God's Faithfulness in 2014 

There were all kinds of tears this past year–joyful and sad. Sometimes we laughed so hard we cried, and other times there were tears because we were grieving or hurting. Whatever the happenings though, each one was on the list of counting our blessings because God knew our paths and ordained our steps. As a friend so beautifully has written,  "God can be found in the darkest of nights and in the brightest of days. He is there during times of utter despair and during times of jubilation." What a faithful God we have!

  Monumental birthdays...
     Caleb turned one.
      Mother turned 90!

He enjoyed every bit of his cake!!           

A memorable 90th birthday for Mother with 100+ 

telephone messages from friends through "Life on Record"

So many consider her the best of friends!

Emotional Changes... 
     We moved from our home of 27 years.
       Prison to Purpose closed.

We moved from our farmhouse to the home we helped

build on our adjoining property for Mother and Daddy in 2000.

It was fun getting rid of "stuff" and redecorating.

We love being with Mother and she loves having us here!

Another huge change this year was that God allowed refining fire in closing the aftercare ministry for ex-felons through Prison to Purpose. Through it all, God was faithful and all of us have grown in ways we never could have imagined. The ministry within the prison continues, though, and many inmates are trusting Christ weekly as the 

Word of God is preached daily in a state penitentiary!

 Great news...
     Another baby is on the way for Nathan and Katie.
      A wonderful recognition was given to Jimmy.                   

Caleb is having a SISTER in May!

Jimmy was voted "Best Electrician" in Neosho!

 Sad goodbyes...
      Uncle Charlie 
        Cousin Riley

          On September 20th, we said goodbye to Uncle Charlie 

(93 years old) and to his precious great-grandson 

and our cousin, Riley Joseph (age 5) on January 1st. 

Though grief is hard, “yet He has compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lamentations 3: 32). 

God used these funerals as platforms for many to hear the gospel. How very grateful we are that for the forgiveness of our sins, faith alone in Christ alone gives all who believe an eternal relationship with God and the wonderful assurance of heaven. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!" 

We are so grateful for...

·               Our church family from Prairie Flower Bible Church
                where we have attended for 24 years

·          Revive Our Hearts where our three children have the  
                joy of working/serving

·          Our little town of Neosho where God allows us to 

                  minister to our neighbors

·          McPherson Prison where we share the gospel and teach

                  the Word but where we also receive far more than we 

                  could ever give

·          Our country where many in the past and also today fight 

                   for the freedoms we have

·         Our parents & our children who all teach us much about 

                   what’s most important in life

    For all this and more, we thank God!!!

2014 Family Album

~Favorite pictures of special memories~

~MARCH~ 

Granddaughters, Rebecca and Chiree, modeled 

some of Mother's clothes from the 1940's

after her 90th birthday party. Everyone loved it!

~APRIL~

Special birthday dinners given by Nathan and Katie 

for Jimmy and for me our during birthday week visit. Fun!

Such a memorable Easter week with my sister, Michelle, 

right when the dogwoods were in full bloom!

Caleb got to spend Easter with his wonderful grandparents, 

Larry and Debbie Miller, in Peoria, Illinois.

~MAY~

Katie's sister, Hannah, wrote and directed 

the short film, "Mitosis."

The production took seven days and included 

all her sisters, as well as Nathan and Caleb.

We pray that many will be reached with the 

sanctity of life through the message of this.

Yay for having nieces and nephews 

from Colorado come to visit!

Brad, Rachel, Coen and Rebecca

Mother's Day...

We sure do love our dear mamas. :-)

We all eat dinner together each evening, 
so the six of us get to share the happenings of the day. 
Treasured times!

~JUNE~

Family Fun on the Farm 

~SEPTEMBER~

A day at the beach of Lake Michigan...
so beautiful and relaxing

Caleb wore this "Big Brother" shirt 

to reveal to us that day
 that a baby sibling was on its way. :-)

~OCTOBER~

 Mom and her daughters and their hubbies :-)

The Lord greatly blessed the 8,000+ women who 
attended True Woman’14 in October in Indianapolis 
(an outreach of Revive Our Hearts). 

Nathan and Chiree helped capture the event by video. 

It’s always a highlight of their year. 

Katie was the event photographer at True Woman '14. God 
gave her strength for the long days photographing 
while she was in her first trimester of pregnancy 
(seen here with our dear friend, Jennifer Smith, 
who is always available to lend a helping hand.)

While we all helped with the True Woman '14 

conference, Grandma Miller stayed 

the week with Caleb. During that time 

she designed and constructed 

"Caleb's Classic Cardboard House."

So adorable!!

~DECEMBER~

Our Christmas and New Year's Memories

                                                                                                       

Chiree's 31st birthday dinner on Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning 

Christmas dinner with a bunch of our dear
Bollinger relatives included the fun of watching 

McKenna and Caleb play together

"Kissin' Cousins!"

Of the 64 people in the Bollinger Clan, 

here are all the guys with the Bollinger last name...love them!

Our sweet pregnant Bollinger wives,

Terryn and Katie,

both carrying little girls!

Lots of fun times for Caleb with his 

grandparents and great-grandparents

My niece, Rebecca,

called our "JOY GERM!"

Katie's 4 sisters, Aunt Heidi, Aunt Emily, Aunt Christy, and Aunt Hannah, bought Caleb his first real violin for Christmas. 

Oh, my, was this ever a wonderful choice for him! 

He has really taken to it and loves "performing." 

"Caleb's Christmas Concertos"

  

 Final note: Swing that bow...Take a bow!

A quick lesson from Aunt Chiree 
on her birthday... 
and then a performance :-)

..And yet another performance when 
Rebecca's boyfriend, Brett, 

provided the piano accompaniment

Holiday jam sessions with 

Caleb, Mommy, Daddy and Aunt Chiree

One more lesson before the new year begins...

Sometimes, it is just more enjoyable listening 

from a fully reclined position. :-)

Fun evening times...

Family card games and Braum's eggnog!

So very grateful for God's mercy towards us in 2014
 and for His redeeming love! Our faithful God!