Sunday, December 28, 2014

Catching up on Life

There are some things in this world that aren't worth the time it takes to do them. Sometimes what they are may be or can be fun, but some things are just a hobby at which you make an imbecile of yourself... This blog being the hobby I spoke of...
Since the last time I wrote, many things have happened. Chaotic things, happy things, wonderful things, scary things. You name it, and it seems like we've been through it...I know that God has a purpose for things happening the way they do, but sometimes I wish they didn't always happen all at once.. It makes life stressful and hard... You can't put life down when it gets to scary or to exciting like you can a book...

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This last November the Lord granted me a couple wishes and hopes..The first wish was to see a dear friend of mine that I hadn't seen in over a year. She came up from Texas to see her sister and stayed one night with us in the process. It was such a joy to catch up on things! We laughed, we shared, we walked and got giddy... and we were sorry to part. It's always a blessing to see the Lord bring dear friends together. Especially when your the one that receives the blessing. Love you Becca!

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Now you're probably wondering what my second wish and hope was? Or perhaps you already know...but either way it's been a blessing and a joy. A little over two months ago, I met a guy.. yes, you guessed it. The same guy that let me win that Trash Can game.. ;) After several fun/awesome chats on each others Facebook posts and after seeing each other again, Austin asked my Dad if he could court me. Of course Dad approved, and I was overjoyed.. You see... I kinda liked this guy..never would I have dreamed he liked me back. ;) We've been courting for 6 weeks now and things seem to going smoothly... 

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3 weeks ago, we had a little miracle join our family. It came weighing 4lbs and 14oz and looked like a little old man. ;) His name was Jedidiah Stonewall and he is already proving to be quite the general... Surviving two life threatening experiences in 2 and half weeks and coming out of each unharmed. Thanks to the mercy of God. When he was born my Mom and Dad (and my family) knew that he was starting to measure very small. There were a few things that worried us before his birth and Mom and Dad decided that a C-section was going to have to be the route to take. We are so thankful they made that wise choice. Jedidiah's cord was wrapped around his neck twice. Not loosely either and his cord was also knotted. Which is why he ended up being so small for a full term baby. But like I said...He's a little miracle. ;) 







































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One week ago, the week of the 20th we were overjoyed to attend the reception of our friends marriage and see how happy they were together. The reception was a blast! I danced (yeah..he's really good at the Virginia Reel btw... ;) :P ) , some of my brothers danced, I caught the brides bouquet, and we laughed! And yes.. I was slightly embarrassed by all the smiles I got when I caught the bouquet...but it's the most pleasant embarrassment I have ever been through... ;) It was sooo good to see old friends!

We stayed the night at some friends guest house that evening and attended Grace Covenant Church the next day. It was a wonderful weekend....until... the Nightmare before Christmas... Though, I really should call it the Miracle before Christmas, because it's a miracle that our family is still together. We were on our way home from AR, traveling through Maynard, when a semi blew his stop sign. He blew it, and we (traveling about 32mph) ran right into the side of his front tire, he then swept us around and hit the side of our vehicle again. There are so many things that should have happened that didn't. And it's all to God that we owe our praise! His mercy endureth forever. I'm still in amazement that we walked away with the minor injuries that we have. 











"And God bless us! Everyone!"
And he truly has.... truly has.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Musicians Prayer

Once upon a time, there was a great musician, who had a love for God and His kingdom. He sat at the piano in his living room, looking out the window and seeing the peaceful breeze sway the trees. If only he could make music like the wind and trees. Peaceful and full of the knowledge of God. Music that stated the simple fact that the Psalmist David once said: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handiwork." Looking down at the piano keys his fingers touched them. "Lord," he said, "I want to write a piece of music that makes people think about you, the freedom and salvation you bring to us as your people." 
His prayer finished, he began playing a sonata that had never been heard before. Carefully writing down the music, he took it to the king and gifted it to him. The king was grateful for the new piece. He was always in search of music. The king hired musicians to play the sonata for him. As they began, he let his mind absorb it sounds of grace and peace. He began to think about how much work and love it takes to create a wonderful piece like this. There had to be a creator. One who was passionate about his work. The creator had to write it, plan it, and bring each musical note to it's proper and perfect place. Once it was finished, you had to have musicians who would play the piece, making it come alive.
"Life", the king said, "is a lot like music. Our lives have a Creator. He, like the Great Musician writes and plans our life perfectly. He then gifts that life to us and we play it out the way he wrote it. We can't change it, or like the music, it wouldn't sound right when we did."
The king was greatly moved. Even with all the power he had as king, he could not change the course of the future. The only thing he could do was to surrender his life once again to Christ and ask him to give him grace and strength to face anything life had in store for him. He prayed that his actions and his attitude toward trials and joy would bring others to Christ, that others would see Christ's glory. The king arose from his knees, set fourth and began ruling his kingdom in love.
Knowing that Christ and the salvation He supplied would be the only thing to save him and his people. In Him, was the only form of freedom and peace. The Great Musician's prayer had been answe
red and he was thankful.
The End.




















