The Ghost of Christmas Past

Here we are with January almost over and we are only just now doing a Christmas post....
My, what a whirlwind it has been! But the wind has started to cease and the excitement of the Holidays has started to fade.

         

Layla, showing off the apron I made her...            ...and me, showing off the crocheted goods she made me.

Of course we can't forget about the food!
I must confess, I was too much of a pig to photograph the dinner, but I slowed down long enough to get a shot of Mama's Almond Pie. It was so scrumptious!

The best gift of all,of course, is The Gift. The Reason that we have Christmas at all...  

Looking back, it was quite a day, filled with joy and laughter and love! And naps...
Love,
Hagen

The Fourth Day of the Seventh Month

I hope you all had a wonderful, safe Independence Day! I know I sure did! 

   It was a fun, delicious, bright day.

To start the day, we ate patriotic pancakes. Sourdough pancakes. I didn't get a picture though. If you know anything about me, you know I am not a morning person. Meaning I just didn't feel like it...

 Later we went to the creek, had a little picnic lunch and then splashed around for a bit.
Gabe and Dad also enjoyed catching craw-dads.

 When we finally went back home it was dinner time, so we started up a fire. We ate all natural, uncured, pure beef hot dogs, wrapped in equally healthy pepperonis (that's what I'm talking about!), watermelon, potato salad, smoothie and for dessert we had chocolate ice cream floats and of course, s'mores!

 Our little camp site.

 Afterward, Layla played us some campfire tunes...

You all know what happens next...

 FiReWoRkS!!

 I am so happy with how all the pictures came out. I'd been preparing for awhile. 

 Sparklers and Roman candles...

 Mom's sparkler looks like an eye!

Layla managed to do a star...


It was a blast. All of it. The whole day.
I am so thankful for our Independence and Freedom. Everyday I think, and pray, for those who have to hide their love for Jesus and go underground just to sing praises to Him. We are very, very blessed to live in this country. To be able to be bold without fear and love Him without hiding it.
Anyway, it was just a really good day and no one got hurt (except for just a few minor burns...).

How was your 4th of July?
Did you do anything special? Get any amazing shots?

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

What She Wore// Lovely Layers

Hello friends! I hope you are well. Our family has had the flu this week, poo! Thankfully it is moving through quickly, everyone is recovering well, and Mom and Dad haven't caught it yet... Praise the Lord!


This outfit is from a while back when we had tons of snow! It was bitterly cold, and so quiet. I love how the snow insulates everything...

I really like all these layers she has on, and the way she put them together! The pinks, browns and creams all go well with her complexion and really pop against the white snow.

My favorite elements of this outfit are 1) the bulky scarf from her friend, 2) the floral cuffs of her skirt rolled over the cardigan sleeves and 3) her bun!

-What She Wore-

brown shirt: hand me down -$0

 button-up: from a friend -$0

cardigan: borrowed from L -$0

scarf: handmade by friend -$0

jeans: Old Navy -$8

socks: Walmart pack of 3 -$5

boots: Academy -$50

coat: Walmart -$40

What are your favorite elements of this outfit? What are some ways you like to layer your clothes?
Stay tuned for an overdue post on I <3 Thursdays tomorrow!
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