Koch Family News

Happy 17th Birthday Anthony!!!

2012-01-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

My Cousin turns 17 today. -yay! Thanks be to God for blessing our family with such a great cousin!

Jacob's recent sayings

2012-01-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

Jacob has been such a sweetheart lately. He gives you the cutest smiles, and kindest complements.

He is very particular about his style, and asks me my favorite part in his, "outfits."

Just now, (he is sitting right next to me) he saw our neighbor's black cat and said, "That black cat has clogs, and flower (our cat) doesn't like his clogs very much, so she's decided not to be friends with him anymore."

Jacob constantly calls me "his worker." Apparently that is a 'really' good thing. I was spending extra time with him today, when he let me know that I have graduated from being his worker to being "his guard." You should have seen his face when he told me the "good news." His eyes lit up, a huge smile spread across his face, and he squeezed my hand.

Every morning, after I get my breakfast, I sit at the bar next to Jacob. He smiles, and then looks at my whole outfit then tells me what he likes best. Usually he tells me he likes my hair, and my eyes. Every now and then he would say he likes something else too. He's so sweet and complementarity!

Oh my goodness! Look at that face--he melts my heart.

Children are a blessing from the Lord.

Things of late--

2012-01-31T20:25:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind on some posts. (mainly because I forgot that I had the photos) But I thought that I'd post them anyways. :)

Last week (I *think*) we had our wonderful friends, the Seiferts over for dinner and a movie. We watched the new, "Courageous." I thought it was a spectacular movie.

Things around the house never bore me. Especially these little guys.

--*love* this mask!!!

Papa put some of his socks on Nickolas, which made me look like Mr. Thomas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We also had to fix some stuff on our property that was destroyed by the flooding. One of which, was our cow bridge. It was taken down by the creek, and we had to try to get that massive thing out of the water and back where it is supposed to be. It was a bear of a job, and we wouldn't have been able to do it without our tractor. It was hilarious. As soon as Jacob saw the bridge in the water, he shakes his head, and sighs, "It's all those Indians fault." He takes another sigh, "They always got to destroy things, don't they?"

He is*so* cute!

This is just a couple random things that we've done lately. Simple things. Joyful things. And I am thankful for all of them.

Isaiah 58

2012-01-26T23:02:00.000-08:00

I read the Bible at nights usually, (other than our family devotions every morning) and tonight I came across Isaiah 58. I absolutely love what it has to say here. It talks about true and false fasting, what we are called to do, and what will happen to those who do it. This is one verse I really liked in this passage that I would like to share with you, but I encourage you to just read the whole chapter yourself.

"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."

One of my favorite things-

2012-01-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

Flowers-- definitely on one of my "favorite things" list!
Even though I don't like flowers because of what they "mean" or anything, it was really interesting reading about 'floriography' and what Wikipedia had to say on flowers-
flowers have long been admired and used by humans to beautify their environment, but also as objects of romance, ritual, religion, medicine and as a source of food.

Many flowers have important symbolic meanings in Western culture. The practice of assigning meanings to flowers is known as floriography. Some of the more common examples include:

Red roses are given as a symbol of love, beauty, and passion.
Poppies are a symbol of consolation in time of death. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate soldiers who have died in times of war.
Irises/Lily are used in burials as a symbol referring to "resurrection/life". It is also associated with stars (sun) and its petals blooming/shining.

Daisies are a symbol of innocence.

--You should look at all of them. It's actually quite interesting. But, this is not the reason I love flowers so much. To me, they are a symbol of life, color, and beauty. Life-because they grow, and are numerous. Color-because most of them are full of color. And then, Beauty- because most of them are unique and beautiful in their own ways. Even though they are all 'flowers' they all hold their own identity and fragrance. Some of my favorite flowers are- Buttercups, cherry blossoms, baby's breath, roses, and daisies. Yes, they are the simple ones, but I love them non-the-less. I love red roses best of all, then secondly, I like to (*smiles*) pick the petals off of the daisies and buttercups in the field. Flowers simply make me swell up with happiness and joy. They are such a happy thing. Do you love flowers more than you do the chocolates that come with them? --just joking! ( if only chocolates grew on roses...then I'd be in heaven.)

Flowers will always be one of my most favorite things.

Thank God for flowers!

~Felicity's date~

2012-01-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

Just the other night, my wonderful daddy took another one of his daughters out on a date. This time it was Felicity's turn. By the stories that were told upon returning, I believe that they had a magnificent time. Thanks to Papa for taking these photos to capture the special moment.

He took her out in our new car. (which is amazingly roomy inside I might add!)

They are on their way to the Kennedy School to watch a movie-

-but, unfortunately the School (McMenamins) didn't have any movies playing at that time, so they headed on over to a really nice pizza place called, "The Rock."

Don't I have a beautiful sister? :)

Apparently, the pizza was absolutely fantastic. (which I had the left-overs the next day, and can totally agree!) The salad was exceptionally good as well.

Oh my goodness! Look at that terrific pizza! Absolutely scrumptious.

After all that fun driving around down town, exploring the Kennedy School, and eating pizza at "The Rock," Papa took Felicity to JoAnn's to look at fabric for a new dress. (what a man!)
They came home full of stories, which we all listened to getting more and more jealous all the time....which made me think of even COOLER things to do on my next date. *grin* (-you know how that is.)

After stories were done, us five older ones snuggled up stairs and watched one of my *favorite* movies- "Braveheart."
This was just another day that I am extremely thankful for. I am so thankful that the Lord gave us Papa to be the head of our family. He is the most amazing man on earth.

Proverbs 21:21

2012-01-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness, and will find life, righteousness, and honor. "

