Jacob and Ethan attend the prom

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Shanda

It’s the season for

pinxter bushes in bloom, (Seth and I went for a walk yesterday and brought back some for a vase)

lady slippers, (Joanna sent me a picture)

baltimore orioles, (I saw one this weekend, finally)

and the P R O M…….

Just a few short years ago (October, 2006 to be exact) Jacob and Ethan looked like this::

On Friday……..they looked like this (in the same location- the rock they were sitting on is on the far right of the picture):::

Of course I had to take a ton of pictures of them looking sharp in their tuxes. They looked quite handsome, my mama heart was just bursting with pride.

These two boys are one grade apart at school. Jacob is Senior and Ethan is a Junior. Jacob’s girlfriend is in Ethan’s grade and she invited Jacob to Jr.Prom, which is how the two boys were both attending together.

They are only 14 months apart and very close. They have done everything together, every step of the way, except now Jacob has entered the land of romantic love, leaving Ethan rolling his eyes and getting used to Jacob spending every spare minute with Emily.

Jacob

Ethan, wearing his class ring.

Me, with E

Me with Jacob

I love this one of the boys with their Dad.

Rich took this one with his phone, it’s quite terrible quality, but great because I’m with my boys.

They were using the windows as mirrors. They were feeling mighty good about their looks.

Emily’s beautiful corsage was made by a florist in town.

After I took the pictures in the driveway of our house, Emily’s mom came and picked up Ethan and Jacob. Grace was with Emily and some other girls, helping them to get ready. Emily’s mom picked up the girls, too, while Rich and I drove to the Gazebo to meet them. The Gazebo is the traditional place for the students to take pictures before traveling on to the prom venue.

We found Ethan first, and Grace jumped in for a photo with her dear brother.

They looked so stiff and formal I requested that he put his arm around his sister.

And now I just sit and stare at this picture which is probably one of my all time favorites. Grace is one step down in age from Ethan. They are a little less than 2 years apart but Grace is a Sophomore in High School because she started school when she was 4.

And then we saw Jacob walking toward us with his beautiful date……

Emily was so excited, she wanted a picture with everyone.

Here she is with Sarah:

With Caleb:

with Ethan:

with her Mom:

with me:

I’m not going to post the one with Seth because it ended up too bright. And there is no picture with David because he ran and hid.

Here is the one with Rich and Grace:

I kinda wish I had thought of taking a picture of the entire gazebo, but I did get some nice shots of them inside of it. Ethan did not take a date, but one of the girls from their group was also going along single so they did end up with an even number of friends to eat and dance with all night. Jacob and Emily, Ethan, Bridgette, Marissa and Tom.

I told them I wanted to see their pretty shoes and got quite a surprise….

Emily wasn’t wearing any.

pretty pretty eyes

Grace with the big brother she adores.

Seth hung around watching everyone, and Sarah kept seeing princesses everywhere.

Jacob, Ethan, and Emily walked away to mingle and get ready to go eat. Rich and I left with backward glances with the other children and headed home, happy to know that our dear boys were going to have a most wonderful time. The next morning we heard all about it and Ethan was still in a dancing mood.

The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. Psalm 28:7

the one and only E

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Shanda

Grace is recovering from the flu and we are on the couch together watching The Well-Diggars Daughter. If you have not watched this golden French film….it’s perfect and lovely…heart warming. David and Seth are also home recovering from the flu. For the last week, I have been Nurse Mother. There is a huge pot of chicken noodle soup on the simmer in the kitchen, along with various medicines, tissues, drinks, and tender loving care, ready and waiting to meet their every need.

One son in the family has remained healthy, the one and only Ethan. He is thankful that he didn’t spend his birthday, which was yesterday, sick like the rest of his siblings.

He requested a Boston Creme Pie and an Apple Pie for his birthday dessert. With the extra work I had as Nurse, I decided to order the pies from a bakery half an hour away. Grace was home from school so she graciously watched Sarah (and, Finding Neverland) while I was gone. I picked up Ethan and Jacob from school. With coffees from Dunkin Donuts, we went on our little road trip to the Bakery and then ate Ethan’s choice for lunch; chinese buffet.

The waitress asked them if they were twins. They are only a year and two months apart, so almost irish twins. They act like twins, though, since the day Ethan was born they’ve been the best of friends. For example, I had originally asked Ethan to go with me alone for lunch, but he asked if Jacob could go because “it would be more fun that way.” He wasn’t being cruel, he was only being honest. I love these brothers. They are good for each other. Ethan’s the only one in the family who doesn’t treat Jacob with respect for being the firstborn. LOL

Ethan had 20 dollars Grandma and Grandpa, and with an extra six dug from my purse,he and Jacob went into GameStop (a used game store).

We arrived back home with a game for Ethan, a calligraphy pen for Jacob, and birthday pies.

After so much Chinese food for lunch, he decided on pizza for dinner. Rich brought it home from Ethan’s favorite place, Frank Pepe.

He loves the clam pizza but their supplier is having bad luck, so we ate shrimp instead. With lots and lots of garlic yumminess. There was a meat pizza for the others. As I gaze at the photo, I am tempted to go get a cold leftover piece from the fridge.

At first, he seemed more interested in playing his games than opening his gift. But it wasn’t true.

One of my favorite parts of being a mom of many, one of the beautiful little things I didn’t expect, is the joy in seeing the siblings get in each other’s way to watch a brother or sister open the birthday gifts. All so very excited.

I had made Ethan wait until later on in the day to open his gift, because Rich was the one who took care of everything, although Sarah and I wrapped it. Look at those faces!

A smile for his Dad, a smile that says “thank you, I love them”.

The smell of leather.

For the rest of the night there was a sound of cowboy boots on all the wooden floors.

A much cherished gift.

I, for one, became over-stuffed with pie. Look at that cream in the middle! And it’s real! Not cool-whip or frosting, but real lightly sweetened whipped cream. The cake (Boston Creme Pie, rather) was entirely delicious.

Apple pie was good, too.

Seth missed out on the birthday song and pie because he fell asleep on the couch. David missed it because he was feeling sick with the flu. There are leftovers for them.

After a while, I left Emily, Ethan, Jacob, and Grace playing a video game together with their Dad watching over them. I got into bed with a grateful heart, all tired out from a day of happiness, celebrating my beloved son Ethan’s 17 birthday.

All those years ago I tucked him into my arms, a perfect fit, with so much love.

{this moment} cat nap

Posted on February 27, 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.

{this moment} another little wrestling injury

Posted on January 16, 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.

{this moment}

Posted on December 5, 2014 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.

i see fire

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Shanda

It’s raining this morning, I love the sound and the smell! Caleb just got on the bus. Seth and Sarah are playing together for about 20 more minutes before Seth’s bus comes to get him for school.

The trees are colorful, I wonder if we are at peak fall beauty? God’s creation never ceases to amaze and delight!

I am leaving here soon for Community Bible Study. Our group is studying Romans and this morning we also have a brunch. I look forward to getting to know my ladies better today.

Last night the High School had a Variety show. Ethan and Grace sang a duet together. I was so proud of them! All the kids did so well, it made us smile no matter what the quality of performance is. As Jacob said afterwards, we clapped because they did awesome or we clapped because they were brave enough to perform.

They sang a rather dark song that had the phrase “I see fire” repeating in it enough that it also keeps going through my head all day, everyday (from hearing them practice). The song was from the Desolation of Smaug. I just looked it up, the title is not surprising, “I See Fire”.

Here’s the official music video from the movie:

Jacob taped their performance, and if i can figure out how to load it I will do so. They were so cute together up there.

At the end of the song, Grace gave E a cute look, like, “Wasn’t that fun?”

Our church youth group and leadership came out to support them, making the night even more fun! Thanks, guys!!

Want to hear something neat? Two of the Youth Group leaders are brother and sister…..and their names are Seth and Sara! So this is a picture of the four of them, big Seth with little Seth, and big Sara with little Sarah.

It was a great night.

book recommendations from a sixteen year old boy

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Shanda

David, age 11 and Ethan, age 16

I would be most content if my children grew up
to be the kind of people who think decorating
consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~Anna Quindlen

My brother Dave sent David a book for his birthday. It was a copy of a book that he enjoyed when he was David’s age, Danny the Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl. David read the entire book over the weekend, finishing it in the car on the way home from church yesterday.

Watching David read his new book made Ethan think of all the books he has enjoyed over the years. The other night he went through all the bookshelves in the house and selected his all time favorite titles. As he went from room to room, his younger brother David was with him, too. He brought the stack to the living room to show me and I laughed when he told me that David had already read quite a few of them because he “made him.”

Out of the all the books, David reminded him of the ones he had read, and Ethan gave him a few others that he still has to read (his brother will make him). A couple of them, we agreed, were probably not suitable for his age yet but will be in the “someday” pile.

Here is the entire stack:

Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer, series by John Grisham.

Tucket’s Travels, by Gary Paulsen

The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (for older readers)

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card (for older readers)

The Lord of the Rings series, including The Hobbit, by J.R. Tolkien

Frightful’s Mountain by Jean Craighead George (and her other books, too)

Poppy’s Return by Avi

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl (Ethan preferred this one to Chocolate Factory)

Boy by Roald Dahl

Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith

The Mad Scientists’ Club by Bertrand R. Brinley

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimph by Robert C. O’Brian

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Ethan said the movie was a big disappointment; the book is much better)

((Never judge a book by its movie. ~J.W. Eagan))

***

See also Ethan’s sister Grace’s list here. (some of the books are repeats!)

(I am still reading Les Mis)

Ethan’s 16th birthday

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Shanda

It was my son Ethan’s sixteenth birthday yesterday and the day dawned bright and cold, after little sleep for yours truly. I awoke with a headache and a bewildered feeling, “what a wild night”. Rich didn’t sleep well either, and after I got up I discovered that Jacob had also been up in the night. He didn’t go to school yesterday because he was sick.

Wednesdays are a very busy day for us because I have my Bible Study, of which I am a core group leader (facilitator) for a room full of wonderful sisters in Christ. The day is typically nonstop and yesterday was even busier because I had a birthday to prepare.

Funny things Seth and Sarah said as we were going Bible study:

Seth: rambling on and on about his night.
Sarah (not to be outdone): “I had a dream last night, TOO!”
Me: “He wasn’t talking about a dream, he was talking about reality.”
Sarah (not to be outdone) “I HAD REALITY, TOO!”

***

And then, as we were going in the church:

Sarah: (cheerfully) “I have to go to the bathroooooom!”
ME: groaning because I really have to get to opening prayer, “really? okay, let’s go.”
Sarah (on potty): nothing is happening
ME: (impatient) “I don’t think you really need to go.”
Sarah: (loudly) “I DO!” (and then, whispers) “And YOU ARE GOING TO STAY WITH ME.” (big blue eyes leaning into mine)

Then, she called perfume, “my fume” which is the best way to say it, really.

I was at study from 9-1:30 and then we headed to Target.

I had to return a 29 dollar garbage can that I bought on Monday and brought home, only to discover that it was broken. Then, I got a big gift bag and found a bunch of little things to give to Ethan for his birthday. He ordered some fancy sneakers last week but they won’t be in until April and we all agreed that he needed something to open on his special day. I got the ingredients for his requested dinner, too.

When I arrived back home I discovered that my sick boy had cleaned the living room, kitchen, and new addition spotlessly. He even rearranged the kitchen things a little to make it all fresh and nice. Oh I was so encouraged by that!

I found Jacob and the birthday boy in front of a nice fire that they made, playing computer games. I hugged them and chatted with them and then set right to work making Ethan’s birthday pies.

I used purchased pie dough and filled each with a can of cherry pie filling, three apples, a sprinkling of sugar, a dusting of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of flour. (They were not as high as Bob would make his pies.)

When the pies were baking, and the little brothers were home from school, Ethan was looking in the cupboards for a snack so I knew it was time for him to look in his birthday bag.

My vision was blocked by the excited siblings. His bag contained a new nerf gun, 75 bullets, and a bunch of snack stuff (which he promptly opened).

Ethan’s pies

I made honey baked chicken for dinner. I trimmed chicken breasts into smaller pieces and poured over the top: One cup of unsalted butter whisked together with one cup of honey, one cup of mustard, and 3 T of curry powder.

I was supposed to let it marinade for at least 4 hours but alas, I had no time to spare so I let it sit out (with foil on top) for about 1/2 an hour before I put it in the oven.

As it baked, I had to go to school to pick up Grace (the galloping music of life plays on).

Zachary and Michael came to help celebrate the evening with Ethan.

With the chicken, we had egg noodles, broccoli, and corn.

Rich entertained us all with his stories.

I think the part of the night that I want to remember the most is all the story telling. Everyone talked and talked. The family needed this night, a night to sit around the table and be together full of happiness because it was another birthday to celebrate.

In fact, I had to finally ask for silence, because after Jacob lit the candles the talking continued until I was afraid the pies would fill with melted wax.

He took a deep breath and blew out 16 candles at once. We clapped and he smiled.

We all told our favorite stories of “E”.

Aunt Mildred called to wish him a Happy Birthday.

Rich and I served out the pie and ice cream on paper plates as the talking continued.

Grace had my camera and took some close ups.

Zachary

Seth

And the birthday boy!

It came to pass, during our conversations, that the source of Jacob’s illness was revealed as pure gluttony. He made himself sick by buying himself an energy drink and drinking it down with some Mountain Dew (while at youth group). To make things worse, he then came home he made himself a bedtime snack of bacon and sausage, of which he ate a great deal more than he should have. We all agreed that it was a good thing he threw it up.

*****

This morning the sun is once again shining but it is only about 10 degrees. Let us hope the temperature climbs up forty degrees today, but even if it doesn’t, God is in control, He is holy and pure, His ways are perfect, nothing surprises Him, and he has abundant love for His own.

*****

“What a mercy, of more value than a thousand worlds, to walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long; to be enabled to live above the smiles or frowns of this world, and to find the love of Christ all-satisfying to our souls; to feel all creature-love swallowed up in Christ, and to know that he loves us better than we love ourselves. Have felt these few days very comfortable, stayed upon the Lord; and today, sweet peace and joy, arising from a believing view of the ever-blessed gospel of the Son of God. As soon as I take my eye from Jesus, and look for anything like comfort from this world, or look within for something to rest upon, I begin to be in trouble, and have again to run into the name of the Lord, which is a strong tower to my soul at all times.” Mary Winslow’s diary, January 21, 1829