Overheard in my car today:

Hope: "I hope the antichrist comes soon."
Me: "Why?'
Hope: "So Jesus will come back sooner."

I have never met anyone, let alone a child who longs for Jesus' return as much as she does. I know I don't. But I want to!

Of course, she may have been anxious for the return of Jesus on this particular day so she wouldn't have to ride in the car to take her sister to dance class.

Things I never thought I'd say: "Don't lick the cat!" (said to a child who shall remain nameless)

Things I never wanted to hear: "Mommy, your hair looks like a lion's mane!" (said to me by Joy after I had dried but not yet flat ironed my hair)

Thanksgiving Break wasn’t much of a break in our house. We spent several days getting ready for and then performing in the Great Russian Nutcracker. And by we I mean Faith, Joy, and Grace. I just ferried them to the studio and the theater and made buns and bought tights and such. The girls all did such a great job! And afterward Faith and I went to the cast party at our dance instructor’s home. Joy and Grace went home with Hope, Daddy, and Nana. Because for them mingling with Russians doesn’t begin to compare with Nana time! Faith, however, appreciated the unique experience and was able to get many autographs.

I cooked a pretty good Thanksgiving dinner. But without turkey. We had ham and a rotisserie chicken along with homemade bread, cornbread dressing, and that sweet potato casserole with all the butter, pecans, and sugar. And pie, of course!

I was able to get some shopping done. Not the 4 am variety, but some realistic 8ish shopping. I really didn’t need much, but I was able to get my niece’s present and the little girls got some new jeans and leggings. Paul did get us a new TV! We now have a wonderful new flat screen!

We put up our tree on Thanksgiving day, much to the delight of the girls. They put on all of the ornaments themselves, and I must say they did a fine job! I love our tree. It won’t make Southern Living, but each ornament has a history and means something.

We went to a nearby Christmas tree farm as well. We have an artificial tree, but we all enjoy looking at the beautiful “real” trees, eating the biscuits and sausage, and riding on the hay ride.

The girls really liked the Snowman Tree!

Joy and Grace watching some syrup making!

Walking through the trees.

I want to write more, but there’s a piece of chocolate chip pecan pie calling my name! And I don’t think I can ignore it any longer!

Some recent quotes:

"And God told Abraham, 'Y'all are going to have a baby.'" ~Grace, narrating the story of Abraham and Isaac. (I always knew God spoke Southern!)

"I'm going to open this card with joy!" ~ Joy, before opening a card from Nana

"Next, I think I want some church heels." ~ Grace, commenting on her desire for shoes with heels

You gotta love 7-year-olds!!

I got my first camera the Christmas of my 5th grade year. It was a 110 camera, and I mainly used it to take pictures of my family and my pets and other people's pets. I knew nothing about photgraphy. I just wanted to capture moments I wanted to remember. After looking through my old photo album I realize that the main thing I wanted to remember must have been my cats napping!

In Junior High I moved up to taking pictures of my friends and youth group activities. And in high school I got a 35 mm point and shoot camera. I had that camera for several years, and eventually I moved up to an even better 35 mm point and shoot. By this time I think I was either engaged or married. My pictures now were of my husband and our dog.

When Faith came along, of course, our primary subject was our new baby. The camera we had was WAY off center, and finally we got a better one (still a film 35 mm point and shoot). This one still works, and Hope is now using it. That camera captured lots of baby pictures, birthdays, and Christmases.

A few years ago we moved up to a digital point and shoot. It was great We were able to see immediately which pictures were good and which ones we should retake. And no more film to develop or overwhelming numbers of prints to store! Now the pictures just languished in our computer! (But at least they weren't taking up space!)

The only problem with our camera was that by the time the camera was actually ready to take the picture, the moment I wanted to capture was over, never to return again. So I set out to find a faster point and shoot camera. And discovered that it didn't exist. To get a fast camera we would have to get a digital SLR. We made that our Christmas present that year. We even got some books to explain how to use all the complicated functions. I read them, didn't really get them, and used my camera as a very fast point and shoot that took really good pictures!

At the end of last year I did some work for our business in exchange for a zoom lens. My photographer friend suggested getting the 2.8 aperture (which was more expensive). And while I didn't know what aperture was, I trusted her and got the better lens. Which I still used in the automatic setting.

And I discovered Pioneer Woman's photography explanations. I discovered what aperture is! And I learned how to use some of the intermediate settings on my camera. (I also discovered an amazing onion ring recipe) My pictures have already improved! I plan on going back through the camera books I have and hopefully learning about the important but as of yet mysterious white balance. Who knows, shooting in full manual setting may be just around the corner!