Blooming

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Most of our daisies still look like this. . .

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. . .but just of couple of them are really and sincerely blooming.  Yippee!

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Any of you who are now thinking that I am a little too ‘into’ flowers, you are totally, absolutely, and completely RIGHT.

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Getting a camera made me like this.

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Really, just blame it on the camera. . .

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I wasn’t brave enough to get closer to this bee. . . and this is zoomed in!  I kind-of have a phobia of bees.

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I’m in this flower-photos craze, and I’m running out of flowers to photograph! *sigh*

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So I’m taking pictures of antlers instead.  (I know I’m crazy, so you don’t have to mention it in your comment–but feel free.)

Happy Wednesday, guys; thanks for putting up with crazy me! 😀

 

??? {Mystery Quote #6} ???

New header.  Do you guys feel like I change that too much?  And can you believe we’ve done SIX “Mystery Quote”‘s already?  I can’t.  I wonder how many we’ll get to before I finish The Sacrifice.  .  .

Anyways:

Last week’s quote was from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  The ‘she’ is Jo, and the ‘he’ was a replacement for ‘the literal Demi’.

I really wanted to keep the ‘literal’ part in, but I don’t think ‘the literal [he]’ is good grammar, even with the he in brackets. 🙂  Anyways, Ellen got the title and the names right.  Brownie points for being the only one. 🙂

I decided to do two quotes this time:

“Jeff done tole me,” said [she].  Although she was only seven, she was not afraid of her father.  “They been here most a month already.  They come in a big wagon.  They moved in while you was away, Pa.  We watched ’em unload.”

And,

“She don’t like cowmen,” said [she].  “They brag too much.  And neither do I.”

Happy guessing!

Hint: The she's are two different people. I decided 'Jeff' was a common enough name to leave. (Also, let's go ahead and make a rule that you can always guess what's in the brackets. Sound good?)

Do you like my little ‘hint’ box?  I’ve known how make boxes that for a while, but I never found a good time to use it.  It’s kinda’ fun! 🙂

Happy Tuesday!

Love at First Sight

“I felt that God made it clear to me that I was to raise them and this intensified my love into a fierce, protective, sacrificial love, but it didn’t change the fact that it takes some time to make strangers into family.”

Katie Davis

I didn’t expect to be able to relate to a Mother’s Day post for at least ten years, but having siblings that are six or eleven years younger than you puts you on a whole different set of charts.  Katie Davis’ post to mothers (linked to above) was one of the most encouraging things I think I’ve ever read.

“And for us, this is the miracle: not that we experienced love at first sight but that God has given me a love for these once-strangers that is just as strong as if they had grown in my own womb.”

Yes.  Yes, yes, yes.

Things will get better.  There is hope.

And it’s still a miracle.

It’s still beautiful.  It’s not worthless, and it’s not hopeless.

“Mommy.”  She said it and I knew.  She was mine.  I was captivated.  Because Mommy is forever.  It’s such a powerful name.  Mommy means “I trust you.”  Mommy means “You will protect me.”  Mommy is for shouting when you need someone dependable and for laughing with when you are excited; Mommy is for crying on and cuddling with when you are sad or giggling and hiding behind when you are embarrassed.  Mommy is the fixer of boo-boos and the mender of broken hearts.  Mommy is a comfort place, a safe place.  Mommy means you are mine and I am yours and we are family. (57)

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis

 

P.S. I decided to use the name “Brian” for the boy in my next science story.  I just need to figure out how to end it, and I can post it!

Happy Mother’s Day!

“How good she is to me.  What do girls do who haven’t any mothers to help them through their troubles?”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Sobering, but such an awesome quote.  Aren’t mamas great?

Happy Mother’s Day to any mothers who read my blog, and happy Sunday to the rest of you! 🙂

A Little Randomness

A post I wrote was featured on the Sparrow Fund blog again!  You can read it here.  I just wrote it recently, and I didn’t post it on here.  (Unlike “Broken”.)

Also, I need more help with names. (What on earth is my problem with names???)  In my next science story the main character has a little brother who is eight, and I need a name for him.  I’m looking for a fairly ‘normal’ name, but something a little exotic would be fine too.  Once I get a name for him and come up with a really strong line to end it with, I’ll be ready to post it! (Yay!)

Also, sorry I never got back to you guys on this post.  I’m still deciding on what names I’m going to use, but Christina suggested Amy and I know I’m going to use that one.  I’ll probably decide on the rest of them when I get to the characters in the story.

Thanks!

Are you guys tired of these yet?

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Our daisies are almost blooming!!!

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I think Michael made this little sculpture.

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All the flowers are gone. 🙁

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This is one of the flower-petals in the grass.  It looks like it’s snowing when they fall! 🙂

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Would you look at all those strawberry-flowers!

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Will someone please tell me what my deal with dandelions is?

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Dandelion manifesto!

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#Narnia

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I love SPRING!

May Book Reviews: Mr. Revere and I

I had listened to Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson when I was little*, but when Mama asked me if I wanted to read it for history this year, I didn’t even have to think about it; and it was sooo fun to hear again!

“She’ll be a horse to be proud of.  She got the lines and build.  Can’t fool me on horses.  She’d better have two-three weeks’ rest though.”  “She’ll have to,” Paul Revere laughed.  “You see, I’ve never yet been on a horse.” (46)

For one thing, I had forgotten how funny it was! 🙂  It is about a horse named Scheherazade (or Sherry) who belonged to a red coat, and went to Boston with him.  After her master, Sir Cedric Barnstable gambled her off to the owner of a glue factory, she was rescued from a life of drudgery by the Sons of Liberty and given to Paul Revere–and then, of course, carried him on his famous midnight ride.

Mr. Revere and I is a really good book–not only entertaining, but also informative; most of the story taking place before the famous ride.  I am not sure how much of it is strictly accurate, but it was sure fun to read again; and the story from the point of view of a brainwashed British horse is quite amusing!

It all started with the imbecile, practically sacrilegious, determination of these stubborn Colonists to defy the sacred authority of our Royal and Sovereign Majesty King George III. (4)

Sherry’s perspective is quite skewed at first, but it doesn’t come across anti-patriot-ish at all; so no worries.

But like I said, I’m not sure how much of it is accurate; and Mr. Lawson didn’t just paint Sam Adams and John Hancock to be geniuses, which might bother some; but you just have to read it for what it is.  And I definitely recommend it!

Of course this rude bumpkin was no horseman; I could have tossed him off as easily as a sack of grain.  But naturally, for a horse of my breeding, this would never do.  For one must never, never allow one’s personal feelings to interfere in the perfect performance of one’s horsely duties. (34)

Happy Thursday! 🙂

 

 

*  Can you tell that this is my second year studying American history? 🙂

The New Jerusalem

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  He who was seated on the throne said said, “I am making everything new!”  Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  He said to me: “It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.  He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

-Revelation 21:3-7

??? {Mystery Quote #5} ???

There were all these things that I was going to post over the weekend–or the four days between “Mystery Quote” and book reviews–but in the end I just ended up posting the last part of my story for Module 8–even though none of you would admit that you thought I posted too much.  Somehow some of those just weren’t posting days, so I didn’t post.  Did that make any sense?  Probably not.  Ah well.

So here we are with “Mystery Quote” again and,

Last week’s quote was from The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes.  You can read my book review of it here.  Juliana guessed both the book, and that the ‘she’ was Maddie.  Great job!

Sounds like several of you had read the book, but didn’t catch this one.  I’ve found you have to know a book really well to be able to recognize an individual quote from it!  Leah‘s done all kinds of quotes from books I’ve read that I didn’t get because I’d only read it once!

Yes, I read a lot of books twice. . . or three times. . . or four. . . or five. . . or six. . . or seven. . . etc. #I’mWeirdLikeThat

Anyway, this week’s quote:

    “You precious chick!  Who put that into your head?” said [she]. . .  “‘Tisn’t in mine head; it’s in mine mouf,” answered [he], putting out his tongue, with a chocolate drop on it, thinking she alluded to confectionery, not ideas.

Happy guessing! 🙂

P.S. Speaking of quotes, I have a new favorite from Flower Patch Farmgirl:

I’m way inside my head and it’s all fine and well, but I’m going to have to eventually come out. It can get a little wonky in here.

Yeah. 🙂

Happy Tuesday!