saturday (Gentleman’s last photo)
7
the fifth son
No, it is not his birthday.
Seth will be not be 9 for two more months.
He is lively, bright, active, your- typical- boy -but -maybe- just a notch or two- more hyper. He is a lot like my brother Nathan was at that age, always moving, always using the furniture as gym equipment.
By the way, let me remind you that he had three staples in his scalp and fractured his collarbone on Halloween? He’s all better. We had the trainer at the HS school check him out this weekend and he said he was good to go. So he had his first wrestling practice last night. On the way there he confided, “I feel nervous.” “I think you’re excited,” I answered. “Yes,” he agreed.
Last week after he got back home from school he put a paper on the counter and came over to me and said in a hesitant voice, “Mom, I have a note from school.” “Oh no,” I thought. “What is it, Seth? Did you get in trouble?” “Just read it, Mom,” he said sadly. So I rushed over to the paper, picked it up, and learned that Seth had been awarded the Hall of Fame for good behavior and work in his classes. So apparently my son is also a good actor because he had me fooled at first.
I squealed and hugged him and gave him a big ol’ kiss on the cheek. He bounded away, “Mama’s proud of me.” he just knew it.
He got dressed all nice for school. I had bought him a nice Jcrew sweater from a consignment shop…..I’m dying to find out if it’s still on him for the assembly, which is TODAY. IN 45 MINUTES! You see the peek of orange underneath, I bet he’ll be wearing the orange t-shirt for his award. ????? I wonder???? It’s happened before with my other sons. Seth is number 5 so he has to prove to me that I DON’T KNOW ALL THE TRICKS YET! He’s an original, just like number one (Jacob) number two (Ethan) number three (David) and number four (Caleb). We are surrounded by brothers.
I’ll let you know if he’s still wearing the sweater.
I noticed, too, that he PUT A NECKLACE ON. Be still my heart.
This was his favorite photo.
Instead of bouncing off the walls of the house, chattering and laughing and being silly as he waited for the bus, he was having his photo taken on the driveway!
No, not because it is his birthday.
But because……..he is getting awarded for being a good student today at school!
“No more pictures, mom!”
We turned to go into the house and saw………
Miss Sarah! Wearing the same pants she had worn to school the day before. And needing her hair fixed. “Oh yes, I have things to do,” I cried. And sent her back upstairs to “put different pants on!” Goodness. Find your socks and shoes and grab the hairbrush.
It’s the 6th day of December.
All is well.
sewn gingerbread house part 2 (completed)
Rich was at wrestling practice with David and Seth this morning so Sarah and I had a quiet house to work in (and on). A quiet gingerbread house. To tell the truth, The Grinch was on TV as we decorated. And then a Christmas movie with three kittens in it.
The door was made with two small Hershey chocolate bars. The gingerbread men (there are 9—one for each of our family members) are store-bought.
The house is situated upon a Sunflower fiesta pizza tray!
The roof is made of broken up shredded mini wheat biscuits.
I went outside to collect wintergreen and pieces of pine tree. In order for them to stand up I had to push them into gumdrops.
The house is sewn together with Twizzlers.
(side details)
(back of the house with “S” for Shanda and Sarah)
(and special, and smart, and super, and stupendous)
We left sprinkles on the tray, and added shredded coconut, too.
The boys came home and Seth asked if he could nibble it. I said “Not until Christmas.” David was most impressed. He helped me take the video and watched me make final touches. “You’re an artist,” he said.
sewn gingerbread house part 1
I mixed up Tasha Tudor’s recipe for gingerbread last night with Sarah.
This evening we rolled it, cut it out using a free template that I found online, and baked it.
After it cooled, I put the sides together using Twizzler pull n’ peel candy.
We have done gingerbread houses before using a kit, this is my first attempt at a homemade one. I bought candy today and hope to decorate it tomorrow.
It’s most exciting.
beaver ice
On a very nippy morning, after a freezing night, the town came and dug up the beaver dam, and when the water receded, an inch thickness of ice was left suspended in the grasses and bushes.
(I needed a human to show the scale of the ice in my photos, and my obliging son took his “modeling” job quite seriously. )
The work of beavers and ice hanging off stumps.
All the twigs on the ground were stripped of their bark by beavers.
***
I thought the children would have lots more fun with the ice, but overnight the temperatures rose, a melting rain fell, and it all went away……….
shop small saturday//Christmas decor
It’s tuesday morning. Kevin is here working on turning the old laundry closet into a real closet. We moved the washer and dryer downstairs in the basement. It will be convenient to have a coat closet in the livingroom, with cubbies for backpacks and shoes. It’s cold outside this morning, with bright sunshine. I’m sitting in the corner of my bedroom in the leather recliner by a window and I can hear the wind chimes outside moving in the wind. As soon as I sat down to blog, our gray cat came in and curled up on my lap, so the computer is now balancing on the arm of my chair as I type.
On Saturday, Rich and I took Ethan and his girlfriend Tessa downtown for “shop small Saturday”. I was feeling a little blue after the excitement of Thanksgiving, and this was the perfect way to get outside with my camera and enjoy our beautiful town and the little shops. We saw several people we knew, had some coffee, found some bargains and enjoyed some lovely Christmas decorations.
Christmas is such a beautiful time of year.
I’m thankful I can enter into the season slowly and mindfully.
thanksgiving 2017 album
matchy-matchy
On the last morning with Joanna before heading for home, we dressed in our matching clothes and went out to breakfast at a low-key friendly diner not far from her house.
And then, good-byes. . . . . .
Sarah and I stopped a few times, including once near this pretty stream. She made a most pleasant little traveling companion.
*****
Grace got home Friday night! She’s currently at the other end of the couch asleep. I was sleeping next to her until the phone woke me up. At her feet are two big cats sleeping in the soft blankets. The wood pellet stove is going and the sun is shining today, although it is only 33 degrees. She and I went to the grocery store this morning for her last paycheck before she left for college and…..thanksgiving ingredients. It’s so windy that as we walked the cart of food to the car the disposable turkey roaster blew off the top and half way across the parking lot! It made us laugh as Grace chased it down.
The big boys will be arriving from college later on today and this mama’s heart is ready for all the children home again. God’s blessings never end.
*****
Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent lifting of the heart to God in honor and praise for His goodness. JR Miller
..we should not call anything trouble which brings to pass good..
“I am anxious, and it soothes me to express myself here. It is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time.” —Mina Murray in her journal
Sunday morning. I had considered going to my parent’s house for the day as it was only an hour and a half drive from where we were in Pennsylvania. But I was suffering with a cold and we decided to stay where we were. Grace showed us a nice coffee shop and the three of us had breakfast together there.
We spent the rest of the morning at a bookstore and Grace bought a journalling Bible with a beautiful cover and nice wide margins for her thoughts.
She was craving macaroni and cheese for lunch and we went to Ruby Tuesdays.
By this time, Joanna’s family was back from church and she was able to meet us with her daughter.
I love her.
Joanna took Sarah along home with her. Grace and I went to the hotel to get her things so she could do homework at Aunt Joanna’s house. And then we spent the rest of the afternoon until bedtime with them. It was as cozy as could be with all the family and me and my two girls all together in the cozy kitchen, dining room, and living room. We had delicious Dominoes pizza for dinner.
We love to exchange our big journals and look through them as we visit. Joanna’s journal is big and heavy and full of quotes, pictures, found papers, and art. Coco stayed by us and was inspired enough to get up and find things to glue into her first journal.
((red shoe))
Inspiration, Idea, Execution (the top corner of her journal shows a picture of how she came up with the art on the wall—her own photography))
(green page)
(brown)
(old recipe)
(photo by Jo)
“Some may say [journal keeping] is a great deal of trouble. But we should not call anything trouble which brings to pass good. I consider that portion of my life which has been spent in keeping journals and writing history to have been very profitably spent. If there was no other motive in view [except] to have the privilege of reading over our journals and for our children to read, it would pay for the time spent in writing it.” —Wilford Woodruff
“Never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things — childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves — that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers.” —Salman Rushdie
walking in the woods
***
We decided to go on a family walk through the woods. Rich had to caution Seth several times because a broken collar bone doesn’t slow him down anymore. Gentleman Gray made us all happy by coming along with us and being a funny cat. We followed the trail. David brought one of his sharp knives which gave me anxiety about someone getting accidentally cut but all in all it was a nice little walk.
***
This morning I almost forgot to get David and Caleb to their physicals. I had just enough time to shower, go get them from school, and take them. They are old enough that I sit in the waiting room. The nurse took them back first to get their weights and heights, and check their ears and eyes, then she took them back to the doctor. She returned to the waiting room to tell me, “I just love your boys, I had to tell you, they are such good boys.” Of course this made me proud and happy so when David came out, done with his appointment first, I told him what she said. “I’m sure she was referring to ME,” he said with his nose in the air. “I’m sure you’re right,” I said rolling my eyes. “You gave birth to warriors.” he continued………. (I really gave birth to funny people)
***
I found several good recipes in the Family Circle magazine while I waited in the doctor’s office. I took pictures of them; Roasted Kale and Butternut Squash, Pork with Cauliflower and Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Jamaican Coconut Collard Greens. I’m trying to eat lots more fruits and veggies. I had a smoothie for breakfast; canned organic pumpkin, ice, milk, frozen banana, cinnamon and nutmeg. YUM
***
I need to get myself organized for Thanksgiving dinner, which I am preparing this year for my family. One good thing is that I’ve done it enough to know what I’m doing. I just have to get that big grocery shopping trip done. What are your plans for the day?
***
The first photo is of *the first ice of the season*, which is always celebrated, on the stream. The children said it looked “like South America.” Sarah has been going outside every day to skate around on a frozen puddle at the end of the yard.
***
Rich is working late tonight. David has already told me he wants to make dinner; spaghetti with meatballs. And no doubt we will watch some of Monday night football.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Good to be Home 