the chesters!

Summer 2010 project...

2010-08-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

... one of them :)

This is how Dad's arbor is going! He started this project at the beginning of the summer with lots of doubts from lots of people... but like most things he plans, it worked out great!

It kinda looks like it's dying, although the fruit is doing great.

cantaloupe

Neat, huh? I think it's pretty neat that we actually have squash and cantaloupe hanging over our deck!

Little boys and summer

2010-06-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

Summer's here and things are getting crazy! With only a little over a month left until fair, we're starting and finishing projects (and everything in between ☺), working with animals.... and overall having lots of fun!

This week our cousin, Christopher is going to be here with us for a few days, and we're all very excited. :)

Today it looks like we may get a break from the heat and have a thunderstorm.... fun! :)

What else is going on.....?

Here's a quick story from this morning:

We were all in the kitchen peacefully getting breakfast and getting ready for the day when Ian announced:
"There's a bird in the pool!"

We looked out the window and sure enough, there was live bird in our baby pool on the deck. It was flapping around and couldn't get to the step.
Mom picked the bird up with the top of an aquarium cage (I guess we didn't have anything better....) and was able to set it on the deck... but then the bird's foot got stuck in the cage top. We tipped it over and were able to get the bird onto the deck, but of course... it couldn't fly or walk. Then, Mom decided to move it to somewhere where it wouldn't get more wet, because it's supposed to rain. She put it in a bucket and set it under the raspberry bushes, wet and tired. I wonder if it will live.....

We don't have any pictures because the camera is dead right now.... sorry.

The reading program at the library is underway and the boys want to be read to constantly (especially Ian ☺). That's a good thing I suppose!

Well I need to get going on another busy, exciting day! (Then again, every day here is exciting.) ☺

~Marissa

Elaina's birthday!

2010-04-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Elaina's birthday! She's eleven now and growing up so fast! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful sister! She is a joy to the family and a blessing to me!
Thank you, God, so much for my little Elaina!

With love,
Andrea

Spring Planting--Lettuce

2010-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

We planted lettuce today..... spring is coming soon!

Dad's planning on moving it outside in about 4 weeks.... I can't wait to eat fresh lettuce again! :)

MY NEW CAMERA!

2010-02-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures from my new camera! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa so much for getting it for me!! i love it!

my boots! haha I just thought this was fun :)

Sisters ♥

Marissa and Seth went out to shovel the driveway! :)

Thank again Grandma and Grandpa!! I love you both so much!

Happy Birthday, Seth!

2010-02-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today is Seth's 4th birthday!

This little boy has been such a tremendous blessing to our family the past 4 years. One of his greatest characteristics is his almost constant smile. He is such a joy to have in our family.

Seth also has an incredible amount of energy! He loves to wrestle with his brother and RUN! He can also spend hours doing legos, playmobil, and drawing. He can make almost anything out of... almost anything!

Other things he likes to do are sing, read, say the alphabet, and cook (he calls himself our "cooker boy").

We love you, Seth!

Our Little Helper

2010-01-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

This afternoon all of the girls went out and when we got back we found Ian mopping the floor! He hadn't even been asked, he just decided that he would be helpful. :)

He is so thoughtful!!

Christmas!

2009-12-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

We are having a wonderful and relaxing Christmas break and hope you all are, too!
Some things we've been doing....

Visiting with friends...

Elaina, Ian and the rest of the kids in our church sang a couple Sundays ago. It was so much fun to watch them! :)

Ian and Seth doing some necessary trimming.... :)

Of course we have been playing in the snow, too!!!! YAY!!!

We've also been baking, spending time with family, playing games....
Elaina, Ian and Seth have been spending a lot of time playing with Playmobiles!!! Fun! :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful CHRISTmas!
~M~

Celery

2009-12-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Seth enjoying Dad's celery.

YUM!!

Michigan November

2009-11-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

It has been an incredibly mild November so far in MI! We are so thankful for the wonderful weather this late in the year. :)

Andrea's leaf photography

Seth and Frisky

Ian!

My brothers are so much fun. :)

Well... so are my sisters.

~M~

BJU '09

2009-11-10T17:18:00.001-08:00

I got back from the Bob Jones University High School Festival in South Carolina a few of days ago and am finally getting around to posting about it. :) We had a wonderful trip and God really blessed our group. The group was lots bigger this year which was great! We had a ton of fun. Here are a few pictures from the trip....

The first picture of the week taken at a rest stop. I almost squashed the poor bug thinking it was a stick. Stick bugs are so neat!!!

North Carolina = Beautiful!
God shows His power and majesty through His creation.

Liesl and Danielle in NC

In the gameroom at BJU playing Dutch Blitz

I played a harp solo....

...violin solo...

...and piano duet (this picture is the me part of it...hehe).

David and Liesl practicing on the stage because.....

