I'm an American who lives in West Africa where the high today was 101 and will be 104 tomorrow. And I love Maine. So much that it's where I thought I would live my adult life, where I plan to retire, and where I spent my special 10th anniversary trip with my husband.... And with that as context, I just want to say THANK YOU. It is in fact a wonderland. So beautiful. Such a stark contrast to the sand dunes that surround me. Your blog is total eye candy and feeds my soul. Soule!

yes please!

yes please! would love to make good use of these lovely fabrics!

thanks for the color inspiration. so much about this space that I want to recreate for my little ones. especially the joy in color. enjoy your weekend!

what joy! blessings to you in this season of preparation and anticipation.

this is fabulous. LOVE that you have started on your christmas gifts already. I really want to learn to knit. my boys would LOVE their own monsters for christmas. hmmmm... was it very difficult? how many hours did it take? thanks for the inspiration.

hot season in Niger means swimming pools and mangoes. our days our full of this moment lately... http://daveandhope.thejohanssons.net/?p=1919 ps- if any of you can determine why wordpress is messing up all my titles, please leave me a comment. i'm totally befuddled by it. :)

I just love this. Our African life limits what we can grow, but oh how I enjoy visiting the cherry tree we gave to my husband's parents almost ten years ago now on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. It is such a blessing to see the growth every year and measure the changes in you against the back drop of the growth of the green things outside. And making this farm your home- planting the things you love and will harvest in years to come. What a joy. Thank you so, Amanda, for letting us share in your world. what beauty. and bravo C!

looks like heaven to me. VA in the spring is just so beautiful. We're excited to be heading back this summer. Can't wait to dip my toes in the Atlantic and say hello to the Dogwoods. Love from Africa, mama. You're inspring! (haha)

YES please. I have an almost-five year old who would love to make an S! We'll be back to America just in time for some fun summer crafting!

my moment http://daveandhope.thejohanssons.net/?p=1860

thank you. thank you. thank you. i miss new england. i crave it. i can smell that salty sea weed and feel the sun trying to break through the cold spring air. i will be there in two months. i crave it, so. it's one of many reasons that i come here. we are in the middle of hot season here. all beach, no ocean. amanda, that shot of your belly is so beautiful. as is your grace. how is it that i feel like we are friends, and yet you don't know me. this is a tribute to all that you pour into this space. thank you.

So glad to find that you are back, Eren. We have left our "Africa house" as my Sammy says, and are in our "Virginia house". So, I share in all your Mama-delight over watching boys play in the snow until they literally come in side crying from being cold. Oh the joy. Reminds me of my childhood in Houston when ANY frozen precipitation closed school for a week. I love your description of the Southerner's freak out over the snow. Hope your head and your heart have found a happier, healthier place. I have honestly said some prayers for you these last few months. Thanks for your sacrifice. Hope

Sweet Amanda, you are so good at keeping a positive attitude. What an inspiration. I'm praying that God will continue to help you see the joy and beauty in the small things. Please send Steve our encouragement too and let him know that we are praying daily for his healing. It's crazy how attached we can become to your family by reading your words here daily. Thank you for that. What an honor that you draw strength from us. Grace and peace to you, friend. Love from Africa, Hope

I think that Harper's sweet little face is beginning to gain a little Soule. Do you see the faces of Calvin and Ezra (and maybe a little Ada) there Mama? I think I do in that first photo. LOVE IT. My family and I have been in West Africa for 2.5 years and we are delighted that we will be in New England just before Turkey Day. We are so excited to NEED wool and knitted things. I'm wishing every day I had the tools needed to learn to knit, but it's probably good I'm being forced to wait. I've got plenty on my plate right now with a quilt I'm trying to finish and other christmas crafts on my list. BUT you have inspired me, Amanda, and I'm determined to learn before Feb when baby #3 arrives. I'm looking forward to many fire side moments with needles and yarn. AND I'm really looking forward to needing the fire to stay warm instead of sweating my way through the winter like last year and the year before! Thanks for all those beautiful Mainish photos! (sorry this is so long!)

So glad I stopped by and saw this post. It completely inspired me. We made our own super soup today to the delight of everyone. And now I'm relishing the fact that we get to have the leftovers for dinner. Thanks for such a simple, healthy, and easy dinner idea. And please know that for every comment you get here, there are at least 10 more people out there who thought it, but didn't comment. Keep it up! We love it!

at our house it's lavender for sure! maybe mixed with a little rosemary.

Thanks for this post. It brought me home and made me think of my Grandma Great. She made it for us every time we went to Livingston for a visit. After this post, I'm gonna have to make some for myself.

my heart swelled as I read this. Your boys are just a step in front of mine. May HE give you the strength to know how to handle those moments when he is not around. And thank you for the sacrifice that your family is making for all of us, at home and abroad. you're a good mama.

I'm so glad you posted this today. I've been in a lull in my quilt project (my first), but with your post and the news today that my machine is NOT broken (I thought it was), I'm feeling inspired to get working on it again tonight after the kids go to bed. Oh how I relish the evening crafting time when all is quiet in the house. Tonight I'll wonder if you're "quilting" aka piecing too! Your seat cushion makes me want to make some quilted place mats. The variations with a single log cabin square (or rectangle) are endless. I love it!

I, admittedly, haven't been around here very long, but I have to say this is my favorite post EVER by Eren. I want to encourage you not to feel like you have to wait too long before bringing the boys. My one year old and almost three year old LOVE Africa. They understand the culture way better than I do. If you can give your kids the opportunity to learn about how amazing blessed we are as Americans and how much need there is out there, DO IT. It will open a door for them. And, my kids have been so far so good on the 24 hours of traveling that we do to get to here. I guess I'm not going to be sending any dolls your way, but I might just steal your idea and make a few to give out in Niger. Your ARE inspiring. I love it!

I'm grinning from ear to ear. Thanks for being such a loving husband and father. The world needs more of you.

WOW! Thanks for this. I'm going to put my mom, the English prof, on the job of finding Sam and Nata a copy. Our dog is named Mike Mulligan. We call him Mulligan. That was my husbands fave as a kid.

Those birthday party days can sometimes be a bit emotional. I pray that you can step back and enjoy the flurry of activity (and I'm sure you can, you're so good at it!) I thought of your bread post today when we had the wheat berries laid out on the kitchen table after washing. This afternoon we will send them to the mill. Can't wait to taste that stone milled wheat bread!