fifteen

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Shanda

Grace had a birthday yesterday. She turned 15 and woke up early to hug her Dad before he went to work. None of the children had school yesterday which was a treat for her….to have the day to celebrate. Just after 9a.m. her big brothers finally woke up and she could open her stack of gifts that Seth and Sarah had helped me wrap.

She received a candle, three fabric mesh bags for treasures, a book on nail polish styles, socks, a sketch pad, an art book, and a necklace.

Then we sat around trying to figure out what to do. She wanted me to take her shopping so we decided Jacob and Ethan would stay home with Seth, David, and Caleb. Grace and I took Sarah and picked up Aunt Cassandra on the way to the mall. It was a beautiful day. After our day of ice we had a day of 65 degrees. Grace sketched in her new sketch pad and played tunes for us, as we drove along.

We ate a nice lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.

Sarah needed to use the bathroom and I surprised Grace by asking her (even though it was her birthday) to take her little sister to the restroom. While she was gone I took the opportunity to flag down our waiter (whom Grace was in love with) and order her a piece of chocolate cake for her birthday. The girlies came back and after a while, Grace was surprised with a piece of heavenly cake with ice cream on top, placed in front of her by the charming waiter.

When it was just the four of us again she asked, “How did he know it was my birthday? Did you tell him or did he overhear something?”

There were four long handled spoons so we could share and it was DIVINE. Cassandra only had one bite because she has been overindulging in leftover Halloween candy.

Grace bought herself a new ring and a belt with her birthday money and Aunt Cassandra bought her some thick comfy socks from GAP (Grace has a thing for nice socks).

We left the mall way too soon because the boys needed to be taken to practice and Grace needed to go to Drama rehearsal. Before we left the house for practices, I took a few “Look Who’s Fifteen Now” pictures to document her special day.

Aunt Cassandra helped me with the children at the playground so I could get my Bible study lesson done and then we headed home so I could start dinner and make some phone calls. I picked up the boys at 5:30 while the rest of the family watched Tangled with Aunt Cassandra. Back home again (busy day), I finished Grace’s special requested dinner, chicken Alfredo. Uncle Isaac arrived and Rich picked up Grace at 7:30. We were all singing a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday by 8pm.

It was a Reese’s peanut butter ice cream cake.

*****

A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer. ~Author Unknown

Grace is an adorable, well adjusted 15 year old teenager who loves school, family & friends, sign language, reading, her pets, Jesus, singing & drama. She is a responsible and capable teacher’s assistant to her beloved chorus and drama teacher. She is in Honors English. She knows what she believes and she is not afraid to share her beliefs in a loving, respectful way. She has her tough days but has good friends to talk to. She is very loving and likes to give out hugs. She hates to see people she loves hurting and would do anything to help them. She likes texting, pinterest, and instagram (at home on the iPad). She is a jeans and cute/casual top, with sneakers or UGGS kind of girl. She has lovely long hair and pretty brown eyes.

I am thankful to have a daughter GRACE LILLIAN, watching her grow is a blessing and a joy.

She said when her Dad hugged her the morning of her birthday he called her a little girl about five times. She understood what he didn’t say, “I don’t want you to grow up too soon.”

gentle mothering, resting, & walking

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Shanda

Retire O my soul!

from the busy world,

and employ thyself about that

which thou wast created:

The contemplation of God.

Thomas Ken, 1637-1711

Being satisfied in God is our calling and our duty. ~Piper

Put the glory of Christ on display
by pursuing your JOY
in the HOLY JOY
of your beloved.
~Piper

…let me not wander…
…open my eyes…
…make me understand…
…incline my heart…
…turn my eyes…

from Psalm 119

Oh my friends, I have missed being here, I could have used my iPhone to post a note but I truly believed that the computer fix would only take a couple of days. Thankfully, it is has been repaired and my husband went to pick it up for me on Saturday.

How have you been? Here at our place we have been enjoying yet another beautiful autumn season, and the trees are almost bare. There are still bits of color, however, in the few remaining leaves and bright red berries.

Rich was gone the week after Aunt Colleen and Uncle Roger left and whether I was over tired or it was just the wrong time of the month, it was a tough week for me, I found myself a tad short tempered.

