Esther Ruth.....

This is a new hat (I know you can't see it very well :) I just bought from "Forever 21." This was the first time I had been there and I really liked it. To look at their website click Here. They had some awesome stuff and it was all so decently priced (though it was a outlet, so that probably changes the prices). My sister Katie took this picture of me the other day when we had a little snow! Thanks Kate!! Love you all!!!

John 13:35 says, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Theme for this week is...

A picture of each of us wearing our favorite hat!

Elaine-My sister's post!

Hi, my name is Anna. I'm Elaine's younger sister and I'm 10 years old. Me and my 3 siblings have been going to an art class and we made these for my mom and dad. I think its kinda cool because we live on a farm and all:) I made the horse(on the right), Elaine made the pig, Our youngest sister made the green chicken and our brother made the cow. They are all unique but similar. They're different colors, but they work good together.
They're based off the painting of William Tell's dog when he shot the apple on top of his head. A painter made a picture of the dog sort of as like a square and that's where we got our ideas from.

Hebrews 13:5b~"Be content with what you have because God has said 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' "

This is my favorite verse because it just reminds me that God will always be with me and that he'll always take care of me.

Natalya~*guest post by my brother, Josh.*

Hi, my name is Joshua, and I'm 11 years old.

My sister took this picture who knows when (*Natalya's note: It was this fall*), and I picked it because it's a very beautiful picture and I like it. In fact I want to put it on my wall in my room! It was on the road to our house. I was not there. Dad and Natalya were going out to get some fall pictures, and I stayed home where it was warm!


Gen 1:11 and 12 "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

This is one of my favorite verses. I love the book of Genesis! :) :)

~Joshua

Mary's post!! (I am posting for Trishie today :) )

Our brother took this photo of us about a hmmm idk, it think 2 years ago? any ways, it was awhile ago :) It was supposed to be a "band picture" :P It is me and my three sisters :) we were trying to make a very windy boring hike fun :) hope you enjoy! (I did the editing :D)

Esther * Guest Post by my brother Andy *

I am Esther's younger brother Andy.  I'm 16...almost 17.  :)

Last year my friend Steve and I went to the St. Louis Arch together...in, yep, St. Louis.

 

 The Gateway Arch - St. Louis, MO  (Gateway to the West)

Height: 630 feet

Built: 1963-1965

Stairs: 1,076

Cost: $13 million

Sway: 18" in 150 mph wind

1/2" - 1" in a 20 mph wind

The Arch has an elevator/train that takes you up through it.

(I haven't been, though.  :)

 

This one is cool because you can see how large the Arch is.

I had an awesome time with my bud at the Arch.  If you get the chance, try to go!

But, as cool as the Arch is, the universe is even greater.

Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Theme for this week

...guest posts by our siblings!  Enjoy. :)

(Side note: Amy guessed the theme correctly last week.  Way to go!  Yes, you have to go find out.  In the future we'll be making it harder...sharpen up those skills!)

Week Something ~ Rebekah Joy

Oh dear, it's been such a long time, hasn't it? Well, here's a picture, and yes, it is rather boring... :)

Have a G-R-E-A-T weekend!

~Rebekah Joy

Natalya~Mystery week!

Dear me...this is unfortunate...Blogger isn't working today for photos, and wasn't working really at all yesterday. It's saying the photos are uploaded, but then they really aren't. :/ So, I don't have a photo for you today. :( If it's working tomorrow I'll try to post them (either tomorrow or Saturday) because I was going to post some really beautiful ones that I took in the park this fall. :( I hope everyone gets to see them eventually. Here's the verse though. Sorry I didn't post yesterday. :/


Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

~Natalya

Patricia *-*

"Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart."
Psalm 97:11

I took this picture in Florida at my cousins Grandparents house. They have AMAZING property, it's SO pretty! That's why I love Florida...(:
*Patricia

P.S. I am posting a day early cause I am super busy tomorrow.

Esther Ruth.....

Proverbs 4:18

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day."

I took this picture last fall on a path between my neighborhood and another one.  It's our favorite place to take senior pictures, too.  :)

Day 1 of the theme is done!  Any guesses so far?

(We will reveal the final answer on Friday after the last post.)

Theme for this week...

MYSTERY! We will be posting pictures around a specific word and you (the readers) will have to leave a comment and guess what the theme is. Hope you enjoy!!!

Elaine-Books I'm reading!