(I enjoyed writing this, this morning. Hope you enjoyed reading it. ;)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

On Saturday

28 kids from five families
In this picture, there are 28 children from just 5 families! Two of the families, we didn't know. A wonderful friend of ours, asked if she could come up to our MO home, bringing all the food and basically being the hostess at our own house. She did a fabulous job and the day was SOOO much fun! We met the Slinkards and Webers, had lunch, talked and played games.

At 11:00 am we got a call from one of the ladies who got lost on our gravel road. Mom told her where we were while I took my bike down the road to find her. I was so out of breath! :P Anyway, so that is how I met Mrs. Slinkard, on the road out of breath.. :P :D When we got to the house, we introduced all of us, to all of them, and the day began with talking. After lunch we played Frisbee. At one point we had 5 Frisbees going at one time. ;) A little while later we played several rounds of Trashcan. At one point in the game, it was just me and another guy. I thought for sure I would lose, but I am pretty sure he let me win. ;) :) I wish that I had pictures from that, but the memory is enough. It was SOOOO much fun! Boy was I SORE the next day. And still am a little bit. :P It's hard to write and say how fun the day was, you really would just have to be there, but let me tell you, I hope it happens again REAL soon! ;)

Big Springs // Homeschool Field Trip

You know the saying "When it rains it pours..." . That's what happens to us when there are lots of events going on. They all happen in the same week or weekend. Hardly ever spaced out. It doesn't bother me, it just makes me VERY tired when Monday rolls around. :)

On Friday, our homeschool group went to Big Springs in Van Buren, MO. We had a picnic, walked the trails, talked, and let the children play on the play ground.















Monday, September 22, 2014

Autumn Fire

There were so many more pictures I could have taken this weekend.. but the fact is, I enjoyed the moment. I didn't want to take away from it by annoying people with cameras.. Until evening. And thankfully it was dark, so nobody had to pose. 
Friday morning half of our family woke up with colds and small fevers. I think Dad and I may have got the worst of it. Thankfully, we are all on the mend now. Since we all had colds, we thought it best not have church. Dad came home on Saturday and we did some yard work. Cutting and stacking wood to sell, burning a big brush pile...Dad's really got the place looking nice! He has cleared so much brush! Sunday seems to be when the most fun began. I wish everyday could be like yesterday! There is something in the air that makes everyone content, everyone busy. That morning we all sat around drinking coffee and talking, and as the time went on we all went to our tasks. Some working with others and some on there own. Even though we are working apart it still feels like we are all working together. Mom and some of the family went and got some adorable Banty Roosters to bring home, I stayed and cleaned while Dad and the younger boys burned anther brush pile. For lunch and dinner we cooked over a campfire. (One of our favorite things to do.) As we cooked over the fire we dreamed and talked about building an outdoor kitchen! The plan is to try and build one next year! Just think, an OUTDOOR KITCHEN! Doesn't that just sound like fun! A new adventure! We will have to learn how to cook very differently from how we cook in the house with electricity! I am really hoping that we will be able to do it next year. Cooking like old timers used to will be fun, and not to mention, it will save ALOT of money. 
After naps and a movie we all went outside again, sat around, made dinner, and got lazy. As we watched the brush pile burn last night we all saw about 6 falling stars. Beautiful Memories. ;)

Mom's Banty Roosters


Sitting at the Campfire

Bubba and Sugar Biscuit - they'er inseparable. ;) 

Dad stirring up the fire...


Elias, Jericho, and Malachi

I was trying to get a close up of the coals but this briar bush decided to do an AWESOME photo bomb 
Ok..ok. ok... so we threw the chair in the fire...what of it? Made a cool picture though. :P

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

I Made Butter!!!

