Today's Activities

This morning we attended the funeral of Sarah Yoder, my aunt. She had a degenerate mind disease and in reality she has slowly been leaving her family for 25 years. In some ways her death was a relief and yet it was sad. Sad because the children never really knew a mother's love. After the funeral we headed back to PA for a few days. Sierra leaves Los Mochis Mexico tomorrow afternoon. They will be leaving LA about 11 PM and landing in DC about 6 AM Wed. Then we will be heading home again. Home to stay for a month and a half...

She Hath Passed

The cow I mentioned in the last several posts has died. Oh well, there wasn't much hope for her and at least it wasn't negligence...

Lacerated Ulcer

I mentioned in yesterday's post we were taking a cow to the vet for surgery. We discovered this cow had a lacerated ulcer. Basically this means she had an ulcer which exploded within her and this caused a hole in her stomach. This hole may or may not heal shut. If it doesn't she will be a dead cow by tomorrow. She looks terrible at the moment. She isn't eating or drinking. She is on a high dose of Penicillin as well as a few other medications. We are trying to keep her alive, according to the vitnery or is it vetniry or perhaps vit-n'ry anyway, I guess you can pick your pronunciation...

Big Day

We have a rather big agenda today. Bed stalls this morning, clean out some calf pens, load ten heifer calves to take to Don Gardner. Don raises my heifers as well as does my veterinary work. We also have a fresh heifer with a DA or twisted stomach. This is not a good thing, so she will be making the journey to Don's for an operation. We also be bringing 3 heifers due in the next two months back to the home place. I think Sonny will be making this trip while I work on chores and other odds and ends. Like cleaning up the old shop site... They are paying 7 cent a pound for scrap metal right now so I would like to get another load of scrap up to Cycle Systems.

Home Again!

We arrived home this evening about 3:30. We stopped in Harrisonburg and browsed through the rt. 33 Wal-Mart looking for sales. We left Aleya at the grandparents for the week. We have plans on going up again on Monday. Rachel's Aunt Carol and her family are coming in from IN so she wants to spend some time with them. Sierra and Carla fly back home Tues. night. Dad and I will be going down to pick them up at Dulles Wed. morning. The flight lands at 6:00 AM. Twill be another short night... After that little trip I think I will be in the Gladys area until the middle of February when I will be going to Florida on a VOP tour.

The beginning

Carla sent a bunch of pictures up via email this afternoon. Here are some for your viewing enjoyment. Sorry if I have slowed your loading ability down but I had high speed and wanted to get some on here. Hope you enjoy them.... Here the girls are checking in the luggage and getting there tickets at Dulles International Airport. Sierra looks good for 5:00 in the morning and having arisen at 2:15.

Weariness

Weariness has taken over...

LA

Sierra seems to be in her glory. Maybe I will have someone in my family who enjoys flying...

Reunited

Sierra is reunited with her cousins...

Supplies

The girls took down four 50 lb suitcases full of things... Here they have begun to unpack...

Covered Wagon???

The kids call this the covered wagon. I am not sure what it actually is, an old water trough?

Christmas Cookies

Working on cookies in Rod's mexican house

Hawaii

My wife and I would like to go too Hawaii for our 15th anniversary. have any of you made this journey? If so, where in Hawaii did you go? Would it be cheaper to book it online or use a travel agency. I only use one agency, when I use one, and that is Golden Rule.

Wood Cutting

This morning Dad and I went out to cut some wood. He had a permit for three loads of wood to be cut off of Buchanan State Forrest along Rte. 30. Those of you who have traveled rte. 30 between Breezewood and Chambersburg know how steep the land is along the road. There are no access roads so you have to climb up the bank, cut your load, roll the wood down the bank, pick it up throw it up the ditch, pick it up again and load it onto the truck. I was shocked they didn't have access roads. Of course, this is probably why his permit only cost him $10.

Arrival

Let's see. they landed at 5:42 Los Mochis time which was 7:42 our time. They had some friends make one quick call to let us know they arrived with all the luggage and they had cleared customs and had been reunited...
Thus ends a very busy day...

En route

The ladies are en route to Mexico. They finally lifted off at 5:16 PM. They are scheduled to land in about ten minutes. I have been checking the flight status on line which is a really neat thing. They had some trouble in LA with getting tickets. They were trying to send them Reno Nevada but they sorted that all out and we are hoping the luggage is on the same flight as the ladies.

Delayed

We have been informed that the ladies flight out of LA has been delayed close to three hours. They will be arriving in Los Mochis around 5:00 instead of 2:00 local time. I think this means it would be 7:00 here. Sierra loved the flight, she was fascinated by the landing. When we arrived at Dulles this morning it was very foggy and she wondered what the flashing lights were for. I explained that it was so the pilots could see the runway. She then wondered which runway they would be running on. She actually thought she would run down the runway... Very funny, we just laughed and laughed....

Heavy Eyelids

Just got back from the airport. We got up at 2:15 and left about 2:30. We arrived at the airport about 4:45 and had the girls checked in and through security by 5:30. The teary father called the daughter when I got to the van and she was proudly riding the shuttle bus to her gate. called her again 30 minuets later and she was sitting at her gate waiting to board. She then called me after her and Carla were sitting in there seats. Now we wait till they land in LA before we hear from them again. My, I feel like an overbearing, over worrying father, but I couldn't help it... She is too little for this, yesterday she was a baby... sigh....

Up, Up, and Away

In 8 hours I will lift my weary head off of the pillow, pick my little 7 year old up in my arms and place her in the van. We will then head to Dulles International Airport. We will then put Sierra and her Aunt Carla on a plane to LA where they will change airline and board a plane for Los Mochis Mexico. They are set to land in Los Mochis at 2:16 PM. They will be with Rod and Christa until January the second. They will retrace these steps and be landing in Dulles around 6 in the morning. I find it hard too believe my little girl is heading off into the sky. I am some what surprised or shocked she is doing this. Shocked we are letting her do this... I will probably weep all the way home again. She is growing up far to fast...

Reforestation

Today I was in the FSA office (Farm Service Agency) in Rustburg. As I was leaving the forester, Mr. Jarvis, caught my attention. We have are almost finished logging off a sorry piece of timber. I would guess it is close to 100 acers of scrubby stuff, loads and loads of pulp wood. Anyway, the forester was telling me that Short Leaf Pine is becoming a diminshing species. This means they would like some people too consider replaniting these pines. To prove this, they are offering more financial aid. $50 an acre instead of $25. The cost of the seedlings is the same. I was also told the return on Short Leaf Pine is higher in the long run then Lob Lolly Pine. So, I said great, Sign us up. So he did...

Christmas

Today is our Zehr Christmas celebration. Brunch is at 9, Grandma has a tea planned for the ladies at 11, supper will be sometime this afternoon. Our gift exchange will follow this. Oh, I think the grandchildren are planning a Christmas play of some sort. I think it will be a reenactment of the school Christmas program. Games will be played, music will be listened to and memories will be made...
What fun...

Herd Check Results

Well, we found 12 pregnant cows. I was hoping for 15, 12 is decent I guess. Some fresh cows had uterine infection, nothing serious. I have a list of 20 cows that should be in heat in the next 3 weeks. Maybe I should start sleeping in the barn...

Herd Check

Tomorrow is herd check which I dread too some extent. I made the list this morning and I think it will be between 50-60 cows. That is ridiculous. I am scared I have missed lots of cows in heat which means cows that I think are pregnant won't be which will make the vet some what grumpy. He will then inform me I need to do a better job of heat detection and give me grand lecture on the proper way to do this. I will nod my head and agree with him. By the time he is done I will be some what grumpy. Catching cows in heat is like fighting with sin. It never ends....

