I Come to the Garden...

This morning I was listening to Tennessee Ernie Ford sing "In the Garden."

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

It made me think of Grandmother, and how she loved that song, and also loved going to the garden "while the dew is still on the roses." And all of a sudden it occurred to me that she is there! I've spent so much time missing her here, I never spent any thinking of her there.

She walks with Him and talks with Him, and he tells Her she is His own. But that joy they share as they tarry there, one day will be my own.

Some Pig

At this year's Crawford County Fair, David got the chance to be a 4-H Peewee and show a market swine. Jason's cousin Scott raised the pig, but Scott and his family let David do the showing to get him started in what they hope will be a long and decorated career of livestock exhibition. Thanks, Scott!

David did pretty well considering his lack of experience, and he had a really good time. In the Peewee competition, David and all the other kids got a trophy, a blue ribbon, and a coupon for a free ice cream cone. In the open class competition, David and piggy won a first place blue ribbon and a third place white ribbon. We were pretty surprised that they placed in that part of the competition, but the credit goes to Scott for raising a good pig, and also, of course, to Porky himself. He's some pig.

These three pictures show David grooming the pig, showing it in the ring, and admiring the trophy with Benjamin. As you can see, Rachel was hanging around, too.

Life is Fragile

Smoky the kitty was about a month old. She was sweet and fluffy, all black with blue eyes. Smoky was an explorer, and she toddled about the barn before she should have. She used to follow Jason around while he was doing chores.

Tonight, Smoky was behind a cow, in the aisle, when the cow stepped back, right onto Smoky. Jason tried to run around and save her, but he was too late. Tonight we are all sad for Smoky. We buried her in the back yard. We'll miss our little Smoky.

Katie Helps with the Canning

Katie has many commonplace baby talents. She can wave bye-bye. She can (finally) say "mama"! She can clap hands. She can stand up in her high chair. (The other kids want me to get a parrot and teach it to say, "Baby sit! Awk!") She can climb the stairs and even back her way back down.

There are not many babies, though, who know how to put up green beans and squash. She loves to do it, and I guess I am going to have to rig up some type of pulley system so it will be easier for her to reach the stove. She could use some tiny oven mitts, too, but her only real problem comes in during the picking of the vegetables. She eats too much dirt!

Amanda Turns Four

I guess it is always hard to believe how quickly a year in a child's life goes by, but Amanda's fourth birthday seems to have come especially soon! She is still such a little squirt, and maybe that is part of it. We had a little party on the front porch. She had her cake to order, chockit cake with chockit frosting, and flowers on top, made of little round candies. Now that she is not flee anymore, she is going to be a big girl every day. Now if we could just convince her that big girls don't play with their choo-choos.

Benjamin, the Chef with Wet Feet

Our backyard garden finally started producing for real in the last few weeks. Benjamin got really excited about making a stir fry. Here is the uncooked panful. It was really good! He used squash, baby potatoes, green peppers, and I forget what else. He cooked it with olive oil, garlic and soy sauce. He was very pleased with it, and we were all wishing he had made more! Not sure what is in Rachel's mind.

Conneautville has a homecoming celebration every summer, and one of the annual events is the kiddie tractor pull. The kids have to ride the tractor and drag the wooden sled behind. As they go down the course, (you can see it in the picture), people drop bricks onto the sled. When they have to stop, they add up the weight of the bricks and the sled. The kid who pulls the highest percentage of his or her weight in each age group is the cash winner.

Our kids had never ridden a pedal tractor, but they were game to try it anyway. They didn't win, but it really was fun. Here are pictures of each one, grunting down the track. There was no age group for Amanda. Next year, all four of the older kids will be eligible. We'll have to set up a practice track around here and make them train so they will win, and we can bask in their reflected glory and then take away their prize money and make them put it in the bank.

Get ready... Get set..... GO!!!!

(Benjamin, characteristically only mildly interested in the keen competition, spent most of the afternoon in the creek. Here is his prize. I think he was hoping it would turn into a beautiful princess. Note the wet feet and pant legs in his pulling picture.)