100!

One hundred comments! We finally made it. Thank you to all who left me verses and comments. I enjoyed all the silly ones as well as all the rest. Thank you, Bethany, especially. Of course, turn about it fair play. :)
Should I make everyone go through it again next year when I hit two hundred??? I probably won't. That could take a while!

A note to say I am still here...

Hello everyone! I know you all thought I had fallen off the face of the earth. I really haven't. I just haven't taken the time to write any new posts. I have tons of them to do. Including a wedding, an ice storm, Christmas, etc.
For now I will just tell a little of today. We have had tons of ice for the last week. We were all getting SO tired of it. Since we live at the top of a hill it makes it very difficult to go outside. It you step outside in any direction you have to go down. If you go down, you have to come back up. It was getting pretty frustrating. Well - Today was almost 65 degrees! It was SO wonderful. The ice was all melted by the time we got up this morning (it started melting yesterday afternoon). We spent many hours working out side today. We had to move many wheelbarrows full of wood from the shed to the porch. I can think of easier things to do than push a full wheelbarrow through very soft mud! We eventually got the porch loaded.
This afternoon a family from our church came over and helped us cut up a bunch of the branches that were in our yard from the ice storm. We lost branches all over the place. Richie used the chain saw and the rest of us hauled all the wood to the designated spots. Of course, this whole time we were slipping and sliding in MUD. Did I happen to mention that it was very, very muddy today?
We got a lot of work done today. We thank the Lord for the wonderful warm weather. It was gray, windy and a little rainy but the temperature felt WONDERFUL.

Ear Piercing Excitement

When I was little my parents told my sisters and me that we could get our ears pierced when we turned 18. My dad always wanted us to have things to look forward to. He didn't want us to grow up all at once.

When I was little we went to the mall at Christmas time every year. That was about the only time we ever went to the mall then. We love to see all the decorations. The year Beckisue turned 17 my parents decided to let her go ahead and get her ears pierced for Christmas. Since she is the oldest the age changed. We now had to be 17.

Each of us ended up having to wait until we were just a little over 17. It is kind of funny how that worked out. Beckisue of course waited because she wasn't given permission until after she was 17. Then Monica had to wait because Beckisue did. Older sisters just work that way. :) Then when I turned 17 I decided to wait just because I wanted to. Actually it was a long story that I won't bore anyone with. I finally made the decision to have holes punched a few months later. Amanda had to wait because we were in the middle of remodeling our house when she turned 17 and mom didn't want her to get an infection from all the dirt and stuff.

So, guess what? Stephanie turned 17 a few weeks ago. But tradition holds. Everyone decided that Stephanie had to wait too.

Stephanie and some friends from church have been making plans for weeks. They all wanted to go together. Things didn't work out how they had planned but but two of them did get to go together.

They both decided it didn't hurt nearly as bad as everyone had told them it would. They were both quite relieved.

So that makes the last of the Cosby girls to get extra holes in their head. :)

1 Year - 100 Posts

I started my blog one year ago today. Just on a whim one night I decided to do it. I wasn't going to tell anyone about it for a while. I wanted to get the hang of doing it first. Right away I saw a comment on my first post. I was like "What in the world!" I soon discovered that there was a link to my blog from my profile. So much for keeping it secretive. I didn't mind though. I went ahead and told my friends.
So now - This is one year later and my 100th post. I started thinking about ways for people to leave comments on this post. I have seen some really cute things done, but I wanted to do something different. I came up with a really easy one for everyone. Leave a Bible verse. Anyone you like. Your favorite, one you have been thinking of lately, one that you open your Bible and put your finger on.... :) But if you comment more than once (which of course you are welcome to do, or else I won't have 100 comments) you have to leave an other verse with everything you say. It shouldn't be complicated. That is what copy and paste is for. :)

Facing the Giants

I think my family was about the last people I know to watch Facing the Giants. We finally watched it Sunday night. Wow! I really liked it. I had heard some people say that it was kind of a "prosperity" movie. Get right with God and everything will go your way. I didn't really think so. Though, yes, that is what happened, that isn't what they were trying to teach. "If we win we praise Him, if we lose we praise Him." That is how all of life should be... now matter what!
They really got one thing life like. That is when everything was going badly, and everyone started undermining the coach. No one went to the coach to talk to him. They went to the assistant and started building him up and tearing down the leadership. Oh! How realistic that is.

Happy 90th!

My Grandpa Jones (my mom's dad in case no one could figure that out) turned 90 today. What a blessing to have both of my grandpas live so long!
When my family talked to him tonight he was all excited. He went to renew his drivers license and they didn't charge him. It is a state law that after 90 you don't have to pay anymore. :) How many 90 year olds can pass the test though?

The Innkeeper

This is a poem by John Piper. I found it a while ago and have listened to it many times. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have! It is an amazing poem.

The Sucharski family (a family in our church) invited us over for their Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. Talk about a huge spread! Oh my! They served turkey, fish, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, and dessert was pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, apple jack, and chocolate chip cookie bars. I am thinking there was something else but I can't remember. Oh yeah! We brought cheesy potato casserole and salad. I guess it really isn't that much more (except for there were three meats!) than we had on Thursday. It just seemed like more maybe because it was spread out all over the place. :)
There were about thirty people there. We were all tripping over each other but it was fun. Poor Kevin (one of the guests) washed all of the dishes. Every time he would think he was finally finished we would empty an other pan. :) He said "My hands used to look manly..."
We spent the evening playings games. We played Hand and Foot for a while. We play that game every time we get together. My sisters have decided it is about the most fun game they have ever played. I enjoy it but I can think of better ones. But I am in the minority so my voice doesn't count. :) After most of the people had gone home last night we did play a game that I wanted to play. We didn't get to finish though because it was getting too late. At least they know now how to play so if we ever decide to play it again they will know how.

