Andrew and Kori

Cake Dots

2012-02-06T16:58:00.000-05:00

I am not a huge fan of cake... I've just never like it. But when I was in Starbucks not to long ago, I tried on of their new cake pops, and I LOVED it! So, I decided I was going to try and recreate them. :)

After looking online and a using few ideas from different recipes I found, I created this very simple, easy as can be, recipe to make cake dots.

I love recipes that allow you to be creative and don't limit you. This is one of them. There are so many different combinations of cake and icing mixtures you can use, different ways to decorate them, you can choose to dip them in chocolate or you can just leave them as cake dots. {personally, I don't see why you wouldn't dip them in chocolate... the more chocolate the better! ...but to each their own, I guess. :)} You really can't go wrong with these. There is no wrong way to do it!

They just melt in your mouth!

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
3/4 container of icing
2 bags of candy melting chocolates
sprinkles (optional)
white chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Directions:

Bake cake mix according to box directions. Let the cake cool. Then, cut large sections and put in separate bowl and break up with a fork. Then slowly add spoonfuls of icing and mix into the cake until it is gooey and moist and there is no visible icing bits. {I find it easiest to do this a little bit at a time. Saves a huge mess!}

Next, take small portions of cake/icing mixture and roll into balls and put on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Refrigerate the cake balls for at least an hour.

Melt chocolates according to package directions. Then take chilled cake balls and dip into chocolate. Set dipped balls back on the wax paper lined baking sheet and decorate them to your liking. :) If you are going to use sprinkles or anything that will not stay on by itself, you will need to decorate while the chocolate is still wet. It dries quickly so have everything ready to do it right away. If you are going to drizzle them with white chocolate, wait until they have dried and hardened, then use melted white chocolate and just simply drizzle it over the

Then the best part... EAT THEM! :)

Mom

2012-02-05T11:51:00.002-05:00

Today is my Mom's 50th birthday. Yep 50. She doesn't look 50 does she?! :)

Happy Birthday, Mommy! I love you so very much! <3

Florida Update

2012-01-31T11:22:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been busy. Andrew and I have both had very full schedules and so I have had little time to sit down and blog. Andrew's job working for a large commercial construction company has been an absolute blessing. He is really enjoying the consistent hours, and experience he is getting working for such a big company. I have been working, usually, 4 days a week as a teacher at The First Academy, and I have really enjoyed that as well.

This past weekend we had our first tournament out at Disney. It is one of the biggest we will play in this season, and out of 32 teams, my girls came in 4th! ...not bad for their first time ever playing together. :) I am looking forward to the rest of the season. It has been such a privilege being able to coach these girls. :)

Yesterday's weather report. 70 degrees in Seward, NE and 68 degrees where we are in Windermere, FL.

One thing we are not very certain about, is how much longer we are going to be able to be down here. Like honestly, what is going on with the weather up north!? I'm beginning to wonder if Al gore was right about global warming! (...just kidding, but seriously.) 70 degrees in Nebraska in January!? What is up with that?! If this weather keeps up, we are going to have to go back sooner than planned...and neither one of us want that. So, sorry to my friends and family who are loving this strange weather, but Andrew and I are both down here praying that winter hits soon. It's not that we aren't happy for you, but to quote my husband "that is just not right!" :)

Isaiah 45:6-7

2012-01-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

Sunrise over Lake Butler. 1.17.2012

6:57 A.M.

"That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness,

I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord do all these things."

Isaiah 45:6-7

Capital One Bowl

2012-01-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

This year Nebraska was selected to play in the Capital One Bowl, which coincidentally is played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Once we found out they were playing there, we started looking for tickets. The tickets were sold out, but 4 days before the game, someone graciously gave 4 tickets to my dad. So we were able to go watch the huskers play!

It was an absolutely beautiful day for football. We were sitting on the South carolina side, so we had a perfect view of the "sea of red"

Nebraska scored the first touchdown. :)

My best friend, Allison is a diver at the University of South Carolina. She and Andrew did a lot of smack talking leading up to the game.

Even though Nebraska didn't come out with the win, we still had fun. And it was so wonderful to be together! :)

Life as of late.

2012-01-03T23:18:00.002-05:00

Hi from beautiful, sunny, Orlando, Florida.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and New Year. Helloooo 2012!

Andrew and I are absolutely loving life in Florida. The first 2 weeks we've been here have been like vacation. Andrew didn't have to work, we could sleep in, and we got to spend ALL day with each other. It was so amazing and just what we needed after Andrew's busy work schedule this fall. Thank you, Lord, for time off!

The first week we were down here, the temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s! So we took full advantage of that and spent lots of time out in the sun by the pool and at the lake.

Now we are settling into "real" life again. We both started work today. God has blessed Andrew with an incredible seasonal job down here, working for a large commercial construction company, as a foreman. He said he is learning a lot and really liked it so far. I am working at a small private school as a substitute and I amabsolutely loving it. I had lot of fun interacting with the kids and teaching and being called Mrs. Wissmann today, it took me some time to get used to. :) I am also coaching a 14 and under club volleyball team, which I am extremely excited about! I've missed coaching so much, and am so glad the Lord provided this opportunity for me while we are here.

And this weekend we are planning to move out to where we will be living while we are here. {pictured above} Not a bad view to wake up to every morning, eh?!

"And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Acts 20:32

Christmas Snapshots

2011-12-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

This year was a special Christmas. Since moving to Nebraska, the time I get to spend at home with my family is something that I cherish, even more than I did before. Our whole family {cousins, aunts and uncles included} had not been all together since our wedding. And even then, we were still missing Pat, my cousin Kelley's husband who was deployed overseas. And Ryder, who was not born yet! So, like I said, this year was special.

We arrived in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. We left Nebraska at 2 am on Tuesday morning, after taking a short 2 hour nap. Monday night, we played volleyball at a local gym with Andrew's family until late-- call us crazy, but you can't beat spending time with family, and it was totally worth it!

The first day we drove 16+ hours to Birmingham, Alabama. My cousin and her husband live there, and they were very nice to let us stay at their place for the night. The second day of driving was much easier, only 8 hours. Thank you for all who prayed for safe travels. We are thankful for God's protection as we drove, especially after not getting much sleep. :)

Ryder, the cutest little Christmas Elf. :)

Andrew got his banjo out one night to play for my aunts dad. {pictured} he loves the banjo, and always wants Andrew to play. Ryder was fascinated by it. I think we got a future banjo player in the works!

We spend Christmas eve with my Dad's side of the family. This is always a highlight, and as I said before, this year being together was extra special.

Kelley, Ryder and Pat.

Aren't they adorable?!

The Dan Knuth Family

All the grand kids...and the great-grand child. :)

My Family.

Brothers

Ryder was so funny to watch open gifts. Usually he cared more about the paper and the box, but there were a few toys that caught his attention.

Andrew, Kori, Katie, Andrew. :)

We played this game at the end of the night for a bonus Christmas present-- $42! It got pretty competitive, and we laughed a whole lot!

Gramps

Katie and Kelley were the final 2.

and Katie won. :)

Christmas morning is always spent at my Mom's side of the family. But first we get up and have a family gift exchange. Having Andrew here to share it with us this year was totally awesome. My mom surprised us with an early anniversary gift, a scrapbook from when we were born to our honeymoon. I wish you could all see it because it is just amazing.

Gabby got a silver name tag for her collar from Tiffany's.

.....if you thought I was serious, please flick yourself in the ear...

After our family gift exchange we go over to my grandma's for our traditional Christmas breakfast.

The boys spent most of the morning shooting oranges with bb guns...boys.

Fulmer Family

Grandma and the grand kids... and great grand son, Hayden.

Can I just say, that this man is absolutely amazing?! I am so thankful for him! And I loved being able to spend our first Christmas together. :)

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Plans

2011-12-16T11:33:00.000-05:00

Shortly after we got married, Andrew brought up the idea of moving to Florida for the winter. At the time, we were talking about it more hypothetically, or jokingly. Seriously, but not seriously. More like a far off dream or fantasy. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend the ~~frigid~~ Nebraska winter months, in warm sunny Florida?!

Every now and then we would talk about it, and somewhere in those few times we talked about it, it went from "that would be so cool" to "yeah, we're definitely doing this!" And since then God has opened doors, arranged opportunities and provided necessities that we needed to make it all possible. We both will have jobs, we will have our own house that is not too far from my parents and best of all, we will get to spend at least 2 and a half wonderful months with my family, which is totally awesome.
Though, we are DEFINITELY going to miss our family up here. But, winter is a great time for a trip to Florida... right, family?!?! :)

{we'll think of all you northerners as we lay on the beach, and soak up the sun...hmm was that mean? :)}

So, now the crazy the packing has begun. We're not taking ALL of our things, but we are taking most of our clothes. Florida weather is so crazy. It could be 40 degrees one week and 80 the next. Thus, the need for variety in our wardrobe.

We'd appreciate prayers for safety as we drive. It's going to be quite the trip :)

Florida, here we come!

Snow Day

2011-12-07T11:52:00.000-05:00

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen it snow. I've been snow skiing a number of times, so I've been in snow a lot. But actually SEE the white stuff fall from the sky? That's been a rare occurrence in my life. Saturday morning, it started snowing. I felt like a kid on Christmas, as I sat at the window watching the snow slowly cover the ground. I would try and get something done, but I'd always end up back at whatever window was closets to me. :)

It was the perfect day to stay inside, sip hot chocolate, and do some fun winter-y baking with my husband. :)

Making Apple Cake. Andrew got to chop up all the apples. Doing anything in the kitchen is much more fun when you get to do it together. :)

Once the snow stopped, we went out to enjoy the winter wonderland. It totally feels like Christmas now. Just like they describe in all the Christmas songs! I've always listened to those songs while it was 80 degrees and sunny outside, now I know what they're talking about. :)

It was most definitely one of my favorite days ever. Snow is truly one of God's most beautiful creations.

Asher David

2011-12-01T09:13:00.000-05:00

I have a nephew! And just look at his precious little face!

Born November 30th

at 10:35 am.

7 Lbs

Now I have a November birthday buddy in the Wissmann Family!

Congratulations, Josiah and Abi

and, big sister, Joanna!

Dijon Chicken Linguine with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Toasted Almonds

2011-11-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

This recipe is outstanding! I was kind of on the fence about trying it, even though the first time I read it I thought it sounded delicious. Last night, I tried it for the first time, and it was a hit! I altered it a tiny bit, but it was still great! {I will share the changes down at the bottom.} This recipe is definitely a keeper... you know how I know?! Andrew ate 3 out of the 3 chicken breasts! Which means... NO LEFTOVERS! Yay! He said it tasted like something you'd have at a fancy restaurant. :)

Serves 4

350 gram package fresh linguine, cooked
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chanterelle mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to fry the chicken until completely cooked.
Remove chicken from pan and hold in a warm oven.

Add to the pan:

4 oz white wine

Simmer until volume is reduced by half. Then add:

2 cups whipping cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to season.

Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon. Return Chicken to the sauce, add the chanterelle mushrooms and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Serve over cooked linguine. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.

Okay, So the changes...

I doubled the sauce recipe. For reasons I will mention in just a second. But, to be honest, if I made it again, I probably wouldn't completely double it, it made a TON of sauce! That's the only part of this meal we had left over!
I didn't serve it with Linguine. Minor detail, but, this past weekend, Andrew's grandpa gave us a big box of potatoes from his garden. We want to use them before they go bad, so I decided to try it over mashed potatoes instead! And it was definitely a plus. We used the extra sauce as a gravy for the potatoes and it was Mmm-mmm good! Next time, I'll probably try it over pasta though, because that sounds really great, too! ps. It also made a great dipping sauce for the roasted asparagus we had with it, too. :)
To make it healthier, I used milk instead of heavy whipping cream. To help make up for the loss of volume, I mixed some flour into the milk before hand to help thicken it. We thought it tasted great, and we could eat it in peace knowing that we weren't consuming 100s of extra calories in fat. So the heavy whipping cream was not missed, in my opinion. But, if you prefer the richness of cream, more power to ya! Go for it!

And that's it! If you decide to try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it! We sure did!

27 years

2011-11-17T12:26:00.000-05:00

Happy 27th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

I am so grateful for the wonderful example of a God honoring, loving marriage that has been set by my awesome parents. I pray that Andrew and I can follow in your footsteps and enjoy the same bliss for 27 years!

I love you!

Apartment Tour

2011-11-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

Many of you have been asking for pictures of our now home. Well here it is-- our humble abode.

Our Kitchen- complete with awesome kitchen aid mixer, krueig coffee maker, and, my husbands 2nd love, the vitamix. :)

Our living room

While I was in Florida, JoAnn fabrics was having a huge sale on their christmas decorations. Christmas is my favvvvvorite time of year, so I bought the Joy and Noel wood cut outs because they were so cute, AND 65% off... Couldn't resist! And I put them out already, just for fun. :)

oh and ps. Those roses, are the roses Andrew gave me the night he proposed. :)

Reminders of that awesome March day. :)

Our Bathroom

And Lastly, our bedroom.

Although, it's nothing glamours, it is ours. Newlywed budgets are tight, yo! But we are so thankful for how God has blessed us in our first months of marriage. :)

Help??

2011-11-14T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hello my beautiful readers! I hope you've all had a glorious day today. I've got a little favor to ask of you! Remember, Ryder?! Well, he's been entered into a Pretty Babies contest on facebook and we need YOUR help to help him win! I'm not sure on all the details, but I know if he wins, he gets a gift card to babies R us! And we all know baby's {and mommy's} love that! So If you could just click this like right here to vote.

VOTE HERE!

If you have facebook, all you do is click the link, and LIKE the photo. Don't like the album, you must like Ryder's photo for the vote to count. He is photo #4, it is the photo identical to the one on this post.

If you don't have facebook, don't worry about it! Thanks for reading my blog anyways! :)

Let your light shine

2011-11-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works

and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Happy Birthday

2011-11-10T10:59:00.008-05:00

Happy Birthday to my little {bigger} brother, Bryce!

I love you, Brother!

"He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and

awesome things which your eyes have seen."

Deuteronomy 10:21

Beef and Barley

2011-11-04T10:31:00.000-05:00

My poor hubs has not been feeling 100% lately, plus it's been crazy cold...perrrrfect soup weather. So, I went on Pinterest {which has become my favorite place for recipes, if you're not on it, you should check it out!} and found this little gem of a recipe for beef and barley soup. I'd say it was a hit, because Andrew had 3 huge bowls of it!

I changed the recipe slightly to cater to my husband's liking. I added more meat, more barley, doubled the carrots, celery and potatoes, added peas and omitted the mushrooms. Okay.. maybe taking out the mushrooms was for me. I despise those slimy little things. But really the rest was for Andrew :) He likes really hearty soup {less broth, more substance} and this recipe is definitely a keeper.

ps. Check out our super adorable new plates I got from TJ Maxx for 4 dollars! They make perfect little charger plates for some added cuteness! I just love them! :)

Ingredients

450 g (1 lb) Striploin or Ribeye Steak, trimmed excess fat, cubed (about 1 ½-inch pieces) 
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Large Yellow Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Pack (200g) Crimini Mushrooms, quartered
2 Carrots, peeled and diced
3 Ribs Celery, diced
2 Medium Potatoes, diced
1 Bay Leaf
½ Cup Barley
6 to 7 Cups of Beef Stock
Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over high heat. Brown the beef cubed in batches, and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-high and melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic, and stirring frequently until it is golden brown. Mix in the mushroom, carrot, celery, potatoes, bay leaf, with a little salt and pepper. Continue to stir the vegetable mixture with a wooden spoon, for about 10 to 12 minutes. Then add the beef and 6 cups of beef stock and the barley.

Bring the soup to a boil, remove any impurities, and reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 1-½ hours. Remove the bay leaf and thin the soup with beef stock, if necessary. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve warm with some chopped parsley.

Enjoy! :)

The most precious baby boy

2011-11-02T14:03:00.010-05:00

Meet Ryder. The most adorable baby boy in the world, and the first grandchild in the Knuth family. A couple of weeks ago I got to spend a whole week with him and my cousin Kelley in Orlando. It was too short, but I'm so glad I got to spend that time with them. My camera hardly ever stopped clicking, he just looked so cute ALL the time! :)

Harley Man

Ryder and Great-Uncle Brad {My Dad}

While I was there, he learned to sit up all by himself. It was so neat to watch him learn to support himself and learn what he could and couldn't do while he was sitting up.

Bath Time!

We took him to a pumpkin patch one day to try and get some pictures. Have you ever tried to get a 5 month old to look at a camera after you've just set them on hay surrounded by all kinds of new things!?! haha It's definitely much harder than people make it look. He was fascinated by the hay, and the pumpkins and by some of his facial expressions, let us know that he was annoyed that we were trying to make him stop playing with them. The pictures are still adorable, even if we couldn't really get him to look at us! ha :)

"ooooh what's this stuff?!"

Sleepy boy

I love that smile! I cannot wait for Christmas! :)

Ps. Today happens to be his 6 month Birthday! Happy Birthday, Ryder Man!

Wedding Week

2011-10-30T10:28:00.003-05:00

Better late than never right?! Truth is, the camera card that held these pictures was left in Florida after we came back from our honeymoon, and I didn't get it back until about a month ago. Saturday marks 8 months since I married that handsome hunk of mine. (I know, 8 months already?!!) Time is flyyyying. And I am loving every minute of this awesome gift, that is marriage. :)

Here's some random pictures from the week of the wedding...

For weeks, I was walking around my house in my wedding shoes trying to break them in. How awful would it be to get blisters on your wedding day from unworn shoes?! Yikes!

The girls had their bridesmaid shoes sent to my house, so when they arrived we put on our shoes and walked around for a while. ;)

The amazing, Anna Beasley. I tell her all the time that without her, my wedding would have been crazy! Not only did she make 8, oooh so delicious, cheesecakes for the rehearsal dinner, She also single handily made almost all of the bridesmaids dresses. I don't know much about sewing, but pretty much, I gave Anna a dress that I had found at J Crew online, and she recreated it, with no pattern. I don't think that's very easy to do. :) You cannot tell the difference what-so-ever between the J crew dress and the Anna dress. Their incredible. Not to mention she also created her own pattern for the adorable flower girl dresses as well.

Anyways, on with my bragging about Anna-- She also sewed a last minute vest and tie for our ring bearer a few days before the wedding, made a runner for the unity candle table the night before the wedding, did the bridesmaids hair, and did my hair for the wedding (which was also a completely last minute decision, I'm talking like 3 days before the wedding!) Seriously, I have no clue what I would have done without this girl!

oooooh my mouth is watering just looking at this picture! Yummy!

My soon-to-be (now) sisters, who also helped with the cheesecakes. :)

"Many hands make light work" So true! I am so thankful for the help of these awesome people who helped with the cutting, tying and assembling of our programs!

Friday Morning, we had the bridesmaid luncheon at the Country Club of Orlando. (Reception site)

Bridesmaids

Cute little bridal cookies! :)

The Mother's

Bridal Party

Then Friday night, the Rehearsal and rehearsal diner!

These are those incredible cheesecakes I was talking about!

My handsome man. And his last night as my fiance. :)

We played the shoe game. And got a little spending money for our honeymoon for every question we answered correct. :)

Prayer time

My cousin, and Matron of Honor, Katie. :)

My favorite boys.. My cousin, Daniel, Andrew, and brother Bryce. :)

China Buddies! :)

My Family. ;)

I'm hoping to blog some photos of our home, and life since this wonderful week soon...So stay tuned. :)

"The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad."

Psalm 126:3

Old Threshers

2011-09-15T16:09:00.009-05:00

It's become a tradition for me to spend labor day weekend at old threshers reunion in Iowa. Andrew's family has been going for years, but this was only my 3rd year. It's a fun filled weekend, full of old time farming machines and engines, antique tractors, horses, crafts, homemade goodies, and the list goes on... Basically, anything old timey or antique, they have it!

They bring in several groups for entertainment, one of which happened to be my favorite singing family, with the hottest banjo player around. ;)

We loved spending time with Andrew's grandparents, who always make it down for the reunion. Grandma brings along lots of yummy goodies... ":)

Andrew and I's 6 month anniversary fell over the weekend. So on that day, we decided to reenact our wedding toast with Sarsaparilla's [root beer, for those like me, who have never heard of such a thing]

Antique John Deere Tractor

We rode in the engine of an old train that ran off of hot coals. It was amazing to see how it worked. And it felt good to be up there on a chilly day! ;)

We also took a turn riding in the caboose.

The weekend ended with the horse pull. I'd never been to one before, and I'll say, I was incredibly impressed. Watching the horses as they tried to pull thousands of pounds was amazing. Not gonna lie, I did not like watching the one's who didn't work together, and struggled to pull the sled. But, when both horses worked together, they were able to pull the sled without struggle. It was such a neat expeirence!

6 months ago today...

2011-09-05T11:54:00.017-05:00

...this purrrrty ring found it's way to my little ring finger...

...and we said 'I do'....

And life could not be better. People say that marriage is great, but I never knew it could be THIS wonderful, and amazing, and fantastic, and incredible and magical, and well you get the point!

A little bit tropical in Nebraska...

2011-08-29T11:28:00.002-05:00

Fact: Before I was married, I rarely ever cooked. I can remember 3 times off the top of my head that I made a meal, by myself, for my family. And one of those times I was forced to by a school project. So, needless to say, my poor, love-struck, newly wed husband was pretty much doomed when we got married, as far as good cooking and good food goes. Hey love conquers all, right?! :)

Anyways, for their 25th wedding anniversary, my parents went to Hawaii. They had lots of good food over there, but when they came back, my dad raved about one meal in particular. He then recreated it for us. And I helped...cut up the pineapple. ;)

Since Andrew and I have been married, I've made it several times. It's one of our favorites, and it is super healthy, fresh and delicious! And easy to make, too!

You start with your fish. I personally like it best with Mahi Mahi. It's my favorite kind of fish because it doesn't taste very fishy, and it's just flat out good. That is how my dad originally made it and how he had it in Hawaii. But Nebraska hasn't caught on to the amazing-ness of mahi mahi yet, because I can't find it anywhere. So, I've been using frozen Tilapia. Honestly, you can made it with whatever kind of fish you want. My dad has even done it with salmon before. So whatever fish you prefer will probably taste good with it, but if you have access to Mahi, USE IT! it's the best. :)

Next, you chop up your pineapple. I get the fresh pineapple they have already cut up in the produce section. It's much easier than buying an entire pineapple and it's still fresh. It needs to be the fresh stuff. Canned pineapple just doesn't taste the same. The amount of pineapple you use is pretty much to your liking.

Next comes the Salsa. Fresh, all natural Salsa from the produce section. It must be fresh. Again, the stuff in the jars just won't taste right. Oh my goodness, I seriously could drink this stuff! It is my absolute favorite salsa in the world. Think, I'm exaggerating? I'm not. Ask my husband. I down this stuff!
I usually use about half the container for the two of us. {Partly because I want to eat the rest with chips.} ;) It all depends on how many you're serving and how much you want. Don't ya'll just love my measurements?! lol

The end product. Yummy, amazing, goodness.

My asparagus recipe is super complicated. ;) You wash and break off the dry ends, spread them on a heavy baking sheet, drizzle a little olive oil over them {and then toss them a bit to get them covered} sprinkle them with salt and cracked black pepper, and stick them in the oven! So hard, right?! I baked these at 400 degrees for just under 10 minutes. Bigger stalks will go for 10-15 minutes. You just want them to be tender. It's delicious.

Lastly I cook my fish. Just drizzled a little olive oil, {you could use butter, too, if you prefer that} in the pan to keep them from sticking. Even though it's a non-stick pan, fish will still stick if you don't put something in the pan. Crazy little critters. You cook them till they're white all the way through {2-3 minutes on each side for tilapia, other fish will vary depending on size and thickness}

And wahhhla! A perfectly healthy, amazingly good meal! I also cook up some brown rice, according to the package, and serve it with the fish and pineapple salsa on top. It brings that refreshing taste of the islands right to our little apartment in Nebraska. Enjoy. :)

Florida

2011-08-16T10:42:00.002-05:00

Wow! We are overwhelmed by the responses to our last post! We had no idea so many people view our blog... and from all over the world!! So cool! {If you haven't commented on our last post... pleeeease go do it! It's so neat to "meet" everyone who reads our blog!}

As promised I will try to blog more often. But probably not this week... haha :) Andrew and I have been in Florida since last wednesday. Andrew left last night to head back to Nebraska {sad day}, but I am here for another week. It's been so wonderful spending time with my family and friends. I was in a wedding Friday night of a friend that I used to work with, and it was super fun getting to catch up with all my coworkers, and introduce Andrew to them.

After the wedding we went straight over to New Smyrna Beach for the rest of the weekend. {more pictures to come later} We were on the 11th floor, and had the most incredible view. It was awesome.

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound,

and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

they will sing before the Lord."

Psalm 96:11-13

Attention Readers...

2011-08-04T11:44:00.005-05:00

...It is time for you to identify yourselves! Whether you are a regular visitor, have commented before, just happened to find our blog, or are one of those lurkers who never comment, or leave anonymous comments-- now is your time to SPEAK UP! We'd love to know who you are! We get lots of comments from people asking us to blog more... and my cousin Kelley has been asking me to blog something for the past 3 days.. so here is my blog. {There will be more where this came from if you will participate in my fun little activity. :)}

If you'd be so kind... leave us a comment telling us...

::Who you are::

::Where you are in the world::

::How you found our little corner of the web::

and just for fun...

::Something you enjoy doing::

Please?? :)

Example--

My name is Kori

I am from Orlando, Florida... but I married this handsome guy {Pictured above :)} and moved to Seward, Nebraska.

I write this blog.

I love swimming, and traveling, taking pictures, anything that has to do with sports, and spending time with my amazing husband.

Got it?! Okay... ready?? GO!

Our Honeymoon

2011-07-25T18:07:00.000-05:00

After our fairy tale wedding day, we set off on our first adventure together, to the beautiful island of St. Lucia for a wonderful week in the sun! I cannot say enough amazing things about our honeymoon, it was the most beautiful place I have ever been--pictures just don't do it justice.

We had to leave leave our hotel at 4:30 am to drive down to Miami to catch our flight. We were so excited to leave, so the early morning didn't seem to phase us. :)

Hello, crystal blue water! :)

The main pool at our Hotel. You can walk right in from the pavillion restaurant if you'd like. The Pavillion was kind of the main restaurant, they had a buffet at each meal time.

The beach

Our First day, there was a mini market around the pool. Vendors from the island brought handmade items in to sell. It was really neat.

There were several fun beach activities we could do, sailing included.

Each night they had something going on in a little court yard by the pool. The first night was just a little cocktail party before dinner began at all the restaurants.

Catching the Sunset...and a kiss before dinner. :)

One day we took a boat around the island and went snorkling. Andrew had never been before so it was fun to teach him. We had SO much fun and the water was absolutely beautiful! We saw lots of tropical fish and got a really bad sun burn!

Chillin' on the boat.

The resort had lots of daily activities and games for guests to participate in. Andrew really hit it off with this guy, named Ricky. He was the events coordinator at the resort and he liked to rope Andrew into doing everything, on the talent show night he wanted Andrew to go up on stage and do push-ups for his talent! And one day he got BOTH of us haggled into a couples pool relay. He was a funny guy.

Andrew's favorite thing he got pulled into was the 100 yard dash on the beach--which he won by a long shot. :)

We did lots of swimming, and lots of laying by the pool and lots of EATING! I could seriously do an entire post on the amazing food! Our resort was all inclusive, so we could go eat anytime we wanted as many times as we wanted--and believe me, we took full advantage of that! There was always food somewhere to eat at one of the restaurants and it was all SO good!

As part of the breakfast buffet they had an omelet and pancakes station.--This is Kirton. He made our breakfast every morning. He got to know us pretty well because Andrew would visit him several times at breakfast and he always ordered a HUGE omelet. And several pancakes. We were very entertained by him, and I think he was pretty entertained by us, too! lol

One of Andrew's breakfast plates. On average he had two 4 egg omelets, 7 to 8 pancakes, a couple pieces of bacon, 2 fruit smoothies, 2 yogurt cups and several glasses of some kind of juice.

They had a open flame pizza kitchen that had pizza all day long. So if we ever wanted a little snack, we could always go grab some pizza!

Each night we got to dress up and go out to dinner. It was fun after a day on the beach to get to dress up nice and go out to a nice dinner with my new hubby. :)

Before Eating dinner at Neptunes-- as Restaurant that was open air and right on the beach. Talk about incredible!

The resort had so 7 different restaurants that were open for dinner at night, and as a bonus we could take a shuttle to one of the 2 other Sandals Resorts on the Island and enjoy one of there restaurants! Which, we only did once, because the restaurants at our resort were so good! They had places that served food from many different cultures, French, Japanese, Irish, Italian, and Mediterranean. Every place was unique and incredible delicious. It was so fun to be able to go into a restaurant and order a 4 course meal and walk out without having to worry about the price. {I'm weird and took pictures of all of our meals because they were so incredible! And pretty! I won't bore you with too many} :)

Neptunes-- Mahi Mahi with fruit salsa. SO good!

Our "blackanese" chef at the Japanese restaurant, Kimono's--Japanese food with some island twists, like grilled pineapple. It was SO good!

As if the crystal blue water wasn't beautiful enough, watching the sunsets were even more beautiful! Our room had a great view and we loved watching the sunset each night. Sunsets are one of God's greatest creations!

We made some amazing memories on our honeymoon, and look forward to making more as we start our new life together! Anyone looking for a great honeymoon spot or vacation, I highly recommend St. Lucia! :)

Wedding Picture Mega Post

2011-06-21T13:48:00.001-05:00

As a little girl, I always dreamed of this day, and I dreamed of the guy that I would be standing next to. Well, our wedding day was a fairy tale, and Andrew is a better man than I could have ever thought I deserved. God truly has blessed me with an incredible man, and amazing parents who made our fairy tale day possible. I am so thankful. It went by so quickly, but we enjoyed every minute of it. All we have left now are the pictures. Our photographer, Michele Moreman, did a great job of capturing fun details and special moments of the day. I had a hard time picking a few favorites to share... so I picked a lot. Enjoy. :)

KJK to AMW 3-5-11

My amazing friends, and bridesmaids. <3

Flower Girls

My handsome groom. :)

Our Wedding Party

I am so thankful that my Grandpa was there to see us get married. Last month he went Home to be with Lord.

My Cousins, Katie and Kelley.

My Best Friends, Allison and Lindsey.

New Sisters! :)

Groom's Cake-- Huskers, of course!

My amazing parents.

The Head Table.

Our First Dance. <3

Going after the Garter-- It was quite comical. My cousin, Daniel, ended up with it. :)

....and we lived happily ever after. :)

The End.

"But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you."

Matthew 6:33

More Wedding Pictures...

2011-03-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

...Our photographer posted a sneak peak of our wedding pictures on her blog! Check them out, here! :)

March 5th, 2011

2011-03-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

To see more pictures of our special day, see Here and here and here.

More to come soon! :)

How to make beignets...

2011-02-07T13:49:00.001-05:00

Step 1: Find a handsome guy to help you mix them up.

Step 2: Pour the dough on to a well floured surface. Use flour generously-- it's sticky stuff!

Step 3: Roll out the dough and cut it into little squares

Step 4: Make sure your oil is at least 370 degrees!

Step 5: Drop your beignets into the oil, and turn them continually until they're golden brown

Step 6: Sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar.

(You can just stop there and eat it if that's all you want.)

Step 7: Add some strawberries, ice cream and cool whip for a little extra goodness! :)

Step 8: ENJOY! :)

2 months from today....

2011-01-05T11:21:00.006-05:00

....I will marry this incredibly attractive, amazing man! :)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T16:38:00.003-05:00

Mere Christmas From my family to yours! Hope you all had a very special Christmas!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord"

Luke 2:11

Bridal Shower!

2010-12-23T22:50:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon I had another bridal shower! It was at my house and hosted by these beauitful ladies.

The delicious food! ...seriously, it was amazing!

Dessert!

The Prayer Tree! ..Each ornament had a prayer request for Andrew and I on it, and each person at the shower took one to pray for.

Grandma, Mom, Aunt Bootie and Cousin Shelby

These are my beautiful best friends!

Christmas came early! ;)

Instead of a card, each person was told to bring an ornament for Andrew and I for our first Christmas together next year! We got so many beautiful ornaments that I cannot wait to use next year! But, this was one of my favorites! ...It's a moose? or a reindeer? with Wissmann written on it! I LOVE it! :)

We now have ALL of our everyday china! Yay! :)

My dear friend, Allison, was nice enough to take on the task of writing everything down!

Friends from Highschool, Allison and Molly.

My girls from work!

Audrey

My little ones... I have baby sat them for 5 years! I'm going to miss them so much when I move!

I am surrounded by so many wonderful people! And I am so thankful for all the women who worked so hard to put this together, and for everyone who came! I am very blessed! Thank ya'll so much! :)

Branson in Pictures! :)

2010-12-21T20:50:00.003-05:00

I spent a week in Branson this month. My whole family was able to go, and it was really fun to be able to spend a few days with my family, and Andrews family together. We were able to see several shows, and go to Silver Dollar City! I have SO many pictures! But here are just a few from my week there! Enjoy.

Two of my favorite guys!

My bigger little Brother! :)

I get to marry him. :)

My FAVORITE show in Branson!

Branson Landing

Did you know, that if the "hot now" sign is on at Krispy Kreme, you can walk in and get a FREE donut?! Yeah, I didn't either. As if my trip to Branson wasn't already awesome enough, I discovered this wonderful fact! :)

Bridal Showers

2010-10-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I had my first bridal showers! And they were both SO much fun! Andrew family threw us a pampered chef shower, and Andrew's church threw us a very fun, husker themed shower. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking... :)

The pampered chef shower was in Andrews home town of Milford.

We put together a game with questions about Andrew and I, and the options of "Andrew, Kori, Both or Neither" for the answers. It was fun to see how everybody answered the questions

We made some sort of fresh pineapple torte? I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was good! And the pineapple was fresh from Hawaii! Yes, it was brought from Hawaii that day by our wonderful pampered chef consultant, Mandi. She and her husband had just returned from a mission trip.

As Andrew and I were cooking, Rachel asked us questions about ourselves, most memorable moments, how we met, etc....

TA DA! :)

The finished display! :)

We are so thankful for everyone who came to our pampered chef shower. It was a very fun evening and we are beyond excited to set up our kitchen with our new pampered chef items! :)

Anna Beasley, a friend from Andrew's church threw us a husker themed shower. :) Being from Florida, I am a BIG Florida Gator fan! So, she thought it'd be good to welcome me into the Husker family! :)

How well do you know Andrew and I?!

After answering some questions that Anna asked Andrew, to get the 'prizes' I had to shoot different types of sports balls in to something. Like a basketball into a laundry basket.

a baseball into a jar!

a golf ball into an empty coke box.

Soccer ball into a laundry basket.

Ping pong ball into a cup

Football into a laundry basket

And had to pass a ball into the laundry basket.

It was a very fun, and creative game! I missed quite a few of them, but luckily I got second chances for those! :)

The guest book

Liz Williams shared the devotional. She did a great job of incorporating the theme into it. She said that God is our coach. And my whole life my dad has been my quarter back, and he is a seasoned well-experienced quarter back. But now, I am switching to a rookie quarter back in Andrew, and while he is good, he is a rookie and will make mistakes. I really appreciated what she shared.

Another game-- How many miles exactly are between our houses?!

At the end of the shower, I got the best surprise of all-- ANDREW! My mom and I flew in that morning, but because Andrew was working, he wasn't able to pick me up so I hadn't seen him at all since I had gotten there. He showed up around 9:30 pm just as the shower was getting over, with a dozen roses. I was SO excited to see him! He is just wonderful, isn't he?! :)

Thank you so much, Anna and Beasley family! <3

We are so deeply thankful for the love and support of our friends and family. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. :)

For more pictures and a much better summary of the husker shower visit here. :) Mrs. Grady did a great job writing about all the details of the shower and they got some really fun pictures.

Meet My Family.

2010-10-08T11:15:00.003-05:00

I got a comment asking about my family. So, here they are! :)

I am from a family of four. My mom and dad are on the right. I have one brother named Bryce, who is 19. This was the most recent family picture we have, it also includes my grandparents.

Wedding Website

2010-09-23T12:39:00.000-05:00

Check it! :)
http://www.mywedding.com/koriandandrewswedding/

Secrets

2010-09-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

During the incredibly fun reunion concert at Old Threshers, my adorable 3 year old, future little sister, asked if she could play with my phone, so, naturally, I let her. About half way through, I hear "oooh! What's that?!" as my phone is being put in front of my face! In complete shock, I quickly pushed the phone down and looked around to make sure no body saw...especially a certain someone! I whispered in her ear "shhh. That's a secret!"

Later that night at another concert, she had my phone again. She took pictures and played with it the whole service. Afterwards she came up and grabbed my hand and gave me the phone back. She then cupped her hands around her mouth, indicating she wanted to tell me a secret. So I bent down and she said with a huge smile as she nodded her head, "Don't worry tori, I didn't let anyone see your secret!" *Smile*

Don't worry, I have since deleted the picture so that somebody couldn't accidently see it! And now the only person besides my own mom who has seen my "secret" is Charissa! :)

Week in Pictures!

2010-09-15T08:23:00.009-05:00

I spent the past week in Nebraska with my wonderful fian cé! We had a very full week planned, with a wedding, Old Threshers, lots of driving and spending time with family! I flew into the Branson Airport on Thursday and Andrew picked me up. As soon as he picked me up we drove up to Nebraska. We spent the first couple days in Seward with my Grandparents, and in Omaha for the wedding of some friends.

Yes, this is the beautiful place where he proposed to me! Not only do I have many wonderful childhood memories here, I now have the memory of the happiest moment of my life! :)

After the wedding Saturday, we stayed in Omaha. Sunday morning we left VERY early (5:30am) and drove over to Mt. Pleasant, IA for Old Threshers! Josiah, Abi, Dan and Bethany decided they were going to fly over and surprise the family. So Andrew and I drove over and picked them up at the airport in Mt. Pleasant, and then the 6 of us drove to where the family was for Church and surprised them! It was so fun! :)

The concert Sunday afternoon was so much fun! Since the whole family was together, the concert turned into a reunion concert. It was so fun to watch. You could just see the joy on everyones faces!

The boys did dueling banjos.

My handsome man! ♥

I think my favorite part of the concert was when they brought Bethany up on sang "Praise God."

Alaythia truly is Bethany's 'twin!' She can sing it just as fast!

So happy! :)

I enjoyed getting to spend time with Bethany! It was wonderful to see her again!

Wednesday night, the family put on a concert with the Kingery family from Minnesota in Seward. It was a fun-filled night, full of great music! After the concert, we played some late night volleyball with friends in the back yard. It was so fun! I love volleyball! :)

The Kingery Family

It was a wonderful week. And I came home with so many memories and even more sure of the fact that I am marrying into the greatest family! :)

"Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

his love endures forever."

Psalm 106:1

Life

2010-09-10T10:05:00.010-05:00

As many of you have noticed... I have not updated since I announced the wonderful news of Andrew and I's engagement. Since that fabulous event, life has been very busy with wedding planning and traveling and work. And this fall I have been coaching volleyball at the school that I graduated from, so that has kind of filled in the rest of my 'free time' for now.

I know many of you are anxiously awaiting our story. I promise we are working on it! Andrew has been VERY busy and so it has been pretty hard to find a time where we can both sit down and write it together. But don't worry, we are working on it, and it's coming... someday! :) In the mean time, we appreciate your prayers as wedding planning continues and we prepare for our special day on

March 5th, 2011!

ENGAGED!

2010-07-07T09:15:00.006-05:00

Yep! On July 4th, the love of my life asked me to marry him... and I said YES! We are so happy! The details of how the Lord brought us together will definitely be posted later, but for now, here are a few pictures from the proposal! :)

My AMAZING, beautiful ring!

My family has a barn right outside of Seward. We were in Seward all day celebrating the 4th, and after the preformance of "Let Freedom Sing" that evening, Andrew said he wanted to take me out to the barn to shoot some fireworks. So naturally, I went along, and honestly didn't suspect a thing.

When we got there, Andrew asked me to go put the fireworks on the black shelf under the window while he got some punks from the car. Our conversation went a little like this."

Andrew: "Go put the fireworks on the black shelf under the window, I'm gonna grab some punks."

Me: "What window?"

Andrew: "The one with the black shelf"

Me: "What? I don't see any shelves under the windows."

Andrew: "....just go put them in the barn."

Me: "I'm going in the barn?!?!?!"

Well since I didn't know what was going on, I put the fireworks on the black shelf and walked right back out, ready to do some fireworks. I didn't see the little black book sitting on the shelf about 2 feet from where I had put the fireworks. Andrew walked back in and grabbed one firework, lit it off, then walked back in to the barn. I followed him, and then eventually saw the little book sitting there. We looked through it together. It was a scrapbook of us, from the time we first met to present day. It was so beautiful!

When I got to the end of the book, I looked at him, and he got down on one knee and opened a box with the most beautiful ring I have ever seen, and asked me to marry him! And I said YES! :)

Afterwards, we went back to my grandparents house where his family and my family were waiting.

We got lots of hugs!

And text messages

and phone calls!

It was so fun! And I am absoultely thrilled to be engaged to the man of my dreams! We appreciate your prayers as we enter this new exciting phase of life and begin to plan our wedding!

"You have made known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with JOY

in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Psalm 16:11

Crabbing

2010-06-12T18:47:00.002-05:00

A high light of my child hood was going crabbing on the beach every night while we were on vacation. Andrew heard me talk about how much fun we used to have and said that he wanted to try it someday! So while he was here this past week, we went to the beach and stayed until it got dark so he could go crabbing.

Here's how it works....

You wait until it starts to get dark, then you go out on the beach with a flash light, net and bucket.
You have one person use the flash light as a spot light and the other with the net.
The person with the flash light scans the beach for the little monsters.
When one is spotted, the person with the net chases after it and tries to catch it. I should mention that they are extremely quick and change directions often. :)
The person with the net slams the net down onto the sand, trapping the crab underneath the net.
Then someone picks it up while it is still in the net and puts it in the bucket.....And then you repeat the process

We did not have a bucket along so we didn't get to keep any of the crabs Andrew caught. (I don't know that many of them made it through the slamming of the net onto the sand haha) But he did a great job at catching them! He even got pinched and we had a lot of fun! :)

Little Crab waiting by it's hole

His First crab

The Mighty Hunter with his first catch!

Andrew

2010-03-08T10:11:00.014-05:00

Okay, so I've gotten many comments over the past few months asking for more details about my wonderful, wonderful man-- how we met, how long we've known each other etc... I'm not trying to ignore them... because I LOVE talking about Andrew! *smile* I just haven't found the time to put together a post about it. So I hope this little update informs you of some of the things you've been wondering about and I hope you are able to follow it... :)

My grandparents live in Seward, Nebraska, (the same area the Wissmann's are from) and I have been going there every summer and/or fall since I was 5 years old. The 4th of July in Seward was always a highlight of the year for our family (and still is). I spent weeks in Seward in the summers and would often come up in the fall to see the harvest, but I never knew or heard anything about 'the Wissmann Family'. Surprising right?! To think, he was so close all those years, but I never knew who he was.

But anyways, I shared that little bit of background that so you could understand where the connection of Seward, Nebraska and Orlando, Florida comes in.... In 2002, my grandparents and some family friends heard the Wissmanns sing at the county fair in Seward and invited them down to stay with us in Florida and sing. So in February 2003, the Wissmann's travelled down to Florida for a week and I met the love of my life... I was 14 years old.

His family has continued to come down to Florida in February for the past 7 years and I still travel to Nebraska in the summers. But as you can imagine, there are now quite a few more trips happening. And I have enjoyed every special moment I've gotten to spend with him and his family. :)

Andrew and I have been courting/dating/in a relationship (whatever you chose to call it) for the past year and are treasuring this season of life and praying for what God would have for us next. But being 1200 miles apart 90% of the time is very tough. We look forward to the times we get to spend together and are always counting down the days until we get to see each other next. (29 days!! *smile*)

....That's all I will share for now... details on how God brought us together will have to come in a later post as it is quite a long, yet amazing story! (I guess I am a bit biased!)*smile* And I need my other half to help fill in the details that I miss (because he remembers more than I do...) So you'll have to wait on that one....

Delight yourself in the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

Best Valentine's Day...

2010-03-05T19:22:00.004-05:00

Andrew and I were apart for our first valentine's day. But he was here about a week after valentine's day. While I was at work one day, he (with the help of his amazing sisters) put together this beautiful candlelight supper on the lake and completely surprised me! It was so wonderful!

We had Chicken Cordon Bleu, Corn, potatoes, salad and sparkling grape juice. And for desert, Chocolate brownie pudding!! It was delicious!

So romantic and so beautiful!

He is the sweetest and I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such an amazing man!

I love you, Andrew!!! ♥

I love him...

2010-02-04T10:17:00.005-05:00

.....more than anything in the world. ♥

Katie and Andrew

2010-01-31T11:23:00.004-05:00

My cousin asked me to take a few picture of her and her fiancé before she left to go back to college. We had a lot of fun trying to get the pictures taken before we lost day light! By the time we got out to take picture we only had about 20 minutes left. Luckily, we were able to catch a few good ones! :)

Congratulations, Katie and Andrew!

Love you, both! :)

Brrr It's COLD!!...

2010-01-13T10:56:00.004-05:00

...And I thought I lived in FLORIDA!

We've had record cold temperatures here this past week and there has been lots of ice and even snow/sleet! Saturday morning it was 19 degrees and raining which turned into snow in some places and sleet in others! I got up extra early just to see it! :) I don't ever remember it being this cold in Florida for such a long period of time! I love it! But our poor orange trees are suffering for it, as it's been below 32 every night and barely reaching the 40s during the day.

As I went to leave for class yesterday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my car was covered in ice!

This week a friend said to me, "You know you live in Florida, when you use a frisbee as an ice scraper in the morning to get the ice off your window."

....or in my case, draw in the ice! :)

Christmas

2009-12-27T00:23:00.009-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year... here are a few pictures from Christmas eve and Christmas day with our family! :)

How adorable is my dog!?! I love her!

My family

Cousins!

We were so excited to have Katie's fiance, Andrew with us this year for Christmas!

This picture makes me laugh-- never a dull moment in my family! hahaha

We did something a little different this year, and had a fun little game before our real gift exchange. It was a white elephant gift exchange. And the hot item was the snuggie!! It got stolen numerous times!

Katie ended up with the snuggie, only because her Andrew stole it from someone for her!

Kelley's singing flower pot!

Grandpa and Grandma

Each year we all sit in the same spots-- No body has ever noticed it until this year when we had an extra person that we had to find a seat for!

Christmas morning-- of course we had to stop at starbucks on the way to Grandma and PopPop's! You know your dad goes to Starbucks too much, when he walks in, gets free coffee and is given multiple Christmas gifts from the people working there!

These are my Christmas socks. Given to me by the one and only-- Andrew Wissmann! During the Wissmann family Christmas, we played bingo and there were lots of fun prizes. And my man won me these socks! He's the BEST! :)

Christmas with the Fulmer side on Christmas Day

Cousin Shelby and her skateboard. And Dad with his Starbucks.

Mom's side of the family.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

Winter Wonderland Wedding

2009-12-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

This year I got to expirence REAL winter-- Never in my life have I been in such cold temperatures. Going from the upper 80s to single digit temperatures was pretty shocking, but I loved it! I loved waking up every morning and looking out the window and seeing everything covered in white and I loved playing in the snow! And I was so glad that I was able to be at Dan and Bethany's wedding. It was so beautiful, and Bethany was the most beautiful Bride I have ever seen!! :)We hooked up a sled behind Andrew's jeep and pulled it around. I didn't try it, but it looked fun and I enjoyed watching everyone go!
The Wissmann's put on their Branson show at the Seward high school one night.

My Hillbilly! :)

It was bitter-sweet, as it was Bethany's last show as a Wissmann!

Friday and Saturday were full of wedding festivities! Decorating, and last minute errands, picking up cakes, taking cakes back, decorating more wedding rehearsal, rehearsal supper. Wake up early to get hair done, wedding picture, then finally the WEDDING and reception. Andrew and I got to serve punch at the reception. It was alot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to meet lots of friends and family-- and the company wasn't half bad either! ;)

Bethany was an absolutely gorgeous bride!!

25 Years Together

2009-11-17T13:37:00.002-05:00

Today my parent's celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!

We love you!

Branson

2009-11-13T22:59:00.003-05:00

I spent the past weekend in Branson, MO with Andrew and his family and some good friends! It was so much fun, and full of wonderful memories! We got to see lots of fun shows and go to Silver Dollar City--and most importantly-- I got to spend LOTS of time with my man!

Hope you don't mind pictures of us-- because that's pretty much all I got pictures of! :)

He took me to the Dixie Stampede on my last night, and we were able to "ride the horse" in the show! It was SO fun! :)

This is the best picture my dinky little pink camera would take of my incredibly good-looking cowboy! :)

Matching Green shirts! :)

The Hilbillies :)

Bryce

2009-11-10T13:17:00.004-05:00

Happy 19th Birthday, Brother!!!

I am so thankful for you! I'm so glad that God blessed me with a wonderful brother like you! I love you!!! :)

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,

and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Happy Fall! :)

2009-10-24T21:39:00.001-05:00

Fall is here! And that means it's time for pumpkins! :) It's such a happy time of year! Here in Florida we don't get to experience "real" fall weather, our leaves don't change and it doesn't get really cold. But non-the-less, we still get to experience the fun-ness of the Fall season! This week, we took Zariah to the Pumpkin patch. It was the cutest thing. I tried to get some good pictures, but she wouldn't stop staring at the pumpkins! She was fascinated!

Mommy and Zariah

Isn't she the cutest baby ever?!? I love her! :)

He makes me...

2009-08-30T18:51:00.007-05:00

.... smile!!! :)

♥

Katie and Andrew

2009-08-22T19:43:00.004-05:00

I've found my new hobby! :) While my cousin, Katie, was home this summer she asked me to take some pictures of her and her boyfriend, whose names also happens to be Andrew. (it gets pretty confusing when our family is together and we're talking about our Andrews. We've learned to refer to them as 'Kori's Andrew, Katie's Andrew" or "My Andrew, her Andrew" lol)

Here's a few from our little photoshoot :)

Never gets old...

2009-08-13T19:47:00.000-05:00

...no matter how many times I've seen it!!! :)

2009-08-08T10:49:00.012-05:00

It has been a full week! I am running on very little sleep, but am surprisingly very energized! I'm guessing I'll crash any time now. :)

Work has been great! There are only 2 more weeks of summer camp left and I am starting to get sad. I am going to miss my kids! God has used them to teach me so much this summer. One thing I've learned is patience. I always thought I was a patient person, but this summer my patience has been test numerous times. I've been told by other co-workers that I have the worst class, when it comes to disrespect and disobedience, and sometimes I have to agree. But God has used those times when I thought I was going to lose it to teach me the importance of having patience! I was reading in 1 Corinthians one morning, and read chapter 13 and was really challenged by what I read. The words "Love is patient, Love is kind..." really stood out to me. I realized that I wasn't being an example to my kids and showing them the unconditional Love of Christ if I couldn't show patience and kindness towards them when they were having "moments."

This week, I was blessed with the opportunity to lead one of the boys in my class to the Lord. It was such an exciting moment. Our Bible lessons this week were great, and talked alot about life after death and how we get to Heaven. We read specific verses straight out of the Bible and the kids had tons of questions. After our Bible time on Wednesday, one boy said "hmmm I think I might try that one day..." I said "try what?" and he answered "asking Jesus into my heart, I think I might do that when I get home." I told him that he didn't have to wait until he got home, he could do it right now if he was ready. His eyes got real big, and said "really?? I can do it right now??" So I told the rest of the kids they could have free play time, and I took him outside and we talked. My boss came and sat with us and she helped answer some more of his questions and then he prayed and asked Jesus to come into his heart. He was so happy, and, of course, I was extremely happy for him, too!

The other exciting part of my week was my little "niece" Zariah was born! Wednesday afternoon, I got a text message from my friend saying "IT'S TIME!" I knew right away what she meant, and ran out to my car and went to the hospital. I waited there with her brother and a couple other friends until she was born. Cell service was not very good, so as we all waited down in the lobby, we got updates from facebook from her dad on what was going on. How crazy is that?!? They have no cell service in the rooms, but have full wifi internet where you can be on your computer right in the delivery room.

She was born August 5th at 9:46 pm. We were able to go up and see her around 10:20 pm. When she finally made her way to my arms she was a mere 45 minutes old. It was amazing. She was so tiny and so precious. I instantly fell in love with her. She is the most beautiful newborn baby I have ever seen. Her name is Zariah (Za-ry-a) which is Hebrew for God's radiance.

She was born 3 weeks early, so she only weighed 5 pounds at 13 ounces. She is so tiny!! :)

Sing to God, sing praise to his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds his name is the Lord

and REJOICE before him.

Psalm 64:4

Nebraska 2009

2009-07-16T15:41:00.012-05:00

My family and I were able to spend time in Nebraska this summer over the 4th of July. This was the first time my whole family has been there together for many years. It was great to be able to spend time together as a family!

The 4th of July in Seward is a huge event filled with lots of activity. I don't think we had a moment to rest the whole weekend-- talk about busy!! :) It was lots of fun! Andrew coming home was the cherry on top of a perfect weekend!!

One of the highlights was the Foundations of Freedom Musical put on by The Wissmann's and their friends and Church family. It was incredible! They did a wonderful job putting it all together. The songs, the story, the costumes... everything was amazing!!

The forecast for the weekend was rain, rain, and more rain. God is SO good and He held off the rain during each performance of the Musical. They were able to preform the show both times at the outside bandshell! The day of the 4th was overcast all day, it sprinkled a bit through out the day, which made it cold! I would have never thought I would be cold on the 4th of July, but numerous times through out the day, I found myself wanting a sweatshirt.

Alaythia and I at the performance of the Musical on the 4th.

I even got to walk in the Parade! :) Dan, Bethany, Andrew and I were recruited (volunteered) to hold the banner and walk in the parade in front of the float for the Musical.

We ended the night by going down to the park to watch the fireworks!

The rest of the week was spent at the farm, walking beans, playing volleyball in the evening with the Wissmann's and shopping. Andrew had to go back to South Carolina on the 5th. His time home was much too short, but it was SO wonderful that he was able to be around for the weekend. :) My parents and my brother went home on the 6th, and my cousin Katie and I stayed the next week and came back to Florida on the 10th.

Twice, I was able to get out into the fields and walk the beans. Believe it or not, I kinda find it fun! Maybe that's because soy bean fields and corn are a rare sight for me, or because I haven't done it much... who knows! :) I did come home with some pretty good blisters though!

Beans forever! :)

I love Nebraska! :)

Short little update...

2009-06-22T15:47:00.011-05:00

Well... seeing how I got some anonymous comments wondering where I am I thought I'd post a little something. :) It's not that my life hasn't been exciting lately, because IT HAS!...I just don't really have the time to blog anymore. But, anyways, here's a little update....
A very special guy has come into my life... His name is Andrew. I've known him for a long time so he's been in my life for years, but now he's REALLY in it and I couldn't be happier! :) He's AMAZING!!! ♥

AND...since I blogged about Gracyn in my last post... I thought I should update ya'll on her and how she is doing. This video says it all... If you have followed her story at all, or even know the slightest bit about her situation... be prepared to cry. We serve an INCREDIBLE God!!!!!!

The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Prayer Request

2008-12-29T17:33:00.007-05:00

Yes, yes, I know, I haven't updated in..... a VERY long time... my apologies. It's not that I haven't had time...I just.. stopped!

BUT lets not dwell on that, because what has brought me back to the blogging world is far more important than the reasons I stopped blogging-- The power of prayer is an amazing thing, so I knew that this would be a great way to spread the news...

--Christmas Eve morning, Gracyn, a little girl that I have babysat for 2 years, was put in the hospital. There is a serious virus attacking her heart and the doctors can't seem to stop it. She most likely needs a heart transplant, but at this time she is not able to receive one.

She is 9 years old, and is one of the sweetest little girls that I know! For more information on her condition, specific prayer requests and praise reports, check out her website, here. Her parents have been keeping it up to date with recent happenings.

Would you join me in praying for Gracyn and her family!? Her parents are with her in Gainesville at Shands Hospital, and her two brothers, Cole and Brooks are here in Orlando with family. From recent reports it seems as though she is doing much better, but she still has a long way to go! Please, please pray for this sweet little girl!!!

Happy Birthday!

2007-09-17T09:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you!

The Mind of a Kindergartner!

2007-08-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those days that my kids made me smile and I really had to try hard not to laugh! Not at them, but because when they answer a question, they answer with complete confidence and it is usually something completely not on subject and totally... out-there.:)

Our Bible lesson was on Moses, and before I began I asked the kids what they knew about him. They all got silent and until one boy raised his hand to answer and this is what he said....

"He parted the ocean with a stick"

I smiled but of course had to reward him for giving a some-what correct answer, I started to call on someone else, but then he started up again...

"...well Moses...Mo.. Mo...ses... Mo.. That was his real name... Mo..."

No, John, his name was Moses, not Mo.

"well Mo...ses (he had to think about it because he almost called him Mo)... he was God's friend. God told Moses he was going to flood the earth...."

I stopped him and told him that he was talking about Noah, not Moses. Again, I went to call on someone else, and he started talking again...

"Moses wassssss... he wasssss... the king... yeah thats it.. he was the king! And Jesus died for him"

It was so cute, because he was just so serious and determined to get it right!

Well I had to tell him that he wasn't a king, but Jesus did die for him (he was happy with getting a little bit correct) and then I just decided to move on and start giving them the answer. We went to the Holy Land Experience a few weeks back and saw a play on the life of Moses, so I asked if they remembered the play we saw on his life. Well they still sat silent, so I explained why his Mother put him in a basket and put him in the river because Pharaoh was killing all the baby boys. And then Pharaoh's Daughter found him and adopted him.. and so on...

John sat there in silence pretty much the whole time while I was talking, but when I got to part about freeing the Hebrews, he said "And then he parted the Sea with his stick, right!?" And I said, "Yes, John, with the power of God, Moses parted the sea so the Hebrews could cross."

Thats all I heard out of him the rest of Bible time and when we were finished I asked him to pray. He was happy to and so then he started....

"God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Am-....... (then there was a pause)....and Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross... (and another pause)..and this is how we should pray... Our Father, in heaven, happy is your name, your kingdom comes.. your wills is done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our tresssssppeessess as we forgive those who tressspsss against us. Lead us not into tempt-ation and deliver us from evil. Dine is the kingdom and power and glory forever... Amen"

I could not stop smiling, mostly because I was trying to keep from laughing. I was so impressed that he knew the Lord's Prayer! Even though he didn't get all the words right, I was impressed that a 5 year old had it memorized! It was such a precious moment and it made my day!

Have I mentioned that I love my job! :)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

So-me Fair!

2007-08-22T19:22:00.001-05:00

I think I angered my blog by neglecting it for a month, because I've tried numerous times to get this posted and each time it says "error" and wipes out half the post! So, one of these days I am going to get it to work! I apologize to those who have stopped by expecting to find an update, but instead found that I had not posted a single thing! It's not that I've been too busy to post, I just never got around to it! During the 4 weeks of my absence, I was able to go back to Nebraska for the week of the Seward County fair! :) I'd never been to a fair before and my first fair experience was so much fun!
There were lots of fun little boothes to walk around and see, lots to sign up for, and FREE ICECREAM!!! :)
Sunday night was the Demo Derby. Obviously it is a big deal in the midwest because it was PACKED! Being from Florida, I haven't seen many demo derby's, none actually, so it was a first time expirence. It was sooooo cool!! I loved it and it was defiantly one of my favorite things at the fair! :)

Trust

2007-07-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

The way each tiny flower reaches up to Heaven with trust,

we too,
should lift our hearts to God and know He cares for us.

-Unknown

Bryce's Trip to the Dominican Republic

2007-07-16T19:18:00.000-05:00

While I was in Nebraska... Bryce was in the Dominican Republic. He came back with so many great stories and tales of all the things they did. I defiantly think it was a real eye-opening experience for him. He said his favorite thing was going into the different villages and trying to communicate with the people. The kids would just crowd around them and hug them and do anything they could to be on camera!One of the many things they did was hunt tarantulas! EWWW! They would go out in the jungle with a spear looking stick and when they found one, they stabbed it with the stick and then brought it back and roasted it over a fire. No they didn't eat it, but I guess that is just how you kill a tarantula in the Dominican Republic! :)

Something I thought was cool was the way they gave them water! Bryce brought back the "water pouch" they gave them to drink! Its just a bag of water, and to drink it you had to cut the corner off. He said they had water bottles, but they were expensive, and the water pouches were free.

hmmm did they really work? or did they just spend all their time here!! Looks real tough!!! :) They did get to enjoy a day on the beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic!

Nebraska!!

2007-07-13T21:22:00.001-05:00

It's taken me a few days to sort through all my pictures.. trying to figure out which ones to post! I've been so busy since I got home, but I had the greatest time in Nebraska! Seriously, the time flew too fast! I had so much fun and I can't wait to go back!! (very soon!!) Anyways... Pictures are better then words... so here are lots of pictures from my trip!The 4th of July is always a highlight! This year Bethany, Angela and Mr. Rehm were all in the bubble gum blowing contest! It was so fun to watch them! Mr. Rehm and Angela both were in the finals, but if Bethany and Angela had not been in the same semi-final, I think all 3 of them could have been in the finals!

The day of the 4th was very long, but fun! I didn't run in the race this year, but I still went to cheer on all the runners! So my day started at 7 am! I walked around town a little bit and looked at all the booths--there are so many neat little things! I went to the Water Fight, which is always a "cool"experience! :) And, of course, the Wissmann's concert at the Civic Center! Right after the Wissmann's it was time for the parade! So we all stood on the corner and watched!
The fireworks were at 10, so we played a little ultimate Frisbee until then! The park was beautiful! It was still hot, but there was a nice breeze that made it very enjoyable to watch the fireworks!
Water balloon fights are always a must! And on a hot summer day, the water feels so-o-o good!
This was a trip filled with many "firsts" One day my grandpa took me out to our farm and I got to see the beans get sprayed by a plane! That was so cool!
And while I'm on the subject of beans... I went rouging! That was defiantly something I'd never done! But I actually thought it was fun! :) It was something I'd never done before! (You don't really have theopportunity to ever go rouging in Florida!) Honestly I'd never heard of it! :) But It was fun and I enjoyed the experience ! I also went milking one night! And yes-- I actually helped! Well.. kinda! :) I don't think I was much of a help, but I did do a little bit :)

I got to spend a lot of time with the Wissmanns while I was there! There is always something fun going on when your with the Wissmanns! :) All the "firsts" I experienced were because they forced me to do them! :) NOO I'm just kidding! They didn't force me to do anything! But I got to do those things because they let me tag along! :) Thank you guys!!
Another "first" was going swimming in Lake Pawnee! All the years that I've gone to Nebraska, going swimming in a lake had never crossed my mind! I didn't even know a lake existed in Nebraska! haha It was so much fun, and defiantly different from the lakes here in Florida! There was no sand at the bottom, just mud! haha I was kind of grossed out at first, but I got used to it very quickly and by the end of the day I didn't even notice it! :)

Our last night was a late one! :) Well.. most nights were late, but the last one was really late! (or should I say early?!) We talked for a while on the porch after supper, and then started playing games! We played Ultimate Uno, 4 of a couch, Alaythia and I finally finished our marathon game of Ace--we played the same game almost all day-- and Occupational charades. Occupational charades was the funniest thing ever! My camera died within the first minute and a half of the Sumo Wrestler act! I was so bummed! But just trust me... it was HILARIOUS!!

Kaitlyn loved this picture, so I thought I'd post it! :) This was while playing 4 on a couch! Everyone is in their own little world lol... The last day we got to make jewelry for Bethany's Birthday! :) It was so much fun!

I'd like to say a special 'Thank you' to Kaitlyn for coming up with me this summer! It was so much fun flying with you and I really enjoyed it! I hope you had as much fun as I did! :) And to the Wissmanns for having me over so much and for all the Nebraska things ya'll dragged me into! :) Love ya'll!!

2007-07-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

Thank You, God, for quiet places far from life's crowded ways, where our hearts find true contentment and our
souls fill up with praise.

-Emilie Barnes

Off to Nebraska!!!

2007-07-01T14:12:00.001-05:00

Kaitlyn and I are ready to go! We're sitting here in the airport waiting to board our plane!

Daddy!

2007-06-30T09:07:00.001-05:00

My dad (Brad ) found this article this morning when he was cleaning out his filing cabinets. Its from his High school newspaper! How cool! Apparently my dad was more of an athlete than I thought! :)

------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm leaving for Nebraska TOMORROW! :) YAY!

Guess....

2007-06-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

Where I'm going in 5 days!?!?! :)

Hint: It is a completely land-locked state!
:)

I love my job!!!

2007-06-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

I absolutely LOVE my job! :) I defiantly never thought I would say that about a job, but I love my job at Kids on the Move! I love going in every morning and seeing the smiling faces of my kids. I love the random hugs just because...I think those are my favorite! :) I love all the little pictures and bracelets they make me. Trust me--after just a week I've accumulated 6 or 7 bracelets, and lots of colorings and pictures! When I was younger I used to make bracelets and anklets and necklaces out of string, and this week I've learned some really cool new ways to make them! :)

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Psalms 9:1

Photo booth fun with Shelby and Gabby :)

2007-06-21T16:24:00.001-05:00

My little cousin, Shelby, loves the photobooth! :) We've taken tons pictures on it! And my dog, Gabby, well.... She doesn't like it so much! haha She just won't sit still and I end up having to hold her head still! :) But anyways, I had so many I thought I'd share a few...

First Day of Work

2007-06-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day of Work at First Baptist Church of Windmere's "Kids on the Move" program and I loved it! It was so much different than my previous experience at Disney on my first day and I'm so thankful for that! Kids on the Move is like a day camp for kids whose parents work during the day. We go on field trips and have special events every week, which is really cool!

I can tell I am going to be much happier working! I get to be around kids all day and teach them of the love of Jesus Christ, I get to play games almost all day, and it is 5 minutes from my house! How much more could you want? :) I am so thankful that the Lord provided a job for me doing something I really enjoy! Yay!

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T10:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day, to the greatest Dad in the World! I love you Daddy!

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord

Ephesians 6:4

Where's Gabby?

2007-06-15T21:23:00.001-05:00

Found her! On my bed fast asleep :)

Lake Day

2007-06-14T17:53:00.000-05:00

Okay!!! I'm back for real this time! Summer is in full bloom and we've been enjoying our days out of school! Today Bryce and I were out on the lake with some friends, Logan and Lauren Cole. I just got my new camera, so I brought it along and took some pictures!

BB and Lauren on the tube.

I hadn't been tubing in a long time and I'd forgotten how much fun it was! :) BB, Lauren and I had a great time!

This is Bryce's friend, Logan, tubing. When I tell you he is good at tubing, I mean it! If there were such a thing as professional tubing (haha) then he could be a professional tuber! He out on a show when it was his turn! He could make himself go really high and he would do tricks! He never once fell off either! This looks like a bad fall... but this is Logan doing a barrel roll with the tube! It was so cool!

Bryce 'scurfed' instead of tubing. Scurfing is like surfing, but you are behind a boat! It is all new to me--this is the first time I've seen him do it. The rope was tied up so he is real close to the boat. He starts with rope and then throws it in when he feels like the wake of the boat is carrying him. It was really cool! Maybe I'll try it one day :)

I'm still here!

2007-06-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have been very unfaithful on my blogging lately! It has been a long time since I last updated! Well the Truth is... I've been with out a camera since the last day of school, when, sadly, my camera broke. :( So all my pictures since then have come from my moms camera. Luckily my camera problem was fixed! A family friend got us a great deal on a really nice HP digital camera, and so now I have a camera! So hopefully now I will be more consistent in my blogging and get a real update up real soon!

Camp Orlando

2007-06-02T17:44:00.000-05:00

It has taken me all day to get this posted. I've been unpacking and doing laundry for most of the day! Camp was so much fun! The theme of the camp was 'Make every second count!' And it was based off a TV show called 24. The services were awesome, over 40 kids were saved!! Praise the Lord!!! We had a service in the morning where Ben Trueblood was the speaker. And the night services were lead by the Senior pastor of our church, Pastor David.

We had free time from 1 to 6 everyday. They had tons of activities! We could swim, play volleyball, basketball, or football, there was a rock climbing wall, there was paint balling, and one day there was mud wrestling! I defiantly was not planning on getting in the mud pit, but while I was taking pictures, I was attacked by a group of people and dragged into the mud! We played tug-o-war too!

We got out of the evening service around 9:30 and then had something called 'late night' One night they had big blowup things, another night we had a talent show, and the last night we had a birthday party for Pastor David!

The services at night were amazing. Pastor David is such a great speaker, and he touched the hearts of many students! His messages were very deep and had a major impact on me! I can't even put into words how much had an impact on me! At the end of the week more than 40 people were saved, and were baptized Friday night! Because we were in a church, there was no Baptismal pool, so they were baptized in a 'horse trough!' When each person was raised from the water we all cheered and shouted and rejoiced with them! It was so exciting!I am still recovering from the lack of sleep from all the late night talks and early mornings! It was was all worth it, to see all the lives that were changed by Camp Orlando! Our God is so awesome and He has opened my eyes up to so many things this week! The main focus of our cabin leader was to help us deepen our walk with the Lord to prepare us for next year. I came away from camp feeling more closer to the Lord than ever! I am so glad I went to camp this year!
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18

Camp Orlando

2007-05-29T05:06:00.000-05:00

My brother and I are leaving for Camp this morning! We are going to Camp Orlando with our church! It's going to be a blast! We will be back late Friday night!

Memorial Day

2007-05-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day is the day that we remember those who have fallen, whether in battle or in peacetime, who have sacrificed all simply for the sake of their fellow man's freedom. Our pastor did a wonderful sermon on memorial day yesterday and it really touched my heart. When a solider dies, his family is presented with a folded flag. I've seen it happen before and always thought it was just a nifty way to fold the flag, but what I didn't know was that each fold of the flag means something! There are 13 folds:

The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.

The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.

The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that WE pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.

The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nations motto, "In God We Trust."

I thought this was really neat! There are so many men and women who are in Iraq right now fighting for my freedom and the freedom of others. They are away from their families and friends are are in a war-zone where anything can happen at anytime. I am so thankful for those men and women who are sacrificing their lives for our country! They are true Heroes.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Katie

2007-05-27T09:14:00.001-05:00

Happy 19th Birthday Katie!

I am so glad you are back home for the summer! I missed you so much! You are the greatest cousin anyone could ask for, and I look up to you more than you know! Your love for the Lord shows in everything you do. You have the most paitence of anyone I know, and you always have a sweet spirit! I love you, Katie! I hope you have a great birthday, and many more to come!