Upcoming Girls Retreat

Click over to Chelsy's blog to read more about this exciting opportunity!

JORDAN LOW QUARTER MENS STYLE # 427410-695 SIZE: L

JORDAN LOW QUARTER MENS STYLE # 427410-695 SIZE: L

JORDAN LOW QUARTER MENS STYLE # 427410-695 SIZE: L

ASIN : B00DX7TG1Q

Rating : 3.2

brand: Jordan

category: Boots

JORDAN MENS TRUE FLIGHT SNEAKER White - Footwear/Sneakers 11

JORDAN MENS TRUE FLIGHT SNEAKER White - Footwear/Sneakers 11

JORDAN MENS TRUE FLIGHT SNEAKER White - Footwear/Sneakers 11

ASIN : B00LXD2Y5C

Rating : 5.0

brand: Nike

category: Fashion Sneakers

Description : Men's Jordan True Flight Basketball Shoes Practice, class, the mall...wherever you're headed, the Jordan True Flight Basketball Shoes will get you there in low-key comfort and style. With a nylon web pull-loop, these babies slip on and off with ease. You'll love the foot hugging fit from the neoprene Dynamic Fit inner sleeve, while the leather and durabuck upper is durable, yet breathable. Play after play, the Phylon midsole and full-length Air-Sole unit work together to soften the blow of hard landings for happy feet that can keep on movin'. FEATURES: UPPER: Leather and durabuck MIDSOLE: Phylon, Full-length Air-Sole unit OUTSOLE: Rubber with traction pattern IMPORTED

Features :

• Men's Jordan True Flight Basketball Shoes
• Nylon web pull-loop for easy on/off
• Leather and durabuck
• Rubber with traction pattern sole

Air Jordan City Air Max TRK Black/Imperial Blue Work Sneakers Boots Men Shoes (10.5)

Air Jordan City Air Max TRK Black/Imperial Blue Work Sneakers Boots Men Shoes (10.5)

Air Jordan City Air Max TRK Black/Imperial Blue Work Sneakers Boots Men Shoes (10.5)

ASIN : B007HQL9HI



brand: Jordan

category: Boots

Thanks for Praying

Thanks for praying for my nephew. My sister says that there is no bacteria growing; a little more improvement; he is getting close for the ventilator to come off-maybe today? Please pray for continued healing in his lungs; strength for his parents and 6 siblings; and wisdom for the Dr. This has been a sobering reminder of how fragile life is and also how easy it is to take "normal" days for granted!  

 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.   Psalm 150:6

Nike Jordan Infants Bodysuits and Pants Layette Set

Nike Jordan Infants Bodysuits and Pants Layette Set

Nike Jordan Infants Bodysuits and Pants Layette Set

ASIN : B00JWE8G1A



brand: Nike


Description : 3 PCS LAYETTE SET

Features :

• 100% Cotton
• 3/6 MONTHS

Check out the New Look!

 It's a spring/summer of all things NEW and EXCITING!

among other things...our very own amazing Allison just gave our fam website a total makeover! 

And it is awesome-check it out here!
Be sure to check out all of the pages-each has different new pictures, as well as other new features!

{after you are done browsing...please come back here and leave a comment to let her know what a fantastic job she did!}

 Our photographer {Gehman Photography} braved the cold with us back in April and took these beautiful pictures.

Our media graphic designer produced some beautiful new products for us.....

...such as the poster below, for example.

currently they are most likely plastered over various parts of five Canadian provinces, the Yukon Territory, & Canada, as well as Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, & Michigan. =)

Click HERE to check our updated 2013 schedule and to see if we will be coming to an area near you!

We'd love to meet some of you, our blog readers, at a concert!

 Our amazing engineerers & producers from the studio worked with us on our latest project which just got finished up! 

{the music part is finished-and we are so excited about the upcoming release in July!}
:::::::::
 Our cd graphic designer is currently working on the design for the soon-to-be-released new cd.

And this crazy team worked
 (and is still working!)
as singers, musicians, teachers, students, and the powerhouse work force. =)

Two Weeks Ago||Bible Bee Nationals & Home

Hello everyone!  I'm popping in here to give you an update on our lives of late.  There has been lots of excitement around the Bontrager house recently with Bible Bee, all things Christmas Play, friends visiting, Thanksgiving, field work, school, and Winter Tour preparations.  

