This week's project

This week we made a pinata for our craft/art project.  

We haven't decided if we're going to have a little Thanksgiving party 

with the neighborhood kids or if we're going to take it over to her best friend's house

 (where we will be eating our Thanksgiving feast)

 so she and her bff can take a whack at it on Thanksgiving day.

I just hope our friends don't mind totally being sugared out with pinata candy

 on top of all the pies we already have planned.  

We also made the tissue puffs hanging from the ceiling.

 We made this turkey out of an old piece of poster board rolled and taped in a cone for the body; a rolled up, used up bubble wrap envelope for the neck and head, and a whole bunch of construction paper.  I got stuck on the head part (because I make it up as I go) but luckily Siwa showed up, thought about it for a minute, and knew just what to do.  She covered the neck and head with red tissue paper and made the beak, eyes and the snood (the red dangling things that hang down on either side of the beak- had to look that one up) out of construction paper.  Now we need to fill it, seal it, and go to it.

Why i'm a mormon

I was born and raised a Mormon.  I grew up in a loving and happy family.  My parents taught me to pray and to love God and others.  I grew up reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  I loved how I felt when I read them.  They felt true to me and I believed they were, but as a child I didn't know for certain that these books were the word of God.  When I was twelve my bishop challenged me to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover.  He suggested that I read just two pages a day.  I took that challenge and began to read every day.  Soon after I started, I wasn't content to read just two pages, I read more and more, sometimes for hours.  I felt warm and good when I read, and I wanted that feeling to go on and on. I also felt a greater power come into my life- the power to be more kind, patient and loving.  One day as I was reading, an overwhelming warmth penetrated my heart, and I clearly knew and understood that what I was reading was true and was the word of God. With that knowledge came a confidence that I could live by the teachings in the book. The Book of Mormon comes with a promise- if you will study the book and sincerely ask God if it's true, He will answer you.  I have received my answer.  The Book of Mormon has filled my heart with joy and enlightened my mind.  It is priceless to me. I invite you to read and ask, and to know for yourself.

If you'd like to know more about the Book of Mormon click here (an overview of the Book of Mormon's content and origins at mormon.org).  You can also order a free copy or read the Book of Mormon online.

Perpetual thanksgiving

 Here's one of Siwa's latest.  This is of the sun rising through the ironwoods, as the river flows into the sea.  There is so much going on in this photo.  I feel as if I'm standing where she stood when she took it.  It speaks peace and gratitude to my soul.  I'm grateful Siwa was in the right place at the right time, and that I still get to enjoy her moment, even though I was probably busy making breakfast at the time.

Thanksgiving is coming up and I don't want to wait until the day of, to blog about gratitude.  This is a quote I read recently that describes how I feel:

 “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual." -  Henry Thoreau

Living every day with gratitude is one of the simple and great ingredients of a happy life.  Happy Friday everyone.  Have a joyful weekend!
                                                                                         

In the backyard by Siwa

Spent some time meeting the latest inhabitants of the backyard:

Looking up through the Amaranth.

A butterfly egg belonging to a Banana skipper (Pelopidas thrax) on a banana leaf. 

A pink-spotted hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata) caterpillar. Also called a sweet potato hornworm because of the "horn" on its back end. These caterpillars eat sweet potato plants and other members of the morning glory family.They get pretty big as caterpillars, growing to about 3 inches.

Honeybee hiding from the rain.

The top of a flowering basil stalk.

A mushroom under our basil plants.

It has been raining so much lately that we have some new "volunteer" ferns popping up.

A passion fruit (passiflora edulis) flower. In Hawaii we call passion fruit, lilikoi. The fruit can be made into jams, lilikoi butter, passion fruit juice, etc.

A lilikoi tendril.

Bone tired

We spent the whole day helping a friend get her house ready to sell-scrubbing, sanding, painting.  I'm tired, bone tired- tired in my body and my brain.  I'm so grateful to be able to come home and shower, and to have a place to lay down.  God is so good to me.  

Here are some other things I'm grateful for:

Life

Time and place to contemplate

The sun shining through the trees

The pouring rain

 and Ironwoods

 Goodnight all!

Contrasts

 
Here's a quote I read recently that I like:

“There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire,

 which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, 

and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.” ― Washington Irving

I've been thinking about contrasts a lot lately.  When negative circumstances arise, 

the darkness makes us appreciate the light and the color in our lives.  

We also look inside for that "spark" and we rise up and become more than we were, 

we become the gems we really are.  

 Siwa upped the contrast on some of her photos, and the color "beams and blazes."

I thought these pictures were really good when she first took them, 

but I couldn't see all the potential in them until she increased the contrast.  

Now the light beams and the color blazes- 

it really does pop.

Birthday banner

Once a week, we try to do some type of craft for school.  The little girls and I went to gather some leaves for a fall garland and somehow it turned into Mary's new birthday banner.  The leaves come from the Seagrape tree, and are ideal for this little project because they are waxy and thick, broad and flat- perfect for etching and stenciling; and they don't crumble even when they dry out.  When they do turn brown they look like little pumpkins.  I drew the letters onto the leaves with a plain pencil, and in a few minutes the letters turned white. 

These leaves are just one of Nature's many art kits.

Seagrape leaf

Mary broke a leaf.

Laying out the leaves

Stringing them together

 She loves it, especially this one.