Frost

"He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;"
Psalms 147:16

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:.....
From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?"
Job 38:1, 29

What happens when...

we go to a Library sale? We peruse through the piles very frequently asking; whether we want this book?, or if we have this, and do we want it in hard back? Unfortunately for our groaning bookshelves, most of these questions are answered affirmatively. At the end of our search through the most recent Library sale, we came home with the total of....


21 books. The variety of our finds were astonishing.

We found a wonderful selection of children's books. Including, "Little Lord Fauntleroy" by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which was printed in 1894! It is a little bit beat up, (not surprisingly so for being 117 years old) but still readable.

Then, we were very pleased to find some Bill Pete books, which we have loved since we were very little, but for some reason have never owned.

Of course, the classic section was well gone over and we came through as the triumphant owners of three Charles Dickens novels and one Nathaniel Hawthorne. We were so very pleased with our success that we returned on Saturday, and came home with almost the same amount! Yes, we are avid readers and we all know that you can never have enough books!!

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." ~Charles W. Eliot

The first Sunset of 2011

Was absolutely breathtaking! Despite the cold wind that blew I rushed outside with my new camera to capture it for your and my future enjoyment.

"Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD's name is to be praised."
Psalm 113:1-3
Amen, Hallelujah!

~Chs

How 2010 ended and 2011 began.

As a family we have quite a few New Years traditions. One of them being a large fancy dinner on New Years eve. This year our menu consisted of:

Venison Roast
Roasted Carrots, Onions, and Garlic
Au Gratin Potatoes
Green Lettuce Salad, with toppings
Canned Peaches.


I spread the table with a Pink tinged Lace cloth (also known as a lace curtain over a pink top sheet;) then used our Grandmother's eggshell china plates for the main dinner, and the eggshell china bowls for the peaches. Christiana Crystal wine goblets served for the Ice water, and either eggshell china or crystal was used for all the serving dishes (excepting the potatoes).


The Roast turned out lovely (thank you Josh for being the provider of it) and the gravy very flavorful.

In all the Dinner was a great success and the cook was not to worn out after all!

The rest of the evening we spent together watching movies, reading scripture, and praying.

Oh, and eating. Faith's delectable Eclairs being just one of the many treats we enjoyed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New years day dawned warm and beautiful, so we all headed outside, to do what everyone (in their right mind) would want to do on the first day of a new year.

Move our Goat shed! You see we had found out that its placement was all but ideal, for it let in drafts. So we were just waiting for a warm day, with thawed ground to move it to a better location! January 1st was perfect.


The side of the shed that had been against the chicken coop had to be painted, and the Sun came out just in time to help dry it off.

Our whole family (here at home) got out and helped, and we even had assistance from Mr. Reiche, who stopped by during his 11 mile bike ride on 1/1/11 ;)

Baby dog sat up in the sunshine and looked on. All was right with the world.

After we were all finished and the goats returned to their newly arranged pen, they (Fiona and Java the goats) were so happy that they even let me take some portraits of them! Don't you just love Java's Roman nose profile:)
God blessed us with Sunshine for the rest of the day, and some of us went for a walk in the afternoon, reveling in His marvelous creation.
~Chs

The last few days of.....

2010!!!

This last week of the year was quite busy and enjoyable for the Sauve family. One of the things on our plate was bird sitting our dear friend's 3 parrots.

Picasso, a painted Conure, was by far our favorite. He was just a darling and liked to sit and cuddle on Josiah and Dad's shoulders.


Then there is Apollo, a gorgeous, extremely vocal Sun Conure. He made us all laugh because he chuckled/talked to himself when he ate.

And last, but definitely not least, was Frodo. Frodo was extremely shy and timid, and HUGE!

On the last day of bird sitting, most of us went and we had a few games of ping pong out in the long room at the back of the house.

None of us children are very good, but Mumsie and Dad, well you should have seen them make that ball fly!

On Thursday evening we had a wonderful time of fellowship and fun with the Bryson family. We had plenty of game options, don't you think?

One of the most popular games recently has been Dutch Blitz! If you have never played this game, you are missing out on lots of frustration, oh, whoops, I mean FUN! =)

Some of us got into a rousing game of Pit, which is endless fun as long as you don't mind losing your voice;)

Meanwhile, some of the rest of the group tried to ignore the shouting at the Pit table, and played a quiet game of Pass the Pigs.

The very last game of the evening was one of my very favorites: Taboo!! Oh, and here is a hint for those who have never played - always have a sibling as one of your team mates. It is amazing how much easier it is to explain things in your "family" language.

It was a wonderful evening! We played games, ate food, discussed gardening, animal husbandry and movies, and at the very end, we had a short wonderful impromptu song time. One of the things we thank the LORD for this year are all the good Christian families which He has blessed us with as friends.

~Chs

PUPPIES!!

A couple of weeks ago Faith spent some time down in Dearborn with our friends the Kinne family. One of the reasons for this visit, was that the Kinne's dog Halle was due with puppies, and Faith is Halle's midwife=). So after a week long tortuous wait where Halle came into false labor every night, the puppies came, all 12 of them!! Two were stillborn but the other ten were healthy and wriggly and hungry.


So when Josiah Dad and I went down to pick up Faith, we just had to spend some time with the darling little bundles of new life.

Halle is a very sweet mother and lets anyone pick up her puppies and hold them.


This tiny pup was so comfortable in Gideons arms that he just went and fell plump asleep.

