Monday, May 28, 2012

my house has been invaded by bandits

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and desperados.

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and cowboys.

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and dogs-turned-cattle and horses.

There have been shoot outs in the living room,

masked bandits reclining on chairs,

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target practice set up on the bathroom door,

and even the dog has decided to take up ranching.

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What sparked this invasion, you may ask?

The re-discovery of the ever powerful nerf guns,

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the gift of two black cowboy hats from my dad,

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plus the reading of several fictional cowboy stories.

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dodging flying bullets and galloping horses out on the range today with my family of Wild West Hooligans.

enjoy your memorial day, dear friends!

jk

Sunday, May 27, 2012

to be a writer

When I set out to write my thank you notes for the open house and beyond, I soon realized that I hardly ever write anymore.

You know- like with a notebook and pen kind of thing.

One of the beautiful gifts I was thrilled to receive for graduation was a lovely notebook. I love notebooks that are just…. notebooks. A pretty cover with simply lines on the inside. And gel pens. I love gel pens.

As I opened it up, all I could think was how so many people from my dear family had said to me over the years that I should never stop writing.

I used to harumph around that I really didn’t have a writing style that I enjoyed, but rather that I wrote like and about anything that struck my fancy. Which is why, if you read this blog, you will find everything from recipes to deep thoughts to poetry to essay-like writings.

So this summer I’ve resolved to do three things:

1. Pray more. :)

2. Read more. especially some nonfiction that is piling up around me.

3. Write more. be it in paper, or on the keyboard.

So there you go. I’ve started carrying around paper and pens again, and now have three essentials for whenever I travel (even to work ;) ): my Bible, notebook, and a good book.

I am excited to see where this will all lead, and I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses me this summer through writing, talking, being, and prayer.

 

so I hope to see you around here more often, friends, as writing begins again. :)

may you be blessed!

jk

Chicken Yard Updates

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Goodbye Ricky Lou, hello chickies!

The last few weeks have been transitioning ones for our little flock as the rooster moved out and the three smaller birds moved in. Ruthie (whose wonderful writings about all things chicken can be read over here) has been working very hard along with my mom and Lillie (the official Chicken Aunt) to make sure the younger gals fit in with the older ones.

And, praise God from whom all blessings flow, a week ago, all 5 of our birds walked together into the coop at night! No pecking, bullying, or meanness here! :) We are so excited to be officially past the chick stage and into the pullet/laying hen stage over here.

I’ll let you read her blog to catch all the details on our first eggs, as she writes about the happenings in the chicken yard much better than I could.

Go ahead and check out her blog “The Chicken Coop” at www.ruthieschickens.blogspot.com .

Blessings and enjoy!

jk

Friday, May 18, 2012

Faith

Faith loves horses. LOVES horses. So for her 6th grade graduation, she wanted her pictures taken out at the barn where she takes riding lessons. I was thrilled that they asked me to take them!

So me, Faith, and her amazingly cool mom Julianna took a drive out to the country for the evening. And, let me tell you, it was so worth it! The drive was gorgeous, but seeing the barns and horses was even better.

The two horses I was honored to have met were Champ (pictured first) and Classy.

The barn was beautiful, and the white picket fences nearly made me jump for joy. Perfect for photos! It was an overcast day that made for some great lighting, and Faith’s beaming, stunning smile and perfect touch with the horses made my job so so easy.

Thank you, Faith and Julianna for a beautifully fun evening!

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May you be blessed today, dear friends!

jk

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Open House

Yippee!

I’m done with high school!

And for those of us who live in the Midwest, that means it is time for a graduation open house. :) Lots of friends, family, and food. A big tent with lots of tables. Pictures of me looking great, pictures of me looking… not so great for everyone to look at and smile and say “Yep. Time sure does fly!”

So, with many thank you’s to all sides of my family and friends, here’s what happened at my open house:

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Have you ever heard of MaryJane’s Farm? It’s a darling country vintage funky magazine that me, my mom, and my grandma (Mamo :) ) all LOVE to read. It’s got everything from how to make your own dandelion preserves to how to decorate for a beautiful wedding, or in our case, an open house.

After reading one of her magazines, we had the idea to use old ironing boards for display tables, with hankerchiefs hanging from them. I wasn’t really sure what this would look like or come out to be, but oh! it came out so darling!

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our garage was transformed into a charming farmhouse in a matter of hours, many many thanks to my mom and Mamo. Our food was nachos and bars, so we set up some of each of these in the garage for those who just wanted to eat and run. However, as we were to find out later, most people were going to be there for the long haul, which made for a full and wonderfully friend-filled party.

 

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So darling! I was so excited to see it all come together so nicely! Our dear friends who live so close to us now lent us their pop trough (picture below :) ) for storing and keeping all the pop cool and the beautiful tent we used to help people find some shade in our otherwise shadeless lot of land :)

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At 1, the nacho cheese was ready, the bars were set out, and family was starting to arrive! It was so cool to see people from Iowa, the cities, the far north of our state, and all over our area arrive!

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:) Lots of pictures this post… I’ll bet you’re not surprised though :)

As the party progressed, I found myself being the center of life on our driveway. For little introverted me, I really liked having lots of people to talk to all day. What fun! I talked and gestured and talked and talked some more until I was hoarse, but it was well worth it to be able to see and chat with so many people who love me for just being me.

Honestly, I was totally overwhelmed by how many people love me and my family.

God has been so good to us!

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But as it goes with our family, a party’s not a party unless something memorable occurs. This time around, the whoops! was actually really funny.

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the pop trough was sitting on two sawhorses.

:)

the first sawhorse had too much weight on one end from all the ice and pop.

:)

whoops! There goes the pop trough!

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We got all the ice swept out of the garage and the trough set back onto sawhorses, and the party continued. :) There’s always things happening over at our house :)

What a blessing this party was for my whole family! It was so much fun to have everyone over to our house, and I want to thank everyone who came for their prayers and well-wishes for me as I continue into my college career. I love love love you all, and what a great time it was to see you all! So many people came that I couldn’t count or tell you each person individually, except to say that literally everyone we know was there. The day was perfect, the weather stunning, and God was totally in every moment of the day. I am so thankful that all went well and that everyone was able to make it. You are all wonderful, and I loved seeing each of you so much!

Be blessed today, friends!

In Christ,

jk

Monday, May 14, 2012

back by popular demand :)

oh me oh my, how time does fly!

(just a little poetry for your morning ;) )

But despite my quirky poem, time really has flown by these past few weeks.

But oh how good the times were!

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for starters, the last few weeks have included the following:

- tomatoes in the ground

- seeds starting to come up in the garden

- baby chickens integrating into the flock of big chickens

- finals… a perfect name for the FINAL things I needed to do to finish High School

- spray painting chairs… love love love the colors now… I love homeschool projects :)

- and loads more coming in more posts this week… get ready, folks!