Huber Family

Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake:

2012-01-25T21:36:00.003-06:00

Here it is!! I made this for my mom's birthday and everybody loved it!

This is a mix of different recipes that I put together to make it gluten free and even dairy free.

German Chocolate Cake:

Chocolate Cake:

1/2 c. butter or coconut oil

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1/4 c. of coconut milk or regular milk

9 eggs

1 1/2 c. rapadura

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. sifted coconut flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

Melt butter or oil in a saucepan over med/low heat. Add cocoa powder and coconut milk and mix together. Remove from heat and set aside. In a bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. Pour batter into greased 8x8x2 or 9x9x2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool and cover with frosting of your choice.

Coconut Frosting:

1 c. rapadura

1 c. milk (or coconut milk if your dairy free)

1/2 c. coconut oil or butter

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 1/3 c. flaked coconut

1 c. chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

In a small saucepan, heat sugar, milk, oil, and egg yolks over med/low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, (I added a little bit of organic corn starch)

stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting over tops of each cake layer and stack the layers.

Melt coconut oil, honey and cocoa and drizzle over sides of the cake.

~Kristalyn

Gluten Free Recipe!

2012-01-24T11:36:00.004-06:00

Many people have been begging us to start a blog with gluten free recipes so we decided to post recipes and other things we have been doing here hopefully on a regular basis.

This Quinoa Crust is one of our favorite! There's lots of things you can do with it such as... regular pizza, dip in pesto, use it in place of bread, and put hummus, olives,feta, cucumber etc...

Quinoa Pizza Crust:

1 1/2 c. quinoa, soaked overnight and drained
1/2 - 3/4 c. water
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. olive oil or coconut oil (we use coconut oil because olive oil goes rancid when heated to high)
Preheat oven to 450 F. Place the sprouted quinoa, water, and salt in a blender and blend until creamy. The consistency will be thick (like pancake batter). Start with 1/2 c. water and see if
you need more. Divide the coconut oil and cover the bottom of 2-8 in. cake pans or one large rectangular pan. (We used our cast iron skillets. They work so much better). Place the pan(s) in the oven until they are shimmering hot (but not smoking). Remove from the oven. At this point, you can add some minced garlic and/or herbs. (I used Rosemary, Basil, Garlic, and Onion powder). Divide the quinoa mixture evenly. Bake for 10-15 minutes (until the crust is brown on the edges). Flip the crusts over and return to bake another 8-10 minutes (until the crust(s) are brown and and crispy). Enjoy!

Hopefully I will get pictures for the future recipes.

Check back tomorrow for gluten free German Chocolate Cake :)

~Kristalyn

Announcing the arrival of...

2011-08-06T17:34:00.007-05:00

Sevilla Marie Van Dyk. Weighing 8lbs 8oz and 20 1/2 inches.

Vienna loves her little sister :)

2011-06-05T16:13:00.002-05:00

Due to both the camera and the computer (that we have all our pictures on) that aren't working we will be behind on our blog posts. So if we don't post for a while you will know why :) Hopefully we will be able to get them fixed soon and I will be able to do more posts.

Nothing very exciting has been happening in the Huber house hold recently except for our cow having a calf to which we named Nels keeping our tradition of naming our cows after Little House characters :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Kristalyn

Catching up:

2010-12-09T14:25:00.044-06:00

I can't believe it's 2011!! Wow...that went by fast!

Here is a review of what has been going on in the Huber household in the past 3 months.

First... Back in October we went up to IL for the first time as a family in 7 years. A twenty two plus trip. Illinois is where both mom and dad's parents live and more than half of the uncles and aunts, not to mention all the friends we have up there too :)

Almost there!! Time to take a break and get some exercise :)

And we finally arrive!!

A visit to the Blackhawk statue.

At the Apple orchard with Aunt Barb and our cousin Jay.

Dinner at Uncle John and Aunt Barb with the rest of my dad's side.

One day we had lunch at the Restoration cafe then went on a tour of the Rockford Rescue Mission.

Friends...

Sadly we don't have any pictures of our departure or a few other things :( But we had a great trip. It was an amazing time! Thank you friends and family for your hospitality.

2. We returned on the 26th just in time for Vienna's 1st birthday on the 27th.

The cake was adorable!

And everybody needs lots of uncles protecting them. :)

3. On the 31st of October Justin our baby turned 4! We keep saying you aren't a baby anymore but he keeps insisting he is and truthfully we don't mind :D

A Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Jonathan using his talent wrote "Justin" in sprinkles.

4. Nikkae and Vienna came over while mom and dad went away on a road trip to watch Jonathan's football game. While they were here I took some pictures of Vienna.

Seriously...I think I have the most adorably cute niece in the whole wide world!!! No offence guys :)

5. So we came home from IL in the morning on the 26th which happened to be my birthday.

We decided to celebrate another time which was a very good thing since we were all too tired to do anything besides sleep.

On Wednsday mom decided to go to harp lessons with Katherine and me. We left the house early and they surprised me with an envelope to open every hour or so with a coupon for something special. The first one was to get a pedicure. It was a first for me :)

Then we went to La Madeline's for lunch. Mom and Katherine surprised me with Jacqueline coming to lunch with us!

Next we went bowling and the Macias girls showed up! Of course we took pictures.

Thank you mom and Katherine for a wonderful day!!!

6. For Thanksgiving Nathan and Rebecca came down from Nashville TN. We also had the Selgi family over. The food was delicious and it was all gluten free! We had lots of fun.

7. Football season is over. The Patriots did a great job and finished 2nd in the T-CAL championship!

8. In December I had a harp ensemble concert with 11 other harps of all sizes and colors. Usually Katherine does it too but she has been the world traveler of late so I had to do it with out her.

9. Putting up Christmas decorations. (Who puts together a Christmas tree and eats ice cream bars outside in December)?!?!?!?

10. Christmas eve Nathan and Rebecca, Vince, Nikkae and Vienna, Brandon and Anthony came over. We opened gifts together and enjoyed a lovely time.

Books!!!!

And the day just isn't complete without a game of backyard football :)

(They look really happy) :P

11. After Christmas eve service since everybody was here, we decided to take a family picture.

Everybody:

Nathan and Rebecca:

Vince, Nikkae, Vienna and ?:

12. After Christmas eve service we went over to the Long's. Thank you very much John and Mary-Ellen for having us over! We had a fantastic time.

Opening gifts:

I just love those big blue eyes!

13. January 6th was mom's birthday and since it was her 5o we had to do something extra special. So we got together some of mom's good friends for as surprise party at "The Melting Pot". It was a lot of fun!

1st. table

2nd. table

3rd. table

Well... that about sums it up. Hope you enjoyed it and hopefully it won't be so long before our next post :)

Kaylianna and Vienna

2010-10-02T11:09:00.001-05:00

When Katherine was in Germany she purchased matching dresses for Auntie Kaylianna and Vienna which are just the cutest things! So when Nikkae and Vienna came over to visit they dressed up and went outside for pictures :)

Family day!!!

2010-09-27T16:22:00.009-05:00

We decided to have a family day of tubing at the river! We haven't had a family day in over a year so it was really exciting! We had a lot of fun.

We started off by eating...

We met these really nice people who saved the day by airing up our tubes! After our futile attempt to blow them manually :)

2010-09-15T14:52:00.004-05:00

Its football season!!!!

Landscape pictures.

2010-09-14T16:07:00.010-05:00

I just LOVE looking at the sky at God's beautiful design!! It's never the same sky twice and it's just like looking at a new painting everyday! I love taking pictures of the outdoors so here are some that I (Kristalyn) took. Hope you enjoy! What a great God we serve!

(These are pictures that I have taken at different times).

Our Princess Kaylianna's birthday

2010-09-14T15:31:00.009-05:00

Kaylianna Jane turned 7 on the 24th of August! When I (Kristalyn) was almost 7 our Kaylianna Jane was born. I was so glad because I was in the middle of 5 boys and I really wanted a girl. And God gave us one!

