The Fourth- Family, Friends, Fishing, and Fireworks!

I've wanted to post this all week, but so much going on right now.  Speaking of....one moment, my Black Raspberry Sauce is done hot water bathing.  Be right back!

Okay. we had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend!  So many get togethers and fun activities that we all enjoyed.  Lots of pictures, so I'll comment on the good ones as we go.  Enjoy!

Thursday, July 4th-

We had a wonderful lunch back at Uncle Norman's and enjoyed some time on the lake.

From there,we headed to Grandma Linda's house to help them out with their flower beds.  We got our good friends to come over and help too. 

What a big job done for them!  And we all had fun working together!

Friday- Jonathon worked and my parent's were on their way back from a little get away in Michigan, when they called wondering if we wanted to go on the boat.  We enjoyed a delicious meal together, then headed out to Pretty Lake.  What a calm evening. 

I think she needs a few more lessons on how to hook a worm, but she watched pretty close on this first lesson.  : )

Everybody had some great catches and learned a little bit more about fishing.

And with this many children loose with their poles, it's a wonder we don't have bigger mishaps than this.  And if you're wondering whose pole that is, it's the little guy that's named after the captain of this boat.  Imagine that.  : )

Alegra learned how to take the fish off of her hook.

Good job, girlie!

Looks like a nice catch on that pole. 

It doesn't look as big from that angle, but it was a keeper.

I shouldn't have to comment, but I will.

Cute girlie!  : )

Everybody made some great catches before the sun went down.  Benaiah caught this one all by himself.

What a beautiful evening!

And they totally add to the beauty of it all.  : )

He enjoyed just casting out and reeling back in.  He's getting pretty good at it, when he isn't snagging a sister.  : )

The evening approached us,and we closed up the fishing shop, but stayed on the lake for a bit longer just watching the fireworks at different homes on the lake.  So pretty, relaxing, and enjoyable!

Saturday- Grandpa Dan and Grandma Deborah spent the night at our house since it was pretty late that we got back to the house.  The men cleaned fish after we got back, so we could eat the fish for breakfast.  So, for breakfast we had fish (Yum!), scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls that I made the day before, and fresh fruit salad with strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, peaches, and blueberries.  What a breakfast!  We had fellowship that day, so Dad and Mom headed home, and we headed to join in worship with our brothers and sisters.  We ended our evening there singing on the porch while Jonathon played guitar and some played volleyball.  What another peaceful evening!

Sunday-  Jonathon, Josiah, and Jonathon's sister, Miranda had tickets to a Tin Caps game in Ft. Wayne, so they went to that in the afternoon while the girls cleaned house and I pulled weeds.  We had plans to go out on the Big Turkey Lake to watch the fireworks show that they put on in Stroh.  So, Dad and Mom came, and we were ready to go when the baseball watchers got home.  So, back to the lake we headed.  There was a storm all around us, but not where we were.  We roasted hot gogs on a little grill and had chips and fresh cherry crisp.  Yummy food!  We found another hot fishing spot and everybody again was reeling them in. 

This was one of Josiah's bass that was just a shade too small for keeping.

And another one that Josiah caught....too small.

As evening approached we wrapped up the fishing activity, cleaned up our messes, tried to get things in order and then found a good spot to watch fireworks amongst the other boats.  None of us had ever been on the lake to watch fireworks, so it was a lot of fun to experience that.  And I must say the Stroh show was amazing!

Loved seeing the boats floating on the water while the lights were in the sky.  I wish my camera could have captured the moment better.

We lagged behind as the other boats headed back to their homes.  I think we were one of the very few that actually trailered to the lake.  So, then we had some waiting to do while all the boats came out of the bay and then to be able to get to the docking area as well.  All in all, it was a fantastic evening, worth the late night.  And shortly after we were all loaded up and heading home, the rains began to come. 

Speaking of rains, we sure have had a great summer for the garden with all the moisture.  Our corn took a good hit yesterday in the storms that we had around here, but I think Jonathon and the children went out and got it all straightened back up again.  Our beans are ready to be picked and zucchini.  I haven't walked out there for a few days to see what else is coming along.  We might have some cherry tomatoes soon too.  Our flower area is also growing nicely.  It's not blooming yet, but when it does, it should look really nice.

We would like to sell some produce at a stand here at our home this summer, so stay tuned for when that will be out by the road.  We'll have eggs, produce, jams, jellies (including my Grandma German's famous Corn Cob Jelly) sauces, and hopefully some natural remedy items.  You'll have to stop by and show some love to the children by purchasing something. : )

I think that wraps it up for now.  I hope you're all enjoying the plenty from the fruit trees and gardens, being thankful for the rain, and being thankful for those nice sunny days as well.  This has been a summer of working in the garden and getting more ideas for how to work it next year so it will be a better set up.  We're learning as we go and enjoying every minute of it!

Zoo Fun with Grandparents

Thanks to my dad's work for offering a fun day at the Potowatmi Zoo for employees and their families.  We sure had a nice time!

 We decided to give the children the choice between the train and the butterfly exhibit.  Grandpa Dan took the train riders and the rest of us enjoyed the butterfly exhibit. 

No doubt that my children love their dad.  He's pretty fond of them too.  : )

 It landed on her foot, but I was too slow to capture that. 

 Peacocks are one of the most amazing creations of Yahweh.  We did get to see one of them puff out it's brilliant tail feathers.  What a treat!

 This boy is so much like his Grandpa it's not funny.  This was completely unstaged. 

 Most enjoyed exhibit goes to the Lions!  We love hearing them roar from across the zoo, then being up close one more time before we left to hear them roar.....and see them spray towards the crowd. 

Diella requested to check out the park before we left.  They had a fun time exploring all the new things to figure out.  We ended our time with Grandpa Dan and Grandma Deborah by eating at Logan's.

We finished up our day by stopping by to deliver eggs to Grandpa Ron and Grandma Linda.  We enjoyed a short visit with them and their friends, Bill and Iris.  We were able to do a little gardening for them to ease their load a bit and then we headed home.  Was such a full day of blessings all the way around!

Just a Day in the Life

This post was going to be all about our day today and the new addition to our farm.  But I have to first talk about the children's Pony Pal Club.  They had their first meeting with the members and had such a fun time.  Great memories they are creating in their childhood and on this farm.

 Onto the new addition on our farm.  Yesterday I was at my mom's for massages, and Jonathon text that we have a chick running around.  Woohoo!  I was so excited!  Well, that little chick fell out of the nesting box and the mama jumped down too to keep track of the busy little one.  That caused her though to leave the rest of the eggs.  We were hoping that one of the other hens would sit on them just long enough to give them the warmth they needed to come out, but so far no more chicks.  We are really sad about it, but are learning with this experience, and what we should do the next time we have a broody hen sitting on a clutch of eggs.  We are just super thankful for this one cutie of a chick. 

 She's sitting on the chick and ruffles up whenever another hen gets too close. 

 This chick got in the worst predicaments the very first day of his/her life.  That mama sure has been faithful, staying close and protecting her new baby.

 Giving some lessons to the chick.  It's so fun to watch!  I just wonder how it would have been if she had more than one little chick to teach and keep gathered under her wings.  (this photo courtesy of Diella)

We gave this chick a name already.  I mentioned about whether it was a rooster or hen and one of the children said something about it being a her or a she.  Haha, so we named it "Hershey".  And they thought it would be fitting for the mama to be called "Fudge".  So, we have Fudge and Hershey. 

 Since I often find myself too busy for lunch, sometimes we just wing it and have something small.  Today we all had strawberry smoothies with a touch of vanilla and plain yogurt.  Delicious and satisfying to all.

