Natalya~The Harp...the instrament of warrior kings

This is my favorite harp in all the world. (apart from my own) (I apologize for the click picture. My internet is not uploading pics on very well right now) This harp belonged to the great Irish High King, Brian Boru. This is his story:

In the years preceding his reign, Ireland was divided. Celtic tribes from all around the country ranged war and held feuds against each other endlessly, causing constant unrest and hatred between the lovely rolling hills and peaceful streams. He was a great man, a kind man, and a Christian. He united the tribes of Ireland against a common enemy: The Vikings! He led many men into battle with the fierce raiders from the north, and for the longest time in Irish history up to that point, peace was restored. Yet on 23 April, 1014 at sunrise, Brian rode in front of his army holding a sword upright in one hand, and a cross in the other. With a rousing battle speech he gave his men the “insanity” for which Irishmen in battle have become famous. With over 10,000 Vikings coming into the battle, it has fallen into the legends of Ireland that only 20 returned home, one of them slaying Brian Boru, who at 73 years old, remained in his tent, to old to fight in the battle. Yet even then, it is said that he, mortally wounded, defeated his attacker. Sadly, after the death of their most beloved high king of Ireland, the Irish returned to their war among the Celtic tribes, and the story of High King Brian, united of the beloved homeland has been passed down through the generations. Though now clouded with myth and legends, this story remains: a testimony to the great deeds of High King Brian Boru.

This is a video of the balled of Brian Boru. This one is in a very war-like style.

However, This version, is probably my favorite. . This is the way I like to play it most of the time.

Oh, and Brian isn't the only king who played harp! David did too!

Psa 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

This is one of my favorite Bible verses. Guess why! It's a tricky one, I'll warn you! ;P

~Natalya

P.S. Sorry about last week! So sad it didn't work! When you live up in the boonies sometimes the internet is sketchy! (*big wink*)

Natalya~Just a quick post :)

It's goat kidding season again, so here's a picture from kidding a few years ago! :)
We've all grown up a bit. :)
(from left to right: Logan (back of head), Peace (goat), Kali, Patience (goat) Havilah (back of head) Forget this little guy's name! :(, and Joshua, my brother)

* * *

And here's the kid! Coco! I know I've posted about this birth before, but I didn't have a good picture of the little guy up, so I had to post again. :) (And if this isn't darling, I don't know what is!

* * *

Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

This verse is often misquoted as saying "and the lion shall lay down with the lamb." As you can see this is incorrect, and nowhere else in the Bible is this phrase found. Wolves and sheep are traditional enemies, so it's an even better contrast. Last time I checked there are no sheep in Africa...(well not the normal kind, just the ugly hairy ones (we call them hair-brains, and we unfortunately have some...can't stand them...they can jump at least 5ft! They are impossible to catch...I could go on...but you get the point...)

;P
Natalya

Natalya~Something you probably didn't know about me...

I'm actually a mermaid. ;P
A PURPLE mermaid. :) (the swimsuit I wear with/under this BRIGHT blue. Dad said I must be an ocean mermaid, since ocean fish are in general more colorful then freshwater fish. Dad was a scuba diver, so I'm sure he knows! (he's also a fishermen, bonus points!) (btw, has anyone noticed how much I ADORE my DAD!?)

So, this is my lovely tail. :) :) It's made with purple swimming suit fabric, and I use mom's scuba diving fins so they're extra long and more aquatic looking.

It actually works. I swim in it for real. There's only one problem...it's REALLY STRETCHY! The material is SO STRETCHY that it actually pulls all of the fluke part down so far that the flippers are in the narrow part where my ankles should be! (grr) You have no idea how much this drags (and therefore SLOWS ME DOWN) unless you try it yourself. ;) (which I don't recommend) I think I have figured out a way to fix it though, and I'll try to post a picture when I do (if it works). I hope it will though, because I LOVE swimming in a tail! It's so cool! I can do lots of flips and tricks. When I don't wear the tail over the flippers (cause it just inherently drags a bit) and I kick (the dolphin kick, with my legs tied together) really fast as I come up from underwater I can actually stay out of the water (straight up, nothing under me but more water) for about 10 seconds, and from waist down is in the water. (kinda like when I dolphin 'walks' across the water, only I don't go anywhere!) :) I hope that made sense...lol ;P

I just LOVE SWIMMING in general, but being a mermaid is FANTASGREAT!

Psa 77:19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

God rules the world. "The sea, and all that in them is." (KJV) Isn't He magnificent? :)

(and no, I don't think He really created mermaids. Poor women-lonely sailors thought dolphins singing, and seals on the rocks were half woman, half fish...they obviously didn't get out much...)

Natalya
(in case you didn't notice, I'm really happy right now!) lol

P.S. I'm actually on time today! :) :) Yay! (and the film festival was great...but that's for another post!)

Natalya~A Simple Time

Do you ever wish you could travel back in time? Before computers? Movies? Cell phones? Mp3 players? Before everyone was worried about everything going haywire with the government and the country as a whole? Some states have always been in the middle of politics, but some, like mine, is filled with "little towns" and "little people". Some of that has remained, but even in the early 1900's, some places up here were still very much like they'd always been. Back in the not-so-long-ago days of Caddie Woodlawn and Laura Ingalls-Wilder. Much of the land has stayed the same since then, at least where I live. Yes, we have running water now, and internet, and paved roads (well...in some places, I live on a gravel road!), but the simplistic beauty of the farmland remains. Here are some photographs I've taken over the years of the simple life and land here. :)

This is right outside our house. It's down in our woodland trail. :) :) I love this corn field. :) We sled down it in the winter. It's not ours, it's our neighbors, but he lets us use it. :)
This is the farm house of the people letting us use their field. :) They're a really sweet older couple. :) :) They even named their prettiest cow after me a few years ago. She's red with a white heart on her forehead. I'll have to get a picture of her sometime and post it! :) I got to name her calf too. I named her Regina, which means "Queen".
I get to see this every day (well...in Summer and Fall) when we drive home. Isn't it lovely?
This is the view across the lake from the boat landing at the park. It's actually much bigger then this, but it swoops around in the other direction. That's the town we're closest to you can see across it. Lot's of old buildings. I don't know if you can see it really well, but the second tallest chimny-like thing is connected to a building that was built in the late 1800's!
This one I took while actually on the lake. :) It was late fall, so all the colors were coming. So beautiful!
And you know what? Even in winter, it's still beautiful. This was taken our first snow if this year (first snows are always the most beautiful!) I took this from our deck. I think it looks kinda like Narnia, but maybe that's just me. :)

Psa 25:6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

They have been of old and they will continue to be. Forever and ever, AMEN! :)

~Natalya

P.S. I will be gone for the next three weeks, but I will pre-post everything so I will be ON TIME! (finally huh?) Sorry I keep posting late! :(

P.P.S. Click on any of the pictures to make it bigger!

Natalya~My favorite hat!

Hello all! Sorry I'm late again...I have no better excuse then that it completely slipped my mind...
Anyway...This hat was the one I got from Brush Ranch here in WI around 4 years years ago, and it's still my favorite. Dad took me there to go hunting when I was only 11, cause that's legal on ranches. Some ranches are to tiny for it to really qualify as "hunting" but this one was over 2,000 acres. It's run by an old archery hunter. He even has his museum on the ranch. Lots of beautiful African animal trophies. He even got an Elephant and a Crocodile with a BOW AND ARROWS! Brave hunter...I wouldn't do that...I like adventure...but that's pushing it for me! :)

Anyway, this hat carries special memories for me, since both Dad and I got a buck there, and we both got a hat like this too. :) It was really special and I'll never forget it. :)

And yeah...I couldn't resist a little Picnik editing on this one. ;) Wonder of all wonders, (without any Picnik hair-color-changing!) my hair looked RED(ish) in this photo! My hair is brown, brown, brown, brown, brown, but it looked RED(ish) here! YAY. I've always wanted red hair. ;P But I would NEVER dye my hair. ;) It's bad for it.

Pro 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother
Since I went on the trip with my dad I thought this verse fit. I tell ya, I've got the best dad ever!

P.S. No I didn't change shirts to go with the 'hunting' theme. I really put on that shirt today, not thinking about this picture at all and uh...yeah...I really do look that red-neck farmer in real life!

~Natalya

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

Natalya~week~19~Bible Verse Theme

A few years ago my family and I went to Colorado for Elk Hunting. (of course we would have a cow tag when only bulls showed up...figures...) but we got some good pictures. :)

My mom took this one of my brother (in green) and his friend playing on some of the massive rock formations.


My adventurous boys! :)

~Natalya

Natalya~Week 18~Pic of myself theme!

Hello!

Well, it seems quiet a few of us are posting a picture of ourselves reenacting, so I think I'll have a shot at that one. ;)

I did some historical reenacting and volunteering at a beautiful 37 building pioneer village museum by us. It's a beautiful place. Their buildings include a 19th century church, an old post office, old fashioned stocks for guests to take pics in, (I can't describe how funny it is to watch that.) A small outdoor restaurant, a gigantic display building, 4 machinery buildings, looms (I hear they take 24hrs to thread...), and so much more.

