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.