“An owl swallows its quarry as whole as possible, trusting to its inner organs to do the sifting and selecting.  Later it throws up pellets of the indigestible bones, hair, etc.”  ~Anna Botsford Comstock

After church, we came home and the kids all went to bed for naptime.  Rich was tired so he took a nap in his recliner.  I was tired but I simply had to take advantage of the free time so I bundled up and went outside for a long walk in the woods.  It was much warmer today but I still had to wear a sweater and my coat and my fingerless gloves.

The first place I went to was a big rock at the edge of the woods.  Pastor spoke of Christ being our rock today during his sermon.  It made me think of the verse that I wrote down on an index card a few weeks ago.  I hope that every time I see a big rock, I am reminded of my Savior and the solid foundation He gives me in my life. 

“And the rain descended,
and the floods came,
and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house;
and it fell not:
for it was founded upon a rock.”
Matthew 7:25

Here in New England, almost everything outside is still a shade of brown, gray, or green.  Any spot of color is an opportunity to bend down and feast my eyes.  The Master Creator has designed so much beauty and I enjoy seeing what colors He puts together.  Here we have a shade of red and a shade of yellow, both sharing the same leaf.

The stream is busier and louder in certain places in the woods.  There are rocks of all sizes in it and next to it, perfect for stepping on or sitting on.  I found one right in the middle of the rushing water and just sat.  I tried to pray, but words didn’t seem adequate so I just sat there and felt happy.  Water is so refreshing. . .to listen to, to watch, to drink. . .Jesus is our living water for our soul.  He is our Rock and He is also our Water.

“Therefore with joy
shall ye draw water
out of the wells of salvation.”
Is. 12:3

“But whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.”

“. . . .And whosoever will,
let him take of the water of life freely.”
Rev. 22:17

I sat there and enjoyed the stream for a while, and then I walked up toward the beaver pond in the woods.  The closer I got, the noisier the air became. . .full of the sounds of singing FROGS.  It was so loud.  I jumped over a small running stream of water and snuck around to try to see what was going on.  These were modest frogs, as soon as they sensed my presence, every one of them stopped their singing.  I sat down in a sunbeam and waited for about 10 minutes (or more) before I started seeing their beady eyes come up from the water.  There were a lot, but I didn’t get to see any of them up close.  What were they doing?  Go ask your mother.

This is a picture of the swampy beaver pond. . .this grass will grow up thick and green over the summer months. . .but at the moment only the tall, dead, brown grass from last season is standing.  There are sections of water that are clear and open (not pictured).

After that interesting episode, I continued walking and started picking up little treasures to take home in my pocket.  I also studied this moss. . .that I had never noticed before. . .(I am a admirer of moss). . when I touched it it was dry, coarse, and wooly! 

Here is a picture of a small clump of moss that was lighter green and much softer:

Rich thought it looked like a little tiny green hedgehog.

The acorns are all opening up, getting ready to send down a root:

More treasures= 

a feather from a blue jay, a piece of wood that I later accidently dropped in the stream, and a dry mass of fur and bones that an owl brought up.  (regurgitated).  They do that you know.  I was excited to find it, in a yuck kind of way.  I took it home and the kids and I picked through it.  They were not as impressed as I was.  I think they thought it was gross.  There were a lot of little jaw bones in it.  With tiny teeth.

I found a stump covered in moss.  Lots of shades of green and brown, lovely for my eyes to see.

Last stop=one more sit by the stream.  This section was very quiet.  I closed my eyes and could not hear any water sounds at all.  It was just flowing along. . . .I sat down on a rock and there was another rock below that I could rest my feet on.  I stuck my feet out to take the picture.  It was a nice place to sit, to say the least.

“He leads me beside the still waters”

“He restoreth my soul”

Psalm 23

When I went inside, Rich was on the phone and the kids were watching a video.  Caleb was ready and waiting with a couple of books for me to read.  We sat on the couch and ate leftover Easter candy instead.