She LOVED her princess birthday party! She has such a great imagination that she is always in her own little world. It's so special to look outside and see her on her bike just singing and talking to herself :)

The cake fell apart at the top but we did get it to look nice. And according to everybody it was really good.

Brenton's 12th Birthday.

2010-09-14T15:15:00.007-05:00

This year has brought a lot more responsibility for Brenton since the oldest brothers are gone. He has definitely worked hard and learned much and continues to bless us with his lovingkindness to his little siblings. He enjoys reading any thing- especially history, hence his Civil War birthday decorations.

Of course Jonathan did a magnifiscent job on the birthday sign with the kiddos once again! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Katherine came back from Germany on the 19th of August but since we were so busy we didn't get to celebrate Brenton's birthday until the 20th. Brenton was so happy she could make it back in time for his party (and so were we).

Benjamin's birthday.

2010-08-06T17:33:00.009-05:00

On the 24th of July was a very special occasion for us. Benjamin Robert turned 10 years old.

We can't believe how fast time flies! He LOVES to read and is always ready to learn

Jonathan did a fantastic job of the castle! He thought it all up and didn't even look at a picture.

To start the day off he requested coffee cake for breakfast. Dad and mom took him into town for an outing so the rest of us could make his castle and decorate the table. We converted the dining room into a castle and made the inside of it look like King Benjamin Robert's birthday banquet.

Benjamin wanted lemon everything for his birthday so I made a lemon poppyseed cake and lemon ice. We also made homemade ginger ale.

What a splendid evening we had celebrating Benjamin's birthday.

Making Memories :D

2010-04-09T19:29:00.018-05:00

"When I count my blessings, the greatest of my joys, our parents gave us siblings, instead of rooms of toys."

The wild flowers are absolutely beautiful here in South Texas! Our yard has fewer of them than many other places, but they are still beautiful. We thought it would be nice to take pictures among them before the Texas heat comes and they disappear. I can't believe how fast everyone is growing up and it's sad that there are no more babies in our pictures. We are truly blessed by God for the family He has given to us. May we be found faithful to God and the parents He has given us and the Truth of His Word whatever the cost.

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Yes, we did get a little silly but its all about making the memories right?! :P

...and life just wouldn't be the same if there wasn't some "not so good" moments too. lol

My cute little brothers :D

2010-04-05T11:20:00.009-05:00

One of my favorite things to see, when I look out our kitchen window, is my little brothers playing football together. I don't know why, but I have always had a special bond with little boys, especially the ones the Lord has placed right here in my home.

"A boy is Truth with dirt on it's face.  Beauty with a cut on its finger.  Wisdom with bubble gum in his hair,  and the Hope of the future with a frog in his pocket. "-- Author Unknown 

Working on getting the "Longhorn" sign down. haha

"Football is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life." ~Joe Namath

A Few Things We are Attempting to Learn this Summer...

2009-06-25T08:30:00.007-05:00

We have been trying to learn more about God's design for everything. It is like going back in time and trying to get to the basics or foundations in every area of life. I have found that I am often asking my Heavenly Father what is His design; whether it be food, marriage, family, animals etc. It has definitely been very eye opening and even though God is so complex He has such "simple" principles to follow. The day in which we live, the "improvements" in personal care products, cleaning products, food etc. they not only hurt our bodies but trap us into having to work so hard to make more money to spend waaaaaaaaay too much money! When we as individuals, churches, or nations get away from His design we really smart for it and get so entangled in complicated messes. So, all that to say we are SIMPLIFYING our lives. Using things more natural like making our own laundry soap, liquid hand soap, (not too happy with the dishwashing liquid so far), dish washer soap (really cheap) learning about heirloom seeds and saving seeds to replant, making deodorant (btw--it really works!) by using simple natural ingredients in my pantry :) I am finding that God placed us here on earth with all the things that we need to take care of our needs. Though there are many natural items for sale, they are very pricey and so we have been learning what we can do to make what we can... so, that has been keeping us busy...learning, learning, learning :)

A lovely English/Scottish tea time

2009-06-23T20:58:00.005-05:00

What a lovely afternoon Kristalyn, Kaylianna and I had going to Mary-Ellen's home for a special tea time. During our special time together, Mary Ellen shared many memories of her growing up in England and the traditions of tea times. We had a delightful and relaxing afternoon with delicious traditional foods. We were very spoiled! Since Kaylianna was sick earlier in the year when we all went out together, Mary Ellen had promised a special tea for her. Boy, did she make it special! The girls received beautiful flowers, little personal animal creamers, and cute little Engllish Lustre Carlton Ware pieces from a collection she has and little miniature tea pots of her very own that were adorable. These memories will always be special in the lives of my girls! There is no way that I can even express the value that the Long's have given to all my children. It is sad that we live so many miles from the children's grandparents and certainly no one can replace them but God has truly blessed us with adopted grandparents in the Longs and we are truly grateful!

A whole week of birthday celebrations :)

2009-04-02T08:50:00.016-05:00

We started off the birthday celebrations with "the girls" having a luncheon together at the Guenther House. Since both sets of Grandparents are in IL, John and Mary-Ellen have "adopted" the kids as their grandchildren. So Mary-Ellen planned a special outing to celebrate Katherine's birthday. We had a delightful day! Thank you Mary-Ellen!

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It was such a treat to have Megan visit from Illinois during the week of Katherine's birthday! The day before her birthday they were able to go bowling and play volleyball with some dear "old" and new friends. She was surprised by her brothers with a birthday cake and celebration. (Thank you Carole for picking up the cake for us). Of course the rest of us wanted to celebrate her 21st birthday with her so we planned a birthday dinner and had the Roberts' family over to celebrate with us :) It was also Tonya's birthday the next day so we just did a double celebration.

~ It took 2-3 people to keep the b'day hat on Katherine for more than 5 seconds

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Next came Dad's birthday. We started the day off with delicious pancakes with berries and whipped cream topping for breakfast (thank you Kristalyn). Then we all headed for church and met Vince and Nikkae there. Because of it being the 5th Sunday, the church does a meal afterwards so we just told Rick that everyone in the church was celebrating his birthday with him with all kinds of desserts :) :) And what a grand celebration it was! It was also a special day for us as we joined our hearts with the church family of 1st Baptist Church in Floresville and became members. How blessed we have been by the God's people there. Later in the evening Nikkae and Vince came over to continue to celebrate Dad's birhtday so we ate chili and made homemade ice cream with fresh milk from our dairy cow (mmmmmmm) and then opened presents and played games.

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And last, or at least for a few days, Jonathan's birthday. We tried to think of something different and also trying to make it possible for Nikkae and Vince to be a part of the celebration we decided to surprise Jonathan by having a party at Nikkae's house. We had pizza, salad and cheesecake and played some games together. It was a truly fun and enjoyable evening (especially since I won the game I played :)

A special thank you to Adam and Amy who ALWAYS send a card and have not missed one of our birthdays...yet :) That is pretty amazing when there is so many of us!!! And to all who have celebrated with us, sent cards, gifts and many birthday wishes during these special celebrations! Your friendship is treasured !

quilting, company, used library book extravaganza

2009-03-09T18:13:00.015-05:00

Some recent highlights have been Kristalyn finishing her quilted table runner this week and making some material decorated cards. Also having Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda over for a visit before they move back to Nashville :( Linda was able to join us (girls) for our Monday quilting. What fun we had together!

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Earlier this week we were informed of a used library book sale so we (Kristalyn, Brenton, Benjamin and me (Mom) headed over for a special "treasure" hunt. We prayed that God would bless us and allow us to find great books for a great price...and He did! ! !

Birthday ...

2009-02-25T10:18:00.005-06:00

God has blessed our family through the years with very special brothers and sisters in Christ. This last 6 months have been no different. We have grown to love and appreciate the friends and fellow-laborers in Christ that we have worshiped with the last few months. God has been so good to minister to our needs and help heal some wounds through the last year as we have served with these families. It was a privilege for our family to show a little of our love and appreciation by surprising John and Amos for their birthday. We truly appreciate their love for the Lord and His people. What an example of sacrifice they are. We love and appreciate you guys and your families! May God continue to bless you both.

