The Cottage on the Hill

My computer is in for repair, but I can steal a few moments on husband's laptop. Days have been drifting as they should post-holidays. The decorations are packed, much to my son's dismay. There isn't much to do, which suits me just fine. The children are enjoying time with Mommy as we do art watch videos, read stories and learn manners. I have been taking advantage of the days and getting rest. (I am dealing with some unpleasant pregnancy issues). The lack of a computer has proven beneficial as well. My journal writing has been renewed.I've returned to my Bible study and came up with a way to teach Proverbs to my children. There are so many things I'd like to do but I am in a different season of my life. Although, admittedly, those seed catalogs are quite the temptation!

I had a very nice Christmas, but now that it is over my brain really goes into housekeeping overdrive. I love how the house feels so much more open after the tree and decorations come down. Also, the days are slowly getting longer and January is usually a fairly sunny month. Those things combined really inspire me to freshen up the house. It's also a good time of year to do house-freshening because Spring, Summer and Fall are all busy months out of doors with little time to do much indoors beyond basic cleaning. My mother and I are already putting our heads together for repainting several rooms. The living room will look so much better with a fresh coat of paint. I've been dying to repaint the master bedroom for years, but haven't really settled on a color. Add 2nd trimester nesting insticts kicking in full gear, and this house will be a candidate for an HGTV makeover! Maybe I can do before and after pictures for my readers! For now, I'm just going to relax after...

these last 6 weeks have been trying and exciting at the same time! I was quite Sick because of the pregnancy and hubby and I went through a literal whirlwind of change as the Good Lord opened doors for his career change. Even our dear daughter has changed so much! She's sleeping better, talking more, has grown and is looking less like a baby and more like a little girl every day. throu Throughout it all the out pouring of blessings from our family and church family has been overwhelming. It has been hard to receive such agape love from so many because I hate to be a burden on people. However, God spoke to me during this time and told me, "Allow yourself to be blessed!" And so I have. It has brought so much Joy to givers and receiver alike. So, I am reminded on this Christmas Eve of Christ's enormous sacrifice to us. I remember to Take Joy, as Tasha Tudor has said. I am thankful for so many blessings from so many loved ones. It is indeed a Merry Christmas!

Once again google is acting up and I can't log into my blog from my home computer. Visit my other blog at taighbeag.wordpress.com until further notice. :)

My children helped me with dinner last night. Daughter's job was to put the cut-up potatoes into the pot for me. Son's job was to mix and stir the gravy. Having a 3 year old and 17 month old help in the kitchen can be fun, messy, a great learning experience, and downright frustrating for all of us. They get frustrated easily when I won't let them do things their way, like spill water, play with the raw meat or rummage through the knife drawer. I get frustrated when they get frustrated or when they don't listen. But with immense patience, their help in the kitchen slowly turns from burden to blessing. I love that Bubby can make his own PBJ sandwiches now. It frees up just a little time for me to make Daughter's lunch. I love that every time I'm in the kitchen, Daughter comes running in, pushes the little chair up to the counter and peers over eager to help. I want her to be comfortable and learned in the kitchen. I want her to take over some meals some...

www.art.com This week's letter is H. H is for helper. Bubby will be helping me do chores around the house. He is an eager little helper, so this will be no problem. He loves really getting into the chores, too and making discoveries. For example, if I move the couch to clean underneathe, he finds all sorts of lost toys. For our reading for today, I've chosed the Eloise Wilkin illustrated books "We Help Mommy" and "We Help Daddy." I also have an "I Can Help" board book. H is for horse. We can go visit the horses at the farm next door. H is for honey. We can spread honey on bread for a yummy treat. H is for healing. We can pray for someone's healing. H is for homeschooling!

I am regretting not taking any pictures of something so natural, yet so precious. Daddy and son worked side-by-side today in building our firewood supply. Our son was so proud of himself for his hard work and it showed in the massive amounts of food he ate for lunch and dinner! Later, he got to ride in Daddy's truck after we picked it up from the repair shop. As a special treat, Daddy took him to a friend's house where he got to play with their boys. He was one sleepy little boy when I tucked him in and said prayers. Still, as I shut the door to the kids' room, he sang a sweet little song to himself and his sister and soon fell asleep.

