Photo Blogging Challenge: Look Up

 

 

 

Here we are again with PJ’s Photo Blogging Challenge. Where do the months go? This month’s prompt was Look Up. Bloggers from all over participate by taking photos with the month’s theme in mind and posting them at the end of the month. I tried to take a little different, less literal approach this time. Enjoy.

#1 Look Up….
Early in the month, our grand-niece was baptized in her Mama’s baptismal gown. You could say we all Looked Up to God for extending his grace to this wee one and sealing her with his covenant.

#2. Look Up….
Our nephew graduated from high school this month and his future is Looking Up.

#3. Look Up….
When you’re a puppy, Looking Up is the norm. This is Cooper, a nephew’s Australian Shepherd pupper looking up from the ground.

#4. Look Up…..
We were told Peanut would receive an award at her end-of-the-year school assembly. As we were sitting through all the awards, listening for her name that was not being called, I began to get a little worried there’d been some sort of mistake. But there was no mistake. Her name was called for the last award, The Glory of Missouri proclamation from the Missouri State House of Representatives. The Glory of Missouri is awarded to 14 students in participating schools, each student representing one of the 14 virtues displayed in the house chamber; Knowledge, Liberty, Equality, Law, Justice, Fraternity, Education, Progress, Honor, Truth, Virtue, Temperance, Enterprise, and Charity. Peanut’s award was for Knowledge. She may be someone to Look Up to in the future!

#5. Look Up….
It was a fun challenge this month and I hope you enjoyed my take on “Look Up.” I’ll leave you with the goldfinches we’ll be Looking Up at in the sky…after they finish emptying the bird feeder.

Be sure to Look Up the other photo challenge entries over at A ‘lil HooHaa.

Photo Blogging Challenge: Spring

Another month has come and gone and May is just a memory now as we get ready to launch into summer. True to form, May at our house was filled with May-hem with all the end-of-school field trips and activities! Add birthdays and Mom’s Day and you have a month moving at warp speed. PJ’s photo blogging theme this month was Spring….so spring is what you get today.

1. The Dog Days….of Spring? The phrase is, of course, the dog days of summer but in our yard, spring is a welcome site for the puppers. Itchy undercoats need to be loosened in the greened up grass, holes need to be dug in the mud and sticks need to be chewed. The work never ends.

2. Heave-scent. I knew the instant my dwarf lilacs were blooming in the front yard. When they’re in full regalia, I can smell them clear in the back of the house! Next to hyacinths, I’m not sure there’s a better spring scent.

3. We got the garden in on time this year and watched it explode out of the ground. This row is kohlrabi and beets. The corn and beans are up. The tomatoes and peppers survived some pretty chilly nights and the okra is starting to push through in anticipation of the summer heat.

4. Bunches of Broccoli. Along with what was mentioned above, we set out eight broccoli and eight cauliflower plants. All the main broccoli heads are done and either eaten or in the freezer. The cauliflower is running a close second.

5. School’s Out!! Without any snow days this year, school got out before June 1st so it still counts as Spring. Peanut successfully finished kindergarten and got an A in attitude as you can tell from this last-day-of-school photo capture.

That’s my five for the month! Spring on over to PJ’s to see what sprung with everyone else.

 

 

Going confidently

Texture by Kim Klassen: Confidence
one layer soft light 100% and one layer overlay 100%

Go confidently in the directions of your dreams. ~Thoreau

Well, it’s finally here. Time for Peanut’s Daddy to become College Man! Earlier this year, life took a right turn and offered former Army Guy the opportunity to leave the military and pursue a college degree using his GI Bill. He’s chosen an aviation degree and his dreams took a step towards becoming a reality last Saturday when we loaded up the truck and trailer at 9am and moved him to the college town and into his own house.

As a non-traditional student, he’s (thankfully) not really college dorm material. So after assessing what the GI Bill would cover, they settled on a little one-bedroom bungalow just off campus. Peanut and her mama (The Investigator) will stay with us where she has a job (with benefits) and Peanut is going to preschool. But they will all see each other on the weekends, in one town or the other.

And this fits nicely with this week’s Quotography prompt of School.

The Investigator has outfitted him with all the necessary school supplies: pens, notebooks, folders, ramen noodles……Let’s just say, College Man is well-stocked to begin this new direction.

It’s been a while since I’ve been a part of the college move-in experience. But we made short work of the move-in and he was pretty much settled by 3pm.

A couple “before” shots:

And now, the big makeover reveal:

In case you caught it, the stove insert does not work, so it’s now an awesome tabletop delivery mechanism for more family photographs.

The bedroom assembly is a loft bed.

With not a lot of headroom!

But has a study desk underneath.

Add the finishing touches and it’s home!

The quote at the beginning of this post is actually a wall decal The Investigator put above his front door…a daily reminder to step confidently out of the house and go in the direction of his dreams.

Linking up with Quotography