we waited all day for this

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Shanda

MY SOUL IS IN THE SKY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

We were in the living room watching Shark Tank at about 8pm last night when Jacob jumped off the couch and said “Mom come outside and see the sky.” It was so funny….everyone (five kids) in the living room followed him out the door in one big group, and I brought up the rear.

All day long we had been hearing about the possibility of a storm and a slim chance of a tornado. It was a humid, hot and sticky day as we watched and hoped the skies would break to bring in some coolness.

I am so thankful it held off until the end…the lighting was stunning..moody..powerful.

golden patch of sky.

smoky

Large drops of rain began to fall, one by one. The girls looked up at the sky. “Ow! A drop of rain just hit me in my OPEN EYE!” Emily cried as we laughed.

Once the thunder began and rain started coming down in a torrent we all went up on the porch to watch. We ran inside after one particularly loud lightening strike and saw the dog trotting briskly around the house in fear.

Then David, Emily, Jacob, and Grace went right back out to sit until the sky was too dark to see anymore.

singing we go along life’s road

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Shanda

I took Sarah to the doctors this morning and she has exactly what Seth and David had. It’s this weird cold that fills their heads up with mucus, I know that sounds gross but honestly….when I gave David mucus relief pills it would run out his eyes and nose! Sarah has pink eye from it. They are swimming in fluid, it’s so odd. It’s like the cold from “the bad place”…Evil Cold. LOL Sarah had fluid in her ears, one was infected, her left lung had bronchitis, she coughs like a bad muffler (?), pink eye, and sinus infection..her nose does not run, it goes right down the back of her throat.

I went to Target to get her meds and cans and cans of chicken soup and Ramen noodles. I never buy those ramen noodles anymore because they are basically empty calories but you would have thought I bought home shrimp and steak the way six of my kids immediately made themselves a pot of noodles after school. Makes me kinda wonder why I slave in the kitchen…….(not really)…I want my kids to eat healthy, and we do…but Dr. said lots of chicken noodle soup so that’s what they’re getting. Along with decongestant, antibiotics (for those that need them), saline spray up the nose (each with their own labelled bottle). Lysol, etc, bleach, fumigator.

When we got home she fell asleep in my bed. I had to wake her up an hour later to go get Jacob and Ethan. Seth had a “thing” at school today at 2. I wrote a note telling the teacher I couldn’t go but when Seth realized it he said with big troubled eyes, “You have to go!” So I ripped up the note and I got Jacob from school early (his last class didn’t matter) so he could watch Sick Sister Sarah. Ethan is sick so I picked him up early along with Jacob.

I’m so glad I didn’t miss Seth’s event. The parents had to wait by the main entrance and their child came to them with flowers saying, “thank you for coming”. So Seth did that, it melted my heart, he was so proud and wasn’t sure if he should hold my hand or not. He wanted to, I know, but was a little shy about holding Mom’s hand in front of his friends. He sat me down at a placemat that he made himself and we filled out our food requests for a snack. Did we want fruit? yes. Did we want cheese? yes. Did we want pretzels? yes. Did we want Summer Juice? “What’s summer juice? I asked….”it’s lemonade”. Yes.

The children were all called forward to receive a Kindergarten Certificate and their memory books. Then, the children served their parent(s) the snacks. After we ate, the kids sang us a song.

I had the great joy to sit with a friend who is going through the same thing as I am: a child graduating from 12th grade, and a child ending Kindergarten in the same year. In fact, this woman’s daughter was Jacob’s prom date last year. She’s so friendly and kind, too bad I found out today that she is moving away. But it was fun to chat with her. It was all special and I felt sad to think I almost missed out and caused Seth such a let-down, can you imagine him with no one? thank you Lord. And thank you to the boys for watching Sarah.

I was back home after an hour. Sarah was in my bed again, sleeping. She’s still sleeping as I type. Seth is outside the window riding his scooter, Grace is still at school, Jacob and Ethan are sleeping, and I don’t know what Caleb and David are doing but I have to take them to the fields soon for Little League games. (Dave has been on antibiotics for a week so he’s perking up).

Anyway, Grace and I sang a duet last week at our piano and we recorded it for our FB friends, I thought I would post it here, too, so my bloggy friends can watch, and my parents, too.

“It is easier to sing your worries away than to reason them away. Why not sing in the morning? Think of the birds–they are the first to sing each day, and they have fewer worries than anything else in creation. And don’t forget to sing in the evening, which is what the robins do when they have finished their daily work. Once they have flown their last flight of the day and gathered the last bit of food, they find a treetop from which to sing a song of praise!”

“Oh that we might sing morning and evening, offering up song after song of continual praise throughout our day!”

(quote from page 182 of Streams)

PS, Grace just got home from school and is making herself Ramen noodles.

how sarah got her bath

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Shanda

I can’t sleep now. Sarah’s taking a bath.

The weekend was full of ups and one very downish down.

First was the prom for Jacob and Ethan.

Then was a rare and lovely overnight visit from Rich’s Dad and step mom. We went for walks, we had a campfire with hotdogs and marshmallows, we planted a family tree together, we went to the diner for breakfast. We skipped church so we could soak up every minute and then waved goodbye as they drove slowly away on Sunday afternoon.

Monday morning I found out that the night before our dear Billy-Cat had been hit and killed in the road. I went outside to where Jacob had lovingly put him and stroked his beautiful fur. When I saw the ants I stumbled into the house. Rich gathered me into his lap and held me as I sobbed.

We buried him where he lay and put a nice rock at the top for Jacob to paint Billy’s name on. The children all grieved in their own way and losing our cat cast a melancholy mood on the whole day.

Later that morning we took them downtown for the Memorial Day parade. Grace marched as a music student, David and Caleb, who looked like typical American Little League boys….fresh and energetic, marched with their baseball teams.

Sarah and Seth were so surprised when the candy started being thrown right at them by the parade marchers.

I wore sunglasses to hide the tears…tears for my cat, tears for loss, tears for all the nice people of our town who marched by us, throwing candy, the ones who serve us, the ones representing the sacrifices of the past.

Yesterday Rich left for work and I am home alone carrying the load of the family, not in my own strength, but by the grace of God. Ethan had a game last night, Jacob threw a PR in Javelin during a big meet and won forth place despite an empty stomach, Seth had his very first concert performance, we were home and in bed later than usual.

This morning I got the kids to school, carried water to my plants, loaded the dishwasher.

There is a homemade card on the counter that Seth brought home, which is propped up against a vase of flowers. In Kindergarten handwriting are the words, “I’m sorry Billy Cat died.” It’s bothering all of us that it is there.

I’m tired. Deep, deep tired. I made a list of things that must be done today. David has an orthodontist appointment at 1:30. Ethan has a home game at 3:30 and it’s a big one so I need to be there. David and Caleb need to be at their field by 5:30 and Jacob has to be at driving school at 6:15. Grace is being inducted into the Thespian Society at 6. I will do the best I can for my children….in the meantime….it’s only 9:30 in the morning……and I’m sleepy and don’t want to move.

Sarah took a break from playing and came to stand by me half an hour ago. I was half asleep, arms and legs limp as I cuddled into the couch cushions. She was trying to get me to turn on a movie. When that didn’t work, she leaned in close and said, “Mom. God said something to me last night.”

I perked up slightly. These were the words of God. I opened my eyes, ready to receive them.

“He told me that in the morning I needed to take a bath.”

I roused myself.

“Well, you had better obey.”

This is how Sarah got her bath this morning and how I have come to sit crossed legged on the floor of the bathroom to write this little story of living….

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! Psalm 113:2

O how He loves you and me, O how he loves you and me,
He gave His life, what more could He give?
O how He loves you, O how He loves me,
O how he loves you and me.

“We planted a tree and it grew up,

While it reached for the sky and the sun. . . .” Diane Muldrow

“I used to take every new day for granted. Now I realize that each new day is a gift of God’s grace; and it is this day I need to focus on. It is full of possibilities – not just responsibilities – for relationships and for surprises.”

– R. Jack Hansen and Jerry P. Haas

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

laughing all through mother’s day

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Shanda

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
~George Cooper

“I wish you were here so you could make pancakes for us,” I teased my Mom yesterday morning when I called her.

“Guess what I’m doing right now?” she replied, “Making pancakes for Isaac! Did you know he came out?” We laughed, and I knew she was having a great mother’s day already because she got to cook breakfast for one of her boys (she has three of them, and two girls–one of whom is me). We had a nice little chat talking of the children and the gardens and then hung up so she could go eat some pancakes with Isaac. I don’t get to see my Mom as much as I would like, but I think of her constantly, especially while I am busy in the kitchen, or in the garden planting peas and flowers.

