Chicken Spinach Quiche

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Shanda

Good evening! I finally have a few moments, to write and add some photos here. Rich just left a little while ago, taking Grace, Caleb, and Davy-do with him downtown. I’ve “had enough” for the day, so he graciously shut me in my room and told me that he would have the boys clean while he was gone. I can hear the dear things whistling, as they work. I’m so thankful for their help! I’ll tell you, they definitely earn their weekly five dollar allowance!

It seems that this week I’ve poured all my energies into my family and home, leaving not enough brain power to get through journaling here. I enjoy sitting down, and trying to type out the happenings and goings on of my family, but the past few days I’ve been rather *dull-like*, not even really feeling the desire/energy to try to make sense.

We’ve had such a nice week, though. My mornings are bright, busy affairs with pancakes or scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then, we see David off to school, waving him down the road after he gets on the bus. The children do their morning chores and then we begin our home schooling for the day. I’ve been doing a lot of reading out loud to them. They’ve written some nice papers, worked on Language Arts, Penmanship, Bible, and Math. Jacob even memorized a poem today. A good day of school leaves me feeling *very pleased*. Caleb is a dear and we always let him interrupt us, and keep him the priority. If he needs something, one of us gets up from the table to help him out.

The children have been spending some beautiful sunny afternoons outside, playing and/or walking the dog. I try to get out there as much as possible, but the past few days I’ve been happier in the house, puttering around and doing a lot of cooking and baking. I try to have a nice dinner for Rich when he gets home.

After dinner, we’ve been watching TV, all together as a family. We don’t do that very often, but it’s been nice the past few days, watching a “Road to Avonlea” episode, or the “Andy Griffith Show”.

Rich puts the children to bed, after reading them the Bible. I get steadily tired throughout the day, and end up falling asleep about 9pm, every night. (and usually awake the next morning at 5:30am).

And so, the days slip by. . . . . .

I love the old-fashioned, powder pink, of these zinnias

One of our monarchs has emerged, just this morning. David got to see it before he went to school.

The neighbor’s little cat, whom I call Boots (his real, ridiculous name, is “Ya-Ya”). Don’t you think he looks more like a Boots? He is a frisky little thing, and seems to prefer my house (his owners are gone all day long).

Daughter Grace, reading her book on the porch. You can’t see in this picture, but the front of her shirt says, “Sweet Pea”, in sparkles. It’s one of my favorites on her, she is my *Sweet Pea*.

Tonight’s specialty of the house:

Chicken Spinach Quiche

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 unbaked pastry shell
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup mayo (reduced fat and fat free mayo will not work)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese into the pastry shell. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/2 cup spinach, onion and remaining cheese (save remaining spinach for another use). Spoon into pastry shell. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mayo, salt and pepper; pour over the chicken mixture.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. 6-8 servings.

Well, Rich is back home now, and it’s time to put the house to bed. . . .and guess what? I had to write this post two times, my computer closed down on me just as I finished writing the “first draft”. So, this came by blood, sweat, and tears. (Okay, maybe not that much drama). hee heeee heee

Sweet dreams to each and every friend who passes through here. . . . .

~Shanda~

peace and joy as a homemaker

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Shanda

Photobucket ”

So much to do! So much to do!

I’ve been having so much fun thinking about my family and my home. I cannot tell you how content I feel as I concentrate on what I believe is God’s highest calling for me~ to “look well to the ways of my household.” In my mind, I feel like all the pieces are finally falling into place, leaving me with so much peace and joy as a wife, mother, and homemaker.

Sure, I get tired and I lost my temper several times yesterday. . .but, what I mean is, IN GENERAL, when all is said and done. . .I have no feelings of discontent here in my home. However, God has been showing me some areas that I do need to improve on.

First of all, this house is getting cleaned and organized. I’m sure there are systems in place for women who want to organize every room of the house but I don’t need any system~the children and I are JUST DOING IT. With seven people living in this house I cannot tell you how much STUFF gets brought in the doors. It’s enough to frustrate anyone! I have no mercy right now on extra stuff~it is going right back OUT the door (to be donated or thrown away). My advice to every young mom out there: DO NOT TAKE FREE STUFF UNLESS YOU REALLY TRULY NEED IT. NEED. NOT WANT. That goes for toys, books, clothes, furniture, and any other stuff. You will just end up cluttering up your home.

Yesterday’s major accomplishment? Cleaning Grace’s room. She did the majority of the work herself and then I went up there to vacuum. Today we will go through her clothes, toys, and books. What a sense of accomplishment it was, to get that room clean! We even vacuumed under the bed. Every tiny bit was picked up (and she had LOTS of tiny bits).

Today Jacob and Ethan will work on their own room. Things will get done little by little. Each small job, done well, is rewarding. “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.

They are all still doing very nicely with their chores. Ethan is keeping the livingroom clean and vacuumed, while Grace and Jacob are keeping the kitchen clean. Having the main rooms of the house clean is a burden lifted off of me.

I owe “naturalmomma1” a big thank you for giving me the link to “forsmallhands”. I had so much fun on that website yesterday and I ordered a bunch of things for the little ones to use so that they can clean the house, too. They will be put to work! I also bought a game that we can play together, a small kite ( it’s “easy to fly”! we’ll see!) music makers, and some kitchen things just the right size for small hands.

Cooking has always been a huge pleasure for me, so there isn’t much to change in that area, except to continue to cook good, filling, and healthy meals for the family. I also intend to keep the children IN the kitchen, to help with the work as much as they can. More than any toy in the world, they want to be with me “doing things”, and helping me cook is so rewarding for them. When we are together, we are developing that sense of community, family, and unity that makes every mama’s heart sing.

Yesterday I made zucchini bread. I doubled the recipe and used half the batter to make muffins, and the other half to make a regular loaf. You can bake any quick bread into muffins, just remember to take them out of the oven after about 20 minutes. The loaf will take longer to bake. I also spent time cutting up fresh veggies, because my children need to eat more of those things~ carrots, celery, fresh peas from the garden, etc. . . . . .yum.

Nature is another way in which the children and I enjoy spending time together, but I do want to spend more time teaching them. There are so many lessons to learn, just by studying God’s beautiful world. The children know, too, that if they discover something outside, that “mama will want to see it.” Yesterday, Ethan brought me this to look at:

It’s a teeny weeny bee’s nest of some sort. When you look in the hole, it’s like another world.

We thought it was neat, and cute because of how small it is.

And of course, David is constantly bringing me frogs to look at. I don’t have quite the appreciation for them. Did I tell you that last week he put one down in the kitchen and it promptly hopped into a crack (by the dishwasher) and he couldn’t reach it? At one point I saw it emerging. . .only to be scared back in. Grace finally found it a few hours later, sitting by the piano. We called to David, and he ran it back down home, to the pond.

Yes, making jam with a frog in the kitchen is something that keeps my sense of humor alive and well.

I’m happiest when I am serving my family.&nb
sp; I have five beautiful children to teach and train and have fun with. I have a hard-working husband to help, cook for and love. I just want to encourage all of you married ones, if you need some inspiration, to pick up some good books that will give you the extra push to “look well to the ways of your household.” If you aren’t a reader, that’s okay too, just think about these things, read the Bible, pray. . . .I promise you, taking care of your home and family will fill your heart with joy! Because it’s GOD’s WILL FOR YOU. His way is truly the most wonderful, and best, way to live.

Just a few suggestions:

Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer

MaryJane’s Ideabook*Cookbook*Lifebook, by MaryJane Butters

Home Comforts, The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson

“I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” 1 Timothy 5:14

housekeeping

Posted on June 6, 2008 by Shanda

I have a mug of hot coffee next to me, a book for copying out some quotes, the ceiling fan is spinning up above me, giving me fresh cool air. The rest of the house is dark, the children are all asleep, and outside it is pouring rain. When I look out my window, I see two of my porch rockers~both with quilts draped over the back. Beyond them, I see the rain and the green of leafy trees.

~ I am experiencing an “AHA!” moment this morning~

Here is what is going on~ now that our homeschool is almost done, we have so much more free time. This sounds good, but it really hasn’t been all that good this week. The kids don’t know what to do with themselves and instead of being in control of the situation, I find myself throwing out demands right and left, with hardly a thought or order put into the day itself.

My aunt Colleen wrote in her blog yesterday about the concept of HOME, asking the question, “What is home to you?” I had to admit that the place I feel at home is MY MOTHER’S house. This home of mine seems like one big endless chore these days. I love to cook and clean and work in my house, but the children are the priority right now. How do I balance it all? How do I find peace and the feeling of HOME here in my own house? I want to step through my front door and sigh in delight. . ..not groan in the face of yet more tasks to complete.

