A Must See Slideshow

This is a must see slideshow!

I am a volunteer photographer with

an organization called

NILMDTS

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

When babies don't make it, 

the hospital calls me and I go take

pictures so the families will

have high quality portraits of their child.

And - babies don't always make it.

If you have a healthy baby....

or two... or three.... BE THANKFUL!

Babies are gifts from God. 

They are the most precious gifts

you will ever receive. Treasure them

Take care of them. And guide their lives 

in such a way that they will choose

ta path of service to the Lord!

I recently did this session:

 

And I'm requesting your prayers for this

family. If you have the means to donate

to help them with a memorial service

for their precious daughter,

I ask that you do that, too. 

This is a family who really NEEDS help!

And it will be so appreciated.

The link to contribute is HERE

Feel free to share this on your own

blog also.

Summertime Tea Party

 These girls added something

special to this tea party!

There were snacks, and tea, and...

BUBBLES!

BIG BUBBLES!

That landed on snacks and in tea!

And that's not exactly delicious!

Maybe BUBBLES belong

OUTSIDE?

Back Yard Camp Out..... Night #2

 We put the rain fly on the tent

to keep the cool wind out!

And Brilyn joined us for night #2!

We watched a movie and popcorn

and then we snuggled in and 

looked out at them moon.

And snuggled in and went to sleep.

 It was a beautiful moon!

It had long light rays coming out from

it that can't be seen in the picture,

and a rainbow looking halo around it.

I don't know much about moon's 

so if you know what kind of moon we

were watching, please comment.

 

Fun In The Sun!

 Brilyn comes over often since she 

lives nearby. And she asks at least 

once a week, "Where's Olivia?"

(she THINKS Grace and Olivia should live here)

Then, when Grace and Olivia are here,

she plays mostly with Grace! 

 Here, Grace is catching her with my

floatie so she won't go under when

she hits the water!

 They do this over and over again!

 I just love the care free days of summer

and smiling children's faces!

And I love it that the girls all get along

so well and want to play together!

 

Just look at that face!

Oh, the joys of childhood!

I treasure these moments! These smiles!

These children that won't be children

long enough.

They simply grow up too soon!

Making Fire Starters!

 Another camp out activity we did was

make firestarters.

These are some of the BEST home made

fire starters we have ever tried.

To make them you collect cardboard

egg cartons.

 Stuff each hole with dryer lint!

Push the lint down tightly. Most kids

are pretty good at this part.

Then, once the little holes are full,

you melt paraffin wax and pour

it over the dryer lint.

As the lint absorbs some of the wax,

add more.

Allow to cool and then cut apart.

Each hole is one fire starter. 

Store in a ziplock baggie and use them

on camping trips to  get your campfire going.

Or - use them in your fireplace!

A baggie full would make a great addition

to your bug-out bag if you 

have one!

We tested ours out in the backyard

in our firepit, but we couldn't 

REALLY

light a fire due to a burn ban.

Hopefully, we'll get enough rain that

the burn ban is lifted sometime this

summer and we can have a 

REAL CAMPFIRE!

It's a Mud Pie Making Contest!

 Since we were having a backyard

camp out, I had planned some

camp activities for the girls!

 One of their favorites was a mud pie

making contest!

 They worked very hard on their mud pies!

Don't they just look lovely?

We had Uncle Deuce step outside

to judge them.

The pie on your left is Grace's

and it won:

1st Place for Most Creative Mud Pie

2nd Place for Best Mud Pie

The pie on your right is Olivia's

and it won:

1st Place for Best Mud Pie

2nd Place for Most Creative Mud Pie

However, Grace thinks the judge made

a mistake. Why? Because HE didn't even

taste the pies! How dare he!

Hers was the best and she's sure of it!

Why? Because it was the pie

that Abby and a little bug decided to eat.

And you know they wouldn't eat it

if it wasn't the best!

Olivia could care less who won.

She just had fun. 

Mother's Day Gifts

While the girls were here, they

made Mother's Day gifts!

They painted flower pots.

I didn't get a picture of Olivia or Brilyn

because while they were painting I

was wiping up messes and had

paint on my hands.

But - Grace concentrated on each stroke

and spent quite a long time painting.

You can tell by the expression on her

face that she is putting her

best efforts into making that pot special!

 Weston was content with simple

footprints!

And this is Grace's finished product.

It's almost as colorful as

her personality!

And it has pink and purple flowers

that she picked out herself. 

Backyard Campout

 Grace loves camping and next time

we go, Olivia and Brilyn would

like to go, too!

So - we did a test run!

 In a new tent!

 This tent has a "doggy door" according

to the girls. It's really supposed to

be a closet door for "gear".

It was a kid door for us!

And a peep hole. I think it's the one

thing the girls liked best about this tent.

When we go camping for real we will

use our other tent, because it has more room

and I like a sleeping side, and a 

movie & snack side.

This keeps the sleeping side clean!

It's POOL Time!!!!

The week before Mother's Day

we opened the pool!

It's still a little cool for some

people, but the girls and I like

it just fine!

 

 These pictures were taken

BEFORE Mother's Day!

And a smile that big tells

me that the water's ready!