Yes, I am pregnant, and thanks for all the prayers and congrats! I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for this pregnancy. I just take comfort in knowing that it is in His hands, whatever the outcome. Those who know me and know of my past miscarriages have offered me cautious or delayed congratulations. I say don't delay! A life has still been created! Even if I miscarry, I still have a child! That child will be waiting for me in the arms of Christ Jesus. That alone is enough for congratulations. :) I don't necessarily ask that you pray that I don't miscarry. I believe God has already made His decision whether or not I keep this wee one. I pray for the health of my womb and that if I do miscarry, I won't need another D&C. I'm through with politics. I no longer wish to considered a Conservative (or Republican, or Independant, or Constitutionalist, or Libertarian, or whatever other camp is out there that I might fit into). I am first and foremos...

Print available at www.art.com Sewing ideas are coming in like crazy! Before I fall asleep, I start dreaming up things to sew up. Stay tuned...hopefully I'll get some done and will post pictures. Are you sewing anything?

First, for your viewing pleasure, a picture of my son that a friend took at the latest re-enactment. Also, here is a picture of my son playing with my friend's son. I'm the one holding the baby in the red cape. I'm wearing a wool Brunswick gown of the era. It is probably my favorite 18th century outfit. It features a button-up front, 3/4 with attached full-length sleeves and a silk-lined hood. Now, back to the original premise of my post. I really need to figure out what to do about Wednesdays. I go like super-mom Mondays and Tuesdays so by the time Wednesday shows up, I'm tired and can't really seem to get a plan formed. Today has been one "force myself" after another. I feel better after some physical exertion outdoors by turning more of the garden by hand. Still, I just want to lump around the house. I feel like I waste a precious day where I could be getting some major things accomplished. How do you manage your Wednesdays?

My latest project is using this reproduction 18th century lucet to make a cord for a hat hubby is putting together for re-enacting. Using a lucet is a very relaxing, easy activity. It's great to keep idle hands busy while waiting somewhere or watching television. My son was so thrilled to find out that he's finally tall enough to reach the pedals on his tricycle and actually pedal it around the driveway. Yes, it was cold enough for a parka that day and he insisted on wearing mommy's winter work gloves. Oh, and all those pine needles! We had a day of steady 30 mph winds and the woodlot next door has a lot of white pines. That combination made quite the mess of our yard! Oh, how we'd love to own that woodlot. It is a prayer of mine. Right now it belongs to the nursing home just down the road. They own it because their well houses (which I believe are no longer in use) are back in the woods where the springs are. However, they don't take care of it. The trees are in ...

I started reading Charlotte Mason's series. It's going to take me a while. Unlike a novel, it contains way too many thoughts that I have to stop to mull over for a bit, and some things I need to reread a couple of times to either understand it or let it sink in. I admit, I'm finding it overwhelming. To educate a child at home the way I desire (whether Mason or Montessori) requires a great deal of time and commitment. Charlotte Mason is firm on education being disciplined. I realized that it starts with me. While, yes, I can incorporate education into my daily life and thus continue with housekeeping while still educating my children, I find that next to impossible right now. There are just so many continual projects and things that need to be done in a day. I am reminded in Charlotte Mason that my children ARE my career, my number one. I counter this by saying, "Yes, but it isn't very good for them to be raised in a dirty, cluttered house!" Balance, ...

I'm looking forward to oranges. I usually only buy them when on sale, in season at the grocery stores, so it has been a while. Soon....soon.

Hello dear readers, Please pray for my husband, Dave today (Wednesday). Tomorrow morning he has a hard-earned interview for a career he's been working very hard towards. Today, I am lifting him up in prayer and asking everyone I know to do the same. Tomorrow, I'm leaving it up to the Lord in faith. Please pray that he in known at these gates and finds favor with the committee. Pray that he gets accepted. And join me in praise that he passed the test to get the interview and for his growth in the Lord. Thank you.

