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Friday, January 2, 2009
The Challenge: Trying To Take A Good Family Picture
Does your family have the same trouble getting a decent family picture that ours does? It took us about 300 tries this year before we could get a good one (thankfully we have a digital camera)!!! Below are some of our bloopers!!
Note: Typed by Savannah with commentary by Daddy and Mommy.
Day One
"No, this won't work - Stasia's playing with her hair and the baby is crying."
"The baby's still crying."
Another day, Another try...
"The baby's not crying this time, but Seth you need to open your eyes and smile!"
"Seth, my son, you've got a weird look on your face."
"You three younger ones need to stand up straight and smile!!!"
"Boys, now you're just being goofy."
"That wasn't too bad, but now the baby is crying again!!"
Another day, Another try...
"All right, the baby is asleep in her car seat. Let's try to get a good one now. Boys you're going to have to do better than that."
"Oops, I cut Sabrina's head off and Sayer has a goofy smile."
"I don't think we're ever going to get a decent picture."
"Yes, I'm about ready to call it quits!!"
"That's it - we've gone crazy - hopefully we'll recover before we have to do this again next year!"
P.S. The picture we finally used is the one you see in the above "Happy New Year" post!!
Note: Typed by Savannah with commentary by Daddy and Mommy.
Day One
"No, this won't work - Stasia's playing with her hair and the baby is crying."
"The baby's still crying."
Another day, Another try...
"The baby's not crying this time, but Seth you need to open your eyes and smile!"
"Seth, my son, you've got a weird look on your face."
"You three younger ones need to stand up straight and smile!!!"
"Boys, now you're just being goofy."
"That wasn't too bad, but now the baby is crying again!!"
Another day, Another try...
"All right, the baby is asleep in her car seat. Let's try to get a good one now. Boys you're going to have to do better than that."
"Oops, I cut Sabrina's head off and Sayer has a goofy smile."
"I don't think we're ever going to get a decent picture."
"Yes, I'm about ready to call it quits!!"
"That's it - we've gone crazy - hopefully we'll recover before we have to do this again next year!"
P.S. The picture we finally used is the one you see in the above "Happy New Year" post!!
The Valley Of Vision...
...is a wonderful book of prayers and devotions. There are many beautiful writings in it. I thought I'd share two prayers I was reading the other day.
Year's End
O Love Beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when the night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation
of the world, and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future
as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes
to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution
and temptation, I shall not drown;
If I am to die, I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside form the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
New Year
O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that procedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought, speak in every word,
direct every step, prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love, advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love, my soul free.
Give me grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy.
Year's End
O Love Beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when the night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation
of the world, and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future
as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes
to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution
and temptation, I shall not drown;
If I am to die, I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside form the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
New Year
O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that procedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought, speak in every word,
direct every step, prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love, advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love, my soul free.
Give me grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Ballerina
When my Ellen was a young girl she would often ask her 'beautiful white haired grandmother' to play her special ballerina music box for her. When she grew up and her grandmother had passed into glory she was given the little ballerina. It now sits perched high atop our hutch until one of our children ask to see it. Then it will carefully be lifted down and Ellen will share wonderful stories of her 'beautiful white haired grandmother' as our children watch the ballerina twirl and dip to the music.
Wonderful grandmother. Wonderful stories. Wonderful mother.
Posted by the Patriarch
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Pictures and News
We are all doing good.
We are sure having fun with Shenandoah! She is so precious and is already changing so much!
It snowed some more and has been VERY cold! The temperature has been in the teens with the wind chill below zero!!! Today, it is a little warmer. Only 21 degrees with a wind chill of 12! Nice!!!
Here are some pictures of the past couple of days.
Sabrina and Stasia, our faithful animal chore girls, all bundled up to milk the goat and check on the chickens - in the extreme cold!
Daddy and the 5 younger ones.
Shenandoah and I
Stasia and Shenandoah
Shenandoah
We are sure having fun with Shenandoah! She is so precious and is already changing so much!
It snowed some more and has been VERY cold! The temperature has been in the teens with the wind chill below zero!!! Today, it is a little warmer. Only 21 degrees with a wind chill of 12! Nice!!!
Here are some pictures of the past couple of days.
Sabrina and Stasia, our faithful animal chore girls, all bundled up to milk the goat and check on the chickens - in the extreme cold!
Daddy and the 5 younger ones.
Shenandoah and I
Stasia and Shenandoah
Shenandoah
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Pendragon!!!
Yesterday, we got our "Pendragon" DVD in. We had been looking forward to it for a long time and were SO excited. We had a great time watching it as a family last night. We really enjoyed "Pendragon". It was outstanding!!!
Everyone getting their places ready.
Sabrina and I trying to quickly clean up dinner (it's difficult when you are excited! :)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Shenandoah's First Snow!!!
It snowed yesterday!!! We got quite a bit!!! This was Shenandoah's first snow, which also happened to be the first snow of the season!!!
More Pictures With Shenandoah...
Three Days Old...
Mommy and Shenandoah
Four Days Old...
Isn't she precious?!
Daddy and Shenandoah
Shenandoah and I
Ms. Ruth (Mommy's midwife, came back today for a follow up appointment), Mommy and Shenandoah
Five Days Old...
Our Little Angel
Sienna and Shenandoah
Shenandoah
Kisses
Mommy and Shenandoah
Four Days Old...
Isn't she precious?!
Daddy and Shenandoah
Shenandoah and I
Ms. Ruth (Mommy's midwife, came back today for a follow up appointment), Mommy and Shenandoah
Five Days Old...
Our Little Angel
Sienna and Shenandoah
Shenandoah
Kisses
Pictures Of Shenandoah's First Day...
The big day had finally arrived. I woke up at about 4:45 in the morning and saw some lights on in the living room. I went out to see what was going on and saw that Mommy was walking around. She said she had been having some regular contractions and thought she might be in labor. I was the first to know that mommy was in labor, because she had not gotten Daddy up yet! I went back to bed and about an hour later Daddy came in to tell us that Mommy was truly in labor. Mommy labored in hers and daddy's bedroom. The six of us children tried to wait patiently. We could barely contain our excitement!!! Finally (after a total of 9 hours) everything got quiet and we listened intently. Then... we heard the baby cry!!! We couldn't wait to find out wether we had a new little brother or sister and to see our newest little blessing from the Lord. It was about a half and hour before they were ready for us to come back and meet... our new little sister!!! We were all so excited!!!
Our first look at our new baby sister.
Joy
Talking to Mommy (she said I'd be in big trouble if I posted the picture of her!!!)
Ms. Ruth (our midwife) weighing Shenandoah.
Measuring Shenandoah's head and chest. Her head was 14 1/2 inches and her chest was 15 1/2 inches!!!
23 inches long!!!
The picture speaks for itself. :)
Sayer and Shenandoah
Sabrina and Shenandoah
Stasia and Shenandoah
Our first look at our new baby sister.
Joy
Talking to Mommy (she said I'd be in big trouble if I posted the picture of her!!!)
Ms. Ruth (our midwife) weighing Shenandoah.
Measuring Shenandoah's head and chest. Her head was 14 1/2 inches and her chest was 15 1/2 inches!!!
23 inches long!!!
The picture speaks for itself. :)
Sayer and Shenandoah
Sabrina and Shenandoah
Stasia and Shenandoah
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Use Of Time
We had a wonderful time together as a family this morning discussing our use of time. Ellen has been reading "Golden Thoughts Of Mother, Home & Heaven". I shared these thoughts from Philip Doddridge regarding "the orderly distribution of our time". Doddridge relates that to make the most of our day we must:
1.) Rise early and begin it with God.
2.) We must have a plan, general and subordinate.
3.) We must undertake no more than we can reasonably expect to perform.
4.) While we should avoid voluntary hindrances; if interruptions occur, instead of wasting our time in fruitless regret, we should endeavor to improve passing circumstances.
5.) We must carefully gather up fragments. There are several intervals which, though in one day they may be inconsiserable, yet in the whole time of man's life they amount to a great deal of it.
6.) We should aim at strict punctuality in engagements.
7.) We must guard against a spirit of procrastination.
8.) To recall at night the transactions of the day and endeavor to ask what the day has done for me? Has it set me nearer heaven? Has it brought an increase of knowledge and virtue? Has it been devoted to the service of God and man or has it been spent in sloth, sensuality, or self-pleasing?
Finally,
9.) Should our active powers be suspended, and a season of langour and sickness intervene, there are still duties to be performed.
Posted by the Patriarch
-- Post From My iPhone
1.) Rise early and begin it with God.
2.) We must have a plan, general and subordinate.
3.) We must undertake no more than we can reasonably expect to perform.
4.) While we should avoid voluntary hindrances; if interruptions occur, instead of wasting our time in fruitless regret, we should endeavor to improve passing circumstances.
5.) We must carefully gather up fragments. There are several intervals which, though in one day they may be inconsiserable, yet in the whole time of man's life they amount to a great deal of it.
6.) We should aim at strict punctuality in engagements.
7.) We must guard against a spirit of procrastination.
8.) To recall at night the transactions of the day and endeavor to ask what the day has done for me? Has it set me nearer heaven? Has it brought an increase of knowledge and virtue? Has it been devoted to the service of God and man or has it been spent in sloth, sensuality, or self-pleasing?
Finally,
9.) Should our active powers be suspended, and a season of langour and sickness intervene, there are still duties to be performed.
Posted by the Patriarch
-- Post From My iPhone
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Grandpa's Jar
The girl's grandfather had a jar filled with his 'special things' when he was a boy. It contained a boy's treasures. He filled it with marbles, old dice, rocks, seashells, and the like. Now our family has this jar and our children love to play with it's contents (when they aren't holding Shenandoah.)
Posted by the Patriarch
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Introducing...
Shenandoah Remembrance Cochran
December 4, 2008, 1:35 p.m. 10 lbs., 10 oz., 23 inches long
Her name means: Beautiful creation of God. Remembering His works of providence throughout the ages."
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate."~Psalm 127:3-5
We are so thankful to have her here safe and sound! Mommy worked so hard to get Shenandoah out. She labored for nine hours total (her longest labor so far) and pushed for three of those hours. Shenandoah got stuck at the end and things were pretty intense. But, the Lord is so good!!! He hears and answers prayers and He gave mommy the strength she needed. We are so thankful for all of your prayers!!!
Mommy and Shenandoah are doing great.
December 4, 2008, 1:35 p.m. 10 lbs., 10 oz., 23 inches long
Her name means: Beautiful creation of God. Remembering His works of providence throughout the ages."
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate."~Psalm 127:3-5
We are so thankful to have her here safe and sound! Mommy worked so hard to get Shenandoah out. She labored for nine hours total (her longest labor so far) and pushed for three of those hours. Shenandoah got stuck at the end and things were pretty intense. But, the Lord is so good!!! He hears and answers prayers and He gave mommy the strength she needed. We are so thankful for all of your prayers!!!
Mommy and Shenandoah are doing great.
It's A Girl!!!
Praise the Lord!!! He has been so good to us!!! We are SO excited!!! Mommy and baby are doing well (mommy's tired and sore, but doing good). Thank you all for your prayers. We will be announcing the name shortly with more news and pictures to come!!!
It's Coming!!!
Mommy is in labor!!! The midwife got here a little while ago. Things seem to be going good. Please pray that all will go well. We should have a baby before the day is out!!! We never would have guessed that it would come on mommy's due date. It's the first time!!! More news to come...
A Beautiful Winter Sunset
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth the work of His hands."~ Psalm 19:1
Our Biggest Egg Ever!
A couple weeks ago, we got an egg that weighed 3.4 oz. Our biggest egg so far!!! It had two normal sized yokes as well!!!
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