Happy Birthday to Jared and Nathan!!

Our now SIXTEEN year old brother Jared may be the only brother who comes up and puts his arm around your shoulders or takes a look at your hair and says “It would really look nice this way” or tells you that your jacket sure looks great. Jared is probably the only boy who will see a job that needs to be done and work at it with feeling until it is accomplished.

Nathan, SIXTEEN years old and counting, will keep the whole family laughing all of dinnertime with just a little help from Jared and Uriah.  Nathan is the brother who goes and buys a special treat that he hopes to enjoy but willingly gives a lot of it up for his pleading brothers and sisters. Nathan is the man who can take a baby for a lengthy amount of time, keep it happy and smiling, or put it to sleep in his arms no matter how much aerobatics he does.

These little boys have been talked and fretted over from the moment they were born…. They are Famous! These brothers of ours! 

Many years ago a friend of ours was in a restaurant telling a story that our Dad had told him about Jared and Nathan. Sitting at a nearby table, someone else overheard this story he was telling and recognized the “boys” as Jared and Nathan Whalen!

Years later, our dear brothers were busily working away on a car down at Grandpa’s shop, when a farmer, eager to find some workers, came looking for “Those Twin Whalen Boys”.

Dad and Mum marvel that they have survived to live to this day... their sixteenth birthday. We siblings rejoice in the fun times they have added to our family by their enthusiasm and the vibrancy of life they have spread to not only us, but also to the world in which we live. Happy Birthday Jared and Nathan! Love, Jeremiah, Susanna, Naomi, Sarah, Uriah, and Levi

Yesterday Uriah, Sarah, Naomi and a few friends headed down to Pittsburgh to participate in a Music Festival

Emily

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Practice

Here the band is practicing

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We had a little time slot, so most of us girls played a few songs together while we waited for the concert to start

sisters

Sarah B.

Emily

Brianna and Naomi were 3rd violinists


Amelia and Sarah at work


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Right before the concert a few pictures were taken



Amelia with Sarah

Amelia with Naomi


Our string group for the day





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THE CONCERT

Lizzie played the flute

Uriah played the trumpet

These girls played a beautiful song on the harp and flute

Matt played the trumpet

We all had an exciting and enjoyable day. We want to thank Mr. Bright for driving us to and from the church where the concert took place and for also treating us to a little treat afterwards. Thank you!

This little boy and the bobcat

was hauling wood.
Singing

he carefully pulled up to the porch

and dumped the wood.

Looking at old pictures ...

again :)

Recently our hammered Dulicimer was pulled out and

Jeremiah helped Sarah in her effort to try to tune it.

Mum enjoying her Tortilla maker. Uriah making No Bake cookies.


Susanna's Valintine gave her 12 red roses.

Susanna making dinner . . .

. . . and dessert for her Valintine

Monday evening we watched a movie about Nate Saint and Jim Elliot, they were men who made an effort to reach a tribe of natives with the Gospel. In the end these men gave their lives while trying to reach this tribe with the Gosple of Jesus Christ. There was one phrase out of this movie that probably all of us will remember, "My father's life was not taken, he gave it."

(this was the son taking about his father who had given his life so the natives could hear the Gospel)

It is interesting to find that the Hebrew word for Love means "give" or "to give". Nate Saint and Jim Elliot gave their lives. . . God gave his Son.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Lemon's visit

The Lemon family, missionaries to Korea, stopped in for a couple days. We kept them at our home and enjoyed their visit much.

playing school

cowboys and Indians

Mrs. Lemon

Jeremiah listened to three of the little children while they read. He really enjoys being responsible. :)

The little boys made big messes. If I recall right ... this is the tower of Babel.

Nathan and Joshua must be the bankers. The monopoly game lasted quite awhile.