Cook-A-Doodle- Doo!

 I've mentioned before that we LOVE to go to the Library!  And we LOVE to find books that make us want to GO and DO something!  Like the book we found about the history of bagels....oh those were so yummy!

Callie was excited when she found the book, "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!" by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.  It was such a cute story about a rooster wanting to bake something.  He gathered his friends and they made a beautiful Strawberry Shortcake.  Then, the book shares the recipe.  Callie was so excited to be able to make it!

 Everyone helped gather the ingredients and and measure it all out.  Callie was so happy to stir and put on the strawberries!

 And, of course, there were 6 hungry cuties ready to sample the yummy-ness.

 And yummy it was!!! It was excellent!  Now, to the library to find another fun DO book!

A surprised Momma and belly laughs from my boy

 Imagine my surprise when I went to tuck in my Silas.  He sleeps on the top bunk, so I must stand on my tip-toes to tuck him in.  As I was doing this, I was eye-level with some little orange eyes.  Scared me that's for sure!  After I gasped, I heard the biggest laughs from my innocent 6 year old.  He was laughing so hard he was holding his belly!  I think this little man is going to take after his Daddy and older brother and be a jokester.  The girls of this house sure do need some prayer!

Grand Opening Day!

 The Grand Opening of Victory Springs Independent Baptist Church went very well!

 We had some family and friends come to help us celebrate (and prepare and work!) for the day.  It was such a blessing!!  We had fun watching as cars pulled in and seeing visitors come.

We had 20 from the community to come!  Praise the Lord!  And the greatest news is that one man accepted Christ as his Savior!  Praise God!

We're so excited to see God work and so blessed to be in the ministry.  Now, it's off to prepare for next Sunday!

In This Place...

 We pray that in this place the Lord will be magnified and that people will come to know the Almighty God that loves them.

 We pray that in this place people will hear the Word of God, that lives will be changed and needs met.

We pray that in this place the missionary plaques on the back wall will be a visual reminder of the lost and dying world around them.  We pray that boys and men will be called to preach and all will heed the call to serve.

 We pray that in this place music will be used to bring glory and praise to the Lord.  We pray that we will honor Him.

 We pray that in this place little ones will hear stories of Jesus and that they will know that He loves them.

 We pray that in this place babies will be nurtured and cared for as their Mommas are nurtured and cared for in Sunday School and the Preaching Service.

 We pray that in this place children will come to know the God of the Bible and will make decisions to give their life to Him at an early age.

In this place we pray that God will bless and that He will be glorified! 

Last minute touch ups

 Today has been a flurry of activity finishing up loose ends and making last minute touch ups.

 It has been fun to have our friends and family arrive to help us work!

 Everyone is doing their part!  Even my cutie pie Callie Grace!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Grand Opening Here We Come!!

The Blessing of a Servant's Heart

 We have been so blessed to have many people praying for us and helping us in planting a church in High Springs!  Last week we had 2 couples come and stay for 6 days.  Their desire was to work and help in anyway possible.  And work they did!  They visited many, many homes passing out invites to our opening service.  They painted, cleaned, filled envelopes and did anything we needed.  They were a blessing!  Since they were here on a Wednesday, we had unofficial services at the church.  It was a lot of fun!

 I have to admit, I have a pretty big crush on the preacher! ;o)

 Brenna played, Josh led music, we sang specials, Patrick preached and then we had a time of praying for the church about to be born.  It was truly a blessed time!

 They were even here when we had Beth's birthday dinner.  She requested that Josh make his chili.  It is one of our family's favorites!  They are such sweet couples that are like family.  What a blessing their servant's heart has been to us!

We just couldn't resist

 I took some of my kiddos to a Poultry Workshop at the Feed Store in High Springs.  The chicks were so adorable, we just couldn't resist adding 3 more to our flock!

 We did learn some new things at the workshop!  Like:
~We've been storing our eggs wrong.  Ooops.  Did you know they are actually supposed to be stored pointy side down for longer freshness?
~We shouldn't be washing our eggs when we bring them in.  There is a protective membrane on the shell and washing it off makes the egg rotten faster.  (We eat them so quick though, so I don't think that's an issue with us! ;o)
~I now know how to tell if a day old egg is fertilized.

 Aren't they adorable!

 Micah picked out a Buff Brahma.  This breed is known for having feathers on their feet.  Neat!  He named his chick "Mudball."

 Silas picked out a Barred Rock which is the type of  chicken that our Mrs. Peabody is.  These are beautiful hens when they are grown!  Silas named her Bean.  Cute!

Callie picked out a Golden Sex Link Chick.  She loved that she was yellow!  She really had a hard time choosing the name.  She liked Starry or Flower.  So, she just decided to name her Starry Flower!

Right now our chicks are 1 week old.  In 6 more weeks we will introduce them to our other "girls" and let them have fun in the coop!  We are averaging 7-8 eggs a day!  Wow!  Omelet anyone?

It sure is fun watching our Farm grow!  I need to post pictures of our garden that was just tilled.  I think we're planning to feed an army!

Happy 17th Elisabeth!

 Today is my dear girl's birthday.  17!!

 Our Beth is know by many names: Elisabeth, Bessie, Bethy, Beth, Bethy-pooh, Beef....should I be sharing all of these? :o)

 What a beautiful, Godly young lady she is!  She truly has a heart for the Lord and loves to serve Him!

 God has given her many talents.  One of them is to sing.  She can pick out a harmony part in a matter of seconds!

 She also is such a diligent girl and so ready to serve in our home.  She often throws in a load of laundry "just because it needs to be done"  What teenager does that?  (I know I didn't :o) )  She will change diapers, play with the little ones, prepare meals and do just about anything, just to be a blessing to me!

 She has a heart for her Daddy, and quite often when us girls are talking about new ideas she will say, "I think  we should ask Daddy what he thinks." What a blessing!

 She is truly living her dream here on our farm  (It sure is fun calling it that!)  She loves her horse Sugar Rose and takes great care of her.  She feeds the chickens and gathers eggs....she's a farm girl at heart!

 There is a Proverbs challenge we like to do in our family.  I will start reading the beginning of a verse in Proverbs and we will see who can quote the rest.  Beth is amazing and always stomps everyone!  Always!  I dare you to challenge her! :o)

 She also has a heart for writing.  She loves to write poetry and has started writing out memories from our deputation days.  She also has a Fiction Book in the works.  So far only her Grandma has the privileged ears to hear it.  When she finishes I get to read it!  She also writes every so often on her blog, although she told me it's her goal to write more often.

 What a blessing my Beth has been to our family. 17....It's exciting to see what this next year holds for her as she seeks the Lord, serves Him, and loves the life God has given her!