Kiah's Online Odyssey

A conglomeration of special moments of 2011 that just happened to be captured on camera

2012-01-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

I know it is way too late to do a New Years post, but what do I care for that? Besides that, this is not really a "New Years post" anyway. My only intention in this post is to show you some pictures. My favorite pictures. From 2011. Does that constitute a New Years post? I wouldn't say so. But you can make up your mind differently if you wish.

In February, Isaac and I went to the Grand Canyon with our aunt and uncle and cousin Mariah. It was cold, but gorgeous.

This picture gives me that awful feeling I always get when someone is in serious imminent danger, but for some reason, it's one of my very favorite we took of Isaac this year.

This is our tea table. In February, Mom and I started taking tea together every day between 3 and 5 pm. We enjoyed it immensely and continued our little practice for several weeks, but eventually stopped for some unknown reason. (Too many lovely things cease in that manner I think!) However, our tea times together were special and a memory I know I will cherish forever.

This was when it snowed and Daddy... Well, the picture speaks for itself. :)

In March our family from Texas, whom you might remember from some previous posts, came to visit. We were only together for one evening, but we had such a blast.

Ah yes. I normally hate it when the camera man says, "Now do a silly one!" We were having so much fun together on this occasion however, that I love this picture.

This was taken on Mother's Day. I made the blanket Mom is holding (actually I got some help from my dear friends the Crosses) and gave it to her on this occasion. Mom is extremely fond of anything with roses, and this was a special gift for her, especially since I had made it.

Remember this picture? I couldn't help posting it again, because it is definitely one of my favorite memories of this past year.

This is my cousin Josh and the newest member of our family, Amanda! They were married in November. We are SO very delighted to have Amanda in our family.

My precious Daddy and Mamma celebrated 20 years of marriage together this year. God blessed them with a beautiful trip to Colorado where they spent a week together by themselves.

While our parents were enjoying themselves in Colorado, Isaac and I were enjoying ourselves quite as much here in Arizona! We stayed with our friends, the Crosses and had some of the funnest times of my life, which I will never forget.

I absolutely love this picture of my brother! It was taken at Lake Powell on another trip with Aunt Kris, Uncle Tim, and Mariah.

Group picture with precious friends, the Iddings and Cross families.

My dear friend Hannah and me. Thank you Gabby for taking this picture!

Our family picture for Christmas. Yes, it was snowing. And yes, that is the barn door behind us.

These pictures don't necessarily represent every important event in my life that took place this year; they are simply my favorites of those we took this past year. And yes, it was a blessed year. God has given us so much more than we could ever think or imagine! Praise be to Him alone, because we sure don't deserve it!

~Kiah

The Farm Has Grown

2011-12-14T19:14:00.001-07:00

Meet our two newest additions to the farm: Betty and Bess!

Betty

Bess

We just got them last Sunday! Actually, they are Isaac's goats so perhaps I should not say "we". Mom and Dad paid for one of them for his birthday and the other he bought with his own money. We are so excited to have them! Isaac spends a lot of time out there with them, and when he's inside doing school he wishes he were outside instead. :) They are Alpine goats, which give the largest quantity of milk out of any milk goat. We are expecting to have about two gallons of milk each day when they are both milking! Bess is a really sweet, curious doe. She is only a year old. Betty is a little less friendly, because she was not bottle-fed. (Bottle-feeding kid goats makes them bond with the feeder and therefore much more friendly to humans.) She is getting better though, and is learning to like Isaac since he brings her a carrot every day. They are both pregnant, so we are eagerly awaiting baby goats in the spring! We are also greatly looking forward to the fresh supply of milk that will follow, and can't wait to make our own cheeses, soaps, etc.

Bess was very curious about the camera as you can see from both the picture above and the one below.

Oh! That's Orangie! He is one of the three barn cats that came with our place. He decided to join us while we were with the goats. I guess since I'm on the subject I'll go ahead and introduce you to the other cats as well.

That's Brother.

And this is Sister! (By the way, I know that the names are very original. :) They were actually named by our landlord's daughter, who was only 2 at the time.)

Oh, look at how big our chickens are getting!

Dad and Isaac fenced in a small section outside of the actual coop, as you can see above. They worked on it for a very long time and built it like a fortress! Daddy says that if anything manages to get in there, it deserves to eat every last chicken! :)

~Kiah

An Evening Of Christmas Cookies

2011-12-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

All the snow we've been getting I think has put us all in the Christmas mood a little more than usual, and to my delight, Daddy has been wanting to bake Christmas yummy things with us! Baking is one of the things our family does best, and at Christmas we seem to do more of it than at any other time. One of my very favorite things that we bake together is sugar cookies! We've made sugar cookies every year for as long as I can remember, and I so enjoy doing it together as a family. Plus, they're the most special of all the Christmas cookies because they are each unique and not one looks the same. One day last week (or maybe it was the week before?) Daddy said something to me along the lines of, "Well, Kiah, I think it's sugar cookies tonight!" So we made them. And we had a blast doing it.

Trying to stir up the creative juices. :)

My Daddy is always very creative and makes the funniest cookies, like this one.

No Daddy, No! :)

Uh oh! :)

That cross in the middle (decorated by Isaac) was my very favorite of all the cookies we made that night.

~Kiah

What's one my favorite things about winter? Snow, of course!

2011-12-14T19:13:00.001-07:00

Let me just start by saying that I've had several things I wanted to post about for awhile, but I simply haven't been able to find the time! With as busy as we've been lately, I decided to go ahead and post everything I had on my mind in one shot when I had the time. If I don't post it now, who knows if I'll get around to it later? So, here goes. I hope I don't overwhelm you with so many posts in a row!

I grew up in a place where we never got snow. In fact, in the twelve years I lived there, I can only remember snow sticking to the ground once! So you can imagine how snow-deprived I am, and how much I love it when it does snow! All that to say, we got a huge snowstorm last week, and it was absolutely beautiful! This particular storm the snow was coming down hard and in HUGE flakes! They were the biggest snowflakes I had ever seen. I can always see God's power and beauty best in nature, and this was no exception. Watching something so beautiful as snow falling out of a gray sky makes me marvel at the amazingness of our God who made it!

A couple of days later, I was surprised but happy to see Isaac building a snowman! He was almost done by the time I caught him, so I didn't join in, but took pictures instead. That snowman made my day I think. :)

~Kiah

Isaac's Birthday

2011-11-29T15:07:00.001-07:00

My little brother turned 15 years old on Sunday. I have to continuously marvel at how God has changed him, just over these past couple of years, from that cute little boy that I loved to this Godly, amazing young man that I love and respect.

Before we headed off to church, we gave Isaac his gifts and cards. I bought him a chef knife-- something he has wanted for a long time. You can see how excited he was by the look on his face.

His gifts from Mom and Dad were of a different nature. Can you guess? If you guessed that they had something to do with his little farm you were absolutely right. They gave him a milking pail, a book on raising meat goats, and money for a goat. Speaking of goats, I have news... but that's for another post. More on that later...

After church Mom and I made Isaac enchiladas, one of his favorite dinners. Isaac doesn't eat sugar, so instead of a cake, we made him a nice big fruit salad. (He just loves fruit!) I know, he's not your average 15-year-old boy, but I'm okay with that. :)

~~Cutting the cake~~ Stirring the fruit salad :)

This is Isaac's face for, "Stop taking pictures!"

Happy Birthday my brother!

~Kiah

A Tale of Snowflakes and Flapjacks

2011-11-17T19:06:00.001-07:00

I am definitely a morning person. I love facing a new day, feeling the crisp, cool weather of the early morning, and sipping a hot cup of coffee as I watch the sunrise. It is in those moments that I feel the most joyous, the most blessed to have been given life on this earth. One day last week I awoke to a very special morning, one that, every time it comes around, fills me with a special excitement and joy. When I went to the window a landscape of white greeted me. Our first snow! It was truly beautiful.

My lovely morning did not end there. As much as I hate telling it, I must share a rather embarrassing story before I can explain to you just why this morning got better as it went on.

You see, a few weeks ago, Isaac challenged me to a very fatal gluten-free pancake bake-off. Gluten-free because my Mamma is trying not to eat gluten, and pancake because she was wanting something other than oatmeal or quinoa porridge for breakfast. I accepted the challenge. After all, how bad could it really be? *Ahem* After half an hour of frenzied mixing and flipping, all we were left with was a mass of so many inedible blobs. To say that our flapjacks were a flop is quite an understatement.

However, I am happy to say that all that is forever behind us! On the morning of our first snow, Isaac and Mamma surprised me by ingeniously creating a recipe for gluten-free pancakes, which are really quite delicious. I cannot explain to you how delighted I was at how much they tasted like pancakes! Thus my morning was completed. I do not think it gets much better than eating scrumptious gluten-free pancakes with a cup of steaming coffee in front of a warm, crackling fire while just outside the window lies a blanket of snow sparkling as the sun's rays fall on it. It was quite a lovely morning indeed.

Below is the recipe that helped make that snowy morning so wonderful for me. Perhaps if you try it you will find that it can brighten up your morning as well.

Gluten-Free Oat Banana Pancakes
3 cups oat flour (we make our oat flour simply by blending oats in the blender)
6 eggs
3 bananas
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. almond milk

Mix together eggs, bananas, vanilla, and almond milk with an electric mixer or hand blender. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Drop batter onto greased frying pan on medium heat. Flip when bubbles form in the batter. Makes about 4 servings.

~Kiah

Promoting 180

2011-10-31T19:33:00.001-07:00

After watching Living Waters' new documentary, 180, we wanted to do everything we could to get the word out about it. So just before we moved, we bought a huge 180 decal and one hundred copies of the DVD to give away. We've been giving away the videos anywhere we can-- at church, at the store, on the street, even in the dentist office. We're trying to spread the message as far as we can! And I have to say, I think our 180 decal on our van looks pretty cool too! Or at least it used to. The below picture was taken before we moved, and now we live on a dirt road. You can guess what that means... our poor decal is very, very dirty. :)

If you haven't seen the new documentary go here to watch it for free. It's only 33 minutes and is truly life-changing. Please take the time to check this out, and when you have watched it pass it on!

In Christ,
~Kiah

Chickens!

2011-10-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

To start off our mini farm we bought 50 chicks this week! We got three different breeds: Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and Welsummers. We had chickens many years ago, but it's been awhile and I am so excited to have chickens and fresh eggs again!

These little guys are just as cute now as they were when I was six years old. I'm ten years older now and I should be more mature, but I still have so much fun playing with them and holding them. That may sound silly of me, but I really can't help myself! :)

Sleeping! :)

Off the topic of chicks, this is a picture of Isaac reading his new favorite book. It's called The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals. Mom and Dad bought it for him at the last homeschool convention. This book contains a wealth of information on all sorts of farm animals from chickens to goats to cows to bees to rabbits to pigs (and more). Isaac has really enjoyed reading it, and he's learned so much about raising farm animals. I like to call him our expert on all things farm. :)

~Kiah

Yes, Again

2011-10-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much lately, and you may be wondering what has been keeping us so busy. (Believe me, we have been busy.) The answer is this: We've been moving. Yes, again.

Isaac has for some time been developing a serious interest in gardening and farming. This interest has only continued to grow in him, and he really desires to have a farm with a huge garden, chickens, milk goats, perhaps a milking cow, and bees. Mom and Dad really wanted to give him a chance to pursue his dream, so when God provided a house with eight acres for us to rent in a town just 20 miles north of our where we then lived, they jumped on the opportunity.

So we moved. And now we're living in a beautiful home on eight acres and we are preparing to make this place a farm. God has so richly blessed us. This house and property is so much more than we could have possible imagined! We are so thankful to Him.

Packing up the old house

The new house

The barn, chicken coop, and corral

The guys on the property

More posts and pictures to come. And perhaps they will be a little more... farm-ish. :)

~Kiah

180!

2011-09-26T16:05:00.002-07:00

Today Living Waters released their new, moving documentary on abortion! It is truly amazing and I cannot wait to see how God uses it to change lives and save souls.

I beg you to take just half an hour to watch 180 and see eight people go from being pro-choice to pro-life in seconds, all because they were asked a single question.

Please pass this on to as many people as you can. This is such an important message and it needs to be shared with the world!

~Kiah

A Walk in the Woods

2011-09-19T13:29:00.002-07:00

Photos courtesy of Kristen Bowers

Only two weeks left until Courageous!

2011-09-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Courageous, Sherwood Picture's newest movie is coming out in theaters in just two weeks, September 30! Our whole family is waiting in impatient expectation! We're going to go see it on opening weekend (to support them) and, if you can, I would encourage you to do the same! To see what I've said before about Courageous and how long I've been waiting for this movie click here. To see what the movie is all about and to watch the trailer go to www.courageousthemovie.com

~Kiah

The Hiding Place

2011-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read for the first time The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. I cannot believe that it took me this long to read one of the best books ever. The Hiding Place is definitely one of my all-time favorites now, and I'm so glad that we bought it for my school because now I can read it over and over again.

The true story is about the life of Corrie Ten Boom, an extraordinary woman of faith who lived during World War II. Through the German occupation of Holland, through the hiding of Jews and daily danger of being discovered, through life in a concentration camp-- through it all the faith that Corrie and her family had in their Savior not only carried them through, but even gave them joy in the worst of situations. The Hiding Place is an incredible story of God's faithfulness, forgiveness, and love.

I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed The Hiding Place. It was so encouraging to read of Corrie Ten Boom's life, her faith, and the way God was faithful to her over and over again, even in unthinkable ways. If you're dying for a good book to read (as I often am) go get The Hiding Place. I know that it will be as encouraging and enjoyable to you as it was to me.

~Kiah

My Grandad, the Centenarian

2011-09-06T17:50:00.001-07:00

Today is a day to celebrate. Today is a day to celebrate because 100 years ago today my great-grandfather was born! That's right, my grandad is now 100 years old.

Grandad and his wife Martha in 1959

Grandad and me and Isaac in 2000

Grandad at 100 years old

Happy Birthday Grandad! We love you!

~Kiah

Proverbs 9:10-11 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied and years will be added to your life.

180 Movie

2011-09-02T17:02:00.004-07:00

Hello Friends,

I am so excited to announce that Living Waters has produced a new documentary, called 180, centered on abortion. The film is powerful and moving, and I believe (as many others do) that it has great potential to save lives and save souls. On September 26, Living Waters will make it available on the 180 website to view for free. They will also be selling the DVD for $1.00 each. Their goal is to get this movie into the hands of every household in America and beyond. To view the trailer and to see how you can help spread the news about this life-changing film go to www.180movie.com.

~Kiah

It's Been Awhile...

2011-08-31T20:58:00.001-07:00

It's high time for me to post something, I know. I have several ideas for future posts, so hopefully you'll see some new posts on here soon, but let's start with an update.

Most recent picture of our family

Our summer sped right by and ended up being quite a bit busier than I had expected. It was fun though, and a welcome break from school. We're back in school now and on a regular schedule again. I have to say (as I do every year), even though I enjoyed our lovely summer break, I'm loving having a normal life again, with schedules and school.

Isaac and me in the school room (which just happens to be his bedroom)

This being my last year of school, we (my parents and I) started thinking last year about my life after school. After a lot of thinking, prayer, and research I finally decided to enroll in an online Medical Transcription course. So, I'm taking that as a part of my school this year. The course should take less than a year, and then I will be able to get a job working from home as a medical transcriptionist. I'm really excited about this. When we took the steps to check this course out and enroll in it, God really brought everything together in a way I never could have imagined or planned. Also, medical transcription is a perfect occupation for me, as I desire to live at home with my parents until (if God wills it) someday I am married and can raise a family of my own, and medical transcription will allow me to work from home with fairly flexible hours. Praise God for His sovereign will and the way He works it out in our lives!

Anyway, that's the newest and biggest item in my life. I am looking forward with excitement to the changing of seasons and everything that comes with it, especially apple season! I can't wait to start canning again this year!

Ok, this is a totally random picture, but I just had to post it! Mom and I went to a little coffee house in town a couple of weeks ago, and the coffee was delicious, not to mention beautiful! (I personally thought it was much better than Starbucks, which is saying something.)

In Christ,
~Kiah

My Daddy's Birthday Surprise

2011-06-14T20:59:00.001-07:00

My precious Daddy turned forty-five last month, and to celebrate, we gave him a surprise! Our family is pretty close and we don't ever keep secrets from each other, so this was really a challenge for us, me especially. We did it though in the end, and he was very surprised and happy!

I won't explain to you how we did, (because it was very complicated) but we ended up getting him on an island on a beautiful lake and surprised him with his gift-- a canoe! We ended up spending the afternoon canoeing around the island with my Uncle Tim, Aunt Kris, and cousin Mariah who brought their canoe as well. Afterward, we went home and had hamburgers, watermelon, and brownies.

Daddy before he had discovered the surprise (it was on the other side of the island).

Can you guess? Yes, he just saw it.

The surprise

Can you believe how gorgeous this lake is?!?!

Uncle Tim, Aunt Kris, and Mariah in their canoe.

Us in our canoe.

The other side of the lake, with very different scenery.

~Kiah

Homemade Yogurt

2011-05-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

My brother is a big dairy fan. He loves milk, butter, yogurt, and especially cheese. A couple of weeks ago, he decided that he wanted to make some homemade yogurt! We tried it, and it turned out really well! I was actually surprised at how easy it was, and how well it turned out! In this post, I'll just be outlining the steps of the process and showing you some pictures that we took. If you would like to learn the specifics of it all, and how it works, you can go to the website where we learned to make it, by clicking here.

Step 1: Pour milk (we used whole milk) into four quart sized mason jars.

Step 2: Place the jars into a pot of water with a dishrag at the bottom (to keep the jars from wobbling around and breaking) and bring to a boil. Place your thermometer into the water to sterilize it.

Step 3: Boil until your milk comes to a temperature of 185 degrees.

Step 4: When your milk has heated to 185 degrees, turn your heat off, take the jars out of the water, put the lids on, and transfer to a sink of cold water. Your objective here is to cool the milk down to 100 degrees.

Step 5: When the milk has cooled to 100 degrees, add 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt to each jar.

Step 6: Put the lids back on the jars, and place them in a cooler with towels and your pot of hot water (this is to keep the jars and their contents nice and warm). Put the lid on the cooler. Now is the waiting part. You can leave your jars in here for 4 - 24 hours depending on how you like the taste of the yogurt. We left ours in for about 6.

Step 7: Place the jars in the freezer for one hour.

Step 8: Enjoy!


Our homemade yogurt with homemade granola

~Kiah

Winsome Womanhood

2011-05-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, my cousin Mariah and her family gave me a wonderful gift. It is a book, but not just any book. It is called Winsome Womanhood, and was written by Margaret E. Sangster and published in 1900. It encourages women in their roles in the home, beginning at a girl's youth, and ending at her death. I've been reading it, and parts of it have been very encouraging. Chapter two was called "The Daughter At Home" and was very encouraging to me, as that is the chapter of my life that the Lord has me in.

There is a note in the front of the book, written in pencil and a very pretty hand, that says,"Presented to 'The Five' Cunningham girls, By their loving Father, Dec, 25, 1901, Galena, O." I don't know what in the world Galeno, O. is, but I absolutely love old-fashioned things, and this book is so special because of that. Every page has beautiful dainty drawings all around the edges. I just love it.

Me with Aunt Kris and Mariah

Thanks B Family!

~Kiah

My 16th Birthday

2011-05-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday was my 16th birthday. It was a unique one for me. Over the years, it has become customary for us to spend my birthday together as a family at home just hanging out. This year, however, was different. I got to spend the day with my precious friend Natalie. Perhaps you will remember that her family travels the country as evangelists. Last Saturday, they just happened to be in Phoenix, and invited us to come down for an outreach with them. Of course, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to be with Natalie, so I got up at the early hour of 4:15 so our family could drive to Phoenix to see them. I'm so glad that I did.


Me playing with my new phone, a gift from my parents.

Me opening my card from my family. They are so precious to me!

We met at Cracker Barrel for a delicious breakfast.

At the Cracker Barrel

Then we headed to a local park to hand out tracts, make balloon animals, paint faces, and share the gospel. It was my first time making balloon animals, and it was quite fun! Natalie taught me how to make a couple of basic things. (We didn't get any pictures of the outreach. Sorry!)

After the outreach I opened some gifts from Natalie's family and her cousin's family. I was so blessed by their kindness to me.

Then came the most difficult part. Parting with Natalie. I miss her so much already.

Afterwards, we made the two hour drive home, and hung out the rest of the day. We played Boggle (my favorite if you'll remember!), made pizza for dinner, had one of my favorite desserts (Guadalupe Pie), and watched a movie. In all, the day was very special and blessed for me, and I am so thankful to the people who strove to make it so.

Conflicting Seasons and My New Favorite Music

2011-05-10T13:33:00.001-07:00

I am thoroughly confused right now. Can someone please tell me what season it is?!? Let me explain to you my dilemma. According to me, it is summer because I'm on summer break. According to the calendar, it is spring (the first day of summer isn't until June 21). And to further confuse me, the weather is telling me that it is still winter! That's right, it snowed for a couple of hours here today. It never did stick, but it snowed heavily for quite some time. Now do you blame me for being bewildered?

I accidentally ran into a Christian music group last week that has quickly become my favorite! It's a husband and wife group -- Keith and Kristyn Getty. Keith writes modern hymns, and Kristyn sings them. And it sounds absolutely beautiful. I won't say anything more about them; I'll just give you a sample. This my favorite of all their songs: By Faith.

School Is Almost Over!

2011-04-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled! Next Wednesday is officially my last day of school for the year! I can't wait for summer. The one drawback to my happiness is that I have a research paper that was due a couple of weeks ago that I haven't even started writing yet. The research has taken me a very very long time. I've finally finished that part of it though, so once I start writing it shouldn't take me too much longer.

Summer has got to be my favorite time of they year. This summer Mamma and I are planning on working on homemaking skills, so I get to do lots of sewing and cooking and laundry, and whatever else we can find for me to do. These activities are not always so appealing, but I really am so excited! The beauty of summer is that by the time it ends, I am always ready to go back to school and get back into a routine schedule. Right now though, I just can't wait for summer to begin!

How Time Flies!

2011-04-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

I say that for two reasons.

Firstly, can it really be almost four months since I last posted?? I know my blogging behavior has been positively inexcusable and for that I'm sorry. This may be, however, a new opportunity for you to forgive me as Jesus has forgiven us. We certainly didn't deserve his grace then, and I don't deserve yours now.

My second reason for stating that time flies is that two days ago was the first anniversary of our move from my childhood home. I can hardly believe it! This past year has passed away so quickly! It seems strange to me that when I think of moving it does not seem like I have lived a whole year since that time, and yet living in our old house and old town seems so far away. I believe that God has used this year full of change for good. It hasn't been exactly what I thought it would be, but God's used it to teach me and change me.

There's not really much to report on the home front. We are just pressing on and doing our best to serve God where He has put us. We are traveling an hour and forty-five minutes to church every Sunday. We love the church that God has placed us in, and yet we believe that it is only a temporary position where we need to grow and learn for a time. Our living situation is also feeling quite temporary. Our landlady has had some major issues with the septic in the backyard and it is not entirely clear that we are going to be able to stay here for too long. We are placing our trust in God however, knowing that He is in control and will provide for us all that we need.

Well, I'd better head to bed. I can't make any promises, but I will try to do better about posting. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to show you soon!

God bless you!

On the Box

2011-01-17T14:02:00.002-07:00

Living Waters is presenting a new program called On the Box! The show is hosted by Ray Comfort, Tony Miano, and Chad Williams, as they discuss issues and answer questions regarding evangelism, apologetics, the Bible, and more. The show airs for a half hour on Ustream at 11:30 a.m. PST Monday through Friday. (Click here for the Ustream channel.) If you can't watch the show live, you can always catch it later on Ustream or Youtube.

My opinion: I love this show! It's been airing for a week and a half now, and so far I've watched every episode, some live and some not. I would strongly encourage you to check the show out, and if you can, watch it live. While it's only 30 minutes, taking a minimal amount of time out of your day, it is greatly encouraging and usually humorous as well. It really is well worth your time.

A Chilly New Years Eve

2011-01-14T12:04:00.002-07:00

Well, New Years came and went, and it's now 2011! Sort of hard to believe, but I think I'm starting to get used to writing 2011 on all my schoolwork.

We had a very lovely and quiet New Years Eve. It was very cold, and we had gotten lots of snow just a couple of days earlier! That week was the first time this winter that we have gotten snow that stuck around for more than a single day, and I loved it! Even now, there is still some on the ground.

These pictures were taken on New Years Eve.

Our cousins came and played some games with us that night, but they only stayed until about 10:00 I think. As they were leaving, we discovered that it was -6 degrees outside! BBRRRRR! We (minus my dad who was very tired) stayed up until 12:00 to usher in the new year, and then went to bed immediately! :)

God bless you all in this new year!

It's About The Cross

2010-12-24T11:59:00.001-07:00

This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs! The lyrics are just so true and so simple.

It's About The Cross by Go Fish

A very merry Christmas Eve to you all!

A Day With Natalie

2010-12-21T11:18:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago, two families who live in RV's and travel the country as evangelists came and shared at our church. One of the families had a daughter named Natalie. Natalie and I became close friends very quickly, and by the time they left about a week later, it was like we had been best friends for ages. Since then, we have emailed each other almost every day. About once a year, the Agents for Christ (that's the name of their ministry) pass through Arizona, and come pay us a visit.

Yesterday was that occasion. One of the families was not able to come, but Natalie's family visited with us.

Sunday evening we had dinner, talked, played games, and sang worship songs and Christmas carols. Natalie spent the night with us, and we had fun just talking and playing games before bed.

The next day we just hung out, and did a lot of baking. We made breakfast, played Dutch Blitz, decorated sugar cookies, wrapped candy, and made pizza.

That night after dinner, we got to go out witnessing. We went to the Prescott Courthouse, and then the mall, handing out candy canes and tracts, and singing Christmas carols. We had a great time, and I discovered something new: It's not easy to walk and sing at the same time in the cold! I had never before gone caroling while walking, and I was surprised by how difficult it was! Sadly, I didn't get any good pictures of our time out witnessing.

Even though Natalie was only here for a short amount of time, I was so grateful that she and her family could come and visit with us! I thank God for such friends as them!

I can't believe it's actually Christmas!

2010-12-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Did Christmas sneak up on anyone else? It seems like just a couple of days ago that I was saying that Christmas was a month away. Now here we are: Christmas is exactly one week away!

We started putting up decorations just a little after Thanksgiving. Isaac had to get up on the roof to put up Christmas lights, because our ladder wasn't tall enough in some places on the house.

We've been enjoying the cold weather and the fires and the Christmas season in general. My Dad has had the opportunity for lots of overtime at his work, so he's been taking it. So far, he hasn't been able to join in the Christmas traditions and festivities yet, because of all the time he's been putting in at work. Now my Dad is a Christmas present enthusiast. He is almost always the one to say, "Let's open a present!"..... on December 15. He never can seem to wait for those presents! He even has a "Christmas face" as we call it. Here is an example of that face:

So, a couple of days ago, in order to get my Daddy into the Christmas spirit, we let him open an early present. It was a new stocking that my Mom had made for him. His old stocking was from his childhood, and was in desperate need of replacing.

Here are some other miscellaneous pictures:

The stockings my Mom made for Isaac and me when we were little:

In the midst of all the traditions and festivities of the Christmas season, it can sometimes be hard to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, the real reason we're even celebrating this season. However, that is something we are earnestly striving, and sometimes struggling, to do. I pray that, for me and for you, all the wonderful things that we get to enjoy at Christmas would not get in the way of, but only encourage, the love and thankfulness we have toward God for sending his only son to earth to save us. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Healthy Hot Chocolate

2010-12-02T15:57:00.001-07:00

You may or may not know that I am a huge fan of hot chocolate. And, now that the winter season is here once again, I've been wishing for some. However, I had just one little problem. I've been eating healthy, and hot chocolate is not exactly what you would call healthy.

My mom, in an effort to help me, pulled out an old recipe from high school for healthy hot chocolate. I tried it, and it is delicious! So, in my ecstasy, I have decided to share this recipe with you. I must warn you, it's not as sweet as hot chocolate from the packet, but I really enjoyed it and it completely satisfied my craving for a warm chocolate drink.

Sugar Free Hot Chocolate
(1 serving)

1 Tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. stevia extract powder (I'm sure you can use any sweetener you prefer, but we had stevia so that's what we used.)
dash of salt
1/8 c. or 2 Tbsp. water
1 c. milk

Mix cocoa, stevia, and salt. Add water and mix until smooth. Add milk and heat. If heating on the stove, do not boil. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family!

2010-11-25T17:04:00.001-07:00

Of Bridges, Red Rocks, and Blue Water

2010-11-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

My Uncle Tim travels all over Arizona for his work. One of the places he travels to pretty often is Page, Arizona. Last Sunday, he took us, along with Aunt Kris and my cousin Mariah, with him to Page.

Page is a very interesting place, to say the least. It is a very small town established to provide a place to stay for the workers who were building Glen Canyon Dam in the late 1950's. It is however, a very beautiful place.

On our way there, we were caught in a snow storm, which (I am told) is very unusual for that part of Arizona. We stopped to take some pictures before we headed up the mountain to Page.

On the morning of our first day there, we took a short trail to the edge of the canyon containing the Colorado River.

In this picture you can see Glen Canyon Dam.

Later, we drove to a scenic view of Lake Powell, the resevoir created by the dam.

Page is very close to the border of Utah, so we drove about 15 miles so we could say that we had been to Utah. :)

After Uncle Timmy got off of work that day, we took a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. We learned a lot of interesting things about the dam, most of which (I'm sorry to say) I now cannot remember. (Too much information all in one 45 minute tour!) I do however, remember that Glen Canyon Dam is the fourth tallest dam in the world. Or was it the US? Bummer! I can't remember. Sorry! :)

Here, we are standing on the top of the dam.

This is a view of Lake Powell from the top of the dam.

After we finished the tour, we drove down to the lake, looked around, and took pictures.

The next day it was time to head for home again, but we made some stops on the way.

First, we hiked a trail that led to Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend, as you can see in this picture, is a spot where the Colorado River does a complete u-turn around a huge rock peninsula. It really is quite majestic.

Later, still on our drive homeward, we took a little detour and stopped at Navajo Bridge. This bridge also stretches across the Colorado River.

While there, we were blessed to see a California Condor. This bird is the largest North American land bird, and is one of the world's rarest bird species. Currently, there are only 192 of these birds known to be living in the wild, so we were very excited to see one.

Why is it, that no matter how wonderful a trip is, you are always glad to get home? I don't know the answer to that question, but that is how it was for me. I had a great time in Page, but it felt wonderful to be home again.

Driving Time!!

2010-11-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

I got my learner's permit today! I was really nervous about the test, but it was a lot easier than I had anticipated, and I passed! I was very happy, and was praising God for getting me through it. I know the rules of the road; now I just have to learn how to drive. :)

It's finally fall here!

2010-11-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Fall sets in a little later here than in most places, but it is definitely underway now. The maple trees are mostly yellow and red, the cottonwoods have lost all their leaves, and it's been growing colder day by day. Where has this year gone? It seems like it was just a couple of months ago that we that we were still living in our old house waiting on God to move us. Time is flying by so fast for me, and it's scary and thrilling at the same time because I'm realizing that I'm not going to be a young girl much longer.

Our fireplace is getting almost daily use. We've never had one before, resulting in our making a fire as soon as the temperature drops below sixty degrees. :) Really though, we've been enjoying it tremendously. I just love the warmth and the glow and the all around ambiance of it.

For the past couple of days I've been doing a lot of research. Research, that is, on my family ancestry. Daniel, from Daniel and Friends, wrote a post speaking of how he had been getting into genealogies, and he gave some links to some sites. That was all it took for me. I got started, and the whole thing has been rather consuming. I just love this sort of thing! When I find some important piece of information that helps me connect some piece of the puzzle, it feels like I've just opened a treasure chest full of jewels. So far I've been able to trace as far back as 1709! You may be thinking right now that I'm very strange, and you're probably right. I really don't understand why, but I find so much enjoyment in tracking down my family's heritage. (If you're interested in this sort of thing a good site to start on is www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.)

In Christ,

Giveaway at Feminine Farmgirl!

2010-11-05T11:30:00.001-07:00

Jenna at Feminine Farmgirl is having a giveaway for Jasmine Baucham's book, Joyfully at Home! You can go here to enter.

God's Providence in the Lives of Two Men

2010-10-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, an amazing thing happened as we were driving home from church. We were on the interstate, going about 75 miles per hour, when we passed a blue pick-up truck that was hauling quite a lot of wood. It looked the people in it had been woodcutting, because they had chainsaws and all that wood in the back of their truck. Approximately 5-10 seconds after we had passed them, my Dad yelled out, "Oh my goodness, that guy just flipped his truck!" We pulled over, and then backed up to the scene of the accident. Meanwhile, my mom was calling 911, and I was sitting in my seat praying.

When my dad and brother got out of our van to check out the situation, a couple was just getting into their vehicle and driving away, and there were two Mexican men standing there talking. After walking up to them, my Dad realized that those were the men that had just been in pick-up truck that rolled over! By God's providence, the truck had landed in the perfect position to let the two men climb out unharmed. I think one of the men had bumped his head, but other than that, they were both uninjured.

My Dad, in amazement, said to them, "Do you realize that God just saved your life?" He prayed for them both, and then gave them each a gospel tract. The first sentence of this particular gospel tract read, "If you died today, do you know where you'd go?" How appropriate, given their situation. They were, I'm sure, thinking about death, it having just come so close to them. Pretty much right after that, we left, praying for these men that they would see their sins for what they are, and God for who He is, and that they would turn from their sins and trust in Christ to save them.

