Fall Foliage

Matthew has noticed the colors of the oak leaves changing as Autumn season has drawn closer. He was so excited to remind us that yesterday was the first day of Fall. Here is a picture of the oak tree we can see from our great window by the dining room table. I am going to attempt keeping vigil on this tree and taking pictures as the colors expand throughout the season. I love Fall; not as much as Spring, but I thoroughly enjoy seeing the finger of God paint the reds, purples and golden hues on various trees. I think of the beauty He gives even as death draws near. We know that winter is a picture of death and yet our Father allows a glow of beauty before it comes.

Let Me Ask You This...

1. Where do you fold your laundry?



2. Must you be sure the dishes are washed before you go to bed each night?



3. Do you use caller id to screen your calls?



4. Do you let the low fuel light come on in your car before you fill up?



5. Are you a registered voter?



6. Breakfast for dinner is one thing, but can you eat dinner for breakfast?



7. Do you click on the ads you see on people's blogs?



8. Do you just want to yell at smokers who are clearly standing within 50ft of the door at a restaurant?



I "borrowed" these from a friend's blog and thought I'd add my two cents' worth so you can read when you're really bored (like now?)

I'd love to hear your answers as well...here are mine.



1. Sometimes on the dryer, most times in the living room floor with my kids helping.



2. No, but I will load the dishwasher to run and save the hand washables for the next day.



3. Well, since I use my cell phone for all my calls, I have no choice but to screen. However, I do typically answer all calls.



4. Yes, isn't that what is there for?



5. Absolutely, now if I could get who we really need into the office.



6. I can stomach left over pizza for breakfast, or if it's late enough for brunch, I'll go for 'most anything.



7. Ads on others' blogs? Ummm, I haven't really paid attention enough to click.



8. Yes! And more so at the doctors and nurses who stand and smoke in the path to the entrances at the hospitals and clinics.

Roughin' It

We had a wonderful time of camping last week! Our van was packed from top to bottom with tent, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows, fishing and camping gear, coolers of ice, drinks and snacks and 5 days' worth of clothing. My dad would be proud of me, I had all the kids' clothes in one large duffle bag, mine in a single bag and Dennis' in a single bag!

As you'll see by the pictures that follow, the kids had a blast fishing, boating, playing on the playground and just hanging out:

Setting up camp

Uh Oh! Where's Faith?

Here she comes!

Can we go play on the playground??

Andrew sliding down, next comes Faith!

C'mon, Matthew!

Andrew's so brave!

You go, Charis!

"Run and gather some sticks for firewood, we need it to cook so we can eat." Charis and Matthew are the ones you see off in the distance.

After a long day of travel, setting up camp and playing, the kids were all tuckered out! But a good night's rest found them wide awake and ready for anothe day of excitement come morning.

It was a bit chilly again on Thursday, but that didn't stop us from having fun. Charis and Matthew went with Dennis to try out some "off shore" fishing. The bluegill were smart; they'd nibble on the worms till they were loosened from the hooks and swim away.

Andrew's interest in fishing was minimal, he found other entertainment:

What is he looking at so intently?

Deer tracks! Run, Andrew, run!!!

No, we didn't see any deer, but we did have a visitor near our campsite

Hello, Mr. Crane!

You'll enjoy the video of this guy trying

to steal an easy meal at the end of this

posting.

Friday was beautiful, with mid-80's temperatures. Dennis rented a boat to see if fishing would be any better out in the lake. Dennis caught a bluegill, but the kids still had no luck. Still, they enjoyed the thrill of being out on a boat.

Faith and I stayed at the campsite. She decided she wanted to play some football before taking a nap while the others were gone fishin'.

"And God made... the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also." (Genesis 1:16)

On the last day, Dennis' cousin, Big Al and his wife Terri, joined us. He's better known by the kids as "Big Owl." We all had a great time of fun and fellowship.

This crane went from foraging in the waters catching his meals to finding an "easy" catch. The only problem was, the bluegill was tied to Dennis' boat. Mr. Crane had a bigger fight on his hands, er... wings than had he kept on fishing. He would pull and tug, then step back and contemplate th situation. Quite the baffled bird, he was for a bit, but he did finally figure out how to get that fish off the string and enjoy his meal.



Look at the colors on his wings. It was a lovely blue color!

And here's a sight! As we were driving out of the campgrounds heading toward home, the raccoon was sitting in the middle of the road. I just love how he glared at us as we passed by, almost as if he were daring us to run him over! But I think someone beat us to it, he limped off into the woods as we moved on. Poor fellow!

A big day!

Wow! What a day Monday was! It was certainly a big, busy day in the Bentley household. Dennis worked ALL day! Yes, from 6am until 9pm, he was away at work. But that's okay, because we are grateful for the provision of the Lord in strength to work and supply our every need.

Charis started 1st grade. After a little bit of trouble getting A Beka Books shipped to us; they finally arrived Friday. I took the weekend to go over lesson plans and set a more definite schedule. Matthew was so anxious to start that we got a sheet of paper and our Vowel chart out. I had him draw and color pictures of things that start with "A" and he did a really good job! I'll see if I can get a picture of his work on here soon. With Matthew doing some school work, Charis seemed a bit more enthused to work on hers. She is learning cursive, which has already proved to be challenging just with the letter e. But I'm not going to be discouraged; we have plenty of time to work on penmanship!

Today was also Charis' first violin lesson with a new teacher. We had set the violin to the side with our move and only recently picked it back up to practice over the summer. Ms. Melanie is a good teacher and strives to make it fun. Charis was a bit rusty on some review songs. She was given some new diddles to learn and was told to practice, practice, practice!

After lessons, we headed home and shortly after, the UPS truck pulled into our drive. Matthew ran to greet the driver as he handed him a box marked "A Beka Book." Talk about excitement! He wanted to do school all over again for the day. But we sat down and went through his materials so we could get a fresh start today. The excitement has even oozed down to Andrew: yes, he want to do school too!