Autumn Origami Project

A friend from church wanted to turn the pastoral appreciation month offering into something besides a pile of bills or a check. She had seen a picture of a bouquet of money origami and wanted to do the same for our pastor.

 

I figured it would be a big job for one person, and thought the children would enjoy learning to do something like this. So Katherine took us up on the offer to do the folding for her as an art class. The children followed directions while watching an origami tutorial that Katherine had sent a link for online. They made both flowers and butterflies. It takes three bills to make a 6-petal flower, and two bills to make a butterfly. The only other supplies you need are pipe cleaners and floral wire.

Then Katherine arranged the money in with some fall foliage in a basket. 

At the last minute, I felt the inspiration to write this poem to give the pastor based on the arrangement as a prayer for our pastor and our church.

Transformation

 

Flowers out of paper bills,

   And blossoms out of green,

Butterflies with valued wings

   Hide the leaves between.

Folded here and creased right there

   Tweaked and bent and pressed,

Now the money is transformed

    And you see the rest.

No longer flat and hidden,

   No longer lifeless, plain,

Submitted to the Crafter's hand,

   There's 3-D beauty gained!

 

Out of the dust was Adam made.

    No one but God could dream

What dust could make! What earth could hold!

   What light from dark could beam!

Out of our ashes, God brings joy;

   Out of our tears, a song.

Out of a life all bruised and torn

   He makes our weakness strong.

 

Submitted to the Crafter's hand,

   Humbly we kneel in prayer.

"Lord, make of us, dust of the earth,

   Something You can share!

Out of our  nothingness, out of the bad,

   Out of life's ongoing pain,

Skillfully mold, bend and unfold

   Rainbows out of our rain,

 

Beauty out of suffering,

   Peace from the midst of strife,

And from worthiness of only death

   Your offer of endless life.

Lord let us see Your glory

  That Your Spirit weaves  

Like blossoms out of paper,

   And butterflies in the leaves!"

Above, up close, are the first flower and butterfly the children made to see how it would look. It was such a fascinating project, and gave me a lot of joy to participate. How the Lord keeps providing, day after day, small projects we can do to keep the children busy and happy when I am at a loss to keep seven children busy in my own strength!

"Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find..." 



Autumn Joys

The girls grew these carrots in their garden!

 

Can you see the cocoon hanging from the yellow lid? Timmy brought home a monarch caterpillar, and it promptly spun its cocoon. He had just learned about this in science! 

The girls help slice cucumbers I got at the farm market, along with home grown yellow squash to make some "bread-and-butter" pickles, my favorite. 

Colorful slices ready for pickling.

Rose follows instructions carefully as she knits a yellow dishcloth with a heart pattern inside for Priscilla Lefever's wedding shower.

 

Carrie with an armload of beets from the children's raised beds.

Everyone gathers curiously to see what Daddy brought home from someone he had worked for one day.

It is a Russian instrument, and it had music paper with notes to go with it. There were hymns, patriotic songs, familiar tunes and nursery songs. What fun! Here Mom is showing the children how to play it. You put the paper music guide under the strings and then pluck whichever notes the guide shows.

A Friend's Wedding

Last Wednesday we attended the wedding of Priscilla Lefever to Caleb Carroll at Glen Eyrie Castle.

I think this was the most romantic moment, after the six bridesmaids had descended and been escorted up to the front of the terrace by the groomsmen, when Priscilla came out of the arched doorway and down the staircase, on her father's arm.

Man in dark suit just ahead is Ken Ganger, with my friend Joy Ganger in the right front corner, (sorry this is from behind them!) and Janet McVey seen between them getting her own photo of this moment. My sister Iva is over there to the left with her children. Kenn was an usher.

 

A picture of the wedding party is out of order down several pictures later below.

Below is the Lefever extended clan. I just tried to snap a few pictures alongside, as there was a professional photographer.

Priscilla's family: L to R--Lorraine, Robert (father),Priscilla, Caleb, Fern (mother), Audrey, Eric

Caleb's extended family

Behind Priscilla is Caleb's grandfather, who quoted a large portion of Romans 12 during the ceremony. I loved how he ad libbed some of the time, putting it into his own words. He seemed like such a dear, sweet man. He said that this wedding day was his birthday, and he thought it quite a birthday gift to get a full grown granddaughter!

Jonathan and I enjoyed getting acquainted with him after the wedding. 

One of those illustrious moments that weren't meant to be captured--but my camera was operating slowly about trying for a shot of just the two of them, and caught this scene.

They are going to ask me for this photo--you just wait and see! 

I loved the simple, 3-tiered cake with the verse, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes...etc." from I Corinthians 13. 

After the wedding, the many cousins and children raced and rolled and played on the beautiful carpet of green grass just down from the terrace.

We got a kick out of the professional photographer stopping to get a snap of us just as Crystal was getting one, too! Yes, he finally caught on to who the real bride and groom were here!  :) :)

Just another pose, wanting the sunlit red rocks in the background, but they don't show up much there in the center of the background. 

Ken Lefever giving Priscilla, his neice, a hug. The lovely young lady whose back is turned toward us is Kiara, Rob and Carolyn Mattern's daughter, Ken's neice. She and Erica Lefever, the guest book attendants, were dressed almost alike and looked so lovely. Carol Lefever had sewed their dresses.

I loved the wedding favors--three honey sticks tied with brown string, a bit of flower and Caleb and Priscilla's name. I just love creative choices at weddings. 

Here is the wedding party from our side of the castle veranda. All the groomsmen and groom and minister had to stand with the sun beating down on them. Caleb had to shade his eyes to see his bride coming down the castle stairs! Unexpected events usually do happen at outdoor weddings. At Jonathan's sister Barbara's outdoor wedding, the wind gave us a merry time.

Bro. Derald Hunt performed the wedding, and Bro. Donald Lefever, Priscilla's grandpa, prayed the wedding prayer.

Below, Robert, the father, is waiting to give the bride away.

Even beautiful castle weddings must come to an end.

The reality of life continues, with all the crumbs on the terrace wall, dirty dishes, and shoes and socks to find the owners for!

As we were heading out, we got caught in the nearly last part of the wedding ceremony--throwing aspen leaves upon the bride and groom instead of birdseed as they headed across the castle bridge to their decorated car. Too bad Jonathan had taken the camera already and was gone.  I thought it was a very charming touch--but then I am a country girl at heart and think leaves more charming than rice any day.  I loved how Cary Finney, Caleb's uncle, dragged the big garbage bag of aspen leaves over to the bridge, gasping that "we had to go gather these!" Everyone got a handful or more and tossed them as the bride and groom came through the line. I got to stand next to Mardella Ganger, and across from Joanna and Jessica Sturtevant as we showered the leaves.

 

And now, we must go gather these--all the socks and shoes discarded by country boys and girls who want to know what such soft, wonderful green grass feels like on bare feet.

Danny's Seventh Birthday

Delight all over his face!

Yippee! Money!

God giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Thanks, Grandma and pa!

 

Oops, back to a formal photo.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to them that ask Him!