Memorable Musings

Thanks Elizabeth

2012-02-16T15:20:00.003-06:00

Before all of our faithful followers, we would like to acknowledge the great job Elizabeth has done over the last five years blogging for us. Thanks Elizabeth!

We'd like to anounce the creation of our new blog: http://www.michaelulmerfamily.blogspot.com/ This family blog will now be shared by our up-and-coming photo journalist/journalist, Charity.

Marcus' Birthday Party!!

2011-04-28T22:02:00.005-05:00

Marcus turned 4 back in February, but when I sat down to post tonight, I couldn't skip these pictures. They are too cute not to post, even if they are almost 3 months old!

The plan was to celebrate his birthday at home, but when Pauly came down with the flu, we had to move the celebration to Pizza Hut.

Praying-- may God shape you into a godly man!!

Aunt Phoebe & Marcus.

Time for presents!

Cowboys & Indians!!

"Now my head will be warm!!"

What could it be??!?!?

Aunt Charity & Philip.

(And a turtle!)

Marcus was enthralled with his dragon costume!!

Examining his tail.

Marcus loves 'sea creatures' and animals of all sorts.

Aunt Elizabeth & Marcus.

Marcus with Papa & Nana!!

Happy Birthday Marcus! Enjoy being 4!

We love you!

Four to Florida.

2011-04-22T22:32:00.000-05:00

Being a child in a large family means that you always have someone to play with.

Being an adult in a large family means your best friends are related to you.

In March Seth, Noah, Tabitha & I took a week-long trip to Florida! We had an exceptionally great time, and the trip was so much fun!! We decided to drive instead of flying, so some of the best memories of the trip were made during the 48 hour round trip. Listening to music, debating about fashion, praying together, laughing, experiencing new food, bantering about the other cars on the road, the list could go on and on!!

When we arrived in Florida, we were greeted by our Uncle Dan & Aunt Sara, our cousin Jessica, her husband James and their son Jacob. This was the first time we got to meet Jacob!

Tabitha & Jacob.

Seth & Elizabeth

Seth & Jacob.

While staying with the Homans we enjoyed visiting Rainbow Springs Park. It was a beautiful spot!! We wanted to rent kayaks, but they weren't available, so Jessica and James brought their inflatable raft. It was an adventure!
Rainbow Springs.

James, Jessica & Jacob!

Walking through the park.

Seth & James

Rowing.

Tabitha & Noah's turn.

Jessica & I.

Uncle Dan & James.

Seth & Tabitha

On the dock!

Group snapshot!

One of the main reasons for our trip was to attend the wedding of Kori Knuth & Andrew Wissmann. The Wissmanns are long-time friends, and we knew Kori because she was one of the 3 girls that went to China with Noah in 2008.

At the wedding.

Tabitha & I

Friends from home!

Andrew & Kori's first dance.

Lighting the sparklers.

Time to leave!!

Our last two days in Florida we got to spend with our cousin Bethany and her husband Adam.

Lunch at the beach!

Toes in the sand........

There were many other special moments of our trip that we didn't capture; breakfasts at Ihop (complete with $3.60 glasses of orange juice without free refills), mini-golf with Adam & Bethany (72 holes, to be precise), the cadillac dealership, the hotel with wet carpets, the Mall at Millenia (with Tabitha's 20-minutes hamburger), bumper-cars, the fellowship between siblings.

Seasons change, and friends will move in and out of your life- but your family will always be your family! If there are any relationships you invest in-- invest in your siblings! They are the ones who know the jokes you told when you were 9, they will stop at Golden Corrall just for you at 9pm, they remember that you hate pickles, they know that you will pack the most clothes, so they will bring a smaller suitcase to accomodate you!

Be grateful for the siblings God gave you-- they are the BEST!

2011-04-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

Fun times with friends...............thanks for having us, Sarensens!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

2011-04-17T21:15:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy!! We Love You! (April 13th)

Touring the Capitol!!

2011-04-17T16:11:00.016-05:00

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to tour the State Capitol with the Kroekers and the Beckmans!! They had been planning the trip, and when they called us up, we miraculously had the day free! Yay!

This was the first time for the youngest 4 to ever visit the Capitol. Moses recently served as a page for our Representative, so he had lots of neat things to point out, and stories from his experience!! Caroline, Katy, Charity & Karly.

Three different photos from 3 different angles.

In the Chamber of the House of Representatives.

Senate Chamber

Lots and lots of lights!

Susanna

Silas

Phoebe

Karly

Dad & Mom were taking a 3-day date, so it was just a crew of us children!! Fun times!

Kelsey & Elizabeth

Micah, Moses, Eric & Kyle

Walking through the underground tunnel!

Mark & Andrea

The whole group!!

Fun in the Snow!!

2011-02-08T21:39:00.001-06:00

Micah & Esther Nelson- September 4th 2010

2010-12-30T21:58:00.005-06:00

Finally............the long awaited wedding post!! :)

Photos by Bethany Beasley and Anna Rehm.

Micah and Esther's whirlwind romance was a joy to be a part of. It was a treasure to see the

Lord draw their hearts together and knit them together as one. As their friendship and commitment deepened, we all began the excited preparations for their wedding-- September 4th, 2010!!

Micah asked Esther to marry him on July 7th, so the wedding fell into place in just a few weeks. The main priority was to glorify the Lord, and this couple spared no effort to keep Christ the #1 focus of their relationship and wedding. The presence of the Lord was evident as He saw His children become one.

Seth was the one to escort Esther to the church that morning. For years, Seth has been the ultimate older brother- Esther's protector, confidant and buddy. From playing playmobile together to getting her to the church on time, Seth has been there every step of the way. It was a bittersweet moment for him to escort her for the very last time.

Esther's new sister-in-laws arranged Esther's hair. They did a beautiful job!!

One minute we were tiny girls playing dolls together on the porch, and now, I'm watching her get married. The memories.........the good times.........the excitement to see her marry the man of her dreams.

Finishing touches.............but her mind's not really on her dress!! In just moments, she gets to see Micah!! :)

Noah and his two best friends.

::The ceremony::

Daddy gives his daughter away.

Micah & Esther saved their first kiss for their wedding!

We're married!!! :)

Mr. & Mrs. Micah Paul Nelson!

Neither Micah or Esther are big cake eaters-- but they are both big on icecream!! Their wedding was one-of-a-kind with icecream sundaes!!

Time to say goodbye!

The getaway limo........off to happily ever after!!

