(grieving a little cat)

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Shanda

Rich came home last night at 9 and I knew instantly that something was wrong. He told me that our little cat Patches got hit in the road and that she was dead.

I don’t really want to write too many details about how I feel. It would be hard for me to write and hard for you to read.

I’m just so very sad. I’ve been awake since 3 in the morning, thinking about Patches and crying.

When people think of Shanda, they probably think of a busy mom of five. But my mom and dad know, and my siblings know, and now Rich is probably finally realizing, how much I deeply love my cats. I may be busy, but I always have a peaceful content feeling when there are cats about the house. It always feels right to pet a cat, and to have one purring next to me.

I’m going to miss my mighty little hunter, and the gifts she left me at the door. I will miss her loud purr, and the cute things she used to do.

When the children are awake later on this morning, I’ll have to break the news to them. David especially loved Patches, Patches was his very real friend. Grace also will be very sad, Patches was her baby.

Pictures for the kids, because I know they will want to see them today~

She was born in our previous house, and spent every day of her life with us~

Patches is climbing the tree in this picture. Angie is her mother (the gray one) and disappeared almost a year ago. We still have Spot, he is outside right now, as soon as he comes home I will be comforted somewhat.

Patches caught a frog once, which disgraced her mother.

The kids all held Patches this way, which I thought looked so uncomfortable. Patches was usually happily purring, though. I used to say, “Patches!! Sit like a lady!” and the kids would laugh.

She was a patient kitty~I always think of pairs figure skating when I see this picture:

Patches left us a fish once~I still can’t believe she caught one~

She even wanted to catch a duck~this is why I began thinking of her as “The Mighty Hunter”

But most of all she was just plain sweet-as-a-kitten-can-be.

ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts.

EDIT******It’s now about 8:15 and I told all the kids. I told each one separately. Jacob took it the worse, he said, “What???” and cried that was it. The rest of them didn’t say much. I just talked to them about how I loved Patches, and we would miss her, etc, etc.

Turns out THEY are comforting ME. I was actually chuckling a little bit over their passionate conversations over breakfast. . .not a word about Patches, instead they are discussing what kind of cat they will get next, what color, and what they will name it. Everyone has their own opinion. Last I heard, it was to be orange with white feet, and they will name it “Hobo”. Although, Grace does NOT like that name. And Ethan would prefer a Siamese, with blue eyes and long hair.

Now they are gathering up all their stuffed animals and playing with them upstairs. They are dealing with it in their own way, and I’m sure I will find them in tears on an off throughout the day.

However, at the moment I am “left to weep alone”. (I write, with a half-hearted smile). . . . . . and I’m thankful for my happy little gang of children. They seem very secure and resilient, which is a comfort, and makes it easier for me.

Posted on May 21, 2008 by Shanda

Thank you for praying for David. It’s almost hard to believe how NORMAL he is acting today. However, the spot on his tummy is a little worse. By that I mean bigger, and now it’s all blistered. It’s itching him terribly. I had to take him to the doctor’s this afternoon to get it checked. Thankfully, the Doctor was really pleased with the way it is healing and the way David is feeling. She told me to keep the spot covered now, because it’s starting to ooze. So now we don’t have to look at it as much.

I’m much more at ease today.

No more resting for David! I cannot keep him still. He’s been catching frogs all day (taking a break for his appointment) Just as soon as he was dressed this morning, he was outside, walking around the pond, catching them and putting them in a tub of water out on the lawn.

He was really proud of this big one~

He has his appetite back, too. Last night he had a bowl of spaghetti for dinner and 4 pieces of toast as his bedtime snack.

Today he is enjoying watermelon, his favorite~

Ethan made brownies all by himself today and asked me to take this picture~

It seems like I have been busy non-stop. My emotions have been up and down. But we are simply praising God for the way He has taken care of David this week.

My biggest complaint, now that the tylenol has taken away my fierce headache?

My house needs cleaning. . . .again.

Help?

Oh forget the housework. I think I’ll go crash on the couch and see if I can find a small boy to cuddle with.

Thanks again for praying!

update

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Shanda

Thanks for your prayers. We are back home. I’m thanking God for traveling mercies (the hospital is in our state capital and I hate driving through so much traffic). . and I’m also thanking God that David’s infection is only skin deep right now, just spread out pretty wide. It looks so scary. . . but thankfully it should start getting better soon. He is on strong antibiotics. The doc. thinks it might have been a venomous spider bite.

He’s on the couch, very weak and quiet.

I was awake most of last night, worried about him. He actually slept in bed with me, which I rarely do with my kids, so that shows how concerned I was. . .I didn’t want to be too far away.

Anyway. My soup should be warm now, I haven’t had anything to eat all day but a piece of white bread!

EDIT-

These are pictures I took of David yesterday morning. We were so excited that a “Davey” truck stopped just outside of our driveway, they were trimming the trees along our road.

It’s actually because of these workers that I first noticed how bad his tummy was. I picked him up from behind so he could see better, and he yelled out in pain. I was shocked when I lifted his shirt and saw how big it was, and that it was infected.

My brave little boy. . . .

And, here is his big boo-boo. I took him to his regular doctors yesterday and the Dr. drew around in it ink so that we could see how big it got overnight. The dark bruising developed overnight (it’s like a scab, with blisters forming on it) and it is what the ER people thought was a sign of a venomous bite.

See why I was (am) so worried? It looks awful and his pediatrician said he hasn’t seen anything like it in the 25 years he’s been in the practice.

Keep praying! We want that spot GONE! And our Father in heaven is a great Healer. . . .

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Shanda

David has a very bad (infected) bite on his tummy that got worse over night. He is in pain, has a fever. I am on my way to the ER w/him. Please pray for us. Esp. Davy-do.

Thanks!!!

Dear Older Lady (question #5) "friends"

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Shanda

Here’s our next question from a young lady~

“I’ve got an “older lady” question for you…
Since I’ve gotten married and gotten a job, I’ve realized how hard it is to keep up my girlfriend relationships. I’m interested to hear creative ways that you girls stay in touch with your girlfriends and deepen your friendships. ”

Dear Older Lady (question #5) “friends”

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Shanda

Here’s our next question from a young lady~

Posted on May 18, 2008 by Shanda

Peter Peter pumpkin eater
Had a wife but couldn’t keep her
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.

I have no idea what that silly Mother Goose rhyme means. But it’s stuck in my head because after being away all weekend, Rich has declared himself to be a “Shanda-Keeper”.

I’m BACK in my pumpkin shell.

Oh yeah, you probably didn’t even know I was gone. Yup. I left Friday afternoon and drove about an hour and a half away to meet my aunt and friend COLLEEN at a hotel near Albany, NY.

We had a great weekend of talking, laughing, antiquing, etc. It was a nice little adventure!

(It’s just ridiculous that I’m up this late, blogging, but Rich is actually in the basement. He’s painting the floor with Jacob and Ethan. They are quite industrious and are determined to follow through with their plan of getting it done THIS WEEKEND. So, since Rich is busy, I thought I would sit here and post some pictures of my weekend and then go to bed.)

We went to lots of antique stores.

Here is a picture of the table of contents, it sounded pretty interesting ~ I wish I had been able to read it!

A jolly yo-yo quilt~

~for my son, Jacob:

Thanks to Colleen’s navigation system we confidently (for the most part) drove around the back country roads to our destinations ~ more and more antique stores and a lunch at a diner. However, we did take time to stop and enjoy God’s creation along the way as well. Saturday was a bright sunny day and NYS was vibrant with great GREEN-NESS and rolling pastures. We saw some very lovely farms, it’s a wonder we stayed on the road, we were looking out the windows so much.

We stopped the car and got out at a creek~

and noticed the wildflowers~

Another thing we did while we were away, was indulge in new hair-cuts!

All in all, a very nice time had by all. All 2 of us. And we only talked about our children about 85% of the time!! Not bad for two very devoted mommies with a combined total of nine children.

I got back this afternoon and it was so good to hug my family members again~especially my dear husband.

I’m glad that he cheerfully lets me go off on little outings. (and thanks, Uncle Roger, for letting Colleen go away for the weekend, you are such a good sport and great Dad to your 4 little “superhero” girls.)

I have a couple more “get-togethers with long-distance friends” planned for this summer. My friend Christie and I are going to try to meet up someplace, and Joanna and I want to get together again this fall, like we did last year. I hope I get to see them both. It’s very nice to have things to look forward to. Spending time with friends is a MUST for me.

Thank you, God, for my friends and my family. . .but most of all for your goodness and grace to me each day.

“And now I lay me down to sleep. . . . .”

Good night, all.

Raspberry Cherry Pie & Chocolate Mallow Pie

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Shanda

Look

for a

lovely

thing

and

you

will

find it.

~Sara Teasdale

David found this Robin’s egg on our driveway, it had fallen from a nest.

