Living on a Goat Farm

Spring is on the way!

2011-03-18T21:33:00.002-04:00

The Tundra Swans that fly over every spring. One of there stopping grounds is a conservation area just out side of Aylmer. The picture below is one I got of the net, but hopefully I can get some of my own soon.

My Little Brother . . .

2011-03-03T22:34:00.004-05:00

. . . is a cowboy.
Complete with a cowboy hat, a pistol, rifles,
a saddle, reins, and a bedroll.
Can you guess which little brother? :)

What Is A Farmer?

2010-05-16T22:02:00.005-04:00

A farmer is a person who owns between 20 & 30 hats ... they have names on the front, just above the peak, names like Stewart Seed, John Deere, Agrigro, United Co-op, and Master Feeds. You can always tell a farmer ... but not very much.

One can always recognize a farmer by his fingers, (sometimes farmers don't have them all, by the way), they are usually very big and when you shake hands with one it feels like a lot of sandpaper; and they squeeze as though they are really gad to see you. Sometimes after you shake hands with a farmer, he slaps you on the shoulder and dislocates it for you. If a farmer says it's going to rain, it does, but rarely when their land really needs it. Farmers never go out of the house without one of those caps, that's why all farmers have white foreheads, and sometimes they wear them indoors. Young farmers wear them low over their eyes, usually their dads wear them on the back of their heads and have the uncanny ability to, in one motion, take off the cap, scratch the scalp, and replace the cap at the same angel in about 2.3 seconds. Farmers sometimes wear their hats in the house until (a) their wives make them take it off, or (b)they go to bed.

Farmers like new cars and always buy big shiny ones. Within two weeks after delivery there are three to four inches of mud on the new front floor mats, the dashboard is covered with dust, a pair of work gloves, a notebook, and three boxes of matches. In the trunk of the new car can be found - the air cleaner off the pickup, a pair of boots caked with dried mud, a box of miscellaneous gears, cogs, two fan belts, and three spare hats.

Farmers are the only people who can keep their sanity while the rest of us bang our heads on the wall in dismay over the weather, government policies, the weather, price increases, the weather, and a county council which often forgets that most of its constituents farm for a living.

Farmers read agricultural bulletins, "The Canadian farmer", and the financial page, but not necessarily in that order. They know a lot about insects, hail, crop dusting, irrigation, interest rates, curling, animal husbandry, engines, electricity, welding, and futures, but can never seem to figure out what on earth those guys in Ottawa and Queen's Park are doing.

Farmers like roast beef, (usually well done); small children, especially their grandchildren; woodlots, big tractors, hubbard squash, pot roast, and sometimes liver. They like mashed potatoes and gravy, home made pie, and almost anywhere in Florida. They like vacations, but not as much as their wives do, like them that is; if they don't come too close together; big bath towels, dogs, euchre, and hockey night in Canada.

Farmers don't particularly like; zucchini, opera, liberals, hospitals, the 401, gas stations (that's because they usually keep a gasoline pump of their own near the barn .. sort of a do-it-yourself service station), implement salesmen, bank managers, the liberals, and drought.

Farmers are people who are convinced to spend a small fortune on a sprayer and a huge quantity of the new insecticide - methyl bethylapozean, only to find out the day after they spray that it has been baned by the department of agriculture and the department of health and welfare because besides killing bugs, it maybe, just maybe, kills birds and a few people too.

Farmers are people who know how to raise food in such quantity and of such quality that we are a people blessed many times over with their plenty at a fraction of the cost of what many in other less privileged countries pay to eat.

A farmer is an eternal optimist who, in spite of the rain, when his land is soaking wet and drought when it is parched dry, hail when his tobacco or corn or tomatoes are at their peak ... notwithstanding interest rates and collapsing markets, government action or in-action; still gets up every day, puts on his cap and once again makes it all work out for all of us who so often take for granted, our farmers.

By Bill Brady on CFPL RADIO 98. August 20/81

Toad Eggs

2010-05-02T22:05:00.002-04:00

I am raising toads again this year so I got some eggs out of the pond last week.
The picture below is a cluster still in the pond. There is huge clumps of these eggs all over the place . One frog can lay hundreds of eggs.

They come in strings. It is actually pretty interesting.

Our computer is having some problems right now but once it starts working better I will try to post some pictures of them hatching. Also pretty interesting.

Kids!

2010-04-11T22:04:00.005-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. We have been quite busy around here lately.

We were in the process of cleaning out when these pictures were taken so all the kids were together in a milking goat pen temporarily while their pens were being cleaned out.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2010-03-16T22:11:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I have been very busy getting ready for and keeping up with

all the kids. We now have right around 65 or 66 kids so it really keeps me hopping. We had 19 on Sunday alone. I did take some pictures and I'll try to post them soon.

I was fooling around on John's computer the other day and I found out it had Picture It which works a little nicer than my normal program. Since I was having so much fun doctoring up pictures I decided to put them on here. I know they are a little wacky, but I was just having fun.

Sometimes...

2010-02-10T21:01:00.005-05:00

If you have ever been to our place, to you we may have seemed at least halfway civilized. Thats because usually we know you are coming so we go nuts to clean the house, mop up messes, and generally tidy things up....

but...

Some times if there's nobody around and it's just us, we are totally crazy!

Maybe these pictures will verify this.

Sunrises and Sunsets

2010-01-24T13:21:00.007-05:00

These are a bunch of pictures of sunsets and sunrises around our place. My camera has a sunset setting but I'm not very good at taking pictures so please excuse blurry pictures.
In no particular order.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
-Psalm 19:1

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
-Psalm 23:4

From the rising of the sun to its going down
The LORD’s name is to be praised.
-Psalm 113:3

Skating!

2009-12-20T13:38:00.007-05:00

The pond froze over beautifully in the past week and yesterday we were on it for over two and a half hours! Since there has been no snow over here lately we didn't have to shovel it off before we started. It was a little cold for the camera but it still works so I think its ok.

Know who everybody is in that picture? :)

I don't think Andrew was trying to trip Jer in that picture. Probably just trying to get the puck.

Our transportation.

