Crabtree Sibling Lake Day

Snapshots from our Crabtree sibling lake day. It was perfect, except for one thing...Paul wasn't there! Ah, well...I guess we'll have to do it again so he can join!

I think we know what pictures will be used on the family calendar for your birthday, Steph. :)

And you too, Isaac.

LOVE these two! So GLAD ya'll got to come up to visit and go to the lake!

K got to show off her mad wake boarding skills!

That's all,

Short and sweet today. :)

Love,

K

Fly Fishing and other Adventures...

This past weekend Jonny and I enjoyed a nice little getaway with my parents to Rockbridge Trout and Game Resort.

Rockbridge is a very special place because it's where my dad would take me every year for our annual fishing trip. Now that I'm married, I get to share this special place with Jonny!

Yes...please check out my 11 year old hotness below.

Besides the fact that I was sick half the time, and my parent's little puppy got a trouble hook stuck in her paw...we had a great time and caught lots of fish!

The only thing we were missing was Jenny and Brant!

LADY GIRL!!! What are you doing up there?!!

Of course,like everything he tries, Jonny is quite the pro when it comes to fly fishing. Don't worry I'm not jealous or anything. ;)



Mama caught lots of fish, too...BIG and small. ;)




Lady made friends with the butterflies...




I had my fair share of catches, as well. Of course, despite what some of my in-law's believe, I'm not only a "girly girl"...I can get dirty, too.

And yes...I take MY OWN hooks out of my fish.



Lila bear wasn't so sure how she felt about those fishies...




Enjoying a relaxing evening after a day full of fishing.



These pictures were taken pre lady girl stepping on a fish hook and getting it stuck in the pad of her paw. poor lady...:( I wish I had pictures to prove, but they're on my Dad's camera.




Last night at Rockbridge!



Bye-Bye Rockbridge! See you next year!




Love,
K

Community Support

Many of us are often looking for ways we can support our community. With "back-to-school" festivities just around the corner, the Olathe Publice Schools Foundation is starting their annual school supply drive.

The annual school supply drive provides hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies to those students in need.

Think about it. I know for me, back to school shopping was one of my favorite (OK it was probably my only favorite) things about school. Picking out a new backpack, fresh pens and pencils, crisp notebooks filled with empty pages, and the latest crayola trends were among my favorite things related to back to school shopping.

Then, that first day of school you walk in your new classroom, sit down at your desk, pull out your new school supplies, and automatically start sizing yourself up to your competition, thinking to yourself: "Who has the coolest gel pens?" "Oh, Sally has water-color colored pencils!" "Where did Sara find that Lisa Frank binder?"

Now imagine, walking in to school on your first day of class and not having any school supplies. Pretty sad, huh? Not to mention embarrassing.

In this economy, school supplies is the last thing on many families budget list. So let's help out our community by providing educational necessities to those in need.

Heartland Community Church , as well as many other local businesses are among those supporting the Olathe Public Schools Foundation in this years School Supplies Drive.

Here's a list of requested items, purchase what you can and fill your backpack!

Fill a 15'' or larger backpack with:

T1-30 or T1-34 calculator
1" and/or 2" three ring binders
10 pack washable markers (crayola or similar)
4- pack dry erase markers (expo or similar)
Tissues
Hand Sanitizer
Standard school supplies (pencils, pens, glue, erasers, rulers, scissors, notebooks with divider tabs etc)

Deliver backpacks to area drop off locations (as listed on the Foundation's website) by July 17th!


Thanks for your support!

Matthew 25:40 "What you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. My sister and her husband came to visit from South Carolina and we got to hang out at "The Lake" most of the weekend. I realize I'm about a week late in posting these pictures, but better late than never...right?!

I'm trying a new photo collage program so we'll see how these turn out. I'm worried I did something wrong to affect the picture quality. If that's the case, my sincere apologies. :)


Thursday night we grilled and celebrated my dad's day of birth. We also got to see our great friends, Megan and Justin, who we haven't seen in almost a year! They are dear friends and we are so excited for them and their "soon to be" little baby girl!


Friday, we ventured up to "The Lake" and had some fun. This "fun" included two rather rambunctious puppies, Lady and Pete, as well as LOTS of food eating, attempted snake killing, napping, Frisbee playing, and PLENTY of swimming...(because it was hotter than Haiti out there!)

Saturday night we went out to a family friends house on Lake Winnebago. It was a gorgeous night, minus the 110% humidity. We enjoyed a boat ride out on the Lake and then "partied it up" at the yacht club.

And....somehow I managed to leave my camera at home for that ACTUAL 4th of July day. Which means I have absolutely no pictures from our time spent with my in-laws at the lake. And this is very sad because that means you're missing out on adorable pictures of Caleb in his American flag over-alls. I know...it's no good.

That is all.

God bless America!

Love,

K

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

On this blessed day, a few years ago... (or so) ;)...you were born. It was a good day.

You showed the world the true meaning of adorable.

Seriously...please be cuter. I'd like to see you try.



You also showed the world what mischievous looks like.



The tie makes all the trouble you got into, okay. :)

Thank you for being born.

Thank you for TRULY being, the most WONDERFUL Dad a girl could ever ask for. (and more)

I am reminded, daily, how blessed I am to have a Dad like you.

Thank you for loving me UNCONDITIONALLY since the day I was born.



Additionally, thank you for your genes...because I was a pretty cute baby, too. :)

Thank you for being a Christ follower, and for faithfully serving and leading our family...day in and day out.



Thank you for ALWAYS being intentional with the time we spent together, and thank you for including me in your life passions and adventures.

Thank you for investing in me.



And thank you for treating my husband the same...



Thank you for being goofy, and teaching me it's OK to do the same. :)



THANK YOU! For loving mom, and treating her like the queen she is. Thank you for being an example of what a humble, gracious and godly husband looks like.



Thank you for being a master story-teller



Thank you for being a teacher.




Thank you for teaching me mad skillz on the dance floor. ;)



and for always making me feel like a princess, always.



Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for my education.



Thank you for standing in the "doorway" when Jen and I started dating these guys. Thank you for interrogating them and putting them through a rigorous approval process. Thank you for caring enough to do so.



Additionally, thank you for approving of them and loving them as if they were your own sons.


Thank you for loving my sister.



And thank you for loving me.




Happy Birthday, Dad.

You. Are. The. Best.

Love,
K

My King

I was on a walk this morning with our dog lila when a sermon that rocked my world when I was in college came to mind.

It's the sermon "My King" by S.M. Lockridge...have you heard it?

It will rock your world.

It's one of the most powerful things you will ever hear.

It's complete truth.

It will empower you.

It will give you goosebumps.

It might make you cry.

It will bless you with Christ's grace and mercy.

So take 3:20 minutes out of your day and listen to it, you'll be glad you did.

A "Beautiful" Reminder

I was driving home from class last night and a song came on the radio. The song was "Beautiful" by Mercy Me. I love that song, have you heard it?

I love this song because it came out on the radio during a time in my life when I really needed to hear it.

I needed to hear that Christ had a purpose for my life and that his purpose for me was so much greater and beautiful than the things of this world.

I needed to hear that it was okay to feel dissatisfied, and that I was feeling dissatisfied because I hadn't yet figured out his purpose for my life.

I needed to hear that I was worthy and treasured, by Christ-because from the world's view-I didn't feel that way.

I needed to hear, that from the very beginning, Christ was mapping out a plan for my life.

I needed to be reassured and trust that I would find HIS plan for my life.

I needed to hear that Christ was by side every step of the way.

That is what this song did for me, I hope it can bless you in the same or similar ways.

"The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

I'm praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross


Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to die

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes"





Love,
K