We went to Bethlehem!!!

On Saturday night after mass, we went to a real-life representation of what Bethlehem would have been like in Jesus' day and age.
The pictures are watermarked from my Mum's blog if anyone is wondering by the way.
Hopefully I'll be posting some more during the Holidays. :)
It was so cool! :D I really, really enjoyed it and everyone else did too.
It was called going to Bethlehem. Here's so pictures which we took while we were there.



This was the sign at the front where you had to take a census, just like how Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem.

This was where we payed to get inside. That's my Dad's head you can see there paying. It was great that they didn't have the whole 'two adults, two kids' thins which is the ONLY family card you can seem to get at some things. it would've been easier if we were Hebrews though. :P


As you came through the gate there were two Roman soldiers guarding the gate. The Roman's were one of my favourtie things, by far!




As you walked in they had a pen with a little lamb in it. Lambs are soooo cute! :)

They also had sheep in another pen. The only thing they didn't seem to have this year was goats.

I've never actually seen a camel before and let me just say, they are huge! Maybe the double hump camels are smaller but these were really big. as we were leaving they started to growl and Trahaearn grwoled back at them, with the encouragment of Saxon. ;)


You could get a wool bracelet here which was how they made rope and stuff like that. It was fascinating to see how it worked!



I love this sign.


This was were you could get sewn things and notice the loom in the background. I didn't really explore this place as much though, as there was a lot of other things to do.


That's me in the picture people, standing next to the peice of paper I had just made whuch was exactly like how they made it in Jewish times.








This was the carpenter shop. I got a little boat here. One fo the best things about going to Bethlehem was everything you could get in the time period tents (yes, tents/dwellings) were for free!






This was one of the wise men. They spent most of their time down at the manger.

This is King Herod's palace.













I LOVE this chariot






Another picture of the Romans. This was jsut before they finshed for the night. They did go around and accuse people a bit actually. :P







A jewish alphabet, I'm pretty sure.




That jewish alphabet was in the Jewish School place.


















This was also at the Jewish School.

See those little boats Autumn is holding in her hand? One of them is mine. :

A jewish home.


Watching how to make paper.

Glueing and cutting.


This was the carpenter who made my ship. I just walked straight up to him and he asked what I wanted. I said, 'boat please.' and he asked if I wanted to make it myself. I said no thanks, and he handed me a boat! :)

They had this room on the side which had lots of naitvety sets and other stuff like it. I didn't get to see much of it though as Corbyn wanted me to take him to see King Herod and his palace.
















The Donkeys! Arwen says the favourite thing which she saw was the donkeys. They were outside the manger.


And Ta-da! The manger.




Even though the manger scene is the most important part. It was one of my least favourtie things to see. You might also notice that one of the Wise Men went AWOL. They got a real baby for baby Jesus too, which I was very impessed with.

i love this sign! I didn't actually see it the night we went there but saw it in the pictures instead.





Here was where you could get unleavened bread and wine. Grape juice for kids! No need to add Trahaearn loved the grape juice. :)











THis is me and Arwen grinding wheat together. It was really fun and I liked trying it.

I think I'd be interested in volunteering next years as it runs for three nights including Christmas Eve and would be a great experience.

And last but not least, I'd like to wish you all a very late Christmas and a Happy New Year!
God Bless

And yet again....

You know that same give-away I just blogged about? Wellllllllll, Miss Dashwood is also giving-away a copy of her own self-published novel 'Only a Novel'. In celebration of Jessica publishing her book.

Anyway its a great way to enter and who know's, maybe win a copy of this book! :D
Follow the link:  http://safirewriter.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/today-we-are-privileged-to-have-great.html

Hop on over if you are interested. :)
It looks like an interesting book. I think I want Annabeth's War more though. :)

God Bless

I will succeed!!

As you all might know by my recent posts I've been desperate to get a copy of Annabeth's War by Jessica Greyson. Even just the cover looks epic

Doesn't it? 

. You might want to pop over to Miss Dashwood's blog if you'd like a chance to win this wonderful book!

