summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Thursday, August 21, 2025

wasn't that a party!

The birthday cake...I asked my younger girls what kind of cake Evelyn liked, and Camille remembered her talking about Hot Cocoa Cake.  Well, I hadn't heard of that, so I looked up a recipe.
The frosting is marshmallow buttercream, four sticks of butter (and some shortening), an entire 16 ounce container of fluff, and a half a small jar that we had in the cupboard, because I cannot just follow a recipe.  For the middle of the cake, and the tops of the cupcakes underneath the marshmallow buttercream:  some of the buttercream mixed with half a jar of Mrs. Richardson's hot fudge.  I just beat it up with the mixer, and oh dear, fudgy deliciousness!  The cupcakes were frosted with this, then sprinkled with baking cocoa mixed with some sugar, to taste like hot cocoa.  The cupcakes and cake themselves were from a recipe that called for one cup of hot water, which of course I substituted for one cup of strong, fresh hot pour over coffee, this brings out the chocolate-y flavor. 
I chose the messiest one and took a big bite, just to make sure they were good.  Guess what?  I needn't have bothered.  (The frosting was very hard to pipe, it didn't want to stick to the chocolate layer.)
Random pics...Emily, Blythe, Denzel...Oscar and Sonja, and that's Molly...and Paul
Jon, Nate, Paul...(I am such a good photographer!)

Grandpa giving Blythe a bite of pizza, Emily...
Suzanne with the pretty braids, and Kathryn (with pretty braids too!) putting together Denzel's birthday musical sit and spin.  This led to them remembering how fast they used to spin around on our original yellow sit and spin...
My daughters: Suzanne, Kathryn, Marile, Camille, Evelyn, Sonja, and Marge in the back holding baby Ellis...
This is ten of the eleven daughters!  Suzanne, Charlotte Claire, Kathryn, Mariel, Camille, Evelyn, Sonja, Molly, Emily, and Marge in the back...
And, one with me in it!  Words cannot describe how joyful I am to spend time with my older kids.  I love when they start reminiscing, even though sometimes I am thrown under the bus ha.  
The pretty plates and napkins I had gotten at the Dollar General in the beginning of the summer, just because they were pretty and I knew they would come in handy.
Miss Char and the birthday cake
Happy Birthday, Dear Evelyn!
Evelyn was born 26 years ago, and that was an eventful summer.  The month before she was born, my Evelyn Eleven, eleventh child, we were all packed up to go camping in the Adirondacks.  yes, I was crazy like that.  Emily was 14, Abigail 12, Benjamin 10, Mariel 9, Joseph 8, Aaron 6, Molly 5, Samuel almost 4, Margaret 2 and a half,  Kathryn  16 months...you may have heard this story before, so glaze your eyes over and skim to the end:  Paul went on a boys camping trip in the Adirondacks for the weekend with ten year old Benjy, our plan was he would come home on Sunday morning, and we would be totally ready to go, and head back up to a state park with all the kids.  Never mind that I was eight months pregnant, we got the camper all ready to go.  We were winding down on Saturday night, kids all excited and running wild, when Paul called me.  Back then, cell phones weren't a thing.  So he called me from the Saranac Lake hospital.  Ben fell off a boat.  Me:  What?  Is he okay?  I don't know.  He's in surgery now.  Me:  In SURGERY?  Why?  Why is in he in surgery if he fell off a boat?  He hit the propeller.  Me:  WHAT?  Is he okay?  Is he going to LIVE?  I don't know.  I'll call you later.    Yes, that was the extent of the information I had.  Paul was actually in shock.  Because Ben fell off that party boat they had rented, typical boys shoving each other, in he went, under the boat, hit the propeller. it ripped him up.  They were in a remote area, had to wrap him in a sheet and bring him across the lake to a camp they knew had a phone, then met the ambulance at the other end of the lake. 

I got off the phone and told the kids.  Aaron was bawling his eyes out, kept saying, But I want to go camping!  I was in shock.  14 year old Emily told the kids they could have a sleepover in the living room, it would be fun!  When I went to bed, I brought the phone into bed with me, those were the early days of cordless phones.  I wrestled with spirits, honestly.  I pictured Ben dead, I pictured him in a wheel chair watching the other kids run and play.  I was physically ill, tortured.  My spunky crazy boy, with the freckles across his face....it was unbearable.  But, I prayed.  And every time I had a thought of dismal outcomes, I stopped, and said NO.  I wrestled.  I prayed.  Then, by some miracle, I fell asleep and woke to the phone ringing.  Ben was out of surgery, and was alive.  Paul didn't seem to have many more details than that.  I decided I needed to figure out a way to go up there the next day, and I did....but this is the verse that came to me the next morning...and after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.  (1 Peter 5:10) 

As you can imagine, he was bleeding from everywhere, and it was horrific.  He ended up with an infection from the lake water, and 106 stitches, but thankfully there was an excellent trauma surgeon there, and he had angels watching over him, because those propeller blades caused some damage, but not to any organs or his spine, his hip was messed up, but hitting the hip saved him from what surely would have been fatal, if it hit his tummy.    Anyway.  It was a long slow recovery, but by the time baby Evelyn Joy was born the next month, Ben was almost back to his old self.  He has had issues with his hip, but...anyway.  I do go off on a tangent, don't I?  It's inexplicitly wound up together in my mind, the Ben Boat accident and Evelyn's birth.  

Emily, Paul, Sunny
Suzanne with baby Ellis, Miss Char...

Newton loves balloons...
 Blythe walked around with those pups following her, she was carrying crackers and she knew it...

So back from the tangent, it was a really nice evening.  There was a greek salad with feta, and grape tomatoes from the garden.  There was a crockpot of salsa chicken, with corn tortillas, cheese, and peppers.  There were four large pizzas, and 40 chicken wings. 

Now we are packing up to go camping...Molly and Josh have a campsite with Lydia, Ophelia and Denzel, and Ben and Ashley are already there camping with Anya, Elise, and Declan.  There is a birthday party there on Saturday for Miss Lyd, so lots of the fam will be going for that.  

I have my bag packed, and still have to get some things from the refrigerator.  I have packed in fits and starts, as my mother used to say.  My favorite underwear are in the washer, I need to get them in the dryer so I can pack them.  (What, don't you have favorite underwear?  Why, you might ask, don't I just replace all of my underwear with those favorites?  Well.  I got the two pack of these Hanes briefs (you didn't think I was going to say thongs?), for five dollars on clearance at Walmart for $5...turns out they are really expensive, because first thing I was going to buy more at the regular price ...but they're too expensive. ) So I make sure I keep washing them...is this TMI?  Because camping is special, and I like my favorite underwear...oh dear, don't send me to the loony bin.  

Ah well.  I really should clean this place up more before we go, it was all clean for the party....the crock pot is soaking, the rest of the dishes done, but still some toys, could use a vacuum...it's nice to come home from camping to a clean house.   

You all have a really nice weekend, and I'll be back to blogging on Sunday night or Monday!  


 

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