Homemaking on the Homestead

~I wrote this post in 2013~ With all that I see in society today, I still have no regrets in the choices we made while raising our children.  Entitlement is the new buzz word, or at least I hear it a lot.  Young people who feel they are owed a job, a house, college loans paid for by someone else, free this and free that...  Is it even possible today to raise children that don't feel like the world (or someone) owes them this?  I believe it is.... My daughter Leanne met a nice older man during her time of ballroom dancing. He has since become a part of our family. We invite him for family parties, holidays and such. He has no family living close by. He is Chinese and I sense that because of the language barrier most people don’t have patiences to deal with communication issues. Our family however had no problem. When he came to our home last year for Thanksgiving dinner he told us this was his first Thanksgiving (after 20 years living in this c...

I shared this recipe back in 2012 ..  I've made it several times since and it is always a hit.  Makes me think of warm summer days!  :) I made this today to go with our dinner which was Green Chile Pork (another post to come). This salsa is amazing! It tastes so fresh and good. I plan to make it again and again. I ran out of my canned salsa from last summer’s garden and thought it was time to experiment with a few fresh salsa recipes and this one tastes so summery .. :) Perfect this time of year. Here is the recipe… Avocado Tomato and Mango Salsa 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced 4 medium tomatoes, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/4 cup chopped red onion Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix up well and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Gather together ingredi...

Have you ever gone through a time where you struggled with your purpose in life?  As I've seen my children grow and move on with their own lives, I know I have.  I wrote this post back in 2013, and it still rings true for me today..   "no purpose in life truly fulfills the soul apart from God" This has been a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately.  We will be dealing with some changes in our life at home soon (which I'll share at another time) and it seems that part of the decision making process has led me to think on our purpose in life. In this post I speak from the viewpoint of a homemaker because that is what I know personally. Sometimes as a homemaker we find it hard to look at our life and see our purpose.  Especially when children are small and the days filled with changing diapers and tasks of the home or when the nest is empty and seasons change in our lives. Finding purpose in life as a homemaker may be a challenge. Or may...

~ I wrote this post in 2011..  and it is still one of my favorites.  Raising children is a work of love, sacrifice and time..   All my children are grown up now, and yet those years, that I thought would go on forever, have flown by so fast.  Cherish each day mama ..  (in between the paragraphs of this article are a few random pics of my kids/family through the years).. Leanne left on Wednesday morning for Denmark to spend 3 weeks with Emily. To say I was stressed for those nearly 24 hours of flights and layovers is an understatement. She arrived safe and sound and is currently with Emily enjoying her time in Copenhagen. But it made me reflect a bit on raising children. I thought it was tough when they were young. I had to make sure that the home was safe, no sharp objects for them to get a hold of, make sure the cleaning supplies were out of reach, keep the baby gates in place, teach them to play nicely and not be rude, obey the...

Hello Everyone! I'm finding it hard to keep up lately with my blogging, so I'm taking a little spring blogging break.. Hubby and I are planning a little vacation time as well during my break. While I may not be here with my usual posts, I do have several posts to keep you going in my absence. They are past posts that I'm sharing again and I hope you enjoy them.. I will be back in a couple weeks or so, back to living my regular scheduled life :) and of course, blogging and sharing with you all.. Crystal  ~~ This is a post from 2014 and with strawberry season right around the corner here in the PNW, I figured it was timely..  Nothing beats homemade strawberry jam!!  :) I was a little late in the season or getting my berries. It is the tail end of strawberry season here and the raspberries are now coming in. But I really wanted to make a few jars of jam. Nothing says summer sweetness like homemade strawberry jam. So my girls and...

Wednesday Snap Shot is a quick peek into my week. If you'd like to join in on my Wednesday Snap Shot.. copy and paste my post, add your answers (you can also copy the pic.. BUT Please download the picture to your computer first.. do not just directly copy and paste.. otherwise you are using my bandwidth..thank you! :) .. link your post to my blog and then come back and let me know you shared your week. I'll come and visit you and read about your homemaking week!! :) So Far This Week I so hope that all of you mamas out there had a nice Mother's Day. I had a very blessed day. I've always had a little different view of Mother's Day. I consider myself a 'no fuss' mama. I don't put expectations on my children for this day. If they do extend themselves I find that a blessing. Over the course of the weekend I heard from all 8 of my children. Some texted me, some came for a visit, some called me on t...

I had a lovely 3 day visit from my sister in law. We had so much fun just chatting and catching up on life. She left yesterday morning to spend Mother's Day with her mom. She will be back this week for a couple more days before heading home to Montana. This weeks menu is looking pretty simple to me. My niece will also be here and has some lactose issues so my meals for the days she will be visiting will be dairy free. I have some cooked chicken in the fridge that I need to use tonight. When I made chicken for my enchiladas lasts week I cooked extra. I'm going to use it some chicken noodle soup. I saved the cooking liquid when I cooked the chicken so I'm all set. Simmer some veggies and noodles and add the chicken and desired spices. I'll make biscuits to go with this meal. The rest of the week is looking like this.. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken I've made this a few times and it is so good....

Wednesday Snap Shot is a quick peek into my week. If you'd like to join in on my Wednesday Snap Shot.. copy and paste my post, add your answers (you can also copy the pic.. BUT Please download the picture to your computer first.. do not just directly copy and paste.. otherwise you are using my bandwidth..thank you! :) .. link your post to my blog and then come back and let me know you shared your week. I'll come and visit you and read about your homemaking week!! :) So Far This Week We've had a lovely string of dry days. It has been so nice. Mowing finally was able to be done and we even spent a couple evenings down at our pond. The water is still pretty cold, 58 degrees, but my hubby and I both got in for a few minutes. It was refreshing to say the least! Ha! :) I was able to get out and walk which was so nice. Something about sunshine and a little warmth that soothes the weariness of a lo...

We're enjoying a nice stretch of dry sunny days and it is just lovely. Today I have a busy day ahead with errands and an appointment. Dinner tonight will be simple. I'm thinking stopping for a pizza while I'm out sounds like the simplest meal. I'll make a salad as well. The rest of the week is looking like this... Baked Beans w/Meatballs I'll use premade meatballs from Costco and heat them up with some baked beans. I'll serve buttered pasta and a green salad along side this meal. Chicken Enchiladas I'll add beans and cooked sweet potatoes with the chicken for the enchiladas and use green enchilada sauce. Tortilla chips, salsa and salad will be served with this meal. Spaghetti Simple and good. Spaghetti will be served with veggies (I'm thinking brussel sprouts or fresh green beans), french bread and salad. Asian Pork Ribs I'm goin...

Wednesday Snap Shot is a quick peek into my week. If you'd like to join in on my Wednesday Snap Shot.. copy and paste my post, add your answers (you can also copy the pic..BUT Please download the picture to your computer first.. do not just directly copy and paste.. otherwise you are using my bandwidth..thank you! :) .. link your post to my blog and then come back and let me know you shared your week. I'll come and visit you and read about your homemaking week!! :) So Far This Week Last week I had an unplanned blog break. My life was just busy and hubby and I made a quick trip to see his mom and her hubby. It was a lovely visit. And I spent time helping my daughter get all moved and settled. This week I had many things to chat with you about. But, suddenly in life something horrible happens and nothing I had planned to say mattered anymore. My dear friend Laurie, who I have shared about and shared her blog with you all, got the worst news a mother ...