{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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In gratitude this week for:

• A fantastic Summer Solstice celebration
• A garden that continues to grow and neighbors that keep dropping off their extra seedlings
• Ice Cream for supper
• Three of the most awesome daughters anyone could ask for

Wishing you a blessed weekend!

Summer Solstice

Wishing all of you a joyous first day of summer!  We love celebrating the Summer Solstice.  Rebekah has been counting the days down for over a week now.  Preparations are being made for our dinner of hot dogs, potato packets and grilled corn over the camp fire out back.  And of course there will be s'mores as well.

Photo credit - Perform It! Young People's Stage Company

Here is a lovely little story that Rebekah and I read this morning.  I thought some of you might like to share it with your little ones.  The Return of the Sun King by Christine Natale.

Happy Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day

Some lovely mama's organized a Valentines Day celebration at the ski mountain yesterday. It was a day early, but who cares? There were lots of lovely treats. The girls decided it would be fun to make our own candy conversation hearts. We thought larger ones would be easier to write on.

Rebekah loved writing "XOXO" with edible markers. To her that was the best part!

The candy mixture was simple to make, but not at all healthy. I am working on healthifying this recipe, as I thought they would be fun to make for other holidays as well. So stay tuned, you may see an Easter version of these.



Hope your Valentine's Day was sweet!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• 
  
  A birthday girl


• 
  
  Snow


• 
  
  A co-op order of yummy food


• 
  
  Knitting

Wishing all of you a glorious weekend!

{this moment} Sister Laughter

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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In gratitude this week for:

*A birthday girl - WOW 14 I can't believe it

*A family trip to the Drive-In

*More wild blueberries

*End of the heat wave

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

Happy Birthday America

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, celebrated in style.

It started off right with Fireworks on Friday night shared with friends and not too many bugs! Thanks to Sarah for the wonderful photos! I wish we had taken some pictures of the little girls' faces. Their expressions were priceless and in this mama's opinion much more interesting than the fireworks.

Then there was lots of BBQs and cook outs, watermelon and salads. S'mores over the campfire out back.




The annual parade in our little town. It's always lots of fun to see everyone. Thanks to the Kelleys for joining us! And Even Doug was able to come before he had to head off to work!



What a great way to celebrate the birthday of this fabulous nation I am proud to live in. I'm so blessed to live in freedom, especially when so many are not as fortunate. Thank you to all those past and present to dedicated their lives to preserve the freedom of the United States.

Summer Solstice

After the long New England winter and Spring Mud Season the arrival of Summer is a much celebrated time. Yesterday the girls and I had a wonderful day celebrating the sun and thanking God for the beauty of summer in New England.

We had fun making this sun cake for desert. We are lucky to have a field of wild flower right around the corner, so we took a walk to pick the daisy for our cake.

We had fun making sun stars to decorate the living room windows. I love how the sun shines through them in the morning. Here is a link if you would like to make your own.



Then it was dinner cooked in and over the fire pit. Roasted corn on the cob, hobo packet potatoes and hot dogs. Sun tea the girls made earlier in the day. It was yummy!




And we finished with toasted marshmallow and s'mores! A perfect day to celebrate the sunshine! We are so glad summer is finally here! Hope you had a wonderful 1st day of summer!

Today the girls and I spent the day celebrating dad even though he was at work. We made his favorite dinner - ham, potato salad, three bean salad, buttermilk biscuits, and chocolate pudding cake. Everyone made a card celebrating all that dad is to them. The white board above the kitchen table was decorated with a special message. We cleaned the house and removed some clutter, one of his least favorite things. There was even a small gift to wrap in the Sunday comics. While all of us wish that dad could have spent his special day with us, it was good to spend the day doing things that would make him happy.

So when he finally made it home, all the girls myself included ran to great him at the door with hugs, kisses and well wishes. The supper was perfect. And he even noticed the clutter was gone!!! Happy Father's Day sweetie. I hope you know you were celebrated all day, as you are most days.

Sending Father's Day wishes to all you papas out there.

Look who's 4!

I can't believe my sweet babe turned 4! Four! Where did the time go? She isn't even a babe any more. Really she hasn't been for a while now, but it is hard for this mama to let go.

Boo, as she is affectionately known, is the glue that holds this crazy family of ours together. She can make us all laugh. She is fabulous at giving orders. She is a helper and a doer. She is a singer and a dancer. And as you can see she is a silly face maker, especially for the camera. Sarah was trying to get her to pose in her birthday vest, pants and green socks that are all mama made. Fat chance! But this is our Boo. The picture is just perfect!

I didn't get a pictures but her birthday table was beautiful. All of her presents were wrapped in her play silks - green, frugal and pretty to boot. Of course each gift has to be played with or posed with before she could move on. Such a gracious little girl. She wore the princess cape the rest of the evening.

