Field Trip: Stoney Ridge

Last week Friday was Brandon's first field trip.  They went to Stoney Ridge Farms which is a pumpkin/apple farm.  They have people there who give school tours to explain how apples are grown and the importance of farms.

I took Micah along and was an adult "helper" and Lisa got to spend her first time at Grandma's house. 

Debbie is an excellent teacher.  Brandon couldn't remember anything she taught when we got home, but looking at the pictures now he could tell me everything she said.

The corn maze was Brandon's favorite part of the whole afternoon.

Micah looked kind of dazed and confused all afternoon.  ;)

The animals were Micah's favorite part.

Brandon's class.
Weston (boy on the far left standing up) and James B (black American in the front row) are the boys he talks about playing with the most.  Mrs. Corkill (his teacher) is on the far right and Mrs. Bosman (teacher's aid) is on the far left.

It was a delightful afternoon of playing with my boys!

Blessings

Majestic God

Applesauce

Yup, we made applesauce, and more applesauce, and more applesauce.  I made applesauce for 14.5 hours last week Thursday.  Without my kitchen aid attachment, the boy's and Bryan's help it would have been much, much longer.  How much did we make?  LOTS!  Good the thing the boys love applesauce.

Thankful for an abundant harvest, a freezer full of applesauce, and the ability to make it.

Blessings

Photo Drop

Well, we've had a busy summer!  I've taken lots of pictures and this morning finally finished editing them up to the end of August.  There were several occasions I wanted to blog individually but since so much time has passed and I have California pictures to edit and post about, this is going to be a one post catch up.  Here goes:

It was one of those random days I was having a hard time with Micah missing a hand and struggling to do something.  I had to quick run out to the shed for a minute and my eye caught this spider--missing two legs.  It was a God-reminder for me that sin, depravity, disabilities has touched every area of life, even the animal kingdom.  Yet this spider was still able to spin it's web and it was a good reminder for me that God will equip Micah perfectly for the work he has planned for him.



Great Grandma (my mom's mom) from Colorado came to visit her sisters for a week and we got to spend some good quality time with her as well.  Dad and Mom just happened to be coming through again for their final night's stay before heading out east while she was here which was really neat.

The one day dad and mom were back in town they helped me pick 30lbs of blue berries.  I'm pretty sure Micah ate at least half that amount off the bushes!

The beginning of August Don and Bryan both had birthdays.

One week Bryan asked me to go out to one of their bigger job sites and take pictures for their website.  The boys scored some excavator time with their daddy, too.

This picture of Brandon just makes me smile.  ;)

Brandon's birthday.  What better way to start the morning then licking the batter of your cake before breakfast!

And that takes us to the end of August.  We had a spectacular time in California and I'm very excited to get started editing the 980 or so pictures from the week, but now I really need to get some "real" work done.

Blessings on your day.

Artist Point

At the end of July we headed up to Artist Point one Sunday afternoon with some friends.  It was gorgeous, it was freeing, it was FUN!!

We climbed up quite a ways simply by going to the next hill and saying, "Let's go up there now."
Can you see the parking lot?

Tailgate party for snack time after a long hike.

And then it was time for some sledding.  July is THE. BEST. TIME to go sledding.  I hate snow, but this was fun--warm sunshine and fast snow.

Blessings

Lessons from a Bud

Yesterday I said screw it, picked up my camera and left!

For 10 minutes I pretended the boys were both completely self-sufficient and not at each other's throats, supper did not need to be made, the dusting didn't need to be done, the floor did not need to be vacuumed one more time, the laundry didn't need to be folded, the house wasn't in toy shambles, the yard wasn't a mess, allergy research didn't need to get done, tough decisions didn't need to be made...

For 10 minutes I reminded myself that spring WILL come in season and life, the sun WILL shine again for more then a day at a time, God IS in control, and it's OKAY to say screw it for 10 minutes with my camera to enjoy the incredible new beauty God brings about every year without any help from me!!

... and it was well with my soul.