The kids are always coming up with something creative to do. It's an amazing thing what sort of creativity your children will demonstrate when you limit television and video game use, and encourage reading and creativity, watered with love, encouragement, and guidance.
Jacob came up with something called "Monster Pet Rocks." Here he's preparing them with the first coat of paint.
Eden and Nathan joined in on the pet rock creations, although I have not found the finished products that those two created . . .
However, here are Jacob's finished products.
Hannah is working here on some fingernail art.
One of Hannah's Mermaid drawings. Good stuff, eh?
Something else I believe Hannah drew as well, although this may have been Jacob's work.
The kids love to play with Legos, and the Lord has blessed them with Legos from many different sources, to include my Dad and his family. Thank you to all who have contributed, for that.
The boys play with them the most, even the older ones, and they come up with some pretty creative stuff. I'm not just talking about what they build, but even the kinds of scenes they place the Lego creations in, and how they arrange the camera in order to give a certain look to the scene. You can check it out below. Don't scroll through too quickly, or you might miss something cool.
Here the kids were enjoying these giganic colored gum balls.
Sweet Eden Deree
Eden wanted everyone's attention when crammed what I believe were strawberries into her cheeks
A couple of shots of Mary Ann crawling around to share with you
She's able to walk around a a few steps now-a-days. No teeth yet. Little William has four teeth already. I encourage you to check our my daughter's latest blog posts to see.
Here's a picture of Nate with his new car! As we drove past the vehicle one day, he was so excited about it that I let him get out and have his photo taken beside it.
We use this sprouter to supplement our food with lots of nutrients. Heather comes up with amazing ways of incorporating them into things like fruit shakes, etc. We add them to salads, sandwiches, wraps, etc. I even sprinkled some on top of some pizza slices I ate the other day. I call them God's natural vitamin pills. We did a study on them and were amazed at what happens when the seeds sprout. They go from this basically starch product to an explosive transformation of super nutrients. In the picture there are Mung sprouts and Lintles
Here's Heather with some wrap finger foods she put together when preparing to teach her Herbs I class for Keepers at Home.
She has a nice decorative touch, putting the Spinach leaves there along the sides. Those things were very tasty!
Here is a Jamaican Curry Chicken on Basmati rice dish that Heather made the other day. I loved, loved it and the whole family was crazy over it.
Hannah made this Chocolate Bunt Cake the other day. She is a great cook as well.
Well, I'm finally getting enought time to manage photos and start making some blog posts again, and I'm excited about that. Recently, we had some left over balloons from one of the boys' birthday parties. So, Mom and some of the kids were out in town the other day, and I was at home with Eden and Nathan. Rather than watching television, we looked for something fun to do and, lo and behold, we had these balloons.
Nathan learned how to fill them up pretty quickly, and if memory serves me well, he caught on to how to tie them himself as well. Only had to show him once or twice. He and Eden loved to take them out onto our backyard balcony and drop them. They must have filled and dropped over a hundred of them.
Eden wanted a balloon filled with only some water but mostly air. At first, I thought it was not a good idea. But as it turns out, the balloon still popped just fine once it dropped from balcony. The cool part was that the "POP!" sound it made had a lot of bass and volume. It ended up being a great idea! If you look closely, you can see the water inside of this balloon.
What a great song and it captures the heart of what I've long mourned over and what I yearn to see. God is amazing; He can do anything. It's never too late to hold out hope and faith; and to petition God for a thing.
My family, we are Christians. We were born and live in America and are Americans. We know what right looks like, and we are going to ask for it; but we are going to live it amongst ourselves and amongst those who are with us.
I am extremely thankful for the numerous protections God has provided here for us; were those protections not in place, an overwhelming tide of evil intentions would long ago have swallowed us alive. And yet there is so much to do, and it's no time to stop fighting. Prayer is needed on every front. It's not about them, it's about the spirit behind what they do. We need to war in prayer against that evil, and against the Babylonian and Antichrist spirit waging war on God's children. When we allow Christ to walk rightously in us, there is no way we can be defeated.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
------------------------------
"But don't just take my word for it" :
“Of all the dispositions
and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are
indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim tribute to patriotism who
should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness—these firmest
props of the duties of men and citizens. . . . reason and experience both
forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of
religious principles.” – George Washington
“God who gave us life
gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a
conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my
country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep
forever.” –Thomas Jefferson
“[I]t is religion and
morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can
securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue, and
if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure, than they have
it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will
not obtain a lasting liberty.” – John Adams
“...The longer I live, the more convincing
proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a
sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an
empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred
Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build
it.’ ” – Benjamin Franklin
“Were my soul trembling
on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice
choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that
voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free.” – Patrick Henry
“And whereas it is the duty
of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power
of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with
assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to
recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all
history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Let us look forward to
the time when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the Cross,
and there let it wave as it waved in the olden times, and let us gather around
it and inscribed for our motto: ‘Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now
and forever,’ and exclaim, ‘Christ first, our country next!’ ” – Andrew Johnson
“We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without
reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the
Republic. Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its
precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.” – Franklin Roosevelt
“Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the
conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that
tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of
the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we
ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone
under.” – Ronald Reagan
More music by Taunia L. Henry: forhisglorypublishing.com
"A Cry For Freedom" is a beautiful NEW PATRIOTIC HYMN written by Taunia L. Henry. Watch this heartfelt presentation and Get Inspired! Let's stand up for America and the Christian principles it was founded upon by getting down on our knees. God Bless America!
Lyrics:
In the air there is "A Cry For Freedom"
From a nation born in Liberty
For there's A Battle that is waging for her children
That can only be won upon her knees.
CHORUS
America, envy of the nations
For long ago, you answered freedom's call!
If in God we trust, we shall stand in victory.
America, America, stay free!
(Last time: For this battle that is waging is only won upon our knees. America, America, stay free!)
In the heart there is a beat for freedom
From a soldier on that lonely distant shore.
He is willing to give his life in honor.
We must pray like we've never prayed before!
In the soul there is a shout for freedom
From a nation being burdened from within.
If we seek the Lord and follow, he will heal us.
And our country can be blessed once again!
(A Cry For Freedom written by Taunia L. Henry. ASCAP.
Copyright 2009 by Taunia L. Henry. All rights reserved.
This recording of A Cry For Freedom is sung by Heartland Quartet on the album, "Liberty" available at www.forhisglorypublishing.com. This album was produced for charity fundraising for various charity organizations such as Apostolic Christian World Relief, Christian Aid Ministries, Lifesong for Orphans and Shared Hope International.)
Wow, guys. What a tremendous blessing The Duggar Family (Godly family, buncha kids, home schooling and home fellowshipping, self-employed entrepreneurs) has been to my wife and I, and so to my whole family as we've reaped the many, many benefits of watching the Duggars and reading the books they've written telling about their journey with the Lord and the lessons they have learned.
It's been heart warming and inspiring watching the documentary of the first Duggar Grandbaby. It's about an hour long and broken into 6, 10-minute sections on YouTube. It's a must see. It touches me: one, because we love the Duggar family and Lord has ministered to us by their example. Two, because my wife and I are fairly new first-time grandparents whose child and spouse continued following the Lord (and who also did a home birth as was the case with this first Duggar grandchild). Three, because sweet Mary Ann was a home birth baby for us. First one after 6 children in either a midwifery clinic or hospital.
In the video, you learn how the two young people met and fell in love. You learn about their marriage and the starting of their new life as one person together in the Lord. You next discover the pregnancy along with them and get to attend the baby shower. In good time, they go into labor and that wonderful first grandchild is born! A brief follow up a few days later serves as a nice closing touch. I re-lived it all again two-fold just watching. What a mighty God we serve! He Himself is our heritage and our legacy. I'm so thankful to serve Jesus Christ.
Thank you also Rachel and Thomas for your love for the Lord and your example in your relationship, and now as parents. Thank you for little William (and we thank God even more, of course! with you all).
The picture above is of the now two grandbabies and it makes me wonder when we might be expecting our next grandbaby . . .
I don't want to keep the joy of the video all to myself. Here's the link so you can watch it too:
