Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's scavenger hunt items are:

1. Vision
2. Strong
3. Buttons
4. Map
5. Favorite Fruit

VISION

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace. 

(Words & music by Hel­en H. Lem­mel, 1922)

STRONG

Grace (6) would have you believe that our puppy Bono was so strong that he pinned her to the floor like this:

But I know Grace...she's a big goofball.  ;)  She pinned herself, and Bono is so laid back he just let her while he pretended to continue sleeping.

BUTTONS

Grace convinced me to get three old handmade dolls out of the curio cabinet...

for a tea party.

My mom made all of these dolls at various stages of her life:  She made the blonde with braids (and the pajamas she is wearing) when she was a girl.  She made the Holly Hobby doll, complete with a matching dress and bonnet for me, for my birthday when I was 4 or 5 years old.  She made the newborn Cabbage Patch-like doll, with the green dress and bonnet, nearly 10 years later. And she would have been absolutely delighted to see Grace playing with them!

As soon as the word went out that there would be a tea party, more party-goers quickly arrived.

This doll

has button eyes.

MAP

How about a miniature glass globe?

FAVORITE FRUIT

Strawberries are my favorite fruit, but Shirley doesn't have strawberries in her fruit (and vegetable) bowl.

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in next week's hunt!  

The Cemetery

During the 13 years we've lived here, I have driven past a certain cemetery nearly every week.  Each time, I've thought, "I should stop sometime to take a picture of that."  The afternoon sun hitting the trees along the road through the cemetery looks so pretty--especially in the fall.  Last Friday, I actually drove through the cemetery to get the shot...this shot.

 

And it only took me 13 years.

I love the look of this silhouette shot of the cemetery.  (Jason, however, thinks it looks a bit creepy.)

What do you think of cemeteries?  Do you think they are peaceful, creepy, or somewhere in between?

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom and Sarah Halstead at The Naptime Momtog for Wordless Wednesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's scavenger hunt items were

1. Nature
2. Vintage or Retro
3. Whimsical
4. Cooking
5. Week's Best

NATURE

I saw these birds on the top of ALDI after we had finished loading our groceries into the van. I waited for a few minutes, camera ready, to capture them in mid-air again as they were when I first spotted them.  (My guess is that they were being territorial and each trying to run the other bird off.  There was a lot of aggressive-looking hopping and charging going on.) 

The weather looked like it was getting a little wild on Wednesday.  There was only one huge clap of thunder and that was pretty much it, although the kids spotted what they thought was a little hail.  Whatever it was, it was short-lived.  

RETRO

Look!  There's some nature on my retro dryer! 

WHIMSICAL

My kids with an oversized puppy...'nough said.

Josiah (10) with Bono (7 mos.)

Grace (6) with Bono (7 mos.)

COOKING

I tried great white northern beans in a chili recipe this week.  I am allergic to most kinds of beans, and have been trying to gather the nerve to try these beans to see if I reacted. 

Fortunately, I didn't notice a reaction, so now I have two types of beans I know I can eat (this, and baked beans).  Woo hoo!

Click on this link to see the recipe I modified from AllRecipes.com.  My modifications:  I make this completely on the stove top rather than crock pot (mostly due to lack of planning, but also because I already have used the skillet so why not finish it there?).  I use 1 can of diced tomatoes rather than the tomato soup, I omit the red pepper flakes or else my kids would not/could not eat this, and I only use 1 can of beans. However, now that I know I can eat the great white northern beans, I may use 2 cans next time.  


WEEK'S BEST

The thing that tickles me about this farmland shot is that this picturesque scene is right next to a large car dealership and across from a bank, two restaurants, and a government building. 

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in next week's hunt!  

Thankful

Grace (6) created a thankfulness tree in Children's Church on Sunday.  Each child picked several "leaves" to glue onto the tree from what the teacher had prepared, and Grace picked the likely things to be thankful for--God, home, health, friends, peace, family, pets, food...

Each child was also given the chance to write another thing he or she was thankful for.  Grace wrote,

"LONG HAIR THANCK YOU GOD FOR LONG HAIR"

She sounds so...emphatic.  I'd say she really likes having long hair, wouldn't you? 

Election Night

Because of the election on Tuesday, we've had a huge electoral college map poster on our living room wall.

We're homeschoolers (and we had a free poster from C-SPAN)...

but we're also a bit nerdy (in a good way). 

The Electoral College by the Numbers:  435 Representatives + 100 Senators + D.C.'s 3 = 538. 

We also had election night snacks...

Oh, I kid.  This was really all Jason bought for the occasion. 

You see, being a history major, election night is a little like the Super Bowl for Jason.

And, I must say, there is much better conversation (previous elections, presidents, vice presidents, etc.) for me on election night versus the Super Bowl.

Did you know that Washington, D.C. has three electoral votes because of the 23rd Amendment, which was passed in 1961 during JFK's presidency?  Did you know that, because of this amendment giving D.C. 3 electoral votes, it effectively limited Wyoming's electoral votes to 3 as well?  I didn't...until this election year.  That pretty much sums up the extent of the knowledge I passed on during Jason's and my conversation.  

Wordless Wednesday: New Books

Grace (6) has taken up a new series of books...so, of course, she must go to sleep with them so she can read first thing in the morning.  ;)

Grace with the newest books she is reading:  The Magic Tree House series

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom and Sarah Halstead at The Naptime Momtog for Wordless Wednesday, and to Ashley Sisk  for Wittle People Wednesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's scavenger hunt items were

1. Wild
2. Welcome
3. Adventure
4. Vibrant
5. Classic

Since we couldn't make a quick trip to Wild Adventures (Grace's absolute favorite vacation destination), I decided to go a different direction with a few of these scavenger hunt items, especially when I found Grace recreating a scene from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder with classic Duplo Blocks.

Talk about a wild adventure...growing up as a pioneer girl! 

Grace (6) rather apologetically said that Jack the bulldog had to be a tiger here.  Pa and Ma are leading the ponies Pet and Patty, and Mary, Laura, and Carrie are in the back in the wagon.

Our sometimes wild

and usually goofy puppy Bono loves to run around our backyard.

My well-worn, stone-look welcome mat

and my most favorite wreath welcome visitors to our home.

I have some vibrant yarn peeking out of my crochet bag--I have now made two very colorful berets for two lovely young ladies with this yarn.  (Maybe I should add that the girls picked out this yarn...)

And, last but not least, there are the beautiful vibrant fall colors that surround us at the moment...

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in the fun!