P.s. I know some of you are probably getting really bored with all these blog posts on give-aways but what can I say? I really want this book!
God Bless

A hearty cheer....

To Jessica!!
So, I know I've been gone awhile but were in the second week of Advent and things are happening concerning Christmas. :) I've just stopped by to say that a blogging friend of mine, by the name of Jessica has just published her first ever book!! She has been working on it for some time and has just had it published and may I just say.....it looks fabulous!! :D :D
A little of what its about:

'With King Harold away at war Lord Raburn has his eye on the throne. Those who dare to stand in his way fall beneath his power. All but one. A girl named Annabeth. Can a common, ordinary girl, with love for king, country, and her father, achieve the impossible?'

'Trained by her father, a master swordsman, outlawed Annabeth has only her sword, her wits, and her disguises to keep Belterra from falling entirely into Lord Raburn's clutches. Can she rescue her captured father and Prince Alfred? Will one girl keep the kingdom from falling?'

There is a chance to win a copy of her book and a special Annabeth's War bracelet so if you just click on the picture below it will direct you to the blog where you may enter.

By the way, I love the cover. 

God Bless

Of Seminary, Life, and Reading

Things have been different since we moved here to Wagga.
There is this thing called 'socialisation' which we had never been used to as we've never really had it before now.
Its kind of strange. People are interested in us and want to get to know us. We have become friends with another family the L's who are also a family who converted to Catholicism  They were originally Anglican just like us which is really strange but its even stranger that they were originally from Tasmania as well!
We've been to the junior Legion of Mary several times which is pretty good.


I celebrated my 14th birthday yesterday though it was actually on Friday. The thing is, I was sick from Thursday night onwards to Sunday morning with a really horrid bug! I was so unhappy but my brother Braedon bought me a birthday present on my actual birthday (the 16th) and called it my 'birthday present 'cause your sick in bed present' and he said Anna-Lisa had organised something else for me as well. What he got me was a nerf gun. A HUGE nerf gun. 
Isn't it pretty? :D And I managed to lose two darts and other people who have generously decided to take it off my hands for a little while and lost another four darts.
When we celebrated my birthday it was on the Monday and guess what I got for it besides my usual books I like. :D

And I've been listening to it lots. I got the deluxe edition, just like my Speak Now album I got on my birthday two years ago. I had to have the deluxe edition. :) Starlight is my favourite song, though I do like Begin Again, Red, Stay Stay Stay, and Holy Ground.

The church/chapel we've been going to mostly is the Seminary's Chapel at Vianny College.
It is a really pretty Chapel and everything is just so nice and people are reverent and pleasant.
The Seminarians are also very friendly and kind to people. The Rector, who's name is Fr. Thompson is an elderly priest, but his sermons are always very thought provoking and he's not one of those who is worried about what people think of him. When one Sunday one of the things we read about in the Bible was about divorce, and he talked about how it was wrong.
The seminary also has incense and the Seminarians all sing and be the choir, they all have very nice signing voices and they are sometimes accompanied by an organ at the beginning of mass but Mum thinks that they don't need it as they sing so nicely. The only thing is we're not used to very early masses and the seminary is a 9:00 am mass, compared to before we moved and the morning mass was at 10:30 am instead. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, from where we live so we leave (or try to) leave at about 8:30 am. I like that it is a earlier mass as we are able to achieve more on Sundays now.

Next Sunday we are all going down to Wangaratta to Braedon's and Anna-Lisa's engagement party, Kynan \is coming down from Quirindi and we have to find Braedon and Anna-Lisa a Engagement present!



The start of Advent is also next Sunday which means that we will begin to cook, read advent books, finish presents, listen to Child of the Promise and other Christmas music, put the Christmas tree up and decoration as well. Advent is always a very busy part of the year for us and always leads up to Midnight Mass and the feast afterwards which we always have.

