Hey Friends!!! I come to you with lots of well wishes for a wonderful holiday! Ours will be a bit different this year…like everything else…but we will still celebrate the Savior of the world.
So this is Christmas…
You know…this year we hung a few wreaths on the fence posts and gate…and decorated a little cedar at the bottom of the hill. It was as much for all the neighbors as for us. It was so fun!
If you look closely you can see the farmhouse through there.
This year has been full of simple things. Basic things. Things of necessity. I’m okay with that. I think that it makes us take a look at what is really important.
The Mister and I celebrated twenty five years this year! We had a Christmas wedding so we always get to take a minute apart this time of year. It was a beautiful night at a trout ranch. The food was so good and the company was even better. Silver Anniversary during a pandemic? Party of two, please.
I hope that all of your celebrations whether big or small turn out peaceful and happy this year. We have had joy and sadness…but we are going to try our best come Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus.
So this is Christmas.
Love from the Farmhouse,
Kelli
p.s Our daughter and I snuck away for a junking break yesterday. Here’s a sneak peek of what we found:
How are you guys!? We are trying to roll with things…you know. (Insert emoji with eyes bugged out.) It’s been a minute since I have been here so I thought that I would stop by. We aren’t talking Soaps today…lol…just showing you a little of what is going on at the Farmhouse…as the world turns.
So quite awhile back I got the urge to paint our hutch. We have had this piece since around 2001ish maybe. I have always loved the white…and still do, but I have been loving all of the black farmhouse things for awhile now. Plus we have lots of white in our home so I went for it. I love Tricorn by Sherwin Williams, so that is what I used . It’s a true black with a finish that seems very early American to me.
She’s not done. Needs another coat…but so far I am pleased. I left the inside white, since that helps with it not absorbing decor. I’m excited to finish it today.
I’ve also been doing a tiny bit of junking lately. I ran across that rustic shelf at the thrift and I knew that as much as I love the cozy things…it needed to come on home with me. (It probably sounds like I’m avoiding the elephant in the room…also known as Corona. I am. Not because we aren’t aware, our son is quarantined due to being exposed, now, but I figure you guys hear enough about that part of the world turning. We need a break from it now and then.) Junking is a beautiful distraction.
So another fun thing happened this week! A friend of mine found this beautiful Philodendron for me! I loooove it. This particular species is…get this…Hope. Everyone needs a little hope in their lives. She found this one at Home Depot. She’s a pretty good old gal…that Brenda G.
One more sweet thing from our little farm and I will sign off for today. You. Guys. Tomato jam! Whyyyyy didn’t someone tell me? I have been canning for years and never knew. It’s so, so, good. You lay down your cracker…add a smidge of cream cheese, and then a little dollop of tomato jam. Soooooo good! Let me know if you need the link…or I can do a blog post and tell you how I made ours.
(This is a side note. Those of you that order dishrags for the holidays…shop is open. Those popcorn rectangles from the ADR Farmhouse Dishrags collection are my favorite!)
Okay…so I hope that as your world turns on this Friday and holiday weekend…things are good. I’m going to leave you with a little something that I found today:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;” Jeremiah 1:5
It’s not everywhere in this life that we find comfort and assurance like that. God is in control even if people don’t want to admit it. But to know that there was a time when it was only God and us…and no one else knew about us…that is heartwarming and fills me with awe. It’s a beautiful and loving thing to be alone with God.
Hello there, Dirt Roaders! It’s been a minute. I’m just stopping in to see how everyone is faring during this time. I hope and pray that you are hanging in there.
I feel like that we have been using this time to be more intentional. We have had a schedule for most days. All of the kids have homework so we have tried to stay focused with that. More than the homework though I feel like we have grown as a family. We have utilized our home and farming skills more.
Each day at three we have what we call Driver’s Ed. We go for dirt road rides and explore. Most of the roads are well known to us after years of teaching our kids to drive. After the spring rains though we have discovered so many beautiful creeks. It’s balm to weary souls during quarantine. We also have lots of Ag class here. There are always farm chores to do and now mowing. We have Home Economics which consists of house cleaning and cooking. The kids tell me that having a set schedule helps the days to pass better. I’m thankful to be able to help them through this. I feel like God has given us tools to cope and peace through it all.
