Happy Birthday!

Ellen is fourteen today!!!
Flashbacks:

Cheese!!

Where are all your teeth??

It's windy......

and the sun's too bright!

CHEESE!!

That is such a fake smile...

Maybe this is when the fascination for ORANGE started...:-)  (or a little before!)

She loves ice cream. 

The Ellen Pose!!!

Ellen must be good at posing for pictures for there are certainly a lot of her!

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

(Note: Some of these captions were written by Ellen.  She enjoyed looking at old photos of herself. :-) )

Fall

  Fall is my favorite season.  I love the beautiful 70º weather (like we've been blessed with this year), the colorful trees, and our fall activities (even though they can get rather overwhelming at times).  I have many wonderful memories of past falls and of times I've been able to just enjoy the many blessings God has given me and rely wholly on Him.  I also enjoy it because there are many photo opportunities!

Alas, our pumpkins came to a sorry fate!

Those squirrels!!!

This was all that was left of the little baby one. :(

Picture Verses

These are two pictures that I took this summer and figured out how to add verses to.  

The last verse is one is one that really encouraged me this summer as I did different things that I was worried or nervous about.  God can give us His power, love, and sound mind or self-discipline (some versions have self-discipline).

Fireworks!

    We had a wonderful day with family on the Fourth of July.  In the morning we went and visited Grandma and Grandpa and had a very nice visit with them.  In the afternoon we went out to our cousins house.  Their house backs up to a lake so we swam in the lake and played on what they called a Maui mat (a large floating board that several people can float on).  After we had dinner, Ellen and I went kayaking; and then Dad, Mom, Ellen, and I went on a bike ride around the lake.  We biked farther than we expected, though, because we had to turn back within about half a mile of the end because it was blocked off for the fireworks.  It was a beautiful ride despite the distance, with the scenery and the pleasant summer weather.  Then to end the night, there were, of course, fireworks!  I don't care to light them too much, but I really enjoy taking pictures of them.  (I apologize I don't have pictures of anything else.  I forgot about the camera and couldn't really take pictures while I was swimming, biking, and kayaking "smile".)

I'm sorry Ellen is so dark, but I couldn't get it any better.

The neighbors house and the peaceful lake

 Orange!!!

The grand finale!

Happy Fourth of July!

     I am so blessed to live in this country!  God has blessed this nation in many ways.  Let us celebrate the founding of it and the people who gave everything to protect it.  May we continue to stand for what is right and live to the glory of God.  

God Bless America

by Irving Berlin

God bless America,

Land that I love,

Stand beside her and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans white with foam,

God bless America,

My home, sweet home.

God bless America,

My home, sweet home.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Announcing Bright Lights Conferences in the Omaha Area!

 There will be both a Strong in the Lord conference (girls ages 8-14) and a Radiant Purity conference (girls ages 12-22+).  To register go to Bright Lights conference registration.

     Bright Lights (Being Radiant in Godliness, Holiness, and Testimony) is an amazing ministry that was started by Sarah Mally.  It has impacted my life in so many ways within the last six years.  The most important thing I have learned through it is the importance of having a personal relationship with God and committing to reading His Word on a regular basis.  After I attended my first Strong in the Lord conference, I committed to spending time with God and reading my Bible every day.
     The conferences are so much fun with humorous skits, singing, chalk talks, small groups, great Biblical teaching and more. It is also encouraging to see the lives of other girls who are fully committed to living their lives for the Lord.

Celebrating Grandma's Birthday

The other night, we had a wonderful time celebrating Grandma's birthday.  

Grandma and I

Flowers,

pictures,

a star to decorate her wall,

and a handmade card.  

Grandma loves things we make, so I crocheted flowers to put on her card and Ellen wrote on it.

It's a great time to take pictures together...

And of course we had to have cake!

Thank you, Grandma, for all the ways you bless us!  You are such a great example to us, and it was so wonderful getting to celebrate your birthday with you!

"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they make take hold of that which is truly life."

1 Timothy 6:18-19

Grandma put that verse in her thank you to us, and I think it describes her very well!