they also get my vote

They didn't win best costume at their party as they did last year but my sister, Lisa, and her hubby, Brian, would have had my vote. They are so creative and hilarious! And as you can see, in just a few weeks they are going to become the proud parents of one lucky little boy.

have you?

poor hat

Well, I guess I should have expected as much from my first knitting project. Somehow, I managed to get my work turned around in the middle and stitched several rows backwards before I realized it. The result is this goofy little ridge around the hat, making a very cute pattern very, well, not-cute. This is what comes of knitting during the kids bath time (Knit, knit, knit, Tristan stop throwing water at Kenna! Knit, knit, knit, Kenna stop jumping on Tristan! Knit backwards, knit backwards, knit backwards....) Oh, well.

I find that after a failed project it's good to quickly move on to an easy-to-accomplish project in order to keep myself motivated. So, I crocheted this...

I have actually failed at this pattern twice. Once I figured out how to decrease (thanks to those testy little shoes) I came back to it and realized it was actually very simple. Thank you, Christie, for the pattern! I feel better about life with yarn now and have picked the knitting needles back up for another go. Tristan asked for a hat. I am making another hat. Oh dear, I can't stop.

sisters

Hannah, Luthien and Ayvenlea were a joy to photograph. Three beautiful little girls in three beautiful little dresses -my work was easy! All I had to do was point and shoot while these sweet sisters did the rest. More photos from our session last week are in the gallery.

hands

I just noticed The Secret Life of Bees, the movie, has come out. I read the book several years ago and I'm always interested to see how movie versions compare. You may remember this post of our kind local strawberry farmer's hands. Much of the movie was filmed here in our area and this farmer, also a bee keeper, had a hand in the film project as he was enlisted to train the actors and handle the bees on set. He and his wife have a collection of photos from their experience and a sweet little thank-you note from Dakota Fanning, complete with heart-dotted i's, hanging near their cash register. They must be excited and proud to see the movie complete. I just thought I'd share this little bit of local trivia but also because this is one of my favorite photos and I wanted to share it with Lacy who put out a challenge for photos of hands. This one definitely makes you want to sing, "He's got the whole world in His hands... He's got the little bitty babies in His hands..."

hello, butterfly!

Photo #1 is my favorite. I love, love, love that the butterfly is hidden among all the blurry flower stems. In photo #2 I was struck by the way the butterfly's wings seem to mimic the shape of the zinnia leaves just beyond it. Orange butterfly on orange zinnia in photo #3 -what's not to love? I had to share them all.

a walk in the woods

Simply crossing through a neighbor's back fence transported us far, far from home. At least, in Tristan's young mind it did. About ten steps into the woods with his nature bag, he began to worry that we wouldn't be able to find our way back. It doesn't take much to find adventure for a four year old boy. Or his mom, for that matter...

more hats

I told you I make a lot of hats. I really like these winter baby woollies with their little rows of puff stitches. Can't you see the sweet red rosette matching some baby girl's Christmas attire perfectly? I was working on trying my hand at something other than hats (see the Dancing Shoes) and then I learned to knit...

Yes, it is another hat -but a knitted hat! The owner of our local yarn shop graciously agreed to teach a beginner's knitting class for military wives on base. I was nervous about arranging the class, afraid of no one signing up and being forced to realize that I am in fact the only person interested in learning. But that was not the case! We had a great turnout and a lot of fun laughing at each others first (and second and third...) attempts at cotton washcloths. We then tried our hardest to concentrate on these hats (knit two, purl two, knit two, purl two...) while enjoying some adult conversation. I am looking forward to filling many winter evenings this year by the fire with my knitting friends. Maybe I'll even make something other than a hat. Maybe.

light through the day

morning dewdrops

afternoon bouquet

evening glow

dancing shoes

Can you tell I had fall on the brain last time I stopped in at my favorite little yarn shop? I love to browse through the floor to ceiling shelves full of different fibers and colors -so many choices! I usually always go in with a plan and usually always come out with a different plan. I did have sweet baby dancing shoes (from this book) in mind when I bought the fall colors. So far they have proven trickier than I'd hoped but I do have one little green pair to show for all my efforts. I had tiny red and orange fall leaves in mind for embellishing the toes but so far I haven't been able to find a pattern and I kind of like them simply adorned with vintage buttons. And candy corn.

portrait of a portrait

portrait of a teething child

garden oranges

...and some flying things too.

