Today I offer for your viewing pleasure an oldie but a goody. This was taken when it was so stinkin' hot outside it was hardly tolerable. You know, when it feels like you're breathing through a sponge because it's so humid? One of those day. But I've figured out a couple of things over the years. One of those things is the fact that FOUR YEAR OLDS DO NOT CARE IF THEIR MOM IS HAVING A HEATSTROKE. Not even a little bit!

So on this blistering hot day, I got a brief chuckle out of what happened to Chip's hair when he went down the slide. I only did it for a moment though...because it made me hotter.

And today I get a second chuckle from this photo because as I post this cute shot of Chip on a 100 degree day, I'm sitting in my house listening to the wind howl outside on a 15 degree evening. Why, oh why, can't we have something in the middle??

Even just a few years ago, I would never have dreamed that a sight like this would thrill me as much as it does. I'm so non-athletic it's not funny. I'm actually offended by athletics, in a way. But put one of my kidlets in the action and suddenly, I'm all about it.

Funny, isn't it, how a mom's interests can change in a moment when it involves her boy?

Project 365...Day FOUR

A couple of week ago, Chip hit a nice milestone in the life of a kid. He turned four. Now I know that everyone has their own personal favorite age, but mine has always been four. They're just really fun at four, to my way of thinking. They can talk well, therefore they can reason somewhat. They're potty-trained and not as dependent on naps, if at all, so they're very portable. They have a sense of humor and SUCH a personality! Four is wonderful to me.

Well, Chip is all of those things I just mentioned and even more.

This picture is special to me in a bittersweet kind of way, I guess. I'm so glad he's at this stage of life and yet realizing that my youngest kidlet is not a baby anymore is sobering.
Still, I love FOUR! :o)

The Light of the World

My Project 365 photo for yesterday (hey, it was a very busy day as you shall soon learn) is a snap of the luminaries we prepared for our church's Christmas program.

It was very cold last night and, I have to admit that while the sun was shining, freezing to death while putting out little bags of sand and tealights didn't seem like such a hot idea...
no pun intended.

But when I slipped outside for just a moment once it was dark, I felt very differently. We had our sidewalks lined with glowing lights, guiding the way to the door of the church where we celebrated the Christmas season. It's not hard at all to see comparisons between these little lights and Jesus being the "Light of the world".

This fall Luke decided to try Cross Country. I honestly expected him to really truly hate every single moment of it. Everything: practice, meets, everything. Does that sound negative? Well, look at it from the viewpoint of a person (me) who can barely understand the reasoning behind running a race in which you run as fast as you possibly can for a short distance. Add to that nonsense the fact that Cross Country folks run a long....long....long distance. Distances that I think should be traversed only by large, gasoline-guzzling vehicles.

So imagine my surprise and delight when he not only liked Cross Country, but LOVED Cross Country!

I found out also that I enjoyed going to the meets! There's a lesson here to be learned about broadening one's horizons, I'm sure, but I shall choose to ignore it.

He did pretty well for his first year and intends to do it again next year.

I'm just thrilled that he tried something new...and that it turned out to be such a wonderful thing for our whole family.

GO EAGLES!

Well, here we are...day three of my Project 365 and it hit me at bedtime: "(GASP) You didn't post a picture!" I berated myself. I was pleased to see that it was not yet midnight, therefore not yet tomorrow!

I had a hard time picking today's photo. But I finally chose one of my favorite sky shots. I think we've had some of the most beautiful sunsets ever this fall, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if you see more pictures like this one here.

Project 365....CHECK

Recently, I read on a friend's Blog that she is going to try to post one picture per day for a whole year. That's a pretty neat idea, to my way of thinking. First, I'm eager to see what she shares each day. Second, I have read about how good this sort of thing is for honing photography skills, which is always a plus. Last, I figure this is the perfect place to show things that I think are beautiful or at least important enough to photograph.

I think I'm going to be really flexible and not set many rules for myself to follow. When I get too rigid, I argue with myself and don't have time to fold the laundry, so this must be avoided at all costs.

Today's picture of a local church steeple says alot to me. The sky is cold and wintry, just like today. And it reminds me that, in this month of busy-ness and excitement, to not overlook the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

So here we go! My own personal Project 365 is underway! Stay tuned....

Earlier this fall, a friend and I loaded up our boys and headed to the apple orchard. Cousin Colter even got to go along as a double treat! It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and the apples were waiting patiently.

They waited a long time.

A long time.

Maybe even a loooonnnnggg time. Maybe.

There were just so many fun things to do! We (over) fed the ducks, played on the swings, drank apple slushes, slid down the slide (repeatedly), and had FUN. Who cares if your moms drove 45 miles one way in the Big Ride with the express intention of PICKING APPLES? That'll wait.

Eventually we got to the apples! These boys are really good at picking just the right one.

We picked and picked then loaded up our tired, sticky kidlets and headed for home. It was a great day. Oh, let me tell you, those apples made the best cobblers and applesauce ever!