We went to church yesterday morning and had a great service listening to Wally give a missions presentation and then Gary preach the Word. After church I said, “Since it’s Mother’s Day, all I want is one nice picture with you children.” Rich happily agreed to take the photo in front of a very cool black car that he and the boys loved……. and you would think I would have learned by now that what I end up is not quite what I was hoping for or picturing in my mind.

This was pretty good, however we are all missing our feet…..but it was hot and we left to get some lunch. Everyone was hungry and everyone had an opinion about where we should go. The Chinese Buffet? Crackerbarrel? Again I brought up Mother’s Day so I could stay out of it. I would sit and just wait to see where Rich (who was silent through the discussions by the children) would take me, the mother of his precious, well-taken care of children.

I held my breath as we pulled gently into…..MCDONALDS.

“Rich you’re just trying to make me scream but I’m not going to.”

“What?? They have a really great burger here that I loved. I wanted you to try it.” (laughing)

“Right, because I eat carbs!” (NOT screaming)

Lots of laughter ensued as he had the audacity to park the car. Roll with it, I decided, roll with it with humor. Then I realized, wait… no drive thru?

“We get to go in?” Now I became slightly sarcastic. “It’s Mother’s Day so we get to go IN to eat, children!”

You have to understand as a family of nine, we rarely eat inside of any fast food place. And if we do, it’s usually Wendy’s……not mcdonald’s. Also understand that we have a Mcdonalds in our hometown so I am there several times a week to get something for one or two of the children as we rush off to go to sports events and such. It’s “old hat” that place, basically one step up from going back home to eat leftovers from the fridge.

Yesterday we had an extra kid with us, so we were a family of 10. The sun was shining, the sun was hot, and we all were fooling around as we trooped inside……. MCDONALDS….was this a dream? 🙂

Turns out McDonalds is pretty awesome for a Mother’s Day luncheon because…..no one is there!

We spent 72 dollars on food! Rich almost died and I laugh when I remember what his face looked like as he studied the receipt to make sure it was right.

I sat across from Sarah and Rich, Grace was down sitting in a booth with David and Caleb. Jacob and Ethan were sitting with Zac.

Meanwhile, Mr. Highly Independent sat away from us, over at his own table. He sat there the whole time, working away at eating his lunch and paying no attention to us. Rich and I kept saying to each other, “Look at Seth. He’s so so cute.”

Poor Rich was the last to get settled and eat, but had to get up yet again to get himself some ketchup for his fries. Jacob, who was already eating away at his nuggets and is 18 years old, asked his Dad to get him some ketchup to which Rich replied impatiently, “GET IT YOURSELF!” He was feeling a bit frazzled.

The soda and food started kicking in. I ate my burger while carefully peeling off the bun as I went along. Soon I was left with a box of bun bits. “Does anyone want the rest of my burger?” I asked, just to be funny. Rich carefully selected a piece and threw it behind him to hit one of the boys. He did this several times.

Grace took this selfie of us. I was busy straining and trying to open Sarah’s toy.

“Okay, times up, let’s go!” Rich announced after most of us were done eating. “The bus is here!” Jacob replied, which caused all the school kids to get up, throw away their garbage and hustle out to the car (bus).

On the way home Rich said something that accidentally hurt Ethan’s feelings and Jacob said, “Don’t worry, E, I know what you can do to get back at him……”

“Ask him to get you ketchup!” I interrupted, and we all laughed again.

(Incidentally, I cannot handle caffeine lately. I drank a very small bottle of coke a week or so ago at about 7:30 pm and I didn’t sleep that night until 2. Then, yesterday I drank half of my small diet coke and got all nervous and jittery from it. So now I’ve decided I won’t drink it anymore and I will only drink half-caf coffee.)

Well, we got home and I asked Rich if he could take one more picture of me and the kids and this time to please not cut the feet off.

So I get this:

Seriously! I got my phone back and there were about 35 pictures of just our legs and then this one:

We went in the house…home, finally home…it was like 2 at this point. Rich and I crashed into bed not meaning to actually take a nap, but we did and it was glorious.

When we got up we had to take the boys to the mall.

IN ORDER TO CHOOSE TUXES FOR THE PROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jacob is going with Emily, who is a Jr. (it’s the JR prom, our school doesn’t have a SR prom)

Ethan is going single. Oh they are going to be so handsome in their tuxes. Stay tuned!

