A few rainy days earlier this week brought a hint of the coming autumn. Although the roses and zinnias still bloom brightly along our front walkway, and the garden still yields bite-sized delights, I feel a new season tip-toeing in.
It is a time for gathering and drying herbs, restocking spools of threads for wintertime stitching, preserving produce, taking restful Sabbath hikes in the woods, and collecting stacks of books for curling up under quilts.
I unfolded the flannel sheets this week, freshened up our stacks of homemade quilts (with the summer scent of lavender!), and discovered our little ones have begun outgrowing their “footie pajamas.”
We savor the warm, sun-toasted winds during the day, observing the occasional yellow and brown leaves landing upon the new mud puddles down the lane. We soak in the cooler evening breezes, lulled to sleep with the windows open to catch the fresh, rain-washed mountain air.
It is a time of new babies in our community, of a fresh start for schooling and ministry, and dreaming for the future.
Gen is delighting in her new kindergarten homeschool “projects” (as she calls them), discovering the joy of the numbers God has created, the awe of combining sounds to attempt reading words, and forming concepts on paper with a new pencil. She takes her “eldest daughter” role quite seriously, bustling about to “gotta do my chores,” and “take care ‘o the baby” with a precious “mommy instinct” emerging. My little girl is growing up.
Calvin calls Enoch his “wingman,” as our little boy insists on “helping” at our feet, emptying and closing drawers, exploring new heights of tabletops, and tagging along on adventures with Daddy, then settling in for a doze in his favorite spot- the Ergo.
God continually speaks to us of His provision, calling us to trust Him for our daily needs and the days to come. He calls us to rest in His peace, choosing generosity instead of worry. He is faithful.
It is a busy time, full of new pursuits, hospitality to drop-in visitors, and caring for our family. But it is blessed.
How are YOU savoring these last weeks of summer? What is on your “to-do” list?
For Calvin’s birthday this year, he specifically requested that I not buy him any gifts. (As a family, we have already been committed over the years to “giving handmade” as much as possible, but in our season of unemployment, he wanted to be especially “budget conscious.”)
After I confirmed that he would approve of me creating a gift from what I had on hand (and had planned to make anyway!), I got to work making him fabric book covers for his Bible and journal/notebook.
His Bible has been well-worn (from his use, as well as mauled by a baby!). When Enoch has had fussy nights, Calvin has regularly cuddled with him on the couch at night while reading his Bible, and given me a chance to rest. (But Enoch loved grabbing those pages!)
(Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of the matching journal cover; he took it with him to a meeting.)
A fabric book cover is also wonderful for protecting school books, and an alternative to the paper bag book covers I used to make in high school. (Although the paper covers were more fun for doodling on.)
I based my book covers on the tutorial from Craftzine’s Simple Fabric Book Cover. Although, I did hem the inside edges first, in mine. (Theirs appears to just have a raw edge on the inside of the book flap.)
Since then, I have admired a couple more fabric book cover tutorials:
By reader request, I will be starting to share some simple homemade gift ideas again (like I did last year) as we enter into the fall. I have some quick gift ideas prepared, for inspiration in preparing frugal, handmade Christmas gifts and little blessings.
I was recently inspired by the “Nifty Needle Book”(a travel-sized book for storing sewing/mending supplies) shown in the book Sew Darn Cute by Jenny Ryan. I have a dear friend heading overseas soon for missions work, and I wanted to send her off with a little “travel-sized” gift.
I made my friend a little cloth book for storing earrings & brooches during travel (just attach them to the felt pages in the book), using orange felt for the pages and this cute circle fabric for the cover:
The wool felt shown and recommended in the book would have been ideal, but I didn’t have any on hand. So, I just used the basic recycled “Eco-Fi” felt found in craft/fabric stores.
This is the perfect project for using a little piece of your favorite fabric you’ve been saving, or for a lovely bit you picked up from a remnant sale bin! It only takes a small amount.
I didn’t have the scallop-edged scissors for the pages, as recommended in the book, but I was able to cut a similar scallop edge, just by using some small, sharp embroidery scissors. (You can cut a small “stack” of the felt pages at the same time, for efficiency. There are only two pieces of felt, which get folded to make four pages.)
