Our Parents Visit

Life seems to have picked up and left me feeling a bit overwhelmed. It has been a week since my sweet Parents-in-Love were here to visit us and I am just getting to post their pictures. I have taken so many that I will share them throughout this week. Here are a few to honor such sweet and caring parents! It was a real treat to have them and they have only enriched and blessed our lives.

7-24-11 Mom and Dad enjoying the views from the top of Schweitzer Mt.

7-24-11 Here are our parents infront of the fancy home they stayed in at Schweitzer Mt!!! It was beautiful.

7-24-11 Here is a full view of the outside of the condo. Wish it was mine!!!

7-24-11 Meme and her Olline enjoying each others company!

God Bless you all.

Happy 45th Anniversary!!!!!

Today is a great day! It is a day of love and remembrance of wonderful years together. My parents-in-love celebrate their 45th anniversary today! I am thankful because God brought them together and then I was able to marry their son! God works in such great ways!

We love our parents with all our hearts and are so thankful for the great people they are. They love us unconditionally and support us in all ways. They are great examples of what marriage is all about.

Here is a verse that I feel represents our parents:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance!

Our Homestead

Lots of photos here...I will try to keep this simple, so all you have to do is look at the pictures. We are proud of our small property. It is only about 1/2 acre, but there is so much beauty you can add to a small area. The rewards of your hard work is a priceless gift and I thank God every day for what we have.

Here is one of our apple trees. I think we will get some beautiful apples this year.

Of course, here are our chickens. They have been so much fun. They are still lost without their roosters and our four "originals" stick together, while the two newest girls hang out far away from the four. They have calmed down a bit and I sure hope they find their order soon.

Our wonderful strawberry patch. This is were I have been picking all those gorgeous strawberries!

Down in the dirt...ONIONS!

Carrots...yummy!

Delicious...Lettuce!

and don't forget the potatoes! I live in Idaho after all!

Also, the over powerful Raspberries! They are going to be super plentiful! Most of them I will freeze, because we can't eat these babies fast enough!

We cannot have a homestead without our beautiful daughters! Here is Olline this morning, happy as can be, going to her day camp! Isn't she sweet?

7-17-11 This was yesterday at Melina's bible camp! She has been excited for this for months! She is apart of our little homestead (helps out with everything around the house...well almost everything...heee) and it wouldn't be the same without both of my girls.

Here are Melina and her best friend Emily! They have just signed in for the week of bible camp! They are so happy and I think they will have a great time. I pray God will bless them this week and that these girls will have a closer relationship with the Lord after all their adventures there. I love them!

I cannot and will not forget my dear husband. Without him our little homestead would not be what it is! He is our rock and without him we would not be complete. We love him and are so thankful for all he does for this family! Our Lord has truly blessed us with him.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjhWz2D8lwoCODWE8eWw7IW9XPodQbJpHLf8Lnm_r5yVyzCIiImFKWsgG20iDFfjtaa_NGTcY18p7IrLZFgvohUUFS5AqTT24ctuP036LoUMZkZy0y87tfDfHHuP2mY3uAQj3MnXSglk/s1600/Barn-Hop.jpg

Things I Love

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Ephesians 1:5-8

I Heart Faces Pet Week-8-22-11

I also love this dog. I love taking pictures of him. This is Kingston. He is our good friends doggie and he is a huge bundle of sweetness.

I love this...our coop! Recently my dear husband has build steps for us. Before we were climbing up into the coop about 3 feet. Now my knees don't hurt so much to get into the coop. I love it! The chickens love it too.

I LOVE THESE! I am very proud of this bowl of strawberries. I didn't have to buy them at the store all the way from California! All I had to do is pick them from my own backyard! There is nothing greater than the feeling of providing for your own family. It is our first year for these beauties and I will enjoy each one. Half of these turned into strawberry jam and the other half we ate! Can't wait to pick more...LOVE IT!

God Bless and I hope your are finding simple things in your day that you love!

Crochet Circle Placemats

I got this pattern from my friend and decided to make these beautiful crocheted placemats! They were super easy to make and I just love them. Check them out at this site:

http://http//www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2011/6/19/whits-knits-granny-circle-placemats.html

I used Lion Brand Micro Spun yarn in Sterling and then the trim is Red Heart Fine Crochet Thread in size 3.

I think they turned out great!

God Bless!

