Supper is over and the baby is taking her evening nap. Andy sits on the couch and the older three children naturally gravitate toward him as I start putting the food away.
Andy has a great reading voice and doesn’t mind reading aloud for long periods of time. We are reading through the Little House on the Prairie series in the evenings and have just started on Farmer Boy.
Listening to Andy read Farmer Boy makes me feel hungry even though we just finished a good supper of BBQ moose sandwiches and Chinese cabbage salad. Almonzo is always talking about pies and donuts and creamy mashed potatoes and sizzling salt pork. As I start on the dishes I reflect how much I could learn from those pioneer women who not only baked and cooked enormous amounts of food, they also washed laundry by hand, had no running water and made their own fabric and sewed the whole family’s clothes and coats as well!
When I voice this to Andy he reminds me that Almanzo’s mother did not have any young children to care for and that they all went to school and were gone most of every day.
I return to my dishes, only slightly reassured that I am not a lazy housewife. I certainly have a soft life with my washing machine, refrigerator and other modern conveniences.
Ariel wakes up and I sit down to feed her. Andy puts down the book and we talk chickens for a while – what time of year to get some, layers versus meat birds, and the cost effectiveness of getting 100 rather than 20-50.
The children go in and out of the open door on hands and feet. They are monkeys tonight and there is a lot of screeching and climbing happening. Also some grooming, but I tell them that isn’t appropriate and they stop.
Ariel plays with toys in her swing while I finish up the dishes and pack Andy’s lunch for tomorrow. He’s doing the mail route these days and mornings get too hectic if I don’t do what I can ahead of time. I get out the griddle for scrapple and eggs for breakfast and set a pan of water on ready to boil for French Press coffee. Then the kitchen is ready for tomorrow morning.
The children are cold now, and tired of playing monkey so we shut the door and get everyone in their pj’s. I had found a fun idea online about how to make your own ice cream in a ziplock bag. We mix half and half, stevia and vanilla in a quart ziplock and mix ice cubes and salt in a gallon ziplock bag. We add the small bag to the large one and shake it for about ten minutes until it becomes ice cream. It is a fun bedtime snack made even better with rainbow sprinkles on top.
After brushing our teeth we have family devotions, Gabe and Jasmine trying to each be the loudest as we sing Jesus Loves the Little Children.
Then it is up to the loft for bed for the four children and soon Andy and I have a quiet cabin to ourselves.
Evenings are not always so idyllic, but for tonight we simply enjoy what we have and ask God’s grace for tomorrow.
I enjoyed your descriptions. ( :
Just a couple thoughts on what all we should be able to do…
*My mother certainly had a lot to do but before her children were old enough to really help out, they hired a young woman to come in to help her.
*One of my friends stated that one of her favorite verses in the Proverbs 31 description of the virtuous woman was the verse about her hired help! ( : You’re a hard working woman and you are doing an AMAZING job!
Thanks, Aunt Mim. I’ve also realized in my short time as wife and mother that if I never take a break and just work all the time relationships suffer and I end up crashing and become a burden to the whole family. There’s a balance somewhere and I’m still trying to find it. 🙂
God bless you for the high priority you are placing on your children! God will reward you.
So good! God’s grace is here too, and I think if we miss it in the good times, it’s harder to see it in the bad times too!
Tabitha, I loved this little peek into your day! Thanks for sharing. The ice cream idea is pretty neat, too. 🙂