...................................................

Mitchell recording his part as a man looking for an inn.  "But Ma'm........can't you help me out?!"

"I'd love to help you OUT, now which way did you come in from??!!"

Mary (Katie), Milcah (yours truly), and Hoglah (Mary Jane)

The following pictures chronicle my adventures as self-appointed mouse-trapper.  You see, with my darling Hudson (who usually catches my mice and slays my dragons) gone at Bible Bee, I decided that we ladies were NOT going to let the mice get the upper hand just because the men were gone.  So I verily emptied the trap of the mouse..........

...........fed said mouse to one of the cats.........

........and (after many attempts) caught my own finger reset the trap.   The End.

Below, the little girls enjoy some granola bars and milk after a late evening with their big sisters recording at church.

Rebecca doing her studies.:)  

Carson took time to read a story to the girls.

Elizabeth made granola.......and some of it burnt.  Apparently, several anonymous individuals did not know at what temperature to bake granola- thus, a burnt offering.:)

Chels took scrumptious ham and cheese sandwiches and other goodies to church one evening when we went to record. 

Josh on stage during Senior Division Semi-Finals at Bible Bee.

Josh, Denver, Taylor, and Hudson with their friends, Elizabeth and Andrew Adams.  We were all so thrilled and proud when Andrew got 5th place! 

the Bible Bee choir

Josh with some fellow semi-finalists.

As you can tell, they had a blast together and cheered so much when Ryan Sinni got the grand price in the Senior Division.

with more Bible Bee friends

JORDAN ACTIVE Style# 257374-406 MENS Size: 3XL

JORDAN ACTIVE Style# 257374-406 MENS Size: 3XL

JORDAN ACTIVE Style# 257374-406 MENS Size: 3XL

ASIN : B0089NU7R6



brand: Jordan

category: Active Shirts & Tees

Description : JORDAN ACTIVE Style# 257374 MENS

Features :

• 100% Authentic
• Brand New
• Durable

Why a Christmas pretox beats a detox

Are you a post-Christmas detoxer? Or are you in with the in crowd and giving healthy pretoxing a go? You’ve still got time to start – and you could be feeling the benefits well before you take your first bite of turkey…

The Christmas pretox isn’t something you hear about much, but new research commissioned by Currys PC World has found it to be a growing regime adopted in the run-up to Christmas. And – here’s a surprise – it’s not just the ladies who’re looking to fit into sparkly LBDs: nearly a quarter of UK men are embracing a healthy regime in preparation for the festivities.

The survey found that 22% of men are pretoxing, and looking good at the office Christmas party is one of their main motivators. But – perhaps not a surprise – only 15% are good enough to maintain their diet and fitness regime through the winter. Around 47% of those men surveyed began their pretox in the final week in November. Currys saw sales of health-boosting gadgets such as juicers and step counters begin to spike during that month.

But it’s the post-Christmas regime where the figures fall short, with 93% of the men surveyed expecting a weight gain of around 8lb. Fitness and nutrition expert Lucy Wyndham-Read offers her tips on staying on track in the run-up to the holidays:

1. Speed it up. Walking a little faster is a great way to burn off extra calories. Aim to walk at a speed of 4 miles per hour, as this helps you burn fat. Use a wearable fitness product to measure, or count how many steps you take in 20 seconds at a speed of 4 mph then multiply by 3 – it should be 135 steps per minute. 
2. Stand up. In the office, set a timer on your watch or phone for every 20 minutes. When it goes off, stand up and move if even for a few seconds. After 20 minutes of sitting, the body starts to slow down the amount of calories you burn, so move every 20 minutes to keep it fully active. 
3. Swap biscuits for a smoothie. Save calories and get your vitamins at the same time. 
4. Calorie challenge. Every day, challenge yourself to burn off an extra 100 calories over the build-up to Christmas. 
5. Skip. Skipping for 10 minutes can burn up to 135 calories and it sculpts and tones your lower body. 
6. Add oats to your smoothies. Throwing these into your blender will help stabilise your blood sugar levels so you’ll be less tempted to snack on mince pies. 
7. Take the stairs. Taking the stairs two at a time works your thighs and bottom harder. If you avoid the handrails, you’ll contract your abs more for balance. 
8. Create a playlist. Music is a great motivator, so draw up your list, name it ‘My Pretox Christmas Playlist’ and listen to it when you work out. 
9. Keep gym kit in sight. Put your workout gear on the radiator – this way you’re more likely to slip into it and head for a quick workout. 
10. Apply determination and discipline and you’ll get the desired results.

