Peaches, Read-Alouds, and Resting in the Faithfulness of God

Happy Saturday Friends!
  Today's post is going to be kind of a weekend wrap-up style post.  I am just going to share with you some of what we have been up to this second week of being back in Texas.  After being gone for about a month, it is definitely taking us time to settle back in and resume our normal routine.
  After being in Ohio, where everyone was preparing for fall, I really wanted to come back to the farm and pull out our fall decorations.  It is NOT AT ALL cool here, but we can pretend by pulling out the fall things anyway.  :)

A Fallish Lunch

  

  On Thursday I made peach muffins, sliced peaches, and pumpkin apple cider for lunch.  It was a sort of fallish tea party.  My fifteen year old son laughs at me and says that fall just brings out the muffin making side of me; he has noticed that I tend to make muffins and certain foods in fall that I don't usually make year-around.  The apple cider was from Trader Joe's and was quite yummy.  

More Canning

  Last Sunday a friend at church told me that Sprouts had peaches on sale for 48 cents a pound!  Even though I had already been quite busy canning peaches, pears, and apples I could not resist purchasing more peaches at that price!  Yesterday I spent ALL DAY LONG in the kitchen and had various children come in and help me at different points throughout the day.  I was also able to listen to a few podcasts that encouraged my heart as I worked.  My husband was home, so he was a big help in working outdoors with some of the children.  We worked very hard, and at the end of the day we had made peach sauce (like applesauce), peach jam, peach slices, peach pie filling, and froze some peaches as well.  It was another very peachy day and I was glad for bedtime at the end of the day.  

What We Are Reading: 

  We did better at getting back to our morning circle time this week, and two of the books we are reading are Taking the Word for Jesus and Titus Comrade of the cross.  We are enjoying both of these.  https://www.masterbooks.com/taking-the-world-for-jesus https://store.generations.org/products/titus

                               

Notable Happenings:

  My baby turned three at the end of August, and so it was way past time to transition her out of her crib.  I went to IKEA and purchased a nifty little bed that can be a toddler sized bed or extend to a full length twin size.  For now we are using it as the toddler size.  It was hard for me to put the crib away knowing that she is our last baby. You can read about my near death experience after her birth in my book https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Reflections-Homeschooled-Homeschooling-Mama/dp/1973737825

  In the book I have a chapter titled Homeschooling When Life Gets Tough where I tell the story of the stormy seas we went through right after my baby girl was born and how my health crisis left us unable to have more children.  It has been a very hard thing, but God's grace is sufficient.  

  So anyway, my little three year old is now enjoying her new big girl bed from IKEA, and I am loving being able to lay down beside her and read stories to her at bedtime.  I was concerned about the transition and how it would go, but she has made the change without any problem at all.  She is loving her new bed! 

What I am Learning:

  There is a verse in Isaiah 30:15 that talks about gaining strength through quietness and trust.  Here lately the Lord has been speaking to me through that verse.  In this season of life there are many decisions to be made and many uncertainties right now.  I have children who are growing up and almost ready to be launched from our homeschool.  My oldest graduates next year, and the seasons of change are blowing quickly.  At the same time I am trying to cling to the last years with my little people while being a good mommy to all the children in-between.  It is a lot to process, keep up with, and see changing so quickly.  The Lord is reminding me that my strength is in Him and my heart needs to be in a posture of quietness and trust.  I hope that encourages you wherever you are today.  Whatever our season of life the Lord wants us to rest and trust in Him.  There is strength in that.  Thank you for stopping by the blog; have a blessed week!