Our Fairy Tale Village

For quite a few years now, Kristen has been telling us about the beautiful town of Leavenworth, Washington, where she was blessed to spend her last wedding anniversary. At long last, we were able to see it for ourselves. We began the drive in the rain but as we drove higher into the mountains, we began seeing ice and snow covering the trees. I wish we had a picture to show you as the ice was frozen over all of the branches and the sun was glittering through it all.

This is what we saw as we turned the first corner into town. (above)

The original four.

And the Lord God said "Be fruitful and multiply."

One of the very friendly shop owners came running out to take our picture so then we were joined by the ones we came from. (I guess we abandoned our baby at this point.)

We headed off to see the shops.

I don't know if you can get much better scenery than this!

There were lots of little indoor shopping areas to take a break from the cold.
And it was cold (brrrrr), but then we like cold. We're storing it up to remember how it felt this next August.

There were even books to look over!

The little girls endured our shopping for quite some time.

However, we just couldn't keep them from noticing all that beautiful white fluffy snow.

Before leaving we let them have a lot of fun doing just what we would have
done when we were their age! In fact, they are very close to the ages that we once were.

As we drove away, we took one last look back at this beautiful fairy tale village.
(And we didn't turn into a pillar of salt!)

To Market to Market

Most of our family had never been to this market, so off we went.
It didn't take long before we enjoyed a little company as we walked.
Just don't cover the eyes little Rosebud!
Isn't this just beautiful? I could fill our entire kitchen with them.
Look at all those beautiful colors and so healthy too!
Greetings from the crowd.
Manuvering through the crowd.
Just practicing!
Yes, it is worth waiting for the one God has planned just for you.
Don't run ahead of God. Wait for His best for you.
You will be so glad that you did.

What a sweet little bundle of love.
Did you ever see a gummy bear bear?
We need our men for the tough jobs in life.
Someone's enjoying the ride!
Yes, this man is God's best for me!

It is always a good idea to practice for your future!

Our favorite shop.
Next post, we'll take you to a beautiful little fairy tale town in the mountains.
Until then, God be with all of you.

North or South?

The Lord blessed us recently with a wonderful trip up north. Shortly after arriving we headed out to enjoy the snow! But first, we stopped at a cozy restaurant to fuel up and warm up too.

Reuben warming up with coffee.

It was such a blessing to spend time with my precious sister again.

Then of course, there was that very special man. And guess who I'm holding?

The little girls were eager to begin.

Quick! A decent shot before the snowballs start to fly!

Sisters, what a joy!

The sledding begins!

I don't know what's so hard about getting back to the top!
It seemed awfully easy to me.

What a great father!

If it looks like we were having fun, I can tell you that we sure were!

And if it looks cold, I can tell you that yes it was COLD!

When the sleds are full, this is how it's done!

Keep in mind that we rarely see snow. In fact, when we arrived home our house was hot and we turned on the air conditioner.

I can't seem to think of a good comment for this one.

Girls from the south, just look at those icicles! Wow!

Uh oh, I think Elizabeth threw one snowball too many.

Just look how mama occupied herself while we were playing.

Introducing our new little nephew, Gabriel, an amazing blessing from the Lord.
He's a BOY, can you believe it?

We are praying for every one of you that you would hear His voice this year and obediently follow Him. Goodbye for now!

Making the most of our time in the New Year!

Dear Sisters,

Happy New Year!
I have been so incredibly blessed by all of the many provisions, opportunities and blessings that the Lord has provided and bestowed this past year. Living in the midst of our home is always exciting and full of adventure as I'm sure your home is too! To write out all of the many memories and special moments that have transpired in the year 2009 would be impossible. A sister engaged, my first nephew born, a grandfather successfully making it through major surgery and so much more. The blessing of the Lord, it truly does make rich and He does not add any sorrow with it.
I don't mean to lead you to believe that every moment and memory was joyful and perfect. That would be misleading. We have had our share of trials as well as triumphs. (Even trials turn out to be blessings, right?) Never the less, my faith has grown and my relationship deepened with my Savior and I praise Him for leading me through it all.

Tara asked if I would share my recent witnessing opportunity with you and
I have been so eager to do just that, waiting for an available time.


