Psalm 119:9-11

 

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

 I had Emery take the spirit of the verse and it apply it to herself as a young woman.

Summer fun for Emz

It was a busy summer as usual with the girl. What wasn't she doing?

Emery was shopping.

And getting her hair braided.

And sewing. She took a class over the summer.

And of course, making lots and lots and lots of crazy looms!

Psalm 84:10-12

I was shocked to discover how much Andrew's voice has changed this past year. Here he is with Psalm 84:10-12.

Psalm 84:10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

And here is Andrew in 2013. Can you believe it?!

Romans 12:1-2

I have A LOT of verses to upload to the blog that the boys and girl have been memorizing. Here's the latest.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

May Matt and Emery both be transformed and transforming as they offer God a life of worship.

The bunnies

Our two little bunnies - Poofy and Thunder - are as cute as can be.

But as with all animals, they make waste. So I decided to build a "litter" of sorts where we wouldn't have to clean up their mess quite so much.

We made it a little project for everyone to help out and learn to use a handsaw.

It was tough work, but everyone gave it a shot, and did a nice job.

They seem happy with their new litter, don't they?

And it's a nice little pen for the bunnies too!

The First Day of School

Today was Andrew's first day at Benicia Middle School. He started the 7th grade.

He walked there since we live right next door. Sooo convenient. Thankfully, it went really well. He was nervous. We were nervous. But I am very proud of him for being so prepared. Andrew really values being early to appointments. So he was up early and made sure he got to school 15 minutes ahead of time.

He has four goals for this year:
1. Do well academically
2. Make the basketball team
3. Glorify God
4. Don't make a fool of himself
I don't know what's more impressive, what his goals are or the fact that he even has goals!

Matt started up another year of home school - 4th grade! He was very concerned about how Andrew would do at public school. I think he was just as relieved if not more that Andrew made it home safe!

Emery started 3rd grade here at home as well. She has really excelled at reading this summer. All in all, it was a great day for the boys and girl, Teacher Mom and even Principal Dad!

Redwoods

I don't think I ever saw the Redwoods as a kid myself. They are something to behold.

We went to Jedidiah Smith State Park in Crescent City, CA. I know there are other locations with redwoods, and I imagine that they are all worth visiting.

We went for a hike through the woods for a couple of hours. I wish we could have hiked all day. It was amazing.

Pictures simply cannot convey the grandeur and majesty of these immense trees.

I felt so small and insignificant while these trees just screamed that God is great and glorious and magnificent! His creation truly does testify to God's "eternal power and divine nature" (Rom 1:20). It was breathtaking and awesome.

Our efforts to achieve anything in this world without God's grace are comical.

What a day!

And I didn't forget about mom. She usually takes the pictures, but occasionally she gets to have some fun too.