I do have a snap-setter(purchased with a gift card last year), but if you don’t have snaps, you could sew on some lengths of ribbon to tie the book closed with a bow, instead.
I have some simple meals planned for a busy week ahead. But Calvin said we had “been in a rut” with our meals, so I spent Sunday evening browsing new recipe ideas! I’ve incorporated some fresh garden produce, as well as making use of the crockpot.
Monday Breakfast: Nectarine Crumble, Eggs Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks Dinner: Baked Potatoes with Beans & Cheese, Green Salad
To Do: Thaw Bananas, Soak Beans
Tuesday
Breakfast: Zucchini Passion Cake (from The Baker’s Bible), Eggs Lunch: Cheese & Tomato Sandwiches, Nectarines Dinner: Italian Millet & Bean Salad (use millet instead of pasta), Green Salad
To celebrate our little boy’s 1st birthday this week, I made him a birthday cake that he could enjoy. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, & nut-free. (If you don’t need to make those dietary accommodations, feel free to add them back into the recipe, as desired.) It’s also really quick to make!
This birthday cake actually doesn’t have any frosting.(It was a timesaver for me, but I guess that makes it more “healthy” too!) Instead, it is topped with Kimi’s delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk ice cream!
Chocolate-Banana Birthday Cake(allergy-free!)
Cake:
1 Cup Flour Use your choice of flour(s)*
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
2 Tbl. Ground Flax Seed + 1/3 Cup Water (This is an egg substitute)
1/2 Cup Sucanat
1/4 cup Coconut Oil, softened
1 Cup mashed ripe Banana
3 Tbsp Coconut Milk + 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (This is a buttermilk substitute)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbl. Cinnamon (We love Saigon Cinnamon!)
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
*For a gluten-free cake, I used a combination of Brown Rice Flour, Teff Flour, & Potato Starch
Grease a 9×9 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cake ingredients together, and pour into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool. While still slightly warm, spread softened ice cream over cake, sprinkle coconut on top, and serve immediately. (If you won’t be serving the entire cake immediately, just scoop the ice cream onto the individual pieces of cake, to prevent melting issues on any leftover cake.)
Watching my little boy being able to enjoy a birthday cake was definitely a Finer Thing!
He was born yesterday afternoon, so he and Enoch share a birthday(how fun!).
The birth was a medically-necessary out-of-town cesarean (even though they live locally to us), so we will be making the road trip down to meet him.
As we stay available for any help the new mama may need (and hopefully some baby snuggles, eventually!), I will likely not be blogging much in the next couple weeks. (You’re welcome to keep sending your notes & inquiries, though. I do enjoy them.)
Thank you for your patience during this new season for our family. I am so excited to introduce some new projects for you when fall arrives! Make sure to get subscribed for free in a reader or by email, so that you’ll know when I write a new post.
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How quickly this year has passed! One year ago, we rejoiced at your birth, and embarked upon the adventure of life with our new son.
As we had bonded with you before your birth, we were readily familiar with many of the amusing and distinctive highlights of your personality and mannerisms, which became even more obvious once you were in our arms.
That sharp, repetitive twitchy kick of your foot when you’re hungry and the way you curl your toes, the fluttering wave of your hands when surprised by your sister, the excitement at Daddy’s voice, the way you insist on snuggling with Mama in the middle of the night (feel free to start sleeping now, though, lad), your calm in a soothing massage…
Your exuberant joy at singing times and meal times, your fascination with vehicles, your thrill of the outdoors (while munching on tidbits from the garden), your certain determination in knowing what you want (we can’t change your mind!), your studious approach to discovering the world around you...
We love knowing you, cherishing you, and thanking God for the precious gift of you.
As we wrestle in prayer over you, we anticipate God’s amazing plans for your life. We eagerly await to see how He reveals Himself to you and through you in the days to come, as He raises you up to be a man of God.
May you always passionately listen for His voice, sweet boy.
A few rainy days earlier this week brought a hint of the coming autumn. Although the roses and zinnias still bloom brightly along our front walkway, and the garden still yields bite-sized delights, I feel a new season tip-toeing in.
by Jenny Ryan. I have a dear friend heading overseas soon for missions work, and I wanted to send her off with a little “travel-sized” gift.
), Eggs
