Life Right Now

Life has been very full right now with such beautiful things as...

Church life and the ministry and fellowship opportunities that come with it. 

It's been so amazing to be a part of this body of believers!

Our new resident dogs. (Patrol is on the left and Ella is on the right.) We love them. ; )

School. I'm particularly excited about this subject right now because I only have two lessons left in it! That's one of the best things about being homeschooled--if you're better at a certain subject or more interested in it you can finish it faster than the others. I love graduating subjects early. ; )

 Nephews. : ) This little guy loves shoes of all kinds, but he looks especially cute in his daddy's shoes. ; )

And I just had to throw this one in for fun. 

It's so much fun taking the little boys outside and playing a bit with them.

And reading. Oh, wow. It looks like I went to the library and brought the whole thing home. : ) So far, I've devoured The Return of the Indian (fun story but I wouldn't suggest that its target age range read it) and The Giver (and really good, but there's some stuff I don't agree with). ; ) 

I'm really looking forward to reading Andrew Peterson's On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (not from the library actually) because my brother has been reading hilarious excerpts aloud.

There's also been some book shipping; lots of dishes, cooking, and house cleaning (goes with the fellowship, ya know); hilarious family times; and a bit of writing. (I'm working on a new story called "The Twin Arrows"--over nine thousand words!)

So, it's been the best of times and the worst of times. I'm very grateful for all the times. : )

Oh, and BTW--one of the worst times was when I found a dead stinkbug down in my toothbrush after I had started brushing my teeth with it. It was bad. And a really hilarious story to tell afterward. Every stinkbug has a silver lining, you know. ; )

Tons and Bunches: Surprise!

Over at our family blog, my sister Pearl tells all about our newest surprise. Check it out; it's a great story! : )

Tons and Bunches: Surprise!:  We were  blessed  to find a beautiful Australian Shepherd/Border Collie dog on Craigslist. Only three of us knew we were going to get her....

Summertime

Summertime is full upon us, and it seems like every day holds a new adventure. Whether it is visiting the adorable county fair, playing the new game my brother invented, or just chatting with visiting relatives, I'm enjoying it quite a bit and I thought I would share with you some of the best things about it.

I'm thankful for...

• Letters to read and write!
• Free ebooks!!! I recently enjoyed The Sparrow Found a House.
• www.noblenovels.weebly.com They've taught me lessons in writing and deadlines. : ) (My latest story "This Is Home" should be posted today.)
• "Resurrecting" an old character I had invented around eight years ago. Enter Gabriel Smith the pony express rider!
• The fact that my latest food experiments have actually turned out! I was never able to do that when I was younger.
• The Pioneer Woman and The Joy of Cooking cookbooks that tell me exactly how to hardboil an egg or make lemon zest.
• That cool lemon smell on my fingers that I got to smell all the rest of that day and some of the next. : )
• The way those lemon bars tasted. Heavenly. It was so amazing that, even though it was time to go grocery shopping, we had exactly the right amount of lemon for them. : )
• The chance to do two sets of neighbors chores. Betsy Bea thinks of it as a petting zoo and talks to all the animals. "Hey, duck! Watcha' doing with all these chickens? Are you friends or something?" "Canon, Canon." (Said in a cooing voice while she feeds the baby goat little bits of hay. In the next moment, she was giggling because he was lipping her fingers.) : )
• All the surplus organic eggs and raw milk people have been giving us.
• A baby sister who taught me to play her own version of hopscotch on the kitchen tile.
• People having relatives visiting them which means BABIES AT CHURCH!
• Haying opportunities for my gigantic-ly tall little brother. (And Aimee did some too, I might add.) ; )
• Lunch and wi-fi at an adorable local café on the way to the county fair. What could be better than a bagel sandwich?
• The cool decorative lamp posts at the café. We took lots of pictures near them and there were many references to Lucy in Narnia. : )
• My gigantic-ly tall little brother who took most of the pictures. He did an awesome job taking them and since he is taller than us there was none of that dwarf effect.
• Those nice purple smiley faces that show we got to go to the fair even two days afterwards! : )
• My dad who promised my baby sister a Ferris wheel ride and helped her stay calm as the wheel went 'round and 'round.
• My baby sister who bravely rode the Ferris wheel, laughing nervously and excitedly and waving to us each time she came around. : )
• The animal barn. I had never been to one at a fair before, so this was a new experience.
• Getting to stroll around with my family, my friend, and her pygmy goat Fatso. : )
• All the cute baby animals.
• The beef judging (where my friend's brother showed a steer). It was so interesting! The judge was very knowledgeable, so if anyone asks—yes, I did science that day. : )
• That deathly yummy carnival food. 'Nuff said.
• Grocery shopping when Costco was about to close. : )
• Dad asking what we wanted to eat in the drive-through and my sister saying, "I'll take a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake with ketchup." We laughed over that new ice cream flavor for a little while. : )
• Doing chores at midnight with flashlights. I'm not one of the main chore-doers so I was in the van while this all happened. : )
• Two window air-conditioners and several fans!
• A clean house the next day, even though we had to clean it to get it that way.
• A set-up foosball table! Through the efforts of Mom, my gigantic-ly tall little brother, Yours Truly, and some random little sisters it is now standing in the school/game room. : ) Dad even brought home balls from town for it!
• "Babysitting" my younger sisters and building a blanket tent for us to play games, color pictures, and hang out in before bedtime.
• My middle-sized sister who was my right hand in tent building. Fortunately, all the blankets were still accessible since we had used them at camp.
• Sorting through pennies with my gigantic-ly tall little brother. He's super into coin collecting right now, and I'm actually finding it quite fascinating. : ) (Now I can explain what it means when there is no mint mark. Cool, huh?)
• Relatives visiting! Those nephews are too cute to be true!
• My brother-in-law, my sister, and my gigantic-ly tall little brother (time to invent an acronym!) playing foosball really, really hard!
• The older nephew splashing with my little sisters in the baby pool. : )

