mucky muddy yucky

its wet outside..

raining rather than snowing

AND...

and it is muddy

and mucky

and yucky

and seeing THIS much mud

gets me thinking

gets me dreaming…

of?

well

seed planting time!

are you dreaming of it too?

I can't HELP but dream of it..

I grow weary of winter this time EVERY year..

I long for

SEED planting..

saving our TP rolls

so we can grow them start growing them

 INDOORS…

what do YOU plan on growing?

dreaming of 

basi

cilantro

oregeno

parsley

chives

tomato

onion

beans

daisies

sunflowers

poppy

morning glory

so many things.. 

time to rip open those catalogs

and start ORDERING !

so excited!

Skating in the light of a DISCO ball

go go go 

speed racer!

Took the Blessings to the Roller Rink

with the homeschool group from Church..

It was fun to see…

some zipped by, doing dance moves,

chatting away, laughing

all to the sound of popular music

and the always present DISCO Ball...

with no concept of ALL that they were doing.

no idea that they were multi tasking

others

stumbled here and there

excited and quiet 

eager to JUST get around the rink

still others

just skated on the carpet

trying to get the hang of life on wheels

falling, crawling 

holding on to a wall

or to someone who cared enough to use their skills

to just HELP those still learning

It was so interesting because…

going to a Roller Rink

you see in MICRO vision

that which exists

in EVERY DAY LIFE

what kind of skater are you?

I have a child in each category…

but ME?

MUM'S 

the word 

**smiles**

walking softly in the snow

Paths less traversed

grown over by neglect

weeds, bushes dispersed

no design to detect

snow softly falling

from a cold gray sky

birds song is calling

like a sweet lullaby

evidence of beings nearby

silent and skilled, hard to see

their markings do not lie

perhaps nestled  beneath the tree

just my presence has altered this space

my breathing, my dreaming

have entered this place

legends  distort my meaning

they give fear and give chase

through paths with snow now gleaming

My body here, is out of place

but my soul, it is beaming

I feel my heart begin to race

walking softly in the wood

one step

two step

three

It is only then that I know I should

look about me and see

beyond the wood

beyond the tree

wishing I see I could

wondering where they could be

and yet, it seems that I am blind

can not see what my soul does know

they fear my tread they fear my kind,

and so i pause before i go

ever so slow

ever so slow

walking softly in the snow

orignal poem

by A. Cornforth

Let them eat cake

Two Birthdays

One week

can you spell

FUN?

Princess and I are trying to fill these awful icy months 

with some fun things

WE are taking a cake decorating class

and this is one of the creations..

a 

Happy Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday Boys!

We love you So much!

Winter at the Farm

There is something Magical about Winter at 

Blessings Farm

we have the MOST wonderful sledding hills

see the cousins?

All of the Blessings are there

EVEN Little Man

Thankfully you can see Buddys very RED jacket at the top left

ONE of the hills zig zags diagonally down & across this photo

no,

that isn't all of it

it keeps going

I couldn't get the WHOLE of the sledding hill

into this shot

and as the evening sun begins to set

everyone was very hungry!

everyone was eager to have 

HOT Apple Cider

or wonderful Hot Cocoa

Dinner would be a big crock pot full of Chili

with ALL the fix ins

oodles of popcorn

and a fun night of 

Rummy 500

Blessings Farm House Rules

yep

Winter at the farm

is 

my FAVORITE place to be

dreams DO come true

though her walk has not always been easy

the struggles many

her amazing attitude,

heart to serve the Lord

to love in all things

inspires

most everyone who takes the time

to KNOW her…

When she was just a wee little girl

she fell in LOVE with a creature

known to us as the Horse..

not the pony.. 

the Horse

was her FIRST word

at the tender age of two

she told everyone

(including the Santa at the Mall)

that all she wanted was a horse

and a piano

when she was three, she would strum the guitar

and sing her very own, 

cowboy songs

by the time she was eight

her dedicated wish list included still

a REAL horse

NOT

a plastic horse

stuffed horse

horse books

a living

breathing HORSE

so we did what any parent would do

we bough a bunny instead

she never stopped dreaming

she plays the piano

plays a harp

writes and composes music

and still her dearest dream seemed 

unattainable

until 

now..