Catching you up to date...sort-of

2009-02-24T12:10:00.012-06:00

A couple of weeks ago a friend so graciously gave us four turkeys. Anthony and I (Jonathan) were given the chore of butchering them and what an experience it was! Thankfully we only had to skin them instead of trying to pluck them. :) They ended up tasting good which was a great blessing.

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One highlight, of my year thus far, is attending Leah Macias' birthday party. There were many words of encouragement directed towards Leah, but I (Anthony) think somehow Leah was a huge encouragement to all of us. I was awed by her testimony and deep passion for the Lord. I left there extremely encouraged. Thank you Macias family for the invite. Leah, keep following after Jesus, and may your love for Him grow everyday. I know He has special plans for you.

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Last Tuesday Anthony, Jonathan, Kristalyn and I (Katherine) went with a few friends to the "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang" play that was here in SA. We had a few errands to run beforehand and we still made it downtown 1 -1/2 hours early. Just a little early :) We used our time wisely and took some pictures of each other. :) Thanks Tim, Cara, Peter, Zack, and Jacqueline for coming with us. We all had a wonderful time. When we returned home I was very disappointed we didn't get a group picture. :(

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Just a little excursion to the Pecan Park. When the older ones are gone we find our own entertainment :)

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This year Anthony and I (Jonathan) had the privilege to run track. We are not only running but Anthony is doing high jump and I am doing pole vault. It has been quite the experience for both of us! We had our first track meet last Thursday which was scheduled from 4:00 - 10:00 p.m. but ended up going three hours over with an hour and fifteen minute drive home. We are very grateful for the opportunity to participate this year.

Football Banquet!

2009-01-29T11:05:00.011-06:00

Last Friday was a very special evening. It was the annual Football Banquet. The football banquet is one of our highlights of the year and I'm not even a player. :) The evening was spent thanking the Lord for the many blessings throughout the year and praising our guys for their effort, character, discipline and teamwork. The F.E.A.S.T. Patriot's football team is a team that does more than just instill the love of "the greatest game on earth" but it also gives spiritual discipleship, camaraderie, and some positive "peer pressure" :) We always have so much fun reminiscing about the past year, watching a highlight video made by the Seniors and just spending the evening together. :) Our family is thankful for the opportunity to be apart of such a wonderful organization.

-The Seniors from 2008 -

Special Memories! :)

2009-01-13T12:44:00.014-06:00

The quietness on our blog has been by no means because of quietness in our lives. On the contrary, it has been quite busy around here. Many events have happened that have been delightful and exciting while others have been... maybe not so delightful to say the least. One thing is for sure, God is busy refining and purifying our hearts and minds and that is very painful but then again, the outcome is beautiful fruit . This life here on earth is a vapor (James 4:14) and we continually need to be reminded of eternity.

Well, on to a few of the highlights in the weeks past:

The first of January we enjoyed wonderful fellowship at the Clark's home with, I'm guessing, 200+ people. What a wonderful day of fellowship, food, and fun! We have been blessed tremendously by God to have known so many believers that are endeavoring to follow Christ in all of their lives. What a privilege to have such a network of Christians. We spent the day sharing one another's burdens, praying together, playing volleyball, football, basketball, board games and the littlest ones enjoyed all of Jacqueline's play horses for hours. (sorry no pics, forgot the camera)

The next "big" event was having a group of eleven come from Illinois for a week to do the sound for the SA Christian Film Festival. Of course this was not just "any" group, it was a very special group of friends from our church in IL. We have cultivated very close friends over the years and truly count it a privilege any time we are able to spend time with them :) We also enjoyed the company of Mark Inyart for an evening from Houston. We also enjoyed a visit from the Zes family the following week. It was great to see you all!

The week started with lots of food preparation with the girls and then had some memorable times touring San Antonio for an afternoon, late night chats, football, and scrapbooking for Brandon's senior football album. What fun that was as we ALL sat around the 10 foot table with different "jobs". Sweet memories!! Thanks everyone. The album turned out awesome.

Mom's birthday just happened to be right in the middle of the busy week :) Anthony and I had a house to clean in Boerne (on mom's b'day) somehow we convinced Ethan and Anna to come along with us for the job. We cleaned for a good 4 hours and then decided we were going to reward ourselves with a couple volleyball games in the sand court next door ... IF the owners of the court would allow us...and they so graciously did! :) We were pretty funny out there to say the least. After a few games, we went to get a bite to eat and on our trip home we decided at the last minute to watch a "deep sea" creature film at the IMAX. I think I laughed too hard that day! Thanks Ethan and Anna for coming along, even though you probably didn't have cleaning on your list to do on vacation! :) When we arrived home there was a nice, special dinner all ready for mom's b'day celebration. The table was decorated and a yummy cake. Thank you Kristalyn, Jessica, Joanna, and Elizabeth for all the work you did to make Mom's day special. It was a wonderful feeling knowing everything was taken care of at the house (kids included) :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Hope you had a good day, aside from the busyness of the day. WE LOVE YOU! :)

A special thank you to John and Mary Ellen Long for the birthday hat that started a new family tradition, I, (Katherine) hope that it gets lost before my birthday :) Otherwise, I am seriously thinking about hiding it !!
That's it for this post! Stay tuned, because there is more to come. :)

Nativity scene

2008-12-17T10:49:00.007-06:00

The Riggs family has continually blessed our family in many ways.
When the opportunity arose to serve them in a small way, mom quickly volunteered us. It's not everyday we (the older kids) get to play dress up. While I'm sure we didn't do the real nativity scene justice, we tried our best. I think it turned out quite nice-don't you? :)

Majella

2008-12-12T12:19:00.014-06:00

After attending the Majella Benefit Gala up in Austin, I will never look at the topic of abortion in the same way! Don't get me wrong, I knew that I was pro life, and that the issue of abortion was a major threat facing the future of America, but I guess I never really put much thought into it! The issue always seemed distant-- one that wouldn't effect me. I certainly do not look at it that way anymore! After I had the privilege of attending the fundraiser last year in Austin I had a whole new perspective on the issue! It totally woke me up to how rampant, horrible and real abortion is! So you can imagine how excited I was to hear that the event was coming to San Antonio! Let me warn you, if you are looking to hold on to your money, you might want to stay home from this event. For some reason this fundraiser has a unique way of taking more from you than you ever intended to give (I guess thats a good thing). It's a evening full of fun and good food, but most importantly, it's a very thought provoking, heart wrenching, life changing event! As always, Mike Huckabee was unbelievably entertaining. For some reason I still laugh when he tells his jokes (even though I have heard them many times). If you ever get the chance to hear him or attend a Majella benefit dinner, don't pass it up, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.....might I add, in a good way! ~Brandon

Practicing on us :)

2008-12-12T12:11:00.010-06:00

With Rebecca starting a new adventure, Katherine, Kristalyn and l wanted to help so we gathered a group of ladies together and let her practice on us :) We had a fun evening and Rebecca did a great job with her presentation of her Mary Kay products. We especially loved the new facial products and Katherine and I were able to get some hostess gifts and even order the facial products at a discounted price. With Rebecca's enthusiasm, bubbly personality, love for people and a great product to sell we look forward to seeing how God blesses her efforts. THANK YOU REBECCA FOR THE LOVELY EVENING and a special THANK YOU to all the friends that came to help us encourage and support Rebecca.

