My Prayer Today

Lord, may I ever look to You.

And not be distracted by the cares of this world,

Or what to wear,

Or what to eat.

That I may always praise You -

In everything I say, do and think.

You alone are worthy of my praise.

You have given me eyes to see Your Word,

And ears to hear Your voice.

Hands to bless others,

And lips to proclaim Your works.

May everything I do today

Only bring honor and glory to Your Name.

Update on Mary L.

(For a back up review on Mary L. visit THIS previous post)

Well, I am so happy and thankful to announce that Mary L. is out of amnesia and knows her name and her parents now. Praise the LORD for His goodness! She is still very weak from her test and just everything that she's been going through. Please continue to pray for her, regarding this...and for her family. That God would give them the strength to get through all of this. It's been SO hard on all of them!!
Thank you all so much!!

My 250th Post and...

in celebration...my THIRD GIVEAWAY!!! :) Yippee!! I'm so excited to do a giveaway again! I absolutely love hosting giveaways! :) Don't you love entering them? :)

Well, this giveaway is for...

This soft, pink nail polish! Just imagine painting your nails for a special occasion...

And you'd probably like some kind of fun bracelet to wear when you're done painting your nails, right? How about THIS one (made by yours truly :):

(don't they look nice together? :) And such SPRING colors!!)

And if you're anything like me, you enjoy listening to music while you 'work' (or get yourself dolled up :), so I'm also giving away a CD...but the winner has TWO choices!!!

The following:

(Fellow Oregonians...the group Kutless's CD: "To Know That You're Alive")

OR

(Not very well known, but Paul Baloche's 'Open the Eyes of My Heart' CD truly speaks for his love for the LORD.)

~*~

The Rules:

1. Comment and let me know that you want to be entered (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway and link back to me. (1 entry)

3. Become a fan of God's Daughter on Facebook. (2 entries)

4. Follow God's Daughter (only if you want to, of course :) (3 entries) OR, if you are a follower already (1 entry)

5. Follow my photography blog Deus Filia AND/OR comment on at least one post. (if you follow: 3 entries...if you comment: 1 entry)

6. Add my blog button to your blog. (1 entry)

Wow!! If you do *all* of those, you get a total of THIRTEEN entries!! What do you think of THAT? :)

Giveaway ends: May 10th and the winner will be announced the following day. The winner will be picked using random.org.

Make sure you:

Comment separately for each entry.
AND
If you aren't a follower, to leave me some kind of contact information.

Yay!! I'm so excited!! :)

Hope to see lots of comments on this post :)

Blessings!!

Deus Filia Photography

I've finally started a photography blog to display all of my photos!! Please head on over to it and don't be timid to become a follower! And please comment and let me know if you like the photos. I've only posted a few, but I would appreciate to know what you think of those few. I'll be posting more *soon*!!

www.deusfiliaphotography.blogspot.com

Blessings!

KBR photo contest entries

I receive the beautiful King's Blooming Rose magazine and in this last issue, they announced their annual photography contest! Below are my family's submisisons...

"Three Darling Sisters"

L-R: Lydia, Eunice, and Priscilla

Taken by: Miss Raquel

"Sisters Forever"

L-R: Grace, Prisky, Eunice, Lydia, Raquel

Taken by: big brother Noah :)



"Sisters Dear"
L-R: Eunice, Lydia, Grace, Raquel, Prisky
Taken by: big brother Noah :)

"God's Sun on My Face"

Miss Raquel

Taken by: Eunice (8yo)

"Five Young Sisters"

I think this is my favorite!! :)

L-R: Lydia, Prisky, Raquel, Grace, and Eunice

Taken by: Noah

Which one is *your* favorite?!

James' Party! and pics :)

Okay, well I didn't get many pictures of the dance because I was asked for every single one, so there was no way that I could possible take some. :) But a friend of mine, Josh P., had his wisdom teeth pulled a couple days before the party (I know, poor guy!! :( ) and so he didn't dance (he couldn't, because too much movement really hurt his mouth), so he took some...but he still has to send them to me! BUT, he's at TeenPact today till Wednesday, so he won't be able to send them to me till then. But he promised me that he would. :) So...until I get those, you'll just have to look at the pics that I took BEFORE the dance. :) Hope you enjoy them anyway. :)