...they got 1st place in string ensembles!
If anyone remembers from the BJU post '08, they got second last year.
For BJU, getting 1st is really good-- there are a lot of super talented people there from all over the states.
Good job!

~Sisters in Christ~

Liesl and Danielle

Danielle, Amber and Rachel

Danielle and me

Amber and me

Rachel and Amber

~Friends are amazing!~

The whole group the day before we left.
If anyone remembers from last year... we had 8 people, so this was really neat!

What kept me going on the way home--sugar!!!!!!!!!!
Well.... almost... I didn't stay awake quite the whole way. Driving 16 hours after a week at Bob Jones made me tired.... :)

Thanks for your prayers. It was so exciting for me to see how God worked through this week. It was fun, stretching, short, a great learning experience, somewhat scary, long, tiring.... an awesome week!

~Marissa

For Aunt Robbie....

2009-10-17T15:43:00.001-07:00

... you said you like candid photos!
We did not pose these! :D

This was the only one that almost worked... but Seth is making a funny face. Haha... oh well!!

~M and A~

Chester Kids

2009-10-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

~Boys~
Seth and Ian

~Girls~
Marissa, Andrea, Elaina

We love our siblings!
I think I already used this picture..... sorry! We don't have a lot of pictures of us all together unfortunately.

Quick Post

2009-10-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the last week or so...

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Things have been way too busy around here. Hopefully we will be able to get back to it soon... we'll see!
Hope everyone is having an excellent autumn!!!
~M~

Will you take a walk with me?

2009-09-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Words from Jesus

"I am the way and the truth and the life..."
John 14:6

"What is impossible with men is possible with God."
Luke 18:27

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times this much..."
Mark 10:29-30

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matthew 24:12-13

"... do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink..... Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them...."
Matthew 6:25-26

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light."
Matthew 6:22

Thank you for coming with me! I hope you enjoyed our walk.

In the same way, Jesus is inviting us to walk with Him. This is the most exciting, fulfilling, amazing walk you will ever take. Answer Jesus' call today.
~M~

Harvest season is here!

2009-09-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, it does take quite a bit of time to freeze, can, and deyhrate all of this food, but we are so grateful for the abundant harvest God has blessed us with this year! Ever with our small yard, we have so much stored up for the winter already (and lots more to go!).

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."
Genesis 8:22

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Hebrews 13:8

Peaches.......

2009-09-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

....lots and lots of peaches.

We have so many peaches right now! And this is only two trees (and we've only done about half)!

Mom and Grandma peeling and cutting.

Deciding which ones are ripe enough.

We have only canned 7 jars so far. We froze about 12 bags. So I guess it's not that many. It seems like SO many when we are preparing them, but I'm sure it will not seem that way this winter!

Happy 18th Anniversary!

2009-09-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 18th Anniversary, Dad and Mom!!!

We love you so much!
Thank you for being such wonderful parents,
you are awesome!!!

Meijer Gardens

2009-09-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Meijer Gardens for my parents anniversary (I am going to do a post on them if I can find a picture... :D); a gift from Grandpa and Grandma K.

I didn't put these pictures on in any order, but this was a perfect one to have first!
It was beautiful. :D

Baby Ian sleeping in the log cabin.

This is my favorite picture from the trip!

*Best friends*

Children's Gardens

So pretty!

Tree fort

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

~M~

What's going on here...

2009-08-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, we've really been not posting much. Sorry.
Here are some pictures from the last few days.

~Music~

Ian and Seth have really been into Lincoln Logs lately.

It's hard to believe that August (and summer) is almost over. It has gone by so fast! We are starting school next week. Most of us are excited for that.... :D

In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:11

~M~

Ian and Frisky

2009-08-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are going up north again! :D This time we are going to our neighbor's cottage. We are really excited! So we'll post more when we get back.

I'm back from camp!

2009-08-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from camp and I had an AMAZING time!!! It was so much fun!

Thank you everyone who sent me a letter! I'm sure my mom told most of you that I love to get letter's there. :) Anyway...here are some pics!

My last year counselor, Trisha.

Our tribe. Morgan, Liza, Christie, Sarah, Rachel, Kaitlyn, Hannah, Katie, and ME! :)
We had so much fun together!!

Some of the girls. Katie, Hannah, Kaitlyn, Rachel and Me. I love them!!

My counselor Kellie and I. She was a really great counselor!

Our tribe did thumb prayers before every meal. I just thought this was a cool pic ;)

<3 Andrea

"Cleaning" Dad's shoes

2009-08-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ian found some brushes and shoe-polishing supplies that we had in the closet. He got straight to work "cleaning" shoes. :D He is so eager to help (usually)!

County Fair

2009-08-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

This last week we spent a couple of days at the county fair. We had a ton of fun there! :D The first day we looked at animals, 4H exhibits, and watched some of our friends show horses. The other day we mostly did rides. I didn't bring my camera on the first day, though so these are pretty much the only pictures I have.

