A Little Woman

Some how over the winter you forget the joy of working in the garden.
You forget the sweet spring smell, and the sound of the birds singing as they flit from tree to tree, the sound of a hoe thuding against the dirt. You forget the sound of Spencer and Hanna playing near by, the feeling of the damp earth in your hand, you forget the steady rythm of hoeing. You forget the way the wind blows your hair about, the way it lifts your skirt for a moment and is gone. You forget the sight of the damp still earth, the little green plants poking up, the birds when you pause to watch them.

Spring is here at last!

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2

Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.

They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.

The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

We spent most of the day yesterday making jelly with our friends.

Sorting the grapes...

...boiling...

...straining..

...heating the grape juice with suregell...

...adding sugar and boiling for 1 minute...

...putting the jelly in jars...

...and the finished product.

The joy of finding all those little green sprouts after a long winter!

I was trying to take pictures of my cousin Alexa while we were babysitting her on Monday.

The chalenge of keeping a hat on a 10 month old!

I am currently reading The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid. It is a very interesting book.
It explains how whole raw milk is an excellent health food and is even useful medicinally. Raw milk can help in treating chronic disease, and unlike the processed milk we buy in stores is safe for babies to drink. Raw milk is actually safer then pasteurized milk, if it is handled properly and comes from healthy cows.
We have been buying raw milk at a local farm. It has been fun to go to the farm every week or so. We bring 1/2 gallon glass canning jars and the farmer fills them up.

Daddy put up monkey bars and a rope ladder in our basment.

So fun!

Climbing a rope ladder is hard!

At the top...

...and across.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Grandma Kathie gave mama a fondue set for her birthday. We recentally used it for the first time.

Here is the main course...

...and dessert...

...when there was nothing left to dip Daddy and Spencer got creative...Frosted Mini Wheats...

...Cheetos?

Thank you grandma we are enjoying the fondue.

We make a drink out of yogurt, limes, and honey. It has lots of enzymes, so it is good to drink with a meal. (Mom and I are the only ones who will drink it as it is rather tart.)
The recipe is from Norishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

Because mom told him to pretend he was working (or something like that) so she could take the picture.

1 quart plain whole yogurt
juice of 12 limes
1/2 cup raw honey
filtered water

Put all ingredents in blender. Blend well. Dilute with water until desired consistency.
Makes 3 quarts.
It is very good iced.

I definitely recommend Nourishing Traditions. It is an excellent book.

...to take with us on a trip to midtown to look at various houses we found on CBS home...Just for fun since everyone else in our church small group was sick and could not come over.