I am a huge fan of Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. The more I read from her, the more I cook from her stuff, the more I watch her, the more likable she is to me. Love her. 

But I marvel at how she is able to do the things she does. She must have lots of minions in the background helping her keep things going. There is no other explanation. I'm not so much the piddly kind; I have lists galore and projects galore and I feel like my mind races 24/7 with ideas and thoughts and plans and lists and I'm always multi-tasking, but I still feel like things don't get done. My basil plants wilt because I forget to water them. My car needs vacuuming. My children need baths. Just kidding about that last part.

Knitting projects get worked on while I wait for yeast to proof. Books get read while my kids sleep. Finances get tinkered with while I nurse Dorien. I run for my Mommy break when Kyle gets home. Kyle and I lift weights together at the gym and talk about our days. I use his extra hands to go grocery shopping with me. I clean the bathroom when the kids are brushing their teeth and pottying. I squeeze every little drop out of this life I'm living and I still feel like there is stuff I miss. Or really want or need to do but just can't. On top of home-schooling. I'm the queen of "what can I get done while that is being done".

I'm not complaining one little bit. I love my life. And all of it is spent in the presence of my family and we're not "doing" too much. I just am a project gal. But sometimes I just wonder. Is all.

I can honestly say that adding home-schooling to the mix of my life has been really great. I get to spend more quality time with my kids. I get to have funny conversations with them! 

Yesterday, I was teaching Brooklyn and August something very basic and practical - that when you meet someone, you look them in the eye, say hello and shake their right hand with your right hand. I emphasized their right hand by putting a stamp on it. They thought this was great. Oh, and just so you don't  give me too much credit, this was all mapped out by my curriculum.  

Anyway, I was shaking hands with August, teaching him how to properly grip and not do the loosy-goosy creepy handshake. 

"The Right Hand, we shake hands with our right hands, don't we guys?"

"Yes, Mommy!"

Just to see how well August was doing with left vs. right, I held up my left hand and asked, "Which hand is this, August?"

"The Wrong Hand!" 

We may need to recover some pre-basic basics.

Not this little guys'. His Mommy's.  But I'd rather look at picture of him!

I'm 34 today and finding that hard to believe. But I'm also happier today than I've ever been before. And more delighted with where God has taken and continues to take my life than ever before.

I am the most blessed of all women. One fabulous husband, three healthy beautiful children. A wonderful family with fabulous brothers and sisters who love me and is there for me and Kyle and our kids night or day. A beautiful house and so many things I don't deserve. God has been so good to me.

These are the days that pass too quickly. The moments that I will look back on and wonder why they felt more like blips in time. 

Man, I love being able to enjoy smiles like this every day. To be the reason those smiles happen. To see that cute little dimple in his right cheek. To kiss and touch his insanely soft skin.

Life is such a delicate balance of happy, sad, ups and downs, being healthy and sick, teaching and learning...the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. That doesn't stop me from trying to keep learning, though. I find myself a sponge...reading, listening, gleaning, soaking up and then hopefully being wrung out onto my little ones, filling them up. Not just with life's lessons but with spiritual lessons and tales from my daily journey of faith.

I like where 34 years has taken me.

I love the pterodactyl sounds this guy belts out with such glee and enthusiasm.

I hope I never take for granted the here and now and its occupants.

This is my present and my life and my joy.

And I look forward to every moment that follows.

 This was my dining room table a few weeks ago. Chaos. Something that drives me crazy. 

Since I set August 15th as the first day of our school, I had to make some of this chaos fall into order. That meant moving my sewing machine out of sight, putting the ironing board back up (which meant I actually had to iron...) and finding space for the new school supplies and materials. 

Is it perfect yet? 

No. But it's in the process of falling into place.

 A good breakfast is essential! Does whole wheat bagels with cream cheese and fruit count? 

Brooklyn was so excited that we were starting homeschool today!  

So was Dorien!

August was pretty excited too. 

Will there be homework?

Not to worry, Dorien, we'll help you!

First Day of School! My 5 year old...wow. 

