I love Chocolate!

Jeremiah 29:11

2012-01-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer. 29:11

I have come to lean on this verse more and more lately! In thinking of all the change in this past year alone, I just have to remind myself that Jesus really does have a plan for my life! He wants to give me peace, and He knows just what we need to go through to end up where He wants us :) Not really profound, I know, but it helps me :)

James and I now live in La Grange, WY in a trailer park (it only has 5 tralers) and we are enjoying being close to church and friends. Our dogs aren't enjoying it so much cause they have nowhere to run, but at least we can keep them inside at nights in their kennels. Now they can stay warm and cozy :)

We enjoyed getting to go to IN for Christmas. Were hoping to get to NC as well, but time and money did not allow that. Thankfully, I get to see some of my family next week in PA. :)

I am so excited about next weekend! Jeremy Fuller has a Youth Discovery that he started, and has invited Joel Byer to speak. Joel, Jeremy, Stefan Paulus, myself, and Alanna McIntyre will be doing a lot of the music!! :) We have not sang together since '98, so it will be so much fun to catch up and sing together again!! I'm also hoping that some of my Penn View friends will be able to attend....

Visitors from PA!

2011-11-08T12:42:00.000-05:00

So thankful that Mark & Laura, Robbie, and Nevaeh Fultz were able to come spend a week with us! God knew the exact time that we needed them here! Isn't He just awesome?!

While they were here, we visited Scotts Bluff, NE and the Oregon Trail memorial. Mark was able to find some elk antlers and take them back to PA, Robbie got LOTS of pictures of antelope, prairie dogs, canyons, deer, raccoons, horses, people, and whatever else he could find :)

Laura and I got to talk and stayed up late several nights (although not quite as late as we used too :) I think we're both getting to old for that!) LOL! Little Miss Sunshine (Nevaeh) kept us all laughing and stole James' heart.

James and I are still looking for a place to live/work, but we know that God has a perfect plan and at the right time, He'll share it with us. I'm a little unpatient, but I'm trying to trust :)

Life may be uncertain...God is not!

2011-10-21T18:21:00.000-04:00

So, we've been so excited to be here in WY for the past 10 months! I've enjoyed being able to stay at home for once :) And James has been trying his best to be a good employee of the ranch.

Now it looks like we're entering another phase of life, where we have absolutely no idea where we're going or what we're doing! James has been feeling the need to look for something else and has been quietly searching. (His boss is becoming UNBEARABLE to work for! and several of our friends and even people we don't know have said they've wondered why we even took the job....) oh well....God knows why, right?

I used to never worry about anything, but in the past few months, that's all I seem able to do. I'm daily reminding myself that "if His eye is on the sparrow, when it comes to me and you, there is no place He won't go, and nothing He won't do!" (song sung by David Phelps) Is. 26:3 is also a favorite comfort! If I keep my mind focused on Him and TRUST JESUS then He will keep me in perfect peace!

I'm determined to keep going and to keep doing my best to be James' encourager and cheering section! We will make it! Thanks for your prayers during this time....I really don't know where we'll end up, but I'm sure we'll be surprised and happy at how it all works out, no matter what :)

New Car!!! YAY!!

2011-10-03T16:17:00.002-04:00

So, since the deer attacks we've been looking for a new vehicle. Thankfully we were able to get a rental through our insurance, but it had to be turned in this past Saturday. SO that made it really interesting :) Anyways...we did TONS of research and looked at several cars/trucks/suvs, etc. Finally, we drove to Golden, CO (about 3 hours or so from our house!) and were able to get a 2000 Toyota Rav4. We are happy with it so far, except for the fact that the fuel gauge doesn't work and we didn't find that out til on our way to church Sunday morning! LOL! Oh well...makes for interesting times :)

So I have two new chocolate wall hangings....did I ever mention that i LOVE finding things that have chocolate sayings on them? :) My kitchen is starting to overflow with them :) The two newest things I found say: "Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Mondays" and "Always keep a smile on your face, a rainbow in your heart, and chocolate in your hand." Have a wonderful day!!

Deer Magnet...

2011-09-16T11:06:00.000-04:00

So I've come to the conclusion over the last two weeks that I must be a deer magnet! Yep, you guessed it :) I was driving to an appointment on the first Saturday in September when I hit a deer and totaled my car.Then this past Weds. night on the way to church, a deer jumped out of the cornfield, over the fence, and into the front of our rental car before we even saw it! Thankfully, James and I are both fine :)We have been enjoying having Rachel (James' sister) visit on the weekends. She moved to Laramie, WY (about 2 hrs away) to attend the University of Wyoming. I know that it has helped James deal with his homesickness better. Those two are like two peas in a pod :) Our days and nights are getting colder and colder here. Lots of fog and dew in the mornings, and someone said it snowed on Weds night! I didn't see it, but of course I was sleeping :) It certainly didn't stick around very long....I've been unpacking more boxes lately...threw away TONS of old school papers! (I'm like my Daddy :) We're pack rats! I've got stuff from High School! LOL) Anyways...hopefully I'll get all of it sorted and not keep things I can live without (and have for the last few years!) :) It's amazing what old memories I'm digging up :) Oh well....

Laundry Soap

2011-09-01T14:04:00.002-04:00

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder

(I used Serenity EO from doTerra. Only about 20 drops and my laundry smells delicious!)

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~
Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.

Finally, add your favorite essential oil, (would probably add 30-60 drops of oil. you may choose more or less) Some favorites are Lemon, Citrus Bliss and Purify. You can obviously use whatever scent you want. The EO will make the soap a more effective cleanser, make the soap more effective at getting rid of bacteria
and microbes, and will of coarse make your laundry smell incredible.

Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

**A few things to note about the soap**

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.
~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.
~If you have an old liquid laundry soap bottle, it is easy to put your homemade soap in it to take advantage of what is usually an easy dispenser.
~Because this recipe includes far less chemical than other laundry soaps, ie, cleaners, dyes, fragrance, you will find it to be great for allergies, and I feel better about it not being carcinogenic.

{The cost of making this recipe of laundry soap was .71 cents for 2 gallons! With this 2 gallon size recipe you will have enough to do 64 loads of laundry. That translates to about .01 cent a load. (and then plenty of ingredients left over for MORE 2 gal. recipes)}

{{I got this recipe off of everythingdoterra.com}}

Brown Sugar Scrub

2011-08-10T17:56:00.002-04:00

So I've made my first batch of Laundry Detergent and used my Essential Oils! I love, love, love it! It only took 10 minutes to make, and it's cheap too! The most expensive item wash the Borax (3.24) and I still have tons of it left!

Then, last night I made a wonderful Brown Sugar Scrub (I found the recipe on everythingdoterra.com) and it smells delicious! James even had me use it on his feet :) I think just so I would give him a foot rub, but hey if it works, it works, right? :)

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 heaping tablespoons Olive Oil (Almond Oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil, etc can be used as well)
2-3 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
2-3 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
(you can use your favorite Essential Oil instead)
Mix all ingredients well. Can be used as a full body scrub, or just on hands and feet.
To apply: Wet skin. Rub the scrub on for as long as you like. Rinse with warm water and dry. Then use your favorite lotion or a natural lotion with a drop or two of your favorite Oil.

Check out kim.idoterra.com or lifelongoils.blogspot.com for more information on my oils! I'm loving doTerra! They're the purest form of oils on the market!

Frankincense!

2011-08-05T13:05:00.001-04:00

You need to see this amazing story about a little girl who was having 6 to 7 seizures a day and her parents were able to bring them down to 2 to 3 per week! They just used Frankincense Essential Oil!! Check it out!!! go to kim.idoterra.com!!

2011-07-25T15:57:00.001-04:00

So, what else have I been up to this summer? Well, you'll see :)

One of my best friends, Lizzie Jarasat, was married to Ronnie Brown in Ohio. She wanted me to do all the flowers and music so of course I said "Yes." :) It was a beautiful wedding and I'm glad I was able to be there. (I believe Ronnie's Mom took this pic.)

James' sister, Liz, got married at the beginning of June to Daniel. They live in FL and it was fun to see them again and be able to do the music for their wedding. I had fun helping decorate and doing all the corsages and boutonnieres as well.

James' cousin, Katie Brubeck, got married the middle of June to David Rhoads from CO. They were married in Frankfort, IN (the same church that James and I were married in) and now live in CO. She asked me to do the music for her wedding so I got to be back in IN for a week then. Their wedding brought back lots of great memories for me but made me sad that James wasn't there to share them with me!

So, you see those are some other things I've been doing besides mowing, taking care of dogs, cleaning and organizing this house, playing my piano, having company, starting doTerra, riding 4 wheeler, bottle feeding calves, cutting James' hair, laundry, dishes, etc. :)

Family Fun

2011-07-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

On July 4th, we were able to go to Fort Laramie, WY and enjoy the "free" day of old time games, cannons, etc. They had egg tossing, relay races, 50 yard dashes, 3-legged races, oiled pole climbing, etc. We had a lot of fun! I took this pic, not paying attention to the clouds behind the flag :)

A few weeks ago we had all the family over for games and homemade vanilla ice cream as well as peach cobbler made in a dutch oven. James and Tim had to dig a pit for it, and while they were down there, it started hailing :) Very fun! I took this pic of Timmy riding on the back of the 4-wheeler making sure the peach cobbler made it to the pit.

Grammy and Popper brought some of the grandkids to see us this past weekend. TJ wanted to help feed the baby calves, and had the time of his life doing it! I thought he looked so cute with his tongue hanging out :)

Grandma and Grandpa Fulton celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while they were out for the Hegwood Family Reunion. On Sunday they renewed their vows and it was a lot of fun for them. Uncle Johny and Aunt Marsha were there to celebrate with Grandma & Granpa. (Uncle Johny is Grandma's brother)

While I was in IN, we got a wheelbarrow load of bread to give to the cows. TJ wanted to push Eric and the bread, but couldn't quite bear the load :)

By the way....slip on over here for a look at my new blog. I love doTerra oils!

