“That whole day long, everyone was as cheerful as the sunshine.”  The Long Winter, page 135

He has been with me wherever I have gone.  Genesis 35:3  (oh yes, he is with me always, every step of the way!  “He leadeth me”)

But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture:  I want you to show mercy and not offer sacrifices.  Jesus’ words, in Matthew 12:7  (don’t condemn God’s children—-show mercy!)

And His name will be the hope of all the world.  Matthew 12:21  (what a precious promise!)

~verses from my devotions, this morning.

It was a challenge to read at the table.  I had to keep hopping up, mainly to get Seth away from Sarah.  But at one point I had to grab the camera because I thought it was so cute the way he was loving on her.

After a while, as I cleaned up the breakfast things, I thought that for sure I could not deal with a crazy unstructured day with 8 people all trying to do whatever they felt like doing.  I called all the children to me and we sat down to schedule our day all the way up to 4:30 in the afternoon.

It worked like a charm and was just what we needed to give us direction.  

After some play time, we sat at the table together.  It was “art at the table” time but it ended up being a history lesson about Martin Luther King Jr.  I read them his basic biography from wikipedia, we watched a youtube clip of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and they all colored a picture of him.  (so, we did do art)

After that, we had lunch.  David surprised me because when I asked, “Does anyone need a drink of milk?”  He said, “I’ll have a cold beer.”

Now, let me just say.  We have never had beer in our home.  We don’t drink it, and we come from families who do not drink it.  

No, I have never tasted beer in my life, but one time as a child, I was collecting cans and bottles from the side of the road and some leftover beer splashed on my pants and left a bleach mark.  And it smelled horrible.  It never seemed appetizing to me after that.

I insisted, ready for a good laugh, that David tell me where on earth he got such an idea—you know—requesting cold beer at lunchtime.

Come to find out, the boys had gotten a “Calvin and Hobbes” comic book from the library and there was a comic strip where the boy was trying to figure out what drink to leave for Santa, to go with his cookies.  “How about a cold beer” said the Dad, (who was really Santa).  Ethan solved the mystery when told me about this particular comic strip.  It all became clear to me, and then dear innocent David asked, “What IS beer?”

You mothers know about these strange conversations that come up…..you just never know what will come up next.

After lunch we cleaned up and then we were supposed to have read-aloud time but the children were full of energy so we went outside.

Seth was so thrilled.  He loved being free to run and play.  This was the first day, after that huge snowstorm last week, that things cleared up enough to us to enjoy the weather.  It wasn’t quite as cold and the sun was shining.

The snow was glittery and pretty.

Seth threw some.

Seth is so tiny compared to his big brother Jacob.

Caleb found some treasure–ice–and ate it.

David cried because he was too cold, then I bundled him up so good that later on he cried because he was too hot.

Here he is, in a happier moment;

Grace Lillian;

She wore homemade crocheted mittens that my mom gave her.

They played around the upper driveway, digging and making snow forts in the big drifts that Rich plowed up.  Then, they had a big snowball fight.

When we came back inside, we hung up all of our snow things.  Sarah woke up from her nap and I put Seth down for his.  Then we snuggled up on the couch for some reading.

We read two chapters from The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It was cozy and delightful.  These stories never grow old, they actually seem to get better and better with each reading.

“All that happy afternoon they were full of the clear, cold air and as bright as the sunshine.”  pg.137

After reading and quiet time, I took Grace to her music lesson.  We had baby Sarah with us and Jacob was in charge of the rest at home.

We got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and ended up cancelling our lesson (we will make it up next Monday).  We stopped at the grocery store and got all the fixings for a big spaghetti dinner; 2 boxes of pasta, hamburger, fresh Italian bread, and things for salad.  We got home at 5:30 and then I spent the next hour putting groceries away, paying attention to little boys who had missed me, feeding Seth a snack and Sarah her dinner, making the dinner, directing Grace to help me in various ways, and I got A HUGE HEADACHE.  Rich called and was also got stuck in traffic so I asked him to pray for me and then I served dinner to the children myself.  It went pretty well, thanks no doubt to his prayers and my own (“Dear Lord, please help.”).   Rich got home at 7pm and the older children went back outside to resume their snowball fighting.