No Interesting Title... Just stuff

Who is crazy enough to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving??? I guess we were. Friday morning Beckisue, Amanda, Stephanie, Mom, and I went shopping. We didn't go until late morning. There are no deals worth getting up at 4 AM! We didn't go to many stores. We did go to the mall first. That was NOT my choice. Way too many people there. I wanted to go to Jo-Ann's. That is my store! :) We did go there. We spent about 45 minutes there. When we left I had a zipper. All those sales and all that time and that is all I found that I really needed. :) But hey, I got a good deal on the zipper. :)
When we got home we hurried and got lunch on the table. It was late and everyone was hungry. While we were sitting there eating one thing lead to an other and suddenly Dad decided that we should take Stephanie's birthday dinner (Small little detail that I forgot to mention... it was Steph's birthday) and go over and see Will Robbins. We all decided that was a great idea, so Dad called Will. He has a weekend pass and he was at his sister's house with no one there. All of the rest of his family had gone one place or an other. He was just there babysitting his two year old niece and the two dogs.
We got there about 5:45. We talked, played music, ate supper, had birthday cake, cleaned the kitchen (I hope Will's sister can actually find her dishes when she gets home), played an other song and then played spoons. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the above! Spoons was especially fun. Will had never played which made it hilarious. We didn't get to finish the game so there wasn't a winner. The first round, which everyone declared as a "practice round," I lost. But! Everyone said it didn't count so... Other than that the only two people who lost were Will and Beckisue. We all had to tease them it was because they were the oldest of the bunch and couldn't move fast enough. :) Beckisue says next time we have to play at a table. :)
So that was Friday. I will have to post about today (Saturday) later. More big events. Of course, what is new around here. There is ALWAYS something going on. My poor music teachers! It is a wonder that they put up with me as little as I practice. I am never home!

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Last Spring, Amanda and I listened to Robinson Crusoe on CD while we were working on a quilt. I really enjoyed it. If anyone ever needs a lesson in thankfulness - just read that book. Here is one part that stood out to me especially:

"Evil: I am cast upon a horrible, desolate island, void of all hope of recovery.

Good: But I am alive; and not drowned, as all my ship's company were.

Evil: I am singled out and separated, as it were, from all the world, to be miserable.

Good: But I am singled out, too, from all the ship's crew, to be spared from death; and He that miraculously saved me from death can deliver me from this condition.

Evil: I am divided from mankind - a solitaire; one banished from human society.

Good: But I am not starved, and perishing on a barren place, affording no sustenance.

Evil: I have no clothes to cover me.

Good: But I am in a hot climate, where, if I had clothes, I could hardly wear them.

Evil: I am without any defence, or means to resist any violence of man or beast.

Good: But I am cast on an island where I see no wild beasts to hurt me, as I saw on the coast of Africa; and what if I had been shipwrecked there?

Evil: I have no soul to speak to or relieve me.

Good: But God wonderfully sent the ship in near enough to the shore, that I have got out as many necessary things as will either supply my wants or enable me to supply myself, even as long as I live."

With that I would just like to say that there is something to be thankful for in EVERY situation. After all, giving thanks is the will of God.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my friends. Many of you are more dear to me than I could express. I am so thankful for you.

Let us never cease to be thankful.

Attack of the Vampires (and we are still smiling)

A few months ago a man took our picture while we were giving blood. He said he would email it to us. Every time we would go in he would look at us and say "I still haven't sent that picture, have I?" Tonight he finally sent it. Can you tell it was still summer?? I had a tan. Now I am back to being pale. :) Of course, I was probably pale a few minutes after the picture was taken... After they finished taking a pint of blood from me!

The Supremacy of Christ

This is a longer clip from the sermon. The shorter clip is just the end. I recommend watching the whole ten minutes.

A Baptist Visits the Popes

Last week my sister in law called to say that Dale was working in Lexington, KY this week and wanted to know if I wanted to visit my friend Tiffany. It took a lot of effort for them to get me talked into going (tongue firmly planted in cheek).
Dale and I left Monday afternoon. We arrived at the Pope's about 6:30. The kids were all excited to see me. Christian (3) was all ready for his usual kisses. :) Of course, I was more than willing to give them.
After dinner the four kids, ages 6, 5, 3, and 3, quoted Exodus 20 for us. That is quite an accomplishment! I always enjoy hearing them quote Scripture. After the children went to bed we just visited the rest of the evening.
Nothing exceptionally special happened the next day. I just enjoyed being there with them. We talked and laughed and did this and that. It is always such a joy to be able to spend time with her. Watching Tiffany's walk with the Lord is always a blessing and a challenge.
Dale's finished his work and was back to pick me up at 6:00. Saying good bye is always sad. But I just have to remember that in order to say "good bye" I had to have said "hello" so I have to be thankful for the time I had no matter how long it was.

Happenings

Here I go again - Letting far too much time go between posts. Remember last summer when I actually posted every day for a week? Well, those days have been gone for a while.
Life keeps marching on.

Last Sunday my mom, sisters, and I got to go to Union City for my friend's bridal shower. We were all so happy we got to go. I didn't think I would be able to attend Lora's bridal shower, but when I found out she was going to have one so much closer... We were all excited. We also enjoyed getting to see our friends at Cornerstone. When the party was over we went over to the Shepherd's house so we could say a quick hello to Pastor Shepherd.

Early this week, I don't remember the day for sure, our washer stopped working. Mom started looking right away for an other one. We got one today. There are a lot of details that go into how we got it, but for once I don't feel like telling every detail to a story. :) I'll just say that Mom found a 2009 model on sale at Sears for less than the 2008 models and it has two extra features that the others didn't! The salesman said that washers are coming down in price. That was good to hear!

