Baltimore Wedding Photographer Kathy Freundel » 443.844.2352

We had our first outing yesterday. Yup. Everyone’s completely better, so, we went to the dentist for check up.  Were the Freundels bummed that THIS was their first outing in two weeks? NO WAY. (well, Dan was a little bummed) They really love going to the dentist. And what’s not to love? It’s a Disney paradise . . . with myriad  chiming, crazy cuckoo clocks bragging  on cue,  movies looping continuously, and the best box of Mr. Potato pieces evuh. Dr. Marcus. Reisterstown. Worth the drive.

Sam’s first REAL visit. Can you tell he’s a little impressed with himelf?

And Melissa was there to paint on that yummy strawberry flouride.

Another reason to be grateful. I have time to mill wheat to make bread. This bread is so healthful and yummy! Seriously, if we had been eating it, maybe we wouldn’t have gotten the flu! But when the homeschool co-op is in full swing, I barely have time to keep my head above water.

Here’s the recipe . . .easy as pie. 2 T yeast, 2.5 c. warm water, 1/3 c honey, 1/3 cup EVOO, dash salt, 7-8 c. milled wheat. Don’t have a mill? Just use whole wheat!  My Kitchen Aid mixer broke, so I now do it by hand. So easy. {makes me wonder why I ever thought I needed the Kitchen Aid}

Best way to eat the bread, IMO. Slathered thickly with peanut butter. Zimmerman’s is the BEST. Under $5. for 2 lbs!!! Sonnewald in Spring Grove, PA.

I also get my yeast, wheat, and olive oil in bulk from Sonnewald or the Amish wholesalers in Lancaster. My honey I get from an Apiary in the Catoctin Mountains. Did you know that if you eat local honey, you’ll have some antibodies to local allergens?  And, buy in bulk, because honey is the only food that will never spoil and requires no refrigeration. We keep our wheat and honey in  five gallon buckets with tight lids.

It’s not about being perfect, for goodness knows we eat our share of Oreos around here. But for me it’s about making good and frugal choices as a rule, and not as an exception. Believe me, I was intimidated the first time I tried to make my own bread. It’s so easy that Kristiana and Caroline  make the bread now.

Wesley opened the package a laid a brown leather lunch box on the table.  . . It did open, and inside was a space for sandwiches, a little porcelain box for cold meat or fried chicken, another for salad, a glass with a lid that screwed on, for custard or jelly, held by a ring in a corner, a flask for tea or milk, a beautiful little knife, fork, and spoon fastened in holders, and a place for a napkin.

I wanted that lunch box the first time I read about my hero, Elnora Comstock. I’ve always LOVED that girl.

We are on day 8 of the flu around here. It started with Carl and has gone through six of the kids so far. Carl, who is rarely sick, was flat on his back in bed all week, last week. So, it’s time for some positive thinking around these parts.

On day 8 here’s why I’m grateful.  I have time to read my all time favorite book to the kids, and they all snuggle in, willing to listen for hours. I hope that Elnora becomes a lifelong friend of all of ours.

Whenever we visited, we sat on her scratchy, pewter couch, feet dangling, trying to survive the 85 degree living room temperatures. She always served us ginger ale in big thick glasses and pound cake sliced real thick and when she would open up the presents we brought, she would meticulously peel the gift wrap away, expressing her mission “not to booger it up.” After a very long half hour,  we were released to go explore the farm. My sister and I were given the task of tracking our younger brother.  We were forbidden to go near the mill, but were usually invited by Aunt Mildred, who ran a chain of laundromats in town, to gently use her creaky porch swing, AND, if we were extra good, my great Uncle Dick would invite us to play on his fleet of school buses. We always went to the back seat and pretended we were goin’ to Disney. Maw lived to be more than 100 years old.  It’s been over a decade since she’s been gone, but I couldn’t resist going back to the farm when I heard it was on the market.

Carl and I had a vision of making this our big homestead  reclamation project. But, alas, my memory tricked me. Way too much work, even for three guys looking for a renovation challenge.

This is Aunt Mildred’s kitchen in the back of the house . . . . pretty much just like I remember it.

This front room was Maw’s whole life. She didn’t leave her home for the last twenty years of her life. She had her kitchen, eating table, couch and Bible reading chair all in this room . . . and climbed those STEEP steps to her bedroom every night.

