Today we were all in the living room and I said, “Seth and Sarah come sit on either side of me like the good old days and I will read you a book.” And they did.
When we got to this page (and to a certain word) all the gamers in the room started cheering and clapping until Sarah clarified, “It’s two weeks. A period of two weeks.”
David wanted to be baptized so we asked Gary if we could do it before Ethan and Grace went back to college, although sadly Jacob had to miss it because he is at college for football camp. We asked if he could baptize David at our house in the pond and he readily agreed.
Saturday our family spent the day in preparation by having a major house and yard clean up. It was extra-motivating to know we were having our church family to our home and I happily washed all the windows on the main level of the house, inside and out. Rich and the kids did a ton of weeding outside. I scrubbed and polished the kitchen sink, used granite cleaner and polish for the counters, vacuumed, organized, etc. When I was done, the house felt light and fresh.
Sunday morning at church Rich gave the opening prayer, Grace and I sang a duet with Katie playing the piano for us. We sang “Redeemed How I love to Proclaim it.” And then David went up on the platform behind the pulpit and gave his testimony. Rich and I didn’t really know what to expect, and we were thrilled that he did so well. We had smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes. Gary (our pastor) was a little emotional during one part and the video Brittnee took captures a loud sneezing type sound as he blew his nose.
Rich and I left with the kids as soon as the sermon was done and Gary was praying the closing prayer. We drove home and found my sister Amanda with her family, and my brother Isaac with his wife, Cassandra, who is 9 months pregnant with a little girl baby, on the front porch waiting for us to get home. We were so happy they could come and watch David’s baptism. Rich went out to get the pizza we were serving for lunch and Caleb ran down the yard to jump in the pond because as we were leaving that morning, we noticed there was a tire floating in it. Can’t have tires in the pond during such a special day. (kids)
Very soon we had our church family arriving and parking on the lower yard and driveway.
We set up chairs and the sound equipment and settled in for David’s baptism. Amanda sat by me and it was so special to sing together the old familiar hymns.
Katie and her husband led the singing from the dock, and Grace and Sarah joined them, too.
Gary spoke briefly about baptism and the significance of it.
And then he and David waded into the pond. They were both wearing their t-shirts from this years Camp Impact (the Christian camp our church helps run every summer).
I love David’s smile in this photo.
Gary told us later that he used this hold because he was afraid that he would fall over into the pond as he baptized Dave. I’m sure every pastor has a few baptism stories to tell. When he saw the photo he was trying to politely compliment me on my photography but then the honesty came out…..”It looks like I’m choking him, though, doesn’t it, poor David.”
He wasn’t squeezing David’s neck so he really didn’t do any harm, it just looks funny.
Gary was so good to David during this whole process and even came to our house one day two weeks ago to speak with him one-on-one. Rich and I were not home, David was here with some of his siblings. Gary said that Seth and Sarah sat and listened carefully to their conversation and that David “was delightful.” I have to agree.
It was such a special day.
Grandma Cindy Butterfly
Mama Shanda Butterfly
Grace Butterfly
David Butterfly
Caleb Butterfly
Seth Butterfly
Sarah Joy Butterfly
We had fun taking these photos yesterday at the Crossgates mall in Albany, NY.
Happy Tuesday, friends!
We took a quick “all seven” photo on Saturday because Jacob had to leave Sunday morning to go back to college and start football camp.
Each so unique, each so loved and cared for, by me and their father. Always.
First of all, it’s been a joy and a delight to watch kitty-kitty Walter (our new pet) get used to his new surroundings. He is curious and “literally plays with everything”, says Dave. You see in the photo that he is being tempted by Sherlock’s twitching tail.
Second of all, it’s 8:07 in the morning and I’m the only one awake!! Seth NEVER sleeps past 7 and most of the time is up even earlier. I just found him sleeping in the addition on the couch. He spent the night in there because of the air conditioning. So I wonder, is he still asleep because 1) he didn’t sleep well? or, 2) he COULD finally sleep peacefully out of his hot upstairs bedroom? Whatever the reason, it’s nice to sit here and type………….
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalm 16:11 (thank you, husband, for sending along the verse)
I was thinking this morning about the enjoyable fruits of the Holy Spirit, those only-from-above giftings of God to our souls. In those oftentimes rare/unnoticed moments of deep spirituality when we find ourselves really able to love outside of ourselves in a mysterious way. We have joy, and it is unexplainable, gentleness toward every living creature, peace, beyond comprehension! And, patience like our *big brother* Job. These beautiful character qualities/fruits aren’t from us (we cannot muster them up, they cannot be faked) and are the Holy Spirit within us, given to us, and no reason for pride or boasting.
