Moon pies and Unspeakable Joy!

The Joy of buying a box of moon-pies from the local tractor supply and them thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Simple Joy of laughter and good food with your brothers and sisters.

 I wonder if we have lost our joy in the hustle of the every day?   I wonder if joy is missing because so many have stopped looking for it?

The worries and the problems of this world plead with us to trade in our moments of Joy for days filled with stress and chaos.

   

Our children are looking,

they will follow us onto the battle-field of this life

and I want them to know that every day is a battle, it's a choice to either choose Joy or be joy-less I want them to seek hard after the Lord in this matter. They will soon enough be leading their own family in the battle of choosing.

 I can never forget that I'm in a battle for my children everyday.

Without the Joy in my home my children will find it elsewhere. They will seek out someone who loves them and accepts them but my children don't have to look very hard for acceptance and love and forgiveness and neither do I.

 It's abounding here on this farm and so the moments of Joy and laughter are also abounding.

It flickers through the trees like twinkle lights as the sun is setting.

It's everywhere.  

How can you be joyless when you have so many beautiful moments around you to revel in.

 My children are joyful. My children are cheerful and for me that's half the battle of parenthood. 

 The Lord has been so good to us all and not every day is filled with moon-pies and great sunsets but the Joy of the Lord should be sought after in all of life's circumstances.

It's my job to point to them and encourage them to seek the Lord's Joy.

True Joy is always found if you're looking.       

I am overwhelmed with my children and my grandchild.

I am grateful for every ounce of them and I lavish my love on them.

They know that I'm their biggest fan and I know their flaws and believe me they have them but I don't dwell there because I know their flaws will become some incredible teaching ground for the Lord. The Lord will use their weakness to grow them into the men and women he wants them to be.   

He does that in my own life.

It's my job to train them, in part, to be a joyful and grateful people in spite of their flaws.    

 I will continue to make their childhood one filled with joy.

I will pour out my life to make each one of them know that they're not just number four or six, but they are my favorite. I study and I learn and I re-learn things about them that make me stand before my loving Father and go 'seriously' you give me the privilege of being his/her mom? What have I done in your sight that grants such a gift as wonderful as this.  

 I am the one

that gets to teach these to walk and talk and I get to hold these when they're sick. I get to cuddle with these when they're scared or confused. I get to brush hair and brush tiny teeth. I get to make a pot of soup and home-made bread and bring it to them and watch them light up because it's their favorite. I get to stand on the side-lines and cheer for my son or laugh at my girls when they're being silly. I get to watch them play in the rain and take them for ice-cream.

I get to 

So I stay focused and look for ways to show them I adore them above all 

and when they leave this gravel road one day they will not have to seek after acceptance because they will have been bathed in it on this farm.

and their biggest fans will only be a phone call away.

love from the farm

A Tangled Up Mess

 I don't want to forget them dancing. The way their little feet fit into little ballet slippers and the way their tooth-less grins smiled when they would look at themselves as they floated  across the room together as sisters.

as dancers, as best friends and daughters.

I love how un-complicated it is to watch them grow along side each other.

Not really at the age of caring about themselves quite yet just glad that when you  go to bed at night and the darkness seems to dark you're not really alone when you can crawl into your sisters bed. 

When you put on your dance shoes and their just there to laugh with you and dance with you in this one moment in time.

This growing up of daughters always has my heart in a tangle. 

Their little hearts and souls so tied to mine that even if I tried to find where the tangle was I couldn't and I really wouldn't want to.

  Seeing them dance and knowing that their childhood is just so fleeting. 

Their little dance shoes will not fit next year and things will have changed I'm sure.

Time always has a way about her. 

I've figured her out and I've seen the way she blurs your days to make you

think you have forever.

but

you don't

 I adore these daughters of mine their very smile and their very essence is such a true gift that I honestly cannot give praise enough to the Giver.

I'm thankful I figured out ballet shoes will not fit 

and time will not stand still for anyone.  

  

 The beauty cannot be captured. I cannot look at this picture long enough without remembering it was just so much perfect this day. Them dancing in little shoes and me snapping away.

Moments that I see so clearly but they don't see.

I see milestones of growing and the blossoming that is taking place as they stretch and move.

They see a dance class

I see the beginning of them being them.

I see the un-tangling beginning and with every ounce of me trying to keep it all a  tangled up mess.

They are growing up and I am growing older

but they don't seem to notice either yet.

Their just busy

Dancing 

being

learning

balancing 

pointing 

shaking

LOVING

and me 

Remembering to live in this moment

Love from the farm,

A day of rejoicing

Amazing Grace

With friends and family in attendance all of our children were baptised 

by their Daddy.
 They have each accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior over the past 5 years at different times. 

Praise be to God!

It was such a sweet and joyful time of remembering my own salvation and baptism.

 Of course water does not save you

but what a witness to say

I trust the Lord in front of everyone you know!

Cooper age 13

Cullen age 10

Chandler Mae age 9

Josesph age 9

Josie age 5

Ellie age 5

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me.

If you want them to remember then put it on paper!

 I found myself missing being here in all the pictures of our memories. Writing and keeping up with all the changes going on in our home. With the winter moved on I thought I had better get this post up about the wonderful snow we played in for hours.

The ice-cream we made and the hot chocolate we drank over a warm fire.

 We didn't have a sled but that didn't stop us from trying.

 We did have our baby lamb named baby girl and she was such a sweet warmth to get us through this cold winter. We raised her for 3 months then gave her to some friends who have a small hobby farm where she could learn to be a lamb instead of a dog.;)

  The confusion of life when there is no-one like you.

Our rain boots served us well this winter. Not one single day went by that these colorful boots were not put to good use on the farm. I will miss them this summer. Their feet slipping so easily into these beauties.

 We have a small fire-pit that we enjoy alot. From smores to hands it warms my heart. Such a small little thing but when they all huddle around it becomes a huge memory maker.       

The trees and the sky carrying a heavy weight of the white stuff and what a joy to share in these magical moments with the ones I love.

love from the farm,

Robin