One Thousand Gifts #266 to #271

I have a short list this week but I continue to count my gifts and give thanks.

266. Cuddling a soft kitten at The Farm.

267. My favourite fall cup.

268. I'm in a book club again! We just finished reading our first book - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We had an amazing turn out for the meeting.

269. My son's soccer team won a game! They had lost a few in a row so this was a good boost for them.

270. Greenlake, especially this time of year with the carpets of leaves everywhere you look.

271. New boots. Tall, leather, stylish and only $60!



Pin It

Fall mantle

I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of my mantle decorated for fall. I was waiting for a sunny day to take a great photo but today it wasn't raining so that had to be good enough.

The details from left to right:
The white pitchers came from Home Goods, the foliage in the pitchers is from JoAnns, the stuffed pumpkin is from Home Goods, old books from flea markets/antique stores, and the milk glass urns are from Ruffles and Rust Square (a store in downtown Snohomish).

The pumpkins I bought at the dollar store and decoupaged them with old book pages (last year), the apothecary jar is filled with fake acorns from Hobby Lobby, and the autumn banner I made last year.

Instructions for the autumn banner are here. The wheat in a planter came from a thrift store. The grapevine pumpkin came from Michaels I think. The leaves garland I found at Ben Franklin in Monroe. The old window (in the background) I bought at a vintage flea market.

If you're wondering, yes I'm already planning my Christmas mantle in my head. :)Pin It

Targets

On Saturday we took a quick road trip up to Fire Mountain Scout Reservation (aka Scouts Campground) near Mount Vernon. They had a Stampede which was a chance for cub scouts to try out various activities. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone else from our pack.

My cub scout had a lesson in firearms safety and then tried shooting a large BB gun for the first time.

Unfortunately, he's just a little too small for that big of a gun.

He had an archery lesson and tried that as well.

He got some arrows on the board which many other kids didn't achieve. The archery brought back a lot of memories for me since I spent many summers at Camp Chestermere as a camper (and a couple as a junior counsellor) where archery was one of the many activities.

I think BB gun shooting and archery will get easier when my little scout gets a bit older and stronger.

The weather was super chilly (I think in the 40s) and we didn't come prepared. When we left home my oldest son wanted to wear his soccer shorts! It was a good thing we insisted he wear pants. My other son forgot to bring a jacket. Here he is borrowing J's fleece.

Due to the cold we didn't stick around for the fishing which was also offered.Pin It

{this moment}

This photo is actually from the previous week. I didn't take many photos this past week.

On Sunday October 7th, we participated in Life Chain which is a silent prayer vigil to communicate opposition to abortion. It is held across the USA and Canada on the first Sunday of October. We held pro-life signs on an overpass of I-5 in Seattle for about an hour. We got lots of thumbs up and honks and also lots of rude gestures. It was a very hot and sunny day. I'm proud of my boys for their participation.Pin It

One Thousand Gifts #256 to #265

If you are new to my blog, you might be wondering what is One Thousand Gifts? Well, it is a book and a concept. The simplest way to explain it is counting one's blessings. I'm recording things that I'm thankful for and they aren't always big and usually they aren't things! You can read more about One Thousand Gifts at the blog of Ann Voskamp (A Holy Experience) or read her book One Thousand Gifts.

256. My oldest son wasn't seriously hurt nor was anything broken when he fell off his bike about 10 days ago.

257. Spending time with our friends S and B along with their kids J and K.

258. Going to Ruffles and Rust - twice! I was able to go on Saturday (as well as Friday) due to a cancelled soccer game at the last minute.

259. Listening to children belting out "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" at church yesterday.

260. A's face is healing up nicely from the fall off the bike.

261. Having friends who appreciate Ruffles and Rust (Mary and Denise) with all its vintage treasures.

262. Teacher in-service days.

263. An old friend has moved back into the area. Hi Shennay!

264. (Ducking from the thrown tomatoes) I'm thankful for the rain because I can plant bulbs now that the ground has softened up. :)

265. On the topic of weather, the amazing run of dry sunny weather we had from August until a few days ago.


Pin It

Picking our pumpkins

My boys had Thursday and Friday off from school and the weather was about to change from weeks and weeks of sunshine and warmth to the more usual overcast and wet fall weather. So, given those two things what does a mom do? Take those boys to the pumpkin patch, quick!

This year we went to The Farm. Great name, eh? Ha ha. I guess the full name is The Farm at Swan's Trail. Since we went in on a weekday afternoon and there weren't any field trips going on, it was nice and quiet. No other people in the background!

Note: that is NOT dirt on my son's nose.
He had a nasty fall off his bike last week.

We just picked out some pumpkins, the boys posed for some photos (thankfully without any fuss)

and we explored the place a bit. Check out the texture on this pumpkin.

I loved the zinnias which were still in bloom.

We found a kitten to love on too.

I'm glad my boys don't think they are too old for the pumpkin patch yet. We'll probably visit a corn maze later this month since that is their favourite fall activity.

Pin It

{this moment}

My oldest son won the student of the month award for the character quality of respect. This is his teacher handing the award to him at chapel.

Pin It

One Thousand Gifts 242 to 255

Wow, no thousand gifts posts since July! Time to count my blessings again.

242. A fantastic summer.

243. A visit from my father in law.

244. Visiting my mom for her 85th birthday.

245. Free time during the day now that my boys are back in school.

246. My funny kids.

247. Glorious sunny days without any rain that have lasted for weeks and weeks.

248. A new book club that has formed. I'm excited to be a part of a book group again.

249. The heart-breaking beauty of a sleeping child.

250. My youngest son's enthusiasm for cub scouts, including wearing his uniform as often as possible!

251. My camera and zoom lens. I was able to get some really good photos at my son's soccer game on the weekend. The kids on the team were oohing and ahhing over my camera which is about 6 years old and certainly not all that fancy.

252. I had a great year in the garden. The best year ever for tomatoes and zucchini.

253. Friends. I'm so thankful to have a few friends that are, ahem, close to my age and like the things that I like. Mary, Linda, Andrea, and Beth.

254. Our neighbours/friends who are so hospitable.

255. Having a parking ticket payment returned to me in the mail, saying the infraction was cancelled!


Pin It