Bright, eager, smart, energized and the apple of my eye.

Handsome, sweet, sensitive, gentle, also smart and my precious son.

 A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday, Kyle happened to notice that the circus was coming to town. 

Ironically, we were also reading Pippi Longstocking to the kids and had just read the part where Pippi goes to a circus and causes all kinds of trouble. On Thursday, Brooklyn asked me, in her hilarious Brooklyn way, if there were circuses in this world.  Her way of drawing lines of distinction between fiction and reality. 

I said, yes, there were circuses.  She asked if we could go to one.

I called Kyle and told him about our conversation. He purchased tickets for the Friday evening show.

I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or the parents.

Getting ready for some circus action! They were literally on the edge of their seats.  

My squealy, happy Dorien who slept through 90% of the show.  

Is there anything better than performing horses, ponies and camels? 

After every act, August would clap and clap and clap and then turn to me to make sure I was clapping too. It was important that we all clap. 

These crazy acrobats were flying through the air from one wooden beam to another. It was pretty cool. By the way, I think to achieve optimum fitness and rock-hard abs, we apparently all need to join the circus.

 August was beyond overwhelmed. Brooklyn was just gleeful.

 Lemon-Lime Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie

That is what you see before you. And I made every bit of it from scratch, 'cept of course the blackberries. Those came from God. Ok, truthfully, so did the lemons, limes, cream, etc. But I put all the components together all by my lonesome.

 The "italian" part of the meringue was interesting. It involved whipping egg whites all by themselves until they had soft peaks. Then, taking a little break from that, you combined corn syrup, sugar and water and basically turned it into syrup. Stir over medium low heat until sugar dissolves, then boost heat up and heat without stirring until it reaches 238 degrees. Then you pour that boiling hot syrup into the egg whites while whipping them. It was supposed to make them glossy, but I find that the "non-Italian" way seems to get the glossy effect just fine.  This method actually created little hardened bits of candy on my mixer and a little in the meringue. I must have done something wrong.  It still tasted good, though!

The thing about this pie that means it was probably a one-time thing is that it literally took me all day to make.

There was the crust to make from scratch. The lemon-lime curd to make and chill for hours. The wine compote to make. The gelatin mixture to make, cream to whip, blackberries to soak in the compote. And the whole thing kept needing to be chilled and then chilled again. 

But in the end, it did look remarkably similar to the source. Which was Bon Appetit magazine. And it tasted delicious. It was served in a bowl, though, because with all the blackberry juice and compote juice, it turned into liquid right below that yummy yellow lemon-lime curd layer. 

There are some things you do just because you need to show yourself you can. This was one of those things. And it was delicious.

 When I got the email saying my order had been shipped, I was ridiculously happy. When it said the boxes would arrive this past Saturday, I was giddy. Brooklyn and August and I were on high alert all day. Everytime anything remotely sounding like a delivery truck rumbled down our street, we all dashed to a window to see if it was FedEx.

Unwrapping the boxes and checking things against the packing slip. This was so much fun. Better than Christmas. And yes, if you notice my kids constantly in their undies, it's true. It's not how they start out their day, but they play hard and they get hot and strip down. I apologize if this offends you. 

Science experiment DVDs, Handwriting Without Tears chalkboard...books and books and books... 

 My master binder of Instruction Guides, appendixes, etc. Wow.

The boxes came equipped with an interior diagram for transforming the box into a castle. That was Daddy's job while I sorted and organized. The kids had so much fun turning this castle into Polly Pocket Castle! 

For lack of a better spot right now, I organized all the books inside one of the boxes. Read-alouds, history, science, geography....how fun! 

 Pulling out some bedtime reading material for myself. I actually ended up spending multiple nights reviewing the instructor guides. This is all so new to me..

Meanwhile, Dorien is anxious to get involved in the playtime with Brooklyn and August.

So these days I'm averaging one post a week. I hope to improve on that average. It's just that, as you'll see with subsequent posts, I've been busy getting our supplies ready for school. That is, Goshen Academy aka Ecole De Goshen, which will commence its flagship location on Monday. I also launched and have been posting on an internal blog for DD&F which keeps me busy. Not to mention just the everyday hustle and bustle of being a mom and wife! 

