**super bowl party pictures**

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Another full to the brim weekend!

I took the younger kids to a college wrestling meet on Saturday because Ethan was there…oh how wonderful it was to see my son after a month of being apart.  He looked great.

After the meet we stopped at Costco to quickly get some food trays for Sunday.  As soon as I got out of the car, my brother Isaac was saying hello from just across the lane in the parking lot.  That was fun, and we hugged.

On Sunday morning, Rich and I were able to sleep in until 7 and then relax with coffee because we elected, after his head injury, to not have Seth wrestle this weekend.

However, David and Caleb had a meet in the afternoon and they both won second place medals in their weight brackets.  The school did a great job of moving the meet along at a quick pace so everyone could get home (we live in New England, after all, and had a big Super Bowl to watch)……..

We got home just in time to do a quick run around for a last minute tidying up.  And then the Super bowl party.  We were all cheering for the Patriots so the first 3 quarters of the game were pretty disheartening.  But then!  Wow, Caleb (the biggest 11 year old fan I’ve ever met), was so happy when the Patriots finally got their groove and won the game in overtime.

PICTURES:

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We temporarily moved in the little couch behind the big one for more seating.  Rich invited his HS wrestling team and four of them are in this picture, along with Caleb who is sad because the Falcons keep scoring, Tessa (Ethan’s girlfriend and our neighbor) and my husband waving.

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Michael, Zach, Caleb, and Grace sat at the kitchen island where most of the food was located.  We put the cookies in the other room on the table and the crock pot of meatballs (thank you, Louis) was on the counter near the drinks.  We bought 2 cases of seltzer and a case of Coke, guess what got drank up the fastest???  Yep, the soda.  All gone in one night.

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My brother Isaac and his wife Cassandra, who brought the best chocolate chip cookies.

We had two sheet pizzas, and wings, too.  Two fruit bowls, and two veggie trays from Costco.  Lots of chips and dip.  Baked sausage and sauce.

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Caleb turned to me and said, “Now they have no chance of coming back, Mom.” after the Falcons scored again.  Uncle Dave texted him telling him to keep his chin up, they could still make a come back.

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While Rich and I were at the boys meet on Sunday, Grace taught Sarah how to sing from the hymn book.  She found a ready audience in her Aunt Cassandra.  Sarah’s favorite hymns to sing are “Come Thou Fount” and “Joy to the World.”

She is also learning to play the piano.

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Jacob got out of work at 7 and got home by 7:30.

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Me, Sarah, and Allie (who was the most vocal about her opinions on how the Patriots were playing).  I never knew she was such a fan.  🙂

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This old guy was on the hunt for food bits.  I was holding up a cheese cracker for this photo.

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dear friends.  Caroline brought the yummiest hot broccoli cheese dip, and a taco dip.

And fantastic cookie bars.

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future crazy cat ladies of America…Grace, Allie, and Tessa’s beautiful sister Emily.

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Isaac and Cassandra left at half time so I took a quick photo of my brother and my firstborn.  They look similar, yes?

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Playing “open your mouth and let me see if I can throw this cracker into it.”

****

Well, we all know how the fourth quarter of the game played out.  Caleb, bless his heart, came out of half time with a terrible stiff neck from playing nerf football and wrestling downstairs with the guys, so he had to stay motionless on the couch as he watched the most exciting comeback in Superbowl history.  However, he was able to raise his hand in victory as the final outcome of the game was decided.

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sooooooo cute

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best memories; his face while watching Tom Brady after the game.

And, another photo to add to our yearly Superbowl portraits;

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gosh, it was a fun night.

*****

You cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness. ~Author Unknown

 

 

a boy named seth

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Last night after the High School wrestling meet, there was a special youth exhibition.  Seth was one of the boys who got to wrestle.  He wrestled a boy who was bigger and better than he was (although, actually, Seth would disagree with me on both counts) and was soundly beaten.  He was also dropped on his head.  The ref stopped the match while Seth recovered flat on the mat, Rich and the coaches by his side, and me on the bleachers with an icy stomach and worried sisters by my side.  He got up and finished the match, getting pinned 2 seconds before the buzzer blew to end the match (which he would have lost by 2 points).

It was very disappointing and sad for Rich and me but only because we are his parents.  The team did awesome and won the meet.  All the boys did so well and we were extremely proud of them.

Seth has only lost two matches this season out of about 14 (I lost count).  He is very good and enjoys the sport.  When we got home, Rich was concerned about a concussion and slept four inches away from Seth on the couch all night long.  I was concerned about my precious sons wrestling in general but Rich said that life is risky and they were just as apt to get head injuries on the playground or climbing trees or wrestling each other when I’m not looking.

Rich decided to have Seth stay home from school today so he could rest and be quiet.

This has worked out nicely for Seth, because

it

is

his

birthday.

Seth turns 8 years old today.

He is currently sound asleep on my bed after a whole morning of “quiet”.

But this morning after his bath, I took these portraits of him.

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Remember the time when your legs were so short you couldn’t bend your knees over the edge of Mom’s old rocking chair?

Remember that baby face you used to cover in kisses that you can still see glimpses of?

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Remember that birthday when you were turning eight and you asked your mom to bake you a chocolate cake with vanilla cream filling and you licked the beater?

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Remember the card that your sister made you and she wrote “You’re the best brother ever in the world?” and when you read it you said, “I said that to Ethan once.”

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And how on your birthday you think you need to go outside and look for your shadow?

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Remember how I love you?

the weather

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off in the distance I see lighting that I have never seen before.

I head up, briskly, to the field.  The sky opened up above me and I am surrounded by marbled blue and gray.

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I see a white birch tree, a solitary tree amongst so many…..a single white line, and I marvel that I had never noticed it before.  I’ve always loved white birches.

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birds flew away from the gray clouds…..hurrying.

I stand with the wind whipping around me as it suddenly begins to hail.

My heart rises with the birds.

Tiny bits of hail, about the size of baby peas landing with rapid pits and pats on the earth.  I look up, I look down, I pick some up to study.  They are perfect little pieces of frozen nature-art.  I eat some.  crunch crunch.  I walk home in the hail.  I feel alive.

“The awareness of life’s passing makes the now sweeter and more important.”  David Budbill

easy afternoon snack

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I remember my mom making these for us when I was a child.

I broke the muffins apart and let Sarah do the rest.

Then, biggest brother came along and added even MORE cheese.

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English muffin pizzas

all you need is English muffins, pizza sauce, cheese, and an oven

to have happy children with full bellies

a good cook knows it’s not what is on the table that’s important,
it’s what is in the chairs.

old sturbridge village

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Somehow I lost the original post that I wrote yesterday about Old Sturbridge Village, but here are all the photos once again.  We had a great day with Hannah.  We went on Saturday, on a mild January day.  The last place we visited was the Potter’s shop and then the next day, by God’s plan, we read verses from Jeremiah about God the Potter, who shapes our lives…..Jacob, my son, read them from the pulpit and Sarah recognized the photo on the screen, thanks to the education she received from our lovely day.

“Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you.”

let the stormy breezes blow

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The house is quiet.  I awoke at 6am to learn that school was closed.  In our neck of the woods, the winds are whipping tree limbs into power lines and causing power outages and there is icy snow thinly covering the ground.  Yesterday our electricity was out from noon to seven in the evening.  Darkness and quiet can mean so many things.  What we see as “dark” can be darker still, what we hear as “quiet” can be even quieter……….

We lit candles and carried flashlights.

For now, the house is warm again, and maybe not as quiet as I think.  It will surely get louder as the children wake up, good healthy children with lots of energy, curiosity, play, mess, and need for constant work to do.

Someone can clean the kitchen.  Someone can fold clothes.  Someone can sit beside me and let me read to them.  Someone can play a game.  Someone can make us lunch.

If you can slip and slide your way to our place, all are welcome for a party day.  We a friendly dog, three cats, and children from the age 6 all the way up to 20.  Friends.

Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.  ~ Bill Watterson 

******

I drove my Hannah friend to the airport yesterday morning.

As my husband texted me, “The parting of good friends is sad but oh so worth it.”

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These are the pajama pants she made Caleb, using another pair belonging to him as a pattern.  Caleb is our football fan and he loves the Patriots.  These pants were a labor of pure love.  (Hannah is a Seahawks fan)

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She made me a pair of nice thick leggings in a wonderful olive green.

*****

a little clip from singing with Hannah on Sunday

the last verse:

Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God’s hand;
Here the sun is always shining, here there’s naught can harm me;
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.

“For what is joy if it goes unrecorded, and what is love if it is not shared?”

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Good morning!  Hannah made Seth some joggers yesterday.

She is showing me things that I never dreamed my sewing machine could do.

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She used a pattern on one of her favorite online sources:  Patterns for Pirates.

This pattern is called Baby Bear Joggers and she sewed it using a nice thick knit for the fabric.

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Seth was so full of energy all afternoon wearing his new pants that it made Hannah laugh and say, “Well, at least we know he has a full range of motion in them!”

He wore them to bed and then wore them to school this morning.

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Yesterday was also homemade noodles day.

We went for two walks.

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We received a box full of good things as a surprise from Hannah’s mom; homemade jewelry, cookies, candy, and some gingerbread tea which we enjoyed before bed last night.

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PIG EARRINGS

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so far, these cookies are my favorite

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THE ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD; homemade chicken and broth with noodles, served over homemade mashed potatoes.

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Hannah began making a dress for Grace, a beautiful red and cream lace dress; in which Grace will be sure to look like a Valentine in February.

When Hannah was done sewing for the day, she neatly covered everything up with a tablecloth so the cats wouldn’t eat thread or shred the patterns.

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Deep down inside, Sherlock really believes she has thoughtfully made him a bed.

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This morning is quiet; the children have gone to school and Hannah is getting dressed while I blog, drink tea, and look out the window with my cat.

*****

“For what is joy if it goes unrecorded, and what is love if it is not shared?”  Jennifer Worth
~quote from an episode of Call the Midwife which we watched last night with our gingerbread tea.

a vole and a mermaid tail

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My friend Hannah from Alaska arrived on Friday night and she is quite a talented seamstress so……we went to Jo-Ann Fabrics today and got everything we needed to make clothes.  I say “we” but all I am doing so far is observing and once I held down a pattern so she could cut it without pinning.  I’m keeping her company.  It’s cozy.

As I type, she is at the other end of the table cutting out joggers for Seth and telling me that the sound of the scissors cutting through fabric is a sound of her childhood and that her mom reads my blog (hi Mom!) and she might make me pig earrings someday.

Isn’t amazing that you can print a pattern right off the computer?  The first one (a mermaid tail) was 6 pages printed, and then taped together and cut out.

While she was busy with it, David came inside the house with a bucket.

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And this was inside.  We think it is a vole.  Gentleman Gray (the cat) caught it over by the woodpile and David rescued it and put it in a bucket so he could show me.

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It was mighty cute and David was very very very gentle with it and put it back on the woodpile after I took its photo.

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This is the finished mermaid tail for Bitty Baby and for Sarah, using thick warm fleece.

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Hannah is almost done cutting out the pants for Seth and then we have to wait for Jacob to get home with special sewing machine needles before she can start sewing.  We forgot to get them earlier and asked Jacob to stop at JoAnn’s after work.

More tomorrow!