Snow? Already??

It's the end of October and here in Montana we got snow! 

That's right, snow! 

This was taken out my bedroom window

Taken from our back stairs/balcony -this is our backyard

Technically we got our official first snow the beginning of this month but I was on vacation in Nebraska so this is my first snow that I've seen. I'm glad that it's melting away though because I'm not quite ready for the snow to stay! I mean, I was just getting used to it being fall and enjoying it (I just did that post about taking walks in the fall with my sister you know) and then bam! It snows! At least it's pretty much all melted by now. =) My favorite song right now is Let- er DON'T Let It Snow (since we've got places to go)! =D Because if it keeps snowing now, it will be an extremely looooong winter for us! I'm just not quite ready for it to be full blown winter and snowing yet. =/ 

How is the weather where you live? Most likely it's warmer where you are and no snow in sight but who know, God could send some snow your way! Well if you live in down South that would be really crazy but you know what I mean . . . right?? ;P

If you would like to see more snowy pictures you can see them at my photography blog by clicking here.

My Crazy Day and the Happenings Therein

Hello friends! 

How was your day? I hope it was good.

 How was mine? Here, let me tell you about it . . . 

So my mom, sister KayleeBeth, brother Ryan, and I went into town today (we live about seven miles from town or the "city"). Kaylee and I had to get our teeth cleaned at the dentist so we went there and got that done which took about an hour because we also had to get a couple of sealants (see picture below).

Sealants are kind of like a filling but not quite -they help reduce the possibility of  your tooth decaying.

So that was fun! I actually like going to the dentist. Oh on the way I'm thinking it will be horrible and everything will go wrong but then I get there and I feel calm and trust that they'll do a good job and it never hurts (the numbing needle pinches a little but it's not that bad, for me at anyways)!

After the dentist my mom dropped Kaylee and I at a bookstore where we wandered around for a bit while our mom and Ryan went to Costco (which is a warehouse store kind of like Winco's) to replace a tire that a screw had got into. o.O 

Well, we walked over to Costco (on our way there we stopped by Michael's (which is a craft supply store) and got a few things there) and ate a late lunch at the cafeteria there while waiting for our car to get done. We didn't think it'd take very long but they hadn't even gotten our car in the tire place once we were finished eating because they were so busy! My dad  needed Ryan to help him with fall clean up (my dad owns and operates a lawn care business) so we grabbed our car (which is a minivan by the way) and dropped him off with our dad and came back to Costco. 

We shopped around a bit in the store but we didn't have much to get so it didn't take very long. My mom talked to the people at the Verizon kiosk for a while and even charged her phone there because it was dying and she needed to be able have it charged so the people from the tire place could call when the car was ready. 

After that we went and looked around at rug mats, some coats, and then ended up in this random aisle with Christmas decorations (already! it's annoying how everyone pretty much skips Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas!) on one side and some hunting stuff and toys on the other. There were two hunting chairs out so you could sit in them to see if you liked them and we took turns sitting in those since our feet were tired of walking around for so long. We pretty much "camped out." People were looking at as funny as they walked by us. I guess it's a little strange to see people lounging around in Costco -er, in any other store then Walmart I guess it would be strange to see people doing that. =P

Here is my mom "sleeping" in one. ;)

This is Kaylee with a stack of boxes just about her height. =)

 And here I am squashing this poor angry bird. =D

We had been at Costco for two hours (Kaylee was calling it our new home) and we still hadn't gotten a call from the tire place. Kaylee went and ran outside two times to see if they were making progress and both times they had the tire off but no tire on. Finally, we all went to ask them what was going on. They didn't have my mom's number (the guy forgot to ask and we thought they had it already since we've had them do tire stuff for us before) and they didn't have the tire we needed. My mom had them put on a different tire and within a couple of minutes were FINALLY good to go! 

We quickly stopped by at the library to pick up some books and then came home. After running around all day it's home sweet home indeed. =)

A Walk With My Sister

Today I was feeling in need of some fresh crisp air. I hate feeling cooped up in the house so I decided to go for a walk but I wanted somebody to go with me so I asked my sister KayleeBeth and after much persuasion she agreed to go with me. 

It was a refreshing walk. The leaves on the trees were such a fiery color of red, orange, yellow, and some green. Fall, I'm pretty sure is my favorite season. =) The sky was overcast and it's supposed to snow tonight -which I'm non too excited about- but I'm glad we were able to enjoy the autumn weather today and talk, well she talked mostly and I listened. 

Times likes our walk together when we hang out and have a good time are my favorites. It's nice to be able to spend time with my younger sister and hear all the stuff she to say. I'm very thankful and blessed to have a sister that wants to talk with me and do stuff together. My prayer is that it stays that way and that we both grow to be the ladies that God wants us to be and always live for Him and please above everything else.

Have a blessed week!

A Day at the Lake

Labor Day has come and gone but I never posted about it . . . so now I am. =)

 My family and another family that we know went up to Diamond Lake for the afternoon of September 2. The guys fished, the boys swam, the ladies enjoyed observing in the shade, the girls walked. I took LOTS pictures (200 and something I think), but I'm only going to share a few on this blog and a few on my photography blog. I don't know when I'll get the other photos up on my other blog but hopefully sometime soon. In the meanwhile, here are the ones I'm sharing with you now . . .

This is Mary-Hannah M. and my sister KayleeBeth heading to the lake.

The girls had fun walking on the logs which were all around the lake.

(That's another one of my sister's -Becky- in the background)

There was a really pretty stream/waterfall nearby that us girls enjoyed.

There was a cute little bridge over the stream on which M-H and KB had fun dancing on. ;)

They're so silly. ;P

Bwahahaha! This is the wonderful restroom we had to use.
(Just wait until you see the inside hehehe)

Isn't it simply beautiful???

And just look how considerate all the people that used the restroom before us were! 

It was so nice of them to leave some toilet paper behind for the rest of us. 

Now, here is something that is actually beautiful!

My lovely mother! ♥

Butterflies were ALL over the place! On the ground, on us, EVERYWHERE!! 

(I got some shots of the them that I'll probably put on my photography blog.)

M-H caught this picture of a butterfly on my hat just in time! (That's her brother Jesse in the background.)

A dangerous look to match her equally dangerous shirt. ;)

Some of the group.

 

My brother Ryan and Jesse M. were in the water swimming pretty much the whole time we were there. 

 

Becky, Jeri, and my mom. Doesn't Jeri look so sweet?

David M. and my brother Kirk fishing. They were clear across the lake and I had my zoom out all the way and still had to crop this picture twice so you could see them this well.

Kirk brought back some . . .

. . . delicious fish!! Aren't they pretty looking things?

Poor, helpless little fishy's!

 When David and Kirk came back KB and M-H went out on the pontoon boats for awhile and had troubles rowing and then getting back to shore. And no, that splash out there is not a fish but only Ryan. =P

We had a very nice day surrounded by family, friends, and God's marvelous creations.

God is in Control

    A lot has happened in the past week. Some things occurred that made me draw a little closer to the Lord. I was glad for that as I've been feeling a little spiritually dry and in need of a personal revival.
    A friend of mine and I aren't as close as we once used to be and it's painful to watch our friendship seem to be slipping away and not knowing if I should do everything in my power to not let that happen or to just let it be and hope something good comes from it but I've finally placed it completely in God's hands and know He will do what He deems best for me and for my friend. I've stopped trying to control things but let Him.

    My dad was out getting firewood two weeks ago and a tree fell on him. He wasn't doing too bad and even went to work that week and the next but his back and the side of his ribs where the tree had hit were hurting pretty badly so he was taking aspirin daily for that and was seeming to be getting better but then last Thursday he fainted twice during the night when getting out of bed to get a drink and then to use the restroom. He stayed home from work on the next day and we were all praying that he'd get better. That evening, my sister Becky came over and was going to check his blood pressure but my dad needed to use the restroom first so he got up and was heading towards the bathroom door when his face paled and he started to faint. My mom and Becky rushed over to him while my brother Kirk called 911. I was upstairs when this was going on and my sister KayleeBeth rushed up to my room and told me what had happened and that she was really scared. We prayed and then heard the sirens coming and the firetruck and ambulance were here soon. It was so scary seeing my big, strong daddy being out on stretcher and being put in the ambulance. Kirk rode with my dad and my mom and Becky left shortly thereafter. It was then around 11:00 PM.
    Kaylee and I "camped out" in the living room and my little brother was amazingly asleep while all this was taking place (which was a good thing because he would've really been freaking out). I called a friend to ask for prayer and she helped calm me down a bit and was very comforting. Kaylee fell asleep after a while but I was so frightened and fearful of what would happen to my dad that I couldn't sleep, so I prayed. Oh how I prayed, and prayed, and prayed! The situation was out of my control and I went to the One who was in complete control for I knew He could help. Well, my mom got home about 1:30 AM and told me it was alright and that he would be okay. Immediately, relief washed over me and I was able to relax enough to go to sleep.

    On Saturday we visited my dad at the hospital and it was so good to seem him doing much better and acting like his usual self. We found out that the cause of all this had been the aspirin that he had been taking; the pain killer hadn't been able to process through his body very quickly and as he was taking it daily it slowly began to create holes in his stomach and he got ulcers and had gotten internal bleeding from it. They fixed the problem that day though and he was able to come home on Sunday evening, praise the Lord! He can't go back to work until next week once he's recovered but it's nice to have him around the house and to spend some time with him.

    All this has brought me closer to God and caused me to trust Him in everything and to know that He is in total control. Going through this has made me stronger and taught me things that I don't think I would've learned otherwise. And I love the Lord more for always being with me and am so thankful to Him for healing my dad and showing me His power in all that happens. Whatever you're going through, know that God is in control in your life.