Good luck!

For more advice about enjoying this year’s festivities without sacrifice, pick up a copy of December’s HFG for tips on keeping a smart festive party strategy, see our choice of savvy drink swaps and cook up the best healthy versions of Christmas favourites.

Life at the Colony

We were so blessed to once again be able to spend a day with our dear friends at the Windy Bay Hutterite Colony, in Manotiba. We sang at their colony last time we were in Manitoba and were so excited to return again this year.

These people have been such a blessing to us-they roll out the red carpet for our family and include us in everything, making us feel so at home and such a part of their colony while we are there.

Above photo...they cleared out their colony laundromat for us and then several ladies basically did all of our laundry. So sweet...there was SO much laundry but they were so insistent to help.

We gave a concert there again and then the young people of the colony sang several songs for us. 

It was amazing..their harmony was so beautiful.

Their gardens are incredible! 

While giving our bus an inspection & fixing a few minor things, the colony mechanics discovered a large hole in our muffler. They kindly took hours out of their day to get everything fixed and get us safely running again. 

We were SO thankful that they discovered the hole there and that we didn't end up with a breakdown on the Alaskian highway!

Carson & Dad loved their well-equipped shop and enjoyed helping with the fixing process.

The day we arrived was sheep-shearing day!

The ladies graciously allowed Allison & I to help with preparing several meals. 

It was so fun to work in their big, commercial kitchen.

They make all the meals for the colony there, so everything is BIG and efficient!

Definitely the highlight for me (and most of us, I think!) was getting to help with chicken butchering the second day we were there. 

About every month and a half, the whole colony joins together and butchers 2,000 chickens, which they mostly sell. 

It was SUCH a cool system-I could've taken pictures all day! We've butchered cows and deer but we children had never done chickens before.

(our parents had though)

The whole process was definitely a great example of how much can be accomplished when people work together and everyone does their job. 

 I know some people aren't used to blood and things of the following sort so you are welcome to stop reading if that is you.

Just consider yourself warned. =)

(note: NO comments about how disgusting this is, or how unkind to "the poor chickens", or anything of that sort, will be posted. I'm quite certain that most of our blog readers eat chicken, and I assure you that every bite of chicken you eat was at this stage sometime before it entered your freezer =))

It started here, where several guys caught the chickens and hung them by their feet to the above racks on the conveyor.

The racks moved around slowly from this side...

....to just a few inches ahead, where they were bopped on the beak by the guy on the left. He used this little wand thing that electrocuted them. They obviously died instantly. Next they moved by the guy to the right, who cut a slit in their neck so that most of the blood could be drained by the time they got to the next "station". 

So now the chickens came on the conveyor, through the doorway into the room where all the rest of us were. 

The guy above pulled the chickens from the conveyor and threw them onto the above table...

...where they then were dumped into the scalding tank, to the left. 

the piles of feathers (that came off after being in the scalding tank)

From the scalding tank, the chickens were hung by their necks & feet from the above conveyor and were moved slowly around to the right.

each person had their various assigned job, either cutting or cleaning out some part of the chicken.   Along the whole line of the hutterite ladies, the extras were dropped into the trough below and emptied into the bucket at the end of the line. Then there was a person whose job was specifically to empty all the waste buckets.

Allison & mom & I cut off extra feathers that had been missed in the scalding part.

The whole process was so fast-the chickens were still hot when they got to our end of the conveyor.

Mitchell had a cool job-he got to run this suction hose thing that cleaned out any "extras" still left inside the chickens. =)

Following that, the chickens were hosed off several times...

...And then Taylor and his friend William did the one of the lasts steps-hooked the chickens legs up beside the necks.

Smiles! They had so much fun-they were chatting away the whole time and Taylor hooked those 4000 chicken legs like a pro. =)
Following Taylor's job...the chickens arrived at the last "station" where their heads were snipped of with a sharp scissors and they were placed in big bins of cold water to chill.

All done and cooling!

The colony had just gotten a new laser cutter and the guy that runs it designed and cut out this beautiful plaque as a gift to our family.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Colossians 3:23

-posted by Chelsy