Rachel

2009-11-22T20:20:00.003-05:00

--Update~Monday Morning--

Rachel had a good night last night. She was quite groggy in the evening because of medicine they gave her to help settle her stomach. The little TV in the corner of her room wasn't working so the nurses brought in a big one and she had a huge selection of DVDs so she was pretty happy about that and she was the only child on the Pediatric floor so she had the nurses all to herself. She hasn't had another seizure since the one yesterday afternoon and she is on her way home now.

--Original Post--

Well, Today has been kind of scary. It started out normal. We all went to church and all of us came home except for Rachel. She went to Emily's between services. The rest of us came home and were having coffee and cookies and stuff just like usual. Then the phone rang. It was Jenn. I answered it and she told me to tell mom to come right away because Rachel was having a bad seizure. She hasn't had one for months and shes been on some medication. Anyway mom and dad went over there right away (they live right down the road). She had been eating lunch with them and had all of a sudden kind of passed out. Mike was there and caught her and they layed her on the floor. As soon as mom and dad got there they called 911. By then it was like she was in a very deep sleep. She sort of woke up but was still very confused as to where she was and what was happening. The ambulance and some volunteer fire fighters came and they got her on a stretcher and mom went with her to the hospital. Mike took us to church and back home again. We were only home for a little while and then mom and dad and Rachel came home. They had done CAT Scan and it looked like there was nothing major. They told mom just to call the specialist in London tomorrow and tell her what happened. Well they had been home for about twenty minutes and Rachel was sitting in the living room with a bunch of the others eating chips and it happened again but this time it seemed like it was worse because she started shaking really bad and she had been eating so it looked like she was choking. Anyway, those of us who saw it started panicking and were yelling for dad and mom. Dad came right away and mom was on the phone and had to hang up. Sorry, Aunt Caroline.
So mom called the ambulance again and by that time Rachel it looked like she was just in a deep sleep again. We all kind of calmed down and stopped shaking and started to think as to what we needed to do. We moved the table and chairs for the ambulance people, somebody made some food for mom because she figured she would have to go back to the hospital, and somebody turned a movie on for the twins and Benji. So the ambulance came and also a bunch of volunteer firefighters. By then she was half awake again and they hooked up a bunch of stuff and got her out in the ambulance and left with mom again. John, Andrew, Dad, Jeremy, and I did chores and then dad left to go to the hospital again. We heard later that she threw up in the ambulance but since then has been OK. She is going to stay overnight for sure . . . after that, who knows.
I will update again when we know more.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
-Romans 8:28

Home-made Goat Milk Soap!

2009-11-03T21:14:00.005-05:00

Lately we have been trying our hand at making soap out of goat's milk. We made a batch a while ago but we weren't sure if they were quite right and the shape is not very good but they do work. Last night we made a new/better batch. These ones turned out better and the shape is better but they still have to sit for 4-6 weeks to cure. Our next batch will be with scent.

This is what the new bars look like:
I know there kind of smudged up in places but thats just from hand cutting them.
This is what the whole thing looked like before we cut it into squares:
Any orders? :)

A Cow Farm!!!!

2009-11-01T19:11:00.007-05:00

Last Friday night we went to some people from our church who have a dairy farm. It was kind of fun to see pens full of cows again. I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I have got quite busy with school lately and I was sick last week.

The guys who farms here is trying to breed in Brown Swiss cows and Red and White Holsteins into his Black and Whites but it takes a long time to build up a herd of Red and Whites so he still has a bunch of Black and Whites.

This tractor went through a little accident and all the windows were broken and the cab was bent so windows don't really fit in it anymore.

I am planning to do a post about a bunch of goats we sold a few weeks ago but I haven't finished it yet so I'll do it in when I have some more time (something I do not have in abundance these days).

Family Members

2009-09-24T22:05:00.005-04:00

Here is a picture of my Mom and Dad......and don't I have the coolest siblings....
......ok maybe not.

Echo!!!!

2009-09-17T21:09:00.003-04:00

Well, I counted the votes and for Holly I got 2, for Echo I got 3, and then there was Betsy, Charlie and Wannabe and a bunch of others. When you come over you may call it whatever you like but I am going to call it Echo ( even though according to my brothers the name sounds like a car and according to my Dad it sounds like a weed eater). My Dad does say he thinks that I have earned the right to name it whatever I want since he says it probably wouldn't be living if it wasn't for me. :)

A Vote!

2009-09-10T15:32:00.005-04:00

Since I can't decide between Holly and Echo we are going to have a vote. You have to choose which one of those you like better and which ever one has the most votes gets picked. May the best name win! :) By the way, I am still open to other name suggestions.

Name The Kid!!

2009-09-06T20:13:00.007-04:00

I know everybody wants pictures of my Mom and Dad but I'm going to do this first.

This kid was born about two and a half weeks ago and and looks just like a little calf, so right now we call her our Holstein kid but she needs a better name....so get out the name books! Anybody who looks at my blog has to leave at least one name suggestion and then I will pick the one I like best. To suggest a name you can either leave a comment or email me at: goatchick03@hotmail.com
I'm going to pick on Thursday around noon so you have to do it before then. I will post on Thursday afternoon which one I pick. Have fun!!!

New Camera!!!

2009-08-24T21:49:00.013-04:00

Somebody asked me recently to post pictures of my family so with that and the new camera I got for my birthday, (really cool!!!) I got these.
They're not really in any particular order. Enjoy!
The kids didn't mind posing for a few pictures, after I assured them that some of them were probably gong on my blog. :)

The girl in front of Rachel is Kayla. She lives just down the road and we get together often and either fool around at our place or go swimming or something at hers.

Benji was tickled pink so be able to sit in the tree and have his picture taken.
Benji loves the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and asks constantly to have it read to him.....and also asks lots of questions throughout the story.

2009-07-07T20:29:00.021-04:00

Last week Jeremy and I went down to Bolton and we went with Aaron and Sarah to African Lion Safari, Ontario Place, Horse-back Riding, and Wild Water Kingdom. These pictures are backwards so they start at the bottom. The first ones are from African Lion Safari and then Ontario place and one from when we went horseback riding. I didn't get any at Wild Water Kingdom.

