catch up day

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Shanda

“Hold my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” Psalms 17:5

I am feeling somewhat more human this afternoon since I decided to cancel the plans I had this morning in favor of staying home to catch up with things around the home-place. It has been days and days of activity and I needed a catch-up day for my soul. I am much more at peace now that I put new sugar water in the hummingbird feeder, took the time to hang the loads of laundry on the clothesline rather than throw them in the dryer, watered the houseplants, caught up on the dishes, washed the fronts of the ovens and dishwashers, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, gave my darlings Seth and Sarah baths, washed my hair, spent a lot of time outside, admired ducks and toad tadpoles, put dinner in the crock pot, and took a cat nap.

I discovered this morning that one of my hens was consumed yesterday by what Seth believes was a FOX. All that remains are some lovely gray feathers in the green green grass and a firm belief that life is easier when one does not become to attached to one’s hens.

I read some Dr. Laura Schlessinger this morning and came away with these quotes:

“If you determine to SEE value and feel gratitude for what you have, you will not be consumed by envy and disappointment.”

(praying for eyes that SEE the real and true!)

“LOVE is about awe, admiration, respect and appreciation.”

(thinking of my dear husband and these feelings I have for him.)

“If you’re looking for true happiness with another person, you first need to be reasonably mature, psychologically sound, and able to deal with truth and reality.”

(thankful that although we married young, much grace was given for our immature years, growing along together.)

Things are by no means excellent around here, but the reality of the matter is, when raising seven children you must lower your standards of cleanliness unless you can hire a full time housekeeper. All we need is love and understanding to cover over the messy parts.

Seth is currently standing on the counter throwing bacon dog treats to Parker, it makes him so happy to be nice to the dog.

Wind chimes are singing.

Sarah is napping.

My mom started these green pepper plants seeds from a pepper she ate and liked the taste of! My mom is awesome and an ever-source of inspiration to me.

My dad is awesome, too. He has a drum set in my old bedroom, right where my little sister Amanda’s bed used to be. He takes drum lessons every other Saturday! He practices every day! He loves it. How wonderful it is to do something for YOU, no matter who you are or how old you are.

His arms were flying so fast that I told him to freeze so I could take a picture.

In the living room, by the window, he has a practice drum and a music stand. He listens to the metronome through his ear phones and practices technique.

It’s a challenge. Mom says she loves to listen to him drum, she also loves this song:

“Like a drum my heart never stops beating for you.”

David asked me if he could make a chocolate cake and whenever it is possible, I say YES because I used to make the same recipe when I was 11 years old like him.

Wacky Cocoa Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3/4 cup oil
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla.

In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients like a mountain, with baking soda on the tippy top. Pour water and oil carefully around the bottom of the mountain. Pour vinegar on top of the baking soda to watch the bubbles! Add vanilla, beat until smooth. Pour batter into 9 by 13 pan, bake at 350, 35-40 minutes. Lick out the bowl.

His confidence grows and grows with each baking.

Well I hate to tell ya, our cat caught and ate an entire butterfly this weekend.

While Davy-do caught a fish.

(seth is in the other room and I called out to him, “are you getting into mischief?” “NO!” “What are you doing, then?” “Oh, I’m just sitting in a chair. holding a guitar pick. and thinking about God.” I laughed my way to him and gave him a hug. “Really, Seth?” “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing.” Kiss kiss on the cheek, back to blogging.)

This young dragonfly landed on my shirt, Sarah was worried it would bite and asked me if she could kill it, and we put it gently on a bush. “No-No! Don’t ever kill the dragonflies, they eat mosquitoes!”

The mallard ducks came back. One of the boys came to get me and I snuck down with my camera. They were in the stream, and the stream was overflowing and fast. It was fun to watch them in the rushing water, I wonder if they enjoyed themselves as they dipped and bobbed along?

It was hard for Sarah to keep her eyes on the female duck; she blends right into the stream!

I think he was trying to keep his balance.

He was about to go down the “rapids”.

****

Her face, when I came home from a date with her Daddy:

“Sarah, Sarah, where are you? I have a surprise for you!”

“You do? I hardly believe it.”

“Well, what is it? What is it, Mom?”

“NEW SHOES!!!” (this was her wondrous face as I said the word “shoes”) :::

“For reals? You’re awesome-sauce, Mom!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“May I just get to the end of my road and say, I have done this important thing in my life, and I have done it well.” ~Tessa Kiros

“When love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness which passes all understanding.” ~The Painted Veil

“Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (If you are a believer than you are pleasing to him because YOU HAVE the FAITH that He has given you!!)