Let me see...it all happened while I was out on a cold
winter's day doing my Christmas shopping. :)

God gave me the opportunity to meet a young lady. (The Lord is so good to bring just the right people along our path when the time is right.) I began to talk with her and it was clear that she has had a lot of struggles and disappointments in her life. (I read once that every single person you see has a unique story, and this is so true.) I listened for a while and eventually I began to share with her some amazing truths that I had recently been reviewing and that the Lord had shown to me once again in a whole new light.
I shared about Christ and the love that he has shown to each one of us as His creation.
I first felt a strong sense that I should talk to her about our Lord and the grace wherewith He will save us, not being anything in and of ourselves, but Christ and His shed blood on Calvary. I shared about how easy and what a deception it is to get all entangled and caught up in materialism. I shared how our sole purpose should be to know Christ and live a life for Him! Our life after salvation is not to live a life for ourselves, but dedicated in total surrender to Him and Him alone. Wow! I guess I talked quite a bit! But in real life it went quickly.
Anyway, we talked back and forth and when I began to sense that I really wasn't getting anywhere, I began to share with her the importance of being in God's Word. (Because I know God's Word WILL change her life, right?) I told her that I hoped to start being in the Word not only in my personal devotions, but to encourage my little sister by reading with her every day. I told her that at times Elizabeth has said that the Bible is kind of difficult to understand and follow. Her response was "Oh yes, I know. I find the Bible to be very negative. Lots of portions saying don't do this and don't do that!" I was genuinely surprised. I had never thought of the Bible as being a negative book.
It is actually a book overflowing with hope and promises, letting us know how much God loves us and of His amazing grace and mercy.
I encouraged her to be in the Word more and to view it as the GOOD news that it is!
I told her that I hoped to do more memorization in my own life and that God's Word does not return void. I explained that even at Elizabeth's age, continually hearing it and planting that seed of truth in her own young heart will yield much fruit and blessing in her life ahead.
After a while our time came to an end and we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

I am so very grateful for these times that we receive as gifts from our Lord to plant a seed and minister in a small way to a precious soul walking with us on the course of life.
Take the time dear sisters to sit down and draw your eyes off the here and now and seek to reach and stretch toward that which is eternal. Whether it be a relative, neighbor, friend or even a stranger, all are precious to the Lord and worth our time. There is so much need and many people have not had the blessing of being directed to the Lord and His Word as we have.

May the Lord's richest blessings and grace be upon you dear sisters as He draws close to you in the Year 2010.

Serving Christ my Master and King,
Kelly


P.S. We have been traveling, as you might have guessed and will tell you all about that soon!

Time for the Cookie Bake!

It's always so much fun to have a cookie bake!

First, we gathered some special little friends. We had mixed the dough up earlier that morning and chilled it so it wouldn't be sticky.

If you don't have a good cookie recipe, here is a terrific one from our grandmother.
Cream (in mixer) 1 1/2 C. Butter, 1 1/2 C. sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 T. vanilla till light and fluffy.
Stir in 2 T. milk. In another bowl, mix 4 C. flour, 3 t. baking powder, and 1/2 t. salt.

Stir into wet mixture. Chill. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut out. Bake at 375 for 6 minutes.

This dough is easy to work with and tastes great. Of course, we can't have even one bite because it's full of gluten. But at least we can say they look great!

Still Working!

Elizabeth is demonstrating the rolling technique to her little friends.

Lots of fun!

Kind of an organized mess!

Finishing Up!

The plastic tablecloth is a great idea! Actually, I think this one is called an oil cloth.

Kelly's artsy shot!

This was one recipe of dough. We have a whole other one in the fridge.
We'll save it for another day!

Merry Christmas!
Enjoy the family and friends that the Lord has blessed you with.
Don't forget to help your mother all you can. She has a lot of extra work this time of year.
Remember to add joy to everyone's life you meet.
Enjoy every moment celebrating our precious Saviour and tell someone how much He means to you. Spend some extra time in the Word.
Our family sends all our love and we'll see you next week.

Christmas Preparations

Every family probably has special things they do the week before Christmas. We always have a special evening when we make hot chocolate and head out to see some beautiful Christmas lights. This year we piled into our dad's truck and stayed in a neighborhood near us. Ok, we admit it was not actually very cold but we have to wear our winter clothes sometime.

We saw this display in two different yards. There is a sign behind the last camel that says
"Wise men still seek him"

The scroll on the right reads "John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."

This was a sweet display.

Preparing for Christmas continued

This was very pretty with real straw.

