Helen Keller once said...

something along the lines of: "I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but my duty is to accomplish humble tasks as if they were noble and great."

I was thinking about this quotation the other day and feeling very much like my life consists of a long string of humble tasks that I try ever-so-hard to feel are noble and great.

However, I then had an "ah-ha!" moment, and a glorious lightbulb shone. My duty is to take care of my family and raise my children in righteousness. What more noble and great tasks could there be? If I am able to accomplish these two things, then I truly will feel that I have lived a life of greatness. So bring on the sinks full of dirty dishes, the sad cries of Dot at 2am, the goat milking, the endless vacuuming-up after a toddler--I'm ready for greatness!

Keeping Busy

We have been BUSY bees this fall,
but it has been a wonderful sort of busy.

This weekend we celebrated the 10 year anniversary
of the dedication of this beautiful building:

We have a lot of sweet memories at the Boston Temple
including our marriage in 2008.
Marty and I were lucky enough to speak at a Youth Devotional
and we loved having the girls on the grounds.
Dorothy was especially enchanted by the Temple.


We also took a family trip to Walden Pond to get some fresh air
(much needed after a sick and rainy week at home).

I love coming to visit Walden.
I'm hoping to make it a fall family tradition.

Dorothy hanging out with Auntie Eva--
my little bohemian child. Not surprising.

Apple picking with Aubrey, Char, and the mini Char.

Finishing up some fruit bars on a warm fall day.

Lots of walks when the weather cooperates.

And can you guess what one of the favorite
forms of entertainment has been at our house?
Who knew pumpkins were so versatile.

1. The Temple
2. Healthy Children
3. No School on Columbus Day!

The Weekend

What a busy and marvelous weekend!

We packed up Friday evening and drove to PA

to spend the weekend with my sister, Eva, doing THIS:

87 quarts of applesauce to enjoy until next fall.

We are full of fall fruit goodness.

We are also full spiritually from a wonderful

General Conference.

It was hard to catch everything with the kiddos

and making sure the applesauce got done,

so I look forward to listening to and reading

the talks again.

But it really was a wonderful conference.

I loved all the focus on

following the Prophet,

using our free agency for good,

improving and understanding our own faith,

and being grateful.

Oh, how wonderful to feel so FULL!

1. more food storage

2. inspiring words

3. some cool weather--finally!

Fall

I walked in from milking the goat this evening to the smell of roasted butternut, garlic, and sage. The air outside had started to cool down and the warmth of the house was inviting, especially mixed with fall scents.

I love this time of year. However, this year it feels even more satisfying. For one thing, I'm not morning sick for the first fall in two years! WOOHOO! I'm also feeling more satisfaction out of the harvest this time of year brings. I didn't do as much in the garden as I had hoped, but I look at the ever growing pile of winter squash and root vegetables and feel proud--and safe. We have food to eat for at least a few months.

I've been working hard to keep to my local foods pledge. We have frozen up kale, tomatoes, tomato sauce, green peppers, broccoli, shredded zucchini, rhubarb, peaches, blueberries, strawberry freezer jam, and all sorts of local meats. In a few weeks we'll be canning up applesauce. We're so grateful for all of our fresh milk, and we're amazed at how much can still come in from the garden. Oh, the wisdom of braising greens, winter squash, and root vegetables. I'm hoping that we'll get through to January on mainly local produce. We may need to supplement some non-local onions, garlic, and carrots. Our goal is to make it even further next year until we see our asparagus poke it's nose through that gorgeous brown soil. We're feeling closer to and ever more grateful for this beautiful Earth and the corner of New England in which we have the priviledge of living.

1. sweaters
2. freezers
3. piano lessons

let's get away from goats for a while...

The goats are great,

but these people are perfect:)

Lucy continues to be a mellow, sweet baby girl.

She is getting up on her hands or knees,

but hasn't quite figured out how to do both at once.

I'm afraid she might be crawling before she turns 5 months old.

A typical moment at our house:
Lucy enjoying life; Dot getting ready to do some damage.

We're always ready for damage control:)

Can you believe how big she is getting?

Speaking of BIG--

we enjoyed every bite of our farewell to summer sundae.

Just a mama and her Goose.

Another failed attempt at a nice Sunday morning picture.

Dot officially enters nursery this week!

Another shot of my beautiful first born.

I love my family!

1. needing a sweater for our walk today

2. new young couples moving into our ward--

but we still want Allison and Kent back!

3. a boatload of winter sqush ready to eat on my back porch.

Well, thank goodness we made it through the first few days of having goats. I guess it is kind of like having a child. That first week you're home from the hospital always leaves me worn out. Anywho, that said, I was cursing our decision on day two. It took Marty and I nearly an hour to tag-team milk our ONE goat (how pathetic are we?). However, it was done. The third day was Marty's first day of school. Hmm. That put a new stumbling block in our path. I had these glorious visions of me out in the early morn milking away while Dot played safely on the grass with the chickens and Lucy slept peacefully in her bed. HA! When we realized that would not work we said, okay, we'll just get up extra early and take care of it before school. So we waltzed out the front door a little after 5 am only to realize our barn has no light source and it was pitch black out. We ended up going out an hour later with the rising sun and barely making it back inside in time to get Marty dressed and off to school. That brought us to day 4 where we thought, why are we trying to milk in the morning when our goat is only milking once a day? We have since switched her to an evening milking schedule, and things are looking up. In fact, I am proud to say that today I was out to the barn and back with a quart and a half of milk in less than 25 minutes. Our new record:) (though still quite a novice time compared to muy sister-in-laws 5 minutes per goat).

But the process aside, we are really enjoying the *ahem* milk of our labors. I made ricotta for the first time, and it was a success! It was darn easy, too. If you have a place to get raw milk around you, give it a try! Tonight I set up for some crockpot yogurt. This I have made before, so I won't be giving myself nearly as many pats on the back if all goes according to plan.

Well, my little Dot is sick of me typing. I best be off. Time to slip some tomato skins and put me up some more tomaters for the cold months ahead. Boy howdy, do I love my life!

1. new skills
2. stronger hands
3. a day cool enough to put on a thin sweater

Welcome, three little goats: Hermoine, Daphne, and Selene.

We have some new friends here in Westport--

friends that are good at sharing (their milk).

We took on one milker and twin baby goats this weekend.

This morning was my first go at milking--

not so great.

I'll get the hang of it.

Hermoine is pretty patient with me,

and we're looking forward to all the tasty things we can do

with fresh goat milk.

Yogurt and ricotta are first on the list,

and we'll see what else we can come up with!

Stay tuned...

1. knowing where my milk comes from

2. knowing my fingers will get stronger

3. knowing fall is just around the corner!