Living at Home

An unexpected car wash... and other things

2012-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

We have met some really dear people down in Arizona. They are so special and we look forward to see them next year when we come back. I am thinking of two people especially that have really blessed our family.

A dear, dear couple, Mr. and Mrs. D. surprised us by meeting us at one RV park and they had bought us pizza for our lunch. And another time they took our whole family out to Old Country Buffet. Last year they took us out for dinner. And let me tell you! It isn't cheap feeding 10 people! They are such dear friends.

And another dear man, Mr. M. has blessed our family. Last year, he turned his life back to the LORD after we played music at his RV park. And he wanted to bless our family this year by washing our vehicle. Yes, it was dirty... What a wonderful blessing it was and yet at the same time a bit humbling. :)The finished product. Hey, it's red again! :)

We've had fun doing some of the activities that Saddle Mountain RV has to offer. We enjoyed trying our hand at Shuffleboard. :)

The girls... all sitting out on separate rocks... cute!
Peanut was NOT very happy being cooped up in the trailer while the rest of us were outside. But she was very happy to see me! :)Greg... :) Just like a pro... ;)

~Emily

A typical performance

2012-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Okay! Just in case any of you are wondering... I thought I might try to put into words a typical performance day. :)

You wake up in the morning and know that you will have to "perform" that evening.
After breakfast, you listen to mom and dad talk about when you'll need to leave in order to get to the RV park or church in time to set up and do a sound check.
The morning is not specifically relaxed... you may do school, go write some emails, or a blog post, or do an activity the park offers.
You have lunch.
You then either put a little girl's hair in curlers, make dinner, or iron dresses.
Then it's a mad rush to get everybody in the car... and then off you go!
You get to the RV park or church.
Dad, Mom and Greg get out of the car and talk to someone who tells us where to set up, or something. :)
Then all of us (depending) get out of the car, and then carry ALL of our sound system and our instruments inside the building and set up.
Usually there's someone there walking around.
Then you do a sound check - making sure everyone can hear each other and that we have a nice balance.
Then you wait... and sometimes visit with people... or get into your outfits and re-do hair.
When it's time to perform, you don't feel nervous... usually. :)
Then you get up on a stage, usually, and play for either 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour, an hour and 15 minutes, an hour and a 1/2, or two hours. :) *laughing* People like all sorts of different times. :)
Sometimes you take a break, and during that time, visit with people.
Then you get up again and finish the program.
Then you put your violin away and either visit or take down the sound system.
You end up getting out of the RV park late, and sometimes you have a really long drive home.
Then you have to get children into PJ's and then you get ready for bed.
Then you go to bed. :)

What a day! :) It can be tiring, but you hear from a lot of people that they enjoy the music. It's worth it.
Here are some pictures. Hope you enjoy.

The sweet twins. :)

Here, we were trying to get to the pizza place... and the GPS took us by some strange route. :)

Last night was quite the adventure. We had gotten some money from a dear man who wanted us to go get dinner with it. So we went to A&M's Pizza Place. That ended up being a disaster, and blessing at the same time. We ordered a couple pizzas for our family (and Mr. Krell), and we waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... our pizza never came. We were getting a little worried, because we had to be at the RV park soon. So mom got up to check on it. It was in a box to go out for takeout! NOT in the plan at all! But we got a 50% discount for their mistake. We find that people end up making at least one mistake when ordering for a large family. :)

But we got to the RV park after eating our food VERY quickly (thinking we'd need to be in the park in a 1/2 hour or 15 minutes to set up and get our outfits on and everything). And we got there right on time... 5 minutes to spare. :) And we ended up not playing at 6:30 like we thought, but at 7:00. :) We had plenty of time. We were a little nervous, because they were eating dinner. And our last two dinner shows were horrible. The audience was not enthusiastic... partly because they were eating, I assume.

But these people were WONDERFUL! :) It was a good night. :)

One of the stages we played on... It was about 5 feet tall!

Before a performance...
Some cool buildings :)
We had some time before this performance. Sam was doing a workbook.
Those curlers are really good! I think it overdid it this time though. :)

Hope you have enjoyed this peek into our life!

Trailer Life

2012-02-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

Being in Arizona isn't fun all the time. :) Living quarters can be a challenge. :) We have 34 feet to live in for 4-5 weeks, and we're constantly dealing with the normal things in life, only in a much smaller space. There are dishes... LOTS of dishes... there are messes... LOTS of messes... there's sand and dirt that gets in the trailer... LOTS of sand and dirt... and attitudes in the trailer... LOTS of attitudes in the trailer. :) We have young, entergetic children that don't always get to go outside in the 55+ parks all by themselves (the security guards don't like them to be out by themselves)... so that can be a challenge. We have a dog that needs to go outside... and sometimes it can take a long time to get to the dog park.

But think about this...
There are LOTS of dishes... that means I have a large family!
There are LOTS of messes... but that means that I have delightful younger siblings!
There's a LOT of sand and dirt... but that means we're here in Arizona! If we were at home, we'd be dealing with mud!
There are LOTS of attitudes in the trailer... but can we help turn bad ones into good ones?
There are little children that want to go outside and play and sometimes they can't... at least they have so much energy and are not sick or crippled and CAN'T play outside!
We have a dog that needs to go to the dog park... we can at least look at that as getting a little bit of exercise!

How can YOU turn YOUR situations around and be grateful for them?

Here are a few pictures... :)I thought he did a good job posing in his sleep. :)

Doing math!
My sweet brother, Sam
Leah... :) What a blessing she is! She has her curlers in her hair in this picture. :)
And kind-of off subject... but Leaf Verde was one of our favorite parks. It is the cleanest park we have ever been too! And we were blessed to be able to spend some extra days there. They wouldn't let us pay for them either! What a blessing!

~Emily

Dani's Birthday

2012-02-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

For Dani's 19th birthday, we had a few surprise plans... and surprisingly :), they stayed surprises! What a plus! Isn't hard to keep secrets from other family members? It was a Sunday - and we had played music for a church that morning. It was a blessing! The pastor there preached a good sermon... which was refreshing. After cleaning up our sound system, we headed out to Cracker Barrel. Dani hadn't known that we had planned that already. :)

Waiting outside

When we arrived, Dad went inside to "reserve a table" for our family. It looked really busy, and so Dani thought, "Wow! That was fast!" :) As we walked inside, Dani was perfectly shocked to see our grandpa and grandma there! Dad, Mom, Greg, Amanda and I knew that they would be there, but it was a big surprise for the little ones and Dani. They had already reserved our table... of course! They graciously drove about 2 hours to get there just to be with our family. What a blessing!

This was most of our family's first time to eat at Cracker Barrel. That was really fun, because traveling down to Arizona, you see lots of billboards advertising it. But now we've been there and know what it's like. :) Mom ordered a BBQ beef sandwich and said that it was the best one she'd EVER had! :)
Becky was thrilled to see grandma. She kept asking, "When will we see grandma... when will we see grandma?" So she was very excited! :)
Afterwards, we looked around at the things for sale. It was a cute little shop. :)

Amanda and I DID bake a cake for Dani, and this year we had a different problem. Last year it was a bit lopsided, because the trailer was tipped :), and this year it got a bit burnt on the bottom, because we don't really know the oven here yet, and we weren't doing it in 9 inch round cake pans... :) Oh well. :)

And she DID receive some very special gifts. What a blessing!

And to end the day, we watched Courageous. :) What a GOOD movie! (And just to let all of you know, we did put the children to bed early!) We ended up staying up past midnight. :)

Blessings to you all!
~Emily

A Little Roadside Chapel

2012-02-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Even though we haven't posted since the beginning of our travels, we have experienced many blessings and have had some wonderful times together as a family. I thought I would do small posts and not be too overwhelming!

On the first day of February, we were traveling... I don't know where (!) but we were traveling! :) Then we saw something that made us pull over - a little roadside chapel.

It encouraged us to:

I decided to go in a check it out, and of course everyone else was curious. So I walked up to the chapel door. And at that point, I got a little scared. :) I have a wild imagination, and so I ended up trying the door, and I thought it was locked. So I went back to the car, but then I decided to try again.