Since that blessed day, this couple has continued to fall even more in love. They are settled in Omaha, Nebraska and are the cutest couple you ever did see.

We love you, Mr. & Mrs. Nelson!

(My apologies for this dreafully over-due post!! I don't typically make many New Year's Resolutions, but I did make a few this year-- and one of them pertained to blogging. :) I don't expect to win the best blogger of the year award, but hopefully 2011 will hold a few more posts!)

Merry Christmas.......

2010-12-25T16:22:00.002-06:00

....from our family to yours!!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David; a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

::Sisters::

2010-11-27T22:10:00.003-06:00

Apple Cider Day!!

2010-10-31T13:42:00.002-05:00

What greater use for an apple to serve then to be turned into cider??? While we enjoy using apples in a variety of ways, one of our favorites is in apple cider!! It's almost more fun to make the cider then to drink it!

It is a wonderful job for a cool fall morning; crisp apples turned into sweet tangy cider! Mmmm!!!

How many bushels of apples??

Pressing the apples.

Multi-tasking!

What is left from the apples once they have been pressed.

Micah did the most of the cranking, churning up bucket after bucket!! You could almost see his muscles growing while he worked. Way to go, bud!

Loading the apples into the press.

Mmmmm......

Pouring it into jugs.

Lots of laughter-- this hardly feels like work!

The finished product!! Gallons and gallons of cider waiting to be frozen!

In the Apple Orchard.

2010-10-20T21:43:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, we would make an annual trip to a beautiful apple orchard in Wathena KS. We'd load up our 15 passenger van with a multitude of boxes, the diaper bag for the baby and plenty of books for the almost 2 hour drive. Our outing usually fell on a week day so it was in Mom's hands to escort us there and oversee picking the apples. It was in the midst of the years when the Lord was adding to our family every year and there was always a baby. It was no small task to keep all of us children together, let alone on task!! But the reward of an entire apple ALL to ourselves to eat when we were done picking kept us busy filling boxes with crisp red-delicious, tart jonathan and best of all-- golden delicious!!

I remember walking beneath the endless rows and rows of trees as we found the varieties of apples we liked best. The apples still on the tree were worth considerably more, so we picked the nearly perfect windfalls littering the ground. After a full afternoon of picking, it was wrestling the heavy boxes into the van for the drive home; but only after each of us had carefully selected our own perfect apple to snack on. It was a sneaky trick to tilt yourself in the van seat in order to keep your feet up off the open boxes of fresh fruit.

Every year as fall arrives I remember those crisp, perfect autumn days. They remain some of my favorite memories of my childhood. It's been countless years now since we've been back to that Orchard, but picking apples in the fall is still a favorite activity in our family!!

We are now blessed to have apples available locally through friends. It has become a new fun tradition to pick apples with them, and enjoy the apples together!

This year with busy schedules it was a quick morning picking before a storm hit!!

Silas carefully explains to me how to accurately detect if an apple is ripe. "The seeds, those brown things in the middle (I'm not going to touch them, because they look yucky), yes, those seeds in the middle of the apple, they, they will turn brown when the apple is ripe. But you can't see the seeds from the outside of the apple, because apple coats are red; so you can't see through it. So you have to step on the apple really hard, like me, 'cause I've got good boots to step on ripe apples, and then you step on it until it breaks in half and then you can tell what color the seeds are. And if they are brown seeds, I, I, I don't know what color seeds are when they aren't ripe, but they turn brown when they are ripe. And see this apple has brown seeds, so it's a ripe apple, and it would be good to eat. Except I stepped on it, and now it's dirty, so we have to find another apple that I don't step on. Do you understand now?"
:)

Happy Birthday!!

2010-10-19T15:05:00.002-05:00

Happy 6th Birthday, Silas!!!

What a happy day, 6 years ago that we welcomed little Silas into our family!!

We are so gratefull for Silas; for his tender heart, his eagerness to know and hear from God, and his precious smile!!

Silas; may God bless you with many years to serve Him!!

We love you little man!!

A Sister for Justice!!

2010-10-10T20:39:00.004-05:00

This fall brought the arrival of Andrew & Rebecca's second child! They did not know if they were having a boy or a girl, so there was a lot of excitement as we waited for this newest addition!! Would this be nephew #6, or our first niece?!?!?!
At the wedding I snapped a few pictures of Rebecca; she looked adorable!!

Introducing:

Felicity Anne Shepard
9lbs, 14ozs--- 21 inches long

September 19th, 2010

The Shepard Family.

(More pictures to follow!)

2010-09-25T21:26:00.002-05:00

::Micah & Esther Engagement Shoot::

2010-09-10T17:11:00.003-05:00

::Caution::

The following couple is excessively cute. You may find yourself unable to say anything except "awwwww". Proceed at your own risk. :)

A few snapshots from Esther & Micah's engagement shoot. Favorites, anyone?!?!

Summer 2010!

2010-09-09T21:35:00.005-05:00

I'm catching my breath this week and looking back with wonder over the past weeks. Summer has come and gone and our blog has been utterly silent! It's hard to quote to you just what has been preventing me from updating our blog, but let's suffice it to say; we've been busy.

I've contemplated which method to utilize in order to re-cap the summer and I decided to cram it all into one long post.

For the past 2 years we've alluded more than once to the fact that we were treasuring the time we had together with the 12 of us home together. We knew that God had big things on the horizon and changes for our family, so we purposed to enjoy the season to the fullest!

God brought two big changes to our home within a week!!

Our summer began with the beginning of Esther & Micah's courtship!! It was a delight to observe the leading of the Lord in their lives. You can't imagine just how far up on Cloud 9 this couple was!!

At the same time, God provided land for Seth!! Seth has been searching for land in our local area for over 5 years and has spent this time saving to purchase the land debt-free. God provided a chunk of land for him only 12 miles from our home so we are thrilled to have him close by!! His property needs quite a bit of work, so he won't have anytime filling up his time!!

It was a quick change, and a big adjustment, and we sure miss him! We are so grateful to see the Lord's direction in his life and watch how God will use him as he forms his own household. It's fun to have him stop over for supper or join us for a game of volleyball.

This was a very successfull year for our chicken adventures!! We started out with 700 and experienced very few losses! Moses & Micah did a fantastic job of keeping up with the feeding and watering and we all pitched in to help with the butchering. But, oops, no pictures of butchering!! :(

In mid July- we harvested and froze 260 quarts of sweet corn. Our friends the Meyers graciously shared the bounty of their corn crop with us this year and we were happy to spend a day helping pick, shuck, wash, chop, blanch, cut and bag the corn!

This summer we celebrated 10 birthdays in our family. There is nothing like a birthday to remind you of the blessing of life! We are amazed at God's goodness in each year we have together!

One BIG project was the complete remodel our dining room! Our dining room has been in dire need of a make-over for a couple of years now. With the help of dear friends (thank-you, Stangls!!) we were able to start and finish the project before Dad returned home from Africa!! Suprise!!! :)

Each summer we enjoy a special treat when Grandma prepares a shrimp boil for us!! Shrimp, new garden potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage and carrots boiled in spices and dumped out on newspaper for convenient picnic-style eating. Yummy! This year the Ansons were visiting and the boys loved it despite the spicey flavor!!

Other tasks from the summer included;

Making sauerkraut, digging a new trench so the carport will accommodate our bus, canning several dozen quarts of beets, making freezer pickles, making and canning salsa, walking bean fields for an organic farmer, Moses & Micah spending a week working construction for Andrew and Dad spent two weeks in South Africa.

Those projects sprinkled in among the daily tasks of hanging out laundry, ministering in our community, making bread, mowing yards, swimming, washing dishes, playing volleyball, gardening, working, and sewing.

On top of all that, we've had some computer difficulties of late; one computer with a crashed hard-drive, 2 laptops with viruses and one laptop that won't function with the internet. So when we did have time for blogging, a functioning computer was a bit rare!! :)

It's a season of blessings and we are overwhelmed with the things God is doing in our lives and His provision and direction for our family. Each day holds new challenges and trials and gives us a new appreciation of God's abundant grace. Without Him, we are nothing. We are so grateful that He chooses to be involved in our lives on a daily basis!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-07-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

Happy 29th Birthday, Rebecca!!!

We Love You!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-07-15T22:41:00.002-05:00

Happy 9th Birthday, Phoebe!!

We Love You!!

Happy Birthday!

2010-07-15T22:13:00.003-05:00

Happy 20th Birthday, Noah!!!

We love you!

Happy Birthday!!

2010-07-07T19:35:00.003-05:00

Happy 27th Birthday, Lydia!!

We love you!!

When You Wait on the Lord.......

2010-06-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

.......it's always worth it.

It is with rejoicing hearts that we share with you the news of Esther's courtship with Micah Nelson. Micah sought Dad's permission and blessing before asking Esther to court him on May 20th. God had already been moving in Esther's heart, awakening an interest towards Micah and she was confident that the Lord was directing them to begin a relationship together.

We realize that everyone's definition of courtship is different, but they define their courtship as a time of confirmation of the Lord's leading and direction, with the intent of marriage. With the blessing of both sets of parents they are seeking the Lord's will and enjoying this precious season of falling in love.

We look forward to sharing the whole story with you soon............after these two settle back down from cloud 9 to help us record all the details!!

Let's say it together.................awwwwwww!!!! :)

Photo Shoot

2010-06-10T16:40:00.001-05:00

While we were visiting the Kroekers, we took some time to snap some pictures of the Tabitha, Kelsey and Elizabeth. What a fun photo-shoot! The girls were very adventerous and even agreed to wade into very cold water for some pictures!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2010-06-08T17:55:00.005-05:00

The answer to the last trivia is.......

B. Pocono Mountains

And the new trivia is:

This poster hangs in our dining room with a few reminders of what types and quantities of food we are to consume for a balanced diet. The poster uses household items to compare with regular portion sizes. Recently a member of our family edited the poster. :)

If you can't read the writing, it reads; "One bowl of icecream the size of a football".

Which member of our family came up with this brilliant addition to our daily diet?

Kroeker Visit!!

2010-06-03T12:56:00.001-05:00

This Spring we had the opportunity to participate in a home school choir taught by Glen Litke. Mr. Litke generously invested several hours in instilling quality musical training in nearly 100 students and parents along with his greatest passion-- his love for Christ! What a blessing to learn music with the focus of glorifying God!!

There were two evening practices two weeks apart, before we had an entire day of practice followed by the performance that evening!

We also enjoyed the chance to spend time with two friends from the Salina area, where the practices and performance were. The Kroekers and the Beckmans also had children participating, so a group of 9 of us from the three families.

Break time!! Time to snap a quick photo!!

During the performance!!

(Thanks Elizabeth for those two photos!!)

After the concert we spent the remainder of the week-end with the Kroekers! We enjoyed wonderful fellowship and so many adventures!! Saturday morning we met the Beckmans and the Creers at Rock City!!

Rock City is an amazing formation of large rocks!! They are all different shapes and sizes, each different and unique!! Our God has such unique designs all around us!

Time to Explore!!

Caroline.

Kyle.

The boys enjoyed climbing up the steep sides of the larger rocks.

Kelsey in the trees!

Kaleb & Miles

Hopping from rock to rock!

Silas & Michaela

Tabitha & Moses

Katy & Susanna

Climbing!

Lending a hand to get up!

Tabitha & Silas!

Grace and Charity.

Find a rock to take a nap!

The adults visiting!!

The rocks actually looks like mushrooms!

Capture the Flag!!

The landscape of boulders made a great place for several competitive games of capture the flag!!

Susanna is going to play with us too!!

Mr. Kroeker determines the boundaries!

Stuck in jail!

Running to free the prisoners!

Oh............so close!

Sometimes being in jail can work to your advantage!! It can give you a birds-eye view of the movement of the enemy so you can warn your team!

Waiting in jail.

Karly!

Time for a picnic lunch!!

Moses and Silas.

All the children!!!

Easter 2010.

2010-05-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

This Spring has been very full one! A lot of busy times and new changes for our family!!

With some extra time this week-end, I am going to attempt to catch up on some blogging!! Our blog has been sorely neglected for the past several weeks!

This Easter we spent some family time together celebrating our Risen Saviour!! It was precious to rejoice in His goodness and the miracle of His Resurrection!!!

We didn't have big plans for the week-end, but the Ansons and the Shepards were able join us. Spending time together as a family eclipses any other activity for us! If was a delightful two days of family time!!!

Justice and Paul!

The three 'big' boys had a blast chasing each-other up and down the slide!

Big Smiles!

Uncle Silas

The boys spent a good part of the evening playing on a large tree that fell in our yard! They loved it!

Justice holding Moses' puppy Buddy!

Marcus loves animals! He held Buddy most of the evening!

Paul takes a turn.

Philip and Tabitha!

Our friends the Sarensens came up for a brief visit! It was wonderful to see them again!!

Time together!

