Good morning!  Did you all have a nice weekend?  Ours was busy but fun. 

On Friday afternoon, I went to the grocery store with all six children.  It was the first time I did a major grocery trip with them all.  I pushed one cart with Caleb & Seth in it, and Jacob pushed the food cart.  Two children riding, four children walking on their own two feet.  It went well, and it was nice to have a fresh food supply for the weekend.  We  bought a coconut for the first time, and when my friend Caroline came over to get the three older children (for a play date), she found us all sitting on the driveway.  I was hammering a screwdriver into the coconut as the children all surrounded me in fascination.  We shook out the liquid inside it so they could taste it (David said it tasted like “bad lemonade”) and then Ethan broke in into chunks so they could try the fresh coconut meat. 

On Saturday, after a breakfast of bagel sandwiches, Rich and I got the children dressed and ready to go out.  We went to our favorite local furniture/household decor/outdoor furniture place to pick out a swing set for the children.  It was a warm morning and it was a delight to be outside doing such a fun family activity.  Rich and I (with the help of the children) picked out a perfect swing set for the family.  It is wooden, with 2 trapezes, 2 swings, and an infant swing.  It also has a rope/rock climb wall and a slide.  I took my camera along but for some reason, didn’t take any pictures (it was rather distracting to keep the children in sight!).  It will be delivered at the end of May and we are looking forward to it.  I’ll take pictures then!

After the swingset purchase, Rich had to get his hair cut so he dropped us off at the library so we could wait for him there.  It was a library we had not visited before so it was an extra special treat.  David found a Disney short story book and I read a Buzz Lightyear story to him 2 times.  I also read “Corduroy Gets a Pocket” and a Thomas the Tank Engine book.  I had to nurse Seth in the library, and change his diaper.  There was a train table so Caleb enjoyed that, along with pulling down all the Thomas videos off the shelf.

The older children engrossed themselves in books:

And David also managed to amuse himself in Other Ways

When we got home, we all sat at the table for a nice lunch of sandwiches, chips, pickles (we eat lots of pickles!), fruit, and salad.  We have noticed that Seth is rarely happy unless he is sitting at the table with us.  It’s such a nice feeling to be all together at meal times.  Rich and I pass Seth back and forth and we all talk and eat together.

In the afternoon, we all went outside to enjoy the spring weather.  Rich did some yard work while I snapped some pictures of the children having fun.

The trampoline gets used every single (nice weather) day.

I also admired Girl’s freckles.  As soon as she spends time in the sun they brighten up.  She has a lovely sprinkling of them across her face. . . . .

We amused ourselves by taking pictures of each other jumping off a large rock, which is located by one of our ponds:

We also went on a walk together.  The walk only lasted about 20 minutes, unfortunately, because the wind started picking up and we were afraid that Seth would get chilled.

This is Grace and Jacob:

Caleb:

Whole Entire Family, including the dog, who would NOT face the camera!  As you can see, Rich wore Seth this time.  It was so sweet.

Yesterday, (Sunday), I did some pruning outside.  We have briars that like to try to overtake the edges of the property, so I busied myself clearing some of them away.  I was cutting down this particular shrub and noticed that the inside was bright yellow, and so pretty.  It’s amazing where you can find inspiration.  I don’t know what this plant is, but I want to figure it out…it even stained my fingernails yellow when I peeled away the barky outside.  It is covered in sharp prickles, and in the fall it has a bright red tear-shaped berry.

I brought this small piece inside the house to put on my kitchen windowsill.

David has this entire week off from school so we feel very free and happy this morning.  I woke up with my usual spurt of energy and I have already given the boys each a buzz cut (four boys!  Jacob and I sang as I cut his, Ethan talked to me during his, Caleb was worried that I would cut his ears the whole time, and David was impatiently saying, “You said it wouldn’t take a long time!” during his)…..we also read Psalm 1 during a breakfast of cold cereal.  I did some laundry and started the dishwasher.  We have all taken a shower or bath this morning and I made the children make their beds.  We are slowly getting ready to go out and visit the library (again!) and buy some seeds for our vegetable garden.  Speaking of vegetable gardens, as we prepared the soil for planting yesterday, Grace dug up a carrot from last fall..it was still fresh and crispy!  It was a fun surprise.

The boys also made a cake this morning:

Ethan was in charge and I thought it was so sweet when he gave the beater to little brother Caleb and the bowl to little brother David.  What a nice boy.

Well, Ethan just came in with Seth, and put him on my bed.  He is fussing because he is ready for his third breakfast.  Ethan also has his guitar out this morning and is sitting by me in the rocking chair, playing “The Secrets of Larado”.

I hope you enjoyed our weekend re-cap!

Much love (I must rush away to help my baby!)

~Shanda