rain stopped them again. 

But through all the heartache and damage from these rains comes some pretty spectacular skies. Pictures just don't do it justice, but here are some anyway.

Where has June gone?!

Wow...June has flown by in a hurry! I can't believe it's almost July already. Here are some pictures from the month. We've been busy with VBS, helping Papa with the flip house, and softball games for the boys and Aaron.

Aunt Cara has been sewing again! Grace LOVES having a matching dress with big sis. And this is about the only way to get Anna in a dress. ;-)

Grace spent a few evenings at the flip with me while the bigs were at VBS. She was a good helper! She really had fun vacuuming out the cabinets.

 One Saturday, Jacob spent the whole day working with Papa at the flip house. When we went to pick him up, the other kids pitched in and helped for a while. They're learning to just find something they can do to be helpful and do it, no matter if it's a job that will have to be done again or not. 

One Sunday, we took a trip to Menard's to look for some new doors and some things for the flip. Papa came with us, so Anna had to sit right next to Grace in the car. Grace is most definitely loud most of the time, especially in close proximity. Anna was getting REALLY frustrated with her, so I reminded Anna that she had prayed for many years for a little sister...and God answered her prayers! Grace had been looking out the window and not paying any attention to us. Immediately after I said that, Grace turned to Anna (just a few inches away), made this face, and yelled right in her ear! Oh Grace. She keeps us on our toes!!!

Mulberries and More!

Not sure if it's all the moisture, the cooler Spring temps, or just a good year, but the harvest is plentiful at Ponderosa Trails this year (except for my poor garden)! We picked some mulberries and crab apples last year, but not enough to speak of really. We made a few small jars of crab apple jam. The kids ate the mulberries before anything could be made with them. This year, the crab apple tree is LADEN with fruit! And we've found more mulberry trees on the property!!

We also found Sandhill Plums! Everywhere! We thought that's what a lot of the bushes along the trails were, but they never had any fruit on them last year. Hopefully I can harvest enough to make some jam with them this year. I remember Shirley Saxton always making Sandhill Plum jelly and bringing it to church to share with everyone.

Soooo may mulberries. The tree is so tall we'll never be able to reach all of it. The kids ate the first bucket-full in short order (granted all but 1 of the grandkids were out that day!) We discovered another mulberry tree next to the one we picked off of last year...it's a white mulberry tree!

I climbed as high as I could on the 10 foot ladder and basically could just reach the lowest branches! We need to get back out there to harvest some more. Mulberry jam sounds really good!