meanwhile, outside

It was just after seven a few nights ago when I went for a walk down the road with my daughter.  On the way back home, we saw some interesting berries up on the bank so I went into the house to get the camera.  As usual, with the camera in my hands, I found more and more things to photograph.

I always intend on purchasing a wild berry identification book.  The ones we found were bright red, in clusters of six, arranged in the middle of an oval leaf.  I would like to know their name.

Our house looked calm and beautiful in the end of day light.  Laundry hanging, the lawn mowed so nicely by my hard working sons.

I'm always followed loyally by my small sons and daughter, with bright eyed curiosity.

More berries ('tis the season), these were on single stems.  I picked wild blackberries for Sarah today and offered them to her.  I wondered if she would find them too seedy, but she ate them up and asked for more.

Today I searched the wildflower book for this blossom.  It is currently growing down at the stream and the butterflies love it.  I thought I had identified it as a Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, but the leaves did NOT smell of vanilla when crushed. 

I am so grateful to live with ponds.  They offer endless discovery and beauty for the entire family.

Another view of the homeplace.

Charming cattail, growing by the pond.  The one in the middle is wearing a flowing scarf.

Gathered a light green chicken egg, from my flock which is down to 10 hens. 

And eight darkly shining little bugs.

"The God who fashioned flow'rs and trees,
Delights to give us things that please,
And all His handiwork so fair
His glory and His love declare."  Margaret K. Frazer, from A Treasury of Poems

a little bit about George Whitefield

 

"You see, my brethren, my heart is full;

I could almost say it is too big to speak,

and yet too big to be silent,

without dropping a word to you."

~George Whitefield

 

I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields.  I now preach to ten times more people than I would if I had been confined to the churches.  Whitefield

A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ.  Whitefield

It is better to wear out than to rust out.  George Whitefield

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you. 

And now let me address all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to accept of mercy and grace while it is offered to you; Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; and will you not accept it, now it is offered unto you?  ~G.Whitefield


The famous outdoor preacher, George Whitefield, a small and weak man, was born in England but traveled to America seven times in order to preach the gospel.  He had an amazing preaching ability and could make his voice carry for a mile, preaching up to 30, 000 people at a time.   Because he mainly preached outdoors, he was able to share the gospel with people of any denomination at once, of all types of background and social status.  His oratory skills were such that people couldn't help but weep to hear him, resulting for those who came to Christ a salvation experience of great emotion.  Whitefield was credited for starting the Great Awakening, a time of spiritual revival in America. 

On Saturday, our pastor invited the congregation to meet him at a historical George Whitefield preaching location (a large rock) in West Brookfield, MA, to hear him give a short talk on Whitefield's life and then listen to him give an open air gospel message.  Both the talk and the message were taped for the local TV station, and will be on youtube.

Rich and Ethan were away for a wedding, so I took the other children with me and we drove almost an hour to get to the field, which is privately owned.  It was a drizzly morning and Gary had to teach and preach in the rain.  He did a great job and we all enjoyed the time together very much.  I was thankful for the way this piece of church history came alive for the children.



I wonder, as Whitefield was standing on such a large rock, if he thought of this verse from Psalm 62;

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

{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.
inspired by soulemama

igloo in july

 

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Caleb turned 8 yesterday.

 

He's such a good boy, a big teddy bear who loves legos and foam swords.

 

He has a tender heart.

 

I remember a few weeks ago we were talking on the couch and his questions got sadder and sadder as he opened his heart to me.  He doesn't like the news and I never turn it on when he is around.  The Boston marathon bombing broke his heart.  Natural disasters make him cry and believe they will happen to us, too. 

 

I reassure him and point him to God and tell him not to worry, mom and dad will take care of him. 

 

His eyes well up with tears, "I love you so much.  When I grow up do I have to move away from you and Dad?  Can't I just live with you still?"

 

Well, I know the typical natural order of things.  That it is 99% probable that by the time he does grow up he will be just itching to move on and have adventures, but still, I agreed.  How could I not, with those big sad eyes needing to know?  You can live with me forever.

 

He has a great sense of humor and I love to hear him laugh.

 

He is little enough to play with Seth and Sarah but big enough to keep them out of mischief.  He's a helper.

 

 

He has been looking forward to his birthday for a year.  How excited we all were when the day finally arrived?  And that's the first word he said when we greeted each other yesterday morning, with a hug, "FINALLY!"

 

Followed quickly by, "Can I open my presents now?"

 

 

the big kids thought it was a little early in the morning for such enthusiasm.



The foam swords were a big success; amazon.com, 22 bucks for a dozen

putting together the lego stuff

His Uncle David sent him a card with 10 dollars, which was burning a hole in his pocket; he really wanted to go to Target.  Jacob needed a hair cut, so the three of us went to the mall.   Is there anything more adorable than watching one quiet boy searching and searching the lego aisle for something just right?  I couldn't stand it.  He found a lego guy for 9.99 and I threw in the extra change, for tax.  ("What's tax?"  he asked.)  I also let him pick out a candy, which meant another long wait as he pondered all the options.  He finally came up for air with his decision, a bag of "sour patch kids".

