Morning Dusting

It's a sorry winter in southern New England when a dusting of snow is noteworthy at the end of January, but that's the way it goes. I thought it was especially pretty in the morning sunlight.

Humility and a Cracked Glass

What can I say? Pretty lean pickings today, photowise. Enjoy my deep statement, whatever it might mean.

Handbells

Tonight was the first handbell choir rehearsal of the new year. I love the first rehearsal of a new season, discovering what we're playing and what bells I'll be playing and sight reading new music. In a few rehearsals, the novelty will wear off, but tonight was definitely fun.

My Man

Best thing I've learned about photography this year: Turn off the flash. Look at those eyeballs! Flash always makes him blink. Isn't he cute?

Needles in Ice, Again

These are the same pine needles in the January 10 photo, but now the ice is frozen solid so you can no longer see the red of the wheel barrow showing through, and I used the macro setting on the camera to get closer in.

Student

My second born, reading his science text. He's camera shy but was kind enough to indulge me this morning when I told him I needed practice taking pictures.

Orchard in Winter

This is an orchard I frequently drive by. I like trees without leaves, like seeing the beauty of their branches. I also like the long, neat rows of fruit trees typical of an orchard.

Moms in Touch

On Wednesday mornings I meet with my friend Ruth, and we pray for our homeschooled kids. Our weekly prayer time is part of Moms in Touch, an international network of moms praying for their kids. Most Moms in Touch groups are for kids in schools, but there are also homeschool Moms in Touch groups.

Ruth's blue door is always welcoming, and Ruth is always an encouragement to me.

Wii!

We bought the boys Nintendo's newest game console for Christmas. We've never had a game console at all, but I was intrigued by this thing, called the Wii (and pronounced we) and thought it looked like a lot of fun. It has been a terrific hit with the whole family, not least myself.

I play Wii Sports almost every day and count it as cardio exercise. Tonight I played for about 45 minutes and actually won a game of tennis. (I also lost some games, but for some reason neglected to memorialize my losing screens.)

Snowy Street

Light snow has been falling all evening, and I've been out and about ferrying my son back and forth to karate and running errands. I'm not a skilled photographer, so night is hard, and snow is hard, but I kind of like this one.

Winter Fun Night

Our church held a "Winter Fun Night" at our home last night. This is not the best picture I took all evening, but it probably best represents our time together--thirty or so of our church family, many little conversations, hot chocolate and mulled cider (and coffee for the die-hards), cookies and cake and fancier finger foods, and a lot of warm affection.

Windy

Wind chills in the teens today--winter at last.

Small-Town Rush Hour

A familiar view out the windshield.

Driving Miss Natasha

This is my friend Natasha (not her real name!). This afternoon I had the privilege of driving her to an appointment with her surgeon. She suffers from chronic, severe back pain and has had several surgeries for it. On the ride she tells me of God's grace in her life, of God's "sense of humor," and how mysterious and good is his providence. At the surgeon's office, everyone is glad to see her, and she makes them laugh. She suffers in ways I cannot imagine--but she makes us all laugh. I hope if I ever have to truly suffer, I can smile like Natasha and make people laugh.

Tree in the Light

It's getting harder to take a picture every day, but I liked the way some of the trees in this picture were catching the light from the sun, near sunset.

Evening

A mug of tea and a good book--this is my idea of how to spend an evening. And it is how I spent this evening.

Slow Starters

This is how the boys started their morning today, lounging on the bottom bunk and listening to the Kingston Trio. After I snapped the picture, I sent them downstairs to start their school day, but even I can admit it looked like a cozy start for a rainy Monday.

