Rush Hour...

...from the perspective of a little person.  :)

Springtime.

It's springtime in Minnesota!!!!!  What a glorious, beautiful time of year this is - when the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and there are also rainy days to water the thirsty ground. God gives new life to the earth.  Everything that has been dead and buried all winter comes to life and is so fresh and beautiful.  It is a wonderful reminder of our new life in Christ.  We are no longer dead in our sins, but alive with Christ.  Life with Christ is a beautiful thing! 

Ephesians 2:4-10

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We were down in Iowa recently and a very kind man allowed me to borrow his camera (a Nikon D300S).  It is so complicated and a challenge for me, but amazing and so fun to work with!  It is a really neat experience for me as I had never expected to handle a camera like this for years to come - if ever!  :)  Some of (well, most of) my pictures in this post were taken with this camera.

The sky has been absolutely breathtaking lately!

The first flowers to bloom in our garden.  They are so delicate and beautiful and their scent is lovely.

Jonnie boy.

Miss Dawn was going out to the Richters on Monday, and invited me to go.  I had a great time with them!  Their tire swing is amazing fun!

Isaac loves the ride!  :)

Miss Dawn got this picture of little baby Nathan.  He's adorable!  :)

Jeddy and those blue, blue eyes...!  :)

Isaac is really looking grown up!

And this is "Itty-Bitty" - that's what Papa calls her.  :)

Ashlyn is so sweet!

We were babysitting earlier this week and I just had to try out the new camera.  I was pretty happy with the results.  What do you think?

Recent Happenings...

A snowfall earlier this month gave me a wonderful opportunity for shooting some lovely photos of the winter blanket. I thought that the curl in the arms of these chairs with the snow piled delicately on top made a pretty scene.

Psalm 51:10

 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Mama and I attended Ashlyn's 8th birhtday party.  It was tons of fun!  :)

Byron a.k.a "Byro"

Amanda, Miss Dawn, and Eliajh

Jonnie had fun on the swings after church a couple of weeks ago.

A gorgeous sunset!

Teddy loves to chew on his ball.  He was looking quite goofy this time, so I ran for the camera!

Rosie, hoping for a handout...!  :)

Christian is making "flour" in this picture.

Christian and me - he was providing wild game and cooking meals for me under the trees.  What a wonderful brother!

Safety First!

Elijah was treating the dogs to a little pizza...

...and Teddy decided to choose "safety first"! He wanted to protect his cute little begging eyes from any flying objects. :)  Doesn't he look goofy in those glasses!?!  They're such sweet dogs.

Here's what Rosie looked like a few nights ago.  She was sleeping but popped her eyes open as soon as I clicked the shutter button.

The Cowboy

I was walking past our white board earlier today and this picture that Jonnie drew made me smile... :)

This week...



Wow!  I can't believe that it's the last day of February already and that we won't see another 29th day of February for 4 years...

Well, we had a very sweet (but all too short, as usual) visit with our dear friends, the Nobles, earlier this week.  They came Sunday night and left Tuesday morning, early.  We miss them very much and were encouraged, as always, by their company.

Elijah and I went to work with Papa on Monday.  I cleaned aircraft interiors while Elijah worked on exteriors.  This was my second time out and I felt much more confident, though I am not quite to a level that I am completely satisfied with my work...yet!  :)

Today, after a significant snowfall (probably more than we've gotten all together this season!) the boys have started on a fort.  This one will be nothing like last year's giant, but it's a start! :)  

Here's some pictures that were snapped earlier today...and some from the Noble family's visit.

Thank you, Mama for capturing the action!

The guys had blow gun (PVC pipe) wars with Nerf darts...so fun!  They were even bold enough to "steal" pillows to make their forts!

Parting shot...:(

 I love my brothers!  :)

Here's the beginnings of the fort.

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