Fall Wrap Up in Second Life November 30, 2014

Hello dear ones! Another post long overdue. I took these pictures in SecondLife for Autumn. There’s The Bayou and The Garden of Dreams. Both are gorgeous. Enjoy! God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

The Bayou

I love the rain.

Lovely Fall Colors

The Garden of Dreams

Playing Piano

The Tree in The Garden of Dreams

There are these great bubbles that take you to dream locations. Here is a cozy library.

Fall Festivals, Pumpkin Carving, & Archery 2014 November 4, 2014

Hello dear ones! How are you? We ended October with several fall festivals and pumpkin carving. I thought I’d share with you :). This year I was a Snowy Owl and Michael was a Ninja Turtle. Chris didn’t dress up.

Snowy Owl costume~ I wore an off white dress with white tights. I sewed white feathers onto the dress. I glued feathers onto a mask and used a black Sharpee for the markings. A white feather boa was my wings. I put my hair up in a white and black bandana.

Snowy Owl makeup~ I dusted my face with white eye shadow. I put tons of white eye shadow on my brow and put yellow in the crease of my eyes. I used black mascara for the markings. My eyes are hooded so it’s really hard to see the makeup. My mask covered most of my face so the makeup didn’t have to be perfect.

A couple Fall Festival pics
Our church

The Museum- Michael with living art for the scavenger hunt

Chris and Michael tag teamed to make a Darth Vader pumpkin carving.

Michael cleaned out the pumpkin guts.

Chris found the pattern online and carved the pumpkin.

The results: one really cool pumpkin!

Lastly, Chris, Michael, & a couple guy friends got together for a day of archery practice. I didn’t go so of course there weren’t many pictures. I’ve got one of Chris to show you.

So how did you spend October? Did you catch any festivals? Did you dress up? As what? God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Thanksgiving 2013 December 10, 2013

Hello dear ones! We had a busy Thanksgiving back in my hometown. We had three grandparents to visit (all mine), Chris’ parents, and a couple aunts, uncles, and cousins. Before that Mom and Michael put on a puppet theater for me and we learned about the Mayflower. In Jesup we were able to see “Frozen” at the Drive In which was super fun. Also one of my grandparents had an Olmec replica from Mexico. It was neat to see what we learned about in history right in their living room.

We visited Dad’s grave but had to avoid the sprinklers. What a bad day to have the sprinklers on…It was good to see family but even better to come back home sweet home. My Mom and StepDad took care of all the pets for us and I know they were relieved to stop collecting eggs from the chickens etc. We really do live on an ark lol ;).

Here are the links to the neat Thanksgiving activities we did before our trip:

We got our puppet printables here and put them on craft sticks. I used a folder for the stage.

http://teachbesideme.com/this-is-the-feast/

I got the cute play script from here:

http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=37815&esp=PRT/ib/20091013/acq/t_giving_html////txtl////

We did this Thanksgiving timeline game here:

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2011/11/the-1st-thanksgiving-a-timeline-activity-book.html

Michael took the interactive Thanksgiving  journey here:

http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/

Here’s a good Thanksgiving lapbook:

http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/reforthlaand.html

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday: Our Julius Caesar Party (Rome Week 1) November 25, 2013

In this post: Our first week studying Rome and the Caesar family, Julius and Octavian (Augustus). Also links to past Thanksgiving crafts.

Hello dear ones! This will be short and to the point today.  Below is a list of what’s pictured and at the end are links to last years Thanksgiving crafts.

• We ate like Romans with Pita bread and feta cheese. We also had apples with yogurt and honey.
• We read about the Caesars in The Story of the World. Then had a Julius Caesar party with Little Caesar’s Pizza, a Caesar salad, and  a homemade orange Julius. I didn’t follow a recipe but I figured it was close enough. I just put orange sherbert and milk in the blender.
• We watched the movie Caesar and Cleopatra on Netflix.
• Here’s a good way to remember the order of the first Caesars. July comes before August. Julius before Augustus (a.k.a Octavian).  Those months were named after the Caesars.
• We did a small lapbook on Rome from here: http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/anroexqla1.html  . That’s where we found out what food they ate.
• We studied pictures of coins with Caesar on them. We couldn’t make a good enough impression so we just wrote roman numerals and Caesar’s name on clay coins.

