Nov. 24, 2009
Home Spun strip #419
Compare this strip and the last strip (#418) and there you have my life.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Post from the Past: Things to do for Thanksgiving
For those of you looking for some things to do for Thanksgiving (whether homeschooling or not)... check out some of the following ideas from a post from the past:
FREE Thanksgiving Unit Studies and More!
Please feel free to share any of the ideas or traditions you do in your home for Thanksgiving!
FREE Thanksgiving Unit Studies and More!
Please feel free to share any of the ideas or traditions you do in your home for Thanksgiving!
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You may want to wait until Wednesday's comic before commenting on this one. Not that I don't appreciate your comments, I love hearing the feedback! It's just that this is a two-parter.
What are we doing today? I get this question fairly often. And since our routine tends to be anything but, the answer is always different. My life is many things, but it is never the same old thing.
Nov. 23, 2009
Home Spun strip #418
You may want to wait until Wednesday's comic before commenting on this one. Not that I don't appreciate your comments, I love hearing the feedback! It's just that this is a two-parter.
What are we doing today? I get this question fairly often. And since our routine tends to be anything but, the answer is always different. My life is many things, but it is never the same old thing.
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Nov. 23, 2009
The Cross and the Nature of God
JESUS IS COMING SOON! MARANATHA LORD!
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Hi friends, if you need to silence the music just hit the play/pause button on the player in the right sidebar, just below the black horse and the copyright notice.
*****************************************************************
Jesus revealed the nature of God, that there is no darkness in Him. That He is pure light, pure goodness, pure love. It is this purity, this holiness, that destroys what is ugly and evil in His presence. Light abolishes darkness, it eliminates it. We are full of all manner of sin and darkness, hatred, lust , and covetousness. If we try to claim otherwise, we are calling God a liar, and deceiving ourselves. So since we are full of darkness, we cannot enter into His full presence on our own. His absolute pure, unfiltered radiance, pure love, and pure beauty would destroy us. This is the reason for the cross of Christ.
The cross is perhaps one of the most misunderstood events in the Bible. Many people are under the impression that God the Father was so angry over our sin that He had to take it out on someone, and so He took it out on Jesus in much the same manner as someone who is so angry at someone that they can only calm down enough to forgive if they first kick the dog to vent their anger. Yet God does not tell us to forgive that way, He does not tell us to forgive others by venting our anger on an innocent victim. Surely, God is not asking of us that which He is incapable of doing? No, this is a misunderstanding, not only of the cross, but of the very nature of God.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ONE. Three persons, yet just one God, they are one in essence. This is a mystery which we can not fully understand, but which we must keep in mind to even begin to grasp what took place on the cross.
The cross is not an incident of God looking at our sin, and becoming so angry that He looked around, saw Jesus, and said, "Either you pay the price for these people or I will destroy them!" Jesus Himself is God (See COLOSSIANS 2:9), every bit as much as the Father and the Holy Spirit are God, the three persons of the trinity were in complete harmony when God decided to do this. So God did not look outside of Himself and find someone to "take it out on", rather God looked within Himself, to sacrifice of Himself, for our good.
Knowing that imperfect, sinful human beings full of darkness could not stand in the presence of His pure light, He made a way for our cleansing. And that way was a rending of the very heart of God. First, Jesus laid aside that glory, in order to walk among us, then when was Jesus hanging on that cross, He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34) At that moment, the Father and the Son were were separated. The Godhead itself, until that point existing throughout eternity in perfect unity and harmony, in complete togetherness, was torn apart, and for the first time the Son knew what it was to separated from the the father. Just as all of us are born with a sinful nature, separated from being able to experience the full presence of God, unable to have fellowship with Him, so now the Son took our sin upon Himself, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, so for the first time He had the stench and filth of sin upon Himself, and the Father looked away. In that moment, violence was done not only to the Jesus, but against the Triune nature of God.
Exactly what happened is somewhat of a mystery beyond our comprehension, but we do know in that time, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are one, were torn apart from each other. Our language fails to express how this provided our cleansing, and our minds could not fully grasp it even words were found, but somehow this rending of god not only forgave our sin, but cleansed away the very stain of it from our souls so that we could enter into God's presence.
Just as our sin was placed on Jesus, destroyed on the cross, and then left behind in the grave when He rose again, His righteousness is placed upon us when we receive Him, this enables us to enter into the Holy light, the pure, full presence of God, and not be utterly destroyed.
Heaven is the place where we will experience the full pure, unfiltured presence of God, a place where no evil or sin exists, or can exist. It is pure light, pure joy, pure love.
