a muffin from mike

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I have been sick, along with several of the children, since last Wednesday.  I have had a bad cold and flu type thing (still feeling quite lousy), and Sarah has had a stomach bug/fever sickness.  Jacob, Grace, and Caleb have all had a touch of it as well.  On Sunday morning I had to stay home from church with Sarah and Rich went on with the other six children without us.  Those of you who go to church on Sunday mornings know how hectic it gets (WHY?) and sometimes the children end up at service *not quite ready*……..anyway, our young church friend MIKE sent me this email the other day explaining how his extra muffin from Dunkin Donuts ended up being a blessing to my daughter GRACE.

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FROM OUR FRIEND MIKE:

 

“This is a story i shared on facebook, but since you guys do not have facebook, something we will have to change in the near future 🙂

I want to show it to you… as well…

One of the things i try to do with Facebook is to use it as a means to open the word of God to people, to show examples of his work and to try to draw non-believers into conversation…

Anyhow the True-Story follows

This has been on my mind all day…

So today on my way to church…i always stop at Dun-kin in sturbridge for breakfast…but for someone reason i drove right past it, partly do in part because i was running a little late, but lateness has never stopped me before.

So after the morning study my stomach was rumbling so i went over to Dunkin Donuts to get a Blueberry muffin, the line was moving quite slow and i was getting a little impatient, the workers behind the stall were frantically trying to keep up with all the customers, not to mention the customer in front was making a extra large order.

eventually the dunkin employee asked what i wanted, i asked for one blueberry muffin, she then handed it to the cashier and proceeded to service the next customer.

Through a series of miscommunications, the cashier ended up charging me for two muffins instead of one, to give me the money back would have taken longer, so i just asked them to give me another muffin, told them it was alright and off i went, but a little annoyed with the long wait…

When i got into the church, i headed into the kitchen and where the teens sat and asked if anyone wanted a Blueberry muffin. Grace raised her hand and so i gave it to her, then i walked out. Grace a few moments later came out to say thank you and said she did not eat breakfast that morning…so i paused and thought about how the events happened and said, AH…see how the Lord works…

Now of course for people who do not believe in God, this is just a series of events that ended up helping Miss Grace. But to me, i see the hand of God working to help his children, to teach me a lesson about being impatient and to show how the Lord can reveal himself in such small ways…

—

Sometimes what we think is best for us is really the opposite, sometimes when we follow our own “right” path, we end up going the wrong direction – Jacob -“

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P.S.  The other interesting thing about this story is that Grace gets sick and dizzy if she goes without eating.  So that extra muffin was such a blessing!

 

 

the yearly mother’s day portrait

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I am one proud mama.  With a grateful heart, I thank God for motherhood and all it’s ups and downs. 

I LOVE BEING A MOM!  It is a lot of hard work, yes, but if I had to pick one word to describe it I would say FUN.

 

 

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Happy Mother’s day, Mama!  I love you and thank you for who you are.

“There is one vision that never fades from the soul, and that is the vision of mother and of home.”  ~HH Berkins

 

 

 

 

 

{this moment}

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{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. 

 

 

 

 

inspired by soulemama

kitchen remodel part 2

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“If we ever get into the money I am going to have a kitchen where everything is my height, and none of this pigmy stuff, and maybe 4 ovens, and 12 burners all in a line, and 3 broilers, and a charcoal grill, and a spit that turns.”  ~Julia Child’s dream kitchen, from a letter she wrote to Avis DeVoto in the early years, before cookbook, before fame.  She was over six feet tall so I imagine stooping over regular height counters and stoves got to be tiresome at times.

 

My own dream kitchen is coming along nicely.  The double oven has been installed and I have used it several times.  There is now crown molding above the cabinets, which I think is so pretty.

 

A cabinet detail of “where the garbage will be” (to answer Joanna’s question).  There is a bin for the trash and one for the recycling.

 

A picture of the island before the countertop was installed.  There are 2 big drawers, and four smaller ones, and 2 big cabinets with pull out shelves.

 

The master bedroom is a shambles, full of kitchen items and livingroom stuff (while it is being painted).  I have so much to do to get the house in order.

 

This was the day the granite was installed (I think it was Monday).  The couches were in the middle of the room for painting.

 

The granite was installed and the sink was put in place.