Hope you are all having a pleasant evening.  God loves you.

What a week.  Rich worked about 60 hours (72 considering travel time.  He just figured these numbers out for me).  He’s my emotion-regulator.  For some reason, I need to spend a certain amount of time with him in the house for me to feel calm and secure.  Yesterday was awful, I was crying and nervous most of the day.  I’m not saying it was all because of Rich not being home much, poor guy, I just know that it did play a part.  Sometimes I wonder just how I can survive mothering/homeschooling five children, keeping the housework together, and doing all the other 101 other things I do in a week.  I’m not complaining, mind you, I totally love my life, and yet how can anyone keep on top of things all the time?  Not possible.  So yesterday was a crash day for me.

I am feeling much better today (except my eyes still feel funny from all the crying yesterday).  It took the whole morning before I relaxed, though.  Rich took us to Crackerbarrel for breakfast again.  Thankfully the sun was shining, the sunlight being the only good thing about the weather—-it is SO SO COLD outside.  We actually saw some snow flurries (very light).  I denied it, but Jacob INSISTED that he saw them so I gave in and admitted it too.

We also went shopping.  Rich was looking for shoes which came to nothing but of course I was able to find plenty of things to purchase, including a stack of books, a new camera, and some seeds.  David had a craving for ice cream and looking into his big huge gorgeous eyes I could not say no. . .so that is what we had for a light lunch.  Ice cream cones!

When we got home we went for a walk (the dog needed some exercise).  There is a freezing cold wind today.  Jacob made me laugh when after a while I said dramatically, “I’m TOO COLD” and turned around to go back to the house.  He said to his Dad, “She’s a natural __________.”  (my maiden name)  “She sounded just like Grandma when she said that!”

It is cozy, so cozy in the house.  We have a fire going in the livingroom but right now Rich and I are in our bedroom.  David is snoring in our bed, Rich is sitting in the rocking chair and looking at stuff that has to do with the garage we want to build this spring, and I’m enjoying myself on the computer.

I took my camera along today. . . .

Big Daddy passing out candy . . . .I think David looks so handsome in his coat and hat.  I call his coat the “puffy coat”.  I think David is concerned here, about getting the exact piece of candy that he picked out in the store.  Rich is probably saying something like, “You’ll get what I give you”.  (don’t worry, he did get the right one eventually!)

All the candy sticks.  Caleb had his hair buzzed (by mommy) last Friday.  He’s got his baby face back.  I like to kiss those cheeks. 

Stuff to keep me busy in the van.  The book is about homesteading, the Country Living magazine is an issue from 1989, and the cup has Crackerbarrel coffee it.

Back at home, on our walk.  Jacob took these next two pictures.

Jacob, Grace, and Ethan couldn’t stay out of the pond.  On the way home Grace asked if today could be the first day they went swimming.  I was going to let her but Rich said no.  LOL

Our biggest boy and our littlest boy.  Jacob was helping Caleb along and found a ball for him in the bushes.

This is the last picture I took before I ran home because of the cold.  Caleb is sitting on a little bridge that a road-biker-man made so that he could get up into the woods to ride his bike on the trails.

Rich brought me home these roses last night.

I plan on planting some seeds.  Should I let the kids help?  The thought sort of scares me.  Maybe I’ll try to do it with one child at a time.  It’ll take 5 times as long, but will be much more controlled. 

My new camera!  I bought this because I need a little one
for our vacation next month.  I don’t want to carry Howard (my big camera is named Howard) around all over the place. . .he’s way too heavy, valuable, and cumbersome.

I love this little tiny Nikon!  And IT’S PURPLE!!!  Is that perfect for me, or what?

It’s about the size of a pack of cards!

This is an idea of a photo that I’ve been wanting to take for a few days.  After the children’s maple syrup field trip on Thursday we went to Walmart and I bought them each a pair of these awesome rubber boots. 

“If you want to feel rich,
just count all the things you have
that money can’t buy.”

Have a wonderful afternoon!