Bonita Springs

At such a lovely place with a much more wonderful family! 

After 22 hours of driving, we finally arrived at Bonita Springs, Florida yesterday afternoon. 

Very grateful for this outstanding Christmas gift!

Some of the gorgeous scenes behind our beautiful "castle" house...

Friday Funnies

Fall Piano Recital 2015

Thank you, Nina, for allowing me to be one of your piano students. It is my honor to have you as my sister... 

And thank you for making the yearly Recital available to us, we are grateful for that opportunity!

Monday Musings - The Prayer of Manasseh

Recently I have read Chronicles of the Kings written by Lynn Austen, in those books I learned a lot about King Hezekiah, Rabbi Isaiah, Eliakim, King Manasseh, and Joshua... There's a lot of great stuff in there, here is The Prayer of Manasseh that I read from the last book in the series "Among the God":

O Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors,

of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous offspring;

you who made heaven and earth with all their order;

who shackled the sea by your word of command,

who confined the deep and sealed it with your

terrible and glorious name;

at whom all things shudder, and tremble before you power,

for your glorious splendor cannot be borne,

and the wrath of your threat to sinners is unendurable;

yet immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy,

for you are the Lord Most High, of great compassion,

long-suffering, and very merciful,

and you relent at human suffering.

O Lord, according to your great goodness

you have promised repentance and forgiveness

to those who have sinned against you,

and in the multitude of your mercies

you have appointed repentance for sinners,

so that they may be saved.

Therefore you, O Lord, God of the righteous,

have not appointed repentance for the righteous,

for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you,

but you have appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner.

For the sins I have committed are more in number than
the sand of the sea;

my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied!

I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven

because of the multitude of my iniquities,

I am weighted down with many an iron fetter,

so that I am rejected because of my sins, and I have no relief;

for I have provoked your wrath

and have done what is evil in your sight,

setting up abominations and multiplying offenses,

And now I bend the knee of my heart,

imploring you for your kindness.

I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,

and i acknowledge my transgressions.

I earnestly implore you,

forgive me, O Lord, forgive me!

Do not destroy me with my transgressions!

Do not be angry with me forever or store up evil for me;

do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.

For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,

and in me you will manifest your goodness;

for, unworthy as I am, you will save me according to

your great mercy,

and I will praise you continually all the days of my life.

For all the host of heaven sings your praise,

and yours is the glory forever. Amen.

End of Volleyball Season!

We had a great volleyball season this year, though we barely won any games, 

we learned a lot of good character treats such as teamwork, encouraging your teammates, being kind, smiling, being positive, etc. and of course we improved on our volleyball skills, well, at least most of us :-) 

A big thank you to our wonderful coaches: Coach Selena and Coach Alayna, thanks for your patience, encouragement, positive attitude, your smiles and thumb ups (though not physically done). 

Side note: Having a sister as the coach is not bad, but it's kind of hard to know when is sister and when is coach...

And to our Senior - Katelyn Hammett, thank you for your example to us in volleyball and in everyday life, you've been a great Godly influence to us, keep it up! Oh, I just gave you something to write about for our Charm Class with Mrs. Selena, Wilhite... : P 

Monday Musings - Family Love

Friday Funnies - Advertise

A lion met a tiger as they drew beside a pool,

Said the tiger, "Tell me why You're roaring like a fool." 

"That's not foolish," said the lion with a twinkle in his eyes.

"They call me king of all beasts because I advertise."

A rabbit heard them talking and ran home like a streak;

He thought he'd try the lion's plan, but his roar was just a squeak.

A fox came to investigate - had luncheon in the woods,

So when you advertise, my friends, be sure you've got the goods.

~Exchange

"October is my Favorite Color"

"October is my Favorite Color" A pin from one of friends on Pinterest. Autumn is my favorite season of the year (in general). I enjoy seeing the bright orange colored leaves! They are so gorgeous! We started decorating our house with some of those lovely leaves, and my awesome Mom made chocolate & blueberry fruit pies for us. 

Knights' Dunkin' Donuts Day!

This is EBA student's fourth week of school... Tuesday is the Knights' (a privilege) special day to get coffee (or beverages) from Dunkin' Donuts. My Best Friend Anna and I have been on privilege since it was possible from the beginning of this school-year. On her way back from Dunkin', she always picks up a flower from the roadside behind Speedways. Today, I decided to pick a purplish blue flower from the beautiful flower bed,too!! There it is! In my neglected flag hole!! :-)

I am very thankful for our church school. I have learned a lot in just 3 weeks of PACE work. The ACE curriculum not only gives us good education, but it also teaches to us the Truth about this world...

Waffles!!

I have been inspired about making waffles since the day we went to Geoff & Nina's house. today is the day that I decided that I was going to have enough "time" to make them. So there they are. I asked my mom where the waffle maker was, and my brother Hudson overheard me, and he asked me if I can make him some, too. And certainly I said "Yes!" This is a picture of his waffle with butter and corn syrup on there.

Monday Meditations - A Friend Loveth at ALL Times

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

Monday Musings - Be Ye Kind

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;" Colossians 3:12

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

Tea Leaves - Invisible Blessings

Psalm 56

With a peace my heart’s o’erflowing-

 Peace the world can’t understand.

I have a few of earth’s possessions.

 I’m a stranger in the land.

No, they can’t see why happiness

 Should all my being thrill.

But I have some hid possessions

 God has shared, my life to fill.

He gave peace and joy, contentment

 When He took away my sin.

Cleansed me by His precious Son’s blood.

 Guild’t all gone. He lives within.

They know not why I am singing

 While the mighty billows roll.

They can’t see I’m safe with Jesus.

 He’s the anchor of my soul.

They can’t see the hand I’m holding, 

 Which belongs to God in heaven.

Nor the Shepherd who is leading,

 Though the journey’s all uneven.

I thankYou, God above me,

 For the peace the world can’t give,

And for constantly abiding

 By my side while here I live.

As I endeavor to train my children these few short years they are with me, I want to concentrate on teaching them that the invisible blessings which God has os abundantly given us are those which can never be taken away if we cling to them in faith. May they have the kind of faith which sees and knows the invisible better than the visible.

Compiled by Nancy Stutzman

Friday Funnies

Congratulations...

 ...on your 1 year Anniversary! One year ago toady, my "medium" sister got married to "red" Jon.

Friday Funnies

Announcements...

Season of Schooling...

Getting ready to start school for the year of 215-2016! Excited for the fun & adventurous days in EBA.

Volleyball Season...

First week of volleyball practice... Praying for a great year and that no one would have any "accidents" and that we will be Godly examples one to another...

A Little Vacation...

...at the Gaus' home, we ate delicious food, played Sorry in a fun way, studied the Bible, and watched a movie...