Sunrise...

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

- Psalm 19:1

I took this photo last week as the sun was rising over St. Augustine Beach. - LH

Mother

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there! Mothers are such a blessing, and we do not seem to appreciate them as much as we ought to. Just think, if there were no mothers the world would end, there would be no future generations born!

So here's to all the mothers out there. Thank you for being what God designed you to be, and for being an example to us younger girls so that one day we too can fulfil that wonderful role: Mother.

And here she is, mine own wonderful mother. Proverbs 31 in the flesh! What a wonderful example and encouragement she has been to me.

These words I dedicate to her:

And suddenly theories and speculations ended, and she knew. She knew that faithful self-forgetting service and the love that spends itself over and over, only to be renewed again and again, are the secret to happiness. For another world, perhaps leisure and beauty and luxury- but in this one, "Whosoever loses his life shall gain it." Margaret knew now that her mother was not only the truest, the finest, the most generous woman she had ever known, but the happiest as well...

All her old castles in the air seemed cheap and tinseled tonight beside these tender dreams that had their roots in the real truths of life. Travel and position, gowns and motor-cars, yachts and country houses, these things were to be bought in all their perfection by the highest bidder, and always would be. But love and character and service, home and the wonderful charge of little lives- the "pure religion breathing household laws" that guided and perfected the whole- these were not to be bought; they were only to be prayed for, worked for, bravely won.

-Excerpt from Kathleen Norris' book "Mother"

I love you Mom!
Angela

No the map really wasn't that entertaining.




Across the river

Daddy

So much beauty

Ditto! (Dad's caption additions are in blue)

We visited the horticulture center next. Daddy and I had

never been in there before, it was so neat! The flowers and cacti

were so beautiful.

Yours truly - also very beautiful!

Blossoms

Isn't she beautiful?

Through the waterfall

I thought these lilies were so pretty and unusually large,

but when we went to the store the other day I saw some

that were just as big!... I think I need to get out more.

my wonderful daughter!

"There's a church in the valley by the wildwood..."

I love the stained glass windows at the chapel! All the

stained glass windows had flowers etched on the glass which

I found so unique and pretty.

We went to a Mexican restaurant with the Deckers Saturday night;

I think about a fourth of the people at the F&D retreat had the same idea!

Friends a few tables down

We stopped at a local convenience store and to get some ice cream for dessert.

Due to the lack of an ice cream scoop I had to use Dad's pocket knife to serve

the ice cream. Talk about primitive conditions!

Hear ye, hear ye! For the first time in F&D retreat history Mr. Phillips and
his daughters had to play the infamous "help your daddy get ready for work" game.
Little Virginia was such a cutie. Though she was the one that volunteered, she mostly just stood there scratching her head in wonderment as Jubilee did all the work! LOL.

Her audience.

When Virginia jumped on the stage Saturday night, a lot of the little girls that were still

there plopped down on the floor with cameras. After babbling on for a little while she

looked down at her little audience and said, "now I'm going to sing a song for you." LOL

Father - Daughter Retreat 2010

Here are a few pictures from the Father Daughter Retreat:

Angela displays very good form in "Correction Croquet:"



Joel and Kennedy D. display extreme expertise at the three-legged race; the reason there is no one else in the picture is that they were leaving everyone else in their dust - they were the best team out there!

Here, Angela and I try our hand (or should I say leg?) at the three-legged race. We did pretty well, but were nowhere as good as the D.'s.

SNOW!!!!

Whoo-hoo!! It started snowing here about an hour ago! I just went outside and the snowflakes were an inch or more in diameter. Way Cool! Standing out the back door, we could hear my 10-year-old cousin Matthew, who lives just up the hill, yelling at the top of his lungs, "THIS IS SO COOL!" LOL.

"For he saith to the snow, fall thou on the earth.."

-Job 37:5

(Can you find my shoes?)

White has never looked so beautiful!

Thank you LORD for this beautiful snow!!

We were so excited, it was quite a happy change from all the rain. Even the cat wanted to go outside. He has been inside all afternoon because of the rain, but as soon as he saw the snow out the door he went. He is pure white so I guess he figured that this was the only time he would ever be camouflaged!

Farewell, until next time,

Angela

Porporate Progeny

Here is a positively perfectly posed picture of my porporate progeny:

One thing you will find hanging around the Hagen Homestead:

an absolutely amazing amount of alliteration abounds around our abode.

~ Mr. Larry

I'm not smart enough to know it can't be done!

When my dad and his brothers were growing up my grandpa used to tell them this all the time, "I am like a bumble bee, I'm not smart enough to know it can't be done!" Grandpa even had it framed with a drawing of a bumble bee and it used to hang in his office. Why a bee? Because bee's, according to scientists, are not smart enough to know they can't fly! According to all that is known about flight, the lift created by their wings is totally incapable of supporting their weight off the ground. Our Creator really does use the simple things, like bees, to confound the wise. Even the scientists.

Greetings all! I know, I know, the title of this post really should be "I'm not smart enough to know I can't blog"! I'm sorry I have been absent from 'bloggerland' for so long. It has been a busy past few months.

My dear grandfather, R. Ronald Hagen, passed away on November 4th, completely unexpected to us. We really appreciate all of y'all's prayers. Our church fellowship was such a blessing to us during this time. We love y'all! We had a celebration of life a few days later and Dad was able to share a few words with everyone. My grandparents live in a fly-in community, so some of their neighbors did a 'missing man formation' fly-over. It was such an incredible sight! Our dear friends, the Davis', came down to be with us that day, which meant so much to our family. I am so thankful to the Lord for the time I got to spend with Grandpa, and I am especially thankful for the wonderful son that he raised: my Dad.

The next weekend we had a wonderful weekend retreat at Calathora. It was a refreshing time of fellowship and a chance to worship the Lord together with friends far and near. It also gave us a chance to have a little impromptu shower for baby Esther.

Before we knew it Thanksgiving was upon us. What a blessing to be with family, and to remember those that came before us. The pilgrims suffered so much the first years after they came to America. But when God blessed them they remembered to give thanks. In this day and age sometimes we forget the hard times our forefathers had, in comparison to the relatively easy times we now live in. Listening to Dad pray over our Thanksgiving feast reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for, and how easy it is to forget to thank God for all things, big and little. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thesselonians 5:18

Christmas decorating at our house and our 'neighbors' (grandparents) house is always a party. It is so much fun to be with family and celebrate the birth of Christ! Though we know Christ truly was not born on December 25, this celebration gives us a chance to be with family and to share with them God's greatest gift to the world, Jesus Christ.

Well that pretty much sums it up for now! Christmas with Dad's family is next to come, as soon as I have pictures.LOL. But meanwhile I will leave you with a collage of pictures to enjoy!