A country holiday

What does one do when your nerves are worn to a frazzle? When it seems that the stress and anxiety, which has robbed you of your sleep, will kill you? Where can one go for rest and comfort and just plain living ? The answer is Happydale Country Inn!!! The best place for resting your poor weary bones, not to mention wholesome adventure!!! When you are out in the country you are able to do SOOOOOOOO many things that you can't do out in the city such as.........


Going hunting!!!

Besides hunting I was able to cross a high log bridge (over a creek)(SCARY!!!), drive a manual 4-wheeler(FUN!!!) and TONS of other 1sts that really made my stay special.

After sitting in the woods for 2 hours in the COLD!!!

Playing castle with Sayre


Haviland found a new friend in Tristan and it was quite funny to watch them talking as Tristan
was teasing Havi about the scarf that she was knitting for daddy. Over all our 2 day stay in the country was simply delightful!!! Thank you soooooooo much Casseroles for the wonderful time we spent with ya'll.

What happens when siblings go camera happy?

Well I'm not sure you want to know. LOL.


First they take a nice, civilized picture,

then they decide that Bethany is in need of some love,

then, when you add a brother or 2 things can get just a little bit goofy.

AND THEN,when you discover the distortions, frames, filters and such all semblance of civility
seems to be completely lost................ buuuuuut..........I shan't burden you with such pictures instead I shall show you the ones that came out best.(in other words, the lesser of the weevils, if you know what I mean;))

Sisterly love

Thinking

My little sunbeam

Yours truly

Sister time
Soooo now you are forewarned of what can occur when you start taking pictures on your computer. Still, for the record, we had a blast.
I love you kiddos!!!

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!!!