So mustering up my courage, I tried harder... and the door opened.
It was a cute little chapel... simple and nice. :)

That was a fun experience, and made me think. Don't be so busy on the highway of life that we forget to visit the little chapel and refresh ourselves in the Word, and make our hearts right.

Blessings!
~Emily

Happy Birthday, Dani... and Update!

2012-02-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I am sorry this is so late, but our internet connection has not been very good so far, and time is so limited, that we haven't had time to get a blog post written!

Sunday was Dani's 19th birthday (she will do a post about it later on). Unfortunately, I am unable to post any pictures at this time, but hopefully we will be able to later! I am so thankful for Dani, and her godly example to me, and to so many others. She has such a servant's heart, and is such a wonderful older sister! What a blessing sisters are. I love you, Dani!

Thank you for your prayers for us while we have been on our trip- what a blessing to know so many people are praying for us! So far, the trip has had many blessings, as well as some trials. Living in a small space can be a test for patience! :) But the Lord has been so good to us on our trip, and we are enjoying the time of sharing the Gospel message with others through music. It has been an encouraging time.

We will hopefully do another post soon, with pictures!

Blessings,
~Amanda

God is Faithful

2012-02-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

We have begun our journey to Arizona. God has been so good to us as we have traveled along, and although there have been some ups and downs, He has shown Himself so faithful to meet all our needs! The pictures below will show a sort of story of how our trip has gone thus far.

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. ~Psalm 40:8

We got to take a family picture before we all split into our 3 vehicles to begin our journey to Arizona.

It was hard on Rebekah to say goodbye to all the animals. Shredder knew that something was going on, and it was not easy to get this picture!
Mr. Krell arrived at 8:30 so that we could leave around 9ish. The children love him!
Mom, getting ready to leave- looking for the keys.

At the end of our driveway, we were startled to find a Sheriff car - we are not sure why he was there?
We made a lunch stop here - so far, so good!
Sam, Hannah, Dad and I made our trip together in the pickup, hauling the trailer. They look comfortable!
Greg misses no photo opportunities! I'm excited to see what all he will capture on this trip.
Walking Peanut in the cold Utah weather!
We made quite a few fuel stops along the way.

The first night, we were all VERY cold! Everyone huddled around the little space heaters.
At every opportunity, the little ones love to ask and show Mr. Krell things.
On this cold morning, before we left, my wonderful brother was willing to pose with me. How dear family is! I am just constantly reminded of how important these relationships are with my siblings! God has given me such a special family.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. ~Psalm 90:12
Ready to load up in the warm car after a brisk walk!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ~Psalm 133:1
I have such an amazing father!
Mr. Krell posed for me - ready to get on the road again!
We actually had to make 3 stops alongside the road, 2 for Mr. Krell's motor home that was acting up and one to switch tired drivers.Lunch stop - passing sandwiches through the car! :)

Beautiful scenery we find as we travel around. God's creation is stunning!
The second night of traveling, we were just gassing up, and preparing to leave again.

At this point, we were all praying that God would heal the motor home, allow us to continue traveling as we had several hours to go...

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: ~Psalm 71:14-16a
... but God had other plans! :) We waited to see what this delay was for.
Waiting and praying

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. ~Psalm 73:26
It ended up that we had to call the tow truck to have some work done on the motor home.
We found a little trailer park to rest the next day as we waited to see what the news for the motor home would be! The little ones had fun playing outside.
Leah had fun during this break of driving.

Peanut has been a great traveler- no problems!
These men from Dearden Auto Repair were working hard to get us on the road again.

Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. ~Psalm 86:11
Reading and waiting
Our very first "concert" turned out to be at the Dearden Auto Repair!! The men were curious about what our family did, and I was praying it was a blessing to them. We played 2 songs for them.
This was our little audience. Perhaps this was the reason we were delayed - to bring some of God's love through song to them. We may never know the reason, but we trust that God sees the bigger picture.

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. ~Psalm 40:5
We were having a little more trouble along the road. But thankfully a little gas and prayer helped us along.

