As the children were getting ready for school, I caught a glimpse of the sunrise so I went out on the porch to *take a picture*.  It was a stunner.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning;
Red sky at night, sailors’ delight

From the same spot on the porch, I took this picture just half an hour later…because my little Sarah said, “It’s snowing, you need to go *take a picture*”!

She wanted to touch it and taste it.

The three of us went upstairs to her bed, which is right by the window, so we could watch the gentle snow come down.  We read Jan Brett’s Snowy Treasury  (highly recommended) while snuggled up in blankets.

Then, after lunch, I took them outside to make snow angels, to eat the snow, to touch it.

A Brave Hen ate some, too.  The other seven were confused and hesitant.

She was shaking the snow down.

She was really proud of her Snow Suit (which all my children have worn in turn).

There was an early dismissal!  This is handsome E, making a funny face as I snap his picture with my zoom lens.

I just had Jacob start the fire in the fireplace, and I’m kinda bummed because he and E made plans on the bus to go over to their friend Zach’s house for the rest of the day.  They said I can’t keep them to myself.  I did insist that Grace stay home.  She’s been gone so much with her singing programs that it will be nice to have her here all afternoon. Soon David and Caleb will arrive and I hope to watch a movie with them, either “Home Alone” or “The Chronicles of Narnia”.  I have gingerbread dough chilling in the fridge, so we can make cookies, too.

Oh, I made a good tuna casserole last night and the recipe is HERE.  The changes I made are as follows:  I doubled the recipe and used half chicken broth and half milk for the cream sauce.  I added a big scoop of cream cheese to the sauce, & omitted the peas and the bread crumb topping (only topped with cheddar cheese).  It was super good and a nice change for us, as I rarely make it anymore.  Grace said I used to make it all the time when she was in seventh grade.  LOL

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

I’m looking out the window and I see no sun, no wind, and only ice and drips.  It’s a silently gray and icy day.

I have been rushing impatiently through my morning so I could get to the good parts, like maybe a second cup of coffee, forgetting that a morning of doing chores and chasing kids IS good, a blessing, a joy, if only I had realized, if only I had slowed my mind down even as my hands worked, with gratitude.

(I may have saved the children from hearing me yell in frustration over the Christmas Pickle!)

Jacob, Ethan, Grace, David, and Caleb had a two hour delay so I made bacon and pancakes for them and after they left I cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, gave Sarah a bath, watered plants, cleaned the pantry, started the fire (took three tries, apparently the wood I was using was secretly damp…I couldn’t tell by feel….it wouldn’t catch, fires and wood are such interesting creatures, I’m still learning).   I made a chocolate cake because Grace is in charge of chorus snacks after school today. I know this because she has reminded me a number of times.  I cleaned the fridge, did laundry, tended chickens (1 egg), emptied and loaded the dishwasher, general pick-up, took out garbage, etc.  Is it obvious, yet, that we didn’t clean this weekend?

Instead of cleaning the house, guess what we did?

The nine of us worked like a well-oiled machine and decorated our 2013 Christmas tree.

Jacob posed with an ornament he made years ago, with a picture in it, of his younger self.

Ethan with his old ornament, too.

Seth tried on the stockings.

I have had this Shanda Santa hat since way back in Kindergarten. I marvel that the glitter has never come off (how?)!

We took a family picture in front of our completed tree.

Jacob loves to torture our cat Sherlock by holding him whether he wants to be held or not.

I found Jacob’s CL this morning on the table.  (Christmas List)  that’s how he titled it “Jacob’s CL”,  already I’m amused:

1.  Lego Lord of the Rings Orthanc Tower (big black tower with Gandalf and Saruman) [includes an Ent]

2. Bose headphones cord (replaceable cord)

3. Dean Koontz Book (NOT:  Winter Moon, What the Night Knows, The Husband, The Good Guy, Velocity, The Face, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, or From the Corner of His Eye.  [Preferably a large one]

4. Monster 4 pack (smiley face doodle)

See why I needed it written down?  It’s full of stuff impossible to remember.

