New England Music Festival (with Grace)

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Shanda

The music for this post is a rendition of the song “The Road Home”, which was one of the pieces sang this weekend at the New England Music Festival. Unfortunately, I do not have video of the actual performance, but this is one from youtube, which gives an idea of the caliber of singing we enjoyed from Grace and her peers. (they sounded just as good if not better)…….

Grace and Her Weekend of Singing

My daughter Grace is 15 years old now and in the 10th grade. Recently, she tried out for the New England Music Festival and made it, so she has been extra busy with preparations for this important event.

We have three teenagers involved in High School extracurricular events and I feel as though I miss seeing Grace the most. Her older brothers are involved in sports which means during the competitive months I see them performing on a constant basis. But Grace is in music and drama both of which do not have as many performances, but a rather lot of practicing— so I don’t see her until about 6:30 or later every school night. I do miss her very much at times, but Grace is the type of individual who thrives on being busy. She is very much like her Dad in that way, but she seems like more of an extrovert. Although she does like reading and writing, she comes alive around her people, especially her role models (teachers and older students and friends).

I watched her get on the bus Thursday morning at 6:30 for school, with Jacob carrying her suitcase for her, and I felt a little anxiety knowing I wouldn’t see her again until Saturday. Thursday was the day she and the other students travelled to Keene, New Hampshire, for the music festival. She doesn’t have a cell phone so she would only be giving us brief updates using a friend’s phone.

It is amazing to me how much the dynamic of our family changes with just one person away! Each one of our children is a perfect fit into our family, we love them so much and thank God continually for this stage of life when all seven are still under our roof.

I prayed continually, asking the Lord that she would do well and that her cough (left over from a resent bout with the flu) wouldn’t be a problem. He answered those prayers and more; the girls stayed with a host family and one of the girls there was a believer. Rich received a text message from Grace that told us that she and her new friend talked about the Bible and sang together with two other girls. They tried naming the 12 tribes of Judah, sang camp and Sunday School songs, went through all the contemporary Christian songs and artists that they knew, and generally had a wonderful impromptu Bible study during one of their free evenings. Oh it just thrilled my heart to hear all about it later on. There is another girl from our town that Grace loves, her name is Isabella, and she is a believer also, and was on this same trip staying in the same home as Grace. God is so good in these small but oh-so-important ways!

Despite the fact that Grace is busy, she is faithful to attend the boy’s sporting events whenever she can. I thought it was only fair that with all the support the boys get from their parents and siblings with their sports, we should ALL go and support our dear sister/daughter in this special concert that she auditioned for, so I wrote a check for 96 dollars in order to purchase 8 tickets for Rich, myself, Jacob, Ethan, David, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah. We all eagerly awaited the day when we would take our little trip to New Hampshire, and Grace was happy and secure in knowing that her family would be there, enjoying the program.

Rich got a new watch that keeps track of his exercising and also gives him his text messages– and it came in the mail on Friday, which was a huge annoyance because he spent all Saturday morning not getting excited about the day trip, but silently in the corner trying to get his dang new watch all set up! It was a much needed lesson of patience for the rest of the family. Finally he got himself dressed and we got the children ready to go, too. We left the house at about noon and stopped for lunch on the way, at Crackerbarrel. My Facebook friends already saw the picture Jacob took of Rich and I together at the table. While we were sitting there at the table Rich asked me to text him…so I did…and his watch never received it…(can you believe it? after all that!) he was so annoyed. Thankfully, at the time of this writing it is working better, although still not quite right. (technology saves times and wastes time).

In any case, at the Crackerbarrel, four of us ordered breakfast and four of us ordered lunch. I had a chef salad and coffee. Caleb bought himself a new stuffed cat from the gift shop and named it “SeaCat” because it’s fur is blue and green like the sea. It’s one of those Ty stuffed animals that have HUGE glittering eyes. Those are all the rage in my house lately with Seth, Sarah, and now Caleb. Sarah has about six–all cats–, Seth has two dogs. They play together with them and it’s the cutest thing.

David bought jelly beans because he made a candy dispenser out of legos and wanted to try it out. It’s the neatest little thing. You have to insert a coin to get your bean out.

Jacob got salt water taffy.

Then we were back in the car on our way. The whole trip was only about 2 hours. I thought I had downloaded two new books to my kindle but alas when I went to read, I found that they did not download after all, so I passed the time by my iPhone and/or doing nothing. Rich brought his iPad and had the kids watch an inspirational message given by a military man.