Are you guys eating take out much? We have tried to limit that. I get an ALDI delivery about every two weeks. We leave them on the porch and wipe them all down with Thieves cleaner before bringing them in. It’s a whole process…but we just want to keep everyone healthy. We have had drive thru things a time or two. Mexican take out once and Domino’s once. I cannot lie. It tasted amazing. lol!
It’s my sincere prayer that this post will encourage you. I hope that in your time of quarantine that you have grown as a person or a family. We haven’t taken this lightly. There are so many people hurting and grieving and we are not strangers to that. At the first of the year we lost my uncle in a tragic accident and were still reeling from that when this hit. I know that part doesn’t sound very encouraging…but hang on a sec. The Lord gave us enormous peace and so many miracles through all of that. That is just the way that He works.
I hope that your are thriving, my friends. I hope that you are finding a new appreciation for all of the things that you were too rushed to enjoy, before. I hope that each new day inspires you to learn something new or to just pause and breathe in deep. Maybe you found a new love for your lawn chair or porch swing. Maybe you have a new ritual of evening tea and a cozy book. (Dr. Pepper and a cozy book for me. lol!) Whatever you are learning through this…I feel that it will make us better people whenever it’s time to be with people again. I don’t feel that we will take a smile or a handshake for granted.
Let me leave you with this today,
In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 32 verse 27, God says this:
“Behold, I am the Lord God of all flesh: is there anything to hard for me?”
Do you all have a hobby? Crocheting started as a hobby for me. A stress reliever of sorts. Then it turned into a small business. I am so thankful for that. The life of a maker…is the life for me.
It took me a while to find my niche, but I always knew that it was something along the creating lines. From the time that I was a little girl…I have always been happiest and more at peace with anything creative. Art class was my favorite. The smells and the atmosphere always nourished a part of my soul. The art easel in kindergarten and the smoothness of the tempera paints…soothed a part of me.
If I could encourage you today…find your niche. You know you…better than anyone and we can all make something in this life. It may not be art. It may be music or math or food. We are all so different. Isn’t that wonderful!?Just look inside and find what God intended for you to be. He made just one of YOU…jam packed full of gifts and potential. He’s sweet like that.
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me. He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of His voice, is so sweet that the birds hush their singing. And the melody that He brings to me…within my heart keeps ringing.
May His love bless you today…from your nose to your toes. May you feel Him tell you that you are His own.
You guys are so good to stop by here when there isn’t even new stuff to read. My Dirt Roaders are full of mercy and grace. Don’t let anyone tell ya any different.
I am diffusing a bit of lemon and grapefruit today. The washer is chuggin’ away, doing it’s thing. I have so much laundry you guys. I have been sick with some sort of cold/flu thing and you know how that goes. My family is good to dish out the mercy and grace though. I am thankful for that.
My sweet MIL sent a cozy throw my way. Talk about grace. I’m not even keeping up on her son’s laundry and she sent me a prizey…as we call them. Isn’t it gorgeous? BHG at your local Walmart. She bought my SIL one too. We are a bit spoiled. A little more mercy and grace.
I saw this online somewhere recently. Are we guilty of not giving our bodies mercy and grace? Sure we are. How can we accept others, pass mercy and grace onto them, we we don’t even give it to ourselves? I want to do better about that.
I’m gonna leave you with this last little tidbit. The Bible talks about God loving us, like a mother with her nursing infant. That kind of love…is full to the brim with mercy and grace, isn’t it? Why do we sometimes, as believers, give into the idea that He doesn’t feel that way towards us? I know why. We believe the lies that the enemy whispers. We shouldn’t. God’s plans are for our good. He is the Master…of mercy and grace.
Good morning guys! It’s Thursday!!! My favorite!!! I thought that we would just chat it up a little today. Nothing specific in this post. That okay? Okay!
So…the fair is in our neck of the woods this week. The hottest time of the year. Lol! My Mister and our son went to the livestock show this week. They sent me the sweetest shot of our son and his buddy…heading for a funnel cake. I love this!!!
I did a little revamping this week. If you follow along on IG…some of this is old news. Anyway, I kept seeing these cloches in our storage area and they were calling my name. Vintage bread board, succulents, Currier and Ives, and cloches. You can’t go wrong. 😉
I posted this to FB this week. It just jumped right out and slapped me. (Lord, please help me to be a cheerleader for those around me. I want to have a pure heart! Amen.) People often say that life is short…which is true…but life is such a gift. Wasting it on jealousy and petty things is just sad. I wanna be a rooter!!! You know…rooting folks on. I told a sweet, sweet, momma at church last night, that we were rooting for her. We are. Her baby girl is having some scary health complications and we are holding them up in prayer. That is real life. Genuine, heart to heart, stuff. I wanna live there. God is good, isn’t He? And the folks say…”All the time.”
