Black & White

In the last year or two I have developed a real love of black and white photos. Not sure why. It really came to full fruition when we got the picture at the top of my blog. Somehow it speaks to me of timelessness. It also seems to take the emphasis off imperfections and brings out the eyes.

I even let one sepia image in.

Gallery

A couple of weeks ago, I took the girls to get pictures taken. We had some group shots, and some of 6 month old Ashlynn. The fall birthday girls (Hailey, Aubrey, and Lauryn) also had shots taken. here are some highlights.






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Is there anything cuter than a baby's "bear" bottom?

Six Months Old!

I can't believe it, but Ashlynn was 6 months old yesterday!

We celebrated by eating some cereal.

Hope she like her first birthday cake better than she did this stuff!

Radical

Most of the people who know me now might not believe this, but I minored in Political Science in college (major in history). I took as many constitutional law classes as I could; I just ate that stuff up. I was also much more idealistic then.

As I've gotten older, I have to admit that I have grown much more cynical. Not that I consider that a good thing. I really don't. However, it seems justified. I think of it as a constant reminder that this world is not my home, lest I grow too attached to it. This has translated, unfortunately, into a tendency to bury my head in the sand. Some weeks, the only news I get is what my husband tells me or what I read on my friend Cathi's blog.

I say this because I don't comment on politics too much here. However, I am going to do something so radical - at least to me - that I felt compelled to post it. (My husband accuses me of blogging about our entire lives, but I think he exaggerates.)

I am not going to vote Republican in the presidential election this fall.

I've been voting for quite a few years now, and I have voted Republican 99% of the time. It is the party which most closely reflected my political ideology. However, I am very dissatisfied with the way the Republican party has drifted further and further away from its roots of limited government. As far as I can tell, the only real difference between most Democrats and Republicans is the fact that most Republicans are pro-life and more friendly towards the 2nd amendment and homeschooling than most Democrats. In other words, Republicans are for "big" government and Democrats for "bigger" government.

Now don't get me wrong, those are the top three concerns in my book. However, I don't believe John McCain is strong enough in these to offset my concerns about his other policies. I voted in the Republican primary, and McCain would have been the last or next to last on my list at that time (because of his pro-choice stance, Guiliani would have ranked lower than McCain).

Now, this does not mean I'm voting for Obama. No siree. The thought of him as president makes me glad I'm a Calvinist.

So I'm going to do something I never thought I would do. I'm voting for a third party candidate. Kelly has been talking to me for a few years about the Constitutional Party. In fact, he has this listed as his party affiliation on Facebook. (I also like the looks of the American Independent Party, with Alan Keyes as its candidate.) I have decided to vote for Chuck Baldwin who, unfortunately, in Texas is a write-in candidate. For those of you who supported Ron Paul during the primary, Paul has endorsed Baldwin.

May God have mercy on us.

Bread Makes Everything Better

Have you ever noticed that through some sort of culinary magic that homemade dinner rolls make any meal seem like a special occasion? I can serve an ordinary casserole, a steamed veggie, and homemade rolls and my girls cheer. What is it about hot, fresh, buttery rolls straight from the oven?

Great. Now I'm hungry...

CORN MAiZE

Yesterday the girls and I participated in our annual fall field trip: the South Texas CORN MAiZE!
This is part of a family farm near Hondo, Texas. They plant a hay grazer crop and then create a winding, twisting maze. First, you have to pick the clue pages. There are posts stationed throughout the maze. When you come to one, you stop and read the clue; the answer tells you whether to turn right or left.
It sounds easier than it is. Go here for a view of what the maze looks like from overhead. So we have our sheets, lets head in.
First, we have to read the rules. Guess it's a good thing Kelly didn't come along or might have broken one!

Everyone went through, even this one!

Here's the view in the path - it can be very disorienting!

However, it wasn't as tall as it usually is, I assume because of the lack of rainfall this year.

Quite a few families from our homeschool group were there.

Even some visiting from Virginia.

Besides a maze, there were many other activities. The girls' favorite was the "corn popper." This was a big air filled pillow that they jumped around on.

There was also a corn shuck canon,

a barrel ride,

and a hay ride that took a detour into a pumpkin patch.

One activity was strictly prohibited, however.

After all this activity, plus a picnic lunch, the girls were a bit tired.

Nap time was very quiet yesterday. :-)