My favorite little spot there (ok, one of my favorite little spots there) was the house. 11 people (one family) lived in that little tiny space. :) Apparently there is a bit of an attic that housed some of the children through a door and up the stairs, but that's all been closed off for safety reasons. However, they do have some beautiful old furniture there to see, and (being a volunteer) I was allowed to touch things when I explained to guests. One of my friends took this picture of me pretending to work the spinning wheel. :)

(I fixed the low-res problem!!!)

Yup, I know I look sweaty and hot, but I am wearing all my period correct layers and it was almost 90 degrees that day. ;) I made the dress and haversack. The parasol I got for Christmas a few years ago, and it's from Vision Forum. If you look closely there's a white handkerchief tucked into my apron (which a friend made for me) and it's embroidered. That belonged to my grandma. :) The boots (even though you can't really see them here) are Lace Up Ropers, or Woman's Rodeo Boots. They have rubber soles (oh well...) but they're very comfortable and look super authentic. :)

See that white thing wrapped around my left hand? That's my string. :) All day I went around to all the young guests and showed them string games. The interactive ones were the most fun for them I think. I even met some girls who knew how to play Cat's cradle! Since they were the only guests I met who knew how I played it with some of my other friends who were reenacting and showed the guests. It was a big hit. There was one little boy in particular who loved the string games. (he was so cute!) I was sitting on the steps of the church giving a break to the person stationed there when he came up to me. I didn't see his parents near by, so I though decided to occupy him so he would stay in one place. (The church is big and can be seen from all of "main-street" and he was wearing red so I figured his parents would see us) I caught his attention by doing the "winking eye" at him. He giggled and came up to play with me. He looked about three. Eventually his dad and sister saw him and came a got him. Several times later during the day I saw him looking at me and sometimes he would follow me (with his dad and sister following him!!) And ask to play again. It was SO CUTE.

Psa 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Never forget that History (as dry as those textbooks make it sometimes) is part of learning the fear of the Lord. Can you imagine what it would be like to leave your home like the pioneers did? Most of you have moved before, but you probably moved somewhere that had a bathroom and a stove or a microwave. None of that in pioneer times.

Here's a game for you! See those carders in the picture? (The rectangle things with handles on them?) Those were used to clean out any burs from the wool, and it helped to smooth it so it could be spun. Anyway, see the "table" it's sitting on? Can anyone guess what it is? If you look really close you can tell. :)

~Natalya

Natalya~Week 17~ A beautiful lilly and some news!

Hello everyone!
This is a short post, but with some more flower photos!

Luk 12:27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.


Very sorry this is bad quality...don't know what happened, it didn't look like that on my computer...hmm...you can still see my lilies though. I have these lilies in my garden at home. I just love them It's one of the best parts of spring for me to see them come up and start blooming. :)


Now for the exciting news...I'm making a short film with some of my friends from church! We're all teens and so this is a big project. I'm so excited about it though. It's about a boy who falls in with the wrong friends, but his true friends won't give up on him, neither will his parents or pastor. They pray for him everyday and God uses everything he did that was wrong to change his life. It's basically a modern retelling of the prodigal son. :)

~Natalya

Natalya~week16~Butterfly Study

Psa 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

In school we just finished learning about monarch butterflies! We had TONS of milkweed plants in our garden this year, and we left them for the monarchs. :) It was fascinating. We brought two of them inside (one was just a worm getting reading to turn into a chrysalis when we brought it in) and waited. It was a good thing we did because it froze here (that's September in WI for ya...) one morning and they would have died. The first one we brought in was late, but here are some photos of the second. We didn't get to see it emerge, but they're really really fast at it.

It was a clear chrysalis one minute...


then suddenly we looked up at it again and their was a lovely butterfly sitting there!

It's wings were all curled up of course, but it wasn't long before they flattened and dried out. We took him (and it was a boy) outside and put him on a flower. :)
See how he has bigger black and darker brown spots on the lower corners of his top wings? (CORRECTION: The scent glands are the two small black spots on the BACK wings.)That's how we know it's a boy. :) Those are the scent glads they use to attract females. :) See, God even invented perfume. ;) He's beautiful isn't he? We should name him...comment and leave me some ideas! :)

By the way, my mom took the last photo.

Well, bye bye little butterfly! (I sure hope he's on his way to Mexico as it will probably freeze tonight. We haven't seem him or the other one recently, so they've probably all flown away.)

Did you know that monarch butterflies fly to the exact same tree their father and grandfathers did when they flew to Mexico. The coolest part? All monarchs only travel to Mexico once. How did they know where to go? God is truly amazing. The Monarch Butterfly is definitely one of His most amazing creatures.

Psa 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

~Natalya