Silas & John! We won't see John again until Thanksgiving as he plans to go home to China for the summer, so we were glad he could spend his spring break with us.

Philip

Basketball!

Ressurrection Day morning we had our special 'Lamb Cake'.

Justice with his chocolate cross!!!

Silas has one too!!

Philip ready for the treasure hunt!!

Paul can't quite reach...........

Mommy will help!!

Philip was quite enamored with the yellow forsythia bush!!

Hey........

Precious little nephew!!

Football Party!!

2010-04-26T20:04:00.006-05:00

For his birthday Moses enjoyed an afternoon of football with some friends. It was a beautiful day, and perfect for a group of young men to get rid of some energy!!

The following is a smattering of shots throughout the afternoon!!
Sack the Quarterback!!

Kick-off-- (note the shoe)!! :)

You can't get every catch.

Forcing a fumble!!

Pressuring the QB.

Celebrating!

How many guys does it take to tackle Joe?? A lot. :)

::Group Shot::

Happy Birthday!!

2010-04-13T08:56:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!
We thank God for you, Dad! We are grateful for your dedication and service to the Lord and the pristine example you have set for your children and your children's children!! May God continue to bless you with His abundant grace as you seek Him!

We Love You!

Florida Travels!

2010-04-12T20:56:00.007-05:00

In March we oldest 4 at home took a quick trip to Florida to visit our Uncle & Aunt and cousins! It was a great trip for the 4 of us and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together!!! It is a special time for us all to be still at home yet, and we are treasuring the memories we are collecting.

On Thursday we enjoyed a day in Orlando with Bethany & Jessica! Visiting the WonderWorks house, going mini-golfing and shopping for souvenirs.

Best Friends for Life!!!

Elizabeth & Esther.

Mini-golf!

If you have too much muscle, your golfball may have to be rescued from the water!!

Bethany & Esther

Seth & Elizabeth

Bethany, Elizabeth, Esther & Noah.

It was a Pirate-themed golf course-- very fun!

They lost........soooo........they ended up in the stocks.

On Friday morning we were able to tour the Parelli Center in Ocala. Noah used the Parelli program/methods in training his horses, so he was full of questions!!! It was a beautiful day to spend time out in the sunshine! The Florida sunshine is BRIGHT!

Esther & Elizabeth

Noah & Aunt Sarah!

Spanish Moss!

The Parelli Ranch!

We enjoyed a pretty extensive tour of the large facility! It was fascinating to hear about their resourcefullness-- their ranch was formerly a zoo. They have chosen to use the old buildings instead of erecting new ones to save money and other resources. They even continue to use the old giraffe house with 25 foot tall doorways!! :)

Excited Noah!

With our tour guide!

With Uncle Dan & Aunt Sarah!

Noah & Esther.

Walking and talking!

We also enjoyed a wonderful baby-shower for Jessica & James' son, due April 13th!! And Saturday was Bethany & Adam's wedding, a very full day!

It was a short visit but we greatly enjoyed our time to catch-up and spend face to face time with them!! Thank-you so much for your hospitality Uncle Dan & Aunt Sarah!

Elizabeth, Bethany, Adam, Seth, Noah, Esther, Jessica & James!!

Trivia Tuesday!!

2010-03-30T21:37:00.003-05:00

The answer to the last trivia is........

Fall

And the new trivia is............

Where did Mom & Dad go on their honeymoon???

A. The Gulf of Mexico

B. Pocono Mountains

C. Denver, Colorado

D. Nantucket Island

::Adam & Bethany Coy::

2010-03-30T14:06:00.010-05:00

Snapshots from our cousin's wedding in Florida!!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Coy! We love you!!

Trivia Tuesday!

2010-03-16T23:19:00.002-05:00

The answer to the last trivia is...........

Micah!

The new trivia is.....

If you went with the majority vote, which season of the year is our family favorite???

Happy Birthday!!

2010-03-07T10:18:00.000-06:00

Happy 15th Birthday, Moses!!!

We are grateful for your tender heart to the Lord and your sensitivity to all those you are around. Your right attitudes towards Dad & Mom set an example that your younger brothers and nephews can aspire to emulate!

We pray that your first pursuit in life will continue be to glorify God in every aspect of your life! May your relationship with Christ flourish in this coming year!

We love you!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-03-06T13:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuUMKHlKgE0

We'll be home soon to help you celebrate!!

We Love You!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2010-03-02T14:21:00.005-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is.............

153 pairs of shoes

And the new trivia is..........

Whose baby picture is this?

Snowboarding.

2010-03-02T10:08:00.006-06:00

These very cold and snowy winter months do have a perk-- snow sports!! In January a friend invited Noah to go snowboarding with him. Noah enjoyed it so much he decided to go again and after a little persuading, he convinced the rest of us older ones to try it too.

The Lord blessed us with great weather for a full day of snowboarding!!

Esther & Noah.

It is not easy to stay up!!

Ouch!

Waiting for the lift.

Was it on this ride up that Esther dropped her snowboard?? :)

Seth and Tabitha!

On the ski lift!

Tabitha was a fast learner!! She did a great job!

Micah & Seth- thanks for all the lessons Micah!

Learning to stay on your feet is no small feat!
(Please laugh here.) :)

Truly siblings are the BEST friends in the world!

I also uploaded one video we took during the day. Although it is blurry, it is clear enough to portray how most of our day went, and, how funny it was!! Tabitha DID learn better steering by the end of the day. :)

(Esther is wearing the yellow vest and Tabitha is wearing blue.)

Trivia Tuesday!!

2010-02-16T21:00:00.004-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is............

Tabitha & Elizabeth!!

And the new trivia is...............

How many pairs of shoes are currently in our house????

Trivia Tuesday!!

2010-02-09T22:00:00.002-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is...........

Volleyball!!!

You can find our family playing volleyball on sunny days, rainy days or in the snow!

And the new trivia is............

There were once two little girls, whose Daddy built them huge, wonderful bunkbeds. They slept on the top, while their sisters slept on the bottom. Now, they were not permitted to get out of bed once they had been tucked in every night. But sometimes, they had a difficult time getting to sleep, and being good friends, they would talk until they got sleepy. They sometimes would think up games to play while they were each in their perspective beds. Now one evening, one of the little girls smuggled a cookie up to bed, and hid it under her pillow. That night, she wanted to share it with her sister, but how to do that without getting out of bed??? Finally, she placed a small part of her cookie on the ceiling fan blade (the fan was not on!) and rotated the blade around to her sister. The ceiling fan came in quite handy from then on for passing things to each-other at night!!!