If you would like to help Rebecca by letting her practice on you or order some lovely products you can contact her at RebeccaAnne@marykay.com

Christmas Party with the Hurt Family

2008-12-12T00:07:00.011-06:00

It was like no other Christmas party we had ever been to! Each child of all ages received a gift along with each couple. Sam and Joyce Hurt lovingly shopped, decorated and fed many families from their Sunday school classes. The children all sat around the Christmas tree listening to Joyce teach them and pass out their presents. It was an awesome sight to behold. No sooner than when Joyce said "GO" there were sounds of squeals and delight as paper flew everywhere and all the children opened their gifts at the same time. The parents received the most beautiful box with a lovely glass ornament that had a beautifully painted manger scene on it. We indulged in eating delicious steak and chicken fajitas and a variety of snacks and desserts! The night was too soon over but the memories linger on. THANK YOU SAM AND JOYCE FOR THE LABOR OF LOVE AND UNSELFISH ACTS OF KINDNESS TO OUR FAMILY AND SO MANY OTHERS! ! !

Harp Christmas Concert, Miniature golf and Freddie's Frozen Custard!

2008-12-09T08:20:00.014-06:00

Our day started with the girls getting to play their harp duets for the early morning and late morning church service. Then quickly went to SA to be a part of a large harp ensemble with a bell choir. It was a very lovely program. I believe there were sixteen harps on stage! The music was simply heavenly. About three or four years ago we went to the annual Christmas harp ensemble and Kristalyn dreamed of playing the harp someday and now she was there on stage playing those beautiful songs. God is so faithful to give us the desires of our heart and even more...she gets to have a sister learn and play right along with her. How amazing is that?! For Kristalyn, not being able to continue her piano or violin this year has been difficult but God has been so gracious to give her harp lessons to keep her going. She loves her music!

After the concert we were all invited to head over to play miniature golf...what FUN! Can you imagine all sixteen of us trying to get organized and divided into "even" teams since many have never played before. We started off with a group lesson from the notorious golfer, Mr. Michael Clark. He taught us all so well that even while chasing little ones and balls we still managed to get the ball in the hole...eventually:) Kaylianna was just overtaken with the magnificent beauty of the whole place. She continually made comments like "look Mom, it's amazing, it looks like we are at a jungle" as she spreads her arms wide open and spins and dances around in circles taking it all in. Watching her, Christian and Justin truly made it an even a greater adventure!

Next, we headed over to get a bite to eat. We are so grateful that we have special friends that aren't scared off by the "masses". Walking into a restaurant and miniature golf with all of us is no quick and easy feat. Everything we do seems to be quite the adventure:) I think the people that worked at the restaurant thought some bus just unloaded. What fun memories were made! With full tummies and contented hearts we all said our farewells and headed back for home. We truly never cease to be amazed at the goodness of God to our family.

Happy Birthday Anthony!

2008-12-08T10:54:00.011-06:00

Anthony's birthday was December 3rd. Yes I know, I am a little behind on posts. We celebrated Anthony's b'day a day late due to the busyness of Wednesday. Originally Anthony wanted to go mini putting but the weather was getting colder and when you have little children out in the cold that's not much fun. So on Thursday we celebrated his birthday and because of the season we all decorated gingerbread houses:) Nathan and Rebecca came out to the house to join the party as well as Zack at the last minute. We missed Nikkae, as she has always been the one to organize this tradition. We divided everyone up into teams of 2 or 3 people and let them go! It was sure fun to watch all the different personalities and see how they decorated their houses. We had a great night finishing (or at least stopping) by midnight.

Anthony, I have really enjoyed getting closer to you this past year. Its been fun to see our relationship grow stronger each day. You are a true blessing to your family and we all love you dearly! :) Thank you for all the things you do to make this family successful. Keep smiling for Him! ~Katherine

Happy Birthday Anthony!

Our Thanksgiving Holiday

2008-11-29T10:33:00.015-06:00

Like most everyone, we spent the day before Thanksgiving cooking and baking all day. What fun we had this year including everyone in the "festivities". I think everyone had their hands in the food somehow that day :) Our plans were to make some food to take with us to the Riggs' home on Thanksgiving day and to also make plenty of food for our family for the weekend as our favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the LEFTOVERS! I knew that bringing food somewhere and not having any left, after waiting all year for it, would not go over too well! So we made sure everyone's favorite foods were available through the weekend too. Oh, and a very special thanks to the Brian and Mary Howell for sharing their

great recipe for the best turkey ever...and it was!!!

We were all very blessed by the hospitality of the Riggs family. What a delight to get to know a dear family that loves our Lord and Savior. God is so gracious to continue to add precious friends to our lives. Thank you for all the tours of the farm, wonderful food, games and just plain old fashioned fellowship.

Later that day we came home only to EAT again and have Nikkae drop in for a short visit. We all gathered around the fireplace in the living room and shared our deep heartfelt gratefulness to our great God and King for His abundant mercies and faithfulness and to sing praises to the King of Kings! Of course then we had to pull out a new recipe, of egg nog and vanilla ice cream with nutmeg on top, so graciously shared by the Clark's earlier in the week-- YUM!!! I am thinking this will be a new tradition in the Huber home! We just couldn't wait until Christmas Eve to try it.

We were also blessed to have Nathan and Rebecca home with us for a couple of days. What fun was had by all! We woke up the next morning anxious to try our hand at the pumpkin donut recipe from the Erber family. Of course they were a hit! Thank you Jessica and Sara for passing your traditions on for all of us to enjoy! The days were full of excitement with football, games, reading books, painting and creating stages from shoe boxes for finger puppets, telling stories and eating, eating, eating! Thanks Nathan and Rebecca for planning such fun!

By the way, the picture of Justin at the end look exactly the way we all felt by the end of the weekend! :)

May you all draw near to your loved ones and to our Lord and Savior this holiday season telling others of Christ's redeeming power through the blood of Jesus...God bless you all!

"For the Lord is Great and greatly to be praised..."

2008-11-25T10:32:00.003-06:00

"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth!"

"Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name!"

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior...for He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name! and his mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation."

These are just a few of the lovely Words of Life that continually flow through my heart, head and mouth in praise to my GREAT KING! I embrace and thank Him for ALL that He has for us to go through for His name sake and trust that God's work of purifying will bring us forth as vessels unto His Honor.

Oh how the Word of God becomes more precious everyday. Thank you Heavenly Father for your great love and mercy. For we deserve nothing from your hand but...

"I will hope continually, and will yet praise THEE more and more. I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only. O God thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have shown Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to everyone that is to come! Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness and comfort me on every side. I WILL ALSO PRAISE THEE WITH THE PSALTERY, EVEN THY TRUTH, O MY GOD; UNTO THEE WILL I SING WITH THE HARP, O THOU HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL. MY LIPS SHALL GREATLY REJOICE WHEN I SING UNTO THEE; AND MY SOUL WHICH THOU HAST REDEEMED... (taken from Ps 71)

Truly God is good ALL the time and He is a faithful father to His children. Bless His holy name! And therefore we will..."sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises unto our King, sing praises to God sing praises, sing praises unto our KING--sing PRAISES! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !"

Football Champs!

2008-11-12T12:05:00.016-06:00

Well I am excited to be able to report extremely good news to all my friends! The FEAST Patriots have won the 2008 Independent State Championship!!! This feeling is a much better feeling than the one we all were experiencing last year at this time :) Coming into the tournament we had 2 straight tough losses, so the big win was a great way to wrap up the season and a high school career for some of us! I had been having some hamstring problems throughout the week, and so I was very thankful that God allowed me to play in the championship game!!! I am also happy to report that no serious injuries to the Huber family were obtained as a result of any football activities this year :) This year was extra special because our Grandparents as well as Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda were able to visit us and watch us play for the first time! Enjoy the pictures! - Brandon

Kaleb hurt his leg the first game of the Tournament and had to stay in the hospital over night. :( He was a huge loss to the JV team, throughout the rest of the games.

Grandpa and Grandma's visit

2008-11-11T17:38:00.012-06:00

Last Wednesday Grandma and Grandpa Fiordelisi flew here from the cold mid-west for a visit. They planned their visit as to be able to be a part of the "football mania". And so it was a crazy schedule especially when it includes 14 people getting ready with food and all not to mention the times when we also were blessed to have Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda with us too. What a busy place this was and oh what fun it was to visit at the brunch table every morning and then "hit the floor running". We are grateful to our Great God for still having our parents around especially after almost losing Grandpa/Dad to cancer a few years earlier. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion to give us more years together though the many miles separate us we always cherish the moments we have together. Thanks Dad and Mom for the sweet memories that will always be there in our hearts! You are the GREATEST.

