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

Noah

Noah is almost 16 and is the youngest member of the family.

Noah's big thrill for this year is getting his driving permit!  He's had his permit for a couple of months now and it won't be long before he gets his license.  He's doing quite well out on the roads and not scaring any of his passengers too much. ;-)

He's taken on helping Dad with pool cleaning since Ethan has been going on his own route each week.  Every Wednesday will find Dad and Noah out on their route.  He's learning the ins and outs of all there is to know about pool cleaning and dealing with a customer base.  It also gives Noah a good chance to drive back and forth between all of the jobs.  

Noah has two years of schooling left, but, like Ethan, I'm sure he can't wait till he's done with the diploma in hand.

Noah loves all his nieces and is a wonderful uncle.  He, too, is wishing for a nephew, but I'm sure he'll be thankful if it's a girl as well.  Noah does well with keeping the girls occupied, whether it's reading, or story-telling, or being goofy to make them laugh.

He has recently taken up the harmonica, so often times he can be heard practicing it down at the dairy while he's working.  Noah helps with the milking morning and evening.  He's the main guy who jugs up all the milk to sell and does most of the pasteurizing for cheese-making.  So in the in-between time, he picks up his harmonica to try a new tune.  He's getting better and better at it and bought himself a new harmonica that sounds even clearer.

Noah, laying on a bed of nails

Dad and Noah teamed up once again this year to sell at the Tuesday market together to sell our cheese.  He's a good salesman as well.  He has taken over giving some of the farm tours as well this year and has really enjoyed that!  He knows pretty much everything that goes on at the farm and can answer questions and comments that people have.  He has his spiel for the tour and is very thorough.

Noah has taken up playing disc golf with the guys as well and really enjoys it.  They are always on the search for the best disc.  He has been enjoying going to karate with Ethan twice a week as well.

And of course, there's always air soft!  Both of the boys have really gotten into it with their friends and have had huge battles.  They've got some really nice guns and camo gear for it, too!

Noah is a hardworking, godly young man and we love him dearly.  He is always willing to lend a helping hand and is cheerful to do so.

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever."

Hebrews 13:20-21

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

Kelsey & Matthew (& Baby)

As most of you know, I am the second born.  Matthew and I got married last September, and have since found out we are expecting!  I'm due on October 20th.  We aren't going to find out what we are having, so "Baby Dickerson" will be a surprise to everyone!

Here are some pictures that we took last week in front of our little garden.

(There's my "baby bump", folks, as well as my handsome husband sporting a beard, which has since been shaved!)

Our backyard...

 My front porch with the welcoming "D"!

Here I am at 22 weeks.  The pregnancy has been going well!  I'm feeling really good and all my check ups show that Baby is growing good and strong.  I did have a few issues with bacteria in my system, which had to be taken care of with antibiotics, supplements and a change in diet, but all is well now.  And although I'm still on the new diet, I'm thoroughly enjoying pregnancy, especially since I've started feeling Baby moving all the time now!  Matthew, Dad, Mom and Savannah have all felt baby move as well, so these are exciting times!

Matthew and I have been enjoying married life.  A lot!  It's wonderful being married to your best friend!  He's such a kind, loving, easy-going man.  He takes good care of me and baby and I'm so thankful to be on this parenthood journey with my sweetheart.

Since we've been married, we have went on several trips together.  Asheville, NC on vacation; Dayton, OH to visit family; Ocala, FL for prison ministry; Washington, DC for touring; Pocono, PA for dulcimer festival; Lancaster, PA to visit family; Charleston, SC for a dulcimer gig; and Fontana, NC for vacation; to name a few.  We both love seeing new places and things and different areas of the country, so it's been fun to get to travel together.  Our dream location to travel to would be New Zealand, but we don't know if we'll ever make it down there.  But who knows...miracles still happen!

As you can see, we have not lost our goofiness!

My dear husband bought me an adorable Schnoodle puppy for my birthday!  She is an absolute cutie-pie and a ball of energy.  She certainly keeps me on my toes.  It will work out to be perfect timing to have her trained before our Baby comes.  Her name is Triscuit!

Matthew recently got hired as a personal landscaper for one property three days a week.  He keeps up the whole place, from grass cutting, to bush trimming, to applying fertilizers, planting, mulching, edging, etc.  You name it, he does it.  His boss is such a nice fella and we both really like him.  This job gives Matthew a chance to use his abilities in the landscaping field, and also be able to use his creativity.  It's been a real blessing.

While Matthew is away at work, I've busy myself with housekeeping!  Turning my house into a home, keeping it clean and tidy, keeping up with the garden, mowing the lawn, working on projects, planting, online marketing, Snowie preperation, grocery shopping, and reading up on parenting/training books.   I still go over to Mom and Dad's farm to help make cheese once a week, as well as give piano lessons.  Life is busy but good.

Matthew has also been getting more dulcimer gigs and opportunities to play, so that's been nice.  It has given us a chance to travel around a little bit together too.

He's performed at weddings, parks, festivals, churches, dinner parties, special events, and schools.  We are so thankful for the Lord blessing that area and growing it.

We are still renting our little home out on 17 acres and enjoying the blessings of country living.  Our landlords are so sweet to us and we have developed a great friendship with them.

God is so good and has blessed us in so many ways!  We are so thankful to Him for our little family and can't wait to see what the future has in store.

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Psalm 37:3-4

Jordan & Caleb (and girls)

Jordan is the oldest child in the Hammond family and she married Caleb Yuck in March of 2012.  Together they live in Ontario, Canada where Caleb is from and they have been blessed with three little girlies of their own!  Victoria is 3 1/2, Berea is almost 2, and Evangeline is 8 months.

Caleb's family runs a cow dairy and it's been in the family for over 100 years now.  Caleb just decided what he wants to be when he grows up and made the official decision to become a farmer.  (Hey, he's my brother-in-law, which entitles him to a little bit of teasing, right?!)  No, but in all seriousness, he has been dairying since he was in his teens and has been running it together with his dad for years.  After much prayer, he and Jordan made the decision to take it over once his father is ready to pass it on, leading to another generation of dairy farmers.

Due to that decision, the farm has been installing a new barn for hay storage, gained new baling equipment, and even bought a new tractor that has an extra seat, one so that the girlies can go out to the field to ride with Caleb while he's doing field work!  They all enjoy that and it gives them quality time to spend with their Daddy.  (Caleb and Berea are in the above photo).  In addition to running the dairy, the Yuck family also raises crops, so most of the summer and into the fall finds the guys out on the tractors preparing the fields, planting, harvesting, baling, and tilling.  They are also adding more crop land to their farm this year by cutting down a wooded section on the property.  It's busy times on the farm!

Each year, the whole Yuck family travels down to Florida to spend a month vacation.  Jordan and Caleb also spend quite a bit of that month at Grandpa and Grandma Hammond's house!  It's a wonderful time to catch up with everyone, relax, and enjoy family.  

This year, however, just before leaving to head back home to Canada, Caleb tore a good sized gash in his leg while he was out in the woods, so instead of leaving the next day, they ended up staying for a little longer to let him heal.  Once back on the farm, he had to take it easy for a couple of weeks to make sure he didn't re-injure it.  But he's all healed up now and has a lovely scar to show because of it. ;-)

Jordan and Caleb celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary this year and are still as much in love as ever.  God is so good to those who wait on Him for bringing their spouse!  They are a perfect match, one made in heaven, and we are so thankful that they have each other.

Jordan stays busy as a stay-at-home wife and mother.  She keeps up with homemaking, cleaning, taking care of her three little ones, and helping with the paperwork end of Caleb's butcher business as well as his chicken business.  Both her and Caleb love entertaining guests, so many evenings throughout the year will find them either hosting hockey night or game night for all their friends, inviting new acquaintances over for dinner and fellowship, or having family come in from all over to stay for visits.  Her and Caleb are currently working on getting dual citizenship for their girls.

Victoria is Caleb and Jordan's oldest, and she is a ball of energy.  She is constantly thinking and is quite the little talker as well.  She also has quite the sense of humor and is fun-loving; she likes to tease and be goofy!  She's becoming Mommy's right hand at home while she is learning to help with household chores.  She is growing up so fast.  Her newest accomplishment is becoming potty trained!

 Berea is the middle daughter and is much more quiet than her older sister Victoria.  But that doesn't make her any less of a thinker!  Often time you look at her and wonder what's going through that little head.  She tries to keep up to Victoria in just about everything and usually does it pretty well.  She's a little sweetie and will melt your heart.

Evangeline, as the youngest, is always watching her sisters.  She is a little darling.  She has started crawling, pulling up and walking a few steps, which has broadened her world greatly!  Evangeline will be right behind her sisters in everything they do pretty soon.  She's very curious and often will be caught in pictures with her mouth open. ;-) 

God has graciously blessed this young family and we love them dearly.

"Oh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!"

Psalms 31:19