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. :)

Some Exciting News!

       I was going to wait until after we returned from our trip, but I decided to write about it now. In 6 days, our family is going to go on a trip to Nevada to visit some friends for a week. One of the reasons we are going on this trip is because..... their son, Leighton, asked if I would be willing to court him! Of course I said yes! Leighton is 20 and is a Farmer/Rancher. We are both so blessed that God has brought us together. We are trusting Him, knowing that He knows best. The hardest thing about this courtship is he is 1,537 miles away! It makes it rather hard to see one another. Though we make time for phone calls and skype. :) I will post lots of pictures when we return. :) Can you tell I am a little excited? Well, if you couldn't tell, I am! I would appreciate all of your prayers. For our courtship and for the trip there and back. May God be glorified in it all!

Here is one of my favorite pictures of him. :)

Life...

So I know it's been a while since I last posted. I'm so very sorry for not keeping up on this. For the past 6 months there has been a lot going on in our family. I lost my Grandma in March, so that is one of the main reasons I wasn't able to post. We also had a litter of 7 puppies. They are now 7 weeks old, so I have more time to keep up with the blog.

My dear sweet Grandma last Christmas

 My favorite puppy, Monroe.

My older sister, Kelli, is expecting their fist baby June 27th! I am super excited! I'm not going to tell you what it is until she has it. :) Just a little something to keep you in suspense! I will post pictures as soon as it is born. :) We just had her baby shower. It was so much fun! Isn't it amazing the joy a new little life can bring into one's own life?

From left to right: Me, Momma, Kelli, and Kristina

Pictures they had of Kelli and her husband Chet.

Kristina, my younger sister, is graduating. Her party is next weekend. We are hoping and praying for good weather! Especially since it is at the lake.

One of Kristina's graduation pictures.

God has been teaching me so much lately! Have you ever received blessings that you feel so unworthy of? I should feel that way all the time because I don't deserve any blessings from God. But sometimes His goodness towards me is just unfathomable. I have failed Him so many times, yet He is forgiving and always gracious. To be chosen by such a God is truly amazing!  

Well, off to start dinner. I hope you enjoyed the blog post and I will write again soon!

Lessons

For the past month or more, the Lord has really been teaching our family a lot. The biggest lessons are:

Family Relationships~ How close are you to your family? Do you laugh together, cry together, and confide in one another? Do you edify your siblings? Do you look at them as irritating, or as blessings from the Lord? Do you talk with your parents, telling them your thoughts, praying with them, and for them? Recently, I read that "your relationships with your family now, is how you will treat your relationship with your spouse later." Wow! Talk about convicting! I never thought of it that way. I have been guilty of not thinking of everything I do as "unto the Lord". I have been thinking about me, and my needs, and my wants, not my family's.

Which leads into the next lesson He has been teaching me personally.

Are you ready for Marriage?~ I know, I'm only 19, that's still young. But, I am preparing for this as I believe the Lord calls most everyone to marriage. If my relationships with my family are not good, and I think on me before anyone else, I am still "me" focused and not God focused. Sure, I can cook, clean, do all of the physical part of it, but am I spiritually and emotionally ready for it? Am I using my single years to get as close to God as I possibly can? Do I show the love of Christ where ever I am, in all circumstances? Do I put others before myself? Are my convictions and beliefs my own, not my parents? Am I doing my husband good, and not evil, in my single years? These are sometimes hard questions to answer, because it shows us our heart, and the things that must change if we are to be called the children of God.

So, these are a couple of things the Lord has been teaching me.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be posting what I am looking for in a husband. A blog I read http://allauthority.blogspot.com/2011/12/thoughs-on-biblical-femininity-pt-1.html, posted what he was looing for in a wife. I thought I would give my thoughts on the subject. I want it to be a topic to discuss, so please, let me know what you think.

In Him Always~
Kaitlyn

A Wonderful Giveaway!!

Vision Forum is doing a great Christmas gift card giveaway!

Our family has benefited greatly by all the wonderful resourses Vision Forum has to offer! Wonderful Christian books, toys, great history resourses, and much, much more!!! Vision Forum is also starting their Black Friday Super Sale-which goes on all week long!! Buy two items and receive the third item of equal of lesser value FREE!!!! The sale ends November 26th at Midnight.

Now, there are some rules to this giveaway! Vision Forum has generously offered to give away $600.00 in gift cards through the Modest Mom blog! (Which you can get to here) There will be three winners in this giveaway. One person will win a $100 gift card, another a $200 gift card, and yet another a gift card worth $300 good for any purchase from Vision Forum. Per the request of Vision Forum, the person who wins the $300 gift card needs to have blogged about this great giveaway, using the words "Christian books" in your post with those exact words linking to www.visionforum.com . So if you have a blog I'd suggest you get busy and write a post about this awesome giveaway! If you don't have a blog, don't despair - you still have a great chance at winning the $100 or $200 gift card!

I hope you all have a very blessed Christmas this year!! Please, go and sign up and try to win!

Last Weekend, and Then Some!

It's been a long time since I wrote. I'm not very consistent with this am I!! (sorry!)

The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately. Mostly on waiting on Him for His perfect timing. I know that God has everything all worked out, but it is rather hard to wait, and wait well for His will to be made know to you! I know that God's plan, is worth waiting for! A verse that has really helped me is:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6.

Last weekend, we went to Willmar and had a Bluegrass jam at a music store. We had a great time and learned a lot form a lot of experienced musicians! Talk about a humbling experience! :o) We are going to go there at least twice a month and jam!

This weekend, my family is going to Itasca to go to a 3 day Bluegrass Festival. (If you haven't noticed, my family LOVES Bluegrass! ;o) We are heading up there early Friday and will be getting back home late Sunday night. We haven't been on a family vacation for a few years, so we are all really excited! We definitely need some family time! Hopefully, all our dogs won't miss us to much! :o)

Well, got to go and do something productive!

I Have Graduated!!

Here I am at my table

On Sunday I had my graduation party. It went really well! I had a ton of fun. I got asked the question, "So, what are you going to do now?" a lot! In the fall, I am going to start my studies on becoming a Certified Family Herbalist. I am really excited to learn more about it. All this summer, I am going to show some of our dogs in dog shows around here.

At my graduation, one of my cousins was asking me if I had a boyfriend. (All of our relatives ask that. They must think it's kinda strange for an 18 year old girl to not have a boyfriend and has not gone on a date! Whoda thunk! ;o) It was the perfect opportunity to share with him all about courtship. We had a wonderful talk. I hope it got him thinking.

Don't you think it's amazing the way God orchestrates things in your life? We just met a family through the internet that lives 1,287 miles away! We are so blessed to have met them. We have so much in common. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet them in person some day soon!

Well, that's a little update on whats going on in my life. I have a really bad cold, so I think I'll go and lay down! When you're not feeling well, it's always a good time to do some extra reading and having a lot of quiet time with the Lord.