….the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22
For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
Alas, sometimes it’s just simply hard to breath “down here”. And this is the reason we pour over the Scriptures as much as possible, and remember, and think of Him, and pray, we do these things to stay connected, to stay reminded. To stay breathing.
Home on Earth, real Home “in the sky”……….
We have had such hot days lately, it was pleasant to sit with my latest Newbury medal winner (I’m attempting to read them all) while the children swam in the pond……..
….and to have Jacob walk down the hill to show me a cool caterpillar. Thanks, Jake, for grilling us all a nice lunch yesterday!!!
At my house yesterday there were all these people: Rich, myself, Michael, Jacob, Ethan, Caleb T, Grace, Kylee, Brittnee, David, Caleb, Jack, Seth, and Sarah. But not all at once. Some came for a while and then left. Some worked all day and then came home. 🙂
Yesterday afternoon on the couch, David helped me identify a bug using the internet. It didn’t take us long, but seeing the different insects online filled me with the desire to go back outside to look for even more bugs with the magnifying lens attached to my camera. It’s such fun to stand over the flowers and plants and search for insects with your eyes……….at first you see “nothing” but little by little you see 100’s of creatures……and much activity.
This was a small moth, about the size of a fifty-cent piece. But with my lens I can get a nice close-up. It’s amazing to see the details. Observe. Study. Be amazed.
These pretty little white flowers grew in clusters along a thin vine-like stem.
Meanwhile, Dave was looking in the pond for a big snake but had to make do with a little frog (sitting on his leg next to his thumb for size comparison). He sat nicely for his portrait.
This plant has been tearing the skin on my legs my entire life. It’s just a tad thinner than spaghetti and grows plenteously by our stream. One direction of the plant doesn’t scratch you, but the other direction, oh it sticks so tightly to your legs and scratches them terribly. I’ve never identified it’s name, there is a small white flower that grows on it, maybe I can look it up in my flower identification book today.
a cluster of silvery eggs……so beautiful!
The band on his tail makes him special. You can see Ambush bugs to the left of it.
THIS IS THE BUG I JUST HAD TO FIGURE OUT. AMBUSH BUG
The other day I saw one gripping a yellow jacket. The yellow jacket was upside down and dead in its front claws. It was a sight to see. And these ambush bugs are all over the flowers right now (especially Joe-pie weed and goldenrod). I beg you to read the link, you will be amazed.
In a nutshell, it sucks the bodily fluids out of its prey.
As my brother Dave says, “its horrifying”.
“slurp”
It would take me a long time to identify all these insects but I sure would like to do it. Each one has fascinating characteristics and wears the nicest bug-clothes.
Another ambush bug!
And this one! I’ve never seen it before, it was so tiny I only noticed it because I was photographing another bug nearby and saw it waving around first one tissue-paper wing and then the other.
This bee posed so nicely, I felt as if it was just WAITING to be noticed. Yes, you’re lovely.
After I breathlessly captured this photo (I thought it would fly away before I could get close) I talked to my friend Lea Ann and then took the kids to music lessons and football practice. I spent time walking around the cemetery next to the fields and then met my husband for a quick trip down town for strawberry sundaes, just the two of us, before practice was over.
When we got home, David made a chocolate cake from scratch …….
……and we had a rain storm. I sat on the porch to watch it for a while before bedtime…..
If you watch carefully you will see the world light up in a quick flash of lightening.
And now it’s Wednesday. Good morning!
You are loved.
We like to go out on the porch to watch storms and Rich brought to my attention the beautiful Great Blue Heron at the edge of the pond standing still under a beating of raindrops.
I admired his raincoat.
His name is Walter Felix Disney.
No one is buying a motorcycle.
He said yes with no strings attached!
Do you think we should adopt this kitten to be our very own?
This morning, we picked up Brittnee on the way to the library and she brought the kitten to the car so we could all say hello to him. So far, my husband says “no”. To be exact, he threatened to buy a motorcycle if I brought a kitten home. It’s hardly fair.
When we arrived at the library, the girls were happy to see that two of their friends were there! They sat right down on the floor for a nice visit, and I must say, they weren’t exactly “library quiet” but who can reprimand young and beautiful readers like these?
