Fun on the Farm

Now the kids probably don't see it as "fun" but seeing all my gang out in the garden working together was such a great sight that I couldn't let it pass without taking a picture to share. You can't see all of them (our garden is too big!) but they are out there weeding diligently. The lettuce is keeping us well supplied with salads (which is a good thing since Wayne and I are on a 21-day detoxification diet which allows only veggies and fruits) and the peas are filling out. Now if I could only keep the 2 legged 'critters' from munching on them before they are ready to pick!

On Marc's birthday his friends (the Edwards boys) came for the afternoon and evening. They had a great time canoeing up the river and then having a paintball adventure out in the field. They ended the evening by playing a game of the British version of Monopoly.

Today is Matthew's and Katelyn's birthday. Matt celebrated his yesterday since he had to work today, but we ended the day with cake and ice cream and now the birthday twosome are watching the Apple Dumpling Gang.

Jonathan's favorite activity these days is playing fireman. He insists that this coat is NOT too small and walks around singing the theme song to Fireman Sam (a British children's show). He was thrilled the other day when he and Katelyn sprayed out the alpaca barn with the garden hose...he was pretending it was on fire and they were putting the fire out. With this little boy's love for adventure I wouldn't be surprised if he does grow up to be a firefighter some day.

Night visitors

To say there is never a dull moment around here is an understatement. The other night we had a visitor that wasn't invited...a bat woke me up as it fluttered around our room and by the time Wayne realized what was going on, it had flown into Nathanial and Marc's room. After discovering it wedged behind a bureau amongst some curtain rods they were able to get it dragged into a box to return it to the great outdoors. The next night as I sat on the back porch and enjoyed the deepening twilight, I noticed quite a few bats flying around...and they were all coming from the direction of the house. I sat watching as 18 bats within 10 minutes came out from under the tin roof on the main part of the house and started flying around. Wayne and Jonathan watched from the backyard the other night and counted 26. I don't mind bats as long as they stay out of the house--especially when I read that they can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. We decided to try an electronic signal device that repels bats and rodents (2 for 1! What a deal!) and hope that they'll at least move to one of the outbuildings instead of the house. It hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully, we won't have anymore unwelcomed night visitors.

Graduation Day!

Today was a special day on the farm...Nathanial received his high school diploma. He is planning on attending Davis College in the fall as a pastoral ministries major.

We had an open house with approximately 60 people attending. A thunder storm pushed through about an hour before the event was scheduled to begin. Thankfully, the weather cleared and cooled the temps down a bit before the guests arrived. It was a great time of sharing with friends and family our joy and thankfulness for the gift of schooling Nathanial for the past 13 years (officially, but 17...almost 18 years total)

By looking at this young man you would never imagine the rough start he had in life when at one point the doctors gave him less than a 20% chance of survival. It's been quite a journey and he has blessed our family and so many others with his compassion and convictions. He has a real heart for ministering to others and we look forward to seeing what God has planned for his life.

We had a special surprise arrive last night. Wayne's Mom from Georgia and Aunt Millie from Western PA walked in the door and gave Nathanial the 'best graduation gift!' Mom J. had talked about trying to get an airplane ticket up for the weekend, but the cost was too high. When she found out friends in GA were driving up to attend their grandson's graduation in PA, she jumped at the chance to ride along with them. Aunt Millie met her and they drove up yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, they had to leave this afternoon so Mom could be ready to head back to GA in the morning, but we were so happy that both of them could share in Nathanial's big day.

Twenty-three and counting

Twenty-three years ago today Wayne and I exchanged wedding vows in Portsmouth, NH. Today we pulled out the photos and memory album and remembered that joy-filled day. Wayne surprised me and played the music to El Shaddai (which Twila R. & Nancy Z. sang as a duet during our ceremony) for the offering at church today.

Tonight at dinner Wayne asked me what we had done in those 23 years that was the most unexpected. My response was, "I have to pick just one thing?!" What an amazing 23 years it has been...with lots of unexpected events. I knew when I married this man that life would never be the same...it's been better than I ever dreamed possible. I am truly blessed to be "Mrs. Wayne Jackson". I pray that we will fill many more years with unexpected adventures!