Princess in My Kitchen

Princess in My Kitchen

There's a princess in my kitchen

Who wishes she was big

She dances and she prances

Just like a silly pig.

She giggles and she wiggles

And talks all funny too

And if she ever does grow up

It'll break your heart in two.

She wears her funny slippers

Dressed for that special ball

And you just wish a wish

That she could just stay small.

There's a princess in my kitchen

She dreams, she talks, she wishes

But if you want to see her pout

Ask her to do dishes.

A little girl, sometimes so big

She can do so much

But other days you wonder

A little job makes her fuss.

There's a princess in my kitchen

She's turning 6 real soon

She loves guns and boy things

And can play with them 'til noon.

Her Grandma is quite worried

That she will always be

Just another tomboy

 At least until she's 23.

But I know her much better

And I can see her heart

I know she loves to hunt and fish

But she's a princess in her heart.

She's got Daddy 'round her finger

And loves to go on dates

He'll be her prince for now

But not forever, just you wait.

There's a princess in my kitchen

Growing up so fast

I'll enjoy this little princess

Before her time is past.

                                                                                   -her momma

Summer Scenes

The need to blog rises up within me. But time eludes me. There are 2 flower girl dresses to finish, cookies to bake, bookwork to do, beans to pick, children to love, summer to enjoy, meals to plan, and many other things that take my time. The could-be blog posts swirl through my brain, things like "How to Raise Successful Adults", (ha,ha, like I would know) "Unity Isn't Diversity, or Is It?", "Follow Your Vision, Not Someone Else's", "Can Parents Pray Enough?" or "Why I Love To Garden".

But for today, I'll just share some of my favorite pictures of summer thus far. And then I'll go enjoy these amazing summer days before they end. A box of curriculum came today. I sat and looked through it for awhile, then put it away and promised not to think about it until August. At least.

Picnics on the deck

One of the best things we did this year was to let the 3 oldest have their own garden plots. They are about 3x5 areas, and it has been so fun to watch their enthusiasm and hard work. I love to garden as well, and most days, towards evening, you will find me walking through my 'paradise' and soon I'll have all 4 children out there with me. I just treasure our times in the garden.

"Look, Mom, a baby watermelon!"

Our first ears of corn appearing. (These pics are a bit dated, because we have already eaten our first corn.)

New kitties

stories in the yard

'fishing' for sharks

swinging

pure sweetness

Happy makeeveryminutecountthatsleftofyoursummer to you!

Canning Peaches

Today was the day to get those peaches canned. We started out with 2 -3/4 bushels of fresh peaches, purchased at our local Amish bulk food store last week. I had put them in the 'fridge until yesterday, when I laid them out on a table to ripen.

I have never canned peaches w/o my Mom's help. I don't know if I should be ashamed or grateful...actually I'm very grateful for all the times my Mom has helped me. But she was out of town and the peaches needed to be done. I looked at my family and said, "Today we will all can peaches together." We started with much enthusiasm at 10AM, and by 2:30 PM, the kitchen was cleaned up, and the last of the 30 qt. was in the cooker. What a satisfying feeling!

Logan dropped the peaches into boiling water for just a bit, then transferred them to ice water. Annika took them out of the ice water and put them in a bowl. Jamison was our 'go-fer' and filled Logan's bowl with peaches, emptied Annika's bowl when it got full, and kept her supplied with fresh ice water. I frantically slipped peelings off of peaches and pulled the stones out. the children got way ahead of me, so I sent them on breaks whenever I got too far behind. they filled jars with sliced peaches and poured the 'syrup' over the peaches. This year the 'syrup' was 1/2 pineapple juice, 1/2 water and 1 c. sugar. Last year I did it w/o any sugar and my Farmer decided it was a little too tart. So I laid down my lofty ideas of sugar-free peaches and added a little sugar. Keeping the Farmer happy is at the top of my list, and it's really not very difficult.

After the jars were filled, wiped off, lids and rings put on, into the canner they went. I brought the water to a boil, turned the burner down just a bit, and set the timer for 10 min. After the timer went, I turned the burner off and let the jars sit in the canner for at least another 10 minutes.

Pure beauty is on my counter just now, cooling. The memories of canning with my children will put warm fuzzies around my heart every time we open a jar of peaches this winter.

But don't be fooled. A few peaches slipped on the floor, little sister got spritzed with hot water, littlest sister got grumpy, Mom got impatient when the pineapple juice was poured a bit too enthusiastically, and everything was sticky, sticky!

And that's the way canning peaches on a HOT summer day goes at my house.

Happy Birthday, Jamison

Jamison was born at 8:50 AM, 9 years ago. What a blessing he has been! From his early days of being very active, (he learned to crawl, sit, stand up, and walk along furniture, all in a week's time!) to being a very busy, easily entertained toddler, to a thoughtful, kind, and generous young man who loves books, learning, people and God.

He woke up at 6:15 this morning, and stayed in bed until his Mom appeared with his breakfast. After eating breakfast in bed, he stayed there until 8:50. At that exciting moment he turned 9. He and his siblings paraded through the house making the announcement very loudly. Ahh, life is never boring with Jamison around.;)

We celebrated with friends and the meal of his choice tonight. Fried chicken, baked potato slices, broccoli w/ cheese, dinner rolls, lemon meringue pie, key lime pie, and iced tea.

Happy birthday, son!