Book of the Year

Can there really ever be only one book of the year? :)

Of course the Bible always heads up the list. As I typed that, the thought struck me that it does not "head up" everybody's list. Yes, there are the people that just refuse to read it and grow in hatred of it every day. But I was thinking of the people that have never even heard of it. I was recently told of a woman living right here in Freeport who had never heard the gospel!! I think that helps put things in perspective, as to why we should not take the fact that the Bible is the ultimate book of the year for granted.

I think the next Book of the Year for our family would be Extreme Devotion. It is a wonderfully inspiring and thought provoking book that our family has used this past year.
Characteristically, each page will tell the account of a martyr or persecuted believer as well a devotional that will exemplify a certain character trait, or draw a certain lesson from the account. Our family learned much from this book.




We as a family look forward to a new year filled with other life lessons to be learned between the pages of a book. May you, too, learn and be inspired by the books you read this coming year.

Quote

"When a man resolves to do his own work himself,
you may then depend upon it being done."

Unknown

Something Funny :)

"At a computer expo one time, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."

In response to this comment, General Motors issued a press release stating the following:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally, your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would accept this, restart, and drive on.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart; in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was more reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.

6. New seats would force everyone to have the same back-end size.

7. The airbag system would say 'Are you sure?' before going off.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a Gm subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 per cent or more.

10. Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

11. You'd press the start button to shut off the engine.

I recently heard this and thought I would post it for you all to enjoy as well.

Someone Had a Birthday

Josiah turned 15 last Tuesday.




He has really grown a lot this last year, in character and hight. :)

Happy Birthday to a great son and brother.

We love you!

Fall

Fall is here in all its glory of fallen leaves, warm sweaters, crisp apples, V's of geese, and cool weather. Our family loves fall! We love tromping through the leaves, smelling the preparations for Thanksgiving, and being together. I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful season!

One of the things our family wanted to do this fall was go shooting. Well, I should say the guys in our family wanted to go shooting. When the Caswell family found out, they invited us and a couple other families over to come and shoot targets on their property . . . something us city folk cannot do in our own back yards. :) Well, I went as the photographer, along with a few other girls. However, it turned out that I ended up shooting a gun for the very first time in my life! It was different than I thought it would be. I will just say that those who hit bulls' eyes are quite skilled. :) In fact, those who hit the target at all aren't doing half bad.

I thought I would share a couple photos with you . . .

Josiah watches as Joe Caswell
demonstrates how to use the .22.
Notice how warmly everyone is dressed -
that's because it was FREEZING (literally).





Isaiah gives the .22 a try.


My brother Josiah and Laura Caswell
stand in the bed of the truck
watching the shooters.

Mr. Caswell gives Josiah a couple pointers.



Papa shooting the .22
See how far away the targets are?


Joe C., Josiah, and Laura C. watching intently.


Mr. Caswell demonstrates
how to use the .12 gauge shotgun.
He hit the bull's eye!!



Papa trying the .12 gauge shotgun out.
See how he is wearing ear protection?
That is because the .12 gauge is VERY loud.


Sarah Caswell and Gabriel
keeping warm in the truck.

Thank you, Caswell Family, for the fun time shooting!

A Poem

There’s a little guy somewhere,
Waiting to appear;
Curled up inside his mother’s
Protective atmosphere.

He’s the one they didn’t plan on,
He’s an extra mouth to feed,
a little inconvenience
Neither of them need.

He’s doctor’s bills and formula,
He’s sleepless nights and stress,
He wet and dirty diapers,
And a home that is a mess.

He could have been a newer car
Or a cabin with a view,
Or a cruise or clothes or Vegas shows,
Or other dreams come true.

So they talked about abortion,
As the alternative,
For that fetal imposition,
Who would change the way they live.

“He isn’t really human,
Why, he doesn’t even breathe!”
He was just a misadventure,
They happened to conceive.

So they sit there in the waiting room,
With papers they must fill,
The waivers and consent forms,
And arrangements for the bill.

They know it’s what they have to do,
There is no other way.
But once or twice they wonder,
What that little guy might say.

“I wish you wouldn’t do this,
I got too much to do.
I have to learn to walk and talk,
To dress and tie my shoes.”

“I have to learn to whistle,
And I have to learn to run.
I have to learn to say my prayers,
For when the day is done.”

“I have to watch for Daddy,
With Mommy at the door and,
I have to ride in carts when
You take me to the store.”

“I have to blow out candles
On a lot of birthday cakes,
And pose for all the pictures
Mommy always takes.”

“If you let them do this
I’ll never learn to wave.
I’ll never have a birthday
Why, I won’t even have a grave.”

“I’ll never play a game
And I’ll never laugh or cry
I won’t even have a name
And I’ll always wonder -why?”

Anonymous

It Is A Special Day Here

Our sweet little Rosebud . . .

. . . is growing up so fast.

Hadassah, you are such a blessing to us all.
We love you !

It is a Golden Boy!

We have actually started seeing the fruits of our labor in the garden!

Our first Golden Boy Tomatoes!

We eagerly anticipate trying each new variety of tomato in our garden, as well as the peppers and Kohlrabi Kossak.

Stephenson County Fair

This past week was the Stephenson County Fair. Our family went on Saturday morning. We watched the horse judging for a while, then we meandered around for a bit . . . until we caught sight of the horse pull. All the teams were able to pull 7,000 pounds but a few had to drop out when they hit 8,500. The announcer said that they would go all the way up to 10,000 pounds! We did not stay for the entire pull but it looked like the . . . team was going to win. We also went through the rabbit/poultry barn and the home economics building. Below are some pictures of the day.

One of the many pretty ducks.

A huge draft horse.

Pulling 8,500 pounds.

Of course we must not forget the baby tiger that was there.