 This spinach has been harvested, cleaned, and bagged up for the freezer.  We should have enough for the winter.  More seeds have been planted, so what grows next will be eaten fresh or sold in our produce cart. 

 My parents have an anniversary coming up in August, but we'll be doing a small get together mid July for them.  Trying to get ahead of the planning a little and baked some cookies today for the celebration.  I used

some cookie cutters that were my grandma Murphy's.  I thought it would make them extra special, and the shape goes perfectly with the theme we'll be doing.  Any guesses?

So, after keeping track of the new little addition and doing some gardening stuff and kitchen stuff, it was time for supper.  I rang the dinner bell outside the back door and nobody came running.  Saphira and I headed out the door to see where everybody was.  The children were out in the barn playing in the new play house that their dad built for them, and Jonathon was down in the field with his tractor cleaning up some trees.  Then he had a visitor, a cousin from around the corner, stop for a chat.  I sent Diella down to tell her dad that supper was ready and after seeing the men, tractors, and their boys in the field, I thought I should take a picture.  This is one reason we love living here so much.  Family all around isn't always welcome in some families, but here, we delight in having unexpected visitors just stop by for a short chat.  We have also rode our bikes and stopped by to see animals or other cousins with their animals practicing for fair.  We stay busy here with stuff around the farm, but we also take time for leisure visits with family and friends. 

 Two cousins, their boys, and their tractors. : )

Diella decided to take a walk and do some photographing of the scenery around her.  She took some great pictures!

 While Jonathon cleaned up a tree in the fence row, the girls and I worked at getting the pile of wood in the barn stacked.  Well, this picture clearly shows how much help I got.  Diella is taking pictures, Saphira, well, she isn't much help yet, and look at Alegra's face with that cat.  Can't help much with an arm full of cat. 

 Those boys are becoming good strong helpers to their dad.  It's a joy to watch them work together, then enjoy the ride on the tractor back up to the house.

And then there is this little cutie!  She is so precious! 

We had a scary moment with her this week where she choked on a piece of plastic.  I've never been so scared with one of my children.  When I realized that she wasn't breathing and that her face was blue, I yelled at Alegra (who was the only one in the house at the time) to pray for her, and I just kept doing what I could, of which nothing helped.  Finally (probably the hand of the Almighty pushing it down) she started breathing again, and the color came back to her face.  Sometimes He just wants us to cry out to Him.  I was crying out that's for sure, and then I did a good share of crying and thanking Him after too!  I bless Him for this little girl.  She has started to call the kitties.  It's so cute!  And this morning she told Aunt Mimi "Bye", and then said it several times throughout the day.  She's just getting way too big and it's so much fun!

We had some wonderful rains this week and are thankful the ground is staying wet.  Some areas of our garden are almost too wet.  We've harvested spinach, a couple kinds of lettuce and are very close to Alegra getting to eat from her cherry tomato plant.  There is always weeding to do.  We are all looking forward to when we get the garden all mulched and the weeding will be much less then.  There's always work around here, but we're enjoying working with each other and staying active.  

Tonight we finished our work, then had some dessert with some special blessings by Jonathon over all of us.  The children enjoy the blessings he prays over them.  It's a special time.  Tonight Benaiah decided that he wanted to pray a blessing on everyone, so he walked around the table and put his hands on each person and prayed for them.  I couldn't help but tear up when my little son stood behind me, with his hands on my shoulders, and prayed a sweet prayer over me.  I'm not sure what he said, but I know it was from his heart and it sure touched mine.  I pray that they see an example in us that will lead them to choose to walk in the ways of the Lord.  

Feeling blessed.  Thankful for our new little chick.  Thankful for health to be able to work so hard.  Thankful for all of the family all around us.  Thankful for Yahweh's hand upon Saphira that protected her from serious harm.  Thankful for my little family.  Thankful for this Sabbath day to wind down and rest in Him.  Aaahhhhh, time to relax, read, sing, and get rejuvenated for the next week.  What a delight to serve HIM!