Happenings....

Okay, so...a lot has been happening lately, hence the title!   So, I am going to try to write about everything in one big post.  Here we go! ; )  

Dad was asked to speak at Camp Gravatt's Big Delicious Event this year. (If you remember, our church held our Family Camp at Camp Gravatt this summer.  You can read the post HERE.)

Mom and Dad, decked out in their matching farm uniforms, ready to head over to the "Event".

Dad, giving his talk...

Dad and Mom with Chef Brandon Velie from Juniper Restaurant and Sous Chef Dewayne.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake!

Mom and Dad were able to bring a piece home for each of us kids to try and it was delicious!  So delicious that we made it again a few weeks later!

They had a lovely evening visiting with all the guests and answering questions about our farm.  We are very thankful to Camp Gravatt for asking us to be a part of their event!

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Our church recently celebrated Pastor Appreciation Day!  Look at the wonderful sign that our church had made!  We have a very special congregation with very loving families and a very sweet fellowship with them all!  Need I say more?

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Here are the boys, cleaning out our chimney, getting ready for our winter fires!  Noah brought in some kindling today, so we are ready to go!

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Mom and Dad celebrated 28 years of marriage on the 19th of October!  We are so grateful for their example of love and faithfulness.  We love them both dearly and pray that the Lord would bless their marriage more with each passing year!  Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!

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I  took the following pictures for one of our friends and fellow bloggers who asked me what our "garden in pots" looked like!  Here you go Hannah G.  These pictures are for you.

The only things we planted this year were cabbage and broccoli.  Next year we might get adventurous and try some different things!

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Mist is catching on to working with the goats well!  Below are some pictures of her and Snowy, our best milking doe.

(We just found out that we have "goat milking history" on both sides of Mom's family!  Both her Dad's parents and her Mom's parents milked goats in the 1900's!  We found that to be pretty neat!)

Snowy is a bit on the...er,... stubborn side, so Mist has her hands full with her!

Milo, Savannah's cat, coming to see what all the commotion is about.

  Who wants to take a picture of a goat and a dog anyway? ; )

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And,...the best news of all!  Guess who came for a visit to our house!  

VICTORIA!  

Caleb, Jordan and Victoria spent five days with us before we all headed up to Asheville to join the Yuck family at the NCFIC "Worship of God" conference at the end of October!  It was such a joyous visit.  We are always so thankful for the time we can spend together!

Here is a picture of all of us eating at Red Lobster, a gift from the Paul and Debbie Yuck family!  Aren't they sweet!

Victoria, getting to know her Uncle Ethan better!

Caleb, being...Caleb!  

He "opened" our pool this year by being the first person in the pool this year in March, and he "closed" it on this trip by being the last person in the pool this year in October.

I think it was a tad chilly, hmmm, Caleb?

During one of the nights of their visit, Gram came running into our house exclaiming that she had hit a deer and her and Poppy needed help loading it into the back of the truck!  Well, she hit a deer alright.  A big buck, the one poor Poppy's been wanting to get for a long time!

The deer...

Her car...

Thankfully, Gram was not injured in the hit.  Her airbag didn't even go off.  She was only about a mile down the road, so she was able to keep driving and come get help.  Praise the Lord!

Although there is never a good time to hit a deer, it worked out perfectly that Caleb was here to salvage some of the meat!  He does run his own deer processing business, you know!  So who better to have around?  He graciously cut up the meat for us, never once reminding us that he was on vacation, or the fact that he would be doing this for a whole month when he got back home!  He's a good guy.  It was interesting to watch how fast he could do the job.  Thanks again Caleb!

Since the accident, we now all have whistlers attached to our vehicles!

Below is Victoria enjoying Auntie Vanna!  Look at that beautiful smile!

Isn't she adorable!?!

Spending time with Grandma!  Grandma loves to take her outside!

After spending five days with us, we all headed up to Asheville.  On our way, we stopped at Grandad's Apples.

Once we arrived in Asheville, we spent the day at the Biltmore!  One of our customers who bought goats from us this year works there and he gave us free tickets, which was a really nice offer, so we couldn't resist!  It ended up being a lovely afternoon and we all enjoyed ourselves.  I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside the house, so the following pictures were taken while we were touring the grounds.

We ended our visit to the Biltmore with a lunch at the Stable Cafe in one of their many horse stalls!

After leaving the Biltmore, it was time to check in to our rooms at the Ridgecrest Conference Center and meet up with the other Yuck family!

That night we all went out for dinner at our favorite pizza joint up in Asheville, and while we were all sitting around chatting and enjoying each other's company, Caleb and Jordan told us that they wanted to give us our Christmas gift now while we were all together because we were all getting the same thing.  In fact, they had "given" Gram and Pop their gift the night before we left home, but they couldn't tell us what it was because we were getting the same thing.  So, in the middle of the restaurant, they are going to "give" us a gift, that is the same thing, so that's why they have to give it to us together.  By now, our minds are all trying to guess what it could be, when Caleb piped in,

"Well, you're actually going to have to share it."  

To which I replied, "I know, I know, it's a pregnancy test!"

Jordan pulled out of the bag......

.......a diaper!

"It's a baby!"

What do you know, I was right!  

(I have a knack for figuring out what's going on before anyone tells me! He, He, He!)

We all started clapping and laughing.  Dad stood up and announced to the restaurant that "we're having another grand baby".  The restaurant responded with more clapping and cheers!  It was a sweet time and we are very thankful that they waited to tell us until we were all together, even though they had to lie through their teeth to be able to pull it off!  And Gram and Pop are still beaming with pride over the fact that they were the first to find out!  What joy!

Where was I?  Oh, yes, the conference!  Unfortunately, I didn't use my camera much on that trip, so the only pictures I took were back at our room.  

The boys joined some other young men out playing football before the start of the conference.  

Ethan, ready to move!

Noah looking pretty competitive!

Good game everyone!

A three generation walk...Mom, Jordan and Victoria!

Jordan, Caleb and Victoria in the vendor hall.

(Photo courtesy of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches facebook page.)

Playing Mexican Train Dominoes in our room before the start of the conference!

Us five kids all together!

It was a wonderful conference, full of thought-provoking messages and friendly fellowshipping.  We enjoyed catching up with old friends as well as getting to know new ones.  We left feeling refreshed, inspired and invigorated!  Thank you Lord, for such times of relaxation and teaching!