Last week my 10-year-old son and I went on a mother/son date to see Space! at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Space! is a rollicking romp through the solar system: if you’re looking for a fun day in Atlanta with your child and a great learning opportunity, too, it’s a good choice for a trip into Atlanta.

We enjoyed the zany characters and slick puppet effects, which were explained after the show. The songs entertained and informed at the same time; we clapped our hands and tapped our feet and sang along.

As a mom, however, the thing that impressed me most was the way Space! presents factual information about the solar system in a way that doesn’t make a Bible-believing, Creationist parent cringe and take note of the things they’ll need to further discuss after the show. Well done!

One of the highlights of our trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts was a visit upstairs after the show to the Create-a-Puppet Workshop. My son and I made silly alien puppets and we loved it!

Periodically the kids got to stand behind a puppet stage and perform a black-light production with their puppets, completely with wacky soundtrack. I filmed it with my phone, but apparently I don’t have enough memory left to save it.

Any trip downtown is a good excuse to visit The Varsity, which rounded out our big day.

Space! runs a the Center for Puppetry Arts until March 11. Don’t miss it!

Our Trip to Space! at the Center For Puppetry Arts is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. Proud owner of a new driver’s license, 2. Birthday cookie cake with chocolate chip lettering, 3. Chocolate mustache, 4. “On Joy” from Something Beautiful for God, 5. Put on a happy face :), 6. My jumbo mug makes me feel like Alice in Wonderland, 7. Photogenic food #Publix4Pork, 8. Dinner in the works #publix4pork, 9. Braised Pork with Peppers and Onions #publix4pork

As most parents who’ve “been there” will tell you, once the initial fear of your teen driving wears off, it’s mighty handy to have an extra driver’s license in the family. Because of the spacing of our oldest kids, we’ve had kids that could drive leave for college without another teen driver to take up the slack. Twice.

On Friday our third son turned 17 and got his license—an eventful day! Unfortunately for him, our oldest son had a wreck the night before, so there isn’t a spare vehicle. We’ve done some interesting maneuvering with the ones we have this week!

What about you? Do you have a teen driver and does it make your life easier or more stressful?

What did your camera phone capture this week?

Camera Phone Friday: Another Driver’s License in the Family is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. “She’s a fatty with juicy bits” (@inspiredbryant made me say that) #campcreativpreneur #imabouttoeatthebiggestcinnamonrollever #canyoudeciferthis?, 2. Tea for 2 with @inspiredbryant & my huge cinnamon roll, 3. Squee!!! #campcreativpreneur with @inspiredbryant @holleygerth @nester @redletterwords @lainieb @erinulrich, 4. Loving being a guinea pig at the 1st #campcreativpreneur from @squeeinc!

1. Do you want your crayons back?, 2. Creative goodness from #campcreativpreneur #lovemyjournal, 3. My own pot of Blackberry Sage tea, tarts, & a homemade marshmallow! {le sigh} Feeling spoiled at #campcreativpreneur, 4. Too lovely to eat #campcreativpreneur @squeeinc, 5. How did I get this @instagram when I’m holding my camera? ;), 6. Interesting: the Last Supper upside down in spools of thread, 7. By Gilbert Stuart #campcreativpreneur, 8. Live this painting by Edward Dalton Marchant #nofilter #dudelookslikejohnlennon #campcreativpreneur, 9. School Rules by William Holbrook Beard, 10. Rosie the Riveter in person!, 11. *like* Stuart Davis: Rue de l’Echaude, 12. @redletterwords about to experience @chickfila for the 1st time!, 13. Woo hoo! @redletterwords loved her 1st @chickfila experience, 14. Campin’ at #campcreativpreneur @squeeinc, 15. My bracelets that talk to me, 16. It’s January, & my youngest is still playing A Charlie Brown Christmas #bestkidsappever, 17. My youngest doing the 30 Day Shred with me using stuffed toys for weights, 18. Duckie balloon @chickfila, 19. Balloon dog boy :), 20. My necklace is a painted clay model of my camera, made for me by @sprittibee’s daughter!

1. Oh, how I love these onion rings!, 2. Crazy alien puppets we made, 3. Making puppet faces, 4. 10yos making shadow puppets

Wow! This has been a seriously Instagrammable week! It started a fabulous 4-day trip to Arkansas where I visited DaySpring headquarters and got to be a guinea pig for the first Camp Creativpreneur from a new company called Squee! (The site hasn’t launched yet, but look for great things to come from this collaboration between my dear friends Holley and Stephanie) and wrapped with a sweet date with my 10-year-old son to see Space! at the Center for Puppetry Arts followed by lunch at The Varsity.

Less Instagrammable moments included our first dissection this year (earthworms) for the Classical Conversations class I tutor and my progress with the 30 Day Shred, although you can see my 6-year-old daughter doing it with stuffed dolls as weights in the middle collage.

What did your camera phone capture this week?

Camera Phone Friday: Did I Actually Instagram 28 Pictures this Week? Edition is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

I was in a state of blissful ignorance when I ordered the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred on a late September day. I’d heard it was effective, but not much else. I lost my innocence in a hurry when I ran out and threw up in the middle of Day 1.

Yes, I did.

Obviously, that first day scared me a bit and I only did the workout 3 more times until a couple of weeks ago when a doctor’s appointment made me realize that I’m actually having health issues—primarily excessively swollen ankles, which can lead to blood clots—from lack of exercise. My doctor recommended walking 2 miles a day, but winter temperatures brought Jillian and the Shred (what does that mean, anyway?) to mind.

I watched the DVD counter carefully: it was somewhere between the 15- and 16-minute mark when my body decided it had had enough on that first day. When I finished and lived to tell, I posted it to Facebook, as I have every time since then. The crazy thing is that other ladies are jumping on the 30 Day Shred bandwagon with a growing number either ordering it or dusting off neglected copies.

It’s a personal victory every time I pass that 16-minute mark and it’s getting easier. I finish stronger than I start and my ankles improved by the second day.

I’d thought of starting a private Facebook exercise support group, but then we wouldn’t keep adding new members. We sometimes exceed 50 responses in the comment thread on a status update. It’s fun to laugh, compare notes, and encourage. Believe me, I need encouragement to keep slipping that DVD in the player each day.

I’ve currently punched and lunged and crunched and jump roped and chest flied/flew/flown and listened to Jillian talk about “phoning it in” for 7 days (not counting the original 4) until I think I could recognize a “false message of lethargy” just as quickly as the next gal.

I won’t name my fellow Shreders here, because there’s “no shame” in bailing (I turned that one around, didn’t I?).

Have you ever tried the 30 Day Shred? Did you finish? Did you switch to levels 2 and 3 or stay at 1? Are you doing it now? (Do you want to?)

[Yes, that's an affiliate link up there. If you decide to order the 30 Day Shred, feel free to click!] and my

The 30 Day Shred Facebook Support Group is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. Time to create . . . (I’ll just ignore that murder part – this is T.S. Eliot), 2. Chambord champagne cocktail, 3. Costume contest, 4. Yo. I’m tough., 5. My own personal super hero :), 6. Blue skies, 7. Meeting great Granny, 8. Big orange fish, 9. Ice cream finale to happy 95th birthday dinner with Granny

This week our family undertook a cross country adventure to visit my husband’s grandmother on her 95th birthday. Our two youngest girls had never met Granny and the other kids hadn’t seen her in years. We spent two nights in Kansas City, KS, with my mother-in-law and visited family there, and then spent two days in Joplin, MO, with Granny.

Granny is an inspiration. At 95 she still lives in a duplex on her own, drives, and bowls regularly. It’s been a while since she’s hit 200, but she doesn’t score too far below it. Much higher than I’ve ever bowled, that’s for sure.

We may have provided the most chaotic birthday Granny’s had in years, but it was a happy one. We played cards all afternoon; went out for dinner to Cheddar’s, where the whole room sang Happy Birthday and were awed by Granny’s spunk and good knees; and then went home and played cards the rest of the evening.

I don’t know when we’ll see her next, but the whole family fell in love with Granny all over again (and the little ones for the first time).

What did your camera phone capture this week?

Camera Phone Friday: Granny’s 95th Birthday Edition is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

I‘ve found that although memory is increasingly splotchy, I rarely forget a photo, the cement that holds moments and memories together. On this last day of 2011, I’m strolling through the year in images and revisiting the posts that illuminate them. I hope you enjoy it, too.

January

SNOW! (That’s big stuff in Georgia.)

Snow Ice Cream made me popular with my kids and the neighbors, too. (Click that link to learn how to make it.)

(in)courage gals at Blissdom

The BlissDom Flashmob (I cannot believe I was in not one, but two flashmobs this year!)

Facing Fiona (the healing is in the comments).

February

Father/Daughter Dance

March

Baseball Season Begins

Striking a Pose at the High Museum

April

Spring

Enjoying my New Lens

Field Day

Easter

May

A Baptism on Mother’s Day

A Team that Prays

Spring Concert

Strawberry Picking

Memorial Day

June

Year End Carnival with Homeschool Group

A Graduation

The Instagallery (in 5 1/2 years of blogging, this is currently my most popular post ever)

Blood, Sweat, and Song in Alabama (part 1 & part 2)

July

Homegating

Homeschool Heroes at the Southeast Homeschool Expo

August

Lake Time

Family Time and Meeting a New Cousin

Disney Summer Social

September

The Hubs (and three friends) Ordained as Deacons

(in)courage Girls in Hilton Head

Mother/Son Outing

Worldwide Photo Walk

October

Disney on Ice

The Relevant Conference

November

Veterans’ Day

Thanksgiving

December

Straight No Chaser Concert

Christmas

The Defense of the Faith Seminar at Church

If you made it this far, you’re probably a member of my family thanks for hanging in there with me! Going through my flickr stream made me realize how much I love seeing the Instagram (camera phone) photos from the year, too. They’re less a record of the big events and more of the day-to-day.

Can you believe tomorrow is a new year? Did you capture this one in photos?