 

Caleb was the only baby out of seven that I almost lost.  I was 11 weeks along, bleeding, when the doctor told us there was a 50/50 chance that I would lose him.  I was stunned, could barely speak.  I rested and waited and to this day, I still thank God for letting Caleb grow and develop.  We went to the hospital at the full nine months, ready to meet our fifth baby, and found I was already at 7cms.  There was no time for an epidural but by the grace of God, the delivery was the best and most "comfortable" of all seven.  It was the perfect birth, and he was healthy and beautiful.  How I loved all my babies.

 

I taught Caleb to read.  He is the one and only child (so far) that I have had the honor to open up the world of reading for.  He just completed 2nd grade and was pronounced a "gifted reader", so that  is our claim to fame, the two of us.  "Caleb is a gifted reader.  I taught him to read, myself."   All in good fun, of course.

 

 

I have a "cut up cakes" book and the day or so before their birthday, the children look at each page, to chose the birthday cake that they want that year.  This year, Caleb wanted an igloo cake.  I baked it in a (fiesta!) bowl and when it cooled, I frosted it with homemade buttercream.  Caleb helped me add the marshmallows while Seth and Sarah stole them, Ethan made bacon and pancakes, and Jacob made a fruit salad (an ABSOLUTELY crazy hour of kitchen fun).

 

 

Igloo cake, on a round vintage yellow fiesta platter (from Joanna)

 

 

Rich got home from work, and after going to watch Jacob and Ethan's baseball game (it was a very long day),  we headed home for cake and ice cream, running next door to impulsively invite the two neighbor children to join us, too.  At  8:30 last night, there were 11 of us around the kitchen island, singing and laughing and watching Caleb blow out the candles. 

 

And now he is eight.

(As the Master of Ceremonies of this day, I have to say, I slept really good last night.)

at the beach

 

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.  ~From the television show The Wonder Years

 



I am so tired, basically falling asleep over the keyboard, but I am determined to blog about our beach day because tomorrow is Caleb's birthday; summer is flying by and I want my blog to keep up with it.  Jacob, Ethan, and Grace went to Six Flags on Saturday so Rich and I took David, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah to the beach.  It felt amazingly simple, to have just four children with us.  We stopped at Starbucks first and took them in with us to pick out a treat.  I had an oatmeal and a venti iced cinnamon dolce latte.  The drive to the shore was fun, feet up on the dash, and went by fast.  The kids were great  (about an hour or so). 

 

We parked and loaded ourselves with the beach things.  The sand was incredibly hot even with my flip flops on.  Rich got our shade tent up while I slathered sun screen on the children.  There were a lot of people there, but not too bad.  It's fun to people watch.  The children got busy exploring and swimming.

 



 

Caleb collected shells and David collected rocks, like this one.  They were constantly bringing their finds to me, to admire.  They know I care. 

Seth took to the ocean in his typical style; no fear and tons of energy.  They only thing he hated was the taste of the ocean.  He is used to pond water and the salt was a complete shock to him.  For this reason, he doesn't like the beach, he says.

David also is like a fish.  He can swim very very well and never uses a life jacket anymore.  He swam and swam.  Rich and I smiled to watch him (without him knowing).  I do think one of the best parts of parenting is getting to observe the children unnoticed.   David was the only one who wanted to go back to the beach the very next day.  Even though he got up with puffy, red eyes (from the water).

This is the time of year to stock up on next year's bathing suits for the children.  My favorite brand is Land's End, and I just got Sarah Joy a darling suit, size 4, and another one for next year which is navy with white polka dots.

I asked Rich to take some pictures with his iphone, too.  He took this one, I'm in the water with the boys and Sarah, who is very timid, stayed on shore to watch us. 

photo by Rich

photo by Rich

photo by Rich

 

photo by Rich

 

We took a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and two bags of chips.  We bought drinks at the beach.  I had a few magazines to look at and when Sarah got tired she would come lay down next to me and suck her finger.......we were at the beach for five hours!

 

On the way home, I took a self portrait and Sarah laughed.  The children all fell asleep and we stopped at the mall to eat at the food court.  I had a strawberry poppyseed salad from Panera.

 

We brought home half the beach with us and I'm still sweeping up sand. 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, Rich took this picture of me and the kids.

Sometimes I'm so happy with my family I get tears in my eyes.  David, who is 10, doesn't understand but I think he will, someday.

Joanna (part 2)

How was everyone's fourth of July?  We intended to travel back home but Grace woke up sick on the 4th and then on the 5th a fox got one of our chickens and they scattered all over the place and it's SO very hot that we decided to just stay home and chill. 

