Here is What I'm Loving this gorgeous day!

LOVING the new life in our garden!  Beauty in abundance from the seeds sown last year. . .

LOVING the growth and new additions to the garden.  4 different types of blueberry plants, said to produce 5 pounds each.  And 4 new raspberry plants!  So hopeful and excited for these guys to produce. . .

my kale that I planted in the fall.  I definitely did not plant it early enough, note taken, so it wasn't large enough to eat from over the winter, but it did survive and I will mark that down as my first kale success!  I just harvested a few stalks this afternoon and chopped them fresh into my salad. . . just going to say that it doesn't get better than that.

And don't judge the abundance of other things growing around the garlic. . . just look at the beauties themselves!  Hoping for 19 heads of garlic here.

LOVING this salad:

kale freshly harvested

ruby swiss chard

apple

raisins

toasted almonds

carrot

green pepper

Tossed lightly with olive oil, dijon mustard, and fresh lemon juice

LOVING this picture of Daniel and Tirzah and our amazing friends Tom and Sean.  Daniel got to spend some great time with them this past weekend in Wheaton.  Although I was teasing him: Saturday was our all day ladies day, leaving the babes with the Daddies. . . and Daniel drops off Tirzah for Renee to babysit so he can go out to lunch with these guys! :)  Isn't he the best?!

LOVING Mumford & Sons

Absolutely LOVING Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall.  Oh. My. Goodness.  We heard of this man through our good friends Sy and Mary, and after visiting them almost two weeks ago, we have spent every moment of our free time that we can watching his TV series River Cottage.  Seriously, it is the best thing ever!  Short story: Hugh decides to leave the hectic life of the city to become a "small-holder", basically a small self-sustaining homestead/farm.  This TV series takes you through his challenges and successes and keeps you laughing all the while.  If ever Daniel and I wanted to have a homestead before?  It's like times ten after watching these.  You will love them!  We purchased them on Amazon Prime. . . just in case you decide to watch too!

LOVING that Tirzah's fever has broken and we were able to go to Bible Study Fellowship this morn.

LOVING MaryJanesFarm and her daily journal over here at http://www.raisingjane.org/journal/

LOVING, well now because she is sleeping, but hearing her little pitter patter of feet upstairs, knowing she was happily playing before her nap.

LOVING fresh cream, scooped from the top of the raw milk we purchased at the Co-Op, added to our home roasted coffee.  Oh.My.

What are you LOVING this day?

Intentional Moments

As I sit and reflect upon the first month of deployment, I find that one of the most important things for me to do, is to spend my time intentionally.

I do not want to be so busy and therefore just numb myself to the pain of loneliness.  I do not want to be so busy that the time simply flies by and at the end of nine months I simply look back and know not how I was changed how I grew because I was too afraid to meet the moments alone head on.

Does that make any sense?  I know that I could make it through the deployment if I was not by myself.   I know I could make it through deployment if each and every day I had something planed that would take up each and every waking moment and thus distract my mind from reality.  I know I could get through with busy-ness.  But I don't want to get through with those.  I want to get through this time because HE alone is strengthening me and meeting me in all the moments.

In this first month, I find that it is important to have a balance.  A good balance of spending time with friends and others and a balance of spending the time just the two of us, our girl and me.

And so, as we come to the weekend, the moments that are simple some of the hardest for me to face in this season of deployment, we have mix of fellowship and alone moments.

Tonight: a game night with some friends up the street.  Special too because Elliott has a friend there as well :)  Bentley, his black poodle friend

Tomorrow afternoon we are going to share in the celebration of life with a dear family and the birthday party of their son.

Sunday, our beloved routine of Olympia pier, coffee, park, and farmer market's treats.  Church in the evening is a picnic in celebration of Memorial Day.

Monday, we have signed up to join in the Run to Remember that happens every weekend in DuPont, rain or shine.  Tirzah and I have pledged our 3 miles (we plan to walk with our friends Alison and Lucy) with the goal of all miles of participants pledged to equal or excede the number of fallen soldiers in this War.

Speaking of those who have fallen and those who we will remember this weekend, please keep the family of one soldier from B- Company (Daniel's company) in your prayers.  He was killed in combat just yesterday and the family has just recently learned the news.  Thank you for your prayers.



In the moments we are not with others, I hope to relax and also work on achieving some of my own deployment goals!

Read 10 books (I will finish my second book tonight!)

Make our own butter (I bought some whipping cream and I have yet to decide whether to use the Kitchen-aid or just simply shake in a mason jar. . . will let you know what we decide!)

Intentional blessings upon you and your family this Memorial Day Weekend.

A little more...

I am honored and humbled that you would be here, reading this blog.

Thank you for your care and your time and your investment in our lives.  We are so very thankful.

Humbly, I share this post with you, to offer just a bit more of who we are.  The Shears3, as we are oft called.  Daniel and I had a beautiful discussion on New Years Eve in which we examined different aspects of our lives.  As we took a step back and looked at our family as a whole, we decided upon three different values for our family.

Worship

Stewardship

Family


We desire to make these three values a part our daily rhythms.  We desire to seek out more and more what each of these mean and what each of these look like within a family setting.  Most days, we are far from blending these three just perfectly.  More often than not, our lives spread the fragrance of self-worship and foolishness (for isn't that the opposite of stewardship?) and independence.  Yet we praise God for we can never wear out His grace, as Pastor Kyle said the other evening in small group.   And each day we cling to what He has accomplished, yes, accomplished on the cross for us and we lean yet still deeper into the grace that surrounds.


I wonder what your family values are?  How do you and your family seek to incorporate them into your daily rhythms?



A daily rhythm for our family is spending time outside.  Even in the Washington rain, we strive to spend moments out in the open, beneath the all-encompassing sky, blanketed by His creation.  And isn't just stepping outside and taking a deep breath of air an act of worship?  To feel that fresh air fill and move and spread to all parts of the body: the very breath of life once again breathed into our lungs.  With our lungs filled, then we turn to all the world around that is too, filled with this breath of life.  The trees, the birds, the water, the hills all exist to bring Him praise.  In being outside, we join with the hum of creation to offer our worship and awed adoration of what He has done.  As my husband wrote in our family values:

"Out of a grateful heart we want to glorify the Lord. Worship is not primarily for our benefit, but the Lord's honor."

My Mom and Dad have said it to my brother and his wife, and they have said it to us now as well: "You belong in the 1800s!"  What they are referring to: grinding our flour by hand, grinding our coffee beans by hand, roasting our own coffee.  Indeed, these are so against our culture and the "normal" rhythms of the fast-paced $5 latte world in which we find ourselves.  But what if in this fast-paced way of life we have indeed lost the way to life? 

One of our family values is family itself and one action of valuing family is spending quality time together. As Daniel writes: 

"Time together will build unity and love."

In our family, we love "homesteading" together.  We enjoy making candles and soap together.  We enjoy roasting coffee beans and grinding flour, making our own yogurt, side by side, slowing down together.  And no it isn't the most efficient way to get a loaf of bread or to have a cup of coffee.  But where and when did we join efficient with quality?  Our marriage grows as we slow down.  Our relationship with our daughter blossoms as we slow down with her, and every moment can be a quality moment if it is rich with our attentiveness.  We find that "homesteading" slows us down. . .

 to enjoy the process and to savor the product.  Our time is made into quality time as we join together to produce something meaningful and something of value; by creating together, calling it good, and taking enjoyment in and of the creation, we are indeed reflecting the character of God.

Stewardship is yet another rhythm we hope to daily incorporate in our household.  Stewardship of time, resources, our lifestyle, our bodies, and the created world.  One way in which we seek to be good stewards: which cleaning products we use.  Yes this issue is small and of seemingly no consequence, but as Daniel wrote:

"Live intentionally.  Put careful thought into each decision."

and so Tirzah and I have been cleaning each week with homemade cleaning products.  I will share just a few recipes below, (Miss Druid, Mr. Sam will LOVE this! :))

Toilet bowl cleaner: just plain and simple: Baking Soda!!  (I have a new found love and appreciation for this ingredient) Truly, just sprinkle and scrub away.  

All-purpose cleaner: 

2 T vinegar

1 t borax

Hot water

a few drops of a mild dish detergent

10 drops of essential oil (I didn't do this, for they are expensive!  I squeezed a little orange juice in and it worked great)

In a 16 oz spray bottle put vinegar, borax and hot water.  Swish around until borax has dissolved.  Add the drops of detergent and fill the rest with water.  

And so, just a deeper glimpse into the life of our family.

J.R.R. Tolkien said,

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

So, here, now, as a family, we seek to commit this moment to worship, to family, to stewardship.

Hearts and minds to Savor

The Lord's Provision is sweet to the taste and even sweeter to the body, for it is everything we need.

How have you see the Lord's provision in your world today?  Write a comment to let us know!  Simply Enter your Comment in the comment box~ what provision it would be for us!


For our family, we have seen the Lord's provision today in these ways,

                          and we are thankful

Minds and hearts to savor the moments of togetherness with Uncle Michael and Aunt Danae

The continual feast He has provided for us

Roasted Mushroom Barley Soup

Michael's homemade scones & freshly whipped cream

Roasted Vegetables over Quinoa with a Spinach, blueberry, and blood orange salad

Such provision of gifts for her, our sweet 1 year old!

 Her delights: a cape of Fabric from Yoyo & Papa, 

Ribbon,

Pink Polk-a-dot rain coat from Mommom & Poppop

New Shoes from Auntie Renee

Re-gifted Sock-Monkeys

Moments to read

Thank you Aunt Carol for the new wonderful book!

Madeleines for Tirzah Madeleine Shear

Homemaking provisions:

Our first and successful batch of homemade soap!

