Happy Birthday Me

It was just one of those quiet, normal, peaceful days.

My favorite kind.

God be praised for His richest blessings, freely given!

Theo knows just what to get Mama - chocolate!!

Eli got me a soup ladle - perfect!

Pouring over a book and Eli's kitty Lulu

Miles' photo

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Glimpse

The view from my seat at the table one normal morning...

...it gave me pause, this normal, typical morning.

They are all healthy.

Strong.

Learning.

I am beyond blessed.

Eli doing "Hooked on Phonics"...and he always has some fuzz love with him

Theo coloring

Miles practicing piano

Celene working on penmanship

(Hannah was outside at that moment ;) )

Sledding!

You bet we went sledding!

Twice already!

And winter hasn't even started yet.

:)

one evening we hit the hill for an hour before tae kwon do class - so lovely

and Friday afternoon too of course ;)

Weekend

Miles making homemade potato chips - yum!

chilly daddy Saturday morning..standing on the heat vent and warming his hands over the toaster!

Eli making and rolling potato tortillas 

hamster-eye view...in case you ever wondered! *Miles photo

Shawn's picture..the kids planting garlic on Saturday! This is the latest we've ever planted..October is better..but it's been either raining or snowing since Sept..and we were grateful it was dry enough to try!
We'll see if it works out. Experiment!

The Lake

We had an extra hour last week and decided to check out the beach in her winter clothing.

We reveled in the differences...

2 months ago sugar-soft sand, now hard and slick as ice.

Soft rolling dunes and sharp beach grasses, now ridges and edges and icicles.

Soft greens and creams and peaches, to cool tans and blues and grays.

A beauty so stark, so clear, so calm and so all her own.

Photos, paintings, words do no justice.

Such is this beautiful world we get to experience!

(photo credits go to Miles this time) ;)

Art Class

At our monthly art class, we painted rocks and shells we had gathered at the beach.

We painted cheerful sayings, Bible verses, and sweet little pictures.

Then we took them to town and hid them in little nooks for others to find...

in the hopes of spreading cheer and smiles to others!

The kids had so much fun, and they can't wait to do it again.

Afterwards we celebrated with a little lunch at the coffee shop :)

Field Trip

The kids joined a homeschool group for a field trip at the Sheboygan Historical Museum.

It was a Native American theme.

  

making corn husk dolls

making arrows

lashing poles together

SNOW in October

We've had 2 snowstorms already...not common for October here.

And another one coming tonight!

But you know us...winter is well-received in our house.

We'll love every minute of it (well, most of the minutes anyway). ;)