Boggle!

2010-10-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today we played Boggle. If you're not familiar with it, it's a word game in which you search for words in 3 minutes and then compare your words with everyone else and count up your points. I'm sort of a word game junkie, so this game just happens to be my favorite of all games. Yes, I guess you could say I am addicted to it! :)

The game is played by searching for words. You can only make words with connecting letters. For instance, in the picture below, I could make the word grit because the g touches the r, and the r touches the i (diagonally), and the i touches the t. However, I could not make the word bath because although the b touches the a, and the a touches the t, I would have to skip over the b to get from the t to the h. I hope I'm making sense. :) Also, I wouldn't be able to make the word barren because I would have to use the r twice, which is not allowed.

In the game, you are only allowed to make four letter words and up. Names, foreign words, proper nouns, and proper adjectives are prohibited.

In three minutes, I can find 16 words in the picture below. How many can you find?

I'm learning a new homemaking skill......

2010-09-29T15:45:00.004-07:00

Canning!!

God has recently blessed us with friends who have friends who have friends who have fruit trees. :) Most of these people that have fruit trees are elderly, and they could never pick all the fruit off of their trees, let alone eat it all! So, my Mom, myself, my brother, my Aunt Kris, and my cousin Mariah have been going to people's homes and picking their fruit. They have all been so grateful to have the fruit gone, and we are so grateful to have the fruit!

So far, we have picked off of 3 different apple trees and 2 different pear trees. This has provided boxes upon boxes and bags upon bags of apples and pears. Dealing with all this fruit, and canning it is something I'd never done before, so my Aunt has been teaching us how to do everything.

First, we use our apple peeler, slicer, corer to (you guessed it!) peel, slice, and core our apples or pears. (Thank God for such a wonderful contraption as this! If we had to sit down and peel, slice and core every single apple or pear by hand I think I would go nuts!) Then each apple is cut in half and thrown into a bowl filled with water and a little bit of lemon juice. This keeps the apples from browning. We transfer the apples into a big pot of boiling water and apple juice where they boil for quite a long time. Some of them we boil for a shorter amount of time and can them just as they are, in slices for making apple pies and the like. But most of them we boil until they are able to be mushed easily. Then they go into the magic bullet to be ground into apple sauce. With that done, we can some of the apple sauce. Some of the apple sauce we make apple butter with in a crockpot. That part of it is pretty easy; you just throw the apple sauce into a crockpot, put some cinnamon, sugar, cloves, and allspice in, and cook it on low for about 12 hours or so.

The canning part we do at my Aunt's house, because we don't have any canning equipment yet. The tricky part about canning is that all of your stuff, the apples or sauce or butter, the jars, and the lids have to be hot so that the jars don't break when you boil them. While everything is hot, we fill up the jars with whatever we're canning. Then we wipe the the edge and lip of the jar so that it's completely clean. After that, we put the lid and ring on, and then transfer the jars to the canning pot (I think there's a specific name for that pot, but I can't remember what it is.) Depending on the size of the jars, they have to boil for a certain amount of time. Once that is done, we take them out of the pot and set them aside to cool. Once cooled, they seal.

Well, that's my latest newly-learned skill. It's a lot of work, and we've been doing it often over the past couple of weeks. We've been dealing with apples and apples and more apples! Whew!

Plantar Warts ..... and Duct Tape?!?!

2010-09-13T16:54:00.004-07:00

Duct tape. They say it can fix anything. Is this true? My answer would have to be: I have no idea. But I do know of one thing it can fix. And that is plantar warts.

A plantar wart is caused by a virus and forms on the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand. Now, I won't disgust you by posting pictures of these things. If you're into gross pictures then you can go look it up yourself. They really are pretty nasty.

To get to the point, I had a plantar wart. I got one on my hand. I wore duct tape on it for 10 weeks. Now it is gone. That's the story in short form.

I know that this is kind of a gross subject, but I really wanted to share this "medicinal tip" that I learned from my own experience with people. Because, although it takes quite a bit of time, it is a pain-free and much less expensive way to remove plantar warts than say, burning, freezing, or surgically removing.

So, if you have a plantar wart, I would strongly encourage you to use duct tape before you try anything else. Here are just a couple of tips if you're going to use duct tape on a plantar wart:

Wear the duct tape at all times possible. When I did it, the only time that I did not have duct tape on my hand was when I was in the shower or washing dishes.
Try not to change your piece of duct tape very often. It is a little bit difficult when the wart is on your hand, but it is best to leave the same piece of duct tape on for as long as possible.
In my experience, I found that DUCK brand duct tape works best. It seemed to stick to my skin better and heal the wart faster.
Every couple of weeks or so, you can scrape off or cut off the white, dead skin around the wart. I know it's pretty disgusting, but this seemed to help mine to heal faster.

Well, that's my gross, but extremely helpful tip of the day. I just really wanted to share this because it so helped me. (Call me a wuss, but I was deathly afraid of having my wart frozen or burned or cut out. I don't deal with pain very well.) :)

A Day at Mingus Mountain

2010-09-05T12:57:00.008-07:00

Yesterday we took a little trip to Mingus mountain. Mingus mountain is a popular spot for hang gliding and paragliding, so we got to watch some of that take place. We also saw millions of lady bugs and a horny toad lizard, took a little hike, and enjoyed the beautiful views. In all, it was a quite lovely day.

Psalm 119

2010-09-03T15:27:00.004-07:00

Today I read Psalm 119 in my personal devotions. The whole chapter is so beautiful! My summary of Psalm chapter 119:

Delight in God's law, love God's law, meditate on God's law, never forsake God's law. God's law is righteous, true, and never fails. Period.

In this chapter, David is constantly talking about the law of God. I counted the references to God's word in this chapter. Here are my results:

References to "your law(s)": 25
References to "your testimonies": 22
References to "your precepts": 19
References to "your statutes": 22
References to "your command(s) or commandment(s)": 23
References to "your rules": 17
References to "your word(s)": 28
References to "your promise(s)": 11

Total number of references to God's word: 167

Is that amazing or what?!?! There are 176 verses in chapter 119, and David talks about the Bible 167 different times! Now understand, that I found these numbers by going through the chapter and counting them, and I could have easily missed a couple.

Reading this chapter this morning, I just sort of realized (not for the first time) how important it is to God that we delight in His Word.

Here are some verses from Psalm 119 that I really liked:

Verse 9
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word."

Verse 34
"Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart."

Verse 75
"I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me."

Verse 89
"Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens."

Verse 97
"Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."

Verses 130-131
"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments."

Verse 137
"Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules."

Verse 160
"The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever."

Archery Weekend

2010-08-29T16:01:00.010-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, our family went camping for an over-the-weekend 3-D archery shoot. We shot our bows a lot and had tons of fun. One drawback to the weekend was that we got very very soaked because the sky decided to dump buckets of water on us all day Saturday! We had a wonderful time however, and we were very glad that our 40-year-old canvas tent did not leak! Praise God for that!

I know it's teeny, but do you see our target? Hint: it's a bear standing up. Yes, we had to shoot that. It was not an easy target. (I hit it in the neck) :(

Giveway at Fish with Trish!

2010-08-05T07:51:00.005-07:00

Trish, from Fish with Trish is having a giveaway for the Mysterious Islands DVD!

If you're not familiar with the film, it's full of adventure as you journey to the Galapagos Islands with Doug Phillips and his 16-year-old son Joshua Phillips, plus Dr. John Morris as they reveal Darwin's errors and prove that the creatures on this remote island chain actually support the biblical creation account. This is a film for the whole family. It's a beautifully filmed documentary featuring white-tip sharks, lava fields, salt-spitting marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and much more. 90 minutes.

You can go here to enter to win.

Guess this Quote! ~ Answers

2010-07-25T12:18:00.004-07:00

Well, after two weeks, most of my quotes have not been guessed. Oh well. I had fun anyway! :)

Here are all the answers:

#1 - Fiddler on the Roof
#2 - Conspiracy Theory
#3 - National Treasure
#4 - Ever After
#5 - The Patriot
#6 - Pride and Prejudice (the old version)
#7 - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
#8 - The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
#9 - Come What May
#10 - Horton Hears a Who!
#11 - The Sound of Music
#12 - Fireproof
#13 - You've Got Mail
#14 - Braveheart
#15 - Pirates of the Caribbean

Guess this Quote!

2010-07-09T13:38:00.007-07:00

Keilah, from Looking Through The Lens, posted this game, so I decided to continue it on! Here are the rules:

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.

2. Go to IMDB.com and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them for everyone to guess.
4. When someone guesses correctly,put the correct movie and the person who guessed it after the quote.
5. NO cheating! :)

(feel free to take the image if you would like to continue. Created by Keilah Engstrom)

Here are my 15 quotes! Not all of these movies are my favorites, but they were what I could think of. If you know any of them, leave a comment with your guess(es)! Have fun!

P.S. If they haven't all been guessed correctly by July 23rd, I will post the answers.

#1 - Character 1: Money is the world's curse.
Character 2: May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover.

#2 - Character 1: He said a dog bit his nose.
Character 2: Arf.

#3 - Character 1: This is... huge. Prison... huge. You are gonna go to prison. You know that, right?
Character 2: Yeah, probably.
Character 1: Well... that would... bother most people. "National Treasure" Guessed by Keilah

#4 - Character 1: I will simply deny you the crown and live.... forever!
Character 2: Good! I don't want it. "Ever After" Guessed by Keilah

#5 - Character 1: You have done nothing for which you should be ashamed.
Character 2: I have done nothing. And for that I am ashamed.

#6 - Character 1: I fear this latest escapade may have lessened your regard for her "fine eyes".
Character 2: Not at all. They were brightened by the exercise.

#7 - Character 1: I've hired an accountant.
Character 2: A what?
Character 1: An accountant. According to the word, it must be a cross between a counter and a mutant, and that may be precisely what we need.

#8 - Character 1: I'm gonna kill him.
Character 2: You may not have to.

#9 - Character 1: They tear the baby out of its only means of life support, and say 'Wow, look at that, our machines can't sustain it's life,' and somehow, that proves it's not viable?

#10 - Character 1: Just this once, be faithful 99 percent of the time! I mean, I've never gone 99 percent on anything, and I think I'm awesome.

#11 - Character 1: Excuse me, sir. I don't know your signal.

#12 - Character 1: But just remember: a woman's like a rose; if you treat her right, she'll bloom, if you don't, she'll wilt.
Character 2: Where'd you get that?
Character 1: Counseling. "Fireproof" Guessed by Keilah

#13 - Character 1: I love daisies.
Character 2: You told me.
Character 1: They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?

#14 - Character 1: The king will be dead in a month and his son is a weakling. Who do you think will rule this kingdom? Now open this door.

#15 - Character 1: So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away on my ship?
Character 2: No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy? "Pirates of the Caribbean" Guessed by Miztermuzik

Isaac's Zucchini Bread

2010-07-08T08:45:00.004-07:00

Rachel asked if I would share the recipe for Isaac's zucchini bread I mentioned in my last post. Here it is!

Isaac's Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. melted butter

2 c. sugar

1 T. vanilla

2 c. raw graded zucchini (do not peel)

3 c. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 T. cinnamon

1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Beat eggs until light. Add butter, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in everything else. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 60 minutes at 325 degrees. Enjoy!

Now, I must just tell you something about this recipe. Originally, the recipe called for 1 cup of oil, instead of butter. The first time Isaac made it, we had no oil in the house, so he used butter instead, and it turned out just wonderfully! Therefore, we modified the recipe just a bit. If you want, you can try it with oil, but I can't guarantee how good it will be. :)

From start to finish.....

2010-07-06T12:32:00.005-07:00

Lately, my brother Isaac has become very interested in gardening. He planted a garden after we moved, and it is doing very well. Just the other day he made zucchini bread from the zucchini he grew in his garden. He was so excited!

P.S. I must just say, the zucchini bread he made was positively the best I've ever had! It was delicious!

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T07:16:00.006-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. My family did! We (Dad, Mom, Isaac, I, and my cousin Mariah) headed to the Prescott Courthouse where a huge parade takes place every year. Thousands of people gathered to enjoy it, and when there are thousands of people somewhere, what better time is there to share the gospel? We passed out tracts before the parade started, during the parade, and as the people were leaving. All in all, I believe we got out over 1,000 tracts! We had a blessed time!

The Heart of Courageous

2010-07-02T10:48:00.007-07:00

Over the past few months, I've been following closely the progress of Sherwood Picture's fourth film, Courageous. I am extremely enthusiastic about this movie. I think I can hardly wait until 2011 to see it! This past week marked the end of their filming period, and now they're heading into production.

This video sums up their purpose in the movie. Doesn't it make you so impatient to see it?

Canoeing on the Lake

2010-07-01T20:34:00.005-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my family and I went canoeing on the lake for a couple of hours for my father's birthday. We had a really beautiful time. One side of the lake is rocky and open, and the other side is green, and sort of feels like an amazon jungle. Here are some pictures:

P.S. The Fourth of July is coming up! For the occasion, my family is going to evangelize in the Prescott Courthouse square. I will post about it, and hopefully take pictures I can show you! Have a great weekend!

Snow!

2010-04-23T16:37:00.003-07:00

I mentioned in my post on Wednesday how it had been snowing just a bit. Well, Thursday night, it snowed pretty much nonstop from about 4:00 p.m. to sometime between 10:00p.m. and 12:00p.m. The next morning, I woke up to a winter wonderland. The only weird thing was, it's not supposed to be Winter! It's April!

We're moved!

2010-04-21T14:11:00.002-07:00

Well, sort of. There is still a ton of stuff in the garage that has not yet been unpacked. We still have a lot to do. Whew! :)

I'm loving living in our new house. It's cozy, although small, and there are a couple of exciting features about it. Here are a few of those: 1) We have a fireplace! Yahoo! 2) We have a mailbox. Don't laugh at me. I've never had one before, and I'm absolutely loving it. 3) We have a doorbell. Again, please don't laugh. This is another one of those things I've never had before, and I'm so excited about it! 4) My bedroom is nice and big. Another luxury I've never experienced before.

There are also a couple drawbacks about our new house. They are: 1) We have no dishwasher. 2) Our living room, dining area, and kitchen area are very small.

Overall, though, I love the house. It's just lovely. Right now, it is very cold outside and snowing. It's been raining and snowing off and on pretty much all day long. But I am not cold. I am sitting in a chair in front of the computer right next to the fireplace in the living room watching the snow fall gently down outside. Aaaaaahhhhhh............ This is a beautiful place to live.

We do not have any decorations up at all in the house, but when I get them up in my room, I will post pictures.

Well, I think that is all I have to say right now. God bless you on this beautiful day!

Moving

2010-04-08T21:06:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick note for you all. We are officially moving on Saturday! That's in two days! That means the next time I post, I will be living in a new house! Creepy........

Tracting at the Parade

2010-04-07T17:11:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday, we got a chance to evangelize at the parade in our town. This parade is held annually, and we tracted it last year. This year we decided to do it again!

The group that went with us was my brother's and my Student Council group, S.A.L.T. (Servants and Leaders in Truth). In all, there were nine of us kids, and three adults. We split up into groups and were able to tract the whole crowd that was waiting for the parade to start!

It went really well. Most people were more than glad to receive the million dollar bills we were giving them, and one kid even chased me down the street to ask for more for his friends. Last year, God had provided about 2 dozen or so cases of Gatorade, and we handed those out with the tracts. I thought that it was going to be harder this time, but I actually think it ended up being easier, and we were able to give out a lot more tracts.

I was glad for this opportunity, because we haven't gone to any events to evangelize in a while. It was a blessing to me, and I pray that God blessed our efforts, and softened the hearts of the people who received the tracts.

In Christ,

We're moving for real!..... I think

2010-03-06T15:12:00.002-07:00

God has been so faithful to us. In the last month or so, He provided a house for us to rent in the town that Dad is working in. Although I cannot go into all the details of the house, it was truly a God thing! And just this week, my Dad's job went "permanent", and God brought renters to us without our even having to advertise! He has provided for us in his perfect time!

We are planning to move about the second week of April! I'm excited in a way and sad in another. Moving means I'll be closer to my best friend and cousin Mariah. But it also means that I will be farther away from my good friends Gabby, Hannah, Trent, Rylee, Mike, and Joe. This I am sad about, but I know that I will be still be able to see them frequently (the town we're moving to is only about an hour and ten minute drive away from the town we live in now).

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know! I'm praising God!

In Christ,

P.S. If you would, please pray for my family. We are going through some hard times right now (not exactly related to our move).

A Long Overdue Update

2010-01-22T14:43:00.002-07:00

To those who read this blog (if indeed there are any): I am very sorry that I have left you in the dark for so long. I have been busy with school and such, but I have no good excuse for not keeping you updated as I should have. Well, here goes.

You probably think that I am now moved to Texas. I am not. Let me explain. Our house was indeed in escrow, and we were planning to move shortly after Christmas. But our plans were not God's plans. The deal with the house fell through (it did not appraise for our bottom price), and we were back to square one. Dad continued to search for jobs. We began to feel that perhaps God did not want us to move to Texas after all. We still knew that we needed to move, but where was uncertain.

You see, when God first called us to move, we thought that he was calling us to Texas. That was where we felt him directing us. We didn't want to move there very much. It was far from our family, our close friends, and everything that we had ever known. But we were willing to sacrifice everything to follow him. In the end, he didn't require it.

After the sale of the house fell through, Dad started applying for jobs pretty much everywhere. (He had a temporary job working as a landscaper, but it didn't pay much, and he needed to find a permanent job that could provide for our family.) However, no amount of resumes, cover letters, and applications could prevail. He just couldn't find a job!

Then, on New Year's eve, we went to a party at my Aunt and Uncle's home. There was another family there, and Dad started talking with the father of the family about our situation. The man said, "Well, I've got some job openings at my company." And that's how it started. Dad sent in a resume, interviewed for the job, and was starting the next Monday. It was incredible how God worked it out! Needless, to say, he is now working in a town only about an hour's drive from where we live now. That town is where my cousin and best friend lives! God is amazing, isn't He?! The only thing about this job is that it is a so called "temporary job". It is expected to turn into a permanent job in 3 - 6 months, although there is no guarantee that it will. We are waiting until it does "go permanent" before trying to rent a house there or anything. For now, Dad is commuting.

We are praising God that He has so provided for us, and that He did not ask us in the end to move so far away from the people that we so hold dear. I think that it would have been harder than I could've imagined.

Well, there is the update. Again, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in SO long. God bless you!

A Winter Tip For The Day!

2009-12-02T10:47:00.008-07:00

I know that we all learn from our mistakes. I definitely did today. Maybe you can learn from mine and not have to learn it yourself.

To all my homeschooling friends out there: Never, ever, drink hot chocolate at your school table! I don't care how convenient it is! Don't try it! I did today, and the results were disastrous.

I took quite a bit of time getting my hot chocolate ready. Half milk, half water, 1:45 in the microwave, one and a half packages of Nestle hot chocolate, stir until completely mixed.....
It was ready. I took it over to the table where I was doing my school. One slip of the hand, and suddenly, my perfect hot chocolate was all over the table, the floor, the chairs, everywhere. My cousin Mariah was with me when it happened. She uttered a simple, "Uh oh." I gasped and just stared for a few tormenting seconds. My mom yelled from the other room, "Please tell me that wasn't hot chocolate."

Then began the cleanup. First I got all the books off the table. I set them on the counter and my mom began working on them. I wiped up all the chocolate liquid with a wet rag and waited for that to dry. I then swept the whole floor, and when that was done, I mopped. Meanwhile, my mom had taken care of the books. Only one book was severely soaked, but unfortunately, it was a borrowed book. My mom wiped it up and blow-dried each page, but I will have to pay for a new one at the end of the year.

Needless to say, that was my little experience this morning. I hope you learned something from it. Just remember to be very careful where you set your steaming hot chocolate.

P.S. My brother discovered something hilarious today that I quickly want to share with you. He looked up directions on googlemaps.com for getting from our house to Tibet, China. He just wanted to see what it would say. He was surprised when he did. It told him to drive through California, and up through Oregon and Washington. After that, it said to kayak across the Pacific Ocean. That would be about 2,500 miles of kayaking. I don't know if you laughed, but we sure did.

Sale Pending

2009-11-18T21:11:00.003-07:00

God is faithful! Our house is in escrow. We got a full price offer, and we took it. Believe it or not, the offer came from a family that goes to our church! It's kind of strange to think that my friends will soon live in my house, but I'm so glad that God is finally selling our house. The close of escrow date is December 17th. I'm a little bit bummed that we have to be out of the house before Christmas, but I'm just glad that God is moving us forward.

So far, we still do not have a job or anything in Texas. We're praying. And praying. My mom puts it this way. She says, "We're taking the next big step. Right now, our foot is in the air, ready to set down. As of yet, there is no ground where our foot will land, but we are trusting God to materialize ground there before we set our foot down." And that is pretty much the way it is. We're trusting in God to provide for us.

So, our job right now is to pack all our possessions so that we can leave in one month. One month! I can hardly believe it. Please pray for us. Pray for wisdom for my Daddy and Mom as they make huge decisions for our family. Pray for a job for my Daddy. And please pray for us to have faith, no matter what, come what may.

Courageous

2009-11-15T18:02:00.003-07:00

I have a very exciting announcement to make! Actually, it's not really my announcement at all. But anyway, Sherwood pictures, the creators of Fireproof and Facing the Giants, are coming out with their fourth film! Yes! It's called Courageous, and it's all about challenging men to rise up as strong fathers in their homes. I'm way excited! I guess the movie is scheduled for release in 2011. They're only in the writing stages right now, but I already can't wait to see the movie. Here's a link to the website. Check it out! Click here.

Amazing Guitar Playing

2009-10-23T22:09:00.001-07:00

This is an amazing video. It's an unusual way of playing the guitar, but it sounds so beautiful, and is really amazing. My Dad saw this and decided to start learning how to play it! He is still in the process, but he's getting better. Hope you enjoy it!

Let There Be Green

2009-10-19T19:12:00.005-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we overseeded our grass. We had let the Bermuda (the summer grass) die out, and we then raked it all up, and put the rye (the winter grass) seed on. I've decided to show you the results.

This is our grass before we overseeded it.

Okay, I've got to admit, it wasn't really grass at all. In fact, it actually crunched under your feet when you walked on it.

But here's the lovely part. This is our backyard 10 days later after some very hard work, some time, and lots of water. . .

No Bites Yet. . . . . .

2009-10-14T17:26:00.005-07:00

Well, ever since we told the congregation that we are moving, we've had an open house every weekend. We've had a couple people come and look at the house, but no one has yet been seriously interested. I can't speak for the rest of my family, but I know that I'm starting to get just a bit discouraged. Sometimes I feel like things will never move on, and we will never move. I keep reminding myself to trust in the Lord like Proverbs 3:5-6 says. It's difficult sometimes.

Last night we sang a song together as a family. As we were singing it, I was making it my prayer. I don't know the name of the song, but these are the lyrics:

I know you can do all things
You have been faithful and true

You are my mighty God and King
I will not fear what man can do

When no fruit is on the vine
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

This life is no longer mine
I will trust in you
Lord, I will trust in you

God bless you and please keep praying!

P.S. Isaac has pneumonia! Yeah, it's pretty crazy. So he is supposed to be resting, but of course, he is refuting it. He doesn't seem too sick, but they think the X-ray showed fluid in his lungs . Please pray for him.

Christian historical fictions that are worth reading

2009-10-12T14:29:00.007-07:00

A couple of years ago, my Mom bought a Christian historical fiction book for my brother. He and I both read it, and we loved it! The author of the book is Douglas Bond. Since then, we've bought several of his other books. They are amazing! I would really recommend them. Of his books I've read:

*Hostage Lands
*Guns of Thunder
*Guns of the Lion
*Duncan's War
*King's Arrow
*Rebel's Keep

They are all amazing books and I would so recommend them! Douglas Bond has a blog as well. You can visit it here.

Our trip is over and I present to you........... Pictures!

2009-09-29T14:27:00.042-07:00

We are home. We are exhausted, but we are home. Thanks to all of you who were praying for us; we had no major incidents on the road. We did have a bit of trouble with our air conditioning and we still do not know what is wrong with it, but we were able to fix it temporarily without much difficulty.

So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, somewhere around Friday evening. Ok, well Friday night Jen came over with her girls, and Kim came with her four kids. We had a nice time hanging out together.

Saturday morning we took Aunt Marilyn to the airport. She had to go to Iowa for about a week, so we didn't get to see her at all after she left. After that, we drove around some areas for homes again. Then we went to Chik-fil-A (one of my favorite fast food places) for lunch! It was good. Saturday night I think Jen came over with the girls again. (Forgive me, the details are beginning to be muddled a bit in my mind. All the days are sort of running together.)

Sunday morning we went to church. It was really nice. The people there were extremely welcoming, and it felt so good to be with so many like-minded believers! One of the deacons at the church invited us to his home for dinner, so went there after church. We hung out with his family until later in the evening and had a really wonderful time of fellowship. This family had four daughters, one of whom was about my age. We played games, and just fellowshipped in general. We had a really nice time. After that we went back to Uncle Frank's house where we ate cookies and played with Elli and Abri.

Monday, we didn't do much of anything at all. I think Dad was trying to call people about jobs and stuff, but we pretty much just had a very lazy day until we went to Red Lobster (or Dead Lobster as my Uncle Frank calls it) for dinner with Uncle Frank, Jen, Kim, and the kids (except for Michael who was at Ju-jitsu) After dinner, our family hit the road and headed back to Arizona.

So, that's pretty much it for the narrative. Now for the pictures.........

My friends Gabby and Hannah made us cookies for our trip. This is me eating one. After sleeping for a while in the car, Mom, Isaac, and I woke up simultaneously and were hungry. So we got out the cookies and had a midnight snack. At that moment, those cookies were the best I had ever had in my life. Thank you Gabby and Hannah!

And what do you suppose my Mom is doing in this picture? You guessed it! This is her infamous cookie face.

Taken at 6:00 AM. The sun is beginning to climb up behind the mountains. Isn't it beautiful?

Here are lots more pics of the drive on the way there.....

This is my cousin Elizabeth. We call her Elli most of the time though. She is 3 years old.

This is Abrianah. She is Elli's sister and almost 2 years old. One of the funny things about Abri is that whenever you take her picture she immediately says, "Lemme see!" in her cute baby voice. Then when you show her the pic on the digital camera screen she stares at it intently and says, "Aaaaaahhhhhhh...."

Dad was playing the guitar and singing some worship songs and Elli was dancing.

Abri enjoys trying on other people's shoes. She usually chooses shoes that are way too big for her. She tries to walk in them too, but usually she just ends up tripping over herself.

These are two of Kim's kids, Mikayla and Michael. They are twins and 5 years old.

That's Michael on the left there, and on the right is Kamden, Kim's youngest. He is 3 years old. And of course in the middle is Isaac, my brother and a wonderful babysitter. He's good with kids.

These two pics were taken when we dropped Aunt Marilyn off at the airport.

Abri was hiding from me in this pic, but she decided to peek out just long enough for me to snap her picture.

Dog pile!

Jen was trying to get Abri to jump into her arms, but she kept falling into her arms instead. For some reason she just couldn't get her feet off that counter.

Deer walking through the backyard one morning.

Abri, sweet baby.

Me out in the backyard.

Abri playing the piano..... with her elbows?

Elli at the piano. She wasn't doing much playing.

Kaytlin, Kim's oldest, at Red Lobster.

Mikayla and Abri at Red Lobster.

And finally (I hope I didn't bore you with all these pictures) this is a pic of the family at Red Lobster right before we left and hit the road.

God bless!

We shall depart soon.....

2009-09-28T12:10:00.003-07:00

Well, we are still in Texas right now. We are planning on leaving this evening. :( I really don't want to go, and I'm especially not looking forward to the long drive. I have to go pack my bag now, but I will describe the last couple days of our trip once I get back. I'll also post pictures!

Please pray for safety on our drive home. Our van has had some troubles lately, and on the way here the air conditioning broke. (It wasn't too bad; we just had to clean out some filters to get it to work again.)

Until I get back,
~Kiah

Update from Texas

2009-09-25T14:29:00.004-07:00

Well, on Wednesday night we set out for Texas. We went to get an idea of houses and jobs in the area and stuff. It was a long drive, but (Praise God!) we arrived safely at My Uncle Frank and Aunt Marilyn's house about 19 hours later. Yes, it was a very long drive. I was very happy to be out of the van by the time we got there. That night, we had pizza and hung out with my Aunt and Uncle, and my mom's cousin Jennifer and her two kids Elizabeth (3 years old) and Abrianah (almost 2). We had a lovely time visiting together. Elli and Abri are so precious! They are some of the sweetest little girls I've ever known.

Today, we slept in (Yeah!!) and then we just went and drove around in the area looking for houses and just trying to get a general idea. We did that until about 3:30, and now we are back at Uncle Frank and Aunt Marilyn's house. (I'm posting from Aunt Marilyn's computer.) I think tonight Jennifer and the kids are coming over again and Kimberly (my mom's cousin and Jennifer's sister) is coming over with her four kids: Kaytlin (8 years old), Mikayla (5 years old), Michael (5 years old), and Kamden (3 years old). So we should have a nice time together.

Tomorrow I think we will be looking around at more neighborhoods and stuff. On Sunday we will be going to our new church. I'm really looking forward to that. We will be going back home on either Monday or Tuesday. Being here now, I almost don't want to go back. It's green here. Very green. There's millions of trees and lots of grass...... and it's just beautiful...... and it's about 75 degrees....... and it's just beautiful....... and....... aaaaahhhhhh....... I really don't think I'm going to want to leave when it comes time to. We saw deer walk across the backyard this morning. I mean, how often does that happen back home? Never!

Anyway, I think I'm finished now. When I get back home, I'll post pictures of the trip. I can't do it on my Aunt's computer right now. Anyway, please pray for my family, that we would have patience in waiting on God, and that we would listen for his voice and follow his direction. And please pray that we don't get Texan accents and start saying y'all because it seems entirely inevitable!

God bless!
~Kiah

A New Season

2009-09-16T13:48:00.003-07:00

Some pretty crazy stuff has been going on in my life lately. For about a month and a half, I wasn't able to say anything, or blog about it, but I am now. Well, here goes. Forgive me if my "narrative" is confusing and makes little sense. I am not a great writer, and I sometimes have difficulty putting my thoughts on paper, or in this case, the computer screen.

For some time now, God has been leading our family in a new direction. By a new direction, I mean a new place, a new church, a new job, etc. Recently, God has made it evident to us that it is time. Time for us to move on. Time for God to lead us into a new season.

I must say, moving away from your home town is not an easy ordeal. I've lived in this town for 12 years. It's all I've ever known. Our family is here, both church and blood; our closest friends are here. Yet if God is calling us to go, can we simply say, "Oh, I'm sorry God, but I just can't."? Of course not.

We've known for sure that we were going to move in the near future since about the end of July. For a while, we were just seeking God and asking, "Ok God, we know you want us to move. But where?" We had no idea. Soon, God began laying two specific spots on our hearts. One was Georgia; the other was Texas. At the beginning we had high hopes for Georgia. But as suddenly as the door had opened there, God shut it. So, all we had left was Texas. Again, we were seeking God out. "Is this it, God? Is Texas the place?" We were afraid that God would shut the door like he did on Georgia. But this time, God only gave confirmation after confirmation. Needless to say, we now know without a doubt that God wants us to move to Texas.

Last week we began telling our friends that we were moving. It was so hard. One night, we went and told the Cross family, our closest friends. I cried more than I ever have in one sitting. It was extremely sad, and yet, in another way, it was joyful. Our friends completely backed us up, and though they were sad that we had to go, they were glad that we were following God's lead. My 16-year-old friend Gabby said, "Thank you for being obedient." As we were leaving, I said through my tears, "That was officially the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life." And it was. I must say though, that the time I have spent with my friends since we told them has been the most precious time I've ever spent with them. Somehow, you never appreciate something so much until you realize that you are going to lose it.

But we are looking forward. The past few weekends have been spent getting the house ready to sell, and packing up some of our things that we don't use very much. We are still working on getting the house spottless for our open house this coming Saturday, and we are keeping busy doing random, necessary things. We are taking a trip to Texas next week to scope things out. We will be staying with my mom's aunt and uncle, who live only 16 miles away from the town to which we are moving.

Last Sunday, we announced the news to our congregation. It was hard, but God saw us though, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

Although I am heartbroken at the thought of leaving my friends and family, I am so excited to see what God does with this! We are trusting in him for all the details, including selling our house, finding a job for my Daddy, and finding a home in Texas. There is so much that we do not have figured out, be we have faith that God will see us through.

Please keep our family in your prayers. This is difficult, and yet we are so excited to watch God work in us and through us.

~Kiah

Did someone say cookies?

2009-08-31T17:32:00.004-07:00

I don't know if anyone who reads my blog (if anyone indeed reads my blog at all) likes cookies, but I do! I love cookies! And a week or so ago, a lady at our church gave me a new cookie recipe!

Now you have to understand that this lady is the cookie Queen at our church. She literally makes the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever tasted! So she gave me a recipe for Brown Sugar cookies. They are totally scrumptious, so I thought I'd share the recipe. Here it is! Enjoy!

P.S. Don't be alarmed that the recipe calls for 4 sticks of butter. It makes A LOT of cookies, so if you want sort of a normal sized batch you can just go ahead and half the recipe.

Brown Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups butter (softened)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix in flour. Roll walnut size balls in cinnamon and sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about three inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cookies will be soft.

Tracts and a Kind Man

2009-08-29T15:08:00.003-07:00

Today we went to the Anthem Outlet Mall solely for the purpose of handing out tracts. We had a good time, but the highlight of the day was when my brother Isaac and three of our friends handed a tract to a man in the Food Court. The man took a minute to look at the tract and then handed back to my brother and friends saying," I'm already a Christian. Give this to someone else." Isaac (my brother), and Joe, Mike, and Matt (our friends) took it back and were handing out tracts to other people in the Food Court. A little later, the same man came back to them and said something like, " You guys are doing a really good thing here. I want to buy you all sodas." So he did. Isaac, Joe, Mike, and Matt were blessed. It was just cool so I thought I'd share the story.

~Kiah b

The Government Can

2009-08-28T14:15:00.006-07:00

Found this video on timhawkins.net the other day and laughed so hard that I thought I just had to put it on my blog. Enjoy.

My Junior High Graduation

2009-08-05T09:46:00.014-07:00

This past month AFHE (Arizona Families for Home Education) held a homeschool convention in downtown Phoenix. They also held a Junior High Graduation. Myself and 4 of my good friends decided to be a part of this graduation as we were all graduating from Junior High this year. It was really cool. This is a pic of me and my brother, Isaac all dressed up before we left the house.

Once in the car, I started to feel very nervous. Isaac and I played a game that he made up. We would wave and smile at every car that went by. The winner would be the person that got someone to smile or wave back first. During the whole 45 minute drive to Phoenix, neither of us could get a single person to smile or wave back at us. I was still nervous.

The schedule for the night was:

*Rehearsal
*Go to dinner
*Ceremony

Once we got there, I was starting to feel extremely nervous. To make matters worse, after walking from the parking garage to the convention center, the skin on my heel started rubbing off from my new shoes. Now I was nervous, and in pain!

Well, I managed to get through the rehearsal despite my nervousness (it helped that all 4 of my friends sat pretty close to me) and then, surprisingly, I didn't feel quite as nervous. This is a picture of me during the rehearsal. Do I look nervous, do you think?

After the rehearsal, we took family pictures of me and two of my other graduate friends. This picture is of me and my family.

This picture is of my best friend Hannah and her family.

This picture is of my friend Sean and his family.

After this, we walked (by this time my feet were killing me) to a restaurant not too far away. Miraculously, I managed not to get any food on my dress during dinner. Believe me, I was praising God for that! This is a picture of my Dad and me during dinner.

After dinner, we walked back to the convention center. Mom, Dad, and Isaac went in the huge room where the ceremony would take place, and were seated. I waited in the lobby with all the other graduates for the ceremony to begin. At this point, I was a bit nervous, but not nearly as bad as I was during the rehearsal. Then we did the ceremony. The only unusual thing that happened during the program was that they said my friend's name was Joshua. His name is Joseph. I felt really bad for him, but he joked it off pretty lightly.

After the actual ceremony, we went to Swensen's for ice cream. Not all of my friends came but Joe and his family did. We ordered huge ice creams and it was so good. This pic was taken by my brother of the sundae that he ordered. Doesn't that look delicious?

Here's one of me eating my ice cream. Yummmmmm.....

This is Isaac starting to eat his ice cream.

This is Joshua..... I mean Joe eating his root beer float.

And finally, this is a picture of me and all 4 of my graduate friends. It's not a great picture, but it's the best we got.

The 4th of July

2009-07-05T18:16:00.010-07:00

To be honest with you, before Saturday, my family hadn't gone out and evangelized in a pretty long time. So we thought, what better day to preach the gospel than on the 4th of July! There was a huge parade planned for Independence Day at the Prescott Courthouse. They were expecting about 2,000 people to show up for it. So we decided to go! Some people from Prescott and from Phoenix came with us. All in all we had about 20 people. We handed out hundreds of tracts, and then some of the people in our group open-aired on the steps of the courthouse. It was an exhausting, but awesome day.

This is a pic of our group. However, some of the people that came with us are not in this picture, because we hadn't met up with them yet.

This is a pic of my Dad and brother passing out tracts.

This is my Dad open airing. He started off by giving away money for trivia questions about the United States Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

This is a pic of a lady named Linda Essary preaching.

This is Sean preaching.

This is Sheri. She looks like she was singing but she was really preaching and pleading with the lost.

This is Edwin Lo open-airing.

God bless you! As Todd Friel would say, "Until next time, Go Serve Your King!"

~Kiah

Do these verses remind you of a particular person?

2009-06-24T07:59:00.004-07:00

We were reading Proverbs 24 today as a family and we came across some verses that reminded me of someone. Just thought I would share them.

Verse 21-22 of chapter 24:
My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, [are you thinking of the same person I'm thinking of?] For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?

Okay, here's another one:
Verse 24-25 of chapter 24:
He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him; But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.

I don't know if you thought of the same person that I did, but when we read those verses this morning, my dad and I both gasped and blurted out, "Barack Obama!" Maybe Obama hasn't yet been cursed by peoples, or been abhorred by nations, but his calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows what ruin will befall him?

A Graduation that would please the Lord

2009-06-13T10:22:00.012-07:00

Last week, my cousin Josh graduated from high school. His parents have homeschooled him since about fifth grade, I think. We went to his graduation ceremony, and it was so special! But more importantly, it honored God!

Josh opened the ceremony in prayer. He is such a good example of a Godly young leader!

Each of the graduates (there were nine in all) performed in some way, whether they played the piano, or the guitar, or the mandolin, or sang! Josh sang and played a song that he wrote. Some of his friends backed him up.

Then the graduates were presented with their certificates. Their parents spoke a little and said how proud they were of their son or daughter.

There was a reception afterward, where we talked, and laughed, and ate cake! Josh plans to go to the Community College in Prescott next year. I thank God for the fine young man he has become, and I pray that he will continue to follow after the Lord and seek him always!

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word.

It's been forever!

2009-05-21T20:26:00.002-07:00

So, I haven't blogged for a VERY long time, and I'm sorry about that. I don't really have any excuses either, which makes it worse. I wish I could say that I've been really busy, or something like that, but the truth is...... I've been lazy!

My family is reading through The Pilgrim's Progress right now! We are reading it together as a family (almost) every night. I can't wait to see what happens to Christian as he travels on his journey!

We are starting to get ready for VBS at our church! This is the time when my life truly does start to get busy! During the month of June, I usually feel like I practically live at church! It is an exciting time though, and I can't wait to see what God is going to do through Vacation Bible School this year. Please pray that it would be awesome, and that God would use it greatly to bring not only kids, but their parents also, to Christ.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now! Hopefully I'll write again soon, and won't wait for three months like last time!

God bless you!

~Kiah B.

Save Hollywood!

2009-03-09T17:05:00.004-07:00

My friend, Natalie, has a heart to save the lost. And lately, God has been laying Hollywood on her heart. So she has decided to start what she calls "Save Hollywood". It's very simple. Anyone that wants to be a part of it simply picks at least one actor or actress and commits to pray for their salvation daily.

If you want to be a part of this, please leave a comment including your name and the people you are committing to pray for. Thank you so much! I think that if we all commit to praying for the people in Hollywood everyday, that they might eventually come to Salvation! Our God can do mighty things!

To see a list of the people already being prayed for go to: http://sites.google.com/site/savehollywoodcorp/

A speech on Abortion by a 12 year old....... WOW!

2009-02-26T09:32:00.004-07:00

Wow!!! This is amazing. This 12 year old girl entered a speech contest at her school in Canada. At first, she was disqualified because her topic was Abortion and because she mentioned the Creator. I guess her parents fought it, because she was allowed to enter..... and then she won! You go, Girl!

This story was so cool!

2009-01-20T08:03:00.002-07:00

This morning during our family devotions, we read a story in a book called "Fresh Power" by Jim Cymbala. It was so cool! I hope it touches you as much as it did me.

Back in 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their two-year old son from Sweden to heart of Africa - to what was then called the Belgian Congo. They met up with another young Scandinavian couple, the Ericksons, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of much tenderness and devotion and sacrifice, they felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station and take the gospel to a remote area.

This was a huge step of faith. At the village of N'dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts.

They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. The only contact with the villagers was a young boy who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood - a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall - decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And in fact, she succeeded.

But there were no other encouragements. Meanwhile, malaria continued to strike one member of the little band after another. In time the Ericksons decided they had had enough suffering and left to return to the central mission station. David and Svea Flood remained near N'dolera to go on alone.

Then, of all things, Svea found herself pregnant in the middle of the primitive wilderness. When the time came for her to give birth, the village chief softened enough to allow a midwife to help her. A little girl was born, whom they named Aina.

The delivery, however, was exhausting, and Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria. The birth process was a heavy blow to her stamina. She lasted only another seventeen days.

Inside David Flood, something snapped in that moment. He dug a crude grave, buried his twenty-seven-year-old wife, and then took his children back down the mountain to the mission station. Giving his newborn daughter to the Ericksons, he snarled, "I'm going back to Sweden. I've lost my wife, and I obviously can't take care of this baby. God has ruined my life." With that, he headed for the port, rejecting not only his calling, but God himself.

Within eight months both the Ericksons were stricken with a mysterious malady and died within days of each other. The baby was then turned over to some American missionaries, who adjusted her Swedish name to "Aggie" and eventually brought her back to the United States at age three.

This family loved the little girl and were afraid that if they tried to return to Africa, some legal obstacle might separate her from them. So they decided to stay in their home country and switch from missionary work to pastoral ministry. And that is how Aggie grew up in South Dakota. As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. There she met and married a young man named Dewey Hurst.

Years passed. The Hursts enjoyed a fruitful ministry. Aggie gave birth first to a daughter, then a son. In time her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area, and Aggie was intrigued to find so much Scandinavian heritage there.

One day a Swedish religious magazine appeared in her mailbox. She had no idea who had sent it, and of course she couldn't read the words. But as she turned the pages, all of a sudden a photo stopped her cold. There in a primitive setting was a grave with a white cross - and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD.

Aggie jumped in her car and went straight for a college faculty member who, she knew, could translate the article. "What does this say?" she demanded.

The instructor summarized the story: It was about missionaries who had come to N'dolera long ago.... the birth of a white baby.... the death of the young mother.... the one little African boy who had been led to Christ.... and how, after the whites had all left, the boy had grown up and finally persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village.

The article said that gradually he won all of his students to Christ... the children led their parents to Christ... even the chief had become a Christian. Today there were six hundred Christian believers in that one village....

All because of the sacrifice of David and Svea Flood.

For the Hurst's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, the college presented them with the gift of a vacation to Sweden. There Aggie sought to find her real father. An old man now, David Flood had remarried, fathered four more children, and generally dissipated his life with alcohol. He had recently suffered a stroke. Still bitter, he had one rule in his family: "Never mention the name of God - because God took everything from me."

After an emotional reunion with her half brothers and half sister, Aggie brought up the subject of seeing her father. The others hesitated. "You can talk to him," they replied, "even though he's very ill now. But you need to know that whenever he hears the name of God, he flies into a rage."

Aggie was not to be deterred. She walked into the squalid apartment, with liquor bottles everywhere, and approached the seventy-three-year-old man lying in a rumpled bed.

"Papa?" she said tentatively.

He turned and began to cry. "Aina," he said. "I never meant to give you away."

It's all right, Papa," she replied, taking him gently in her arms. "God took care of me."

The man instantly stiffened. The tears stopped.

"God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of him." He turned his face back to the wall.

Aggie stroked his face and then continued, undaunted.

