Best Shot Monday - neighbors

Claire, and our neighbor and friend, J, visit over the backyard fence. One of the many reasons I love where we live -- great neighbors.

For more Best Shot Monday fun head over to visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Love Thursday

In general, Brian and I try to purchase something lasting, or make a memory together to celebrate our anniversary. Last year we decided that we wanted to get a magnolia tree, but in the middle of July magnolia trees are fairly hard to come by. So several weeks ago we headed out to the nursery in search of one. We decided on this Galaxy Magnolia. The tree is relatively small, but the man told Brian it is between 7 and 8 years old - just like our marriage - perfect.

We hope to be able to watch it grow and bloom for many many years. Right now it is starting to get it's leaves, but I am already looking forward to watching the buds form and flower next spring.

Make sure that you stop by Shutter Sisters to see what else is inspiring the love today on Love Thursday.

Tales from the kids...

I have been remiss lately in posting stuff about the children. Well, in posting much at all, really. Hopefully I can catch up on all of the things that have been floating around in my head.

The other morning Ben brought me the old favorite, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to read to him. Claire then asked me to read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? The next morning Ben picked up Brown Bear, Brown Bear and began to read it aloud to himself. This is about how his story went:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?
I hear a duck in my ear.
Duck, duck what do you see?
I hear a cat in my ear (ed: he skipped a few pages)
Cat, cat what do you --
Kitty cat, Kitty cat, what do you see?
I hear a doggy in my ear.
Doggy, doggy, what --
Lucky dog, Lucky dog, what do you see?
...

It was so cute to listen to him - mixing the words of the two stories, but remembering the gist of it. I loved how he corrected himself with the cat and the dog pages. I hope his love of books continues to grow.

Claire continues to pick up things without anyone realizing she has learned. In some discussions with her teacher we've discovered that she has learned things at school that neither of her teachers has taught her. She is quite observant, and likes to pay attention to what others are doing around her.

Monday she took Ben into her room with a bag full of foam letters. She had Ben sit on her bed with her other "friends" (stuffed animals), and she taught them their letters. From my room I could hear her telling Ben, "You're in school, you can't behave like that. You need to listen. No yelling! You won't be able to go out and play if you don't behave!"

I have vivid memories of setting up school in the basement with my sisters and brother, and our dolls and stuffed animals. It is fun to relive those memories through Claire. She is quite the strict teacher - particularly where her brother is concerned. I couldn't help but giggle as I stood quietly in the hallway listening to them play together.

Best Shot Monday - Donald Duck

Yes, another picture of our bulbs. This is a Donald Duck tulip - they were our first tulips to flower, and they're really very nice. When the sun is warm they would open up wide to soak it in. The kids loved looking at them, and the colors are so cheerful.

Check out some other sunshiny posts at Best Shot Monday. On this rainy Monday, we could use all the sunshine we can find!

Best Shot Monday - spring flowers

Last week I went out to try to capture some of the lovely things growing in our gardens now. I could go out everyday and find new images, but I chose these for Best Shot Monday. This looks exactly the way I envisioned when we picked these bulb collections out of the catalog last year, and then when we planted in the fall. Just an hour ago I sat with the new catalog in my hands, dreaming of where I can put new bulbs to enjoy next spring.

I couldn't decide which shot was my favorite - the perfect detail of the grape hyacinth with the white tulips in the background, or the creaminess of the tulip with the grape hyacinths leading your eye back to the trunk of the maple. Below you can see the complete scene - we built the bed around our maple in the front yard specifically for these bulbs. We've gotten many compliments from the neighbors, so it was obviously time well spent.



Check in with Tracey to see what other heavenly shots await at Best Shot Monday.

Tag - you're it!

My friend, Colleen, tagged me to write my six-word memoir. I've put this off for a while, trying to figure out what six words really speak about me. Are they the words that I think I am, or that others see me as? Are those the same words? I don't think that they always are.

Observant.
Mothering.
Thoughtful.
Loving.
Reader.
Friend.

(I'll edit this if I can find the picture that I really want to put here - it's either on a different computer, or belongs to someone else in the family.)

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Tag!
Stephanie
Leah
Sarah
Julie
Christine