why I have the jitters

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Shanda

I sat down this morning after I got the kids on the bus, to write a blog entry, which I do so love to do, seriously— it is like therapy to me. Then I thought, well, I better just call the Pediatrician first *just to make sure* I have Sarah’s appointment time right. I thought it was at 10:30. Nope, I called and they said it was for 9. Which meant I had 15 short minutes to get myself looking presentable, find all my stuff, and go to the school and pick her up. The jitters begin.

(mind you, this week I kept David home two mornings for a dentist appointment. The first morning ended up not being the right day, consequently I don’t trust myself)

I went to get her from school. The office ladies looked at me blankly. “But she just got here.” “I know, I know, blah blah” I had to explain myself twice, after which the ladies laughed and understood and reassured me that everyone does it now and then.

I took her to the docs and guess what. The UTI hasn’t healed.

You see, we go to a group of doctors. The doctor that diagnosed the uti last Monday put her on antibiotics for 5 days. When today’s doctor (#2) found out, she thought that probably Sarah needed to be on a full course (10 days) of antibiotics in order for it to clear up. She also told me glumly, that Sarah’s iron was low and to give her iron-rich foods and a suppliment.

So I left with my sick child to go to Target to pick up the prescription. Sarah was and is acting FINE, happy, cheerful, bossy, she doesn’t act like a sick person. She is pale, however. That and the urine test are her only symptoms of ill-health. But in my mind I want to wrap her up in a blanket and hold her on my lap and not let go until she’s all better……

TARGET DID NOT HAVE THE MEDICINE FOR HER. The jitters are getting worse.

I left Target and took her to school, while she periodically yelled from the back seat, “HURRY! I have to get back to school!!” If she was even slightly unenthused about going I would have taken her back home with me for snuggles and fussing over.

I picked up her prescription in town at Rite Aid and am now home.

I haven’t told you about last night, though.

(clears throat) So. It was about 4:30 pm and the phone rang. I figured it was Ethan. Ethan typically calls after soccer practice is over so that we know when to go get him. Well, it wasn’t Ethan. It was his coach. “Ethan had a little accident….” I have a rush of adrenaline, and a mild panic attack, “…he cut his toe in the locker room. He’s going to need a trip to the ER to get stitches.”

All the way to the school I was wondering to myself how on earth he did such a thing. He didn’t break a leg during practice, or a knee, or hit his head, or anything….no, my son cuts his toe. THE PINKY TOE, the most insignificant extremity.

I arrived at the school to see Ethan waiting for me with the athletic trainer and the coach. His pinky toe is wrapped up in tight white gauze.

We loaded him into the car and drove to the ER. Once the toe was unwrapped I could see that yes….he for sure needed some sewing.

The soccer team goes off the field after practice, directly into the locker room through a heavy door. The door is locked from the outside so if a boy gets stuck he has to stand outside and pound on it for one of the guys to let him in. Yesterday, the guys were in the locker room after a rough practice, getting dressed to go home. Ethan didn’t have his shoes on, as is typical for Ethan, and two of his friends were goofing around on each side of The Door, one kid was pulling to get in, one was pushing to keep him out. Ethan “thoughtfully” offered to help out and the door ended up slamming shut on his toe. He didn’t yell, he didn’t cry. “I said, ‘Matt, my toe is stuck in the door, would you please open it?’ And he did, and we all stood there looking at my toe. It was bleeding everywhere. I thought for a second it might be gone, or half gone. Then Mitch said, ‘Oh shoot, E, you’re probably going to need stitches,’ and he picked me up and carried me to the trainer’s office. Blood was dripping the whole way. I told Mitch to take pictures but I don’t think he did.”

The trainer stopped the bleeding, called the custodian to clean up the blood, and had someone call me. I was told later that Ethan said, “My poor Mom.” which totally melted my heart.

(He felt bad because his Dad hasn’t been home since Sunday. Dad is on a business trip–coming home tonight. Meanwhile, the little boys had practice. And Grace needed to be picked up after school. Thank goodness for Jacob and his car!!!!!!!)