garden pinks

photo tip #1

I'm definitely no photography expert, I just take a whole lot of photos. I get questions occasionally about how I got certain shots so I thought I'd try to share what little tips I can. Hopefully encourage some of you in your photo taking -and I'd love to see your results!
My sister, Christie asked about the blurry look of the photo from this post. I'm assuming you were referring to the background in the shot of the Chinese lantern-like seed pods? (Amazing aren't they? I really want to find out what they are.)
That blurry background is the result of a large aperture or shallow depth of field. I could try to explain it in detail but I would probably not do it very well and recently, this wonderful site has had some great, simple tips for macro photography. I'm thinking of this post in particular. Go there and it will all be made clear in words you will understand! The Pioneer Woman has gorgeous photos every day that even a non-photographer will appreciate.
So, basically, my photo tip #1 for you today is to go get some photo tips from a true expert!
Also, don't think you have to have a fancy schmancy camera to take great photos. Until about six months ago I took all my pictures with my trusty little Sony Cybershot. I remember showing up at my friend Barb's house to take Christmas pictures of her kids and she looked at my camera and said, "You take all your pictures with that?!" You have to start somewhere! I'm happy to say that I had the opportunity to take more pictures of Barb's kids last week with a much better camera as you can see from the last post. More flowers to come this week!

a birthday girl

...before and after a birthday cake...

Happy birthday Maggie!
See more photos of Barb's sweet little one
year old here in the gallery.

a magnolia for grandmother

A special gift arrived at our doorstep last week. After hearing about the passing of my Grandmother Day, Shawn's sweet family sent us a Magnolia tree to plant in her honor. There is something very beautiful and special about commemorating a life with a living, growing tree.
Thank you, GG, GranD and Mike.

fairy land

Open Your Eyes!
To shop, and school, to work and play,
The busy people pass all day;
They hurry, hurry, to and fro,
And hardly notice as they go
The wayside flowers, known so well,
Whose names so few of them can tell.
They never think of fairy-folk
Who may be hiding for a joke!
O, if these people understood
What's to be found by field and wood;
What fairy secrets are made plain
By any footpath, road or lane-
They'd go with open eyes, and look,
(As you will, when you've read this book)
And then at least they'd learn to see
How pretty common things can be!
-Cicely Mary Barker

growing seasons

While the growing season for my garden is coming to a close, there is one bit of growing that will continue into the cozy months ahead. (Perhaps I need to cut back on the pumpkin spice lattes, or else there could be more growing than I bargained for?)

Yesterday Shawn and I had the privilege of watching our littlest pumpkin in black and white, twisting and tumbling around in my belly. This one is definitely a mover with strong opinions about being poked and prodded. We saw a sweet little face, a strong heart beating away and four busy hands and feet. Shawn thinks he saw some other "parts" as well. I'm pretty sure he saw an umbilical cord. Feel free to make your own guess but there is nothing in this picture to give it away...

corner full of cosmos

My little corner wildflower patch is still blooming away. There is a rainbow of Zinnias and now the Cosmos, having spent the summer gaining height, are beginning to show off their pinks and oranges. In fact, there are so many I may have to change the name of the patch! Lately, we have been waking up to a lightly frosted landscape so I know the end of the growing season is around the corner. I just hope we have enough time left to see the last of these beauties open. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye.

garage sale find

For $10 I bought smiles and squeals of "bite! bite! my bite!" It is perfectly red and rusty with years of play still in its little wheels and plenty of chinging still in its little bell. I'm not sure who was happier with the find...the little one who gets to ride it or the little one's mama who gets to watch.

autumn in a bowl

October has arrived in golden hues of changing trees, potted mums and pumpkin patches cropping up in church yards. I decided to cook up some Autumn color with this Butternut Squash Soup. White Milk Bread baked from this book was perfect on the side. The soup recipe and the cook book were given to me by my mom. Just thought I'd continue to pass on the October goodness...

-Butternut Squash Soup-
2lb. baked Butternut Squash
2 Granny Smith Apples peeled and chopped
1 Onion (1 1/2 C.) chopped
1/2 C. Celery chopped
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Bay leaf
2 tsp. Curry powder
1 Garlic clove
3 cans (or 42 oz.) Chicken Broth
pinch of salt

Cook onions, apples and celery in butter with curry and garlic till soft. Add squash, chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes or so. Blend or process soup so it is smooth and creamy. Enjoy! Tell your four year old it is Apple Soup or Fall Soup or even Orange Soup (simply avoid the words squash and vegetable) and he will eat it too.

good days and bad

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.
-Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace

love love love...

...this flower. Heavenly.

inspired

I have been meaning to do this for a while now but just haven't got around to figuring it out. Robin had a nice new watermark today and kindly let me know how she did it. Turns out it's super simple and I had it right in front of me all the time in Picasa. Also, Picasa has a new version available and so far I am liking it. I did these photos real quick as a trial run -what do you think? Any more creative ideas out there for what my little watermark should say or look like?