"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." - Isaiah 32:18

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Elsa Leigh

 On July 3, 2014, I delivered my fourth and final baby...

💖 Elsa Leigh 💖


That means today is my baby's ✨10th✨ birthday!

I officially have all double-digit big kids now. 

I decided to look back through my archives and find photos of every July 3rd over the past ten years.

This is Elsa on each of her ten birthdays...

2015


 2016


2017


2018


2019


2020


2021


2022


2023


And today ~ July 3, 2024


What a blessed life she's been given.



Elsa has been a delight to raise and has taught me so much about how to be happy and how to love.

Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl!


💐


~ Courtney 







Friday, June 14, 2024

Send Help, Immediately

 

Excuse me...

*Ahem

Is this thing on?....


I am hacking into Mother's blog to plea for help.

I am fit to be tied!

As the Regal Master of the House, I demand attention to this issue immediately.

You see, the family who works for me has been using strange words lately. Words like Puppy, and New brother. 

But I pay no attention to words that aren't Best Boy in the World and Treats, so I didn't see this betrayal coming!

Yesterday, I came inside after my daily sunbath in the garden, and this hideous creature was in my house!


Disgusting.

Can you believe it?

I was appalled!

I demanded that he be removed from my presence, and had every right to assume the family, who are my butlers, would jump to my reasonable request.

You see, I have been training them for five years.

My main butler, Nola, carries me around whenever I want.

She calls me names like Baby, which I don't particularly care for, but as long as she continues her faithful service to me, I will keep her on staff.

The rest of the family are my spare butlers. I have trained them well, too. They stroke my fur and scratch my ears at every first "meow."

I even managed to train Mother. She will not vacuum in a room I am napping in, as the noise disturbs me greatly.

So you can understand my shock when they not only refused my request, but told me to be polite to this puppy.

How insulting!

It's clear I am the superior being, and yet when he got too close to me and I felt it was well within my Regal rights to hiss, I got in trouble!

Can you believe that?

A clean, handsome, divine Master such as myself does not deserve this treatment.

I made sure the family knew I did not approve, so I kicked over my food dish, then spread the bathroom trash all over the floor. But then the horrifying thought occurred to me.... What if I'm not loved anymore?
What if I'm being replaced?

My life flashed before my eyes....

*cue sad music





*Sigh... My life was perfect, I got the family's attention all to myself whenever I wanted.

I had to do something, and quick!

 So I came out of hiding, graced the family with my majestic presence, then proceeded to perform one of my famous, mighty stretches.

I gave it my all. I showed my white, fluffy tummy and everything!

But instead of a swooning, "Oooooh... big stretch!" They ignored me!!!

So, you understand why I'm furious, right?

Mother says we'll be best friends, but seriously, just look at this revolting beast....



S. O. S.


His Highness, 
Regal the Housecat





Thursday, May 9, 2024

School Photos

 

We made an impromptu visit to Kohler today, in celebration of completing another homeschool year.


We enjoy treating ourselves to ice cream in their beautiful Greenhouse Cafe, but the garden was in full bloom, so we were drawn to the courtyard.


 These kids make my heart swell with pride.


My firstborn, Roman, age fifteen, just completed his freshman year of high school. 


Nola Josette, age thirteen, just finished 7th grade.


Soren, twelve, finished 6th grade...


And my baby, Elsa, who's nine, just completed 4th grade.


I suppose this means I have officially been homeschooling for a decade now, but I feel like I've just begun. Every year seems to be better than the last.

As much as I miss the younger homeschool years of blowing bubbles, playing with blocks, and reading Corduroy eight times in a row, I am learning to embrace this new season of older kids and teens.

It can be just as exhausting and rewarding as the younger years. 

The Lord is teaching me to reject the dark cynicism of our culture, and move toward my teenagers with confident faith in our Redeemer.

They are unfinished products, their minds and character are still developing, so I endeavor to pour love and grace on them, with God's help, each day.


It's a joy watching my children grow into who God designed them to be.

They are God's children after all, and are here to bring Him glory, not me.

I'm just grateful to get to be a part of what God is doing in their lives.


💐

~ Courtney 


Saturday, April 20, 2024

Home Life

 Facebook memories reminded me that we had snow two years ago...


And that Elsa and I went out to give the tulips and daffodils a word of encouragement.

I'm not sure if we were behind schedule that year, or ahead this year, but today the grass is green and my daffodils are in full bloom.



We are enjoying a lazy Saturday morning, keeping the house quiet and allowing the kids to sleep in.

Micah and I crossed paths in the kitchen and had our annual early spring conversation on plans for the gardens and orchard this year.

We stood at the kitchen window sipping coffee, making remarks on the yellow finches at the feeder, and establishing what we'll do with that empty, awkward spot in the flower bed.

A reasonable plan was confidently decided as we poured fresh coffee, made our way to the other window, and discussed the demise of a dwarf spruce that sadly didn't survive the winter.

We laughed at the house cat leaping at a red cardinal as a few children, one by one, made their way down the staircase and into the living room to watch vintage episodes of Bugs Bunny, a Saturday morning tradition.