Okay, while the pics are uploading, I'll just tell a little about the day! :) We arrived at the M.'s house a bit late because Dad had to work on Saturday, and he didn't get home till around 2:30, and it takes us about an hour to get to the M.'s, and the party started at 3PM, but we got there at around 4. :( I hate being late - anywhere! BUT, they hadn't even started eating lunch yet, so we were there at a pretty good time. At least we got there when we did - and not even later than that. Dad usually gets off work at 4, so we actually would've gotten there at 5, if it was a regular day of work for him. But he made it a point not to take any breaks so he could get home early...sweet Dad. :)

Anyway, when we got there, we were just in time to pray and then eat. Mother and I made a huge batch of goat cheese and seasoned it with fresh chives and lemon rind and we took *that* to the party and chips and salsa. While eating, I sat with different friends from church...down in the basement. After lunch, we took some pics, and then had a prayer time, where everyone who was invited, was encouraged to pray for James (the birthday guy :) and Mr. D. started it out, then Josiah P., Noah (my brother :), Ellen D., Mr., Mrs. and Stauros G., me :), Tyler B., Mr. P., my Dad, and then Mr. M. closed. It was a beautiful time - for everyone asking God to bless James in his coming years. I got all choked up before I prayed, and was afraid that I'd just start sobbing when I started praying, but I just felt led by the LORD to bless James and so I did. Josh, the stinker :), was filming the whole time and he got everything on video! I had to step out of the room after praying to wipe my face and sniffle. I get so emotional at times like that...it's almost embarrassing! Anyway...oh! The pics are uploaded...ready to see them? :)

These are just random ones that I was taking *before* the dance....

Jon M. and Foster G.

L-R: Sophie G., Kyla B., Julie M. and Lydia (my sister :)

James P. (not the birthday boy). Okay, he's not going to be reading this any time soon, so I'll just say it...isn't he *cute*??? :) He would never let me say that to him in person, so that's why I'm saying it now. :)

L-R: (red headed :) sweet Ellen D., Foster G. Jon M., if you can see the guy behind Jon, that's his brother James M. (the birthday guy), and Stauros G.

Josh P. (the guy who got his teeth pulled :(, taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. :) The one of me turned out better than this one, because I put my camera lower, so he could see my whole face. But, as you can see in this one, he didn't do that. :) Anyway...

Then I went to the front yard and took pics of the dudes who were wrestling. Of course, I asked them to stop for a moment and pose :)

L-R: Micah P., my brother Noah :), Jesse P., Tyler B., Levi P. and Josiah P.

Then I told them to do something goofy...

:)

Well, until I get those pics from Josh, I'm not going to tell you about the dance. :) Sorry, but pictures always make the story more interesting. :) Until then...

Blessings!!

Birthday celebration and dance today!

This afternoon, we will all be attending the birthday celebration of our dear friend, James M., who turned 18 yesterday! We are planning on having a 'mini-' Civil War dance at the M.'s home and all us girls have been 'dressing' up today! :) We have to wait till Dad gets home, so we can all go together, so during the wait, I have been helping my younger sister get dressed in their 'dancing outfits' (nothing fancy...just a nice, twirly skirt and top :), doing their hair (we all have different hairstyles today! :), and deciding what shoes to wear. :) *hehe* It's going to be SO much fun!!
The adults don't usually dance, and since Mother is pregnant, she has volunteered to take the photos.
We're hoping to be able to do it outside, but we're not sure that'll work - due to rainy weather. But the M.'s have a large basement, that's well-lit and even though it's a bit small for a dance, we'll make do. :) It'll be too fun to dance than to have to worry about room. *hehe*
Anyway, I'll be putting pics up soon! :) I'll include photos of each of our hairstyles and outfits too.

Ta-ta for now!
Blessings!

Yellow and brown photo shoot and fun!

A few days ago, I asked my sister, Eunice (8) to take some photos of me (I needed some for my magazine). When we got back inside, I had TONS of fun editing all these photos! :)

The one I used for the magazine :)

I had fun with the brightness and contrast for/with this photo. Do you think it looks weird or actually pretty neat?

I like this one...do you? Lots of fun with contrast!!

I like how there's quite a bit of...brown in this photo. Gives it an 'older' looking texture.

Just one that I shot of myself when I got back inside. :) I edited this one only a touch.

Which one is your favorite??

PLEASE PRAY...

...for my friend Mary L. and her family. Mary has been developing a sickness over the last few months that the doctors do not know what caused it (they think they do...but they're not sure), and today, Mary was given a dose of anesthetic to undergo a test, and when she woke up, the medication had caused amnesia. She doesn't even know her own parents. Her family is going through a lot right now...please pray for them! Take this request to the LORD.

