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Our friends the Hagameiers and their animals

I posted some pictures of the kids and the baby chicks the other day, and our friends also posted a lot of other pictures of the kids with their goats & horse. Pop over to the Hag Ranch and check them out!

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I Love

my kids and my husband - they are so much fun to be around.


my dog - he's so sweet & snuggly!

my house - God's blessed us with a cozy place to call home.

my church - what a wonderful place to worship & serve God.

That's all for now. Go on about your business.

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Article: American Thinker: 'Apostate' Girl's Father: The Unreported Story

Please take a minute to read this story. 


American Thinker: 'Apostate' Girl's Father: The Unreported Story
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/apostate_girls_father_the_unre.html

(via Instapaper)



Lindsay Downs
iPhone 

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Another Walgreens Coupon - ONLY GOOD TODAY

For just today, August 26, you can use the coupon code "FUNDAY" at Walgreens to get a free collage print. Make sure you choose in-store pick up so you don't have to pay for shipping.


I've used this coupon, and it worked for me! Have fun!

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Free 8x10 Scrapbook Page at Walgreens - Today Only!

(Originally posted at Frugal Girls)


Today only {8/21}, you can receive a Free 8x10 Photo Scrapbook Page from Walgreens! I just created a "School Days" page, and it turned out really cute!

Go here to place your order, and use this coupon code at checkout: SCRAPIT

To avoid shipping costs, be sure to select in-store pickup.

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John Foxe

(from Voice of the Martyrs)


John Foxe, a young teacher at Magdelen College, pleaded in prayer, “They call themselves your priests and ministers, but they worship themselves and their political power. Help them realize that there is no need for another mediator between God and man but Christ Jesus and his Word.”

Someone overheard John and immediately reported him to the college administration. They accused him of holding beliefs in rebellion to the government and against the state church. When he refused to deny his convictions, the council expelled him from the university.

Because of this, John had great difficulty finding work as a teacher. One day, exhausted with hunger, he sat praying in a church. A man John had never met suddenly appeared and thrust a sum of money into his hand. “Cheer up,” he said. “In a few days new work will present itself to you.” A few days later he was hired as a tutor.

Under the reign of Henry VIII, Christians like John were tolerated. When Mary I came to power, however, she executed any who defied the religious edicts of the state. Three hundred people died during her five-year reign. John and his pregnant wife fled England to Belgium, barely escaping being apprehended.

In defense of those who died for their faith, John wrote Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.


It is one thing to read about persecution, yet quite another to experience it. In the same way, many people read about the lives of committed Christians and admire their courage from afar. Yet they have no firsthand experience of faith to call their own. While they extol the martyrs’ courage, they cannot relate to its source: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They may read the gospel message, yet they do not respond in faith. Martyrs lived and died calling others, even their oppressors, to faith in Christ. Could they be calling you toward Christian commitment even now as you read their stories? Don’t merely extol their faith when you are invited to experience it firsthand.

If you have not yet purchased your copy of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, please click here and support VOM.

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Recommendation - 20 free prints at Walgreens!

(originally posted on the Frugral Girls website)


TODAY ONLY you can get 20 free prints at Walgreens! Just enter the coupon code "20Free4Me"
when you checkout. This won't pay for shipping, but if you pick them up at the store, they are $0.00! That's a pretty good deal.

I rarely actually print pictures, but I will take advantage of opportunities like these, and can print almost all the pictures I actually want to have hard copies of, and usually get them free.

Try it out at Walgreens!

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Jacob won't leave my computer alone!

I had hoped when we moved the computers into the office (with a door...and a lock...) that Jake would stay off my computer. Somehow, he manages to get in anyway, though - either by sneaking in, or waiting til the kids go in there...He loves to play with my mouse and push buttons on my keyboard.

The other day, I came into the office, and this is what I saw on my computer screen:




Yes, you are seeing that right. He had somehow turned the entire screen sideways - not the monitor, he hadn't physically moved it. He just changed some random setting to output the entire monitor sideways! It's a good thing Jeremy's friend Michael was here because he knew how to fix it; I wouldv'e been up a creek otherwise!!

Some people's kids...

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Jacob's a Hoot



We can't get this kid to talk for anything! He's 20-some-odd months old, and the main words he says are "Mama", "Mine", "Dada" and "Guys". "Guys" refers to ALL of the kids. Evidently it's much easier to call them all by one name than to bother learning their names individually! We usually hear this when he is tattling because someone has something that he wants or is doing something he wants to do. The other kids don't realize that they are only here to help Jacob get candy, or go outside when he wants to!

So, earlier today I was encouraging him to say their names. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Say "Momma"
Jake: Momma!
Me: Say "Dada"
Jake: Dada!
Me: "Down"
Jake: Dow! (can you tell everything ends with an exclamation mark?)
Me: "Up"
Jake: Uhhh!
Me: Say "NeNe" (we're trying to get him to call Annie that - it's easier, and less confusing when paired up with "Granny", which he pronounces "GaGa!")
Jake: Neeee
Me: Say "Matthew"
Jake: Muuuu - Guy!

We also feel like we're living in Finding Nemo because he walks around the house saying "Mine?! Mine?! Mine?!" like the pigeons:

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Too Funny

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years.
They had shared everything. They had talked about everything.
They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little
old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had
cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but
one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said
She would not recover.


In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took
down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was
in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls
and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,'
she said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage
was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you,
I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two
precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two
times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with
happiness.

'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money?
Where did it come from?'

'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

(Thanks, Rebekah - that was hilarious!)

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Sewing/Craft Idea

So, I was browing the other day and found a bunch of ideas for making crafts with "trash". One of the items was old jeans. Now, I just happen to have a pair of old jeans lying around, and thought I would give this craft a shot.


I had so much fun with this, and it was really simple! I did it in about an hour while the kids were doing school. Here's my final product:



This was a lot of fun, and will be a cute apron to wear around the house and hold important items (like my phone, so I don't miss it when Jeremy calls me...).

So, there ya go!

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My Boys



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Matthew's Jersey

Jacob loves it. :)


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Petting Zoo

Last week, the boys got to go to the new Petting Zoo in town, and they had a blast. They really enjoyed feeding the animals.





From August 2009

This little lamb LOVED Andrew...
From August 2009
...and followed him around...

From August 2009
...and I'm SURE this is why! :)

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Coolness

Granny went to Preteen Camp last week, and brought the kids back sunglasses (which they all thought were very cool). Jacob especially LOVES his!



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Snuggling

This first picture is what Jacob will do when you tell him to close his eyes. Evidently, he doesn't realize they will close on his own!!

I love it when they will fall asleep while you're holding them. This stage doesn't last very long, and I'm trying to enjoy every second I can! :)

 
 

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Dear Future

My nephew's band, Dear Future, was in town last week, and we got to see them at the Barking Dog. It was an awesome show, and they ended up having a pretty decent showing, so maybe they'll come again! They stayed at our house, and we enjoyed getting to visit with them. Matthew was very excited because "Dear Future" slept in his bed. They kids really enjoyed having an "audience". It was lots of fun.

Check out their music when you get a chance. :)

 
 
 

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Look what I did!

Okay, so now I'm actually learning how to use a sewing machine!!! This tank turned out really cute. :)

 

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Lego!

He's getting so big, but he doesn't know it yet. You know how lots of little dogs don't know they're little? Well, Lego still thinks he's the same size he was when we brought him home. He still wants to get up in your lap, and he loves to be carried around. He's also very snuggly!

 
 

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Gettin' pretty

Annie with her hair braided - she wants it to curl!

 
 
 

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Recommendation

I am using a new note-taking service called Evernote. It is an excellent resource for keeping track of notes of all kinds. You can organize things into notebooks and search your notes. It has online access, or a desktop version, and (as always) an app for your mobile phone. This is why I like it so much - I can take notes on my phone, and they are automatically synced to my desktop, so I don't lose anything in the transition.

Just passing along another good product.

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July Photos Re-cap

I'm putting up a link to August's pictures in the sidebar, so I thought I'd do one last recap of all of our pictures from July. Enjoy :)

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Help Free Gao Zhisheng

Help Free Gao Zhisheng


From Voice of the Martyrs:
Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, disappeared February 4, and was last seen being taken away by a dozen police officers. Gao Zhisheng has been repeatedly kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities, because he has defended the persecuted and has been an unyielding voice for justice in the Chinese courts.

Click on the link above to see what you can do to help!

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Recommendation

I have come across a neat service called "Instapaper" that I have enjoyed reading. It's kind of like a bookmarking service for articles/pages you want to read online. You install their bookmark, and when you are on a page you want to read later, just click the bookmark (creatively named 'read later'), and then you can go to their website anytime you want, and read all the articles that you have bookmarked.


They also have an app for iPhone, or a mobile site, in case you want to read it from your phone (which is what I do). Pretty neat, so I just thought I'd pass it on!

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July 2005

Looking through some old pictures, and I found these:




Annie & Jessi!

Leanne

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Matthew caught a ball at the ball game
AJ!
"TJ" (He used to be "little Jeremy" but now he's "Tall Jeremy")
Jess again



Aren't they sweet?
Katie!
THIS WAS ANDREW!!!! I cannot believe he was ever that little!
Madi asleep
All the grandkids that were there
Matthew

Andrew again - so tiny!