Delighting in the Sabbath

Hello friends, family and followers!
Due to a pretty busy past few months we are going to be lumping Sept, Oct, and Nov into one big post and then we will be all caught up and ready to post the adventure's that await us in the the month of December! 

 Just look at that adorable little face! She just brings a smile to my face!

Illustration:

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? "

2 Corinthians 6:14

Industrious ladies knitting

Daddy and Zoe, how precious, that's one very loved little girl! 

Tabitha and Zoe

♫♪"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn mmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyy heeeaaarrrrrttttt thheeeeere

rings a melody...."♪♫

"and [the pharisees] said to Him, Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, `OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" 

"Matthew 21:16

 

 Mr. Kaiser and Ashley

Thank you Kaisers for hosting such a wonderful time of fellowship with other believers!

~

Grape Jelly

A few months ago the Fourniers invited us over to make grape jelly! 

It was our first time doing it and it was great!

A pinch of apples to give it a tang

Distributing the grapes and apples evenly between both pans

Weighing the bowl of grapes so we know how much sugar to add

Boiling the grapes and apples

While we wait for the jelly to finish boiling, the little girls occupy their time usefully by crocheting!

Once the seeds, skins etc have been strained and the remaining liquid has been boiled to just the right consistency, and tested by Mr. Fournier, the jelly is then poured into the glass jars and ready to be sealed!

All done! What a beautiful little girl!

Tasting the scrapings from the jelly bowl yummm!

Grape Candy in the making

The two little girls keeping their eye on the candy waiting for it to cool before snatching it away!

The candy's hardened, it's time to taste!

After all this work Seth shows how most of us are feeling

It's 11:10! 

Thank you Fourniers for inviting us over and teaching us how to make grape jelly! Can't wait until next year!

Apple Picking

"He keeps saying he is going to come back to take care of his trees.This orchard was his life." 
~The son of the orchard keeper

Every year we pick our apples at the same place, this year was a little different.

We went to the same place, but the owner (whom we talked to every time we went there) wasn't there.

We found out from one of his sons and neighbor that he had been in the hospital for about 8 months having complications after his open heart surgery in January. The orchards had been unattended ever since, his son has no interest in the orchard at all. We were able to go and pick whatever apples we could for no cost but more valuable was the reality of it all. These verses sum it up rather well.

 ~

¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' ²⁰But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

 Luke 12:18-20

~
 ¹³Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."
 ¹⁴Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
 ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
James 4:13-15

This picture brings me back regency times, the girls look so pretty-

this would make a great painting!

Tabitha looks so pretty among the apple trees!

(I think this would make a great painting too :)

Hannah, Chariti and Hannah posing for one last picture at the orchard.

Making fresh apple crisp

Mmmmmm!!!

Chariti, Hannah(our neighbor), Seth and Hannah...

Felicity, Dad and Charitit 

enjoying their crisp with ice cream

~
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

Seth turns 4!

Happy (very belated) Birthday Little Man!

Seth picked out his special "flipball" ice cream cake

A picture with Daddy, Hannah, Buzz, Woody and his new truck

"Momma" and her boy  :)

"There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special 

as the love between a mother and a son"
~Author Unknown

A very special gift from...

 

Auntie Maggie!!! 

 Thank you Auntie Maggie! Seth loves his Buzz and Woody!

Our family has truly been blessed with a wonderful, adorable and precious little boy! Lord willing, he will grow up to be a godly man who loves God's Word and pursues righteousness and holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Thomases Good Bye Party

Thomases Good Bye Party 

"Packing up the dreams God planted

in the fertile soil of you

Can't believe the hopes He's granted

means a chapter in your life is through.

But we'll keep you close as always

It won't seem you've gone

'Cause our hearts in big and small ways

will keep the love that keeps us strong.

And friends are friends forever

If the lord's the Lord of them

And a friend will not say never

'cause the welcome will not end

Though it's hard to let you go 

in the Father's hand we know

That a lifetime's not to long to live as friends."

"SURPRISE!!!"

 "SURPRISE!!!"

So you thought you were going out to eat with the Fournier's, did you? 

Singing and playing hymns together for one of the last times

Giving an exhortation

Through laughs and tears we bid goodbye 

Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again!
~Author Unknown

It was so precious to see families that have known the Thomases for years, (some even close to a decade) hug each other and say good bye. 

Fighting back tears...

"We'll keep you close as always"

"My dear chap, I never would have dreamt of depriving you of your moment of triumph. Alas, a moment was all I could spare.";)

A Walk with the Thomases

A Walk With The Thomases

Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.
Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam...
And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...

So tweasure your wuv.

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity!"
~Psalm 133:1

"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies."

*GASP!* They need the federation to keep an eye on those Portuguese Americana's...

Oklahoma LOOK OUT!!!

The Mello's

After visiting Linden Place, we headed next door to a rather modern and artsy playground.

"As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
From whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever"

Stephanie, Melanie and Tabitha

♥ Best friends forever! ♥

"And friend's are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them"

Oh look! 

A merry-go-round!

We had a blast trying to figure out what some of the artistic pieces are supposed to be used for ;)

We made up our own uses for them!

Hmmm...a doorway?

Our latest album cover: 

The Playground 

(all right reserved)

what you don't see is that we are standing on...well, we never did quite figure out what it was :)

But we were about four feet above the ground.

"Let those be thy choicest companions who have made Christ their chief companion."

~Thomas Brooks

While crossing the Newport bridge on our way home from our walk

we noticed a familiar sailboat--the Paravella, sailing into the dock with a rather large crew :)

We all began to shout "Mom pull into the marina, The Fourniers are heading to the dock!"

Now what are the chances of that happening?