Sunday Reading

I spend part of every Sunday afternoon reading, and this book is the one I've been reading most regularly on Sunday. (I read it on other days, too, but almost always on Sundays.) The book is by the Puritan Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God. It is something like 1100 pages long, dense with type, and very, very good. Yesterday I finished the chapter on the power of God. The underscored portion above reads,

Meditate on this power of God, and press it often upon your minds. We conclude many things of God that we do not practically suck the comfort of, for want of deep thoughts of it, and frequent inspection into it. We believe God to be true, yet distrust him; we acknowledge him powerful, yet fear the motion of every straw. Many truths, though assented to in our understandings, are kept under hatches by corrupt affections, and have not their due influence , becausae they are not brought forth into the open air of our souls by meditation. (Volume II, p. 102)

Many of my readers believe in the great power of God, but few of us could write for over a hundred pages on it, "for want of deep thoughts of it." This is what I love Charnock for; he enables me to meditate on who God is in greater depth than I am capable of on my own. That's why he's my Sunday reading.

Pansy

I am no gardener, but last spring I bought a flat of pansies and stuck them in the ground. Now it's January, we've certainly had some frosts, and they're still alive. A little wizened, but alive. Remarkable.

Family Under the Shrub

This little family has lived under the shrub near the front corner of our house for several months. I pass them now and then--I usually use the garage and not the front door--and I worry a little about them. What if it ever snows? Will they be OK? Do they have somewhere to go if it gets really cold? But I don't worry enough to pursue their relocation, so there they sit. At least they're together.

My "Office"

My "office" is just a desk built into the corner of our kitchen. Here it is in its natural (i.e., messy) state: bulletin board covered with business cards, appointment cards, missionary pictures, prescriptions, coupons, iTunes Gift Card waiting to be spent, Amazon Rewards Certificate likewise waiting to be spent, and so on; gadgetry and associated cables on the desk; Apple iBook computer; and--well, and paper stuff.

I'd rather take a pretty picture every day, but life isn't like that. Today life was more like this--not bad, really, just kind of cluttered and busy and normal.

Snow

It snowed today, for nearly the first time this season. (There was something like snow for about 5 minutes one December morning, but more like sleet and not like flurries, and of course it didn't stick.) It's all gone now, a few hours later, but here are a few flakes on the ice in our red wheel barrow.

Old Hoop

Something about this old basketball hoop at the home of my daughter's piano teacher caught my eye. Not sure why, but I like it.

Still Life with Barbell

I work out at home with exercise videos. Monday is the most important day; if I get in a workout Monday morning, it sets the tone for the week and I am much more likely to get in several more workouts during the week. The reverse is unfortunately true as well; no workout on Monday makes it that much harder to get going later in the week. I also try to do a tough workout on Monday, again to set the tone for the week.

Today I did a challenging full-body strength workout. I will be sore tomorrow--but I love feeling like I've done what I could to start the week off right, at least exercise-wise.

Sunday Sermon

During the sermon most weeks I take notes in my small Moleskine notebook. This is pretty much what my lap looks like every week, though on this particular Sunday it was all beautifully color coordinated. I wish I had tried the picture with a flash, as this looks grainy and not as colorful as my lap actually looked. Live and learn.

Spring in January?!

I really enjoy winter weather and snow, but even I have to admit that today was a beautiful day in Connecticut.

Taxi Mom

It's a good thing I really like my car. I see this view most days, and many days more than once. Today was just two round trips to the bookstore where my daughter works. I took this picture with my phone's camera while waiting for her after work.

Wishing for Winter Weather

I bought myself a Magnetic Poetry calendar for 2007; today's picture shows the lower flap, on which we've arranged some of the included words. I started this warm-weather complaint a couple days ago, but I think each of the kids has added to it. Can you tell it's been unseasonably warm here in Connecticut?

Sharon

My friend Sharon was diagnosed with cancer last month. I was happy to be able to drive her to her radiation treatment today, and we had a good time of fellowship. She was cheerful, honest, and full of faith, as usual. Will you join me in praying for her before you leave this page? I know she'd appreciate it very much.

Back to School

I homeschool our 3 children. Today was back-to-school day after a couple weeks off. 'Nuff said.

New Year's Day

Self-portrait to kick off the new year and Project 365. Feeling pensive about 2007.