Oh how I wish I was one of those kind, thoughtful mothers at bedtime. . . . .the kind that sits on her daughter’s bed with her and talks. . .and brushes her hair.  Songs, stories, cuddles. . . . .

Once in a rare while I can do it, but most of the time I’m not the best parent at bedtime. 

It’s all I can do to get them in bed without losing it.  I have absolutely no patience for bedtime shenanigans and when you have a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old boy it happens almost every night. 

My husband is the one who tucks them in with a story, thankfully.  But he was away on a business trip last night.  I miss him when he’s gone but I have to admit I miss him the most at bedtime!

Last night I got the little ones in bed and I had Jacob and Ethan do their kitchen and living room clean up.  They requested that I stay in my room for half an hour (!!!) and when I went back out I had a surprise waiting for me.

Hot tea (“What kind is it, boys?”  “It’s Vanilla Nut Cream!  We looked and that box was almost empty so we figured it was your favorite!”)

Popcorn in a fiesta bowl

And a note

They also had the couch made up with a blanket and one of my taped gymnastics competitions playing on TV!  (I love women’s gymnastics and used to record it to watch over and over, I rarely watch it anymore but they found the 1996 Olympics and had that playing). . . . .

I laughed and tried not to cry (crying is not the reaction boys want!).  I got my camera out to take a picture.

They went to bed after turning off all the lights and I was left alone in the dark with my snack, and feeling very very loved.

 For a friend is

 the most precious

 discovery of all. . . . .

Looking at these pictures makes me happy!  Joanna and I had such a satisfying visit last week.  We met at a local Crackerbarrel (in NY). . .she drove a little over an hour to get there and it was about 20 minutes from our campsite.  Rich gave me our one vehicle for the day and he stayed at the camp with the kids (*thank you honey*).

We decided to drive to my hometown so we hopped into my vehicle and away we went.  My mom was on her lunch break so we went into her office to say hello.  Mom was looking at a Country Living magazine and eating homemade beef stew when we surprised her.  We visited for a bit and she took a few pictures of Joanna and I together (*in the golden chairs*) before the two of us left to eat lunch at a fantastic little local eatery.

After lunch we drove to an antique store and had the best time ~ just being together ~ laughing and talking and looking at everything in the store (there was stuff crammed in every available spot, the best sort of antique place).

Many of you know Joanna from her blog here on xanga, but I tell ya, you would have to read every one of her posts to begin to get an idea of her personality.  She’s her whole blog PLUS a lot more.  There is a great deal of dimension to her and it’s been fun to be her friend for the last 13+ years.  Fun isn’t really the right word.  She’s such a part of me now that I know I would be a totally different person today if she had never been a part of my life.  She inspires me, motivates me, loves me the way I am, encourages me in the Lord, comforts, listens, shares her true self with me, and prays for me.  We don’t see each other face to face very often, but we keep in touch through the mail, computer, and phone calls.  She lets my kids call her “Aunt Jo”.

Guess what I found?  Fiestaware!

I bought one fiesta plate ~ a vintage chartreuse~ the 2nd dinner plate down from the top.

We ended up back at Crackerbarrel for a little more talking and a few more pictures before going on our separate ways.  I went back to my family feeling like a new woman!  I was in such a good mood (I told Joanna that our visit was like a good medicine *the kind that’s easy to take* ).  There was such a marked difference in me that Rich encouraged me to go back out the next day.  But it wasn’t just the getting away that put me in such high spirits. . . .it was spending time with a good friend.

To have a friend is to have one of the sweetest gifts that life can bring:  to be a friend is a solemn and tender education of the soul from day to day.  ~Chinese Proverb

Thankful for the little things. . . . .

I had a catnap yesterday and when I got up Rich was out running and all the children were in bed.  So, I took my book and went outside to read in my hammock.  It was too hot so I sat in the shade.  Presently, I felt a bug crawling up my skirt.  Thank goodness we have no neighbors close enough to see our goings-on.  LOL 

Being away from home for a week has done wonders on my heart attitude toward my home.  Yesterday I was thanking God these little (and big) things:  for my messy house, my yard, my hammock, my weedy gardens, my kitchen, my children’s toys scattered around by the stream, my children’s voices, my view off the porch, my wildflowers, my husband, my life!  For everything! 

