John Newton

post by Elliot

I am reading a book right now about John Newton.
It is quite interesting to see his whole life and how wicked he was
and how God changed him to a Christian who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace."
He was a man who went through many dangers and toils
before he was saved , and finally, after a life of dishonoring his parents,and cursing God,
he repented and became a pastor in a little town of Olney,bringing many to Christ.
Here is a great man who used to be a wicked wretch whose name is written in the Book of Life. 
His life is a testimony that God will forgive the worst of sinners.
http://www.amazon.com/Through-Many-Dangers-Story-Newton/dp/0852344902

Weekend with the Family - Part 2

Posted by Gabrielle

Friday night of our weekend with the relatives brought a much-anticipated trip to a special, local French restaurant. This wasn't just any French restaurant - It was a fancy one, and the owner, a French man too, came out and talked with us. I would have given a lot to understand what he and our other French-speaking family members said that evening. :)

 Beautiful carnations at our table

Most of the loud laughing and goofiness came from this area of the table that evening

Two family hams...

My appetizer - a delicious tomato basil salad with olives and croutons - delicious!

Benaiah was even brave enough to try escargot as part his appetizer. And for those of you not initiated into French culture, escargot are...snails!

This was so sweet to watch...the owner cut up Benaiah's dinner for him! :)

 Meme and Pepe's desserts even came on 'Happy Anniversary' (in French!) plates with a candle!

 

And the crowning glory to dessert was a miniature French wedding cake, made out of cream puffs.

And, you didn't think we'd forget a family picture, did you? Of course not! But, arranging 15 people for a group picture took some time.

 Happy 60th anniversary, Pepe and Meme!

Stay tuned for exciting Part 3 of our weekend with our relatives coming soon...

Weekend with the Family - Part 1

Posted by Gabrielle

Two weeks ago was Pepe and Meme's 60th anniversary! Of course, we had to do something special, and of course, that involved "our people" coming in from Chicago and San Francisco. This is the first post in a series about our special weekend. I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures - the lighting in the dining room was not the best, and we had a lot of people who were all moving around - all the time. :)

Mommy and her older brothers (from left to right) - Tonton Carlo and Tonton Michael

We started the weekend on Thursday evening with an informal pizza dinner. And these weren't just any pizza - they're Chicago deep dish pizza and always a much-anticipated  Hellwig delight. Thank you, Tonton Michael and Tata Becky, for sending these!

And, as usual, silliness and laughter abounded at the dinner table that evening. How can you help it, though, when you seat a bunch of comedians around a dinner table? :)

4th of July Celebration

Posted by Gabrielle

This 4th of July, we did something a little different - we went to see Uncle Sam...and we even took pictures with him!

 Uncle Sam wants your money

Benaiah wasn't so sure at first, but he quickly warmed up to Uncle Sam, especially since he was wearing sneakers and shades, just like his favorite brother Timothy ;)

What-cha know? Uncle Sam drinks Coke too!

And of course, we enjoyed a beautiful display of fireworks, right from the entrance to our street. It's a prime location!

Happy 4th of July!

Posted by Gabrielle

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I hope y'all are enjoying a wonderful day with family! We're not doing a whole lot out of the ordinary. We do have plans, though, to go out and see the fireworks if the rain and thunder stops and the clouds lift.

Many use this day to remember our founding fathers and those who gave their lives to build this free country we now enjoy. While I heartily recommend doing so, I also want to point you to the One who came to earth and died, taking our sins upon Himself that, in Christ, we might have ultimate freedom from sin and death. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Have a wonderful day!

Memorial Day

Posted by Gabrielle

Yes, that's me! Late in posting! I'm sorry I haven't been around here much of late. Business, including my two shops, sewing machine repair, and photography have been keeping me busy. But I have a new schedule now and I'll be blogging every Thursday evening and scheduling posts during the week, so I hope I can find plenty of good things to share now that you'll be hearing from me a little more often! :)

Anyways, back to Memorial Day where I left off in picture posts.

It was a lovely day - sunny and rather warm, but we were thankful it didn't rain! There's always plenty to do:

talking with friends, 

riding high up on hayrides to get a good view of the surroundings,

(photo credit: my sweet friend Anna-Rebekah)
 helping in the lunch lines,

 listening to one of our favorite Southern Gospel/Bluegrass bands,


holding babies and talking with dear friends,

capturing videos,

enjoying ice cream on a hot day,

brothers waiting together for rides,

 and of course, lots and lots of hayrides and army truck rides!

I'm sure everyone in our family would agree that it was a wonderful day!