Happy Carvings

Saturday was beautiful. We had not yet bought our carving pumpkins, I am terrible about planning ahead. I mean terrible. So, we got a great deal on 2 big ole' pumpkins out of the back of a trailer in the Kmart parking lot.
Needless to say we had a good old fashion pumpkin carving contest. We teamed up. Obviously two on two. The competition was Shannon's idea. Thanks Daddy. Great idea.

Before the carving session the girls and I painted. 

We really like to paint in this house.

Lillie had the complete idea for the face.

I manned the knife. 

Ainzli is readjusting her new knees socks for the 1000th time.

Nice shot Daddy.

I know I should have been helping her, but this was way more fun!

Just me and my baby Boo. 

She turned over the lid to make a hat. 

Genius Lloyd. Sheer Genius!

 

Happy Halloween! 

Autumn:)

Handy Photo Overload

I am trying to get back into the swing of things. We have had one busy, busy month. At times I doubt my abilities to handle so much "busy".............. but that's a whole other post!
We recently got back from our annual Fall Break trip to Grammy and D's. They relocated to the foothills of Tennessee a couple of years ago. And man does it make for a nice, beautiful, fun filled, affordable trip! WooHoo!!
I had one goal and one goal only for this trip. I wanted to take a hike. Not a baby hike. Not a Mt. Kilimanjaro hike. A hike that would be doable for the little women and push us a little physically as well. We did. It was awesome. It was probably a couple of miles. It got the heart rate up. And we all loved it! Loved it! Loved it!
We like to explore and boy is the area packed full of places to explore!

Day One:

We just went up Grammy & D's back hill. You see down there it is just a hill. Not in our hometown. It is a mini mountain! It was fun.
Ainzli just ran around. She is one busy girl. She tried to break limbs and destruct trees. You know, things she enjoys best.
Ms. Blue was on the hunt for moss and fungi.

Our treasures. 

That is what we call them. 

Treasures.

Ms. Blues work of art. 

Look at those sweet little delicate hands. 

So proper.:)

Day Two:


The hike. It was wonderful. I love my little women.:)

Ainzli and Grammy. 

Walking the trail. 

Ainzli can wear Grammy's shoes. 

Please tell me you remember how cool it was when you could

finally wear an adults shoes!?

I have never, not ever, seen a fungus like this. 

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!

These are my new leg warmers. 

They are the arms from a sweater I bought at Goodwill.

I saw the idea somewhere on the world wide web sometime ago.

I always think I will remember where I get ideas so I can credit them, but if it doesn't happen

within the hour it is hopeless!

By the way, I don't think everyone is sold on this total awesomeness :)

(My oldest daughter!)

Hmmmmm! 

Saw this at a hotdog joint.

I sent it to my husband.

Grammy/Ava and I tasted wine at the local winery.

Not too bad. 

The best part was the location.

Breathtaking!

Day Three:

A walk in Rogers Creek Valley. This church sits right around the bend from Grammy and D's. It is so peaceful. I joke that when we go visit I could sit on the couch the entire time. Not true, but I don't think I would have to leave the valley.

 This is funny. 

Especially now that I see it here.

I am wearing the other half of my leg warmer idea. 

Oh, Autumn:)

 

This is Rogers Creek. 

It also runs through Grammy and D's property.

We so like to play in and around the creek. 

In the creek happens in the summer.

If you are Ainzli it could happen year round!

Aaahhh. That was nice looking at all these pictures. Now I must get back in the groove.
Back to life.
Back to reality!

Autumn:)

My Thing

I keep telling myself someday. Now is not the time. Right now I am being a mom. Not just a mom. Not just a stay at home mom (which has only been the case since the end of July). I am the mom. The best mom I know how to be. It is by far and away exactly my current "sweetspot".

I finished Max Lucado's book "Cure for the Common Life" a couple of weeks ago. Before that book reading was like a mission. Since that book I have read nothing. I really took it to heart. What is Autumn's sweetspot? What is my purpose? What is the one thing my Creator endowed me with that He did no one else?  Right now I am laughing. I have worried about it. Laughed about it. Almost cried about it one night.  I cannot think of one thing. I am not kidding. I was trying to do the study guide at the end of the book. This "question and think" area.