I finished my quilt top today. I am thankful to finally have that finished. Actually, it didn't take me very long at all, I was just hoping to have it done a couple of days ago. I would have had it finished but the machine suddenly stopped working. I couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong with it. A couple of days later I showed it to my mom to see if she could figured it out. At first she gave an obvious thing to try that I had already done. Then she said "What color thread do you have on there?" I told her it was navy on top and khaki for the bobbin. Then she told me that was my problem. I looked at her like she was nuts! How in the world could the color of thread be my problem?!?!?! She said she has been told there is some sort of difference in the weight of the thread. I changed the navy thread over to khaki. Guess what?? It worked! I couldn't believe after all that the only thing that was wrong was the color of the thread! Anyway, back to the quilt. I got it basted this evening and hopefully I can start quilting it on Monday.

Last Saturday night Will came down for my Dad's class. That was an exciting time. Will gave his testimony. My dad's office was crowded! Here is the funny part. Just before the class started our electricity went out. It wasn't storming or anything. My mom gathered candles and lanterns. We all met in Dad's office by lantern light. Just after Dad and Will left the electricity came back on. It was out for two and a half hours I think.

Insulation and Other Delights

Today's big project was putting insulation in the ceiling of my grandma's living room and bedroom. I can think of jobs I have enjoyed more in my life.  Of course, there are worse too. Amanda, Mom and I worked on putting a new kind of insulation under the rolled in insulation that was already there. That was a challenge. The ceiling is 4'x2' tiles. We had to cut each piece to fit on the tiles and then either slide them under the fiberglass insulation from an open space where we had removed a tile or attach them to a tile once it was out and replace the tile. Needless to say we were all very itchy by the time we were done. But thankfully it is DONE. Hopefully it will be warmer this winter!

I started teaching violin lessons again. Today was the first lesson. I haven't taught in a long time. I never really liked teaching. I wasn't confident or skilled enough I don't think. A friend asked me a few weeks ago if I would teach her so I said I would. We will see how it goes. It was kind of funny though because when she came I asked her if she had ever had violin lessons before. She said she had taken lessons from me when she was about 8 years old (which was about 7 years ago)!!! I had totally forgotten! Yikes! That is bad. She did very well. I was surprised at how well she site read! Maybe teaching will stretch my skills. That is always good.

Monica and I gave blood again tonight. It never seems like 8 weeks between times, but it is. The same thing happened tonight as happened last time. She put the needle in my arm and was like "Were'd it go?" That is NOT a good thing to hear when you have a needle sticking out of your arm!! Once it is in they aren't allowed to pull it out and try again. Once it is out, it is out for good. So she wiggled it around trying to find the vein. But no such luck. She had to call an other lady over (which again is the same thing that happened last time) and she moved it and found the vein immediately. (don't get too squeamish Pastor Townsend, it wasn't that bad) :)

I have several events that I need to post about. But I decided that since it has been a while since I just posted about a day's events I would do that tonight. Not to mention the fact I am too lazy to work on a real post. :)

The Sound of Music

Many months ago Beckisue started telling us that The Sound of Music was going to be at Beef and Boards in Indianapolis. She decided that we should all go for her birthday since it was in November. We were all excited about it and Beckisue put together a whole group of people. There were 24 all together.
Today was the day. Michelle, one of the ladies in our church (not my sister-in-law) came to our house this morning and rode as far Logansport with us and then we met an other friend and rode down with her. It was fun to be able to spend the time going and coming with friends.
We visited a while before we started eating. The buffet was good. There was a salad bar (with basically no veggies! which was no fun), pasta, broccoli and cheese, potatoes (which were very unique and very good) chicken, fish sticks, and roast beef. The roast beef was not anywhere near being fully cooked, and I don't like fish, so I stuck with chicken, which is my favorite most of the time anyway! :)
At first I wasn't sure I was going to like the seats we had but after it started I realized I was really going to like them. We were sitting straight across (but below) the room from the balcany where the musicians were. We could see the pianist and the drummer a little bit. That was probably one of my favorite parts. I love watching musicians! It is such a different experience than just hearing the music. You seem to comprehend more when you can see them play.
Plays are neat to watch. They are so much different than movies. There were things about this play that were very different than the movie and things that were very much the same. I was a little dissapointed with some of the voices. Of course, when you are used to hearing Julie Andrews sing those songs most voices are a step backwards! However the man who played Captin von Trapp had a beautiful voice. I was dissapointed that he didn't sing anymore than he did!
It was a fun day. We are already making plans to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers next year! :)

Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing special was going on this morning. Dad, Mom and Amanda all had to go to town. Beckisue left for work as usual and the rest of us (which was Monica, Stephanie and me) were home doing normal, run-of-the-mill kind of stuff. Since there were just three of us we didn't really fix lunch. We each just got what we wanted to eat. I got my lunch and was emailing while I ate. Monica was finished with her lunch and she called in from the sewing room and asked me what I was doing with the fabric on the cutting counter. I told her I wasn't doing anything with it and she could just fold it up and move it. Then she said "just come in here for a minute. I need you." So I walked in there... I couldn't believe my eyes. I just stared. It took a couple of seconds for it to even register in my mind what I was seeing. Or should I say "who I was seeing"? Right there in front of me was Tiffany!! She told me that she was going to surprise me one of these days. No one was going to know she was coming. She was just going to show up. I didn't know it would be so soon! And then an other surprise! Her family was here too! That is actually why they were here. Her dad had a class in Indianapolis that he had to take this week so they decided to all come along (if the company is paying all expenses why not?).
We were totally unprepared for company. I was a mess, the house was a mess, but we didn't care! I hadn't even fixed my hair yet!
My first thought when I heard her family was here was "And it is still harvest time!" After we visited here for a while we headed up to the Smith's farm so the kids could ride in the combine. They were SO cute. When I got Chase (age 5) out of the car I helped him put his jacket on and then took him over to get in. I thought he would be a little hesitant to get in at first because he didn't know Mr. Smith so I started to introduce him. He didn't need any introductions. Right up the ladder he went! He was ready to go! Mom rode with him and said he never stopped talking the whole time!
While they were riding the rest of us headed to watch the semi being unloaded. We figured the kids would enjoy that too.
When Mr. Smith started in a new field Tiffany and I rode together. That was a lot of fun. I think Tiffany is as excitable as the kids are! She kept saying "It is just like stepping into Farm and Ranch Magazine!"
The whole day was tons of fun. All the kids enjoyed the farm. The only problem with the day is it went too fast! But as Bethany says "It is so we can enjoy the memories sooner." And as Tiffany would say "We made jolly memories!"