Ian on the motorcycle ride

again....

Seth and Ian

We are really hoping to get in a 4H club this next year. We really would like to show animals, but right now that doesn't seem to be God's plan for us. We have been trying to move for about 4 years now and are learning that God's plan is best, and He is teaching us something through this. So whether we move to a farm or not, we'll do our best to serve God right where we are. Anyway, even if we don't move, we would still like to show craft projects in 4H. :D
Trusting Him,
Marissa

Flowers...

2009-08-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know who took these pictures or where they were taken... :D We usually have a lot of pictures of flowers and plants on our computer. :D

Yesterday morning we went garage sale-ing (okay, I guess that's not a word! :D). We found a few things, but mostly a bunch of.... junk (for lack of a better word). Then we went to the hardware store to rent an edger.

We spent about 4 hours edging our sidewalk. It was really long... I was quite surprised that it took that long for our whole family. We do have quite a bit of sidewalk though. We haven't done it in years (or maybe we've never done it.... ?) so that's probably why it took so long. Anyway, we were glad when it was done!

Then we came inside and made homemade pizza for dinner. We LOVE it! We usually do sausage and green pepper and it is amazing!!! :D Then we played games for a while, and then we watched Facing the Giants. :D

I hope everyone had a great weekend!
-Marissa

Life is never boring with brothers

2009-07-31T14:55:00.000-07:00

Seth and his friend Lauren riding a tricycle together. :D

He fits in the pantry! Haha :D Probably not the best thing for the shelves, though.

Ian and Seth definitely make life interesting. :D Everything is much more fun with them (well most things)!

Ian's new glasses

2009-07-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

Haha :D Ian posing in doll glasses.

The best brother ever! Okay, one of them. :D

2009-07-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I went upstairs looking for Ian and found him making Andrea's bed for her. He is so sweet! He didn't do it exactly how Andrea would have (hence the doll, blanket and wrinkles :D), but it was such a kind thought! He is an awesome brother! :D

Babysitting Seth

2009-07-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

As you will probably be able to tell by the pictures, Sethie and I had a lot of fun
playing outside! :D

Picking blueberries

Picking raspberries

Doing an obstacle course

...around the tree.....

Swinging

He has a pretty powerful swing (sometimes)!

One of Ian and Seth's favorite things to do

I praise you, O Lord, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14

Grapes

2009-07-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

We are getting so many grapes this year! They are not ripe yet, so we haven't tried any, but they are getting there. The last week or so we have started getting quite a few raspberries. They are so good! Raspberries are my favorite fruit. :D Then next month we will get peaches! Yay! We got some last year, but it looks like we will be getting a lot more this year. Exciting!

Fun with Aunt Robbie and Uncle Tom

2009-07-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Aunt Robbie and Uncle Tom took us to their campsite yesterday and we had a picnic. It was so much fun!

Ian found this lighter in the sand but it didn't work. He couldn't tell the difference though!

I love him!
(even though I was attacking him with cherry seeds at the time)

Sisters <3

Lainie

Me pretending I was drowning

Cutie!

Love her!

Oldies

Me and my best friend!

THANK YOU SO MUCH AUNT ROBBIE AND UNCLE TOM!
We love you!

-Andrea- John 15:13

It's time to save people

2009-07-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

I thought this was really funny so I decided to post a picture of it.
Seth (who can't tell time): "Uh oh, it's time to save people." (Runs)
Everyone else: Laughing hysterically :D

Swinging :D

2009-07-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

Seth!

In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:11

Just like Daddy

2009-07-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Seth and Dad mowing the lawn. Well, one of them was mowing the lawn. :D

The other day Seth went outside with a mask, gloves, and a spray bottle and was "spraying" the trees (with water)--just like Dad. He wants to do everything just like Dad does. Almost every day he reminds us that he wants to be "big like Daddy". :D

Alaska-Part 6-God's beautiful creation

2009-07-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone, this is the last Alaska post. This (besides spending time with family) was the best part of the trip. God is amazing.

A waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier.

We went on a hike; it was beautiful!

Dad and Ian climbing on the rocks.

Dad, Mom, Ian and Seth rode on this tram 1800 feet up the side of Mt. Roberts.

Cruising through Hubbard Glaciers. This picture was taken from the ship.

Ice

Thank you SO MUCH Grandpa and Grandma for taking us on this trip. It was AWESOME!!!!!!

Alaska-Part 5-More family pictures, by color! :D

2009-07-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

The Chester kids
We took a picture of the WHOLE entire family. Each smaller family had their own color shirts. Then we took pictures of smaller groups of people...

Stavros/Kimball kids
L to R:
Uncle John, Uncle Paul, Uncle Ronald, Uncle Matthew, Mom, Aunt Rose and Aunt Amy

Emily and Seth
After we took the pictures we went to dinner in our colorful shirts.

Andrea and Mia
We love Mia!!!! We haven't seen her in.. I think 3 years. We had never seen her brother, Kent, before the trip.

Ian and Lydia

Alaska-Part 4-Family pictures

2009-07-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

One evening at dinner we took a whole bunch of pictures of the family.

Uncle Matthew, Andrea, Lydia and me

Mom and Aunt Jackie

Uncle Matthew, Aunt Kyoko, Miyako and Kent

The Stavros kids!

Mom and Uncle John

Adam and Mom

Mom and Dad

Alaska-Part 3-Fun on the ship

2009-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Adam and Miyako

Andi and me

Seth, Adam, Miyako and Ian watching for whales

Mia!!! :D

Mia swimming

Seth and Dad

Alaska-Part 2-Seattle

2009-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Seattle, WA Saturday night, spent the night at a hotel, and then left this next morning for Alaska.

Seth fell asleep on the bus on the way there.

In the hotel.

Walking around Seattle. They had really pretty flowers there!

And cool buildings... :D

Whoa............. hahahahaha I think this is my favorite picture of the entire trip. :D

Emily and Grandma

Alaska-Part 1

2009-06-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

We just got home from Alaska! It was so much fun! I wrote more about it on our other blog: 2servantsoftheking.blogspot.com Here are some pictures-okay, a lot of pictures:
Day 1-traveling:

The pictures are out of order.... this was on the plane. It was amazing!

Dad and me

Our family just a few minutes before leaving.

Ian and Andrea

Fun with Angelina

2009-06-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

This week our cousin, Angelina, and our grandma stayed with us for a few days. We had a lot of fun with them!

On the trampoline

Andrea and Angelina

They started off playing on the Slip 'n' Slide....

Then our neighbor invited us over to go swimming! :D

Grandma and Mom

Family Fun!

2009-06-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Fresh picked strawberries! YUM!

My soccer team! I have tryouts this week.

Meghan and me at the church party.

We went to Ohio for my aunt's graduation.

Ian at the rest stop on the way there.

Andrea the cheesecake maker

2009-06-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!! A lot of you probably know that Andrea can't stand anything white and creamy (sour cream, cream cheese, cool whip, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, vanilla yogurt...... etc. haha). But yesterday... she made a cheesecake!!!!!Yep, she looks pretty disgusted to me.

It looked much better after we put the strawberries on top. It was SO good!!!! Thank you, Andi!!! Definately a sacrifice on her part. :D

Flowers

2009-06-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, God's creation is beautiful!!

It is so nice out today! Spring!!!! Andrea got her camera the other day and she took these pictures (and a bunch more ☺) on it. Isn't it amazing that God knows every little detail of every one of these flowers?!?!
Blessings,
Marissa

5 years.....

2009-06-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

Ian turned 5 today!
He is getting so big and sweeter every day. We love Ian! He is such a blessing to our family.
Ian likes:

Parsley!
He and Seth will go out and pick it straight from the garden.

Playing with Seth.
He got this sword for his birthday-well actually he got two of them. Because everything is more fun when you have someone to play with!

Family... and oreos! Mom and Andrea made him an oreo ice cream cake for his birthday. :D

He also likes animals, Playmobil, trampoline, siblings, farms, friends, taking pictures..... and lots more.
Right now he is learning: How to ride a bike and how to read. He asked for school books for his birthday! :D He is definitely enjoying learning, although it can be frustrating for the person teaching him, because he gets distracted very easily! :D

We are so incredibly blessed to have Ian as a part of our family. I'm not sure what life would be like without him, but probably quite a bit less exciting. It is so much fun to see him grow and learn. He especially loves to learn about Jesus.
We love Ian!!!!!!

Taking a walk

2009-05-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a walk looking for good pictures...

Starting out....

This was on the way back home.

Isn't this a cool picture? Andi took it. :D

Elaina smelling the flowers.

We have a lot of pretty wildflowers on our road! :D

Thanks for coming, Erin! We had fun with you! :D

Rollerblading

2009-05-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Seth is actually getting pretty good at using these rollerblades. :D

Puzzle People

2009-05-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Andrea loves to do puzzles. And Ian loves to do pretty much anything his siblings are doing. :D So it works out very well! :D

A Little Helper

2009-05-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Seth sweeping. :D
He is such a good helper. He's so good at doing jobs quickly and cheerfully when asked...... usually. :D

Mr. Turtle

2009-05-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours found this really small painted turtle in her yard the other day. She gave it to Ian and Seth for a pet! :D

They thought it was so cool!

You might not be able to see this picture very well..
It is the turtle on a rock in water.

Getting the cage set up....

They haven't named it yet, so I'm just calling it Mr. Turtle. :D I'm not sure how long it will survive here, but I have to admit it is pretty neat. :D Our cat seemed to think so as well... he thought it looked tasty.

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T17:55:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. We went to our grandparents house to spend time with family.
Andrea and my cousin Lydia played soccer against 4 other people and..... it was pretty bad for the team of 4. ☺ They got beat by a lot....

Ian and Seth fell asleep in the van on the way there. ☺

Best Friends

2009-05-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Andi and me

Elaina, Seth, Ian and I making cupcakes.... :D

Seth and Ian frosting the cupcakes

Seth and Elaina playing in the water

Andrea and Ian gardening in the rain

Elaina, Seth, Andrea, Ian and I decorating Easter eggs.

Wow, I am so blessed to have the siblings I do. They are so amazing! We always have tons of fun together and would much rather be together than apart.

We haven't always gotten along as well as we do now, though. God has taught us many lessons and helped us to love each other in a way that we never could have without Him. We've learned that God has placed us together for a reason. He wants each of us to be there for the others. I can truly say now that my brothers and sisters are my very, very best friends.

A great book that we have read is called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally. I would really encourage all families to read this book.
Have a great day!
~Marissa

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

2009-05-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

So, I was flipping through the cookbook the other day, looking for something to make, and I came across this bread. My family loves making bread and I heard a big 'YES! Make that!!' when I suggested it, so I made it. I fudged a little bit on the recipe but it turned out to be some of the best bread I have ever made or tasted! So here's the recipe:

4-1/2 tsp. of yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar, divided
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1-1/2 tsp. salt
5-1/2 - 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, salt and 2-1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll up each rectangle from a short side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down in two greased 9 in. by 5 in. by 3 in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Yields 2 loaves.

Now we didn't have very much time yesterday so I only let it rise for 15 minutes all together. I didn't let it rise when it says to right before you bake it. It turned out beautiful! I let it rise for longer the next day (when I made it again ☺) and it wasn't as good or beautiful!
DON'T LET IT RISE THE WHOLE TIME! :D
I would suggest 15-20 minutes. :D

You WON'T be dissapointed! It is amazing!

-Andrea

Servants of the King

2009-05-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Marissa and I have started a new blog called Servants of the King.
Be sure to check it out at:
2servantsoftheking.blogspot.com
God Bless,
Andrea

O Church, Arise

2009-05-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

"Oh Church arise, and put your armor on; Hear the call of Christ our captain.

For now the weak can say that they are strong, in the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth we'll stand against the devil's lies;
and army bold, whose battle cry is love.
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war- to love the captive soul, but to rage against the captor.
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole, we will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on every side, we know the outcome is secure;
And Christ will have the prize for which He died- and inheritance of nations.

Come see the cross, where love and mercy meet, as the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet, for the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away and Christ emerges from the grave,
this vict'ry march continues till the day ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit come, put strength in every stride, give grace for ev'ry hurdle,
that we may run with faith to win the prize of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of His grace,
we hear their calls and hunger for the day when with Christ we stand in glory."

We recently found this song in the Keith & Kristyn Getty piano book,
and now I cannot stop singing it!

God is so good!

-Andrea

The Trees

2009-05-19T15:47:00.001-07:00

Well, the trees have become and embarrassment!
Okay...Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I have to say;
putting sheets on the trees was pretty awkward.
I'll explain! ☺

Well, my dad found out that it was supposed to be a cold night, and maybe even a frost, so of course, he had to protect his new little trees. He and mom were up very late putting sheets over all of his trees! It was pretty bad!

Orange and red....how stylish! haha

You have to admit....it looks pretty funny! ☺
-Andrea

Soccer

2009-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well it is Tuesday evening and.... guess what? Andi and Dad aren't going to soccer! Yay!! I am very glad they had a good season and had so much fun, but it will be very nice to have them home Tuesday and Thursday evenings and not have to go to two games each weekend. I do love to watch her play though, she's getting really good and her games are so exciting! :D

Anyway, while I was thinking about soccer (Oh yes, I do spend hours thinking about soccer each day. Just kidding.), I realized that being on a soccer team is kind of like being a Christian on God's team.......
Andrea has two soccer practices each week. These are like our time at church. We have someone instructing and teaching us about the ultimate, long-established rules of the game of soccer, or the Bible.
The coaches try hard to get everyone on the team to run each day to become a better athlete. They are continually strengthening themselves and trying to be a better player and please their coach. The girls never want to be at a plateau, they are always striving to be a better player and member of the team.
This is similar to being a Christian. Each and every day we have spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible, memorizing, praying... etc. Like athletes, we should strive to continually be a better Christian and know God more fully.
On the days my sister's team doesn't have practice and is not running, they have games against other teams. Instead of 'games', we as Christians are in a battle. We are fighting the enemy team. The thing is, we have two major advantages. #1 We have God, the Ultimate Coach, on our side. #2 We already know who is going to win. We are! Jesus will come out victorious!!!!
We need to be encouraged and keep fighting the battle for God's glory! We are the victors!!!

