You all remember this little dress.  I got it at Goodwill before we even knew what Jess was going to have.  Well, this weekend when we went down for our Christmas get together, Jess had dressed her in it.  She looked darling!

It amazes me every time I see her how much she has grown.  The boys were too busy for me to get a picture of them.  Maybe next time.  We had a great visit with lots of good food. 

Yesterday I put a deer roast on in the crockpot before we left for church.  Pastor Tom’s message was very good.  He preached from Isaiah 40:3-5.  We had deer roast, french fries, green beans and homemade rolls for “lupper” with homemade candy for dessert.  Then we just chilled for the rest of the day.  Our church was going caroling and giving out fruit baskets last night.  However, Julie is suffering from a head cold, so we did not go. 

Well, that’s about it.  I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

Yesterday, we went down to watch the boys while Jess went for her ultrasound.  This time the baby was not shy.  Jess will  be having a little girl in  November.  All seems healthy which of course is the most important thing.  About 2 months ago, while in Goodwill, I found this darling little dress.  I thought it was so cute  I just had to buy  it.  You know,  just in case it was a girl.  I figured I could always give it as a gift to someone.  

We had quite a lot of rain last night and today has been alternately overcast and then sun.  I have clothes on the line hoping to get them dry.  It is very humid here with a temperature of 90 but we do still have a slight breeze. 

I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

Yesterday, we stopped at Goodwill while on our way to the eye doctor.  The girls found these Narnia books.  They were so happy.  It is the complete set except for book 2 “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  We will have to be watching for it.  Grace got a good report at the eye doctor.  Her vision had improved some.  She will be picking out new glasses next week.  We have been  blessed so much with improvement in her vision.  She will probably always have to wear bifocals but she has definitely come a long way.   We are extremely grateful to God for this blessing.

Today is still chilly here with a chance of rain for this afternoon but the rest of the week is supposed to be really nice-much warmer.  We are doing school as usual.  Later we will be going into town for piano lessons.  Tonight’s menu is kielbasa, cooked cabbage, and potatoes.  I think I will make a batch of rolls to go with it.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

These are just a few pictures I took yesterday on our way into town.  This road runs alongside the Parkway for a while.  Then branches off into other roads.  It is one of the many roads we can take to get to town.  I thought you all might enjoy seeing it.

On the side of this road, fall flowers are already beginning to bloom.  Joe Pie and Goldenrod. 

A field on the same road.

In about another month, corn cutting will begin.  This hill will have lots of activity.  These are just a few things I am blessed to enjoy every day.  Sometimes the beauty of this place I live overwhelms me.  I haven’t lived very many places in my life but I do know this place I live now is very beautiful. 

The girls and I had fun yesterday.  We ran some errands, went to the Salvation Army and Goodwill, Wal-Mart of course.  I found Hubby a nice church outfit at the Salvation Army and a tie to match at Goodwill.  He normally doesn’t wear a tie but now that he is a deacon, they have to wear a tie on the day we do the Lord’s Supper.  We also found Grace a skirt and a top to match and both girls got a swim suit.  They did not have one and they hope to get to swim over the weekend at David’s mom’s pool.  We are going down this evening.  She has some more apples that are ripe and some pears. 

Today is Ladie’s Bible Study.  We are still doing it at Barbara’s house, probably all this month.  However today is starting out nice and cool so we might could have done it here.  Oh well.  We’ll just stick to our original plan.  I have dessert this week and I am taking a peach pie I made.  The girls are going to play at the Horn’s while I am doing bible study.  They are very excited.  It will be a fun day for everyone.  Vicki and I will visit when I come to pick the girls up.  I’m planning on surprising her with a new type of tea for us to share.  I guess though if she reads this before I get there it won’t be a surprise. 

Well, I gotta go.  There’s work to do.  We want to be ready to leave when Hubby comes in this evening.  Gotta go get me some MawMaw time.  Take care and God bless.

Look at these beautiful little violas!  They were hidden away beside some other larger flowers.  I think they are so cute.  They reminded me about how sometimes the beautiful things of God are hidden.  He wants us to put forth a little effort to find them.  Reading and studying His word, praying.  These are all things He wants us to do in order to see His beauty.  But I think also He wants us to listen.  This seems to be the hardest part for me.  Satan obviously knows this because he continuously puts things in my path to distract me and, of course, I allow it to work.  I want to do better.  Spend more time with Him. 

What better place to spend more time with Him than right here.  My front yard-looking down at the field.  The cows are up for their morning snack.  The sun is shining and for today (just today) we are almost caught up with the canning.  The girls and I are going to have a “girl day”.  We have some errands to run and then maybe do some fun stuff in town.  We are thinking about going to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, maybe both.  We might even go to Books-A-Million.  I’m not sure yet what we will do, other than have fun.

One more flower picture.  I thought you all might be getting tired of seeing pictures of canning jars.  A little color was needed.  We’re off to enjoy our day.  God bless.

We have lived here on the farm for 7 years.  This is the first snake we have ever seen.  There have been a few water snakes at the pond but never one close to the house.  Now I know this is a black snake and many people think they are good to have around.  I am not one of those people.  The only good snake I have ever seen is a dead one.  This snake was at the door to the canning building when Grace went to put the applesauce up.  She came running down and Dad went to the rescue.  Thanks Babe!  I think this is probably the biggest snake I have ever seen.  Now Shadow (our old dog) was resting in the shade when all this took place.  I guess he knew Hubby could handle it. 

The girls and I had fun at town today.  No great deals to write about though.  I saw a few dresses at Goodwill but nothing really caught our eyes.  The girls used their chore money to purchase a new game for the Nintendo DS.   They are really good about saving up their money to purchase things they want.  We think it is better for them to work for things like that, then they appreciate them more.  It teaches them how to manage their money, set goals and attain them.  Good life lessons. 

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

We were extremely impressed with the food strainer.  It was super fast compared to the old food mill and had very little waste.  We processed a bushel of apples in about 4 1/2 hours.  We used both big canners.  We got 12 qts and 24 pints.  YUM!  I have always used the hot water bath canner to process applesauce.  However, I read in my Mennonite cookbook, they could be processed in the pressure canner.  We tried that yesterday and it went very fast.  15 min. on 5 lb. pressure.  Much faster than using a bath canner.  Vicki and I had a great time and of course the kids had fun.  It is so much more pleasant sharing canning with a friend.  I am so thankful the Lord placed our families together.  Good friends are sometimes hard to find and I consider Vicki one of the best.

  The girls and I are planning a “girl day” out today.  We are going into C-burg to run some errands.  This will include Wal-Mart and Goodwill.  Temperatures have been very warm here in Floyd.  On the farm though, it isn’t near as bad as it is in town.  We are usually a few degrees cooler.  In the summer this is a plus, in the winter not so good.  Thankfully, we have quite a few shade trees in the yard and that really helps. 

Time for us to get ready to leave.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Miss you, already!  We are back from our visit.  The weather was beautiful, 58 degrees when we left this afternoon.  Pretty nice here too, 45 degrees.  The sun is shining and lots of snow has melted.  We actually have a front yard now.  Our little man was sick this weekend.  He has the same thing Julie and Grace have had.  YUCKY!  However,  as we were playing in his toy room this weekend, he looked up at me and said “I love you, MawMaw”.  Well of course my heart melted.  I have tried since he began talking to get him to say that, and just like that he says it.  No prompting from me, nothing.  Just straight from his heart to mine.   Everything in God’s time.  That of course was the highlight of my trip.  We had lots of great food to eat, did some shopping.  I found the girls a dress for piano recital at Goodwill.  Could not find shoes though.  Hopefully we will find some before the recital.  It’s time for us to leave for church.  I just wanted to share with you all my sweet words from my special boy.  Take care and God bless.