We have to admit this was not real snow. Someone was very creative and they were blowing bubbles into the yard!

These people go all out! They have covered their yard with burlap and topped it with fake snow!
Oh well, that's all the snow we're going to get. (and with this we will be content!)

This was our mom's favorite for peacefulness and tranquil beauty.
This time of year some people may be more open to hearing the gospel.
Let's not overlook a single opportunity to share.
We know a family who does not know the Lord and they don't even know they need Him.
For several years now, we have given them the gospel message with no results.
We continue to pray for them and this year we may just show our love and care for them.
We pray God would draw them to Himself.
Next post: Cookie Baking! We've been doing it and we have pictures to prove it!

Sacagawea or Pocahontas?

Hello again to all of you! We are so sorry to be silent for so long. Sometimes life has so many demands. When it comes to a choice between living and serving or blogging about life, real life just has to come first! "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see." John Burroughs (1837-1921)
We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving as I hope all of you did also. We were somewhat concerned when we saw a fierce looking Indian standing in the entryway of our home.

She appeared to be about to chop down our Christmas pines!

Upon further investigation though, we realized she was just a sweet little girl who has been reading a good book about Pocahontas. We have so many memories of all our dress up adventures when we were younger, that we always try to make this possible for her also.

I added this picture in also because it shows a picture of our mom's grandmother on her wedding day, which was also her seventeenth birthday. The date was 1922. She went on to have 7 children and the last two were twin boys. We also have a picture we'll show you sometime of her as a little girl with her parents and 5 sisters, before her only brother was born.

This was our new idea this year for kitchen decorating on a budget!
We just found some cute ornaments and hung them from the pot rack.
There is a poinsettia on top that doesn't show. Whenever people come by the
house they always comment on the pot rack!

This same Indian had the honor of placing the angel on the tree. Kelly did this job for many
years but has passed the torch!

We have so much more to tell you about. I (Tara) am planning to fulfill a long term promise of taking over the responsibilities of Christmas dinner and it will be anything but traditional!
Can't wait!
Kelly has had an amazing opportunity to share Christ. God is so good to keep opening the door.
I'm sure she would love to share this soon.
Have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow. We will be singing the Hallelujah Chorus in the morning and plan to attend The Messiah in the evening. Remember our thankfulness to our Saviour and we'll talk again soon.

Our Story

Dear Daughters of Vision,

"This is of the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes." Psalm 118:23

We want to thank all of you for joining us in this time of celebration and great joy! Your encouraging comments and words of love have truly been a blessing to us. What a wonderful gift to have friends and family in full support of such a major life decision.

Well, it all began on Thursday Nov. 12th! After picking Stephen up from the airport, we headed for Galveston Island. (Stephen said he wanted to take me there to celebrate our 5 month anniversary of courtship.) After enjoying a lovely walk by the ocean and a beautiful sunset, Stephen announced that he had dinner reservations for us across the street. Crossing the busy road very carefully, we started up the stairs of the restaurant. However, instead of going in the front entrance, Stephen began to lead me towards a beautiful white gazebo. I noticed rose petals strewn down the steps. "Oh, what does all of this mean?" (I remember thinking to myself excitedly) :-) Stephen seated me at a table for two and poured some juice for us. He raised his glass for a toast and said, "To a wonderful courtship!" Setting his glass back down on the table, he looked at me sweetly for a few more seconds and then rose from his chair. Coming around to my side, he knelt down on one knee and shared Prov. 18:22 "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." He began to tell me that he already sensed the favor of God on His life. After quoting this beautiful verse, Stephen asked if I would be his wife. I must say in that moment, my whole world seemed to stand still. The fulfillment of all of my desires, dreams and hopes that God put into my heart was being answered and the precious young man God miraculously brought into my life was waiting for an answer. Almost too excited to speak, I opened my mouth and slowly said "Yes!" With that, Stephen took my purity ring off my finger and pulled a beautiful diamond ring out of his pocket.

Slipping it on my finger, he asked "Would you take another walk with me along the beach as an engaged couple?"

With the ocean all around us, we bowed in prayer together and thanked the Lord for this new phase of our relationship and asked for His continued blessing.

That evening we enjoyed celebrating with our families, praising God for the great things He has done!

Rejoicing in Him,
Tara

A Happy Grandpa!

Our grandpa arrived back in town a couple of days after our engagement.


