Spring Sightings

It has been very warm here, especially since we have not been able to run our cooler during the past week.  Last week, our roof started leaking from our cooler, so we had to stop using it.  It has gotten up to 87 degrees in the house most days.  But hopefully that is fixed now.  These things in life are when we must learn contentment in all circumstances.  I am very thankful that the cooler is fixed now, but we still have ceiling damage to get taken care of.

 Not too long ago, I also suffered a miscarriage.  Just a week after we found out we were expecting, and our little one was gone to be with the Lord.  It has been a very hard thing, as everyone was so excited to have a new baby in the house.  There were so many discussions with the children in that week, as they excitedly talked about what the baby might look like, if it would be a boy or a girl, remembering how babies smell and the sweet noises they make.  But the Lord is good, and it was His will that our baby should be in Heaven with Him now.  I am reminded of the many women who have not been able to have any children here on this earth, and how it must break their hearts.  I am very thankful to the Lord that He has seen fit to bless us with several children on this earth.

But we continue to learn and grow, clinging to Christ in the midst of life's toils and trials, and really, we have so much to be thankful for.  We know in this life we will have tribulation, but the Lord says to be of good cheer, as He has overcome the world.

We have had other things to enjoy this Spring, like beautiful sunsets:

One of our daughters requested this cake for her birthday.  It was made a few weeks late, as we had so much going on during her birthday week.  It is called "Chocolate Berry Wedding Cheesecake".  It was good, but I think I did not put enough coconut sugar in it.  I will have to make adjustments for next time.

And then, we have had these lovely bright yellow birds at our hummingbird feeder recently.  I believe they are orioles.  They are very timid--you have to sneak up on them without making a sound, and without making a noise either.  They make quite a lot of noise themselves, but they are really beautiful.  I managed to take some pictures of a male.

I have been so busy this week that I have had the older girls cook all the meals.  But at least they are getting more practice, and I am sure glad I trained them when they were younger and taught them how to cook!  Now I just must not forget to teach the younger ones too.  The children are having homemade thin mint milkshakes for breakfast.  They really enjoy them.

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Enjoying the Warm Weather

The weather here has been like Spring.  The days have been so warm, we've had our windows open all day.  I had meal planning to do this evening, but the children beckoned me to come see the sunset.  It really was beautiful.  What a wonderful, creative God we serve.

After watching the beautiful sunset, the children started a game of dodge ball, just like we would play with Daddy.  Instead of them chasing him though, the children were going after me.  Creative said I was like a little girl the way I was screaming and running away.  Well, it is good to stay youthful :)

After a little while, the ball bounced off somebody and went into the neighbor's yard.  So we then had a game of freeze tag.  I'm sure we stayed out much too late, as it was way past dinnertime when we finally came in.  I whipped up some blueberry pancakes with sprouted flour, and we had a late dinner.  But I suppose these spontaneous times are needed occasionally.  I  know we all had fun.
 

Life is so busy right now and much is on my mind.  It seems there are always trials in life, and the Lord deals more to some than others.  While making dinner, I put on some Scripture Songs and was reminded of the promises and goodness of God, and comforted by the Psalms.

When in a trial, it also does good to go over the things you have to be thankful for.  Some of my list right now:  my wonderful, Godly husband; my beautiful and special children; God's provision; God's sovereignty; times of joy and fun; being able to run around with the children; and having our good and gracious Heavenly Father on our side.

I hope you are well, my dear readers ♥

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The Beauty of a Changing Sky

I don't know about you, but I love to watch the sky and the sunsets.  I think we have some of the most beautiful sunsets here.  It makes me think of how wonderful our Creator is, to create and "paint" such majestic beauty in the sky every evening.

I wanted to share some of our sunset pictures with you.  These are all from the same evening, last July.  At times, half the sky was brilliant blue, while the other half was fire-y orange.  I would love to enjoy the sunset every evening, but sometimes other things get in the way.

I hope you will take a moment to enjoy these pictures and also to enjoy your own sunsets, wherever you are.  Enjoying the outdoors and God's creation can help you to feel peaceful and put your mind at ease, and give you a much-needed rest from the busyness of life.

God is an amazing artist and wonderful creator!

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note, I only endorse products that are in alignment with Blessed Homemaking's ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Savor Moments--Improve Your Photography Skills

 
One of the thoughts that creeps into my mind frequently is, “Why couldn’t I capture that moment in time perfectly?” That beautiful sunset witnessed from our back yard. My child’s first belly laugh. The expression of joy on my daughter's face at her birthday party. I don’t want to forget any of it.
It’s SO important to savor it all… to relish those moments. But you know what’s equally important, if you ask me? To be able to look back and relish those moments all over again. A month from now. A year from now. Fifty years from now.

And that’s where photographs come in. These days, it’s so easy to get snap-happy at a moment’s notice: we just reach into our purses for our smartphones or miniscule cameras and start clicking away at anything and everything.

The problem is… it’s so easy for those photos to come out badly! You think you’ve taken a wonderful picture of your beautiful boy standing by himself for the first time, but actually you’ve managed to capture the moment when he falls down and starts wailing! You think you’ve snapped a stunning image of a horse galloping along the beach, but actually it’s just a dark blob against an overexposed background. You think you’ve achieved the perfect shot of your wonderful parents laughing together on their anniversary, but you take a look and you’ve managed to capture… a blur.
If you can relate, I have good news for you! My friends Ryan and Steph at Ultimate Bundles have put together an incredible product to help with your photography woes. It’s called The Ultimate Digital Photography Bundle (Beginner’s Edition), and it contains a curated collection of ebooks and video training guides to help you become a better photographer.



All the resources have been provided by professional, world-renowned photographers who are experts in teaching others – even complete beginners. You won’t need to switch up to a more expensive camera to make full use of the bundle (even if you just use your iPhone for photographs), and you don’t need to neglect your family for weeks upon weeks of training! You can learn everything in little chunks – whenever you have a spare moment.

Click here to see the full range of ebooks and training courses included in The Ultimate Photography Bundle (Beginner’s Edition).

There’s even better news! Everything in the bundle has a combined total value of $555, but for this week only, The Ultimate Bundles Team is selling the entire bundle for just $37 – a discount of more than 90%! What’s more, they’re also throwing in a FREE copy of FX Photo Studio Pro software from MacPhun (which provides stunning filters and photography effects) worth $29.99!

Click here to buy The Ultimate Digital Photography Bundle (Beginner’s Edition) for just $37.

No blurriness, no exposure nightmares, no bad angles. Just perfect, happy memories!

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note, I only endorse products that are in alignment with Blessed Homemaking's ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Photography Lessons!

I enjoy photography so much!  I love to take pictures of God's creation and of course my children.  I love to be out in the evening when the sun is setting and see and capture the different "paintings" God paints in the sky at every sunset.  I was blessed to be able to take a couple of years of photography in high school.  Some of my daughters really enjoy photography too and want to learn more about it!  The above picture is a recent photograph one of my daughters took.



If you have an interest in photography, then you should be happy to know about a couple of freebies!  The first is for the beginning photographer--a FREE Photo Composition Guide.  This guide will help you take pictures that make you look like a Pro while telling your family's story in memorable ways. This free guide is for you... even if you're new to photography... or if you think you stink at taking photos... even if you don't love social media...and even if your only camera is your phone!​



The second freebie is for the intermediate or pro photographer.  This one is a Free Mastering Lightroom's Develop Module eBook.  In this ebook, pro Andrew Gibson shares his actual step-by-step workflow for streamlining post-processing.

I hope you enjoy these freebies and have a blessed day! 

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note, I only endorse products that are in alignment with Blessed Homemaking's ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God's Beautiful Creation (As Captured by My Daughter)

Hello Dear Readers,

How are you doing today?  I hope well.  We are getting over a cold.  My children are coughing this morning, so we're mixing up some homemade cough medicine, and later I will sit down with each one of them and find a suitable homeopathic remedy for them.

If I haven't published your comment recently, I am just behind and will try to get to it soon and then pay you a visit!

Today, I just want to share a few pictures with you that Cherished of God took back in the late summer time.  She enjoys taking pictures and has taken some beautiful shots of God's marvelous creation.  A few of them are a bit blurry because the camera isn't that great.  I hope you enjoy them.

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note, I only endorse products that are in alignment with Blessed Homemaking's ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------