Radiant Purity Conference in Bristol, VA

"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

1 Timothy 4:12

Three Friday's ago Daddy, Hannah, Alexis, and I (Kimber) went to a Radiant Purity Conference in Bristol, VA. [For those of you not familiar with the Bright Lights Ministry of Sarah Mally - author of Before You Meet Prince Charming - then go to: http://www.blogger.com/www.tomorrowsforefathers.com and click on the "bright lights" icon] We left around 1 PM. Daddy arrived home early, so he could shine up the truck for us. He washed the car, sprayed the tire wheels, and made his truck look fabulous! Then he took a shower and we left after saying goodbye to Mama and the rest of the siblings. We decided to skip eating dinner along the way, so we could eat with the Whitsons at Taco Bell later that night. (Yes, our friends, the Whitsons, came also! Well, minus Michael and Madelyn)

We arrived at Belle Meadows Baptist Church (where the conference was being held) 5 minutes late but we found our groups easily (thanks Mrs. Whitson!). I was in the Crystal group, Alexis and Abby Whitson were in the Opals, and Hannah was in the Garnets. I forgot what group Taylor was in but she wasn't in any of ours. The conference went really well that night. My leader's name was Micah-Noel and she was very nice. After we had our snacks I met up with Taylor, Abby, and the rest. I really couldn't wait to see Taylor and it had only been a week since we saw them last!

After the conference ended we all went to Taco Bell for a late night meal!

Taylor and Hannah

Daddy, Mr. Whitson, and Mrs. Whitson.

Lexi and Abby.

Lexi was a last second addition, so she and Abby were so happy to be together! :)





left to right: Daddy, Me (Kimber), Abby, Alexis, Taylor, Hannah, and Mr. Whitson.








You see from the above pictures that we were inside but it was too cold in there so we moved outside.





When we were done we drove to our LaQuinta Inn, checked in our rooms, got settled, and walked around for a little bit.







Voila!

Some lamps outside of the lobby.

Our bedroom.

Daddy asked (and I prayed) that we could get a room next to the Whitsons and the lady said yes! So, we were room #319 and the Whitsons were #320.

The first thing we did after we got settled was go to the lobby and ask if we could swim in the pool even though it was after hours.

The lady was very, very kind and said we could as long as we were quiet. So we put on our suits and headed down to the pool! (It was dark now and around 10:30-11:00 PM)

[Daddy took all of the pool pictures for me - thanks Daddy!]

Mr. Whitson

Daddy and Mr. Whitson just stayed out of the pool and watched us.

Getting ready to jump in!

Alexis and Abby reported that it was warm, but when we checked on it it was cold! :) Well, at least cold for 11:00 at night! :)

Taylor

To keep us warm in the cold pool we played different games, swam laps, raced, etc. The picture above is of Taylor when we swam on our back!

Talking

Handstand Contest!

After about 15-30 minutes of swimming around some of us started to shiver and our lips started quivering so we decided to get out! :)

Abby and Alexis going back to our rooms.

After some of us took showers, read the Bible, warmed up by the hair dryer, etc. we hopped into bed by 12 AM!

Well, the next morning we (the Wassenbergs!) were up at 6 AM. After showering, dressing, brushing teeth, etc. we went down to their breakfast bar. They had lots of good food there! I really like instant oatmeal and they had that so I poured out the dry ingredients and went to get the wet! Well, none of the "hot" liquids had any signs that I remember seeing so I just picked the one that looked best...little did I know that that was the espresso! :-P Well, let's just say I like water in my oatmeal not espresso! Thankfully, I caught myself before I poured too much but the oatmeal still had an espresso aftertaste - yuck! :)

Lexi, Hannah, and I before going into the church.

Lexi eating lunch.

After the morning sessions and lunch we were a little bored so we decided to count how many bricks was in this wall:

Hannah counting

Taylor calculating

Mr. Whitson and Daddy thinking.

Daddy helping us count! :)

Mr. Whitson demonstrating how to count bricks!

