The "Giant' hit

So....guess what? Yesterday I went with best friends, Anna, Sawyer, Becky, Shayla, and Morgan, for Becky's 15th birthday to a Giants game!!! And...Buster Posey hit a home run!!!!!! YEY!
     After going to a Dodgers game in L.A. with the family I went to Vagas with a few weeks ago, watching the Giants was a blessed change. (Not that I didn't enjoy going to the Dodgers game, I just am a born and raised Giants fan, and after watching the Dodgers play, it was a confirmation of my beliefes in the Giants.
      Incase you're wondering, yes, the Giants did win. They played the Padres with a 7-1 score. :D

Buster Posey is Awsome!

                                             

                      So...who's your favorite baseball team? Is it the Giants????

                                       Are you a fan of Buster Posey like me???

                             
 We all had so much fun, between singing way off tune in the car with Sawyer's funky upbeat music, french-fry wars at in 'n' out, (Sawyer started throwing them at Becky, who in turn threw them back at him...only I was inbetween them on the seat, and then they ran out of fry's, so they used mine as I leaned back trying not to be hit with the many flying fry's going back and forth. No success in that i'm afraid. Morgan started thowing them at me next, and you can't simply leave that alone can you?? NO. Poor beck had fry's in her hair, by the time we were done.) And then watching the Giants and Posey's home run, was so amazing. :D On the way home we were no better. Anna started a game/riddle and we were going at it and ended up playing like 7 different variations of the game. We didn't end up getting back until 12:30 at night, but the day was well worth the fatige of the night. I just love my friends :)     
      
        Been to any games lately? Have any funny story's to share? Id'e love to hear from you any time.
                                                     
                                             Blessings from our Lord,

                                                        xoxo -Kayla 

Home Sweet Home

Have you ever gone on a long...ish trip and felt like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz when she says, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home," Towards the end of it? Well...I have.
     A friend of ours asked if I would go with her and her family to Las Vegas to be a 'nanny' to her five kids. I thought, "well why not? I love kids, and it would be fun to go to Vegas, right?" It was fun, however now that I am back, I feel as though home has never felt so good, so right, so...HOME! My own bed, my own house, my own family!
      Here's some of the stuff we did in Vegas.  After the first day of going to the pool to swim with the kids in 117 degree weather, we decided our regular scedual would be changing to fit that of the suns demand. So from then on, we understood why all the other Vegas dwellers stay up long into the night and seemingly disapeer in daylight. Ours for other reasons than to gamble the night away. It was just to hot to be out in the sun. Someone asked me if I would ever want to live there, and my answer was that, It is fun to visit, but... #1. It is WAY to hot! #2. I simply could never live in the city, nomatter how grand. I guess I'll always be a small town country girl. :D 
        Instead of trying to describe everything to you, I'll let the pictures do they're job of story-telling.

Our first moments in Vegas

The largest gold nugget in the world, weighing over 61 pounds!

This is at the Gold Nugget Casino/Hotel. We went there to see both the gold and this tank that holds sharks and fish surrounded by a swimming pool and a water tube/slide that go's through the midddle of the tank. (You can see a person sliding through in the pic)

One of the many Hotels in the city. (I was told around two million tourists come to see Las Vegas every year.)

 Eiffle Tower in the Perisian part of Vegas

Lights, lights, and yet more lights!

Bellagio Fountains

Zip lines going down the length of Freemont street. AWSOME!!!

In the Bellagio Hotel

The Amazing Coka-Cola store, where you can get a coke from any country. Unfortunatly we didn't get achance to stop there, but it sure looks fun!

