Our oldest sister was born this day many years ago.
Risa is extremely loyal, devoted, and compassionate toward others and their feelings. She is conscientious and responsible, and very much a needed part of our family. Risa is quiet and unassuming, and filled with a large number of facts. She often surprises me by knowing so much, she's like a living Wikipedia sometimes. =) It may have to do with the fact that she is an avid reader, and is often found with a book.
She has a great work ethic and is very responsible. Since working with our Dad (he is a construction worker) he has said that she has worked as hard or harder than any young man he has had work for him. She is ready to accept responsibility for the many things that need to be done, but she is also very patient with her sisters who *ahem* are often leaving, her recently cleaned areas, a mess. Risa constantly lends me stability through her excellent commonsense-and-wisdom-filled perspective.

Risa is a supportive sister,

a sympathetic friend,

a gentle daughter,

a modest and hardworking young woman,

and a shining example.

She lives the meaning of her name as a clear bright light for all to see, glorifying God through her quiet acts of service.

Happy Birthday, Risa, we love you!

Little Children

Have you checked out the date today?
12-12-12
Pretty cool, right?
I don't have much to post about, but I couldn't not post on 12-12-12! =)
What better to write about than kiddos? Doesn't the thought just bring a smile to your face?
    Having little children around, little siblings to be more specific, is so great. It changes life completely, just about everything is done slightly differently if you have little siblings, but it is one of the greatest blessings to be able to be around loving little boys and girls all day. If you don't have young children in your home let me tell you, you definitely may have some funny quirks that you will never learn about until you see them imitated by a child.

Let me tell you a little about what the children in our family are up to these days..

SquiRe

SquiRe has been trying to perfect his hand stands (and "kung fu").

      SquiRe has been quite the big brother, trying to instruct his little siblings as much as possible. This morning I over-heard the three younger siblings arguing over a toy.
     Squire told Goldilocks, "I'm trying to be the peacemaker. Cuz if you let me play with it now, then later when I'm doing school you can have. So we'll both get it."

This is a picture of SquiRe and his goatee, just like Dad's but made out of suds.

 

      SquiRe really loves animals, and knows more facts about most of God's creatures than most kids his age. The other day I was playing 20 questions with him and he asked for a hint. Normally I don't give hints but I thought of a way to give him a hint that would never help him. I told him the animal was an isopod and he guessed it right away! He impresses me a lot.

Ephesians 5:1- "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."

 

Goldilocks

     The other day I walked into the living room and Goldilocks and Jack were sitting with my school books on their laps and with a giggle Goldilocks told me, "I'm doing chemistry!"
     "I do maf!" Jack added.

This is Goldilock's' favorite dress up dress. Probably
 because it looks most like a wedding dress, her favorite
 type of dress. [This is a picture from the "princess
 photo shoot" I said I would post about.]

     She loves to be a lady, and adores all things princess-y. Sometimes before bed she would ask me, "Mari, am I a princess?" Now that she is confident she is a princess she says "I am a princess." and asks me "Mari, are you a princess?" Of course the answer is the same. God in heaven is my Father, and He is King of kings.

Matthew 18:2-4- "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Jack

     He was singing "Jingle bell, jingle bells, jingle bell" and Mom asked him, "Jingle bells, Jack?"

     He replied, "Yeah, Mom, all da way!"

     Later he was playing knights and dragons with SquiRe and they pretended dragon wanted to eat them. "Stop!" Jack yelled.

     "I can't, I'm hungry." SquiRe said in a dragon voice.

     "Jesus help you!" Jack retorted.

 

     Once again you can see an example of how little children imitate. Jack is a happy worker (yeah, he is happy he's just... camera shy) putting away laundry because he sees his daddy and mommy (and bigger siblings) being happy hard workers every day. (He really does love to help clean dishes and do laundry.)

     Jack is getting so big he can now ride his big brother's old bike.

     One thing you will hear from Jack a lot these days is "Peez, do it!" or "I do it mine-self!" This morning he was sure he could button his pants, he worked on it a very long time and if he thought I was going to try it he would tell me, "Almost dare."

Jack buttoning his jacket all by himself.