Life is CrAzY....

2011-07-07T16:49:00.002-04:00

So, it's been a month or so since I posted, and yes, I know....I should be shot. LOL! This going away for a 4 1/2 weeks is for the birds!

Oh, I enjoyed my time in NC and IN, but was I ever missing James and my babies (oh, they're dogs, not babies!) Jill, Sky, and Tip :) They were so happy to see me when I got home :)

Even with a mountain of dishes, laundry, and house cleaning (not to mention all the grocery shopping!), I must say that it's good to be HOME! :)

Just wanted to share a funny thing that happened several nights ago:
It was the middle of the night and I was sleeping soundly. (I am a VERY light sleeper! Any little noise or light will wake me up!) All of a sudden I hear James clear his throat and then I hear/feel spit in my ear! Not a great way to wake up!!!! Yes, he was dreaming that he was helping his sister at county fair, got a bug in his throat, and needed to spit! Needless to say I woke him up in quite a hurry to explain what in the world he was thinking! :)

Some of my friends are going through rough times right now, and I just want you all to know that we are thinking of you and praying that Jesus will guide you and give you His peace!

I'm Back Home Again!

2011-06-06T14:10:00.005-04:00

My trip to Indiana and North Carolina was great, but I am ever so thankful to be safely home in Wyoming again! You never realize how much you take something for granted until it's gone, or far, far away!

I have lots of pics (667 in fact! LOL!)and I'll try to upload a few of them when I get them all edited. That's another thing I love to do! :)

One of the things that I got to do while in Indiana was help prepare for the 100 and 150th Anniversary Celebration for Union Bible College and Academy. It was lots of fun and the service on Friday evening was very special! I enjoyed getting to be there!

Uncle Rodney (Farney) made these display cases. They were beautiful!

This monument was placed in front of the academy building. It is great!

Grandpa Fulton & Sis. Bradbury wrote a book about the history of Union Bible College & Academy. They did an excellent job!

Another display case that Uncle Rodney built.

Ben Crawford was there representing the Bible Heritage Foundation (I think that's right) and displayed this edition of the 1611 King James Version. Awesome!!

My new hobby :)

2011-05-12T10:29:00.000-04:00

Seems like ever since Christmas when James got me a camera, I've been on this photo spree...he's always saying, "Not again, Kim! Leave your camera home this time!" (great big sigh from me!) :)

I'm not the worlds best (or even half best) photographer but I have enjoyed playing around with my camera and paint.net. I hope to add some PEOPLE to my photos soon! :) (Getting tired of always taking scenery pics) LOL!

I am traveling to NC and IN over the next three weeks (for a week with my mom, then Joanna's graduation and Liz's wedding) so pray for James! I don't know how he'll make it. The more he talks about me going, he is determined that I'll never leave him alone again! But, he's the one who said I could go :) Oh, well....guess he'll either grow fonder of me while I'm away or decide that he can do without me. Hopefully he decides that he CAN'T live without me! HAHA!

Mothers!

2011-05-06T09:17:00.002-04:00

This Mother's Day I have several ladies for whom to be thankful!

First, my mother: I'm so thankful that God assigned such an awesome lady to be my mother and that we have a close relationship. We've had our days, but through everything in my life, you've been there to love and encourage me and I'm so blessed to be able to call you "Mother." Momma, I love you very much! You're always there for me and I can't wait til I get to see you in a couple weeks!! :)

Second, James mother, Eunice: I can't put into words how thankful I am for the mother-in-law God gave me! I never dreamed (after hearing all the horror stories out there) that I would be so blessed to have a very special friend as a mother-in-law. Mom, I feel so blessed to be able to call you that! Thanks for including me in your family and making me feel like I belong! Love you lots!

Third, Teresa Musick: This second mom of mine is very special to me. From "Steel Magnolias" to "Anna and the King" you've cried and laughed with me and thru everything you've been a great friend! I feel badly because I don't get to see you as often as I'd like (which would be every day!), but I know you're there and you love me :) Thanks, Teresa for being my second mom! I love you very much!!!!

Fourth, (but certainly not least!) is Frances Fuller (whom I call Princess): I have had the privilege to live/travel with you for almost 8 years and I don't regret a minute of it! We had so many good times together and times where you taught me a lot about loving others and loving God! You're amazing to sing with, but more than that I know that if I ask you to pray about something you will and you'll have Jesus' ear! I love you very much, Princess, and I'm so grateful to God for you!

There are many other ladies out there who I thank God for often! So many who have given me a heritage to be proud of and carry on. I love them all!

My Thoughts today....

2011-05-02T10:28:00.000-04:00

I just can't help feeling a little sad that the man we've hunted for so many years is now dead! The reason why? He's having to face torments that are far worse than anything he could have planned for here on earth, and wishing for a drop of water to cool his tongue..... Sometimes in this world of violence we become heartless people and celebrate the death of those that are very evil, maybe we should pray more instead of celebrating! Just thinking out loud.......

I'm not saying that Osama wasn't an evil person and that we shouldn't have gone after him....Just that maybe we're taking his death too lightly. I think that we often get too calloused to the reality that there really is a hell to shun! How often do we really think about that reality?

When I was growing up I heard tons of people preaching about hell. It made me NOT want to go there! Yeah, I know too many preachers have used the "scare tactic" in their preaching, but not everyone does, and hell should be preached about!

Ok, enough of my thoughts..... Please, Jesus, help me to do my part to win souls for YOU!!!

Upside-Down Apple Pie

2011-04-14T16:20:00.004-04:00

I posted awhile back that I had a great recipe for apple pie and some of my friends have asked for it :) Well, here it is! It is a great recipe and every time I make it, it's gone before I know it (sometimes before I get a piece ;))

You'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons shortening
2 Tablespoons cold butter
5 to 7 Tablespoons Orange Juice (sometimes I use a little more)
FILLING:
6 Tablespoons butter, melted, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 cups thinly sliced peeled Golden Delicious Apples (about 1/8 inch thick) - (I have used other kinds of apples and it turns out just as good!)
GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons Orange Juice

In a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening and butter until crumbly.
Gradually add orange juice, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide
dough into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Line a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate with heavy-duty foil, leaving a 1-1/2 in. beyond edge; coat the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Combine 4 Tablespoons butter, brown sugar and pecans; spoon into prepared pie plate. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples and remaining 2 Tablespoons butter; toss gently.

On waxed paper, roll out one ball of pastry to fit pie plate. Place pastry over nut mixture, pressing firmly against mixture and sides of plate; trim to 1 in. beyond plate edge. Fill with apple mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim to 1/4 in. beyond plate edge. Fold bottom pastry over top pastry; seal and flute edges. Cut four 1 in. slits in top pastry.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Invert onto a serving platter; carefully remove foil. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over pie. Yields: 6-8 servings

{Recipe courtesy of Susan Frisch}

James loves this pie (except the pecans so I usually leave one half the pie without any)! :)

3 years already!

2011-04-04T18:15:00.002-04:00

Today is our third anniversary! Time has flown by! Looking at our pictures today brought back lots of memories of the most special day of my life!

We've been blessed to live in three different houses now since April 2008 :) Or should I say that we've been not blessed? It just depends on which outlook you take for life! I love most every minute being married to James!

It was hard getting used to the fact that he would always be around, since I was an "old maid" for so many years, but now that I'm used to him being around ALL the time I wouldn't have it any other way (except for when I am having a bad hair day, need chocolate, etc) LOL!

James has been very patient and loving and I'll be eternally grateful that Jesus gave him to me! I love him more every day!

The only thing that would make life any better right now would be to have a baby of my own, but God knows best and we're trusting HIM!

ok....not funny anymore!

2011-03-31T16:56:00.002-04:00

Most of the time the cows stay out farther in the pasture, but today they decided to come right up to the house! I'm not so happy :) The dogs were great and kept them from getting too close in the front at least...the back yard is not so pretty...

So now I have to watch where I walk! :) Oh well.....

Just random...

2011-03-22T18:09:00.006-04:00

We have a great creek here. It's actually spring fed, so it never goes dry. The previous owner was having problems with the sides of the creek falling in and so he started putting his old cars and trucks, tractors, etc down there. What you see here is only a part of it! The rest of it is buried....

The super moon was very pretty, but I didn't get a good picture of it. I went out with James about 6 AM Sunday morning and finally got a pic that wasn't too bad :)

We live in Lane Canyon. It's beautiful here! Especially at times when the sun is shining on top of the canyon and there's a storm brewing on the other side :)

Our dogs are enjoying being outside most of the time now. Tho they aren't allowed to just run and play since it's calving season. That makes me sad, cause Jill loves to run (she actually runs and jumps just like a dear) and Sky (the one in the pic) loves to run after her :) I love to watch them!

So, here's a few more pics of our new life in Wyoming. We're halfway through heifer calving season and after that we've got about 500 cows due :)

Pics of Wyoming

2011-03-18T17:27:00.005-04:00

So I thought I'd try to post of few pics AGAIN :) Last time they wouldn't upload...
I stepped out my back door and took this picture of the sunrise. I have seen many more sunrises since moving out here! I still like to sleep in, but don't get too very often.

This is our driveway! Yes, it's bad and it gets much worse when it rains or snows! Last week it snowed a little bit and by that afternoon we were going sideways in our car trying to get home :) That was fun! Now our car looks like we've been mudding...

This is a pic of the sunset here one evening. I just loved the colors!

This is typically the view around here. If you look closely you can see a little butte sticking up by itself. The butte is about 15 miles or so from our house but you can see it clearly on a sunny day!

Funny Church Happenings

2011-03-18T00:42:00.003-04:00

So a few Wednesday nights ago at church we were talking about different things that we've been reading in the Bible.... One of the guys (he and his wife just started attending in Nov. and were saved in the Fall revival) spoke up and said that he's been reading Song of Solomon! James and I looked at each other as if to say, "Oh my goodness, what's he gonna say?"

