My computer is doing some reeeeeally scary things and I’m afraid that it has a virus, or possibly 10 or more different ones at once.  So, I’m going to post this one last post and then take it to the doctor at Best Buy.  I know I’ve been terrible at visiting other blogs lately, it’s because of my computer problems.  I’ll be around as soon as possible, I miss you guys!

Pictures:

I heartily recommend this book.

my funny chickens

Gary has me practicing up four hymns that he picked for this Sunday’s Bible study at my house.  Of course they are all fast moving ones so I need to practice every day.  I had to laugh when Silkie got up on the keys to keep me company.

I was picking wildflowers from the side of the road yesterday and found a blueberry bush.  I was picking some to give to Seth when we saw THIS SNAKE IN the bush!  I guess he likes berries, too?

Our kittens give us continual pleasure, they are so funny and love to play…and, sit in sunbeams.

Our new addition is coming along nicely, I’m dreaming of moving in!  I’ll have a whole little room just for me, a pantry!  With a window!

What a four year old boy does when you aim the camera at him.  I love you, Seth.

I love this picture of Ethan and his dog.  Ethan chose and ordered the cross necklace for himself from amazon.  Then, he wondered why it took almost 2 weeks to arrive; it was shipped directly from CHINA.  🙂

This is the first crop of peaches from our tree and it’s loaded.  I can’t wait until they ripen.

Jacob and Ethan are starting their fall H.S. sports this week.  Ethan is trying out for soccer and Jacob is trying out for football.  Grace has been practicing her script for Drama and asking the boy lots of questions about the rules in High School.  High School!  I could cry, really, I could. 

love.  Shanda

and we couldn’t resist the fedoras.

Being put to sleep to get teeth removed, in the grand scheme of things, really isn’t that big of a deal.  However, for our little family, it was a situation that caused some anxiety and a few days of painful recovery for my dear husband and eldest child, Jacob.

What took me by surprise, however, was the example of love that Rich showed for his son.  Rich was called in to the office first to get three teeth pulled.  It was standard procedure, but one of his teeth had to be broken in order for the doctor to remove it.  When they called me in to be with him in the recovery room, he was coming out of the anesthesia, extremely groggy and out of it, holding a tiny piece of tooth in his hands.  He kept trying to sit up, and the nurse and I kept encouraging him to lay back and rest.  His mouth was full of gauze, he was so confused, and my heart was aching to see my strong husband in such a vulnerable state.   I pulled a tissue from the box to dab at the little tears forming at the corners of his closed eyes.  The only thing, the one thing on his heart, wasn’t his own pain, but his Jake.  “How’s Jake?”  he mumbled.  “Go to Jake.”  He spoke several times, needing and wanting to get up and go to his son.  It broke my heart, knowing that Jacob was having his own wisdom teeth out at that very moment and Rich wanted to be with him through it.  I stood by his chair and held him in my arms as we waited together.

As soon as Jacob was in recovery, the nurse came to get me.  I left Rich to sleep, and went to sit with Jacob.  I was there not five minutes when I heard a nurse call, “He’s up and walking without assistance!”  Both nurses rushed to Rich’s side as he made his way to his dear son.  “How are you, Jake?”  he mumbled, as he patted him and sat down by him.  They were together as they slowly came back out their confusion. 

I’ll never forget it.  If I ever had a doubt that Rich cared, and cared deeply, this small adventure in the oral surgeon’s office blew all the doubts away.  I was reminded once again, that I am married to sincere and loving man, who loves his family and children in a way that amazes me.  I am so thankful.

While Jacob spent a couple days on the couch, sleeping a lot, Rich was up the day after his procedure to get back to work.  It would take more than just a few teeth being pulled to keep him home from work and he always feels better staying active when something is bothering him.  He kept busy on Saturday, too, but we did take an hour to go sit at the playground to watch our five youngest children run and play in the evening sunshine…..

My two nieces and a nephew are here today and we all went for a walk in the forest (11 of us).  It’s a preliminary fall type of day, bright and clear and dry.  Contentment in my heart.  Sunshine in our smiles.  I brought home nature bits in my hand.  Naomi had the first find; a tiny feather with an orange tip.  She ran to me and I said, “Oh can I keep it?” and she jumped up and down smiling, “Yes!”  Then, I found a blob of a yellow mushroom oozing out of a fallen tree.  I was surprised by the color and kept it.  Then, another feather!  I have a nature journal and I glue feathers into it.  I have never seen feathers like the ones we found today and can’t wait to add them to the journal. 