My favorite things

2012-01-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

Lord willing, I will try to make a post on some of my favorite things every week. Either quotes, photos, thoughts, or something random. I doubt that I will be able to keep it up, but I will try!
This week, one of my favorite things is rain. I love rain in many ways. When I'm falling asleep to the sound of the rain drops pounding on our roof, or to watch it come down in sheets while I'm inside by the fire, drinking tea/coffee and reading. It is very relaxing. Rain is also beautiful. It dusts everything with little gleaming diamonds that twinkle like stars. It is very romantic, and whimsical to me as well. I have always wanted to dance in the rain with bare feet. To let the water run down my face and to close my eyes and let my feet hop, and twirl around on the wet earth. What a beautiful feeling!

~~~~~~~~~~

Rain is a good thing.

Is rain one of your favorite things?

Priceless.

2012-01-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Grandpa is reading to the kids on his ipad thing. So precious.

Smile.

2012-01-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

I taught Nickolas how to "smile" this last week. And I made him show his teeth when he did it too, because that's what a real smile is all about. It is just SOOO adorable, that it melts my heart every time I ask him to smile. He is such a sweetheart. <3

I don't know what's up with 'closing his eyes' here.

I *LOVE* this last photo! What a funny look! Little kids are so special. Thank GOD for them!

Snow

2012-01-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that we actually got snow this year! *3 cheers* I love the snow. (not more than the beach...but still.) We got 7 inches at night, then it turned out to be 5 inches in the day. Perfection. All us kiddos took the day off to enjoy this day that we will never get back again. To make memories. -And, trust me...We made a lot!!!

Driving the quad in the snow...oh yeah.

Our 7 ft snow man in in the makings!

*smack* Right on the forehead. Great shot Alainna!

I love the action in this last photo. :)

Did you all go out and enjoy the snow?

Psalm 37: 3-8

2012-01-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He hall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret- it only causes harm."

Can't wait to d.r.i.v.e.

2012-01-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

-This is what I've been up to lately. Gotta love it!

Cake pops

2012-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

I know that cake pops are nothing out of the ordinary, but I just felt like making a post of food. At first, I tried to make "Starbucks'" cake pop kit, and I really didn't like them. So I just made them by my self. ( -which is not that hard to do!!!)

Cake crumbles-

I melted the frosting so that it would be easy to mix in.

When it's all mixed in, it is still "cake-like" but when you form them into balls they stick together. Perfection.

I am all about using what I have on hand. So...since I didn't have sticks, I used straws cut in half instead. Works.

I used this pan thing to hold them up while they dry.

Not only did I do Chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch. I also made up a fresh strawberry glaze to dip them in, and then I froze them. (soooo good!)

And, of course, I have to have fun with taking photos of them! Enjoy...and please tell me what you think!

-A flower.

Have a wonderful day.
-JessicaCynthia-

Interesting bus art-

2012-01-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa sent me some more photos. ( I love it!!! ) This time it was bus art. I must say...I never even knew that bizarre things like this existed! Tell me what you think. :)

-Runs on batteries. -oh ya.

-This is one of the creepiest ones e.v.e.r! I would never want to ride in this thing.

-thought that was funny.

-This is one actually scares me. That is so weird!!!

-I like to think that the hand is Levi. *grins*

-This one is so-very-cool. Very creative.

Well, I hope you enjoyed these interesting photos! Which one was your favorite?

For laughter...

2012-01-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Amazing photography

2012-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hello all. It was a beautiful day today, wasn't it?
My Grandparents send me quite spectacular photography every once and a while that they've been sent by friends, etc. Just thought I'd share them. :)
You should seriously check them out!

Amazing photography

Sunday fellowship

2012-01-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sundays bring me many joys. One of which, is fellowship.
My family and I had the joy of hosting the Berkompas family this last Sunday. We had a marvelous time going on a walk, inspecting bones, shooting guns, and playing pool. Thanks be to the Lord for friends!

We still had leftover Starbucks in the truck from work, so we took 'em out, I drew faces on them, and we shot them.
(Lame faces, I know. I was actually drawing them while I was walking past the swampy field. )

I named this one "Gloria" from in Madagascar two.

-A small miniature target for the boys to get. ;p

And this one I named...never mind.

A prego box. ...Yes, we definitely shoot in style.

Pool- I think Caitlin and Zachary were the champs at this game.

Well, that ended the day! Praise be to the Lord for fellowship. :)

Crafts.

2012-01-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

Now, I am not a very good at crafting. At. All. I just love to experiment with different things I have in the house, to create something "some what" cute. I tried doing that today. One of my ideas didn't work in the least bit. I tried to make cookie dough, and place it around a muffin pan turned upside down, then bake it...to make a cookie cup to fill with ice cream. It didn't work out very well. Problem number one- I put way too much dough on each cup, and two-they were too close together. I'll bet I could eventually make this work, but just don't feel like it right now. :)
The things that did turn out, aren't edible. *sniff* But, I think that they would be kind of cute if I had- cuter fabric, buttons, frames, punch outs, and flower making skills. Since I didn't, I just made do with what I had. :) I hope you enjoy them...and, don't hesitate to give me suggestions!

Did you know that glass is practically a dry erase board? (you probably did. I'm just kinda slow at knowing things like this.)
While I was helping kids do their schoolwork, I simply cut out a simple piece of paper, and stuck it in an old frame my Grandpa bought years ago. Now, like I said above, these are not the colors or frame I would originally pick out if I went shopping for them. It's just what I had on hand at the time. :)

I have made them into a Menu planner for this week. (since I'm on making dinners.)
And, don't worry, I have a better plan for dinners, I just wrote whatever down to give you and idea. *smiles*

It erases SO wonderfully!
I put stripes down for the paper, so that it would be all organized and strait. ;)

Next project-
Jewelry organizer.
I saw an earring, and it gave me and idea. I spied a button, and it made me think. I saw a board, and I started to work.
I could have made this thing FAR cuter, but for now...it's cute enough. :) I simply got a plain 'ol board, and wrapped and hot glued fabric to it. (BTW, hot glue is by far the best thing in the world! Where would I be without hot glue? ...ummm, gooey.)
After that was accomplished, I stacked pennies and hot glued them together. Then, I hot glued them to the board, and added flowers and buttons on top. (red flower was home-made.) Gluing the ribbon was next. I had to add dots here and there in the middle, just so that it wouldn't sag when you stick your earring on there. After this, I cut out birds from scrap fabric, and glued them on there, as well as the punch outs. All that was left was the strap...and anybody knows how to add a strap to something like this. *smile*

*lol* Pennies...they work for many more things than sitting in a change jar!

Earrings are my one weakness. Seriously.

There it is! I have to say, it looks much better when it is actually holding jewelry. Which is a good thing, right?

Well, that's all for now folks. I have many more ideas that I would love to try out sometime, as well. When I do, I'll make a post. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-JessicaCynthia-

Highlights from the year 2011

2011-12-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

This year has been one of the most amazing years of my life. I have had so many new experiences, for which, I am extremely thankful. Two of my biggest highlights, though, is when my family and I went to Disneyland with my Grandparents, and when I went to San Diego, CA with my parents, Grandma K., and Aunt Cindy. This was the very first year that I've ever been to California, and now I'm convinced...it's my favorite place to take a vacation in the world. I'm %100 serious about that too. :)

The shooting day we had recently was probably one of my highlights. Just a "little" one. :)

Going on a date with my Daddy, is always a huge highlight.

Thanksgiving was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I am so thankful that we were able to have our cousins, and Grandparents come to spend it with us!

I absolutely love going to Church every Sunday, and giving the kiddos either skittles, or gummy bears. Children are such a blessing!

I absolutely LOVED this last dance we had for "Heritage weekend." Mainly because it was the first one my cousins have ever gone to.

The "end of the summer" dance the VanGelders hosted was also super fun. For some reason, Summer dances are such a huge event in my mind. I guess it's the dancing on the grass in bare feet. :) -love it!

(P.S. this was a photo of me and my cousins before I headed out to the dance.)

Going to the Tosti's beach house with my Cousins, Grandma Koch, and Aunt Cindy was one of the most amazing vacations I've ever had. (and I've had quite a few.) We played volleyball almost all day long. *sigh*

Cousins. <3 We were all SO tan! ......I can't wait 'till summer.

Going to our annual Church beach camp this year was also VERY fun! I just LOVE the beach. There is just something about it that captures my heart.