I hope that Thursday treats you well. I hope that it feels like the beginning to your weekend. May you look around…and count your blessings…because life…is a gift.
Love from the Farmhouse,
p.s. Thanks for chattin’ it up with me!!! Leave me a comment! I love to read them!
Hey Dirt Roaders! How is everyone out there on the interwebs? I wanted to say a big “hello” to those that are stopping by from the article in the local paper. We are so glad to have you here on the dirt road with us. Sue, that interviewed me, came and stayed a while and we just had a wonderful visit. I love it when business turns into friendship. Anyway…I would have posted a welcome sooner…but this week is trying to make me all kinds of cray cray…so I’m all about the “Whoa Nellie” this week.
My week started out wonderful. Easter Sunday. We went to Sunday morning service and then we had lunch/supper here with a whole bunch of our family. It was the sweetest. My favorite part of the whole day was when we all joined hands, in a big circle, and gave thanks for the meal. I love those peaceful moments. Those are not “Whoa Nellie” moments.
Monday was a good day for us. We were all off of work and school. Tuesday was nerve wracking. I had a doctor’s appointment…but everything turned out good and that was a relief. (My road to recovery has been a slow one. I am thankful to be progressing though.) So that was a very BIG “Whoa Nellie” day. I don’t know how you guys are…but I can have my teeth pulled…and no biggie. Take me to the doctor’s office and I am a mess. I start cracking jokes, because I am so nervous, and it just goes from there. It’s like I have my own stand up routine. What on the earth is wrong with me? Anyway, by the grace of God, we made it through that. We even had a little time to go junking and to buy a yummy smelling candle. Balance, I tell you. Balance.
So that brings us to yesterday. I’m just out here on the farm, minding my own biz…and a family member has a small (okay large) crisis…and I needed to be there. It all happened very fast and was definitely a “Whoa Nellie” kind of day…all the way into the night. Things are good now though…and I now know why I came across the verse in Habakkuk, chapter 3, verse 19, yesterday morning. It talks about the Lord being our strength and making us sure footed. He really does that on those “Who Nellie” days. Aren’t we glad? Of course we are! My Dirt Roaders are smart and kind and tough.
As usual…I will not leave you with gloom and despair. I will leave you with the heart shaped sweet potato that I ate on Monday evening. It was so pretty and delicious…that it deserved a spot on the blog. If you are in the middle of a “Whoa Nellie” experience friends…just hold on. God is right in the middle of that need. He with be your strength and make sure that your feet don’t slip. He also made sweet potatoes…and I think that was really nice of Him.
Love from the Farmhouse,
p.s. We are chomping at the bit to open the Etsy shop. Hopefully it will be any day now! Woo Hoo!
Last night in our mid-week service, our pastor’s wife talked about the verse above. It’s found in the book of Proverbs in the Bible, chapter 3, verses 5-6. It was wonderful. I needed to hear that. This is the verse that we had inscribed on my dad’s stone. It’s also the only verse that I know of that he memorized. He read his Bible each day…but quoting wasn’t one of his things. This lesson was balm to my heart. I just needed it for lots of areas in my life. I’m sure that most people do. Life is beautiful and wonderful and I live in awe of it…but it is also hard. Even in that…God is so very good. Expecting good things…I believe that God wants us to do that. Trusting…comes into play there.
Now…about the junking. Isn’t this little guy so sweet? I’m not sure why I have been so drawn to these little vintage dogs of late. I think that it might be the era. I love vintage prints, especially with trees. (I got one of those too…I will have to show you…soon.) This little guy reminds me of a doggy that is on my Granddad’s dresser. His grandma bought it for him, when he was a little boy, I do believe. I love things like that. This one is actually a bank. His head comes off…so you can get the money out. Something is missing from his collar…but I still love him. His crackly goodness is very appealing to this vintage-loving soul.
Have you been needing to trust a little more lately? Sometimes fear rises up…and tells us all sorts of bad things. Trusting God…helps us take a deep breath. We all need that…don’t we? What about junking? Have you found any treasures like the two dollar dog? I would love to hear about either subject. Leave me a comment and I will try to get back to you.
Along the Dirt Road 