30 day photo challenge: day 12 - close up

I was wishing for some National Geographic-like inspiration and that zoom lens my hubby has his eye on buying, but alas nothing that dramatic came out of today's challenge.  Although,some things that are part of my enjoyment are also some of the simplest.  So here they are, up close.

My sweet baby.

Morning light coming in the kitchen window.

Lilah's nose.

My hubby's pumpkin growing in the garden.

30 day photo challenge: day 11 - something fun

 Something fun for the girls is when the hens don't lay their eggs in the "correct spots" (either the laying box or the coop) and instead deposit an egg downstairs on the ground under the coop.  Then, someone "has to" go into the hen yard and retrieve the egg for Mommy; now that's something my girls call fun!

#3 proudly displaying the retrieved egg.

 Something not so fun last night and this morning: 2 more girls have succumbed to the flu - 1 mildly, and 1 more violently - but thankfully both are already on the mend.  Oh the adventures of a bigger family and the mysterious ways in which viruses move. 

30 day photo challenge: day 10 - something i made

I am definitely not a great crocheter and I don't do any complicated patterns (although I would like to become less lazy in my crocheting and start doing some new items), but I have made each of my girls a special "blankie" which each of them dearly loves.  Of course, I am thrilled that they love their blankies and hope to keep them somewhat in one piece for a while longer.

30 day photo challenge: day 9 - faceless self portrait

 

This post is a day late, I do admit, and, O.K., so I cheated and made this a portrait taken by my hubby instead of a "self" portrait, but I wanted to get a good depiction of my state last night while still attempting to recover from the flu, having a husband maybe on the verge of getting sick, #4 (the 3-year-old) having thrown up everywhere which required extensive clean-up, and still managing the going's-ons of the household.  By 8:30, I gave up, watched the new "PanAm" pilot with the hubby, and went to bed.  Thankfully, that hideous pile was brought into submission this morning. Also, thank God for parents that step in to rescue us in the time of need; Mom brought by dinner and lunch fixings which really saved the day.  Thanks Mom and Dad, you're great!

30 day photo challenge: day 8 - technology

I'm not one of those people that has all of the new technology right when it comes out.  One of the technological innovations that I am very excited about, despite it not being all that new, are digital pictures.  I love that I can take as many as I want, not have to print them prior to viewing them, and can store the pictures in multiple locations in case I ever lose them.

30 day photo challenge catch-up: days 5, 6, and 7

I was all geared up yesterday to post my catch-up days from being gone over the weekend, when rather suddenly I started to feel quite unwell; in the matter of a couple of hours, I was knocked flat on my back by a really nasty flu (with, yes, all the bad symptoms that usually accompany it).  After resting this morning, I've finally mustered up the energy to get up and use the computer.  Now it's back to the couch for me.  Thankfully, the worst of it is over.  :-)

  
day 5 - someone i love

There many people that I love on this earth, but of all human beings, this one ranks #1 in my books.

day 6 - childhood memory

This is Sally, the teddy bear that my recently deceased Grandma Ginger gave to my younger brother when he was born (I was 3 at the time).  We swapped teddy bears (or rather, I swapped with him seen he didn't have much say in it at that age) and ever since Sally has been mine and Roy (the other, more masculine looking bear) has been his.  She's been wearing this same T-shirt for I don't know how long.  

day 7 - something new

Yesterday at church, my friend Carla had a few items to pass along that had been given to her but that she wouldn't need.  So, I was the very willing recipient of quite the gold mine of yarn.  I'm so excited to start a project using some of it!

30 day photo challenge: day 4 - favorite color

I think from the pictures I took, it should be fairly obvious which is my favorite color. 

I will be travelling for a couple of days with the family, so I will have to post a few days all together when I get back.  But, I certainly will be keeping up with the photos and may even be able to incorporate something from our time away.

30 day photo challenge: day 3 - clouds

I'm posting this a day late; sorry!  Sometimes the night just gets away from me between dinner, homework, getting the girls in bed, and trying to catch up with the hubby for a few minutes.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the day that I try and get pictures of clouds, I end up with this.

Not a cloud in the sky . . . as blue as can be.

Of course, when I went outside this morning, on day 4, this is what I saw.  Maybe there were clouds yesterday morning and I just missed it because I was in such a hurry to get out of the house on a busy morning.

And here are the clouds that I would have loved to have seen yesterday, but we actually saw last summer in North Dakota, a place where thunderstorms, tornadoes, and big skies are commonplace during summer days.

30 day photo challenge: day 2 - what i wore

Picture taken for me courtesy of my 8-year-old.

