Quack Quack

Energizer and National Geographic are currently extending an invitation for any level of photographer to enter their most inspiring photographs for a chance to have the winning photo published in a special Energizer advertising section in the December 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine, and win the ultimate grand prize: A 10-day National Geographic Expeditions trip for two to the Galapagos Islands. Acclaimed photographer Jim Richardson will be judging the contest.

In honor of this contest, Home Sweet Home is hosting a photo contest giveaway sponsored by Energizer and National Geographic. The winner will receive a one-year subscription to National Geographic magazine and a sample of Energizer lithium batteries. 

Here is my entry. I was walking along the Haul Road in Fort Bragg CA on Wednesday evening and caught some photos of the local wildlife.  This one is one of my favorites! I hope you all like it too.

Good Luck Everyone.

Problems with Blogger

*UPDATED*

Please bear with me all as I am having some issues with my sidebar right now. I initially thought it was pretty cool that I learned to enlarge my photos. Then after I was all done my sidebar stuff ended up at the end of my blog. Not so cool.

Angie’s sister from I Heart Faces is helping me to work out the kinks. She told me about Windows Live Writer which I am using right now. It’s very neat. I think I am going to use it from now on.

The good news is my camera still works! check out the ducks we saw on our walk the other day.

anyway, hopefully this little glitch will be fixed soon. Thanks to I Heart Faces again for helping out.

I ended up fixing the blog myself, but thank you to I Heart Faces non-the-less for all they have taught me.

Sun and Fun

It has been a beautiful two days here on the Mendocino Coast. Our family has been thoroughly enjoying it. Hubby and I filled up the wading pool for Mr. C yesterday morning. He discovered a cup and a shovel and went straight to cooking. After Mr. A got out of preschool we headed to Jug Handle State Reserve for a little fun in the sun. Mr. C put his toes in the ocean for the first time. Mr. A had fun running from the waves. Hubby helped build a sand castle and mommy relaxed with her toes in the sand. I also was able to catch some pretty good photos of a dog who was swimming and playing in the water near us. God is good isn't He? When I look at the ocean I am reminded of all of the beautiful things that He has given us to enjoy while we are on this earth. God should be glorified daily for the things He created because we get to enjoy them. We should praise His name for creating the world and then being so loving and kind to create us as well. I strive to remember all of God's goodness and beauty everyday. Going to the beach with my family reminds me that we are to give honor, glory, and power to our Lord and God. Revelation 4:11, You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Let us also remember that our children are a gift from God as well. He lent the to us for a time so that we might teach them His ways. We must teach them to give God Glory as well. We should trips into nature as teaching tools. We should explain to our children that God created the ocean and the beach. It's because of His power that we get to play in the sand and water. Okay well that's enough for now. I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Finger Lickin Good

Father's Day brings the Comptche Volunteer Fire Department's Chicken BBQ. I thought it would be a good idea to go to it since we needed a lot of space for our dads and kids. The boys enjoyed playing in the sand box, meeting Smokey the Bear, and of course playing with Daddy. The adults enjoyed socializing and eating "Finger Lickin" Good BBQ, Ranch Style Potato Salad, Baked Beans and yummy Cesar Salad. I think Hubby had a good time along with the boys. Have a great Wednesday. I'm off to play with my children and visit with my husband.

Boy Toys

Saturday my Hubby and I took our Two Small Children to Ukiah California's Airport. At first glance the little private airport doesn't look like much of anything. A few buildings, some private planes, and some people hanging about. If one was to go exploring however they would find a couple of these: Mr. A was so excited because these are Cal-Fire Tankers part of the Mendocino County Air Attack crew. In Mr. A's words "those are Daddy's planes." We also meandered over to Cal-Star's quarters and managed to catch a glimpse of a one of the choppers taking off. Mr. A was very excited to get to see this. Mr. C stared in awe and learned to make a helicopter sound. Apparently we missed an air show that was going on by an hour or so. I am hoping that we get over there for the next one. it's about an hour and 15 minute drive over there so it's fun when its worth wild for the kids. A trip to Ukiah would not be complete without stopping by the Fire Department and playing on the engines. Evidence below! (notice where the boy decided to put his firefighter in training sticker) We also visited the local playground for children. Mr. A enjoyed climbing the rope bridge and sliding down extremely high slides. Mr. C was happy to slide and play with wood chips as usual. Of course we HAD to go to Home Depot. The boys enjoyed playing in the shopping cart. I think Hubby did too! I will post our trip to Comptche on Father's Day later! <

I Heart Faces: Let's Hear it For the Boys!

When Hubby and I were dating he took Mr. A (then 2 years old) on dates too! Their most fun outings were to Pudding Creek Beach in our hometown. They played Pooh Sticks, dug in the sand, practiced crossing log bridges, and just had an all out good time. If you look closely you at my kids entry you will see that Mr. A was trying to fly like the bird that was picking up a fish out of the water. This is one of my favorite pre-marriage photos of Mr. A. He is four now and doesn't mimic animals anymore, but he still has a ton of fun at the beach with Hubby (who he now affectionately calls Daddy). My adult entry is a photo of hubby just coming up out of the water in Sunnyvale CA. We spent two days playing in the pool and thoroughly enjoying our children. I love the water dripping from hubby's face in this photo. Now head on over to I heart Faces and check out all the other photos of Boys.

This Man

Oh this man! This man I call my husband and the father of my children. What joy he brings to all of us. What direction and strength. He truly is a wonderful man.

I call this man my husband. He is the world to me. They call this man their daddy with admiration and glee. We call this man our Hero, he is in every way, he teaches us and keeps us safe each and every day. If you ask our friends who is the greatest dad, they will say my hubby for which I am very glad.

What is a Dad?

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of all ages,

The power of the eagles' flight,

The joy of a morning in Spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity, and

The depth of a family need.

Then God combined these qualities.

And when there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it - DAD!

-Unknown Happy Father's Day to our Hero. Happy Father's day to all the men in your lives that you call dad too!

I will leave you with a command from God to children. God gave us commandments that we might impart them to our children. Children are a gift to us from God, therefore we should train them up in his ways. In so much, we will be attending Sunday Morning Service this Fathers Day. After church we are off to the Comptche Fire Department BBQ to eat some extremely good chicken and to celebrate the fathers in our lives. Have a blessed day!

Proverbs 6:20-23 “My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”

Happy Father's Day,

Week in Review

Is Father's day already here? Days are going by way too quickly. Children are growing at the speed of light. I'm going to wake up one of these days and they will be all grown up and I will think "where has the time gone?" I would like to review the week so that I know what I have done. . .doesn't seem like much but here it goes. Monday was a work day for me. Tuesday: Our family went over to Philo CA to see my mother-in-law. On our way home my Hubby helped rescue a woman from a tipped over car. I learned more Willingness to Serve at all costs. I also remembered that we can plan all we want but if it's not God's Plan it Will Not be. You remember this post right? Wednesday: I went over to my parents house and made dinner. papa pulled the boys around in the sled on the grass in the backyard. Hubby had to work. Pretty normal day in the neighborhood. Thursday: Hubby was off work and got lots of work done on a picnic table order for the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce. However I had to work and the boys spent the day at Nana's house. I also talked about Service and humbling ourselves like little children in this post. Yesterday we played outside in the pool, went to a concert at the church, and had an all out good day with the family. Tomorrow: Father's Day, I bought Hubby some things from me, but I got the kids the cutest shirts that say "I love my Firefighter Daddy" with big red fire engines on them. He is going to love it. I also got him some Garlic accessories and a book on Fatherhood. We will be attending the C.V.F.D Father's Day Chicken BBQ in Comptche CA. Hubby is a very attentive and loving father. He adores his children. They adore him.

Proverbs 22:6

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

If there was ever a trainer for the job my hubby is the one. Remember my post about service, this man, my sons father, is all about serving God, Family, and Community. If there was ever a man to train up a child in the way he should go, I wouldn't have asked for a better one.

Blessed Children

Mathew 8:2-4, He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ."

We are called as Christians to have Faith like little children. We are to follow Jesus without question. Little children do not know anything but to need, want, and strive after their fathers and mothers. God is our father. We are to have the same relationship with God as our little children have with us. We need to be in His presence. We need Him to feed us. We need Him to supply our every need. We also are to serve Him. As I shared with you in this post, I learned a lot about service this week. My hubby serves his God, his family, and his community. I follow suit. We do these things to glorify God. We serve because our Savior Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice when He died on the cross. He is up in heaven serving as our advocate. He serves us every second of every minute of every hour of every day. John 21:16 is a good example of Jesus asking for our service. "Simon if you love me, feed my sheep!"

John 21:16, Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

So not only are we to follow Christ but we are to serve him as well. Are we really humbling ourselves like Children? I pray that we all are.

Tomorrow is Friday. My husband will be off for the next 5 days so I will probably not be posting much between now and Tuesday. I hope you all have a blessed weekend.

In other news. . .

Checkout what the boys have been up to!

God Bless,