 A friend of ours and, Paul Draper. He is a magician, and of course the kids love him to no end. You can check out some of his videos on you tube. :) 

   So, if you asked me if I had fun my answer to you would be yes, and I am so happy to finnally be home. What are you doing this summer??? Go anywhere fun? I'de love to hear from you by comment or email.
                                                     Blessings to you all, xoxo -Kayla

Hartstone

Hi everyone! How are you? Was your week good/bad or inbetween? My best friend Beck and I went to Hartstone bible camp tueday-friday as volenteers. Working in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, serving. Free time on the rope swings, swimming and rafting on the river. Hard work, time with friends I know and love, and getting to know new ones.
    I loved the time in the mornings, after we had finished making and serving breakfast, when we, (the staff) would sit down and eat breakfast together. And Stan (the Director of Hartsone) would read the devotion and then ask us what prayer requests we had and then pray about/for them. The openess and heartfelt concern they have, the time we spent in prayer about the campers, ability to bless and shine the light of Christ to them, all of it. I loved the time I spent there. I'll admit I'm tired and feel like I need to scrub in the shower for a week, (actually, I'm going to right after this post. Well not a week, but you get the point.:)  But the time I spent there was something I wish anyone who has a heart for service could do. It's amazing.
     While the campers ate, I would smile as I watched them. Little ones with sticky faces, elbow songs, (they would make anyone who set they're elbows on the table stand up and sing a song for everyone. I felt bad for them... How embarassing! But they all had fun, so no worries.:) Anyway, I just can't tell you what a blessing it was to see them all so happy and having fun. And the way they made Christ the center of it all. Okay, if I'm not making sence, I'm sorry, I am SO tired, but I wanted to write this before I don't have time or am WAY to tired later. :) I have a few pics I want to post, but right now I'm at Beck's, and have no transfer cable, so you'll have to wait a day or two...Sorry! Hope you have had a great week, I would love to hear your summer/fourth of July/vaccation plans! :D
      xoxo -Kayla

Vacation Bible School 2012



Well, here I am back home after a week of VBS at our church in Potter Valey. It was amazing. The kids, the volenteers, the way God worked it all togetether. I feel so blessed that I was able to help out. The kids in the group I lead were all so sweet, inteligent, and respectful. I already miss them, and pray God would continue to work in they're hearts as only He can.



A few of the children in my group who were not from our church were a bit reserved and shy at the beggining of the week. By Thursday, and mainly Friday, they opened up and were so much more reseptive of the things being taught them, more involved in the various activities and felt more free to ask questions.

During snack time the other leaders and I would ask the kids reveiw questions and memorize verses. On Friday I was sittting with all the kids in front of me as I questioned them on what we had learned in the past week here at VBS. I asked them "Was the earth made in six litteral days by God, or in billions and billions of years?" (Creation was our theme)  Most everyone raised they're hand, but I asked one of the kids who was my shy one if she knew. She looked at me a said honestly, "I'm not sure." I went on to tell her what the bible says about it and that the earth was really made in six short days. But later after leaving, as I recounted all the events of the day, it was both humbling and sobbering to really see that there are those who do not know the truth of the bible. Or the Jesus who can save them. Iv'e grown up learning these things, and although I knew there were many who reject this truth, and choose instead the worlds thwarted theary, it reminded me into the relization that little children, innosent and ready to learn, are being taught by this world the veiws and doctrines of man rather than that of Jesus Christ. It made me relize all that much more how important and needed it is to proclaim the redemtive love of Christ, and the truth that comes from Him. So I thank all those at VBS that shined the light of Christ to these little ones. "So shall My word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 Planting seeds in the hearts of the children.
  

This is Keely, the one that headed up this whole thing. She did an amazing job, and I want to say thank you to her once again for all that she did. (In the pic, she is doing a skit with her dad for bible time.)

And thank you game team, I know it was a highlight to the kids day. They especialy liked the water balloons, and throwing them at you all i'm sure made them excited....LOL! (I know because they would ask me when it was time for the water balloons, and if they could throw them at you.)

The craft team did an amazing job with coming up with all the crafts, and putting it together. Thank you all!

Here the game crew, waits on the bancony, for the older group to come outside so they can douse them in water......hahaha!

My best friend Becky did the nursry, thank you!

Anna  (also my best friend) helped with games as well, and did a great job with the kids :D

Like Keely said on her blog, it couldn't have happened without all the help put in by everyone. I pray this VBS was the first of many to come for our church in Potter. I would ask that we all continue to pray for these children, that they would be lead to Jesus Christ, and His redemtion and truth. 


Blessings to you all. -Kayla 

A life worthy of living

      I have to tell you something that someone said that made me well...shocked? Not excactly. Surprised would more be the word i'm looking for.
      When my daddy picked me up after a weekend spent with friends and church family in Potter Valley and the rodeo, we went to see my Grandma who stays at the care home in Willits. As we walked down the hallways with her, we stopped to say "Hi" to one of the othe residents we have met numeral times, and always seem to go away with an encouraged heart after seeing him. (He is the type of person who try's to thank the Lord for everything in life, and always sends the Lords blessing your way when you are leaving. You know, the kind that you always end up smiling at even if your sad yourself, and your smile ends up staying with you even after you have said your "good-byes") Anyway, we had said hi and were about to move on, when my grandma decided to introduce my little brother to him whom he had yet to meet. My dad started talking to him and told him he had 5 boys and 2 girls. The man looked at me then my dad and said "So this is your seccond wife?" (Reffering to me) I laughed so hard! I tryed to supress it as to not embarass the man at his mistaken asumption. But I couldn't help it. Once I had quited the laghter, along with my dad, he explained that I am his daughter and he had one more little girl, but my mom was at home. The man told us that when he was married, he had a wife who had had more than one abortion even without his knowing of it. Only he did not use the word abortion, but instead murder. I was at first shocked, and suprised at the way he worded it. But that is really what it is. Only, our culture has excepted this as "a parents rightful choice" never considering it for what it really is. Do we really murder when someone has an abortion? We have been as frogs, slowly starting at a convincing, seemingly innocent warm, but ending in a deathly boil. From 1973-2008 nearly 50 million legal abortions have occured in the U.S. According to Abort73.com. God has said that the being in a mothers womb is a living, wonderfully created child. "For You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; mavelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." Psalms 139 :13-16 God knows who we were, are, or will be, before we are even born. He has a plan for our lives, even before we are brought forth on this earth. Who are we to say that a child in his/her mothers womb, is not even a person. That they are merely a blob of tissue untill the full 9 months of pregnancy have been fullfilled? Did you know that abortions have taken place even up to this point? To take the life of one so blameless and innocent, and take away they're chance for living, is appalling. And not only to do it, but to say that it is ok and indoctrinate young mothers that it is even the right thing to do. I know everyone has her "reason" for when and if they make this choice. Whether it be that she is afraid of being left alone in the world to fend for herself and a new baby taboot, or that she "had not planned this pregnancy," or maybe that she thinks she has enough children already. Whatever the reason, it does not compensate for the fact that it is a child, a human being, even from the point of conseption. It brakes my heart that so many do not even know what they are doing, that they have been brainwashed into the worlds ragime of indoctranation that this is ok. and normal even.
    I was so moved by the way the man at the care home had said with such honest conviction and belief that abortion was and is, truely murder. The murdering of sweet innocent babies. I pray God would open the blind eyes of so many who don't even fully understand or recognize what they are doing and turn to Jesus in repentence and a saving knowledge of Christ. The sad thing is that many are christians even as thay make this dicision. If you wish to know more on this subject of abortion and the facts reffering to it, the website I was on seemed pretty accuate.  Abort73.com I do not write this to make you feel ashamed or without hope, but rather to help open our eyes to the truth. The absolute, undiluted facts. Without this we will not feel the need for change. And change...this is exactly what we need. 

   Please know I say this in all love for you, my dear readers, so that you will know the truth regarding this so you do not make a heartbreaking decision. Many of my friends who read this are far from the point of needing to even consider one way or the other. However, I would wish you to be aware for future refrence. May the love of Jesus permenate your hearts today.
-Kayla A.

A small town with big heart



The Potter Valley Rodeo was a fun afffair with all the locals gathering for they're 'One big event' (as my best friend Anna called it) in the small countryside town. Here are some friends I hung out with for the weekend :D I didn't get a pic of Anna and I yet, so I'll have to take one next time, but these are some of her siblings and they're friends.



This is on Sunday, when they do the bigger stuff life bull-riding, wrangling, and the sort.

On Saturday it is more of just the locals and they're activities. Here they are having a log cuttting contest. This is the Potter Valley competing side, with some of the men from our church. And guess who won? Yep! It was us!

Bull-riding is pretty dangerous and you have to be kinda crazy to be a competiter in it, but to watch it is rather exciting. Here the bull is trying to ram the man ahead of him, as he runs out the gate. (Sorry the picture is so blurry, I had to zoom way in and my camera does not to so well with it.)  

This one was quite "Bull-headed" as they call it. It took about 15 min. to finally get it back into the corral. It just refused to budge. They had to finally release some other smaller steer to try and heard it back in. It took a while though, and everyone thought it pretty comical. (All except the wranglers, I'm sure) lol



I'll let the picture speek for itself....



Oh, here is my friends daughter playing on the trampaling. Isn't she cute? I know, It probably seems like this has nothing to do with the rodeo. But my friend very genorously let me stay at her house Sat. night so I could be there to help with the rodeo breakfast in the morning, and see the rest of the rodeo. So, here I was playing with the girls after the Sat. rodeo.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! They are so cute! :D

This is in the car as Julie drove me back to Willits Sunday afternoon. It was so fun to help out and play a small part in our church minnistry. I hope to do this next year and the year after and the year after that. I just love our church family! Thank you all for the part you played in the volenteer work for the rodeo. I pray we may all shine as lights to this dark world, even with things like being willing to lend a helping hand in the rodeo to make the load lighter for everyone. It was so good to see everyone just pitch-in and work together as if we had been all our lives. The brotherly love that radiates from one person to the other is so encouraging to see. And if it is an encouragment to someone who is already a christian and a part of the body of Christ, think of what a testiment it is to the on-lookers who do not have Christ's spirit yet in them. 


This is just a start of the things the Summer season will bring, and I for one look forward to it with all my heart.
Blessings, -Kayla A.

Rodeo, and the Love of Christ

This weekend is the rodeo! I have always loved all the horses, country, rodeo etc.. Kind of stuff. Unfortunatley where I live you can't have horses or any kind of large farm animals. We're up in the hills, but this one of the strange rules of our Brooktrails reigon. (My daddy said it's 'cause of the noise assosiated with them.) :( Anyway, any and every chance I get to be at farms, ranches, any place with horses etc. I jump at it. I'm a country girl. My Aunt laughed at me when I told her the story of the rooster butchering at our friend's house, and how halarious it ended up being in the end. (I have the story on an earlier post if you want to check it out.) Anyway, she thought it was funny because when I was little, (about 2 or 3) we lived in Petaluma. And well, one time I was in the car with her and my uncle, when all of a sudden, I sarted screeming. I am, as I write this wanting to delete it all, but hopefully it will give you a good laugh, so I will humiliate myself with the consolation of making you smile...My uncle thought I was hurt and he was really concerned, so he pulled over...only to find out it was a fly! I thought it was a hornet, and back then I didn't handle that kind of thing very well, (actually not well at all.) As my aunt told this story to her friend right in front of me, I declared that story had had WAY to much milage! She only laughed and told me I would NEVER outlive it. However in contrast, only last week I was talking to a friend when she told me I had a bee in my hair, we were both trying to get it out, but it was stuck. Once finally out, I kinda just laughed at the difference in the way I handle this kind of thing, now that I have lived in the country for just over 11 years. I LOVE THE COUNTRY and couldn't imagine myself living back in the city. Although I can't have a ranch or farm of my own, I enjoy spending time with other people who do. Maybe someday we will. I have prayed that if it is God's will we would move to a place where such a dream could come true. But for now, I will be content in my little nook of the hills where even here God's glory and splendor surrounds me every day. I thank God for His wonderful design in everything He has made! This morning when I woke up I was a bit disapointed that it was overcast and chilly. I was worried it would last into tomorrow and Sunday. But as I sat on the edge of my mom's bed, waiting for her to be off the phone so I could talk to her, the skylight above me burst sunlight onto my skin, warming both my body and soul. I was reminded of how much Jesus really loves us, and cares. He would take care of the weather, and my heart. I prayed that He would make it warm if He willed it to be so, but even if not, I would still be joyful, and make the best of it. And you know what? It is now warmer! Not that I by my prayer made it so, but Jesus does care, and Him letting the sunshine show it's face made me smile, and remember just how much He listens to His children and cares. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial weekend! Id'e love to hear what you are doing!
Remember today just how much you are treasured and loved by Jesus!
-Kayla A.    

Pretty Ain't it?!