And praise the Lord for the athletic trainer. He stayed with us in the ER the whole time and it would have been a lot worse without him there. Because of him we avoided an x-ray and got out probably an hour or more earlier than we would have.

The pain from the numbing shots almost sent Ethan through the roof. He admitted it was worse than the actual cut. He started feeling weird and broke out in a sweat, but he kept his composure like a man…which he is….a good strong man through and through. Although one wonders if a real man would have ended up in this situation?

I call it “frankentoe”

While we waited, I got Ethan a soda and a candy bar from the vending machine and we had conversations about all the strange things happening that day…Ethan wasn’t the only one with a freak problem…..some crazy kid microwaved raisins in the school to make smoke and cause a small raisin-fire, also the school lost power for 45 minutes because of a car accident, another kid showed up at the ER after getting his foot ran over by his dad, someone fell off a ladder, someone else fell and to make matters worse was on blood thinners, the board at the nurses station was FULL of patients at our small hospital in which hardly anything happens. What was going on? We decided it was quite possibly caused by it being the first day of Fall????????

Regardless, they kept us waiting forever because the doc decided at the last minute that Ethan should have an x-ray because if his toe was broken he wanted him on antibiotics. The other patients in the ER were the priority so finally Daniel the athletic trainer used a tuning fork test on Ethan’s toe which indicated that it was not broken. The doctor agreed but put him on antibiotics anyway as a precaution….(why do the x-ray then I internally cried???)…..and three hours later we left the hospital, it was now almost 7:30, and dark outside. We picked up the medication, picked up the boys who did NOT get hurt at football practice (thank goodness), and got food at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

Ethan went to school today wearing flip flops and he can’t even put a cleat on his foot until Monday, IF and only if his toe has healed sufficiently.

These are such small and typical problems, in the grand scheme of things, I know. I am jittering, but I am also laughing a little, too, and thanking God for everything, always.

(Sarah, this morning, while waiting for the bus.)

(Seth and Gentleman Gray, this morning).

heart-warming

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Shanda

(song that Grace played while on our road trip)

*****

The Norman Rockwell Museum is one and a half hours away from our house, the perfect distance for a little road trip with Grace.

Grace has been busy at school.

I was beginning to miss my daughter.

Getting in the car and driving away from it all was the perfect solution.

We hit a detour which turned out to be pleasant because it took us right past a wonderful apple place, all situated on someone’s private property with a big old white house with mossy steps, dark red barns and charming little out buildings. One building was a bakery and we each picked out a pastry and hot apple cider.

Another small building contained for-sale items like crafts and antiques.

There were apples, pumpkins and fall decorations. There was also an ice cream window and charming places to sit all over the place, with homemade benches by the trees.

Less than fifteen minutes from our house, we wouldn’t have made this discovery without the “inconvenience” of a detour.

After a stop at the outlets, where Grace bought a purple dress and this sweater, we headed on down to Stockbridge, MA for the museum and oh my, what a lovely day we had for it. An early fall day, the air was clear and warm and scented with the smells of late-season trees, grasses, flowers, and acorns. I drank in the breeze like fine medicine.

Studying Norman Rockwell’s paintings never fails to warm my heart. I just love the stories he told in his work, simple sweet stories that he observed from small town life. The paintings are set within his time period, but still hold the familiar messages and tug on the heart-strings.

We began our visit by watching an educational video, much to Grace’s alarm because it was rather too much like school. But I think she enjoyed it nonetheless. The video was narrated by Norman’s son, Peter, which we thought was special. It was shown in a room filled with all the covers NR painted for The Saturday Evening Post.

After the video, we slowly walked through the gallery, studying each painting and looking at some of the pieces under glass, like Rockwell’s paint sets.

Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative. Norman Rockwell

Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed. My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American. I am a story teller. Norman Rockwell

We walked down to his last art studio, which was moved from Rockwell’s private home through the streets of Stockbridge, to it’s place on the museum property.

We stood in a group of people, listening to a lady speak informatively and fascinating about Norman and the things in the studio. For instance, he was a workaholic. There was a green sofa in the studio that he took naps on when he finally got too tired to continue painting. There were scratch marks in the wood floor from him cutting his canvasses. He loved drinking Coca-Cola and would have served you some if you stopped by to say hello…….

