Last week, an older neighbor of ours stopped by in his red truck.  I didn’t know who he was so I ran outside ready to tell him he was at the wrong house.

“Can I help you?  Who are you looking for?”  I asked.

“Are your Mom or Dad at home?” he wondered.

(I paused, confused for a moment…..)

“I’m the Mom here,” I said (delighted). 

“Oh…..you look so young,” he said.  (I found out later that he was 70 years old.)   “I’m just stopping by to ask you and your husband if your older boys would like a job moving brush and stacking wood?  They wouldn’t be using any machinery and I would pay them.”

He left me with his name and number, and later that day Rich and I talked it over and agreed that this was something that we wanted Jacob and Ethan to do.  They both have worked hard with their Dad for years now (around the house), and we were confident they could handle the work like men.  Rich is such a good, “tough but loving” Dad and has trained them well.  We talked with the boys and they were also willing.  So, last Friday (their last day of spring break) they got ready, walked up the road to the neighbor’s house, and put in their first full day of work.  They worked from 9:30 until 4:30, with a half hour lunch here at home.  You can imagine the empty feeling here at home while they were gone.  When they got back home that afternoon we were anxious to hear all about it, and I snapped the pictures of Jacob.  They were both dirty and suntanned but Ethan said, “You have to be kidding, no.” when I asked to take his picture.  Jacob was proud of his filth and injury (a long scratch).

They said to us, “The man was so nice!  He gave us all the water we could drink.  And his wife made strawberry cookie bars!”

He had them all decked out in hard hats, goggles, and gloves.  Ethan said they were too big and “unnecessary” but he still wore them.

Jacob said with surprise, “The funny thing about me is the longer I worked, the MORE I WANTED TO WORK.”

(Rich understood that feeling perfectly.)

The next day, Jacob put in another full day.  Ethan had baseball practice and then worked one hour with Jake, before he was too sick to work anymore.  (He was coming down with a bad cold).  Jacob came home at the end of the day with their two day’s worth of pay.  They spent some time that night trying to think of other ways to make money.  They wish to buy real steel swords.  (“Blunted, mom, so no one gets hurt.”)  We are going to set them up with bank accounts.

The neighbor up the road has requested that they work every Saturday until the big job is done, and several of my friends also want to hire them (one to move stuff out of her attic, and one to paint her garage.)  Looks like they will have plenty of opportunities to work some odd jobs over the spring, summer, and fall.

A good work ethic is so important to instill into our children.  They are rewarded with some money, but most importantly, we noticed a huge boost in their confidence as young adults.  I am so proud of our boys/*turning into* MEN.

Rejoice with us!  Ethan and Grace were baptized today! 

On the way in, I told her to pick a light color.

But she got dazzled by all the choices and forgot.

What do I know anyway?  The sparkly brown is perfect for our girl Grace.

I sat next to her and got mine painted pink.  

Then, after our nails dried we went to the craft store.  I’m going to decoupage today!

Hope your Saturday is going well, friends.

xoxo

Our baby, Sarah, is now 13 months old and has just learned a new skill.  Not only can she say some words: “mama, up, down, hi” but, after months of practicing, she can finally take independent steps.  In fact, she can walk clear across the room.

She has things to say and places to go.  She’s getting faster and faster, ’cause all she wants to do now, is walk.

Watching a baby learn to walk never gets old.  Rich and I delight in her.  We all do.

These two videos were taken out on the porch on July 4th.  The birds are singing…….it’s that time of night when they seem a little louder, as they get ready to settle down for the night.

Her tiny little legs get me.  Babies sure grow up and change so very quickly.  I’m so thankful for this sweet girl.

Her dirty feet hurt me.  She’s W A L K I N G!

Ethan must be like his mother in some ways, because yesterday right after lunch he started hungering for something sweet (I am the same way, we need our little *something* for dessert).  He decided he wanted blueberry pie.  “But, I don’t know how to make blueberry pie”, he sighed.  I reminded him that I had a whole cupboard of cookbooks that he was welcome to look through.

I was on the couch, tired of body and tired of mind.  Happy, mind you, but ……. tired.  I was not going to climb Mt. Everest or make a pie, which both sounded equally challenging at the time.  So did picking up one more toy off the floor, for that matter.

The next time I came to my senses, he was in the midst of mixing up his pie dough.  He had found the recipe he wanted to use, it was from our family cookbook and was my Mom’s recipe for Razzleberry pie.  Instead of using raspberries and blueberries, like she makes it, he would use only blueberries.

Ethan did not know that you mixed the pie dough up by hand.  The butter had to be pea-sized.  He was worried, “Does that mean I have to roll little balls of butter?”  “No, E, pea-sized, not pea-shaped.”  He got his butter just right and then I had to step in, the only time I put my hands on his pie process was to add the ice water for him.  He did all the rest himself. 

