merry christmas!

                                                                                    

                                                                                                                           

Luke 2:1-20   

1And it came to  in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 
       14 “ Glory to God in the highest, 
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry Christmas!!!

Snow!

The weather said it was going to snow on Saturday. I was very skeptical, it wasn't cold enough! On Saturday it was foggy, so what, it started hailing, so what, that isn't snow! Then I saw a few little snowflakes fall with the hail, oh come on, give me a brake, so thats all the snow they were talking about? They may as well have given an estimate snowflake count! I mean my gosh. 

It hailed mostly with snow mingled in and we ended up with crunchy, icy "snow" by the evening. Well the little girls didn't even play in it it just wasn't user friendly "snow".  Then on Sunday night when we headed home from fellowship, it was snowing! Real snow! I was very pleasantly surprised!  Heidi and I went down to the barns to do chores and it was like a fairy tale! The silence of the snowfall on a beautiful dark night was just wonderful!  Monday morning my two little sisters wouldn't stop asking when they could go outside and play in the snow!  They went out and each built a snowman on the deck, then they went down the hill and built snow forts and played in them. When they were done they came in with rosy cheeks and big smiles and I made them hot chocolate.  

That evening we walked up to our neighbors house. I threw snowballs at mom, she shrieked and threw one at me!  We all pelted each other the whole way down our driveway and had a blast! Today the snow has mostly melted and what's left is slushy, but we had so much fun while it was here and I'm glad that even through my skepticism, it did snow! Well you know those wether reporters, they say it's gonna rain and it's sunny, they say it's gonna be sunny and it rains. Oh well I thoroughly enjoyed their precision this time!

Family pets: Cats

Note; posts may be sporadic due to the bustle of the season :)


Our family loves animals and, much to my joy, we have been blessed with many of them! Later I may tell about more of our large quantity of animals, but for now I'll tell you about our five cats.

Cats are among my favorite animals we own. They all have such distinguished personality's.

First and foremost is Annie our Siamese, she's our favorite. We've had Annie for about twelve years and, being fourteen years old, she's earned the description of geriatric. She has a queenly disposition and keeps the rest of our cats, and even our dog, in line. She loves our family A LOT! Any time were sad or sick she comes and lays with us and is a great comforter. Even though she's older, she still gets frisky moments, flying across the floor as she chases a bead or water bottle cap that someone dropped, or batting enthusiastically at a string. Her remarkably beautiful blue eyes stare at me and I can't resist hugging her! Of course like most Siamese, she's got a cocky flare to her, putting her nose in the air, turning down a tasty morsel, until you leave it there and walk away. She's also very tolerant, allowing us to dress her up in doll cloths, scarves, bows etc. She's defiantly one of a kind and extremely loved by our whole family!





Then is our cat Theodore, of course we call him Teddy, and I actually call him Teddy Bear. He is a big fluffy loafer of a cat. Teddy is our lover, he climbs up and rubs my face with his, purring happily when you pay him attention. You will be sure to find him at the barns during milking time, waiting for me to spray a stream of milk his way.
Next is Teddy's brother Sebastian. He is the 'King of the Outdoors'. He has a very sweet personality and always following us around or sitting in a regal position somewhere on the deck. He's also a great hunter, catching mice, gophers, birds, bats, and he even caught a young squirrel once!


Reesy is our other female kitty. She has the role of the playful princess. She'll let you do anything with her; the little girls put her in the doll stroller and buckle her in, they carry her slung over there shoulder etc.



Last is Bean, Reesy's brother. He is the purr motor! He loves to be held and petted. Though he is a little reserved he loves our family. He's a great mouser and between him and Sebastian we never have many rodents.

Sunrise Sunset

This is a sunset at our house


The other morning I got up extra early to do a driving lesson, It was a bit nippy outside when I went to warm up the car. As I let the car warm up I noticed that the sky had a pink hue through the trees. Being a person who is awe struck by sunrises and sunsets, I was drawn to go down the hill to get a better look at this sunrise. As I reached the lower area where I could see, I looked up into the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen! A golden bar of clouds with deep pink and dark purple accents, spanned across the crisp blue sky. Once again I felt that breathless, awe stricken wave wash over me and these words just burst forth;

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
~Psalm 19:1

The Cold Days are Coming

I thought that since the days are getting colder and Christmas is just around the corner I would make things look festive, hence the background change!