My adorable sissy!!

Get a load of these adorable pictures of my ADORABLE little sissy!! Couldn't you just eat her up?? After each of these poses, she'd say, "Let me see!". :)

Crocheted Belt

A few days ago, I had the idea of making a crocheted belt! I finished it in one sitting (it's that easy!) and asked my sister to take photos of me wearing it. Below is the finishing look...

I didn't use a pattern...just made it up as I went along. But it's *so* easy!

Yarn - Whatever color you want. :)

Width - 5 stitches

Length - to suit you. For my belt, I like one of the ends hanging a bit loose.

Buckle - whatever you have! :) As you can see in the pics, I used a button that matched perfectly.

I'm anxious to start another one! :) What color(s) should I do next? Any ideas?

Blessings!!

Rainier Columbia Pregnancy Center

My Mother and I have been getting more and more involved in our local pregnancy center. There is one in St. Helens (a city about 45 minutes from us) and the CPC really wants to open/start one up here in Rainier!! Mother and I are really, really excited about this opportunity! We are volunteering as - Mother: counsellor and I: will most likely be able to be the/a receptionist. BUT, we need a LOT of donations before we can really get the Rainier PRC started. We need material and financial donations. If any of you would be willing to help out a little (don't be wondering how you can send stuff to us if you live out of state - there's always the Post Office! :), it would be SO appreciated!! Click on the link on my sidebar or HERE to learn more about the CPC. Or Contact Me (also on the sidebar) and feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

I know we can make a difference!!

Love to you all!
Blessings!

I believe in a baby's right to life...

April snowfalls?

This morning I woke up to...guess what? April snow!! Can you believe that it's actually snowing? This is crazy! I've never seen it snow this late into spring. It actually snowed (but very lightly) a few days ago, and it was so little that it only looked like frost on the ground. But then today, I woke up at around 6:45/7:00AM and it was snowing! I even had to wait a bit before going out to do the milking because a little "mini" blizzard blew up and the sky was *dark* gray!

Then, all of a sudden, the sky opened up, the snow stopped, and I saw blue sky and fluffy white clouds and the sun just started peeking out.

So right now it looks like a normal, every day, spring, April day! No snow on the ground. I wonder if tomorrow will be the same? The past few days has just been lots and lots and tons of rain, so today was a surprise to see snow. Do April snowfalls bring May flowers too?

How has your weather been like? Have you had any incredible spring snowfalls?

Blessings! (and stay warm!)

Books I'm Reading...

So I thought ya'll might be interested in the books that I am currently reading. Devotionals and "just for fun". :) Below are listed both...

(devotional)

An *excellent* book so far! I'm really enjoying it.

(another devotional)

By Mabel Hale...written back in the early 1900's, but still applicable to young ladies today. I am enjoying it immensely!

Last book of the Anne of Green Gables series...

Rilla is Anne and Gilbert's youngest daughter.

Second to the last Love Comes Softly series...
Belinda is Marty and Clark Davis' youngest daughter. I love Janette Oke's novels! She is such a good author.

Yup! Going through the Chronicles of Narnia series. :) FIRST time ever, too! I know...pretty bad, actually. Most homeschoolers I know have read through this series at least twice by the time their my age...sometimes even three times. Anyway, this is the 5th book (for those of you who don't know! :) I'm really likin' them!

So! Tell me what ya'll are reading at the moment...if you've read any of the books I've listed...or plan to soon. I'll update later, when I have finished some of these, and let you know what I am reading then. Until then...

Love and blessings!

Fan page on Facebook!

To all my dear followers...

I have now created a fan page on Facebook for God's Daughter. If you have a membership on Facebook, it would bless me for you to become a fan of it! :)

Love to you all!

Fun quizzes...and my results! :)

Okay, so I was just looking around online and thought it would be fun to take some movie "which character are you?" quizzes. :)

I started with "The Chronicles of Narnia"...and I turned out to be:

Your Result:

You are...

Edmund.

Thoughtful and philosophical, you have made mistakes in the past but have straightened things out and are now where you need to be. You are content to be a wise counsellor, rather than a great leader, though you can be either if you must.

Wow! :) That description is pretty accurate - except that I'm a girl. :) Okay, now for others...



Next, I took a "Little House on the Prairie" quiz...:

Your Result:

You are...

Laura Ingalls.

You are energetic, enthusiastic, and have a willful streak that can get you in trouble. But you are diligent, resourceful, intelligent, and loyal and will work hard to accomplish your goals.

Let me know what YOU turn out to be!! :)

www.quizilla.com

Blessings!

PS: I'll be taking more later :) These were just the first couple that I wanted to try.

Is today really my birthday?

(I actually wrote this yestery, but didn't have time to finish it and post it on God's Daughter. Forgive my tardiness!)

Answer: I guess it is! :)


Well, I'm not spending it in any special way...that's for tomorrow! :) Today, Mother had to take Noah to art school and Lydia went with them, so I'm home with Eunice, Prisky, and Grace...and Obi (our Doberman :). But, my dear bosom friend is going to call me later today...hopefully, that'll be able to work out. She called me at 6:30 this morning to sing 'happy birthday' to me! :) *haha* How sweet is that??!! :)

Anyway, so...it's a tradition here in our home for the birthday person to open their gifts (from family members) *on* their birthday, regardless if they have a party/celebration the next day or that weekend, or whatever. :) But, since Noah isn't going to be here today and this weekend (yes, he's going to my Uncle Oscar and Aunt Lili's house to spend the weekend with our Uncle M., Aunt Kathryn, and Nicholas who are visiting from Virginia...and then Hannah (my sweet second cousin who I've posted pics of before :), her brothers - Tim and Tater (and maybe Zach) are going to go too and so they're just going to have a GUY WEEKEND :)...okay, that was a long explanation in parentheses! :) Back to what I was trying to get through to ya'll :)...since he's not going to be here this evening, I opened my gifts early! :) Four on Tuesday and five yesterday. Well, actually, I didn't *open* four gifts on Tuesday...I opened 3. The other one was...okay, yeah, confusing...I know. I'll explain. :)

So Tuesday afternoon I was really tired and just wanted to take a quick snooze before starting dinner. After having napped for about 1/2 hour, I think, Mother woke me up and told me that she "needed to use my room". Okay? I was...puzzled, to say the least. But she said not to ask any questions, and I was fine with that. (I was half-asleep still!) So I went to the restroom and then the kitchen - to start supper. She joined me there and I just kinda looked at her and she said, "Yeah, I'm done using your room." I was like "whatever!" :) It was kind of chilly in the house, so I decieded to go back to my room and get a sweater. WOW!!!! What did I find there, but a BEAUTIFUL new comforter and pillow!!! Oh it's so lovely!

So now you can understand why I didn't exactly "open" my first gift. :) *haha* Mother is so creative in the ways she gives us things! :) She likes it to be a REAL surprise - if it's going to be a surprise at all! :) And then, that evening, I opened three more...



#1: A beautiful journal from Prisky :) (She picked it out - and was so proud of it :). It's white background with orange felt in the shapes of a bird and flowers (on the front cover).

#2: A FUN book that I've really been wanting! I recommend it to anyone who loves Victorian style...things! :) It's such a wonderfully fun book! (I started it Tuesday evening and finished it Wednesday morning :). It's not very thick, but has lots of fun tidbits and information about life in the Victorian days - and etiquette. It's all about that! :)


#3: And...A CAMERA!!! :) Actually, it was already "mine", in a way - because I used it the most and stuff...but Mother actually GAVE it to me for my birthday...and went and bought herself a brand-spanking new one!! :) (Her's is purple :P :) But I love mine, and I've already made a little camera case for it out of some leftover yarn that Mother brought me from Argentina. The yarn is half cotton, half silk and you can imagine, it's SO soft! So, thankfully, it won't damage the screen on the camera.

And then on Wednesday, March 31st, I opened the rest of my family members' gifts! :)

#1: A really, really neat journal (from Noah) that is tons of different colors! It reminds me of a kleidoscope! Really, really neat!

#2: Some socks (from Dad and Mother) that I've been needing for a while. :) Nothing fancy, but warm!

#3: A REALLY, REALLY cute piggy bank (from Eunice). It's a light blue ("matches your room, Raquel!") with big yellow and green polka dots all over it. :) Really cute! And then I had help filling it with coins! :)

#4: The rest of the Jane Austen novels that I didn't have!!! WOOHOO! Now I have the whole set!!! (from Lydia and Grace :)

And then I got a few cards that were so special (from the family...and friends). They'll make good additions in my birthday scrapbook! :)

Well, I'm off! Love to you all!! And many blessings!

(Blogger is giving me some more trouble with photos. :( Hopefully I'll be able to put some up of the gifts soon!)