So, our Christmas performance...

It went pretty well, all things considered, but in order to explain that, I have to start at the beginning.

We had our Christmas performance last night, but we got a phone call about a week ago asking if we would consider doing some music for about a half an hour to 45 minutes at a Christmas party for special needs kids. We agreed, we would have plenty of time to get to our other performance, and it's for a good cause. We ended up sending dad, and some of the boys to set up the majority of our equipment at SCC (where we were performing) and mom, Luke, Kathryn, Esther, and I went to play for the kids party, while Gracie and the other boys went with dad. We only took two speakers, a couple of microphones, and the small soundboard with us, plus our instruments. Dad had the rest of the stuff thankfully.

So we played, the kids loved it, and it went really well. We started packing up and moving our stuff out of the way, then we realized that the clock in the room was slow, and we were going to be late for our sound check at SCC, so we were hurrying to get out of there. Well mom went to get the car, and we loaded up and got out of there. I noticed that it didn't take as long to load up, but I thought it was because we were in a hurry...

So anyway, we get to SCC, call the boys and get our stuff in there, and start tuning, running sound checks, etc... when we realize that we are missing one speaker, a couple of cables, and some microphone heads. Then we realize that my violin is missing as well. The boys were able to run the system without that speaker and the cables, but I needed my violin. I was freaking out because not only did I not have it, but I'd checked that it wasn't in the room,  so it wasn't a matter of me just leaving it by accident. It it's my grandfathers violin, so not only is it old and have an awesome sound, but it's sentimental too. Not to mention that its worth a lot!

My mom, ever practical, knew we couldn't do it without my violin, unless we did some major improv on piano, guitar, etc... and we weren't exactly prepared for that, so she called some friends of ours who lived close, and asked if we could borrow Anna's violin for the concert, they got there almost immediately, and basically saved the day. I had calmed down by now, and was tuning the little fiddle (KK's, it's a 1/32, it's practically peanut sized. super cute!) and at 7:00 we were ready and we made it through the show, it actually went really well. I have learned that there is a whole new meaning to the phrase "The Show must go on" :P

We made some calls this morning, and nothings turned up so far, what we think happened, is when we had the stuff by the car, while we were doing a check in the building, someone came up and grabbed whatever was on top or something. So we'll see. It's kind of bad because I had a borrowed bow in my case at the time, and I emailed the person I borrowed it from, asking how expensive the bow was, and she replied, well over $500. Ouch. So we're praying that the violin turns up, and the speaker, and stuff would be nice too. :)

~Hannah

Hey everyone

Hey guys,
Wow two months go by and I don't update this thing once. I'm still alive, just busy. Where to start... Well for one, the reason I kind of stopped updating is because my laptop crashed and like, won't turn on. So I'm computer-less. I can use the family one, it's just hard to get a nice uninterupted chunk of time in grand central station, otherwise known as our kitchen. :P

So, there's not a whole lot else to say right now really, life is busy, discouraging, chaotic, and encouraging at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I'm riding in the passengers seat, with a crazy driver at the wheel. Scary, but kind of thrilling at the same time.

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" Ive really come to love this verse in the past few weeks, it's so encouraging to know that the Lord is always with me. I have awesome friends who are always ready to pray for me or talk or listen or whatever, but g
god is always there.

I just realized how much I miss writing here.

~Hannah

My family is crazy :P

Yep, I think we're officially crazy! On Saturday night around 5, we decided to make a last minute trip to Seattle to see the Voetbergs! They were playing at church, and then at a Buddy Walk event later in the day and so we, being very last minute people, decided to go! We decided around 6 pm, and left at 2am Sunday morning, and we got home around 2am today. It was an AWESOME day!! Aside from seeing the V's and hearing awesome music, we met some amazing people, and we got to see downtown Seattle, the Space Needle, and the Mariners stadium. Here's how we described our day in summary,

Driving to Seattle, 2 Voetberg concerts, 1 Buddy Walk, 1 major accident (it wasn't us thankfully, but we saw it happen), 2 bad storms, lots talking with the V's, a Safeway stop in Chehalis, and driving home, all in 24 hours. Gotta love it :)

So today was a pretty mellow day, we all slept in. It rained. That's about it :)

Hannah~

Once again I have neglected this blog for way to long, but I have a good reason, I think :P

48 quarts of pickles, 38 quarts of green beans, 36 jars of jam and jelly, 20 pints of salsa, and 80 cups of frozen shredded zucchini squash later, I'm still here :) And we still have another 5 days (at least!) of the growing season, so who knows how much more produce there will be. It's a big harvest this year :) Squeezed in between all of the canning and preserving, we've had THE BEST season of backyard volleyball this year :) Thursday and Friday nights have been awesome this month! I was finally able to make a spike with the net at the standard height, with me being 5'2 1/2 - don't forget the 1/2!!- it's a pretty big accomplishment :P So yeah, we're definitely enjoying this summer weather, It's supposed to cool off by the end of the week, so this might be it for volleyball :(

Tomorrow's a big fundraiser for special needs children in our town, and my parents decided that our family should go run a table and talk with people about the gift and blessings of special needs kids, they also decided that me and some of my siblings (Nate down to Luke) and I should be the ones doing most of the talking.... :0 It should be interesting, talking with COMPLETE STRANGERS and answering any questions they might have, thankfully, mom and dad are going to be there to help out, but only to help they said. I don't really mind talking to strangers, but I don't like it when they ask me questions and I have to answer them, if that makes sense...

