4H kids are special!

Last week  I had a conversation with a sweet mother of 3. I was asking about her family and kids. I asked if her children participated in any fall sports, or after school activities?
Her response was, " no, not really - they just do 4H in the summer. They aren't really the sports kind of kids."
My response was swift, " That's awesome", I said.
Our conversation turned to something else and we moved on.
But later,  as I was pondering on our conversation,  I realized that I missed an opportunity to explain to her HOW awesome the 4H thing really was!

You see...4H is cool!!!!

As you know,  I grew up on a farm. When the time came us kids joined our local 4H club.  We had pigs and steers. I always thought the goats and horses looked like more fun,  but Dad always said,  " goats and horses won't make you any money.  The money is in the pigs and steers. This is your college savings!"... so pigs and steers it was!
We were outside all summer with our animals, we spent hours together as siblings, we made life long friends, we had fun, we made a ton of memories... good and bad ;)
We learned how to care for animals,  to help each other,  to be tough (gotta have grit!),  and most of all...how to work, I mean really work hard!
The work was dirty... there were flies, lots of flies. You had to pay for your animal and the feed, sometimes your animal would die.
We worked all spring and summer for the fair week... actually for 15 min of ring time on show night,  and 5 minutes on sale day. 
But the fun we had,  the friends we made,  and the things we learned last a lifetime.

So.....these kids that "just do 4H" are special. They might not have their team picture in the school yearbook, but they are working hard, learning alot of life lessons,  and finding life long friends!

Last week I made a few of these ornaments as gifts for my niece and nephews...to celebrate them and their passions! They deserve to have ornaments of their accomplishments on the family tree as well!

I have made a few extras and they will be at the sale if you have a special 4H kid in your life that you want to celebrate!

hello fall

hello fall....I think I love you?!

I l.o.v.e summer!
I love the laid back, no schedule, floating in the lake, grilling every night, ice cream cone, flip flop kind of summer days!!!

But the last few days in west michigan have been AMAZING!
No humidity!
T-shirt by day, sweatshirt by night kind of weather! If we could keep this weather, I would consider my love for fall equal to my love of summer!

But let's be honest... it's hard to love fall when you know what's coming after these beautiful fall days...... cold, dreary winter. Boo hoo! 😫.

The only thing I look forward to during the winter is Christmas. I enjoy the family time,  the food, the music, but most of all... the decorating!!!
My house is currently busting at the seams with fall decor, but I will gladly replace it with christmas lights, red buffalo check things and christmas trees...soon, very soon!
We are starting to get into the christmas groove. Mom and I have already been working on things for our Christmas on the Farm sale!

This year's dates are:
Thursday,  November 15 6-8pm
Friday,  November 16 9am-2pm

The farmhouse, blessing barn, and picker's place will be full again!

Hello February!

Wow...it's February already. I haven't posted in a while, we have been extremely busy with just, plain ole life!
But this morning, it really hit me...it's February and that means our misson trip to Guatemala is right around the corner!
We have a team of 15 incredible women...we are "His Faithful Dream Team". These women have different gifts and talents, but God pursued each one of them for His specific misson! We will be building 2 homes,  providing dental and medical care to 3 remote villages,  and helping out in the orphanage where need be.
The packing for our trip has begun...we will have around 45 suitcases and 15 backpacks FULL of supplies, care items, toys, and donations that we have collected.  GOD IS GOOD!
We are excited....but also very nervous. It is a 3rd world country with unrest...we are leaving our families. ..we are leaving all the "comforts of home". We are flying- not everyone is a fan of airplanes!  We are "germ a phoebes", we don't want to get sick! Some have never been on a mission trip,  some have never left the US! They say it's extremely hot and "buggy" there right now. ....okay, I could go on and on, but you get it...we ARE NERVOUS, and we NEED you!

We NEED and COVET your prayers!

Back in November,  we sold lanterns as part of our fundraiser...it's time to dust them off and start lighting them! We need your prayers as we pack and as we get our families ready for our absences. Pray that we will remain healthy even with all the sickness around us. Pray for us as we prepare our hearts and minds to serve. And we will need LOTS of prayers for our nerves!

These are all prayers for our needs. ...but we also need prayers for the Guatemalans that we will come in contact with.  Open their ears, hearts, and minds to our message... God's message. Pray that they may see God's love and NOT our shortcomings! 

I will post again right before we leave on the 19th. I will have more specific prayer requests and info on how you can follow us during our trip. 

Thank you in advance for all your prayers! 

Marcy,  Maddie,  and Ann Marie