Make a wish! I wonder what four year olds wish for? I know one who would like a pony. The cake - just what the birthday girl ordered - chocolate & more chocolate! It actually turned out quite yummy and not to sweet. I used a mayonnaise chocolate cake recipe that I will share later.

Sarah make Rebekah these beautiful water colored alphabet cards. They have been working on spelling every one's name. Bekah's best buddy the dog was first.

Also received was a dress and sheep family and water trough (for her farm) from Gramma and Grampa, bubbles from Hannah, a star wand and the book, The Snow Children. this ended up being the perfect book as Boo's birthday brought the first BIG snow storm.

What a fabulous day for a fabulous girl. Happy Birthday sweetheart! We love the BIG girl you are growing into.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• A birthday celebrated
• the arrival of my Plain and Joyful Newsletter
• the first ski day of the season
• knitting and sewing projects

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• a day of dress up and sweets
• a third Christmas sweater almost done
• a fabulous dinner cooked by my wonderful husband
• the little everyday things with my girls

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

13 and Amazing!

It is hard to believe it has been thirteen years since I was blessed to become your mother. You were such a sweet babe. 10 perfect little fingers and 10 perfect little toes. Dark hair and green eyes like your dad. Not at all like me.

The years have gone by so quickly. It has been a joy to watch you grow and explore the world around you.

You have been a wonderful big sister to both Hannah and then Rebekah. They look up to you for advice and support, and you have always been there for them, and I know you always will.

You have always been mature for your age. What three year old when told she could have anything she wanted for her birthday dinner would pick lobster? But you did. Silly me, I thought you would pick mac & cheese or chicken nuggets. And we had lobster for your birthday for the next four years. You probably don't remember, but you were the only one who had lobster that first year. Mom and dad had to eat fish that was on sale. I still get a chuckle out of you carrying the bag with the live lobster around the grocery store.

You are both a serious and fun loving. You can be counted on as friend, sister and daughter.

Anyone who knows you can attest you will always be there to lend a helping hand, and listening ear or a supportive shoulder. You are a true friend.

It has been a joy watching you discover and explore your passions. You weren't a dramatic toddler and I never would have guessed that the theater would call you. However, it is obvious to anyone who sees you on stage, you have found your place.

You have become independent and sure of yourself. You are strong and yet compassionate. You can make people smile and laugh. You are open and outgoing. There are many blessed to call you friend.

You make us smile, you make us laugh. It is amazing to watch you spread your wings and fly.

I am blessed to be your mother. It has been a joy to see the wonderful, caring young woman you have become. I treasure our moments together and look forward to sharing so many more.

Happy Birthday my sweet teenager. I love you more than you know.

Summer Solstice Celebration

Summer greeted us with beautiful blue sky filled with puffy white clouds, warm temps and a pleasant breeze. Who could ask for more? The day was busy as usual: produce run and horseback riding lessons, knitting and reading. However the evening brought something a little special.

A fire in the pit out back.

Roasted corn on the cob and hobo pouch dinners! Yummy!

A little one who was hungry after swimming.

A little farmer's market knitting by the fire as the girls . . .

. . . roasted marshmallow of course.

Sisters feeding each other smores. Nicely, might I add.

And a little one who just likes the marshmallows.

A perfect welcome to summer here in New Hampshire.

Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a joyous Easter shared with family and friends!

WIP Wednesday

This adorable little bunny is some of the Easter crafting going on. This was so easy to make following Betz White's tutorial here. The body is made from a merino wool sweater that was free from one of the local church thrift stores. I felted it in the washing machine. The fabric in the ears is scraps left over from Rebekah's birthday banner. The buttons came out of the button basket, a collection of extra and rescued buttons from everywhere. The pom pom is cotton made using this tutorial. The yarn was left from another project.

I love making things for family and friends, especially the kids. And it is always a plus when I can repurpose items and create frugally.

What are you crafting this Spring? I'd love to hear. And don't forget to include your tips for repuropsing materials. I am always on the look out for new ideas.

Look Who's 10!

It is hard to believe that Hannah is 10! WOW! Double digits! Hannah wanted to have a skating party at the local skating rink. As many of you know Hannah discovered skating this winter and is hooked.

Six of Hannah's friends met us at the ice rink for a couple of hours of skating and snacking.

A few of the girls caught in action.

Sarah and Brynn

Bekah had a great time riding the creates instead of skating with them. Here it is Mary's turn to push her for a while.

The whole gang at the end of the skating. We headed back to the house for pizza and a movie, Ice Princess. (As if there wasn't enough skating already)

Even the cake had a skate theme.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!