Spending time with friends...

Taking a mini trip to Mt. St. Helen's...

Watching my Dad cream everybody at Basketball.

Camping at Elk lake with the Bradleys...

Hosting a massive 4th of July party...

Building a new bridge...

Learning how to make espresso...

Cleaning, re-arranging, and decorating our whole house while my parents went to Cancun Mexico, for a week. (Now THAT was fun! )

Going to Cannon Beach with our whole family for Cassandra's graduation, for several days...

Playing volleyball with my cousins on a home-made volleyball net made with drift wood and yarn...(epic)

Dressing up with girl friends...

Hiking Silver star with the VanGelders and Rebbecca G. in the rain and snow, in shorts...

Watching Mr. Mack's grill blow up...

GOING TO DISNEY LAND!!!

Riding in a bright pink hummer limo...

GOING TO SAN DIEGO!!!!
..and being thrown in jail. lol.

Seeing WILD dolphins surfing the waves...

Having fun with my wonderful camera...

Going to Sea World...

Watching everybody's frightened faces right before they took off on our massive zip line...
(which we hope to make bigger this next year.)

Fixing my brothers hair...

What a more-than-wonderful year! All thanks be to God!!!
May next year be just as great as this one!

-JessicaCynthia-

Christmas Day-

2011-12-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there. Sorry it's taken me a while to make this post! ...Life. ;p

Well, on Christmas day, we all went to Church. I love going to Church on Christmas!
When we came home, we had the honor of the Gauls fellowship. Grandpa and Grandma Leider were able to come down to spend Christmas with us too! -yay! The more the merrier, right?
Later in the day, we were also blessed with Brian Vandenburg's company. :) ( thanks for coming all y'all!)

Levi.

Little "sissy" was soooo cute!

Calvin...now he is cutie too. :)

Even though it rained, we still got a couple hours of sunshine! Which, we spent driving the quad. (don't let Anthony do that again!)

Huong wanted to take pictures with me, and wanted to do it all in the...bathroom? I guess that was the only place with a large mirror. :D

Mustaches. :)

Christmas dinner-
We had 3 different kinds of meat. Salmon, pork ribs, and ham from our pig. All of which were accompanied with all of our favorite side dishes. yum. yum.

My Grandparents bought us this gorgeous center piece from Costco. (thanks!)

Our annual family photo. :) This time I'm in it!! *die of shock*

After dinner clean up, us cousins, and Brian played poker. It was really fun!

Classic Brian look. :)

(see, Brian. You made it in here. :)

We had some silly moments while playing poker too. I think that it was all that sugar.

Towards the end of the game, we all just pooled our chips in, and played one more round...

...Brian won!

After Cousins left, we played 'aggravation' with my Grandparents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That ended our 2011 Christmas. Wow- what an eventful day, filled with joy, happiness, and laughter, in celebrating our Lord's birth. Thanks be to God!

The day after Christmas all of our Christmas decorations were taken down and stored away. I think that this is the fastest that we have ever done that. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How was your Christmas?

Hannah and I

2011-12-29T20:56:00.001-08:00

Christmas eve 2011

2011-12-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

Warning- I took a TON of photos here. ;D

On Christmas eve morning, my family and I were invited over to the Woltersdorf's home for a wonderful breakfast of eggs Benedict. It was really good! ( thank you Mrs. Woltersdorf! )

After breakfast we all took a walk around the Woltersdorf's neighborhood.

-Israel. <3

Hannah's slippers. (they look like disco balls. :)

We came home and were each given a homemade pillow from Grandma! -yay! They were so soft.

Time for opening presents!
Alainna got this adorable bike from Papa and Mother.

-She was really excited. :p

Caitlin made this box all by her self, to give to mother. She did a great job. :)

Felicity got a Bible.

Alainna got a Hallmark Rapunzel movie, and a pedicure set.

Caitlin got a "totally Caitlin" gift. Spider containers that have a magnifying glass as a lid.

Felicity got really cute turquoise sandals.

A coffee travel mug.

Papa got Marcus a really nice reel, and collapsible fishing pole.

Caitlin got clothes, and books.

Alainna got this for Papa. :) -Love it.

Felicity got a nice black Church coat.

Caitlin made these shields for the boys.

Mother got a cozy wrap, and Queen Ann chocolates.

Grandma and Grandpa got a photo book of Disney Land pictures from this year.

Nickolas was absolutely hilarious when he opened presents! In the above photo, he tried to open another gift while on his bike. :)

I LOVE THIS SIGN!!!!! Caitlin got this awesome sign for Papa. -Too cool.

Adorable slippers!

Felicity got really nice dress boots from my parents as well.

Alainna got an ice cream maker.

Levi was absolutely thrilled when he opened this gift. Carhart overalls are his FAVORITE!

When opening a gift, Nickolas would tear off a little tiny piece of paper, then put it in the garbage, and then go back, take another piece off and put it in the garbage, etc. This time, he took his present and immediately ran to put it in the garbage. lol.

Grandpa got a nice Cabela's coat.

Grandma got pink slippers. :)

She has Max on her lap.

There he is, running back to take a piece of paper and put it in the garbage, again. ;D

All Caitlin wanted for Christmas was a huge bag of walnuts.

Papa got Mother a receipt thing, that will cut her time in the office in half. She really wanted it. :)

Golly, that was a truck load and a half of photos! I hope you all enjoyed them. :)

All thanks be to God for blessing my family so richly with another joyous and memorable Christmas!

Cousins

2011-12-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

This is the only photo taken of all of us Cousins (except for Huong) on Christmas, thanks to Grandpa!

Grandma and I

2011-12-26T22:34:00.000-08:00

I love my Grandma. <3

Christmas...

2011-12-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't finished weeding through all of my photos yet. There are so many! I just thought I'd make a quick post on my new camera I got for Christmas!! -Yay! I was SO excited when I opened this handsome gift from my wonderful parents. :) The camera has so many nifty things like- a GPS, uploading photos from my camera to the internet, printing photos from my camera, a touch screen, etc. I am still marveled at the many things it can do....I just have to figure out HOW to do them. :) As soon as everything from opening presents was cleaned up, I ran outside to take just a few photos. Enjoy!

Early Christmas gift

2011-12-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

My Grandparents just bought us this awesome new stainless steal microwave! -yay! It is the nicest microwave I've ever seen! The buttons and such are on the door, so that you have more room inside.

Oooohhh, so shiny!

The bottom of it pops out when you're cooking to help vent better.

Isn't that the coolest thing?

The inside has two layers!!! I am so looking forward to using this thing!

Thanks again be to God alone, for blessing my family with such amazing Grandparents. <3

Shooting day.

2011-12-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

Lots of people went up in the mountains to shoot guns today. It was just too much fun. I absolutely love shooting guns...especially the really big ones, and hand guns. -they're my favorite. :)

I tried all of the guns Papa brought. ( I think he brought five.) I have NO idea what they're all called or anything, so if you want to know, you'll have to ask him. :)

Enjoy!

There were a whole lot more people than this. :)

Papa brought out his "REALLY, REALLY" big gun. It could tear anything apart. Literally. I'd say, that was the scariest one for me to shoot...therefore, the most fun. :)

I'm shooting his second biggest gun in this photo. That one was also one of my favorites!

Marcus was an excellent shot.

This is Caitlin shooting the "BIG" gun. Papa had to plug his ears because, I'm telling you- It. Was. Loud.

*grin* All of our 'targets' looked like a pile of junk. ;p I actually like shooting at things like this better than actual targets, because you are given more variety...and things blow up. :)

I'm soooo glad Heather could make it!

(I think Mr. V was signaling to someone that he wanted a gun. :)

The above, and below photos are connected. The above is when Marcus is about to shoot the big gun, and the below shows how much it blew him back.

-My shoes. :)

Lastly, is my favorite photo of all...My daddy. :)

I am extremely thankful that my Father gives us kiddos all of these different experiences, adventures, and makes our life a full and colorful one.

The Lord could not have blessed us with a better Papa.

Downtown date

2011-12-19T23:01:00.000-08:00

Papa takes us girls out on little "dates," as we call them, every now and then. It is a good time to get out, and talk, father to daughter. In my opinion, this is, (amidst many other things) one of the things that really ties my heart to my Papa.

This time, he took me downtown, right next to the pearl district. We went to "the Deschutes brewery." It was a really nice restaurant.

Me. :)

Papa got really good fish 'n chips.

And I, not being a great fan of sea food, got this utterly amazing smoked chicken fettuccine. It was the best pasta I have ever had. Lots of chicken, sauce, and most importantly, my favorite cheese- Feta.

The restaurant had lots of really cool wood carvings, and those plants that you make beer with. (I forgot the name...it was something like 'pops' I think...)

I should have had my flash on for this shot, so that the lights wouldn't be doing that, but I didn't want to draw any attention. :)
You can see the kitchen on the far side of the building, where they are actually cooking, and preparing your food. I love restaurants like that!

After that scrumptious dinner, we went on a little walk around the Pioneer square. Papa got us Starbucks, and then we saw this ginormous Christmas tree, and looked around in Nordstroms.

