{pretty, happy, funny, real} - back to school photo diary

| a weekly capturing the contentment in everyday life |

Overall, this has been a lovely week of settling back into September rhythms.  You'd think after all these years, I'd remember that it always takes 2-3 weeks for the new schedule of Autumn to kick in before we feel fully transitioned.  If I'm remembering correctly, this should keep us until November-ish.  I'll probably forget, though.

Speaking of forgetting, I realize I've not yet posted the annual back to school photo diary.  What better post than the weekly {pretty, happy, funny, real} montage? 

Before the photos, I feel obligated to include the book excerpt that I've shared just about year since beginning this blog (here's the first time back in 2007!).

"'I guess I'm just feeling Septemberish', sighed Chester. 'It's getting towards Autumn now. And it's so pretty up in Connecticut. All the trees change color. The days get very clear - with a little smoke on the horizon from burning leaves. Pumpkins begin to come out.' "

(The Cricket in Times Square)

| pretty |

A good photographer and good camp friend of Natalie's offered to take a senior photo shoot before Nat left her favorite place on earth to come back home to Austin. Here's just a sneak preview (aren't they lovely?!?)

Natalie came home from camp with this hip haircut and her sister decided to go twinsies before she went back to school.

Caught this shot of Kendra one of her last mornings home. Beautiful to see and to hear!

Natalie's first day of senior year!  As I said on IG, "Every year, for 18 years, we've been staging this scene. Here's to our last time forcing the kids to take these photos. Here's to Natalie's senior year."

| happy |

I had to keep an eye on Facebook for photos of Alex during his first week back, senior year at Rice.  He doesn't have a FB account, but, thankfully his residential college (Baker!) keeps all the parents updated with hundreds of photos for O(rientation)-Week.  Alex was in about fifty of them, totally living large -- which is his way.  While I'm on the subject of Rice, I guarantee you no school does Freshmen welcomes better (see above, and that's PARENTS of a Freshmen).   

Saying good-bye to Kendra for her sophomore year, and helping move her into her apartment

Happy 24th birthday to this great guy, our son Andrew.  We celebrated with a mini, food-crawl of tacos and ice cream.  Good company, too! 

| funny |

My daughters and I celebrated the back-to-school season with a spa week.  First stop: pedicures.  Can you guess which pair of feet worked as a lifeguard all summer??

Our last year to serve up the infamous pumpkin-chip cookies on the first day of school (recipe). You can see that Natalie does just fine being the only one of  our kids left home.  I lost count of the number of kids who showed up for cookies and milk, but I think it was about 2 dozen kids.  At least Natalie gave me the text warning ahead.

We also attended our last last "Back to School" night for parents (thanks be to God).  You can see that Brian is a bit skeptical of the Macro Economics presentation. 

| real|

What a privilege to help Kendra move into her new apartment and to meet her roommates.  What a beautiful group of women!  Kendra asked Brian to pray through the Anglican house blessing over the apartment.  We didn't know how her new roomies would feel about standing in each room, reading Scripture and prayers aloud.  We didn't need to worry.  They engaged wholeheartedly, and we left knowing that their home for this school year will be a place of peace and rest and fun for all who enter there.

Have you captured any contentment this week? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |

Pumpkin Chip Cookies On the First Day of School (the 2014 version)

Updating this popular post with notes from the 2014 version of PUMPKIN CHIP COOKIES ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

the 2014 edition

Me blogging recipes is something like Donald Trump blogging knitting patterns.  

Enjoy this post because it's probably the only one you'll ever see of its kind.  I bake twice a year -- Christmas Eve (one of my favorite days in the whole  year) and the first day of school.  It's all a carefully planned campaign to brainwash my kids' memories of me.  I picked the two most memorable days of each year in their childhood and hand them baked goods like I'm Donna Reed.  So far this strategy is working quite nicely.

My mom made these cookies for us when I was growing up.  They are my all-time favorite cookie in the universe and a perfect complement to the coming of fall.  Please don't try to eat them without a glass of milk or mug of coffee.  

Pumpkin-Chip Cookies

1 cup pumpkin                         1 tsp. cinnamon

1 beaten egg                            1 tsp. soda

1/2 cup vegetable oil                1 tsp. milk

1 cup sugar                              1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour                              1 cup chocolate chips

2 tsp. baking powder                1/2 cup crushed walnuts

1/2 tsp. salt

Combine pumpkin, egg, oil and sugar; beat well. 

