Another Cemetery

Keira loves to go with me to my midwife appointments.  She loves to "help" the midwife, and she also loves to stop to take pictures at cemeteries!  She keeps her eyes open and points out each time I pass one without stopping.  On our way home from the midwife last week, it was sprinkling, and I wasn't really keen on getting out of the car.  But Keira had a solution for that too.  She told me just to pull over and take a picture out the window!  I finally obliged her and stopped at a cemetery.  (There are more cemeteries where my midwife is than anywhere else I have ever seen!)
This cemetery is newer than I usually like, but I was really fascinated by some of the unusual grave stones.

One of the biggest reasons I like cemeteries is that I love to see the stories of people's lives.  I love their history.  Older cemeteries often have more information on the grave stones than more modern cemeteries.

This man appeared to be buried beside his son who died before him.  They both appeared to be in the military.  I have never seen statues like these on a grave before.  I wish that these grave stones had explanations about why these were important to this man and his family.

This fish was just laying on the ground on top of another grave.  Above the fish were three letters laying in an arc just under the head stone.  (I wish I had gotten a picture of the whole thing.)  Again I wish I knew the story about the meaning of these objects.

This head stone had three little dogs with a flag and a wind catcher and solar light.  Keira really wanted to see the dogs!

This is one of the grave stones that I found very interesting as it had a picture imprinted on it.  In the past, I have seen small pictures of the person who died or something like that, but nothing like this.  It made this stone beautiful and interesting.

Though you can't see what is on this grave stone, it had a laser cut picture of the woman who died with her name and birth and death along with a poem.  I hadn't seen a grave stone shaped like this or imprinted like this.  

Let me add that when I visit a cemetery, I try my best to be respectful.  It always seems to be a good time to reflect on life and on why death entered the world.  I try not to walk on any graves if possible. (In older cemeteries, it isn't always obvious where they are!)

Project 365: Week 13

We are approaching the end of my month long challenge to photograph one object for 30 days.  I have really had fun with this, though I don't feel like have learned as much as I could/should have.

March 22: Heavy Reading

March 23: After working hard at sorting clothes and cleaning the nursery.  Mr. Turtle kicks back for a little drink (of water).

March 24: Mr. Turtle slowly approaches the kettlebell.  He will conquer it!

March 25: This new technology is hard to figure out, but Mr. Turtle is determined to use facebook.

March 26:  Mr. Turtle learned the hard way that he can't play the violin.  His arms are just too short!

March 27: Dylan and Mr. Turtle snuggle up.  It is past bed time, but no one else is sleeping!

March 28: Mr. Turtle looked longingly at the water while at Centennial Olympic Park.  He really wishes he could swim.

Tie Dying

My sister and I love tie dyed clothes, so every couple of years we dye things for the kids.  (It seems to be every time I'm pregnant!)  So last week, Megan came over with her kids and we tried Indigo Dying for the first time and regular tie dying.  Fortunately it was a beautiful day, so we kicked all the kids outside to play most of the time we were working.  My mom showed up a little later and was also a huge help! 

The indigo dying is vat dying, so you submerge the cloth in the liquid dye.  Once you pull it out, you wring out the extra dye, untie it, and let it set for at least 20 minutes. 

When you pull out the cloth from the indigo, it is almost a lime green or a yellow green.  It darkens to a rich blue as it oxidizes.   You can dip the fabric a second or third time to get a deeper color, but you would not want to untie it until you are finished dipping.

Here you can see the light green, and in the following pictures you can see how it has already darkened a bit in the minute or less this fabric has been out of the dye.

Things setting and drying on the line in my garage

After washing, these actually are a bit lighter, like a medium blue jean.  They look really nice, but I forgot to get a picture of them after they were washed and dried.
By the time we got to the regular tie dying, I was really tired so I didn't get many pictures.  Maybe I can get some pictures of the finished products to share, though the kids are already enjoying wearing them!

Spring is Here!

I am really enjoying seeing all the flowers in bloom!  God is so creative to make such pretty things blossom after a bare winter.

 

(All put the first picture were taken at Zoo Atlanta.)

Kyle Loves LEGOs

Kyle worked hard and saved his money to buy his first LEGO set.  When I saw it for a lower price on Amazon, he snagged it up before they could adjust the price up again!

All the kids wanted to help!

Project 365: Week 12

So far we are three fourths of the way through this month, and I haven't missed a day!  I have really enjoyed taking pictures of Mr. Turtle involved in what we are doing.  I am having trouble finding angles or perspectives on him, though he has had many adventures!

March 15: It's hard to swing when you can't hold on!

March 16:  The other kids were doing it!

March 17: Trying to find a lighter load.

March 18: Mercy found Mr. Turtle while we were hanging out at the park.

March 19: A fish in a graveyard?!  Mr. Turtle had to investigate.

March 20: Quilting can be hard when you are lighter than the quilt!

March 21: The pirate lost his boat, and tried the next best thing.

Snuggling

Most mornings, we start our day with reading the Bible Story Book.   The kids need to sit quietly and Mercy takes turns snuggling with her different siblings.

My First Born is 10!

I can't believe that my first child is 10 today!  God has blessed us in many ways through her.  She is such a willing helper and loves to do all things cooking!
We got to spend the day with our best friends who just moved much closer (to South Carolina from Wisconsin)!

Freezer Meals: Chicken Dump Meals

Over the past several years, I have made freezer meals many times.  This time, my energy levels are pretty low, so I wanted some meals that would be easy to put together.  I found several lists of "Chicken Dump" meals on pinterest.  These are a bunch of meals where you dump all the ingredients in a ziploc bag, freeze the meal and then thaw, and cook in the crock pot.  So I decided to try 10 of these meals and I doubled them for 20 meals.

I made the four recipes on Kojo Designs' post Getting Organized - A Whole Month's Worth of Dinners with Crock Pot Meals.  I only doubled them, where as she quadrupled them.  The recipes are Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken with Veggies, Coconut Curry Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Maple Dijon Chicken.

I made Broccoli Chicken Alfredo and Cilantro Lime Chicken from Six Sisters Stuff.  And the Scalloped Potatoes and Ham from Six Cents. And the Creamy Italian Chicken from Making our Marx.

Right now, I can't track down the last two recipes that I made, but they are Lime Salsa Chicken, and Balsamic Chicken with Figs.

The kids were a big help!  Keira, Kyle, and Sophia helped me cut the vegetables.  Avalyn was absolutely invaluable in the process of making these meals.  She helped cut and then put all the ingredients into the bags, while I finished cutting and preparing the ingredients.  We made all the meals gluten free, and many of the meals are dairy free, too!

Adrian's 30 Day Challenge: Days 7 - 11

Adrian has decided that he will try to work through the 30 day challenge that he started, but without the stress of trying to get a picture every day and make up for days he missed.  But that he will try to take a picture with each prompt as he is able and complete the challenge at a little slower pace.

Day 7: Fruit

Day 8: A bad Habit (skipped)

Day 9: Someone you Love

Day 10: Childhood Memory (skipped)

Day 11: Something Blue
 

Eggplant Baby

  A local restaurant, Scalini's,  makes an eggplant parmesan that can supposedly help induce labor.  If your baby is born within 48 hours of eating their eggplant parmesan, Scalini's will give you a t-shirt for the baby and a $25 gift certificate. 

  When I was 3 days over due with Mercy Rose, we decided to head to the restaurant to see if the eggplant would help get labor going.  I had her al little over 12 hours later!
  Since the shirt finally fits, Adrian took some pictures of our eggplant baby in her eggplant shirt.  I couldn't choose just one (or even two) pictures!