We had a lovely weather weekend.  It was in the 50’s here, which feels great after a cold winter.  The children were so busy playing that they got too warm and shed their jackets.  Some even shed shoes.

I am sick with the common cold, common yet bothersome.  I don’t know how many times I woke up last night with my mouth so dry.  Ethan also has a bad cold.  Seems like every change of seasons brings some sort of adjustment to our immune systems.

I can’t complain, though.  It’s been a nice weekend and today is also sunny and beautiful. 

Rich took me for a little date to Anthropologie on Saturday, just the two of us.  One of my favorite little memories of the weekend was when we were picking me out a new pair of earrings.  He was holding them up to my ears and we were talking and laughing together.  I got the prettiest pair of red flower earrings.

I also got this sweet egg holder for my fridge.  I love the robin’s egg blue color of it.  For the photo, it is displayed on a vintage tablecloth that my mom gave me.

Flowers are coming up in the garden.  Grace was just as excited as I was.  Today or tomorrow our crocus’ will be opened.

The boys have been very industrious at the pond.  They are mining ice crystals.  Rich and I sat and watched them for a while on Saturday.

They break the ice off the edge with a rake or a shovel or a stick, and scoop it to land.

See the texture of the ice…….

It breaks right apart into pretty crystals.  We think they are beautiful and the children nibble on them, even Seth.  He got really mad when his hands started freezing, though.  I never dreamed pond water could freeze so clear and clean looking.

Davy did some ice fishing.  He chopped a hole in the ice and made himself a fishing pole out of a train piece, yarn, and a hook at the end.

There was some play in the sandbox, too.

I caught Ethan drinking out of the stream.

Now that skating is done for the year, the boys have been throwing things on the ice.  An occasional stick or rock is fine, but we had to draw the line at……tires.  I made Ethan go out and get it.  We were all waiting by the edge, watching….don’t worry, if he had fallen in it the water was not over his head at this point in the pond.  It was still really exciting, though.  He made it there and back again, safe and sound.

Rich and the boys cleaned out the chicken coop and put down bags of fresh wood shavings.  Grace watched the chickens out the coop windows.

And guess who lost a front tooth?

A new look for Davy……..

He was thrilled to discover sap dripping off a tree branch outside, and he enjoyed tasting it.  (He is standing on a rock to reach the branch).  He was playing under the tree and felt the drops hitting his head and that is how he discovered “that wet stuff that we saw dripping in buckets at that farm we went to”.  Sweet tasting sap.  Want some?

I can’t believe that spring is arriving.  We had all sorts of tell-tale signs of it this weekend, and it felt wonderful to get so much fresh air.  Soon the ground will get soft and we will be dealing with lots of muddy clothes and feet.  Oh and guess what?  I was so happy to hang clothes out on the clothesline again, too!  The sheets smell wonderful after drying outside in the crisp air.

Thank you for the interest in the glittery eggs.  The winner of them is Sep1.  I wish I could share them with each one of you. 

How about some directions?  They are so easy to make.  I poked pea-sized holes in the bottom of each egg with a metal skewer from the kitchen.  Then, I shook out the contents into a bowl, and scrambled them up for breakfast.

After rinsing them off (and out) with water, I let the empty eggs sit and dry for a day (not sure if it is necessary to let them dry that long).  I used a glue pen to color on the glue, and then shook Martha Stewart glitter (from Micheal’s craft store) all over them.  Some of them are just lightly glittered, so that we can still see the original color of the egg, underneath.  And that’s that!  Now you can make your own!

I probably won’t be blogging again until I am feeling better.  I just wanted to hop online and record our weekend memories, and announce the winner of the eggs…..my cold is all up in my head and I am not feeling very well at all.  I will probably spend the next day or so resting as much as possible and taking care of the children.

Love, Shanda

 Leave a sweet remark to this post

 for a chance to receive your very own half a dozen

 (or, maybe even a whole dozen)

 of purpleamethyst76 chicken eggs,

 emptied of the gooey stuff,

 and clothed in glittery finery.

