Sky Watch Friday

Sky Watch Friday

Wordless 

Aloha Friday - Time For School

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday! Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

Here's my question....

When does school start where you live? (And what State do you live in?)

My answer: Here in Texas school starts EARLY! My kids school starts August 23. In California we always started in September. I was curious when it started for everyone else.

Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.

A Watery Mosaic

Ah, summertime...and sprinklers.

If you want to see any of these pictures bigger, follow these links: 

1. Sprinkler, 2. Sprinkler 5, 3. Sprinkler 3, 4. Sprinkler 2

Love water? You can find a lot more water pictures at Watery Wednesday. 

Want to see more Mosaics? Visit Mosaic Monday, and Mosaic Tuesday too! 

I used the Mosaic tool on Big Hugh Labs to make this mosaic.

Also linking up at Throwback Thursday.

Why I Like Friday the 13th

Hey...it's Friday the 13th! My lucky day!

I'm kidding a little...cause I don't actually believe in luck...but I'm not being sarcastic. I actually like the number 13...and it started with a specific Friday the 13th from my childhood.

When I was a kid I liked to collect old and unusual buttons (it was one of the many things I collected then). My button collection started when I discovered a box full of beautiful old buttons that were being sold for a quarter each at this wonderful shop in California called "The Sea." Can't remember what city it's in now, but it's an amazing place...they have a whale skeleton on the wall, shells inlaid into the floor, and hundreds of nautical nick-knacks. Buttons don't exactly fit into their theme, but for some reason they were selling them that day, and I picked out some beautifully ornate ones which were the first in my collection.

After that I started going to antique shops trying to find more. That takes us to Friday the 13th in 4th grade. In class the students had been talking about how "SCARY" the day was, and wondering what strange horrible things would happen that day. The teacher even told us some spooky stories.

After school that day, my mom took me to an antique shop. Inside I found some pretty glass buttons with flowers painted on them, and asked the shopkeeper how much they were. "Free," she said. "You can take them."

Next door was a different antique shop where I found a little black button with a fake diamond set it it. Again, I asked the shopkeeper how much it was, and he too said I could keep it.

So, I decided that the whole Friday 13th things was a bunch of bunk...because it certainly hadn't been an unlucky day for me!

Much later I discovered another piece of trivia that makes me like the number 13 even more.   A chapter in the Bible many of you may be familiar with, the chapter on love, is 1 Corinthians 13...and it is exactly 13 verses long. For those of you not familiar with it, here's what it says...

1 Corinthians 13

1. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9-10. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

11. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
12. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 It's hard to think of 13 as a "scary" number in light of that.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear."
  - 1 John 4:18a


Then, when my oldest son was born on the 13th, I found one more reason to like the number. His birthday will always be a special day for me, even when it falls on a Friday.

(The picture provided through creative commons by Chris Samual)

Microfiction Monday

I stumbled on another fun lil meme called Microfiction Monday. Every Monday a new picture is posted, and participating bloggers create stories in 140 characters or less inspired by the picture. I thought I'd have a go at it this time. even though I'm late. I'm doing two versions...I think you can guess which of these is the Texan, and which is the Californian.

VERSION 1:
I miss the stars...you can almost see the sky here if you look straight up...almost. Miss home.

VERSION 2:
Wow...traffic here is worse than LA. I didn't think it was possible.

Aloha Friday - Beaches

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday! Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

Here's my question....

Have you been to the beach this summer? Where's your favorite place to go to the beach?

Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.   Also sharing on Throwback Thursday.

My World Tuesday - Lego Castle Adventure

My World One of my favorite places to take the kids here in Waco is the Mayborn Museum. This summer (through September 5th) they have a Lego Castle Adventures Exhibit. Here's some pictures of my kids exploring it...

 My littlest loved the lego castle.  

One of his favorite things was jumping off the thrown.

The wall and thrown were not made of "real" legos, 

but that stained glass window behind it was...

...as was this knight AND the tapestry behind him.

 My two older boys spent most of their time making their own lego creations.

They had some giant sized blocks for little ones to play with too.

I suggest bringing hand sanitizer...some of these were pretty grimy. 

My littlest (age 2) got bored of this exhibit after about an hour...but my older kids (who both love Legos) could have stayed there building all day. But even without this exhibit the Mayborn has plenty of fun things to keep your children fascinated all day.