What is Charity?

It is Silence-
When your words would hurt...
It is Patience-
When your neighbors curt...
It is Deafness-
When a scandal flows...
It is Thoughtfulness-
For others woes...
It is Promptness-
When a duty calls...
It is Courage-
When misfortune falls...

Ivan found this the other day...and we really like it...Geneva is going to make a sign!

Hey...I did it!!

I think I got it figured out...how to change this thing. . . (smiley face inserted here...this font don't do smiles!!) Ivan is headed for bed...so gotta run!

A relaxing Sunday...

We enjoyed being at church this morning with most of our church family back again. Last week a good 1/2 was missing...we enjoyed being a small group with a fellowship meal in the back of the church, but we enjoyed having them all back again. The reason so many were gone...there was a wedding in PA and one in WI that claimed many of them, and some were just off visiting family! This morning Mark preached a very good sermon on 'Liberty in Christ' It is not liberty to do what 'we' want to do...we have a responsibly to show 'love' to our brothers and sisters...was the basic theme of it.

And tonight the Ivan and the older children are playing the farming game! I just heard a comment that whoever has $150,000. worth of stuff wins...and I think I have that much! I was reading Lisls friend Rachels blog. She writes so interesting and I have enjoyed keeping up with her commentary on her 'twin' pregnancy. Geneva is downstairs and the little boys just went outside...hard to tell.

This week we got some rain...lovely rain! I told Lanell on Tues when it rained, I was beginning to feel like she talks about. When it rains, you just stop and enjoy! I was hanging out at the shop...so was a bit easier to do that, then when in the house and other things calling!

Why was I in the shop. Geneva and Andrea went to PA and escorted Mom and Jean to WI for Joel Butikofer and Natalie Goods wedding. Mom as a Great Aunt felt honored to get an invite...and it worked out for them to go. I was a bit anxious about the journey, cause just before they came here the end of May, Mom had fallen again, and hurt her one wrist. Then while here, she fell again at Dannys...but things went real well for them, and they all seemed to enjoy the journey! Andrea was grumping about it not being long enough...and I told her that she needed to be thankful for the time that she had. She told me that she was, but that it wasn't long enough. I informed her that was the story of my life...so get used to it and hang on for the ride! LOL! I also told her that I was thinking one evening while I was in the garden, that MAYBE I should have been the one who should have gone and got to renew auld acquaintances with my cousins who I haven't seen in FOREVER!!! (I was trying to be dramatic, like teenagers can be!!)

Things have thankfully left up a bit gardening wise...but now with Ryan gone...Ivan feels the pressure. It hasn't been too bad, and he takes time out in the evenings to work with the sawmill. That seems to relieve some of the pressures that the stresses of the day can accumulate! Last Sat he got all his 'logs' cut up, but by this Sat another pile has accumulated. Back to the garden, we are down to tomatoes and zipper peas, okra (these are all very low maintenance compared to some of the veggies we had coming in earlier) and I can't believe it...we are still getting side shoots of broccoli! Not great amounts, but eating fresh, and even freezing a bit on the side. And I haven't had to dust it once this year. The 2nd picking I saw about 2-3 worms, and no more since...so not sure what took them away.

The other evening I went with Ivan to pick up the last 3 logs over by Garys. On the way home I was able to catch the sunset...but missed the prettiest part. Its amazing how it can hide behind the trees, and when you finally get to a spot you can see it...and its already slipped too far down to be pretty. Oh yeah, the night before the children and I had gone to pick blueberries. Gwynndon was driving, and we clear took a bunny trail...hoping to get a good picture...and it eluded us!!

PS...If y'all think about it pray for Daryl Brubaker...his struggle with cancer seems to be a loosing battle...he didn't make it to church this morning. Our prayer for him and Sharon are that God will give them the strength they need for each day. And Enos Heatwole isn't well. He had struggles with digestion and they traced it to a 'bile' obstruction. In May he had an operation for that, and now can eat again, but has problems with fluid buildup. He has lost his robust strength. The 2nd Sun in June we had baptism, and his oldest gr grandson was one of the ones to be baptized. It brought tears to my eyes when he made his way up the aisle to greet him as a brother in the church!!

Comments...

