Texas Skies

English Country Dance Practice (February 2012)

2012-02-06T09:58:00.000-06:00

I spy Jaden and Phoebe. :)

Phoebe (in the purple) and yours-truly (in the brown shirt)

two-hand-turn your partner


Dancing "The Irish Washer Woman"

Sex, Marriage and Fairytales

2012-02-01T12:30:00.000-06:00

In Memory

2012-01-24T17:39:00.002-06:00

Arkansas Trip

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

Our Great-grandma died at the end of December. So our family traveled up to Arkansas for her funeral. We were able to rake and do other clean-up at Great's house. We were thankful to be able to spend visiting time with family we don't often see. Below are so photos of our time there.

Abby, looking at really old photos (late 1800s, early 1900s)

Cal

Great Aunt C, Great Uncle Paul and Uncle Jim

Phoebe and Jaden, playing baseball

Joel

Dinner time!

Aunt C

Uncle Jim :)

Our second cousins, Madison R. and Chloe T. with yours-truly

The Perishing Land and Burning Wilderness

2012-01-20T10:22:00.000-06:00

While the following passage was directed at unfaithful Israel, it could just as well apply to the United States of America. Notice especially the last part of verse 2 with regards to the prolonged drought in Texas. The last verse makes it clear that the non-Jewish nations who do not serve Jehovah will also be punished.

Jeremiah 9:2-25
2 Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?
¹³ And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, ¹⁴ but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” ¹⁵ therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. ¹⁶ I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”

The People Mourn in Judgment

¹⁷ Thus says the LORD of hosts:

      “ Consider and call for the mourning women,
      That they may come;
      And send for skillful wailing women,
      That they may come.
       ¹⁸ Let them make haste
      And take up a wailing for us,
      That our eyes may run with tears,
      And our eyelids gush with water.
       ¹⁹ For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:

      ‘ How we are plundered!
      We are greatly ashamed,
      Because we have forsaken the land,
      Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.’”
       ²⁰ Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women,
      And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
      Teach your daughters wailing,
      And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.
       ²¹ For death has come through our windows,
      Has entered our palaces,
      To kill off the children—no longer to be outside!
      And the young men—no longer on the streets!
       ²² Speak, “Thus says the LORD:

      ‘ Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field,
      Like cuttings after the harvester,
      And no one shall gather them.’”

²³ Thus says the LORD:

      “ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
      Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
      Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
       ²⁴ But let him who glories glory in this,
      That he understands and knows Me,
      That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
      For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

²⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— ²⁶ Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”

Stop SOPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-18T11:26:00.000-06:00

Dear Sir/Madame,

I am contacting you today concerning H.R. 3261 S.O.P.A which allows the federal government the power to shut down the internet. I find this to be an encroachment on the freedom of the press, and we the people’s ability to challenge the traditional forms of media, by doing our own research.

In my estimation, S.O.P.A is Orwellian and another way for the government to fear monger, and intimidate average Americans into the believing that these kinds of laws are helpful for the future of our nation.

I would strongly urge you to VOTE AGAINST S.O.P.A (H.R. 3261) when it comes to the floor for debate later this month.

Please take a stand for the future of America’s freedom!
Sincerely,
_________________

I would strongly urge you my fellow readers to contact your representatives and senators and urge them to vote AGAINST S.O.P.A (H.R. 3261) when it comes to the floor for debate on the 24th. You can find out more information here.

Sisters~

2012-01-16T16:31:00.000-06:00

Why I Hate Religion...

2012-01-16T16:16:00.000-06:00

Powerful short video!

Photo Shoot

2012-01-11T16:33:00.000-06:00

I know this is weird, but I just did a photo shoot with a bundle of letters. ;) Anyway, below are the photos from the shoot.

Which one(s) do you like best? I think my personal favorite is the last one. :) I edited the photos using Picnik.

English Country Ball

2012-01-02T14:59:00.001-06:00

Our family recently got to attend the English Country Ball. :) It was SO much fun! We got to visit with friends, eat, dance and take photos.

"The Virginia Reel"

Jaden was my partner for "The Virginia Reel"

the press thought that they needed to take photos of Jaden and I. By the way, my over-skirt is made from curtains. :)

Jared C.

most of the P. family

Brittany C.

Sara P. and Brittany C.

Jadon C. and Jaden

Abby-dear

Brooke G., Brittany C., Caroline A.

the A. siblings: Allison, Caroline and Clay

Our Christmas

2011-12-31T12:28:00.000-06:00

Little miss Elizabeth G.

Lizzy

Miss Mylie R.

Austin R., Elizabeth and Tristan G. playing

The adults

Abby, holding Mylie

Austin was a good listener and had some very interesting questions. :)

Tristan G. takes a ride on Joel

at pinecove

The lovely tree

Joel, holding cousins Zak and Emma-Grace :)

L-R (Back): Reece, Taylor and Andre. (Front): Dustin and Stefon.

brothers

L-R: cousin Trevor, Aunt Mary, Uncle Jay, Jay's grand-daughter Janice and grandson Easton, cousin Lacey.

cousin Emma-Grace and Jaden

Emma-Grace loved Jaden

Reece and Lauren

cousin Stefon, being his usual goofy self. ;)

visiting

Poppy and Mom

Uncle Abe and Joel


Emily H., Andre, Reece and Lauren

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Jaden!

2011-12-19T13:00:00.001-06:00

With Johanna in Vicksburg, admiring a house they liked.

Jaden is a semi-expert on weaponry. He enjoyed posing next to this cannon in Vicksburg.

A self-portrait with my phone

Cheesy smile, but still sincere

Jaden and I, about to go to the park for some outdoor recreation

He’s becoming quite expert at the swing. He enjoys the thrill of jumping out and landing safely.

Johanna, Jaden and I at the park. It was rather blustry that day.

Jaden having a uniquely Japanese experience, eating Green Tea ice cream with chopsticks! We visited friends of our uncle who live in Birmingham, and they treated our family to some authentic Japanese food.

Jaden and a Chinese dragon, at the National Missionary Convention, Atlanta Georgia. I took him for several strolls around the exhibit hall, due to his restlessness.