Parry Sound (part 2)

2009-06-20T14:19:00.008-04:00

The view off the edge of the of the boat house roof.
The little island across from the cottage. there were a lot of these little islands all over and many of them had a house and a boathouse.

We did some knee-boarding...which was kind of fun and kind of scary.
Mr. Tom
Aaron and Andrew went first.After that Luke and Josh went,and then Victoria and I went. I know I look terrified. It was hard and I fell off like six times.Mr. Tom and Mrs. Jane both went skiing.

Parry Sound!!! (part 1)

2009-06-14T20:08:00.008-04:00

The graduating grade 8 class from the Heritage Homeschoolers took a class trip, this past Friday and Saturday, to Hayhoe's cottage in Parry Sound. We all had a blast!
I took close to 300 pictures so I'll have to do a few parts to get all the good ones in.
Enjoy!

The whole class! From left to right; Lindsay, Andrew, Aaron, Josh, Jessica, Julia, Luke, Victoria, Angela, and me.

The Canadian Shield on the way up.

The Farmer Song

2009-06-07T20:16:00.003-04:00

Sorry I havn't posted for such a long time. We are having some problems with our camera, thus the lack of pictures.
I'll try and get some on soon.

Here's one of my favorite country music songs.
It's called "The Farmer Song" and it's by Murray Mclaughlin.

Dusty old farmer out working your fields, hanging down over your tractor wheels
The sun beatin' down turns the red paint to orange and rusty old patches of steel
There's no farmer songs on that car radio, just cowboys, truck drivers and pain
Well this is my way to say thanks for the meal and I hope there's no shortage of rain

Straw hats and old dirty hankies, moppin' a face like a shoe
Thanks for the meal, here's a song that is real, from a kid from the city to you
Straw hats and old dirty hankies, moppin' a face like a shoe
Thanks for the meal. Here's a song that is real, from a kid from the city to you

The combines gang up, take most of the bread Things just ain't like they used to be
Though your kids are out after the American dream and they're workin' in big factories
Now if I come on by, when you're out in the sun, can I wave at you just like a friend
These days when everyone's taking so much there's somebody giving back in

Straw hats and old dirty hankies, moppin' a face like a shoe
Thanks for the meal. Here's a song that is real, from a kid from the city to you
Straw hats and old dirty hankies, moppin' a face like a shoe
Thanks for the meal. Here's a song that is real, from a kid from the city to you.

2009-06-02T15:04:00.002-04:00

Sorry i haven't posted in so long. There's not much new around here so I'm going to post some jokes I found on WorldNetDaily.

Did you hear the one about Mahatma?
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot his whole life, which created an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him very frail, and with his odd diet, he suffered from very bad breath.
This made him ... what?

A super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

The Thunderstorm
One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her son into bed. She was about to turn of the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice,"Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?" The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't dear," she said. "I have to sleep in daddy's room."

A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy."

Pondering a question
Did you hear about the guy who is an agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac?

He sits up all night trying to figure out if there REALLY is a dog.

It's your fault
A woman in a hot air balloon realizes she is lost. She reduces her altitude and spots a man fishing from a boat below. She shouts to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consults his portable GPS and replies, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."

She rolls her eyes and says, "You must be a Republican!"

"I am," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answers the balloonist, "everything you tell me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you're not much help to me."

The man smiles and responds, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replies the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

You know politicians

A bus loaded with politicians is passing a remote farm where a man lives alone. The bus driver, caught up in the beautiful scenery, loses control and crashes into a deep ditch.

The man from the farm comes out, and finding the politicians, buries them.

The next day, the police are at the farm questioning the man.

"So you buried all the politicians?" asked the police officer, "Were they all dead?"

The man said, "Some said they weren't, but you know how politicians lie."

Brave firefighters

As a training exercise, a rural county was sponsoring a firefighting contest and offered a prize of $5,000 to whichever volunteer firehouse was most effective at putting out an intentionally set barn fire.

Once set, the fire quickly got out of control and the companies that were already there were about to give up and let it burn itself out.

Suddenly, a late-arriving volunteer company came racing up in their pumper truck with the siren wailing and horn blaring as they drove right into the conflagration!

Axes and hoses flying, they quickly got the fire under control by tackling it from within.

When it was finally out, the county fire commissioner offered his congratulations to the captain of the winning team on his strategy, and then asked, "How's your team going to spend the $5,000?"

"The first thing we're gonna do is fix the danged brakes on that truck," replied the exhausted fireman.

Sanity test

During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the director, "How do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized."

"Well," said the director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," I said "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

New barn, Irrigation,...

2009-04-17T19:53:00.013-04:00

The new look in the inside of the barn.

The back and side.

The barrel keeps the hose up so it doesn't suck mud.
The irrigation system in our fields. The guys that are renting the field put it in.
The big wheel is slowly reeling the hose in and dragging the pump so that it doesn't spray the same spot constantly. Smart!

The New Addition!!!

2009-03-27T10:16:00.012-04:00

We put one of the walls up today.

This little goat was born yesterday. We also had one the day before that. Besides those two we havn't had any new kids for two weeks.

Benji n' Blackie

2009-02-28T16:32:00.002-05:00

On Thursday Karen took a few kids outside to bottle feed
them in the sunshine and Benji was having a lot of fun
with "Blackie" so I took a video of him.

Just Kidden' Around

2009-02-25T12:44:00.008-05:00

Our goats are getting quite serious about kidding. We had over one hundred babies last week.
It was very busy but it was fun. In the last few weeks we have doubled the amount of goats we are milking.

The picture above shows some of our yougest babies.The red glow in this picture is just fom the heat lamps.They are very curious little animals.

Overworked and Underpaid

2009-02-19T17:56:00.011-05:00

I feel like I've been in the barn constantly.We have had a lot of new kids lately. They all need to be bottle fed for the first three feedings and then for the next three taught to drink from a nipple. Sorry I don't have pictures of the kids right now.
These are some pictures of taking down the chicken coop. We had to take it down to be able dig the foundations for the new barn.Teaching nicole how to drive the tractor. Sarah catching a ride.Pouring cement.

2009-01-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago I went to Toronto and stayed at both Best's and Westendorp's. I forgot to take pictures while I was at Best's.
On the eighth we went skiing at Snow Valley. We had tons of fun.

