Edge trim wood cut and stacked!!

This morning the rain stopped about 11:00 am.  The boys and I with the help of Tiffy on the tractor pulling the trailer, cut and loaded and stacked the rest of the truck load of wood.  The rest of the week end we'll have to get the splitting done on the bigger stuff in between my working this weekend.  The end of my vacation is at hand.  Overall  we did get quite abit done around here.  A dent to say the least.

God bless you,
Tim

Salsa is done!!!!!

Finally Done!!  19 quarts of Mild, and 10 quarts and 7 pints of Medium.  It looks and tastes GREAT!! not that I'm partial or anything.  We thank the Lord for our abundant harvest.  Time for Tylenol and OFF to BED.  We will have to finish with the wood in the morning, Rain or Shine, there's about half of it left to cut and stack.

 

God bless you all, and to all a good night
Tim

Fall is coming soon!!!!

We have been gathering in the wood for the winter, so far we have a truck load of bigger pieces of wood that need splitting, and a truck load of smaller that just needs cut to length. We get our fire wood from a local guy that has his own sawmill. We get the edge and the trim pieces from the big logs . It is all hardwood, mostly oak and burns really well in our wood stoves. The price is very reasonable and will cut our electric costs this winter. The chain saw has been very busy the last few days, now the real work begins, the splitting.  The boy's and I will be using the axes, hatches, wedges and the Sledge, to make short work of the larger pieces, so they will be more manageable.  We will still have to get another Load of each, but for now it is enough to get stacked and put away.

We also processed about 40 pounds of peaches into peach butter and boy is it wonderful.  It is kind of like apple butter only made with peaches added with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.  The girls got the recipe out of the "Ball Book" last year and made a small batch.  We liked it so well that we made MORE this year.

We are making salsa today with the peppers and tomatoes from our garden.  We had to buy onions because ours aren't big enough yet.  We will be  getting it started as soon as my post is done. 

 God bless you

Tim

The New TEA PARTY

My Father in law told me that we will be having a new tea party at Homecoming Park at the pavillion in Wauseon, OH, on The 12th of September 2009, at noon. They are still updating the web site for this event. Good chance that Bob Latta our congressional rep. will be speaking again like the last one. The web site is www.fultonteaparty.com. We encourage all who can, to come and be counted, it is inspiring to see that we are not alone. Hope to see you there!!!!!!

God Bless,
Tim

Spoiled!!!!

Which is more spoiled? The boy or the cat?

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!

On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, reflecting on what he had shared in Congress and, with prophetic insight, declaring the importance of that day:

" The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.

You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; that posterity will triumph in that day's transaction, even though we [may regret] it, which I trust in God we shall not."

Praise the Lord,

Tim

Finally Home!!!!!!

Hello Everyone!

We arrived home on Monday; glad to be home, glad to have the memories, and still laughing over our "Comedy of Errors" trip!!! Last we posted we had just gotten the truck back and were preparing to hit the road again. We moved the trailer up to a campground in Black Hawk so we would be closer to the action. Upon getting out and setting up we discovered three things: a vent cover was missing, the air conditioning wouldn't work, and some keys were missing!!! Fortunately, we were able to get the last cover in the area for our size vent, and Daddy fixed the air conditioning, but if you see a key ring with a large red tag on it, please let us know!

The rest of the trip we spent looking at Needles Highway, the Wildlife Loop, Mammoth Site, Devil's Tower, and Ft. Laramie (which was very informative and one of my favorite visits)! We also saw Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff from a distance! Our biggest adventure was in Nebraska!

We were trying to make it to a campground near Lake McConaughy late at night and in a storm when we got stuck in between two hills on a gravel road. Now, a gravel road is usually no problem, but with all the rain, sand and dirt had turned it into a muck pit. We couldn't get enough traction to make it up the one hill, and the trailer would try to land in the ditch if we attempted to back up the other hill! We called for help and were told that the wrecker was in Big Springs trying to get a semi out of a ditch, and to expect an hour or so wait! The emergency brake does not engage the trailer brakes, and so would not keep us out of the ditch! Therefore, poor Daddy had to keep his foot on the truck brake for, what would turn out to be, a SEVEN HOUR wait! It was pitch black out that night, with no civilization in sight. A few cars stopped, two of which were drunk (one man even claimed he could pull us out with his little SUV!!!), and (just before dawn) one really nice lady who felt bad for us and brought back her husband an hour later. By that time the sun was up, the ground was dryer, and we were ready to try one more time. And... We made it!!! And just as we turned a bend in the road, we looked back to see the tow truck arriving!

We got back on the main road and pulled off at the nearest truck stop and slept! After that we got through with out a hitch (though we did have to drive for as long as we could), and got home two days behind schedule. It really was a wonderful trip and we have a whole bundle full of memories!!

In Christ,

For the family,

~ Tiffany

P.S. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures soon!!

Places we've been

Hi Everyone!

