A Few on Facebook

I didn't think I had posted much on Facebook during the month of November; but when I copied all these snippets into this post, I realized I had captured more than I thought.  For whatever it's worth, here are bits of randomness from this past month...

Nov. 3 - For fun, I've been reading Our Town (by Thornton Wilder, of course). It's been many years since I've seen a stage production of it, but the next best thing to watching it performed live is reading it. These lines that the Stage Manager says made me laugh when I read them last night: "Mr. Morgan's drug store ain't the same,--it's all citified. Mr. Morgan retired and went out to live in San Diego, California, where his daughter married a real estate man, name of Kerby. Mr. Morgan died there in 1935 and was buried in a lot of palm trees. Kinda lost his religion at the end and took up New Thought or something. They read some new-fangled poetry over him and cre-mated him. The New Hampshire in him sort of broke down in him in that climate, seems like." That last line! How funny! Well, all I can say is that I'm glad that my years in San Diego didn't make the good ol' Virginia in me break down!!

Nov. 3 - Another quote from Our Town... In this case, the Stage Manager is giving a basic run-down of what life was like in that day and age, and he says this, "The domestic set-up was marriage: a binding relation between a male and one female that lasted for life." And all I can think is, "How much things have changed in the 75 years since that was written."

Nov. 4 - To recapture the spirit of wonder, take a very young girl, place her where the sunlight shining through the windows illuminates the dust in the air, then watch her eyes widen and her hands reach out to try to catch the particles floating around. Who knew there is so much stuff dancing through the air all the time? And who knew that such a simple little thing could brighten a whole day with the spirit of wonder?

Nov. 4 - Since we're studying the second half of American history this year (which includes the Civil War, of course), I found these lines in Our Town (are you tired of me quoting from that yet? sorry!) to be quite poignant. The Stage Manager is describing the cemetery, and he says, "Over there are some Civil War veterans too. Iron flags on their graves....New Hampshire boys...had a notion that the Union ought to be kept together, though they'd never seen more than fifty miles of it themselves. All they knew was the name, friends--the United States of America. The United States of America. And they went and died about it." Sometimes I wonder, "Would I have 'gone and died about it'?" I was born and raised in the South and certainly feel loyal to the beautiful state of Virginia...but I also believe firmly that slavery was wrong to its very core and needed to be abolished...but I realize that the Civil War was NOT fought simply because of slavery but involved many other factors as well. Would any of those factors have convinced me, if I had been a young man during those days, to 'go and die about it'? Josiah and David occasionally press me to answer the question, "Which side would you have supported?" I have to say the North, but I realize it was anything but a simple question for those who lived in those days. Thank You, God, that You caused me to be born in 1976, not 1840!

Nov. 5 - I distinctly remember taking all five children with me when I voted last year. I remember the "I Voted Today" sticker that the kind lady gave me for Moriah, and the way it looked on her little pink striped jacket. Those were the days when I was still so astonished that there WAS a pink striped jacket in our family. This year, I again took my five children with me to vote; and again the kind lady (the same one?) put a sticker on Moriah's jacket--this year, a pink one with snowflakes. I might be a little more used to pink jackets by now, but still just as thankful as ever that God put Moriah in our family. And I'm also extremely thankful that we live in a country where we can vote freely and safely!

(Jeff posted the next two pictures on his Facebook...)
Nov. 6 - Moriah in Shav's boots

Nov. 14 - Josiah and David were playing Boggle with Grandma Fisher this morning; and after one particularly disappointing shake of the letters, they exclaimed, "Oh no, it's all vowels!" Shav glanced over from his seat at the table and echoed, "Yeah, it's all vowels!" "Shav," I asked, "what's a vowel?" "I don't know!" was his reply. Well, at least he's honest! 

