Catching up...Again!

How can it be July already?! The calendar insists that it is so here I am trying to catch up on all that has been going on for the past few weeks.

Matthew and Nathanial went to their friends' wedding a couple of weeks ago and dressed up for the occasion. Here's a pic of my handsome young men...
Ian lost his two front teeth the other night. The older kids were having fun listening to him say words like "Mississippi".
We've been having lots of rain over the past few weeks. The boys needed to get outside and play off some excess energy. Here they are "fishing" from their big brothers' canoe which was filling with water. They grabbed one of Mom's good pots and started bailing water before Dad confiscated the pot.
Birthday season is winding down (2 more to go later this month). Here's Marc and Katelyn with a couple of their gifts...

Marc's Horse Event

This past Saturday, Athelas Therapeutic Riding Stable held an open house and horse show for the students of the program. Marc rode Dorsey and did a wonderful job.
His posture is so much better since he started riding. He loves his time at the stables and hopes to be able to continue riding through the summer and possibly volunteering there.After seeing the students ride and the smiles on their faces, there was no doubt that therapeutic riding is a wonderful blessing for the participants (as well as for the therapist and volunteers). This young lady is normally confined to a wheelchair, but with a little help from the therapist and volunteers, she's able to ride the horse around the arena and perform several tasks with the rings used for therapy.I must admit, that as she completed her last trip around the arena, I had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. What a blessing to watch each of the riders and see how much joy they receive from participating in this program.

Later in the evening, Ian (aka "Pepper"--a character from one of his favorite computer games) rode a horse of his own... (Hey, Aunt Lori & Uncle Mike, do you recognize the hat and glasses?)
Nathanial was home for a couple of days and the gang decided it was time to have a 'game night'. Ian got tired of playing and went to ride his horse, but he was part of the monopoly crowd for part of the night.
What a great way to spend a weekend!

Tests and Homework

The three 'middles' have been taking their standardized tests over the past couple of days. Wayne saw the testing area and had to get a few pics...
Rachael relaxed after one test by drawing on her scratch paper. If she has a pencil and blank paper at hand, it usually has a picture on it within a matter of minutes.I've been doing some homework by plying some Jacob wool that I had spun and a few skeins of black alpaca. I bought some black alpaca fleece from an area woman who doesn't spin. Thursday I sorted and got it ready to be washed, but I'm waiting for Peter's white (suri) fleece to dry in order for the drying rack and fan to be available.

Last week was my birthday and as a gift, I signed up to take a class on punched needle embroidery. Many years ago I had bought a needle and tried to teach myself this art, but I couldn't figure it out on my own. Yesterday's class was great fun and I look forward to adding these projects to my 'relaxing things to do' list.

Trying to Catch Up

I have been informed by several people--including Katelyn--that I need to update the blog. My biggest challenge is getting to the computer!

Since my last post...

The 'rhodies' have bloomed...
Wayne and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. How can it be "26" already?!?!

We've had a couple more birthdays. Ian turned 6 on Monday and what a difference a year has made. Last year he screamed whenever he got his face wet. This year he's been after us since the middle of May to get the wading pool out. For his birthday he got a new wading pool and Ian has been in it more than Jonathan! Water in the face is no longer a problem. Thankfully, the weather has cooperated and has provided perfect pool weather.
Though Jonathan is dreaming of going to the beach!The garden is almost all planted. I have a few more seedlings to slip in, but the majority of the veggies are tucked in and starting to grow. The kids helped build Wayne a raised bed section so he might be able to enjoy some garden time this year. The garden has always been a favorite summer activity for Wayne, but since the back injury, he's had to give it up. Hopefully, the raised bed will make a big difference.

Matthew is really enjoying his internship at the radio station. He's also had the adventure of a black bear stopping by while Matt was grilling with friends. Nathanial's comment..."Depending on which friends this could end up in one of three ways: (a) "Everybody get inside", (b) "Everybody make lots of noise and scare it away." or (c) "Hey, look! More meat for the grill!" Katelyn's response to Nathanial's comment..."Well, if they picked option (b) they could sing "baritone" the Winnie the Pooh theme."

I finished another quilt for the shop...
We're winding down with school. The 3 middles will be taking their standardized tests over the next few days, the quarterly and end-of-year reports submitted to the school district, and then summer break will be 'official'. I have lots of summer projects I want to tackle over the next few weeks. I'll try to get their progress posted--if I can get to the computer!

Birthdays & New Adventures

We've entered the Jackson birthday season. Jonathan turned 8 today. He woke up and declared to the household, "It's finally my birthday!" Here are some pictures of him enjoying the gift opening part of the day...
Here he's happily discovering a Lego Space Shuttle, which in his words, "I've wanted all of my life!"Another big event happened today. Matthew packed up his car and drove out to Bath, NY for his internship at the Christian radio station. ( www.fln.org )
It has been amazing to see how God has brought this internship into reality. A major concern for us (as parents) was where Matthew would be living while in Bath. Matthew wasn't concerned and was ready to camp out all summer, if necessary. Thankfully, the person from the radio station that offered Matt the internship told Matthew that the station has an apartment that he can use for the entire internship...rent free! All he has to pay for are the utilities and wi-fi, if he wants it. The apartment has a washer, dryer, fridge, stove, microwave, couch, chair, & table...and just over the past day, they moved a bed in for him to use.

As the last items were placed in the trunk of the car, Wayne pointed out that the duffel bag Matt was using has followed Wayne around the world in his Air Force travels (it still has Wayne's military id label on it!) and now it's traveling to Bath, NY.It's going to seem mighty strange not having Matthew around this summer entertaining us with his latest ad lib song, funny story, or listening to his laugh, but it's a wonderful thing seeing God bring the pieces together for our son to use his gifts and talents in such a great way. We are abundantly blessed!

Beauty of Spring

Here are some pictures from around the farm which give a hint to why Spring is my favorite time of year...

Another Animal Transport Assignment

This morning Wayne and I delivered 14 chickens to the processor and I want it duly noted that my sheep didn't smell half as bad as those chickens! Half way into our 50 minute trip, I commented that we needed a picture of our latest animal transport. Wayne said that the picture couldn't capture the full experience...as he rolled his window down further and put the vent on full blast. Thankfully we didn't need the heater! Ah-h-h the joys of farm life.