John 12:12=24

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Shanda

Yesterday at church Seth was sitting close by my side, just where I like him to be. I gave him a pen and paper to give him something to do and it soon became apparent to me that his mind was occupied with, not religious matters, but mathematics. He was busy writing a story during the sermon and this is what it said:

The ~~lazy~~ Dog by Seth

Captr One

Once thar was a dog the dog was rily smart. The dog new what 100 + 100 is and 200 + 200 is but one day the dog didint no what something was and it was 100 + 800 and he thinnked and thinnked but he couldn’t do it so he ascked the techer. The techer didn’t now so the techer thincked and thincked and the techer got it and it was 900.

Chapter 2

The techer was smorter then the dog the techer new wat 100-15 was it was 85.

That was all he was able to get done during the sermon. It was quite a laborious task for him. He whispered a couple of questions to me when he needed some help with it. One question was “How do you spell ‘what'”(he didn’t care about the other words) and the other was “What is 100 minus 15?”

He informed me that it will be 90 chapters long. To which I replied, “90-2=88”

Then he told me that he knew what 12 plus 12 was. He told me this after staring at the sermon text for a while.

teeth the color of cheese doodles

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Shanda

The most fascinating thing happened to me today.

I spent the entire morning in the house after Jacob left, cleaning and what-not, all alone. Aunt Phyllis called and I talked to her for 40 minutes with no interruptions. I wrote someone a card and mailed it and glued some of Joanna’s pictures into my scrapbook. The house was so quiet. I was in my own little world.

I ate lunch on the porch and read a chapter in my book.

Well then, I decided to go check on the chickens and I took my camera with me.

With all seven of the children gone away at school I was in awe and wonder at how much I could see, hear, and smell while I was enjoying the walk. My senses were in tune with nature like they haven’t been in years. While the children were home, even when I did go off for a walk alone, there was always that instinct to keep listening toward the house…to be ready to go back at any moment. To not be gone too long. A little guilt for not taking anyone along.

I went past the coop and stood under the trees on the edge of the yard. It was a hot and buzzing time of day, approaching high noon. The air was sweetly scented like grapes, ripe bunches of concord grapes were hanging from the trees. I sat down and then stretched out flat on my back to close my eyes and listen, to relax, to let the sun bake into my face. I was under some dappled shade, even with my eyes shut I could see movements of warm light as the wind blew through the leaves.

After a while I got up to continue walking……I admired some yellow wildflowers and smelled deeply of them. I saw a grasshopper in the mowed yard, it had a hard time jumping off the clipped grass so I gave it a hand. It used me as a springboard to jump amazingly far.

I was noticing everything I possibly could.

Then, as I walked up the dam trail, I thought to myself, “There are no animals. All these trees and bushes and I can’t see any sign of life anywhere.” I felt disappointed. I wondered what walking through the woods was like long ago, did people see wild animals more often? I’m sure they did.

I came to the top of the trail and stepped carefully over the mole tunnel which is always there. Then, Jesus prompted me to look up.

And what do you think I saw?

I saw a black animal up in the top of a tree which was approximately 40 feet high. It was slowly reaching out it’s little hand to pull some food to it’s mouth. It was amazing, I had never seen such a thing before. I usually see birds in trees and an occasional chipmunk. My first thought was “raccoon” but a half a second later I knew I was mistaken, but what was it? I kept watching, with my head tilted way back and my hand shading my eyes, then I realized that it was a porcupine. My very first porcupine sighting but I had heard rumors of one about.

I say it is Ethan’s porcupine because just the other day he was on his way home from soccer practice and he saw one cross the road in front of the car and go down the bank by the stream. He tried to get a picture of it but it looked like nothing but a dark dark shadow in it.

I’m sure the one I saw today was the same one. I love it! It appears full grown, healthy and strong. My only hope is that 1. It does not like chickens, and 2. it stays away from our lawn, our children, and our dog.

I stood and watched it for a long time. It did nothing but very slowly eat little bits of tree and then, after it noticed I was there, stare at me. It stared at me in silence but when I broke the silence by talking conversationally he was so uncomfortable he looked away into the woods. It never made a peep and didn’t move up or down the tree the entire time I was looking at it.

I took about 100 photos but because of the bright sun I wasn’t able to really see how they were turning out.

After a while I thought I better go home. I didn’t have my iPhone with me and wondered what time it was.

I crossed the stream but didn’t see any crayfish. My chickens saw me and clucked.

I walked by the pond and noticed some stuff under the playset and gathered a pair of socks, a water bottle and a plastic horse.

I walked up the hill to my house with my hands full of the stuff. Parker the dog walked over to the front steps to greet me.

“I saw a Porcupine,” I told him, out loud as clear as day as I walked up the steps.

