The past month and a half.

Despite the silence on my blog for a while, I really have been busy with so many things! Along with summer comes all the busyness of life and enjoying those many days of sunshine. Here is a little update of what I've been up to...

Kali and I were able to take our girls to Junior Camp in July. It was a fun time getting to know our girls better and many decisions were made for Christ! Including one girl accepting Christ!

We took a 2 night camping trip with another family in August. It was a good time of fellowship and nice to get away in the mountains for a little while.

While Kali and I were at camp, we realized how important it is to be involved in our girls' lives outside of church. So, we are doing a once a month fellowship for a time of devotions, games, and a place where they can share their burdens. This picture was our first ever meeting. I'm looking forward to what God will do in their lives through this new ministry.

In August, I was able to head down to Idaho for a week to visit Garrett! A sweet couple let me stay at their house for the week and it was a huge blessing. It was such a great time meeting new friends and of course spending time with my man :) They had a pastor's conference and a college/career camp that we were able to attend while I was there. It sure kept us busy but it was a good time!

My brain is spinning

You know that feeling, right before you leave on a vacation, your brain is spinning/swirling around trying to remember anything you need, might possibly need, or things you probably won't need but pack it anyways.

That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. Kali and I are taking a sister road trip to Idaho and we are leaving early in the morning. Exciting? Yes. Racking my brain to remember every little item I might need? Yes.

Of course, I am leaving Julian here, and I must confess that I will miss my little man. Almost a whole week without seeing him, or the kids Kali watches will be definitely weird. I really love those kids. Although, this is a much needed vacation and I am SO looking forward to it!

Prayer Request Update: Ruby {the baby I mentioned in my last post} has been diagnosed with infant botulism. She is still in the Seattle Children's hospital, and will continue to be there for several weeks for recovery. Slowly but surely she is showing signs of improvement. Thank you all for the prayers and I ask you continue to pray for her! God has truly blessed them with a great hospital to care for her every need.

A few things

As I sit here typing, the wind is blowing and the skies are gray. Not exactly a 'cheery' April day as I was hoping. Last weekend, the ladies from our church went to the west side of the state for a ladies conference. It was raining almost the entire time we were there, and ever since we got back to the east side it's been gloomy and gray. I guess we must have brought it back with us.

Even though I grew up on the coast, I confess that I enjoy the warmth and cheerfulness of the bright, sunny days, more than the comforting feeling of home that rain brings me. All that being said, I'm crossing my fingers the weather gets better soon!

As I mentioned, the ladies of our church went to a ladies conference last weekend. As always, it was tons of fun to spend time with the ladies and meeting fellow Christians.

The theme was 'somewhere in time' and they try to get the ladies to dress up according to the theme. All of our ladies dressed up and it was so fun to see the different decades around the room.

Out of over 200 ladies present, I was drawn for one of three door prizes! That was great, especially since it was a basket of ice cream sundae fixings :)

We did our yearly 'spend a full day shopping on Saturday', since we were close to lots of shopping. It's always fun shopping with friends!

We are in the middle of our Mission's Conference this week with Bro. Jayne from Long Beach, WA. It has been a blessing to have him and his wife with us this week and the messages God has given him have been great!

On a little side note..I have a prayer request regarding this sweet baby (she is the one I'm holding in the picture above)

Ruby is about 7 months old and she has been in the hospital for about 2 days now, she flew to the hospital in Seattle for further care today. She has been very lethargic, weak, and not wanting to eat anything. It came upon her very suddenly and of course it has her parents and our whole church concerned about her. Please pray for God's healing hand and that the doctor's would have wisdom on what exactly is going on in her little body. Thankfully, we have an awesome God, Who has everything under His control!

Moldy Cheese or Caramel Corn?

Have you ever had these?

There are several types of jelly beans but two kinds of each color. You can pick your color but as you place it into your mouth you don't know what you are about to eat.

Here are your options:

Skunk Spray or Licorice

Rotten Egg or Buttered Popcorn

Canned Dog Food or Chocolate Pudding

Booger or Juicy Pear

Baby Wipes or Coconut

Pencil Shavings or Top Banana

Toothpaste or Berry Blue

Barf or Peach

Moldy Cheese or Caramel Corn

Centipede or Strawberry Jam

Disgusting right?!

This was very comical with the kids but some even kept coming back for more! Of course, several adults from church {myself included} tried some and I can tell you that the risk is not worth it!

