We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines released this week. I pre-ordered it, so it showed upon launch day. It is so beautiful, and I love the story. If you do books in Easter baskets, I highly recommend this one!
I hope that you have a lovely weekend. If you think about it, please keep my family in your prayers. We are celebrating my Grandma’s life tomorrow. She was an incredible woman, and it feels like we’ll never be able to fully honor all that she was in her 85 years of life.
I love being a girl mom, and it’s so fun when they can all match. I know eventually they will probably hate it. Right now, they still love it and I’m going to embrace it as long as I can. Easter is one month away, and it’s time to start thinking about Easter dresses.
I have a kitchen theme going in this space this week. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and cook “the old fashioned way”. I thought it may be fun to round up my favorite splurges that I’ve made in the kitchen.
Kitchen Aid– I know that this is SUCH a splurge. I spent years drooling over these mixers. One day, we found one on major sale at Sam’s Club and took the plunge. We were in the midst of food allergies, and my old mixer was getting so worn out from all of the use. I use it all the time, and it was worth every penny.
Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven– I use this, and another smaller one, all the time. Soups, chicken, pasta.. you name it- I cook it in here! If you have a glass top stove, traditional cast iron can scratch it up. The enameled is safe to use on top.
Butter Keeper– We don’t use fake butter. But, real butter is so hard to spread on anything. This butter keeper keeps your butter soft and room temperature SAFELY. You can see it in the above picture. These frequently go on sale, so keep your eyes peeled.
USA pans– Nothing sticks to these! I make all of our birthday cakes, so these get used a lot. I was incredibly doubtful that they would work as well as claimed, but they do!
Canning pot– I learned to make jams and jellies last year, and it has been a fun new skill to have. I plan to can quite a bit more as our garden grows, so this pot is going to get used a ton!
Apron– This may seem silly, but this apron is incredible. It is huge and actually protects your clothes while you are baking and making messes. The fabric is super thick. The pockets are huge. It also makes a wonderful hiding place for my youngest when company comes over.
Four Slice Toaster– I have three kids. Toasting waffles, bread, etc. happens frequently. It’s a treat to be able to make things for all three of them at once… especially when I’m grumpy in the morning.
I know that to some people, cookbooks have become obsolete. With the internet, you can get any recipe you’d like. While I do use Pinterest, I prefer to get out a cookbook. I like having everything organized in a nice book for me. We cook dinner every day in our house. Of course, we do eat out every now and then. But, for the most part, we are eating at home.
I thought I would share my favorite cookbooks that I reach for over and over again. I have more on my shelf, but they don’t get used quite as often. Here they are:
My favorite way to test out a cook book is to check them out from the library. I can thumb through the pages and see if it would be worth purchasing; and even test out some of the recipes. Cookbooks are expensive, and you certainly don’t want to waste your money!
Scott and I have moved a lot in our 10 1/2 years of marriage. We’ve lived in two apartments, four houses, plus a couple month stay with my parents. We’ve lived in four different states. Each time, we try to make where we live feel like a cozy home. Most people have one room that is the most important when looking for a home.
For me? It’s the kitchen.
We lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment when we first got married. It had cinderblock walls, and a tiny kitchen. But, we made the kitchen cozy and shared so many meals in there. We made Christmas cookies together. It was perfect.
From there, we moved into a 100 year old home, and had another cozy kitchen. There wasn’t much counter space, and it had a gas stove that terrified me. We had the teens from our youth group over for many meals. Then, we had our first child and I struggled to figure out how to balance my new responsibilities.
Our next home had another small kitchen, but it had loads of counter space. This home is where I really discovered my love of baking. There were so many yummy treats made there, and it was fun to see how food could bring so many people together. Four years were spent in that little kitchen. I cooked for picky toddlers. We really struggled financially, and there were times that PB&J were the only things coming from that kitchen. It was still made with love.
We moved into another small apartment from there. There was a total of 3 feet of counter space in this apartment and not much room to move. We honestly REALLY struggled with living in this apartment. Not because we had three kids in a small space, but because the kitchen was unbearably tiny. Once we no longer had the space to create, it was really a struggle for us. Cooking meals felt impossible because there just wasn’t anywhere to put anything, but we still managed to make it work.
Our next home had a small galley kitchen. I was thrilled to once again have counter space. Homemade noodles and breads were being made weekly. That house was my favorite. It just felt so cozy and perfect for us. I was heartbroken when we had to leave.
During our stay with my parents, I was once again back in my childhood kitchen. It felt surreal and like such a gift to be cooking with my kids in the kitchen where my mom taught me to cook. It was a lot of fun to cook for seven people every day. I was grateful that our stay with them was short, because I’d hate to wear out our welcome. But, I think we all had a lot of fun being under one roof for that season.
Now, we are here in this home. The kitchen is spacious, open, and beautiful. There are two ovens, which has made for a lot of fun hosting Thanksgiving meals. I feel spoiled with a kitchen like this. Homemade noodles, breads, cookies, meals, and lots of bone broth have come out of this kitchen. Those same things have come out of smaller kitchens also, so I won’t be sad when the time comes to leave it.
