Off this week!

Hello everyone out there,
We are taking this week off and spending time with our families! We hope and pray you had a good Christmas and that you will have a wonderful  and blessed New year! We love you and appreciate you!!

In our Lord Jesus Christ,
Esther for the Blog team!

Natalya~Nativity Set

So sorry this is late again. I (almost) completely forgot about posting!

This beautiful Nativity set was given to us by my late grandmother, Jean. It's my favorite (we have several).


Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

We've been studying this verse and it's context in church these past few weeks, it's very interesting. :)

~Natalya

Patricia

This is a Christmas puzzle we do every year(: It's a fun one!
Merry Christmas, Patricia

Esther ~Week 29~

Good evening everyone! This is our Christmas tree! Over the years we have collected a lot of ornaments!

These are two of my favorite that my Mother has given me!

 A cute little blue dress!

And a purple sparkly ornament!

I pray that your Christmas is a wonderful time with your family and friends! Love you all!!!

Isaiah 9:6 says,

"For unto us a Child is born,
      Unto us a Son is given;
      And the government will be upon His shoulder.
      And His name will be called
      Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Theme for this week...

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN OUR HOMES!!!!!

Rebekah Joy ~ Week Somethin'

Wow! I've been so busy, I forgot to post last week, so, I too have lost count. So, since there isn't really some thing in particular I'm supposed to post about, I will talk about... hunting! A few weeks ago, I went hunting for elk 2nd season, but I didn't get any thing. So, since I'm a "youth," I got to switch my tag over to late season. (Yay for being young!) This week, my daddy, my sister, and I went hunting on a private ranch. It was great! The place was CRAWLING with elk! Needless to say, my tag was filled! So, now we have a lot of meat. I can't wait to process it, but first, we have to let it hang... :) Here's a hunter's orange picture of my sister and I to go with the subject:



~Rebekah

Natalya~Nature Photography

Sorry this post is so late in the day! I almost forgot about it!

I just looked through my files and found some beautiful pictures of God's creation to share. It's almost winter here in WI, which means snow, rain, slush, wetness, and all around icky weather!

None of these photos were edited in any way. Not even color enhanced. I live in such a pretty place!

(my favorite)

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

~Natalya

Esther ~Week 28~

Okay random post here (no theme this week by the way) my dog SPARKY! He has a nice red beard I know but I love him in spite of it!

We have been reading through the New Testament this year.  We just got into Revelation today and came across this verse about reading the Bible aloud:

  "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near."Revelation 1:3 

I just want to encourage you: when you read your Bible every morning, read it aloud once in while! How encouraging is this "for the time is near?"!!!! The time draws near when we will see our Lord!!!

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26

Esther ~Week 27~

Finally I get to post! We have had a lot of cloudy days so thankfully I got this one!

Can you find my name anywhere on this picture?!!!!

Ezekiel 34:12,
"As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day."

Natalya~Sky

Hello everyone! The Sky is one of my favorite subjects, (even though I don't think I'll be able to beat Trisha's this week! WOW!). The sky has been grey and snowy for quite some time here, and it rarely clears up this time of year, so (once again) I have to go back to the old archives. (If I'm old enough to have "old archives") and dig around! I managed to find a good one. ;)


This really has nothing to do with the sky/clouds, but it was too good not to share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DXL9vIUbWg&feature=player_embedded
This award winning short film isn't a "Christian" film, but the message is a great one. Even if you have just a little, you can do a lot. This probably isn't one of those "Watch and it will change your life" kind of films, but with Christmas coming, when most think of spending buckets, you can do so much with just a little. That's what this film is about. Not the Christmas part, but the changing things with just a little part. :) Enjoy.

This is also Pearl Harbor day, please remember to remember those who fought, and died, that day, and pray for the soldiers who are fighting overseas now. Though it's not as bad as it was in WWII (obviously!) Men (and women) still die for our Country.

~Natalya

*Patricia {week...27?}

A plane was having fun(: I took this in Florida last August, while I was visiting one of Disney's Worlds hotels with my Grandma! I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.

And it is a good reminder for me that Jesus is watching me and loving me and helping me with every little thing in my life.

