Seth is better today. Now I am sick with a bad cold, and so is Ethan. We both started getting it yesterday and today Jacob, Grace, and Rich have the early symptoms. It’s just one of those things ….. I had to cancel an exciting play date, an important dentist appointment, and wonderful art lessons because of the bug going through the family. Then, we were out of milk so I decided to buzz downtown quick to get some and would you believe my battery was stone-cold dead? If it had been a regular healthy day we would have happily gotten ready to go and then stood in the driveway together, crying hysterically in disappointment over it.
We had a nice day of schooling, and blowing our noses, and getting Seth out of mischief….Sarah is crawling like a pro now. We have wooden floors throughout the main floor and it’s so cute to hear her hands slap-pat-pat-pat as she travels. I’ve had to start digging things out of her mouth–she particularly loves wood pellets and legos.
I thought I would post some random family pictures from the last few weeks. I’m starting to feel better about blogging. For a few days I wondered if I was all done with it, I felt like there was nothing left to say. I’ve blogged for 5 years now! But with the amount of people living under our roof, I suppose there is bound to be inspiration and plenty to talk about….
My mom was born less than a year after her big brother and there is the cutest picture of the two of them having their bath together in the kitchen sink. I can see it in my mind…SO darling…a black and white photo of smiling roly poly babies. I thought of that picture when I stuck Seth and Sarah in my kitchen sink two weeks ago. Oh it was so fun to let them splash, play, and laugh together.
Sarah Joy
Seth William
Ethan Gregory
Yours truly, with Caleb James
Sarah started pulling herself up 2 weeks ago. Guess where she did it first? At the library! It was so exciting. I sat her down on the floor at the play area, Caleb and Seth were playing right next to her at the low train table. I stepped over to pick out a couple books and when I turned back she was standing straight up holding onto the table! I squealed, “Who put her like that?” and quizzed all the children and they all said they didn’t do it. Then I grabbed my cell phone and got a picture of it.
This one was taken one of the first time she did it here at home. And now she pulls herself up all the time.
This is one of my favorite pictures…a candid, unplanned (like most of my pictures happen), of Jacob and his baby sister.
Jacob is so tall and lean….this past Sunday he didn’t have church pants clean so he borrowed a pair OF HIS DAD’S! They were a tad too big around the waist but the length was perfect.
Here’s another version of the same picture…and Sarah is sucking her thumb here. She does that now and then.
And here are some pictures of my husband launching his boys through the air. I took a gazillion of these but I’ll just share a few of Seth getting a turn. We were all laughing so much and the boys NEVER EVER wanted him to stop.
I am pleased to report that we have been playing with the same play-doh for a YEAR. All thanks to the big tubs.
David played with it yesterday and made this fabulous castle.
And Jacob designed a bridge.
I have made it a habit to thoughtfully (*snicker-snicker*) arrange a nice hour or so of quiet time every afternoon….everyone in the house is required to go away and be quiet. It is so ingrained into our lives that the children sometimes request it before I’m even ready! Since the four older boys share a room I have found that it is best to bring the little ones up nearer to me, so I can make sure they behave.
I was on the couch yesterday, with sick Seth on one end, and this handsome boy on the other end. We three were all being quiet together.
A few minutes later he was fast asleep.
These last three pictures were taken this evening. Seth is feeling better which means he was all over the place trying my patience while I was making dinner. I finally had Jacob buckle him in his high chair and I thought I was brilliant for giving Sethie some water to wash his cars. I remember years ago, little Jacob washing his cars for LONG periods of time, it kept him nice and busy.
Not so with Seth. I had just enough time to take a picture…and then he was done with washing thank you very much.
So then my next brilliant idea was to let him play with dry beans. I got the bag from the cupboard, not realizing that it was opened and I dumped some. My wonderful Christian Mama used to playfully “swear” using the word “BEANS!” when I was growing up so I took the golden opportunity to say the same thing when I was dumping them all over. “OH BEANS!” The kids laughed.
Seth played with beans a little longer than he did with the water and cars. He used a small spoon to scoop some beans up and put them into a cup.
