Happy Fall! :)

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...

.... smile!!! :)

♥

Katie and Andrew

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...

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

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

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...

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

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!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you!

The Mind of a Kindergartner!

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!

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

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

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!!

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!!