In Loving Memory.

"For every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die........."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 Raymond Douglass Easton - "Red"
October 14th, 1920 - May 27th, 2006


On Saturday, we lost our Grandpa (Dad's step-dad). He was a very special person to us all, and his death has been a hard blow. His health has been decreasing over the past few years, struggles with cancer and diabetes all have taken their toll on him. After having a knee replaced in 2002, he became mostly immobile, and things have gone down-hill from there.
In the past 6 months it seems like his health had become worse and worse. On Tuesday last week, he was admitted to the hospital for breathing problems. He stayed in the hospital until Friday night, when he went home with oxygen. Saturday afternoon, he became restless and shortly after 2:00, he passed away. He went quickly, with no long or drawn out pain.
Uncle George and Aunt Nancy (Grandma's brother + sister-in-law) were up for the week-end, so were able to be with Grandma. It was such a blessing, and deffinetely God's hand that had them there. Grandma could have been alone, and suffered from the tremendous list of "what ifs", but with Uncle George & Aunt Nancy there, they were able to give CPR, and do everything possible.
Grandpa was home for his last night, which is exactly what he wanted. He didn't like being in the hospital. His 4 children, Doug (Kansas), Victoria (California), Steve (Colorado), and Barbara (Nebraska) had all been to see him just a week and 1/2 before.
The Lord has truly been our strength this week-end. We had been planning and preparing for weeks for this week-end, with a schedule packed so tight you would not believe it! And everything was going to get set into motions at 2:00, Saturday afternoon. So exactly as our company arrived, we got the phone call saying that Grandpa was gone. What a blow!!!
The Lord gave us such grace and strength. Andrew and Rebecca had planned to come up Sunday and Monday, and were able to stay for the funeral this morning.
We will miss Grandpa. The birthday cakes, the card games, the hugs, the deer hunts, the tractor rides and the moments when he would read to Silas or Phoebe. Grandpa was a one-of-a-kind man, He has left a lot of memories that we can cherish.
Please hold our family up in prayer as we grieve the loss of Grandpa. Also pray that we can be there for Grandma when she needs us.
(Note; Please pray especially for Esther, for it has been hardest on her.) 

Happy Birthday Uncle Drew!!!

Happy Birthday-Uncle Drew (and Catie)!!!
We love you!!!!!! :)

To view your birthday video; see link below!
http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=C5756A4F6F26F35A

Reflections from the Star!

We are all so happy for our Elizabeth. The past couple of months she has discovered how well she can't see. In the past she would comment how she couldn't see a sign or a pictures from afar. Dad and Mom decided it best to have her eyes checked and they revealed her need for glasses. She got her glasses ordered last week.
We all think they look great on her!! They make her look just as cute as always!!! We think that they look like she has always worn them; don't you agree??
Even though Elizabeth never says anything about her self here on our blog, I thought it would be great if I took a couple moments to say a few things about her to you all. She is such a blessing to our family. Even though you never see pictures of her on the blog of butchering chickens, in the mud or having fun, she is always there working faithfully right along side us. Thank-you Elizabeth for your sweet spirit in our home!!
For My Dearest Friend and Sister,
I Love You!
The Star*

Sister and Best Friend- both words mean you!!

*Other wise known as Esther. 

Friends......

These past two days we were blessed by a visit from our friends, the Sarensens. Although Mr. Sarensen could not be with us, we enjoyed fellowshipping with Mrs. Sarensen and the girls.
It is such a blessing to have such wonderful friends!!! Come Again!!! :)
Some shots from the visit;
Mrs. Sarensen and Mom take a break after a busy morning!


Bryant and Silas!!!


Micah-Noel delighting us with some piano music!!! 

Home Construction Projects.

This week-end Dad has been working on getting the feed shed tight so that we can start getting chicken grain in bulk. It is cheaper (and also they deliver it!) to get it in 3 or 4 tons then to get a couple of feed sacks. The delivery truck will come tomorrow, so Dad is closing up all entrances to the feed shed and making a hole in the roof so that the feed chute can pour grain through the top. Dad peeking through his hole in the roof.