Then I noticed two men sitting at my little porch table and screamed bloody murder. I’ll never forget the looks on their poor faces. As they heard me talk to the dog, believing I was speaking to THEM, they looked at me in friendliness, and then as I screamed, I caused looks of surprise and shock to replace that kind friendliness. “I was talking to the dog,” I explained.

They quickly told me that they were the granite guys coming to fix our countertop. They had made an appointment before our vacation to come out on September 1 at noon. It was one o’clock. And I had completely forgotten. One of them mentioned they were glad I didn’t have a gun or I probably would have shot them in my terror. Thankfully, I only shoot photos.

Nicest guys though. They just finished up. I showed one of them the pictures I took of the porcupine, since he had overheard my conversation with the dog and all. I’m not sure if he was as impressed with it as I was but he was very polite.

This was the first picture I took of it, before I knew what it was.

It was very high up in a tree. Thank goodness I had a 55-200mm lens on my camera.

It was thrilling to see these pictures inside the house. While I was outside I never was able to see the eyes of this creature. As you can see, he kept them on me at all times (except when I spoke and he looked away).

It looks quite like a rodent, doesn’t it? That’s because it is from the rodent family. It’s the second largest rodent in North American, behind the beaver.

I got this information from wikipedia, “The porcupine is the only native North American mammal with antibiotics in its skin. Those antibiotics prevent infection when a porcupine falls out of a tree and is stuck with its own quills upon hitting the ground. Porcupines fall out of trees fairly often because they are highly tempted by the tender buds and twigs at the ends of the branches.”

It had teeth as orange as cheese doodles. As I have always been interested in teeth and dentistry this was quite fascinating to me. Imagine having orange teeth. Looks to me like it has a slight underbite, as well.

The kids should be home soon and I bet they’ll want to run right back to see if it’s still there.

we had a situation

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Shanda

It all began on Saturday. Rich and I drove in separate vehicles to the church to pick up a whole bunch of kids and their luggage from a week of camp. After he greeted me and gave me a hug, Jacob told me that he and the older kids were going to get Chinese food with their friend Michael on the way home, so I gave him thirty dollars. Rich left with his group of kids and I left with Seth and Sarah, not really knowing who was riding with Rich or Michael. It was past lunchtime and we were all very hungry. I stopped at McDonald’s with my two kids, but Rich drove straight home with his.

I pulled into the driveway at home, went in the house, and discovered Ethan all distraught. “There wasn’t anything to eat”. I had assumed that he was part of the group going to the Chinese buffet. He loved Chinese food but missed out because somehow he wasn’t told the plan. I made him some elbow noodles and meat sauce but it just wasn’t the same. He missed out on Chinese food and was never going to get over it. “Oh E, I’ll take you to Chinese, just the two of us.” I was willing to say anything to encourage him, but I didn’t mean that I would take him anytime soon. Just that I would take him….eventually.

Soon everyone was fed and Chinese food was forgotten.

Or so I thought.

Yesterday, as typical on summer Mondays, I took Grace, Dave, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah to the movies, leaving Michael and the teenagers at home. I had a lot to do so I left Grace with the little kids at the theater while I shopped at Target. After the movie we stopped at Costco. By the time we arrived home the whole back of my SUV was full of bags and food and I was tired.

I discovered all the teens sleeping on the couches in the living room but I took no pity on them and woke them up so they could unload the groceries.

To my surprise, they happily woke up because they said “We are going to the mall and getting Chinese food for lunch.”

“Oh no, you’re not! I just gave you thirty dollars on Saturday! And I just bought a bunch of food while I was out that you can have for lunch.”

They wouldn’t hear of it. We went back and forth with our debate and meanwhile I was disappointed to come to the realization that my children are spoiled rotten.

Ethan especially wanted the Chinese food. “Mom, you said I could go!” He was still feeling left out from Saturday but the truth is, I never said WHEN he could go and I never said I would foot the bill for anyone else but Ethan. I wasn’t about to give them anymore money.

Jacob put his shoes on and got his wallet. He had money saved that he was supposed to be using for college. “I’m going. I’ll just pay for it with my savings.”

“Oh no, you’re not!”

The other point I made was that next week we would be leaving for family vacation and eating out all the time. So in the meantime we were going to “stay home and be satisfied with common foods like peanut butter sandwiches.”

They hated peanut butter sandwiches. They won’t eat them.

Yet another point was “Jacob, you needed me to take you to college tomorrow, I don’t want you going to go to the city two days in a row. You’re exhausted from camp and need to rest.”

But they still wouldn’t yield.

It was then that I knew I wasn’t dealing with spoiled rotten teens. I was dealing with over-tired, HUNGRY teens who had the stubbornness of both their mother and their father.

