New Baby Chicks

Oh, and today was the first day we found two eggs in the chicken coop laid by… I don’t know, by I suspect that the two Golden Comets, Pixie and Peep, were the first to lay beautiful brown eggs! Even my husband was excited about it. He loves eggs. Especially beautiful brown free range chicken eggs.

If you remember, when we originally got the chickens, I had a total of fourteen. Unfortunately about two months into that, something forced its way into the coop and slaughtered ten of them in one night. The one “hen” who survived (three of the chickens were on a road trip to campmeeting with me) has now turned out to be a rooster. His name is Lucky. We then got five more chicks, one of which got sick and died of a respiratory illness, so were ended up with a total of eight chickens who are all getting ready to start laying any time.

You can see my girls here roosting on my back porch. Not necessarily a good thing. But they are just so cute!

Of the eight pictured above we have…
2 Buff Orpingtons (one is a rooster) – Buttercup, Lucky
2 Golden Comets – Pixie, Peep
3 Rhode Island Reds – Penny, Violet, K.C. (short for Kentucky Chicken)
1 Amberlink – Speckles

Now, for our new baby chicks hatched October 5, 2011…

3 Americanas (the brown striped chicks) – pink, blue, and green eggs
5 Marans (the black chicks) – dark chocolate eggs
1 Golden Comet (the yellow chick with red stripes on back) – brown eggs
2 Buff Orpingtons (the yellow chicks) – brown eggs
3 California Spotted Whites (the yellow chicks with black polka dots) – white eggs

Not sure what we’ll name these adorable little ones. I like to wait until they get their feathers and I learn more about each individual hen. Although, amazingly enough, they look different enough we can tell them apart. Hannah and Laura are already trying to come up with names for the ones they claimed as their own. It’s just so much fun!

Summer Fun – To Do List

Are you excited about summer? Do you hope to have a lot fun making great memories with your family and friends? The last few years we have been on the road for much of the summer. This year I am looking forward to a quiet summer at home. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have plans for some local fun! A few things on my “Must Do this Summer List:”

1. build a teepee
2. catch fireflies
3. explore Bad Branch Falls
4. go swimming at the lake
5. grow a watermelon from seed

Have you made a list? If not, feel free to download my Summer Fun To Do List (in multiple colors) and get busy!

• Summer Fun – Pink and Blue
• Summer Fun – Blue
• Summer Fun – Black

Breakfast in Bed

So, this is has been a really sweet mother’s day. I didn’t sleep in late despite my deepest desire to do so, but when I woke up at 7:00 am my brain was plagued by all of the things I needed to get done on A Virtuous Woman before I leave for campmeeting in two weeks. I decided to spend a few hours working on my laptop in bed.

My husband, who was already working in his office, came down and greeted me with a kiss and a gift. A little while later I heard the girls busy in the kitchen. Traditionally for the last few years the girls have made me breakfast in bed, which is always just too sweet. So I knew better than to go in the kitchen! Today’s presentation of food was especially pretty. I forgot to take the photo until after I had already begun to eat! It was delicious!

I am so blessed to have such sweet children. Truly blessed.

On the menu:

- Banana Pancakes with Apple Syrup

- Perfectly Scrambled Eggs

- Vegetarian Bacon Strips

Owl Cupcakes

I love creating fun food for the kids to eat at my house. When I saw these sweet little owl cupcakes, I thought, “Now there is a delightful idea for our Thanksgiving get together!”

These owl cupcakes are just too sweet for words! The recipe is found over at Catching Fireflies. I think you could make these with a carrot cake recipe for a healthy dessert!

I also found these Owl Cupcakes over at One Charming Party and they are pretty cute, too!

American Girl Pioneer Party Idea

While perusing One Charming Party, I found this perfect idea for a party. Especially since I have four girls of my own at home. I am not very good at planning parties and then actually having them, but I think I could do something like this. Especially if I actually set aside the day and time and made real plans to do it. This would be so much fun and right up my girls alley! You’ll have the visit One Charming Party and read all about the wonderful ideas, activities, food and more that the girls experienced at the American Girl Pioneer Party!

A Day in Nature

Okay, so on Friday morning (last week) I took my daughter, Laura, to speech therapy. Hannah was with us, too. the parking lot was really full so we had to park quite a ways from the building. I pulled into a parking spot and there was a tree right in front of the car. Hannah says, “Mom, look! There’s a robin sitting on a nest!”

Sure, enough, there was a mommy robin sitting on a nest! We got out of the car, very excited. The nest was just above my eye level. The robin was startled when we got out of the car and she flew away. I couldn’t see into the nest and didn’t want to touch it, but I did hold my cell phone up above the nest and took a photo. There were no eggs on Friday.

So, this morning, we went back to speech and since we were running a little late, we didn’t stop to look at the robin’s nest until after the appointment. On our way back to the car (I brought my camera for the occasion!) we saw the mommy robin again sitting on her nest:

I stepped up on the curb (about 4 feet from the tree) and she was again startled and jumped up out of her nest, but stayed very close by on a branch. I held my camera up and took another photo, and this is what we found:

Are those not the prettiest little eggs you’ve ever seen??? We can hardly wait to see babies!

You know how much we love all of God’s creation – even snakes. But birds are just about our favorite. That is, if you don’t count horses.

This afternoon, we saddled, er, Emily saddled Ladybelle for the first time. (I took the photos.) Isn’t Ladybelle beautiful?? We lover her!

Side Note: In case you are wondering where my other daughter, Sarah, was… well, she is staying at our Middlesboro Church with a group of young people who came to work in the community doing literature evangelism (magabooking, canvasing). She loves the work! I am so proud of her. And in case you are a member in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference, be sure to check out this month’s Connection newsletter – Sarah has an article in it!!

Anyway, while we were up with the horses, I took a photo of the apple tree. Wow, look at those blossoms! I hope we get that many apples!

Valentine’s Day Menu

I love making my family feel special on Valentine’s Day. Here is a free download of our traditional Valentine’s Day Menu. I hope you enjoy the recipes!

Download the .pdf version of this menu along with the recipes here.

Breakfast:
Heart Shaped Pancakes with fresh Strawberries and Maple Syrup
Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits
Orange Juice

Dinner:
Spinach Lasagna Béchamel
Tossed Salad with Strawberries, Green Onion, Feta and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Garlic Toast
Strawberry Lemonade
Heart Shaped Butter Cookies
Decadent Chocolate Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Summer Adventures: Part 3

What can I say about the 2009 Pathfinder Camporee other than WOW? I knew that we were traveling 13 hours to Osh Kosh, WI to campout with 36,000 other Pathfinders. I knew that that was a lot of people. But I had no idea what to expect! This was my first Pathfinder Camporee and that of my children as well.

We left around midnight on Sunday night. The Camporee was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but we had decided to get there a day earlier to set up camp. There were ten in our group: My husband and I, James, Sarah, Emily, Hannah, Laura, and then Julina (my husband’s daughter) and her two children Jacob and Jenna. It was a long night.

We arrived in Osh Kosh around lunch time on Monday. We stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few camping supplies before actually driving into the air field. Who knew that out of 36,000 Pathfinders half of them had the same idea???

Every where you looked you saw cars and vans and buses with words like, “Osh Kosh or Bust!”

As we pulled into the gate of the air field, we were suddenly surrounded by thousands of people. It was so exciting to see! Kids were pitching tents and setting up camp every where you looked. We didn’t know that most of the conferences built fantastic displays to signify their region.

We got our tents pitched, and then I organized the food bins. It rained briefly (poured for several minutes) and then that was the last of the rain for the whole week.

Tuesday was a flurry of activity. We knew before we went that bathrooms and showers would be an issue. Imagine 36,000 people and only 500 showers and only porta potties available for use? And to get water for cooking and washing you had to walk quite a ways, stand in line, and carry back buckets of water.

The beating of drums was heard “througout the land” and all week long! I am a “new” Pathfinder and I never knew that Pathfinders played drums! It was a wonderful sound. I love, love, love the sound of drilling and drums!

Like I said, I had not really known what to expect. I understood there would be honor classes to work on during the week, but it was not until after we arrived that I really understood what that meant. The campus (air field) was so large that it took me 30 minutes (one way) to walk over the the hangars where the honors and other activities took place. I am soooo glad that we weren’t even further away as many were! I guess we walked about 10 miles a day. (Talk about exhausting!)

There were so many activities and classes and fun things to do – it was not possible to do them all! From BMX Bike shows to Motorcycle shows, to the 24′ rock climbing wall to dozens of honor classes to art classes to the bushcraft village to the prayer tent and the Messiah’s Mansion (life size tabernacle/ sanctuary) to the exotic animal shows to the very cool obstacle course to the community service opportunities to the puppet shows to the Native American display to the off site trips to Six Flags, Noah’s Ark Waterpark, water skiing, and so much more. They even had a booth where kids could just come and make crafts for fun! (see below)

There were booths where ministries displayed their free goodies and Advent Source had set up a store (very exciting to me!!)

There were food vendors – every kind of vegetarian item you could think of was available! I didn’t even realized there would be food vendors – I would have skipped cooking a few meals. It was like a Seventh-day Adventist wonder land. Sooo much fun!

And then there was the Trading Pins. Who knew that you needed to bring a collection of trading pins to join in the fun tradition? (see the photo of Hannah in the pink hat up above.)You’d think since I am married to a pastor who has been to Camporees before that he would have clued me in! But as the week progressed we had a nice collection of pins and in 5 years at the next camporee (if the Lord hasn’t retured by then) we will be ready!

And in the evenings there was the Worship Service. Oh my. It was fabulous! The theme of the camporee was Courage to Stand based on the life of Esther. Worship began with a puppet show and song service and talent show and more. But the highlight of each night was the play.

Oh, but I didn’t tell you about the stage! It was a fantasical stage built to look like Ester’s Palace – beautiful! And there were three huge screens so that everyone who was not close to the stage – which would be most of the 36,000 people – could get a good view.

Oh, and as you entered seating area, you had to walk through gates with guards and torches – very cool.

And then there was the exciting music that played while you sat and waited (and waited) for the program to begin. It was like a combination of Egyptian music and Adventure music – wonderful!

Going into the camporee I was thinking that it would be a cheesy church play – you know the kind. Well meaning church members act out a story to the best of their ability and everyone looks past their lack of talent out of love? That was not the case. The actors and actresses performed beautifully. It was so well done and professional. I was so proud! And the musical score for the play (which was really a musical) was very, very well done. I bought the CD and the kids just love the music!

On Sabbath (the last day of the camporee) over 550 young people were baptized – Praise God!

On the last night, after the program ended, we had a special surprise! All of a sudden, just as eveyone was standing to leave, fireworks began. It was a true delight and when they began I thought there would be just a few. They played some of my favorite songs as the fireworks exploded in the sky. But then they kept coming and coming – for at least 30 minutes ending with an amazing display for the “grand finale”! It was so special and as we left the service, my youngest daughter Laura says to me, “I am going to be sad to go home!” That pretty much summed it all up for the rest of us.

August was such an exciting time for us – I will share more of our adventures during the month in Part 4!

Summer Adventures: Part 2

August was such a fun month! It started off with a few days at Indian Creek Camp for the yearly minister’s meeting there. The speakers were fantastic. It was wonderful to get to chat with friends I only see a few times a year. There are several pastor’s wives in our conference that are dear to me. The kids got to spend time with some of their best friends. I am always grateful for that.

And the horses… My girls and I love horses and riding the horses at ICC is one of the highlights of our year!

Hannah – thrilled to be at the corral!

Laura riding the new horse – Pilgrim. Here, Jamie is leading her. Laura can hardly wait until next year! She’ll be 7 years old and allowed to lead her own horse and ride on the trail with the rest of us!
This is Hannah riding really well all by herself!

I have more photos of my other girls on the horses, but they were taken on my husband’s camera and I have not downloaded them yet! I’ll have to share those later.