*Patricia

Esther ~Week 27~

Okay we have had the worst weather the past few days for cloud pictures (the sun was not visible at all) so I'll be posting a cloud picture as soon as I can actually see the sun!

Here's a verse to encourage you this week:

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'  So we may boldly say: ' The LORD is my helper;  I will not fear. What can man do to me?' ”  Hebrews 13:5-6

Theme for this week...

The Sky! So we will be posting pictures of either the clouds, stars, moon, sun, etc.... Enjoy!!!

Also, please leave a comment and tell us what you think of the new Christmas background!

Rebekah Joy ~ Week 6

So, I'm in a predicament. I can't upload any pictures, and I'm not on a computer that has any pictures. So, for now, I'm just here to tell every one my plight. I will definitely upload pictures to this post as soon as possible, but I'm just posting this so that every one will know that I did not try to slack. Thank you.

Bye! ;)

Natalya~Thanksgiving pic!

One of my favorite things to do is decorate. I just LOVE making beautiful things. So, this year I got to do all the decorations for Thanksgiving! Obviously, Thanksgiving isn't about the beautiful table, or the fantastic food. (And it was fantastic.) It's about remembering the first Thanksgiving, where the Pilgrims shared all they had with the people who had taught them how to have it, (AKA: The Native Americans) and praised God for all he had given them. I wanted to have a "harvest-y" theme for the table, and candles and what not, so here's the result!

Instead of doing place cards...which can lead to disturbances because the kiddies want to sit next to someone else...I decided to just put verses and a decorative leaf sticker on "place cards".

~Natalya

Esther ~Week 26~

Hello all! I had a really bad cold yesterday and so wasn't able to post! I am on the mend now thankfully! Here I am a posting a day late but I am doing it now!

I had a really good Thanksgiving with my family! I realized how much I love my family! I just thought a lot about how much they mean to me and how much I love them!  The Lord has truly shown his love to me through my family (immediate and extended)!

Here is a collage of some of the things we did this last Thanksgiving!

My Grandma taught my sister and I how to paint china! On a wall in her kitchen she has all the extended families' plates (with their picture and name painted on it) on the wall. It was quite fun to learn how to paint, though it was very tough!!!

Then in the next picture is my Mom's parents(my grandparents obviously) kissing! We gave them those salt and pepper shakers (they kiss each other, cute huh?)!!!

The next picture is my cousin Maryanne! She just got engaged to Nick! We are all very excited for them!

The last is a picture of the plates we all painted! We are giving them to some of our dear friends to put up on their wall!

 Love you all and hope this month before Christmas is a blessing to you all!

{Patricia}

Bonjour!

I took this photo at Disney World in line for the Everest ride.

I have a loooooooove of close-ups(:

Have a good day.

Au revoir,

Patricia

Theme for this week...

Something we are Thankful for!

Rebekah Joy ~ Week 5 (skipped 4)

Hi people!

I had a great week and a great Thanksgiving, and I'm hoping ya'll did too! I did go shopping today... (It's so ironic that Black Friday is RIGHT after Thanksgiving.) Tomorrow is my mother's birthday, then we have elk meat to process, and our family is leaving on a vacation to Florida not soon after. These next few weeks are so busy, and I'm SO excited for all of them! :) Here's the black&white picture we were supposed to post. It's my sister, Emily. I'm DEFINITELY thankful for her (even though we do have our moments). She's really good at improv cooking, so she's always the one that saves all my bland concoctions and turns them into gourmet food. Of course, she does a lot more than just that. She goes on runs with me, shares in my love for hunting and camping, and encourages me all the time. Yep, she's just that fantastic... Make sure you tell the people you're thankful for that you're thankful for them. It'll probably mean more to them than anything else!

Oh, and try to make a point of reading Psalm 104. It talks all about God's amazing creation, and it makes me so appreciative of every thing He creates!

Giving thanks even when it's not Thanksgiving,

Rebekah Joy

Natalya~Black and White theme

Black and white photos. Yay! :) :) I hope black and white effects photos count. ;)
Here's one a took a while ago of my cousin Eliana when she was little (she's gotten so big now!) I get to see her tomorrow for Thanksgiving (uh...along with the rest of her family) so I'm excited. :) She was wearing the cutest green flower sweater, so I couldn't resist leaving it green. :) Don't I have a beautiful cousin? ;) A sweet bonnie lassie she is.

