Random Photos

Warm fall days means fun volleyball breaks at lunchtime.

I finished my folk-art themed fall pillow.  It is now being used during movie watching and all times when one needs to lie down on the couch. 

Pie in the face night at AWANA. Brian, Jacob, Hannah and Abby all had pies thrown at them.  I didn't volunteer, so I was the one filming and clapping.

Fall at the Canyon

And the maple tree out front.

Home

Lord God, our home is among the most precious gifts we receive in this life.

We realize this all the more as we remember our Lord Jesus. He set aside home and family. Having no place to lay His head throughout His ministry, he chose to sojourn among those He came to save. We prayerfully invite Him to dwell in our earthly abode even as He continually invites us by Word and Sacrament to dwell forever in our heavenly home, which He prepares for us.

Make us ever grateful for this shelter from life’s storms.

Keep this house always the home of comfort, joy, peace, and forgiveness.

According to Your will, protect this home from the spiritual assaults of Satan, but likewise make our home a fortress against the calamities of nature and the wickedness of sinful man.

Grant us the virtue of hospitality,  the joy of harmonious living, and the blessing of gathering around Your Word and bringing our families’ prayers before You.

May all who dwell in our home be blessed by Your presence and Your peace,
and may all who go forth give thanks for the grace they receive from You, through us, Your dear children

We receive Your loving kindness in our home as a reminder of the eternal home we inherit through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen.

from the Lutheran prayer book

ht: lifeingraceblog.com

Pictures From Aunt Melody

From the reunion in Michigan this summer.

I think this is one of my all-time favorites. I might blow this one up and frame it!

Fall in the Mountains

So we were on our way up to Breckenridge this afternoon when we got a call from Hannah, who had just gotten off of work.

She had locked her keys in the car- and we were two hours away.

She walked to the library and read for a few hours until we got back to unlock the car for her.

Our time in the mountains was cut short, but we did enjoy walking around and taking pictures.

The colors have not peaked yet, but we were afraid that we would miss it if we waited too long like we did last year.

But either way, too late or too early, it's still nice.

We always have to get some Starbucks here. It's the best one ever because it has creaky wood floors and a fireplace and big windows with gorgeous trees to look at.

And cute kids outside.

Working on Senior Pictures

Trying out different poses today. Hopefully we'll try round 2 closer to home this week, weather permitting.

September Days

Abby had a fun 18th Birthday. She opened her gifts when Hannah got home at night.  The next day she had her pizza and volleyball party with friends. There was a lot of teenage energy in the house that afternoon.

Jacob and Brian hamming it up while Abby opened presents.

In non-birthday news, I am attempting to make a fall pillow for our couch.  I'm hoping for a folk art feel. We'll see if I am successful...

18 years ago...

Happy 18th birthday Abby! (Pictures taken a few minutes before midnight- to capture the last moments of her childhood). 

Late Summer (weeds and all)

Blog temporarily locked down. Hopefully will be back up soon.

Star Wars Call Me Maybe. Jon, this is for you.

The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things- the beauty, the memory of our own past- are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have not visited.

C.S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory".

School Days

Our school year has begun with a whimper.  There is a bad cold circulating among our family so the well ones are having to take care of those of us who are limping along...

This week we are picking up steam, though. We are enjoying time on the porch, both for the lovely weather and for the sunshine that will hopefully help us kick this cold.

Strange that it feels that fall is coming- about a month ahead of usual. The sun feels like early fall, the shadows are lengthening. Brian said he read that they are expecting an early and especially cold winter. Last year was very cold and snowy.  It will be interesting if this year is even more so. Good thing we have a snowblower and winter boots for everyone!

One of the best commercials ever :)

End of Summer

We celebrated Hope's 11th Birthday this past week.

Her biggest gift yet- a new desk and chair for her room.  The desk is here, but the little hutch and chair should arrive this next week.

All the rest of her gifts were "desk related"- a waste basket, ruler, stapler, desk lamp, etc.

Grandma Jo has been asking me each week at church if I have a new project for her to help me with.  So, finally, I went to the fabric store for my supplies. The pink flowered (or flowerdie as Grandma Jackson would say) is for a pillow for Hope's new desk chair. That just jumped into the cart because it was too fun not to take home...

My Boy

So, did you hear the one about the boy who recently discovered that he enjoys running fast and was running in the church parking lot and tripped?

And scraped off a few layers of skin on his palms (and elbow and knees) and his mom is so glad that she's had a few years of wound care under her belt before seeing this?

I'm thinking guitar lessons will be cancelled today!

Fun at the Celtic Festival

A friend gave Hannah tickets to the Celtic festival, so we walked around for a couple of hours to get in touch with our inner Celt.

Yes, that is a woman in a butterfly costume. 

We looked for Glenbogle, but couldn't find it, sadly. (Monarch of the Glen, for those who are unaware of this wonderful Scottish show...)

It was hot and the characters were colorful.

I would wear this...but where? The grocery store?

We spent most of our time watching this troupe have their fighting contest. The man above was the winner.

If you look closely, you'll see that this man is fighting with a cast iron skillet. The audience was able to pick the weapons that the actors would dual with.  One man in the audience wanted them to fight with herrings, but unfortunately, there were none to be found. 

After the show, the man in the sunglasses chatted with us for awhile. He is a chef (in real life :)) and used to be a professional wrestler. He missed performing, so he got involved with this.

A picture with Nessie.

Lots of bagpipes playing.

But don't worry. We didn't go in here.

Day 2

The teams have to hurry to sort through the rubble because the bulldozers are starting to clear the area for rebuilding. They are not finding much, but this morning someone found a jewelry box and its contents, hopefully able to be repaired.

Waldo Canyon Fire Clean Up

Houses burned to the ground

 Sifting through the rubble

Dinner afterwards with Marty and Brenda, out from California for this project.