Life// A Baby Boy

Birth is always an amazing thing to witness... 
On November 4th, our Mom gave birth to a perfectly healthy little boy. Well, he wasn't that little... he weighed in at 10 pounds!

 Let me just put it out there, our Mom is amazing! She's a homebirther, meaning she gives birth to her children at home without drugs or being hooked up to an IV. She trusts wholly in the Lord that He will deliver, and He always does! Isaiah 66:9-"Will I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?", says the Lord, "or will I who deliver, close the womb?", says your God. This is one of many verses our Mom taped to her wall and meditated on for months. She just amazes me and I am still processing how incredible the whole experience was...

 Welcome to the world, little Liam!
With love,
Layla

Life// A Surprise Baby Shower

  We did it, we actually pulled it off. After months of careful and secretive planning, we were able to throw Mom a surprise baby shower. Man, was she surprised! With a lot of help from a friend, it was a success. Friends came from hours away to celebrate our Mom. She really had no idea! You can see from the pictures how happy/ surprised/ flabbergasted she was...

 I bet you want to know how we got her to the party, huh? It's a funny story...
After buying her a maternity dress for the party, we couldn't figure out how to give it to her and get her out of the house without spilling the beans. We decided to give her the dress and say,"We have something special for you at 2 'o clock today." The morning of the party she wasn't feeling too good, but we had to get her there on time! We gave her the dress and said our lines. She thought we were going to do a maternity shoot of her, so we took that idea and ran with it! She got dressed and ready, not too excited since she wasn't feeling that great. But we got her in the car, and drove to the building. When we pulled up, she questioned why we were there. We said we had set up a studio for her shoot and not to worry. Hagen ran in first to "make sure the lights were on" while I helped her out of the car. We walked up to the building, I opened the door for her, and you can see her reaction!

Here I am telling her how surprised and thankful I was that we pulled it off! We feasted and visited, talked and laughed. Then she opened her gifts. From blankets to quilts, diapers to clothes, she was every blessed!

 We are just so thankful that everything fell into place. We prayed hard that it would be a special day for her, that she would feel loved and appreciated, and she did! Our Mom is wonderful and she deserved a day to be honored. If you haven't figured it out from the pictures, she is having a boy! We can't wait to meet our little brother soon. Thank you to all our friends who helped make this possible, and special thanks to the Lord who answered our prayers!
Love from,
Layla & Hagen

Mama's Birthday!

Hello!
So, on Easter we had a double celebration. We celebrated Christs resurrection aaand we celebrated Mom's birthday! It was a lot of fun! 

 A few odds and ends Mom has been needing...

 Matilda's gift. A picture of "The best farmers in town." Us.... :)

I printed off some pictures I had taken that Mom really liked and Gabe and I made and painted our own frames for them!

 A beautiful painting Layla made, "There are gold and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel." Proverbs 20:15 
This is so true for our Mama. She is always speaking and inputting knowledge into our lives!

 An adorable picture Matilda helped Olivia draw. "Mom is finally able to take a good long nap!" Olivia explains.

 We are just so thankful for our Mom. She does so much for us and has sacrificed so much to raise us as God's children. Day in and day out she makes sure we have what we need, she makes sure our bellies are full of healthy foods, she protects us and cares for us. Mom is building up her home on the foundations of Christ. Mom is also a great example to us, teaching us by example how to be a caring, loving mom and wife.

I love her and am so thankful God blessed me with her as my Mom. I can only hope that I'll ever be as good a mom as she...

 We also ate some delicious German chocolate cake that Layla made but I wasn't able to get a picture of it... We ate it too fast!

Mom says that she loves to be able to share this day with Christ. She gets to every ten years! 

It was a wonderful celebration!

