Grass Band

This is a hilarious video of mom and Deanna and their "grass band"! Hope you enjoy it! Remember to pause the music on my sidebar!

Babies, Weddings, and Concerts....

We have had a really busy last couple of weeks - and I have lots of pictures! Two Sundays ago, Deanna, Nikki, and I all attended the wedding of some friends of ours - they attend the church that we used to pastor. But before the wedding, we went over to some other friends' house (is this confusing?) to see their new neice! She was adorable!

Deanna holding little Laura Beth

This is at the wedding of Justin and Kala! This is the groom (Justin) walking his soon-to-be Mother-in-law down the aisle.

This was kind of funny because it was a little windy, and they were having problems getting it to stay down

Here comes Kala!

The newly-married couple!

Then this last Sunday night, we went to see the Brown family in concert! They were wonderful! So down-to-earth and it was great to watch them play their violins!

But the biggest highlight was Holiness Camp last week! It was another amazing week - and I have TONS of pictures! But I don't have time to put them all up right now, but I will really soon!

a very present help

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling."

Psalm 46:1-3

Tori's Tasty Tuesdays - Meatballs

As you are reading this I am in Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the Iowa Holiness Camp! But, I didn't want all of you to get bored if there was not a post for a week and a half! =) So, last Saturday I wrote this and scheduled it to post today.



There should be plenty of pictures when I get back - pics of camp and hopefully of a wedding that we went to on Sunday (if I remember to take any).



Meanwhile, I thought I'd post a recipe for Tori's Tasty Tuesdays. This weeks' is a DELICIOUS recipe for meatballs - they are to die for.

Colorado Meatballs:

Ingredients for the meatballs:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 2/3 c. onion - chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/3 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 lb. ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Ingredients for sauce:

• 2 cups catsup
• 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 T. liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix meatball ingredients together and shape into small balls. Place in a flat shallow pan in one layer.

Sauce: dissolve and pour over meat ball - bake uncovered 1 hour at 350 degrees.

There you have it! Enjoy!

One Year Ago

This is the one year anniversary of the summer of 2008 floods here in Iowa. It's hard to believe it's been one year already! It seems like yesterday that we were hauling out wet and muddy items, ripping up hardwood floors, and powerwashing walls. Pretty incredible. For those of you who weren't following my blog during that time, last June, Iowa was hit with horrific flooding. It wiped out so much - many are still homeless. Our family was hit directly - our entire basement and a portion of our main floor was flooded - and my grandparents and aunt and uncle were also hit. But the Lord has provided for all of us in an incredible way - we are so thankful! Many people are still hurting and without homes - still be praying for them! Here is a video that was made last year by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries - it interviews people from our home church (as well as my dad) about the floods. Remember to pause the music on my sidebar! If the video decided not to work, then you can watch it at this link.



Here are some pictures of the flood.....

A very special thank you again to the team that came from Knoxville, Iowa to help us! As we reflect again on that time, we are so grateful for your help and realize that we couldn't have accomplished nearly that much if it weren't for you! Thank you!

Also, thanks to David and Kirk for providing us with these pictures that they took while they were here.

All of our ruined piano music

Trying to salvage what we can

Another BIG thank you to Megan and Caleb, who came up and helped us tremendously! Thank you so much, guys! We couldn't have done it without you!

So again, a big thank you to EVERYONE who helped us! There are just too many to name, but we appreciate each and every one of you!!

This Sunday, Iowa Holiness Association Campmeeting starts - please be in prayer for this incredible week!