He started in by saying how Solomon must have been really proud of himself, and then how he was talking about the woman in there. :) Thankfully he didn't really say anything inappropriate or I really would have had to walk out, cause I was laughing so hard I was crying! Sarah, our pastor's wife said she was too, but thankfully we didn't see each other :)

Then just last night at church Jon, our pastor, was asking if anyone had a song they wanted to sing. Clif, he's a nice young man who comes on Wednesday evenings, wanted to sing "Happy Birthday to you!" We asked who's birthday it was, and he said nobody's he just wanted to sing it :) We had a little fun with that, and then ended up singing it cause he really was serious!

You never know what's going to happen when you go to church! This coming Sunday we're supposed to have a brand new couple who are not church goers at all! I'm so excited! We're praying that God will speak to their hearts and bring them back!

The Only Way

2011-03-14T01:45:00.002-04:00

I am more and more convinced that our Holiness Way is the Only Way to go! However, it makes my heart sick to see how some people profess everything in the book, dress to the highest standards, but have ugly attitudes!

Why can't they stop and think about what they're doing to those around them? What is the deal with tearing others down? Why make others look bad, spread rumors and lies that have absolutely no place in the church anyways? Can't we just get along?

I have been reminded over and over lately that it is really the heart that counts, and the truth will come out eventually! Don't get me wrong, I believe in standards and all the stuff that goes along with it. Just don't judge me or others by what I do or don't do. Let God be God! If your heart is truly right, then God will lead you in the way HE wants you to go!

We live in an area where Holiness has a bad reputation, simply because people can't get along and behave themselves like true Christians should. They dress very conservatively but spread rumors, lie, and have carnal fits.

The church that we go to is awesome. Our pastor is great and really has a heart for people. Everyone in the community loves him and his family. The only thing is, the church had a bad name when they got there..... Thankfully, God is helping our very tiny church to grow little by little! We actually had 16 people this morning!

I know that if James and I and the others in our church live consistently and really show that we are different, that God will bless us. That is my prayer, and I am more determined than ever to go the Only Way! I want to make it to Heaven more than anything else in the world!

All work and no play?

2011-02-24T18:17:00.003-05:00

A lady at the bank asked me what I do for work now :) I told her that I don't do anything :) She said I better not say that cause women that stay at home do LOTS more than nothing!

People are asking me if I get bored these days, and my answer is NO! I love being able to sleep in if I want, read a book all day long, do the laundry, wash the dishes, sweep the floor, unpack boxes, play the piano, play with the dogs, fix supper for James, and all the other things I get to do now! If I want to talk to someone, all I have to do is pick up the phone, or get on facebook :)

Considering that we have to drive for 45 minutes ANYWHERE we go, I don't go very many places. I do have to go to town once a week so we can fill the car up with gas to go to church on Sunday, so if I have to stop by the grocery I can do that. We are trying to only go into Cheyenne, where Wal-mart and Sam's Club is, once a month. It's 1 1/2 hours away, so it gives us something to look forward too :)

So, all in all, I love my new life!

Days in Wyoming

2011-02-15T11:31:00.003-05:00

We moved to Wy in January. You would think there'd be lots of snow, but we've had only about 4-5 inches total since we got here! The temperature has been very low at times, as in -23 degrees actual temp, and the wind chill was -50 below, but all in all it's been great.

The Ranch that we live on runs about 700 head of cattle. Calving season starts in a few weeks, and James or I will be up all hours of the night checking on the cows and first time calvers. FUN!!

If I want to go to a grocery store I have to drive about 35 - 45 minutes, and most of it is gravel or dirt road. The closest Wal-mart is in Cheyenne, and that's 1 1/2 hours away ;) We made it a month without going into Cheyenne, and we're gonna try to do 2 months :) Never thought I'd say that, did you?

I was happy to find out that Cheyenne has lots of the same stores I'm used to in IN. They have a Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Ross, Chick-fil-A (in the mall and it's the only one in the state!), and lots of other places. Of course, Hobby Lobby is by far my favorite! :)

We really like our little church. We are going to LaGrange and it's about 45 minutes away. Our pastor is Jon Norwood. He is married to Sarah Durr and they have 4 children. Our church is Bible Missionary. It's actually the church that James' great-grandpa Hegwood started years ago, and where Grandma & Grandpa Fulton were married!

If you want to see pics, you'll need to go to my facebook page, I'm having difficulty getting pics uploaded on this blog. The link is to the right of this blog.

Update ....

2010-06-01T22:37:00.007-04:00

Ok. So I'm back on here again :) Life is so busy, but it's good.

I actually have only had time lately to update my Face book status every now and then.

James is looking for a good job. He has been working part time at the dairy farm lately, but they are not needing him as much. Just wait til time to put out all the hay and bring it in, then they'll need him lots. Oh well, we'll just keep putting in lots of applications and see what happens.

I have two new nieces now. Wesley & Janelle had Lilyanna Jade in Feb., and Fletcher & Diane had Emily Paige in March. I'm so excited to have them in the family.

I'm posting a few pics that James' family had made in Jan. I wish James did not have the beard in them, but oh well, what can I say? He grows it because his face is too cold outside in the winter. Thankfully, it doesn't stay this way all year! :)

Babies ;)

2010-02-09T14:57:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a most interesting experience Sunday afternoon! I got to help deliver a 95lb. calf! It was our heifer's first delivery and she had a really hard time! James was pulling the calf and I was pulling on her :)

It was well worth the work though! The calf and mother are doing really well and we are thankful for that! Sometimes when a mother cow has a hard delivery, she won't accept the calf, and you have to bottle feed it or tie the mother up and milk it out.

I also got to milk the mother calf on Sunday night :) That was a first for me! Baby was not able to walk very well and hadn't nursed since being born several hours before. James and I chased Mom around the pasture for a couple hours before we were able to lasso her and then James sat on her head so that I could milk her out into the bottle so we could feed baby. :) That was an experience I'll never forget :)

Jack and Jill are new additions to our family as well. We have two new puppies :) They are the most adorable things ever and we're in love! (James said he wanted them to sleep with us, but I think it would probably be a disaster.) I'm going to post pics as soon as I get them on to the computer. They're part catahoula(?), border collie, and blue heeler. Mixed up, but still adorable!!

Ok....I'll shut up for now :)

My Christmas

2010-01-04T13:54:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a great Christmas! I loved it! James and I had 5 Christmases :) But it's not about the gifts, I know....

We got to be with all of his family at one point or another, and I got to have my parents and Fletcher, Diane, Russell, Gregory, and the little girl that's on the way! I was so excited to have them here!

We went shopping on Saturday to Old Navy and Russell and Greggie found this little dog that talked. Greggie was a little sad in the one pic because he had found a ball that he wanted but couldn't have :)

I also got to see two of my most favorite people this past Tuesday: Princess & King David :) They were up to see family and stopped by to see me at Chick-fil-A and then went to see the animals! We even got to sing together again!!!!! I love singing with them!!

I remembered!!!

2009-12-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

Well, it's about time I got back on here, right? I COULDN'T REMEMBER MY USERNAME OR PASSWORD :) But as you can see I finally remembered it :) I think I must be getting old or something.

Lots of things have been happening around our house. We have 9 new baby pigs, 3 more sows due to farrow, and then 8 cows due to give birth in February or March, so I'm excited about that.

James' sister, Rachel has 4 goats that are due the end of December, too, so we'll have lots of little babies running around.

I wish we had a human little baby arriving soon, but alas, we're stil waiting on God to give us a little miracle.

We got to see James' cousin David Jr. and his wife Christa this past Monday night and we had fun talking, laughing our heads off and playing Rook. That was my first time ever playing that game, and once I got the hang of it had a lot of fun. I love to win and David and I won!!!! (Not because I can play so great though! James & Christa got me to give them lots of points several times when David wasn't paying attention :))

My nephew, Gregory, was able to come back home after being away for six months or so with his father. We are so happy to have him home for Christmas! We are hoping that all will go well and maybe he'll be in our family permanently soon.

I have two little neices on the way. One in March and one in April! I'm so excited about Lilliana (Wesley & Janelle's) and "Dixie" as Fletcher likes to call his little girl. I am sure they won't keep that name, but he enjoys teasing Diane about it.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will try to post again soon, if I can remember all my passwords, etc.

James' new love....

2009-07-25T16:10:00.004-04:00

This is Chaley Lachelle Arnholt. She is five months old and the new love of James' life ;) Chaley has a brother (Chandler) and a sister (Charley). They are our cousin's children. We get to babysit them sometimes and it is the most fun!

Chandler is 10 and he showed our pigs at the county fair and will be showing them at State Fair as well. We won 3rd and 4th place with the pigs (the judge was a sheep judge! I won't say anymore), and Chandler won a blue honors with his pocket pet, a leopard ghecko named Echo :)

Charley is a lot of fun and she LOVES to talk! She's six and honestly has a very large vocabulary for that age. She also has the most creative imagination! the other day it was raining and she said "Kim, I think God just opened up the floor of Heaven so he could let all the water drain out!" I just couldn't help but laugh!

Our lives lately have consisted of county fair, work, babysitting, taking care of our sick cow and pig, picking blueberries, freezing all my fresh fruit, and more running around than I like to do. Yesterday I didn't leave the house one time, except to walk out and get the mail. It felt great to have the day off and actually get to relax and do things around the house. I even got to babysit Chaley again, and all she did was sleep :)

Fletcher & Diane...

2009-06-14T14:52:00.003-04:00

Hi! I just wanted to show you the latest pics of my brother's family. I think they are fantastic! Just wish I could be with them. I haven't gotten to meet the girls yet, but they just look so cute!

Florida

2009-05-20T17:12:00.001-04:00

I was able to spend this past weekend in Hobe Sound, FL. My sister-in-law, Liz, graduated from the TESOL program at HSBC. Congratulations, LIZ!

