Washing the Bus.

Last Saturday the girls tackled the project of washing our bus.

During these dusty summer months it doesn't take long to get the bus pretty filthy!!! Plenty of water and elbow grease!

Looking better already!!!

Phoebe gives me a grin as she washes windows!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

This little sweetheart has a birthday today!!!

Just look at that smile!!!

A great big sister!!!

Happy 24th Birthday, Lydia!!

We Love You!!

Uncle Tom & Aunt Barb's.

This past week-end Dad's step-sister and her husband invited our family to spend the the week-end with them on the lake they live on in Lincoln, NE. We had a wonderful time!! Uncle Tom and Aunt Barb were so gracious and made us feel right at home. We all enjoyed the two days we spent with them and the time spent in the water.

Tabitha, Noah and Esther waiting for their next turn on the tube!!

Seth capturing many memories on the video camera!!

Seth and Esther on the wave-runner.

Boat rides are fun!!

Moses enjoying the gentle waves in the water.

Aunt Barb and Mom headed out on the wave-runner!

Dad and Esther at the front of the boat (it was a little windy, right Esther??)!!

What a wonderful time we had at the Lake!! Thanks for having us Uncle Tom and Aunt Barb!! Come see us sometime soon!!!

Tubing!!

Saturday afternoon was spent taking turns on the tube. None of us had ever been tubing before so it was a special treat!!! It was a beautiful day to be on the lake and we all enjoyed it immensely!!

Uncle Tom drove the boat, and managed to knock several people off the tube into the water!!

Daddy!!

Mommy!!

Seth.

Esther cheered the loudest when Seth slipped off the tube, and received her just rewards when only a few short moments into her turn, Uncle Tom successfully flipped her off the tube.

Noah braved the trail for us all and went first.

Despite our best efforts, we couldn't get him to fall off!!

Elizabeth.

Tabitha takes the prize for holding on under to most pressure. At one point the tube hit the wave just right and flew through the air several feet above the water! She managed to hold on even after the tube smacked the water and hit several waves!!

Moses.

Micah.

Charity was our youngest to tube, and she held on the whole time!!

Water Skiing......

Late Sunday morning we once again loaded up in the boat and headed out to that lake to do some water skiing. It was still pretty cool out and the breeze off the lake could make a person a little chilly if they were wet! :)

Our terrific boat driver, Aunt Barb!!

Dad, our skiing expert made it around the lake many times, but ran into a little trouble when he tried to drop a ski.........:)

Seth made it up the very first try, and stayed up!!

Esther tried many times and though she made it up many times, she couldn't keep her balance and plunged right back into the lake.

Esther's one last try....ends in a splash.

Chicken Butchering.....

Last Thursday marked the beginning of the chicken butchering season. We spent two days butchering, the first day skinning 50 birds. It was a bright, sunny day and as a result of working in direct sunlight, the workers got extremely sunburnt. Arms and faces glowed bright red for several days. The second day started much later, and we only managed to butcher 30 birds. Plucking by hand slowed things up a bit, so it was decided to ask Scott to bring over the plucker to speed things up. On Thursday of this week we got back to work and got 120 birds done in about 5 1/2 hours.

Noah had the dirtiest job of us all, cutting the heads off.

Esther is the most vital person in our operation. We always knew she could gut birds fast, but actually timed her this time and found she could gut a bird in 48 seconds. Pretty good, huh?

Scott's Terrific Plucker at Work!!!

Tabitha does a fantastic job wrapping the birds up for us.
We are grateful that she is so good at it because none of the rest of us can do it well!

Clean-up.....

It's a wonderful feeling to go from here........

......to here!!!!

There is only one pen of birds left. Because we lost an entire pen (120 birds) to a wild animal over night our butchering has been cut in half. The remaining 75 birds need about 7-10 days more and then we'll be done butchering this Spring!!

Happy Birthday!!!

This little man is celebrating today!!

Run on over here and wish him Happy Birthday!!!

We Love You, Scott!!

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!!