So, we were in China for a month...(Hong Kong edition)

...as you pretty much all know, and yet still no posts about it? Oops. We've been pretty busy since we've come back...should I give a bunch of excuses or just pictures?

Yeah, I'll do pictures.

The view from the plane. As most of you know, this was our first time flying, so it was pretty exciting. After about 8 hours though, the excitement wore off. But it's okay, we only had 10 more hours to go from that point...(longest plane ride. ever.)

Getting a "good night's sleep" at the Hong Kong airport. Which was actually a really cool one to walk around in, which I (foolishly) did instead of sleep.

Double decker buses...cool! I loved riding on the top level and these are all over Hong Kong.

Our first morning there was an adventure to say the least. We leave the airport and on the way to the hotel we get split up; us four (us + the interpreter) had to tote all 8 50lb suitcases and about 9 bags over the bumpy side walks and roads for over a kilometer in church clothes (high heels for some of us!), in the rain, while we rushed so we wouldn't be late for church! And since I hadn't slept at the airport...yeah, I'm embarrassed to say it, but I did fall asleep at church. Keeping my eyes open that morning was the most intense battle I've ever lost.

Lychee! Oh yum. It was in season while we were in China and it was everywhere.

Tooth paste ice cream. I have no comment.

We thought driving in Hong Kong was scary (small lanes, fast turns etc). But then we went to mainland China and learned what scary driving really meant.

This is pretty much how all of Hong Kong was. Tropical jungle with apartments and sky scrapers built anywhere they would fit. A neat contrast to Tucson. They have a saying in Hong Kong, "An inch of land, an inch of gold." It cost so much to live there.

So that was Hong Kong folks. We also went to this really cool street market but it was too crowded for pictures. A couple days after arriving we bused to Shenzhen (SHEN-jen), which does slightly border Hong Kong but is officially mainland China.

Both cities (Hong Kong and Shenzhen) are very modern and new. Shenzhen was a huge university city (pictures in the next post) but had only been an anonymous little fishing village 50 years ago. But I'll get to Shenzhen in my next post. Or one of us will anyway :).

"Is this a test?"

..."Yes, it is." Had to finish the quote ;).

We got tagged....a WHILE ago with this questionnaire thing. The Leibster award. We were going to, per BBB tradition, all answer together with color coded answers. And we might end up editing this to do that. But, with Mari working at the hospital/going to school every day but one, Clarisa working nearly full time, and me sitting around doing nothing at home (that's not true by the way, it just seems to be common opinion since I'm unemployed ;]), I figured I'd fill it out myself so that the blog doesn't die from neglect.
Ready?
Okay. Here are the rules:

 -Link back to the blogger who tagged you. Thanks Riah!

 -Answer the 10 questions that blogger asks.

-Nominate 10 other blogger at the maximum.

-Let those Nominees know they were tagged.

1) What is your family’s strangest tradition? Probably eating lo-mein (a Chinese noodle dish) every Thanksgiving. I'm very proud to have started (aka forced it on my family upon threats of death) this tradition.
2) Where is the farthest you’ve traveled? Yellowstone National Park.
3) At what age were your parents married? 22 and 31. Yeah, he didn't know how young she was when he asked her out ;).
4) What is your favorite book in the Bible? Judges, I think.
5) Ice Cream or Cake? Ice cream cake.
6) What language do you wish you could speak? Spanish. Porque no peude hablar espanol como una Mexicano, pero estoy una Mexicano. *sigh* I'm trying. That was probably wrong.
7) How old is your blog? How many posts have you written? What year did you write the most? (Is it okay that I asked three (now four) questions in one?) 4 years old, 199 posts, most written in 2010. And no, it's not.
Kidding.
8) What is the last movie you watched? RED.
9) What is your favorite music video? Hmm...um...I don't know. The last one I watched was Love, Liberty, Disco by Newsboys and that was fun. In case you look it up right now though, just a fair warning: Guy-liner. And plenty of it.
10) What song do you feel was written just for you? Um. Can't Take Me, Bryan Adams, from the movie Spirit. I don't feel like it was written just for me, because it was written for a horse, but I usually end up singing it all day long once I hear it.

Okay, so my ten questions!



1) What is your family’s strangest tradition?
2) What is/was your favorite subject in school?
3) What is your favorite book of the Bible?
4) Favorite cartoon/animation (now or as a kid)?
5) Funnest song you've listened to?
6) Do you speak any amount of any other language not including pig-latin?
7) Was anyone in your family born in another country?
8) What nationality are you (besides American. I'm talking heritage.)?
9) What was the last thing you saw in theaters?
10) What song do you feel was written just for you?