I have got to go to bed now, I am so tired and tomorrow's coming early....

Hannah

Life..

Sorry I haven't really posted for a while, I've sat down several times and tried to write a post, but I don't know, I was having trouble writing it. I've been kind of confused about life lately, not really confused I guess, more like I'm not sure what direction I should be going kind of thing, and feeling a little out of place. Anyways, that's kind of why I haven't really posted lately. I've had some awesome conversations with some awesome people this week, and I think I'm starting to get straightened out. Life is just confusing sometimes.

Anyways, Thanks to everyone who's been praying for Gracie! She's doing amazingly well, and we were able to take her to church yesterday for the first time, she was sooooo excited :)

Oh, and something random, but Lover's Waltz, by Jay Ungar, is my new favorite song to listen to and play, it's beautiful.

Hannah~

September 11, 2011: Ten Years

May America never forget 9/11/2001. 


I hear people saying we don't need this war
But, I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
Well, after 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And we vowed to get the one’s behind bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry about bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?

September: Month of....

..... I have a friend who sends an email each month telling all of the different things it's the month of. Soo, here's her list for this month :)

Classical Music Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Fall Hat Month
International Square Dancing Month
National Blueberry Popsicle Month
National Courtesy Month
National Piano Month
Chicken Month
Baby Safety Month
Little League Month
Honey Month
Self Improvement Month
Better Breakfast Month

I like that there's a National Piano Month, that's pretty cool! I wonder if there's a National Fiddle Month?

Oh, and last but not least, September is my birthday month :)

Hannah~

EDIT: That was weird, I thought I posted this on Sunday, I must have clicked the wrong button by mistake. Anyhow, thanks for the Birthday wishes!!

Happy September!!

I can't believe it's September! I say that every year, but it's true, it ALWAYS sneaks up on us. For us, September 1st marks the beginning of fall, the summer harvest is almost done, we're getting ready to start school, the apples start coming in, and the air changes. It just has this fall feel to it, it's hard to explain but it's there.

 I think Autumn is my favorite season, harvest is almost done for the year, schools starting up again, there's that crispness to the air. It's the season of apple picking, leaves falling, beautiful colors, chilly air, peach pie, and apple cider. Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but yes, autumn is definitely my favorite season.

I love coming inside from the chilly air, not cold, just chilly, and smelling bread in the oven, I love pressing gallon after gallon of fresh apple cider, and sharing jokes and stories with friends and family the whole time, I love the way the leaves fall off of the trees, and cover the fields with patches of color, I love going out and raking the yard with the younger kids, and burying them in piles of leaves. I love walking outside barefoot, and feeling the crunch of leaves, and then running inside before I freeze, I love having my birthday this time of year, it's so perfect outside, just cool enough to be chilly, but not so much that its cold.

 And I love being a country girl, experiencing fall in the country. Fresh bread baking, apple picking, quilting, pressing apple cider, fires in the fireplace, the smell of fresh cut wood on the porch, gathering the eggs before they freeze in the coop, seeing open fields covered in leaves, those are some of the best things, the simple, everyday things in our life, that make it so beautiful.

Hannah~

Picture perfect

We have several huge fires burning in our area, so the air has been really smoky for the last week, It's awful actually, over 50,000 acres are burning right now. But today it's really clear, no smoke and no clouds, so my cousin Anna, who is an amazing photographer, came over and did some pictures of us. My parents have been wanting to get some done, and since Anna's in the area for the week, she was happy to do them :) We did lots of family photos, and she also took some great individual shots of us with our instruments. If I can figure out how to upload pictures to blogger, I'll post a few, There's a great one of me holding the banjo and looking in the distance.

Gracie bounced back so fast from the anesthesia and surgery, Anna couldn't even tell she'd been in the hospital. Praise the Lord! Thanks everybody for praying for her!

Hannah~


P.S. Gracie wanted to thank everyone for praying for her too :)

What a day!

Gracie's home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow that was a lot of exclamation points! but we're happy :) So they got home this morning, apparently she was doing well enough to come home and so the doctors didn't want to keep her. So she came home this afternoon and things got back to normal...sorta. Mid-afternoon mom asked me to make a fruit smoothie, as a snack for Gracie. So I went out to the garage to get the fruit out of the freezer, when I grabbed the fruit, it was thawed. I went in to tell mom, and she came out to see what we could save (we had probably half a cow and lots of chickens in that freezer, and we'd raised them, so it was good meat) it ended up that most of the meat was still frozen, and we could put it in our other freezer, we only lost a little fruit and 3 pounds of beef. Right in the middle of all of that, Sarah came running out yelling for mom and saying that Gracie was having trouble breathing. Trevor and I were left to finish moving all of the meat to the other freezer and call dad to see what to do about defrosting the one that had gone out.