Now............

Which two Ulmer sisters were so sneaky!?!?!?

::Winter::

2010-02-09T11:49:00.006-06:00

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31

The beauty of God's creation never ceases to astound me! The creativity and perfection of His design is amazing.

Happy Birthday!

2010-02-06T13:12:00.003-06:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Marcus!

May you grow and become a man whose strength is found in Christ!!

We Love You!

Trivia Tuesday!!

2010-02-02T21:21:00.002-06:00

The answers to the last trivia are...............

Lydia & Seth

The new trivia is........

Which sport does our family enjoy the most?!?!?!

(The last two were very hard, so I thought I'd give ya'll a break and give you an easier one!!!)

December......

2010-02-02T14:14:00.017-06:00

(I'm slowly getting caught up on our blogging!!)

December brought winter with it; we received over 20 inches of snow in the course of the month!! The Ansons stayed with us for a week for hunting season. It's always fun to snuggle and play with the boys. They are growing so fast!!

Storytime with Nana.

Marcus helping Papa fix the front door.

Fun with Uncle Moses.

Scott & Paul proccessed the Anson's three deer.

Three weeks into December we had a full and busy week-end as Esther catered for Dan & Bethany Beasley's wedding. With a multitude of guests, it was no small task. Esther and her crew of helpers prepared a full meal, which became quite a challenge when both of the ovens quit working. How do you cook chicken for 600 people with no oven?!??!? Thankfully, it was a commercial oven equipped with 12 huge burners so we fried the chicken instead of baking it. Things were rather crazy for a little bit, but things smoothed out without any more major glitches. Esther did a wonderful job and the food was delicious!! Praise the Lord for giving strength!!

That same week-end, we were delighted to have our dear friends come for a visit!! They flew out to surprise Elizabeth for her birthday and all those who knew helped keep it a total secret up until the very last minute!! She was stunned!! They originally planned to stay for a week, but the heavy snow delayed their return trip and we got to spend 10 very special days with them!!

Jenna brought her violin with her, so we enjoyed playing together!

Canon in D in three parts (2 violin and the cello).

It began snowing on Christmas Eve and by Christmas night, we were completely snowed in. The roads drifted so badly that they became impassable. The winds continued to create bigger and bigger drifts, so they didn't even run the snow plows on our road until Sunday morning.

-Family Gift Exchange-

Andrew & Rebecca gave Silas this awesome playmobile castle.
Helping Silas open up his big mystery package.

New jeans make a little boy very happy!

Esther and Silas.

Noah & Rebecca.

New books!

Pink Boots....yay!!

Dad received a very special gift, complete with signatures from his oldest children. These clothespins are a longstanding joke in our family. For the past several years, every Sunday night Dad & Mom and the older children with jobs and busy schedules meet together to discuss the events of the upcoming week, and plan ahead for the coming months. It can be difficult to cordinate small details such as who is using which car on which day and plan ahead for bigger things like trips or having company and then spread the word to 5 or 6 people so they can adjust their schedules accordingly. The calender meetings are a great time for us to make plans and tell everybody at the same time. And it is an especially good time to laugh and enjoy being together before the busy week begins and we have a million things going on.

Now Dad likes to keep things moving along at a fairly fast pace so that our short meetings don't drag on for hours. One evening while three of us talked at the same time, and he lost track of which day we were talking about, he expressed that sometimes he felt that attempting to establish order in our meeting was the equivelant of being pinched with clothespins. Thus, his fun-loving children supplied him some really nice clothespins to do the job. One for the girls, and one for the boys. :)

Dad experimenting with his new clothespins.

Seth, Esther & Noah.

Aunt Karen & Jenna.

Silas & Justice eating together.

Jenna & Charity.

Our celebration with Grandma was the Sunday after Christmas.

Grandma's terrific gumbo.

Seriously funny conversations.
Silas & Phoebe.

Elizabeth, Tabitha, Esther, Moses & Jenna.

Rebecca, Mom & Auntie Karen.

New reading material.

Gumballs!

Justice helps distribute gifts.

Andrew & Rebecca & Justice were snowed in with us for the week-end, and we enjoyed the extra time with them!! Andrew was as full as mischief as ever!! :)

Charity sewed Grandma some beautiful silk pillowcases.

A marshmallow gun!

Rebecca opens her punch bowl.

Grandma got each child a set of tea-towels with the days of the week embroidered on them.

>Silas has Indians on his towels.

The girls and their presents!

Phoebe and the gift she made for Grandma.

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2010-01-26T19:37:00.005-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is............

42 States!!

The States we have not visited are; Oregon, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Hawaii & Idaho.

And the new trivia is.......

There were once two little children, a brother and a sister, who got up at 4am to do their schoolwork. Not because they loved their school, but because they loved to play Monopoly. They rushed through their school work and when they finished, they started playing Monopoly together. When Mom came downstairs at 6am, she would find them buying hotels and landing on park place. So...............

Which two Ulmer children loved Monopoly enough to get out of bed at such an insane hour?

Trivia Tuesday!

2010-01-19T15:55:00.004-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is:

Noah, with a size 13 shoe.

The new trivia is:

If you add up all the travels of our entire family (including Scott & Andrew); how many States have we visited?!?!

Deer Hunting Season!

2010-01-15T09:29:00.001-06:00

We had another exciting hunting season in December! The Ansons came up for a week to go out hunting and they were able to fill all of their tags.

Lydia's fantastic 12-point buck.

Dragging the buck to the truck.

Moses got a doe!

Scott got an eight-point!

The boys had some friends over and on the second morning, Cameron bagged this great 7-point buck.

Three happy hunters.

There will be a lot of great deer steaks this year!!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2010-01-13T16:14:00.002-06:00

The answer to the last trivia Tuesday is;

Christmas morning we awake to the sound of the song "Come on Ring Those Bells". As the song plays, we all tumble downstairs for our breakfast of "Mushroom Delight": an egg casserole Lydia created at age 7.

The rest of the day varies in order but includes reading Luke 2, exchanging gifts, having dinner with Grandma and throwing wadded-up wrapping paper at each-other.

And the new trivia is:

Who has the biggest shoe size in our family!!

Catch-up Post!

2010-01-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

Our fall was a full one! We raised another 400 birds this fall and butchered them two days before our first snowfall!! It's great to have snow after ALL the birds are butchered!!

Silas helps with the packaging.

Moses experimented with getting some turkeys this Spring, but we received them right before we left for the East Coast, so he lost most of them while we were gone. He was able to keep a couple of the alive and we butchered this big one for Thanksgiving.