And I'll tag...
Sarah, Julia, and Jenny
Hannah
and Kayla

Sam

"Ding, ding, ding! Give the boy a prize." or "Move on a Sunday Morning"

Camp NaNoWriMo is over *sigh of relief*, and we all won with a total of 45,052 words! Okay, not that impressive. But it was hard work and good fun. 

Also, remember the contest over on this post? Well, thanks to everyone who guessed! You all did good, though no one got all of them correct. The closest guesser was....Lady L! Who got everything right, except she flipped Mari and SquiRe's quotes. Ah well, good for you! Lady L shall receive 2 points to our future give away (yes, that really will be happening, we just...are being slow...) and every other guesser gets 1 point. Here's the answers:

I love that picture of Risa

And lastly...lately in the blogging world there's been this playlist quiz thing floating around. What you do is, you put your music playlist on "random". Use the title of the first song to answer the question, then hit "next" and continue. Some friends of ours did it, and Mari and I did it too. Since posting two full questionnaire's would be altogether too long and boring, I'll post Mari's, with a few of my answers in there as well. Mari's answers are in purple, and mine in blue.


If someone says "Are you okay?" you say… 
Coffee (Arabian Dance) - Tchaikovsky

Am I okay?  I guess I just need some coffee, or (more likely) I need to dance!

 

What would best describe your personality?
Thankful (Caedmon's Call)

Yes, I am very thankful at the moment.

 

How would you describe yourself?
Drifting to Far From the Shore by Aaron Weil Band (Basically an unknown singer who does Christian Bluegrass.)

. . . Um. Drifting? That's bad.

What do you like in a guy/girl?
All the Fun by Paul OverstreetI guess I like all the fun!
 

How do you feel today?
Crucified by Salvador
I feel that everyday. (Gal. 2:20)

What is your life's purpose?
There You Go by Caedmon's Call
To get going!

What's Your Motto? 
Somewhere North

Yes! Must...go...to colder...climates!

What do your friends think of you?
Don't You Want to Thank Somebody by Andrew Peterson

I guess they think I oughta be more thankful.

What do your parents think of you?
Prodigal Son 

Ooh. Sorry, mom.
  

What do you think about very often? For I Know the Plans by Word of God Speak
I'm always planning.

 

What is 2 + 2?
Beauty and the Beast from the soundtrack

Haha, the one song from that soundtrack I have on my ipod! Well, it is four words right? 

What do you think of your best friend?
Sinking by Michael Peacock

They're sinking?

What do you think of the person you like?
Shifting Sand

I guess they're shifty...which explains the wedding answers! Read on.

What is your life story?
Circles by Alison Brook
Spinnin' in circles!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
(I've Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo by Glen Miller
I want to be a gal in Kalamazoo! (Not really.)

 

What do you think when you see the person you like?
Come Back Soon

Aw, isn't that nice? Till the wedding day. Keep readin'.
 

What will you do at your wedding?
Daring Daylight Escape

Poor guy. But hey, I couldn't stand a lifetime with those shifty eyes.

What will they play at your funeral?
You'll Find Your Way

Hey, I'm not Catholic or in ancient Egypt, so this won't apply.

What is your hobby/interest?
He Will Come by Mandisa
I just keep " Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:13

What is your biggest fear?
As You Therefore by Nathan Clark George

Um, speaking gibberish is a big fear of mine, since I do it quite often. "What is your biggest fear? As You Therefore!" Does that make any sense? Well, that's about how I speak somedays. =)

Big Fish
Hey, they ate Noah! Reasonable fear here, people!

What is your biggest secret?
Esengo by Selah
From what I could tell by searching the internet it means "glory". Which doesn't make much sense. . . again.

What do you want right now?
Fofar Sodger/ Trip to the Skye/ The Birdie by 25 Years of Celtic Music

I want the birdie, I want a trip to the skye, and I want fofar sodger? Translation please?

What do you think of your friends? 

God Help Me

Um...that sounds worse than it is. I have great friends...really.

What's the worst thing that could happen?
The Time That Is Left

Uh-oh. I guess it's only downhill from here.

What is the one thing you regret?
The Jug of Punch by Celtic Wonder 

Uh. . . yeah, hmmm. 0_o

What makes you laugh?
Michael's Ride

Yes, it does! (That's the soundtrack for a very funny scene from a very funny movie)

What makes you cry?
Carol Ann by Michael W. Smith

Carol Ann, you make me cry.