Yesterday was really exciting, we got to start listening to Christmas music! I love this time of year! Hot chocolate, tea, hot apple cider, curl up on the couch on a gray evening with a good book, who wouldn't like this time of year!?!

Don't get me wrong though, I don't just get to sit back and relax all the time. It's freshening season for our goats, and everyone else's too, (for those of you who don't know, freshening means breeding) , and aside from that there's those icy cold days when the barn needs mucking out, and of course the milking morning and evening. Not to mention the countless chores inside the house, cooking for the family, dishes, laundry,etc. But even through all the chores the Christmas music floats on, the smell of spices swirls through the house, and the smiles and excited chatter of me, mom, and my sisters flits along.

A Wonderful Day!

Thanksgiving was awesome! We were cooking and getting ready all morning. Afternoon came bringing with it moms family and a friend of ours, practically everyone brought food. The table was heavy laden with delicious things. The house was full of beautiful decorations, charming aromas, and lots of merry people. The joy was intoxicating and the conversation, full of laughter and mirth, was filling every corner. The dining room had a soft glow and all was warm and cozy.

As we waited for the turkey and a couple of casseroles to finish, we ate tasty hors d’oeuvres*, drank wassail (a German holiday drink) and chatted away.

When we all gathered at the table, mom read Psalm 100 aloud to all of us. Following the beautiful passage we all sang " For the Beauty of the Earth", it was wonderful lifting our voices up together in thanksgiving to our Lord! Then we all bowed our heads as my grandpa said a prayer thanking our loving Father Who has provided us with so much!

Of course we all ate too much and had to let our dinner settle before we went on to dessert. In the mean time some of us napped, others of us (the heroic ones) did the dishes and put the leftovers away, all the while chatting and having a gay ol' time!

Finally came the exciting moment when the dessert call was made. A mouthwatering assortment of pumpkin pie, apple pie, tarts, raspberry cheese cake, and of course, whipped topping, met our eyes as we all gathered to fill our plates. We were pleasantly surprised by our friends husband (who is a CHP) who joined us for dessert and brought such a pleasant happy touch to our group!

The evening was pleasant and everyone left happy, warm. . . and full! All together it was a wonderful day full of newly made memories!

Psalm 100
1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.


* Yes I did have to look up the spelling on that ;)

Thanksgiving bustle

Well Thanksgiving is upon us! We have been doing prep all afternoon! Were having my moms family over to spend this wonderful day with us.

I was thinking about how I've always been told to be thankful for what I have. As a child I always thought "but I really want that new doll outfit" or " I wish I could have more dessert" Now that I'm older, I don't have that problem. Yea right! Of course I still struggle with it, only on a different scale. More like "I wish I had that CD" or "I want that book" Very rarely are we just totally content with what the Lord has given us. You may be saying "Yea, yea, I know, I've herd this a thousand times!" But when was the last time you thanked God for your trials? How about the fact that your younger sibling thinks that you know everything and asks you all kinds of questions?

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

I go through all kinds of trials during the day, weather it's burning the dinner, or having a whining sibling that just wont listen! Knowing that the Lord is producing patience in me is not always exciting because I know it will be very difficult, but knowing that His end result is to make me perfect and complete, lacking nothing, that is exciting!

So this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for the trials that the Lord takes me through knowing that He cares enough for me that He continues to work on me even though sometimes I 'kick and scream' the whole way!

Acceptance with Joy

So I really wanted to start a blog and then I finally found a name for it! You may or may not have read the book "Hinds Feet on High Places" If you haven't then I would strongly recommend it. Acceptance with joy is the name of a flower that was planted in a rocky, rugged area in a spot where she shouldn't have been happy at all, but she said merrily instead "behold me Thy handmaiden Acceptance with joy". She was accepting what her maker had chosen for her and not only that but she was accepting it with joy. It was so encouraging to me, I need to learn to accept all that my heavenly Father takes me through with joy!
My purpose for this blog is to just write! In it you'll learn more about me, my struggles, my joys, my heart aches. My desire is to be totally honest in this blog, I'm not going to try to put up a front, I think it's important to be myself, so get ready for the ride!