The pictures below are from Michael and Beth's wedding on Saturday, July 30.  If you find it odd that there are no pictures of the bride and groom, I apologize profusely. I wasn't able to man the camera and corral the kids/barnacle and also get pictures of the main characters. I'll try to get some pictures from another source because Beth was stunningly beautiful, as were her bridesmaids. Wow.

Upon arrival at the church, which happens to be OUR church, it was time to get dressed. August was so ready to get suited up. Literally. It's funny because I wore a white shirt and these dressy shorts which were sort of shimmery gold and completely without meaning to, I matched the colors of the groomsmen perfectly! (Shorts were a STEAL at Anthropologie: $19 on sale!) 

Double-knotting the dress shoes so there were no loose laces as he walked down the aisle. 

 Fortunately, the length of the tie was hidden by his jacket. I realize it's way too long to be fashionable. But they apparently aren't all that concerned with details like that on 3 year olds.

 If Michael was nervous, there was no sign of it. He helped keep August loose and having fun.

 And now to prepare the Flower Girl. She looked simply lovely in her gown and with her new white slippers. Lovely lovely.

Ta da! 

She's definitely a little lady now. Long, lean, coltish and so precious. She keeps asking me when she should start getting wiggly teeth. 

 It was one long day at the church for us. We were up early in order to eat breakfast and get to the church by 11:00, as instructed. We were told pictures would begin at 11:15. In reality, it was a good hour later. The wedding was at 2, and we didn't leave until 4:30. It was a very long day for my little barnacle. Fortunately, if I'm around and his blankets are handy, he'll sleep on the fly.

 Rene, our Rwandan, looked super handsome! We were astonished when he rolled out this sweet black suit and snazzy shoes! He was total GQ! One of my brothers actually had to borrow his tie for pictures. This was his first American wedding and he was fascinated by it all.

 My mother, all dolled up for the wedding, poses with her granddaughter. My sister-in-law, Lauren, did her hair and make-up and it was perfection. Elegant, subtle and glamorous at the same time. Great job.

And don't worry - those are not the shoes she wore. Just her pre-wedding comfy shoes.

 Handsome Randad with Brooklyn and August.

 I'm ready.

 Me, too! 

Please note the precious basket which Beth made herself! 

As we waited for them to come do family pictures, I kept adjusting Brooklyn's sash. Rachel, just in from California, hung out with us at the front of the Chapel. 

 Rachel and August.

 Is that dadbern bow right yet??? One final adjustment...

 Peek-a-boo! After the ceremony is over, we all relax and dig in to some yummy food. Kyle catches me with food in my mouth. 

Believe it or not, this fellow did amazing. Walked down the aisle without a single hesitation, even with the seats packed with people. I was so proud of him! He also managed to clean several plates of food and not get a single drop on his suit. I know adults who didn't manage that.

Funny wedding moments...

After the ceremony, as the wedding party left the room, Brooklyn thought she was supposed to pick up the flower petals she'd dropped on the aisle. I had forgotten to tell her that she didn't need to do that! But from a mother's perspective, I was thrilled that she was ready and willing to clean up after herself!

Also, just after the wedding party came down the aisle, took their places and the preacher began his spiel, my little Dorien took that moment to blow out his britches. It was so loud that people within 3 or 4 rows all turned their heads to look at us. Not only that, it was bubbling up from the back of his diaper like a yellow volcano. I was frozen. I didn't want to leave to change him and miss the whole wedding, but I had to do something! I contemplated just changing him right there on the empty seat beside me, except that with the copious amounts working their way up his back, it would have gotten EVERYWHERE! Fortunately, a friend of mine was sitting behind me and she offered to take him and change him for me. I met up with her after the ceremony and she informed me that in all her years of changing diapers, Doriens' was a record. It literally cleaned out my pack of wipes. 

But what's a wedding without some good moments like that?