What?

 

"Nope, can't hear a thing you're saying, Mom!"



Peas

If there is one memory I will always recall fondly, it would be sitting amongst all of the women at my grandmother's house as they shell peas or shuck corn. I felt like a big girl when I was allowed to shell some or pull the golden silks from the corn that had already been shucked. I want my kids to have a little bit of that life. So, I bought a bushel of purple hull peas still in the pods, from the farmers market, then set these little ones to work...old school style. I want them to understand what it was like to use their hands. Newer generations many times overlook what past generations did to pave the way for modern day conveniences. People used to plow with their hands, hoe with their hands, plant with their hands, pick crops with their hands and shell peas with their hands. We want our kids to know that life is not always easy, and that is okay. We want them to know the value of hard work and how to use their hands instead of stare at screens all day. They enjoyed themselves and their hard work. At the end of the bushel, we all had purple thumbs, the common trademark of hard work on the farm. They helped put away 10 bags of peas. We are proud of them.

 

 



Princess Pancake Breakfast

Shiloh and I had a surprise Mommy Daughter date! We went to the Annual Princess Pancake Breakfast at the Baker's Rack. I had never heard about it before, but thanks to social media (there's your silver lining) I found out about it just in time for an impromptus outing with my beautiful blond four- year old! I told her to choose her favorite princess dress because we were going somewhere special. She chose Rapunzel from the movie Tangled. Upon arrival, we found a table for two and got our pancakes and juice. There was every Disney princess in attendance that I could imagine and Shiloh's eyes are adoring all of them. She was too shy for most of the breakfast to go greet them, but she doted on all of them from afar. Her favorites were Ana and Elsa, Cinderella (that she braved a photo with) and Jasmin. She even met up with her BFF, Millie Kay! What a pretty princess she was!

 



Eli and Eva's Baptisms

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

2016 was good to us. We received another brother and sister in Christ. Eli and Eva made public professions of faith before our church and took part in believers baptism. We are inexpressibly proud of both of them. They became believers a different times, but were able to be baptized together. They each wrote out their testimony to be read before the congregation, then members were allowed to give encouraging words to them.

 

I remember the night Eva came in our room. She said she wanted to follow Jesus in her life and with her heart. She had been talking about it for some time. We had actually anticipated guiding her much longer to make sure she had a thorough understanding, but this night in particular, she was adamant. We gave her the option to wait and she would not hear of it. So she prayed with us and she placed her faith on Christ. We are very proud of our beautiful girl.

 

Eli on the other hand, was much more private about his own encounter with Christ. He was alone with the Lord. He came to us later and let us know that the Lord had saved him. We asked a lot of questions and know that he is a believer and follower of the Lord. "Praise God for His indescribable gifts!" 2 Cor. 9:15

 

 



(courtesy of City Fellowship)







(courtesy of City Fellowship)

 



 



LBL: 2016

 There is not much a campfire cannot fix. We love to camp. Yes, like the real deal, tent camping. Everything taste better cooked over a campfire. The kids love the "junk food" that is convenient camp food, like trail mix, Pop tarts, donuts. I love it too, but we still bring lots of fruit and real dinners. We love the crackling sounds of the fire, surrounded by good conversation where everyone is paying attention, and the jokes! Land Between the Lakes, at Piney Campground, has become our favorite place to camp. This specific trip, we chose to go the weekend following Labor Day weekend, a bit if a farewell to summer. It turned out to be the best idea. We had the entire beach are to ourselves. We got a site right in front of the beach area too. It was low key and quiet. We had the greatest end of summer we have ever had.  

 



Clementine: 2 months

 

 

Our sweet baby girl is two months old now! She is the sweetest little thing! She is smiling and cooing now. Her feedings have spaced out a bit and is nursing about every three hours now. she still wakes once or twice a night, but I do not mind seeing this little face. She weighs over 12 lbs. now. She has a very pleasant personality and loves to watch all of her siblings. She enjoys being outside and loves to take naps with Mom. I love the feeling of this little one sleeping soundly on my chest. She is a precious addition. We do not have a nickname for her, as we still call her Clementine.
She is one of a kind!
 

 



Clementine's Dedication

 

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

 

We choose a passage from the bible for each of our children. One that we feel God impressing upon us. We may have felt it before a child is even born. Lamentations 3:22-23 is Clementine's. Clementine means mercy. We chose her name not only because it was beautiful, but because of its meaning. The Lord's mercies are never ending. He so faithful to His people, His children, the sheep of His pasture. His faithfulness to our family is great and steadfast. We dedicated our baby girl with our new church family. She wore a gown embroidered with her name given to us by a dear friend, Geniece Langford. We are constantly reminded that these little ones that God places in our family, are not ours, but His. We dedicate Clementine to be raised according to God's truth. We release her to His service. We will honor Him in leading Clementine to know Jesus, His sacrifice and the salvation that He offers. We promise to help her discover the gifts and talents that He has given her and how to use them for His glory. We will also strive to love her the way God does. She is so precious to us and ultimately to Him. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gifts." 2 Cor. 9:15