Cooking Fun!!!

Last saturday the Vestal girls and the Muse girls teamed up to have a cooking bonanza. We were making meals for a couple of church families that just had babies. We made chili, cornbread, seven-layer salad, bar cookies, and oatmeal for their breakfasts. These pictures will show some of the fun we had!

This is Jessie's and Olivia's cornbread batter!

Me and Jessie could not stop laughing !!!

These are veggies that Lenyer and Brittany cut up for the salad!

Finally we got a non-messed-up picture of me and Jessie!!!!!

(P.S. There is flour all on my cheeks!!)

~Olivia Vestal

Edit Me Challenge

This week, Ashley Sisk is the guest judge for the Edit Me Challenge. I have never participated before, but this weeks picture was so cute, I couldn't resist. First, the original picture taken by Ashley:

Isn't he cute? And now, my edit:

This photo didn't really need any adjustments, so I decided to just play with it in PSE. I first applied AmaPad's Florida action with the sweet light, cool light, and creamy glow all on. I honestly don't remember what the opacity's were. Then, I ran the  Pioneer Woman's Bring Out the Eyes action and Little Bee action. I am so sorry, but can't remember who I got that last action from, I think that it was the first one that I ever downloaded. I turned the Honey Haze layer's opacity down to 24%. Then I ran the smart blur filter and converted everything to black and white. Lastly, I erased the black and white on the overalls. It was really simple and I had lots of fun! I plan to post again soon, so stay tuned! 

~Lenyer

           

The Joy of Books

I saw this youtube video on a different blog and absolutely fell in love with it! The amount of patience and time needed to make this video is amazing. Enjoy the video and have a wonderful week!

~Lenyer

Christmas, 2011- Recap

Hi everyone! I have been meaning to post this for a while and kept putting it off. As you may have noticed, I did not post one single Christmas picture! Not one! Sorry! So I have now compiled our Christmas pictures in chronological order (for your convenience). It began the first weekend  in December, when we decorated (Unusual for us, our decorations are usually up the day after Thanksgiving). 

Christmas is about Christ's birth and incarnation. We try to make Christmas all about Him, both in the way we decorate and celebrate, so we try to cut back on our decorations. Now, if you had walked into our house at Christmas you would have never known that we had cut back, but we did. Another thing that we do is open gifts throughout December, this prevents Christmas Day from becoming all about what we got. On Christmas morning, we usually get our "big" gift and open our stockings. The first gift that we opened was  bed sheets! Yeah! :) 

Here are some other pictures of what we got:

Next on our Christmas agenda, mom and dad surprised us by taking us to the Mordecai House downtown. The house was decorated through the years, starting in the early 1800's and ending in the 1940's.  The different time periods decorated in the house represented each of the generations of Mordecai's that lived here. It was really pretty and inspiring (At least to me:). 

We then arrived at the NC Governor's Mansion. 

  The next week, I got sick and was still not feeling well when we went to see a Christmas Carol by Theater in the Park. IT WAS AMAZING! I had never been, and Ira David Wood III did an amazing job playing Scrooge. So, we had a wonderful evening watching the play and observing Christmas lights from the warmth and safety of our car while eating hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts from the downtown Raleigh store. 

Normally, my parents open their gifts to each other on Christmas Eve and we come downstairs and see our gifts sitting out in the living room on Christmas morning. This year, Christmas was  on a Sunday. We really wanted to celebrate Jesus' birth and keep the Sabbath, so mom and dad opened their gifts on Christmas Eve Eve and we came down on Christmas Eve. 

Later in the day on Christmas Eve, my grandparents and uncle came to visit. 

The next day was Christmas. We went to church and then left to visit my other grandparents in the mountains. It snowed two days later, so that made it extra fun! 

So there you have it! These were all pictures that I originally planned to post but never got around to it! Have a great weekend! 

~Lenyer

Shaking Good Weekend

I was looking back through my pictures when I found these. 

