My Yard Sale Find

On our way home from Grayson Highlands Saturday, we stopped at a yard sale. This is what I found. I know it needs some work but I got it at a really good price-$5.00. I figure my Hubby can do some repairs and it will look great. I need to find a belt for it. Hopefully, this will not be too hard to find.

This week is Bible School at church so things have been really busy. We have to leave around 6:15 P.M. and don’t get home until around 10:00. This makes for a long but fun evening. We start on Sunday and go through Thursday. The first night we had 11 kids, last night 19. As I have said before we are a small church-few in number but large in our love of the Lord.

Hubby has some days off this week, so he has started a project. We want to box in half of our back porch, move the washing machine and dryer in this new room. We also plan on putting a half bath in there too, as we only have one bathroom. All this means a really busy week here.

Time for lunch. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 29, 2010 2

Grayson Highlands State Park

We had so much fun today! We went with our friends, the Horns, to this place called Grayson Highlands State Park. It was very beautiful there. This is one of the first places went.

Lots of old houses set up to walk through and look at.

An absolutely beautiful sky to enjoy.

A beautiful picnic area.

Then we begin our hike.

The temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler with a heavy wind. It actually felt like we were walking in air conditioning.

Here’s one of the main things we came to see. Wild ponies. We did not see very many but the few we did see definitely made the trip worthwhile. I had so many beautiful pictures of the scenery it was very difficult to choose what picture to post. I know this is a lot of pictures but I really could have put much more. Finally a happy crew ready to start the climb back down.

I pray your day was as nice as ours. Take care and God bless.

June 26, 2010 1

Yummy!

If I were making a list of things that make me happy, this would definitely be one of them. I feel so blessed when I go out in my garden and gather delicious food for my family to enjoy. I know it sounds kinda way out there but it is true. This evening’s supper will incorporate all these healthy veggies. I’m just not sure how yet. Maybe grilled chicken, grilled squash-I’m not sure but I know it will be good. Today has been busy. I’ve been trying to get some of the outside work done before it gets too hot. After seeing the big snake yesterday evening, Hubby immediately started weed-eating. I started mowing the yard. We got about half finished before it got to late. I finished mowing the yard early this morning. I have been washing clothes and getting them on the line to dry. They are probably already dry. It is hot here but we have a really great breeze so it’s not so bad (especially in the shade). I am going to work some more in the garden after lunch. I need to tie the tomatoes, get rid of some nasty potatoes bugs. It also needs to be weeded but I think I’ll save that for this evening. The girls have been busy inside doing housework. The ladies come tomorrow for bible study.

This is a picture of what we call the canning building. The bottom is our cellar and on top we store all our empty cans, our canners and all our canning supplies. When the girls were little, they started calling it the canning building and the name has just stuck.

Well, I think it’s time to get some lunch going. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 24, 2010 1

Snake

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.

June 23, 2010 2

My Newest Helper

This is my new helper. I did not even know these existed. About 1 month ago, I was in our local farm supply store, and spotted one of these. All I have ever used are the old food mills. I have been told these are so much better than a food mill. I can’t wait to try it out. My friend Vicki and I will be making applesauce today out of early cooking apples. When we lived in Grundy, we had a June apple tree in our front yard. I sure do miss that tree. What they have up here has a little different taste than that one did, but they are still good. It is our favorite type of applesauce, so I hope to can a lot of it. Last year, apples were hard to find. We ran out of applesauce early in the winter and had to buy from the store. Not near as good as home canned. Guess I’ll get busy. Lots to do today but lots of fun too. Take care and God bless.

June 22, 2010 1

Garden

It’s been a while since I posted pictures of our garden. It has really grown. Everything looks to be doing really well. You can’t tell it from the picture but the potatoes are beginning to bloom.

This is our beans and corn. We kinda got a late start on planting them but they look strong and healthy. Today is an absolutely beautiful day here in Floyd. Temperatures are in the lower 70’s with a nice breeze. It’s one of those days where it is hard to work inside. I would much rather be outside enjoying the day. Hopefully, later after our inside work is done. I plan on spending some quality time with my green swing.

This is the kind of space I always dreamed of having. It is one of the most peaceful places I know. I so much enjoy coming and sitting down in this swing. The Lord and I have had some of our best conversation here. I am so thankful to my hubby for making this swing for me and for helping me keep this area beautiful.

I wanted to show you all how the sun was glistening off the rows of corn. The corn stalks seem to be glowing. I thought it was very pretty. I guess I’d better get busy if I want to get my housework done today. After all, the green swing IS calling my name. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 17, 2010 1

Horseshoe fun

Just a few pictures of the fun we had at our horseshoe pitch. We think we might do it again before summer is over. It was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful place down by the river, a great place to camp.

This is a picture of our pastor and his wife. I believe the Lord truly led him to our church. I have never known a pastor to fit in with a church like him and his wife do. I think they are truly dedicated to the Lord and want to serve Him.

One of our catawba trees. We have several in our yard. Right now we are enjoying our “summer snow”. When these trees bloom out and the bloom starts falling, it looks like it has snowed in our yard. Very pretty.

A better view of the blooms. We spent some time yesterday with our friends, the Horns. The kids had fun playing together. Vicki and I walked around her yard and garden. She has a beautiful garden this year. She has already picked peas from her garden. Hopefully, ours will be ready soon. We had a pretty good rain yesterday. The garden was needing a drink. However, the rain came while we were gone, so the clothes hanging on the line were soaked. I had to bring them in, spin them out again in the machine and then dry them inside. Oh well, things like that happen. I think it will be a nice day here today. Kinda hot for us but it is getting that time of year. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 16, 2010 2

Samuel Lucas

Ain’t he handsome! Everything is going very well. They both came home this afternoon. So much different than with Daniel. I so thank you all for your prayers and I thank God for all His blessings on us.

He looks a little small in Dave’s hands but he really is pretty good size. He seems to have taken to food like a true champion.

This is Jessica, just a few hours after delivery. I told her she could do an advertisement for the makeup she is wearing. The makeup she is wearing is the same makeup she put on the evening before when they left the house, about 18 hours before. Amazing. I haven’t been home long so there is much to do. Just wanted to show him off a little. Take care and God bless.

June 8, 2010 3

He’s Here

Samuel Lucas Bates arrived today at 10:53 A.M. He weighed 7 lb even and is 20″ long. He, of course, is a beautiful boy. I do have pictures, however, I do not know how to load them on David’s computer. I will post pictures as soon as I go home. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. It was a fast and relatively easy delivery. Both him and his mother are doing very well. Daniel, the girls and I are having a good time together, however he misses his mom and dad terribly. Hopefully, they will be back home tomorrow. I just wanted to let everyone know he is here and well. Thanks again for your prayers. Take care and God bless.

June 7, 2010 2

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my Julie’s birthday. We celebrated by having a picnic lunch at Groundhog Mountain with our friends, the Horns. The building you see behind the kids is the lookout tower.

This is one of the things you can see from where the tower is. The mountain in the distance is called Buffalo Mountain. I think you can probably guess why.

We had birthday cake, hot dogs, chips and all the things that go with it. We are so blessed to have friends like the Horns. Their kids and our kids have so much fun together.

After the picnic, it was time for some work. We went to Levering Orchard in Ararat, Va. Time to pick some cherries. We had a great time. It is a pick your own orchard or you can purchase them already picked. It is, of course, cheaper if you pick. Besides who would want to miss all that fun. We picked almost 9 lb. or the equivalent of 2 gal. They are very good. After getting all hot picking cherries, we stopped on the way back at this little store for an ice cream cone. It certainly tasted delicious. All in all, it was a great birthday day. Prayerfully tomorrow I will be making a post about a beautiful new baby boy, with lots of pictures. I am making sure I have my camera with me. We are getting ready to leave as I type this. I need to be there by 5:00, as she is scheduled to be at the hospital by 7:00. I know I have asked before, but remember to pray for us. Take care and God bless.

June 6, 2010 1