How do you spell mischief?  “S” “E” “T” “H”, that’s how!

We began our Saturday morning with our dear Seth making a mess.  It was his 2, 214th.  He found my ULTRA SUPER CONCENTRATED window wash stuff and dumped it all up and down the entire porch.  Rich and I were inside enjoying our coffee when he came back inside looking guilty.  “WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOO?” I asked, and he took me outside to show me.  He got into T.R.O.U.B.L.E.  But, those eyes!  So guilty, so beautiful! 

He was willing to help clean up, though.

The porch floor is clean, completely clean as a whistle, now.

Caleb had found a cocoon about a month ago.  I don’t remember where he found it, but we decided to put it on a dried grass arrangement I had in a mason jar, to see what would happen.  On Saturday, a butterfly emerged!  I found it just after it ‘hatched’, and it’s wings were moist and limp.  It fell to the floor like a damp little rag and we moved it to a bush in the garden sunshine, to dry.

It was a delight to sit and watch it.  The only thing left to do is identify it.

I took a little walk with David and Caleb because David wanted me to see the neighbor’s beautiful flowers (creeping phlox).

David’s funny quote of the weekend, “I don’t get fat because whenever I eat food I burn it out.” 

I made a cake and it was my first experience of baking something in a brand spanking new oven!  It was just a box lemon cake, with lemon icing.  Sarah of the blue eyes, with crumbs around her little mouth, loved it.

I love my oven (pictures to come in a few days!)

My beautiful daughters:::

Rich spent a lot of time this weekend, working on a water pump.  He has enjoyed the challenge of trying to get it started again (no luck yet).

On Sunday morning, I put Sarah’s dress on her and she immediately became a dancer.

Caleb combed his own hair for church and then sprayed a thick, very very thick, coating of hair spray on it.  This face is SOOOOO cute!  I love this big boy of mine.

Caleb’s quote of the week, “Cassie took some of my sliver out and then I bit the rest out myself.”  (it was in HIS BIG TOE!)  (Cassie is the little neighbor girl who comes over to play!)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rich’s secretary is getting married next month and I was able to attend her bridal shower yesterday.  I didn’t know her very well, and only slightly knew one other person going, so it was a great growing experience for me (shy one that I am) to be brave and go.  It was a gathering of family and friends and just a couple of people from work, I felt a little odd going as “THE BOSS’S WIFE”, but the ladies were all so lovely and nice.  It was held at a place by the river, with such a pretty view from the windows.  All the ladies were dressed up and I was happy that I had decided to wear a new dress, high heel wedge sandals, and a pretty necklace.  I put on full make up and then realized later that I forgot to apply the mascara.  I had a mimosa for the first time (yum!) and sat at a round table for lunch with the bride’s grandmother, aunt, and friends.  Totally strange not to be chasing children around.  I just sat still (tried to) and enjoyed the company.  It was almost an hour drive to get there, and then with the ride back, I was gone for most of the day.  It was a sweet, and beautiful afternoon, watching the bride-to-be open all her gifts and enjoying the pretty decorations, the lunch, and strawberry cream cake.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!  –Rich and I had one of “THOSE PARENTING MOMENTS” on Saturday afternoon when we realized we wouldn’t see Jacob and Ethan for most of the day.  They were busy with sports and then a job up the street with the neighbor.  They are getting older and more independent all the time and we felt slightly sad, missing them.  Happily, Rich did take them out the movies that night, with Grace.  They saw Iron Man 3.  But they are gone so much that when Jacob is home I sometimes jump to hear him come into the room and talk…..not used to having a deep talking young man around! 

PS, I’ve been watching Julia Child “The French Chef” shows every night on youtube.  It’s so entertaining!  She truly was one of a kind.

{this moment} – 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. 

This hymn has been running through my head all day so I thought I would sit down at the piano and play it for xanga.

(All the lyrics to this one are good but I’m only singing the first verse here.)

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of Thy loving heart.

