Company...and happenings...

We have been enjoying having company at our house...  Ivan and I with the 3 youngest boys left right after school Mon a week ago to go to Atlanta to pick up some very special people!!  We were privileged to have Ivan's parents come to visit us for a whole week!!  I didn't get my camera out like I should have while they were here...but Andrea snapped this one of them.  Love the expressions on their faces!! :-)

And then toward the end of the week, we also got more company!!  Ryan and Kendra arrived.  One of his main goals is to finish a few touches that he didn't get done before he left, so they are actually staying over at the house with Geneva.  So unfortunately, we don't get to see as much of them as we would like!!

Sat night we had a reception for them at the school gym.  We tried to use some of the same decor ideas that she had at the wedding, but did change the menu.  We had rolls, rice, grilled chicken thighs, green beans and tossed salad with cake and ice cream for dessert.  We did have the seasoned pretzels like they had at the wedding sitting on the tables.  And like I said before, I didn't think about toting my camera along, so I borrowed these pictures from Andrea also!!  :-)

This was the table displaying pictures from the wedding, their Bible to highlight a verse with your name beside it, and a place to sign saying you were here!!  :-)  

...the food table...

...and more of the food...

The dessert table....

...and I couldn't resist this one...!!  :-)

One day at a time...

Been thinking lately about the different seasons that we face in life...there is the young married season, where in my memories I was a very selfish person!!  Oh, no, I wouldn't have thought so at the time...but looking back...I could sit and read if I liked...spend time just sitting and watching Ivan work, or what ever!!
Then comes the next stage of life where we started adding little ones to the nest!  And even then, somehow I had extra time on my hands, even tho' when Geneva was a baby I had to start getting ready for church on Wed night by 4:30, or I would get balled up in the end...so maybe thats what my problem is now...I don't start early enough!  :-)
And then comes school time where we encountered a more 'rigid' schedule.  No more time to let the children play till they got hungry for breakfast...you needed to get breakfast over to get them off to school!  This was also the time in life when I would do the housework/garden work at home in the mornings, then take lunch and projects to the shop and spend the afternoon at the shop in town with Ivan!  Usually home by 5 to get supper, sometimes taking supper back up to the shop...or sometimes we just stayed and got supper there!
Then came the season where we moved the shop home to the house.  I wasn't sure of this 'season' of life...knowing how shops at home can be.  Ivan has been insistent with his customers about an open and closing time...so this hasn't been a problem, but that doesn't mean that he isn't out there longer... :-)  We are glad that its just a couple steps to the shop rather than the 6 mile jaunt!
Believe it or not, then came the season of life that included youth activities, and getting out of school, farm jobs, teaching, etc.  Along with all of the above...I know people tell me that I have so.o.o...much more help now, but somehow there is so much less time!!  Can't understand that one!!   The last couple of years since Andrea graduated from school, I have been a bit more 'spoiled' as she took over the bulk of the 'office' work.  I still had to go out when she went to milk and catch up the loose ends that she never got around to learning!!  :-)
And then this summer arrived...with a new season entire!  I knew Andrea was going to be gone all summer to Nicaragua, and so my life changed.  I once again found myself being the 'shop secretary'.  Thankfully Maurita was available when there were pressing duties at the house that she couldn't, or should I say didn't want to handle, she would trade places with me.  Well, then Andrea came home from the 'south', and went right into her newly acquired job of being a school teacher.  At the same time, Ryan got married to Kendra, and Geneva moved out the house that Ryan had remodeled...so we are launched into a  'new' season of life entirely!! :-)
Thankfully as I reminisce thru the years, I 'think' I have learned to take one day at a time.  Geneva has agreed to 'office sit' for me several days a week, which she will never know what a big help that is in my new season of life!!  She brings her painting or what ever along to work on in between phone calls and making up bills.  This has been a big help to me at trying to slug away at the 'most' pressing need of the hour!  After 1 1/2 weeks, I finally got my kitchen cupboards, and even the pantry all housecleaned!!  Next on the list is the windows, and then the utility room, and the garden needs cleaned out and got ready for new strawberry plants, if I could get the 'empty bedroom' in the basement organized, the girls could have a bit more room in their room upstairs...but before all that, tomorrow I get to grill the first 40 lb of boneless leg quarters to put in the freezer in anticipation of a drop in reception for Ryan and Kendra in 2 weeks.  And before that happens we are looking forward very much to Ivan's Mom and Dad arriving next Mon evening for a week with us...after all its been 5 years!!
Ivan and I even did manage to squeeze in an impromptu and left here about 8 Fri night.  We went to Savannah, and its kinda sad,  but all we got accomplished was shopping!!  The closest we got to seeing the 'ocean' was along rt 17, we could observe from the water level in the 'marshes', that the tide wasn't quite full, but neither was it low!!  Sams Club was one of the items on the list, so that one has been able to be checked off!!!
So...I have learned not to look and worry at the 'larger' picture...but try to be content ticking off  'one day at a time'!! :-)

Roaches...in the south!!

