Muddy Water

We enjoyed a day with our friends at the Mud Park!

Hammer in action...Great job James!

SWING

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown-

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Robert Louis Stevenson

Camping

McGrath State Beach...

Last weekend our family was blessed with living in nature for two days. Our campsite was at the riverbank's edge with a view of the Pacific Ocean. We were pleasantly surprised at dusk when we heard the first "ribbit" sound! Hundreds of frogs made music for our ears all night. We were unable to locate even one of the little guys in the orchestra. When it was dark and time for bed, James shed some tears, I first thought he was afraid to fall asleep listening to the frogs, but he told me, "I want to see the frogs."

On our way to the coast we drove through Encino, a scorching 107 degrees on Sunday! The coast was a balmy 71 degrees, cooling even more in the early evening. The campfire gave us warmth and much anticipated S'mores! Oh how Julia, James, and Mama enjoyed the camping treat.

Fishing with Daddy was so much fun!

The walk to the beach was some distance, but lovely along-side the estuary.

McGrath State Beach at the Santa Clara Estuary is, "One of the best bird-watching areas in California." The birds were plentiful and a joy to observe!

A Red-Winged Black Bird, searching for crumbs, was spotted under our picnic table.

Julia and James enjoyed "fishing" in the salt marsh and "grilling" their catch on the tree grill. We chose this spot #143 for the open view and this tree. These little purple berries were found on this tree, which I'm sure the little birds just enjoy.

Julia thought camping was more fun than she imagined it would be and James thought that it was going to be more fun, but he still liked camping.

Sweet Little Magpie SKIRT

Handcrafted

Inspired by a sewing mama found on the Soule Mama blog, I made this skirt using my dear sewing machine. I relish in the memories this little Kenmore has brought home...a table cloth, sofa pillows, a duvet cover, the curtains for our little ocean apartment when newly married. After having little ones, there seemed no time to take on a project. Last year I did attempt and successfully made a beautiful colonial dress with apron for Julia. Though, with the hours and frustration involved with following a pattern and the children wanting to play outside, the dear little sewing machine found its way in a kept spot. Now Julia and James are a little older and they have a shared desire to learn how this machine works. James is really interested in the "gas peddle" and wants to know how fast it will go! So we take on this new venture and we will create with our hands and see where it will take us. The skirt is so simple to create without a pattern, which suits me well. I have a stack of beautiful material just wanting to be put together, oh I just love fine printed fabric! This inspiration for making skirts and the desire to journal our family life was the beginning of the Sweet Little Magpie blog, the name and water color drawing distinguishing our sewing projects.

Summer Days

A summer day with Daddy, friends....at the arcade....the enjoyment of eating funnel cake for the first time by the seashore. They will have such fond memories.

Thank you to our photographer friend Jennifer!

The Beach

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Child's Gratitude

A Child's Gratitude––A mother, who remembered a little penny scent-bottle as an early joy of her own,
Vol 2 pg 56, Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason
took three such small bottles home to her three little girls. They got them next morning at the family breakfast, and enjoyed them all through the meal. Before it ended the mother was called away, and little M. was sitting rather solitary with her scent-bottle and the remains of her breakfast. And out of the pure well of the little girl's heart came this, intended for nobody's ear, 'Dear mother, you are too good!' Think of the joy of the mother who should overhear her little child murmuring over the first primrose of the year, 'Dear God, you are too good!' Children are so imitative, that if they hear their parents speak out continually their joys and fears, their thanks and wishes, they, too, will have many things to say.

Bracelets

Julia made these precious bracelets for her dear friends in our nature study group.

She ....worketh willingly with her hands. Proverbs 31:13