A Long Awaited Day

Thursday was the fulfillment of a day my family has been looking forward to for a long time. I guess in order for it to make sense I have to go back in time about 6 and a half years...
A pastor friend of ours was the chaplain for the Sheriffs department in a neighboring county. He also worked with our county jail. One day he called my dad and asked him to preach that coming Sunday because he couldn't do it. Dad said he would, though he had never preached in a jail before. That was Easter Sunday. Six men made professions of faith that day.
That week we got a letter from one of them. I don't remember what all it said, I just remember thinking to myself "I wonder how long this will last?" (referring to his profession). I guess you can just say I am cynical.
Dad started talking to him and one day he said that he thought he needed to confess to something. He had robbed a local bank. He did confess and started through the long road of court appearances.
I will skip through all those details.
Some where along in there we got another letter from him saying that he wanted to be like the Apostle Paul and change his name after his conversion. He was Bill before and now he wanted to be called William. That was easy for us because we didn't know him as Bill. We soon decided that William was too long and started calling him Will. So just like Saul to Paul - it was Bill to Will. :)
Will and Dad continued to write letters and Dad tried to go see him about once or twice a year. After a couple of years we got a letter from Will that I won't forget. I don't remember the specifics but I remember the basics very well. He wrote to Dad saying that the Chaplain at the prison where he was had preached a sermon and he didn't agree with it. He told my dad what this man had preached and asked him what he thought about it. But he didn't stop there! He went on to show from Scripture where this man had been wrong and what the truth was. That was so encouraging!
The years past as we all prayed for him, talked to him on the phone, and read his letters. We looked forward to the day we would finally be able to meet him! This Summer we finally heard his release date was October 8th. He was being released to a halfway house so there are still lots of restrictions. He can't just come and see us and we can't just go see him when ever we want. Will was able to get a two hour pass (we were really hoping for a four, but we took what we could get and were *very* thankful for it) to go to lunch with us. My parents, three of my sisters and I drove up there Thursday to meet him. We were to be there at 11. We got there about 10:45 to make sure we had plenty of time. Dad went in to make sure everything was in order and then he found out that that county is on Central Time and we are on Eastern! We were an hour early. At least that is better than being an hour late. :) That was a long hour. But as time always does it passed and we saw him come walking down the street.
We enjoyed our time so much. He told us some stories and talked about the deliverance of Christ. It was a wonderful time. It was such a blessing to finally get to meet him after waiting so long. We are looking forward to getting to know him better and watching him grow in Christ.

Combine Rides

I have decided it is along past time for a post. It isn't that there haven't been plenty of things to post about, just nothing I wanted to post about. I started a few times but didn't get far.

Beckisue, Grandma, our neighbor's foreign exchange student Lisa, and I all went to visit the Smiths farm to ride in the combine. It was a beautiful day and we were all looking forward to it. The sun was shining brightly and it was warm. By the time we got to the Smiths the temperature had dropped and it was raining! Go figure.

That didn't stop us from having a good time though. Lisa and I rode with Mr. Smith first. Everything was totally  new to Lisa. She has never seen a farm before. It is fun to just ride and chat. I always enjoy getting to visit with Mr. Smith.

While we were riding Mr. Smith asked if Grandma wanted to ride, too. I said I didn't think she could get in the combine. He said (in totally his "Mr. Smith" way) "Sure she can!" So when we were done, Mr. Smith asked Grandma if she would like to ride. She lit up like a Christmas tree. She climbed the ladder with out too much difficulty. She absolutely loved her ride. Farming has changed a lot since she was on the farm in Nebraska! I am glad she had the opportunity, who knows what next year will hold.

The Excitement of the Day

What an interesting morning we had! Mom, Monica, and I left about 11:45 to go exercise.  We paused for a few seconds at the end of our drive way deciding which way to turn - whether we should go shopping first or exercise first. We decided to doing the errand running/shopping first so we turned left. We got to the end of our road (which has a yield sign) and there was a truck with a long trailer turning left. We knew he couldn't make it with us there so Monica started backing up. The man just slowed down a minute and when he saw Monica was backing up he just accelerated. It was quite obvious to those of us in the car that he still didn't have any where near enough room! Pretty soon we heard a hit and scraping all the way down the length of the trailer! The man stopped and asked if he had hit us. I wanted to say "Duh!" but, of course, I didn't. We sat there and waited for Dad to come and then the Sheriff's Deputy. We were there about twenty minutes before the deputy got there. Dad stood and chatted with the man until the deputy got there. 

So insurance stuff was exchanged and the police got their report. All that good stuff. All in all everything was very minor. Cars can always be fixed. There is always so much to be thankful for in every situation.

John Piper - The Prosperity Gospel

The True Meaning of Unity

Ephesians 4
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Best Line of The Day

I got up this morning at 5:40 to babysit. Not my favorite time of the day to say the least. :)

Anyway, that has nothing to do with my story.

I was babysitting a five year old boy, and a three year old girl. This morning Tait asked me "Do you gots any kids?" I told him I didn't. So then he says "Why don't you gots kids?" I said I didn't have kids because I am not married. He thought about that for a minute and then said "Some people have kids when they aren't married." I then told him that I know they do but that is not how God intended things. At this point I thought the conversation was over. Wrong!

