Goodbye to "7"

I can't believe it. Another year has passed & a new one has begun. Our little girl is now 8 years old. Wow! How time truly does go by fast. It's a reminder to me to savor each moment while they are here & to not take this time for granted.

Birthday pics ~

At the end of Sierra's party I had all of the party guests sign her balloon so that she could release it into the air, then we all waved goodbye to year 7 as the balloon floated out of sight. :)

Happy 8th Birthday, Sierra! We love you!

An Autumn Welcome!

I tell you it's hard for me to believe that fall is here. We have been steadily schooling & learning new things. Our school year has been off to a great start & we have settled into a nice routine. Today Sierra & I thought we would celebrate the first day of autumn by going on a nature walk. With our nature journal in hand we set off to try to find our little squirrel friend at the edge of our woods. Squirrel must have been feeling a little shy today because he wouldn't come very close to let us observe what a busy little creature he is. We will try another day. :) So we set off on the trail to look for acorns & colorful leaves. I am posting a picture that Sierra made with her fall leaves. I am sure there will be many projects with leaves this year. We love all the vibrant colors & just think all of the trees haven't even started changing colors yet.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy. Psalm 96:12

May you think about spending some time enjoying God's creation this week. Blessings!

First Day of School

Oh, what an exciting day! I was happy to see that Sierra was ready to start school. We have been building this up for a few weeks. :) On our first official day of school for a new year we try to do a few extra special things. I always have a gift for Sierra waiting on her desk for her to find. I make sure I get something that is educational, like a new set of books from a favorite series, a fun game, or one year I put together a writing box with all kinds of neat stationary, pens & pencils. The writing box has been my favorite gift because it really allowed Sierra to improve her writing skills. I even set up several pen pals for her so that they could write back & forth which was so much fun. Sierra loved getting her own mail. This year for her gift she received a jigsaw puzzle & some art supplies. We can get pretty happy over art supplies around here! Another thing that we like to do for our nature studies is to head out into the great outdoors. So I couldn't think of a more perfect day for a back to school picnic. Sierra loves to pack her lunchbox, grab a blanket, a few books & find a good picnic spot. To finish up our first day I decided to let Sierra make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies to share with some friends. This of course was what I used to freshen up on her measurements since we were trying to get in some review of past lessons. Too fun! We did actually find time to fit in all subjects for the day as well. Just in case anyone may be wondering. Sierra has one thing she is really looking forward to learning this year & that is learning to write in cursive. We both are looking forward to a new year with lots of new memories!

Precious Cargo

Traveling into town recently I noticed things being very quiet in the back seat. So I peeked into my rear view mirror & to my delight I saw Sierra, hair twisted into cute little braids, reading to herself one of her favorite Billy & Blaze books. I could tell she was really into it & I thought it was great when she would stop reading to narrate parts of the story that she found exciting. It just got me to thinking as I looked back at her younger years how things haven't always been such a peaceful ride into town. Mostly full of singing, chatter, questions, & interesting conversations. Lots of life lessons have been discussed along our travel paths. I know we all have small passengers in our lives. It is important for me to remember that I shouldn't just be passing through this life with no regards of the heritage I am leaving behind. God gave me this child as a gift & He has chosen to mold her, shape her, & transform her into the person He desires her to be. But now, O Lord, you are the Father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8
The Lord has chosen to use me as an instrument in this little life. So as it may seem like at times we are just along for the ride, let us not forget we have a higher calling. To travel on a road less traveled, one that leads to an eternal purpose.

Mr. Whiskers

I came across this picture although it is not a new one it has to be a dear favorite of mine. Sierra painted this picture of a cat in which she named Mr. Whiskers almost 2 years ago. I actually entered it in the Junior Art Contest at the Gilmer Yamboree the year that she had painted it. Mr.Whiskers & Sierra won 2nd place & earned $3 & a lovely ribbon. Need I say that there was much excitement around here. Now Mr. Whiskers hangs on our wall along with some other wonderful pieces of art. Inspirations from a child but beautiful treasures to me.

Rainy Day + A Friend = Fun!

Jumping in the pool between rain showers.
Two creative minds at work leaving paper doll trails
& colored pencil drawings of herds of horses running
in the wild. Piled on the bed to play a game of Buckaroo
& don't forget Guess Who? What a lovely day to play.
Thanks Allie for spending the day. Sierra had a wonderful
time with you. Lots of Love!

Summer Favorites

Sierra's Favorite Summer Things




~ swimming

~ popsicles & ice cream

~ trips to the beach

~ yummy watermelon

~ extra time spent at Granny & PaPa's house

~ flip flops