Sift flour with baking powder, salt and cinnamon; stir into pumpkin mixture.

Mix soda and milk together; add to mixture.

Add vanilla, chocolate bits and walnuts.

Drop from teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

a couple important notes:

1.  I can't imagine baking these without the walnuts.  They provide a little bit of crunchy texture to the otherwise super-moist and melty cookie.

2.  My original recipe says you could substitute 1 cup of raisins. Sounds horrible to me, but whatever floats your boat.

3.  When I got married, I hand-copied several of my mom's recipes into a cookbook.  For some reason I wrote to bake these for 5 minutes.  As a good rule-follower, for several years I made extremely gooey cookies because the recipe couldn't possibly be wrong!  I've come to the conclusion that the cookies take at least 10 minutes to get toasted just the right amount.  They're still moist, I promise! (my sister recommends 15 minutes if you like a more firm cookie)

4.  There's probably a whole bunch of ways to health 'em up by tucking in some extra whole food type ingredients. Please feel free to add your ideas in the comment section.  This year, we experimented with a gluten free version this year to send to my daughter in college.  Not sure we'll stick with this recipe, though.

Enjoy!

Warning:  When the word gets out about these cookies you just might come home from work to find this many people in your house gobbling them up.  If this happens, may I suggest the sort of hospitality my husband offered yesterday afternoon?  Make sure you've got plenty of milk for dipping. This crew preferred chocolate.

7 quick takes: 2 weeks worth!

Clark's Oyster Bar for date night!
Clark’s Crush: St-Germain, Falernum, Chartreuse, Rieflé Cremant
+ a slice of lime, rapsberry and blueberries = YUM!

--- 1 ---

First week of school done and it was a good week.  The girls won't admit it, but I think they were glad to get back.  Especially since this year was a relatively "boring" first day; no one had to start a new school, new building or new friends.  What a relief after several anxious first days the past few years.

Kendra's first day of kindergarten and her first day of senior year & Natalie's in pre-K and sophomore year; the matching color scheme is a happy coincidence

--- 2 ---

I homeschooled Kendra her year in kindergarten.  She was a joy.  The first day she was so excited to get started.  You know what the date was?  September 11, 2001

And, yes, we did eat pumpkin chip cookies.  And, yes, they are still the best part about the first day of school.  

--- 3 ---

Another milestone we recognized this week was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and MLK's infamous "I Have A Dream" speech.    We watched the speech in its entirety, thanks to YouTube.  My husband very much cares that we hear the most famous part of the speech in context of the entire 17 minutes.  And watching the man shift from speaking from notes to proclamation over the crowd, I think there is something beyond just the natural human talent going on here.  There is a divine flame being fueled.

And then we cried a bit.  Because we got turned around driving through Birmingham this summer and I'm pretty sure that part of the city has not reached even close to what the great civil rights leader dreamed for it.  

God, help us.

Martin Luther King speech at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963

--- 4 ---

In August 2011, on our trip from New York to Texas, we spent a night in Memphis, visiting the National Civil Rights Museum.  If you ever have the chance, please go. And take your kids. 

Kendra wrote a post about our day in Memphis, Murphys Take Austin: Day 6

--- 5 ---

I was reminded of this sweet poem and illustration listening to the podcast this week.  Such sweet girlhood memories...

The Writer's Almanac from September 2:

It's the birthday of Eugene Field (books by this author), born in St. Louis, Missouri (1850). He wrote dozens of children's poems, including "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night / Sailed off in a wooden shoe / Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew."

He said: "All good and true book-lovers practice the pleasing and improving avocation of reading in bed ... No book can be appreciated until it has been slept with and dreamed over."

