After some cool, rainy days I think they love lying in sunbeams, soaking up the rays.

These are the books Seth and Sarah chose at the library.  Sarah says hers is called I am Absolutely a Potato, and Seth says his is I am Not Even Really Tired. 

They make me LAUGH.

Seth and Sarah were the last ones to get physicals and they were done yesterday.  The two of them together were so cute, I had such fun watching them get their check ups.  Such innocence and adorableness galore.  And, I tried something new with the shots for Seth.  I didn’t mention them at all and let them just happen.  He didn’t make a peep.  It was as easy as getting his ears checked. 

Seth is average in height and weight.  Sarah is tall for her age (!) and skinny.

I’ve come to realize that the late afternoons are going to be the busy time of day.  Yesterday David and Caleb got off the bus, ate bagels and got right into the car to go with me to the schools.  We dropped off Grace and then went to the playground until Ethan’s soccer meeting.  It turned out to be a beautiful late afternoon together.  They played for hours out in the bright sun.  I looked through a magazine and then pushed the little ones on the swings…magical….

and two more, smaller sunflowers, down the path a little

the books:
1. Are You my Mother?  by P.D. Eastman
2.Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3. What a Bad Dream by Mercer Mayer
4. The Great Gracie Chase Stop that Dog! by Cynthia Rylant

My prayer for this Monday, and all days.
I hope it’s a blessing to you, too.
You are loved.

This afternoon I was interviewed.  Here are my answers to those questions. 
P.S.  I interviewed my self. 

Q. What is that smell?
A.  Oh.  Do I smell?  It is probably Frank’s Red Hot, rotten juice, and poop.  Sorry.

Q:  I’ll just move my chair back a little.  Okay.  Let’s begin.  You say you are a stay at home mom, but we noticed that you were gone all morning again today.  What were you doing this time?
A:  I am a stay at home mom but I prefer the term Domestic Goddess.  (smiles and winks)  This is currently a very busy season (back to school) in a very busy season of life (teenagers, elementaries, and preschoolers to care for).  It is true I was out again this morning.  My oldest son Jacob had a check up and so did my two middle children.  We went to the Doctor’s, the Tractor Supply store, and Target.  Then, we had Wendy’s drive through for lunch.

Q:  How did the appointments go?  Did the boys grow much over the last year?
A.  Yes, they did.  Jacob is now 6 feet, one inch tall.  David and Caleb each gained over 10 pounds and grew three inches.  All three of them are perfectly healthy and I am very thankful.

Q.  When you dropped off your son at the High School, something fell out the back of the vehicle when he was getting his football stuff out.  What was it?

A.  That….. was an entire bottle of Frank’s Red Hot.  I had just bought it at Target, a nice big bottle for two dollars.  We were going to have it with our chili dinner tonight.  It smashed in the driveway right in front of the school, we picked up the glass and left a large red puddle. 

Q.  Did anything significant happen when you dropped off the other two boys?
A.  Yes.  When I was in the office I saw David’s teacher from last year.  She was happy to see us and told me she missed David and that we had a wonderful family.  That made me feel good.  Then, I filled out two tardy notices for the boys and wrote David’s name on both of them.  The secretary had to fix it for me.

Q.  We saw you pull into your driveway when you got home and then we heard you made very loud groaning noises.  Did something happen?
A.  Yes.  Um.  Well, the last time I went to Costco I had left the heaviest boxes in the car for the boys to get out for me.  The boxes have been sitting in the car for days and days.  Well, when I got home today I noticed that someone had taken the bulk juice pouch box out and left it in the driveway behind my car.  I never saw it, so ran over it with car.  I was pretty upset because I hate waste and I hate buying juice pouches.  I opened them all up and counted 10 popped juice pouches.  I had to bring all the rest inside to wash in the sink because they were covered in juice.

Q:  Did you groan for any other reason?
A:  Yes.  I had bought a five dollar meaty dog bone for Parker today and apparently left it in the cart.  I looked all through the car and couldn’t find it.  SO frustrating. 

Q:  Why do you have suitcases lying in the grass on your lawn?
A:  I have suitcases on my lawn because my younger three boys watched one of those ridiculous Lego cartoons the other day.  They were inspired to continue training to be Ninjas and took the suitcases outdoors to practices their turns and high kicks.  In other words, the suitcases are the enemy.

Q.  Oh my.  Is your life always this crazy?
A.  Next question please.

Q.  Why do you have a pan of rotten tomatoes on your porch?
A.  (groans again? and startles interviewer)  (sighs)  Yesterday I felt terrible about the tomatoes.  I really had to get working on that last half bushel for my homemade sauce.  I noticed that some indeed were spoiling, so I sat and sorted through them all to get ready to use them up today.  I asked my daughter Grace to take the rotten ones down to the chicken coop and just this morning I noticed that she took the good tomatoes down to the hens instead of the rotten ones.  I’ll never get over it.  I mean, it may take a while.

Q.  Can you say a little something about the poop?
A.  But of course.  While I was putting away the groceries, Seth and Sarah were playing outside.  On my way back through to get more bags, I noticed that Sarah had her pants down around her ankles so I went to help her.  She had left a little poopy pile on the lawn and I had to clean her up.  I washed my hands but I guess the odor is lingering this time. 

Q.  Well, you seem like a very busy woman and I’m sure exhausted.  If you had an afternoon to yourself and weren’t so tired, what would you do?
A.  Take a nap.

Q.  Would you like to share your “this moment”  picture with us today?
A.  Surely.  So glad you asked.  Actually, I have several to share.

painting on the patio

sarah picked my only blooming dahlia

sunflower managed to survive

fireplace stone work, he’s almost up to the ceiling now

so I put it in a small pitcher

as I was frying this morning’s bacon



I had an audience

the little diners

boys wore matching shirts

so tired, but happy to tears with my Caleb in my arms

we end with a goose in the bible study parking lot

Today was a full and busy day.   I had a training day for Community Bible Study.  I am training to be a Core Leader for a group of ladies, which means I will be facilitating (not teaching) a group of about 10.  I am not used to speaking in groups so I am not sure why God has called me to this particular ministry, I am much more comfortable with writing and staying behind the scenes, but I am looking forward to the blessings of studying God’s word with my classes.  I think the commitment will cause me to stay more faithful to Bible reading, which is a very good thing…and also the fellowship with believers will be a huge blessing.  I hope to be a friend to all, and to be my genuine self, oh please say a prayer for me.  Even after one day with the leader’s group I have learned a few new things that excite me about prayer and being a shepherd under Jesus, to care for others.  These things will be wonderful tools for nurturing relationships with everyone in my life.

Seth and Sarah were both very timid and cried when I had to leave them in their childcare rooms (at the church)…I was never far away but I was out of sight and they were with strange children and grown ups.  Thankfully, they got through okay and I know they will enjoy making new friends, too.  They will have their own classes soon when the Bible study starts officially on September 18. 

If you aren’t a member of a Bible study I would highly recommend a CBS experience.  They have a website so that you can easily locate a study near you.  It is Bible centered and not affiliated with any particular denomination, in fact, we don’t even “go there”.  We get tremendously blessed just by basic in depth study.  Our area group is studying Deuteronomy, Daniel, and Ephesians this year.

************

When we were home this weekend of course we made time to squeeze in a couple of visits with my parents.  Along with visiting, I wandered around and took pictures of the house.  My mom’s home-making skills inspire me and I really look up to her.  I recently found and read a beautiful book titled A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life, by Mary Randolph Carter and I thought of my mom the entire time I went through it.

There were a few years when I tried and felt guilty trying to keep a spotlessly clean house (with so many little ones I never succeeded) and the pressure was astounding and ridiculous.  In my 20’s I was coached by a well-meaning lady (not my mom, why didn’t I just ask my mom?)….she taught me that it was a good Christian testimony to always have my house very clean in order to be a good witness and example.  To a certain extent I agree, but this older-lady friend was a perfect housekeeper, with perfect interior design, perfect furniture and dishes and things just so perfectly perfect.  Truly she had a gorgeous home (if you like that style) but it never worked for me, I actually felt on edge at her house, and now that I am older I can see that my number one shining example of a good housekeeper has always been right in front of my eyes, my own mama-dear.  Hers is the home that inspires me the most.  For me, it.is.home.  It is fresh and clean but beautifully cluttered up with tokens of life.  Everywhere you look there are things that mean something to the whole family. 

This style of my mother’s is what is explained so well in the book I found. 