This is my great-grandfather, Joseph H. Weller’s, mill. It’s where my grandma Ruby grew up, where my Dad played  as a young boy when he wasn’t picking peas for the Shilling Bros. cannery, and where we were forbidden to play. At one time the water ran fast and furious through this wheel . . . not so these days, so Lily and Dan could safely explore.

Lily was dumbfounded when we told her about this “out building.” Completely incredulous and totally mortified.

It was an adventure to paint the scenario of living on one of my  family’s farms . . . but it was one of those dreams that actually flew out the window before we even got in the car to leave.

Flu. Yuck. This one’s ugly. Our homeschool co-op closed for a week because so many were affected, and yes, some of it is HINI, although I don’t know if ours is or not. So, we’re hunkering down, eating chicken noodle soup and popsicles, and spending lots of time on the couch.

Reid talked in church on Sunday about finding a way each day to express gratefulness, and challenged us to speak gratefulness every day for a week, so I’ll be doing a little series of entries from home over the course of our flu.

Grateful for PJ days.

Grateful for Sam’s attempt at congeniality. Not buyin it.

Lily says “yay. I get to eat on a tray In the living room. This rocks!” Grateful for the song in her heart.

So grateful that Caroline was up for a bubble bath this morning.

Seven sickies, spread out over two rooms . . . grateful I HAVE two rooms to spread ‘em out.

Here’s the treat. Tin Soldiers . . . only when you’re sick. It’s a house specialty, and it comes with a cup of tea and honey. And, you get it served on your own tray with a little placemat under your favorite “LOVE” plate.  Got those Valentine’s plates on clearance at Target about seven years ago . . . best move I ever made . . .each of the kids has their “favorite” and it makes them feel the love when I serve them Tin Soldiers on their plates.

I recall sitting in the teacher’s lounge at Linganore High School and telling my friends that I would not be returning to teach once we had our baby. Some of my best friends paused and said, “Well, good luck, but you’ll never be able to do it on one teacher’s salary.” I tucked that under my hat, and said in my heart, “You watch what God can do.”

I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last sixteen years.  I am so grateful that when they are sick, I am the one that holds their head, snuggles them on the couch, and  prays over them. Carl has always supported my being at home  and  I am SOOO grateful for him being willing to do whatever it takes to support our family. Oh and I’m also grateful for my mom and dad, who will always help me with my little ones with no fear of catching germs and my sister, who lives a parallel life right over the hill . . . just to know she’s fighting the same battles in her house makes me feel better.   Wow. I had forgotten I have so many things to be grateful for, here on day seven of Freundel Flu.

I met Laurie in the nail salon. That’s funny because I visit there maybe twice a year. She and her family had just moved to the area from Indiana, and we quickly realized we had many things in common. Plus, I could tell she was just FUN! Over the years we’ve been to each other’s houses to talk motherhood . . . homeschooling . . . and keeping that healthy balance.

Laurie and Skip have one of those marriages that inspires me. It inspires me to work at keeping my own exciting. To invest. To nuture. And to laugh. Alot.  Laurie and Skip are now empty nesters . . . both girls in Florida now. And they admit it’s bittersweet. Yea, they just got back from a Caribbean cruise, and they have that sun kissed glow on their cheeks and  joy in their voices, but, oh, to turn back the clock and wake up with Libby and Ava in their bedrooms.

Whenever I’m with Laurie, I get a golden nugget. This time it came from both of them. Don’t rush through the child rearing thing. Plan for long, relaxing breaks and stretch those periods of “family fun” whenever possible. It all goes so fast. Laurie and Skip . . . I hear ya.

Laurie and Skip are wise about so many things. They are building a marriage . . . after 27 really great years, they are still building. They also realize that capturing who they are together is an heirloom . . . a forever legacy.  It had been five years since they had a “couples” photo . . . time to document love. Really smart. Cause you can’t turn back the clock and go back get what’s already gone.

