Aside from being breakfast, lunch and dinner meat for ants, serving as target practice for various calibers of wire (which make up fences and chicken coops), and tumbling off of a horse and getting a lovely (accidental mind you) spur scratch on my leg from my sister's spurs, I can't say that I have been up to much of late.
This afternoon a cousin came over and we got to go shooting. Yay!! That was fun...I really have done very little shooting this year. I didn't shoot too bad with the .22 revolver and the .38 revolver. That's probably the best I have ever shot with a handgun before.
It was fun :) I know I said that already, but I can say it again right? IT WAS FUN!!! Plus I really got to meet Cousin for the first time, and I think I like him....no, I know I like him :) Thank you Cousin for letting us use all your ammo!! It was great to meet you! I like your guns, but I like you better :)

P.S. Something I have been doing lately is reading The Tale of Two Cities.

Really? You might be thinking...Really? What kind of a title is that?!? Well, to be quite frank, it's a long one...and it describes in one sentence all of "exciting" things that have happened of late. And as I've had a long break, I think I deserve to have long title.

So...let's start with chickens. You may recall from one of my earlier posts that I mentioned Mom and I went to pick up a couple of roosters from Mr. John. Well, two of those where butchered, and the other one returned to him...but we got a gob of his old laying hens and a big handsome Rhode Island Red rooster. Daddy built a new coop (with laying boxes) and "run" area, just for the occasion of their arrival. We already had a coop from the previous batch or two of chickens we have had, but it was not nearly big enough for all 20 something birds that we were going to be receiving, and it wasn't engineered for layers. So now we have a coopumus maximus full of laying hens!

On the same day that Mr. John delivered our new/old birds we adopted a kitten. Yes, old softies we are...Daddy found her out under the dilapidated old corn crib...and, uh, well...I really wanted to keep her, it has been ever so long since we have had a kitty....and Daddy is and old softy too, and well, long and short of the story is that we now have a cat, a house cat, and she even has a name, Abby, Abby the Tabby... She is still pretty young, and I think she quite enjoys her life inside where she doesn't have to be out in the cold, and she gets fed every day, and she has three big play things (us, and boy does she like to chew on you!) That's her life, eat, sleep, and play.

So that was chickens and kittens, and now the eggs part....Well, I did mention that these were laying hens right? Yes, I did, in case you were asleep, but anyway...so hens lay eggs right? ("Yeah, yeah, so what's your point?") Okay, well my point is that we have eggs! ("Sure, whatever, 2 and 2 is 4. What's the biggie?") No, I mean we HAVE eggs, lots of eggs! Just the other day Daddy brought in a whole dozen! SO, we have several cartons, and have gone to marking them with numbers to know which are the oldest!!

Now for "Trips". Well actually it was only one trip, but anyway....Mom and I attended the annual Reformation Day Faire held by Providence Church in Illinois. Needless to say, (I think it is needless at any rate) I had a very good time.
We left Friday morning, and arrived in the afternoon, in time to hear the first speaker...in plenty of time...and hour early in fact! There were a few people milling about but it was obviously not time yet...quite naturally we had forgotten about the time change...but at least we weren't and hour late!! However, we did briefly wonder if we had gotten the wrong weekend! So we sat awkwardly in the parking lot for a little while before we decided to go drive around a bit. We got some coffee at McDonald's and ate our lunch in the Macydoo's parking lot. Then we returned to the church and drank our coffee it that parking lot...I can't quite remember...we may have driven around a bit more.
 
At any rate, the first event was Mr. Kayser speaking on John Calvin and his influence on America. A couple of breaks, two more speaking sessions, and a time of Psalm instruction filled the rest of the afternoon. I enjoyed the Psalm instrucion even though I am not very good at singing parts...I did especially bad on the first one, plus I was still getting over a cold!! After everyone had gone out and had their dinner somewhere (Mom and I ate at a little Mexican restaurant, the food was pretty good but the coffee was a bit expensive) those who wished to, gathered back at the church at 7:00 for a concert by the Wintons. I enjoyed that, my only complaint was that most of the time you couldn't hear the words of the song, because the music drowned it out...but the music was fun enough all by itself. :)

Saturday morning started at 9:00 with a presentation from Mr. McDowell, then one from Mr. McDonald on Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather was truly an amazing man! Then there was another presentation from McDowell, there were a few breaks too. At 1:30 in the afternoon the "Towne Square" began they had little "booths" set up in the shape of a square with various hands on projects, felt flower making, candle making, the leather shop, the print shop, the apothecary and some others. At 4:00 were the highland games. The log toss for the men, then a giant bolder, and a much smaller rock for the littler boys to toss. Then the event that all the little boys (and maybe some of the bigger boys too :) ) came for: the BOFFER WARS!! For both the men and the boys, respectively. It was fun to watch...Mama didn't stay; she turned around and went back up to the church after she came out to the park because she was cold, so she didn't see much of the games. The games seemed to lack the air of "fun" that they had last year, maybe because there were a lot of first timers. Many of the people who we met last year when we went, and from whom I had gotten the impression that they were regular attenders were not there, so I was a little surprised by that.

