30 day photo challenge: days 28, 29, & 30

And a drumroll, please . . . thank you, thank you very much!  I've finally finished with my 30 day photo challenge, albeit taking much longer than 30 days and improvising here and there.  But, it has been fun and defnitely kept my blogging from getting rut.  So, here are the last 3 days.

day 28  -  daily routine
It is hard to remember a time when I wasn't doing this activity on a daily basis.  Once you have kids and they are small, changing diapers is just part of the daily routine, like it or not (pretty much not liking it).  Now that the baby of our family is 1 1/2, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm definitely not anxious for her to grow up and quicker, but I certainly won't be sorry to see the diaper duties go "bye-bye".  

Little D happy with a clean diaper.

  day 29  -  purchased

This actually is another of my daily routines, too.  A must-have!

 Recently, we purchased a new cappuccino maker and, wow, does that ever make my mornings 10X better! 

day 30  -  in motion

Me, taken out hiking w/my hubby recently.

 

30 day photo challenge: days 26 & 27

day 26  -  something old
Sometimes the best pair of jeans is the old pair and such is the case with my favorite pair of jeans.  They are so worn that they got a hole in the knee (a large hole) over a year ago and I patched them so that I could keep wearing them.  I don't wear these jeans out, really, but they are my work jeans around the house and are great for all those days when I am in the yard getting messy, cleaning out the hens' coop, gardening, or just on a rainy day.  

 
day 27  -  after dark

 I couldn't pass up the chance to show these pictures that my hubby took just the other night on a timer of the night sky.  It's amazing how many more stars are visible with the camera as opposed to just with the naked eye. 

30 day photo challenge: days 24 & 25

day 24  -  a smile

 

My oldest, #1, helping Mom with a smile and making scrambled eggs for herself and all the sisters.  

day 25  -  sunflare

Up through the leaves of one of our ancient live oak trees.

30 day photo challenge: days 21, 22, & 23

Well, I'm sort of keeping up with this challenge still, just more in chunks than day by day.  So, here are 3 more days  worth of photos.

day 21  -  pretty pattern

I like the recent fad from the last couple of years of incorporating browns in with other lighter colors.  This is the changing pad from my old diaper bag and I've always like the pattern.

day 22  -  trees

We live on the street called Calle de Encinas.  Encinas is the Spanish name for evergreen oaks, or as they are called in southern California, live oaks.  We have many of these live oaks all over our property, but the biggest and oldest ones are right up by the house and provide wonderful shade and are beautiful to look at as well.

 I've cheated and put in pictures I took last winter, when the grass is green.  Grass is just starting to poke back up through the dirt this week again.  

day 23  -  sunset

Now I'm cheating even more.  I'm sure I won't get to where I can see a sunset tonight  and I saw that my hubby has sunset pics from this month, so here they are.

   

30 day photo challenge: day 20 - what i read

 

Wow!  I really like today's topic for the photo challenge.  I always tell my husband that I love words and that I eat them up.  I usually have quite a few different magazines and books going at once.  Lately, I've read Vogue, Ladies' Home Journal, Lady Susan by Jane Austen, am in the middle of Love and Friendship (also a lesser know fragement of Austen's work), read I Thessalonians for the last few days in preparation for Bible study, and am working on The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns (president of World Vision).  

If you are looking for a thought-provoking read that will challenge your heart and mainstream evangelical Christianity in America, I definitely recommend this book.  Stearns recounts his move from being the CEO of Lenox (that makes china, dinnerware, jewelry, etc.) and living the American Dream with much "success" to becoming the president of World Vision.  He took a 75% paycut, he and his wife and their 5 kids moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, and gave up a lifestyle to which they had become accustomed.  They made this move after much thought, prayer, and realization that God was calling them to this big change.  As I read about the difference that comes about in the lives of children around the world from the work that World Vision does, I am touched and also inspired to be part of this process of living out the gospel (not just the easy and palatable parts of the gospel) of Jesus.  One small step my family I have taken towards being purposeful and helping others in a tangible way is to sponsor a child through World Vision.  For just about $1.00 a day, which isn't much a sacrifice for us to give up, we can give a child in another country the opportunity to eat and go to school.  If each one of us took a small step or two towards living out the gospel of Christ more fully in the world, what a difference it could make in reaching others with the love of Jesus.   