Christmas Program

Tonight is the school Christmas program. Sierra is involved in a music class so she will be participating in some singing. It is rather interesting the way things worked out. I was suppose to be in charge of a song service. I was given the suggestion of having the music classes sing some songs. Some how this morphed into the school doing the whole program and I get off without doing anything. How cool is that?

Phase 1

They removed the metal from the roof first. Things will never look the same around here again. As you will see...

Phase 2

I missed the actual act of pulling the building over. Demolition is lots of fun, except for the cleanup.

Phase 3

The last section to remove. This was the old shop and we were going to leave it until we realized it would only be in the way. We also discovered some apparent Termite or Wood bore damage. Quite a bit actually...

Demolished

Christmas Shopping

I am wondering how many of you do your shopping online? Personally, I would much rather shop online and stay home...

Disappointment

I was disappointed today to discover we would be wiser to demolish a building instead of remodel it. We were planning to put new metal on an old machine shed and the guys started removing metal this morning. We discovered the building was not fit to be fixed. After further review we will be taking the whole building down and have no plans to replace it on this site. Such is life...

Private Pesticide Applicators License

Several years ago I went too the extension office and took a test (without studying) which I passed. Let me hasten to add it was a very common sense type of test. Sample question: Where do you rinse out your empty chemical jugs? A. In the river. B. Kitchen Sink. C. Rinse them and pour remaining contents into spreader. Off course the answer is C.
Anyway, every two years you have to be re-certified. This simply involves showing up at a meeting. You listen to whatever the speaker is talking about and sign a few papers and then they mail you your new Private Applicators License. Very simple and costs nothing.

Weddings

Let's see
March 1st = Karlin Schrock& Susan Martin
March 8 = Rose Yoder & Daryl ???
March 15 = Kendall Hoschstetler & Tina ???
March 22 = Myron Yoder & Heidi Schwartz
June 14 = Lowell Yoder & Juanita ???
Okay, I can't remember all the last names but at least I know the first name!
Also, there is a good possibility two more weddings could happen in 2008....

VOP Program

We sang this morning at First Baptist Church of Republican Grove. We were awful...
There are several reasons for this and none of them are any good. Your suppose to be able to rise above it but we didn't this morning and that disappoints me.

Heading Home

We head home today. We will be stopping in Hagerstown for lunch with Rachel's parents. Sight & Sound was really good. I thought they could have down a much better job with the angels and shepherds in the field scene. I have always wonder how Mary and Joseph felt concerning everything that was happening. How much did they really know? Did they know He was the Messiah? Probably... They didn't know what all this was going to involve, did they? It had to be a tough experience. Also, I wonder how long the angel was with Mary when he told her she was going to have a baby? Did he tell her and leave immediately? That seems a little cruel doesn't it? To drop a bomb shell like that and then leave her alone... Some day maybe I will know the answer to these questions. Of course you may think it doesn't matter. It doesn't, really. But, somehow, these questions make them seem more real and human. They struggled with what was taking place...

Lazy Days

Yesterday we sat around here at my parents place in Bowmansville PA. Had a wonderful time. In the afternoon we went furniture shopping but we didn't find what we wanted in our price range...
Today we will be going to see the Miracle Of Christmas at Sight and Sound. The concert starts at 4:15. Not sure what we will do this morning. We will need to do something with the children or they will get extremely bored.
Also, on an entirely different note. There will be at least three to four to five weddings in our church this spring.... To many to count.
Must be the water....

Ant Viirus

What anti virus program do you use? Do you use a free one?

Expasnion (Part II)

This morning Beverly Cox from the Virginia Cooperative Extension was here. I told her what we wanted to do or what I was thinking. She took lots of notes and is trying to get some professors from Virginia Tech to come out and help me think through this whole process. It is exciting and also a bit scary....

Christmas Website Special

Well folks, we have lowered our already low prices for the month of Dec. That's right, we have lowered our prices from $12 to $10 on cd's and from $8 to $5 on cassettes. Please note this is a website special and is good only through the website. Shipping charges will apply. So, don't delay and dash right over to the website and begin ordering your Christmas presents.
Of course, if your like my wife you were done Christmas shopping in July....
Okay, that is an exaggeration, it was at least August....

Triplets

While I was feeding the dry cows I noticed a cow, Shania, standing down at the other end of the pasture. I figured she had calved because she was about three weeks early. I told Sonny she was fresh and I saw him going down with the four wheeler. I saw him put two calves on the four wheeler and head back to the barn. The cow didn't follow him so I walked down and got her. When I arrived on the scene I was shocked to find a third calf. All three calves are alive and drank well. They were also all bulls...

Curiosity

So, what did you do today?

Adoption Supper

Tonight is our annual adoption supper. This is a supper in which we attempt to honor the children who have been adopted. My sister's family will be joining us, they have two adopted children. We will try also to honor those who have been adopted by God. The ones who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour.

Favorite/Best

Are favorite and best the same thing? You have a favorite musical group but that doesn't mean they are the best musical group, does it? Or is you favorite musical group the best one around?

Bad Day Part II

The power guys showed up about an hour later to reconnect the line to the transformer. They wanted to disconnect the fuse at the main power line. The main line runs through our pre-fresh pen. We currently have a rather vigorous or hyper active heifer in this group. She runs at people and makes them think she is going to gore them. So, one of the line guys went meandering down through the pasture. He seemed to be a tad nervous and was continually looking over his shoulders and wondering when an animal would pursue him. He was half way across the pasture when this heifer noticed his presence. This put her in a very hyper mood and she went galloping off across the field. This brought the line man out of his meandering and caused him to stride with a purpose towards the fence. His purposeful stride turned into a gallop and in a few seconds he was hurdling the fence like and Olympic gold medalist. I decided I should meander out and make sure the local paramedic wasn't needed to calm his racing heart. When I arrived on the premise we had a little discussion about what had transpired. I told him that animal had a very inquisitive nature and seemed to enjoy scaring people. He informed me he was sure he was going to hear about this caper for quite some time. I am sure he will. He had to feel rather silly as he watched me shoo the animal away from a distance of 10 feet.

Bad Day

I mentioned the other day I needed to fill you in on some details concerning our transformer and the lack of power to the house. I had a load of feed delivered on Saturday. The first thing the driver told me was We are going to have a mess when we dump this load. When we were loading a board got broke off the top of the trailer and my tarp got knocked inside the trailer. So my tarp is buried under the feed. In his defense, it was dark when he loaded so he was having a difficult time seeing, I guess...
Anyway, He got his rig turned around and backed into the bay and began to dump. I went about my business working on feeding the cows. I came back by a few minuets later and he wanted to talk to me. He wanted to explain to me why a board on the face of the shed was broke. He backed up to far with his trailer way up in the air and broke the board. So, in his words, he felt about half an inch tall. After this incident he did get the trailer emptied and it was then I discovered what a mess we had on our hands. His tarp was buried under the whole load. To make a long story short I moved 80% of the load back out of the bay to get his tarp. In the process I ruined his $1000 tarp. (I was doing what he instructed me to do so I didn't feel responsible for this negative affect on his bank account. It took me a good 30 minuets to uncover his tarp. By now the driver was very out of sorts. This had never happened to him before and he was very sorry and how much does he owe me for my time. I told him not to worry about it. It wasn't a big deal. He finally gave me $20 for fuel and left. I didn't pay any attention to him as he left because I was bust putting the feed back in the bay. The next thing I noticed was him stopped in front of the house walking around and looking at stuff. The poor fellow had gotten so distraught he had forgotten to lower his trailer when he left. When the trailer is in the dump position it is a good 30 feet in the air. We have over head electric service to the house and his trailer caught the lines and jerked them out of the transformer. The ladies informed me it sounded like the end of the house was going to fall down. The driver was very apologetic and offered to pay for this as well. I am afraid he will have to. I will see how much the electric company charges to reconnect the lines. I don't know how tall he felt by this time. He did wonder How much we would charge too take him home...

