Saturday, February 27, 2010

Our Mommy is a Chocolate Lover!

Our Mommy LOVES chocolate...
You would say so too if you saw the signs in our home!
One says: "Seven days without chocolate makes one weak"!
Another says: "Chocolate's the answer... Who cares what the question is"!

Our Daddy says that Mommy is a Chocolate Wife. So, we dubbed Mommy and one of her dear friends "The Chocolate Wives". Recently, another Chocolate Wife (who lives on the other side of the United States) joined the Chocolate Wife group... The group growing!
Is your Mama a Chocolate Wife?

Our Mommy is a Chocolate Lover!

You would agree too if you saw the 25 lbs. of Chocolate Chips she ordered from the Co-op! ;)

Hey! We even got 5 lbs. free--now that's a deal when you've got a
Mommy who loves chocolate that much!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Because of Valentines Day

In honor of Valentines Day and in honor of our 300th post!! We wanted to re-post this post by our Mother...

~*~

What a blessing to have three sweet sisters to teach you how to make valentines. Here is the "Valentine Making Tutorial" that the girls made for Jordan since he would rather take care of chickens than make them valentines! Note that his Mother gets a lovely Valentine from him each and every year!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Click on the computer drawing to see the instructions up close!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

2010 Speech Qualifier

Hello Everyone!


Here is the last bit of pictures from the 2010 Clarion Speech Qualifier Tournament... My siblings posted some pictures a few days ago and now as you can see it's the Big Sister's turn to post! Don't worry if you missed out on the last post... you may either click the link (above) or view the slide show below this post. So... here goes...

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We met the G. Family in Biola Youth Theater years ago when we were so very much younger! We were in the production The Sound of Music together. Someday I am going to have to post some "then and now" pictures! It's amazing to see how God's hand works in our lives! A year after our family moved here, the G. Family moved also and we were re-connected at the OCEANetwork homeschooling convention. Isn't that amazing?

Shiloh, Jessica, & Bethany:


Bethany, Bethany (respectively), & Shiloh


Jordan and Ethan playing some fancy game... =)


We were very blessed to meet the S. Family. Some friends at a different tournament told us about them and then another family did too and we were able to meet them! What a blessing from the LORD!! Here is Kelly and her brother Ezra (who participated in the tournament).
All of us girls talking with Joelle:

This picture was originally titled, "The Two Bethany's", but since we had to figure out something else significant about it with Sable and I in the picture we discovered that it is the "Two S's with the Two Bethany's"--pretty neat -huh?

Sable S., Bethany J., Bethany S., and Shiloh S.

Lastly, here is a slide show of the majority of the picture taken (my little siblings take LOTS of pictures ;) )...







I thought I would end with the Rainmakers' (our speech club) Bible verse:


"... you see a cloud rising in the [North]west and immediately you say, it is about to rain."



Posted By:

Shiloh Ariel
~*~



Friday, February 12, 2010

Evenings with Mrs. Botkin


"Victoria is my beloved friend, my trusted mentor, and my wise counselor! Every young woman and mother would be wise to set aside the time to hear godly instruction from this precious woman of God. I treasure every conversation with her . . . and so should you.” — Beall Phillips, wife to Doug Phillips

How does a wife help her husband be the man Christ wants him to be? How can she inspire him to love her? How can she discover the forgotten joys of being the helper God designed her to be? Beginning March 1, Victoria, beloved wife to Geoffrey Botkin, will host weekly online mentoring sessions for women as a homemaker's resource to the worldwide Christian community. Mother to five boys and two girls, Victoria draws insight from 30 years of applying Scripture to marriage with one of America's most visionary men.

"A vision of loveliness and strength, strong character combined with compassion, unmitigated courage built on a rock-solid testimony of reliance on God, an underlying sense of humor and broad intelligence, true love that grows only stronger despite difficulties . . . Victoria Botkin is all those things and so much more. She offers us as women not only a humble testimony to her faith in God, but the example of a life committed to serving Him through her joyful, studied service as wife and mother to exceptional people. I and my daughters are very excited about sitting at her feet and drinking in her wisdom through "Evenings with Victoria Botkin." I can hardly wait! Please, come sit beside me . . . bring your embroidery or mending . . . It will be wonderful.” — Becky Morecraft, wife to Dr. Joe Morecraft

Join Victoria as she discusses subjects such as woman's great power, sinful tendencies, obedience vs. submission, independence vs. submission, freedom vs. submission, beauty, dress, makeup, respect, women's rights, hospitality, speaking words of life, managing with grace, pitfalls of perfectionism in homemaking, Hollywood expectations, trials, trust, and cultivating personality. Victoria will begin each session by responding to pressing, appropriate questions from participants. Topic headings include:

•All about Eve
•All about Sarah
•The Proverbs 31 wife
•About love
•How to help your husband love you
•How to become a wise woman

"My sweet sister in Christ, Victoria Botkin, is a loving and kind woman who exudes what the Word describes in Proverbs 31. What an incredible blessing it is to know her, for to know her tender persona is to truly love her. I so admire her obedience to the Lord. Victoria is most ardently a Titus 2 woman. She can always be caught affectionately and tenderly guiding some younger woman, and on occasion an older woman, right back to the unfailing Word of God. I admire this woman of bountiful wisdom and pray God's richest blessings on her and her beautiful family. These sessions will encourage and benefit any woman who partakes of them. You don't want to miss this amazing opportunity to hear the timeless wisdom of my dear sister.” — Bridget Baucham, wife to Dr. Voddie Baucham

Sessions will take place Monday evenings from 8 to 9 p.m., Central Time, March 1 through April 26, 2010. The cost for these nine sessions is $49 per woman, and daughters may listen in with their mothers. The sessions will also be recorded and MP3s made freely available to participants shortly after each session, so that any who cannot join all nine sessions live may still hear what was discussed. Interaction will take place via the GoToWebinar® interface, which works in-browser on almost any PC or Mac. Mrs. Botkin will have a live audio feed. A faster-than-dial-up Internet connection is best, but it is possible to connect to audio by long-distance telephone, provided simultaneous Internet access is also available. Complete information on how to access the sessions will be sent to registered attendees by email. Direct questions, including from husbands or pastors seeking theological clarification, to titus2@westernconservatory.com.