Mom was on the phone for a while after Gracie was breathing okay again, I guess the doctors weren't worried that much about her breathing problems (comforting...) but it still scared us. She's fine now, and we're having beef for supper ;P

Just another (ab)normal day in our life. As my dad says, we live in organized chaos!

Hannah~




***EDIT: She's been breathing weird for the past hour, so we're not out of the woods yet, other than that she's happy and back to normal. Keep praying

She's awake and doing great!!

Gracie's awake and doing pretty well for the most part, she slept waaayy longer than anyone expected, but she's up now. When she woke up though, she started throwing up because of the anesthesia and since she hadn't had any breakfast and couldn't keep anything down, she was pretty hungry! She's eating now though, and happy little Gracie again. Praise the Lord!

We're doing great here too, we got all of the chores and farmwork done (no grumbling either!) and made a pizza dinner, now we're getting ready to finish off the birthday cake from last night and read more of The Westing Game. That book is so confusing, but so hard to put down, we've read half of it since yesterday afternoon and wow the plot twists! I'd definitely recommend it!

Hannah~

Gracie Update

Mom called, she's out of surgery, but not awake yet. We had a great morning, and now the little kids are napping. Grandma led bible study this morning, and we had a really interesting talk about hiding your light under a bushel and related subjects. Then we went on a long walk and the younger kids picked up so many rocks they couldn't carry them back :) Now the little kids are napping and the older boys are outside, waiting for mom to call. anyways, I'll update when she calls

Hannah~

Gracie's in surgery now, she was given the anesthesia around 8:00 and went into surgery around 8:30. They're hoping she'll be out by 10:30 and awake by noon or so. Pray pray pray

Mom, Dad, and Gracie just left for the hospital, it was hard, Gracie didn't want to leave so she was crying and the younger kids didn't want Mom to go so they were crying, but we've successfully distracted them with picture books and dessert :) So we're praying for safe travels, and a safe procedure in the morning.

Dear God, 
Please be with mom, dad, and Gracie as they travel over the mountains to the hospital, help dad not to get tired, and Gracie to be able to sleep. Be with the doctors tomorrow as they operate on Gracie, guide their hands and give them wisdom. Be with mom and dad tomorrow, give them a sense of peace as they wait for her to come out of surgery and recover, and be with the rest of us here at home that we could run the house smoothly, and I pray for safety for the younger kids, help none of them to get hurt, sad, or scared while Mom and Dad are out of town, and for the older boys, out in the fields keep them safe as well Lord. Give Gracie strength and courage as she goes through this.


In your name we pray,
Amen

Pickles!

..and corn, and green beans, and broccoli, and summer squash, and peas, and tomatoes, and zucchini! yep, it's officially harvest, and that means we've got fresh vegetables coming out our ears, (thank goodness the potato field won't need harvesting for another week) today we made pickles, and lots of them! Our family eats pickles like you wouldn't believe, but only homemade ones. The ones you can buy don't taste the same at all! So our day went something like this, We got up with the sun and went out and harvested all of the beans, peas, squash and broccoli while it was still cool, then we came inside and started putting up the beans, peas and broccoli. After that we went back out and picked all of the pickling cukes and corn, and started making pickles. We had an assembly line going, and my job was to slice the pickles into coins and mix up the juice, I probably sliced for 45 minutes, and we used an entire gallon of vinegar before it was all said and done! We stopped for lunch around noon, and I'll bet you can guess what we had ;) Vegetables! haha, we had fresh boiled corn, peas, tomatoes, some leftover pulled pork from last night, and fresh milk. I think we'll finally be finished with the pickles as soon as the timer goes off and we take them out of the canner. Then we have to do the squash, after that, we'll be good for about another week, then the next round of the vegetables will be ripe.

Tonight we're having a birthday dinner for Luke, his birthday isn't until Wednesday, but with Gracie's Surgery and all, we decided it would be better to have it tonight. We're having an exclusively "homavore" meal. We coined this term to mean food that we grew or produced on our land, which actually applies to more and more these days. Anyways, We're having: Baked Lemon Chicken, Fresh Corn, Green Beans, Salad, and homemade grape juice, Yum! Then dessert will of course be birthday cake, and fresh berries. We raised and butchered the chickens, grew the veggies, grew the grapes, harvested them, and made them into grape juice, which we canned last summer, and grew the berries. For the birthday cake, we ground the wheat into flour and made it from scratch (and if you want to be technical, we didn't grow the wheat, we actually bought it from some friends of ours that did) Sounds pretty "homovore" to me :P

