Opening My Eyes

Today is Thankful Thursday again and today I am so thankful for how God has been working in and through me! A friend of mine posted this beautiful song on Facebook today and it fits the way I have been feeling for the past couple of weeks. I am so thankful that God has opened my eyes to the work of His hands!! There are so many exciting things happening and I am patiently waiting in expectation of the things He has in store for us as we travel to Uganda in 24 day and 23 hours!! (I do have it down to the minutes also on my google ticker!) Can you tell I am excited???? I can't wait to share some things that I know will be happening while we are gone, but you will have to stay tuned for that!! It is super exciting to me! God is good!!!

Thankful Thursday!!

I am doing an online Bible study on the book of Psalms by Wendy Pope from Proverbs 31 Ministries. We are taking it slow and only doing one chapter a week, but I am loving it. It really makes you think.

She is calling every Thursday "Thankful Thursday" and we are supposed to tell one thing that we are thankful for. I have really struggled with my 50th birthday and have really had a BIG stinky attitude for the last 2 - 3 weeks about it. I made it very clear that I didn't want a big party with lots of gag gifts about being "old".

In the last few days, God has really gotten a hold of me and convicted me about my thinking on this matter. Today I am very thankful that He has chosen to leave me here on this earth after a short battle with cancer 8 years ago. Otherwise, I would not have even seen my youngest grandchild, Ella. I would never have experienced Uganda, which I have absolutely fallen in love with. I would never have experienced some of the friendships I now enjoy so much. I now realize how blessed I am for being 50 and am praying for many more wonderful years!!!

Matthew West - My Own Little World

This is the t-shirt design Melvena came up with for our trip to Uganda, that I'm sure was taken from this song. I can't wait to get mine!! And I love this song!!

A Great Raffle Give Away!!

We are so excited to be going to Africa for the fourth year in a row!!!! We have developed some wonderful relationships with several people that live in Uganda and can't wait to see them again. We are leaving February 27th with a team of nine people that we are excited to share this journey with. In an effort to raise funds for this trip for expenses and projects we are going to raffle off three (yes...3) IPad 2, 3Gs.

The cost is 1 ticket for $20 or 2 tickets for $30. The drawing will be January 31st and tickets will be available at the Tin Lion Coffeehouse or you can contact any of the team members for tickets. Team members include: Justin and I, Don Neufeld, Leon Neufeld, Melvena Ewald, Ashlee Bohnet, Debbie Whiteneck and Gary and Shari Rowe. We appreciate your support!!!!

God's Love in Action!!

This is a book I have been reading about the life and ministry of Katie Davis. She is an amazing young woman, who has given her life to go and live and minister to the people of Uganda. She was only nineteen years old when she chose to say yes to God and move to a third world country, resulting in adopting fourteen young girls and taking care of hundreds of others. She is wise beyond her years. She lives in Jinja and works in the village of Masese where we visited last year. I have never before seen such poverty!

She is an inspiration to me and I hope I have the opportunity to meet her when we go to Uganda in February. She is such an example of what God's love is all about, caring for the widows and orphans.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you have ever been to Uganda or if you have a desire to go.

Enthusiastic?

In my daily devotions this week, I decided to start reading Revelations. It's something I have avoided, because it is so hard to understand. A lot of people have been talking about the end times since mother nature has surprised us with such weird weather and earthquakes. I think about the second coming often and Justin and I have talked about how close it really must be. I decided to take it really slow and soak it in. My Bible is a New International Life Application and it has a commentary at the bottom.

I have been reading everything that is written and it has really helped.

Today I read chapter 2 and verse 4 and 5 just leaped off the page with such conviction. It said:

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent , I will come to you and remove your lampstand from it's place.

The commentary said: In the first steps of your Christian life, you may have had enthusiasm without knowledge. Do you now have knowledge without enthusiasm? Both are necessary if we are to keep love for God intense and untarnished. Do you love God with the same fervor as when you were a new Christian?

My desire is to be an enthusiastic follower of God and really love the person that is front of me and be a reflection of Him. Really made me think today. How enthusiastic am I?

~ Mexican Yumminess~

My favorite food in the whole world is Mexican! I have made chicken enchiladas several times, but today I decided to get a little creative and try something different. Here is what I came up with! It was amazing, even if I say so myself!!

When we were in Uganda, Grace (the lady that does the cooking when there are teams there) made fresh sauted spinach with onions and garlic. I have never liked cooked spinach, but I made up my mind I was going to try everything she fixed. It was soooo good! It wasn't soggy or slimey like canned or frozen spinach. So with that in mind, I decided to incorporate it into my chicken enchiladas. Boil the chicken and shred (I used a large package of thighs) Then make the sauce, which is:

1/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Flour

2 Cups Chicken Broth

8 Ounces Sour Cream

Chopped Jalepenos`

Melt the butter on low and then stir in the flour and stir until smooth. Slowly add the chicken broth and keep stirring until it is thick and bubbly. Remove it from the heat and add the sour cream and jalepenos`. Pour half of the sauce in the bottom of a 13X9 baking dish.

Chop an onion and 3 to 4 cloves of garlic and probably a half of a bag of baby spinach (rough chop) and saute` in a small amount of butter until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add the shredded chicken and sprinkle with Cumin (about 1 teaspoon). Dip corn tortillas in hot grease and fill with chicken mixture and a small amount of Monterey Jack cheese. Pour the remaining sauce on top and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Add a layer of Jack cheese and bake until just browned.

Enjoy!!!!

Home Is Where The Heart Is! ?

This is our home away from home in Elk City. We are trying to make it home and are feeling more comfortable there all the time, but there is no place like home (Fairview). We have been living here during the week since April, 2011. Thank you Linn Energy for taking such good care of us!

Noodles, Noodles and More Noodles!!!

This is something I always look forward to! Every year the week before the Mennonite Relief Sale a big group get together to make noodles to sell. It starts with 20 dozen eggs, 50 pounds of flour and a lot of willing workers. This year we had about 20 people show up to help.

It is so much fun hanging out with these older ladies and gentlemen and visit while you work for the 4 to 5 hours it takes to make these wonderful noodles. I always hear some really interesting stories!

Eva Neufeld and Carolyn Winter usually get there earlier than anyone else and start making the dough, so that when the rest of us get there we can start the kneading and rolling process. Eva always mans the mixer.

Carolyn breaking the eggs for the mixer.

Marcia Shewey was the kneader today. Everyone just jumps in anywhere they can.

A BIG PILE OF DOUGH READY FOR ROLLING!!!!

There were probably about 10 noodle machines there today and we had them all working hard. This is Millie and Gene rolling out the dough into strips to dry.

There were at least 5 or 6 racks for drying and they were all full several different times.

Every table in the dining hall was full of noodles that will dry over night before packaging.

Rolling, rolling, rolling!!!

These are the wide noodles.

And finally the thin noodles. After we are all finished cutting and laying out the noodles, we get to sample them. Carolyn fixed a great big roaster full of chicken and noodles and it was so yummy!!! If you have never done this, you really ought to try it. It is so much fun!!!

My Girls

Just goofing around with Animoto, but turned out pretty cute! All about my grands! Just click below to view the video.

My Girls

There's A New Hurst In Town

October has been a blur in the Hurst household!! We have been so busy getting Daniel and his beautiful bride married. It has been a wonderful time in our family and we are so blessed to have another sweet daughter-in-love!! Yes, it's love, not law! Here is just a sample of pictures from our fun weekend October 8th.

Kensi and her Dad as they walked down the aisle. She looked beautiful!!

Daniel was fighting tears when he saw her for the first time. The tears won!! I am so glad they didn't take pictures together before the wedding. Call me old fashioned!!

The excited mothers waiting for the wedding to start!

Watching the photographer taking pictures of our side of the family (and waiting for their turn) before the wedding.

Dancing at the reception!! So much fun!

At the end of our Mother - Son dance and a good cry! It was such an emotional day. Daniel and I both cried a lot! Happy tears, though!

Papa dancing with his Jelly Bean!

This is the only catastrophy that happened. The cake fell apart during transport to the reception and couldn't be saved. Only the 6" top cake survived. The poor lady that was delivering the cake was hyperventalating by the time she got there. The only thing that could be done as late as it was, was to go to Wal-Mart and buy some cupcakes. Kensi handled it very well. Her reaction was "Oh well, I got Daniel, that's all I need!" So glad she wasn't a bridezilla about it!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY KENSI

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Sister!!!

Today is Lisa's 48th birthday!! Oops, was I suppose to say how old she is??? We are all going to go out to eat together tonight and celebrate at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Canton. We have shared some really fun times together, but one of my all time favorites was when we went to Africa together. Below are some of my favorite pictures from that trip of the two of us.

I usually get funny cards, but today I guess I was feeling a little sentimental. This is what the birthday card I bought for her said:

We are Sisters...our memories filled with the same images of family pets and Halloween costumes, holiday gatherings, and long car trips. Sisters....with our own world of negotiations, truces, pacts, secrets and looks of shared understanding (we do this one a lot!), united by a million everyday moments that became a lifetime of sharing. We are Sisters....and we need never ask ourselves who we are, for in each other we can see the girls we were, the women we've become, how far we've traveled in our journey together. And we know what only Sisters can know...that a love that grows through stages and phases is stronger for having been tested. That sticking together works for almost anything life can throw at us. That we belong to each other in a way that we can never belong to anyone else...in a way that is deep and lasting and real.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA, MY SWEET SISTER!!! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!

Getting Ready for a Wedding!!

We are so excited about the upcoming wedding of our youngest son Daniel and his fiance' Miss Kensi Davis. We have had fun for months planning and dreaming and now it is just about a month away. Needless to say it will envolve our whole family from Austin and Tyler being groomsmen and Sara a bridesmaid and last but certainly not least Emma and Ella will be flowergirls. They are so excited! The wedding will be in Wichita at the Grace Presbyterian Church and the reception will be at the Boathouse on the river in downtown Wichita on October 8th.

Here are just a small sampling of the engagement pictures that they took.

This is a picture of the Boathouse where the reception will be held. We saw it in person and I love the wrap around porch. I can already envision what it will look like on the day with all the lights and decorations.

This picture frame has been in the Davis family for a lot of years. It has a lot of sentimental value and got passed down to Kensi. Her aunt used it to frame one of the engagement pictures and gave to them (Not this picture, this was just for fun and NO Kensi does not wear glasses, they were just being goofy). What a special keep sake that will be.

Dessert Test

Every so often an email comes across my inbox that includes some kind of test that you take that tells something about your personality. I don't know if it works this way for everyone else, but, I am always amazed that when I take the test, it is usually pretty close to being true. At least about me. Today I got one and you were supposed to pick the dessert you liked the best. The choices were:

1. Angel Food Cake
2. Brownies
3. Lemon Meringue Pie
4. Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing
5. Strawberry Shortcake
6. Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing
7. Ice Cream
8. Carrot Cake

I chose Brownies and the meaning was: You are adventurous, love new ideas and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare you take out your saber. You are always the odd ball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

I think this is pretty accurate most of the time!

SNOW DAY!!

I love snow!! Some people get so negative about it, but I get so excited when I know we are going to get snow, especially like this. I don't like it when we just get a dusting. I love to curl up on the couch in a blanket and have a cup of hot coffee and watch a good movie. One thing missing is my hubby. He is in Texas, so I am here enjoying this by myself. He is supposed to come home tomorrow evening, but I don't know if he will be able to get here.

I wish I could walk outside, strap on some skis and head to a mountain and point them downhill. I haven't been skiing for years and this really gives me the fever!!

I can't even get the back door open. There is a huge drift up next to the door.

I think I will bake something and watch some movies and just enjoy looking out the window.

50 Years

We have been planning a 50th reception for Mom and Dad for several months now. We were so excited when it all came together Saturday and all the guests arrived. Lisa and I worked some long hours on Friday decorating and trying to decide exactly how things should be done. We decorated, tore off and re-did a few times, sat and pondered and finally congratulated ourselves on a job well done. (Nothing like tooting your own horn!!! ) We also prepared a meal for extended family members that would be traveling. When Mom and Dad walked in and saw the room, they were a bit overwhelmed.

We are so proud that they have made 50 years. Not a lot of people can say that any more. We had a great day celebrating.

The cake was absolutely beautiful and we were so excited with the way it all turned out.

Kensi, (Daniel's girlfriend) Sara and Amy served the cake and punch.

I Love Vacations!!

I am constantly looking for places to go on our next vacation. I love, love, love to go anywhere. One place we like to go to every so often is Branson. This past weekend, Justin and I decided we needed a quick get away, so we went to Branson for four days. It was beautiful!!! I always love to go in the fall because they decorate everything there, plus the trees are so pretty with all the fall colors. This year was no different, although when we got there Wednesday, everything was still pretty green and only had a hint of changing colors. By the time we left on Sunday, everything was in full color!! What a difference a few days make!

This horn of plenty was so beautiful and larger than life at Silver Dollar City. People were stopping and taking pictures in front of it, so it was hard to get a picture of it without it being covered up with people. We also went to the Hollywood Wax Museum. We had never gone before. It was very interesting, but it creeped me out a little bit. Some of them just looked dead! Some of them looked so real it looked like they could just start talking to you at any time. We had fun taking pictures with some of them.

Talladaga Nights, Ricky Bobby. SHAKE AND BAKE!!

Justin couldn't wait to get his picture taken with I Dream of Jeannie!

Me and Austin Powers.

We had such a good time. We laughed every time we would go into a show. It was a sea of grey hair everywhere we went. Cains, walkers and motorized scooters everywhere. We felt like we were the youngest ones there, but that was just fine with us.