First Canning of the Year...

We canned some strawberry jam today! We picked it yesterday and froze some for cakes and things and then we did all our canning today! Hmmm-hmm, delicious!

Henny Penny and Her Brood of Many...

We recently had a Bantam hen set on five eggs for us. For a while we kept taking the eggs away until we realized what she was trying to do. So there she sat...for a long time. Until one day, they hatched, all five! She is such a good mother, always protecting them from the other animals. One day the kittens got too close for comfort and off she went. She got the kitten making all the trouble and then continued on to also get the other kitten about 150 feet away, and also the dog, who was so scared he didn't know what happened. Everything was going along great, until the other day when one of them got too close the horses and got stepped on. Now for those of you who don't have a farm, if a little chick gets stepped on by a horse, the chances are zero to none that it will make it. And it didn't.

The reason behind this whole sad story is this: It reminds me of a verse.

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"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets

and kills those who are sent to her!

How often I wanted to gather your children together,

as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

BUT YOU WERE NOT WILLING!"

~Matthew 23:37

(emphasis added)

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How often does the Lord try to save us from doing disastrous things, and yet we are unwilling to be saved? All He wants to do is gather us under His protective wings, but we balk and want to do things our own way? That poor chick's life could have been saved had he only stayed under the wings.

Christianity...

"Christianity doesn't domesticate a man.

It makes him wild in all the right ways."

~Paul Washer

Kidding Season Is Finally Over!!!

Dora and Nan just had their babies! We tried holding them over for two extra months before we bred them so that we would have enough milk for winter. It worked great. Dora and Nan each had three which was a first for both of them. They normally have only two each. Nan had three boys: Rio, Baltimore & Troy. Two days later Dora had her three: two boys and A GIRL!!! Their names are Long John, Spot and Elizabeth. (Gram picked out the name Elizabeth from a movie she watched with a cow, so she's kind of "Gram's girl"!) They are all so adorable!

(Elizabeth "Little Lizzie")

Dora had some difficulties one year giving birth. The baby's leg was stuck so Dad had to help and ever since then we watch her very close when she gets close to kidding. We normally take turns going out twice during the night to check on the mamas, so it was very nice that Dora and Nan had theirs within two days of each other!

(Rio and Troy)

(Spot and Baltimore)

Spring Things

We received a new tent for Christmas this year, so as soon as the weather warmed up enough for us to try it out, we did! Our old one tore last year after serving many faithful years of service for us kids. We love to put the tent up in the spring or fall and spend a couple of nights outdoors. Gram and Pop found this one that would accomodate all of us. It works great!

Noah & Ethan "holding" the tent up...

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Dad opened up our pool right before Easter this year and so Noah and Ethan have been having a blast in it. It's still very cold and I don't know how they can stand it, but Noah goes about 2-3 times a day. He's our little fish in the water.

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We planted tulips in our garden last fall and they came up beautifully. This was our first try at tulips...

Happy Easter!

He's alive! Our Savior is alive! Jesus Christ defeated our sins once and for all at Calvary. But the grave could not keep him. He rose again on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of God, interceding on our behalf.

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"But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead..." ~Matthew 28:5-7a

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Hallelujah! Have a Happy Easter!

Kelsey's Birthday!!!

Kelsey will turn 19 tomorrow!

She is a dear friend and sister and a joy to be with. She is strong in the Lord and very thoughtful of others.

Kelsey is:

Kind

Energetic

Loving

Smiling

Excellent Friend

Yearns to serve God

We love you, dear sister. We thank the Lord for placing you in our lives. We pray that God would continue to use you for His glory. We hope that you have a wonderful birthday, Kels!
With all our love...