My Cub Scout

Cub Scouts is pretty high up on my "Thankful List" this year. This is Nate's first year in scouts and so far it has been a fantastic experience for him. He's gone camping, gone on a hayride, earned his first badge

There are many more pictures, tucked safely away on my camera (as I mentioned in yesterday's post - I have issues.)  He made a car for the pinewood derby, went camping at the Philadelphia Zoo, is going to the Planetarium.....it's been a very cool experience for him.  Nate isn't really into large crowds, so the pack meetings have been a little bit challenging for him.  But those challenges are off-set by his Tiger Den meetings, which is a smaller group of just first grade boys.

Just one more reason to be thankful:)

It's been too long

It's been too long since I've posted.  I don't exactly have a huge blog following, so basically I think this apology goes out to my immediate family and Anna:)

My issue with blogging:  I'm terrible at uploading my pictures onto my computer after I've taken them. And I don't usually blog without pictures. Even when I actually remember to take pictures....or, as is more often the case, when the kids have used my camera and have taken pictures themselves....it can take me months to "find the time" to sit down and upload the pictures.  Perhaps I should go back to using a smaller memory card to force my own hand!

So this is a post without pictures.  Just a quick thought about my scripture reading this morning.

Psalm 31:24

Be of good courage

And He shall strengthen your heart

All you who hope in the Lord.

When I was 11 or 12, my dad taught me how to use a Strong's Concordance.  It's a monstrously large book, which doubles well as a booster sit for small toddlers in a pinch. (Yes, I did this recently while watching Jake and Nikki's daughter, Charlotte, as I no longer own a single piece of toddler sized furniture.  It didn't seem to phase her a bit, and she blissfully ate goldfish crackers perched on top of her Concordance throne...but I digress).  My dad taught me early on how to take a passage of scripture, look up the Greek or Hebrew meanings of the words, and try to figure out the authors original intent, that may have become a little watered down in the English translation process.

So today I looked up "courage", "strengthen" and "hope" as they are used here.  This being an Old Testament passage, it was originally written in Hebrew.  And I'm glad I did.

The Hebrew word for "courage" used here actually means "to fasten upon, to take hold of, to seize."  And strengthen means to "be alert, be confirmed or established, to prevail or to make strong to the point of obstinate."  And "Hope" means trust and wait patiently for the Lord.  "Obstinate" usually has a negative connotation to it.  But here, I think it paints a beautiful portrait of the fierceness of God's strength that He giving to us.

So, how's this?

Psalm 31:24

Seize and strongly hold onto God.

He will make you alert.  He will make your heart stronger.  He will establish you and cause you to prevail.

All you who trust and wait patiently on the Lord.

It begins with how we choose to relate to God:  we grab tightly onto Him and hold on.

God responds:  He makes our hearts alert and aware. He gives our hearts obstinate strength, causing us to prevail!

I hope this encourages you today!

Abby's new adventure

Putting the title like that kinda makes it sound like an American Girl story. But I guess, in a way, it is. I'm so grateful that we live in a place where my daughters can get instrument lessons, of their choice, for free. Plus, they get to participate with over 100 other students in the orchestra.

The Outer Banks Adventure - Part V

Do you think maybe, just maybe, I should put Abby in gymnastics?

The Outer Banks Adventure - Park IV

Playtime!  No words necessary...

The Outer Banks Adventure - Part III

Wildlife!

The area where we stayed was pretty remote.  There were wild horses roaming around, dolphins almost within our reach, pelicans, fish, crabs and even a starfish!

 The wild horses are nothing to be trifled with.  They are aptly named.

The first day we were there, one horse turned and snorted at the kids and started trotting towards them in 

a rather aggressive manner.  It was a good lesson to learn early on - KEEP YOUR DISTANCE.  And we did.  The horses roamed around our house at night, and we stayed on the porches

and behind the fences to look at them.

 Rob' fish....

...and Sophie's fish

 Pelicans

At first the fins in the water worried the kids a little bit.  I think we've watched

one too many episodes of Shark Week on Discovery.  But after we actually

saw the dolphins jumping through the waves, the kids went back in the water, with the dolphins,

without hesitation.

 Nate's starfish was truly one of the highlights of the week for him.

He found it by himself in the sand.  It's the only starfish we saw all week!  He got to see is crawl/wiggle around on it's little tentacles and he walked around carrying it for the longest time.

Yes, we ultimately did kill the starfish by laying it out to dry so that Nate could bring it home.  He'll be taking 

it into school to show his class tomorrow.

The Outer Banks Adventure - Part II

Boarding!

There were lots of boards this week - surf boards, skim boards, boogie boards.

Here's a taste of the adventures....

 Emma getting some surfing lessons from Rob.  Yes, Rob does know how to surf.  Hidden talent.

 Rob giving lessons to Sophie.

We had given Sophie surfing lessons for her birthday back in June, so she

had a bit of a leg up on everyone else.

 Charis hung in there with the best of them!  Early in the week she was standing up on the board

 Surf boards are still a little too big to handle for Abby, so she worked on her skim-boarding skills.  Having a low center of gravity is handy sometimes!

 Hans and Charis getting ready to work on their skills

 Heidi and Hans getting ready for the next wave