Mr. & Mrs. Ethan Hammond

Well, they gone and done it! They done got hitched!

Ethan and Grace tied the knot 

at 6:00 pm on September 28th, 2019. 

Their special day was held at the Hunter Barn in Waynesville, GA.

The wedding was held outside, behind the barn, with the reception held inside the barn. The two of them wanted a short but sweet ceremony, which Dad was able to officiate. While the guests starting munching on the delicious variety of hors d'oeuvres that Grace's family had made, the family and bridal party were outside getting wedding pictures taken. Once back inside, Ethan and Grace cut the cake (which Grace's family also made).

After cutting the cake, the two shared a tenderly, slow dance together, followed up by a dance between Grace and her daddy.

Sweet friends, Amber and Brittany Gullickson, traveled in to help out with whatever needed doing for the wedding, including cutting up 150 Jalapeno peppers! Unfortunately, Mom and Amber didn't wear gloves while cutting up the peppers and ended up with "Jalepeno hands" for a full 12 hours! They both spent rehearsal day with their hands in a bowl of ice water! 

Greta, Amber, Grace, Ethan, Griff, and Brittany

Mom and Savannah all dressed up!

 Saying a quick prayer before starting.

The evening ended with some dancing and then a fire sparkler send off complete with a quick firework display. It was a lovely day.

The couple is now enjoying their 2 week honeymoon!

Congratulations Ethan and Grace! May the Lord bless your marriage immensely!

And welcome to the family Grace!

Once Upon An Engagement

Yup...you heard that right. 

Ethan and Grace are now engaged! 

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting this. Ethan asked Grace to marry him on July 20.

(We were on a trip when it happened and my computer crashed on that trip, so I'm finally getting around to sharing the news.)

The lovely ring he picked out for her.

A happy couple.

 They are currently in the thick of wedding plans and house hunting, so keep them in your prayers as things are lining up.  The date for the wedding is September 28th.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

A couple of official engagement photos for your viewing pleasure!

It's A GIRL!!!!

I thought this title would catch everyone's attention, but I bet it's not the sort of announcement you were all expecting!!!

Ethan is courting!

This special young lady's name is Grace Elizabeth Adams and the two of them seem to be having a grand time getting to know each other.

Ethan and Grace met through the Florida Shindig that we all attended this past January. After several emails back and forth, the two families decided they should meet. Grace's family lives in Georgia, a little over 3 hours away, so they drove up to Aiken to spend the day with my family, as pictured below. Everyone hit it off really well and Ethan decided to pursue a relationship with Grace. She agreed and they began an official courtship.

 

Below is a picture of Ethan and Grace with Greta and Griffin (Grace's brother and sister).

It's funny to see Ethan actually interested in a girl. For a couple of years now, I've been watching him when we are at different functions to see if he ever takes interest in a particular girl or if he treats any of the young ladies special. But he has always treated them all the same way and gave no inclination to liking any certain girl. I began to wonder when my little brother would ever take interest in a girl! (rolling eyes) 

So it's been sweet to see him treat Grace in an extra special way. He later told me that he just "knew how to be discreet".  Discreet indeed!!!

~ ~ ~ 

This picture was taken right after they started courting. 

With Grace being a Georgia girl, she has a thick southern accent. But the funny thing is she says Ethan is the one with an accent. Dad, being silly, likes to do his best to try to imitate their accent with the corniest Southern phrases he can come up with.

At a dance they recently attended.

I think Savannah and Greta have both been enjoying being sister chaperones. 

We are thankful for this sweet time in both Ethan and Grace's lives. As we've mentioned in both Jordan & Caleb's courtship as well as mine and Matthew's, courtship is a time for a couple to get to know each other better, with the purpose of marriage in mind, to see if that is the way the Lord is leading. Courtship is also done in the context of having chaperones around for accountability's sake. If, through courtship, two people find out that they are not the ones that the Lord has for each other, then no courtship is a failure, because it has done what it was designed to do.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"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."

I'm sure both Grace and Ethan would appreciate your prayers as they take this time to get to know each other and to discern the Lord's will for their future.

Ethan's 19th Birthday!

On November 27th, Ethan turned 19 years old!!!!  I blinked and he's a young man!

"Ethan Patrick"

Ethan - strong, firm

Patrick - noble

meaning behind his name: "strong and noble one"

Happy birthday Ethan!  Your name fits you well, as you are a strong leader in many areas of your life.  We thank the Lord for you and all the ways you are a blessing to our family.  May the Lord continue to lead you and guide you as you seek Him with your life.  Blessings on this year to come!!!! Love ya!

Ethan's Birthday!!!

Today Ethan turned 18!!!!

It's hard to believe my little (or not-so little) brothers are 18 and 16!  Where does the time go?  I remember when they were born and it doesn't feel like that long ago.  Now they are handsome, strapping young men!

 Ethan is a hardworking, entrepreneurial-minded, friendly young man!  He is a wonderful organizer, both with things and people, and is well liked by everyone who meets him.  He is confidant and a natural born leader.

We love you, Ethan, and are so thankful that the 

Lord gave us you 18 years ago!  What a blessing!

Happy birthday!

The Karate Boys

Ethan and Noah, along with 3 of their friends, have recently taken up Karate classes.  And they are loving it!

They come home from each class with new techniques to show us and funny stories to tell.

Our whole family decided to attend one of their bi-weekly classes to see the action for ourselves.  They were pretty impressive!

There teacher is a Christian gentleman who is interested in teaching the techniques of karate without all of the "spiritual" aspects, so we appreciate that.  

It's also a good form of exercise and balance practice!

It's nice that they have their friends to do it with them.  They are all really getting into it with the kicks, punches, sparing gear, belts and stripes.  Hopefully they'll never have the need to use it in real life, but if they do, watch out for the Kung Fu Hammonds! ;-)

Ethan

Ethan is 17 and is the fourth born in our family and the first boy.

Ethan has taken an interest in expanding Dad's pool and pond business, so he has successfully spent the past two or more years growing it and picking up his own clients.  He has taken several online courses on pond building and after working with Dad on them for almost half his life, he's gotten quite good at it.  He has to figure out the calculations behind how big to build it, how much rock to order, what kind of plants would look good around it, how many gallons of water it holds, what size pump it will need, how much piping will it be, etc.  He also has an eye for design and gets to use his creativity when building a pond for a customer.  Below is a picture of just one of the ponds that he has built this summer. 

Him and Dad have also split up their pool cleaning route, so that they break it up and get all of their pools done in half the time.  Ethan takes a friend of his and they do one route together, while Dad and Noah take the other route.

Because of the nature of his business with all of the heavy hauling, Ethan also bought a truck this past spring.  His first vehicle!  To say he's pleased with his find would be an understatement.  ;-)  It's a nice reliable truck that was well kept and it does the job.  

Ethan is also great with the nieces and works as a wonderful entertainer for them!  He always has some idea or another to keep them busy and laughing.  He is seriously hoping for a nephew here soon so that he can start buying camouflage, and trucks, and guns, and boy stuff!

He's going into his last year of school in August, and I'm sure he'll be glad when he gets his diploma next spring!

Ethan is an all round sports-loving guy.  He can't wait for football season to start so he can watch his team win (hopefully).  He has also taken up disc golf and volleyball since his brother-in-law Matthew introduced them to him and really enjoys the competition.  His newest hobby that he's just started has been karate.  Him and Noah and several of their buddies go twice a week to a class and they are all loving it!

Ethan, along with Savannah, got braces this past winter, so they are "enjoying" them together.  Okay, okay, so maybe they aren't enjoying them, but it is kind of nice to that they are going through it together so they can bounce things off of each other, like similar pains, and missing out on certain foods together.

Ethan is also one of our farm's top market salesman.  He goes to the market each Saturday with Dad and can sell cheese like no other!  He has great spiel and can think of something delicious to do with each of the individual cheeses.

Ethan is a godly, young man and we are so thankful that he is a part of our family.  He is a huge help and it's great to have another man around.

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

1 Corinthians 16:13

Ethan is 17!!!!

 

Today is Ethan's birthday!

Fond Memory:  Our church shares communion every Sunday, and each of the fathers distributes the bread and juice to his own family (being the head of his family).  Well, one particular Sunday Dad couldn't be there, so when it came time to pass it out, the deacons of the church handed the platter to Ethan to pass out to our family.  It was a sweet time to realize just how old he was and to recognize him as a "man of the family" that day.

Funny Moment: Every Christmas, all of us kids go out for an afternoon to go Christmas shopping together.  All of us would take our own money to buy gifts for each other.  Well, Ethan decided to be the big-hearted fellow and drop his change in each of the "door-ringers" buckets as we entered and exited the stores.  At the end of the day, it proved to be a very good lesson on how little change can add up!  As he counted up his money that he came home with and figured out what he had spent, he had given a total of $10 worth of change away!  Needless to say, he learned his lesson!

Flashback...

We love you Ethan, and thank the Lord for you!  You are such a big help around the farm and home.  You have been blessed with the gift of leadership and know when to step in and take charge.  Everyone looks up to you, and has, even from a very young age.  You can take on a challenge and succeed.  Praising the Lord for blessing our family with you!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God....Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;...he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness...Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." 

Romans 12 compilation