The Politician's Junk Drawer

2008-11-09T18:08:00.007-06:00

Here is something my Dad wrote after election night. I thought you all would enjoy reading it.

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The Politician's Junk Drawer

Most children have what I call a junk drawer. There are some very interesting things in there to say the least. If you are able to reach your hand in to loosen the jam that holds the drawer partially closed you will discover some amazing things. I think that all parents could write an incredibly hilarious book on the contents of their child's junk drawer. Some things in there are very much alive while other things cause us to scratch our heads. Some items are very memorable while others have no meaning at all. They were just stuffed there because, well, it's just a junk drawer. Very seldom is anything put to great use. The drawer is just a collection of items that at one time was thought to be valuable. Things that are not much useful, but things that just can't be thrown away. Once in awhile though, usually when the drawer is close to impossible to open and close, our child pulls everything out to organize the treasures. A few items are discarded and the drawer is successfully closed until that next jewel shows up.

Politicians are a lot like our children. They have junk drawers, too. They are mostly filled up with words. Words that sound great but have little impact in their lives. Empty, hollow words that make them feel good when spoken. Words that they won't give up, but words that they have no intentions to live by.

I can just hear the politician now as he looks for the key phrase to wrap up his eloquent, crowd-inspiring speech. What words do I use? I know, I'll search through my junk drawer. Here they are! These are the words that will top off my speech. They've worked before, I'm sure they'll work again. I'm glad these words weren't lost. I do believe they're valuable though I'm not sure why. "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

Have you ever wondered why politicians invoke the name of God after spending their entire speech on telling us how great we are and how we have and will overcome any obstacle? Why do they say God Bless America when He is the furthest one in their thinking to being the answer to our problems. These are just junk drawer words to them. They sound good but they have no real meaning to them. Politicians just bring them out for awhile and then quickly stuff them back in the drawer for another day's speech.

Will God Bless America? I sure hope so. After all, He is our only hope. But remember, blessing doesn't come just because politicians ask for it or just because we are Americans.

2 Chronicles 7:14 ~ "If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. "

Now those are not junk drawer words! ---Rick Huber

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This weekend has been extremely busy for us. The boys just finished a three day football Tournament last night. We have lots of pictures so stay tuned! Oh btw ... the FEAST Patriots are the Champions for the 2008 Iron man Tournament. :)

A Birthday Tea Party!

2008-11-04T17:15:00.009-06:00

Here are some pictures from the surprise tea party that was given for Kristalyn's 12th birthday. Since Katherine was out of town. I took Kristalyn to her harp lesson and then thought of a little excuse to drop by Nathan and Rebecca's house to say "hi" while we were in town. So we headed over for a SWEET SURPRISE with Rebecca, Nikkae, Carole , Jacqueline, Kaylianna, Kristalyn and oh yes me (Mom). We had fun praying for Kristalyn, eating a delightful array of treats, drinking tea, some sort of new "healthy coffee" introduced by Carole--YUM, opening gifts, and painting ceramic shoes. We all decided that it would be quite fun to design our own shoe line. :) Sisters and friends are truly a treasure to be cherished. (By the way, we were also blessed to see Nathan that night and Kristalyn received a very nice keepsake letter from her brother. Thank you Nathan. You were the "icing on the cake" for her.)

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him and He will shew them His covenant."

Ps. 25:14

It's Justin's 2nd Birthday Today!!!

2008-10-31T08:49:00.004-05:00

Wow! Our baby is two today. With football games, a very busy weekend, and family coming in from out of town, we will, Lord willing, be celebrating when they all get here sometime in the next week. But for now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUMPKIN!

Happy 12th Birthday Kristalyn Grace

2008-10-29T21:52:00.001-05:00

What a joy it has been to watch Kristalyn grow up. Over the past year Kristalyn and I have become really close. I have grown to appreciate who she is as a person. She is definitely a blessing to our family! Its been so much fun to have a sister around to talk with and enjoy the blessings of everyday life together. Kristalyn, thanks for always being there for me whether it be helping me out with the household duties or just being there as a friend I can talk to. I love you so much! (love, Katherine)

The pictures below are of our Sunday birthday party. What a wonderful surprise to come home from church and find Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda waiting for us! It was a lovely celebration for Kristalyn with family and special friends. John and MaryEllen Long have been a blessing to our family and we were so blessed to have them with us for this special occasion.

We miss you Katherine Joy!

2008-10-27T22:09:00.007-05:00

Here are some pics that were taken the day Katherine left for her "vacation". We are so grateful for the opportunity that she has for some rest and relaxation while also taking care of her two cousins and spending time with Uncle Rob and Aunt Wendy. We really miss her sweet smile and loving hugs but are very happy for her. Everyone is counting the days down until her return. Can't wait to see all the lovely pictures of the the island, the ocean and the beautiful beach.

Please know that you are deeply loved and your sweet joyful spirit is greatly missed and has left a huge whole in our home Katherine! WE LOVE YOU!

New family photographer

2008-10-23T23:15:00.000-05:00

Anthony has been interested in broadening his horizons lately by learning more about his camera and the different settings so he is branching out and trying his hand at some "people" pics. He really enjoys taking nature, sunsets, and animals but I am grateful he is wanting to learn more so we can all benefit with beautiful portraits! This is his first practice shoot...pretty good Anthony! THANK YOU!--love, Mom

Republican BBQ

2008-10-19T23:27:00.015-05:00

On Sunday Katherine, Anthony, Jonathan and myself were invited to help out with a fundraising event for the Republican party of Bexar county. It was alot of fun being around fellow Republicans where we could share a similar thought process on our political priorities! :) I thought it was ironic that we were serving BBQ with white new T-shirts! I did manage to get through the day without spilling anything on mine though....can't really say that for the rest of the group :) As always at events like this we had the opportunity to meet many of the local candidates that are running for office in November! Keep these people in your prayers as they work hard for the next 2 weeks to be elected. I am sure many of them would appreciate any help or time you could give if you felt a burden to help in the area of politics!

Jacqueline's 15th birthday party!

2008-10-19T22:12:00.018-05:00

Once again we rejoice in the goodness of our Lord in allowing us to have great friends that are, as the Word of God states-"iron sharpeneth iron" and "there is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword but the tongue of the wise is health". The Clark family has been the kind of friends that are always ready to encourage others to follow hard after the Lord! We were so delighted to spend an evening with many families celebrating a very special girl's birthday! Jacqueline, you have grown to be a very sweet, kind and gracious young lady. God has so blessed us to be a part of the last 6 years of your life and watch you grow mighty in Spirit and see the fruit of a self sacrificing life. May you continue to follow the Lord by honoring and obeying the wishes of your parents that you will have no regrets and that you will hear those words "well done thou good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of the Lord". Finish strong my dear and remember you serve God first but you influence many others that come after you. We love you Jacqueline. Happy 15th birthday!!!!!

F.E.A.S.T. Civics Class

2008-10-18T16:32:00.012-05:00

Our family has been blessed to be a part of a very informative and interesting civics class that the F.E.A.S.T. organization puts on each month. As always, the speakers are a delight and more than willing to teach us their expertise in the area of politics. This week's line up was no different! We had the opportunity to hear Judge Marion T. Carson as well as Attorney Blake Coffee. Both were very intriguing and well informed on the topics they shared, but what was most interesting about this month's speaker Marion Carson is the fact that he is totally deaf! Assisting in his courtroom duties are two hearing aids and a state-of-the-art captioning system that transforms courtroom talk into text. The text is then displayed on a computer screen making it readable for the Judge. He says 99 percent of the time defendants don't even know he is deaf! It is truly amazing what technology affords us these days. Once again thank you Gale Sayers for everything you do to make classes like this happen. We have all been extremely blessed and look forward to each new class every month :)

Austin Trip

2008-10-15T22:35:00.001-05:00

This last weekend Katherine and I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Texas Restoration Project. This 2 day conference was geared toward pastors and church leaders in the state of Texas but of course we always tend to find our way around any political type event (even if we are the youngest people attending by 20 or more years). We were able to hear many good speakers including Bob McEwen, Gov Huckabee, David Barton and the Governor of the great state of Texas, Rick Perry! As always we learned a ton and had great dinner time discussions. Our prayer is that we would be able to use what we learned and go out and advance God's agenda here on earth! Thank you Gale and Weston for the wonderful opportunities and all you do to keep us up to date with everything!

