♥ Chats on the Farmhouse Porch ♥

I'm joining Patrice for a chat on her farmhouse porch.  :)

 

 

1. How many load of laundry do you do each week (about)?

We do about 5 or 6 loads a week.  Joy (my 14 year old daughter) helps me keep the laundry caught up.  We are quite spoiled now to our homemade laundry detergent too.


2. Where do your household pets sleep? If you have no pets, please skip to the next question.  

We have one cat (Bambi) and she starts off in the bed with us to get a little attention, then she moves to the floor, beside the dresser, in our room for the rest of the night usually. 

    3. What is your favorite thing to listen to while you drive?  

I've always said that it's whatever my kids are listening to.  Most of the time it is our Christian radio station, K-Love.  When Joy and Luke are with me, we also listen to a few CDs as well.......here lately it's been Owl City, Francesca Batistelli, and also a Swing Dance CD we just got from a graduation party.  That's quite a variety, isn't it?

Oh, and I can never just listen to music in the car.....I sing along, always!  If I'm ever alone driving (which is a very rare thing), I like silence.  I guess because it is because it's so rare that I'm alone that I enjoy my quiet moments.

 

 

4. Do you have to do a big clean-up when you have company, or are you always ready for guests?  

Yes....a clean up definitely.  It's a joke around here when I start really cleaning......the kids ask "who's coming"?  Being here all day, homeschooling with books and stuff and a 5 year old active boy with toys strewn out, it definitely needs a pick-me-up!

 

 

5. What's your favorite breakfast food?

 

If I ate what I wanted every morning, it would be waffles probably, but I usually just eat a cereal bar.  I don't know why it is, but when we travel, I love a bigger breakfast.....eggs, bacon, hash browns and biscuits or toast.  It just tastes really good then (maybe because I don't have to cook it)?  :)

 

  That was fun, Patrice!   Thanks for the hospitality on the porch!  :)    ♥ Tammy ♥  

♥ A Little Work Outside ♥

While we have plans to do much more, we've barely scratched the surface of our to-do list outdoors. 

We did create a new landscaped area and planted strawberries there.  It looks pretty and is close by so I can keep a watch on them because have lots of little rabbits hopping around here, and I'm pretty sure they'll like nibbling on those.

Jason and Luke planted potatoes and Luke loves helping tend to them!

We're really hoping this little nippy weather that moved in doesn't hurt any of our plantings so far!  We still have plans to at least plant tomatoes, onions, and squash as well. 

Oh, and this little project was purely cosmetic.  :)  I've wanted something along the sidewalk that leads from the carport into the sunporch.  We've gotten this far with the stones and dirt.  Got to get this project finished up next weekend hopefully!

Always something to do.......but always so worth it in the end!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

Pinned it, Made it! Monday ~ Week 39 ~

Is it just me, or do Mondays roll around really quickly?  :) 

It's time again for Pinned it, Made it! Monday.  Have you tried out a Pinterest project, tip, or recipe lately?   That's what Pinned it, Made it! Monday is all about.  We'd love to see what you've been up to!


This week I finally got to the project I was wanting to do last week (and the week before).   I had to work it in between rain days.

I've actually spray painted several things in my home before including door knobs and light fixtures with Rustoleum textured spray paint.  But here's the pin on my Pinterest board that I guess you could say inspired me this time around (as well as a friend that had just done the same to her dresser hardware) :



Source

This time I used Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze from Walmart (Satin Brushed Metallic).

And this time it was for the remodel of the bedroom we're working on.  Remember the brass hardware on the dresser, chest, and night stand? 

This furniture was inherited from Jason's dad and it's nice furniture.  However, I really don't like brass anything.  So I knew I wanted to try the oil rubbed bronze finish on the hardware. 

BEFORE

AFTER

I've decided this oil rubbed bronze spray paint is my friend.  :)  I'm thinking up stuff to use it on!  It's budget friendly too!

Now it's your turn!

To participate in Pinned it, Made it! Monday, here are the guidelines:

1) Just do a post about what you’ve pinned and made from Pinterest, then come back over here to Country Girl at Home and link that particular post (not your blog in general) on this post below.

2) I don’t mind if you link up more than one post….multiple entries are fine.

3) You must add my Pinned it, Made it! Monday button on your post or sidebar of your blog linking back to Country Girl at Home. You may get this button code on the page at the top of my blog labeled “Buttons”. Just copy and paste the code into your post.

4) Be supportive and visit blog entries. I do ask that you visit at least one and leave a comment there. And don't forget to leave me one here! :) We all love comments, don’t we? It’s encouraging and uplifting!

5) By linking up and participating, you give me permission to use your entry photo if I decide to feature an entry.

 

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Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!  :)

 

♥ Tammy ♥  

Beware of Snakes

Luckily neither of my boys have ever asked for a pet snake. I have to admit that I've always worried that day might come.   Colt would be the one looking for a snake, but only to shoot.  And Luke is probably just as scared of them as Joy and me.  This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned  :)

This is the sign I found in the yard the other day designed and placed by Luke. 

