Boys...

Ethan and Noah playing "Navy"

in the pool! They are getting creative with

homemade ships made from soda

bottles and jar lids!

His Mercy Endures Forever...

"To Him who made great lights,

For His mercy endures forever-

The sun to rule by day,

For His mercy endures forever;

The moon and stars to rule by night,

For His mercy endures forever."

-Psalm 136:7-9

How Faithful Is Our God!

"The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God stands forever."

-Isaiah 40:8

The Background...

Okay, I know that my blog looks funny, but I am really trying to work on it. My old background disappeared, so if you see a bunch of different backgrounds in the next few days, stick with me, because I'm trying to put a permanent one up! Thanks!

We Are Finally At Whaley Street!

We have finally made it to the Whaley Street Market!!! Now that we have all of our licenses, we will be selling at the Whaley Street Market in Columbia every Saturday, along with the Aiken Farmer's Market on Saturday. The Lord is so good!

We Passed!!!

We had our milk tested on Tuesday and we passed! We now have Grade A milk! All of our counts came back great, which is a blessing because it is sometimes hard to pass while you are hand milking! To God be the glory! And our milk room passed too!

Pop & Gram

Our wonderful grandparents, Ann & Darrell, on their 49th anniversary, July 1, 2010

Shaving Cream Fight

At our church this Sunday we held a shaving cream fight! We try to do this about once a year and everyone has lots of fun!

The beginning...

This was everyone attacking Dad/the pastor.

The end...Dad asking Mom for a hug!

Meet Wilson!

We recently bought a new calf, whom we named Wilson....He is about one month old and he drinks 1 gallon of goat milk everyday! He will replace our meat cow, Vinny, who will be butchered late summer or early fall. Lots of people ask how we could eat something this cute. Well folks, he doesn't stay a baby, and the bigger he gets, the more pushy he gets. And the more pushy he gets, the less we like going in the same pen with him. They don't become mean, just...well, like an oversized puppy! So by butcher time, we are ready to send them on their way and get another cute calf and start the process all over again!

No pictures...

The day after my Poppy's funeral we had a big lightning storm. Lightning struck a tree out in the back pasture and traveled in somehow (we still haven't figured out through what) and blew quite a few things in our house: the air conditioner in the girl's room, the printer machine, the connections to our computer, including the mouse and printer, & one GFCI electric socket out in the dairy. So while our computer with the SD card slot is getting fixed, I cannot post any pictures.

We're Approved!!!

Today we had our cheese room inspection and we PASSED!!! We are now USDA approved to sell cheese and baked goods! Praise the Lord! We now have the milk room inspection on Monday...

We had the septic system installed a couple of weeks ago and the front and back lean to's are built. The gas line for the heater and the stove was put in yesterday, and we are supposed to work on the fencing for the goats on Friday. The shelves have been built in the storage room and everything that was in our house pertaining to soap and cheese is now out in the dairy! (Hooray! We are getting our house back! Jordan rearranged the study, while Savannah and I tackled the kitchen and laundry room, where all that stuff had previously been stored, to make it more functional.) It is so exciting to see it finally coming to a close! I'll try to post pictures soon!

A Priceless Gift

Friendship is a priceless gift

That can't be bought or sold,

But its value is far greater

Than a mountain made of gold.

For gold is cold and lifeless,

It cannot see nor hear,

And in your times of trouble,

It is powerless to cheer.

It has no ears to listen,

No heart to understand.

It cannot bring you comfort

Or reach out a helping hand.

So when you ask God for a gift,

Be thankful that He sends,

Not diamonds, pearls, or riches,

But the love of a real, true friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by Helen Steiner Rice

A time to mourn...

On Monday, the 21st of June, 2010, my grandpa Robert Hammond passed away. He had been diagnosed with ALS for about 7 years, and that gradually weakened him, but it was emphysema that he actually passed away from. He went into the hospital on Father's Day, after he had passed out at his house. When we made it to the hospital he was mostly incoherent, although he did acknowledge a few people by lifting his head and looking at them while they talked. It came as kind of a shock to us to see him like that. He had been in and out of the hospital for the past two months with pneumonia, but he had always looked fine. He had to wear a Bi PAP machine the whole time and it made him hard to understand. By the end of the evening, he was able to talk with us a little. We sang to him, and we were able to wish him a Happy Father's Day, and tell him that we loved him. He was able to tell us that he loved us back. We left that night to come home and milk, but Dad didn't get home until late. The next morning, Monday, Dad went to the hospital to be with Poppy and we were going to head up there after feeding and chores, but Dad called us and told us that Poppy had passed away peacefully about a half hour after he had gotten there. We had all been praying that it would be a peaceful passing, because with the lung failure it could have been really hard. It was an answer to our prayers.

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"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die;...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ...a time to gain, and a time to lose." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a, 4, 6a

We know that although he is lost to us, he is found in Jesus and someday we will see him again in heaven. He is at peace now. He no longer has to struggle and suffer. We will miss him, but we know that he is in a much better place. "For to me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain...For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." ~Philippians 1:21,23

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Our family would like to thank everyone for all their prayers, their cards and little notes of encouragement, all the meals that were brought our way, and everything that was done to make it easier for us. It was wonderful not to have to worry about cooking during that time. Everything was greatly appreciated, not only by us, but by all our extended family also.