You know how you sometimes have those spontaneous thoughts that really, you have no idea where they came from..? I know that I do..and today happened to be one of those days where I had an awesome spontaneous thought. My thought: "Can you make butter in an electrice mixer? If you could it definitely would be lots quicker to make!" So, I looked it up and sure enough! You can! Hurrah! I was so happy to find it out. My one fear was that it wouldn't turn out for me like it did for the person that wrote the blog I read. But it did!!! Here is the blog I scanned over and learned from. The pics are the pics of the butter I made! Hopefully we will be having lots more homemade butter! I was really proud of myself... not to brag or anything... ;)


Before it goes into butter making stage it is whipped topping! ;) 

I hope you try making your own! It tastes SOOOOO GOOD and it's so much better for you! The blog I posted above didn't mention how to add salt... But you ONLY need 1/2 tsp of salt to ONE pound of butter! Mine made about a fourth a pound and so I obviously used 1/8 a tsp.



Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Mammoth Springs // Fourth of July Weekend

I am so behind in posting the goings on in life! We actually took a summer trip this year! Dad had a 3 day weekend fourth of July weekend and we, actually Dad, planned a trip and picnic to Mammoth springs! I haven't been there since I was at least 10 and I was glad to go and see it again, since things tend to fade in your memory of how they look or what the memories are... ;) Mom made her wonderful recipe of picnic chicken, and for sides we bought fruit, chips, and made some chocolate pudding! We were all so full! Here are some pictures from the trip:

Fathers and Daughters

All the siblings....Well...until Dec. From left to right: Christian (17), Petra (19), Li'ora (2), Emma (4), Malachi (6), Elias (10), Jericho (13)

Mom and Dad...Oh yeah... and Jedidiah is in the picture too. ;) You just can't see him yet. :D



My brother took this picture with his phone... I stole the pictures about from my Mom's facebook page which she took with her really good camera.. :D :D 
On the fourth we went to town and watched the firework display! It was a really pretty display. ;)

Monday, June 23, 2014

Ravihoebies

Ok.. so it's cute, it's adorable and I just can't get over those RAVIHOEBIES! Aka... Raviolis. Sorry about the background noises, but that's kinda hard to avoid when you live in a family of 9. (soon to be 10.) :D


He's a BOY!!

Some of you may not have even known... but there was a reason to keep it a secret so long. After the chaos that went on twice last year for Mom we waited to make it public until we knew that the Baby would be ok. Now that we know the baby is healthy and looking great we announced it publicly - I should say my Mom and Dad announced it, cause they are the ones that are pregnant... not me. Not only did we announce it but we also found that the baby is a BOY!!!! Yeah for Jedidiah Stonewall coming on 12-13-14!!! Mom's at 15 weeks. There will be almost 20 years between me and my new little brother. ;) The same age difference between me and my Dad. ;)


And he is already a thumb sucker!!!!! ;) :D Already takes after his sis. ;) :D 


Total Randomness

Ok... so all these pics are a bit backwards and forwards and if blogger didn't make it so dang difficult to rearrange photos, I would...anyway... that was a pointless statement...

-------------------------------Last Week-----------------------------

 I played with Emma's hair (like I always do) ;P and my own... Creating a tutorial with my hairstyle pictured below. The tutorial ended up not being so grand, but if you want to watch it, you can find it here. I love Emma's and I can't get over how cut it was!


---------------------------------chipmunk----------------------------------

I think he liked having his picture taken... He just didn't know how close he could get to me without knowing he would be cuddled.... :P Isn't he a cutie! There is so much nature at our new place! Which we have been at for 6 months now!!!!!



--------------------------2 weeks ago, Fathers Day---------------------------

The Saturday before fathers day my Aunt J. and her husband and my Mom's brother came down for the weekend and we celebrated Fathers Day and Grandfathers Day at our house. For some reason I didn't grab pictures of them when they were here... We celebrated by eating, ALOT! and chit chatting and playing Bad mitten. Here are a few pics I did snag while Dad was opening his gifts. ;) Dad made sure to celebrate in his own easy style. ;) Mom had us all fill out a paper saying things about Dad. The littles papers were the best. One of the questions put to Li'ora was: "What does Daddy do at work?" Her answer was that He puts "fresh tires" on. ;) (He's a mechanic for all those who DON'T know that. A might good one at that.)








And that's the total randomness of this post. ;P