So I called Rich at work. We had a parenting situation that needed both Mom and Dad to solve. He promised to call right back when he had a minute to spare.

We were all in the living room: Michael (who was to drive them to the mall and didn’t care either way, but did want to buy sandals), Ethan (lying on his back with his arm dramatically over his forehead), Emily (who was using her Starbucks gift card in the debates) and Jacob (on the verge of tears).

Rich returned my call. I put him on speaker and placed the phone next to me on the arm of the couch. He received an earful as everyone stated their case. Being the wise and sensible man he was, he quickly decided in my favor.

“Your mom is right. I want you children to stay home and rest today. Jacob, if you don’t toughen up I’ll give you something to do to toughen you up. Ethan, I want you to get in the kitchen and find something you DO want to eat, and make enough for everyone.

“Now, I really have to go. I want to finish things up here at work so I can take a break and go eat Chinese food for lunch.”

(evil laughter from Mike and the parents)

Well, well, well. I had “won” the great Chinese food debate against my teenagers. I was feeling victorious but also sort of mean…..I love giving them anything they want….so when I DO have to put my foot down, I feel bad. (yes, I am a feeler, it’s a blessing and a curse). The poor children would have to forgo Chinese food, although we did have chicken patties in the freezer that they could shake soy sauce on. This idea of mine was not met with approval, however.

I took my phone off the arm of the couch and just as I began to get up to put away the groceries Mike said, “The Schwan’s truck is here.” He could see it pull in the driveway through the window.

Instantly, I started to scream because I knew they sold delicious Chinese food meal kits. “Oh my word!!! I cannot believe this!! This is all the Lord’s doing. You better get down on your knees and humble yourselves in gratitude!”

I opened the door to greet the man. He never had such a warm welcome. I turned to make sure the kids were with me to order their beloved Chinese foods from the catalog and saw Ethan kneeling in the kitchen with his arms raised to Jesus in grateful praise.

We had chicken lo mien and shrimp rolls for lunch.

why seth is home today (the very long version)

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Shanda

All is pearly blue, silver, and sunshine outside. It’s currently 8:17 in the morning, and 32 degrees. Seth and Sarah are watching a Christmas Thomas the Tank Engine show on Netflix while Mama (in her red robe) puts her feet up and tries to get some words out of her head, through her fingers, and onto a blog post…….

Why is Seth home from school, you ask?

Grace has needed to fill her prescription for much-needed new glasses for over a month. I had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and thought I would make use of the trip by taking her out of school to go to Lenscrafters. She also asked if she could get her hair trimmed. I was pleased to be able to take care of my beautiful, very busy daughter, but as soon as my doctor’s appointment was over, I had to take a phone call from the elementary school nurse. She told me that Seth wasn’t feeling well; he was complaining of a tummy ache.

I texted Rich; he was busy at work and couldn’t get him. Time with Grace is very rare, so I decided that the glasses were of utmost importance. We went quickly to the mall to chose a pair. I told the man that I would pick them up the next day and we left. As soon as I got the girls back in the vehicle and turned on the car, Rich texted me back and said he could get Seth after all. This was happy news, so back into the mall we went and the girls both had hair cuts. And we had time to pick up the glasses, too.

I need to tell you that I found my jar of Vitamin B12 gummy vitamins in the bathroom later, with the top secure, and with only 2 left in it. I had a panic attack as I googled “Vitamin B12 overdose” into the computer, wondering if Seth had eaten them and was sick from them….there were about 35 missing and to this day NOT ONE CHILD IS ADMITTING to eating them!! (David said he ate one). I eventually discovered that overdose can result in panic attacks and heart palpitations, because the B12 is an “energy” vitamin. Seth was doing the opposite (sleeping in my bed). They are also water-soluble which means the excess gets urinated out rather quickly. But this experience added to the drama-trauma of the evening. I took the boys to wrestling practice and went back home to my sick child.

I let Community Bible Study know that there was a possibility that I wouldn’t make it the next morning to decorate my tables for brunch or facilitate my group. I was disappointed, but by the end of the evening Seth’s fever had broke and he was acting like his normal self. He slept good that night, so I sent him to school with a note and let Paula (from CBS) know I was able to attend after all.

I did all the one million small things to get ready by 8:15 am; loaded my little gifts for the ladies into the car along with a beautiful centerpiece for the tables, cut up a pineapple, packed up the creamers, sugar, tea, coffee carafe, and so one. I took my shower, put on make up, got Sarah dressed, started my car……

AND THE NURSE CALLED ME TO COME GET SETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She said he couldn’t go back to school until his fever was gone for 24 hours.

I wasn’t going to study after all, but I couldn’t contact Paula.