Will you ever get married?
Can't Take Me

Mwahaha!! Yes. B]

What scares you the most? 
Climb On (A Back That's Strong)

Well, it doesn't scare me, but I do hate being picked up/carried.

 

 Does anyone like you?
Here For You by Branded
My daddy! (It's a daddy, daughter song.)

If you could go back in time, what would you change?
There You Go
Hm. Apparently I would send you back.

What hurts right now?
The Chasing Song by Andrew Peterson

My legs are a little sore from running around.

What would you want to say to the person who tagged you (if you were tagged)?
Love Enough by Andrew Peterson
"In stubborn spite of our stubborn spite we are loved nonetheless, we are loved all the more and I believe there is love enough for the taking." 
  

What will you name this post?
Move on a Sunday Morning

"You don't say much, do you kid?"

*ahem* Sorry for the silence. But you're probably used to that by now, huh? I'll give a quick sum up of the last month.

1. Us three girls are doing Camp Nanowrimo! Put together, by the end of the month we will have written 4o,ooo words of three extremely different stories. Risa is writing a super cool sci-fi, Mari a really touching historical fiction about a boy who rode one of the Orphan Trains (heard of those?) and I am writing a fantasy, like everyone else =P.

2. School...is not ending. It's very sad.

3. We are working very hard for our chickens (something got into the coop and gobbled up all our layers, but we have ten little things who are close to laying age. We will protect you, chicks!) and we've been building fence segments like crazy. Soon we will have a nice new fenced yard. Yay!

4. Our papa (grandpa) is, in case you were unaware, a part time missionary to China and left today for a four month stay. We will miss him, and prayers are appreciated. He will be teaching English (secretly the Bible as well) at a college, preaching at some registered churches, getting some theology books spread in Chinese and ministering to the underground church. Yes, prayers are greatly appreciated.
This brings me to the joke bit. Our papa has always been the King of Corny jokes. Those silly puns and play on words that make you literally say, "Ha. Ha. Ha." while you roll your eyes. And some of that has rubbed of on Mom and Mari as well. This was their conversation a couple nights ago at dinner:

Mom: Just be careful over there [China] Dad, they have that bird flu going around.
Papa: Well, I hear it's tweetable.
Mari: But you'll definitely be feeling under the feather.
Papa: The worst part is the bill the doctors send you afterwards.
Mari: Well, you know they're all a bunch of quacks.
Mom: It may leave you a shell of a man.
Papa: Alright, enough yolks!
Mom: Then stop egging me on.

 
It actually continued with a couple more puns that I can't remember after this. We love having him over for dinner ^.^.

How's April been for you all? Sorry for the lack of pictures! Some of those, and the answers to last months game will be posted soon. Really.
Sam

I love to laugh, loud and long and clear!

Isn't it good to laugh? The Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" and "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance"! (Proverbs 17:22a, Proverbs 15:13a)

Let's do something fun, let's play the who-done-it game! Only this will be the who-done-said-it game. I'll quote myself or one of my siblings and you guess the origin of the quote. Come on, it'll be fun! Try it! (Just as a heads up your comment will be counting for points toward an upcoming giveaway.) I knew you'd want to try!

Pick Jack, Goldilocks, SquiRe, Sam, Mari, or Risa; one per quote!

1. "Because de Bible says we hafta play town, we gonna play town! But really. Really yes!"

2. "All governments have assassins - especially the diplomatic ones."

3."This day is always gonna be in my heart. And in your heart. Because I put some of it in yours and some of it in mine!"

4. "Yeah, I'm cool! I'm so cool... I'm COLD!"

5. "Isn't it abominable when one uses a grandiloquent word where a diminuitive one would suffice?"

6. "Oh man, this takes forever to finish! I'm serious, last time it took me about . . . a week. Or a hundred days."

You can comment, put a number to a name, and then we'll post the answers after I think everyone's had a chance to guess!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We've been wanting to post this video on our blog for a while, but can't seem to figure out how to. Here is the direct link to a cute little video our friends made.

threemaidens.blogspot.com/2012/11/behold-undecided-band

Pretty funny, huh?