We walked around the grounds together.

There was a small self-serve refreshment area with drinks and snacks for sale, so she got a lemonade.

An appropriate message for the day.

I enjoyed a small coffee.

When we paid for admission to the museum, they gave us a little clip to wear on our shirt.

…my favorite part of the day is so simple yet always a delight to my heart….this quiet girl who doesn’t talk much to me at home (perhaps because there is so much competition for my attention from 6 siblings) opens up and talks and talks in the car when we are alone. There is nothing in the world like it. Listening to the stories as we travel along, just the two of us. And by the time we headed home the words were all used up and she played us songs from youtube, played on my phone through the speakers in the car and we sang….”Stand by Me” “Under the Boardwalk” “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” “The Wind beneath my Wings” “Count on Me” “Delilah” and so on…..

We left the museum and parked on the side of main street in Stockbridge to explore the town.

Our favorite place (you’ll never guess) was a little used book store/coffee shop. Grace never wanted to leave.

She quickly found a book and sat down to read while I browsed the titles.

“N A T U R E”

We left with tea in our hands and a bag of books.

The one I am reading now is almost impossible to put down. It’s a memoir entitled The Tender Bar, written by J.R. Moehringer.

A magical day, one I will not soon forget. We headed back toward home, stopping at Costco on the way, listening to Grace’s songs.

And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life. Norman Rockwell

we have a new kitten

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Shanda

Feeling incredibly lazy at the moment because I am so gosh tired.

We have been gone all weekend, Jacob drove his car “back home” to NY for the first time and ugh was it stressful (for me) but he did an awesome job. He’s a natural driver, it seems. After all, he is 18 and a half years old, it’s time to drive and he’s doing it well.

We had two hotel rooms side by side with the kids. Jacob and Ethan shared a bed, Seth and Caleb slept on couch cushions on the floor, Grace and Sarah shared a sofa bed, Dave had a sofa bed to himself, and Rich and I slept together in the other bedroom.

The hotel free breakfast diningroom used white fiesta!

We were in NY for a family reunion. I’m going to post pictures probably tomorrow of the weekend but now that we are home, I only have time and energy to show you our new baby.

He has no name yet! We are thinking about Smoky or Michael. Rich calls him Smut (a noun meaning, “small flake of soot or other dirt”) He’s a little boy and we got him from my Aunt Carol’s house. My cousin Katie was giving him away. Isn’t he adorable?

He rode home with Jacob, Ethan, and Grace. He came with a box. He threw up and went to the bathroom in it during the ride.

He seems fine now that he’s out of the car. Here he is, watching a little TV.

He’s also taken a nap with me which was very relaxing for us both. I could feel his tiny body snuggled into my back and when I woke up he purred for the first time at his new house.

He watched the ceiling fan go ’round and ’round and he started getting playful. He batted at my eye as I read my book.

This new kitty belongs to our Dave, who has never had his very own animal.

Dave’s birthday is the end of the month so I guess you could say this is an early present.

“A cat purring on your lap is more healing than any drug in the world, as the vibrations you are receiving are of pure love and contentment.” ~St. Francis Agassi

“I only want one cat said no crazy cat lady ever.”

“I love him, Mom.” ~Dave

we all wore the same dress

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Shanda

When I was a little girl, the same age as you, I went to school, too.

I started out in a Kindergarten class, just like you.

And do you know what?

My Mama made me a dress, she made it herself, a special little dress for me to wear to school.

“She did? Where is it?”

It’s right here, this is the very dress that I wore.

And do you know what?

Your sister Gracie wore this dress on her first day of school, too!

Let’s try it on you.

Oh Sarah, it looks so pretty!

Do you want to wear it for your first day of school, too? Just like Mama and Gracie?

“No.”

Why not?

“It’s itchy.”

It is? I can fix that. What if you wear this pair of soft shorts underneath? Is that better?

“Okay. Can I wear my new shoes?”

Yes.

Mama’s going to miss you but I know you’re going to have a fun day at your school.

