Thanksgiving Hangover

Is this what you felt like yesterday after that wonderful Thanksgiving meal??? I think it depicts my entire family....even the dogs! We truly did enjoy a delicious meal. Monroe smoked our turkey and ham on his new grill (he made it, I will blog about it soon) and it was mouth watering good. After lunch I was able to catch my breath and reflect on the goodness of the Lord! Wow, I could never thank Him enough. He has blessed us with so much. My heart just overflows when I think about how blessed I am. There is always plenty of food on our table to feed our hungry bunch, thank you Lord. I have my precious family, dear friends, our health and....grandchildren!! Now there is something to get excited about!

It was nice to have a chilly day for Thanksgiving. We were actually able to have a fire in our fireplace. That is a rare occasion for folks living in Florida!

Here are a few crafts the kids and I made before Thanksgiving. The two big paper plate turkeys are from our history lesson on the Pilgrims. Each feather has a fact written on it that the boys learned from our studies.

Another time, on our co-op day with Hannah : ) we made name holders for the Thanksgiving table. These were a lot of fun to make and I thought they turned out very cute! Here is all that was left of our "apple turkeys" after our meal. Parker ate one when he discovered they were made of apples, his favorite.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Brent brought me home a yummy looking turkey made of oreos and candy. The girls service club at college made them and sold them as a fundraiser. I saved it (not an easy thing to do) and wanted to try making some myself. Well, lets just say from now on I'm leaving that little craft to the girls service club!! After lunch, Brooke and I sat down for some fun times (we thought) and tried to make some of these little gobblers. HA!

I will show you a picture of our project so you can see for yourself, not as easy as it looks.

Okay, so my turkeys look like they are on steroids! There is a sweet ending to this little experience. After making 5 of these guys we decided to stop making them and eat the ingredients instead! Problem solved!!

I hope you all had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as I did! I would love to hear about it. For all my family and friends that live out of town, I missed you all and wish you could have been here to celebrate with us. Ya'll come now, ya hear!

Be Blessed,

Pam

Answered Prayer!

Well hunting season is off to a great start for my family!! Monroe has already got a 6-point and Brandon has a great story of his hunting trip with Dad. Before Brandon left for his day of hunting he asked me to be praying for him to get a buck. He has never shot a buck before only a doe. I told him I would surely be praying! So, Saturday morning at 4:00 a.m. Dad and Bran left for the hour drive to the property our dear friends own. They graciously allow our family to hunt there each year. My two hunters sat and waited all day long and saw nothing!

We told Brandon the Lord must be teaching him patience because normally the wildlife is plentiful. They hunting crew came home discouraged but willing to try again the next morning.

Once again they got an early start. It was so very cold but that didn't dampen spirits! Once again they sat and sat and saw nothing. Brandon never stopped praying though. After taking a break in the afternoon, Dad and Brandon headed up the tree stand to try one last time. About 4:00 p.m. they spotted a huge buck headed into the small area of woods. They had a hunch that the deer would come back out before dark. Sure enough, about 5:30 p.m. they spotted him. Brandon was so excited he started trembling. (I don't understand this excitement. Maybe it is a guy thing??) The buck was about 120 yards away and Dad knew it would be a tough shot to make but Brandon was confident he could make it. Dad gave the okay and Brandon took aim, shot and hit that big buck the first time. He never took another step I am told! I don't know who was more emotional, Dad or Brandon!

After a closer look, they realized just how big this one is! He is a 7-point with a spread of 16". According to my guys that is pretty good for Florida deer. So, little Brandon has set the stakes high for the rest of the hunters in my family!! His older brothers look a little green to me. Maybe it is just the light, huh? They haven't had their hunting day yet so we will see....

Dad measured his biggest deer that is proudly displayed in our living room and guess what??

It is not as big as Brandon's deer! Needless to say, Brandon will be getting his deer mounted. He will have to display his trophy buck in his bedroom! There is no more room in the living room for wildlife.

Now there is one happy little boy...errrr...young man, yikes when did THAT happen! I think he is still on cloud 9 around here! Brandon has learned some important lessons about our Lord. He knows that God hears his prayer and He is concerned about every little detail of our lives. He has also learned to be patient and keep praying. He has given the Lord thanks for this great hunting trip! The following pictures are some that Brandon asked me to post. A warning for the animal lovers out there, they are a little graphic. They are taken at our barn where we hang and clean the animals before we process the meat. By the way, no one loves animals more than my family. We care for each and every animal we have, from our pet squirrels to our Missy-mommy to be-cow! We know, however, that this is how the Lord provides for our needs and we are grateful for his provisions.

It's That Time of Year Again

Hunting season is a big deal in our family. But then what else would you expect with a house full of males!! It has definitely given me a "tougher skin". I can remember as a little girl, I cried as I watched TV and saw the wild animals killing and eating their prey. Little did I know the Lord was going to give me a hunter for a husband and plenty of boys to become hunters also! I still can't watch them hunt or shoot the deer and it still makes me a little sad when I see the deer before they are hung and cleaned. I have, however, learned how to process and freeze the venison. The meat for our family has been a blessing. It helps me to know that my guys are responsible hunters and they have a respect for God's creation. They are very humane in their hunting and they have only learned this from their Dad.

This weekend is Brandon's turn to go hunting with Dad. He just found out yesterday and I can't even begin to count how many times I have heard him say, "I'm so excited! I can't wait till Saturday!" He got a doe last year during doe season.