He also took me up to see the "nines" restaurant, and the "farmers..." The Farmers restaurant, (I can't remember the last name of that place..) was super neat. You would go in, and there would be all of these 'living rooms' with different styles and couches, that you would choose to eat in. It was quite nice.

The "Nines", on the other hand, was quite different. Since I was not 21, I couldn't go inside the restaurant to see all of the balcony's, and other weird stuff, I just saw the entrance, and part of the inside. I'm telling you, it was the weirdest, most modern place I have ever seen! The walls were all different angles, there were weird lights, and evil sounding music. I didn't even want to see the rest of it. The whole thing looked evil, and scary to me. Definitely not my style. Give me something simple, and fancy, and I'll be completely happy. :)

Lastly, my Papa and I.
I had more than a wonderful time tonight. I love how I can talk freely with my Father about anything, how he treats me like a lady, and how much he loves me. The Lord has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of, with my Papa.
Thanks be to God!

Leaves.

2011-12-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

New Oven!

2011-12-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

My wonderful Grandparents blessed us with this gorgeous stove for Christmas. They are so generous! This stove is the most beautiful one I have ever seen!!! It is a gas stove, with double ovens, and the big lower oven is convectional. What fun cooking, and baking will be now! All glory and thanks be to Christ, for blessing my family with two loving, kind, and generous Grandparents. I love you, Grandpa and Grandma Leider!!

Frozen dew drop

2011-12-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Papa's 43rd birthday

2011-12-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Papa's birthday was this last Thursday. We decided to take a little trip down town for a "culture shock," around the Pearl district.Wow- what an experience! It really makes me thankful that I live in the country. :)

In the morning he opened his birthday gift, which were some really nice muck boots.

...and socks, and a CD.

-I just had to get a couple photos of cutie pie Nickolas. :)

Papa taped his sock sticker to Nickolas' face. :D

We went to Macy's "Santa-land." I remember going there as a child, and I would ride in the train that went along the ceiling. It was so unfortunate that they took it down recently. :-(

The kiddos and santa.

They all called Nickolas over to join them and meet Santa Clause....

...but he absolutely hated Santa. (..good boy. :)

This was the train that used to be on the ceiling. :) -How fun.

In the evening we attended/served Daniel and Galena's rehearsal dinner. It was a great way to end this wonderful day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a big 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to my strong, handsome, and loving father.

May the Lord bless you, Papa, for many, many more years to come!

Much love,

Your kiddos :)

Back when...

2011-12-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

Do you ever look back through your old photos and see how marvelously the Lord has worked in your life? Every time I do, (and I try to often) I am amazed. I love my life. I love my family. And most of all, I love my Lord. He has been so merciful and kind to my family and I. Soli Deo Gloria.

"Every man's home, is his castle." -Robin Hood
That is so true! Some of my fondest memories growing up, was helping my Papa build our castle.

I remember playing tag on these boards, and us crazy kids would run as fast as we could across them. I think the only person who ever fell was Felicity...but that was no surprise, back then. ;)

We were such a young family!

My wonderful Papa made sure he taught us kids how to use guns. We would tromp around in the woods shooting anything that moved. Most of the time we could only find slugs.....poor slugs.

Alainna loved helping Papa fix the work truck...

....and mowing....

...and excavating. :)

This was one of my favorite photos of Marcus growing up. Totally Koch, right?

I loved our boat, too.

*eekk!* Yes. I have helped gut a pig before. Two, actually. If you ask me to do that again, I will faint. Just joking. :) If I had to do that again, I would just close my eyes, plug my nose, and think of bacon.

Those long, lazy summer days...

What a handsome guy!!!!

O.M.Goodness. Look at that heart-melting cutie!

The Koch family surely has been blessed these many years. Thanks be to God for his everlasting love and kindness!

Adult dinner

2011-12-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

(Photo credit-Ben Berkompas.)

(Camera credit-Michaela :)

This last Saturday was the adult dinner. I had an absolute blast being a server, and I'm pretty sure the other servers did too. :) At the end of the wonderful evening, all of us servers had our photo taken. I just thought the "funny faces" were absolutely hilarious, and I couldn't resist to post it!

(double click on it, to see the faces better. )

After the dinner and dessert, we had a gift exchange. Yes. I got beer. No worries, I don't even like the bitter stuff, so I got it for my Papa. :)

I would like to thank the servers, the Mack gals, Mrs. Mack, and especially my Mother for all their hard work in making this evening...wonderful.

~Jessica :)

Cinnamon stick and clove candle holders

2011-12-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Chelsea found this fun craft on "pintrest" and sent it to my Mother. I thought it was an amazing idea, and sort of like my other stick candle-holders...but better. :) I haven't actually seen them yet, my Mother just told me about them, and had me make one. I LOVE them!!!! I hot glued cinnamon sticks to a baby food jar, and put a cinnamon candle inside. I decided to make it just a little different, so I lined the top of the jar with whole cloves, between the cinnamon sticks and jar. It smelled fantastic! (I did that to my second one. Not the one in the photo above. :)

I know it looks ridiculous, but on the front I had 3 cloves, and one 'all spice.' Since this was my very first one, it always looks worse than the second, or third. :)

Papa just made this awesome mantle the other day. It looks so amazing!

Our little corner is slowly turning into a new, cool looking fire place. Next project is the rock on the floor. -Can't wait!

(I know, the lighting is absolutely horrible!) I just thought I'd give a quick photo of what the cloves look like in the candle. It smells better than it looks!

Little snippets of everyday life-

2011-12-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is totally Levi. I mean, could his imagination get any better than this? This was completely his idea. I just saw him like this while I was listening to a lecture, and HAD to capture this! (for his future wife, right?)

Oh my goodness, this ice cream is amazing! If you love Starbucks, AND ice cream, this is the thing to get. Yes, it's spendy, but it's a good thing to make a splurge on every now and then. :-p

Look at the orange kitten in the middle. How it's all sprawled out all over the other ones. It was hilarious! The other kittens are acting like it's normal. :)

Too cute. <3

I am always working on something, it seems. I am making a head-warmer, that has the 'knitted look.' (that's what I call it now. :) I'll let you know how it turns out.

Well, that's what we've been up to. Other than a midterm coming up, and a few other things that my wonderful Papa had added to our house. (I'll post on them later.)

Off to make another project for the bazaar tomorrow!
TTFN,
Jessica

Sugar bush

2011-12-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

-like my name for it?

Wood door

2011-11-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

My Papa built this absolutely amazing wood door. It stands right next to the fireplace, and has a door opening to the outside, and inside. That way, you only have to stock it once a day, you don't have to cart the wood all the way inside, and you can do everything under-cover from the rain. (well....I should say, Marcus. *grin*)

My Papa is so incredibly and amazingly talented in oh-so-many things! Soli Deo Gloria!

It looks so breathtakingly perfect there! Don't you think?

And that is the handsome guy who built it! He is a wonderful Father and I am very thankful for him!!!

Woods

2011-11-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving has been so amazing.

This morning we went to Church and listened to a devotional given by one of our elders, Mr. Berkompas. After that lots of people stood up and publicly announced what they were thankful for. I was really thinking about getting up myself....but when you think about it too long, you start to get nervous, and I would stand up shaking, crying, and I probably wouldn't make any sense. So...I figured I would take the 'sissy' way out, and say it on my blog. ;p But, I will seriously try to make a better effort next year. Promise.

What I am thankful for-

There are sooo very many things I am thankful for!

I am extremely thankful, first, to my Savior, Christ Jesus, who has died on the cross for such a wretched sinner as me. Who's mercies are new every morning. Who has given me such a wonderful family, for whom I am not worthy. Who gives me peace. Who gives me love. Who gives me life, and so much more. All thanks, glory, honor, praise, and worship be unto the Lord!
I am also thankful to God for my Daddy. Who has been a great example to me, my whole life. Who loves me constantly. Who shelters me, and protects me. Who teaches me the glories of our Lord. Who corrects me when need be, and does so in love. Who stands strong in what he believes. My Papa has captured my heart, and will hold it forever.
I am thankful to God for my Mother. My Mother, who I look up to always. Who is always there beside me, teaching me to be a wife and mother. Who is so kind, and generous, and spoils me constantly. :) Thank the Lord for Mothers!
My siblings, I am also extremely thankful to God for. Life would not be as action packed, colorful, lively, funny, and absolutely beautiful without them!
