Berries Galore!

Tuesday afternoon us ladies and Josiah and Mrs. Eddy and Theresa headed out to go berry picking together! Strawberries were on the menu and we were able to find a huge farm/orchard that had a great price and huge selection of the fruit! Though the sun was blazing down, we made quick work of it and came home with over 45 lbs of berries!

[sorry the images are grainy. I forgot to check my ISO speed and later found it on the wrong setting! Oh well.]

There was the hunt for the largest berries and though all were close Christianna found a pretty big one! Of course that size was just to big to keep so in the mouth it went! =)

Yumm! Juicy warm berries!

The Eddys with their 14 pounds!

By the end of our picking we had three heaping boxes of strawberries, a few spots on our clothes(and faces) we hoped to get out and more than a few berries in our bellies!

Later in the day Faith got going on making jam. Simply scrumptious!

Deliciousness personified!

Going on a Turtle Hunt!

What fun it is to have our friends the Brysons so close by! The other evening Josiah enjoyed spending time with his friends as they rowed around their pond searching for frogs and turtles. They came up successful with two turtle catches!

Picnic with Friends

Last Saturday night we were invited to a picnic at our friends the Ervin's place. We enjoyed the lovely evening making new friends and fellowshiping with some that we had not seen in a while! Delicious food and fun games and enjoyed conversations had by all! The intent of the event was for us like minded families to fellowship together with our common bond in Jesus Christ and our focus to raising godly families for His glory!

Dinner on the lawn

I feel bad that I didn't get any pictures of our hosts the Ervins but here are some of dad and mom talking with Mr. and Mrs. Bennett.

The boys enjoyed some racing later in the evening.

John racing Destiny. The little guy was so cute, and when John purposely slipped and fell Destiny almost lost laughing so hard!

It was a great night over all and as darkness fell we met around the campfire and sang songs.

The smoke from the fire got in the way of the flash in this picture.

Thank you Ervin family for your wonderful hospitality and friendship! May God richly bless you!

Butterflies in the garden

The other day Christianna and I spotted these little beauties in the garden.






Just trying to get pictures was fun enough but when I realized I could get that close with the camera I thought I'd see if I could get this swallow tail to sit on my finger! Holding my breath I reached down and it delightfully stepped onto my finger!


This 'red spotted purple' was a little evasive but quite the beauty to see! Christianna finally was able to get it onto her hand but by the time I got the camera out again it flew off.

Amazing creations of our great King!

How do the Gardens Grow?

After 7 years we finally are able to have a garden again! Though its does come with hard work we are greatly enjoying it and cannot wait till next year when we will be able to plant in full. This year we are just getting in what we can and have started with 6 30''x 20' raised rows and have tomatoes, peppers, beans, lettuce, zucchini and cucumbers growing! At the back of the garden we have pumpkins, watermelon and sunflowers planted. May God bless and bring the increase!

The fence and archway made out of dead branches from our curly willow tree!

through the fence

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Morning Glories by the archway.

Last week we headed over to Port Huron to visit our dear Aunt Myrt and Uncle Warren, pick up some plants and be inspired by her huge garden!

Beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables have been gracing their property for many years and have been a blessing to others as they sell the seedlings and plants and produce at their road stand.

Their lovely green house - the home of many plants in earlier months when the frost was still around.

Just before we left Uncle Warren showed us their newest residences on the ladder along side the barn. A nest of robins sat between the rungs!

Can you tell how many babies there are?

Let the peoples praise You, O God;

Let all the peoples praise You.

Then the earth shall yield her increase;

God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us,

And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Psalm 67:5-7

The Girls bedroom saga...

Once upon a time there was the ugly Cocoa Cola trim with dark and dirty blue carpet room.

Then there was the pretty pink (though a little brighter shade than planned) room with nice 'hard wood' laminate floor ready for the big project...the making of our girls bunkbed/loft combo to fit all four of us in this 9'5'' x 12 room!

The plans were drawn up. Custom made just for this size of room! At first we almost dropped it all after finding out the exact dimensions but after much thinking and measuring we went ahead with it and God blessed our efforts in allowing it to work so well, even giving us a little extra room for sliding into place!

Measuring, marking and cutting was next...

...then painting!

...and finally the putting together began! Mind you, it was no simple task but with God's help of wisdom and patience we made it and had the bunk bed and loft put together and finished in less than two days!

Tricky times...hold still everyone! The photographer actually got in the picture here. Thanks Christianna!=)

Christianna and Faith waiting for the finishing touches of ladder steps and then the mattresses.

And then the final product! A bunk bed with attached loft and Great Aunt Lizzie's bed underneath the loft. Sorry the picture isn't very clear. I could not get any better angle as my camera does not have a wide angle lens!

...with girls!

Though at times it was hard to press on, perseverance was the key and we are so glad it is now all done! Close and cozy, yet comfortable, we are all enjoying sharing a room together especially as now we have the other room able to use for our sewing!

A most special thanks to Dad for helping us and being the chief sawer, driller, screw driver and over all guide as the project was in progress! Also we must thank our "most favorite" realtor, Mr. Ruloff as his gift helped us purchase the supplies!

Thank the Lord no one was hurt and may He receive all the glory!