Dec. 24, 2009 - Merry Christmas!!!

Looks like we are going to have a white Crhistmas this year. That's something practically unheard of around here!! It kind of dampens our travel plans to my mom's house tomorrow but I guess we'll have to play it by ear.

The kids are all excited that Christmas Eve is upon us. I am cooking a huge meal today for dinner. Ham, potatoes, lots of side dishes and desserts. Yum!!! Then at 7pm we all sit down with lots of bparkling juice and snacks to watch whichever version of The Christmas Carol the majority votes on. We have 3 versions so far: the Walter C. Scott version, the Patrick Stewart version, and of course the beloved Muppets version. After that it's gift opening time!! Since we usually go to my mom's for Christmas we like to get all the gift opening done the night before--and because some of us (blush) don't like to wait!! :-)

So...

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Dec. 23, 2009 - More Strange Weather

Ok, I can understand all of the snow storms that much of our nation is having but our temps here in Mid Missouri is in the low 50s and we are having thunderstorms. Thunderstorms 2 days before Christmas??? Sure we've had them in December before but that was always the first half of the month.

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Dec. 22, 2009 - Oh Baby!!! Look Who Turned Two!!

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Dec. 20, 2009 - Thinking About Resolutions... Living Frugally

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Dec. 17, 2009 - Our Attempt at Family Pictures for Christmas

Do you ever have photo shoots where everything just goes wrong? Well that was us the other night. One night to get our family pics done. Just one since we couldn't get everyone together after that. After finally getting in some practice shots my camera's battery up and died!! Why did we not think to make sure it had a good charge? Thankfully my sweet daughter-in-law had brought hers. Then the lighting stank. Adorible grandson was cranky!! Everybody seemed sidetracked. So this is the best we could do.

I was going to have some printed to send with our family newsletter but did a test print and... YUCK!! So this is going to have to do.

And Son #1's family...

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Dec. 9, 2009 - My EBay Rant: The Sad Saga of My Kefir Strainer

I really enjoy buying and selling on eBay. People ask me all the time if I've ever had problems on there. Yes, we've had our fair share of mishaps like Son #3 bought an Ipod that we never received--I'm sure it was a case of fraud. And I've had a buyer not receive something that I shipped--which I ended up refunding their money since "the customer is always right". But for the most part, things usually go smoothly.

Until this past week and a half...

I needed a strainer for my Kefir. So I found this cheap little strainer that looked like what I was wanting and bought it. That was November 7th. I got a notice that it shipped on the 9th but disregarded it until almost a month later.

December 1st I wrote the seller and asked very politely if they had any info for me since I hadn't received the strainer yet. About that same time I realized that I needed to update my feedback and saw that I had bought other strainers from this seller--but they didn't work too well for my kefir since the mesh was too tight--hence my reason for buying the other strainer. Well, when I left feedback for the small strainers this seller thought that it was for the strainer I hadn't received and e-mailed me saying that they considered the matter resolved since I had left feedback. I told them to check out the item. It was for different strainers. Wow, did I ever open a can of worms cause then they e-mailed me and accused me of lying and that I HAD received my strainer, I was behaving badly and needed to stop it--that I would really wait like a month before contacting them (at this time of year stuff can take a long time to get to it's destination unless you are using Priority Mail--which they didn't)? OK?????

So like any good Christian woman would do (dripping sarcasm here!!), I got mad and I was very firm that I wasn't lying, my 100% feedback was very important to me, that they were acting very unprofessional and then I called them a jerk. Oh yes, I really did. Shame on me. I mean whether or not they were, I shouldn't have said that. Sigh.

Lo and behold if the strainer didn't show up yesterday in the mail. A whole month later. The package was ripped open and the strainer busted at the top. So I wrote the seller and told them that I finally got my strainer but it was in bad condition. I also apologized for calling them a jerk. The seller wrote me back telling me they had reported me to eBay for fraud (?????) and that I need to learn to solve my problems other ways than using XXX language (mind you there was nothing profane except that I used the word "jerk") but they would tell eBay that the matter had been resolved since I had said "sorry". Well, that got my blood to boiling again but, having learned from my past mistakes, I decided that I would sleep on it and pray about the whole mess. I really felt the Lord leading me to e-mail them and acknowledge their mistrust and admit that I understood their actions (the seller had talked about dealing with dishonest customers in the past) and that I needed to apologize for my behavior again and let them know that we should put the matter behind us.

