My little farmer boy.

 It might just be chickens ,  ducks, and puppies,  but we love it!      

  He's my helper and does all the lifting.  Proud of the man he's becoming. 

 And no.... no new animals came home with us on this trip,  cause we looked and there was none 😂

An Evening of volunteering.

 And both of my kids got involved!     It was a blessing to use our time and energy to serve others and be a blessing for our Father in Heaven.   

  Our School hosted a food drive the last month and brought in well over 2000 non perishable items and as a result we were able to fill 28 boxes of food for local families in need!     

  They asked for Volunteers to set up tables,  label boxes,  count food,   and fill boxes,  I asked the ladies in charge if I brought my kids to help,  would they be a hinderance or a blessing.   They were overjoyed to have the extra help and right away put Ben to work sorting and setting up.    Thankfully He had a great attitude and was willing to serve.   Brooklynn, tho young was also given small jobs and loved it!  She even got to put small items like tooth brushes and toothpaste in the boxes.      

   It was a blessing to see so much food going to families and to see how our God provides!    

    He IS GOOD!

A makeover

 By Brooklynn.   Doesn't gramma look amazing? 

To one of my favorite humans.

Happy birthday!

 These last 12 years of raising you has been a delight.   I thank God with all my heart for letting me have you!      You are my miracle ♡

Cannolis for the win!

 Picking out his birthday treat to serve to his class mates!     

A tribute to our Veterans.

   My Children's school had a little ceremony honoring our local vets.   We had many attend and it was a blessing!    They even took the kids outside and played the TAPS song by trumpet and then shot off the 21 gun salute!   It was incredible to hear and an honor to be apart.     There were definitely a few tears shed.    

    In unison our school as a whole told the men 

"Thank you for you service!!"

Our Lord provides!

   Daddy got a deer!    A 6 point buck!   Everyone's excited!   Almost 2 weeks of persistent hunting,   efforts paid off!   

  Normally we send it to a butcher but after calling around we couldn't find anyone able to take it,   our normal place is 9 months out due to lack of employees. 

  So we bit the bullet and did it ourselves,    right in the backyard!      It actually wasn't a bad process  and didn't take long,     and we ended up with more than 25 pounds of meat for the freezer.   What a blessing!    

   

 So thankful for family who put time and effort into my sons life,    before the shut down my Aunt would take Ben out for some special aunt/nephew time.  She would take him to dinner,   to the store to buy snacks and then a movie.   They loved their time together and both looked forward to it.  

   With the covid shut down and movies closed, that tradition had to be put on hold for a season but this weekend it was put on hold no longer!

     

    

 I won't lie,  There are moments in my parenting where I wonder if Im doing it all wrong.   I wonder if Im raising my Kids the way Christ would want/ need,    I wonder if I discipline well enough,  If I'm consistent enough,   If I'm too strict,  or not strict enough.    Always questioning if I have a clue what Im doing.

  Parenting is no joke.    Its hard.     There are days where Im like WOW.   I didn't see this coming,  when certain situations arise and I have do deal with them out of the clear blue.

 Teens years are around the corner and part of me is scared to death,  The other part is excited.     I want to see the young man by boy becomes,  I want to see him thrive and grow,   and its been fun to watch so far,  and Im sure its only goona get better.   He's a pretty awesome dude.    Most people that have met him would agree.  

   Is he perfect?  

   Ha.    NOT EVEN CLOSE.

  But his heart is huge.   He's NEVER met a stranger.    He doesn't care your age- He'll be your friend,    He'll sit and chat with you and engage in conversation.        

  And when I look outside and see him just sitting and talking with our elderly neighbor Im not surprise,  But I sure am blessed and honored to call him son.   

  I watched them for a good 20-30 minutes,   they talked about everything and anything.    Ben was relaxed,  and in no rush to get away from him.   He sat there chilled,    He shared his thoughts,   he asked questions,   and age did not play a part.   He was just Ben.   

 So,   Maybe I'm not completely failing at this.....

Any guesses to tonights new snack im trying out?

Always on the lookout for new healthy homemade snacks!    I'll let you know the results!

 

A New Tradition

    Our Church/ School hosted a harvest festival On Halloween night with pumpkin carving, Bounce houses,   bon fires,  Donuts and cider,  and trunk or treat,  They used it as a safe alternative,   and an outreach to the local area.      It was such a fun family time.    So many locals came out to attend and the turnout was great.   

   I wanted to go a step further and try to plant a seed of Christ into each child that came through and give something besides candy and more beneficial to each little one.  

  After some thought,  I decided on pencils!     I found bulk packs of pencils on the internet,   and each one of them had something about Jesus on them!     It was perfect!    What kid can't use a pencil?   What parents gonna throw it away like they might candy. and if a child uses it daily at school,   Every day they might read the message that "Jesus love you" 

  I could think of nothing better,  sharing his love and planting seeds of him.   

  So I ordered a couple hundred!     I got teased that I was the mom that would take candy and sugar out of Halloween but honestly,  I can't tell you what a good positive response I got from parents and kids alike that came to my "trunk".     Parents were actually happy to see something useful and some kids even asked if they could have more than one!      The kids with allergies were excited as well and their parents said "now this is something you can have"!!!     

  Matt started the night calling me the pencil lady ,  and by the end said they were actually a huge hit!    

   Can every parent pass out pencils on holloween ?   Prolly not, It would kinda ruin the point of the night, but... Im glad I did.    I felt really good about my decision and plan to do even more next year,   Maybe a pencil,  eraser,  and a piece of candy?         If we each did something small to plant the seeds of Christ in the Life of a child,   Imagine the difference we could make.     You never know who we could be handing that pencil to and what Jesus can do with it.     He's in the business of making warriors for him,   He just asks us to do our part.   

  As Christians one of our only jobs in this world is to tell people about Jesus,  to be a constant witness of him and share of his goodness.    If a simple pencil passed out on Halloween that shares about Him,    The extra expense is so worth it.    I challenge you to consider it for next year.    

  Our Future generations are depending on it.