Just a quick post...

Hey there!
It's been a while since I've posted here but after a friend started posting and my dad made a comment about this blog the other day, as well as so much going on in life, I thought I would at least make a quick post. Over all though, we're doing well, life is moving on and time is disappearing.

Further in depth...here's a little update on the family:
Zeb, Jos, Rayni and I are all on an Ultimate frisbee team (same one we were on during the summer) and have been playing games all throughout the fall. Our last normal game for the season was last night, it was a blast and the other team were really nice. Now we have two play off games left, which are still to be determined when and where. The people on our team are awesome and it has really been neat getting to know and hang out with them over this time. The rest of the family has come to almost every game, which is pretty fun.

Zeb, Jos and Rayni are all working on college classes. Zeb is doing it through clep tests and going to start taking some online classes soon. Jos is finishing up a couple of classes at Edmonds Community College and is working. Then Rayni just started this quarter through running start. While its hard and different from homeschooling and highschool. She is still having fun and doing well!

I'm competing in Debate this year which is going well so far. I have an awesome debate partner and we got our first (and hopefully not last) checkmark of the two that we need to qualify to Nationals in Colorado. The tournament also had three speech events you could compete in, those being Apologetics, Impromptu, and Extemp. I competed in all three and also got a checkmark in all of them (2nd in Apologetics, 6th in Impromptu and I don't remember what place I got in Extemp). It was pretty crazy because we were always on our feet (with eight debate rounds and three speech rounds over two days) but it was also a lot of fun and well worth it. The next tournament will be in January so now we are working on getting ready for that.

My Family is still leading the Apologetics Club that we started 4 or so years ago. It's going well and there are a lot of people coming. It is so neat to see how the club has changed some of these kids (yep I'm one of them) and even the parents. To see them all start out shaky and unsure of what their talking about, to getting up with a sure voice and still hand and passionate heart, speak about the faith they live on. Its amazing how God works and the change that comes in the heart of each person as they get to know even further what they believe in. I can't even explain how much it has helped me and my life.

Its hunting season as well! Jed and my dad went hunting three weeks ago and Jed shot his first deer (which he beat me too, and I'll never here the end of... haha) and today Rayni and dad are hunting/checking out the area. Then next weekend Zeb, Jos, Rayni, Dad and I are all going Elk hunting, Which I've super excited about. Dad got a cow tag (meaning he can shoot a female elk) this year and the rest of us are hoping to be able to get a shot at some bull elk. We'll see how it goes.

Jed, Keziah, Malachi and I are all in Awana which started a little over a month ago. We go every Sunday and it sure is fun. Jed is in Trek now which means he and I are together for the first part of the night where we play games. It sure if fun to have him. Keziah is in T&T and working on her books and memorization, and Malachi is in Sparks having fun and working on his book and memorization as well. Rayni is also coming, as a helper instead of a clubber though. She usually ends up helping the cubbies (the youngest age group) and I'm pretty sure they all love her. Dad is still a leader and he helps out in Varsity Class (the one I'm in) which is pretty awesome as well.

Mom is AMAZING!!!. She's working on school with the kids, running us around and being an amazing women. She is an encouragement and tries to help out wherever she can. I love her tons!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm gonna go babysit a family of six kids with Jessica Cooper (an amazing young lady) while their parents are out of town on an anniversary vacation. We're leaving today and come back on Friday.

Well, this ended up being longer then I expected! Now that you have an update on the family, hopefully when I get back I can type up another post of what I've been thinking and share some of what God has been teaching me lately. He sure is ....indescribable. The way He works through His creation (including me) is stunning. Well, I'm off for now.

God Bless!
-Hosanna

p.s. I didn't exactly read this over and double check that everything turned out right because I need to go finish packing, so I apologize for any mistakes and I hope it makes sense. :-)

Don't miss the little things....

They are sometimes the most precious.....
(Azariah and his Buddy Nacho)

Old Pictures from Uganda!

October 1st 1993 (the day after Rayni was born).

Rayni

Best Friends

Hosanna (me), holding a praying mantas.

Dad, the fix-it man.

Zeb, Rayni, and Hosanna with face paint.

A year after Mom and Dad were married

School with Papa

Yes, we are still alive!

Sorry it has been so long, we have been good and busy. Tomorrow we leave to our annual Mothers day camping trip at Fort Flagler. Yes, we are praying for some good weather :-).  Thought you would enjoy the picture. Have a great day!

-Hosanna

Another tournament!!!

The Emerald City Qualifier starts on Wednesday and Rayni and I are working on getting our speeches ready. We are partnering to compete in duo, along with competing individually in Impromtu and Apologetics. Rayni is also competing with her Persuasive on fathers and I'm competing in my Illustrated Oratory on the bible.

With around 250 students competing this is going to be the largest Washington tournament so far and probably a lot of fun.

One quick really awesome thing happened today. We had our neighbor come over to take a look at something we were wanting to get fixed. He told us he would do it for free, and after taking a glance at our computers and asking what operating system we used he asked us if we wanted his old computer. He had bought it in 2008 and used it for week, but hadn't been able to run a program on it that he used often for work so after trying to sell it to a friend who ended up backing out, he asked us if we wanted it. Of course we said yes, and with it came a 20 inch screen. Now Jos is upgrading slightly to the new computer, Jed and the younger ones are getting rid of their very old XP computer and getting Jos' old but newer then their current computer, and I got the 20 inch screen to use on my computer. I had been thinking about getting a better screen, but due to the cost hadn't. Now I've been blessed with a 20 inch screen for free, Jos is blessed with a slight upgrade for free, and Jed and the younger ones are blessed with a big upgrade. Its pretty awesome to see how God provides.

Signing off

-Hosanna

Three Random Facts

1. New dog food!
Yes, and we caught Azariah eatting it a couple times already. We still aren't sure whats wrong with the normal food we give that child, but I guess the dog's food is much better. :)

2. Jerky Sleep!
After playing ultimate frisbee the first half of the morning. It affected me to the point that while laying down this afternoon and almost asleep thinking about it, my arm jerked to throw a frisbee. Not 5 minutes later my entire body jerked to begin another throw. Hahaha, I got a kick out of it! Yes, I'm throwing frisbees in my sleep!

3. GUESS WHAT!!!!!
No, Azariah did not say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", and no Zeb is not getting married. Actually, its moms birthday on Monday!!!! She is one amazing mother and I love her tons!!!!

Well, that's it for now.
-Hosanna

Old Photos

Rayni (3 years, 7 months) and Hosanna (1 year, 9 months)
South Africa

A couple weeks ago while looking at old photos. We came across a couple that we just had to pull out and put up. They brought back memories, sighs, and laughs. One of my favorite photos was this one on the right, of Rayni and I. So I thought I would share it with the rest of you! You can click on the image to make it larger.


Enjoy!
 -Hosanna