Hello FriYay: Week 8

Good morning! Let's all grab a soft blanket, a cup of coffee, and breathe deep. Friends, we made it to Friday! Or as I like to call it, "Fri-YAY". This is week 8 of this new little edition to the blog, which kind of blows my mind and kind of doesn't.  Life is full and rich these days.  I heard that term on a podcast recently, "full" instead of "busy" and I liked it.  I think busy is often associated with negative things like stress, chaos, and not really living to the fullest.  But "full"...that sounds much more positive to me.  

We are indeed, full around here.
Sometimes I think people forget we live on a farm AND my husband has a more than full-time job.  
It isn't lost on me that we are essentially living a life that many dream of and work for years and years to obtain. We feel very fortunate indeed.  Yet this season is also the busiest, most bustling time of year between the hay, gardening, brush-hogging, and fence-fixing.  Simply put, there is always something to do.   Usually a lot of somethings! The girls and I really enjoy hopping in the truck and going to check the cows with Brett or Nana.  We try to get a good count on them and make sure none of the mama cows are struggling to have a calf.  
We are also out in the garden a lot! This past week I went digging for potatoes and this heart-shaped, tiny one popped up.  I really do find hearts just about anywhere. Did you see my IG post (I'm "therosylifeblog") of the heart I found in the watermelon? 

I find hearts so often I almost come to expect them, but I am still amazed and get chills every single time.  My theory is that's probably why I notice so many. I expect the magic and there it is! 
One evening Brett and I were sitting on our favorite swing in the yard after the girls were in bed, discussing how to get everything done.  Things like mowing, weed eating, farm work, time with the girls, and possibly camping a time or two.  And oh, when would we simply stop to rest and enjoy the summer, I wondered aloud. 

Brett quickly said "Go get the girls back up, they're probably still awake anyway."
He was right.  We bounded up the stairs and excitedly asked the girls if they wanted to go outside and catch lightning bugs.  
They did! Not shown are the dozens of photos of the girls dancing and leaping throughout the yard and catching firefly after firefly. 

They were simply amazed.
With the girls home every day with me and Brett needing an almost daily lunch, a huge chunk of my day is spent in the kitchen. I haven't been as diligent about about staying grain and dairy free and it is definitely showing up in how I feel. 

Honestly, this area is still one that continues to frustrate me at times, not knowing how open to be and wishing more conversations were happening among women that didn't have to do with a goal weight.  My personal reasons for spending so much time on my health are for endometriosis and depression/anxiety. But usually when I talk about this area of my life I get a lot of offers to be a health coach.  And those conversations are usually centered around pre-baby weight, not mental health.  It just isn't the same to say "no thank-you" to a piece of cake because it will make your body so inflamed later you can't stand it and to say "no" because you are trying to get back to pre-baby weight. 

See my dilemma? I usually feel misunderstood from all sides. Like I've had comments before to "just eat the cheeseburger" instead of the salad on my FB.  I don't agree with totally letting ourselves go, especially now that I'm in my 30's! I'm not being uptight when I choose the salad, I'm doing it to feel like my best self and to battle pesky endometriosis symptoms.  But I also don't choose the salad to agree with the hours and obsessing put in to look "pre-baby" beautiful.  The scale isn't deciding for me.

Sigh.  What are your thoughts? 
Here's what I DO know. My girls will be raised with their spiritual health on my mind first, physical second.  At least this is the goal. They will be raised to see a mom who doesn't count calories, but instead counts the cost of eating something. Is this a treat I can enjoy once and feel good after?  Is there a better alternative for these Doritos? This ice-cream? (there is) Let's do that. I want them to see a mom who takes care of her appearance and isn't always chasing the next milestone to feel confident. Confidence now. Health now. Time spent on tasty recipes and life-changing habits now. 
I mean, these two are just fantastic! What a great, fun calling I have to be their mama. I want to get it right and send Jesus-loving, STRONG, confident gals out into the world.


A favorite summer activity is the kiddie pool. 
All hail the kiddie pool. 
It never fails to delight us! I've considered one of those bigger blow-up pools, but our country yard is so rocky and not that level I find myself wondering if it would work. 

What do you do for a pool? 

We also visited our community pool this week! 
The Torbett tomatoes!! 
This is one of my favorite sections of the garden and we finally got them staked. 
First, the tomatoes are so delicious in absolutely anything during the summer. 

Second, there is nothing that can lift my spirits faster than a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce in the middle of cold, dreary winter. Many of these plump tomatoes will be canned to save for a soul-lift when the cold comes.
Brett has the brains behind our garden and I simply try to maintain the ideas he comes up with! 
This year he had the idea to stretch a trellis across the garden for the cucumbers to grow across. It is working wonderfully and looks so pretty! I love it when things are both functional AND beautiful. And I realized this week I had torn a page out of a magazine a few years ago of this very idea. 