He counted the top bricks in less than 5 minutes while it took Taylor and Hannah about twice to four times longer! :)

After all the afternoon sessions, we went to Cracker Barrel. That was the first time we (Hannah, Alexis, and I) had EVER been to Cracker Barrel, so it was interesting trying to order! :) I ended up with French Toast and Hashbrown Casserole, Hannah had a bacon burger, and Alexis had grilled cheese.

After filling ourselves to the fullest point imaginable (thanks for dinner, Mr. Whitson!) we went outside and there was an absolutely beautiful sunset! So we decided to take pictures together before we left.

The sunset!

Abby, Mr. Whitson, Mrs. Whitson, and Taylor

Another picture!

Me, Daddy, Alexis, and Hannah

Mrs. Whitson took pictures with the camera and she did great after all of my confusing instructions!

If you can't tell I (far left) was completely out of the loop that we were supposed to be making "serious" faces. Whoops! :)

The sunset again!

Just as we started to climb in the car (after saying goodbye) Mrs. Whitson ran up and asked if we could get a "Girl picture!"

The 5 girls!

Then we sorrowfully said goodbye, climbed into our cars, and drove away. Of course we wish to see each other really, really soon!

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One of the things that I learned at the conference was that I need to give my dreams to Jesus and be what He wants me to be. I also learned to live my single years for the Lord and not be wasting away to nothing while waiting for a husband! :) It was a very helpful, encouraging weekend...I wish I could go on and on about the Chalk Talks, the seminars, the group talks, Miss Mally, the skits, and more but I don't have time so this will have to be it for today. :(

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All for Jesus,

Kimber

P.S - I'm REALLY behind on my posting - sorry!

The Stages of my Black Swallow-tail Butterfly

Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

Genesis 1:30

BUTTERFLIES!

My family and I went on a walk last month and when we were walking home, I happened to come across a caterpillar! I was of course excited about my discovery and decided to take it home and let it turn into a butterfly! I found out that it was a black swallow-tail butterfly and I took care of it with the instructions I found on a website.

Daddy thought that since he had never seen the life cycle of a butterfly in real life that I should post about it so others could experience it themselves!

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

STAGE : 1

Here is the caterpillar the way I had found it!

STAGE:2

This is the caterpillar hanging on his weed by a thin silk.

(Sorry about the sideways picture!)

STAGE: 3

This is the Chrysalis

stage: 4

He's OUT!!! It is important that the New Butterfly has plenty of room to dry it's wings otherwise if it is confined to a small area it's wings will dry incorrectly and he/she will not be able to fly.

-Kimber was lucky to see it starting to come out otherwise #1 We would have missed out on a wonderful experience #2 The butterfly would have probably not have been able to fly. (because of it's confined home)

STAGE: 5

Fanning him/herself in order to dry the wings!

_________________________________________________________________

WOW, what an amazing design from our creator!

♦His Princess,♦

♥Alexis♥

☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺

The Whitson Post!

"A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity."

Proverbs 17:17

To make a long story short, after 2 trips to the Vision Forum Father & Daughter Retreat in Georgia and seeing Mr. Whitson, Taylor, and Abby both times we always "hit it off." When Daddy and I (Kimber) went earlier this year we said they would have to come visit (they said the same) and we finally arranged something! They decided that last week would be the week!

After a couple of phone calls and emails arranging the details, asking questions, etc. the Whitsons arrived around 1:15 last Monday afternoon. Before they arrived we zoomed around the house (and outdoors!) cleaning, organizing, perfecting, etc.! :)

After they (the Whitsons) all piled out of their car we went through the Wassenberg House Tour, showed them their room, talked, laughed, and had fun! Then we went outside and we harvested around 40 ears of corn from our garden and then shucked, de-haired, and cleaned it. The Whitsons live in the mountains so they weren't used to Virginia humidity and it just so happened that the week they came was the hottest! :) So, Daddy took most of us to our neighbors' pool to cool down. Mrs. Whitson and Mama with some of the younger ones stayed home and prepared dinner. Monday nights' dinner was lasagna (from the Whitsons) along with bread, corn, etc. For dessert we ate the Whitsons carrot-zucchini cake (really good by the way!).