"Papa, I've got a little story to tell you, and it's a true one. You didn't go to Africa in vain. Mama didn't die in vain. The little boy you won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus Christ. The one seed you planted just kept growing and growing. Today there are six hundred African people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life....

"Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you."

The old man turned back to look into his daughter's eyes. His body relaxed. He began to talk. And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many decades.

Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. Aggie and her husband soon had to return to America - and within a few weeks, David Flood had gone into eternity. A few years later, the Hursts were attending a high-level evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from the nation of Zaire (the former Belgian Congo). The superintendent of the national church, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, spoke eloquently of the gospel's spread in his nation. Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood.

"Yes, madam," the man replied in French, his words then being translated into English. "It was Svea Flood who led me to Jesus Christ. I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day your mother's grave and her memory are honored by all of us."

He embraced her in a long, sobbing hug. Then he continued, "You must come to Africa to see, because your mother is the most famous person in our history."

In time that is exactly what Aggie Hurst and her husband did. They were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. She even met the man who had been hired by her father many years before to carry her back down the mountain in a hammock-cradle.

The most dramatic moment, of course, was when the pastor escorted Aggie to see her mother's white cross for herself. She knelt in the soil to pray and give thanks. Later that day, in the church, the pastor read from John 12:24: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." He then followed with Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy."

Our Family Christmas

2009-01-02T12:42:00.005-07:00

Just wanted to share some pictures from our Christmas. This is my family on Christmas Eve.

This is what our stockings looked like on Christmas morning.

Witnessing at the Christmas Lighting in Prescott

2008-12-06T21:09:00.007-07:00

We had an awesome time witnessing today. We went to the Prescott Christmas parade and Courthouse lighting. In all, we had a team of about 26 people. In this picture we are missing some of our group, but it was the only group picture we got.

With us, were two families that live in RV's and travel around the country evangelizing( you can visit their website at www.agentsforchrist.org ), and some other people that came to our past crash courses. First we went to the parade and handed out lots of tracts and did some one- 2- ones.

This is an 82 year old lady named Josephine that my dad talked to. She wasn't open to the gospel.

Here are some other people that Dad talked to.

At one point, the little girl on the far left in the picture below was missing, and her family was distraught. We prayed for her and she was found within a matter of 15 minutes.

After the parade, we went and had lunch, and then most of the people went home. My family and Natalie (the daughter of one of the traveling evangelism families) stayed behind and went to the Courthouse lighting. We arrived a bit late, but it worked out perfectly, because we were able to tract the whole crowd that was leaving. Natalie and I were able to hand out a lot of tracts in a pretty short amount of time.

We had so much fun, and were so blessed to be able to serve our King!

Kiah B

God is so beautiful!

2008-11-13T21:28:00.003-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you just notice the beauty of nature a lot more than usual? One of those days where the sky looks extra pretty, the sunset looks especially spectacular, and the full moon looks absolutely gorgeous. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Everything was just beautiful. But I know that as beautiful as God's creation is, God has to be more beautiful. Can you imagine it? Just think of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Whether you like the beach with the clear blue ocean, or the rolling green hills with all the grazing sheep, or the majestic snow capped mountains, it's all so beautiful. And yet God is so much more! I just can't wait to see him face to face! Can you?

John McCain Rally in Prescott, AZ

2008-11-04T13:16:00.003-07:00

Last night we went once again to the Prescott Court House, but this time we knew something big was going on. John McCain was scheduled to be there at Midnight, and some really famous singer was supposed to be there.

When we got there at about 6:00 there weren't very many people there, but they came very quickly. Before long there were thousands of people line waiting to get into the square. We were able to get out a lot of tracts and my Dad even got some interviews (He was interviewing people on God and country). We only stayed until about 9:00 because we didn't really care to be there when everything got SUPER crazy. But we had a wonderful time serving the Lord. It was so awesome! I'm so thankful that God gave us such a great opportunity to share the gospel with others. To God be all the glory!

Kiah Borman

Two Exciting Evangelism Excursions in 24 hrs!!

2008-11-01T17:13:00.006-07:00

The first of these was yesterday on Halloween. We went and set up a table on the street side at about 4:00. The unsuspecting kids and their parents walked up and were ready to get their candy. But that wasn't all that they got. When they first walked up, Dad or Mom would tell them that they had to get the trick (the curved illusion tract) before they could get their treat.

After that, we would give them a choice of small candy, or big candy if they took a test. Most of them chose the test and then Mom or Dad would go through the law and the gospel with them. Towards the end we started just giving them a million dollar bill and a candy bar, but Mom and Dad had a lot of pretty good conversations. Also, we got out almost 400 tracts, which is pretty good considering we live in a town of only 4000.

Our second evangelism excursion was this morning when we went to the Prescott Courthouse. When we first arrived, there were a lot of people. Apparently, today was the Celebration of the Dead, which is a Mexican holiday. There was a Mexican band playing in the square and there was a crowd of at least one hundred people. We had no idea that there was even anything going on in the square that day and we were so excited. So we prayed, and when we finished, the band was picking up their equipment, and everyone was leaving. If we had known they were going to leave so soon, we would have tracted the whole crowd before we prayed, but we didn't. We were kinda disappointed, but we stayed in the square and just talked to the people that hadn't left. We had some good conversations, including one drunk guy who started weeping when Dad presented him with the law, a man that was running for County Supervisor and was completely wacked out in his beliefs, a 13 year old who seemed really convicted, and several people who claimed to be Christians. Overall, it was a really great witnessing time.

Fishing at the Arizona State Fair!!!

2008-10-23T19:54:00.010-07:00

Yesterday me, my Dad, Mom, Isaac, and my cousin Mariah went to the AZ State Fair. And as usual, we took lots and lots of tracts. We had a really awesome time just handing out tracts and talking to people.

This is Ron the Atheist. My dad talked to him for about 20 minutes. About 30 minutes later we ran into him again, and dad talked to him again!

When we went to Mill Avenue last week, it seemed like the people wouldn't really take the tracts. But not so at the fair! The people were really excited about getting tracts and we even had people coming up to us and asking for more!!

At one point we went on the Sky Ride (it is like a ski lift) and we dropped Million Dollar Bills so that they were falling from the sky. It was so fun to watch the people pick them up and even a couple of people running after them! This was us when we first got on the Sky Ride to drop tracts from the sky:

We had so much fun that we decided to do it again. But this time, when we were getting on the ride, the guy running it said, "I don't think you guys should drop those anymore." His name was Jason. My dad had already talked to him, and he claimed to be a christian. This picture of Jason was taken before he told us to stop dropping MBD's from the Sky Ride:

My dad and mom had conversations with about five other people, none of which were repentant or anything like that, but it was still really awesome. We had a great time, and I can't wait for next year's State Fair!

The Crash Course and Mill Avenue

2008-10-21T14:17:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday was our Crash Course at our church. I realize that my dad and my brother have already posted on their own blogs about Saturday, but I still want to post on my own. So it went really good. The Crash Course was great, and I made it all the way through even though I was really hungry by the end!!! :) So afterwards there were nineteen of us, not including the leaders that came from Phoenix to help my dad, that went to Mill Ave. Thankfully, we had no problems on the way down and made it there safely. When we got there we split up into groups of three or four and started walking around. I was with my Dad, my Mom, and my brother, Isaac. We started handing out tracts as soon as we got there, but the people just didn't want them. We had very few people who take them. Even the MBD's were not grabbing their attention. We found that most of them had already gotten one. Anyway, the first person my Dad talked to was a street kid named Ghost. Dad talked to him for probably forty-five minutes and didn't really get anywhere. He said that he hung around Mill Ave. a lot and I think some other people had already talked to him in past weeks. He was really smart and knew the Bible better than most professing Christians do.
Then we talked to a black lady named Deedra, and her male friend Lexis. Deedra said she was a Christian, but said that Lexis was the one that we should be talking to. So Dad talked to Lexis and found that he had been raised in a Christian home, but was not walking with the Lord. Dad gave him the Law and he seemed convicted. Then Dad gave him the Gospel and finally ended up saying, "Lexis, is there anything that is stopping you from getting right with God?" And Lexis said, "No." So Dad encouraged him to read his Bible and told him to get right with God before he went to bed that night. Dad also gave him his phone number, but as far as I know Lexis hasn't called.
So we had a couple of good experiences, but the most encouraging event of the night happened to my mom's friend Donna. Her leader was named Dave. I guess what happened was this: Donna and her husband Joe were talking to some people and Dave kinda strayed away from their group and was talking to another guy. When Dave finished, he came up to Donna and Joe and said, "That guys seemed really convicted." So they started walking along when that same guy came running up behind them, calling Dave's name. When he caught up with them he said, "Dave, what do I do to repent?" Isn't that awesome??!!! So Dave and Donna and Joe prayed for him and then he prayed himself. Dave told us later that his prayer was really contrite and repentant. Isn't that awesome???!!! It just makes me want to get out and witness more!!

Evangelizing and Me

2008-10-07T17:21:00.003-07:00

Four months ago I did not care about evangelizing. I was familiar with the Way of the Master and I knew that unsaved people would go to Hell for eternity, but to be honest with you, it didn't concern me. It wasn't me going to Hell, so I didn't care.
Then my Dad went to the Ambassador's Academy. I was expecting him to say when he came home that it was great, he had fun, etc. But he didn't. He was totally changed. When he told us about it he couldn't stop crying. It was amazing to see how broken he was before God and I could just tell that he was more in love with the Lord than ever before. It seemed like over a period of 3 days he had suddenly grown a heart for the lost and a greater love for Jesus.
It was like it was contagious. My whole family was suddenly energized by the thought of sharing our faith. And it didn't stop at our immediate family but wore off onto my cousins and many in our church. It was so cool to see everyone so on fire for God. Now my best friends are asking us, "Are you guys going to go pass out tracts toady? Can we come with you?" It is so cool. And now, to build an evangelism team, my dad is having a WOTM crash course at our church. Afterwards a bunch of people from my church are going with us to Mill Avenue to evangelize.
I just praise God for the change in our church and in our own lives. It is so exciting to tell lost people about Jesus!

Way of the Master Season 3!!!

2008-10-03T20:01:00.002-07:00

My Dad just got the new season of Way of the Master in the mail. They are so good! Last night we stayed up til' about 11:30 and watched four of them all in a row. And tonight we are watching more of them! If you haven't already ordered it, you have to! They are great!

God bless,
Kiah Borman

Two More Testimony Videos

2008-10-01T17:59:00.002-07:00

Here are the last two testimony videos. There were only five kids in my class who shared their testimonies, so I have finally posted all of the videos!!

The first one is Trent who is 13. He is Hannah's cousin. The second one is Jake. He is 12 years old.

Another Jr. High Testimony!

2008-09-30T19:22:00.001-07:00

Okay, here is another one. This one's name is Bailey. He is my brother's best friend.

Hannah's Testimony

2008-09-30T19:19:00.002-07:00

Here is my friend Hannah's testimony. She did a great job even though she was really nervous. Praise be to God that I have friends like her!

My First Testimony Ever!!

2008-09-30T19:02:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my church's Jr. High class shared their testimonies with a younger class. I was among the kids who did so. My Dad got us all on video. Before I did it I had it all planned out in my mind and I knew exactly what I was going to say. But when I got up there and did it, it came out different than I had planned. I left out some parts and added others that I hadn't thought of before. I was soooo nervous and I still don't think I did a very good job, but I just pray that God used it and that He gets all the glory.

Here is the video. Watch it and let me know what you think!