About ten minutes later he says "Why aren't you married yet?" I really don't remember at all how I answered that one. Then comes his best line... "Haven't you found anyone beautiful enough yet?"

Sleeping Beauty

We went for a walk Thanksgiving afternoon (yes, I am still posting on Thanksgiving) and we took Heather with us. She was bundled up but still got cold so Monica put her inside her coat. Once cozy and warm it didn't take her long to fall asleep! When we got home this is what she looked like. She actually stayed asleep for a very long time in that position!

Heather's Teddy Bear

I found some more pictures from last Thanks giving that I wanted to post. Uncle Rob and Aunt Chrissy got Heather a teddy bear.

Her first view of it. She doesn't look quite as excited as she really was!

She looks scared in this one, but she really wasn't!

Now you can see how much she loves it!

Thanks Uncle Rob and Aunt Chrissy!

How is this for an adoring look?

I was just looking through some pictures and found this one from last Thanksgiving. It would be really great if Stephanie's hands weren't in the way!
For anyone who doesn't know, that is my brother Rob and his wife Chrissy.

Heidi's and Tiffany's Visit

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to sign into my Home School Alumni account and it didn't work the first time (it never does, I always have to try at least twice). The second time I entered it went to the profile page and said I had a new message. I opened my inbox and there was a message from my friend Heidi. I thought it was a bit odd to have a message from her but I opened it and started reading. Right away I noticed that something wasn't right and this message wasn't for me! I glanced down and realized it was in reply to a note from Beckisue. I knew right away that I had spoiled a surprise! I was so upset about it but I couldn't go back and change it now! What had happened is when I signed in it went to Beckisue's account because she hadn't signed out of an other window. I hadn't noticed it was hers. I felt so bad about it for two reasons, one because I knew Beckisue would be disappointed not to be able to pull off the surprise, and two because I was disappointed that I couldn't be surprised. I finally mustered up the courage to tell Beckisue what had happened. As I knew, she was very disappointed. She asked me how much I had seen, and I told her. What I didn't tell her was that I *highly* suspected that Tiffany (a close friend of mine who lives near Heidi) was coming too.

The time passed before the party. Everyone decided that it was a good thing that I knew Heidi was coming for many reasons. The biggest was that my brother and sister-in-law went to Michigan and said I could go along. There is no way anyone could have convinced me to stay home. Everyone knows I go to Michigan every time I get a chance!

The day for the arrival finally arrived (sorry, bad pun). Heidi called along the way to tell where she was. When she was just about here I went up stairs like a good sister and hid away so they could "sneak" Tiffany in. Though, by this time I was getting kind of scared that she wasn't coming after all. The night before Amanda had mentioned "Tiffany would have loved the tea party if she could have been here." That one threw me. I had seen through everything else but I was a little iffy about that. Anyway, when Heidi got here they yelled up stairs and told me she was here and to come down. I went in to the kitchen and we chatted a minute while everyone was putting the rest of the stuff on the picnic table. I asked how the trip went and she said "Fine, we - I just wasn't paying attention and had to turn around a couple of times." Then I KNEW Tiffany was there some where. We went out to the picnic table and everyone started singing Happy Birthday to me. I expected her to come running up behind me while they were singing but I *fought* the urge to turn around and look and just smiled at everyone. Then we sat down at the table and still no Tiffany. Grandma prayed, and we started eating. Still no Tiffany. Beckisue started looking around so I was about to burst trying not to start grinning like an idiot and just carry on a nice conversation with Heidi and everyone else. Then I finally saw her running around the corner of the house yelling "Surprise!!" I quickly got up to give her a hug. I had planned not to tell anyone that I knew she was coming but she asked me if I was surprised so I had to be honest. Everyone kept apologizing like it was going to make our weekend less enjoyable since it wasn't a surprise! Well, if it made it less enjoyable I don't even know if I could taken that much fun! We had (as Tiffany would say) a jolly time!

It was a beautiful day for a picnic! We enjoyed our tea and sandwiches under the trees on moms new picnic table. When we finally pulled ourselves away from there the girls went to take a short nap while the rest of us cleaned up.

We took the girls to Hap's, one of our many ice cream shops, that afternoon. They thought it was adorable, as does everyone! Amanda, Stephanie, Tiffany, and I decided on the "Big Dish" (I think that is what it was called). It was eight scoops of ice cream, two toppings, cool whip, and a cherry! We each picked two kinds of ice cream and shared it all. You should have seen it! It was quite comical. 

The girls gave me gifts while we were at Hap's. Heidi gave me a beautiful afghan/shawl. It is so beautiful and soft! It is just the right size to snuggle with on the couch.  Tiffany gave me a mattress caddy (I think that is what she called it). It is the cutest, handiest little thing. It tucks in under your mattress  and the part that hangs down has pockets in it to keep things that you might want by your bed, like tissue, chap stick, a book, etc. She gave me all those things already in it!

We went to South Bend that evening to hear the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team. That was wonderful! We have many of their CDs and I love their music but I had never heard them in person. I am so glad it worked out that Tiffany and Heidi got to see them at the same time I did! It was the "Irish Sacred Concert" night so that made it even better. I love Irish music!

Saturday morning we got up late and just took our time doing stuff around the house. Monica curled Tiffany's hair. Tiffany *loved* that. She has very straight hair and she is always bemoaning that. :) She loves to play with Beckisue's curls and say "Envy rots the bones, Tiffany, Envy rots the bones!" She is absolutely hilarious! Anyway, Monica finished curling her hair and it looked beautiful! I think she always looks beautiful, but I guess she doesn't always agree. ;)

That afternoon we went to the KohKohMah reenactment. We got to see all the people in costume doing their "thing." It was a lot of fun. Only bad part was some of the men were dressed way to authentically as indians! Yikes! 

