Trapping Success!

Moses cares for our family broilers and keeps a close eye on the birds in the pen. This week he noticed that birds were being snatched from the pen. With some assistance from Scott, Moses set the live trap using a dead bird as bait. His clever scheming was rewarded the next morning with this racoon who showed up for her regular mid-night snack and found departure rather impossible!!

Moses and his catch....

Although the racoon was caught and has been properly disposed of, we still had some birds raided from the pen last night. Please pray that we would be able to eliminate this other predator before we have many more chickens stolen!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Silas, Daddy & Phoebe-- February 2007.

Today we celebrate Father's Day!!! A whole day devoted to remembering and cherishing these ever important, special people in our lives.

We Ulmer children have grown up with a Daddy who loves Jesus, and lives his life as an example to his children. Daddy reads the Bible with us, prays with/for us, memorizes scripture with us and teaches us to love the Lord first. He has always put the Lord first, and has lived a life of dedication to Him. Daddy's relationship with the Lord has been an encouragement and an inspiration to us all.

Dad, Micah & Tabitha napping together-- February 1999.

As a very little girl I can remember Daddy rocking me at night before he tucked me into bed; singing praise songs to the Lord. He would sing two songs; we each would get to choose one. I would sit in his lap with my head on his chest and listen to him sing. I don't think I'll ever forget the words to the songs he would sing. I always felt so safe and secure. He wasn't able to sing every night, but the nights he did it didn't matter what pressing jobs he had to complete that night, he was never rushed, but spent that special time with me. As I've grew older I can remember waking up in the middle of the night, just when he was returning from another long shift at the factory. He would come through each room and check on each of us sleeping children; covering us up with the covers and giving us a kiss.

We children (minus Silas) and Daddy; Father's Day 2004.

I've always felt so cherished and protected by my Daddy. If I've had a hard day and need a hug, he is always ready to give me one. When I am sick he will sit by my bed and hold my hand and pray for me. When I am excited about something he will smile and listen to me chatter on, full of enthusiasm. If I need correction He will lovingly chasten me, always encouraging me on towards the right.

Daddy reading to his young ones; January 2003.

Daddy grew up without a Daddy; raised by his mother and grandmother. He never knew the love and protection of a earthly father, and it wasn't until he was a adult that he came to know the love of his Heavenly Father. Because of the love of his Heavenly Father, Daddy has been able to give us children love as our earthly father. The Lord has blessed him to be just the right Daddy that each of we children need.

Daddy with 9 of his blessings; April 1999.

Daddy has always worked many long hours faithfully to provide for our family. Juggling teaching at school, a part-time night shift at the Factory and home mantinence has been no easy job! But Daddy has never complained. He leaves for work each morning with a smile on his face, joyfully serving us.

There are so many memories I could share, stories I could tell, and so many things I could say about my Daddy. I could be here until he is very old with a long gray beard, and still not capture just how wonderful this Daddy God has given me is.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!! We Love You!!

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

New Additions....

There are two new animals on the Ulmer farm this week! For the past year Tabitha has been praying diligently for a horse, and last week the Lord answered her prayer in a marvelous way!! Sparkle and her month old filly arrived Friday and are quite the novelty! The whole family loves horses, and the line for rides is always a mile long!!

Here are a few pictures of us enjoying them!

Tabitha rides Sparkle while Carmel races along-side!!

Little Cowgirl!!

Silas LOVES the horses!!

Paul and Silas are just the right size to ride double!! :)

Riding Side-Saddle?!?!?

No, just adjusting the stirrups!! :)

Even I got a turn!!

Happy Trails!!

Our Little Man.

If you don't love pictures of cute little boys, just ignore this post and wait for the next one. I have a certain weakness for taking pictures of very cute little boys, and count myself quite blessed because I have an exceptionally cute one on hand nearly all the time!! :)

Always a smiling boy!!

Little Cowboy....

Big Sister and Little Brother!

Our next deer-hunter!! :)

Taking pictures......

Helping make breakfast!

Patiently waiting for his snack!

Blowing bubbles!


Can't do anything without his favorite hat and tie!! :)

Another favorite hat.......