Finding myself being *a little too harsh* with a couple of the children that week convicted me once again of my firm belief in gentle mothering. It’s been a nice reminder to keep my eyes on my heavenly Father; he is kind, loving, patient, understanding, and a protector of the weak ones, and that is how I ought to be for my own children. I am thankful for forgiveness and the opportunity to continue nurturing my children, instead of using harsh words and being impatient. The reality is, we will all have tough days now and then, but in general a loving approach to motherhood is what we strive for.

Feeling so rushed and busy also got me to thinking about REST, and amazingly enough the Lord (gently) led me to a wonderful book that described rest, not only as mere contentment in a quiet place, stagnant, but contentment and calm IN THE MIDST OF STORMS because I trust God. This is completely possible in Christ and I think we all know of the supernatural calm in storms that we see in the believers around us who are in various trials.

“Two painters each painted a picture to illustrate his conception of rest. The first chose for his scene a still, lone
lake among the far off mountains. The second threw on his canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile
birch-tree bending over the foam; at the fork of a branch, almost wet with the cataract’s spray, a robin sat on its
nest. The first was only Stagnation; the other was Rest. For in rest there are always two elements–tranquility and energy,
silence and turbulence, creation and destruction, fearlessness and fearfulness. This it was in Christ.”
Henry Drummond

I read that quote on the way to church yesterday, and then the sermon that was preached was also greatly encouraging. The title was “Remembering God, or Regularly Scheduled Neglect of a belligerent World for the sake of our own Soul…..” and the main points were from Psalm 119, a long and complex musical poem written by a psalmist who spent much skill, time, and deep contemplation in writing it, by the inspiration of God. The angels long to understand the Scriptures, do I? Do I take the time in deep thought about my God and His Word?

“The Scriptures are to be treasured as from God.”

Listening to the sermon made me think of the book I just read about Grandma Gatewood, a 67 year old mother of 11, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who walked the appalachian trail three times (at the age of 67 and older). In the book, the merits of long walks and hikes are explained. One of the benefits of walking is that it is good for mental health, and the fresh air and easy pace contribute to deep thinking and alone time…..Grandma Gatewood readily admitted that those long weeks of walking were among the very best weeks of her life. What better way to spend time alone with God, in walking outdoors in his very creation?

In short; I am currently enjoying: a renewed spirit within me, a desire to allow the Lord to keep my soul in rest even as I busily care for my family, and a determination TO WALK MORE.

On Saturday Rich and I took the children (Jacob, Grace, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah) on a four mile walk all the way to the local diner, over back roads. David was tired and Ethan had a report to write, so the two of them stayed at home.

It was a beautiful morning to walk and it took us a little over 2 hours.

a fun place to rest

happy little Seth

Caleb in the trees

someone’s pretty flowers by their mailbox

a bright red barn

cherries

bittersweet

cute pumpkin people on someone’s front steps

view from a small bridge

the prize was a nice big lunch at the diner

After Rich ate, he ran the 2 miles back home (on the main roads) to get the truck. The little ones didn’t have the strength to make another long walk back home.

In other news:

my son Jacob, and his girlfriend
at the homecoming dance on Saturday night.

*****

Have a wonderful day my friends!

“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.” Psalm 119:90

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our heats through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5

you are loved.

long weekend

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Shanda

Colleen is my Mom’s baby sister and we are less that two years apart in age. We grew up in houses by the same dirt road, up on “the hill” in a small NY town. We grew up, not only as aunt and niece, but as playmates, with nicknames for one another, secret forts, snickerdoodles, sleepovers, arguments, family gatherings, church, school, and so much more. We shared every event in life together. We still do.

Aunt Colleen and Uncle Roger have four daughters and the whole family came to our place for a visit this weekend. They arrived Friday night and left yesterday. Our main goal for the visit was to simply be together and let the children play and make memories. We also cooked four pounds of bacon.

On Saturday my brother Isaac and his new wife, Cassandra, came over. My sister Amanda also came, with her husband Jason and their three children. Years ago, Colleen and I were a part of many huge family reunions, we have great memories of running around with cousins, and it was good to see our own children having fun together…..in total there were fifteen children and nine adults. (Michael also came, and Jacob’s girlfriend Emily, too.)

Amanda brought a big salad, Cassandra brought chocolate chip cookies. We made a bowl of punch and Colleen and I made broccoli salad, apple cake, apple crisp, a big pot of chili, and Ethan grilled hamburgers. No one went hungry.

I spy with my little eye; Sherlock the Cat!