Doughnuts

We didn't have church this evening so we decided to make some doughnuts. Gloriously large, golden, doughnuts. I fried them or floated them in oil, while Sierra and Aleya took turns placing them in the bowl Rachel was using to glaze them. Then, after eating two wonderful cheese filled bratwursts I had two wonderful doughnuts with a cup of coffee. We had a wonderful time... When did you last make doughnuts?

News

First, I went on a shopping spree thursday morning. Staples had a lap top on sale for $350 and we had decided to go ahead and purchase one. So I went out bright and early for this early bird special. I arrived on the premises and discovered a line roughly 100 yards long. I stood in line about ten minutes before they opened the store. In the five minutes it took me to get to the door my lap top was gone. So I left without entering the store. I went to some other stores and decided they were too expensive so I left and headed home. On the way home I decided to go to the Wal-Mart in Altavista. This I did and discovered they had a seceret sale on a lap top for $350. So I bought it. In fact I am doing this update from my lap top sitting at my kitchen table. How cool is that....
In the near future I will do a post on how the electric lines got tore out of my transformer this afternoon. No one was hurt or anything but they could have been I guess....
More on this later...

Aleya

My sweet mischievous four year old. I love her to pieces

Expansion

I am in the process of gathering information concerning the possibility of expanding. I am looking at putting in place 5-10-15 year plan that will get me to 150 milking cows. This will be a rather long and tedious process for two major reasons. The first being I don't intend to borrow money or buy cows. The second reason consists of upgrading some of the facilities. My reason for looking at expanding is rather simple. I want my boys to have something that will support them when the time comes. If I don't expand I am not sure I will survive. I need to be able to spread my costs out over more cows which will make it cheaper to operate thus allowing me to stay in business.

Anne

Lately Anne has been a hot topic around our house. Tonight Sierra and I were doing a Light Brite creation in her closet and she was just a yammering away about her day and right in the middle of her stream of words and sentences she asked me if she was talking to much. This made me laugh. It sounded so much like Anne of Green Gables. We have this tape series which was done by Focus On The Family. The series covers the first book and is fairly accurate and is done quite well. The girls want to listen to it all the time and now they tend to throw Anne phrases around in normal conversation. The longer I heard the tapes the more I wanted to read the books. So I have started the series and was surprised how much of the story I had forgotten. Of course it has been ten years or more since I read them...
For our 10th anniversary we went to PEI and visited Green Gables, the Haunted Woods and a few other points of interest. This has made the books more interesting.

Troy Williams

I learned here a week ago or so that the Minnesota Vikings team owner asked his head coach to reconsider his position concerning the Troy Williams case. The coach took the issue up with his leadership team, his words not mine, (I wonder if he has Mennonite background) and they unanimously voted that Troy should be paid for his leave of absence. Troy was pleased about this and took the $25000 game check and donated it all too charity in honor of his grandmother.

Proud Boys

The boys are so pleased with their new clothes. Jackson is always sticking his toungue out in this manner when he is pleased with himself or is getting attention. Jayden appears to be copying him.

Gingerbread House

Last weekend I bought a Gingerbread House when I took Sierra out on her birthday date. Here we are working at putting it together....

Sierra

I just like this picture...

Scrap Metal

We loaded a dump truck load of junk machinery and scrap metal to haul to cycle systems. We then loaded the cattle trailer with aluminum roofing that came off of the shed and we will take it tomorrow morning. I think they are paying 6-7 cent a lb on scrap metal. I don't know what they are paying for aluminum. We shall see. I have plenty of scraps lying around here I would like to get hauled in the next few weeks...

Hay

Due to our record low rainfall I have purchased a 25 ton load of Timothy/Alfalfa hay. It arrived via tractor trailer this afternoon at @3:00. I unloaded him and sent back on his way with a check. This load cost $230.29 a ton. Freight is what drives the cost up. On the farm it is $145 a ton. If you know of a better deal let me know...

Liquid Nitrogen

I was shocked to hear liquid nitrogen has rocketed to $335 a ton. Typically, nitrogen is cheaper in the fall than the spring. However, I have decided this is an absorbent price and I am going to go a different route. I am going to try to get some turkey or chicken litter from up in the valley, Harrisonburg. This is much cheaper per ton. I can get litter delivered for $32 a ton and if I put two tons to the acre it is still cheaper than liquid nitrogen. I hope it works. If anyone from the valley reads this and know of someone who has litter to sell, let me know.

Franklin Heights (Part II)

Singing at Franklin Heights was quite an experience. First, the sanctuary seats close to 1400 people. Huge place. Second, they had an amazing sound system. Wireless microphones. Was very nice to not be stepping on my cord all night long. Third, they had two large screens behind us and to the side. They then had us on these screens for the whole program/concert. Fourth, they dimmed the lights. That was a first. I didn't particularly care for this because I couldn't see the people in the audience very well. I enjoyed singing there and look forward to going back in the future.

Franklin Heights Baptist Church

VOP will be singing in Rocky Mount VA tonight. Service starts at 6:30. We will be leaving the Gladys area about 3:30. Josh will be meeting us at the church about 4:30. They have redone the sanctuary since we were there last. It has been several years since the last time we sang for them.

Another Date

So, I finally took Sierra out for her birthday. Funny how things change. As little as a year ago she didn't have much to say. This appears to have changed. She now seems to have lots of things on her mind.
This afternoon I mowed some yard, hopefully for the last time this year. I don't have much more to say so I won't say it....

Troy Williams

I was surprised to hear this morning on ESPN radio that Troy Williams took a leave of absence from the Minnesota Vikings last weekend to go to his grandmothers funeral. This doesn't sound very earth shattering unless you hear a few more details. One detail was the fact that his grandmother raised him. The second fact was that he had to miss a game. The third fact was he was docked one game worth of pay, $25,000, by team ownership. I cannot believe someone would be so uncaring... They said the decision was based on business principal. Really? What does that mean. I was glad to hear that Troy Williams also said that the team could have docked him the rest of this years paycheck and he still would have went home. What would you do if your boss did this to you?

Odyssey

Last night on the way home we were listening to odyssey. In short the story was about a set of parents who separated because their differences were irreconcilable. Today, Sierra said Wouldn't it be sad if you and Mama broke up? I said Yes it would.... I wonder how many parents have wounded their children because of differences they are not willing to work out...

All Home

I left this afternoon @ 2:30 for Harrisonburg VA. I met Rachel's parents and my family at Wal-Mart on 33 east of I 81. We switched the car seats over to our van and headed for McDonalds before heading home. We got home about 15 minutes ago. It is so nice to have the family here...

Main Street Cafe

A new cafe has opened in Altavista VA. It is located on main street in a remodeled bank. I believe it is a remodeled bank because they have what is called a Vaulted Conference Room. You can have a conference and eat in the old vault. Very nice. I must put a big plug in for these fine people. The people who opened the cafe are Christian people who want to help keep young people out of trouble. The goal was to give young people some thing to do after school. Something to help keep them out of trouble. Tonight a buddy of mine and I went for supper. We got there not long before closing time. We ordered and ate and then she asked us if we wanted more soup. They were just going to throw it away anyway. We both said sure we would love more soup. So we had more soup. Those of you in the area really should go eat at this wonderful cafe....

Home Again!

I am home again. My wife and the children are not going to be coming till Tuesday evening. When I got home I drove out to the barn to see if I could let the cows out. When I got out of the van my nose was hit with the aroma of cows and feed. The first thought that went through my mind was Man, it is good to be home....

Life

Finally have an internet connection again. Tuesday morning we once again loaded things. We left Middlefield with Grandpa driving Rod's van, Grandma driving their van with a six foot picnic table and some outside benchs strapped to the top. Rachel was driving our van and I was driving the Uhaul. A very nice Uhaul. It was a 2007 model with only 8000 miles on it. We arrived at the rental house in Harrisonville, PA around 5:00 in the evening. We unloaded the vans and the trailer I was pulling with the Uhaul truck. Wed. Morning we unloaded the truck. We had to put all the stuff in the basement except for some large furniture which we put in the garage. The lady was not out yet. Needless to say this was a very trying thing. We were unable to do anything yesterday. I was going to trim some shrubs but I was told I needed to leave by a very angry man. So I meekly left with my tail between my legs, never to be seen or heard from again. They were totally moved out this morning so we once again moved things from the basement upstairs. I am very weary and sore. Tommorow sometime I will be headed home. Rachel will be staying to help Grandma get more settled, or unsettled as the case may be. Aside from some tense moments I would say we are still on speaking terms and still love eachother.....
So this is what we have been going through.....

Moving

Rachel's parents are moving to Breezewood, PA this week. As you know Rod's are in Mexico and they left a lot of stuff in Dad's garage. So, Dad and I have been loading a 26 foot U haul and a 6x12 foot U haul trailer since 1:30 this afternoon. Lots and lots of stuff. oooo my I and the pop-in-law are shot......
My feet hurt.....
My back hurts....
Ok, I will stop wining and complaining now.
I will say this, we did a very good job...... We got a lot of stuff in that trailer and the truck.....

Sales - Birthday Party - Travel

Yesterday was the school sale, our fifth. It went really well. I am always some what surprised by the ability of our people to work together on this huge project. I find it very rewarding in that regard.
Last evening after the dust settled we had Sierra's birthday party with Grandpa Kauffman's.
Some time today we will be heading for OH to help Grandpa Kauffman move to Breezewood.
One funny little note from yesterday during the auction. We had a rocking chair we were going to auction off and my Mother-In-Law found it be quite comfortable during the sale. (We didn't have room to put it on the stage.) I was the one deciding what we were going to sell when and I suddenly had this funny little idea. When I decided to sell it she was still sitting in the chair and I told the auctioneer to tell the audience we were going to sell the Grandma in the rocking the chair......

Flood Watch

We are currently under a flood watch until sometime tonight. I would guess we have had close to 5 inches so far. We have %100 chance of rain today and into the night with a %50 chance of showers tomorrow morning.

School Sale

Our fifth annual school sale and benefit auction is upon us. Rachel and I along with Norman and Dorcas Yoder are in charge of the auction. We will be quite busy the next several days. I am looking forward to it. I find it to be an exciting and challenging event. I think this has been used to touch lives also...

More Rain

It began raining just before lunch and rained till almost three. They are calling for rain the next three days or so. The interesting thing is our annual school sale/benefit auction is this Saturday. The last three years or so it has rained each school sale weekend. I am beginning to think we should have the school sale in July or early August. Maybe it would rain in the summer if we did...

Technology (Or Not)

We seem to be living in a state of technology deficiency that is less than some third world countries. We keep discovering it will be two years till high speed internet is available. So, we have checked into satellite internet, not TV. Do any of you have it? Do you like it? I have talked to one person who has it and he can't stand it however, he also says it is much better than dial up....
PS The wife and I had our date tonight. Twas great....

Date Day

This morning Grandma took Aleya on a date. While this occurred Sierra went with her Grandpa and her Daddy over to Dons to drop of some heifer calves. This afternoon Sierra went with Grandma on a date. Grandpa went along. He has gotten fed up with dial up internet and decided it was high time to sit in the library and use some wireless internet so he could get somethings done. Meanwhile, Aleya went with Daddy to Brookneal to get some milk- replacer. Rachel had to stay home all day but at least she didn't have all the kids all the time... Maybe I should take her out on a date, what do you think?

Zoo

The Natural Bridge Zoo was a big hit. We were too late for the elephant rides however. The monkeys, my favorite, were pretty boring. They had a bear cub that was very active and giraffes were neat. They had two baby camels which we were able to pet. The tigers were growling. The boys were running all around enjoying themselves until the Lamas that run loose came up and tried to give them kisses...

Today's Plans

I just got in from milking and Rachel left a few minutes ago for some huge yard sale or something up in Lynchburg. I think they have nice stuff for little money...
We are planning on going to Natural Bridge Zoo this afternoon. The website says they offer elephant rides now so we will see how that works out. Sierra says she will get on one if someone goes with her. We shall see.

Rain

We had some rain today. Need I say more???

Tim Rumsey

I have been informed by Mr. Rumsey himself that he is currently commissioning a new piece of music for us. I asked him if he would consider writing a song for us based on Habakkuk 3:15-19. He responded by saying yes and he is hoping to have it done by the end of Jan. I am so excited. I have long wanted these verses put to music and Rumsey will do an amazing job with them. He said he will be arranging for not more than 10 voices but probably not more than 8 and he may leave it at 4. We are paying him a nice fee but I feel it will be well worth it.

Animals

Several weeks ago I was getting cows in to milk early in the morning. When I walked past the pit I was surprised to see this white thing walking around on top of the manure. I thought it was a cat. So I directed my flashlight in the direction of this being and discovered it wasn't a cat it was an Albino Skunk. It was actually quite pretty. Skunks spend a decent amount of time walking across the top of the manure and picking out the grain.

Finished

We finished hauling ash about lunch time yesterday. We are now finished with all our fall field work. What a relief. Now we will begin doing other things. Shop work and other such things. The vet comes this morning and I am unsure what the rest of the day will hold.

Sunday School

I don't know if I mentioned this fact or not. For this quarter we have been doing a study on nonresistance and are using CLP's study guide which was put together by John Coblentz and Jim Goering. I will say I was somewhat skeptical when we started but we have had some very good discussions in the adult mens class. Yesterday we got to talking about being sued. When is it right to defend yourself? Is it right? Is it one of those deals where you say If they can live with it I can live without it? Is their a time for confrontation?

Water Play

The boys were playing with the water hose the other day. The thing that struck me with this picture was how brown the grass is. I knew/know we are dry but it still kinda shocked me...

Today's Activites

I finished planting last evening at 6:30. Very good feeling. I must give a loud shout out to Lowell for his unending devotion to the 4-150 White tractor seat this week. We would never have gotten done if he hadn't helped us out. Today I am going to take Aleya out for breakfast for her birthday. This is long overdue but needs to be done. I think we will be taking some dead trees back to Lowe's and Wal-Mart in exchange for one that is living.
Fall has finally arrived in all it's glory. We were having summer weather until Thursday. Low temperature was 50 and the high was 84. Yesterday we had a low of 44 and a high of 70. Tonight I think we are headed down toward our first frost. I am looking forward to crisp fall mornings.

30 left

I have 30 acres left to plant today. I will be glad when this is over. I have a sore throat and a stuffy head from all the dust. We are suppose to be singing this Sunday afternoon. Not a good combination....

