a portrait by mara

Mommy with Evie

Mara drew this picture from a memory of me during my pregnancy with Evelyn.  It is a sweet thing to be able to share the mysterious wonders of pregnancy with older daughters and sweeter still when you realize that all the disruption and change pregnancy and new babies bring has not blinded her eyes to the beauty of it all.

Having no drawing ability, I am amazed at the ability of artists, 

Mara included, to capture so much with so little.

That's MY girl!

I found this fabulous frame 50% off at Michael's and ordered a custom matte (the drawing is not a standard size).  The matte won't be ready for another couple of weeks but I couldn't wait that long to see it framed. Acid free photo corners will do the trick until I have the chance to pick up the matte, hinge tape and foam core backing. With this much talent in the family, I might to learn how to cut my own mattes!

all about Evie

Evelyn Naomi

February 4, 2010

8 lbs 8 oz, 21 in.

born at home



taking in the world, one day old

8 days old and so aware

a one minute photo shoot

Although the weather was cooperative, the children weren't especially interested in sitting still for photos. I snapped these off in just under a minute, without even checking the settings on my camera. Thankfully, there is an angel somewhere who has mercy on frazzled, sandy mothers who *just* want a photo of all their children together.

Mason, Madelyn, Gavin, Mara, Sirena, Sarah, Nolan

All smiles...because this is the last picture!

Sirena Nina Mae

Eleven is a beautiful age, just ask our Nina.

Young enough to play with blocks and
old enough to help in the childcare at Bible study.

Here's our nature girl with the blasted dog.

(Notice the look of utter absorption on the dog's face? I am holding a ball, an object greatly desired, directly over the camera. He is actually quivering with lust for the ball, but this shot caught him between shivers.)

So pretty.

Sirena is our puzzle girl, she excels at math and all sorts of visual games. She loves plants and has a little plot to call her own and is our most-likely child to play outside. It's fitting that she is barefoot in her birthday photos since she doesn't wear shoes -unless forced- from March through November. Her feet are as tough as Hobbit feet (though hers are not hairy).

This past year has been a big one! Sirena began learning to quilt and has also added breadmaking and cooking to her skill set. I love knowing that I can turn her loose in the kitchen with a recipe and she can make it happen! Dare I confess that she is, even now, baking her own birthday cake? (From mix and it was her idea.)

She has a great sense of humor and a fabulous vocabulary. (Yes, this matters to me. I am a lexophile and, so far, she is the only child who shows any symptoms of catching this disorder.)

Sarah, Princess of the Butterflies

Our own

Sarah Eleanor
is...

FIVE!

Five years ago this moment, I was still recovering from her 4:35 a.m. birth. It was a longish labor and a difficult recovery. Now, the trauma had faded into the mists and what I mostly remember is the joy of looking into her eyes for the first time as we floated together in the birth tub.


She has become a motherly girl who loves to dress fancy and pose for pictures. I had the craziest time trying to get "normal" looking photos this morning. She simpers and poses and twirls and arranges herself as one who is used to being admired and dressed up and posed by 3 older sisters and one doting mama.



Miss Sadie can't wait to grow up and be a "Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady" and a mommy. Her dolls and animals reecive oodles of loving care. Her family receives oodles of drawings and cards and make believe treats and stories and, now that she is learning to read, strings of letters that might-or-might-not-be words. Her generous nature shines.

4.5 months and a TOOTH

Now we know why the little guy hasn't been sleeping so well! We found a tooth on Saturday. He is such an easy going little guy that I missed some of the cues. There hasn't been any screaming, just a strong desire to be held plus the inability to sleep more than 2 hours at a time. I am tired!

Mara and I took some pics of Nolan in a little sailor suit that my brothers wore, once upon a time- before they grew into Big Friendly Giants.

Handsome boy!

Blue Eyes!

Family news

Lots of doings here at The Shoe.

- We started school Mon., 9/15. I am mostly pleased with our schedule but we need to figure out how to keep the preschoolers quietly occupied during our hour of family learning time (History, Scripture memory and character studies.) Mason is NOT a quiet child.

Every year I search for the perfect organizational tool to keep us on track for homeschool. This year we are trying the CM Organizer at Simply Charlotte Mason. (You can take a video tour here.) So far, I find it very helpful. It made planning so much easier. As a person who loves checklists, it fills my need for little boxes plus it is the simplest method for record-keeping that I have found. At the end of each schoolday, it is a simple matter to record what has been accomplished. I am looking forward to using the Reports feature at the end of each quarter. Record-keeping has never been my homeschooling strong-point. Paper is my bête noire; I always have multiple stacks of things needing attention so a paper based record-keeping system hasn't worked simply because I can never decide how to keep it tidy and accessible and intact.

-The weekend of the 5th to 7th, we went camping with the Wilkinson side of the family. A good time was had by all until Sunday morning. At our pancake breakfast, Grandma Dorothy, my dad's mom, was holding Nolan. She stood up and started walking across the campsite to bring the baby to my aunt and caught her foot on the rug in front on their motorhome. Her only thought was to protect the baby -and she did. Nolan came through the incident absolutely unscathed. Grandma did not. She fell hard, dislocating her shoulder and breaking it in 3 places. As we were waiting for the ambulance, after the first shock was over, she was very worried about Nolan. (We had hustled all the great-grandkids to another campsite.) After she left for the hospital, my Aunt Colleen had the brilliant idea of taking a picture of Nolan on her camera phone and sending it over to Grandpa's phone for Grandma to see. I say brilliant because once Grandma Dorothy saw the picture, she was able to stop worrying about the baby.

