Our Garden Grows More Than Tomatoes

    As the 4th of July comes each year, the kids and I watch to see if our corn is "knee high by the 4th of July" and we are once again surprised at how much taller it is than that.  Our corn is waist high and growing so well that weeding is not need much any more.   Our garden has grown this year, and we are planning to store as much of it as we can. We have planted radishes, turnips, carrots, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, summer squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins.  That's quite a lot of produce!  So far, I've made 10 jars of strawberry syrup,  8 cans of grape jelly, dehydrated 10 pints of blueberries, 10 packages of strawberries, and 10ish lb of bananas.  Grandpa just brought me 30 or so radishes and I'm not sure what to do with them!  I guess I need to decide how best to store them.  Do I chop and freeze or dehydrate?  Something to google later for sure.

     This is our first year dehydrating, thanks to my sister and brother in law.  I have learned that things shrink a lot when dehydrated, and that 10 pints of blueberries fit neatly into a pint size storage bag.  My 10ish lb of banana chips surely will fit into a pint sized baggie also.  Amazing considering the big heavy box they came in.  Now, they sit neatly on my storage shelves in the basement waiting to be baked into yummy quick breads, muffins, or pancakes.  We plan to dry tomatoes, green beans, squash, and really anything that would be easy to throw into a soup or stew.  My plan is to make soup starter mixes so easy fast dinners this winter should be a snap. 

     I love watching my shelves and freezer fill up with the bounty of the harvest!  The pretty jars make the basement cozy and I feel a kinship to those thousands of women who since the beginning of time also stored up food for their families.  As we work in the kitchen, that sense of community and family builds up not only our shelves with food, but our sense of closeness as a family.  It takes us all working together to bring in our harvest.  From planting, pulling weeds, to table, and canned; our whole family has been working and laughing together.  These are the things life long memories are made of.  I want to pass on these traditions to our children.  I want them to learn to be wise with what the Lord has given them,  to persevere through a task with a good attitude even if they really would rather not be doing it, and remember that family is the most important thing after God.  The Lord is so good to us, and I am so grateful for not only our harvest but these precious moments we get to spend as a family.  In the spring as I plant I'm not just planing seeds that will grow and bloom into food for us to eat.  I'm growing hard work, character, determination, laughter, joy, and love.  God teaches us so much from ordinary seemingly mundane tasks, and I feel so blessed to have these times.

Time To Get Organized!

     With 8 children, a schedule of sorts is a must.  My life quickly becomes one big game of crowd control and nonstop damage control when I have no schedule.  My schedule has been up in arms since Luke came.  My neatly planned out day with charts and chore charts and menu plans sit covered in dust waiting to be revived and used.  I need to get them out and get back on a schedule.  All I have to do is look around and see the list of "things to do" getting longer and longer.  For instance, right now I am sitting here with cloth diapers needing stuffed and put in baskets, and my living room and toy room needing vacuumed.  But for now I'm sitting and enjoying the quiet.  I'm savoring that my early morning devotions and bible time have refreshed me for a new day,  and sipping one last cup of coffee before the thundering of little feet hit the steps.  This is the key to my day going much more smoothly.  My bible time and a cup of coffee with the Lord makes my days seem so much more manageable.  Did I mention the quiet?  Very few times in this house is it quiet.  I love the sounds of children playing, the busy hum of activity that is our daily life, but these few moments of quiet give me a chance to refresh before the day gets busy.  I need a schedule, but I don't want my schedule to rule me, just give me a place to run to and know what I need to get done.  I need organization, and I love checking off my to do list. Right now, my day is ready to start, lists ready, and schedule ready to guide me.

     And so my day begins.  I hear Lia singing her mommy song, and the thud thud thud of Levi as he slides down the steps and comes running to give me a good morning hug.  These are the important things.  Hugs, songs, laughter, and joy.  Yes my schedule is important, but if I miss the oportunity to enjoy these moments because of my schedule then I am missing out on the best parts of being a mom.

A normal day?

      I'm a 24 hour a day, seven days a week, no vacations mom.  What exactly does that mean?!?  Well for me, it's that I know my morning coffee is not negotiable because without it I won't be able to function. It means that I am up for middle of the night feedings at 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 5:30 and drinking my first cup of coffee at 6:00 and I keep running until I start the whole thing over again.  It means I get to be the one who kisses boo boos and make them better, and cheer and clap for all of these amazing small people who make my days so worth all the sleepless nights.  Ok, I focus a lot on sleep right now, but that's just because I am in the middle of no sleep with a 3 mth old, 1mth old adjusted age, more than I spend my nights sleeping. 

     Tonight in fact is one of those crazy nights. Luke normally starts a marathon feeding session that lasts from around 7 until 10.  Yep, almost 3 straight hours of nursing.  And, no he doesn't sleep longer because of it.  Usually he is up every 2 hours all night long.  Tonight however, I fed him, smiled and sat in awe of how precious a blessing he is to me, and watched him fall asleep at 9:00.  I am a gun shy mom, who was not about to let herself be faked out again by the "I'm falling asleep early" bit.  So, now here I sit at 11:00 knowing I should have bit the bullet and gone to sleep.  Of course, I can't do that now because he should be waking up at any moment to eat again. This is my day. And no mater how little sleep my days may bring, I wouldn't have it any other way.  That's my normal.