Fall Fun

To celebrate Alaythia's birthday, she wanted to go to a pumpkin patch/corn maze place. Abi told us about a huge one that wasn't too far from us, so a few days before her birthday we went. And it was amazing!! So much bigger than I even thought it would be! 

It was very chilly, but we had a ton of fun!!!

They had so many fun activities and some of them may or may not have turned into some serious competition!

We've lived in Nebraska our entire lives and this was the first time that some had gone through a corn maze! 

Next time we will have to wait to do it on the weekend so we can take the whole family. Thank you Vala's for the wonderful time!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is anew creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Trump Rally

I've shared this on our other social media accounts, but wanted to share this on our blog as well. This election is so crucial! 

Tuesday evening we had the great privilege to go to a Trump rally when the President came to Omaha, Nebraska. And it was really amazing!! There was such a patriotic spirit throughout the entire event. God was openly talked about, our veterans, military and law enforcement were honored and our constitutional rights that make this country so unique and wonderful were valued and upheld. We had to go in early and wait awhile, but we ended up getting really good seats which made it even cooler! It's not every day that you get to see the President of the United States up close in person!

You know, there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to politics, and it seems to be even more controversial this year. But when we go in to vote on November 3rd, we are not voting on a whether or not we like a person. On whether or not we completely agree with everything he says or does. But we are voting on the track record of what they do! We are voting on the lives of the unborn. We are voting on our freedoms and our rights as Americans. We are voting on policies. On our rights to worship freely, our rights to speak openly, our rights to make decisions according to the scriptures and to explore opportunities.

It seems that these days, more than ever before, we need to do the research ourselves and not believe everything we hear. More than ever before, we need to take responsibility and vote! More than ever before we need to get down on our knees, humble ourselves and pray!! Because He is on the throne, and no matter what happens, our mission and our message stay the same.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

For The Beauty Of The Earth

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r,

Sun and moon, and stars of light,

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

For all gentle thoughts and mild,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be ye thankful."

Colossians 3:15

Nathanael

Happy 19th Birthday Nathanael!!

Nathanael is someone who does everything whole heartedly!

He loves flying

Plays guitar

Is always down for playing sports or spending time with friends

One of the hardest workers

Extremely thoughtful

Always pushing himself to learn new things

And full of adventure 

You're one of a kind and we love you tons!!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

NFH

Awhile back we had the joy of helping with the Nebraska Families for Homeschooling conference. It was a family conference in it's first year and ended up being such a wonderful weekend!! 

The theme this year was VALOR!

It was set during WW2 and everyone went all out!! For the majority of the time we would go between large groups that would have singing, memorizing Bible verses and a full drama to the small groups where they would have a lesson that tied into what they saw in the drama. And then they would play games and have other activities. There were a whole lot of other aspects to the weekend, but that is the general idea. Parents did some of the activities with their kids, but spent most of their time over having parent themed sessions.

There was a lot of 50's style and military costumes going around which added so much to the atmosphere!

Elizabeth was in charge of making all of the food for the staff during the weekend

Stephen helped with the parent side of the conference and then helped with some of the kids activities like this shooting range with marshmallow guns

Hannah led the large groups and was the staff coordinator

Susanna & Alaythia were in charge of all of the costumes and props for the full scale 8 part drama

Nathanael was a teacher on one of the teams as well as helping lead songs in large group

And Charissa helped with whatever needed done

The main theme of VALOR was that our choices, whether good or bad, big or small, have a huge impact on not only our own lives, but the lives of the people we come into contact with as well. Tomorrows battles are won or lost by the choices we are making today! It starts with our thoughts, which become our attitudes, which become our actions. Can't wait till next year's conference!

"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."

Matthew 7:17

(Just in case you were concerned, everyone was completely healthy before, during and after the conference which we are so thankful for!)

Alaythia

Happy Birthday Alaythia!!!

She is 21 years old and such a beautiful mixture of adventure and fun and attention to detail and style.

She has always loved physical activities and that hasn't changed at all!

This year she has enjoyed teaching piano lessons, living in Florida for a month with Andrew & Kori, experimenting with incredible new recipes, and going on adventures with siblings.

We are so grateful for you and love you Alaythia!

"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You."

Psalms 5:11