A Time to Love

Monday, June 12, 2017

Happily Ever After

Where do I begin? How do I start? How do I express feelings that haven't any words? Happiness. It's not something you can describe. It's not only a feeling. It's love, it's sacrifice, it's beauty,. It comes in many forms. My happiness? It comes in the form of a one year old red head. She's rambunctious, she's all smiles, she's her momma's girl, she's a chubby cuddlebug, she's got her daddy wrapped around her finger, she's so much more; She's our Gwyneth Aaliyah.

Perhaps, you are wondering where the rest of the story is? Why I suddenly left the blogging world and why I am suddenly back? You'll remember how I had said that I had met "a guy" in my previous story. Well, yes that man, my Austin, became my husband. After talking for a fortnight, we knew we were meant for each other. If it hadn't been for parents and their wisdom we would have been married immediately. However, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. Austin proposed to me 7 months after our first meeting. Delighted, happy, joyful. Those are only words that pale in comparison to the way I felt and continue to feel. To have a man love you for who you are - no make-up, messy hair, imperfect days, a man who sees passed your flaws, who hugs you when you're upset, who listens to every word that's important to you and makes it important to him, a man who cherishes you, finds joy in you- it's the biggest blessing God can give on this earth. People say that after 2 years of marriage, "love" diminishes. That the newness wears off and that you no longer love each other as you did before... This may be true. But, not in the way I believe they meant. True, Austin and I have matured much since our marriage. We look back and realize, we were only kids. We've had to make adult decisions. We've had to forgive and we've had to solve problems. We've had life happen to us. And the farther it goes, the busier it seems to get. Our love for each other has not diminished. With every passing day I love my husband more and more. His care for me and our daughter is an awe striking example of his love for us. No, love has not diminished. Maybe our immature infatuation has. Yes. However, we've learned and tasted the meaning of true love. And this, this is just the beginning of it. The beginning of our little family. The taste of the true joy God gives us on this blessed earth. The foreshadowing of all things eternal.

~ Petra

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...

~ ~ ~

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!

~ ~ ~

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...

~ ~ ~

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. ;)

~ ~ ~

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 answered 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. ;)