A "Rest" in Life

Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the "rests." They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear.

If we sadly say to ourselves, "There is no music in a 'rest,'" let us not forget "there is a making of music in it." The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us!

How long He waits for us to learn the lesson!

Ruskin

I came across this last night while reading "When God Writes Your Love Story," by Eric and Leslie Ludy. It greatly touched my heart. For those of you, who like me, are in a season of waiting may this touch your hearts too. 

A More Real Christmas

Christmas is a beautiful time of year. When I was younger I looked at Christmas in a different light than I do now. Back then it was all about fun, good cheer, getting gifts.....you know the stuff every kid loves about Christmas. But, now I don't see things the same.

My parents have always made Christmas a joyous time in our house, but the last couple years God has brought us through some... let's say...testing at Christmas time. Last year at this time, my Mom miscarried, I had a sister move out and other nameless trials. This year we again have had some different trials. In my fleshly heart, it is terribly easy to become angry or even bitter. I read newsletters about all the wonderful things people are doing and wonder why my life is so very different from theirs.

This Christmas I learned something very important. I learned more about Christ.
Let me explain:
There was a point this last week when I was exasperated, at tail end and just frustrated with the fact that I did not get what God was doing. It was during this time of exasperation that God revealed to me a more real and true version of the Nativity.
What if Mary was like me? What if she was scared, frustrated, confused? Maybe she wanted to serve Jehovah, but doubted His reasoning in choosing her. Maybe she felt like she had reached the bottom. Being pregnant out of wedlock was not accepted back then as it is now. I'm sure she felt the sting of many a friends rejection. She probably felt alone.
And Joseph, I can't imagine the amount of pressure he must have felt. To have countless people turn their backs on you because you embraced God's will. Knowing that people would never look at you the same is hard. He was probably a good, honorable man that became defined by a deed he never did.

There was no trip to Disney World or countless dinners at a resort included on the trip to Bethlehem. They were two people brought very closely together I'm sure, by embracing a terribly difficult calling from God. I know that just because you are willing to follow God's calling doesn't ensure a happy, glorious, yellow brick road. I'm not trying to place Joseph and Mary into the twenty-first century, but I know they were sinful human beings, and while they might not have had the exact same feelings and emotions that I do, I know it wasn't easy for them.
But, how it must have payed off as Mary held the precious Savior in her arms. Looking into his eyes must have been the most beautiful moment in all of eternity.
The rejection and shame placed on Joseph and Mary were only a small piece of the the rejection and shame that would be placed on their son.


And so, as I struggled trying to understand the whys and whens of life, I realized that I had been given a very special gift. I got to partake of that first Christmas in my own way. God gave me a clearer view of what my Savior went through for me and of why He came to this earth. Suddenly, all of those things that other people got to do and the places they went seemed far less desirable. Someone reminded me the other day that life wasn't meant to be easy. Following God's will isn't easy and yet it reaps a thousand times more rewards than a life spent in pleasures. I think of all that Mary and Joseph went through, and even more, all that Jesus went through and suddenly my life seems easy. The pain, fear, frustration and confusion seem all the more worth it because I know God has something greater awaiting me. Something that I may not see at this moment, but that He sees very clearly.

Luke 1:46-55

^"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."

Merry Christmas
If you'd like to read an update on my family, you can visit my mom's blog at:  http://beatitudesblessingsbroadcasts.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-christmas-from-our-house-to-yours.html

400th Anniversary!

After I got ready for church this past Sunday, I was reading my Bible before everyone else got up. I've been doing this devotional "plan" where you read a chapter from ten different spots in the Bible. It's a really good study, and it helps you read through the Bible fast, although I usually split it - 5 chapters at a time rather than 10. Anyways, I was reading in Genesis chapter 11. The verses went something like this.

