Our Faith, Our Family, & Our Friendships.

10 years ago we enrolled Ben in a Christian school.    From the start of his life, we knew we wanted to give him a Godly upbringing and a firm foundation In Christ.        We have made many sacrifices over the years to get him there,  forfeiting lavish vacations,   and many of the bells and whistles in life to ensure we could always afford this chance for him.     And not for one second have we regretted that decision.    Jesus Christ is the first and most important thing in our lives.   Giving our children a solid foundation is our job.      It's been an amazing 10-year journey with him,  but this week,    He graduated from 8th grade and his whole world is about to change.        Everything he learned will go with him,    The math,  reading,  memories, and friends will never be forgotten,    but most importantly the Firm foundation in Christ t...

  Its crazy hat and hair day!       Luckily this one was easy for us as we own a photo booth and have tons of fun hats.     The Kids choose matching Jester hats with little bells at the ends of each flap.       They turned in all their finished assignments ,  said their memory verses and got points towards possible prizes at the end of the week!     Ben is even going the extra mile and saying all the books of the Bible,  new testament and old,   and quoting the 10 commandments!         Oh this kid.....

Its a busy time of year here in our neck of the woods,  a time when we get our gardens in and look forward to a plentiful harvest!  This year we planted a bit more hoping to have extra to put away for winter.   With the food prices going up,     canning and freezing (especially our own grown harvest) is the major goal for this year.     Distracted by a very important worm!  lol We planted snow peas,   tomatoes,    green beans,   peppers,    lettuce,   beets, and zucchini,   and plan to do onions and a second planting of lettuce and green beans later in the season.   As we were out there planting I prayed,  that the Lord would bless our efforts,  that he would allow it all to grow and give us a wonderful harvest.    I felt at peace as I prayed,  knowing that my God always provides, and Biblically,  I was teaching my children good. The Bible reminds us not to be lazy during t...

 ITs generally a tradition at my kids school that at the end of Lutherans schools week, each kid get to choose one special person in their life to come and join them for a fun day in their class with all their classmates!     It was Brooklynn's first year,  and Due to the covid yuckiness,  It's was Ben's first year for a few.     And, Of course, Pa and Gigi were the kid's first requests!  It with a 50/50 chance they could attend with Pa and Gigi in Florida on Vacation,    But I told the kids it didn't hurt to ask!     So Ben and Brooklynn send an Individual video message to each pa and Gigi requesting them as their special person and Thankfully they accepted the invite and they came home in time to attend!  yay!          

   This is mine,   all 24 of us.         We're all so different,    we all have different opinions,  lives, and personalities,    But we all love Jesus.    He is our glue,  and he is what defines our history,  and our present.      It's not uncommon for us to share messages of what the Lord is showing us,  or a verse that stood out to us in our personal devotions.  I treasure these messages and look forward to them.  Any conversation centered around Christ and his love for us is a good one.   These are my people,  and together we have a story.      We are loud,   we're a bit crazy,    we laugh,  we cry,  and we carry each other burdens.    In a moment of sadness, we'll grab each other's hands and hold each other tight.       We've indeed Had our ups and downs,  Oh so man...

  When it snows huge so everyone has a day off from school,  and both your kids ask to help you make bread,   you decide to make it fun and have a competition!      It made a mess,  and if I'm being honest was NOT on the days to-do list,  But how could I pass up the opportunity to make memories with my kids,   teach them something useful in life AND have fresh rolls to go with dinner?!    It was a Win-win if I put my selfish desires of the day aside,  so we made rolls.     They had a blast!    I handed them the ingredients,  and each kid made their own batch of rolls,  they mixed and kneaded everything themselves,   (Ben did need some help with the mixing part as he only has one hand,  But he rocked the kneading with one hand all on his own!)    Soft dinner rolls

  When your friend messages and says that he has food for your chickens you are ever so grateful!    And so much food it was,   These boxes were huge and loaded with foods like lettuces,  breads and lots of goodies that a local place had to throw out,  so he thought of us so it wasn't a total waste!       Our chickens were fed well,  and I am reminded of the wonderful people The Lord has filled my life with,  He fills our needs every day,     and keeps ALL our tummies full even in the most unexpected ways.   My village is pretty awesome.    They even think about my chickens :) 

 Lol.   Always on the path to better eating,  more homemade foods,  and Healthier options.        That will never change.      I think it's important to know what goes in your body and to be wise.  What goes in us,    has a direct impact on so many areas of our life,  physical,  and mental.         Treating Bens ADHD is one of the hardest journeys we've had as parents.    But we won't give up.    We always strive forward.    Tho don't worry,  We do understand the need to compromise,  and have fun,  We do enjoy a treat here and there and sometimes have a complete day of indulgence.    Its all about balance and we know this.   We talk about it as a family.  We motivate each other,  and Im always looking for new and interesting ways of making eating healthy more fun.     Its a way of life for us.  ...

