Friends

These are the moments

that make being a teacher

 so worth it. 

A Weekend in Review

I'm finally getting around to going through my pictures from our trip to Calgary last weekend.   We had such a wonderful time.  It was a weekend full of friends, reunions, reminiscing, and lots of Yemeni/Scottish/Canadian fun.


On Friday night we had a bachelorette/henna party for Saralee... after we all got some "henna" done, all of the "Yemen girls" donned Yemeni outfits and we put on a traditional Yemeni wedding party.  The bride's mom even made her a traditional Yemeni wedding dress.  We ate lots of good hummus and baba ganoush, then sang and danced the night away.  

On Saturday, we drove into the Canadian rockies and spent the day at a campground playing games, telling stories, singing songs and having a barbeque.  We tried some traditional Scottish highland games, played "Running Dutch Blitz" and tried to destroy a "wedding zombie".  Much fun was had by all!

That night we stayed overnight at a ranch and in the morning we got ready for the wedding.  It was a gorgeous day in the Rockies.

A couple more pictures of the gang hanging out...

Phew! Did you get through all that?  Until the next Yemen girl wedding.... Masalama!

Thanks

For thy Church which evermore,
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore,
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise,
This our grateful hymn of praise.

601. great last week of school
602. 2 kids moving on to public school and 1 graduating
603. sitting by Evie and Patrick on the plane
604. upcoming week of vacation
605. Brian love
606. Sunday afternoon naps on Derby wharf
607. Mom visiting my school
608. relief
609. smoothies
610. Friday at school - Erik, the park, friendly's..
611. Time with Cole, Joshua and Rhema
612. "Brown-Eyed Girl" with Jonny
613. "At Last" with Dad
614. conquering my fear of bucket trucks
615. successful wedding photography
616. party planning
617. breakfast at the Bjorks
618. Geo's speech, parents kind words
619. raspberries
620. today

Consecration and Worship

(a weekly sabbath puritan prayer)

Consecration and Worship

My God, I feel it is heaven to please Thee, and to be what Thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as Thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as Thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in Thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them? am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?

Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace! O if He would punish me for my sins, it would not would my heart so deep to offend Him; But though I sin continually, He continually repeats His kindness to me. 

At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God? What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings? O that I could consecrate my soul and body to His service, without restraint, for ever! O that I could give myself up to Him, so as never more to attempt to be my own! or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to His will and His love! But, alas, I cannot live and not sin. 

O may angels glorify Him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven! I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves. Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love.

Oops, should have posted this last month!

A small helping of Shakespeare to 

sophisticate your Saturday...

(paper collage and micron pen)

This Moment - Yemeni Wedding Party

This Moment:  A moment from the week that I'm pausing to remember and savor...


(There were so many to choose from this week!)

Joining with SouleMama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual

Andy Goldsworthy Nature Sculptures

I know I say this a lot, but this is REALLY one of my all time favorite summer art projects.  This week we studied the artist, Andy Goldsworthy, a Scottish artist who creates his art by using found materials, then photographs them so he can preserve them and share them with the world.  


After studying this fascinating artist, the kids and I took a walk into the woods and created our own nature sculptures and designs using mud, sticks, acorns, rocks, ferns and moss.  This is not only fun, but also a great problem solving activity.  The kids really have to use their imagination and ingenuity to figure out how to put things together to create their work. 


(My husband and I often make "Andy Goldsworthy Art" when we take a walk in the woods or at the beach.  It's not only fun for kids!)

Some of our artwork: