The beginning of fall...and other things

 So it is. Today is the first day of fall & I love it! I don't believe I have ever heard anyone complain about the nice cooler weather and small breezes that come with this time of year especially if the summer has been  a little warmer & dryer than some of us I appreciate. I know there is good, beautiful things about every season but there's some seasons that I like better then others.   I'm just being honest here & I am sincerely happy that this season hosts my birthday! :) 

My sister Rhoda & I have been all into celebrating the season. Yesterday we baked apple and pumpkin pies before we went to work and since I have tomorrow & the next day off we decided it would be perfect to send "fall presents" to friends & relations. Some now and some at the beginning of winter... So you never know. You might be getting something now or later. :)

 I love how Rhoda brings the outside in with whatever is outside at the time. Currently there is a tall vase of chives sitting on the kitchen table.  Simplicity I tell you. :)

 And I can start making all those amazing fall scented candles that I just love! I got some new ones this year & It seems like people like to buy them. :)

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And than there are other things to write about. The certain subject of time and what we do with it that keeps running through my head and not wanting to go away.  I believe it's something good for me to think about since I find it difficult to manage my time properly on occasion a lot of the time. It goes something like this. As I look and observe my life/lifestyle and the way I spend my time I have no option but to painfully observe how much of my time is wasted. Completely. One example is that I find myself spending a lot of unnecessary time on the internet.  While the things I look at are sometimes helpful ( i.e. looking for ways to better teach music to oneself, projects to do, etc..) and useful, the effort/time put into looking for those things is wasted if I could be spending time with my family or doing something that I really need to be doing or quite honestly, spending needed, important time with God. I find myself being the most frustrated and irritable at myself and life in general when I get to the end of a busy day and find that I have just spent all my 'spare' time on internet and maybe not even read my Bible that day at all!  It's beginning to become clear to me in this way: Imagine you had a close relationship with someone. Sister, brother, friend, parent etc.. and suddenly one day you see the relationship changing VERY fast. While you're still close and know each other well the relationship just kinda stops growing. Perhaps you or the other person has become very busy or you/other person has found other things to focus on and the time spent with each other becomes basically non-existent and as a result someone is left hurt and wondering what happened to the relationship that was once there but no longer is. This mental illustration brought to my mind a much more serious thought. What if that's how Jesus feels when we suddenly "don't have time" and the time we spend reading the Bible & praying & drawing closer/learning to know Him deeper becomes basically non-existent? I don't have to look very far to realize that the relationship that was once there has become one of those "when I need you/when I am afraid" deals. On my part. Not because He became too busy with other things but because I have little by little been filling my time with things that have become "more important" to me. Jesus doesn't want a relationship that only gets noticed when life gets rough. He wants everything. That includes our time. If someone were to ask what my excuse is for spending/wasting time on things of little importance when I have not even spent time with God....I would have no answer. People read us much more then we think and they can see -much better then we wish- what is dominating our lives. I have been deeply challenged by this thought: Whatever we focus on/give ourselves to the most determines who/what is our god.  When God sees a need for something to change in the life of one of His children He makes it known and does not force then to change but the peace that comes and the glory He receives when we do is reward enough for any small thing that we may consider a "sacrifice".   I am challenged to change my habits and live every day for the Glory of God. He created us for the very purpose of bringing Glory to Himself and too often we do just the opposite and take time for the things we want to do or we chose the things that make us feel good about ourselves instead of choosing JESUS. 

In which we go to wisconsin....

In august we went to Wisconsin.  Us kids went up in February or maybe it was March but the reason/excuse this time was that some very close friends of ours were getting married and what a shame it would be to miss out on it! So we went, and cooked food for the wedding and enjoyed ourselves enormously. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding with only about 100-120 guests -I think little weddings are the way to go. Seriously people. The ones I have been at are always so much more relaxed and personal...just sayin' :)-  We discovered after we got there that there was no dishwasher and all the plates, cups, silverware etc. would have to be washed with our own hands. We began to imagine a long process & it was not such a glorious mind picture but we discovered that even the cleanup was to be fun! It's amazing how much fun washing dishes is when you're in a kitchen with 5-11 or 13 friends and everyone is helping 'happily'.... but since ya'll don't want to hear about the cleaning up I will let you look at some pictures. Cause those are always understandably much more interesting than words.