It's hard to eat humble pie. Especially when the other party shows no remorse or responsibility for their own actions. But that is what the Lord wanted.

Seems that this is a lesson I tend to end up repeating every so often--I open my mouth and insert my foot--not as much as I used to. I'm a work in progress.

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Dec. 8, 2009 - Getting Ready For Christmas

Well, it's that time of year again. YIPPEE!!! Our family just loves all the hustle and bustle, decorating, suspense and joy of the Christmas season. So much to plan and do!!

On Thanksgiving day we drew names for Christmas gifts.


Our tree is up and decorated--DH did such an awesome job of picking the tree out!! The children begged me unmercifully to wrap some of the presents that I've been storing up, so now we have gifts under the tree. Oh, how I love bringing out the decorations that go around the house. Many of them have been given to us and have their own unique little history. I love to add to our collection each year if I can.

Our decorated piano.

Son #6 trying on the tree skirt--a tradition for both the boys and the girls. :-)

 

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Dec. 7, 2009 - Our Newest Heavenbound Family Member...

Friday was an exciting day for our family. Son #5 prayed a prayer for salvation with me in our laundry room. I had told the little boys to clean their room (that's up there with having your fingernails ripped off around our house!!) and they were giving me a hard time over it--not outwardly but like stopping to play with something and then saying "Oh, I forgot" when I'd find them NOT doing what they were supposed to do. Anyway, after a bit Son #5 came in while I was folding clothes and told me that there was a voice in his head telling him not to do his work and that he didn't care if he got in trouble. I asked him if he knew who that voice was--Satan trying to keep him from not obeying his mom. We talked about Adam and Eve and how wily Satan is. I told him about sin and how God made a way for us to have help to do what we're supposed to do and that Jesus died for our sins and if we believe this and pray for our sins to be forgiven the Holy Spirit should come live in hearts so that we can live a life where we win over the voice in our head telling us to sin. Yeah, it sounds a little jumbled up but He was happy to hear this good news (which he has heard before and wasn't really interested) and let me help him pray.

My laundry room is more than a room where clothes are cleaned. It is my prayer closet and sanctuary. It is a place where I can go and as I fold clothes, pray for my family and of things that are on my heart. I am so thankful to be at home with my kiddos when things like this pop up!! Thank you Lord!!

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Nov. 27, 2009 - CurrClick's Black Friday Giveaway

Hey! I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying this holiday weekend. I don't have lots of time on the computer at this point but I'm making time for CurrClick's Black Friday Giveaway. Lots of great E-book curriculum to download for free!! If you don't make it in time they have great prices and sales all the time and have weekly free giveaways too. They are one of my favorite curriculum suppliers and I use a lot of their offerings in our daily schooling. So check them out!! :-)

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Nov. 16, 2009 - Playing Catch-up

Just thought I'd give an update on what's going on 'round the homestead. Grab a cup of something nice and warm while you catch up cause it's cold and rainy again here--and I feel so much better thinking of you all cozy and warm!! :-)

DH drove his parents down to our place yesterday in their RV. They'll be staying at least a couple of weeks so that we can help them out with food and stuff. My Father in law is doing great and looks the picture of rosy health. The doctor says that he can't life anything over 5 pounds so he just gets to take things easy for a while. And it's nothing for us to cook for a couple more people. When you're already cooking for 10 on a daily basis a couple more small servings ain't nothing!!

This has not been my "month" for appliances.

• First my vacuum cleaner broke down but DH managed to find a part from an old, spare vacuum we had sitting around. It worked great until I broke it again. Grrrr...
• Then my washer went out on me (needs an expensive part) and I managed to locate a free washer on Craigslist that someone wanted out of their basement. DH got it installed and discovered that the motor was locked up. Yeah, the nice little old lady swore it worked--and it did after a good dose of wd40 and some tlc. It's still working fine though we did have to tighten the belt a bit. What do you expect for an appliance that's "free"? And while the free machine works fine I really miss my awesome front loader that washes twice the clothes for half the soap. But since I make my own laundry soap the cost isn't terribly bad. It's just not as convenient to have to make it more often.
• Now my stove is out of service with one of the parts leaking gas and we have to order new parts for it too. I'm using my crockpot, a little countertop electric burner and the microwave (sparingly!) to cook.