The kitchen is the most important room to me because the most memories tend to be made there. I love teaching my daughters the skills to make meals. I feel like cooking has become a lost art. I love making yeasty bread. Kneading warm dough is therapeutic. Watching it transform and rise is delightful. The meals don’t have to be fancy or extravagant to be special. I think our kids look forward to Taco Tuesday the most of any meal.
Gathering around the table nourishing our bodies and hearts is my favorite part of the day. Family dinners are so important to me. I miss out on them three times a week due to my work schedule, and that has been the hardest part of going back to work.
What is your favorite room in your home? Do you feel like the kitchen is the heart, or is it somewhere else?
It feels weird to be back here in this space. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. When you’ve experienced a great loss, it feels a lot like your world has stopped. You look around at everyone going on with their day and think “DON’T YOU FEEL IT?! Can’t you tell that there’s a huge hole?” But, everyone keeps going. Eventually, your world starts turning again, because your life isn’t over. The greatest way to honor someone is to keep living your life. Grief doesn’t end– your life just morphs and makes space for the grief. It gets more manageable, but it’s there because great love is there.
This week has been another rough one. Harper had to have a tooth extracted on Tuesday morning. I figured she wouldn’t be feeling super great, but children are also super resilient. When we got home, she just sat around taking it easy. At one point, all of the color drained from her face and lips. I thought she was going to pass out, so I laid her down in her bed. After stroking her forehead for a few minutes, she fell asleep for quite a while.
I went to work and Scott said he would text me how she was doing. She ended up getting sick once before I got home. Then, she was sick all night long. She only slept for 5-10 minute stretches before getting sick again. It was miserable for her. At around 5 in the morning, she fell asleep and was able to get a couple of hours of rest.
Apparently, some kids have a really hard time coming off of nitrous oxide. She is one of them, and I am searching for ways to help ease this for the next procedure. She perked up after eating SEVEN (!!) Outshine popsicles. Whatever she wanted to eat, I was letting her. I stocked up on popsicles, yogurt, applesauce, baby food pouches, bananas, and blueberries so that she had healthy soft food options. (Outshine popsicles are made with real fruit instead of sugar water… not the healthiest, but much better than others. #notanad)
Scott took this picture of us, and I really love it. She had just fallen asleep holding my hand and finally looked peaceful. I laid on the floor in her bedroom all night taking care of her. It was exhausting and stressful, be we made it through. Thankfully, she has been feeling much better and is eating more.
Hopefully things will settle down a little more soon. As “settled” as life can be. Eventually, we’ll be packing.. as long as our massive wind storm yesterday didn’t blow the roof off of the farmhouse. We’ll be finishing our school year in the next couple of months.
All of our seeds arrived for our garden, so we will be starting those very soon. Spring is such a fun time. It feels like a lovely fresh start– more-so than the new year. Do you agree?
I know that many friends are in flooded areas, areas that just had tornados, melting snow flooding basements, etc. I hope that you all can have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.
I’ve been really blessed in my life. I was blessed enough to know all of my grandparents. My dad’s parents lived pretty far away from us my whole life, so we didn’t see them very often. But, I got to know them and loved them dearly. They passed away when I was a teenager, but I have so many memories with them. They were hilarious, loving, kind, and generous.
My mom’s parents were far away when I was very young, but then we were just a few hours apart. We spent Christmas Eve with them every year at a big family Christmas party. We went camping with them often. I remember sitting in their camper playing many games of Uno. Grandpa was always trying to break the rules. It’s the running joke that he’s a cheater at card games. haha!
One year, my mom had to have surgery. Grandma came up and helped take care of us kids while my mom healed. She happened to be in town on my birthday. I still remember that she made chocolate cupcakes with silver ball sprinkles on them. It meant the world to me. She didn’t have to step up and do that for me, but she did. It’s just who she is. She is giving and loving– just like my mom.
Grandma and I both have always loved Tigger. Winnie the Pooh movies and books were my favorite as a child. Grandma had Tigger glasses, mugs, statues, and all kinds of fun things. I used to tease her that I was going to steal it all from her. “I know exactly what I have, Ashley” she would tease. Once they moved into the nursing home, I inherited a big Tigger mug and a Tigger pin to put on a blouse or blazer. It feels a little odd to actually have these things, but I’m so grateful for the reminder of those silly conversations.
I don’t know how she does it, She has ten million grandchildren. Not really, but there are a LOT of us. Somehow, when I would call her, she always knew who it was. It must be some sort of grandma super power. She raised SEVEN children with a tiny kitchen and a humble home. I can catch a glimpse of what she was like as a mama, because my mom is so much like her. Humble, gracious, kind, giving, strong, selfless..
There’s something really special about a grandmothers love. She gives incredible hugs. You can feel the love passing from her to you. She REALLY hugs you. Not some fake hug, but a tight warm hug that makes all of your cares melt away.
My aunt snapped this picture of me hugging my grandma at my sister’s wedding. They surprised Amanda by showing up. None of us thought they would be able to make it. Their health was bad and grandma had just been in the hospital. I look at this picture and I can feel that warmth all of these years later. She’s incredible.