Hell is the place for everything that cannot be in His presence. A place separated from God and His love. Hell is the absence of God and all that He is. No good thing exists there, no joy, no light, no love. Only hatred, sadness, pain, and utter loneliness and regret, there is nothing in hell that is in any way desirable. Yet people choose it.
There are only two options for the eternal soul, one is heaven, in Holy Presence of God, bearing the righteousness of Christ which has been given to us as a free gift, and the other is hell, apart from God and all that is good. When a person rejects God and His solution to the problem of sin, they are, by default, choosing hell. There is NO third option. It would be foolish for a cancer patient, after his doctor tells him that there is a cure, to become angry that there is only one cure available. The logical response would is to be overjoyed that one is available, and to take it without hesitation. Yet people reject Christ, and become angry that there is not another solution to the disease of sin.
There is no question that we have all sinned, the Bible is clear on that, and if we deny it we call God a liar. Through Christ, God offers forgiveness, He offers cleansing, He offers to cover us in His own righteousness since we have none of our own. We are offered this greatest gift, and the only question remaining is, will we accept it?
Lord, I thank You that You have shown me my own sin, and brought me to the point of being willing to confess it, and agree with you that I am a sinner incapable of cleansing myself. I thank You for the gift of salvation through Christ. I ask Lord, that if there are any who read this who do not know You, that you would use it to speak to them, and draw them to Yourself. Amen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi friends, if you need to silence the music just hit the play/pause button on the player in the right sidebar, just below the black horse and the copyright notice.
*****************************************************************
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.Jesus always was and always will be. He is the Word of life (See JOHN 1:1 and JOHN 1:14) He is that eternal life who was with Father from all eternity, and was manifested in the flesh to us, in order to fulfill the law and take the consequences of our sin upon Himself, so that we can enter into His presence and have fellowship with Him and with each other as His children. Knowledge of what He has done for us will bring us to a point of true joy. However, many people gravely misunderstand exactly what He has done, and so misunderstand the nature of God.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1, New King James Version)
Jesus revealed the nature of God, that there is no darkness in Him. That He is pure light, pure goodness, pure love. It is this purity, this holiness, that destroys what is ugly and evil in His presence. Light abolishes darkness, it eliminates it. We are full of all manner of sin and darkness, hatred, lust , and covetousness. If we try to claim otherwise, we are calling God a liar, and deceiving ourselves. So since we are full of darkness, we cannot enter into His full presence on our own. His absolute pure, unfiltered radiance, pure love, and pure beauty would destroy us. This is the reason for the cross of Christ.
The cross is perhaps one of the most misunderstood events in the Bible. Many people are under the impression that God the Father was so angry over our sin that He had to take it out on someone, and so He took it out on Jesus in much the same manner as someone who is so angry at someone that they can only calm down enough to forgive if they first kick the dog to vent their anger. Yet God does not tell us to forgive that way, He does not tell us to forgive others by venting our anger on an innocent victim. Surely, God is not asking of us that which He is incapable of doing? No, this is a misunderstanding, not only of the cross, but of the very nature of God.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ONE. Three persons, yet just one God, they are one in essence. This is a mystery which we can not fully understand, but which we must keep in mind to even begin to grasp what took place on the cross.
The cross is not an incident of God looking at our sin, and becoming so angry that He looked around, saw Jesus, and said, "Either you pay the price for these people or I will destroy them!" Jesus Himself is God (See COLOSSIANS 2:9), every bit as much as the Father and the Holy Spirit are God, the three persons of the trinity were in complete harmony when God decided to do this. So God did not look outside of Himself and find someone to "take it out on", rather God looked within Himself, to sacrifice of Himself, for our good.
Knowing that imperfect, sinful human beings full of darkness could not stand in the presence of His pure light, He made a way for our cleansing. And that way was a rending of the very heart of God. First, Jesus laid aside that glory, in order to walk among us, then when was Jesus hanging on that cross, He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34) At that moment, the Father and the Son were were separated. The Godhead itself, until that point existing throughout eternity in perfect unity and harmony, in complete togetherness, was torn apart, and for the first time the Son knew what it was to separated from the the father. Just as all of us are born with a sinful nature, separated from being able to experience the full presence of God, unable to have fellowship with Him, so now the Son took our sin upon Himself, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, so for the first time He had the stench and filth of sin upon Himself, and the Father looked away. In that moment, violence was done not only to the Jesus, but against the Triune nature of God.
Exactly what happened is somewhat of a mystery beyond our comprehension, but we do know in that time, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are one, were torn apart from each other. Our language fails to express how this provided our cleansing, and our minds could not fully grasp it even words were found, but somehow this rending of god not only forgave our sin, but cleansed away the very stain of it from our souls so that we could enter into God's presence.