At 5:30 the church people served a good dinner, and then folks went their various ways to get ready for the ball, or historical dance, which was to be held at one of the local school auditoriums' at 7:30.

Mom and I drove around to find out where we were supposed to be going, and still having a bit of time to waste, we returned to the hotel for a few minor costume re-adjustments. (Oh, I forgot to mention, we and most of the other people, on Saturday wore costumes. Mine is getting too small!) That having been done, we rushed back to the parking lot we were supposed to park in and then crossed the street to the building that the dance was held in. 

I enjoyed that dancing immensely! And I only sat out (or stood rather) one dance due to the lack of a partner. Sadly, I do not remember how many dances there were, nor their names; I was having too much fun to count! (Numbers and I don't always get along so well anyway...so even if I had counted I would have probably come up with the wrong number!) I danced the first dance with er...William or Thomas B., I think it was Thomas (They are identical twins, for those of you who don't know)....maybe that was the first dance...the second dance I danced with a young man named Michael, I also danced with the other twin, with, Daniel B., and Mr. B., three young men who didn't give their names, and two girls, Regan (at least I think I danced with her) and Allison...but both those dances were mixers, so by the time we had walked through the practice they weren't my partners anymore :) There might have been a few more people and dances, but I don't remember...

When Michael (he is somewhat older than me in age by guesstimation) asked me to dance he politely came up and gave his name, then asked if I would like to dance. Well, yes, I did want to dance, so I said yes, but I completely forgot my etiquette, I was pleasantly surprised (not that I forgot my etiquette) that someone (besides one of the B. boys, who I know, and by the way guys, ya'll are great dancers) had asked me to dance! That almost never happens when I am at a dance! (Which for the record is not all that often.) So I forgot to tell him my name until he asked...then I realized that I should have told him in response instead of waiting to be asked what my name was! Ahhh! I am so good at making a fool out of myself :) And then at the end of the dance, he went to escort me off the dance floor, like dance partners are supposed to, but I had forgotten that they were supposed to...and I commented that "I keep forgetting my..." and then I couldn't think of the word I was reaching for, but I finally got it "...etiquette!!". But even with the fumbles I still had a ball (pun intended), it is good when you learn how to laugh at yourself!! You either have to laugh or cry, and laughing is much more pleasant!

Mom and I also attended Sunday morning worship at Providence, and then started for home.

Thanks Providence church for making my weekend great! Not that anybody from there will ever see my blog...but I appreciate all the hard work that they put into that event so that people like me can had a very enjoyable time.

And as for visitors, the week after Mom and I had returned Mr. Al dropped by to see us on his way home. He spent most of the day with us and left about 3:30 in the afternoon. It was great to see you again Uncle Al!!

Also recently we had the B. family over on a Sunday afternoon...

But I think that this post in quite long enough for now, and some of the news is getting rather old, so I will go ahead and post it!

(Pictures coming soon!) 

Hi Ya'll!!

I bet you thought that I had dropped off of the face of the earth as quiet as it has been around here! Dry as bones!!

No, not so, I have just been busy...busy doing what, I may not be sure, but busy none the less!

This past Tuesday Mom and I went to Mr. John's house to pick up a few roosters that he was giving us. We work the farmers market with him and his wife; they sell eggs…Mmmm good eggs too! The three roosters that he gave us (well actually, Mom did pay him for them, he didn't ask for it, but she wanted to) are meant for the freezer, but they have not been butchered yet, 'cause we wanted them to get a little bigger first. So that is on the agenda to do sometime soon.

The weather is really chilling down now...Mom and I were about freezing at the farmers market this morning, and I had on 5 layers!! 
The wind is honking too like...like...well, like fall in this part of the country :) We just turned the heat on today!

Recently I have read a two book series that Mr. John loaned me, by Frank Peretti. The series is the Veritas Project. The first book is called Hangman's Curse, and the second is called Nightmare Academy. They may have rather creepy sounding names, but they are not horror books...believe me, if they were I would not have read them! They are rather, mystery-adventure books. 

The main characters are Elijah and Elisha (el-ee-sha) Springfield, 16 year old twins, and their parents. They are a family from Montana, and they form a sort of "private investigative" team that work at the disposal of the president, via their middle-man/"handler" Mr. Morgan. The Springfield’s are Christian, and the kids are homeschooled. At any rate: in the first book, the twins go under cover at a school, where, witchcraft is suspected in the deaths and mental debilitation of a hand full of students at Baker High School. It turns out however to be the use of a biological weapon. In the second book, Elijah and Elisha again go undercover to discover why a runaway boy, who was found, has apparently gone nearly insane, and what the "Nightmare Academy" which terrifies him so much when he mentions it in his incoherent ramblings is. Well, they find it, and both nearly lose their lives. They see firsthand that a world "without" truth, a place where "truth" is "truly" relative, cannot succeed as such, for someone's truth will always become the rule. And so, they uncover a plot in which evil men by attempting to remove all truth, and anything real, brainwash and re-program humans seeking a method for gaining international power. Elijah also proves that belief in the God of the Bible, and in real truth, is not something that can be washed away from a man's mind and soul.

I hope that that "review" was not too much of a spoiler if you ever decide to read the books...I really tried to be vague, yet uncover just enough to explain what happened. I enjoyed the second book better...Mr. John said that he did too. But the first book was good also, and one really needs to read it to get a good introduction to the Springfield family. 

Anyway, just a blurb...so if there is anyone who even still bothers to come and look at my blog...if anyone has not lost patience with me...I hope that you have enjoyed it, and I truly hope, that I will be writing again soon.

Victory for the Kingdom of Truth!
Katherine

Please visit my photography blog www.fromthecanvasofgod.wordpress.com to see my pictoral memoriam of Amariah.

Amariah
Tuesday, July 31st 2012

Amariah’s earthly life,
Had only just begun,
Two whole years,
And eight short months,
Till her time on earth was done.
But now she’s gone to heaven above,
Alive in Christ the Son.
Only yesterday she breathed,
Her last and final breath,
Her sweet young life only dawning,
Now ‘tis gone from sight.
Though is seems like darkest night,
To sad and grieving hearts,
Through tearful eyes, and aching minds,
Reality imparts the truth.
Even a rosebud, when cut to soon,
Transported far from its native bower,
When put in water, the water of life,
Still fully opens…
Blooming all despite.
So the life of Amariah,
Though on earth her time is done,
For Amariah, life has really just begun!
Now she blooms in fairer halls,
Yea, even in the bosom of the LORD,
The Father of all!
So though on earth,
Her life was only at its dawn,
And now though gone,
Night has not fallen,
Though in grief it seem that way.
But when the Son bursts o’er the new world,
In the joy of Christ,
Then we will see,
In the radiant light of eternity,
Amariah,
Far fairer, far purer,
Fully blooming,
At the glorious sunrise of eternal life.


By Katherine
In loving memory of dear, dear Amariah.

Not unto us O LORD,
But to Your name,
May all the glory be!

1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus 
2 it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.  
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."  
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;  
6 then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.  
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

I find this chapter to be one full of beauty and peace...
May all who have hurting hearts be comforted in the LORD; through Jesus Christ, Amen.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."  Job 1:21

Dear Amariah went to be with the LORD around 10:30 est. (8:43pm  cst.).
Please continue to pray for Nick, Kristi, and their church family at this time.

Nick wrote:
"She was only 2 years 8 months old, but I could only pray to have the faith of my little girl. She fought the fight against sin in her life and loved the Lord very much. It was an honor to be with her at the end, and to be able to sing Psalm 45:8-17 with her as she passed away. I am proud to say that although I couldn't walk her down the isle in an earthly wedding, I was able to sing to her  as she met with the great heavenly bridegroom, the savior of her soul, and perfecter of her faith. No more tears, no more sorrow, no more struggle with her  sin. She is with Jesus now...."

May we all have such child like faith!

"And the randsomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isaiah 35:10

In loving memory of Amariah.

Katherine

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" I Timothy 1:17

"For of Him, and though Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

"...it readily appears that each year, month, and day is governed by a new, a special, providence of God." John Calvin (Institutes of Christian Religion)

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad." Psalm 34:1-2

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, please join us in prayer for Amariah (pictured above).

Yesterday, her daddy was backing up, and not realizing she was behind him, knocked her over, then, tripped and fell on top of her. 

The latest update was: “…she has a severe brain injury, and a fractured skull. They need to do a procedure to place a pressure measuring device in her skull so they can know how to treat her with medicine to keep the pressure down, and that is all at this point--they believe it best at present to give her two weeks for the brain to begin recovery. The doctor used the words, "we need to let this storm pass" through medication, keeping her sedated, and letting the pressure and swelling reduce. 

She is in a coma from her injuries, which at this point is not a bad thing, seeing that it allows the brain to rest and heal. 

There is no word on the long term prognosis, but the injuries are severe, and while there is a possibility of a full recovery, the doctors expect a long term, rather than a short term recovery. We are in a wait and see mode at this point, and the next few days up to the next two weeks will be the most telling. 
 
Her parents are holding up--there are a number of folks here at the hospital with them, praying, comforting. They know they're not alone, but are surrounded with the care of the Lord's people, and the Lord Himself is providing for them in many ways.”

Amariah’s daddy also suffered a broken arm in trying to stop his fall, and her mama is 6 months pregnant.

Thank you for your prayers for this dear family.