"...We will bless the Lord..."

"...We will bless the Lord..."

"...Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

1 Cor.10:31b




************************



We May Not Have It All Together



But Together We Have It All!







Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Celebrating Tyler's 15th Birthday


Bright and early, on the morning of April 16th, God blessed our home with a blond-haired, blue-eyed baby brother. I used to call him "my angel"~ but even though he was still my angel, he grew into a tough-as-nails little "all-boy"...one who tried eating an earthworm when he was little and saying it tasted like cheese or needing stitches in his chin! He is still all-boy...one who likes hunting and fishing, and is a great help outdoors around the farm, although I must say he can also make an awesome batch of grape-nut cereal too!:o)
 
On his birthday, Daddy took him and some of his brothers, to Springfield where they hung out and had a fun time at Bass Pro, ate at McAllisters and went birthday shopping for a new bike. Here he's trying out a four wheeler for the fun of it...but a PINK one?!:o)


Daddy, Ty, and Damien posing with a real stuffed teddy bear at Bass Pro~



The Budweiser horses were also visiting there that day--not that we're into the Budweiser part, but the huge horses were sure cool!


After they got home, we had a birthday party here, with a chocolate chip cookie cake and home-made ice cream--





Birthday presents...

"And this one's from us!" (Kaiti & Jensy) A cool new Red Head tee-shirt~


Always funner when you have help!:o)


Trying on his new turkey hunting hat from Damien~

Birthday party at Pop's house...hey, wait a minute, how old are you? Looking good for a guy of 51!


There, that's better!!!! Soon enough, let's not rush it!:o) This time he had a fruit pizza for a birthday cake~


His birthday gift from us...a new bike. And a matching one for Aubrey for his birthday (in August), because it's alot funner to have a pal to ride with!:o)


"Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How
the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his
companions, his truant days! His life is an adven-
ture, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his
dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap
are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms!"
-John Burroughs


"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And... 
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand."
***********
You are such a special part of our family~
We love you, Ty!


Saturday, January 8, 2011

Happy 9th Bithday, Damien!


Damien Isaiah Ray



After not having a baby in our family for awhile,
Damien was a sweet and special blessing!

~Why God Made Little Boys~
God made a world out of His dreams
Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,
Prairies and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought "I need someone to stand,
On top of mountains, to conquer the seas,
Explore the plains and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small and to grow,
Sturdy and strong like a tree" and so
He created boys, full of spirit and fun
To explore and conquer, to romp and run
With dirty faces, and banged up chins
With courageous hearts and boyish grins.
When He had completed the task He'd begun,
He surely said, "That's a job well done".






Sometimes Damien gets in with the big boys...




...and somtimes he's in with the little ones---



By nature he's pretty laid back and very friendly.
Matter-a-fact his name means "loyal friendship", and to
 Damien, everyone is a friend he hasn't met yet!
He likes animals and helping outside with the farm work.

And he had his heart set on a "John Deere" birthday:o)

Actually Damien wasn't supposed to come until January sometime, but he decided that he was big enough (at almost 9 lbs.!) and came on his Grandpa's birthday just three days before Christmas. So we usually celebrate their birthdays together and even though it is so close to Christmas and all the celebration and excitement that goes with that, we try and make sure his birthday is kept as his birthday. Damien had the cake and Pop had the pretty fruit dishes-:o)

Blow, Damien!!!

Opening birthday presents...

Cousin Steven and Kaiti observing his progress:o)

His own first Bible, from Mommy & Daddy--

And what could this long package be???

A BB gun!

Damien's sober look---dressed up in some of his new birthday duds-his new hat from Aunt Amie and his new sweater from Chad- Some of the guys in our family like clothes and some of them mainly appreciate being clothed!:o)

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again."



"O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago."
Isaiah 25:1

We praise God for you, Damien... May your life always exalt Him for the wonderful thing He did when He planned and made you! We love you!!!



Friday, January 7, 2011

Company!

 We were blessed to have our friends, Roger and Carol and daughters, visit us for several days in December...Here is a "posing picture" of the "younguns" all dressed up!  