It is getting warmer every day. We are now having days where 30' C is average and that means more pool time! :D Speaking of the pool, we've all been going really well with learning how to swim. We haven't learnt how to swim at all except for Kynan. The other day Braedon jumped into the pool clothes and all after coming home from work! It was very amusing. I can do laps now which can be exhausting but I think we are all improving and getting better every day. Mum bought a beach ball the other day and we've all been playing in the pool with it and trying to grab it off other people. :D It is fun. I don't really like holding my breathe under water but I'm getting better at it and diving is so fun!

I've been enjoying reading my books I got for my birthday and writing for NanNoWriMo. I passed my word-count of 10,000 and I think next time I do it I'll make my word-count a little bigger. :)


I'm getting very excited for the Hobbit! Do you know that it only comes out in Australia on Boxing Day?!

It's really terrible and annoying and I still have not read the Hobbit! I think from the pictures my favourite Hobbit will be Kili. One of the Hobbit's has a very interesting hair-style.

Today is the feast of Christ the King. We aren't doing very much except maybe some word puzzles and colouring pictures and making a cake of a sorts. We'll also play pin the crown on Jesus.

Hail to our King!!!

So yes, that has been mainly what has been happening around here lately guys!
See you soon!
 God Bless

Spider-man!!

Warning: Humongous spoilers so I would not advise you to go reading if you want to spoil Spider-Man if you have not yet seen it. :)

"With great power comes great responsibility."- Ben Parker.

I was staring at the cover of Spider-man all week befire we watched the first one. I was waiting to watch it. Braedon kept on telling us that it was boring. But I waited and after watching it I had formed my own opinion.
I liked it! I really did like it! :) It can't compete with Thor or Captain America or the Avengers but it was very interesting to watch.

The next morning after watching this movie Mum said when I asked her, that the thing which makes Spider-man different from other Super Heroes is that he's a bit of a geek and he's normal.
I didn't really have a favourite character but I did like Peter and the Green Goblin.
Peter was very different from any Super Hero I've seen. I couldn't work out why after the spider bit him he didn't just kill it with his boot. We were also getting a little 'itchy' when the spider was getting near Peter and than when it bit him. Most of us hate spiders and some of us have aracni phobias to spiders. His transformation into Spider man the next day was very amusing when he came down the stairs and ran on the wall. :) I think another reason Spider-man was different from the other super hero movies I've seen was also that he had to mature and realise that his powers weren't meant to be squandered but used for the good of other people.

The turning point was when Uncle Ben died.(Did I mention how much I love uncle Ben?)After Uncle Ben died you notice in the movie how Peter focused on helping other people.

Mary Jane drove me nuts! She was very confusing and her character was hard to work out. I just found the idea of her going out with some many different guys (in the first and the second, bad liking harry AGAIN in the third) and not realising she loved Peter and almost getting married was pretty dumb.

Braedon described the Green Goblin as 'corny' after watching it with us and though he was excessively corny I found him rather amusing. The best part with him in it is the part with 'the itsy bitsy spider' :)

He was stupid to transform himself into the Green Goblin though. :P A Gollum double does occur and his laughter was pretty creepy. When he kidnapped Peter I was like 'seriously you just let him go away? That was stupid!' And than the final bit with him and the whole "Peter, it's me." Was like so annoying!!!

End of opinion on Number:1.
Number:2
Number 2 is the least of my favourites out of ANY of the Spider man movies. Peter acted so stupidly "I'm Spider-man  I'm not spider-man  I hate being spider-man  I love being spider-man  I want to be normal like everyone else, I don't want to be like everyone else, I like Mary-Jane, I don't like Mary-Jane, She likes me, I have to protect her, I'm confused, I don't know what to do, I can't see without my glasses, I can see without my glasses, I need to save the city, I don't want to save the city, the city is junk, I like the city and blah, blah, blah blah. :P
The bad guy was so lame!! I didn't like him very much. It was really sad when Rosa died though. I felt sorry for him than but he was a little creepy with his tentacles and stuff. Aunt May was one of the best characters in the second. She is always offering advice and being so loving and kind to Peter.
The best part was where Harry was, with the knife, that kind of thing though the outcome was kind of disappointing. :(
We had watched the trailer and I thought it looked really cool. And than finally at the end MJ fins out that he's Spider-Man and that really would of helped if you had told her sort of thing.
THERE WAS WAYYYYYY TOOO MUCH SCREAMING!!!!!!!!! Pretty much every second scene it was 'ahh!' and than ' ahh'
It drove me mad. I still can't work out why everyone thinks the second is the best.
Harry was kind of disappointing
The many different death of Uncle Ben really got annoying and was sort of like 'can we pleaseeeeee have the actual picture of the scene. That would be very helpful thank you.
The newspaper man was always in all three very amusing. :) He helped to lighten the mood. "Doc Oc." And he talked real fast but it was amusing instead of annoying.
End of opinion on Number:2


