Making Apple Butter

Greetings loved ones!

Today was a fabulously perfect Fall day. The boys and I spent the better part of it "helping" make apple butter at a friend's farmet. That's right apple butter--slow cooked (5 hours to be exact), in Great-granddad's brass kettle, stirred with the wooden paddle grandpa made over an open flame. Apple butter has never tasted so yummy.

SO how did we help? Well, Mom mostly stirred the pot. The boys would wander over to help me stir, when they took a break from chasing chickens, making mud pies, running through the buckwheat, playing in the wood pile, climbing trees, chasing the girls, and all the other fun things boys do when they are turned lose on five acres. I really had a hard time rounding them up and then convincing them they really needed to come back home and live with me. "Yes, the Pyle's are great people, but wouldn't you miss your mother?" "But Mom, I need to say 'good-bye' to the chickens." "Oh, I understand I am sure the chickens will miss you." You get the picture!

This was one of our "homeschool" gatherings. There are several families at St. Anne's who are homeschooling and we thought it would be fun to get together once-a-month (maybe more frequently in the future) and work on a project, go on a field trip, or just enjoy one another's company. Truth be told, once the fun of using the apple coring/peeling contraption was over, the Mom's took over stirring. It was great for me and it gave us grown-ups a chance to fellowship. Here a few pix of the day.

Love to you all. Come see us soon!

Jodi

puppies and their boys...

Greetings loved ones!

Some of you have been asking me about the dogs. Well, there are a couple pix here of them right after we got them, a few months ago. They are much bigger now, but these pix should give you an idea about their coloring, etc.

Koda


Comfy (and clean I am sure!) kitchen floor:


The Lego doghouse:


Hayden (our real puppy) is creeping and "crawling now!


Kenai


Things seem busy here even when things are normal. Today, Daddy's day off, as the boys call it, was rainy and grey--a great day for a visit to the American Museum of Science and Energy here in Oak Ridge. They have a fun exhibit up about animation and we had a blast animating ourselves and playing with the camera displays. We also tried the Van de Graaff. It sends static electricity through your body and makes your hair stand up. Asher is particularly brave about trying new things. He wanted to be the first volunteer to go up and stick his hand on the machine. No fear, that one. Dad and Mom tried it to. Elias watched with enjoyment from the comfort of his seat. What a way to spend a rainy day!

Love to all (Hayden is awake now and crying in the next room--duty calls)!

Jodi

LoveYourLabor.com

My new doula site just went live! Thanks for checking it out and linking to it if you have a site...

www.LoveYourLabor.com

~ Jodi

Papa...

I came accross some pix of my Papa and thought I would share them with you all.

With his great-grandsons..



A meeting of the minds...

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy...

Does this turtleneck make my neck look fat?

My Guys!

So this may only account for 50% of the men in my life, but ... Here there are, Asher and Elias. Asher has been asking lately about "his" glasses. Being that everything his big brother does, has, wants, likes, dislikes, must be the way things go for him as well, he was wanting some glasses too. I happened to find these and the fact that they have no lenses makes them harmless for his perfectly great eyesight. I think they fit his personality, don't you?

My website is up and running! Know any pregnant women in East Tennessee? Send them to LoveYourLabor.com

Love to all,

Jodi

Much Ado...

So, when you post as infrequently as I do there tends to be quite a pile-up of events and happenings.

My dear Papa has gone to heaven, only a couple weeks before his 85th birthday. He died on September 11th and I miss him. I know we live far away from "the farm", but knowing he's not there changes things. We all gathered for the funeral. It truly was the first time we had all been together like that since my wedding in January 1999. All, except Papa. Here are a few pictures of the family and one of Papa the week before he died. The kind folks at his dialysis center had a bit of a party for those celebrating their birthday's in September.

Blessings!

Jodi