Purely Woman is one of my favorite books and I am reading it right for a third time! It is by Lauren Wilson Black, Khrystian Wilson Lewis and Jordyn Wilson. They are all about being pure in everything you do from your inner character to your outward looks.
One of the things that stood out to me the most was the way they described purity as being like a water lily (pictured on the cover above). They say:
"The water lily is a symbol of purity. This plant lives in ponds and still water. Although it is very delicate it is also strong and well anchored to the soil beneath the surface. As it grows upward from the muddy bottom of the pond, its slender stalk reduces wave action and makes the water around it calm. This sweet smelling flower rises up from the water, reaching to the sun. Above all, the most interesting thing about the water lily is that it is used to purify the water around it of poisonous heavy metals. God's plan for this little flower is a striking picture of our call to purity as young women.
As the water lily reaches towards the light, we must lift our hands to glorify our Lord and reflect His light. As the water lily is delicate yet is still well anchored in the soil we women are called to express our strengths in a delicate way as we anchor ourselves in the Lord. Just as this flower calms the rough waters around it, so we are called to bring the calming presence of Jesus to our culture. Like the water lily, we stem from murky waters to bring natural beauty to the world around us. But most importantly, like the water lily purifies the pond of fatal toxins, so God brings healing to our culture through us.
God calls us, christian women, to real beauty--Purity. That means more than just physical purity, but it is the integrity of a woman as a whole. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-May the God of peace sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This encourages me so much because it gives me a very clear picture of exactly what I need to do in order to be pure.

Job 8:5-6: If you would earnestly seek God and make your supplication to the almighty, and if you are pure and upright, surely He will awaken for you and prosper your rightful dwelling place.

Sorry for such a long post. I'm so happy to be doing this again!! :)

Elaine-Hairstyles!

My favorite way to do hair is using a Lilla Rose flexi clip. There are so many different styles and sizes of clips and so many ways you can do your hair. For example, my favorite way is the simple ponytail. It's quick, easy, comfy and it looks pretty too! The rod slides back and forth on the right side of the clip so that the other side opens and closes. I also like to put my hair up halfway with smaller sizes.

And yes, I'm late...again. I know I haven't been posting much lately and I want to let you girls know why. I haven't really had a camera to take pictures with for awhile and I had a really hard time finding pictures from what I already had. I got to the point where I almost said I couldn't blog anymore, but I kept putting it off because I wanted to do it so badly! I got a new camera recently and now I can take pictures of my own. I'm really excited to post more now:) I'm going to do this week's and last week's post today...

Natalya~A book I'm reading!

My grandfather gave me a book for Christmas that I've been reading. It's about some young kids (ages 12 and 15) and their grandpa who get transported back in time to the garden of Eden. Only...they're still sinners, and Adam and Eve (who they know as "Man" and "Woman") aren't. It makes for some very interesting dialog.

So for I can recommend it, but I'm only about a quarter of a way through it, so I can't completely recommend it...yet. The author is very good, and it's CLEAN fantasy so far. No witches. wizards, or other mythical creatures. (though some creatures that don't exist anymore like Leviathan) and from the reviews I've read, it sounds like that kind of thing never shows up. Strange though...because it's not really fantasy, the back in time part is, but the actual place they travel to is a very, very new earth, and so it's not a different world at all, just a different time and place. It's pretty cool. I normally hate fantasy books (there are practically no good ones out there saving Narnia and Lord of the Rings, and I can even be picky about those) but this is utterly fantastic so far!

My grandpa is friends with the author too, and I SO want to meet him! :)


Psa 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Whatever book you read, non-fiction, fantasy, and everything in between, make sure it is pleasing to the Lord, and enlightens your eyes, instead of darkening it.

Esther Ruth

Hello World,
I got this book called "Its (not that) Complicated" for Christmas from my sister Katie. Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin wrote it just this last year. I have only read a few chapters but already I have been encouraged by it. This book talks about how we (as young ladies) should relate to young men in a Godly way. I want to encourage all of you to read it this year. If you are interested in buying it on their website click Here!   

Patricia

Well good morning everyone! I am sad to say that at the moment I am SO busy I don't have leisure time to read anything but the Bible. So this is a book I read LAST, not one I'm reading now. It's called Anne of the Island and it is third in the Anne of Green Gables series. (which I love!) I personally like L. M. Montgomery's writing style alot so I read her books often. And I would definitely suggest you read them too!
Au revoir,
Icia

Esther Ruth

I will be posting tomorrow!

Theme this week is........

We will be writing about a book we are curenting reading! Hope you enjoy!

