Camera Fun!

A Butterfly we raised from an egg.
Me.
Me again.
Mom. Isn't that a beautiful picture?
And me again.


Dad just got a new camera, so these are a few of the products from it. :) It is really good resolution and takes great pictures!

Elizabeth

A Courtship Post

My good friend Jenna just posted a very encouraging series on courtship and dating! She has a lot of great points! For example, she mentions that the "dating thing" is just teaching you to love someone, and give part of your heart away, and then do it all over again! That's not what God intends for marriage to be, is it? She has posted a five part series about this very important subject. She has written it with her twin brother Josh. I think that their thoughts are so true! Please check out her blog here! By the way, if you're having trouble finding these posts, she wrote the first post on Sept. 16, and it's titled "His Perfect Plan". I think that what she is saying is absolutely true!

Thank you for being a light in a dark world, Jenna and Josh! God bless you!

Elizabeth

Delicious Homemade Veggie Dip

This is a delicious dip for all kinds of veggies! We have originally used it with blanched asparagus. I love this recipe because you can make it in less than 15 minutes, and it's super delicious!

1 cup mayo
2 T. chopped chives
2 T. grated onion
2 T. chili sauce
2 t. vinegar
1/4 t. curry powder
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. thyme leaves

Mix everything together. Enjoy!

Note: I prefer it cold, so I make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until I serve it.

My New Cousin: Eli Garrison Shane!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

A Campfire!!

Like I mentioned on my previous post, this past weekend we were on "vacation". Well, one night, we had a campfire and smores - Naomi's first experience! She paid no attention to the marshmallows, only the chocolate! (She's her mother's girl :) ) After the campfire, we went to sleep in our tent set up in our backyard - a fun thing to do if you're not actually going camping anywhere!!

Bike Trails and Ice Cream Stores!

This weekend, we have kind of been having a "vacation". We are just staying at home, but Dad took Thursday and Friday off work, and Monday is labor day. Since we have not and are not going to go on vacation, this is it! So we are just hanging out this weekend. Ever since Dad got a trailer for our bikes, we have enjoyed trying new bike trails around the outskirts of our city. Anyways, this morning we traveled about 15 minutes away to try a new bike trail. Once we got there, we realized that it was only 3.6 miles one way, but that was fine since we have already been on some other ones this weekend, and with Mom being pregnant, she doesn't want to go to far. It was a beautiful trail that traveled right along the river, and we saw a heron and lots of turtles. It was beautiful, and we had a great time! On the way home, Mom and Dad suprised us and took us to the ice cream store! It was delicious! 20-month old Naomi enjoyed holding her own cone for the first time! (We gave in after hearing her say "Hod it! Hod it!" about a million times! :P)Here are some pics (we brought the camera but forgot to take pictures of biking so I only have pictures of the ice cream part!)


Leah's favorite is soft serve orange!

Dad's favorite is soft serve twist!


Abby is enjoying her orange ice cream!


Learning how to use her tongue and not her fingers! :P (with chocolate of course!)


Using her tongue for the napkin, too?!?!

Elizabeth

If My People...

For school yesterday, we were reading parts of 2 Chronicles. This verse jumped out at me:

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14

This great verse, spoken to Solomon by the LORD, reminds us of the power of prayer and humility. I believe that right now, we live in a broken land. But here, God promises that if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear us, forgive us, and heal our land! Isn't that a wonderful promise? My friend Jenna has started a blog On Bent Knees for prayer requests. I believe that part of these requests should be for our land, and our government, including President Obama. Heal their land. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Please join me in praying for our government this week! Thank you!

Elizabeth