These jelly beans also doubled as my object lesson for the kids. How our 'yummy or good words' can leave a good taste in someone's mouth, but those 'yucky or not nice words' leave a very gross taste in someone's mouth. The thing about those bad words too is that just like the gross jelly beans, the taste usually stays longer in your mouth than the yummy ones.  

Just thought I share a little humor from my weekend!

Happy Tuesday!

Butterfinger Cookies

This recipe is a happy merriment of peanut butter cookies and butterfinger candy bars.

Oh, so delicious.

Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Can't ask for a better cookie!

Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies - Makes 3 dozen

{Recipe adapted from: Six Sisters' Stuff}

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

8 'fun size' butterfinger candy bars, crushed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and peanut butter for 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking soda, and powder. Beat until combined, then add in egg and vanilla. Add in flour, then fold in the butterfingers to the mixture. Place by spoonful on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes. Enjoy!

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I made these for my kids in Junior Church, but of course there was quality control by the family. :) I asked Dad how he liked them, his eyes got big and said "Delicious!"

These definitely 'climbed the charts' to one of our favorite cookies. Hope you enjoy them!



Valentines Banquet

Our Valentines Banquet was a hit and went off without any problems on Friday! Not only did the couples have a great time but so did the workers!

Skit crew! It turned out awesome! {If you didn't watch the skit we performed, check out my last post!}

As I mentioned in my previous post, Kali and I were in charge of the decorations {with the help of some others to help get it all up}! It was great to see the place transform into a love oasis! ;)

Valentines Day is coming early this year

We have our annual Valentines Banquet at church tomorrow and we have been super busy preparing for it. Kali and I are in charge of decorations and dessert. We have had a great time seeing the visions in our head coming together! Here is what's been going on......

Getting our craft on with lovey-dovey decorations

Baking 108 mini cheesecakes

{they will have raspberry sauce on the top too!}

Practicing for a skit that goes something like this

{ps--I'm playing the one dying}

         

Teen Blizzard

I had the privilege, this past weekend, to go with a group of teens {and other adults} to an overnight youth activity! It's called 'The Blizzard' and a church around our area has it every year for a fun time of fellowship in the winter months. Lots of games, food, awesome preaching, getting to know our teens better, and meeting more like-minded Christians. 

It was a pretty loud trip to the church, but fun! I had forgotten how loud/crazy teenagers can be! Haha!

Take a picture of you, taking a picture of me :)

The teens didn't want to cooperate with the picture taking process. I believe we had 8 total. They definitely

kept us adults laughing the whole time.

One of the games was tossing a swimming noodle through a hula hoop, it's harder than it sounds!

The theme for this year was 'Who you gonna call?' centered around superheroes. The preaching was excellent! Bro. Fountain Jr. brought out the fact that those people/images are not real superheroes, but God is the real Superhero!

I was able to catch an absolutely beautiful sunrise, over the snow covered mountains. God's creation is truly majestic!

Lord, your the best thing that's ever happened to me

Our Pastor asked Kali and I to sing this song last wednesday, and oh how these words are true in my life!

You've been my friend for so long

You were right when I was wrong

I can't repay all the love you've given me

You were my friend when no one cared

I was alone, but you were there

Lord, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me

Chorus:

And I owe it all to you, Lord

All I have is yours, Lord

Take my life, make me what you'd have me be

I'm your child and you're my father

I'm the clay and you're the potter

Lord, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me

Borrowed treasures, borrowed dreams

All life's joys you've given me

When troubles come you're always there to make me smile

Let come what may, thy will be done

I love you, Jesus, God's precious son

Lord, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me

If you are a born-again Christian, I'm sure you can agree that Jesus Christ is the absolute 'best thing' that's ever happened to you!

Now, I will leave you with a picture of Dad and I ice skating this weekend :)

Fantastically, fun weekend

We had a friend come home from bible college last week! {Amanda is the one on the far left} On Saturday, we had a day filled with fun spending time with her!

--Surprise early birthday party for her {Above picture ^}

--Bowling with the ladies

--Night snowmobiling {First.time.ever. and it was SO much fun!}

--Girls sleepover!

It was a blessing to hear her testimony of God working in her life since she started going to college. God is truly good!

The fantastically, fun weekend was rounded off by a fabulous Sunday spent in God's house. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my church kids?! I am so, so thankful/blessed to be able to teach those precious little ones!