I save every handwritten Christmas  wish list.  Each one is a treasure to my heart.

You know the wonderful thing about God?  I didn’t have to be good in order for Him to save me, and I don’t have to be good in order for Him to love me.

 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20

Tears are in my eyes because the days are full and beautiful.  You are so good to me, Father, my heart is humbled and bows before You forever and ever.  There is sweetness in daily life with Jesus that only a believer can understand.

Mental illness is a horrible thing.  Two years ago I was afraid I was dying, I wanted to die, I didn’t want to die.  I was having panic attacks.  But by the grace of God His love went deeper than my darkest moments.  I began taking 50mgs of antidepressant each morning to combat the depression and my friends, for the last 2 YEARS I have passed each day on the shaky edge of a cliff of exhaustion.

I want to share with you that I finally figured out the solution to that trembling exhaustion, and it is so very simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner; I’m taking my pill at night before bed!  I’ve been doing this for over a week now and the difference in my energy is very marked.

For the first time in years, I feel like my old self, actually, I feel better than my old self.

Still, I hold this “feeling good” loosely in my hands as an offering to my Father in heaven, who has a plan and a purpose for each of His beloved daughters.  Only He knows what is in store for us in this life.  One thing is certain, nothing can compare to the joy awaiting us in Heaven.   What a mercy that divine joy skips and laughs through our days even now.

I have 45 minutes before I have to take little Sarah Joy to the dentist and I’m still in my pajamas but I want to blog and write so very badly that here I sit, with my cold feet warming up on a corn bag, under a blanket crocheted by a mystery person (bought from the thrift store) in blue and brown.

I think you will really like these snapshots from the last few days;

There are many different varieties of pine trees and we have some that have these teeny tiny pinecones on them.  I had the loveliest moment the other day, watching two cute chickadees working their beaks into these cones to eat the tasty seeds within.

Under the tree there was an old wooden raft that Ethan had made for the pond; I found bits of pinecone left behind from the birds’ feasting.

Seth was walking along singing to himself.

While Sarah Joy pretended to fish.  I’m determined to get them outside as much as possible, even 15 minutes of fresh air and nature makes a big difference.

We mixed up gingerbread dough and by the time David and Caleb came home it was cold enough to work with.

I found these cookie cutters which the boys LOVED.

The box gives a recipe and cautioned:  “Super-Stealthy—–they disappear as soon as you make them”

“Your hands move like a whisper, cutting dark shapes into pre-rolled dough”

(I bought them at the mall but amazon.com has them, too.  BTW, they are plastic.)

I get uptight during these endeavors so it was a good thing that Sarah sincerely needed my help because then I had to ignore what the boys were doing.  And of course they did JUST FINE without me breathing down their necks.

It was true that they disappeared in a very sneaky way, in just one short afternoon!

Christmas decorations from the great outdoors.

Christmas decorations from the Hallmark store; this one is so cute; it’s solar powered and moves it’s arms and legs to make  a snow angel.

Scarlet and Shamrock fiesta vases

.

Sherlock washing his face in the sunshine.

A frosty pearl of a morning.  Yesterday dawned clear and cold.  We left the house early for a day of Community Bible Study.

These two got to be in the children’s Christmas program.

Seth wore a crown.

Sarah Joy (front row) wore a halo.  See Seth looking at her?  And she’s studying her halo.

Sarah has a performing streak, I noticed.  They all did so well, & all the mamas were properly adoring and appreciative.

Sarah Joy was with me in the front row during the last song, dancing with all her heart, so Annie called her up on stage!

With my littlest love.

****

There is  no frost this morning, we are back to chilly rain and fog.  I’m taking Sarah downtown to the dentist and then home until 4:30 when I have to pick up the boys from wrestling and go to a teacher’s conference at the elementary school.

I hope to get around to visit some of your sites today.  I haven’t had the extra time to read blogs lately but I look forward to doing that later, during naptime.

Grace, peace, thanksgiving, joy, and prayer to each one who passes through this page today.  You are loved.

