Good afternoon!

It’s such a nice, relaxing Sunday.  We went to church this morning and are now having a quiet afternoon at home.  Rich is working outside and the children are all playing so I have a few minute to sit and write a little bit about our weekend.

Caleb woke up Saturday morning craving pancakes but had to settle for scrambled eggs.  He walked sleepily into my room, shivering, so I wrapped him in a little quilt.  A cute little man, I just had to give him lots of big hugs.  He likes those.  What a blessing to have a small yawning toddler in my life. . . . . .

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about David learning to scramble eggs.  Well, I’m happy to report he is still practicing his new skill.  It’s so fun to have a five year old who can make his own hot breakfast.

How to keep a three year old out of the way for a few minutes?  Perch him on the bottom end of an upside down garbage can.  The major project of this weekend was painting the garage doors and Rich was up and working at it early Saturday morning.  He is the person Caleb was looking at through the window in the first picture.  The first thing Rich had to do was powerwash the garage doors.  After I got Caleb dressed, he went out to watch for a little while, and then Daddy let him try spraying the water.

In the afternoon, after the doors were dry, the painting began.

The sky has been so brilliantly blue lately, scattered with the whitest, puffiest clouds.  Because of all the rain God has blessed us with this summer, the green things are still fresh and lush.   

Grace has been our gifted painter. . . .and a big help to her Daddy this weekend.

And, here she is again, with her new cat.  His name is Tiger.

After lunch today, I went for a little walk around in the sunshine and forest.  The sound of the stream is always a delight to me, and today a squirrel was scolding me from the tops of the trees.

 A quote that encouraged me today:

“The full flood of my life is not in bodily health, not in external happenings, not in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with Him that Jesus Himself had.  The first thing that will hinder this joy is the captious irritation of thinking out circumstances.  The cares of this world, said Jesus, will choke God’s word.

“Be rightly related to God, find your joy there, and out of you will flow rivers of living water.  Be a center for Jesus Christ to pour living water through.  Stop being self-conscious, stop being a sanctif
ied prig, and live the life hid with Christ.  The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing wherever it goes.  The lives that have been of most blessing to you are those who were unconscious of it.”

–Oswald Chambers

I hope you are all having a blessed Lord’s day.  ~Shanda~

By the end of the day yesterday I felt out of sorts, blah, disjointed, etc.  Rich came home from work and there was still some remaining rays of sun, so out the door I went with my camera, hoping to “find myself” somewhere outside.  I just needed the air to be cleared in my head. . . . .take deep breaths, stretch my legs.  Get away.

The boys were supposed to be walking the dog and I hadn’t gotten too far when he (the dog) tore up behind me.  Jacob and Ethan soon caught up and I eventually started feeling better as I took picture after picture of them having fun in the goldenrod.

It was such a lovely half hour.  The sun was going down, we were on the edge of a big open field.  The boys were having fun and I was soaking in God’s beautiful creation.

Seeing gold all around me . . . .enjoying my boys.

Psalm 96:11-12

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord, for He is coming,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the earth in righteousness

And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

(“He is coming”. . . .oh, I just can’t wait!!!!)

I asked Rich to take the children out for ice cream last night so I could have some quiet time alone at home, but the boys said pleadingly, “Mom, you’re coming with us to get ice cream, aren’t you?” 

 “It wouldn’t be as fun without you!”

I had to smile.  It felt so nice to be wanted.  So I went.  I’m sure I did not need that small peanut butter cup ice cream cone but it sure was nice to sit around the picnic table at the ice cream place in town with my husband and five happy youngsters.

(we took this picture right before we left to go)

Speaking of GOLD. . .congratulations to American gymnast Nastia Lukin for winning the gold medal in the women’s’ all around competition last night.   Those of you on the east coast also deserve gold if you stayed up to watch the whole thing live.  I believe it was over at about 1:00 am.  I fell asleep on the couch at 9:30, hours before the competition began.  Thankfully, Rich taped it on our computer, so at 6:15 this morning I woke him up by turning it on to see what happened.  He said I was like a little kid on Christmas morning.  I was absolutely thrilled with Nastia’s performance and so proud of her!  All of her routines were breathtaking.  She is coached by her Dad, who was also a gold medal winner in gymnastics so I think their story is extra special.  They both had happy tears in their eyes when they realized she had won.  It was incredible.

Happy Friday!  It looks to be a beautiful day.

“The queen that sits upon the throne of home, crowned and sceptered as none other ever can be, is mother.  Her enthronement is complete, her reign unrivaled, and the moral issues of her empire are eternal.  ‘Her children rise up, and call her blessed.’  Rebellious, at times, as the subjects of her government may be, she rules them with marvelous patience, winning tenderness and undying love.”

