Happy 22nd Birthday, Karissa Noel Gandee!

My Christmas Baby!

Parental Rights

From: ParentalRights.org
"Imagine a place where the government threatens parents with fines, or even jail time, if they refuse to vaccinate their children - all in the name of “watching out” for the best interests of “its” children. Imagine a country that permits doctors to terminate the lives of “deficient” children up to a year old, even without parental consent, for the sake of “a better society”. To find such a place, you need look no further than the nation of Belgium." Read the rest of this entry »

Jingle Bell!

Check out:
Gandees at the Jingle Bell 5k!!

Veteran's Day Parade

Linda! Your post reminded me of my Parade pics that I totally forgot about!

November 11, 2008 Veteran's Day Parade

Daniel is 3rd from the right.

Dan with Maj. Sumner

Dan and Mom

This is my Dad(the bearded one) with his buddy in the parade.

Proud Grandpa

Camping

One Night Camping Trip!

Manatee Springs in Chiefland!

Just the Moms and kids!!

We survived!

Jaret, Ethan and I squeezed into this tent.

We all fit ok but I will NOT do it again without an air mattress!!!

Carolyn had the suite! With the air mattress AND the fan! She's so prepared.

Jackson and Betsy securing their spot for the night.

The Springs were freezing, of course. But the kids were brave.
This is the only Manatee we saw at Manatee Springs:)

It was a pretty place.

Daylight left us quickly! Get the fire moving!

There's marshmallows to set ablaze and Smores to squish!

So relaxing...

Note to self...Jiffy Pop does not work on a fire...

We saw some critters!
This little guy was less than an inch long...so cute.
When we walked out to the water on a dock, these vultures were everywhere.

We saw 5 or 6 deer as the sun was setting. They didn't seem to be very afraid of us. That is, until the kids went chasing them!

Cassie, Jaret, Alex, Ethan, Keely, Jacob, Jackson and Anna Dede, Betsy and Carolyn...could never had done it without them!
Being the homeschooling moms that we are, we couldn't let some learning ops go by undone. We were given some activities by the Park Ranger do complete so the kids could receive their "Junior Ranger" badges. They were NOT thrilled with the written work to do as we were packing to go home.
A successful overnight camping trip! We were blessed with great weather, bathrooms within eye shot, electricity for the griddle and the coffee pot, cooperative and adventerous children, and most of all freedom to sing praises around the campfire!

Dan Gandee-6th overall in Citrus County!

I am one proud Mama! Daniel's Cross Country Team at Citrus High had a great season and finished 1st place in the Citrus county. Six of our boys placed in the top 10! The top 7 are All-Conference and receive a patch as well. Daniel ran his best time this past Saturday at the Citrus/Hernando Classic with a time of 17:47...Awesome! It's off to Districts next week!!

Citrus Athletic Association Top Ten Finishers (Citrus guys in bold)

1. Timothy Wenger, Citrus, 16:48
2. Tory Webb, Lecanto, 16:56
3. Derick Hannigan, Crystal River, 17:10
4. Justin Sblano, Lecanto, 17:27
5. Geremy DeWitt, Crystal River, 17:32
6. Daniel Gandee, Citrus, 17:47
7. Kyle Martone, Citrus, 17:49
8. Brandon Hardy, Citrus, 17:52
9. Benjamin Wenger, Citrus, 18:11
10. James Skyler, Citrus, 18:26.

Daniel is hiding in the back(2nd from right)

Incredible story and biblical truth...

www.bornalivetruth.org/

Life...

Citrus boys take top honors at Whispering Pines InvitationalDaniel, second from left, had a great run with a finishing time of 18:40.

And here's Dad with Dan just before take-off...

Living History Days

We traveled back in time to 1836! And we had a blast!

Fort Cooper Living History Days

Here's the gang in front of what's left of the Fort!

Our Wilderness Boys!

Shearing, Spinning,Weaving...this lady did it all!

An expert with the flint and steel.And then...Boom!
This guy was incredible. He can wrestle a gator, build a fire in 30 seconds, and can obviously survive in the wilderness without a care! He told us about his family history...quite amazing.
See? It's smokin'! This gentleman is another that can survive off the land for the rest of his days if he chose to do so. I think he had the skin of every critter from the state of Florida hanging there!Oooh!

The guys got to enjoy some chores that the little tikes would've had to endure back in the day!

Age of Uncertainty...

So Much Uncertainty...

War and Terrorism.

Health Care.

Economy.

Politics.

Climate Change.

But Even More Certainty...

God is Eternal.

The circumstances of this world come and go, but God has been, and will be, "from everlasting to everlasting you are God". (Psalm 90:2)

God is Unchanging.

We do not know whether tomorrow will be like today or not. But we do know that God "is the same yesterday, today, and forever". (Hebrews 13:8)

God is Love.

We do not need to know what is in God's mind regarding the future. We only need to know that all His choices reflect the fact that He is love. (1 John 4:8, 16)

God is Perfect.

There is much human imperfection in this world that results in uncertainty. But God is perfect and can be trusted implicitly. (Matthew 5:48)

God is Righteous.

Peoples' words and actions are often motivated by unrighteous motives. But God is righteous, meaning He always does the right thing. (Psalm 145:17)

God is All-Powerful.

Uncertainty doesn't exist because of God being weak. Since He has unlimited power, His purposes are the issue, not His power. (Psalm 33:6-9)

God is All-Knowing.

The root of uncertainty is fear of the future. But God knows it all. We don't need to know the future as long as we know He does. (Hebrews 4:13)

We are not at the mercy at of an uncertain world. Instead, by the certain mercies of our loving God, you can live a life of security-surrounded and protected by the peace of God in Christ. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Excerpts from: Turning Points Magazine and Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah

Crystal River Meet

Rose and shone early this morning to get to Daniel's Cross Country meet in Crystal River. He said it was a very difficult course with lots of sugar sand. Well, he had a great run and he beat his best time. His new PR is now 18:22!

We're so proud of you, Daniel!!(who prefers to be called Dan nowadays!)

These next few shots are from last week's meet in the Villages where Citrus won first place out of 5 schools.

Some of the Citrus guys

Daniel's reaction to the announcement of the winning team...He tells me he's glad he went with Cross Country instead of football! Mom's happy.

Our "Wilderness Survival Boys Club" received an unexpected treat when Jackson's mom and dad took us out for a boat ride! What a neat surprise-the boys had a blast! Thank you Brian Family!

Everyone's ready to go! Jacob, Alex, Jaret and Ethan

Alex's sister, Anna joined us for the day.

Now the boat is picking up some serious speed.

The boys were screaming their little heads off.

Stop for a little dip in the lake. Lake Spivey? or Henderson? :) Jaret and Jacob just enjoying the ride.The whole crazy gang...Jaret, Jacob, Alex, Ethan and Jackson.
The Skipper!
And his first mate! And here's the reason for the trip! We were supposed to be keeping a lookout for some natural habitats. This is a fish bed!
...And this is just purty.