This next one I took last fall of my friend Kali. She was 15 at the time I think. :)
Again. This is black and white effects, because I like color. ;)

HAPPY (slightly early) THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

What are you most thankful for? Leave a comment and let me know. See if you can think of something that's rater unusual to be thankful for. I'm thankful for my weak back and bad shoulder, because it makes me work hard to try to heal them. It gives me dedication and endurance. By my weakness I can show God to be strong. :)

~Natalya

Esther ~Week 25~

Let me remind you (us) to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with!  Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with your families!

Psalm 147:6-8 "The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God,  Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains."

Theme for this week...

Black and White Pictures!

Esther...

Hi everyone!

I am on a trip right now, so I will be posting tomorrow instead of today.  :)

Happy-early-Thanksgiving!

Natalya~Fire themed! (I lost count too...) ;)

Ah, fire... *sigh* I love flame :) It's so beautiful. It never looks the same way twice. I have lots of pictures from "days gone by" (I'm not really old enough to say that, but oh well...) and here are some of them. I like watching the "pictures in the fire". If you look closely at it you can see all kinds of things, especially if you look at the shape of the wood too. It's like finding pictures in the clouds, only better. :)

I have better pictures of flame (and the flaming sun, which I think counts!) on my laptop, but the computer I blog from is not my laptop so I can't post them here now...I'll try to upload them later. :)

Psa 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

~Natalya

Esther ~Week 24~

Fire is really amazing!  I love burning candles in the fall and the winter. This design on the candle is actually a napkin we glued (using a special art mixture) to the candle.  It was our activity for our last Girls' Bible Study that we host twice a month.  We love being able to decorate the candles in fun ways.  : )

Matthew 5:14 says,
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."

Theme for this week...

...is fireplace, candle, or fire in general.

Rebekah Joy ~ Week 3 - Animals

Hi ya'll!

So, I have loved animals my entire life (which isn't too hard - they don't really ever say any thing too offensive), so the next few pictures are pictures that have been taken in the past two years. God is so awesome, and I feel SO blessed to have the shared task in taking dominion over his amazing creatures!

We took this picture on a camping trip. That is a pretty amazing bull elk!

We've cycled through so many cats, I've lost count. I think this one was our second cat.

This year, I finally got enough money to buy a bee-oo-ti-ful Siberian Husky! *smiles* - Her name is Maya, and that's my little sister, Abi, getting a "death-by-licking."

In Christ,

Rebekah Joy

Elaine-Week 22-Chickens!!

My sister, Anna, got chickens about 8 months ago. It has been really exciting for us recently because they have started laying about 5 eggs every day! It was kind of funny, because they sort of all started laying at one time. In the picture above is three of the eight and they are outside their coop in the yard. They like eating the grass, eating the bugs and....

...sitting on my boots! :) It's really funny and pretty cute, but they always jump off when we get the camera out. This is the only picture we have!

~Psalm 104:24-25 "How many are your works, Lord. Out of wisdom you made them all, and the earth is filled with Your wonderful creatures.

Natalya~week 22~Costumes, Costumes!

Hello everyone!

Well...I'm back into the "phase" (which I'm never really out of, just more into sometimes) of making Movie Costume Replicas. These replicas can go from simple to elaborate, and I thought I'd share a few.

Boramir from Lord of the Rings. (made for my brother, Josh)
This is a good shot of the costume, even if my brother looks very "in character" here! ;) The costume consists of a red tunic with a small split in the bottom for leg movement. The short sleeves are detailed with a gold braid around the bottom, and I used gold fabric paint on the main part of the sleeve to draw on the pattern seen in the film. (it was embroidered in the real movie) The vest is black vinyl with small silver hooks for the closures. Josh wore his own brown shirt and blue jeans with it. Along with his own leather belt (which he wore over the vest)


Galadrial from "The Lord of the Rings" (as described in the BOOK!)
I made this one for a friend of mine. It had a full gold lamee (I don't think I spelled that right, it's pronounced La-may) under-dress with a tight under-sleeve, and a loser "trumpet" sleeve over that in the green lace. Then there's a white lace over-dress with a small lace rosette in the center of the neckline. It has a bit of a train too. She wore it for our Biblo/Fordo birthday party event with a golden hair Galadrial wig. She looked great. :) Unfortunately I have no photos from that even. ;)

Psa 45:13 The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.

I love wearing gold fabric! ;) (or any other kind of pretty fabric for that matter...satin...silk...velvet...lamee...you get the idea.) ;)

~Natalya

Esther ~Week 23~

I love this picture.  It's of my dog, Sparky, enjoying the wild blue yonder...from the safety of our car.  He loves car rides with the wind blowing through his whiskers.


I am thankful the Lord gave us animals to bless us through them.  I love cuddling with my puppy (even though he hasn't been a puppy in a long time!).

Rebekah Joy ~ Week 2 (Yes, I'm Late... Oops)

Hi every one,

I was going to post yesterday, but I completely forgot. Wow, oops. :) Well, here's my post that was technically for yesterday:

I love babies. The pictures are of my cousin, both taken this year. It's amazing how fast they grow, isn't it? It also makes you treasure them all the more, knowing that they are going to grow up to be men and women eventually.

Just a few days after he was born in London, England (yes, we got to go and visit him) in March

Me holding him at 6 months old in the United States (they came and visited us) in September

Psalm 8:2 says:
"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

~Rebekah Joy

Natalya~week 21~Learming

There are so many people we can learn from. Our Parents first and foremost. Speakers, books, films, friends, and yes, even siblings. ;)
This photos were taken (some by me, some by others) at the Sufficiency of Scripture conference December 2009. (so they're old, yes)
Anyone recognize these people? ;) From L-R: Me, Esther, and her sister Amy.

My dear friends! Kristen (left) and Susan. Kristen was born with one eye blind and the other eye partially blind, but it doesn't stop her from smiling all the time. :)

I managed to take a decently good photo of one of my favorite speakers there! Paul Washer of Heart Cry. This man's words (which are FIRMLY founded in Scripture) will change your life. It changed how I thought about a lot of things, including the cross. His massages made me cry, and want to dance. :) There was always total silence during his lectures, and cheers after them. One time after he had given a two hour lecture instead of a one hour lecture, he said "I do not apologize" because what he said NEEDED to be heard. I know I was a stronger Christian after hearing that lecture. I hope some of the others in the group were too. You can listen to and download (for FREE!) all the lectures from the Sufficiency of Scripture conference here. (Not only Paul Washer's talks, but also all the others!)

Also at the conference was Kevin Swanson, who happens to be one of my father (and everyone else in my family's) favorite speakers. Don't forget to check out his lectures too. :) His talk about education was especially insightful.

I guess this probably sounded kinda like a promotional post, and I guess in some ways it was...but there are SO MANY resources available to us to help us understand scripture, learning from what others have already learned.
My mom told me a story a few days ago about a man who wanted to work at a bank, and the bank owner said: "I have an open space, but you have to be able to make good decisions."
The person applying for the job replied: "How do you learn to do that?"
"By experience."
"And how to you get experience?"
"By making bad decisions."

And how do we get experience without making bad decisions? Learn from those who already made them for you. :)

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Let's learn righteousness now! You with me?

...::Patricia::...{Week ... }

I took this photo in Florida last July. I love pictures of beachy things!

They always remind me of my favorite times spent in FL. I am going back there tomorrow, and will be gone till the day after Thanksgiving.

So you probably won't hear from me in that time. But there is a slight chance I will be able to post once or twice. I hope so, but we'll just have to wait and see:)

Au revoir mon amie,

Patricia

Esther ~Week 22~

L-R : Warpaint and Macerena.

Good evening to ya'll! We are enjoying a fun family night!  I had the privilege to work at a Pumpkin farm this October. This is my 4th year in a row working there. I worked with the ponies (as you can see in the picture). These ponies are brothers and whenever they are left alone they act so cute together!  I didn't move them into this position, they just naturally did this pose for me.  Great, huh?!!!

