efforts on the last day of summer

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Shanda

“….a little boy grows up so fast….”

I was secretly calling Saturday the last day of summer because it was our oldest son’s last day at home before leaving for college the next morning. So I made the effort to take some photos of the ordinary family living that I hold so dear to my heart, knowing deep down that while life will go on just as beautiful and ordinary as ever, parts of it were ending and beginning anew in other parts of the world…….not too far, thankfully. Jacob and Ethan will be at college together in Vermont this year (3 hours away), and our sweet Grace will be in Pennslyvania (about five hours distance). As the children grow up, things within the home change, but the bond we have stays true, and the love we share will never die, and indeed, my deepest desire and hope is that it will continue to grow up and out as our family grows up and and out.

So these efforts were made by me in the realm of photography, and the only other effort I made personally was to be “hands off” on the day and let it be as normal as possible, because I have finally learned that while deep in my soul I am in a type of motherly mourning for the fleetness of the years, no one else in the family necessarily needs to know. 🙂

So what did we do? Jacob headed for work, sicker than a dog, and Rich left for the chiropractor’s with Ethan (they are both getting work done on their backs) and Caleb (who needed a hair cut after the doctor’s appointment).

Confession: somehow, even though I was truly trying, I just realized this morning that I took not one single photo of Grace, so I am inserting this one from last weekend, when I caught the sisters sharing a moment over pancakes. In reality, Grace was so busy on Saturday….she had driver’s practice in the morning, and then worked all afternoon until 7pm….that I somehow didn’t take any pictures of her.

The brightest red wildflower is in bloom down by the banks of our stream. It’s like a jungle down there so I can’t get as close as I’d like……

I watched busy buzzing bees collect pollen all over the wild and tall Joe Pye Weed and then, saw the most beautiful dragonfly I’d ever seen…..

RED! DARK RED!

with shimmering wings! I admired it until it flitted away.

Next to the garage we have a tiny wild pond where bullfrogs hang out all day. I enjoy sneaking around to spy on them and they always freeze like this and stare at me. I want to sit down there sometime and see what they REALLY do……

And then, the guys finally got home and went to work on Rich’s car. Yep, that was the real theme of the weekend; “Put The Motor In”.

Rich has been itching to do it all winter long and had big boxes in the house which were all delivered and saved carefully for The Day.

Nice haircut, Caleb.

Now get to work!

Nothing makes Rich more annoyed than not being able to find his tools because the children have been running off with them and not returning them to the proper place. Nothing that is, except maybe water running through the ceiling because Seth didn’t have the shower curtain in the bathtub and was getting water everywhere on the floor upstairs…..ask me how I know this…..so the first thing they did was find Dad’s tools, while Rich and Ethan organized and Sarah cleaned.

The car is under the tarp. Waiting for it’s motor.

I’m pretty sure this is it. 🙂

Sarah was very conscientious about sweeping the floor.

Seth wasn’t as conscientious about finding Dad’s tools.

David

Oh and Jacob was able to get out of work a little early and he went straight to bed, spending his last day at home SICK and asleep.

(I think it’s amusing that the dog is in a lot of these photos being ignored. But he gets his revenge later.)

Bringing the boxes out of the house (finally!) and into the garage.

Finally they were ready and the younger boys snuck away. David was called for duty now and then, but Ethan was the main helper of the entire day all the way up until it was too late to visit Tessa and he was secretly annoyed.

I mean, as his mother, I could sort of tell. But Rich, as his father, certainly didn’t care. He needed his son and Ethan has vacation days coming up this week to visit his girlfriend. (It reminded me of when Rich and I were dating all those summers ago and he had to bale hay all weekend for his dad while I was left to my own amusement at home…..so I took pity while Rich just felt like it was the only natural thing to do; helping Dad…there’s no way out of it, not even girlfriends.)

The younger boys hung out on the patio between the house and the garage.

And I found Sarah had vanished to her room to play the DS. So I sent her right back outside to enjoy the beautiful day.

They made a cake.

Eventually, hours and hours later, I picked the camera back up to take a picture of CHICKEN that I grilled myself……

And this is where the dog got his revenge for being “ignored//neglected” all day.

After we all ate, he stole the leftovers off the kitchen counter, eating the chicken and neatly leaving the sticks on the carpet in the living room. We all got mad because that was really good chicken and I had made a ton so we could enjoy the leftovers, not feed them to the dog.

We ended our day by watching TV on the couch in the dark, all tired out.

*****

This is where things get sad you might want to turn away.

I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday morning to see my son off. Rich was already awake and in the garage with his car but the rest of the family was asleep as Jacob finished packing his car to leave, although I did hear Seth stir and call out, “Bye, Jay!” from his bed, as he will greatly miss his big brother, too.

I followed him around, back and forth to the car and house, not unlike the dog, silently and with wishful eyes.

We hugged twice. We held it together.

It was a beautiful morning, with bits of pink in the sky.

I looked at his dear possessions everywhere in his car, that say “Jacob” to me in so many ways……his collection of hats from working at “LIDS” all summer….his new sneakers that I bought for him during a quick shopping trip we had together last week.

His music, his new fridge, all his clothes and books (he took a big box of books, which made me smile and touched my heart…I remember when he read them all…and sister Grace struggled with sharing some of them..namely the JRR Tolkien books…), my dear 20 year old son, how thankful I am that I had all of these years with you before you moved on to new adventures taking classes and playing football at college. I am blessed to call you son and friend. We’ve had such good times together, haven’t we? Your downstairs room in the basement is too quiet and still already but we’ll keep it ready for those visits back home!

“So the life of the true home flows on, sometimes in the bright sunshine, sometimes in the deep shadow; yet whether in the sunshine or in shadow it brings blessing. It shelters us in the day of storm. Its friendships remain true and loyal when adversity fails and other friendships are broken. It lays holy hands of benediction upon our heads as we go out to meet life’s struggles and duties. Its sacred influences keep us from many a mistake. Its memories are our richest inheritance. Its inspirations are the secret strength of our lives in days of toil and care. Then it teaches us to look toward heaven and the great Home in which all our hearts, hopes, and dreams shall be realized, and where the broken ties of earth shall be reunited.” JR Miller

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young love

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Shanda

It was the end of a long day. The outdoors beckoned. “Forget your troubles! Come outside where everything glitters!” I asked Ethan and Tessa if I could do a little photo shoot with them and they obliged.

CSC_1452

trip back home part 2

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Shanda

For the rest of our stay, we lived next door to Aunt Colleen and her four girls. The girls call me “Aunt Shanda” because Colleen (my mom’s baby sister) and I are practically the same age. The girls are creative and busy and are so good with little children. Seth and Sarah love visiting there. They have a wonderful back yard with lots of room to play, AND a swimming pool, so the kids went swimming every day.

Seth with his “bugs bunny” teeth, being kissed by mama.

We piled into the van one afternoon for a trip to the park.

It was a hot day so we splurged on coolattas from Dunkin’ Donuts for the kids and iced coffee for the moms.

Reesy (the kids love him but he nips so they couldn’t get too close).

Aunt Colleen removed Seth’s stitches over his eye. She’s a nurse. And awesome.

Molly painted the cool rock that Seth has his hand on.

We went back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house one evening after mom was done with work. Seth relaxed on the hammock.

Mom took this photo. Dave looks strong and manly and tough and he is, but he’s also a super-sensitive and caring guy. We text each other at least once a week. He’s great. He and Maria are devoted to their nieces and nephews, too.

We saw a mother deer with two babies when we were driving back to Colleen’s that evening.

Perry’s ice cream is the best!!! There is a stand right down the road from Colleen’s house and I think we went there 3 times over the week.

Blueberry sundae for Sarah Joy.

Perched in a perfectly splendid apple tree. This small bird. 🙂

We sat together on the wooden swing for a while one evening. Such a dear girl.

I wandered throughout one of my favorite local shops one morning while the kids were at VBS and had to take a photo of one of the “corners”….Mary Poppins, Little House, hello sacred life, markers, Beatrix Potter, all such good things. The shop owner is always warm and friendly, and while I paid for my selections we had a nice little chat, I told her that I visit every time I can and how much I love her store. With tears in her eyes, she gave me a free chocolate for being an awesome mom and told me to “Rock On”. We even hugged over the counter.

We met Mom for lunch on Thursday. Seth and Sarah gave her flowers, too, which I had picked up from a florist.

Outside the courthouse where his Grandma works.

As we were walking from the courthouse to Boscovs (where I had parked the car) I ran into a friend from High School!! I hadn’t seen her since graduation! (The skirt I’m wearing is one of the things I bought at the General Store…it’s organic cotton, so comfy! and my favorite color, too.)

Boscovs sells fiestaware so naturally………

Also, a note about Seth’s shirt. He collects baseball cards and recently sent one to Derek Jeter to sign. He wrote a fan note that began, “You’re my biggest fan……” (SO SO CUTE). While I was out shopping with Colleen one day we found a wonderful second hand store where I found the Jeter shirt for only 2 dollars. 🙂 It was fun.

The new color is that yellow in the bottom left…DAFFODIL…I took home two of the smaller bowls.

Seth and Sarah were invited to spend the night at Uncle Nate and Aunt Melissa’s house on Friday. Seth adores Tyke, their little doggie, and by the look on Tyke’s face the feeling is mutual.

At the playground with cousins.

The cousins went to VBS, too, so these kids had lots of time together last week. What a blessing!

Saying goodbye to VBS!

They absolutely loved it. On the first morning Seth said he was nervous but when we left after the last day he was sad “because it was only five days long”.

back to the blog

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Shanda

Last weekend, Rich left with Grace, David, and Caleb to go to camp in NH for a week. Jacob and Ethan stayed home so they could work and I left for NY (back home) with Seth and Sarah. I thought it would be a good chance for a lengthy visit with family, not to mention that the church I grew up in was also having their children’s VBS and I knew Seth and Sarah would love that experience. We drove to my parent’s house on Saturday and spent the weekend with them, and for the rest of the week we stayed next door to my Aunt Colleen’s house, in her in-laws’ downstairs apartment of convenience and delight.

I only took my phone with me; no big Nikon this time, and no laptop; thus the silence from wordpress blogging. I did update FB and instagram now and then.

It’s good to be home! I have lots of pictures to share from our week away.

Sarah is snuggled up next to me playing my kindle and talking while I type.

One of the things Mom and Dad and all their decendents do at this time every year is pick as many wild blueberries from Mom and Dad’s blueberry patch across the road. . . . .

Brother Nate and Brother Dave were so fun with their antics….Nate refusing to pick because he was “made to do it too much when he was a kid” and he “doesn’t like picking”. Dave teasing Dad and having little conversations with Sarah. There are so many bushes that we end up wandering off on our own, but still talking, laughing, teasing, and making strange noises to each other. Everyone who was willing to pick had a cup or a basket to put berries in.

When we were done, my mom and sisters in law baked a cake using Mom’s cookbook that she copied out in her pretty handwriting when she was a young teenager.

Mom added lemon zest to the recipe and it was fantastic.

Melissa and Maria went through all the berries we picked and cleaned, bagged, and labeled them.

We visited the garden and saw snakes.

In the end of day golden hour, Mom and Sarah went out for MORE picking. Sarah ate so many blueberries that day we starting giving her warnings about digestive issues. 🙂

After church on Sunday, I took Seth and Sarah to my favorite local & independent bookstore in the area where Sarah “adopted” an owl and I bought a crossword puzzle book (too hard) and a novel.

We walked the busy and interesting main street and made a stop in several shops, including one in the historical society. I took a picture of the arrowheads; this area of NY has many Native American artifacts which are always fascinating.

I would have stayed and read every word but alas, my little children were not as interested as I was.

Back at Mom and Dad’s, Mom and the grands made another cake to use up bananas.

And played foosball. Mom laughed so hard, I wish I could remember why. She and I were taking turns playing. I was sitting and trying to do a cross word puzzle, too.

Sunday evening, more picking! Some of the bushes are so tall Mom has to bend them down for Sarah to reach (and hide in).

Tomorrow I will blog about the rest of our week.

(I can’t concentrate right now….too many interruptions).

HUGS!

a good report for Sarah

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Shanda

*****

The nature photos are from the ambling walk I took yesterday evening after dinner (chicken parmesan) and Rich had fallen asleep on the couch….

*****

Worry weighs a person down, an encouraging word cheers a person up. Proverbs 12:25

Good afternoon! This is the first chance I’ve had to sit and blog today because first thing this morning Sarah, Seth, and I got ready and went to another one of Sarah’s follow up appointments for her kidney. Remember last year she had surgery? Well, I am happy to report that after an ultrasound today on her kidney everything looks great and they don’t need to see her in the office again for a year. (She will be taking a 24 hour urine collection test next month to see if we have been able to increase her water intake and her citrates. But they will call with the results). We are praising God for this news!

waiting room selfies

Isn’t it fun when you’re put in an exam room and left to wait and wait? No, we didn’t think so, either. But we did read a book and color and count the change in my purse and that was sort of fun.

As soon as the doctor came in Sarah became anxious, had a threatening face, slapped a high five as hard as she could, and HISSED. The man said he used to be a marine and he could take it and was very patient with Sarah. Sarah was a little less anxious when the women came in. (She had three appointments back to back; radiology, nephrology, and urology). It was interesting to see that she still had some fears lingering from her lengthy experience a year ago, but all in all she did very well today and of course any doctor’s appointment with “no shots” is a good one in her book.

Visiting the gift shop is always a treat after her appointments. They each picked out a fidget spinner.

And then we ate lunch downstairs in the cafeteria where Sarah got a hamburger, Seth a slice of pizza, and myself a salad.

Last but not least, a stop at the store and then at the farm stand to get a dozen ears of corn, “Corn AGAIN?” Sarah asked. Yes, I’ll be buying it constantly while it’s in season! It’s so good this time of year.

“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:11

“It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.” Hebrews 13:9

HE LOVES YOU!

1, 2, 3

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Shanda

And the third? Coming soon. 😉

*****

I liked this quote:

“I never saw my mother sleep. In fact, she only sat down during dinner and later for about three minutes in the tub of our one bathroom. Although Mom was perennially pregnant, she was always on the move–a blurry blue Sears housedress topped by a wavy blond perm and supported by two sturdy speed-walking legs. She had bulging varicose veins that grew with each child, and I was always worried they were going to pop, but they didn’t.
“On any given day, Mom could be found in one of two places: the outside landing, where she hung the laundry, or the kitchen, where she jogged between the ironing board and the oven. It seemed my mother could do a hundred things at once, all the while keeping at least one of her blue eyes on her ten children.
“‘Watch yourself, Eddie!’ she’d shout down from the landing to my oldest brother in the side yard. ‘Remember, you’re a born leader and all the boys are watching you!’ Then she’d vroom down the fourteen wooden steps, hip the laundry basket through the banging screen door into the kitchen, and dump it onto the table.
“‘You’re the absolute best helper, Ellen,’ she’d say as my eager sister did the folding, ‘You’re going to make a wonderful mother!’
“Shortly after noon, Mom would begin preparations for dinner, served nightly at six o’clock sharp, ‘Barbara Ann!’ she’d yell down the basement stairs as she peeled potatoes. ‘Come on up here and take Florence, Tommy, and Mary Jean. They need some entertainment and if you’re going to be a star, you’ll need to practice.’
“And that was my mother’s genius. She kept her house going by putting her finger on the special gift she saw in each of her children, and making each and every one of us believe that that gift was uniquely ours. Whether it was true or not, we all believed it.”

~Barbara Corcoran, in her book Use What You’ve Got

weekend reports

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Shanda

Can you believe it’s only 55 degrees here today? We woke up to rain, not a nice summer rain, but a very chilly rain.

A hummingbird landed wearily and cold on the porch feeder and just sat there for a while….too cold to move.

My friend Kathy came over today with four of her five children and it was a fun visit with pizza.

These photos are from over the weekend.

We went to the library and then the park.

We went from the library to the park to the coffeeshop.

The view from the coffeeshop window is always interesting. A train went by while we were there, too. Sarah sat across from me with an apple juice, reading a book about wolves.

We foraged for berries. Sarah and I.

She gave them all to Grace. (she adores Grace).

Someone brought a toady toad inside the house. He visited for a minute and then went back outside. His skin was so dry and bumpy. A proper toad.

Seth stuck this on his sister.

I sat on the couch with my cup of coffee and a cat promptly got on my lap and the dog quickly followed to sit by my side.

what a spider! It’s legs are so very straight and yes it’s on top of pond water!

At the coffee shop again the next day…with Grace, Jacob, Ethan, Zak, and Sarah.

I was looking for something to put monarch caterpillars in and we found this aquarium which I brought home and scrubbed and polished clean. I layered dirt and stone on the bottom and then moved in the baby caterpillars, about 15 tiny ones and two big ones (one is already dangling from the top).

This is a caterpillar just newly hatched and eating milkweed. It’s an amazing year for monarchs and I’m just so pleased.

Seth jumped (flew?) onto Caleb’s bed and hit his eye on the bookcase (the bed is pushed against a wall of bookshelves). Rich and I were both sleeping on the couch when Caleb brought his brother to us, “We have a problem.” I woke up, took one look and woke up to tell him he would have to take his son to get stitches. I am so thankful it happened on a Saturday when Rich was home and even more thankful that Seth’s eye was okay. It took SIX stitches to close the wound.

While they were away at the hospital, David gave Jacob and Ethan tattoos with Sharpies. Maybe he will be a tattoo artist?

And then when they came back we all hung out on the front porch watching the older boys and Rich kick a soccer ball. They were trying to kick it way across the lawn into a garbage can. Seth didn’t want his face photographed.

On Sunday Jacob and his friend taught astronomy (earth, moon, and planets) in Sunday School, as a lesson on the amazing handiwork of God. Jacob was a natural and was able to be himself in front of a room full of people of all ages.

Sunday afternoon photo-update on Seth’s face. (he hit his nose and cheek at the same time). He was still sore all day yesterday and asked for pain medicine but he’s better today. He can’t get the stitches wet for a few days but they are the dissolvable ones so that’s a relief. He and Caleb skipped a football practice and we all went downtown for ice cream on Sunday night.

THIS MORNING Sarah joined me on the porch, we watched the rain and she held Gentleman Gray on her lap while I drank coffee.

I am tired.

boys on stilts

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Shanda

I smashed the screen of my iPhone last night when Rich and I were walking. I had whipped it out from my back pocket to check my steps for the day and it kept flying right out of my hand, landing face down on the road. It still works, but after a day of looking at it covered in hairline fractures it is a relief to be in front of my computer screen. The computer screen is so perfectly NOT broken!

Grace and I went to breakfast this morning after a morning of cleaning the house. Jacob stayed home and watched the rest of the kids. Grace and I took our books, of course. She is reading Mark Twain and I’m reading a biography of Jane Fonda of all things. (I recently read an autobiography by Doris Day, too) I found a new podcast to listen to that appeals to my “memoir” side, the side of me that LOVES learning about other people’s lives no matter how they lived it, which compelled me to pick up Fonda’s book at the library yesterday. The podcast is called “You must remember This” and it’s about first century Hollywood. Like most podcasts, not every episode is worth listening to but the few I have heard gave me a lot to think about in regards to the entertainment culture of that time period. There is nothing new under the sun!

One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old
planet earth. Ecclesiastes 1:9

So anyways, we read and ate and then went to Goodwill where she found me a fiesta jumbo mug in cobalt for one dollar. I passed right by it! We shared a hug in the aisles of Goodwill. She found a cute little dress and I bought a few books, too. Then we went to the grocery store to get things for spaghetti because last night Rich came home and was so happy to step through the door into the house……to the smell of spaghetti. His eyes lit right up and he smiled big…….only it was roast pork and corn on the cob. So I promised him spaghetti today.

When we got home I put everything in the crock pot for a good sauce; homemade meatballs and chunks of sausage that David cut up for me, a big chopped onion, spices, and a big can of tomatoes.

Grace had her friends Brittany and Tessa over (who also happen to be Jacob’s girlfriend and Ethan’s girlfriend) to make homemade ice cream and I went for a power walk and was almost bitten by a dog. I was so scared. The owner was a very large man on his riding lawn mower who couldn’t be bothered to get off it and his dog (pit bull?) was not on his leash. The dog was following the man around as he mowed and then when he saw me, he ran full force at me, barking in a very scary way and came so close, I could feel it’s breath and mouth touch me as I clutched myself and stood very still…..I eventually got away while the large man simply yelled at his dog. The dog ran down the road at me a second time, barking. I didn’t know what to do. Should I call animal control and complain? The dog did everything but actually BITE me. When I had to turn around and walk back, I went into the woods to get past his house because I was so nervous. How ridiculous to have to do that!

Safely home now, and blogging from the chair in my bedroom. The house is completely clean; all beds made, bathrooms spotless, because the two maids came today (every Friday), dinner in the crock pot, so it feels extra wonderful to be able to relax. David is watching soccer videos on Youtube and the girls are upstairs now, visiting.

I’m posting photos today that I took last night when Caleb came in to say, “Mom come and see this”. I was tired so I said, as I got up off the couch, “This better be good.”

He was on stilts! Grace got them from Mrs. D at the HS when she helped her clean out the Drama Props Closet.

Thank you Mrs. D!

It was worth it!

David had to try. (you can see a small part of Caleb,too)

And there’s Sarah in her nightie ready for bed.

Big sis and big bro looking on……..

Seth wearing his watch that he got in his Subway kids meal.

Summertime + end of the day playtime outside = the BEST.

Ethan’s turn!

Parker is smiling! with his girl.

Sarah wanted to try getting on the stilts but I said “go put something on under your nightie first.” so she did, happily.

*****

THIS beautiful sunset sky is the reason why everything was pink last night.

Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.
Take delight in each light-filled hour…….. Ecclesiastes 11:7 MSG

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common yellowthroat warbler (male)

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Shanda

I went outside yesterday with my big lens and took photos of the little bird I thought had a nest. Isn’t he cute? I’m certain that worm went into a hungry baby or mama beak.

*****

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madame butterfly

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Shanda

Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

“I trust You. Give me wisdom. Give me love to spill over. My life is Yours.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

A simply DRENCHED bumble bee, waiting out the rain on a bee balm blossom.

I don’t know…..but again, drenched.

close up of a zinnia.. .. .gorgeous color pink.

My nature studies have gone from birds to bees and other insects. It’s such a pleasure to walk around the outskirts of our lawn, where the mowed grass meets the wilder grasses and flowers and look for insects. There are always interesting things to see.

I still like to watch for birds, too. In fact, I keep seeing a yellow warbler (wearing a black mask) peeping at me from the bushes, it must be distracting me from seeing a nest because it’s a typically shy bird. I’ll try to photograph it today.

breathtaking greens and yellow

I showed Sarah the photos and when she realized what she was seeing, she said “Delete it!”

This is my favorite photo of the bunch. The wings! Did you ever guess there would be wings like this on a tiny bug? (it’s on a yarrow flower, a common wildflower in our area)

It’s not a very clear photo because just as I was taking it I felt a cold thing go across my bare big toe………

It was a big juicy worm.

This gorgeous bug, if it senses an enemy near. . . . .

….drops down and plays dead. It literally plays dead! It had me fooled for a moment.

Yesterday I was on the porch and saw a Monarch fly by. I walked around to follow it and discovered it busily laying eggs on the milkweed that I let grow in the garden. See how it presses it’s tail to the leaf?

It leaves an egg behind, a teeny white egg. When it hatches, the caterpillar will be all set because it simply LOVES milkweed leaves.

By gently turning the leaves over on the plants I have found at least 5 eggs. We plan on collecting them after they hatch and watching them grow. It’s one of our favorite summertime nature studies.