Hello 2013

I love new beginnings. A new year means a new start and a fresh outlook on your life.

We spent New Year's Eve at church {watch night service} and had a wonderful time with friends and family. We worshipped God in songs and testimonies, heard from His Word, played games, prayed in the new year,  and {of course} when your Baptist you can't have a fellowship without lots of yummy food!

My dad and Bro. Cody each brought forth a mini-message that God had laid on their hearts. A great reminder to look back at this past year, recognize how you might have failed Christ or made mistakes, taking this fresh start to correct them {knowing that God will be with us, each step of the way}. A sort of 'rebooting' those areas of your life that need to be corrected. Also, looking forward to seeing what God will do in this next year. Great, great messages.

One of the songs that was sung last night was 'As the Deer'. This song was more popular was I was a kid, but the lyrics are so powerful. I am making this my 'song' for the new year. As a sort of resolution and reminder to keep God my #1 and my most precious treasure. There will be trials and joys {no doubt} with this new year, but no matter what I want people see Jesus through me in those rough and happy times.

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship Thee

Chorus:
You alone are my strength my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee

You're my friend and You are my Brother,
Even though You are a King.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.

I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy Giver,
And the apple of my eye.

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God."

Psalms 42:1

Happy New Year!

Awkward & Awesome Friday

--Awkward--

--I decided to be bold this week and try something new. I got side-bangs. Yes, yes, all those rumors you have heard are true, they were cut slightly too short. When they were cut and my jaw literally dropped when I saw myself in the mirror. I guess that is what I get for trying something new. Yay me. Although, I have been reassured by those around me they aren't bad and thankfully its not the whole part of the bangs that was cut too short. One section just needs to grow about a finger width, hopefully that section grows fast. I really don't want to be the dorky one in the family Christmas picture this year, even though I am pretty sure I fill that role every year. I might even transition into full-on bangs, *gasp*, I look very, very different. You've been warned. {Actually, Mom and I were at the store today and she said she almost didn't recognize me, and that's just with the side bangs.}

I think that probably tops any other awkward moments for the week. Rambling over, moving on.....

--Awesome--

--The Christmas Cantata for church is coming along, still needs work, but it's going to be great!

--Christmas decorations, music, and movies are now being enjoyed in our household

--Day off today

--We are going to see the 'Nutcracker' next weekend. 'uber excited!
--Unexpected phone call from a cousin/friend

I shall leave you with this.....

The kids are loving this app on my phone, they can insert their little heads and dance along with 'The Wiggles'. They pretty much think it's the best thing since goldfish was invented.

Counting my Blessings

-- Blessed with a great/loving family and a fabulous new addition this year--

--Blessed with a wonderful/encouraging church family--

--Blessed to be Julian's nanny--

{His Thanksgiving turkey}

--Blessed with my favorite holiday beverages :) --

--Blessed to live in such a beautiful town {especially when it snows}--

"Blessed

be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:"

Ephesians 1:3

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

{Awkward}

-- Spilling Julian's lunch all over the floor

-- Peppermint soap to wash off eye make-up is not a good idea. Just take my word for it.

-- A 1 1/2 yr old telling you to "Shhhhh", after you cough.

-- Laptop privacy sweater.... 'nough said.

{Awesome}

-- Phone chats with cousins

-- Loving church family

-- Scarf and sweater season.... love it!

-- Leaves changing colors

-- God's unwavering/unconditional love (the perfect Model for Christians)

Whhhhat?!

I am still a little stunned by the fact that it is already September. I mean, where did this summer go?!

I do like fall, but I don't know that I'm completely ready for fall. Although, I know, ready or not--it's coming! 

Looking back...I really did have a busy summer. Usually, when you are super busy time goes by waayyy too fast :)

I was blessed this summer with...

Relaxing times at the lake

Lots of silly faces

Tons of smiles all around

Great activites with our church {including VBS and Junior Camp}

Fun times with cousins

  << New Driver

Memories made with friends...and their sweet baby :)

Spending time with my favorite little boy

Oh, and helping the homeless...

{Just kidding, that's my cousin!}

It really has been a great summer, filled with memories and special moments! Even though I'm sad it's coming to a close in the next couple of weeks, I can end it knowing that it's been a very eventful/meaningful summer. God is soo good to me!

Bring on Fall!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8~