A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (inspired by soulemama)
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Have you heard the quote, “From small beginnings come great things”?
I hope that applies to my knitting. This is my small beginning.
“Oh I could sing forever of Jesus’ love divine,
Of all his care and tenderness for this poor life of mine;
His love is in and over all, and wind and waves obey
When Jesus whispers ‘Peace, be still!’ and rolls the clouds away.
“It’s just like Jesus to roll the clouds away,
It’s just like Jesus to keep me day by day,
It’s just like Jesus all along the way,
It’s just like His great love.”
Edna H. Worrell
Hello, my friends. We are at the end of another precious day, this one made all the better because of a highly anticipated snow day. The whole family was home as the snow came down, down, down. Breakfast was soon over…….and quickly the little ones were running wild. Even though I really didn’t want to, I took my craft book and sat on the floor to make a yarn chick. It ended up being fun. The children flocked around me like little chicks themselves and watched. And as they watched, they began to (peep) beg. They wanted to make one, too. Which was the general idea. It kept us quite busy. Dave’s was green, Caleb’s was gray, and Seth’s was pink. We made them by putting together pom-poms, one for the body and one for the head. After tying them together we glued on eyes and a beak. But Sarah decided she wanted to make a crown.
David remembered that he knew how to make a loom.
Grace got busy making bracelets. (She pinned the end to the couch so she could braid.)
Dear Ethan polished up his old crocheting skills.
I suppose if I tried really hard I could remember my own childhood better but right now I’m lost in raising children and being part of their childhoods. I do remember the excitement of “no school” and being HOME and bundling up to go outside in the fresh clean snow.
For now, I’m busy, working, working hard as a mama, getting on the floor to wrap the yarn, break up arguments, planning meals.
Grabbing the camera whenever a picture appears for the memory books. I love you all.
Ethan played his guitar while his sister and Dad sang.
What a joy to see the children spending time doing things that they love; like Jacob and his rock and coin collections.
homemade New England clam chowder
Rich worked from home.
Sarah lost a golf ball down the crack by the dishwasher. I love how little kids can fold up like this. It took her a while but she got it out of there.
As soon as the glitter on her crown dried she had to put it on. And if you put on a crown you simply must put on your fanciest dress.
Her’s is a very large crown.
It’s exhausting being queen.
Jacob fell asleep after lunch and didn’t wake up until dinner.
I cut up the Williams Sonoma catalogue and made a new journal page. It left Sarah breathless. (all those hearts)
The kids were soooooo cute outside. Seth, Caleb, Sarah, David, and Ethan all went out while Rich plowed the driveways.
They shoveled tunnels in snow piles with their Dad’s help.
I yelled down to ask Rich to take a picture of them in their tunnels and he sent me a picture of YELLOW SNOW. (!)
I made chili for dinner and a new cornmeal recipe from a cookbook I got from Rich’s Grandma. Even though they were titled “easy” I didn’t think they were that easy. I’ve made easier. But, they were different and so good I want to share the recipe.
EASY CORNMEAL MUFFINS from the National Grange Bicentennial Year Cookbook
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
Cream butter and sugar in bowl. Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt together. Beat eggs until lemon colored and thick; stir in milk. Add to creamed mixture alternately with cornmeal mixture; beat thoroughly. Place in buttered muffin cups. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until done. Yield: 12 muffins
The day is winding down. Good night.
Hold my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. Psalms 17:5
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Psalms 17:8
Thou requires little compared with what I am ready to give. I will help thee, saith the Lord. Isaiah 41:14
All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is to be with Christ. Charles Spurgeon
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 4:2
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. Psalms 95:2
Sunday: After a big, gooey pizza, we had birthday cake.
I know, the cake was tiny! I bought it at a bake shop and I knew he would love the football and decide that it would slice into 10 pieces just fine. We each had one piece and then the cake was gone.
Monday: I knew we were about to get some snow so I took Seth and Sarah downtown to get some groceries. There is nothing like that “prepared” feeling.
After I got the groceries in the house Sarah and I ran down to the chicken coop.
We asked them to come out and play but they said they were barefoot.
Parker is always ready for some playtime.
Actually, I think this face is saying, “Do you have an egg in your pocket for me?”
Here is a laundry tip for mothers with a large family: KEEP DOING IT. No matter what, do your laundry every day, even weekends. Go around the house in the morning and pick up any dirty clothes, take sheets off a bed or two, pick up towels in the bathroom and gather up the kitchen laundry, too. Remember to wash coats and jackets every once in a while, too. If I keep up with the laundry I only have to do, at the most, three loads a day, and sometimes only two. I wait until they are all washed and dried and then I stand at the couch and fold everything (or, I have a child do the folding). As soon as they are folded they are put away in the proper place. I’m usually all done with laundry by 1 o’clock every day.
Snowflake photography next to the open door of a snowy day.
Quiet moments during Seth and Sarah’s nap time.
My latest thrift store book: Things to Make and Do, full of doable, cute crafts for little ones. We made puffets!
The living room toy basket.
Our stack of reading by the armchair.
The fire is so delightful.
And since we’ve no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
More snow pictures from the front porch.
When Seth woke up we played his sock monkey game from Grandma.
Someone hides the monkey while the other one covers their eyes. Then, we read the questions in the game for clues to where it could be. Then, we GO LOOK.
Once, I hid the sock monkey in my plant.
Seth looked and looked.
And looked. Finally, he found it!
He was so happy. Then, it was his turn to hide it.
But when it’s my turn to look he cannot stand the suspense and usually tells me where it is before I can find it.
The boys came home in the snow.
Caleb spent the evening reading his book and finally finished it. The smile.
Tuesday: This was the view this morning from the porch, at about 7:30am. Fog was drifting toward me from over the trees, as the sun rose. And the trees were heavy with snow.
The children had school at the regular time but there are rumors of a snow storm tonight and a possible snow day, tomorrow.
I’m writing this in the bathroom while Seth splashes and sings in the bathtub.
Happy Tuesday!
Oh, I almost forgot to show you the puffets!
(They are really puppets but Seth and Sarah don’t say it right).
Groundhog’s day?
Super bowl Sunday?
Seth’s BIRTHDAY!!!!!
What a fun day we are having. Rich took David and Caleb to their first wrestling tournament and I took the other children to church. We got home a little while ago and Mike is here. We have Despicable Me 2 going on the TV and Sarah is taking her nap. Oh was she a handful in church. She was on one side of me and Seth was on the other. I didn’t know she had a communion cup completely IN her mouth until the nice young lady behind us leaned over to take it out. Sarah was highly offended. Seth was on my lap, then Sarah, then Seth….they were hungry, they were thirsty, she was crying, he was feeling my leg (the nylons are SO fascinating), they needed mints, he kicked her, she cried again, etc. The song leader stood up after the sermon and said something like “Don’t you just wish this service could go on and on….” and I was like “NO PLEASE NO!” LOL
It was good to be there and I’m truly glad we went. We did Burger King drive through after church was over and saw a bunch of ducks in the parking lot. Grace took pictures of them through the window.
Most importantly, today is Seth’s birthday. He is five now.
He said he loved the wrapping paper. He had his gifts opened up in approximately 20 seconds flat.
Seth the stealthy ninja
before church
The eyes to melt a mama’s heart.
It’s easy to hold up five fingers.
He had barbecue sauce with his chicken nuggets.
Seth’s friend Naomi gave him a cool gift at church today.
Seth with two of his four brothers. I can’t stand it.
Happy Birthday to the little charmer who keeps me on my toes and lights up my life.
Good to be Home 