Just as our sin was placed on Jesus, destroyed on the cross, and then left behind in the grave when He rose again, His righteousness is placed upon us when we receive Him, this enables us to enter into the Holy light, the pure, full presence of God, and not be utterly destroyed.
Heaven is the place where we will experience the full pure, unfiltured presence of God, a place where no evil or sin exists, or can exist. It is pure light, pure joy, pure love.
Hell is the place for everything that cannot be in His presence. A place separated from God and His love. Hell is the absence of God and all that He is. No good thing exists there, no joy, no light, no love. Only hatred, sadness, pain, and utter loneliness and regret, there is nothing in hell that is in any way desirable. Yet people choose it.
There are only two options for the eternal soul, one is heaven, in Holy Presence of God, bearing the righteousness of Christ which has been given to us as a free gift, and the other is hell, apart from God and all that is good. When a person rejects God and His solution to the problem of sin, they are, by default, choosing hell. There is NO third option. It would be foolish for a cancer patient, after his doctor tells him that there is a cure, to become angry that there is only one cure available. The logical response would is to be overjoyed that one is available, and to take it without hesitation. Yet people reject Christ, and become angry that there is not another solution to the disease of sin.
There is no question that we have all sinned, the Bible is clear on that, and if we deny it we call God a liar. Through Christ, God offers forgiveness, He offers cleansing, He offers to cover us in His own righteousness since we have none of our own. We are offered this greatest gift, and the only question remaining is, will we accept it?
Lord, I thank You that You have shown me my own sin, and brought me to the point of being willing to confess it, and agree with you that I am a sinner incapable of cleansing myself. I thank You for the gift of salvation through Christ. I ask Lord, that if there are any who read this who do not know You, that you would use it to speak to them, and draw them to Yourself. Amen
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My kids love board games! They especially love board games involving money, although they have been known to start making up their own rules after awhile, and playing the game ElCloud style. I enjoy board games, because I know they are engaging my children's minds and teaching them things like strategy and math.
We were very happy to have a chance to review the Life On The Farm board game by We R Fun, Inc. It had been on our children's wish list for several months. This is a high-quality, well-designed board game with a colorful playing board. We received the original version, for players age 8 and up, but there is also a preschool version available which doesn't require any reading.
Life On The Farm was designed by Keith Gohl and his sister Ev Johnson, to help others understand what life on a farm is really like ... from a family business perspective. Each player rolls a dice, moves forward that number of spaces, and then follows the directions on the board. Players draw income cards and expense cards which require them to pay vet bills, taxes, or collect sale income. It's a game of chance, as my 12 year old daughter discovered last night. She was poised to win, until she had to pay taxes four times, when no one else paid taxes at all that game.
The goal of the game is to be the first to retire with 60 cows and the money you began farming with. As We R Fun states on their how to play page: "Life on the Farm is not about running other players out of business - it’s about managing money and making the most out of what happens to you - what life is really about on a family farm! It is a classic board game, fast-moving, easy to understand and fun to play, and it truly appeals to all ages."
While I agree that this game appeals to all ages, and the family can enjoy playing it together ... we didn't find it very fast-moving. Well, I suppose the plays happen quickly, but the process of playing the game itself can be long. The instructions do include a shorter version, and that is the only way we have played it so far. It's just the nature of this type of board game to take awhile.
My kids have enjoyed playing the game twice since we received it. They wanted to play it many more times, but we didn't always have enough time to fit a game in. In our opinion, Life On The Farm is a great board game, with educational entertainment value for the entire family. It's an excellent way to spend quality family time on a winter evening.
The original version of Life On The Farm (ages 8 - 108) retails for $25.00, and the preschool version retails for $20.00. The game can be bought from We R Fun, Inc, The Old Schoolhouse Store, Amazon.com, and also on Kmart.com.
This would make an excellent educational (and FUN!) Christmas gift for any children age 7 and up, or a family gift for those you love!
Trusting In Him,
April E.
Nov. 23, 2009
We R Fun: Life On The Farm Board Game
My kids love board games! They especially love board games involving money, although they have been known to start making up their own rules after awhile, and playing the game ElCloud style. I enjoy board games, because I know they are engaging my children's minds and teaching them things like strategy and math.
We were very happy to have a chance to review the Life On The Farm board game by We R Fun, Inc. It had been on our children's wish list for several months. This is a high-quality, well-designed board game with a colorful playing board. We received the original version, for players age 8 and up, but there is also a preschool version available which doesn't require any reading.