I am thankful to God for trials. Trials that teach us so many things, and help us to love our Lord better.
I am thankful for the US. That we have the freedom that most other Countries don't have. That we can worship and serve our Lord in peace.
I am thankful to God for Grandparents. Who love me, teach me, and spoils me absolutely rotten!
I am thankful to God for Cousins, Uncles, and Aunts. Being surrounded with family who all love one-another, is such a wonderful blessing that I am extremely thankful for!
And....I'm thankful for the all-American Fords. Mustangs and Trucks.
The list goes on, and on, and on. Trust me. I could go soooo much longer in this post, writing what I am thankful for. Our Lord is a great God, worthy of all praise and thankfulness! Thanks be to God!!!

Our Thanksgiving-

Awww, look at that little guy! He was upset that I moved the bar stools away from the bar. And since he knew where they were supposed to go, he tried to move them...and I stopped him.
-I know. What a mean ol' sis I am!

-Love his lips!!!

The boys went hunting this afternoon. They shot this REALLY cool looking bird. (I'll post a photo of it soon...)

Wow- Chocolates from around the world?!?!? *eeek!* I am in heaven!

My beautiful Mother. :)

Good grief! Look at that humongous turkey! It was probably the biggest one I've seen in my life!!

Uncle Tony and little Nick.

*laugh out loud* The mixed expressions on my Cousin's faces is hilarious. Huong is saddened. Trinh is either happy or shocked. And, Anthony is only thinking about how it tastes. ;)

My Papa is the BEST chef in the whole wide world!!!!

Best friends. Best Cousins. Forever and always.

Anthony and Mother tasted the food, *just* to make sure that it wasn't poisoned or anything. Right?

Yumm!

Huong had Papa's 'bear claws' used for tearing meat. Scary....

*grin* We are some of the silliest Cousins I know of! And totally Koch!

Thanksgiving feast!

Thanks be to God for food!!!

This is Cassandra's Apple cinder. I loved the bubbles. :)

Papa said what he was thankful for.

Grandpa did too. And so did Uncle Tony.

My Family!! I love you all soooo very much!
(this would have been a great family photo, if only I was in it! ...I am not saying that I would make it better, I'm saying that we would ALL be there if I was. -Just to clarify. :p)

Anthony made the mashed potatoes. Yummers!

He is SO adorable!

*chuckle* HE told me to put this on here, okay?

I love you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

I like this photo. I put mine and Trinh's name tags on salt and pepper shakers.

My littlest brother, and I.

Yeah. We're crazy cousins all right!

We had a lot of fun taking photos on the stair case! (as you could probably tell!)

And, lastly, Trinh and I.

Wow. What an amazing day! I hope you all had as much fun as I did, and enjoyed your families to the utmost. Thanks be to God!!

Happy thanksgiving.
...JessicaCynthia...

To all my friends-

2011-11-24T13:48:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cakes. Crafts. and Creativity

2011-11-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

I made this Coffee cake tonight, and had a blast decorating it. (decorating it is the best part....other than licking the spoon at the end. ;p) I admit, it doesn't look that cool, or creative. I would love to do a huge Celtic design on the top with chocolate sometime. I think that is what I'm better at. :)

Making the chocolate leaves and chocolate covered espresso beans was extremely fun and easy. I normally do this with white chocolate, because the lines on the leaves show up better, but I thought dark brown would look best on this cake. Don't you think?

The swirly things on the sides are lame. I wish I could have have done something better than this, but it's good for now. :) (can't beat myself down too hard you know! ;p)

Yarn, needles, and colors have been my best friend for these past few nights. I don't really get time in the day to just sit down an crochet so I do this sort of thing at night. On the bookshelf there is my latest creation. It is a lacy slouch hat I came up with. Now, for some reason, I simply CANNOT follow a single pattern for anything. So all my crocheting life, I have made up every single one on my own. It is so much fun! The only problem is- since I cannot read a pattern, I cannot write one either. Bummer, I know. So one of these days I'll just have to figure out how to do it, hu?

COLORS!!! I have absolutely fallen in love with bright, different colors. I don't like the red in the middle, but since the Christmas Bazaar is coming up, my mother said that people will be liking that color....so, reluctantly, I bought it. (My mother actually bought most of my yarn. She is so incredibly generous and kind to me!!)
But don't you love the blue, and purple?

*sigh* This is the long list of items I need to make for the Christmas bazaar. Slowly and surely I am making my way to the bottom of the list.

This is a blue lacy hat I made last week. It took me around an hour and a half to make. Super easy, fast, and cute. -the way I like it. :-)

These are some of my hand-warmers. I tried to make the green ones look knitted. Do you think it worked? I don't really look at a ton of knitted stuff closely, so I really don't know! The blue ones are children size, and lacy...to match the hat.

*ug* One looks bigger than the other one! It's not, really. It's just that I didn't stretch out the one I JUST finished, like I did with it's mate. But, anyways- Do you like them? Does the green strap look dumb? This is the first pattern I've made up with the strap, so I'm still working out all the kinks. I also made the buttons that are on it. (explained farther down.)

Crafts!

I also made these flower hair pins. Cute?

More flower hair pins, and a thank you card.

PENNY BUTTONS-

Okay, so I completely stumbled across this weird idea on accident! I made the green strap hand-warmers and I needed a cute button to go on top. Problem. First-buttons are way to expensive for comfort. Two- I didn't have any.
What I DID have was fabric that matched the hand-warmers. So I tried to brainstorm for some ideas, when...My eyes drifted to my change coconut. (located on my desk) I grabbed a penny, which I had in the plenty, and I hot glued the fabric onto it, and then I hot glued a small square of fabric onto the back. (for sewing.) Wa-la! A fabric covered penny, replacing buttons I never have! I also think that these would be cute on bobby pins, or head bands. Maybe use quarters if you want bigger ones or something.

Keepin' it real. Being a craft-gal means that there will always be messes. Most gals don't want to show their messes, but the one over here....knows it's life, and keeps it real. ;-)

Cards.
I just made this card tonight. It's kind of like a flower...but just weird. I love the clash of color, and the rustic look.

And...my favorite card of all. It's simple, and cute. The circles and the big "U" are all hand painted in metallic paint.
Well, that's all for now. Sorry for the shortage in posts lately. As you could probably tell from this post...I've been busy!
God bless you all,
JessicaCynthia

Marcus' 11th birthday

2011-11-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

My little brother just turned 11 today. My how time flies by...Pretty soon he'll be a whole lot taller, and stronger than me, and he'll make sure I know it too. ;p
We went to OMSI for his birthday. (My .a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Grandmother bought us all a membership there! -yay!)
We all had an absolute blast trying things out, and looking at interesting things.

Marcus also got a touch remote controlled F350 Ford truck. Ohhh, ya. It is pretty expensive, but SUPER cool! (yes...I tried it. *smile*)

-Love Nick's face when he saw the truck in action!

At OMSI-
Jacob tried out their space rocket and how you would feel if you went in a real one. Upside down.

Seeing Levi in there reminds me of the movie, "Astronaut Farmer." -Great movie! If you haven't seen it I would strongly recommend it!

<3 cute kiddos <3

Levi was the best at almost anything there.

Yes. This photo is extremely blurry. Why? Because I wasn't behind it. :)

....She was.

We all had fun building an arch out of blocks. It was actually pretty cool.
(photo credit-mother)

Nothing can beat a handsome John Deere farm boy! *melting heart*

Papa and his littlest boy played around in the tree cave. It was so cute!

Well, that ends our full and eventful day!
And, to Marcus-

Happy birthday!

FREE

2011-11-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

My family doesn't have any place to put this painted canvas we made when we had the Cascade Arts Business. It still has the tag on it, and we were just going to throw it away. So, if any of you want it, I'll bring it to you on Sunday or something. If not, I'll put it in the garbage. Thanks.

Fall Leaf

2011-11-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

I loved the twisted look of this leaf, and just thought I'd share! Having a fun Autumn?

Farm l.i.f.e.

2011-11-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

What's new around the Koch farm? Well, first off, and one of my favorites, we got three little piggies! -yay! They are the cutest little things you ever did see. Stinky, but cute. <3

We also had a Rabbit who gave birth to five little bunnies. She ate two of them because she didn't want to take care of that many. (I know! Can you even imagine such a horrendous thing as that? *gasp*) But, the ones who were left alive, are as cute as anything else. Soft, too.

My siblings, Papa, and I did electric fencing today. You should have seen my hands! They were/are stained completely black, and are covered in callous. -the signs of a working gal. :) I love the farm life though. You have such a feeling of "belonging" when you are working on the farm. Can any of you relate?

My Papa is doing better now. The Lord be praised! Of course it is still painful, and he is not completely better, but he's getting there. Thank you all for your prayers.

Well, that's been life for us as of late. It is a blessed life.

Sibling time ;)

