365 - #219 (night light)

The State Capitol's night light...

same light during the day



365 - #217-218 (butterflies)

365 - #216 (stability)

One thing I love about this playground is that it's surrounded by oak trees, which shade the play area.  This week I noticed all the roots....they're huge.  And it occurred to me that without all those roots, the playground area wouldn't be as strong and secure.  There are so many trees, that if they were all removed, the land would literally cave in.

And I thought of our lives.  If our lives are rooted in the Word (which is strong, secure, reliable, pure), then we will be strong, secure, reliable & pure, too.  And others will benefit from being in our lives.
But if our roots are rotten and filled with disease (of the heart), they will easily cause our lives to cave in.

Isaiah 61:3

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

365 - #214-215 (Pumpkin Cookies)

PUMPKINS have arrived!!!  And you know what that means, right?  Yes, it's time to bake all things pumpkin again! 

I love to bake!  And Fall is the season for baking....I know, I know, it's not quite Fall yet.  But, since the pumpkins have arrived....let the baking begin!!

This was the first time I made these cookies.  And they were DELICIOUS!!  Everyone liked them!

They're soft and moist and have a cream cheese glaze.  They taste like little pumpkin pies with a treat on top.

The recipe came from my favorite cookbook:  Passion for Baking

I haven't made a recipe I didn't like from this book.

Mmmmm.....for those who want the recipe, comment on this post, I'll send it to you ;)

365 - #213 (rope)

365 - #212 (funky ladder)

that's not as easy to climb as it looks...

365 - #211 (playtime)

It's been a while since I've taken my girls to the park.  I used to take them all the time when they were younger.  One thing I loved was that I always met new people there.  There was always a mom who was willing to chat while we watched our kids play. 

Being home so much, it's hard to find opportunities to meet people outside my circle of church, and co-op. So, I was pleasantly refreshed when I was able to meet a new mom at the park this week. She was a new homeschool mom with lots of questions, so we had lots to talk about.  I left realizing that I missed that part of going to the park.  So, even though my kids are older and are having a hard time thinking of things to do at the park, I think I'll make it to the park more often.

I'm sure we can think of "older kid" things to do there, and I'll get my fill of new people :)

Where do you meet new people, outside of your circle of friends?

365 - #210 (basket of roses)

365 - #209 (beauty)

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

365 - #207-208 (cake & bubbles)

I enjoyed taking pics of this wedding, but I'm not sure I want to make it a career!

It was a whole lotta work.  And I think I need a whole lot more lessons :)

365- #205-206 (adornments)

My Dad was the photographer of this wedding.  I was his sidekick.  I got to take all the "getting ready" pics.

I learned a lot working with him.

One thing I learned was that when your shutter takes 2 seconds or longer to open & close, the problem is with the ISO....especially if all your lighting settings are correct.

All the pics I took on the altar were blurry.  I kept looking at my dad with a question on my face.

He was shooting from the opposite side of the altar.

I knew I was getting great shots....but they were all going to be blurry!!  I was so sad about that.

For some reason, ISO never entered my mind.

I was so grateful that my Dad was there, taking all the same shots!!

365 - #204 (self-portrait)

Yes, I shot my first wedding!

Thankfully, they weren't dependent on my camera only.

(more to come about that later....)

note to self....when taking pics of bride, get out of the mirror!

365 - #202-203 (roses)

can you guess what I took pics of this weekend?

365 - #201 (piano)

All things that are worth doing take time and patience.

365 - #200 (key)

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Matt. 16:19

365- #199 (pretty blue in my garden)

365 - # 197-198 (school days)

Our school year has begun!  For the last month, we've been busy about making some changes to our homeschool.  I accepted a position as director of a Classical Conversations campus!  This means that our curriculum has changed almost entirely.  I didn't see it coming, but I am thrilled at what lies ahead with our decision.  I'm looking forward to the peace & assurance I'll have knowing that my girls are getting a complete education (meaning, I won't feel like I'm missing something)....and to the accountability of getting it done!

If you haven't heard of Classical Conversations and are interested in the classical education model, go to their website:   http://www.classicalconversations.com/ and perhaps there's a campus near you!

Well, until a month ago, I had no idea that we would take this route.  And, so, I had to be trained in a short month's time!  I've had very little else on my mind this month!
We started this week, along with our co-op that we've been part of for several years.  We're off to a good start.

my youngest working on IEW.

This is her first year, and she's doing great!

My oldest has taken IEW for 2 years, and this year she's taking her first online course in IEW!

I think she enjoyed her first class, but she hasn't demonstrated that excitement yet :)

my two youngest are taking typing at co-op....and I think it's safe to say that it's their favorite class!

other classes that they're enjoying:

French, embroidery, art, piano, science, and public speaking

At home we're still using Mystery of History, but will soon switch over to Story of the World for convenience purposes.

And, we're still using Teaching Textbooks for math.

In CC, we cover Latin vocabulary, English grammar, IEW (writing), geography, Science experiments, art/music, & history timeline.

phew!  I think that covers it!

365- #196 (I'd wear these, too...)

when I was a girl, my brothers and I had rainboots to wear in the rain (of course) and in the mud (at school, at home, our grandparents house, or at our camp).  Back then, rainboots were only black.  There was no other choice.  And I didn't really care.  But, if I had seen boots like these, I would have totally wanted to wear them!  My youngest girls have been eyeing them for a while now....and finally, they each got a pair.

And they are happy to wear them every chance they get!