I love you.

dave gets hugged

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Shanda

This is another blog post dedicated to our vacation to Jekyll Island, Georgia.

These photos were all taken with my phone.

I had bought Crackerbarrel gift cards for Christmas presents for last Christmas…but never gave them out…so we used them ourselves for a nice breakfast. I do feel kind of bad about that.

There was a tiny baby at the Crackerbarrel sitting at the next table over. She was so little I wondered how she was going to sit with out falling forward and bumping the table. But she was strong and did great and was sooooooo cute. I watched her as she kept her eyes on the spoon her Dad was feeding her with. I ended up holding my own very big baby on my lap by the end of breakfast.

This is Caleb doing artwork and eating oreos during the trip.

Taking naps during the trip.

We finally arrived! Sarah was just so thrilled to be “in Georgia”.

This is me and my sister, with our girls Abbie and Grace.

Food at the Pier was amazing. It’s my favorite place to eat on Jekyll. I had the boiled shrimp and this is the plate of seafood that Jacob and David shared.

One morning I left the Sans Souci with just my little Seth (6 years old). We were the only ones awake out of my family. We snuck outdoors, holding hands, and went over to the main Jekyll Clubhouse to get my complimentary cup of coffee. On the way back we met Isaac and Cassandra about to go on a bike ride.

While all the men in our family went golfing, I took Caleb, Seth, and Sarah to the little shops by the Clubhouse. Seth quickly chose this dog puppet. He named it Jekyll. At the next shop, I had him sit on the bench outside and play my phone so I didn’t have to keep track of three small kids. Later I discovered that he had taken this picture of his new friend.

If you bought a soda you got free refills with your cup all day long. The kids all LOVED the Shirly Temples. We got them over and over. There is nothing like an ice cold soda on a hot day.

Amanda took this one of my mom and me walking with Cassandra and Maria.

Rich took Caleb, Seth, and Sarah biking.

Mom took Ethan and me to Brunswick to do a little shopping at some antique stores.

I took this picture for my son David because he collects Coke bottles. This purple one was purple, heavy and cost 40 dollars.

In Brunswick there was a park square every few blocks. Each one was named and had nice places to sit and relax next to flowers and fountains.

I took Grace to the shops. This is one of my favorite pictures. We were missing our own cats back at home and were happy to find and make friends with this nice big one outside of the bookstore.

My favorite stationary….curly girl design.

Grace lost her necklace on vacation. It was her favorite one, too. (she’s wearing it in the picture).

I lost my new kindle fire. (!!!!!!!!!!!) makes me ill.

On Friday night we played beach volleyball.

It’s amazing to have a family big enough to have a game, and it was so much fun.

When we hit it out of bounds someone would say “Look out for the alligators!” or, “Look out for the rattle snakes!”

I was supposed to be playing my position but still managed to get some good photos!

Sunset making the road look like it was on fire…….

On Saturday morning it was time to say our goodbyes and travel back home. I love this sister-pic of Maria, Cassandra, Melissa, Amanda, and Shanda (yours truly). I love how all our names end in “a”, the “uh” sound. I especially loved visiting with Maria and Melissa because I don’t get to see them as much as I would like. I’m so blessed to have the best sisters.

Aunt Amanda, Uncle Jason, Grandma, and Grandpa leaned into the van to say goodbye to the children.

But one was missing!

It was Dave.

He had ran over to the pool to try to find his flip-flops (another thing lost..ugh)

So Rich and I hopped in the van, ready to leave, and watched as the family gave Dave lots of hugs. And he’s the type that gets shy with too much public attention! It was the best little moment……

He’s in there! Surrounded by his adoring family.

Look at that face!

goodbye, goodbye!

God be with you ’til we meet again.

“You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” Frederick Buechner

rich takes a nap

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Shanda

“We’ve been hugging each other for over twenty years now,” she said.

“And it never, ever, ever gets old,” he replied.

two very important sentences

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Shanda

We are leaving on Friday to go on a nine day vacation.

I am busy organizing, packing 72 complete outfits in 72 large ziplock bags, and preparing food. The house is in an uproar.

Three children had dentist appointments this morning.