Taylor (14) and Abby (10) slept in our (the girls) room on the top bunks, Michael (8) slept in the boys room and Madelynn (almost 2) slept in the guest room with Mr. and Mrs. Whitson.

Breakfast Tuesday morning! :)

After a wonderful breakfast we prepared to leave home for Stratford Hall (Robert E. Lee's birthplace).

[The Whitsons wanted to do a little sight-seeing while they were here and most of us - the Wassenbergs - love History so it's always fun to learn something new!]

Seth, Michael, Caleb, and Eden walking into the Stratford Hall Visitor Center.








After reading some of the things the visitor center had, taking potty breaks, etc. we exited the Visitor Center and went along a bridge to get to the Lee's Mansion.

Walking along the bridge.

Eden, Alexis, and Abby.

Lexi and Abby are very similar and so they had a really fun time (as did the rest of us!).

While we walked along the gravel walkway Daddy found a tomato horn worm and picked it up for the little ones to see.

Madelynn and Mr. Whitson checking out the worm.

Lydia was a bit hesitant to touch it! :)

Stratford Hall

(http://www.straftfordhall.org/)

Our tour guide was really nice and you could really tell he loved History.

The house was pretty and it was fun learning about the Lee Family.

Once the tour was over we wandered around outside and took some pictures of everybody.

Madelyn found a leaf.

The Whitson and Wassenberg children - all of them - on the steps of the mansion!

Daddy, Mommy, Mr. Whitson, and Mrs. Whitson! :)

I like this picture. :)

A flower by the mansion.

Alexis and Abby at the front of the mansion.

(I was experimenting with my camera hence the Sepia tone)

Taylor and I (Kimber).

We wanted Hannah to be in the picture but she went on ahead before we decided to take pictures.

We then piled into our oversized van and went to the river that was on the plantation. We were planning to eat lunch and swim there until a sign said "No wading," "No swimming," etc. So...we packed up again and went to Colonial Beach! :)

[All the pictures of Colonial Beach were taken by one of the Whitsons - I never took my camera out]

Eating lunch at the beach (it's really a river).

Lunch was very good - sandwiches, chips, veggies, etc. - and after some potty breaks we headed into the river.

Mr. Whitson and Madelyn.

Lydia dumping sand/rocks into Eden's hair.

Me, Taylor, and Hannah in the water.

Daddy found a crab in the water and I think that's what Josiah's holding.

(Sorry about the unturned picture!)

Hannah had an idea to dig for water in the sand, so we started digging - realizing after a while that this was going to take a long time! So, we abandoned that plan and put Madelyn in the hole, covered her with sand, and took some pictures! :)

Daddy caught a little duck (it was returned to its parents after some time) and showed it to us all.

It was so cute!!!

After about an 1-2 hour(s) after swimming around we dried off, got in the van, and drove to Westmoreland Berry Farm, picked up some berries, and then went home.

Cookout was for dinner. Daddy took Mr. Whitson, Hannah, Taylor, and I to work out at our local SnapFitness. We showed Taylor all the machines and just laughed and played while Daddy and Mr. Whitson actually exercised! :) Alexis and Abby couldn't come so they stayed home and did a makeover. The rest were either in bed or talking!

After we got home (around 10:15) most of the younger ones were in bed. Mama said we (Hannah, Taylor, Abby, Alexis, and I) could have some ice cream so we pulled out the mugs and ate ice cream while reading 3 chapters in Daniel! (We decided to read through the book of Daniel while they were here)

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Here are some random pictures I took during the week:

Abby reading to Eden and Josiah.

Frozen blueberries!

Wednesday we went through the blueberries, de-stemmed, cleaned, washed, drained, dried, and put them in Ziplocs and then into the freezer for fruit slushies and eating later on.

Clothes drying inside.

We were eating lunch Wednesday when all of a sudden it started raining...laundry was on the line. We jumped up, ran outside (barefoot!), and very quickly took off the clothes/towels and took everything inside before it got too wet. That was fun!