I read this in a housekeeping book this morning:

“Dear daughters, I encourage you to establish a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly housekeeping routine. This is the most important thing you can do to make your home work well. Do everything in its time and place, and you will not only accomplish more, but have far more leisure time than those who are always hurrying.”

This is exactly what I need to do. During this time of transition, from school year to summer vacation, I need to reorganize my days. Right now we are in a helter-skelter sort of routine, where the children basically follow their every whim and I end up confused and disoriented (“Where are my children and what are they doing?”) LOL

I’m excited now, to put some ideas down on paper and be more in control of my household. General (not inflexible) order and routine is good for all of us and will add much more peace to our homelife.

I need to be creative. . . . . .I want the children to have plenty of freedom outside building forts and exploring but there will be times when I have them doing things in the house like puzzles, games, building blocks or legos, making play-dough, putting on plays, a craft or project that we could all work on together, etc. I was even thinking that I could teach Jacob and Ethan how to remove wallpaper border. We have some in a bedroom that is half way up the wall, so they could just stand there and work at it. I’m sure it would be a good lesson for them and give them a feeling of responsibility and accomplishment. There are probably lots of little projects like that, that I could teach them.

As I sit here, typing and thinking, I feel the burdens of the past week lift from my shoulders. I’m so thankful that God has given me the answer to this challenge. . .of keeping my house and children in order so that I DON’T GO INSANE.

I encourage you to enjoy your HOMELIFE today. If it’s not enjoyable right now, work on a solution, pray to God to show you what to do. . . . .and He will help you. I know He will!

“All of us carry in our hearts and minds the image of our ideal home, realized or not. It is a place where we feel we belong, a rightness, a knitting together of self and world. Home is a place to become yourself, to rest and surrender all pretense. As Dear Mother used to say, ‘Home is the place where you can restore your mind, body, and soul.’ It is a source of emotional nourishment. It’s where you can close a door and open your heart. If there is any meaning to existence, we are surely closest to it there.”

“We often take our homes for granted. But when we steep ourselves in our home, a deep sense of peace begins to emerge. Life becomes more meaningful.”

“Homekeeping is an ongoing art, a process, not an end product. It will never be ‘all done.’ Bathrooms, clothes, and dishes, once clean, have a way of getting dirty again. But home is meant to be lived in, in the fullest, most potentially fulfilling way for everyone in it. That means that every room does NOT need to be picture perfect and waiting for a perfect display, but rather, each room has a sense of order and calmness to it. The home looks like someone lives there, without appearing messy or cluttered.”

I took these pictures yesterday. . . .

Grace is always bringing me a little bouquet of wild flowers. These looked so pretty I had to take a picture of them. They are in a vintage yellow fiesta pitcher.

Caleb loves it when I copy off a Thomas picture for him to color. See his boo-boo? He burned his arm the other day.

I received a lovely surprise in the mail yesterday, a handmade cherry tote bag from a sweet xanga friend.

The little book, How to Pray, is what I am currently reading.

I sometimes buy a children’s book and keep it for myself, in my own bookcase, to read to the children but not GIVE to them. This one is so lovely. . . .it’s all about the different home places our ancestors had. The top picture is the cover of the book. I found it for a very small price at a used bookstore.

This is a picture of what our garage looks like right now. The trench is all dug out in preparation for the foundation. It is hard to keep the children away.

A real-life picture of the living room. David and Caleb just love taking all the cushions off the couches.

It is typical home life for me~ mostly clean, partly messy, with a pantless little boy trying to find a Thomas video~

(all quotes from book linked here):

more new dishes

Posted on March 17, 2008 by Shanda

We are done with school for today. The kids sang their hymn and copied down their memory verse for the week. They all did language and math. They read their reading assignments. David did some coloring and tracing.

I made some homemade pizza for lunch. It is easy and the kids ate it all up. I put fresh sliced mushrooms on mine. Yum.

Now they are watching “I Love Lucy” and eating popcycles. It’s sunny out today but chilly.

We did go to Crackerbarrel on Saturday, as planned. Rich and I talked on the way, and I took the picture of him. He dressed nice for me. I did not wear those boots. LOL I love Saturdays, because of him.

At the Crackerbarrel, I had what I always have–an egg sandwich on white sourdough toast. It has fresh tomato on it, and I ordered mine with a slice of swiss cheese. I had a side of hashbrown casserole, too. The kids all ordered pancakes/french toast/eggs. . .except David. He always gets cold cereal because he loves the little boxes that it comes in, the cereal and the milk. . .all for him.

