A Message

Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace and joy, but
for some it is a time of painful memories, and hurt.
No matter what happens, we always have at
Christmas the greatest memory ever, God
becoming human and to redeem us.

Right now, there are some friends in our lives who
have lost loved ones this year, we know of people
who are suffering from non-self-inflicted torment,
and those who are struggling wearily with disease,
namely cancer. I'm so sorry for what you're going
through, and Jesus wants to help you through it.
"Jesus hears your tears, like a prayer."

I wanted to share with you a couple verses from
my top favorite Christmas carol. I hope it
encourages you.

"Who is He the people bless

For His words of gentleness?

Who is He to whom they bring

All the sick and sorrowing?

Refrain:

'Tis the Lord! oh wondrous story! 

'Tis the Lord! the King of glory!

At His feet we humbly fall,

Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!"

May the Lord grant you peace, comfort, and hope at this time 

of rejoicing. 

Oh, speaking of which, I want to share with you another

song. 

God Can

"Who can take a beggar in off the street,

Give him clean clothes and food to eat?

God can! I know God can.

Who can reach the heart that's turned bitter and cold,

Make it brand new so it shines like gold?

God can! I know God can.

Chorus:

God can take away all your pain,

Make the sunshine, chase the rain,

Yesterday, today, and forever the same:

All you gotta do is just call on His Name.

Who can put the family back together again,

That let their guard down and the devil crept in?

God can! I Know God can.

Who can reach down to the trembling hand

Of a child that's abused and they can't understand?

God can! I know God can."

For some,  their pain will never be completely healed until eternity

(for those who are covered by the blood of Jesus). For others, some

pains can be completely healed here on earth (physical, emotional). 

But whatever it is, nobody can bear it, alone. We all need someone

to lean on, someone to be there through the good times and the bad.

Jesus is that very one! And He can bring and use people in your 

life to be part of that ministry. But He is the only one who can meet

your greatest and deepest need! He is waiting for you to call on Him.

"I will not leave you orphans; I 

will come to you."

John 14:18

A Christmas Gift

This morning, I heard a text tone on my phone but
kept my eyes shut as I was still in bed. Annah came in and
told me to check my text. I did. Our cousin Jennifer gave
birth to Sofia Elizabeth James this morning! We've been
waiting and wondering when she'd arrive! She was born
on Christmas Eve! Nora and Adalynn, I'm sure, are happy
with the name of their new baby sister, as they're, especially
Adalynn, fans the Disney princess, Sofia the First. I think
they gave her a pretty name. I wonder when we'll get to
meet her!

Life is good. God is good.

He is a Gentleman: A Lesson from FROZEN

I'm sure many of you have seen the Disney
animated film Frozen. There are so many lessons
to learn from it. I know many of you will think
I'm "getting religious" on you, but here is a 
lesson I noticed in it: Anna's patience.
The definition for patience is long suffering,

and she certainly bore that. 

Anna didn't understand why Elsa would not come out of her room. 

All she knew was that she'd had a relationship with her sister, \

and now, for some unexplained reason, Elsa had cut it off.

Anna missed her sister, and Elsa missed her. But Elsa 

was afraid, afraid to open her bedroom door and let 

her little sister back into her life, for fear of

accidentally hurting her again. 

Throughout the years, Anna came knocking on Elsa's door,

always asking her to come out or let her in so they

could be together again. But Elsa's answer was always the

same: a closed door. 

What stood out to me about this was that Anna never once 

forced herself on her sister. I'm sure there were times she

felt inwardly angry, but we never see that part in the

knocking scenes. She was persistent, always asking 

and at times pleading, begging. But never once did

she say something like, "Elsa, either let me in or I'm

going to drag you out!" Not once did she ever barge

in uninvited. She always first knocked on the door,

asked for admittance, then...waited. Her waiting 

seemed endless. But she did wait. She waited

for her sister to open the door, and invite her

inside.

When their parents died, Anna tried harder than ever to 

reach out, but was left outside unanswered. Yet, she 

was still at that unopened door, waiting.

"Elsa, please I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been;"

"They say have courage, and I'm trying to..."

"I'm right out here for you."

"Just let me in."

"We only have each other, it's just you and me. What are we going to do?"

But it was always the same: no answer, Elsa wallowing in fear and a false sense of guilt.

Anna displayed a clear demonstration of long suffering and unconditional love.

She didn't abandon Elsa, ever. She was always there for her, just waiting and

longing to be sisters again.

Jesus Christ is like that with us. He knows what we need most of is Him. And He

wants to give it to us. He longs to have an intimate relationship with us, but 

He is a gentleman. Like Anna, He does NOT force Himself on us. He's 

always there at the door, knocking, asking, begging, but always waiting.

He's just outside the door of a person's heart, waiting for them to open

the door and invite Him in! He may do things to get our attention and draw us

to Himself, but He never forces the door open. He knocks, asks for 

admittance, and waits. He is always waiting. 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice

and opens the door, I will come in to him (or her) and dine with

him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,

but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but

that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who 

comes to Me I will by no means cast out." John 6:37

Surprise 25

It wasn't easy, especially not to let it slip out
but God helped us, anyway, Aunt Jean, our
cousins, Annah anad I planned a surprise
party to celebrate Mom and Dad's 25th wedding
anniversary. We held it a week after their real
anniversary so they wouldn't be suspicious.
We had to sneak pictures and stuff to Aunt Jean's
house. We thought for sure Mom would've
noticed the unity candle or wedding cake topper
missing from her and Dad's bedroom dresser
and we were trying to think of some excuse to
explain their absence. But she never noticed!

We chose silver, white, and pink for the theme
because those had been the wedding colors.
And the company did a great job making a
replica of Mom and Dad's original wedding
cake!

Aunt Jean's birthday is November 3rd, and she sent
a separate invitation to Mom and Dad. They thought
it was a surprise birthday party for Jean and asked
Mom to bring her. Mom was trying to come up
with a scheme no how to get Jean to the church
and get her to come inside, thinking she didn't know!
While Jean had already been there an hour or two
ago to help with decorating!

It came together beautifully. It was good to see all our
friends that came. Many of them had other activities
that day, like one family who had a wedding to go to,
but they came to Mom and Dad's party for a while!

Thank you to all our family and friends who helped
us pull it off and gave their time to come!

Mom was completely surprised!

Dad wasn't really. He figured out days before what we were up to!! 

Aarrrgghhh!! Sometimes he's a little too smart. We've said it before and 

we'll say it again: Dad is SO HARD to surprise!!

Oh yes, and we surprised them by putting them on the spot to

dance together in front of everyone!! They danced to one

of their wedding songs, There is Love. I cried watching them.

Little Caroline playing quietly with her balloons.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights;"

James 1:17

Branson Again!!

The 3rd week of October we went down to Branson again
to celebrate Mom and Dad's silver wedding anniversary!
We went to quite a few craft malls and flea markets and
resale shops. We only spent one day in Silver Dollar City
this time. Dad and I rode the Lost River ride. Since it
was chilly out, hardly anyone was there. The first time
around was a bit slow and we hardly got wet, but not
the second time-faster, and soaked by the time we got off!
Later, Dad and I rode the log flume too! I felt very nervous
this time about the dip where we plummet down, and I was
hoping so much that I could hold on to the rails in our "boat"
and not fall forward. I screamed pretty loud when we
went down, which gave Annah and the other people
watching a good laugh. Boy, that water was cold!
I got to try their Frozen Lemonade this time, it was good.

Mom and Dad dressed up and went to Olive Garden the night of
their anniversary, and then a concert. Of course, we had to stop
by and shop at Ozarkland before we left town!

On the way down to the Ozarks

It is a long drive.

Beautiful sunset on the way in

Autumn colors

Going out shopping again

Mom all dressed up for a special date with Dad!

And after they came back, watching Love Crazy with William Powell and Myrna Loy

Silver Dollar City! They had so many of their craft booths out this time.

And riding the train of course.

It was so good though to get home and see Chloe! Thank you to our friends

who visited and took care of her while we were gone.

Upcoming Post

I'm sorry it's taken me sooooo long, but
here's a little sneak peek at my upcoming
blog post of George's birthday this year.
Leona asked us to make a birthday cake
of his favorite toy ever. In the mean time,
here's a picture of a happy birthday boy.
He loves playing in water.

Two Songs

These are two songs that I like so much.
They encourage me and fire me up in determination.
I'm thankful that God brought them into my life.
I like these songs so much because instead making
me feel like I'm in a box and there's nothing I
can do at all, these songs let me know that
being used by God, I CAN make a difference!!!!!!!!!

Stand for Truth

There's a war within our land,

A battle for the right,

The lies of the enemy are clouding out the light.

But God has placed His banner high,

He calls for no retreat;

As faithful soldiers let us stand,

Claim His victory!

Chrous:

Stand for truth! Though you're standing all alone,

Stand for truth! God will help to make you strong,

Run with courage in the fight, 

Walk in faith and not by sight,

Stand for truth, stand for truth!

And so the battle rages with choices everyday,

Will we search the Word of God, or toss the truth away?

Let us hold onto His promises and seek a higher call,

Listening for the victory cry, giving Him our all.

Repeat chorus

In God We Trust

A great and faithful heritage has been our legacy,

As men of honor sacrificed to make our country free;

But through the journey of the years, we've somehow gone astray,

When did we leave our sacred Guide to follow our own way?

If righteousness exalts a land and sin is our disgrace,

How can we gaze so carelessly while evil is embraced?

It's time again to raise a stand, to light the dying flame,

To stand for truth and holiness, to valiantly proclaim:

Chorus:

Let's go back to the founding of America,

Remembering Who made this nation blessed.

And as the men who fought at night

Who claim the Bible as their guide,

That once again this freedom cry 

Would ring throughout the land:

In God we trust! In God we trust!

America, America, God shed His grace on thee!

And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!

In God we trust, in God we trust,

IN GOD WE TRUST!!!!!
-Rachel Wissmann Busenitz

Thanksgiving 2014

I know I have some posts to catch up on because
I need to upload photos. Anyway, here's my
list of some things I'm thankful for.
I have so much to be thankful for, it's
impossible to mention each an every one of them.
I have something to say though first.
So many people say they don't mention often
enough how much they have to be thankful
for, that they should do more than just on
Thanksgiving Day. Well, when I hear things
like that, it makes me want to make sure that
doesn't happen to me. Well, it does, but it
makes me more determined to make
efforts that that doesn't happen. I can't say
that I always do, but I try to make an effort
to express my gratitude to God everyday
for something I have to be thankful for,
or at least look around and realize how
much I've been blessed with.
Something else. I don't have a problem with
people trying to be humble. That's wonderful!
People need to! What does bug me is when
people seem to uh...what's the word...belittle
the blessings they've been given. It's
wonderful to realize that God has been gracious,
and that our blessings are gifts from Him, but
instead of hearing how blessed they feel and
how much of a blessing their blessings are to
them, I feel like I more often than not hear
people constantly say," I don't deserve this.
I don't deserve this. I don't deserve this."
Be humble by all means! Acknowledge God's
graciousness, yes! But hey, I have something
to say (I guess I usually do, don't I?): ENJOY
what God's given you!! Focus on what you do
have! Focus on the good that is in your life!!
I don't deny that there is evil and darkness in
this fallen world, but hey, how are we as
Christians supposed to be a light to the world
if we only focus on all the bad things out there,
and that's all we seem to talk about???!!!!
There are times where I feel like that's all I
hear. Come on! There are some good things in the world!
 Like beautiful sunsets, people who do demonstrate
kindness and care (don't take that for granted!!!),
friendly pets, there's many things in this life that
are worth noting and enjoying. And God's given
them to us because He loves us.

Things I'm thankful for:
-Jesus Christ, my Savior who went to the cross when
He could've not
-A Bible to own and read in our own language
-My family, immediate and extended
-Our home, all of its appliances and accessories,
Oh yes! I'm thankful to live in the Midwest!
-Dad's steady, well-paying job
-America  I'm thankful to live in this country!
I'm thankful for freedom and liberty! I'm thankful
for soldiers who risk their lives to protect others!
-Good working cars with CD players,
also to mention our new van! Yay!
-Health
-My own bedroom
-Books, I love books!
-Movies Yes, I'm thankful for movies! Decent, wholesome ones, that is.
-Dogs  I love, love, love dogs! I don't just like them,
I LOVE them!
-Winter  This is my favorite time of year!
-Snow
-Christmas holiday and celebrations
-Sue Thomas FBEye show
This is just to name a few...

Branson 3#

Okay, this won't be a very detailed post, partly 'cause I
don't remember everything, but our third day in Branson
we went to Silver Dollar City again. I remember I had
a shake at the Ice Cream Parlor, and while my family
sat in there, I went next door to the Celebrate America
store. It was full of red, white, blue, stars and stripes-
right up my alley! I got a satin red scarf with white stars.
Annah and Dad rode the Thunderation roller coaster.
I'm sorry, but roller coasters are not for me!
Annah and I rode the log flume. That was fun! But
the drop, the impact took my breath away so I
wasn't able to scream all the way. That's what I remember
most.
We decided to go home a day early, but as I started to rise
from bed that morning, I did not feel good. Instead of trying
to help pack up and load, I sat around alot feeling queasy.
We stopped at McDonald's in Springfield, and I ate very
slowly-that's not like me!
For the next few days I was sick with a stomach bug.
I was so happy to see Chloe. That sums up our first trip
to Branson.

Branson 2#

One reason I'm so late with this is that I was trying
to go through my brain back to what we did our
second day in Branson. Sorry it took me so long.

Day two. Dad was up and out before I woke up.
Mom told us that he'd gotten up early and was able to
buy the part he needed for the car and was working on it.
I was praying throughout the morning that not only would
Dad get the car fixed, but also that if possible he
would complete the job before 11, which was when he and
I were supposed to visit the Titanic Museum. Annah
fixed my hair nice and we were waiting and hoping. Dad
did fix the car, and sooner than I expected. Thank You,
Lord.

All aboard the Titanic! The museum was neat! In the introductory
room where a greeter explains things to you before you venture on
 for yourself, hanging from the ceiling above our heads was a life-
to-size replica of one of the ship's three little propellers. Little?
That thing was HUGE, and looked so heavy!! Yikes, to think
what would happen if it dropped from the ceiling! And that
was only a "small" piece to the ship? I was beginning to
realize and imagine the actual enormity of the maximum
size of this great vessel!
They had lots of displays that were good replicas of many
items carried by passengers. The births were interesting
to see in person. Oh, now they have a music room
dedicated to the great musicians and band players
who composed and played beautiful music, and who
bravely played together in their last surviving moments.
There was a room with starry heavens in the night and
practically only the deck where you feel you're outside
on deck enjoying the beauty of the night. But that room
was cold! Not only that, but the music wasn't comforting.
It was mysterious, then there was a very eerie drumroll,
and next: a loud scraping, crashing sound. This is where
the ship hit the iceberg.
One particular display room was scary to me for two reasons.
They had three leaning decks you could walk up on, each
impressing the dangerously rising angle of the ship as the
water crept up the deck to whoever was unfortunate
to be left there, doomed. There is also a bowl of water
set at 20 degrees F, which is what the temperature was
that night. You're supposed to stick you're hand in and
see how long you can keep it in, before the incredible
stabbing, biting cold becomes too much for you. I
lasted about 45 seconds! I could have tried longer,
but my hand was already starting to burn! Dad
managed to keep his in for 1 minute and 45 seconds.
That room was very sobering: to think of the impact
of those moments, to think of all the people who
were not able to escape, how all they could do was
brace themselves and wait and as their impending
doom took over closer and closer: to think of
those who tried to swim in the frigid ocean,
pleading for help, and no one to aid them, to
be swallowed in that icy water struggling for
a few last minutes of futile effort before they
just froze to death!!!! That was horrible.
The room I couldn't wait to reach was the Grand Staircase!
It was gorgeous, and the feel of the wood under my fingers,
along with the sound and shine of the tile under my feet was
exactly as I imagined!
I did buy a few things from the gift shop: a lavender T-shirt,
a White Star Line impressed pen, a Titanic ship ornament
to put on the Christmas tree this year, and a beautiful Royal
Blue jeweled heart key chain.
Oh yes, as "passengers" Dad was a young reverand, from
Ireland was it? Can't remember. I was a married mother
of two young children. My husband and I were taking
them to New York. Sadly, neither Dad or I survived
the ship wreck.
The whole experience was remarkable. Thanks, Dad for
taking me as our belated date for my birthday!
One of those days when you just step back into history.

After we came home, we ate lunch and began our first day
of trekking in Silver Dollar City. It was our very first time
there for Annah and me, so we took a long time browsing
things in shops. One of my favorite rides was the Flooded
Mine. It's not grand or exciting really, but it is a "prison for
the black and white striped cons" and I enjoyed trying to
see how many shots I could accurately get in with my "gun"
for the many interactive props in there. I can't remember
exactly everything we did there that day, but I can maybe
remember more about the next day there. To be continued...

Branson 1#

Okay, sorry it's been so long, but here's my first
post about our trip to Branson, Missouri! Please pardon
details I can't remember.

Well, we leave early Sunday morning and Annah and I try
to get in some naps along the way. We arrive on time to attend
church with saints in Springfield, some we know personally,
some not.
Springfield was very interesting. We were quite entertained by
the different store and gas station names they have down there.
I'm used to QuikTrip, Wal-Mart, Shell, Philipps 66, and so on.
Kind of uniform and spread out. The names down in Springfield
 I thought were quite unique: Kum & Go gas station, BasketCase,
and many others.
We have lunch in Springfield at McDonald's. I know. Where else, right?
Now, I'm used to Ozark hills. We've traveled them since I was little.
But the hills down in Branson? Whoa! They were like mountains!
(In case you're forgetting, this is my first time down there.)
I'm not used to traveling those kinds, so steep and long, so high
and long. And in the rain too! We reach Branson and drive in
the heart of it, wide turns on the side of "mountain" on busy
streets and intersections. I felt so unbalanced, not on level
ground, I mean super "not level" ground.
Thank God for safe traveling and we finally reached our hotel,
which was really nice.
We rested some, then Dad and I decided to drive around and
find out where some things were, plus there was this lake
(I can't remember the exact name) Dad wanted to see, near the
fish hatchery. It was getting dark after we'd looked at the lake,
but then Dad found a guy to talk to. While they conversed,
I sat in the car listening to CDs, not with the motor on, but
with the key in the ignition. Dad finally came so we could
leave and I turned off the car. Dad turned it on, well, rather...
tried to! The car died on us right there. He asked what I did
and I told him. He opened the hood and looked. Oh, I
felt awful! I felt so bad! I thought for sure I'd killed the battery!!
Dad called to Jeff, the guy he'd been talking with and he came
to help us out. They tried jumper cables but that didn't work.
 It turns out it wasn't the battery, but the starter. Dad called
towing, and Jeff brought him and me back to the hotel,
then went back with Dad to the lake. I still felt terrible about
it. I was thinking, Lord, we've got to get the car fixed! It's 
going to be expensive! We need our car to get home when our
trip's over! That was day 1# of our trip. To be continued...

It Matters to Me!

And it's true! I'm thankful for the freedom and liberty we have in this country,

no matter what anyone says! And it's very precious. I'm thankful that we

have God's Word in our own language. I'm thankful that I have legal freedom

to do what's right and stand for truth. I want to show my appreciation

by how I live my life. I want to be a good steward of this precious gift!

Some things in America are dark right now, but if there's something I

 can do, I'm surely going to try! I can pray, I can have a say in who

I feel should be a leader, I can try hard to be a good citizen, I can

try to live God's Word everyday. I want to shine God's light. 

 I would rather get up and do something, pray or be an example or

whatever, I would rather do something to make this country

better than sit around my house complaining about everything that's

wrong with it. If I can do something, something, no matter how

small, to make a difference, some difference, I'll most

certainly try!

This freedom may not be important to some people, but it is to me!

Rebecca

My 1# Favorite Candy

I remember a while back, I'd said I would do posts about some of my
favorite things and also about our trip to Branson.

Okay, people, here we go. My favorite candy to top all candies is
Reeses' Pieces! I just love it! Why do I like it so much? Well, for
one thing, I'm a peanut butter fan. When I was a kid, I liked cheese
sandwiches better than peanut butter and jelly, but through the years
I've grown to really like peanut butter flavored products. And, boy,
am I thankful I'm not allergic to it like some people are! Call me crazy,
but as my sister can tell you, I've never really been a big lover of chocolate
(well, never a lover of it at all-which is okay. That means more chocolate
for you, for everyone else. ha ha ha). But the chocolate mixed with
peanut butter into a Reeses sweet is a delicious combination. I like the
salty, sweet, flavorful taste of peanut butter-oh yes, and it has to
be creamy for me! None of that crunchy stuff for my taste, unless
 it's my only option. I like sinking my teeth into the lovable,
creamy, filling sweetness of Reeses. But when I get the Reeses Blizzard
at Dairy Queen, I prefer the peanut butter cups, not the pieces because
they feel extra hard in the cold ice cream and make my teeth tingle.
Anyway, that's why I like Reeses more than any other candy. It's at
the top of my list!

Rebecca

A Terrible Loss

Dear blog readers, I haven't heard much from them for a while,
but I'm requesting prayer for our friends, the Koenig Family,
who do the Twice Adopted show around the country usually
in Branson, Missouri. I still can't believe this happened!! It's
with sadness that I tell you tonight we found out from other
friends that Mrs. Linda Koenig, mother of the ten adopted
children had a heart attack and died this morning!!!! I
cannot believe this! We were at a friend's house this
evening when a friend Hannah called our friend, Darlene
and told her. The kids found her on the floor in the kitchen!
 Can it be? Is this real? Mrs. Koenig?!! Gone?!
She was helpful to Mom when she first started our homeschooling.
I remember doing Bible quizzing that she organized. She was
a friendly, funny, talkative lady with a heart for helping children.
I cannot believe she's gone!! Please pray for this family!! I can't
imagine what they must be going through! Please pray for her
husband and all the kids.

Rebecca

The Rainbow at the End

Oh, why am I such a procrastinator? This post has been on my mind for a long
time and I've wanted to share it with you. It happened a couple months back,
but I remember it. Mom took us down to Holt Foods which is a little ways out.
As we packed the car up with groceries, we could see dark clouds coming
and it looked like a bad storm. Mom was tempted to stay at the store 'til
the storm passed, but she decided to try to get home. So, off we went,
heading home on the road. The clouds got darker and were definitely
moving toward us! 10 minutes into the drive, the wind picked up real
good and it just began pouring, pouring, pouring. Mom had to
really concentrate on what was in front of her. The rain was so
heavy that at one point, we could not even see in front of us!
But we couldn't stop in the middle of the road, and we couldn't
go back to where we'd been! We had to keep going. 
We had to keep moving forward. We prayed and kept going,
slower, but we kept going. And not 5 minutes later, almost
home, the storm was gone behind us and the sun was out
shining brightly. As we drove on, we looked to the side
at what do you think we saw in the sky? A rainbow! A
beautiful rainbow high up there showing its colors for us
to see. It was neat, to see what God did for us.

But even more neat to me, was how it was a real life
illustration of our walk with Jesus when trials come! Sometimes
the storms in our lives come up behind us without warning and
we have no time to prepare. Other times, we see the clouds
and we can try to hide, but nothing we do will stop it from
coming. We have to hold on to His hand and not let go.
We have to trust Him and follow his leading. And like the
heavy rain, the pain and pressures and fears of a situation
can bog us down. And not only that, but sometimes it's
so heavy and burdensome that we cannot even see 2 feet
in front of us! As much as we want to, we can't go back to
where we were before, time won't let us. And we can, but
we'll get into trouble if we just stop and give up right in the
middle of the journey. If we can't race ahead, we have to
take it slow, one step at a time, but we've got to keep
taking steps! And some time down the road, around the
bend or straight ahead, the storm passes and the sun
comes out again, lighting our way so we can see, with
the trial behind us. And when the light comes on us
again, we reap and see the blessings (the rainbow) that
God had in store for us and wanted to give us.

It was a neat thing to think about to me. But I do realize and
understand that some people have to deal with the storms the
rest of their lives and that there are some scars and wounds
(physical and emotional) that will not ever be healed until
eternity. But I hope this post will encourage you and give
you something to think about.

But that's how I feel right now. We took in Rachel because we cared
about her and she needed help. But some people don't see the whole
picture, and that makes it hard for us. Some people we've been so used
to having fellowship with, people we felt kind of close to, we don't
really do it right now. And if we do, it feels awkward not knowing
what they're thinking of wondering if they're whispering behind our
backs. Honestly, I can't ever remember us going through anything
like this before, not something this major! We've felt pretty isolated
from many friends the past months because of Rachel's situation.
Not that it's her fault, IT'S NOT! But because so many people
around us have heard different sides of the story. It makes it
difficult to try to enjoy fellowship sometimes because we don't
know what they're truly thinking.
But right now I feel like is this trial is going on forever. I feel like
it's going on and on and on and on. Where is the end? When will
the end with the rainbow come in sight? When will the sun come
on us again? When will this be over and behind us so that we can
truly move forward? It's been hard on all of us, Rachel, Dad, Mom,
Annah, and me. I just wish it was over! Please pray for us as we
seek God's will for Rachel's best interest, what He wants for her,
and us. I would deeply appreciate your prayers regarding that.

Some Belated Posting

Okay, these pictures may not all be in order, but these are
ones I took from the past months, ever since February!

Beautiful Sunday morning snow with sunlight

Beautiful red roses from Dad for Valentine's Day

In March, Dad took us to the ST. Louis Philharmonice Symnphony again. Rachel really liked it.

Rachel is a cowgirl fan.

Annah and Rachel ready to attend a horse show with a friend. I was sick, so I couldn't go.

We did this gorgeous princess cake for the daughter of a coworker of Dad's.

We celebrated Caroline's 1st birthday in April.

Caroline loves pink pigs, so Leona made that the party theme.

Birthday girl

Leona did this watermelon fruit bowl.

The birthday girl surrounded with her gifts.

Nora, enjoying her ice cream and cake.

Our trip down to Doniphan

The pool water looks so inviting.

Graduation cake for Nathan at church

Nora's 3rd birthday

Two of my souvenirs from Branson. The blue heart is really a key chain. Yes, Dad took me to the Titanic Museum down there!