This is what I have been up to lately....

Ya'll wanted to see what I have been up to in the last little while? Well, here are some glimpses of my last two weeks (Aug 11th-22nd, events in order). Enjoy!

Family vacation in South Dakota and Wyoming...

...ending with a Waldo family reunion and

celebrating my great-uncle's 90th birthday party

@ Pepperjax Grill. Cousins are the best friends you'll ever have. :)

Something's funny... :)
I visited Betsy for about 5 days. It was awesomely fun, of course! ;)

Wiedemeier family reunion! This is only about 3/4 of all the 1st cousins. :)

Can you spot me? Ellie is right behind me, for those of you looking for her. ;)

Most of the married cousins and their spouses and kids, with Grandma.

About half of the second cousins. Adorable kids! :)

{More pics to come if I have time. :D}

Interesting passage..

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Matthew 9:28-29

So I was reading this passage in my quiet time this morning and this part just stood out to me...
These demons knew that a time is coming where they will be cast into the place of torment for ever and ever. I don't know why, but that was quite revealing to me.
They know their day is coming, they know Satan has been defeated! However, obviously there is still a war being waged and we need to be so aware. Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. He hates us and He hates God. In order to wage war against the devil, we must realize his subtle scheme and be prepared to fight against him; for the Lord and for our souls.

Hey everybody! Just wanted to see if this works... I am posting this by texting from my cell. If this works out ok, I might actually post a lot more. :)

Alaina

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

~Casting Crowns; Praise You In This Storm

Alaina, I miss you so much my dear friend. I can't begin to describe the hurt and pain I feel right now knowing I'll never see you here on this earth again. My heart is aching so much for Josh right now, I don't even know what to say. What you two had was more than perfect and I still can't believe it's gone. I'm going to miss everything about you, my sweet friend, especially your brightness that you brought to my life. The way you lived and your life always challenged me to be sure of what I believe so I would be able to give an answer to anyone who asks, of the hope that is in me! I've been praying so hard for your mom, your dad, Kelsey, Jacob, all of the Beasleys and closest friends you left behind almost every waking moment. In the deepest moments of grief and pain in the hearts of His children, I believe God weeps with us. I know His heart is breaking for Josh, for your family, for the Beasleys, and for your dearest friends.

I praise you God, for You are sovereign. You see the whole picture even if I don't.

May I trust in YOU, knowing that you are faithful

and will "work all things for good to those who love you."

"the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 1:21

I love you girl and I can't wait to see you in Heaven!

and one more final thing...I am wishing that you could play more basketball.

(this was Alaina's final facebook status message...)

Hey...

Sorry friends for the very long time it's been since I've posted on my blog! My laptop charging cord has been broke for awhile and so I have not been able to use my computer. Very annoying! lol So I just received it in the mail yesterday so now I can post again! wooh! :-D
This time I am going to do something a little bit different... You choose what I post about next! Just leave a comment and tell me what event or fun occasion that you and I were both at and I will post any pictures with captions that I have on that subject. : ) If I get several replies, I will choose the best one or two out of the bunch. ; )

My funnest birthday in YEARS! : )

This is the night before my birthday and to celebrate, Nicole and I went to see one of our favorite movies...again. ;-)

Nicole and I were on our fruit and veggie diet on my birthday...

so we went to HyVee for lunch and ate from their delicious salad bar. yum!! :-P

After lunch we spent a good 1-2 hours at a VERY COOL thrift store picking up unique furniture and nick-knacks for decorating the store that Nicole and her mom, Susie, are opening in November.

Later we headed to the Old Market and spent the entire afternoon strolling through
neat old shops and take photo shoots.

This is the SO fun 1950's Candy Shop!

Trying on cowboy hats at the very cool leather store where most coats were over $2, 000!

Below: We found the ole' "secret passageway"

We both had tons of fun doing this photo shoot. I just wish I had a nicer camera so the pictures would look a bit better, but what I have works! ;-) It's nice and small and fits into my side pocket on my all my skirts or pants.

Have any of you ever been to "the slides" in down town Omaha?? If not, you HAVE to go!

They are SO fun... Just be sure to bring a box of wax paper (it makes you go faster if you sit on a sheet of it). It's totally free and makes for some very good memories. : )

Thanks Nicole for helping make my birthday so wonderful... ;-)

I love you, sis. <3