• We attempted to make a Roman aqueduct out of Legos but didn’t have enough. So instead we made a crude aqueduct out of clay.
• We took our Greek gods mobile and just changed the names to the Roman gods.  We read a story about Cupid and talked about how he shows up in Valentine’s cards etc. We also talked about how we got our planet names from the Roman gods. More found here: http://rome.mrdonn.org/index.html
• Michael drew the Roman Colosseum from his Draw and Write Through History book.
• He played this Roman Aqueduct game found here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/aqueduct.html

That’s it :). We have two more weeks of Rome after Thanksgiving Break and then plenty of free time til January. It’ll be nice to take a long holiday break for once.  Last year, we studied the pilgrims and native Americans. We had many fun crafts so I hope you check them out :).

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/crafty-monday-the-pilgrims-and-the-mayflower/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/a-late-crafty-monday-native-americans-thanksgiving-past-plus-u-k-country-study/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/crafty-monday-ancient-india-china-plus-veterans-day/

Rome Week 2: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/rome-week-2/

Rome Week 3: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/rome-week-3-chariots-pompeii-and-the-end/

Crafty Monday: Ancient Greece Week 3 & Oktoberfest November 4, 2013

In this post: We learn about Greek culture and Alexander the Great. Our homeschool group celebrates Oktoberfest.

Hello dear ones. I hope you are well. Last week we finished our study of Ancient Greece. We also learned about Alexander the Great.  It’s going to be short and sweet today. Here’s a list of what’s pictured:

• Picture of Alexander the Great’s horse, Bucephelus. Michael got this out of his Draw and Write Through History book. He used water colors.
• Bucephelus puppet
• The lighthouse at Alexandria~from Draw & Write Through History. It’s one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.
• A Greek Urn~We also watched a video about how Greek pots told stories. Michael drew the Olympics on this one.
• We learned about the top 3 Greek philosophers and talked about their philosophies. We used “S.P.A.” to remember who taught who. “Sock” to remember Socrates. Plato sounds like play dough. “Air” for Aristotle. I drew pictures so we’d remember  facts about them. You can see Aristotle is teaching Alexander the Great.
• Our Indian corn sprouted :).

You can find video and craft links here:

Our homeschool group celebrated Oktoberfest and learned about Germany. Everyone brought a German food. A mom who had lived in Germany talked about it. My buddy Hannah read the kids a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers. Since it was also Halloween some of the kids dressed up and we had games after.

I made an apple pie braid. I’m not sure if it’s German. I used this pie crust recipe:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/baked-pie-shell-dessert-recipes

I doubled it and rolled it out. Then I cut both sides into strips and left space in the middle for the apples. I cooked the apples with a sugary cream cheese mix that didn’t serve it’s purpose as a frosting. Then I poured the apple mixture in the middle and braided the sides. I brushed the sugary mix on top and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar. Then I baked it for 18 minutes. It was scrumptious!

It was a busy week with all the festivals and costume fun.  I was too pooped to party by Friday.  Well, more next time :).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Greece Week 2: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/crafty-monday-part-1-ancient-greece-week-2/

Next Week : https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/crafty-monday-native-americans-carthage-study/

My Family Rocks! Sunday: Terabithia & Costume Fun November 3, 2013

In this post: The family transforms Michael’s playhouse into Terabithia. Costume fun at Fall festivals. Also a pumpkin carving and owls that share God’s love :). Meet Glinda/Evanora, Bilbo the Hobbit, and Jace from Duck Dynasty!

Hello dear ones! We’ve had an eventful October. We don’t do scary stuff on Halloween. We like to go to Fall festivals throughout the month. So costume fun isn’t just one day for us. I’m really against anything gory or ghoulish. I love Autumn and I love dressing up though (candy’s not that bad either). I also think Halloween itself is a great opportunity to reach out to kids.

Michael helped me color these owl papers and I put John 3:16 on the back. Then I taped it to a bag of candy.

I grew up being well aware of the roots of Halloween etc… But I believe what the enemy means for bad can be put to use for the good (in some cases…). For example, the mall had trick or treat and a church gave out candy bags to hundreds of kids. We got home and found a gospel tract in the bag. So hundreds of kids were given the gospel of Jesus….because of Halloween.  This is also why we keep our light on and leave a bowl of candy. One year we gave away cds with the gospel message for kids on it (cute musical). I don’t believe Christians should fear the day.

Another Halloween tradition that can be used for good is the Jack-o-lantern. We like to carve pumpkins and we don’t worship the devil ;). The story behind the Jack-o-lantern is grim but I like to put the light to good use. Jesus is the light of the world and what better night to share His light than Halloween when all manner of ghouls are glorified? Chris is pretty handy and he’s carved elaborate designs like “Jesus loves you” and a cross before. This year we went simple and stayed with “God’s love” as a theme. So we had a big heart. I didn’t bother with real candles this year.

Michael used gloves to dig out the pumpkin guts. My lil man doesn’t like to get his hands dirty! 🙂 We saved the guts so we can plant the seeds back in the pumpkin later. Chris carved the pumpkin but I came up with the design. So it was a family matter.

Now, a little break from trick or treat. I’ll get back to the costumes in a bit :).

Michael finished reading “The Bridge to Terabithia” the week before. I wanted to save the details for today since the biggest Terabithia project was a family thing.  Michael read the book and reviewed with me. I had him draw his own fantasy land in his reading journal. It’s called “Funnyland” with “magic and funniness”. He also made a leaf crown which we reused for our Greek studies. We were going to build a small bridge but didn’t.  We also watched the movie. But the best idea came from Michael….

He wanted to transform his playhouse into Terabithia. I’ve been wanting to paint the faded playhouse for ages. Chris took Michael to the hardware store to pick out paint. I found various odds and ends to make a wind chime or “bells”. I hung up string to make a nature loom that Michael could weave leaves and flowers into. Then we all painted. You can see “Terabithia” written on the top. Chris helped me fill an old tire with dirt and Michael’s flowers. Chris also cut pieces of wood so I could have fantasy road signs. We have Narnia, Terabithia, Oz, the Shire, and my own fictional city, Davar.  I went back later and made “Narnia” more legible. I’ve never had nice handwriting.

Michael likes to read and do schoolwork inside Terabithia. It was a lovely sunny week so what the who! I love the bubbles picture. My baby is adorable :).

Now, for costume fun. Are you ready to meet some celebrities? Okay, so it’s really us but I think our costumes were great for the price. Jace was super easy. Chris was just himself!  He usually keeps his hair back in a pony tail though. If you’ve kept up with this blog then you know we love Duck Dynasty. They remind us of family :).  Michael’s Hobbit costume did cost a pretty penny and we had to order it online but his was the only one.

I decided to be two people. This time I was Evanora the wicked witch of the East from the movie “Oz the Great and Powerful”. I don’t like evil but I really liked Evanora’s style. No one knew who I was but this outfit was the prettiest of the two.  I got the black dress from Goodwill way back when. I added green sleeves. I bought the necklace online. It’s not the official necklace but it’s so much prettier. I got the earrings at Target. I will be re-wearing the jewelry often for sure.  I ordered Evanora’s head band online.  I had difficulty achieving her hairstyle so I did a simple bun and pulled my part loose a bit. I went with green eye shadow and lots of silver glitter.

We all went to a church Fall festival and visited my Mom afterwards.

Then on Halloween day I was Glinda the good witch of Oz. I mixed old Glinda with the new. So I have the modern Glinda’s crown and wand. My dress is pink for the old Glinda.  I wore light make up with silver and blue eye shadow. I added glitter too. It’s hard to tell with flash. I felt prettier in this outfit than I actually was. I should’ve used the pink fabric for a shawl instead of sewing it to the back of my dress. I had so many wardrobe issues.  I’ve had the pink dress forever. The tutu I made for Mom during our Oz party. I just made it shorter for me. My white tights were black from Evanora’s shoes :(. That little jewel on the crown left a bruise.

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/my-family-rocks-sunday-were-off-to-see-the-wizard/

Michael and I “trick or treated” at the library and mall. No one knew who I was this time either but all the little girls lit up and said “Look at the princess!”.  For a night I felt like a character at Disney World. There were adults dressed up but I think I was the only poofy pink adult princess. So the kids wanted to say “hi” to me. I felt like a nicer person in the Glinda costume. Ha!

I got so excited that I decided to have a fashion show when I got home. I even pulled out my wedding dress from the closet. It’s been 8 or 9 years since I’ve taken it out. I was happy to see that I still fit. It was a tad tight but that’s it. I really like that dress. I’m planning a costume for it without the train. I know I can never sell my dress and I hate for it to collect dust. It’s such a pure white dress…so delicate…sigh.

And I leave you with this…

Chris feeding Tessa with chopsticks. Ignore the cat’s bottom. What a week! Did you dress up this year? Please share your costumes/ kid’s costumes in the comments :). God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Virtual Friday: Costume Fun at Hogsmeade November 1, 2013

Hello dear ones! Last night, after taking Michael around for candy and having the darndest time with my pink tutu Glenda dress…I propped up my feet and decided to have some costume fun in Second Life. I was only able to find one family friendly place to “trick or treat” per sey. Really I just walked around and clicked on pumpkins for free clothes. Inara’s had a pumpkin hunt. Inara’s clothing shop is located in a Harry Potter-ish sim. So I was able to explore Hogsmeade. I was too tired to see if Hogwarts was there.

The hardest part of the evening was finding the right costume. I loooove to dress up…in Second Life and real life.  I firmly believe in my avatar staying true to my real life morals and personality. Though if I dressed as Tinkerbell  I would be more modest. I also have an adult body in real life so there is that big difference lol.

In the end I chose the most expensive costume for the night…the unicorn. I usually don’t spend that much on virtual clothes but I have a girly love for unicorns. The sadistic side of me wants to say “Charlie! Let’s go to candy mountain, Charlie!” He he he 🙂 (Google it). Here I am with the loot at the end of the night.

I just have to show you the other costumes up close :). Then we will head to Hogsmeade and I also have a frightening discovery to share about my house!

I wanted to go as Audrey Hepburn but I just found a sweater…not a costume that would fit. All the good clothes are going to toddledoos these days…ugg so annoying.  I don’t want to have to switch to a toddler avatar.  I would so wear this sweater in real life…the whole outfit really. It went well over my fall clothes.

The puppy dog was my second favorite costume. I had a hard time choosing between it and the unicorn.

This is actually a combo of two outfits. The puppy costume I bought was too small in some areas. So I had to find a shirt and leggings to go with it. Maybe I’ll do this in years to come for real life…though I think I want to be a white owl next year.

The Butterfly Princess is the most elegant costume. I had to use a different top for it too.

Lastly, this pumpkin girl outfit is adorable. Oh, if i had a little girl…

If you’re wondering about the candy bag…it actually has a little girl’s voice in it that says “trick or treat” when you touch it.

So then I headed to Inara’s for the pumpkin hunt.  You can find Inara’s and Hogsmeade here:

Visit Jack and Jones (131, 90, 30)

After finding all the pumpkins I went exploring. Here’s Dervish and Banges.

Inside Hogshead.

Halloween decor was everywhere.  The area looked very authentic and detailed.

Inside Madam Puddifoot’s.

Inside Honeyduke’s. You can see Burt’s every flavor beans.

Outside The Three Broomsticks.

Inside The Three Broomsticks.

I don’t know if you noticed but I’ve finally realized how to scale images on here. Yaaa! At the end of the street there was a lovely little park.

Sand castles!

Just keep swinging, swinging, swinging…

Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Now, let’s head home and check the candy. I didn’t get this for free. I had to buy the bowls. They give out candy bags when you touch them. Maybe I’ll put them on my porch next year.

What the heck! My room is being invaded by spiders! This was not planned!

They kept coming in my room. Then they followed me to the playroom. I was a bit freaked out…virtually speaking ;). I love using emoticons on my avatar…too cute.

So I did some investigating and found the source of my infestation problem. The haunted house next door has spiders that come down the trees. I’ve never had issues with them before but for some reason they kept coming in my yard and house. I hope they take them down soon. It’s rather disturbing.

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. Halloween in second life isn’t the kid friendliest. It’s full of gory parties and horror…things I don’t seek out. I’m glad I was able to find a safe and beautiful place to explore. It was a relaxing night…despite the spider invasion. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday Part 2: Bats, Owls, Spiders, and Cats October 28, 2013

In this post: Our homeschool group learns about the creepy and spooky creatures talked about this time of year. At home Michael learns about bats, owls, and spiders with crafts, games, and fun food. Plus my pumpkin art!

Hello dear ones! I know the top pictures are always too big. They are for my Pinterest and the reader. This is the second part of Crafty Monday. I hope you didn’t miss the first part with week 2 of Ancient Greece. We had fun last week learning about the creepy creatures brought up around Halloween. We don’t celebrate Halloween (as in celebrating the dead…ghosts…horror etc…) but I don’t mind learning about these “creepy” creatures because I don’t think they are scary at all. We love to dress up for Fall festivals and to enjoy Harvest celebrations but I’m very anti-horror.

When one of the homeschool moms decided to do a creepy creature project we just had to prepare. So I found these great lapbooks etc on Currclick.com. They were super cheap and all about owls, bats, spiders, and cats. We never got to the cat one.

You can find my Fall Pinspirations here: http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/fall-crafts/

First we began with bats and a famous bat named Stellaluna :).  I think bats are super cute.

Here’s what you see above:

• Flutter, Flutter Little Bat poem
• Candy Bat craft ~We also watched a reading of Stellaluna. The white bat represents her.
• Hanging Bat craft ~I hung these over Michael’s reading pool. Now he has a bat cave :).
• Bat lapbook from Currclick.com. We also watched a video about bats. I believe the link came with the lapbook.
• Bats and Cats music game ~ found here: http://www.susanparadis.com/catalog.php?ID=SP740
• Cat cookie cutter sandwich ~ it is what it is. Poor black cats. They get such a bad rap. I have a sweet one and he’s not evil…well most of the time.

• Owl cursive sheets~ Michael practiced writing cursive with these all week.  He traced the owl fact sheets and he copied owl facts too.
• Michael dissected an owl pellet online here: http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm
• Then he got a certificate for being a Bird Barfologist.  Michael got the funny glasses from Michael’s craft store.

• Spider Web Language Arts Game: I made a yarn web with cut out spiders. I put various Fall words on it. Michael had to find synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms. He wasn’t allowed to step off the yarn.
• Glue Resist Spider Web~ it’s really hard to see the spider web with a green back ground.  We made the web with glue then painted over it with water paint.

A friend’s church had a fall festival called Manna-ween. We watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” on the lawn.  You can see Michael as Bilbo Baggins. There’s a pic with his buddies Olivia and Liam. When we got home Michael colored his Great Pumpkin coloring book and we watched the movie again.

Our homeschool group  learned about creepy creatures last week.  The mom who led it divided the activities in centers.  The kids were split into pairs.  They were given passports. Once they completed the activities at each center they stamped the passport. I have them labeled below.