 

Scaffolding was put up and left in the livingroom for several days.  The children loved it.  Meanwhile, Rich and I had to take everything off the walls to add to the piles in our bedroom.  heart

 

 

We had rain yesterday but during the other days the weather was beautiful.  It was so dry and warm that we could keep the doors and windows open, which was very nice when dealing with dust and paint fumes.  It was also nice to take Seth and Sarah outside in the mornings to stay out of the way.

 

 

Caleb, Seth, and Sarah ate popsicles on the scaffolding.  It was taken down yesterday and they were all sad.  So cute.

 

Yesterday the wooden top was put on the island and the faucet was put in place.  I spent some time putting some things back.  It’s starting to look lovely.

 

 

I gave Sarah a bath this morning and then she played at the sink.   The new sink is a stainless steel single basin and deep.  When we picked it out Rich said it would be nice for me to give babies a bath in.  When I started to swoon, he quickly said, “Not that you’ll have anymore of your own, but you will have grandchildren.”  stunned

((2009, baby Seth in the kitchen sink))

 

We still need the dishwashers and range top installed, stools to buy for the island, and the granite back splash put in place.  We also have under cabinet lighting, hardware, a new light fixture above the sink, and the trim work to do before it is completely finished.

I started putting my fiestaware in the open shelving.  Doesn’t it look pretty?

 

We are so thankful for our fresh new kitchen!

 

 

 

Once the new addition is done, the table will be out of the room which will give us plenty of space to use the kitchen and island. 

Despite the chaos, I still try to keep flowers or a candle sitting pretty on the table, because beautiful things are so uplifting.  Today I have an old blue mason jar on it, with a simple twig of pinky-white wild apple blossoms, which I picked the other day from the edge of the woods.

 

 

 

recipe for a morning at the park

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1 abundant blue sky 

2 (or more!) busy little kids

1 cheap plastic golf toy

1 box of chalk

2 balls (one Princess, one Thomas)

lunch

drinks

kindle (for mama)

 

 

Stir all together on a big grassy lawn and let bubble for two hours under a 70 degree sun, or until someone starts to get burned. 

 

Seriously.  The sky was this blue. 

 

We were downtown.  There is just nothing like that hometown joyful feeling of “this is MINE” “THIS is where I live!”

 

It’s supposed to get into the high 70s today.  I’m glad I took the kids out this morning before it got too hot.

We have Kevin here working on the house everyday from 8-3 and it’s best to get away for a few hours (out of his hair).

The children have been climbing on his scaffolding, which is set up in the livingroom, so yeah, we needed to leave until naptime.

I could hear toads calling in the canal nearby which means they are on their way, hopping, to our ponds.  It’s a springtime ritual.

 

We  had such fun at the park, Sarah peed her pants but thankfully with a dress on it didn’t matter much.  She was THRILLED with her new pink princess ball, “I’ve ALWAYS WANTED a princess ball!” she breathed (we made a stop at the drug store for supplies on the way). 

(At the drug store Seth dumped an entire bottle of bubbles out in the aisle right next to me, behind my back.  Oh that Seth.)

 

Subway lunch with a cherry coke for mama.

 

On the kindle:  As Always, Julia:  The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, by Joan Reardon

 

I started it last night and I love it because of the friendship the two of them formed, simply by writing back and forth.  They became friends through their letters before they even met face to face (reminds me of blogging/penpal relationships, too)  The letters are fascinating, and as I have read My Life in France, and also Dearie, it was only a matter of time before I found and read this one.  Avis was influential in getting Mastering the Art of French Cooking published and a great encouragement to Julia. 

 

Some quotes from the first few chapters when Julia was still in France and Avis was in the States: 

“Paul reads to me in the kitchen while I’m getting dinner.”  ~ Julia, about her husband, I thought this was so sweet.

“Will send biographies of Simone and Louisette, and a nice photo of a cold decorated fish.”  ~Julia (LOL) made me laugh

“This is to say thank you thank you thank you for the wire whip……”  ~Avis

“I have just sent you three shallots air mail, and hope the girl at the post office didn’t mash them as she hit them awfully hard all over with her rubber stamp.” ~Julia

 

Life is too short to say no to princess dresses.  Although I had my doubts about it, she managed the slide and the playset just fine in her long fancy dress, thank you very much. heart

 

 

butterflies and cake

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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!  heart

 

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.

 

a song for you “Jesus I am resting, resting”

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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

kitchen remodel part 1

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This is how the kitchen looked the night before Kevin came to start the remodel.  We stayed up late packing everything away.