We arrived in Keene with 45 minutes to spare and found a delightful BOOKSTORE of all places! We love bookstores and this one was perfectly charming, independently owned, containing new AND used books. I bought a few charming used children’s books (one of which was titled The Doll’s House, and was illustrated by Tasha Tudor). Then we went to the school to find our Gracie-girl again. I could not wait to get my eyes on her.

We already had our tickets, so we got in line, and I kid you not it was probably a quarter of a mile long. We were behind about 200 or more other people waiting to get into the auditorium for this choral concert. David almost died. But once the line started moving we were in there quickly– in the very back of the auditorium, second to the last row. Rich and I sat with Sarah between us and of course her little feet were in the air because she wasn’t heavy enough to keep the seat down. I had her on one side and Seth on the other and it was all I could do not to get irritated with them BOTH asking me questions DURING the gorgeous songs. I finally got through to them that the could not talk during the performance, bless their hearts, the music wasn’t moving to them, but I had tears on my face throughout all the pieces, it was just so beautiful.

I saw my daughter the moment she came into the room. All of the singers filed in quickly and she was the last in line on the stage bleachers. (there was another set of bleachers on the floor) I thought I had missed her and didn’t know how I could have, I thought my motherly eyes would recognize her even from such a distance away. The room was large and we were in the back, but then I saw her and my eyes teared up. Someone had braided her hair for her and she looked so pretty and energetic. She was wearing her glasses, I had been worried that she didn’t have them with her, but she did, and she looked beautiful, even Rich turned to me and said so. We were proud that she was in such a nice big group of singers from all over New England. We were happy for her in achieving this experience.

The music began, and like I said before, the pieces were beautiful. There were God honoring songs, to glorify Him, and then the last piece, a fun and happy number “Skip to my Lou” that made us laugh. They clapped during that song, I don’t know how the conductor kept the beat with all the rhythms going at once.

Speaking of the conductor, I noticed Seth (he is six) “conducting” in his chair as he watched the performance and it struck me that when I watch, I usually see the concert through the eyes of one of the SINGERS, but my small son would have none of that. HE was THE CONDUCTOR! I love it. I never pretended to be a conductor. The pianist, yes. A singer, yes. Conductor, no.

All too soon the concert was over and so we filed out of the room to wait in the hall with about a thousand other people. Finally I saw Grace heading toward us and the first thing she wanted me to do was take her picture with a set of twin boys. The boys were singers who were homeschooled and Grace loved them (in a friendly sort of way). Then she bid me to follow her back into the auditorium so I could meet the manager of the entire festival, who has a deaf daughter. Grace wants to be a deaf interpreter so she immediately began a friendship with this man and they signed to each other. He wanted to show her a video that his daughter’s deaf camp put together of the song, “Happy”. We all stood around and watched it on his iPad and then it was time to say good bye. He said he would be looking for her next year.

I took a picture of Grace with the conductor, Jerry Blackstone, too. He was a grammy award winning musician and from what I heard was very good with the kids. He certainly got them singing beautifully in only two and a half days of work!

Grace chatted to us all about her experience on the way home. We only stopped twice…once at a gas station to take advantage of New Hampshire gas prices and another time to pick up a pizza closer to home, for dinner.

Pictures

the text Rich received from Grace

Jacob and Parker, on Saturday morning before we left….hanging around waiting for Dad to get off his watch.

Ethan petting Sherlock right before we left for our trip.

New Hampshire mountains

the bookstore we found

just a small section of the audience waiting for the singers to enter and the concert to begin

Caleb, Ethan (with headband) and Jacob, three of Grace’s brothers

the program

The last pose of the last number, “Skip to my Lou”

official portrait-time

Grace and I meet once again.

Grace with the twins

watching “Happy” with the festival manager

Grace and the Choral conductor, Jerry Blackstone

Grace’s pretty braid

proud parents

the one and only E

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Shanda

Grace is recovering from the flu and we are on the couch together watching The Well-Diggars Daughter. If you have not watched this golden French film….it’s perfect and lovely…heart warming. David and Seth are also home recovering from the flu. For the last week, I have been Nurse Mother. There is a huge pot of chicken noodle soup on the simmer in the kitchen, along with various medicines, tissues, drinks, and tender loving care, ready and waiting to meet their every need.

One son in the family has remained healthy, the one and only Ethan. He is thankful that he didn’t spend his birthday, which was yesterday, sick like the rest of his siblings.

