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!!

Sat morning business...

This morning I went out to the shop...knowing that Ivan finally received his 'Christmas' gift...an automatic garage door opener for the door where he now keeps his truck. A few years back, he had got another one for the same reason...I think he secretly keeps moving his trucks parking place...you know eventually then all the doors will have openers!! LOL!!
Anyway, I found all kinds of things going on, so decided to do pictures of Sat mornings activities!! I couldn't find Ryan tho'...

I like this one...looks like Ivan and Gwynndon are sharing some private joke!

And the story behind this next picture is a project that started about a year ago. Carl H asked Ivan about building a trash trailer for at school. They needed to do something, and he thought that might fit the bill. Well in the meantime before it was finished, someone else lined up and paid for a dumpster to be behind the school. Carl called Ivan and said could he please not build it...well, when you are in the middle of a project, you can't really just quit, so Ivan had Gwynndon continue to build it. Carl came back later and said to Ivan, 'you know I think maybe they might can use it at Heritage Bible School'. Well, that was a dead end street too, they had just taken the one they had there to Billy Stoll and had them completely redo it. So in the meantime, Gwynndon kept plugging away at this trailer. Last week one day it was finally finished enough to paint, and then they sat it along the road one day this week. I saw it out there and cringed thinking of 'that dead horse' and whoever was going to come along and buy it! 'Oh ye of little faith'! About Thurs afternoon Kylan made a comment about his Daddy having sold the trailer, but something about a door being put into the gate. I inquired to Ivan and here Wendell H stopped in and it was exactly what he and Gordan had been talking about they needed to haul calves between their properties, but it needed a door. So when I got to the shop this morning, Gwynndon was actually working at the 'door', so decided to add a pict of this one too.

...and in the house...

...and I was going to take a pict to show that Andrea was doing double duty...and this is the thanks I got!!

But when I told her what I was up too...she did cooperate a bit nicer!!

Andrea was making some snide comments about Geneva just being lazy, but she had actually got up fairly early this morning, got her cleaning done and was sewing. She had taken a break from that to get some signs finished up! And Me, I guess I was flitting from here to there... hanging up laundry, then took it down again, taking pictures, and I need to go see if I can finish up the jacket that I started for Andrea!