After I got his dough into a ball, I sat at the table and watched the rest of the pie baking, offering tips along the way.

My mom lives three hours away, but how wonderful, that in a way she was involved as much as I was, because it was her own recipe. 

Butter, flour, salt and water made the crust.  Sister Gracie nibbled on the buttery leftover dough.

Blueberries, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg made the filling, with a little pat of butter right on top.  Literally.

The pat of butter is that bulge under the dough.

“This is Grandpa’s favorite pie, it says so right here”, Ethan said, leaning over the cookbook.

And later on, “I hope Dad likes this pie.”

He worked quietly and calmly.  He knew he could do it and there was no hurry.

After it was safely in the oven, I went to bed and took a nap with Caleb, leaving Ethan on the couch to check the pie when the timer went off.

An hour later, we all gathered around the table so Ethan could serve us fresh blueberry pie.  It was ever so slightly underdone but very nice for a first attempt.  We all liked it, and no one forgot Dad, two pieces were saved for him.  And yes, delighted Dad liked it very much when he got to eat some after a long day of work.

I’ve been reading “Samuel Whiskers” to my little boys over and over.  In the book, Tabitha Twitchet can’t control her mischievous kittens and mournfully says, “What a thing it is to have an unruly family!”

I can echo Mrs. Tabitha’s drama but not her complaint.  I say, “Oh what a thing it is to be so proud of your boy you could bust.”

Ethan’s first pie, and he made it himself, at 12 years old. 

And then I made him do his own cleaning up, too.

We leave tomorrow!  Ahhhhhhhhhh!   I’m busy packing and cleaning but I’ve gotten a lot done this morning so I thought I could sit for a little bit (while Seth naps) and post some pictures of my baby and the funny things he does.

I took him outside yesterday evening and put him in his swing.  He was so cute, going back and forth and giggling.  He loved it.  He still drools a lot.

Look at his funny pinkies.  And chin bubbles.

He likes to make long continuous sounds now.  I’m surprised how much air he can hold in his lungs!  He can make a long long sound, and then he breathes in and does it again.  I usually do it with him, and he thinks it’s such fun.  When we have music playing, he makes the sound then, too.  He sings!

He’s been doing other funny things, too.  Jacob put him in a bowl the other day, and took this picture.  I love the look on his face. 

Yes, he’s been in it before, (this was taken in April).

Seth played in the sandbox yesterday.  He loved it.  He pushed around in it, with his hands, and kicked his feet.  He made bad faces when he tasted the sand.  I had to keep a good eye on him.  

Here he is, back when he was only 5 months old:

Sister put him in her backpack once:

This picture is for Uncle Roger, who is a Yankee’s fan.  He and Aunt Colleen bought Seth this outfit:

This is another funny thing he used to do when he was first starting to crawl.  He would wriggle his way over to this plant to try to dig his fingers in the dirt and pick my flowers.  No one had to teach him, he learned to do this all on his own, and he used to do it every time we went out on the porch.  He doesn’t do it anymore, he now crawls to the top of the steps and tries to go down them.  (He already fell down them once).  We watch him like a hawk.  We don’t want Seth to fall downstairs and “begin to be dead” (Six year old David’s words).

August 17, 2009 (six months old):

These next pictures always makes me smile.  I found him like this one day, breathing rapidly like he thought he was suffocating, and kicking his feet fast, with his head under the couch.  He turned and looked at me when I took the picture.

August 10, 2009 (six months old)

It’s always a surprise to find your baby in a strange place.

This picture was taken just this morning.  I heard him making distress sounds, and found him like this, tipping into a basket:

Then, I was busy packing, and turned around to see him like this.  He isn’t very strong in the tummy yet so he was doing moves like a hula dancer as he held on to the drawers.  He’s only 7 months old! 

I’ve started retrieving things from out of his mouth:  a big wood chip, a soggy crayon wrapper, and a couple of stickers.

As I sit here, I must admit I’m a little curious about this boy of mine.  He’s pretty active.  Stay tuned for the next 5 or 6 years (or longer!) as I try to keep this child safe and teach him to be sensible!  I am guessing there will be many fun/interesting things to report in the years ahead.  I ask for your prayers. 

*****edit*****

It’s now 7pm and I got back online to post a couple more pictures that I took of Seth this afternoon.  He performed a few more new tricks throughout the day:

He got stuck on the stairs.  I could not believe that he had crawled up a step, and then stood up!

Then, he pulled himself up outside on the porch……

September 11, 2009 (7 months old):

This baby is growing too fast!

This afternoon, I was sitting in the living room looking at pictures on my camera.  When I looked up I found Seth like this.  Standing on his feet.  *sigh*

Now, it’s time to gather the older children around the table for the first day of home-school.