Special Spot

I have this tendency to put things in a special place. Things like tools or parts. I do this so I know where it is the next time I need it. For example, the bearing that went out on the disk. I had some faint recollection of having some disk parts but I couldn't remember where they were so I assumed I had used them. I found some bearings at Phillips Equipment that would work but were $146 a piece. Yesterday morning we were looking for a spacer to space the disks on the shaft and I found my disk parts. I had put them in a special place. I found two bearings, a bearing housing, two bearings that were locked up, some spacers, and some bolts. The bearings I found I paid $14 for so my $146 bearing will be returned. Last night a shaft broke on the disk so Sonny will weld that this morning and hopefully we will finish disking today.
Back to the special spot, do you put things in special place and then can't remember where that special place is?

More Dust

We covered close to fifty acres yesterday. A bearing went out on the disk about 5:00 and we were unable to purchase a replacement. I think I have found one that will get us going. Hopefully we will cover another fifty acres or more today....
So far we have planted 67 acres of Rye. We have 50 acres of Triticale and Peas and 55 acres of Wheat left to go.

Dusty Job

We began disking today. I was surprised how well the ground worked up. Pretty decent for not raining in the last two months. I planted 25 acres of rye this afternoon. I finished up the last field about 7:30. I noticed when the sun went out of sight that the breeze disappeared. This meant the dust just hung low to the ground. I tend to plant back and forth and I was eating dust big time. Then once it was pretty much dark and I was about falling off the tractor seat to see where I had driven last a touch of breeze came along and swept the dust away. Dust is a nasty thing. One thing dust has going for it is its ability to make it look like someone is working hard....

60th Anniversary

Last evening we had a Yoder gathering back at the pond. The pond is located on Granddaddies, Ernest & Lovina's, property. We were celebrating 60 years of commitment. Grandaddy has been and still is a man that has no enemies. He has this way of making people feel very worthwhile. Grandmamma is full of energy and enjoys her family. When I was up spreading manure for Delvin, she climbed into the truck and rode with me for a load. I don't know another 80 year old lady who would do that. I am very blessed to know these people. Only it is more than knowing them. They are part of me, they are my heritage. They are part of who I am. I want God to work in my heart so when I have been married 60 years people will see the love and commitment in our marriage that I see in theirs.

Do Women Do This?

Wednesday evening Daddy wondered if the men wanted to go out for breakfast Saturday morning. The men he is referring to are my Uncle James, Uncle Bob, Grandpa, Jon Alan, and Ben. Uncle Vance was invited but they went back to Harrisonburg last evening. My question is this: Do women go out for breakfast? If not, what do they go out for, tea? By the way, guys, what is so special about breakfast? I would much rather go out for breakfast then for supper/dinner. I wonder why that is? Is it just a man thing?

50th Anniversary

This Sunday is our annual hymn sing. Every year for the last fifty years on the first Sunday in October we have a Mennonite home coming. Because of this monumental occasion relatives of mine are flocking in. Tonight we have a Zehr reunion. Haven't seen these people for quite some time so it should be fun...

Ash Boy

This morning we spread the hot pile of ashes. It had gotten so hot the ashes had turned to powder and were very dusty. Sonny was running the loader and got very dirty...

Hot Ash

Yesterday evening I was informed that one of our fields was on fire and the fire department had been summoned. I hastened my body out to the field and discovered some small flames licking at the corn stubble. I also discovered a very white pile of ash. They are suppose to put water on the stuff when they load the trailer. I don't know if they didn't put enough on the load or what happened. The pile is extremely hot. It is also close to the woods, like 30' close. Now I am wrestling with a decision. IT is unsafe to leave and it is unsafe to spread. If I could get my manure truck full of water and have it sitting out there I would feel better but I don't have a good way to do that. Also, due to lack of rain we are under a no burn law. The field is going to burn so how much trouble will I be in with the forestry people. I am going to call them this morning and see what they say about my problem.

Retreat Notes

For those of you who care too know what I said on Sunday morning, here it is. I didn't say everything I have here but this was the gist of it.

Finding A Balance Between Musical Excellence and Worship
Introduction: I am somewhat surprised where this topic has lead me the conclusion I have drawn. This conclusion is this: there is no balance between musical excellence and worship. If you weren’t listening you are now… I have decided not to talk about different musical styles. I am going to focus more on God’s gifts to people and what we do with those gifts. Regardless of their attachment or involvement with music. Some people are more gifted in music than others. I am the weak link in VOP’s chain. I don’t have the best ear. I am very poor at rhythm. So I work harder. People tend to work harder at things they enjoy. People who don’t work hard at music because it doesn’t interest them is ok. (I will say people who do not work hard at music because they are lazy is not ok.) However, they should try to understand it is ok for someone else to work hard at music.
Questions =
1. What is music? Where does the word come from?
2. What is worship?
3. What does the Bible say about worship?
4. How are you led in worship? Does nature lead you in worship? The stars, flowers, butterflies, thunderstorms, God’s creation?
5. What is the purpose of worship?
6. Is excellence wrong? Is it a sin?
7. What does the Bible say about excellence?
8. Is it possible to combine music, excellence, and worship?

What is music? Where does the word come from?
The word Music is taken from the word Muse. Basically the word Muse is referring to people who are deep in thought and are humming.
As persons do when idle, or alone and steadily occupied.
Psalms 111 1-3
I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever.
Music, then, should draw people into contemplation of the Creator. Music is also a result of our thoughts. Songs tend to come to mind when we are doing things we don’t have to concentrate on. Like driving tractor or milking cows.
What is Worship
First a definition of worship. I went to our trusty friend Mr. Webster . Mr. Webster tried to write a version of the Bible because he felt a high percentage of people could not understand King James’s version. I heard a fellow talking about Webster’s first edition of the dictionary and how he used scripture in his definitions so I now have in my possession a Webster’s first edition dictionary. In this edition he says worship is, and I quote
Paying divine honors to the supreme being, reverence or homage paid to him in religious exercises consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like.
Worship also = to adore; to pay divine honor to; reverence with supreme respect and veneration.

What does the Bible say about worship?
Psalm 29;2
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 95; 6
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Exodus 14:31-15:1
Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
This song was a result of their salvation or being saved from the Egyptians. They worshiped. They gave the Lord the glory due unto His name. If you read the song of Moses you will notice they realize God’s amazing power. However, they had a short memory. God tells them later in
Exodus 34;14 (This is the reference Webster used after his definition of worship.)
(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,)
We know the Israelite’s forgot God’s power and His ability to keep them and preserve them. We know they worshiped the Golden Calf. How did they forget who the Father is when the Father was dropping manna from the sky, spilling water from the rock, leading them with fire and a cloud of smoke. We are commanded to worship no other God as well. It is easy to worship idols. Excellence can become an idol. Musical excellence can become an idol. Musical excellence is a tool which can be used for God’s glory. A tool to be used to draw people to the Father.
How are you led in worship?
What does worship mean to you?
Is worship a reaction a result of something?
Does nature lead you in worship? The stars, flowers, butterflies, thunderstorms, God’s creation? How does music lead you in worship? Does the excellence of music have effect your ability to worship? What is the purpose of worship?
What did God say about His creation?
Genesis 1:31
The God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Is excellence wrong? Is it a sin?
Excellence = Mr. Webster again….
Any valuable quality. Any thing highly laudable, or virtuous, in persons or valuable esteemed, in things. Purity of heart , uprightness of mind, sincerity, virtue, piety, are excellencies of character. Strength and beauty are excellencies of body. Having a knowledge of an art is an excellence of the artisan. Whatever contributes to exalt man or render him esteemed and happy or to bless society is in him an excellence. Coupling the excellencies of character with a desire to bless society should make excellence in music okay. Excellence in music should increase our ability to bless society.
God is a God of excellence
Psalm 36;7
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!
Isaiah 13; 5
Sing to the Lord, for he has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
Can we say whatever God does is excellent? Is this an accurate statement?
What does the Bible say about excellence?
Is music a spiritual gift?
Is it possible to combine Music, Excellence, and Worship
Yes, it is. God expects us, commands us to do our best.
I Cor. 14:12
Even so you , since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
Eph. 5:19
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Is it safe to say someone who is not doing their best is sinning? To give God less than our best is not pleasing to Him. God doesn’t like laziness. A few verses from Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:19
The way of the Lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.
Proverbs18:9
He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
Mathew 25:26-30
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Would we do something on the job half way? Would we only work at our marriage or relationships with half of our heart? Marriages that are only half as good as they could be because people aren’t willing to work at it? Would it be acceptable if pastors were only half ready to preach on Sunday morning? Music is often not held to the same standard as speaking. I have felt at times that VOP has been criticized for worship of excellence. For example, if I told you I had 20 hours of preparation in this topic you may be very impressed. On the flip side if I told you that we (VOP) spent the same amount of time rehearsing for 40 min. program, some of you would think much differently. Some feelings I have gotten in the past hint at these kinds of thought patterns: hmm they are trying to be to good, they must think to much of themselves. They are trying to be too professional. They are worshiping excellence. It really doesn’t matter what you sound like. God doesn’t care what you sound like. Make a joyful noise…
My point is this: Those of us who are married, if we are honest. Would have to admit that our marriages at times are NOT what they could be, for some people the marriage may never be what it should be because people are not willing to work at it. Not willing to admit or take responsibility for mistakes. Our relationships with our children, church people, etc. are not what they should be. Our Sunday school teachers don’t study enough for Sunday school class. Oh well it doesn’t matter… What does God do with this? Does God accept a lazy or poorly done gift? What do you think? I think not. Paul tells us in
Col. 3: 16 -25
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 18 Wives submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands love your wives and not be bitter toward them. 20 Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance ; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

I have heard many groups sing and I have never heard one that was so good I couldn’t worship. The way a program is presented has affected my ability to worship. Finding a balance between entertainment and worship would make for a very controversial topic. If VOP is not concerned about improving or trying to improve , I'm not sure we're living up to God's expectations. VOP members feel the music’s ability to draw you to the Father is greatly affected by our singing ability and how well we know the music.
The goal of music should be to lead people in worship. Draw people to the Father.
The better we do at singing, rhythm and notes, will enhance your ability to worship. Interpretation of the songs has less to do with musical ability and more to do with life experiences. Feeling or interpreting the song. What is the message of the song ? This should be sung loud this should be sung softly with a lot of energy and emotion. These things are affected by our life experiences. How does this song speak to my heart? How does it relate to me and what I am experiencing today?
We want to hide behind the music by excelling at it. We want to be able to bless people with our gifts for God’s glory.
I want to encourage each of us to work at perfecting or excelling at the gifts God has given us. The purpose of this should be to call other people to worship or to move your self to worship. Excellence will look to different to different people based on personality and background. Lets not condemn each other for their levels of perfection or excellence.
I am of the opinion excellence is God’s call to His children in ALL they do unless it becomes what you worship. God has given me gifts. What I do with these gift’s is my gift to God. These gift’s should not be taken lightly. I need to do my best…

Lawsuits

If you remember, I rear ended a fellow the end of June. Nothing serious. The driver of the other vehicle drove his car away. No blood no broken bones. Nothing more than a racing heart. Saturday we received to pieces of mail. One was certified and the other was priority. Both contained nice simple letter from a lawyer stating we were to get our insurance people to contact them immediately. This caused me some alarm. Had they never payed for the damages? So I call them and ask them what is going on. Well, you are being sued! Oh, well this is a nice kettle of fish. I don't know how much they are suing for. I do know they are suing for bodily damage that didn't happen and I also know the driver is in a bankruptcy situation and his banged up car is the only thing he has in his name. So put two and two together and you get a million dollars I guess.... The insurance company is handling all of this and they will have to pay if it goes through. I think it is ridiculous. I could have been a real pain in the neck when it happened and told the cop that the other stopped to fast and made up a big story.... Maybe I could sue him for suing me.... I wonder if that has ever happened..... It's a funny world we live in...

Quartet Retreat

It is over and we all survived. We had a very good weekend although it was very small. One other quartet was present then there were 7-8 guys there who are interested in music and wanted to learn. The mass choir sang 7 songs under Rich Denlinger's direction. He is very good and I enjoyed singing under him. The workshops all went well. Jon Alan had to take Kelvin Good's workshop because Kelvin couldn't make it. Something totally out of his control occurred. My session? It went really well. Glory be to the Father...

The Big Four

Yesterday Aleya reached the four year old milestone. We also disposed of her Binky. Much to old in our opinion... She woke up this morning and said I didn't sleep any last night! We know that isn't true but I am sure she feels that way.
We feel so very blessed to have her in our family and we thank God for his wisdom and planning in placing her in our home.

Bearskin Lake

Sonny and his family spent 4 years at Bearskin Lake in the mid to late 80's (I think). Anyway. a lady died and they felt they should go to the funeral. So they left Sunday morning at 7 and arrived at Sioux Lookout around noon on Monday. They were surprised to find a charter flight to take them out to Bearskin Lake. This flight was paid for by the natives at Bearskin Lake. They had Sonny & Ruth were coming and this was how they responded. My first thought was this: The native people have a lot of respect for Sonny. Why else would they do this. Their flight back to Sioux was paid for as well. Amazing. I am pleased they could go and I am pleased he is my pastor...

Quartet Retreat

I have just finished my topic notes. I have sent it to my editors, again. I feel fairly good about it. I need to familiarize myself with my notes. I have been told the response for the weekend is still rather weak. So, if you need something to do this weekend come and join us. Here is a schedule
QUARTET ENHANCEMENT WEEKEND
Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute
Led by Voice of Praise, Gladys, VA
September 29 - 30, 2007

Saturday, September 29 8:00 a.m. Registration/Get Acquainted
9:00 Mass male Choir Practice - Rich Denlinger
10:30 Brunch
11:30 Workshop - Foundations of a Quartet
1:00 p.m. Break
1:15 Workshop - Balancing Music Ministry With Life
2:45 Break
3:00 Mass Male Choir Practice
4:30 Supper
5:30 Mass Male Choir Practice
6:30 Break
7:00 Quartet Analysis - Each quartet will present a selection for critique
Sunday, September 30 8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Serve-yourself Breakfast
10:00 Singing and Devotions
10:30 Finding a Balance Between Musical Excellence and Worship - Glen Zehr
12:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00 Mass Male Chorus & Quartet Program - One or two selections by each quartet and several by the mass chorus

Workshops
Foundations of a Quartet - Dave Gingerich
Music selection, practice tips, and program etiquette

Balancing Music Ministry with Life - Kelvin Good
Finding a balance between the ministry of your quartet and family, church and work. How much time are you able to take off from work?" How does your wife deal with the children or life while you are not present? How do you balance your ability to teach Sunday School or participate in church activities when you need to spend some of that time preparing for programs and singing?