Well, since I can't seem to get my comments to go thru...I will do like Amy, and try to do some comments here!! By the way Amy...I DO get tired too...and may do one later on if I have more time on my humanity!! And maybe that is why I don't have time to beatify my home and get pictures on here...I so enjoy y'alls 'like Geneva termed it...Better Homes and Garden' houses! Right now it seems we are raising boys instead!! (The reason I said boys is because I think my girls are all big enough to appreciate the finer things in life...but the boys aren't yet!)
Arla, I so enjoy your posts, and esp the one I read last evening about watching the waves. That is one of my favorite pastimes that not all in my family enjoy! So I count it a privilege when they put up with Mom and her 'ocean' thing!!
An to Lisl, we have been watching your 'progress' and think of you from time to time these days and are praying that your baby will come in its due time and you will have the patience and strength to hang in there!!
Amy, we hope that you enjoy Norv's to the fullest...and feel blessed that you are on a 'traffic' route...otherwise folks just don't take the time to search you out!! We were disappointed that they didn't take the extra 10 hours to drive here...but know how traveling can be...so we are trying to forgive them!! Oh, yeah, our Bible School theme this past week was on forgiveness...but we were so busy in the craft class, that we didn't get in on the learning part! LOL!
An to the rest of you...its been awhile since I read your blogs, and can't remember the comments that I wanted to make at the time...but we do enjoy hearing!!
And I have been wondering how you all seem to change the backgrounds on your blogs so frequently, where and how do you do it! I've done some messing around...and can't even remember how I came up with what is here now! Well, better run...there is a HUGE basket of jeans to be hung out, and this is the morning that the girls get to sleep in... :-)

Life...

Has been chugging right on...
...The end of April Ivan and I escorted the high school students and their teacher on a 3 day FL trip. Some of the things we went to...Wycliffe Bible Translators...Titanic...Epcot...Ripleys Believe it or Not... Packed full days...but had a fun time. We sure got our excersize...Ivan took his walk meter along, and we walked 14 mile the day at Epcot alone!! Ryan and Andrea kept the shop open while we were gone. Poor Andrea...we hadn't had any Uhaul rentals for at least a month, and in the 3 days we were gone she did 4 different transactions! After 2 years of doing rentals...I am just starting to feel comfortable with it...and she definately was NOT!!
...Then the next 3 weeks was last minute field trips, tests and all that comes with then end of school.
...Then the youth went camping for 3 days...so Ivan and I had the shop with the younger family. Ivan had been a bit worried about trying to keep up with out his 'big' helpers...but it was good for Kylan and Delvin to pitch in, and we were able to accomplish a surprisingly amount of things. Actually the 3rd day, Maurita had gone overnite with the girls from her room at school. After breakfast Ivan and the boys had gone to the shop, and I was quick trying to cut out a dress before going out...and the boys came rushing back in and said that we were gonna go to the zoo!! So we took the day off too. We took some parts along that needed returned...so it was a 'business trip'?? :-)
...the youth also did a birthday meal for one of the prisons in Columbia.
...and then we were trying to get some sewing done...why am I such a procratinator??
...Then to the garden was starting, we pulled out the peas the other day, broccoli is giving side shoots, cukes and beans are started. Fact is Mon we had 3 bushel of beans...all 41 qt..and then Thurs 2 more bushel...
...and now we are on our way to FL...Pensacola to be exact. My neice Rachel is getting married, and quite a few of our family has jobs...thats the reason for all the sewing.
...We get to see Allen and Lanell. They came into PA last week, and are bringing Mom and Jean down to the wedding also...then will come back to spend a few days in SC, so we are looking forward to that...
...and right now...Geneva is home trying to work on a uhaul rental...and her connection isn't fast enough or something...and I am as frustrated as she is!! I hope the customer is patient!!

All In a Days Work!!

