OK , so I just thought that the sickness bug was leaving our home.  It seems to have my sweet husband in its grip & doesn’t want to fully let go. Poor thing.  He’s being a real trooper though.  Hoping today shows much improvement for him in that he’s feeling significantly better.   I know it makes for long days when you’re trying to do your job & you’re sick, & it’s even longer when your job means attending classes while you’re still not feeling up to par.  Thankfully, he’s able to come home & rest, for the most part. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been so glad to have really nice days with lots of sunshine & good breezes blowing.  I’ve taken full advantage of being able to hang my clothes out to dry again!  Brian laughs at me when I’m snuggling down in bed after the sheets have been hung outside that day & are now on the bed with that fresh, clean smell.  Our short conversation goes something like this:

me: (sheets up to nose & smelling that sweet smell)  Do you smell that?

Brian:  What?

me:  Sunshine?

Brian:  What does sunshine smell like?

me:  This!  (showing him the sheet)

Brian:  LOL  Oh! (big smile on his face)

It’s the little things in life that you love & appreciate the most, ya know?  And you don’t realize how much you miss them until you have them again.  Oh, how I wish I could bottle that scent.  To me, that is what clean is!  That wonderful smell you get when your laundry has been dried by the gentle breeze provided by the Almighty God!

Another reason that I am so glad that spring is just right around the corner is that it has come to that time of the year when I really start itching to get my hands (& feet – lol) dirty.  This past weekend would have been the perfect weekend to get the garden turned, but with my poor hubby sick, that had to be put on hold and will hopefully be done by this weekend.  I’ve been getting lots of seed catalogs in the mail and am in the process of laying out plans for my garden once again.  I’m really praying that this year’s garden will actually do something since the last 2 years have been failures due to the crazy weather. 

With grocery prices on the up again, I’m definitely wanting to try to get my garden in early enough that I can have a decent spring planting of lettuce, peas, broccoli, etc.  as well as get it ready for the summer produce.  With me not working now, this will really help to stretch our grocery budget even further.   Plus, I plan to can move than ever this year.  I want to put up as much as I can this year to help our grocery budget during the months when I can’t have a garden.  Not only does it help to save money, but it’s also healthier for us because I know what has NOT been put on our food that we are eating.

Another thing that I plan to take full advantage of this year is the farmer’s market. It’ll be a bit of a drive for me, but I plan to take full advantage of the local produce this year.  My goal is to not only make our money stretch as far as it can, but to also feed us using more fresh & local ingredients while they are in season.

God has so richly blessed our decision for me to finally quit working & becoming a full time homemaker that I am trying to make sure that I am honoring Him in all that I do.  This is such a wonderful privilege & blessing that I never want to take it for granted.   Brian & I want our home to be a place of honor & worship for our Lord, as well as a place of peace & happiness for our family.   I know we fall short a lot of the time, but I am so very thankful that He forgives & lets us (me) start anew each & every day (sometimes many times a day, lol).