a good morning.

During my walk this morning I took a few pictures. It was such a quiet, beautiful morning. Perhaps I appreciate the quiet a bit more now than in the past. :)

I have a really bad case of poison right now, everywhere, and am trying hard to get rid of it before we leave for the beach. I have been pretty miserable...trying to soak in an over-chlorinated hot tub several times during the night when I can't sleep. I think these flower beds are where I got it. :( Seems I can't ever keep from getting it, no matter what I do.



And the pretty skies...

Hope you are blessed today!

Happy Father's Day...

To all the dads out there. Hope you can enjoy your special day. Take some time off. Take a nap. Go play some golf. Relax in your favorite chair. Eat some really good food...and maybe reflect on all you are to those who love you.

To Matt...I have seen you grow in so many ways in being a dad. It's been fun to watch. I adore the time you spend with our kids here on the farm, and know that it's special for them too, whether it's riding around in the green truck, or the tractor. Thanks for fitting them into your very busy life. They love spending time with you, love the mountains, and fishing, and the beach, and all the adventures we have traveling around the United States. I hope they will all be great memories one day. Love, Mis.

And to my Dad...hmmm...memories I have with you would be: specifically for those who thought I did NOTHING on the farm, I do remember unloading hay, testing milk, feeding hay, and getting milk out of the tank into that dark brown pitcher we had. Sitting on the front porch and playing red light, green light in the front yard. Going to the beach, making drippy sandcastles, which you now do with my kids :) and playing paddle ball. Went to many of Matt and Mark's basketball games with you. I remember you taking me to visit Slippery Rock... in a day. And I remember you teaching me how to drive, a stick shift of course, especially one time on a back road covered with ice...Church was always a priority, your patience and wisdom are two important attributes who make you who you are. Thanks for pouring into my life Dad. We'll see you on Sat. Love, Mis.

my beloved.

9 years ago, i woke up at 5 a.m. on this very morning. it was a beautiful warm and soon to be sunny morning. this was my wedding day. all the rushing around, taking flowers here and there. getting my hair done. running to turkey hill for some lunch a couple hours before the ceremony. the beautiful church. my beautiful dress. hiding from matt so he wouldn't see me...how silly. :) oh the fun.

so...happy anniversary matthew. i love my life. i love you. i love my kids. thank you for providing us a wonderful life. hoping to skip off for some celebration when the chickens leave again. enjoy the day...xoxo. me.

and p.s. thanks for the beautiful flowers. love them. love them.

rain.

rain. rain.
go away.
so we can bale
all our hay.

okay...so it didn't really rain TODAY, but this weather is not so condusive for dryin' out the hay. just 2 short days to get it in before it gets rained on. :(

summerness.

just some candid shots from the

last few days. kaycee trying out

the lawn mower.

daddy filling up a few spare minutes giving the kids a ride...

they love 4 wheeler rides.

this morning we played "ballerina class". it was kind of a riot.

i will be glad to see the sun again. (campbell is currently

on a time out, throwing a "royal" fit).

kaycee can't wait to start ballerina classes...

she would like to do that in the fall instead of soccer.

bring on the girliness. :)

this poor little piggy...

As if life isn't busy enough for us...something that Matt has also taken over for his dad, are some occasional pig roasts. We did a graduation party this past Sunday afternoon. This 150 lb. (live weight) pig was put on the cook at 1:30 pm on Sat. afternoon. We served Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm. He cooks over charcoal for about 24 hours, and was cooked to perfection, this guy...

Had to take a few shots with the kids...

Kaycee wasn't too sure how close she really wanted to get, but she made it work. :) Just some more busyness to add to farm life.

i'm tired.

i'm tired. i am weary. i am broken. friends had a stillborn baby. i am potty training a two year old, who knows more than her mommy :), i cannot seem to communicate my thoughts and feelings effectively to my husband, this song brought such peace to my soul. listen. take in the words. it's a beautiful song...unfortunately i can't get it to play on my blog...

Everyone Needs a Little

by Kari Jobe.

Come all ye weary and ye broken.

Come to the table of the Lord.

Come sing the song of the forgiven.

Come lay your burden on the Word.

Come and find peace, everyone needs a little

Rest, everyone needs a little.

Joy and a song to sing in the darkest night.

Life, even when it gets you down...

Hope will turn it around,

But Love is the greatest of these.

Everyone needs a little.

Sing all ye saints and ye sinners. Call upon the mercy of the Lord.

Come sing the song of redemption.

Sing about the hope that is to come.

He will lift you up. He will lift you up higher than sorrow.

He will lift you up and cover your soul with healing.

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.