Derby Day and All That Goes With It

Last week was intense, BUT in a wonderfully exhausting, full, and fun way.  The main thing on the docket was prepping for Banbury Cross Tec's Derby Day fundraiser banquet.  I have been volunteering there since 2011 and this was my 4th Derby Day.... it never gets old seeing a barn arena, transformed into a banquet hall.  It is even more fun to be behind the scenes and help it all happen.

Tuesday was our first scheduled work day (a couple of us were out Monday and got some stuff done informally) and the plan was to power-wash.  Well, the weather decided to join us and it poured for the first part of the day.  (by the way, rain on a metal roof . . . absolutely deafening)

Nathan power-washed the entire arena, which was desperately needed.

Meanwhile Faith, Zeke, and I moved all the big furniture out to one end of the arena to wait till the rain stopped to be able to clean it outside.

To our absolute delight, the rain did stop, and the sun came out in the afternoon, and with it came more help, so that we were able to get some clean up done outside;

plus the rest of the outside power-washing.  Tuesday was definitely a full, muscle stretching day. 

We had the morning to recuperate the next day, before heading out to Banbury that afternoon, this time with Josiah in tow, to help set up the items we had washed on Tuesday.  Plus we also hung signs around the arena, which of course required lots of people.  A couple to hold the signs, and more to stand on the ground, arms crossed head tilted, to try and see if the sign people were holding them straight.

Up in the observation room plenty of organization and paper work went on.

We had some preliminary horse racing :) amazing how fast a wooden horse can run....

Faith and I were with Mother at the Pregnancy Resource Center in the morning, but we sent Dad and Josiah over to Banbury to help unload and set up all the tables and chairs.

That afternoon Faith and I dropped in to iron table cloths and all the colorful toppers.  It was a LOT of ironing.  I got out of that part by being in charge of arranging the color scheme and making sure everything was laying perfectly straight.

Possibly my favorite day all week, Friday dawned sullen, gray and rainy, but it turned out absolutely "fabbywous".

We had mainly scheduled grooming horses for the day, along with last minute bit and pieces.  But I had the wonderful job of watching little Miss Chloe, our Program directors fun and bright daughter.  Chloe and I groomed her mini horse Rico, then after lunch we were joined in our fun by another rambunctious 3 year old whose mother and great-aunt were working on all the amazing flower displays.  We had a blast playing together.

Last minute preparations started bright and early Saturday morning, everything was looking beautiful.

It was raining/hailing with plenty of thunder on and off through the morning, and we were praying hard that it would clear up for the event.  God was so gracious, and lo and behold, by 5:00pm the clouds broke and the sun came out, just in time for the valets to start parking cars.  Josiah had agreed to come and help with the running for the valets, as he wasn't sure he could fit in, or wanted to be responsible for, all the rich peoples vehicles.  But, when a manual drove up and the 2 guys that knew how to drive them were busy, Josiah stepped up, and after that just slipped right into the job, even managing to squeeze into a tiny VW Beetle. :)

We had a real live Bagpiper that called everyone in.  I love the swirl of bagpipes. 

One of the best parts of being involved in this event, was being able to spend time with some wonderful friends.  

Beautiful ladies helped sell beautiful flowers.

The main part of the event was our live auction (which began after the watching of the Derby).  The parade of horses came first in the auction.  Each horse was brought out by one of the instructors, and introduced, and the guests are given the opportunity to sponsor the horses. 

Each year we have a star rider, one of the students at Banbury who has excelled and progressed in the program.  There are few people who so personify that description than Miss Megan, our star rider of the year.  Megan has been riding for 10 years now, and does such a fabulous job with "her horse" Malabar.

Fancy hats were everywhere, (we even had a hat contest) and the event went off wonderfully.

It was hard to believe that it was all over with when late that night we finished the last bit of clean up and headed homewards. (late as in midnight)  We are so happy to be able to be a part of Banbury and enjoy working with the horses and children each week, and know that the only way we can continue to do that is by making fundraisers like Derby Day a huge success.  I think we did it again this year!

~Chs

Chock Full

This past week has been absolutely, over-the-top, chock full!  Faith and I (and possibly Josiah) were not here more than we were, during the waking hours of each day.  I am going to post individually about the items which made up this busy time, but to give you a glimpse, it included:

Faith and/or I being at Banbury Cross Tec every day to help turn the arena into a banquet hall for their huge Derby day fundraiser.

Faith singing in a concert.

Josiah working.

And having one too many last minute showings that we had to clean up for.

To be elaborated on later.

~Chs

April Showers

"Rain is Grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain there would be no life." ~John Updike 

"Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world" ~Virgil A. Kraft

 "There are not many things as relaxing and meditative as a Spring shower."

