Here it comes!! :D

MY FATHER, SO OFTEN I get weighed down under the demands of my own life. Sometimes I see little purpose in the endless repetition of little duties. Jobs done today, that need doing again tomorrow...
What is it, in the daily work you have given me to do, that is of eternal value to you?
Lift my sights, Lord. Let me see today, and each duty in this day, as you see it.


I Come Quietly to Meet You by Amy Carmichael pg. 35

The Lord has blessed us with another year, and Lord willing another one to come. As you go about your New Years Day think about the year that you had...what did the Lord teach you? How have you grown? I know it takes a little time...but try. You might think that you haven't grown at all. But look deep...and I think that you will find that you have. Only by GOD'S grace though. Not of yourself. Which is really the amazing thing about it! If we were left to make ourselves grow in the Lord I think... no I KNOW... that we would all fail. I am so very thankful that I don't have to depend on myself for growth. He will grant it when the time is right. :) Look to Him.

So, as the New Year comes along I challenge you with this quote :

What is it, in the daily work you have given me to do, that is of eternal value to you?
Lift my sights, Lord. Let me see today, and each duty in this day, as you see it.

And I think that I would add to that... Let us see each day, each month, and each year what You see in it. When you look back on 2009, look at it through God's eyes. Don't focus on what you have accomplished but what God has accomplished in and through you...

Go Check It Out!

Burlap and Blue $30 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Christmas with family...

Merry Christmas from the Siefkes family. :D

Just me practicing... :D

Learning to Live "At Home"

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 32:7

I think distractions in prayer are often because we have let ourselves wander too far from the things that matter most. And so we slip into an easily interrupted, easily distracted frame of mind. We need to live more at home.
"In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28) This means, simply, God is our home.

Home of my heart, lest I forget
My redemption's cost to Thee,
Let my earliest thought be set
Upon Thy Calvary

Do you see what I mean? These words, which center my attention on what matters most, speak of something that I cannot drop out of my day without great loss to me.

I know without question that an earnest "look" at Calvary does more to help our life of prayer than we imagine:

So shall the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing continually before Thee, O Lord my helper and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

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MY FATHER, SOMETHING inward tells me I have been living scattered. Sometimes anxious. Restless. Distracted. Wandering inside. I fix my eyes upon the cross now- upon the post and crossbeam which became my one bridge back to your side. And I lift my eyes beyond the cross, to the One who sits beside you- to Jesus, the Risen One! My Lord, my brother, with arms outstretched in welcome. Calling me:

"Come home."

I come, Father, to hide myself in you.



-I Come Quietly to Meet You- Amy Carmichael pg. 13-14

I recently sold this picture to one of the companies in town, so I am now a Professional Photographer!! :) God has just been AMAZING in this process! He gave me the ability to take it, He made up the mind of the company, and He sold it for me. All praise to God! :D

Who's in Charge?

Because God is in control, we face each day with His power and love. If you receive some hard knocks today, turn them over to God. If you've been cheated, give the problem to God. If employees do not fulfill their responsibilities admit your loss and trust God fully. Christians must never seek revenge, no matter how bad the circumstances. The impulse for revenge comes from people who think that systems or bosses or powerful people are in control. Christians believe that God has ultimate power.

~Putting on a Gentle and Quite Spirit, Elizabeth George pg. 74

"It's A Wonderful Life" :D

The Gang. :D

George and Me




Seniors! :D


One of my daughters. :D

Set designer lady. She's AMAZING!




My dressing buddies. :D









Pictures the elementary drew after watching it. :D






Uncle Billy and Me


Aunt Tilly and Me

things that make me happy

old family plates...

Yummy food...

colors that go perfect together...

I will be posting pictures from vacation and the play soon. :D

On the Radio! :P

Clarence (Chris), Mary (Me), Aunt Tilly (Paige), George(George)

Us after being on the radio. We went to Hardee's afterward. :)

Me and the part of the radio sign. :)

Matinee Today

Here are some pictures so that you get somewhat of an idea of what my hair will look like. This is premakeup precostume look. I will hopefully be able to get some after we are ready for the play. :) Pray for me precious people!! The matinee is at 12:30, so I've got to be there at 11:45. Hopefully Ethan will be taping it for you all to see later!! :) Well I'd better be off to warm up my voice.. la la la la la la laaa.......

My wedding ring!! :) haha

A Sneak Peak

Hello there wonderful people! :)
This is it, the final week of the play. Yesterday we had our last play practice. *sigh* Now our first performance will be tomorrow... oh my, I can't believe it is TOMORROW.... we will be performing for the elementary at 12:30. Our official public performances starts Friday evening. Friday morning George, Clarence and I have a radio interview at 8:30am. I am so excited!! Friday we also have pictures taken with a professional photographer. Saturday is another performance at 7:30. The cast party is on Sunday. Monday is our LAST performance at 7:30. *sigh*. Then we will be ALL done. It's ALMOST OVER! :( I can't believe it was in May that we had auditions and we are finally performing NOW!!

We were in one of the local papers on Sunday and will be in another paper tomorrow. :)

So to start of the performance weekend I will show you guys one movie that I have from the play so far. It is just a blooper where George.... well you'll just have to watch it. :)

Here are the pictures from one of the papers, and here is the article. :)

Here is the news article from our town from a couple weeks ago.

Here is one of my favorite pictures.

What is it that you want Mary?

George: Do you want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon Mary.

Mary: I'll take it... then what?

George: Well, then you could swallow it see, and then the moon beams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... am I talking too much?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can you believe that the play is only 13 days away!! Yes, I am nervous!! Things are going well... but I'm still nervous. Pray for me please!!

Also, it was about 62 degrees out today. It was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!!!

And lastly, I finally got a new camera lens, thus the moon picture. It is a 55-250mm telephoto lens. I am SOO EXCITED!!!

Well, that's my update for now. How about you? What's going on in your life? Leave me a comment and let me know! I love hearing from you. :P

haha...no comment...

Senior Pictures

Don't forget to stop the music on the side so you can hear the music on here. :)


The song that is playing is "While the Trees Sleep" By David Nevue

Weep with those who weep...

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.- Matthew 5:4

This morning the Lord called home one of His faithful followers, a man that "Walked with God" daily. He truly was amazing and I miss him VERY much. He was such a blessing to me and those around him. So if you could be in prayer for us during this time, especially for his wife Connie. She is such a kindred Spirit and she has such an amazing Godward focus right now, she has been such a humongous blessing to us as we mourn her husband's death. But also be in prayer that our thoughts wouldn't be focused down here on what we have lost but where he has gone. He has gone home. He is happy and he is perfect now! I must admit that I felt very selfish these last couple hours in that I wanted him here with me. But Jesus knows better, and just think... someday we will all be together in the presence of God. No more tears. No more sorrow. No more heartache. I can't wait for that day...

I strongly urge you to go read my dad's blog. He explains what I am feeling so much better than I ever could...

"When I grow up, I wanna be just like Stan."

Hello I'm Ana ...

Hello, I'm Ana, Leah's sister ... her blog was up so I thought I'd leave ya'll a note. :) Hello everyone! Now, I'm leaving, good-bye!

Was it really a year ago?

Well, actually it was on the 24th so I'm a couple days late.... but it was a year ago that my Grandma's cold dead body was lowered into the grave. I miss her VERY much. I find little things around the house that remind me of her and I get a little choked up. A birthday card signed with love from Grandma, a picture of her giving me a gift..... priceless treasures......

" O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:55-58

Decorating With Leah

(Hurrah for LARGE cork bulletin boards!! YEAH!)

(Here is a trick that I have found to work: instead of using your normal push pins, use some old earrings. Although I did find out that the straight backs work a LOT better than the curved backs. You can see one of my earrings in the picture above.)Unfortunately my room still lacks an absolutely-squishy-totally-rotic-shaby-chic-rug for the middle of my floor...... I think I am wanting it in a burnt orange color...... what's a girl to do?

(Click on each picture to see it better.)
Here is a picture of my new bedspread!! :) It makes me SO happy!