Happy 17th Birthday Savannah!!!

Savannah turned 17 on the 17th!  (Her golden birthday!)

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand."

-Philippians 4:4

Savannah is such a joy to be around.  She is always willing to help and her sweet presence can brighten any room!  She has a quiet, meek and gentle spirit.  She is compassionate, easy to please and sees the best in everyone!

Savannah is a hard worker who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty.  She is also a wonderful listener who always has a ready ear.  Savannah is always ready to take on a challenge!  She goes about her work without a complaint.  Her patience is one of the things we all admire about her!  

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

 I will guide you with My eye."

-Psalms 32:8

"Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called sons of God."

-Matthew 5:7-9

You are such a huge blessing to our family, Savannah! 

What would we do without you???

Happy, happy birthday Savannah!  We love you so much!

Mother's Day

With it being Mother's Day today, we took our camera to church and snapped some photos.  Gram also came with us to our church, so that was extra special!

 

 

Savannah, Gram and Mom

Me, Gram and Mama

We enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day service.  One gentleman, whom we have been praying for for 15 years, accepted the Lord as his personal Lord and Savior today.  There was rejoicing in both heaven and on earth today as we witnessed this beautiful event!  The tears were spilling over with this wonderful news!  It was definatly a Spirit-filled day.



After the service, the men cooked out over the grill so the ladies wouldn't have to prepare anything!  That was a special treat!

My beautiful, beautiful grandmother!

 I want to thank the Lord for my mother and for my grandmother and for what they mean in my life.  I want to thank them for the Godly influence they have been on all of us, and for the Godly legacy that they are building.  You truly do so much for us, and we couldn't even begin to thank you both enough.  We love you both and pray that the Lord will pour His special blessings out on you two!

Happy Mother's Day!

The Herb Faire 2011

On Saturday we sold at the Herb Faire.  The Faire is held twice a year, spring and fall, on a family's farm which has been in the family for 100 years.

Our booth...  

Thank you to all who come out and show your support at the Herb Faire!

Summer Cuts

Before haircut:

After:

And after they got their summer cuts we got a little bit of chilly weather, so Mom found this for Toby at a garage sale!  He, he, he!  Poor dogs!

Didn't I say she was cute!

This is Belle

Meat Chickens-yum, yum, yum!

CAUTION: The following pictures show the process of butchering chickens.  For those who have weak stomachs, beware!

Friday, April 29th we butchered our meat chickens.  We did about 50 in four hours.  Here are some pictures from the day.

the setup

Ethan and Noah had Station #1
which consisted of catching and delivery the chickens to Mom and Dad...



From there Mom and Dad held down Station #2 where they killed the chickens, beheaded them, plucked them and passed them off to...

Station #3 where Savannah, Gram and I

cut off the legs and necks, gutted them, washed them, and put them on ice.

 

Jordan was busy babysitting, taking pictures, refilling out waters, and making lunch!

At the end we packaged them up and ate chicken for dinner! 

Actually, we went out to eat for Dad's birthday, but we really did have chicken!

A little dirt never hurt anybody...

Ethan put some boards up in the rafters of our barn and came down looking like this!

The Last One!

We had a new baby goat born yesterday!  The last one to be born this year, hurray!!!  Since the baby was due so late in the year we decided ahead of time that we wouldn't keep it.  We were hoping it would be a boy, because then we wouldn't be tempted to keep him.  Or at least, maybe if it were a girl, it would be a pale, ugly little thing and we wouldn't want to keep her.  But no, it was a girl...a beautiful little black doeling with white markings!  Black!  We don't have a lot of black goats in our herd, so we have kept all the black ones born this year.  They are kinda special!  So....I guess she's a keeper.  Ahhh...what's two more months of bottle-feeding, two to three times a day when you've been doing it everyday for the last four months?  If only she weren't so cute...

So in case any of you were wondering, that brings us up to a grand total of 38 baby goats born this year!  This is the most we've ever had to bottle-feed. 

Dad's Birthday!

Our beloved father celebrated his birthday on Friday!

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way."

-Psalms 37:23



Dad as a baby

Dad is our protector, our leader, our provider.  He is constant, able and sure.  Dad is always looking out for others.  He is a wonderful husband, a devoted father, a caring friend, a faithful pastor, and a hard working farmer!  

Dad and his younger brother, Kurt



Dad and Uncle Kurt



He is a joy to be around and keeps everyone laughing.  He always has a smile on his face and knows exactly what to say to cheer you up.  He is full of fun.  Life is never boring when you're with Dad!

"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."

-Proverbs 15:13

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

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

-Proverbs 17:22

Dad (on the right) and his good friend Barry (on the left)
 in highschool.  Barry was a Foreign Exchange Student
from England who lived with Dad's family for a year. 
They became as close as brothers.

My father (on the right)
and his father (on the left)

He is a Godly man who seeks to serve the Lord in everything he says and does.  He searches out the Lord's will for every decision and leads his family accordingly, even if it's not the popular thing to do.  We are thankful for the decisions he's made to help protect us and guide us.

L-R: Kelsey, Jordan, Savannah, and Dad

"And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve;

...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

-Joshua 24:15

We love you so much Dad and we thank the Lord for you.  We feel blessed to have you!  We pray the Lord will see fit to bless you with many more years to serve Him!  You are truly "a man after God's own heart".

Numbers 6:24-26:

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee;

the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee;

the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."