Day 35

Today was a busy, busy day! I had church in the morning (wonderful service!!), then a portrait session this afternoon, and then a youth activity this evening. I'm tired! But it was a good day. Here are a couple shots from the portrait session.

Day 34

It is a rainy, yucky, icky day today. But my daughter and her friend still wanted their picture taken.

I need a really good portrait lens! I got them as far away from that fence as I could, but my current lenses just don't open up far enough. Christmas is coming...Christmas is coming...

Day 33

The whole family went for a long walk this morning. We took photos here and there, so here are a few...

And here's one more...

I have so much admiration for anyone who can get 7 kids to look in the same direction with pleasant expressions. 

Day 32

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a lovely meal with our extended family - the nine of us, my mom, Ken's parents, Ken's aunt, and our neighbors. There were 17 of us! All of us provided something, and it worked out well (and wasn't even stressful!). What a nice day. Now it's time to relax, enjoy the evening, watch movies and nibble.

Here was one of our 3 tables...

And here is a close up of that centerpiece...

I hope you have had a thankful and joyful day.  

Day 31

Not only is this photo indicative of this particular day around here(cleaning house and preparing for a bunch of cooking), but I loved the way these looked! These are the new Cascade dishwasher tabs, and I just loved their new colors! LOL! At least I get some fun out of washing dishes, right?

Day 30

After yesterday's photo, I'm kinda disappointed with this one, but I got through almost the whole day without picking up my camera, so I had to take a family shot after the sun went down. This is part of our family life - praying before meals. I am so thankful for all the God provides for us. And tonight Caleb was thankful too - he prayed and thanked God for the Lord, for making Mommy and Daddy strong, and for our food. What a sweetie!

Day 29

Mom and I went to Missoula today...it's always exhausting, but we had a good day. We stopped at one store that had some wonderful Christmas stuff...

Day 28

Well, today you get a couple bonus shots...if you haven't heard about my little man's mishap, hop on over to Scrivnerburg to find out the details...

Here he is before we went to the hospital (a really quick shot because he was really in pain):

And here he is today, after he got all fixed up:
 

 

And here is the shot I intended to use for today's 365 - a shot of our whole family out for Sunday brunch after church.

For those who don't know us well, the man in the wheelchair is Ken's dad, next to him is Ken's mom, then our two daughters. At the far right end of the table is my mom, then our oldest son, and Ken. Behind Ken's parents you can see 3 of our other sons, and the fourth was tucked down in a chair so that he can't be seen behind Papa's chair. We this group goes to the brunch buffet, the cooks get busy!! Oh - and note the sling on Caleb's arm and the cast on my mother's arm...people are going to start wondering!

Day 27

If a 3-year-old came to you and said, "I wanted my marshmallows cooked", would you panic? Now, if he came and said, "I want to cook my marshmallows" I wouldn't be too worried. But the past tense thing definitely causes alarm.

Yesterday I made a snack mix for the kids with popcorn, Chex cereal, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows. Yummy stuff! But they ate it all! So Caleb decided to make some more, without any adult assistance!

He put some Cheerios in a bowl, put the rest of the mini marshmallows in, then put in the remaining Ritz crackers, and put the bowl in the microwave. Fortunately for all involved (especially the microwave) he only pushed the quick start button that only runs for 30 seconds - especially fortunate because he had his concoction in an aluminum bowl! I stopped it with 11 seconds left.

By the way, he did share this creation with at least two of his brothers.

Day 26

Today my mom, my husband, my little man, and I went to the Olde Coffee Mill to do our duty as sweetbread testers. We take this duty very seriously, and try to get in to test their wares at least once a month.

After determining that the cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, and chocolate chip cookies were all acceptable, we moved on to the feed store. Our "feed" store has a lot more than feed in it including a Koi pond!

Day 25

I finally got to have my session for the newborn today! Yay! But...the little man was not very cooperative as far as our plans were concerned. Oh well...he's still adorable and precious. While I was waiting for him to settle down for sleep, I took some shots of his sister and brother. They are adorable too!

This was my favorite shot of the baby.

 

Here are his sister and brother. These rounded corner templates were created by Jenn over at Design by Jenn.

And here's my favorite shot from the session...

Day 24

Another almost photo-less day. I left my camera in my car last night (bad idea when it gets cold at night) and I had to let it sit inside for hours before it was usable. Argh.

Anyway, this is a shot of the logo on my Faithweaver Friends sweatshirt. Faithweaver Friends is the kids' program we do at church on Wednesday nights. It's a lot of fun for the kids, and a great motivator for children to behave! :-)

Day 23

I hardly had a chance to pick up my camera today. I was hoping to get an opportunity to take some nice landscapes this afternoon, but by the time I got outside it was too dark. Ergh. So all you get is the silly shot of me and Molly that I did for a thread on OPS. Not a very good photo...but there it is.

Day 22

Well, I guess it's my turn to have a photo of a sick little one. My poor Caleb is feeling icky today. He stayed home from school and has laid on the couch all day. He's had a nap or two and a couple Mommy snuggles...that's all the excitement around here today.

(By the way, he really is that pale today.)

Day 21

Well, there's no earthshaking photos here today...you get Miss Molly again! She's so sweet and funny! Dale and I took her out to the neighbor's grassy/leafy yard for some photos and she played jumprope with her leash, chased her tail, and tried to follow me everywhere. She's such a silly girl! I had a very hard time getting a good shot of her. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a nice portrait once she knows what "stay" means.

And just for kicks...here's some video of our sweet young lady (and Austin).

Day 20

I didn't take this first shot today (I took it yesterday, but I'm including it for those who only read my 365). This is the newest member of our family, Molly. She's a sweetheart that we adopted from the local animal shelter. She's great with the kids, has nice manners (except that pesky potty training bit), and she's just been great so far!

 

Here is today's 365 - it's not one shot, it's 4. But that's because I couldn't get our activity in just one photo. Today was our turn to clean the church, and as you can see, we get everyone involved (except Fancy, who was off at speech/drama meet).

Day 19

This is not the topic I intended for today, but the opportunity arose, and I couldn't pass it up. My friend Felice and I noticed that my two kids were awfully quiet this morning...normally when Kristi is quiet she's teaching school. Not a problem...

Today is not a normal day, apparently...

This is what I now call a Sharpicure. (Yes, that would be a manicure/pedicure done with a bright red Sharpie!) ARGH! We tried scrubbing, but it had been there too long by the time I discovered it, so nothing came off. ARGH again. But it's just her fingers and toes...a tiny bit on her pants...no big deal. I decided not to get too upset...

Until...

I

saw

Caleb...

Day 18

Today was just another Thursday in Scrivnerburg. Ken and I (and Kristi and Caleb) had an IEP meeting for Kristi. For those who don't know what that is, it is a meeting of all the people involved in a special needs child's education plan. We set new goals and revise special education programs. Since this is something we do with several of our children, it is a fairly regular part of life in Scrivnerburg, so I thought it would be appropriate for today's 365. (As always, you can click the image to view it larger.)

It must be noted that this entire team had only fabulous things to say about Kristi. She is making great progress, and has far exceeded many of the goals that were set a year ago. Whoohoo, Kristi Rose!!

Day 17

Today is a special day in our family. It's the 44th anniversary of my husband's birth. In case I haven't made it clear, I have the most wonderful husband I could possibly have. He's thoughtful, generous, and affectionate, and he always strives to be the best husband and father he can be. I couldn't ask for a better man to spend my life with. I thank God for bringing us together, and I pray daily that God will fill Ken with joy.

Here's an extra photo - we saw a rainbow today that "followed" us all up and down the valley. It must have been in the sky for close to 3 hours! (But it was a very dark afternoon otherwise.)

Day 16 - "After"

Yesterday I showed you my kitchen "before." So today is the "after!"

Thanks, Heather, for issuing this challenge! Some weeks my kitchen never gets completely finished, so it's nice to have this done! Now, about the bathrooms...

Day 15 - A challenge

Well, today I was issued another challenge. Not strictly a photo challenge... Heather suggested that we take before and after photos of our kitchens and post them on our 365 blogs. The intent was to get our kitchens clean. Hmmm...

So here's my "before"...

And to prove that those two bread machines were doing their jobs...

Day 14

I was practicing on my "little girl" today. What happened to the "little" part? It's still cool, wet, and very heavily overcast, so we didn't spend as much time as we wanted to on photos. I need lights so I can take photos indoors!!

Day 13

I went for a very short photo walk this morning, and when I got back and looked at my foggy fall photos, I couldn't decide on which one would be my 365. I'm indecisive, so you get more than one.

I love foggy fall mornings!

The view down the nearest cross street.

 

Moss on our maple tree

 

A different view down the cross street.  

Day 12

My photos were limited today. It is a dark and rainy day today, so I only took 10 or 12 photos. The first one is one I took for a "fruit" challenge on OPS...

The second one is just for Eric...thanks to your great DIY instructions, I was able to make my own waterproof housing for my CANON camera...

Day 11

Do I get kicked out of the 365 group if I don't take my photo with a camera? Today's photo was done with my flatbed scanner. Just for kicks.

Day 10

Once upon a time, my mom lived in the bush of Alaska. The real bush - no phones, no running water, an outhouse instead of a toilet...the nearest town was 42 river miles away (which had to be walked in the winter) and the closest neighbors were a five-mile hike away. During the time that Mom spent out there she became friends with a woman that has been like an aunt to me. She and her family were an extended part of my family as I was growing up. As an adult my opportunities to visit with her have been few, but I look forward to each one. Today I had one of those opportunities, so it had to be my 365!

Here is my mom (on the left) and our friend, June. These women taught me so much about what it means to be a true woman of strength.

Day 9

For those of you who haven't read our story, you must understand that this little woman (Kristi) has some disabilities, and at one time had no muscle tone in her legs. They just flopped around like a rag doll's legs would. She has been in physical therapy almost all her life, and she has done amazing things! Today's photo is of my little SuperGirl using her fabulous leg muscles to keep herself steady on the bolster swing...it's a lot harder than you might think!

(The woman is the photo is our fabulous physical therapist, Holly - known to Kristi as "Good Holly.")

Day 8 - A Sad Day

I did not take this photo today, but I had to share it. This beautiful old lady, Aspen, fell asleep for the final time today. She was much more than "just a dog" to us - she was our guardian, playmate, companion... She will be sorely missed.

This shot was taken today since the purpose of this 365 blog is to get my camera out every day.

Day 7

I was trying some photos at my church this morning. There is a great spot with big windows and skylights...I think it will work great when the sky isn't so heavy with clouds. The skylights didn't give me quite what I was hoping for with the very dreary conditions outside. Oh well. Here's my 15yo daughter (sitting) and her friend W.

(ergh...I chopped off her fingers!)

Day 6

We had our Fall Festival at church today. It was fun, and the kids all had a blast, but boy, was it exhausting!! And our kids came home with soooooo much candy!! We have an entire stock pot full of candy! If we still had some daylight, I'd take a picture of it. It's crazy!

But here's my 365 photo...it's from the festival...and it shows that my sweetie is crazy! (about me!) I asked him to bring me a hot dog, and he did!

(This is technically the worst photo I've posted, but I thought the sentiment was too funny/sweet not to share.)

If you're interested in the rest of my festival photos, they will be on my family blog: What's Up in Scrivnerburg.