Mom's Birthday!

Yesterday was Mom's birthday!

"Shelly Rae"

Shelly - meadow on a ledge, rest, lamb

Rae - grace, the innocent lamb, wise protection

meaning behind her name: "restful, peaceful grace"

 We are so grateful to have such a mother.  She is the type of woman who everyone is better off by having known her. I'm so thankful to be able to grow up in her shadow; she is my role-model.

We love you Mom!  Happy Birthday!

Mom and Dad's Anniversary

Today, my sweet parents are celebrating their 31st wedding anniversary!

They have blessed our family with a legacy of love, of commitment, of sharing and caring through the good times and the bad.  They are a beautiful representation of what a godly marriage should look like.  They have never let divorce become an "option" word in the marriage or in their thoughts.  They have prayed for the marriages of all of their children from the time of our births, asking God to bless us with godly spouses who will serve Him.  They are a wonderful example and I'm so thankful that the Lord blessed us with them as our parents.

Happy Anniversary Dad & Mom!  We love you both soooooo much!

Mom & Dad

Dad (Kelly) and Mom (Shelly) are the parents of the Hammond Clan.

(Ha, ha, no kidding, right!)

They are both enjoying 31 years of marriage to each other and are praying for many more years to come.  They have blessed us in so many ways, not only as wonderful, godly examples of a Christian marriage, but in everyday living.

Mom continues to be a stay-at-home mother who is almost through homeschooling her kids after having done it for the past 18 years!  Wow, what a teaching record!  She has been a wonderful source of information and help when it comes to schooling, parenting, teaching, training, and marriage.  She offers great advice, but never pushes to make sure that you're doing what she says.

Dad is still enjoying being pastor of our small, wonderful church.  He loves his flock and enjoys preparing the messages each week and fellowshipping with everyone.  He's the kind of guy who everybody likes and trusts, so the combination make him a great pastor.  He's always available to talk and offer advice or prayer.  

Mom and Dad are more than just parents; they are our best friends.  Both of them keep a close relationship with Savannah, Ethan and Noah since they are still at home, but they also maintain a close relationship with their grown/married children as well.

Dad and Mom are thrilled to be grandparents and enjoy the little ones when they come for a visit!  They are looking forward to many more little blessings in the years to come.

Mom keeps busy with housework as well as farm work.  Whether it's cleaning up the kitchen or fixing fences, Mom and Savannah are usually right there doing it together.

They continue to operate Trail Ridge Farm & Grade A Goat Dairy.  They have had to reduce the herd a little and double up on chores as we children grow up and marry, but they are still enjoying the goats and selling the cheese.  Mom is the main cheesemaker and herdswoman, and Dad is the main marketeer, promoter and seller.

Now that all of us kids are older, they have been getting the chance to go away on some mini vacations together.  They spent a few days up in Ohio at a wedding this past spring and are looking forward to going to Maine this fall.

Dad continues with his pool & pond business and now has the boys who help him with it.  It's nice to see all three of them doing it together.  

Dad has also taken up volleyball with the guys, as well as disc golf.  All of them enjoy the competition and camaraderie it affords.  It's something that gets them all out there playing together and having fun.

We are so thankful to have them as our parents and pray that the Lord would bless them with many more years of serving Him!

"We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done.  For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments."

Psalm 78:4-7

Mom's Birthday!

Today is Mom's Birthday!

And what better gift for her birthday than to have Caleb, Jordan, Victoria, Berea & Evangeline coming in for a visit!!!  

Our mother is the best in the world (and no, I'm not biased; it's a fact!)  She is the most caring, tender, loving, sweet, wonderful mother and I'm glad to call her my own.  She has devoted her life to raising a godly family and "her children shall rise up and call her blessed".

 We love you, Mom, and hope that you have a terrific birthday today!  We thank God for giving you to us.  Happy Birthday!

The Newest Member of Trail Ridge Farm & Dairy

Meet Buddy!

Buddy is a Nigerian Dwarf goat.  For years Mom has been wanting one because they are so adorable and so for her birthday this year, we were finally able to find one!  And he's black, nonetheless, which is her favorite goat color!  

He will stay very small, about the size of a small dog,  but he has a BIG personality.  He is very smart and can already get away with a lot.  He's already butting heads with the big baby goats!

Buddy is going to be our traveling goat, if everything works out like planned!  We are always getting asked to bring a goat to a festival or to an event where we are selling, but it's not always that easy.  The milking does get too stressed when they travel, therefore resulting in a drop in milk production, so we really don't like to take them off the farm.  And the babies are suceptible to catching something.  Billy goats smell, so they are out of the picture.  

That's where Buddy comes in.  He will be small enough to travel, and we are hoping to be able to train him to a leash.  

So, Lord willing, you all will be seeing Buddy at some of our festivals throughout the year!

Oh...by the way...Mom loves him!

Today is Mom's Birthday!

Fond Memory: When we were little, Mom always used to tuck us into bed at night, read us a story, sing us a song, or simply talk, and then she would always pray for us to have a good night sleep.  She did this every single night for many years.  Now that we are older and she often is in bed before we are, her tradition has changed to mornings.  Most every morning, Mom comes up to our room to make sure that we are awake and she usually stays for 5-10 minutes and just talks or listens to whatever we have to say.  It's still a precious tradition and one that we enjoy very much.

Funny Moment: We have always taken long road trips, whether it be to Illinois to visit family or Canada to visit the Yucks.  On one such trip when we were very little and Mom and Dad were the only drivers, Dad had been driving for quite a while, it was getting late, and he needed a break.  So he pulled into a gas station and he and Mom switched; Mom drove while Dad took a much needed rest.  Pretty soon Dad fell asleep.  Time passed and Mom started nudging him, waking him up.  She too was getting sleepy and needed him to take over.  Dad nodded okay, thinking she had probably driven for about an hour, long enough for him to get a little shut eye.  He got back in the driver's seat and got  back on the road when he suddenly realized that Mom had only been driving for about 10-15 minutes!  Needless to say, she never lives that one down!!!

Flashback....!!

Mom with her brother.

Mom and Jordan...

Happy Birthday Mom!  We are so blessed to have you as our mother and our friend.  You are a wonderful example to all those around you of what living joy is like.  We always know that you will have a kind, encouraging word for us when we are down, or will laugh with us when we have something funny to say.  You have always been there for us and we appreciate you more than you will ever know.  Praising the Lord for -you-!

Love ya lots, Mom!

"Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.'  Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

-Proverbs 31:28-30

My wonderful parents...

Mom's Birthday

Yesterday was our dear Mama's birthday!  We are so thankful for you Mom!  You have been such a wonderful guidance for all of us as you seek the Lord each and every day.  We love you so much and hope that the Lord blesses you immensely in the year to come!

Favorite Verse:
"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

caring cheerful encouraging

 gentle godly gracious happy 

hard-workinglovely loving

 motivator steady sweet understanding wise

created @ TagCrowd

A Surprise Visit to Canada

For the past few months, Dad and Mom have secretly been working on a plan to surprise Jordan with a visit.  They were blessed to receive two free plane tickets and decided to use them to go for her birthday.  It would also give them a chance to see her halfway through her pregnancy.  So after a lot of planning, last week they succeeded in surprising her by traveling up to Canada!

Last Tuesday, we took Dad and Mom to the airport.  From there, they had one stop in Philadelphia and from there, straight on to the Ottawa airport, where Mrs. Debbie Yuck and Bethany were waiting to pick them up and take them to Caleb and Jordan's house.  By this point it was now about 10:30 at night.  Caleb had been let in on the surprise a few weeks prior to the trip, so while Mrs. Debbie was transporting Mom and Dad to Caleb and Jordan's house, Caleb was busy trying to keep Jordan awake.  He popped in the Ten Commandments dvd with the intention of watching all four hours if need be!  Shortly before midnight, Dad and Mom arrived at their house.  Bethany Yuck, Caleb's sister, then called Jordan and told her to go look out the front window at the Northern Lights because "they were just beautiful tonight"!  To Jordan's surprise, when she opened the shades to look out her front window, Mom and Dad were standing on her porch!

The plan worked!

Mom and Dad spent almost a week up there, enjoying their time with Victoria, Caleb, Jordan and the whole Yuck family.  Below are some pictures from their time there…

This is Jordan's front window where Dad and Mom were waiting to surprise her!  Look at all that snow!

Ice skating on the Rideau Canal...

 They brought Victoria's little sled and she loved it so much that two hours later when it was time to go home, she didn't want to quit!

Food vendors on ice!

Mom, Jordan and Victoria

They ended up eating their lunch at a picnic table on the ice!  Brrrrrr!

 Group photo

Eating out, enjoying a lemon!

They were able to celebrate Jordan's birthday while they were there.

Caleb

The four young Yuck ladies sporting their beautiful hairdo's!

 Victoria, enjoying her food….sitting up like a big girl!

They were able to attend a hockey game of Caleb's favorite team, the Senators!  This was Victoria's first time staying with Grammy and Grandpa Yuck for an extended amount of time without her mommy, but she did an excellent job.  She had lots of aunties to help keep her busy!

Mom giving Victoria her bottle.  Look at how big that little girlie is getting!

Victoria has just started walking, so it was a real treat for Mom and Dad to be able to see her in person!

In her adorable red sled...

...all smiles!!!

Daddy giving her rides in the sled

Cute little monkey with a cute monkey hat!

I love her smile in this photo!

Jordan sent us the photos below from Victoria's 1st birthday party from a few days before Christmas!

 

This was Christmas morning!

After their lovely visit with all the Yucks, Dad and Mom flew back in on Monday, where we were excitedly waiting to pick them up!  We arrived a little early, so we were able to watch their plane come in and we even saw the truck go by with Dad's suitcase on it!

We picked them up and then we all went out to eat at the Flight Deck (that delicious restaurant I was telling you about in one of my last posts).  We had a wonderful time of catching up and hearing all about their trip.  We are glad that they were able to go and we were thrilled to see their pictures when they got back!

(The tall fellow in the back is Superman! He,he,he!)

Superman #1, Superman #2, and Superman #3...

When we arrived home that night, this picture was waiting in our email inbox...

Victoria in her swimsuit all ready for Florida!

Just a few short weeks away and they'll be making their annual trip!  We can't wait to see them again!

P.S. After writing this post, I realized you all might be wondering what we kids did during that week while the folks were away.  Well...we ate TV dinners, and watched movies, and stayed up late, and played games, and ate way too much dessert, and just took it easy.  Oh, and we did all the farm work, chores and jobs while they were gone as well.  But, we had a fun time at home and had our own little vacation! : )