Just a Wednesday

A glimpse in to a single day of our lives.

It begins with Mythbusters and

Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

A discussion about God and the universe and

a walk to the bakery on the corner.

Some laughs, a little sustenance,

and the reading of a good book, The Rangers Apprentice.

Off to the art store across the street.  We need sketchbooks.

Bishop wants to do a sketch a day for a year.

I will join him in this endeavor.

While there get entranced by these

 and these.

We will have to try these out someday soon.

Bishop finds these irresistible and picks up a few.

Then home again, home again.

Totin' our purchases

any way he can.

Made it and look at the goodies...

I get to spiffying up the house and Bishop gets to exploring the pencils and the charcoal and such.

He takes a break for this

and then returns to sketching with his feet still in the water beads.

The other boy decides that he wants in on the bakery action so we pack up some things and head back down, why not?

Maceo reads the Watchman

and listens to a podcast,

while Bishop gets to drawing

and studying musculature

and drawing

and "how do I draw goat hooves?" research

and drawing.
The walk home

with a detour to the grocery store for Maceo.
Home and relaxation.
Deep cleaning the kitchen.
Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies.
A new game for Bishop - Monster Hunter and
an audio book download for Maceo - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Unwind and read.
Pick up The Rangers Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon Ja for the final time.
Read the final chapter and epilogue and say goodbye to characters that have been our companions for years (there are 10 books in this series with The Emperor of Nihon Ja being number 10).
Goodbye Will and Halt and Horace and Alyss and Evanlyn, we will always be fond of you.
Aaaaaahhhhhh...satisfaction with a day well lived.

Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, come in your power

Come inhabit our praise

Come now and reign in our lives.

Come Holy Spirit, come like the wind

Come be Lord of our hearts

Inhabit your church again.

Lyrics from "As Children" by Jeremy Riddle and our prayer for this day as we gather around the dinner table together to celebrate Pentecost.

For our celebratory feast I, for the most part, prepared what has become our traditional meal:

Flaming hot chicken wings,

Tongues of fire veggie tray,

Fruits of the Spirit salad,

and a dessert.

Now, this particular dessert is not necessarily traditional.  In fact, no particular dessert has become traditional.  I have been seeking the 'just right' option for our family.  Maybe that would be a different dessert each year.  I am uncertain, but I am certain that this years sweet offering was yummilicious and simple.  It is simply a purchased angel food cake frosted with cream cheese frosting on the sides and cool whip on top with flame-like strawberries topping it all off.  The combination of frosting and whipped cream came about because each of the younger boys wanted something different.  It turned out to be delicious, light, festive and enjoyed by all.  Maybe it is a keeper, I guess we will find out next year.  Also, I want to try making these cute little birds of bread next year.  I intended to make them this year but I was chatting with the hubby while preparing dinner and simply forgot.  Regardless, the day was perfect.

The Easter season has come to an end and now, according to the liturgical calendar, we are heading in to ordinary time.

And that is okay,  we embrace the ordinary around here!

A morning walk revealed such beauty.

We live in a downtown urban area but there is so much nature to enjoy.  It truly speaks of the resilience and the glory of the natural world.

Upon returning home I found more beauty awaiting me; 

both the uncultivated...

...and the cultivated.

This inspired me to return to a project that I recently started.

We have a massive flower bed that runs along our fence line in the backyard.  It essentially runs the entire length of the back yard and is six feet (or more) wide.

The previous owners allowed trees to volunteer in this bed and planted vines which have taken over the bed.  I have decided that this is the year to get some of this under control and claim this bed as my own.

Here is what I have managed to do thus far.

I am mostly using plants that I have found on the property.  Some of them were hiding under the vines, some were given freely by others cleaning out their own beds, and others were found in other flower beds on the property.

The items decorating the bed are bits and baubles collected from around the house.

I did purchase a couple of plants to augment the others.  I purchased plants that are more reflective of my personality.

Overall, I am pleased with my progress.  I am not striving for perfection here.  I do not know how all of these plants will look together as they fill out.  I guess I don't even know if they will survive or thrive.  But the project has been started and, even as imperfect as it may be, it is progress.  I love looking at it.  It makes me smile!

And, speaking of smiling,...

...these brand new shoes that my husband gifted me for the purposes of gardening do just that, they make me smile!

Great Times

I have been having such a great time with the boys!
Today Bishop and I spent the day together.  We intended to go to the zoo but found that it was packed with school kids on their end-of-the-year field trips.  Being spoiled homeschoolers who are unused to sharing the zoo with others we opted to take our field trip elsewhere.  Instead we opted to pretend to be tourists at Bass Pro.

We spent four hours exploring this really cool place...

and all of its creatures - both taxidermied and living.

We saw a diver cleaning the really huge fish tanks and another hand feeding the fish.

And we discovered that they have a really cool museum devoted to archery.

 Together we had a surprisingly great time!

Last night I had a great time with Maceo.  He and I went to see this movie at our independent theater.



This was such a delightful movie.  Yes, I laughed and I cried.  It is based on a true story and tells the tale of four aboriginal cousins who form a singing group and tour Vietnam entertaining the American troops.  The music was fun and beautiful and there were many witty lines that created laugh-out-loud moments.  But there was so much more then that; the music and the wit were set against the backdrop of a racially charged Australia and the drama of the Vietnam war.  I must admit that I am rather ignorant of the history of Australia and this movie provided an introductory lesson on a piece of its history.  I learned that the Aboriginal peoples did not have the right to vote until a referendum in 1967.  In the early 1900's the Aborigines were actually classified as "flora and fauna", they were made to live on reservations and the government would routinely remove children who appeared white from their families and place them in institutions or with foster families.    This movie educated me without lecturing me and is, in the end, a triumph.
I so recommend this movie!
I also recommend checking out Bass Pro if you are ever in our neck of the woods!

What a Happy Mother's Day

I have had such a pleasant and happy mother's day.

It is beautiful and sunny and I have had such a wonderful time with my family.

We dined al fresco...

...on a meal prepared by Bishop.

Doesn't it look delicious?

And I have been enjoying my gifts.

Birkenstocks from my hubby make my feet so happy.

Cookie sheets and silicone mats from the kiddos make for some perfect cookies.

A beautiful card brought from South Korea by Christian for me,

I think that I will frame it and hang it up.

And beautiful sentiments from my dear, sweet daughter that makes my heart sing.

It all makes my heart sing.

I am such a blessed woman!