Ok, yes, I live in the south, and have been here long enough to know that roaches are inevitable critters!  But I thought I had come to terms with them, that even tho' they are inevitable that they don't have to be the 'norm'...when I would see a roach, I knew it was time to replace the roach traps around the house, and then we wouldn't see them again.

Well, that was until the last 2 month!!  I bought new roach traps, and still we saw the roaches running...so I bought more new roach traps, a different kind this time...and still they ran!  In between I had an arasol can of Raid 'Ant and Roach' killer near at hand, and where ever I saw a roach run, I would spray liberally all around that area...and still they ran!

Then I got more desperate, and inquired at the local feed and seed store, the gentlemen there, at least act like they know what they are talking about...and he sold me some concentrate to mix up in a pump sprayer, so I mixed up the solution twice as strong as recommended like he advised, and went to the crawl space, and sprayed in all the cracks and crannies that I could crawl into, then came up and sprayed around the baseboard in the house...and still they ran!!  By now I was getting beyond desperate and reaching the despair state!  :-)  Figuring that I guess we will always have roaches....yet, inwardly crawling at the thought!

Several years ago for one of my birthdays Ivan had got me an under the cabinet cd player which he mounted conveniently there by the sink and it has gotten many hours of usage.  It also has a light on it, which I don't know why we never used, because it would have been most convenient!  But yesterday for some reason when we were getting lunch Mauita chose to turn on the light...and oh gross, there were roaches in the light...on top of the player...in the 1/4 inch of space that you can't see, and went running...and war was declared!  I wasn't in the kitchen at the time, and till I arrived there were rivers of raid running all over!! LOL!!  The cd player was removed and taken out of the house...don't know if we will feel like trying to clean it up or not!!  Anyway, surprisingly when we turned on the kitchen light this morning, no roaches ran...don't know if the fight is over that easy or not, but time will tell!

Like Andrea said, I can tolerate spiders, (and my addition, I can squash potato bugs and tomato worms) but something about roaches and mice...just makes my skin crawl!!!

Now...if only we can find the source of their breeding grounds in the boys cabin!!  That is another story!

We are right now in the mts of NC following behind a vehicle…much too close…in the rain.  Oh good…that vehicle got over!  Coming home from a weekend in IN where Ryan got married to Kendra Horst.  They had a lovely day for a wedding, sunshine, not too hot or too cold!  We stayed again with Lester and Evelyn Martin, Kendras gr aunt and uncle, who are a wonderful host and hostess, fraid we acted like teenagers coming in about 10:30 every night!!  They are an older couple with 4 empty bedrooms upstairs of which we used 3 of them with Geneva and Andrea staying at friends, and Gwynndon camped out at Ryans house.  Ryans house was kinda nice…I was able to use the fridge and freezer, and left some ‘leftovers’ in their freezer for them to finish!!  J 

We were blessed to have some of our families from both sides there, plus friends.  Thanks to all who made the journey!  We were able to spend a bit of time over lunch with the ‘Hege’ reletives who were there, sorry to miss out on the Skrivseth gathering Sat evening, we ended up being at the reception hall till 9:30 helping to clean up!!!  But were able to go to the cabin Sun afternoon and spend some time with Norvans family!  Then Sun evening we spent with Doug and Sally Wengerd family.  Its amazing how even tho’ you may not see each other for so.o.o…long you can pick right back up!!  The evening was too short!!

So now back to the real world…school starts at 8:30 in the morning…guess we miss out one parent teachers meeting tonight!! 

And some pictures from the weekend...

The happy couple

The bridal party

Andrea and Maurita were at the guest picture and handed out programs.  Then they were to make sure that everyone highlighted a verse in their Bible and got a song sheet for at the reception...

The 4 younger boys got to stack the gifts on this 'cool' wagon!

...and I find it amusing to observe in recent weddings that couples are resurrecting the age old tradition of feeding each other cake, which the couples my age discarded years ago!!  :-)

Well, well, where has time gone?!?!  Guess we've been caught up in home life...everyday life with a bit of company sprinkled in, a 'trip' to the ocean in the rain, garden work starting...and then there is church life, the regular, Sun, Wed night services, with a few extras sprinkled in! We at Edisto have a regular service the 2nd Sun evening, and it seems the last while we have had special guests, so then we add a finger food afterwards!  Which we enjoy, but you gotta pick your brain to figure out what to have!  :-)  and on top of that there is chorus practice, with an occasional service at other churches...  And then there is school life...the normal, plus all the end of the year activities, field trips, summer birthday parties, end of the year parties, with the list culminating in the school picnic yesterday...so now we can get on to summer!!  and then there is the normal work load...trying to juggle the house responsibilities with all the other activity, and filling in at the shop when Andrea goes to milk, which is supposed to be Mon, Wed and Fri...unless Leon decides to call and have her fill in additional time.  So last week one evening she came rushing in at 4:15 on her way to milk...she usually leaves at 3:30, so I need to drop what I am doing then and go out to the shop!  Such is life.  And on top of all that...my sister Jean came to SC the beginning of May, first for 3 wks (she had broke her shoulder from a fall)...then for longer, till she can care for herself again...at least put up her hair...and now it seems to be extending at least till mid June!  But that is ok, as she regains use of her arm, her care is diminishing, and she has been helping some with the workload here!...and we have been shuffling her between the 3 of us here in the south!  So if we have something going, then she goes mainly to Danny's, but Gary's have taken turns also!

So...in the midst of all this...Ryan announced his engagement planning a wedding in Aug.  I have been asked different times if I was eagerly getting ready for a wedding...well, so far my answer has been, that I need to take care of today, then I will get tomorrow, Randy, the guy who sells Napa parts seems to be puzzled by my reply!!!  And one of these days, we will start to do a bit of sewing, etc...  :-)

my journeying...

Lately I've been journeying thru the book 'Vera's Journey'. I say journeying, because it was due Jan 30...and that was 3 weeks after I checked it out! :-) It takes me awhile to get thru a book, especially one that is this thick! I've been impressed, that her basic journey is much the same as mine, even though hers started over 100 yrs ago! No, I don't have rats in my house, nor have I learned to cook on a cookstove, and carry water to heat for use. I do have the same struggles being weary at the end of a busy day, feeling pulled in many directions, and the desire to see our children grow up to be good Christian men and women! No, I didn't have mumps at 38 that left me deaf with a roaring in my head, but my problems can mount up, and it feels good to be able to 'escape' a bit with my husband to get back on track and be able to handle the stress of the days! No, I am not first a deacons wife, then a ministers wife, but I still have the concern in my heart when I see practices creeping into our midst that look too much like the world around us! And that my grandchildren will still follow Biblical principles and they will have a love for God and not for the 'things of the world'! Some thoughts that I read from the book the other day, and am still pondering...over the time that they were seeing practices creep into their midst that they weren't comfortable with. "We can be a good influence on others if we are careful to do it in God's way. As long as people recognize the world as their enemy, and excess of guidelines is not necessary. I'm afraid that is where the problem lies...that the world is no longer seen as an enemy, but as a friend and something to pattern ourselves after." Now, my ponderings...do we really view 'the world' as our enemy...How do we do that yet be a witness to them? How do we keep ourselves unspotted for Christ, yet live in the world. Who do I really Love...is it really God and the principles that He spelled out in His Word, or am I more prone to choose the 'easy' road, the things that may be simpler, and I can hide behind. Am I ashamed to really LIVE for Him? Maybe I 'think' too much, but have seen too many of my parents friends, who's children have taken the easier road...and its sad where they are today...and not only my parents friends, but see the same route being explored by some of our peers and friends... Do we REALLY see the world as our enemy?!?!

What do others think...?

The other day I put as my facebook update a saying that Geneva was asked to make into a sign...'Cultivate your character, and your reputation will take care of itself'. This is something I had to learn over the years and I think that it is something that every human needs to learn also. We are all human, we care about what others think of us...we don't want to be thought strange, or uncareing, or you fill in the blanks. So unconsciously we are doing and saying things trying to impress others, and end up feeling empty and unaccomplished. Over the years my husband has been very good in helping me to see...that it doesn't REALLY matter what others think. And you know what hes right. I still am not good at laying out a really fine china meal, or the best at keeping my house clean and under control. My flower beds and garden would never pass inspection for the pages of 'Farm and Ranch'. But I have learned that God made me as he wanted me too, and for me to sit and wish I could have a garden like __________ (you fill in the blank), or keep my house with out clutter, like ____________, it isn't going to improve my outlook any!! I said my husband helped me to see this truth about life, and in all honesty others have helped me along the way also. Imagine with me my 'surprise' about 4 years after we were married when I was visiting another Sunday school, and someone that I thought growing up was one that had her 'act' very much together, confessed to feeling very inferior, and needing to grow in that area! Wow, really, so this also started my thoughts to stirring. And then an older lady (who thru the years my mother would have made comments about being such a good housekeeper, making good meals, and has a beautiful flower garden, with florist quality roses) shared with me that she always felt a bit inferior around my Mother, cause she could always accomplish things so much faster and better than she could! So, there you have it...why do we spend so much time frittering away our time worrying about what others think of us and how we aren't getting things done like they do...when we need to be living our lives doing the things that God gave us to do, cultivating our character, and our reputation will take care of itself!!! That doesn't allow us to sluff off and say who cares...because if we are truly being cultivated, we still want to do our best, but the end results are not because of what 'so and so' might think, but because God really does care!! Maybe the rest of you already have this all figured out, and I am the one who is the slow learner!!

OK...

I did not just post that last post as one BIG long paragraph...don't know what happened! :-)

A Jinx water faucet?

It all began several months ago...maybe even a year. The faucet in our bathtub started a slow drip. Ok, I said something to Ivan, and he is like well probably something somewhere is getting bad? Ok, well, I didn't understand, but hoped that he did. Over the course of time, the drip became more insistant, and finally turned into a steady drip. I asked Ivan again, and this time I became aware that it wasn't a simple fix, but that the faucet would probably need to be replaced. Inwardly I groaned, knowing that meant a complete dismantling of the boot room closet, complete with taking the shelves off the wall! So it was easy to try to forget about the faucet, except when going into the bathroom...and then it was no longer a steady drip, but became even more insistant and turned into a steady drizzle. By this time, the steadiness of summer was slacking off a bit, so one day my question to Ivan was if I empty the closet, would he have time to look at it this evening? Now it was his turn to groan! I assured him that I felt the same way, but you know it was hot water that was drizzling down the drain...and it was getting harder to ignore! So after the men cleared out for the morning, I went to the closet. It really wasn't that hard of a job, cause believe it or not, it is one of the closets that had managed to get a bit of order to the chaos, and had things catagorized in boxes! After I got the shelves down, I realized there was a bit of a snag to my smugness in getting the job done so quickly! The last person who put the closet back together had actually put some finishing nails in the paneling...and that person wasn't even close enough to fuss at...he was in Indiana! The memory came floating back, he was blissfully putting things together, and I went in, and am like, oh yeah, you are NOT to nail the paneling fast, cause the shelves hold it in place. He looked at me with a grin, and is like, well, its too late now...there were about 5 nails in place... Coming back to the present...I went to the shop to look for something that might help. Coming back to the house with pry bars, etc in tow...well, I just couldn't make them work. I finally texted Ivan to admit that I hit a snag, he came to the rescue, and helped get the paneling down. That was the only thing left between us and the culprit, the leaky faucet. So he was able to look the situation over, got what he needed on a 'town run', and that evening was able to fix the problem...or so we thought!! Well, this faucet seems to have a mind of its own. When you are running water into the tub, the shower head enjoys leaking...sometimes dripping out of 3 or 4 holes, sometimes out of half of them!! This can be very disturbing, when you unsuspectingly go to turn off the water, and get blasted on the hair!! Oh, well, at least it isn't running dollar bills down the drain all day long...so we are learning to live with this one!! On a different note, yesterday there was a young peoples meeting at Barnwell Church on being aware of what all is involved in a nonresistant lifestyle. I listened in on the afternoon session via phone line, and was able to catch part of it at least. Last evening Marcus Yoder gave a presentation of the CPS (Civilian Public Service) program that was intact thru the 40's. History lover that I am, I really enjoyed hearing what he had to offer, and was amazed at the amount of info he had packed into that hour!! Jesse Halteman came home with Gwynndon for the night. Lyndell had been planning to come too, but had to work, but he ended up coming for today. He and Ryan are budding friends!! And Fri was a strange kind of a day. Geneva and I canned 21 qt of pears,about 10 Andrea called and said the uhaul guy called and said we could go pick up some trucks in Walterboro if we wanted. Well, I really didn't wanna...but he said we could get 3. So with Andrea as the chauffeur, and with a packed lunch, we left about 11:30, with Ivan agreeing to go in the house in 10 min to get the last batch of pears from the canner! Guess we made quite a specticle...the guy who was bringing the trucks up for us to take, kept asking if we were taking them now or what, guess he thought we had a LOT to move! A 26 ft, a 17ft and a 10 fter!! And when we got home one of Geneva and Andreas friends were here to go swimming, plus we still needed to do the Fri cleaning! Such is life at our house!!

june 2012...

Well, well, thought that I would put a glimpse of our life for the last month on here in pictures...for those who care to see!!

When we got home from our journey to ID this little girl came to live with us...I don't like girl dogs...but funny enough, I am the one who named it! Its is Gwynndon's dog, and he was deliberating about a name. One of his friends suggested Jackie, well, I wasn't real impressed with that and one day said, oh just call her Jess...and it stuck!! I think everyone was secretly hoping that Jess could be a replacement for 'Jake', but about a week ago after she spent some time in the shop, one of the children commented to me that Jess really wasn't a 'shop' dog! Her nice white coat was a very splotchy mottled gray!!

This is the flower bed that we had made before we went to ID, and if you notice the puppy Jess had a love affair with the right side for too long! She would dig and get in under the porch. She finally learned to leave it be...but needless to say, it has suffered quite a 'setback'!! And if you look real close in that pet carrier, you will see the nose of yet another pup!! Help, there are 2 more arrived here Fri!! Actually Ryan found and claimed the one on the way home Thurs night...and Delvin found the other one Fri!! We for sure don't need 4 dogs on our homestead...but Ivan and Delvin did make an enclosure under the trampoline for them last night...so they will have room to romp, but not in the flower bed!!

...and this is the wall that Ivan built...we have had problems with our front yard washing everytime it rained for years, so it looked like the bad lands in SD!! Our original plans were to build a wall our from the edge of the shop, which we had got up in May, but then didn't know where to get fill dirt to fit into our 'wallet'. So after sitting there a few weeks, we decided to redo it, back the wall up, and use the dirt we scooped out to fill in! It worked really nice. Ivan was tired of a nasty yard, so instead of sprigging it and letting it fill in with time, and risk being washed some more, he decided to lay it, and have 'instant' yard!

Gary and Cheryl invited us to a party, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary at Lake Warren St Pk community building. They had it nicely set up, and had the foods they had at their wedding. Included were his and her siblings in the south.

We had invited them first to a Sunday evening backyard picnic, and then the children could play ball. They didn't know that it was for their anniversary too, so this was the 2nd party for their anniversary!!

We got Thorton an alligator water shooter for his birthday, that he was more than pleased with!!

Edisto Mennonite Church, the new outreach of Barnwell.

Wouldn't your little guys sleep SO much better on a bed like this!! This is a combined effort of Ryan and Geneva for one of our customers. She ordered it for her step grandson!

This is part of the tomato crop that I am very well pleased with this year...the 1/2 bushel that I picked yesterday are still in the basket sitting on the floor!! ...so much for our life for the last 5-6 weeks or so!!

Well, well, where do I start...May has been a busy month. There were plenty of milestones reached in our family. Gwynndon, our 4 child, made it all the way thru 12 grades of school and he along with 4 classmates received their diplomas the evening of May 20. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of this event on my camera!! We also got to learn to know Ryan's special friend, Kendra Horst from IN this same weekend. She flew in on Fri. Ryan wanted us to have his birthday supper while she was here, so this was the picture that I have of them...

The Tues after graduation, our whole family embarked on a venture west all the way to ID. We had purchased tickets two whole month in advance to get the best deal, etc. Getting them thru Travelocity we had to get 2 batches to get us all accomadated...and somehow, I managed to get 2 tickets for Gwynndon, and none for Quinten, but didn't realize this till a couple weeks later when I went online to choose our seats. After doing some calling and being assured by a Delta worker that the airline agent at the airport would be able to help us the morning of the flight, we left the house about 3 that Tues morning. When we went to check in at Augusta GA...low and behold there was one ticket cancelled, so my worst nightmare was true, we didn't have a ticket for Quinten at all! With one hour to fly and split decisions to be made, we had to call Delta, they were unable to get him on the same flight, and the soonest he could fly was noon. Well, we weren't letting him fly by himself, so got my ticket delayed to coincide with his, and the rest of the family left on the 5:30 flight without us!! We went back out to the van and sleep some more, then went and found a McDonalds, ate a leisurely breakfast, and back to the airport. About 10 we went in so we could get our seats chosen, etc, and flew out at noon. We had plenty of time during layovers, 3 hours in Atlanta, and 3 1/2 in Minneapolis, so I decided this was going to be a learning experience for Quinten along the way. The gate where we waited in Atlanta was right out at the end of the concourse, so he was able to watch planes coming and going, almost every 3-5 seconds!! We also got to see what all the workers do when a plane lands and refills for takeoff. When asked the next day about his day, he replied without hesitation that it was fun! Well we finally got to Spokane, Wa, 10 1/2 hours after the rest of the family. Poor Ivan ended up driving about 500 mile and flying 2700 all in 26 hours! We were ready for bed! Ivans Mom and Dad are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this summer, and this was a gathering of all the siblings in honor of this occasion. We were happy that all 9 of the children could be together for this occasion. A special thanks to all the ones who live in ID that did all the background work to pull this together!!

The weather felt chilly to us southerners, and it was kinda awkward to make breakfast wearing your winter coats, but we had an enjoyable time, and made lots of good memories, even though various ones of us we afflicted at different times with the flu bug!! And as all good things must, this too came to an end. It was back home to canning green beans and digging potatoes! Thanks to my sis-in-laws here who picked and canned the first 2 picking of beans for us. I had planted them 2 weeks late, hoping they would hold off till we got back, but things were early this year...so... This morning was the first service at the new church. We enjoyed a good service, and the weather was lovely enough for us to enjoy a fellowship meal outside. Some of you were enquiring where the dividing line was, so I will list the ones who are attending at Edisto Menn. Mark Hochstetler, Gordan Amstutz, Carl Heatwoles, Sharon and son Thomas Brubaker, Aden Diems, Delmar Diems, Darren Diems, Leon Duecks, Joshua Heatwoles, Eric Heges, Andy Korvers, Lloyd Oberholtzers, Joel Ockers, Conrad Stovers, Duane Stovers, and us. So this is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives!! :-)

Church is dividing...

I don't know how many of you know that since our church has out grown the benches for quite awhile already...there has been actions taken to start a new church. First a committee was set in place to look for a location, preferably somewhere east or south. Then last summer we had 2 ordinations, one for deacon, and one for 2 ministers. About a month ago the location committee finally had a proposal which we all had opportunity to vote on. They wanted at least a 3/4 vote...it passed by a 94%! The location is about 10 mile SE of Bamberg on rt 362 if anyone wants to look it up on Google maps. It is a rented facility, so may be a temporary location, but will be a start. Then it was decided how the ministry would be divided, with Mark Hochstetler, Gordan Amstutz and Carl Heatwole being the ones 'sent' to the new location, with Gary Hege, Chad Brubaker and Michael Strite remaining at Barnwell. The next step was that we were given opportunity to choose which church we are willing to attend. They wanted it to be a fairly balanced divide, meaning, not to have a mother/baby church, but 2 sister churches with at least a 40/60 divide. Also that some of each age group could be involved with each church also, if not, they would take liberties to do a bit of 'tweeking'. Last Sunday those votes were all to be back in. Wed evening the report was that the votes were not quite all in, but of those that were 46% chose the new church with 54% remaining at Barnwell, and the age levels were all fairly balance out! Wow, another sign that God was at work! This morning the list of families of who chose to go to which church was in the mailboxes, when the final count was in, the dividing line was 60/40. It will be sad to leave the ones remaining at Barnwell behind, but as of the first of June, we along with 16 other families will be starting a church in the Hunters Chapel community. There are still a lot of details that will need to be worked out...but so far we are amazed at the working of God thru each of us! Praise the Lord.

Good intentions...

