New Years Eve

How many of you are planning on staying up until it is officially 2007? If you are will you be alone with your immediate family or will you be participating in a "party"?

Blog Titles

I must admit that I have puzzled over the amazing blog titles. I am sure their are long stories behind the titles or maybe not. For instance, where did Bool's Blog come from? I know there must be story behind that one. Another question, why (D)rivvel Supp? Is this PA Dutch or some form of German? What does it mean? It sounds like some kind of soup...

Long & Short Of It

Here is the deal. We are hoping to get a final inspection next Thursday or Friday. We are also hoping they will let us move even if they don't pass it. I must admit it slows us down to be trying to finish up around the holidays. Everyone needs time off so it drags on out. I keep telling myself "Hey man, what's a few more days..."

Slowly/Quickly

It feels slow but I believe it is quick. I am referring to my recovery. I feel quite a bit better this morning. I was not nauseas (sp?) while milking this morning. Now I am very tired and weak. I look forward to my nap. I believe this little big has been some what active. I am aware of three or four people who have been sickish. Rachel and Jackson have both made the bug feel welcome.

The Flu

I think I have the flu bug. I feel like I could, well, never mind...

Gifts

I am wondering what gift has meant the most to you? I can remember several that have been special. However, it wasn't the gift itself. The gifts that have meant the most to me have been the unexpected ones. Has this happened to you? I remember one time when two young guys from church brought me a gift. I was shocked. I didn't realize they liked me enough to spend money on me. It meant alot.

Quote Of The Day

Aleya went with me too get some milk a few minuets ago. As she was getting into the van she hollerd "MAMMA AND SIERRA, I AM SORRY BUT I CAN'T BE EVERYWHERE" She was sure they were sad she was leaving them for a few seconds.

Box

Boxes make grand houses...

 

House Update

Let me see, the upstairs is trimmed out except for the master bedroom. We had a fairly major misunderstanding concerning stain colors on the master bedroom trim. So we will be changing this. The electrician was here today and we now have a few lights in the house. The shelving guy was out today and roughed in the upstairs shelves. My cabinet man was here today as well. The base cabinets are set as are some of the vanities. He will be back in the morning to bolt the counter top together. Busy day...

Life

Sonny is heading for IN in the morning. He will be out their for a week. This means I will be taking care of the chores this week. We are slowly/rapidly moving towards moving. Some things are going really well and then some things are not. This whole thing is making me weary and I want to get it over with. I am currently listening to an album Jack Veazy recorded while he was singing with the King's Heralds. He is probably the best baritone I have ever heard. He must be really good at golf also because when he retired from singing he became a golf instructor. Anyway, enough about life for one night...

Tea Party

Grandma had a tea party with the grandchildren...

 

Town

The men are headed off to town to shop for a little . Not sure what this day will hold. Games, coffee, and discussions have been the agenda thus far. We are heading for home in the morning. I would have to say this time with family, in laws included, has been very good.

Light

In Sunday School yesterday morning we were discussing walking in the light. How do you procalim the light on a day to day basis and how are you procaliming the light this Christmas season? What does it involve? Is it more than living the quiet lifestyle that Mennonites have become known for? Have the Mennonites become to quiet? Have we moved from being the quiet of the land to being the silent of the land? This would then lead us into another issue and that is the issue of a Christians involvement in goverment or politics. Thoughts anyone?

Change Of Venue

We are headed to a Christmas program at my brother-in-law's church. I have some nieces and a nephew who will participating in this event. After this program we will be driving on over ro my parents place located in Guys Mills PA.

VOP

Last evening our first tenor, Josh, sent an email with yet another request for us to sing. In the past 10 days we have had more people ask us to sing at their church or church sponsored function then we have in the past year. Several of these contacts were a direct result of our singing at Pastor's Christmas Banquet. We are excited about these developements for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason is related to scheduling. When they call us we don't have to call them. This makes life much easier. The second reason is a direct realationship to our ministry and our goals. The busier or more active we are gives us confidence in what we are doing. That God is in our ministry and is blessing us. That we do have a place or ministry in this world regardless of the denomination. The third reason has to do with money. The more active a group becomes the healthier the groups bank account will be. We have some rather lofty goals for this next year which includes recording another album and our reunion tour. To make these goals a reality funds need to be available. Our basic goal is to draw people to Jesus the ONE who came to break our oppression.

Similiar Taste

We arrived in Middlefield last night about 4:30 and soon after entering the house we made a discovery. The light fixtures Rachel's parents purchased for their house are the same as the ones we are going to install in our new house. Rachel's mother made the comment "Yeah, we have similiar taste." Of course they have similiar taste, they find the cheapest thing they can and then they buy it.