Quartet Weekend Registration Form
Name ___________________________________________________________

Phone _______________________

Address__________________________________________________________________

No. Attending ______

City _______________________________ State ________ Zip _________

Email ____________________________

Please indicate the number for each meal: Sat. Sat. Sun. Sun.
_____ Brunch _____ Supper _____ Breakfast _____ Lunch

Accommodations:
_____ I/We will have camper, motor home, etc.
_____ I//we desire lodging at SMBI (limited availability)
_____ I/We will make our own motel reservations

Motel Listings: Some of these motels may give discounted rates if you mention your involvement with SMBI.
Best Western Plaza Motor Lodge, Breezewood (814) 735-4352
Gateway Restaurant & Motel, Breezewood (814) 735-4011
Ramada Inn, Breezewood (814) 735-4005
Econo Lodge, Breezewood (814) 735-4341
Heritage Inn, Breezewood (814) 735-2200
Quality Inn/Breeze Manor, Breezewood (814) 735-4311
Please return this form to SMBI, 7304 Lincoln Hwy., Harrisonville, PA 17228. If you have any questions please call 717-485-4341.

Farmer Boy (II)

Here Kyle is gleaning wisdom from Sonny on proper dalf feeding technique. Actually, he is wondering how many cows he and Sonny had milked before Jon Alan showed up.

Farmer Boy

Kyle was in his glory. He loved helping milk. He slipped and fell while scraping with a hand scraper. I asked him if it made him mad and he said Yes!

Yard Sale

Had another yard sale today. This one was the busiest one we have had. It was a lovely day. However, by the time we were cleaning up it was very hot. We arrived at the yard sale premises with 30 some odd boxes and returned home with 10-11 so we moved a lot of stuff...

Exhaustion

My, oh my. It has been a very tiring week. I have slept like the dead every night. I wake up tired at 4 in the morning. I wake up tired from my nap. I am wore out in the evening. I told Sonny I didn't realize spreading ash would be so tiring. He said the W9 would wear any body out. The thing is a beast to drive. I would say we had a very good week. Covered close to 100 acres. Maybe that is why I am so tired.

Mote Removed

When I got up from my nap this morning Sierra went dashing off to the kitchen. She returned with a cloth diaper. On this diaper was a big speck of dirt. My wife took this diaper and wiped the dirt off of the lid. I am amazed at how quickly the eye heals. Tonight the redness is almost gone and it isn't swollen....

Mote In The Eye

Sierra and Kyle were tree climbing the other evening. Sierra was watching Kyle get down out of the tree and some bark dust got lodged in her eye. We were sure she had scratched the eye really bad and this was the cause of her very red eye. This evening we did a little more investigating and found a nice size piece of dirt lodged under her upper lid. We couldn't get it out so we will be taking her to the eye DR tomorrow. I am sure this will be a grand experience and will rank up their with the trips to the dentist...

Practice

We had our first practice tonight using the sound system and singing with a performance track. For those of you who don't know a performance track when a group sings with themselves. Anyway, it was great fun and I look forward to using it in our services. We will be able to sing songs that have up to 10 parts and we will have all the parts. It will be great. This means we will be able to sing some of Rumsey's stuff.

Fly Ash

We began spreading fly ash today. Truck worked really well. Tomorrow the vet comes so we have herd check in the morning. Hopefully Sonny will be able to keep the ash rig rolling. Lots to do yet this fall....

Weekend Activities

We just returned home from SMBI. Cliff graciously rent us the basement of his house for the weekend. Rachel's family was their. We met to swap children around. We had some of Rod's while Grandma had some of ours and Rod's. We now have all of our children and one of Rod's while Grandma has none. We had a really good weekend. Fri. evening or night we, the parents and aunt, stayed up till 1:30 talking. This was the last time I will see Rod and Christa before they leave for Mexico on Oct. the 4th or so.
Prayers for everyone would be appreciated.

Poll

I have a poll question for you in regards to VOP. We have been discussing for the last several years whether or not we should release a double CD set. This set would include the first two albums the group ever recorded. Quiet Understanding and Send The Light. So, my poll question is this. Would you be interested in having these albums available on CD?

Wal-Mart Parking

We stopped at Wal-Mart this evening. While we were loading up to leave I heard this horn begin to blow. It blew and blew and blew and blew and blew. We started the van and began to leave. I still heard the horn blowing, blowing and blowing. We turned down a lane to go to the exit and passed the vehicle with the blowing horn. It is still blowing and blowing and blowing. As we pass I notice their are two vehicles wanting the same spot. Apparently they arrived at the same time from two different directions. The lady driving the car had her foot on the steering wheel holding the horn. I couldn't believe it....
Must have had a bad day....

Quote

My wife was telling me about her adventures today. She was taking Sierra and Kassie to music class and a bug was on Jackson's car eat. This made Jackson very nervous and he starts to wail. Sierra was sure it was a bee and was going to sting him so she started screaming. After her scream Kassie decided to join the act. After they were done screaming and relaxed Sierra told Kassie I am sorry I screamed but I was Truly scared. Kassie responded I just thought he was going to die!

Heat

I don't know if I can remember a sept. that has been dominated by such heat. Today it was 96 degrees at 5:30 in the evening. I have been told the temperatures are suppose to be dropping by the middle of the week with highs topping off around 70. This would be much more better.

Pre-Quartet Retreat Jitters

Some of you are aware that we, VOP, are in charge of the quartet retreat at SMBI the last weekend of Sept. It has suddenly dawned upon me that I need to finish my talk here soon. When I think about this talk a knot begins to form in my stomach. I was told that not very many people have signed up for the retreat. In some ways this makes me glad and in other ways it doesn't. Glad because maybe I won't be so nervous. Sad because people don't want to come or something. Anyway, I may post my talk notes at a later date.

Sanctity Of Life

What does this mean to you? When you read the words, Sanctity Of Life, what do you think of?

Beavers

Sunday morning the girls and I walked to church. When we arrived at the bridge we noticed a beaver dam in the river. This evening we went for a truck ride and I stopped on top of the bridge to show all the people the dam. It was obvious the beavers had been at work. Their were more corn stalks from the neighboring field and many more sticks. Beavers are interesting creatures and maybe one day I will be stealthy enough to watch them work.

Lost & Found

Yesterday afternoon a heifer calved. I put her in the barn where the milking cows are housed and then went out to the pasture to get the milking cows in so I could start milking the cows. I glanced around trying to find the heifer but I never saw her. I assumed she was in the holding pen where I couldn't see her. Much to my dismay I discovered this was an inaccurate assumption. She was no where to be seen. I looked everywhere I could think of. Out in the pasture, in the manure pit, and back in the pre-fresh group but to no avail. I had given up and decided she would show up sometime in the near future looking for her calf. Sonny, however, went and looked at the one place I hadn't and their she was. We have two manure pits. From the upper pit to the lower pit their is a 10-15 foot drop. Well, she had slid down the 10-15 foot bank and was in the lower pit where I couldn't see her. She was unhurt and was placed back in the milking herd.

Laborless Day

Today I did very little. I milked this morning. I dried off 10 cows which made milking take much longer than normal. I then slept till 10:30 or so before sitting around and reading. I enjoyed my day.

Southern Gospel

I found a southern gospel station the other day, JOY FM 106.6. I am not a big southern gospel fan but I did enjoy listening to the songs for a little while. Something did catch my attention and I found it very fascinating. Someone was doing a show and they were interviewing someone. (I can't remember his name.) He is a pianist and is blind. He was born blind. He made the statement that he can listen to a song one time and then play it. He said that sometimes he will need to listen to it twice to get the more intricate things. This man plays on Bill Gaither's homecoming concerts as well as for another group. Can anyone tell me his name? I would like to do a little Internet research and see some more information on this gentleman. God has given him an incredible gift of memory.

Finished

Well, we finished the sorry corn. Trench is covered. We are done. I feel good. I feel great. From my head to my feet. Okay that is enough....

Ear Plugs

I used to never wear ear plugs. In the last five years I have been trying to stuff them in my ears whenever I would be sitting on the tractor for hours at a time, like chopping. For my birthday this year my wife bought me one of those headset kind of ear plugs. They are so nice. It is so much quieter then the ear plugs. Plus now I can listen to the radio which helps pass the time... Yesterday I started chopping about 8:30 and quit about 6:00. This is so sad... In that amount of time I covered about 40 acres and had maybe 10 loads to show for it. It may have been closer to 15.
Back to the ear plugs. I have had lots of trouble with my ears in the past. The last thing I need or want to do is ruin what I have left. I have enough trouble singing and hearing certain pitches now so I intend to not make it worse...

Another Milestone

I have reached another milestone. This past Sat. I increased in age by one. It is something. I am amazed how old I feel at times. Poor memory, no stamina, can't take the heat, weary, creaky bones, sore muscles. Why is this? I thought people in their mid 30's were suppose to be in the prime of life? The struggle to survive, pay the bills, love your family, relate to the church in a positive way, be a good boss, relate to extended family. How is this suppose to all work without producing a sever depression? Funny, I don't feel depressed at the moment and depression isn't one of things I struggle with daily. Their are times when I wonder if this is really the way it should be. The world we live in has made it easy to be anywhere in the world with ease (somewhat). It is easy to be very busy... Having said all of that I was thinking this morning I can't think of another occupation I would rather have then dairy farming. Sounds crazy I know.... What a rambling post...

Mechanical Difficulties

We have begun chopping again. We are cutting some really sorry stuff. So far we are getting a load every 2 acres or something. Makes me wonder if it is really worth doing. Anyway, I digress, yesterday I noticed smoke coming from the chopper. This, obviously, means something is rubbing something else and it shouldn't be doing this thing. So I found the offending bearing and pumped a bunch of grease into it deepest parts. Today, it started smoking again, it must have needed the nicotine. This time we discovered a few other problems. This bearing is on the main shaft that is rotating the knives. We noticed some of the knives had been rubbing on something and we naturally assumed it was the sheer-bar. So I got down on one knee and peered through the debris and discovered the knives were a long way from the sheer-bar. This lead to the 2x4 wobble test. We placed the 2x4 in a strategic prying spot and were able to determine that the shaft was moving up down and every which way. This confirmed our worst fears. The bearing was shot, BANG!!! So we tore it apart and were happy nothing else got tore apart before we tore it apart. (Do you know what I mean?) I called my trusty John Deere dealer and discovered they didn't have the part in stock. It is suppose to be their by 8:00 in the morning. Time will tell... Just so you know, I spent four hours today fighting with a dump wagon flat....

Luck

In my last post I wondered if I should use the word luck. We use it so casually or something. Is their such a thing as luck??? Maybe it depends on what you are referring to. If you are playing the lottery or something you would be lucky to win I guess... What is your take on luck? Do you take luck?

Home Again

Made it home roughly 30 min. ago. IT is so great to come home and know you were missed and loved... Tomorrow it is back to the grind of daily life. Wish me luck...

The Wedding

What a beautiful wedding. Here are some facts. The bridal party consisted of Dave's children and their spouses. Roy Ulrich read scripture for the processional. I really liked this. I thought it was very unique. The recessional was a congregational song which Dave started, I think. This is also the first Mennonite wedding I have attended where clapping occurred after the couple was announced. Maybe this is common in other Mennonite circles but I was unfamiliar with it. It did feel like the appropriate thing to do. I was impressed with several things.
1. The children made a statement to Dave and Alice in the ceremony of their commitment to them.
2. Alice's desire to allow Roz's memory to live.
3. Dave's firm resolve to make this marriage a success. This is what impressed me the most and here is why. Most people who get married are very young and glib and don't know what they are getting into. Dave understands because he has been married, (For those of you who don't know the facts: Dave's first wife passed away 2 years ago.) he knows some of the struggles. However, he will be facing new challenges as he leads his family. May God give him wisdom...

Travels

After much struggle with vehicles and such we left the greater Lynchburg area around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. Our arrival at the Faith Builder complex occurred about 1:30 AM. We, VOP, will be going to the church to rehearse here in a few minuets. Dave Gingerich's wedding is suppose to begin at 1:00 this afternoon. We will be singing around 8 songs. Kelvin Good (former member) will be helping on two of the songs. Dave knows millions of people and I am somewhat surprised to be singing at his wedding.
We will be leaving tomorrow for Shippingsburg, PA and the New Hope Mennonite church.

Quote Part II

In response to Aleya's question I wanted to tell her Jesus does have toys and I am one of them. He does whatever, whenever. He can play with my life. I didn't tell her that. In fact, I DON'T believe that. However their are times I have my doubts and wonder....
Do you?

Quotes

Aleya wonders
Does Jesus have toys?

Family Devotions

What do you do for family devotions? How do you have family devotions that will interest 2,4,and6 year old children?

Amazed

About two weeks ago we were handed a check from our Deacon for $14,000. An anonymous person wanted to help pay our adoption expenses. Quite frankly, I am still speechless. How do you thank someone for such a gift?

More Stuff

First, Sonny got sick and was unable to fly until this morning. They will be gone until wed. evening. VOP participated in a wedding today in Harrisonburg. Eric Heatwhole married Ruth Showalter. Very lovely, simple wedding.
Next week will find us involved in another wedding in Guys Mills PA. Dave Gingerich is getting married. The wedding is on Fri afternoon so we will be leaving Thursday afternoon sometime. We will then be doing a weekend tour. Stopping at New Hope Mennonite in Shippingsburg PA Sat. evening. We will be in Harrisungburg Sunday morning at Morning View Mennonite. Sunday evening we will be at Rivermont Presbyterian.

Stuff

Sonny and Ruth are on their way to the airport in Greensboro NC. They are flying to LA to visit some friends. They will be gone till the middle of next week. Sonny threw up this morning but as far as I know they are still leaving today. So I got chores this afternoon and then practice tonight for a wedding we are singing at on Sat. in Harrisonburg. It is 91 degrees outside and is suppose to top off at 99. Man that is to hot...

Book Two

You probably are not aware of this fact so I will fill you in. Rachel's mother has published another book. This is book two in the Cozy Homespun Series. I was privileged to be an editor which to some of you will come as a major shock. You know how well I write and how terrible my english is.
So if you are interested in a book for your children that talks about the life of three little girls let us know.

Sierra

You know, it is hard to post when some one is reading what you are posting as you are posting. Sierra is sitting here waiting to play Phase 10. So she is constantly quizzing me on what I am going to post on. I respond to her in truth and tell her I really have no idea. She wonders if I am going to write about something funny that happened today. I inform her I am not sure if anything that happened today was funny. So I guess you are reading something that is really boring and has no eternal value. Or does it?

Jayden

Jayden noticed us big people propping up our feet when we were sitting around the fire. This was his reaction. He thought he was cool...

Men

Kyle enjoyed the manly discussions...
Or not...

Again

Don't know what they are doing here except for paying in the dirt. I think the stones were their dolls.

Girls

These girls were really something... Here Lyssa is the kitty and Leya is petting her...
They played and played and played. No fusses for them. Well their was one but that is it....