Cozy curtains for the kitchen

Today we not only celebrate the Lord's provision in savoring past memories, but we celebrate and proclaim by baking!

What's baking today

1 loaf of Best Brown Bread, and only 1 today, for, we just received our Christmas present from Yoyo & Papa: a Wondermill Grain Mill!!!  Starting tomorrow, we will begin milling our own flour and I can hardly wait!  

More baking will be completed tomorrow: perhaps 2 more loaves of Best Brown Bread

along with Gingerbread for ourselves and the neighbors (also our play date friends in the morn)

May the rest of you Monday, this beautiful day that the Lord has made, be savored.

Simple & Novice

A delightful day.  That's what I would call today.  A delightful day.  A day full of small delights that pleased my heart, and my mind.

'Twas a beautiful day, to be sure.  A day where not a cloud could be seen in all the wide Washington sky, a day that boasts a golden sunset.

The morning was heralded in with our new routine.  Since breastfeeding has come and gone, now, instead, Tirzah receives a bottle of whole milk in her crib.  Along with her bottle she receives a basket of her Bible books... a sort of quiet time basket.

She sips her bottle slowly and takes a book, opens a page, sips a bit more, and looks a bit deeper at the pictures before her.  It is precious, to say the least.

Slowly she wakes to the day; slowly she is awakened to Reality.  And this morning, her Daddy sat beside her crib, he too rocking, reading, and sipping slowly.


Little Delight and I went for a refreshing walk through the trails this morn and stopped to have our first porch sit as we finished a phone conversation with Meredith.


And while she slept her morning nap, I crafted and found a new favorite of mine: chalkboard paint.  I think if had to choose one paint to use the rest of my life, it would be chalkboard paint.  I love it!

I used a Pottery Barn tray we received as a wedding gift, and turned it into our Bible Memorizing board.  It sits at the edge of the kitchen sink: a gentle and beautiful reminder of the Word.

While she slept, I learned: Sewing is not for the faint of heart & I have awful hand/eye/foot coordination.  I began making curtains for the kitchen window above the sink.  The materials: a gifted apron from our beautiful friend Emily (idea of apron curtains taken from Marlene's neighbor).  And white King-size pillowcases (a find as I rummaged through the linen pile).

Do I have to show my stitching?   Oh good, because it is awful!  But, I had the time of my life.  I do indeed have a long way to go with sewing, but how wonderful it felt to CREATE; albeit simple and novice.  How wonderful it was to enter into a process and enjoy each step.

It's wonderful really, the choice we are gifted with every day.  To create a life.  Albeit simple and novice, for we've never encountered a day like today (so says my wonderful friend Kathleen), what a beautiful process this life is, to enter into each day and enjoy.  To sip it slow, and, slowly be awakened to truth.




         









Thank the Lord for weekends!  Tirzah and I are so so excited to have Daniel home for two days, and also to welcome Uncle Michael and Aunt Danae to our Washington home.

What do you have planned for the weekend?  May grace and blessings abound!

Melt Away

I asked Daniel on Monday if he would ever have work canceled, you know, like a snow day of sorts.

"Fawn, this is the Army.  We don't cancel because of the snow."

Little did we know, 2 whole days of work would be canceled!  Army work too.  Both Wednesday and Thursday were snow days.  As we discussed later around a table of Bananagrams and Twizzlers, these were Daniel's first snow days... ever.  "Being home schooled, you don't have snow days" he said.

And these snow days, we enjoyed to the utmost: reading, sledding, cooking, eating, laughing, sleeping.  Everything a snow day should be, it was for our family.

Snow days: a reason for everyone to stay in their pajamas all day long.
Snow days: always a smell of homemade hot chocolate warming on the range and stovetop popcorn bursting forth delights.
Snow days: a reason to SLOW

Slow.
     We did take the time to slow down over these days together at home.  We slowed to make old candles new again

Slow.
     To see the infinite spiritual truths in finite moments.

A Candle

Melting down all that one is, to be poured into the mold of the Lord's own choosing.

A candle - meant to give light and to give warmth, yet it is a glowing flame of beauty.  Functional, but also beautiful.  

Made to serve.

Make me a candle to the World, O Lord.

Slow

     To see the beauty unfold all around, everywhere, in everything.

Icicles

Frozen Time.  Hard & cold.

What heart icicles do you need to melt away?

Icicles frozen in bitterness, anger, fear-

When a limb is frozen, hard, cold, new life is not able to birth, come forth, breathe.

Instead, life itself bends and breaks and snaps beneath the burden of frozen weight.

Only when the icicle starts to melt,

droplets falling, dropping, surrendering

can new life break free.

Melt away, please Lord, my fear of her sleeplessness.  That the light of your face might shine upon this frozen fear so that new life, new hope, might come forth and bear fruit.

Melt away into His mold, that new life might bear

                                            and share and give to the World.