Lastly, a couple projects of my own…

• Sweater Pumpkin made from an old blue sweater.
• Pumpkin blocks ~ wooden blocks painted orange and white. A nail for the stem and gold wire for the vine.
• We are trying to sprout Indian corn for a science project.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday: Greece Week 1 + Down at the Farm October 21, 2013

In this post: We begin our study of Ancient Greece with Greek Pizza, the Parthenon, Greek architecture, and the Alphabet! Also a fun trip to the farm/ranch as we learn about pioneers and pilgrims. And a few Fall crafts!

Hello beloved and how are you? We are still kickin’ over here at the Dover’s. I’m excited to be teaching and learning about Ancient Greece. The Greeks were some of my favorite people in Social studies at school. I really enjoyed Greek mythology as a kid but that’s changed since I became a Christian. I don’t watch Xena or Hercules anymore. Still, I think the culture was interesting.

This week we focused on the Alphabet and architecture. You can find our pinspirations at this link:

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/sow-greece/

Michael decoded a Greek letter and then he wrote his own Greek letter. It was a secret message to his Daddy, the other secret agent in the family. Shhhhh! Don’t tell! 😉

Chris decoding his letter.

We watched a couple of videos about the Greek Alphabet and some cute songs. They reminded me of my brief time in Bible college. Me and my guy buddy were surrounded by old men and they cracked us up. I’ve got a video of the guys singing the Greek Alphabet. Oh how I miss them all….good times.  You can find the other vids on the link I gave you.

We talked about Athens vs Sparta. I would rather live in Athens for sure. The Spartans were warriors and very harsh. The Athenians were all about education and the arts. We learned a bit about the Olympics. Michael couldn’t believe that it was limited to men and they went around naked! No wonder married women were forbidden to attend!

We made a homemade Greek Pizza with olives and feta. My guys really enjoyed it. I couldn’t handle the heart burn.

We looked at Greek mosaics online and then made a bean mosaic.

Michael drew the Parthenon from his Draw and Write Through History book.

We watched a video about the Parthenon while we put together this Lego Parthenon. We found directions online but sort of did our own thing. We simplified and it turned out nice.

Michael made these Greek columns out of toilet paper tubes and paper. We have Doric (the plain columns),  Ionic (looks like scrolls), and Corinthian (fancy) columns.

We ended the week by looking at Greek sculptures and then making our own out of cucumbers. Okay, it was hard! None of us had the talent for it.

I thought mine (right) looked like an old grandma. You can’t see her face in the pic. Michael’s looks scary like slimer or something. Yeah, it was hard.

We did a scarecrow tutorial. The crayon didn’t resist the paint well. You can’t see his straw. Cute, nevertheless.

Michael also learned how to draw an owl. He added other animals to his picture.

You can find these crafts here: http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/fall-crafts/

I gave Michael a fake pumpkin and let him decorate it however he wanted. He drew a cat face.

At the beginning of the week, our group took a trip to a ranch/farm to learn about pilgrims and pioneers. It was a good program though overshadowed literally by the grey misty and COLD weather. Oh, I froze my tail off! All of us had dressed for a hot day too. So we shivered through it and most of us went home, napped, and had cider or cocoa after. Goes to show….cold homeschool moms think alike ;).

Currclick.com has free “Down on the Farm” notebooking pages. Check it out:

http://www.currclick.com/product/30016/Down-on-the-Farm-Notebooking-Pages

This sweet lady talked to the kiddos about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.

The the kids learned how to grind corn. There is no way to get a decent amount of food this way. I’m thinking there was a bowl shaped vat and a long stone cylinder or something to grind it. I can’t imagine a rock and a log being very effective at all.  The corn went everywhere.

Our “Native American” guide showed the kids this teepee and told a Native American legend.

Inside the teepee.

A dreary day on the farm…

Fun feeding goats!

The free range bunnies made burrows…I want a free range bunny now.

Baaaa ram ewe! He he…reminds me of Babe every time. Sheep make me giggle. It’s like chihuahuas. I always want to say “Yo quero Taco Bell”.

King of the world!

A hay ride without any hay…still fun.

This man knew his stuff. He talked to the kids about being a pioneer and living on the trail.

The Pioneer man took us to the cabin “we built”. We used our imagination to get there :).

Pioneer man showing us how to wash clothes the old fashioned way.

Inside the cabin…such simple beauty.

The loft. You didn’t have to worry about family togetherness back then.

Downstairs in the one room cabin. Oh this reminds me of some of my favorite Christian romance and inspirational movies….Love Comes Softly…Seasons of the Heart.

What a perfect Fall table…I wouldn’t mind having a cabin someday. See the stuffed turkey in the corner? There’s an abacus on the mantle.

An old reader on the table.

Pumpkins by the covered wagon.

Nifty spiderweb net.

It was a fun and busy week.  We went to the fair and also a cooking school. I’ll show pictures of that later, Lord willing.  If you’re wondering where the Bible was in this time of history (remember our timeline?): well, the book of Malachi was being written and the Jews were about to enter into the silent years where God refused to speak. When we study Rome we will finally be in the times of Jesus, the messiah. That’ll be great near Christmas, one of the times we celebrate Christ’ birth.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/crafty-monday-part-1-babylon-and-persia/

Week 2 of Greece: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/crafty-monday-part-1-ancient-greece-week-2/

My Family Rocks! Sunday: The Fair, Festivals, & Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies October 20, 2013

Hello dear ones! I hope you’re enjoying your fall. 🙂 Autumn brings some of my favorite things….fairs and festivals.

Last weekend, our local museum had a Fall festival. Michael got to wear his Bilbo (Hobbit) costume for the first time. Chris and I haven’t dressed up yet but our costumes are ready for the future festivals.  We then headed to a pumpkin nursery. The hayrides were expensive so Chris pulled Michael around in the pumpkin wagon. You can see above that we had some fun photo opportunities with hay bales, a wall of pumpkins, and a Native American themed photo booth. There’s also a giant hay bale spider. I caught a pic of Chris and Michael playing football together.

Later that week we went to the fair. We saw tigers and strange animals…like a four horned ram and a midget bull. We also saw a camel at the petting zoo.

If you scroll up to the big picture at the beginning you’ll see me modeling my favorite Fall outfit. I got the large sweater and leggings from Target. It’s hard to see but I also have this neat owl necklace.  So cozy!

This month has been unpredictable with our government and worries over Chris’ job and pay as a Veteran. But the Lord is good and continues to work things out. We’ve had some great times despite the chaos in the media and our nation. I pray our family will be strong no matter what comes our way and that we will always cherish the tender moments. Michael is only 7 once.

Here’s something fun. These pumpkin gingerbread cookies were great with cider. I picked out and bought my own personalized cookie cutter kit awhile back (online). So I got out some cookie cutters that are a bit unusual. You can see the key shape. We’ve also got a kitty cat, owls, brooms, and I tried a spider web but it didn’t work.  I’ve got plenty others to try in the future. I’m looking forward to the wrench cookie cutter :). I’ve got baby stuff cookie cutters for my friend’s baby shower too.

Anywho, it was nice to make gingerbread with a Fall twist. I got the recipe here:

http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/2013/09/spiced-pumpkin-gingerbread-cookies.html

I messed up on the icing because I ran out of powdered sugar. Yeah, regular sugar does not work the same! I turned my frosting disaster into something good by cooking it with apples and making “apple turnovers” with a can of biscuits. They were great for breakfast :).

Fairs and festivals remind me of the fleeting years of childhood. Cotton candy and hayrides…memories that we make for a season and then they are gone forever. May we put our worries aside and cherish the simple joys. They mean the most.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover