Blown Away!!

  The last week before December 25th! The busy-ness can be overwhelming but we have it mostly under control.

  Sandy got the yearly traditional cookies done yesterday just in time to take out for Caroling at church last night.

We picked up our grand-daughter Mary Kate and joined a few dozen other people at our church to visit members of the church family who don't get out of their homes often.

It was a blessing to the Carolers and the Carolees - we asked the people we went to visit what their favorite carol was so that we could sing that for them and the answer was always:

"I love them all!"

(although one gentleman at a retirement home really wanted us to sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer")

What a great answer, 

we love all of the songs that celebrate our Saviors birth.

- - - - - - - 

As we were reading our Christmas devotional this morning we came across this quote:

"The reason we celebrate Christmas is that 

we are still blown away

by the incredible news that 

God became a baby that night in Bethlehem."

In the midst of cookies, shopping, wrapping, caroling, we read a message like that and we stop and think and the wonder of it all 

BLOWS

US

AWAY!

"When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow!"

John 15:10-11

God, who said, "let there be light in the darkness," 

has made this light shine in our hearts 

so we could know the glory of God 

that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING

AND TAKE A MOMENT

TO BE 

BLOWN AWAY!

This week on the farm

  We went from record high temperatures on Monday to frost on Friday - with a rain storm in between. 
  Max came up on Tuesday and he and Howard moved the hay barn. The move was necessitated by the fact the we had originally used pine tree logs to support the roof and they were starting to rot.
  We also added some new baby chicks to the brood...little light gray ones called Lavendar Orpingers - thanks dear for humoring your wife.  And of course I added some photos of the flowers as they bloom - a special treat was catching some Monarch butterflys drinking out of a puddle when I went to feed to cows.
  And last BUT definitely not least - check out the size difference on Howard's tool belt from when he used it last summer - my special husband has lost almost 90 lbs in the last year!
 
  Enjoy the photos from the week - my favorite I think is Emily feeding Sven some grass when she came out to the farm for a visit.

Grandkids at the farm

Mike and his girls and Becky and the kids came out to play this morning.

We had a great time outside checking out the animals and playing in the yard.

March 16 Farm Report

Today I had help on the Saturday morning chores. Carson and Emily are here for the day while Becky and John clean their Chattanooga home between renters. The kids and I also went and got some new baby chicks to add to the coop. Grandma Statkus is here for a few weeks also.

Fun at the Tennessee Aquarium

Had a great day at the Tennessee Aquarium with the kids and grandkids. We went to church in Chattanooga, then had lunch at Applebees with some friends from Florida. Then on to the Aquarium.