Our Sweet Princess 

can attest to every little boy and girl

dreams really DO come true

Creative creations for COLD days

When the Winter is BITTER cold,

too cold to play out side

so cold you bundle up even INSIDE,

we like to get creative….

after lessons are done

the BINS of lego come out

and people here get creative

sometimes elaborate

sometimes a bit more simple

the play is hours and hours

I have more pictures than I would dare to up load

see, they don't ever want to take apart a creation

so they kept wanting more and more legos

and that is great

BUT

at some point the shelves are coated with dusty lego creations

and that is when THIS mama had an idea

I use my digital camera and photograph them all

at any angle 

at EVERY angle

doing what EVER they do

the kids LOVE this… 

they each hope to have a book of their creations some day

I am not as organized as all that yet

but they don't seem to mind..

rule is, 

NO ONE touches a creation till mama gets the camera out

then use the pieces to build new creations

I love cold weather games

and creations

I love seeing the detail they put into things

how cool that Buddy did this!

there goes the "James Bond" spy car!

going, going

GONE!

What winter creations are the big thrill at your home?

Winter Wonderland FUN

I always imagine that I love winter

or that I would…

if it weren't for sleet on the roads,

dirty snow 

slush

endless traffic

amongst people who don't remember

HOW to drive in the snow…

I always imagine that I love winter

because

my whole life I imagined winter like this

walking about on things like these… 

SNOWSHOES!

yes, quite odd to dream about snowshoeing…

it's not the most exciting sport..

but it IS!  

I love love love it...

but I always imagined, it was JUST my speed..

see…

if you haven't ALREADY figured it out,

I adore hiking in the nature, 

and have felt hindered in the winter months…

I long to walk in the Winter Wonderland…

now.. I can!!

and it is even more fun,

more exciting than I ever did think it would be

whilst i was "imagining"

Machine Man has many a chuckle at my "dreaming"

he laughed and laughed when I bought EVERYONE snowshoes…

said he'd NEVER wear them..

but anyone see what's on his feet in that there picture?

yup.. super cool snow shoes…

seems it makes hiking on the hunt a bit easier on my Man 

(doing the happy dance.. you know the one… the one 

that REALLY means… I was right, he was wrong, but …

I won't DARE "say' that.. so I do my "happy" dance)

When I was a kid we played and played and played outside…

only coming in for cocoa and food… 

then out again…

but living in suburbia in the 70s and 80s 

is a bit different than the living we do in Suburbia today it seems.

HOWEVER,

here at Blessings Farm,

it is as if time stopped

and I never see the kids

except when they are starving

or in dire need of a cocoa fix

my hikes each day

were invigorating

for my body as it heals

as well as 

for my soul..

Because see… our God is amazing at fixing our dreams

our imaginings on thing He so has planned for us…

Pinch me…

with all the trials

the mountains climbed,

the valleys long and weary,

moments like this

take my breath away

because, they leave me

in awe..

Simply Amazing

transforming a house...

back when this 1870s farm house grabbed our hearts...

the following spring you can really see the roof need to be 

beautified… (updated)

and the porch looks as though we might see it fall of..

it won't 

but..

it sure looks SAD

so over the summer 

Machine Man & C.S. 

began taking it down…

thanks with help from Princess and Tenderfoot

we saved a LOT of money because of these four!

and so it looked.. for many weeks.. (months)

but things are happening...

YES!!!

it's not done YET but...

can't you just see card games happening?

book reading

and family time?

isn't the space

just LOVELY?

plenty of room for Family and friends!!!

we are SO excited…

aren't YOU?

more to come as it nears completion!

yes.. Machine Man got a deer

so I finally figured out how to download 

on to my Mac..

yes.. yes…. I am SLOW to learn.. 

but that means

there is SO much to catch up on!

did you hear the news?

"Papa got a deer for me"

for the sake of some of my readers

i am not showing the whole "gutting"

nor the processing of the deer

which WE did ourselves…

What on EARTH are those colored cups for?

Well Little Man saw Buddy getting the BIG bowls to be a help

and so he figured we needed these too..

and Mama is THRILLED to have a freezer full

of tasty Venison!