Reformation Day

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his ninety-five thesis on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.  This one act was the beginning of the Reformation, which led to a return to many biblical doctrines, such as the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.  Some of the rallying cries of the Reformation are:

Solus Christus – by Christ Alone

Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone

Sola Gratia – by Grace Alone

Sola Fide – by Faith Alone

Coram Deo – in the Presence of God

Soli Deo Gloria – to God be the Glory

Communio Sanctorum – the Priesthood of Every Believer

Post Tenebras Lux – After Darkness, Light*

I am inspired by reading the stories of these great men of faith (Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others).  I feel so blessed to be a child of God, and to be able to call these men my brothers in Christ.

Happy Reformation Day!

Soli Deo Gloria!

*These were taken from a paper compiled by Pastor Marcus J. Serven, Th. M., titled “The Rallying Cries of the Reformation”

The Finished Product

I finally got around to taking pictures of my dress.  Here it is.

 

Now off to my next project: a loose replica of this dress – the one Susan’s wearing.  I’m currently thinking that I’m going to make the dress in a chocolate brown linen and the underdress in a tan or khaki, since I can’t find that shade of green in a linen.  I’m open to color suggestions. 🙂

Mr. Woolly Worm

I love woolly bear caterpillars, which we call woolly worms.  They come out every fall and you’ll see them marching around on just about any paved surface.  I think we see them there because they are most obvious on paved surfaces.  This little guy was walking across the paved part of our driveway to get to some leaves on the other side. 🙂

Yes, I know you’re taking my picture

But I’m busy eating

Munch, munch, munch

Reformation Day Faire

This past Friday and Saturday we went up to Morton, IL for the Reformation Day Faire.  This was our first year attending, and we had a great time.  It was so nice make new friends and to reconnect with friends that we haven’t seen in awhile.

The speakers at the conference were Bill Potter, Marcus Serven, and James McDonald.  Nathan Clark George was there also.  He gave a concert on Friday night and did a workshop the following day.  There also was a dance Saturday evening, which was wonderful.

I totally failed on the photography front, only taking pictures during the concert and once when Mom gave me the camera, so there aren’t that many pictures to share.

Nathan Clark George

Listening – Meiling loves Nathan Clark George

The boffer war

It’s Done!

I finished it.  My dress is done.  I figured out the fitting problems with the help of a very sweet friend, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought.  The longest part was all the seam ripping. 🙂  I hope to have pictures of it soon.

Learning to Mouse

My momma kitty brought up a mouse for her kitties, and this little cutie took complete possession of it.  Hopefully she’ll be as good at mousing as her momma someday.

Don’t you touch my mousie

It’s mine…

*swat*

ATTACK!

Grrrr…

Applesauce

Every year for the past two or three years we have made applesauce.  We all like it much better than the stuff from the store, and plus I get to have a lot of fun making it (I love to can).  Today we made 8 quarts of applesauce, and yesterday we made 11 (actually 12, but one quart didn’t seal properly, so it is in the fridge).  It took about one and a half bushels to make that much applesauce.  Last year we made about 36 quarts, and we just finished the last one last night.  I’m hoping that we make about that many this year.

Making applesauce is pretty simple.  First we wash, peel, and cut the apples into wedges.  Next we run the apple wedges through our very handy Kitchen Aid Fruit Strainer (I think that’s what it’s called).  It goes in apple pieces (including seeds) and comes out applesauce.  Then I put the applesauce in a pot, boil it, and finally can it. 

Golden Delicious Apples

Some applesauce canning and some cooking

The finished product

I know I haven’t posted about it, but our new floor is all in!  It makes the main part of the house feel larger.  We all love it.

The color has quite a bit of variance in it

The family room

Autumn

I love the change of seasons.  I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but something about that change excites me.

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons.  I love all the trees changing colors and the cooler temperatures.

In our yard we have lots of trees and they put on quite a show.  In the front of the yard there is a group of trees close together.  They are so close that directly underneath them no grass grows.  I love that part of the yard.  Something about the canopy the branches form above, creating a cool, shady area beneath.  Oh, and when the wind blows through,  all those leaves rustle delightfully.  In the fall it is especially lovely, because most of the trees are maples, and their leaves turn a bright yellow, and then into a coral/red.

Lots of leaves

Some still on the trees

And some on the ground

The pile my siblings raked yesterday under my favorite trees

Shadow

I Turned on the Computer to Post…

…but I got distracted looking at movie costume sites.  Something I love to do.

Today I pulled out my dishes to look at them.  I love transfer ware.  So I am collecting it.  I don’t have all that much yet, but I am hoping to find more at thrift stores.

Of course I took pictures.

This is one of my favorites.  It is a little dessert plate.

Another of my favorites.  Same company as the dessert plate.

I know this isn’t transfer ware,  but I like it a lot.

A Few of my Favorites

Vacation

Baking cookies with Meiling

Summer’s bounty – not from our garden 🙂

Yawn

Leaves on the trees in my favorite part of the yard

Sweet little babies – they got wet in the rain, so we brought them in to dry them off and warm them up

I love how the flowers are moving in the breeze

I took this for a photography class – this is one of my absolute favorites

I took this picture at the Creation Museum, where Dad and I attended a photography class for my birthday

(not the same class as the above picture)

My sweet little puppy in my bed

At Powell Hall with some friends for a concert

Doesn’t she look like a warrior woman? 🙂

This little guy sure liked the pumpkins!

Sweetness

Another of my absolute favorites – hydrangeas