Then, I thought, well…maybe my friend Caroline is available today. She usually has to work but after a text and a phone call, I found out that she was indeed home, waiting on a stove delivery. She agreed to take Seth, so I drove to school to get him, and drove to her house to leave him. Paula called me back and I told her I was running late……

I drove 40 minutes to the church, loaded my arms with all my stuff, rushed to the gym to my tables…and found that they were completely done and decorated. “Oh Shanda, I tried to call you back to let you know but you didn’t answer your phone!” My sub core leader got the message that I wasn’t coming and never got the message that I was coming, so she had decorated the tables. I felt like she was my Christmas Elf. Despite the frazzled morning I was glad to be there and the morning was a blessing to my heart and soul.

My bible study friend Lisa is a baker. She gave everyone in our group a delicious quick bread for Thanksgiving and yesterday she handed around small paper boxes decorated with glittery star stickers. She told me, “These are Homemade!” when she handed me my box.

Needless to say, after I was back home again with Seth and Sarah, I opened the little box, and almost cried. The box was filled with the most delightful darling chocolates. There were two generous layers of beautiful HOMEMADE chocolates. I squealed and exclaimed. I thought about the thank you card I would send. I couldn’t imagine the work it took to make them! I ate one; it was raspberry filled! I ate another; it was coconut! I gave one to Grace and Sarah and put the box on the bookshelf, my own personal little guilty-pleasure that I intended to savor and linger over the next few days.

entirely homemade and beautifully detailed

Eventually, David and Caleb were home, too, and it was time for me to make dinner. Rich and the boys were at wrestling practice and I had recently *dropped the ball* with dinners so I wanted to put some thought and care into the food. I roasted a chicken, filling it with three garlic cloves, salt, rosemary, and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. I placed a sprig of rosemary on top and basted the chicken carefully every fifteen minutes. For a side dish, I made tomato rice; 2 cups of chopped onion, a chopped yellow pepper sautéed in olive oil. I added a cup of rice, a tin of whole tomatoes, and half a tin of water and let it simmer until the rice was creamy and perfect. With a salad and the pineapple I had cut up that morning, we had a lovely meal.

But Jacob and Ethan didn’t come home. They had Subway and went back to school for the basketball game.

We have a housefly problem in the house. As I made dinner I concentrated on killing flies. My son David advised me to aim cleaning spray on them to render their wings useless; so I did that and then stepped on them. I hate the dirty flies; I am becoming obsessed with them…I imagine maggots….I MUST GET RID OF THE FLIES….I was getting up and down from a stool, bending, spraying, cleaning, killing…..

After serving the little ones their dinner (Seth had five bowls of salad and nothing else, weirdly) I was simply done with it all…done with the day…tired…head was buzzing…I collapsed on the couch with my kindle and let the kids watch a Phineas and Ferb Christmas special. When Rich came home at 7pm, he found a tired mama and five (never ever tired) children. He did enjoy my dinner, which was nice, but still I wondered, was all the fuss worth it?

I went to get a chocolate; I couldn’t find them. I looked all over the place. Nothing. I asked the family. Nothing.

I wanted one of my special, homemade chocolates. I deserved it!!

You’ll never believe.

I found the box.

I found the wrappers.

They were on the floor.

Behind the bookcase.

Every chocolate.

GONE.

I screamed.

I asked the children; their dear little faces looked at me in blank innocence.

When I showed the box to the dog he wouldn’t look at it. He wouldn’t look at me. He went straight to the door to be let out.

“I won’t make eye contact with my mom because I ate all her homemade chocolates.”

I will never get over it.

At six this morning I stumbled out of bed and came out to the living room to ask if the Dog was still alive. I’ve read everywhere that chocolate kills dogs.

He was fine.

But Seth had just thrown up.

And that is why Seth is home today.

3 little stories from the past 24 hours

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Shanda

Blue Sweater

There is just something extra special about a handmade sweater, especially if it’s made by an old white haired lady. After receiving it, the young mama puts it on her little one with thoughts of the granny who made it, and it’s like wrapping up that child up in a hug. Yes, years ago, when my firstborn was a little boy, his Great-Great Grandma made him and his little brother both warm sweaters. These sweaters, everyone agreed, were special, because they zipped up the back. Through the years of putting the sweaters on the children, I would get a little thrill as I told them to *turn around* so I could zip them (up the back). The oldest wore his light blue sweater, then the second oldest wore it, then the third oldest, then the fourth oldest, then the fifth oldest, then the sixth oldest, and last but never ever least, it was Sarah Joy’s turn. (she’s the youngest)

This sweater is one of the only articles of clothing that was worn by all seven children.

(Unrelated: “Why are we Still Wearing Sweaters at the End of May?”)

