Our Faith, Our Family, & Our Friendships.

"Mom!!! My favorite flowers are blooming!"      Sure enough,  our flower garden of tiger lillies are blooming away!      I love that my son appreciates simple things as this and gets excited about the beauty in our Lords creation.      

 One of my favorite times of the year,  the time when we yield from all our hard work,   when we put away for winter, and the abundance of my fathers blessings are so evident.   He always provides!    Most days tractors and trailers full of bales of hay drive down our road and I smile big. I Love living here,   where we are surrounded by fields and farms.    Harvest is all around!  And I know it pleases the Lords heart.   So many times harvest and gathering is mentioned in the Bible,   and its in correlation with wisdom and hard work.   It's the fruit of your efforts! Matt and Ben picking green beans out of our family garden!  

 And she's completely attached to us!   She follows us everywhere and if I sit down.  There she is sure to be,  curled up at my feet.   She chases Brooklynn and will run the yard with her!   She's Bens best friend all night and they are inseparable.    He's soooo protective of her!         Last week she went to the vet,  She's a bit underweight and the Dr said she has hookworms but has her on some medication to clear that up.    Hopefully she porks up soon!  She was 6 pounds even,  so worms or not,  she's still gained some in our care.    More to come.  Lots more!

 It was probably their favorite yet!    The Church family was amazing,   they motivated the kids in many ways to memorize scripture,     bring their Bibles in hand to each nights event (if they didn't have one,  they were given one) and to be excited about God's teachings.    The last evening was family night where the pastor preached a small sermon and thanked us parents for being faithful and bringing our children each night.  He had an excellent message,  and stressed about the importance of remembering that these are the children of tomorrow,   and instilling God's word in them today was vital.  He emphasized that we have to make it a priority to instill a Love for Jesus in our Children's hearts,  and show them the importance of him in their lives.     It was a simple, yet such a good reminder.       Im so thankful for these opportunities for my children to learn a...

 Im  huge advocate for keeping kids active..   whether it's Sports,   or crafts,  vbs's settings,   or just play dates,  I think it's important that kids stay busy in a Safe healthy manner.        So for this summer I bought some paints and craft kits and everyonce in a while I'll sit them down to be creative    Bens not a huge fan of painting,  but everyonce in a while he'll humor me.      Brooklynn on the other hand,  it is very much one of her favorite things to do.     

 How blessed we are that Matt's parents shared their bounty with us!  They let us come pick from their garden and we were able to put much away for this winter!      How the Lord provides in so many ways!  

   All 5 pounds of her cuteness!      Our family joined our family Sunday,  and has made our family complete (you know besides chickens, ducks, cows, and kittens,  lol ) and we are so in love.  The kids have adapted so well,  and shes fits right in.  She's a Labradoodle and so playful.   Her tail wags non stop.      She's also into everything!!!  As Ben says "she's so much work!   Like a baby!"    She's great at night too.... as long as she's in bed with Ben.  LOL.   Put her in a crate and she's barks,  whines, and cries so loud that folks three towns over could hear her.      But as long as she's right with Ben you won't hear peep out of her all night.    soooo she sleeps with Ben,  and he loves it.    Daisy curls right up to him and sleeps sound.  

  It was a stretch.    Out of my comfort zone,   But in transparency and sharing how I'm growing in the Lord I want let you know that I did it!    A little background,   A dear brother in Christ died last week and went to spend eternity with our Father in Heaven.    I reached out to the ladies who where were in charge of putting on the luncheon after the funeral service,  asking if I could help in any way.    They responded that they needed cup cakes!    .... I can do that I thought?   Cant be that hard right?     I asked how many they needed and they said 4 dozen.    I got right to work.   I whipped up several batches of batter,   poured them in cup cake paper cups,   cooled them,  and covered with chocolate frosting,    and decorated them a bit.    I was impressed with how easy it was and it felt so good to help out.     I share thi...

 Bens loves going to them-  And I love taking him!   Anytime my son can hear about our Lord and grow in his relationship with him is huge for me.   I am so grateful,  and find it an honor and privilege to get him there.     This past week the VBS concentrated on Ephesians where it talks about the full Armor of God!    Each night of the week they talked about a different part of the armor,   what it was,  and the importance of it.    and by the end of the week,   The kids were able to say almost all of Ephesians 6:10-18!   My heart was so blessed and encouraged!    The late bedtime and sugary treats they fed my boy were well worth it!  lol Shield of faith! Coaster with the while verse on it! Bracelet with a reminder of each armor.   

  I've missed posting here!    Life has been super busy this summer and many thing have had to take priority over blogging,  but that's OK!   God is good,   his provisions and blessings on our lives and business have been abundant.    As a family we took a camping trip with all of Matt's family and it was a time of rest,  unplugging and no technology!    No pictures were taken,   no screen time for any of us and hardly any cell reception at all.    We put our business in trusted hands and took 4 days off!       Nights sitting by the camp fire till late in the dark,  sleeping in (Ben broke a record and slept till 10am one day!)    Corn hole tournaments,    (Ben and uncle Mark won one,  and matt won the other!   ... I took last place lolol)  an afternoon at the beach, a 4 hour rafting trip and more.   It was a really good time spen...

My kids loved it!    LOVED IT!