Press On

2009-05-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

This Friday and Saturday we went to a homeschool conference called INCH (Information Network for Christian Homes). We went to a few workshops and also did some shopping for school curriculum, books.... etc.
I thought I would share a few things from a workshop by Sarah and Stephen Mally called Preparing Young People for Mighty Works. Most of these things do not only apply to young people but to all Christians!
~God is anxiously waiting to give us an assignment.
Whether this assignment is at home, church, in the neighborhood, or in Africa, God has has included each of us in His master plan.
~Seek God's kingdom first in your education.
This was originally for homeschoolers, but I think it kind of applies to everyone. The main reason we homeschool is because we want to learn more about the Lord and grow closer to Him.
Deuteronomy 6:7 ...And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou risest up. We need to make sure that we are still centered around our main goal. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do academics, I'm just saying that we need to make God our priority in our schooling. Whatever anyone does, they should never let time with God or learning about the Lord get pushed aside to be done 'later'.
~Always be showing the love of Christ and ministering to others.
Some good ways to do this are: Going to nursing homes, prisons and hospitals, hospitality, home Bible studies, handing out tracts..... and of course there are tons more ways!
~ Be steady on the battlefield!
The victory will be ours! We are in a raging battle against Satan. The awesome thing is, we already know that we will come out the victors!!! But we need to press on while we are here on earth and win as many to Christ as possible.

That was kind of long.... sorry. There were so many more things that we learned and even more that were just great reminders. Thanks for reading!
PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL!!!!

2009-05-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Beneath the cross of Jesus I find a place to stand,
and wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am.
For hands that should discard me hold wounds which tell me come.
Beneath the cross of Jesus my unworthy soul is won.

Beneath the cross of Jesus, His family is my own.
Once strangers chasing selfish dreams;
Now one through grace alone.
How could I now dishonor the ones that You have loved?
Beneath the cross of Jesus, see the children called by God.

Beneath the cross of Jesus, the path before the crown,
We follow in His footsteps where promised hope is found.
How great the joy before us to be His perfect bride.
Beneath the cross of Jesus, we will gladly live our lives.

Canning

2009-05-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

This week we started canning! We have done it a little bit before but not very much and it didn't turn out very well.... So I suppose you could say this is really our first time doing it. We are very excited!

It is SO easy and Mom especially is very happy to have all of this food canned and ready to eat whenever we need a meal and don't have time to cook. (The red stuff is chili by the way.... it kind of looks like tomato sauce or something else in the picture.)

In the 'Forest'

2009-05-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Ian had a lot of fun!

I can safely say that this is one of my favorite pictures of Elaina!

Me standing next to the GIANT Oak.

Seth looking up at the HUGE trees! They were amazing!

haha this is all a joke! It is in our yard.....but it was a lot of fun pretending we were in a forest! ☺

2009-05-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Philippians 2:14-15
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

This is one of my favorite verses. Well, guess I have A LOT of favorite verses but let's just say I really like this one. :D

It's very hard to do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing. I think I complain more than I think I do. Even if I'm not complaining to someone, I think I complain to myself probably too much.

The next part is the best, though. The promise for not complaining or arguing is that we will become blameless and pure. Wow, that is a wonderful promise. Becoming blameless and pure is a very hard goal, but I know that God will help me!

This world really is crooked and depraved. Let's face it--it's falling apart. I am so glad that I have hope and that I know where I am going when my mission is done on this earth. I don't think I would make it from day to day here without being and knowing that I am a child of God. It's also so awesome to have other Christians in my life that encourage me and that are working for the same goal--winning others for Christ and glorifying God.

Gardening....

2009-05-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

The master gardener and his little helpers.... :D

Taking a break.
Already?

We have a huge pile of wood chips that need to go somewhere. The pile is slowly getting smaller.

Ian caught a frog! Yay! He caught one the other day but then it died..... so he was happy to have another one. :D

I found this perfect rock in some dirt and thought it would look better as a decoration. Mom threw it into the trees...... :( But I found it again! :D

Let's see how this goes.........

ZZZZZ..........

2009-05-06T10:04:00.001-07:00

Wow, he really can fall asleep ANYWHERE!

Psalm 118:1

2009-05-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

♥ Psalm 118:1 ♥

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

His loving kindness is everlasting!

2009-05-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Meanwhile.....

2009-05-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

Ummm... yes... while they were out gardening we were... What else? Baking! :D haha

Well our original plan was to make this really neat cupcake "picture". We found it in a cookbook and it looked really neat. You put a 18 (or 24.... something like that) cupcakes together and then you use frosting to make a very neat looking landscape.

Right........
When you have two little brothers who love to do everything you are doing, some things don't turn out the way you planned. :D Although it usually turns out to be more fun when you have little hands helping!

Mess makers... trouble makers... partners in crime....
We love our brothers!!!

Haha.... yep... the finished product....
At least they had FUN! :D

Rainy day gardening

2009-05-01T16:40:00.001-07:00

At our house, gardening is done rain or shine.....

