Today we didn’t do much of anything Christmas-like…until I realized that Seth and I were both wearing red.  With the addition of a little green we felt festive.

And tomorrow……tomorrow will really be festive, with a tree, a piano recital, and SNOW in the forecast.

Happy Friday! 

This is Miss Margaret, our one and only egg layer (so far).

At about 8 this morning (the time of day she laid her first 2 eggs), we all put our jackets on, over our pj’s, and tromped on down to see the show.

She gets in her nesting box and sits and sits and turns and makes noises.  She arranges the strands of straw around her, just so.

Her sisters wait outside (we can see them out the window) and she’s all alone (except for some gawking humans) in the hen house.   

Come on Margaret, hurry up!  She doesn’t seem to mind us hanging about.

I stand and wait and sip my coffee.  I look around at my very own chicken coop and make my beautifying plans; curtains, pretty “wall” paper for the backs of the nesting boxes.  I feel happy and content.  The straw and wood shavings smell so good. 

I’ve been wanting chickens for years.  Now I have them, and the egg laying has begun.

My Caleb calls himself a “farmer boy”.

Finally, the prize.  One nice fresh morning egg.  A beautiful brown color.

She stays with it, fidgeting and arranging,  for another 5 minutes or so and then hops out of her box, ready to go play outside with the others.

Well done!  And thank you!

Grace cups the egg in her hands, it’s still warm.  And away we go, to fry it up for breakfast.

But first, she compares it to a regular ol’ store egg;

See?  It’s a bit smaller, but we’ve read in our chicken book that the first eggs are that way.

What a treat, a fresh as fresh can be egg, fried in real butter, in a cast iron skillet.

It pops and sizzles and smells sooooooo good.

Perfectly cooked, and half eaten.  Very tasty.  Ethan claimed this particular one for himself *yesterday* by saying, “I get Margaret’s next one!!!” in a sing-song voice. 

But, he graciously shares, and I get finish it up, yum!

We can’t wait until tomorrow, for the next one.

And soon, our other 12 girls will be laying eggs for us, too.

“And thank you for a house full of people I love.  Amen.  “
~Ward Elliot Hour

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with my parents, who drove out to our house, on Wednesday evening.  My brother Isaac, and my sister Amanda (with her beautiful family) came on Thanksgiving day.  My mom’s presence in the kitchen made the day stress-free and easy, and the food all turned out perfectly.

The best part of all, was being together….all the talking, laughing, singing, visiting, planning, loving….

Dad played the guitar for the boys

Mom read books to the children

we watched tv together

we went outside for some football and walks

snoozed on the couch

drank coffee

hugs, teasing, being silly

Isn’t Thanksgiving a lovely day to celebrate?  I was thinking this week, of all the many, many verses in the Bible about being thankful…..and I feel joy, knowing that God must be pleased with a whole day set aside, for the purpose of gathering together, in thankfulness. 

We are thankful to God for all the thousands of blessings He showers on us day by day.  We don’t even realize the good things happening around us, thanks to God in His mercy, leading and guiding our days with such amazing kindness.  All of our days are carefully planned by Him.

“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and all declare thy mighty acts.  I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.”  Psalm 145:4, 5

“They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.”  Psalm 145:7

Caleb, baking with Grandma in the kitchen;

spending time, making memories

my mom;

my sweet little nephew, Weston;

my joyful niece, Abigail;

Mom and Dad brought their dog out with them.  We’ve had Brutus in the family for almost 12 years.

my niece, Naomi, with Caleb;

me and my sweet pea (who was sound asleep just a few minutes after this picture was taken);

Mom and I enjoyed going through the contents of our gratitude basket;

On Friday morning, we all went to my sister’s house for brunch and then Mom and Dad went back home.  It was a wonderful weekend.  I’m so thankful for my loving family and all the good times we have spent together through the years.  It means so much to me, to see my children growing up in the security of a healthy relationship with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

This morning, Rich is busy outside with the boys, working on the chicken coop.

How excited we all were, to find the very first egg, this morning!

We are keeping a stack of pretty scrapbook paper out on the table so that as we think of the things we are most thankful for, we can write them down, and drop the little folded pieces of paper in our gratitude basket.  It’s heart warming to read the little notes, written in all of our handwritings.  There is so much to be thankful for.

Including, today, our first glimpse of a very precious, hidden and growing, little baby;

 I just read a thought-provoking devotional by Oswald Chambers so I’m going to type the entire thing out because it was so helpful to me, maybe it will be a blessing to others, too.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  1 Cor. 10:31

Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow concerns of life are not ordained of God; they are as much of God as the profound.

It is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are a spiritual prig. 

Be careful of the production of contempt in yourself, it always comes along this line, and causes you to go about as a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than you are.

Beware of posing as a profound person; God became a Baby.

To be shallow is not a sign of being wicked, nor is shallowness a sign that there are no deeps:  the ocean has a shore.  The shallow amenities of life, eating and drinking, walking and talking, are all ordained by God.  These are the things in which Our Lord lived.  He lived in them as the Son of God, and He said that “the disciple is not above his Master.”

Our safeguard is in the shallow things.  We have to live the surface common-sense life in a common-sense way; when the deeper things come, God gives them to us apart from the shallow concerns. 

Never show the deeps to anyone but God.

We are so abominably serious, so desperately interested in our own characters, that we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.

Determinedly take no one seriously but God, and the first person you find your have to leave severely alone as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

~My Utmost for His Highest, “Shallow and Profound”,  Oswald Chambers

This was such a blessing to me because I do have some spiritual pride inside of me that whispers that there is *something wrong* if I am not always walking around, meditating on, and learning great spiritual thoughts and truths.  How liberating to confess that, and embrace with open arms and a peaceful spirit the shallowness of life, which is also ordained by God, my loving Father.  Let’s face it, the deep spiritual part of life is not something most of us are able to keep up on a constant basis, and if we are trying to force it, than it’s not natural.   It’s okay to just live life, shallow parts and all, eating and drinking, and whatever we do, glorifies God, amazing!  So, today I am thankful for the deep spiritual life I have, and the shallow…..both are gifts from God.

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

Grace is slowly getting better.  I didn’t have a chance to blog yesterday because I was so weary.  I actually had to sleep on the couch, for an hour, while the boys watched Seth for me, I just couldn’t bear staying awake.  The sleepy day meant that only the necessary parts of life were lived. 

I have been trying to take some pictures in the last few days, because I was missing the feeling that photography gives me, that my life does have portraits of joy and memorable moments, always, even the challenging days.

I’m not sure Seth wanted to go in the box;

How can babies sleep like this?

Ethan came home with this nest for me.  He said it was on the end of a long branch and if he had fallen he would have broken his neck.  He must love me, if he risked his life to collect this nature treasure:

Davy-do had a field trip at a Nature Center yesterday and I bundled him all up so he wouldn’t get cold.  He came home and said, “You made a terrible mistake, Mom.  The field trip was INDOORS.  I didn’t need all those clothes on.”

This morning, all five boys were hanging out together in the livingroom (David was waiting for the bus);

Caleb calls cider, “Apple Sodor”  (because Thomas the tank engine lives there, on the Island of Sodor)

Grace got some extra sleep this morning, I was so relieved (she’s not a sleeper);

After Grace woke up, she got back into her favorite spot, on the couch.  She’s kept her stuffed dog Sprocket with her all through her sickness, except for last night when he was washed and dried;

Rich, Jacob, and Ethan bought these roses for me last night, when they were on an errand;

I’m wondering if I should have taught Ethan how to light candles;

And that’s that!  It’s about 10 in the morning and we have no plans except to keep taking care of Grace.  Her stomach has settled down so that’s an improvement, but she’s still very weak and the fever comes back when the Motrin wears off.

Rich has tomorrow off and I can do whatever I want.  Any suggestions?  Here are some of my ideas:  mall, to shop.  bookstore, for quiet reading.  hair salon, for a little trim before Thanksgiving.  nail salon, for a pedicure.  library, for more quiet reading. 

The only thing is, I need energy for those things so we’ll see what happens.

Thanks again for praying for us!  I really appreciate it!

~Shanda

Grace has the flu.  She has every symptom; sore throat, fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, and a cough.  She is a good patient and rarely complains or makes a peep.  She now believes it would be better to get a flu shot than to have the flu, she says it’s miserable and terrible.  She is downstairs on the couch right now, with a washcloth on her forehead, under a sheet (because a blanket makes her too hot), watching a cooking show.  I’ve been giving her motrin and making her drink as much as she can. 

Thanks for praying for us.  I still had a pounding headache in the night, but by the morning it was gone.  I woke up thanking God for that, and I actually felt like my old self for a little bit this morning!  Of course I took the opportunity to scrub the kitchen and do some laundry. 

I also gave Seth a bath in the sink, after I was done scrubbing it.  I took this picture last week, but this is what he looked like today, too.  I love making my baby clean and sweet again, especially now that he’s eating and getting crusties on his face, and crawling around on the floors.

He always enjoys his bath. 

I talked to Rich a little while ago and he should be home around 9:30 or so.  He said that the event went really well, (he was in Dallas, TX).  He sounded good, and told me he missed us.

The boys are all fine and dandy and seem extra loud now that we have someone in the house with a headache!

I spent Seth’s afternoon nap with Grace, on the couch.  I must admit, it is sorta kinda nice to have someone snuggling next to me as quiet as a kitten, although I would rather have my girl healthy than sick.