--- 6 ---

Some good reads online the past two weeks:

• This is for all the lonely writers at The Rabbit Room:  "Here is the paradox: You cannot make art except by being alone, and yet you cannot be an artist in isolation." (Thank you, Wendy Wall, for sharing this link with me!)
• 'We Grow Songs': Over the Rhine On Making Untamed Music at NPR: "Detweiler and Bergquist recently spoke with NPR's David Greene about keeping a measured relationship with religion, the cursed blessing of making art with one's life partner and the "untamed music" to be found in the rough edges of the land around their home."
• Album stream: Over the Rhine - Meet Me At the Edge of the World at Paste
• Ashley Cleveland shares struggles, triumphs in new memoir: "Cleveland is unflinching in telling the story of her life, her addictions and her recovery." (Thank you to my friend, Jodi, for introducing me to this book.  I'm eager to read it!)

AND, if I may be so bold to add a link that includes one of my own essays...

• Let's Get Together 11 at catapult* magazine:  I'm enjoying reading through this community-themed issue.  My essay:  It does take a village

--- 7 ---

For the next seven weeks our church is joining up with over 300 other Austin churches to Explore God together.  I'm still figuring out what this means, but I'm loving the idea that over 300 churches in one city are joining in on the same conversation.  I think each week we'll be talking about the hard questions many people ask:  Why does God allow pain and suffering?  How can we know if Jesus is God?  What is the Bible? Why would a loving God send people to Hell?  

Here's hoping for conversations that bring new hope and new peace to our city.

Post by Explore God.

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A beauty and grace-filled weekend for us all, dear ones.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Celtic Prayer for First Days of Important and Ordinary Things

morning prayer + morning coffee = healthy start to the day

Brian uses this particular prayer book most often - Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and REadings from the Northumbria Community.  He's the one who selected our first-day-of-school prayer for the girls yesterday.  

Thought you might find comfort and peace and new, good words to pray at the Beginning of an Important Thing.  Although, if your kids are younger you'll probably want to pick an excerpt or two.

Prayers for committing our work to God and

 for living out our Christianity in ordinary life

Oswald of Northumbria (605-42)

(*indicates a change of reader; all say together the sections in bold type)

*This day is Your gift to me;
I take it, Lord, from Your hand
and thank You for the wonder of it.

God be with me
in this Your day,
every day
and every way,
with me and for me
in this Your day;
and the love 
and affection
of heaven 
be toward me.

*All that I am, Lord,
I place into Your hands.
All that I do, Lord,
I place into Your hands.

*Everything I work for
I place into Your hands.
Everything I hope for
I place into Your hands.

*The troubles that weary me
I place into Your hands.
The thoughts that disturb me
I place into Your hands.

*Each day that I pray for.
I place into Your hands.
Each that I care for
I place into Your hands.

*I place into Your hands, Lord,
the choices that I face.
Guard me from choosing 
the way perilous
of which the end is heart-pain
and the secret tear.

*Rich in counsel,
show us the way
that is plain and safe.

*May I feel Your presence
at the heart of my desire,
and so know it for Your desire for me.
Thus shall I prosper,
thus see that my purpose is from You,
thus have power to do the good which endures.

*Show me what blessing it is
that I have work to do.
And sometimes,
and most of all
when the day is overcast
and my courage faints,
let me hear Your voice, saying,
'You are my beloved one
in whom I am well pleased.'

*Stand at the crossroads and look,
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is,
and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.

*In the name of Christ we stand,
and in His name
move out across the land
in fearfulness and blessing.

*To gather the Kingdom to the King
and claim this land for God:
a task indeed.

*Give us to see Your will,
and power to walk in its path;
and lo! the night is routed and gone.

*Lord, hasten the day
when those who fear You in ever nation
will come form the east and the west,
from north and south,
and sit at table in Your Kingdom.
And, Lord,
let Your glory be seen in our land.

*He has shown you, O man, what is right;
and what does the Lord require of you,
but to do justly, and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God?

*Keep me close to You, Lord.
Keep me close to You.
I lift my hands to You, Lord,
I lift them up to You.

Hands, Lord, Your gift to us,
we stretch them up to You.
Always You hold them.

*Help me to find my happiness
in my acceptance
of what is Your purpose for me:
in friendly eyes, in work well done,
in quietness born of trust,
and, most of all,
in the awareness of Your presence
in my spirit.

(we add The Gloria to close the prayer together)
Glory be to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end.
Alleluia. Amen.

Brian praying a first-day-of-school blessing over the girls

I'd love to hear from you.  What prayers and/or Scriptures do you rehearse as you set out on the Beginnings of Things?