In the Garden!!

Finally, after months of waiting, our garden was dry enough to enter and work in. Faith could not have been more delighted, and so for the last week or so, everything has been scheduled around gardening.

First of all there was miles of weeding to be done, and though tiresome, we knew that in the garden (as well as in our lives) the weeds must be pulled out or they will choke out all the good plants.

Once the beds were cleared we began to plant seeds.

Bush beans, and pole beans, corn, and cucumbers, lettuce, and radishes, peas, and pumpkins, squash and sunflowers, all were pushed into the ground some way or another.

Then came the diligent watering (that is, when it did not rain:) almost every evening the hose came out and the water came down onto germinating seed and plant alike.

Soon there came fruition to our diligent work, as the little plants poked their way through the soil to the light above.

They will be carefully tended as they grow and grow till they bring forth harvest!

"So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase."
1Corinthians 3:7

~Chs

Yellow Warbler Nest

Josiah found this beautiful Yellow Warbler nest out back by the stream. The mother was a little shy, and would not let me take a picture of her, but the eggs were wondrous to look at as well.
~Chs

The Carp Hunter

Once upon a time there was a young man (Josiah) who delighted in being outdoors in Gods nature. He enjoyed studying about different animals, and more than all else he enjoys spending time by his family's (our) pond.

Recently he noticed, due to the extra wet spring and flooding, that there were three new unwelcome residents of the pond. Carp. These fish, Josiah had studied, are a detriment to society, therefore he took it upon himself to rid the pond of these evil creatures. He was helped in his endeavor by his Uncle Warren who lent him a harpoon. One day Josiah was on the pond perusing it's contents by the vantage point of his canoe, when he spotted one of the vulgar creatures. He cornered it along the side of the pond and speared and killed it.

Sadie found the 20 inch long fish extremely entertaining and proceeded to sniff it out while Josiah returned to the pond for the next trophy, which he was not too long in securing.

Josiah was trying to herd the Carp as before when it darted into the stream which merrily flows into the pond. In an act of desperation, Josiah hurled the harpoon hoping to at least get it close enough to one of the spectators that he or she might use it. But to everyone's surprise when Josiah's harpoon landed there was a thrashing and squirming... Josiah had hit the other Carp!!

Even more for Sadie to check out. We as a family are very proud of our mighty hunter and his God given skill. ~Chs

Our New Addition

(WARNING: Following photographs contain toxic levels of cuteness.... proceed at your own risk!)

Last Saturday a small black furry creature joined our ever growing farm.

Her name is Sadie Rose, and she is an adorable eight week old Australian Shepherd-Lab mix.

She is the darlingest of things, and enjoys: playing with Snuggles, her bear,

Taking naps on her rug with whoever will join her,

Looking cuter than possible with her new "jewelry" (ie. Tag)

Sleeping in the shade with Snuggles,

Going for rides in an antique turquoise truck,


And playing around and being downright adorable!

(please call for visiting hours)

~Chs

Flowers and Labor

The end of May/beginning of June is always filled with flowers, whether at our house or at our Aunt Myrt and Uncle Warren's.


Our Daffodils and Tulips have all perished, but they have been replaced by some other beautiful delicate spring flowers, Columbines.


Last year our neighbors were kind enough to give us a few poppy plants, and to our delight they survived the winter. They now show their cheery brightness, nodding in every light breeze which whispers by.


One of my favorite things about this time of year are the heady scents that waft on the breeze. Autumn Olives, Tartarian Honeysuckle, and of course the gorgeous Lilac, all lend there perfumes to the air.


White bleeding hearts have always intrigued me, so pure, white and clean.` Aunt Myrt has a beautiful bush right by her side porch.


Right above the bleeding heart, hanging from the porch is a stunning pink fuchsia; the bright colors contrasting with the tan of the porch.


Beauty can be found in everything, even in a tool shed:) I have always love the organized variety of Uncle Warren's Tool Shed.


Their Apple trees were just finishing blooming but they were still stunning with most of the white petals spread on the green grass.


When I was working by the woods clearing bark, I saw the sun shining down on a fern, glowing and making it stand out in the shady woods.


Though neither Aunt Myrt nor we have any, Spirea is another late spring flower/bush that I have always admired. At one spot it flows down the side of a hill near the road, spilling white blossom beauty to all viewers. God has created such wonderful beauty, displaying his wonder and majesty to the world.

~Chs

The INCH Conference

As a family, we have not had the opportunity to attend many conferences, so I was very excited that this spring four of us at least (Dad , Mom, Josiah and I) were able to make it to the INCH conference in Lansing. I have so many pictures and had such a hard time picking which ones to share with you, but I finally decided to just show you one of each of the lectures we went to, as well as some miscellaneous photos just for fun.

The first session that we listened to was two separate special talks by Eric and Leslie Ludy. Leslie spoke on "Set apart femininity" and Eric (very passionately according to Josiah) on "The Sacred Code of Honor."

We had lunch down by the beautiful Grand River. It was just the right temperature, lovely!


Though I have heard Dr. Voddie Baucham many, many times, I have never heard him speak in person, so this was extra neat. This particular message was on family discipleship. As always, Mr. Baucham, was passionate, humorous, poignant, and brought across many points of truth.

Eric Ludy spoke at the next session, and I was very blessed by his message on wrestling prayer.

Grace and Truth, was Mr. Ludy's next subject, and a very truth laden one.


There was an hour break for dinner, and for change of pace we took a nice walk down the block to a local restaurant.


Clara's station.


It was the neatest little diner; the walls were covered with interesting pictures, paintings, and other paraphernalia.

As we strolled back towards the Lansing center, we were given a beautiful view of the Capital building which was at the end of the street.


When we returned to the conference center, they had a time of recognition of the 2011 graduates before the keynote session.


The speaker was once again Dr. Baucham.

When Voddie Baucham finished, we walked out, the first day terminated, the second to come, and with tired fingers and full brains we made our way homewards.

The next morning found us up bright and early to make it to the first keynote session by Eric Ludy. Personally I seemed to write more notes earlier in the day than later, so this first message resulted in pages and pages of notes to be reviewed later.

During the next few workshops we split up, Josiah and Dad going one way, and Mom and I in another, one of the sessions we did attend was on "True Love" by the Ludy's. They did an excellent job on showing you should teach your children to focus on their one and only true love, Jesus Christ, and to build a personal relationship with Him before anyone else.

As on Friday, we were joined by friends for a delightful lunch by the river before slipping into the exhibit hall to check out all the booths.

The afternoon and "last" keynote speaker for the day was again Voddie Baucham. One thing that struck me about Mr. Baucham was the deepness of his voice; it resonated around the hall.

In one of the smaller workshops that afternoon, the Ludy's gave a talk to young people about being set apart and sanctified to God, and God alone.

By this time my little hand had gotten quite worn out, but Josiah still plugged away, jotting down all that interested him.

On the last session of the day, we split up again and Mom and I were able to attend a wonderful talk on the prelude to being a Proverbs 31 woman.
It was a wonderful conference, and I am so glad that some of us were able to attend it and that I have lots of notes so that I can pore back over the lessons taught.

~Chs