New Blog!

So, here is the new blog! Let me know what you all think!! :)

www.farmingthevalley.blogspot.com

Change is coming...

It is only 18 days till my wedding. So many things are going on right now. Last minute planning, packing and moving my belongings, family and friends coming from out of state....my mind is in a whirl wind right now! So many happy, excited, can't-wait-for-the-future feelings...mixed with sad ones as I am leaving my parents house and things will never be the same again. Yet, this is how it is supposed to be. My parents didn't raise me to stay home forever. They raised me to be a wife and mother. I am supposed to leave and cleave. And I want to... :)

   I want to be the wife God has called me to be. I want to honor and live for Him first and foremost, and live for Leighton second. This next year is going to be full of changes.. some fun, some hard. A lot of adjusting to a new lifestyle. One very different from the one I am used to, but am so looking forward to see what the Lord has in store for Leighton and I as we start our new life together.

After I am married, I will be starting a new blog. Before I close this one down, I will have a link to the new one. :) If you think of me in the next couple weeks, your prayers would be most appreciated as the wedding approaches.

Some Pictures...

Here are a few pictures of what has been going on. Sorry I haven't updated...I've been SUPER busy with wedding planning!! :D Only 66 more days!! YAY!! I'll post more pictures when I can and maybe some of my wedding stuff. :) I can't believe that in 9 Saturdays, I'll me Mrs. Knisley!!

 

 

 

 

Leighton and I at their employee BBQ



Thanksgiving day with his Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and their children, and of course, our families. :)



My new horse Branson... isn't he beautiful?!



He is tons of fun to ride and great with the cows too. :)



Leighton and I celebrating his 21st birthday



A new jacket he got for his birthday :)



And his new sweater and shirt I got him for his birthday. Doesn't he look
amazing in it!? :)



Leighton and I at his house celebrating Christmas



Leighton and I ice skating New Year's Day...this was his first time

He did pretty good too...:)



Leighton and I at Pyramid Lake



We climbed a huge rock and on the other side....the lake! :)

 

 

A Late Post...

I am SOOO sorry for not updating! I have been so busy! There has been a lot going on! We just sold our house, so now we are moving out to Nevada by the first week in November! God has been so good in how He brought all of this about!

    So our trip out West was wonderful! We spent 11 days there! Leighton and I got some engagement pictures, (which was incredibly fun! :) and finally decided on where we are going to get married! We are going to be getting married at an old theatre that is absolutely amazing! We went and looked at it and it is perfect for what we want! And the amazing thing is that only our wedding date, March 23rd, 2013, is available! All the other days around it are all booked! So God had it saved just for us. :)


So, here are some pictures and I will try to post a little about each picture. :)



Leighton trying on his tux coat. He looks AMAZING with just the coat! :)





One of our engagement pictures



Another engagement picture



One of my favorites! :)



This is my favorite! :D



:D



Sitting at the bonfire after playing some football with everyone! :D

 

Early one morning before we went and sprayed a field.



A tiny glimpse of the Theatre :)



Outside of the Theatre

 

A fun picture :)

 

Leighton and I at the big BBQ one night

 

Leighton and I after Church. We coordinated and didn't even know it! :)



Leighton and I on top of Ragged Top Mountain. We took a 5 hour ATV ride up there! It looked like a convoy of ATV's on the road! There were 7 ATV's! It was a blast!



Leighton and I being funny! :D



Leighton, me, Kristina, and Wade on Ragged Top Mountain.



And my AMAZING Cowboy!! :D



Some BIG News!

Well, I have a big announcement to make. Leighton asked me to be his wife and I said.......YES!!!! We went to the Alexander Ramsey Park in Redwood Falls for a picnic on Saturday. While we were there, I wanted to show Leighton a spot that gets you really close to the waterfall. A lot of people were there, so we decided to take a different trail. We came to a fork in the road and there were more people coming from a bridge, so we decided to go the other way. As we were walking, Leighton kinda stopped and looked around. Then, he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him! Of course I said YES! What I didn't know is that my Dad followed us and got the whole thing recorded! So we will be able to watch it years down the road! So, our wedding date is March 23rd, 2013 in Nevada. We are both so thankful to God fro bringing us together! Here are some pictures I thought you all would enjoy!



Walking on the dock at a lake





Leighton and I right after he purposed :-D

 



On of my favorite pictures :-)

My beautiful ring :-D It's a princess cut center diamond with three diamonds and three sapphires on each side.

A God of Details...

    There has been a lot on my mind as of late. :) But one of the things has been, how God is a God of details. When you read in His Word about the Israelites or the building of His tabernacle, you sometimes think, (or at least I do), "Why do I need to know all of this??" God is showing us that He is in all the details. He is so specific in how He does something. He isn't a God who just throws things together and hopes they come out the way He planned. No, He is a God, who from the beginning, orchestrates everything down to how a flower blooms, to how a baby is born, to how two people should meet. It amazes me when you step back to look at everything He has done, and just see all of the little things that show that God is in it.

   I have really seen that in my Courtship with Leighton. Who knew that he would contact me after being on Christian Mingle for only 10 minutes?! Who knew that he likes the same old trucks as I do? or says some of the same words I do that no one else in either of our families say? God is just so amazing in how He brings everything about. Nevada is the last place in the world that I thought I would meet my potential future husband! My whole Courtship has gone completely different than what I had in mind. But, God's way is always better. I wouldn't be happy if things went the way I planned them.  It just gives you an unspeakable peace when you are in His will and know that all of this is because of Him.

   I recently read Genesis 24, which is the story of Isaac and Rebekah. I encourage you to read it and see all the prayers that were answered and the smallest of details fulfilled. It is truly amazing. :)

   Another thing that has been on my mind is, relying on God for everything. It is easy to rely on God in the big desicions in our lives. We know that it is too much for us to handle on our own. But, when it comes down to the small details of our everyday life, we sometimes forget to look to Him for guidence, thinking we can handle this because it is small. Sometimes I think "This is so minor, God doesn't want to hear about this", so I don't take it to Him in prayer. But He does want to hear from us, about everything. He is a God that cares for us and wants to know every detail of our lives! (Not that He doesn't know already, but it is important to bring it to Him in prayer.)

   Well, I pray that this post has encouraged you all in some way. I hope to be posting some pictures from when Leighton comes to visit. It's only 12 more days. :) God's blessings to you all.

Our Trip to Nevada...

We just got back from our first trip out West. It was wonderful for more than one reason. :) When we got there, Leighton had flowers for me. I have never gotten flowers from anyone but my Dad, so it was really special. Then, we went out to dinner at Olive Garden, both of our favorite resturant! He also took me to Shepplers and bought me a hat, which I love! Then the next few days, we worked with the family. I was able to ride in all of the equipment and got a tour of the farm. Leighton and I had some great conversations. Saturday, they were cooking some TriTip at a wedding, so we were able to go to that together. It was a lot of fun. Then on Sunday, we went to church, met more people, and headed over to Leighton's Grandparents house for lunch and volleyball. We also had our Bible study on the "Courtin' Swing". It was our first bible study in person. It's a lot easier doing it in person than over the phone! Then on Monday, we did some other things around the farm and worked the cattle for most of the day. They needed to be taged and branded. It was a lot of fun to see "real" cowboys at work! (Especially since one of them is mine! :) Tuesday was our last full day together. Leighton took me to "Lone Mountain". What a beautiful veiw from up there! Then, Wednesday morning came and we headed back to the airport. I didn't think it would be as hard to leave as it was. But, it was eaisier leaving knowing that in 21 days, I shall be able to see him again! It just isn't the same without him. I feel so blessed to know such a wonderful man! As our story moves forward, (Lord willing) I will keep you all updated. :)

 So, as promised, here are the pictures from our trip.

Waiting to board our plane. :)

The flowers Leighton gave me at the airport.



Dinner at Olive Garden the first night there.

The hat Leighton bought me. I love it!



Leighton coming to pick me up in his tractor.



Kristina in the loader

 

Leighton and I in the Hay Squeeze





My Mom and Leighton's Mom, Tracy.

 

Leighton and I in the sprayer.



Triticale field



Leighton and I at a wedding



Leighton's brother, Austin, and his Mom.



Leighton's sister, Mallory, brother Wade, and Kristina.

Me and my Momma at the wedding.

Most of us eating at "The Wok"

From left to right: Dan, (Leighton's Dad), Tracy, Dad, Mom, Kristina, Grandma, Wade,
Mallory, Grandpa, Kent, me, Leighton, and Austin.

Leighton and I having our Bible study on "The Courtin' Swing" :)

Us. :)

Branding

This cow had an attitude and didn't really like anyone.

Me, Leighton, a friend of theirs and Dan, Leighton's Dad.



Loved the sign behind us! :)

Kristina took this picture of me looking at Leighton. :)