Grace just came home from school smiling and singing because she is learning sign language with Larissa at 3:00.

time for the yearly mother’s day portrait

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Shanda

Grace and I were out to New York this weekend visiting family. We stayed two nights with Mom and Dad. Dad took this picture of us before church this morning of me and my mom, and Grace and her mom.

After church, we drove four hours home and I got to put my arms around all my children again.

so blessed.

a few of my own thoughts about motherhood, for what they are worth:

Motherhood doesn’t need to be put up on a pedestal. Motherhood doesn’t need to be glorified. It is a special work, but it is what it is because of our heavenly Father. He alone provides what a woman needs to be a beautiful mother to her children: HE GETS THE GLORY. I know I am in a sorry place when I begin thinking too much of myself. I want to feel weak and helpless, because in this way I will run to Jesus and his Word for help and guidance.

I love to have friendships with other mothers and be inspired by them, so I hope this blog does a little bit of that for you, my friends. But always remember that we are all children of God, working in the positions God has placed us.

Practically speaking, there is no set of perfect advice or rules for motherhood. What works for us will not work for other families. You need to work on knowing yourself, knowing your husband, knowing your own children. Do what is best for your own family and you will develop fun, priceless, “weird and strange” habits and jokes that no one else will understand. You will develop a love for one another that is not distracted by trying to follow a book, blog, or some other person’s ideas. Follow the Bible and God’s leading always, but never follow a certain man/philosophy/book unless the advice you learn goes along with your own convictions. Bravely live your own interesting and priceless life in the Lord. Be unique!! Life is an adventure!

Any old “fool” can make a baby, but it takes a lot of hard work and mistakes to raise them up in the Lord. Pray for me and I will pray for you.

It’s all grace, my loves.

I truly love and thank God for my children. I enjoy them all very much. I’m so proud of them I could bust. 🙂

good to be home

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A Simply Lovely Life

Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. 1 Corinthians 7;17

***

It’s easy to be losing patience with the end of winter here in the North, where the ground is frozen and the snow is rock-hard. The little ones are finding even more creative things to do around the house, for example, squirreling into the drop ceiling downstairs (!) like common mice.

The desire of my heart is to settle in, and content myself with my HOME, and what it means to me, to all of us, to be here day after day, my purpose, my life, my all, my joy.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

We are in the world, but not of it, because everything we do is sacred, with Jesus in our heart and soul. It’s not about me, it’s about God.

Flipping pancakes with blueberries, serving them up with real butter and Grandpa’s maple syrup from New York (place of my childhood).

Listening to Seth say, “You should make pancakes on every tomorrow.”

Satisfaction in trying to make them the very best I can, even if one tears in half when I go to flip it. The children love them, and the dog gets a leftover *if there are any*.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15, 16

Sunshine through a ready bowl of apples. Nurturing the family with crisp and juicy fruit. I’ll even peel it or slice it for you.

Thankful for the fresh eggs of our flock of hens, who are beginning to lay as they should (a sign of spring). Brown and sage.

My Mom taught me to keep my roses even after they dried, to use in simple rose garlands.

It only takes about five minutes to snip the pretty flowers off their stems and string them on a piece of thread with a needle, for a garland.

Homekeeping can seem like such a solitary life but He is always with us.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

The comfort of His daily bread.

The beauty of a daughter.

The silliness of a daughter.

My friend Barb makes her own baskets but ours are from Target. Wouldn’t it be fun to make one?

I adore gray and pink together, and I still remember my Grandma telling me that she did, too.

Saying “yes” to fancy dress because life is short and little girls grow too fast.

Legos all over the house.

Snickerdoodles, a cookie I’ve made my whole life beginning with Aunt Colleen in Grandma’s kitchen, and just lately, in my own kitchen.

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

2 3/4 cups flour

****

mix in small bowl:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs together till smooth. Mix in dry ingredients. From into 1 inch balls. Dip into sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place onto ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

Oh they are so good. So good.

Sarah said, “Can I have a kitty? I mean, a cookie?”

Be on the look out for end of season sales. I bought two Valentine placemats from Pottery Barn kids for next to nothing.

(Surrounding them with beautiful things.) Feathering the nest.

A sweet place to play.

