Well, we finally did it! After dreaming about it for 8 years since moving to the country, we finally have our own chickens! We purchased these sweet baby girls at a local feed store last Friday. We have 8 chicks – 2 each of 4 different breeds – Ameraucanas, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Reds, and Wyandottes.

Right now the chicks are living in our master bathroom in a large plastic tub (the only place we can keep them safe from our 3 curious cats). They have to stay warm, so we have a heat lamp on them constantly at one end of the box. Their food and water is at the other end. They spend all of their time eating, drinking, sleeping a little, and making a mess.

Some of them have a new form of entertainment – trying to fly out of the box! Last night we added a piece of mesh screening to the top of the box and so their fun has been thwarted a little bit. Soon we will be transitioning the girls to our old rabbit hutch, outside in the chicken pen. I am so looking forward to the days when I can sit on the front porch and watch the little ladies pecking around the yard – not to mention the lovely fresh eggs we will enjoy each day!

P.S. I’m sorry for the tiny pictures! I’m experimenting with posting from my iPad, and still figuring out how everything works! I think I know what to do now with the pics, so they should be back to normal in the next post.

Have a wonderful evening!

Blessings,
Nancy

Porch weather is upon us again, and I am trying to make full use of it before the heat of our Texas summer arrives and I’m driven back indoors!

As I sit on my front porch, I can hear various different birds singing their spring songs, and the wind blowing through the trees, who are becoming more and more green every day. Someone down the lane is building something. . . I hear the tap…tap…tapping of a hammer. Possibly our next door neighbor preparing a new pen for their growing flock of chickens, ducks, and bunnies. We have a chicken project to begin soon, too! – cleaning out Jack’s old pen and setting it up for the chickens we plan to start raising this spring.

Our irises are blooming off of the left side of the porch, and many of the rose bushes in the rose garden are showing colorful flowers as well.

I purchased these new perennials last weekend to plant here by the right side of the porch, joining the daisy that already lives there. Hopefully, they will come back each year and bless us with their beauty.

Jeff planted some lovely Petunias and Impatiens in pots on the front porch. The pretty pink Impatiens are right next to me on the table between the rockers. I really love them!

There are bags of soil, compost, and peat moss piled up by the driveway, waiting to be mixed and poured into the new raised beds in the big garden in the side yard. I will post pictures of this year’s gardens in a forthcoming post.

The temperature here today is 82 degrees. We are expecting rain in a day or so and a drop in temperature to the 60′s. Porch weather at it’s finest!

I hope you can get outside and spend some time enjoying spring in your neck of the woods!

Blessings,
Nancy

Today was a lovely day. January – but the temperature was in the 70′s and did I ever get Spring Fever! I spent most of the afternoon outside planning my gardens for this year. I also washed off the porch rockers and spent some time there thinking and enjoying the weather. The kids kept busy playing four-square, basketball, and exploring by the pond. Michael got out my Dad’s old tackle box and tried to get his fishing pole lined up.

I had mixed up some Taco Soup in the crock-pot earlier in the day, so all I needed to do for dinner was pop some cornbread in the oven, which gave me even more time to enjoy the outdoors. Sarah baked some Brownie Pops, so dessert was covered, too.

As the sun started to set this evening, the sky was very beautiful, all striped in blue and pink. The moon came out and was lit up with a lovely bright white light. It was a serendipity day – a blessing that I didn’t expect. The kind that makes my heart sing and my soul praise the Lord.

“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.”
-Psalm 19:1-4

I’m so thankful for this lovely day – a nice break from winter to enjoy, and the promise of Spring ahead that it brings to mind.

Blessings,
Nancy

The Christmas season is in full swing around our house! The decorations are up, the trees are trimmed, shopping is in full swing, children’s choir rehearsals are underway, and I’ve even begun some Christmas baking, filling a few tins with our annual Cherry Cookies and Haystacks.

We’ve pulled out all of our beloved Chrismas dvds and have been enjoying them on a daily basis. A new favorite that has been added to our collection this year is “Arthur Christmas”, which I absolutely love. When we aren’t watching a Christmas movie, we’re listening to Christmas music and just thoroughly enjoying the season.