Thou has bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

~Jean S. Pigott, 1845-1882

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

Just a little story for you today……

Grace had a field trip coming up and she was told by her teacher that she “HAD” to have a string bag to carry.  If you don’t know what that is, there is a picture of one here.  They are made from thin material, and empty, it lays completely flat.  Instead of thick straps, the straps are typically a cord, or “string”.  It is very light weight and just the thing for walking around during a school field trip.  Anyway, she was telling me every day about this special STRING bag she NEEDED to have, and I listened half-heartedly because I honestly didn’t think it was necessary and didn’t appreciate the teacher giving her the idea that she HAD to have one.  Well, I forgot and forgot until it was almost too late. The night before her field trip, she still didn’t have the bag, the special bag, so I called Rich and he said he would pick one up for her on the way home from work.  I explained IN DETAIL what a string bag was and told him thank you.

Well, he came home and showed me the bag, with happy eyes.  He had fulfilled the mission.  Only, unfortunately what he had bought was a regular ol’ backpack.  “OH MY WORD, RICH, it’s not the right kind of bag!  Why didn’t you call me so I could help you?  I know right where they are in Target!  Grace is going to be so upset!”  He wasn’t concerned but called her upstairs so we could both witness her reaction to all her hopes, dreams, and begging for this special, specific STRING BAG.

She looked at it, smiled, and immediately said sweetly, “Thank you, Daddy!”  “Is it okay, Grace, is it what you wanted?” he asked.  “Yes!”  She replied, to my astonishment.  “Are you telling the truth, Grace, that’s honestly the bag you wanted?”  I questioned, disbelieving.  “Yes, it’s fine!  Thank you!”  was her reply, sounded perfectly happy and sincere. 

Rich left the room satisfied that he knew better than I did, and she laughed with her sweet cheeks plumping up and brown eyes sparkling.  She did a cute girly teenager pose and looked right at me over her shoulder as she held her new backpack.

“What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”  she said to me, quietly so her Dad couldn’t hear.   I understood that she really did want the string bag, but more important to her was her Dad’s happiness in the gift he took the time to purchase for her.  No tears or pouting from this girl!  I was put to shame and grateful for the lesson, once again.

1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (NIV)

It was nice growing up with someone like you – someone to lean on, someone to
count on… someone to tell on!  ~Author Unknown

Whenever the children are all home on a school vacation, I miss the homeschooling years.  I get filled up with that contented-mama feeling and say, “This makes me want to homeschool you again!”  Davy really would want me to, he doesn’t like to get up in the mornings and he doesn’t like to work too hard sometimes, but the other children

LOVE SCHOOL.

and have blossomed in ways that have brought tears to my eyes over and over.

Grace sings and her bright personality bubbles over.

Jacob talks and talks.

Ethan exudes confidence.

Caleb has made a name for himself.  (snake boy)

Davy is learning valuable social skills.

And while I love and favor the homeschooling ideals and way of life (so wholesome, so organic), I can’t regret the personal decision we have made in changing up the children’s education experience. 

This is our second year of public schooling, and I must say that this spring break was quite CRAZY busy, I think because I have almost forgotten what it is like to have them all home for days on end.  Practically speaking, I ran the dishwasher four times daily.  There was never, and I mean, never a dull moment.  We had plans that we did not get to accomplish, because we ran out of time.  I still owe Jacob a trip to Savers so he can find clothes like Dr. Who.  And I owe Caleb a trip to the Science Center, too.

The very best part of school break is the time the children get to spend TO.GETH.ER. again, all day long, doing whatever they wanted to do.

Grace gave Davy a lesson on Les Miserables, they listened to the entire soundtract together and Grace explained the storyline.

I had lots of help tending the hens.

Sarah Joy had a hard time finding Mama after her naps.  On this day I was down by the stream, looking for ducks with Caleb.

Davy put his head out the window of the car to make wild hair.   

We went out for ice cream with my sister and her children.

Weston (red shirt), Naomi (yellow), Gracie (black pants), and Abbie (dress)

Seth and Weston, talking (they are a year apart in age).

Caleb (in superman shirt)

Jacob (16 years old) my oldest.

(Weston) 5 years old.

One of my favorite moments came while I was reading outside (while keeping an eye on the little ones dabbling in the pond) and noticed Ethan and Grace sitting together on top of the playset.

One of Seth’s nicknames from his older siblings is “Friend”.  My heart! I love it.

I smile seeing my gang of children still having the best of times, together.  Each moment is a gift.

There is just nothing like the relationships between brothers and sisters, as they share a bond that in some ways even the parents are not a part of.

Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits,
have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can
supply…  ~Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814

Did you grow up with siblings?  Were you close?  Are you close today?