He requested a Boston Creme Pie and an Apple Pie for his birthday dessert. With the extra work I had as Nurse, I decided to order the pies from a bakery half an hour away. Grace was home from school so she graciously watched Sarah (and, Finding Neverland) while I was gone. I picked up Ethan and Jacob from school. With coffees from Dunkin Donuts, we went on our little road trip to the Bakery and then ate Ethan’s choice for lunch; chinese buffet.

The waitress asked them if they were twins. They are only a year and two months apart, so almost irish twins. They act like twins, though, since the day Ethan was born they’ve been the best of friends. For example, I had originally asked Ethan to go with me alone for lunch, but he asked if Jacob could go because “it would be more fun that way.” He wasn’t being cruel, he was only being honest. I love these brothers. They are good for each other. Ethan’s the only one in the family who doesn’t treat Jacob with respect for being the firstborn. LOL

Ethan had 20 dollars Grandma and Grandpa, and with an extra six dug from my purse,he and Jacob went into GameStop (a used game store).

We arrived back home with a game for Ethan, a calligraphy pen for Jacob, and birthday pies.

After so much Chinese food for lunch, he decided on pizza for dinner. Rich brought it home from Ethan’s favorite place, Frank Pepe.

He loves the clam pizza but their supplier is having bad luck, so we ate shrimp instead. With lots and lots of garlic yumminess. There was a meat pizza for the others. As I gaze at the photo, I am tempted to go get a cold leftover piece from the fridge.

At first, he seemed more interested in playing his games than opening his gift. But it wasn’t true.

One of my favorite parts of being a mom of many, one of the beautiful little things I didn’t expect, is the joy in seeing the siblings get in each other’s way to watch a brother or sister open the birthday gifts. All so very excited.

I had made Ethan wait until later on in the day to open his gift, because Rich was the one who took care of everything, although Sarah and I wrapped it. Look at those faces!

A smile for his Dad, a smile that says “thank you, I love them”.

The smell of leather.

For the rest of the night there was a sound of cowboy boots on all the wooden floors.

A much cherished gift.

I, for one, became over-stuffed with pie. Look at that cream in the middle! And it’s real! Not cool-whip or frosting, but real lightly sweetened whipped cream. The cake (Boston Creme Pie, rather) was entirely delicious.

Apple pie was good, too.

Seth missed out on the birthday song and pie because he fell asleep on the couch. David missed it because he was feeling sick with the flu. There are leftovers for them.

After a while, I left Emily, Ethan, Jacob, and Grace playing a video game together with their Dad watching over them. I got into bed with a grateful heart, all tired out from a day of happiness, celebrating my beloved son Ethan’s 17 birthday.

All those years ago I tucked him into my arms, a perfect fit, with so much love.

welcoming the month of march…..with more snow….

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Shanda

And a happy Monday, March 2nd to you! Yesterday we welcomed a new month with yet more snow, enough to delay school this morning by 2 hours. That’s always fun. By fun I mean “fun”. Caleb had sore muscles so after seeing him walk around like an old man and almost crying, I spoon fed him some liquid Advil in the kitchen while making eggs. Sarah and Seth kept trying to play together, resulting in Sarah yelling at the top of her voice for Seth to “stop it!!” To deal with this situation, I put them each in their rooms to play alone. Grace felt as if she was getting a cold, so I had her mix up some Emergen-C, and then she needed a container to put it in so she could sip it all morning at school. She took it in a travel mug. Ethan put on his boots and went to the chicken coop for me, taking them a bowl of discarded people food and a pitcher of water. David was told to shovel the walkway and Rich had to “encourage” him in a loud Fatherly voice that “work is supposed to be enjoyable.” The end result was a wonderfully shoveled path. Jacob did nothing notable.

Once the children went to school Rich and I went downtown to the coffee shop. Rich dropped me off at the door and I said, “I’ll leave Sarah with you, you can manage her.” He told me that as they drove away to park she asked her Dad nervously, “What does manage mean?” I think she was afraid. As I waited for them I almost took a chair away from the table to make way for a high chair!!!!! Slowly it is dawning on me that I no longer HAVE babies, for the first time in 18 very busy years but apparently I still have some ingrained instincts.

