These last few weeks have been busy for our family, but you have probably already come to that conclusion, due to the lack of new posts on our blog. The last several posts have been large updates after a few weeks of silence here on the blog, and this post is no exception!
Dad's last day of school was last Thursday, and he begins his classes (he's working on his Master's Degree) in Kansas City next week, so this in-between week finds him working on projects here at home and logging hours at the factory in Seneca. Seth work schedule increases as the days grow longer, but Noah is 8-5, so he is home in the evenings!! :) The garden is a busy place, with Noah planting and watering and the rest of us helping with weeding or harvesting as needed. We've enjoyed asparagus and spinach so far, and we're looking forward to the other tasty vegetables Noah's growing for us!! Our peach trees are doing fabulously well, so it looks like we'll be getting peaches this year!! The chicken business is also underway, we've several hundred little chickens on the place now, and it won't be too long before we're butchering again!! In the past few days we've received quite a lot of rain (a nearby town had 4 inches in just 2 hours!) which has caused a lot of flooding, but up here on our hill, things are just getting greener and growing faster!!
Our home-school group had a program celebrating the achievements of their students this past school year and Elizabeth thru Phoebe participated.
Phoebe recited Psalms 1, which she had memorized; she did a fabulous job!
Charity accompanying us while we sing!
Singing!
Sheila and Elizabeth played a duet on their violins.
Hauling Branches!
Some of us were able to head North for a friends' graduation party last Sunday. We had a wonderful afternoon of fellowship and games outside!! Here some youngsters engage in a lively game of football!
June 24th will be a big day for our family as we say farewell to Noah for most of the summer!He'll be traveling with
friends, and staying in China for about seven weeks. God opened up an amazing opportunity for him to go to China and teach English in a University. Our dear friend has spent a considerable ammount of time in China, and played a huge role in helping arrange the trip for the. We're so excited to see how God uses him, but we're not quite sure what we'll do without him!! Please keep him in your prayers, he will be gone from June 24th to August 18th! Hopefully we'll have a couple updates for you throughout the summer! :)
We have a wonderful Mommy!
We were thrilled to keep Paul and Marcus for two days when Scott and Lydia made a quick trip to Ellsworth to look at housing options. With their move approaching quickly, we're thrilled with every chance we get to spend time with the boys!
Auntie Phoebe reading to Silas and Paul!
Paul comes up with the most original looks!
Marcus and Auntie Esther!
Run to Papa!
One of the big projects we'll be tackling this summer is building a new shed to house the horses, calves, chickens and any other animals we might have. Right now we are in the process of tearing down and moving the old building to make way for the new one.
Before we started working.....
Now!!! As you can see, the building is fast coming down. Our hard workers spent just a few hours on it, and got a lot done!!
Demolition begins!
Removing nails.....
Noah's hard work in the garden is beginning to produce fruit!! We are enjoying an abundance of fresh spinach!!! We've discovered that while we all love fresh spinach, cooked spinach is a whole different story! Esther cooked up a large batch of creamed spinach one day......she loved it, but it was the first thing she has ever made that we didn't want to eat!! :)
We were thrilled to attend a puppet show by Miss Matea and Miss Kellie!! They made all their puppets, back-drops, and memorized the script!! Great job girls!
Scott and Lydia's
move will take them from the country, to the middle of town; so we're going to raise their two beef steers here on the farm. They are still pretty little yet, and just the right size for Silas to enjoy playing with!
Silas with his little friend.
Stay tuned for more updates coming soon! :)
Before they headed out on the expedition!
A slight warning of what lay ahead!
Trail breakers!
Mud up to your ankles..
"Oh yeah folks, we're getting muddy!!" :)
Exploring!
"Whew, there's a lot of mud out here!"
"What can we do with all this mud?!?!
The clay walls of the canyon made a perfect slide once they got wet. They built a dam to pool the water into, and you can imagine what they did with it. :)
Waiting for their turns.
Poor Silas got too cold in the water! 
It's what you call a mud pit!
The whole muddy crew!!
"It's cold and muddy down here-- so much fun!!"
Working to repair the dam.
Go Katy!
The bigger they are, the bigger the splash!
Watch out!!!
Moses!
"How many of us can slide down simultaneously??!?!"
Shivering and smiling!
"This is way fun!!" :)
Using boots to transport water to wet down the slide.
Mud, Mud, Mud........
and more mud!!
That's Noah in that cloud of muddy water!
Looks like this little boy is enjoying it!
" Never, never, never let your friends style your hair!!"
"Let get you all cleaned up (surprise attack with the hose)!!" 
Waiting for their turn with the shower! 
Initial clean-up.
Brrrrr!! 
Scrubbing clothes....
After they got home-- thoroughly muddy! 
