Fall Surprise Drawing!

Enter the contest to win a fall surprise package! I won't tell you what's in it, that's for me to know and you to find out! But I will say, it will definitely include plenty of chocolate!

All you have to do is become a follower of this blog, and then leave a comment on this post with your name and email address or some other way to contact you if you win!

If you're already a follower you can still enter, just leave a comment with your name and email address.

On October 7th, one week from today, I'll put all the names in a bowl and one of my sisters will draw one out. But you have to be a follower to win! ;)

I'm hoping for lots of entries!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Breakfast for Dinner

At least twice a month we like to have breakfast for dinner, and tonight was one of those nights!

Eggs A La Supreme (eggs w/ cream of mushroom soup, milk and cheese)

And pancakes and sausage.

To change the subject.... While we were at Pet Co. getting some more food the Guinea PIG, the guy asked if I wanted to hold a ferret. Of course I said yes, I love all of God's critters (except most bugs and spiders. Oh, and leeches. bleh) and welcome opportunities to get to know them better. And wow, are they cute! No I don't want one, but I sure loved the chance to hold one of these mischievous little critters. Their eyes sparkle with fun and mischief, and I was just waiting for him to wink at me. Too cute.

And none of this 'rat' buisness Laura, even you must admit...The little critter's purty darn cute. :)

Blessings on your week Everyone!

My Favorite Fall Things

Orange and yellow leaves.

Leather boots.

Walks in the rain.

Scarves.

Pumpkin pie lattes from Woods.

Leather gloves.

Bible time by the fire place early in the morning.

Rain and wind storms.

Apple butter toast.

Sweaters.

Flannel sheets

Pumpkins and squash on the front porch.

Lynden's Harvest Festival (I still love the hay maze and tractor trailer rides like when I was a little girl!)

Hot apple cider(not drinking it, just the smell it makes in the house!)

Thanksgiving.

Grandma's pumpkin pie bars.

The Gigger Pinny

If you don't already know, the item of excitement in our household is Ali's newest pet. A little guinea pig named Hemingway(whom I affectionately call the 'gigger pinny'). I won't go into all the details. (go to Ali's blog for that, you've already committed the ultimate crime in her book by visiting my blog first. But I won't tell) ;)

He is cute, he does stink, he makes funny noises (e.g. weep-weep, prrr, snort-snort) , he has silky ears, a darling nose and buck teeth.

Photos galore, and free downloadable 'I love my guine pig' blog buttons will be available on Ali's blog shortly I'm SURE! :)

Long live the guinea pig!
(he'd better)

The painter paints his picture on canvas,

the musician paints his picture on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

Home again, home again...

On our hike in Juneau...Smoky the bear offered to take the picture for us.

It has been waaay to long since I've posted, but we've been rather in Alaska the last week! :)

I'm not going to post all the pictures and tell the story of the trip because I have two other siblings who are working on that right now. So I'll spare you the details, and sum it up by saying that if I disappear one of these days, I've moved to Alaska! We're making a slideshow, and I kept an almost-day-by-day journal on the trip that you're all welcome to read if you're interested

Enjoying a latte with my sisters from the explorations cafe.

So there, I knew I couldn't get away without posting something about the trip, and now I can resume normal life right? Right.... Oh who am I kidding?!? Life as a homeschooled, 'sheltered', 'unsocialized', 'uneducated',

'home-bound', skirtie is far from normal, praise the Lord!

Life is amazing.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel, until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~L. Y.

I hate to admit it...

But signs of fall are are creeping in! One of the many things that fascinate me about nature, are trees. I am NOT a 'tree hugger'. But I am intrigued by the way the Lord has made them self-preserving. They make and store their own food, and when the ground gets hard, they store their own water. Like a camel. You don't have to be a scientist to enjoy the beauty of the fall colors in the trees. Reds, yellows, golds, and browns, even purple. But here is a little something that might make you appreciate them more. So in my own words...

Water enters each leaf through microscopic tubes in the leaf's stem. Near the end of summer, a thin layer of cork like stuff seals off the ends of the tubes. Without water the green color (chlorophyll) fades and disappears. Then the yellow (xanthophyll) and orange (carotin) colors can be seen. These colors are all there all of the time(in little packages called chloroplasts), but the green over powers all the others.

The plant's food, sugar, is carried out by sap to other parts of the tree to be used during the winter months. But sometimes, some of this sugar is trapped in the leaves when the tubes seal, causing the leaves to turn red or purple.

Pretty amazing isn't it? This is only the one aspect of trees and their leaves and how it all works, and how they benefit us! I encourage you all to consider doing a tree study as part of your fall curriculum this year. But don't forget to make sure that you highlight the most important thing!

That GOD is the one who created and orchestrated all of nature, and that He has given us just one more way to praise Him and give Him the glory for His awesome handiwork in the trees.

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom though hast made them all. The earth is full of thy riches.

~Psalm 104: 24