“Scotland, with her well-known reverence for motherhood, insists that ‘An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.'”

“Napoleon cherished a high conception of a mother’s power, and believed that the mothers of the land could shape the destinies of his beloved France.  Hence he said, ‘The great need of France is mothers.'”

“Who can think of the influence that a mother wields in the home, and not be impressed with its far-reaching results?”

“There is one vision that never fades from the soul, and that is the vision of mother and home.”

“John Randolph was once heard to say that only one thing saved him from atheism, and that was the tender remembrance of the hour when a devout mother, kneeling by his side, took his little hand in hers, and taught him to say ‘Our Father, who art in Heaven.'”

“Fathers, mothers, let the home go with your children to Jesus, let it go with them at every step, to cheer them in every struggle, until from the very crest of the cold wave that bears them from you forever, they shout back their joy over a home on earth, that helped them rise to a home in heaven.”

All quotes, H.H. Birkins

“Are you a mother?  Then your position is one of the most favorable on the face of the earth for carrying out this noble principle.  Dignity and power are given to you; responsibility is laid upon you; for you are intrusted with the dependent little immortals.”  ~Christian Treasury

“The queen that sits upon the throne of home, crowned and sceptered as none other ever can be, is mother.  Her enthronement is complete, her reign unrivaled, and the moral issues of her empire are eternal.  ‘Her children rise up, and call her blessed.’  Rebellious, at times, as the subjects of her government may be, she rules them with marvelous patience, winning tenderness and undying love.”

“Scotland, with her well-known reverence for motherhood, insists that ‘An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.'”

“Napoleon cherished a high conception of a mother’s power, and believed that the mothers of the land could shape the destinies of his beloved France.  Hence he said, ‘The great need of France is mothers.'”

“Who can think of the influence that a mother wields in the home, and not be impressed with its far-reaching results?”

“There is one vision that never fades from the soul, and that is the vision of mother and home.”

“John Randolph was once heard to say that only one thing saved him from atheism, and that was the tender remembrance of the hour when a devout mother, kneeling by his side, took his little hand in hers, and taught him to say ‘Our Father, who art in Heaven.'”

“Fathers, mothers, let the home go with your children to Jesus, let it go with them at every step, to cheer them in every struggle, until from the very crest of the cold wave that bears them from you forever, they shout back their joy over a home on earth, that helped them rise to a home in heaven.”

All quotes, H.H. Birkins

“Are you a mother?  Then your position is one of the most favorable on the face of the earth for carrying out this noble principle.  Dignity and power are given to you; responsibility is laid upon you; for you are intrusted with the dependent little immortals.”  ~Christian Treasury

There is definitely some kind of belly goin’ on. . and not all of it is baby, I’m sure!   

My due date is February 12, and since today is August 13, I have approximately 6 months to go.  I should have posted the pictures yesterday but I didn’t get a chance.

So far this pregnancy has been almost easy in the physical sense.  Sure I have my bouts of queasiness, but only one time was I really sick.  I get very tired if I do too much in a day, but my biggest struggle right now is the bad moods I get in *can I blame the hormones?*.  I get so much more impatient with the kids, mainly all the nonstop talking and questions and issues that arise with them.  There is always so much going on around me and most of the time I’m so tired I just want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and say, “go away and leave me alone!”  Ha!

I was thinking about this last night when I went to bed at 8:30 (!!!I taped the gymnastics, and have no idea right now who won the women’s team comp. so no fair spoiling it for me!!!).  I think I just need to be careful right now not to do too much and to try to be wise about sending the children outside as much as possible to get their energy out.  I need to slow down.  I’m convinced of this because I did a lot yesterday and I ended up a weepy mess at bedtime.  But I had gone out with the kids to several stores in the morning (and I carried Caleb a bit), and then music lessons and the grocery store at night with the five of them, and I had gone on two long walks.  No pregnant woman can match the energy of five healthy children!!  Along with the typical stuff going on in a day (children, unexpected phone calls and even Mr. Inspector came to look at the basement and garage work) it was enough to show me WHY GOD HAS BEEN MAKING ME SO TIRED. . . .I need to take care of myself or I will crash.

So, today I do have several things going on.  Our old neighbors are coming over at 10 this morning to bring us their cat.  See, a couple of years ago we gave them Patches’ brother, Tiger M.  (Patches is our cat that got hit and killed in the road a few months ago).  They have had the cat for 2 years but now have to give it away.  Since we gave him to them, they called us first.  Grace has been begging us for a new cat ever since Patches died so IMO this was an answer to prayer.  Tiger M the cat is coming back and Mrs. L will be here with her 4 children to drop him off.  Her kids are all heartbroken and I’m not looking forward to witnessing the emotional goodbye, poor things.