That's my boy!  :)

Luckily, we haven't run cross any snakes yet this year in our yard yet.  But then, the chances are pretty good that we will........that's just part of country living. 

Have a great weekend!  :)

Faithful Friday - "Don't Give Up"

Do you ever just get discouraged and sometimes wonder when your prayers are going to be answered?  I know I do.  Waiting is never easy!

I was just thinking the last time we were teaching in children's church (we teach every 3rd Sunday during both early and late services) that one particular little boy just isn't giving up on his prayer.  Every single time he asks for prayer that his daddy will quit smoking.  And I tell him....you don't give up and I can't wait until the day you tell me and the class that your daddy has quit smoking!  That's a huge thing to this little 7 year old boy!

And that got me to thinking about an example of this in my own life.

This is my mom and dad.  If you've been visiting my blog for awhile, you've probably seen pictures of them before.  They are wonderful examples to me.....in life....in marriage....you name it!

Well there was a time growing up when my dad wasn't a Christian and had no use for attending church at all.  My mother, brother, and I prayed for him all the time and we never failed to ask him when we were leaving for church if he would go with us.  He always declined and he avoided the preacher like the plague.  There were many times the preacher was going to stop by and see him and my mom would "warn" him ahead of time and he would leave the house until after the preacher left! 

Fast forward many years later when I was a young teenager.........Well one particular evening, he had done this very thing....left the house and gone riding around waiting on the preacher to leave.  Well he drove by the house and decided he wasn't going to be run off from his OWN house by a preacher.  So he stopped and came in.  To his surprise, the preacher wasn't pushy and even had another man with him in jeans and a cowboy hat.....very casual and down to earth and they both talked to him about hunting and fishing.  And the other man proceeded to tell my daddy the kind of man he used to be and what God had done for him.  And that was simply it.  Nothing threatening here, but the seed was planted.

Now fast forward a few weeks from that visit.......All this time, daddy had been doing some thinking of his own, pondering things, and while he was working alone out on a service call, he accepted the Lord as his Savior.

So my point is this, we (my mom, my brother, other friends and family members and I) spent years praying for my daddy to accept Jesus as his Savior.  We never gave up! 

Don't give up on those prayers or those people you've been praying for!  God is faithful to those prayers!

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 

2 Chronicles 15:7 (NIV)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Matthew 7:7-8 (NASB)

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For more Faithful Friday posts or to link one yourself, click on the button above to visit Joy's blog!  It's all about sharing something from your Christian Walk to encourage others!

 

 Blessings,

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ A Little Birdie ♥

Well it seems like we've found favor with birds lately.  :)

Or maybe God just wanted to make us slow down and enjoy another one of His creations!  I love it when He provides a little nature lesson for us to enjoy!

Tuesday after we came out of gym (our homeschooling co-op meeting), this little birdie was sitting right on our windshield wiper peering into the car.

Nothing scared her.  We opened and shut doors, talked to her, and came closer and closer.  She just sat there and stared in the window at us, almost intrigued with us.

Maybe she wanted a ride?

Or a new home?

She let me get this close with my phone to take a pic and just turned her head whichever way I went to take her picture.

Then she just down right posed for me.  My phone was literally inches from her.

She made me smile with her cute little dignified self.  :)

We had to leave for home, so we finally got a stick for her to sit on and she sort of stood on it a second and then flew away up into the tree.

It gave me the perfect opportunity to stop and discuss with my kids about how God provides for the birds, and at how much more He loves us, His children, and how He surely takes care of us! 

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

 

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Thanks for stopping by!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Sunporch Chat ♥ with Elaine of Sunny Simple Life ♥

Good morning and welcome to my sunporch!  Come on in and join Elaine, of Sunny Simple Life, and me for a little visit!  You may already know Elaine, and if you do, you already know how she loves all things concerning home and family including helpful household tips, frugal tips, gardening, and CHICKENS.  If you haven't met her yet, well......you're in for a treat!  :) 

Grab yourself a piece of strawberry cake and a cup of coffee, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy your visit!

Meet Elaine.........

 

 

1) How long have you been blogging and what/who gave you the desire to blog?

Three years. I started with another blog on couponing and then realized I wanted to have more fun and do more of a "Life" blog. I had become a stay at home mom and it was a great way to connect with other like minded women.

2) How did you choose the name of your blog and why?

I was sitting in my backyard and then realized hey it is sunny here and I am all about living a simple life. There you go.

 

 

3) What variety of topics do you post on your blog (examples - home decorating, family, gardening, recipes, adoption, homeschooling, crafting, etc....)

 

OMG lots of topics, family, decorating, cleaning, gardening, frugality and CHICKENS.

 

 

4) Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

Married 24 years to a wonderful man. I am so blessed that he married me.

