What’s been happening at home?  Well, as you can imagine, in a household of our large-ish size, there is never a dull moment.

1.  We’ve been putting on make up and fixing our hair.

I was standing in front of the sink, getting ready to go, not really paying much attention to Sarah’s new heights and then…..when I saw what she had done to grow “so tall”, I snapped a picture of my littlest best girlfriend.

2.  We’ve been hugging on the couch.

This occurs daily.

3.  The boys drew masks on their faces. 

It was funny the first time but not the second.  Or third.  I never want to see another marker again.

4.  We made pancakes on  Saturday morning.

In our pajamas.  I love flipping cakes for seven!

5.  We got new coats.

From a children’s consignment shop.  Sarah’s is BabyGap, Caleb’s is camo fleece. 

6. They painted pumpkins.

But we did not carve any.

7.  They played with my spices.

It’s one of their favorite things to do.  Imagine, these blocks NEVER get scattered throughout the house and lost. 

8.  I got over a fear. 

I haven’t had a panic attack in over a year but I do sometimes worry that I will. 

9.  Seth finally discovered the joys of Thomas the Tank Engine. 

And it didn’t take him long to think of making repairs on Caleb’s old trains. 

10.  Seth read Sarah The Jolly Pancake.

He had Caleb fooled until I told him he had memorized it.

11.  I made homemade bread and cinnamon rolls.

Oh yum.

12.  Sarah had tea with her roll.

“Is it my birthday?” She asked.

13.  David started another weaving.

He learned how to do it at school.

14.  They played my phone.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s their phone, or mine?

15.  Ethan got his hair cut.

Don’t worry, it’s just a BB gun.

16.  I made a quiche.

Into an unbaked pastry crust, pour a mixture of 4 eggs, a cup of cream or milk, a half cup of chopped ham, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, 1/2 t. each of salt and dry mustard. 375 until done.

17.  I made bean soup.

Combine 1 pound dry navy beans (rinsed and drained), 6 cups chicken broth, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped celery stalk, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 bay leaf….into a crock pot.  Cook on high for one hour and then on low for 10 hours.  When beans are tender, add one can diced tomatoes.  You may also add a ham bone to the mixture in the beginning.  A very fragrant soup.  The children turned up their noses but I said it was “special soup that will produce magic sounds later on.”  Ha ha.

18.  I relaxed with my cat and some new books.

I love to read to the sound of purring.

19. David made a spaghetti dinner all by himself.

He is just like his Dad.

20.  We went out on a date.

I love him.

Life is not
measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath
away.
— Unknown

Today I want to share some photos from the missions trip that some of our church family went on.  There were 28 people in the team, from our church and some other area churches.  I had mentioned last week that my 13 year old daughter went on the trip, but what I didn’t mention was that my husband Rich and our oldest son Jacob were also on the team. 

You see, I have promised my Father-in-law that I wouldn’t write about Rich being gone on trips…..it made him nervous about that information being “out” on the internet while the kids and I were alone at home.  I am proud that I kept the secret, because I was so excited about sharing with you.  Yes, Rich was gone with the kids for 7 days and we were only able to talk ONCE during that time because he had no phone service in that area of Jamaica.  I bring that up because by the end of the week I was suffering from missing him so much.   But it was worth it.  They had a great time of fellowship with believers, and also sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the unsaved people.  They took in supplies and did some work helping the people after the damaging winds of hurricane Sandy.

I have been hearing stories since they got back late Saturday night, but because I wasn’t there I really don’t understand the full impact of this trip.  I took pictures from Facebook that I will share here, taken by several different people (thank you for letting me use them!)  Jacob took my camera and I will share some of his photography on a different day.

This is our pastor and his wife, Gary and Michelle

Grace (orange shirt) with some of the girls from the team, and their new Jamaican friends.

My son Jacob, with the camera on the shore. 

When they got back, Jacob remarked how thankful he was that we lived in such a clean country.

The men, women, and children of Jamaica are incredibly happy and friendly, despite (or, perhaps because of) their lack of personal possessions. 

Jacob jumping off a bridge.

Rich preached and taught Bible studies.

Jacob in a tree.

Rich and Grace sang a duet.

Jacob, Grace, and Rich

A member of the team, street preaching.

The men helped with some outdoor work (Rich is wearing the red t-shirt)

They slept in this building “The Globe” to the sounds of barking dogs, people talking, and roosters crowing.  Some wore ear plugs at night so they could sleep.  I heard stories of lots of late nights, too.  (having fun after a day of work)

Tabitha, enjoying the beauty of Jamaica.

The chickens ran wild all over the place.

happy faces!

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

The children and I had a good week while they were gone but I started getting an empty feeling (missing my husband) toward the end.  Rich and I had a happy reunion and went on a date Sunday night together. 

And then, yesterday, he surprised me by coming home early from work.  My heart was content, having him near again.

I hope you enjoyed the photos from this life-changing experience for Rich, Jacob, and Grace.  They were able to spend some meaningful time serving the Lord in this way.  They made new friends and became closer to each other, too.  

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another,  for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows  God.

{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

The snow started coming down as I was driving home from Bible Study yesterday.  Seth saw it out the windows and said, “It’s snow?  It’s Christmas now!”

I kept glancing at the temperature; 35 degrees -and such a cold wind, making it seem even colder.  I was thankful that I had gotten Seth and Sarah their winter coats just a week ago.

When I stopped the car in the driveway, we hopped out to see the snow.  I was curious to see the expressions of my two youngest ones who don’t remember much of last year’s snow.  It was so cold we didn’t stay out for long.

Can you see the wonder in their faces?

Hours later, the snow was still coming down.

I took this picture through the living room window.

I assured Ethan that there would still be school the next day, but sure enough, we both got up at 5:30 a.m. only to discover that our school was CLOSED.

IT’s THE FIRST SNOW DAY OF THE YEAR.

I had to go take care of my chickens and ended up wandering around to see the unbelievable sights (wasn’t it JUST summer?)

The ponds were so pretty.  It’s not cold enough for them to freeze and they are still dark, soft, glowing liquid.

Like giant, rippling mirrors.

This is the stream which borders our property; another place of wonder and magic.

Parker, our dog, couldn’t follow me because of his hidden fence, so he just stood and looked longingly at me, letting out a few excited barks now and then.

By the time I had meandered to the edge of the woods, two of my boys had come outside to enjoy the snow.

Caleb (7 years) and Davy (10 years).  They both got up after I took the picture and requested their own personal copies. 

I handed the camera to Davy and he took a picture of me in my snow clothes.

Honking geese flew overhead and he aimed the camera right up to the sky and took this picture;

They found ice hanging off the dock and ate it. A simple, delicious treat.

David threw this poor hen out the coop window and she was so afraid of landing in the snow that she hung off the fence for a minute before dropping down.  She went straight back home to the coop.

When I came back to the house Sarah got right up to my face with her big eyes and said, “YOU CAME BACK!”

It’s 8:09 a.m. and the boys are getting ready to make snow men.

My little seventh baby is almost two-and-a-half.  She looked so bright and cheerful this morning that I got the camera out.

This morning, I woke up thinking about my daughter Grace.  She turned thirteen today. 

However, Grace isn’t home and I can’t sing Happy Birthday to her.  Her room is empty and my heart aches today, missing her.  Guess where she is? 

JAMAICA.

She is in Jamaica, experiencing her first missions trip with a group of other people from our church.  They left yesterday morning and will be back next Saturday.  They had a lot of gospel-work/preaching/teaching/children’s activities planned but I heard this morning that the area they are visiting was hit hard by hurricane Sandy and they may be doing more “hands on” work than originally planned.  If you think of her, maybe you could pray for the team, that they would be safe and involved in lots of meaningful work.  I know it will be life changing for her.

Since she is not home on her birthday, I took a few pictures of some little things that remind me of sweet Grace.

I spent some time looking at her special Winnie the Pooh baby book.  Little Sarah saw Pooh’s picture and excitedly said, “SHAMPOO!” 

I can’t believe Grace was this tiny.  She was our smallest baby, born at 5 pounds and 13 ounces.

In her bedroom, I noticed that she found and framed this snapshot of her and Jacob, her oldest brother whom she admires and respects very much.  I look at this picture and smile at their baby faces.

When Grace goes to thrift stores and antique shops with me, she is always drawn to the little things; like this dog figurine, tiny basket, and sea shells.

And this bird.

I found this book on her bed.  This is one of her favorite authors.

She collects snow globes and yes, she has her own fiesta tea set (just like mama).

When we named her Grace, we hardly had any knowledge of what God’s grace meant to us in our lives.  Even now, thirteen years later, I wonder if I really grasp the boundless beauty of life with Christ.  But I do know this, every day I am thankful for HIS GRACE, and so glad we named our daughter after one of the most lovely spiritual gifts from God. 

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”

 A daughter is a day brightener and a heart
warmer.
— Author Unknown

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

Having a time out for almost accidently defacing his mama with a flying tennis racket. 

These are the golden days of learning, and providing the family with lots of stories to remember.

I love you, precious boy of mine.

Happy Hollillween!

(Caleb’s original spelling)

Yesterday afternoon, while the storm blew around us and the children ran around in the house, I mixed up some homemade bread.  The recipe is HERE.  I doubled it.  There are two loaves left today and it’s still fresh and soft. 

We got through hurricane Sandy just fine.  Our power flickered on and off all afternoon but we never were without electricity.  We did lose cable/Internet but that was kinda nice.  The games came out; Apples to Apples, and Monopoly.

Rich was able to go to work today, and the children had another day off from school so I also ventured out.  The eight of us went to Savers and then to the mall.  I wanted to get Ethan and Jacob’s hair cut but the mall was closed; only Barnes and Noble and the children’s play area was open. 

I scored this pair of clippety-clop clogs at Savers, Hannah Anderson, for only 8 dollars. They fit perfectly, too. 

Sarah and Seth scored some “vintage” Fisher Price toys.  Now all they need are some of those nice plastic people, the ones with the round ball for the head.

Baby Gap canvas sneakers; 1.99.

But, we really went for the books.  I was especially pleased with the Eloise Wilkin illustrated Birds book, and the Garth Williams illustrated Chicken book.

When we got back home, I hung clothes out on the line.  The sun came out ever so briefly but for the most part it’s been a very colorless day outside.

The wind still gusts now and then.  The clothes were flapping on the line and took no time to dry.

It’s been so wonderful having the children home.  Caleb caught me walking around the pond and ran down to join me.  HE WANTED to be with his mama.

To our surprise, Grace heard us talking and came out of the chicken coop.  It was a regular good ol’ time.

We didn’t lose any trees in this storm, but a few branches came down and the pond rose up to new heights; almost reaching the top of the dock.

The dryer is humming, Grace is singing, Ethan is playing the guitar, Seth is crying, a door just opened and shut, and Sarah is pattering around in her new little shoes.

The sounds of home.

Hope you’re having a lovely day, friends.