Last fall I was thinking ahead to winter, and what should I try to accomplish this winter...you know all those thoughts that run thru your mind, at my stage in life they were...shall I put in another quilt...should I do pictures...should I sew...?
Well, I decided that it might be fun to just do pictures, you know, nothing major, just get the photo albums updated. Ok, so where shall I set up the operation? ...and then Ivan moved the woodworking shop in the shop to a larger location, and the little boys moved the tool bench that was in the back side of the living room to the shop. Perfect...I will set up a table and get my photo albums caught up. Now, I'm not talking hours of scrapbooking...you know just cutting up pictures and put on pages with hand written notations under them...I mean how much simpler can it get!
Well, time keeps chuggin on, and when Andrea was getting ready to go to Bible School, I made the comment to her, you know I was going to update photo albums this winter, and I was starting to see my good intentions go down the drain....and now...well, Andrea is coming home in 2 1/2 weeks, but in 4 weeks her, Geneva, and Ryan all leave for Nicaragua, and in the midst of all that...spring is arriving way to fast...and I feel my 'good intentions' going all the way down the drain!! The pictures are still in the boxes on the shelf. You know I think there must be at least 5 years worth (it would be 6, but the last years aren't developed yet! And poor Thorton don't even ask anymore, 'Where is my book', like he used too when the others would dig theirs out and look at them.
So one of these days...maybe after my girls are all grown and I don't have all the 'help' that others seem to think I have now...maybe, just maybe I might get more acccomplished than 'good intentions'!
By the way, yesterday, I finally updated my bulletin board from all those nice pictures we got about 3 mth ago from our friends and reletives...
Y'all have a nice day! :-) I think maybe I should do some 'spring' sewing instead...LOL!

Another Sat stroll...

...this one was a little later in the afternoon after I planted some of my broccoli plants in the garden and discovered nickel size green strawberry plants hanging on! I was a bit surprised myself! I couldn't resist taking a picture of those and texting to Andrea in MN, but I neglected to get the picture on the 'real' camera later, when I was taking the 'stroll'!

These blooms are poking out beside the front porch steps...in my mind a bit too early, but hopefully they will survive!

And these are the normal winter flowers, camellias, that usually bloom well over Genevas birthday!

Maurita was in the basement trying to sew on a slip they are making in Home Ec. They were to try to do some of the work at home. She was getting frustrated with the 'slick' material, but I told her not to despair too desperately, that yes, we wanted straight seams, but after all it was an under garment!! :-)

Ivan and the younger boys were working in the shop putting up tin on the walls that had been the wood working shop. The tin had been in storage so long that it needed washed off!

And this is the 'new' woodworking shop area, hopefully this will accommodate 6 of them better!!

With these vehicles sitting in the shop waiting for repair, is it any wonder the other week when a lady was here to do a uhaul rental, that she wondered if we worked on cars too, or just trucks!! :-)

...and Ryans house is still improving...slowly but surely!

Now a few pictures from before, that I never got put on...

This is how our garden got fertilized this year!! The boys were intrigued by the name on the manure spreader...you see the red and green paint...it is a new idea, a combo of red and green!

And this is the welding class that Ivan is in charge of every Fri afternoon. There are 4 boys, Gwynndon, Bruce Diem, Rylan Dueck and Derrick Miller. After they welded awhile, just to get the feel of it, they are now working on deer stands. Gwynndon and Bruce have welded before, and Derrick is still working on the 'memorial' in the background!!

I took another rambling walk...

These are some picts that I found yesterday morning. Ivan was the one who wasn't to be found. I did know where he was tho'...and I hoped to get a pict of his load before he left, but didn't make it. He informed me Thurs that he had 4 gardens to till on Sat. I asked if mine was one of them...but since the farmer didn't bring the manure yet...mine wasn't in the plan!! :-)

Found Ryan and Thorton out by the sawmill. I think that big log grew in a unique pattern. It actually looks twisted on the outside, didn't see what the boards look like when they are cut!

This pile of logs is waiting for Ivan to find time to cut them up. It arrived as semi load of highline poles that we held our breath while it managed to back down along the bank, and get back into the sawmill. Ivan fessed up later that he wished he would never have suggested it, cause the front tires of the semi were right on top of the bank...had it given way!! Well, we are glad it didn't.

Ambling out to the shop, I found some boys industriously doing Sat morning jobs!

I found Quinten 'working' on his 'shack' in the woods... one blessing of the sawmill, the boys have more than enough 'scrap' lumber at their disposal to use to their hearts content!!

Besides taking pictures, this is what I had to show for myself!

Back in the house, Andrea was trying to find a dessert to make for today...

The covered pan in front of her has small broccoli plants coming. I did uncover it and take another picture, but Andrea didn't 'pose' very well...

And this concludes the next episode in Sat morning at Ivans!!