a frame a day 2014

I take at least one photo every day. I have done this for the last three years. I cherish this collection of photos so much. It brings me pure delight to see our year in a frame a day. Here's a look at 2014. 

See also

 2013 

2012

Books I've Read in 2014

I really wanted to read more books than I did last year. It was actually a new year's resolution. But I haven't had as much time to read since moving to our homestead and homeschooling our kindergartener. Some days it's all I can do to stay awake until bed time because I'm so exhausted. It's an exhaustion that's a good exhaustion and filled with lots of joy, but I still haven't been able to read as much. So here's a look at this year's chronological list with a few little notes added after some of the books I read.

1. Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist
2. Growing into a Farm: Before the Walden Effect (Modern Simplicity) by Anna Hess
3. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (learned quite a few homesteading tricks)
4. Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another by Ellen Stimson (very entertaining)
5. An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler (gave me new inspiration to cook that I haven’t had in a long time)
6. Adopting an Abandoned Farm by Kate Sanborn (written in 1891, loved the peacock chapter)
7. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
8. Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet by Catherine Friend (now I really need some sheep!)
9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I’m convinced a garden can cure most anything.)
10. A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations by Mother Teresa of Calcutta (such a wonderful little treasure)
11. All Flesh Is Grass: Pleasures & Promises Of Pasture Farming by Gene Logsdon (great resource)
12. Stiches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott (bawled my eyes out reading a few of the chapters in this book)
13. More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity by Jeff Shinabarger (What is Enough? such a thought provoking read)
14. Beginner's Guide to Sustainable Homesteading: A Simple Plan From Buying Property To Succeeding Long Term by Shelby MacArthur (very quick read, didn’t really learn anything new)
15. Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions by Rachel Held Evans (I love Rachel Held Evans.)
16. Cold Antler Farm: A Memoir of Growing Food and Celebrating Life on a Scrappy Six-Acre Homestead by Jenna Woginrich (as usual with anything by Jenna Woginrich,  I loved it!)
17. The Quarter-Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn, and Fed My Family for a Year by Spring Warren and Jesse Pruet
18. Life, Love and Vintage Housekeeping by Alison May (a fun, easy read)
19. Ten Acres Enough - How A Very Small Farm May Be Made To Keep by Edmund Morris (written in the late 1800’s but is applicable to so many things today)
20. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (for Book Club)
21. The Giver by Lois Lowry (for Book Club)
22. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (not my favorite)
23. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (read aloud with Seth)
24. Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence Goldstone and Nancy Goldstone
25. The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom by Mary Griffith (thought provoking)
26. Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World by Ben Hewitt

Christmas 2014

This Christmas season included...

a nativity parade, caroling, 

 and an ugly sweater party

crafting homemade presents

silly family photos

 

a special Christmas Eve service

 

a few simple gifts

  

and our annual Happy Birthday, Jesus party

We hope your holiday season was filled with as much love and joy as ours.
Merry Christmas!

Happy Winter Solstice 2014!

On this darkest day of the year, we embrace the new season. Here's to eating dinner by candlelight, slowing down, and gaining strength to hit the ground running in Spring. Happy First Day of Winter!

from the {Little Barn Kitchen}

 a peek at what I've been cooking and we've been eating/drinking...

{Drinks}

 stinging nettle tea combined with a bit of honey

 

{Main Meals}

venison, homegrown potatoes, cooked (local) apples, and (local) tomato slices

  

pumpkin risotto with leftover venison, sheep's milk cheese, and peas

  

pork burger (local), mashed (local) potatoes, green beans, 

homemade with (local apples) applesauce, and homemade bread

 

(local) lettuce, (local) apples, (local) bacon, pecans, and olive oil 

 

{Snacks}

gluten free Chex Mix

 

 beautiful (local) apples turned into applesauce

 peanut butter cookies

{Gratitude} Lately

Every day I look around in amazement at all the 

beautiful, yet simple, things that I'm so thankful for.

Lately I've been grateful for...

 rooftop adventures and brave little boys

 

 cool kids

 

 two parades in one weekend

 Monday afternoon rituals

 little ones making connections all on their own

 

and second floor library shenanigans 

Our 2014 Christmas Tree

We have a full size Christmas tree this year! 

It's the first time in two years.

We cut it down from our own yard. 

We even bought a few new ornaments.  

It's not the prettiest, and it was a little painful to decorate, but we kind of love it.