SPRING!

 

I can't believe how busy this winter has been and how little time I have spent here! Even though I love the snow here in the great NORTH! I am also very delighted to see little signs of spring. Not only is the snow vanishing daily, but the Sand Hill Cranes are back and I suppose we will soon see Robins as well.
                                                        

My mind is being drawn to SPRING CLEANING. I am ready to wash away the grime that goes with heating with wood. I also have dreams of turning my old dilapidated hutch into a unique COFFEE STATION! Of course when I start thinking that way it also snowballs into bigger plans like a fresh coat of paint and new color for my cupboards. Hopefully that won't include the walls!

I will try to post a link for a pdf checklist for spring cleaning using my favorite cleaning products. All natural, green and not harmful for your children. They can help you clean and you don't have to worry about chemicals.http://cdnus.melaleuca.com/PDF/ProductStore/Cleaning_Laundry/SpringClean_CheckList_2013.pdf  You need to be a member if you want to get the best price on these cleaning products. Membership is sometimes as low as 1.00. 

 

Another great thing about this company is they support an orphanage in Quito, Ecuador.Here is a link to info on that........http://www.melaleucajournal.com/enhancing-lives-at-the-santa-lucia-childrens-home/

Christmas at Home

  We spent Christmas Day at my brother Darwin's house. At home as a family we had a gift exchange on the 23rd after church. We don't go super elaborate with gifts. It's more of an opportunity for the children to have the fun of shopping for or making something for one of their siblings. We try to avoid the gimme, gimmes and focus more on the givie, givies. I had fun making a doll house for Merry Grace from binders. I took a few photos to share with you all.

I downloaded free scrap booking pages for the background, including the brick for the chimney. The windows, kitchen and dining room pics came out of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. The picture on the wall of the horses came from a friend on FB who posts horse art quite frequently.Oh, and the mounted deer is one that our son Mark shot. I just took a pic of it and printed it off. Then I Modge Podged everything.

  

The stand, I made from a lid from a jar of Jelly , a plastic 3 legged thing that keeps the lid of a carry out pizza from squashing the pizza and an empty spool. All hot glued together and painted black. The doily is a mini paper snowflake also Modge Podged right onto the stand. The lamp.....I should let you guess..... its made out of a chess piece and a lid from a ketchup bottle.

Luc n Anna's wedding

 

So happy to add Anna to our family circle. We made the trip to PA. Our last trip was 10 years ago. We prefer to head west instead of east but a son's wedding is good reason to make the trip. We met some really nice people there and it turned out to be a very enjoyable trip. We stayed for two nights at Larry and Naomi Burkholder's. Naomi is Anna's coworker and good friend. We loved our time there.They showed us some of their many photo albums of trips they had made together....Alaska, and Hawaii. They introduced us to their Water Buffalo and Yaks,  and sent us home with a package of their Burkholder coffee, grown by their missionary son in Honduras.It is very good and when we grind it and drink it we think of them with warm memories!

  We met Anna's sister Kate, her friends Gwen Martin and Rachel Oberholtzer, who were also her bridesmaids. On Saturday after the wedding we ended up together at Luc n Anna's house and spent time together getting to know each other and having a good time.Sure enjoyed our time with them too. We were a little hard on them about PA compared to what we are used to here in Wi :) Please accept our apologies for that. You certainly helped make our stay there enjoyable. You all are welcome to come visit us, would love to have you.

Matt n Kaitlyn~Engaged!

I have been waiting on an official engagement picture, but I decided to go ahead and post this one.

Jesus is the sweetest friend I know ~by Tebo

 "Jesus is the sweetest friend I know"

Jesus is the sweetest friend I know,

He walks with me wherever I must go.

Through the valley of the shadow of death He's there I know

Jesus, yes Jesus is the sweetest friend I know.

Chorus

I'd never make it through his life without him by my side.

Guiding every footstep and wiping every tear I cry.

When the trials of this life seem to overwhelm my soul

its then that I'm reminded of the sweetest friend I know

Jesus is the sweetest friend I know

He's my only comfort and I love him so

When the pain that I am feeling is heavy on my soul

Jesus, yes Jesus is the sweetest friend I know.

Jesus is the sweetest friend I know

As I walk in pain here on this earth below,

My heart cries out to my Savior, and faith just fills my soul,

Then I've got peace beyond all measure from the sweetest friend I know. 

This is a song written by Jeff Kropf (Uncle Tebo)

written in the midst of the valley he walked through.I checked youtube but I couldn't find that he had recorded this one.Too bad, it is a beautiful song 

In honor of Tebo, by Darwin Hostetler

         A Battle lost....But a victory won!

My minds been traveling down memories lane

But my heart is in prayer for a family in pain

Yes, I know that our loss is Tebo's  gain

But The tears still come like falling rain

Tebo,

I stood there beside you when you said "I do"

And you were faithful all these year's thru

I'll not forget when you stayed in our home

You played with my children like they were your own

You wired my shop,then at the end of the day

We gathered to sing and took time to pray

We wept with you as you struggled in pain

Not knowing how soon your life would see gain

Your battle is over, our race we still run

You went on to Glory not knowing your son

We continue the fight in the army of prayer

And trust that one day, you'll meet them over there.

I set here with tears as I send you this prayer

Yes I know, it's so much better because Jesus is there.

So we wait our turn, and one day we'll meet with our King

Jesus is the sweetest friend I know....together we'll sing      

                                                                   ~Darwin Hostetler



     In our teen years Jeff spent time at our house a few summers and we have lots of good memories. Darwin and Jeff were partners in crime, the first thing that comes to mind is when they killed and ate a rattlesnake.My Mom wasn't home .......does that tell the story?:) I wasn't home either, thankfully, because I know Jeff would have coerced me into taking a bite:(               Now they are no longer partners in crime but brothers in Christ.