Leaving you with this picture that Sarah drew me.

“It’s you and me, Mom!”

Happy Mother’s Day!

greetings from the sick house

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Shanda

Saturday. Myriah’s last day with us. Oh how we enjoyed having this beautiful girl stay with us during her spring break. She fit right into the family…we had such fun. My favorite memory of her visit was her genuine interest in our family photos. We spent a cozy afternoon looking at hundreds of pictures together, she would take her phone out and take pictures of her favorites.

Mitch brought Ethan home from baseball practice and the kids played some basketball together on the driveway.

Sunday. I was unfortunately coming down with the flu. Remember how I wrote the other day about Grace being sick? We took her to the docs again on Saturday and she was tested for flu and it was positive. So that’s what we are dealing with here. I have spent most of the last two days in bed. Yesterday was my personal first day of sickness and it wasn’t as bad as today has been….the weather was absolutely gorgeous so I ventured outside now and then. I just had to see what the kids were up to. Emily and Jacob were in their own little world in the canoe, determined to break up the last of the ice on the little pond. I sat on the dock to watch and be amused.

Look who joined me after she woke up from her nap.

She adores Emily and said to me, “Let’s just sit here and watch Emily until she gets back out of the boat.” You know what else she did? She asked me if she could make a wish with a rock. I said no, only with a penny. So when Emily did get back out of the boat, she gave Sarah a penny to throw in the pond to make a wish. She wished for “a cat pet” of her own. She is still wondering today when it will come true.

Soon Ethan appeared. He got his first phone on Saturday…. a rite of passage for today’s teen.

Emily and Jacob moved to the other pond for more canoeing.

I was thrilled when Rich pointed out this butterfly to me. It was glorious to see, I love how it looks like it is truly edged in gold….and those beautiful blue spots along the wings. So masterfully designed in every way.

Seth played catch with anyone he could possible get to play with him. At one point we had five children all playing…I had to move back out of fear of getting hit by the ball.

This morning was rough. After a terrible night’s sleep I got up to get some tea and almost passed out. I broke out in a cold sweat, turned white, and was sick to my stomach. Rich was getting ready for work and I asked him if he could please stay home….the children are on spring break and I didn’t know how I could care for them properly. He graciously agreed and was able to take the boys to practice, go to the store, he bought the little boys a whiffle ball set which kept them busy outside….although I am sick it has been a wonderful day. The best part of being temporarily sick is the blessing of slowing down. Looking around the room. Listening to the conversations. Having people come in to visit me. Having the dog lay on the floor next to my bed, faithfully. The cat giving itself a bath at my feet. Reading a book.

The picture is something Grace drew for me today, I asked her to add a verse and now it’s by my side of the bed on my nightstand. Along with all my drinks and vaseline for my dry lips.

There is the nicest cat curled up at the end of the bed.

Jacob is making dinner tonight; maple salmon and broccoli. It smells so good. The windows in my bedroom are all open for nice cool air. The children have run wild today and it’s been so good for them to spend most of the day outside. Seth crashed about half an hour ago on the couch, he’s sound asleep at Ethan’s feet.

Ethan’s getting sick now, poor boy.

easter 2015

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Shanda

Glorious Easter! The day all the world is reminded of the amazing hope we have, because of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross and *not staying dead* but rising again the third day. Up from the grave He arose! And because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, I can also live forever and ever……. and someday soon, because life is short, I will see Him, and know Him, and be home. Oh I can’t wait for that day….that “can’t wait” feeling is HOPE, glorious resurrection hope. Thank you, Jesus.

I woke up this morning at 6 and found Jacob frying himself some eggs, Davy ready to chat with me, and Grace sick to her stomach but saying she was fine and going to school regardless. (She is way too responsible for her own good.) I served cereal, started the dishwasher, started a load of laundry, folded three loads of it at the couch, drank coffee, made myself a couple of eggs and shared them with Seth, gathered up homework and bags for the elementary school boys, and sent five children off to school.

I’m still in my pj’s, feeling rather sleepy, I’m in bed with Miss Sarah. We are under the down comforter and she’s snuggled up close enough so I can play with her hair, she’s sucking her finger and feeling the tag on her new stuffed animal. It’s cozy with my little sunshine girl, listening to the washer and dryer hum.