Love,

Hagen

Our Easter Celebration

The day of Easter was a beautiful day of celebration. Not a day of egg hunts and Easter bunnies, but a day to celebrate His life. To celebrate His resurrection. Today was a day that we came to the Lord with thanksgiving and praise.
I am just so thankful. I really can't put it into words. My mind can't really comprehend that Christ would sacrifice himself, would be beaten and nailed to the cross for me. I am nothing. I am just a lowly sinner. I really can't think about it without getting all emotional.
    But, praise be to God! Christ lives again!
He has rolled the stone away! The tomb is empty!  
    They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:2-3)
"...Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!..." (Luke 24:5-6 )

I will have to just say, I think Easter is pretty much my favorite celebration, because on this day we celebrate life. We celebrate our new life, and we celebrate His life.

To celebrate (wow, I'm using that word a lot!) Easter, we have a Passover or Seder meal. We feast! But with food that represents Christ. Before we begin our "feast" feast, we have a sample of each food, we read, we ask questions, we pray. We enjoy the presence of the Lord.

 There are four questions that are asked by the children. I like that we do this, it helps us feel more involved and helps the children pay more attention as Dad answers the question that are asked.

"Why are we eating unleavened bread, or matzah, tonight?"
"We eat matzah because tonight we remember Jesus, by whose stripes we are healed. Yeast leavens or puffs up, as pride and sin inflates our hearts."
 The matzah is a reminder of when the Israelites fled from Egypt. They did not have time to wait on the yeast to leaven the bread. (Exodus 12:17&34) They had to be ready when God made the call to flee, just as we as Christians should be ready for Christ's return. The matzah represents the sinlessness of Christ.

"Why are we eating bitter herbs?"
"To remember the bitterness of the cruel slavery of the Isrealites to Pharaoh, to recall the bitterness of our ugly bondage to sin."
The bitter herbs are a reminder to us of how Christ, the Lamb, suffered for us and took up our bitter sin.
"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
 They represent the cost of our redemption. 

"Why tonight do we dip our greens twice?"
(First we dip the Karpas or greens in salt water and than in the Charoset.)
"We first dip them in salt water, representing the salty tears the Isrealites shed of their slavery. We dip them a second time in the sweet apples, reminding us of the hope we have in Christ because he died for us. We wipe away our salty tears and sweetly rejoice for our new life in Christ."
The green of the Karpas reminds us of the new life and rebirth in Spring but also serves as a reminder of our new life and rebirth in Jesus. 
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
 (2 Corinthians  5:17)

 This is when we serve the juice of the vine. There is one single cup in the center, the cup of Elijah. We share this one cup, passing it from person to person, sharing it. Just as we share in the freedom and mercy and love of our Messiah.

"Why are we eating this meal reclining?"
"Because Jesus has bought our freedom, we are no longer slaves but children of the one and only King. Free men, people of royalty lean back, recline, while eating. We as free people recline, just as Jesus did at the Last Supper."
We are His children! We are royal!
"...They will sparkle in [the Lord's] land like jewels in a crown." (Zechariah 9:16)

We then serve The Sacrifice. The lamb. Of course this represents Jesus. Before He died for us we had to continually sacrifice animals in atonement for our sins. But Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. He was beaten, slandered, mocked, nailed to the cross so that we might have life. True, new eternal life.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring to you to God..."
 (1 Peter 3:18) 

We eat in the low, flickering light of the white candles, reminding us of  how Christ washed us white as snow. How He washed away our crimson stains and made us pure.


After this nice little ceremony, we stuff ourselves with more of everything we ate during it, (except maybe the bitter herbs and salt water) buttery mashed potatoes, sugar glazed carrots, and for dessert.... Delicious homemade cream filled eggs, chocolate truffles and healthy lollipops! 

It is so nice to have a Christ centered Easter and not have to worry about the distractions of what the media has made it about. 
I praise the Lord everyday for what he has done for us! I don't deserve to live. I don't deserve anything I have, but because of God's mercy and grace and love He has renewed me and blessed me greatly.

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in His sanctuary;

praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for his acts of power;

praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise Him with the harp and lyre,

praise Him with tambourine and dancing,

praise Him with the strings and flute,

praise Him with the clash of cymbals,

praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord

How was your Easter celebration? 

Do you know the Lord as your personal Savior?

Love,

Hagen

Crossing the Creek

Hello friends!
Last Thursday, we went over to our friends house to visit. We hadn't visited with them since before Winter, so it was nice to be able to walk around their land, enjoy the breeze and laugh together! All the snow has finally melted, causing the streams to flow.

 As we came upon a stream, we each took turns carefully walking across the slippery log. The braver ones went first, and then stretched out their hands to help the others cross. Those who had not yet crossed encouraged those who were carefully crossing by cheering them on and saying, "Come on, you can do it!"
 

 

As we waited our turns to cross the creek, we watched this small act of kindness unfold. It reminds us of the way we are to help one another in life. Either by reaching our hands out to help them get through what we have already experienced, or by speaking words of encouragement and prayer to help them on.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be over powered by another, two can withstand him. And a three-strand cord is not quickly broken."

1 John 3:16- "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

These verses are a great reminder of how important it is to be there for one another, to have strong, God-fearing friends that can help each other cross life's small creeks and roaring rivers. 

Words of Wisdom from our mama: Often, the evil one will lie to us (he is the father of lies), and tell us we are independent, we can do it on our own, and sometimes, we believe him. But Our Father`s word is clear, we need each other. We need to pray for others, so that we can help them, come along side them, but also to keep us from becoming self- absorbed. We do need others to pray for us, to encourage us, but when we lift each other up, we build up the Body.

So, why not text, e-mail, call or write a friend a letter today, giving them the Lord`s word, and your Christian love? Pray that The Lord would lay someone on your heart, and give you the words He would have you speak. It is a simple act, but we may never know this side of heaven just how touching and profound it can be for someone else we love.
Love from,
Layla & Hagen

The Big 4-0!

Last Saturday, the day after Valentines, our Dad turned 40! We always celebrate his birthday twice, with delicious num-nums on Valentines, and then birthday cake the next day. This year, Mom made chocolate peanut-butter cups as a Valentines treat, and then a delicious, flourless chocolate cake (which went so fast, that it didn't have time to be photographed) for his birthday!

 Eli explaining his drawings...

 Tiny keepsakes from the little ones...

& fresh ground coffee!

Want to hear something exciting? Our Dad was accepted into Liberty University Online! He transformed his closet into an office, so we bought him lots of things to help with organization. Want to hear about another blessing? Dad lost his job at the beginning of the year (that might not sound like a blessing, but it allowed him to have time to enroll at Liberty!) He put in applications anywhere and everywhere! Finally, God provided him with a job this week, a job that will not involve truck driving, and still give him enough time to be able to study! Isn't this awesome!?!? God never ceases to amaze us!

What are some ways the Lord has been showing His hand in your life?
  
Love from,
Layla

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!
We hope you had an amazing Christmas celebration... we loved hearing about your family traditions!
Here are a few snap shots of our Christmas...

We attended a midnight candle light service...

In the morning we opened gifts... I think they were a little excited!

Eli modeling his felt mustache Hagen made...

The aftermath...

We had a non-traditional Christmas dinner of Sourdough Fry Bread...

...and sang "Feliz Navidad" the whole time!

Afterwards, we drove around to look at Christmas lights...

 

 

If you have ever read the Little House series, this reminds me of Laura and Almonzo going on their sleigh rides!

I bet you are all itching to see who won the Christmas Giveaway, huh? Well, I won't make you wait any longer...
The winner is (drum roll, please)...
Emma Schramm!
Thank you to all the lovely ladies who entered the contest!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love From,
The Two Blessed Damsels

The Forgotten

The Forgotten. All the forgotten people who are in turmoil. Who have nothing to eat. Who are drug out of their homes, beat and killed for loving Christ.
This is something that has been weighing on my heart for awhile now, but the thing that did it in for me is this:

As I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, Layla was looking at a Voice of the Martyrs magazine. Lying on the table next to her was a Walmart flier. I absently picked it up and flipped through it. As I was doing so Layla said sadly, "Wow, look at this." It was a picture of a father mourning over his bloody, dead son in the rubble of their church that had just been bombed.
"Wow." I said as I shook my head. Then I realized. I looked from the Walmart flier to the magazine and back again. I began to tear up, not cry really, but a tear or two did fall.

As we hustle and bustle with our heads down, trying to get the last iPhone5 that's on sale, or maybe that Lego Ev3 MindStorm set that your son always wanted that's on sale for 350 bucks, we tend to forget about those people I mentioned above.
 And just as our cheeks flame red with anger because we were too late for that 60" HDTV flat screen that was on sale for 800 bucks, someone on the other side of the world is being beat, maybe burnt at the stake.This is no light subject to just be shrugged off.

Believe me, I LOVE Christmas time. I'm no Scrooge, but you see? During Christmas time the gluttony  and want for stuff, stuff, stuff, really shows whats in our hearts.
And of course, I want you to celebrate! But ought we to celebrate the real reason for Christmas? And I want you to see your family members faces light up as they open their gifts. I like to experience that just as much as anyone.
But just think of how you would feel to know that, as your children laugh and giggle over their stocking stuffers, some other child is laughing and giggling because they have clean, purified water to drink because you chose to share with them that happiness. Because you chose to step out of your comfort zone
Now I'm not looking down on you at all. And I most certainly am not judging you for spending money. I spend money. Everyone spends money. But we need to know where our hearts are and what our motives are.
Why are we going Black Friday shopping on the one Holiday that has anything to do with giving thanks?
Maybe we could spend less money on ourselves, who have everything we need, and a little more on those who don't.

We don't need to stop what we are doing, but some times we need to just change what we are doing.
This doesn't mean you have to go and return everything super expensive that you have already purchased,  but why can't we set aside a small sum of money to help or support someone who is really in need? The answer is we can. We can die to ourselves! And we can share our luxury! The Lord says we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength!

If you feel convicted, don't shrug it off. If you feel like you should help those in need, I encourage you to! Don't be afraid to step out of the crowd, don't let the world trick you ( because really, it will try), you must not let the devil succeed in your life!  

Will you share Christmas with those in need? Will you show them the love of Christ?

If you choose to do so, please check out Gospel for Asia. It is a wonderful ministry that, as in the name, shares the Gospel of Christ through out Asia as they clothe naked and feed the hungry.   

I also suggest you check out Voice of the Martyrs . (As mentioned above.)

Thank you for reading and I hope you choose to step out for Christ.

Love,

Hagen

Giving Thanks...

Well, we haven't seen your lovely faces in a while! But we have good reason! We have been shoving our faces with yummy food, trudging in the snow and drinking hot cocoa. The highlight of this post is our Thanksgiving meal! (A little late. I know, sorry.) 

Before we begin the tour of our meal, we'd like to give you a short summary of what we are grateful for:

First, we are SO very thankful to our Heavenly Father for sending His only Son to die for us that we might be saved from our burden of sin!
 We are very grateful for our parents and how they sacrifice so much for us that we would be brought up to know the Lord as our Savior. We are thankful for how they love us and teach us.
We are thankful for our siblings who happen to also be our best friends. 
We are thankful for the wind that blows and the birds that sing. 
We are thankful for every single day that we live.

 We are also thankful for that delicious meal that we ate on that faraway day in November!
The yummy mashed potatoes and gravy, roast and carrots, green bean casserole, sweet potato souffle, cranberry sauce and biscuits!
      

(Please excuse the pictures, I had very poor light to work with...)

We also had Buttermilk pie and Pecan pie, as you can see them in the background of the photo above, but mom wasn't very proud of them so she requested we not post them...

But...

We'll show you something she is proud of!

 Because she wasn't proud of her actual pies, Mama wanted to try again.

So... she made delicious pecan pie cups!

My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

May I add that nothing came from a box or can?

We also ate it for breakfast and lunch the next day! 

What did you eat for your Thanksgiving meal?

What are you thankful for? We'd love to hear!

Blessings,

Layla & Hagen