And yet another hat!!

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Psalms 127:3-5

Noah's Graduation!!

Our 2007 Graduate!!!

This past Sunday we celebrated Noah's High-School graduation. The Lord gave us a beautiful day for an outdoor party; cool and breezy with occasional bouts of sunshine and most importantly- no rain!! The forecast had predicted scattered showers the whole day and night, but the Lord blessed and it was dry the entire time!!

Three different times during the afternoon we had a drawing to see who would get to throw a pie in the face of the graduate. :) Noah was a great sport and we all loved it!

What a sweet face!!!


We also had two drawings to see who got to pelt Noah with water-balloons. At least he was able to try and defend himself!!

We so enjoyed the sweet fellowship we had with the families who were able to attend. We feel so blessed to have had you all come and be a part of Noah's special day!
We are immensely grateful for the investments each of you have made in Noah's life, and for your love and support. Many of you came from a distance to be here, and we appreciate your effort! We all want to say thank-you for coming and for all your help!


Dad did a fabulous job grilling the hamburgers and hotdogs for supper, thank-you Daddy!!
(Thanks also to Mr. Kroeker and Mr. Sarensen for your assistance!)



With so many young people about, we enjoyed several exciting games of volleyball! It was a wonderful time of laughing and playing together, and despite the occasional pile-up on the field, there were no injuries!!

Parting shot; the whole gang on Monday morning.

A Face Full.

At Dad's school this Spring they had a cancer fundraiser. They selected 5 people, including the principal and Dad and each person had a jar into which people put pennies. Each penny was a vote, and who ever got the most votes won. The prize was getting a pie in your face!!! Dad and the principal were even for the first few days, but after the principal put about $25 pennies worth in Dad's jar, Dad had clear sailing for first place!! We all went to school to see Dad get splattered.

And the winner is.....one of Dad's own students!!

I love the smiles on the faces of the observers!! :)

'Anybody want a hug??'

April Showers..............

....bring May floods!!

The last few days of April and the first few days of May brought several inches of rain to our area. The moisture was a real blessing!! All the rivers in the area spilled over their banks in many places. There were hardly any fields along the rivers that weren't under water!

The road Dad takes to work every morning......you can't really see it, but just beyond the first bridge there is a second one, much smaller and a little lower, and the water crested only about a foot or so below it. Anymore rain and the bridge would've been underwater.

The river-bed in this picture is about 50 yards past the trees, so there were several hundred feet of field under water on both sides of the river.

The river-bed is just beyond that row of trees........as you can see the water rose a lot!!

Okay, so it was a little muddy!! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!!!

What a wonderful gift the Lord has blessed us Ulmer children with; a godly mother!

A mother who loves Jesus first, and has spent all her days of motherhood encouraging us to follow Him! Who by the testimony of her life and dedication to Him has taught her children to turn their hearts to Christ!

A mother who loves Daddy next, and has followed him faithfully. We girls have been tremendously blessed with the example of how a godly wife serves her husband, making him successful.

How many times has the last thing I heard at night been her "I love You", and the first thing I heard in the morning been her singing of God's mercies? How many hours has she spent in prayer for us children?

Thank-you, Mom, for your years of service to our family! For the tears, the prayers, the smiles and the hugs. For loving us always, correcting us when we needed it, playing with us and teaching us.

God sure knew what He was doing when He gave you to us children as our mother!!

We Love You Mom!!

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

Ulmer Snap-shots!

Some pictures from our past few weeks!

"Here's the ball, Uncle Moses!!"

And he scores...........maybe.

It was very cool and breezy out one Sunday in April and our family set out for a long walk. Lydia and the boys came out with us too. It was a wonderful to relax together as a family, enjoying God's creation around us!

At the bottom of one hill, headed up the next!!


Seth gives Esther and Marcus a lift! :)



Silas enjoying his car, pulled by Dad...




Esther and Sweet little Marcus.

She looks like she is ready for some serious shooting!!

Elizabeth, Esther and Tabitha with Marcus......yes, for those of you who may have missed it Tabitha has out-grown both Esther and I both by several inches!!