I spent the weekend with the Fullers, who also provided lunch for the 10 of us who were down for the graduation. Princess did an excellent job with Sunday dinner! Not one of us went away hungry :)

Sunday night was awesome! I got to sing with King David and Princess at the First Baptist Church of Hobe Sound. We had the whole service and it was so much fun to sing together again. We have a standing invitation to come back and sing any time we want! The people there were great.

Now I'm back home and tired! Mom and Dad McBryant, Rachel, and Joanna, drove down with me and it was a tiring trip with all five of us crammed in our car :) Oh, well....it was worth it!

News...

2009-04-20T14:33:00.002-04:00

Our cow has to be put down! :( She lost the calf, it was just too traumatized. We've had her at the vet hospital since Friday night, and they still can't get her to stand. They've done all kinds of steroids, and ivs, but nothing has worked. I'm so sad!

Shadow, James' sister's dog, was killed last night. And I got other news about some family today that was just sad. Seems like everything happens at once!

Just thought I'd pass along the news.

Stay happy!

Emergency C section!

2009-04-19T14:13:00.006-04:00

This past Friday, we had a rather interesting and exciting thing happen! We were all ready to start the AI breeding process that afternoon. Mom and I were cleaning down town Indy, and James called and said one of our year old heifers was calving! They are too young at that age, so we were quite concerned. She wasn't even supposed to be bred. We think now that she was pregnant when we got her at the end of August. That means she was bred when she was still nursing her mom!

James' cousin, Charlie, helped us all evening. James and I were trying to pull the calf out. Then Darrell, our AI tech, came and was trying to help us as well. The calf was WAY too big and wouldn't come out, so we had to take the mom for an emergeny c section. She had gone down and would not get up. We had to pull her out of the chute and there was tons of mud everywhere! We could not get her up.

After we got her out of the chute, we had to do preg checks on the other 8 heifers to make sure that we didn't have any more pregnant ones and then have to do the same procedure on them. Darrell bred the others while we had them in the chute. It was really neat....

We took 178, the pregant heifer, up to the vet, about 1 1/2 hours away. All this while, she had the hooves of the calf hanging out of her. They wouldn't go back in. We had pulled and pulled and pulled and one of the hooves had come off completly. :( I was crying and praying and so was everyone else! Life was very traumatic that day.

Anyways...we took her and they did the c section. Usually they do them while the cow is still standing, but since we couldn't get her up, they had to sedate her and then roll her on her back. They cut her belly and took out the baby. He weighed 79 lbs. Way too big for the mom's age! She still would not stand after IVs and meds, so we had to leave her at the vet. We're still waiting on news and may have to go pick her up today. She's trying, but she's still too weak.

Bro. Bryan, our pastor, called me last night, Saturday, and asked how the cow was doing. He said that it was the first time he'd actually prayed for a cow :) Believe me, it wasn't the first time for me, and it probably won't be the last time! I've prayed so hard about that cow!

Brysen

2009-04-06T22:19:00.002-04:00

here are some pics of my nephew, Brysen. I love him and wish I could see him more often. I'm glad that Wesley sends me lots of pics. Sometimes he sends me about 10 million a day, and I wish he would take a rest then :)

More pigs and cows

2009-04-06T22:10:00.003-04:00

We have 2 new pigs! I surprised James by going to an auction and bidding on Janie, a york guilt. We won the bid, so he went to pick her up last Weds. I do not have a pic of her yet, but I do have a pic of Shelby, our crossbred guilt. Janie looks like the pigs in the pics here. We sold several pigs and were able to get her. We are excited about our possibilities this year :)

Thankfully, God has helped us to sell several of the pigs, and we still have several more to go.

We have 9 Angus heifers that we will be breeding soon. James likes to do all the breeding AI, so we don't have to rent bulls or anything. He likes to determine the bloodline and genetics, so we'll have better beef stock.

I am including a pic of our Hereford cow. She is looking good, and had a little bull calf, Crossbow, a few months ago. He's looking great! James wants to show him in some open shows soon. James is a show fanatic! He thrives on getting animals ready for show. I can hardly stand to be around him when we're getting ready to go in the ring sometimes. :) He gets SOO bossy :)

Oh, well! Guess that's why he's won some of the trophies, or plaques.

Having Guests..,

2009-04-06T22:06:00.002-04:00

James and I love to have guests over for Sunday dinner, or other times during the week (when we're not working), and so we had the Dahlers over a couple Sundays ago. We enjoyed our time! Andrew got to be there, and so that was a treat, cause I never get to see him anymore ;)

Here are a few pics I took as I was getting ready for the dinner. I love to do special napkin designs, etc.

Happy Anniversary :)

2009-04-06T21:58:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe that a year has already passed since I got married! Time has flown by!

I still say that God gave me the best man in the world! I have to be the most blessed woman alive.

James and I celebrated on Saturday evening after I got back from Outlook Makeover girls' retreat. He had fixed me supper, and ordered me a special sweet drink. We had fun. He fixed pork roast, sweet potatoes, lima beans, biscuits (which he shaped in a heart), and tomatoes. His mom helped him, but he did the majority. I am proud of him :) I love it when he fixes me special things.

I am uploading some pics of the night, but they're pretty random.

WORK!

2009-03-11T18:18:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm back! I cannot believe how long it's been again! Let's see, what's going on? Well....

James has been working third shift the last couple weeks. He goes in at 9:00 PM and works til 7 AM. I leave for work at 7:30 AM and usually haven't been getting off til around 6 to 7 PM, depending on how much training there is to do with new team members. James still is working at Gordon's (his second job) when I get off work, so I go home, make supper and he usually gets home around 7:30 PM then eats, and goes back to work! This is NOT FUN!!!

I can't wait til he's done with this!

Our pigs are doing well. We've sold 5 so far. We're hoping to sell the rest really soon. There are 19 left, so if you know of anyone wanting a show pig or feeder pig, let me know ;)

Will write more later.....

Brysen

2009-02-10T18:20:00.003-05:00

Brysen is almost a year old and now he's learning to play the piano! He's doing really well at finding his pedals and turning his pages don't you think :)

Babies :)

2009-02-10T17:54:00.004-05:00

I promised pics of our babies, so here they are. I think the one of James sleeping in the pig barn is cute :) He'd kill me if he knew I posted it! Oh well....

We have 25 babies. I am only posting pics of Prissy & Crissy's babies because they're the only ones I have right now. Sissy's babies are all pink, no spots or markings because they're purebreds. The others are crossbred so hence the markings.

Missy decided she was not going to have any this time for some reason. Either she aborted, or just never got pregnant at all which is a mystery to us....We tried 3 times....

Ok, here goes.

News???

2009-01-20T19:00:00.002-05:00

Hi! Life has been the same old, same old for the last few weeks. Work & sleep....

James & I did have fun planning Sunday dinner for our Pastor and Grammie & Popper. I set the table with pretty dishes and folded the napkins like envelopes and put little chocolate hearts wrapped in red foil on the point to decorate.

We had baked chicken (dipped in Mayo & cornflakes), red potatoes with sour cream and butter, corn, and salad. Sis. Bryan made some delicious rolls, and I made peach cobbler with the peaches we froze this year. I think it turned out well. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Other than that, and our car not starting because it was so cold, there's not much been happening. Oh, we do have a new baby calf. He was born when it was beginning to get so cold. We had to dry him off with a hair dryer because he looked like a little frozen ice cube ;)

Our pigs are due this week and next!! YEAH!!!

Have fun and have a great week!

I'm back :)

2009-01-13T18:58:00.002-05:00

Hi! This post is long overdue! Hope Christmas and New Year's was great at your house!

James and I had a great time with family and friends over Christmas and New Years. We missed Wesley, Janelle, and Brysen, though! James and I arrived in NC on Christmas Eve and were able to spend Christmas and the day after at my parents. Fletcher and Diane were able to come down on Christmas night, and the day after was Fletcher's birthday. Guess what he wanted to do ALL DAY?!!! Play Monopoly! That's right, we played 3 full games! :( I got so bored!!! Actually, we did have a good time together.

On Saturday after Christmas, James and I got to visit Mark and Laura in PA. We got to meet Nevaeh and fell in love with her! She is the sweetest thing! You can visit Mark & Laura's blog to see pics.

Ever since we got back we've been so busy, it's hard to breathe! I think we had 5 Christmases total and James and I still haven't had our together. We decided to wait til Valentine's to have our first Christmas together :) We'll just combine both days.

I am now Office Manager and Training Coordinator for Chick-fil-A Westfield. It's sometimes a very taxing job and sometimes I just want to quit! I love it there, but I feel like I'm doing a million things at once and I like to do one thing at a time and make sure it gets done correctly. I'll make it though.

I know this post is just rambling, but I am tired, so forgive me :) I'll try to do better next time.

wesley and janelle

2008-12-16T18:46:00.001-05:00

This is my other brother, Wesley and his family. Isn't Brysen the cutest kid? I can't wait to see him again. I've only seen him twice since he was born. He has the cutest grin ever, I think.

Just wanted to write about some more of my favorite people in the world :)

More pics of my nephews ;)

2008-12-12T17:44:00.003-05:00

Aren't they so cute!!!!!

By the way, please say a prayer for Brysen if you think of it - he has pneumonia. Hopefully I'll have new pics of him soon.

My brother & his family

2008-12-02T16:50:00.004-05:00

Hi, again! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was great. We got to have two Thanksgivings :)

We got up around 6:30 AM on Friday and James went with the guys in the family up to Frankfort and played raquetball and basketball. We gals went shopping. My new favorite store is Garden Ridge Home Decor. I love that place. They have a little bit of everything!

Then we went to the mall, and boy do I wish we had never gone there! It took me half an hour to find a parking spot, then when you got into the mall you could hardly move there were so many people. I didn't buy a single thing, except for a arctic slush from Dairy Queen :) and then I left. There's a reason I hate the Friday after Thanksgiving! ;)

I'm posting a picture of Fletcher and his family. They pics turned out beautiful and Diane emailed them to me. I just think the boys look so cute!

I'm also going to try to post a pic of Brysen, Wesley's baby. He's growing up all cute! I can't wait til Christmas to see all my boys!

The pie is called "Up-side Down Apple Pie" and I had to make one for Thanksgiving. They taste like cinnamon apple buns. Everyone likes them. I found the recipe in one of the cookbooks that I got from a yard sale this summer.

N.A.I.L.E.

2008-11-20T19:06:00.004-05:00

Ok, so yesterday James and I and a few others went down to Louiville, KY to NAILE. North American ? Livestock exposition. We were looking for a Boer Goat Buck for James' sister. It was fun, but there weren't many people there except for the cattle barn! I loved that place!

All those cows lined up getting groomed and everybody having to step around manure piles, the smells of hay, paint, and all that other stuff is just amazing :) Guess I'm turning out to be more of a farm girl that you all thought, huh?! Me too :)

Anyways... just thought I'd check in. I'm working all the time and have very little time to come to the library to write. We're working on getting out computer up and running. Sometimes it will work just fine, then all of the sudden it stops. It's like an old mule, I think.

I'm posting a pic of my nephews, Russell & Gregory. They're getting so much bigger! They're so adorable and I miss them a lot. Hopefully we'll all get to be together at Christmas time.

Heritage...

2008-10-28T16:16:00.003-04:00

I am thankful for my heritage! I was raised in a Holiness church by great Christian parents. I went to a Christian school, and had wonderful teachers. My Grandparents were Holiness people and prayed for us every day.

I am privileged to have heard preachers like H.E. Darnell, D.R. Matherly, Stanley Kendall, Elbert Barrow, Dan Parker, Judy Williams, Millard Downing, and so on. Some of my favorite memories are sitting in revival services where the Presence of God surrounded us and we heard the Victory Trio, the Downings, and others singing the praises of God.

I will never forget those times, and when I hear people saying that those people are not relevant to our day and age, I feel great despair. Where would we be without those people? If they aren't relevant to our day, where in the world will our Holiness movement be in 10 years?

We do have some excellent young preachers in our Holiness movement. I know that. I know that we have young people who are sincere in their walk with God.

But.....too many of our young people are going astray. Too many of them think that what we've always stood for is no longer valid. They think it's too hard or too rigid!

I understand that we've all heard preaching that really isn't what is in the Bible, but by far, the preaching has kept our feet to the fire. We need messages that make us think and really dig!

I am greatly concerned that we are losing our young people to a lesser way, or losing them altogether because we think that some of our Holiness people are too "radical" or "conservative," so we don't use them in our churches anymore.

I know I'm going off, but I guess it's because I attended one of those casual, "feel good," close to the world kind of meetings this weekend. To be frank, it made me sick! Our young people need to be proud of our heritage! They need to have those memories of soul-searching messages that make you want to pray!

If it's good enough for IHC, it should be enough for any meeting where Holiness people gather! Be it for young people, or not!

A visit from my mom :)

2008-10-16T17:27:00.001-04:00

Hi, everyone! I was privileged to have my mom visit me for the weekend! It was a great time and I hated to see her leave on Monday.

I did have to work while she was here, but she rearranged my kitchen cabinets and washed clothes and cleaned my house, so she kept pretty busy :) Now I can't find anything in my kitchen. Guess she was just making it like she would have it at her house :)

I love my mom!!!!

My dad had a heart attack this afternoon, so we're waiting on word from the Dr. about any damage done. They did have to put a stint in one of his arteries. Please pray that everything will be okay.

My dad is one of the best in the world. I would say THE BEST, but I know everyone else would disagree :) I do think that, though! I wish I lived closer, but that isn't the case for now. Maybe someday....

Okay, that's the update for now.
Have a great week!

Mary :)

2008-10-06T18:25:00.003-04:00

Sad news!!!
Mary, our blood hound is now in doggy heaven :( We think she got hit by a car on Thursday evening. She had gotten out of the dog pen, which, by the way, we put her in because she was leaving the yard....

Anyways...she came home and then left again. On Friday we couldn't find her to take her to the vet. She had evidently gone off to be in pain by herself.
Saturday morning, I got a text from James' mom that Mary had died in the night right beside the front steps. At least she came home :) Now I don't have to worry that animals ate her. James buried her in the back.

Okay...enough with the sad news :)

James Wesley McBryant :)

2008-09-25T16:34:00.002-04:00

My Husband....

2008-09-25T16:24:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to talk about my husband for a minute ;) He's the absolute best thing God ever did for me, besides salvation! He keeps me stable when I'm going crazy with work and all the problems there. He keeps me humble by picking on me every spare minute of the day...:) and he keeps me steady when things and people are growing very shaky. He's my rock. I love him so much!

James is very quiet until you get to know him, but believe me, once you do know him, he'll talk your ear off; especially if it's about cows! We now have 10 heifers, 1 cow and 1 bull calf that we're getting ready to steer. We have 4 gilts and 1 boar pig, and one dog, Mary.

When James brought Missy & Prissy home, it just felt natural to call them that, then we got Sissy and Chrissy. We are hoping to have about 40 little baby pigs running around our barn come January :) They are a lot of fun and a lot of work :)

James is a very hard worker. Sometimes he gets discouraged and upset because he has to be at work at 5:30 AM, but he keeps on and I love that about him! He always tries to think about what is best for us and thinks of ways to "invest." Sometimes I hate that word! :)

There are so many other things I could say about James, but I'll leave those unsaid.
I'll just tell him later ;)

new Fultz & Harker's Island

2008-09-04T17:20:00.001-04:00

Hey! Just wanted to let you know that you should go to my link for Mark & Laura Fultz! They have the cutest little addition to their family and I already love her. You can see that she looks like Daryl and Mark :)

This past weekend, I was able to go to Harker's Island, NC and visit with my family. James and I got to meet Fletcher and Diane's little boys and they are so adorable. I enjoyed my time with them immensely!

Don't have much time, just wanted to post a little something. Keep checking for pix. :)

My Nephews....

2008-07-08T17:19:00.002-04:00

THis is Brysen.

Fletcher & Diane have 3 little boys now. Russell is 5, Gregory is about 9 months, & Thomas is a few weeks old.

My newest nephews....

2008-06-07T20:58:00.004-04:00

Hi, everyone! Okay, now the person who messaged me about my nasty cleaning pics can be happy :)

I just wanted to tell you a little about my new nephews. Fletcher and Diane have 3 boys now. They had Gregory at our wedding, I have posted a few pics of him before. Since then they've gotten 2 more little boys.

Russell is 5 years old. When Fletcher and Diane first got him, he wasn't potty trained and didn't eat solid food. He's doing a lot better on the potty training thing and now eats and doesn't have to drink out of a bottle anymore.

Thomas is Russell's little brother. He is only a week and a half old. Fletcher and Diane got him straight from the hospital. He was premature so he's very tiny. Fletcher said his wrist is only as big around as Fletcher's thumb :)

Anyways...Diane is supposed to send me pics, so I'll upload them as soon as I can.

Have fun! TTYL>>>>>

Cleaning! Nasty :)

2008-05-18T20:51:00.003-04:00

On Fridays, James' mom and I clean apartments down town Indianapolis. Most of the time is we're cleaning for the same lady, then the apartments aren't too bad. BUT...on days like this one, when we work for different people, we never know what to expect. Believe me, the pictures you see here are mild compared to some bathrooms I've cleaned!

The stove was nasty, as you can see from the above pic. That pic was even taken AFTER we'd cleaned it up some.

Anyways....I walked into this bathroom and looked around and gagged! It smelled terrible! The sink and counter tops were brown and orange with some kind of nasty stuff.

The floors were black and yellow, as were the walls behind the toilet. I guess they were never trained properly on how to use the restroom facilities! Disgusting!

Then, the tub was so nasty with skin and skin oil that it took me almost all of an hour to get it looking halfway white again. We had to use this "Goof Off" stuff and it was making me sick. The smell of that combined with the smell of the bathroom was quite overwhelming.

Seriously, this is not dirt you see in the tub. It is skin and oil! Trust me, once you've tried to get this stuff out, you never want to do it again :)

Okay, now you know what I have to deal with on Fridays. Talk to you later :)

More pics...

2008-04-30T17:55:00.002-04:00

This is "Benedict Arnold" in one of the reenactments there at Williamsburg.

This is a black preacher preaching about freedom.

Some of the troops marching when "General Washington" was to appear.

Firing their guns in salute to "General Washington" and freedom from the British.

Some pics of Williamsburg, VA

2008-04-30T17:40:00.004-04:00

These are some of the pics of Colonial Williamsburg. The gardens and the big house are the Governor's Mansion and Gardens.

Only one....:(

2008-04-30T17:17:00.001-04:00

So far, this is the only picture I have. Sorry, but keep watching, maybe more will come in a few days.....

Wedded bliss :)

2008-04-20T22:21:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone! I'm back and everything is still great! I love being married, although sometimes it still doesn't seem very real.

We haven't gotten our pics back yet, but when I do, I'll try to post some. Maybe my sister, Renae has a coupe posted. I haven't checked any blogs lately....Wonder why?! :)

Anyways...if you're interested, you can go to the following link and watch the wedding. http://www.fbhc.info/McBryant

We are still trying to get settled into the apartment and I have lots of stories already, especially about our first night :)

Early in the morning I woke to hear James saying "I can't wait to be a rich and famous farmer!" I finally figured out that he was asleep and had no idea he was talking to me. He doesn't remember it of course.

We went to Williamsburg and to NC for our honeymoon. Some of you will probably find this humorous, but we went to a cow sale on Friday. It was fun. You'll have to ask my sister about our experience sitting on the front row.

Okay, I'll try to write more sometime, but don't hold your breath :) Life is different now but very very busy...........TTYL ~ Kimberly McBryant

The Count Down......

2008-03-19T17:18:00.002-04:00

Hi! How's it going everyone? Well, it's getting more and more exciting here. I only have 16 days til my wedding!

