Forever is composed of nows.  ~Emily Dickinson

We have had the great pleasure of watching approximately 16 monarchs develop from tiny caterpillars to butterfly.  We gathered the catterpillars ourselves off milkweed plants and kept them in two big jars.  After the very hungry caterpillars ate their fill, each one formed itself into a chrysalis and then hatched into a beautiful butterfly.  We would often see them come out of their chrysalis in the mornings.  They are all gone now, the jars are empty.  I miss watching them, but we have many monarch butterfly sightings every day around the house, and I’m sure they are the ones we raised.  I feel sort of motherly toward them. 

We had so much rain this weekend that the ponds finally filled up!  The water was clean and cool.

I sat outside and watched David and Caleb enjoy an afternoon of swimming……..

They were inspired by all the diving and racing they saw on the Olympics. 

Our chicks are growing nicely.  Each morning, I take Seth and Sarah down to the coop to see how they’re doing.  We give them water and food, and watch them.

I wondered why the one on the far right had a piece of blue yarn around it’s ankle.  I found out today that Ethan did it, so that he could quickly tell HIS chick from the others.

We have been eating a lot of tossed salad lately.  Davy and I decided to try making our own dressing.  It was so fun, and delicious!

I made a big pan of blueberry buckle.  Also very delicious.  It’s, as a matter of fact, already gone.

Seth got stuck.  Sarah made me laugh when I was busy in the kitchen I heard her say very softly, “It’s okay, Seth.  I’ll help you.”  She was bent over, patting him, all serious.

I regret getting markers.

Our dog.

This morning, I took all the children out to the library.  How can I explain what it’s like to get into the vehicle with a 15, 14, 12, 9, 7, 3, and 2 year old?  It’s a riot!  At one point, I made them each say something they loved and appreciated in one of their siblings.  We also listened to music and just talked and talked. 

They had a little bit of time to play on the new playground, too.

Everyone was hungry so I decided to take them to a pizza place.  It ended up being such a nice time…we were able to sit in a corner and spread out with enough room for all of us.  My heart….it just ached with joy to see them like this!  My wonderful children, each one so special to me. 

I keep my own set of “rock” crayons in my purse and the littles colored while we waited for our food.  We also had a TV to ourselves, with a romote. 

The pizza was so good.  We got a medium cheese, and a large bacon and pepperoni.  I brought home 2 leftover pieces and a couple crusts for the dog.

Back at home, it was reading time and naptime for Seth and Sarah.  This is just some of our stack!

Jacob–likes unsolved mysteries, he also found Fastfood Nation and is reading that one now.  I wonder if it will curb his appetite for McDonald’s?  I hope so!
Ethan–the Warrior books
Grace–S.E.Hinton books (She’s read The Outsiders five times), animal books
David–Garfield comics, Series of Unfortunate Events
Caleb–snakes, snakes and more snakes and a book about an animal named “Binky”
Myself–memoirs, please!

 I found Grace reading in her room.

I went downstairs to the boy’s room and Caleb showed me a page out of his book.  so cute.

I took a picture of the wall above Caleb’s bed, which he has decorated himself with pictures of snakes and “snake shed” from the pipe that runs under the road.

He checks the pipe about once a week and there is always a snake skin in it!!  He looks forward to seeing how big the next one will be.

My reading for the next few days (weeks?)……I’m currently enjoying The Dream, by Harry Bernstein, which is the sequal to The Invisible Wall, and is VERY GOOD.  I cried when he met the love of his life, Ruby.  He wrote this book after she died and it is dedicated to her, “the one whose love made The Dream come true”.

Also shown:  Cruel Harvest, by Fran Elizabeth Grubb.  I found this book at Barnes and Noble the other week.  It’s a memoir written by a Christian lady and very good.  She had a terrible childhood, and overcame it.

I plan on reading the charming book Susanna the Pioneer Cow, to the David and Caleb.  The cover and title amuse me to no end.

Want to see my favorite reading spot?

Not only is there shade under a tree, birds singing, frogs croaking in the spring nearby, and the gentle sway of the hammock, but we recently put the hammock next to the chicken coop so I can look over at my hens now and then…….

Oh it was so relaxing.  I changed into my pj’s and read here for about an hour today, and then Jacob ran down and yelled MOM the SCHWAN’S LADY IS HERE.