The coffee shop always has artwork on the walls featuring a great variety of artists and their work. This week it is nature photography and as I studied them, I thought, “I take better pictures than this.” Some of them have sold, 200 dollars worth, in fact! I know that sounds so prideful, but I don’t mean it that way, I mean it in this way, “I never thought about selling my photos but seeing these pictures sell makes me believe I could do it, too!”

I love the way Sarah turns her markers and crayons into people and ~~tells stories~~ makes up games with them.

“I used to live here at the camp road, but now I live here at the camp-camp-camp!”

“I like to hear your stories, Sarah.”

“Mom it’s not a story, it’s a game! A coloring game!”

She’s also trying to figure out what we should do next. So far she has come up with “play ground” “thrifth store” “Barnes and Novel” “Somebody’s house” or the “movies.”

I already drank all my coffee, it was a caramel latte. Sarah requested a hot chocolate and Rich had a coconut caramel flavored coffee.

Sarah went outside to play the other day….she found the picnic table.

Sarah’s bike next to the mammoth snow pile.

In spite of the rock in the middle I very sadly later found this pot saucer broken in the snow.

Caleb and Seth found their helmets which reminded them of a favorite activity, so they brought their bikes up out of the garage. I love how Seth is holding the handle bars with his hands in his sleeves. When you get stir-crazy enough you ride your bike even in frigid temperatures.

This was such a precious moment. Jacob showed Emily his baby book for the first time. The thought of him showing his girlfriend the book was not in my mind when I worked in it all those years ago. I was 21 and smitten with my new baby, filling the pages with photos and milestones. Emily enjoyed it and went home with a page photocopied out it.

Mike messing around with one of the boys (Caleb).

Another winter activity! Who knew that playing with Daddy’s tools would keep the little ones busy for over an hour?

Mike and Jacob played Phase 10. That container on the bench is full of jelly beans, and the tissue box was never far from Jacob’s side as he dealt with his wretched cold.

We worked on a puzzle Saturday night while listening and singing along to iTunes. (Grace, Zak, and Seth)

Sarah on Sunday, in her church dress.

more snow! (that blue speck is our newspaper down the road buried in the snow pile.) lol

All I did was go outside to get the paper and take a couple of pictures but two of the children worried and greeted me back in the house with, “MOM where did you go? What are you doing?”

Sunday was awesome, I spent the morning with Jacob, Grace, David, and Sarah. We went to church, then Wendy’s drive thru, we got the giggles in the car, drove to an antique store where I left them in the car eating while I quickly walked around looking at things (I bought some little gifts for my MOM, and three small fiesta plates for my collection; all vintage– gray, light green, and yellow). We drove home and found Ethan and Seth back home from their wrestling event. Ethan coached Seth to a 2nd place victory but Seth hung his head and was sad that he didn’t get first. Then we were all together except Rich and Caleb, who were at States. Caleb placed 7th out of 11 kids in his weight class. (which is why he was so sore this morning).

Brother and Sister cats.

Doesn’t it look as though Sherlock is smiling?

Seth (not on purpose) made us so sad. When I decided to write his name on all his wrestling medals I couldn’t find them. He told me he took them to school and when his “friend” Bryce asked for them, Seth GAVE THEM to HIM (all but one!) He gave away his metals!! This situation is still being resolved.

completed puzzle

Not happy about this. Grace was doing her nails and put the nail polish remover-soaked paper towel directly on the coffee table!!!!!!!!!! The remaining paper towel is stuck and dried in the table terribly!

Last night the bunny watched “Death comes to Pemberly” with Grace, Ethan, and me.

It was kind of boring.

Bunny scratched me and Grace, scared the cats, and bit some holes in the blanket.

7:00 am sky

A few hours later.

Since we were all hanging around each other for an extra 2 hours and all……my grown up babies!

I took some pictures this morning on the way downtown

of the snow

and ice.

I said, “Rich slow down by that house so I can get a picture of the ice.”

HE SPED UP. and then LAUGHED.

Rich took this picture from across the table. He wanted me to see what he saw. Our adorable little girlie, thrilled by the chocolate syrup drizzled on the top of her whipped cream and hot chocolate.

snow

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Shanda

Our mailbox peeks out from a snowbank just like the majority of our neighbor’s mailboxes. I saw one that was wrapped around and around with duck tape, in a furious attempt to keep it from being broken off by the snowplows.

We haven’t had snowfall in a few days but what we have, old snow, is deep and interesting. Caleb’s school assembly was put off until the end of March because there is too much snow piled in the parking lot and as a result, not enough room for people to park.