Of course since their eyes were closed it was kind of hard to tell when they were sleeping anyways! They had the cutest tongues though and would stick them in and out when they were hungry.

This little puppy that I am holding was one that they thought was not going to make it, but after lots of prayers and help from Faith and the children she is now quite healthy and very cute!
~Chs

Our little wild visitor.

One cold icy day, Josiah glanced out the window and saw a group of turtle doves huddled around the steps and up near our garage door. So he went out into the garage, possessed himself of some seeds, and slowly opened the door. One of the little birds curiosity was aroused and it began to slowly bob its way into the garage. It pecked happily at the seeds and at Josiah's boot and was only vaguely surprised to find itself being picked up and carried indoors.

We all exclaimed over and very gently petted our little wild visitor. Then Faith held it a while to warm it up nice and toasty before Josiah let it back outside to its friends. It was lovely to be able to hold one of Gods wild chickens and we enjoyed it very much.
~Chs

Josh's new job!

Josh is now working as a security officer at a hospital!!! We are very glad that God provided him with a job, even if it might not be the most exciting one invented=)

Though he has had a few good stories to tell us after a day of work=)

Please pray that Josh might be a witness to those around him and be safe while keeping everything secure. Thank you in advance!!!!

~Chs

Breaking in our Pond.

This is what Josiah, Faith and I did before breakfast this morning. It was our first time ever ice skating on our pond.


I do hope the video works for you all. Enjoy! ~Chs

Snow Day!!!!!!!!!!!

It has finally come!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After all day snow on Sunday, we woke up Monday with piles upon piles of snow everywhere!!! (If you can't tell I like snow=) Following are some pictures of what our sleepy eyes saw Monday morning.


The poor wild birdies bath was all frozen over, but we soon had it all fixed up.





Josiah's new profession is excavation. Every time we get snow, Josiah heads outside shovel in hand to create paths to all our animal dwellings. You should see how they (the paths, not animal dwellings;) cross and traverse all over the east side of our yard.


The chicken coop is quite pretty with its drifts of snow, don't you think?

Our back yard looked like a winter wonderland.

That afternoon we had to travel down to pick up Faith and everywhere you looked it was a winter wonderland too!!

It was so cold, that even doggies need to bundle up=)


Miss adorable dog, is sooo stylish with her blue scarf!!! Make sure you all wrap up everyone, it is cold outside. Why don't you take Baby's example and wear stylish scarves;)

~Chs

Peppermint chocolate Bon bons.

What do you do when you have had fish for dinner, and some of the boys in your house want a dessert, and you only have half a bag of chocolate chips, and some peppermint candies in the cupboard.

You get creative, do everything but follow the recipe (which is why the icing turned out pink instead of white=) and get sticky. In essence these are cocoa bon bons with chopped peppermints and a few chopped chocolate chips inside, with "pink" mint icing on top. The boys loved them, and if I can remember exactly what I did, I will have to make them again. That is a big IF.

~Chs

Jewels, Gold and Fairy Feathers.

On a cold clear December morning, a tired young woman made fruitless efforts to get out of her warm snugly flannel sheets. For five minutes she tried her best to forget the animals outside that were waiting for her, then sullenly amidst groans and stretches, she scrambled out of bed.
Ten minutes later found her all bundled up with a scarf tied snugly around her head. With a pile of hay in one hand and a bucket of steaming water in the other, she opened the garage door and plunged into the cold world.

She turned her head towards the south east and caught her breath in wonder and awe. Her large gray blue eyes grew, and she stopped and stared. The sun was just awakening, and he was pouring all his light, like liquid gold, on a frosted world. Turning everything in his way, into myriads of crystals and diamonds.

Rising slowly, he cut a path through the frozen grass, making it sparkle and dance in his golden rays.


Even the most common things, like a pile of wood were turned into mines of jewels, winking and glimmering for all they were worth.


Walking on towards the goat pen, her eyes alighted on more and more objects of beauty. Even where the golden rays of the morning sun had not fallen, glorious creations of frost stood, showing a beauty more austere yet delicate.


Little frosty feathers lifted their icy heads from there resting place glistening with fun and good humor. The fair maiden stopped here and there to examine each new peace of God given wonder; her eyes caressing the beauty where fingers would damage. After feeding the goat she wandered out beyond the fenced domains of the yard to the pond. A radiant smile spread across her fancy loving features, as she gazed with fascination on the sight.


Frost had landed with such fury and glory upon the pond, that it looked to the damsel like a flock of fairies had alighted and when they departed they had left all their feathers behind.


The young lady tarried at the pond for a length of time, staring dreamily down at the frosty fairy feathers, marveling at their complexity and at their Creator. The general thought that He created the world was magnificent enough, but when you began to look at each individual creation, the result was mind staggering. Still trying to comprehend it, she turned around and another gasp was torn from her lips.


Shining through the large icy bush which stood in the yard, the sun created an effect that was indescribable. (therefore I, a poor author with a small source of words at my charge, will not attempt it)

Her mind overflowing with the glory that she had gazed on, she made her way back into the yard and listlessly walked over to check on the ducks, which were penned by their new small apple orchard. A final glorious sight caught her attention. Two beams of sunlight fell down and kissed the frozen leaves of a little apple tree. It was like a parting blessing, a promise, a gift from God! Overwhelmed with wonder at Gods blessings, the Fair Maiden returned to the house, a very blessed and humbled child.

~Chs