Bless your cherry pickin heart!

Our cherries are ready to be picked and they are really good this year. Our first year of getting around to harvesting them. Also, the first year for cherry jam. :)

Twink was very nice and allowed us in her territory to pick them.

It’s kind of a cozy way to spend a day. Work all day long, feel like you’ve accomplished something, take the kids swimming for an hour or so, come home for supper, and then finish the day off by gathering in the ‘orchard’ and filling a few bowls with cherries. :)

I was shocked that it took me a full hour to pit a bowl of cherries. We now have about 6 cups of prepared cherries for jam and hopefully a tasty pie.

And hubby is even more excited that more will be ready to be picked tonight…. along with the second round of peas….

BRF Catch up: Summer in Psalms

I’m alive. I”m here. I haven’t forgotten about Book Review Friday. I admit that it has been a challenge to find time when I am awake to read. Summer is sooo busy. But I’m plugging away at it and I hope you are too.

I’m not writing a review. There just isn’t time. But I wanted you all to know that we should be up to Psalm 86 by next Friday. So if you are like me and need to play ‘catch-up’ please join in and see what we can accomplish in this next week.

We’ve had a busy week here and no end in sight. Some necessary things on the list of things to do this summer as well as some awesome-can’t wait-fun fun fun times to come as well. I’ll do my best to keep posting my favourite pictures along the way. It’s faster than writing it all down…. and probably way more interesting. :)

So, keep reading and I’ll do my best to be back here next week with the next weeks assignment.  For now here are a couple of pic’s from the past week or so. :)

Thursday

We managed to get out berry picking again. We were supposed to have our first swim in Grampie & Grammie’s pool, but the thunder showers had perfect timing and we just sat on the veranda and hoped it would stop soon.

It didn’t.

We went to a friends place and picked spray free berries for our own freezer.

Freezing them individually first, and then putting them in freezer bags means they don’t all stick together in the bags and you’ll be able to take our two berries or 4 cups at a time if you want. Brilliant.

And while doing the evening chores the kids called us out to see the double rainbow. Very cool.

Good day. :)

On my table

I took a break from laundry, finding floors, and a math lesson to step outside and get a fresh bouquet this morning.

Love them.

It was a yummy day :)

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Happy Father’s Day, Hubby!!

We celebrated the best way we know how. We ate. :)


You should see a picture of all the leftovers. We had enough to feed an army. No doubt. But it was some good. :)

BRF: Summer in the Psalms (51-57)

If you would like to know more about Book Review Friday just check out my sidebar. :)

For this week we’re into Psalm chapters 58-64. Read one chapter each day, more than once if you can, and make notes as you go. Let this summer be one where you do not let your Bible reading slip. It has proven itself harder in the summer season with me. Life gets busier and this is something easily let slide. But the readings are easy because they are so short.

I have read the chapters each day. I have a few notes. But because of life and the way it is these days I will refrain from typing up a review.  If you do write a review please leave a comment so that I/we can check it out. :)

Day 1 in the berry fields.

What a great first day!! It wasn’t great picking, but all the kids did awesome with attitudes and work ethic. So pleased! They were pleased to save a couple boxes for a treat tonight too.  The first strawberries of the season. Yum! :)

By 7:45 we were at the fields and underway. The kids jumped out of the van and were ready and rarin’ to go. :)
The boxes were filling at a steady pace and were keeping mommy busy keeping track.

Due to pregnancy and extreme foot and leg pain mommy was sticking close to the van.

We have a very very sophisticated method of keeping track of everyone’s progress.

Tomorrow is work day on the homefront and then we’ll be back out there on Saturday.
I love summer!

I have nothing to say, but….

I just feel like blogging. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and feel the need to chillax here for a minute. We just had everyone over for a birthday afternoon and the kids are all playing happily with a few new toys, and mommy is avoiding the clean up.