Sarah keeps busy indoors. She especially enjoys making herself a house out of all the couch cushions. It’s good harmless fun and she’s always thoughtful to include her stuffed animals.

This is the look Parker always gives me when I go into the kitchen. “Are you about to give me a treat?”

Another thing Sarah likes to do is have hot chocolate under the table.

I made scalloped potatoes and ham yesterday for dinner.

With ham from a pig that Rich’s Dad raised and butchered for us. Delicious.

Dusted with paprika right before covering it with foil, popping it into the oven and heading off to the library.

She wore it in the car but not in the library, thankfully.

Our library looks different in the Winter.

Caleb requested books about Football. It’s his latest passion and interest, although he assured me that does still like snakes.

I usually peruse the “NEW” bookshelf and there were some absolutely delightful books to borrow. I read them out loud last night.

The Lion and the Bird. A Lion helps an injured bird and they spend the winter together and become friends. A sweet book with lots of pages of thoughtful illustrations. Heartwarming.

What to Do When You’re Sent to Your Room, Moms of boys will laugh through this one. I loved it.

Go to Sleep, Little Farm. Gorgeous artwork and a lovely soothing story, creatively worded and a joy to read aloud.

Sam and Dave dig a Hole. If only they knew what they kept missing! I read this to Seth and he said, “Read it again!” which is a sure sign of a good book. Drink chocolate milk and eat animal crackers while reading.

I Wish I had a Pet. Illustrated with whimsical pictures of felt mice and other animals. Very creative and my favorite book from the stack.

Davy’s vinegar egg experiments continue! This one is being turned to “rubber”. He is greatly influenced by youtube videos and he made his own tutorial.

Seth got home from school and got cozy on Sarah’s couch cushions with the remote.

Sarah’s been taking trips to the garage to ride her bike. She’s never out there for very long. She’s funny.

Grace has a leak in her ceiling so Rich went up on the roof to shovel off some of the snow and ice.

He said that when he was a teenager he and a couple friends drove around hiring themselves out, shoveling roofs after a heavy snowfall. They made a good bit of money doing it, too.

These pictures were all taken yesterday. Today Jacob is home with a bad cold. He is currently sleeping on the couch. Sarah and I are in the new room listening to iTunes “Princess Radio”. I have a sleeping cat by my side. David and Ethan will be home soon because they have a half day of school.

I have a 3:45 appointment to get my hair done.

How are you today?

Hope you have a wonderful day and spend a little time nurturing yourself. You are loved, my friends!

RECIPES:

scalloped potatoes and ham, my favorite way to make them
soft ginger cookies (easy–I didn’t even bother using the mixer)

wholeness

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Shanda

a simply lovely life

I am so thankful this morning for the freedom I enjoy in simply being me. Knowing that God sheds His grace over me and that nothing I do or say can change His love for me and mine. Knowing that there is less anxiety *in being myself*, than there is in being who I think others want me to be. Through faith in Jesus Christ, I have assurance of everlasting life, and this is the hope I have for my soul. In living this life, He is the One who leads me all the way. Day by day he changes me into His image, slowly, carefully, gently, lovingly. His children are His precious ones, and not one is lost. It is because of His great mercy that we are not consumed.

“It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Romans 9:16

I have choices, I have a mind, I have a wisdom that knows what my needs are, and what the needs of my husband and family are. There is still a sacred privacy and security within the family unit, and nothing is worth injuring what we share together. It is the same for everyone. Don’t underestimate what you know in your logical mind to be true. I am often guided by my feelings and by the fear of man, but what the Lord has been showing me lately is that I need to be guided by common sense, wisdom, and His Word, the Bible.

I have freedom and every right to make a decision or have a belief contrary to what others may expect or want. In the rare instances that a friend doesn’t understand or agree, I don’t have to be afraid, I can trust in the peace-making promises of grace and love, knowing that my friends accept and respect me, regardless, as I do for them as well. We can enjoy the freedoms that belong to each and every one of us.

Caleb asked me to take this picture. Parker the dog is his friend and Caleb does a wonderful job of taking care of him, playing with him, sharing his food, and making sure his water bowl is filled. Sometimes if I put the dog downstairs, Caleb feels so sorry for him that he goes, too.

Sarah is getting better and better at the matching game. If I miss a match she reassures me by saying what I say to her, “Don’t be sad, you just need to think about it and remember where it is!”