N-O-T-H-I-N-G

!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pathetic. I know. Someday. Yes. It (my thing) will fall and gently soak me like a warm summer rain. Or maybe it already has and I dismissed it. Or it scared me too much so I wrapped it up and put it away. I surely hope not. Until then I will be what I am. A wife. A mother. A homemaker. A pursuer. To the best of my abilities. I will be satisfied. No, I will be more than satisfied. I will drink it in. All of the it. The good. The bad. The wanted. The unwanted. All of it. With a big smile on my face and more grace than I could possibly deserve. All knowing that "my thing" and I will meet. 

Someday.

Somewhere.

Somehow.

Could You Have At Least Freshened Up?

It has been wonderful this week. The weather. My motivation. The little women. Shannon will hopefully (fingers crossed) be finishing up with something at work that has basically had him living there. We are "living the dream." (Shannonism).

Yesterday I was buttoning up a couple of loose ends here around the house.  I was in the cleaning mood, but also in the mood to take my picture with my little women. I have been hanging a ton of the pictures up that I ordered and Ainzli made the comment, "Are there any of just you and us?". Looking around there are not many. Not many at all (2).

We can surely remedy that. So I did. In my cleaning clothes. Greasy hair. Unmentionables showing (didn't realize that till after the fact, oh well!). Face looking red and splotchy. Farm girl arms.
Honestly, that is how my family sees me. Most days. So when they look back at this they will see who they always saw.

Scary, greasy, tousled. Me!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Autumn:)

Handy Photo Tuesday: A Template

Instagram is so much fun. I am loving the new update. It is much easier and seems to be a little faster (the shutter speed). There would be times I would get frustrated with "missing" the shot.
I have a little over 600 pictures/videos on my phone. It is my camera for most of the day to day shots. A "Handy" little point and shoot.
The other day I was going through some old pictures that Shannon's mom gave him. There have been quite a few different sizes of standard prints over the years. There was the 3x3 inch square. The 3x3 inch square with rounded edges. These two are from the late 70's and 80's. I do like the square. Now there is the standard 4x6 or 3.5x5, these have been the standard for quite sometime. Then there is the Polaroid. The lovely Polariod. The picture that comes directly out of your camera. Instantly. With an ok product. The best part for me is the cool size and border it produces.

The entire Polaroid print is 3.5 x 4.25. The white border on the three sides is about an 1/8 of an inch. The bottom is about 3/4 of an inch. The actual picture is about 3.15x3.15 inches.  I realize this is really boring information, but there is a point.
I am going to convert my Instagram photos into Polaroid like photos!!!! How totally cool. I am super excited. It is going to be kind of time consuming, but I just know that it will be worth it.

Below is my template. It will be a 3.5x5 inch print. Here I can get a print for .19! In Photoshop, I am  dragging my Instagram shot onto this template. Adjusting it with free transform. I put the edges of the file inside the red lines. In Photoshop the red lines are just guides. Here, for the example, I actually painted them in. If you would be interested in the "real" template just let me know. I would be more than happy to email it to you. The bottom black rectangle is the part I will have to cut off once I have the prints. I then save it. And poof, a Polaroid in the making. It will be time consuming. I am sure I could look hard enough and find a print place that would do it all for me. But here's the thing: I have to do it on the budget. You know? Maybe you don't know. Lucky you!:)

Here are a couple of examples. The top and two sides are nicely inside the invisible guides. So the white around the edge will be perfect. The bottom will need to be trimmed. I will do this with my slide cutter. Not sure if that is the correct name, but that's what I call it.

When all is said and done they will be up on a shelf in a little wooden crate like box. Easily accessed by growing little women. Just another little way to have our day to day's on hand for years to come.
Oh yes. And by the way. If you know of somewhere on the far edges of the beautiful world wide web of a Polaroid making place please let me know. I would check it out in a heartbeat.!

Autumn:)