Life of the Chicken

Chickens are just funny creatures. They truly have a pecking order and they don't like it to be disturbed. Yesterday, we decided to trade in our roosters. Who knew we would get attached to our boys, but we did. We drove them out to our friends house where they raise over 30 chickens and 3 pigs! They were so generous to trade our two boys for two of their girls. They got there pullets at the same time we did, so it seemed to be a great match to mix them into our pullets. Our good ol' roosters were a bit confused at their new home and of course they were pecked at. Sad, but that is the life of the chicken.

We then drove our new chickens out to meet our other four. I think they were a bit freaked out and our Buff Orpington Craylola decided to peck the Barred Rock "Chicken Nugget"! It is a learning process for us and we don't like to see them pecking at each other.

Again, this is the life of the chicken.

Today, we have had to keep them separate until they get used to their new home. All the girls are confused and they are trying to figure out the new pecking order. I am missing my roosters, just because they were the men and all the ladies follow them. It was peaceful and we all knew our rolls.
Strange...the life of the chicken!

Today - Olline here is holding Louise I think. Hard to tell...

Meet the new kids on the block...First a Wyandotte named Queen Elizabeth (after Melina's middle name) and behind her is a Barred Rock named Chicken Nugget!!!!! Can you see Olline's hand coming out from behind the tree?

Here are the lonely girls. They have been staying away from our other four. I really don't blame them! Run girls Run!

Olline here is holding her Chicken Nugget. I love this breed. She is super sweet, so we are watching her hard. She is the one being pecked on by Craylola (the Buff Orpington).

So, we will wait and see what happens to all these girls. It is nice not having to worry about the roosters starting to crow. They were awesome roosters though. I just am so thankful to my friends for allowing us to take two of their girls! We will take good care of them at our little Smith Farm!

God Bless you all!

Strawberries and Chickens

Today is a cloudy, cool, rainy day! I am loving it. It was so hot yesterday and even through the night the house was warm. Last night the rains came and you could smell the warm ground coming in through the windows.

Even our chickens were hot while they were trying to roost for the night. They stand like vultures with there wings puffed out and there beaks panting for cool air. If you blow on them, it seemed to calm them down. Silly chickens. Or maybe...silly me.

Here are our very own strawberries! We have lived in this house for 8 years and this is the year we are finally getting strawberries! There are two different types here (not sure what kind) and some of them are getting huge and so delicious.

Here is a funny picture of Gryffon (yes he is a rooster...heard him make his tuba noise again this morning)...he loved Melina holding him like this. Must feel good to have his legs stretched back! He laid there like a baby.

Here is little Miss Olline trying to catch a chicken. She loves them and plays with them all the time. Even in her fancy dress!

Hope you are enjoying your day. We are so thankful for this cooler day and will be enjoying it to the fullest.

Jesus Loves You!

Oldies but Goodies

Here is my Grandma (my dad's mom)...Isn't she cute? I believe this is in the 1940's, but I am not sure...I didn't have a date on this one. Look at that dress?! I would love to know where this was taken!

1960 - This is a picture of my Aunt Karen (left), cousin Hank (middle) and my momma Debby standing in the pool. They are HOT in Witchita, KS. I believe my mom is 8 years old here, same age as Olline. My Aunt Karen is 12, just like Melina! WOW! My mom remembers going in the little pool and it was fun to cool off in the hot heat. They had fire flies there and she would catch them in a jar!!! It was lots of fun.




1957 - Here is my momma and Grammy! I love my moms dress. Also in the back left is my moms baby buggy. She would push her dollies around in it! She was only 5 years old.

1914 (I believe) - my Great Grandma is to the left of this tree. We think she must have been about 15 to 17 years old. I LOVE THIS ONE!

Okay here is one of my favorites, though, most of them are...This is my Grandad! April 1940 - This is his New World Bike. He is 15 and worked hard to save money from his paper route. It cost quite a bit and had it all custom made. I sure wish and hope we can teach our girls the value of working hard and taking pride in all things.

I love old photos!

Hope you are having a great day...God Bless!

Gryffon and Debra - Ladies or Men?

Here are better pictures of my confused chickens. I think I have decided to hang on to them until I truly hear the "cock-a-doodle do's". Otherwise, they will be dinner or a trade or two more "lady" chickens.