Just for the fun of it David shut all the cats in the bathroom and then we took a picture, which was very very hard to do. Billy kept leaping away with a yowl.

Homemade donuts on Saturday night.

Emily reading to Seth and Sarah.

Davy had his braces put on yesterday. Oh the hardship of a 12 year old getting used to a mouth full of metal. He has been very brave, especially considering he was not mentally prepared for it at all because I thought he was getting spacers put in and we would only be at the orthodontist for five minutes. He was in the chair for over an hour. Oh my darling son. Your smile is beautiful and someday it will be even more so.

grape jelly meatballs for the son who requested them for dinner.

A tiny chickadee selected a seed and then flew away with it…

cozy cat

I made a dozen muffins for lunch. If you let them rest in the pan for 10 minutes they fall right out of the muffin tin.

Rich is working from home today.

I took this picture of Sherlock through the beveled glass in the door.

Knitting a white dishcloth for Joanna.

Right after I asked Rich if he was going to eat his muffin (it had been on his plate for an hour), Parker stealthily walked around the coffeetable, picked it up with his teeth, and went over to the kitchen to eat it on the rug.

These are the next three books I plan to read. I picked these out without reading reviews so I have no idea (besides the back covers) if they will be delicious. I sure hope they are.

I spent some time getting ready for Bible Study tomorrow and I loved this quote from my book on Romans:

“Think about integrity. To be whole, a genuinely integrated person, is to be the same inside and outside. What you are must be what others see, and what you say should synchronize with what you really believe. Jesus Christ not only saves us from our sins and assures us of eternal life with Him, He also puts together all the bits and pieces of our lives. The Christian life is a process. Making a verbal confession of faith is the beginning of that process–it leads to wholeness for the one who makes it.
“We don’t need to be told that such wholeness is rare in our world, for the disparity between what people are like inside and the facade they show to others is often considered necessary for survival. Perhaps you are experiencing that tension yourself right now and know firsthand its frustrations and anxieties. Some of us are further along in the process of being made whole than others, but all believers are on the way. “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him.” (Colossians 2:9-10) It remains for us to become fully integrated personalities by ‘working out’ or expressing externally, what is already internally true in our hearts. (Philippians 2:12-13). This begins by confessing that Jesus is your Lord.”

{this moment} and a video announcement

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Shanda

This is me, blowing out my candles at 9pm at night after a long long day and wrestling practice for the guys. I wish you could have heard the family’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” it was goofy and I think it was in three part (or more) harmony, too.

It took a while for the smoke to clear from the kitchen!

And, thank you so much for having fun with me here on the blog regarding the perfume sample giveaway. Here is a video announcing the winner. We did no preparation and we only did one take. I love my Davy.

old news

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Shanda

Super bowl sunday was an entire week ago but I must blog about it because it was such a fun day.

First of all, that morning Rich had a wrestling tournament to coach. He had Seth, Caleb, and David with him.

Second of all, Sarah Joy woke up with the stomach bug. Horrors.

Third of all, Isaac and Cass wanted to come to church with me which left me in a quandary because I typically don’t leave sick babies home with older siblings.

HOWEVER, she wasn’t sad or overly grumpy so Rich and I decided just this once that she would be fine if I left her home with Grace to take care of. Mike had spent the night that night with the boys so when I left for church that morning I had Cass in the front with me, then Mike, Ethan, and Isaac in the middle, and Jacob in the back (soon to be joined by Emily, whom we picked up on the way).

We talked and laughed all the half hour way to church. It was such a joy to me, as I spend most of my time with younger people (four year olds).

After church we went to the Chinese buffet where Isaac ate so much he got the “meat sweats”. As I predicted, he ruined his appetite for Super Bowl food. Anyway, it was hilarious and I took this group selfie when we loaded in the car after eating……

When we got home Cass and I started getting things ready for the party. We made a salad and some hot artichoke cheese dip.

Zak was one of our guests for the day. He is on the wrestling team and a friend of Ethan, Jacob…..and Parker the dog, too. 🙂

There was nonstop partying going on once everyone arrived. Another wrestler, Dom, came, and our good friends, the K’s came, too. Amanda and Jason came with their friend Inna, and their three kids, Abbie, Naomi, and Weston.

I was very distracted but tried taking some pictures of the evening, in the midst of socializing, keeping the kitchen going, and helping Sarah throw up. (Sarah was quarantined in my room.) Multitasking!!!

Isaac brought me a Christmas gift from Dave, which was in the blue container seen on the coffee table in the picture. ^^ It was a bottle of fancy cherry balsamic vinegar. Thank you, brother!

We piled on the couches, and the guys in the back of it were sitting at the black bookcase behind the couch, on stools. The game was great….so exciting!

I made Jason very uncomfortable by taking his photo.

Today is actually their six month wedding anniversary!!!!!!! Let me gush for a moment just because I’m their big sister……Isaac and Cassandra are such a great couple, I get all teary eyed thinking about them. They are in love like lovers, best friends, AND siblings…they tease, laugh, and snuggle constantly. Isaac won’t let Cassandra open her own car door. I mean, they are just the most encouraging people to be around if you have doubts about true love these days. They have it, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.

Our good friends, Caroline and Chris, are in fact Jacob, Ethan, and Grace’s “second parents”. 🙂 They live just a few miles away from us and have two teen children. We love this family so much.

I kept trying and trying to take a good picture of Gracie and Abigail and finally settled on this one.

Weston ADORES his big cousin Jake. He was so thrilled to sit next to him for a picture. As you can see, he also respects him highly, too. 😉

Rich and Jason, (my husband and my sister’s husband)….these are all around GREAT men in the workplace, family, and community. So thankful.

We had so much food it was ridiculous. I only took one picture of it and here it is. THE CRACK. It’s funny because Isaac and Cassandra make this as their specialty. It’s graham crackers with butter and chocolate and I don’t know what else….we call it crack. It was pretty much the hit dish of the night, along with Caroline’s meatballs.

Those two lovely ladies were adorable all night long. Love them. They helped out so much, too, making veggies and dip and bringing lots of food, and sangria, for the party.

GROUP PIC!

We kinda want to have a Super bowl party every weekend! Love you guys!

{this moment}

Image

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

funny morning

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Shanda

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6
(yesterday, early morning) The snow was falling and blowing all over the place….the flakes were small and icy cold.

(yesterday, around noon). The snow was till coming down and the road wasn’t plowed.

When the snow let up in the afternoon, Rich went out to plow the driveways with his tractor. Ethan, Seth, David, and Caleb got dressed to play on the mountains of snow their Dad made.

Torturing his brother.

They came inside with blotchy skin, it was so cold that it took a little while, and some hot chocolate, to defrost.

We began to see a little traffic on the roads again.

Sarah began throwing up.

Grace and Jacob, who was recovering from being sick, played a card game. David searched the cupboards for something to eat, Rich was in the other room on a phone call.

The rest of these pictures are from this morning. We rarely get a snowstorm that causes us to have to shovel our porch.

“This is ridiculous!” ~Sherlock the Cat

Shadow of the house where I was standing on the porch, and drifts against the garage.

You would think that with a three car garage I would not have to deal with this.

Sherlock is cute because he likes to all of a sudden dive into the snow and play like a crazy cat. it was too much for Parker the Dog, so he pounced on the cat to play, too.

(Emily are you reading this? I love you!)

a walking path through the snow

I took this picture back in the house, through the glass door. The chickadees line up to get a sunflower seed from the bird feeder.

Seth was the last child to leave for school this morning. He walked carefully to the bus. He normally runs full speed, perhaps he didn’t want to go?

***

This morning was a two hour delay and frankly, we needed it. I woke up to discover that Rich was already gone to work and all seven children were awake. Sarah was sick on the couch, and Ethan was making french toast. As soon as my door opened Seth ran to me and asked if he could have a piece of French toast, too. I stumbled into the kitchen and used the last of Ethan’s eggs to make Seth his requested breakfast.

Grace wandered around asking me for safety pins and I told her where to find them at my sewing table.

Jacob wanted french toast so I gave him directions on how to make the egg dip for the bread. I made myself a cup of coffee and added French Vanilla creamer.

By the time Jacob was done making his breakfast, Seth asked for another piece, so this time I used Jacob’s left over egg.

David made himself scrambled eggs and asked me to put toast in the toaster for him so I did.

Sarah asked me to sit with her. I got my Bible from my room and began reading the portions for the “bible in a year” program, with a reading in Exodus, Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs. I read it all out loud to her. I read about the Nile being turned into blood and you should have seen Sarah’s face. She gasped and was properly disgusted. She asked several times, “Is this true?” and I was able to say in a motherly sort of tone, “This is the Word of God, and everything in it is true.” We laughed over the names in the genealogies of the Israelites. She said she thought they were weird names and I told her she was smart. (I was impressed that she listened so intently, but when you’re sick you don’t have as much fight in you.)

Grace was trying to wear a pair of pants that fit almost perfectly; the waist was about 2 inches too big. First she pinned them and then she tried a belt. She was getting annoyed with the pants so I had her slip them off in my room and I took them in on my sewing machine.

As I sewed, screaming began in the boys’ room. David found Seth playing the DS and took it away from him and Seth screamed at him and came to tell me about it. My bobbin had just emptied (of course!) so as I talked to him, I got out my manual and refilled the bobbin, letting Seth help me by pressing the pedal. “Slowly, Seth! Slowly!” David came and perched on my bed and I stopped what I was doing to say, “Dave. SETH was not the problem in this situation. YOU were the problem. If you see Seth doing something that you don’t like, you need to come straight to ME and I will help you. You are NOT Seth’s parent, I am his parent. You are only Seth’s brother so he is offended when you boss him around.” I made him give Seth back the DS (which Dave had put in his own dresser, even though it wasn’t even his) and then of course the GAME cartridge was missing, so I had to send Dave back to give Seth the game. *sigh* David was upset and wondering why HE was “always the bad guy.”

I got Grace’s pants taken in and now fit perfectly. She was happy and asked if I would put her hair up in a bun for her.

I left my room and immediately smelled burning eggs. Caleb was trying to make scrambled eggs and he did really well except he didn’t scramble them as they cooked. Instead, he stood there and watched them burn, wondering when to “flip” them. I ran over and flipped the eggs over and sure enough, there was a smoking, burned skin that I promptly tore off the top. I took the egg patty out of the pan and placed it into the bowl containing french toast egg dip remnants. I got Caleb a plate and some cheese, hoping with the cheese to make the eggs more palatable. He didn’t complain or say anything. He just ate them. I’m sure they had a taste of ash and cinnamon to them, but like I said, he had no comments.

Sarah was thirsty and requested a gatorade. I went in the pantry but did not find any so I got her a juice pouch. She wanted it in her teacup so she put the straw in and squirted juice into the cup, and some onto the coffee table, too. I got the wood cleaner and paper towels to clean it up.

I sat Grace down and put her hair in a pony tail, then braided it and sent her upstairs to pin it into a bun herself. I noticed later that it didn’t happen. She smiled and said that she gave up. She went to school with just a pony tail.

I noticed Jacob and Ethan both quietly reading their Literature books and secretly fumed, wondering why I hadn’t seen them doing their assigned reading YESTERDAY when they had the entire day off. I may have even said something sarcastically but received no reply.

Finally, the High School bus came and took four children away to school. I had another hour to get Caleb and Seth ready by washing faces, making sure their teeth and hair were brushed, and turning on an episode of Arthur. I had nuts and a banana for breakfast and Seth ate a hotdog, a bowl of applesauce, and half a banana so I think it’s safe to say that his appetite is back after having the stomach bug.

I emptied a dishwasher, loaded the other one and pushed “start”. I scrubbed off the island.

Eventually, the other two boys got on their busses and I could breathe a sigh of relief. I love them all to death, I was amused by the chaotic morning, but I admit it was nice to have them leave for school.

{this moment} I’ve never found a child in this place before

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Shanda

I know the photo quality is terrible…this was taken at twilight yesterday…if you read yesterday’s post you know I’m dealing with a house full of sick people this week. Well, Seth is healthy now and not only healthy but twice as active, impulsive, and mischievous as usual. (I’m blaming the meds he’s on for his cold)…anyway, after an afternoon of dealing with his shenanigans, it was finally almost-but-not-soon-enough-for-Seth time to go to wrestling practice. I still had to go to the bathroom, put on my shoes, and grab Rich’s dinner, so I sent hyper Seth out to wait in the car, with the admonition to “not turn it on!!!!”

*I’m impatiently going out the door into the frigid air to go on my THIRD trip of the day to the High School.
*I’m leaving sick children calling out to me for one more act of service before I vanish.
*I’m crying for my mom.
*I’m cursing the stomach bug.
*I’m hating the sport of wrestling.
*I’m limping on my bad knee.
*I’m feeling old ugly and worn down.
*I’m hungry and need a warm meal.

When I see this:

All of a sudden, the Lord restored unto me my sense of humor, I took a crappy picture, drove him to school, and was still laughing about it in my bed last night as I fell asleep. Dear, dear little boy.

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”