Tuesday, November 6, 2018

October 2018

October, one of the most beautiful months of the year! The beauty panned out a little differently this year since we held on to our mid-80's temperatures for half the month! What a strange thing to go from mid-80's one day to mid-50's two days later. 

October means two weeks of fall break for our family! And a break from homeschooling means lots of housework and desk work to catch up on!


Here's a glimpse of how our October began with the flowers in full bloom:


The butterflies and hummingbirds were still very active as the month opened:


Michael made three major road trips in October. The most festive trip was to Cleveland for the wedding of his youngest brother, Micah.


I loved seeing all the pictures and hearing about it. We wished we all could have been there! Such a beautiful day and beautiful surroundings!


Every little detail spelled out thought and creativity.


Mondays continue to bring joy as I work with flowers, making bouquets.


The color combinations are just amazing!


I do love the color that October brings to inside the house as well.


Over fall break we enjoyed a visit to the Lego Exhibit at the State Museum. It was fun to see famous paintings recreated with Lego bricks!


Or sculptures made of Lego!


We had our first hard frost so I picked all the remaining flowers. What joy they have brought this year!


And the fall/winter sunsets have begun! I can't get enough of them.


We also had the joy of taking the children to see a play over fall break. After getting over the shock of having to dress up (a bit) everyone had a delightful evening.


James and I attended life drawing together.


We took a one-day trip to McCormick's Creek State Park with some friends. We had hoped to camp but temps in the 30's scared us away from that venture!


Hiking was just as fun, although we missed the color on the trees since they were still green.


Beautiful scenery!


We did borrow a campsite from friends to cook our dinner and make some campfire pies.


And a few s'mores too!


I also taught my first fall workshop over break. It was a great time and I am looking forward to the next one this weekend!


This was one of my favorite creations this month:


Andrew spent much of fall break playing soccer and his high school team made it to the State Championship! The game was on a rainy, cold night downtown. We dressed appropriately and held plastic tablecloths over our heads.


The game was a tie, with no one scoring, even into two overtimes. Covenant finally lost on the sixth penalty kick. The game was well-played, and Covenant dominated despite the loss. Congrats to the team on a great season.


My mom's fourth book had its debut at the end of fall break. She is particularly excited that the proceeds from this book go to Wheeler Mission! (For those interested, this book can be purchased here.) I Know Who Loves Me takes the words from Psalm 23 and adds mom's beautiful illustrations.


We had fun at the book launch party which had a live sheep, balloon artists, face-painting, amazing flowers, and plenty of food!


Finally the colors began to appear and we have been reveling in them for the past two weeks.


David, Laura, and I attempted a paddle one day, not realizing how windy it really was.


We found some peace and beauty in a little inlet.


Oh the beauty! It's just glorious!


And now November has arrived and the colors are still here for a little while longer.


Happy month of thanksgiving! May we daily count our blessings.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Bits and Pieces


Here in Indiana we are drinking up all the fall beauty that finally appeared! Here are a few things I wanted to mention:

I now have a regular newsletter I am sending out! If you are interested in receiving this somewhat-monthly publication, please sign up here.

My next workshop is coming up next Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at Blooms Floral Studio in Fountain Square. More information can be found here.

Do you enjoy daily readings for Advent? Then you might be interested in the multimedia Advent emails my friend, Charity Singleton Craig, has created for Advent this year. Charity has combined her own writing with work from several artists (including me!) to help you focus on Christ as Christmas approaches. You can find out more here.

I'm starting to put my products up for sale on my website. You can find my greetings cards here.


That's all for now! I'll be back with a re-cap of the month of October in just a few days!

Saturday, October 6, 2018

September 2018

September began the transition to fall. Although, sitting here in 85 F temperature does not feel very fall-ish. I'm thankful it's not freezing...

I made this gluten free plum galette for an event I went to. Must try to remember to make more galettes -- so easy and less time consuming than a pie! (Original, not gluten-free, recipe is here.)

I have to include pictures from my Monday job at Blooms because the flowers bring me so much joy!



 One evening we had a visitor during our patio dinner. This bunny boldly hopped right out of the garden and sat munching the weed pile during our entire dinner.


Not scared at all, he then hopped right across the patio in front of us!


September brought a fun family birthday celebration for my sister's husband,  JK.


The party was at Wildwood Market and the place looked so festive!


Such a lovely evening!


My newest fig tree finally bore fruit! Nothing like picking fruit from one's own tree!


The colors of fall are so rich and beautiful. All the squash and pumpkins have me captivated!


Another week of flowers:


This is my studio workspace. It usually isn't so bright and pretty because mostly I work in the early morning before the sun comes up and the shade is pulled. This space is actually in my bathroom!


I'm busy prepping for fall workshops!


Here's a look at the cheese plates from JK's party -- we'll be having Wildwood's cheese plates at the Fall Menu Painting workshop!!!


We made it to the orchard on the spur of the moment one evening right before they closed. It's a long-standing tradition!


Don't worry -- they are only allowed to throw bad apples.


James is very interested in falconry and was invited to go with several licensed falconers we know to capture their new bird (and thus rescue it from being shot at the airport). It's just amazing to be up close to these impressive birds!


Cousin Arthur turned five and we celebrated! YAY!


More beautiful flowers were put together:


Just look at that wealth of color, texture, and inspiration!


Got to make sure I'm being a good "Purdue mom" by using my mug. :)


One of the highlights of the month was a trip to my mom's pumpkin patch. What beauty where she lives!!!


Moms 12 little hills of pumpkin seeds have yielded many, many pumpkins.


Everyone had their pick!


We ended the month with James' 14th birthday!


And now for October -- the incredible month of beauty and color here in the Midwest! I'm looking forward to it!