 "The front door to springtime is a photographer's best friend" ~Terri Guillements

~Chs

Abounding with Baby Fowl: Part 1

It has begun - the chick explosion at Lily Spring Farm.  It started with an incubator full of eggs from our various flocks.  

On April 18th, they began to hatch, and kept us in excited anticipation for the next couple days.

The second chick to hatch, still brand new and floppy.

{A collection of chicks}

The very first chick hatched was a beautiful Blue Barred Rock.

{Sadie and her babies}

Aimee's little baby with the first of the daffodils.

Spring time! :)

{Just daffy! :) }

Some of the chicks we hatched went out to Winona who had just happened to go broody at the right time!  Now she is a happy clucking mother running about with a passel of chicks.

So, there is the start to our spring chick adventures... much, much more to come! 

~Chs

"Sprinter" The Meshing of Seasons

The change in-between two drastic seasons have come to be my favorite times of year.  Both Spring and Fall hold that mystery, that tantalizing shifting, not only of temperature, but of the whole atmosphere, and I am so glad that God ordained these delightful gentle changes in our year.  But, I must admit that sometimes the transformation isn't quite as smooth as I (in my "all knowing" finite wisdom..) would like.  This past week would be a prime example.  The air was almost sultry on Sunday, reaching the mid 70s and we enjoyed it immensely, spending the afternoon after church services outside as much as possible enjoying God's marvelous creation. Monday, while a little cooler and less brilliant, brought the joy of seeing my darling daffodils bloom!  Each new spring flower brings their own distinct joy after the bareness of winter, and these golden, laughing, sprightly beings are one of my favorites!

But upon hearing the weather forecast for that night and the next few days I worried for the survival of  my cheerful sunny blooms.  So I snipped off the ones already opened, who ran the greatest risk of danger to their exposed delicate petals, and in so doing brought some of the joy indoor for our enjoyment!

Sure enough the next morning we woke up to a white blanket.  Faith exclaimed that it was funny how fast you forgot what snow looked like! :)

With the right attitude you could almost say the snow was pretty.  I mean we thought it was downright lovely back in November, why should we be so fickle as to have such harsh thoughts of it a few months down the road?

 Inside my rescued Daffodils smiled at us next to our glass chicken, singing a "cheer-up!" at anyone who gave them a glance.  Outdoors, their friends were not quite as fortunate, but something of the cheery, brave disposition still remained.

"This won't last" the little buds seemed to proclaim, "Why there is an April snow nearly every year; it's refreshing!"  And one nodding golden-green bud sang out "The sun will come out tomorrow!"

Well, sure enough they were right!  Because today, is tomorrow (please don't think about that one too long) and the sun is indeed out, and the flowers are welcoming it with happy smiles.  

You know, I read once that as children of the King we should always wear smiles, because we know how things are going to end, and know that the trials (big and little) in our lives, are not the ending, but rather a step towards it.  I think that we should translate the big picture down to our little bit of "Sprinter" and be happy and grateful, knowing that, as God is in control and plans the seasons, a bit of snow and cold isn't the end of the world, and we should smile through it, always knowing the sun is still shining just above that bank of foreboding clouds.

~Chs

The Big Finale

 So the syrup season is officially over.  We were blessed to be able to make a little over 10 gallons of syrup, so we celebrated by having some of our good friends over for a pancake dinner, featuring our syrup!

Delightful fresh fruit-salad to accompany.  

Blueberry Pancakes, 

Waffles... :) 

Love this family!

 :)

Yummy!! 

 Everything was delicious, and we had a blast catching up and chatting with everyone.

Afterwards the "grown-ups" talked while us "younger ones" played.  It was a beautiful evening, just beginning to get a bit chilly. 

We daily have so many things to be grateful to our Heavenly Father.  A couple of things right now, are maple syrup, and wonderful Christian friends!

~Chs

Benjamin Bunny Poses

He was rather overly attracted by the crocuses, but I managed to get a few shots before he had to be whisked away to avoid damage to the flowers. :)

~Chs

The Banquet

Every year we are blessed to be able to attend the Lapeer Pregnancy Center's annual fundraiser banquet.  As always, it is a time of wonderful fellowship, good food, lovely music, and informative speakers.  Here are some pictures from our time there this Tuesday.

{Adorable Table Settings}

{Friends} 

{Delicious food} 

{Donna Leuck, the executive director}

 {James Muffet, Founder & President of Student Statesmanship Institute, was the speaker}

As usual, we were reminded of the sanctity of life, even in the womb, and our duty to share the story of those who were preserved from abortion and how different life would have been without them.  It was a great night with many donations given through the silent auction.

~Chs