Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving this year our aunt and uncle flew all the way from North Carolina to visit us for 6 days! We had so much fun. Here is a short overview of what we did . . .

They arrived on Thursday afternoon (and grandma came from her nearby nursing home), and that evening we had a delicious Thanksgiving feast!! Yum! Dad, Caleb, Daniel and I woke up EARLY Friday morning (is 4am early enough?) to go after-Thanksgiving shopping. It was quite the experience! Some people were quite rude, some were quite nice, but thankfully we were able to get the things we wanted. We spend the rest of the day visiting a craft fair in the mall and relaxing at home. Uncle Tim and Aunt Lauri both shot Caleb's muzzle loader!







On Saturday we cut down our Christmas tree. It was hard to pick one out of the thousands at the tree farm! But we finally picked one (below), and it turned out very nice.



We really wanted a Charlie Brown Christmas. Okay, okay, here's the real tree we cut down.





On Sunday Uncle Tim and Aunt Lauri went to church in Hawley, and then met us at the Hawley nursing home where we played some music for the residents. That afternoon we watched the Packer/Panther game on our new HD digital TV (bought at the after-Thanksgiving sale). Sadly, the Packers didn't win. And I know the Vikings won, Andrea, but still, the Packers have won 3 SUPER BOWLS!!!! :-)

Mom drove Uncle Tim and Aunt Lauri to visit Grandma Grace on Monday. They had a good time visiting her and seeing her very own lake side room, all decorated for Christmas. (Uncle Tim is mom's brother, by the way.)



On Tuesday morning we all left for town, and we had a fun time walking the mall, going out to eat at Culver's, and riding the Ferris wheel at Scheel's. Then mom dropped Uncle Tim and Aunt Lauri off at the airport, and they were off back to warm North Carolina. Thanks for a great time, Uncle Tim and Aunt Lauri!

My Room

I've been wanting to post pictures of Lydia's and my room, so here they are!! We painted it a little while ago and got new bedspreads, and a new mushroom chair (thanks Aunt Jan!). In case you all didn't know, Lydia LOVES Littlest Pet Shop. Before we redecorated, our room was painted a tan color and had horse bedspreads and horse paintings on the walls. We kind of got out of that horse phase when we realized we weren't going to be getting a horse. They take up a lot of time and cost more than we wanted to give something that doesn't give much back. So, we really like our new bright colors, even though it took forever for us to decide on what to get!! :-)




This is my Hope Chest, with our boom box and Lydia's LPS!




Our bunk beds - in case you couldn't guess, mine is the bottom! :-)

Funny movie made with the Bartletts

Our Trip to the Bartletts

On Tuesday morning we left bright and early to visit our friends the Bartletts who live about 5 hours away (by the way, I'm a detailed person, so this is going to be a detailed story!). :-) We arrived at the place where we were staying around 12:30 and ate some scrumptious chili brought over by Mrs. Bartlett. We were staying there at Metigoshe for two nights in the bunks upstairs. Not all that comfortable, but perfect for falling into late at night when you're really tired! :-)

That afternoon we went over to the Bartlett's farm and took a tour of their new barn, Andrew's workshop, and all their animals, including a horse, a milk cow, lots of goats, four pigs, and innumerable chickens and cats! Oh, and I can't forget to mention Samson, their handsome German Shepherd (he's my dog's brother). After the tour we made a hilarious movie that I'll have to post sometime. That evening we had a good time eating chimi changas (very good, Mrs. Bartlett!), playing music together, and watching a funny movie.

After breakfast the next morning we drove the few miles to the Bartlett's place and had a great snowball fight!! That sure was fun. The rest of the afternoon was spent debating, eating venison sloppy joe's, and then around 4pm we went back to Metigoshe. The Bartletts were doing a concert that night, so we had a nice church dinner with them and then sat down and watched them play. They did a really good job!! I wanted to post a couple movies of them tonight, but it's not working so I'll have to do it another time. Anyway, that night we went to the "living room" area at Metigoshe and looked at some pictures and watched some more movies. We stayed up until around 10:30 each night.

The next morning we packed up and then drove over to the Bartlett's place again to spend the morning. I got a banjo lesson from Jonathan and we all played some more music, then before we knew it it was time for lunch, and then time to leave for home. Have you ever eaten fried chicken in the dark in a van stuffed with seven people? It sure was good, I can tell you that! :-)

Thanks for a great time, Bartlett family!!

Here are some pictures from our time there:

Our bunks at Metigoshe



The animals





Playing air hockey at Metigoshe



The Bartlett's concert



The parents talking at the table



Playing music together



You can view Jonathan Bartlett's blog here: http://jonathanjbartlett.blogspot.com/ I'll try to post some videos soon!!

Hannah

Daniel's Birthday!

November fourth was Daniel's 12th birthday!! We had to leave that morning around 8:30 because I had to give music lessons in town that day, but Daniel didn't mind. The reason is, he got to come with, go to Culver's and pick out a brand new bike (not at Culvers, in case you're wondering)!! His grandparents had given him some money for a bike (which he had been wanting for a while) so he was sure looking forward to picking it out! Later that afternoon, we voted on the way home. Daniel chose waffles, sausage, and jello for supper, with his homemade peanut butter cake for dessert. That evening we watched the Swiss Family Robinson, and, of course the election. Here are some pictures of Daniel's day:



A new bike - yeah!



His new Legos



Opening birthday cards



Eating birthday cake




Here are some of Daniel's favorite things:

Food -- bacon
Activity -- being in the workshop
Fruit -- cherries
Restaurant -- Golden Corral
Bible Character -- Jesus
Dessert -- peanut butter cake
Color-- green
Music group -- Triple L Band
Sport - soccer
Snack - toast with jelly
Place to stay - my grandma's cabin in WI
Drink - pop
Vegetable - corn

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!!

Hi Everybody,

It's hard to believe that Election Day is tomorrow (or today by the time you read this)!! We've all been looking forward to it (or not) for a long time, and now it's finally here! November 4th is also my brother Daniel's 12th birthday, so I'll be posting about that later this week, hopefully.

Here's some challenging words I got in an e-mail today:

Our country faces unprecedented dangers. From the illegal, unconstitutional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the runaway federal spending and the disastrous so-called 'bailouts', we struggle to maintain the vestiges of a Republic our founders fought so hard to secure.

Now, as we prepare to cast our vote for president and vice president, let us remember:

Chuck Baldwin is the ONLY candidate on the ballot who is 100% pro-life, pro-secure borders, against the USA PATRIOT Acts, and against the wars!

Chuck Baldwin is the only candidate who has the coveted A rating from Gun Owners of American and pro-secure borders group Numbers USA.

Chuck Baldwin: your principles- your candidate!

I guess ya'll know who I'm voting for! :-)

Here's a couple of good sites that I would HIGHLY encourage you to look at:

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/2008-VoterGuide.pdf
http://jonathanjbartlett.blogspot.com/
http://visionarydaughters.com/2008/10/qa-regarding-our-position-on-sarah-palin

I guess you can't click on these links because Blogger isn't working, so just copy and paste them.

The words written on that last blog (by the Botkin sisters) are so important that I'm going to paste some of them right here on my blog:

Q: Isn’t a vote for anyone other than McCain/Palin a wasted vote?

A: No. We waste our vote when we vote in panic, in fear of something other than God. When we vote with the expectation that God sees the obedience in our decision, our vote is never wasted.

We must answer to God for every vote we cast. Our vote is not an idle pronouncement. It may be private, but God knows precisely what we have done and why we have done it. Our vote reveals the essence of our faith or our unbelief, and we will be held accountable for our vote. If we vote for McCain/Palin, we clearly violate biblical standards, endorse a clearly unqualified administration, and invite clearly-written Biblical sanctions on ourselves and on our country. Disobeying Scripture is never the way to attempt to fix our imperiled nation, even if it seems like a responsible emergency solution. Our chief concern should be Who is on the Throne, rather than who is in the White House. Our modus operandi should start with sincere and more consistent, biblical obedience in our own lives, homes, and churches. Our strategy for national reformation needs to begin with the understanding that America’s problems cannot be fixed in one election or one presidential term – we need to look at the present crisis in the context of the past and the future. It was the compromises of Christians decades ago that brought us where we are today; we must consider the consequences our voting compromises today may have long after this election is over, when our children will have to reap what we have sown.

God is stronger than the evils that can be caused by the unprincipled conduct of Obama or McCain. If we remember this, we won’t be afraid of voting on principle — we will be afraid of voting any other way.

In the spirit of the Deuteronomy verse we quoted before, we need not worry about the “secret things” which belong to the Lord, but instead the “things which are revealed.” The marvelous works which God has ordained in the future are hidden in His inscrutable counsel, but He has given to us and our children a sure Word which we are called to obey. We are to “do all the words of this law” — this same law which commands us to choose only qualified men to hold civil office.

So, get out there and vote tomorrow!!

Hannah

P.S. And don't forget to pray for our country and those in leadership - we sure need it!

Winning Photography

Just the other day Caleb got a letter in the mail saying that he had won $50! How? From entering this photo of his lab's puppy in a local contest, and winning third place out of about 150 entries! Great job Caleb!