 

 

 

I have four daughters from 21 to four.

 

 

 

When I turned 40 and later that year found out I was pregnant, hubby said that was an awesome gift he gave me.

 

 

 

5) How would you describe your decorating style?

Prim, country, farmhouse, vintage but a lot of what I call "early marriage."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) What's your favorite color and why?

Red. Just have to have it in all my rooms.

 

 

 

7) Tell us a few of your favorite things (collections, things that make you happy, etc.).

Plants, flowers, rough and rustic prims, crocks and chickens. I have always had a lot of chicken nick knacks in my house.

 

 

 

 

8) What do you like to do in your spare time (hobbies, crafts, etc..)?

Garden. I love to garden.

 

 

 

 

 

I hate to shop except at the nursery and my favorite little home decor shop.

 

 

9) What does your dream house look like? (Describe and/or include photo)

A rambling farmhouse with lots of acreage and barns. If I could raise all my own meat I would.

 

10) If you could visit anywhere, anytime, where would it be and why?

I want to visit New England. I believe I was meant to be born there and live in a Saltbox home and wear Pendleton skirts and cardigan sweaters.

 

11) Would you share with us a favorite homemaking/organizing tip or recipe, etc..?

Make your bed everyday. It is a gift you give yourself.

 

 

 

 Eat with your family every night. It is vital.

 

12) Tell us something about yourself that we might not already know from reading your blog. (something unusual, etc..)

Hmm. I can't think of anything too exciting. I only go to the mall maybe twice a year. With four daughters it is not easy to avoid the place but I hate it. I am a Target girl. I do not like clothes shopping. My wardrobe is proof of that.

 

13) I know that your family is a homeschooling family, and that you have been for awhile. Would you share a little about that? (Maybe how that came to be, how long you’ve been homeschooling, how that works for you, what homeschooling looks like at your house, curriculum, anything you’d like to share here…. from any angle, Elaine).

Oh this is funny. I am not homeschooling right now. I did homeschool my two oldest all through high school with lots of outside classes added in. They are both in college right now. My third daughter is in public high school. This is something she always wanted to do and it was a rough adjustment for ME not her though. She loves it though and is thriving and giving homeschoolers a good name. I worked part time through all the years I homeschooled the oldest two so I had to pick curriculum they could work independently on. I think this has proved so beneficial for my older girls. They never had a problem taking direction in college and working independently and figuring things out. They had been doing it most of their lives. I am torn about what to do with my youngest next year. We will have to wait and see.

 

 

 

14) You raise chickens in the city. I love that! I would love to have chickens! Will you share a little about how that came to be, your thoughts and experiences on raising chickens?

My oldest daughter was tutoring a woman with chickens in our city and that triggered my desire. I have always been a gardener and chickens just fit in nicely. Though they would be happy to eat your garden so you have to reign them in.

 

15) I love your frugal tips. So many families these days are trying to be budget minded, frugal, and thrifty. Would you share a couple of your favorite frugal/thrifty tips with us?

 

Use things until they fall apart. Cut up your credit cards. Fix as many things as you can yourself.

 

16) Tell us a way God has blessed you and/or your family.

Well, I have a hard time with this because I know folks much more Godly than I and they have such hard lives and difficult trials. I think what I have to say then is that so far we have been lucky. No one knows when your life will change forever. When you will have to drag yourself out of bed every day because you lost a child or have a terminal illness. None of us can avoid hard times. They will happen to all of us but what my husband and I have always been focused on is home. We are just home bodies and spend our energies here. I think that keeps things simplified as much as things can be with kids. I don't go lookin for drama let's say. Look at those Housewives shows. How can you act a fool like that in front of your kids and expect good things of it?

 

17) Share any words of wisdom and/or a favorite quote you'd like to leave with us.

My mother's words live in me everyday. She was my idol and the mom I strive to be. I knew I wanted her life, simple as it was, from the time I was young. As for others:

Nothing is free.

Keep your heart at home. The more you look inward, the happier you will be. Keep your focus on your family and no one else. Strive for what works in your house, not other folks. Do NOT compare yourself to others. I learned this I think somewhere in my thirties and noticed I made a turn to a happier me. And don't read fashion magazines. They will surely depress you. Love that one.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Thank you Elaine for being such a wonderful guest!  You are always an inspiration to me, whether it's life with your chickens, homemaking tips, or enjoying your decorating and family.  I really loved your advice and tips and you know I'm definitely with you on all that red!  :)  Visiting your blog is always simply....... a sunny place to be!  :)

 

 

Thank you to all the lovely guests that stopped by today!  I hope you enjoyed your visit.  I enjoy seeing my long-time friends here AND meeting new people.  I always look forward to your comments here, and I know Elaine would love for you to stop by and visit her at Sunny Simple Life and drop her a line there too!

 

Have a great day!

 

♥ Tammy ♥