Our Father in Heaven blessed my family with a New Addition!    Praising our Lord for my newest niece Born to my little sister Lisa!   Liliana ,  6 pounds 1 ounce! She is indeed the best Christmas gift our family could ask for!   Healthy and Perfect.  How our Lord answers prayers! This Aunt Shell is slightly smitten and can't wait to gobble her up in hugs and kisses!  

 Yes!   You read that right!  20dozen! husked,  slightly Cooked,  cut off the cob, and bagged up!    What a job it was but sooo nice to fill my freezer with farm fresh for winter!         I was so blessed to have the inlaws help with the whole process,   start to finish.         Thank you pa and gigi!

 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!

   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.  

Tonight I took the kids to a local church that had drive-by VBS!     It was awesome,  they handed my kids a lesson plan to go home and learn about Jesus,   a link to an online devotion,    a craft (magnet), a slap-on bracelet that they can color,  coloring pages, and more!   They also gave the kids slushies(not pictured) and 2 packs of cookies!    My kids were thrilled!!   Something so simple,  yet such an impact!   Covid or not,   this church still did their best to share Jesus in a manner that they felt safe.    More churches need to take this initiative,   and honestly don't have much excuse on NOT doing something like this.    Kids need to hear about Jesus.   And something so easy could plant seeds,  water, or deepen a child's relationship with Jesus.      Tomorrow's generations needs churches of today to stand up,  be b...

What a gift to be able to pick a harvest with my mother-in-law.     It was hot but the kids had great attitudes and The fellowship with gigi was wonderful.   How blessed I am to have a woman in my life who loves the Lord.  Her example to my children is priceless.   Between all of us we picked about 25 pounds!   

 Minutes of being home on Summer break Ben jumped on the 4 wheeler for his traditional "drive the school out of me ride!"  He drove through mud puddle after mud puddle in the yard due to the rain the night before,   and just had a grand old time!       Full of mud he was all smiles and ready for a summer of adventures!     Not long after,   he found a snake,  caught and then released a gardener snake.      Next morning he decided to catch a snapping turtle in the backyard.   Yes,  legit snapping turtle.     NEVER A DULL MOMENT!  

 It's been a minute since I've posted as  Life has been busy and other things had to take priority,  but I'm here and start catching up!      First things First!      Ben's last day of 5th grade was yesterday!       Say what!?!?    How do I have a 6th grader!?    When did that happen!       I love this kid so much.  He is a delight in my life.   I'm so thankful the Lord choose ME to be his momma!         Looking for to a summer of making memories together!

 Around the local pond.   It was only .3 miles,  but I was nice a refreshing before bed.    Hoping to make it a nightly tradition this summer!

  Around 1 am we were awoken last night to the sounds of an animal screaming outside our bedroom window.   It was loud and jolted us all awake.      It didn't take us but seconds to realize that something was attacking our Americana momma chicken.    We all flew out of bed,  ...the screaming was something I've never heard before.   I had no idea a chicken could make such a frantic noise.    It was so loud and terrifying.     Matt yelled out the window to hopefully scare what ever It was away then darted down the stairs and out the door to help her..    but sadly, it too late.    Whatever preditor it was,  attacked fast.    It drug her off and all we were left with was silence in the dark night   Ben ran outside and together he and Matt searched for her babies but was only able to find 1 out of the 9.       We were all shaking and Brooklynn just...

It was so nice to be able to sit as a family in a restaurant,    and just be OUT!    While I love being at home,  and cooking yummy foods,  it is nice to take a break sometimes and be around other people!  It was good to dress up ad feel like life is a bit normal again,         and my kids loved being out!   We cant wait to go again!