Then we went to New Bern, NC...

So...we left Tazewell, VA around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, heading to New Bern, NC to surprise my brother Matt and his family. They had no idea we were coming. We finally found their home at 10:50 p.m. Sunday evening. The draw bridge was out...which was a huge bummer, so then our GPS wasn't working, and we drove around in circles for awhile...this was after a huge mis-communication, or fight rather, between my husband and I and navigating our way to NC...we were glad to finally find it. They were just winding down a swim party, so we arrived in the midst of some chaos. They were suprised, and just kept walking around saying, "I just can't believe you are here." Matt and Naomi love to surprise people...I am not so big on surprises, but thought we should give them a taste of their own medicine. :) Worst case scenario was they were busy, and we would have to get a hotel room and go to the beach on our own...that was the worst thing that could have happened, but it didn't.

This is the girls on Monday morning...so much fun.

This was our Monday morning walk/bike ride Naomi and I took around their development with the kids. Because we hauled cattle to VA we had some extra room to throw the kids bikes in the trailer, which was bonus.
I obviously was relaxing a little too much, because I didn't get any pictures of their house, or the school Matt works at (which is sooo posh)-like that fancy Nancy word?, or anything. I hung out by their fabulous inground pool A LOT and came back with a great tan....this is Matt hanging with Calli...she did not like the water.

Matt and Naomi's kids are so gracious. They seemed to love playing with, and taking care of their younger cousins. You don't see that everyday. Here is almost 10 year old Ezra amusing or trying to cheer up 2 year old Campbell...Thanks guys for all the love you poured on your cousins. I know it's not always fun to be the oldest having to play with the youngest. :)

Our last night there was had a night time swim... after our fabulous dinner of spagetti, fried oysters, and shrimp. YUMMO!

Here's a little video I took...the kids had just gotton this basketball pool hoop for an end of the school year present. I think they'll put it to good use.

Thanks Matt and Naomi and family for your hospitality on the fly...we had so much fun. Thanks for all the yummy food and snacks, warm beds, and most of all the fun, fun, fun. We can't wait until we are invited back again. :) We left New Bern, NC at 7:30 am on Wed. morning, and pulled into our driveway around 4:00 pm in the afternoon. It was a warm, beautiful drive until we got to PA. Now it's colder, and rainy.

We are so thankful for the time we had to get away, before the chickens come back on Monday. Thanks Aldie for taking care of the other critters while we were gone. We cherish the memories we are making with our kids, and can only hope they can recall them with things get tough. :)

Have you heard of Tazewell, VA?

Haven't heard from me in awhile, I know...The last of our chickens left late last Wed. night, and we'll be "restocked" on the 8th, so we decided to make a quick run for the south.

We left at 5:30 a.m. Sat. morning, and delivered 4 bull calves to the Pruetts in Tazewell, VA. We got there around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. Kids travelled great...they do so well. The Pruett's are friends of Aldie and Judy, and Mary went thru cancer treatment at Duke with Judy...that is how they met.

This is Mary with Kaycee. Mary is always very doting with my children. Everytime they come to PA she comes with gifts in hand, and it was no different this time...they spoiled them non-stop for the 24 hours we were there. :) She will be a great grandma some day, if the Lord blesses her in that way...

We went on a tour after church on Sunday, and this is some of the land we looked at. You drive up the mountain on an S turn road that never ends, it was awful...then you come down into this "bowl". There are farms on this land, and all around are high mountains, creating a "bowl" effect, hence the name. Beautiful.

Do we look like tourists or what? We would have all hopped out, but Calli was sleeping on my lap at the time, and Campbell was sleeping as well. I was NOT about to wake anyone up even for a blog photo opportunity.

Cool barn, eigh? It was actually the post office in "the bowl". Obviously, the town is called Burke's Garden.

This is Bill...a crazy workaholic farmer who is in partnership with his dad on a big dairy. His dad is 78, and I asked his dad if he ever gets out of the "holler". He smiled, and said, "Not very often." They live on a beautiful big dairy farm in the middle of no where :) We say they live down in the "holler". Matt should be writing this because he knows much more of the numbers, but I do know they milk 120 cows...and have many, many more growing critters around.

Here Bill is feeding my 7 month old whip cream out of the can...totally a Poppy thing to do. :)

On our way into Tazewell, we saw these camels...crazy, right?

And, this is the beautiful old church we attended with them on Sunday morning. It's at the end of their road. It was so fun to be there. 65 people go there, and my children doubled their sunday school class. :) They were so, so friendly...it's definately a different culture down there. Little 5 year old Jimmy walked up to Kaden, with his hand extended, "Hi there Kaden, nice to meet you." Too precious.

Thanks Bill and Mary for your awesome hospitality, all the kid spoiling, good meals, warm showers and beds. We all had a blast. Maybe we'll make it down there again sometime. Your church was so much fun to be at as well. Take care. Love, Matt and Missy.

Great Grandma Agnes.

This picture was taken at Matt's cousin, Emiley's wedding, in February of Kaycee and Maggie with Great Grandma Agnes...

Today we are mourning the loss of Great Grandma Agnes King.

This is Aldie's mom, Matt's grandma. She lived here on the farm, raising her 3 boys, with her husband Mahlon. Mahlon died of a sudden heart attach when Matt's dad was just 24. It was after that that Aldie bought the farm, and then Agnes moved to the trailer (where Matt and I lived when we were first married), and then she spent many years living at the Mennonite Home, in Lancaster. It was there that she was put in hospice care on Sunday, and a given 2 days-2 weeks to live. She was almost 91 years old.

She was a sweet, sweet lady. Kaycee's middle name is Agnes, after her. Always greeted me with a kiss and a hug. Such a precious lady. She seemed to be slow to judge, and loved most everyone. We thank you Jesus for letting Agnes touch our lives. We are a bit teary eyed today, and will be for awhile, but are trying to be mostly happy that she is in heaven now, and is no longer feeling any pain...

We love you grandma, and will miss you and your warm smiles, and tender hand squeezes.

Love, Missy.

spring lovin.

so...my computer is finally back, again, hopefully this time for good. the sound had gone with the last fixin', so it had to go back one more time. so...now i am learning to re-install all my goodies so i can update the blog...

love these little half flags. had been looking for some FOREVER and stumbled upon these at Goodwill over the winter...i was TICKLED PINK! so, now i am all decked out for Memorial Day!

just some spring shots around my flower beds. yesterday i finished up spreading 13 yards of mulch (and i still am short about 2 yds). matt insists that we are not getting anymore, we'll have to see who wins. :) you can't NOT do the last bed, right? :)

the entrance to the mudroom...

this is what matt will be tackling some of the day. lots of nice hay to be baled. our "good" big tractor died last night at 11 pm, and i had to tow him in from disking....you KNOW how much i love towing him. there was no yelling, some disappointment, but NO yelling. Yippee. If you stop in sometime this summer and i am just driving the tractor around, it is so i learn how to drive it...the right way. :) hopefully Hoobers will be out today to fix it, and it won't be anything too major. ( he was gone most of the day golfing yesterday for a Tel Hai benefit, so he will be paying the consequences of that today, and then some...)

The King Homestead.

this is where Matt's grandfather and grandmother lived, so where his dad grew up. Then Matt got to grow up here, and now our kids are growing up here. Fun. We are loving living here on the farm. Lots of work, especially since we are into spring and soon to be summer, but it's fun being outside now that it's warm out. We are giving our garden another shot, we'll see how we make out. so far, the bunnies LOVE our tomatoes, more than our lettuce. :(

calli.

calli. 7 months old. smiley. loves rice cereal, and NOTHING else. holds and drinks her sippy. sits up. blue eyes. rolls over. curly hair. 2 bottom teeth have just arrived. LOVES to talk, especially to her brother and sisters. snuggly. enjoys outside. content. sleeps very well. getting a little strange, and likes mommy close by. happy. laughs outloud. we love you calli and are so thankful for your life and the joy you bring to our family.

t-ball.

Kaden Rockwell King, age 5, third in from left, and assistant coach, Matt above. :)

we love baseball team chant...so cute.

watching closely to steal home...just kidding. but he is VERY into baseball...couldn't even look at me for a quick picture.

this is Kaden and one of his good friends Andrew. They go to our church, and his dad is the Head Coach. "Coach K" short for Charlie Koennecker.

And this little guy is Gavin. Mommy went to church with his mommy growing up. Gavin has 2 older brothers, and a little sister, and is a GREAT ball player.

We weren't quite sure what to expect from T-ball. We have heard some horror stories, about kids picking flowers in the outfield, and climbing fences...but we have experienced none of that. Games are only 3 innings long, each kid bats each time, and they really only take about an hour. Kaden is having a blast, and it's good for Matt's patience as well...especially when the girls come to play in skirts and sandels. Yikes. :) As for Kaycee, she is pretty sure she would rather do ballet next year. :)

grandma shank.

well, my grandma shank just moved from an apartment at Fairmount Homes, to a private room, that provides a little more supervision and care that she needs. we've spent more time than usual there the past couple weeks, trying to help my mom organize a bit...it's such an exhausting, painful time... to watch someone you love deteriorate little by little. grandma was a very hard working lady. she served my grandfather whole heartedly. she loves her kids and grandkids and great grandkids very much but isn't always good at showing it---nor am i. she made the best angel food cake EVER. she loved to sew, or mend rather, and ironed with the best of them. i have lots of good memories of my grandma shank, and hope to make some more. she's getting a bit more forgetful, and isn't as steady on her feet as she once was. we love you grandma, and will be back to see you soon. mk.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn, and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Ecclesiastes 3:1-14.

not yet.

sorry. got my computer back yesterday, and it would appear that it is still very sick. also appears like i may have lost ALL of my e-mail addresses, which is a very sad thing. that is how i stay in touch with you all, and with reality, thru e-mail conversations. :) so, if you haven't heard from me in awhile, drop me a line, so i can re-establish my sanity, (and address book). :) will return computer today to see if they can totally disarm this virus that took me down...i promise i won't send anything out until it is gone, and good as new. :)

so, no new pictures, although i have many waiting to share. enjoy this maybe sunny, warmer day. mk.

oh man.

oh man. so i am so behind. we have been hostessing our little hineys off lately, which means in my book a lot of cleaning, weeding, mulching etc. my friend still had the nerve to do the finger test on my piano AND DID FIND DUST...can you believe it? is that a friend anyway...i am wondering? :) that was the night of our sunday school party...22 adults and 27 kids... and now my computer must have caught the swine flu because it is hacking up some kind of virus or something, and is out of commission. i will post just as soon as i have something good to say, and some good pictures. off to the choo choo barn tomorrow for "family day" with kaden's preschool. sure to be a crack up, well, we might be the crack up, matt's coming to help me with our kids....mainly campbell. :) our hot water heater died tonight. just finished up with small group, well 2 hours ago, i guess...and didn't get a lick of exercise in today. :( see you. mis.

oh yeah, and who wants to come see beth moore next thur. night at longs park for national day of prayer? i am going with a bunch of my girls, (maybe completely kidless)... please come if you want, sure to be a blast...she totally rocks...well, i think so anyway. :)

easter.

well....our family photo attempts are few at best. this was the best one. thanks poppy. easter 09.

kaden- 5 1/2, kaycee- 4, campbell- 2, and calli- 6 months.

my little peanut...she was 9lbs. 3oz. at birth, but has now followed in her sister's footsteps and is on the "tiny" chart. she is now eating rice cereal. :( she's growing up so fast. i LOVE the tiny, baby stage...she was just laying on mam-maw's living room floor amidst the chaos on easter, having fun playing by herself. it's a beautiful thing.

we ate lunch with matt's family on easter, and then went to my parents for an easter egg hunt and hot dog roast for afternoon and early evening...we had gotton my parent's this fire pit for christmas, so they are trying it out with the grandkids, amidst the wind...

just some pansies....

uncle mark, not wanting anyone to see him fighting with that hot dog...

a little smoke never hurt anyone...

there have ALWAYS been plenty of babies to pass around at our family dinners...aunt meg with the youngest...calli- 6 mo, and hope- 5 weeks.

kaden giving some love to great grandma buckwalter...

kaycee showing off an egg.

campbell decided she would rather ride bike in the middle of "the hunt". didn't bother daddy at all...

great pappy buckwalter checking out campbell's eggs.

yes, this is against all i believe in. my 2 year old has her nuk OUT OF BED. it just wasn't worth the fight. she was exhausted from missing her nap. oh well. i'm pretty sure this wouldn't have happened with my first or second kid... :)

just some pretty eggs.

another of calli being herself.

what a hunt.

easter 09. fun. family. eggs. no naps. good food. laughter. hot dogs. sunshine. early church. friends. running. some crying. toys. chaos. cousins. great grandparents. did i say good food? more eggs. wrestling. smiles. joy. happiness. robins. awe. mis.

Happy Easter.

1. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3. but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living amoung the dead? 6. He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee. 7. "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." 8. Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-8.

Hope you took some time to look over the Easter story, and glean something new this year. May you have a peaceful day, as you reflect on Jesus. mk.