The Gingerbread House is Back!

 So.. this is the third year that I have posted about the annual gingerbread house that I do with Hannah! This year we had yellow fondant to work with also!

Ta-Da!

 Hannah did the front side, and I did the back. By the time I took the pictures a candy had fallen off. :(
 <<< (Right over there)

 Here are the past years (2012, 2013, 2014):

    

 I hope to be posting more Christmas stuff before Christmas is over (oh no, I only have less than a week!), and sadly there is no snow yet.. crossing my fingers for a white Christmas, but I am on break now so I'll be having some more free time! Happy first day of winter!!

 -Emma :D

Fall Flowers

 "Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus

I hope you all have had a wonderful thanksgiving, and hopefully a nice break from the chaos of life! :)

These pictures were taken a while ago, before we got snow, so I thought I should probably put them up before it's December and all thoughts are zoned straight ahead to Christmas! 

 

 We decided to let Sara explore the outdoors!

 I tried to find the most vivid leaf, do you think I succeeded?

Hannah, the one who found all of the rainbow of leaves and arranged them :)

I hope you liked the pictures, we had fun taking them!

-Emma :D

Being in Awe

 

 "The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy."

 Psalm 65:8 (NIV)

Many times, especially during this time of year, I find myself marveling at nature. It's part of the reason why I like photography, so many different, intriguing things to look at and see. I'm am in awe of the beauty of it all, not necessarily nature itself, but the One who created it all and makes it work. Day after day the sun will rise, bringing not only a spectacular scene, but also light and warmth. How could you not believe that there is a creator of it all? Who worked out all the little details, so everything runs it's cycle, day after day, year after year. 

  "You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."

Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)

-Emma :D

Picking the Apples

 Yum!

As you can see by the pictures, I went to the orchard this year, like every other year, it's tradition.

Walking through rows upon rows of apples

Hurling bad apples into the lagoon

Climbing the trees

Filling the bags so full that you can't even carry them

And of course picking apples :)

-Emma :D

The End of the Season

The last cross country race with all of the team was two weeks ago, districts was Thursday, and state will be next week. This season has been a great experience, it's kept me busy and focused. I'm happy to be done right now because I'm ready to rest, but I know in a few weeks I'll want to get back out there running every day (this will probably happen right once it starts to get really cold, and then snow and ice will come!). 

Here are some picture from the meet two weeks ago, my race was first, and I was still cooling off during the next race, but I grabbed my camera before the junior varsity started.

The JV girls before their race 

Running just before sunset

Running at the gun

(All the pictures during the race turned out blurry :( )

The fresh/soph team

I know I've been gone for a couple months, but now I'll have plenty of time to post some new pictures during my favorite season of the year!

-Emma :D

Haiti: The Last Days and Heading Home

     All right, we've reached the final post on Haiti! These are pictures of two house dedications and the trip home.

 Hannah and Taylor

 Sarah, Jacob, Abby, Hannah, and Holly in the "Americanized" tap-tap

Don't they look great? ;)

 The amazing view from the house that another team had worked on.

You could see the ocean, mountains, and everything in between!

 That's the island that we had the chance to go to on a Sunday earlier in the week.

 The hill to the house was a little steep though!

 This is what the house that we worked on looked like! It only needed a roof and it would be complete! (I don't know if they added a door or not...)

 The woman, son, and daughter are the one's who received the house, with them is one of the translators and our group leader.

 All of us who helped out with building their new home!

Sarah and Brianna playing cards in our free time.

 Back at the airport at 6 AM.

 Yeah, we were tired and had some time to sleep!

 Nicole, Joia, Nathan, and Hannah spending our last hours together before we go our separate ways.

 Hannah, Hannah, and I (we were always seat buddies) on the plane leaving Haiti.

 Mitchell, Abbey, and Austin (they're siblings) sat behind us

Of course the beautiful airplane shots. (I was sooo happy we got to see a couple sunsets in the air!)

     So that was the trip! Haiti brought so many emotions and memories. Seeing the people and the work God has done in the past years, transforming a country that had mainly practiced Vodou into joyous Christians all around, and also seeing how much work has been done since the earthquake in 2010, was amazing!  I would go back in second if I had the opportunity, though I would also like to explore other countries and cultures too. Thanks for bearing with me through all nine posts of Haiti, I posted them mainly so I could look back and remember more detailed memories, but I also wanted to share this trip with you. :)

-Emma :D