Seth's prepared!

Yep... they got pretty wet.... :D

Dad spends lots of evenings in the spring gardening in the rain. He doesn't seem to mind a bit! :D

Chopping the trees down

2009-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

After we took down the maple trees in the front yard, we cut down five pine trees from the side yard and another one in the front yard.

Dad with the chain saw..... yikes.... haha

The trees were pretty big.

Our neighbor helped us a lot!!! We would have never been able to do it otherwise.

CRACK!

Elaina! :D

Inside the tree...

They had fun in there.

I'm not sure what they were doing.... probably.... no never mind... no idea.

In the Pit

2009-04-23T09:22:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we had two of our maple trees taken out. And why else.....
to make room for more fruit trees! :D

It attracted some neighbors

THE PIT! :D

Me looking at them take the tree away.

It was so much fun jumping over it and trying to get picture's of us in the air.

Even little Ian could do it!!!

Marissa was better at taking the picture's then I was.

Ian-God's Gracious Gift

2009-04-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ian is a huge blessing and gift to our family. After Elaina, I wanted another sibling SO much and I prayed for him for about four years (and the rest of our family did too :D) Then finally, God blessed our family with Ian (whose name means God's gracious gift).

Last year Ian got diagnosed with acid reflux. He got put on medication but has not been getting better. This morning he had a scope all the way down to his small intestine at the University of Michigan. They were hoping to find out if something else is wrong and what can be done, but all they found out was that he still has reflux. He's going to have to just stay on his medicine for a while. Oh well.... God really blessed today though and Ian was in a very good mood!!! Last time he had a scope he was very upset before and after. This time he had to wake up early and was still happy, plus he wasn't even very bad when he came out of the anesthesia. And now he is great (as you can see from the picture)!!! We love Ian!!! :D

AWANA Awards Ceremony

2009-04-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Elaina got the Excellence Award for AWANA last Sunday night. ☺

She finished her second year of T&T (Truth and Training)! Not to mention lots of years of Sparks and Cubbies (before T&T). She has memorized so many verses for AWANA and it is very neat to be able to watch how she has hidden God's Word in her heart. I am so glad for AWANA, I still remember most of the verses I learned in it. I've realized how important it is to know and memorize God's Word and it was so nice to have a head start before I even figured that out! ☺

A Real Family

2009-04-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

A real family: "a self-sufficient, fully functioning, economically viable agent for the dominion of God." ~Doug Phillips

I love being a part of my family. Each day is a new chance to work toward the goal of becoming more of a unit and serving the Lord together. I am so glad to be part of a team. It is a huge challenge and a huge blessing to be able to work together to advance God's kingdom.

Haha

2009-04-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Haha :D Somebody put this on Ian's head for some reason. It wasn't me! :D
The face cracks me up.

2009-04-16T17:27:00.001-07:00

"We don't pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be; Christlike Christians, that is, Christians who will bear willingly the cross for God's glory." -From a letter smuggled out from the underground church in Romania

Poor Cat....

2009-04-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

As cute as this is... the cat must be very starved for attention. :D

Dad's Newest Project

2009-04-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

He made this mini-greenhouse. It's awesome! :D

I'm pretty sure he would like to build one that fills up our whole yard, but at least he has a start.... :D

Ian

Decorating Easter Eggs

2009-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had fun decorating eggs this year! :D It's a fun tradition to have but we have to make sure that it doesn't distract from the real meaning of Easter. Tonight we are going to see a passion play (the Easter story) at our neighbors church (they are in it). I think a ton of people really don't celebrate the true meaning of Easter, it's too centered around Easter baskets, candy, and a big fluffy bunny.... what's with the bunny anyway? haha Anyway, happy Easter everyone! And make sure to celebrate the true meaning of Easter which is Jesus Christ.

Outside Before the Snow Came

2009-04-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

Ian is getting really good riding his bike without training wheels. Well actually, it's not his bike... but we have it and it fits him... so he gets to ride a pink bike! :D

Or course, Dad is having lots of fun gardening! :D

Weather Can Change a Lot in 1 Day....

2009-04-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

These two pictures were taken within 24 hours! :D

The fun sister

2009-04-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what's up with the faces....

but I'm pretty sure they were having fun!

Andi is awesome! As you all know... I would never do something this silly. haha

Someone's tired...

2009-04-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Seth was so tired the other day he just curled up under the computer desk and fell asleep! :D

Playing at the park

2009-03-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Dad, Ian, Seth and I went to the park. It was kind of... cold.. actually it was snowing for part of the time. I had fun taking pictures, though. :D

Ian's really good at the monkey bars! :D

Fireman Ian to the rescue

Seth and his pet dinosaur. Well you can't see it in this picture but it IS a dinosaur. :D

Sorry...