After breakfast, I asked Rich if he would take me to my favorite antique store and he agreed. He dropped me off and took the children to get new shoes (white dress shoes for Grace for Easter, new sneakers for David and Caleb, and new black church shoes for Jacob).

I had a great time prowling around, looking at things. . .doilies, old clothes, dishes, jewelry, books, baskets, vases, etc. I found a stack of Country Living magazines from 1989 and I bought those. I’ve had fun looking at them. I also bought a pretty set of Homer Laughlin China.

It’s the “Virginia Rose Colonial Kitchen” pattern. The pictures make the dishes look too yellow, they are really a light, creamy yellow. They have gold edges. There are 8 dinner plates, 8 soup bowls, 8 bread plates/saucers (not sure which, they don’t have the circle indentation in the middle) and 8 dessert plates. Also a covered sugar and creamer (which I will no doubt serve maple syrup in!), a serving bowl, a serving platter, and one lone teacup.

This pattern is SO homey. I really like it a lot.

Not that I needed more dishes. But it’s fun to set a table. And, I have dreams of a spring picnic in the woods, by the stream. I want to pack a basket for 2, and use real china. Maybe Rich and I will go with the kids, but feed the kids first and then watch them play while we eat our lunch by the stream. Then I’ll rinse the dishes off in the running water and imagine I am a pioneer woman.

I took this picture of Ethan, ~~our 9 year old~~, oops, I mean 10 year old, this morning. He’s the family guitarist. He came downstairs with his instrument to play for me, “Lightly Row” is the song he is practicing this week. He’s still in his pj’s.

Handsome. Let me just sit here and gaze for a minute or two. . . .

Okay. Now. I know there are some of you who cannot stand looking at a Super Mess. Well, believe me this was NOT fun to clean up. But, what can I do? I at least have to grab the camera and get some small particle of enjoyment from this kind of thing! When I took my shower this morning, I left Caleb with his brothers. They were all building with legos. It would have been fine, if Caleb hadn’t gotten away. . . .

After I was dressed, I sat in the livingroom to read my devotions. Not for long, because up came Caleb, from the basement, looking like this:

More Red Paint.

And here was his partner in crime:

Oh dear dog, how embarrassed you are with your coat of red.

I spent a considerable amount of time, scrubbing red paint off various surfaces. In the basement, I found more evidence of the crime.

this footprint, along with about 4 more just like it.

I am NOT washing the dog. But Caleb did get a bath.
With bubbles. And toys.

signs of spring

Posted on March 15, 2008 by Shanda

Rich is taking us out to the Crackerbarrel for breakfast–he’s awesome–it’s just what I needed. . .a morning out. . .away from the endless work that I do love, yet get tired of! Before we head out for the morning, I wanted to share a few photos that I took yesterday, we had a gorgeous mild day. (Today it is raining).

First day of digging. Caleb was SO industrious. They all were.

Bare feet

First day of rocking on the porch, reading a magazine. Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens BOTH arrived in the mail yesterday!

Dirty shoes

Just noticed. . . .flowers coming up!

My little garden helper!

Last night I went out for about an hour and a half by myself. Came home with these classy rubber boots.

I wanted to wear them to breakfast. But Rich wasn’t crazy about the idea.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

I know I owe one of you an email, I promise I will write when I get back.

“Walk with the King today, and be a blessing!” (from Robert Cook’s radio show, Dad used to say this to us kids sometimes)

Posted on March 14, 2008 by Shanda

“There is just so much to laugh and cry about” . . .just read this “Anne” quote in a comment that was left in my last post.

Isn’t that the truth, especially for overly sentimental folk, like me? (can anyone relate?)

This morning I am aching for my home. . not this one, this one is wonderful. . but, I’m talking about home–mom and dad and family back home in NY. I wish I could *snap* my fingers and transport myself and everyone else to Mom and Dad’s on a Sunday afternoon. I loved those days, of coming home from church all together and bursting through the door to be greeted by the warm smell of Sunday dinner. My mom was so good at making a big Sunday dinner—chicken or a roast with all the fixings.

We would all get changed and then Dad would turn on football. The sound of the football games is still so soothing to me. *sniff, sniff*

AHHHHHH, What am I doing to myself????

I talked to my mom last night on the phone for a while. . telling her all the little stories from my days here at home, she laughs so hard when she hears what the kids have been doing and saying. We talked for 40 minutes. Tomorrow Mom and Dad leave to go to South Carolina for a vacation. They will be back on the 22nd and we will all be at their place for Easter dinner, Lord willing. I can’t wait.