So I put my book away to go order ice cream and popcycles.  In my pj’s.

And then our friends stopped by and we visited and swam in the pond.  As soon as I could, I changed back into my jean skirt. 

Before I knew it, it was dinnertime.  My friend invited Jacob, Ethan, Grace, and Davy for dinner, so Rich and I just have three children with us.

I leave you with Ethan playing his guitar.

And the recipes!

 CLASSIC FRENCH DRESSING
(source:  Taste of Home magazine)

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup sugar (I used a little less)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon paprika (what a beautiful color spice, isn’t it?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

In a blender or food processor, combine the first seven ingredients; cover and process until blended.  While processing, gradually add the oil in a stead stream.  Process until thickened.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yield: 1 2/3 cups (we doubled the recipe)

Blueberry Buckle (I doubled this and baked it in a 9 by 13)
(source:  Betty Crocker cookbook)

2 Cups flour
3/4 Cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup shortening
3/4 Cup milk
1 egg
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease round layer pan, 9 inch, or 8X8,or9X9 square.
Blend all ingredients; beat vigorously 1/2 minute, Carefully stir in 2 cups well drained blueberries.  Pour into pan.
Mix together: 1/2 Cup sugar
                         1/3 Cup flour
                          1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
                         1/4 cup soft butter
Sprinkle over batter in pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Some motherhood quotes:

 “The best way to keep children home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant — and let the air out of the tires.”  D. Parker

“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” — Diana, Princess of Wales

“I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best I could bring to it.” — Rose Kennedy

We have two ponds at our place and it is all very casual around here when we swim.  Little Sarah usually wears whatever she has on when she wants to dip her feet in the water.  But my friend Kathy handed her down an adorable bathing suit from her daughter.  I took these pictures the first time she wore it (or any bathing suit).  When I put it on her, she said she wanted it off.  She didn’t like it.  But I couldn’t stand how cute she was so I said no. 

I went out grocery shopping at 7:30 this morning, because we were out of milk.  I took Seth with me so he could help.  He likes to put things in the cart for me.  We got some fruit; a cantaloupe, pineapple, organic grapes, and strawberries.  When I got home I made a big (fiestaware) fruit bowl.  We’ve been snacking on the yummy fruit all day and I know Rich will appreciate it, too.  He’s been on a very strict health kick lately.  He runs or bikes every day and doesn’t eat much meat, mostly salad.  I’m proud of him, but glad that I have lots of children to cook for in the meantime.  Rich wants to run a marathon.  When his alarm goes off at 4:30 I just roll over and go back to sleep.

We currently all have the sniffles and sneezes. 

I stayed up late-late last night to watch ladies gymnastics (I’ve loved gymnastics for years!)….the balance beam and floor event finals were on.  I was happy that the Chinese won the top beam spots; they are my favorite beam workers and their routines were breathtaking.  Floor is fun to watch but not as fun as it used to be when the girls could take a step back after a tumbling run.  Now that they have to stick the landings on FOUR passes it makes so much more room for error and distracts from the beauty and difficulty of the routines. 

Grace and I took naps this afternoon–outside.  I was in the hammock and she was on the ground next to me on her sleeping bag.  Oh how relaxing that was.  (Seth, Sarah, and Seth were napping in the house with Jacob listening for them in case they woke up).

Ethan made cookies.

I made a macaroni salad and there are ribs in the oven for dinner. 

How has your day been going?

It has been a busy day, but life….living well, is more than being busy, more than doing.  It’s saying yes, it’s being thoughtful, it’s sacrificing to make someone else’s day, it’s reaching over to give a pat on the shoulder of the passenger next to you while driving (today? my teenage son), it’s turning up the happy song on the radio, it’s watching your big children from a distance, letting them grow, sharing a smile.  It’s letting your little ones get muddy and splash in the stream, it’s taking your baby outside to look at the striped pink and blue sunset, it’s swaying back and forth in your pj’s, feeling her warm precious body close, with your nose in her hair.  It–this wonderful life of mine–is so much, so full of moments like these, that my heart overflows with gratitude and joy.

How often do I get caught up in the doing!  I get rushed and loud, louder still, until I’m yelling and blind to the good things, and the children look at me in wonder. 

I’m so thankful for the ways that God shows me the reality of living is in sincere kindness, listening, & loving.

