Farmhouse tour: Josh's room

Josh had one request for his bedroom, and that was to incorporate the color red. He LOVES it, which is so unexpected because he is a quiet little guy. Not so much a vibrant, loud, red-lover kindof guy. My Dad loves red, too. Now my Dad...he has a red personality.

Josh really loves to play legos, board games, and build things in his room. He always got spooked in our old house after dark and loved sharing a room with his brother. But, by God's grace, he has not gotten scared or complained about being alone at night a single time! He seems to really enjoy his own space, especially when his sister is talking too much and he can retreat! :)

Josh's room is gray, navy and red. It showcases his art, building projects, and games.

Gardening and dating

Last night we met my parents and family for dinner at The Melting Pot in Birmingham. It was a fun celebration of both my parents' April birthdays. Wow, what a ton of yummy food! (Note: Chocolate all over Josh's gray shirt) It was prom night at a number of surrounding schools and the restaurant was full of groups of teenagers all decked out. The girls (and ladies) loved looking at their dresses. Afterward my brother and sister-in-law had all three of our children over to spend the night. We went to see a movie (the first in a long time that wasn't rated G)! We saw Source Code at the movie theatre and I highly recommend it. Then we enjoyed a quiet morning together, church, and a lunch date. My sweet husband turned down two offers to join church families for lunch. It really is rare that we are all alone and I appreciated that he guarded that time!

I am gearing up to plant some things in the yard this afternoon. For Alabama residents, has any one been to "Petals from the Past" at the Thorsby/Jemison exit off of I-65? If not, please go! It is the most amazing plant nursery I have ever seen. They have acres of beautiful rose gardens, an orchard, ponds, etc., not to mention the fabulous gift shop! I have never seen such an assortment of plants, trees, and shrubs. We had heard that it was amazing and we were not disappointed! We bought six Verbena bushes for the yard. They are pink, red, and purple and beautiful.

I have mentally divided the front and side yards into 8 areas. I hope to tackle one area per week over the course of the next couple of months. Then I will take the following 8 weeks to just maintain what we have. It will be too hot for heavy gardening, plus we will be busy harvesting and selling produce at several farmer's markets. Then in the fall I want to completely transform our "back yard". I am dreaming of trellises, benches, bird baths, and maybe a water fountain. That will be a huge project, and may just stay in the dream phase for a while. My Dad said last night that he was afraid one day he would arrive here to find a pink barn. :)

Hope everyone is finding this Sunday full of rest, fresh air, and worship time!

Farmhouse tour: Lydia's room

The children are all very proud to have their own rooms. So far, they love their rooms and were very sweet and thankful to come home to them after we moved. Their rooms are quite small, particularly Lydie's. But we're trying to make the best of our space!

Lydie's room:

Lydie's room is packed with toys! We are hoping to build a sun room off of the kitchen that will remedy that problem. The sun room will serve as a mudroom and a play room and will relieve her room of so much stuff! But for now, if she's happy I can be happy, too!

They spend more time in their rooms and with their toys than they have in a long time, especially Lydie. I knew they would respond well to the ranch-style house. I, for one, am loving have a one-level house. No more lugging toys either upstairs to their bedrooms or downstairs to the playroom. Hopefully their rooms will stay just like this for a while!

More firsts

We took the girls to see the Blue Bell Factory and we tried on everything in the gift shop and then got threatened. (Buy or leave kind of a deal. We chose option B, but got these cute pictures first.)

Joshua had his first baseball game! Love his team, love the coaches. He did okay, but he's a fast learner and I feel confident he will make great improvement over the course of the season! And he's excited and having fun, and so we're having fun, too. The girls shot riflesand tried out our tire swingand make my Dad a coconut birthday cake ("P" for Poppy). And planted potatoes and rode the 4 wheeler. Hilariously common and every day stuff for us. Why did they choose to spend spring break with us? I have no idea, but I'm surely glad they did!

It was such a sweet time having you, precious girls. Tell your parents that we want to be your godparents and that we are already planning your double farm wedding! :) Come back soon (we miss you already)!

Our first visitors

This week two of our friends from our Atlanta youth group are here. They're more like daughter/little sisters. They are darling and sweet and helpful. I feel a little sad for them that they are spending their spring break on our farm, especially when the boys are in school/baseball and so regular life continues. But they say they love the farm and they are enjoying their week. I know I am! They have no access to cell phone coverage or television. We had a big storm that wiped out our cable and it won't be fixed until after they leave. But they are troopers and have not complained a bit (even though Lydie has had them watch Barbie movies with her all week long).

This is our seed dropper that Andy calls the "Amish bicycle". It's pretty handy.

So far we have cleaned and reorganized/decorated the screened porch. I am so mad at myself for not taking a"before" picture. My Dad had put up random lights around the perimeter of the ceiling that were from Cabella's. They were an assortment of fish, deer, camping lanterns, etc. in all sorts of bright colors. And the furniture was a mishmash of desk chairs, card table chairs, and rocking chairs that he had gathered from various sources. He also had an old wasp's nest and random pictures screwed to the wall. It was quite an eyesore.

New flower patch where we planted the dahlias

We made a bonfire in my Dad's fire pit. My aunt gave it to him with "Back Home Farms" inscribed on it. He loves it.

So I bought some new cushions, plants, and lights. Dad brought some new rocking chairs. Here is what it looks like now:

Should I paint those brown walls white??

Besides that project, the girls have helped me with the kids, learned to drive the tractor and my Dad's 12 passenger van, planted thousands of sunflowers and a patch of dahlias, and we had a bonfire. We also went into town to run errands. Our favorite places were the Feed and Seed and the Coffee Shop.

