30 Years... of marriage!

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!!

Mother

I know that Mother's Day was several days ago, but... it's never too late to write a thank you to Mama. :) Thank you to Mrs. Bates for letting me use her poem.

Flower petals for Mama

Mother’s Day Poem by Kelly Bates 5-3-11

Dirty faces and sticky hands!

Loads of laundry… many demands!

Work, work, work, and more to do still!

Obediently listening to God’s will.

Graciously Mom maintained her poise,

In spite of the mess and the noise.

Mom overlooked the frequent spills.

She looked beyond the task of meals.

She lovingly forgave my numerous faults,

And managed to think on happy thoughts.

Now I’m grown and see the price Mom paid,

For all the memories of love she made.

How I long to model her smile,

To always go the second mile!

She surely was fit to be a Queen,

But chose instead to serve unseen.

Mother

"Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother."
Ann Taylor

 

^"28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “ Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:28-31

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love."  ~Mildred B. Vermont

^"12 “ Honor your father and your mother,

that your days may be long upon the land

which the LORD your God is giving you. "

Exodus 20:12 

I am so blessed with my mother.  She is a gift from Above.  Her talents span so many topics, it boggles my mind to think of, how many things she is fluent in; I want to be like her when I grow up.

Happy Mother's Day to my one and only Mama!

Daily Bread

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Matthew 6:11

I think it's interesting that, just as we need our daily meal from the Bread of Life (Jesus), so bread that last only a few days is more healthy for you.  We usually make a round of home made bread each day at our house.  The main reason we do is because it's all eaten up in one day!! =)   But, also, breads that have good oils in them don't last as long as white breads, for example, therefore they can't sit on the shelf, or fridge for days on end. 

Mom made this bread this morning for breakfast. 

It's delicious, and there's only a little left over. =)

Mmmmmm....

Sewing project, done.

Way back in the summer, I began creating a denim skirt for my own uses.  I wanted it to be full enough where I could run and climb and play ball in it comfortably.  Then we had our church’s VBS, our long-planned for family vacation, school shopping, the resuming of the school year, and still my half-finished skirt lay miserably undone.

The finished product

Sometime in October Mom suggested that we work to complete my skirt, as I was in need of some clothing.  I reluctantly agreed.  Sewing is not “my cup of tea” as it were, though I understand its value.

The chosen pattern

We began again to sew on this project, and after many starts and stops, I put the final stitches into the waist-band last night!  Hooray!

A Sewing Project

Mom and I used this pattern for the sewing project that we were making. We actually used the jumper's skirt and then the white jacket for the bodice of the dress. We made the dress for a costume party some friends had invited us to. Thanks Mom, for helping me with my costume -- you did a EXCELLENT job! :)

The bodice after we cut it out

Mom here is cutting out one side of the skirt (I cut out the other side)

I think Mom is sewing the bodice in this photo

Can't you tell I just SO excited about this project? Really, I was!! :) The costume turned out well!

Yes, I did help with the ironing and other parts of the sewing, although it almost appears that Mom did all the work. She did do all of the harder work, except for most of the hem. I'm so grateful for a Mom who is willing to help me learn how to sew!!!!!!!!!!!

The finished product (editor's note: the skirt would be a little more full once an actual *human* puts it on).

An up close of the fabric we used

Our family

Dad and Mom

Joel

Abby

Caleb

Phoebe

Johanna (this is a self-portrait-- I used yellow-tinted sunglasses to make the glow)

Jaden

Mom's Day

As Mother's Day is coming up, I reflect on the past and how my Mother has served me the past twelve years. She has been such a blessing to me. I can go and talk with her about a problem I have and she has great advice about it, not to mention she tells me scripture verses and hugs me!

One thing I really appreciate about her is, she has emphasized the importance of memorizing scripture, so that if persecution arises or some other hard trial occurs we can be comforted by the knowledge that God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us. I used to think I will do fine in life without memorizing scripture. However, as I get older, I have noticed that first, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11), what did He shoot back to the devil? It was a scripture verse-- each time! Second, I have had some trials in my life and God has used the scripture verses that I have memorized to help me. Thanks, Mom for making sure I understood the importance of scripture memory!

Other times, I have needed to share some personal things with Mom and she has been open to listening to what I have to share. Of course, since Mom has been sick a lot of my lifetime, I cannot always share everything with her, so I share them with Abby-- my "second Mom". I appreciate and love both of you!

Mom, I hope you have the best Mother's Day and many more to come in the years ahead!

I love you,

Johanna "Ruthie"

There is no

greater place of

ministry, position, or

power than that of a

mother.

~ Phil Whisenhunt

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Today is Mother's Day, a day we set aside for the purpose of honoring our mothers. Of course, we should honor them every day, but it is good that we have a special day just for moms. :)

So, today we would like to honor our mother and every other godly mother out there. Thank you for serving the Lord... just by being a mother! That is very special.

Happy Mother's Day!

We love you Mom,
Joel, Abby, Caleb, Phoebe, Johanna and Jaden

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." - Proverbs 31:28-30

Mother~

Her blues eyes see through me to what is in my heart. She knows just what to say or do to make life better for her children she loves so dearly. Her skillful hands caress her hot forehead as she lies sick in bed. The gentle voice sings softly as her babe drifts to rest in another land, with the remembrance of his mother's song. She carefully places the dish upon the table, the steaming aroma awakens in me memories of years past, wonderful meals full of health. Behind the scenes, she encourages us as we pursue our dreams, strike out on our own, begin our families, get jobs, build futures, and create a generational picture that makes God smile.

Mother - that one word melts our hearts, brings tears to our eyes, causes us to sigh after something lost, or bow our heads in reverent pause.

God has given us just what we need. A nurturer, nurse, cook, homemaker, artist, musician, law maker, chef, fashion designer, chauffeur, encourager. And these words are ill to best describe what she does best - Mother us.

Today I am thankful for one woman in my life who has been such an example to of love, Christ, woman, friend, wife, mommy. God gave her life half a century ago, and today she is my Mom.

Happy Mother's Day Mums! I Love you!

Happy 28th Mom and Dad ~

From Abby's blog:



"Yesterday was my parents' 28th wedding anniversary! God has truly blessed our family with a wonderful example of biblical, Christ-centered marriage. Through the years I have been so blessed by their commitment to each other in a world where divorce is rampant, in the world and in the church. Thank you, Mom & Dad, for being such a blessing! God bless you with many, many more years of happy marriage!!!"

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday was Dad's birthday, and I failed to blog about it then. I was busy making the "special meal" and baking/frosting the cake. So here are some pictures from the little celebration. Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you!

Dad with his Carrot Cake birthday cake

Dad with one of his gifts

Mom being goofy with plastic glasses on (I think she looks like her mom about 25 or 30 years ago!) :)

A visit

Outside of the P's house. It is a very large establishment and quite beautiful.


Walking up the hill after walking 'round the P's "farm."


Jaden trying to coax the cat from its hiding place.

The lake view from the pasture.

What a stunning rose!

Caleb pulls some weeds out of the P's orchard.

A view through the fence near the pasture.

What a cabbage! All of Mrs. P's cabbages were so huge!

One of their horses feeding in the pasture.

Black berry bushes.

We had such a lovely time at Mom's nutritionist. She is a very nice lady and we look forward to returning very soon. :)

Mom's Birthday Pictures

If you would like to see pictures from Mom's birthday celebration, please visit Abby's blog & go to the post entitled: Pictures from Mom's Birthday. Unfortunately, I haven't had time (or a good internet connection) to post the pictures, but Abby has. :) (Thanks Abby!)

Mom's birthday

Hopefully we'll have some pictures to load up from Mom's birthday celebration in the next few days. We haven't 'officially' celebrated it yet. Yesterday (Mom's birthday) Joel had to work, and it just wasn't a good day to do it.

Today Joel, Caleb & Dad traveled down to Tolar, Texas (down by Glen Ros) to purchase a diesel suburban. They were gone from around 2pm till just a few minutes ago, around 9:45pm. Anyway, today - obviously - was not a good day to celebrate.

So... to get my point across (finally), we'll either celebrate it sometime tomorrow or Sunday. We'll try to post some of the pictures from it.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is Mom's 49th birthday! Happy birthday Mom!

We all love you so much, and we're are so glad that you are still with us! It has been a joy (and a challenge) to serve you while you have been sick these past months. But, thank the Lord, you are getting better...slowly but surely! Praise to Yahweh!

May the Lord bless you this day, this year...and always. May He give you many, many more years of fruitful service for Him on this earth.

We love you Mom!
Joel, Abby, Caleb, Phoebe, Johanna & Jaden

Pictures of Jaden

I wanted to post these two pictures of Jaden when he was a baby. Both of them were taken when he was only a few months old. Don't you think he's so cute?! :)

This is one of the best pictures of Jaden, I think. :)

"Keep your hands out of the cookie jar!"

Guessing game - **with a PRIZE**

The guessing game has now ended. Congratulations to the winners: Aunt Jill, Stefon, Camille & Hannah! Thanks for all of the wonderful guesses!

For all the blog readers of Texas Skies, here is a little guessing game for you to enjoy. And...there is a *PRIZE*, so make sure to guess. Now...for some of you it might be very easy, for others it might not be so easy. To guess click on "comment" at the end of the post.

You have to figure out who this is in this pencil drawing by Mom:

Rules:

- When guessing, you must state your choice of prize...if you are the winner.

- If you are the winner, then please send us your address by way of email.

- Once we have your address, we will send a high-quality photo copy of your prize out as soon as possible (by way of snail-mail).

The prize is your choice of one (1) of following pieces of art: (all of the pieces of art are done by Julia Kautt)

Colored Pencil:

Black eyed Susan


Three Sisters

Pencil:

Taken from a photo of me (Phoebe) when I was a toddler

Watercolor:

Shepherds Staff

Black eyed Susan

African Violets

Purple Peppers

Pepper No. 2

Bookmarks (paper, laminated): green, purple and blue.