(By the way, honking geese just flew overhead.)

I made pancakes for the children this morning. “Yay!!!!” Part of the pleasure of pancakes is pouring some of our 1 gallon of pure maple syrup (from Costco) into these dear little Homer Laughlin China Co. pitchers. They are much easier to handle that the big jug. . .and I always warm the syrup. It’s not good to pour icy cold syrup on a steaming hot, perfect pancake.

Aren’t they so sweet? I like the taller one better, because of the dark-ish pastel color to the flowers. I picked these up for next to nothing at an antique store. They are made by the same company that makes Fiestaware.

When I came back into the kitchen after snapping the photo, I found Caleb had parked his trains under the pancake griddle. They were all happy and toasty warm. (Except Diesel, he’s always grumpy.)

I find these guys all over the place, parked in “tunnels” of all sorts.

I was so blessed by this Scripture passage yesterday:

“It is of the Lord’s mercies

that we are not consumed,

because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning:

great is Thy faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul;

therefore will I hope in Him.

The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him,

to the soul that seeketh Him.

It is good that a man should both hope

and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:22-26

These are overwhelmingly beautiful and comforting words, aren’t they? There is so much to think about here–God’s mercy, God’s compassion, God’s faithfulness, are all abundantly given to us. God is more generous than we can imagine! And I am encouraged, to wait for Him, and to seek Him. The whole idea of seeking. . .I almost feel as if my seeking soul is like a magnet being pulled to Him. . .I can’t resist Him. . .and, there is that word, HOPE again! (word of the year)

“And the Lord shall guide thee continually,

and satisfy thy soul in droughts,

and make fat thy bones:

and thou shalt be like a watered garden,

and like a spring of water,

whose waters fail not.” Is. 58:11

Guess what?

The long pond is free of ice! The ice has all melted, as of this morning. I looked out the window, and rushed outside to take a picture. . . .

The other, smaller pond still looks like this. All ice, except for the ring around the outside.

As you may have guessed, I’m in no big hurry to start school this morning. Yesterday we got started so early that we were done before lunch. Consequently, we had about 9 hours of free time until Daddy came home (at 8). Not good. Too challenging for me to keep the children busy doing constructive things.

Right now Jacob, Ethan, and Grace are outside and David is sitting here with me. I guess I better go get them dressed. . .time with just the 2 little ones is rare so I want to take advantage of it. Maybe we’ll pick up their room and do some reading.

Attached is a link to the book
that I’ve been singing (yup, singing) to the children all week, several times a day. They LOVE it. It’s a library book.

crazy lunch

Posted on March 10, 2008 by Shanda

We just had A Crazy Lunch. In order to have A Crazy Lunch, you need 5 children (give or take) and only one mommy. Let the children talk as much as they want, and allow them to request whatever they want. Fulfill all demands. Allow one of them to go ahead and place bits of hot dog on their brother’s head. Allow your two year old to yell for “more soup”, selfishly, while he watches you give his big brother some. Listen to the laughing and loud talking while you run back and forth to the sink, the stove, and the fridge. If possible, have Crazy Lunch on the day after daylight savings time, when you get the sensation that you lost an hour somewhere, and you can’t seem to catch up.

Be warned, though, that Crazy Lunch usually ends in a catastrophe. I can’t tell you what will happen at YOUR house, but at mine, it ended when David lurched himself across Ethan to grab some fruit, spilling Ethan’s freshly-filled bowl of soup all over the place. That was the end of our Crazy Lunch. David was removed from table with A Loudly Spoken Sentence, and had to finish his food in another room, while still wearing the yucky soup-soaked sweater.

After the Crazy Lunch was over, all talking and laughing was forcibly ceased and all requests for any further item was denied. Children were removed from room as soon as they were done with lunch, and put in bed with math work.

Tomorrow’s lunch will be MUCH more controlled. Only a fool would allow another Crazy Lunch any time soon. If you feel like “Rules at Mealtime” is only what “mean mother’s do”, you are wrong. Don’t be tempted to make crazy meals a regular occurrence. It is a trick of the devil, to make you INSANE and your children SLOBS! The children need to learn manners, or the mom will be embarrassed and turn red when out in pubic.

*******************

I fully intended to blog earlier, but as my above little story hinted, I was behind all morning because we all slept until 7:30-8:00 which is an hour later than usual.

David had speech therapy this morning and it went well, and he had to work hard. She has finally noticed that David sucks in air when making the “s” sound in the middle or end of a word and so today begins what will no-doubt be a long process of re-training him to make his “s” sound like everyone else in the world. He also needs to learn to buzz the “s” in “is”. Would you pray for him in this area? Please? And pray for me, I really need to be working with him everyday at home in a serious way, and I just haven’t been doing it. I correct him during normal family life, but he needs more than that.

This weekend was nice. On Friday night Rich took us out for pizza and we had a great time as a family, laughing and talking together.

On Saturday we went to Barnes and Noble and I picked out a book for each of the children. As a homeschooler, I get a 20% discount on our books. Caleb ripped open a “Percy” train and we had to buy that, too. He can’t have it, though, because I don’t want him doing that again.

We went to church on Sunday. I stayed home with David on Sunday night, I was so very tired and Rich told me to stay home and rest.

Pictures:

These were taken on Friday. I had begun to empty the dishwasher but was interrupted before I could do the silverware. When I went back to the kitchen, I found Caleb working at it! This was his very first time helping Mommy in the kitchen. What a cutie-pie, of course I had to get some pictures of him.

His feet crack me up.

He had to stretch, but I think he did a real good job!

This was the big accomplishment on Saturday. I took the DVD’s out of their cases and put them in a fabric, zippered cd-holder. It holds 25 movies and saves SO much space! I’m really happy with this, even though the kids had a panic attack when they saw all the cases in the garbage. They thought I threw away their movies.

These are photos of David and me at the stream, in one of our Favorite Thinking Spots. The evergreens are a delight to me, especially when they are bright with sunshine.

The snow has melted, and the ponds are slowly melting from the outside in.

Here is the “long” pond. (not really that long, but longer than the other one)

This is David’s bean experiment, all his idea. He found a package of seeds out on the porch and wanted to plant some. So we did, about a week or so ago.

The boys are still constantly playing with legos.

But Grace would rather read.

Okay, I must get back to the work I love best! Motherhood!

And, guess what? David told me yesterday that I should be a baker when I grow up! That will have to be a future option. LOL

Have a great day, all!

homemaking journal

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Shanda

“This home is the backdrop to simplify life, slow us all down, and teach our children about stewardship and the traditions that define our family.”

“All beautiful things work well together.”

“Every place I turn here, there is something that makes me smile.”

(quotes from Country Living magazine)

Before I get started on my day, I wanted to share another journal with you. I started this one about 6 years ago as a way to have all my homemaking inspiration in one spot. I use old magazines and photos to fill it with quotes, articles, lists, my own thoughts, and ideas. I add to it every once in a while, when I’m in the mood. I sit down with a glue stick, a pair of scissors, a pen, a stack of old magazines, and catalogues. Then I clip, glue, and scribble away! There are no rules! It’s all for me!

If you looked in it you would see the things that inspire me to make my house a home. The front cover is dark green and on it I glued this quote:

If walls could talk, we’ve often thought, what stories they would tell.
But if we’re slow to grasp the message of an open front door,
a clean-scrubbed floor, or a handmade object comfortable
with its age and imperfections, perhaps we’re just not
listening well. The language of a house is visual.
The soul of a house is memory. And it speaks to the heart.

(Here’s a peek inside:)

This is an article about the importance of raising kids to love nature.

The photo is of my Dad giving small Ethan and small Jacob a tractor ride.

“What feels like home?”

“As children, we were not busy making money, keeping appointments,
and meeting deadlines. Memories of our youth may bring to mind places
where we could enjoy simply being.
Bringing these memories to the creative process of design
may help make your house feel like a home—
the place your heart holds dear.”

Creativity and fiestaware!

Windchimes (because our homes extend to the outdoors!)

“Make time for you”

I loved the basket idea. . .put a bunch of things in it that appeal to you–journal and pen, stationary, flowers, a book, pretty napkin, etc, and have them ready in a basket, to carry to your special quiet place.

Aprons! “Every apron tells a story”

Cherry things!

My friends Lea Ann and Joanna know about this journal and they send me articles sometimes. I love it when they jot little notes on the pages. . .I glue them in my book and a part of them is now included. It always surprises me how much they know me. Lea Ann made me laugh when she sent a clipping from a magazine about chicken coops! Joanna even had this journal at her house for a few months, to look at and add to. My homemaking journal is something I enjoy and it has helped me fall in love with feathering my nest. Don’t you think that a beautiful home pleases God? Homemaking is not a waste of time!

I encourage you to enjoy your HOME today– the smell of a burning candle, the warmth of the sun shining through your windows, the peaceful feeling of a quiet spot (even if you only have one like me, LOL). Make your home a feast for your senses——

taste (like an inviting bowl of candy), touch (a clean soft blanket draped on the back of the couch), see (photos everywhere), hear (beautiful music and the sound of your loved one’s voices), smell (coffee and bacon). . . . . .

boys and birds

Posted on February 20, 2008 by Shanda

What wonderful comments you all added to my post from this morning, thank you SO much!

Today was a better day, the best day I’ve had in a while, as a matter of fact. I slowed myself down and made an effort not to be rushing from one thing to the next. We had a very nice day of school. I have some older school books that I have picked up from library book sales and we used one today to read lines from a play. It was about Robin Hood and Little John. The kids loved it. Guess who seemed to be the most natural actor? ETHAN. I sat with Grace and re-explained her math skills, using beans to show her exactly what she is doing when she multiplies and divides. After lunch (we had spaghetti w/sauce and David threw his *third bowl of it*around! Jacob vacuumed it up and it went up the vacuum just fine LOL). . anyway, after lunch we all bundled up and went outside. It was much colder today than it was yesterday but it did us good to get out in the fresh air. Grace, David, and Caleb jumped on the trampoline. Jacob and Ethan ~~walked~~ ran the dog, played near the stream and gathered some chunks of ice.

When we came in, Caleb watched a Thomas video and fell right asleep on the floor.

The kids finished up their school work and then they went upstairs to read/play quietly so that I could have my hour and a half of rest time.

After they all got up, they watched a video and I went for a little walk. I was gone for about 20-25 minutes, within hearing distance of the house. I found a bright yellow feather and put that in my pocket. I went to the bird forest but didn’t see any birds so I came out of the woods to the stream and then noticed a whole flock of cedar waxwings and one robin up in a tree, in the bright sun. I had so much fun sneaking as close as I could and I took a lot of pictures.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures and thanks again for being so kind to me here on xanga. Have a great evening!

A happier day

my handsome son Ethan

best friends, standing together in the middle of the rushing stream

Crazy Ethan, balancing on a rock, pulling out some ice
in the middle of frigid icy water.

The prize! Ice!

Caleb got good and tired
after all that fresh air
and fell asleep while watching
a thomas video.

The Cedar Waxwing Photos

they were busy eating these berries

There are three in this next picture, can you see the one in the background?

Do you
see the one and only robin on the far right side of this next photo?

“Oh Master, let me walk with Thee
in lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret;
Help me to bear
the strain of toil,
The fret of care.”

~”Oh Master Let me Walk with Thee”, W. Gladden
~a hymn the kids and I have been working on all week long.

weekend details

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Shanda

Good morning! Breakfast is over and the three older kids are in the basement. They made an office down there. They take down chocolate milk and pretend it’s coffee and I’m not sure what they are actually doing but I do know that they are listening to a Focus on the Family Radio Theatre cd.

I wanted to share a few photos from my weekend. Rich came home on Friday with roses for me and Grace, which was a great start, I thought. There was one for me and one for her of the darkest red. Very dazzling.

On Saturday, we went to the library. The kids checked out about 30 books, LOL, and I found 3 that I thought looked good. I already finished one of them and the link will be attached to this blog entry.

(I just had to get up to help David and Jacob was up getting another drink of milk so I asked them what they are doing downstairs. “Oh, we’re riding bikes. . . but, right now we’re trying to catch a mouse.” (said very casually) “Is there really a mouse down there?” I asked. “Yes! We all saw it!”) OH GREAT.

UPDATED February 3, 2013 (They just told me that they caught five on this day. There was a blind one. They found one in a shoe, & one in a Cheerio box. They said that the dog ran after them, stomped on them and ate them. David played hide and seek with the blind one, but it got away.)

Back to the weekend. Where was I? Oh yes, the library. I didn’t take any pictures of the library stop because there are already pictures here somewhere of the library. Our next stop was Panera. Rich’s idea. It was fun except don’t order their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your 2 year old. We got that for Caleb and it oozed everywhere. Rich looked so handsome and I thought it was so funny to see our little messy Caleb sitting there next to his dapper Dad. Rich would flinch every time Caleb was about to touch him. And Panera also has those yogurts that you simply suck out of a tube. . . yeah, not so good for a toddler. But, he loved it. David sat next to me and wasn’t as messy. Jacob, Ethan, and Grace sat at their own table and guess what they did while they ate? Read books! I’m so proud of them, they are just like me when it comes to reading.

After lunch we went to the mall. I won’t get into too much description, I’ll just say that it was packed with people but we found some awesome sale prices on the Land’s End clothes for the kids at Sears. I’m so thankful, we bought 3 beautiful, well-made winter coats for E, J, and C for next winter. I bought Grace 3 prs. of pants, a jean skirt, and 3 dresses. I bought Caleb 3 shirts and J and E both got a new shirt. I bought G a pretty pink fleece blanket for her bed, perfect for a small girl to curl up under with a good book. All these things were on clearance, plus another 50 percent off!! After Sears we left the mall, we just didn’t have the desire to walk around with the kids, too hard to keep track of them all and push the stroller. LOL

As soon as we got home, I went for a walk. David was already outside. I guess we were both thinking the same thing, ENOUGH of crowds and shopping, let’s get outside! Everything was still covered in snow and it was icy snow, so hard that I had to be extra careful not to fall down. I could actually walk on top of it! Our house sits on the top of a hill and look what David was doing when I came out to join him. He could go fast!

We made our way down past the ponds, looked at our flooded and rushing stream for a while, and then went into the woods. It was cold outside, but the dappled sunlight gave us moments of warmth. David found a fallen down tree and asked me to take a picture of him:

Just after taking his picture, I turned and saw some birds tucked away in the evergreens, I just love coming upon life in the woods. These birds, I believe, were cedar waxwings. There were about four of them together and they were eating berries. My picture isn’t very good, but you get the idea. I couldn’t get very close to them. It’s one thing to see a wild bird at a feeder, but quite another to see them in the woods, in their own “neighborhood”. This is quite close to the same part of the woods where I saw all that Robin activity a few weeks ago. I think I will call it the bird forest. Not very imaginative, but I’m not Anne of Green Gables. LOL

Okay, this next part is hard to explain. Near our house is what we call “the dam”, and it is a watershed area. These pictures will give you an idea what I mean. Here is David, walking up the big hill. (there is no water, just the stream, which goes through a tunnel under the hill). The dam was built just in case there is a major flood.

It’s probably about a 45 degree angle! This side gets more sun, there was no snow.

I must insert this picture of the dog, who enjoyed nibbling on some grass. It shows how BLUE the sky was.

When I got to the top of the hill, this is what David was doing, sliding fast down the hill! (the cold side was still covered with snow)

Before I knew it, I plopped down and tried it, too!
Like I said, the snow was hard as ice and we were able to “sled” right down the hill on our back-ends. LOL It was so very steep, quite exciting for me, I screamed and squealed all the way down. DAVID WAS VERY IMPRESSED. The only way back up was to dig our toes into the hill. Here I am, about to go back up! I went down a total of 3 times.

David went down and tried out another hill. I could not believe he was going down head first! Oh my!

After our sliding around, we walked over toward the woods again and we found some extremely slick ice. I love finding spots like this, I imagine that there are wood-fairies who enjoy ice skating in the moonlight on their very own lakes of ice. (I do have some “Anne” in me, as geidlbots pointed out, ) It was so so slippery, David fell down about 3 times. I thought we would get the chance to go back with skates, but we didn’t.

We came out of the woods and stood on the road to look at the stream. It was busy and noisy, glittery. ALIVE!

I read somewhere that if you don’t like New England weather, just wait 10 minutes. Isn’t that funny?

Today, outside my windows, I see this:

Bye-bye snow! I’m trying to convince myself that spring is here. Wishful thinking. (read quote about New England weather again.)

Yesterday morning I didn’t make it to church because our power went out. Once it came back on, there was only time for Rich to get his shower and get dressed. He went with Grace and Ethan. While they were gone I MADE HOMEMADE SOUP, SOUP, not SOAP, SOUP. LOL LOL. It was a Taste of Home 1st place recipe. It was a chicken soup with squash, carrots, onion, and kale in it. It made a HUGE pot and I’ll be eating it all week for lunch. We all went to church last night but I didn’t get to visit with any of my friends, except Tammy, because I was working in the toddler room (with Tammy).

I feel great today. I feel happy and content and ready to tackle the day. David doesn’t have speech because it’s a holiday and Rich is coming home in time to take Jacob and Ethan to their music lessons, so I don’t have to go anywhere. (I love not having to go anywhere, LOL)

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG!!!!

Have a wonderful day!