Grace was sitting pretty in a sunbeam when she did her homework the other day. 

She and her friend Jenna are having lots of fun pretending to be John Watson and Sherlock Holmes.  They have written 44 long letters back and forth as S. and J.  Grace keeps them all in a binder.  They have also both learned Morse code as part of the fun.  Someday I will have to sneak a peek and share here what they are imagining.  IF Grace will let me.

In the busy kitchen, Ethan made homemade waffles after school on Monday.  I got to eat one and it was delicious.

And later on that same day, Jacob made an authentic Norwegian potato and meatball soup, from scratch.  It was for a school project having to do with family heritage.  Jacob’s great great Grandfather came from Norway in the 1920’s and landed on Ellis Island.  He was a teen when he came to America, and paid his way on the ship by working as part of the crew. Jacob made the soup and called his Grandma to get the information about his family tree.  The next morning, he carried the whole pot to school to add to the other dishes that his classmates made.  Jacob was so proud of this soup and wants to make it again sometime. 

Poor E.  I was supposed to purchase a Boston Cream Pie for his birthday, but the bakery didn’t have any that day.  I had to get cake instead.  However, I did get him an eclair for his after school snack, which sort of made up for it.

I love all the hands in this picture.  Jacob lit the candles for his brother’s cakes.  One cake was chocolate and the other was vanilla.  They were good, but the frosting was made with shortening and I prefer butter. 

He was determined to blow out all the candles in one breath, and he did.  His brother David is also in the picture…..they are five years apart but have been such pals lately.  Last night they worked together on Origami.  This is what they made:

It’s Origami Yoda.  I can’t tell you all the little white papers I’ve been picking up, and half folded Yodas that were ultimately cast aside.  David in particular is very very “in” to folding, any time, any place.  It’s the cutest thing.

All because of This Book.

Last night’s dinner was a crock pot ham and a big tossed salad.  For the ham, I put a cup of brown sugar in the crock pot, then the ham.  I usually have to trim the top off the ham so the cover will fit.  Then, I pat on another cup of sugar and put it on low setting all day long.  It ends up perfectly cooked in a pot of salty/sugary juice that tastes so good with the meat.  It’s one of Grace’s favorite meals.

I decided to serve it with just the salad and I think we needed the freshness because we all had seconds and Ethan had a fifth helping.  Sarah, after dinner, kept running with her little feet to grab another lettuce leaf out of the bowl to nibble.  She was calling it “gum”…”I gotta go get another gum”.

Sarah got new jammies this week…she LOVES them and never wants to take them off.  She adores matching her Bitty Baby.

We had a dusting of snow fall all morning long.  Yes, it’s pretty but I am cold and I want to be warm. 

Seth woke up with an awful cough.  As he sat on my lap this morning he made all kinds of strange coughing sounds, amusing himself and alarming his family.

I said, “Don’t worry, Seth, you’ll feel better.  I’ll put some Vicks on your chest.”

He jumped up and stared and said, “What’s Fix?”

Caleb and David the happy Yoda-folder running to the bus this morning…(7:30 am)

This weekend I took the time to divide two plants that my Mom had given me a few years ago.  I was able to divide them into thirds, I once had two and now have six!  One is Aloe, and the other is a Snake plant.  I grouped them up to take a picture and then dispersed them around the house.

One of our favorites:  The Chicken Book by Garth Williams. 

I finished reading Anna Karenina, and am now about to embark on War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.  I’m anticipating it like I would a feast.

But first I have to finish Jane Eyre.

March 5, 1998

I was twenty two years old and already had a 14 month old little boy named Jacob.  I went to the doctor’s office on the day Ethan was born, for a regular check up.  I wasn’t in labor, everything was fine, and back home I went for a nap.  Just as I was getting settled and sleepy, the contractions started coming.  I think I still miss the nap I lost that day. *ha ha*  At that time, Rich was working from home, and when I went downstairs to tell him it was time, he couldn’t believe it.  I called my Mom and she came to get Jacob and take him home with her.  I was sad watching them drive away down the road, but excited to soon meet our new baby. 

Labor was fast and very painful.  I was progressing fast enough on my own, but my Doctor went ahead and gave me pitocin to speed things along even faster (she was scheduled to go on vacation that afternoon, which may or may not have had anything to do with it).  Oh the agony of “natural” childbirth with labor enhancing drugs — it was no surprise that I had an epidural for the NEXT baby (Grace)……..

Regardless, Ethan was born perfectly healthy, at 6 pounds 7 ounces, and 19 inches long. 

We named him Ethan (because we loved the name) Gregory (after my Dad).  He was a perfectly lovely baby in every way.  Our second son.  We were so proud.

March 5, 2013

Fifteen years have come and gone so quickly and it is true that I love Ethan now, even more than before.  In the last fifteen years, Jacob and Ethan have been inseparable, and he has become a big brother to five more siblings, Grace, David, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah.  They all adore brother E.

Ethan is a healthy, cheerful young man who loves Jesus, his family, the outdoors, computer games, and food.  He has amazing self-confidence and believes he can do anything he sets his mind to.  He is a talented cook, (made homemade waffles for himself after school yesterday) but he cannot and will not clean unless I make him.  He is in ninth grade, plays the guitar, and gets better grades than any of his siblings….he is also involved in sports and is currently anticipating baseball season.  He loves having his classmates around him all day and when I ask him if he wants to be homeschooled again he says, “My friends would miss me.” He loves life and is only depressed when there is “nothing to eat in the house.”

I found this picture of him on my camera.  He took it himself with the timer, and uses it as his Facebook profile picture.

I took this one recently, when he was outside on the driveway, shooting baskets.

I thought he would ask to stay home from school today but he has testing going on.  While he is gone, I am driving to a bakery to pick up his most favorite dessert; a Boston Cream pie. Later on this evening, after his favorite dinner, the family will gather around the table for yet another birthday celebration, for one of the most wonderful boys in all the world.  We are truly blessed.

It’s thirty degrees outside.  FREEZING.  I had to walk back and forth to the chicken coop twice this morning.  Once to feed them and once to water them.

We had no milk (!) in the house and I cannot rest when this family is out of milk (wish I had a cow) so I took Seth and Sarah to the grocery store and got six gallons; I think we should be all set for the week, here’s hoping.  I bought some nice canned plum tomatoes and am going to make sauce later….and make a big gooey lasagna for dinner. 

I carried in bag after bag of groceries, and thought how nice it was that I could get a work out as I stocked up on food for the week. 

The littles are currently watching a chip n dale cartoon on YouTube.  I had to laugh, because when Sarah Joy saw what I was doing (turning on YouTube) she cried out, “NO!  Not Clara!”  I guess she’s tired of me watching those cooking shows. 

I twisted Sarah’s hair up into a tiny little bun the other day…..here she is, sitting pretty at the old easel, drawing nice.

Here she is, after I took her hair out at bedtime;

Rich had to show her what she looked like, in the mirror.

Speaking of hair styles, yesterday morning, I put some braids in the girls’ hair, for church.  Grace’s hair is past her waist now.

I am so thankful for these daughters of mine.

S I S T E R S

Grace and I have been doing puzzles lately.  It’s relaxing and fun.  She and I can talk, tease each other, or sing as we work.  Sometimes one of the boys will come along and help, but it’s mostly just the two of us.  The one we are working on now is 500 pieces and we got this far on it and then Sarah destroyed it.  We had to start over.  Sarah promises she won’t do that again. 

Happiness is picking up flowers at the grocery store, food for the soul. 

Sarah with her pretty baby pony.  She’s at the age where she’s always got a little toy in her hands.

What my living room looks like right now.

“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”   Louisa May Alcott

I love my kitchen and spend a lot of time here.  As a stay at home mom with the kitchen to turn to whenever the mood strikes (and even when it doesn’t), I now have almost 20 years of cooking and baking experience, and there is always something new to learn.  My goal this week is to try making an angel food cake for the first time. 

They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home.  Life-giving nourishment is lovingly prepared and served here, and around the kitchen table so much family history is made; games to play with loud laughter, puzzles to quietly work on, food to eat, books to read, prayers to pray.

It’s fun to have fresh baked treats to offer when the children come home from school, and the baking urge usually hits me at around 1:30.

On this day, Davy came home from school and said, “Oh good!  You made enough to last a whole day!”  And then promptly took half a dozen.  I had a lot of fun placing the m n m’s on each cookie, just so. 

Homemade bread, which used to be so very common, is now a special treat.  I love my new pullman bread pan, which makes a perfectly lovely square loaf.  I recently made fresh apple bread, with sweet vanilla scented dough.  Recipes from Sarabeth’s Bakery lovely cookbook.

