happy birthday!

Today my little sister, Addy, turned 13.  

 So, I just wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday!

~Susanna

ohio trip

On the 19th of July I went on a trip with my grandparents to Ohio.

These are all random photos from it.

I took my Grandma to an OrangeLeaf...well, she paid.

 

She loved it, obviously.

To keep me from getting bored (when I wasn't driving), I did a picture scavenger hunt.

One of the objects I had to look for.   :)  The Kansas Capitol building.

I also had to get one of the Kansas City Royals Staduiam.

 

How about Chipotles?

 

The main reason for this trip was my Grandpa wanted to go to the antique tractor show in Ohio. They were featchering Oliver tractors, which he collects.  They had hundreds of Olivers there. It was crazy.

This is the kind of hay baler he worked on when he was 18

I liked this one. :)

I'll say one thing, Ohio knows how to make real sweet tea.  yum!!

Grandpa got my brother a cap, so I had to take a picture of it.

And then one of me.

You don't know how many times I tried to get a picture of the camera in my sunglasses. Crazy

on the way home we passed this truck with a load of steel. You really didn't want to get hit with that.

Here's the last picture. You've probably seen this if you've gone through Illinois.

~Susanna

I've been making...

I have some friends getting married, so I've been making mints for their reception.

I love working on these little things.

Right now, I'm working on the cranberry colored roses.

Later on I'm going to make white roses.

When I made the dough, our house had this wonderful creamy mint smell.

 

Btw, these pictures aren't making them look pretty and it looks like the wring color. Sorry

When I get the white roses done I'll post some pictures of them.

Also, I sell these on my business site if you're interested.

 

~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!

Today's recipe in Baked oatmeal. OH MAN!! this one really hits the spot. We eat it mainly at breakfast. So good!!

Baked Oatmeal

6 cups oatmeal
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
4 large eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2. cup milk

Combine oil and sugar. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9" by 13" pan. Refrigerate over night or for 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 -40 min. Serve hot with milk, honey, brown sugar, or whatever-tickles-your-fancy.

Note: you can make this dairy-free by substituting the milk with almond- or rice milk. Can be gluten-free if you used the right oats.



~Susanna

last year at this time...

...I was in Kansas City, MO. My oldest sister, Kelsey, was going to be getting married, so she wanted to take us girls on a mini trip.

We spent two days shopping, hanging out, eating out, watching movies, and just having an awesome time.

At the Crown Center Mall we stopped here and got frozen custard. I got cookie dough topping on mine.

We ate outside by their water park type thing.

(I don't know what my facial expression is about.)

After the mall, we stopped at the Union Station.

It is very pretty and grand looking inside.

In the back of the station was a model scale train museum. I find those things very interesting to watch.

 And of course we had to stop and get a picture taken in front of a waterfall. I look like I wasn't to happy about it, which was probably the case.

We needed directions to somewhere and the easiest thing was to stop at McDonalds and use their free Wi-fi.

And you know we had to be nice and buy a coke and fries. :)

In the evening we went shopping at the Town Center Plaza.

 Almost to fancy to shop at, but it was very pretty. Sorry, I don't have pictures of that.

Since we are Hobbs, any trip we go on has to have a stop at BassPro. Doesn't matter where you go, what you're doing, or if you have time. If you see one, that's the next stop on the list. :)

I had to play the shooting game.

...and give advise. We're pretty serious with this game.

Well, at least that's what it looks like.

Addy probably beat everybody, but I can't remember.

After that stop we headed home. Back to life...

Thanks, Kelsey, for the great time and new memories.

So, tell me about your favorite summer mini trip. I'd love to hear it.

~Susanna

Guest Post by Anna

"Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next."
- Elisabeth Elliot

 When I read this, I was so convicted. I am a 'future thinker' in that I think a lot about tomorrow and next week and what am I going to do next summer, or this spring when I graduate, or where I will be in 5 years. I also am a worrier. I worry about if something will work out as planned or what will happen if I do this or that. And if you put those things together, you get a mess. :-) This quote reminded me that, if I simply obey in what He has told me to do now, I don't have to worry about about the future. I don't even have to think about it. I can just lean on Him.

 Joseph is a great example of trusting in God. Even when surrounded by false accusations and when he was forgotten in jail, he depended on God to see him through it all. His steadfast faith in God helped him through everything he went through. This man was infatuated with the knowledge that God is in control. I think that is why he was able to forgive his brothers even when they had wronged him in the extreme.
 One of my favorite verses is Psalms 100:5 which says,  "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

What an amazing promise this is! He is always there and He always will be! And better yet, He will never change. He's the same today as He was yesterday and a hundred years ago, and He's the same as He was during Adam and Eve's time.

So whenever you are feeling discouraged, or lonely, or you are worrying about the morrow, just remember this: God is near and He knows whats going to happen. Nothing happens to us that hasn't already passed through God's hands. All we have to do is obey in what He's given us to do today and trust that He'll show us what to do tomorrow. Has He ever failed one of His children? No. Nor will He ever

  Hi all! I'm Anna and I have been homeschooled all 17 years of my life. I was mercifully saved by God's grace when I was 10 years old. I come from a family of 10 children; me being the 6th. If you look through my interests, you can see that I like a lot of things. :-) I grew up in the country and absolutely loved it! I lived in the middle of 'nowhere' until I was 12 and then my family decided to move to the city. I pray that someday I may be able to go back to the country, but right now, God hasn't opened that door so I'll blossom where He's planted me. I plan to go to college to get my RN and am looking possibly into missionary work in India. But it all depends on what God has planned for me. Where He leads I will go.  Anna Flora has a blog called Living for Christ

What you might not know about Susanna (guest post Charis)

Hello, my name is Charis and I happen to be Susanna's older sister. Older by exactly 3 years and two weeks...so we share the same birthday month, we shared the same siblings, we've shared the same room, piano teachers, school teachers (um, parents), etc. Basically we've shared a lot of experiences of life together. God has done (and still is) doing a lot of work in our relationship. She is an amazing sister!

Through the years I have grown more grateful (most of time :P) for how the Lord has used Susanna in my life to encourage me, sharpen me, correct me and show me how to enjoy life better.

While she is gone this week (and I am missing talking to her very much), I thought I would take a bit of time to let you readers know a bit more about Susanna. Since I happen to be her sister I think I can do this. :)

Susanna...

-favorite color is bright, lime green (& other greens & other bright colors)
-loves coffee shops (one way we are similar)
-takes a lot to scare her! ~ as a child she would stand on a rocking chair we had and would rock away much to my Mother's dismay
-adores teasing other people ~ garlic water anyone? or how about cold water dumped on you as do your devotions? or perhaps plastic wrap in you face as you walk out the door? or maybe a dog or duck to join you as you sleep?
-is crazy about KU basketball (don't ask how many t-shirts she has!)
-is quite creative ~ take a look at her cards-has a beautiful soprano voice which she can use to bless others (good, pretty songs) or very much annoy others (bad songs)
-plays the flute gorgeously - has only played it for 3 and half years
-can get very grouchy if she's starving
-loves to shop
-loves to travel (she's been to 11 states and will be adding another 4-5 this fall)
-has only flown twice
-can work hard (please notice the can in that phrase!)
-greatly enjoys hanging out friends
-one thing in common with the rest of the family: loves ice cream!
-wants to tour Europe someday
-would love to ride in a Hummer limo
-would be wild about going to a NASCAR race (even more so about driving one!)
-most importantly though Susanna has a heart to follow the Lord and serve Him


Thanks for letting me share this Susanna! Praying the God will bless you as you grow in Him to be a woman for the glory of God and shine as light for His Kingdom! with love, ~Your sister


Charis is the sister of Susanna (total of 7 children in the family). She enjoys blogging about the gifts that God gives her in life at giftsofgraceservices.com/blog. Recently she and Susanna have started a gluten-free blog called mannatreats.com. Other than keeping busy with helping her family, working as a mother's helper she fills her spare time with reading, gardening, photography, music and learning web design. Her life's desire is to live as a woman for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ!

Awsome-Tasting Food!

I'm here again. It's Wednesday. This week's recipe is Carrot-Raisin Salad.  This is something my family has grown up with and I really like it. I also think it is fun to make. Enjoy.

Carrot - Raisin Salad
Serves: 6-8

4 carrots, shredded
1 apple, chopped
1 can crushed pineapple
1/3 cup raisins (unles you want more)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sourcream or yogurt
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Mix carrots, apple, pineapple, and raisins. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add sourcream or yogurt. Stir gently. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours. (if dressing becomes to think add a little milk) Sprinkle almonds on top right before serving.  

Goes great with about anything.


~Susanna

going on a trip...

This week my grandparents are taking me on a trip with them. I'm excited about it because this will be the first time I've ever gone on a trip longer than a couple of days with them. So, I have a couple of guest post lined up for you while I'm gone. I hope you enjoy them and have a good week.

While I'm still here I thought I'd post a picture of my niece, Yoanna.

I'm going to get to see her for the first time in one week!!! I can't wait!!!

~Susanna

moving...

Today, one year ago, my family moved from our land out in Potwin, KS to

Valley Center, KS.

We lived on about 80 acreas, so I guess you could say we had a "hobby farm."

I thought I'd do a little "memory post" about my time living out there.

I only got to live there 3 years, but I count them some of the best.

I learned and did too many things to count.

We managed to burn a barn down one night...

...then we built 2 more. (I couldn't find a good picture of the other one.)

Another night a mini tornado took the roof off our house.

So, we got to put a new one on. It would have never gotten there without the help of so many friends.

Each year we raised a couple hundred broilers, which are only cute the first day.

After a week or two meat birds look like this or worse.

We had too many gardens. This one was part of Charis' flower garden.

In the spring of 2010 we got to burn our pasture and that wouldn't have happened without our neighbor friends showing us what to do.  ummm.......or maybe actually doing it and we were just watching. :)

There are so many other things we did, that I couldn't write it all out for you. 

This is our pasture.

We had awesome trees in the spring.

Our creek was so pretty.....most of the year.

I'm so glad God gave those 3 years of my life.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."

 Ecclesiastes 3:1

~Susanna

one of my favorite things is...

.....COFFEE!!!!

Doesn't matter what form it is in either.

hot

cold

latte

espresso

frapp......too good to pass up?

bottled frapps

pretty coffee with cream

or just plain black coffee. 

As long as it has a good flavor I'll drink it. (I might even drink it if it doesn't.)

So, what do you like to drink?

~Susanna