Going Courting!

 We are so very pleased to announce the courtship of our beloved sister, Jordan Hammond, to our close friend, Caleb Yuck!

"Trust in the Lord, and do good...Delight thyself also in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."

Psalm 37: 3-5

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We met the Yuck family back in December when we attended the Love The Church conference in North Carolina.  We just seemed to hit it off right away with them.  They were so easy to talk to and they seemed like such a nice family, that we wanted to get to know them better.  They are also dairy farmers like ourselves (only on a much bigger scale!), so that gave us something in common.  They invited us to come visit them in Canada if we ever got the chance.  Then they just happened to mention that they go to Florida each March on vacation, so we invited them to stop in at our place on their way down.  Before we left from the conference we had exchanged emails and phone numbers, promising to get back in contact with them.

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Sure enough, the emails started going back and forth between our families and we realized that we did indeed have a lot in common with this family.  By the time March rolled around, we couldn't wait to see them all again.  They spent 3 or 4 days with us, sightseeing, talking, and simply enjoying each other's company.  When they left for Florida, they made plans to stop by on their way back through to pick up some stuff that they had ordered and had shipped to our house.  At first, it was only going to be a quick stop, no more than one or two days, just enough time to get a U-Haul and load up their boxes they had ordered.  But as the time drew nearer, the amount of days they were going to spend at our house got longer!  So they ended up spending about another 4 days with us in April!  We immensely enjoyed having them come back again.  We were able to do a little more sightseeing, strolling around a local park, playing games, talking, singing together, milking together, and just hanging out together.  It was a wonderful time and we hated to see them leave, but we were already making plans on going to see them in Canada!

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We decided that we would try to travel up to see the Yucks in June, trying to work around their haying season and chicken processing times, so that we would have the most time possible to spend with them.  We started scrambling to get passports!  During this time, our two families were faithfully emailing back and forth about once a day!

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June rolled around, and it found us very busy trying to get things all lined up so that we could go on vacation.  Our grandparents, aunt and two uncles offered to milk for us while we were gone, which was such a blessing.  The Yuck's were also staying very busy getting the haying done and preparing for our visit. About a week or so before we were scheduled to leave for our trip, something came up which would have made us miss the trip altogether, but the Lord's hand was in it and working through the whole thing.  The trip was back on and we were more than ready to go on a vacation. 

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 When we reached the Yuck's home, it felt like we hadn't even been apart for those last three months!  We picked up right where we had left off in April.  They welcomed us into their home and went out of their way to make us very comfortable for the week we were there.  It was a very relaxing time.  They were wonderful tour guides and showed us anything and everything we ever needed or wanted to know about Canada.  It was wonderful just to sit around the kitchen table late at night with a bowl of ice cream or popcorn, enjoying a game together with some friendly competition!  In the many hours of conversation we had with them they again proved themselves to be very easy to talk to, and enjoyable to be around.  We all realized that our friendship was a special one, one that had become very close in a very short amount of time, one where everyone enjoyed each other's company, one which allowed us to discuss just about anything.  And we did!

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By the time our vacation had come to an end, we were very sorry to be leaving our good friends.  There is always a tinge of sadness when a good thing comes to an end.  On our way home we were already making plans to go back in January.  Once we arrived home, we got busy settling back into routine.  Until Dad got the phone call...

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On July 4th, Mr. Paul Yuck called dad asking him if he would consider Caleb for Jordan.  Caleb had been considering Jordan since we met them way back in December.  After a couple of days of reading Caleb's beliefs on theology, family, marriage, and several other issues, and after praying and talking with each other and the Yuck's, Dad and Mom wholeheartedly gave their consent.  If Jordan was agreeable, then they would tell Caleb yes.  Jordan was indeed agreeable to start a courtship with Caleb.  She in fact, had been praying about Caleb for the past three months.  So on Wednesday, July 6th, 2011, with both sets of parents approval and love, Jordan and Caleb officially and joyfully entered into courtship! 

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Within the next two days all the siblings and grandparents were informed (although some of us had already figured it out by then!), and there were two very joyous houses bubbling over with excitement!  We are very excited at what the Lord has done and what He continues to do in the lives of His children. 

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"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

-Romans 8:28

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If we thought our two families were close before, there is no way of describing the closeness that we share now!  I cannot even begin to count the emails that have passed between our families since we met, with that number nearly doubling in the last few days alone!  If you try to call our house or theirs at certain hours of the day, you will simply get "the busy signal"!  Not to mention the jobs that are left only half done around here because some people are only half here!

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We are only about one week into this and already it's been such a precious time!  It's also a wonderful testimony to those people who always ask,

"How are you ever going to meet anybody if you don't date?"

Jordan and Caleb have both shown patience in finding the Lord's mate for themselves, and the Lord has shown Himself faithful.  Sixth months ago we didn't even know the Yuck family existed, but the Lord brought our families together in His timing, when He knew Caleb and Jordan were ready.  We are truly exicted about what the Lord has in store for our families and for Jordan and Caleb. 

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Caleb's flowers that he sent to Jordan

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

-Proverbs 3:5-6

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

-Jeremiah 29:11

The day we announced the courtship to our family!

Caleb will be coming down to visit in a little more than a week, so there will be many more photos to come!  So stay tuned!  If you would like to visit the Yuck family blog and read about it from their end, click on this link

buildingafamilythatwillstand.blogspot.com.

Bethany and I will try to keep you all posted on the happenings at the Yuck and Hammond households during this exciting time!