A hole in your roof is usually not a good thing, except in our case! :)


A shot from inside, Dad sitting on a crate suspended on two rafters while he saws away on the opening. 

Butchering Season Has Begun!!!

This past week we officially launched into our butchering season. Our first chicks were big enough to be dressed, so we cleared the schedule, and tacked down the first day of butchering on Thursday, May 18th.
The first batch of chicks were sickly from day 1, and only got worse as they got older. About 30 of the original 120 chicks we ordered died within the first 24 hours.......and another 30 didn't make it to the butchering table, but dropped off one by one every other day or so. This was something that had never happened to us in 10+ years of raising broilers! The broilers always had plenty of water and feed and warmth and didn't suffer from heat exhaustion. We contacted the hatchery after the initial loss and they were very agreeable and refunded us for most of the ones that died.
Anyway, the survivors of that first batch were rounded up and penned up bright and early Thursday morning and we headed up the butchering chores at 10:00.
The year didn't exactly get off to a terrific start, while removing the head from the second chicken, Moses cut his hand-not badly, but enough to keep him from using his hand for the rest of the day-. We missed his help!!
But other then that, the first day went well, although we were all a little rusty from not butchering for 7 months! :) We had a little bit of trouble with the water temperature, which resulted in some skin tearing on a few birds.
Below are some pictures from the day.



The chickens waiting to be butchered.


Tabitha is our head plucker!


Esther does a fantastic job gutting the birds.


Noah kills the birds, scalds them, helps pluck and fills in where needed!!!

Update on Seth.

Thank-you for your prayers for Seth's ankle. It is now almost fully recovered - he tested it out playing volleyball at a friends graduation :) - and the swelling is gone down completely! PTL!!! :)
We have enjoyed having him around the house a little more, both from rain days and from his sprained ankle. While he was home, he took the time to install two new windows and replace the front porch screen door!!! Thanks Seth!! (And Grandma!!) :)
 

Happy Mother's Day....................

..................to the Best Mother Ever!!! :)

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, he praiseth her."
Prov. 31:28


Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!!! We love you!!!! Thank-you for being our Mommy!!!!!!!
Thank-you for always pointing us to Jesus, for always being supportive to Dad and always doing your best to meet each one of our needs!!
It is no easy task to be a Mother, and a grandmother-at the same time!!! How does some-one meet the needs of all her children with all their different needs?? From a 24-year-old married daughter to a 18-month-old son!!!!
Thank-you Mommy, for your sacrifices, for your example, your cheerful smiles and the special times you spend with each of us!!!!!
May God Bless You Each and Every Day!!! :)

Love,
Seth, Esther, Noah, Elizabeth, Tabitha, Moses, Micah, Charity, Phoebe + Silas!

Happy Birthday Uncle Dan!!!

In honor of Uncle Dan's big 50th birthday tomorrow (May 9th), we have recorded a special video!!
Happy Birthday Uncle Dan!!!!!!!!!!! :) We love you!!!!! :)
To view the video;
http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=FFA0FCEB6F555915

Caption Needed??

At Dad's suggestion, we are having a caption contest for our previous post; "You're Never Too Old for a Little Mud". If you have a caption for Esther's pictures; please comment. Our favorite will then be transfered to the post. Thank-you!!!

You're Never Too Old for a Little Mud!!! :)

Trying out some new type of skin treatment Esther?!?!?! :)



 

Elizabeth's Quilt.

This week I finally got around to taking pictures of the quilt I was able to make this winter, and thought I would share some.
I really enjoyed working on this quilt, and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I was really excited to learn how to quilt, and I had excellent teachers!! They showed me some of the quilts they sewed when they were much younger and it was amazing!!! :) The colors don't seem to show up so well here on the blog,
but at least you can't see all my sewing errors very well! :)


A close-up shot of one of the blocks. 

The Garden!