Well, it’s approaching 9pm now.  Everyone is in bed…I started this blog entry at about 7:30 but Sarah pinched her tiny little finger and I had to quit for a while to take care of her.  She is sleeping like an angel after being nursed and snuggled by me, with Rich sitting next to us as well.  How we love our little baby girl, and the rest of our children, too.

I hope and pray that all of my friends and family are doing well and are staying cozy.  I hope you liked the pictures of the children and little stories.  It was a nice day, and I hope yours was, too.

Much love ~ Shanda

PS, Grace and I had a wonderful time talking together on the way home.  She had some questions for me that she had been wanting to ask but “at home there was always too many boys running around.”  I am thankful for the time we got to spend, just the two of us.  I don’t like the hassle of driving here and there but I must say, those times in the vehicle have proved to be very valuable times for TALKS and laughter with my children.  They all open right up and start yapping as soon as they get into the seat beside me….all but my Ethan, who is always so quiet.  I tell him to talk to me but he just says, wonderingly “About WHAT!?”  So when I’m with E, I do most of the talking myself.  

One year ago today I was making myself sick with anxious hope that my next baby (born after three beautiful boys in a row) would turn out to be a GIRL.  I had an ultrasound on January 13, 2010, but the doctor that day could only tell me that she thought maybe it was a girl but she didn’t know for sure.

Fast forward one year to the day and here I am with my six wonderful children and a beautiful baby girl who is seven months old.

The purpose of today’s post is to record a milestone for Sarah.

She’s crawling now.

It’s very strange for me to see her going away.  

How I love it when she turns around and crawls back, smiling at me with her gummy grin.

My heart knows that like her big brother Seth, she will very soon crawl, no RUN, completely out of my sight and into mischief.

But that will be a story for another day.

Today she’s simply a beginning crawler…going so slowly, but steadily.  She sees what she wants, turns toward it, lifts an arm way up high and out and down and forward and there goes the other arm next, then the feet push and she’s going, going, gone.

R E A D I N G

As a homeschooling mom of seven, I revel in the bits of calm that come my way during the day.

My life may be busy but thankfully it’s not too busy to enjoy my BOOKS.  I’ve always been a reader, it’s in my heart, mind, and soul.  It’s in my blood.  I MUST read and I love a good book.

In the last month I read Mark Twain’s autobiography, V1.  

Then, I got Circle of Friends out of the library, and read that.

Then I read The Light on the Island.  It was a book written by the daughter of a lighthouse keeper.  She was one of 13 children.  It was a quick read but very entertaining.

I read Once Upon an Island next.  This one was written by a man who, along with his wife, bought an island.  The book covers the first year or so after moving from the city to their island, and all the ups and downs they went through to get settled.  

Now that I’m done with that one, I am reading We Took to the Woods.  This one is funny and tells little stories of a woman’s adventures, living in rural Maine with her husband.  She even gives birth to their firstborn son in their cabin, and her husband delivered the baby.  She takes only about 1 page to explain the birth but I chuckled all through it.  The chapter I am on is about lumberjacks and she just finished up writing about gathering ice from the lake.  There is lots to learn in her book.

I have three more books waiting for me:  Three Men in a Boat, to say nothing of the Dog, Not my Will, and To Kill a Mockingbird.  

These books are first-reads for me, except To Kill a Mockingbird.  But I read that one in H.S. and I can’t remember it.  I decided on these books from book lists and from wandering around on amazon.com with Christmas money in my pocket.

Rich is currently reading President George W. Bush’s autobiography, Decision Point.

So, my current routine is this:  Work like a crazy whirlwind all morning.  Then, after lunch, I send the children away to their rooms.  Seth goes down for his nap, and Caleb also naps.  The others are under strict orders to be quiet and I go to my room with Sarah.  I leave my door open a crack but turn a fan on for white noise.  I settle down in bed, read my book, and nurse Sarah away to dreamland.  Then, if I don’t fall asleep, I slip out of bed to make a cup of coffee and bring it back to bed with me and my book.

And my sleeping baby.

I recently learned something very important and let me just say, in case you don’t know by now:

CHOCOLATE and COFFEE go together like…..like they were made FOR each other.  

Savor a piece of chocolate in your mouth until it melts away, then sip down some hot, creamy, slightly bitter coffee, and it’s simply wonderful.  But you probably already knew that.  I’m just a little slow sometimes.