We made it to Blake Ranch RV on the 30th. We spent a warmer night there and the children all enjoyed looking around. There were even some gold fish in a little pond there.
A few minutes before heading to Salome, we got a picture.
Goodbye, Blake Ranch! :)
And the LORD safely brought us to Desert Palms where we are currently staying. What a blessing it has been to rest and enjoy being all together.
I guess I caught them by surprise

This was a treat - yesterday, Dad, Amanda, Emily and I got to do a little produce shopping - and we found this little Mexican vegetable/fruit stand!
They had great prices for delicious fresh vegetables! What a blessing that was.
We had a good time together.
Last night was our first 10 minute "pre-concert" which we all dressed up for.
The twins
Sam and Greg were having a good time together. Brothers are so special.

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. ~Jeremiah 31:3b

Last Day

2012-01-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

" The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." ~Isaiah 50:4

This is our prayer that God would prepare us - the words that we speak, through our music and in interacting with others, that we may be right where God wants us. May we have tongues and hearts that are willing to listen and learn!

Our last day at home has been extremely busy and productive - it's amazing all the things you use in one day for 10 people! What a blessing it has been to work together though in preparation for this opportunity. We are praying that the LORD keeps our focus on Him and that we leave our worries or concerns in His hands. What a faithful God we serve!
We had Peanut's treats out in the pile "to go" and she was guarding them very carefully from the cats! :)

Checking the list of things to bring and what we need to print before leaving.
The Best of Friends!! What a blessing sisters are!

Samuel and Rebekah are still faithfully practicing their duet so they can be ready for the real thing!
I got to go over to Grandma's one more day to study the Word before we leave which was very rich and special.
Tonight, we were all carrying boxes and bags out to the trailer!
What a wonderful father God has blessed me with! Dad has been working a lot of hours these days and is such a diligent man of God. Praise the LORD for fathers!

Today, Emily was pasting laminated verses all over in the trailer (on walls, cupboards, by the sink, on the refrigerator, on the ceiling above beds, etc.) to remind us God's promises and truths. We were also searching for a verse to put in a picture frame that we were replacing the picture of and this is the passage we chose. We thought it was important to remember this trip:

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
~Lamentations 3:21-26

We will (Lord-willing) be posting along the road as we are able with pictures and updates. Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings to you all,
~Dani

Prayer Requests

2012-01-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Lord willing, we leave tomorrow morning! We are all excited, but the last couple of days have been extremely busy, as we bustle around packing, planning, practicing, and more. :) Some of you may wonder how you can pray for us, so we put together a list for our Bible study group, and I thought I would share it with you all.

Prayer requests:

Peace and joy while we are packing for a month of travel

Travelling mercies and good roads to travel on

God would be glorified in our lives and our music

Preparing hearts before we come; opportunities to talk to those that are really needing prayer

Words to say to those that we speak to instead of just “thank you”; engaging the people

Jesus to be magnified in song; obvious in each place we go

Family unity and growing in our relationships with each other

Daily quiet times

The Lord would speak to us the things He wants us to learn and do

Shredder to stay out of trouble :)

I wish I could post some pictures, but I have to get back to packing! Thank you all for your prayers. We are looking forward to what the Lord does on this trip!

Blessings,

~Amanda

Preparing for Arizona

2012-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

Preparing for our trip to Arizona has not been easy, but we are so looking forward to the work God is going to do! I have found such joy and blessings in working together as a family and praising God through song.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. ~Psalm 98:4

Mr. Krell is such a dear family friend! Sam loves to ask him all sorts of questions about how things work and what he thinks about this or that. Pals!

This afternoon, we got pictures around the room during a break from our practice.

The younger ones got to enjoy a little snow this year. The pile Greg shoveled off our walk way was pretty high - just perfect for a mini sledding hill! :) Amanda and Emily trudging through the snow to go milk the goats! On Sunday, we were asked to share our music with our church body. We were so blessed and encouraged by our dear brothers and sisters in Christ who are sending us out with many prayers!

Leah, waiting as we worked to set up the sound equipment before church started. Hannah posed for me too
Later Sunday afternoon, we were planning to run through our whole concert and record it so we could observe how we could improve - a dear friend warmed up the building for us and we had some more friends join us to cheer us on and encourage us as we rehearsed for Arizona. :) That was a special evening!
Leah has her own solo she is singing this year. We are excited about that.

Dear Mother
We are so looking forward to this trip. God has brought us all along and helped us through so many rough spots~ We give Him all the glory.
Our dear friends who have so blessed our lives and that night stayed with us all 2 plus hours as we set up, practiced, took down and cleaned up. We are so thankful for this wonderful couple in our lives. What a blessing!

I ran across this verse this evening and I wanted to end with it.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. ~Hosea 10:12

Blessings to you all,
~Dani

A Blessed Life

2012-01-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

JEHOVAH is greatly to be praised - how He has blessed my life richly with such a wonderful family and fellowship from other believers. There are many things He has taught me already this new year, and I would like to share some things with you.

"Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me." ~ Psalm 119:92-93

Delighting in the LORD has been on my mind the last few weeks. Is the living Word of God my delight and joy? The psalmist says that unless the law of God had been his delight, he would have perished!

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." ~Psalm 37:4

Then I found some things GOD delights in! These are things I want to be found faithfully working toward.

"They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight." ~Proverbs 11:20

" Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." ~Proverbs 12:22

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight." ~Proverbs 15:8

We celebrated Mom's birthday this month. How blessed we are to have such a virtuous example to us girls. Mom is my closest confident, my encouragement, her example of seeking after God and delighting in His Word has greatly inspired me - I don't know how to thank the LORD enought for the wonderful mother He has blessed our family with!
Mom got a lot of birthday cards this year and lots of little presents - the little ones love to cut and paste together creative gifts.

Amanda and I got to make a couple loaves of bread last week. It was a fun sister project.
Our wonderful friend and bass player has been over a lot to practice music with us as we prepare for our trip to Arizona. He always seems to find something new to show the little ones though. :)

Samuel and Hannah have worked up a piano duet that gets practiced several times a day. It is fun to hear the little ones starting to fill our home with music too!

We were blessed to enjoy fellowship with our Bible study group this Monday and celebrate Mrs. H's birthday!
It was neat to share a meal together and fellowship with each other.
Even though Greg was just getting over a terrible ear infection (extremely painful - thankfully the LORD got him through that and he had a great opportunity to rest!) he was still able to practice music with us as our trip is coming up so quickly!
Our amazing bass player, dear friend and brother in Christ. We are always blessed to have him come to our home as we have frequent practices during the week.
As Emily was playing her solo, Amanda posed for a picture. This year, Amanda has worked up a beautiful violin piece that reflects her love of classical music.
Hannah has been diligently practicing her pieces she is doing for our trip to Arizona. Her beautiful smile encourages us all to continue in our practices! :)
I think maybe Hannah was playing her solo as I waited for the next song. :)
Emily does a beautiful job on her piano pieces, whether she is accompanying Amanda on her classical piece, playing the chords for "There is a Reason" or playing along with our "Lovers Waltz". God has given her a beautiful gift of expression on the piano!
I am so thankful for Mom and her wonderful backup piano parts. She adds so much to our music. Leah snuck on her lap as one of the others had a solo. :)
Samuel and Rebekah have their duet completely memorized and it is sounding really good! :) I love to see them working together.
Amanda, Emily and I held our last FCH class with our dear little ladies yesterday. We all enjoyed making celebration cookies as we were completing the baking course in our book!
Even Leah got to join our class for a little bit. Each girl got to add her own ingredient and help stir it in.
Everyone got to have a special part in the baking and cleanup! What a blessing to have a small part in encouraging these young ladies to prepare their lives for being future keepers-at-home.
Some of the most encouraging times we have, though, are opening up the Word of God and reading a devotion aloud with the girls and studying the lives of women of God. There we talk about ways we can work on change and pray.

What special girls we have the privilege of working with!

Sweet friends
We are so blessed to know these dear girls.
Our last Future Christian Homemakers class until we get back from Arizona. We had a special afternoon with these dear young ladies!

This morning, during our family devotions, everyone had a chance to share what they learned from their personal devotions, and several of the verses and thoughts came from Proverbs. Mom shared a verse from chapter 17:3 "The fining-pot is for sliver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts." And from her commentary by Charles Bridges, she read a really good thought that I wanted to share with you:

The gold must be put into the furnace. So mixed is it with dross, that the workman's eye can scarcely discover it. Till it has undergone the fire, it is unfit for use. None of us know ourselves, until 'the fire has tried every man's work'. Painful indeed is the purifying process. The flesh trembles at the fire. Shall we not commit ourselves with well grounded confidence to his wisdom, tenderness and love. Is not any furnace, that purges away our dross of earthiness, that brings us to know ourselves, our God - a mighty blessing? Nothing but dross will perish. The vilest earth will be turned into the finest gold. No refiner ever watched the furnace with such exactness and care. Strange as it may seem to see the gold left in the fire, he that put it there would be loathe to lose it. He 'sits' in patient watchfulness, moderating the heat, and carefully marking the moment, when it shall be brought through the fire, and set out in all the sining of the purifying trial.

The part that hit me most this morning was that God is moderating the heat and watching - knowing exactly when to take us out. But without the heat of the fiery trial, we cannot be purified. What are the trials God has placed in my life? Am I THANKING Him for them, knowing that He has specially ordained them for my life to shape and prepare me for greater things? I was reminded on Monday night by a friend that PRAISE is everything. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ~1 Thessalonians 5:18 Even through a trial or pain, still God should get all the praise and glory. There are Christians around the world who are praying to have the privilege to SUFFER for the Name of Christ! I was reminded to thank the LORD for what ever circumstances God allows in my life, whether they seem good or hard in my own eyes.

Emily is such a wonderful sister. She and Leah have a lot of fun together.
Today, Greg and Leah played some piano together while Mom worked on stuff for Arizona.

Often, Hannah and Rebekah work on their chores together - including feeding the chickens in the snow! :) I saw after they were done, Hannah was running Rebekah around in the sled. They were so happy today for the snow as we have not had any this season (to speak of).
When we girls packed the trailer a couple days ago, we didn't think we'd need our crock pot until we left, but my meal today required it, so when I asked if the kids could run an errand for me, they were more than delighted to have an excuse to put on snow stuff and tread through the blowing snow. They had a great idea - Leah was the bearer of the crock pot on her little sled! :)

Another verse that caught my attention from a conversation yesterday at the H. house (we got to help package more carrots) was Jeremiah 2:2b "Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." JEHOVAH loved it when the children of Israel followed after Him in the wilderness for 40 years... and they went after Him only WHEN their source of food, water and security were tried and taken away from them - then they realized their great need for the One who created them. This make me think and ask myself how much am I seeking after God? He loves to be pursued ... am I wholeheartedly seeking after my Maker and Redeemer - at ALL times, or just when I am really desperate and at the end of my "rope"? And look at this verse!! "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. ~Psalm 119:2

If you could pray for Dad - he is on a business trip and will be traveling home Friday. We pray the weather is decent so he can drive home once he arrives! Thank you.

Keep seeking after God with your whole heart! There are blessings for those who obey and fear JEHOVAH!

To end this post though, I would just like to share the words of a beautiful song that a friend gave me a copy of which really spoke to me this week.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That he should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss -
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen one
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life -
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart -
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Through Christ Alone,

~Dani

2011 Highlights (Part 2)

2012-01-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

It was a special treat to hear the Botkin ladies speak at the Christian Heritage conference
Traveling home from Arizona
We received 2 special gift baskets. One from our cousin and his wife, and the other was anonymous. What a blessing!

Another Arizona picture :)
We made TONS of apple leather this year. We managed to get this one off the tray in one piece.
Emily was very excited about being able to grow a few indoor plants this spring. And it was very exciting when they bloomed!

We took a girls walk in December - probably a first!
We love having our uncle and aunt live right next door to us!
We were able to play some music for a harvest party
Dad and mom celebrated their 25th anniversary in October! What a blessing to have godly parents, dedicated to each other and the LORD.
We were all excited ~ we were able to purchase a different trailer for this year's tour to Arizona. It will be much nicer than our other one.

November 11th, 2011 at 11:11 :)Dad and mom posing for our yearly photo. We will be posting the finished photo later.
Our family was able to take a 3-day vacation last year. We made many fun memories.
It has been so fun to watch Samuel and Rebekah work together on getting "You're a Grand Old Flag" worked up to play in Arizona this year.
We loved miniature golfing on our vacation. :D
We got to take our first family bike ride on our little vacation.
We were able to play music with our friends in July.
Another good friend

Singing in the Christian Heritage Chorale was a big highlight of the year
We finally met our friends and penpals of 2 years. We all sang in the chorale. What wonderful memories!

Traveling home...
We played at about 20 different churches, RV parks, etc. last year in Arizona.
A last group picture before heading home
We were able to visit different zoos and such during our trip. The children all enjoyed taking pictures of the animals. :)
Sisters are the best friends in life. ♥

Blessings to you all.

2011 Highlights (Part 1)

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Happy 2012! Although it is already 12 days into the year, we thought we would post some highlights from last year.
One of our goals for this year is to....

Post at least once a week!!!!!! Please keep us accountable on that one. :)

The following photos are not in order, but we hope you enjoy them anyway. :) These describe our highlights.

Carrot harvest with friends
A sweet little friend with Amanda
We thoroughly enjoyed a visit with our dear friends the M. ladies. ♥
Sweet Olivia
We said goodbye to our faithful trailer of 2 years...
Amanda with Lucia.
Hannah's baptism this August.
We re-painted our house this summer. What a good project for the whole family!
Cute goat kids. :) We enjoyed raising 10 of them last spring.
Dani with MaryAnna
Best of friends ♥

A beautiful hike we took in Arizona.

Peanut in the trailer :)
Cutie Leah at the Children's Museum in Arizona.
Entertaining herself during rest time.
Hannah is a willing photo-subject. :)

Recording our 2nd CD in January 2011.
More recording
Dad, sneaking a cup of coffee during one of our recording sessions. ;)
A fun road on the long trip to Arizona (very fun to take pictures of ;)
Special friends

More dear friends
We have enjoyed putting on a monthly homemakers class.
A special visit with a dear family.
We girls enjoyed many good times with K. They visited with us for several days from the end of last year to the beginning of this year.
Singing the Messiah
Family is a special gift. :)
There were 16 of us children in all when the R. family visited (The baby isn't present in the picture). We thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

We will be posting more later.

December

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I can't believe we're already more than half-way through December! God has blessed us with continued beautiful weather! There are so many things to be thankful for.

The LORD showed me something really neat this morning in my devotion. I was reading an article that Mom had shared with me and I found it very encouraging. Here are just a couple things from it I wanted to share with you.

"You do not find life in trying to find yourself. You find your life in pouring your life out for others. This is when you find abundant life! 'Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others' (Philippians 2:4)

Lord, help me to live from day to day
In such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayer shall be for others.

Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be,
Help me life for others,
That I may live like Thee.

I've got a life, exciting and free,
I've found the secret, it's not about me!
~Nancy Campbell

And I've found this to be so true. When I am focused on others instead of my own problems, I am so much more content and happy. So I encourage you, when you are feeling lonely, confused or self-pity, look to the LORD to give you the strength to give OF yourself to OTHERS!

I couldn't believe that in the middle of December, we were able to go on a walk together!! We had a girls day with Mom which was really special. Dad, Greg and Sam took a day trip with a friend and were not home until after dinner. We girls did some fun things with Mom after we finished some work. One of those things was an energizing cool walk! :)

Hannah is such a caring and loving sister. She is constantly encouraging and loving others and is an inspiration to me. I see a deep love for the LORD growing in her heart and a hunger and thirst after things of Him! I am excited to see how the LORD will continue to use her to bless others.

Dad and Bekah snuggling while he did some work.
Peanut was so cute- just had to get a picture. :)On Sunday, we 3 oldest girls and Mom were blessed to attend the Messiah sing-along after church, but this meant we had to drive separately so that Dad and Greg could take the younger ones home after church. Before we took off, Greg was making some funny faces at me from the other car. :)
At the Messiah, we also met up with some friends from church actually and Amanda and I, who were singing alto, got to sit with them. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Mom and Emily in the soprano section. We had a fun time together though.
Dad has a special tradition for each birthday - he takes each of us out individually for breakfast! Samuel and Rebekah were so excited - one went Saturday morning, the other went Tuesday morning before Dad had to go to work. It was a special time for both of them!

Dad is such our expert sound man! He listens in the headphones for the mix of all instruments and voices. :) I am so thankful for Dad - He is our encouragement and support, and always has words of praise after each concert! We love you, Dad!

A couple weeks ago, we were asked to play some music for a ladies December party! It was a special time, anticipating our upcoming weeks in Arizona. It felt a lot like some of the concerts we did last year (only we played a lot shorter this time).
What a joy it is to sing together as a family and praise the LORD, share the gospel through song and work as a team to glorify the LORD!!I love it!
Mom does such a fabulous job on the piano. She is our support, encouragement and motivation! We love you, Mom!Bekah is so good at helping with the dishes. Her servant's heart is such a blessing to each one in our family.
Samuel adds such joy to my day. His bright smile and unprompted compliments to his sisters and Mom are precious! He'll make a wonderful husband one day! :) A couple days ago, we 4 were practicing music together, going over the songs we will be doing in Arizona this next year. We had a wonderful, relationship-building time together.

This morning, Hannah also shared a passage with me that uplifted my spirit and reminded me of some of God's promises. I want to share that with you in closing.

"Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in Thy word. I know, O LORD, that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight." ~Psalm 119:73-77

May the LORD richly bless each of you as you spend time in the presence of our Maker and Redeemer. May you be known BY and FOR your faith as you shine brightly in the world for Christ!

Blessings to you,
~Dani

November Update

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"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." ~Isaiah 12:2

The LORD has been so faithful and good to us this fall. His love never fails and His mercy endures forever. I can't begin to express how thankful I am for His patience in teaching me, for I am a slow learner, but desirous to change and be conformed to HIS image. The joy He gives me becomes my strength when I am discouraged or confused... He is teaching me to be THANKFUL for His purposes in the circumstance, whether it be pleasant or not. I was reminded of this as Mom was helping me with a school subject that was overwhelming to me - that God has something much more important to teach me THROUGH the difficult algebra than just figuring out how to solve the equation. So I am seeking to learn through the circumstances the lessons He has for me to change and grow me in His likeness. His Word has become even more precious to me as I am learning more about the character of God and how to apply what He has taught me. This morning I read in Philippians and was encouraged in this race we are running as ambassadors for Christ - not to give up but persevere and press toward the HIGH calling!

"Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are befroe, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13b-14)

I was encouraged this morning to keep striving for the prize at the end of the race. His Word is full of riches and I have also been enjoying a lot in Isaiah...

"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shally thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." (Isaiah 58:10-11)

This verse was a great encouragement to me to give of myself to those around me and the LORD will refresh me like a watered garden that has no lack! What a beautiful picture.

What did you all do for Thanksgiving? We had some of our family and my grandma's caregiver and her brother over in the evening which we all enjoyed. We got to share a meal together, play a few games and converse. The rest of the day, our family got to spend together which was restful and special.

Some of the other things we have been busy with are explained in the pictures below.

We got to be part of a homeschool activity - a Plymouth Plantation day - some children reenacted main characters from that era. It was fun to hear about each character!
Hannah shared a report on gratefulness. A couple children did reports on different character qualities.
This young man acted as an Indian. :) The children all liked his outfit!

Greg has been busy with a lot of photo opportunities, including our yearly photo. He is very creative in each of his projects. The LORD has gifted him in so many areas!
Rebekah was faithfully practicing her piano - but the cat loves her so much, he followed her to the piano and was playing in her lap, slightly distracting her from her music! :)

Sam took this picture for us. I got to make Rebekah some pajamas. It was a fun project as I have not had much time to sew.
We took a few pictures while we were outside - this was before we had snow!
Rebekah in her new pajamas! :)

This night, we were doing a family devotion about Thanksgiving. Hannah posed for me.

We were blessed to join the C. family for a few minutes last week as Greg came to take a family picture for all 15 of them. We girls got to come along for a short visit with our dear friends! We are very blessed!

May the LORD bless and refresh you as you spend time in His Word and seek to know His will for your life. May He dwell in your hearts by faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend the breath, width, length and height of His great love for us which passes all OUR understanding!

Unto Him be the glory,
~Dani