Psalm 19

We studied this Psalm at church today...

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.   
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.
 ³ There is no speech or language
       where their voice is not heard. 
 ⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth,
       their words to the ends of the world.
       In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
 ⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
       like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
 ⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
       and makes its circuit to the other;
       nothing is hidden from its heat.
 ⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul.
       The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
       making wise the simple.
 ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes.
 ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
       enduring forever.
       The ordinances of the LORD are sure
       and altogether righteous.
 ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
       than much pure gold;
       they are sweeter than honey,
       than honey from the comb.
 ¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
       in keeping them there is great reward.
 ¹² Who can discern his errors?
       Forgive my hidden faults.
 ¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
       may they not rule over me.
       Then will I be blameless,
       innocent of great transgression.
 ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

A Few of My Favorite Things on this Labor Day Weekend

Grandview Drive picnic and walk for dinner on Saturday...

Then we visited Bed Bath and Beyond to look at Keurig coffee makers. We decided on the Platinum QuietBrew. Yay! I think we'll get it this week.

Next, we went to find the Tricentennial Tree, a 300+ year old Bur Oak Tree. They think it was planted around 1499, but there are a few opinions. It is so huge! These pictures are from the Park District and Journal Star.

We also got Starbucks and went to the record store for Taylor. Then we went home and watched Amelie and played with our sweet puppy! Sunday, we went to church, ate at our favorite pizza restaurant, Firehouse Pizza, and then we were pretty lazy for the rest of the day.

Monday morning, we attempted to find a farmer's market, but everything was closed. We tried Apple Blossom Farm, but it was kind of disappointing as far as fresh produce. They didn't have any trees that we could pick from. We got a few apples and we shared an apple cider slush and an apple cider doughnut. The highlight of this trip was the bunnies......

Jail Bunny and Teacher Bunny.

Next, we had lunch and went to the Peoria Zoo. My favorite animal was the Red Hog in the Africa exhibit. Piglets had just been born and they were too cute.

Can you see the four little piggies? They were playful and snuggly.

We came home and Taylor watched a movie while I baked cookies, in preparation for Meet the Teacher Night coming up next week.

Last, we went to the Johnston's house for burgers and we played a fun game of Countdown. What a great weekend!

More time for crafts

This week I handed in a paper that has been in the works for two years. What a relief! I am so excited to start quilting on the weekends! I love these prints.

When in Rome...

Saturday we went to a Roman themed engagement party for Heather and Lance. They were engaged in Rome, so Lance's parents threw an awesome toga party while he was home from Afghanistan. It was so fun!

That's Katie and her fiance, Justin, and Elisha with her bf, Pat.

Us with the engaged couple!

Just a few pictures of us...

I love Penny's little smiley mouth! Look at her blinking, too! How cute!

Two Years

Today is our two year wedding anniversary. Here's a picture of us on our honeymoon in Destin, FL. We were walking and enjoying the sunset that day and soon after, the ocean swallowed up Taylor's camera. I would love to be at the beach right now! 

We spent the weekend at Pitchfork and got home really early this morning, so we're just relaxing on this rainy day. We're going to try a new restaurant tonight called 309 and maybe go see Despicable Me. I love being married.

Family Pictures

We took some Christmas card pictures in Colorado on a windy evening during sunset.

Now and Then

And us about 24 years ago...

A classic Chuck E. Cheese birthday party, with Heather's wonderful parents in the background. But more from Wednesday...

Penny's first people accessories pictures.

Sidenote: I wish pictures would post as colorful as the originals are. Hmm...

Great Sand Dunes National Park

 On Thursday, we drove a couple of hours (on a looong windy gravel road through the mountains) to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Taylor had looked at this place online before we went to Colorado and he was so excited to see it in person. There were great reviews of this park and it looked like a lot of fun. I rated it a 3 out of 10 overall, but Taylor gave it a 10 out of 10. :)  It was so beautiful!

There was a stream that ran through the park where families were playing. This also meant CRAZY mosquitos at dusk!

Penny loved it:)

There was a forest fire here, too.

 On the way home, we stopped here for really good pizza. We tried to hide Penny coming in, but she was too squirrelly. She was obviously seen by our waiter, who called her my seeing eye dog:)

Also, on the way home, we saw a black bear, enjoying his time in a meadow on the side of the road!