There was a whole stand there about saving the wild cats. With it were ( yes, real and alive) tigers, leopards, a black panther, and a mountain lion.

A view of the fair in the misty morning air.

Schneider's Move

Recently we helped the Schneider family move into their new home. The entire afternoon was full of hustle and bustle. The men moved furniture, while the boys/young men carried boxes in, and the ladies/girls cleaned and unpacked. With the combined help of the families there, they were able to get all the boxes off the trucks and into the house in one (rather long :) afternoon. (Yes, it felt like quite the feat. :) With all the running around, though, I only got three pictures. But I think they capture the afternoon well.
So, enjoy . . .

Hannah, helping clean the kitchen.

Abigail and Gabriel bring boxes inside.

Rachel helping me unpack the kitchen.

So Sweet

I found this picture of Hadassah and Isaiah the other day
and thought it was so darling;

I just had to post it.

Willow

Yesterday morning our dog, Willow, died. Willow lived thirteen years and two days short of one month. She was our faithful dog for five of those years. It was hard to lose her, harder on certain ones of us than on others. At least we were expecting it. When we came downstairs that morning, she had a lot of difficulty breathing if she was laying down. Soon, even after standing for a while, it got hard for her to breathe. So, we took her to the vet and there was no way to save her. Here are some pictures of her over the years.


















Hadassah with Willow when we first got her.

















Gabriel and Isaiah loving on her.
















Relaxing with the boys and Hadassah.

Baby Birds

About two weeks ago Gabriel observed that there was a birds' nest in our lilac bush. Later we saw the mama sitting on her eggs. Four days ago we checked the nest and, behold, all the baby cardinals had hatched, much to everyone's delight. On Wednesday the little birds got adventurous and started hopping about the bush under their parents' ever watchful eye. However, one of the little birds hopped right down to the lowest branch possible and decided to perch there. We did not want Henry, our puppy who was out playing, to knock him down. So, Mama got a cloth napkin and put the little fellow back in the nest for the night. Yesterday all of the baby birds were out of sight and the nest is now empty. We enjoyed watching these little birds grow and anticipate the coming year when perhaps there will be more baby birds to enjoy.
















Enjoying a little sunshine.





















He was quite the alert little fellow.






















He really liked this sunny spot.

Tea Anyone . . .

On Friday our family traveled down to Peoria IL. We stayed with the Degenharts that night; then in the morning the Degenhart ladies ( Mrs. Degenhart, Emily, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Geneva ) Jeremy, Mama, Hadassah, and I headed to the Passionate Housewives Tea hosted by Providence Church. We had a wonderful time fellowshipping and listening to the speakers, Mrs. Maggie Erber and Mrs. Stacy McDonald. They had lots of insight and encouragement for the ladies gathered there. It was a real blessing.

Oh, something interesting I wanted to mention: when we were headed in, my mom said to Mrs. Degenhart that she thought she might be the only woman there who had not read the book Passionate Housewives: Desperate For God by Jennie Chancy and Stacy McDonald. Before the speakers came up to speak, they had a few door prizes to hand out: one was for the person who had traveled the farthest to there, who was a lady from Chicago, and the next one was for the person who was the newest home schooler. Both these ladies received a gift certificate, one for a home school magazine and one to a home school supply company. The other prize went to the person who guessed the number closest to the correct number of consecutive years of "housewifery" represented in the room. Mama guessed 657; the correct number was 675 - and Mama won! Her prize was a copy of the book Passionate Housewives: Desperate For God, autographed by both the authors. Isn't that neat!?! Okay, now for some pictures . . .
















Jeremy playing interlude music on the Viola.





















Sweet little Geneva.





















This is Grace McDonald
putting plastic toothpicks that had
jewels on them in Hadassah's hair. :)
Grace had a lot of fun "decorating"
our hair.




















Hadassah peeking through a window
into the kitchen where all the waiters
(young men from the church)
were assembling the meals.




















Hadassah and I.















This group of young ladies and gentlemen
sang some songs for all the ladies gathered there.
One of them was . . .

May The Lord Bless You

May the Lord, Mighty God,
Bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace
Courage in every endeavor.

Lift up your eyes,
and see God's face,
And God's grace forever.

May the Lord, Mighty God,
Bless and keep you forever!


Set to the tune of Edelweiss.

Pictures by the Ortega ladies.

Scrapbooking

Mama had the idea of making a section in my scrapbook about friendship. So, I decided to ask each of my friends to make two pages for my scrapbook. One about themselves and one about friendship in general. However, the design of the pages had to reflect them. The outcome was exactly what I was looking for. Here are some pictures:


The opening pages ~












































Tara Yen's pages ~










































Kathryn Yen's pages ~










































Kathryn Inyart's pages ~









































Hadassah Ortega's pages ~










































Thank you ladies! You all did a wonderful job!




Note: You can click on the pictures of the pages to make them bigger so that you can read them .
Also, I am still waiting for a few pages I will post them when I get them.

Gardening

Last Friday our family planted some veggies in our garden. We do not have a "green thumb" so we do not now how this is going to work out, but so far everything seems to be going fine. :) We planted three different kinds of tomatoes ( five tomato plants altogether) two pepper plants and two Kohlrabi Kossak. Kohlrabi Kossak are supposed to have the texture of a water chestnut, we had never even heard of them until recently so I cannot speak from experience. :) We also planted some Lambs Ear and transplanted quite a few hostas. Lambs Ear are really neat plants because the leaves feel almost identical to a lambs ear! We had a lot of fun planting everything and look forward to watching it all grow.





















Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomatoes
And in the back are Golden Boy Tomatoes.





















Our "baby" pepper plants.





















The Kohlrabi Kossak had to be planted
in pots so that the bunnies would not eat it.