2011-11-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Spending time with your siblings is very important in my mind. I took time to play around with my adorable little brother, Levi. We had such a blast making funny faces, laughing at them, and making more! I also had fun painting his face with "war paint" used by the...."Indian savages." (Oooooohhhh)

Look at that mighty Viking in war paint.

In this photo he was supposed to have a scary look in his face, and I was supposed to be frightened....but that plan did not work out too well. *smile*

I love my brother! <3

Okay, this is one of the most embarrassing photos we took, but Levi absolutely LOVED the way you could see down his throat and begged me to put it on my blog. (you know how boys are...) He laughed, and laughed, and laughed about it so hard that I couldn't resist. -He is such a boy.

Awww, doesn't he look SO sweet?!?!? His big blue eyes looking strait into you with the sweetest smile that could just melt your heart down to nothing. Oh, Lord, thank you for blessing me with such an adorable brother.

More crafts-

2011-11-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Since it's fall, and cold outside...
I've been trying to come up with different crafts. My Grandpa and I went to Fred Myers (my #1 fave store, by the way.) this morning and he bought me some....SHARPIES!!! yay! I know this is weird, but I've never had a set of sharpies before. Ever. They are sooo nice, and I look forward to using them soon. :)

I painted this plain card with metallic paint, (my favorite paint in the whole wide world!) and put these new card accessories on it. I made around 10 of them last night. They're simply yarn, twirled up, and hot glued on a circle of card-stock. Pretty simple, and oh-so-cute. I had planned to glue a whole bunch of them on a beer bottle for a stylish vase...but I'm still working that one out. :)

I made these at 10:00pm last night, so that's why they're not perfect. *blush*

This is just a quick idea of what I'll be using them for in the future.

I made this card this afternoon, and thought it turned out okay. I am still going to find a cuter way to display them, but this worked out for now.

The fall lighting is not so great....bleh.

NEXT PROJECT- A water jar.
Now, I think that this was kind of...well....not very creative. But that's fine. It was fun to make!
I got a plain 'ol jar and lid. then I traced the lid on some glossy decorating paper and glued it to the lid. What next? Well, you put the lid on. :)

With a knife, I cut an 'x' in the lid.

And, wa-la! A water jar! You can write your child's name on the top, or, even better, you could put one of Mrs. Gowing's chalkboard labels on the side. Like I said, not that creative, but fun to make. :)

Yes...I had fun with my favorite things to take photos of. Straws. I also had fun with putting my watermark in weird places. *smile*

Well, that's it folks. There is nothing much going on over here except that my Papa just had surgery, and my Grandparents were just here for a visit. Other than that....it's been cold, and I'm inside, drinking coffee. (my one weakness.)
Hope you're having a jolly day!
-jess

Psalm 103: 1-5

2011-11-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles."

Creative fall candle holder

2011-11-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

I was dying to do something creative again. I wanted to make something that said, "fall," was inexpensive, and that I had all of the supplies for. I thought of a Fall candle holder made out of sticks. All I needed was sticks, a jar, clippers, glue, and a hot glue gun. Pretty simple, right?

Ooohh, don't mess with me! I've got landscaping clippers!!

Plain old sticks. -love the look.

*deep breath* I got all the supplies out, and ready for the very first stick. I must admit, I was unsure that this whole thing would turn out at all. But I just had to try.

Yay! There it is, all done! I love the rustic, distressed look of the sticks.

There the candle is!

Texture. Nature. Sticks. They're all beautiful.

I had to admit, that although it was a cool idea....it was a little plain. Yeah, and we can't go with p.l.a.i.n. now can we? Oh, no. Not that. So out comes the leaves, (fall decoration) and string.

When I put the candle in the jar, it did exactly what I wanted it to do! Make these neat lines of light on the place it stood.

Here it is. All finished. *cheer*

Sorry. I just had to take a photo of my favorite thing. Grass. (I'm a landscaper, right?)

Oooooh, in with the pumpkins! I simply fell in love with how fall-ish it looked.

The final product.

Well, for a 15 minute project, I'd say that this is better than I ever imagined. And, of course, you can do oh-so-many more things with this. You can put beads, or shells, or ribbons, or buttons, or flowers, etc. on it.

So, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. If you like it or no. If you thought up another creative way to make these or whatever you have on your mind. (trust me. I don't bite. *smile*)

Thanks for looking!

Jessicacynthia.productions

live.love.laugh.
c.r.e.a.t.e

At work

2011-11-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

I don't normally get any photos of us working. (because it's not professional) But when Grandma (ooohhh, I love her!) brought us all coffee, she took this quick photo of Papa, Anthony, and I with her phone. (the other girls were in the back of our account.) I absolutely love my work! I am actually really sad that now, since it's "winter", we are only going every other week. :-( Work is so good.

2011 Heritage dance

2011-11-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was our annual heritage weekend conference. We had the great joy and privilege of having Pastor Tim Bayly preach for us. He is one of the most gifted preachers I've heard. The last day of the conference we had a dance! (ooohhh, I love dances!) And I was SO excited that my cousins and Grandma Koch were able to join us! Enjoy the few photos I was able to take-

Trinh! -She had a lot of fun, and would love to come back next year, or to any other dance we have! *cheer*

Anthony had a lot of fun with the boys. He also enjoyed the dancing.

These last 3 photos my Grandma took. (thanx Grandma!)

Anthony danced the "physical snob" with me. Wow-was that an experience!

All us cousins! We had an absolute b.l.a.s.t. dancing together, and listening to the amazing preacher. Thank GOD for family!

Please pray-

2011-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody. Sorry I've not been posting a whole bunch.

My Papa just left for his surgery an hour or so ago. I know that this is not a serious surgery or anything, but I would still ask that you pray for him during the operation and for a quick recovery.
Thank you all.
-the Koch children-

p.u.m.k.i.n. p.a.t.c.h. 10.26.2011

2011-10-26T20:53:00.002-07:00

Yes, I know, it's been a long time since I've made a post. Truth to be told, I've been super busy. With what? Well, let me fill you in with the next couple posts-
* We went to Sauvie Island again today. Except this time we went with my cousins and Grandmother. It was really cold, but I think we all had fun anyways. *smile* Enjoy the photos!
(above) Anthony, being....well.....Anthony.

Papa dared Anthony to eat this...pepper of some sort. ( I don't know what it is) I ended up eating the other half, which was twice as hot, I'll have you know!

What a country boy!

*grin* He gave me this weird look after he tried the pepper. :)

J.Q. is adorable!!

Everyone is eating peppers!

And this is all the pumpkins! (since we already got big ones a couple weeks ago, we all just got small ones this time.) Mine is the one on the very bottom, and that big, huge one is Trinh's.

Nickolas had a bast too. :)

Fish from the fishermen

2011-10-26T20:53:00.001-07:00

Papa and Marcus went fishing with Mr.Bradley and Dylan last week, and this is what they brought home for us! (If you're wondering who caught the big daddy one...well, I should think you a simpleton. My Papa always catches the best fish, because he is....the best fisher. )

Marcus is learning quickly from his Papa.

This and that of recent life

2011-10-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

I am more than super excited to announce that I have roofed my very first roof this last week! *cheer* I actually really liked doing it. I had a difficult time keeping the lines strait, but my wise father helped me by giving me some of his roofing tips. In the end, I was pretty satisfied with the lines.

I did both. The short AND tall one. Yes. Yes, I did. I got over some of my fear of heights for a moment, and accomplished the job. That was definitely one of my "highlights" of the month.

Cassandra helped us Koch gals peel, core, and slice our orchard apples last week, too. We canned a couple big batches of home-made apple sauce, then froze 8 pies worth of filling for the winter.

Like I've said before....Music helps tremendously!

Apple sauce!

Though the dishes from the day were more than just mounding, I thought that the cider, pie filling, and apple sauce were definitely worth it!

That's just a few snippets of what we've been up to lately.

Organizing for winter (for girls)

2011-10-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Girls have Lots of clothes. (at least most of them do) So they need winter clothes, and summer clothes separate. (so they can actually fit everything into the closet) That's what I did tonight, while my parents where going out to dinner. All of those summer clothes are packed away and I got to go through two whole bins of winter clothes! *cheer* It's like getting a whole bunch of new clothes that you forgot about! That also means getting rid of clothes. Yes. That's the sad part. I got rid of lots of clothes that I simply didn't like anymore, and because I have way too many of them. Can any of you girls relate?

(pardon my lame handwriting.)

There my summer bucket is. All those bright spring-y colors are being packed away!

....I think I have way to many tops.....what say you?

(and by the way, don't count the hangers. It's embarrassing.)

SHOES! -my one weakness. This box is all of my "warmer days" shoes.

And this box is all of my "colder days" shoes. (well...except for the yellow ones.)