This is a picture of Hannah and Laura with their good friends exploring nature – bugs!

For our Shepherdess Meeting (pastor’s wives meeting) we learned a bit about Photography. I love my camera and can’t wait to be able to afford a super nice (read expensive) camera. I take my camera everywhere and take hundreds of photos every month! For practice we went outside and took some nature shots. Here are some of mine:

Pretty flowers outside of the chapel.

I liked the way the light shone in through the tree leaves.

This is poison ivy. I thought it was a pretty good shot.

And last but not least, our pet Fowler’s Toad – aptly named Prince Charming. We let him go a couple of weeks ago. I am glad I got this nice shot of him.

When we got home from ICC, I had two days to prepare for the International Pathfinder Camporee in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin. Actually tho, I took Thursday to “recuperate” so that left me with Friday – which meant I had to take Sunday and finish packing – which meant we didn’t leave for Wisconsin until 12 midnight…. to be continued in Part 3!

Home…

A few moments ago my darling little, oh so precious little girl says to me, “Mommy, I want to stay five years old forever.”

And I said, “You can stay my little girl forever, even when you are all big.”

These are the best days of my life, for sure.

This morning began in the quiet stillness of dawn, with me curled up under a snuggly soft woven blanket on my sofa, sitting under the light of a lamp with a book in my lap. I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading My Utmost for His Highest. I can’t tell you how it has spoken to me… as if Oswald Chambers wrote it for me!

I wrote several pages in my prayer journal before rising to wake up the children. After cheery “Good Mornings” in a sing song voice and turning on lights with a request to get up, get dressed, make your beds and come down for breakfast, I went into the kitchen to start a pot of grits and fry up some vegetarian bacon. I had made Sourdough Blueberry Muffins yesterday as part of my bread baking day. So, those only needed to warmed.

We ate breakfast around the table. The dishes were cleared. I then read from this year’s children’s devotional. Today’s topic was Backyard Missionaries and a story of two boys who were able to witness about what the Bible really says to a friend of theirs. Then, we sang a worship song – today was “Praise Him, Praise Him.” We ended with prayer.

I then instructed the children to spend a few minutes straightening up their rooms and I went about tidying the rest of the house. Amazingly enough, after just a few minutes of putting away clutter and wiping down the bathroom sink and loading the dishwasher and getting it started, I found myself trying to find something that needed to be done. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am still in the midst of Spring Cleaning, but those chores will be done later today. The house was tidy. In fact, after having so much chaos in my life toward the end of last year, having a clean house everyday for several weeks has been so refreshing. Having it so clean that I just need to spend a few minutes each maintaining my previous work is tremendously satisfying!

So, having nothing better to do, and went and sat down in my Sunroom to enjoy the view from my window. I saw the book The Adventist Home sitting on the table and decided to pick up that and read a chapter. The words are always inspiring. I wanted to share some of those with you.

Creating a Pure Atmosphere

Every Christian home should have rules; and parents should, in their words and deportment toward each other, give to the children a precious, living example of what they desire them to be. Purity in speech and true Christian courtesy should be constantly practiced. Teach the children and youth to respect themselves, to be true to God, true to principle; teach them to respect and obey the law of God. These principles will control their lives and will be carried out in their associations with others. They will create a pure atmosphere – one that will have an influence that will encourage weak souls in the upward path that leads to holiness and heaven.

Children who receive this kind of instruction … will be prepared to fill places of responsiblity and, by precept and example, will be constantly aiding others to do right.

God would have our families symbols of the family in heaven. Let parents and children bear this in mind every day, relating themselves to one another as members of the family of God. Then their lives will be of such character as to give to the world an object lesson of what families who love God and jeep His commandments may be. Christ will be glorified; His peace and frace and love will pervade the family circle like a precious perfume.

Much depends on the father and mother. They are to be firm and kind in their discipline, and they are to work most earnestly to have an orderly, correct household, that the heavenly angels may be attracted to it to impart peace and a fragrant influence.

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