Cassandra, Shanda, Amanda

Isaac, Shanda, Amanda

Meghan, Caleb, and Naomi (with the expressions of youth)

After church on Sunday we followed each other through McDonald’s drive thru and both families spent the same exact total. (!!)

Rich, Roger, Jacob, and Ethan went golfing; it was a beautiful afternoon to be outside.

*****

Then, we had all Monday morning to relax. We watched several hours of television with the activity of people coming and going, getting food, having conversations, laughing, enjoying each other, and Aunt Colleen crocheting.

Cozy family togetherness….such a blessing.

Sarah was in heaven, so to speak. I hardly saw her all weekend because she was so busy with the girls.

We took one group picture (only one!) with my self timer before they left to go home. (Rich was at work).

“Kindred spirits alone do not change with the changing years.” LM Montgomery

i see fire

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Shanda

It’s raining this morning, I love the sound and the smell! Caleb just got on the bus. Seth and Sarah are playing together for about 20 more minutes before Seth’s bus comes to get him for school.

The trees are colorful, I wonder if we are at peak fall beauty? God’s creation never ceases to amaze and delight!

I am leaving here soon for Community Bible Study. Our group is studying Romans and this morning we also have a brunch. I look forward to getting to know my ladies better today.

Last night the High School had a Variety show. Ethan and Grace sang a duet together. I was so proud of them! All the kids did so well, it made us smile no matter what the quality of performance is. As Jacob said afterwards, we clapped because they did awesome or we clapped because they were brave enough to perform.

They sang a rather dark song that had the phrase “I see fire” repeating in it enough that it also keeps going through my head all day, everyday (from hearing them practice). The song was from the Desolation of Smaug. I just looked it up, the title is not surprising, “I See Fire”.

Here’s the official music video from the movie:

Jacob taped their performance, and if i can figure out how to load it I will do so. They were so cute together up there.

At the end of the song, Grace gave E a cute look, like, “Wasn’t that fun?”

Our church youth group and leadership came out to support them, making the night even more fun! Thanks, guys!!

Want to hear something neat? Two of the Youth Group leaders are brother and sister…..and their names are Seth and Sara! So this is a picture of the four of them, big Seth with little Seth, and big Sara with little Sarah.

It was a great night.

these days

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Shanda

Yesterday morning I walked out of the house into a sparkling fall day. In my hands was a little vintage fiesta plate of leftover banana bread and cereal milk from breakfast, to serve the hens. They seemed to enjoy the treat.

They explored the grass along the fence. There are five full grown hens and two half-grown ones.

We do not let the little ones stay outside for very long because the cats come over to try and hunt them. The poor things.

I gave them a bowl of chick food in a yellow fiesta bowl. The way they hop in and out of the bowl, peeping and scratching food everywhere, is amusing.

The leaves were turning.

The fall flowers were in bloom.

My heart was singing.

You are the joy in my morning
You’re my song of praise
Just like the new day dawning
Flooding my world with grace.

Isn’t this green and pink combination BEAUTIFUL?

Caleb was home sick from school yesterday. He had an upset stomach and a high fever. He was on the couch curled up in his soft blanket and as much as I was able, I was sitting by him. The children are so needy and love to have me near when they are sick. As much as I hate to see them suffer, and as long as I know it’s only a common children’s illness, I confess– I love the cuddle time.

Caleb likes to talk. It was an eye-opener to me when he said, “You know why I bury my head in the couch to sleep? Because I don’t want my picture taken.” My heart was so sad to think that I unknowingly made my poor boy uncomfortable with photography, it’s just that I think he’s so cute. He doesn’t like the feeling that I’m taking pictures when he’s sleeping. I told him I would never take another picture of him unless I knew it was okay and I asked him first. He told me that one day he was falling asleep on the bus and a couple of girls took a video of him. It bothered him. I told him some things he could do about it, such as telling them that their Dad doesn’t want videos taken of him, or going to the principal or the bus driver for help, or asking them to delete the video.

We seem to be living in a time when privacy isn’t understood or desired. I know that I personally love to share on my blog, but there is a part of me that almost envies that time not so long ago when families were in their homes and their lives were virtually unknown to the rest of the world. They had their own private and intimate lives within the walls of their “nest”, special and meaningful only to them.

It is something to think about.

(I asked Grace about this, too, and she said she was absolutely fine with me taking pictures of her whenever I wanted.)

