She's Never Serious for Long

I was just messing around with my camera having fun the other night...

Carving Pumpkins

The kids and Luke enjoy carving pumpkins together and this year they decided to do it a little differently. Instead of your run-of-the-mill jack-o-lantern, they chose templates. Noah went with his favorite theme, Star Wars, and picked out Boba Fet and the Rebel Insignia as his templates, while Lily went with a cute little kitty (which she later named "Whisker Fet").

So, after the kids cleaned out their pumpkins, Luke worked very diligently at the carving. Since they were pretty detailed the kids mostly watched. They were all very happy with the end results and I was very happy to take pictures of it all :)

A Very Interesting Video

Timeless

Suppose
by Phoebe Cary

Suppose, my little lady,
Your doll should break her head;
Could you make it whole by crying
Til your eyes and nose were red?
And wouldn't it be pleasanter
To treat it as a joke,
And say you're glad 'twas dolly's
And not your own that broke?

Suppose you're dressed for walking,
And the rain comes pouring down;
Will it clear off any sooner
Because you scold and frown?
And wouldn't it be nicer
For you to smile than pout,
And so make sunshine in the house
When there is none without?

Suppose your task, my little man,
Is very hard to get;
Will it make it any easier
For you to sit and fret?
And wouldn't it be wiser,
Than waiting like a dunce,
To go to work in earnest
And learn the thing at once?

Suppose that some boys have a horse,
And some a coach and pair;
Will it tire you less while walking
To say, "It isn't fair"?
And wouldn't it be nobler
To keep your temper sweet,
And in your heart be thankful
You can walk upon your feet?

Suppose the world don't please you.
Nor the way some people do;
Do you think the whole creation
Will be altered just for you?
And isn't it, my boy or girl,
The wisest, bravest plan,
Whatever comes, or doesn't come,
To do the best you can?

I read this poem to the kids this morning and thought it interesting that children across the ages are all relatively similar. I am sure I have said the same kinds of things on countless occasions to my own sweet boy and girl. And I do not doubt that my own mother admonished me in the same way as well. When did I learn this contentment and diligence and put it into practice...or have I actually?

What was really funny though was the moaning and groaning and giggling that came from the couch as they listened and understood that, though we don't drive a coach with horses or have dolls whose heads can break, this poem applied just as well to them and actually sounded very familiar. Phoebe Cary was just a whole lot more creative with her lectures than I am...

Promises

Pictures II

Scenes of Homeschooling

Handwriting together

Science: Making a model of blood




A pretty common site around here these days :)

And here are some "just because I have a new camera" pictures

Goldfinch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sleeping Jasper

Leaf-peeping out my dining room window

Pictures

I got a new camera! A couple of years ago my friend, Michelle, was so sweet and gave me her old camera when she upgraded because mine had stopped working. It was a great camera and served me well but, as is the way of most technology, it went kaput too. Now I have been able to upgrade to a much more involved piece of equipment so that I can, hopefully, take much better pictures and have a little more fun doing it.

I had to beg and plead for the added cash it would take to accomplish this but, with the sale of our trusty old Explorer, it wasn't too hard to get the go-ahead from Luke (yes, the Explorer was reduced to a worth that didn't exactly cover the cost of a camera...we do know how to drive our vehicles into the ground).

So, I've been playing around with the new camera and trying to figure out how it works and so far I am very pleased. I feel like I may be able to indulge in a little bit of a hobby here.

Today is an absolutely beautiful, crisp fall day and Noah had a soccer game this morning so I took the camera to the field and captured these:

The coach was away for this game so Luke was assisting the assistant coach :)

The camera has a high-speed burst feature that captures multiple images in rapid succession so I got some shots of Luke throwing Lily up in the air (which I heard is necessary for a child's normal developement, so, moms, just relax when you see your child being hurled through space with enormous grins on their faces...it's all part of the natural order of things).
You can speed up the slideshow to get the full effect.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, my camera is a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1, which was recommended to me by my sister, Melissa.