Chicken- it's what's for dinner.

Happy Helpers.

Moses gutting.

Tabitha is our most speedy & efficient worker. She runs the scalder, the plucker AND does all the packaging!

We weren't going to be able to get together for Thanksgiving, but at last minute, plans changed and we were all able to spend two days together!! We have so much to be thankful for!!

Silas, Philip & Gigi.

Dad, Philip & Gigi.

In the evening we enjoyed playing the chimes together. We purchased the chimes this summer, but this was the first time that all of us had been able to play together.

Gigi & the grandboys!

Nana & Will.

Soooo............

2010-01-09T00:43:00.002-06:00

..........the new blog look is in!!

Comments, Criticism, Compliments!?!?!?

Let us know your opinion!

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-01-05T18:47:00.001-06:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Justice!!!

May you love the Lord with all your heart!!

We Love You!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-12-30T21:07:00.003-06:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Paul!!

May you grow to know and love Jesus as your very Best Friend!!

We Love You!!

Snowed In!!

2009-12-26T15:31:00.002-06:00

We are officially snowed in!!!! 10 inches of snow + 20mph winds can make things really exciting!! And getting two 4-wheel trucks stuck adds even more excitement!!

But- we're not complaining!! Though the Ansons are unable to be with us due to Scott's work schedule, the Shepards were able to join us and we are enjoying every minute of time spent with them!

And; we are enjoying a visit with our dear adopted Uncle Tim, Aunt Karen & cousin Jenna from Pennsylvania. They flew out as a birthday surprise for Elizabeth, but missed their original return flight which was scheduled for Saturday morning. So we're excited to have an extended visit with them!! :)

This is our road- we're not going anywhere!!

The grader which normally clears our road is currently stuck in a 8-foot snow drift, but the County hopes to have our roads cleared by Sunday night.

Until then, let the snowball fights continue!! :)

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2009-12-22T23:08:00.003-06:00

The answers to last week are:

A. Went crabbing in Alaska-- TRUE

B. Sang in the Lincokn Center, NYC--- TRUE

C. Won a Kansas-State triathalon--- FALSE

D. Taught himself violin--- TRUE

E. Was the editor of his high-school newspaper---- FALSE

And the new trivia is.............

What special traditions do our family enjoy every Christmas morning??

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-12-22T21:23:00.000-06:00

Happy 18th Birthday, Elizabeth!!!

(Elizabeth's birthday was December 14th.)

We Love You!!

Beckman Bed & Breakfast.

2009-12-09T09:25:00.002-06:00

In October our family and the Kroeker family enjoyed a week-end getaway at the Beckman Bed and Breakfast! First class hospitality, let me tell you!

What a wonderful week-end of fun and fellowship! The Beckmans live in Lindsborg, KS. where Dad & Mom both attended College along with Mr. Beckman and Mrs. Kroeker. Lots of memories in that town!!

The week-end began with surprising our friend Mark Kroeker for his birthday. He celebrated a significant birthday, and we just managed to pull off the surprise!

Brad Beckman sang in an all-mens choir one evening. It was wonderful to listen to!

On Saturday the Hyllngsfest Festivities began starting with a parade!! The temperature was very, very cold but we enjoyed the parade none-the-less!!

Watching and keeping warm!

Gathering candy!

Tabitha, Elizabeth & Kelsey

Scott, Lydia & Will.

Esther & Will.

One of the floats had a basketball hoop on the back.

Where's Marcus????

There he is!!

It wouldn't be a parade without tootsie rolls!

Philip

Brrrrrr.........

Hot Chocolate to warm you up!!

Mmmm....

Susanna!

Our whole group!!!

Funnel cakes!!

Seth & Esther

Katy, Charity and Caroline

Lunch Time!

Despite the cold, the Beckman children participated in the swedish dancing!

Very cold!!

Later in the day, we had a great game of football!

While we big ones played, Silas and Paul had their own game.

Smiles.

Funny Faces.

Tackle!

"Off-sides!!"

Get the quarterback!!!

Finding the open receiver!

The whole group.

Thank-you Beckmans for a wonderful week-end!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!!

2009-12-08T19:10:00.007-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is.................

C. Have a huge water-balloon fight with watermelon and brownies!!!

Water-balloon fights are great fun. And after the water balloons are all emptied, we usually emptied the pool too!!! :) Our biggest water balloon fight included 1000 water balloons!!

1993

1994

Watermelon seed spitting contest-- who can spit the seeds the farthest!?!?!?

Before the fight........
After!!!

1997

2000-- we celebrated rain or shine!!

In Action!!

And the new trivia is..........

We have a great Dad!! Most of you have the privilege of knowing him but; how well do really know him?? You have five questions, the answers to which are either true or false!
Dad:
A. Went crabbing in Alaska.
B. Sang in the Lincoln Center, NYC.
C. Placed second in a Kansas State triathalon.
D. Taught himself violin.
E. Editor of his high-school newspaper.

Happy Guessing!!

Being Five Means......

2009-12-03T18:00:00.001-06:00

....loosing your first tooth!!

Silas lost his first tooth right after his birthday. He wiggled it and wiggled it, then had Daddy pull it with the help of some floss and the bathroom door.

Still the same smile!! We love our boy!

Elizabeth's Graduation Party!!

2009-12-03T17:49:00.004-06:00

2009 Graduate!

Elizabeth graduated from High School this Spring, but we didn't get to celebrate until September!!

Elizabeth had two wishes for her graduation party-- to have lots of fruit, and to play volleyball-and she got both!!! We were blessed with the multitude of loving friends who joined us in our celebration!!

Lydia made the beautiful fruit bouquet!! After she started, she got called away to attend to Will, so Rebecca added the finishing touches!!

We were able to get a great deal on melons from a local farmer--- canteloupe, watermelon, honeydew and crenshaw melons!!

Helping cut up fruit.

Aunt Charity & Philip.

Elizabeth & Tabitha!

The beautiful and edible bouquet!!

Lots and lots of melon rinds!

Balloons from Dad.

Dad shared an exhortation and scripture for Elizabeth.

Tabitha joined Elizabeth in singing a duet "My Hope is in the Lord".

We also had a time of friends sharing memories of Elizabeth.

Praying over Elizabeth.

Phoebe helping set out food.

More then a teacher-- a counselor, confidant & friend.

Visiting with friends.

What a blessing to have many helpers working in the kitchen!! Thanks for your help!

Saturday night we were grateful to have out-of-town friends join us overnight. Sunday morning we had a precious time of worship together. We had the service outside because there were too many people to fit in our living room!!

What a blessing to praise the Lord together!!!

Singing praises to our King!

Praying.

Singing.

Moses, Kyle & Eric.

Teaching the hand-motions to a song.

Smiles.

The sun was VERY bright!

Bible-Story books.

Daddy & Will.

Studying the word.

Dad sharing.

We had a very special time during the service, when our dear friend, Mark was baptized!

Will was quite the popular young man!!

Kelsey, Tabitha & Elizabeth.

Aunt Rebecca and Will.

More smiles.

Friends.

(Thank-you for coming!!!)

Having fun on the trampoline.

Sunday afternoon we continued to fellowship, and enjoyed game after game of volleyball!

Thank-you Dad & Mom, for teaching me at home!!

::Equations::

2009-11-16T14:37:00.005-06:00

No internet

No electricity

No new posts and lots of dirty laundry.

8 inches of snow

Coffee

Happy children and Happy adults. :)

"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together!!"

Psalms 34:1-3

Just so you Know.....

2009-11-06T13:25:00.002-06:00

Our blogger account is currently over-run with nearly finished blog posts.

We've had a busy, busy fall, but I have been working on documenting these pictures and updates, until I was stopped in my tracks by a 'small' glitch--- our internet isn't functioning on our main computer. And all our pictures are on said computer. So I've come to a screeching halt on all these posts, unable to upload the rest of the pictures to complete the posts.
So you can expect a large number of new posts and updates just as soon as possible.

Until then, here is one picture I can access without our main computer.

In my opinion, it's the best family picture we've ever had taken.

(Thanks Anna!)
::The Ulmer Family, September 2009::

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-11-03T20:39:00.003-06:00

The answer to the last trivia is......................

Moses

The new trivia is:

Our family has a slightly larger-than-average number of birthdays every year. So once a year we have a larger-than-average birthday party. What do we do to celebrate??

A. Have a huge party with 12 different kinds of cake and ice-cream.

B. Take a family trip to the zoo or a museum.

C. Have a huge water balloon fight with watermelon and brownies.

D. Rent the bowling alley for a long evening of bowling.

Happy Guessing!! :)

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-10-27T21:16:00.002-05:00

Trivia Tuesday has returned!!! :)

The trivia for this week is:

Part of our family was spending the day with friends freezing corn. After we finished our work, we loaded up in our bus to come home. While we were saying goodbye, someone noticed that we had a very low, almost flat rear tire. Our friends had a air hose and offered to air up the tire so we could drive to a nearby town to get it fixed. One of our boys got under the bus and to fill up the tire. Now, we have 4 tires on the rear of our bus-- two on each side. He found it difficult to navigate the hose to the right spot between the tires to reach the air valve, but after some fiddling, he was able to get a good connection and began airing up the tire. After a few minutes, when the tire was sufficiently filled, he disconnected the hose and proceeded to sit up--but wait. Calmly, he looked up at the crowd of spectators and quietly said "I'm stuck." His left arm had been positioned between the two tires to hold the hose in place. But as the deflated tire had filled up, it had wedged his arm tightly inbetween the tires!! After letting the air back out of the tire, he was able to free his arm (to the great relief of his mother)! :)

The question is, of course; which Ulmer boy was it???

Happy Birthday!!

2009-10-19T19:12:00.002-05:00

Happy 5th Birthday, Silas!!

We Love You Buddy!!

Anson Boys!

2009-10-06T19:09:00.018-05:00

When William was born, Mom and I were able to spend a few days with the Ansons. What a treat to have some time with their sweet little boys while Mommy got plenty of rest! The boys were great helpers; making supper, going shopping for groceries, drying dishes and taking out the trash. And of course, there was plenty of time for wrestling, reading books, tickling, laughing and taking trips to the park!!

God has abundantly blessed Scott & Lydia and they have done an excellent job of training their little men!

Those blue eyes!!!! Wow!

Pauly & Marcus!

Happy Philip!!

"Here Philly-Billy, I will peel the grape for you. Ummmm....Aunt Elizabeth, I accidentally 'eated it', can you get me another grape??"

Breakfast time!

Grandma Sue, Will & Nana!

Brand-new nephew!!

Brushing Nana's hair.

Paul, being grown up.

Brotherly Love!

"Look Aunt Elizabeth!!!"

Maybe he was hungry, or maybe he just liked chewing on the scratchy rope!

Paul has mastered the monkey bars!! What muscles!

Marcus!

Paul was my big helper!

Philip finally warmed up to me and started smiling!

Paul is a climber-- he wants to be as HIGH as possible!

Little grins!

Climbing up the slide takes concentration!

There are few things more precious then holding a new baby for the first time!!

Big Brother for the 1st time!!

Marcus & Will!

Big Brother for the 3rd time!

(Be watching for continued updates and new pictures!! I am (very slowly!!!) getting caught up on all my over-due blogging!!!)

Bethany's Visit!

2009-10-03T18:45:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago we were thrilled to have our cousin from Florida come up for a visit! We enjoyed spending time with her in a variety of ways! One afternoon we girls got away for a walk on one of the last beautiful days of summer!!

Three Sisters!

The city mouse and the country mouse. :)

Look- Beth is in Kansas!!

Lots of laughs!

And lots of pictures.

Could Kansas be any more beautiful!?!?

Cousins!

It was great to see you again, Bethany!! We miss you!

Happy Birthday!!

2009-10-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

Happy 11th Birthday, Charity!!!

We Love you!!

Belated Birthday Post!

2009-09-24T15:55:00.003-05:00

Happy 13th Birthday, Micah!!!

We Love You!!

(Micah's birthday was Saturday, September 19th.)

Last Summer Projects!

2009-09-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

This summer has been filled with outdoor projects for Dad & the boys! With Dad home everyday, there has been a never-ending list of projects that he & the boys have tackled! Dad started back to school on August 11th but before he started, they had one last project together!

The project was building a new roof for one of the cattle-loafing sheds. The previous roof blew off during a bad windstorm this Spring.

I'll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves!!

We were happy to have John spend several days with us this summer! He pitched right in and helped with whatever project was going on!

(A must for the construction site!!)

(Nothing like fresh cookies after a hot day of building!!)

What a blessing to have a father who invests time in his children! Teaching them that work is important, and can be just as fun as playing!! The boys have loved working with Dad on all the projects and have learned a multitude of new things: both skills and good attitudes!

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9

Baptism!