Also, Jacob took his driver’s test today.

While I was waiting for him to be done (there were three kids ahead of him) I nervously drove to Goodwill and found……six sage green fiesta teacups…..making me even more excited with life in general!

Naturally when we got home I took a couple of pictures.

Sage is a brand-new fiesta color. Why anyone would want to donate Sage fiestaware is beyond me.

My guess is that they came in boxed place settings and maybe the person decided they would never use them, so they gave the teacups to Goodwill and kept everything else?

Regardless, it will be a pleasure to use them and they look so pretty on the shelf.

And he passed with a perfect score.

we had a situation

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Shanda

It all began on Saturday. Rich and I drove in separate vehicles to the church to pick up a whole bunch of kids and their luggage from a week of camp. After he greeted me and gave me a hug, Jacob told me that he and the older kids were going to get Chinese food with their friend Michael on the way home, so I gave him thirty dollars. Rich left with his group of kids and I left with Seth and Sarah, not really knowing who was riding with Rich or Michael. It was past lunchtime and we were all very hungry. I stopped at McDonald’s with my two kids, but Rich drove straight home with his.

I pulled into the driveway at home, went in the house, and discovered Ethan all distraught. “There wasn’t anything to eat”. I had assumed that he was part of the group going to the Chinese buffet. He loved Chinese food but missed out because somehow he wasn’t told the plan. I made him some elbow noodles and meat sauce but it just wasn’t the same. He missed out on Chinese food and was never going to get over it. “Oh E, I’ll take you to Chinese, just the two of us.” I was willing to say anything to encourage him, but I didn’t mean that I would take him anytime soon. Just that I would take him….eventually.

Soon everyone was fed and Chinese food was forgotten.

Or so I thought.

Yesterday, as typical on summer Mondays, I took Grace, Dave, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah to the movies, leaving Michael and the teenagers at home. I had a lot to do so I left Grace with the little kids at the theater while I shopped at Target. After the movie we stopped at Costco. By the time we arrived home the whole back of my SUV was full of bags and food and I was tired.

I discovered all the teens sleeping on the couches in the living room but I took no pity on them and woke them up so they could unload the groceries.

To my surprise, they happily woke up because they said “We are going to the mall and getting Chinese food for lunch.”

“Oh no, you’re not! I just gave you thirty dollars on Saturday! And I just bought a bunch of food while I was out that you can have for lunch.”

They wouldn’t hear of it. We went back and forth with our debate and meanwhile I was disappointed to come to the realization that my children are spoiled rotten.

Ethan especially wanted the Chinese food. “Mom, you said I could go!” He was still feeling left out from Saturday but the truth is, I never said WHEN he could go and I never said I would foot the bill for anyone else but Ethan. I wasn’t about to give them anymore money.

Jacob put his shoes on and got his wallet. He had money saved that he was supposed to be using for college. “I’m going. I’ll just pay for it with my savings.”

“Oh no, you’re not!”

The other point I made was that next week we would be leaving for family vacation and eating out all the time. So in the meantime we were going to “stay home and be satisfied with common foods like peanut butter sandwiches.”

They hated peanut butter sandwiches. They won’t eat them.

Yet another point was “Jacob, you needed me to take you to college tomorrow, I don’t want you going to go to the city two days in a row. You’re exhausted from camp and need to rest.”

But they still wouldn’t yield.

It was then that I knew I wasn’t dealing with spoiled rotten teens. I was dealing with over-tired, HUNGRY teens who had the stubbornness of both their mother and their father.

So I called Rich at work. We had a parenting situation that needed both Mom and Dad to solve. He promised to call right back when he had a minute to spare.

We were all in the living room: Michael (who was to drive them to the mall and didn’t care either way, but did want to buy sandals), Ethan (lying on his back with his arm dramatically over his forehead), Emily (who was using her Starbucks gift card in the debates) and Jacob (on the verge of tears).

Rich returned my call. I put him on speaker and placed the phone next to me on the arm of the couch. He received an earful as everyone stated their case. Being the wise and sensible man he was, he quickly decided in my favor.

“Your mom is right. I want you children to stay home and rest today. Jacob, if you don’t toughen up I’ll give you something to do to toughen you up. Ethan, I want you to get in the kitchen and find something you DO want to eat, and make enough for everyone.

“Now, I really have to go. I want to finish things up here at work so I can take a break and go eat Chinese food for lunch.”

(evil laughter from Mike and the parents)

Well, well, well. I had “won” the great Chinese food debate against my teenagers. I was feeling victorious but also sort of mean…..I love giving them anything they want….so when I DO have to put my foot down, I feel bad. (yes, I am a feeler, it’s a blessing and a curse). The poor children would have to forgo Chinese food, although we did have chicken patties in the freezer that they could shake soy sauce on. This idea of mine was not met with approval, however.

I took my phone off the arm of the couch and just as I began to get up to put away the groceries Mike said, “The Schwan’s truck is here.” He could see it pull in the driveway through the window.

Instantly, I started to scream because I knew they sold delicious Chinese food meal kits. “Oh my word!!! I cannot believe this!! This is all the Lord’s doing. You better get down on your knees and humble yourselves in gratitude!”

I opened the door to greet the man. He never had such a warm welcome. I turned to make sure the kids were with me to order their beloved Chinese foods from the catalog and saw Ethan kneeling in the kitchen with his arms raised to Jesus in grateful praise.

We had chicken lo mien and shrimp rolls for lunch.

no charmed life, but many charmed moments

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Shanda

“Not a day goes by that I don’t still need to remind myself that my life is not just what’s handed to me, nor is it my list of obligations, my accomplishments or failures, or what my family is up to, but rather it is what I choose, day in and day out, to make of it all. When I am able simply to be with things as they are, able to accept the day’s challenges without judging, reaching, or wishing for something else, I feel as if I am receiving the privilege, coming a step closer to being myself. It’s when I get lost in the day’s details, or so caught up in worries about what might be, that I miss the beauty of what is.” Katrina Kenison

Today I decide to walk around with my camera to see what I am most grateful for.

Seth sneaks up behind me to steal a hug and as I turn to put my arm around him I catch our reflection in the mirror. I feel his smooth skin under my hand and see how dark he’s gotten this summer spending so much time outside, just like mine used to when I was small.

Later on, I crop my head out of the photo because I don’t like the way I look, I am ashamed of my double chin and poor posture and can’t bear to leave the photo the way it is.

He sees what I am doing and makes a face. He has football practice later and has to rest for a little while so I leave him cuddling up into my down comforter. Soon he is sound asleep.

My friend Joanna sends me a letter with photographs that she has taken. I love seeing her handwriting on the pages. I am thankful for the last 20 years of writing back and forth with my friend. She sees beauty all around her and I spend time on my bed putting some of her beauty-pictures in a frame.

Earlier in the morning I had opened up my Bible and read from Ezra about the time of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. I read 1 Corinthians and out loud I read from Psalms. Sarah listens, curled up with her head in my lap. She wants Fruit Loops for breakfast.

Later I spend time looking through old catalogues. I am working on a piece of mail to send to my friend. I tear out a couple of pages to send along with a note and an article. As soon as I open the door to mail it I see my neighbor on the porch about to knock, so we sit down and visit for a while together.

Our dogs have a playdate and we laugh at her dog meeting our rabbit. We talk about our children and Caleb talks about Star Wars. She says she will lend him the movies she has and he squeals with joy.

It’s a beautiful day and we keep seeing hummingbirds.

I say goodbye to my neighbor and tuck Sarah into bed for her quiet time. She doesn’t sleep, and I can hear her talking, singing, and making play sounds. I love to hear them. Soon she appears downstairs again and I take the coloring books and crayons out of the cupboard for her to draw with.

I clean my bathroom.

I go outside to see the gardens. I have small gardens but they bring me so much joy. After months of making vines and more vines, morning glory blossoms are starting to open.

My cat Snickers sees me and comes over to rub against my legs. I sit on the grass for a while and pet him. His purrs are loud and there is fur floating around me and sticking to my lap. I tell him he is my good kitty. I pick him up and press my ear to his side to feel and hear him purring.

We get the mail together; but the box is empty today.

I see a peach with an open bruised spot on the side so I pick it. The other side was smooth and clean so I took a bite. I am surprised by the juicy taste of perfect peach and assume that they are ready to eat. I pick three flawless looking peaches but when the children try to bite them they are too hard and I have to throw them away.

I laugh when I see Sherlock. He tries to get my attention. I am thankful to have the time today to stroke his fur and show him I love him.

“…there is no such thing as a charmed life, not for any of us, no matter where we live or how mindfully we attend to the tasks at hand. But there are charmed moments, all the time, in every life and in every day, if we are only awake enough to experience them when they come and wise enough to appreciate them.” Katrina Kenison

As I am blogging, the plumber comes to fix the dishwasher. While he works, I put away my computer and fold the laundry. I finish my cup of coffee and hang up a load of towels to dry on the clothesline. Caleb works on a crossword puzzle and Sarah colors in her book.

The sun is shining but there are clouds, too, and I can’t ignore the anticipation of knowing that my husband and teenagers will be coming home again tomorrow, after being away for a week.

I love these ordinary moments and days the most.

all the details

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Shanda

Yesterday I enjoyed a gift of a day with my three youngest children. Caleb was given a free pass to Six Flags for reading at school and I thought it would be nice to take him, Seth, and Sarah while their older brothers and sister were away at camp.

As I sit here on my couch, cross legged, in my pajamas, I’m filled with gratitude for this lovely life, through Christ alone, that I am experiencing. Each day is a gift.

Yes, there are tough days, yes there are lots of things I could complain about, yes I do complain and resort to survival sarcasm (sarcasm makes me laugh)…..for example….

The other night the boys had football practice and both of them needed help at the same time with their cleats, I was down on the floor in front of Seth, working on a stiff knot, while Caleb was saying Mom…Mom…Mom….I need some help here….Mom….

He could totally SEE what I was doing! The frustration welled within me and I cried, “I’ll help you when I’m done with your brother! Do you boys think I have four arms??”

Then I laughed all the way out the door because Caleb said in all seriousness. “Mom. You already said that. Years ago.”

I laughed because I didn’t remember saying it, and I laughed because he remembered everything. He said I wanted four arms: “One to hold Sarah, one to hold Seth, one to hold your cup of coffee, and one to hold your book.”

On the way to Six Flags Caleb wanted to listen to music. We like 93.1 (mix) but if it’s a song Caleb doesn’t approve of he switches it to 106.9 (K-LOVE, christian radio). In all that switching, his favorite song came on, “Best day of my Life” by American Authors. We sang loud.

On the way to Six Flags we passed Planned Parenthood and in the joy of taking a day off with my children, I imagined the souls of babies going up to heaven, my heart wept, I honked the horn encouragingly at the peaceful protestors who are typically there- this time it was two old ladies–simply standing on the sidewalk outside the office. I said my own words to Jesus–I don’t want to say judgmental things, I don’t want to get upset or angry. I’m sad, sad that our beloved women come to place where they believe abortion is the answer to a hard situation. And when they are at their lowest, saddest times, their babies are being “harvested”. It’s just incredibly wrong, a sadness deep down in my heart that will not go away that drives me to Jesus. And I believe He is listening and answering.

On the way to Six Flags we stopped to say a quick hello to Aunt Amanda, who was looking sharp at work, who hugged her niece and nephews and talked with them. As we left, I told the children, “Your Aunt Amanda is so sweet to you, she loves you so much and is always happy to see you.” I want them to know, she is always there for them.

On the way to Six Flags (can you tell we were running a little early?) we stopped at Barnes and Nobles ONLY because *I wanted an iced Caramel Macchiato* and figured they could look at books as I ordered. It was fun. My kids are being raised on coffee that I drink, and books for all.

THEN we were on our way to the gates. 25 dollars to park! 161 for tickets!

At these prices we going to stay all day long to get our money’s worth.

First up was the Merry-Go-Round and Sarah with her pigtails.

