Yesterday afternoon, driving home from church service, our family past by a spot on the side of the road that had flowers beginning to grow and bloom already. It was really nice for me to see the signs of life that Spring brings, appearing after a long winter of what seemed to be dark and sleep.
 Ever since I was a young child, Spring has been my favorite season. I love the feeling of being able to go outside again and feel the warm sun on my face, hear birds sing, and watch the trees and flowers bloom. For some reason, the Lord has used these things to help remind me of not only His greatness, but, also His gentleness.

It amazes me how God can make time to touch the littlest plant and make it grow, or help a tiny baby bird hatch out of an egg and begin it’s life outside. He cares a lot about the things He has created. And yet, His love for you and me is so much greater. The Bible says in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in Heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?” . The answer is, yes you(we) are. The God who knows when the littlest of sparrows has fallen, has also counted how many hairs we have in our heads. He notices what makes us feel blessed or hurt.

   He also knew before we were even born that we would sin against Him, but, He had mercy on us by sending His Only Son to die on a cross to take away our punishment so we could be free from our sin if we live our lives for Him. I realize these thoughts can seem somewhat elementary, but, I believe that it doesn’t hurt to look and think upon the simplistic side of our walk with Christ. After all, isn’t it supposed to be simple? Just live for Jesus, right? Sometimes I think we can make things so complicated, when at the end of it all, Christ just wants our lives to spend like money in his hands. So anyway, I’m not sure how I got off of talking about Spring being my favorite season and why …I guess cause I’m my father’s daughter .  Or maybe it’s because I just can’t stop talking about my Savior and Redeemer. May He continue to bless you abundantly!

Hey All! Tuesday morning we left our house at eight o’clock in the morning and made the three hour trip to the Answers in Genesis ‘Creation Museum’! We had so much fun. I think that everyone should go if they can. It was very educational and a neat experience. A great way to learn more about how God made our world.  I have posted a bunch of pictures to give you a sample of what we saw while we were there. Enjoy!

There’s a characteristic that Eve has that seems similar to my mom, but I just can’t put my finger on it :) . What do you think?  

First, I would like to make clear that I do not reccomend to anyone to go to YouTube; I actually saw this video on Alli’s blog(www.sheworkswithherhands.typepad.com ) and thought that it was a good video to share with you. Of course, pretty much anything concerning western type of stuff usually interests me .  Be prepared to be inspired!

Yesterday afternoon I walked by one of our windows and just happened to look out. When I did, I was surprised to see someone walking through our yard. I thought him so interesting that I ran out and asked him if I could take his picture. He gave no answer, so I took it assuming that he did not care.  The camera must have scared him(because surely it couldn’t have been me), for he shrank back with such horror that I immediately stepped back allowing him time to get over his shock. He still would not move, so I said goodbye to him and went back inside my home. I kept watching him out the window though, but finally I went downstairs for a little while because our mysterious visitor still had not moved from the spot where I left him. I was  down there for five minutes and I came back up to see if he had gotten over his shock. I looked out and saw that he…WAS GONE. Oh what a shame.   Below is the picture I took of our Silent Visitor. 

“God made all kinds of wild animals. He made all kinds of livestock. He made all kinds of creatures that move along the ground. And God saw that it was good.”  – Genesis 1:25

Have you ever just stopped and thought about how great and awesome our Lord is? Sometimes, out of no where, I get hit with an overwhelming sense of awe when I look at my family, creation, and even my animals. MY GOD CREATED IT ALL!!! No one else on this earth can do what He did - make everything out of absolutely nothing.  When I stop and think that a human being is living and growing inside of my mother’s belly…it’s beyond me! 

Our God is truly … The Alpha & Omega, the Beginning and the End, King of Kings and Lord of lords, our Protector, Prince of Peace, Jehovah, the Great I AM, All Sufficient, The Most High, Redeemer, Friend, Our Rock and Fortress…

He is worthy of every breath that we take, every beat of our hearts, and every drop of our blood! Our lives are not our own!

 Good morning friends! I feel so bright and cheerful this morning and I hope you do too. 

 The snow is finally starting to melt away. Yippee! Hopefully it will stay away now and we’ll get some warmer weather in time for Easter. Oh! Please let it be so ! Haha. Well, though it may be hard to believe since I’ve been making  a big deal about the snow and such, I must say that I actually really don’t mind it that much( Sounds like an oxymoron).  I think that I’m even going to miss it when it goes away. When we move back to KY there won’t be anymore white Christmases or snow balls or snow men.  There also won’t be the guarantee that my dog won’t come back into the  house with her paws not dirty .  Oh well!

 If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen anymore pictures of my apron in progress, it’s because the progress hasn’t been in progress! Ummm…in other words, it hasn’t been worked on since last Sunday.  But to make up for not working on the apron I have been baking more. The other day I made banana bread and cookies (actually the cookies were no-bakes ).  The bread is gone already and half of the cookies are gone too! That’s what happens when you have two men in the house I guess.  I think that I’m going to make some more banana bread today or I might try a recipe that I got off of Alli’s blog ( www.sheworkswithherhands.typepad.com )for Oatmeal-banana bars ( we like bananas).  

If you’re needing a nice recipe for no-bake cookies, the recipe below is really good. Only if you are crazy about butterscotch and are not allergic to peanut butter though !

Peanutbutter & Butterscotch Cookies

-1 12oz. bag of butterscotch morsels

- 1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

- 4 cups corn flakes cereal

Melt butterscotch morsel in a large pan, then add peanut butter and stir until it also is melted. Put heat on very low and add cornflakes. Stir until cereal is nicely coated with the butterscotch/peanut butter. Take off heat. On wax paper spoon out mixture and leave to set. Enjoy! If you have any questions just ask!

  If you’ve read the ‘About Me’section of my blog, then you already know that my dream is to someday have a horse ranch available to children from broken homes and also for children/adults with special needs(now you know, whether you read that section or not! ).  For encouragement and inspiration, I have looked many times to Kim Meeder(I do not know her personally, I’ve only read her books) and the Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. Kim and her husband Troy are making a similar dream come true on their ranch in Oregon. I highly encourage all horse and kid lovers to go to their site and check it out.  Here are a few pictures of some of their horses and some of the children that have visited the ranch. There are many more pictures on their site, but these specific ones really speak  what is in my heart to see & experience someday too. Enjoy. 

 (Edit – January 29, 2009) It’s amazing when you lay down a dream before the Lord on the altar, that He shows you how much of your dream was not from Him. Since I wrote this post last year, the Lord has lead me into a new direction.  He has been working in my heart so much. Oh how wonderful it was when I completely surrendered myself and told the Lord that I was willing to go anywhere or do anything for Him no matter what. I just want to be in His will for my life. At this point, the ranch is not His will for me, but if you feel as though He has put that dream in you, go after it with all your heart and trust Him with all the details. He’ll be your guiding light.