Why We've Been Absent!!

Yes, can you believe that we actually have a good reason for being absent from the blogging world this past week-plus?!

We were blessed this last week to have some friends of mine from California here in Iowa. I was with two of them in China last summer and they were here to raise awareness for the orphans. I just wish that you all could have been apart of our times together. If so, you would be able to appreciate the amazing blessing they were to us.

We - Nate Peter, Sam, Tiffany, Chris, Tim, and myself - stayed up until well after one pm both nights. Although exhuasted, we had amazing times of fellowship. We talked and talked and talked. We laughed. We encouraged each other. We bore our hearts and shared the deep things God has taught us. It never ceases to amaze me how God can throw a random group of His children together and with not much of a friendship before, but bond so quickly! All three guys were so hilarious... I wish we could have bottled up their joy and sent some via this blog to you!

But since that's impossible, we will try to communicate it as best we can through this post. So sit back and as you read the snippets and enjoy the pictures, imagine that you were a part of our group!

When the guys got to our house Tuesday afternoon, it was bitterly cold outside... and inside too. We felt so bad that they were coming from California and experiencing an Iowa blizzard -- inside and out!

Music

Nate learned to play 'Amazing Grace' on the violin compliments of Christopher! He was an amazingly fast learner.

Sam and Peter were out-of-this-world guitarist! They could flat-pick to smooth and fast that you could only sit in awe. We had some great times of worship together at midnight!

The guitars seemed to follow wherever we went!

FOOD

Mom made amazing food as usual.

Bethy making juice for our eggs/sausage, cinnamon rolls, and fruit breakfast

KALONA TOUR

(That's tour pronounced 'tor'!)

We took the guys to the Kalona Bakery and let them experience a real cinnamon roll! Yummy!

Everytime we went to start another heavy subject, Nate would go for another round of coffee. I know, it's hard being the senior in the group! *smile*

"Does the Amish look go?!"

We went to the Cheese Factory and let the guys discover the simple joy of squeeky cheese curds.Bent-n-Dent: the great place to find crushed groceries. What can you say?? The price is right!

THE FARM

Our friends, the Bontragers, were gracious enough to give the guys a 'tor' of their farm. They learned the whole works. Sometimes more than you want to know! *wink*

They worked at demonstrating their manlihood by scaling all the hay-bale piles in sight!

And as fun as farm life can be, reality still hits sometimes. They decided to make sure this on was a gone-er!

FIGHTS

- Snowball fights -

- Sword fights -

:: There is so much more to show and tell; but time is short today. Check back soon for the rest of the story::

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Thanks again guys! These memories with be treasured forever!!