 *(winner to be announced on Monday)*

Today is the day for celebrating our special boy; ETHAN GREGORY, who has blessed our lives in so many ways during the last 12 years.  What a gift, to be able to see this sweet young man grow before our very eyes.

Honestly, he’s been so much fun.  Our happy, smiling, little boy….not quite so little now. 

I’ve been up since 5:30.  Seth was up at 6.  By the time I was done feeding Seth his oatmeal it was 6:30 and everyone else was up (half hour earlier than normal).  There was a lot of excitement over Ethan’s birthday so we gathered ’round the table and watched him open his presents.  His main gift was a Nintendo DS, and I just had to take this picture of ALL six of them being entertained by the game, at the same time.

And, I promised to show you the gift Grace made her brother.

She created it entirely on her own.

It’s a stuffed doggie, made of felt, with sewn on felt spots, and eyes.  She told me later, “That old saying is true!  It IS more fun to give, then to get!” 

The old saying:  “…..You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus:  ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”  Acts 20:35

She also helped Davy make a sleeping bag and pillow for the doggie.

I believe this handmade dog has a lot of charm.

But not as much charm as our E!

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

“She was….anxious for the holy walk,
 and growth in the divine life.”  ~Octavius Winslow, of his mother.

I have to constantly pray for forgiveness, and am continually humbled by the evil in my own heart and the GOODNESS of God’s free grace and mercy toward me.

Just this morning, I was getting more and more irritated. 

David was not focused on what he was supposed to be doing ~ getting ready for school.  I reminded him “get dressed”  “not that shirt!  you just wore it!”  “eat breakfast NOW”  …… and then, when he ran to me and said, “It’s so NICE outside today!”  I said, “Well, you still need to wear a jacket.”  He said, “No, I don’t!”

That was it.  I grabbed his little arm and said, “DON’T YOU SAY NO TO ME.  YOU SAY, ‘YES, Mama’, AND YOU GO DO IT.” 

He took off running to find that jacket, leaving me mumbling in the kitchen….”WHO dares to tell me no?  Unbelievable!”

So, we get him off to school and then.

Sister needs me. 

She knows tomorrow is brother’s birthday, she wants to sew.

“Where’s a craftbook, MOM?”

“Where’s the thread?”

“Where’s a needle?”

“Do you know where the scissors are?”

Finally, I had to confess to her.  “Grace, I’m not feeling well this morning.  I like what you are doing but I just cannot help you.  at.  all.  You have to do it by yourself.”

I was so irritated in my heart, I was taking deep breaths and just praying, “Lord, this is so hopelessly hard.  I just can’t be nice this morning….help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I felt better after a shower and clean clothes.  Little by little, the Lord settled me down.

Grace eventually got the cutest thing made for Ethan.  I am so proud of her.  I will show you a picture tomorrow.

It’s situations like *a stressful morning* that show me what my heart is really like.  I can read my Bible, study, meditate, and yet…….that flesh is still alive and well, ready to flare up at anytime, to show me how much I utterly and simply NEED MY SAVIOR.  How thankful I am for the throne of grace, and the knowledge that God knows and understands my weaknesses.  It’s okay!  It’s all okay.  I shouldn’t take myself so seriously.  If I keep my eyes on Christ and off myself, all is well.

“I see the face of Christ,
and his loving compassionate look disperses the cloud, 
and all is peace.”  ~ Mary Winslow

I was in the kitchen, all was calm again, and I was mixing up some bread dough, when my two big boys joined me full of conversation.  They had been outside and when I turned to see, I realized they both had chickens in my kitchen!

(Joanna, look at the light fixture above the entry way.  I took your advice and got rid of the brass one for an iron one.  Also, everyone who read about my garbage bin buying this weekend…it’s there, to the left of Ethan, at the end of the counter.  You lift the lid to throw away trash.)

The weather has been so nice this morning, and we even had some sunshine.

I got Seth all bundled up, grabbed a sweater and my coffee, and the boys and I sat out on the porch together. 

And then we walked and talked and played.