WOW! I can hardly believe it! I have dreamed of this day for years :) Actually, I had sort of given up hope that it would ever happen. Oh well, James came along and changed all that :)

Okay, so I have flowers done, dresses almost done, tuxes ordered, places rented, pics rented, and all kinds of other things done, but it seems like I still have a million things to do. And, I have to move before the wedding! We'er going to be living in a 2-bedroom apartment in Westfield for right now.

I'm excited, or can't you tell....Sorry for all the not-so-focused thoughts....TTYL!

Brysen Creed Deaton

2008-03-10T16:36:00.004-04:00

This is Brysen. He was born on Feb. 21. Wesley and Janelle are proud parents!

Pictures of Gregory

2008-03-10T16:15:00.005-04:00

This is the little boy that Fletcher and Diane have right now. He is so adorable!

New blog address

2008-03-10T16:02:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone! Am I back sooner this time? :) Anyways...I'm getting sick of my blog adress, especially since I don't work at ubc anymore :) I will be changing the address to: kim-jwmcbryantiii.blogspot.com effective March 15, 2008.

Life is getting more and more interesting all the time. Did I tell you I'm an aunt twice? Wesley and Janelle had a little boy, Brysen Creed on Feb. 21. He was 19" long and weighed 8 lbs. and 5 oz. He's cute as a button, and I'll be posting some pics soon.

The same evening that Brysen was born, Fletcher and Diane got a little boy named Gregory. He is 6 months old and they are happy to have him in their life. Hopefully they can keep him for a very long time! He is also adorable. I already love being an aunt although I haven't seen either one of them. But come April 4, noone (Well, maybe James) will be able to keep me away :)

Welcome to the family, Brysen and Gregory!

Well, It's about time!

2008-03-06T15:46:00.002-05:00

Hi, everyone! I know, I know!! Sorry.

Lots of things have happened since I was last on here.

The last part of January, I was privileged to go to Washington State and sing with the Fullers at an indoor Camp. It was a great time! I enjoyed meeting everyone very much! We were able to visit the Space Needle and ride through Pike's Market, but other than that, it was too cold and rainy to go out much. Well, I would have done it but didn't want to make the Fullers sick :)

Michael, I'm still waiting for you to come to my wedding :) I'll be disappointed if you don't. Not really, but you are more than welcome to come! All of you!

Anyways...now that I've been back I've been trying to get things ready for my wedding. We finally got invitations sent out, if you were left out, I apologize! I didn't mean to leave anyone out, just can't remember everyone..... You can send me an email at kim.jwmiii@yahoo.com with your address and name (of course) and I'll still send you one :)

Now, I am just trying to finish everything..........See you later.
Love, ME

Happy New YEAR!

2008-01-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

Good Grief! I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. HAve been to busy to even think, seems like. I'm not dead, just trying to work and get money for this wedding :)

I'm so excited! It's only 3 months til the big day. WoW! Oh, if any of you want an invite, you need to email me your address. You can do that at kim.jwmiii@yahoo.com, or kimberlyd977@juno.com.

Hopefully your Christmas and New Year's went well and you are sticking to your resolutions :) I didn't make any, cuz I knew that I'd probably forget them the first day, because that's what I do with anything now. Gotta right it down, or it's gone forever (well, maybe not forever, but a LONG time) :)

Ok...enough rambling. GOtta go........Love you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T19:22:00.000-05:00

Hi! Just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! If you get up early Friday morning to shop, best luck to you :) Hope you get lots of things really cheap. I have to work, so I'll get to deal with all the irritated customers who didn't get to buy what they really wanted :)

Anyways....see you later.

pictures....

2007-11-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

These were taken when we got home Friday night.

I'm engaged!

2007-11-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Hi! just thought I'd tell you the news....

Friday night James took me out to Shula's Steakhouse in the Westin Holel, downtown Indianapolis. It was an experience :)

They take you to your table, then proceed to tell you the entree menu is on the football in front of you... The owner of the Steakhouse was the coach of Miami Dolphins when they went undefeated for the year. So everything in there is related to football somehow.

Anyways...it was a very nice place and after we left we walked around the circle and I was freezing to death! James was planning to take me down to the canal, but it was so cold he decided not to do that. He pulled out this rose from his inside jacket pocket (I don't know how he hid it so well) and gave it to me. I was like "Oh, how sweet!"

He looked at me and said, "You've got to look inside it." I didn't know what to expect, since I knew he didn't get me a ring :) Inside was a little piece of paper with "Will you marry me?" on it. It was so sweet!!!

Anyways...I'm getting married on April 4, 2008. I'm really excited! If you want to make sure I have you address for an invitation, send me an email at kimberlyd977@juno.com.

Okay! I was going to upload some pics now, but I guess I'll have to wait til later. This computer is taking FOREVER! More later....

I HATE MICE!!!!

2007-11-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

Okay...do you want to know why? Renae, you're going to love this :)

I've been having lots of problems with mice in my house lately. We put poison out, and they eat it like it's going out of style... I found a dead mouse in my trash can the other evening, I know there's another one somewhere, because I can smell it :)

Anyways.....I went to bed early last night because I had to get up at 4:30 AM this morning. I woke up around 1:15 AM to feel something running down my leg. I know it was a mouse. I threw off the bed covers, shrieked and kicked like someone was killing me and then tried to find that mouse! I still don't know where he went, but I didn't get too much sleep after that! I've always had a fear that one day a mouse was going to climb in bed with me. Guess that fear was realized!

Don't know what I'm going to do tonight! Oh well....just thought I'd share my mouse in the house expreience. TTYL Everybody!

Planning a wedding....

2007-10-31T15:44:00.000-04:00

Okay, this planning a wedding thing is getting a little crazy. I stay awake at night just trying to figure out who's going to walk down the aisle with whom, what songs do I absolutely HAVE to have (that list is getting longer and longer, and James is going to die standing up there for all those hours), where am I getting material for the dresses, and all the other endless things a person has to think about.

I mean, I have a wedding coordinator and I probably should let her worry about some of those very tiny details, but I'm going crazy here! At least I'm getting stressed out now, and hopefully by the time April 4 gets here, I'll be all calm and everything.

Wow, pounding that all out on the keyboard of this poor computer really helped relieve some of that stress. :) NOw I just need to go outside ans yell to the top of my lungs. I'd probably scare everyone to death, though, cuz I have a pretty big mouth :)

Must go for now.......

Green Beans..... ugh!

2007-10-17T16:23:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the recipes for different ways to fix those stringy green things they call beans :) I appreciate all the efforts, but I still HATE them! My dad and mom tried every trick in the book to get me to eat them as a child, but I found them every time! They even tried to make me dip them in hot sauce, since I like that a lot, but that made me sick :)

Anyways....life is very busy here and it's only going to get worse, I'm afraid. Seems like all I get done is work and more work, then shopping and trying to find things necessary for a wedding.

I'll write more later, promise!

7 things about me?

2007-10-08T17:27:00.000-04:00

Ok everyone....Here's seven things you may not know about me:

1. I am severly claustrophobic (is that even spelled right?)

2. I love living on a farm.....hopefully James and I will have one of our own soon.

3. I didn't have my first boyfriend til I was 20.

4. I absolutely hate green beens, unless they're steamed with almonds and other spices.

5. I used to play the saxophone, til it got stolen :)

6. I'm planning to get married in 2008.

7. Next Sunday, October 14, I'll have been dating the most wonderful man in the world for one year!

Outlook Makeover Barn Fest...

2007-09-22T14:59:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! Today has been a busy day! We've been trying to clean and decorate the barn we're using for our Barn Fest on September 28th. All of us are excited about it and hoping that things go as planned and even better ;)

If you've never heard of Outlook Makeover, check out the web link at the bottom of my page. We're having so much fun trying to see what God will do with us and hoping that we can be a blessing to some young girl out there.

The barn fest will be from 6 pm to 12 midnight, and there are lots of things planned, you'll definitely get your $5 worth. We're going to have hayrides (these cost $1 each), games, volleyball and other outside things, a campfire and food. We're hoping to raise money for our next retreat held in March 2008. If you live in the area and are looking for something inexpensive, come see us. The fest is being held at 16907 Gray Rd. Noblesville, IN. It's actually between Westfield and Noblesville right off 32.

Other than this and working long hours at chick-fil-a, there's not much else going on. I'm still dating the most wonderful man in the world. He's awesome!

Okayyyy....I'll talk some more later.. C ya!

pictures

2007-09-17T16:53:00.000-04:00

By the way, that is torn off wall paper above my head, not a hat :)

My Mom, James, and I were all squished into the back seat of the van.

The little girl is my cousin's daughter, Fabi. Her twin sister, Fati, wouldn't let me take a picture of her. They are two years old now. It hardly seems that time has gone that fast!

Birthdays!!!

2007-09-10T18:15:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! I know it's been a while. Sorry, but I've been having fun with my family.

Last weekend, over Labor Day, James and I went down to Harkers Island, NC. We were there to celebrate my Dad's birthday and to see my Mom before her surgery.

We had so much fun! Fletcher and Diane were there, along with Diane's sister, Betsy. Wesley and Janelle didn't get to come, but they came to Mom and Dad's house on Sunday. I'll try to post a few pictures before the end of the week.

My mom's surgery went well, thank the Lord! I'm not too excited that I can't be there, but Jesus knows I have to work :)

Yesterday I turned 30! I can't believe I'm so old!!!! Sometimes I feel lots older, but most of the time I still feel like a teenager :) HOpefully I don't always act it :)

James' family had a cake and some ice cream for dinner yesterday. It was so sweet of them. I haven't had a b-day cake in a long time and so it almost made me cry. I was determined NOT to cry on my birthday, though. :)

Okay....this is getting long so I'll quit for now. THat's just a little of what's been happening with me. See you later!!!