Are things in full swing at your house, too?

Blessings,
Nancy

Yes, I know. . . I said I’d be back soon. . . and it’s been longer than soon. But, here I am now, and what better way is there to jump start the blog than by joining back into the Simple Woman’s Daybook! So, towards that end, here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .sunshine and cool/chilly weather – a lovely Fall day outside. A blanket of leaves is covering the front yard and pond area – one of my favorite sights each year. Jeff and a friend from church are playing in the mud, digging a giant hole under the foundation of the house. It is muddy because we have a water leak about a foot and a half in, under the side of the house – they are digging their way to the break and hopefully we will have it fixed soon!
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I am thinking. . .about plans for this week for home and school.
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I am thankful for. . .the blessing of our church family and their willingness to bless others with their skills and knowledge (especially when it comes to plumbing leaks!)
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In the kitchen. . .Nachos and Burritos tonight for dinner.
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I am wearing. . .pink sweater, white t-shirt and jeans with socks – too chilly for bare feet today!
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I am creating. . .more peace for myself by decluttering my home – a slow and sometimes overwhelming task. Also have many quilt projects ongoing – hope to get some pictures up soon.
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I am reading. . .working my way through Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilts series, currently reading “Sonoma Rose”. I love this series, especially the historical novels.
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I am hoping. . .to make time for blogging on a more regular basis again!
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I am looking forward to. . .November starting this week – one of my favorite months of the year.
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In the learning room. . .lots of interesting lessons going on – I need to write a post about what everyone is studying this year. A few snippets from this week are Johnny Appleseed and apples, Civil War time period, Eric Liddell, Hobbits, Insects, and Math subjects ranging from learning to subtract up to Algebra.
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Around the house. . .all decorated for Fall (maybe a photo tour is called for), a few lingering coughs that don’t seem to want to leave, a kitchen counter full of mugs – hot chocolate season has begun again!
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A favorite quote for today. . .one that I often quote to a certain daughter (especially at Math time) – “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” ~ Henry Ford.
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One of my favorite things. . .cool Fall evenings with a candle burning, hot chocolate poured, my favorite red quilt on my lap and a classic movie on the screen (usually “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” this time of year).
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .school work, cleaning, sewing (I hope!), ice skating, library, our annual Fall Festival to attend, and celebrating Anna’s 9th birthday!
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A picture thought for today. . .

Yummy Autumn M&M cookies about ready to bake!

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Thank you to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme! Visit Peggy to find the Autumn list of participants in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Have a lovely evening!

Blessings,
Nancy

I’m dusting off the old laptop (after first taking it back from the teenaged son who has hijacked it all summer), and flexing my fingers, and trying to rid my brain of the cobwebs that have grown from lack of writing all summer.

Fall is slowly rolling in and with it, my thoughts turn to apple dumplings, pumpkins, crisp cool days, falling leaves, and writing on my blog.

Today was our first day back to school. The weather is mild and porch season has begun, and that’s where I am, with a candle lit to keep away the mosquitoes, pencil in hand, a cool drink, and children playing in the yard in front of me. I am writing down my thoughts, which I will later type into the computer and share with you all. It has been a nice break, but I miss my little spot here on the web.

An update is in order, so I’ll be back later to catch you up on what we’ve been doing. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you all again!

Blessings,
Nancy

My daily planning journal is looking decidedly springlike these days. My newest journal is wearing a spring cover and is sporting many beautiful spring magazine pictures on its inner pages.

I make my planning journals the same way I make my thankful journal - using a sketch book from Walmart and scrapbook paper. I cover the cover with scrapbook paper (directions here), usually based on the current season, or just whatever looks pretty to me at the moment. Then comes the really fun part. I cut lovely pictures out of magazines, again usually seasonal in nature, but really just anything that I love, and glue them in my journal to decorate the pages.

Next I label the pages. I put the day and date at the top, and then my planning categories scattered around the page with room to fill in a list under them. My personal categories are: Call, Do, Errands, Dinner, and Blog. These are just the categories that I have used for years to organize my To Do list for each day. They work best for me – you might have different categories that work best for you.