Nov. 14 - On Wednesdays, Tobin gets to pray before we eat supper; and tonight as we bowed our heads, he began. He thanked God for the food, of course; and then went on to thank Him for "all the wonderful toys we have" and "all the wonderful animals You made." It warms my heart to listen as the boys' prayers branch out from the routine "Thank You, God, for the food" to include things that are important to them. I'm certain God smiles when He hears prayers that truly come from the heart!

Nov. 14 - One of the challenges I've faced as a homeschooling mom is dealing with my children when I *know* they know the answer to a question, but they pretend that they don't. I'll admit that at times, that situation has caused me considerable frustration. This morning, however, it caused me considerable amusement when I asked Tobin what a three-sided shape is called. He paused for a long time (and I thought, "I KNOW you know it's a triangle! You've known that for about 3 years now!!") and then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said, "A half diamond." 

(Jeff posted this on his Facebook...)  :)
Nov. 16 - Out with my girls!

Nov. 17 - I've been reading Jess's blog (The Macs) ever since sweet little Cora got sick and died; and when Jess posted recently about registering to become a potential bone marrow donor, my heart stirred within me. Tonight I registered. Maybe you could do the same?

Nov. 19 - One of the areas in which our modern civilization has done nothing to advance us--and has, in fact, reversed us--is in our knowledge and appreciation of the sky. Think of Viking explorers setting out to sea, using the stars as their primary means of navigation. Think of pioneers traveling into the American West, with little to look at during the long, weary miles but the sky; is it any wonder that if they saw a particular-looking cloud arise, they knew it was likely to bring a storm? Think of those who lived in the Middle East during the time of Jesus, who laid on their flat roofs at night to perhaps catch a cooling breeze and, for entertainment, watched the stars in their courses; maybe they had contests to see who could see the most shooting stars.

My own knowledge of the sky is quite limited. On a good night, I can find the Big Dipper, but that's about it! But I don't have to know the names of the stars to know their Maker. And I don't have to understand their scientific complexities--their distance from earth, what type of star they are, what kind of gasses they are made of, and so forth--to be awed by their beauty. On the nights when I take Jed, our faithful collie, out for one last bathroom break before I go to bed, I look skyward and marvel. Simply marvel. Whether it's clear or cloudy, full moon or no moon, there is always something of interest to see in the sky.

The past few weeks, I've been away from home more than usual (mostly to practice violin with students for two recitals I accompanied); and several days, I've been fortunate enough to be driving home at a magical hour of the evening. As I've driven along the ridge of Cooks Creek Road, the sky has been alive with splendor. On one chilly evening, the atmospheric conditions were just right for numerous airplane trails to be shown in the west, and I was reminded of how many planes are passing overhead all the time, and we are so unaware of that. On that evening, the sunset made each trail in the sky shine brightly--such beautiful zigzags! Another evening, most of the sky was clear with just a few clouds puffing along here and there. The clouds that weren't very close to the sun were mostly purple and pink--lovely in their own right. But a couple of clouds that were, it seemed from my perspective, directly above the setting sun were BRILLIANT. So glowing, they almost looked like they were on fire.

I marvel at a God who so richly lavishes His creativity and beauty on a world that so rarely even pauses to look up and notice. How many wonders of this world are never seen or acknowledged by human eyes! Surely God finds pleasure in the works of His hands. How much more pleasure when His favored creation--us--exclaims, "Good job with that sunset, God!" and "Thanks!"

Nov. 21 - Silly Little Things (that you never want to have happen to you):
#1 - It's 11:30 p.m. on a cold Wednesday night, and you're looking forward to crawling into bed between soft, warm, cozy flannel sheets...when suddenly you realize that those sheets (your only set of flannel ones) are still in the washing machine, where you had placed them earlier that day in a fit of optimism that you would actually have time to wash and dry those sheets AND remake your bed with them before bedtime. Oops.
#2 - One of your sons (that you love more than life) comes to you with a penitent look on his face; and the first words out of his mouth are, "Mom, I'll never chew gum on your bed again." "Ooooo-kkkkkaaaayyyy," you're thinking, "what prompted THAT statement?" He hurries to explain, "I was pretending to be a dog; and when I barked, my gum flew out of my mouth!" When asked where the gum is now, he admits that he has no idea, and he can't find it. As a lengthy search ensues for that elusive piece of gum, your determination grows: "We have GOT to find it! We just have to! There's no choice about it; no matter how long it takes, WE HAVE TO FIND THAT GUM!" At last, after your blanket is spread flat on the floor and your son is walking over it to see if he can find any suspicious bumps with his feet, the gum is found...stuck between the floor and the blanket. (That's better than discovering it in your hair the next morning, right?)


Nov. 23 - My favorite part of the new edition of Thriving Family magazine that just showed up in my mailbox today was this quote from Wess Stafford: "The spirit of a child is a lot like wet cement. It doesn't take much effort to make an imprint. Any time you see your child go skipping by, you're in the presence of a construction zone and ought to ask yourself, 'What is being built here? Is there anything I can do to advance this cause?'" That idea of a construction zone and the question "what is being built here" forces me to pause and think differently about the interactions I had with my children today...and the ones I hope to have with them tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Nov. 27 - Raise your hand if you're up late preparing food for Thanksgiving...and loving every minute of it as you anticipate the joy that will come in the celebration tomorrow!!

Nov. 30 - I got to spend a couple hours this morning in the kitchen of my Old Order neighbors, doing something I'd never done before: butchering a deer. Today I'm grateful for the person who gave us the deer, my neighbors for sharing in the work of it and teaching me how to do it, and the yummy meals that we'll be able to make with that meat! I'm also grateful for those whose job is butchering; I have a new respect for people in that profession! 

A Quick Trip North

Tonight I'm thankful to have spent Thanksgiving Day with these folks that I love so much!

So worth the hours of driving to get there and return home!  :)

After the Feast, May This Linger

O God, when I have food,

help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,

help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,

help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,

help me to destroy my complacency;

bestir my compassion,

and be concerned enough to help;

By word and deed,

those who cry out for what we take for granted.

Amen.

-Samuel F. Pugh

Wordless Wednesday {What to Do on a Cold, Rainy Evening}

I Shall Be Random, Vol. 6

~ 1 ~

This morning, my alarm clock was Shav.  He had crawled into bed beside me and was whisper-yelling (you're familiar with that kind of voice?) as loudly as he could into my ear, "MOM!"  When I groggily opened one eye and peered over the top of the covers at him, he beamed and held up his hand two or so inches from my face in the sign for "I love you."  I think I mumbled something in response, but I'm not quite sure.  Apparently I fell back asleep almost immediately, because the next thing I knew, he was saying cheerily, "You haven't had enough Shavi kisses yet today!" and was kissing my nose. What a way to wake up.  :)

~ 2 ~

Speaking of waking up...  Since Moriah still has two naps each day (morning nap starting around 10:15 and afternoon nap starting around 3:15), she happens to be awake during the early part of the afternoon, right when my afternoon sleepies are hitting me.  I've learned a new trick to deal with this predicament.  I sit on the floor in the living room, set a basket of toys or books beside me, then let Moriah play there while I lean my head back against the couch and fall asleep (and usually, one of the boys is having quiet time there in the living room, too, like Tobin was today).  Sure, it's not the most comfortable thing in the world to fall asleep sitting up, but some days that tiny power nap is what gets me through.

That's what happened today...until I was awakened from my sleep by something hitting my head.  I forced my eyes to open and discovered that Moriah had gotten a football (nerf, fortunately) from the toy basket and had thrown it at my head.  Oh, good grief.  Believe it or not, I was so tired that I fell back to sleep...until I felt another thud against my skull.  She'd thrown the football at me again.

At that point, I realized the wisest thing to do would be to get up on my feet and not let myself fall asleep again!

~3~

Sunday afternoon, David had climbed up on the low bookshelf by the window to give Heather more food and water when he suddenly shouted, "THERE'S AN EGG!"  A pause, and then, "THERE'S ANOTHER EGG!"

"No way," I thought, "it must just be poop."

It wasn't poop.

It was an egg.

Two of them.

I didn't know a lovebird without a mate would suddenly start producing eggs.  I guess there are a lot of things I don't know.

(Like what do we do now? Heather is very protective of her eggs, and I wouldn't want to be sticking my hand in her cage right now.  If we just leave the eggs in the cage for a while, will they start to stink?  If we take them out, will she lay more?  It's a really good thing Jeff Old MacDonald takes care of all those bird-related things, because I don't have a clue!)  ;-)

~ 4 ~

I started wrapping Christmas gifts today.  I am DETERMINED to not wait until the last minute to wrap them.

~ 5 ~

Shav sang a little song this morning.

Who was the wise guy who decided that a lullaby about falling out of a tree would be relaxing anyway??  ;-)

~ 6 ~

Moriah doesn't really talk. (She SERIOUSLY needs to take lessons from this sweet little girl who is younger than Moriah and is practically reading the dictionary already.)  ;-)  But Moriah made a few animal sounds recently that encouraged me that someday, she too will join the hosts of people upon this earth who use their mouths for talking.

With words.

Real words.

That actually mean something.

Someday.

Anyway, when I handed her a little stuffed lion while I was changing her diaper recently, I said, "Rarrr!" and she whispered back to me her version of "rarrr."  Another time I gave her a cow toy and said, "Mooo," and I think she said something that sounded a little like "mooo."  At least it had the "m" sound in it.

I consider that to be great progress in the area of language acquisition!  ;-)

~ 7 ~

Every year when fall rolls around and it's time to officially start school again, we find ourselves dragging our feet a little--being excited about devoting more time to "book larnin'", but being reluctant to spend many hours indoors, just when the skies are clear and the air is pleasant and the sunshine is calling.  In times like that, I don't hesitate too long before releasing the boys to run wild and free.  I think to myself, "When winter comes, THAT'S when we'll do most of our school work."

And so it is.  On days like today when a cold rain is falling all day and we don't even venture out of doors except to feed the animals, there's nothing better than to hang out in the living room, appreciating the warmth of the woodstove, and learning together.  Today the boys colored lots of pictures, and I read aloud (among other things) lots of pages about Abraham Lincoln--more even than the curriculum guide called for.

It was a perfect day for homeschooling.  :)

~ 8 ~

Before we eat supper together as a family, Jeff reads a short section from the Bible; and the book he's been reading from recently is Ezekiel.  Nearly every time he reads, my first reaction is, "WOAH.  That's intense."

Let's face it, Ezekiel is quite an intense book.  For example, the words of God in chapter 9...

"Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, 'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.' As I listened, he said to the others, 'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark'."

This leaped out at me because often I feel like I'm one of them: "those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."  But I wonder if grieving and lamenting is enough, and I tell myself that it's not, and I remember Lot, and I feel so small as I stand against the big, big evil and pain of the world.

But the Lord says, "Do not touch anyone who has the mark."

Ezekiel gives me hope.

~ 9 ~

The song that best describes the cry of my heart these days?  This one.  I heard it for the first time recently, and now I can't get it out of my head.  I need to feel my need of God so much more than I do!

Previous "I Shall Be Random" posts:  1...2...3...4...5.

The Big Extras

Despite my silence here in the world of blogging, these days continue to skip along, filled to the brim with (mostly) happy moments and (mostly) routine activities, all part of the fabric of life.  But a few extras, beyond the normal pattern of homemaking, homeschooling, and loving my family, have crept in.  For example...

Yesterday was a big applesauce-making day for us.  Earlier this year when I got two bushels of apples and made 35 quarts of applesauce, I was pleased with that accomplishment, but knew I needed to make more, or else we would run out long before winter did!  Since I knew that my mother-in-law, who is a continually cheerful helper, would be staying with us, I put off getting apples and making sauce until she was here.  Free labor is a good reason to procrastinate!  ;-)

As expected, she was a HUGE help in the process, and it didn't take us long at all to turn two bushels of Yellow Delicious apples into 30 quarts of applesauce--28 canned and 2 frozen.  We even got it all canned or put into the freezer before we needed to leave to go pick up David from his gymnastics class early yesterday afternoon.

I found it curious that the first two bushels of apples we got made 35 quarts of applesauce, but this batch only made 30.  Maybe it's because the boys each ate an apple on the way home from the orchard.  Maybe it's because I chopped up some apples for an apple salad for our supper that night.  Maybe it's because I saved some apples out for us to continue to eat on in the coming days.  But besides those reasons, I think it's because this time I didn't add very much water at all to the pans of apples as they were cooking.  Last time, I forgot how runny it gets with much added water, so I added a little too much.  This time, I was skimpy with the water--and pleased with the consistency of the finished sauce--so maybe that was why the yield was a little lower.

Because this variety of apples is naturally quite sweet, I didn't add any sugar at all to it, which was different than the last batch which used a more tart apple.  Also, I'm curious about the price.  I believe these apples were about $18 a bushel.  To get 30 quarts of applesauce from 2 bushels means each quart cost a little more than a dollar, and that doesn't include the jar lids (or the gas used for canning them, which would be a really minor expense, but still, it's something).  I haven't bought applesauce at the grocery store for so long that I have no idea how much it costs there.  Are we saving money by doing it our way?  I'm really not sure.  I AM sure, however, that by canning our own applesauce, we're receiving many other benefits: 1) it's healthier, 2) it's fresher, 3) we're supporting our local farmers, 4) we're cutting down on the environmental impact of the commercial applesauce enterprise, including transportation to get the applesauce to us, the production of the containers for the applesauce, etc.  Plus, we're working together as a family, having fun, making memories, teaching our children where food really comes from and the hard work needed to prepare it.  All good stuff, and I'm really glad we make and can applesauce and I definitely plan to keep doing it.  But I do wonder if it's cost-effective.  If only we had our own apple trees...  :)

Well, moving right along...  The big extra of today was even better than applesauce.  :)  It was the first time that Josiah got to perform in the Concert Choir (the highest level choir) of the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir!!!  :)

This fall concert is always a sort of preview of what's coming in the Christmas concert (which David's choir, the Prep Choir, will also perform in); and the second half of the fall concert is done by the youth orchestra.  During the intermission, Josiah came to sit with us, and I snapped this (photographically terrible, but sentimentally great) picture of him sitting between his grandmas...

...and one of Tobin snuggling with Grandpa.

I couldn't resist taking one of Shav, who was doing a little coloring during the intermission.

Every time I see Josiah perform, I think, "I am so proud of him!"  But this time my thoughts were more like, "I AM SO PROUD OF HIM."  You see, this hasn't been the easiest semester for Josiah.  In both choir and violin, he's been bumped up to the next level of performance (with being advanced to the Concert Choir and included in the Junior Strings ensemble), and those jumps have definitely been big ones for him.  His music has been harder to learn, and he's had more of it to be responsible for, and I'm not going to pretend that it's been all easy for him.  But he stuck with it, gritted his teeth sometimes ;-), and learned the music.  I think sometimes in the past, my pride in Josiah was because of what a good fit it (in this case, choir) was for him, and how quickly he was picking it up, and so forth.  But this time, my joy comes from seeing him tackle something difficult--something that, at times, felt really, really HARD--and conquering it.

He's climbing mountains, that bow-tied, plaid-vested boy of mine!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {Josiah's First Performance with Junior Strings}

Psssttt...He's the one in the blue shirt, second from the right, beside the cellist.  Hard to see, I know.

We Three Kings

Variations on an Irish Tune - by Brian Balmages

Allegro from Concerto in G - by Antonio Vivaldi

And now go here and watch this...  :)

Middle-of-November Happenings

Every time Grandma Fisher comes for a visit, we get together with our Old Order Mennonite neighbors for dinner because they love to visit with Jeff's mom and she loves to visit with them!  We often host it here at our house, but tonight they had us over to their house and stuffed us with a scrumptious feast of breakfast-for-dinner foods: waffles (made from scratch and cooked in a cast iron press on their stove), syrup, strawberries & whipped cream, bacon, sausages, hash browns, grits (I LOVE grits, but rarely make them...note to self: make grits more often), gravy, fresh fruit salad, cottage cheese, rice krispie treats.  I wish I had two stomachs so I could have eaten twice as much; it was that good.  :)  Then we played Pictionary, and Douglas's version of "roommate" and Rosalie's rendition of "outhouse" stand out in my mind as being particularly humorous.  Good times!

Although we respect their beliefs and so do not take pictures of them, Jeff did sneak a picture of the table when we got there.  This was before most of the food was placed on it.  Their table, specially made by Wilma's father, extends through two rooms of the house when they stretch it out for company.

After we walked back home through the crisp fall air and got the kids in bed, I nearly succumbed to my introvert temptation to hit the couch with a book and then fall asleep; but eventually I rallied enough to pull some pictures together for this post.  These days are so precious, and they're going by so fast, and if I don't push myself sometimes to record them in this way, they'll be gone before I can capture a piece of them.  Here then are some recent moments of real life in our home.

It's special for Moriah to have two grandmas here to love on her!  :)

David is a great cuddler, and Grandma Fisher's lap is a good place for that even though he is a big eight-year-old now.  You're never too old to cuddle.  :)

If you were to peek into our kitchen most mornings, you would find Grandma Fisher at the table, playing a game with some of her grandsons.

One of the things the boys most look forward to when she comes is the hours she spends playing with them: Uno, Skip-Bo, Phase 10, Scrabble Slam, and many other games.

Moriah got to play with marbles for the first time!

I know, I know: they're a HUGE choking hazard.  But she's well past the stage of popping everything into her mouth, and I was supervising her while she was playing with them, and she didn't choke.  :)

She did, however, have a blast with them; and it was fun to see her and Shav and Tobin having so much fun together.  :)

They also played with these magnetic bars and balls, and Shav asked me to take a picture of what he built.

And so did Tobin.  :)

In Jeff's family, his mom was the one to teach the kids how to play chess.  She had the patience to instruct them in how each piece moves, etc.  But once they started getting good at the game, Jeff's dad would play with them and help them to really develop their strategy.

History repeated itself as Grandma Fisher patiently played chess with Tobin and Shav a few days ago.

Tobin already knew how the pieces move but needs to work on thinking ahead and figuring out what his opponent can do and planning based on that.  Shav still needs practice on the basics.  You know, playing chess with them is one of those things I could do, but never seem to find/make the time for.  I'm so grateful for a patient Grandma who spends her time investing in her grandchildren in this way!

How beautiful to me are these hands: old and young!

Eight Years Ago, a Dog Was Born...

...and a couple of months later, her owner drove over the mountain from West Virginia and happened to stop in at the barbershop to see if anyone there might want her.

Of course someone there wanted her!  Someone there wants any free animals that anyone wants to offload on him, remember??  ;-)

In the case of Molly, however, I was delighted when Jeff brought her home.  She was so cute, and soft, and sweet, and adorable.  Our very first dog.  (So much better than a bird.)  ;-)

Her owner kindly made out this birth certificate and brought it to Jeff, and we found it very interesting to know a little more about Molly's background.  Her name, by the way, was chosen by Josiah.  :)

 Some glimpses of Molly through the years...

Playing with a new friend in our pasture - April 2007

 The calf's name was Sweetie Pie.

Going for a snowy walk with the boys - December 2010

Saying hello to Moriah - September 2013

Happy 8th birthday, sweet Molly!  We're so grateful for you!  :)