I’ve been eyeing this book for a while…..
….so I added it to my stack.
When I was done picking out my books, I went and found Sarah.
And then I tried to sneak up on Seth, who was behind a bookshelf on some comfortable bean chairs. I asked him how he knew I was coming. “By your legs” “How did you recognize that they were MY legs?” “By your Converse sneakers.”
We (and our bag of books) left the library and went for a picnic lunch nearby in a most picturesque location. There were cows standing in the water on the other side of the lake.
(((Life is Good Together)))
“Everyone please eat as slowly as you can.” ~mom
“WHY?”~children
“Because I want to enjoy myself.”~mom
*****
When Grace was done eating she climbed way up high in a tree.
PS. should we get the kitty?
We raised and released two monarch butterflies. The second one flew away this morning, through the sunflowers in the garden.
****
“There is never a day so dreary,
There is never a night so long,
But the soul that is trusting Jesus
Will somewhere find a song.”
Anna Russell
Seth plays video games every day for a couple hours but his time doing it is controlled by his loving mother to a certain extent. This morning, he asked if he could have “his time” at 9am and I said, “sure”. But at 8 he had eaten breakfast, showered and dressed, and he didn’t know what else to do with himself so we went for a walk together. Grace was awake but Sarah was still sound asleep. (Seth is an early riser)
It always happens that the boys will pick up a stick and start battle on trees and such. From Jacob to Seth, they were all the same in that regard (and still are).
pretty pretty Indian Pipe flower. The website (linked) adds: America’s eminent poet, Emily Dickinson, called the Indian pipe “the preferred flower of life.” In a letter to Mabel Todd, she confides, “I still cherish the clutch with which I bore it from the ground when a wondering child, and unearthly booty, and maturity only enhances the mystery, never decreases it.
I told him how to pose on this fallen down birch tree and he was obliging enough to humor me, still with his weapon-of-a-stick in his hand. He looks pleased.
He even likes hitting the caps off wild mushrooms with his stick, he calls it mushroom golfing.
This is that same fallen down birch tree, I wanted to see the wood where the tree broke and fell. What a wonderful home for God’s smaller creatures.
little things of interest on the forest floor…..
He walked barefoot.
There are even orange mushrooms.
Big healthy ferns are squeezing in on the path, reminding me of childhood games and forts in the woods.
Teeny tiny white mushrooms
some mushrooms had red caps
This one looked shy.
mushrooms on a log
This large mushroom was broken off and on the ground……Seth’s barefoot show how big it was.
Seth spied these gorgeous Cardinal wildflowers before I did. They bloom at this time of year on mossy rocks in the stream and I always delight in them.
Almost home!
He was a good sport and I found myself thinking, “I do so enjoy walks with a child or two or five or seven, and my camera!”
Dinner Tonight:
Crock-Pot Gingered Beef
2 pounds round roast, trimmed
2 onions, sliced
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup ketchup
6 T. brown sugar
3 T. vinegar
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 cup beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
Brown beef on all sides (I skipped this part). Place sliced onion on the bottom of crock pot, place roast on top. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl and whisk together. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender and can be shredded with a fork. Pour cooking juices into a saucepan and simmer on the stove until reduced, about 10 minutes. Serve over the top of the beef.
I haven’t made it in a while but in the notes I wrote “Yum, E approves.” So I’m hoping he still approves tonight when he gets home from work and eats it for dinner.
Grace and I have been enjoying this today:
Black Bean and Rice Salad
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 onion, chopped, and 4 cloves of garlic, pressed, sautéed until translucent
3 cups rice
salt and pepper
Mix together in a big bowl and serve each portion with a spoon of salsa on top.
Both recipes from my ever-favorite cookbook Saving Dinner, by Leanne Ely
I’ve done lots of laundry (don’t you love hanging clothes outside on the line?) and still have some to fold, which I will do while the Waltons are on TV. Seth and Sarah are outside playing. I fell asleep reading a book on the couch with Seth next to me earlier and now Grace is in my spot, reading her book: Messenger, by Lois Lowry. She says it’s nice to read a book that doesn’t task the brain like some of the old classics she’s been reading. I am reading Dead End in Norvelt, which is a Newbury award winner. I’m almost done with it and it’s been delightful. I love it. Maybe you would, too.
PS, ANOTHER WALK WITH SETH that’s kinda making me cry right now.
