Hello Fri-Yay: Week 10 (on a Tuesday)

Well friends, as I scrawled in a handwritten letter this morning, we live by "better late than never" around our house.  So why not have a Friday post on a Tuesday?  Works for me if it works for you.  Let's just jump right in, shall we? I've been tucking in to the craft room here and there and this particular painting has my complete adoration. Is that wrong to say about your own painting?  Forgive me if so.  You must also doubly forgive me if I already showed you this in last week's post!  My mind is forgetful with these small details lately. 

All I know is that a pile of art is growing in my craft room and I look forward to having a shop update whenever the time feels right.  I would suppose sometime before school starts. 





I am feeling a bit like I already posted these too, but it should be smooth sailing from here on out so stick with me.  Morning time has been so, so pretty on the farm!  Most days the sun comes right up, making me hum "it's another day of sun" from La La land.  Other days the most mysterious fog rolls in and the fairy webs are out in full force.  
Last weekend I decided to have a little movie night.  I've been realizing how much self-care must be a priority for me in order to take care of all the little needs and do it well.  I made the living room extra cozy and set up my laptop on the chair to watch Hidden Figures. It was one of my favorite nights.  
We brought these cherry tomatoes in to ripe and they didn't last long before little hands snatched them and little mouths gobbled them, with only the faintest of red starting to show. 

Judging by the juice dribbling down little chins, I'd say it didn't matter much. 
The zinnia's remain my favorite.  Just today I googled "zinnia flower meaning" and got teary at the response.  Endurance.  That is the meaning for zinnia's.  I am being challenged to endure in several areas of life right now, no wonder these are my favorite! 

If I'm going to learn to endure, I want to do it beautifully like the zinnias do. 

Insert mouth-watering here! 
This time of year is my favorite for a million and one reasons. I'm such a summer gal.  Especially because it means Brett makes his smoked salsa.  These are the veggies prepped and ready to go into the smoker.  There isn't a store-bought salsa around that can touch the flavor of his homemade stuff!
Another joy recently was to celebrate my nephew Luke's one-year birthday! He is such a happy addition to our extended family! 
I have two sisters with several kids each so when we gather for parties there are kiddos everywhere. 

I documented these sweet little drawings I found on the dining room table one day. 

The girls recently helped me make refrigerator pickles because our cucumber harvest is growing by leaps and bounds! We use Shannan Martin's recipe which you can find by googling "Flowerpatch Farmgirl Pickle Recipe." 





Go big or go home they say. This year we went big. We bought a giant pack of fireworks and got together with some other family and friends to shoot them off.  The girls were going WILD with excitement! This was really their first year to see something bigger than a sparkler or little firework.  

Some of these came a little closer to us than we would have liked!  They were also so, so loud! 



This was my favorite part of the night.  My brother-in-law had a lantern you lit and sent up into the sky. 

Magic.  Just simply magical.  We watched this until we couldn't watch it any longer because it was so high in the sky! 


On July 4th we went to do some exploring on the Buffalo River, one of the most gorgeous places ever.  We packed a picnic and had enough time to eat, walk some trails, and splash near the water before big, heavy rains came in. 




We also explored this old homestead.  The girls said this was their favorite part of the trip which isn't surprising considering how much they truly love Little House on the Prairie. 












I took this shot while hiding under a quilt.  I then put my treadmill practice into use and ran to the truck fast, with the camera tucked in the bag and under the quilt.  It started pouring! 
Rain, rain, rain all the way home. 

Does anyone else only feel like fresh, quick meals in the summer? 
I do.  I've had fun experimenting with all of our garden veggies, as well as making hummus, popsicles, new sauces and dressings, and whatever else I can be creative with without hardly turning the oven on.  
These kale/bean/veggie enchiladas with a homemade sauce was SO, so good.  We topped them with avocado and the sauce packed a bit of a hot punch.  The girls ate chicken quesadillas this night (boring) but Brett and I both enjoyed these so much we had them the next day for leftovers. 

Almost nothing makes me happier than fixing a meal that is both extremely healthy and flavorful.  This was a recipe out of one of my cookbooks, although I really just used the recipe as a guide. 

The girls are always picking little flowers for themselves or me. 
Brett and I continue to sit on the back deck in the evenings when he isn't doing hay, or take strolls around the yard.  We may not do a lot of fancy dates but we still have plenty of opportunities for quality time together. 
Mud pies! 
Catching lightning bugs. 
This bulb garden is all Brett's idea! 
Isn't is pretty?! I walk out here often, just to rest my eyes on the pretty flowers.  I also like that this is right by the road and always hope someone else glances over and enjoys the view too.
We have really been thankful to have some rain this summer!

We also visited our local botanical garden with my twin and her kids this past week.  I could stroll through the garden for hours, taking pics here and there.  Although in real life my twin and I were too busy having fun with grown-up conversation and chasing kids. :) 

Well, as I put on Instagram (therosylifeblog) we had our first foster care stay last week.  It was a short placement and so now we're waiting to be needed again for a baby. I could write so much here I don't even know how to write anything at all.  If you think of us and these precious kiddos, will you pray? 

I also just finished reading the most fabulous book called Driving Miss Norma.  It's a must read! 

I'm trying to think how to sum up the rest of our days! Busy with swim lessons, play dates, the library, photography and painting, gardening, hay cutting, staying healthy, and watching and waiting for our next placement.  It's a tricky little season, this one.  It can't be described in a neat package.  Yet there is joy to be found and God to be felt and seen in all the places of life, both big and small.  This is why I keep showing up to my life and to this blog and to my Instagram.  

What is happening in your part of the world?  I hope you have a good book to read, something to look forward to, and a few recipes up your sleeve to try. Sending you much rosiness! 

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