When it rains, it pours!! We are trying to be as frugal as possible since money is very tight for us right now. It certainly makes for interesting and creative moments around our place.

With the colder wet weather here now there's more chores for the kids to do. The goats have to be brought into the barn at night now and thus taken back out to the field in the morning. The sheep always stay out. We have a small shelter in the field but I'd rather play it safe than have the goats coming down sick.

I got my first (heirloom) seed catalog in the mail last week!! I've devoured it a couple of times already. A passionate gardener is either IN their garden or thinking about it!! Ha Ha!! If I could only accomplish half of what I dream up!!

Last week I discovered this amazing herbal site. I found their blog first...
http://learningherbs.typepad.com/ The videos are just great!! Thanks to their site I am now making my own soda culture!! Check it out if you are interested in herbs and healthy living. They have a free e-course too. Lots, lots, LOTS of great information.

Well, that's about all of the interesting stuff going on, aside from the "interesting" daily stuff. Never a dull moment!! ;-)

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Nov. 7, 2009 - Update on Father-in-law

Just thought that I'd give a quick update on how my Father-in-law is doing after his bypass surgery...

I'm happy to report that he is doing great!! They anticipate that he will get to go home on Monday morning. It will, of course, be a long road to full recovery but I don't doubt that he will be his spritely, humorous self in no time!

DH has been on the scene to drive his mom back and forth to the hospital and help out however he can.

Your prayers for continued recovery and strength for my Father-in law are most appreciated!!

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Nov. 5, 2009 - On This Day 16 Years Ago...

Occasionally, at this time of year I tend to want to write about our dear daughter Jessica who died at birth from a lethal dwarfism called Thanatophoric Dysplasia. Tomorrow is her birthday. She would be 16 this year.

Jessica was our 6th child and 3rd Quiverfull baby. I became pregnant 9 months after Daughter #2 was born and was so not ready to do it all again. After the pregnancy test came up positive at our local Birthright where I used to volunteer, my friend who was with me began to cry on our way home. She was sad that I was pregnant and not wanting to be and she wanted another baby desperately. For reasons unknown I felt those tears were very fitting.

When I was 6 months along our home was flooded and we had to evacuate. DH had just started our family business about a 3 hour drive away and was only home on the weekends--which was fine by me because our marriage was not doing well at all. When we were together we just fought. This, of course, was before the Lord began working on my heart regarding submission. :-)

After we evacuated our home, we lived in DH's parents RV in an RV park close to where DH was working. We tried for weeks to find a place to live but no one wanted to rent to a family with 5 children and one on the way, 2 dogs, 2 hamsters and a bird. They all cited their rental home to be too small. So we continued to stay in the 23 foot RV in the trailer park. Oh the irony.

Even at this time we still had not chosen a doctor for my pregnancy since we didn't know where we would be living. We still had ties to the flooded home and were in the area often.

One thing extraordinary about the baby is that she didn't bounce around, kick and cause me severe discomfort like all of my other babies had. I just thought she was a gentle baby. How could I have not known something was wrong?

Finally, in late September a friend of our let us move into a house they had just bought and were renovating. Oh the joy of not having to constantly be in each other's faces with no room to do anything. Amazing.

Upon the move--that very night, in fact--I got sick. Very sick. Shortly it turned into pneumonia. But at least with our housing dilemma resolved we could think a bit more clearly and we decided to see the doctor back in St. Louis that I had seen when pregnant with Daughter #1 who leaned to the more natural side of things. Aside from prescribing me antibiotics for my pneumonia, he informed me that I had way too much amniotic fluid and the baby was breach and that I needed an ultrasound right away. He said things just didn't seem right. And yet I was still oblivious to it all. Never in my life had I been so UN in-tune with my body and what was going on in my pregnancy.

