An Ordinary Day

www.allposters.com Mother and Child - Carl Holsoe

Just an ordinary day for us here yesterday.

Tim went off to work and I got up. I woke Lindsay and she went out to feed the horses and let the dogs out for their morning run around the property. I decided to make waffles, something I rarely do. It was simple and so fun to have the surprise ready for the kids when they got up. I had my laptop at the kitchen table to check my email and read blogs while making the waffles and when Lindsay came back inside we both made waffles and chatted. We have had a fire going in the woodstove almost constantly, and it really helps keep the house warm. It is in the basement and the kids are warm down there while playing and watching movies. We were really pleased with how warm it kept the house last year and even more pleased when we had our propane refilled this year to find we only used half of our propane! What a blessing!

After the younger girls ate breakfast, I sent them in to work on their bedroom. It is a small space with two girls with lots of 'treasures' and quickly gets cluttered. We also decided we would move the bed away from the outside wall for the winter. This will insure they don't get cold in the night.

Lindsay was on laundry patrol yesterday and while she was working on various things on the computer, she kept the laundry moving. That was a huge blessing to us. The kids did schoolwork and then in the late afternoon, Lindsay, Emily and I made dinner. Rachel and Sarah helped a bit too.

I knew that I was going to cook beef and noodles for dinner, but what to have with it? So I mentioned to Lindsay, our resident biscuit maker, that the new video from Franklin Springs of the West Ladies called "The Art of Cooking" had a great recipe for buttermilk biscuits. So we put that dvd in my laptop and watched them make them and then used their recipe and technique to make them. They turned out amazing! Better than Cracker Barrel's buttermilk biscuits! Tall, flaky, yummy!

Rachel and Sarah asked to watch a different West Ladies video - The Art of Canning. They like to learn how to do the things we 'older' women in the family are doing and interested in! We really like this set of videos and find they are way more practical than Martha Stewart.

While Lindsay was making biscuits, Emily and I peeled about five sweet potatoes and I sliced and boiled them. Emily made the beef and noodles. We take beef that has been cut into cubes and dredge them in flour and salt and pepper. We lightly brown them in oil then add water, minced onion, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and beef bouillon to finish cooking the meat. It makes fantastic gravy! We serve it over noodles or brown rice! So good!

When the sweet potatoes were done cooking, I whipped them like I do my mashed potatoes, but I added brown sugar, cinnamon, and heavy whipping cream in addition to butter. They tasted wonderful, sort of like our sweet potato casserole without the topping.

After dinner we had family worship time, we are studying the book of Acts, and the younger kids recited their memory verses. Then it was clean up time for both the kitchen and people!

Before the kids went to bed we had a huge laundry folding party and it was all quickly put away. The young ones tucked into bed. My tired husband off to bed, and me soon after.

We woke a little after 12:00 am to an alarm going off somewhere in the house. It turned out to be Rachel's clock radio. We guess that somehow it got set during the furniture move around in their room yesterday...it didn't even wake them! Heading back to bed I noticed that the older girls light was on and found them talking and knitting still! Don't know what time they went to sleep!

I love days like that - full of everyday activity. The life of the home and of the family.

I read the following poem on a blog yesterday - sorry I don't remember which one.

'To live content with small means;

To seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion;

To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;

To study hard, think quietly,

Talk gently,

Act frankly;

To listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages,

with open heart;

To bear all cheerfully,

Do all bravely,

Await occasions,

Hurry never.

In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,

grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.'

William Henry Channing