Then we laid everything over the tables and chairs and turned the fan onto them to help them dry (it did work too!).

Abby playing the piano.

We're a pretty musical family and the Whitsons were too, so we (most of us) played or sang something together throughout the week.

(Taylor, Abby, Michael, and their cousins have their own musical CD called Joshua Generation)

Hannah at the piano.

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Thursday night was the last night that we had with the Whitsons. :( So we planned to have a movie and popcorn after dinner. We watched the movie Time Changer (a Rich Christiano Film). It was a really good movie and if no one has ever seen it before I highly recommend that you do. I can't say a whole lot about it or I'll give it away...so you'll just have to watch it yourself!!!

Everyone (other than me) before the movie.

When the movie ended we went upstairs and most of us went to sleep. The 5 oldest girls were, of course, up still but we had until 11 PM to get to bed so we wouldn't be tired in the morning.

We whipped up some homemade peach sorbet, went upstairs, and read our last 3 chapters in Daniel before rushing into bed. We then talked a little bit and probably fell asleep around 11:30.

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Now Hannah was supposed to wake us up Friday morning when the alarm went off at 5:50 AM. But she turned it off and just "rested her eyes" a little longer so it was like 6:30 before we all (the 5 girls) got up. :) (We were planning to get up early so we could spend a lot of time together before they left) We quietly brushed our teeth, changed, etc. while they (most of the Whitsons) packed up. They were out of the driveway by 7:30 AM but first we talked a little bit, gave hugs, and Mr. Whitson prayed for us all before they left.

We were really quiet during breakfast...everything was so still and lonely feeling. We warmed up a bit more as the day went on but we still missed them as much as the second they left.

The verse in Proverbs that says "there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother," is certainly coming true with the Whitson Family.

It's just so amazing how the Lord used 2 Father & Daughter Retreats and a visit with their entire family to Casa de la Wassenberg to knit us together. Plus they just live in North Carolina - a 7 hour drive to their house from our house - and not somewhere like California where there would be hardly any chance of us getting together. What a wonderful God we serve!

They are a huge blessing to our family and an answer to one of my prayers for a like-minded family. There aren't a whole lot of people that believe what we believe so it was so refreshing to meet someone who did. They were so helpful and kind during the week...it was so fun to be together!

We're really hoping to see them all again...really...really...soon!

[Hannah, Daddy, and I will see them Friday and Saturday at a conference but the rest of the family won't :( ]

All for Jesus,

Kimber :)

P.S - Just a quick sidenote: two babies were born today (the 5th)! Mama's midwife for Lydia (Kristi Zittle) had a little girl (their 10th!!!!) at 4 AM and my Uncle's friends' wife had a baby sometime this morning/afternoon.

P.S.S - The two baby bunnies we had didn't make it. :( http://http//solidrockranchupdates.blogspot.com/2009/05/nash-houchins-wedding-and-baby-bunnies.html

The Wassen-Whitson Workers!

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work,"

Exodus 20:9

Well, the Whitsons arrived here safely at about 1:15 PM Monday afternoon.

I'll tell you more about their arrival later but for now here are some pictures. Mr. Whitson and Michael (his 8-year-old son) went to work with Daddy, Caleb, and Seth. Mr. Whitson got to wear an "official" Cross Cuts shirt! :)

Mr. Whitson by Daddy's truck.







Caleb, Michael, and Seth

Daddy

The laborers!

All for Jesus,

Kimber

The Whitsons are Coming!!!!!!!!!

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24

Our friends, the Whitsons, are coming today! They live in NC and they'll be staying from Monday til Friday! We have bunches of plans like swimming, trips to historical places, Westmoreland Berry Farm, gardening, and more! :)

Last time we talked to them they'll be coming up around 1:30 PM. We've been doing lots of cleaning up, organizing, and preparing. Hopefully I'll be able to report on how the week goes (or went) soon!

All for Jesus,
Kimber

P.S - If you want to know more about who the Whitsons are, go to this link: http://solidrockranchupdates.blogspot.com/2009/03/father-daughter-2009-retreat.html