 

Here is Micah, Rhoda & I trying to entertain ourselves on the way up.

 

Jonathan & Anna - they are the main reason we went and it was a good reason too! :)

 

The mothers- Lydia & Lydia :)

 

I don't have a picture of just Anna but she was a lovely bride!

 

 I loved how happy & relaxed they were...

 

And than the reception....yes, this is the wedding I was making candles for the last time I posted...

 

 

 

It was fun to serve the bridal table cause we knew everyone and it was sorta just like serving family. And just in case you are interested...they had mountain dew for their drink. ;)

 

- the bridesmaids -

Kathryn & I

And than once we shot guns.  I even shot the AK-47 or was it 14? (something like that...I don't know my guns at all ) it was fun, but the fact that my ears filled with static reminding me of airbags so I couldn't even  hear the shot took a little of the extreme excitement out of it. (and those of you who know me well are going...Hannah? extreme excitement? weeellll....you never know. :) )

And then there are the pictures that were taken before or after we made a random trip to DQ for ice cream.

Random, I know.... :)

                                            

 And then there is Rachel, Mary, Rhoda, Lizzie, Kathryn & I...You know, I never did say that this caught us at our most photogenic best did I? :)

And that my friends is all for now. 

I hope you have an amazing rest of the week!

Summer and other things

So this summer has been a little busy. I notice I have not blogged since May 13, which was my sisters birthday....and I still haven't gotten her a present because I have not been able to find that 'thing' for her. She has given me lots of hints and suggestions but I always tell her that if she suggests it then very likely I won't get it for her 'cause I want it to be a complete surprise and if I get something that she told me to get then it would be spoiled..... on and on.... does this sound like an excuse? To me it doesn't but maybe it feels like it to her? I should ask her.   

                       In June Naomi was home for a very short few days for a friends wedding. This is the only picture of all of us that I have. Please notice do not notice the yellow lamp shining brightly 

behind Dorcas' head. :)

In my spare time I am working on the 60 candles for a friends wedding in august. In this picture, I have just finished pouring the wax and they are getting hard.... the clothespins are to hold the wick straight and keep it centered while the wax is still hot.... I have quite a lot of fun doing this and one day I promise to give one away on here. Your choice of scent. It just hasn't happened yet.

Here is 1/60 of the finished product.  -I'm using baby food jars and spray painting the lids bronze. 

They look quite enchanting I think.

 I put this picture on just cause I like it so much. It is fresh blueberries from my manager at the bakery. I think it looks like the perfect summer gift for anybody. Who wouldn't like to get blueberries tied up with string?  :)
And so this weekend Jon & Mary come see us for a little while. -little as in nearly 2 days-  and seeing that Dorcas has moved to Iowa recently...I should think it would be very easy  for her to come along! ? :)
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 God has been doing amazing things and I will write some about that in the next post but for now here is a verse that says it all.

You are the God who works wonders;
 You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
Psalms 77:14

Of recent thought....

Hello people! I see that it has been a total of more than 30 days since my last post & I realize that perhaps you: the reader, have lost all interest in reading.... that's OK. I don't have this blog so I can keep track of how many people are keeping track of me but rather 'cause I find it relaxing to just write and post pictures onto the 1 out of 108,810,358 -and counting- web pages that exist today....entertaining thought anyway.

It seems to me that my life has suddenly gotten quite busy. Sometimes I find it hard to remember how it was before. You see, it is quite a change to go from spending practically ALL your days at home -& sometimes having not much at all to do- to working 2 jobs which suddenly fill about 5 days out of my week.... income is nice though. I'm not complaining about anything. Just saying what I have noticed...

Saturday night I got home from work @ 11:30 and decided to quick check Facebook...today's greatest waste of time I know, but in this case I'm glad I did cause I discovered that a FREE concert was to be had only 30 minutes away the next night and the people singing were rather good & all this is rather exciting to me who loves concerts (especially when they're free :)) so the following night my brother and sisters and I went & enjoyed ourselves & I am rather glad that I discovered it. :)

2 weeks ago my sister Dorcas came home after being gone for 3 months at Bible school & my sister Sara and her husband and little kids came for a visit and this coming Wednesday Micah & Dorcas & Rhoda & I are going to Colorado to spend quality time with our sister Naomi... I so cannot wait!!!
   

 Aubrey is blowing her 'wish'.

 I totally LOVE Mya's expression! It made her so happy every time I told her

 she could play on my keyboard :)

 Kyler & his 'backwards' hat..he's so happy that he can wear it anyway he wants....

And Uncle Micah reads them stories...

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on another note......

 

What I've been thinking about recently is pretty much said in the following words... to often I find myself becoming settled in my Christian life and I don't reach out and grasp God's plans for me. Too often my faith is not stretched because I want to stay in my comfort zone or I don't see the miracles He performs every day because I'm not looking for them. But recently in being around the people I work with every day I see a hunger in them & they don't know what they are searching for... they seem to be looking for security and they are settling for relationships that bring only more pain because they haven't ever experienced God's love.  And I can't stay away from them. I think of them often. I can't stay in my own shell of comfortable comforts any longer. I must show them the love of Jesus. They need to see that there is a lasting relationship worth pursuing and it is only found in God.

 I have been challenged again & again by this quote and felt like sharing it with ya'll. My prayer for whoever reads this is that you would let God work through your life and that you could know and show the love of God...  

 

Disturb us O Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves; when our dreams come true because we dreamed too little; when we have arrived in safety because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us O Lord, when with the abundance of things we posses, we lost our thirst for the water of Life; when having fallen in love with time, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build the new earth, have allowed our vision of the new heaven to grow dim.  Stir us o Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms shall show Thy mystery and, where losing sight of the land, we find the stars.  In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow, even the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.    -Sir Francis Prake 

 

In Which.....

....I go to Colorado to see my sister with 9 other friends, and we make lots of good memories. Such as getting "stuck" in the mountains at night and waiting patiently for help to arrive.... :)  I'm so glad I had a chance to go see her & meet the friends/people she works with out there... Here are some pictures from that weekend.

 Friday morning we drove way up in the mountains to this place to eat, the 'General Store' as it was called, where as you can see, housed a dog that was able to go in and out as it pleased along with 1 or 3 others that are not shown here.  The food was good & it was very interesting....the owner sat and talked, brought us drinks etc. all the while a pistol stuck out of his back pocket.... he looked a lot more 'western-mountain man' than any you would find here!

Simply amazing & awesome!

 Here is all 11 of us on the outside of the General Store.

In the afternoon some of us went on a long walk and took pictures while some of the others were taking engagement pictures :)   Here is Naomi, me, Carol & Teresa

And again....

and than they want to take a 'fun picture' :)

  Andy grills our supper....

 Canon City from skyline at night, it was totally awesome! -more then this picture shows! :)

the guys....

 and most of us girls....

 Tres & Julie

 Glen & Jes - I so can't wait for their wedding in June!

(then Naomi gets to come home for a few days! :))

Saturday we went 'subbing' (i.e. an old suburban w/ the top cut off) that was definitely one of the favorite things from the whole weekend! It was gorgeous (& cold) in the mountains.... 

We went all the way up to Cripple Creek, which is a little mountain town of Casinos....  There we found a coffee shop which was quite happy! :)

Us girls in the coffee shop.

 The old sub. Yea, we felt so in style that day....totally! The latest model?? or not....

 ...I think not. On our way back down the mountains this wheel decided it couldn't any longer. It could have been very terrible but thankfully it didn't quite come off! So we sat there talking, growing cold, laughing & waiting for nearly 2 hours -i think- till someone brought things to fix it.... I am quite certain that we will always remember this part of the weekend! :)

And lastly. Naomi & I....

 I'm so glad to have her for my sister and one of my best friends! It's amazing to see what God is doing in & through her!  -please excuse the fact that we both look a little cheesy on this picture. Thank You.

The End.