 

     Psalm 127:3-5 - "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 

     I hope you are having a great 12-12-12, and if not, I hope these pictures and stories made it a little bit better. I'd love to hear any cute little children stories you have! Please comment and share them. =)

          ~Mari

   

Give Thanks

"For the Beauty of the Earth"
A beautiful hymn (interestingly combined with The Man From Snowy River) we hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving:


:

Last night I read Psalm 107. It is a long one but a favorite. I hope you find time to read it this weekend:

 

¹ O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
³ And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
⁶ Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
⁷ And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
⁸ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
⁹ For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
¹⁰ Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
¹¹ Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
¹² Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
¹³ Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
¹⁵ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
¹⁶ For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
¹⁷ Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
¹⁸ Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
²⁰ He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
²¹ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
²² And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
²³ They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
²⁴ These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
²⁵ For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
²⁶ They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
²⁸ Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
²⁹ He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
³⁰ Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
³¹ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
³² Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
³³ He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
³⁴ A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
³⁵ He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
³⁶ And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
³⁷ And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
³⁸ He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
³⁹ Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
⁴⁰ He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
⁴¹ Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
⁴² The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
⁴³ Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.



Risa

Challah recipe and update

Hey everyone. It's early Friday morning (the best day of the week) and we are all just lounging about and sleeping in. Which is unusual, but whenever Dad's schedule is unusual, so is ours. He went out early this morning (4:30) to go hunting for the first time in over 20 years. Or as Glodilocks said it, "He's out spyin' on the animals!"

So that's how we are today. And I'm not sure how you are but if you make this challah bread your day will be much happier, I'm sure. =]

Mix:
2 1/2 C warm water
1 TBL yeast
1/2 C honey (see, it's healthy! for bread...)
After that begins to foam and such add in:
1/4 C oil
2 eggs
1 TBL salt
8 C flour

Let this rise in a large oiled bowl until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Divide into two braided loaves, rise again. Bake @ 375 for 40 minutes and voila!
Variations:
1)Brush with egg and sprinkle poppy seeds on top. Good flavor, good for you, and pretty too.
2) Make up a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and butter (possibly add in some all spice or apple pieces). After you seperate the dough into 3 pieces but before braiding, roll the 3 pieces flat long-wise. Add some sweet filling to the middle of each and roll up to form 3 logs again. Pinch ends to seal and braid. Brush entire loaf with egg and sprinkle with sugar...so yummy...

Have a great weekend!
Sam

Our Trip to Big Sandy

Our family spent a vacation with about 1,500 other Christians at NGJ's Big Texas Shindig. It was great to meet and fellowship with others who were just as peculiar as us! It isn't everyday one meets a family (especially if you're a conservative home school Christian family) with beliefs like their own. I don't think any two families are identical, but to have fellowship with "peculiar people" who we are like us is a blessing. I think of Psalm 133:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

But before we get into the Shindig, let me show the pictures in chronological order. First was the driving and I have two cute pictures from within the RV (named Cletus).

We are thankful for Cletus, because we were able to play charades and checkers, take naps, and eat while traveling, which was a real blessing.

 

Cletus lost a step and an engine cover while we drove, but Dad made a new one out of some wood and his own craftsmanship. One family saw our RV and said we could have been from Texas too!

 

As I said before there were around 1500 people there, out of those we knew only one family. As we pulled into our RV spot we were talking about how we hoped to see the G family and, what do you know, they were in the spot right next to ours.  

 

We enjoyed sharing a couple meals and s'mores with them as well as playing and talking together.



Goldilocks loved to play with Annalisa. They are playing tag.

We also went on the obstacle coarse with them. Below is our Dad going from one tire swing to another. (SquiRe is in the background!)

The next game, or obstacle, was a two player game. There were four chords above the ground making a square, in the middle of the square was a rope. In the picture you will see Risa and Dad relying on each other to walk around the square, balancing on the thin chords beneath their feet.

Sam's turn!

 

After that was the tall rope swing; so much fun!

Yes! That is Risa.

 

We all tried it, but there are so many pictures already.

 

Okay, after that was the exciting log walk. A long log was held above the ground by two chords so that as you walked across it would rock and move.

Again, we all made it across (I did it three times =) ) but the space for pictures limits us to this.

The two tight rope walkers above Sam and Abigail G. were supposed to race but decided to use a long stick and work together.

I have a new found appreciation for tight rope walkers. As you can see in the above picture, I fell many a time. But it was such happy amusement!

Annalisa is helping Goldi "fall".

We all held our arms together as others stood on a platform and dropped back in faith. Annalisa had the most fun and was by far the bravest.