Away

We are planning on going away today. We will be in OH, Rachel's parents, until Sunday evening. We will be in PA, my parents, until Wednesday morning.

Editing

For those of you who read this blog you are unaware that I have english skills. I do not know when to use these , ; : I also do not know if something is their or there or they're. Okay, so I do know they're is similar in meaning to youse or youins... But I digress. My motherinlaw, or is it Mother-In-Law is a world renown author. She has written four different books and is in the process of penning another. The book she is currently sweating over is a children's book. The characters in these stories will include her three daughters. For more information on her previous books click

here

Middle Of The Week

What is it??? Since we started remodeling the house I have had people tell me they will be their the middle of the week. If I'm lucky they will show up on Fri. but sometimes it ends up being Mon. What sense does that make? I had a fellow tell me he would be here to talk to me about my cows and the ration on Monday. He still hasn't come. Oh, by the way, the Monday he was talking about was two weeks ago. What sense does that make? Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that the middle of the week is Friday.

VOP

Tonight we were off singing at the Halifax Southern Baptist Association Pastor Christmas Banquet. First they fed us and then we sang. The meal consisted of steak and potatoes. The singing consisted of Christmas songs with a few other themes thrown in. An enjoyable time was had by all.

Christmas Tree

In most conservative Mennonite circles Christmas trees are shunned. I am wondering why this is. Is this opinion biblical? I am of the belief this idea is based solely on the appearance of affluence. In other words, people who take the time to decorate a tree are spending to much time on the monetary or materialistic side of Christmas. Basically, someone who has a tree is missing the true meaning of Christmas. If this is your opinion I must respectfully disagree with you. I have this dream of taking my family deep into the woods and finding the perfect tree. We would then fell this tree and carry it back to the house. (In some parts of the world this would be done in a foot of snow. However, this is highly unlikely in our part of this world.) We would then put up this tree and spend the evening decorating our tree. I found this article concerning the Christmas Tree.

By William V. Rauscher

The Christmas tree comes to us from Germany. Martin Luther is credited with being inspired by the starry heavens one night, and expressing his feelings to his family by bringing a fir tree into his home, and attaching lighted candles to its branches. Fir meant fire, and fire is an ancient symbol for spirit. The tree also pointed toward the heavens.

Evergreens were thought to represent the ever-burning fire of life. The color green signified the life force through the year. Eventually decorative balls represented the planets, while the star that radiates from the top reminds us of Bethlehem. The entire tree and decorations teach us that the universe is witness to the Incarnation.

Red at Christmas reminds us of the fire of the Spirit. Green affirms nature, and the ongoing life. And in the Incarnation, Spirit unites with nature.

In fact, the Christmas tree symbolizes to us a further appreciation of Jesus' birth. It is a means of retelling a miracle in a colorful and beautiful way so that we can further understand and appreciate Jesus' entering our world.

Actually, the tree is a reinterpretation of pagan rites, along with the use of other greens and decorations to commemorate in ancient times a celebration of the feast of Saturnalia - the birth of the Sun in the sky at the Winter Solstice. Along with the giving of gifts, the feast was later Christianized with the selection of December 25th to announce the birth of the Son of God to the world.

The tree also tells the story of a cosmic event - a mystery. In personal celebrations of Christmas the tree begins its use in the 16th century, and is later brought to America by German immigrants.

The heavens and earth rejoice in the coming of the Lord of Life. Our decision must be either for our Christmas tree to represent the celebration of the birth of Christ, or simply an acknowledgment of the pagan festival of the Winter Solstice.

What does the beauty of the Christmas tree say to you?

In my opinon, not having a Christmas tree will not keep you from missing the true meaning of Christmas. Neither will having one cause you to have a pagan Christmas...

Day Off

After several weeks of hard labor I have the privilege of a day off. Sonny had hernia surgery on Nov. 13 and was laid up for several weeks. This past week he started working again, however, he was still in considerable pain and needed to gradually work himself back into shape. Anyway, he feels well enough to be in charge of things this weekend. So today I am going to use my school sale golf passes. I need to see how many trees I can hit. Two of my cousins are going along, Lowell and Eldon Yoder. We are planning on having a very good but chilly time. After this exuberating activity I believe we will be going to town to purchase a few more housy items.

Merry Christmas

This is for those of you who are not on our mailing list.

