Ready to Harvest

 Day 273/366

Apple Picking

Day 268/366

We spent a fun morning at Sutter's Ridge picking apples, choosing gourds and pumpkins and eating cider donuts.  I'll be honest... the donuts were my favorite part.  

 

Persistence

Day 248/366

A picture of persistence: volunteer corn, standing tall among the soy beans.

 

Season of Waiting

 Day 236/366

Farming has different seasons, and right now we are in the season of waiting.  These soybeans are getting close to harvest, but they're not quite ready.  There's more waiting needed, and patience is required until the time is right.  

This feels like a season of waiting for us as well.  Waiting for things to feel safe, waiting for our lives to go back to normal, waiting for a vaccine, waiting to do lots of fun and frivolous things that we just can't do right now.  It's hard to have patience in the waiting, trusting that the Lord is at work in the big and little things even when we can't see Him. I keep telling myself to take this season one day at a time, tackling what's in front of me for this day, seeking encouragement from His Word, persistently praying, trusting in the Lord's perfect timing.  So I guess this is a season of waiting... but also a season of growing.

Apple Spice Cupcakes

 Day 234/366

Enavi made these delicious cupcakes today and even piped the buttercream frosting for an extra fancy presentation. 

Summer's Bounty

 Day 229/366

We can always count on our zucchini plants to make us feel like amazing gardeners.

Coming Soon

 Day 225/366

These tomatoes will be coming to my kitchen table very soon.  We picked one the other night and it was delicious!

In the Garden

Day 210/366
Let's play a game... Can you guess what plant this is growing in the garden?

Garden Weather

Day 200/366
The garden is definitely thriving in this hot and humid weather. Meanwhile, I'll be in the pool.

Picking Blackcaps

Day 190/366
The blackcaps are ripe and ready for the picking. We picked two large bowls full of berries, a perfect topping on ice cream sundays. It was hot and sweaty work, but we jumped in the pool when we were done.

Iced Coffee

Day 176/366
I love capturing the kids doing their normal, everyday things. Enavi and I took a drive this afternoon and picked up some iced coffee treats: an iced mocha for me and an iced caramel macchiato for her. When we got home, she settled in the sunny spot on the couch, music and games on her laptop, sipping her coffee treat. A relaxing summer afternoon, teenage style.

Bowl of Cherries

Day 174/366
This girl loves fresh cherries and a big, beautiful bowl full makes a perfect afternoon snack.

Make A Wish

Day 172/366
Happy 16th birthday to Jevin! And yes, the cake tasted just as good as it looks. :)

Celebrating Summer

Day 168/366
We celebrated our first official day of summer vacation with ice cream treats and a visit to Epic to swing on the porch swing and see the sheep. We loved this wide porch on the Farm Campus so much, we decided we might just come back with books and games and spend an afternoon on the farm.

Perfect Slice

Day 159/366
Is there anything better than a warm summer evening and a cold slice of watermelon?

Icing on the Cake

Day 102/366
Our Easter will look very different this year, but we will still have all of the important things. We will worship our risen Lord and Savior, we will sing songs of praise, we will read scripture and rejoice, we will spend time together, we will have Easter baskets, we will have candy, we will eat too much cheesy potatoes, and we will have cake.

Making Macarons

Day 85/366
We've wanted to try making macarons for a while now (most certainly a side effect of watching every episode of The Great British Baking Show and Zumbo's Just Desserts), and figured this seemed like a great quarantine activity. They turned out beautifully! They baked up perfectly without any cracks on the top and we filled them with vanilla buttercream. A delicious and delicate treat to brighten our afternoon! Next time we want to try lemon flavored macarons with lemon curd filling.

Literature and Lucky Charms

Day 72/366
I don't usually buy sugary cereals, but Enavi asked for Lucky Charms in honor of St. Patrick's Day, which actually made me laugh and I couldn't say no. Here she is, starting the day off right with some Lucky Charms and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Rhubarb Pie

Day 46/366
Jevin made this rhubarb pie to share at a pie social at church. It tasted just as good as it looks.

Making Cookies

Day 31/366
I was feeling a little better today and made some cookies to share at a family gathering. You can't go wrong with chocolate chip cookies!