Christmas Tree Recycling

Mulching our Christmas tree is so "old-school" recycling. We have a new method. 

Meet one of our methods. 

Yes, we fed our tree to our goats. It makes a great treat for them. They're happy. We're happy. And it keeps one more tree out of the landfill.

And for our entertainment, they dance, too.

Making Resolutions

I don't make New Year's Resolutions. Once in a while I will, but for the most part I don't need to. I've made a habit of evaluating what I'm doing and how I'm doing it on a pretty regular basis, so I don't need to go for the big ones on one day. 

One of the things I evaluate on a pretty regular basis is how we're doing with our schooling.  And I'm not thrilled with our current results. So out go the things that aren't working, and back in come the proven things that do work. And our schedule gets a bit of modification here and there. And we're back in business. Just a little more tweaking. Like how to keep two very busy little girls quietly busy when I'm needed by my middles.  See. Just a little tweaking.

Emma Likes to Help Me Sew

It might mean that my project takes a little longer to finish, but her help is precious.

Thankful for the Oxen

Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

Proverbs 14:4

 This verse was going through my mind as I was cleaning my house today.  I used to clean model homes part time. You know, those showcase homes that builders build for people to walk through and actually believe that they too could live like that if they bought that model from the builder.  I learned something very important when I was cleaning those houses - no one really lives like that!  We used to clean them twice a week, at night when everyone was gone. We WERE the cleaning fairies. And let me tell you, those houses could get dirty. And no one lived there. (Get it? There were no oxen, and we STILL needed to clean the "trough".) So it is impossible and completely unrealistic to try to maintain the home you live in to look like a model house.  Be thankful for the oxen - your husband, your children, your pets. Because they are blessings.  And keep that in mind when you're cleaning the trough.

A Soft White Blanket

A beautiful site to awake to this morning. Every little branch was covered. It was just enough to freshly coat everything, but not so much that we needed to spend hours shoveling out.  Just right.

New Year Birthday Supper

Our New Year's Day started out a little slow. We didn't stay up till midnight, but because the littles were up way past their bedtime, it made for a very wake-filled night. And one of the middles slept over Grammy's house for the first time. All by herself. Without her closest brother with whom she does everything. And she didn't sleep well. So Grammy didn't sleep well. When Grammy brought her home early (because she missed her Mama and Papa so much, poor thing), we were all pretty much in the same place - wishing for a few more hours of sleep. So we partook. All of us. And then we felt better.

And since New Year's Day also happens to be my mom's birthday, I made dinner and dessert. Simple but yummy!

• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pesto
• Roasted Red Pepper and Olive Oil Rice
• Ginormous Green Salad

And a very good and simple Madeira cake for dessert. I added a cup of wild blueberries to the batter. Because I had them and it sounded good.