Slowing down, thank goodness, can be, and very much needs to be, an inner heart thing.  I have found that even as I work quickly and attend to many things, there can remain a quiet peace in my heart, a place that can ponder, notice, and praise God even in the chaos of being a mama, wife, and homemaker.

On the way to the library I said to the children, “I’m just going to run in quick, but you tell me what sort of book you want and I’ll get it.”

After thinking, David surprised me by saying, “I know.  A cookbook.”

The mission was completed, and before we even got home, he decided that he wanted to make brownies.

He’s 9 years old and he did a great job.  He just needed a little help in doubling the recipe.

He GREW in the making, he was proud.  He did it!

 He not only made the brownies, he shared them with his brother.  And me, too.  They were delicious.

A quote from the book I’m reading: “I am no longer as inspired by expertise as I once was.  Perhaps the worth of any lifetime is measured more in kindness than in competency.”

Yes!

Philippians 2:3-7  

PS.  A few days later, the next batch burned.  More lessons learned; set the timer!  and don’t run outside to play while you’re waiting for them to bake…….

I love you, David Lloyd.  SO MUCH.

Happy little Shanda!

I used my phone to copy these old pictures of myself while I was at my parent’s house a week ago.  I haven’t seen some of these in years. It’s fun to look back now and then and remember the happy growing up years.

I love the curtains in this one.  My brother David and I used to share bunkbeds, here I am, hanging off the top one being silly.

I loved my Winnie the Pooh.  It had a music box in it.

Perhaps it was Christmas time, or my birthday.  I look very pleased with my new doll and cradle.

I remember how thrilled I was to receive this shirt in the mail from my Great Grandma.  She made it for my birthday.  When I was at my mom’s I found a scrap of the material and glued it in my scrapbook.

This is my favorite picture.  I love how happy we all are, my baby sister’s bonnet, my dress and purse.  We must have been going to church.

With my mom 

I was about 12 in this picture.  My brother Isaac is the baby in the stroller.  Amanda and Nathan, my little sister and brother, are sitting next to him.

I was already married at this point.  In fact, my newborn son Ethan was in the room when we had this portrait taken of all five of us children.

When I was at my Mom’s she told me that she’s been wanting to try an old recipe that her Mom used to make.

When she was growing up, my Grandma used to buy a big tin of frozen cherries from Agway. She stored the whole tin in their large freezer.  One of the ways she used the cherries was to make a fruit topping by cooking them down with sugar and cornstarch to thicken, and some flavor like vanilla or almond extract.

While the fruit cooled, she mixed up some homemade sweet roll dough (without a recipe), rolled it out, and let it rise a little.

Then, she would spread the cherries on top and bake it in the oven.  When it was done and cooled, she made an icing and drizzled it back and forth on top.

Mom said it was wonderfully tasty.  I asked her the name of it and she thinks Grandma called it Cherry Pizza.  I did some research and it is very similar to the old fashioned Kuchen, which is German for “cake”…many of the old time housewives would cut away some of their bread dough on baking day to make a treat similar to this one.

Both of my grandparents have passed away and we all have so many good memories from when they were still alive….food memories in particular are are so vivid and meaningful (from all those family gatherings).  Mom hasn’t had this simple, homemade treat since she was a young teen, and because she had some cherries in the fridge and someone to bake with  (it’s more fun with a partner, right?) she decided to re-create the memory with Sarah and me. 

 (Sarah loved the feel of flour on her hands…)

How do happy bakers remove the pits from fresh cherries?  We used a bottle and a straw!  Mom learned a tip from a magazine and we tried it for the first time…….

You simply place the cherry on top of the bottle and, using the straw, push the pit down through the cherry, letting it land in the bottle.

Not only did it work great, it was very fun!  I imagine you could add vinegar to the juices and pits in the bottle, to make a special flavored vinegar for dressings.

Mom made a sweet, soft yeast dough (without a recipe) and then we made the fillings.

We had a bowl of nice peaches so we made peach filling, too.  The peaches ran a little so we folded up the edges to keep it neat and clean.

They were baked at 350 until done.

Oh, it was so delicious.  I think it satisfied mama, too, and Grandma sure felt close.  There were some tears shed by my Mom as we talked about her.

I can’t wait to make this again for Rich and the children.  I love using family recipes.

Do you have any unique family recipes that you enjoy?

“Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden.
Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.”
~Jim Rohn ~