Natalya~Hairstyles

I LOVE doing hair! :) :) :) Only...I don't do a lot with my OWN. My hair is down to my hips...which means it's too long to do a lot of things with it. (I have done Esther's sometimes, and I'm so going to have to try Trish's) I usually just leave my hair down. But my friend Kali has the perfect length of hair for one of my favorite styles! "40's/50's wave". When she and her siblings came over last night we did her makeup, then her hair. I used golds and browns on her makeup, and the lipstick is a bronze (which I think she looks fantastic in) I did a hot red (very 50's) then wiped it off, though (because it was so bright red) some of the red color remained (that was what I wanted!) Then when I put the bronze over it, it still had a red to it, and wasn't just brown lipstick (which really doesn't look good on anyone)

Here are the instructions:
What you'll need:
1. A curling iron. I think mine is a 3/4 diameter.
2. Hair gel. I use Extra Hold strength (I don't recommend Freeze hold, trust me), but I forget the brand. Any brand will work.
3. A can of hairspray (use a flexible hold)
4. A natural bristle brush (if you don't already have one, you should get one, they're MUCH better for your hair. They won't cause as many split ends, and help distribute the oil evenly from your scalp down your hair, even if it's as long as mine)

1. Start with clean hair. If it's not clean, the curl won't stay. Take your bottle of hair gel, put a generous amount (like the size of a 50 cent piece or bigger) rub your hands together and COVER your/her hair with it. Make sure you get underneath the part you can see too. You want ALL the hair coated. Don't forget the bangs.
I don't have pics of the process, so I'll just describe it:

2. Take about in INCH of hair and grab the hair spray. Spray the hair BEFORE YOU CURL IT. Hold the hair spray at least 4in away from the hair and spray it (make sure you do this in a room with good ventilation, I didn't and Kali's response was: "You could get high on this stuff, it stinks!" lol)

3. Now pick up your already hot curling iron. (set it to whatever temp will give you ringlets with your hair) Clamp the end of the hair in it so you can't see the ends, or can just see the tip of them. (If you leave a lot of end sticking out of the clamp, you will have a lot of hair sticking out of the curl and looking absolutely ridiculous.) Roll the iron so the hair wraps around in IN THE DIRECTION IT WANTS TO GO FROM THE CLAMP. As in you'll have the ends on on side, your/her rest of hair on the other and the clamp in between. Don't roll right over the clamp, you'll get a funny crimp. Hold this position for about 15 secs as CLOSE to your/her head as you can without burning yourself/her.

4. Now to take the hair out of the iron. Gently open and close the clamp and pull the curling iron out of the curl. DO NOT UNWIND THE HAIR FROM THE IRON!!!! This will ruin your curl.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with 1in strips of hair all the way around your head.

6. If you have bangs: (like Kali!) you'll want to give those a bit of a curl too. Here's how: First, side sweep them, if you don't already have side swept bangs, part them with a side part and make them side swept. Curl the shorter side using the same process as before, only curl the whole thing, you don't have to take 1in sections. For the other side, grab the ends of the whole thing in the clamp and ROLL UNDER. Hold for about 15 secs and then gently release by opening the clamp and sliding the iron out of the curl.

You will now look like this:
You could pull this into just about any up-do, but to get the adorable "40's wave"...

7. Flip your/her head over so all the hair is hanging in front of your face. Run your fingers through it until you've kind mashed the curls together. Now flip back. Take your natural bristle brush and brush your hair. You don't have to worry about wrecking it, because a natural bristle brush is very gentle. It won't ruin in, it will give you a nice wave. (seriously, this is basically fool proof, you really can't wreck the curl with a natural bristle brush.

That's it! Cute isn't it? Pull the sides with combs if you want an even more 40's look. Just make sure it's not pulled back tight, but loosely. Now grab your white pumps, your white hat, your white gloves, and your 40's/50's style party dress and you're ready to go! ;)

(Note: If your hair is a whole lot longer then Kali's (as in more then 2 or 3in longer) this won't work. Don't worry though, there are LOTS of beautiful hairstyles for longer hair, Maybe I'll post some sometime.)

1Co 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

And what a pretty covering it is! :)

~Natalya

Patricia

This is my fave hairstyle right now! It's called a waterfall braid and i think it's SO cool. The only bummer is that I can't do it to myself, it's too hard...):
Here is a video tutorial on how to do it. http://glitteraddiction.net/2011/06/waterfall-braid/
I am a BIG fan of video tutorials(: She explains it really well, but I like to start mine lower down, and make it more thick and chunky. Anyways, you should try it out. I have never done it to myself before, but I think I will today...Haha.
Love,
Icia

Esther ~Week 30~

 

Good evening everyone!

I love sponge curling my hair (that's what I did in the picture above). I just have to use a lot of hair spray or it won't stay in. This picture was taken the day I had some senior pictures taken by my sister Katie!
Love you all and hope and pray you have a good week!

Theme for this week...

A picture of our favorite hair style and the directions on how to do it!