Monday, September 29, 2008

Daniel turns 9!




I'll post more pictures of Daniel's birthday in the next couple of days. He is so into Star Wars and this is the best cake I could come up with for him...It's supposed to be a light sabre if you couldn't tell. He was thrilled with it!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Ready for church




Collecting for a centerpiece

Hannah's been bringing her leaf collection to me for the last few days and it's been pretty sad. She's just been getting the green little leaves off our weeping willow tree. So I've been telling her that I'd take her into the woods and show her how to find the really pretty ones. Thursday when they came home from school and the homework was all checked, we decided to go for a hike. I had the idea to scatter real leaves around the table for a ladies' fellowship I was having that night so we went looking for beautiful leaves...they are everywhere around here right now! I can't believe how pretty the colors are this year! Makes me love living here even more!




The fruits of our labor...there are a ton of fallen white birch trees in our woods right now. I got the idea to try to peel some of the bark off for an added accent and the entire piece came off in my hands! So the base fo the centerpiece is a big piece of white birch bark. On my way out of the woods I noticed a big patch of moss growing, and it looked just like the kind in the bags I always buy for flower arranging. I wondered how difficult it would be to pry off the rock it was growing on and was quite surprised that it came off in one huge piece without any extra effort. I loved how it turned out! I usually don't go to this much trouble for the Thursday night prayer and shares, but this was so much fun to put together. I need to do this type of thing more often...I really enjoy it and loved the outcome.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Some of the cutest pics ever, I must admit!

I took Sarah outside to get some pics this afternoon with the beautiful trees in our yard. I didn't get many good shots of the trees, but I do have to say of the 26 pics I took, there were a few that were a bit too precious to keep to myself! They're so much better if you know her...you can really see that mischievous sparkle in her eye in some of these.

I do have to say this is her, "Mom...come on...you know we both want a good game of chase and fall down giggling and tickling...come get me!" look.
Sarah loves to touch anything and everything outside. I wasn't the least bit surprised when she wanted to touch the branch of leaves I pulled down into her reach...but I was a bit surprised when she reached out with her tongue to taste the leaf! I can't believe I caught it in a picture, too!
I laid down in the grass to get a better angle of her...she climbed into my lap, and this is the angle I managed to get! Gotta love those cute pudgy cheeks!

She must always stop and touch flowers especially. she doesn't pick them...just touches them.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Are you as confused about Labor Day as I am?!?

Brent and I were talking last night about what Labor Day is and neither of us knew what we were celebrating. So I googled it...one of our family's favorite past times, and was surprised to see that it really celebrates nothing. The entire nation gets a day off just because! I was wondering if they could give us a day off sometime in March, too, because there's nothing to celebrate in that month either!Here's what Wikipedia says about Labor Day in case you were wondering:

Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and parades. Speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key than May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries, although events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office, especially in election years. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, as of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as July 24th in many urban districts, including major southern cities in the United States such as Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the week before Labor day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.

So happy Labor Day...which if I understand it right really means happy day to be lazy and do nothing day! I think I'll take that to heart!