Morning Milk Delivery

You know how some mornings you wake up just ready? Ready to pleasantly tackle any ol’ problem that comes your way? You’re full of optimism, you have a song in your heart, and can’t wait to wrap your arms around your loved ones? I don’t either, but some mornings are definitely better than others. The first thing I do when I wake up is stumble out of my bedroom, say good morning to the teenagers, and make my way over to the coffee pot. This morning, I was extra and beyond tired. When I made my way to the coffee pot, I discovered to my horror that Jacob had beaten me to the remainder of the half and half. He thought he had the right to finish it! I said, “If this ever happens again, and the carton is almost gone, DON’T USE IT UP, DON’T TOUCH IT, LEAVE IT FOR ME!” Jacob was offended, “Then I won’t get any!” he cried. “Yes, yes, that’s right.” I nodded. To make matters even more discouraging we were completely out of milk (and we had been, for days). We have the $ to buy milk, rest assured, it was just one of those things that I hadn’t taken care of yet. It would ruin my morning to drink coffee without cream or milk. I ran into my bedroom to whine to my husband, who laughed at me and said “You’ll have to go out this morning and buy some!” I whined some more about not wanting to go, I couldn’t go, I just couldn’t handle going shopping with Seth and Sarah and………..” He left for work still laughing! I thought and thought about what to do, and I had no gumption. Should I put the kids in the car and go through a drive through for coffee? But, that wouldn’t help with the milk situation. Should I buzz down to the grocery store? It was only 6:30! I went downstairs to wake up the boys for school and then went to my room to get dressed. I was downcast and my spirit was low within me. I could hear the boys in the kitchen. I went out to put cream cheese on their bagels and saw …… my husband was back home, and at the coffee maker. It took me a few seconds (did he forget something?) before I realized that he had indeed BOUGHT MILK and BROUGHT IT HOME to MEEEEEE!!!!!!!! I squealed and ran toward him. He took off running around the kitchen and I chased him around the island saying thank you! thank you so much! As I hugged him around the neck I could hear Caleb saying, “Does this mean I can have cereal now?” Rich pointed dramatically at Caleb like I was choking him and he couldn’t get away, “Your son wants some cereal.”

Sometimes milk is even better than a bouquet of flowers.

This is Such a Weird Coincidence

So, as I drank my wonderful coffee this morning, I got on the computer. I went to the blog and clicked into the archives, looking at and reading about what we were doing as a family last year. I could hear Seth and Sarah rummaging in my room but I was pretty much just telling myself that surely they were being good and not making a mess (uh-huh, yeah). Presently, Sarah came to me and got in the chair. She had a pretty little bejeweled fabric box in her hands. Interestingly enough, I myself had come across the box this past weekend, in another box in my room, so I knew that she had done some serious rummaging to find it. To me it was just another thing in the house, but she was agog over it and wanted to know if she could have it. “No,” I answered, “that’s mama’s box.” It was filled with embroidery floss and I told her to leave it alone. She remained compliantly by my side and glanced at the computer screen. I scrolled down, talking to her and showing her the pictures. “Mom, wait!” She pointed at a picture. “See? This IS my box!” “What?” I said, astounded. Because, there before my eyes was a picture of Rich last year, passing out gifts to the children from their Grandma Leslie, and there was Sarah, with bright eyes, holding on to the very same box she had found this morning in my room!

I immediately and humbly returned it to her, as I can’t argue with concrete evidence.

It was just too weird!! What are the chances of 1) her actually FINDING the box 2) at the exact time that I came across the picture I took when she first received it! 3) Honestly, I really didn’t remember where the thing had come from! I just thought it was my own pretty embroidery floss container.

She carried it around all morning.

seth falls in pond

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Shanda

Sixteen year old Ethan was recovering from pneumonia and had spent four days on the couch. On the fifth day, he was finally feeling healthy enough to walk down the hilly front yard to the pond with his fishing pole. As he sat in the bright sunshine, dressed warmly and wearing his straw hat, his little brother Seth played next to him. Both boys were on the dock when I walked down with my camera, and their little sister Sarah was playing nearby, too. She was wearing a warm coat, but was barefoot. Seth had already dropped his jacket on the ground and was happily pretending to fish with a long, thin stick, wearing a pair of jeans and a thin t-shirt.

Ethan situated himself at the end of the long wooden dock with his feet dangling over the deep green water, and I moved away to the side of the pond in order to take a photo of him. He looked like the quintessential country boy and I was pleased that he was feeling well enough to be outdoors. The ice had just melted off the pond a week before and the beautiful water looked irresistible to the young fishermen.

Seth decided to leave the dock and take his “fishing pole” to a large, slopping rock. He was now perfectly placed between Ethan and myself. He squatted down with his little bare feet, in order to drop the end of his stick into the water.

