Farm Girls

The farm has been hopping this year with a new calf, many new lambs, a brother married, a nephew and sweet sister-in-law gained, garden planted, alfalfa fields planted, hay fields cut and baled and watered to get ready to cut and bale again.
But the farm is not all that has kept us busy for Daddy and his best friend Mr. Max began to dream of gold mining in Nome, Alaska. Last fall they laid the groundwork with a quick trip to Nome, many phone calls and lots of plans for a total makeover of the biggest gold dredge either family has ever owned. Daddy and Mr. Max and our families have been gold dredging together since I was a little girl. Every summer for fourteen years our families would meet in Happy Camp, California and gold dredge. This Alaska summer adventure is an extended, ginormous version of those happy childhood summers. The dredge has been modified, enlarged, customized, turned into a boat, checked, rechecked, packed and loaded into a shipping container and sent to Nome. Mother Dearest, Daddy, Mr. Max, Paul (Mr. Max's son) and David (one of my brothers) followed it to Alaska.
My other brothers (the remaining three) have been working in Hawaii, building on a naval base since January. They are still there.

And this brings me around to the point of this post...the farm is under the care and charge of two farm girls. My dear sister and I have been granted the unique opportunity to work the farm. Because of the Lord's great mercy and grace, we have not had to struggle on our own. My sweetheart and his wonderful brothers have been working almost daily, cleaning the yards, trimming sheep hooves, gardening, trimming trees, feeding the animals and eating the meals that we have made. The boys are very appreciative eaters, and that makes it a pleasure to cook for them.

The blog posts from the summer of 2013 will have many references to the farm, for that is what my life consists of at this point. I am exceedingly thankful for Bountiful Oaks, for all of the blessings that I receive on and through it. I am thankful also for the way that the Lord is using this time to mold me and make me into the person He desires me to be. I pray that I will continually see His hand in all that happens, and that I will consistently delight in the many examples of His grace that surround me.
The picture below is an example of one such blessing, a reminder of His care for me, a smile inducer, and a spark of joy.