To God’s holy people……., the faithful brothers and sistersin Christ:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father…….

Colossians 1:2

This is the kind of day it is today.

Drips.  Fog.  Quiet.  Calm.  Cold.  Dim.

Pond with a thin layer of watery ice.

I haven’t been outside enough so this morning I breathed it in deeply.

And admired the stream.  It has a little bit of ice in it, around the rocks and sticks.  The children like to gather it up and eat it.

Red berries, a log bridge.

I took all the outdoor pictures with three eggs in my pocket.

***

It has been several years.

I used to sew and then I had a couple of babies and the machine was closeted away.

Now that Sarah Joy is three (and a half) I have felt the sewing urge return.

First it was “I’ll never get to sew again”

then, “I remember when I used to”

then, “wouldn’t it be nice?”

then, “I really should”

then, “oh, I’ll buy these old patchwork quilt scraps and make a pillow!”

and, “I’m sick of sitting around pinning things on pinterest, and gazing at beautiful pillows in Country Living UK magazine, I’m going to get up and DO SOMETHING CRAFTY”

***

The little ones were underfoot as I pulled all my stuff out of Sarah’s closet and set it up in my room.  I had Rich and Jacob bring in a table.  I put a cloth on it but I’ll be taking it back off because the fabric drags on it as I’m sewing and bothers me.  I put one of Jacob’s paintings behind the machine.  All the while, Sarah was RIGHT BY MY SIDE talking and admiring everything, she is just the darned cutest thing.

Really, I credit God for everything good that happens in my life, including the very smallest of situations like the sewing machine ACTUALLY working after being in the closet (not even in a box) for so long.  THE TENSION WAS EVEN PERFECT…..I set up the ironing board and set to work with the four quilt scraps that I had bought at an antique shop a few months back.  I ironed them, arranged them, and then sewed them together.

I used a nice piece of fabric from my box for the back of the pillow.  Seth and Sarah enthusiastically stuffed the stuffing in it while I held on tight.

I love it.

I read books on it.

I wish whoever began the quilt could know that I made it into something!  We did it together and she doesn’t even know.

***

Last night I found Grace and Sammie reading a book on the ipad.

I made the big boys match socks.

And they both chatted on Facebook while they did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning Seth said to me, “Mom I need these so I don’t have to listen what you say.”

Thanksgiving morning.  My three youngest helped me tear the bread into little pieces for the stuffing.

I was a little worried about the day; hoping that I would have the right attitude and energy for a warm family gathering.

It was the best Thanksgiving ever.  I praise God for that.

***

I was surprised by a double yolk.  David told me to leave it the way it was and he ate it himself at dinner time.

All of the children helped me; here’s Ethan doing the carrots and dip.

My big beautiful new addition!  There is another table to the far right, and one on the far left (not seen in photo) under the window for the food.

Mom and Dad arrived at around 12.

My brother Nate was given the important task of getting the heavy bird out of the oven…..it was 25 pounds, so with the stuffing it was even heavier.  We were all nervous.

He’s smiling because he had pretended to drop it!

Dad said it was one of the moistest turkeys he ever had.  It was a butterball and I roasted it in an oven bag.

Brother Isaac taking a photo of the pies in sunshine.

Abbie and Grace, and Jason hiding behind the flowers.

It’s really hard to take a good picture of these two, when they’re together they get silly!  Abbie’s birthday was Wednesday so now they are both teenagers.

Rich carving the turkey.  Nate making sure he does it right.

Seth was asking me if he could have soda.  Look at that face, of course I said “yes”.

Dad and sister Amanda

deviled eggs, seafood salad, orange tapioca salad.

mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, squash, stuffing, salad, rolls, and Sarah in the high chair.

I had no appetite after cooking all morning but managed to eat all this.

My nephews, Gregory and Weston.

Caleb with my nieces Makayla and Naomi

Brother Isaac sat in the rocking chair.

It was wonderful to have space for everyone in our new room.

Right after dinner the little ones went outside for fresh air.  I took this picture through the window, just before poor Seth fell down the hill.  He was okay.

