Too much love?

Is it possible to receive too much love? Hailey bug sure seems to think so.
Hope you all take time to show some love today.

Caleb's 5:30am breakfast

While we were in Indiana my poor, dear brother,

(who had to stay home due to school and work) sent me a text message to complain that he was slowly but surely dying of starvation and malnutrition. (Malnutrition being cereal and Ramen noodle soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner) So I, being the sweet, loving sister that I am, promised to make him his favorite breakfast when I got home. I should have known that Caleb is a person who will hold you to a promise, so this morning found me up at 5:30am making...


Cream Cheese Danishes!!!
Caleb's absolute favorite meal. It is also one that requires LOTS of prep. as I actually made the dough last night so that it could chill for 8 hours. Though it was very early it was nice to be able to work in a very quiet kitchen and see the day start, not to mention the sight of a very happy brother enjoying a delicious breakfast before heading out for school.

After Caleb had dug in

It was also nice to be able to use my new apron that I made a couple of weeks ago and which I LOVE!!!I didn't have a pattern so I made up my own and I am very happy with the result. Not to mention that the fabric is beautiful.

So here is a picture of me, resting after my labors. I haven't put a picture of myself since I got my braces, so know you know what I look like.
Well I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Note: These pictures aren't the best quality. I still don't have a camera so I took these on the computer with the webcam.

Please pray

Well we just got home yesterday from a weekend conference in Indiana and we were hoping to be able to rest and recuperate from the journey, but it would seem that God had other plans in mind. Almost my whole family is suffering from a stomach virus which Victoria picked up in Indiana, and since the children are NEVER selfish when it comes to giving their family the same illness, it has spread to my daddy, mother and Haviland. So if you could please pray for them to get better, and that the rest of us wouldn't catch it, I would greatly appreciate it.

Seasons

WOW!!! It's already Fall!!!
I can hardly believe how fast time passes and honestly I wonder "Have we been redeeming the time?" I know that there are many things that I could have done better this past year, and that I could have gotten a lot more accomplished than I have. Another thought that the passing of the seasons has brought to mind was " What kind of an example am I leaving to all the little eyes that watch me everyday? Am I showing them how to redeem the time and make it count for God?" I think of this often, especially when I see all the children running around, playing with their friends exactly how I used to with my friends at that age.

The time is fleeting fast, are we making it count for Christ?

To all our heroes

9 years ago, when I was 6, an event occurred that remained

stamped on my childish mind vividly. That event was the terrorist attack now known as 9/11.

I remember seeing the events unfold before my eyes, not fully comprehending what I saw.
Now, 9 years later I can see the seriousness of this event and what it means to me as an American. I would like to take this opportunity to honor and thank all of our heroes, known and unknown, for the sacrifices they made, some even giving their lives, for the freedom we STILL enjoy today.

These were ordinary people who, in the face of adversity, took a stand for all
that we hold dear and fought against all odds to rescue others, people they didn't even know. In particular I would like to honor Todd Beamer who was on United Airlines flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

I read the book "Let's roll" by his widow Lisa Beamer in one evening (yesterday to be exact) and was touched and convicted by this man's faith and courage even when he knew he was going to die. Todd led the attack against the hijackers which prevented the plane from reaching it's destination, the White House or the Capitol Building, uttering his now famous battle-cry "let's roll".
Even though this event may seem like long ago and we all may feel "safe" now, let us never forget the sacrifices that were made, the life's that were lost and the nation that was tested on that day. May we be able to follow the example of these ordinary people of extraordinary courage, not just in the face of danger, but everyday.
So to all you great men and women, thank you!!!
And especially to all young people out there today we can do "Hard things" to in the "simple"
everyday scenarios of our life. So what are we waiting for? LET'S ROLL!!!

Rainy days

I don't particularly care for rainy days but since we have had quite a few rainy days of late
I have discovered some things I absolutely love about rainy days.

First I love having a steaming hot cup of Raspberry Zinger or Black Cherry Berry tea
in the beautiful pink willow tea cup and pot set that my parents gave me.

And second rolling up in a blanket on the couch or on my bed with a good book or my Bible
and just spending time lost in a book. And now I think I shall go make myself a pot of tea.
I hope you are enjoying your day whether it is rainy or not.

Land of the free and home of the brave

~ O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that OUR flag was still there.
O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream.
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner, oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: " IN GOD IS OUR TRUST!"
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!~
~Frances Scott Key

Additional civil war stanza~

When our land is illumined with liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile
The flag of the stars, and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained,
Who their birthright have gained
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

~GOD BLESS AMERICA~