East Coast Tour

"Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God,

who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage,

and knowing that while we are at home in the body

we are absent from the Lord--

for we walk by faith, not by sight--

we are of good courage, I say,


and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

"Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
2 Corinthians 5:9

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Blake

It's been 19 wonderful years since Blake lit our house up with his ever-ready humor and tender heart. We're sad to be on the road today while he's at home, but we've all been thinking about him all day!

Blake was born two weeks late, and didn't have a name for the first five days of his life! When he finally got his name, us kids ran around the house chanting,
"Goodness sake his name is Blake, doesn't that just take the cake?"

Blake was lively and entertaining from the minute he was born.

We used to tease that Blake needed to live in a helmet because he was so fearless he was constantly getting hurt.

Blake and his favorite shoes, complete with socks...


One of Luke and Blake's favorite things to do was to style their hair after bathtime. This day's style was mohawks!

At the zoo...look at how long that tongue is!

A test of strength

Blake doing the flag race in a Delaware rodeo

"Hitching" a ride after a long walk...

Happy birthday, Blake!
We love you!

Mom

A thousand definitions pop up when the word MOM comes to mind.

In honor of our mother's 51st birthday today, we thought we'd do a little research into the word.

"Mother": a female parent, a woman in authority...maternal tenderness or affection...something that is an extreme or ultimate example of its kind... -Webster's



"Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos or threes, by dozens or hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends - but only one mother in the whole word." -Wiggins

"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along." -Banning

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -Jordan

"A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best,

but his mother the longest." -Irish Proverb

"Sweater, n: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly". - Bierce

"Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." -Talmage

"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." -Hawkins

"The best thing my mother ever did for her children was to love Daddy." -anonymous

Happy, happy birthday, Mom! We love you!

Beauty from Ashes

Only God can make beauty from ashes, and we have witnessed His beauty in our brothers and sisters in Christ who have shared their bounty to replace our losses!

As we set up for a concert in Hereford, Arizona, Jan Kidd told us she had seen the story of the fire and wanted to share her saddle and matching blanket with us to help replace lost saddles. We were so thrilled!

Our family ministered at the Cowboy Bible Church, in Brush, Colorado on April 7th. Church is held in the local livestock sale barn, and was filled to overflowing that Saturday evening.

Sterling, Lucas, Havilah, Avery and Blake sing an accapella number.

Bristol plays the penny whistle on "My Jesus I Love Thee".

After our last song, the most amazing thing happened! Tim Stutzman announced to the audience and us that the church had a surprise for our family.

We watched in amazement as they brought out five saddles, saddle pads, saddle blankets, bridles, a halter and lead!

Jim and Bristol exchanged smiles as the tack was brought out and displayed. There were tears in many eyes!

Tack lined up along the arena panels.

Lowell Woodward added two of his own saddles to our bountiful gifts. The smiles were abundant that night!

Havilah and Sterling tried out saddles for size.

Bristol found the perfect fit!

We all felt the love of God in a tangible way through the outpouring of generosity from these special folks.

L-R: Jim, Tim Stutzman, Bristol, Blake, Avery, Lucas, Havilah, Sterling and Joel Chisum.

The tack on display.

Jim and Kathy, and our dear friends, Lana and Tim Stutzman, who organized the tack shower. The prayer of Pastor Mark, from Gothenburg, Nebraska, was that God would make the loss of our possessions in the barn fire to be an opportunity for blessing and abundance beyond our losses. We have seen God answer that prayer so richly!
The blessings just didn't stop there!

On Wednesday, April 16th, Mardel Connell brought gifts from friends in Central Nebraska whose generosity reached across the miles.

Bristol and Havilah received grain buckets, hoof picks, lead ropes, brushes and halters!

They even sent a saddle blanket and bridle for me! (Kathy)

Avery received a beautiful saddle and breast collar.

Blake received a lead rope and a hoof pick.

Sterling's gifts were a bozel and bridle.

The very happy crew with Mardel in the center.

Our insurance company settled with us, and we were pleased with the settlement. We still have a lot to clean up and many rebuilding plans to make, but we have received gifts and cards and prayers from across the nation. God can undoubtedly make beauty from ashes! We received a total of eleven saddles; one for every member of our family, including son-in-law, Brandon.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO EACH ONE WHO BLESSED US!

Posted by Kathy