We couldn't go to church today, at the risk of getting Gracie sick, so we did a family bible study while we were putting up the beans and peas. Oh, life on a farm.. :)

Hannah~



                                     

Summer Days

Today we decided to go up to one of the lakes, about 1 1/2 hours away and hike, swim, and canoe for the day. It was a beautiful day so we started by taking some gorgeous photos of nature, and our family, then we hiked around the lake, canoed, and swam. My cousin Anna came up and hung out with Gracie for the day, since she can't do something like that, especially so soon before her surgery, so that we could go. (Thanks Anna, you're awesome!!) It was really fun, and we got to take our grandma with us, since she got here yesterday. She'd never canoed before, so we had lots of fun teaching her :) We left just in time though, now it's raining and I think I just saw lightning strike, definitely not the time to be up at the lake, or driving home.

Dad, Mom, and Gracie are leaving tomorrow night for the hospital, and bright and early Monday morning she has surgery. I think we're all feeling a little nervous, as it's a pretty serious procedure, but God is in control of whatever happens. Well, I think dinner's ready and I need to get the table set.

Hannah~

The last 2 weeks

That's right, In two weeks I turn 15! It seems kind of weird, 15 seems so old! Where we are, you're allowed to get your drivers permit at age 15, so I'll be able to drive in about a  month. (scary thought!) So yeah :) I think there's a huge age jump between 14 and 15, and then 16 and 17, I know its just a year, but when you say it, it sounds so much older, know what I mean? Or maybe it's just me... :)

***Gracie Update: They're going to go ahead with the surgery. They're leaving probably Sunday to drive up to the hospital for her Monday morning surgery. My grandma's going to drive up to stay with the rest of us while my parents are gone, not that us older ones couldn't "hold down the fort" as my dad would say, but Mom and Dad feel more comfortable with her coming and being here. (I think it's in case something happens to Gracie) So that's whats new, at church last Sunday my dad asked for special prayer for her and it was cool how so many people lifted her up, we really felt loved. I know so many people are praying for her, and she knows that too. Thank You if you have been praying, it's working. :)

Hannah~

Wasn't it just last week that I said I was back?? well, since I said that, we now have five MORE family concerts scheduled! When we started this whole playing music together thing, 5 years ago, I don't think any of us imagined adding 6 violins, 3 guitars, a banjo, a mandolin, a keyboard and a stand-up bass to our living room decor! (In addition to our baby grand piano of course) Yeah, as you can imagine, things get pretty crazy around here when everyone is "practicing" at the same time ;) I guess we should be thankful for this opportunity to share the love of Jesus with lots of people who might otherwise not hear about him (we do mostly christian songs, lots of hymns) but wow, sometimes we seem a little to busy!

Other than music, which seems to be taking over my life right now (not that that's a bad thing) I've been trying to get organized for the coming school year. Somehow, despite my diligent effort (riiiightt ;) ) my desk and books always seem to become a hopelessly disorganized mess over the summer months, must be that invisible troublemaker that lives in the wall, right? (It's kind of a joke around our house that the invisible troublemaker who lives in the wall comes out at night and makes messes and does bad things, I can't remember who came up with it, but he often gets blamed for things like crayon on the walls, etc... ;) ) Anyways, I always like the beginning of a new school year, there's something exciting about a brand new schedule and new books and new things to learn after a summer of little structure and lots of crazy, fun times.

I have to go now, time to rehearse our stuff. I'm trying to stay on top of this blog now though, it's like once I sit down and start writing, I don't want to stop (which could be a bad thing...) but actually sitting down to write, that's the hard part :)

Hannah~

Sweet song

I heard this at the one of the weddings I was at this summer, and then I heard it again at the wedding on Saturday, I thought it was really sweet.

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first




***GRACIE UPDATE: thanks to those of you who've been praying! she's doing so much better, we were able to church last night and she did so well. She loves being at church with the rest of us, but she got pretty tired and actually fell asleep for a few hours afterwards while we were eating and visiting. It's so nice to have our happy Gracie back after her being so sick.




Hannah~

Wow...

...I didn't know that weddings could last so long! we had to be there at 12:30 for a 3:00 wedding, then we all drove to the reception hall at about 4:30. We got home shortly before midnight, a long day, but we had a blast! We knew almost everyone there so lots of catching up and good times with our out-of-state friends :)

So the rest of our summer (so far!) well, our church camp was amazing this year, it's not really a church camp, more of a big camp like gathering of people in our church and others that people invite. We of course invite all of our WA friends and people come from all over the Northwest, it's always a special time, and this year was no exception.

This summer it's funny, it feels like we haven't really gone anywhere like for a vacation, but when we thought about it, we've been so many places (mostly for weddings and family concerts) that we've been gone more than we've been home. There's talk about doing a Southern California trip in early October though, just as a vacation for us. (Ellie, if you're reading this, my parents are going to call yours about stopping by)

Well, I think that's pretty much our summer so far. I really should get some pictures up on here, maybe next week...