Are you laughing at my box of chocolates?  As you can see, I lose self control when it comes to the filled chocolates.  I simply MUST know what’s inside right away.  I’m sure some of you can relate?

S E W I N G

This is a picture of dear Sarah’s foot, warmly covered with her new softshoe, made by yours truly.

This is the fourth pair that I’ve made.  And guess what?  I used two of her baby things that she grew out of.  A pair of pj’s and a tiny pair of pants.

I cut the material out yesterday, after hunting and hunting for my wonderful sharp shears without success.  I was stressed out about it.  I had to use the children’s dull school scissors, but don’t worry I did find my shears today.  Of course, I did not need them today but I’m happy I found them.

The moral of the story is:  Do not hide things from your children.  Keep things in plain sight, or in obvious places, and just train your children to leave them alone.

Anyway, the shoes.  I sewed them up just this morning.  Aren’t they darling?  They are completely lined with the same dark pink material that you see on the heel, so they’re nice and thick.

It’s been s n o w i n g and snowing, since the middle of the night.  Rich was so excited about the storm that he couldn’t sleep.  He made me stay up until almost 11:30 last night and then he got up very early this morning.  I got up at 6 to find him in front of the weather channel, with Sarah awake and sitting next to him like a tiny bundle on the couch, and she was watching him type on his laptop.  So cute.  

I thought I’d share a few pictures of the exciting weather:

SNOW:

SNOW and WINDY GUSTS

AND MORE SNOW, all the way past Jake’s knees so far!

Hope you’re having a happy Wednesday!  

In January our happiness caused us to twirl, when we learned our next baby would be a girl.

February 2nd it was fun, our boy Seth celebrated “one”.

In fair March, there was a thrill, when the little boys rolled down a hill.

The April sky was deeply blue, we enjoyed the spring weather, how about you?

In May our family had a blessing beyond compare, a new baby girl so sweet and fair.

In hot sunny June we felt fine, because we were together, and we were nine.

July was as sweet as sweet could be, we took a taste from the sun ripe berr-y.

In August we talked a lot, of Seth and the little sister he got.

In September, in honor of our anniversary day, Rich took me to NYC and I cheered hurray.

October was special for darling Grace, to sing in a big choir with a happy face.

In November the weather was getting so cool, we spent more and more time doing school.

December came and we didn’t feel low, to see little Sarah in her pretty bow.

It’s strange to see the year 20-10 go by so fast,

Enjoy the days ’cause they will not last.

Look forward and ahead, to the new year now,

Appreciate the sweet times, thanking God, that’s how.

We got back home from our visit to family in NY, last night.  It was a wonderful time and I’ll be posting pictures from those memorable visits this week.

At 8 o’clock this morning, I woke up too late to get myself and the babies out the door for church, so Rich went with Jacob, Ethan, Grace, David, and Caleb while I stayed behind with Seth and Sarah.

The weather was misty, slushy, and wet.  I had my eyes on the great outdoors as I took care of the little ones and got started on the unpacking.

Hours later, after Rich and the kids got back from church and everyone was resting and/or napping, I asked my husband if he would go on a walk with me.

The two of us pulled on our boots and walked away from the house, to the woods, hand in hand.  We talked and laughed and remembered other walks, in other times, in other woods.  Glad to have today.  Glad to have each other.

We walked through mud, wet snow, small puddles.  The air smelled fragrant.  In the woods it smelled of wet bark and pine, when we came into the field it smelled like slightly warmed earth…still wintry cool, a bit thawed and alive.

Because of all the snow and then the spring like air, we had a very white and foggy morning….I loved how the fog was still gently covering the floor of the woods at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Isn’t it magical?

Rich thought I was crazy when I tasted the drops of water on the pine needles.  It was delicious though.  I read somewhere that you can make a healthy tea from pine needles.  Has anyone ever tried it? 

Deer tracks:

Rich, being a stinker during a self-timer photo;

And the one we kept;

When we left the woods we stomped our feet to get the snow off them and walked back up to the house.  He’s taking a little nap now and later on we will watch football, drink coffee, and play PIT with the kids.

Happy New Year!

PS, We hugged and kissed, too.  Kisses in the fresh air are especially nice.  I can’t think of a better way to spend the beginning of the new year…with my beloved husband.