We found a kids station at the NMC and he spent a lot of time creating cool things out of the toys they had there.

He was so proud of his creation! Jaden is very creative, and loves to build things.

With Phoebe, reading plaques at the USS Cairo memorial in Vicksburg. He was fascinated by this gun boat that was sunk during the Civil War.

In downtown, enjoying the festivities of Dickins of a Christmas, and the race Caleb ran in.

He has begged me to take his picture on this spiraled staircase in downtown many times. The Saturday after Thanksgiving afforded us an opportunity, and it turned out to be a cute picture of Jaden.

One of his favorite things… with Caleb. Legos! For his birthday, he got a huge trains set. He’s in love.

Posing beside his new set!

Jaden joined our family nine years ago tonight. I was excited to be a big sister once again, and it has been my privilege to help take care of him from the time he was just a few hours old.

Funny thing: our family held a contest of sorts in the days leading up to his birth, whoever guessed the day nearest to the actual day of his birth got to give him his first bath and dress him. I choose December 17th, and two days later he was born. I got to bathe and dress him. Such a sweet memory.

J — Jovial, joyous, just goofy
A — Alert, always ready to play Legos, all-boy
D – Daring, darling, dimpled, dandy
E – Eager, earnest, ever-ready to assist Caleb or spend time with his chicken
N – Now nine, naturally a lover of outdoor activity, neat in his dress

He’s my little brother, and its hard for me to believe he’s growing up so quickly, the years have slipped past and I look back upon them with fondness.

Happy Birthday Jaden! I love you.

SUGARLESS SWEETS

2011-12-14T14:22:00.001-06:00

Tempted by all the sugary holiday"treats" (really "poison") that devastate your immune system? Try these alternatives.

Our bodies NEED sweets, so let's nourish them while satisfying our sweet tooths. (Or is that sweet teeth?!) Let's give our families good, wholesome sugars. Maybe then we won't give in and eat the junk.

Note: Be sure all the ingredients are organic. That way we can thrive, rather than tank, during the busy Christmas season.

These are from Sweet Temptations: Natural Dessert Book by Frances Kendall

Ginger Nymphs

3/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp lemon peel

Grind dates, raisins, and almonds in food processor. Mix in ginger, cinnamon, and lemon peel. Form dough into little balls. Refrigerate or place in freezer until ready to serve.

Touchstone Caramels

1 1/2 cup pitted dates
2 1/2 cups cashews
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (non-alcoholic)
1 cup ground coconut

1/4-1/2 of a lemon zest (from a fresh lemon)

Grind dates, cashews and vanilla in food processor until smooth, add coconut. Refrigerate/freeze for a few hours, or overnight. (Best when frozen!)

Pecan Juliets

3/4 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup raisins
2 cups pecan pieces (or walnut)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Grind all ingredients in a food processor, starting with the nuts and coconut, and adding the rest after the nuts and coconut are fairly finely ground.

Banana Pistols

6 large bananas, peeled
1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked 1 hour in 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup coarsely ground almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
(we also sometimes use pecans or other nuts, too)

Cut each banana in half. Push a wooden ice cream stick into the cut end of each half, set aside. Puree dates in soak water at medium speed until smooth. Dip each banana half in date puree, roll in almonds, and sprinkle with coconut. Place on a tray covered with wax paper, and freeze for 5 hours, or until solid. Remove pops from freezer when ready to serve.

This is a recipe I made up. I don't have exact ingredient measurements. Just mix it up in the proportions that seem most pleasing to you. For example, if you're a big nut butter fan, then use more of that than the other ingredients. Once again, organic ingredients are essential.

Chocolate or Carob Snack

carob or cocoa powder
blackstrap molasses*, honey or agave
almond or cashew butter
coconut flakes

Mix thoroughly, form into balls and place on wax paper. If you want something more like a pudding, add
plain or vanilla yogurt

*Blackstrap molasses is a little on the bitter side, so when using the cocoa powder, choose honey or agave.

SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART

2011-12-06T16:51:00.004-06:00

This lovely hymn is my prayer today:

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;

wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,

And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

Hast thou not bid us love thee, God and King?

All, all Thine own - soul, heart and strength and mind.

I see Thy cross - there teach my heart to cling;

O let me seek Thee, and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear -

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,

One holy passion filling all my frame.

The baptism of the heav'n-descended Dove -

My heart an altar and Thy love the flame.

Text: George Croly Music: Frederick C. Atkinson

Family Travels

2011-12-01T11:23:00.001-06:00

On the morning of November 16th, my family and Dad's brother (Jim) headed out of Texas. Our trip to Atlanta for the National Missionary Convention had finally begun! Being that it was a two day trip, we stayed the first night in Birmingham, Alabama, with Mr. and Mrs. L., a very sweet couple! Mr. and Mrs. L. have been to my Uncle Jim's church in Germany. They were very gracious hosts and made really good food! ;) Our ministry had a booth there, as did Uncle Jim. Enjoy!!

Mrs. and Mr. L. with Uncle Jim

Home school field trip to the lab where Mr. L. works


Then we had a very delicious lunch at the above Japanese restaurant! :) I got a scrumptious dish of teriyaki chicken with fried rice. As a side note, Mrs. L. works at Shonos. And in case you were wondering, the L.'s are not Japanese, they are Chinese.

The lovely grand piano at the H's home. They were our hosts in Atlanta.

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play on the H.'s piano. :)

Phoebe

The H.'s dog-- aptly named "Sugar" :)

As you can tell, we had a very lovely house to stay in!


Beauty

A sweet German young lady (Rahel), who stopped by Uncle Jim's booth.

My dear friend, Kimberly and myself. I met Kimberly a year ago at an Answers in Genesis conference in Tennessee. She came to see us in Atlanta, with her Dad and her sister. :)

Kimberly's sister, Neyland and myself

Kautt and Huddle girls

Later that day (Saturday) the dear Munck family came to see us. We met the Muncks through their blog and we girls have corresponded with their girls, so it was a treat to meet them in person!! :)

Abby with Mary Ann Munck (don't you love Abby's smile??)

The Munck sisters: Ruth Ella, Amanda, Rebekah, Mary Ann, Elizabeth.

Yours-truly with little miss Mary Ann -- she was the star of the show. :)

Mrs. Munck and Mom

The boys and Ruth Ella, playing "monkey in the middle" (ha!)

Mr. Munck and Dad

All of the girls. L-R: Phoebe, Mandy, Mary Ann (sleeping), yours-truly, Bekah, Ruth Ella, Lizzy, Abby. :)

The whole Munck clan. L-R (Back row): Madison, Elizabeth, Mr. and Mrs. Munck, Rebekah, Mary Ann and Amanda. Front row: James, Jonathan, William, Wesley, Ruth Ella and Stephen. :)

A lovely, handmade yo-yo "quilt" at the H.'s house

Art

Kudzoo! :)

The old Vicksburg (Mississippi) courthouse

Old Glory

The holly and the ivy...


The Kautts in Vicksburg -- at this point, Uncle Jim was not with us, because he had flown back to Germany from Atlanta. This was on our way back to TX.

In Vicksburg, we got to see this old ship (the USS Cairo) that the Unions used during the Civil War. It was sunk in the year 1860, then in 1962 it was brought up out of the Mississippi river. Most of the original wood framework is gone or rotten so they made a new wooden framework for it. The big metal wheel (in the center of the photo) was crushed in a heap when they found it, but with much patience they restored it to a working condition.

Yours-truly in front of a lovely old house :)

The back of the above house

The large cemetery of many Civil war soldiers. It was very sobering and saddening to see so many graves. And a numerous amount of the headstones were marked with just a number because it was too difficult to trace some of the dead to their names and families.

Our trip was a nice one, but we were very glad to be back in Texas!!! :)

Autumn

2011-11-26T20:07:00.000-06:00

Long Time, No Post...

2011-11-09T14:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks, it's been C-R-A-Z-Y busy around here lately, and it's just gonna get more so as we go into the holiday season, with Thanksgiving, Christmas and such. And, next week our family leaves on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the National Missionary Convention and host a booth there at the convention for our family creation ministry. Our lives currently revolve around the care of our Great Grandma McKnight, who is 96-years-old and had a massive stroke on the 15th of September. Her situation requires 24/7 care, changing, feeding, turning, etc. And her being in a slight coma still complicates all of that, though she opens her eyes routinely, but hasn't said a word since her stroke. So members of our family have been taking turns staying with our Grandma Kautt and helping with the care of Great Grandma.

Then we have all of the preparation that goes along with going on our trip and having a booth at a large convention such as the NMC will be. Printing materials, figuring on our booth set-up, buying books, DVDs, CDs, etc. to sell, and so much more! And, of course amidst all of this, we some how have to keep up with the laundry, house cleaning and cooking. (If it weren't for Abby, our house would look even worse than it already does!!) And then there's our regular weekly church activities, sermon typing, sermon mailing, visiting shut-ins & hospitalized members, etc. All of this to restate the above mention point: we're insanely busy right now!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we got to see a cousin of ours (actually second cousin, once removed) from Germany, on Sunday evening. Joachim is one of the grandsons of our Grandpa Kautt's brother, and still lives in the little village that our Great-Grandma Kautt was born in. That was a treat!

Our friend Alex, from Romania went back to his country. We got to spend a lot of time with him the week before he departed, including a visit to the local Heard Museum. We looked at their exhibits inside, then walked around on some of their nature trails, and got to view their beautiful gardens with lots of lovely flowers. And we even got to see some dinosaurs along the trail!

Maybe now you understand why we haven't blogged lately!! With life this busy, there's not much time to do anything else besides living it! =) Enjoy the photos...

Cousin Yo visiting with Mom and Abby.

Dad & Yo laugh as they were asked to turn and look at each other for the photo.

Yo and Caleb just before we parted ways.

One of the several dinosaurs along the trail at the Heard Museum.

They walk along ahead, and I lag behind to capture a photo.

Who are these characters? It looks like a band, or something.

Mon & Alex discuss philosophical matters as they walk the trails.

This one seemed the most ferocious of all, he even tried to bite Caleb's arm off!

The 'everyday' art and beauty of God's creation.

These are some of many gorgeous flowers they had in their flower gardens.

A close up of a beautiful flower. Don't know what kind it is, but it's very unique.

One last photo together before Alex departs from us...

These three handsome young men were leaning on this fence, so I snapped a photo, thinking it was a great pose. =)

And I sign off, needing to "get on down the old dusty trail"!

Enjoying our time with Alex

2011-11-03T19:57:00.001-05:00

All of us Kautt kids, minus Phoebe (she was taking the photo).

"Yikes!"

All of us Kautts (except Dad who, was at home) and our friend Alex. Alex is a foreign exchange student from Romania. We know him because his Aunt has come to our church. We are glad she introduced us to Alex-- he's a great guy! :) We enjoyed taking him around to local museums and going on outings with him.

Caleb, Jaden and Alex watching a white-tailed deer.

Pretty

Ah...I LOVE fall!

Alex, at our house. Dad is at Alex's right--I didn't get a good photo of him.

Yours-truly

Us Kautt kiddos and Alex

Yours-truly, Alex and Jaden. I wonder what was going on in that little head of Jaden's. :)

Picture Post

2011-10-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

Just remembering some good times with Poppy & Grams back in the summer. :)

Today is...

2011-10-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

...One year since our dear Grandpa Kautt died. Go read Abby's post about it here.

ECD Practice - October 2011

2011-10-08T20:57:00.000-05:00

There are Abby and Jaden on the far left. Jaden really got into the dancing and didn't want to go home-- that kind of surprised me! ;)

Abby (the girl in the blue shirt) dancing with Hannah K.

What fun!

Hannah K. and I dancing

Video - BRIAN MOSLEY "The Trader"

2011-10-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

On his blog, Brian Mosley says this:

OUR MISSION

Our mission to help people trade in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ.

We are looking for TRADERS.

You gotta watch this video rapidly! This guy is fast!
http://brianmosleyblog.com/

Stuffed Tomatoes, Ginger Nymphs = A Perfect Sunday Afternoon Meal

2011-10-02T22:40:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful noon meal today, enjoying scrumptious stuffed tomatoes, using a recipe that Mom & Dad used on their date get-away a few weeks ago. Also on our menu was delicious (and now all together eaten) Ginger Nymphs (a.k.a., balls of goodness), the recipe for which we got from a good friend. We decided to try both of these out again today for lunch... Hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed eating the items pictured in the photos! =)

Yours truly (Phoebe) hollowing out the tomatoes

The leaning tower of tomatoes

Using a knife to carve out the insides of the tomatoes.

Combine all of the insides of the tomatoes in a bowl.

Finely chop parsley (or in this case, basil)

Add the Feta Cheese

Finely dice the onions

Add the olive oil

Finely chop (or crumble-ize, is that a word?!) toasted bread - our substitute for Kasha.

There you go, crumble-ized bread... =)

Then mix it all up in a bowl...

...and stuff the tomatoes.

Ginger Nymphs all lined up neatly. Sorry we didn't get any pictures of the process, but it's very easy to do, and doesn't take too long either!

What's the best part, is that they taste SO GOOD!!

The table setting at our Sunday afternoon meal.

A good healthy meal, with a lot of fresh food. Yum, yum!

Now, for the recipes:

Stuffed Tomatoes

- 4 Medium sized ripe tomatoes

- 2 T. finely chopped scallions (onions)

- 2 T. finely chopped fresh parsley

- 1/2 cup finely crumbled feta cheese

- 1/4 cup Kasha

- 3 T. olive oil

1. Top tomatoes, scoop out innards (save).

2. Coarsely chop tomato pulp

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit

4. Combine pulp, scallions, parsley, feta, Kasha & olive oil

5. Fill tomatoes with mixture. Bake 15 minutes.

Prep time 35 minutes.

Ginger Nymphs

- 3/4 cups almonds

- 1/2 cup pitted dates

- 1/2 cup raisins

- 1 tsp. ground ginger

- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1 tsp finely chopped lemon peel

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor.

2. Blend until well chopped and can stick together when pressed into a ball.

3. Enjoy the little balls of goodness!

One God, One Faith, One Book Apologetics Conference

2011-09-26T15:05:00.002-05:00

Well, our conference is now behind us! Whew.... It was a blessing to meet so many new people and to visit with friends! :)

Abby, Caleb and Phoebe filmed the sessions. If you would like a DVD of the sessions, contact us here.

Some of Saturday night's crowd

Taking notes

Yours-truly, doing the registration. My cousin Bayle helped a lot with it too! Thanks so much! <3

Mom talking with Mrs. P. and Luke P.

Mrs. Martin, Mrs. R. and Tammy W.

My dear friend, Tammy W., and me. <3 Before the conference, I had not seen her since I met her-- four years ago (we kept up by writing letters). Needless to say, I was very excited that her family was able to attend our conference! :) Photo taken by Allison Y.

Friends - Ally Y. and me Photo taken by Anna Y.

Tammy W.'s sister, Beulah, was one of my many buddies. :)

Little miss Ava Y.

Mr. John V. and Joel at our booth

Mr. Y. and Uncle Abe

Some of the girls. L-R: yours-truly, Beulah and Tammy W., Abby and Allison Y.

Anna Y, Tammy and Beulah W. had matching dresses. Aren't they lovely? :)

Amy Y. and Tammy W. chatting

Beulah holding Ava Y. -- So cute!

Joel and Ethan W. discussing Creation Apologetics

Miss. Alice and Miss Sandra. talking with Uncle Abe

Elisha W. and yours-truly Photo taken by Bethany G.

Four days...

2011-09-19T12:07:00.000-05:00

...Until the first day of our conference!

If Men Are Not Lost...

2011-09-17T16:00:00.001-05:00

A hundred thousand souls a day,
     Are passing one by one away,
In Christless guilt and gloom,
     Without one ray of hope or light,
With future dark as endless night,
     They're passing to their doom.

O Holy Ghost, Thy people move,
     Baptize their hearts with faith and love,
And consecrate their gold.
     At Jesus' feet their millions pour,
And all their ranks unite once more,
     As in the days of old.

Armies of prayer your promise claim,
     Prove the full power of Jesus' name,
And take the victory.
     Your conqu'ring Captain leads you on,
The glorious fight may still be won,
     This very century.

The Master's coming draweth near,
     The Son of Man will soon appear,
His Kingdom is at hand.
     But ere that glorious day can be,
This gospel of the Kingdom, we
     Must preach in ev'ry land.

They're passing, passing fast away,
     A hundred thousand souls a day,
In Christless guilt and gloom.
     O Church of Christ, what wilt thou say
When in the awful judgment day,
     They charge thee with their doom?

- A. B. Simpson

(from the booklet, "Are the Heathen Really Lost?" by Dick Hillis, Moody Press c. 1961

Please Pray

2011-09-16T07:57:00.002-05:00

Please pray for my Great-grandma (Una Mae McKnight). She was put into the ICU yesterday morning. Among other problems, her brain is hemorrhaging and the doctors believe she had a stroke. They don't give her much hope. Please pray for my Grandma Kautt (the daughter of Una Mae). This is very hard on Grandma Kautt because she has been taking care of Grandma McKnight. And Grandma Kautt's husband (my Grandpa Johny) died eleven months ago yesterday.

2011-09-14T16:09:00.000-05:00

The Munck sisters are giving away a lady's/girl's apron. Go here to enter.

Ron Paul's Consistant Voice in Washington

2011-09-13T11:20:00.002-05:00

Only a Week and a Half.....

2011-09-13T10:51:00.000-05:00

...Until our apologetics conference! And we are getting really excited. Can you tell?! =)

Dates: Friday-Sunday, September 23-25, 2011
Time: Fri. 7pm, Sat. 5:30 & 7pm, Sun. 10, 11:30am, 6pm
Where: Northwest Christian Church, McKinney, Texas
Speakers: Dr. James Johnson (ICR), Dr. Jobe Martin (BDM), Joel Kautt (CETM)
Topics:

How do we know the Bible is true? (the accuracy, authority, reliability and relevance of the Bible) – Dr. James J. S. Johnson

How Do We Know The Bible is Authentic? – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Christianity: Unique Among World Religions – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Biblical Discernment in an Age of Falsehood (The Emerging Church, New Age spirituality and the occult) – Dr. Jobe Martin
Using What You Have Learned: Evangelism and Discipleship – Dr. Jobe Martin
How we got the Bible: the History of the Battle for the English Bible (the Life of William Tyndale) – Joel Kautt

Schedule:

Friday, September 23, 7:00pm: How do we know the Bible is true? (the accuracy, authority, reliability and relevance of the Bible) – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Saturday, September 24, 5:30pm: How Do We Know The Bible is Authentic? – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Saturday, September 24, 7:00pm: Christianity: Unique Among World Religions – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Sunday, September 25, 10:00am: Biblical Discernment in an Age of Falsehood (The Emerging Church, New Age spirituality and the occult) – Dr. Jobe Martin
Sunday, September 25, 11:30am: Using What You Have Learned: Evangelism and Discipleship – Dr. Jobe Martin
Sunday, September 25, 6:00pm: How we got the Bible: the History of the Battle for the English Bible (the Life of William Tyndale) – Joel Kautt

You can RSVP for this free event by going here.

GIVE AWAY AT HEAVENLY HOMEMAKERS

2011-09-12T07:34:00.000-05:00

Heavenly Homemakers is giving away a Nutrimill grain mill.

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/nutrimill-giveaway-from-paulas-bread/comment-page-70#comment-114960

Update on Phoebe

2011-09-12T07:32:00.002-05:00

She slept all the way through the night. Praise the Lord! And thank you for your prayers.

Pray for Phoebe!

2011-09-11T19:04:00.003-05:00

Our beloved Phoebe is ill right now (we think its food poisoning). Please pray for her... she would be blessed your prayers.

Thank you!

Another Photo Challenge

2011-09-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

I am entering the below photo into Kels' photo challenge.

~Johanna

Hospitality

2011-08-29T11:04:00.000-05:00

Lately we've been having a lot of company over. But it's been so much fun! =)
On the 21st we had the G. family over and we had homemade pizza. Then yesterday we had the O. family over at lunch and we made Italian vegetable casserole for that. Can you tell that our family loves Italian food?!

Visiting with Mr. and Mrs. G and Maddie

That is the G's nephew, Alex in the striped shirt in the background

Mrs. G. and Maddie <3

Junior G. and Jaden enjoying ice-cream

Catalina and Angelina O.

Sweet sisterhood

Angel -- very aptly named <3

Abby reads to the O. sisters - Catalina, Marcelina and Angelina

Abby had to move to a bigger chair, because the "audience" grew.

Lukas O. being silly

Alden's Ice-cream

The sweet and fun O. siblings. L-R: Naftali, Marcelina, Angelina, Catalina and Lukas

Y'all come back and see us, ya hear? =)

The Life of Phoebe-dee

2011-08-28T22:27:00.001-05:00

Three sisters - Abs, Jo, and Pheebs

Before I existed

That's Phoebe, at the bottom of the photo

This was a few months before Jaden was born

Phoebe, as a flower girl at Uncle Jim's wedding

Phoebe and me

Kautt siblings - summer 2003 (Phoebe's in the middle back)

This photo was taken on the day of my 6th Birthday party

Cheese!

What a cutie-pie

This photo was also taken on the day of my 6th Birthday party

Silly siblings

Twelve years ago

With Dr. Jobe and Jenna Dee Martin

With Dr. John Morris

Nine years ago

Goofing off

With cousin Janice


We love you, Phoebe!!!!!

Editor's note: as you can see, these photos are not in chronological order. =)

Today is...

2011-08-28T21:50:00.000-05:00

...Somebody's Birthday. :)


To the bestest Phoebe in the whole world,

HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN!!!!!

I love you to the moon the back (=

~Jo <3

"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

Proverbs 16:3 (KJV)

A few photos

2011-08-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

David Barton says Glenn Beck is a Christian...

2011-08-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

Read Brannon Howse's column on this topic, here. Or listen to Howse's radio show about David Barton and Glenn Beck.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" 1 Corinthians 6:14-16a

"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8-9

Photo Contest

2011-08-21T15:39:00.010-05:00

I am entering the below photo into Johanna Grace's photo contest. :)

Photo by Johanna Kautt

Note to Johanna Grace: the button didn't work in this post. I do not know why-- it has worked before.

God's Word

2011-08-19T15:29:00.002-05:00

Photo by Johanna Kautt

John Philip Sousa - High School Cadets March

2011-08-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

One God, One Faith, One Book Apologetics Conference

2011-08-16T14:10:00.001-05:00

Dates: Friday-Sunday, September 23-25, 2011
Time: Fri. 7pm, Sat. 5:30 & 7pm, Sun. 10, 11:30am, 6pm
Where: Northwest Christian Church, McKinney, Texas
Speakers: Dr. James Johnson (ICR), Dr. Jobe Martin (BDM), Joel Kautt (CETM)
Topics:

How do we know the Bible is true? (the accuracy, authority, reliability and relevance of the Bible) – Dr. James J. S. Johnson

How Do We Know The Bible is Authentic? – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Christianity: Unique Among World Religions – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
Biblical Discernment in an Age of Falsehood (The Emerging Church, New Age spirituality and the occult) – Dr. Jobe Martin
Using What You Have Learned: Evangelism and Discipleship – Dr. Jobe Martin
How we got the Bible: the History of the Battle for the English Bible (the Life of William Tyndale) – Joel Kautt

To RSVP for this free event, click here.

One God, One Faith, One Book Conference Promo #2

2011-08-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

A Visit from Poppy and Grams

2011-08-09T14:06:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday night, Mom's parents, Ron and Anna (a.k.a Poppy and Grams) came to our house after a seminar they attended. They left this afternoon, but we think it wasn't long enough! :) Sure, we had tons of dishes to do, but hey, we had fun and we love Poppy and Grams!! I'm posting some photos taken during their stay here. Enjoy!

Sunday lunch, which was.....

....Hamburgers (from the Local Yocal) and green beans

Grams says, "These hamburgers are real good!"

Caleb about to attack his hamburger

I am enjoying some carrot sticks :)

Poppy

Jaden tried on Dad's shoes, which (of course) were too big for him! :)

Play Bibleopoly

Discussions

Jaden-bug, setting the table

Last night we had pizza for supper. Mmm.... :)

Grams

Photogenic Poppy

Family photo taken this afternoon

Grams being silly

Most of the crew

Sunday Meditation

2011-08-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

³ Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Hosea 6:3

My Little Buddies

2011-08-05T15:52:00.001-05:00

Miley R. :) She reminds me of a cute little birdie. :)

I know this is an old one (and Abby and Phoebe are in it ;P), but I don't have a more recent photo of me with Ellie S. Miss ya!

Adam P.

Stephen W. and me. You are really growing up, Stephen! :)

Cousin Emma-Grace and me <3

Stephen P. and me


Elizabeth G. and me (this was taken today) -- Love that hair, don't you? :)

Can you tell I like to be with little kids?! :) Truly, children are a blessing from the LORD!!

Vacation Bible School 2011

2011-08-05T12:36:00.003-05:00

Wedding Memories

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

We've been clutter-busting at our house. Several weeks ago, I went through our massive collection of sheet music and music books, culling what was no longer of use. I had put the items in a stack in my bedroom until I could find someone to pass them on to. On Monday, August 1st (our 30th wedding anniversary), I carried the stack to put in the give-away box out in the garage. The obviously-not-yet-dead* dumpster-diver pack-rat in me influenced me to take a quick peek through the stack. And I'm glad I did. For some reason a pad of blank music notation staff paper was in the pile. Shouldn't have been. I use that stuff regularly! And in the same folder were pages that I had pulled from music books - songs that I DID want to keep. Don't know how that stuff came to be with the give-aways.

The amazing thing was that one of the songs was "Unto the Author of Love," the song that David and I sang to each other at our wedding. That I should find the very song we sang on the very day of our 30th wedding anniversary felt like a little gift from the Lord. I called David in and we sang it together again! Happy memories!

Thank you, Lord for my dear husband, and for "serendipitous" finds!

*(I'm diligently working on slaying that rat.)

30 Years... of marriage!

2011-08-01T22:04:00.001-05:00

Grandpa, Dad, Great grandma and Grandma on Dad & Mom's wedding day

Mom & Dad's engagement picture

Before they left to celebrate their anniversary

Don't they look great 30 years later?!

They have aged with grace... :)

Our parents have been married for thirty years, which is quite a milestone in this day and age.
We are so thankful that they are still married and are blazing a trail for their children, encouraging us by their example, to stay faithful to one person until death separates a couple.

“May God’s blessing be with you

and may it be good to you.

May God’s goodness be with you

good and for seven times good

may you spend your life.”

(an Irish blessing)

According to this the best wishes for another year of marriage!

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad! We love you!!

Just a reminder...

2011-08-01T15:26:00.001-05:00

....We do like comments! :)

Food for Thought

2011-07-28T19:47:00.002-05:00

Thoughts

As we go about life, we need to keep in mind that we are, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We should obey that commandment, not because it's in the Bible and "God said so," but ultimately because of God's character. God is 100% pure. Since we are His children (through "adoption"/salvation), we are to have "fidelity to the original." In other words, because we are Christ's children, we must reflect His character by being pure, as salt and light to this dark world. Some of you may give the excuse, "well, no one can read my mind." But the Bible says to the contrary. Genesis 6:5 says,

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."{Italics added for emphasis}

A few other references are: 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 94:11; Matthew 9:3,4; Matthew 12:24,25; Luke 5:21,22; Luke 6:7,8; Luke 11:16,17; Hebrews 4:12.

I like what our old blog header said: "thoughts and musings...all for God's glory." As the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." That means we are to glorify God in every area of our lives-- in our thoughts, in our relationships, in our actions, in our speech.

Proverbs 16:3 promises, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

An Arresting Film

2011-07-23T12:25:00.000-05:00

Simple Theology

2011-07-20T16:28:00.001-05:00

"...Christianity originally centered on Christ and His kingdom - not on the fine points of theology. It's rather difficult to put together a detailed theological statement just from the teachings of Jesus. That's because in essence the gospel of the kingdom is not theology. It's about people entering into an obedient faith-love relationship with Jesus the King, bearing fruit. Jesus didn't talk much about theology because that wasn't particularly important to Him. However, He did talk a lot about fruit. And He talked a lot about how we are to live as citizens of His kingdom He taught us what it means to love one another and to love God. Those things are important to Him." (emphasis added)

p. 38-39, Will the Theologians Please Sit Down, David Bercot, copyright 2009 Scroll Publishing Company

Ron Paul 2012 - Conviction

2011-07-14T18:04:00.002-05:00

Is Gold Money?

2011-07-13T22:37:00.001-05:00

Ron Paul's comment about the video (above) he posted on his Facebook page:

"Earlier today I asked Ben Bernanke "Is Gold Money?", can you guess what his answer was?"

Most comments on YouTube videos are totally worthless reading, but this one was absolutely hilarious, and made an interesting point:

"so if gold isn't money, and paper money isn't money... Then what Ben is saying is...
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS MONEY!!!
if it doesn't exist, then why pay it back? Who needs a debt ceiling if debt isn't real?" - JonasPlanck

My, oh my, what has this nation come to?

Independence Day 2011

2011-07-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

July 4th is a special day for average Americans. The celebration of our nation's birth. My family and I are not your "average Americans" - but we do take pride in the fact that this is our land, a beautiful land, a privileged land, a land which our forefathers sought to give as a gift and work of their labors to future generations.


Old cars

Early on the 4th, my sisters and I left to play a game of volleyball with a friend. It was already hot when we got to the park (8:30 am) but we endured for quite a while and had fun despite the heat and sun. Then we proceeded to downtown, where we planned to pick up some burgers and buns from The Local Yocal, a meat market which supports and sells locally grown produce, meats, soaps, dairy products and pastries. There was a few minutes wait before our meat would be ready, and in the meantime, the annual Independence Day parade began. We watched, took pictures and cheered as the different participants slowly passed us by.


Maddie

The parade consisted of many vehicles, a few floats, some marching groups, military and local law enforcement and fire department.

Here comes the fire engine!

A little bit closer

There he goes...

A roar of motorcycles

Honking and revving their engines...

It was a deafening noise...

There were all sorts of cars and trucks, old and new.

classic truck...

roadsters

Classic Chevy

my kind of VW Bug :)

nice car...

There were horses...

lots of them

Tae-Kwan-Do group

An old-fashioned fire engine

Brothers~

We ran into several friends of ours on the Square. A few were in the parade itself, and some where there as spectators. The picture above is of our friends the M.'s little boys. Aren't they precious?

After the parade was through and we got our burgers, we four girls headed back to Maddie's house to drop her off. Two hours later, we finally left after an enjoyable visit with her and her family.

On to home we drove, arriving in the early afternoon. It was hot. By that time, the thermometer read well over 100 degrees, with a heat index eventually reading at 109. We grabbed some water, and then spent a few hours relaxing with our family.

In the evening, we packed our cooler, and loaded into our suburban to begin the drive to Grandma's house. We got there in the early evening, and begin dinner preparations, while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive from their various abodes and work places.

We enjoyed a wide array of yummy dishes prepared by the moms and daughters. Since I had badly jammed my right thumb (and I am right handed), I was of no assistance creating the delectable meal. :P

Our burgers came from The Local Yocal (as I mentioned above) and are 100% pure organic, grass fed beef. They are soooo tasty, and filling. Not at all like conventional, store bought meat that is loaded with chemicals, GMOs, pesticides and who knows what else.

Slightly seasoned

we smoked them on a charcoal grill

fruit pizza

This is what we had for dessert ~ super delicious, and fruity!

It was an amazing holiday spent with family and friends, and lots of fun. What did you do for the fourth? Do you have a tradition of going to the lake? Baseball game? Or perhaps you prefer enjoying a quiet day pool side while your hubby grills burgers and dogs, and your kids splash you with H2O. :) Whatever it is you do, I hope that you had a beautiful holiday!

Happy Birthday America, land that I love.

Every Day Things - My Truck

2011-06-27T14:18:00.001-05:00

The mundane things of life sometimes become the most interesting.

Something we often take for granted in our modern world is reliable transportation. Back in May, the Lord blessed me with just that! A 1987 Ford F-350. I'll post some pictures below.

Old Red

1987 Ford F-350, 6.9 litre International IDI Diesel, short bed, short cab, with a 4 / 60 A/C! (four windows at 60 mph!)

Old style 4-speed Manual

One of the first "real" loads it has hauled, about 2,500 lbs of wood ...

...But this thing's suspension is made to haul!

It did put quite a strain on it, though! (Note the white tool box that one of my neighbors gave me).

Of Kittens, Flowers and Friends

2011-06-24T11:39:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, Caleb, Jaden and I went to our friends the W.'s. We hadn't seen most of them since March and last November, so, it was nice to visit with them again. :)

Elisha, Deborah, Jaden and I played a game called "Blokus" which is similar to "Chinese Checkers".-- Sort of. Kind of.

One of the three kittens the W.'s have. Is is not adorable? I'm afraid that I didn't take photos of the other kittens, but I took this one because this kitten reminded me of Carson (our long-lost kitty). These kittens are about 7-weeks-old.

Contemplating

Milkweed

Greenfinch and Wendy

Stephen :)

My lil' bud

Deborah, wearing the headband I made for her

Bein' silly

Up close of the headband I made for Debs

Group portrait -- sorry this photo is a bit blurry; those kids have boundless energy! <3

Dad's 50th Birthday!

2011-06-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Our dear Dad's birthday was just a couple of days ago, and it was his Golden Birthday: 50 years old! He requested hamburgers for his birthday meal, which we had on Saturday for supper. By the way, we got our hamburger patties from The Local Yocal, a store in Downtown McKinney, which you should go to if you live in the area. They sell awesome tasting and good for you meat (beef, chicken, pork & lamb), and it's all local! Check them out on Facebook also. Anyway, we had delicious hamburgers for Saturday's supper. I think I can say with confidence that they were THE BEST hamburgers I've ever had. Maybe I'm biased. =)

Here it is: THE BEST HAMBURGER IN THE WORLD!!! We used 7-grain sprouted English muffins 'buns'. They worked great!

The table before everyone got a burger on their plate.

On Sunday (Father's Day), we had our Grandma and Great-Grandma (Dad's Mom & Grandma), and our Aunt & Uncle and cousins over for lunch. Dad knew they were coming, but he didn't know what was happening later on that afternoon. Around 3:30 some of the folks from our church started arriving, and he eventually found out that they came as a surprise for his birthday. We served cake and ice cream, and had fun visiting with folks from church, as well as other friends and our family. Good times don't last long enough, though, as everyone was gone by 8pm (yes, we would have loved to have them here till 10pm, at least!). =) Dad seemed to enjoy the day, and we hope he was blessed and encouraged by his surprise 'party'. We love you, Dad!!

ALDEN'S ICE CREAM!!!! Yep, the best ice cream in the world!! Try it out, you may wish you had... =)

Playing Apples-to-Apples. Fun, fun, fun.

Dad greets our friends, the P. family.

Dad saying goodbye to some church folks who came by for the party.

The guys had some good conversation...

And here we see 4 smiling young ladies. "Why are they smiling?'', you ask. I answer, "because they just had Alden's ice cream, of course!'' =)

Little Jordan enjoying his ice cream. He smiled nicely for me while I took his picture.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Father's Day! We did, that's for sure!

Timber!!

2011-06-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

Sunday evening Mom prays that she will wake up early on Monday morning. Well, God answered her prayer in a very unusual way. Around 4:30 she and Dad were awakened by a very strange noise. They looked out the window and saw a very peculiar sight indeed.

Yep. That's right, one of our trees in our front yard came crashing down (one half of it). Thankfully it was the half that was toward the street, and it missed hitting our old brown suburban by inches. To say the least, we have plenty of work on our hands. Caleb, our friend, Jaden & I worked for several hours on Monday morning/afternoon to get it cut off, as well as the other half of the tree. Now our front yard is filled with limbs, sticks and huge logs. More work to be done...

A Plea From Hosea

2011-06-21T15:29:00.000-05:00

     "Come, and let us return to the LORD;
      For He has torn, but He will heal us;
      He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
      Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth."

Hosea 6:1,3

Photos from God's Creation

2011-06-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Of course, I had to take some more photos of our lovely zinnias... and other plants! :)

Lovely Birthday roses

This was taken on our way back from the conference last weekend

Shamrocks I love the shape of them! --Three hearts attached to each other. :)

Dried roses from a bouquet Dad gave to Mom

Does anyone know the name of these flowers?

A new zinnia in our garden

Pretty 'n' pink

Corn

I love this shade pink!

Antiques

Stars

Jaden's grapevine

I used to know the name of this plant, but I forgot. Does anyone know the name of it? I really think it would be so pretty in a wedding bouquet! :)

Pole-beans

Calendula by our mailbox :)

Verses to Think On

2011-06-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

I was reading through Proverbs a few weeks ago, and came across these interesting verses. I thought it was amazing how they all relate to each other, along with one I came across in 2 Corinthians.

"Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4

"In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death." Proverbs 12:28

"He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage." Proverbs 11:18

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

My thoughts:

No matter how many earthly riches you may have, they will not profit anything when the Day of Judgment comes. Only righteousness, Christ's righteousness, will have any profit, any deliverance from death in that day. May we be found in His righteousness, alone, on that day.

Ladies Conference

2011-06-12T17:56:00.001-05:00

On Friday (June 10th) and Saturday (June 11th), my sisters, Mom and I attended a ladies conference hosted by the Dr. Jobe Martin family. Abby, Phoebe and I filmed the sessions. It was such a blessing to have such fellowship with so many like-minded people, and I made several new friends! :) I also met a girl who shares my name-- says and spells her name the same way as I do! :) It was too bad, but I didn't think to get a photo with her.

Visiting

The N. family singing

Book, books, and more books! :)

Mrs. Jennifer Neef giving a talk

The film crew. Background (L-R): Jonathan B. and David, Benjamin B., Josiah D. Foreground: Phoebe, and Elisabeth M.

The "Nest" :) Can you see someone filming, a-way in the background? Yup, that's me! :)

The B. siblings (minus three little sisters). Back: Benjamin and Jonathan. Front (L-R): Rebekah, Elisabeth and Kathleen.

The C. sisters-- Back: Bethany and Katie. Front: Susanna and Lydia.

Teaching the song "Alleluia, Alleluia"

Singing "I am Resolved"

Sarah and Grace Mally giving a presentation

Maddie and Mrs. C. had a photography room at the conference. We girls and Mom got our picture taken in there and they printed it for us. :)

Paul, Melissa and Josiah D. singing "The Power of the Cross"

Visiting

New friends: Me (Johanna) and Bethany C.

The Y. ladies: Kristin, Mrs. and Jennifer

Abby holding darling Lovella "Ella" C. :)

Preparing to clean-up

Eating pizza

Cleaning up

Some of the Moms-- visiting after the long and full day

Flowers

2011-06-10T09:20:00.001-05:00

Neon Zinnia

Speckled zinnia

Can anyone tell me what kind of flower this is?

I just LOVE the bokeh in the background of this photo! :)

And in this one...

and this one...


More bokeh :)

All photos taken by Johanna Kautt

D- Day

2011-06-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

Today is the 67th anniversary of the D-Day landings on Normandy beach in France.

"June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded — but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe..."

Although I don’t personally know anyone who fought on those rugged beaches, I benefit from the heroics of those brave men who fearlessly stormed up those rock cliffs in order to repulse a vicious foe – Hitler.
Today I say thank you to those who fought at Normandy, thank you for doing something that seemed impossible, thank you for putting all thought of comfort or home behind you and squaring your shoulders and taking those beaches like the brave soldiers you were! Thank you for your service, and for your example. God bless you and may there be many more men in our day who follow in your heroic footsteps.

Today I say thank you to those who fought at Normandy, thank you for doing something that seemed impossible, thank you for putting all thought of comfort or home behind you and squaring your shoulders and taking those beaches like the brave soldiers you were! Thank you for your service, and for your example. God bless you and may there be many more men in our day who follow in your heroic footsteps.

A Plea from an Echo Boomer

2011-06-05T22:33:00.000-05:00

In her article "More Than Teacups...a Plea for Biblical Literacy," Megan Gariss practically begs the older generations to teach the twenty-somethings (and younger?) how to study the Bible. I wept when I read it. We have failed these young people, and they know it. I so appreciated her humble request. I didn't detect any bitterness on her part, only an almost-desperate plea for us "olders" to do what we should already have been doing. (I think that's what Jesus would call "making disciples.") We parents must take seriously our responsibility to disciple...starting first with our own children (and granddies). I believe the Lord will not ask us how many folks we won to the Lord "out there" before He asks if we made disciples of our own little ones. Sobering.

Third Annual Memorial Day Blast

2011-06-03T21:12:00.001-05:00

On May 30th, our family had a blast with a whole bunch of friends and family. We visited, ate, and played sports like: soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, baseball, kickball. It was a great time! We were glad that so many (like 80 something people) could make it and join in all the fun! Here, here, and here are photos from the past two years.

Hot-dog cooker

Ultimate Frisbee with just the guys

"Speed" volleyball

Waiting

The on-lookers

"Get it, Jaden-bug!"

Mr. Y. and Mrs. S. visit

Goofiness-- Caleb, Isaac D., cousin Stefon, Andrew. D. and Joel

A sun burnt Abby...

...And a sun burnt Johanna (does this look like a mug-shot? It hurt to smile *sheepish grins*)