Anniversary Round-up!!!

Last Saturday our family was blessed to be able to participate in a very exciting and surprise filled event!! It was held in honor of our dear friends, Chuck and Michelle DeLadurantey's 30th wedding anniversary! The theme was " The good old days in Texas" where they spent the early part of their marriage, therefore, as you can imagine, there was a whole herd of cowboys and girls there, with a few natives thrown in for good measure! =) As to the surprises, this whole event was arranged by their loving children and friends with such complete silence and stealth that their parents had not a clue what was going on and as words cannot express, were totally surprised!!! What a night of fun it was as we talked, ate, and played games. But in the end, it all came back to the Glory and Majesty of Christ, who had brought these two special people together and to Himself, to shine His Truth, to teach their children His Laws, which was most noticeably presented through the honor they showed to their parents! May God Bless you Chuck and Michelle as you continue to serve Him, with many more years on this earth together! Happy 30th Anniversary!


Following are a few of the pictures Grace was able to capture before the celebrated couple arrived. For more photos and information about the event, please see : www.delfamily.blogspot.com

The Young Cowhand.  

Thomas DeLadurantey's useful steed!! RoadMaster Mustang!!!

Injun gone Cowboy!  

Along with lots of other delicious food, the main dish was Roast Pig!!! 

The Hay-bale Gang! From left to right: Esther DeLadurantey, Danielle Shepherd, Philip DeLadurantey, Theresa Eddy, and Mrs. Kelly Shepherd. 

A retired Cowboy! ; ) 

The Three Musketeers. . . Cowboy style! 

Cowgirl talk! 

Watching for Papa. Alex Vinecki, in authentic Cowboy gear! 

Here is half a bushel of Roma tomatoes being prepared for the sauce pot. We canned about 9 pints of sauce that day and 7 Quarts of diced tomatoes. The other half bushel of Romas are sitting in the garage waiting to be made into salsa, and probably more sauce. Tomatoes anyone? 

Five Lakes Fellowship Baptism

Sunday, September 11, 2005 marks a special day in history and the kingdom of our LORD, as the youngest of our family, Josiah, was baptized, along with 5 other children from our fellowship!
Following is a collage of pictures that Grace was able to take of this blessed event!

Thanks to one of the Marshall's neighbors, we were able to hold the event at this lovely pond! The LORD also blessed us with a gorgeous day! 

Five Lakes Fellowship along with friends and family! 

More than one photographer was present to document this event. Here is Miss Allison Marshall and her camera! 

The Short and the Tall of it.  

Josiah giving his testimony. 

Check out the heads! OUCH!!! This one would be titled Dunkin' and Clunkin'! :) 

Besides Josiah, Chase Klaty was the only other boy baptized that day. 

Here is Abby Hyslop being baptized by her father. 

The Shepherd Family. Both Nicholette and Danielle were baptized on Sunday! 

Fun With the Worden Children

We had the wonderful opportunity to have Rebekah and Luke Worden spend the day with us last Thursday while their parents went to a conference near our home. The day was filled with much laughter, (the majority coming from Josiah and Luke, who had a blast together, and tried to make us think they were twins by wearing similar shirts) and we were able to share a evening meal with the whole family when Mr. and Mrs. Worden returned. We are continually thanking God for such wonderful friends!

In the afternoon, a group of us went down to the woods near our library for a nature walk. Christianna and Rebekah had fun (?) posing for Grace on this fallen tree. Doesn't all that lush green foliage look so cool and inviting? (Just watch out for the Poison Ivy!)

Two Dozen Years of Faithfulness...

Twenty-Four years ago today, friends and family gathered to witness the marriage vows of two very special people. On September 5th, 1981, Paul Frederic Sauve and Cathleen Ann Learned pledged their love and loyalty to each other, and their solemn vows, made before God, have stood the test of time. Just over a year later, the first of their seven "blessings" arrived, and with her a new challenge, and new commitments. Paul & Cathy believed it was their duty before God to train and raise their children at home, and for the next 23 years they did just that, faithfully teaching and protecting their offspring, and learning as they went along. Looking back now, we as their children are profoundly grateful for the time and dedication that they showed in teaching us. Let's face it, we were not always model students;) and some of us are only just now starting to appreciate the perseverance and firmness of our "home-school teachers". The thing for which I am most grateful though, is my parents firm resolve to put God first in everything, even "learning time". Ever since I (Charity) was a little toddler, we have had family devotions together each evening, and when we were older, we had a morning family devotions as well, before starting any other "school" subjects, in which we studied and memorized entire passages of Scripture together. We as their children will carry the now 30+ Bible passages in our hearts forever as a legacy to their faithfulness to God and training us in the fear and admonition of Him. There are so many other things that I could say about my parents, but I will close with this. In a world where marriage seems to mean less and less, and the divorce rate is skyrocketing, even in "Christian" circles, I am so grateful that my parents have, with God's help, been faithful to each other, and I pray that God will give them many more years of happiness together as they continue to grow closer to Him!

We love you Mom & Dad!!! Happy 24th Anniversary!

A Wonderful Transformation!

The Bible tells us of the radical change of a sinner when they repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." God has given us a wonderful example of this in the drastic change of the caterpillar as it changes to a chrysalis and then to a butterfly which doesn't resemble the caterpillar in any way.
On August 17, 2005, part of our family went to the pond near our library to look for monarch caterpillars. After looking for a few minutes, we spotted their yellow, white and black striped bodies on milkweed plants at the end of the pond. We placed three of them into a plastic container to take home. At home, we transferred them to an empty fish tank with a screen top.
Over the next two days the three little guys munched and munched on the milkweed leaves that we had brought back for them. One of them ate so much that he shed his skin. On Friday, they all headed up to the top of the tank and started to spin silk on the mesh top. When they completed making a sticky pad, they turned around and stuck their back end to it. Slowly letting go with their feet, they hung in a J shape.
About ten hours later the caterpillar's antennas went limp. Their skin began to split from their head all the way up to the attached end. They were now a light green color with light yellow stripes, but they slowly shrunk and hardened into all green chrysalises. Two of the caterpillars became chrysalises in the middle of the night, but we were able to watch the third one's skin split on Saturday afternoon. It was an amazing sight to watch.
After eleven days of waiting, we noticed the chrysalises had turned a very dark color. We later realized that we were actually seeing the butterfly through the clear casing. We had the joy of watching all three butterflies immerge out into the world. At first they had a very fat spotted body and small withered orange wings which grew bigger as liquid from its body filled out the veins. When their wings were fully formed, the butterflies opened and closed them to help them dry. That is when we noticed that they were all males by the dot on the lower wing. They didn't look anything like the striped caterpillars they had once been.
They rested in our butterfly tent for a day and then we took them back to the pond to let them go. They will probably start their journey to Mexico for the winter. Their children or grandchildren will return to our pond at the library and lay their eggs on the milkweed plants. When the tiny caterpillars immerge, the whole
wonderful transforming cycle will start again.

Josiah (and mom)