Go on vacation to learn again how much you have to be thankful for, I guess that’s what I am trying to say.

After I got the bug out of my skirt I walked around picking a bouquet of wildflowers—some old daisies, goldenrod, a cat tail from by the pond, red berries of some sort, some purple flowers.  I brought them inside and put them in a fiesta tangerine carafe.  Then I went out and picked a big bouquet of just Queen Anne’s lace, being careful to flick the ants off them. . . .they went flying and I imagined that they enjoyed the ride!  Isn’t Queen Anne’s lace beautiful?

Rich came back, the kids got up, and I put on my boots and jeans to walk down the stream.  We have bright red Cardinal flowers growing in the stream and they are dazzling.  I took some pictures and then sat on a log that had fallen across the water.  Watching all the dragonflies put me in some kind of trance for a little bit.  Happy, just happy.  Peaceful.

Later on, Rich and I went to the grocery store.  When we got home, I kicked off my heels, put on an apron, and put together the “Berry Cheesecake Pie” from this months issue of Taste of Home.  We didn’t have time to eat a piece yet.  I’ll tell you tomorrow how it turned out.

~~~~~~~~~

This morning Rich had to go back to work.  I’ll miss him a lot today, it’s been so nice being together for a solid week!  He left me with all the laundry done and most of it folded.  The house is almost back to normal, and I’m so happy I didn’t have to unpack everything myself!

Things may sound dreamy around here, but of course the reality is, we are just a normal every-day Christian family with ups and downs just like everyone else in the world.  I’m sure by the end of the day I’ll have lost my temper at least once.  And I know that from lunchtime on I will feel queasy and yucky until bedtime.  LOL  I like to make it a habit to count my blessings (I’m actually a pessimist by nature) and it just so happens that it’s easy for me to do that in the mornings!

Oh Love the Lord, all you His godly ones!

Be strong and let your heart take courage,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31:23a, 24

Cabin pictures from the week (all taken at the camp):  Most of you know how I enjoy our nature finds.  Grace discovered a type of fungus that had bright red watery liquid coming up from the top. . .I had never seen such a thing!  Let me know if you know what it is (please).

This morning was quite chilly when I first got up, a sign that fall is coming.  The sun is shining now, and the front door is wide open to let in the morning air.  I have no place to go today, just chores to do in the house and hopefully some weeding will get done before it gets too hot.

Happy Monday to all my xanga pals!  I’m thankful for the fellowship here.

  “How delightful and responsive is the communion of those who love the Lord Jesus, wherever they meet; and oh, what will it be in glory, when, made like unto the Savior, ‘we shall see Him as He is.'”  John Paton

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.  ~Lin Yutang

We arrived home safe and sound last night from our week long vacation.  We stayed in a cabin at a state park and it went pretty well, I would say.  I can’t rave about it at this moment because I am SO TIRED.  However, I suppose I have to credit expecting baby number 6 for my fatigue, because Rich and the children had a fantastic time and were sad to leave our cabin.  On vacation, they swam, they played, they rode bikes, we all walked a lot, went out to eat at our favorite places, and the children attended VBS every night at our home church, which they loved.  We also got to visit the zoo with my Aunt Colleen and her girls, which was wonderful.  Because we were “back home” (where Rich and I grew up) we got to spend time with our family. . .both sides.  It was great seeing everyone.

The number one highlight of vacation for me was being able to see my friend Joanna on Tuesday and spend time with her for the first time in a year. 

Today, I have a big pot of homemade vegetable beef soup simmering on the stove, and am about to mix up a seafood salad for my husband.  I noticed this morning that I have sunflowers blooming in my flower beds and the little yellow goldfinches are enjoying them.  The children are cleaning and/or playing depending on their ages.  It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday, with a blue sky scattered with big fluffy clouds.  The lawn and trees are so green, and the air is cool. . . a perfect day to throw open all the windows in the house and watch the curtains gently wave in the sweet scented breezes.  Oh, how I love to hear the wind rustling through the trees. . . . .

Hmmmmm, yes, it is so good to be home.