“I fell in love with lived-in, not perfectly kept, homes filled with collections, memories, children, pets, clutter, work, and lots of creativity.” 

collection of framed photographs of all the babies, hung on old shutters, with a strand of dried rose buds on a string

“For me, this is what good housekeeping is about:  keeping our houses real and making them places that embrace everyday living.”

fabric backed bookshelf with lamp, books, and knick knacks

“While I don’t imagine we honor God when our homes are in a state of disarray or chaos, I do believe that we can allow the pendulum to swing the other way and concentrate too much on housekeeping and not enough on things that matter.  Those things are, of course, the family, friends, and animals that we love, which can be inconvenient and messy but should always override spotlessness.”

living room: with couches, coffee table, table with lamp, arm chairs, instruments, desk, baskets,….a cozy room with a place for everyone if not much room to walk around

“A clean house is probably a little more godly than an unkempt house, which may account for the expression ‘what an ungodly mess!’   But a house scrubbed to death is at risk of something more ungodly–losing its soul.”

(all quotes from above mentioned book)

decorated window with draped curtain, strand of lights (we each bought some on that day; mine are orange), small plates on the wall, china cabinet, house plants, blue glass, angel of gardening, lamp with red shade

More pictures:

tomatoes out on the back deck; old bucket

the small granddaughters love this area, with play kitchen and dolls

blue bowl of old beaded fruit

Mom said I had art work hanging up, I said, “I didn’t draw that!” but she said, “Yes, Isaac found it in the art room at school after you graduated and brought it home.”  Sure enough, I had signed it.  Funny how I don’t remember.

Jacob and his Grandma; Jacob had a LOT to say to her.  They’re all caught up now.  So precious.

beautiful bowl of tomatoes from the garden

Seth joining in on the jam session

my beloved friend and brother Dave, with Seth, outside at the fire pit in the blueberry patch

Mom and Sarah Joy

the love birds; they just celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary in July

Mom and Dad

Frazzled.  Tired.  Frazzled and tired.  Quite thankful to sit and put the feet up for a few minutes.  I took Ethan and Grace to their check ups this morning (with the little ones in tow, to make things EXTRA interesting).  Ethan grew almost 2 inches and is now 5’8 and 3/4 inches tall (60%).  Grace grew one inch since last year.  Both 100% as HEALTHY as little horses so I am very grateful for that.  I went to Costco afterwards for toilet paper, which we have been out of for days (been using tissues).  I question, why don’t the stores stock the t.p. on shelf right by the milk?  Then I would not forget it.

This weekend we went back home to NY for a family reunion for husband’s side of the family.  It was at a beautiful state park in Whitney Point, NY, by a quiet lake.  Our pavilion was right next to a playground and bathrooms.  Bliss, as Sarah needs to be by bathroom since she is only 3 and can’t wait.  The children loved the park.  Rich and the older boys brought three footballs and Ethan promptly jammed his pinky badly while playing catch.  I had to ask around for some Advil and get ice out of the beer cooler (ahem).  Then, a little while later he got a sliver up his fingernail on the corner of it….had to ask around for tweezers.  Family is wonderful and supplied all that we needed.  I should carry a first aid kit.  I had bandaids in my purse, however, no one needed those. 

After lunch, Sarah was playing with cousin and fell off a picnic table on her head and someone had to come and get me.  The first sight I saw was the aunts on the ground around her.  I only saw her tiny legs sticking out from under them, still and quiet…thought she was half dead, paralyzed for life, knocked unconscious, or worse.  Thankfully, she was crying and okay, just scared and wanting her mommy.  Very soon afterwards, she was asleep in my arms, for a much needed little nap.  I think I stopped shaking about half an hour later. 

David spun Caleb around and around on the swings until he had to run for the bathrooms and lose his lunch.

It really was a most wonderful time despite antics of large family.

1. My little nieces went swimming.
2. After lunch was over Seth ran around and collected every empty cup he could find; so cute.
3. David wanted to see how high he could go on the swings. 

It rained so that most of the boys were wet by the time we left.  I stayed under the pavilion as much as I could, however my sis in law and I enjoyed a walk toward the end.  We walked and talked and put our feet into a stream.

The food was good.  My favorite dishes were Aunt LouAnn’s macaroni and cheese (I swear she made enough for an army!) and my sis in law’s baked beans. 

Apple Bean Bake

1 (48 oz) can Great Northern beans
2 large Granny Smith apples, pealed and cubed (about 3 cups)
4 T. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. catsup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 T. molasses
1 tsp. salt (optional)

Melt butter, add cubed apples and cook until tender.  Add brown sugar and white sugar and cook until sugar is melted.  Stir in catsup, cinnamon, and molasses.  Add beans and mix well.  Pour mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees about one hour.
recipe from cooks.com

The beans were so good I would be happy eating just a bowl of them for a meal….perfectly satisfying, no meat….and the recipe is nice because you could adapt it easily to what suits you (reduce sugar?).  I think you could also use your favorite canned baked beans instead of plain Great Northern ones.  Then just omit extra ingredients and add the cinnamon for unique flavor.  (I loved the cinnamon and apples added).  YUM.

My friend Joanna and her husband adopted their youngest daughter and Dawn made the dress she came home in.  Dawn also made my little Sarah a dress using the same pattern.  When Joanna came to visit me recently, one of the things we wanted to do was a little photoshoot of our girls wearing their matching dresses.  After I got the photos developed, we mailed a card to Dawn, thanking her once again for the gift of handmade loveliness that she gave to our daughters.  Handmade dresses with smocking!  And little puffed sleeves!

I’ve never met Dawn, but she has been internet friends for years.  She’s a wonderful Christian lady and has done so much to encourage me and Joanna.  If you visit her site, you will be encouraged, too.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”   2 Thess. 2:16-17

******

This morning I took Seth and Sarah with me to Bible study at church and then those of us who could went out to lunch together. 

The best part about it was how utterly sleepy I was this morning,  I came so very close to not going.  But, I did get there and it was such a blessing to study God’s word together and then sit around a table like a big family and eat.  I love these people!  The moral of the story:  If you’re too tired to go to church, or a bible study, go anyway.  🙂

Happy Thursday!  (already?)

Rich left for work at the same time the older kids left for school.  Grace started High School today, so we have one Freshman, one Sophomore, and one Junior this year.  They have grown up fast and beautifully.

Origami is still all the rage in David’s life.  He folds paper every day and tries to teach Caleb, too.  But when he tried to teach him the Ninga star, he got frustrated that Caleb had problems focusing.  “Yeah, I can’t focus!” Caleb agreed.   One hopes that Caleb learns to focus in third grade.

They are really handsome.

“The First Day of School”

You are sending your child to school for the first time.  You are dreading it all exceedingly.  You want the child to start his school education, but you hate to have him leave you.

You think it will be fine to be free from his demands for the hours he spends in school.  But fast on the heels of that thought come the others.

Perhaps the teacher will not be kind to him.  Perhaps he will be thirsty and she will not let him have a drink.  Perhaps the children will not be nice to him.  Maybe he will miss you and cry.

If you worry about these things you will show your fear to the child and to the teacher.  The teacher will not be pleased to know that you think she will not take good care of the child.  She will.  She has been trained to do that very thing.

She will see that he gets a drink and she will see that he is comfortable in every way.  She will not “baby” him, though.  She will show him his seat and give him his lesson and expect him to fit into the scheme of the classroom.

There is nothing in that scheme that need alarm the most timid mother.  The teacher knows exactly what the first day’s work should be and she knows how it should be done.  Leave it to her.  Show her that you have faith in her.

You can’t blame the teacher who glares you out of the room if you insist upon seating yourself beside your child on an eighteen-inch bench nine inches from the floor in order that you may see that the teacher does her work properly that morning and does nothing that might upset your child.  The teacher of the baby class has enough trouble on her mind and in her hands without a dozen tearful mothers sitting and standing about the room suggesting worry and fear to the children.

Leave the child with the teacher and go away cheerfully.  Keep out of the classroom.  Try to behave as though sending a child to school for the first time was something that you had done every day of your life.  Just a matter of course.

That will make the child feel that going to school is an ordinary and natural thing to do.  It will save his nerves and free his mind for the work of the day.

Whatever you do, don’t stand at the classroom door and throw kisses and sob brokenly:  “Goodbye, dear.  Mother will be so lonesome.”

From the book:  Child Training, by Angelo Patri, published 1922
printed in the United States