I love hot summer days. I love it that Grampie & Grammie’s pool is almost ready. I even love it that strawberry season has begun and we’re off to the fields tomorrow morning bright and early. The kids are excited to make some good honest money! But before I go crazy getting ready for tomorrow morning here’s a few fun pictures for you. :)

Cupcakes are fun. My daughter loves decorating them too. They look extra cute on a beautiful new pedestal cake plate found for $3.00 at a yardsale. :)

Weeding in the garden is a daily affair these days.

This year hubby opted for the wood splitter rental instead of chopping 6 cords by hand. It took them all day but he and my oldest son got it all done. I was sooo proud with how hard a kid can work and enjoy it for 8 hours straight. Now, if we could just get that same enjoyment and vigor while doing a math drill….

Here’s my youngest digging into his birthday gifts. He loves presents. But he also loves to give presents. It’s been very difficult to get him to keep and enjoy his gifts since he’s opened them.

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love pedestal dishes of all kinds. I’ve wanted to do this with my glasses ever since I got them almost a year ago (from the dollar store). We have so many people running around we really do need glass markers, hence the ribbon. How cute is that. Mind you, when you invite a lot of people over you need lots of ribbon, but that’s what the sale bins are for, eh?! :)

That reminds me of last year when we invited a whole bunch of people over. There were lots and lots of kids. I got the throwoutable cups and did this. Also worth the 2 minutes it takes to do. The kids aren’t going through a million of them. Anything to make life a little more sane or easier. :)

Well, now it’s time for me to stop avoiding and get back to real life. Have a great night. :)

Baby Update.

Here I am at week 24, squinting into the sun. But hey, I remembered to take another picture finally. :)
I was pleased to only gain 1 1/2 lbs this past month. Much better than 6 like I’m used to. That makes it an even 30 pounds gained so far. Normal for me it seems. :)

I’ve started having panic attacks over the past month or so. These are a new thing for me. I’ve done some reading and changed things up a bit and it seems to be helping so far. I have no idea why I’d be in a state of ‘panic’, so it’s kind of hard to figure out how to fix it. I don’t feel stressed, but I know I am crazy busy. That must be all it takes. But thankfully no depression. God is good.

Friends have been finding little girl things here and there and giving them to me. Thanks everybody! :) I also bought 6 little newborn onesies, 3 of them have the little fold over mitts on the end. They are so tiny and so cute in all their snow-white loveliness. :)

I cannot possibly post a picture of the nursery yet. It’s scary. Not only does it have fish wallpaper on the walls (there when we moved in), but it is still being used as storage/ hide our mess, area. I’m working on it and even have a color theme in mind. I have some bedding that I LOVE to start me off on putting the room together. Here be your sneak peek:

And so, I have 16 weeks left to get my act together and have us all ship-shape. I’m shocked with how fast the pregnancy is going. Almost too fast. I have soooo much to do. :)

Uncle Wiggily & Johnny

Uncle Wiggily was a game that my mom had when she was little. She played it with me a number of times when I was young and I just loved it. It was old with beautiful pictures, lots of detail and fun little poems and riddles on the playing cards. For the past number of years I’ve searched for it on ebay and such places without any luck. Then, one day last week my mom found this newer version of it at Frenchy’s for next to nothing. She gave it to me!

It’s been raining here for a couple of days so the kids brought it out and have had a number of games already. It’s great for the younger ones because the cards are simple enough for them to read themselves.

Thanks mom. :)

We also used to read a gorgeous book called Johnny and the Birds. We LOVED it. It also was from my mother’s childhood and I had been searching for a copy of my own for a few years. While visiting a friend I noticed she had a copy. It had been taped back together but all the story was still in tact and … I loved it. She gave it to me, just like that. That was a few years ago. It’s one of those books that no matter where the kids are or how old they are they all make their way to the couch where it’s been read. They don’t make books like that anymore.


Thanks Lorna. :)

So, have you found some childhood treasures of your own??