My soul magnifies the Lord..

Whoa, how did I just let 4 weeks go by without posting? Ah, "time waits for no one." (that is a quote from my great-uncle Denny, who is 95 years old.)
Anyway, all my shopping is done and all the presents are wrapped! I love the Christmas season! I've been thinking a lot about Mary, mother of my Lord - what an incredible woman! Just imagine yourself in her shoes. It wasn't her choice to become pregnant. It definitely wasn't in her plans, in regards to her marriage to Joseph. Imagine her having to tell her Dad that she was pregnant, yet still a virgin. Imagine telling Joseph!! I wonder if she cried or if she feared for her life. (literally..she could have been stoned) But probably through it all, she was at peace. I think this is clear in her answer "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Wow! She knew God had everything worked out for His glory, and her humble acceptance of God's will is so beautiful! I encourage you to read her whole song of praise in Luke 1:46-55.
So, school and orchestra is over and I have two weeks off work. I'm hoping to clean and sew and bake and practice violin for hours. So far, I have done a little of all that. I made 13 pans of coffee cake today! That was a feat in and of itself! I think I started at 1:30 and finished about 7 hours later. :) Haha!
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas!
<3 Emily

Happy Winter!!!

Happy first day of WINTER!! Ah, all we're missing is some snow. :)
How do you like the new Christmassy background?! And check out the book list - I added some more of my favorites. Especially "Girl Defined" and "Let Me Be A Woman" I cannot recommend these books enough. They are really good and have definitely encouraged me to be a girl defined by God.
That's all for today! <3

Smile!

So I don't think I put all these adorable pictures on here. If I have, please enjoy them again - because they are soo cute! :D These kiddos are growing up way to fast! So here's to 8 months ago when they were a lot smaller...

Reuben is such a little boy - I love it! He was fascinated with his feet and tongue (not combined (I hope)) and this made for some fun pictures.

But he is so sweet! He loves his little sister!!

And who wouldn't love that darling?! <3

random remark: I was told to smile the other day. I thought that was funny. :)

Happy Thanksgiving and no, I didn't mention Christmas...

Wow girls, we've hit over 5,000 page views. That is crazy! I can't believe you all have kept checking this blog. :) This school semester has been just amazing. But still a little busy. (although, there has been time to introduce my younger brother to "Hogan's Heroes," so I guess it hasn't been that busy...) I'm taking an English class at a local community college (first class towards being a nurse!) It has gone really well and has definitely been interesting being in a classroom setting. I was telling my brother today about how many people just skip class... I mean come on, they're adults now. But I have enjoyed the writing part. So far I have written a paper on my career choice, and one about my teacher, LaRae. I loved writing the one on LaRae... it was super fun! Now I'm working on a research paper and I'm looking at how classical music benefits children. Not the most exciting topic ever, but it is interesting.
I'm also playing violin with the college orchestra again this year. This is such an amazing experience and I'm so thankful to be able to play with them. I'm tentatively working towards a senior violin recital, so I've had lots of music to practice. :) In my music room, I hung up some white and blue lights and put butterflies on them. It is cute and different - we've had the same decorations in there since like... 2008. When I practice at night (which happens more since it gets dark at 6!) it is fun to have just the Christmas lights on.
There are a few families who I babysit for every once in a while. Friday night I was at a house and it was storming. I had located candles and matches in case the power went out, but I didn't really expect it to. Well, it did. For about 10 seconds I have to talk real calm while locating my phone, "Ok, let me find my phone and we'll light some candles! Isn't this a fun adventure?!" Thankfully my little kids were super chill, and once the candles were lit we just kept playing with Mac and Lightning McQueen. The power was only out for like 10 minutes and we had a great story to tell Mom and Dad. :)
I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!! <3
~Emily

Boys' baseball season!

We went to a lot of baseball games in July. All my younger brothers played and they did a fantastic job!

They all pitched and played many other positions. Ben's strong point (+favorite!) was pitching, Joey's was 3rd base, Matt's was 1st base. 

They had a lot of fun! 

(and Daniel's prediction became true - I did become the crazy girl in the stands.)

Nice job.

Hello, July!

Hi all you lovely people!!

I hope you are having an awesome summer! Can you believe it's July already?  I've been doing a lot of reading (now that school is done!) My favorite book was "Girl Defined" by Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird. This book was amazing and I highly recommend! Go here and watch the video that goes with it, learn about the book, etc. And then...read it!! Also these girls have a cool Youtube channel here.

So about 7 weeks ago, I started volunteering at the local hospital - in the O.B. department! It has been really neat! I have done lots of filing papers, making and taking phone calls, cleaning, stocking supplies. But also I get to follow the nurses around, which is a lot of fun! :

I now have some more time to go through pictures, so take a look at these cuties!

This expression! :D

Sweet snuggles from Mommy and kisses from Daddy - how could life get better?!

Introducing...

My Mom, sister and I had the pleasure of visiting this darling family two weeks ago!!! We had an incredible time of fellowship and laughter!

Yes, this is Reuben - so grown up now!! :) 

AND.... he has a little sister!!!

Introducing Miss Emily Krahling

Eight weeks old!!

ah, baby girl ruffles and lace. <3

These two siblings are soo cute!!
Trust me - this is just the beginning. I took 1,280 pictures in 48 hours. There are lots more to come! :)

But isn't she just adorable and isn't he so handsome??!!