Merry Christmas

I have slowly come to the realization that this merry letter should be written. I will try to give you some of the more interesting facts from the past twelve months. Like most years this one began in January but since the writer is unable to recall what actually happened in January… He will indeed need to jog his memory for any facts that may interest the reader. It appears that this letter may be rather short. Hmmm let me see….
Ah yes, lets begin with work. My long time employee, Lyndon Yoder, decided to pursue a different occupation. This caused me great pain and stress in two areas. One, he was a great employee and two; I had to find a replacement. This turned into quite an ordeal. After several months of searching I found the best replacement possible. Lyndon’s father, Ernest Yoder, better known as Sonny, agreed to come and work for me. However, he was unable to start working until July 1st. Lyndon’s last day was February the 28th. I found myself working alone until June when school ended and my brother Jon was able to relieve me of some chore duties. In July Sonny started and I have found him to be extremely helpful. He has worked on a farm all of his life and knows more about it then I do.
Let’s see… Oh yes, I almost forgot. Okay that’s a lie, I didn’t forget. I am still singing with Voice Of Praise. In July we recorded another album. 2007 is VOP’s 20th anniversary and we thought it would be fitting to do a Reunion album. We are also planning to go on a Reunion tour in July.
Oh my, I almost forgot this, seriously. We have been remodeling the home place. This project began in May and we are getting so close to finished I can taste it. We are hoping to move between Christmas and New Years day. This project has brought me very close to an emotional melt down. Well, that is an exaggeration but it has been a lot of work. I am really good at demolition but rebuilding is not one of my strong points. So I did the demolition and several fellows from church have done the rebuilding.
I think that might be all… No wait… I think I forgot my family. No, I didn’t forget them I just wanted you to think I did.
Sierra: Wow, she turned six this year. I find this hard to believe. She started school this year, home school. She is very sharp and picks things up easily when she wants to. She doesn’t enjoy math but does find science and social studies very fascinating. She has found birds very interesting creatures.
Aleya: My energetic three year old. She is an amazing imitator and does everything her older sister does. She is definitely a girl and loves to play with dolls but she is also an animal lover and gives our cat, Cup Cake a very rough time occasionally. The other day she was trying to hit the calves with a stick and yet couldn’t understand why they would not let her pet them.
Jayden: Jayden turned one in May and is our cuddle bug. Jayden is also an animal lover and enjoyed the dog, Blackie, until Blackie got to close to our van wheels.
Jackson: Jack is quite a bit like Aleya when it comes to the energy department. Jack loves to race around and appears to be going close to 100 mph at times. Jack turned one in June and his most recent hobby is singing. He will sit and sing and I must say he is very good for 1.5 years old.
Rachel: I find it very difficult to cram all of her amazing accomplishments into one small paragraph but alas, this I must do. She is my wife, which takes quite a bit of time and energy, then we must add school teacher, home maker, mother, Dr./nurse, taxi driver, diaper changer, and a host of other things. I fall in love with her more every year.
Well, I have run out of room and must bid you adios. I trust that you will find peace in the One who came to break our oppression.
Shalom

Kitchen Floor

The children are playing on the new kitchen floor.

 

Master Bath

Here is a glimpse of the master bath floor. Not that you can tell much from this but we like it....

 

Flooring

The vinyl flooring folks are suppose to be here in the morning to start laying the flooring. The painting is done except for trimming out four basement windows. We are weary but feel very good about our accomplishments this week.

On a different note. My dear one and only sister, Juanita, came this morning to watch the children so my wife could work at the house. She then made our supper and mixed up some christmas cookies.
Thanks so much...
From the Zehrs nearest the bridge....

Master Bedroom & Bath

I don't know if you can see the colors or not. The light color is Globe Thistle and the dark is a purple color. I can't remember what it is exactly...

 

VOP Christmas Banquet

Tonight is our second annual Christmas banquet. We are paying two families to take care of the meal. This means we are able to relax and enjoy our time together. Aside from steak I am not sure what is on the menu. Last year it was seven course meal so I assume this one will be the same.

Christmas Concert

This afternoon VOP had their first Christmas Concert. They announced it as a Christmas Concert. I always feel uncomfortable with this term and I am wondering why. Are concerts generally viewed differently than a program? If so, why? Should I feel uncomfortable with this terminology? If so, why?

HMMM???

We are hoping/planning on reusing this toilet. I needed to get it out of the way of the guys doing the dry wall. The fireplace was the most obvious place to put it. I have tried to come up with a good caption but so far it has escaped me...

Paint

One of my aunts took my post Iffen Ya Want literally and came to help us paint this morning. I want to publicly thank her, Kathleen Gilbert, for her help. Also, my wife's parents came to help us out as well. We should easily finish the upstairs tomorrow. Well, it will be a big day but we should get it finished.