Bunny cage at the Feed and Seed, which is always a big hitTractor lessons Today we hope to pick strawberries, ride go-carts, teach the girls how to shoot a gun, make a cake, visit a neighbor who is sick, and go to Josh's baseball game. Simple pleasures.

New gig

I am so excited. I MIGHT, this is not official, be teaching art at the boys' school next year. Squeeeeal! The curriculum coordinator for the school goes to our church. I mentioned last Sunday that I miss teaching art to my boys, particularly our art history studies. She told me they had recently lost their art teacher and were leaving art education up to the individual teachers. And we continued to talk and the next thing I know the headmaster approached me, and he was excited about what he had heard. So I am going to take in some of the projects I have done with the boys and discuss my ideas with him. I tried to make it clear that art is a hobby, an interest, but I am no artist. Of course Jackson overheard me and retorted, "Oh yes sir, she is an artist. And she's an interior decorator, too." Sweet, naive, boy. But wouldn't it be fun to use this little adventure as an excuse to finally take some art classes?? Normally these fun opportunities come my way and I need to say no because I am homeschooling, or have a toddler or preschooler, and I just can not balance even a part time commitment with being a Mom and wife. It has been a joy to focus the majority of my energy and time at home. But next year Lydie will be in pre-k every morning and the boys will be in school until 2:45. I think I could schedule the art classes in such a way that I would just be there one full day a week. Oh my goodness, I actually think it might be something I could manage without compromising things at home! Fun! So I am praying about it and we'll see what shakes out. I am definitely "dizzy in the noodle" tonight!

Work to rest

I've always enjoyed the feeling of having a really hard day of work, especially when you can see the results. Today was one of those days. Andy worked out in the fields and our make-shift greenhouse. I worked inside for most of the day cleaning our house and washing clothes. Meanwhile the kids played in and outdoors enjoying their Saturday as well. Jack even took a kite on to one of the big pastures and enjoyed flying it. We all had a great day except for poor Josh who is sick again. We would love your prayers for our family's health. We think that one of us is a carrier for strep and I plan to find out how we can be tested. There is a possibility that Josh might get his tonsils out this summer, too. This winter has been, by far, the sickest we have ever been. My parents and our neighbors dropped in around dinner time when we were wrapping it all up. We have this old tool shed in the yard that my Dad converted to a screened porch. Well, it's not technically a porch because it's not attached to the house. But it's screened in with lots of rocking chairs and fans. Its a marvelous place to spend a cool spring night. So we just took our meal to the porch and visited while we ate. My parents came by to bring another piece of farm equipment. My Dad is close to retirement age. Although he will probably never retire he is beginning to enjoy the fruits of all of these years of hard labor. For a while he ordered junk from catalogs for fun. He has always enjoyed auctions. And now, since we bought the farm, he enjoys buying farm equipment. Isn't that an interesting past time? We probably have nearly a dozen attachments for the tractor. I should say tractor(s) because he has bought 4 of those. Our barn is about to bust at the seams. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing and we are so thankful. It's just become a running joke as we wait to see what he will bring next. He gets so, SO excited. Tonight he spent a good while explaining to me this new seed dropper thingy and how it works. I have zero mechanical giftedness and zero farm knowledge, but he likes that I am willing to listen. It is pure joy to see my Dad enjoying himself here so much at this stage in his life. He will turn 64 this week and I am so thankful for the move here where we see him multiple times a week!

We are about to sleep soundly knowing that another week's work is done. It feels good to have the house in order for tomorrow. I love the Sabbath like never before because we really need the rest by the end of the week! So far we have stuck to our commitment to rest and worship, as we should, on Sundays. I am really looking forward to it (have I mentioned that yet??)! Some time tomorrow evening two high school friends from our Atlanta youth group will be arriving to spend their spring break with us. Should be a fun week!!

The Magic City

Lydie and I dropped the boys off at school at 7:45 and headed to the big city for a shopping day. I never imagined when I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama that I would one day call it "the big city". But now, for us, it is exactly that. And although we fully appreciate and enjoy our beautiful, rural surroundings and our nearby small town, we loved a day surrounded by shops, restaurants, and lots of people.We had three stops to make: Lowes, Target, and Anthropologie. Although many things have surprised me in my experience as a mom of a girl, shopping together is one of the experiences that far exceeds my expectations. Lydie is a FUN girl to shop with. She loves to try on clothes and equally enjoys watching me try them on. She loves to look at things for the house. She gasps and oooohs and aaaaahhhhs in stores. And very best of all, she and I have similar tastes. We collectively agree that Anthropologie is our very favorite store. Ever. So we spent our last hour just looking, touching, taking pictures, and feeling inspired. I love their modern-vintage style. I tried on all sorts of things that I could never afford to buy. Lydie would squeal and say, "That is BEEEautiful! Please buy it, Mommy!" And, "You should just get it all!" She loves to be surrounded by beautiful things. We took cash and stuck to our budget. (Translation: We left with a big bag of stuff at Target and ONE item at Anthropologie!) But I sure was tempted by her coaxing to go overboard. (Pictured below, a happy Lydie dancing through the store.)

Afterwards we met my Mom for lunch. Since I went to college at age 17, I have never lived close enough to meet my Mom for lunch. It was SO fun. I loved a quick lunch, kisses good-bye, and promises to drop by sometime soon. No one had to pack a suitcase. It's dreamy. A certain man in my life did pull an April Fool's day prank on me and had me believing that I forgot to ask him to pick up the boys from school and they were stranded because he was running an errand out of town. I fell for it for about 10 seconds until I remembered the day. My Mom and I panicked. (But remember babe, revenge is sweet! Next year you better watch your back!)Tonight we had a fun social event at church. It was game/dessert night. My extroverted personality's cup is bubbling over. Loved kicking off the weekend with such a fun day!

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars!"

Henry Van Dyke