Look Who Turned 2 ....

on October 28th

Anna Kathryn Rockhold .....

Anna loves  Stawbewie  Sortdake right now ..

. 

so her cake looked like this

Anna has the sweetest smile.

And looks up at you with such a twinkle in her eyes.

She loves her dollies, playing kitchen and dress up.

She has her grampa wrapped pretty tight around her finger .... 

as did all the little two year old girls !!

Anna is the 'funny one' in the family.

She makes us laugh and keeps us laughing.

Her mom should really keep a journal of all the funny things she says.

Its a rough world to be growing up in.

Little girls need all the loving protection 

and wise instruction that parents can possibly give.

I pray often for the parents of all my grandkids!

That they would be wise in all they do with their kiddos!

Here is Anna's family.  

Her dad can often be heard to say, 

"ok ladies, time to get ready to go",

or "its time to load up the van, ladies" !

He is OUT  NUMBERED AND LOVING IT!

Not sure who these gals are but they showed up at Anna's party!

I think they had ONE TO MANY 

Sour Patch Candies!!

Anna shares my name.

Her middle name is Kathryn, as is my first name.

It means Pure.

I pray that as a young girls Anna will become 

pure in God's eyes.

That she will trust the LORD Jesus as her Savior

and be forgiven of all her sin.

And I pray that her life would be lived in a pure way.

Bringing honor and glory to the One

who loved her and died for her.

I LOVE  YOU ANNA KATHRYN WITH ALL MY HEART ! !

Guarding Cherubims now Step Aside....Astounded

We have been singing a new 'modern day hymn',  


"Draw Near Through Christ"

at our chapel lately.  

The song's theology is deep and provides many themes of our Savior to meditate on.

The last little while I have been thinking about the Cherubim. 

 The Cherubim who were given the task
 to guard the entrance 

to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:24. 

 Guarding so that none could enter.

The Cherubim crafted by man's hands which covered the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle

 in Exodus 25:19.  

Guarding the Holy Things.

And the Cherubim that were woven into the beautiful cloth that made up the veil which separated the Holy Place within the temple in Exodus 26:31.

How amazing is the thought that I now have FREE ACCESS 

to my Heavenly Father.  

No more Cherubim to bar the path....but I can  

" ... then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace".  

  

Part of what has been such an amazing thought and  blessing to me

 is the common theme from Eden, through the Tabernacle and Temples.

It has been a blessing to meditate on how the veil of the Tabernacle 

(embroidered with cherubim, Ex 26:1) 

pointed back to the cherubim placed 

outside Eden following the curse (Gen 3:24), 

and how they were removed at Christ’s crucifixion 

when the veil was torn (Mat 27:51). 

The Cherubim had no idea of God's plan to redeem His people.

Thus the words,

"Astounded cherubs stepped aside;

Each hid his flaming sword.

With nail and thorn the Veil was torn;

Draw near through Christ the Lord!"

Access to God and life is no longer barred. 

There are no Cherubim with flaming swords 

to guard and protect and keep us from God

.

We have unhindered access through Christ for eternity.

Rather than being kept from God by cherubim, 

we’ll be fellow-worshipers with them. 

Enjoy the words and tune of this modern day theology filed hymn.  

Draw Near through Christ

In Eden’s bliss we walked with God

Unhindered by the curse.

Yet we rebelled and were expelled—

Estranged; alone; perverse.

Two mighty cherubs barred the path

To Eden’s holy place;

No more could men, now stained by sin,

Behold our Maker’s face.

Beneath the Law we sought the Lord

Through sacrifice and priest.

One time each year one man, in fear,

Sought God with blood of beast.

Still mighty cherubs blocked the way

So sinners could not pass—

In curtain sewn, on golden throne,

They stopped the rebel fast.

Then Christ appeared to clear the way

To God for sinful man;

Fulfilled the Law without a flaw—

Our Temple, Priest, and Lamb.

Astounded cherubs stepped aside;

Each hid his flaming sword.

With nail and thorn the Veil was torn;

Draw near through Christ the Lord!

In Jesus’ name we boldly come

Before the throne of grace.

With empty hand, in Christ we stand

To seek Almighty’s face

Till saints and cherubs join in awe

Around the Savior’s throne.

With one great voice we will rejoice:

“All praise to Christ alone!”

Copyright 2009 ChurchWorksMedia.com. All rights reserved.

CARLY TURNS 7

This little lady turned 7 on October 22nd.

She celebrated with a scavenger hunt with all the cousins

and then a yummy lunch complete with a 

chicken coup cake and chicken cup cakes. 

This girl loves her chickens.  Especially Simba!

(Who may have actually been eaten by now!)

Carly is always usually smiling. (Nobody smiles all the time!)

I love the look with her front teeth missing.

Here is Carly with her good bud, Chloe.


She is becoming a good reader.  


She is a good helper to her mom.


She loves animals, having tea parties and playing dress up!


I pray that in her youth she will call upon the Name of our LORD and be saved.


And I pray these verses for you, Carly.  Guard your heart & seek Him!


"How can a young girl keep her way pure?
By guarding it according to Your Word.
With my whole heart I seek You;
let me now wander from your commandments.
I have stored up Your Word in my heart,
that I might not sin against You."
Psalm 119:9-11


I Love You With ALL My Heart ! !

DO YOU KNOW .....

What year Theodore Roosevelt died ? ?




When the prohibition of alcoholic beverages took effect under the 18th amendment to the constitution ? ?

When the United Parcel Service was formed ? ?

When the first 

international air mail service 

from Seattle WA to Victoria BC was ? 

All of these things happened in the year ..........

                                              1919

But more important than these events 

was an obscure birth to

 Julius and Nickilena Peterson

in Fargo, ND.

My  dad  was  born
on October 24, 1919

Dad to me, but Dave, David, Pete, Grandpa or Great Grandpa

to many others!

That was 92 years ago...

His life has been full.  His life has been busy.  

He is a little slower these days......but.....

he still climbs up on things, 

he still drives himself around, 
he still shops ALL the local grocery stores
for the best bargains,
he still tackles repair projects most people would have 
NO IDEA how to fix let alone have the ability to fix.

And ... he still sits at the head of the table for every Taco Tuesday. 


A tradition our family has enjoyed for many years!


But better than all of these activities....


he says he still prays for me and my family EVERY DAY


That is a huge blessing to me.

Dad with his bride of 61 years

My mom and dad .... 


truly one of God's rich blessings in my life.

I love you, dad


and pray you enjoy 


every single one of the days 


our LORD has planned out for you!!

Things We Learned in Branson

Our last night in Branson we enjoyed a great burger and shake at Julia's favorite place .....



And I compiled a list of things I now know about Branson. ~~


~ never go to a show with "hot" in the name
~ never sit in the front row -- unless you
...........want to be spit on or
...........want to be brought up on stage
~ never try to make a left turn from a parking lot at 10 pm

An Amish Country Store

We visited a very nice Amish store. The kind you could spend hours in.




These were all spices.



These were all dried products. I was able to get Myron several kinds of "sugar free" jellies and jams. And also some "sugar free" chocolate covered peanut butter pieces. He will love them.

AND .... are you ready for

CHRISTMAS. BAKING ? ?


I found the sweetest ginger bread house cookie cutters and also a large round christmas bulb that the kids will love decorating with some of these.





After shopping and a lovely lunch at Cracker Barrel, we headed to the "New South Gospel" show. This quartet really honored the LORD with their music. We enjoyed nit a lot.

Bags .... Big and Bigger

My sisters said I was not being fair about the bags. That small black one was only ONE of my bathroom bags.

Here lies the other one .... Check out the new Target Missoni ... Right off the clearance rack!!