 The dark brown horses are my grandpa's: Reno and Odie. The horse shaking his head at me would be the friskier (and younger) of the two, Reno. I think that he was showing off. :) These pictures were taken while in the mountains this past spring. The flowers are so pretty in the Appalachians and the grass is so green. This past spring was especially pretty. Maybe because of all the snow that they had during the winter.

Lastly, here is the rambunctiouse german short haired pointer pup, Cotton. As you can see, she doesn't like to sit still!

Have a great weekend! 

~Lenyer

Memories, Dreams, and Reflections 2011

Hello everyone! This year I am participating in Memories, Dreams, and Reflections 2011. You can read about it here. I think that there was only two prompts that I did not have a picture for one was dress up- and the other I miss you.

                                                      

1.Me

Not the best picture, but there you have it! 

2. I Love You

My lovely parents! This picture was taken in Colonial Williamsburg. We love using our  mugs. 

3. Still Laughing....

This picture symbolizes one of the funniest experiences in my short life. During our Civil War Tour, I was one of the four girls on the lunch crew. Basically, we needed a way to tell the turkey sandwiches from the ham sandwiches. We couldn't find a sharpie so we used the next best thing..... fingernail polish! Click here to read the full account from the very talented Grace (An eye-witness). 

4. Winter Wonderland

I just took this picture this past week. We were excited that it snowed enough to cover most of the ground.

5. Birthday

This was my dad's 40th birthday cake. His favorite- German chocolate complete with homemade numbers and a real piece of the Berlin Wall. 

6. Friends

The lunch crew: Grace, Brittany, Rachel, and me. This is certainly not all of my friends, it was the only picture with this many. Another good friend is the one who took this picture, Anna. I am very grateful for all of my friends, both young and old. They have taught me much and have endured my talkative, random, and shy habits. Thanks! 

7. I Was Inspired

I took these pictures of the World War II and Vietnam memorials during our trip to Washington DC. I am truly inspired by the courage that the men and women of these wars possessed. They did not shrink from responsibility and stood up for what was right, and fought what was evil. Also, my grandfather fought in the Vietnam war and I have always admired his commitment to his country. Thank you to all who have and are fighting to protect our country and liberty! 

8. Spring Fever

I LOVE flowers! 

9. Travel or Vacation

This picture was taken on out Civil War Tour. Directly behind me is Arlington House which was Robert E. Lee's home. Arlington Cemetery sits on what used to be their property. It was seized during the war. I think that this is interesting: The Abraham Lincoln memorial was built directly across from Lee's home and the Washington memorial is in-between them. These two men fought against each other but here they come together with their common tie, George Washington, in the midst of our capital.

10. Summer Days

For a girl who lives in the south, I had a hard time finding a picture for this prompt. 

11. A Day In My Life

Olivia is peeling an apple. All of us girls love to cook and do it on an every day basis. 

12. All Smiles

My dad took this picture. The Breagy and Vestal children were all supposed to be smiling for a picture. However, three of us were videoing, one was climbing, and only two were smiling! I love this picture. 

13. Autumn Harvest

This past September, we put up a ton of pickles. We gave a lot of jars as Christmas presents. 

14. Family

Tommy, Heather, Lenyer, Grayson, Olivia

15. Celebrate! 

There was no weddings this year (which is what I think of when i hear celebration!) so I used a picture from our Valentines Day dinner. 

16. Let's Do It Again....

We love the beach and I love getting time to spend with my cousins. 

17. Beautiful

This desk is beautiful in every way. I love the vintage feel, the typewriter, and lamp! This was my second favorite picture from this year. 

18. Macro

I found and edited this picture today. I really like how it turned out. 

19. Holiday

Our Christmas tree. 

20. My Favorite

This picture was taken at the Elizabethean Gardens on Roanoke Island. I love this picture!

21. Don't Ever Change

22. Just Because.... So There! 

23. Hopes and Dreams

I hope everyone has a great New Year! 

~Lenyer