Yesterday I made a copycat recipe for Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies.

I tried a new banana muffin, with crumb topping.  Hannah passed the recipe along to me, and recommended adding a teaspoon of vanilla, which I did.  They were delicious.

I made my husband’s favorite muffin this morning for breakfast; blueberry.

Of course, we don’t always eat baked goods and each afternoon I consider the question we all ponder daily, “What’s for dinner?”  Usually by the time I get it on the table, there isn’t a thought in my head to take a picture.  I think my favorite new recipe that I tried was Alton Brown’s recipe for Swedish meatballs.  Yum!

I make Sarah do the dishes.  It takes her all day.

(JUST KIDDING!)

This spring, I’m getting an updated kitchen!  We are replacing the cupboards and adding another dishwasher and a double oven.  I took a picture of the email we got, with the draw-up.

We are taking out the long counter and putting in a huge island, with bar stools.  At the end of the island will be a bookcase for all my cookbooks.  The new cupboards will go to the ceiling, and I requested some open shelving so that I can display my fiestaware collection.

At the same time as the remodel, we will also be putting on an addition off the kitchen, with a new space to put the table, and also a big pantry.

It’s going to be a lot of chaos for a while this spring, but it will be worth it. 

 “You will be surprised how much adventure can enter into ordinary things.”  Laura Ingalls Wilder

abundance.

this is the face i see when he’s got a certain hunger and there is “nothing to eat in the house”.

brothers.

journal and coffee time.

rich and i took the children to crackerbarrel for breakfast; we went to *the one that we used to go to before we moved* and there was a waitress that recognized us and came over to say hi and told us how it was so nice to see our family again.  it made me feel good to be remembered, she was so friendly and kind.

jacob and grace.

sarah joy has such personality and i love to see her bright happy face and listen to her cheerful little words.

i see contentment.

on the way home, rich did a u-turn just past a garden center.  he wanted to buy me something.  we left the all the kids safely inside the vehicle (with Jacob in charge) and he took my hand.  we took 10 minutes to chose a rosemary plant and it sure smells good, strong and earthy.

we had a nice young man over for dinner on saturday night; the little ones always get so crazy-excited when someone visits.

my homemade pizza.

not pictured; the homemade chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, for dessert.

thankful, for a full weekend, family and friends.

{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.

with my firstborn

Begin Again

Every day is a fresh beginning,
Every morn is the world made new;
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,
Here is a beautiful hope for you–
A hope for me and a hope for you.

All the past things are past and over,
The tasks are done and the tears are shed;
Yesterday’s wounds, which smarted and bled,
Are healed with the healing which night has shed.

Yesterday now is a part of forever,
Bound up in a sheaf, which God holds tight;
With glad days and sad days and bad days which never
Shall visit us more with their bloom and their blight,
Their fullness of sunshine or sorrowful night.

Let them go, since we cannot relive them,
Cannot undo, and cannot atone;
God in his mercy, receive, forgive them;
Only the new days are our own,
Today is ours, and today alone.

Here are the skies all burnished brightly,
Here is the spent Earth all reborn,
Here are the tired limbs springing lightly
To face the sun and to share with the morn,
In the chrism of dew and the cool of dawn.

Every day is a fresh beginning;
Listen,  my soul, to the glad refrain,
And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning,
And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
Take heart with the day, and begin again.

Susan Coolidge

This fresh, new, sunny morning I found myself taken with the desire to feel my cheeks, nose, lips, and ears turn numb in the fresh cold wind of the beautiful outdoors.  Let me assure you, it did not take long.  But I took in deep gulps of air, imagining the old house air leaving my lungs and the pure winter air coming inside me, to invigorate.

I walked down the road and took a picture of the sparkling stream and then turned around to take a picture of our home…and you can see how far I went, not far at all, just enough for a mama to briefly escape with quick steps, and a camera.

Yes, I have been greatly thankful for the sunshine today!

I did my morning chores while Seth and Sarah played so nice around the house, upstairs and downstairs they went. 

A few weeks ago, while my parents were visiting, Mom and Grace and I went to an old junk shop place and I found this wooden easel.  It was only fifteen dollars and it adjusts in many different ways.  I set it up for the children and today our big easel paper came in the mail.  They got right to work fighting over the purple marker.  Everything is an opportunity for character building at this age. 