It may be a little hard to tell, but I am wearing a Wonder Woman shirt that my hubby bought for me a couple of years ago.  I think he knew that there would be days when I would need some inspiration to keep going and this shirt helps me feel just a little more energetic.  Plus, it is just a fun T-shirt to wear, in general. 

Feeling Crafty

The girls had an early release day from school today, so we got out the hot glue gun, a pack of undecorated hair clips, ribbon, and a few random craft supplies that the girls found.  Here is what we came up with (mostly all their designs, and let me tell you, they don't let me do their designing for them). 

#1 's

#2 's

#4 's made for her by Mommy

#2 's 2nd creation

#3 's

30 day photo challenge: day 1 - self portrait

I don't know where the tripod is, but I had the fish-eye lens, so I could easily get myself in the picture.  The proportions are a little different, though, so it looks sort of funny.  This is me in my usual crazy-Mommy school morning look - hair not brushed, glasses instead of contacts, and no make-up. 

30 day photo challenge

 

Well, I saw this 30 photo challenge on my friend, Janene's, blog and thought it looked fun.  Janene amazes me at how she is always up for a challenge.  She did a month worth of remixing her outfits to make use of all the items she has in her closet and she ran a 5-K each  month for a year (she let me run the last one with her).  She also works, is a great mom and wife, and is always up to a new (or old) project and craft.  I think that she should be in the movie, "I Don't Know How She Does It".  Anyway, she has inspired me to try a few challenges along the way.  I joined the facebook trend to do 5 handmade gifts in 2011 because of her and so far I have completed 3 (I just mailed the 3rd to Michigan a couple of days ago, so I don't want to say what it is just yet).  So, I'm going to do the 30 day photo challenge to keep my on my toes, help me think a little more creatively (I hope), and refresh me in my blogging.  I'll start day one on Monday, September 19, so the info above about the photo challenge being in August (which came from another blogger altogether) is a little off, but you get the idea.  :-)

17-Month-Old Fun

If you can believe it, eating black beans is one of Little D's favorite activites.  She loves the beans and making a mess with the bean juice, too.  The only downside is changing her diaper the next morning.  :-)

Wordless Wednesday 9-7-11

Picture courtesy of my hubby.

Sweet Virginia

Grandma, #5, and I in April; my last visit with her.

Yesterday, my Grandma Ginger (Virginia) died and went to heaven to be with Jesus.  She would have turned 92 in October, so she lived a very long and full life.  At the very end, Grandma had pancreatic cancer and had suffered from dementia for a little more than a decade, so God in His mercy saw fit to let her pass quickly and not stay and suffer unnecessarily.  If one characteristic sticks out in my mind about Grandmas from her later years as she aged, it would have to be her sweetness.  It is such a common complaint that older people get grumpier and more set in their ways as they age, but such was not the case with Grandma.  As the dementia set in and she got older, she only got sweeter over time.  It think this is a neat reflection of her true character because the dementia strips an individual of many of their faculties which leaves them more exposed and vulnerable; this is the time when someone’s true nature will be shown, and in my Grandma’s case we saw more than ever what a sweet and dear woman that she was. 

Grandma meeting Little D for the first time.

Having grown-up in Panama during my formative years as a child, I wasn't in very close contact with my grandparents.  It wasn't from any animosity or dislike, but merely a matter of distance and lack of time spent together (very much in contrast to my children now with both sets of grandparents).  My connection with her might not be very strong emotionally, but I'm thankful for the relationship that did have.  Even so, my Grandma was very good to us whenever we came back to the United States; she also made several trips down to Panama to visit us, as well.  During those years, Grandma lived on a very tight budget, but somehow managed to save up for gifts for her kids and  grandkids (and even international plane tickets); that was one of her gifts - making the most of what she had.  

Some of the adventures that Grandma had that stick out in my mind are:

-Wiring General Eisenhower’s plane in WWII

-Riding horse and hunting

-Raising her first couple of children far north in North Dakota without a washing machine.  She had to wash clothes by hand and hang them out to dry, even in the middle of the winter.

-Raising 6 children and defying the housewife conventions of the time by being more involved with what her kids were doing (be it fishing, hunting, camping, swimming at the city pool, softball, etc.) than joining the neighborhood “social club”. 

-More towards retirement age, working at K-mart and loving her job.  She had a great work ethic and took pride in her work. 

4 Generations of Ladies in our family - My Grandma, my Mom, me,and my youngest daughter.

I will be going to a memorial service for my Grandma later in the week.  As much as we all may be sad for our loss and will miss her, I hope that we, as a family, will more than anything take time to remember the wonderful lady that my grandma was and the strong example that she set for us all.  She will be greatly missed, but all the stories and adventures from her life will live on with us.