Rich is getting so much done around here today.  He’s unpacked everything and has been doing loads of laundry all morning.  I can’t tell you how much THAT means to me (makes me want to cry, actually).  We have about 10 loads (or more) of laundry to do and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.  Yes, the dirty clothes are a good indication of all the fun we had this week.  My children were dirty most of the time.  LOL

Jacob is recovering from a bike-wreck and I’m thankful his teeth were spared:

Grace is recovering from itchy poison ivy (that she woke up with yesterday morning).  She said to me this morning, “I’ll tell ya one thing.  It stinks.”  LOL  She’s walking around with her face all powdery pink from calamine lotion.  Rich calls her fancy face.

She is happy to be back home with our cat.

And some of us are just plain recovering:

Thank you, Lord, for a safe and happy vacation.  Thank you for our family, the memories we made, and  for the home you have given us to come back to~ to take care of and enjoy together.

Have a wonderful Lord’s day, all!  More pictures to come!

(The blue teeth are from a lollipop.)

Sleeping bags have been all the rage here. . . . .(they’re new.)

We are leaving tomorrow morning to go to NY to visit family and have a vacation.  The children will be attending VBS at the church my parents took us to when I was growing up. . . .their VBS program is almost unchanged since I was a child and I LOVE my children being able to go.  Not only that, but they get to spend time with their cousins, who go to that same church.

Rich and I reserved a cabin at a state park for the family to stay in for the week.  Hence, the new sleeping bags.  The cabin sleeps 6, has a fridge and a stove, so I’m not sure if you can technically say we are CAMPING but hey~ it’s a campground so I think we can get some credit for being a little more nature-minded this vacation.  We have never done this before and I’m hoping that it will be a great time for us.  Rich has been working way too much lately and we really need to slow down and spend time together.  He is looking forward to it just as much as I am.

I have to pack today.  I always put it off until the last minute. 

But first, a couple of random photos:

The other day, just for fun, the kids and I made GREEN SUNDAES.  This is pistachio ice cream, whipped cream that I dyed green, and green cherries that Grace found at the grocery store~which is how we got the idea for green sundaes.  The kids thought it was so exciting.

Also, little Caleb, three years old, is finally in a big boy bed.  Last night was his first night in it, and Jacob took this picture.  We were all proud of him.

He did so good!  He stayed in it (which was sort of a miracle) and looked at his pile of Thomas books with the last remaining light of the day coming through the window.  Later, after it was dark, I went to check on him and he had the whole pile of books on his legs and I could barely see his big eyes.  When he realized I was in the room, he stirred and told me breathlessly, “Thomas, he fell in the stream”. . . . .he was just quietly thinking about Thomas stories and I thought he was so precious that I kissed him all over his face and then left him to his pleasant thoughts.

Well, that’s all I have to say this morning.  The boys are out in the kitchen frying eggs and I suppose I better get ready for a day of organizing and packing.  We will be gone for an entire week!  Will you miss me? 

Seriously, I hope you all have a great week and I’ll be looking forward to sharing vacation memories when I get back.  I’ll be checking my blog throughout the day so if you have any camping tips or ideas. . . . . . .

It was a busy morning (yesterday) and when my friend Caroline came to get the three older children at noon, I was tempted. . .oh so tempted. . .to sit the littles in front of a movie.  Then, you know, I could crash on the couch or something.  But instead, I decided to take them for a walk.  I don’t get to spend time with just David and Caleb very often. 

So we got ready and we got our treasure bag and out we went.

Did you know you can make a forest in your hand?  You grab around the bottom of a big fern and pull up up up to the top and then you have a forest in your hand.  David does it a lot. 

You can see my house in the background.

This was a moment before David dropped down and started crawling “through a tunnel to a secret place.”  Caleb did not like that.  He said, “Oh no!  David is going OFF.  THE.  TRAIL!”

The little bugger was deliberately closing his eyes for the picture.  I took two, using my self timer, before I caught on.  What a stinker.

I told Caleb to look at the camera, and he did.  See him?

David was the leader, and so he marched.  We stopped our marching, briefly, so I could take this picture.  Caleb did not ever get to be the leader, no, not this time.

