Oldemor's Strawberry Jam

i have such wonderful memories of my grandmother's frozen strawberry jam. just the smell of it brings back all the fun times we shared. so, today we decided that it was a perfect morning to get messy and make some tasty jam (as lissie calls it). we wish oldemor was here with us, but i know that she'd be proud of her little sugar baby lambs.

got the gloves on.

the goods



a little distracted, but trying to get the job done.

okay, lis got a little tired from mushing the strawberries, this works better...

the finished product! yummy!! we can't wait for peanut butter and jam!
(by the way, mia had to wear her glasses)

we love you Oldemor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kari, mia and lis

sweetness and chaos

i had a talented friend take a few photos (okay maybe 400) for me so that i could frame a few for justin's office. tish did an amazing job. she really found away to capture the gang.


this is definitely a little sweetness in the midst of chaos


anxiously awaiting the apple mommy had in her hand.-( see the patience)

my moment with my pooh

believe it or not, but her daddy calls her bubba

i love this shot



our sweet little man.

memories were made and captured that afternoon. next time we need daddy in the picture........

kari

the sun is out!

ok, so the last time i posted, i was feeling very overwhelmed and incredibly intimidated. i knew in my heart that i wanted desperately to be running this home more efficiently and with more of a frugal mindset. so, i spent much of the day on saturday, researching a way to help me be more of a good steward with the resources the Lord has given us. instead, of feeling inspired, i felt discouraged. for many reasons, but the one i kept coming back to was, the fact that i just didn't know where to begin. how do i start? how do i find the time to do all that i need to do, plus, all that i want to do.

so, after committing this to the Lord and asking Him for direction. this is what happened. i woke the next day to read such an encouraging comment from mommy snacks.
-"Hey, everything is in God's timing and you wouldn't want it any other way, I know! So, just remember that - you could have saved lots before but now with God's will and work in it, you'll be even more prosperous!!!"

she's so right, it's all in God's timing and since He's laid this on my heart just recently, I want to obey. so, thank you mommy snacks for all the hard work you do to make it easy for moms like me to be more aware of my spending and look for compiling lists of printable coupons. i'm starting with that!

after feeling encouraged and excited about this new adventure, i checked out simple mom.
this is another one of my favorite blogs. this site is full of helpful tools to better equip me as a mom. her post for today was productivity in the home. HELLO! could she read my mind.... i've been trying for a long time to work on this area in my life. my lovely husband who so enjoys time management has for awhile now tried to convince me to color code a calendar and stick to blocking out chunks of time for certain tasks. i know... i know..... that just doesn't work for a busy mom of 3. he means well, but oh dear! so, i thank you simple mom for doing the leg work and now there is freedom in knowing it IS possible.

thank you Lord, for giving me the desire to be more of who you want me to be.

kari

feeling overwhelmed...(sigh)

as a stay at home mama of 3 children, and the wife of a pastor. i'm trying really hard to budget more, spend less, drive less, be more organized, and enjoy the blessings God has given us. but, i'm having a hard time at starting this.... there are a mix of feelings right now. like how do i even start? at all of it.... ugh... i'm feeling discouraged right now. and probably having a bit of a pity party.

i've spent the afternoon, searching, reading, researching and enjoying some great women out there (in the blogging world) who have compiled ways of saving money. but, honestly, i'm intimidated. where do i even begin.. i had no idea that i could print coupons, that there was a walgreens game, ebates, rebates, surveys, and more to help you save and earn money. i feel like i've cheated our family for not having started any of these.

so, i'm ready to take on this new world. i'm excited about the possibilities and i look forward to what i hope will be a journey to new heights.

however, i'm still intimidated about this whole process, so, i'll be using this outlet as a way of keeping my sanity.

my prayer is that someone else out there is a beginner as well, and maybe we can venture together.

this is picture of my husband looking at our garden. he's a tad discouraged at the lack of growing tomatoes. i think he's praying over them.

just like my husband praying over the absence of our tomatoes, i too commit this new endeavor to the Lord and trust that HE will guide. i thank you Lord, for your faithfulness in providing for us in many ways that we don't even deserve.

whether it's a new morning, an afternoon break, or start of something new- first we have coffee.........

kari

so i moved things around....

so, i moved things around a bit. what do you think? better?


the floating couch- i like it better. i hate that the front door opens into this room. oh well, what can you do.. the pillows are from the master bedroom- is it too much white background.

a shot of the living room from the hall.. do you see the high windows. what's a girl to do?
another shot of the couch. a little different angle that shows the fireplace. do you know if i can paint the black and gold on the fireplace? also, my husband is planning on framing the mantle out with trim. it will look a lot better.
the tv cabinet angle .
moved the wing chair to where the couch use to be.
the chaise in the corner on an angle- next to the wing chair ( where the couch use to be)

i think this works for now.... when we bought the home, the family room was off the kitchen, but there was only the counter to eat at, and the formal dining room. so, that's why we did the switcheroo.. since we spend so much time in the kitchen, it only made sense to move the tv to the living room. it works for now....

thanks again nester!!

kari

oops, forgot these..

oops, i forgot to add these to the earlier post...

this is a shot from the landing- looking down at the living room.

this is a shot of the front window. yikes, forgot to fluff the pillows... (everything looks a little crammed together- what's that about)

thank you for your kind words. i am grateful- i think i needed that reality check. isn't it that we always want what we don't have...ugh... the lessons never stop coming...

kari

can you work with this?

ok, nester, am i looking at a lost cause?

Living room- notice no pillows, can't decide on a color, pattern, etc..... the pony wall behind couch separates the living room from the formal dining room (which we converted to a sitting room)
Living room angle from the front door. Hutch in corner is TV, i have my grandmothers silver tea service on top. why? fireplace is off to the left, ugh...

These high arches separate the two rooms- very high ceiling in living room. notice the pillows, i snagged them from the master bedroom. yes, no?

This is what we so affectionately call the "sitting room", my brother in law designed and made these benches for us. take notice of the different fabrics going on in there, i just can't decide... actually, i don't think i like any of them. oh bother......this is a wider view of the entire room. i hate the window treatments- hate! i'm just stumped. this room has a high ceiling as well. as i stated before - it use to be the living room. we decided that since so much goes on in the kitchen, we would switch things up a bit.

another view of sitting room and wall which i would like to either have bookshelves OR a family photo wall? any thoughts...

a desk that i use for photos, etc...

a not very attractive view of the kitchen through the sitting room...

well, as you can see, it's a work in progress. i like our home and trying to be content with what God has given me, but, it's a real struggle right now, because i'm not in love with our home. i come from a very traditional new england background, and i do appreciate that style, i'm looking to mix it up a little. i throughly enjoy what you've done in your home...

this is just a start.. i will post more tomorrow, now that i have a hang of this blogging world.

many thanks!
kari