Camping Trip!

This past weekend my fam and I went to Pattison State Park for the weekend. To sum up the weekend in one word - COLD.  (jk)  But seriously, I was freezing the whole weekend (except for a couple hours in the camper when we turned the stove on and when we went to the movie theaters.) :P  Despite the cold and wind, we managed to have a fun time!  We arrived on Friday night and set up our camper in the dark....Charlie and Anna played Hide-and-Go-Seek in our tiny campsite, but they got creative with their hiding spots. :P  We hung around the campfire, drank tea, played cribbage, froze, talked.....then went to bed.

Now, my most favorite part of camping trips is waking up early in the morning and sitting by the fire with a cup of good ole' campfire coffee, (it just means really strong coffee, for those of you who don't camp) and reading a good book or talking with my family.  oh man..one of the best things in the world..... =)

(we hardly saw this girl all weekend - she was lost in a good book....can't really blame her) ;)

lots of this going on - Charlie kicked booty!

(take note of Anna reading her book...again.)



guys...i was really cold.  really. 

 It was my parents 23rd anniversary!  Wow, peoples...God has blessed me with some incredible people to love me, protect me, teach me, walk with me, laugh at, learn from and follow their example.  They just love Jesus, and desire His Truth to be real in their lives.  And I praise the Lord for giving me to them. =) 

.~.~.~.~.~.

We went for a two hour hike around the park.  Most of the trails were closed, which was a bummer, but we still found one trail and enjoyed the sunny, beautiful day.

 LOVE the cuteness of my mother

1...2...3... POSE!
(try it sometime...its fun) 

 (Anna took this one and I thought it was pretty durn cool)
 

We were listening to my father explain about the scientific complications of something....or the history of the this or that....or a really good story...I don't really know which one.  (Notice each of our faces.)  :P

 he, he!

 the giggly

 the goofball

and the gorgeous

Saturday morning, while we were drinking out coffee and enjoying the campfire, Mom decided that we needed more wood....so she started swinging the ax.  It was funny!  Then Anna and Charlie wanted to join in the competition and each took turns swingin' and choppin.  Anna was the only one who was able to chop a log in half!  Go girl!

 mighty ax man!

 look at his giant log that he chopped :P
 

Later that afternoon, after some more Cribbage and lunch, we went into Duluth and watched "Courageous." It was awesome!  It was funny, sobering, serious, sweet, challenging......they did a fantastic job! And its now one of my favorites.  When we got back to our windy, cold campsite, played more Cribbage, and took a nap.  We decided to pack it up and head home.  It was a fun weekend...filled with funny, sweet memories of some really fantastic people. =)  (No, that's not a biased opinion.) :P  Ahh.....good times. *smiles*

WATCH THIS!

I know ya'll have busy lives and probably are like, "Oh, it's just another youtube..."  But, its not!  This movie is INCREDIBLE!!!  It's 30+ minutes, however, I highly encourage you to take some time and watch it.   Oh Jesus, wake up our nation!!

The Romance of Bailey and Nik

Once upon a time, in a land not quite so far away, there lived a girl named Bailey. =)  Now, Bailey had been dreaming and dreaming for months and years about the day when she would meet someone just like Nik.  That wonderful day finally arrived when she received a call from her grandpa. The conversation went something like this:
         "Hey Bailey!"
         "Hi Grandpa!"
         "Hey, I have something that I want to show you that I think you'll really like!"  And then he  proceeded to tell me who or what that something was...and... I screamed (out of joy). :P  

After two horribbly, long, agonizing weeks...I met my Grandpa at Baker Square and he introduced me to Nik.  And it was love at first sight.  *dreamy sigh*  (not kidding!)

Well.....Bailey and Nik fell madly in love...and now they are living happily ever after. =)

(aren't we just the cutest couple you ever laid eyes on?!)  :P

So...the real story comes out.   Yes, my dear Grandpa GAVE me his Nikon D50!!!!   I have been enjoying it immensely!  God is so amazing and He really does give us the desires of our hearts!  (Psalm 37:4)  Wow...so, yeah....the photo shoot that I did with Anna and some other picture-posts that I've been doing lately and will continue doing are all with that wonderful camera!  

 

That's all....I just wanted to let y'all in on that cute lil' story. ;)

photo shoot: anna

which one's your favorite?

 

"God has made us for Himself, and our

hearts can never know rest and perfect

satisfaction until they find it in Him."

Hannah Hurnard

sneak peak: Anna

I took my fun, beautiful, giggly, sister outside yesterday and did a quick photo-shoot of her.....here is my all-time favorite!

(More to come later). 

Modesty - is it such a big deal?

After listening to this video, I think it is!  (I would love to hear your thoughts.)  This is the best movie that I've seen, so far, on this touchy subject.

Lord, soften and change my heart.  I pray that I would look beyond myself and what I want, and instead,  look to the needs of others.  Jesus, may you be glorified in all that I wear, say and do!