Christmas in the Hills

  Okay so now that we've wrapped up the Thanksgiving season, & we're finished being thankful for ALL the "stuff" we already have, suddenly my children have aquired the gimmies for the coming holiday. No sooner have we finished our "I'm thankful for" list, when we start our "I want" list. But never the less, we are in the holiday mood at the Haft. So what does Christmas look like in the hills....
  Christmas Tree ~ so we need a tree. Why spend to buy one when they are growing all around us. Madison found a descent one, & he and I worked (with a hand saw) to cut it down. We dragged it to the front door, & Dutch takes it from there. As of now it has a hand full of ornaments on it & no skirt- & we'll see if we get around to finishing the decorating. Up here we have no Jones' to keep up with ;) ;)
  Christmas Shopping ~ we need some gifts, so where shall we shop locally??? Ummm, lets see, our options include Dollar Train, Dollar General, 2 small grocery stores OR 4 hardware stores. You know what- I think I'll do my Christmas shopping online this year.
  The Menu ~ What shall we cook up?? Well, we could have venison from the first deer that we ever butchered ourselves, OR we could have bear meat that we're getting from a friend (who shot a bear when Dutch was hunting with him) OR we COULD have Dutch shoot a goose this week & freeze it till Christmas morning OR beaver OR snapping turtle OR... we could let the cooking to my mother. Which is exactly what we're doing!! We are so excited that my side of the family is coming up here to spend a few of the holidays with us!!
  Holiday Attire ~ what to wear?? Camouflage is very fashionable here. And top it off with a bright orange scarf!!!!
  Okay, okay, I'm getting carried away with it- but this was a fun post to think up & write!! And I hope you are all enjoying the pre-Christmas spirit. It is truly a wonderful time of the year!!!!!!!

There Would Be No Me

Okay so my writing juices have come back to life. I used to "journal" & write poems, etc. back in the day, but in recent years I haven't done a whole lot. Well, I don't know if it's the Lord or not, but recently have I have felt the creative side of me begin to enjoy writing again. This poem came to be after I snapped a few photos of my MaKayla coloring with her daddy's mom...

Today I thought about

Just how I came to be-

I traced it back to you

On our family tree.

I'm glad you fell in love with Grandpa,

And wanted a family.

And when you started having kids-

You didn't stop at 2 or 3.

'Cuz my daddy's #6

But to me he's #1.

I'm glad you took good care of him,

Because he was your son.

You taught him about Jesus

And now he teaches me.

So the lessons that you taught,

Will be a legacy.

And I will pass them on-

Someday when I have kids.

And I will do a lot of things-

Just like my daddy did.

So there are many things,

That I should thank you for.

I've only named a few,

But there are many more.

But I'm so thankful you had my dad,

Because most importantly-

If you would not have had him,

Then there would be no me!! RFF/11

So Much Happening...

  NovembuRR!! It's here!! Time is flying by~ things are happening~ the holidays are approaching!! My oh my!! Where to start on this blog?? First of all we'll talk about the wood!! The wood shed is now FULL w/ close to 40 cords of wood. Thanks to several youth groups & indiviual volunteers, the wood is cut & stacked and not a moment to soon either with October throwing us an early winter blast!! Dutch can now check the wood project off the list.
  What else is happening?? Dutch is wrapping up the barn heating project. Hopefully, after a visit this week from JM Lapp Heating, Dutch will be able to cross the barn heating project off the list as well. He will have some finishing up to do after they're gone, but it shouldn't take him long to wrap it all up. After that I believe he will be doing little odd jobs, finishing touches here & there, but no major projects since we are planning to pack up here & head back to Lanc. the end of Jan.
  Speaking of which~ To all of you folks who predicted we wouldn't move back to Lanc. again, sorry to disappoint you, but we are heading back. It WILL be bitter sweet since we love it here. We enjoy the area, the wild life, the slower pace, the people, the ministry, the family time & so much more. We have a lot of great memories from being here, in fact, Dutch and the kids are out making memories right now!! He decided to take Shay & Matt out hunting for fall turkey. It's the little things like that that we can't do in our backyard at home, that have made this year special for us!! And more than that are the friendships we have made this year. We so have enjoyed the people at the Haft & the fun folks at Living Hope Fellowship church!! So to think of leaving here isn't easy, but we feel it's important to go back to Lanc. for now. Will God call us here again for a longer period of time sometime down the road?? I don't know!! But we're so glad we got the priviledge of being here this year.
  What else is happening?? Our personal schedule for the next few months is filling up. Of course with the holidays there are travel plans to make etc. We are so excited that my side of the family is coming up here for three days to have Christmas up here. That's amazing!! We also have friends that haven't been here yet that are calling to see when they can come for a visit. Sooo it feels busy, but we love have folks come & enjoy this place with us!!
  We are still working on (in our coaching w/ Bruce & Joan) our vision & mission etc. for our family. This is not easy for us. Putting things on paper that are in your head and heart are not easy. It's not easy to put thoughts into words, let alone put words into actions. So if you want to know what you can pray about on our behalf~ pray for clarity. That we can see exactly what God desires from our lives. How can we be effective in our community, our church, & ultimately our world??