joining soulemama for another {moments} post  (soulemama’s got a beautiful twins pic on her site today, so dear!)

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.

Won’t you join in the fun?  It’s a quick and painless blog entry for Friday!   

The weekend began with muffins.

Or, maybe it began with a bad dream.  I had dreamed that night, that Rich was gone.  I can’t write details about it, but when I woke up (and realized he was still alive) I had a renewed love and appreciation for my husband, the one who completes me, my lover and friend.

I got up on Saturday morning and left him sleeping in our big, warm bed.

And then I made muffins.  Because he likes them, and I wanted to spoil him just a little.

One by one the children woke up and ate their muffins in the kitchen, but Rich got his in bed.

We spent a lot of time outside this weekend.

Sarah enjoys the slide, but decided to stay at the top this time;

The boys jumped on the trampoline and their hair stood up from the static~

The chickens were happy to be out and about…..

(Yes, George the Rooster is still with us.  Unfortunately.) 

The ground was so cold but several of the children still went barefoot.

P I N E C O N E S

He shaved the next day.

Yours truly.

The weather on Saturday was amazing.  It reached at least 60 here.  I had one more chance to plant my fall bulbs, and with the help of the children they got planted.   Hurray!

Grace and I went for a little walk.

M O S S

I C E

W O O D

When we got back home, we found Ethan bouncing away, happy as can be~

The hens surprised us with five eggs, including two greens!

We watched a movie after church yesterday (Narnia).  The boys were cozied up together on the couch.

And last night, Rich and I went to dinner at a friend’s house, before we left I took this picture (with my phone) of Rich giving the children instructions for while we were gone.  Love them, all!

Lastly, I have a little video to share of Sarah and Seth.  I guess, maybe, Rich was going a little too fast on the way to church yesterday morning?  For whatever reason, they started saying “weeee”  and it was so cute I took a short video of them.

They are at such a fun age!

Have a great day, friends!  Say a prayer for me today, if you will, I’m feeling a little shaky.

Thank you~

Love,

Shanda

“But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.”

Psalm 3:3

I bundled up this morning, and took fresh water to my hens in their snug coop.  The air was biting cold, but the sun was coming up.  It was a thrill to discover fresh eggs for the first time in several months.  We’ve missed them.  I slipped them into my pockets as I walked back to the house.

The ponds were covered with a thin Jack Frost layer of ice, not smooth, but patterned over so beautifully, with a thin scattering of icy snowflakes.  In some spots the water underneath was deep sapphire blue, in others; brown, gray and green.  I drew in deep lungs-full of the fresh cold air.

In the house, my two little ones were waiting.  Jacob, Ethan, Grace, David, and Caleb had already left for school, and Rich was back to work after over a week of vacation. 

After the carefree Holiday season, it’s time for us all to readjust to our routines; our busy daily living at home and school and work, and then the coming together again, at the end of the day, for dinner and family time.

Pictures from the last few days;

Grace, with her sister.  Sweetness through and through.

My parents came for a visit.  This is Dad, with Sarah, snuggling in the evening after dinner was over.

The sky was so thrillingly beautiful one morning that I snuck outside to take a few pictures~

The sun was coming up, little by little……in the east.

Meanwhile, the western part of the sky still looked dark as the trees were being lit up by the sunrise.

Sarah, in her pink peppermint poncho.

Caleb, posing with his dagger~Doesn’t he look threatening?

By the way, Happy 2012, friends!

“Time is the New Year’s bountiful blessing: three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twelve transformative months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons.  A simply abundant year to be savored.”  ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

I enjoyed this book (The Door in the Wall) for several evenings last week, and finished it last night.  Happily, I discovered a new inspirational woman in Marguerite de Angeli.  I did a little research on her life here and here.  She loved her family (six children!), singing, art, and writing.  She illustrated her own books and was involved in her art (painting and writing) throughout old age, completing works in her 80’s and 90’s.  I am very interested in reading more about her, and reading more of her stories.

She obviously had depth, and a rich life full of a variety of interests and passions, which is something I greatly admire.

“…I have always wanted to draw and to write. Even now, I can remember the way it felt to be walking home from school in the small Michigan town where I was born, arm in arm with a school girlfriend, only half listening to her chatter because I was dreaming of something else; wondering how I could put down in words the sheer joy in living which filled me to bursting, or how I could draw the moving shadows, the sunlight sifting through the leaves, the tree branches against the white house, or the stream of boys and girls themselves. How could I grasp that shining and elusive ‘something’ which was away and beyond, yet was within me, and fairly lifting me off the earth? How could I, all at once, do the many things I wanted to do? I wanted to sew grown-up clothes for my doll, I wanted to make hats, I wanted to learn what we used to call ‘recitation,’ and I wanted to sing. What to do first?”   Marguerite de Angeli

She wrote her autobiography and dedicated it:  “To my children. It wasn’t all for them, but without them there would have been little point”.  

Caleb found an old (very old) board outside and created this natural masterpiece for us using thumbtacks.  I was so surprised, I accepted the gift with joy it and put it right in our bedroom~

The beauty of today’s egg collection, what a blessing!

And, lastly, my little boy Seth.  I took this picture of him not long ago, when we were getting all set to cozy up and read a few favorites before naptime.

There is so much to be thankful for.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us

continually offer to God

a sacrifice of praise.” 

But You, O Lord,

are a shield around me;

You are my glory,

the one who holds my head high.  Psalm 3:3

While most people are celebrating New Year’s Eve, we are also celebrating

our son Jacob, who has his birthday today.

I woke up early this morning and exclaimed into the darkness, “It just can’t be true!”

My firstborn is 15 year old!

(My gratitude to Jacob, who kindly took a break from shooting his new gun, to let his mama take the pictures.)

A little 6 year old someone lost a little something ……

and suddenly, he’s older.

Losing your first tooth is a milestone of childhood.

After that, something amazing happens; an adult tooth will grow up into the empty spot.

Not only is he losing teeth, he’s also reading tremendously well.   He only misses a word now and then.

Like yesterday, when he mentioned at breakfast that we were drinking milk, made from ….”wool”.

We must, if it so happens,

give our lives to others,

but even while we’re doing it,

I think we’re meant to enjoy our Lord

and,

in Him,

our friends,

our food,

our sleep,

our jokes,

and the birds’ song 

and the frosty sunrise. 

*CS Lewis*

12 year old little lady.

With an armful of cats.

And her hair in braided twists.

Just because.

“The little things?  The little moments?  They aren’t little.”
–  John Zabat-Zinn