a photographer in the making

I don't really feel comfortable with Bethany walking around the yard with our digital camera. But somehow, I would love for her to explore picture taking without worrying she's going to drop the camera in the pool as she leans over to take a picture of a floating bug or something. She took this picture as I was chilling in a chair suffering from whatever this exhausting illness is that we have...I thought it was a pretty cool picture for a five year old.

Colors in Nature

These pictures turned out terrible due to the fact that Moriah was filling her diaper and crying and the girls were crowding around me saying, "I want to use the camera. Can I use the camera, Mom? Please, just one picture. No, me first!" And the wind was blowing our findings away and Hosanna was trying to steal them to put them in her new bucket. But this was a great project to teach the girls to look beyond the obvious color that they already assume is there. For example, "the grass is green." But, if you look closer you can see yellow, white, brown, and pink. Blue was the most difficult for them and of course green the easiest. We called it a color hunt. They sat down beside me and closed their eyes and I would say, "On your mark, get set, purple!" And they would have to jump up and run around the yard looking for something purple. It had to be part of nature, for example, rocks, bark, insects, leaves, etc. It took them a while before they accepted they couldn't bring me a plastic toy or the paint chips off of the barn. It was interesting to see them go from looking at something that was a solid color to something that had many colors and the one in particular they were looking for. I would like to try this again with them when circumstances allow us to take some decent photos. I hope this will have an influence on their artwork. Perhaps they will look at God's creation a little differently as well. The more detail and color we observe, the more we appreciate His awesome creation.

Face Paint

We found these crayons made especially for drawing on the body...the girls LOVE it! I had an extremely stressful day and needed to let go and do something messy and fun. Brian drove up just as we were finishing up. It's nice when he comes home and finds me cheerful instead of shut up in the house exhausted and grumpy. It's funny that coloring on your body could be good for everyone's soul...

Hosanna's Flip-Flops

Chef Naomi

OK, so maybe in a couple more years Naomi and Bethany will be able to cook dinner for the family. I know they sure want to. Naomi pulled out part of my old uniform from school and had a blast making the entire pot of chilli with minimal help from me. "I can do it! I want to do it!" Ninety-nine percent of the time I do not want anyone in the kitchen with me when I am preparing food. But, now that we have a newborn again and my house is a complete mess all the time, I have really let go of having to control everything all the time. I don't like the messy house, but I do like being able to relax and watch my daughters enjoy dumping a can of beans into the pot even though, God forbid, some miss the pot and land on the stove or worse yet, the floor. Ok, so i didn't let them put in the secret ingredient...sorghum molasses, but they are excited to know there is such a thing as a "secret" ingredient.

Easter Sunday

Canoe Ride

Everyone's Got A Shovel

Brian has invested in our yard. It is time for some privacy! So, he planted 80 some bushes and several trees. Our favorite has got to be the corkscrew willow. It ends up looking like a cross between a tree from Dr. Seuss and a tree you would find in the Shire. We already have one that grew super fast and the girls love to climb it. In fact Bethany can outclimb Naomi and climb until there are no more branches sturdy enough to hold her. She is very proud of this and likes to remind her big sister how easy it is. We are also planting a tulip tree, a pink and a white dogwood and hmmm, maybe that's it, I can't remember now. Uncle "Snake" and Aunt Rachel stopped by one Saturday and helped us plant the bushes. Aunt Rachel out-planted Uncle "Snake" and Brian! I love my tough sisters-in-law, everyone of them! So anyway, of course the girls love to help Mommy and Daddy, especially if there is digging and dirt involved. So everyone had to have a shovel and get dirty. That's my girls - in a dress but dirty. That's the way they like it.

Moriah Joy Greene

Every time I look at my daughters I am filled with gratitude. I am blessed again! I cannot believe I have another beautiful daughter! Moriah Joy Greene. It is so wonderful to see another face that is brand new to this world.