Capture Your 365

I have a whole week of photo prompts for you today!

Compassion Mobile Experience
Compassion Mobile Experience

ISO 100, 20mm, f/7.1, 1/640 sec

Day 124 – A Wide Angle: My whole family was able to volunteer for a shift at the Compassion Mobile Experience when they were in our area recently. I knew this was the shot I wanted to take to go along with this prompt. Have you had a chance to visit the experience yet?

strawberry jam
strawberry jam

ISO 100, 44mm, f/5.3, 1/6 sec

Day 125 – Relaxation: that is exactly what I did after making 2 batches of strawberry jam!

crayons
crayons

ISO 100, 36mm, f/5.0, 1/30 sec

Day 126 – Crayons: Crayons in our home are not used very much any more, but it is amazing to me how many we have! Every now and then we bring them out when we are watching little people, or when we are doing a fun project for our Compassion kids.

candy
candy

ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/15 sec

Day 127 – Candy: Can you see my favorite candy there on the top right shelf?

macaroni and cheesse
macaroni and cheesse

ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/10 sec

Day 128 – Snacks: Interestingly enough, I don’t really eat a lot of snacks when I am home during the day, so I decided to take a photo of the homemade macaroni and cheese we had for lunch on this day. Yum!

rabbit
rabbit

ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/40 sec

Day 129 – Animals: This is Kelsey’s bunny, Vinnie. She used to show rabbits while in 4-H years ago, but now she just has two pet rabbits. I can’t believe I didn’t get the very tops of his ears in the picture!

framed
framed

ISO 100, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/15 sec

Day 130 – Framed: I believe it was back on day 68 that I did a photo similar to this one, with just me. This time I decided to have Kelsey join me.

So this wraps up a full week of Capture Your 365 photo prompts for me! Have you started joining in on the fun? Please let me know in the comments so I can visit your post of photos.

A Trip Back in Time

For the past few years, five or six times a year, our family packs up our car with many items from the 1860’s, and we camp out for the weekend, all while participating in Civil War Reenactments. All of this came about when Matthew became very interested in history, especially Civil War history. Being in California, our group really doesn’t reenact specific battles from the Civil War, but during the weekend, we try to make things as authentic as possible for the many visitors that come through our camps and watch the battles.

union camp

When we first thought of the idea of participating in these events as a family, my husband was not really excited about the thought. I really felt this was something we needed to do to support Matthew’s interest and mentioned that if Matthew was playing football or some other sport, we would be at some stadium or ball field a lot. My husband agreed, we became ‘official members’ of the 20th Maine, and our journey as Civil War Reenactors began.

soldiers

At this last event, after spending most of his time in the Union camp over the years, Matthew decided to ‘join up’ with his friends from the 43rd Virginia. He is the third one over from the right in the brown cap.

Participating in these events as a family has given us something to do together. And for this I am really thankful. During the teens years, it seems like so many kids are going off to one thing or another and families don’t spend as much time together as they used to. This has also been a great time of Matthew developing some leadership skills that he may not have been able to gain in other activities. Plus, this has really enhanced his love of history.

lanterns

Is there something you like to do as a family? What do you do to support your children’s loves and interests?

Investing in us

No, this post is not about where to put your money (because we don’t have a lot of money to put anywhere anyway!). This post is about making time for our spouse. You know, the one who leaves the house early every morning so we can stay home to do what God has called us to do. I know that my husband works hard and he deserves more of my time than sometimes I have to give (or am willing to give, which happens sometimes, just being honest here).

A few weeks ago, Kevin and I took the opportunity that we now have an adult child (who could be left to care for his younger sibling), and we went on an overnight getaway to the coast. This was the first time we had left our kids overnight at our home by themselves. We left in the morning on Friday and came back late Saturday afternoon.

13_Mar_me and Kev_001_edit (In my opinion, not the best picture of the two of us, but had to use the self timer on this one and I know the settings were a bit off.)

I know it is not always easy to get away when you are right in the midst of raising up kids, but I do know it is important for our kids to see a healthy marriage relationship. We have made plenty of mistakes over the years (and our kids know this), but we are really working on helping our kids to see that marriage is a life time commitment. It is a choice.

13_Mar_monterey_001_edit

Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” – Ephesians 5:33

Need some ideas on how to invest in your marriage? For a while now, I have subscribed to The Generous Wife’s blog posts. Her blog posts are short, but filled with great tips and encouragement to help you to be a more generous wife. She usually shares a few links also if you want to do a little more exploring on the subject. (There is also a blog for The Generous Husband, if you are interested)

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. - Deuteronomy 15:10

Any tips you would like to share on how you invest in your marriage?

Capture Your 365

This week I am making a dismal showing in the Capture Your 365 Challenge with only 3 photos. Not that I didn’t take a lot of pictures over the past week, just didn’t have a chance to really focus on the prompts for this week. So here goes:

13_Mar_plant something_001_edit
13_Mar_plant something_001_edit

ISO 100, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/160 sec

Day 79 – Plant Something: I love freesia! These bulbs have been coming up in my backyard for a couple of weeks now. They are so fragrant and colorful. The best part is planting them in the fall and waiting for them to come up in the spring. Such a treat!

13_Mar_hiding_001_edit
13_Mar_hiding_001_edit

ISO 800, 50mm, f/4.0, 1/13 sec

Day 80 – Hiding: Last year, I found this Mama & Me journal idea on Pinterest. Kelsey loves to write notes, so I thought this would be a fun way to keep in touch with each other. My husband and I went away for a couple of days and I found this when I got home. She left me the sweetest note! I just know this journal is going to be a treasure for both of us!

13_Mar_color_001_edit
13_Mar_color_001_edit

ISO 100, 200mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec

Day 85 – Color: Now I know these freesia are white (and I had just taken another picture of my freesia a few days ago), but I had just watered my garden and couldn’t resist taking a picture with all the water droplets.

Are you following along with the Capture Your 365 challenge?

What did you photograph this past week?