This is done within the jurisdictional framework of Titus 2. Not only does Titus chapter 2 instruct experienced older women to teach younger women, it gives the syllabus—"to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands"—and the purpose: "that the word of God be not blasphemed." As a woman under authority, Victoria will not infringe on the authority of husbands and pastors, but serve as a careful, supportive resource on issues of home and family life.

"Victoria is not just wise and kind — she is fun! Her gentle sense of humor always comes in at just the right moment to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously even as we focus on the important work at hand. I know that listening to Victoria teach online is going to be a marvelous experience. You won't get to enjoy her delicious bread, but the savory goodness of her words and the kindness of her voice will surely bring a smile to your face and encourage your heart. I look forward to these sessions as a way to renew my own vision and learn new ways to bless my family. What a delight!” — Jennie Chancey, wife to Matt Chancey

"Victoria is real, practical, biblical, and refreshingly frank. It was easier for me to have my daughter Kelly so far away from me during her first year of marriage because Victoria was there and she understood her role in Kelly's life as an older woman. The same kind of life-giving counsel Kelly received at that time, you will receive during these sessions.” — Deborah Brown, wife to Scott Brown
~*~
Our Daddy and Brother have been listening to Mr. Botkin's Online Mentoring on Saturday mornings. We ladies were so excited to hear that Mrs. Botkin will now be doing a session for the ladies! The Botkin Family has been a blessing to our family and we can't wait to see how the Lord is going to lead our family!
Please comment and let us know if you will be doing this too!
Posted By:
Shiloh Ariel

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The 2010 Clarion Speech Tournament!

Greetings!!!




Now we are finally back to blogging! Hooray! After a loooong break, and many exciting happenings, we now present pictures from the 2010 Clarion Speech Tournament!!!




Please enjoy!


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This year, Shiloh competed in Impromptu, Apologetics, and a Duo with me on Noel Streatfeild's book Ballet Shoes.




I (Bethany), did Impromptu, Apologetics, and Duo.




And Jordan did Impromptu and Apologetics.




I hope you enjoy these pictures! We had a lot of fun!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Here Shiloh and I wait for our Round of Duo.


And the Duo!











Meanwhile Jordan plays the piano while Will K. looks on, and Devin K. sings along! (Oh and Eden wants all of you to thank her for snapping this picture at the right moment!)


Here Shiloh is doing her Impromptu:




And me trying to keep the judges listening as I ramble on about a funny quote! Well, at least I look happy!


Shiloh is getting ready for an impromptu Apologetics card here. She did a fabulous job!


And here's Daddy judging a speech. "Thank you Daddy for doing that!"


And all of the competitors from our family! (Note: if you want to see how long it took to get a good shot, just look in the slide that will be coming soon!!!)


And Eden, languishing on the bed... ahhhh! "Thanks De-De for watching Judah and taking all (okay some...) of the great pictures!"


Competitors:

Judah!

Over all,
Special Thanks to our parents for making this happen,
Thanks to Eden for helping out,
Thanks to Judah for being such a good boy,
and most importantly...
to Jesus Christ!
It is through HIM alone that we can do this! Let's use our talents for His glory!
Posted By:





Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Ergo

I absolutely love baby slings!! When Judah was born Mommy gave me an extra one of hers which I used often and still have for my future siblings and my future babies (if the Lord wills =) )… When Judah was a little older Mommy bought an Ergo Baby Carrier.
One thing that is special with the Ergo is that it has two shoulder straps so the weight of the baby lays on both shoulders… not just one! This is especially helpful for my Mother’s back. The Ergo Baby Carrier also has extra special features like a strapped hood which one can put over the baby when he sleeps. It’s also very easy to take off while the little one is sleeping and very easy to put on.
You can wear the Ergo in the front position, side, or back and it fits babies from newborn to about 40 pounds. It’s very comfortable and easy to move around in. In fact my little brother recently told me that when I get little he’s going to start giving me rides in it!! =) All in all I love the Ergo Baby Carrier!! =)
Riddle Love and our friends the Callis Family of The Home Grown Family are hosting a giveaway of one of these wonderful Ergos! So hop on over HERE so you can enter too!

God Bless You and Happy Baby Wearing!

Posted By:

~Shiloh

This article by Mrs. Allison, originally printed in the Above Rubies Magazine is one of my favorite articles I have ever read on Baby slings and Baby wearing! :)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Dinner Discussions

Today, at the dinner table Judah called over to me and said, "Yie-yo, i-ers go oo the lake of ie-er." Hmmm... I thought maybe was taking to me about the fire station again. Mommy looked over to me and said, "He just said, "Liers go to the lake of fire. How does he know that? Did you tell him?" Judah answered, "Yah! De-De tell me". So, there you have it! Out of the mouth of infants and babes!

Posted By:

~Shiloh :)



** In the picture above and below Judah is playing football. After seeing Facing the Giants a few times he now is quite a pro at it. Warning: for all those who would like to join in the game with him: if you ever come to our home and decide to play... when it's your turn to kick the ball... you will have to wear the fireman helmet... It's the only thing he has that's close enough to the real thing! =)