The other thing going on is that I was “completely shocked” yesterday to have a neighbor up the road call me to invite me and the kids to her house!!!  We have lived here for 2 years and haven’t had anyone invite us over.  We live in the country so we rarely even see anyone but this lady’s granddaughters must have noticed my kids playing outside and begged her to call us so they could play with them.  Lucille (sp?) is her name and she sounded SO nice on the phone.  We are all set to go over there at 1:00 this afternoon to meet her 8 and 12 year old grand daughters and go swimming in their pool.  I can’t believe I might be making a friend!  Lucille even told me that she has an in-law apartment that she made into a scrapbooking studio for herself and her daughters and that I could join them anytime I wanted to.   She babysits her grand daughters and makes them do school work every morning of the summer so she was very interested that I homeschool.  Also, her parents used to own the land that my house is on!

Despite the fact that I have these “dates” with friends, I still plan on taking it easy today so that when Rich comes home I’m not a blubbering mess!  LOL

I have probably written too much this morning.  Thanks for “listening”.  This post was supposed to be just the simple fact that God has brought me through the first three months of pregnancy and I am so grateful.

I’m also grateful for a new cat for Grace.

And grateful for new friends.

And grateful for the energy of my five children, even though I cannot keep up.  LOL

Thanks for the encouragement and prayers!

My niece, Makayla Lynn

Isn’t she a cutie?

Davy-do

If it’s one thing I learned it’s to “never say never”.  As soon as I had schoolage children, I said that I would never homeschool.  I am now about to begin my third year of homeschooling. . . .(**insert laughter here**).

However, Rich and I know that we have to take “this homeschooling thing” one year at a time, and be open to the Lord’s leading.  This year we will embark on a new adventure. . . . .

We decided, months ago, that this fall our precious David will be going to public school. 

It all boils down to a big big lesson for us—-life as a Christian family is a lot about letting go of our attempts to control our own lives and the lives of our children, and allow God alone to lead us.  How else can He get all the glory?  He has a different plan for every family.

David, as some of you know, has some trouble with his speech.  He went to see a speech therapist every Monday at our local school for the majority of last school year and the therapist told me frankly that her advice to us was to put him in public school for a year or two, so that she could work closely with him, and that he would have the experience of a classroom of peers and a teacher. 

Also, to be honest, the responsibility of teaching him to read and write was too overwhelming to me.  Yes, I know many moms and dads do it, but I was so stressed out about teaching him the basics (even encouraging him to hold a pencil properly would cause me to walk away and count to 10) that I was losing joy (okay, I was totally stressing out!!).  My other children had all completed several years of Christian school before “I got my hands on them”.  A wonderful foundation was put in place for us by capable teachers and it has been less of a struggle for me to simply pick up where they left off in teaching Jacob, Ethan, and Grace (although homeschooling is never easy!!).  David has been told, “Jacob, Ethan, and Grace went to school to learn to read and write, and so are you.”  That way, he doesn’t feel like he is being sent away while the rest of his siblings get to stay home with mommy.

David starts school on August 27.  Now that vacation is over, this has become the next event on my mind.  I know that putting him on that school bus will be so hard, oh how I will miss him!!!. . . .I pray that I can do it with a smile on my face because he is so excited to go.  He especially wants to take a lunch box.  We already know his teacher’s name and the principal sent him a nice little letter and the book, If You Take a Mouse to School.  The public school that he will be attending only houses pre-K through 1st grade so it is very small and quiet.  Also, the Kindergarten class is only half a day.  He will be home before noon every day!

I share all this so that you can pray for him.  God is in control and I know that my God is everywhere, even in public school.  I know that He will protect David and give Rich and I wisdom to continue to be David’s guiding influence in his little life.  I feel so much freedom and joy in this decision (although Rich made the ultimate decision, it was too emotional for me to think through logically!) and I know that the reason why I feel such liberty is because I have put my child totally in the hands of God.  I trust my heavenly Father with everything, including my children, my dearest treasures.

I pray that homeschooling will never be my defining attribute (is that the right word?).  We don’t do it to gain favor from God, I don’t do it because I think my kids will turn out for the Lord if I keep them out of the world.  The mature person looks around and realizes that God saves people from every kind of background.  I will never homeschool out of FEAR, I will never homeschool to please my Christian brothers and sisters.  I will never let my children think that because they are homeschooled they have an “extra edge” on their relationship with God.  If homeschooling makes this family feel strong and proud than I pray to God that He will humble us fast.  The Bible is clear that our Father blesses the weak ones of this world, and is looking for humble men and women.  It is also clear that God resists the proud! 

