The Birthday Balloons

Luke's 4'th birthday was over the weekend and at the last minute I decided to take Balloons. Well, they were a decided hit, but not so much with the birthday boy, as his brothers. They had nothing cool to do, like run a lemonade stand for the guests, open cards and presents or blow out candles on the cake. Sooo-Leif and the balloons became Friends and he spent most of the evening with them. Consequently I (Bambi) got way too many photos! He did share them, off and on, with the other kids so those balloons got quite a work out and so did my camera.

I prepared these two photos for possible entries in the i heart faces contest for this week but decided on the one of Levi instead. It had more *face* in it. But it was a toss-up.
More *balloon* posts are inevitable!

I Heart Faces Photo Contest~ Birthdays

At*I Heart Faces *this week, the theme is Birthdays. I am entering this photo of Levi sitting on a rock enjoying a little solitude with the birthday balloons and some bubble blowing.

Heidi's Lens

Heidi was also excitedly photographing this magical evening and will most likely have a beautiful post on her blog sometime soon.:) Anxious to see her perspective.

Check out her amazing photography skills,
at Mt. Hope Chronicles, if you haven't already.

Book Club In The Garden

"ChocLit Guild"

This month was my turn to host our
book club.

The weather and the garden cooperated to make the perfect evening.

Debi brought the most wonderful G-free German Chocolate Cake!

After a couple of hours the mosquitoes took over the night and we came indoors.

What used to be our Poet's Garden shop buildings became our indoor spot for the rest of the evening.



Perfect!

" We are reading April 1865- The Month That Saved America and yes I have gone to book club plenty of times with out finishing the book and I'm not the only one :) Good thing we spend more than half the time (and sometimes the entire night) talking about other things that have nothing to do with the book. It's just fun, get out of the house, away from kids, get together, girl time. The book is sometimes a minor part of it."
~Holly Karstens~ book club member

Heritage

I have attempted all day to edit and frame these photos taken over the weekend but it wasn't to be. So here they are strait out of camera.

SOC

Mountains and stream of my Husband's
blissfull childhood memory.

This house was their family home for many years.

Once a stage coach stop from around 1870

Our weekend was spent with my husband's family at his childhood hometown in southern Oregon. Though his parents are gone, the tradition of laying fresh flowers on graves is as strong as ever and is carried on by the next generation on Memorial Day.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,

love leaves a memory no one can steal.

~From a headstone in Ireland~

Memorial Day

Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.

~Daniel Webster~

Silhouette~Contest Entry

I've decided on this photo for the entry in *i heart faces* contest this week. The theme is silhouettes. I think this one has a tenderness to it which I love. Can you tell he LOVES his Mom??

Go to the i heart faces website to see lots of great silhouettes this week.

Silhouetted

Profile

Mother Love

Brothers


Peace

This next week's theme at *I Heart Faces* is Silhouettes, therefore I'm trying out some shots of Heidi and her boys against the evening sky. I can't decide which one will be my entry.This is actually a fun version of faces that one seldom sees. Susan Keller gives a great tutorial on the i heart faces website. She's right, they are fun and easy.

So Many Rocks

Forest Day Trip

The Smallest Details...

As well as the Greatest GIANTS...

Are Breathtaking;

In what we have come to consider our own private rain forest;

only an hour and a half away.

To be with family in this beautiful place-

Heaven

This Girl Has Eyes

The eyes are the window to the soul - indeed!

I'm entering this photo of Ilex In
* i heart faces *contest this week. We are allowed to enter any face picture that we have taken. Head over to their web site and take a look at all of the great entries this week.

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Are You Not Worth Much More Than They

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to your life's span?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these."

Matthew 6:26-29

Red Chairs In A Green Field

These great 1920's ice cream parlor chairs were part of our haul when Shannon and I went shopping the other day. We were on a *chair mission* per Heidi's request. We also found three funky overstuffed chairs that have already started showing up in photo shoots.(on her blog) But they were too heavy for me to lug out into this field so perhaps another day.

We thought of selling part or all of these but they may turn out to be the perfect thing for a fun photo shoot. They're very sturdy and it's fun to have 8 alike.

Tree Climbing

God created boys, full of spirit and fun to explore and conquer, to romp and run
Author Unknown

The boy who is usually bare footed, is today climbing a tree in cowboy boots.

Ivy-Angelshine

Little girls are the nicest things that happen to people. They are born with a little bit of angelshine about them, and though it wears thin sometimes there is always enough left to lasso your heart.

~Alan Beck~

The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four - of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.

~Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 1985~

Ivy,Laughing

This photo of granddaughter Ivy in a silly mood makes for the perfect entry for *i heart faces* contest this week, Laughter being the theme. This of course is for the children's division. My entry for the adult contest is in the previous post.