Life On The Farm was designed by Keith Gohl and his sister Ev Johnson, to help others understand what life on a farm is really like ... from a family business perspective. Each player rolls a dice, moves forward that number of spaces, and then follows the directions on the board. Players draw income cards and expense cards which require them to pay vet bills, taxes, or collect sale income. It's a game of chance, as my 12 year old daughter discovered last night. She was poised to win, until she had to pay taxes four times, when no one else paid taxes at all that game.
The goal of the game is to be the first to retire with 60 cows and the money you began farming with. As We R Fun states on their how to play page: "Life on the Farm is not about running other players out of business - it’s about managing money and making the most out of what happens to you - what life is really about on a family farm! It is a classic board game, fast-moving, easy to understand and fun to play, and it truly appeals to all ages."
While I agree that this game appeals to all ages, and the family can enjoy playing it together ... we didn't find it very fast-moving. Well, I suppose the plays happen quickly, but the process of playing the game itself can be long. The instructions do include a shorter version, and that is the only way we have played it so far. It's just the nature of this type of board game to take awhile.
My kids have enjoyed playing the game twice since we received it. They wanted to play it many more times, but we didn't always have enough time to fit a game in. In our opinion, Life On The Farm is a great board game, with educational entertainment value for the entire family. It's an excellent way to spend quality family time on a winter evening.
The original version of Life On The Farm (ages 8 - 108) retails for $25.00, and the preschool version retails for $20.00. The game can be bought from We R Fun, Inc, The Old Schoolhouse Store, Amazon.com, and also on Kmart.com.
This would make an excellent educational (and FUN!) Christmas gift for any children age 7 and up, or a family gift for those you love!
This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion. Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.
Trusting In Him,
April E.
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Nov. 23, 2009
Easy Holiday Cran-Apple Fruit Salad
On Saturday we attended a potluck dinner for our 4-H Achievement Banquet . Unfortunately, I was lacking inspiration on what to prepare. Just after lunch, I finally started flipping through cookbooks looking for ideas.
I settled on a cheesy scalloped potato recipe, but had to take shortcuts by microwaving the potatoes for awhile before putting them into the crockpot. (If you're curious it was Potluck Potatoes from the Fix-It And Forget-It Cookbook.)
But, I still needed a second dish. I started flipping through the desserts and salads in the cookbook my church put together. I found a Cranberry Jello salad that sounded good, but I didn't have fresh cranberries to boil into syrup, and didn't have time to mess with letting a jello set-up. BUT I decided to take some of the ingredients and improvise my own fruit salad. It was easy and delicious! (If you like the tartness of cranberries, that is.)
ElCloud's Easy Holiday Cran-Apple Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
2 (16 oz.) cans of whole-berry cranberry sauce
3-4 apples, cored and diced
1 cup mini-marshmallows
Directions:
1. Open both cans of whole-berry cranberry sauce and pour into a 2 qt. bowl
2. Use a spoon to break up the cranberry sauce.
3. Cut apples into wedges, removing the core. Skin can be left on, or peeled off.
4. Cut apple wedges into small pie shaped slivers.
5. Stir apples and mini-marshmallows into the cranberry sauce.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
That's it! It looks beautiful, and it's delicious!!
Enjoy!!
Trusting In Him,
April
I settled on a cheesy scalloped potato recipe, but had to take shortcuts by microwaving the potatoes for awhile before putting them into the crockpot. (If you're curious it was Potluck Potatoes from the Fix-It And Forget-It Cookbook.)
But, I still needed a second dish. I started flipping through the desserts and salads in the cookbook my church put together. I found a Cranberry Jello salad that sounded good, but I didn't have fresh cranberries to boil into syrup, and didn't have time to mess with letting a jello set-up. BUT I decided to take some of the ingredients and improvise my own fruit salad. It was easy and delicious! (If you like the tartness of cranberries, that is.)
ElCloud's Easy Holiday Cran-Apple Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
2 (16 oz.) cans of whole-berry cranberry sauce
3-4 apples, cored and diced
1 cup mini-marshmallows
Directions:
1. Open both cans of whole-berry cranberry sauce and pour into a 2 qt. bowl
2. Use a spoon to break up the cranberry sauce.
3. Cut apples into wedges, removing the core. Skin can be left on, or peeled off.
4. Cut apple wedges into small pie shaped slivers.
5. Stir apples and mini-marshmallows into the cranberry sauce.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
That's it! It looks beautiful, and it's delicious!!
Enjoy!!