There is quite a story from that hunting trip last fall. Brandon spotted his deer from the tree stand with Dad and then took aim and fired. When he shot this is what he hit...

They had a good laugh over that shot! I am sure he would have a hard time hitting a tree like that on purpose!! : ) He didn't give up though and was able to bring home a nice doe (still kinda sad to Mom...leave the women and children alone!) for our dinner table.

Well, I'll will have to let you know how he did on his hunting trip this weekend. He will have a good time if for no other reason than to sit out in the tree stand and eat junk food! You know, a REAL man with no Mom over his shoulder to say, "Now you have eaten enough of that, son!"

Pam

It always amazes me that this bushel basket of greens will cook down into one large pot which will be just enough for a meal for our family. Okay Ronny, greens will be ready for supper. Ya'll comin'?

Garden Harvest

Our garden is doing so much better this time! I don't know if it was the sulphur we added before planting or better quality seed. There are hardly any bugs. We are trying to grow organic veggies so I am very excited about not seeing many pests. The only bug I saw a lot of was lady bugs and they are a beneficial bug for gardens so I was happy to have them!

Here is one of the "little ladies" now.

Our greens are so plentiful. I have enough to cook fresh for the family and there is plenty to blanch and freeze.

Alright, I have a confession. The first row on the left is a beautiful row of WEEDS! We can grow some healthy weeds, don't you agree? That row was suppose to be spinach but was overtaken with weeds before I could get them under control. For some reason it took longer for the spinach to come up than the other greens.

Breaking News.....

We interupt your very busy day for the latest breaking news in our family!! We are extremely excited to announce that by next fall there will one more family member in the fall scene pictures!! Yep, you heard it here folks. We are going to be the proud grandparents of THREE beautiful children! I must admit we are praying for a little girl this time around but "the Lord knows best." That has become my motto each time I was pregnant and now that motto continues with Brooke ; ) Anyway, how could you resist such precious boys as these two?

Yes, we are a very blessed family, even with all these boys! We welcome our newest addition with open arms and we can't wait to hold her...errr...him? I will keep you posted with due date and sonograms, etc. And trust me, if you step outside one day and hear shouting from our direction, it will be the our family with news that we are expecting a baby GIRL!!!

Thanking God for boys,

Pam!

Our Fall Garden

A couple of months ago the boys and I got busy getting the ground ready for our fall/winter garden. Our summer garden didn't produce very much so I had our soil tested and found that the ph level was too high so sulphur was recommended to be added to the garden area. After applying the sulphur, we patiently waited 2 weeks, as the directions said, before planting. Next, we got the tiller out. This is the part the boys love!

They are such good helpers!

Next we planted mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, rutabaga, beets, turnip greens, carrots, kale, spinach and a variety of lettuces.

Here Bryce has come up with his own technique of covering seed. Oh well, whatever works! It seems like the hard way to me. I don't think I could get up after going down the whole row like that!!

Here is another shot of the garden. I will be planting potatoes and strawberries on the outer edges of the garden in a few months when the planting time is right. You can see where that area is not tilled up. Also, I saved some room for planting more cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower later on. This way we have those veggies as long as possible, hopefully into spring. Does anyone know if it is possible to freeze broccoli or cauliflower?

Now there is a tired little boy in need of a well deserved break! My boys always chip in to help us and with a good attitude. I am very grateful for them and I am sure to let them know how important they are to me and their Dad. Since we have moved onto this property they have learned the satisfaction that comes with hard work. They enjoy the bounty of the garden and learn that they are very beneficial to our family. We have memorized Philippians 2:14-15..."Do everything without complaining, do everything without arguing. So that you may become blameless and pure children of God." I must say, they have applied that verse in a very "hands on" way!

Have a great weekend!

Pam

Squirrel Farm?

I am not quite sure squirrels count as a farm animal but our family has rescued two of the cutest baby squirrels ever! One day Dad brought them home. Apparently they had fallen out of their nest somehow and they were in the road. The boys were so excited! They love pet squirrels. Can you see Brandon's? She is on his left shoulder. We rescued about 8 baby squirrels a few years ago when central FL was hit with 3 major hurricanes. At that time, Brandon was too young to have one of the squirrels for his very own. This time he is older so we gave him one of the squirrels. Her name is Sandy and she didn't even have her eyes opened when we got her. He had to bottle feed her for a few weeks. I must say he has been very responsible and has taken such good care of his new pet. Bradley's squirrel, Maurice (don't ask me why he chose that name!) came a few days later. She was found in the same area. She is a little older. Thankfully, they are both girls!! In Brandon's own words, "Squirrels are more fun than a pet hamster, as affectionate as a dog, and very smart too!" Mom says, "At least it's not a pet snake!!"

Have a great day,
Pam

Fall Festival Fun!!

Wow, what a fun day we had Saturday at our church! This annual event is one of the largest activities we sponsor for our children and the community. We have food, games, inflatables, hayrides and of course CANDY!

Here we have Josh, Brandon's friend,

sliding down the inflatable in a normal fashion....

Then we have Brandon's version of "sliding"!!

Food...Friends....Fun...

And this day was worth all the hard work, if for no other reason but to reach out to this prospective new church member. Yes, "even unto the least of these".

We did see this dear man in Worship Service today! We are looking forward to seeing him every Sunday.