Kentucky Trip Part 1: The beginning, pickles and diet mt. dew

Finally....the day had arrived! I have so been looking forward to this trip to Kentucky to spend a week with Ryan and Krissa! I was up early Wednesday morning, packed the remainder of my stuff and finished up my business tasks for the day and was ready for the 5 hour drive to Oklahoma City!

I was really concerned about packing everything I needed to. Not only did I have to pack my clothes, etc, but also a list of things such as photos, fabric and ribbon sent to me by a certain sister of mine. ;) But I did manage to get everything in and contain it to only 46 pounds. Wow! Only thing is - I had more carry-on luggage than I really cared to have. But it worked!


We left Oklahoma City to catch a connecting flight in Detroit to Louisville, where Ryan and Krissa would be there to pick us up. We encountered a slight delay because of weather in Detroit, so we ended up just getting up in the air about the time we were supposed to be arriving. But there were only delays to worry about, no plane breaking issues! ;) Ah, well....Ryan and Krissa didn't desert us; they were waiting when we finally got there. :)

So on the drive to Lexington and Krissa's apartment, Ryan informed us that we would have plenty of pickles! An adequate supply. I know, I know, that doesn't mean much to you, but let's back up a couple of weeks for just a minute so you can understand the importance of that statement.

For the past two months, all three of us girls have been emailing back and forth about this planned trip, what we needed to accomplish while we were there and which items we would be able to cross off Krissa's wedding planning list. Well.....let me rephrase that; rather, it was Krissa emailing us, "Here's what we're going to do....", "Would you bring this when you come.....", "Oh, don't forget to bring your computer....." (fyi - I NEVER forget to bring my computer!) ;)

So in and amongst all this ordering of what we're going to do and what I'm supposed to bring to Kentucky, Krissa informs us that there will be pickles in her apartment for us. Now, that was the true and honest drawing point bringing us to Kentucky - the pickles!! Ok, we're set; we're going! And bringing whatever you want us to bring! ;)

Ok, so back to this conversation in the car after arriving in Kentucky....Ryan didn't tell us exactly how many pickles would be waiting for us, but we found out he'd been shopping for "the large jar"! Ryan had us supplied with pickles and chocolate. You can't argue with that; wouldn't you go too??? (And they are even the whole pickles!)


And what's the first thing we do upon walking through the door of Krissa's apartment? Open the fridge door. And what do we find? Pickles. Plenty of them. (Granted, not Grandma's pickles, but hey - these are second best!) And diet mt. dew. A few cans of it. (We did have to make a trip to Wal-Mart for more of that stuff!)

And that concludes our first day in Kentucky. The best part of the trip so far? Definitely the pickles and diet mt. dew. No question about it.

Oh, yeah! We really were excited to see Ryan and Krissa at the airport as well!!! Especially since they were our ride to the pickles and diet mt. dew! ;)

Plain and simple obedience. Immediate obedience.

Matthew. A tax collector. A man hated by the majority of the people living in the city. A greedy guy. Deceitful and dishonest. What can be learned from this New Testament Bible character?

Plain and simple obedience. Immediate obedience.

During Kid's Klub on Wednesday afternoons, Erinn and I have been working with the kids to listen and obey when we tell them to do or not to do something. And not on the 10th time we tell them; the first time. So as I was reviewing the story of Matthew, I deliberately picked out Matthew 9:9 for the kids to look up in the Bible and read. (What better authority to point the kids to than God's Word?!)

Matthew 9:9 - As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

(btw - love this clipart image and the essence of greediness it displays! :))

Now you have to understand that Matthew was a greedy man, a tax collector employed by the Roman government, constantly cheating people out of their money as he collected the exorbitant taxes that he himself raised in cost.

So when Jesus passed by his tax collecting station, why in the world would he leave this place that fed his greedy attitude and lifestyle? Wouldn't he be hesitant to resign from that position? Wouldn't he want to at least finish his day's work? No. His answer to Jesus wasn't, "I'll come follow you after I finish my work today." Or he didn't respond by saying, "Not right now; I'll think about it, maybe tomorrow." Or "Wait just a minute; let me finish this."

No. He dropped everything and followed Jesus. Jesus didn't explain or give any other information than just the order, "Follow Me." And Matthew immediately obeyed. What better example could Matthew give to us than that exact response?

Jesus spoke; Matthew obeyed. Immediate. Completely. Fully. No questions asked.

I was stressing this point to the kids, telling them that when we or their parents or teachers tell them to do something, they should have the same response as Matthew. Do it. Do it now. That's being obedient.

And I found that same exact point convicting to me as well. How many times do I put off something that I know should or needs to be done? Not only with tasks I dread doing and put off, but relationships with others or ministry opportunities that I let pass by and neglect to do. Is my answer to be willing to do it, even when it costs me time and energy? Or do I wait and put it off, when I really know what I should be doing? How better to show my love for Jesus Christ than to respond to Him with obedience? Immediate obedience!

Have I mentioned that I love teaching? :) Not only do I get the opportunity to allow God to work through me and minister to the lives of children, but also I find so many times God teaches me so much more than what I'm actually teaching the kids! How spectacular is that?!

It's ok. Really. I can work without you right next to me.

I know my cats miss me when I'm gone. In fact, they tend to get rather depressed. But since I returned home last night, they have literally not been 10 feet from me the whole entire day. If one of them is not in my lap, they are sleeping nearby.

I really am capable of typing or sewing without one of them in my lap. Really.



Ahhhh....but it's good to be home! Jena and I had a wonderful week in Kentucky and I've got photos to upload and posts to write which hopefully I'll get to uploading in the next few days.

Shipped....to Kentucky!

It seems like the past few months I've had my sewing machines coming and going from my sewing room and this week has been no different, although for a much better reason than all the previous times! Since Krissa doesn't own a sewing machine and I'm supposed to be doing some sewing for her, I'm shipping one of my machines to Kentucky.

Jena and I are planning on spending a week with her this month and I'm sure I'll be doing some sewing as well as several other things while we're there!

Anyway, I was a little reluctant to ship my machine, but I really couldn't see any alternative, so Dad used an old toolbox he had and padded it with foam so it just fit my machine with room for a few sewing supplies as well.

It seemed to fit very snuggly and once we had it full, we snapped the lid shut. And when UPS picked it up, he asked me, "Is it a sewing machine?" Lol!!! He knows me all too well!!! :)

Hopefully I remembered to pack everything I'll need. More than likely, I'm sure there will be something I'll be wishing I had packed from my sewing room, but at least I know the most essential item will be there. :)

Baskets & Treats!!

One of our projects at church was to fill 20 Valentine boxes, so last week as I was debating what my contribution would be, I discovered these cute fabric origami baskets. Of course! That was exactly what I needed!!!

I made some snack mix and packaged that in clear bags and then cut, folded and created over 20 of those little baskets and filled them with chocolate candies! Perfect! I love how they turned out!!!

And if you really want to know how I created those little treat holders, check out my embroidery blog here.

Stuck in the mud

For some reason all the cows have decided to have their calves at once; there's been several days where we've had 2-4 a day. And of course right now, there's snow, cold and mud in abundance!

Saturday when Dad came in for lunch, he wanted me to go out with him and get this calf that was stuck in the mud. Yep, that's right - stuck in the mud. Apparently the cow had her calf that morning out in the field and because of all the mud, couldn't get up. The poor thing was cold, hungry and soaking wet!

So Dad loaded the calf onto the back of the pickup to take back to the barn, hoping that the cow would follow as we drove toward home. Uhhhh...no, that didn't happen. We got the calf in the barn, but the cow didn't get the idea to follow us.

Many hours later Dad finally was able to get her into the barn with her calf. And now, Dad has the field gates shut so the cows will stay out of that muddy place!

Dad was telling me where to drive so I wouldn't get stuck. I don't think I've ever driven in such a soggy, muddy, wet field!

He first loved us!

I finally got pics of my most recent SS decorations I put up. Would you believe that I actually had a bare room void of decorations for about two weeks after I took down my Christmas posters?!?! :)

Shhhhhhh......

.........the really great thing about having sisters who have moved out and yet are still storing their stuff at home is that I can raid their stashes they've left behind! :)