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!

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.

Hey Ya'll!

Hi everyone! I know it has been a looooong time since I've posted. But I'm hoping to get back into posting a bit more regularly. So just wanted to pop in here and say hey and let you know to keep checking back.

 Later gater! 

-Kelsey

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!

Noah's Birthday!!!

On August 25th, Noah turned 17!!!  Wow!  It's amazing that the youngest in the family is now that old already.

"Noah Riley"

Noah - comfort, consolation, repose, rest

Riley - valiant, courageous

meaning behind his name: "courageous consolation, comfort and valiant"

As you can tell from the pictures, Noah has quite a sense of humor, which is one of the many things we love about him!  He is always cheerful and easy-going and patient.  Noah has been such a blessing in our family and we are so thankful that the Lord saw fit to have him as the "bookend" of our family.  He brings joy to those around him and we love him dearly.  Happy birthday Noah!  So thankful for the last 17 years!

Life in pictures...

This is going to be a very random post about the many things going on in life right now!

Three of the little Yuck granddaughters on Easter morning! (Berea, Victoria, and Evangeline)

Grandson Benjamin watching his daddy work on the computer.

Ben and Matthew out on a hike together!

Jordan and the kiddos at the beach! Little Evangeline was all tuckered out.

The Dickerson family on Easter morning, both Ben and Matthew dressed in their matching hats.

Caleb & Jordan 

Kelsey with Ben

The flowers have been busting out with buds on the farm this year!!!

 Little Abigail is 2 months old today!

She's growing up so fast on us.  Look at this adorable little smile!

Noah out at the shooting range with the guys...

Ethan at the shooting range with Dad standing behind him.

Dad, Mom and Savannah at a recent stop at the beach on a trip down to Florida.

God is good and we thank Him so much for each and every family member!

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! ;-)