The day of the ultrasound came. Oh the heaviness as I drove the 3 hour drive to the hospital alone (DH stayed home with the children). I cried most of the way knowing in my heart of hearts that this baby would not survive. The scales had fallen from my eyes and I could see everything as it was. But that was nothing compared to what was yet to come.

The doctors were so very hard on me. When the ultrasound was done, the doctor, in such an accusing tone of voice, told me that things were very wrong with my baby--as if I had intentionally caused her problems. "Just look at this. And this" as they pointed out her deformities. I cried and cried. Next they did an amniocentesis which was extremely painful and then sent me over to talk with a geneticist who, amazingly, was very kind. She explained that this was nothing we had done and that it wasn't anybody's fault. It was just one of those things that happens. Most babies with her problems usually don't make it to birth. My body just has a hard time letting go of a baby.

After speaking with the geneticist another doctor wanted to do another ultrasound and she asked me if anyone had given me any pictures of my baby. I started crying again and told her no. She shook her head and muttered under her breath--and printed me up several pictures of our unborn daughter.

The doctors had told me to wait in the waiting room but I had endured too much already and practically ran for my life away from there. On the way home I cried and had to pull over to throw up. The 3 hour drive home was so long.

When I got home I told DH and then we told the children together. Son #1 was only 11 and he probably had the best grasp of what we were saying. Such a hard time.

At our one and only prenatal appointment we went to after finding out about our baby's condition, the doctors hounded us unmercifully to have an abortion. They tried to whitewash the whole thing. At one point the doctor flat out told us that we just needed to terminate the pregnancy--the baby was only going to die anyway. Oh how I wanted to pull a gun on that man and ask him whether I should pull the trigger. After all he was only going to die someday anyway. But being a woman of God...

We didn't have a phone in the house we were staying in but we did have a cell phone. It was one of those big ugly "bag phones" that was the norm for cell phones back then. The doctors and hospital called us all of the time to try to get us to come in for an appointment. There was no way that we were going to "terminate the pregnancy" so there was no sense in putting ourselves through any of that again until it was time to give birth. Our baby was just fine and alive as long as she was inside of me!!

It was decided that I would go in to be induced two weeks early. They didn't want the water in her head to be so much that I couldn't give birth naturally. The words "emergency cesarean section" and "never have another ******l birth" were verbal weapons used to try to scare me, as were the scare tactics of all the horrible things that could possible go wrong IF I didn't do everything their way. It was so difficult to sort out truth from propaganda. Yet there was peace.

We finally decided to go to the hospital at the Lord's leading on the evening of November 5, 1993. First we had to drop off all of the children at my mom and dad's and then make the hour long drive to the hospital.

I felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I honestly believed that not only would my baby die but so might I. Yet there was peace. At no other time in my life did I feel as though I had literally fell over a cliff backwards knowing that the Lord would catch me. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. Such bittersweetness.

Shortly before we made it to the hospital, a song that I dearly loved came on the radio and I knew with all my heart that the Lord was speaking directly to me. Those words were my soul's cry to take up my cross and follow Him.

The Man with the Nail Scars
by David Meece

There are roads that take you everywhere, but where you need to go,
There are roads that don't go anywhere, and one that leads you home.
The way is rough and steep; it is the path to the one I seek,
And I must go on.

Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
His love is everlasting, and his mercy never fails,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
I'll follow in the path of the man with the nail scars in his hands,
The nail scars in his hands.

There are times I feel I walk alone, in shadows of my doubt,
There are times I fear I can't go on, and strength is running out,
But there, upon my knees, his strength he freely gives to me,
I stand by his power.

Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
His love is everlasting, and his mercy never fails,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
I'll follow in the path of the man with the nail scars in his hands,
The nail scars in his hands.

Though the road is rough and steep, my heart can hear him call to me,
"Follow me, follow me home."

Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
His love is everlasting, and his mercy never fails,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
I'll follow in the path of the man with the nail scars in his hands,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
His love is everlasting, and his mercy never fails,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
I'll follow in the path of the man with the nail scars in his hands,
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
His love is everlasting, and his mercy never fails, (the nails scars in his hands)
Shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah, shad-din-nah-yah,
I'll follow in the path of the man with the nail scars in his hands,

To make a long story just a little bit shorter...
After the worst labor experience that I won't describe out of kindness to my readers, our Jessica was born and lived for only a few short minutes. Her chest was too small to allow her to draw air into her lungs. The amazing thing was that she had the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. Normally my children are all born with murky dark blue eyes, yet her's were bright and clear with lines and sparkles like a toy baby doll's. Just gorgeous.

I know that we will meet her again in Heaven and that makes Heaven all the sweeter to me.

Just felt like sharing.

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Nov. 4, 2009 - And Some More Pictures...

I told you that I had taken a "few" pictures!! :-)

My kefir culturing in my china cabinet. It looks so pretty in there--and fits in perfectly.


I've been using my crock pot a lot lately. It's so helpful to not have to worry about what's for supper in the afternoon. This is beef roast and vegetables. So yummy!! I do think that it might be time to buy a bigger one though. I always pack it a bit too full! Also, the jars to the left are chopped peppers that I dehydrated. The taller quart jar is sweet peppers and the smaller pint jar is hot peppers. I'm working on clearing out the garden and these are what was left on the pepper plants. Ya know, every time I cut hot peppers I promise myself that next time I'm going to wear gloves but I never do. This batch was super hot and I washed my hands and arms for hours after cutting them--and even used some Solarcaine spay to help ease the burn. I'm telling you, they were HOT!!


These are beautiful Moonshadow Hyacinth Asian Beans that my Uncle shared with me when we were visiting after my grandma's funeral. These are heirloom beans. He called them Jefferson Beans. Historically they were grown in Thomas Jefferson's garden at Monticello. Sharing these bits of history are a passion of mine!!


This is my tub of beautiful pinapple mint. It dries up very fine and tastes tangy. I bought a sprig at the Baker Creek Planting Festival (in Mansfield, MO) last May--and boy, did it flourish!!

Aren't these mushrooms gorgeous??? This is a shagbark Hickory stump. I was surprised to see them there. Don't know if they're edible or not.

Also, if you feel led, please pray from my wonderful Father-in-law. He is in the hospital planning to have a double or triple bypass heart surgery in the next couple of days. Thanks in advance. It means a lot to us.

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Nov. 3, 2009 - More Pictures...

Just thought I'd share a few more pictures...

We finally had a chance to harvest the birdhouse gourds last week. This is a big wheelbarrow full. And some of the gourds were really big!! I need to get them drying on our shelves in our warehouse so that in a few months I can make birdhouses!! :-)

Here's Son #4 and adorible Grandson filling the birdfeeders.

Son #4 hanging a birdfeeder near the woods. We love looking out of our schoolroom and watching the birds eat.

My garlic bed all tucked in for the winter. I planted 10 varieties this year.

My pretty garlic braid hanging in the kitchen from last years garlic. So tasty!!

This has been a busy fall for us. We're having "normal" weather again and trying to get as much work done as possible before winter sets in.

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Nov. 1, 2009 - Fall Means... Playing in the Leaves!!

I've been walking around with the camera taking pictures these past few days. The children always love raking leaves and playing in the piles they make. I'm sure they get tired of hearing me tell them to be careful and not poke their eyes out with sticks while they are jumping in and rolling around. Who can resist a leaf pile???

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." Psalm 133:1

Working hard together.

Lots of fun!

Getting buried in leaves

Posing for the camera.

Olivia likes the leaves too!!

Where is Oliver??

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Oct. 29, 2009 - A Few Thoughts On "Skillet"

One Day Too Late
        Skillet

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Oct. 27, 2009 - A Grand Reopening... ;-)

According to Site Meter I still have a lot of traffic here.  In fact, most of my visitors to my Blogspot blog are actually coming from this blog.  So I have decided to go ahead and put up duplicate posts here too--to make it easier for my friends from here.  OK? 

And since I changed my template I will be editing as well.  Thanks for your patience!! 

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Nov. 4, 2008 - New Blog

Just letting ya'll know that I have a new blog.  The addy is...

http://seekingtheancientpaths.blogspot.com/

This is where I will be posting from now on!!  Come by for a visit!!

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Sep. 25, 2008 - I'm alive and well...

     My oh my, how the time flies!!!  I'm sorry that I haven't posted is such a long time.  So much to do--so little time.

     To bring you up to speed...

     Our new school year officially started August 4th and we're already behind in our schedule (usually by the 1st of the new year we've long since abandoned the schedule and have stopped feeling guilty about not doing all of the extras I had wanted to do).  I am happy if the daily basics are fully accomplished. 

     Both Zane and Scott had birthdays in August.  Scott had commented how he thought it would be cool to have someone to share his birthday with.  We had been talking about how we have so many birthdays in our family that either are the same day or within a few days and thus having shared parties.  Well Zane decided to wait just a little over a week for his party so that he and Scott could have a shared party.  It was so hard for him to wait (a hard job for an 8 year old!!) but he was committed.

     Steve and I celebrated our 27th anniversary in September (our anniversary is 2 days after his birthday).  To make a marriage last so long my motto is "Don't do what you WANT to do.  Do what is RIGHT!"  Not that I'm perfect at it by any means, but marriage is such a good way to practice all that "dying to self" stuff we're so unfond of. 

     This has been the strangest year of gardening.  Seems that something wasn't quite right for the tomatoes to do their thing.  They just take forever to ripen.  One day I'll check them and they won't be near ready.  2 days later they are overripe and on the ground.  Crazy.  And it's pretty much the same for everyone around here.  Seriously, I just got my first harvest worthy of porcessing yesterday.  Go figure.

     With the financial world in an uproar as of late, I'm thankful that we are preparing for possible hard times ahead.  It's not easy to squeak out the extra cash to do so but it sure feels good to know that we will eat for the next few months should bad things happen.  If you are interesting in learning to prepare check out this site...  http://simplylivingsmart.com/training/

     Along those lines, we are beginning the process of saving our garden seeds.  This year our garden consisted of open pollinated or heirloom varieties.  Josh and I are already planning for next year's garden.  I'm amazed at the things that I learn each year from our garden.  Lessons in diligence, patience and the value of hard work (more of that "dying to self" stuff).  Our garden taught us many things from history as we learned about some of the origins of our seeds.  And it just feels good, both body and soul, to work the soil.  It is a comfort to know that I won't HAVE to reorder new seeds next year either!!

     We've been foraging as well.  We have numerous shagbark hickory trees and also black walnuts.  The children and I spent some time picking hickories yesterday and need to crack them today.  Tomorrow we will pick the meat from the shell.  The black walnuts have only just started falling and it looks like we will have them coming out of our ears this year.  We will gather and take them to be shelled.  Most of them we will sell but I do plan to keep some for ourselves this year. 

     I've been looking into cob building.  Interesting stuff.  I remember many a summers that Joshie had the younger kids out making clay bricks to build a miniature city.  Some of the city was built but it was hard finding willing workers and then as he got older his time was spent working on more profitable pursuits (like making some money).  But the dream still lives.  I'm hoping that we can possibly involve the whole family in building a nice size cottage on the land that we own free and clear.  Who knows, maybe it'll turn into a whole house. 

     Seems like the sewing bug has hit me lately.  I don't have a lot of time for it but I try to fit it in when I can.  I made a really cute apron and sold it on ebay a few weeks ago.  Here's a picture with Bethany modeling.

     I've made up a bunch of flannel nursing pads to sell on ebay as well.  Eli still nurses (at age 4 1/2!!!) but I don't need the pads myself.  It was just one of those projects that I started several years ago and didn't finish.  Now I have lots of them done and I'll just sell them.  They are so pretty!!

     Well, I've rambled long enough!!  Just one more picture...

      I love fall!!!

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Jul. 23, 2008 - Happy Birthday Sarah!!

21 years ago I became the mother of a daughter.  And an amazing journey it's been.  We've weathered many storms from stubborn defiance to open heart surgery and the life-long effects of living with all that has come from it.  With maturity that stubborn defiance has become Godly conviction.  All of her life I have been torn between pushing her to become strong and brave and coddling her in her bodily weakness due to her heart problems.  I am amazed at the transformation of the stubborn little "princess" outwardly defying my commands into the beautiful young woman who is convicted in her heart to be obedient, dress modestly, wait patiently for her "prince charming" (God willling) and train to be a happy homemaker.  Truly a blessing to our family. 

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

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