The Housewife Journal ~ January 2025 ~

~ January 2025 ~ 

Will she ever get the journal posted in the correct month? I cannot say. For the record, I did write all but one paragraph of this one three days ago. The last few days of the month always get away from me...All I can say is that I'll try to do better this month!😉

January is just about behind us...It feels like we were just celebrating the new year and at the same time it feels like this month has lasted forever!! We currently still have our Christmas decorations up and I'm proud of us for keeping them up until February 2nd. Having them makes the wintertime a lot cheerier, especially on the extra freezing days we've had this month. If there is one thing I've learned about myself during these winter months, it's that I am definitely a summer sunshine girl. 

my little laundry buddy

Although there's something romantic about loving the winter and the cold, (and trust me, I've really tried to make myself like it this year) I've realized how much I really enjoy going outside during the day, bathing in the sun, feeding my chickens, and admiring my husband's garden. Even when I was nannying, my favorite thing was to sit in the sunshine and watch the kids entertain themselves, digging in the dirt.

Thankfully, It's almost Spring! Kind of. I suppose we need to get through Lent first, which is part of that long winter season after Christmastide. But that is a topic for another day.

 ~ Out And About ~

Last weekend I was able to go on an overnight hunting trip with my husband, sister, brother-in-law, and our precious goddaughter. It was something we did last year for the first time and decided to make a tradition out of it! Nobody got a deer, but we enjoyed some good quality time! My sister, and I showed our husbands, for the first time, my all-time favorite movie, Anne of Green Gables! (the 1985 version with Megan Follows of course) I think the men enjoyed it more than they let on...Talk about a movie that inspires you to go out in nature! 

Later in that same weekend, my sister-in-law got engaged!!! We went to her surprise party which brought back memories from our own party two years ago. A nostalgic weekend for sure! We are so excited to have another wedding in the family! God is so good!

~ In The Home ~

We hosted our very first guest in our new home this past week😊 My husband's cousin came down from Maine for another hunting trip. We hosted him here for two nights. We had a really nice time. Although it's hard to give up one-on-one time with my husband, and little things like morning coffee without the feeling that I need to be somewhat put together, it's a good sacrifice that led to lots of talking, laughter and a deepening relationship with a family member. Now that we've had one guest, it will be easy to offer our home to others later down the road.

~ Kitchen Happenings ~

I feel like I haven't been cooking much, even though we haven't been eating out a lot. Maybe it's because my husband's weekly men's group is back after Christmas break, and we've been at my parents for birthdays and football games a lot this month. More so than cooking, we have had a lot of fermenting going on in our kitchen.

Our homesteading section. Not ascetically pleasing but shows how far we've come in the area of homesteading...

My husband was given some Keifer, with the grains to go with it. He's made at least 6 jarfuls 8 or 9 jarfuls already and he drinks it daily. I'm not the biggest fan, but I do enjoy learning about the whole process. We have a scraps container for the compost pile (also a hubby project) and I have begun the sourdough process! More on that later... Oh, and I learned that sourdough discard can be added to a compost pile, a huge win for me!

~ Things I'm Grateful For ~

So much to be grateful for... I think after my husband left for his hunting trip, it made me grateful for him. I mean I'm always grateful for him and all he does, but It's very easy for me to take him for granted. Especially during the winter, when his work schedule is light. There are lots of days when he is only working for a couple hours if at all. 

And look- I'll admit I get a little grumpy in the winter. It's hard to do housework when your husband is home...not doing any housework...which leads to less getting done around the house. And I can't function in disorder. 

However, his absence made me realize that I didn't get married just to have an empty home to get work done. I got married to love and serve my husband. And things just don't feel quite right when he isn't next to me when I lay my head down at night. I'm so grateful God brought him into my life.💕

~ On The Bookshelf ~

I'm currently reading God Has No Grandchildren by Leila Lawler. So far, I like it! I will say, when I heard it was a guided reading of Casti Connubii, I didn't realize the whole document was part of the book. Not that I'm upset about it; it's nice to have an opportunity to read it and have a printed copy of it on hand. I'm not super far into it, so when I finish, I may give a full review.

~ My Spiritual Life ~

A new category! Mostly to motivate myself in this particular area. I want to deepen my prayer life, but I feel like whenever I start something, it lasts for a couple days and then life gets ahead of me. Then I drop the new habit and feel bad about my prayer life. It's a vicious cycle. In this first little entry, the only thing to do is to commit to morning prayer, even if I must get up before my husband's alarm. Next time I will write about how it's going. Wish me luck!