Mom and Dad spent the night and left on Friday.

Seth.  I had to pin his arms down, and then booted him off my lap.

With my dad.

With my parents.

So much to be thankful for.

And now we move gracefully on into the Christmas season.

Please pray for my friend Hannah, it’s her birthday today and she’s an hour from being induced for delivering her sixth baby!

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

The north wind doth blow

and we shall have snow,

and what shall poor robin do then?

poor thing?

He’ll sit in a barn

and keep himself warm

and hide his head under his wing,

poor thing.

nursery rhyme
in honor of
our first snow
11.12.13

Sarah ran around all evening like this.  Sometimes I don’t bother asking why; I just get out the camera. 

Hello internet friends, how in the world are you?  I’m so glad to sit and type a little something here before the babysitter comes to watch Seth and Sarah for the day.  It’s been one of those busy weeks and this morning I was frazzled and close to tears and I thought “oh I wish” and “but I don’t want to be a bother” and “ye have not because ye ask not” so I took a deep breath, picked up the phone and asked.  She said yes!  I love my friends.  Erinn will be over after her dentist appointment and her mom said I could keep her for the day and I’m planning on doing just that.  Oh, for some alone time, I dearly love my children but sometimes you just have to take a step away now and then, yes?

I haven’t been sleeping well, last night was better, thankfully, but I have to tell you what happened the other night.  The kids all slept fine but the animals were crazy.  I woke up to barking.  Non stop barking.  The kind that means “I’m stuck somewhere and I’m gonna bark until someone comes to save me.”  I got up, thinking I would have to go outside to the garage (the dog sometimes gets shut in there by accident) but then realized he was downstairs.  I opened the door and found out that he wasn’t stuck at all, he was in a corner, with his head down, barking at a tiny gray mouse, which promptly ran as soon as Parker was distracted.  He ran after it, grabbed it in his mouth, and ran upstairs past me to the livingroom where he let it go.  The mouse ran off somewhere, Parker forgot about it, and I ran in my room and shut the door, hoping it didn’t follow me in!  As soon as I got into bed, a cat began meowing (the three cats didn’t even notice the mouse!) so I got up to let him out, then the dog was whining…and so on, you get the idea!  LOL  I can laugh now that I have a babysitter coming.

Seth was adorable the other night.  He was overtired and kept calling downstairs to me about how he didn’t like the dark, he was afraid of foxes, etc.  Finally I said, “Seth, you need to pray and ask Jesus to make you cozy and happy to be in your bed.”  And would you believe, the dear boy  instantly began praying out loud.  I couldn’t hear the words, but I could hear his tiny trusting voice.  He slept that night and into the next morning better than he has in DAYS.  When I asked him the next day what he prayed this is what I got:

“I said.  Please God.  Make me warm?  And kill the wild animals.”

Yesterday was Community Bible Study day.  On those days, we are gone from 8-2:3o.  It’s a long day but the experience is proving to be a big joy-builder in my life.  The ladies are wonderful, we are over our initial shyness and having FUN, laughing, working together to be a blessing to our groups.   The core leaders stay after to eat lunch together, pray, sing, and do our lessons for the next week.  Each week a different lady gives a devotional that she writes, based on one of our Bible verses that we are studying.  Yesterday was my turn, so I thought I would share my devotional here:

O Lord our God, You have only begun to show Your servants Your greatness and Your mighty hand.  For what god is there in heaven or on earth Who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?  (from Deut. 3)

We all struggle now and then, and for me the biggest personal trials of my life have been with depression and anxiety, specifically with Post-Partum depression after six of my babies were born.  Although every trial has the potential to be a beautiful learning time, it can be easy to worry and dwell on our problems until they seem overwhelming and terrible.  God, at those times, can seem small and distant.

As a Christian, I have learned that a wonderful antidote to tough seasons in life is to purposefully meditate on the greatness, might, and BIGNESS of God.  There is so much to contemplate in His attributes, His Holy Word, His creation, and even the amazing ways He answers prayer.

The verses I chose from Deuteronomy remind me of the greatness of God.  There is no one in heaven or earth that can do what He does.  Everything about God is amazing and abundant.

Practically speaking, if we could set aside some time every day to think about concrete examples of how big and mighty our God is, we would find our souls elevated in such a way that daily struggles become smaller and more manageable.  We would experience more joy and contentment because we realize that even our biggest fears are like a helpless kitten compared to Him.  My challenge to us all this week is to think of specific ways that God shows His tremendous greatness in the Bible, His general goodness to all humanity, and to us personally as we go about our daily lives.

They just called and are 10 minutes away!  Must go brush my teeth.

Have a blessed day, friends!

I bought Seth and Seth’s costumes at Costco over a month ago and didn’t let them try them on or anything, they were beyond thrilled when Halloween finally came.  They wore their costumes for half the day.  Sarah’s Snow White skirt sprinkled glitter all over the house.

She loved her magic wand.

Those bare toes!  The day was cloudy and damp, but mild, in the 60’s.

Rich got home around 5:30 and I went to get Jacob from school.  Jacob dressed up as an Army guy for Halloween, he was so excited to go trick or treating.  David and Caleb wanted to be Ninjas.  I ordered their costumes from amazon but they were allowed to wear theirs last week to a school event and a party.   Of course, in the meantime, Caleb lost his mask so we resorted to painting his face.  They also lost their belts.  They were happy, regardless.  It was finally time to go!

David and Caleb carried pillowcases to collect their candy in and the little ones carried McDonald’s buckets that the Happy Meals came in last week.

We drove to the school to get Grace from drama rehearsal.  Ethan stayed home because he thinks Halloween is ridiculous.

The only sad thing that happened was Jacob kept getting ignored at the doors.  He finally gave up trying to be a kid just out to have fun trick or treating, took his military stuff off,  and my heart ached……he ended up with a little bit of candy, but it’s just not the same when you’re 16 and six feet tall trying to go around with younger siblings and people are giving you dirty looks (so he thought).  Sometimes it’s hard to grow up.  Maybe next year he can go with a bunch of friends his own age?  I don’t know, how old were you when you stopped trick or treating?

Grace didn’t have a costume and spent her time helping Sarah Joy and talking my ear off.  She decided she was dressed as Sarah’s “nanny” and we all laughed when someone asked her what she was dressed up as and Caleb said, “She’s our little sister’s granny.”  LOL  “Nanny, kid.  Nanny.”  she corrected.

It was fun to be outside walking the dark streets with the children, they were perfectly satisfied after about an hour and came home with enough candy to last at least a couple of days.

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.  ~Judith Olney

(source: pinterest)

I’m several years behind the times but I recently finished watching the entirety of the BBC series “Lark Rise to Candleford” on amazon prime.  It originally began airing in 2008 and was a beautiful series in so many ways.  As soon as I realized I was nearing the end of it, I ordered the trilogy of novels (of the same name) by Flora Thompson and am currently on page 251 of 556 delightful pages.  The novels are described as “the quintessential distillation of English country life at the turn of the twentieth century.”  (source: back cover of the book).

Here is a description of what “home” meant for the people of the hamlet at that time:

“But, as fond as they were saying, money isn’t everything.  Poor as they were, every one of the small cottages, so much alike when seen from the outside, had for its inmates the unique distinction of being ‘our place’ or ‘ho-um’.  After working in the pure cold air of the fields all day, the men found it comforting to be met by, and wrapped round in, an atmosphere of chimney-smoke and bacon and cabbage-cooking; to sink into ‘fey-ther’s chair’ by the hearth, draw off heavy, mud-caked boots, take the latest baby on their knee and sip strong, sweet tea while ‘our Mum’ dished up the tea-supper.

The elder children were either at school all day or lived out doors in fine weather; but, as their mothers said, they knew which house to go to when they felt hungry, and towards dusk they made for their supper and bed like homing pigeons, or rabbits scurrying to their burrow.

