Introducing......

Jackson, he is a Flemish Giant buck..... who's father is 15 lbs. Jackson is 9 weeks old and is already 6 lbs. He is a lovable guy!

Silas is our other buck .... he is a New Zealand White and will most likely grow to between 9-12 lbs!Below are the two does we brought home!

Here's Maggieand Ava...

It's Wednesday But Friday is Coming!!

Audrey & I are excited for Friday!! After her job interview we are going to visit a nearby farm to check out a few litters of bunnies!! :) HOPEFULLY, we'll be able to pick out some to buy. We have been planning and preparing for this and we just can't wait!Here's Elvis.... we are pretty sure that he is a cross with lionhead bunny.... he has really cool long hair between his ears and around his cheeks! (Can you see B.Rabb peaking in from the left?)If you look behind Elvis... you'll see some of the rolls of wire we bought to build the cages with!

We drew up some hutch plans and Travis has built us 10 hutches..... check this out! It is sooo awesome to have talented & handy kids!! (I thank God & husband for that blessing!!) Here Travis is using the j-clips to put all of the sides together!! We "measured twice & cut once" as Pete says, all the panals needed (top, bottom, sides, ends and separators!) Travis diligently spent LOTS of time putting these together for us!! (What a guy!)

Below, is one complete row of hutches!! It is hard to see, but this is 4 side by side cages. We have another row just like it to fit underneath this one and then a set of two that are on the opposite wall for Elvis & B.Rabb. I'll take more pictures to show you after the bunnies come home!! (They will have trays to catch the droppings, not to worry!)Yes, the wall color is a weird mint green!! After we built the barn a few years ago (then it was a goat barn) we went to buy paint. We didn't really care what color the walls were going to be!! We found where Home Depot kept the "OOOPS" paint (paint that had been mixed wrong or the customer didn't want it after it was mixed up) and lucky for us, they had a 5 gallon bucket of WHITE paint! (How can white be an 'ooops'?? I have no idea!) Well.... we bought it for all of $5.00 and went along our merry way to finish the goat barn! We all had a good laugh when our 'good deal' was NOT white but mint green!! :) The goats didn't seem to mind..... neither did the chickens after that so we don't think the bunnies will mind either!

Have a blessed day!

Happy Birthday Pete!

Today is Pete's birthday..... not knowing if we'd have all 5 of us at home on Friday and last Sunday being Father's day, we had a combination celebration!! One of Pete's all time favorite meals is 'fried whole belly clams' so where better to find that on the menu ...... than at a seafood restaurant!Sunday after church we celebrated with another family..... our wonderful friends Roger & Cindy & their family! Roger had a June birthday too so it was a perfect combination for the festivities!We laughed, ate, laughed & enjoyed each other's company and ate some more. Everyone had a wonderful time!!

We also celebrated at home with a lemon cake, terryaki chicken on the grill, salads & watermelon for his birthday!! Overall... he had a good birthday weekend. He spent time in the garden, time with his guitar, time with his family, time with the church family and time with the Lord! How can this be improved on?? I don't think it can!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!!

Remember The Days of Our Youth?

Remember back to the days of our youth.... the fun was really fun but the struggle into adulthood was real too!! Travis's friend Mike came home with him from camp for the weekend! Here they are ready to leave the church parking lot.... Here are a few cool shots of his car! Evidently, it is a cut down and remake of a Ford Escort wagon! It is fully registered, inspected and on the road.... WITH GREAT GAS MILEAGE!! :)

And, here they are leaving home for camp again...... the weekends are just tooo short for this mom! Yes, Mike let Travis drive!! Free, young and having hearts to serve the Lord!! Oh to be twenty again......... (NOT!)

Austin's AWESOME Vacation....

Austin had an AWESOME opportunity in May! Friends were going on a Christian Music cruise from Miami to Cancun Mexico by way of the Florida Keys, and invited Austin to go with them! (Don't we all wish we had friends like that!) :) They flew from Boston to Miami on Sunday and loaded up on the ship on Monday morning!

They stopped at Key West and went snuba diving off the barrier reef (the third largest reef in the world). In Mexico they went underground snorkling in caves!! What gorgeous water colors and sunsets!!

Here the kids are all playing in one of the pools on the ship! Austin is holding Sam up getting ready to launch him. Ben is on the right and Jesse is in the front/middle.

They had lots of awesome bands to hear daily/nightly such as Casting Crowns, Hawk Nelson, The Afters, Leland, The Katinnas, Newsong, Aaron Shuste and more....

Austin, Ben & Jesse all played volley ball with the members of Hawk Nelson and Austin says they 'kicked their butt'.... (this is not a picture of that time). Austin hitting the ball and Jesse is in the red t-shirt on the other side and Ben is in front of him.

See the 'little' boats attached along the top of the ship? They may look small... but they hold 150 people EACH! Yikes... talk about a 'big ship'!! They had a blast and I'm so happy for him!! (Especially now that they are home again!)

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

(Written by a former child)

(A message every adult should read, because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.)

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you make my favorite cake for me
and I learned that the little things can be
the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I knew there is a God I could always talk to
and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick,
and I learned that we all have to help
take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you give of your time and money
to help people who had nothing
and I learned that those who have something
should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it
and I learned we have to take care
of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw how you handled your responsibilities,
even when you didn't feel good
and I learned that I would have to be responsible
when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared and
I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I looked at you and wanted to say,
'Thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking.'

Gettin' Ready For The Girls...

How's this for getting the chicken yard ready!? Pete had borrowed the tractor so he could till the garden spot last weekend and while he had it, Austin moved the chicken house for me!

This building was a "Bob-House" (used for ice fishing) that we (Pete & the boys) made over into a chicken house a few summers ago! Last year we had turkeys in here and had them with a pen down by that last tree you can see on the left!

We are getting 6 new hens this coming weekend!! We thought it would be a good idea to house the hens separately from the bunnies! Instead of all the guys 'muscling' the chicken house into Pete's truck and then 'muscling' it down again and putting it in place, they strapped it onto the bucket of the tractor and Austin drove it up the banking!! :) They tell me 'Mom, we try to work smarter, not harder!" It makes sense..... I hope the chickens appreciate their new home!! We spent some time this afternoon getting the fencing in place (more to be done tomorrow) and the windows covered with hardware cloth (wire)! Pete, Travis & Aaron are just finishing up planting most of the garden (hopefully, the last of it will be done after work tomorrow) and the pizzas are just about to come out of the oven!! It is time to call it quits for now....... (besides, it is getting buggy out there!)