Titus is so cute!

2009-01-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

We got 4 more kids since the last post. Twin girls and twin boys.

They are very curious-obviously.

This picture shows the nipples were the kids can drink.

2009-01-19T17:33:00.000-05:00

Our new vaccum pump. Our old one was having some problems,And we need on to milk(unless we want to milk all the goats by hand).

We are trying out this milker for a few weeks and if we like it we can buy 18 of them.

Our new curtain. Sorry, I don't have pictures of it down but I'll post some as soon as I do.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

2008-12-29T11:02:00.008-05:00

This little cutie came sometime yesterday. We were all quite surprised because according to the vet none of the goats were due till mid- January.She loves to drink which is nice because sometimes they can be quite stubborn.

Benji is quite enamoured with her and loves to touch her.All tuckered out from lots of attention.
She is only staying in the house for a little while :(
Then she has to go out to the barn again.

Snow, Tractor Rides.......

2008-12-17T16:27:00.015-05:00

Andrew and Steven catching a ride.

Dad moving the wagon.

Our new car! We got this car about a month ago from some people in our church.

My silly little brother.
Snowball Fights.

Starting Up Again

2008-11-25T21:51:00.011-05:00

Hey Everybody, this is Rebecca. I decided to take over Karen's blog for her(seeing as she hasn't posted in a while). I took some pictures of the goats today and I thought I try my hand at posting.
Please bear with me, I've never done this before.

Some of Andrew's turkeys and my Mexican rooster.Our biggest goat.One of the bull calves we're raising for meat.Last but not least...

Puppies and more...

2008-05-13T16:31:00.014-04:00

Spring

2008-05-02T15:48:00.008-04:00

For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:11 & 12.

Little Creatures :)

2008-04-19T15:55:00.012-04:00

To beast and bird His goodness
Their daily food supplies;
He cares for all His creatures,
Attentive to their cries...

...Then praise thy God, O Zion,
His gracious aid confess;
He gives thee peace and plenty,
His gifts thy children bless...

...For matchless grace and mercy
Your grateful praises bring;
To Him give thanks forever,
And Hallelujah sing!

(Psalm 147)

Puppies!!!

2008-04-14T17:59:00.004-04:00

Yup - Lady gave birth to seven puppies on Friday! (Well eight, but one died.)
Lady is a golden retriever and the father (who lives down the road) is a huskey-german shepherd. As you can see, they all look much more like their father than their mother.
They are very tiny but pudgy :) I'll post more pictures when they open their eyes (in a week or so.)

2008-03-22T21:01:00.005-04:00

Christ is risen, burst His prison

Let us hymns of trimph sing

For our sadness turn to gladdness

Death today has lost it's sting.

Praises sing we, thanks we bring Thee,

Christ who took our sins away.

We inherit on Thy merit,

Righteousness and life today.

Let our living be thanksgiving

For what God in Christ has done.

Bow before Him and adore Him

Jesus Christ God's only Son.

Christ all glorious and victorious,

Is in heaven there to reign

He's been given earth and heaven,

All creation's His domain.

At the dawning of the morning

He'll return from heaven on high

Christ desending, we ascending,

Meet eachother in the sky.

Alleluia, Alleuia! Soli Deo Gloria!

2008-03-21T13:42:00.003-04:00

Who am I that God should love me
And be punished in my stead?
How could the Great Creator
By the created be led
Up a rugged hill so lonely
To that cross of calvary
And accept that brutal hatred
Just to set a sinner free?

Oh the love that flowed so freely
Was a bright and crimson red;
And it held the life of Jesus
And of those who gibly said,
"Come on down and we'll believe you!"
After nails had peirced His hands;
And it also held provision for
His peoples in every land!

Like a speck of minute dust upon
The microsope of space is my life
A mere reflection
Is my influence and place;
Yet I wonder, oh I wonder!
At the gift he gave so high;
And I pledge my deep devotion
As I question," Who am I?"
Joan Clifton Costner

Welcoming Johnny to the blog world :)

2008-02-29T11:26:00.003-05:00

http://www.mygloryallthecross.blogspot.com/

By the way, happy leap year day to everyone! Enjoy it, cause it won't come again for another 4 years!

Goat pictures and stuff :)

2008-02-25T18:42:00.019-05:00

We now have more than 40 little kiddies! Some times, if it's tooo cold for the new borns in the shop barn, we take them in the house for the first night. They sleep in baskets on the floor.The nubers on the tag represent the number of bottle feedings it's had.My cousin Aaron thought they were pretty cute :) Below is Andrew, playing swatt (the animal game) with the Young People when they were over last week.

The back pond has frozen again, much to our delight!

Benji is licking off the mixer beater for me :)
That's all for now...Enjoy the pictures everybody!

A new Arrival!!!

2008-02-17T09:38:00.006-05:00

The first little kid was born this morning! It's a boy! Isn't he cute?

Long legs for such a little creature :)Sort of wobbly.

Benjamin is thrilled :)

Drinking form his mother...

Barn Pictures

2008-01-19T17:28:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted on here in ages...time for an update! We are making lots of progress with the barn work. Today we were able to move most of the goats into the main barn. The move was very successful and the goats love their new home! I took some pictures today and I also added a few from the last couple of weeks.
I should include here that we got the last group of doelings preg-checked last week, and we found out that all but four (125) of them are pregnant! That is a lot more than we expected. There are quite a few sets of twins coming, and one set of triplets! (Multiples are common with goats). The kidding begins around the middle of next month, and will continue for the rest of the winter and spring, if all goes well.
Here is the hard working crew having their lunch break. (L-R) Darryl, Richard, Rebecca, Paddy, Dad, Terry, Ken & Jeremy.

Our new milk tank (below) The goats in their new pen, happily eating.

The back of our barn.
The pen where the goats are, before they moved in.

Mom, Dad, Becca, and John are bedding it down with straw for the goats.
These pictures are a bit older. This one was taken on Dec. 29 when we were busy installing the parlor.Our 4-wheeler gets a lot of use when there is snow. The kidds built some wooden sleds which pull very nicely behind the 4-wheeler. They got the pattern from some Amish children who used theirs behind a pony. Couldn't resist posting this pic of the neighbors new puppy... :)

Winter Wonderland

2007-12-20T20:08:00.001-05:00

Snow fun!