Right before we left we got to see someone get married. It was so neat. They were all in their costumes and the ceremony was a very old one (you don't hear Christian ceremonies like that very often now!). At the end of the ceremony the couple took the Lord's Supper. I am so thankful we were still there to see all that. We just stood at the top of the hill and looked down at everyone.

When we got home we were all too tired to do anything big. We decided to watch a movie. We watched Move Over Darling.  They both enjoyed that. It is such a funny movie!

At the end of the service Sunday, Tiffany played her guitar and sang. We all enjoyed it. I had never heard her play or sing until Saturday night. She is really good. She and her sister used to have a bluegrass gospel group when they were teenagers.

Sunday afternoon brought the time to say goodbye. :( That is always the sad part of a visit! We have lots of memories and *many* pictures to remember our visit by. Between Amanda's, Heidi's, and Tiffany's cameras we got lots of pictures. Tiffany has a very nice camera and she told Stephanie she could take all the pictures she wanted. Stephanie was on cloud 9! I have no idea how many pictures she took! But alas, you all still don't get pictures. None of them have been loaded yet and most of the pictures are on Tiffany's camera.

My Birthday

I am at a point right now that I don't think I will ever get caught up on my posting! I have so many things to tell about. Right now I don't feel like doing any of it but if I don't start I won't ever get any of it done! (that was profound, I know!)
I enjoy blogging but I really don't like posting pictures... So I decided for this post I would let you all look at my sisters' blogs (Steph, Amanda).
I will just tell you about it.
Mom took Amanda and me shopping for our birthdays (Amanda hadn't gotten to go since we left for MI on her birthday). We left SOO much later than we were supposed to we didn't get a lot of time to shop. But it didn't really matter since I found what I wanted as soon as I walked in to Jo-Ann's.
When we got home Dale, Michelle, and Heather were at our house. We didn't mind leaving shopping early since we knew they were waiting for us at the house.
We had roast beef, green beans, salad, and mashed potatoes for supper. It was very yummy! And we had the best birthday cake I think I have ever had! It was a peach dump cake made with fresh peaches and not pie filling. It was sooo good! When I got my cake and ice cream, I was sitting on the trampoline in the living room and Heather came and sat in my lap because she wanted to eat some too. I was feeding her some of the "cream" as she calls it. At one point I stopped feeding her for a minute and she grabbed my arm and started guiding the spoon to her mouth. I thought my mom was going to die laughing. Of course, the funniest part was when I was being mean to her. I got a bite on the spoon and took it right PAST her mouth into mine. It was so funny! She dropped her mouth open and just followed the spoon trying to get it. Aren't I a horribly mean aunt???? I have such fun teasing her! Like last year on mom's birthday when she was begging for food off my plate. She wasn't old enough to eat any of it but she was very insistent. So I finally dipped my finger in the honey mustard and stuck it in her mouth! That cured her. She dropped all the other food out of her mouth. That was a blast. I told you all I was mean! She loves me anyway. When we drove up to church yesterday she was on the side walk and yelled "Rhona" as soon as we drove up!
I am supposed to be posting pictures of all my gifts. I will get around to it some day. I have to take them first. I promised Chrissy a picture of the wall-hanging quilt that Amanda made me. It is absolutely beautiful.
One day I will get caught up on all my posting (or maybe not!).

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope you have a wonderful day! I love you!

Aunt Rhonda is a Very Bad Influence

This should probably be part of my birthday post but it was so funny I thought it deserved it's own.

One of my gifts from Beckisue was a necklace charm. It is music notes. After I finished opening my presents Heather found the charm and decided she wanted to wear it. The only problem was it didn't have a chain. SO! I do not know what possessed her but she pulled up her shirt and started putting it up to her belly. So I, being the horrible aunt that I am, decided to have some great fun and told Amanda to toss me a roll of tape. I took the charm off the card and taped it to her belly. It was soooo funny. At least we all thought it was. I am not sure if Dale and Michelle thought it was all that funny! ;)

Just in case anyone wondered when I said I was a bad influence... I only have two piercing, one in each ear. :)

Strange Happenings

This afternoon my mom took my sisters and me shopping for my birthday. We walked into Jo-Ann Fabrics and I found fabric that I love almost immediately. I decided I would go back and look for a pattern. While I was looking there was a mother with a girl about 7 years old looking for a Halloween costume. The little girl decided that she wanted to be a witch. Her mother said that she has been a witch every year and didn't she want to be something else? The girl told her she liked witches. They went on for a few minutes and then the little girl says again "I only like witches, devils, and vampires." I about flipped but went calmly on looking through my pattern book. But things only got worse from there!
A woman sitting on the opposite side of the table says "Now there's a girl after my own heart!" Lady #1 (the mother) says "Well, she (talking about her daughter) lives in a house decorated for Halloween year around." At this point I knew we were getting into some serious stuff here! And then Lady #1 looks at Lady #2 and says "OH! You are Pagan!" (she was wearing jewelry with symbols on it) Lady #2 said "Yes!" One of them mentioned that you don't find to many around here and I thought "Thank God!" And then the conversation began! Yikes!!! They started discussing going to Witches Balls and Spirit Gatherings, etc. Finally I was like "I am out of here!!" and went to the other side of the store.
It was a very strange experience. One I hope isn't repeated!