I put all of my shorts for winter in this shoe hanger. It was super handy, and easy to pick out some shorts without totally destroying my organized drawers. Now, I've replaced the shorts with scarves and hats, etc. You should try it, it's really nice. You can use it for everything but....*smile* shoes.

All of my tanks are now in the drawers, rolled up so that I don't have to rummage.

Well, I hope this wasn't boring. To me, organizing is never boring. Especially if you're listening to fun music while you're working. :) Now....who to give my 'get rid of' clothes to......

Koch family photo

2011-10-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

A few edited-

2011-10-18T22:12:00.002-07:00

I didn't get really creative with my photos on this trip. I think it was mostly my fault, because I was simply lazy. I do, however, like this photo. I just think it's calming.

This one was too dark, and not very clear, but I still think it's nice.

Remember that shot of the views when we went on our little adventure through the woods? Well, off in the distance you could see this light house, and I was pretty happy with my camera for capturing it from that far away.

I loved these weeds! (or, whatever they are) I think that they are very artistic.

I like the out and in of the focusing here.

And, the last photo, which I really like. It's just so bright, and sunny looking.

I'm sorry for the lack of creativity here. I promise to try harder, next year. :-)

Us Koch Kids

2011-10-18T22:12:00.001-07:00

Papa took this photo of us kiddos while we were tromping through the woods. I love my siblings!

My family at Mo's

2011-10-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

This was my favorite restaurant I was talking about. The clam chowder was heavenly. Absolutely delicious.

Cannon Beach 2011

2011-10-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this is about the 5th or 6th time going to Cannon Beach this year, and even though that's a lot, I'll never get tired of it. This was our Christmas gift from Aunt Cindy, and Grandma Koch from last year. It was a two night stay at the Tolovana Inn, and certificates to eat out at our favorite restaurant, "Mo's." We haven't exactly had time to go, until now. I love the beach. The sand, how it squishes in-between your toes, and gets really warm... The ocean, how it helps you see how small and insignificant you are, and it's amazing boogie boarding. The sun, (when it comes out) makes you feel all nice and jolly. Yep. The beach is an amazing thing. Thank the LORD for it!

Nick is trying to put Papa's hat on....backwards?

Papa had a whole lot of fun with the little guy. This is actually a tradition for Papa to do this to all of his babies. He takes your shirt half off and then lets you "try" to get the rest of it off yourself. It is quite the hilarious show. *smiles*

He's getting a little frustrated with it right now...

There....Papa will help you....

Peak-a-boo!

Monday was also our JQ's 4th birthday! Happy birthday JQ!! He got a super cool John Deere sweatshirt. (as you all are aware of by this point, our boys are ALL about John Deere.)

He is such the poser!

Four Dollars is a whole lot in a little kiddos mind.

Look at that priceless smile!

Every time Jacob opens a gift he tears off a tinny, ant sized, little piece of paper at a time. (notice it by the package)

A new coat!

Notice all of the little siblings want in on all the attention too. Yep. There's Alainna.

Levi is also anxious to see what Jacob gets, so that he can play with it too. :)

I love this picture that was hanging in the kitchen. So colorful.

And then Marcus joins in...*chuckle* Children are so funny.

A new bike helmet! He also got a super nice light saber from Mama and Papa. It lights up and....makes noise. Yes. Noise. Well, that's what he'd like the most...and it is his birthday after all, so I guess that it's fine. After all, I've already used it to light my way in the attic when I couldn't find a flashlight. *blush*

Nickolas really enjoyed the balcony. He is such an outdoors kind of guy.

-I liked this picture. Some times I wish I could just take whatever I want from the Hotel rooms. Or, at least this one. It would look so nice in my room.

There he is. On the Balcony again.

Caitlin- getting ready to go to the swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna. Ahhhhh, they were so very nice!!

This table is only supposed to fit four people. Right. We ended up fitting 12 people at it anyways! That was one of the most squished dinners I ever remember.

Kitchen. ( I know...Kind of messy)

I really enjoyed my tea the whole time we were there. Tea just warms the heart! My favorite kind is the plain old Lipton, with just a sprinkle of sugar. Yummm.

Walking on Indian Beach...

Ewww. Little kids just don't know what is disgusting. But, feathers won't harm them, and it makes them feel like savage Indians, so we might as well let them have their fun.

The little "walk on the beach" turned into a wild adventure through all the bushes, branches, trees, ferns, mud, spiders, and woods. It was fun, even though I was half scared to death at the thought that I might slip in the mud and fall on my camera, or run face first into a spider web. *shudder* Other than that...I was really happy for the adventure.

It had been quite a long time since we had all gone tromping in the woods together, exploring things. I love it, and it brought back a whole lot of good childhood memories.

Finally! Some civilized stairs!!

This was a really big, weird mushroom Papa found growing on a root. It was super soft. Kind of like rabbits fur.

The amazing view!

We all ate lunch then headed home.

Levi.

Marcus and Papa went fishing for half an hour on our way home and they caught two pretty good sized fish. Papa caught the biggest one, (of course) and Marcus caught the other one.

14 inches long!

I know that this is not the ideal photo to end my post on, but it was the last photo from the trip.
Thank the LORD for another wonderful vacation!!!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

My Family and I, along with the Berkompas' and Vonderlufts, visited Sauvie Island for Pumpkins. It was an absolute b.l.a.s.t.

Being short of time, (a common occurrence) I did not get around to editing any of these photos. My apologies...
I think that we are going there again with family in the next week or so too...

*smiles* This little fella fell dead asleep within a couple minutes.

They had a tractor pull the most adorable little "cow carts" all over the farm. I would have liked for one of our kiddos to go on a ride, but we needed to get home.

P.u.m.p.k.i.n.s! -Pumpkins really stand out-don't they?

*melting heart* My little Jacob-y is THE cutest little boy I've seen!

We haven't carved our pumpkins yet. (I know!) But when we do, I'll make a blog post on what we all carved. I haven't the slightest idea of what I'm going to do. I usually start out with grand ideas, then I start carving and it doesn't turn out the way I wanted in the least bit. I am determined to change that this year!

Have any of you, (other than the Berkompas and Vonderluft families) made the annual trip to the pumpkin patch yet?

Rain.

2011-10-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

This last shot is my absolute favorite. I adore the way you can see the background leaves in the big dew drop, and all the color and depth.

I was sitting in the living room after cleaning our entire house and packing for our up-coming beach trip, and was wondering what I could do that would be refreshing. Yeah, I settled on taking pictures in the rain. Why? Well, I guess I haven't actually tried it before, and something new is always interesting. I'm glad I did it. *smile*

Which photo is your favorite? And, why? Thanks for reading!
-JessicaCynthia-

GOD's creation

2011-10-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

The LORD has made a wonderful world! O praise his name!

"The mountians rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills." Psalm 104 : 8-10

I love my siblings....

2011-10-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

....they're SO Koch.

Sunset

2011-10-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

A day babysitting the Bradley kiddos-

2011-10-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

I had the great joy and privilege to babysit the Bradley kiddos this last Wednesday. It is so fun to try to handle the kiddos, clean the house, and cook...all at the same time! Kids are my one weakness....

I told little cowboy to organize the pantry, and then he'd get 3 WHOLE points! *gasp* Points are a big hit with littles... I make a chart with their names on it, and they each have a box of good and bad points. I'll tell them that they get x amount of points to do this chore and then, if they do a REALLY good job with it, then they get to pick out of "the box." ( a box with random numbers scribbled on folded pieces of paper.) Whatever number they get, is more good points. It absolutely thrills them, and, makes them all the more eager to work some more.

Mr. Man had the job of clearing and organizing the counters. He is a REALLY big help to me!

And, *drum roll* here is the Cowboy's handiwork! Pretty good for a 6 year old, right?

On top of all that joyfulness, I baked a chocolate fudge cake with a layer of vanilla frosting, then another layer of fudge frosting. I also cooked some butterscotch pudding. (*sniff* I actually burned that stuff, but the kiddos ate it anyways!) Then I baked some blueberry muffins for the next morning. In that big red bowl, is some chicken with which I made dinner. -Country fried chicken, hot mashed potatoes, country gravy, and buttery corn. -melt in my mouth deliciousness-

Lesson learned- don't let Dylan peal potatoes. I had asked Terrel and Dylan to peal potatoes while I fried chicken, and I turn around to a half clean counter and a couple boys with a pile of peals on their heads, hands, and in their shirts....well, not really in their shirts but it was pretty close...

I helped the kiddos make this "welcome home" sign for their mom.

The dining room.

I felt like a bit of decorating, but wasn't sure how I'd get any decorations. So I looked around and found empty beer bottles and stuffed the things with twigs, and branches. I wanted to get some flowers and some vibrant leaves and such, but it's the dull time of year...