2011: A Year in Pictures is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. Our Elf on the Shelf swinging from a cable after TPing our Christmas tree 2. Bowling with the family 3. Bowling with style 4. Bonfire & marshmallows

Do you ever get cynical about new year’s resolutions? I do. After two years carrying around the same one, I finally realized that it needed some tweaking: maybe what I thought I wanted wasn’t exactly what I wanted after all. I’m a little slow sometimes, how about you?

I’m thankful for a God who gives me what I need instead of what I want.

While we’re talking about a new year, let me share with you one of the best calendar covers ever, snapped in the checkout line at Big Lots—a classic!

What did your camera phone capture this week?

Camera Phone Friday: It’s Almost a New Year Edition is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. Phineas & Ferb LIVE, 2. Straight No Chaser @ryansongs, 3. @SNCMusic rocking Atlanta!, 4. @SNCMusic signing autographs after the show, 5. Oooey gooey cinnamon rolls from @thepioneerwoman in the works!, 6. A friend’s 17′ tree

By the end of the day today we should have all of our family in Georgia (our second son flies home from Dallas) and by late Saturday we should all be here in our home sweet home. Until you’ve had a child leave, I’m not sure you can appreciate the feeling of having your entire family together. We’ve got a sweet reunion ahead of us.

Yesterday we made a double batch of the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls. They roll out too big and messy to be contained on a cutting board, but this year I kept it somewhat under control. Based on an idea from a friend who makes large cakes, I bought a 30″ x 36″ piece of acrylic at Lowe’s as a work surface. I peeled off the protective coating, cleaned it with a mild all-purpose cleaner, and then rolled my dough and cut the rolls on it.

When the tsunami waves of butter, cinnamon, and sugar surged in my direction (check out the bottom center picture in the collage above), my mother-in-law was able to lift the edge of the acrylic and keep the tide in check. Clean up was easier than expected, too. It was definitely money well spent (around $22).

I took 3 of this week’s Instagram images at the Straight No Chaser concert Sunday night. Click here to view a slideshow of my camera (not camera phone) shots. I’m really pleased with this set (not to mention with the concert itself).

[If you're an email subscriber, for some reason the last 3 weeks' Camera Phone Friday posts haven't gone through, but they posted. Also, did anyone notice that last week was the "2 weeks until Christmas" edition? I'm in don't-have-my-shopping-finished denial.]

So, what did your camera phone capture this week?

Camera Phone Friday: Home Sweet Home Edition is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

1. Making friends #HelpPortrait, 2. Strike a pose #helpportrait, 3. Gathering around the (3 wk old) baby #helpportrait, 4. Oh, baby! #helpportrait, 5. Our first dog #helpportrait, 6. Christmas Festival (my daddy tunes the piano!), 7. Dressed for success: debate today at #ClassicalConversations, 8. Sangria & guacamole #girlsnightout, 9. Love my 2 youngest holding hands :)

This week my life degenerated into total chaos: Help-Portrait on Saturday; 15-year-old daughter’s birthday, church, ornament making, and Christmas concert on Sunday; last day of Classical Conversations and fall choir concert on Tuesday; church gals’ night out on Wednesday; 12-year-old daughter’s birthday and K-2 choir/ballet recital on Thursday. Now it’s the wee hours of Friday morning and we have a party at our house tonight, which of course means CRAZY HYSTERICAL COOKING AND CLEANING all day.

I’m suffering from a major case of White Collar withdrawal. My goal is to finish it over Christmas break.  Everyone needs lofty, unattainable goals, right?

What did your camera phone capture this week, and have you finished your Christmas shopping? (a resounding NO! from me)

Camera Phone Friday: 2 Weeks Until Christmas Edition is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

This year’s Help-Portrait wasn’t my first time to photograph this quietly dignified man in his electric wheelchair, wife standing by his side. But this time was different. After I’d snapped a few shots—thinking we’d finished—he said, “I want to stand.”

Honestly, at first I thought he was joking.

With help, he stood on his leg, his only leg, the empty wheelchair on one side and his wife on the other. Although she held him, he rose so straight and tall that it looked as if he supported her.

After one shot he slumped back into his wheelchair. When I showed them the image on the back of my camera, he and his wife nodded, “The kids are going to like this. The kids are going to like this.”

“How many children do you have?” I asked.

“Six,” they replied. Six children who probably haven’t seen their daddy stand in years.

I handed the memory card to another volunteer who would process the images and felt tears sting as I turned back to my station.

I don’t know him by name. We’ll see each other no more than once a year, if ever again. However, this gentleman and I share a bond forged by my lens between us. Together we captured a moment, a moment that represents the man he still is on the inside and that he wants his children to remember.

We didn’t physically restore his broken body, but I believe that photograph will ministered to his spirit for years to come. I wish I could see his face this Sunday when he’ll receive a framed copy, and later the faces of his family (in my imagination he and his wife haven’t told them: it’s a surprise).

A camera is more than a tool in your hands. The images it produces can restore lost dignity. They can heal. With good intentions, it’s an instrument that can be used to bestow blessings in a mighty way.

As I drove to the housing authority last Saturday I prayed that God would use me—my hands, my camera—to bless others that day. I’d forgotten that a gift given is often equally a gift received.

A Gift Given, a Gift Received is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved