Setting the Table

Hope set the table a couple nights ago. Here are the results:

Robbie's place setting

Kelli's place setting

Hope's place setting

When setting table

Upside down for others fine

Make own place perfect.

Rollercoaster

Hope wanted to take some pictures "on the roller-coaster."

Her hair remained untouched and she seemed unbothered by the speed. :) She wasn't even buckled in! I guess it's a good thing the roller-coaster is just a photo background...

Funny Faces

Flight

A friend of mine shared this poem with a group on FB. It speaks exactly of my feelings for my two girls! Just had to share...

Flight
……

I know women
who would lose their children
like throwing off a robe,
unbraiding a red ribbon
and discarding it, to let
their wild selves fly free.

I know women
who put aside their children
like cheap jewelry by the side of the bed.
I know women
who never seem to wear them at all.

My girls, I do not want
to be free of you.
You are like my wedding rings
which I could have easily slipped out of
but wear
every day that my heart beats.

I want you near me.
My girls, my husband,
when I see a sunset
I want these two eyes
to be part of the eight who see it.
I want our laughter and stories
to be so tangled
that our memories weave into one dream.

This is my time with you.

Soon enough, you will be off
swimming your own new seas.
Soon enough, we will step back and watch you
blooming and bursting in solitary ways
in your own fresh, separate skins.

How could I waste this?

Oh my darlings, you are not my cage.
You are my wings.

~Alicia Bayer

Packing, Through Hope's Eyes

I used to let Hope use our smaller camera to point and shoot sometimes. These are some of the last shots that she took before the camera broke. She took some pictures of our last night in the US at Robbie's parents' house in Texas. These are the best ones...

Labels for our boxes 

Hope's cousin, and our largest bins

Surveying the mess

Bag Hat

The girls had fun playing with this bag today. Love the smiles on their faces. 

Flower Crown

Obviously, I was the one behind the camera, so no flower crown for me. These three pictures should make up for the many that I haven't done daily the last several days, right?

Fingers and Toes

Both fingers and toes

Two young sisters reaching out

Fast friendship forming

Colors

Since I skipped a photo on Sabbath, I figured I'd put an extra one up today. So here it is...

Marker Face

I guess I took Sabbath off when it came to putting a photo on here every day. But here is one of Hope. I don't think she even realized what she'd done.

Poll Results

The poll that I created to assess your interest and what you would like to read is now closed. Actually, I'm not sure when it closed, but I just saw that it is. The winner of the poll is A Photo A Day. I was disappointed to only get 9 votes total, and one of those was my own. But now I know that most people don't care what I write about, and I guess that is a good thing in a way.

So, for the next month I'll be doing A Photo A Day. Here is today's:

Hope riding her new bicycle

Curly Cue Haiku

Hot humidity

Wispy spirals all over

Framing funny face

Flowers in Her Hair

We just received a package from some friends in the States with some flowers for the girls' hair. Thought I'd share some of the pictures.

Funny face

A good hairstyle for keeping long hair from getting tangles.

Practicing zooming while shooting. This is one of the best pictures
I was able to get while practicing. I like the flower and Hope's
profile.

New Teeth and Watercolors

Three teeth! There's another one coming in on her right side.

Hope has really been enjoying her watercolors. That was a great purchase
on our part.

Cardboard Box Fun

We bought a countertop oven the other day. The box has become a toy for Hope. She's fixed it up as a home for her favorite stuffed animals and dolls.

She loves to pretend to sleep in the box along with her animals
and dolls.

Outdoor Fun!

We have a great yard for our girls to play in. The other day I went outside with Hope and Haven when it was starting to cool down a little, and I had some fun taking pictures of the girls playing sweetly together.

Crawling in sync

A hug from Hope

Sitting pretty

Something has their attention

Smiling adoringly at her little sister

What sweet girls. They are such a blessing to our family.

Making Tortilla Dough

Beginning the tortilla making process with a photo.

Dumping in some flour with a smile.

Adding the salt with a smirk.

Come on, Hope, put some muscle into it!

That's more like it...

Happy helper

Can't wait to make these into tortillas!

Yummm!!!

She just had to have a final snitch.

Marshmorgan the Snail

Hope loves to find animal friends in our yard.

Today she found a snail.

She let it slide itself slowly all over her arm. See the smile on her face?

She really loved this little snail friend.

And when I asked her what the snail's name is, she called him Marshmorgan.
I don't know where that came from...