Roger is retired from the fire department and now owns and operates his own meat processing place, so one reason they came to see us was to help with a beef we had to do, and they also did some cabrito...that's another name for ahh, yeah, goat! :ol But I decided not to put any of those pictures on--I think Ty's hand pictures were enough for awhile!:o) But we sure appreciate all their help, experience, and expertise!!! So even though we had lots of fun being together visiting and playing, we got some "work" done too!:o)

Walking through the woods...

JoAnna, Damaris, Damien, and Kaiti down by the pond...

Sliding on the ice...
Susanna, Damaris, Damien, and Kaiti...

Yes, I know this ice "looks' dangerous but they say some of it was 3-4" thick in places and the water underneath was only about a foot deep...

And when you get tired of walking or the going gets tough, you can always rely on a big strong brother to help you out!:o)

One of the favorite games that week was "Blink"

Have you caught on yet, Damien?

JoAnna playing trains with Jensy~

We've had these wooden blocks ever since Chad and Aubrey were little and we've had more fun with them! Damaris, being built inside of her own tower-

Here Susanna got built into her own tower standing up, so it was a tall tower!

And here is Jensy standing on top of her tower, still with her inside...really the possibilities with these blocks are amazing!:o)

It was interesting to see what girls might come up with versus a mainly boy populace!:o) Believe me, our boys had never thought to make themselves hoop skirts with them!!!:o) How very elegant, Lydia!:o)


Damien dancing with the fair Lady Damaris in her ball gown~

Kaiti and Lydia...don't they almost look like sisters? Kaiti was pretty sad when they left because it was like all her big sisters left! She loves them and being with them-

Then there was the fun evening at Circle S...we had a big get-together of friends so they could also get a chance to visit with our out-of-state company. Good food and fellowship~ Thanks everybody and thanks especially to the good owners of this fine establishment for sharing with all of us!

Kaiti modeling her friends silver scarf...kinda a strange way to wear it, but cute on her
 none-the -less!:o)

Visiting...

Kaiti with friends, JoAnna and Danica~

Even got to hear some music...

Jensy sampling and enjoying the cabrito...the men roasted it outside over a fire using some wonderful marinade that Abby made, and it was really good...in spite of my squeamishness over goat meat! As for Abigail, it's really too bad I don't have a picture to post of her working in the kitchen as she was such a big help to me there! So beings I don't have a picture to post this will have to do~ a BIG "thank you" to Abby for all her help!!!:o)


Our good friend, Mr. Ron, sampling a "mutton joint"...couldn't it remind you a little of Friar Tuck?!:o)

Good food, good friends, good fellowship~ Speaking of good food, this was the evening that my sister treated us to her wonderful lasagna...she helped me out SO much with the cooking that week, freeing me up a little more to enjoy our company. So a big huge thank you to Amie!!!:o)

And we got to have our own private little concert by none other than "Grandpa's Neighbors"!!! We had fun getting them to play our favorites that they play, many of which they don't have recorded yet, so that was a treat! Thanks ladies!:o)

Enjoying the good music....

And each others company~ what a special, pleasant evening!


Kaiti and JoAnna, matching!

Some more join them for a picture--

Abigail and friend Susie enjoying a visit--Susie and her brother, Ian, joined us the day they did the beef. Ian is a good friend of Chad's and it was nice having them here as well!
Ah, can you beat that...home-made peanut butter cookies, a glass of milk, and a good friend to share it with!:o) Tyler and Mr. Roger--

And yet another game of "Blink"!
Damien and Kait with the cookies we made for the Christmas Ball--one of our favorites for the holidays-
"Awesome Sour Cream Drops"


At the Christmas Ball~


Some of the fine ladies at the Ball...don't they look pretty?!
...joined by a handsome little man!:o)


JoAnna and Kaitriana
Posing with friends~

 


I won't tell how late some of these nights got, but it was like we had to squeeze every minute out that we could!:o)



JoAnna looks like she has the answer for staying awake even though dead tired...a toothpick for each eye!:o)


However there comes a time when you just cannot stay awake no matter how much you'd like to! This picture is for-real....they really are "passed-out" all over the living room! LOL! (These were only some of them--there were more, not in the picture!)

And no matter how much you love being together, there comes a time to say "good-bye"...we look forward to that time someday when we'll not have to say good-bye...to that place where we'll not have to part with friends and loved ones. But for now, good-bye dear friends, until next time--God be with you! And to all of you who we're  still looking forward to a visit from...just let us know when!:o)