You can get this print at http://www.art.com/ Wow, those countertops are almost exactly like mine! The blue "print" with stainless steel trim and matching backsplash is what I have, just a lighter, uglier blue. I love the more open countertops, though. I hate countertops cluttered with canisters and appliances. Mine are pretty cluttered right now, so after looking at this picture, I'll try to squeeze in some kitchen tidying today. Lately, we've been having some great sales at the grocery store. They're the kind that are so good that you bulk up on the item. However, they're rather limited in variety, so I end up with a lot of one thing and not too much of anything else. Finding creative ways to cook the same meat is challenging. I'm finally at the tail end of the rolls of ground sausage (yesterday, I made sausage buiscuts and gravy). Now, I'm entering that rolls of ground beef phase. The added challenge is that hubby is rather fed up with pasta, so th...

At the re-enactment site this past weekend was this very schoolhouse. It was open to look in and had a motion sensor recording that talked about the history of the schoolhouse along with the history of school in the 1890's. While over a hundred years in the future according to the era of the re-enactment, it was still neat to visit the schoolhouse. It was empty when I ushered my children through the doors that so many children now long since deceased had passed through. They immediately took to the schoolhouse like it was familiar territory. I sat them at the two desks near the teacher where the two blond boys sit in the picture. The museum provides slates, chalk and sheepskin erasers. The two sat and drew on the slates the entire time the audio played. I couldn't help but do a little lesson with my son on the letter D and then wandered about erasing some inappropriate things someone had written on a few of the slates. I mused how perhaps someday it would be neat to get...

Sorry that the images are out of sync. Here are some pics of what we've been up to lately here at Taigh Beag: There is a frost advisory tonight so the herbs had to be harvested. Here is a layer of Stevia to be dried. We also when to a re-enactment. My little boy loves riding in the wagon. Sister, on the other hand, prefers to walk. Taking a picture of her constantly moving is impossible with a camera phone. If my husband asks anyone what he should get me for Christmas, I'd like a really good digital camera! We love art in our house. Here is my daughter happily working on a paint with water. My son has poster paints and loves to paint pictures of farm machinery like this combine. Here they are at the re-enactment climbing on a fence. We didn't stay long. It was COLD and they don't really have proper cold weather gear. Daughter didn't seem to notice the chill, but my dear son was shivering. My son wanted me to make a Play-doh pig for him, so I did and h...

You can find this print at www.art.com The other day my son announced that he was going on a hedgehog hunt. With paper and pencil in hand, he marched to the picture window and pretended to see a hedgehog near the shed. As I enjoyed his imagination I remembered that I had a hedgehog garden figure on my kitchen windowsill. He was thrilled to have his own hedgehog to observe. I'm thinking of starting a running game of hiding the hedgehog in random places for him to find as he goes about his day to day activities. What takes the cake, though, was my daughter found the little hedgehog and proceeded to carry it about the house. She dropped it at one point and I caught her looking it over as if it were real and possibly hurt after such a fall. Well, I have a bag of red peppers that need to be pressure canned.

You can get this print at www.art.com This past weekend we visited with our friends in Pennsylvania. While some of the group went to a re-enactment, I stayed behind with the kiddos while my friend, her daughter and I made lazagna from scratch. It took 6 hours, but I'll get back to that in a minute. First, we went to a farmer's market where we bought delectable treats from the Mennonites. Then, we stopped by a Mennonite farm and bought a few more things. I didn't get a chance to really buy anything at the farm because my kiddos were restless and my daughter pitched a tantrum. The poor Mennonite mother kept staring at my daughter like she was possessed or something. I decided not to let it bother me. After all, my daughter was completely out of her usual surroundings, routine and comfort zone and got very little sleep the night before. Under those circumstances, I'm sure even adults wished they could throw a tantrum like she did! Back at my hosts' house, we proceeded...

Hubby and I like to have most of our Christmas shopping done before Black Friday. That way we can sit back, relax and actually enjoy December. This year I plan on doing a good deal of my shopping at www.melissaanddoug.com and other such toy makers. USA made, educational, wooden toys are what I'm after. My children have toys from the whole spectrum and I've found that the simplest ones entertain them the most and the plastic ones often get ignored. The noisy ones usually end up getting thrown across the room (and not by me, I promise). There are some beautiful manipulatives out there. I'm also going to toss out most of the cheap plastic and paperboard toy foods they got last year because the pieces are small enough to choke on and they've been torn and smooshed and thrown about. Melissa and Doug have some lovely wooden sets of healthy foods. The plastic set was mostly fast food and junk food. I'm searching, researching and choosing carefully this year and...