We admired it and then put it back.

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

Recipe for a Lovely Pie. . .or two:

Raspberry Cherry Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T. quick cooking tapioca
2 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 cup pitted tart cherries (fresh, canned or frozen)
1 tsp. lemon juice

For filling, in a bowl, combine sugar and tapioca. Add the raspberries, cherries and lemon juice;
toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, make pie crust:

3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. shortening
1 egg
5-6 T. cold water
1 tsp. vinegar

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder; cut in shortening until crumbly. Combine egg, water, and
vinegar. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms ball.

Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to fit a 9 in. pie plate. Place pastry
in plate; trim even with edge.

Spoon filling into pastry. Dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Place top crust over
filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry.

Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.

If one pie is not enough for your family, try this one as well:

Chocolate Mallow Pie (VERY chocolaty)

1 (for one sky-high pie) or 2 (for two thinner pies) store-bought oreo cookie pie crusts

FILLING:

2 packages cream cheese (one 8 oz, one 3 oz)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1 (8 oz) carton cool whip, thawed
2 cups mini marshmallows

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and chocolate syrup until smooth. Beat in melted chips.
Set aside 1/4 cup of whipped topping for garnishing the pie later. Fold marshmallows and
remaining whipped topping into chocolate mixture. Spoon into crust. (there is a lot of filling, you could
buy 2 pie shells for a thinner pie. That’s what I will do next time.) Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
(I froze it for about 4 hours and it was fine). Garnish with reserved whipped topping.

(The kids didn’t like this pie, it was too chocolaty for them. I liked it.)

Davy-Do goes fishin'

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Shanda

Little boy, do you know how blessed you are? Of course, you did ask about 1,000 times for a fishing pole. And mommy *of course* has been reading you a book all about How to Fish–how to find those big nightcrawlers, why you shouldn’t touch the body of any fish you plan on throwing back, how to put a worm on a hook, what the different sized hooks are called, and so on.

You have had fishin’ fever.

So your Dad “finally” took you to a sporting goods store last Saturday and bought you your very own fishing pole. He bought one for himself and another one for big brothers to share.

Once you got home, you had to stand around and watch Daddy put together the tackle box that he bought. He said he saved 20 dollars by getting the kind you have to put together yourself. Saving that 20 dollars also paid for another lesson on “waiting patiently” for you, Davy.

It was hard to find worms in the middle of the bright sunny day. You and I read in the book that nightcrawlers are easier to find. . ..at night. But you and your brothers managed to find some small, skinny, reddish colored worms. You put them in a dirt-filled Campbell’s soup can.

Mama pretty much kept to herself and let you boys have fun together. That’s because when I did go down to watch, you almost cast your hook into my wrist. That’s okay. You didn’t mean it. But, I figured I was safer if I kept my distance.

Davy, you fished and you fished. But big brother was the only one to catch anything~4 little ones~.

So, you haven’t caught anything yet. But that’s okay. Mommy had to chuckle, shaking her head a little, when she heard you explain to your speech teacher about the “BIG ONE” that you “almost” caught. You showed her just how BIG it was, with your little arms.

Apparently, the need to exaggerate “the one that got away” is something that comes naturally to fishermen. Even you young ones.

You were very patient

Mama thinks your toes are cute. All that sitting still makes your toes curl.

the first catch~an itty bitty sunfish~

Another of Big Brother’s catches.

Daddy and Davy-do, like two peas in a pod~

Daddy understands your little boyishness when mama does not.

He says you are just like him, when he was little.

I hope you enjoyed reading about David’s first time fishing. I’m so glad we have 2 ponds so that he can fish without leaving home, although I’m sure they will be checking out other fishing holes in time.

As I was typing this, I could hear Grace and Davy in the kitchen.

She just came to me and said, “Mom? How do you make those waffles?” (frozen ones)

“You just put them in the toaster, that’s all.”

“I did that, and they turned out mushy.”

“What? What do you mean, mushy?”

I got up to go check.

“They taste AWFUL”, said David, when I appeared.

No wonder! THEY WERE TOASTING FROZEN HAMBURGER PATTIES!!!!!!

(As it turns out, we don’t even have frozen waffles. I have a small waffle maker. . . . . .guess I’ll be making fresh waffles this morning, even if it takes an hour to make enough for five hungry children. It’s the least I could do after laughing at Grace long and loud *which she did not like*.)

PS, The toaster is a great defroster of hamburgers.

Davy-Do goes fishin’