"And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years and begat Eber: And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters...." and so forth - Genesis 11:12-15

I read it and then I stopped and read some of it again. It had suddenly dawned on me that if these guys were getting married somewhere around age thirty and they were living for four hundred some years afterwards, that they were probably married for about 400 years. WOW! Nowadays, it's really neat for people to celebrate their 25th anniversary and it is very rare for people to make it to their 50th. Back then they were celebrating their 300th and 400th anniversaries. (Now there's a line of decorations that Party City discontinued!) :-)
The incredible thing is, it wasn't just Shem or Arphaxah (what a name) that were married that long. It was generations upon generations. What a legacy. I pray that in my family, 50th wedding anniversaries won't be surprising. What a legacy of generational faithfulness. Wouldn't it be something if people took the line, "til death do us part," seriously. Noah's descendants did and I don't even think they said that line. Marriage is a beautiful and glorious thing. I know it's hard and there are times that storms rage, but it is spectacular to see people sticking with each other through all the difficulties.

By the way, those guys getting married around age 30, would be the equivilant to getting married somewhere around age 7 ratio wise. No, you should NOT get married that young, but the younger you get married, the more years you have together - if with God's help you stick with it. (Last Sunday, we listened to a message from the NCFIC Marriage Conference on getting married young. It was so good! I would highly reccomened the mp3s or C.D.s from that conference.)

Yeah, I really like this picture. (That's why I keep posting it. :-)

Christmas Recital 2011

The Christmas Recital went very well! (Beyond what I expected.) I thank God for helping each student through. I was extremely nervous, but as I told one of my students, nervouseness can be a gift from God, in that it makes us rely on Him more.

The first half of the recital was all of the students' solos. I jumbled them up so we didn't go in grade order or level order. The second half was duets with voice and instrument accompanying. I love playing for people to sing or play their instruments with and I wanted to help my students learn how to do it. They got lots of practice on listening to each other and working as a team.

Rachel played, "Carol of the Bells." She wasn't too happy about having to go first, but she did a beautiful job!

Anna played, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." It was a complicated song and she nailed it splendidly.

Jared played, "Deck the Halls." Before the recital he kept saying, "I know I'm gonna mess it up," but  he did a really good job. :-)

Kelly played, "Ding Dong, Merrily on High." She had this song memorized several weeks in advance which was impressive since we changed some of it.

Parker played, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" He played like a pro and remembered all of his half notes. :-)

Robert played, "The First Noel." He started piano not too long ago, so playing for the recital was a stretch, but he made it through.

Daniel played, "Good King Wenceslas." He has only been playing for about three months and he did awesome.

Michael played, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." He is great at making up his own songs and playing by ear, so it was hard for him to do a song written as music, but he worked hard and did a good job. By the way, if anybody needs a soundtrack, he's GREAT at writing movie music. This guy reads a picture book and composes a symphony for it.

Drew played, "Jingle Bells." The song had a pretty hard left hand so he had to work really hard on it. His labors sure payed off though, because he did a great job.

Kayla played a very soul-felt "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Playing in the recital is not her favorite thing, but she truly knows how to play from her heart and she amazes me to no end.

Emma played, "O Christmas Tree." She was very pleased to show me her own rendition for how the song should end and she played it beautifully.

Kendra played a very lively personal favorite of mine, "Pat a Pan." It is such a fun song especially for anyone who plays a fife or drum. She did a wonderful job.

Emilee played, "Silent Night," which was rather difficult with a position change right in the middle of the song. If I hadn't known the song, I never would have noticed the change because she played it so smoothly.

Christopher played, "The First Noel." If I am remembering correctly, I think he was the first person to have his song memorized. He did a really good job.

Julia played, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," well, almost twelve. She played the first six days, and then jumped to the twelfth day, getting faster and faster, louder and louder. She did so well, and I cannot figure out how she kept track of what day she was on.

Joey played, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." He has also only been playing for about three months and this song had a lot of new things in it that he had not officially learned yet. He worked hard and did a great job.

Sarah played, "We Three Kings." She practiced so much that there were times that we had to tell her to please stop. She wanted to make sure that she played her song well, and she did.

Justin played, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." He does not like having to talk in front of people, but he got up there, introduced himself and played his song very well. (Yes, I'm one of those mean teachers that makes her students introduce themselves and their songs. Haha....)

Kelly and Kendra did a piano duet to "Away in a Manger." Kelly had a very difficult part and she had to work really hard on it, but she got it and the girls did very well.

Christopher and I played, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." We had fun as we worked on getting it together. :-)

Julia and Drew did a beautiful duet for "Good King Wenceslas." Drew played the melody part, and Julia's part was a rendition of Pachelbel's Cannon in D. They played the best they ever had together at the recital.

Emilee and I played, "Go Tell it on the Mountain." I think we finally got that eight-note rythmn put together. -That was not an easy feat. This was another one that we had a lot of fun on and many good laughs in the process.

Parker and I played, "Over the River and Through the Woods." He remembered to count and we did it! He worked really hard on this song, and it showed.

Rachel and I sang, "Breath of Heaven," while Anna (not pictured - sorry) played the piano. I wasn't sure how it would go because the song is not easy to play, but Anna did a fabulous job. As for the singing, I have no idea.... I think it went well....ask somebody who was there how it sounded. :-)

Sisters, Emma and Julia played and sang, "Jingle Bells." Emma had it memorized and owned it! Julia sang beautifully even when she had to jump ahead a measure. They sounded great and I know there was a lot of teamwork behind that song.

Rahcel and Kendra did, "Joy to the World." The song was a rendition mixed with the "Hallelujah Chorus." Poor Kendra was beside herself when she got a cold earlier in the week, but she pulled through and sang her little heart out. Rachel played just the right speed, which is difficult, and they sounded wonderful.

Kayla and Anna played, "Bring the Tourch, Jeanette Isabella." They are best friends and did so well together. I originally got the music off of a free sheet music website, and you never know how those are going to turn out being that they were free, but the girls made it sound so beautiful. Click here to access the website. They have lots of great music for multiple instruments. (Though some of the songs you have to pay for.)

A few of my siblings and I played, "I Saw Three Ships." We love playing songs with an Irish flair and this one was perfect. Rachel just stared playing violin not too long ago. This was her first performance.

I am so thankful to God for all of the students He has given me. I have learned so much from each and every one of them.

God Bless!

Piano Recital

Ah, today is here....December 1st. I am having a recital for my piano students tonight and based on what I'm hearing in the background....well....it'll get you in the Christmas spirit, let's put it that way. :-)

Please pray for all eighteen of the kids playing. I know how the nerves can get to you! And please, if you think of it, pray for me as I think I get nervous for the whole bunch. (plus myself)
I wanted to get away from our "traditional" recital and mix things up a bit, so it could deem to be a rather interesting night.

But, I am excited and I know God will see us through. He always does.
I'll post pictures later.
God Bless,
Kaila

Reaching Out to the Lost

Matthew 9:10-13 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

I read this passage in my Bible devotions this morning, and even though I have read it many times before, it really stuck out to me. How often do I choose to spend time and fellowship with other believers and do not spend any time with those that could use some friendly prodding and encouragement? While being with other believers is very important, my missions should not be to just hang out with my friends that believe the same as I do. My mission is supposed to be reaching out to the lost world. Jesus didn’t come for the righteous; He came for the ones sick in their sinful hearts. These verses got me thinking about the many times that I chose to spend time with my friends rather than reaching out to those who are struggling or younger than I am. God has laid out a mission field before us. We must take heed that we do not squander that mission. Good Christian friends are wonderful! Jesus spent a great deal of time with His disciples, but His mission was for the lost, as our mission should be. Let’s take the extra time this week to reach out to those that we might at other times overlook. They need our love and care.

His or Her?

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership. Between studying the presidents, taking government class, Generation Joshua, and some different talks and sermons I’ve heard, the Lord has been giving me a clearer view of Biblical leadership. We live in a culture that had basically turned away from God’s plan and created its own formula. This has affected practically every aspect of the way we live. This year, I am the president of our 4-H club. I didn’t run for election, in fact, I had told people that I didn’t want to be the president. Our club leader personally asked me to please be the president because no one else would. 4-H is not a Christian organization. When I serve our club, I look at it as a ministry out in the world, but the very sad reality is that this is happening even in the Christian circle. Today, we have a great lack of true leaders. Why is this? We find the answer in Genesis.

            When God created the world He created women to be the helpers of men. Adam was created to care for God’s creation and Eve was created to help Him. When they disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit in Genesis chapter 3, God told Eve that she would desire to be over her husband.  (Genesis 3:16) Since that day, women have had a desire to be over men. And just as Adam was persuaded of his wife to eat the forbidden fruit, many men today have been persuaded to just let the girls handle it. As history has progressed, the gender war has only worsened. Our current culture has done a 180 degree turn from away from the Biblical pattern of leadership. Even the church has let Biblical guidelines go. We have women preachers, divorced pastors and elders, perverted leadership, and the church often stands back and lets it go. (1 Timothy 3:1-7) Why? Because it isn’t politically correct and today’s society is all about being politically correct. We can’t say women shouldn’t be pastors, because that would somehow be putting men above women. We can’t say a woman can’t be President because that would not be giving equality to all people. This is a very sad reality that we live in.

            This political correctness has led to a decline in more areas of life than we may even realize. Even our language has been destroyed because of sexism. How?  Study the rules of pronouns for instance. Personal pronouns are supposed to agree with the gender of the person. No problem that is, until you have to use a pronoun for a type of person – meaning their gender is unknown. In the proper rules of English we would just use the masculine. But we can’t do that anymore because that would be putting the man above the woman.

For example: When the worker comes to our door, they will give us some paperwork.

In the old proper form: When the worker comes to our door, he will give us some paperwork.

We now use plural pronouns to replace singular nouns just to be politically correct. When we turn from a Biblical format for leadership suddenly everything has to change because we are going against God’s plan.

            Now, I know this next paragraph is going to be rather controversial, especially as election time nears, but for the sake of not being politically correct I am going to share. I personally do not believe that it is right for a woman to hold a position of governmental leadership. Leading the nation was not and is not the woman’s role. I know what some may be thinking, “What about Deborah?”  I think a key issue to understand about the story of Deborah in Judges Chapters 4 & 5 is that it wasn’t a good thing. Chapter 4 starts by saying, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.” The children of Israel were not following after the Lord during that time. I get tired of people using the story of Deborah as the reason why women should be in public office. In truth, when people begin talking about Deborah, we should be waking up and saying, “This is not good. We need to find some Godly men.” We should not be saying, “Just like in Deborah’s day there are not enough good men to lead so therefore the women need to take charge.” At the very mention of Deborah, we should be falling on our knees and begin begging God to raise up men that will be good and Godly leaders.

            All of this is not to lay blame on men or on women, we are both at fault. And this is not to say that men are better than women. Scripture tells us that in Christ, men and women are equals. The difference is we were given different roles. The person that cleans the dishes at a restaurant is of no less value than the person who cooks the food. If either one of them were gone the whole restaurant experience would be very unpleasant. So it is with men and women. We were created to complement each other with our God given roles. Yes, I am the president of a 4-H club, and the reality is, it saddens me. I would much rather have the young men in our club step up and take charge. We ladies need to be helping and encouraging the men in our lives to be leaders, and men, we need you to step up. This means standing alone. Now being that I am not a man, I can’t speak for you as well as I can for a woman, but let me share something with you. I have a leader, first-born personally. I always have, probably always will, which is why I notice so acutely the lack of manly leadership. Because I am a woman with a leader mentality I see how easy it can be for a woman to just pick up the slack where men leave off. It is a struggle, I know, for a young woman who has the “desire over him” sinful nature to submit to manly leadership, but ladies, we need to learn to submit and guys, we need you to lead.

            So what are ladies to do? Take the role that God has given and be help meets, whether that is to your Dad, brothers, or spouse – if you’re to that stage in life – and serve to the glory of God. They say the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Think about it. Behind ever great man there is at least one woman. I would rather be a mother like Mary Ball Washington, or Susannah Wesley that raises and trains her children to be the great leaders of history, than a Susan B. Anthony or others that I could name. These women were great, not because they were the first woman president or women’s rights activists, but because they were the mothers of great men. I wonder how many great men we have lost simply because women have left behind their God given roles. We, as the body of Christ, need to start taking a stand for what is right according to the Word of God, not what our culture says is right, but what Scripture says is right.

God Bless!
Kaila

I'm Thankful For Them...



These two are my favorite people in the whole world!

They are my best friends...

the most helpful counselors...

the best listening ears...

the most caring teachers...

and last but definitely not least...

they are the most AWESOME parents in the world!!!!! 

They have been happily married for over 20 years and they are the greatest examples that God has placed in my life. Through thick and thin they have stuck together with the greatest of loyalty, and they are more in love now than ever.

I am so thankful to God for giving me such wonderful, sacrificial, caring parents. I know many people who do not enjoy such a close relationship with their parents and I greatly pity them. I have learned so very much from my parents wisdom. I can talk to them about anything.

I know for a fact that I would not be where I am today if it were not for my parents. Ever since I was a baby they have trained me in the ways of the Lord and for that I cannot express enough words of gratitude.

This Thanksgiving weekend, let your parents know how much they mean to you. They are one of the very greatest gifts that God has given you. Don't take them for granted.

I'm The President

Crowds cheer, banners wave; it doesn’t matter that it is freezing cold outside or that you cannot move due to millions of people all moving as close to the capital building as they can. It does not matter that the noise is deafening and no matter where you stand, all you can really see is people’s heads or the cameras that they are holding up in the air. It does not matter, simply because you don’t have to deal with all of the crowds and noise. You’re the president and all you have to do is get up there and give them a speech that will knock their socks off… Well not exactly. See, it has to be a pretty exciting thing for people to travel hundreds of miles, out in the cold to watch. The question is, “What is so exciting?” What is it about a new president that excites people? Is it the things he says? Or is it the things he does? I want to share a few thoughts on what being a president is really about and why it is such a big deal in our country.

            When our Country was formed, our founders wanted to make sure that we would be free from the tyrannical rule of a king, but they were also wise enough to see that the Romans Republic and the Athenians Democracy had problems in and of themselves. So, our founding fathers formed our government with great, painstaking care so that we might enjoy the freedoms we now have. They knew we would need a leader, but that leader must be held accountable and must not gain too much power. George Washington, who was unanimously chosen as our first president, set an example for all of the following presidents. He sought no power and prestige and he retired after two terms. His goal was to lead and help the American people. He served his country and won the respect of his countrymen and even the respect of the king of England.  What he did not do, was bring a list of ideas and promises for the American people. He served with upmost humility that his country still honors him for.

            John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I can’t help but think of this verse whenever I think of presidents in general. The principle of this verse, laying down your life for others, is so strong and yet so lacking in many of our leaders. When I studied the life of James Polk, I was so struck by how hard he worked and served our nation. He only served one term in office, he knew what he needed to accomplish and he worked endlessly to fulfill all he had set out to do. Three months after retiring he died. This man gave his life for his country. He had goals, but they were not for personal gain, they were for the good of our country and he gave all that he had to make sure he accomplished that.

            Sadly, James Polk was one man, just as George Washington was one man, but the ideals and the principles that men like these left us with can continue on. Perhaps if people would have a “do unto others” mindset, government would not become so messed up. As Jefferson Smith said in the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Great principles don’t get lost once they come to light. They’re right here; you just have to see them again!” And maybe that’s just it. We just need to see those principles again. You see, in that movie Mr. Smith wasn’t a top guy. He was just a newly elected senator who wanted to help others in our country – namely, boys. He wasn’t there for personal gain, and in the end he won simply because of principle. Mr. Smith was a leader. Though small in comparison to the other experienced senators, he stood out because he wanted to serve our country.

             Any man can say he wants to serve our country, but it takes a man of principle to truly step out and serve. An eloquent tongue and a message of promises will fool many, but the wise will look past these outward frivolities and recognize whether or not this man has principle. Our Nation needs men with principle, men who will stand alone and fight for what is right and good. Presidents that go down in history are the ones who fought for a cause bigger and greater than they, and they fought tirelessly. Let us not forget their examples, because it was what these men fought for and how they fought that makes them great. Look to the great men of the past, and become great men for the future.

Talking to God

Thank you to all who prayed! Daddy was able to come home last night, and the doctors seemed to have fixed the problem. Now he just has to deal with the surgery pain... :-(...and no work for 3 days, meaning I'm in charge of book stuff.
Well, yesterday it just so happened that our business computer decided that freezing every 30 seconds would be a lot of fun. (I'm not exaggerating!) That makes it quite difficult to print orders and packing slips, and to e-mail costumers. The stress began to mount and I am so thankful that my brother Michael was there to help me because I might have had a Caleb Holt/computer moment. (For those of you that haven't seen "Fireproof," we'll just say it has something to do with a computer and a baseball bat.)
At one point, Michael was in the other room when the computer decided to freeze again and out of frustration I said, "Lord, can you please help this computer to work! I just can't get all of this done with a frozen computer." And then "click, click, click," it began to work again - only for about a minute mind you - but long enough for me to get the page opened that I needed opened. Michael laughing from the other room yelled, "So, you figured out my trick!" I replied, "What trick?" He came in smiling and answered, "I always talk to God about my computer problems. That's how I can always get the computer to work."

It's amazing how much easier life would be if we just took all of our cares to the Lord. I know God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we want Him to, but He sure fixes problems better than we do. He didn't make our computer start working like new when I asked, He just allowed it to do what I needed when I needed it. Looking back I realize that God was using this frustrating time to teach me two lessons. One: that I needed to talk to Him more, and not just with my problems, but in all of life. And two: that I needed to show my brother more appreciation for all of the ways he helps me from day to day.

Michael was able to change some things on the computer this morning and it's working fine again, but yesterday was a good reminder to me that prayer is a constant, on-going thing. Don't stop praying when you say "Amen." Pray continually. God sees all we do and go through, I just wonder if sometimes He's waiting for us to ask Him for help.

Once again, thank you for all of your prayers. My Mom said that while she was at the doctors she had peace and she knew that many people were lifting Daddy up.

Make it your goal to spend a little extra time in prayer today.
In Christ,
Kaila

Please Pray!

Hello to all,
I just wanted to ask if you could all keep my Dad in your prayers. The last several days he has had sever abdominal pain and at 4:00pm today he is having a surgery so that they can figure out what is wrong. None of the doctors know for sure what's wrong and there are just a lot of unknowns. There are several different diagnosis' going around and we just don't know. Pray that the surgery will go well and that the doctors will be able to find out what exactly is going on.

Also, please pray for my Mom. I know this is very hard on her and yet she has been so strong and caring for my Dad.
We are trusting in God's sovereignty. He has a perfect plan and I know I can trust in Him.

I will try to post later after the surgery and let you know how everything went.

In Christ,
Kaila

More Reformation Day Faire Stuff

And here's some very late highlights from the Reformation Day Faire.



Mr. Potter was excellent! I learned a lot about the persecution that the Scottish Covenenters went through.




 Mr. Serven went through some important points in the Westminster Confesseion of Faith. It was so rich.


 

Jared, my brave Scottish brother! He was the only one man enough to wear a kilt! (Just kidding) I was so blessed to find a lady that knew how to make kilts and she showed me how so that I could make this one.

Andrew and his Scottish baseball binky. ???

He didn't like his costume and it was off about 5 minutes after this picture was taken.

There was a really neat family that all knew how to do various Country Dances and so during Towne Square they got the bag pipe player to play some songs while we danced.

Nathan and his leatherwork.

Kendra and her candle.

Highland Games!

Yep, that's my brother with that GIANT log! (I don't know if I could even lift that thing, none the less throw it. :-)

Why it's..... Jared Wallace!

Go Michael!

Funny story here. See that little boy in the kilt fighting Nathan? Well all day on Saturday he kept popping up and was talking to me. He was really sweet and hung around me quite a bit. Anyways, I was having a conversation with some girls at the conference when he jumped in and started talking. One of the girls asked if we were related. He put his hands on his hips and declared,

"Do I look old enough to be married?"

All I could do was laugh and laugh and laugh. Hey, at least we know there's hope for me someday. During the dance, he asked if he "may have this dance," several times. He was soooooo cute.

Jared Wallace off to battle.

My beautiful sisters and I.

The ball was in a gym so the lighting was difficult for taking pictures and I didn't have time to edit the ones we took. Sorry.

We had a wonderful time.