We did it.  We went back home for the weekend.  The vehicle was packed full of necessary stuff and our seven children and Rich and I drove and drove …… back home to NY state, where we both grew up.  It takes us almost 4 rather endless hours, to get there.  The children were great, and so excited……

The picture above is of Caleb in the morning, looking out the window of our hotel room on the 8th floor.  Rich found a hotel suite, made reservations, and it was a treat for us.  He and I had our own big room and the children camped out all over the next room.  Grace, David, and Sarah slept in the pull out sofa bed, Caleb on two armchairs pushed together, Seth on the floor upon couch cushions, and the older boys in the big closet, on the floor.  It was fun to see them all over the place, together.

On Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the Crackerbarrel.  Rich took a picture with his phone so I actually got to be IN a candid family picture!

We were texting my brother Dave back and forth.  He lives in the area and he surprised us by stopping by while we were eating! 

He bought each of the children a treat from the gift shop.  They were thrilled!

We love you Dave!  You are so special to me.

After breakfast we took all the back roads to get to Grandma’s nursing home.  She hasn’t been doing very well, so I convinced Rich we had to visit her as soon as possible.  We drove through all the little towns that Rich is so familiar with, and the town he grew up in, going by the old farm house that he loved so much (and still does).  He told us so many little stories as we drove along.  

“We buried a lot of tractors in that field.”  (sunk, in the springtime mud)

“I helped out at this farm one year, when they were showing cows.”

“I used to look out the window of the bus and imagine visiting that old ice house.”

“One time when we stopped to see the old bent tree, my grandpa found wild onions and he picked them to go with our lunch.”

“That used to be a country store and I used to ride my bike there to get a piece of candy or a soda.”

“That’s where the guy lived who taught me to hunt.”

“This is where I fell asleep and almost drove off the road after leaving your Mom’s house one night.”

and so on.

I told him that someday I want to go with my Nikon camera and take pictures of all the places, and make a scrapbook for our family. 

We were able to use a conference room for our visit with Grandma, which was a blessing as I wasn’t sure how we would all fit in her room.

We listened to a lot of little family stories and Grace stayed busy jotting them all down in her notebook.  Our favorite discovery was when Grandma, recalling childhood memories, admitted that she had no problem remembering her sisters’ faults, but she couldn’t remember any of her own. 

Another interesting note:  Grandma’s brother is still living, and is 94.  He can’t hear and his wife can’t talk (after a stroke) but they still live together in their own house.  After her stroke, she lost interest in cooking, so he does it all.  He loves hymns and still gets his book out to sing one now and then.  They will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this summer.

This is Rich’s Dad, with Sarah Joy on his lap. 

I learned that Aunt Phyllis copies off my blog for Grandma, and Grandma just loves it.  She can still read just fine and enjoys the little stories about the children.  She passes it along to Rich’s Dad when she is done, but Aunt Phyllis said that one time she found it with Sarah’s picture cut right out of a page. 

I love to imagine her doing that. 

We had such a satisfying visit, so special, and so important for the children, too.

 After the nursing home visit, we drove to my parent’s place.  Mom made us chowder (a pot of corn and a pot of clam), a big salad, and homemade strawberry shortcake.  We stayed for a few hours and enjoyed the visit very much.

It was especially nice for Davy, because he has been begging me to find him a typewriter and Mom gave him one.  It’s an old electric “Brother” typewriter that I actually took to college with me to use for my term papers.  It still worked, so the first thing he typed was a letter to Grandma, asking for the typewriter and all the reasons why he wanted one. 

Needless to say, it’s his.

And then, Sunday morning, we drove back to Rich’s Dad and Leslie’s house for a nice visit.  Leslie is Rich’s step mom.   She is quiet and gentle, loves animals and children, and homemaking.  She has many pretty things decorating their home (which Rich’s Dad built himself), houseplants, quilts, ribbon embroidery, and pictures.  I want to take photos of the things sometime, to show you.

I love the picture of the messy living room, all because of the children dragging the toys out of Charlie’s bedroom. 

Sarah helped Grandma put away the fruit.

After a lunch of chips, sandwiches, and fruit, and a visit to the barn, we loaded up the vehicle to head back home.

(it’s so nice to have many places to call “home”)

 Thankful for family, and our wonderful hometown state of NY.  It was a full and enjoyable weekend.  Frankly, we’re all exhausted, in a good way.  

please take a moment to say hello! 

xoxo