I took another picture or two and all was well. What a lovely moment of a beautiful day. I began to smile and dream about sitting down and putting my feet up.

Just then, we heard a quick sliding and a splash. Ethan and I both turned to look and realized immediately that Seth had lost his footing and slipped into the deep water. We hesitated for a second, it had happened so fast and we wondered if he could simply touch bottom and pull himself out. Our boy Seth’s eyes were huge as he gasped. His little hands were paddling the water as fast as they could go. Ethan I both realized at once that he needed help. We ran to the edge and Ethan stepped into the water and leaned over to offer his arm to Seth. I had my long scarf in my hands to use, as well.

Seth was entirely submerged in freezing water, with only his head above it. The look on his face was so sad, he looked scared to death (a look I never see on his face no matter what dangerous thing he’s doing…..it is usually a look of great delight). He made pitiful distress noises as he grabbed Ethan’s arm and allowed himself to be pulled up and out.

“Seth, Seth! Run up to the house and dry off! You need different clothes on!”

I took his hand and together we ran to the house. I think he was in shock because he started to cry about his shirt and saying it would “dry in the sun”.

We ran through the front door and up the stairs. I took his soaked clothes off as quickly as I could and wrapped him in two towels. His teeth were chattering but he wanted to know what was wrong. Why didn’t he go anywhere while his arms were swimming so fast in the water? Why couldn’t he swim when “he was five now”? It was mind boggling to him.

“I’m never going on that rock again!”

In utter relief that he was okay, I got the giggles as I worked his dry clothes onto him.

“Mom, why do you keep laughing?”

(Why indeed?)

“I’m just so happy you’re okay!”

“I’m glad I’m okay, too. I don’t want to die. I wonder what it will feel like to die.”

“I should have taken a picture of you in the water,” I teased.

“NO YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE!”

It took me two hours to recover from it all….as I imagined what would have happened if we were not right there when he fell into the water that was so very deep and over his head. I have to believe it was all for the best. Seth lives adventurously (recklessly) so I am of the opinion that God allowed this to happen to teach him an important lesson. A little fear would do him good.

Every spring I make a note of the first child to go swimming in the pond. Today marks The Day and for the first time Seth gets the honor: April 10, 2014. He said the water “was cold”.

As for Ethan, after catching nothing but his brother from the pond, he went back inside the warm and quiet house. He took off his hat and pulled his boots off, letting them hit the floor. I warmed up the corn bag and gave it to him, and he drifted off back to sleep on the couch.

We were only outside for 20 minutes.

(the rescuer, sleeping with the warm cornbag on his chest)

a fish tale

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Shanda

(I like to write stories now and then for the children. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to read it out loud to your youngsters!)

Yesterday, on a beautifully cool summer day, David (who is 8) and Caleb (who is 6) made their own fishing pole with a long stick, a long string, and a fish hook. They found a pale yellow slug and baited their hook with it. Then, they went to the pond to fish.

Before I knew it, they were walking briskly back, side by side, and smiling big.

“Mom! Mom!” David cried. “Caleb caught a fish! Come see it!” I laughed when they ran to meet me, with a big coffee mug brimming to the top with pond water.

I looked inside the mug and there it was swimming in a panic, ’round and ’round. “Isn’t it beautiful?” asked Caleb, proudly. I looked at Caleb, and then at the fish.

It was quite a small fish, and I could see why he thought it was beautiful. Fish are beautiful, if you stop to think about it. Especially if it’s the first one you ever caught.

“Can we keep it, Mom?” they both asked.

While I took care of the other children and forgot about the fish, the two busy brothers put the fish in an old pot, high up on a shelf in their bedroom. They named him Lego and took care of him all day.

They left their fish to help me make pickles (see previous post), and as soon as we were done they ran downstairs to their room. “Let’s go check on Lego!”

“He’s…….he’s GONE!” one little boy said, in awe and amazement.

I went downstairs to see what was the matter. The fish was back in the pot by the time I got there. “What was he doing?” I wanted to know.

“He was just lying right there on the floor, trying to breathe!” There was a wet spot. Lego was desperate to escape.

After that incident, I helped them find a taller fishtank. It was an old big ice cream tub from Schwan’s.

Want to see a picture of him under his lego lily-pad?

Even in the pouring rain that afternoon, David could be found under an umbrella, finding worms for Lego.

Lego was fed, talked to, and gently poked at.

Lego was given so much care that as we went to bed that night, we older ones wondered if he would live to see another day. The next morning, we looked in the plastic ice cream tub. Was he okay? Did he live to see another day?

He wasn’t moving at all. In fact, he was stiff. And, he was over on his side under the water! But, how did we know he wasn’t just sleeping? “Because his eyes were open.” Caleb said.