A little glass pig on the kitchen windowsill.

My little rose garland (they can be extended easily with future rose bouquets) and the Dottie Angel wire heart decoration that I made myself this year for Valentine’s day.

I used things from my own stash of pretty (scroll down if you click) and I love how it turned out. All starting with a wire hanger, don’t you know. LOL

These are the Chocolate Crinkle cookies I made yesterday for the children as they watched Frozen together on the couch. The recipe is from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook that I got for my birthday. They turned out great, in fact, there are only 2 left.

Sarah! Is writing her name now! I just can’t stand it.

And my Seth. They learned about Blind Bartimaeus yesterday in Community Bible Study.

Look:

Isn’t that the dearest thing? You lift his “blind face” to see his new one, with healed eyes. There is no doubt that THOSE eyes can see! 🙂

Praise God.

Last night, small Sarah fell asleep so softly with her head on my arm as her Dad read to us all from our #1 family favorite book:

Last night we read about the Wanton woman, and Mr. Talkative.

We never heard about Mrs. Wanton in “Little Pilgrims Progress” so we were kinda like, bug eyed, but Rich said “Apparently someone in this room needs to hear this.” All boys do, right? Look out for Mrs. Wanton! Don’t follow her enticing ways.

And Mr. Talkative does the talking but not the actual living a life of grace. “I have heard that you are a man whose religion consists only in words and that your everyday life contradicts what you say.” Oh, there is a lesson in that as well.

*****

Thankful for:

Grace brushing my hair last night.
Seth’s hug that was more like a tackle around the legs. (He almost took me down with it!)
Sunshine pouring through the windows as I type.
The beautiful mess of a busy household.
The laughter of teen age boys.

Calm my Anxious Heart (notes from chapters 2 and 3)

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Shanda

Two women looked
through prison bars
One saw mud,
the other saw stars.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. Philippians 4:6 TLB

Learning to be content is a heart choice-a choice to pray rather than be anxious.

When confronted with negative circumstances we have a choice: will we pray about the problem or will we worry about it?

Ultimately, contentment is more a shift in attitude than a change in circumstances.

“Lord, don’t let my pain be wasted. Use it to conform me to your image. Use it to teach me about how to be content.”

Too often in our lives, accomplishment and doing overshadow growth and becoming.

Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God. 1 Peter 3:3-4

On her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31

*Taken from the book: Calm My Anxious Heart, A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment by Linda Dillow.

*****

About the pictures: Before Christmas, I was walking outside and decided to cut a bouquet of winterberry branches for the kitchen windowsill. The branches were covered in bright red berries, and a favorite way of mine to bring nature into the winter house to decorate. There they sat, and sat, and sat upon the window, for over a month. After a time, the water turned moldy, every time I bumped into it a shriveled berry fell, and there were little wisps of cobwebs growing, too. I distinctly remember thinking, “It’s about time I take that jar out to the porch and dump it over the railing.” But, of course it didn’t happen. Last week, on a particular bluesy-blue day, I was standing at the sink drying tears off my face and getting a glass of water. With a startle, I noticed that the dead and shriveled branches had a surprise in store for me. They were growing, with tiny, gloriously green leaves popping out, almost like magic. I almost didn’t believe my eyes. It wasn’t magic though, it was God showing me truth through his creation: He makes things new. He makes things grow.

He makes beautiful things, out of dust.

contentment and bean bags

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Shanda

Hello, lovelies. I am sitting cross legged on the couch looking into a brand new laptop screen with fingers tip tapping across fresh, clean keys. The children are at school, Seth and Sarah are napping, the dryer is humming, the roof is dripping. It’s up 20 degrees from yesterday and feels positively warm at 39, the snow was slushy and wet under my feet when I went to the coop earlier. Seth and Sarah went outside for about 20 minutes and managed to build and destroy three little snow men. The dog ran off with the carrots. Laughter, cold hands, hungry tummies, sandwiches, naps.

What am I thinking about? In a word, contentment. My dear friend Kara shared with me a book to read and I am only a few pages in but already refreshed by good, wholesome truths.

“…..I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11

Wow, wait a minute, contentment can be learned. This fills me with hope, and a strong desire to learn, learn, learn! As Christians, God can and will infuse us with the strength we need to face each moment of every day and will teach us everything we need to know. Isn’t it encouraging that we got this far? I’m done with “chasing happy”, from now on I am going to “chase contentment”.

