An Update…and NaNoWriMo!

First, an update. Last week was quite eventful for our family.

Picture taken by Sayna.

Sunday, we went to a friend’s place about 2-2 1/2 hours from here. We had LOTS of fun! You can read Sayna’s post about that afternoon here.

Tuesday, some of the family went to homeschool writing group. I stayed home with James, who was sick.

Wednesday, I got a new camera—that was exciting! And just in time for….

…taking pictures of a whale (this one was my favourite).

Thursday, we drove up to Kaikoura, to go on Whale Watch. Sadly, the sea was too rough to sail that day, so Friday we got up early again and headed up to Kaikoura. Thankfully, by then the sea had calmed enough that we could go!

We had an amazing time, and I’m hoping I can get some pictures up here soon. For now, you can read Mum’s two posts—Whale Watch and Dolphins (a video of the dolphins that actually turned out pretty good!).

This week has been nicely quiet and relaxed. :)
Next week, also, looks pretty full—to Kaikoura Sunday, for church. Then writing group Tuesday, close to Christchurch. Thursday evening, Lord willing, we will have the privilege of hosting Dr Tas Walker from Australia here in Cheviot for a Creation meeting. Dr Tas works for Creation Ministries International, and he’s making a tour of the South Island.
When we saw there were openings, Dad contacted CMI and eventually we were able to arrange for him to come here on the 5th of September! We’ll have a barbeque at 5.30 pm, and then at 7.30 Tas will speak at the Community Hall.
Tas and another man that is going with him will spend the night here, Lord willing, and then head on south the next day.
So, our next week is looking pretty full! :)

And now…NaNoWriMo!

I saw yesterday that National Novel Writing Month is coming up fast…kinda scary, and definitely exciting! :) And I’ve joined…hopefully this time I’ll have more of a chance to get a plot laid out before November starts. :) Last year, I had 3 days to prepare. This year, I have just over two months. So hopefully this time I will be able to get things together before I start writing. :)
I think I’ll work on my Israeli girl story again. I do have several other ideas, but I’d like to get this finished before I start anything else. :)
Be sure to check out the post about it! :) Will you join me?

~Esther

Saturday Spotlight #3

Confessions of a Failure
Showing how, even when it’s hard, we should share our failures so others can learn from our mistakes.

Poem Post
A beautiful poem. And SO true!

Kristiana Puckett, Age 18: Building an Orphanage in Uganda
Wow. I love stories of how young people are impacting our world for God!

Hearts for Purity
A great website for young women. Be sure to check out the “articles” section!

Not very many people posted this week—everyone must have been pretty busy! :)
~Esther

Brothers. They’re Funny.

The other day…

James: “Has anyone ever been to the north pole?”

Me: “Yes….”

Joe: “Has anyone ever been to the east pole?”

Me: “No, there isn’t an east pole.”

James: “There’s just a north pole, a south pole, and a west pole. Right?”

Saturday Spotlight

Here’s some encouraging articles I’ve come across lately (well, most of them lately anyway).

The Other Answer
A good poem, very thought-provoking.

In Your Perfect Time
Good thoughts on God’s time vs. our time.

Thankful Thursday ~ Give Thanks
Thinking about doing this…sounds like fun! :)

Tune In, Zone Out - Part 1
and
Tune In, Zone Out - Part 2
(some posts about writing, and using music when you’re writing)
I found these posts very good. Nice to refer back to sometimes.

The Beauty of Meekness
Good thoughts about meekness.

Reading Through the Book of Mormon
Even though I don’t agree with everything Lauralea says, I did find this post interesting—and a little funny! :)

Top Ten Writing Tips at KayeDacus.com
Here are all of the posts: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10.
I’m finding this set of posts really interesting—check them out!

A Touching Testimony
I’ve seen this elsewhere, and really appreciated it.

Being a Voice Not an Echo
Good thoughts about writing with your own voice, not just echoing what other people are saying.

Have a good day!
-Esther

100 for 100 again!

Yay! Go Teen Writers is hosting the 100 words for 100 days challenge again! I tried to do it last time, but daily life got in the way. This time, though, I’m determined to get it done! Since the beginning of August (for the last 16 days), I’ve managed to get 750 words written each day. Surely, doing 100 words per day wouldn’t be hard compared to that? :)

Do you want to join up, too? Go here:

~Esther

P.S. We’ve experience quite a few earthquakes today…6 in total. No-one’s hurt, and nothing fell off the shelves. We just got a few good shakes. :)

So far, we’ve had:

• A 6.2 at 2:31 pm,
• 5.7 at 2:37 pm,
• 5.7 at 2:45 pm,
• 5.2 (I didn’t feel this one, but some of the others did) [unknown time, somewhere between 2:45 and 3:09 pm],
• 5.5 at 3:09 pm, and a
• 5.7 at 3:51 pm (I didn’t feel this one—just heard it. It had a strange grinding noise, and the chain in front of me was swinging so I know it had to have been an earthquake).

We haven’t had anything big since 3:51. It’s 4:09 now. Dad just got home from work, and he says he didn’t feel any of them.

Saturday Spotlight

Just a few things I’ve come across lately, and thought you might enjoy, too.