A purple mushroom and a butterfly wing.  Strangely, just a single wing.

Poor Sarah.  She knew she wanted her ears pierced but she didn’t really understand what “pierced” meant.  Thankfully, with them both done at once, it was over in a split second.  Later on, after we got home, I did a quick photo shoot with her, bright and happy, with her pretty ears.

a lazy summer evening for pretty ears

pirate smile

diva pose amongst the zinnias

do you see the kitty?

I finally have pretty ears!

***

As I write, she’s sitting at my feet making up stories with two tiny dollies.

On Thursday, while the Uncles took care of the five little boys, the Aunts took the three little girls to the Boston American Girl store in Natick, MA.   My niece Makayla had never been to the American Girl store and her mom didn’t even tell her we were going until that very morning because she knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink, with excitement. 

-ready to go-

-sarah with her aunt melissa-

-the girls outside the store, just before we went in to shop-

-makayla was overwhelmed with so many choices-

-sarah knew just what she wanted-

-sweet naomi with her babies-

-sarah fell in love with this birthday outfit for bitty baby, so we bought it-

-I had to laugh.  There are convenient hooks in the bathroom to hang your doll up as you “go”.-

-she also picked a mealtime set, so she can feed bitty baby-what a good mama-

After shopping, we ate lunch together at The Cheesecake Factory and then Sarah got her ears pierced!  I’ll share those pictures tomorrow.  Happy Monday!

Shanda, Amanda, and Melissa

I’ve been working on updating photo albums and we looked at pictures and sighed over how fast time is flying by.

My brother, Nathan

Uncle Jason and Dave went in the woods and collected dry wood for the fire and got a good one started for us.  The marshmallows were a big hit, even three year old Sarah roasted her own.

my son enjoying his 20th marshmallow, or maybe just his fourth?

Amanda being silly

Jason and Amanda

Nate and Melissa

Right after I took this picture, Sarah’s marshmallow shot out of her mouth!

~trying to roast the perfectly golden marshmallow~

Uncle Nathan, and Davy

the little cousins on the dock

Nate and Melissa with their children

with Seth, Sarah, Caleb, and Dave, my treasures and pals this week.  We survived a broken window, the freezer being left open all day, and a hole in a leg.



Jason and Amanda with two of their three children

I think it is important for adult siblings to continue spending quality time with each other through the years, as we all grow and change. It’s fun to catch up and get to know each other again.  When I was a little girl, I loved going to family gatherings and running wild with my cousins.  I feel proud to see the next generation, my children and my nieces and nephews, doing the same things together around the playset, the ponds, and fire pit roasting marshmallows.  There is always a part of me that still feels like a kid when I spend time with my own brothers and sisters, as we laugh and act silly together. 

It was a wonderful night and the next day was exciting, too.  Amanda, Melissa, and I took the girls to the American Girl store.  I’ll share pictures from that adventure the next time I blog. 

“…..our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”  Thorton Wilder

“It’s not what you look at that matters, but what you see.”  Thoreau



We had a sunny, late afternoon rain here yesterday and a rare treat.  A rainbow appeared, and the end landed right at the bottom of our driveway.  We didn’t find a pot of gold, but David ran down in excitement, and he’s worth more than all the gold in the world to me.

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky…
~William Wordsworth

God’s glowing covenant.  ~Hosea Ballou

Hello my friends!  It’s a beautiful day and I thought I would share some pictures.  First off, little Sarah Joy on the couch with kitty Sherlock.  Pure sweetness.  I originally sent this one to my brother Dave and his heart melted, too.  🙂



Exiting news for Fiesta lovers!  There is a new fiestaware color in stores,  a new shade of blue called Lapis.  I haven’t compared it to the old Sapphire blue but I’m thinking it may be most similar to that.  I bought two luncheon plates in Lapis and it’s the color to fight over now (“I get the new blue plate!” they cry)

After Bible study on Thursday we all went to a local dinner for lunch.  It was SO fun!   I had a crab salad sandwich and sweet potato fries, yum.

David was so cute squeezed between big Mike and big brother Jacob. 