Well, just in case he really was just sleeping, Caleb and I walked outside and poured him back into the pond.

This afternoon, when I read this story to the boys, they ran outside to see if he was still where Caleb had left him and he wasn’t there!

I will leave you to decide whether or not Lego is alive.

And that is the end of the fish tale, which is where fish tails usually are. On the end.

and now for a word from Seth

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Shanda

Hi, my name is Seth and I am one year old, soon to be two (on February 2).

Today my mom was cleaning her house and I was, as usual, busy doing other things. My mom calls it mischief but I don’t know what that means.

Well. Something great happened! She took me outside for a walk with her.

See, the other day when my whole family was in the car, my Dad had to stop and get a drink at the gas station. When he came out, he gave my mom a dog bone. She said, what is this? Are you trying to say I’m a dog, Rich? She laughed and laughed and so did Dad. He said, well, at least it’s a homemade dog bone. Mom said, they were selling homemade dog bone biscuits and you decided to buy me one? Dad laughed and laughed again. One time I heard mom say she liked surprise gifts so I know she was really happy with Dad.

Well, this old dog bone was hanging around the kitchen too long so Mom said, Seth do you want to go outside and give this bone to Parker with me?

As soon as I heard the word, GO, I was nodding my head up and down. That means yes.

We started to go out the door but it was pretty cold so Mom said, sit here while I go get your shoes and coat. I was feeling so good that I obeyed which I think surprised Mom because when she came back there I was, still sitting in the same spot.

Soon I had my coat and my shoes and we started to walk down the hill. I was going too fast down that hill so I said, whoa, and then Mom held my hand.

As soon as I saw our Dog, I threw the bone. Mom said, no not yet and she picked it up and took it to the dog. I didn’t get too close because I don’t like the dog to knock me over.

Then, we walked way over to the chicken coop. Mom went in front of me faster than I could walk and I started to be mad and cry. She ignored me. She does that when she knows I can do it myself without any help.

When we got to the coop, mom let out the chickens and collected one egg. I took the lid off the feed bin and grabbed a handful to throw at a chicken. That’s how you feed them. It was so fun.

Our rooster is very scary. He runs at me and knocks me down. One time he did it and Dad yelled to my mom, do you want a child with only one eye? She said, absolutely not, we need to build a fence!

If I see any chicken at all, I sit down and yell GO at it. I think if I sit down on my own, it will not knock me down. So I sit, yell go real loud, and point my finger away in the direction I want it to go.

When we were done with that, we kept walking around some more on the lawn. Mom was cleaning, like she always does. She picked up stuff off the lawn and I went over to throw a rock in the pond. When I threw it I said, bye. . Mom. . and I waved at her and went to get another rock. Mom wondered where I was going. I get my rocks from the lower driveway and then go all the way back to the pond. It is so fun to throw them in. I do that and then I turn around to smile at my mom because I know she is very proud of me.

Then, I saw my little ride on toy and went on that. I like it just fine, but Mom says if you see it at Target do not buy it because it will fade and not last.

I rode on my toy for about 10 seconds and then I remembered that we have a big thing to jump on called a trampoline so I ran to that but mom said no we are not jumping on that today. I surprised her because when she said no I did what my brothers do and I begged by saying please please. They do this and a lot of times she changes her mind so I tried it and it worked! She lifted me up and let me jump. I bounced a little and then I took off my shoes and threw them so I could jump better but then I decided not to jump after all. So mom sighed real big and had to sit me down and put my shoes right back on but I know she didn’t mind.

After that I had to go inside again. I love to be outside and I hope I get to go out there again soon.

That is all. Thank you for reading about my walk.

PS. On our walk my mom picked up one glass jar, 2 legos, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 jackets, one empty plastic bag, a hair brush, a water bottle, and some broken plastic. She wonders if she is the only one who sees the garbage and stuff. She is wrong. We all see it but she is the only one who thinks to pick it up. She also brought one egg into the house, in her pocket. I think my mom is wonderful. She is doing the best she can. I know that because I hear her say it real loud sometimes.

not a quiet pond

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Shanda

In the early spring, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck know that it is time to fly North. They leave their warm home in the South, fly, fly, and fly, until they find the very best spot to stay awhile, in order to comfortably raise a family of little ducklings.

Yesterday, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck were tired of flying and needed a break. They came to an open pond, near a house, by a garage, by a chicken coop, by some woods, and they decided to fly down to the water and softly swim. They wanted to relax and talk to each other, and make plans. It was such a lovely afternoon, with sunshine glowing all around them.

But, very very soon, Mrs. Mallard, the nervous type, noticed a loud, barking creature standing by it’s little house and making the most dreadful sounds.