Living room. I guess it's hard to decorate another person's home, because you don't know if they'd like it. So I didn't do all that much. Just a colorful blanket over the couch, a couple candles on the coffee table, and a table cloth or two.

Blueberry muffins!

I asked this little fella to give me a giant smile and all he could do was twitch his mouth to the left. Then, knowing that children are usually disobedient, I told him NOT to give me an adorable smile....and what do you know? He gives me the cutest smile ever!

He's such a cutie pie!

-so are you PJ.

Awww, look at all those clean, good-lookin' kids! And with smiles on their faces, too!

Just for fun...

2011-10-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

These are all of my past/present blog backgrounds. I love going through them and choosing my favorites. I think that the black, white, and yellow one with the boards is my fave. What's yours?

(above) this is my second fave!

which one?

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Designing my blog page is one of my favorite things to do. (as you might have guessed) But I cannot settle on one or the other. Marcus likes the last design better, but I don't really think it matches....Your thoughts?

Dandelion

2011-10-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Shopping!

2011-10-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Heather and I, (along with our moms of course!) went shopping almost all day on Saturday. I think that's the first time I have dedicated the day fully to shopping. It's such a treat! We went to Romy's, (they had a great sale! 70% off the entire store!) Old Navy, an accessories store, Sears, Kohl's, Costco (for their smoothies) and Claire's, where Heather got her ears pierced! I only bought 3 items the whole day. -I'm pretty happy with myself. *smile*

It was so nice to spend most of the day with such a wonderful friend and Sister in Christ!

Psalm 37: 1-5

2011-09-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoesrs! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend the faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust him, and he will act."

Psalms 63: 3-4

2011-09-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands."

Early Autumn

2011-09-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

Most mornings, now, I look out my window and take a deep breath of the cool, crisp fall air and think, "Summer has gone by too fast." Things tend to do that more often the older you get. Autumn is already here. Summer has already past. Which makes us think, "well, then, maybe I should make the most of this day, because I will never get this day back again." Make the most of every passing moment, because....it's passing.

With toys littering the living room, the highchair still not cleaned off from breakfast, the wash needs to be transferred, and I still haven't made my bed, I looked out my window and saw the beauty of the beginning of this new day. I had to capture it's GOD given beauty. I grabbed my camera, and with Nickolas at my heels, I raced out the door (bare foot of course) and began to take pictures of anything that caught my eye. I took a good 20 minutes outside, then retreated to the house to finish household chores, and start schoolwork with my siblings.

If you double click the above photo, you'll see the grass in the dew drop, as well as the trees, and some of the sky. This was a photo that I've been wanting to get for some time now, and thank the LORD I have it!

where I find joy-

2011-09-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Oh, peoples, I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoy driving our tractor. It's feels so good to drive it up in our field, with the sun shinning on my face, and a piece of straw in my mouth. Oh the joy! I am so blessed to be a farmers daughter!

I also find joy in baking a blackberry pie with my little sis. Spending time with my younger (and older) siblings, is a very important part of family life, and I'm so happy that it is so enjoyable!

We put a little "A" on Alainna's pie for her 7th birthday.

Seeing my pa working on his land with joy, brings happiness into my eyes.

Reaping a bountiful harvest of potatoes is always a happy thing as well!

Well, that's what I've been joyful about lately. Happily living the life that GOD has so blessed me with. :-)
What have you been joyful about lately?

The month of September-

2011-09-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, to all you out there. Goodness, I have a bucket load and a half to catch up on, now don't I? It feels like I haven't posted for months, when, in reality, it's only been a matter of weeks. Now...let's see. Where to start is always the hardest!

September 5th was my 16th birthday. In the morning my dad, Marcus and I played Frisbee golf with some of the Macks, Woltersdorfs, Vandenburg, and Vonderlufts. That was a whole lot of fun, even though they didn't let me win. *smile* After that my parents had a Dr. Appt. so I stayed home and primped for most of the afternoon. (what a way to spend your 16th birthday, right? Primping is my one weakness...) When they came home we all got in the van and headed to the Seifert's house. It was wonderful to talk to Jess again! That ended the day.
You can check out Jessica's blog and see how she's doing as she starts her new life in Oxford, England! The Randomness of a Logically Creative Mind

Then, on September 6th, my Parents took me shoe shopping, and we ended up buying the most amazing winter coat I have ever owned! And, it's red. (All the better.)

And, of course, when you have a birthday, you need to send out a whole stack of thank-you cards. So...here's what my desk looked like for the past week-

I created a new signature for on the back of my cards while we were at the Seiferts, too.

The Seiferts, and Purvis' got me this wonderful bouquet of flowers for my birthday. I love it!!! (thank you guys)

The day after that, (September 7th)Grandma Koch, Mama and I, got pedicures. That was actually the very first time I've had that done. I only had one requirement...that a guy wouldn't touch my feet one single bit! Sorry, but I think it's just so wrong. He shouldn't be there in the first place. *shiver* Okay, we can stop talking about that now.

Side note here-
About a month ago our Mustang was side swiped, and so we've been without a cool car, until it was finished being fixed. *sniff* I know. Sad. Just sad. My Grandma got a rental until it was finished, and though it was 'new' I still thought that it was trash compared to our other car. There is just nothing, nothing I say, that beats an all American made Mustang.

September 13th & 14th-
We had been blessed with a huge extra job from one of our accounts. (Cascade Inn) This took us two 'not-so-full' days to complete. We had my cousin, Anthony, and someone from Church help us with this job. The first day we spent mainly pruning things up, and tearing plants out. The second day we spent planting trees, bushes, grasses, and bark dusting. I would say that it looks purely amazing right now. All they need is new lawns and they will have a magnificent landscape! It is so good, work is. The aches and pains from a long, hard day's work feels so good to me. (well..not exactly 'feel good'..it kind of is like an "accomplished-good" feeling. -you know what I mean?)

September 16th-
Today was regular maintenance day. Anthony and Karl worked with us. We mowed. We edged. We blew. We picked weeds. I also got a little present from a nice customer, and wonderful friend! We used to call him the "turtle Guy" but I have now gotten out of that habit and call him, Mr. Daller. He has made me two home-made trivets out of wine corks so far, and just made me a custom made one. I got to pick out the corks, the size, and color of wood. (jealous? *wink*)
That night we also watched our "Family movie" of the month, called "Larkrise to Candleford."

September-
Throughout September my family and I have been harvesting our bountiful crop. The only thing that I am aware of that didn't turn out...is the corn. I know! The one vegetable that says,"farmer" the most, didn't produce! We will have to do something about that. Life cannot go on without corn. Corn, in all it's buttery-ness, that drips of the cob, onto your face, hands, and lap. *sigh* Who wouldn't love that?!

Canning-
We have been making the most amazing plum butter, ever! ....well, I haven't exactly tasted this batch yet, but last years was more than just amazing. Heavenly. We normally eat it on Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
Then there's the pears. We have this huge, ginormous pear tree in the upper field that is just chucked full of pears. Only one problem....I said that it was ginormous, right? Well, as it turns out, most of the pears are on the very tip top and we aren't just going to let them sit and rot. So Papa brought the flatbed up there for us to stick huge ladders on, and get the pears with nets. Yet, another problem. I cannot stand ladders! There. It's out. Ladders and spiders are my worst fears. So, my kind Papa, got me a little stepping stool so I could get the ones on the bottom. (don't laugh. It's not funny.) Then there's the blackberries. We were going to make blackberry jam, but didn't get around to doing that yet. I made a couple blackberry pies, though. Blackberry pie with ice cream is my one weakness.

Crafting-
I've had a terrible itch to make something this past week. I've thought, thought, and thought of what to make with my fabric scraps, and came up with a different kind of fabric flower than I normally do. You singe the edges of a round piece of fabric, and then stack them on top of each other and add a couple beads in the middle. I was thinking of putting them on a cute headband or something. Tell me what you think-

Well...I think that's it for now. Alainna's 7th birthday is tomorrow, and we are all going out to lunch with our cousins, and Grandma Koch. I might just bring my camera along, and, if I'm not busy talking, I'll snap a couple photos to share with y'all.

Thanks for reading!
Have a wonderful day,
-JessicaCynthia-