Black and White Photo Challenge

Here's the link in case you want to enter!

sadiesphotographyblog.blogspot.com

Cello Wars - The Piano Guys

An Inspiring Quote

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.  The world is moved along not by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
~Helen Keller

Baptism At the River

 Last Sunday our church family gathered at the river to witness some of our number obeying the Lord by being baptized.  It was a blessing to hear their testimony's of faith!  I had the privilege of seeing my dad baptize my brother! ( 3rd and 4th photos ).  Afterwords we enjoyed a time of celebration with our church family!

What Makes You Beautiful - The Piano Guys

Vacationing in Virginia - Day 1

Last week we went on a 5 day trip to tour different areas of Virginia.  On Monday we left at 5:30 AM for a 4 1/2 hour drive to Luray Caverns.

Our guided tour of the cave was so cool and despite the millions of years "facts", was very educational (to my mom's delight).

 One of my favorite locations was Dream Lake.  The few inches of water on the surface made a perfect reflection of the ceiling, creating a beautiful effect!

 The wishing well.

When my family saw the sign below, they said "Hey, there's Kylie".

 When we finished browsing at the gift shop we went through a small car museum.

 Can you see the excitement in my face?  Yeah, I am not a car person but it was interesting to see how cars "evolved" through the years.

After having a few snacks for lunch, we headed out for the scenic Skyline Drive.

 Along the way we spotted some deer, lots of squirrels, 2 bear cubs, and one adult black bear.

 

A short hike concluded our first day in Shenandoah National Park.

All photos by Jake (accept for the one that he is in ; )

My New Memory Verse

I don't know about you but one thing I have to battle in my spiritual life is putting others before God.  I tend to worry about whether or not I am saying the right things to stay on my friends' good side, or when I am at home I think "What would "_____" have to say about that?".   I must admit that this is something I battle daily but I have been spending time praying about this and with my heavenly Father's help, I have been seeing improvement!  One thing that has helped a LOT is memorizing the verse below.  I used it as wallpaper for my iPod to remind me to commit it to memory.

I highly recommend that when you find yourself struggling with sin, spend time talking with God and see what He has to say about it in His Word and then work on memorizing those verses!

My New Clock

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while, I've been enjoying a fun ( and busy ) summer.

I got a new clock for my room!  The ticking took a while to get used to but now I kind of like it!  I'll try to post soon but I'm not going to make any promises!

A Fun Sunday Afternoon

Swimming Fun With My Cousins!

Sharing About Myself

1. What is your favorite color?

Blue

2. If you had to chose between being stranded in the desert or the frozen arctic which would it be?

 I need more information before I could give an answer eg. How long will I be there?  Will I be rescued?  Do I have the proper supplies ( coat, sunscreen, food, water )?

 3. What’s your favorite animal?

Horse

 4. What do you like to do when it’s raining?

Practice piano, read, bake, clean, listen to Adventures in Odyssey( which I do anyway ).

5. If you could star in any movie what movie would it be?

I personally think that I would end up making a fool out of myself being the star of any movie ( just check out an older post where I played a minor part as an old woman in Rip Van Winkle and you'll understand ).  I don't want to star in any movie but I would like to play minor roles.

 6. If you could have anyone in the world come to your birthday party who would it be?

My friends and family.  Why would I want someone who doesn't know me there?

 7. What creature are you most afraid of?

In my neck of the woods I would have to say the thousand legger.  I usually don't freak out about bugs but this one I will NOT tolerate.  I almost put a picture of one to go with my answer but the thought of having to look at it every time I viewed this post gave me shivers. ( I seriously hate this bug ) Click here for a photo.

 8. If you could have any animal in the whole world as a pet what would it be?

A horse!

 9. What’s your favorite hobby?

Horseback riding!

 10. What are you most looking forward to this year?

Enjoying time with friends! ( I couldn't narrow it down to one event )

Here' the rules for the people that are nominated for this award!  I do wonder with these blog award things though, why do we have to follow these rules?  I don't think that I would be sued or put in jail for not following the rules but I suppose since they are there, I will obey them.

 1. Post award and rules on your blog.

2. Answer all 10 of these questions.

3. Award 3 Bloggers the questions.

4. Tell them in a comment on their blog that you have awarded them.

 Brianna

 Braelyn

Jacob

(please do not feel as if you must accept this award or acknowledge me in anyway for nominating you)

Camping Trip

 Last weekend we went for a few day vacation with friends.  We had a great time traveling in the motor home listening to music, talking and playing trivia.

The boys had badminton tournaments (bragging rights as the reward).

Below we were reviewing the photos and videos taken the day before at Wayumi (I'll post on that sometime).  Click here to find out more about Wayumi's youth day.

 The guys also brought the volleyball net along to hit the ball around.

I love the look on Dad's face!  This photo completely captures his competitive nature!

Our parents playing Settlers of Catan (a board game).

Playing Scrabble on the iPad.

The guys playing poker (I would like to note that they weren't gambling :)

 We had a great weekend!
(Photos by Mom, Jake, and I )