To the women, home was home in a special sense, for nine-tenths of their lives were spent indoors.  There they washed and cooked and cleaned and mended for their teeming families; there they enjoyed their precious half-hour’s peace with a cup of tea before the fire in the afternoon, and there they bore their troubles as best they could and cherished their few joys.  At times when things did not press too heavily upon them they found pleasure in re-arranging their few poor articles of furniture, in re-papering the walls and making quilts and cushions of scraps of old cloth to adorn their dwelling and add to its comfort….”

Home life is important, and although there are too many sad and broken homes, this little picture of an old English hamlet is what I wish it could be for everyone; comforting, filling, nurturing, special, enjoyable, peaceful……..

It is also a good reminder to continue making my own home as welcoming as I can, despite how tiresome it can be.  (laundry & messes forever, it seems).

But is it the cooking and cleaning that really matter?  Deep deep down, even with the never-ending messes, it’s the heart of the home that truly matters.  The soul.  There is beauty is a mess, too, of a full and messy life, my children, my husband, our living, our love.  There is a lot to be said for the woman that can, in wisdom, overlook the less important thing like a perfectly clean home, so that she can enjoy the things that truly matter;  a calm spirit, giving, listening, sharing, understanding the ones that she cares for.

Oh yes, I want that.  The trains on the floor ready to be played with, marker on the toddler hands as a sign of creativity, spending an extra hour in pj’s because we can, and it’s comfortable.  A cat curled up beside me and Sarah with her blanket.

*****

Some photos from around our place, and our happenings.

I love my husband so much.  He’s been extra busy this week with work.  He had a long meeting last night, so important that one of the executives, who had tickets to the World Series final game, had to miss it for work!  (so sad)  Anyway, this man of mine grew up on a farm and at the end of an axe, chopping wood for his Dad…..and he was thrilled to order logs to be chopping for our own fireplace this year.  In typical fashion, he ordered way more than necessary, and I’m sure this amount of wood will last for several years.  In the meantime, he now has his boys at the ends of the axes.  His boys, plus Mike.  (who is like family)

The kittens are good and trained to behave like babies.

Sarah had pretty hair!

I have been organizing toys and as soon as the blocks were all in one basket rather than five toy boxes, they were played with again, under lamps, on the floor, by the book basket and the little rocking chair from Grandma and Grandpa.

Sarah at my side as I was taking pictures of the woolly aphids.

I have a lot of pictures of Sarah.  Going to her first dentist appointment!

She was so funny in the chair.  Three tiny cavities!  The shame of it!

Kara, my chickens are molting.

Now that we’ve had our killing frosts, I’ve been pulling up dead plants in the garden.  To our surprise and joy, we also pulled up two fat toads, first one by the rosemary, then the other by a tomato plant!  They were so cute tucked away under the ground, already drowsy and ready for hibernation.  Seth kept them in a box as I worked, and then we put them back.  See you in the spring, Mr. and Mrs. Toad!

Playing with my dishes!  I’m slowly working my stuff out of the storage room and into our new space.  I washed a pile of fiesta plates that I’ve had tucked away for a few years; a vintage red, cobalt, rose, and turquoise, a discontinued evergreen, and yellow.  Also, my “genuine fiesta collector” plate that I ordered years ago from the old Betty Crocker catalogue.

(someone else’s internet photo of “Our Moose”.)

My friend Caroline stopped at the end of our road yesterday because there was a crowd of people looking at, and taking pictures of, A MOOSE, which is rare in these parts.  This was exciting, but at the same time, she also met the new neighbors, who moved into our old gardener-friend’s house about a month ago.  And she found out that they are born again Christians!  They had already heard about me, and wanted to meet us, because their daughter has EIGHT children, and homeschools.  I wasn’t able to be a part of all this excitement, because I was gone for the day at CBS, but it was an absolute thrill.  A moose and Christian neighbors and the possibility of new friendships!  I love how God works.

****

Shall I mention Halloween?

My children have been counting down the days for over a month.  They are “dying” to dress up and go.

But, will it storm?

Will Rich get home in time to help me drive them around to knock on doors?

This is a sincerely scary day for yours truly.