After the event Katherine and I had a few hours to kill before we headed to a football game Friday evening so we decided to visit the State Capitol.

One of the speakers Bob McEwen

Katherine tried not to do too much of this, but I caught her one of the times! :)

We all must have liked our group, because all of us went back to the same seats every meal. :)

Pictures I took in my "free time". :)

Okay you non-Texans! This is our State Capitol.

The Senate

The House of Representatives

The Supreme Court

The Peanut Parade! :)

2008-10-11T17:19:00.008-05:00

Saturday I (Katherine) took the 6 youngest kids to the parade at the Peanut Festival here in Floresville while Dad and Mom went with Anthony and Jonathan to their JV game near Austin and Brandon headed up to Dallas to do some campaign block walking. What a full day everyone had!

I didn't get too many pictures of the parade because I was afraid of losing one of the kids if I took my eyes off them. :)

The peanut himself! :)

Justin was a little scared when the big trucks came around. Boy, were they loud!

Looks to me that Christian has his "parade wave" down. :)

Some familiar faces!

The King and Queen and their Court.

Stay tuned ... all about Austin trip coming up.

Fireproof

2008-10-07T09:55:00.002-05:00

It's a wonderful feeling to be excited about supporting a good film. Last night we went to watch "Fireproof" with a rather large group of friends. We have been so blessed by God to have precious friends. As always it was good to meet up with alot of our old friends as well as a few new friends from our church here in Floresville. After the movie we all headed over to Chili's to get something to eat. As you can imagine there were a lot of different conversations going on at once, but the conversation that seemed to draw the largest crowd was the topic of politics. :) Surprised?!

If you haven't watched "Fireproof" yet, we encourage you to do so.

The blessing of hospitality

2008-10-04T17:54:00.016-05:00

It is amazing, how when one gives one actually gets back so much more! We were blessed beyond measure to have Mr. Harry Ryder and his daughter Camille over for lunch today. What a delight to hear about their lives and God's providence down through the years. Mr. Ryder is a ninety year old man that has been a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ since he was a young man and has many great stories to tell. God has blessed us to have the privilege of getting to know them better today. It was great to watch how much fun they have together.

Sadly, our generation misses out on many blessings when we neglect to be "given to hospitality". God's ways always prove to be the greatest blessings of all!

A special "pinky promise"

2008-10-01T09:49:00.008-05:00

There was a special "pinky promise" made between two special friends to have a tea party. Kaylianna and Miss Allison have tried for a couple of weeks to have a tea party and it finally happened. Kristalyn rose early and started planning some delicious treats for this special event. This was her menu:

Tea (many varieties)
lemon scones w/special sweet creamy topping
poppy seed muffins
crackers w/ yummy onion and dill flavored cream cheese topped with salmon or cucumber slice
nuts and seed mix
fresh strawberries

The table was beautifully decorated with her great-grandmothers' white depression glass dishes. It truly was a special delight to see Kristalyn plan and prepare almost EVERYTHING on her own for their tea. It was a lovely party, Kristalyn. We are so very thankful for your sweet servants heart to make it all happen.

It was also a joy and delight to sit with just the younger girls for a change and see their love and appreciation for our friend.
Thank you Allison for making a little girl feel very treasured and for blessing us all. You are so much fun! Sometimes this old weary mother needs some encouragement to do fun things. We love you!

A visit to the Zoo

2008-09-22T14:02:00.005-05:00

The cool weather last week made it a wonderful time to enjoy the zoo. Many of the animals were more active in the cool weather so we really enjoyed this trip!

Anthony's piano recital

2008-09-20T23:32:00.007-05:00

Today we all loaded up the van with everyone and went to San Antonio to hear Anthony play in his recital. We were all excited to go and hear Anthony because it had been almost seven years since he had taken lessons in IL. Ever since we moved to Texas Anthony has had a deep desire to continue his piano lessons but he has had to wait until this last year to start up again. We are very grateful to Nikkae for signing him up this spring and even using her own money to get him started. So today was a very special treat for all of us...and he did a beautiful performance, too! Great work Anthony!

2008-09-16T11:06:00.008-05:00

We had some missionaries from Chile speak at the church Sunday evening. When we arrived they had asked Kaylianna and Christian to model some clothes that the children in Chile wear for festivals. We enjoyed hearing how the Lord is blessing their labors there on the mission field.

Another very special blessing this weekend was a surprise visit from Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda! Since the hurricane hit Houston they have been without electricity and water so we were happy to have them with us for a couple of days. Here are some pics from our special times together.

JV game

2008-09-12T09:38:00.021-05:00

More football pictures! You aren't surprised are you? :) This past Thursday was a JV game. Both Jonathan and Anthony played. They all played well and once again we had a successful win. :)

Since the football players have to be there early to practice all the rest of us just sit around and watch or take pictures of ourselves. :)

*Jonathan is #2 and Anthony is #4

Hey wait ... those referee's look really familiar! Haha Since we thought we would be having some bad weather down here the other team moved the game up a day. Actually a lot of teams were doing that too so referees were hard to come by. Zack and Preston helped fill in until the real referees came. :) Thanks guys! Btw ... you did a great job!

Don't you just love football? We love it! :)

A Glimpse Into Our Farm Life

2008-09-11T12:07:00.012-05:00

Justin helping Jonathan gather and wash the eggs. :)

Supper anyone? Yes we, or should I say Anthony and Jonathan, butchered a rooster for dinner the other night. It actually was good just a little chewy. :)

We are rejoicing in God's provision for us. Our road leading up to the drive desperately needed to be mowed because the weeds and bushes were growing over so thick that the cars were starting to get scratched. One morning our Pastor and his friend showed up at the house offering to loan us a tractor to use. What an answer to prayer! We are so grateful to Pastor Clements for his loving-kindness to our family and to Sam Hurt for his generosity in loaning us his newly purchased tractor and teaching us how to use it. Wow! What love to the brethren to loan something of such value to a family he didn't even know! Thank you Lord for showing your love to us through your people.

Football ... first two games!

2008-09-06T15:10:00.013-05:00

Football is well underway in our household. Last week was our first football game of the season! We traveled all the way up to Marble Falls and had an enjoyable time carpooling with some friends. After driving for about 2 1/2 hours we arrived only to be delayed by lighting. So, while the coaches and players went over their strategy or plays of the game, the fans enjoyed some fun and fellowship. The game did finally begin about an hour later. We were all extremely pleased with the outcome of the game! :) I think we jumped into our beds around 2:30 that night and got up bright and early a few hours later to go to Jonathan's first JV game in SA. We praise the Lord for the safety of the boys during the games as well as our safe travels.

BTW ... Brandon's number is 3 and Anthony's is 4.

___________

2nd game of the season was against CASA here in SanAntonio. Another great victory for the boys. :)

* We do not have pictures of the JV games. So next time we will have to post some pictures of Jonathan.

New recruits for Celestialsounds?