 

The last tight rope started closer to the ground (you see it right above Risa's knee) and grew higher off the ground. Thankfully there was a second chord to hold on to.

The feet of yours truly! Ta ha ha =)

A quick rest at the highest point.

I really like this silly pose!

Abigail and I had taken many pictures. Our camera's memory card was full!

Micheal Pearl had some great teachings. The whole family enjoyed his teachings above those of the other speakers. There were amazing teachings on family, missions, marriage, Romans, sanctification, how to read your Bible, and more.

It was such a good trip. I think we all hope to go to the next Shindig! And maybe you will too!

 

Blessings,

Mari

 

Quick Post (of Jack and Bread)

 Just writing this post as we are about to head out the door! Thought you'd like to know we will be blogging soon!

 

What a goof-ball he is!

Jack believes that his elbow are his muscles. He is so cute saying, "Look at muscles! My muscles!"

BIG Challah bread!

We have been making some really delicious challah, so if any of you think you want the recipe just let me know. =) It's so good!

 

Coming Soon (Maybe):

Trip to Big Sandy Texas

Princess Photo Shoot

Riding Black Jack

Chicken names...finally

We are now posting our chickens pictures and their names. Sorry it took so long. They are all named after characters from movies or tv shows. See if you can guess!

 

Twister [Turrill]

Merry

Pippin

Qwali

Pearl

Ruby

Big Mama (okay, her name isn't from anything, we just liked it)

 Foghorn J. Leghorn (actually female, unlike the character)

 

Dory (actually male, unlike the character)

Here's where they all are from:
Twister: Larkrise to Candleford, BBC mini series
Merry and Pippin: The Lord of the Rings, who doesn't know this? ;]
Qwali: Imagine That, movie
Pearl and Ruby: Larkrise to Candleford, BBC mini series
Foghorn J. Leghorn: Looney Toons, he's the rooster
Dory: Finding Nemo, he's extra unintelligent and has a similar color on his face.

Did you get them right?
Sadly, our chicken numbers have been reduced to 6. Two roosters are gone by our hand and two hens by the hand, erm, paw, of a coyote.
Sam

Waiting in Hope

Revelation 22:7
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Romans 8:18-23
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

1 Corinthians 13:9-12
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Psalm 29:10
“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.”





Andrew Peterson's newest album, Light for the Lost Boy, has just been released. I've become a fan, so naturally I pre-ordered the CD (in lieu of The Wolf and the Throne Warden, a book we are not-so-patiently waiting for him to write). Above is my favorite song from the album: “Come Back Soon” Words and Music by Andrew Peterson


Risa

What we do

True.
Sam.

Homeschool Vintage Ball

The long-awaited ... *cough* circumstances beyond my control ... *mumble*...

ANYWAY!
Below are some pictures from the Vintage Ball we attended this summer if any of our friends still have an interest.

Say "red eye!"

 

The term "vintage" was given a broad definition. As such attendees were arrayed in all manner of dress, from the 1700s to 1860, from western duds to (my personal favorite) 1940s dress. And of course, formal modern attire.

 

 

We met old friends and new that evening. A ball is intended to be a very social event and this one was wonderful.

 

Notice the historical dress and adorable little dancer in a a suit. Also note the basketball hoop: the ball was held in a church gymnasium which proved a perfect venue.




 

SquiRe (in his too-cute bow tie) was completely captivated by the dancing and participated in almost every set. There was a fantastic diversity of age and dancing skill at the ball. All of the dances were briefly explained then "called" which was very helpful.



 

Our dear Jack was a little overwhelmed by it all at times, bless his heart.

 

You may notice the Invisible Woman (who much prefers to stay invisible) is prominently displayed in several of these photos. She hopes you're happy.

SquiRe and Sam are the first couple in this dance.

 

We had dances in sets of four, six, eight and even a few line dances. Some traditional dances were familiar to us, like The King's March, Jefferson's Reel and Come Let Us Be Merry. Others were new, like the Pineapple Dance which was performed to Viva la Noche. That was fun!

Daddy and I.

It was so nice to attend an event like this that we could all enjoy together, from Goldilocks to Mom and Dad. I think our parents danced more often than I did!


The night ended with a series of wild dances, one of which was called "Chasing the Squirrel" (pictured above). It is as silly and rambunctious as it sounds. We went home thoroughly delighted, invigorated, and exhausted.

 

 

 

Risa