Open House | Monday, May 18

Hello, dear friends-

Here is what's going on today:

Outside my window | is our garden, just waiting to be planted.  Tomorrow is the day.  (More details on that to follow, I'm sure.)  So excited.  Also outside are my tomato plants, waiting to be potted.  And some white petunias I just potted in some terra cotta pots for my front porch.

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our garden spot after rototilling, with happy chickens pecking around in it

Homeschooling | today it's in the 70's, so we did as much as we could outside.  Nature study, picture study and read-aloud all happened outdoors in the sunshine (me & Ella) or shade (everyone else). ;)

In the kitchen | does making lattes count?  ;)  This morning I made breakfast sandwiches- by making up a double-batch of some quick yogurt biscuits (have I shared that recipe here?), slapped a fried egg on each of them, sprinkled some cheese and a piece of bacon.  They were a hit.  We even delivered some to daddy at work. :)

Reading aloud | I am in the process of reading three books to the kids.  The first one is The Tarantula in My Purse (funny true stories of a family who adopts several interesting pets, including a crow and apparently that other one mentioned in the title that I may have to skip.  Yipes.)  I'm also making my way through Little House in the Big Woods (because earlier this year I decided we needed to read through the whole series again, with the little girls in mind) and Copper-Toed Boots (a recent find at a thrift store- 99 cents!)  Mark is reading The Green Ember in the evenings to the kids.

Looking forward to | my next date night with Mark, our anniversary get-away in June, getting our garden planted, having friends over Thursday morning, heading outside very soon to sit in my cozy orange chair in the sunshine and journal, Friday-night game night planned with my brother and sister-in-law, Mark's day off.... all sorts of things!  :)

Thankful | for a little goal I made back in March.... "20 lbs by 40".  I'm turning 40 in July ( which is utterly crazy ) and I decided in mid-March that my birthday gift to myself would be to lose 20 lbs.  And... I'm nearly there!  (16 lbs down), so I'm super thankful for the dedication God has gifted me during this season.  [I've just been counting calories through My Fitness Pal, and committing to exercise at least 20 minutes 6x/week.] 

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Here is a peek at the back pages of my journal- my own little calendar where I'm keeping track of (by coloring in the little daily box) each day I come in under or at my calorie count).

Thinking | about possibly starting to read books again in July.  That will have been a six-month sabbatical from books.  And I miss reading so very much.  :(  We'll see.

Enjoying | these Bible studies from Stone Soup for Five, which are inductive-based but also very creative-minded.  I love this combination.  I'm journaling my way through Philippians right now using one of her studies, and Ella and I are slooooowly working through a Matthew study together. 

Best posts I've read online lately |
Sally Clarkson's post called If You Want to Win Your Child's Heart, Don't Go By the Rules, and Aimee's post called Bedtimes, Hot Cocoa Packets, and Listening to the Spirit.
Go there, read those.  You will be encouraged in your mothering.  :)

I truly hope you are all doing well and enjoying our lovely Spring!  

Blessings to you and yours,
~Stacy


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10 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post, Stacy. Sounds like grace abounds to you and yours these days (though of course I know you have your trials, like the rest of us). I'm excited and inspired by your weight loss progress! And that post by Sally Clarkson was sooo what I needed to read. Blessings on you and your beautiful crew.

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    1. Cara~ Thank you, kind friend. :) Yes. (Lots of trials, also. But so much to be thankful for, too.) Oh, thanks for the weight-loss encouragement. :) And I KNOW about that Sally Clarkson post. I pinned it so that I would keep going back to it to re-read. It's what I need to hear, always. Love to you and yours,
      ~Stacy

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  2. (Oops, just wrote a long comment & it disappeared when I hit the send button! !? Will try to recap :))

    I am so impressed & inspired by your weight loss! Love thst you've set realistic daily goals and are seeing great results. I tend toward more extreme quick fix strategies & they just aren't yielding the results I want ... I turn 40 this summer, too (eeks! ) and think that age is finally slowing things down a bit for me ;(. I love what you are doing and am encouraged to press in for the longer term picture and be consistent with my daily habits. I tend to be so hot & cold with exercise & wise eating choices!
    You go girl ♡♡

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    1. Emily! Thank you for re-writing your comment. :) Sorry you had to do so! :( Aw, thank you for your kindness about the weight. I totally get it about the age. It's really only been the past couple of years that I've had to even THINK to watch what I'm eating. Yipes. :) Love to you, friend! ~Stacy

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  3. Maybe you've posted your biscuit recipe, but I haven't seen it and I want it!! You are such an inspiration to me as a mom!

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    1. Sarah Joy~ Yogurt Biscuit recipe is ON THE [imaginary] DOCKET. I'll write it up and post it soon! And you are so kind to say so about me being an inspiration. My first thought about that is: clearly you don't know me well enough. ;) But I'll try to take your kindness as evidence that God is working through me? ;) Love ya lots.

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  4. Your picture of chickens reminded me of home....oh can't wait to go there again. Congratulations on your weight loss!!

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    1. Oh I can't wait FOR you to be there again! :) And- thank you for the congrats!

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  5. Loved reading all of this. How exciting to see yourself reaching a goal. And about reading books, well, whatever you decide, I'm a little biased, but 6 months is a LONG time. :)

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