December Instagram Challenge 2017

It is December again and a time that is filled with picture-worthy moments. I have rounded up some prompts for the month that should be fairly easy to capture.  Be sure to use the hashtag #MTMerryAndBright2017 when you post your pictures. I am looking forward to seeing how you celebrate the season!

I think that this will be my last set prompts for a while. I still plan to take a picture-a-day, but want to take a break from creating the prompts. I am looking at a couple of different options and would like your opinion as to which you would prefer:

* Select an overall "theme" for the month and let my photos reflect that them in some way
* Participate in some of the other prompts that are out there, such as those from The Idea Room  , The Wonder Forest, or another site.
* Join Katrina Kennedy's photography prompts which are sent out each week via email
* Each person do whatever suits them

Which would you prefer??

StoryWorth - A REALLY Great Gift

I have lots of new posts in the works, but before I complete them, I wanted to let you know about a wonderful gift I received for my birthday. I have had a subscription to StoryWorth on my "wish list" for a while now and was so excited when Jana and Callie (and their families) gave it to me for my birthday!! Granted, I have only been a part for a couple of weeks, but I already LOVE it!

Each week for a year, question prompts are emailed to you. You can respond to the question either by simply hitting reply and typing your story, or calling a number to record your response. The questions can be chosen by the person who gifts the subscription, or StoryWorth will send random questions to you --- questions that you might never have thought to share with your loved ones. Your responses are then emailed to the giver or others that you choose. And the best part . . . at the end of the year, all of your responses are printed and bound into a keepsake book!  Isn't that awesome!!!

Here's a look at my most recent email prompt. You can write as much or as little as you like.

If you are stumped by a question, you can choose a different one, so there really is no pressure to divulge anything you are uncomfortable with. You can edit your responses at any time during the year and even add photos! What a wonderful way to share your story with your children, grandchildren or other loved ones!

I am so excited by this gift that I want to tell everyone about it! It would be such a great gift this time of year, especially for that person who is so hard to buy for. It could even be a great secret project that you work on to complete for someone special! If you are interested in getting this awesome project started, just click on this link for a little savings. I can hardly wait to see what next week's question is about!!

Post-Halloween

The festivities are now over, but the decorations are still up and costume parts are probably still scattered around. I know for sure that the treat bags are still filled to the brim with candy and toys. We were lucky enough to enjoy Trick-or-Treating with 3 of our grandchildren this year. Ron and his oldest son, Terry, came home from their annual hunting trip to join us before heading back out into the woods.

After preschool, Callie and the boys met Jaylynn, Archer and me at the duck pond to burn off a little excess energy. We let them wear their costumes, hoping to get a few pictures of them as well. (We have to be kind of sneaky about photos these days since they generally do not want to pose for us.)

We played for a while. . . a dinosaur, pumpkin and baby cat.

Then, headed down to the water to feed the ducks my leftover hot dog buns.

BabyD2 was totally enchanted by the ducks and geese and chased them all over the place, hoping to hold one. Callie narrowly saved him from the water at least three times.

At some point, he also realized that we had snuck a tail onto his costume and he wasn't exactly thrilled about that.

Toddler D, however was ALL ABOUT HALLOWEEN this year.

We trick-or-treated at the Norton Art Gallery (before the crowds got too bad, I might add)

Then the parents took the kids to houses on our block, while Ron and I joined the neighbors around the annual Halloween Fire Pit, where we pass out massive amounts of sugar to kids that stop by.

It was such fun to get to experience Halloween through the eyes of these three little goblins!