It lasted maybe, MAYBE 10 minutes. Perhaps less. I don’t know what to do with him. I asked the children what they liked to do when they were his age but they all didn’t know—they couldn’t remember.
This evening Rich got home in time to eat with us and that put me in such a jolly mood. I love it when we are all together for dinner. I was so glad that I even made dinner…I almost went with leftovers because I was not feeling well. But when he got home I had spaghetti (with homemade sauce) finishing up on the stove and we all sat down and I felt so happy to look around the table. It was the very first time Seth and Sarah were both sitting in their own seats. Sarah was in the high chair and Seth was in the tall chair. I sat between them and helping them both along in their meal was almost like juggling!
I hopped up to take this picture.
Rich is outside charging the battery up on my vehicle. Caleb is trying to peel his own orange. Ethan is reading, Sarah is sitting on the floor eating a sheet of paper, and Seth is in bed. It’s been a lovely day. I hope yours was, too.
PS. As I was proof-reading this Rich came downstairs! I was completely shocked. For an entire hour I was sitting here blogging, passing the time away while he was “outside charging my battery”. And all that time he was upstairs charging his own battery!!…he fell asleep in Seth’s room when he put him to bed!!!! He took an hour long nap!
Good to be Home 
I am coming back to enjoy this more. PLEASE don’t stop blogging. Love sharing your life Jen
Super great pictures, but I think I like the first two best. That took me back to 1966 and 1967 when Jeff and Diane were little and both fit into our kitchen sink for baths.
Love the babes playing in the sink, too cute! I did that plenty of times with Alex and Livi! And the picture of your son reading Curious George I just LOVE!!
I would be so sad if you left. I don’t blog much and I don’t read many others, but I always look forward to your posts. I wonder about you sometimes if you would be amazed to see influences of YOU in MY house. I have a few quotes of yours (or that you’ve quoted) hanging up in my kitchen and a couple semesters back I quoted Charles Spurgeon’s quote “It has been said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of it’s sorrow, but empties today of it’s strength,” in a speech I had to give which I first read here. You are a true encouragement to many and you would be missed dearly.
I love the dinner table picture. We try to eat as a family, I’m finding it more and more difficult as the children get older and our nights are full of activities. We manage though, probably 5 times a week!
Ugggg… we are all doing the same thing with passing around this cold! It’s really frustrating that as soon as one gets better another one bites the dust. lol I’m ready to be done. And I’m in CA for crying out loud! Hope you guys recover quick. I just love the bath pictures. I really like your cute little window above the sink. It’s adorable! Your kids are just super cute and I love the pic of Sarah pulling up. That outfit is too cute.I have to say, my husband does that SAME launching thing with my kids. I have no idea where he gets the energy to just do it over and over again, but he does! The kids here love it too. I’m loving your tub of playdoh too! The little cans just don’t last very long, do they?Everything about you and your home is so cozy and inviting. I know it’s a lot of hard work that you put into your kids and family every single day. I hope that you don’t quit blogging because I really enjoy reading even your simple every day stuff. I was talking about you the other day, you really are my favorite blogger. And I’m not just saying that either. I was super bummed when you stopped for a little while but understood you needed a break. Hope and pray your evening is peaceful and relaxing!
My husband does the leg launches too. Fun.Oh, I hope you never stop blogging! My mom and I just love your blog! I actually know a couple of people who really enjoy your blog!You are a great writer, and you have such a warm and cozy site. =)Thank you for sharing your day with us.Hope you all feel better soon.
as for keeping Seth busy, my mom says when I was about that age my brother would push me around in my car seat around the house while she fixed dinner every night to keep me entertained. I can say from experience lately of taking care of a little guy, he loves being pushed in a stroller or on any toy. You’ve got lots of little people there who might not mind helping you with that 😉
Shanda, I love how you make your home such a jolly place to play and enjoy your family. Such beautiful children hence beautiful pictures Thank you for sharing your day!~Cinnamon
I sure hope you keep blogging! I look forward to each day that you post – you emit so much Joy and it’s inspiring! What you think of as boring, already said, and hum-drum – I look to with anticipation. You are a blessing in more ways than you realize! Keep up the good work….
Sethie sounds soooo much like my Emma, she is so restless. I get anxiety sometimes b/c I on’t know what to do with her. She won’t sit still for more than five minutes at a time. I feel like I’m running a circus show but I’m running out of acts!!!
Maybe you could ask the older ones to take turns at dinner prep time with Seth, perhaps for 45min or so on altering nights. I know it is probably their creative time, but would help and not be too hard if they took turns. My grandmother came from a family of 10 children, and she said each of the older ones had a younger one to help with. She and her sister she cared for were very close all their life because of that. Both Bob and I used to launch our boys like that! They had some of those cute stripped PJ’s and we called them the Zambini brothers and would do tricks with them on our knees and hands. I always had to take the smaller ones, and my days were numbered, not having the upper body strength, but it was great fun. The bath pics are the cutest! Love all the sweet faces in this post. I hope this is just a cold and you all get over it quickly!
sounds like you all had a great day even though you weren’t able to get out and get some milk. i hope that this series of sick kids doesn’t last too long…it must be rough to see them all feeling under the weather. i pretty much squeeled when i saw Sarah and Seth in the sink. soooo adorable. i think you should see if you could find the pic of your mom and her brother and kind of do a two framed picture with them on one side and your kids on the other.so fun to hear that your kids sometimes ask for quiet time before you even suggest it. sounds like a good time. when we were at camp we used to have ‘quiet time’ after lunch before pool time and man did the counselors ever fall asleep but the kids were too excited alot of the time. sometimes we just let them sleep.
I do hope you will continue to blog. I enjoy seeing your lovely photos and reading about your days. I almost feel like I “know” you and the children, because I think I have been reading your posts for about four of those five years! You are a blessing and an inspiration.
I’m going to be a little selfish and hope that you’ll continue to blog. I’ve so enjoyed getting to read about your days and see the kids grow. It’s a good thing that we homemakers encourage each other! Have a you seen the latest 75th anniversary item from fiesta? You’ve got me hooked after I picked out some of the Christmas dishes. I found a scarlet place setting at goodwill a few months ago for $5 and picked it up. I hope you all feel better soon. Have a good weekend.
Love the pictures of the two in the sink! 🙂 Nice that you can share dinner together, so important! Love the way only a dad can play with the kids.
This is my first time commenting on your blog, but please keep blogging! I’ve been following you for a year now (?) and I really enjoy your family posts. I love how you have such a great family and I’m so jealous! Everyone in your family seems so lovely, you especially 🙂 This may sound weird, but seeing your family photos makes me appreciate family time more and more. Although I don’t have much of that now… it definitely encourages me to do so when I have a family later on (way later on because I know I’m still young [19 years old]!!! ahahah)Nonetheless… just reading about your family adventures, endeavors, and everything is amazing. I love the photos you post and Sarah is so cute ❤ (she’s growing so fast!)!!! I don’t go on xanga often, but I definitely check your site everytime I do go on to see what you’re family has been up to and how much everyone has grown :)I’m always amazed at your ability to take care of everyone so well (I mean you have a big family! hehe)Anyways sorry for the mini essay. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your blog 🙂 Of course if you’re busy, sick, tired, or whatever, concentrate on yourself and your family first! But your blogs are just so encouraging so I certainly won’t complain if you continue it 😉
I love, love, love your posts! They inspire me to be a better mother and wife! Please don’t stop blogging……. I love you and your family, even though we have never met. Your heart is so kind…..I also love seeing pics of your mom and you….it gives me hope that maybe that is how I will be when my kids are grown….(unfortunately, my childhood was nothing like the kind my husband and I are striving to give our kids)…..I also love to hear about your schooling….please say more about that when/if you can….. love you……amber
I loved all the photo’s. You have such a beautiful family and you are such a wonderful Mom and wife Shan. I love you!
I loved seeing all the pictures! Yes I think that first picture of the two kids in the sink will be a treasure just like the one with your mom! I love how you got the water flying! Rich is a good daddy, I could just hear the laughter….days like this make little boys so secure!Your military-ish jacket is very very cool!