I found this old snapshot of the kids, taken in our old neighborhood. Caleb was a baby and not in the photo. Grace is wearing her flower girl dress and Jake and E are dressed exactly the same, and standing exactly the same, too. Little Davy has such a sweet smile on his face. Isn’t it funny how a simple picture can make a person happy and sad at the same time? I remember how Grace, at this age, used to hate getting sun in her eyes, and was very sensitive about outdoor photography, you can see it in her face in this picture, too.

They are growing up but Grace wore a white dress again this year.

Thank you to Mike for taking these portraits yesterday morning before church.

Outside, we gathered up the family and I said, “come on let’s act like we love each other!” which prompted Seth to put his arm around me and melt against my leg……sweet, sweet love of a little son.

We went to church….I can’t think of a better day to attend a church service….and then when we came back home we didn’t eat a ham dinner.

We ate pizza!

Here is a photo of all my children yesterday when we got back home. I wouldn’t let them in the house until I took a picture of them all….my own offspring plus Jacob’s girlfriend Emily (red sweater), and Myriah (white jacket), a young family friend who lives in Virginia and came to visit us during her spring break. She will be here all week.

I spent five dollars on the actual baskets from our local thrift store, and I put jelly bean filled eggs in each one, with a gift. I accidentally bought two bags of very SOUR jelly beans but the children still liked them. Seth had matchbox cars, David and Caleb had sticky bugs that they could shoot with their finger at the windows, Sarah had a stuffed animal, and the older teens each received a pair of new socks. Simple, but enough to keep them all excited about the day.

We had my sister’s dog-baby all weekend, too. His name is Lloyd and he is a labradoodle. Isn’t he adorable? Rich called him Rug and told me that Rug looked just like me what with the brown curls. He was a lot of fun to have in the house with us, such a cute puppy. David was the one in charge of him, while Uncle Jason and Aunt Amanda were away for Easter. He is back home now and Seth asked me if we could please get a rug.

Emily had Easter dinner at her grandparent’s house and took Caleb with her (heart melts). The rest of us made homemade pizza……

It was non-stop activity in the kitchen for a long time as I made a ton of pizza dough and the kids each made a pizza of their own. Jacob was a slow perfectionist over his pizza, causing great amusement, but his hard work paid off because YUM YUM it was good. Myriah made a pizza for the first time and did so good, it was amusing to see her press the dough around on the oily pan trying not to touch it with her long fingernails. Grace made a pizza with salami as a topping and she used cookie cutters to make the salami pretty. Seth made a crazy-shaped stuffed crust pizza that was thin on one side and thick on the other. Ethan and David each chopped up their own fresh garlic and made clam pizzas. It was awesome.

We cleaned up the kitchen and then watched a movie. Some of the kids fell asleep and the rest of us went outside after the movie was done, to get some fresh air. By the way, it snowed yesterday. But spring is coming and there are signs of it everywhere, it’s just very late this year.

One last picture of Lloyd!

I hope you all had a nice Easter, and have a Happy Monday!

We are loved.

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.

welcoming the month of march…..with more snow….

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Shanda

And a happy Monday, March 2nd to you! Yesterday we welcomed a new month with yet more snow, enough to delay school this morning by 2 hours. That’s always fun. By fun I mean “fun”. Caleb had sore muscles so after seeing him walk around like an old man and almost crying, I spoon fed him some liquid Advil in the kitchen while making eggs. Sarah and Seth kept trying to play together, resulting in Sarah yelling at the top of her voice for Seth to “stop it!!” To deal with this situation, I put them each in their rooms to play alone. Grace felt as if she was getting a cold, so I had her mix up some Emergen-C, and then she needed a container to put it in so she could sip it all morning at school. She took it in a travel mug. Ethan put on his boots and went to the chicken coop for me, taking them a bowl of discarded people food and a pitcher of water. David was told to shovel the walkway and Rich had to “encourage” him in a loud Fatherly voice that “work is supposed to be enjoyable.” The end result was a wonderfully shoveled path. Jacob did nothing notable.

Once the children went to school Rich and I went downtown to the coffee shop. Rich dropped me off at the door and I said, “I’ll leave Sarah with you, you can manage her.” He told me that as they drove away to park she asked her Dad nervously, “What does manage mean?” I think she was afraid. As I waited for them I almost took a chair away from the table to make way for a high chair!!!!! Slowly it is dawning on me that I no longer HAVE babies, for the first time in 18 very busy years but apparently I still have some ingrained instincts.