See, dreams do come true, ha!
An itty-bitty cucumber growing!
These are so good with salt, or mixed in a salad. Or on sushi. 


That golden hour still gets my attention. You'd think I would have tired of it by now, but I haven't. 
Brett and I spent some time enjoying a date night on the back deck the past week.  I am really liking these LED string lights from Wal-Mart!
We also went to Fayetteville Farmer's Market last weekend and took our dog Bouncy! 
She is a complete farm dog and this was a first for her. 
She did so well!!

I don't know if you can tell because this shot is rather crowded, but the fella in the white shirt was playing a trumpet and singing through a megaphone and it was pure magic.  A lady even got to doing some swing dancing. 

They don't say "keep Fayetteville funky" for nothing.  :)

This lady's booth was my favorite! It was called "The Ugly Bunny" (?) and was filled with the most cheerful sunflowers and succulents in repurposed containers. 

I bought 6 sunflowers for $8 and immediately put them in the various jars I have around the house.
The mantle looks so cheerful now! This is what I look at as I do the dishes.

I told you last week was a fun one! We also celebrated my mom-in-law's birthday! We found this adorable cake and cupcakes at Sam's Club and I brought some candles over I had at the house. 
The girls and I went on several field trips last week too, including this exhibit at our amazing art museum, Crystal Bridges. 

Seriously y'all, Arkansas is the best place to live. We can be at Crystal Bridges, the Amazeum (kid's museum), Eureka Springs, or camping all within 45 minutes. 
This special exhibit was all about glass art! 
I suppose that might sound scary to some, considering I took my 4 and 5 year-old. But they did great! We had been to the museum before and knew how to act, meaning don't touch! 
The volunteers did watch us SO closely with a stern face which made me kind of nervous. But the girls did great! Betsy needed a bit more hand-holding than Anna did. 

Anna was taking photos of everything with her kid camera, until she ran out of storage room. Then she switched to my phone and took better pictures than I can! She's a natural!
All those textiles made my heart beat faster.


This was the favorite exhibit inside! Music was playing and the colors on this glass exhibit changed as the music went on. It reminded us of Narnia!

The exhibit also took place outside! 
I just had to include this photo because it is classic pouting Betsy (she was hot) and makes me laugh. This is real life folks! 
Betsy, my little artist soul, said this looked like a dandelion! 
Anna was quite the little lady on this field trip. She just adored every bit of it and even said "Mom! I can't believe my eyes!!". Worth every bit of the ticket price. 

Adults pay $20 and kids are free, by the way!
This was my favorite!!
Afterwards we went into the children's area at the museum and the girls played and played. We even made some new friends from Michigan! On the way back to the car we counted at least 15 different license plates in the parking lot! 

So good for the girls to be around different types of people.
Of course, we have plenty of our own beauty at home too. This bulb garden is Brett's vision and creativity. I simply pull the weeds and pick the flowers occasionally. :) 

Aren't these dreamy?! I have some cut (that fell over from being too tall) and in some vases around the house. They are just so wonderfully colorful. 


This one peach zinnia caught my eye.
When I weed this flowerbed I usually end up getting to talk to the neighbors too as they walk by, an added bonus!
Other little things we did this week were build a tent outside,




and covered our entire table with paper and art supplies. 

We also had our cousin over to play (he's watering my feet ), 
did daily learning time, 
read stacks of books, 
and signed up for the summer reading program. 

We watched an Aladdin puppet show at the library,
had a water balloon fight with Brett,
had a playdate at the Botanical garden,
and relaxed occasionally with library movies.

I've been reading a great stack of books (I'll share soon!),
slowly working on my loom weaving project, 
taking photos daily and sharing on IG (therosylifeblog),
and trying to slow time down enough to enjoy the summer.

This weekend I plan to spend time looking up healthy recipes,
harvesting the garden,
going on a date with Brett (yay!!),
and celebrating Anna Ruth's SIXTH birthday! 

**foster care update**-We discovered last week the wrong phone number was on file for us, hence the reason for no calls. We got that resolved and had our first call yesterday, but the ages were too old for what we feel called to care for. So instead we prayed so hard for those kiddos, and wait for the little one God has in mind for us. This is also an area I find hard to talk about. My silence doesn't mean nothing is happening though! 



2 comments:

  1. You have a beautiful family and I love your photos. So crisp and clear. Also- I love the word "full" instead of busy. Sounds so much less negative.

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  2. Thank-you so much for your kind words Kim! :)

    ReplyDelete

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