”

David discovered The Happy Mushroom.

”

We came to the end of our walk by arriving back to our own stream.  David said, “Hey!  I know this place!”

It’s always a challenge to get Caleb across. 

Photo by David Lloyd:

We ended up with a bag full of pinecones, a handful of acorn tops, a mushroom or two, and an armful of sticks for the firepit.

After our walk, the boys went for a short swim.

All in all, our adventure was less than an hour and would you believe?

I still got to take a nap before the other children arrived back home!

Did you know yesterday was the 30th day of Summer?  Time is flying by. . . . .

The highlight of my day yesterday was seeing my new little baby in an ultrasound.  Eyes, nose, face, arms, legs, heartbeat, everything was a thrill to me.  I had my doctor go down the hall to get all my children, and she did (she’s a wonderful doctor and her practice is small and not too busy). . . .and the children all gathered around me as she pressed down on my tummy again with the Ultrasound Thing.  They all enjoyed seeing the baby and I enjoyed it all the more, because they were there with me.  Our tiny baby has become a part of our family already and as I was drifting off to sleep last night I had to wipe the happy tears from my eyes.  I know I’m an emotional mama, but I just still can’t hardly believe I have a new little Someone to love.  I know what is happening, I know the love and happy relief I will feel when my baby is finally here.  I pray every day that all will go well.

After the doctor’s appointment I made the mistake of going shopping.  Shopping with all 5 of the children was TOO MUCH for me yesterday (there are days when I do enjoy it!) and by the time I ushered them to the van, I was saying, “OH I WISH I could drop ALL of you off at someone’s house for a few hours!!!”  The kids made me laugh because they all thought that would be THE GREATEST THING and started making suggestions as to where I could leave them!  LOL  I thought I was insulting them but they thought I had a wonderful idea!  “What a nice, fun mama I am!”

We made it back home and the rest of the day was pretty low-key except we did go down to play in the stream and the kids did swim in the pond at the end of the day.

Oh, and I took pictures of the basement.  It’s not completely done, there is a filing cabinet and a table that we are moving out of the room, and more to add (like pictures on the walls) but you will get the idea of the space in this photos.  Also, the boys have been amusing themselves lately by trapping birds (and a chipmunk) with a homemade trap.  I rarely see them all sit still for so long.

The trap consists of a metal can, with a train track propping it up over a pile of bird seed.  There is a long piece of yarn with one end tied to the track, and the other end in the basement, clutched in a boy’s hand.  They ARE catching things. . . . . .

David, with the other end of the yarn, waiting.

I’m sitting in the corner, behind their big desk, taking this picture.  The gray filing cabinet will be moved out.  The door leads to Rich’s exercise room (with the treadmill, TV, and weight bench).

The round table will be moved out.  From this angle you can see the beds.  The three beds are in a row, with a carpet between each one for little bare feet to land on, in the morning.  The wall opposite the beds has a built-in bookcase which is big enough to hold 100’s of books.

We still need to varnish/stain the woodwork.

David LOVES to be with his big brothers, but Caleb misses him upstairs at night.  He says, “David’s BED isn’t in here!”

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

The stream is so low.  We need more rain!  It was still nice to walk in it and Caleb had a little boat to play with.

This picture makes me laugh.  Grace took it.  I’m losing my balance, Caleb wants to “go home”, Ethan is rushing around (he and Jacob were playing frisbee across the water) and I’m pat-pat-patting Caleb’s back.  Caleb’s feet are covered in mud.

I like the lighting in this one, but am not sure Ethan should be drinking the water!

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

The pond is so refreshing after dinner.  We still are going down there for a swim just about every evening.  I didn’t swim this time but I waded up to my knees and took pictures.  I used to go swimming in my Grandparent’s pond in the summers and having our own pond to swim in brings back the memories~ two of which are the smell of pond water (a dirty kind of CLEAN) and ducking under water when the 3-corner flies land on our heads~ horrid things!

Last night the children were playing frisbee in the water, while Caleb was jumping off a rock in his little Thomas underpants.  I like how all five are in this picture.  Rich wasn’t home yet, but he got home after a while, and come down with me to watch.

I don’t know if you can see the back of Davy-do’s life jacket.  He drew a picture of a boy shooting a bow and arrow on it, with WHITE-OUT.  I am not sure HOW or WHY he got this idea.  It does NOT wash off.  It does not wash off FACES very easily, either.  Caleb got into the white-ou
t a day or so after David had it, and painted two lovely stripes on his face.  I had to sit down with him across my lap and rub hard on his face to wash it off.

Sometimes the kids are too busy to even change their clothes into swim suits.  David got in last night with all his clothes still on.  Here he is, throwing the frisbee. . . . .

Grace:

Ethan:

This is Jacob, right after I told him he had to sit out for 5 minutes for being a big, bossy firstborn and frustrating Ethan to the point where I had to listen to high-pitched whiney tattle-taling.  I just can’t listen to that kind of thing!

Grace, with the lovely brown eyes:

David always takes the time to “practice swimming without his life-jacket on”.

He has no fear and he is like a flopping fish.  He’s a diver, too.

And comes up out of the water with rocks in his hands.  Look at the water streaming out of his mouth.  He’s the only one of the kids that doesn’t plug his nose (or shut his mouth, apparently) when he goes under.  He said to me, “I’m an EXPERT”.

After a while, the boys were ordered out of the pond to go walk the dog. . . .Grace went along, too, and I had one of those happy moments, watching them walking and talking together, and I had to take a picture.  It’s blurry but I LOVE IT anyway.  Ethan is wearing my straw hat!  They are such dears.

Jacob came back with this for me:

It’s a big mushroom cap!  The size of a paper plate!  See the white part?  It was the texture of angel food cake, fluffy and spongy and dampish.

I stood at the kitchen counter and tore it all up to bits, enjoying the feel of it (which makes me laugh now, when I think about it.  It was fun!)  Then, I threw it all away (there were tiny buggies in it). . . . .

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures.  I’m looking out the window at an all-white sky.  There is no wind at all and I hope these are both signs that it will rain.  Jacob, Ethan, and Grace were invited to go swimming at a pool with some friends and they will be picked up at 11:30.  I will have a few hours with just the two little boys and that will be nice.  Later on this afternoon we will go to music lessons.

I’ll leave you with a recipe for a crock-pot dessert.  I made it yesterday and there was just enough for a nice scoop for everyone.  And, I didn’t have to use the oven, which is a good thing, since it’s been pretty warm in the house lately.

Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup boiling water

1. Combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and baking powder.  Add milk, oil, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Stir in peanut butter.  Pour into slow cooker.  (I sprayed mine with PAM first).

2.  Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and cocoa powder.  Gradually stir in boiling water.  Pour mixture over batter in slow cooker.  Do not stir.

3.  Cover and cook on high about 1 1/2-2 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  The cake will be on top of a nice hot fudge sauce.

4.  Let cool slightly and serve over ice cream. 

Have a great day!

The band box with the blue crocheted ribbon on the top edge was made for me by my mom.  She gave it to me when I was a teenager and she covered it in wall paper that was in my childhood bedroom.  The ribbon was handmade by my Great Grandmother and the box is filled with dried flowers, that I saved during my teenage years.

The other two, taller ones were made from empty oatmeal cartons.  I covered them with scrapbooking paper.  I like the simplicity of them.  The one with the pink ribbon is now in the livingroom.  It holds imprisoned legos which I picked up off the floor.  They are mine until they are “paid for” by whatever means that the boys and I come up with at the time. 

I’m still thinking a lot about my house, and the housework.  I think partly because we are in the process of moving the boys into the finished basement.  It looks so fresh and clean down there, with the painted walls free from handprints, for the moment.  Spending time in that nice new space inspires us to clean up and organize the rest of the house. . . . . .

But, for now we are getting ready to go out.  The house is so hot and muggy and the bookstore is beckoning.  When Rich asked me this morning if I wanted to go to Crackerbarrel for breakfast, I told him I would rather go to Barnes and Noble, to get a decaf latte and a couple new magazines, or a book. 

Happy Saturday!

PS.  My clothes are getting way too tight.  I’m only like 11 weeks pregnant and I feel yucky, bloated, and squeezed!  And SO not cute!

I read this the other day:

“Just as it is good to get one’s fingers into the soil and plant seeds, so it is good to get one’s fingers and fists into bread dough to knead and punch it.  There is something very positive in being involved in the creativity which is so basic to life itself.  Home-made bread, home-made cakes and pies, home-made vegetable soup from home-grown vegetables or from vegetable market purchases, home-made jams and jellies, home-made relishes and pickles–these are almost lost arts in many homes.  For growing children at play, there is nothing so interesting as ‘doing things’.  To ‘help cook’ is one of the most enjoyable things of childhood–to say nothing of being a sure way of producing good cooks.  A child can cut up carrots at a very early age, with no more risk of injury than from falling down outside at play!  A child can mix and stir, knead the dough and be given a piece to make a roll man, cat or rabbit with raisin eyes.  A child can fry eggs or make scrambled eggs–one of mine did every morning from the age of three!  The kitchen should be an interesting room in which communication takes place between child and mother and also among adults.  It should be interesting in the same way as is an artist’s studio, as well as being a cosy spot in which to have a cup of tea while something is being watched or stirred, or while waiting to take something out of the oven.”

~ Edith Schaeffer

First of all, I have to tell you all that yesterday morning I woke up with zero desire to take care of my house and children.  I was grumpy and I could not bear the thought of another day. . .of Caleb having accidents in his pants, David losing his temper, Grace disappearing outside, Jacob and Ethan being loud and well. . .LOUD,  being too hot, the hours too long to fill, not wanting to clean, oh I had myself all worked up from the moment I opened my eyes!  All I could think was that I wanted a DAY OFF.

PRAISE GOD I remembered to pray!  Before the children were even awake, I was on my knees telling the Lord how I was feeling and asking Him for strength.  I told Him I wanted to glorify Him with my day.

And, do you know, the miracle of prayer never ceases to amaze me because those feelings all flew away instantly!  I came out of my bedroom to find Caleb bending over his choo-choos and looking into their round faces.  And that is where the other children found me, sitting on the floor with Caleb.  They all came down and gathered around with us and we had a fine ol’ time, playing with the trains and talking, everyone still in their pj’s with sleepy eyes.  I was amazed at how unified I felt with them, when just a few minutes before, I wanted to run away! 

Then it was time for breakfast and I let David make it!  His confidence level has soared to never-before seen heights, because of his newly discovered talent.  He cracked all the eggs, stirred them up (I poured the milk in), added salt and pepper, and added them to the pan (after I heated it up and added butter so they wouldn’t stick).  He stirred them until they were cooked and was so proud to sit at the table and hear us all compliment him on his eggs.

He was so so CUTE!

And, guess what?  Later on, after we were home from shopping and it was late afternoon, I caught him in the kitchen going at it again TWO MORE TIMES!  He is the “mad egg scrambler”.  I had to make a new rule for him.

“You are not allowed to scramble eggs unless you ask first”

When his Daddy got home from work, he heard every detail, in David’s happy little voice.

I can’t tell you the last time I had to mop up SO many raw eggs.  Ew. 

Also, one of my fiesta bowls got smashed.  (Not the one in the picture, thankfully!)

But it was all worth it.

So.  Should Caleb have a turn this morning?  After all, if Mrs. Shaeffer’s three year old could scramble eggs, I’m SURE that my three year old can!  To be continued. . . . . .

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

(Caleb, 3 years old, stirring his eggs)

Hi~ I’m back~ Bless his heart, the little guy did it!  He was so cute.  I had to keep my hands on his hands to crack the eggs, he laughed as we broke them into the bowl.  He stirred them up just fine but I did raise my voice in excitement a few times when I caught him attempting to taste his mixture.  The stove was nerve-wracking, I had to stay very close to him to make sure he didn’t burn his little paws. 

David was scrambling his own eggs at the same time, with an air of authority.  Look at him, keeping an eagle eye on his little brother:

Caleb was proud of his eggs, in a shy way:

You did a good job, baby!