my firstborn turns 25!!!

Happy Birthday Jonathan -

have a wonderful day and a

blessed coming year!

So rumor has it you did not realize you were turning the ripe old,

oh so old age of 25

and that you thought you were going to only be 24 this year...

so much for math and memory...

well here are some photos to help stir those sleeping brains cells

and help you remember some of your younger days...

we are so blessed to have you as part of our lives

and We love you very, very much!!!

Oh happy day -

you are all grown up!

oh so thankful... a Thursday blessing

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

psalm 100:4-5

happy turkey day

I promised you one more batch of student work -

so here are their lovely turkeys...

hopefully these colorful birds

escaped the Thanksgiving table and are off

somewhere having a turkey party together...

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks. ~William Shakespeare

last snippets of autumn...

Well autumn colors around here are blowing away in the wind,

and I have even spotted Christmas trees in windows -

way to early for me...

so I decided to share my final group of nature and inside photos of autumn.

My collection of fruit/vegie pitchers and sugar bowls has luckily grown

to include this large pitcher from a dear friend for my birthday...

and doesn't this color look good enough to eat?

and these leaves look like a bowl of pastel candies...

and oh those kiddo crafts at school...

nothing better than a pasta necklace

made at our Kindergarten/First grade Thanksgiving party...

especially with these colors...

and these...

and even these colors which seem to remind me that the next season

is sneaking up on me way too quickly!

And these leaves were discovered on a walk...

along with these beauties...

and these too... hmm, red and green again.

spotted on a desk at school...

along with place mats of the season...

to go home with excited children

who can't wait to present their creations

to their lucky parents.

wish I had some little ones to create art for my refrigerator...

and look what God created on this tree...

and on this one too...

and oh this poor lone rose blossom is holding on...

and Oakleaf Hydrangeas are the most amazing plant...

So I guess I need to put autumn to rest and start thinking of the next season...

but I do have some adorable turkey paintings

that my students made to share on turkey day next week!

My Last Art Lesson

The theme for Art Fest last year was "Sea Creatures"

so I created Jonah and the Big Fish.

I thought this lesson

would be a good one to conclude

our 10 week art class.

We used leftover laminate to create an added dimension

and cover the underwater scene

and keep the glitter from escaping...

We used permanent marker, glitter

and acrylic paint on the laminate...

then flipped the laminate so the art work is on the inside.

The painted seaweed hides some of the story

and gives the underwater happenings some mystery.

Jonah is either swimming...

or in the whale...

or finally spit out and on his way to Nineveh!

I will miss these kiddos...

new lessons start in January...

the theme will be winter projects

in printmaking,painting

and of course mixed media!