She was wearing one earring backwards because for some reason one of the holes is constantly shutting…I couldn’t get the earring in but from the back. I switched it around later (when she was getting dressed and her shirt pulled her earring out of her ear). If I could go back in time, I would never have gotten her ears pierced until she was much older, like I did with Grace.

By the way, selfie sticks are not allowed at Six Flags. I don’t have one, but thought the rule was interesting. So you can see my arm holding out the phone in my sunglasses. 😉

Caleb went on the bigger rides with Seth, who was mainly too small to go on them unless he was with an adult. It was a little hard to let them go off, just the two of them, these are my youngest children and in my mind not old enough. But they are. And they did great.

This is my favorite picture of the day. The two of them returning from an exciting ride.

We did some swimming, too. They swim almost every day so we didn’t stay long. They wanted to ride on the rides!

Seth was exploding with crazy-JOY. He expends twice as much energy as we do, I swear. One time he was dancing and did a happy twirl as we walked along and fell down right on the pavement. He showed me later his small scrape on his knee. “It wasn’t funny, Mom.”

The rides were shut down twice for weather issues. There were dark clouds in the sky. This ride opened and rain fell for about 10 minutes. It was nice, actually, to have the park cleared out of some of the people who gave up and went home…..we stayed…getting our money’s worth, don’t you know.

She was taking me to Frances. (FRANCE!LOL) “Mom, is Frances another planet?”

“No, but it is another country.”

“I’m going to take you to Frances!”

I was lucky to take the picture in the split second that Seth looked normal!

I bought them each a necklace that had their name on it.

Adorable kids who have to check all day long to see if they are big enough.

Caleb is my #5 child and feels more comfortable as a younger sibling. But I have to say, and brag a little, that this boy of mine was a huge help to me all day long. He led the way for us, knew the layout of the park quite naturally, and kept an eye on Seth and Sarah. He took Seth along on the rides that Sarah could not go on….and did it all with a great attitude.

Caleb was even brave enough to go on several rides alone. Like the Thunderbolt! He truly did miss his old siblings, though, and saved some of the scariest rides to go on with them someday.

Toward the evening, Sarah began getting blisters and carrying her sandals, which is why they are on her arms in this “muscle” picture of my little superheroes. 🙂

By the way, Seth lost his shorts when he changed into his swimming trunks, they got left behind someplace. He wore his trunks the rest of the time.

I had to buy myself flip flops because my sneakers were soaked on the water-raft ride.

What’s kind of sad is he has no clue who these creatures are.

“A Bunny and a Skunk” is what he said when I asked him.

Sarah went on a few challenging, faster rides and I had to bribe her once. I hated to do it, but she was crying and saying “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM” just as we were at the front of the line. And by that time I knew it was her coping mechanism and not true. She had already survived the ride once and wanted to go on it again, but just at the last second she panicked. I wasn’t going to let her. So I told her I would get her “a big lollipop” when it was over. She cried and had to go to the bathroom again at the Scrambler but we didn’t bribe her. We just said she would be fine and she was. She would cry until the ride started and then laugh the entire time. Silly Brave Sarah. She’s living life her way.

The boys rode the Pandemonium. “This is where I lost my hat last year” ~Caleb

My gentle-souled son.

Seth was leaping through this photo-attempt but we got it!

We left the park at 8:45 and headed home. My little kids have proved to me that they are strong— and capable of having an entire day of nonstop fun without melt downs from exhaustion! This is a milestone for my family.

I had to stop and get gas on the way home. It was 9:30 by the time we pulled in the driveway and as soon as I got out of the car I ran to the chicken coop using the flashlight on my phone. Thankfully, the chickens were all safe inside with no raccoons eating them, so I shut the windows and doors tightly and walked back to the house with two eggs in my pocket…..we had peanut butter sandwiches before bed, with promises of nice warm baths…tomorrow.

This morning I had a text message from my husband, telling me that our son David was saved at camp yesterday. “my heart gives grateful praise”

Today should be a quieter day. We’re going to have those baths, and watch a couple of movies.

Caleb is snuggling with the dog and I’m petting a rabbit. Seth is still asleep! And it’s after 8! Now I know what to do to make his sleep extra–take him to Six flags for the day!

Happy Wednesday, friends!