The coffee shop always has artwork on the walls featuring a great variety of artists and their work. This week it is nature photography and as I studied them, I thought, “I take better pictures than this.” Some of them have sold, 200 dollars worth, in fact! I know that sounds so prideful, but I don’t mean it that way, I mean it in this way, “I never thought about selling my photos but seeing these pictures sell makes me believe I could do it, too!”

I love the way Sarah turns her markers and crayons into people and ~~tells stories~~ makes up games with them.

“I used to live here at the camp road, but now I live here at the camp-camp-camp!”

“I like to hear your stories, Sarah.”

“Mom it’s not a story, it’s a game! A coloring game!”

She’s also trying to figure out what we should do next. So far she has come up with “play ground” “thrifth store” “Barnes and Novel” “Somebody’s house” or the “movies.”

I already drank all my coffee, it was a caramel latte. Sarah requested a hot chocolate and Rich had a coconut caramel flavored coffee.

Sarah went outside to play the other day….she found the picnic table.

Sarah’s bike next to the mammoth snow pile.

In spite of the rock in the middle I very sadly later found this pot saucer broken in the snow.

Caleb and Seth found their helmets which reminded them of a favorite activity, so they brought their bikes up out of the garage. I love how Seth is holding the handle bars with his hands in his sleeves. When you get stir-crazy enough you ride your bike even in frigid temperatures.

This was such a precious moment. Jacob showed Emily his baby book for the first time. The thought of him showing his girlfriend the book was not in my mind when I worked in it all those years ago. I was 21 and smitten with my new baby, filling the pages with photos and milestones. Emily enjoyed it and went home with a page photocopied out it.

Mike messing around with one of the boys (Caleb).

Another winter activity! Who knew that playing with Daddy’s tools would keep the little ones busy for over an hour?

Mike and Jacob played Phase 10. That container on the bench is full of jelly beans, and the tissue box was never far from Jacob’s side as he dealt with his wretched cold.

We worked on a puzzle Saturday night while listening and singing along to iTunes. (Grace, Zak, and Seth)

Sarah on Sunday, in her church dress.

more snow! (that blue speck is our newspaper down the road buried in the snow pile.) lol

All I did was go outside to get the paper and take a couple of pictures but two of the children worried and greeted me back in the house with, “MOM where did you go? What are you doing?”

Sunday was awesome, I spent the morning with Jacob, Grace, David, and Sarah. We went to church, then Wendy’s drive thru, we got the giggles in the car, drove to an antique store where I left them in the car eating while I quickly walked around looking at things (I bought some little gifts for my MOM, and three small fiesta plates for my collection; all vintage– gray, light green, and yellow). We drove home and found Ethan and Seth back home from their wrestling event. Ethan coached Seth to a 2nd place victory but Seth hung his head and was sad that he didn’t get first. Then we were all together except Rich and Caleb, who were at States. Caleb placed 7th out of 11 kids in his weight class. (which is why he was so sore this morning).

Brother and Sister cats.

Doesn’t it look as though Sherlock is smiling?

Seth (not on purpose) made us so sad. When I decided to write his name on all his wrestling medals I couldn’t find them. He told me he took them to school and when his “friend” Bryce asked for them, Seth GAVE THEM to HIM (all but one!) He gave away his metals!! This situation is still being resolved.

completed puzzle

Not happy about this. Grace was doing her nails and put the nail polish remover-soaked paper towel directly on the coffee table!!!!!!!!!! The remaining paper towel is stuck and dried in the table terribly!

Last night the bunny watched “Death comes to Pemberly” with Grace, Ethan, and me.

It was kind of boring.

Bunny scratched me and Grace, scared the cats, and bit some holes in the blanket.

7:00 am sky

A few hours later.

Since we were all hanging around each other for an extra 2 hours and all……my grown up babies!

I took some pictures this morning on the way downtown

of the snow

and ice.

I said, “Rich slow down by that house so I can get a picture of the ice.”

HE SPED UP. and then LAUGHED.

Rich took this picture from across the table. He wanted me to see what he saw. Our adorable little girlie, thrilled by the chocolate syrup drizzled on the top of her whipped cream and hot chocolate.

{this moment}

Image

{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.