I can't help it that as I get older ... there's more maintenance! And more maintenance takes more room.

Bags .... Big and Little

This was the scene on our bathroom counter this morning.

Many of you also have a bag like this.




Take special note of whose bag is the smallest!? Hmmmmmmm..........

Breakfast in Branson

Each morning we enjoy a good breakfast before heading off for the day.




Today we're heading to an Amish store. Maybe I will buy myself some jelly, a quilt or a buggy!! We did pass 2 Amish carriages on the way here. There are many road signs that say

Hard Work U

Along with seeing three shows today we took a drive around the countryside. We visited Table Rock Lake and College of the Ozarks, where one of my (two) very smart and hardworking sons in law, Andrew, went to college.


At this college, you WORK your way through. There were college kids doing everything from mowing to milking cows. The mom in me tells me this is a very good idea. College kids CAN have way to much time to do ..... things they shouldn't.



And .... A little hard work never hurt anybody -- right?

One of the shows we took in today was called The Cats Pajamas. This group consisted of 5 young men and that's it. No drums, no guitars, no piano .... just 5 voices. That blended together beautifully. I learned a new word --

VOCAL PERCUSSIONIST. This is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument.

If your child decides to excel in this you will definitely need a sound proof room!

So for two hours several of the 5 guys did nothing but provide the sounds of a band. And they did an excellent job. You can read about them at
www.vocal meow.com

We also saw Texas Tenors. these guys got their start by winning "America's Got Talent". I agree. They do have talent!! Girl Trip

Sight and Sound Theater

Tuesday afternoon we went to the "Miracle of Christmas" at a beautiful theatre nestled in the Ozarks. The Sight and Sound Theater is Biblically accurate and boldly unashamed of the truth of the Gospel. You can read about their ministry at www.sight-sound.com.




One of the outdoor displays as you enter the building.




Notice the "lion" and the "lamb" in the background.


And here's Goliath. At least part of him. They have statutes of different Bible characters around the building.


Here is what the brochure says about the drama we saw.

Here at Sight and Sound Theatres, we've always sought to "Bring the Bible to Life.". When we first produced Miracle of Christmas in 1996, our desire was to convey the "reality" of the Christmas story. We felt that for too many people, the story of Christ's birth was "just a nice story", not something that could really happen. We wanted to show that people like Mary and Joseph were more than just "Bible Characters". They were real living people with feelings and thoughts like we have, and they genuinely experienced this incredible miracle. For 15 years now, we've been privileged to present the miraculous true story that 2,000 years ago a virgin gave birth to a child --Jesus the Savior.

I was personally encouraged as I was once again reminded that Mary was a simple Jewish maiden who was willing to honor God in her life. Amidst a very difficult situation she choose to believe her God. She rested in His promise, she trusted in His plan. She rejoiced in His work.

Waiting for Showtime ....

My mom and I waiting for the show "Red, Hot and Blue" which is big band music from the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's.  This show is especially knowing for it's ornate & often costume changes.

The other girls are out getting exercise!

STRAWBERRY SOUP

At home we would call this ..... whipped Jello that didn't set up.

Here in Branson, it's called 'Strawberry Soup, and people are wild about it. 

Ozark, Missouri. -- LAMBERT'S CAFE

This restaurant is REALLY worth stopping by if you are ever in the area.



All their food is "homemade" and the servings are huge. Throughout the whole meal they keep coming by with MORE food to add to your plate.

Southern food like .... Black Eyed Peas ..... Macaroni and Tomatoes ....
Fried Okra ..... Fried Potatoes ....

AND

If you make eye contact with the server walking around with delicious, fresh baked rolls, they will THROW ONE TO YOU (or at you if you are a bad catcher), so there are rolls flying everywhere!!


Here's my mom. Very full and distressed that she could not eat all her food.
No "senior" portions at this place.

After a fun meal and making good memories .....

We're. Off. To. Branson.