2009-09-17T18:12:00.000-05:00

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:12

In August Moses and Micah chose to follow Christ in baptism! What a joyous time!! We are grateful for their love for the Lord and their desire to serve Him with all of their lives!!

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

Introducing............

2009-08-29T18:36:00.005-05:00

William Nicholas Anson

William arrived very early Thursday morning weighing in at 8lbs & 12ozs and measuring just over 20 inches long!! Mother and baby are doing exceptionally well!!

We praise God for His abundant goodness to our family with the gift of Little Will.

"I will praise thee, oh Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations." Psalms 57:9

Little Helper!!

2009-08-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Little fingers shaping mini loaves of bread, tiny hands gripping wooden spoons stirring cookie dough; happy faces covered in icing. For me, one of the greatest joys of a large family has been cooking with younger siblings!! Laying on the floor in front of the oven watching muffins rise; watching them try to cut carrot sticks with a butter knife. Their little squeals of delight as they flip a pancake all by themselves!! Sometimes things are a bit too salty after they've helped but it's always worth it!!

With Silas and Phoebe fast growing up, there's no longer very many little helpers in our family!! It's difficult to see that season pass, and our younger ones grow up!!

But now: the joy of little nephews who are excellent little helpers!!

Marcus was helping Esther prepare veggies for the grill one night for supper and I just had to snap some photos!

"Just two more, two more."

"Can I taste this????"

"Shake it gently!"

"Hey Aunt Elizabeth, I'm a big helper!!!"

Chicken Butchering!

2009-08-20T18:26:00.004-05:00

It wouldn't be summer at our house without chickens to butchering!! This summer our butchering was broken up into several different days due to plucker difficulties.

When we returned from our trip, we found we had lost many, many birds. So we only butchered around 300 of our original 600 chickens.

Butchering has been a wonderful way for our family to work together and see big projects accomplished by many hands working in unison. Talking time is always precious as we process the birds- topics ranging from chicken anatomy to theology.

We were especially grateful to have Dad home the entire summer. His usual summer job at the local factory was no longer availiable this year. After contemplating alternative employment options, Dad felt the Lord leading him to stay at home this summer!! What a joy it was to have him home every day!! Everything just runs smoother when Dad is there!! And he was certainly a welcome addition to the butchering crew!

The boys do the dirty work;

the killing and hanging.

Phoebe is starting to play a bigger role on butchering day!

Dad scalded and plucked!

Gutting.

This year we were blessed with several friends who helped us butcher!! It sure goes faster when you have friends to help! Thank-you!!! :)

Tabitha finishes the process at the packaging table!!

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-08-18T21:45:00.004-05:00

And the answers to the last trivia are:

Seth Nathaniel

Noah Spencer

Moses Richard

Micah Joel

Silas David

And the new trivia is:

Lydia's Baby is due on Friday, August 21st!!

Is it a girl or a boy?

When (day & time) will he/she be born?

How much will he/she weigh??

Happy Guessing- and hopefully by next Tuesday we'll have your answers!! :)

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-08-11T11:18:00.001-05:00

The answer to last week's question is:

B. Singing!!

The new trivia question is:

The Middle Names are scrambled--- can you match them correctly!?!?!?

Seth...............Richard

Noah..................David

Moses.............Spencer

Micah..........Nathaniel

Silas......................Joel

Have fun matching! :)

Freezing Corn!

2009-08-05T17:44:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy summer for our family. We kicked into high gear as soon as we returned from our trip, every day full of summer activities: butchering chickens, picking blueberries, preserving garden produce, mowing yards, walking beans, training horses, celebrating birthdays and visits from friends!

With the past weeks so full, it's been hard to find any spare minutes for blogging!! But this week as we have a break from butchering chickens, I'm going to try and put together a few posts to give you a glimpse of how our summer has been!!

God has blessed us greatly-- we stand in awe of His mighty works!

One project has been freezing sweet corn!! Some friends grow corn for us each year, then we get together to spend the day processing hundreds and hundreds of ears. This year we froze nearly 300 quarts!!

The boys and Dads picked and shucked then brought corn up to the house.

A bountiful harvest!

Washing.

Silking.....

and more silking!

The corn is blanched.......

then dumped in tubs to cool.

Cutting!!

Corn, corn and more corn!!

Lots of corn waiting to be cut off the ear.

Tabitha and Haylie take a quick break from cutting!

The cobs ready to be fed to the steers.

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-08-04T11:53:00.000-05:00

The answer is..........

Charity!

(Who learned to read at age 4.)

The new trivia is......

Which of the following is our family's favorite way of passing the time during traveling?

A. Counting how many red, blue and yellow cars we see.

B. Singing.

C. Playing 20 Questions.

D. Sleeping.

E. Waving at people passing us.

Happy Guessing!! :)

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2009-07-28T14:23:00.000-05:00

The answer is............................

Noah

Noah bottomed out the 11 pound scale, so we don't know just how much he weighed, but it was over 11 lbs!!! Silas falls in second place at 11lbs even!!

The new trivia is...............................

Which Ulmer child learned to read at the youngest age?????

Happy Birthday!!

2009-07-26T11:43:00.000-05:00

Happy 16th Birthday, Tabitha!!

We Love You!!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

Happy 21st Birthday, Esther!

We Love You!

Trivia Tuesday!!

2009-07-21T14:37:00.000-05:00

The answer is...................

C. Cheese, Beans & Beef on tortilla chips!!

The new trivia is......................

Which Ulmer baby weighed the most at birth?????

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-20T17:31:00.002-05:00

Happy 23rd Birthday, Seth!

We're so blessed to have you in our family!

We Love You!!

(Seth's birthday was actually yesterday, the 19th, so this is a day late! Oops!!!) :(

Happy Birthday!!

2009-07-16T11:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!!

A very Happy Birthday to our 'cute-pain'! :)

We Love You!!!

Happy Birthday!!

2009-07-15T11:11:00.003-05:00

Happy 19th Birthday, Noah!!

We Love You!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-07-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday, Phoebe!!

What a precious joy you are in our family!!

We Love You!!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!

2009-07-14T14:09:00.002-05:00

The answers are................

Rebecca Aliece

Lydia Beth

Esther Brooke

Elizabeth Hope

Tabitha Renae

Charity Abigail

Phoebe Joy

The new trivia is.......................

Which of the following foods has been a staple lunch in the Ulmer household???

A. Peanut Butter and Jelly/Honey

B. Sloppy Joes

C. Cheese, Beans & Beef on Tortilla chips.

D. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Happy Guessing!