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” 2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

I am excited about my new book and if you want to read along, too, it is by Linda Dillow and titled Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment (I am sure men would enjoy it, too). 🙂 I am reading it on my kindle with a pencil and notebook.

***

A poem I came across recently:

What God Hath Promised

God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

Annie Johnson Flint

****

A craft to do with the children

Like homemade play dough, homemade bean bags are a quick and easy thing to do with the children and are all the better for being made by our own six (more or less) hands. Seth and Sarah had a fun time choosing their own fabric from my bin of scraps, and I even let Seth press the sewing machine “foot” (scary) to sew his own.

We kept making them until the beans ran out.

Sethers was still in his cozy pajamas. I love those darling bare feet.

We ended up with six colorful little bean bags to throw around.

This one was my favorite, as you can see I got fancy with the stitching on this one, too. Mushrooms!

Sarah’s favorites were the baby blue/pink rose ones. She told me she didn’t like the mushroom one.

Watch out! They are about to let them fly.

“just to be alive is a grand thing”

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Shanda

a simply lovely life

“But there was something more {to his experience} which he felt, but could not express, sights and scents and sounds of which he could only say: ‘It seems to get hold of you like, somehow.'” Flora Thompson, in Lark Rise to Candleford

….”it is in the smallest details that the flavor of life is savored.” Sarah Ban Breathnach, in Simple Abundance

“Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart. I want to see You.”

This morning I sat in the recliner by the window, under a lamp, and spent some time (the best time) in the Word of God, reading Ephesians and a Charles Spurgeon devotional, Evening and Morning.

As I was reading, the children were quietly buzzing about, playing and fighting a little, too (over toys).

I was blessed by Sarah’s face as she sat back and looked at the pink plastic necklace she put around my neck, her eyes were adorably thoughtful and considering.

I thought about the Holy Spirit and how God moves like wind, blowing life into dead hearts, stirring them up to begin to think of him, a miracle of soul-work. A man shared his salvation story in church on Sunday and broke down as he told us the sacred memory of the desire he heard in his mind for the very first time “READ THE BIBLE, READ THE BIBLE” until he finally obeyed and went to the mall to find one, and buy it. The Word was like a dagger into his heart, telling him clearly who he was, and what he needed, which was Jesus Christ to save and comfort him, to take his burdens away and give him rest, finally rest, for his weary soul.

I read this morning Spurgeon’s words to the sinking Christian, and how we find our refuge in the humble act of PRAYER. Oh what a comfort to simply go to Him with all our troubles, knowing that He hears and helps in such amazing ways. If only we had eyes to see all that He truly does for His own loved and cherished children.

“The fox hies to its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and even so the tried believer hastens to the mercy seat for safety. Heaven’s great harbor of refuge is All-prayer; thousands of weather-beaten vessels have found a haven there, and the moment a storm comes on, it is wise for us to make for it with all sail.”

“Immediately a keen sense of danger forces an anxious cry from us the ear of Jesus hears, and with him ear and heart go together, and the hand does not long linger. At the last moment we appeal to our Master, but His swift hand makes up for our delays by instant and effectual action. Are we nearly engulfed by the boisterous waters of affliction? Let us then lift up our souls unto the Savior, and we may rest assured that He will not suffer us to perish. When we can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist His powerful aid upon our side, and all will be well.” Charles Spurgeon

so much to be thankful for;

Jacob cleaned the kitchen the other day, he cleaned it spotless, and one of his techniques was to take the everlasting four inch pile of mail, school papers, and other papers and put it in my bedroom with this label on top. LOL

It seems so strange to have flowers coming up in a “hot spot” in the flower beds. They do this every year in January and it’s amazing to see how they get covered in snow again, and frozen, but still come up and blossom prettily in the spring.

The chickens had a happy couple of days with milder temperatures and laid a few extra eggs for us.

I took a freshly baked berry cobbler to our Bible study brunch yesterday. Recipe here.

I just love the look of ice on the pond. We have another rainy day today but it was nice to see a peek of the blue sky yesterday.

If I do say so myself, I knocked one out of the park yesterday at dinnertime. I made fluffy cornmeal dinner rolls from a cookbook that Aunt Mary gave me years ago. (please be advised, if you try the recipe, I had to add more milk (increase amount to 1 cup), this dough needs to stay somewhat sticky and soft in order for the rolls to be fluffy. I used my kitchenaid to knead the dough.)

And a big huge pot of homemade chicken noodle soup.

Darling Caleb, scraping up the last of his (third) bowl of soup made by mother.

contentment.

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” Agatha Christie

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:5

God bless all those who pass through here today, I pray that you have a gentle, serene day in the Lord, no matter what trials come your way. You are loved.

carols and cookies; love and magic

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Shanda

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:2, 3

This morning I awoke to discover that the snow is completely gone. It was in the 60’s yesterday, unheard of for December in New England. I wore sandals to church, just to be able to say that I did (on December 22!) This morning it is raining. The ponds are melting and have a layer of slush over the tops of them instead of the hard ice of last week.

Rich is home today!

On Saturday, we joined our friends at church for a caroling party in town. We walked down the street to the library and set up a sound system. Dave and Mike played guitar and some of us sang while others of us passed out little gift bags containing some treats and an invitation to our Christmas Eve service.

(daughter Grace in brown jacket)

I asked Micheal to watch over Seth so he could give out some bags. I was told later on that it didn’t last long. As soon as Seth saw the other kids playing in the snow behind us, he left the bags so he could play, too.

The kids were thrilled to be playing in the snow on such a warm day….I know my own children were soaked by the time we left.

Tony held Sarah

Wally passed out pocket calendars in the street (made me nervous the entire time). This road has non stop traffic.

Rich took a turn at the mic to preach a short invitation.

Joanne and Sara enjoyed a song from Sarah Joy (her rendition of “Silent Night” is adorable).

We all left happy and full of the joy of fellowshipping and singing Jesus’ praises together.

***********

THEN, later on that night Rich gave me the gift of TIME (which is what he is doing now, too, so I can write here) by taking Seth and Sarah out shopping. Grace and I took advantage of the quiet to bake Christmas cookies together.

I enjoy this daughter of mine so very much. I put her in charge of the buckeyes and she did a great job with them.

(She is currently trying to teach herself sign language using youtube videos).

Her shirt said “love and magic” on it, two of our very favorite words.

I can recommend the Costco brand of chocolate chips; they melted wonderfully and hardened up perfectly on the candies. They have a nice, dense texture and rich chocolate flavor. (It’s hard for us to stay away from the buckeyes. We keep them in the freezer and we all sneak into the pantry for “just one more”).

I made cherry snowballs and then the ever-popular candy cane cookies, made with a butter dough and flavored with mint.

Jacob and Ethan arrived home from watching the latest “Hobbit” movie to a flurry of activity in the kitchen.

Caleb and David amused themselves by stuffing blankets down Dave’s pajama shorts.

This is a tip from me to you (mama to mama or grandma): If your children complain of boredom have them try this activity. It is sure to bring hours of entertainment, just be sure to have them wear their most stretchy shorts!

Grace got creative with the last tray of the buckeyes; she painted chocolate initials on them (one for each member of the family) and also did a heart:

Spirits were high (on sugar) as the evening progressed.

Grace did a basic sugar cookie next, and tinted them green. My candy canes were also green. You see, all of the red food coloring was used up by Jacob this summer. He used it to dye water red and fill up containers with it to shoot with his bb gun (realistic blood?)………

These cookies ended up tasting really weird but we are hoping the boys eat them regardless.

The kitchen was a disaster but, Mom, I did clean it before I went to bed.

David amused himself by making an origami candle. I tell you, my children are talented.

Talented!

radiance

Image

“The impact Sister Julienne made upon me-and, I discovered, most people-was out of proportion to her words or her appearance. She was not imposing or commanding, nor arresting in any way. She was not even particularly clever. But something radiated from her and, ponder as I might, I could not understand it. It did not occur to me at the time that her radiance had a spiritual dimension, owing nothing to the values of the temporal world.”

(~ from Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth)

***

Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

***

Hello my friends! I hope each of you is having a wonderful day. I was at Bible Study all day and then made a run to Costco for groceries. I’ve changed into comfortable clothes now and am getting ready to cook dinner/love on, the family. David is busy drawing, Caleb and Seth are outside playing, Sarah is napping, and the older ones are at after school activities. Rich should be home within an hour or so. It’s chilly today, in the low 50’s at the moment, and a frost advisory for tonight.

I hope you like the quote, it is one that I wrote in my journal this last winter as I read through all of Jennifer Worth’s wonderful books (highly recommended). I can think of women in my own life that radiate the love of Jesus and I pray that I can be a blessing in that way, as well.