The girls were all busy, wanting to lay their egg for the day.  We only had 2 nesting boxes and things were getting a little out of hand, a line was forming.  So, Grace and I went in the garage and hunted up a couple of cardboard boxes…and now there are four straw filled nesters, for the chickens to fuss over.  Yesterday we collected a dozen eggs for the first time!  So far today, we have gathered 6.  Five lovely browns, and one beautiful green.

I baked a pan of soft cinnamon rolls and just pulled two loaves of bread out of the oven.

Jacob said, “Hmmmm, something smells GOOD!”

We are all back inside from a morning of play, and ready to eat some lunch.  I just fed Seth, and put him to bed for a nap.  He still has a cold, and coughing some now, too.  He has been extra needful of his Mama, and blankie, for the last few days.  I can’t say that I mind the snugly time, although when both he AND Caleb both need me at the same time, I do kinda wonder what will happen when newborn Sarah arrives in a few months. 

I hope each of you has a blessed, peace-full day!

“…They should seek the Lord…for in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”  Acts 17:27,28

Yesterday morning Caleb prayed (and I heard him) that we would have chicken divan for dinner.

Davy-do promptly prayed (and I heard him) that we would NOT have chicken divan for dinner.

The Lord was in control……..not me. 

I found my recipe.  I got out some chicken, defrosted it, poached it.  We were gonna have it.

Then,  Jacob had a wire come off a bracket on his braces and the orthodontist asked us to come in at 4:15.  By the time we were done, I knew I did not have enough time to put together and bake the chicken divan.

It ended up being a sandwich night.

No one was disappointed.  In fact, Caleb and Davy never even mentioned chicken after their prayers.

They were thinking of other things by dinner time.

Like making a catapult out of a plastic spoon, taped generously round and round the top of a wooden Thomas track. 

And pretending to be ducks.  David was Super Hero Duck.  Caleb was just Duck.  I was Mama Duck.  (even though I didn’t want to play)……..I did end up quacking once or twice.

And coloring.  Caleb colored me a purple donut.  David colored Uncle David a picture, and mailed it.

Then, at bedtime, they brushed their teeth together, using bar soap instead of toothpaste.  I didn’t ask why. 

This morning, I woke up to a world of white…more snow.

Sethie has a cold and is sneezing, Ethan is getting him up out of his crib and saying “Good morning!”

We are having french toast, scrambled eggs & Grandpa’s homegrown bacon for breakfast…..yum yum!  (We had to do something to use up some of those wonderful eggs….I have three doz. of them, in the fridge.  And ten more expected to be collected again today.)

Because of Him~

Shanda

(top three pictures from a little walk on Sunday)

Yesterday, March 1st!  Spring is in the air, for sure.  My children are all quite sick with spring fever. 

This morning I opened a window and breathed…..in and out, deep gulps of cold spring air.  I could hear the birds singing and the morning sunrise was so lovely.   Happy morning, it looks to be another beautiful day, today.

Here in New England, it was a lamb-like March day yesterday, so much so that I was as sleepy as a newborn lamb all day long.  It was a difficult day, wanting to sleep, needing to just go to bed.  I was up with the birds that morning, but as soon as the morning chores were done, I was back in bed with my littlest love for some cozy time.

Sunday service was a blessing to my soul.  Pastor reminded us (me) of who I am, quite simply….a redeemed sinner, which means:  a sinner and a saint at the very same time.  I loved that!  It makes such sense to me.  There are so many things my soul wants, my soul longs for, but my flesh makes it so hard.  I am weak, like a stumbling toddler I need to keep my hand in Christ’s hand.

I am still reading through the Bible in one year, but I also thought I would start reading a portion of the New Testament with my little boys (David and Caleb) in the early morning, as we wait for the bus to come.  Please pray that I will be faithful.  (I have tried this before, and gave up).  I think to myself, “They are not listening, they are wriggling, they are too young to understand”…..but,  then again, I believe that even just one little snippet of a Scripture, someday, somehow, will “hit them”, and perhaps change their hearts forever.  The Bible says that the Word will not return void, it will do something…..in them, in me, or in the older ones as they eavesdrop (we read the Bible together later on, during homeschooling time).  We don’t know how or what the Lord will do, to do His work in hearts and souls.

