TreasuresInTerraCotta

Several years ago we discovered a trick for great Halloween photos....take the photos on a different day!  The day before Halloween almost always yields better light, less stress and better pictures.  Yesterday we carved pumpkins, so while the camera was out two of the boys dressed up for pictures!          The quintessential pumpkin, That boy is pretty happy about his pumpkin.    And that is a happy pumpkin.   A fierce Jedi! (I was still sewing bits and pieces this afternoon!) A "cute and nice dragon" per the dragon himself. An awesome soccer player! (A costume I didn't have to make, assemble or think about. Hooray!) Tonight we had a hearty soup dinner and then walked all over the neighborhood trick-or-treating.  And this year we discovered our second great Halloween trick...give them their first treat and make it a water bottle!  Especiall...

In a long line of small events and steps over the past year or so, we have now entered the world of foster care.  In the spring we were licensed and shortly thereafter, we had our first placement. She arrived with a grocery bag of clothes and a sheet of paper with her basic information.  She was with us for several weeks and then was placed with friends of her family.      She was an itty-bitty thing and needed all the care of a two month old!  But she was a good eater and a good sleeper and it didn't take long to enjoy snuggling.  After a bit of a break, we now have another little girl.  She arrived with the clothes she was wearing, a stuffed animal and the all-important, but virtually useless, piece of paper.  She is a walker and a climber and a giggler.  She doesn't have nearly enough language to express her year-and-a-half-old self.  She has adorable curls and big eyes....

I have been saving, washing and storing Capri Sun pouches for several months now.  I finally got around to making a bag this week.  I laid out the pieces and decided to make a big bag, 3x4 for each side, and 3 each for the edges and bottom.  I had some trouble with the tension and also with the spacing of the stitches.  I decreased the tension and that seemed to fix the problem.  I also slowed down and fed the pouches through the machine carefully instead of relying on the feed dogs, because they just didn't grab the foil very well.        Here are the sides all pieced together.    The bag portion assembled.   The bottom corners were a little tricky making three pieces come together.  The solution is to stop the stitches before going off the end on the first two sides.  I ended up ripping out some seams to attach the bottom correctly, but it worked out in t...

 My dad and sister are in Jerusalem today.  Let Us Go to the House of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me,      “Let us go to the house of the Lord !” 2  Our feet have been standing      within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3  Jerusalem— built as a city      that is bound firmly together, 4  to which the tribes go up,      the tribes of the Lord , as was decreed for Israel,      to give thanks to the name of the Lord . 5  There thrones for judgment were set,      the thrones of the house of David. 6  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!      “May they be secure who love you! 7  Peace be within your walls      and security within your towers!” 8  For my brothers and companions' sake      I will say, “Peace be within you!” 9...

The Nesting Place:  It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith Myquillyn Smith of  Nesting Place has been blogging for over six years and her first book just hit the shelves of our library.  She has been featured in several magazines, many other blogs and is wildly popular.  I have to admit, however, that I have never really followed her.  I just don't love her style.  Perhaps, because of that, I felt like she had nothing to contribute to my life or home.  In fact, I almost didn't read this book. But I must recommend: Read this book.  It is way more than a Do-It-Yourself guide to decorating and thrifting and painting.  It is not Design 101.  Rather, she gently and graciously reminds us to focus on gratitude and joy and love.  She gives permission to live in and love the place we're in right now.  She hit the nail on the head...

I had a couple hours to myself on Friday and on Saturday so I set to work "setting" the table for Easter lunch.  I shamelessly stole decorating tips and printables from Emily over at Jones Design Company and created two adorable tables. On Friday I set out with a list in hand and purchased a few new items, like extra napkins and a dozen long stemmed water glasses and two new salad plates, but most of the stuff I had on hand.  I ironed the napkins and assembled the printables into tents. On Saturday evening I pulled out the table cloths, plates, glasses, and silverware.  Not to mention a few candy decorations, some ribbon and fresh flowers.  I only had to re-examine Emily's blog two or three times! Here is the more elegant looking table in blue and white. Here is the fresh and fun table in teal, light blue and light green with mismatched salad plates and a twin sheet acting as a tablecloth. The tables were right next to each other, but they are...

Why is all the junk from the yard piled up in the corner? We're making a fort! Whittling bars of soap.  I need to start buying Ivory by the case.  Moving dirt from here to there.  Have I mentioned that landscaping is highly overrated? Bread making courtesy of Grandpa.  Sitting in the yard with the not-so-baby on my lap... Taking pictures of flowers up close. 

For Christmas we received a few new CDs for the kids.   Seeds Family Worship puts scripture to music and some of it is quite catchy.  The kids already have their favorites. This song has been running around in my mind for several days: Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks the mouth speaks Matthew 12:34 I know this verse.  We've memorized this verse.  The passage goes on to talk about good and evil stored up in the heart.  I know that too.  I understand the message.  But this week, as the soundtrack played in my mind, I began to think about the words I say and what my mouth speaks and what that has to say about the overflow of my heart. I am not prone to vulgarities.  Cuss words do not zip to the tip of my tongue.  "Bad words" do not "slip out."  I just wasn't raised that way.  That is not my struggle. And because I am not typically tempted by profanities I have felt removed from the implications of th...

A post on January 1st and here it is February 28th.  I think, perhaps, I am not a blogger at heart.   In my defense, I have four posts in my draft folder (some of which are now irrelevant), I spent some time writing a short devotional for a mission trip, and I am ever aware how the computer is a colossal time-sucker.  Never-the-less, I can not possibly let the calendar flip to March without posting something here in the blog world. People sometimes ask how we "do" school, what I do with the little one while the others are working, where we do our work, and on-and-on.  Many of our 2014 photos seem to chronicle some of the answers to those questions.  So here are a few homeschool snap-shots from January and February. Calvin is learning and practicing cursive. Andrew is learning to read and follow instructions.  Truman occupies himself with Lego trucks.   Calvin scratches his head about math.  Andrew plays dinosaur go-fish....