I wrote this post earlier this week. Early this morning, my incredible grandma breathed her last breath on earth. She is now healed and made whole, and that is a beautiful thing. While I grieve so deeply, I know that she is experiencing joy unseen.
“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” -Winnie the Pooh
When you last saw the farm table, it looked like this.
The table top was SO filthy. Disgustingly filthy. I cleaned it and turned two white wash cloths BLACK. I immediately put a tablecloth over it because I felt like I’d never get it clean enough to eat off of.
This became our Saturday project. Scott used his power sander to remove the old stain and sand down the really rough spots. We wanted the table to still have some personality with its dents and knicks. But, this had chunks of wood missing and was splinter city. I forgot to get a picture of it sanded down and bare.
Here is after one coat of stain and three coats of polycrylic. We used Rust-Oleum stain in the color Kona. I brushed one small area at a time and wiped it off immediately. Remember, always go WITH the grain when you are sanding and staining anything.
Once the stain had sufficiently dried, Scott applied the first layer of Miniwax matte polycrylic. We let that dry for two hours, sanded, did another coat, then it dried overnight. A third layer was put on in the morning after being sanded again. Sand it down after each layer has dried to make it look perfect.
Like my snow-covered shoes? Winter needs to leave immediately.
Anyway, we are thrilled with the way it turned out! This was our first time of ever staining anything. I’ve always felt really intimidated by it, but this was the perfect project. It was surprisingly simple. There are some things that we probably would have done differently, we are still really pleased with how it turned out. It’s perfect.
The kids loved peeking in the garage to see the progress. We ate a lot of meals on the floor while the table was drying, so they were very happy to have a table for breakfast again. It will be covered in art projects, legos, magnetic tiles, and food most of the time, but it is fun to see it bare and pretty.
Reading: I just picked up I Owe You One last night. I’ve read three of her novels so far this year, and am hooked. They are so lighthearted and funny. Though, Surprise Me was a little more serious, but still fantastic. I’m also doing the Women of Courage Bible study. (If you are local, the library is having a book sale on Saturday!)
Eating: This week, I’ve been eating a Perfect Bar for breakfast. I heat up some kind of leftover for lunch each day. And, dinner is usually reheated leftovers since I’m working. Thrilling, I know. Today, I’m making egg noodles from scratch for the rest of the family to have for dinner. They are so yummy.
Thinking about: My grandparents. Hospice has been involved, and for some reason it just feels really heavy today. They both have been very sick for quite some time, but now it feels different. We used to go camping with them and play board games. Scott and I lived in Springfield, MO and would drive up to Jeff City and spend the day with them frequently. We’d play games, eat, and just enjoy their company. I remember a time that my mom drove over to cook and freeze a ton of meals for them. I drove up since I was close. It was a fun day. We didn’t get to see them much once we moved to Michigan. Now that we are 2 1/2 hours away from the nursing home they’re in, we’ve gone to see them as much as possible. My kids have grown to love them a ton. I pray that we get a day to go down and see them soon. Grandpa caught the flu, so we can’t see them this weekend like I hoped.
Looking forward to: Spring!!! February is always so grey and dreary. It’s depressing. I’m ready for SUNSHINE! I need it. We all do, right? I’m ready for the bright colors. I’m ready for blooming flowers. I’m most excited about getting our garden started! I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt.
Watching: I don’t watch much. I started watching Once Upon a Time again when I was home from church with a sick kiddo. I used to love that show. I’m also hoping to watch Little Women this weekend. Scott bought the book for me, and I don’t think I’ve ever read it or seen the movie. I KNOW! I also just saw that there’s a show on Amazon. Have any of you watched that? The reviews are pretty divided.
I’d love for you to leave your responses in the comments. I love hearing what others are reading!
Motherhood is exhausting. It’s wonderful and full of hugs, stories, kisses goodnight, giggles, watching them grow and learn new skills.. it is euphoric. It’s also exhausting and terrifying. All of the what-ifs, hurts, and fears are exhausting to think about. Sometimes your whole day is turned upside down by one small choice. Don’t ever change pizza night from Friday in this house, or every small person will have an emotional meltdown.
Today, at this moment, my second cousin’s little boy is having brain surgery. Another woman, a friend from elementary school, has a boy in the hospital being treated for SO MANY life threatening illnesses.
And here I am. Three beautiful and healthy daughters. I always know that it’s a gift to have these babies. But, I feel especially grateful today as I know so many struggling. The days aren’t always easy, but they certainly look like a cake walk in comparison to what others are carrying.
Let’s pray for the struggling mamas. There are so many. New mothers who are exhausted and trying to figure out motherhood. Mothers who struggle as they fight and advocate for their children. Mothers who grieve the loss of a child. Mothers who grieve a decision they made in the past that altered their life forever. Mothers who are just worn out and don’t know if they can take another step. Mothers whose children have walked away from them. Mothers who are doing it all alone.
Let’s lift them up and prayer, and give thanks for the gifts that we have been given.