2007-12-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the twins & Rachel went to the dunes to sled, so I followed them with my camera:)

Snow ball fights :)

Three Words of Strength

2007-11-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

There are three lessons I would write-
Three words, as with a burning pen,
In tracings of eternal light,
Upon the heart of men.

Have hope! though clouds environ round,
And gladness hides her face in scorn,
Put thou the shadow from thy brow,
No night but hath its morn.

Have faith! where're thy bark is driven-
The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth-
Know this: God rules the hosts of heaven,
The inhabitants of earth.

Have love! not love alone for one,
But man as man thy brother call,
And scatter like the circling sun,
Thy charities on all.

Thus grave these lessons on thy soul,
Hope, faith, and love; and thou shalt find
Strength when life's surges rudest roll,
Light when thou else wert blind.

Friedrich Von Schiller

The twins are 8!!!

2007-11-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Andrew Jacob,(right) and Steven Joel, (left) about a week after Nov.10, 1999, almost ready to come home from the hospital.

Today, with their new farm set, which they are thrilled about!

The traditional "farm" cakes that Mom makes for them. She's done it almost every year. Notice the pasture, the plowed fields, the barns (made of graham crackers) and the trees(suckers).

The cows and machinery are toys.

They have been and are, two great blessings to our family, praise the Lord!

2007-11-05T06:49:00.000-05:00

"Come little leaves" said the wind one day,

"Come o'er the meadows with me and play;

Put on your dresses of red and gold,

For summer is gone and the days grow cold."

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,

Down they came fluttering, one and all;

Over the brown fields they danced and flew,

Singing the glad little songs they knew.

"Cricket, good-bye, we've been friends so long,

Little brook,sing us your farewell song;

Say your sorry to see us go;

Ah, you will miss us, right well we know.

"Dear little lambs in your fleecy fold,

Mother will keep you from harm and cold;

Fondly we watched you in vale and glade,

Say, will you dream of our loving shade?"

Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went,

Winter had called them, and they were content;

Soon, fast asleep in their earthly beds,

The snow laid a coverlid over their heads.

George Cooper

Amy & Steve's wedding!!!

2007-10-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm a little late in posting these pictures, but better late than never...They arn't the greatest ones either, I picked the best that I have but the lighting could still be better, O well...

Anyway, the wedding was beautiful!

Above is Karissa, Amy's sister, Andrew, Steve's nephew, and Ashleigh, his niece. Aren't they cute? :)

Below: The beauiful bride and her father, coming down the aisle.

This picture was taken during a song I think.

After the signing.

This is how they came out of the sanctuary!

At the reception, just before a kiss. :)

Think they're happy or what????!!!!I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.

2007-10-17T16:29:00.000-04:00

Disappointment - HIS appointment, change one letter,
Then I see that the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Though it may come in disguise,
For the end from the beginning,
Open to His wisdom lies.

Disappointment - HIS appointment, whose?
The Lord's, who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test.
For like a loving, earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows,
That His child accepts unquestioned
All that from His wisdom flows.

Disappointment - HIS appointment,
Lord I take it then as such,
Like the clay in hands of the potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch,
All my life's plan is Thy molding,
Not one single choice is mine,
Let me answer unrepining,
Father not my will but Thine!

Edith Lillian Young

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

My notes from Rev. Anema's speach "Looking unto Jesus"

2007-09-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

We must look unto Jesus...

As the Author of our faith--(For full salvation!)
- for safety in this awful world
-when doubting(when persecuted, must not give in to the world or give up but look to Jesus!)

As the Finisher of our faith-(being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ)
-for hope
-when in distress(For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Heb.12:3)

As the King for faith--
-for glory(because of His authority, He alone has the power and right to order this world, our lives, and our salvation.)
-when distinguished (when we are given a place of honor, we must not be tempted to think we are the most important, but look unto Him.)
-when dissatisfied (there are many things that could make us dissatisfied, maybe we don't like the car we drive, the food we eat, clothes we wear, or maybe the fact that we don't have a boy/girl friend, the list could go on and on...But the reason we feel this way is because we are not understanding what is best for us, that is Jesus. Only in Him will we be eternally satisfied.

At the end Rev. Anema gave an example of one who despite all, continued to look to Jesus. The story really touched me, I will share it with you here:

There was a young Scottish man, a christian, who developed cancer on his tongue. Of course, if nothing was done about it, the cancer would spread all over his body, and eventually take his life. The doctors suggested a surgery, but even that might not save him. "There is a great possibility the surgery will be unsuccessful," the doctors told him, "and even if everything goes how we hope and you live, you will never be able to speak again for the rest of your life!" The man made the decision to go through with the surgery. When the day came and everything was ready, the doctor asked him if there was one thing he wished to say yet before he could never speak again. So he sang these words:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I though vile as he
Wash all my sins away

Dear dying Lamb Thy precious blood
Shall never lose it's power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more!

E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die

When this poor lisping stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave
Then in a nobler sweeter song
I'll sing Thy power to save!
The surgery was unsuccessful. A few hours after giving this testimony, the man went to His eternal Home.

2007-09-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

From every open flower, the fragnance fresh,
One seed has shared it's life, by facing death.

Beneath the soil it's withered form gave birth,
And burst the earthly tomb to garden light.

From wrinkled husks tranformed to verdant wings,
Springs miracle of green, a sacrifice,

And multitudes amazed remember Christ -
One Seed has faced our death to give us LIFE!
Author Unknown

Goats!!!

2007-09-12T16:37:00.000-04:00

Coming off the truck... Into the pens,

Happily eating,

Typical Northern Ontario scenes...

2007-09-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

Lovebirds... :)

2007-09-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

Scott and Jen

Dan and Joyce

Amy and Steve

Brad and Jacinda

My notes from "The Pusuit of Holiness - Heb.12:14" by Dr. Pipa

2007-09-04T20:28:00.000-04:00

Sanctification is often missunderstood, yet it is a cardinal truth to the christian because of the cross. To look unto Jesus we must persue sanctification. He Himself is our example.