“Mr. Drake, dear, whatever is that beastly creature?”

“My love, it is only a dog. Just ignore him. See his long, strong, chain? He cannot get loose and will do us no harm.”

Mrs. Mallard swam with her husband. The water felt so very cold, and she loved the way it felt on her little webbed feet. She ignored the barking dog, but wondered again.

“Husband, I see ever so many other birds over there, on the opposite side of the pond. They are silent and do not move, but look at how they stare at me! They make no sound at all, and stretch their necks so high to see us. I feel quite odd and freakish.”

“Yes, I see them, dear. They are chickens. Don’t you remember? You have seen dogs and you have seen chickens. Why are you so nervous?”

“They gawk at me so, I can’t enjoy my swim! Those strange chickens, and…..merciful heavens, here come humans!”

The duck couple froze as not one, not two, not three, not four……..but seven humans of various sizes quickly ran, to join the flock of chickens, and the loudly barking dog.

“The lady mother is carrying a baby on her hip, and taking pictures of us!”

“Oh, this is all too much, let us fly away fast. We are not FOND of this POND.”

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard flew up and away, over the heads of the curious chickens, the big brown dog (he really did sound as if he meant to eat them), and the humans, who were pointing at them and talking all at once. And as they flew, they thought and hoped to themselves that their next experience in the northern waters would be a bit more……quiet.

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Shanda

I’m a little baby, three months old. . . . .

My name is Seth and my Mama says I’m growing so much these days. You wouldn’t think that a baby my age would be so busy but I am. I do like to take my naps but there are other things I like to do, too. My Papa says I am getting spoiled by all the people in my family holding me so much, but Mama says that I am not held enough, in her opinion.

I like to watch things. There are fans on the ceiling that go ’round and ’round and I stare at them a lot. I also like to keep an eye on my dangling friends above my bed and above my swing. I like it when I can be carried around on my Mama’s shoulder and I can look around at everything. I can pick my head up strong, but I do wobble it sometimes, too.

My swing is so much fun. My Mama puts me in it and I go back and forth gently. My swing plays music for me, or some bird songs or other sounds from nature.

My Mama wants me to love God’s big beautiful world and so I have already been outside a lot. She takes me to listen to the stream, to watch the trees moving, and to breathe the fresh air. She says that the sun makes everything grow, including her babies. When I am in the house, she lays me down in sunbeams.

Everything she does makes me feel so safe, and so I do not cry often. If my Mama says I am fussy, I do not listen…because if she only knew why I was fussy she would not mind. Sometimes my tummy hurts, and one time my sister’s bunny scratched me. Another time I got shots and just the other day my Mama pinched my finger with the nail clippers. When things like this happen, it can sometimes take me a while to get over it.

My happiest times are when my Mama is nursing me, or sleeping with me in her big bed. Whether she is nearby or far away, I can sense it even if I am asleep. That’s why, when I wake up in the night, I always start to cry. It’s because I feel so lonely. I know she doesn’t like to leave me at bedtime. Sometimes she feels afraid that something might happen to me when I am sleeping. She talks to God about that, and then I hear her sigh a little and say, “Yes, Father, I trust You to watch over my baby for me when I am asleep.” And then she looks at me for a little while and touches me softly and then she goes away until I call her to come nurse me at about 3:00 in the morning.

My other happy times include: When my Papa comes home and talks to me and hugs me at the end of the day. He calls me “smalls” and he sometimes lays me down on his bed to bounce me and see me smile big. My big brothers love me so much. Jacob calls me “little man”. My sister sings to me. My brother David likes to look at me and sometimes poke at me. Yesterday on the way to church he even pinched my nose shut to see what would happen. My Mama turned around quick when I made a funny noise. She thought I was throwing up. My brother thought it was funny, and when my Mama knew I was okay she laughed, too.

I can chew my fists now. I can also move around better. If my Mama props me up on pillows I lean way forward and then fall over on my side. I just don’t want to lay still like that anymore. I want to move!

My Mama says I drool too much. And she is always wiping my chin for me to keep me dry.

I can laugh now, too. When she changes my diaper, I get excited and happy and then she tickles me under my chin and I laugh out loud!

She likes to take my picture and I don’t mind. I can see a little light on her camera and I look at that and wonder. She sure takes pictures a lot!

Yes, I am growing and changing. Someday soon I will be able to do other things, too. My Mama makes sure to enjoy me every day, because soon I will be even bigger! She takes such good care of me and I hope that my Papa gives her lots of attention on Sunday, May 10, because that is Mother’s day. I heard my Papa tease her and say he would go away to visit HIS Mama on that day, but he was laughing so I knew he was kidding. He will give my Mama LOTS of presents, I think.