I am weak, I need God, and that is the primary feeling I have as I face sending David to school this year, and as I get ready to teach the older three another year of school here at home.

We homeschool because the Lord has directed us, for this moment in time, to do so.  We have perfect peace that this is what He would have us to do.  The same goes for David and public school.  My desire is to educate my children in order to glorify Him. . . . .

***********************

Other pictures from the weekend. . . . . .

Country Living on our front porch:

The rockers get moved around constantly for the best views and/or depending on the way the sun is shining.

There is always a pile of shoes by the front door.

Coffee break:

We have had such nice rain for days now.  Typically, we will have a nice sunny day and then a thunderstorm, and down-pours at night.  It’s such a relaxing way to end the day.  I love listening to the rain.  Last year our lawn was so dry that it turned brown, this year everything is still so fresh and green.  I took this picture this morning:

And while I was admiring God’s beautiful morning, my cat was showing his love at my feet . . . .

Have you all been watching the Olympics?  I like to go to bed early but I’m afraid I’ll be staying up quite late while the Olympics are on, especially the nights when they show the women’s gymnastics competitions!

My brother and his family are still here.  We’ve been having a good time visiting and they will leave to go home later on today.  I hope to get some pictures before they leave.  Their daughter is so cute!

Have a great day, everyone!

Ha ha ha!  Last Friday Rich and I met Colleen (my aunt) and her children at the local zoo.  The cousins have loads of fun together and it was a challenge to keep up with them.  Colleen has four girls.  Grace and Madelynn pair off, and so do Jacob and Molly (they talk a lot, I noticed).  Her younger two are Meghan and Marissa and they stick together *so sweet*.

(By the way, will you please say a prayer for Colleen?  She had to have unexpected surgery this week to have her gall bladder removed.  She is so so special to me and I’m praying that she recovers and feels good again soon.  She’s my pal.  We grew up together and share so many memories.)

Anyway, the zoo was small (which we liked) and it didn’t take long to walk through it.  It’s a zoo that Rich and I have taken the children to a bunch of times through the years, and one that I went to as a young girl.  It’s so fun to re-visit favorite spots, isn’t it?

My favorite creature was this

At the end of our visit we rode the carousel.  I think the kids went around 4 times and would have gone more but *we had McDonald’s playplace to go to for lunch* so they had to settle for “just” 4 rides. . . . .

Caleb saw this picture and said, with a giggle, “There’s Cayub. . .  I yuv my Pa-pa.”   

So, yesterday I could not find time to blog.  We were so busy.  I took Grace to the doctor’s to get her throat checked.  She’s been complaining of a sore throat all week and she had a swollen gland right under her chin that Rich and I didn’t like.  She checked out fine but the doc still wanted me to treat her poison ivy so we went to Target to fill the prescription for the special cream.  Of course I ended up shopping. 

Then we went to Friendly’s for lunch.  (because Wendy’s was PACKED).

Then Costco for more shopping.

Back home for a few hours and then back out to meet my friend Kathy for a girl’s night out. 

It was pouring rain on and off yesterday and I fell asleep to the sound of loud thunder and heavy rain.  I have my windows open this morning and I can hear the rushing stream, it’s so full.  I took my bare feet, pj’s, and cup of coffee for a little walk this morning down the road for a dampish early morning walk.  Everything is washed clean from the rain.  My cat trotted over and I finished up my walk with him on my shoulder.

While I was gone with Kathy last night, Caleb got into my nail polish and polished his entire foot.  It’s a dark shade of red and his foot is still discolored.  I call it his ugly foot and I was so thankful that he did it when I was away.  LOL I’ll have to see what I can do with fingernail polish remover to clean him up.  It really does look ugly.

I bought the kids a couple of books last night.  I get a 20% discount at Barnes and Noble as a homeschooler.  I got these:

Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing book

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

Marley, A Dog Like no Other, by John Grogan (I will read this one aloud to them)

I have a lot to do today because my brother Nathan, his wife Melissa, and their almost-2-yr-old daughter are coming this afternoon for a weekend visit. 

Can you believe with all that shopping yesterday I still forgot to buy toilet paper????  LOL  So back to the store I go this morning.  **Update**I’m so happy!  I was upstairs giving Caleb a soak in the tub and cleaning the bathroom at the same time and I found 6 rolls of toilet paper in the closet!  I did a toilet paper cheer all over the house, as I restocked our three bathrooms.  David was highly amused but said, “You don’t have you YELL IT, mom”.