So we've been having lots of joyful times together, and I can't wait to see what God has in store next! : )

 

 

P.S.- I'm also super grateful for Mom who edits all of my writing and makes sure I don't sound too goofy. : )

Do Cows Eat Dandelions?

You gotta' love it when you're writing a book, and you assert that cows
like to eat dandelions. Your editor mother says that you had better
research that. She calls the neighbor's cow expert of a son, and he
decides that we should switch it out for clover. Editing sure is fun... : )

Fun Late Summer Memory

This was such the fun and educational experience! And the kittens were
absolutely adorable. : )

Summer is Almost Over!

Yes, summer vacation is coming to a close. I'm not sure if can bring myself to be sorry because the best season is coming next, but when I think back I have a lot to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for U-pick farmers, their blueberries, and their generosity as well as God's sun and God's rain to make the berries grow.
I'm thankful for friends that liven the days with their picnics, invitations, silly games at camp, and emails and letters.
I'm thankful for relatives that want to come over, soak my brother, watch a movie, and let me hold their baby.
I'm thankful for the garden that God has made grow so amazingly with 5 inch long green beans (some smaller too), potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and spinach coming out of our ears, the radishes early on and more vegetables to come.
I'm thankful for the fawn that visits our yard and makes me love God's creation even more.
I'm thankful for the lawn mower that has taught me perseverance, steering, and kept the lawn so nice. (Thanks for not acting up as badly as you did last year!)
I'm thankful for the van that started the year badly, but has taken us numerous places like the miracle vehicle it is.
I'm thankful for the weeds that help me to be grateful for when they are not there and get my vitamin D when they are.
I'm thankful for the Family Vision Library, the scholarship they gave us, and the books they send us, G.K. Chesterton for writing awesome things for my Dad to read to me, and all those good movies we've enjoyed this vacation.
I'm thankful for our church that has enjoyed social and spiritual things with us.
I'm thankful for new friends, and ones I have gotten to know better.
I'm thankful for balls that seem to be the center of just about every game.
I'm thankful for our forefathers who gave us something to celebrate with loud noises and ice cream.
I'm thankful for creativity that keeps things interesting.
I'm thankful for pencils and notebooks that work together so beautifully if I can just get over my writer's block.
I'm thankful for dishes that provide interesting conversations with my hilarious siblings, and a chance to listen to "The Reckoning" all over again.
I'm thankful for the internet which helps us keep in contact with faraway friends.
I'm thankful for Blue, she livens everything, makes things cute and funny and is my buddy. : )
I'm thankful for Em, she loves to set up paperwork and hilarious doctors' offices and we are learning to be better friend's every day.
I'm thankful for Pearly. She is hilarious and we've written together up in her bunkbed. (Or at least tried to). : )
I'm thankful for Anna, she was willing to listen to "The Reckoning" with me while we scrubbed the kitchen floor. (She volunteered to help!)
I'm thankful for Paul, he makes cool things, and funny things, and talks when we are trying to write things.
I'm thankful for Aimee and that we go to the mail together, and dig in the garden and have an awesome time of it.
I'm thankful for Perry, she is so cool (no she's not into rock) and she'll listen to me talk about writing for half an hour, and she has really good ideas. And she has a nice baby I'm extremely thankful for too!!! : )
I'm thankful for Tyler, the valet for Perry and nice baby, and the soaker of brother. : )
I'm thankful for Mommy, who gives me motivation to pick blueberries, blueberries to eat, compassion, advice, tips on growing up, etc. (She gives me dishes to do too, that comes under the growing up heading.)
I'm thankful for Daddy, who reads cool books to us, lets us stay up later for that, gives really convicting sermons, advices, etc.

And I'm thankful for God who makes all these things work, all these things beautiful, and gives us salvation.


I'm ready for school and autumn, anyone else ? Who wouldn't want books and leaves and rain and sweaters?

This week is one of the last big summer events and the week after is getting ready for school. (You'd think we'd have it down to a science, but our family grows and changes). : )
Then school. And sweaters!!!!!

"The Gift" by Aselin Debison

I remember the day, several years ago, that we heard this song on the Christmas music station in AZ. We enjoyed it and jotted down the artist's name. I have since lost the piece of paper, but her name stuck with me. After hearing a country version of "The Gift" on the radio just now, I finally looked up this version. Enjoy...
Merry Christmas!