Family Daybook

Our Family Daybook

Around the Homestead...

taking a chance and putting a lot of my plants in the garden...the weather has been beautiful and there haven't been any signs of frost in our future so I'm hoping I'm making a good bet.  We can always get a huge plastic sheet to cover over the garden bed, if need be.  We've got cucumber, squash, a watermelon, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and strawberries in the ground.

I'm waiting just a bit longer to put the corn and beans in the ground.

We're doing some brooder planning for the chicks.  It wouldn't be a big deal if we were only getting a couple of chicks...but we've got 25 coming and that takes a bit more space! 

Our adoption process...

Is going nowhere right now.  Its kind of a long story...we have a homestudy agency, we have an assigned case worker and we've gathered up some paperwork we need for the homestudy.  Dan started a new job two weeks ago and our case worker thought it might a be a good idea to let him settle in a bit at his job before we do our visit.  He doesn't have quite the same flexible schedule that he used to have.   We're kind of in a pause right now as Dan settles in and we plan to meet our social worker.   We're still wanting and planning to adopt if God wills it.

Learning at home...

Picking up speed...trying to cover all of the wonderful Middle Ages books we'd hoped to read this year.  Gardening, planning for chicks, doing our Khan Academy for Math, learning to write....

We took most of yesterday to go on a hike to Crowders Mountain...it was wonderful.  I will post more on that later.  Lets just say we got in over our heads and ended up taking a way longer hike than the littles were prepared for.  What I thought was just going to be a short hike with the kids turned out to be an amazing opportunity for us to pull together as a family and for me to really see my older boys shine in their roles as growing men and protectors of their younger siblings...it was amazing and God really blessed me with that time with them.  We ALL learned a lot and it didn't involve a single textbook. 

What we've been reading...

"If All The Swords In England" which is a book at St. Thomas Becket, "Among the Pond People" as our nature reading and "The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals"

What we've been thinking about...

Encouraging more prayer in our days...I've been trying to be more conscious of taking more time with the kids to pray throughout our day.  I've also been thinking a lot about having not done a lot of liturgical stuff this Lent (putting out visuals, lots of kid friendly activities etc. to "make it Lent"...) and how its really O.K...for everything there is a season.  We are in a very busy season of transition in our family...new house, starting our homestead, Dan has a new job, the adoption world, growing demands of growing children with more to learn for school...I'm just figuring out that this Lent just might be about surrendering to this time in life and learning to love better.  Love God with our whole hearts and love each other. 

  We've also been thinking about what our boys might want to do when they're  adults...lots of enjoyable conversations with them.  And of course our adoption hopes are always in the back of my mind.

I'm thankful for...

 

My home, our amazing yard with so much space and potential...being in the country with room to breathe and grow.  For a husband that can work hard all day and then work on plans to build me a brooder for 25 chicks at the end of a long day!

For a God that never gives up on me...even when I've gotten a bit off track and need to draw closer to Him.  

I'm praying for...

A holy and focused Holy Week...more time in prayer and at church.  For peace in our home and for clarity with our adoption.

Blessings,
Kimberly