“Afterall,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” 
LM Montgomery

This morning, I was looking through my favorite fall cookbook from Mom, she bought it for me 10 years ago!  I found an intriguing recipe for “Cappuccino in a Jar”.  I had all the ingredients in the cupboard so I went downstairs to get an empty quart-sized mason jar and mixed some up.

CAPPUCCINO IN A JAR
from Gooseberry Patch’s cookbook, Flavors of Fall

2/3 cup instant coffee granules
1 cup chocolate drink mix
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

Mix ingredients together; spoon into jar.  To make, add 3 tablespoons of mix to 6 ounces hot water.  Makes 10-12 servings.

In other news:  Seth and I found a turtle yesterday just sitting in the grass by the pond.  We rarely find them out of the ponds.  If they’re out of water they are usually on a rock at the edge, sunbathing.  We said hello and picked it up.  It hissed quite quietly “hello” and waved all four legs to try to scratch itself out of our hands.

It was beginning to dry so I threw it in the stream, even though Rich thought I should kill it, I just couldn’t.  I guess I bonded with it after all the photography. 

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

One last bit of news. 
Jacob, our oldest son, played his first football game yesterday.  I homeschooled him for five years and he went into public school as a Freshman.  He is now a Junior (!!).  This is his first experience playing football and deep down in my heart I am petrified that he will be seriously hurt.  I am displaying a brave front for the moment and doing my best to keep his uniforms clean…..anyway…..he is quarterback for the jr. varsity team.   I took some pictures but I don’t have any good ones of the action, as it was pretty hard to follow.  Plus I was only there for the last half hour because I was stuck at the eye doctor’s with Grace.  Rich was there for the whole game though.

this one is funny, of Jacob directing the team.  it was interesting to hear him yell out calls and stuff.  he did great.

talking to one of the coaches on the sidelines, #9



very proud of him for trying new things and learning so much

they lost badly

but it was a great experience; next game is Saturday.  my heart is touched when he asked over dinner last nigh,  “Are you gonna come to my game on Saturday, Mom?”  He wants me there.  🙂   he’s a good kid 

I’ll take pictures of Ethan playing soccer when he actually gets into a game.  He’s been sidelined since last week with a hamstring injury.  I’m taking him to a physical therapist this afternoon.

Enjoy your day, my friends! 

Friends are the sunshine of life.  John Han

 On Friday, Grace was able to come right home and not stay after school for anything.  I found it touching that Sarah got right in the couch with her big sister and snuggled in….they watched youtube music videos together. 

I got up and made a big Saturday morning breakfast with pancakes, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs.  Seth was so impressed that on Sunday morning he asked, “Can you make That Breakfast again, Mom?”

Our little girl kitten, Silkie.  Watching out the window

me

Well, it’s hard to see, but I was taking a picture of baby fish in our pond.  Rich and I walked around checking them out.  He says the bass (not pictured) might be big enough to fish next year.  I wonder if it will happen, as he and Ethan have them practically as PETS at this point.  🙂

Oh, this one is funny.  Sort of.  We have a big sectional sofa which is hard to vacuum thoroughly so I don’t do it very often.  The urge struck me last week to take it all apart and do a proper cleaning.  I not only threw away a lot of garbage, but collected all this stuff, too. 

These are the days of toys in the couch.  How I’ll miss them.

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. 

inspired by soulemama

“And one called to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”  Isaiah 6:3

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!” 
Psalm 57:5

It was such a beautiful evening on Monday.  In front of me, the sky was dark with heavy cloud and behind me a bright sun was going down, shining it’s glorious light on the trees.    God has created such a beautiful world for us to enjoy and admire.   Almost every day I see something of delight, today it was the bright red ball of berries from a Jack in the Pulpit flower.  No longer a flower, but berries on a short stalk between two big green leaves.  The stream is low but still trickling along, I like to close my eyes and listen to it.  I rested my cheek against a pine tree and could smell the pitch.  The sky is clear and bright blue today and smells so sweet.

The sunflower at the front steps inspires me.  Though it was damaged twice, it continued to recover and bloom.  Three blossoms instead of the one.  Incredible.

The leaves here are just starting to change color, and when they are at peek what a stunning view it will be.  The children will collect fallen leaves and dark brown acorns off the ground and show them to us.  We will go apple picking and to the pumpkin patch.  I am slowly collecting costumes for Halloween.  I just drank a glass of cold cider, we put on jackets this morning, and the goldenrod is in full bloom.

I’m thankful for this time of year.

In love we escape from our self into one another.  C.S. Lewis

Rich and I were married on this beautiful very day, long ago.  I was contemplating “18 years” this morning and thinking of what has changed in our relationship during our life together.  One of the more important changes has been in my own heart.  For many years I struggled to make our marriage what “I” wanted it to be…in my mind, my desires and the advice I read in books or articles was “right” and what he was doing was “wrong”.  I wish I had understood then that the pride I held in my heart (of believing that I had all the answers) was what was doing the most damage in our marriage. 

Namely, my main issue was that I believed he was working too much and over-committing himself.  Such a little thing when there are so many men who truly are terrible; wife abusers, womanizers, Rich is none of these!  He is a good, generous Christian man who happens to have a highly involved work (which provides wonderfully for our big family.)  There is so much peace in simply living life and accepting it for what it is.  Accepting HIM for who he is.

I have no regrets, just joy in knowing that each ordinary day is special because it is what God has given.  I’m glad I was married at 19, and even more glad that with maturity comes contentment and rest.  There is still so much to learn.  God is good and I love being married.  I am thankful for my hard-working, good natured husband who provides so well for our family.  The children adore their Dad.

Rich couldn’t take our anniversary-day off (he is romantic and usually does) so he took Friday off and we decided to spend the morning driving along the back roads ….. our destination was a farm store about an hour away that sold fresh, quality dairy products  (I’m laughing b/c it sounds SO unromantic) but with the intentions of stopping when we saw anything that looked interesting. 

First stop?  STARBUCKS and we took our adorable boy and girl in with us for treats.  Sarah chose a pretzel  and Seth ate the frosting off the top of his “morning bun”.  Rich got his typical coffee with caramel syrup and I got my new favorite Starbucks coffee:  blonde roast.  Finally a regular cup of coffee from starbucks that’s not so strong it stings my teeth, the blond roast is just right.

a lovely brick church

church on a hill

beautiful church

a sign that made me smile

we also stopped at a park

seth and sarah were thrilled with the fountain

the gardens were so pretty

seth took this one!

morning glories

back in the truck, and I see another pretty church

I’ve eaten thousands of pizzas with this man.

I had really wanted to visit an independent book seller and WE FOUND ONE!!!  This used bookstore was quaint, in an old brick factory building with wood floors, tall windows, and operated by an older gentleman, wise and kind.

I couldn’t believe this Sherlock Holmes book display!  Grace would have been astounded, she’s a big fan.

interesting little booklets

Me, with Seth and Sarah

We bought a stack of books; two origami books for our son David’s birthday, a book each for S and S.  I found a George Mueller biography and a CS Lewis anthology.  Rich found several Bible Study books, too.

After a stop at a consignment shop where I got two pairs of cool shoes, we made our way to the diary goods store for fresh milk, butter, cheese, and award-winning sour cream.

We each got an ice cream to enjoy.

We arrived back home just in time to get David and Caleb off the bus.  We’ve had a nice weekend and later today I am meeting Rich at work for lunch and a kiss.

Happy Monday, friends! 

Love is always ready to deny itself, to give, sacrifice, just in the measure of its sincerity and intensity. Perfect love is perfect self-forgetfulness. Hence where there is love in a home, unselfishness is the law. Each forgets self and lives for others.  J.R. Miller

PS. My friend Bridgette sent me the dress for Sarah Joy.  (Thank you, B!  I hope you liked seeing her in it!  xoxo)



18 years

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~soulemama

After some cool, rainy days I think they love lying in sunbeams, soaking up the rays.

These are the books Seth and Sarah chose at the library.  Sarah says hers is called I am Absolutely a Potato, and Seth says his is I am Not Even Really Tired. 

They make me LAUGH.

Seth and Sarah were the last ones to get physicals and they were done yesterday.  The two of them together were so cute, I had such fun watching them get their check ups.  Such innocence and adorableness galore.  And, I tried something new with the shots for Seth.  I didn’t mention them at all and let them just happen.  He didn’t make a peep.  It was as easy as getting his ears checked. 

Seth is average in height and weight.  Sarah is tall for her age (!) and skinny.

I’ve come to realize that the late afternoons are going to be the busy time of day.  Yesterday David and Caleb got off the bus, ate bagels and got right into the car to go with me to the schools.  We dropped off Grace and then went to the playground until Ethan’s soccer meeting.  It turned out to be a beautiful late afternoon together.  They played for hours out in the bright sun.  I looked through a magazine and then pushed the little ones on the swings…magical….

and two more, smaller sunflowers, down the path a little

the books:
1. Are You my Mother?  by P.D. Eastman
2.Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3. What a Bad Dream by Mercer Mayer
4. The Great Gracie Chase Stop that Dog! by Cynthia Rylant