My Sunday pages differ from this by only including the date and a To Do This Week list. I usually write a little bit about how I spent the day at the top of the page and make my weekly planning list at the bottom.

I make about a week’s worth of pages at a time, usually on Sunday afternoons, and when I fill up one journal, I pick out a new paper for my next one, cover it and keep on going. I love making and using these journals. I don’t just use them for planning, although that is their main purpose, but I also use them to record thoughts, quotes, recipes, poetry, special memories, and really anything that I want to remember. I keep the old ones on a bookshelf to refer back to every now and then.

I really love using my magazines this way, rather than throwing them out with all of their pretty pictures. And I love having a beautiful personalized journal that works so well for me.

Blessings,
Nancy

The roses are in full bloom right now in the rose garden. I am enjoying their beauty as well as their lovely aroma. As I sit on the porch, I can smell their sweet smell and it is truly a blessing. I think that there are more blooms this year than ever, but maybe I say that every year? No matter, I am, as usual, bowled over by the sheer blessing of this rose garden, planted by the previous owners of our house – and ultimately a gift from the Lord. Here are a few pictures that I took the other day as I wandered around in the roses.

My Mom brought us a beautiful Knock Out Rose bush on Easter this year, which we have planted in front of the front porch, where we can see it from the rockers. It should grow into a nice size bush and bring me joy for years to come – thank you Mom!

One of my favorite things about having a rose garden is when my children bring me roses like Anna did on this day ~

Have a lovely evening!

Blessings,
Nancy

I meant to do my work today ~
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
and a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand,
So what could I do but laugh and go?

~ Richard LeGallienne

In case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been. I hope you’ve been spending some time out in the blossoming world too!

Be back soon ~

Blessings,
Nancy

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .A beautiful, beautiful day ~ especially welcome after the dark, rainy weekend we had. We are expecting temperatures in the 70′s all week. I am on the front porch enjoying it all; David is in his rain boots having a wonderful time jumping in puddles on the driveway – classic. The yard is very green and there is just a hint of green on the trees where baby leaves are springing forth. Blue skies and birds singing – I may be out here all day today.
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I am thinking. . .about school. I usually start analyzing about this time of year – how curriculums are working, how school and life are blending – thinking about whether to change things up a bit or leave them alone for next year.
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I am thankful for. . .my two younger teenagers – Tommy and Sarah – who are having birthdays this month – Tommy turning 15 and Sarah turning 14 – where do the years go?
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In the kitchen. . .cooking out Cheeseburgers on the grill tonight (a special request from Anna), with corn on the cob and garlic roasted potato wedges. I was thinking about baking something for dessert, but I don’t think I can bring myself to go inside to do it!
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I am wearing. . .pink shirt and denim capris.
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I am creating. . .journal pages for my daily journal; hoping to get some quilting in this week.
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I am reading. . .rereading “Pocketful of Pinecones” by Karen Andreola – one of my all time favorite books!
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I am hoping. . .to get some prep work on the garden done this week – it’s time to get things planted.
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I am looking forward to. . .dinner tonight – first cooked out burgers of the year!
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I am learning. . .about fresh garlic. I have only used it once in my life and my hands smelled for days, so I have been content to use garlic powder and salt for years, but I am wanting to start to use fresh, and so am educating myself on the best way to handle it and use it in my cooking – so thankful for the Internet whenever I need to learn something new.
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Around the house. . .roller skates, dishwasher and washing machine are loaded and running, fresh sheets are on my bed (a spring day like this just calls for fresh linens!), windows open to let in the fresh air – and so, kitties are sitting in those open windows.
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A favorite quote for today. . .“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing.” -John 15:5
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One of my favorite things. . .folding clean laundry fresh out of the dryer.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .Spring Break! Spending as much time as possible outside, still thinking of fun things to do – maybe a picnic in the yard, a park trip, going out for ice cream. Gardening, sewing, reading and relaxing.
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A picture thought for today. . .

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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy to find the Spring list of participants in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy