in which we decorate a wild evergreen tree

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Shanda

Last week I went for a walk in the sunshine and noticed a small evergreen tree growing just outside the state forest by the side of the road, not far from our house. I envisioned it decorated for Christmas and what a fun feeling it would be to drive by and see a tree that doesn’t belong to anyone, with holiday ornaments on it. I followed through with this vision and bought some large unbreakable ornaments today. When I got home, I gathered up my four happy youngest children plus their two friends and off we went on a exciting short walk to The Tree. As you can see, we had a nice warm weather day today. Several children were barefoot and Seth was shirtless, too.

I stood on the road to take this picture. I hope that once the snow falls the green ornaments will stand out more. I wonder if anyone will notice this little tree when they drive past? Even if they don’t, it will be a secret pleasure for the children and me.

thank-full heart

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Shanda

“The way to find God’s treasure-house of blessing is to climb the ladder of His divine promises. Those promises are the key that opens the door to the riches of God’s grace and favor.”

“He knows the way I take” Job 23:10

Jacob, Emily, Sarah, and Mitch are sitting on one side of the couch with me, Grace, Rich, and Caleb are on the other side. Ethan is on the loveseat with his legs stretched out, with bare feet. Seth is wearing his Halloween costume, on the floor with a football. The late afternoon football game is on TV.

We were supposed to have my entire family here for the Thanksgiving meal but I had to cancel a few days ago. I haven’t been feeling well (depression) and with my brother Dave’s help, we decided to try for a quieter weekend….the love and understanding of my family did so much to humble and soften my anxious heart.

The thing about low points is that the spirit is more desperate and eager to SEE God, feel Him, know Him, want Him. And he pops up everywhere, like even in the movie Sister Act 2 and Grace’s chorus performance at school, it’s a thrill. He is everything, the only Rock-solid truth and the giver of so many good things.

Like family, doctors, medicine, warmth, a friend when you need one, animals, fresh air, etc……

“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the give of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

Grace and Sarah tore up the bread for stuffing.

Jacob and Ethan caught up on mine craft pursuits.

The weather was so nice today. Caleb and Seth played catch a lot.

I did a little reading in the sun with Parker the dog– (too) close.

A favorite place to lay an egg.

Loving kitty at my feet wanting some attention.

Ice from the pond.

Grace and I played yahtzee.

Parker the dog snuggling with Grace.

Rich went for a run at the school with his little ones so I could finish up the meal.

The turkey was perfectly roasted within a Reynolds oven bag.

for reals.

So I bought this plastic silverware at Costco and it turned out to be see through. We are easily amused.

Ethan finally gets to sink into his favorite—-mashed potatoes.

Rich read us a Bible passage and Seth left his place at the table to get up close.

Our thanksgiving pies are on the piano bench. 😉

Jacob went and got his Emily.

watching the football game with Gentleman Gray

Jacob and Emily did a little art.

Grace, Mitch, Ethan, and David

Sarah’s lego creation

I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

God knows, and provides our every need.

{this moment}

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Shanda

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

awesome recipe (macaroni and cheese with tomatoes)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Shanda

(setting the table)

Last night’s dinner was exceptionally miraculous so I thought I better share. I use the word miraculous because even though the dish had tomatoes in it, all seven children still ate it with vigor and healthy appetites. They had nothing but good things to say.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is rather like a circus performance. You have the macaroni that needs to be boiled in salted water for exactly 6 minutes, then you need to find your colander and drain it, all the while stirring the butter, flour, and milk base for the cheese sauce so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Cheese must be found in the fridge and grated, six cups. Canned diced tomatoes from the pantry, a can opener, whisk, rubber spatula, wooden spoons, measuring cups and so on…. it’s non stop action until the oven door slams shut, your arms go up in victory, and the baking begins.

IT WAS UTTERLY WORTH IT.

(This is Shanda’s blog so do I have to mention all seven kids running back and forth throughout the kitchen during the juggling act? Every time Dave came near me to tell me something I said, “stir the sauce!”, he was honestly offended by it.)

YUM YUM YUM

I made peas and broccoli as side dishes and the kids gobbled up their veggies, too!

My first of three helpings.

It’s truly satisfying to see your loved ones diving into a good plate of food that you made yourself.

Jacob and Ethan talked nonstop, it was so good to see and hear them together since Jacob has been so busy with college and work and girlfriend.

Caleb and Seth both gave me a thumbs up!

(I don’t have photos of David or Grace. Dave was grumpy because he had his braces tightened yesterday and his teeth were sore, and Grace was grumpy I think because she was exhausted and had a lot of homework to get done. However, this was the perfect comfort meal for both of them, I must say.)

Scarlet fiesta vase with berries from outdoors, and paprika vegetable bowl (now empty!)

Ethan’s eating off a rose plate and drinking ice water from an ivory tumbler.

Sarah ate like a horsey, with multiple servings of macaroni and cheese and her veggies.

recipe here!

this was a good idea

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Shanda

Last night four of our seven children were away. Two of them went to youth group and two of them went to see the movie “The Martian”. Rich and I found ourselves at home with the three youngest ones, and as we worked on putting them to bed I started looking forward to some peace and quiet with my husband watching TV. This thought naturally led to a craving for ice cream but alas, we didn’t have any. As we passed each other on the stairs I may or may not have batted my eyes at him. “Do you want to go downtown and get us some ice cream? You don’t have to, but we don’t have any in the freezer and wouldn’t it be nice…..?”

Although he did make eye contact and listen to my request, he didn’t reply, only sneezed violently. But as I tucked Sarah into bed and gave her a pillowcase with a soft tag, a drink of water, and a hug and kiss, I heard the front door open and shut and he was gone.

I didn’t have the chance to tell him exactly what kind of ice cream I was craving but I wasn’t worried, I assumed he would get a nice half gallon of whatever–cookie dough, maybe.

I tucked myself up into the corner of the couch with a blanket and the TV remote and in no time at all, in he walked with a weather report, “It’s COLD outside!” and his offerings. Bending over the back of the couch, he reached into his shopping bag and handed me……a bunch of bananas…..which I immediately rejected.

But wait, there was more. He next offered……..a container of Ben and Jerry’s, my favorite!

And then, another.

And another.

He exceeded my wildest dreams.

the always important little things……

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Shanda

Good morning and happy Monday, friends!

I made this wreath! About a month ago I went for a walk in the woods and came across a convenient grape vine to pull down. It was thin and pliable, not like the ones that grow so thick that the only part I can reach is as big around as a small tree with the rest of the vine grown far up into the tree tops. I pulled the little grapevine down and wound it up into a circle the best I could. And there it hang, back at home, outside on a nail for a month until I got ” a round tuit”, which was Saturday afternoon. I went outside with scissors and cut some evergreens (some still had tiny pinecones on them) and wild berries. I already had the dry grass (the tops look and feel as soft as down) in the house –I picked it from the side of the beaver pond. I used forest green yarn to tie everything together and a brown ribbon on the bottom, tied in a bow. I’m way too proud of it.

I also made a jello cake from my new favorite cookbook. It was amazing. In fact……

As soon as it was done, we ate it all. (after I took the picture, Ethan ate the last piece).

It wasn’t hard to eat it all in one go because we had a house FULL. In this picture there are 10 teenagers, 2 big dogs, and a small gray cat. There are two kids not in the picture, plus Rich and I.

Allie

Zak, Parker-the-dog, and Ethan

David made a Harry Potter wand all by himself out of a small tree he cut down in the woods. Then he carved it up and shellacked it. Sarah made turkeys out of her handprints. The Cook’s County cookbook is the one I got the jello cake from. Today I’m making a raspberry chiffon pie!

But mainly this post is about the love of my life-Richard Charles-who was gone all last week but is now home again and the part of my heart that needs *my husband around all the time* is at peace. From Monday-Wednesday he was in TX for work and then Thurs-through Saturday afternoon he was finishing up his coaching medical class that he was able to take so he can be the head coach for wrestling at our local HS this year. He was the assistant last year. He is going to LOVE coaching….he can’t wait to get started.

Well, I made him a nice “honey-do” list yesterday afternoon when he started hinting at going out for a run (which takes hours)…and he got right to work. So I thought I would show you some of the other little things we have done around the house lately……..

He put fresh lightbulbs in the ceiling fan on our cathedral ceiling.

While the ladder was out, Seth and Sarah decided to climb it.

(by the way, Seth trimmed his own bangs…he’s such a helpful child!)

Turns out Sarah is afraid of heights. I say this because she was only about two feet off the ground and beginning to shake like a leaf.

He changed out this outlet. It used to be a plain old outlet but it was loose in the wall and nothing would stay plugged into it, the cords would just fall out. It’s an important outlet because it’s on the wall at the end of the couch and we like to plug in the electric blanket and phones there. Consequently, while he was at it, he bought an outlet that has two slots for phone chargers, too. Very convenient. It’s amazing how such a small change can lift one’s spirits.

I bought this plastic bag holder a few months ago. It came with sticky strips on the top and bottom but the thing would NOT stay on the wall using just the strips. So it had to be put away until yesterday when I got Rich to hang it back up, using screws. (in the pantry)

This is our toilet paper dispenser. Rich actually hung these up a few weeks ago. We bought one for each the downstairs and upstairs bathrooms because the bathrooms are used so much that we were going through rolls and rolls of toilet paper and the rolls were all over the place. I love this dispenser because it’s clean, it’s locked, and it holds a large roll of paper. Half the kids thought it looked too “public bathroom” but I just don’t care…..I can’t tell you how many toilet paper holders have fallen off the walls, it’s nice to know this is here to stay. Michael says they were hung too low but he’s over 6 feet tall and we were thinking of our small kids at the time……

I love my new garbage can. We needed one for our dining room and this one is beautiful. It also has an open top (flip lids are an extra step) to “make baskets” into. Sarah can look right inside the top and see her papers from school that I throw away. Then she can get them right back out again.

Well, that’s about it as far as small home improvements. Rich also rehung the towel rack in our bathroom but I didn’t take a picture of that……(small mercies, right?)

These two little boys were stuck to their dad like glue yesterday watching everything he did and talking to him about football. It was precious to see.

“The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things . . . the trivial pleasures like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.” Barbara Pym

on a saturday morning

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Shanda

showering, dressing, putting on make up

giving my darling little girl a bath

frying bacon for breakfast

cleaning, vacuuming, doing dishes

reading books

spending time with special teenagers

Dear husband gone most of the week, standing in his place caring for house and family

tying on an apron, baking a cake

making a big, healthy tossed salad

13 well-behaved, good children home with me today

hair up in a ponytail, sneakers on

sunshine

watching them walk off together for a hike in the woods

chatting with two loving friends at the door

getting a son ready for a sleep over

singing hymns of praise to Jesus with my teenage daughter

hugs, kisses, smiles, laughter, teasing, listening

…….but all with a sense of deep sadness, and thinking to myself……

“there is a place in hell for self-proclaimed ‘religious’ people who destroy, kill, fill with fear, and/or harm precious innocent people who belong to the very God they say they serve”

“of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worse” CS Lewis

animals, brownies, & liberty fabric

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Shanda

Ideally, my blog posts should be nicely organized by single topics. But I have all these pictures that I’m anxious to share, plus a brownie recipe, so we will have a post devoted to three topics today:

Animals
Brownies
Liberty Fabric

It would be a crime NOT to have chickens on this property. Every morning, I let them out of their coop and the entire flock spends the day making rounds to all their favorite places; the pond, the nice dry leaves under the trees, soft dirt in order to take dust baths, under the wild berry bushes, the bank behind the house.

Whenever the urge to lay an egg happens to a hen, she makes her way back to the coop for a nesting box or the garbage barrel. Sometimes there are a few eggs in the box when a chicken arrives, and I find them kicked out later on…..at least I imagine that must be how they end up on the floor amongst the wood shavings?

I’m happy to gather the eggs in my shirt, some of them still warm, and bring them back to the kitchen like treasures.

Gentleman Gray took an all-day nap in the sock basket. He dreamed he was back in his litter, curled up with his brothers and sisters.

Sherlock the big and handsome bright orange cat, sleeps on my bed all day.

Ethan with his dog. Or shall I say Dog with his Ethan?

Emily our neighbor friend, with her big beautiful boy dog, Benji. Benji comes for playdates with Parker.

The day after playdates always leaves Parker and me kinda tired. So we took naps on the couch yesterday when everyone was back to school. (they had the day off on Wednesday).

So, what to do with all those delightful eggs? The #1 thing to do is make a big batch of brownies.

2 cups vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp vanilla
8 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend oil, sugar and vanilla, then add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased 11 by 13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. All brownies are best slightly under baked.

I first fell in love with Liberty Fabrics after seeing the blog Posie Gets Cozy. The lady on that blog (Alicia) has made so many beautiful things with that fabric line and I only dreamed of doing the same. Alas, that dream has still not come to fruition, because I did not MAKE Sarah’s little blouse, I bought it on super-duper clearance and I was so happy to do so!

It’s thin and light and perfect for her because she gets too hot at school sometimes. It makes a nice layering piece and it’s so pretty.

Yes, I have a lot of fun with my little girl. Rich teases me.

We think the kitten is saying “help me”.

today, I will be grateful

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Shanda

Reading to the kids…always and forever because maybe by the time my own children don’t want a story read, I’ll be a grandma.

Ethan sick and snuggling with his dog.

Thankfully this was taken by my husband last week and no one is sick anymore.

I found Sarah measuring her doll just like I measure her.

She loved playing with the new Madeline dollhouse….for hours.

We finished up with football season this weekend. Our boys are superstars.

Rich made me leave the house and go on a date. 😉

I found perfect fitting flare jeans at GAP.

I read this book and recommended it on the blog years ago. I just picked it up and read it again. It’s called The Light on the Island, by Helene Gliddon and was just as good the second time around. Helene was the seventh born of 13 children and spent the majority of her growing up years with her family on an island. Her parents were the lighthouse keepers.

She wrote about the trees and animals that the children loved and visited, and I took a picture of the description of Puffy the toad to send to my friend Joanna.

I want a pet toad, too. But in the meantime, I’m going to adopt a tree for my very own. We have a lot of trees. Did you know it’s very comforting to hug a nice solid tree? There’s life inside of it that seems to refresh a person….trees are such nice plant-companions. With all the appeal of electronics inside, I never want to forsake good old nature, or have my children miss out on the wonders that are outdoors.

Grace’s embroidery.

Right before I got off my butt and cleaned off the coffee table.

Oh, wait, I think it was Ethan who got off his butt because I told him to.

This evening I am making pasta for dinner and taking 13 year old David for a check up at 5:30. I was supposed to take him at 10 this morning but somehow missed the reminder call. They had to call me to tell me I missed it. Thankfully, the Doc allowed me to bring him later and not have to pay the missed-appointment fee.

Tomorrow Caleb has an appointment at 8:30 in the morning and then Sarah at 3:45.

The appointment for Sarah is in regards to a surgery she has to have soon.

I had some anxiety this morning but after praying and working on cleaning, writing snail mail and watching TV with Michael, I took a 2 hour nap which helped a great deal.

Happy Monday, friends! tell me all your happenings.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

an old house….covered in vines

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Shanda

Grace and Ethan are home sick today and Jacob doesn’t have school.

I woke up feeling optimistic and cheerful for the first time in a long time, praise the Lord!

We watched a little bit of the movie “Newsies” and a little bit of a Harry Potter movie.

I love seeing all the books within the Harry Potter movies….today it made me want to go to the library.

So I did! After I made my three oldest (who are now 16, 17, and 18 years old) a batch of pancakes and fried eggs, that is.

I paid a typical five dollar fine at the library and left with a nice heavy bag of books.

Then I hopped in my car and drove to the thrifty thrift shop downtown.

It’s gorgeous weather this week, by the way. Today is balmy.

(Ethan just told me he wanted meat. Jacob is starting a hamburger for him. Grace is sleeping.)

I found a dollhouse!

Take a look:

This was where it was discovered. I took a picture so I could text Mom and ask her if I should buy it.

“Yes” was her reply.

The best part of all is that it’s a Madeline house. “In an old house in Paris, covered in vines…..”

weekend reading.

I’ve been getting walnuts in the shell for the family, I pour them into a big fiesta bowl, so when I saw this giant walnut dish while out thrifting, I snatched it up. It opens. The kids will love it.

Isn’t it marvelous?

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random photos

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I’ve been amused by a couple of Kingfishers. They’ve been so noisy that I wonder if they’re battling over territory?

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And this tiny bird’s nest.

There is typically a sense of expectation during every walk outdoors. But the other evening it was almost completely dark so I wasn’t too expectant about seeing anything (at all). I went outside to shut in the chickens and the night was so warm and soothing that I took a short walk around. I stood down by the stream to listen to it and happened to look UP….right at this bird’s nest, which I could barely make out. I turned on my flashlight to see it and the next day I took my camera down. So small and sweet that I laughed. Even in the dark God can show us things.

(It’s quite high up, I’m hoping one of my climbers will be able to collect it for me)

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