Down Home On The Farm {Full Quiver Farms}

My parents have a dairy farm. They bottle their own milk: make cheese, yogurt, cheese balls, cheese spreads, and I don't know what all else. They have a little store on the farm. They also sell to Whole Foods, Central Markets, and at markets. It's a fun little operation. (OK. So fun to watch. Maybe not so "fun" for those doing the work.)

This morning I slipped on some boots and waded out to the store and cheese house for a bit. Considering the torrential downpour which happened over night this was a brave thing to do. Let's just say the puddles are pretty intimidating. But it was cheery and pretty in the store!

Making salsa.

If you ever find yourself near Kemp, Texas stop on by! You won't be sorry!

One Room School

While we are here in Texas our children are attending the little one room school that my sister, Hannah, teaches at. There are normally twelve students ranging from second to seventh grade. Hannah and one other teacher do all of the teaching. Half of the students are my nieces and nephews.

We use a lot of the same curriculum, so it is easy for our children to fit right in when we visit here, and, oh my, do they ever love it! They can't get over the thrill of packing lunches and choosing games at recess! And I also enjoy the little break for the time we are here, so it is a win/win situation for us. (We won't ask the teachers what they think...)

This morning I went out and snapped a few pictures during their devotional period. They were singing songs like This Is The Day and Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee and reviewing facts from previous devotions like "How old was Noah when the flood began?". As I left the older students were reciting the poem Paul Revere's Ride out on the porch so as not to disturb the younger students class.

These two teachers put so much effort into teaching the children and they are doing such a great job! The children and their parents are very fortunate to have them!

Skate Party

Yesterday Freeland reached a huge milestone. He is now officially a teenager. Casper's birthday is on Sunday, he will hit double digits.

Last night we had a skate party to celebrate both birthdays. I think I'll let the pictures tell the story. According to Casper it was the most fun thing he has ever done in his life.

What If It Was Jesus?

Papa went to McDonald's the other day. He was hungry while doing his Dallas delivery run and decided to stop. He went in and ordered his food. As he sat there eating he noticed a very friendly man crossing the street. This man stood out from the crowd. He was happy and friendly to everyone.

The man entered the restaurant and started playing a game that was there. After a bit he leaned around the screen and asked Papa if he could have a bite of his hamburger. Papa's automatic response was, "No!" But then he asked the man if he was really hungry. He was, so Papa gave him the $4.00 he had in his pocket. It was either that or a $20.

Papa went out to his vehicle and got to thinking. What if that was Jesus or an angel and he didn't even give them enough for a whole meal!?

As he recounted this story to us at home Mom's response was, "Well Jesus doesn't drink Coke!"

So there you have it.

Heading to Texas

Today the children and I are heading to Texas for the rest of the month of January. This is Keith's busiest season at work and we decided that this would be a nice thing for the children and I to do. It sounds great. Until we actually have to tell Keith good-bye. Now that we are so close to leaving I wonder what we were thinking!

He does plan to fly down for one of the weekends that we will be there, so we will see him about half-way through. Which makes me think I'll survive. Maybe.

Of course, the tribe is excited. We are headed to the land of cousins, grandparents, farms, markets, and sunshine for an entire glorious month! What is not to love about that? And I'm hoping to rest and find it a healing time physically.

Stay tuned, many adventures are about to unfold...

The Placed and Matched Superkids of 2014

This video is of children who were seen and advocated for by Superkids Charity volunteers. These are children who either came home or were matched in 2014. I have met these children. I've held them and loved them. I've prayed for them and advocated for them. I've spoken with families about them. And watching their faces, one after the other, on my screen fills my heart with gratitude.

Looking Back...

I always love looking back through blog posts at the end of the year. Here are a few highlights:

First of all the most popular posts of 2014:

Silence

There Is Just Something About Daddies and Little Girls

On To The JiangXi Province

A Rare Find

Cheering You On From Here

A few more interesting facts:

Most viewed post of all time:

Introducing

The month this year with the highest number of page views:

June/July (This coincides with my trip to China.)

While the vast majority of readers are from the USA, the next highest number of readers are from France, Canada, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

I know many people read here whom I do not, and never will, know. I want each of you to know that I appreciate you. I love to hear from you! (Hint, hint... what Blogger doesn't love comments?!)

Thanks for stopping by my little space on the internet!