A Favorite Meeting Place

When Heather needs me to

watch the girls - or,

I just need some Grandma time

with the girls,

Chuck E. Cheese is a favorite

place to meet.

 It's fun for the girls,

and this particular Chuck E. Cheese

in Grace's favorite!

 Why? Because it has the self

serve Cotton Candy machine!

And it's hard to resist self serve

Cotton Candy!

A Belated Mother's Day Post

I was busy with Grandchildren

the week before and right after

Mother's Day,

so there wasn't time for blogging.

But, I do hope that all of 

the wonderful women 

in the world, who love to be

called "Momma" had a great day!

 

Just before Mother's Day

I was keeping Grace and Olivia,

while Heather & Dustin attended

a Home School Book Fair!

Olivia and I were looking at all of the

new flowers in the garden and she

asked each of their names.

When we got to this one, I told her

it was "Heather".

Her eyes got big and her face lit up

as she tole me,

"Heather? My Momma's middle 

name is Heather!"

To which I replied, "Oh, really? What's

your Momma's name."

"Momma Heather McGriff!" came

Olivia's reply!

It was just so cute! She knows her

Mother's name is Heather, but to her,

that's just a middle name.

A name, not often used and of little

importance.

What's IMPORTANT is your 

first name.... your REAL name!

And Heather's real name is MOMMA,

to this little girl!

And Momma is the most important

name a woman can have!

Thank you, Olivia, for that reminder!

And thank you, Heather, for being 

Momma!

There is nothing more you could

do to make me proud and happy! 

 

 

An Exodus of Life

Charlotte's eggs have finally hatched!

And we've been blessed with a nice

crop of garden spiders!

  

They are so, so tiny! I've taken their

picture with this penny for a 

size comparison. 

 

First with the penny in focus 

and again, with my focus on this

amazing new life!

As I type this, it is day #4 of

their journey! 

Just look at them making their 

way away from the egg sack

and into the world!

I'm fascinated just watching them!

Some have already begun to set up

housekeeping in the butterfly bush!

Just look at their precious

little webs!

And I realize that many people are

not fond of spiders.

But - even so - you have to admit

that they are fascinating!

And the intricate details that went

into their creation shouts

of the amazing skill of their Creator!

Yes - God paid attention to details

when creating even the smallest

of things.

Look Who's Back!

Do you remember our

humming birds from last year?

Well.... they're back!

And they've brought friends with them!

 

These pictures were taken with

my "play camera" so they're

really not that great,

but don't you just love hummingbirds?

It seems we have several more

this year than last year.

MAYBE because the garden's

around here are late getting started

this year, so they have to find

feeders if they want to eat?

 

Do Little BOYS Like To Tea Party?

The girls and I have so much

fun having Tea Parties!

BUT - what about the BOYS?

Do you think BOYS would like to join in?

 

 While Brilyn and I had a Tea Party

we sat Asher in a chair

and she served him a cupcake

and some tea!

He loved it!

And sitting in a pink chair

and spilling a pretty 

floral cup of tea didn't bother

him one bit!

It was good! Really good!

Hungry boys like Tea Parties!

And those cupcakes tasted

much better than whatever was

in that baby food jar!

You Never Know Where A Trail Might Lead

 Brilyn loves an adventure!

 So, one day we set off on a hike.

I had seen this trail once when I was 

on a photo shoot, but I never

knew where it lead.

So, Brilyn and I found out!

I was hoping it would go a little

further than it did.

And - I was hoping it would lead

to a deer sighting or two.

It did neither of those things.

(however, deer is a possibility - according to the signs)

But - the trail did lead to something interesting!

It lead to the under side of a train trestle. 

Which was a very interesting

place to explore!

 

Art Work And A Funny, Funny Story

Brilyn loves to paint, 

so I got out some colored card stock

and some paints and we painted.

 

 Here is Brilyn's picture!

And here is Asher's!

When Asher was finished painting,

I carried him to the sink to rinse

the paint off of his feet and

took my eyes off of Brilyn for

a moment.

When I looked back -

she was black!

REALLY BLACK!

I gasped... and said,

"Oh, Brilyn!"

And she responded with

a great big grin and asked,

"Does I look like Gabby, now?"

Gabby is our sweet little neighbor

girl. And Brilyn thinks she's 

JUST BEAUTIFUL!

And she is! I'm so glad that Brilyn

sees the beauty in people of

all colors.

Red and yellow, black and white.

They are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world!

Let's all be like Jesus 

and Brilyn and love others, too!

Easter

Easter 2014

 

 We had a nice Easter!

 The kids all had a few surprises

and then went out to hunt

Easter Eggs.

 Since the boys are so little

the girls found their eggs

and then hunted for them.

 It was a little cool.... and wet!

 But that can't stop an egg hunt!

 And it can't stop these little girls!

 We had plenty of eggs to go around

 and everyone got a bucket or basket full!

And while the parents were hiding the

eggs, I got to read a couple

of Easter Stories to the kids and

teach them the REAL

meaning of Easter!

One of my favorite Easter

Stories for kids is

The Donkey No One Could Ride

So we read that and 

Lily's Easter Party

which tells the Easter Story

using a set of

Resurrection Eggs!

All of these are great ways to share

the story of Easter

with little ones!