I'd say that he is obviously "fine" in this photo, wouldn't you?

-Yesterday was a very special day as we welcomed Bryan's Aunt Alice, Aunt Dale and Uncle Larry plus Cousin Rick into our home. Aunt Alice is nearly 80, lives in Southern CA and doesn't get around so easily anymore. It was such a blessing to have her here. As each of our children arrived, she put together lovely blankets with panels of embroidery. They have always cherished their "Alice blankets" but had never met Alice. What a delight to spend an entire day with her! When I find the camera, set somewhere during the festivities yesterday, I will upload a picture of the whole crew.

((I let the kids sleep in this morning since we had guests until 10 p.m., but now it is time to roust them out of bed and get this day rolling.))

Let sleeping boys lie...

More photo editing.

The little boys were both crashed out on our bed last Saturday night. We had partied hard at an open house to celebrate my brother's wedding and everyone was T I R E D. Well, they were just so cute, lying there asleep, that I HAD to snap some pictures.




Then it occurred to me that Bryan doesn't really like his boys to be associated with anything pink. Aha! GIMP to the rescue! (Have I ever mentioned that I love open source software?)

And so we have...

"Mason and Nolan Sleeping on man-colored sheets"

A little photo editing

I am trying to learn how to touch up and improve digital images. This is a photo of my Dad and his family from the Spring of 1956. Dad is the adorable one by the fireplace. Here is about 3 1/2 in this picture. Our boy Mason bears a STRONG resemblance to his Grandpa Ron. It is amazingly appropriate Mason has my Dad's middle name.

Before

As you can see, there is quite a bit of "noise" in the original photo. (I think that is the technical term for speckles.) It just looks dusty and old.

After

It's not perfect, but I think I did achieve a good part of my goal!

Nolan news

Nolan the Grublet is turning out to be quite an easy baby so far. Yes, he fusses but mostly because his diaper is full, his tummy is empty or because he is ready for another nap. He is a great sleeper which is all the more a blessing since life just keeps racing on. He is a smiley little guy and occasionally lets out a manly chuckle. The whole family gathers around him, making outrageous faces in the hopes of being the one privileged with a grin or a bit of cooing conversation. Tonight, his forehead is all sparkly from the glittery lip-gloss kisses of his big sister. This is one child who is not at all love or attention deprived!

See how he has grown?
These pictures were taken last week. (6.5 weeks old)

They grow so fast!

Miss Madelyn then

Miss Madelyn now

Mara photo

A rare photo of the elusive Mara.

Yes, her daddy has plenty of guns. Of course, any contributions to the Daughter Defense Fund would be greatly appreciated. After all, Mara is the eldest of 4 girls. Daddy's collection is going to get a good workout in the next few years.

I am hoping to catch the other kids on camera soon, too. Wish me luck.

Nolan pics

Nolan

Finally getting around to taking some photos. Life is busy with 7 kids. Especially with 7 kids who are recovering from several major events. Everyone is a little bit fussy this week. It feels like we just brought Nolan home, that his first 10 days were some surreal dream.

For those who are wondering, the wedding was lovely. (I will admit that the weekend had it stresses, but I think that dwelling on the positives is definitely recommended.) The sun came out to bless the nuptials in full force. We jokingly said that the reception dinner was going to include Fried Ring Bearer and Toasted Flower Girls. Mason performed surprisingly well for a 3 year old- no amazing stories there. (What a relief!)

This mommy held up pretty well until the evening of the wedding. We had left our trailer at around 1:30 p.m. to get the kids ready for 3 o'clock pictures for the 5 o'clock wedding. I started feeling a little panicky by about 7:30 p.m. We had 2 poopy children and were out of diapers, it was 400 degrees at the reception house and I was feeling both my age and lack of sleep. By 8:15 p.m., I was crying and couldn't stop. Embarrassing. Humiliating. Bryan lovingly took me back to the trailer and gently tucked me into bed.

And now, without further ado, the pictures-

He is a curious little guy and spends several hours
each morning just taking in the scenery.

we've got trouble, right here in river city

*The management begs your pardon for the indelicacy of this post.*

We have had trouble all week with the... well, the toilet- to be blunt. It has repeatedly backed up, spilling its nasty contents all over the floor of the front bathroom. No amount of plunging or snaking has been able to clear the problem, and there was a rumor among the children that the situation wasn't due to "natural causes," if you know what I mean.

Today was the designated "deal with the problem" day. Bry bought a new wax seal last night in preparation. This morning, I confessed that this was one of those moments when I am glad I am a woman, happily ignorant of toilet mechanics and lacking the strength needed to muscle the porcelain throne off its pedestal. Bryan confessed that he would rather cozy up to a plugged toilet than face labor. We ended the conversation pleased with our respective gender roles.

So he drained the thing. Unbolted it from the floor and began investigating the depths.

He snaked it. He shook it. He prayed and pryed and finally retrieved this:

a ballpoint pen


It would appear that the rumors were true.
Ballpoint pens are not a naturally occurring phenomenon in toilets.


This leads us to the culprit:

He has apologized, but I am not convinced that he won't try again soon.

As I type, a sense of triumph prevails.


The plug is cleared. The throne reinstalled.
Three cheers for Daddy!
Hip hip hurrah!
Hip hip hurrah!
Hip hip hurrah!

I do so love being married to a man who can fix almost anything!

Elizabeth

sweeter than sugar

triumphant (and relieved) mama!

Kameron's first moment holding his daughter.

the new family

first bath
This was just about the only peaceful bit, she didn't exactly love the tub.

good sized
(but way smaller than her mama was at birth!)

Kameron snuggling with his baby

resting after a long day