Introducing... *Drum Roll Please* Our Family!

Hello! My name is Emily Elizabeth and this is my dog… Wait. Start over.

Aloha! My name is Lydia Elisabeth and I don't have a dog. Our family has chickens, ducks, and cats, and lots of kids. But the kids are the most important. The other things are extra, for providing eggs and mice extermination.

Now I'm going to become more professional and introduce my family in a more formal fashion.

My dad is Jamie Linn. Three words that describe him perfectly are responsible, servant-leader, and hard-worker. He loves and provides for all of us and often, I think, does things that we take for granted and forget, more often than not, to thank him for. Being more of a behind-the-scenes type person, he continually steps in and takes care of things. We all know he loves us and mom very much because he tells us daily and gives us hugs and smiles exactly when we need them most. Five years ago he began his own architectural business from home and has been constantly supplied with work ever since. His job uses extensive creative energy and we all know he is brilliant.

My mom is Julianne. Three words that describe her perfectly are organized, responsible, and brilliant. She has homeschooled all of us kids ever since Chloe and I started pre-school. Organizing and finding the most efficient means of accomplishing tasks are some of her great enjoyments. Spur-of-the-moment (ish) road trips are something she likes to throw together, but she always leaves some time for planning. She loves learning and is very smart. One of her things is she never goes easy on us when we play games with her. "I never want you all to think that I'm not honestly representing my skills." She tells us. "If you beat me at a game I want you to know that you truly did better than I could." She almost always wins.

Being 17, I am the oldest Linn kid. Three words that describe me are creative, organized, and responsible. I have so many different interests and things I enjoy doing. Drawing, crocheting, knitting, sewing, piano, babysitting, acting, organizing, writing, poetry, photography, reading, laughing, and hanging out with adults are some of my favorite past times. I almost always have a baby in my arms if there is one around to be held. Please know now, I am a blonde. You will probably see that come out in my writing. Bear with me. The weird thing though, is I'm also extremely observant and precocious.

Chloe is 16. Three words that describe her perfectly are book-worm, shy, and sarcastic. (The last one was her own addition. Quote, "Well I am sarcastic, almost too much for my own good!") She loves reading and is very smart. Often times she is the one to catch my blonde moments, but I always figure out plans before she does. We balance each other pretty well. She has always loved horses and has a special way with animals. When she is acting, she becomes a whole new person. It is truly incredible.

Christian is 14. Three words that describe him are loyal, leader, and people-person. He loves all things lego, guns, fishing, hunting, and sports. If he wanted to, he could be one of those kids who graduates from college at 17; he is very smart. Recently he won a skeet shooting contest. It was his first time. Ever. And he won. Stressing that point there.

Ava is 10. Three words that describe her perfectly are compassionate, bubbly, and peace-maker. She is the leader of the "littles" which is what we all call the three younger kids. Although she is small enough to be 8, she doesn't let that stop her from playing active games with Christian and the other littles. She is also one tough cookie. When she broke her nose several years ago, the day of her surgery she got home and started playing basketball!

Gabe is 7, basically 8. Three words that describe him perfectly are lady's-man, methodical, and thoughtful. Though he is between two girls, he is all boy. Legos are a huge part of his life. If he could, he would play all day with Ava and Mia. But he also loves to be alone in his room, building lego creations or drawing houses following in the footsteps of our dad, while listening to history stories.

Mia is 24, I mean 5. Three words that describe her perfectly are genius, giver, and bouncy. She is a very lively caboose to our family train. None of us can imagine life without her, even though she was an unplanned for surprise for us (God knew we definitely needed her!). She is so smart. I'm positive she will graduate with her master's degree at 13. Learning is her favorite thing ever. Currently she is zipping through her second chapter book. I mean, real chapter book! She also has a touch, I mean a ton, of boy-crazy in her. But we are working on toning that down a bit…

This is our family in a very large nut shell. (It has to be large because there are several of us...) Much more of our personalities will unfold in the posts to come. Our hope is to inspire laughter with the stories of our everyday lives, to give glory to God our Father, and to constantly point back to the fact that true joy can only come from Jesus and a spirit of gratitude.

We hope you enjoy the journey!