Number:3 is one of my favourites mainly because there was lots of Harry in it and he turned good at the end. It was great when he lost his memory and was just having the time of his life. It would have been helpful if the stupid butler had told Harry that his father was actually killed by his won glider. That would of been really helpful, buddy. (^^^)
The whole, slime thing, was really weird and strange all at the same time. Venom was really scary especially his teeth. But if it hadn't been Peter's fault for being so stupid and going out with the girl who Venom was going to marry was really sad. Mum said the best part about it was when he was 'trying' to be cool. That was sort of like *hiding face behind hands, sort of getting embarrassed' that kind of thing.
I felt sorry for Sandman and how he couldn't be with his daughter and all that. The transformation of him into sandman was a little strange and I couldn't work out what was going on.
MJ was as stupid as always and Peter was a bit stupid as well.
Aunt May was good as always and her wisdom and advice for Peter would have been better if he had listened before.
Every time Peter looked at the two suits and I was thinking and saying 'put on the red one." bad than when he did I thought 'it took you forever!'
He should of told Aunt May who he was beside Peter Parker. :(
The best thing about the third movie was the fact that Harry became good. He died at the end though and that was kind of annoying.

The Amazing Spider-Man or number: 4
The amazing Spider-man was my favourite Spider-man movie.
I liked the new Peter better and he didn't seem like such a goof. He was more of a computer geek rather than photographer and you still had the whole thing with what happened to his father whereas as it is not explained in the first movie how he ended up living with his Aunt and Uncle.
Speaking of Aunt and Uncle I liked the other Aunt May and Uncle Ben instead of the new people. Aunt May didn't look old enough and Uncle Ben was choker-block full of wisdom like the other Uncle Ben.
It takes longer to get into this movie but I thought it was worth it.

Gwen was so much better than MJ and a whole lot smarter. She didn't drive me nuts like MJ did on various occasions.

See what I mean by creepy?

The Lizard was a little creepy and strange. He was very big and Spider-Man (in any of the movies) have a habit of knowing who Peter is, even if they don't know he's Spider-Man.
There wasn't any Harry in it but unlike in the other movies I liked this Peter a whole lot more and he made up for Harry not being in it.
I liked it how Peter sneaked into Oscorp and they had the actual guy that was suppose to eb there being taken out of the building. It made me laugh.
I loved the scene with the car thief which I saw before I saw the whole movie. I really like that part.
Gwen's dad was a caring father and I liked him. It was pretty cool how they were all trying to arrest Spider-Man and than how he knew who it was adn than made him promise.
There was a bit of language like in any of them but more so, I'd say and the part where he started using his powers was a little embarrassing but funny as well and he's apologising the whole time. :) That is funny.

The Amazing Spider-Man equals the words: AWESOME!!
I hope I can go and see the second at the movies when it comes out.

And now I must be off, it is pretty late and I am tired.
Hope you enjoyed the post and see you all soon!! :D

God Bless

For Jessica.....

Jessica is a young lady blogging over at Safirewriter. I love her blog and she's really nice.
She is in the process of publishing her book and would like some people to publicise it.
It looks very cool.

And I can't wait until it is published so that I can get a copy!!!
So head on over there to learn more! :)

P.s. sorry I haven't been posting. I've been really busy. I'm doing a Spiderman post, and also working on one about what's been going on.
See you!!! :)
God Bless

Things I love about Friday's

Friday is my favourite I don't mind Thursday's because it is the day before Friday, and Wednesday, because it is the half-way point of your school week also the fact that the day after Thursday is Friday.
My logic might sound weird, but here are the reasons why I like Friday so much:
We usually have Smoothies for breakfast. I love having smoothies for breakfast they are really nice and we only have them most of the time on Fridays.
 

I know it is the last day of school for the school week.
We have something nice for dinner even though we can't have meat. We mostly have chips and 'young perch' to quote Archimedes from The Sword in the Stone

Thanks goodness we don't catch the perch otherwise we might end up looking like this. :P

The other good thing about Fridays is I don't have to go to bed at my usual bedtime.
On most Friday nights I either watch a DVD with the other people who are up or play a computer games.
My other favourite thing about Friday's is that the next day I don't have to get up to do school and I sleep in. :)
So that's just why I like Friday's :D

God Bless

Why it is a big no no.!!!

Some people think having kids is bad and that abortion is acceptable.
To all those people out there who think Abortion is fine let me ask you something.....
Did the word adoption ever enter into your head? Some people I know, find that they won't be able to afford to have a kid. But even though it's harder than its sounds lets look at the bible

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Mark 10:14

I know that there are some cases like this but..... what about down syndrome kids...I thought everyone was equal? Hey, what happened to that? Whatever happened to people LOVING babies. If you get married part of that lifelong commitment is having children isn't it?
If a woman has a baby forming in her womb its not a choice as to if they want it or not. It's what God wants for them. For Everyone.
Abortion is wrong, I come from a big family the funny thing is that all of my relatives aren't pro-life they are pro-choice.
So if slavery is wrong and that was enslaving other human beings and treating them like animals how is it that babies are being killed so easily and with such impunity?
 Don't you think God had a plan for that baby? Hm? Yeah, well he does. He has a plan for everyone.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

Some people like to give people the advice of not having children to save them from the 'burden' and 'stress.' The funny thing is, I don't think I'm a burden to my parents and they don't think I'm a burden to them.
I have always entertained the thought of being married one day and having kids. I would raise those kids teaching them that love is the most important thing in the world, and well isn't it?
In a sense, God is LOVE and so we are suppose to love whatever he gives us. If you get married don't expect that your children will be perfect, but on the other hand don't abort them because that is frankly MURDER.
Plus, parents are suppose to be an example to their children and just think of this as an example: Baby has just been aborted walks up to heaven, St. Peter lets the baby in and God meets the baby. The baby asks why he was sent straight to heaven and God explains how some people abort their kids just because they couldn't be bothered to raise them or say that they cannot afford to. "Oh," says the baby and looks sad "I love you though." Says God and than everything is fine.

 But the point remains that abortion is wrong and you can't just say "Hey my kids getting to heaven really quick because I aborted him." God has a plan for everyone. He cares for everyone and that is what makes him so awesome I might add.

Matthew 18:10
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

One of the ten commandments is simply 'Thou shalt not kill' it didn't mean "Thou shalt not kill outside of the womb, but you can kill innocent little babies which are forming in the womb'.
How are you suppose to follow the two greatest commandments in the world i.e. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and Love your neighbour as yourself if you aren't showing that you care a fig about these innocent children forming in the womb. If this is your stance than I don't think I'll be able to understand your perspective of love. Or what you think love is because
John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Another thing is that Jesus came down from Heaven and died for all of us. He thought that we we're worth dying for. He didn't die just for a particular group people.
He wanted everyone who loved him to try to be like him so how do you show Jesus you are trying your best if you are breaking one of the ten commandments.

We should do just as our saviour would have us do, and love children no matter who they are or what they look like, or how God made them.

This picture is so beautiful!!!! :D

Don't shrink away if someone asks why abortion is wrong. You know why, as do I. And if you don't know than you should know this one simple thing: Abortion is sick!