Hannah~

For Daddy

I heard this song last summer. I love the words and the message it sends. I love you daddy!

I am my daddy's girl, and how I pray
That I may grow to be, like him one day
My daddy is faithful, his heart is true
Dad are you listening? I love you

The Glory of children is father
He is the strength of our home
Daddy we need you, we love you
Walk by our side, counsel and guide
Show us the way of the LORD

Dad you have been with us, All through the years
Faithful through happy times, faithful through tears
You served the real God, you taught me to pray
Dad are you listening? Thank you today


The Glory of children is father
He is the strength of our home
Daddy we need you, we love you
Walk by our side, counsel and guide
Show us the way of the LORD

Dad are you listening? I love you

I'm back!!!!

Yes, after 6 weeks of crazy busyness, (not that it's going to be stopping...) I'm back! I apologize, but with us being gone every weekend since late June, I haven't had much time to be on the computer.

This summer our family has/is participating in 5 weddings, a Music Camp, a Church Camp, and 5 family concerts. One of the weddings was in WI so you can imagine how that went, getting 9 people there, with all of the necessary items needed for travelling with little kids, and participating in a wedding. Very interesting trip :P
So that's where I've been.

Soooo, first things first, Gracie's doing a lot better, she's still not herself but much better. She's laughing at a joke my dad told her right now :)

The weather has been so nice this summer compared to the rest of the country, I think the hottest it's been so far was 96 and no humidity. We're lovin' it!!

Oh, this is really cool, (in my opinion) I learned how to play guitar this month!! I've been watching my dad and brother for a long time and so one day I had a lot of time before I needed to do anything so I looked up a few chords online and practiced for a few weeks and now I can accompany in almost any key!! (ahh, the magic of a capo* :P) I'm really excited about that because in family concerts, the fiddle can't really back up other instruments and singing, just do lead, so that's going to be fun.

Well, tomorrow we're off to another wedding, it's local though and it should be a lot of fun, we know a lot of the people coming in for it so we're excited. I've got to go practice my songs and then help get ready, so I'll finish my updating of my summer hopefully tomorrow or Sunday :)


***for those of you that don't know, a capo is something that clips onto your guitar and shortens the strings so that you can play the same chords but in a different key (in other words, I really know about 8 chords but I can use the capo to play in all of the different keys)

Hannah~

Happy 4th of July!!

....a day late! I meant to do this yesterday, but I got busy and didn't get a chance. so, Happy fourth!! God Bless America!

My apologies!

I'm sorry I haven't been updating this very often lately, my laptop crashed, and I lost everything on it, picture, video, my stories and scripts, everything. Plus it's got a virus or something so I can't use it, Anyways I don't have a computer to use right now. So, if I'm less frequent in posting than I normally am, that is why :) Anyhows, life  on the farm is still about the same, lots of weeds to pull, fields to water, cows to feed, and *groan* laundry to do... the younger boys get they're clothes dirty so fast it's like they do it on purpose! (well, knowing them, they actually might ;) ) other than that, we've been super busy with church activities, vacation and now we have a wedding to go to, bout 10 hours away, we're leaving on Thursday. Summer is fun! I'll post more when I have a chance, who knows when that will be though.

Ciao!

~Hannah

Rain!!!!!!

Last night, it actually rained!! we were at church, and it started storming, so of course most of the kids were wanting to go outside and play in the rain. Well, by the time we could get outside, it had cleared up.. :( so we started playing soccer, and then, it started raining again! It was so much fun, soccer in the rain. We were all pretty wet by the end though, so we had to stand outside and wring out our socks and shoes. It was awesome! Then some of us got into a conversation, and my parents were talking with some people, so we didn't get home until around 10:30. Fun times :)

(In case you haven't caught on, it NEVER rains around here, and when it does, it's usually for 5 minutes, so rain for that long is a rare occasion, that's why everyone was so excited.)

Hannah~

I'm Back

Well, I'm back! our trip was Amazing! I'll try and post some pictures that I took of some of the monuments in Washington D.C. in a later post, (I still have to download my camera) It was some of my younger siblings first time on a plane, so that was very exciting for them. I think the best part though, was that we met up with some friends of ours on the east coast, and toured D.C. together, and spent a week together :) Fun times! The only downlight of the trip (you know, the opposite of highlight ;P) was that one of my younger sisters got sick on the last day, but other than that, awesome trip. We're back on the farm now, getting the rest of the corn and the watermelon in the ground, and doing the dreaded weeding the garden and potato field. The corn field won't have to be weeded for another month or so (we're counting our blessings! :) ) only about 6 weeks until harvest starts, then picking and canning and freezing, so these next 6 weeks are probably our least busy. BBQ time! oh, there's my mom calling, gotta go mop the floors... Bye!

Hannah~

Our Trip!!!