They have been truly fun though. I love going out to the coop everyday to see them. They run funny, make funny noises, they take super funny dust baths, and they are constantly entertaining us. Yes, chickens stink and poop EVERYWHERE they walk, but the fun and joy that we have so far seen is out weighing the negatives. Just can't wait for the eggs!!!

Debra or is it Delbert?

Check out the legs? Both of these chickens are a hybrid called "black sexlinks". I have seen this breed full grown and they look just like this as hens. So my chances of Debra being a girl are looking better. Maybe a 50/50 at this point.

Now Gryffon here...looks like a rooster to me. Gryffon is the same size as Debra and so I am totally unsure of whether she's a he...just have to wait and find out!

I mean look at that eye...doesn't Gryffon look like a rooster? So far all our chickens are super nice. There has been zero aggression. They will all be 3 months old at the end of this month. Hopefully we will never hear that "cock-a-doodle d0"!

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 - Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.

Rooster Dilemma

Yes, I have a dilemma! While my parents were here for the 4th of July, my mom and I went out to see the chickens. We then heard a funny noise...not once...but about three times. It was our chicken Gryffon! It wasn't a full on rooster crow, but it was a loud weird squawk or something like that. We have also noticed that the two blackish chickens have been growing very large and their shanks (legs) are so much bigger than the other chickens. They are growing big comes (red thing on their heads) and waddles on their necks. They are just bigger birds and now I am stuck with deciding how to get rid of them. We could butcher them ourselves, but being that we've become a bit attached to them I am not sure that is the way to go. I have a friend that will butcher them and we can then forget about the nasty part of killing them ourselves. Wishing in a perfect scenario, we could find a big farm that would take them and keep them for their hens. Yet, since I have not really heard the chickens do a "rooster call" I am confused if they are truly roosters. "Debra" the full black one has me a bit confused because she/he has never really crowed or showed us any signs that she/he is a rooster. Though "Debra" and "Gryffon" do stand off to each other once in a while - this may be a sign...that I am ignoring.

Here are two pictures taken with my "toy like" Diana lens to show you the two I am talking about. I am going to take a few better photos today so I can show you all their size and wild faces! I would love to hear your opinions of my two black "rooster"! What do I do?

This is Debra - though now we are calling him Delbert! Deb for short.

Here is our wild eyed Gryffon! He is gorgeous! The feathers on him are incredible! Plus, both the "roosters" are nice. They are the most played with family chickens ever!

This is my chicken dilemma!!!

Family and Friends

Good times at the City beach on the 4th of July! Girls had a great time playing in the sand. They buried each other and filled their suits with sand, which took two days to remove!!!

Family time is priceless and I will cherish our memories!

Olline making a sand castle with cousin Mikayla. Melina and Aunt Jen are off in the distance in the lake. (I took this photo with my new "toy like" Diana Lens. Google Diana + lenses...they are kind of cool! I am just learning about them. They give a sort of "dreamy" look!)

Girls decided to bury Olline and give her a Mermaid Tail!

Today, was hard to get back into the routine of things. We played so hard with our family this holiday weekend, that when we woke up this morning I think our brains were still sleeping.
After the girls had swim practice we did a little shoe shopping, then our good friends came over to visit! I love having them over and visiting. I feel good and happy afterwards and I always look forward to seeing them again (you know who you are:) God blesses us with great people. I am very thankful for those in my life.
I am so grateful for the children He has given me. I see such inner beauty and they have special spirits. I pray God will guide us in raising these girls and that they will grow to have Christ filled lives!

James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you...
James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Family

We have a great family! I am very proud to be apart of it. We had a great time celebrating our parents birthdays! I have always felt that America is celebrating my parents!

Thank you mom and dad, Jen and Nate and family, for coming this year. So thankful we could be together! We always have a great time together. We love you with all our hearts and appreciate all you do for us. You are incredible people. The love we have for each other is a touch of heaven.

We love you!

All the family... (starting on the left in back row) Jade, Me (Diana), Melina, Alex, Nate, Jennifer, Dad, Mom (infront) Mikayla, Olline and Kiara!

My mom and dad on their birthday! LOVE YOU!!!!!

The 4th of July fireworks at the Sandpoint City Beach! So much fun and a beautiful show! It was a perfect evening!

God Bless you and America!

Food for Thought

1 Peter 3:10-12

For the Scriptures say, "If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.

Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil."