Thankfulness October

glow sticks and friends!

Glow sticks+friends+trampoline=simple goodness!

It's a little strange that November is already waiting at the door!  It does seem as though this year is passing rather quickly.  But October was a full month with lots to be grateful for!

1. Cozy fires to keep the house warm
2. The opportunity to try out "teaching" by teaching the memory verse to the local school kids at the weekly after-school program, Champions.
3. Kids who impress me by learning their verse and saying it with pride.
4. Skype for keeping up with friends from a distance.
5. The postal system!!
6. A day just for celebrating Mom's birthday
7. Progress in school
8. Exercising at 5:30 am
9. A clean house...or else that's at least in progress!
10. Coffee  (yum!)
11. Colorful, falling leaves
12. The incredible rain today, which made for some blissful happiness
13. Long walks and good talks
14. Adventurous drives in the mountains
15. Intense desserts made by an even more amazing sister
16. Pumpkin everything that is the best sign of fall
17. The ability to be with a number of different old friends last weekend for the first time in a very long time.
18. New memories made with old friends.
19. Good conversations and laughs had with friends, remembering past times together and catching up on the present.
20. Time change tonight which will make the clock on our room wall be in the right time zone again.  (Yes, we have neglected to change our clock during the whole of daylight savings.  Only occasionally were we tricked into believing the wrong time.)

What a happy little friend!

ALL creatures: lift up your voice!

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam:

O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong,

Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along,

O praise Him!  Alleluia!

Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,

Ye lights of evening, find a voice:

O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia!  Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart,

Forgiving others, take your part,

O sing, ye!  Alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

Praise God and on Him cast your care:

O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

(I especially related with this verse as I typed it out.  God has taught me what real, hard forgiveness means in several difficult situations.  I have also learned to lean on Him in great need and find Him sufficient.  Praise the Lord!!)

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness--

O praise Him!  Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, three in One:

O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Do you find it interesting that this hymn, All Creatures of our God and King, calls all creatures to praise the Lord?  How do you think a frog or owl go about doing that?  How often do you think a grasshopper or dragonfly do better at praising the Lord than we do?  O praise HIM with humbleness and thanksgiving!

This hummingbird was so kind to just sit there and let me snap away for a minute.
He must've had past experience with beginner photographers.

And even moved to another location for different backgrounds.

Meet Bunny Rabbit.  This woolly bear caterpillar was found crossing the driveway
(which almost leads me to ask: why did the caterpillar cross the road...),
so I picked him up to show my niece, Moriah.
She thought "Bunny Rabbit" was a good name for our new companion.  Isn't he cute?

Very friendly and didn't cause fear of biting.

After keeping Bunny Rabbit for an overnight stay,
we let him back into the wilds where he found his way in life again.
"Ahh, parting is such sweet sorrow!"

There he goes, pressing his way through the long grass.
Farewell, Bunny Rabbit!

I couldn't resist adding this lovely loaf of bread Tirzah made, too.
Doesn't it look like perfection?!

Some last flowers showing off before the weather gets too cold for their existence.

Weeds for Wednesday

Sometimes, when all else fails, I find some weeds around the place that make wonderful objects for photography.  And, although you may hate to admit it, they really can look unique and lovely.

"A weed is but an unloved flower." Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"When life is not coming up roses, look to the weeds and find the beauty hidden within them." 

L. F. Young

"The strongest and most mysterious weeds often have things to teach us." F. T. McKinstry

"The women loved everything that grew on God's earth, even weeds.  She knew that even the weeds were capable of doing miracles she never could."  Emily Flim

"When weeds go to heaven, I suppose they will be flowers." L.M. Montgomery

~A.A. Milne

Selenophile: a person who loves the moon

"We live on a blue planet that circles around a ball of fire next to a moon that moves the sea, and you don't believe in miracles?"

Probably everyone saw or at least heard about the "blood moon" last week.  We watched it for the full hour and a half that it was red and then returning to white.  It was pretty interesting, and kept me busy on the camera for much of the time.  Unfortunately, when I turned the flash off, the shutter speed automatically went very slow, and I was too impatient to figure out how to speed that up, so most of the pictures look like there are several moons.  One day I will conquer the camera.  

This proves that when I think I'm standing still, I'm really not....

...and it's white again.

"Don't worry if you're making waves simply by being yourself.  The moon does it all the time."