We're getting ready to leave for our trip east!! We're leaving tomorrow. We're pretty excited about it, but some of us a disappointed the we'll miss the conclusion of The Green Ring Conspiracy (Adventures in Odyssey) We'll be gone until June 7th I think, so updates to follow! Sorry that was short, I can't think of much else to say... oh, I do hope that it's warmer in Virginia than it is here though, I'm tired of having to wear a jacket to go out side, it's the end of May! I don't understand this crazy weather :)

Hannah~

Love these lyrics

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because he lives, all fear is gone.
Because I kno-o-ow he holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because he lives.

I've been singing that song over and over for the past few days, ever since we sang it at church on Sunday. Those are powerful words. I love it.

Rain....

It's been raining for the past 5 days straight. And where we live, it NEVER rains, except for the month of June, so this is a very strange weather pattern that not many people are enjoying. The garden is enjoying all of the water, but unfortunately, so are the weeds. As soon as this clears I know what our job will be. Weeding.

 I haven't been able to think of any interesting things to write about lately, so that's why I haven't been posting much. That, and the fact that we're getting to the season of hard work on the farm, so I don't have as much free time as I did this spring. So that's about all I have to say

Hannah~

A Day in the Life

....of me! I thought I'd describe a typical day in my house. If you were at my house at 6:00 in the morning you'd probably hear various alarms go off all around the house, if you were in the room that I share with some of my sisters, you'd probably hear some kind of music, From the Boys room you would probably hear the loud, obnoxious, buzzer that goes off each morning. From there you would hear the rush to get go down to the kitchen by six thirty to have family devotions and then head out to the barn to do the chores. After chores comes breakfast! Then we straighten up the house, and start school. We'll go until about 11:30 and then break for lunch and cleanup. Then the younger kids nap while the older kids finish up their school work. At about 2:00 or so, you would probably hear two fiddles, a guitar a banjo and/or a mandolin practicing their songs, trying to keep it down so that the napping children won't wake up just yet :) Around 3:15 the music would probably stop and the doors would slam, Free Time! (as long as all school and music is done for the day of course) 4:30 comes around, time for chores, the garden must be weeded, the laundry folded, the porches swept, the hay brought up, the house straightened, and of course the animals must be fed. 5:30, Dinner time! then cleanup, and then either free time, or reading time. You would probably either hear a book being read aloud, (and people asking, "can't we read just one more chapter?") or the chatter of little kids playing quietly amongst themselves. 7:30 comes around, all of the kids under 6 are in the process of going to bed, you would probably hear something like this: "Mom! I can't find my toothbrush!" "Grace, Don't take your diaper off, that's not good." "Dad, have you seen Josiah's pajamas? I can't find them anywhere" In other words, it gets a bit chaotic. After the younger ones are in bed, dad usually does his computer time, mom has her planning time and talks with dad, and us older ones, usually read or get on the computer. You probably wouldn't hear much of anything at that hour. 9:00 comes around, bedtime for the older kids, (it always seems early, but when you're getting up by 6 each morning it's not early at all.) Sometimes we're allowed to listen to Adventures in Odyssey while we fall asleep, but most of the time you would hear quiet.

That's pretty much a typical day in the life, simple, I know, but who said life had to be complicated? I wouldn't trade anything for my simple lifestyle.

Time Flies.....

Wow, it's been a whole week since I've posted! It was a great week, first of all, its finally spring! Last Saturday, (as in April 30th) it was 19 degrees, and then all of a sudden it's in the 70's! we've enjoyed the warm weather while we're planting the garden and mowing the orchard and all of that fun stuff. We were able to take a short vacation last weekend, We drove up to our friends house and spent a long weekend with them, we had an amazing time, it was really neat to see their new farm and just be able to catch up with them. We definitely enjoyed our time there, and when it was time to leave on Sunday night, some of my younger siblings and some of their younger kids went out and hid in the barn loft and made us come looking :) Today we had a little surprise when we went out to clean the barn after our school was finished, a water pipe had broken and there was a huge flood out behind the barn, we had to turn all of the water off and then call dad and ask him to stop and get the parts that we needed to fix it. I am so thankful for my brothers at times like that, they knew exactly what to do to fix the problem. Things are going well on the farm, I'm already looking forward to summer, and harvest soon after. Call me a country girl, but I love living on a farm.

Hannah~

Great Song!!!

I recently heard a great song called Caspian by Liddy Voetberg, here are some of the lyrics.

Stand on though infantry we fight for victory
Hold now the banner up high
Threatening adversity challenge our bravery
Search out the truth make it known in your hearts you are true


Fall not to trickery move forth with honesty
Make straight you course now and run
Fraudulent claims made to default his name
O persuade us to answer and hold forth the hope of our faith


Quickly the time comes when we are called forth
Standing exposed all alone in the dark
Don't be ashamed to look into the face
Of the one who set forth all the worlds into place


No battle is won by the strength of the arm
You proud and you lofty bow down
Heaven and earth will in time pass away
But the truth that is written in all of our hearts will stand strong.