 And if you think you've had enough laughs today, you're wrong! That's right, you haven't laughed enough today! =) Here is my last laugh for you, a little story told in the inflationary language, by Victor Borge, a great comedian and piano player!
Any of you remember the days, good old days, when the dollar was worth 49¢? Since then, many things have changed. Inflation is coming closer and closer, everything has gone up, except one thing -- the language. I have invented what I call the "inflationary language," because I want to be prepared the day we really have the great inflation. And I have to explain it this way, that we will add one to each number in every word that contains a number -- for instance, number one in "wonderful," will be "twoderful," because we add one to it. In a sentence like, "I ate a tenderloin with my fork," it would be "I nine an elevenderloin with my fivek." Very simple.
Now, I should like to read to you out of this book just a short chapter…
Twice upon a time, there was a young captain in the army named Bob, and his sister, Anna, who lived in sunny Califivenia. They belonged to a fine old family, and they were proud of the fact that some of their fivefathers had been among the crenineders of the American constithreetion. Bob had been very close to his younger sister, ever since she saw the light of day for the second time. Not so long ago, on a threesday evening, they were sitting at a table in a supper club, commemornining the day of her engagement. To Don Two (you see, her fiance was of spanish descent, his name was Don Juan. In this book, it'll be "don two," of course. ) Who, on unfivetunately, had turned out to be an asiten egotist. He hadn't even shown up. The table was beautifully decorated with her favorite flowers, long-stemmed red threelips.
               "Anna," said Bob, eleventatively, "you look twoderful threenight. But you have three of saddest eyes. " Anna really looked twoderful, in spite of the illness from which she had not yet recupernineded. It was midnight -- a clock in the distance struck thirteen. There suddenly in the doorway stood Don Two, obviously intoxicnineded. Bob jumped to his feet -- but Anna, trying to avoid a scandal, said, "Anytwo for elevennis?" Don grabbed a piece of the marininded herring in front of them, and was about to throw it at Bob.
             "Be careful, Don," warned Bob, "Today I became third lieu-elevenant in the army air fiveces.”
             "Are you two? I'm two three," said Don Two. With these words he left, and when he was one-and-a-half way through the door, stopped and turned excitedly.
             "Anna," Don Two said, "I shall never marry. All my life I will remain double!"

I guess I'm in such a mood for humor because my wonderful sisters bought me Micheal Jr.'s DVD, Laughing On Purpose, for me! He is hilarious!!

"Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!" ~Psalm 68:19

Have a wonderful day,
Mari

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

   

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

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

Extra! Extra! Read All About it!

Most popular news stories of the week!

 

Boy Snoozes During Snack

Hot off the press: pictures of Jack snoozing during snack time! Jack caught sleeping during snack instead of the preferred "nap time". Self proclaimed expert, Momo, was questioned about Jack's confusion. She told reporters she believed that "he was confused with the upcoming end of daylight savings time." Daylight savings time ends on Sunday, November 4, which is still 58 days away. We reached out to Jack's Reps for comment but did not receive a response.

Boy's Many Hunts Fruitless

"I'm going to catch it and hold it!" SquiRe declared about pictured lizard. The aforementioned lizard has been spotted by SquiRe many a time to no avail. "I will not give up!" He resolved aloud. "Unless... Do you think I should?"



Rooster Soon to be Dinner

 

Latest reports have confirmed that the rooster known as "Sylvester" is indeed destined for dinner. After relentlessly attacking his feeder, the owners have decided he can best serve the family fried. In an interview with the owner she said they have too many and "we don't need one like that." Looks like Sylvester's chances are fried. More on how Sylvester will be served to be forth coming.

 

New Pet For Sam Finally Named

Earlier this August Sam, the popular writer at Books Ballet and Basketball, bought a Mastiff puppy. The puppy was ten weeks old when she came to Sam and in the first week had gained 8lbs! During that entire week the puppy was called by various names in consequence of the fact that Sam had not yet chosen a name for her. Family members and even neighbors offered too many choices, making the selection quite large. Among the name prospects were "Sam", "Moxie", "Luna", "Shadow", and "Reilly". In a brief interview with Sam, she was asked why she thought it was so difficult to name her dog. Her response: "'Cause I'm indecisive." The dog has been officially christened Cleopatra.

 

 

 

Dancer's Pain No More

 

Surgery was recently performed to remove Momo's toe nails. Momo has been affected with ingrown toe nails since starting pointe work in ballet over three years ago. But the pain of ingrown nails is now a thing of the past and this dancer's toes are healing very well.

Fact you probably don't want to know about nails: The current record-holder of longest nails, according to Guinness, is Shridhar Chillal who set the record in 1998 with a total of 242.25 inches of nails on his left hand. His longest nail, on his thumb, was 4.8 feet long.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Counting the years you've been alive, and thankful for every one of them!

Counting all the blessings you have brought to our family, and just to me personally, would be impossible.

