Galations 2:20-21

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galations 2:20-21

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Let the truth be heard

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Saturday, Byron and I decided to go and vote early. Some of you may know that we support Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.

Thursday, CSPAN aired a Third Party debate between Chuck Baldwin and Independent, Ralph Nadar. It is unfortunate how third parties are systematically excluded from the media and process as a whole.

Please watch this debate. PLEASE don't waste your vote on a RepubliCRAT. Vote for Chuck Baldwin for the REAL change this country needs. Let the truth be heard...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Thank you...

Flowers from Sam & Deborah and Dan & Charone Peterson

Thanks to all our family and friends who have supported us with meals, visits, phone calls, cards, flowers, and most of all the prayers. The Lord has given us time to heal and peace in our hearts. One thing we know for sure is that we couldn't get through this without Him in our lives. We have been so blessed to have wonderful family and friends surrounding us during this time.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation.
Psalm 68:19

Saturday, October 11, 2008

In the Lord's Hands

.The name of my blog really rings true for Byron and I this week....
Byron and I had to go the doctor Wednesday. At my first appointment my doc said I wouldn't have an ultrasound until my 20th week, but Wednesday was an exception. We had a little scare when I woke up with some spotting. So they had us come in for an ultrasound to check everything out. Unfortunately, the ultrasound did not look good....we found out that the baby was only 6 weeks in size and it should have been at 10 weeks and that it was making it’s way down the uterus. They also did not find a heartbeat. In just a moment...our joy turned to sadness....

Not only is this a very hard time emotionally, but the physical pain is almost more than I can handle....

This is a very sad time for us, but we wanted everyone to know. We felt that announcing it in this way would help with the healing process. As Byron has reminded me many times....we have to trust that our Lord is in control of all of this. His ways are not our ways. This is His will and we have to find comfort in knowing He does everything for the good of those who love Him. We are holding ever so closely to Him during this time.

We thank all of our family and friends that are already praying for us and surrounding us with their love.

All that we ask is that you all continue to keep us in your prayers....

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dan's Wedding/Hanging out with Friends


Congratulations Dan and Jamie! May the Lord pour out many blessings on your marriage.

The wedding ceremony and reception was held on the Gehring property of 20 beautiful acres in Wilmington, VT.

Byron and I cut our hike a day shorter than planned to be a part of the pre-wedding festivities. Many friends came early to participate and lend a helping hand. The boys spent much time preparing LOTS of ribs for the wedding meal. I mostly helped with the decorations. It was fun to be a part of the wedding in more than just attending the ceremony and reception. Byron mentioned that he has always been a fan of the week-long wedding celebrations they had in Biblical times and this felt close to what he imagined it would be like.



Byron's friends/past classmates all rented a house about a mile from the Gehring property. We stayed with them for the weekend of the wedding as well. It was right on the lake and had a beautiful view from the back porch.


Most nights were spent around the fire on the beach.


Road Trip

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On our way to Vermont we decided to take a detour to a place I've never been before, Niagra Falls. We were only able to go on the U.S. side since I do not have a passport yet. It was still beautiful regardless.

The cool thing was that we ended up getting there after business hours, so everything was free. Parking, the walk-out-free! Obviously the boat rides and other stuff were closed, but wouldn't have don't that anyway. So, we enjoyed our spontaneous adventure.

The Falls were so massive and beautiful....God never ceases to amaze me with how great He is through His creation...



When we got into Vermont Byron saw something peaking through the trees that we just got to check out.

It was an obelisk. This monument was built in memory of the Battle of Bennington. The view from the top was gorgeous.
















Inside of the Obelisk were the old plans for the monument.















We found that once we got into PA and NY there were vineyards everywhere just as there are cornfields out here. We stopped to get some gas and when we got out of the car the smell of the air was sweet and smelled like grape juice! On the way home we ended up stopping at a winery and purchased some wine for Byron's mother's birthday gift.






Hiking the Appalachian Trail/Long Trail

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Byron and I left Saturday, September 26th for our first vacation as a married couple. We are not really the resort/go to the beach/stay at a B&B kind of people. We decided to go on a week long hike on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont (or Long Trail as they like to call that particular section in VT).

We hiked 5 days and 4 nights. It was a little rainy and cold, but we stayed cozy and warm in our hammock at night.



It was a beautiful time of year. Actually, we were told by all the locals that is was the perfect week to be there because of all the beautiful colors of the trees. Next week most of the leaves should be gone....it's hard to believe....

A lot of my family and friends were very concerned for me to go on this hike in light of my pregnancy. I did have a really hard time in the car on our way out there and was only able to drive a total of 3 hours. However, for some reason, when we got out to Vermont I felt great! I only had one bad day on the trail and we took it really easy. So, I'd like to think that the Vermont wilderness cured my "all day" sickness (maybe we need to go back there for our next pregnancy). Either way, I'm feeling great still and we had a great time on our hike!


One of the shelters we stayed around. About every 5-8 miles there is a shelter along the trail with bunks in them. There is usually a picnic table and camp fire ring. There is also a Pivy (outhouse) close by as well. One night we hung our hammock in a shelter to shelter from the wind.



This is our stove that Byron made out of a Fosters' beer can. It worked great and is really light-weight. The picture to the right is us cooking a dehydrated meal.





At eat shelter there was trail registry for people to write in. We actually met the hiker who wrote in this this log before us. Here is what we wrote:
"We took an afternoon nap in our Hennesy Hammock and enjoyed the view~the sun finally decided to come out."








Byron filtering water into his pack from the stream. The was was so cold and fresh tasting.













People asked if we got sick of each other being in the wilderness all alone together....not for a second! We really enjoyed our time together and had a great experience that we will never forget!