How quickly the time comes when we are called forth
Who will defend us the day we embark
Don't be ashamed to look into the face
Of the one who set forth all the worlds into place

I looked it up online and couldn't find it on youtube, but it's on iTunes and if you go here you can listen to the song as it's the background music to their website. I think it's a really great song, I've listened to it pretty much non stop since I heard it :)

Hannah~

More Movies

This is an addition to my movie post here

Flywheel - the first movie made by Sherwood films (the makers of Facing the Giants) They did a great job with Flywheel, I would definitely recommend watching it. Very appropriate, we didn't fast forward through any scenes, we all really enjoyed this movie. I'd say the acting got better through out the whole thing. 4/5

Gifted Hands - Tells the true story of Dr. Ben Carson, the Pediatric Neurosurgeon who separated a pair of Siamese twins joined at the head, starting when he was a young boy. Very good movie! There were a couple of iffy spots, but other than that, we thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Bubble Trouble and Heartstrings - From the makers of The Widows Might, these two were made first, we really enjoyed them! Bubble Trouble was really funny, and Heartstrings was done with a unique twist of a detective story, they were both good.

The reason I am reviewing movies so much, is I recently became interested in Film making and I've been analyzing and reviewing movies and paying attention to lots of little things like camera angles and the like.

Anyways, I would definitely recommend checking into Heumore Productions and The Widows Might, it's one of my families all time favorite movies!

Hannah~
 

They're not Retarded!!!

The thing that gets me riled up the most is when people use the word "retarded" They use it to mean dumb, childish, and a whole lot of other things, and they also call people with mental disabilities retarded. I havetry  two siblings with disabilities and let me tell you, They're not Retarded! They're not stupid or dumb, and no, they don't have hearing loss. So often when people - strangers and otherwise- try and talk to my special siblings, they get right down in their face and yell very loudly, "Hi there cutie, I'm M m m Mary" or something along those lines. My siblings can understand alot more than people realize, we can be watching a movie and my nine year old sister (with special needs) will laugh at the funny parts just like a "normal" kid. (I put normal in quotes because what is normal? God made each of us special) I'm around alot of special people, and honestly, they are some of the funnest people to be around, they're so, I don't really know how to describe them, maybe innocent, childlike, I don't know. Anyways, every time I hear the word "Retarded" I cringe, and so do alot of other people, so many people think it's just another 'cool' word, It's Not! Don't use it! Sometimes when people walk up to me when I'm with my special siblings and ask "oh, is she retarded or something?" They don't realize it, but they're acting like she can't hear them or understand them. They understand so much more than even my family knows.

Anyways, sorry if that didn't make any sense at all, I just had to write that. feel free to email me if you want to know more.

Hannah~

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair bows down with care

God sent his son to win

His erring child he reconciled

And parted from his sin

O love of God how rich and free

How measureless and strong

It shall forever more endure 

The saints and angels song

The years of time shall pass away

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall

When men who hear refuse to pray 

On rocks and hills and mountains fall

Gods love so sure shall still endure

All measureless and strong

Redeeming grace to Adam's race

The saints and angels song

O love of God so rich and free 

All measureless and strong

It shall forever more endure 

The saints and angels song

Could we with ink the ocean fill

Or were the sky of parchment made

Were every stalk on earth a quill

Or every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above 

Would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God so rich and free

So measureless and strong

It shall forever more endure 

The saints and angels song


I love this song!!

Hannah~

He is Risen!!!!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!!
Don't forget to take a moment to reflect on why we're celebrating. For me, I try to remember all day long, in the midst of Church, a yummy lunch, decorating eggs, games, and Church and a potluck tonight, that the reason for the celebration is because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. What an awesome thing!

Hannah~

My favorite verses

Just thought I'd share my favorite Bible verses, they are always changing, but right now I really like these two.

Joshua 1:9 Be ye strong and of good courage, be ye not afraid, do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.

I like to remember the first one when I'm afraid, and every time I read the second one my heart soars, it's like it renews my heart just by reading it.

Anyways, just thought I'd share that.

Hannah~

Busy Busy Busy!

I guess I gave been neglecting this blog a little bit, I've just been so busy over the last 2 weeks I can barely get on the computer, much less write a blog post. My life should slow down after this weekend and I'll hopefully be able to write a post or two. I guess this was just a post to tell you all that I won't be able to post until at least Wednesday, probably more like Saturday. Now, off to pack, clean, and get ready to drive 7 or so hours to Montana.....

Hannah~

Movies

Here are some good movies that I've watched recently, they are definitely worth watching, unlike some of the stuff out right now. 

Facing the Giants - Really inspiring! Very well done! I give it a 4/5 

Faith Like Potatoes - I really like this one, There's one graphic accident scene that we fast forwarded through, but other than that, its a very good film! They did an amazing job producing it.

The Ultimate Gift - Another great movie! The story of a rich, spoiled 20 something guy, who has to complete a series of tests in order to receive his inheritance from his late grandfather. Very touching.

The Widows Might - This is one of my favorite movies, Very well produced and definitely worth watching. It's about a group of Christian, Homeschoolers making a movie for a film contest, and at the same time trying to fight against unfair property taxes and a mayoral election, until they find a way to combine them. Very Well done, I'd give it a 5/5 

Hannah~

Reflections of life

I'm sitting here on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, looking out the window, and listening to the birds singing and my brother practicing some tricky guitar chords. The house is so quiet right now, a rare occasion around here, so I'm taking advantage of the time to write this post.

This week, something happened that made me realize just how fragile life is. I won't go into details, but it really got my attention. I was thinking last night, if I died tomorrow, where would I go? I can confidently say that I would go to Heaven. But how many people would be able to confidently say I'm going to Heaven? It really got me thinking, Car accidents, unexpected illnesses, freak accidents, all happen every day, people think, oh, that would never happen to me, how many of those people have put off accepting the free gift of salvation "until tomorrow" and never got the chance? Too many people! Don't wait, if you haven't already, pray and ask the Lord to forgive you from your sins and save you from Hell. I remember accepting Christ when I was 7, and it was the best decision I've ever made.

Hannah~

Fear

Tomorrow I have to face one of my biggest fears, (I'm not going into detail, but I'm pretty scared) It seems like if you let it, fear can get a hold of you and really take over your life. I've been dreading tomorrow for almost two weeks, but fear really kicked in on Monday, I started freaking out and getting really worried. I also found a way to overcome fear, first I read the Bible, Joshua 1:9 has been a favorite verse of mine for along time, I started there, and ended up in Isaiah 40:30, another favorite of mine. Then I prayed and gave the whole situation over to the Lord, and asked him to replace the feelings of fear, with peace. I also went to several friends and requested prayer from them, we can't face these battles alone, but the Lord says : when two or three are gathered in my name, here I am. I can't truthfully say that I'm not anxious about tomorrow, but I do feel a whole lot better about the whole thing. I've found that when I focus completely on the Lord, the fear leaves me and I am calm. I am very thankful for a God who listens to my prayers and answers them!

Hannah~

A Very Special Child

I recently came across this poem, it is so true.

A meeting was held quite far from earth
it was time again for another birth
Said the angels to the Lord above
This special child will need much love

Her progress may be very slow
Accomplishments he may not show
And she'll require extra care
From the folks she meets down there

She may not run or laugh or play
Her thoughts may seem quite far away
In many ways she won't adapt
And she'll be known as handicapped

So lets be careful where she's sent
we want her life to be content
Please LORD find the family who
Will do this special job for you

They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play
But with this child sent sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love

And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from Heaven
Their precious charge, so meek and mild
Is Heavens Very Special Child

by Edna Massionilla

Fiddling

I just found out that I'm going to a fiddle contest on Saturday!!! I'm so excited!! I'm playing some of my favorite songs in the contest, St. Anne's Reel and Ashokan Farewell. I've been practicing alot over the past few days, every minute I get! I don't really expect to win or anything, I'm just going to do my best and see what happens. I'm so competitive :) Bible Bee's, writing contests, fiddle contests, running 5k's..... haha! we'll see. I should probably go practice!

Hannah~

Music!!!!!

One of my favorite things is music!!! I love to listen to music! My favorite styles are Country, Bluegrass and Gospel. I don't really have a favorite band, I like so many, but one of my favorites right now is The Peasall Sisters, I love they're music, and they have amazing voices! They've also written some pretty awesome songs! I don't really have a favorite song either, but some of the ones I like are, Jesus Laughing, (by the Peasall Sisters) Hands in Wood, Follow Me, A Matter of Policy, Caspian, the list goes on.... I also love to make music, I play fiddle and piano, and I love messing around with my brothers guitar, so far I know, maybe, 3 chords :) Also, last year for Christmas, my parents got me a banjo, and i like to play around with that. My favorite fiddle songs are Ashokan Farewell, St. Anne's Reel and Jerusalem Ridge. The other thing I love to do is sing! I sing all the time! I might not be the best singer in the world, but I'm not bad. I love singing hymns, my current favorites are I'd Rather have Jesus, How Great Thou Art, The Old Rugged Cross, and Until Then, but the list is always changing.The other songs I like to sing are Pretty Fair Maid, and Amazing Love, I don't know why, but those are usually the songs I'm singing. Someday I would love to combine my love of music with my love of writing and actually write a song, but every time I try, I can't think of an idea for a good song. Someday I would love to actually write a song and then perform it somewhere! That would be amazing!

Until next time,


Hannah~

Hi

Hi! Welcome to my blog! I started this blog mainly to tell about my life, through my eyes. I'll tell funny things that happen to me, maybe post a few pics, and just write about my life in general. I'm just getting going with this blog, so I haven't quite figured out all the different features, and I'm still playing with the design, so bear with me! if you have any questions, you can email me at lifethroughmyeyesblog@gmail.com  or post your questions in the comments section below, I can't promise to answer every question you may have, but I'll do my best! Well, I think thats about it!