I also want to bake cookies. muffins, and brownies.

Make some hummingbird sugar water to fill my feeders.

Clean the bedrooms that our company will be using.

Oh and by the way. . . . .wow. . . . .thanks for all the encouragement to our boys in the last post.  They were so interested to read all the comments and I think you have convinced them that they sure did do a good thing for their mama. 

It’s FRIDAY and here is a quote from my favorite magazine, Country Living:

“More than a span of days, the weekend is a time without limits.  Let every hour take on its spirit.  No need to save for later the solitude or adventure, repose or company you crave.  The time is now”

Melissa and I plan to go antiquing.  What are your plans for the weekend?  What will you do to re-charge, slow down, and enjoy life’s moments?  I hope you have a good one, full of beauty, lots of smiles, and simple pleasures!

Oh how I wish I was one of those kind, thoughtful mothers at bedtime. . . . .the kind that sits on her daughter’s bed with her and talks. . .and brushes her hair.  Songs, stories, cuddles. . . . .

Once in a rare while I can do it, but most of the time I’m not the best parent at bedtime. 

It’s all I can do to get them in bed without losing it.  I have absolutely no patience for bedtime shenanigans and when you have a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old boy it happens almost every night. 

My husband is the one who tucks them in with a story, thankfully.  But he was away on a business trip last night.  I miss him when he’s gone but I have to admit I miss him the most at bedtime!

Last night I got the little ones in bed and I had Jacob and Ethan do their kitchen and living room clean up.  They requested that I stay in my room for half an hour (!!!) and when I went back out I had a surprise waiting for me.

Hot tea (“What kind is it, boys?”  “It’s Vanilla Nut Cream!  We looked and that box was almost empty so we figured it was your favorite!”)

Popcorn in a fiesta bowl

And a note

They also had the couch made up with a blanket and one of my taped gymnastics competitions playing on TV!  (I love women’s gymnastics and used to record it to watch over and over, I rarely watch it anymore but they found the 1996 Olympics and had that playing). . . . .

I laughed and tried not to cry (crying is not the reaction boys want!).  I got my camera out to take a picture.

They went to bed after turning off all the lights and I was left alone in the dark with my snack, and feeling very very loved.

 For a friend is

 the most precious

 discovery of all. . . . .

Looking at these pictures makes me happy!  Joanna and I had such a satisfying visit last week.  We met at a local Crackerbarrel (in NY). . .she drove a little over an hour to get there and it was about 20 minutes from our campsite.  Rich gave me our one vehicle for the day and he stayed at the camp with the kids (*thank you honey*).

We decided to drive to my hometown so we hopped into my vehicle and away we went.  My mom was on her lunch break so we went into her office to say hello.  Mom was looking at a Country Living magazine and eating homemade beef stew when we surprised her.  We visited for a bit and she took a few pictures of Joanna and I together (*in the golden chairs*) before the two of us left to eat lunch at a fantastic little local eatery.

After lunch we drove to an antique store and had the best time ~ just being together ~ laughing and talking and looking at everything in the store (there was stuff crammed in every available spot, the best sort of antique place).

Many of you know Joanna from her blog here on xanga, but I tell ya, you would have to read every one of her posts to begin to get an idea of her personality.  She’s her whole blog PLUS a lot more.  There is a great deal of dimension to her and it’s been fun to be her friend for the last 13+ years.  Fun isn’t really the right word.  She’s such a part of me now that I know I would be a totally different person today if she had never been a part of my life.  She inspires me, motivates me, loves me the way I am, encourages me in the Lord, comforts, listens, shares her true self with me, and prays for me.  We don’t see each other face to face very often, but we keep in touch through the mail, computer, and phone calls.  She lets my kids call her “Aunt Jo”.

Guess what I found?  Fiestaware!

I bought one fiesta plate ~ a vintage chartreuse~ the 2nd dinner plate down from the top.

We ended up back at Crackerbarrel for a little more talking and a few more pictures before going on our separate ways.  I went back to my family feeling like a new woman!  I was in such a good mood (I told Joanna that our visit was like a good medicine *the kind that’s easy to take* ).  There was such a marked difference in me that Rich encouraged me to go back out the next day.  But it wasn’t just the getting away that put me in such high spirits. . . .it was spending time with a good friend.

To have a friend is to have one of the sweetest gifts that life can bring:  to be a friend is a solemn and tender education of the soul from day to day.  ~Chinese Proverb