The weather wasn’t worth a lick, but it had been two years since we had been away, so we weren’t complaining. Our brave and faithful friends, Ann and Chris and their boys took all of our kids, sans Dan, for the weekend. The had planned to accommodate FIVE kids and their soccer games on Saturday, and were locked and loaded . . . rain cancelled all that. Instead they had a day at the Science Center building virtual dinosaurs and dinner at a pizza, salad and cinnamon bun buffet . . . then,  did a post-church Raven’s tailgate party with the kids. Ann and Chris went from two to nine kids and did way more outings than we EVER attempt.

Meanwhile, Carl and I were doing a whole lot of window shopping, wet beach strolling , eating, and movie watching. We were happy as clams buried in the sand. Couples time. It’s golden and goes a long, long way in the attitude adjustment department. When the kids were younger, we always said it would be easier to get away as they grew older. Now, we realize that’s a big myth. Schedules just keep getting busier and busier. Time alone HAS to be purposeful and built in or it just doesn’t happen. And, it needs to happen. It’s my goal not to let two years pass before we get away again. Healthy. Love.

To say they met at church would be a half truth. But they did. Meet in church, that is. That’s only one layer of their story . . . it’s a story full of cross country adventure, closed doors, open windows and off-the-hook Young Life clubs. Dana and Jonn are proof that God really listens to prayer, and that He has a plan better than we can ever ask or imagine.  It happened months after Dana left Chicago to take a job in rural Carroll County, teaching Spanish at Century High School. She had gone to her college’s recruiting fair, and the Carroll County scouts knew to scoop her up before some other school district nabbed her. Smart move. Completely on her own, she moved cross country, started her school year, and chose to get involved with Young Life–you know, to fill up all that extra time a first year teacher has!  Jonn was working hard in his landscaping business, leading worship at our church and working through a tough patch, personally. He wanted to fill up his evenings with something worthwhile, and chose Young Life. They worked sided by side, investing in others’ lives. Step in the amazing power of God, who began to orchestrate, and before they knew it, they were sitting across the table from one another one early spring night at Chili’s.  Jonn looked at Dana and saw “this sparkle in her eye,” and it was all over.

We went back to the place that it all began for Dana and Jonn, the Belinko home, and the Leppo Barn. That’s Young Life Central in these parts. And God put the icing on the cake when he gave us the most beautiful day of the fall season.  Dana and Jonn will be married in May at the Linganore Wine Cellars, and it will be a marriage of three.  These guys are doing it the right way . . . they have set their sights on Jesus, and while they are in the midst of planning a kicking wedding, they are also working through a devotional in order to prepare themselves for the other. They’ve let God write their romance. Sweet. love.

Before I ever met Hannah, she had been deemed “a force of nature,” by our mutual friend, Jude.

Here’s what I knew. She loves acting. She’s a redhead. And she’s full of personality.

So, five minutes into the shoot, I said, “Hey, Hannah. Could you start dancing?”

. . . without missing a beat, she twirled, bounced, and leapt on the spot.

I knew it would be a totally FUN senior session.

Indian summer. Historic Ellicot City. Hannah Jefferson.

Sweet. Life.

Hannah. The Slideshow.

or

View Hannah’s gallery.

Meet the Schultz family.

Teresa and her guys. Teresa and  Bruce have just completed a beautiful addition on their home . . . Bruce has been working like a dog and it shows! Teresa is not an interior decorator but she should be. Her home is stunning, full of personality, and warm and inviting. Her front room was even featured in a design magazine. So, Teresa saw these cool DIY wall design templates on the Home and Garden channel, and wanted to get some black and white photos of her family to put on the warm golden wall. Black and white prints, framed in black. It’s going to be sleek and classic.

Enter moi. With the charge of capturing this family in all it’s glory, including the pups. We were chasing the light all evening, but we won! Check ‘em out. Great family.

Dave.

Matt.

Nick.

trouble. of the sweetest kind.

I can tell. Teresa and Bruce share that “we’re on the same team” kind of love. Precious.

Bruce is looking at me that way ’cause I just asked him to throw Teresa into a dip and kiss her

Couldn’t resist.

the brotherhood.

They might rib and jeer, but these guys totally know how good they’ve got it.

Two parents in love. That’s a gift.

Frank.

I couldn’t resist this shot, Teresa. As I was going through your bedroom on the way back from using the second story balcony to shoot, I saw this on the wall above your bed.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this.

That about sums it up.