A lot of people ask the question of 'how can we provide for all these people?' Isn't it better just to abort them when they are babies? So as not to have to provide for them.
It's true that there are some places in the world where people have trouble finding food and are very poverty stricken. However this could be helped by very real intervention in these countries  and this does not change the fact that a lot of abortions happen in well to do countries where few people are homeless or in need of food.
For those in our well to do countries who are in a situation of not enough money or family support then there are options of support groups in various churches and other organisations who will help women in this situation. Or again adoption, as many families would love to adopt a child.
A child is always a blessing no matter the circumstances.
 Even in trying circumstances it would be better  then we remember this:
Matthew 6:26 "Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?"

Abortion actually damages the mothers inner organs as well!

I copied and pasted the story below from another website. I remember posting this about two years ago.

A Doctor's Wisdom on Abortion:
 A worried woman went to her gynaecologist and said: "Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even one year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together."
The doctor said: "OK, and what do you want me to do?" She said: "I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this."
"I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you, too." She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.
Then he continued: "You see, in order for you not to have to take care of two babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the second one is born.
If we're going to kill one of them anyway, it really doesn't matter which one it is, does it?
There would be no risk for your body if you chose to kill the one in your arms."
The woman was horrified and said: "No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!"
"I agree", the doctor replied. "But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that might be the best solution.
The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mum that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb.
 The crime is the same! Realizing this was true, the woman withdrew her request and soon found the love and support she needed at a local Church and Pregnancy Care Center. The mother and child are both alive and well today. I really love this story and I wish more people would understand that abortion is murder!


 God Bless

It was coming.....

It started on last Wednesday over dinner.
"So Braedon, you coming over for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Nope, I'm going to pick up Anna-Lisa from the train station and than we're going out to dinner."
"Oh, where to?"
"The most expensive restaurant in town." Braedon grins "We're going to have the entrees, main meal, sweets and coffee!" "Wow!" Exclaims Mum.

Friday morning while eating breakfast Autumn said "Hey, lets ring Braedon and see when they are going to come over." 'Okay!" We all reply enthusiastically and Mum rings his phone.
Braedon picks it up and Mum talks to him. She hangs up.

"So are they coming over?" We all ask excitedly "No," Says Mum "They want to wait until Dad comes home and than come over." "U-huhhh" We all say knowingly, our expressions are smug. "Oh, I know what that means!" Says Myffwyn and starts playing on an organ. "The most expensive restaurant " We all begin to murmur. "You know," says Rogan "If you aren't right you are going to feel pretty stupid." "If I am wrong," Says Autumn "And I am never wrong, there will be great suffering in Tolland(which is the district of town Braedon lives in), if they do not come tonight."

The day passed very slowly and we couldn't wait for Dad to come home from work.
Finally Dad did come home and would you believe Braedon and Anna-Lisa just walked through the door without us noticing that they had turned up then we all appeared and looked on expectantly....
Mum walked up and gave Braedon a hug and Anna-Lisa too. She was actually trying to see why Anna-Lisa's right arm was wrapped so securely around Braedon's back.

"All right," says Braedon smiling happily "Last night I asked Anna-Lisa to marry me and she said yes." We all smiled than one after the other came over gave both Anna-Lisa and Braedon a hug each and saying congratulations.

We were all happy and Mum and Dad went out and got none alcoholic drink and two cakes from Woolworth and after dinner we had them toasting Anna-Lisa and Braedon.

Anna-Lisa told us that she wanted her brides maids to be Autumn, Eden and me!! We all accepted
She asked Chrissy who is her older sister to be her Maid of Honour and Nellie her younger sister to be a brides maid as well. Braedon asked Kynan to be his Best Man and he accepted and Rogan and Saxon were asked to be Groomsmen. Joseph who is Anna's big brother was also asked.

















This is the park where Braedon proposed to Anna-Lisa. It is a really nice park.

This is a picture of Braedon and Anna-Lisa if you look closely you can see Anna's ring.
The Wedding is set for sometime in November 2013 but as yet, a certain date has not been determined but when is comes I know that it will be very special and I shall have another sister.

This is Braedon and Anna-Lisa in 2010 the year they met

Congratulations Braedon and Anna-Lisa!!! :)

God Bless