Weekend away

About 2 wks. ago, we headed down to Maryland to see some friends of ours, and visit our outreach church. We really enjoyed it, except for the driving with our children. I’m being honest here :). Thought I’d share a few highlights of our trip.Not much relaxing and eating with this girl! Some trips outside. Sigh 😉Dale trying to occupy little lady. It may have lasted a minute 🙂 Some pics from supper at Lonestar. I’ m getting hungry looking at my food again 🙂 This is how bad a bathroom can look 🙂A quick pic at our motel in Dover. Friendly staff there! They enjoyed the motel pool, even if it was 8:00 at night 🙂 I’m pretty sure everyone knew when we came and when we left 😉 This is the 1st time we took our family to a motel ( we are dairy farmers ;)). Anyways, our children acted like it was their 1st time too. We tried to keep them calm and quiet, but that wasn’t too successful. They were tired and excited, so combine the two, and you know how that works 🙂I love this one of Jenna! Sleepy bed head.Sand crabs they dug up at Cape Henlopen. They filled a bucket with them. Ick!This was Jenna’s 1st time at the oceanOur friends, Harlan and Regina’s lovely home. We slept in the camper Sat. night. The children had great fun together! Little Dakota loved the boys! So cute!Tristan was practically in heaven with all the farm toys 😉Down at their pondJenna loved the playset!Regina’s pretty flowersSunday morning breakfast. We were quite blessed with Harlan and Regina’s hospitality! We felt so at home 🙂Kirsten combing Kierra Smithson chapel. Cutest little chapel I’ve seen! We had the privilege of hearing our deacon from home bring the message. Was nice to see them and their family! And we enjoyed a meal after the service. Was so nice to see them all again! misc, maryland trip 162_edited-1 The big irrigation systems we seen. Pretty neat! misc, maryland trip 164 I took these on our way home. It was near the home of Doug and Bev Brubaker, our minister before they moved to serve in Md. We made a quick stop to see their place before heading home. They have such a neat home! 20140720_171148 The ride home was much more pleasant due to extremely tired children 🙂

Our weekend went too fast, but there is no place in the world like home! Even if that means heading out to milk those cows 🙂

God’s promise

A rainbow is something I never tire of seeing! I usually have to pull out my camera 🙂 It is a beautiful reminder of the promise God made to Noah long ago.

Genesis 9:12- 15 : and God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Mason

This little guy is so cute and happy as ever! I had so much fun taking his pictures! He was so good about it 🙂 He was such a clown 🙂 Love those chubby feet! Larry and Becky, you are blessed with one special little boy! Thanks for allowing me the pleasure of taking Mason’s 2 yr. pictures 🙂

Sweet sleep

How I love this girl of mine! She is so busy that when she sleeps, I just treasure it 🙂 There is something so sweet and innocent in a sleeping child!

Yesterday morning she left the house without my knowledge and headed out to the barn. She thought mommy was in the barn, when in fact, the tired mommy was sleeping so good she never heard her leave 🙂 Dale told her to go in to mom and I woke up to her slipping her cold piggy toes into bed. She proceeded to pull my hair while saying, “Giddyup!” Let’s just say I wasn’t amused 🙂

Another morning when I was milking, and headed out to feed calves, I saw her little face pressed against the kitchen door window. I figured everyone else was fast asleep, so I went in. She looked at me with her tear stained face and said, “Mommy, I cried cause you milking. ” Broke my heart 🙂 I asked her if she wanted to go with me to feed calves, and she was so suited 🙂 As we walked out the drive together, she sipped on some juice I had given her, and said, “Awesome!” I laughed at that one! Her big sister was teaching her that word and she seemed to know when to use it 🙂

She just brings so many smiles to us!

I took these yesterday afternoon. She came down from her nap, and after a little snuggle, was soon fast asleep again 🙂

Flowers + camera = Happy me

Enjoy the flowers from my flowerbeds, watered and brought to life by our wonderful Creator! Enjoy your day,make each moment count 🙂

‘Round here

… We’ve got ducks in the creek We drink milk! 🙂We build stuff ( it’s a tree house in case you’re wondering 🙂 ) june, july 2014 and tiffany 048_edited-1 The main carpenter 🙂 And if the children can reach the mulberries, good chance they will be eaten 🙂 … We have calves, and calf roundups 🙂 We even share on occasion!

These moments of sweetness I treasure!

We love anything that involves water

even if it’s only a tub 😉

Crazy Tristan!

And the popular opinion here is that if you need a piece of equipment, it most definitely should be green and yellow. I am the practical voice that says if it works, it doesn’t matter what color it is 🙂 (I get a lot of feedback when I say things like that :))

I hope you are being blessed with a good week!

Goodbye isn’t easy

Goodbye. We may say that word several times in a day. Seeya later, we say without even thinking about it. Some of us have experienced the death of a friend, a relative, etc… No more goodbyes to say.

This week I said goodbye to my younger sister and her family as they left for Haiti for 2 yrs. I didn’t like doing that. It’s not easy saying goodbye when you know it’s going to be awhile till you see them. That my nieces and nephews will grow older, and my children won’t get to see their cousins very much. But life brings change, and God is there through it all!

I’ve heard it said that instead of thinking that it’s the end of something, think of it as the beginning of something else.

So while we may miss them, we can still keep in touch, and maybe these dairy farmers will have to pay them a visit 🙂 That would be quite different for us! Neither hubby or I have ever flown in a plane before. There is a first time for everything, as they say 🙂

This post is from a couple weeks back when my 2 nieces came for a sleepover before they left. I know they will enjoy seeing the pictures way down there 🙂

This is for you, Aubrey, Emily, Cody, and Owen! Love you !! Helping shell peas for supper.That is a full pool. I even rhymed, haha 🙂 Emily reading to Tristan. These 2 get along so well.Pancakes for some sleepy girls

We went to the park with some friends before they went home..Jessica and Aubrey. That cow can hold 2 silly girls 🙂 It was so hot that day, the pavilion provided some nice shade! This little miss had the misfortune of stepping on a nail with her bare feet 😦 After some quick planning, I took her to our family doctor, and they pulled it out. She was very brave. And she earned a lollipop, which suited her! 😉 And my sweet friends watched the other children while I was gone. So nice of them!The culprit. Thank goodness it was small, but it almost went completely through her foot.

Enjoy your weekend! ~ Jolene

Fool’s toffee

This recipe is simple, and the perfect combination of salty and sweet.

Ingredients:

40 saltine crackers

2 sticks butter

1 cup light brown sugar

12 oz. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts, choppedLine a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. Line saltines on foil close together.Boil butter and brown sugar until foamy.It should look like this.Pour over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers.When melted, spread evenly. Refrigerate. (You may sprinkle with crushed pecans, or walnuts if you like.) After refrigerated till firm, break into pieces. I store them in the fridge, but they are better if you get them out a bit before munching to soften them up.Enjoy the deliciousness 🙂

If you’re like me, you may have to argue with yourself every time you pull the dish out about how many are a proper serving 🙂

More summertime play

I just love this one of Jenna. It shows her adventurous side 🙂 One afternoon we had alot of rain in a short amount of time. The creek was so swollen, so the boys cooled off.I took this on my way to the grocery store. I’m not sure how much rain we had, but it was quite a bit.Enjoying a gator rideAnd I couldn’t resist taking a pic of this beautiful wildflower.