I had a great time laughing when I decided to sit them on the counter and show them baking ingredients.  We didn’t bake anything, I just opened things up, asked them what color they saw (“the box is orange”  “the powder is white”), and let them touch and taste each thing.  Seth thought the sugar was salt and he thought the cocoa powder tasted like chicken.  Sarah made the strangest face when she tasted the vanilla (I put a drop on her palm).  With all the baking they’ve watched me do, they were almost completely ignorant about what was what.  So we had a lesson and it was great fun.  We studied cornmeal, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, flour, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, oats (Sarah spit hers out after a few chews, even though I told her “HORSIES eat oats!”), cocoa powder, and lastly, cinnamon candies (which they both spit out and Seth said it was pepper, a very encouraging observation).

Sarah got sad about something and left.  She said, “I’m going in your room and shutting the door!” and she did.  Seth soon followed and I gave them about thirty seconds before I quickly went to see what they were doing.  Seth was trying to get on my Kindle and Sarah was going to jump but “I might fall down and hit my head.  And cry.  And be sad.”  So she didn’t.

We popped bubble wrap instead from Papa’s box that he got yesterday.  Oh the joys of simple pleasures……

Seth even fit in a little baseball practice outside.  I love how he knows to keep that pointer finger OUT of the glove.  He just loves baseball.

We had pb and j for lunch and read five books.  The little dears are taking their naps now while I enjoy the quiet house.

I’m thankful for my Bible study teacher who called this morning and prayed with me over the phone.

I’m thankful for the time I was able to spend at the table, writing to one of my dear friends.

Soon the others will be home to do homework, eat snacks, and spend time together. 

I love our late afternoon snuggles in front of the TV, piled up on the couch.  My Caleb is such a soft, big teddy bear.

Last night Rich and I played a rousing game of PIT after dinner with the four oldest, and I think we may do that again tonight.

“Faint not—fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.”  M.Babcock, D.D.

you are loved

Yesterday was a full house.  Besides my own seven children, we had two extra teenagers over for the day.  My friend Kathy also came over with four of her little ones.  I remember my mom taking a picture of the shoes by the door after my brother Isaac came home from school one day with a big group of friends….that’s me now.  The shoes and coats by the door were incredible, I pointed them out to Kathy and we laughed. 

For lunch *for a crowd*, I used Pioneer Woman’s fantastic recipe for pizza dough (from her cookbook), and seriously cut back on the cheese topping.  I realized, after watching one of 94 year old Clara’s youtube videos, that there really is no need for an abundance of cheese.  It’s much easier to eat and a lot more healthy with just a generous sprinkling.  Kathy helped me, and Davy made one pizza himself, too.  We made  a total of five pizzas and they were ALL GONE right away.  All fifteen of us liked the pizza and then, oh joy, Kathy cleaned up while I drank coffee at the table.

The children are back to school today and I admit, I enjyed the quieter mornin

After getting Seth and Sarah settled, I walked over the hard snow to the chicken coop.  The ponds were so pretty.  They have a new layer of ice on top from the rain we got yesterday.  I could hear a bird singing in the woods and I wondered what it was.

There is a long path through the snow to the coop.  The chickens were happy to see me with their daily bowl of kitchen scraps.  I carried a grocery bag in my pocket to carry the fresh eggs home in.  We have so many eggs now, I need to find customers and lots of recipes using 3 or more eggs. 

I could hear Sarah talking away, so I snuck upstairs to see what they were doing.  She was taking stickers out of Caleb’s sticker book, and Seth was standing on a chair looking at things on the bookshelf.

I was disappointed in Seth yesterday when he broke the door completely off Sarah’s pottery barn kitchen sink!!!!!!!

Sarah says, “Daddy has to fix this.”

Seth isn’t feeling well, he started running a fever last night.  He lays around with his bear and then gets up to try and play.

Sarah hurt her finger five days ago, she touched the treadmill while it was running and got a burn blister.  She’s been babying the finger and keeps it wrapped up in her blanket as she wanders around the house.  It had a bandaid on it until last night when I had to force her to let me take it off so it could dry.  Thankfully, she’s been forgetting about it now and then today, and using her hand again.  Silly girlie.

What to do with a sick boy and a one-handed girl?  A nice little puzzle and lots of reading.  We are enjoying Jan Brett books very much, especially The Gingerbread Baby.

What would February in the Northeast be without the end of winter blues?  I finally gave in and bought a light, according to the suggestions of several of my xanga pals through the years.

I’m using it for the first time, as I type.