Mary's Moments

Today we ventured out to Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls, TX as we have done in the past. It's such a neat place to go to pick pumpkins and much more, like go through a Texas shaped corn maze, feed goats, ride horses and ponies, paint pumpkins, stuff scarecrows, eat home-made ice cream, go on a tractor ride, have a picnic lunch, and just have fun taking family pictures! Not to mention the breathtaking scenic drive there through the hilly countryside...and today was a beautiful day for it! There's almost too much stuff to do for one day! I was amazed at how many people have learned of this fun place because every year it gets more and more crowded! We also have fun going in the Spring and Summer to pick strawberries and blackberries. Here are a few pictures from our adventure today!:) Christopher talking to a goat :)- The kids climbing on the "Ugly Wart" pumpkins (Katherine called them the Old Fat pumpkins because they looked like an older person:-) Matthew stopping ...

Last weekend, we made a trip up to Kansas to visit Daniel's 92 year-old Grandpa Farmer. We were so blessed with a wonderful trip and wonderful memories that we'll never forget. While we were there, the hymn he sang to us the most was "Revive Us Again" and I don't think I'll ever forget that song now because of him. I was amazed by Grandpa and his selfless and loving spirit he showed to us even though he is in his last days of life. We love you Grandpa! -Revive Us Again- We praise Thee, O God! For the Son of Thy love, For Jesus Who died, And is now gone above. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again. We praise Thee, O God! For Thy Spirit of light, Who hath shown us our Savior, And scattered our night. All glory and praise To the Lamb that was slain, Who hath borne all our sins, And hath cleansed every stain. All glory and praise To the God of all grace, Who hast brought us, and sought us, And guided our ways....

This year, Daniel's company picnic was at Reunion Ranch, about 5 miles from our house! In years past, the events have been at Sea World, Fiesta Texas, and other places that are a longer drive so we appreciated the very short commute this year! The Ranch had a completely different feel than a large amusement park, but it was so fun and I think all the kids really enjoyed themselves. Katherine kept saying how that was "the best place ever!" She wished she could live there she said... There was a lot of fun activities, like horse riding, rock climbing, a large playscape with zip lines for the kids, tepees, paddleboats, relay races, basketball, BBQ, icecream and Snow cones, and more! The kids really seemed to have a blast and it was very nice not to have to wait in long lines to ride a ride with small kids. Plus it was nice not to have to worry about the kids running off since we had the whole park reserved and there was a large green field the kids could run on, so we didn...

It's amazing what imaginations kid's have these days and how simple-minded they are. Daniel brought home a large box from work the other day and let the kids play in it and it provided hours of free entertainment! If only all things in life were free and highly entertaining! Anyways, they had lots of fun and Katherine even wrote a note on it to us making sure Mom and Dad knew the rules to the box. The other day the boys were outside playing, which for some reason doesn't happen often if Katherine's not home. It seems like Matthew is a home-body and would rather stay inside than play outside. But I made them go out and play for at least 15 minutes the other day and decided to snap some pictures while we were out. Matthew loved showing Christopher how to put the letter pieces into the truck and take them out again. He also thought they made some funny "eyes". :) Also, here's a picture of Matthew in the backyard after eating some chocolate...yummmy. I thought...