I asked Caleb if I could take this picture and he agreed.

Rich and I purchased a coffee table and a loveseat this weekend. We needed more places for people to sit when they come and visit us and we were thankful to find things that we didn’t have to order and wait for. Ethan Allen was having a floor sample sale on a lot of their furniture. Both pieces have small problems but in our family we would rather buy things on super-clearance-sale WITH a problem, then to pay full price for a perfect piece that will get scratched the next day.

The maroon throw at the end of the love-seat is the latest loved comfort with everyone….it’s our very first electric blanket….and the children are all so very appreciative. Ethan had it last night after football practice when he was shivering cold. Seth fell asleep under it when he was sick last week. Sarah had it this morning when the house was chilly. Seth accidentally called it the “electra blanket” and the name has stuck. We love our “electra blanket”.

I have been having fun freshening up the house (after an inspiring visit to my friend Lydia’s house). I had Rich and the boys move the piano from the living room to the new addition and so far we all really like it in there. You can’t tell by the photo, but there is still a good amount of room between the table and chairs and the piano, so we don’t feel squeezed.

I bought our first full length tablecloth, long enough for our big table. It’s a linen fabric with golden leaves stamped on it. We have 8 chairs around the table, and one bench that seats 2.

I also bought the mirror on the right side of the picture. It’s reflection brings in even more of the sunshine.

I’ve been longing to use more of the rhubarb from my garden that Mr. G so thoughtfully gave me to plant before he moved last fall. I found a great recipe for a pie. I used a store-bought crust, and baked it yesterday afternoon. Everyone liked it.

Rhubarb Pie

5 cups sliced rhubarb
6 rounded Tablespoons flour (an odd measurement…it’s basically 1/2 a cup)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Let rhubarb mixture stand at room temperature for 20-25 minutes, then stir and add to a pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle on top of the filling 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 Tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Place the top crust over and pinch the edges to seal. Poke top of pie with a fork and bake in a 400 degree oven 45-50 minutes (or until done).

Recipe adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, A Return to Sunday Dinner, by Russell Cronkhite.

I love candlelight, and these days, my favorite is a chocolate layer cake candle from Yankee Candle. The children, especially Ethan, hate it because it smells so realistic that they are disappointed when there aren’t brownies or chocolate cakes in the kitchen (only rhubarb pie). The candle holder makes me laugh, it’s also from Yankee Candle, and it’s a spoof on Snow White and the seven dwarfs. I told the children it’s me and the seven of them. “But where’s Dad?” they asked. “He’s at work!” I reply.

After Seth got home from Kindergarten we went outside to play. Sarah cut a chunk of her hair off a few months ago so it doesn’t fit into a ponytail unless I use about five bobby pins. Still cute.

“Mom, bring your camera! David has a snake!”

The stream is low so there are plenty of rocks to step on, which makes it easy to walk up and down the stream, exploring. I got my head too close to the branch of a pine tree and it took my headband off and flung it someplace….it was black and I never did find it.

We found crayfish.

I watched this one for a little while. It was busy, I saw it pick up an acorn-cap in it’s little legs. It shuffled around, keeping an eye on me (the big monster?)

The boys like to eat them but yesterday I wouldn’t let allow it …. I became friends with this one.

I took this picture last night because Sammie and Sherlock were sleeping together on the couch. Would you believe they are from the same litter? Sherlock is so much bigger than his sister!

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” Augustine

love & best dishes

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Shanda

We have a terrible cold virus going through the whole family. In fact, three of the children have missed school in the last week. We had planned to go to NYC on our anniversary, but with the lack of sleep we decided to stay closer to home.

With a babysitter at home with Sarah, we went out to breakfast at a place about 45 minutes away. It was a first time visit for us and we were not disappointed. We ordered coffee and hot chocolate first, and the waitress brought me my mug with whipped cream sky high, and sprinkles, too. The mug was resting on a yellow fiestaware saucer. I collect fiesta dishes, so this was a thrill.

Then, we each ordered a version of eggs benedict. My eggs were on a split croissant with spinach and mushrooms. Rich’s were on an English muffin with corn beef hash.

And AGAIN, served on Fiestaware! It is not typical to see fiesta in restaurants, so it was a treat to see “my” dishes used in this cafe.

Well, it was time for the mall to open, so we meandered down the road to do a little shopping, happy to be together, alone.

He didn’t have to twist my arm to get me into Tiffany&Co, where he bought me this dainty platinum ring (set with tiny diamonds).

We wandered around the mall and had a snack at Starbucks, where I pointed to my new ring while eating a pumpkin muffin. Later on, I saw a display of candles; I love how our initials come together in the alphabet, Rich and Shanda.

After a while we left the mall and went to Barnes and Noble to sit and read. I worked on my Bible study lesson and Rich continued his “Holiness” study. I picked out a few books for the children and snapped some pictures of books that I thought looked interesting. (Yesterday, I ordered two of them from amazon.)

We began to feel hungry so we left to go eat an early dinner at a pasta place.

AND GUESS WHAT? Yet again our food was served on fiestaware. At least, it was very similar to fiesta and stamped with the HLC mark.

Our waitress stopped by just as I was taking a picture of my food and when she teased me I told her that I collected Fiestaware and that I didn’t have the certain bowl our pasta was served in. She seemed genuinely interested and asked several questions.

The next time she checked on us, she brought two clean bowls just like the ones we were eating from, and told us WE COULD HAVE THEM.

She didn’t even know it was our anniversary! I laughed and exclaimed; it was such a nice surprise and she received a nice tip to match.

The little bread plates were also made by Homer Laughlin China (company that makes fiesta).

I did some research on my bowls and I think they are from HLC’s Bosque line. It is not technically fiesta but very very similar. I love my new bowls and will treasure them, they are only for Rich and I to use (not the children).

It was a great way to celebrate 19 years of marriage.

We are so grateful for each other, our relationship, the family we’ve made together,

and a kitchen well-stocked with the best dishes. 😉

with my collection in 2008

magical kingdom

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Shanda

PERHAPS adventuring gives us a deeper appreciation for the ordinary days.

NO ONE in their right mind would complain about taking their precious children to DISNEYWORLD and I am not about to do so, HOWEVER, I am currently sitting on my own worn out couch, legs under a flannel quilt that I made myself, with a nice cat at my feet, quiet house all around me, a sleeping daughter in her bed upstairs, and the anticipation of children getting home from school soon and I say, isn’t TODAY, the now, the messy beautiful JUST AS precious as a day in the magical kingdom?

Today is NOT an ordinary day, truly, no day is ordinary, it’s a gift. Last night I had a little one sleep with me because my husband was away. At 10 pm I was silently taking pictures of her restful, sleeping face. All night long I was getting kicked and moving sleepily flung arms back to her side of the bed.

Then, just when I was about to sit and blog hours and hours ago, after the children got on the bus at 7:45, I suddenly remembered that GRACIE had a doctor’s appointment and I had to leave in fifteen minutes to go to school, pick her up, and drive to the Doctor’s. It was a yearly check up and I thank God with all my heart for a healthy, beautiful teenage daughter. She gets migraines and sometimes her eyes blank out/she gets dizzy/when she stands up too quick, but she’s talked to the Doctor and has all kinds of encouraging and helpful remedies to cope with those things.

When we got back home, Sarah and I went to the coop to visit the hens. I sat in the grass and read a book while she became motherly with them, filling all the little cups and bowls (just a handful, really) with food, and walking slowly back from the pond with a saucer of water. A hen laid an egg. Sarah sang out, “thank yooooou, chickennnnnnn!” We carried the egg home, she fried it herself with me by her side, she ate it for lunch.

*****

I LOVE blogging about the little things in each day, it’s harder for me to go back in time to blog about something from last month, but it would be a shame not to document our day at Magic Kingdom.

Caleb and Seth are four years apart. Rich and I took them with us on the trip to Disney because we have already taken the older four. We needed some time with just these boys, it was so fun! Rich had to go to Orlando on a business trip, but he took us along and extended his trip for a personal vacation weekend. We were at Magic Kingdom on a Saturday.

I love them. This picture of the three of them makes me stop and gaze. ^^^ those eyes.

Seth was tall enough to ride every ride we wanted to go on, including Thunder Mountain. The lines were long but we managed and the boys were good natured and happy the whole day.

The Country Bear Jamboree is a must-see.

Rich and I are actually sort of sad that we only have Sarah left to take out of all seven children. It’s the most wonderful thing in the world to take your children to Disney on that very first time for them, to see it all fresh through their eyes, knowing and remembering what it was like on your own first visit. “Maybe we can take the grandchildren.” as remarked by myself, was met with a strange look from my husband.

There were amusements to entertain us in the looooong lines…..like this “honey wall” at the Winnie the Pooh ride. The moms thoughtfully took hand sanitizer out of their purses.

Seth had a lollipop. The walkways were wet from an afternoon shower.

“It’s a Small World” ride…..lines (picture taken as we waited).

The boys were dazzled by all the coins in the water. We threw some in, too.

We hugged in the lines.

“Shalom” meant a lot to the boys after a week of Vacation Bible School and the “Shalom Song” they sang every day.

The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.

really love these words~

Little shoots of water were coming out randomly from a ride and Seth danced around trying to get wet for a few minutes.

So typical.

They are such good boys.

I saw the tower from Tangled.

We were busy all day long walking, riding, waiting, sitting in shows, looking…….fifteen hours, to be exact.

It meant so much to Rich to be able to have this special vacation with the boys and me.

Okay. So. Rich was riding a baby roller coaster with Caleb and Seth and I had to have a break. I went and bought a caramel apple, sat down to eat it and waited for them to return……well…..I had to sneak out my camera and take this picture…..of a mom with her darling daughters…they sat next to me and all three wore pink shoes! The icing on the cake was the baby’s feet! She lost her shoe but her tiny sock was pink, too!

If I remember correctly the fireworks were at about 10pm. We watched them from in back of the park/castle to avoid the masses of people in front.

Just so beautiful.

After the fireworks were over we continued to stay at the park for several more hours. It was nice to walk in the cool of the day and we all got our “second winds”.

We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride twice and the boys got behind bars with Zurg.

We went on more and more rides, the last one being *Space Mountain* which was quite intense, and very odd to be having such thrills at MIDNIGHT. I spent the entire ride worried that Seth (who was behind me) would fly out of his seat. But all was well.

The castle is so pretty, I turned around to take one last picture of it as we left.

*****

{this moment} friday, seven a.m.

Image

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.

timmy the mouse…beans…concord grapes

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Shanda

“After a mouse has been studied it should be set free, even though it be one of the quite pestiferous field mice. The moral effect of killing an animal after a child has become thoroughly interested in it and its life is always bad.” ~Anna Botsford Comstock

GOOD morning! How are you today? Did you have a nice Labor Day weekend? We did, too. A little bit of everything…rest, play, work, fun, and so on. The children are back to school today and I just taught little Sarah how to use the vacuum cleaner to clean up her own cookie crumbs. She did a great job. Now she’s going to watch Franklin (the turtle cartoon) until I’m done with my blog-writing, and then we’re going to the library for some new story books to read for the week.

Do you know what I think is fun about life right now? The unpredictable way of it, the way you can take a break on the porch with a stack of cookbooks and be interrupted by a mouse! Or when you host a Bible study at your house and someone’s grandparents bring you a bag of fresh garden beans. Or, when a little one is too sick to go to church and you end up going for a walk and find ripe grapes!

Who would have guessed these little events would happen to us this weekend, just small parts of the whole of course, (we did much more), but these are a few of my favorite things that happened in our family as we moved from August into September……..and enjoyed an extra day in the week-end. *I love my family*

“I SMELL A MOUSE”

I was, like I mentioned, sitting on the porch looking up recipes for green bean side dishes…..when superhero David rescued an adorable deer mouth from the jaws of death. He promptly put it in a bucket and gave it a cheerio. Seth was an onlooker, looking but not touching, but then when big sister arrived on the scene, she promptly named him TIMMY and picked him up!

I had told the boys not to touch it.

David was offended because it was HIS MOUSE. And she wouldn’t give it back! She said she loved Timmy.

She tried to put Timmy back in his bucket but he ran up her arm!

So she kept him longer. She said he loved her, too!

David continued to be annoyed.

Annoyed and stressed out. Grace was bonding with the field mouse. It is my belief that the mouse was in shock and didn’t know what was going on.

They started going into the house to show Dad but I began to yell about how unwise that idea was……what if Timmy got away?

So Grace came back, yelling at her brothers to stop trying to take him away from her…..not sure what Sarah’s doing…..

Grace, Seth, David, and Sarah marched in a line to the woods and released the mouse with blessings for a long and happy life.

I left the porch and set to work on my green bean side dish.

I used a recipe from the old cookbook Kara gave me through the mail (thank you, dear dear friend!!)

The beans were wonderful. I washed them, trimmed them up, and cooked them in a pot of water until they were just right (we like them soft).

Meanwhile, I fried three slices of chopped bacon and then sautéed finely chopped onion (3/4 cup) in the bacon grease.

When the beans were done, I added them to the onions and bacon, and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Rich and I ate them all for dinner (that’s all we ate). Grace tried them, too. They were delicious.

I took this picture while the beans were boiling.

We had a strange little illness go around the family…consisting of a stomach ache and head ache. Sarah threw up one night, but the others just had the aches. Caleb had it in the night before church and said he couldn’t go, he “just couldn’t stand it” if he went to church. Consequently, Rich left with the other children and I stayed home with Caleb…..after resting all morning and giving him Advil, I decided it wouldn’t hurt for us to go on a gentle stroll down the road.

He took a plastic bag in order to collect wild concord grapes. They were sour; our walk was punctuated by the sound of him vigorously spitting them back out…….I politely refused his generous offers of grapes from the bag.

They are abundant this year……and smell so good, much better than they taste. However, Rich also likes eating them. Later on, he was delighted to discover Caleb’s bag of them on the kitchen counter.

I made jam from them last year but we still have a few jars left so I’m not tempted to do anything with them this year.

The neighbor’s cows.

***

I hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are, school, work, home….isn’t it marvelous that God sheds his blessings (big and small) on us no matter what we’re doing? I’m thankful for time to get things done, an opportunity to write to my friends here in blog-land, a trip to the library, a beautiful warm day, with health and energy to do what I need to do for my family. God is good.

You are loved.

“Gentleness towards self and others makes life a little lighter.” Deborah Day

exciting day for the children

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Shanda

Seems like just a month ago, this little guy was a baby (that’s him in my lap, 5 years ago^^) –and now here he is going to Kindergarten!

We went to the school yesterday, his hand in mine, to see his classroom. He has the very same teacher that his big brother David did for Kindergarten. It’s fun because she and I both remember when I took newborn Seth into the school during a parent teacher conference-they already knew each other-!

He’s been wanting to go to school for a long time now. I have no doubt that he is ready, but I’m going to miss him during the days so much. My baby boy.

At the orientation he had to paint his handprint.

He got to see the gym. If he’s anything like his brothers, this will be his favorite place.

So yes, I had to struggle to keep from crying right there at the school yesterday. Thankfully I held it together, for Seth’s sake. I got to see my friend Heather, and also as a happy surprise, another friend of mine’s son is in the same class as Seth. Actually, her daughter went with my son Jacob to the prom this spring. We both have a Senior and a Kindergartener in the same school year.

Seth’s teacher gave him a bag of Lucky Charms cereal with a note on it that said, “I’m lucky to be your teacher”. She also gave him a paper book to read before bedtime. It was tied with a ribbon, and was a story about being too excited to sleep. There was a small baggie of confetti taped inside with the promise that if he sprinkled it under his pillow he would fall right to sleep. It also said that Teacher would do the same thing, because she was so excited, too. It was precious, I was putting his clothes out as Rich read it to him last night.

Right away this morning the dog was sad. He knew just what was happening. His boys and girl were going to school and he would be stuck home all day with MOM!

“Looking at Mom”

Another change for us is that our DAVY is a middle schooler and is now riding the early bus with the big kids.

Grace is a sophomore, Jacob is a senior, and Ethan is a junior.

I just sat here smiling over this picture for a while. I love how Jacob is wearing casual and Ethan is more dressy….and Grace is wearing Emily’s shirt with her new ankle boots from Target that I bought her last week. From what Grace told me, Emily is wearing one of Grace’s shirts today, they had it all planned out. (Emily is Jacob’s girlfriend).

They got on the bus at 6:30 this morning and will come home at 2:30 if they don’t have to stay after school, (which, 3 of them do today).

NEXT?

Time for Caleb to get on his bus and travel to 4th grade!

And then it was time for Seth to wait for the bus. He had a couple of wet spots on his shirt from brushing his teeth, but he loves this shirt, he mentioned it several times…..he calls it his soccer ball shirt. When Rich woke him up this morning he said, “But I’m still tired!” He had a hard time eating breakfast, he’s not the type that’s hungry first thing in the morning. He got down part of a bagel and a bunch of grapes.