I am so excited to share our big news! Our second son, third child, is now engaged to the sweetest young lady! And look, I have a few photos for ya!

First, the couple!

So now you can see what a sweet gal she is

and what a clown I have for a son. ~grin~

Ahhh! This one’s a bit cuter. Don’t you think?

The ring!

Okay, so she took it of for just a *minute*. It was for the picture. It was for you.

She put it back on. Don’t worry.  Breath a sight of relief now.

Now, with my new daughter-in-law’s permission, I get to share with you  something she wrote up to share about how they got together.

Did I mention their names? Forgive me! My son is Joseph and the young lady is Kathryn, otherwise known as Joe and Katie.

Without further delay:

Joe and Katie’s Story by Katie

Some of you have been asking about how Joe and I met. Joe and I met two years ago at our mutual friends’ house and later God provided ways for our families to get together and I got to know his sisters. After that, Dad and Joe got together for lunch on a weekly basis for several months. It was a good time for Dad to get to know Joe and for Joe to get to know Dad because they were able to talk freely about their beliefs. These are some points that I’ve kept in mind and that I believe are very important in relationships.

I believe that dating is dangerous because it encourages a false sense of feelings. In dating, there is a greater chance of getting physical before the proper time. Also, when people date, there is no real commitment to each other. People sometimes will date several different people before they marry anyone and by then, they’ve given a little bit of their heart away each time.

I believe that God’s timing is always perfect. When we give ourselves and our relationships to God, He will bring things to pass when it’s best. It is important to always give everything to God, not just in relationships, but in all of life. When we give something to Him that maybe we really want, He will bless that. He will either give it back to you, or He will give you something far better! God knows what is best.

God’s hand has been so evident in my relationship with Joe! He knew just when for us to take each little step. After each step, I would pray that if this wasn’t God’s will, that He would end it right there, and He never did! He continued to open doors and we continued to go through them.

It is very important before even considering someone, to make sure that they are a believer. If they aren’t it causes so much pain and trouble in the long run. 2 Corinthians 6:14

I also believe that parents need to be involved. Joe first went to his Dad before he went to my Dad. Everything we have done has been with our parents’ permission and approval. Parents have so much wisdom and God has placed them over us to train us and guide us. They see things that we don’t, so if they say, no this isn’t a good thing, we need to listen to them and trust them. Proverbs 23:22, 24

One thing that our culture doesn’t seem to understand, is that love is not a feeling. It’s a decision. There are times when we don’t feel love for people, but we must love them anyway. I believe that we must be able to think rationally before we allow feelings to come out. In dating, I think feelings become involved so soon that people are unable to see what the other person is really like. Dad and Joe were able to talk about things and think rationally before feelings came into the picture.

I also think that getting physical too soon is very dangerous. Even something as “innocent” as holding hands, if done too soon can cause problems. It can cause feelings (there they are again!) to show themselves.

Most importantly, I think that in everything we do, our ultimate goal should be to glorify God. If we seek to do things for our own glory or if we do what we want, when we want instead of in God’s timing, he can’t bless that. I have prayed through this whole process that God would be glorified in all that we say and do.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Rejoice with us!

Tags: engagement, Family, Joe, Katie, marriage, Photos

Tags: Photos

Last week was our baking week for CHRISTmas.  Below are photos of most and recipes:

Aunt Barbara’s Mexican Wedding Cakes. See recipe here.

These are light but taste similar to shortbread

Dipped Pretzel Sticks

These are easy for even the smallest child.

Super easy and super good, creamy fudge. See recipe here.

Anne

Anne

Peanut Butter Cookies With Kisses. See recipe here.

Peanut Butter Cookies With Kisses

We also made:

• Molasses Cookies (See recipe here)
• Peppermint Bark (See recipe here)
• Martha Washington’s Bon Bon’s (See recipe here)

All the cookies laid out for the neighbors

After the plates were wrapped, we drove around town caroling and handing out these lovelies to our dear friends and neighbors. We had a couple neighbors gone, so those will probably be distributed tonight.

Tags: Anne, Emily, Family, Food, hospitality, Jay, kitchen cares, Photos, recipes, winter

As many of you know, I have been away visiting my dad in his last days. Originally, I went out to Oregon to see him in the hospital. By the end of that week, the decision was made to place him in a hospice. He was in the hospice for about ten days. After that, it was the preparation for the memorial service.

Below is a photo of my dad with me on the left, my sister on the right and our half brothers. He will be missed by many, indeed.

My husband wrote an email to friends and family. Here is a small part of that email.

While we had a time of sad parting at Grandpa’s internment and then latter memorial, you might be wondering how it’s possible we can be so lighthearted after a memorial;

I Thessalonians 4:13-18
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

It’s like I explained to Rase when Grandpa died; Grandpa laid aside the dead part, his body, so he could grasp real life, Jesus. Our body is subject to the curse of sin and has to die, but for those who have placed their trust and obedience in Jesus, their bodies die, but their spirits are made more truly alive in a way we can’t understand now because in Jesus;

Colossians 3:3-4
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

What is truly sad are the partings we make that are eternal because people choose to remain in their sins as opposed to accepting the grace of God available in Jesus to grasp what is truly life. Jesus said;

John 14:6
I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.

Fortunately, we will see Grandpa sooner than we think.

We drove home Saturday and arrived here at 2:30am Sunday. Sunday, we celebrated Eric’s 17th Birthday by having a feast of egg rolls! Here is a tutorial on how to make these.

Homemade Eggrolls

Today is catch up day with the checkbook, bills, and my forum. I hope to get back into the groove of things here.

Thanks for stopping by! Lord bless the rest of your day as you serve Him!

Tags: Birthday, Eric, Family, Food, Photos

My daughter, Anne (pronounced Annie), has toiled over a very long post, which includes many pictures of our family’s first hunting trip of the year. There will be another soon.

Click on the link below and enjoy! Don’t forget to view the video of the moose!

http://www.allanne.com/hunting-2008-part-one

Tags: Anne, Ben, Bethy, Dennis, Elle, Emily, Eric, Family, hunting, Joe, Katie, Photos, Vehicles