He was just thrilled with our good news.



What a loving, kind man he is. We were ice skating and he
came straight to the rink!



This was his first time to meet Stephen and what a joy it was!
He said he understood what I see in him!



He is a precious, godly saint. We pray he will heal rapidly
and come home in another week.
Psalm 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto
me: for my soul trusteth in thee:
yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,
until these calamities be overpast.

Recovery

We give thanks to the Lord that our grandpa is now out of surgery and in the recovery room.
The doctors say he has done really well. No one will be able to see him for quite a while.
We thank you for all your prayers and messages on our answering machine!

Our precious baby Gabriel Charles is also doing great! More details to come! T, Ke and El

News Flash!

Hello to all of you,

We just wanted to let you know our grandfather is in surgery for 8 hours this very minute.

Also, we have big news of a brand new beautiful baby boy in our family!

Pictures and details to follow. Love to all, Tara, Kelly and Elizabeth

Let Us Give Thanks!

This morning we woke up to a beautiful day in the south. It was cool and crisp, more or less, so I decided to attempt to wear a sweater.

Our relatives can't come till Saturday, so we aren't having Thanksgiving till then. I was inspired to head outdoors and decorate the house for Christmas. I had all kinds of wonderful ideas in my mind.

But first, my sweet kitty came to wish me a good morning.

Enjoying one of my favorite furry creatures. Her brother must have still been asleep or he would be competing for attention.

Tess decided to watch from a distance. When our neighbors big, black lab came for a visit, she decided it was time to go.

I had big ideas about how this house needed to look. I searched through our bonus room and found my supplies. (Our bonus room is over the garage. It is the southern answer to a basement.)

What a delight to be outdoors on such a gorgeous day!

Elizabeth hunted for beautiful fall leaves while I decorated.

Our favorite bush is covered with beautiful red winter berries for the birds.

We coaxed our grandpa out of his chair and into the cool air to admire our work.

Here's how it looks when God's light is off.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you! ( Tara, where are your shoes?)

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Apparently we filled our blog and that is why our pictures didn't come out. They will come back tomorrow. God bless you and have a wonderful day! T, Ke, and El

Surprise or Shock?

Imagine my surprise (or should I say SHOCK) this afternoon when I decided to glance at our dear, beloved friend (or should I say FORMER) friend's blog (expecting to see new wedding photos!)

Instead, I found this odd entry saying she had posted some of the skits from the Fiesta Party.
"Oh no," I thought "surely not, she wouldn't..." Aww, yes, upon further investigation, she surely would and did! And without permission, I might add! ( We'll be checking on the legal ramifications. )

So since there's nothing we can do about it, we decided to send you on over for a peek at that delightful evening. But first, a word of explanation, please! Katelin's dream was to have a wonderful party the evening before the wedding. This would give many people, including out of town guests an opportunity to meet the groom. ( Most of us wouldn't have run into him previously in Ukraine.)
She planned a fiesta party and we all ate delicious Frito pie ( Because that's what you do in Texas!) One of the highlights of the evening was to be a show, where each family would do something funny or serious to bless the bride and groom. Our sweet parents, of course, looked directly at us and said "Well, what will you be doing to represent our family?" Sly, very sly.

We were absolutely horrified but also thrilled. What an opportunity!
We decided to sing (of course) and did a medley of a song from "White Christmas" and one from"Fiddler on the Roof." Kelly changed the words to make them more meaningful for the occasion.
Yes! Tara was wearing a wig, as we were now Katelin and Katrina.

Since you can now see us in person (not just a picture),
We would like to dedicate this post to a special young lady in Australia who brought us to tears with her beautiful letter for Tara's engagement. Bec, we hope to meet you someday before heaven, but if not, we'll be looking for you! By the way, we aren't always as silly as in the video. :)
Consider the company we were keeping. (We've always warned all of you to be careful who you hang out with, haven't we?)

Oh, and if you suffer through "Sisters", don't miss the Benediction, fourth in the row.
Find it all here at www.livingforjesus85.blogspot.com/ Tara and Kelly

Real Change!

Great is Thy Faithfulness.
As the sun set over the majestic ocean, Stephen placed the most beautiful ring I have ever seen on my finger. His faithfulness is everlasting. I praise His name for bringing me such a godly man, a man after His own heart. We are celebrating now but will discuss more about this later!
God's blessing on a Christ centered evening. ~Tara~