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First of all, I love my house and I love my kitchen.  However, my husband was not pleased with the way the kitchen has been holding up (or, “falling apart”) since we moved to this house seven years ago.  The cupboards were cracking, some of the doors had already fallen off and he reglued them.  Some of the drawers were missing “stops” so every once in a while someone would pull a drawer completely out, making a big mess.  One of the bigger drawers was stuck shut and no amount of pulling could open it.  While I am not partial to change OR major projects, Rich decided it was time to replace the cupboards and remodel.  He has been the driving force behind this whole experience and I am so thankful that he cares to invest in our “nest”.  We have the finances to do it and are thankful for no borrowing or debt. 

Secondly, this is part one of two major projects.  After the kitchen is done, we are also planning on doing an addition off our current dining table area to a new dining room/corner office/big pantry.  The plans are all drawn up and we hope to get that started in a few weeks.

Rich and I have been making the decisions for the kitchen together, and it’s been fun.  We both loved the look of dark wood for the cabinets, and we chose a nice solid cherry.  We picked out a double oven, decided to put in a second dishwasher, and found a flat top range that is bigger than what we had.  I look forward to cooking many meals (and I may even look forward to cleaning up!) for our big family over the years with a lot more ease in our new kitchen set-up.

At the same time, I feel extremely humbled, and frequently tear up, because really, there is no need for such luxury.  I take it as a gift of love from my husband, which is what it is.

 

Having Kevin working in the house every day was awkward at first but we quickly got used to him, he’s a very nice man and is so patient with us, with Seth especially.  Dear Seth is very inspired and now considers himself A Builder, too.  He wants to help, he wants to participate.  I have to work on keeping him out from under foot. 

I appreciate that Kevin is a neat worker, always sweeping and vacuuming up after himself. 

This is what the kitchen looked like after day 1.  He removed all the cupboards and the half wall.  (there is a big dumpster sitting in the driveway outside) I was thankful to be able to use the sink, oven, and dishwasher for one more day.

 

On the next day, the kitchen and livingroom were filled with boxes of cabinetry.  This was very exciting for the kids. 

 

 

See that very narrow piece in sort of the middle?  *SPICE DRAWER!*  I’m just thrilled as I have wasted so much time in the past, digging around searching for a particular spice for recipes.  I plan on organizing them alphabetically. 

The lower cabinets all have pull out shelves.

 

As you can see, the black stand is moved into the middle of the livingroom.  This is so the electrician can place the cords of the tv behind the wall.  Yes, we are also having other little house projects done at the same time, including a full paint job in the livingroom and kitchen.

 

The silverware is in the livingroom, along with the coffee maker and some dishes.  The master bedroom is full of groceries, kitchen linens, small appliances, and dishes.

I love love love the cabinetry!  I keep going out to open and shut the doors.  (the doors shut silently!  You let go half way and it slowly shuts on it’s own)  And I love that we no longer have that half wall anymore.  Instead, we have a long island.  We chose a wood top for it, and granite for the counters.  We will fit four stools at the island.  Ethan said it will be like a restaurant.  After the new addition is done, the table will no longer be in the room.

I requested bookshelves at the end for my cookbooks.  I started moving them into place!

 

The table and bathroom have become my temporary kitchen.  I laugh as I wash up the dishes in the bathroom sink.  I dump the leftover milky cheerios into the toilet and flush ’em down, then scrub everything up in the itty bitty sink. 

I have the crock pot out and have made soup and hot dogs.  I also heated up leftovers in it.  Crock pots are so handy!

I have the toaster ready and available on a bench by the table, too.

With no oven for the last week, we have been eating lots of deli food (macaroni salad, potato salad), sandwiches, and fruits.  The children have cold cereal and toast each morning for breakfast.  Dinners are a little harder because they are so used to my good hot meals (LOL).  It’s been mainly sandwiches, but we did order pizza last night, to Ethan’s great delight.

 

Washing the crock pot insert in the bathroom sink.  So weird, that I had to take a picture.

 

Today Kevin started painting and is almost done with the kitchen ceiling.  He also put the microwave back into place and ran an extension cord so that we can use it tonight.  My boys will be so thrilled, it’s been such a great experience for them to go without an oven for a week, now they now how good they have it.  I know there is away to make a single serving of scrambled eggs in a coffee mug.  (we need to use up eggs!)