Giving Blood

Monica and I went to music lessons this morning. My teacher didn't have any students right after us so the three of us went to lunch. It was really nice.
We went straight to give blood from there. I always dread giving blood. I don't know why I keep going back every six weeks! We got there took our numbers and waited a while. Monica finally decided she couldn't wait as long as it was going to take because she had to get to work. So we left and said we might be back later.
We went back about 5:30 this evening. I was dreading it as always. I think it was the easiest time I have ever had. The questions and paper work always take forever, but from the time the needle was put in until I was done was only 5 minutes! I was very happy. The only bad part was she missed my vein the first time and had to hold it there while she waited for an other girl to come over, get her gloves on and find it. They twisted it around and stuck it a little further in and finally found it. It wasn't as bad as it sounds or as I was expecting. The girls told me to keep breathing! I said "With a needle hanging out of my arm???!" But I got over it. I guess it is the same as it is with the ladders. I really hate it at first but I keep doing it anyway and eventually get used to it.
So, tonight I am exhausted as I always am when I am done, but I made it through giving blood an other time.

Window Painting (finally!)

Yesterday, Mom decided that while the ladder was up against the house (from when Jonathan was tuck-pointing) the half-circles at the top of the windows needed to be washed. Amanda volunteered me for the job since she hates ladders. Have I ever mentioned that I don't really like ladders either??? Well, after several minutes of making sure the ladder was locked in place I finally climbed up and washed the window. When I got back down I mentioned that what really needed to be done was the trim painted. I guess we decided that now was as good of time as any. So I went and changed my clothes and mom got the paint and I started. I didn't have any idea how much harder it was to paint brick than anything I have ever painted. It took forever! But by the time I got to the second window everything was much easier because I had gotten the hang of the painting and I had gotten over my fear of the ladder. I am always afraid of ladders when I first start a project but I soon get used to them. I guess I should use them more often!

The windows look SOO much better. Mom and I decided that they probably hadn't been painted since the original paining 140+ years ago. Now for the second story windows... I don't know who is going to do that! I am not. That ladder doesn't extend that high and I wouldn't climb it if it did! And then for the trim at the top of the house... Yikes!

How Well Do You Know Me?

Just for fun I thought I would see how well my friends know me (or how observant they are). I won't make it too difficult.

I'll start with easy ones.

1. What is my full name?
2. How many siblings do I have?
3. How old am I?
4. How tall am I? (you'd better get that one, Anna)
5. What color eyes do I have?
6. Name two states (besides Hawaii and Alaska) that I haven't been to.
7. What is my favorite movie?
8. What color are my bedroom walls?
9. What instrument do I play? (anyone misses that one and I will disown them as a friend)
10. What states have I lived in?
11. How many times have I moved. (I'll be shocked if ANYONE gets that one)
12. What year did I graduate?

Twelve questions is probably good enough. :)

Bethany and Me

Here are a couple of pictures taken the night after Bethany's graduation.

Are these any better, Bethany? Our eyes are all the way open. :)

A Bondservant of Christ

I read a book when I was about 14 called "Not My Will." I still consider it to be one of the best novels I have ever read. In that book the author tells of a sermon preached on being "A Bond Servant of Jesus Christ."

Several years ago my dad preached a sermon by the same title. Of course, this being a real sermon and not just part of a book it was a lot more detailed. 

My dad has been preaching from Ephesian for several months now on "Who we are in Christ." Today he preached from Ephesian 3:1. "For this cause I Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ..."

I got to thinking about all this today and just wanted to say a little about it.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 1 Corinthians 7:22-23

We have been purchased. We are called to be a "living sacrifice." Christ has bought us and called us out to be His own.

So it is with great joy that I tell you I am a servant! For my possessions, talents, and very life belong to my Master. 

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

When Jonathan came home for the Summer, he taught us this song. I was amazed at the powerful words when I heard it. We learned it for the ELC conference, and each time we sang it I think it became more beautiful and more amazing. We can't even begin to comprehend.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

The Graduation

I had the great blessing of making an other trip to Michigan this week. My friends Bethany and Lydia were graduating. I wanted to attend so badly and at the last minute it worked out to ride with some friends. We left Friday afternoon. On the way up we stopped at a restaurant just north of Grand Rapids. The funniest thing happened. We had just been seated and these two ladies got up from a table near us. I was looking down at the menu and I noticed one of them walk up to our table. I looked up as this girl said "You went to the Home School Alumni Reunion." (I was wearing my t-shirt from the reunion.) I was totally surprised to meet some one from there. It was so much fun. We chatted for just a few minute and we exchanged HSA screen names.

We arrived at our destination about 10:00. Since surprises were everywhere I wasn't to see Bethany until Sunday. I got to stay with Tony and Hannah. I greatly enjoyed it. They were so kind to let me come barging in on them for the weekend. (and even keep them up until all hours of the night)

Saturday we went to Tony's parents house and spent the day. Tony and his dad cut wood and the three ladies spent the day talking, playing games, talking, cutting jalapeno, talking, fixing lunch, and talking. :) We had a wonderful time together.

Sunday was the big day. When we arrived at church Bethany was sitting on the railing outside the fellowship hall door. I walked up behind her and tapped her. She turned around and started laughing and then gave me a huge hug. It was a success. My coming was a total surprise. She told me later that the day before she had gotten to thinking that it was too bad that no one had thought about me riding up with Cyndy and Sandy which is exactly what I did! :)
The graduation ceremony started at 1:30. As soon as it started I was I knew just why I wanted to be there so badly. I was so thankful to have been able to make it. The ceremony was wonderful. Both girls and their parents giving such a testimony of their love for our Savior and a great desire to glorify Him.
After the ceremony everyone ate and talked. The ending of every activity. :) I enjoyed getting to spend time with so many friends.
When everyone went home I went down to Bethany's house. That evening the whole group, 14 people I think, went to get supper. We got our food and took it to the picnic tables by the lake. It was an other great evening. Even if I kept sinking in the ground because I still had my heels on. :) There were several ducks that came to visit as soon as they discovered there was food around. Brad and Jessica's (Bethany's brother-in-law and sister) kids had a blast feeding french fries to them.
With Monday morning came the sad part of every trip, having to say good bye. Though I would like to have stayed longer I was so thankful to have been able to go I couldn't complain about anything! All in all it was a wonderful trip.