7 Writing Routines that Work
Very helpful, and most are pretty easy to accomplish, too!

 

 celebrate the miracles
I read this a while back but found it so true. Miracles are so common that we just take them for granted these days!

 

Beautiful Inspirational Story
I found this really good and thought provoking.

 

Tomorrow?
Good thoughts on our plans vs. God’s plans.

 

Children of God
I found it really interesting to read about how CEF camp started, especially since I’d like to go sometime! :)

 

I showed this to my brothers, and they found it extremely funny!

 

and…

Praying Always
An article I wrote yesterday.

Have a great Saturday! :)
-Esther

Scheduling Dishes

Source

The other day, Mum and Joe had an interesting conversation. Mum had just finished washing the dishes, and Joe was finishing rinsing.

“You can be done now,” Mum said. “There will be more dishes later, but I’ll rinse them.”

Joe looked around, and not seeing any dirty dishes sitting around said, “There aren’t any more dishes!”

“No, not right now, Joe.” Mum answered, “I haven’t gotten them dirty yet.”

“Oh.” Poor Joe was very confused! :)

~Esther

My Trip to the States—Part 6

Have you missed any so far—Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, or Part 5?

After visiting all the Michigan family on Mum’s side, we headed to Ohio to visit the family on Dad’s side. That last week was extremely hectic and stressful, but I enjoyed every moment I had to reconnect with family.

Our last week, in overview: (You can skip this if you want to—I just want to have it written down so I can remember. That last week is all a blur in my mind.)

1. Sunday the 7th of April, I went with my cousins to Ohio. We got there about 11 pm, and I stayed the night with them.
2. Monday the 8th, I spent the morning with my cousins, and took lots of pictures with them. Mum arrived in Ohio in the afternoon. I went to Grandpa and Grandma’s house with her, and that afternoon helped clean up at Grandpa’s church after their annual communion service. I spent the night at Grandpa’s house.
3. Tuesday, the 9th, we went to Grandparent’s Day at a school Mum taught at before she and Dad were married. That evening, I went to an amazing Bible study and then spent the night with my cousins.
4. Wednesday the 10th, I spent most of the day with my cousins and that afternoon went to a zoo that was close-by. That evening, most of the family got together for tea, and I stayed the night at Aunt Lucinda’s house.
5. Thursday the 11th, we went to a lunch hosted by Aunt Jane, which was fun. We got to meet a lot of friends we hadn’t been able to see yet. That evening, all of the Ohio family got together and we ate tea at my cousin’s house. Aunt Rebecca is an amazing cook, and she served us a delicious Mexican meal with mango in it. That night, we packed all we could, and I spent the night at Grandpa’s house.
6. Friday the 12th, we finished packing and took off sometime during the day and headed to the airport. I was completely zapped by then, so I can’t remember exactly when we took off. All I know is we got there somehow, and by the time we reached LA in the evening, I was able to think a little straighter, and enjoyed most of the trip back.
7. We skipped Saturday the 13th by crossing the date line.
8. Sunday the 14th, we landed in Christchurch, thankful that our trip was over. I very happily slept in my bed that night for the first time in three weeks. :)

The first day I spent with my cousins—they’re the ones that lived on our place in Michigan the last five years before our move. I’m really glad I could spend time with them; it was good to be with them and relax a little. :)

Mary—we’ve been friends since before I can remember! Almost like sisters, in a way.

Rhoda

Anna (who isn’t as small as I remembered! :))

Three lovely sisters. (actually, there are four—Beth, the eldest, wasn’t with us when we took our walk)

Me and Mary—can you tell yet that we were having lots of fun?!

Rhoda and I

It was great to be with them again! :) (Remember: 4 girls + 1 camera = fun!)

I took this picture for my brothers—John, my cousin (these girls’ brother) was working on spring ploughing.

We had a tea party, in memory of earlier days (“on the farm”). And this time, Beth was with us!

After the tea party, we just sat and talked. The girls showed me a box and letter I had given Mary right before we left, and it was fun to read what I had written then!

Common Ohio scenery. I had forgotten how many barns there are in the States…it was quite shocking for this girl!

One of the days, we went to a zoo close by.

Almost all of the cousins on Dad’s side (only two are missing, I think).

I loved trying to get pictures of all the different animals!

We just wandered around, looking at things and talking about them together. I think we were the only ones there for the most part (it’s a pretty small zoo).

Mum and Nate

Nathan and cousins—they loved talking to each other through the door!

One evening, most of the family got together for tea, and had ice cream for dessert. Nate loved it—and they all enjoyed watching him dirty himself up!

Cute brother

At the airport, ready to get home! It was kind-of hard to say goodbyes for some of us, but we were all looking forward to set food on good ole Kiwi soil again.

Goodbye, U.S.…

…and hello, New Zealand!
This is actually the top part of the South Island, and bottom of the North. The cloudy bit is over the North Island, but on the South all is clear and sunny. :)

Ahh…home sweet home.

And so ends my trip to the States, completed almost four months after we came home. It’s SO GOOD to be back, and to be enjoying daily life!

~Esther

P.S. Hopefully now that I don’t have these series hanging over me I can get back to semi-regular posting. :) I’m relieved to have this behind me. I won’t promise, but I’d like to try! :)