Chick-fil-A

2007-08-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

Ok...I was a little frustrated today! Shouldn't have been, but I got up and was at work this morning to make 150 chick-fil-a breakfast biscuits for a catering order. They were to be ready by 6:30 AM, the moment we opened, or the lady said she would go somewhere else.

SO, we made the biscuits, and guess what! WHen she got there to pick them up, she said, I only want 115 of them..... Ok, so that's only 35 less than originally, so who cares? Well, I did :) We spent all that time making those biscuits and had to get rid of most of the leftovers, because she didn't want them. IF they don't sale within 20 minutes of being made we have to pitch them, cool the chicken down to make chicken salad with, or whatever.

Actually, besides getting a late start on everything in the store because of that order, it wasn't too bad of a day. Just part of life at CHick-fil-A, I guess.

Okay, girls, I'm gonna have to choose which state to live in, now that I've got some people who want me. It's good to hear from you guys!

What should I do?????

2007-08-21T16:56:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! I'm back from NY, finally :) Had a good camp, but was so glad to get home. It was so cold up there! Several nights it got down in the 40's. The last two days you needed a heater in your rooms, and in the tabernacle.

By the way, the pics I promised of Janelle and Wesley's wedding, I never received! You'll have to visit my sister's blog to see some of them. Just click on "Renae".

Sorry, but I don't have any pics yet of my pigs, either. Guess I'm just gonna have to take a day and do some photography :)

It was good to see a lot of my friends in PA a couple weeks ago. I missed seeing some of them, but we had to sing at Beavertown, so that's where I was. I'll try to make it a longer stay next time.

Thanks for letting me know you're now blogging, Gwen and Dawn. It was good to hear from you!

OH, I forgot what I was going to write about! Go, Kim! :)
Anyways...my problem is this:

I would like to go to college for a new career. Should I do massage therapy, nursing, or dental Hygenist? I just don't know if I could deal with all the blood, well, I'm not even going to go into the rest... I'm just looking into some options, here.

TTYL>>>>>>ME

Hi, everyone :)

2007-07-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

Finally! I've been trying to get logged in for a week! Something is wrong with this system, I do believe. :)

Anyways....life is going okay. Looking into going back to college this fall. Don't know where, yet, but who knows....Maybe I'll end up in California :) Not really!

This past weekend was our county fair. We took three of our pigs, Kimmie, Cookie, and a boy (We didn't name him, because we couldn't think of anything) :). Anyways. Joanna showed them on Saturday and the boy won first place in his class, and Kimmie and Cookie won 2nd and 3rd place in their class.

The judge said that our girls were the best out there from their shoulders back. They need to get more bone in there legs, etc. Hopefully next year we'll do even better. This was our first year to show pigs.

So far, that's the most interesting news since last post. I work all the time and when I'm not working, I'm helping with the animals and hanging out at James' house.

I have one more camp with Fullers in Richland, NY. They are in PA right now at Penns Creek Camp I think.

Ok...ttyl.

Life and Changes....

2007-07-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

Hey, I'm back :) Who would have guessed it! Anyways.....

So, life this summer has been REALLY interesting so far...

First, I got a new sister-in-law, Janelle. That's nice - you can never have too many of those :)

Then, our pig, Dixie, had 9 babies. They are so adorable. They like to fight and run around in the little pen they're in and squeal. I love spending time with them. They aren't dirty like pigs that live out doors. We change their bedding and stuff every couple days.

Ok, enough of that. Another BIG change in my life is that I won't be teaching at UBC next year. I'm not really sure of all the reasons, but I know that God has something for me to do. I'll miss everyone there, but I'm sure I'll see them all around, because I'm planning to stay in this area.

Change can sometimes be hard, but God knows what is best for us and He really does care. I'm learning to trust more every day.

Well, that's the news in this end of the woods. Hope you all have a great summer. I leave next week for a camp in Terre Haute, IN with Fullers. I'll try to write sometime soon :)

Love, ME

WOW! IT's been forever :)

2007-06-06T17:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm back! Didn't realize it had been so long. Time flies when you're having fun, but in this case it was just plain ole business. Anyways....

School is out! Praise the Lord!!! I don't know when I've ever been this tired! Working two jobs and then having sugar problems on top of that has sent me crazy, well, I guess I was probably already crazy. :)

My brother, Wesley, got married this past Saturday. He married Janelle Marsh from AL. You can see a pic of them on earlier posts. I don't have any of the wedding pics to post yet, but hopefully soon.

This summer I'm just working at Chick-fil-A and doing a couple camps with the Fullers. I'm hoping to relax a little. :) We'll see if that actually happens.

Ok....have fun and have a great summer! TTYL...

Friends for life :)

2007-05-09T12:51:00.000-04:00

I got to see some of my best friends in the whole world at IHC. Mark and Laura and the boys are included in those wonderful people :)

I just wanted to say "Thanks" to them for always being there and for never giving up on me. Even when I felt like giving up on myself!!!

Mark, Laura, Daryl, and Robbie, I love you all very much! I'll always be forever grateful that God sent you into my life.

PS> I didn't actually take this picture. Another one of my friends did when visiting Mark and Laura.

Busy times!

2007-05-02T11:23:00.000-04:00

Hi, there! It's been beautiful here the last few days! Temperatures in the 90's and sunshine abundant.

Things are getting down to the wire here; as they are at most places, I'm sure. Finals are in two weeks and then we have camp meeting. Sis. Judy Williams and Bro. Dale Hayford are our evangelists this year. We're looking forward to a great camp.

Just wanted to update my blog. Seems like it's been forever since I posted. :) Oh well....

BTW>>>>It was great seeing alot of you at IHC! It's like a great big reunion, but time is never relaxed enough to spend as much time as you want with people.

Take care and keep smiling......

Via Dolorosa

2007-04-12T11:56:00.000-04:00

I love to hear Sandi Patti sing. I had the opportunity to meet her last December and had a picture taken with her. One of my favorites is Via Dolorosa. I found this song with scenes from "Passion of the Christ" on godtube.com and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?

Husband Store...

2007-04-10T10:17:00.000-04:00

My mom sent this to me and I thought it was pretty cool....enjoy!

A store that sells husbands has just opened at the Mayfaire Town Centre in Wilmington, North Carolina, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at theentrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE!There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as theshopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch . . . youmay choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to goup a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit thebuilding!So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband .

On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These menhave jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love theLord, love kids, and are extremely good looking."Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor4 - These men have jobs, love the ! Lord, love kids, are drop- dead good lookingand help with the housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak. She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are customer 4,363,012 to this floor.There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proofthat women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at theHusband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have anice day!

Broken and Spilled Out....

2007-04-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php

This is one of my favorite songs. If you'll click on the link above, you can see a video that was put together of different slides etc. I'm going to try and put it on my bebo site whenever they'll allow other things besides youtube.com.

Hope everyone is doing well and keeping encouraged. Take care. Maybe I'll see some of you at IHC again this year. That would be fun.

TTYL...

Choir tour is over!!!!!

2007-03-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

Wow! What a ten day tour! God's Presence was with us every service and He did some incredible things for all who were in attendence! I've never seen the choir unite together in prayer like they did on this tour. We saw mighty evidence of God's working. Prayers were answered and souls were saved and sanctified and generally moved upon.

Can't say that I enjoyed the tour as much as I could have since I was sick the entire trip, but I still knew God was with me. Some days I could hardly speak, but when I went to sing, Jesus helped me. I give all the praise to Him! There's no way I could have done it on my own.

Thanks for everyone who prayed for us. We could tell it!

It was also great to see some of you who I haven't seen for a long time. Maybe it won't be so long til next time.

Kimmie :)

2007-03-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Hi! This little piggley was born on Jan 28, 2007. She is now much bigger, but I wanted to show you my namesake :) Seriously! She was the second born to Dixie and the first baby died in the birth canal. It was really sad. Anyways....Kimmie is my favorite so Rachel, James' sister, named her after me. She lets me pick her up and stuff without squealing, and for a pig, that's pretty great :) She's so adorable.

I may show her at a show this summer. Can you imagine me in the show ring?! My sister said something to the effect that the judges won't know which pig to judge. Wasn't that mean?

Spring Choir Tour

2007-03-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

Hi! Just wanted to let you know where I'll be on Choir Tour this spring. We start a week from Friday! Can't believe it's March already!!

Here's the list of services and times, etc:

March 16 - Pilgrim Nazarene Church; Greenfield, OH; Pastor: Ken Burchett 7:00 PM
March 17 - Evangelical Methodist Church; Richfield, PA; Pastor: Aaron McCarty 7:00 PM March 18 - God's Missionary Church; Beavertown, PA; Pastor: James Plank 10:00 AM
March 18 - Emmanuel Wesleyan Church; Gratz, PA; Pastor: Jonathan Heath 6:00 PM
March 19 - God's Missionary Church; Lebanon, PA; Pastor: Barry Arnold 7:30 PM
March 20 - Evangelical Brethren Church; Hanover, PA; Pastor: John Whitaker 7:00 PM
March 21 - Eastlake Community Church; Moneta, VA; Pastor: Troy Keaton 7:00 PM
March 22 - Wesleyan Holiness Church; Webster, VA; Pastor: David Mayle 7:00 PM
March 23 - Haven of Rest Bible Church; Galax, VA; Pastor: Keith Ledford 7:30 PM
March 24 - Travel Day
March 25 - Bible Methodist Church; Findlay, OH; Pastor: Christ Cravens 10:30 AM
March 25 - Randolph Co.Holiness Ass. Rally; Ridgeville, IN; Pastor: Jonathan Edwards 6:00PM

If any of you get a chance to come to the services, it would be awesome to see you. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us on this tour. Our services have been so marked with God's Presence, and we are expecting great things from Him.

Baby Calf

2007-02-28T17:21:00.000-05:00

This little baby was born a week ago Monday evening. He is adorable!

This morning as I was getting around for school, I heard the mother bawling and bawling. I decided something must be wrong because I couldn't see the baby anywhere and usually he's standing beside his mom.

I put on my boots and went out to see what was wrong. When I got out there, Mama (yes, that's her real name) came right up to the fence and looked so sad. I started to cry! Anyways...I looked around and there the baby was, dead! It was so sad to see him laying there all stretched out and stuff. I just know his mommy's heart was broken! When I left for school she was still bawling and James says she'll do that for a couple days! :( We can't bury the poor little thing cuz the ground's too frozen. Just thought I'd share some news with you about life on the farm.

Outlook Makeover Retreat

2007-02-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to write and let you know how our retreat went this weekend. It was probably one of the best weekends I've had in a long time! God's presence was so real to all of us! From the very first service to the end, all the girls were looking forward to what God had for us.

Sonya Vernon spoke on Friday night about having a personal relationship with Jesus and knowing Him. Several girls came to the altar afterwards and were saved. Some of the girls have no church background, and some of them go to different churches, not holiness. It was wonderful to just watch God work on all of our lives.

Besides the sessions, we had several activities, one of which the girls really loved :) The picture above shows Jennifer Denny modeling the creation that her team made. Krista had made up bags of misc. material, glue guns, sequins, newspaper, foil, and all kinds of other odds and ends. Each team had 30 minutes to design something and then they had to have a model. It was sort of like a fashion show. It was a lot of fun and everyone came up with very creative ideas! Some more practical than others. :) Hopefully I'll have more pictures of the whole weekend in a few days.

The retreat ended with a concert by Brent Vernon. It had started iceing and snowing by 4:30 PM on Saturday, so several of the girls that came from OH and KY had to leave, but even with just the few of us there, God's presence was still real. Brent did a very good job, although he ended up cutting the concert short. Thanks for those of you who prayed for us this weekend. We're looking forward to what God has planned for us next year. I'll be announcing the date soon as we get it set. If you want to check out the website its www.outlookmakeover.com

Pictures

2007-01-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

Well, as you can see, these are some pictures of my family. Daddy was not at the church when we took our family picture, so there's not one of him. I will put one on of my Dad whenever he lets me take a picture, which may be never. He hates pictures.

Wesley is now working as a corrections officer at a county jail in AL. He really likes it and has some very interesting tales to tell. He and Janelle are planning to be married on June 2 of this year.

Fletcher and Diane will be married one year on Feb. 4. I can hardly believe that! Congratulations to them and hope they have many more years together. They do not have a little one yet, but hopefully someday I'll be an aunt :)

James and I are doing great. Maybe in the near future I'll have some news for you and a date along with it.........

Renae isn't dating, yet, as far as I know, but I'm praying that she'll find the right man soon. I think she needs someone to help her not be so independent :) Now, Renae, don't get too upset with me, okay?! I do love you! Maybe you should just take Daddy's advice :)

Okay.....enough about that. Take care everyone and keep smiling!

Outlook Makeover....

2007-01-26T09:42:00.000-05:00

I have some exciting news! There is going to be a new retreat for Teen-Age girls called Outlook Makeover. Krista (Mitchell) Crabtree has been wanting to do something to help our girls understand how special they are to God and so as she was praying about it, she decided to start a new retreat. It will be held February 23 & 24, 2007, in Greenfield, IN at the ICHA camp grounds.

Several of the people on the Board of Directors are Krista Crabtree, Lacy Crabtree, Jennifer Glick, Jill Murray, and myself. We are all excited to see what God is going to do for us these two days.

We will be having several different speakers and will close the event with a concert with Brent Vernon (open to the general public) on Saturday evening at 5:00 PM. If you'd like to learn more about this retreat, go to www.outlookmakeover.com. The site has just been put up. We don't have a marketing director yet, so it's not as professional as we'd like it to be, but it'll get there. :)

Rev. Rollin and Deb Mitchell are our mentors and will be spending time at the retreat with us. Bro. Mitchell will be dealing with the subjects "Dealing with Rejection and Sorrow" and "Learning to Trust." These are only a couple subjects. Other speakers include Sonya Vernon, Lori Cole, and Elizabeth Welsh, along with others.

Registration is $15 before and $20 if you wait til you get there. This is just to cover the cost of the retreat and for nothing else. Please pray for us that God will use this as a time to draw closer to Him and to realize that we are all special to Him, no matter what....

Revival....

2007-01-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

We are privileged to have Rev. James Plank as the speaker for our Winter Revival here at UBC. God has been helping him preach and many hearts have been blessed and souls seeking for more of God. If you want to hear any of the services, just go to ubcaudio.com. There is live streaming of the services, and archives of past ones.

I've been working at school and Chick-fil-a this week besides attending services, and I'm exhausted. God has been helping me though, and for that I am thankful. I never want to get to the place that I don't want more of Jesus! He is the one thing in my life that never changes! I thank Him for that!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-10T14:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2007! Lots of happiness, joy, laughter, celebration, peace, and love to everyone this year. I hope that all of you are already enjoying the sunshine this new year has brought to us. :)

Had a wonderful Christmas. James went home with me to NC and met my family. We all had fun and everyone seemed to really like him. I had Christmas with his family when we arrived back in IN. Maybe this time next year I'll have some exciting news for you!

Chick-fil-A is going really well. I am very excited to be working there. The management and ownership is awesome to work for and they treat people the way they want to be treated. It's also nice to have a regular pay check coming!

We are getting ready for Winter Revival here at UBC. Rev. James Plank will be the special speaker. If you get a chance, come on over :) Jan. 15-21, 2007; 7:00 PM nightly. No Sunday morning service.

Okay....enough about my life. TTYL.........Smiles

Jacob....

2006-12-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

Today I am reminded of all the fun times that Jacob McCarty and I had; with his family, at school, in Music Class, at church, and all those other times we had together. Jacob was one of my favorite people in the world. He could always make me laugh, even when he was misbehaving in class :) I will always remember him with love!

Please pray for Roy and Tammy and the boys during this time. I know that they will miss Jacob very much.

Jacob, I will always love you!

Happy Birthday, Renae!

2006-12-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Renae, Happy Birthday to you! I'm so glad to have you as my sister, and I hope you're around lots more years :)

Last night, I got to go to my first Ballet! The Nutcracker is being performed at Butler University in Indianapolis and David Roark, one of my friends for church, plays String Bass in the orchestra there. He gave James and I free tickets and so we went. It was phenomenal! The last act, "The Kingdom of the Sweets" got a little draggy, but all in all it went well. It was cool to see all the music that I had memorized in college brought to life with the Sugar Plum Fairy and Waltz of the Flowers, etc. It was definitely an experience I will enjoy remembering! :)

We are getting ready for our annual Christmas program here at UBC. This year we are doing the drama, "They That Sit in Darkness." The performances will be on Dec. 14 & 15 at 7:00 PM. Everyone is invited to come and join us. The choir will be singing and the orchestra playing, as well as several small groups. The Elementary will also be performing "Hark! the Herald Angel" those nights as well. Hope to see some of you here :)

2006-11-28T17:33:00.000-05:00

Beside me is the most incredible guy in the whole world! We have been dating officially for a little over a week, but hanging out and getting to know each other for a while. He is so sweet, funny, gorgeous, nice, wonderful, and anything else you can think of. Just thought you would want to see a picture of my man.....Oh, his name is James. I definitely don't deserve anyone like him, but I'm so glad to have him in my life. Hopefully he'll be there for a long, long time!

Friends...

2006-11-28T14:29:00.000-05:00

Real Friends:

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself (and doesn't feel even the least bit weird shutting your 'beer/Pepsi drawer' with their foot!)

A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears..

A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names. A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could blackmail you with it.

A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument. A real friend calls you after you had a fight.

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend
expects to always be there for you!

When you are down to nothing ... God is up to something

Getting to know me....

2006-11-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

1. First name? Kimberly
2. When did you last cry? Monday when I got roses and supper fixed for me
3. Do you like your handwriting? Sometimes
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Ham
5. Kids? someday
6. If you were another person would you be friends with you? I would hope so. :)
7. Do you have a journal? No
8. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Sometimes
9. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes
10. Would you bungee jump? Never....
11. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds
12. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Most of the time
13. Do you think you are strong? not really
14. What is your favorite Ice Cream? Chocolate and peanut butter
15. What is the first thing you notice about people ? Eyes, Smile
16. What do you miss the most? Hanging out with old friends
17. What color skirt are you wearing right now? Tan
18. What's the last thing you ate? peppermint
19. What are you listening to right now? kids practicing for Christmas program
20. If you were a crayon, what color would yoube? Pink
21. Favorite smell? Calvin Klein's One Summer
22. Who was the last person you talked with on the phone? My Mother
23. Favorite Drink? Water/ Starbucks
24. Favorite sport to watch? Football/basketball
25. Hair color? Blonde/Brown
26. Do you wear contacts? Nope
27. Favorite cake? Peanut Butter Pound Cake with PB cream cheese icing
28. Scary movies or Happy ending? Both, but Happy endings better
29. Last movie you watched? PVCA 2000 Christmas Drama that I directed
30. What color is the shirt you are wearing right now? Black
31. Summer or Winter? Summer!!
32. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs & Kisses
33. Favorite sounds? the ocean waves, a stream running over lots of rocks
34. The furthest you have been from home? Canada
35. Do you have a special talent? I like to sing.
36. When were you born? September 9, 1977
37. Where were you born? Graham, NC

Collection of thoughts....

2006-11-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! Hope everything is going your way :) Things are going pretty well here. We had Faith Investment Dinner this past Friday night and raised lots of money for some special projects around the school.

I found out last night that my Daddy went to the hospital and they admitted him to run tests and things because of the bad chest pains he was having. I guess he has a heart disease, don't know what they call it, but they're not going to have to operate! Thank the Lord for that. If you would pray for him I would appreciate it very much.

We start our Fall Choir Tour Wednesday, Nov. 8. We'll be going to Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois. I think we'll have lots of fun, and I may get to see some of my friends that I've not seen for several years. That's always fun!

Take care and keep smiling! Til the next time......