Seasons, Creation and Cotton Candy Clouds

Ahh!  The cool mornings, warm afternoons with big blue skies have arrived.  The heat of summer is over and now it really feels appropriate to put out the pumpkins.  I marvel at the changing of the seasons, even though as mentioned before and much lamented by this writer we do not really have seasons here, but I do love what we have.

As I was driving home I couldn't help but think about how perfectly everything in nature works together.  I can not believe that our world just happened.  Yes, I can see how things evolve but really, all this just worked its way together?  No way!  There had  to be a higher power, with knowledge far greater than we can imagine, that put the start of the world in place.  Maybe God was done in a few days or years or centuries, but the creation of the universe and our planet was done thoughtfully, carefully, perfectly.

There was a song (in the '70's) called Master Designer.  I can't remember what musical it was from but it doesn't matter.  I loved the lyrircs:

Cotton candy clouds, so fluffy and white,
Who put you there in a sky of deep blue?
Or do you just happen to float along,
Pretty and white in a sky so blue, so blue, sky so blue?

Tall mountain, deep valley, fast river, cool stream,
Show grandeur and majesty in some grand scheme
All of these wonders that we behold,
Are only a part – it cannot be told, be told, cannot be told.

Master Designer, Whoever You are,
All of this beauty both near and afar
Can’t just have happened, the odds are too great,
There must be a plan, we’re not left to fate, to fate, not left to fate.

All of this beauty is far too convincing
Master Designer, Your word must be true,
Of all Your creations man is the dearest
Help me to simply believe now in You, in you,
Believe in You.

(Thanks to the internet for helping me remember all the lyrics and the composer, Kurt Kaiser.)

Getting Ready for Halloween





James, Cameron and Jaydon got out the pumpkin whistles tonight.  We've made this picture before, but this is Cameron's first appearance.  I think the fun is just beginning with these three!

And just a note, I will probably re-publish this photo.  I spent (wasted) over an hour in Photoshop working on this and it still isn't right, grrrrr.

  

Happy Fall Ya'll

Today is the official start of fall!  Yaaay! Hip hip hooray!  Jaydon and I have made our plans that on Friday night we kick off the fall season with a late night trip to Krispy Kreme donuts and then on Saturday we will get out the fall decorations!  His mommy is planning to get hers out, too, so there will be pumpkins everywhere.  To celebrate the start of fall I thought I would post two pictures from past visits to the Pumpkin Patch.



Jaydon and Stephanie pick out the perfect pumpkin on Jaydon's first visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Cameron's first visit to the Pumpkin Patch was last year.  He's going to really love it this year.

Fooled Ya!

Last night as Jaydon was preparing to leave I reminded him that he needed to clean up "his" room (actually it is what was once my guest bedroom).  I had walked by earlier and it wasn't too bad, in messy kid room terms, but he had Legos and a few other toys strewn about.  And I didn't want to have to pick up the room after he left.  As he started down the hall he complained, "but I need help, I need you to help me".  Of course, my response was that I didn't make the mess.  But I started down the hall with him, running my mouth fussing at him and thinking to myself that I was going to have to go in there with him and supervise the picking up.  When we got to the door he flipped on the light and looked up at me (to watch my expression, I'm sure).  Imagine my shock....the room was perfectly clean and even the closet doors were shut.  Jaydon was laughing and exclaimed, "Fooled Ya".  I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a great sense of humor!

The Boys

I feel like I've neglected my picture taking lately.  And the quality of the pictures I've made have been less than what I wanted.  And, my computer files are a mess.  So, tonight, while watching football I'm working on the files trying to get caught up.  But tonight I did get several pictures of Jaydon and Cameron together.  Easier said than done.  I wasn't really satisfied with the pictures, but I had a toddler that was looking away and a first grader that did not want to cooperate.  Almost like photographing the dogs, just no cooperation. But here is what I got:





Got one of them to look at me!

The boys shared a table during our evening meal.  Cameron is such a big boy now, he did really good sitting in the chair.  And Jaydon was told that he needed to be a good example of good manners!