Sam is serious, responsible, and sensible. She is trustworthy and reliable. Her practical and realistic approach brings a much needed balance to the un-orderliness that comes from some of our family. =)

Though expressed in a calm facade, she has very strong beliefs that are steadfast when others might doubt.

She gives constantly but is often unnoticed because of her quiet personality. She is a young woman of beauty, but it is her hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, that is most admirable.

I'm so blessed to have such a sister!

I love you, Sam! Happy birthday!

Sam, wanted me to share a list of some famous poeple who share her August 19th birthday.

If you don't recognize the name that's okay, I wrote who they are in (brackets).

Lil' Romeo (a hip hop rapper)

Bill Clinton (42nd US President)

Tipper Gore (author, Al Gore's wife)

Johnny Nash (Singer, best known for "I Can See Clearly Now")

Fred Thompson (American politician and actor)

Kyra Sedgwick (American actress who stars in The Closer)

John Stamos (American actor who starred as Jesse Katsopolis Full House)

William T Riker (Character on Star Trek Next Generation)

Gene Roddenbury (creator of Star Trek)

SquiRe's News!

Last week SquiRe walked out of Mom and Dad's room with a glowing smile. He declared to us some news that made us all beam too: "I am a Christian!"

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents." (Luke 15:10)

I am so glad to have, what SquiRe calls "a double brother". Not only is he my brother in this life, but infinitely more wonderful is that he will be my brother in the life to come!

Praising God,
Ashlin

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time," (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

Of Cub Scout Cupcakes, Rain and a "Dork Beetle"

A Peek Into Our Day

(Warning: This maybe very... boring.)

We have been blessed with rain. This ↑ is a picture of our front yard before the rain. Even before the rain we got a rainbow, how sweet is that!

As we took a walk last evening the sky was a beautiful grey, ready to rain.

I took a picture of my sisters next to the tallest agave plant in our neighbor hood.

Samantha took a picture of said agave plant from a more artistic angle.

I love the scenery in our new neighborhood. We have mountains to the North, South, East and West!

During our walk we spied many critters. Of the rabbits, horses and goats, we have no pictures for you. But we did see some ants that were "connected". One was carrying the other.

See?

It was really weird. So of course I took a picture just for you, Reader.

See how this beetle's leg is up and out? Picture each of those legs taking
exaggerated steps over and over again. It makes it look like it's
walking, well, dorkily. (A word to me.)

Then this morning we dropped off some cookies and cupcakes to the Cub Scouts. (The Cub Scouts are having a bake sale today.) These cookies are ranked in our top ten best cookies. They were so good.

Want the recipe?

These are the cute cub-cakes we made. Sam saw a picture on some cooking blog, and we did our best to duplicate. I think they turned out pretty well.

After delivering the baked goods, some of us played Monopoly. Goldilocks can't play, but she was my helper. Jack was playing for Sam in the picture. He was her "helper".

Sorry it's so fuzzy, he moves a lot and I don't know how to use the camera.

I'll have to ask him to be my helper next time.

See all those hotels he was racking up? Wow. =)

SquiRe didn't win, he was too generous. Whenever someone was in a finacial crisis he would give them help, plus he would sell off his property for almost nothing. 

This picture was taken today. SquiRe is a big reader,
 but he especially likes to read aloud to someone. He was
 reading to Mom. I think he knew I was taking his picture.

And the news we have been wanting to share is that Sam recently started taking in animals from the Humane Society to care for until they are ready to adopt. Thus far she has had two cases. One was a litter of four very young kittens, and just about an hour ago we got a dog.

Because these weren't named we got to name them ourselves. Though Sam at first didn't want to because she thought we'd be to attatched, I told her we wouldn't be and I was right. I'm so glad we got to name them!

The orange cat, the runt, was the only male. We named him Kalmar after the prince of Anniera. (From Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga.)

The grey female cats we named Arabella, Samara, and Houdini (the escape artist).

We weren't big fans of the name Arabella, but we thought it would get her adopted just a little quicker.

They are all three chasing and wrestling each other in this picture.

 This is the dog we just got. She unfoutunately already has a name: Lulu.

 Lulu is just here until she gets socialized. Why would they give a dog in need of socilization to a family of conservitive homeschoolers is what I want to know. *hahaha*

Well, I've bored you long enough. I'll let you go after showing you what I found this morning.

And I can't believe I didn't kill it. I saw it at 5:30 am so I guess I was too tired to think: "Maybe I should do more than just take pictures of this creepy thang."

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Momo