Yesterday I went out to take a few pictures of the garden. As you can see, Noah had just finished weeding this row. One of the 3 rows of beets. Beets are a favorite here at the Ulmer's, and we're all looking forward to when they are ready to harvest!


The onions are in front, with the peas in the middle and then more onions and some garlic in the back.


Cabbage plants!! Yum-Yum!!! :) 

Trying Again...........

Okay folks, until I get figured out what part of the URL is messing up transfering video clips onto here, I will just give you all the link. It might take a few minutes to load right at first, but it does load up fully. How fast it load might depend on how fast your computer is..........I hope you all can view it. Hopefully, I will get it all straightened out so that we can maybe put video clips on here on occasion. I will try and get it all figured out as I have time.
Awyway; HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aunt Dorie!!! :) We love you!!!!
The link to the video clip is; http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=E4B02EAA2A814BA2
Let me know how it turns out this time, and thank-you for your patience!!! :)

Testing

In Honor of our dear Aunt Dorie's birthday, we have the video clip to share. (You will find the clip in the next post, so scroll down.) Last night when I uploaded it, it wouldn't play through. I am thinking it might be my computer. If you stop by and see this, please leave feedback so I know if it works or not! Thank-you! Signing Off; I Remain;
Your Ulmer Family Reporter.
(I must be tired!)

Happy Birthday Aunt Dorie!

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=E4B02EAA2A814BA2
Trying to get it figured out.......................maybe this will work!

Home Life!

Moses, Micah and Charity working on Spanish translations.


Phoebe working on her alphabet sheets.
We are charging through the last few weeks of school here at the Ulmer home. Some are closer to Summer break then others, but in general, everyone is finishing up their last assignments.
We have 150-200 chicks coming every other week now, and already have two batches (4 weeks and 2 weeks old) in pens and one batch still in the brooder coop (1 week). We are scheduled to begin butchering around the end of May. We will butcher the last of the spring batches (hopefully) in mid July. Because of the intense heat we have in August, the birds don't grow well so we are skipping that month. We'll do 2-4 more batches in September, and finish butchering around the beginning of October. Our total for this year will probably fall in the 600-800 range as we aren't doing quite as many as we did last year.
Besides butchering chickens, we are also in the process of nailing down a date for butchering our 2nd steer, James. His companion, Thomas, was butchered over Thanksgiving '05 and has provided our table with yummy beef. James is headed for slaughter sometime this month or the next month.
Please pray for Seth. After letting his ankle rest for 3 days, he felt able to walk on it enough to go to work. He returned Tuesday and Wednesday without incident. This morning while helping to move a heavy piece of equipment, his foot slid out and he re-sprained his ankle. He came home and has it on ice again. It is very black and blue and feels horrible. Please pray for a swift recovery. Thank-you!! 

Thanks to the hard work of a friend (thank-you, Austin!!), we now have our computer repaired and back here at home for daily use. It is so nice to have it working for emails and such, and it makes posting on the blog really easy now too! :)

Things are keeping busy around the Ulmer house. Seth was playing basketball with some home-school friends Friday night and sprained his ankle. It kept him pretty still for the week-end, but it must be feeling better today because he spent the afternoon fixing the lawn mower and then mowing the yard (which needed to be mowed badly)!!! Tomorrow he hopes to return to work, if he can move around on it enough. It was wonderful to have him around the house a little more this week-end, and today.
We had a lovely day on Sunday with our friends the Edelmans coming over for home-church and lunch. The Ansons joined us too, and we had a great time of fellowship.
Scott and Lydia stayed for supper with us, and we had one of those fun family meal-time conversations. You know how it goes; you are all just talking about the weather and the upcoming week and then some one makes a comment and then the conversation is suddenly on what would happen if your eyes were on each shoulder instead of on your head.........:)

Dad is getting down to the last 3 weeks of the term at the school where he teaches. It is hard to believe the school year went that fast!!!
We'll keep you updated. Now that the computer is back, we'll be able to post more often.
Signing Off.

Little Man; Big Feet!! :)