The Legacy of Home

Ah Mrs. White, you took the words right out of my ...

2012-05-31T15:49:41.219-04:00

Ah Mrs. White, you took the words right out of my mouth. And what is really sad is that after I finally get around to what I should have done earlier I almost always say to myself, "Now that wasn't too bad!" And the weight off my mind is worth just getting things done.

Nicole in MD

Enjoy your garden and the good, fresh food! I grew...

2012-05-31T11:28:19.248-04:00

Enjoy your garden and the good, fresh food! I grew broccoli in the garden plot my friend lets me have in her backyard (my home has little yard that we own as we back up to a park...lots of green space, but I can't plant there!) and I made the mistake of not harvesting it soon enough, and then it "bolted" (I think that's what it's called), meaning it flowered and that ruined the broccoli heads, so we didn't get to eat it. So keep an eye on it!

Blessings,
Lori

This is just the encouragement that was needed tod...

2012-05-31T11:09:33.904-04:00

This is just the encouragement that was needed today! I'm going to print it out and put it in my Bible--if I can get the printer to work. :-)

Blessings--
Dana

Beautiful post with a beautiful picture. We do ...

2012-05-31T10:09:39.772-04:00

Beautiful post with a beautiful picture.

We do make a difference!

Amen and amen.
d on the prairie

I so appreciate your candidness here. It is hard s...

2012-05-31T00:37:12.524-04:00

I so appreciate your candidness here. It is hard sometimes to be "real" when you blog and show that things aren't always perfect. Thank you for having courage to blog painful moments as well as joys.
This is an older post, and I hope that things have resolved and are peaceful today. Blessings!

Great post! I too have a habit of taking on more ...

2012-05-30T23:56:25.113-04:00

Great post! I too have a habit of taking on more than I am comfortable with. I am getting better at it, but it is hard to explain to others why I am saying "no". It is more important for my family that they have a wife and mother who focuses totally on them rather than running around trying to get things done for everything I have signed up for. (Not to mention I am then stressed and grumpy which is not good at all.) Some day my children will all be gone and it will just be my husband and I and I will have more time for things like that.

You are so right about money going quickly. There...

2012-05-30T13:57:24.025-04:00

You are so right about money going quickly. There are times that I am quite frugal. Other times, I seem to throw money at a problem. Oh for frugal consistency.
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

I couldn't agree more :-) With my two sons, I...

2012-05-29T18:54:26.257-04:00

I couldn't agree more :-) With my two sons, I always felt it was important that they learn a marketable skill of some sort as part of their homeschool education. At the age of 15, we travelled to Ohio (we're in Chicagoland) so my oldest could train with a master sharpener. The next summer, he opened his knife sharpening booth at our local farmers market, and he's served our community in great numbers for the last 5 years. He's also trained his younger brother, who handles most of the work now that Bryan is in New York apprenticing on a sheep farm. Bryan will always sharpen as part of his income; Nathan leaves for college in the fall to study electrical engineering...he plans to get his PhD and do research in nanotechnology, but I am so grateful that he has a skill he can fall back on to earn money for himself and his family if things don't work out the way he hopes. I have served as their "front desk girl" in the business all these years, at home and at the markets, and I've LOVED having this family cottage industry! My dh has a great and steady job as an architect, and we are blessed that he provides for us so well. But he is not at home much, so there is always a trade-off. It is a blessing to possess the industrial wherewithall to take your skills, no matter how great or how small, and use them to serve the community and make money for the family.

Thanks for your wonderful posts, as always!

Blessings,
Lori

Great post, as always!

2012-05-29T12:10:52.768-04:00

Great post, as always!

In celebration of my 3rd year and 300th post, you ...

2012-05-29T11:04:37.460-04:00

In celebration of my 3rd year and 300th post, you and your dear readers are invited to enter my anniversary give-a-way. Please hurry, the drawing will be held on Friday, June 1, 2012.
Blessings,
Mrs.B

my children rarely watch tv, and when they do, it ...

2012-05-29T10:42:20.692-04:00

my children rarely watch tv, and when they do, it is more often a video, or public television, which has no adds. one day i needed to go to Toys R Us (which i dont think any of my kids have ever been in prior to this) my neice was asking for a specific item for her birthday, and i new i could only find it at that store. my husband and i were almost in tears, laughong so hard as our children looked around amazed and in wonder of all the toys. they had never seen, or heard of anything we saw that day. my husband and i felt a great sence of pride, but im sure that any onlooker thought that we must keep our poor children locked in a closet all day lol. i can still hear my sweet daughter (who is 9 and still loves baby dolls) "mom look! this baby has a potty, and i think it really goes!"

Oh, yes. We have been blessed to be a TV-free...

2012-05-28T21:04:16.820-04:00

Oh, yes.

We have been blessed to be a TV-free household, and since I can't stand the radio, we rarely listen to it.

Avoiding commercials is one very practical way of obeying the 10th commandment.

I hate commercials...and nowadays I get them mainly from the internet. So thank you for not including any in this post! :)

What has been hard for me is that my husband is no...

2012-05-28T11:56:04.799-04:00

What has been hard for me is that my husband is not in agreement with the importance of me staying home. I have been home with my 2 year old since she was born and it has gotten harder and harder. My husband is unwilling to make any other sacrifices and wants me back to work now at a good paying job full-time! I've tried things from home and now have a position that will help a little but it's not good enough for him. It's very trying and stressful and incredibly hard on our marriage. He thinks our daughter will be fine at a babysitters and doesn't realize how hard it will be on us for me to work full-time. He will have to help around the house, I won't be able to do it all. I've been an emotional mess about this. I love being home, I thought once I was home that all would be good but it's a constant struggle.

Excellent post Mrs. White! I find most commercials...

2012-05-28T10:57:16.003-04:00

Excellent post Mrs. White! I find most commercials to be just another form of brainwashing and resent the invasion of my privacy.
Life is made of choices and I do not like anyone to make it for me.
And yes, life would be so much simpler, very true!
Blessings to you and yours on this national day of Remembrance!

Mrs. White, It has been forever since I have had a...

2012-05-27T21:23:07.583-04:00

Mrs. White,
It has been forever since I have had a chance to visit your blog. I am always encouraged by your posts. I would love to be able to get my hands on these old magazines that you speak of :) Unfortunately my grandmother passed away in the midst of teaching me the art of homemaking. My mother was a single mom of 4 and had to work. Everything I am learning is on my own. I want to pass down these important skills to my girls so they do not feel behind.
Blessings,
Sarah L.
Also I started a new blog called eat-live-and-be-full.blogspot.com

Hello Mrs. White, Thank you so much for stopping ...

2012-05-26T16:58:08.415-04:00

Hello Mrs. White,

Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting on my blog. I've had an opportunity to read a few post on your blog and will certainly return for more!
I too enjoy the wisdom and encouragement found in older publications. Although we are not Old Order Mennonite,I currently subscribe to an Old Order Mennonite publication, "Keepers at Home". I have found the articles, recipes and home making tips to be true blessings and a source of encouragement.
I look forward to future visits to your blog.
Blessings,
Mrs.B

Beautiful thoughts as usual. I'm going to sta...

2012-05-26T13:54:02.774-04:00

Beautiful thoughts as usual. I'm going to start a load of laundry right now!

Then I'm going to tidy up.

Then I'm going to make something yummy for dessert.

Blessings to you from Harvest Lane Cottage!

I love your blog, whenever I feel discouraged I ju...

2012-05-26T13:13:43.307-04:00

I love your blog, whenever I feel discouraged I just read one of your blog posts and it ministers to me so much..I love it when you put new blog posts up too =)

I wish i could say I learned those old ways, but w...

2012-05-26T12:19:45.353-04:00

I wish i could say I learned those old ways, but when I came to Christ, he had to teach me everything anew!

This is very inspiring, though!

Dearest Mrs. White, Sweet sweet blessings to you!!...

2012-05-26T11:58:20.660-04:00

Dearest Mrs. White,
Sweet sweet blessings to you!!! Magazines like this today would be a treat. Instead I'm on the internet craving old fashioned advice. I'm a magazine lover and save so many of them.
God bless and may you have a pleasant week-end,
d on the prairie

I linked to your blog in my latest post. I hope y...

2012-05-24T09:35:11.977-04:00

I linked to your blog in my latest post. I hope you can visit there today.

I love this post! I love being in my home and car...

2012-05-24T08:42:48.861-04:00

I love this post! I love being in my home and caring for all the things that "home" entails. It's the place that God has created me for and I love taking care of it and my family.

I do remember the days when once a year I went wit...

2012-05-23T20:47:53.094-04:00

I do remember the days when once a year I went with my mother to the department store to purchase 5 new dresses for the new school year.

It was always looked forward to.
After school each day I was taught to take my school dress off, hang it up, then put on play clothes so as to take special care of those new clothes.

Receiving hand-me-down things from my older cousin was a real treat. My Aunt always handmade her dresses and they were beautiful.

Learning to make my own clothes felt like a gift from God as my mother and homemaking teacher patiently taught me why and how to sew. I still love it today at 62yrs.

Thank you for sharing these memories with us. I look forward to hearing more in the future and am looking forward to teaching my own granddaughters to sew one day.

Mrs. J

Thank you for the reminder to work diligently, but...

2012-05-23T16:31:40.626-04:00

Thank you for the reminder to work diligently, but slowly. It's my habit to work hastily, and I've made some mistakes along the way because of that. I often get anxious because of all that I feel I have to do, and as I rush from one task to the next, the nervousness only builds. That's no way to keep a home (especially because I really and truly love doing so!).

Also, "yes, yes, and yes" to everything that Illinois Lori said. Especially the bit about oversized houses. Cozy homes are the best!

Hi Sharon! I've been way too negligent in comm...

2012-05-23T14:38:01.298-04:00

Hi Sharon! I've been way too negligent in commenting here, though I read each post with great joy as it arrives in my email! I love the "routine" that you establish in housekeeping, the orderliness of not only the home, but the art of homemaking itself.

The problem that I see, especially in suburbia today, is that we simply have too much, and we are unable to care for it. In times past, folks who had large homes filled with nick-nacks also had maids and butlers who did nothing but clean and care for said nick-nacks. Such homes were reserved for the rich. I have a spacious home, and have, like most of my contemporaries, filled it with way more stuff I need in the name of "decorating," and am now facing the overwhelmedness that results. With my mil moved into assisted living, we have been cleaning out her house (the estate sale is in June), and I've had to really resist the urge to pull more "stuff," other than a few very precious Victorian-era collectibles (I posted about one of my "restoration" projects on my blog) and family heirlooms and photographs/history items. I'm looking carefully at my own home full of stuff, and know that I will have a TON for the garage sale my friend and I are having!

Thanks for yet another wonderful post :-)

God bless you!
Lori