    I really like these lines in the poem........

We continue the fight in the army of prayer

And trust that one day, you'll meet them over there.

......referring to Jeff's family. Lets please remember to pray for his family, I know Jeff wants to see them again.Pray for their spiritual condition and that they can be reconciled to the Kropf family.

 

Heaven and Uncle Tebo

    I know I haven't been here for a long time,but I have been busy. Today I am here to pour out my heart. i have been crying since last evening over the loss of my cousin Jeff also know as Uncle Tebo.Yes, even to me...his cousin. Well really, the name fit so well and for awhile he changed his name to Tim Corban, for reasons I am not going into right now. I could never call him Tim. It just wasn't right. It did not fit his character. Uncle Tebo did.That was perfect. I don't know how to explain that but anyone that knew him knows that it was perfect.I have been crying for our loss. I don't say mine I say ours because he had so many relatives and friends are missing him tonight. When he changed his name back to Jeff Kropf we all rejoiced and maybe even celebrated a little not to the point of sending gifts to one another but we were so pleased. It felt like he came back completely.Which he really did,he was our Jeff again.

   I am ready now to lay aside my sorrow for a moment of reflection on how Tebo must be feeling right now. I think it would be rather fun and interesting for all of us who knew him to speculate a little on what he would be telling us if he could. He was always so sincere in what he believed and if he believed something no one could change his mind.Not that we really tried but he was strong. I remember when Fatima left him that he said he would be sitting on the porch waiting for her to come back until he was 80 years old.And he was so smart.He told story after story about the house they built that he had computerized to do so many things. Like turn the shower on for him in the morning before he was out of bed and to turn the light on dimly and slowly brightening over time so they wouldn't have that blinding light in the morning and their eyes could adjust gradually. It would be called a smart house now. He had to sell that house after Fatima left. He lost so much, he endured so much pain. Waiting, waiting for his family to change their mind and come back home, and always he loved them. The tears he cried over them God must have collected them all.

Here is a quote from a conversation we had earlier this year, I knew he had initially had a lot of sleepless nights,so I asked him how he was doing,he said,

   "I sleep more than I used to...from sheer exhaustion. But I haven't had a night yet where I don't wake up often and pray for them and go back to sleep.

But I'm so tired all the time now that I could lay down and take a nap at any time. I yawn all day. I'm just worn out.

I'd honestly just rather die and get it overwith. But I'm still breathing, so on I go."

   WE all know that Jeff has suffered much, I picture him as Jacob who wrestled with God and prevailed but always walked with a limp thereafter. When Jeff was here on his last visit must have been summer of 2010, I noticed that he seemed to be struggling with God, He seemed almost cynical like maybe he was giving up on God's goodness.Who can blame him for that, we all would have struggled in his situation. I remember then begging God to help him through and to help him keep his faith. Then I didn't hear from him for awhile until the beginning of this year we joined facebook and while I was still learning the ropes, one day up pops this little message box with a message from Jeff and I discovered this wonderful, beautiful world of private messaging on facebook. I treasure that avenue now that brought us back in touch with each other. I noticed a difference in Jeff right away. He had a settled peace about him and a restoration to his former faith in Amighty God.More of a resignation but a love for the LORD and a peace that passes understanding. So beautiful. I recognized it as the attitude of one who has gone through great trials and has wrestled with God and said AMEN LORD. and received from God the love that comes from allowing God to be Lord of your life.Like I said before he walked with a limp but like Jacob he worshiped God leaning on his staff.

  So what is Jeff feeling today?I know he has feelings because the part of us that feels like us never dies.I read lots of stories about people that died and then were sent back again, most of them didn't even make it inside the gates and they describe...well really they can't, there are just no earthly words to describe heaven. So what is Jeff feeling? I think indescribable peace and rest like he hasn't known for a long time. I think he was first met on the very outskirts of heaven by all the relatives that he knew here on earth that got there before he did. I think he recognized them all and they were so happy he came. They probably danced and sang. I wonder if he remembers the song ON THE FAR BANKS OF JORDAN. If he thinks at all about the ones left behind here he's probably singing that song. I'm sure he has a guitar and maybe even some new instrument that none of us can even imagine. But I am certain the Jesus will put him in the music department of Heaven. I think he has a crowd of kids around him and his heart is healed from all the times he longed for his own here on earth and he missed out being with them.

  I think that when he met Jesus there he was on his face praising God for all the times he carried him through and for a life set free. I believe that Jesus raised him up and wrapped his arms around him and said," WELL DONE, my Good and faithful servant, enter though into the joy of thy Lord"and that is where he is now. enjoying his environment. I think that perhaps God still lets him fly too. without any need to worry about crashing ever again. I like to imagine how the initial flight to heaven was too. Just think what it would be like to soar beyond the Milky Way.

   These are my thoughts....Till we meet again dear cousin. I never thought I would actually be doing this ...I thought you would live to be old, I thought your family would come back. I believed they would. But I was wrong. Till we meet again my friend, I miss you here. I still see your name on Facebook and that green light that means your on chat that will never turn green again. I will miss your music videos that you will never do more of. Thank God for the ones we still have. I will watch them and cry and laugh. I will cry over I WON"T HAVE TO WORRY WHEN I REACH THE OTHER SIDE, and laugh over IF MY NOSE WAS RUNNING MONEY, and enjoy all the others in between. You were one of a kind and can never be replaced. I want to turn you over to God, you belong there, but I will never have to release your memory....and when my time comes it will be a joy to see you in the welcoming party. And then I want to see JESUS.