Four of the hens are still missing.  Rich scared the fox and it dropped the hen, which survived the trauma, however, it is a mystery to us where the other hens have gone.  Caleb had just let them all out about 20 minutes before the fox appeared on the scene.  We wonder if perhaps some of the hens didn't get shut up in the coop that night, but Dave insists that they were all there when he had the job of securing their door.  I always believe my children unless there is concrete proof to the contrary.  We have 12 hens left and I have to keep a close eye on them now that I know they are being hunted. They will have to be in their fenced in chicken yard, with no more free ranging unless it is the end of the day and I can watch them.  Rich said it was the biggest fox he has ever seen and that's saying something with all his farming experience.

My sister called last night and said there were a few openings in their Youth Group for a Six Flags event,  including some Christian music concerts tonight.  They invited Jacob, Ethan, and Grace to go with Abbie.  We had planned to take them to the beach and Rich really believed that they would still choose The Beach Outing with Dad, over Chance of a Lifetime Six Flags experience.  Hmmmm, I knew what they would decide.  Ethan grinned ear to ear.  Rich, dazed, is currently driving them to Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jason's house and I thought I would sit and post some more pictures from LAST WEEK (I just cannot believe it has been a week since Jo was here with the girls.)  Time flies.

We hung out on the front porch and I broke open my cherished lemon oreos.  I had to laugh when I noticed Parker persistently waiting for a chance to steal one.

I made a double batch of pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. 

We exchanged Christmas/Birthday gifts.  It was so fun to sit in my (messy) room and talk and open gifts....we browsed my bookshelves and simply enjoyed each other's company with the kids running in and out.

Rich took the kids to Sunday School and I stayed behind with Joanna, to go to the service an hour later.  Coco and Seg looked so dear in their church dresses.

Those faces!  Trying to share the bubbles......

Dressed for church, me and my friend, I love this picture.

We went for a walk with Grace and she took this picture of us.

We had coffee and walked around downtown.  I took this picture of Chloe at the old park across the street.  I love all the stones.

Joanna with her baby girl. 

We had such a great weekend together and I'm so thankful for the time we shared.  We are going to try getting together more often now that the little ones are getting bigger and life isn't QUITE as full. 

Okay...quick question...does anyone know how to remove warts?  My four year old just grew one on the palm of his hand and I've never had to deal with warts.  Any tried and true methods out there from another mom?  Thanks.

Have a great day, friends!

Joanna (part 1)

our journals

"Nothing's more important than people.  In other words, friendship is the most important thing, not career or housework, or one's fatigue--and it needs to be tended and nurtured." ~ the ever inspiring Julia Child



Joanna and I have been friends ever since we met at college in 1994.  After graduating together from the one year Bible program, we each, within months, got married to the loves of our lives and began a pen-pal relationship with each other that included lots of letters, tons of photos, and an occasional phone call. 

Each time we have had the extra-special treat of actually visiting face to face it became an extremely exciting and noteworthy event.  After the sad goodbyes, we would race to get the photos developed so we could mail each other the doubles.  We had one such memorable visit this past weekend, and instead of racing to make copies of pictures, we are racing to blog them.  (SO fun.)

Joanna has enriched my life and shaped it so that I don't know who I would be if she had never entered into my heart.  I LOVE her artsy soul, her passion for questions and deep conversations, and her love for God and family. 

She and her husband have four children.  Interestingly, their last daughter was adopted and is the very same age as my own Sarah Joy.  Joanna brought the girls with her this weekend and it was a thrill to see our daughters together for the very first time.  I think it was love at first sight for Gee (my Gracie) and Coco (her Chloe).  The two big girls shared a room and stayed up talking even longer than Joanna and I did. 

gee and coco

 

And then the little girls.  Oh!  Such sweetness it made our hearts ache.  To see before our eyes the daughters we had been longing for....with Joanna's desire to adopt fulfilled, and my desire to have  "just one more girl, please Lord" and our prayers answered at just the same time.

sarah and tsega

bubbles

But the visit really belonged to US.  So often I felt tears behind my eyes (as I do now) with gratitude for HER and the friendship we share.  What joy to have a life-long sister friend to walk through life with.  I thank God for this special gift.

The top picture is one I took of us sitting on the couch side by side, looking through each other's journals.   I liked her journal more than mine and she liked mine more than hers.  We both share a love for pictures, books, quotes, and inspiration....looking through each other's collected bits and pieces within the pages of our journals was a joy. 

She only lives about 4 hours away but with the busyness of life and motherhood it's just not that easy to get together............

Quite honestly, I can't even describe all the ways this visit became one of our best yet.

jo with my son seth

at the downtown coffee shop

joanna in the park

We crammed so much into our weekend that I will continue with other post soon. 

Happy fourth of July weekend to my USA friends.  xoxo