Life's Rituals

One day a week, sometimes two, I work in a town just north of here.  Tuesday morning I got a late start and was really running late.  So I called the other support staff person that works in the office on her cell phone, come to find out she was running late, too.  Since I knew I still had a ways to drive I offered to stop at Starbuck's and get us coffee and muffins.  She took me up on the offer, and she was fairly close to the office so I knew I didn't have to rush.  As I went into the Starbuck's I noticed that the sign on the door stated "Take comfort in life's rituals".  I got the coffee and muffins and went on to the office.  As we enjoyed our breakfast (yes, we do work even if we are late and eat muffins!) we discussed this saying.

I've always felt there is comfort in doing routine things.  I realized this several years ago when a member of our church passed away after a long illness.  His wife had pretty much lived by his side in the hospital for months.  I was in a group of women soon after his funeral and they were discussing how the widow was doing.  One of the ladies said that she had spoken with her the night before and she (the widow) was glad to finally be home and was happy to have filled up her dishwasher and was doing little chores like taking out the trash.  Another lady in the group was horrified, but we all quickly said, no, there is comfort in those simple little tasks.  Taking out the trash is a routine chore, but one of the little rituals that we do.  And by doing some of those small, everyday tasks bring order to our lives and in turn, comfort and peace. 

As  humans we need order in our day.  We need those rituals and routines to provide continuity and stability in our lives.  I know that when life gets helter-skelter that just getting back to the "normal routine" can make me feel much more balanced.  So, my advice is "Take comfort in life's rituals".  Now, I have to take out the trash, wash the dishes, and finish my laundry.

Guess Who?

Today is this little girl's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Love Mom!

This is what happens at Gammy house

Obviously, no captions are needed on these pictures!

Wind Chimes

Many years ago I gave my mother a wind chime for Christmas.  I thought she would enjoy having them hang outside near their patio.  I had always enjoyed my neighbor's chimes, and had even had a set of my own, though they were not a very well made fancy chime.  Their ringing was soothing and while it was somewhat the same in tone, it was always changing in tune.  At the time I still worked downtown and slipped out on my lunch hour to a store just north of downtown to select the chimes.  I loved this store because they had all kinds of nature things, including the J W Stannard wind chimes.  I spent a careful amount of time selecting the chimes because I wanted  them to be just right.  I finally settled on a six note, hexatonic scale, that was very soft and had a gentle ring.

After Christmas I wondered if she would ever hang them up and enjoy them.  I never saw them again, so I decided it was probably a bad choice in a gift.  When we were cleaning out my parents' house we came across the box with the wind chimes in it, just as it had been all those years.  As I opened the box and took them out I again heard the beautiful tones ring out.  So I brought them home and put them just outside my back door.  They are under the eave of the house so they don't catch a full breeze, but just enough to give them an occasional burst of quiet harmony. 

Last winter I had hung them in the garage and would occasionally brush against them in getting in and out of the car.  During the long cold days of winter they would lift my spirit with their soft peals.  Outside, their ringing always surprises me, but then it also quickly reminds me to be happy, no matter how crazy the day.   And I remember to slow down and take the time to enjoy life's simple pleasures and to appreciate the beauty of life.

A Taste of Fall

Last Saturday morning and this morning have been so cool!  What a nice way to start the day by opening the back door to let the dogs out and feeling that nice cool air greet me instead of a wave of hot, humid air.  I think it is a taste of fall, just a tease really.  But it lets me know that the hot days are almost over and that soon it will be time to pull out the pumpkins and sweaters.  I look for fall, and am usually disappointed because we just don't really have a true fall.  But I take what I can and these cooler mornings are welcomed.

Jaydon and I went to the Botanical Garden this morning.  They have an exhibit of playhouses and forts.  This one is our favorite.  Jaydon pulled up some of the boards on this one and discovered that they were numbered.  I explained that they had probably built this somewhere else and then numbered the parts so they could move it to the Garden.  Looking at the numbered pieces was almost as fun as the playhouse for him!

Are you ready for some football?

Cameron is getting ready for game day!