Well, yesterday started out like so many other Friday mornings. I did 3 load of laundry and hung most of it out on the line. Washed the kitchen floor...and Thorton came in wanting me to make a 'machete' pouch like Kylan has. Well, I said maybe you should get Andrea to make one, (since she is out at the shop and usually has extra time on her hands) He said I asked her to, but she said she doesn't know how! He even had the jean pant leg that he wanted it made out of! In my mind, I am remembering how when the older boys were young and I had time to stop and make them arrow pouches, knife pouches, etc...and thought well, guess he deserves some 'mom' time too. And you know, it didn't really take all that long, and he was pleased as could be. Lately he has been grumpy about doing his preschool books, cause he don't like to do them. So I threw a bit of a curve ball into the procedure, by telling him that I really didn't 'feel' like doing this, and life is made up of such things, and we need to cheerfully do them anyway! Then when I was done, I told him that since I had done this for him, now he needed to go do some preschool pages for me! Am I a mean mom or what!! He really can do the books with no problem, but since the weather outside is so delightful...it is just against his 'grain' to sit inside doing books!
Back to my day, I spent 1/2 of the afternoon in the shop working on quarterly taxes and trying to remember if they were due the 15th, or the end of the month! Finally I took the time to look it up and was relieved to see that I had a couple more weeks to come up with the figure!
Back in the house, I decided to quick cut out a dress for myself. Since I had just finished sewing one, I was pretty confident on where I needed to cut, so it went surprisingly fast. And when I was getting ready to leave for my Fri afternoon trip to town, I became aware of the container of mashed banana sitting on the counter. That morning Kylan had seen it in the freezer and said that I should make a banana cake again...and I told him to get it out to thaw, that I would make one. So I quick mixed that up, and Maurita was here to watch it bake!! I really doubt she spent too much time watching it...but she was here to get it out!
So, I went to town...the bank, grocery store, (Piggly Wiggly don't have too much to offer by way of cheap groceries, but they do have sales sometimes that are affordable!), Dollar General where I got to catch up with Sharon B, and another lady from town that we have had contact with, and made a stop by the library to pick up some items that were on hold.
Back home, I unloaded the sodas and Gatorade at the shop, and picked up Gwynndon to take him back to school. The high school was making a supper to sell to provide some of the funds for their class trip to FL this year coming in a couple weeks. The trip to school was 2-fold, since Gwynndon doesn't have his nite driving license, he can't drive after 8, so needed to get a ride home with someone else, and I picked up 8 boxes of carry out for our supper here at home. I also dropped off 2 boxes on the way home for a customer that had ordered. That was a really strange feeling, going into someones drive who wasn't home, and put their meals in the fridge in their garage!
Back home, we ate supper, and had plenty. Ivan wasn't eating suppers this week, but there was a whole box left over when the rest of us were full, so I took it out to the shop and spent some time there while he ate. After I was back in the house, Quinten came in with a big handful of strawberries, so big he held them against his chest so they wouldn't fall, and said 'Mama, you should pick your strawberries, there are lots of red ones out there'. Inwardly I groaned, cause, they weren't to be picked till today, and the biggest one on top was pretty white!! So, I took time to explain that I was glad he was trying to be helpful, but I really would like it if he would let me help do the picking next time, cause these looked a bit on the too white side!!
Maurita had told me when I was cutting the dress for me, that I could cut one for her too, so after supper I told her to bring her material, and was trying to figure it out, when Quinten came in and said that Ryan wanted me in the garden. I had seen that he had got out the wire for the bean/cuke fence before supper, and it works real well for about 5 people to carry it in and hold it while they are fastening it. I had about 2-3 of them tell me that the beans were hardly big enough yet, but I told them till next week, I am sure they would be to the stage where it feels like everyone is just tramping all over them, and I am on edge the whole time, sure the bean plants will be history!
Then I saw some nut grass that needed hoed out, so told one of the boys to go get the hoe for me...and then I ended up hoeing about 3-4 rows till it got dark. I came to the house to clean up, and discovered the material out on the table...so yes, I had everything figured out, so went ahead and cut it!! And while I was cutting Gwynndon called and wanted to know how much left over rice and hash I needed. Then later he wondered if we could use 20 gal of tea!...and if it would be ok to leave it there to get in the morning. I am like, I am not going over to school in the morning for tea, its not really that precious! I knew the ride home he had there was a pickup involved, so they put the garbage can of left over tea on the back, and I filled a 5 gal jug, 2 2gal jugs and 2 gal pitchers in the fridge. There is still some in the garbage can on the back porch, and the boys were having fun going and dipping the tea out of it all day...soon, I think, we will dump the rest and clean up the GC!!
And so...it was really a days work...thankfully they aren't all like this one...some may even be worse! LOL!!

Perseverance...

I didn't get my bid in for pecans very early this year...and when I called Wendells, he said they were all out. Well, a couple days later Naomi called and said that she did put 2 additional bags in the freezer, and became aware later that she still had a bag in there...if we didn't want so many, they could share a few. The next day, Don came breezing into the shop wondering if I had change for a 20 dollar bill. He had some fellows picking up pecans and needed some small change to pay them. As he was leaving, I asked if they had more that needed picked up. He didn't think so, but he sure would have left us have the job, if he knew we were interested. Well, about an hour later, Ivan called and said that Don had called and said the ones that picked up the pecans didn't finish their job, and we could come pick the rest if we wanted! So after school from Maurita down went and helped pick up pecans. We got about a peck, which wasn't so much, but I was glad for them. Then they said that there were more in the tree, if we came back in about a week or so we could have what we could find.

That evening Ivan sat down with the 'cracker' and started shelling them. Then Tues, they called and said there were more to pick up, and they were calling for rain. This time, Maurita was under the weather, so was just Kylan, Delvin and Quinten to help me, but they were good help, and we came home with a bushel...yes a bushel of pecans this time. This was way more than I ever anticipated! Ivan hadn't quite got the first ones all cracked, and he is like wow, we will need to get busy! I reminded him that other years, he just cracked, and then I could work at them by spells during the day...so the first night he did a peck. Wed evening he stayed home from church with the sick ones, and did another peck! I told him that I had hoped he would pick out what was already cracked, and not do more!! :) But we worked at them, and by Fri evening most of those were finished...and Fri evening he cracked the last 1/2 bushel...so now we had lots to do. I worked at them off n on Sat, and then after supper he got a bowl, and we shelled pecans. By 9:30 we were finished, and had 4 1/2 gallon bags ready for the freezer. We also had about 2 qt of small pieces that I kept separate for chopped pecans. We are glad that job is finished...got more than I bargained for, maybe next year I won't have to get any!! Grin!