Daddy just got done bringing you up to the present, so I thought I would post a few more details and pictures of the places he mentioned. After leaving Wisconsin, our first stop was in:

1. Burr Oak, Iowa

Here we saw the Seed Savers Farm, a place that collects and preserves from extinction all the original, non-genetically altered plants they can. So far they have preserved some where around 2,500 different varieties, from broom corn to the almost extinct moon and stars melon.

We also saw the hotel that Laura Ingalls and her family worked in at Burr Oak. This place was not mentioned in any of the "Little House" books that she wrote in later life, but occurred between their time in Walnut Grove and their move to De Smet.

The Entry to the Visitor's Center (where the tour starts)!

At the Hotel, $0.25 would guarantee you that you wouldn't share the bed with more than two other people!!!!!

The room where Laura and her family stayed!

2. Walnut Grove, Minnesota

We ended up arriving here late at night, long after everything had closed. We did however, manage to take a few shots of the Visitor's Center!

3. De Smet, South Dakota
This is where "On the Shores of Silver Lake" "Little Town on the Prairie" "The Long Winter" "These Happy Golden Years" and "The First Four Years" took place! We visited the area where Pa staked his claim and built the claim shanty! Because of time constraints (which have turned out to be a large factor on this trip!) we did not have time to take the tour, but did climb to the top of a viewing platform to take pictures!

That dark area at the very top of the picture is the currently dry, "Big Slough" that Laura and Carrie got lost in and Pa harvested hay from!

4. Mitchell, South Dakota

We didn't take any pictures here (all cameras where back in the trailer) but the Corn Palace did look very interesting as we were driving by. I was sort of expecting the pictures to be made of so many corn kernels poured between two sheets of glass. Instead, everything was open air; glued to the side of the building and made up of corn cobs, different grasses, and multiple other grains!

5. Badlands National Park
This area is so gorgeous, I'll have to let the pictures speak for themselves! (After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!)

6. Mount Rushmore National Park

I think that should be enough for now, I'll post pictures of the other places later! Hope you all have a great day and week!

In Christ,
For the Family,
~ Tiffany

Just can't wait to get on the road again

Well it has been an eventful few days to say the least. We were able to go and see Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, and the Seed Saver's farm were they have 25000 heirloom seeds in Burr Oak Iowa. We drove through Walnut Grove, Sleepy eye, Mankato, and stopped in De Smet to visit the Ingalls and Wilder homestead sites. We drove through Mitchell SD and saw the Corn Palace, unfortunately we couldn't stop because of parking issues with the trailer. We arrived in Interior SD at the Badlands on Thursday evening. We unhitched the trailer and drove through the Badlands and then on to Rapid City on friday hoping to get to Mt Rushmore, when a brake line blew on the truck. The visitor center was still open so we pulled in and asked about auto repair places and had our motor club tow our truck over to the repair shop where they were supposed to get to it in the morning. We had to rent a car to get back to interior to our dog "Hope" a golden retreiver. We were still able to see Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Bear Country USA, while using the car. There was some mix ups at the shop and the truck wasn't done until this afternoon. They were kind enough to pay for the extra day car rental since it was their mistake. Today we went on a train ride for my Father's day gift, it was wonderful, we even got robbed. Don't worry it was planned!!!!! We have been so blessed by God on this trip. I can't imagine losing the brakes while towing the trailer in the mountains. God has us in his hands and has been protecting us this trip. The Truck is back in commission and we will be back on the road come morning. Thank you all for your prayers and Happy Father's Day!!!!!!

Tim

Tiffy wants to explain in greater detail and add some pic's on the places we were and are.

Hello and Happy Father's Day!!!

It is not always easy being a parent, but it is a blessing. Raising children takes a lot of hard work and dedication, especially these days. The time is well invested though and can be very rewarding! With that said, I am so thankful for fathers. This week I am thanking God for that precious man I have enjoyed for the last 20 years! The kids and I appreciate the time he spends with us and his dedication! Thank you Dads!!
We have not been posting as much as we had hoped. This trip got a little more complicated when we blew a brake line!! We are praising the Lord for His loving care through all of this. First,when the line went we where not towing and it was near Rapid City, South Dakota. Much of the trip we have passed through sparsely populated areas. Second, the travel information center we were able to pull into was not closed yet and they were so helpful getting us towed. The tow truck and rental car both showed up quickly. That was a blessing!!! We were able to still visit Mt. Rushmore and return to Hope (our golden retriever) who was waiting for us at the trailer which was some distance away in Interior still. We were supposed to haul the trailer to Sturgis, S.D. the next morning. To make a long story short, we are still in Interior waiting for the truck. When we went to pick it up yesterday the technician was going to let us leave with it, but thankfully Tim looked things over and asked questions. They we going to let us drive that truck when they did not bleed the two passenger brake lines, the front is the replaced one!!! Very dangerous especially hauling! I am so glad that God is in control! Thank You to our friends for prayers!!!
We are still having a great time in spite of it all and have many pictures to share. Tiffany can't wait to post about it tonight. We are enjoying the beauty and diversity of our ever changing landscape on this trip! Take care and know that you are in our prayers too.
Lisa