l O V E
I am very tired at the moment, even my wrists are sleepy. Rich is away. Last night was the first night without him in quite a long time and I was very restless. I woke up so many times and something weird also happened in the night. One of our cats tried to open the door to my room. I woke up to the doorknob rattling. Thankfully, I wasn’t afraid, somehow I instantly knew the cat wanted to go outside so I stumbled through the dark to let him out. It was 2:30.
David is on a field trip today to the Trash Museum. I’m not sure what that is yet, but I hope he tells me all about it when he gets home. He and I bonded yesterday because I let him stay home from school just for the fun of it. And fun, it was. He’s such a great friend of mine. He’s so dear, I can’t stand it. David is our middle child, with two older brothers, and an older sister. He also has two younger brothers, and one younger sister. Neat, huh? As the middle child, he gets to pick which sort of child he is for that day; older or younger.
Yesterday he was for sure an older child, as he was missing all his older siblings to follow around….it was just the two of us, and the little ones. We went for a walk and he took this picture.
He took this one, too.
I mentioned yesterday that we had lunch under the trampoline. The children were delighted with it. We had pb and j, chips, and brownies.
A quiet moment, after lunching. Sarah likes to dabble in the pond.
David and I read our books together on the couch during naptime. It was cozy. I told him I loved him, that I loved having him with me, and that I named him after my brother. He smiled proudly and shyly.
He also got to do some wandering around outside all by himself. I like to see him explore and play.
In the afternoon, during that time (hours after lunch) when you start to get a little hungry, David wanted pancakes. I was involved in my book so I encouraged him to make them himself.
Yesterday became The Day that David Made Pancakes for the First Time Ever.
He used Ethan’s favorite recipe, which happens to be their Grandma’s. He was so sweet, I put my book down to take a few pictures. It was a good thing, too, because he almost put a tablespoon of salt in his batter, thinking it was a teaspoon.
He got the idea to make pancakes because he found a Star Wars pancake mold in the toybox.
He added blueberries, (I always keep a bag of frozen ones in the freezer.)
David is unique out of all my children because he never uses maple syrup. He likes his pancakes with just butter.
So, how did he like them? He said they were yummy and tasted just like Ethan’s!
(yes, that’s a bruise on his forehead. he had a minor playground accident)
I have some sad news. One of my chicks died. Not the one that Seth is holding here in the pictures, a diferent one, a fluffy yellow one. It died instantly when Caleb sat on it. Apparently, this particular chick was hiding in the hay next to the crate and Caleb didn’t see it, he sat on it. Caleb was so heartbroken and weeped big tears. I held him in my lap, which was hard because he is big, and wiped his tears away and told him it was just an accident and that I wasn’t mad. He felt so sorry for the chick but after crying and being comforted he went on his merry way again, quiet, and somewhat stunned, but fine.
Jacob buried the chick and on the way to the baseball game last night, he told the rest of the children what happened. “Woodchip!” David, cried. “Poor Woodchip!” For the name of the (now gone) chick, you see, was Woodchip. The ride to the game was crazy, people, crazy. I had 8 children with me. My own seven, plus our friend Zach, who also plays ball and needed a ride.
I had to leave the house this morning to take Seth for his check up. I put on a pair of jeans, a blouse, and my high heeled wedge sandles that hurt my feet. Then, I realized, I needed to let out my older hens and water them. So that’s what I did. I walked down, all dressed fancy, to take care of my farm chores. While I was working, I made a beautiful discovery that I want to show you.
In the middle of this group of bushes is a cold spring, it’s a miniature pond in there, but the banks drop steeply down, so much so that I often wonder when I will slip and pitch down into it. This is where I get the chicken water. I step down the bank, holding on to a thin tree trunk for dear life, and scoop the water out. (I dream of a bucket tied to a rope, which would be more convenient).
Scattered around this water hole are wild rose bushes, so abundant around these parts that I really don’t even notice them anymore.
Which leads us to my discovery.
This morning, as I bent over the water, I saw hearts! HEARTS floating on the top, drifting here and there…….
Hearts mean love. LOVE. I ran to get the camera.
It turns out, that the wild briar roses have hearts for petals.
“Today I wish for you, as I wish for myself, that when our authentic adventure comes to a close, we can also be remembered as being by love possessed.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach, from her book Simple Abundance (I had just read this, a few hours earlier!)
Isn’t that neat?
Thankful for:
the oriole nest I discovered this morning
the smell of the damp woods, especially pine
bright, hot sunshine after days of clouds
early phone call from husband
trust in God (my Father)
Seth’s perfect health and the way he said, “Is it time for my hiccup?” (meaning, “check up”)
my bed, that I am going to go curl up in, right now
(((love))) Shanda
Good to be Home 