After instructing Micah on what exactly I'd like hauled to the dump, starting a batch of laundry, and thinking about the two pounds of ground beef I've been thawing in the fridge for days but can't seem to find time to fry up, I realize how peaceful our home life is and how lucky I am.

I'm thankful I learned as a young wife how to accept people for who they are, instead of miserably trying to coerce family situations into my ideal.

Everything seems better when it's uncontrived, anyway.

The kids have been finishing up their school work for the year. The girls completed their Language Arts course this past week. To finish a book of lessons and assignments that we've been working on since August always feels like quite the accomplishment!



We're all so proud!

I'm looking forward to the completion of the school year, so I can move my attention and efforts to the gardens.

A beautifully mild, sunny day this past week required all my self-control not to zip over to the nursery down the road for plants and flowers.

Looking ahead at the weather tells me we still have a few nights below freezing approaching.

It's okay. I can be patient. I have a book to finish.

Lately I've been into reading children's books for my own enjoyment.

Before you laugh at me, remember C.S. Lewis said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good story in the slightest. No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally - and often far more - worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond."

It started with, Heidi, by Johanna Spyri.

That book was pure delight, and even changed the way I viewed the majestic row of pines that, now in my mind, stand knowingly and authoritatively on the other side of our meadow.

Then I read, The Good Master, by Kate Seredy.

I bought it for Nola a few years ago, so she read it first, but it, too, was bewitching.

Both stories possessed a striking similarity in that there was a sickly, spoiled, city character who moved out to the country and found healing. Of course, having lived out in the country myself for the past fifteen years, the idea of fresh air, sunshine, forests, streams, slow-living and privacy having a profound impact on a person is not lost on me.

"He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." Psalm 18:19


I now find myself half way through the enthralling, Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls.

I have a vague memory of having to read this in sixth grade. But that was so long ago, the story seems fresh and new to me now.

I hope to be finished by the time my tulips are in bloom, then I'll pass it on to Soren to read.


The main character reminds me so much of him.

💐


~ Courtney 

Monday, April 8, 2024

A Beautiful, Hearty Stew

The moment I learned that the author of a blog I follow had published a cookbook, I ordered two right away. One to keep, and one for a friend.



I perused through it a few times and found the recipe I wanted to attempt first.

It starts out very familiar - sauté carrots, celery, and onion in oil and butter. So I felt it was doable and wanted to give it a try.


It then becomes a very nutritious stew with chicken, beans and rice.


The author writes that she adds basil and bay leaves from her garden.

It made me long for my summer garden again.

I've planted a few small rows of simple vegetables in the past, such as lettuce, peas, and tomatoes.

I love stepping out into my garden on a warm afternoon to snip what I need to complete a salad or meal.

Nostalgically I was thinking of this, as I prepared a colorful salad to go with our stew.


The cherry tomatoes I was slicing up were cold and firm from the fridge, but the tomatoes I pluck out of my garden each summer are warm and surprisingly sweet.

Yes, it will be nice to have a garden again.

We enjoyed this hearty, nutritious meal tonight with homemade cornbread on the side.

In the cookbook, the author makes the eye-opening point that mothers can view their work in the kitchen as a ministry.

How inspiring!

Not only are we feeding their tummies, but feeding also their love and loyalty for home and family.

How can cooking become drudgery with an outlook like that!

I've always been fond of creating beautiful meals for my family, but I appreciate a renewed sense of purpose on the matter.


💐


~ Courtney 

Monday, April 1, 2024

Highlights from Washington D.C.

I love it when the first of a month falls on a Monday.

It really feels like the start of a new chapter.

We are still warm and fuzzy from our Easter festivities yesterday.

 This line from The Good Master by Kate Seredy nicely describes a special family Easter...

"Mother invited them to eat anything they liked. Visitors came and left; the kitchen was always full of people and laughter. She liked the verses they spoke, she liked the boundless hospitality, she liked ever so much to be there and enjoy it all!"


March was a busy month for our family.

On the flight home from D.C. I jotted down the places we visited and the sights we saw on a scrap piece of paper from the bottom of my purse. I didn't want to forget all that we did together.

In a way, that's how I've viewed this blog... A place to "park" pictures and stories so we don't forget all we've been through as a family.

Here are some of the highlights from our trip...

Day 1. Capitol/ Library of Congress/ Holocaust Museum 




Day 2. Smithsonian Museum/ Prince Caspian show







Day 3. Archives/ White House

After waiting in a long line, I am finally ready to view the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. 

It was surreal to see these three original documents in person.


Day 4. Capitol Hill Baptist Church/ Washington Monument



Day 5. War Memorials/ Lincoln/ Arlington Cemetery 






Witnessing the very somber, very elaborate changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

I will write more about that in another post...

(Remember, I'm still experimenting with shorter, more frequent posts on this blog. I need to do better recording for my family!)

"At the Lord's command, Moses recorded the stages in their journey." Numbers 33:2


🌷


~ Courtney