God sends us trials b/c He loves us and wants us to be holy as He is holy. He does this by dicilplining us like parents dicipline children - something we must not be a wimp about! Even though we are week and feeble we must keep on in the race.

Sanctification is not following man made rules but being Christ-like in your character, to conform to Christ. We must love God's holiness to love Him and realize that He cannot look on sin with any favour.

Chararistics of holiness - supernatural, purchased by Christ, a work of the Holy Spirit, (God planted the seed and the Spirit hovered over it to protect and perfect, it's a work that begins from the inside out.),progressive work (God works in us this way wisely, He works with each one of us differently - therefore we must not compare our spiritual growth to others, negativly or positivly! That means not looking down on those who have not matured as far as we have, or wishing we could be like those who are more spiritually matured than we are. It involves humility, and the more we grow, the more we'll realize our sin.) Finally, santification is beautiful! (That is because it comes from God, and by it, we will become beautiful from the inside out! We must also remember that holiness and happiness go together - it is a lie of Satan that if you are holy you won't be happy.

Holiness should be the consuming passion of a christian. We must persue it with purpose, with faith (looking to Jesus), through the use of the means of grace, (word and sacriments) through prayer, christian fellowship, and through excersise, (putting off the old man and putting on the new.)

Although sanctification won't get us to heaven, we won't get there with out it. If you have no desire for holiness than you are most likely unconverted.

We must esteme holiness like God does.

Tamerack!!!

2007-09-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

I've been home since Sat. night but now I finally got a chance to sit down and blog about it.

Well, it was an awsome week! My favorite things about it were the seminars, singing, and meeting new people! Our speakers were Dr. Pipa, Rev Bylsma, and Rev. Anema. I learned something new and was encouraged alot by each seminar, later I'll try to re-write my notes so you can read them here in paragraph/article style. Eventually the seminars will be availible on www.ypfriends/tamerack.com Singing is amazing with ~ 160 people whose voices are all so young and strong, full of love for their Lord... We would sing after supper, before and after seminars usually, and around the campfire - cozy! After supper was really nice b/c we were then accompanied by Amy or Louise on the piano, Steve and Andrew on guiters, Maria on the violin, Brian on the cello and Stanley on the bass! Other great memories include sitting on the rocks for devotions, taking pictures of the lake, and people :), walking from place to place - trying to get there on time :), kayaking with Rachael on Thu. afternoon - getting out of the kayak resulted in a bit of a dissaster but thankfully my camera survived! Also, some crazy skits on tallent night, the Anema family's recitation of a chapter from Chronicles (very sweet and cute), singing along with Rachael's playing for "As the deer" on Talent night ( yes, I was a little nervous!) wide games and opening games, sports,reading the cereal fillers at breakfast before most of them got made into paper air planes, sun tanning on the docks...

Anyway, time for some pics!

Campers and vissitors, watching the baseball game. Notice the fall color in the back ground, early this year, but I'm not complaining!

A random shot of the dining hall.

Vollyball.

Watching the baseball game.

Relaxing after the amazing race.

Hope to post more later.

To all who still check my blog :)

2007-08-22T11:32:00.000-04:00

So everybody! How's your summer been?
Mine has been cram packed full of activities like - painting the shop for my parents, some school work from last year still, sleepovers/get-togethers with friends,birthdays in our family, a weekend of camping with the YP's from our church, a few other normal YP events, the Dunville conference on the August long weekend, family day with Dad's family at Cedar Park (Bowmanville) last Saturday, the Aylmer fair, and my family has been busy with renovations much of the time, we have a new roof on the main shed, and a the green houses were replaced by a new hay/straw storage shed. There is still much to be done before the goats come in September. To end it all off, I'm going to camp Tamerack next week and I'm so excited!!!
Anyway, thought I'd share some pictures from the fair.
Dad and the twins on the farriss wheel :)

A dark one of Andrew leading Rebecca's calf around the ring, in the pre-4-H show. Becca is behind him watching closely.

John leading his calf, next in line in Becca's friend Bettine with her calf, and Dad is in the background.

Becca got junior grand champion in the showmanship class! The lady is holding a fancy clock Becca got as a prize.

Here she is, first in line.

She didn't do as well in the confermation classes because her calf was quite smaller than the others.But we are very proud of her!

Kidds 'n critters

2007-08-04T16:52:00.000-04:00

Rachel and me went to our cousins house this week, we had a great time! This is Rachel at the closing program of their church's VBS. James :)

James again, holding a piglet

A horse and buggy going by

Erik and his friend, playing with the water slide

James on the skelter

Some gueenie fowl ( sp. ?)

Rosanne :)

Rachel milking the cow

chicken

Erik :)

Esther :)

2007-07-27T11:58:00.000-04:00

Black berry all over his face :)

2007-07-27T11:53:00.000-04:00

2007-07-27T11:47:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!

2007-07-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, he is one allready! Thought I'd some pics from the past year that he has been with us.

Tiny newborn feet!

With cousin Susie after baptism.

Smiling for Mom :)

Kiddies :)

2007-07-25T10:40:00.001-04:00

We had some friends from Toronto area over last night...and Jonathan, who was working on the shed roof at the same time, brought his boys with him, and the man who rents our shed also brought his kids with him. Needless to say, they all had a lot of fun! That's Rebecca and Joanna on the 4-wheeler.

The boys: Nathan, Kade, William, Steven, Kevin and Andrew. William's sister Lisa, with her dolly :)

Flowers & Ducks

2007-07-13T12:17:00.000-04:00

This duck family lives on our pond, aren't they cute?

Daniel Arend - Child of God's Covenant

2007-07-09T16:29:00.000-04:00

My youngest cousin was baptized yesterday, so our family drove out to Nobleton church to see it.

He is very tiny, and very cute:)
Here are his happy parents, one year ago on their wedding day. After the service we stayed for supper.
Rebecca, holding him.
Derek and Aaron, being big helpers, moving chairs.
Uncle Brian and William.
Rebecca and her good friend Rachel, playing cards.
Maria and our Rachel.
Rachel with Daniel.
Andrew.
We think little Daniel looks alot like his daddy. :)

Miscellanious Pictures

2007-07-04T20:36:00.000-04:00

Some flowers... Indian paint brush, I think these are called.

My favorite tiger lily pic ever!

Daisies

Jonathan, Jeremy, Aaron, Josh, Benj, and John. A goodbye pic after the birthday/graduation party we had for the boys.

Benji with Aaron. :)

Stuffing marshmellows in his mouth. :)

I had to add this pic of Kade, a cute little boy from our church.

Beach day at Port Burwell!

2007-07-03T10:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my first young peoples event, a lot of fun!

Playing football, there was also socer and volyball games.

Jenna and Christy

Jocelyn and Nicole building a sand castle

Caroline and her friends, walking

Steve and Jenna coming out afer a quick swim together

Carl

Nathan

Some people talking

Jenna

Christy and Carl playing vollyball

Sun on on the water

Ryan, at pizza hut that night

Carl and Ryan

It was a great day, although the water was a little cold for swimming. I met an old friend of mine, Deanna, who I hadn't seen in ages. We talked for a while, too bad I didn't get a picture of her and I together.

My Birthday Present!

2007-06-29T09:38:00.000-04:00

We finally went out to town and bought it yesterday...

At the same time, we got the twins bikes repaired, they are very happy too! The one that Andrew is on (right), was my birthday present when I turned 7 ! It's been through a lot of kids since then, and the white seat and tires have been replaced and are now black.

Embrace the Cross!

2007-06-17T11:45:00.000-04:00

Embrace the cross
Where Jesus suffered
Though it will cost
All you claim as yours
Your sacrifice will seem small
Beside the treasure
Eternity can't measure
What Jesus holds in store

Embrace the love
The cross requires
Cling to the one
Whose heart knew every pain
Receive from Jesus
Fountains of compassion
Only He can fashion
Your heart to move as His

Oh, wondrous cross our desires rest in you
Lord Jesus make us bolder
To face with courage the shame and disgrace
You bore upon Your shoulder

Embrace the life
That comes from dying
Come trace the steps
The Savior walked for you
An empty tomb
Concludes Golgotha's sorrow
Endure then till tomorrow
Your cross of suffering
Embrace the cross
Embrace the cross
The cross of Jesus

John G. Elliot 1989

Weekend Activities

2007-06-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

For my birthday(yesterday, the 12th) I had my two Rachel friends over! That's Rachel K and Rachael B. We had lots of fun... (I'll try to post a picture of us all together later)
Here Mom is cutting the frozen cake, it was delicious though, very rich. Playing spoons on Sunday with lots of people...

We took a walk on the beach Saturday night.

On Saturday moring we biked with John and Becca to a sematary down the road, interesting place. We saw one stone that said the person had died in 1801. Some stones were so old you had to feel them to posibly make out the words.

We went for a 4-wheeler ride and walk to the woods.

And we did some swimming too.

This dude eats everything. We had these for dessert one night and he was happy to have Mom and Dad share their's with him.

Flowers again...

2007-06-13T11:32:00.000-04:00

Summer Snapshots...

2007-06-05T17:02:00.000-04:00

Benjamin

2007-05-26T17:54:00.000-04:00

He will be 10 months tomorrow. He can pull himself up in the playpen or against other furniture.

And he can crawl! He's been at it for a week or so.

Enjoying our H2O!!!

2007-05-25T17:15:00.000-04:00

Lilacs!

2007-05-23T08:36:00.000-04:00

2007-05-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

We had the W family over one Sunday night. Even though it was dark we took them all for a ride with the 4-wheeler and wagon to show them the back pond, thats why some of these pics are sorta dark.

2007-05-12T15:17:00.000-04:00

Apple Blossoms!
I've got 10 pics of apple blossoms alone, hope this isn't too booring for you :(
These are some of my favorite pics that I've ever taken though. Don't you just LOVE this time of the year?

Flowers!

2007-05-07T07:41:00.000-04:00

The tulips in front of our house have opened now, aren't they beautiful?

Oops, sideways.

Rachie K and me went to the woods yesterday and we saw violets, and red and white triliums (it's a shame we're forbidden to pick the white ones)

Some one brought these to church last night.

"There's not a plant of flower below, But makes thy glories known." Issac Watts

2007-04-28T19:36:00.000-04:00

OCHEC was Awsome!!!

Here are some memories/highlights.

Hanging around with Rachael B :)

Seeing and talking (a bit) with many old friends from here, there, and every where

Meeting people who I had previously got to know somewhat through blogging, how neat to finally meet them in person!

Hanging around the vendor hall trying to decide if a book is really worth buying

I puchased some books and a CD

Eating in the food court

Eating in the caf

Listening to speakers

I heard part of the Macdonalds speech on courtship, I now know a little more about the diferences between courtship and dating

Being encouraged by Brian Ray's speech called "Swimming Upstream"

Him and his wife Betsy were also really good that night, presenting " Loving and Leading"

Kirk Durston's " Does God Exist?" was good

"Faith on the front Line" by Floyd Brobbel was good too, allthough I hardly got anything out of it b/c I was soooooooo sssssssleeeeeppy

The last one was Kirk Duston again, " How to get better grades and have more Fun" was great. He sharred losts of helpful pointers and things

I also atended a few which I found uninteresting so I wandered out
Sleeping at my aunts house
Singing "Amazing Grace" with about a thousand other people
Asking people if they have seen my Mom anywhere
Coming home and seeing my siblings exitement over their new books, we have a family tradition of buying a book for every one at the conference
THE BEST PART WAS LIFESONG PRESENTATION!!! Jacinda, Amy, Maria, Niomi, Kimberly, Carol-lee, you all did great! I loved the music... It was delicious, to the ear that is, not the mouth. See the picture at the top, too bad the pianist can't be seen.

Kids playing by the water

2007-04-21T11:21:00.000-04:00

Benj again!

2007-04-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

2007-04-08T07:30:00.000-04:00

Christ the Lord is Risen today! Alleluia!!!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His aboundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incoruptable and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

How Deep the Father's Love for Us!

2007-04-05T22:09:00.000-04:00

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was acomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts no power no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Blessings to you all as we remember, in a special way, the love our Savior had for us as He gave His life for us on Good Friday.

Friends...

2007-04-04T21:24:00.000-04:00

Rachie and me:) ^ Andrew and Deanne, isn't it cute how they're skipping along?

My friend Rachel and my sis Rachel, I love how the field fades into the fog on this one, makes a perfect background.

More Wild Life

2007-04-02T18:02:00.000-04:00

We had this pair of Mallard Ducks on the pond for a few days last week, I don't think they are there any more, but maybe they'll come back, or maybe they're at the back pond.

When I was taking a walk the other day I saw these two Canadian geese wandering through the field.

This mother bird and her mate have put new nesting material on top of this old nest in our living room awning. It seems as though they are going to raise a family here. The father has a pinkish redish color on his breast so we think they are rose finches.

Wild Life

2007-04-02T14:10:00.000-04:00

Last week we took a quick peek at the Tundra Swans. They rest at the Aylmer Wildlife area for a week or so every March as they migrate North. I didn't have my camera with me but I got this picture off the web.

2007-03-26T18:04:00.000-04:00

The new skidsteer,

Dad on the Allis Chalmers,

Andrew on the 4wheeler,

Steven and Jeremy S.

2007-03-26T17:57:00.000-04:00

Here is Jer at our church's anual kale dinner, with his plate full of delicious borenkole, sausage, gravy and more yummy stuff.This event is put on by the young peoples, they do all the work of making the food and providing great entertainment!

Every body lining up for food...

After ward we split into groups and did a number of diferent activities, racing against the other teams. We had to make a trough to roll a marble through by holding pieces of half pipe against eachother going all the way down the hallway. We also had to contruct a play ground or a farm out of modeling clay, solve crossword puzzels and search through a bucket of corn kernals to find the letters to make up a name of a book of the Bible. The final activity was to write a 6 lined song, to a familliar tune, about the evening's dinner, and perform it! Some of the results were halarious...

This is my team, hard at work, and below is Dad's team, but he isn't in the picture.

Benjamin

2007-03-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

...with Marie!

Kids

2007-03-12T09:56:00.000-04:00

The Savior Died, But Rose Again

2007-03-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Savior died, but rose again
Triumphant from the grave;
And pleads our cause at God's right hand,
Omnipotent to save.

Who,then, can e'er divide us more
From Jesus and His love:
Or break the sacred chain that binds
The earth to Heav'n above?

Let troubles rise, and terrors frown.
And days of darkness fall;
Through Him all dangers we'll defy.
And more than conquer all.

Nor death,nor life, nor earth nor hell,
Nor time's destroying sway,
Can e'er efface us from His heart,
Or make His love decay.

~Scotish Paraphrase

I found this when I was wandering around the net, folowing unfamiliar links, and I'm glad I did! It is a paraphrase of the last part of Romans 8, a favorite of mine:)

2007-03-05T21:44:00.000-05:00

I went away this weekend, when I met my family at church yesterday they had some news...
"You know what Karen? We got a new dog!" Surprise! Isn't she cute? She's a golden retriever about 4 months old, her name is Lady. At first we thought it should be Honey, because of her color but Mom found it hard getting used to caling a dog "Honey":) So after much discussion at supper tonight, we finaly came up with a decision.
Her eyes really aren't green, thats just the camera.

2007-02-26T15:32:00.000-05:00

In the summer of '04 our family took a vacation in the Smokey Mountains of Tennesse. As a souvenir, we bought a book called, " The story of Gatlinburg". Gatlinburg is a small town but a large tourist attraction. This book tells a little about it's first settlers and their way of life. The area was then called White Oak Flats. Dad pulled it off the shelf the other day and read some parts aloud. I thought this story was worth passing on :)
"Few in those days were greatly concerned about the fashion of shoes or clothes. In the story of his youth--related to the writer by Mitchell McCarter, a Baptist clergyman who was born in White Oak Flats, educated himself and fitted himself for the ministry almost unaided--he spoke of his sparse wearing apparel. Until he was seventeen years of age, he said, he never had at one time more than the one suit of blue jeans in which he stood, for his mother was left with a family of small children to rear, and was as poor as poverty.
When he was seventeen he was converted at a religious revival in the White Oak Flats Baptist Church, and soundly converted, with the conviction that he was called to preach. He could neither read nor write at this time, for his help had been needed on his mother's farm and she could never spare him to go to school. So earnest was his desire to become a preacher, however, that the elders examined him. They conceded his religious qualifications, but refused to let him enter the ulpit because of his lack of the proper clothing--the long-tailed black coat and long trousers that ministers always wore.
His grandmother took pity on him and presented him with a calf, telling him he might sell it for enough to buy the clothes he wanted. But he got only enough money from the sale of the calf to get a coat--a "Prince Albert"--and that at secondhand and many times too large for him.
Again his good grandmother came to his rescue and promised to make a pair of trousers for him out of old linsey-woolsey skirt of her own. She cut and made one leg, but when she came to the other one, she found she had not enough material to make the second leg as long as the first one. There was no help for it now! she finished the trousers as well as she could, but when he put them on he found that one leg came down to his ankle, the other struck him about half way between the ankle and the knee.
But he was given a trial, and at the age of eighteen the unlettered boy entered the pulpit and preached his first sermon from a text an uncle had repeated to him until he remembered it. And on the strength of that sermon, he received his license as a preacher.
Not long afterward, he said, when he had gone out into the world and seen how other people dressed, did he realize how grotesque he must have looked in those clothes--a long black coat with tails away below his knees and a pair of butternut colored trousers with legs of differing lengths."

Sunsets!

2007-02-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

2007-02-16T17:28:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share with you something that I came across while reading a devotional book. One particular chapter speaks about the importance of spending time alone with God, reading and meditating on His word and praying to Him. This time can be called "the great exchange," because, in it I exchange...

my weariness for His strengh,

my weakness for His power,

my darkness for His light,

my problems for for his sloutions,

my burdens for His freedom,

my frustrations for His peace,

my turmoil for His calm,

my hopes for His promises,

my afflictions for His balm of comfort,

my questions for His answers,

my confusion for His knowledge,

my doubt for His assurance,
my nothingness for His awesomeness,
the temporal for the eternal,and
the impossible for the possible!