Please also pray that I myself will be faithful in studying my Bible, specifically my goal in thoroughly studying through one book at a time.  I chose Philippians for no other reason than I like it…but I want to read it over and over, digging and meditating on the words….using a dictionary, concordance, commentary.  I read the other day that for every one time we read the O.T., we should be reading the N.T. at least twice.

The Bible is the only truth.  Every other book, every program on TV, every blog I read, leaves me with an empty feeling, spiritually….those things are not truth the way the Bible is.  We can completely trust God’s Word.  Being a Christian, having a God I can trust, is an anchor to my soul, something I need and crave, as much as I simply need His love.

Jacob, Ethan, Grace, and Caleb spent hours outside yesterday morning.  I didn’t know what they were doing at first.  Jacob came running back to the house to beg me to go for a walk into the woods to see The Best Fort They Ever Made.  I could not go, so sleepy, so drowsy…..I allowed him to carry off my precious camera so he could take pictures of it.

The Best Fort Ever:  A pine tree had fallen over, bring up the back wall of their fort, the roots and dirt.  The children put big and small sticks, and branches up for the sides, bark for the roof.  They can go inside, and it’s like a little nesty den.

Later on, I did manage to gather up enough energy to make some homemade rolls, only because my husband requested them.

And Davy was thankful, too. 

As we serve & love others, we serve & love God.  I read this quote yesterday from a little booklet….

“All that she did was done as unto the Lord.  She scrubbed floors for Him.  She washed and ironed clothes for Him.  And everywhere she went she sang softly and talked to herself and to her Lord.  She knew His presence in all her daily duties and she was a blessing to others.  Another dear saint who knew His presence said, ‘As I wash the clothes I ask Him to cleanse my heart and the hearts of others I know.  While I iron, I remind Him of all the troubles and problems that need ironing out.  While I sweep the floor I ask Him to sweep out the fault finding from my heart so He can bless, and He always does.’ 

So, others received blessing from her life. “  ~ Grace Knowlton

I don’t want to just live my life, I want to live it for Christ and His glory.  I want to be in continual praise and thankfulness, for His love and grace.  He is the only way to a beautiful, satisfying and happy life. 

And He loves you, more than you can even imagine………

**I just got Davy off to school and we did read a section of Mark 10 this morning, and then Caleb prayed this prayer:  “Dear Heavenly Father,  Thank you for this day.  Please let us go to Grandma L’s house.  And please let us have….chicken divan for dinner.  Amen.”  Then, it was Davy’s turn.  “Dear God, Please don’t let us have chicken divan for dinner.  And please help me save up enough money for a didj.  Amen.”

Now.  My question is.  Should I or should I not make chicken divan? 

Happy Saturday, when my beloved husband is home with me all day long and we can do whatever we want! 

We got right up this morning and drove to one of our very favoritest places to eat for breakfast; Crackerbarrel.  Rich and I enjoyed the ride there…it takes almost half an hour and because no one had eaten anything the children were as quiet as mice.  Rich and I talked a lot.  We played music on my ipod. 

The drive this morning was lovely.  Snow dusted everything over in the night, all the trees and things were covered so prettily, decorated in white.

We sat at a big round table in the corner by the windows.  I liked the lighting for pictures.  We ordered drinks; coffee, hot chocolate, cider, orange juice, and iced tea.  Then, while we waited for our food to arrive, Jacob and Ethan played checkers.  They also brought books.  Can’t just sit still and be bored, ya know.

The children also like to play the peg game at the table.  We wait for our food and hear the little pegs falling on the floor now and then.

We were just down the road from a shopping plaza, and we had to return something at Walmart.  So, I had Rich drop Grace and I off at Marshall’s and we shopped while he made the return.  After we were done with our errands, I said please please won’t you let me go in my favorite antique store?

So he did.

I went in with Jacob and Ethan.  They were actually fun to have around, those two nice boys of mine.  Rich sat in the vehicle with sleeping Seth and the other children while we prowled and searched and rummaged for treasures.

I thought this picture was precious and sweet.

We saw some fiestaware.  The rose color in the corner has been there for years.  They really must lower the price.  The footed vintage cobalt bowl was lovely but also waaaaay too expensive.  I touched it though.  And took a picture.

Me and my shopping buddies;

An old autograph book;

The three older children are all reading The Lord of the Rings and we were thrilled to see these folk art type wooden carvings of three of the main characters.  We wanted them so bad…but they were fifty dollars!  They’ve been talking about these characters, and the books, so very much that I almost felt like we made them materialize and say “boo!” at us.

Old books:

I like this Honey Bunch one especially because my dear Great Grandma gave me a copy of a Honey Bunch book (a different one) that has her name written in it.  She had received it at her surprise birthday party, when she turned 10. 

I went home with a cotton baby quilt for Sarah.  It has butter yellow fabric on the bottom, and cool pink on the top, with kittens.  The edges are scalloped and quilted. 

I bought the light beige crocheted table runner, and the red edged ruffled doily.  It will look so pretty with a candle on top.

I also bought this needle work framed picture for the boys (only 6 dollars).

I did not buy them the wooden cane, the cannon ball, the army helmets, the old vintage army game, the pistols, or the guns that they wanted.

This was my favorite purchase;

I simply must show you some of the inside.  It is full of dear sweet sentences, and old photographs. 

Don’t you just love it?

It’s so delightful!

Perfectly charming!  I will read it to the children.  (The only downfall is that it makes me converse in short pithy sentences for a while……I laugh & laugh at myself and the children groan and laugh, too.)

We got home and Jacob gathered the eggs.  There were seven awaiting us.  Now my carton is overfilled.  Maybe one of my church friends (or my sister?) will read this is bring me a nice, new, empty clean carton, we’ve been using this one for a while now.

Rich went out to get his haircut and the children are watching TV and playing.

They are watching Charlie and Lola, and playing with trains.

Oh yes, it has been a nice morning here.  And when Rich gets back he is taking me out shopping again for something we need for the kitchen; something very important.

A garbage can!

I can’t hardly wait!  Actually, I am very happy to go.  We are going to another favorite place of ours, a family business that sells decorative home stuff, furniture, (and smells good, like candles and potpourri).   The garbage can we are getting is one of those decorative wooden ones that don’t look like a garbage until you open the lid up to use it.  We used to have one but it fell apart from often and repeated use.  If you like the old fashioned country primitive look than you would love this store. 

We will probably also get some chicken feed at Agway, too. 

Okay, that’s it for this very long blog post.  Thanks for stopping by my site today!  I’m off to go snuggle a tiny little boy, who is in the room with me in all his cuteness.

Much love~Shanda

Caleb, our four year old, has not adored Seth like the rest of us, in the way we dote, and coddle, and spoil the littlest family member.

No; Caleb has all but totally ignored little Seth.  Sure, he reacts to him.  “Mom!  He’s chewing it!  He’s CHEWING MY TOY!”  “SETH!  STOP LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW, MOM, SETH IS LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW!”  (Seth was all of 8 months old that day when we were driving to town.)  “MOM!  SETH SAYS HE IS BIG, LIKE ME!”  (Caleb somehow knows that every grunt Seth makes toward him is an highly offensive insult).  “MOM, COME AND GET SETH AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!”

This is the way it has been.  Until yesterday.

I was sitting on the couch, writing a letter.  Thinking about what to write, enjoying myself.  Seth and Caleb were in the room with me when for some reason Caleb woke up to the fact that, “Can you believe it?  Seth is walking a lot now!”

So, he got up off the floor, and took Seth’s little hand, and they walked together.  It was so cute, I wanted to get up and find my camera, but I sat and just watched.  Around they went, around the couch, holding hands.  I started to get back to my letter when Caleb said in joyful wonder, “This is starting to make me LIKE HIM!”

That precious little sentence proved to be the sparkling jewel of mama joy, that my heart could meditate on, all day long. 

And later on, I did get a few pictures to prove and document the first day of friendship, just a little bit of evidence, you know, for the family history books.

So much usefulness can be done by a pair of loving brothers; so much work, so much serving, so much loving.  And to think that it sometimes begins in such a small way, perhaps just by a little walk while holding hands.

I’m thankful for the eyes to see and the heart to hold, these small but important moments in time.  I pray wholeheartedly that these brothers develop and grow toward a relationship that is glorifying to God.

We have a framed picture of the boys here in the office, with a Bible reference under it, to remind us of what we want to see in the relationships between our sons. 

“He (Andrew) first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah.  And he brought him to Jesus.”  John 1:41, 42

This is a belly pic that I took today; after being pregnant last year I haven’t taken as many this time…..I’m just a few weeks shy of being six months along. 

I mixed up some instant coffee mix using the cookbook the kids gave me, this is the “top secret” recipe for international coffee drinks.  One is flavored with cinnamon, the other with cocoa, both are made with decaf instant coffee and the kids drink it, too.

We had a mild weather day yesterday and Ethan tried so hard to get a fire going so they could roast hot dogs.  Alas, what he made was lots of smoke.  Grace was the only one to get her hot dog hot.  Caleb happily ate his half raw and the older boys had to resort to modern technology to cook theirs (a microwave).

I was reading the paper yesterday when Sethie dove into my lap and got cozy; Grace took the picture and when I looked at it I realized that Seth is bigger than what I think in my mind….I’m still babying him like crazy~

He has such a sweet, soft baby face.

The chickens were able to scratch up enough dirt to take a dirt bath..they love to roll around and fling dirt up on themselves, it’s a grand ol’ time.

Here is a picture that I took today of the majority of the flock (we have a total of 13).  They enjoy scratching and wandering around the yard together, searching for goodies.  When they saw me open the door they thought I had a goodie.  (We often open the door and fling out bread crusts and such). 

Today I went on a wild goose chase to find some dresser handles and wall paper border…I didn’t find either but I did come away with some crafty supplies to make Sarah’s birth announcements.

I love the colors of the glitter.  So wonderfully spring like!

I also bought these frames.  In the last post, I showed a picture of our boring bathroom…..I bought these to hang side by side over the toilet in the children’s boring bathroom.  The plan is to have each child draw/color/paint something to put in each slot.  Yes, I know there is not one for Sarah but eventually we will do something else for her handiwork, too.

I also bought this plant to hang in front of the window in the same bathroom. 

I had a book order come today, from amazon.  I haven’t read them yet, of course, so I can’t recommend these books, but if you are interested I could let you know what I think of them when I’m done.   (just message me and I will get back to you).

I’m hoping for many nights of enjoyable reading!

This is how I keep my dinners organized for the week.  Rich and I come up with the meal plans together on Sundays and I write it down.  This dry erase board is hung up on the inside of my cookbook cupboard in the kitchen.  I find the children reading it, to get a heads up on what to expect at dinnertime.

This Friday is a free day because the older three kids have art class (they go to a friend’s house for art) and Rich thought we could do something quick and easy with the little boys, or maybe go out to eat.

Another belly picture.

I mixed up some whole wheat butterscotch chip cookies this evening with Davy and Seth got to have the beater for the very first time…..he loved it.  He sat still for a long time.  I was so happy watching him enjoy the treat.

I also mixed up some wheat bread (2 loaves, new recipe) and it’s almost ready for me to pop into the oven.  We already ate our dinner (Seth hated the corn) and Rich left to take Ethan to guitar lessons.  Jacob is wandering around the house searching for a book that he lost, Grace is in her bathing suit, sitting in the tub with Seth, they are having a bubble bath.  David and Caleb are doing who knows what in the basement.  Caleb has a cough, David has a cold, and Seth is getting over a cold.  Other than that, all is well!

Oh and thanks for all the remarks about my house!  You girls are too too kind!

Much love~

Shanda