2008-09-06T10:10:00.009-05:00

And we thought the Clements' guys only played sports! Thanks for showing us your hidden talent! We sure enjoyed the evening:)

Riding Horses

2008-09-06T09:49:00.008-05:00

With the crazy schedule lately, I thought it would be nice to get out on the horses and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Promised Land in Floresville. I actually decided to get on one of the horses and asked Anthony to take me out on the hills for a ride. That may not seem like much, but I haven't been on a horse in over 30 years! I don't know what got into me but it was very refreshing and delightful to be with Anthony riding horses. We saw two deer and heard the noise of a herd of wild pigs. The next day Katherine and Kristalyn were escorted out on horseback by Anthony. It is nothing for all our guys to ride horses but we girls are a little timid to say the least! Thank you Anthony for the fun time and helping us to learn how to be better riders. Thanks to Jonathan too for helping to saddle up the horses to get them ready and for taking care of the horses when we came back by taking the saddles off and hosing and brushing the very hot and tired horses :) Thanks also guys for giving rides to the little ones too. We love and appreciate all you do for us!

Happy 5th Birthday Kaylianna Jane

2008-08-24T22:50:00.005-05:00

Our dear little princess was truly a PRINCESS for a day. Kaylianna was the very first one to wake this morning and check out the dining room to see if anyone remembered her birthday. She was very excited to see everything decorated in her favorite color pink and flowers all around She is very easy to please, just anything pink, flowery and girly!!!

Some of the qualities that stand out in Kaylianna are that she loves and trusts everyone and believes that EVERYONE loves her. She loves wholeheartedly. She is full of life and brings so much sunshine into our family. She is a very affectionate little girl that needs to hug and snuggle all day long.

It is truly amazing how fast time goes. Kaylianna was our first Texas baby and she has inherited the Texas southern drawl :)

We are so truly grateful to God for the sweet little gift that He has entrusted to us! We dearly love you Kaylianna! May you grow love the Lord Jesus and to bring great honor and praise to the KING of KINGS!

Playing in the RAIN!

2008-08-22T17:05:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we had a blast playing in the rain. I love having younger siblings around because it gives me a good excuse to continue to do the "fun" things in life. :)

Just for Fun :)

2008-08-22T16:00:00.005-05:00

Everyday life that goes on around here ...

2008-08-21T23:22:00.003-05:00

Everyday is a full fun day! Many opportunities for practicing Romans 12 that reminds us to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God by dying to self and I Cor 13 that reminds us of what real love is. God is so gracious to teach us daily through real life situations to love and trust Him and to love others. With Nikkae gone, the load has definitely been heavier on everyone because she so selflessly served and carried a huge amount of responsibility especially in the areas of special loving touches when it came to bathing, dressing and fixing up the little ones. She always enjoyed making them feel special by reading in the evenings to them. The food organizing and shopping was also her specialty along with being the fun party coordinator. She is definitely gifted with making a beautiful special party out of little or nothing. This "birthday" month is a challenge to say the least but everyone is doing a great job cheerfully carrying the extra load!
Just thought we would give you a glimpse of some of the activity that goes on in an ordinary day around here and how it takes real love, sacrifice, and commitment to God and others in our home for a SUCCESSFUL day.

The day begins about 6:00 (since watching the Olympics it's been 6:30) for Dad and the oldest ones

Personal Bible and prayer time

Algebra w/Dad

Family Bible time

Animal chores

Brkfst/clean-up

Practice instruments, pick-up house, laundry,

Algebra homework, school work with the younger ones

Projects we are working on: painting and making shelves for utility closet, painting the dog kennels, cleaning out goat pens, preparing chicken yard for chickens, clipping chicken wings, fixing fencing, tearing out old water heater and cleaning up closet to make room for filter, softner and larger water heater, mowing, weedwhipping, pool fix-it jobs and maintenance, brushing the animals, trying to do some landscaping, putting up 2 lights in the laundry room and fixing the fan etc. etc. :)

Lunch/clean-up

Read and lay the little ones down for naps while Kristalyn, Brenton, and Benjamin do their own reading and the oldest ones are busy with the projects started in the morning and Kath does some sewing

All the younger ones (Kristalyn on down) swim unless the boys don't have football then they all jump in! Big guys had been practicing running and sprints to prepare for the football that is well underway this week!

More laundry, clean-up house and prepare supper

Guys get home (today the girls had harp lessons so they come home with the boys about 7:30)

Eat supper/clean-up TALK FOOTBALL

Brandon empties all gym bags and washes ALL practice clothes and disinfects the pads and helmets :) while Anthony and Jonathan head out to do all the animal chores with their younger brothers and TALK FOOTBALL

Watch some Olympics/ TALK FOOTBALL

Tuck little ones in bed/ TALK FOOTBALL

Watch some more Olympics, snack, weight lifting, TALK FOOTBALL

Check the computer for "important" mail, news and sports

TALK FOOTBALL TALK FOOTBALL and did I mention TALK FOOTBALL?

Bible reading and prayer...Thank the Lord for FOOTBALL and pray that no one gets seriously hurt again this year!

Go to BED

By the way, there is a whole lot more that goes on around here that I couldn't possibly get it all down; such as the little ones grabbing their brothers football gear and putting it on any chance they get or all the owies that need to be washed and kissed and bandaged or the training sessions regarding pulling chairs to the counters and getting into all the food :) We also have times where tears come from forgetting to put their little boots on before running outside in the fire ants :(
and on and on the list goes!

Preparing for football~

Kristalyn giving rides _

Clipping the chickens wings and then moving them to the fenced in chicken area. ~

Always seems to be way too much laundry to do! ~

Boys and Dad painting the dog kennels ~

When most of the family is working hard outside in the heat, somehow a couple of us find ourselves inside where the air conditioning is and the food. :) ~

Making a shelf ~

Brenton's 10th birthday celebration!

2008-08-19T17:04:00.004-05:00

With Brenton's birthday always come a flood of memories. Ten years ago God allowed our family to meet very special families that we will always hold dear to our hearts. We have laughed, cried, played, worked, worshiped, sang, brain stormed, planned and so much more together. When Brenton was born it was an opportunity for us to see the love and sacrifices of God's people to our family. It is amazing that ten years have gone by! In those ten years, God has been busy molding Brenton into a special young man. He has become a tremendous help to the family as well as a fun person to be with. Brenton is a loving, caring, sensitive young man and we are most blessed to have him with us each and everyday.

Brenton's birthday celebration was a little different. We all know that a special day for Brenton would be playing football with his all his brothers and riding horses with them too but all day football practice took the older boys away on his birthday :( He never showed any disappointment and enjoyed an afternoon grocery shopping and eating lunch at Subway with his sister...thanks Katherine! It was also a little different this year in that he helped paint his own sign, decorate, cook and clean-up for his party that didn't begin until the boys arrived home at about 7:30 p.m. It was good opportunity for Brenton to make the best of disappointments...I actually think it was me that was disappointed for him...he had a GREAT day!

Catching you up

2008-08-18T09:16:00.003-05:00

After the Seminar couple of weeks ago we enjoyed visiting with Adam and Amy. We had a lot of fun cooking, sharing, laughing, eating, and praying together. Thank you Adam and Amy for spending the weekend with us! You always encourage and bless our family.

Recently we have been getting to know quite a few people here in Floresville. It's great to see the Lord continue to bring special people in our lives who are faithful ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you Clements, Parkers, Smiths and Brian for your selfless living in our community.

Two Birthdays!

2008-08-13T20:19:00.004-05:00

It was a joy to have Nathan out for his birthday this last Saturday! We seem to never get enough time with him so it was an extra special treat for all of us. We had fun decorating our "traditional" way and making a fajita dinner. Nathan you are truly loved and appreciated. We are thankful that God chose our home for you to be born in. You are a very special young man! May God's richest blessings be upon you. Happy 26th birthday! ! ! ! We sure missed you Rebecca. We are looking forward to having you both out soon.

Sorry there are no pics from Nikkae's birthday. We were hoping to surprise her with a special celebration since we were all at the Seminar in SA on her birthday but she was not able to make it. We certainly want to wish her a special 24th birthday. We are very grateful for the many years of sweet memories. May you draw ever so near to the Lord this special 24th year of your life.

Children's AdVenTuRe!

2008-08-05T10:13:00.015-05:00

This past week Anthony and I had the awesome opportunity to serve at the Children's Adventure during the IBLP seminars held at F.E.A.S.T. We were both first timers and we came away extremely blessed to be able to work with such awesome friends as well as meet a few new ones! My prayer is that we blessed the kids in some way and impacted their lives for Christ's kingdom! I can remember attending a CI when I was a younger and it impacted my life in many ways. A special "thank you" to the Cone Family and many others that helped make this possible.

A big thank you to Wallis Soape and Justin Voeller for letting us borrow a few of their pictures for the post!

Lake and Zoo

2008-08-04T11:15:00.008-05:00

Yes, I know I am behind! By the end of this week I should have you all caught up. So stay tuned for the next couple of posts!

Couple of weeks ago half of us went to the lake with the Clarks and the other half went to the Zoo with Mom, Nathan and Rebecca. Each one of us had a blast whether it was on the boat getting all wet or sweating in the hot Texas heat looking at animals. :)

I hope to get more pictures when the Clark family gets back in a couple of weeks! Thank you Clarks for inviting us to spend the day with you at the lake. We always have such an amazing time! Thanks for being patient with all of us trying so hard to "wake board". We have lots of fun memories with you ... I wont even mention the pizza place. :) We love you guys!

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I wasn't at the Zoo so I can't really say anything about it. I did hear that all the little kids loved it. They also loved having Nathan and Rebecca come and spend the afternoon with them. Since mom took the pictures she isn't in any of them :(

Justin Valiant

2008-08-03T22:30:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Justin that I ran across the other day. Of course I think he is the cutest little guy and no thats not because I am his sister! :)

The next few pictures were taken right after he ate the "dirt cake" from Benjamin's birthday. What a mess!

Its amazing how fast little kids grow up!

Watermelon anyone?

2008-07-31T15:23:00.008-05:00

After swimming the kids are always hungry! Watermelon is a good snack to eat outside on a hot day in Texas! :)

Benjamin's 8th birthday!

2008-07-28T21:15:00.009-05:00

Hold on to your horses. We are entering into bithday mania at the Huber home! Benjamin started us off by turning 8 years old on July 24th.

We had planned to go to the ocean to celebrate but found out that a hurricane was expected to hit on Tues. and bad weather was to continue on throughout the week. So, we went to plan B which was to have a swimming party complete with a decorated deck using balloons and a sign. We then planned for the whole family to play some organized games in the pool including relays, volleyball, basketball,and water balloon toss. Then the rain, wind, and cool weather came so we went to plan C. Of course plan C was not near as fun as the others but we did decorate and had a wonderful time celebrating indoors. Benjamin had requested a "dirt cake" which is pretty much just chocolate pudding in a flower pot or dish and oreo cookies crushed on top to look like dirt. Then, to make the "cake" complete, some gummy worms are strategically placed to come out of the top :)

Benjamin was our "baby" when we moved to Texas six years ago so he has only known Texas as his home. We have definitely seen him grow and mature this last year and are very proud of how he loves his baby brother. He gets up every morning coming in our room wanting to take care of little Justin and take him down to feed him breakfast. How precious it is that even after almost 2 years he still delights in spending time with Justin. Benjamin has also become inseparable with Brenton. They are the best of buddies and rarely (seriously) will you find one without the other!

Benjamin not only celebrated his 8th birthday but was recently baptized to show publically his faith and trust in Jesus his Saviour. What a blessing to see him desire to be obedient to God in baptism and want to live for Christ.

Benjamin, you are definitely a blessing to all of us and we love you! Our prayer for you is that you will keep your tender heart and forgiving spirit all the days of your life. Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths!!
We are truly blessed that God would entrust your precious life to us!!!!

Heavy Weight Lifting Champions of the World!

2008-06-26T10:17:00.011-05:00

There has been a lot of weight lifting around here. Of course the little guys always want to do everything like the big boys.

The latest and greatest hairstyles

2008-06-26T09:10:00.012-05:00

I think the pictures can speak for themselves. We are trying to find the "perfect" hairstyle for Brandon! Ha, ha What is your opinion?

The Rep. State Convention

2008-06-17T21:07:00.008-05:00

Last Tuesday Brandon, Anthony, and I (Katherine) headed to Houston for the Rep. State Convention. What an exciting trip it was! We were able to spend some time with our Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda. Thanks to them we had a place to stay! :) Wednesday we went to 5+ hours of "grassroots" training. Thursday through Saturday we met and listened to many political figures that are on the "front lines" serving our country. We are grateful to the Lord for the people He brings into our lives at the perfect time. There are many more things I could mention about this past adventure but due to the fact I'm getting up EARLY tomorrow morning to head to Alabama, I am going to cut this post short. :)

If you would like to hear more on this subject come to Civics Class tomorrow at FEAST where Brandon and Anthony will be giving a detailed presentation of the weeks' adventures.

Thanks to our friends we have some pictures. Stay tuned, I hope to put more pictures up again soon. :)

THE MOST FAITHFUL FATHER!

2008-06-15T20:42:00.011-05:00

I (Katherine) hesitate to even start writing this post about my dad. Definitely not because I don't have things to say about him... quite the opposite! I'm afraid of not doing him justice! :)

The biggest quality that stands out to me about my dad is... His steadiness! I think it's one of the best things that a child could ask for in their dad. Growing up I always knew my dad would be there to love, serve, read the scriptures, teach, talk and invest all his time for us. Now you see why I had the greatest childhood anyone could ask for! I praise and thank the Lord for the GREAT gift he has given to us! I pray that we would be the children that honor Dad the way he deserves.

Dad, you are the BEST father,
And we are your biggest fans! We love you!

~ HERO DAD ~

You are my hero, Dad
You're my secure foundation.
When I think of you, I'm filled with love
And fond appreciation.

You make me feel protected;
I'm sheltered by your care.
You're always my true friend;
When I need you, you're always there.

You have a place of honor
Deep within my heart.
You've been my superhero, Dad,
Right from the very start. ~ J. Fuchs

~ I’m Happy You’re My Dad ~

I feel safe when you are with me;
You show me fun things to do;
You make my life much better;
The best father I know is you.

I’m happy you’re my Dad
And so I want to say
I love you, Dad, and wish you
A Happy Father’s Day! ~ J. Fuchs

~Everything Dad ~

A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she’s hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.

A girl needs her dad
To show her a man who’s good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.

A woman needs her father
Just to be aware,
He’ll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.

You’ve been all these things, Dad.
I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me. ~ J. Fuchs

~My Father, My Guiding Light~

Dad, you’re like the sun to me,
a sure thing, always there,
beaming light and warmth on my life.
Whatever is good in me today,
I owe to your wisdom, your patience,
your strength, your love.
You taught me by example,
as a role model,
how to be my own person,
how to believe in myself,
instructing me without controlling me.
Even when we disagreed,
you held us together,
so our bond was never broken.
I understand what you did for me,
and I am so grateful that I have you
as my solid foundation, my rock.
I respect you, I admire you, I love you,
my guiding light, my father.

~ A Real Father ~

It’s not so common anymore
to have a dad who’s really there,
who is the provider for his family,
who comes home every night,
whose predictability
creates a sense of stability and security
in his household.
Your routine may not seem valuable to you,
but it’s worth a lot to me.
I’m thankful that I can depend on you
to always be you--
a real father,
responsible, trustworthy,
and a great role model.
I’ve learned a lot of good things
from watching you.
Thanks, Dad.

My great Bros!

2008-06-03T23:22:00.005-05:00

Yes, today they milked the cows but tomorrow they will be football players! :) Ha, ha I think my brothers are very "well rounded" ... don't you? Brandon and Anthony head up to Wheaton, IL early tomorrow morning for a football camp. We would appreciate your prayers for them.

Family Pictures

2008-05-30T16:52:00.001-05:00

Here are some family pictures that were taken back in January. It had rained all day that day ... but we still gave it a shot. :)

Thank you Daniel for taking the pictures its definitely not an easy task with 15 people. You did a great job! xanga.com/dannyreagan