Gary (our pastor) and Margaret (from church & Bible study).  Caleb was with me, too.  I was thankful for Ethan and Grace staying home to babysit Seth and Sarah, it was such a blessing to just sit and enjoy my brothers and sisters at the study and diner.

My friend Connie sent me some beautiful handmade dishcloths.  Thank you, Connie, I love them and I will write you back ASAP.

My older three are all at camp this week so I’m at home with these four.  The other night we watched Toy Story 3 and they snuggled up on the floor amongst couch cushions and big blankets off my bed.  I love this picture so much.  They’re so cute.

My beautiful friend Lydia came over on Friday to visit, she did Grace’s hair and nails and then Sarah’s nails.  I know Sarah doesn’t look very thrilled in the picture, but she was.  She doesn’t know Lydia very well and I saw her sneaking shy glances at her and especially her pretty necklace-very impressive for my girly-girl.

I made baked pork chops, peas and broccoli, and mashed potatoes for dinner.   I’ve been sort of uninspired at dinner time lately so this meal was photo-worthy.  LOL  (tonight we are having tacos)

I had to take Sethers to the doctor’s office this morning to get his wart frozen.  I was trying to treat it at home but it got to be such a bother.  The name of the medicine was HISTOFREEZER which struck me as humorous. 

Taking pictures while waiting for the Doctor…….I interrupted Sarah singing something silly by taking her picture (that face!)

And big brother Caleb::

After that was done, we went to the Tractor Supply store for chicken feed, and Target.  On the way back, the boys worked on their new sticker books.

We had quesadillas for lunch today, which is something all the children just love.  I mixed up some salsa and sour cream to use as dip, too. 

I put Sarah Joy down for her nap and took the boys outside to swim and play.  Seth was so excited to catch a frog all by himself.

Then, something wonderful happened.  We went over to check on the chickens.  Three of them were out of their yard and wandering free.  I was talking to the boys and we were concerned the hens would get eaten by the fox.  I started singing an old Sunday School song that popped into my head “The Devil is a Sly old Fox” and when I got to the chorus, I sang “I’m glad I am a Christian”.  Seth wanted to know if he was a Christian (he’s been curious about Jesus for months now, asking questions about the cross)  and I said, “If you understand that your heart has bad sins and that you need Jesus to forgive you and come into your heart to stay, you are a Christian.” He immediately said he wanted to do that and I asked him if he wanted to pray and he said yes.  We sat in the grass together and he prayed and asked Jesus to forgive him and come into his heart.  It was a precious moment and one that I hope and pray God uses to lead Seth along in his spiritual lifelong journey.

A couple of quotes that I heard on Christian radio this morning:

“You can get a lot of blessing from your Bible by noticing things“ (as you read it)  ~Robert Cook

“When you give something away, you let it go.”  ~from Joni and Friends

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday.
You are loved.

There are two ponds on our property, which have afforded the children plenty of opportunities through the years to catch, play with, observe, and lose in the house many different varieties of creatures.  A few years ago, Rich and I woke up hearing noises under our bed; it was a turtle.  A few months ago, there was a snake lost in the house for an entire weekend.

A few days ago, I found a big bullfrog in my laundry room.  I was about to throw in a load of laundry and out of the corner of my eye, I saw it sitting silently right in front of the washing machine.  I was so surprised to see him that I admit, I did scream a little.  It promptly hopped between the wall and the washer and sat some more.

“Oh yes.  I lost that one in the house a few days ago.” David admitted.  He recognized it.  “How did it get there?  I thought it was under the refrigerator.”  He used the broom stick to get it out.  The poor thing was covered with hair and lint.  What an adventure, I was surprised that it was still alive after days of being in the house….bullfrogs tend to stick close to the pond, keeping damp and eating flies.  They never ever visit the house of their own free will.

The children all had a great time looking at the frog.  Then David and Caleb marched down to the pond to let him go.  He  now had quite the story to tell.

“Someone.  Please.  Show me the way out of here.”  At least he’s still smiling.



A little bit of early morning excitement (we got David out of bed to catch the frog).

Seth got to hold it for a minute.

On it’s way home.

As I was finishing up this post, David and Caleb came inside from swimming.  Caleb had a bloody toe and was moaning and very upset.  “A bass bit him!”  David cried.  “We’re never swimming in that pond again!”

I’m secretly thinking the bullfrog had something to do with it.