365*8-14 Road Trip

Disclaimer: Do not try this unless you are a trained professional. Or at least if you do, don't tell anyone you got the idea from me!

This week, I didn't have any idea what to take a picture of, plus I was going to be gone most of the week for business training. I decided to pack along my camera on my road trip to St. Louis. Well, twenty hours in a car by yourself can lead you to some novel sources of entertainment (I gave up reading while driving over twenty years ago, but I used to be quite good at it). I'll also point out that I was using my Panasonic "point and shoot" this week, not the Panasonic G1 with interchangeable lenses that I used last week.

So there is really nothing remarkable about most of these shots except that they were all taken from the interstate while I was driving (usually at 75 mph). For the record, I did not look through the viewfinder. I truly did "point and shoot" and then I would make adjustments if needed. I did NOT use burst mode as that just seemed like cheating. Timing was critical on lots of these. In some cases, it was snowing. In other shots, it just looks like it's snowing because the window is so dirty.

I also completed the "self portrait" and "upside down" challenges (I chose an ambulance thinking it would be both upside down AND mirror image, but since the ambulance was in front of me that wasn't the case). I had a lot of fun!

 

 

 

 

365*-3/7 - Whatever Your Hand Finds To Do

Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might."

I didn't start out to have a "hand theme" this week, but when my first two pictures were of hands, I decided to just go with it. It was a fun way to "focus" on some of the different activities we do around here - from the artistic to the fun to the mundane. My days are full of such variety. I thank God for the beautiful and for the mundane and ask Him to help me embrace 2011 and all He has for me in it. I'm thankful that He holds me in His hands!

365-2

I decided to take some more pictures of hands. These hands belong to Allie, one of my nieces who was here for the weekend to celebrate New Year's. Allie loves to play piano (just like her aunt!), and I like to spend time with her at the keyboard.





I think maybe the shots are better in black and white. Just seems appropriate for a piano shot.

365-1

I almost forgot I was supposed to make a photo for my blog today (as part of the Mommytography Project featured on the sidebar). I decided to snap some shots featuring a handmade sweater that my mother-in-law gave me today. She did a great job with it, and it was a real surprise as she has just picked up knitting this year. Here she is finishing up the belt for the sweater, and I also took a photo that shows the texture of the sweater and the bokeh of the tree in the background. Maybe later in the week I'll take a photo of me wearing the sweater.

3D Technology at the Seamans

This is sort of like one of those stories where the kid gets a great gift for Christmas and then plays with the box . . .




Our kids went to see a movie in 3D right before Christmas. They didn't go on and on about the technology; they just popped the lenses out of the glasses and started to goof around. They took them to all family events and got cousins, moms, and grandmothers into the act.

Book Review: "Slave" by John MacArthur

The subtitle for this book is "The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ."
When I think of metaphors to explain who I am as a Christian, I think of the father-child relationship or of how Jesus is my personal friend. I don't normally tend to think of myself as Christ's slave. It turns out that I am pretty typical for modern times. But what author John MacArthur is pointing out in this book is that early Christians all referred themselves as "slaves of Christ." In fact, the word "Christian" is only used three times in the New Testament, but "slave of Christ" occurs 123 times. His book explores the concept that because (1) this word was mistranslated as "servant" years ago (and a servant is a hired worker - very different than a slave) and (2) our culture really doesn't understand much about how slavery worked in the Roman empire of the New Testament, we have lost the meaning of this rich idea.

"Slave" contains a message I needed to hear. Thinking in terms of being a slave is the ultimate "it's not about me" attitude - which I could always use a heavy dose of. I tend to think of slavery as only negative (but in a theological sense, we were all enslaved to sin or self before we were purchased by our new Master, Christ). But one thing I need to keep in mind is that a slave did not need to worry about providing for himself - that's the master's job. What a comfort! And far from being a "slave driver," Jesus said "his yoke is easy and his burden is light."

Paul spoke of "bearing on his body the brand marks of Christ." He was referring to the scars from scourging and comparing them to the marks of ownership that a slave might have. The word picture that immediately came to mind for me was Woody in Toy Story. You remember how he has Andy's name written on his foot? And how he's not worried about anything but spending time with Andy? That's how I want to be.



