Yesterday

6:30am: I woke up, as usual, said prayers, ate breakfast, then started homeschooling with the girls.
8:30am: I left for work and had fun with 20 four-year-olds (who drew with chalk on dark paper, for the art activity, my fav time of the day). Left there promptly at 12:15. Ate a cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich in the car...had my trusty waterbottle from Susanna.
12:30pm: I had an exam in my class at Cincinnati State (community college)
2:30pm: Rob left for work and we left for piano lessons, stopped by the bank real quick.
3:00pm: Hannah had piano lessons, while Olivia and I walked to a nearby park, it was sunny, I went on the swings with her (she pumps really well and went HIGH), sang "Sticky bubblegum" until I could see she had to go to the bathroom. Ate some cookies at Fr Pavel and Matushka Bethany's house. I admired the bonnets she's knitting.
4:30pm: We went to Hobby Lobby and I bought some 100% cotton yarn. Listened to "Let it Be" by the Beatles in the car with the girls...love that song!5:00pm: Dinner at Magdalena's house (chicken in mushroom sauce, homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese, applesauce, Italian soda, and brownies with ice cream, whipped cream and cherries for dessert)...sumptuous!!! I heard about the Ft. Hood, TX shootings. May God help the victims and their families. Sad and scary...what is the world coming to?
7:00pm: We started putting together her Mission style coffeetable.
8:00pm: Helped Magdalena upload some photos. Look at this cute one of her from way back when...
9:30pm: Home. Brushed teeth, put on pajamas. Hit the sack.

***

I really want to keep the time the SAME. No more time changes!!!

Tuesday evening...we went to a birthday party for a little friend from church, Micheal...it was very nice!

Unanswered prayers

There's a country song that goes "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers..."by Garth Brooks. Yeah, there are times I've asked God for something and not understood why He wouldn't help me, but He knows why...we have to trust in God.
Licking the beaters...I made whipped cream (got thick cream from local Snowville Creamery) to go on our pumpkin pie. Absolutely scrumptious!We have been studying Egypt this past week. Above, you'll see Olivia's relief carving...like the relief carvings you'll see inside many of the pyramids. She decided to make a lion head on a horse body with wings!
Rob is reading Tut's Mummy to Olivia. It's a great book, pretty simple, but goes into some detail, with photos and drawings showing how the excavated the tombs. Lots of great questions have spurred since, and we discussed that Jesus Christ came later and taught the people about what will really happen in their afterlife!

Look whose in the shop...

Exactly a week ago I had a car accident. Shook me up, emotionally, but no one was hurt!
Although I don't want to admit I may have been going too fast (25 MPH) for the rain, it hadn't rained in a while and I think the road was exceptionally slippery on the ramp to I-71. It was scary. The 4Runner is now being fixed. See how the front and back ends were banged in?We found a praying mantis by our back door. We've been watching him for a few days now. He was sitting a top our ladder this afternoon. Big fella, eh?
I made some pumpkin flan (click to get the recipe). Hannah wasn't crazy about it, nor was Olivia or Rob. I loved it though. I invited Magdalena over for a piece! Good company makes the food better!!!
Hannah drew this nice picture of the owl and I like the googly-eyes she added. I'm not looking forward to the time change. Arg! I really wish everyone just kept things the same all the time! I would go against the flow, but I have to be to work on time, appointments (going to the dentist on Monday afternoon) and church!

Thoughts from me...

Most of you know we don't celebrate Halloween. Sure, we love pumpkins...Olivia recently guessed "69 pounds" for the weight of a HUGE one outside Trader Joe's (if she is right, we win it). Oh boy. Lots of pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin flan, pumpkin soup, etc. Anyhow, I know it's fun to dress-up and eat candy, but why when we claim to be Christian? Halloween is a pagan holiday. I love how this friend of mine put it. So, although most Americans think it's pure fun, we'll stand out and do what we think is right. Our girls don't need that corn syrup and artificial colored junk, anyhow.
Yep, that's me, in 1986, my fourth grade school photo. We went to Neshobe Elementary in Brandon, Vermont.
I've been looking back at old photos...here we are, an Army family, living in Ft Stewart, Georgia, preparing to say goodbye to our soldier, who was headed to Baghdad. Life has changed a lot for us in a few years. The girls were just 2 and 4 then...they look so little!
Hannah and her Peepaw. Olivia has started affectionately to call him "Peepod." They call my mom Grandma and "Grammie Whammie" too.
Last week, I got the Nov 2009 issue of Gourmet, which unfortunately is going to be their last! I am so disappointed. It's a great magazine, delving into the farms, where the good food originates, then giving you divine recipes to try. I enjoy their lavish photos, with personal touches, like mis-matched fine china, hand crocheted lace or a rough hewn table. I'll really miss that...

Puppet show

You'll probably want to turn off the music in the sidebar (scroll down)...to hear the words...this is officially an "out-take" but towards the end...makes me laugh!

Walking on the tracks

We sorta had a race on the tracks...it's very hard, like a balance beam, but fun for just 2.
Olivia was in karate class while I took Hannah's photos.
Neat arrow, but the morning sun was so strong!
Outside a beauty shop...the ladies inside looked at us and then smiled.
We're preparing...harvesting the last of our sweet potatoes, carrots and the tomatoes. Lots of green ones that might die in the frost, hoping they'll ripen up by the window, or else I'm going to have to make fried green tomatoes! Rob put the down comforter on our bed and started using the wood burning stove this week. He's going to split some wood this afternoon.

Photo shoot

Since we're homeschooling, I am going to take the girls photos in lieu of school photos. Yesterday, while Hannah was taking Russian lessons with Varvara, Olivia and I went on a walk and I took her photo in various spots I had seen and thought would make neat backgrounds!
The next one is my favorite, because I can see all the details, her one new adult tooth up top, her naturally highlighted hair, pretty blue eyes...
Hannah is next...