Conversations about Heaven (amongst the children):
“We will become automatic vegetarians. Of course, I may be wrong.”
“Did you know we will have a feast in Heaven? And YOU, (pointing at Jacob), you said you would eat all the meatballs and sausages.” (so much for being vegetarians)
“How old will we be in Heaven? I hope when I die I’m this same age. I like this age.”
“Will there be computers in Heaven?” … “No, there will be no need. Why have a computer when you can go outside and play? And, we can go over to Grandma and Grandpa’s mansion anytime we want to.”
“Will we all be the same height? I hope not, I think it would be rather boring if we were all the same height.”
“I can’t wait to DIE!”
“As soon as I get saved I’m going to kill myself so I can go to heaven.” (said Davy-do) Mama was alarmed at that one and had to interject… “God will take you to heaven when it’s time. Right now you just enjoy living here on earth.”
“We will be able to do somersaults and cartwheels. Perfectly.”
“Jacob said he wants to climb to the top of the tallest building and jump off!”
“I can’t wait to fly. I’ve always wanted to fly, sometimes I dream about flying.”
“You won’t be flying into Heaven. You’ll walk. Through the pearly gates. And on the golden streets.”
“I wonder if there will be dinosaurs in Heaven?” …. “NO! They will be BONES!” (answered Davy-do)
Then, there was an argument about who would own what pets. Grace bothered her brothers, because “she wanted to hog them all.”
~When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!~
I read a quote once, from Corrie Ten Boom, who said that Heaven was one area in which we could let our imaginations soar, because it is a place better than any of us could imagine! Somehow, I think the children’s conversations were a good thing, even if there was nary a word about God Himself. I know He understands.
Here are the random photos I promised…..
My sister loves this picture, she’s whispering sweet nothings into Sethie’s ear.
The list of things the maids cleaned for me. I look at this list and think with a thrill, “And I didn’t have to do a single one of these things myself!”
On the weekends, Rich likes to gather the children around the table for quiet working time. They all have to sit, including Caleb, but when I took this picture there were only three children remaining.
I remember seeing, on another family’s blog, a picture of their homeschooled boy holding their newborn. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever. I didn’t imagine at the time that I would be blessed enough to see the same thing in my own home. . . .big brother holding baby brother while working on Math. . . makes me smile. . . .
My sister’s boy Weston is curious about Seth. Her daughter Naomi adores him. And David is the protector.
We had a new wood pellet stove installed last week.
Seth LOVES his swing, which has a mirror and “dangling friends” above it for him to delight in.
We met Amanda at Barnes and Noble on Monday. Here is Caleb and Weston playing with the choo-choo’s.
Do you remember the little t-shirts I embroidered for Seth before he was even born?
They still fit! (ha ha, I wish)
As I promised my friend, Joanna, who recently took an evil delight in serving her family octopus, here is a picture of some calamari (similar enough to ocopus IMO, calamari is squid)…..Rich loves it…..we had this as our appetizer on Tuesday when we went out for his birthday. There were also some fried hot peppers mixed in. YUM!
See the weeny little squids?
Yesterday, my dear friend Tammy came over with her two little ones. She brought a microscope so that she could teach my children a science class. They had so much fun gathering things to look at. She carefully showed them the parts of the microscope and had all of the children involved in preparing the slides and handling the equipment. They listened intently and we looked at so many different things…including a piece of brownie and some milk!
While I was writing all this the boys brought in 2 salamanders that they caught out of the pond. This is the first time (first times are exciting, yes?) they caught such things……and it was quite something to see them crawling across my desk. No, I didn’t take a picture of that, but only ’cause my camera wasn’t ready. 
As I was reminded this week as I read a favorite book, “TODAY IS YOUR LIFE”….so, enjoy the day today…go through it with eyes wide open, or a camera in your hands, ready to capture and record the sweetness God sends your way. His blessings are many and His love is amazing! A thankful heart is a happy heart.
Have a wonderful Thursday, all!….love, your pal, ~Shanda
Good to be Home 
Loved reading the kids’ comments about heaven. Know what I’m looking forward to? No more sleep. I won’t have to. It will be a non-issue! No more exhaustion. No more grumpiness! Yea!!!
Love the pictures!! I especially liked the “heaven conversation”. It is beautiful to hear children talk about Christ!
Oh my goodness. This was a wonderful post. I believe that my favorite picture is the one of your sister “whispering to” Seth.So sweet.
Great, great pictures. I love the glimpses you offer into your family. And I love hearing the smile in your words again. And I love the checklist from Molly Maids…woo-hoo!! Enjoy your day sweet far-away friend.
Kids say the darnest thing. That was cute
I loved the quotes and the pics. What a beautiful family you have!
My first sentence in my journal entry this morning is “A thankful heart is a happy heart!”
Loved all the picture except the one of Lunch ewwww! Tammy is so nice I bet the kids loved the lesson. Can’t wait till Saturday! YIPPY 🙂 Have a great rest of the day Love you ~Sissy
The kids conversation cracked me up!! So sweet!
The discussion about heaven is absolutely delightful to read – well except the part about getting saved and killing oneself to unable speedy access through the pearly gates!!!I’m amazed at Seth’s growth. Hugs, dear Shanda!
Seth is a darling boy! the ransom pics are wonderful – I enjoyed the heaven conversations… 😉 Blessings on your day there and Happy April!
My kids love to talk about Heaven too! It is so sweet to hear the excitement in their voices. The picture of Seth in his tshirt made me laugh outloud! His round tummy is so cute! I can’t say that the calamari looks good, but the peppers look good. Enjoy the rest of your day, friend!
I am laughing at the conversation. . . that is so precious!
The heaven conversation was a hoot! What a blessing to get to listen in! Seth is growing so much so fast! Did the bib ever fit him at all? What a cutie-pie he is!
That is so nice to have your sister over like that. I like all the pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us & I would love for my house to be cleaned like that to:)
All that I’ve missed over the past few months! We’ve had a rough winter, and I haven’t been on much, but I took some time here this afternoon drinking in the joy I see in your life, Shana! What blessings God has bestowed upon you …. I want to thank you for sharing them …. all! I look forward to more! Have a wonderful day! ~ Deborah <><
You sound as if you are doing great! I loved this post. I loved the childrens’ conversation about heaven. There is nothing like childlike enthusiasm. We could all stand a dose of that! And your Seth!! Oh my – I cannot get enough. He is filling out, and is just oh so darling! That is just great about all of your housework that was accomplishment. That must be such a sigh of relief for you! Enjoy your day!
And I LOVE calamari – craving it now!
I love the pictures…calamari looks awesome, I love it. 🙂 Glad things are going well for you.
Clamari is Yummy!!! What a blessing to have the maids coming!!
Seth is getting so big! I loved the picture of him wearing his tiny t-shirt.
How awesome to have your house cleaned by someone else!!! Have a good day.
P.s. I’d love for you to walk me through some basic “embroidery” steps so I can work on some things for when the baby comes-not for several more months, but I figure I could start learning and work on a few things. When you get some “free time”.
This post was so so good. All of it. I love you Shan! I really want to come see you soon!!!!
“I can’t wait to DIE!” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROFL Reading your kids’ conversations made me think, “I can’t wait to have more/older kids!!!” Okay, Shanda, I am VERY VERY HAPPY the maids did all that for you. What a GREAT FEELING!!!I love the expression on Seth’s face where Amanda is whispering to him. How precious!!!Guess what? I, too, have had squid (and it wasn’t battered and fried, either)! I had an Asian piano student whose parents were from Hong Kong and owned a Chinese restaurant, and the mother used to cook for me almost every week. One of those weeks, squid was included in her layout! I thought it tasted like rubber, not very impressive or flavorful. I’m surprised I tried it at all, I am not a very adventurous eater! lolGREAT POST!
Seth’s smile is delicious. I loved all of these happy faces! (And I just had squid and calamari on our vacation at a cool restaurant called The Rainforest. YOUR KIDS would love it. I ate it as fast as I could!) hugs honey!
I love the innocentness of the children’s conversation about heaven. Thanks too for the reminder to seize the day and capture those wonderful moments that God has allowed us to appreciate.
OH THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PHOTOS! I SO ENJOY SEEING WHAT YOU ALL ARE UP TOO! And the thoughts on Heaven were so precious. You have such a gift for sharing the unique personalities and talents of all your children
How awesome to have those maids! They sure accomplished a lot! You are looking great. Love the kids’ conversations and the pictures. 🙂
Looking at that list the maids did for you made me so excited for you, anyone of us would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have our house cleaned for us like that, and it was such a blessing for you with a newborn..I am so glad that you did it!
The bubble shot is so cool!
I like the idea of having a quiet time on Saturday morning, do they all burst out doors when it is over?
Shanda i just randomly clicked on this date…sometimes its fun to read old posts again. I do this on my own blog too…the heaven conversation cracked me up:) I even read it out loud to Rebecca who is sitting in the computer chair next to the couch where I sit with my laptop. This made my evening! Too bad they all cant stay little like that…I never want these kinds of conversations to end!