April Fools Boer Goat Show Weekend!

Victoria and Caroline just returned from three days in Ellensburg, WA,

showing five of their goats and helping another breeder show many of theirs.

They were soooo excited as Dandi won overall Grand Champion today!!!!

 

  Dandi also did well on Saturday!

 

 

 

Rainbow is one of Caroline and Victoria's newest additions to the farm.

 

 

 Some of the following pictures are of Leslie's goats that Victoria and Caroline showed for her.

 Looks like Caroline is giving Bucky a talking to about behaving well in the show ring! : -)



So Thankful!!!

Tonight the house is fairly quiet.  Ted and the older kids are out for the evening, and Brielle is already tucked into bed.  It's just me and the younger boys, and they are happily playing at the moment!  As I was sitting here missing the other half of the family, and the lively discussions that swirl around the dinner table and living room during our usual evenings together, I looked up and saw the photo collage the kids surprised me with at Christmastime!  And I was blessed all over again!  I LOVE this photo collage.  They are very special pictures, and the whole photo shoot has a very special story behind it!  I just realized that I don't think I ever documented that special story here!  So while I have a few spare minutes, here it is!

The kids know just how much I love having photos of them both to enjoy now, and to keepsake for them in the future.  So they began planning a super duper photo Christmas surprise for me back in October, I think they said!  The girls started scheming about how to get Ted and I out on a date, while they kept all the little ones with them.  They also hoped to do it on a day that was sunny with no rain, so they could take the photos outside on the Tevis' farm.  They also went through all their closets to find two different matching outfits for all 10 of them!  So after church one Sunday afternoon, they insisted that we get away just the two of us for a lunch date . . .while they quickly scurried over to the Tevis' farm for the very special photo shoot!   Funny thing was, the day before was the afternoon Joseph tripped and had to have stitches near one of his eyes.  And Ted woke up that very Sunday morning not feeling well!  So, the kids had to be a bit nervous about whether or not they could actually pull the whole thing off!  But they sure did!!!  Thanks so much to Rich and Janet too, for all their help during the photo shoot!  What a wonderful Christmas morning surprise I'll always fondly remember!

 

 

 Lydia did such a great job taking all these creative pictures!

 

I love Benjamin's expression in this one!

 

Thank you, thank you kids for this very special surprise!

Your thoughtful "labor of love"

is such a sweet blessing to me in so many ways,

 and definitely a gift that keeps on giving . . .

all year 'round!   

 

"O Come Adore Our God Who Reigns Forevermore!"

Psalm 93

The Lord reigns,

he is robed in majesty;

the Lord is robed in majesty

and is armed with strength.

The world is firmly established;

it cannot be moved.

Your throne was established long ago;

your are from all eternity.

The seas have lifted up, O lord,

the seas have lifted up their voice;

the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,

mightier that the breakers of the sea ~

the Lord on high is mighty.

Your statues stand firm;

holiness adorns your house

for endless days, O Lord.

Happy First Day of Spring!

What did you do today, on this first day of spring? 

What did the day look like at your house?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's a little of what we did,

and what the day looked like in our neck-of-the-woods!

We were definitely praising the Lord for the sunshine!!

(And not much rain at all! ;-)

 

 Timmy, Joe and Ben worked in the garden,

picking up some newly exposed rocks.

Lots to do to get it ready for planting!

Fun, fun!  

 Holly and Valerie enjoyed playing ball together!

Holly, Pure Joy Labradors' newest addition, at 5 months!

 

Kyle, went to work on all the grass that is rapidly growing!

 I thoroughly enjoyed watching the hummingbirds

return to the feeders out our front windows.

The goat kids played in the sun,

while Victoria and Caroline

worked on the final preparations for their

"Boer Goat Photography and Clipping" seminar

they will be presenting at the upcoming boer goat show!

 

Valerie and I took a trip to nearby DeGoede's

and purchased some colorful pansies

and planted them in our flower beds!  Yay!

 Ooooh how I love the smell of the hyacinths!

Timmy is currently enjoying the sunshine

at his baseball practice. 

And the rest of us just saw this rainbow out our back window!

And last but not least,

Joe just HAD to go frog hunting!!! 

 

And Ben went along as a frog-catching helper! : -)

Wonderful 25th Anniversary Celebration!

What a great time we had at the ocean!

We were so blessed with gorgeous, sunny weather!

 

 We did lots of walking and hiking,

and I kept finding heart shaped things. : -)

(wood heart on the left, and rock heart on the right)

Our very first stop was at the Astoria Column.

We hiked up the steep spiral staircase for a beautiful view of the Columbia River.

 

Then, on to Cannon Beach!

We went for a long walk all the way down the beach,

and asked a few folks to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary by taking our picture. : -)

We enjoyed several quiet mealtimes!

We found many new great places to hike!

As you can see, it was such a beautiful, sunny day!!!

Thank you, Lord for this sweet blessing!

 And to top it all off,

was a dinner at Mo's for Ted's favorite seafood dish! 

We thought this was a funny sign. 

After following the "Tsunami Evacuation Route" signs to find our way to the highway this morning,

we ended up at this sign.  : -)

 

Oh, Taste and See That the Lord is Good!

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:8

 

A few random pictures from this week!



We had a couple very nice sunny and warm days! 
The boys always love going fishing!

Benjamin is always bringing a smile to our faces with his many hats . . . .

 

and need for style! : -)

We sure enjoyed being out in the sun!!!

Caroline participated in adjudications on Tuesday.

She did fabulous, as always! : -)

She was chosen to perform in the honors recital on Sunday afternoon!  Woo hoo!

Victoria and Caroline took on a road trip over the mountains to help a fellow goat breeder by doing some work for her for a couple days. 

(This picture in an old one . . . taken back in the summer! 
But with two of their special goats that came from their friend that they are working for.  ;-)

Kyle has been working very diligently on getting his landscaping business off the ground,
and this week he was actually able to mow a bit!   Good job, Kyle!  

Valerie, Timothy, Joseph, Benjamin, Brielle and I enjoyed another visit to Richie and Lydia's farm on sunny Wednesday.

The boys like to bottle feed the lambs.  : -)


We had Brielle's monthly case-worker visit on Monday, and also a visit by a developmental assessor,
as she is being referred for physical therapy for a few minor needs.

 

And lastly,

so thankful for the older blessings,

"holding the fort down" while Ted and I get-away for a couple days for our anniversary celebration!

Valerie is the main sibling-watcher extraordinaire today,

while Kyle, Victoria and Caroline are away with their various projects.

But it's a win-win for her and the little ones,

as they are all enjoying themselves immensely!

I don't think they are missing us one little bit! : -)

 

 Race car that Valerie made today with the boys!!!

Thank you Lord, for all these many blessings!!!!