 Psalms 20:7,
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
 But we will remember the name of the LORD our God."
May God bless all of you! ~ Esther

Rebekah Joy - Week 1

Hello, every one! I'm Rebekah Joy, the new blogger. I'm really happy I could do this, and I hope I don't bore any one too much. ;)

The first two pictures were taken by me, but the last one was taken by my brother. Happy Fall to every one!

Welcome to a New Blogger!

We are excited to welcome Rebekah Joy as a new member of Five Perspectives!

Read more about Rebekah Joy here........

Rebekah has decided to step away from Five Perspectives; we've so enjoyed each of her posts, and will miss her very much!  If you'd like to see all of Rebekah's past posts, click here.

Here is the posting schedule:
Monday - Esther
Tuesday - Patricia
Wednesday - Natalya
Thursday - Elaine
Friday - Rebekah Joy

We look forward to seeing life through Rebekah Joy's perspective!  Thanks for joining the team.


Please comment to say goodbye to Rebekah and hello to Rebekah Joy!  And yes, it is a little confusing that they have the same name.  :)  But we sure love them both!

Week 13~Natalya~Fall themed!!!

It's very very fall up here in WI. :) Very cold is what that means. :) Believe it or not we DO have modern technology up here (like indoor heating and paved roads) but we still use a good old fashioned wood stove to warm up the living room. (partly just cause it looks beautiful) anyway...It's only a few degrees above freezing here some mornings with average temps during the day being low to mid 40's, it seems a bit colder cause it's very moist up here (that means humid in summer and wet in winter) and with wind chill...enough weather report, on to the picture!!!

I didn't take these photos, and they're from a few years ago. My birth-mom and little sister came over for the day and we did a photo shoot (when you have as fancy a camera as she does and family you don't get to see often...why not?)

This one is one of my favorite pictures of the area around our house. Most of the leaves are gone now, but I live in a world of gold when it's like this. Our entire woods (and we have about 6 acres) is gold. :) It's breathtaking (we had a really strange golden fall this year too, it was in the 70's and 80's!!!! That's never happened before that I remember!!!)
This one is of me!!! My mom (adopted mom) made me a beautiful blue regency gown!!! (yes, I was quite cold since it was a few years ago when the golden fall days were NOT 70's and 80's) "Was that swing to small for you?" Yup. ;) Anything for a picture right? It was not the most pleasant position, but it looks good. :) (btw, that non-tree post you see beside me is one of the support beams for our two story tree house built on one of the biggest oaks I've ever seen. We have a zip-line, the swing, a climbing rope, a slide, and lots of other stuff on it too. It's pretty fun.)

I really do live in a beautiful place. :)

~Natalya

...::Patricia::...{Week ? (yes I've lost count) }

Fall.

Honestly, that's all there is to say. I like Fall, but because it's the prequel to Winter it has never been my favorite season...Well, it soon will be thetime for chapped lips, cold toes and dry hands. I can't say I'm happy, but I'm not completely dis-heartened:)

I hope you like Fall!

Au Revoir,

Patricia

Esther ~Week 21~

The small pumpkin in this picture is the same as the one in the picture below, my brother Andy bought this big pumpkin for our family!Isn't it really super big?!!!

The fall season is a fun time to take pictures outside, enjoy warm drinks, and enjoy your family in the crisp evenings!  The Lord has truly shown his love for us through different things, such as fall!  Fall is a time we can enjoy the great outdoors and witness His mighty hand at work!

Daniel 2:21 says,
"And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding."

What's your favorite fall activity?

 

Theme!

A fall-themed picture!  Enjoy.

This is my family! From L-R-Me, Mom, Anna, Dad, Emmie and Griffin. This picture was at our friend's house in Tennessee.

Picture in May, 2011

Natalya~week 20~Picture of my family

Um...we don't really do family pictures so these are from last Christmas.

Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
But, I have more then one family. I'm adopted. :) That means I have two moms and two dads. I have a brother and a sister (even though I don't see half of those people very often, and one I haven't ever met!)
So, here's a picture of my sister and I. :)
And this is one of my grandma, my sister, and I:
Family resemblance? :)


~Natalya