Tales of a Traveler

Greetings from the traveling blog mistress! Sorry about the long absence and lack of posting but I did not have computer access while away. I hope to be able to share a little though from my trip and bring you a glimpse of all that took place while down in Texas.
Here is a quick sneak peek...


Indiana farmland sunset.


Crazy picture I know, and I'm not even sure what city this was but it looked really cool as we drove by.



Barely surviving through the dark night drive and ice storm, succumbing to nervous sickness and anxiety, it was only by God's grace that we all made it safely through those many hours of travel and reached the sunny land of Texas!


This was a must stop location!


At the festival we saw many people (almost too many for this shy girl!) including this guy....


...and this famed actor!


The highlight of the event was of course the last day of the festival....the culmination of it all...anticipating the opening of the envelope and the announcement of the Best of Festival winners!

...Stay tuned for more images and details of my week in Texas!


~Grace

Happy 21st Birthday, John!

We celebrated John's birthday early this year due to the fact that he was going to be back in Texas on the 18th. Mom did a great job on the cake, (as usual) with Christianna as assistant.

New clothes, the previously pictured Cowboy hat, and recipes with accompanying ingredients for him to use on his cooking nights in the apartment.
(in the above picture, John is entertaining us with stories of his time in New York and Maine)

The happy Birthday boy (or the Happy Birthday boy:-) with his cake.

We are so proud of all your accomplishments this past year, John, and pray that God will continue to lead you and keep you safe in Texas and anywhere else He may take you in the future.

Lots of Love,
Faith (for the rest of us)

Happy 2009!

This was the only picture that was taken on January 1st! Ok so I was really busy with getting somethings done for the trip next week...and for some reason there was no one else in the house able to take pictures! =) It was a great day anyways...and we had some friends over for games in the evening.

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On New Years Day After we had the church family over. Check out the Fultz's blog for more pictures.

Tiny didn't like the sledding (even on Christianna's lap...can you believe i!?!?!) and decided that swinging was safer.

Sister!

Even though it was so cold and the snow was powdery our slide still got quite the workout!

Faith and Mr. Ostrander talking and looking through gardening magazines. Thoughts of this years harvest already in mind!

Enjoying hot chocolate...

and flavored popcorn.

The end of 2008

Ok so Blogger hasn't been any easier to log into this year than last, and I have been pretty busy getting ready for the big Texas trip next week (YAHOO!!!) and I actually didn't get any significant pictures on the last day because John left for a wedding in Maine on Tuesday so we celebrated New Years on Monday....*phew!*.... thus the lack of year end posting! =)

But, here I am finally and here is a quick view of some of the things that went on around our place in the last week of 2008! Enjoy~

On the last Sunday of the year we woke up to no power! Church was canceled and we spent the approximately 10 hours without power bailing the sump pump, trying to stay warm and figure out how we were going to heat up hot water and food for lunch. It was quite the day!

Here we are taking a break from bailing and trying to make the most of the situation.

Good looking guy! =)

Because John decided last minute that he was going to go to his CollegePlus coach's wedding in Maine and wouldn't be here on New Years Eve we celebrated Monday evening and had a delicious meal of ham roast, au gratin potatoes, green bean, and jello. Oh, and ice water in Christiana crystal. =)

...and don't forget the eclairs for dessert served with hot chocolate!

Being silly~ Guess where John was New Years Eve?!?!

Afterwards we played Mexican Train Domino's.

~Mother-dear~

Another dual expression picture here! =)

Oh yes, I did get some pictures on the last day of 2008. The air was crisp and the snow crunched as this warm loving, cold disliking girl ran outside (without a coat!!!) with tri-pod and camera in hand and quickly snapped these pictures of the moon...

...and I'm glad I did!

Happy New Year dear family and friends! May our great Lord and Savior give you hope, patience, and peace this new year!

For Christ's glory!

~Grace~

Gatherings with friends...and such

Following are some pictures from last weekend...around the homestead and crazy, fun, enjoyable time spent with friends!



Pretty amazing! No two are the same.

[Last two images taken by Christianna]

Our lovely water way out back...where we hope to some day dig a defined pond and river.

[Last two images taken by Josiah]

For an early birthday present, Josh and I got John a cowboy hat.

Now he is a true Texas dude! =)

Goat cheese anyone?

We had the Shepherds over for fellowship and fun. The sledding hill got quite the workout! =)

Christianna and Nicholette.

Josiah and his new way to snowboard! I think I prefer standing up.

We enjoyed some lovely music by Mr. Shepherd.

...And a lovely dinner prepared by Christianna and Danielle.

Get these three guys on a couch..and you're asking for trouble!

Here we are playing Midnight Manners...or as it should be called "Midnight Madness"!

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On Friday we hosted a gathering with friends but first we all met at a bowling alley for a couple games.

It was a great time of catching up with old friends and meeting new ones!

John and his friend Mark.

Theresa Eddy and I.

Dad - the one legged bowler. =)

Afterwards we gathered at our place for food and games.

It's happened again...and this time we can't blame it on a hurricane.

The ice age is over and the great meltdown has returned!

Our road. Flooded out yet again.


Josiah had fun again with the camera and captured most of the above shots.

Thankfully the water did recede quickly and we just got another dumping of snow this morning to "clean" it all up.

More end of the year images to come!