Interesting article on friendship

I was discussing this article with a friend the other day and this afternoon I decided I would just link it to my blog so more people could read it. I thought it was so good. What do you all think?

Don't I have a pretty violin?

Rob and Chrissy's visit

My brother, Rob, and his wife, Chrissy came for a visit on August 6-10. It was SO short but we had a good time.

They arrived very late Wednesday night/Thursday morning. So we didn't actually get to see them until late Thursday morning. After talking for a while we decided we wanted to go swimming. The guys had to go get a car part for my dad's car, so it was just the girls. We had a blast. Our friend Michelle met us there since it was her dad's house. Michelle and Chrissy gave us diving lessons. I had never tried to dive before. After diving for a while I tried to do something that Chrissy told me to do and I must have done it wrong because I over arched my back and hurt it so badly. I was afraid I had injured it but I think it must have just been bruised. Thank the Lord! I am way too young to have an injured back! It still hurts some times a little but not much.

Friday we went to the State Fair. We got to see Stephanie's picture on display as well as several things belonging to some friends. I even rode a ride. I don't do that very often. It was a fun day but very long. 

Dale and Michelle came up on Saturday so we were all together. The girls totally outnumber the guys around this place! There were 10 girls and only 4 guys! It was a wonderful day. We played miniature golf in the afternoon. I won in my group! Came in second or third over all. I think Jonathan and Dad tied for first so that would make me third. I don't remember for sure. I guess that is what I get for waiting so long to post.

That evening we played music for a while. That was a lot of fun. Heather was kind of distracting though. We all kept watching her play. :) We ended the day with family prayer. That was a special time.

Rob preached on Sunday morning. We had pictures taken as soon as services were over. We didn't ask anyone to take them Beckisue just set the timer. They didn't turn out the greatest but they are okay. We try to get pictures every time they visit. When we were all done Beckisue was looking at the pictures and discovered that Jonathan was making a goofy face in all but a couple. Needless to say we were all mad at him. We had to go back up and try it again. I liked the pose on the steps but the camera didn't get set right and it was cutting off the top of Dale's head. Oh well.

Rob, Jonathan, and Stephanie rode this silly ride. All it did was drop you once!

Rob and Chrissy

The whole clan. Slightly off center but there. :)

Scalped Dale

And goofy Jonathan

2008 Ecclesiastical Law Center Conference

The text somehow ended up in the middle. It is kind of frustrating but I guess everyone will just have to deal with it. :)

My family singing

Playing some solos

The Cook Family

My Uncle, Mike Hoover

Pastor Ben Mott

Volley Ball

This Monday through Wednesday we had the joy of attending the Ecclesiastical Law Center Bible Conference. It is always a highlight of the year and this year was no exception. 

We left Monday morning. We got away a lot later than I would have liked, and then we made several stops on the way up there so it seemed to take so long to get there. I was very anxious to get there. I always am but this time seemed to be so much worse since we were getting there so late. We got there in plenty of time to get ready for the services and visit with everyone though.

The first night the Cook family did several songs at the beginning of the service. Everyone enjoyed that. Then my uncle, Mike Hoover, preached the opening sermon. Pastor Ben Mott followed with a sermon on the Virgin Birth that was awesome.

After the services each evening there was food, fun, and lots of laughter and conversation. 

Tuesday morning Kevin Marshall and Phil Jonker preached.

Tuesday afternoon all the young people met at the Townsend's house and played volley ball for a long time. It was fun but there were lots of people on each team!

Tuesday evening was my family's turn to do music at the start of the services. We had practiced for a while that afternoon and Dad had decided to through a few extra songs on us. I get so unnerved when I feel unprepared for something. I don't know why it bothers me so much but it does. I HAVE to get over it. Anyway, we did a couple of new songs that I absolutely love. My favorite is "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" and the other is "Complete In Thee". Both are very beautiful wonderful songs.

Dad preached as soon as we were done. Pastor Townsend followed with a sermon from Rev. 1. It was excellent and very thought provoking. He preached on Who Christ is now. Not just past or future.

Wednesday morning Bro. Mott preached again and was followed by Tim Boffey. Bro. Boffey was preaching "Christ from the Old Testament." I am not sure I have ever flipped to so many scripture passages in one sermon in my whole life!!!

Wednesday afternoon the ladies had an outing. The ladies all went to Manistee for lunch and shopping. We had a very nice afternoon. I got to ride with Loralee, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Shepherd. I laughed later because it seemed to be the perfect group. We all shopped about the same way. We went in did a lap around the store looking at things here and there and left. That is how I like to shop. My attention span isn't long enough to spend a lot of time in one store! 

While we were at lunch we got a phone call saying that our friend Danny was in ICU. He has cancer and we knew he wasn't doing well. Last we heard he was much better but he had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Dad said that he would be home to see him that night. So Dad, Mom, Jonathan, and Beckisue left early. I was disappointed that they missed the last night. It is always so wonderful.

Anyway, back to Manistee... We shopped for most of the afternoon and took a walk along the river. Everything was very enjoyable. 

The last night of the conference Pastor Townsend always sings a few songs and Dr. Wright closes the conference. 

Over all the conference was wonderful. I loved every minute of it. I got to stay with my friend Bethany which was wonderful. I enjoy spending time at her house so much! The Shepherds stayed at the Townsend's also. That was a lot of fun also. Tuesday morning they had me laughing so hard I was bent over the ironing board shaking. When the Shepherds and Townsends are together it is such a riot. I love them all. :)

We left for home about 11:00 Thursday morning. It is always so sad to have to leave. I know it can't go on forever but it seems so short!

More Volley Ball

Some of us silly girls showing our very dirty feet after playing.

A picture with my dear friend, Bethany.