Half Way to 30!

Happy 15th Birthday (a little late) to my amazing brother, Jeremiah!  What a blessing he is to me and to his whole family.  Life without him would be so sad, uninteresting, and...and...let's just say that I'm eternally grateful for a blessing like Jeremiah!  He adds so much good to our lives!

I love how he takes a little extra time out of his day to bring a little (or a lot!) extra joy to someone else,  his smile, and the way he makes me smile, the way he hugs me before going to bed at night, his servant's heart, the way he cares for our dogs, his sense of humor, that he never complains (never!) when I ask him to do something I could have done myself, his unpredictability, how serious he is about serious things, and the fact that he loves the Lord.  I couldn't have asked for a more uniquely wonderful brother (and that goes for Elijah, Christian, and Jonathan as well!).  Jeremiah, I LOVE YOU!  May this year be blessed and may your daily battles be fought in Christ's strength, not your own.  May you grow more in the knowledge and love of our Lord in your 15th year.  You are a priceless gift, Jeremiah.

When he was a wee bit smaller, he would climb up on the tray of his high chair..and then he couldn't get down.  :) 

Way cute! 

Is that not one of THE CUTEST smiles ever!?!

 He was making the lion "roar!" :) 

I was a little troublemaker and got him a bit dirty.  Whoops! 

So handsome! :) 

I love his grin! :) 

Me with my hard-working, snow-shoveling guys. 

 

Jeremiah's 14th Birthday!

Dear Jeremiah,

Happy 14th birthday!

You are growing into a wonderful, strong, handsome young man and I am very grateful (and proud!) to have you as my brother.  You have such a servant's heart.  I love your sense of humor that brightens my life every day, and yet, I also love your solemnity whenever we are speaking of important things - things of the Lord.  It has been a joy and pleasure to see you grow and mature over the past year.  You always amaze me with your endurance during (h-a-r-d!) workouts and your ever-ready smile/grin.  I love the nicknames you have for me, I love doing math with you :), I love your laugh, I love you through and through.  May you have a super blessed 14th year and may you grow in your love for the Lord and His people.  Happy birthday, dear brother!

To God be the Glory,
With love and thankfulness for you,

Hannah

Hello all!

If you want a good laugh, go on over to my brothers' blog.  Enjoy!  :)

Hunting at the Richter's

Last night and part of today, we were out at the Richter's because the boys were hunting.  It was nice to be out in the woods and to experience God's creation, though I now know that thorns are more of a curse (Genesis 3:18) than I ever realized!  :)  Here are some pictures of our time:

  

  The moon was full and beautiful last night.  In the picture above, I love the swirl effect of the clouds. 

The sunrise was lovely...

...and so are these two girls with their lovely smiling faces. 

...Waiting. 

Do you see little Mr. Chipmunk?  These guys were all over the forest! 

"Kynna" 

Jeremiah climbed the Richter's apple tree and picked apples for all of us on the ground. :)

Jeremiah was tossing apples to Amanda... 

...so Jeddy decided that he wanted to catch one, too! 

Elijah took Jeddy into the lowest branches and let him pick a couple of apples.  Jeddy sure did love that! 

Thanks, Ashlyn, for taking this photo!  You did a great job!

My Devotions and Random Photos from Today {Happy September}

Today is one of the warmest days that we have had for quite some time.  As a result, the boys are enjoying a refreshing swim in our pool.  Here are some of my favorite shots:

Elijah and Christian were playing a game together and I think that Christian was enjoying it!

Jonnie consented to jump off of the diving board for me!

And Jeremiah was kind enough to make lots of splashing for me!

Christian didn't know that I was getting these pictures,

which makes them that much cuter!

As I was doing my Bible reading this morning, I read Ephesians 4:1

"...walk worthy of the calling with which you were called."

and Philippians 1:27

"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ..."

I was so convicted!  So challenged to actually live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ.  As I thought of the way I live my life, I was so ashamed.  I am not living as if I really love my King.  If I really, truly loved Him, my life would look so much different, be so much different!  We Christians have the highest, most holy calling of all humans, to glorify God (all humans carry out God's purposes to His ultimate glory in one way or another) and to enjoy Him forever (only Christians have this blessed privilege!).  We are to preach the good news of the gospel to all men, definitely an area that I fall far short in.

I asked myself the question "do I live my life as if I really love Christ and do I, in my words, actions, and attitude etc. always seek to glorify Him?"  The answer was an emphatic "NO".  I am ashamed of that, terribly ashamed.  Since my life's goal is to glorify God, why do I not strive to do so with every breath!?!  This sin alone, not including all of the others that I have committed, is enough to separate me from Almighty God for all eternity, but, because of His Son, my future with Him is assured.  My hope is in Christ and in His work ALONE, I will not glory in myself, but in Christ!  Christ ALONE is my hope of salvation.  His perfect life fulfilled the law, and His perfect death assures life to all of His elect.  God could have left us in our sins to perish, to bear His holy and perfect wrath forever, but in His mercy, He has made a way for sinners to come to Him, through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 

I am so thankful, happy and blessed to be alive today, because I know that my life has a purpose and I know that through Christ, my life does do credit to the gospel, my life is being sanctified, and I am becoming more like Christ.  I know that I have a High Priest who is interceding for me before the throne of His Father (Hebrews 4:14-16), and that is hope and joy beyond words.

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"  And let us, by God's grace, strive to live a life worthy of the gospel and worthy of the calling with which we are called.  I am not worthy in and of myself, but Christ has covered me with His blood and I am now seen as worthy and righteous before the Father.  Praise the LORD!

To God be the Glory,

Hannah

Bikes 'n' Baseball

The weather today is simply delightful, so we decided to spend some time at the park down the road from our home.  Mama, Jonnie, and I walked while the rest of the boys rode their bikes.  The park has a baseball field, so the boys love it when they have a chance to hit the ball a long way without fear of hitting something or possibly breaking a window.  I am really happy with some of the photos that mama and I got and I hope that you enjoy them as well.

Jonnie climbing in the "spider web".

Jonnie really enjoyed the spinning chair.

The happy biker.

(please click to enlarge)

Hot wheels.

Jonnie has a wonderful big brother.

What kind of infielder is that!?!

...runner goes!

The coach ...

... cheering his team on.

Elijah's trick move!

(my very first video on this blog!!!!!)