I really enjoyed this book, though I must warn that it gets a little tedious in discussing theology (the doctrines of election, grace and eternal security are all discussed in depth) and in the details of Greek translation. You can tell that it is written by a seminary professor and not a layperson. There are generous footnotes and a lengthy appendix, if you like that sort of thing. I always feel obligated to read the footnotes and find it a little distracting. I wish it had contained a little more in the way of personal stories and application, but I definitely recommend it to the serious believer!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Dickens December

This year, as one last unit study "hurrah" with all the kids before Rebecca leaves our homeschool for college, we are doing a study based on "A Christmas Carol." I bought this annotated version which has a wealth of extra info:




For our advent devotions, we are also reading "The Life of Our Lord" which is an abridged version of the gospel that Dickens wrote for his own children (he had ten of them) and read every year during advent.




We also read two stories that inspired "A Christmas Carol" - Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and Dicken's own "The Story of The Goblin Who Stole a Sexton" (from "The Pickwick Papers"). We are reading abridged versions (or watching movies if available )of Dicken's other novels (just to know the plots) and are watching both a short bio and a long (10 episode) bio of Dickens that we found on Netflix. We are also studying a huge amount of new vocabulary words and "Humbug Grammar."

Our literature studies are going well. Our science studies are going poorly so far. I read on the internet that you could make a great pH indicator from poinsettia leaves. I planned to buy a poinsettia to do double duty as a decoration and a science experiment. However, the boys didn't see the plant in the car when they unloaded the groceries, and it ended up spending the night in the backseat.



Well, one thing the kids learned is that the poinsettia is a tropical plant and as such cannot survive temperatures below freezing. We chopped up the leaves and steeped them:



The mixture smelled pretty bad.



We used different acids and bases to test our indicator (I know, usually you use indicators to test acids and bases, not the other way around). Anyway, the poinsettia indicator was an "epic fail" as my boys like to say. The only thing we had fun with was mixing our acids and bases to make it foamy, and we could have done that with food coloring.



So the lesson we learned from this experiment is that you can't trust everything you read on the internet. Poinsettias are valuable as a decoration only.

Gingerbread Nuclear Launch Facility

Last weekend we had a party for Nathan's soccer team at our house. We had planned to do s'mores in the firepit out back, but since it was sleeting we stayed inside. We ended up with many boxes of graham crackers. So we decided to put them to good use and use them as "faux gingerbread" to make some cool little houses.

Nathan got started, and I saw that he had a little table in his house. He said "That's not a table! It's a nuclear launching pad!"

Here it is complete with guard towers:



Most of the missiles are regular warheads (extras are stored inside). But there's also a special weapon, "fat boy" pictured out front here:



And here is the artist pictured with a lot of "nuclear waste" in the photo as well:



Gingerbread will never be the same!

No Mo NaNoWriMo

Rebecca participated in "National Novel Writing Month" (NaNoWriMo) last month, and she wrote like a woman obsessed. She kept up with her word count each day (the website provides a graph to show you how you're keeping up), and I've never seen her so motivated. She wouldn't let me read her novel until it was done.





Anyway, I must say it was very gratifying to finally read the finished product last weekend. I kept thinking "This is the gal that I taught to read and write. She is the one I spent countless hours reading aloud to. Now I am sitting here enjoying the fruits of my labor - being entertained by a full-length book that she wrote herself." I enjoyed the story thoroughly. It was about a misfit in a Fairy Godmother school. Very funny and maybe a little sappy - but true to the genre.

I also got some insight into the way she works. I have dubbed this month "NaFiIlMo" for "National Finish your Illustrations Month" in order to motivate her to finish the drawings she is working on for a children's book. I even told her I would put a graph on the fridge so she can be accountable for how much she is getting done each day. We'll see if it works.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I got to thinking that none of my family has ever seen my house decorated for Christmas - because I'm always at their homes for Christmas. So consider this a Christmas tour of the Seaman home - minus the free cider and cookies.

