"Coffee Hour"

Or, more accurately for these kids, "donut minute."

Painting the Trim

My man, doing a great job.

Yellow Mums

Red Leaves

It's been in the upper 80s and low 90s this week, unseasonably warm, but the leaves are changing nonetheless.

Kipper in the Window, At Night

Cheerios

Baseball

Crosswords Together

This is a frequent sight, perhaps especially on Sunday evenings: Ben and I, working on a crossword puzzle together. (This is, by the way, my September self-portrait.)

Hannah & Elijah

Today was the church's baby shower for Baby Elijah; here he's being held by a loving big sister.

Chipmunk

Apple Orchard

Abandoned

Turkey

When the turkeys came into the yard this afternoon, I almost didn't get the camera out; I have taken a lot of turkey pictures this year. But they were staying close to the house, and I couldn't resist. Such funny-looking birds.

State of the Fridge

Someday it might be interesting to know what was on our fridge in September of 2007. Let's see: two missionary families; one Compassion sponsored child; the invitation to my niece's Bat Mitzvah; my aunt; Dave's mom's picture from the paper; a dear friend who's suffering with cancer (and her husband and son); a group shot of our informal homeschool group; Aimée's senior picture; our dinner menu for the week; and assorted magnets.

Church Lunch

Rainy Morning Poem

Elijah

Our church family has been blessed by a new addition. Isn't he beautiful? Congratulations to Denise, Rich, Ricky, Hannah, Noah, Holly, and Jonah--and welcome Elijah!

Another Arachnid

Nifty web.

Discouragement

Latin is hard. Life is hard.

Bookstore

While Aimée was at class tonight, the boys and I browsed in Barnes & Noble.

The Old Floor

Bye-bye, old floor!

Empty Rooms

Today we completely emptied the living room and dining room in preparation for Monday's arrival of the floor guys. It reminded me of when we first moved into the house, and the kids enjoyed the big, echoey space.

Wok Express

Kipper and I were on our own this evening as the others were occupied elsewhere, so we had dinner at the mall (Kip loves his lo mein), went to the bookstore, and came home to watch a Nero Wolfe episode on DVD.

Swans

Flooring

The floor guys brought the wood for our new floor this afternoon. Installation starts Monday!

Spider on Web

What is it about September and spiders? Are they more active this time of year? Bigger? More architecturally ambitious? I'm seeing more big spiders and big, interesting webs these days than I was earlier in the summer, whatever the reason.

Click to enlarge for a much better look.

Bird

Spent some time this afternoon outside reading, and this bird distracted me.

Spider Hole

Click the picture to enlarge it and admire the beautiful hole he has in his web. Spiders are amazing because they have an amazing Creator!

Worship

Aimée was the sole musician for morning worship today, including Communion, a first for her. She did a great job!

Muffler Man, Whole

Way back in February I posted a picture of this guy without his torso and head (Big Legs). He is all back in one piece now, looking very sharp with a new coat of paint and a nice new flag. The local paper had a story about him and his paint job, so we paid him a special visit this afternoon.