Link to child sponsorship for anyone that might be interested:  http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/sponsor-a-child?open&campaign=1193512&cmp=KNC-1193512

30 day photo challenge: days 17, 18, & 19

Here I am, playing catch-up once again.  I think catch-up is the story of my life at the moment and probably will be until I'm out of this stage of mommyhood.  The popular catch phrase, "It is, what it is" is certainly applicable. 

day 17  -  on the shelf

This is the open shelf above my fridge and we keep #3's porcelain teaset up there.  We bought it for her last Christmas when she was 4 1/2 because she loves tea parties so much.  The set doesn't get as much use during busy school weeks, but it gets plenty of use on the holidays.  I love the nice sized cups in this set because they are big enough to actually hold a decent amount of tea so that the girls don't have to refill after just a couple of sips.

day 18  -  in my bag
Not surprising, my bag is full of a wide variety of items from diapers, diaper rash cream, bibs, clothes, and socks to sewing repair kits, pepper spray, a return item for WalMart, many receipts, and much, much, more.  My back is so scary to look at, in fact, that my hubby does not like to go into the abyss to search for anything.  It's definitely a Mommy's bag!

 
day 19  -  where i slept

Here's munchkin #4 in my bed this afternoon.  Her older sister came home from school sick and I didn't want them chatting during naptime in the same room, so here is my little sweetie pie getting ready for her nap in my bed. 

30 day photo challenge: day 3 - what i ate

I actually had a pretty cool meal deal for lunch today.  My hubby got a coupon for a free lunch from Macaroni Grill for liking them on facebook and gave it to me.  I went and used the coupon and thoroughly enjoyed some pasta, panini, and their rosemary bread (definitely a carbo-loaded meal, but very tasty, and it was shared with a toddler and baby).  Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera along.  Here is my supper and it was very tasty as well.  It is a beef and Gorgonzola wrap.  Yum!

30 day photo challenge: day 15 - shoes

I was all ready to post day 15 yesterday afternoon when, lo and behold, my internet stopped working.  I thought it was caused by the rain and the antenna I have outside from my wireless interent company, but as it turns out it was a connecting part that had gone bad.  Thankfullly, the hometown company is a friendly small business that helps its customers quickly and with a smile.  I dropped the girls off at school this morning, picked up the new part, and we are back in business. 

Yesterday was a rainy day.  I went to Bible Study in the morning and wore regular shoes, but when I got home it was back to the work jeans and rubber boots so that I could go outside and check on the hens.  So, here are yesterday's shoes. 

I must add that shoes are definitely one of shopping weaknesses, but for the sake of space saving and budgeting, I try and keep my shoe shopping to a minimum. 

30 day photo challenge: day 14 - flowers

Since this photo challenge is open to interpretation by the one doing the challenge, I have chosen a flower in a bit of a different vein.  Recently, while up in San Clemente, an lovely acquaintance gave me a flower for my hair as a gift.  Liz owns a company called Jolie and makes handcrafted flowers that are really pretty.  I like to use mine as a way to dress up a boring bun or other less-than-inspiring hairstyles.  Here is a link to the Jolie website:

http://www.jolieflowers.com/Home.html

 And here is a picture of the flower.

30 day photo challenge: day 13 - from a distance

Well, here I am and a few days behind on the actual days of this photo challenge.  I think the 30 days will end up being more like 40 days when all is said and done, but like I've said before, real life comes up and gets in the way of blogging and that is okay.  Flu update: it seems it has finally passed through the household and is gone, at least I am praying that it is the case.  Now, to get back on an even keel again and get the house picked up, the laundry folded, and be sure everyone is on track with their schoolwork.  I'll be drinking more than a few cappuccino's and mocha's this week for an extra energy boost.  :-)

It may be hard to tell what you are looking at, but this is what I see from a distance everyday when I look out my backyard to the neighbors.  They have about ten horses up there in a few corrals and eventhough I don't want the responsibility or financial burden of a horse right now, I enjoy seeing their horses up their on a regular basis.

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. 

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.