The kids usually get the tree down from the attic and put it together. I'm sure it's not as fun as going to a Christmas tree farm, but it's what we've always done so they don't know any different. This year, as soon as the tree went up, the boys left to go to Knoxville for a game, and Rebecca and I did the rest of the decorating.

Rebecca puts the lights on - following my random method instead of her Dad's meticulous all-day method. We had some fun watching "Love Story" while we decorated. I thought it was cool that I was able to get a picture of Ryan O'Neal working at a Christmas tree lot in the background with our tree.



Here's the tree with lights. You can tell by this point we had moved on from "Love Story" and were watching the Arkansas football game.



Here is our mantle. I always put a basket of Christmas books on the hearth along with the "Wise Guys" that Aunt Barbara made years ago. One of them has lost his gift, and one has actually lost his head a few times. Notice how the faces are interchangeable.





I've got a sofa table behind my loveseat now. Don't you love how you can still see the football game?



And last, but not least, here is our advent wreath. We are rebels, so we use green and red candles instead of pink and purple. I loved how I got the bokeh of the tree in the background. It's a technique I've been working on.



I really don't decorate much of the rest of the house. We spend most of our time in this room and the kitchen, and since you can see the tree from the kitchen, I usually don't bother decorating in there. Or you might say I decorate it with cookie dough, icing and sprinkles. In other words - a big mess.

I do have three special manger scenes in the house (which I'll save for a later post) and occasionally buy a poinsettia (this year's has already met an untimely death - watch for a post on that as well).

Thanks for taking the tour! If you ever visit in person, I promise I will provide cider and cookies.

Sweet Potato vs. Pumpkin Challenge

A few weeks ago, I told Nathan that I might make a sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving this year. He refused to believe that someone would "make a pie out of a vegetable." I told him I didn't think he could tell the difference between pumpkin pie (one of his favorites) and sweet potatoe pie. He bet me $10 that he could! Well, money's been a little short lately, so I decided to accept the challenge.

Nathan started to get nervous. He reduced his bet. He reduced it again. Last Sunday I baked some pies. I used the same recipe except for the pumpkin and sweet potato. All my boys took a blind taste test. Only Noah could consistently tell the difference. I won a whole dollar from Nathan!!!

But what really made me a winner is that all the boys agreed that sweet potatoes make a good pie. A can of pumpkin costs $1.50. An equivalent amount of sweet potato (if you're willing to peel it, cook it and mash it), costs about 30 cents. So we'll be having sweet potato pie this year. The money we save will be used to help subsidize the apple pie for Rebecca and the pecan pie that we just had to have to round out our meal.

Here are my two pies. I will give my $1 to the first person who can correctly guess which one is pumpkin. Sorry I can't let you taste it. Both of the pies were gone in about 24 hours. Since sweet potatoes are a vegetable, the boys could justify eating some at every meal.

True Colors

Recently, we did a little project involving tree identification that involved taking lots of photos of leaves, trees, and bark (this was supposed to be one of the educational projects that I was going to do as part of my work with Panasonic).

I think it's interesting that the green in leaves is just chlorophyll - the true colors of the leaf are what we see when the green is gone.

That's a great metaphor for life. For us, the "green" is gone - quite literally since we have had no income for a 10 months now. I feel like we are being given a chance to show our true colors! It is a comfort to me to know that God knows me - He knows my true color, and He can identify me without a field guide of any kind.

May our true colors bring glory to the Lord!

On Being a Good Audience

There's a reason they call it performing in front of a "live audience." Have you ever been to a play or a performance where the audience was dead? My kids have seen both sides this year- audiences so good that they make a mediocre performance seem worthy of an academy award, and audiences that were so dead that performing in a morgue would have been more exciting. When they come home from a performance, I've learned that the best question to ask is "How was the audience?"

I've trying to apply this to my life in all kinds of ways. What kind of audience am I? At a soccer game, I want to learn the kid's names and encourage them from the sidelines. At a play performance, I want to be one of the ones that laughs and claps loudly. When I'm reading a friend's blog, I want to take time to leave a comment now and then. Romans 12: 15 tells us to "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." I want my friends to know I am in the audience of their lives, I am sharing in their victories and sorrows, and I am rooting for them.