Thank goodness cleanliness ≠ godliness

Let me set the stage:

Four children ages 6 and under

plus

Homeschooling
plus

Life

plus

a wife that struggles with order of any kind

DOES NOT EQUAL

a squeaky clean house.

Am I okay with this? Yes. Probably more than I should be. Still, something nags me when I don't have the house in better shape when Simon comes home from work. 

You see, he is the neat one around here and I often feel that I let him down if I perform anything less than June Cleaver. Of course, he has never asked this of me but he works hard for our family and for me to stay at home so I really want him to come home to a place he feels relaxed in, not overwhelmed in.

So, this weekend I came across this great little quiz for us both and I was surprised that his expectations weren't nearly what I had worked up in my head. So now, I know what things I can focus on that speak his love language and let him know that I appreciate what he does for me.

Take a few minutes to do this with your spouse. I'd love to hear about it!

Bread baking update

It's been a while since I've talked about my bread making adventures. It's been a year and a half since I began and while I have taken a break here and there, I really enjoy it and my bread has improved greatly- much lighter and fluffier than my first attempts. I have been using hard white wheat, but will be making the switch to hard red soon. I find it much better tasting even though most things that I have read say that hard white is milder tasting.

Other than just plain loaf bread, I've started making cinnamon raisin bread and apple cinnamon bread. I love toasting this for breakfast- yummy! and I recently came across a few other nourishing breakfast ideas that I've really enjoyed. I notice such a difference in my eating habits when I start the day with a good breakfast so I'd love other suggestions. 

Mmmm Good!

I promised I'd keep you updated on the bread-making front. Well as excited as I was and still am, I did have a few setbacks.

First the motor in the brand-new Nutrimill I bought was no good so it had to be sent back. Thankfully the company was great and UPS'ed me a new one pronto.

So after grinding the wheat here is what was produced in a total of 1 1/2 hours! Needless to say, I was excited and ate about 4 rolls before they cooled. Bad decision for my stomach...

I proudly produced my homemaking skills at dinner that night to which Simon replied, "It's good, but does this mean we won't be eating white bread anymore??" Uh, yeah hon. :)

That first attempt was two weeks ago and I'm now awaiting my big shipment of wheat to arrive from the local co-op. (In the meantime I've been using wheat I bought from another breadbaker to tide me over.)

So far, in addition to the bread, I've baked banana bread, peach scones, and yesterday tried my hand at homemade pitas. They came out great and the kids thought they were the perfect sandwich size and today used them to make pb&j pita pizzas for lunch.

Since it's peach season here in Georgia, here's the peach scone recipe I tried.

Peach Scones

2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium peaches, peeled and chopped, about 1 cup

Directions
1Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
4Combine buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
5Stir into flour mixture with peaches until just combined.
6On lightly floured surface knead dough 5-6 times.
7Pat dough into 3/4" thick circle.
8Cut into 10 wedges.
9Place on a baking sheet.
10Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Bread making

I did it. I purchased a grain mill. Six months ago had you asked me what a grain mill was this is exactly what I pictured in my mind:

Needless to say, this is not what I purchased. I've recently had the pleasure of being around other moms that make their own bread and after learning about and (even better) tasting the difference, I am excited to make this lifestyle change. I've gone the bread machine route before, but for me that was pretty faddish. Now that I truly understand it all, I am happy to make the change for my family's health.

As I was researching the benefits of making my own bread, I've found that grinding your own wheat is the first step and a very important step I might add. Luckily, it has little to do with a water wheel or I don't think I'd have gotten very far.

Anyway, here's what my grain mill will look like:

Here are a few interesting sites on breadmaking as well...

BreadBeckers

Joyful Living for You

The Country Bakers

And the benefits of home made bread...

Her Own Small House to Keep

This past weekend at a used book sale I rummaged through the box of free books and came across, The Art of Homemaking, published in 1963. It is a fairly simple book and
a quick read, but one rich with wisdom that my generation has all but forgotten. In fact, one of my most prayed prayers this year has been to ask God to show me how to make my house a home. A place where people feel welcome and at home. A place that my husband and children WANT to be.

This poem was in the book and it was too good not to share:

God, give each true, good woman
Her own, small house to keep-
No heart should ache with longing-
No hurt should go too deep-
Guard her age-old desire-
A house to love and sweep.

Give her a man beside her,
A kind man - and a true-
And let them work together
And love - a lifetime through.
And let her mother children
As gentle women do.

Give her a shelf for dishes,
And a shining box for bread,
A white cloth for her table,
And a white spread for her bed.
A shaded lamp at nightfall,
And a row of books much read.

God, let her work with laughter,
And let her rest with sleep;
No life can truly offer
A peace more sure and deep-
God, give each true good woman
Her own small house to keep.

Grace Noel Crowell

The Garden

One of my more exciting ventures this year has been to plant my first ever garden. I cannot keep as much as a house plant alive, so for years I wondered if I would ever know enough to plant and harvest vegetables.

It wasn't until someone introduced me to Square Foot Gardening that I felt I had the slimmest of chances at anything other than a windowsill herb garden. I poured over the book most of the winter and in March we - well, me with the plan and my husband the tools- broke ground and got to work.

---------------------------------------------------------
Fast forward to May 5:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

And one month later, on June 3:

So far, we've harvested (I love using that word- makes me feel like an authentic farmer, but let's get real these are two 5' x 7' plots of land):

4 zucchini
5 cucumbers
~30 beans
5 small carrots
1 small red onion
more lettuce than we could possibly eat

We're still anxiously awaiting the tomatoes, corn, peppers, & watermelon.

Considering these were all started from seed, it just pleases me to no end. It's been amazingly rewarding so far, and I can tell you nothing recently has shouted aloud God's presence more than seeing this come to life. I can already tell that we'll need twice the space next year!