2009-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't been keeping up with this very well... we're really behind on putting pictures on. We have had a pretty busy week. Andrea and I are in the pit orchestra for the Sound of Music play that a group of homeschoolers are putting on. So we have been in Charlotte every night this week practicing. The first show was last night.. it went really well I think.. although we can't see anything from in the pit. There are two more shows, tonight and tomorrow. Then I also have State S&E tomorrow. It's been a really fun week so far! :D But we'll be kind of glad when it's over.

Seth being funny

2009-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Haha I thought this was funny... :D Sorry it's sideways.

Elaina's Diorama

2009-03-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Elaina made this diorama of the story of Paul and Silas for AWANA.

Paul and Silas were in the jail cell praying and singing hymns when all of a sudden there was an earthquake so vilolent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. The prison doors flew open and the chains on the prisioners came loose. The jailer woke up and was about to kill himself because he was afraid the prisioners had escaped.

But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself, we're all here."

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
He asked, "What must I do to be saved?"

Acts 16:31

"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved --you and your household."

Then they spoke to him about the Word of the Lord and to all the others in his house. The jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and gave them a meal. He was filled with joy because he and his family had come to believe in God.

Taken from Acts 16:25-34

2009-03-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
--Corrie ten Boom

Andrea's birthday party (again)

2009-03-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had our family over to celebrate Andrea's birthday. I didn't get many pictures (hardly any at all)... but here are a few.

I'm not sure what Ian was doing in this picture... It looks like he was trying to do the Pledge of Allegiance maybe... with the wrong hand. :D

Elaina! :D

The birthday girl

Ian pretending to read. :D He's learning to read and he is doing great! He loves it, too. But.... he's not actually reading this book. :)

Glasses

2009-03-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

I thought this picture was funny. Seth was pretending these pretzels were glasses.

:D

2009-03-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, just wanted to let you know that :D is a smiley face! so is this :) A lot of people have asked us about that and I just wanted to let you know what it is.

Andrea's birthday party

2009-03-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

We tried to make a pyramid... it didn't work so well...

We almost made it!

Liesl provided the music for musical chairs. :D

We had a very intense game of fuseball going on.

I think they were... talking... about what game to play or something.

Say cheese!

Andrea turned 13 on a few days ago! Sorry this post actually should have been before the last one.... Her birthday was on March 4th, she got to go shopping and I think she had a lot of fun. :D Shopping is one of her favorite things to do.. personally I don't see how it is that much fun... but I usually have fun if Andi's with me because.... well I always have fun when she's with me!!! :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDI!!!

A break from the cold...

2009-03-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

We have had amazing weather the last few days!!! It's been over 60 degrees!!! Which I suppose isn't very much.. but for Michigan... it's hot!!

Go, Seth, go!!!

This takes serious concentration

Score!! Yay, me!

I really don't think it does get much cuter than this..

Well... actually I am still working on capturing his REALLY cute smile on camera.

Ian!! :D

He's very smily as well.

Elaina started digging through her summer clothes already.... I think all of us are ready for spring.

The end of a great day

Exercising

2009-03-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ian and Seth were exercising the other day... it was so funny!

He could hardly lift the weights.

Seth had fun! :D It's funny the things that entertain them.... pretty much anything...

Solo and Ensamble

2009-02-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Mom, Andi and I went to Solo and Ensemble (S&E). It was so much fun! ☺ I did a piano solo, violin solo, and a violin and cello duet.

Me doing my piano solo

We also had a lot of fun watching other people in HSMA (Homeschool Music Association).

Danielle, Liesl and Wendy... something must have been really funny. ☺

Erin!

So now S&E is over... but we have State S&E in a month. Andi is doing Junior High S&E in April...

2009-02-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

God blessed us with a beautiful day today! It was really nice out all day and then we were blessed with this awesome sunset!

Seth's Birthday

2009-02-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Seth turned 3 today!

Andi made this cake... isn't is cool? You can see that Seth kind of messed up the frosting, though.... ☺

Ian playing cowboy

Seth loved all his presents. He gets SO excited every time he opens one!

We are SO blessed to have Seth in our family! I am so thankful that God gave him to us! Life would be much less exciting without him ☺.... and loud... haha

Dad's Garden

2009-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

I've had some requests to post pictures of my dad's indoor garden.... so here they are! :D

I don't know much about this stuff but it is really cool and I've heard it's a very enjoyable hobby... :D

~Ian

2009-01-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ian put on my this cast the other day (which is supposed to go up to your knee) and said that he fell in lava and broke both of his legs. :D

It was REALLY funny!!!!!

2009-01-18T14:56:00.001-08:00

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Pets

2009-01-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

Seth, Ian and Gideon

This is kind of a long story..... some of you know it, but I'm not going to write about the whole thing. Anyway, it ended up that Elaina got this guinea pig for Christmas. She is having a lot of fun with it. :D And I'm not sure why Seth had this thing on his arm by the way....