Trusting In Him,
April
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Nov. 23, 2009
Christmas Resources
Wow! Time is going so fast. I can't believe it is almost December!!! I don't know about you, but I usually start adding Christmas into our homeschool right after Thanksgiving is over. I am hoping to do an interactive notebook this year of Christmas Around the World, but I will have to see if my printer is fixed in time. Unfortunately, it started leaking. Ugh!!! Well, I wanted to share some resources that I have put together for Christmas.
Here are my homeschool Christmas resources:
Christmas Lapbook
Christmas Around the World with Children
Christmas Unit Study
Reindeer Animal Study
Here are some other resources for Christmas:
An Organized Christmas
Gift Giving Guide- Do you still need to get a gift for someone? Here's help!
Make Christmas Cards
Hot Chocolate for the Holidays
I hope these resources help make your Christmas more enjoyable.
Click in the graphic for more details!
Here are my homeschool Christmas resources:
Christmas Lapbook
Christmas Around the World with Children
Christmas Unit Study
Reindeer Animal Study
Here are some other resources for Christmas:
An Organized Christmas
Gift Giving Guide- Do you still need to get a gift for someone? Here's help!
Make Christmas Cards
Hot Chocolate for the Holidays
I hope these resources help make your Christmas more enjoyable.
Click in the graphic for more details!
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Nov. 23, 2009
Homeschooling With Trees
For this quarter (Sept, Oct, Nov), our homeschool has focused on trees as part of our spiritual and nature segment. This past week, the boys learned all about how to plant a tree and how to take care of a tree once it has been planted. In previous weeks, they have learned about different types of trees and the various parts of the tree, including the names of the various types of wood within the trunk. On Thursday, we went on a field trip to a tree nursery (and a very big one!) and they picked out a tree with the help of the Teacher and Principal (Mom and Dad, of course!). We were unable to plant on Friday, but today after school lessons and lunch break, we ventured out and picked out a nice location for our new Dwarf Alberta Spruce tree. It will grow to about 7 ft tall. A nice looking tree! We look forward to tracking its growth over the next few years.
Here are some pictures of our lessons, field trip, and field work:
Here are some pictures of our lessons, field trip, and field work:
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Nov. 23, 2009
Lately...
Another long gap between blog posts. I really should get better at this--would like to make it a priority again, but haven't gotten around to it.
In bullet points:
*Getting back into a school routine. Only 8 weeks left of Core 3 Sonlight.
*Last week, my husband had meetings in Grand Rapids. Since he was driving, we got to pack up the school books and go along. The weather was nice.
*Highlight of the trip--my sister and her husband came up for the day. We went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. It was awesome! A place to go if you're ever in the area.
*Back home, no snow on the ground yet. It is an absolutely gorgeous day today, and the frost patterns on the top of the van this morning were beautiful!
*I'm getting a new camera--an early birthday present. When one's birthday is in January, it makes sense to shop the pre-Christmas sales. I got the camera and memory card both on sale at a price almost as good as Amazon in the States, and I don't have to pay shipping. (It was also less expensive than the same camera in a store in G.R.) I'm very excited about it, as the current camera is getting worse and worse. It should arrive tomorrow. (Perhaps I should plan time in the schedule to figure out how to use it....hmm...)
*Time to call the kids in from the sunny outdoors to get back to the books.
Here are a couple of the latest photos from the old camera. These didn't turn out too badly. I really like the one with the red and gold leaves together.
This one is a farm just on the edge of town--an early morning shot.
In bullet points:
*Getting back into a school routine. Only 8 weeks left of Core 3 Sonlight.
*Last week, my husband had meetings in Grand Rapids. Since he was driving, we got to pack up the school books and go along. The weather was nice.
*Highlight of the trip--my sister and her husband came up for the day. We went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. It was awesome! A place to go if you're ever in the area.
*Back home, no snow on the ground yet. It is an absolutely gorgeous day today, and the frost patterns on the top of the van this morning were beautiful!
*I'm getting a new camera--an early birthday present. When one's birthday is in January, it makes sense to shop the pre-Christmas sales. I got the camera and memory card both on sale at a price almost as good as Amazon in the States, and I don't have to pay shipping. (It was also less expensive than the same camera in a store in G.R.) I'm very excited about it, as the current camera is getting worse and worse. It should arrive tomorrow. (Perhaps I should plan time in the schedule to figure out how to use it....hmm...)
*Time to call the kids in from the sunny outdoors to get back to the books.
Here are a couple of the latest photos from the old camera. These didn't turn out too badly. I really like the one with the red and gold leaves together.
This one is a farm just on the edge of town--an early morning shot.
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Nov. 22, 2009
Today's plans
Going to church very soon. Want to do a little shopping. Taking husband to work and son to youth group. Might do my birthday hamburger at Red Robin?? Have a great day.