bidding summer farewell.

We are bidding summer farewell and welcoming fall and all it dainties. From warm drinks, falling leaves, cozy sweaters, and beautiful hues. It's definitely been a tremendous summer and one that is pretty much impossible to forget.

//of trips, and projects, and new things, and blessings//

I have the tiniest feeling that this post will be full of random information, therefore

where do I begin?

Last Thursday we left in the early hours of the morning to head to the sunny south to visit my sister and her working man. I only took 2 pictures, but 2 are better than none, right? 

these two always have to venture out on the pond when they're together. Oh and using a duck house as a raft...that's not a problem! 

making lots and lots of pizza for supper

It was a quick trip, arriving on Thursday and returning home on Saturday evening, but I'm glad we took it. We managed to jam-pack it full of things. Thursday my sister took my senior pictures- she did an excellent job and I'm so happy with her work-- not to mention her prices are GREAT!!!! ;) ;) 

this is one picture I requested that she take after seeing a friend do this pose...it's very adventurous...to make it better the map is open to Colorado 

We had church, tried some new thrift stores, had a family from the church over, went to huge flea market, laughed, talked, and ate. These kind of trips are always too short, but definitely full of memories.

Oh did I ever mention every time we get together with family we “exchange” things with each other? You know clothes, and things we pick up or make for each other. It just so happens my sister made me this apron:

by the way I just love the sunlight in this picture...

and also managed to sew this new camera strap for me in a matter of minutes:

Really her creative abilities amaze me. Don't you wish you had a sister like her? I do so enjoy the homemade gifts I receive from her.

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As of Tuesday, March 24^th, I finished my last assignment for school! Hooray!!

I've been working on things for graduation for most of the week and normally my thoughts about “What needs done” always run back to graduation prep.

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I felt a bit of a cold coming on so I decided to try something natural and healthy... if you know me well enough you know this is not normal... Ask my mom, sisters, and even my pastors wife. I'm not against natural and healthy, but I'm not the first to try new things that my family finds-- especially since probably the most talked about, shared about, and used recipe that my mom and family use is something called “fire water”... a mixture of vinegar and spices... just the thought of it makes me quiver...

 Anyway this is a simple recipe just honey and cinnamon mixed together. If you like candy fireballs or red hots you'll more than likely like this- I do.

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I received a blessing this week. 

The Lord continues to provided exceeding abundantly above that which I ask or think. A dear friend of mine that I met last summer while working at BPS sent me a prayer card for her upcoming missions trip this summer. Along with that was a very sweet note attached to a check. She felt the Lord prompting her to give towards my missions trip this summer and hoped to be a blessing. Her words were so dear... really the check could have been made out for $10 {which it was far greater than this} and it would have meant SOOOOOOOOOOO much to me. I am so thankful for her and her being a vessel through which the Lord can flow. I am again reminded of Ephesians 3:20, this wasn't something I was asking for or thinking about, and in all reality something I didn't need.

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I am half tempted to not post about this project since it has to do with 2013, but maybe it will make some of you feel less guilty for starting projects and not finishing them until years down the road.

 In 2013 I decided to keep a memory jar. Just writing down memories that happened throughout the year on little scraps of paper to look over at the end of the year. I decided towards the end of the year that I would make a brown paper bag scrapbook to keep them in. I did everything but one page in the book. I meant to post about it a long time ago, but was waiting til I finished. Time moved on and the book got shoved in an empty place in the top of my closet. It wasn't until I cleaned out my closet for a project in the house that I came across it again. Well, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but the last page that needed done took all of about 5-20 minutes to do. So here it is. My memory book:

I had more pictures from when I made it, but I must have deleted them thinking I would never finish it!

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New adventures are coming soon...

My family and I are headed to the Lone Star State in about 5 days to go on a missions trip, present our ministry, and spend time with my sister and her mechanic man. I'm not sure how well I will post updates about the trip, but I promise I'll at least post once about it- even if it is a few weeks later :)

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I think I am going to do a photo challenge with my friend in April, and post the pictures on my blog so keep checking back for posts about that!!

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Well, I'm off to do some cooking and try some new recipes. I believe that covers some of the things that have been going on around here! 

//baby photo shoot//

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take pictures of this beautiful little girl...

{Esther Grace} born on March 12th

You might remember seeing some pictures I did of a family of 8 back in October {here}. I took a few maternity shots during this shoot...and well... this is the baby :) 

These folks are good friends of mine. We attend the same church, Nikki and I shot a wedding together last June, I teach Racheal violin, and so on. They are definitely a blessing to me! We planned this shoot awhile ago...probably only a few weeks after Nikki told me they had a baby coming in March. This was my first time shooting a little one, but I believe it was the most fun I've had doing a photo shoot! It was probably an easier shoot too, because she cooperated so well! There's so many different ways you can capture little ones and I'm looking forward to having more photo shoots like this!! 

This is how our session started...but after some time with her mama things got much better :) 

{she already found her thumb}

{if you look at the picture behind her, it's one of the maternity pics I took in October}

{little tiny feet} 

{those are her mama's baby shoes}

{this is my favorite...her mom was holding her and talking and she smiled} 

{have you heard of the Princess and the Pea??} 

{this pose was the one picture that Nikki wanted me to take} 

{with her moms baby picture and shoes}

{she is definitely a gift from God} 

//exceeding abundantly//

This is just another story of God's goodness...

My family {and lot of others} had been looking and praying for a truck to use for our building ministry. 

For over a year this went on...

and then one day my dad found a truck on Craigslist {which shocked me, because I was beginning to think Craigslist was only created for trouble and violence.} 

After conversing back and forth about the truck, praying about it, and going to look at it...

this truck became ours. 

It's a <<2013 Dodge Ram Cummins 3500 Dually>>

This truck was not what we were looking for and it's not what we expected we'd ever get in a million years...

but that's just how good God is. 

He provided the truck.

I love hearing my dad tell people about the truck...

he just starts bragging on God's goodness.

It truly is a blessing from our Father.

Every time I look at that truck I smile and I thank God for His blessing.

Since we got the truck this verse has been running through my head over and over again: 

Ephesians 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

This truck is definitely above what we asked or thought!! 

God is so good!! 

//2014//

How do I sum up such a wonderful year in a {hopefully} short post?

God is so great! As I was reflecting on 2014, I couldn't help but think of the many blessings of 2014...far too many to count. I am thankful for all the opportunities God has given me this past year. He doesn't have to use me, but He chooses to! Each year with my Saviour gets better and better!!!

Here are the top 14 things of 2014.  

||O N E|| Surprise Trip to Texas

Tears. Talking. Fellowship. Laughing. Reminiscing. Togetherness. Reuniting.

||T W O|| Going on a family vacation to Texas

Car rides. Traveling. Adventure. Memories. Family. Laughter. Good times. Talks.

||T H R E E|| Going to camp

Preaching. Activities. Craziness. Fun. Friends. Decisions.

||F O U R|| Going to North Carolina

Fourth of July. Fireworks. Family. Food. Fellowship.   

||F I V E||  3 week missions trip

Serving. Opportunity. LEADING THREE PEOPLE TO THE LORD. Growing. Cooking. Cleaning. Taking the Word of God to the lost. Impacting eternity. Being Changed. Prayer. Faith. Learning lessons.

||S I X|| My sisters coming home for a week

Photoshoot. Sibling time. Making memories. Laughter. Just like old times. 

||S E V E N|| Moving

Packing. Boxes. Traveling. Changes. Goodbyes. Hellos. New Chapters.

||E I G H T|| A week with my grandma

Learning. Time Together. Hallmark movies. Stories. Cooking together.   

||N I N E|| North Carolina--again! 

Family. Thanksgiving. Thrift-Shopping. Celebrating. Eating. 

||T E N|| Going on a trip to Wyoming

Friends. Talking. Games. Bell-ringing. Shopping. Visiting. Laughing. Cooking and baking. Memory-making. 

||E L E V E N|| Serving in Church ministries

Junior Church. Violin Playing. Special Music. VBS. Visitation. Fellowships.

||T W E L V E|| The whole family (all 8 of us) home for a week

Laughter. Joking. Eating. Remembering. Together. Talking. Playing games.

||T H I R T E E N|| Photo shoots

Families. Weddings. Siblings. Singles.

||F O U R T E E N|| New accomplishments

Teaching violin. Getting my license. Starting my senior year.  New responsibilities. Learning.  

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and thy truth's sake.

//Psalm 115:1//

{Soli Deo Gloria}  

  

{ Traveling On }

sunset on the BPS property

Last destination of the summer:

 

{Home}

 

It's hard to believe it's time to head home already.

 

We fly out tomorrow morning,

 

 and end the summer of many travels.

 

So many |answered prayers|

 

So many |souls saved|

 

So many |lives changed|

 

So many |tears shed|

 

So many |memories made|

 

All because we serve such a good God.

 

There will be  

 

posts,

 

pictures,

 

memories,

 

quotes,

 

and more

 

{coming soon}





{ Change }

{the view out my window this morning}

Change is hard,but change is good.

I am not one for liking change...

but I am learning to like it.

My sister and I were talking about this. I said something about how sometimes I wish I could just stop the clock so things wouldn't change. Then my sister reminded me.

Change is good.

"I know what you mean about pausing the clock. But then I think about that and I think, if we would've paused at our childhood, we never would have..."

then she went on to list several things that would have never happened had we paused the clock.

~We would have never moved out west.

~We would have never moved to the place we've called home for the last 7 years and had all the wonderful memories from there.

~ We would have never gotten to Denver (referring to our church) she then stated this- "I really cherish the memories from there."

 "So I guess time moving forward isn't a bad thing and there is always going to be things to look back on and see how good it really was that time didn't pause. And there is so much to look forward to yet, even though we might not know what exactly it is."

 Yes Liv,I think your right, if we pause the clock I think we will miss out on many of God's blessings. 

It is still hard to deal with change,but...

 

There is so much to look forward to. 

God can take what seems to look like the worst change of all and make it into one of the most loved and cherished things of your life. 

Just trust Him.

His plan for us is far better then we could ever imagine.

Blessings...

I have this amazingly crafted picture hanging on the wall in my room.I got it from my oldest sister for Christmas this past year.To some this may seem like some dull,ordinary picture,but to me it means allot.I know that she spent her time making it just the way she knew I would like it...and beyond that I know that she gave it with much love.I need this picture on my wall.I need to be reminded daily that "We are so blessed."Because I seem to always forget that until I sit down and count my blessings.I want to complain about things like not being able to just hop in the car and see my sisters,but then I think about how blessed I am to have 2 amazing sisters that I love so much,that I want to see all the time and spend time making memories with.I want to complain because I don't have "the latest and greatest" that some people have but then I remind myself that I have Christ,something that not everybody has-He will forever be the "latest and greatest" to me.I want to complain that it's raining and then I remember how much I love the plants,flowers,and greenery that would not be alive without the rain.I want to complain about doing the dishes,but then I am reminded how blessed I am to have dishes to eat on and make dirty-something not all people have.There are so many things that I could keep on listing,but I think you get the idea.I challenge you reader,next time you want to complain "Count your MANY blessings!"

I Love...

"My cup with blessing overflows..."
~A line taken from the song
'My Shepherd Will Supply'

I am thankful for the little blessings God puts in our life.Like last night for instance.We have had a single missionary lady coming to our church for a couple months now.She is on the Medical Missions Outreach from Camp BIMI...they go on short term missions trips all over the world.She has really made an impact in my life,just over the short time that I have known her...through her testimony and just times of talking.We have made some great memories with each other....visitation,picking on each other,etc.Well the time has come for Becky to move on.She is supposed to be moving closer to where her mission board is stationed.Last night was going to be her last night with us at our church...I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to her before she left.Well I got pre-occupied with a little girl from church...we were outside playing around.The time came to leave and so I got in the car and down the road we went.Then it hit me.I didn't even say goodbye to Becky."It's too late now."Mom said.It was very disappointing.Dad decided to stop at Wal-Mart on the way home to get some stuff.Well as we were in Wal-Mart guess who we saw walk by?You guessed it.Becky.So I went up to her and said goodbye and gave her a hug.I am thankful for the short notice trip we took to Wal-Mart.It was a real blessing to me.

I've been blessed...

I went outside last night after dark and I was just sitting there on the hood of the Jeep,looking up at the stars,very quietly singing to myself.After awhile I went inside and told Liv she should come outside and look at the stars with me,we looked at the stars and sang for awhile and then we kinda just sat there talking about our life.

 You never realize what you have until you step back and look at all the things God has done for you.

I wouldn't trade my life for anything,sure there have been times when I wish we had more "stuff" but in all reality I'm glad we didn't.We were talking about how blessed we are,I mean how many people have grown up like we did?How many people got to go on vacation to all the places that we have?I have been to all but 11 states.How many people have had the opportunity to just drop their life in PA and move to CO and then back to PA and then back to CO and then back to PA?How many people get to go on missions trips? or how many people get to be so involved in their church and all it's ministries?the list could go on and on.

We sat there and tried to think of something terrible that has ever happened in our life and we couldn't think of one,nope not one!Sure sometimes we were unsatisfied,but now we look back and we are like this was all part of God's plan,what would life have been like if God wouldn't have done that?If God would have given us everything perfect without ever putting things in our path that we weren't thankful for imagine all the lessons that we wouldn't have learned.I like to just sit  and look at my life,of all the things that I have ever gone through no matter how much I disliked it at the time,I'm glad God put it in my life...because now I look at it and I don't look at it as an awful time,I look at it now and I think of all the lessons learned and great memories made with family and friends along the way!

Yes folks,I'm blessed beyond words.

This morning I woke up and as I was reading my Bible I came across this verse,not by coincidence but because that's how good God:

Psalm 103:2-Bless the Lord,O my soul,and forget not all his benefits:

 "God is good all the time!" ~Bro. Jack Jarvis

  "Our God is a good God,who does good things!"~Bro. Jack Jarvis