FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Beautiful day enjoyed greatly by my children playing in their tree house.

I am thinking...Soon my kids finals will be over, and I will not need to drive them to school; but will stay home instead. I'm so proud of my kids hard work and good grades. I'm especially proud of my third born daughter's first semester at college. She is realizing she can really do this, despite her being hesitant at first.   

I am thankful...that I am magnificently blessed with a wonderful husband and amazing family

In the kitchen...Some cleaning, then I'm hoping one of my boys will make some of their yummy oatmeal cookies.

I am wearing...Still in my PJs they are so comfy!

I am creating...A to-do-list for my home schooling and house work.

I am going...To drive my kids to and from school 2 more days.

I am wondering...Which book to read next, once I'm done with the one I'm currently reading. So many choices, most likely means I'll wind up reading two.

I am reading...Cheaper by the Dozen, it's turning out to be one of my favorite books. 

I am hoping...All goes well with the arrival of our baby. I'm about 5 weeks away from my due date. 

I am looking forward to...Organizing my bedroom and possibly a new paint job.

I am learning...To read more fluently in Hebrew. 

Around the house...I'm enjoying our family room that my husband has worked so hard to finish. Fresh paint and new furnishings make our family room and library a better, more pleasant place for homeschooling. 

I am pondering...How to go about getting more exercise into my day, and taking better care of my health. 

A favorite quote for today..."Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."  -Winston Churchill

One of my favorite things...Praying early in the morning with my children. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Drive my girls to school and take two of my boys to the library. Get more accomplished during our homeschooling.

A peek into my day...

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Photo Experiment or Experience

My 1st and 2nd born holding their baby sister

My husband was home for the day, and I suggested we do something together. We had no pictures with our baby so it's decided to visit a park for some photographs.  Yes, even my always-busy-college children were persuaded to join us.  As we left the house I rushed out the door reminding my first born he was to take the last three of his siblings and meet us.  Actually, though we had talked of going to a park to get some family pictures taken, we were running quite late.  It was a bit disappointing at first. When we arrived, we rushed to a favorite spot where a creek now had dried up. As the kids sat on a log, we began taking some snap shots in a hurry. The lighting was going faster than anticipated as the sun went down, and not all my kids had arrived. Then it hit me, why not use the circumstances to our advantage. Yes, we would continue taking pictures but this time with a twist. My idea was to go for a silhouette theme. Bearing in mind, there was little time for planning which resulted in some overlapped figures, I was quite pleased.

Rushing to find a spot for some shots

Some of my kids posing for some pictures

It was sad to see the creek had dried up

Look up!

My 3rd born daughter joins in

Showing the baby to wave

A picture with Dad

We scramble for a spot

Some random arrangement

Last few pictures with light

Still some kids missing

They finally arrive

Wondering how to make this work

First few experimental shots

My daughter

The camera is set to take our pictures

Some kids are overlapped in the images

Another try

Kids by themselves

Trying to get them all in

Making eye shapes

Getting creative

Just having fun

We take s last picture with a flash

A Joyous Sukkot

Here are some photographs of our Sukkot celebration. We are truly enjoying ourselves and I hope you all are too.

                                                          Our Sukkah

Abby in the Sukkah

Fixing our bench 

Baby looking around

Our candle to keep mosquitoes out

Top view of candle

Seth and Judith

Matthew joins in

Working on some decorations

Abby making fruit decorations

Here they are

Magen David

Our kids bring pecans from our tree

Seth's big smile

Having a good time

Reaching for fruit

Hanging fruit baskets

Our light fixture

Paintings on canvas our kids made last year for our Sukkah

Hiding behind our curtains

Chavah

Playing around

We have a few more days to go, and memories to share. Chag Sukkot Sameach!