Tomorrow the oven will be set up and the cords to the TV will be in place so I can move that crazy black stand back into place.  Kevin also plans on putting up the crown molding along the top of the cabinets, too.

Things are a little topsy turvy here– and there are definitely moments when I pull my hair out (so to speak) but it has gone well so far.  I am managing a household of nine, with five school children, two of which are in sports, and two preschoolers who are so very busy, but I will never complain, that’s for sure.  This is a girl’s dream come true!  I love my life.

I dream of kitchens lately and I can’t wait to move into mine!

 

video of a sad frog

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Each new year is a surprise to us.  We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird, and when we hear it again, it is remembered like a dream, reminding us of a previous state of existence…..the voice of nature is always encouraging.  Henry David Thoureau

Green spaces may enable children to think more clearly and cope more effectively with life stress……   Nancy Wells

 

 

Nature Observations for the last weekend in April, 2013

*David caught frogs, and they cried
*The whole family went on a walk through our woods-saw 2 snakes and a beaver! flowers.  Seth lost his boots in the stream.  Skunk cabbage, frog eggs
*Seth climbed a tree for the first time
*David and E went fishing
*violets
*Snickers chased a bumble bee
*Parker caught and ate a big tadpole
*Rich and I hiked 2.3 miles on our date night, saw a snake, vernal pool, a lookout point, mountail laurel (not in bloom yet)
*Sarah watered the garden
*the peas are up
*David collected worms
*the peach tree is in bloom
*We had a picnic-saw hawks flying overhead
*Grace, Sarah, and I watched a colony of ants for a long time
*E and David only go barefoot
*Ethan saw the channel catfish in the pond and got excited

 

We have some pine trees around the pond and Seth (age four) climbed up in one for the first time.  I was proud, and wasn’t worried.  Ethan, David, and I sat on the grass beneath and kept an eye on him.  David, however, was very concerned.  When Seth decided to descend, David got up.  “I can’t take this anymore.  MOM!  He’s gonna fall!”  He ran off, not able to watch.  Ethan got in the tree to help his little brother.  All was well.

 

Ethan and Parker the dog.  HIS dog.

 

Snickers our one and only cat (but we are getting 2 kittens soon, from the contractor who is working on our kitchen!)

 

I filled up this watering can over and over so that Sarah could water the flowers.   She liked it very much and even talked to the flowers while she gave them a drink.

 

I asked Rich about taking the children on a walk through the woods and he was willing, so the nine of us got ready and went up into the woods by our house.  Little tender leaves are starting to grow on the trees and bushes.

 

We went to the beaver pond.  We were all thrilled that we got to see a beaver swimming in the water.  (I couldn’t get a picture of it though)

 

The beaver pond is shallow and the frogs are numerous.  The boys had a good time wading in and catching them, especially David.  He and Ethan went barefoot on our walk, which made it easy to come and go from the water.

 

 

 

Caleb, our snake lover, had a thrill.  While he was sitting, hot, upon this fallen down tree, Rich spotted a snake in the water right next to him.

 

David rushed right over to try and catch it but he wasn’t quite brave enough.  It got away.

 

See it? 

 

 

I found a patch of marsh marigold growing by the stream.

 

David found an old set of mushrooms, they puff smoke when you squeeze them.

 

 

A wildflower that I recognize from my childhood.  We had these growing in the woods by our house.

 

Exploring the stream.  The big boys collected interesting rocks from it. 

 

The kids like to pull these hard mushrooms/fungi from the trees to carve pictures on them.

 

These pretty white flowers were everywhere.

 

 

 

pretty moss

 

David and Ethan continued up to the swamp and found lots of frog eggs.

 

muddy knees

 

 

This moss was dry and felt like wool. 

 

 

By the end of the weekend, Dave had a sunburn and he had caught a cooler full of fish (with Ethan) out of our pond.

 

Sarah’s little hiking sandals.

 

Rich, repairing the fishing poles.

 

Little Sarah saw so many interesting things this weekend.  We were all good and tired from all the fresh air.

 

 

 

 

 

And now, for a special treat for your viewing pleasure.  Did you know that sometimes a frog will cry pitifully as a defense mechanism if you catch them?  They open their mouths right up and make the saddest noise.  We got it on video.  (Don’t worry, no one got hurt, and the frogs are always treated kindly and put back in the ponds after the boys are done with them)

 

 

 

 The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.  John Muir, age 74

Nature is the chart of God, marking out all His attributes.  anonymous