Franklin Family Journey

black-and-white love // a photo challenge

2012-02-11T17:32:00.003-05:00

Here's my entry for Lucia's "Black-and-white love" photography contest. It's one of my favorites of my sweet little sister and me.

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

God Gives Good Gifts in His Time

2012-02-07T12:07:00.003-05:00

Ever since I was a little girl, maybe about seven years old, I have longed for and prayed for a piano. Well, my prayers were answered last week!! Our dear friends, the Frodges were recently blessed with a Baby Grand piano. So Mrs. Frodge gave her piano to her granddaughter, Margaret Stricklen. And the Stricklens gave their piano to us. :D :D

My sister and I were Very excited to get it. :)

Isn't it beautiful? And it fits just perfectly in our family room ;)

We're looking forward to many hours of playing :) :) :)

I'm thanking the Lord for giving good gifts in His time!

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

In Which........

2012-02-01T15:01:00.014-05:00

....several good friends get together on a Sunday afternoon after church and play Capture the Flag :)

Pretty Markie and Mariah :)

Picking team players. Discussing strategy.

Here we have some adorable little boys... ;)

A reluctant prisoner ;)

Pretty Chelsea :)

: )

"Run!!!"

"Get it!!" "Grab him!!!" "Aw! He dropped the flag!"

This is such a sweet picture :)

Sweet friends <3

Croquet anyone?

Paul seems up for the challenge :)

Ryan Waldman :)

My friend Markie is simply lovely! :)

Well, this is all for now. I hope y'all enjoyed!

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

A Visit With the Dischers

2012-01-31T17:34:00.009-05:00

Our very dear friends, the Dischers, recently came down to Florida for a few weeks. We were very excited to be able to spend some time with them. One evening they were able to come out to our house. Sadly, actually more like, shamefully I did not get any pictures of the adults. Anyhow, here are some of the pictures that I did take throughout the evening. :)

Grace and Markie

This was supposed to be a "conversational" shot, but Peter Jr. here detected the camera instantly and blocked her face, while Paul drags Emilie's arm behind her ;)

Pretty Princess Emma Janie :)

Paul here is begging Daniel for another brownie ;)

This is the "Other Princess".....

...and the adorable Little Prince that unexpectedly dropped in for a visit that evening.

This balloon got plenty of action that night.

Every time that Paul would throw the balloon into the air he would throw back his little head to watch as it came back down. So cute!

Daniel about to slingshot the balloon into Paul's waiting arms.

Rosie joins in the game :)

By the time this picture was taken, it was quite late and Markie and I were both very tired, but very excited to be with each other, hence the extremely hyper expression on my face. ;)

Well that's all for this visit folks.

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

Good Old-Fashioned Sunshine

2012-01-31T16:52:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures I thought I'd share of my little sister soaking up some of that good ol' Florida sunshine! Hope y'all enjoy! :)

My little sis and I are good Florida gals. We own shoes... but you will hardly ever see them on our feet ;)

Ahhh.... relaxation!

It was such a beautiful day!

There Is Sunshine in My Soul

There is Sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

O there's Sunshine, blessed sunshine,
When the peaceful happy moments roll,
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in my soul.

There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King;
And Jesus, listening can hear,
The songs I cannot sing.

O there's Sunshine, blessed sunshine,
When the peaceful happy moments roll,
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in my soul.

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

The Word of the Lord Stands Forever

2012-01-23T16:59:00.006-05:00

These flowers are simply lovely aren't they? I love flowers. But it is important to note that they do not last.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the Word of our God shall stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8

In Christ Jesus,

~Sadie~

Fall Colors

2012-01-13T14:05:00.006-05:00

On one of my walks in our neighboring field I discovered this little patch of fall.

Fall colors in Spring? Only in Florida... ;)

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.
~Isaiah 6:3~

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto Him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.
For the word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth.
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

~Psalm 33:1-5

~Sadie~

Fun and Games with the Franklin Kids

2012-01-13T12:27:00.007-05:00

Here are a few pictures taken over the last few days of some of the different ways we have fun.
Daniel and Emilie love to play board games...

Monopoly is one of Daniel's favorites. (I can't stand it personally ;) But Em is sweet and plays with him :)

Concentration.

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"You roll your dice you move your mice... nobody gets hurt" ;)

Mousetrap is one of Emilie's favorites...

And kind big brother gladly plays with her :)

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Another favorite Emilie past time is playing with her barbie dolls.

"They could have danced all night....!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We spent a fun afternoon one day tracing our shadows with chalk, and later bike riding....

Silhouette of Daniel on his bike... with a Welcome sign... oops ;)

Em's turned out pretty good :)

Waahoo!

See y'all later!

Even a child is known by his doings,
whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

~Proverbs 20: 11

~Sadie~

The Little Things in Life

2012-01-10T15:39:00.003-05:00

Here's my entry for your photography contest, Lucia. I hope you like it.

~Sadie~

In Which the Franklins have a Fire on a Chilly January Evening

2012-01-09T16:12:00.008-05:00

What do you do after a fun afternoon of raking leaves from the yard? You start a fire with the leaves of course!

Our warm and cozy house :)

The moon was beautiful, all shimmery and silver, but in this picture it looks kinda creepy and eery.

Daniel, Daddy and Emilie, The faithful firewatchers ;)

Notice that the fire is shaped kind of like a girl running.

One handsome young man :D

Our diligent Daddy :)

And this one looks like a fiery horse... sort of... ;)

Emmy dear, when I say smile that doesn't mean cross your eyes too ;)

That's all for now folks.

Psalm 118:1 and 4
O Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: because His mercy endureth forever.
Let them now that fear the Lord say, that His mercy endureth forever.

~Sadie~

My Adventures on the Roof

2012-01-09T15:11:00.005-05:00

Despite the fact that I am terrified of heights.... I love spending time on our roof.

Here's an interesting angle.

What is one to do when one is on a roof top by one's self with only a camera for company? Take pictures of one's self of course! ;)

Beautiful clouds... unsightly power poles...

It was truly breath taking!

Me again... :P

A gorgeous sunset through the trees.

I love how it looks like a glorious cross. :)

You are probably wondering why I took this picture.... well... I am wondering that same thing myself. :P
Our cat sleeps here at night. That still doesn't explain why I took this picture... well... I guess we'll always wonder about this one.

As you can see, it is completely safe up here.

I hope y'all enjoyed my adventures on the roof.

~Sadie~

Having Fun with My New Camera

2012-01-05T15:34:00.007-05:00

Well, here I am again folks. Since I had the time, I thought I'd bore you with a few pictures that I've taken with my new camera.

I have always loved clouds. I don't know why. But I think they are simply beautiful!

This here is Emilie's new puppy, Giggles. Isn't she adorable?

Here she is with her Daddy, Tickle. :D ;)

Sweet potato bread that I made.

It turned out pretty good.

Matthew Miller, I don't care what you say... the truck's name is Fred! ;)

"We're going for a walk outside today... gonna see what we can find today..."

Sweet sisters <3

Hello, Abby! :)

Mary and Me :)

They're so cool... B-)

I absolutely *Love* this picture! They are so Sweet!

Enter: Captain Adorable!

This my friends... is what you call "The Smolder" ;)

Enter: Miss Cutestuff, and her lovely assistant, Mary!

Yeah, she knows she's cute ;)

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This is me..... and my camera.... ;)

In case you were wondering why my little sister looks so strange in this picture, it is simple. I took it with my built in fish eye lens ;) :D

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking through these photos. That's all for now.

In Christ,

Sadie

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T16:17:00.002-05:00

Over the past months we have been sadly negligent in posting on the blog. And I would like to say now that we are going to try to rectify that. :) So here is our first post for the year...

Starting with our Christmas pictures...

It is always fun for me to decorate the Christmas tree.
(We had another tree put up in the living room this year... but I forgot it when I was posting the pictures.)
This is our quirky fun tree with all of our un-matchy-matchy ornaments :D

Daddy reading the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2
Emilie especially loves this chapter... can ya tell? ;)

My Mama has always loved chocolate covered cherries, and she told Daddy once that even if he couldn't afford to buy her anything else for Christmas, she would like to get those chocolate covered cherries. So my Daddy has always gotten them for her. The funny thing though... it always seems to be a surprise when she gets them ;)

Mama: "I don't think so, Missy. These are my cherries!" ;)

Daniel here has really been growing lately.
So we thought it about time to get him some new shirts.

Em too ;)

Mama opening Emilie's present to her. She really likes it.

"Hey Sadie, what'cha gonna do with that thar rollin' pin?"

Em with her new little girl barbie doll.

Mama and I had been looking for some Hardy Boys books for Daniel (which we found). But as we were looking... I noticed this Grace Livingston Hill book... and I wanted it ;) But it was a first addition so it wasn't cheap... and we were supposed to be shopping for Daniel, not me. So I put it back on the shelf. Little did I know, Mama bought the book when my back was turned and surprised me with it on Christmas.

"I LOVE them!!"

Daniel and Emilie admiring Daniel's leatherman ;)

I think she likes it :)

Still admiring...

Daniel got Mama some new glasses.

Daddy opening his present from Daniel.
"It's salami right?"

"Ah, it's Axe."

These pictures make me smile :)

I love this picture :)

And this one ;)

Emilie made this airplane for Daniel out of Popsicle sticks.

Mama gave me the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook.

<3 <3

New Barbies!!! :D

That's all for now. Lord willin' I'll be posting again soon.

Merry Christmas!

In Christ,

Sadie

Videos from the Missouri Trip

2011-07-01T11:00:00.003-04:00

On my recent trip to Missouri, I took a view videos. I hope they don't bog your computers down to view them, but I thought everyone would enjoy seeing them. They are not edited or perfect in any way. They just capture memories and moments in time.

The Discher Family Singers

I'm not the best videographer, but I think I captured the essence of the dance.
At the end, I must have not realized I was still videoing. Sorry :~)

Quick Trip to Missouri

2011-06-30T22:20:00.013-04:00

I had the wonderful privilege of traveling to Missouri with our pastor and his wife and two young ladies to visit my dear friend Beth and her family. We left out on Sunday afternoon and arrived in Saint Charles, Monday afternoon to attend a homeschool conference there.

Traveling Buddy #1
Livy Pollock

Traveling Buddy #2
Callie Stricklen

We "girls" had fun in the backseat doing crossword puzzles.

Our chauffeur
"Daring Dan"

Emma Jane enjoying her breakfast at the Hammon's.

Beth & Paul

One of our gracious hosts, Gracelynn Hammon.
Such sweet people to let all of us invade their home.

Markie and Rosie helping clean up the dishes while our hostess,
Angie Hammon, oversaw the packing of lunches for about 20 people.

Callie & Grace
on the way to the conference

Rosie & Beth
aka Mommy and Mini Mommy

Beth & Eddie

Callie, Markie, & Grace

Emma Jane tickling Paul

Rosie & Emma on the way to dinner

Paul looking bored at the Civil War ball

Grace

Kitty, Callie, Markie, & Grace
Ready for the dance

Sorry, Livy, but I just love this picture :~)

Random pictures of strangers in the crowd.
However, that is one of the Phillips boys in the back.

All the beautiful gowns.

After the conference we headed down to the Dischers.
Here is Markie making bread for our lunch. It was delicious!

This is apparently the last remaining structure from a long ago community called Locust.

Sarah

Their Highland herd.

Grace, down by the crick.

Pretty

Markie

Paul smiling for the camera.

A Sycamore tree on the property.

Sarah tending to her daily chores with Butter Belle.

Butter Belle's calf, Cress.

Beth & I on the Polaris

Can't believe I took a picture of the cost of gas, because it was the cheapest on the trip.
Why back in the "good ol' days" we got gas for .87 per gallon!

The trip home we stopped by and stayed with the Whiddon family.
They too were gracious hosts.
Laney, Mallory, & Nina

A turkey hen and her babies.

We were able to attend church with the Whiddons in Plains, GA.

Visiting just before leaving for home.

I think I'm beginning to learn all of their names... this is Timothy.

Brooke & Michael

Mrs. Whiddon

Ben

Nathan & Laney

Lindsey

Thanks Frodges for inviting me along! I had a wonderful time!

Our Chickens

2011-05-20T17:02:00.008-04:00

This post is a little out of order, so bear with me. We have two separate pens of chickens. The first batch we named for the "Chicken Run" characters. The second set were given to us by our pastor and his wife. They are three Buff Orpington hens and one Rhode Island rooster. We call them the Andrews Sisters and Rhodie. The Sisters are a really good sized bird, and the Chicken Run Gang are smaller birds.

We wanted to hatch some baby buffs, but our buffs weren't setting on the eggs. Meanwhile, faithful Babs was setting each day on nothing. We decided to transfer the eggs over to the Chicken Run Gang. We placed 10 eggs under her. Later, Ginger also began to help with the setting. Sunday, May 1st, we came home from church and found that four of our eggs had hatched. The next day four more hatched.

Ginger keeping her babies warm.
No need for a heat lamp with mama around.

The last egg to hatch on Monday.
The remaining two never hatched.

The mamas would peck at the food and then drop it on the floor for the babies.
It was fascinating to watch the teaching and learning process.

Emilie holding one of the little peeps.

By Tuesday, all the babies were down in the yard learning to scratch for bugs in the grass.

All the adult birds took part in teaching the babies.

Now we jump back in time.
Here is Emilie by the fountain we set up by the pool.

We had experimented with having the Chicken Run Gang by the pool.
This was a permanent cage we set up before we received the Andrews Sisters.

It didn't take much time for them to eat all the weeds in this bed.

Emilie just loves her chickens.

"You lookin' at me?" says Rocky.

It was pretty cool having the birds better protected and sheltered, but they scratched and flung dirt all over the pool deck. It didn't take long for us to move them back to their tractor and dismantle this cage. We did take advantage of the chicken manure and tilled it into the soil and planted our garden in the same spot. It was after we moved them that we let Babs set on a clutch of eggs. The following pictures are of her setting.

Babs

We placed ten eggs under Babs who was faithfully setting on nothing day after day.

Babs the devoted mother hen

Rhodie the Rhode Island Red
He's pretty, but very protective of his girls.
Patrick is the only one who is able to go inside the cage to feed, water, and collect eggs.

I'm sad to report that when our babies were nine days old, opossums got in the cage. We lost three babies that night. Then, just before they were two weeks old, a fox broke into the cage and killed four more. We are now down to only one baby left. Of course, it will probably end up being a rooster.

Farm living is rough :~(

Our Little Garden

2011-05-18T21:38:00.005-04:00

We started a garden from seed earlier this season.
We transplanted them in a little plot of ground by our pool.

tomatoes, carrots, collards, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers & sweet potato

onions

collards

The collards are a growin'

tomatoes

This sweet potato plant grew from a cut sweet potato, not a seed.

Collards grow like weeds :~)

The kids have really enjoyed watching the garden grow.

bell peppers

Our first tomatoes!

onion

cucumbers

The garden has really grown quite a bit since the last pictures were taken. We have already harvested some of the collards. Unfortunately, only three of the collard seeds we planted matured. The cucumbers haven't grown much more than what is pictured. I don't know if they're just late bloomers or not going to do develop any more. We have a bunch of tomatoes and looks like the peppers are going to produce well. We planted a lot of carrot seeds, but only a handful sprouted. We're new to gardening. Patrick gardened quite a bit with his grandfather when he was young, but that was a few years ago.

The Girls' New Beds

2011-05-18T21:26:00.002-04:00

Sadie and Emilie have shared a double bed for several years now. However, when we went in search for a new bed for Daniel, we were able to find two! Now Sadie can stay up reading a little later by lamp light and Emilie can fall asleep without being disturbed by the light.

Emilie likes hiding behind the curtain.
She also enjoys reading and playing up in her loft.

Sadie is really enjoying having a bed all to herself

I think Emilie has quite a few companions in her bed.

Daniel's 13th Birthday

2011-05-18T17:03:00.003-04:00

I apologize for taking three months to update our blog. I have found it quite a bit easier to upload pictures to Facebook than to Blogger. However, I also realize that not everyone is on Facebook, so I will try to do better about keeping up with blog posts.

Our Daniel had his 13th birthday a few weeks ago in April. We found a great deal on two loft beds on Craig's List. Here is the one we set up for Daniel for his birthday. My mom gave him her old laptop computer for his flight simulator. He's now all set!

A poster of the cockpit view of a private airplane.

"This is your pilot speaking..."

He enjoys tracking his flights on the World map.

It is a way cool bed!

Once a month we have dinner out with other Modern Woodmen members. This months "Chapter" even fell on Daniel's birthday, so he got to go to Pizza Hut in celebration!

Patrick surprised him by bringing CJ Stricklen home to join us for dinner at Pizza Hut and to spend the night. He was so surprised when he came in his room after getting his shower to find CJ hiding there.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any other pictures of the kids swimming and having fun.

Christmas 2010

2011-02-02T21:42:00.011-05:00

A few pictures from Christmas in our new house.
Sorry I'm so late in getting this post up,
but better late than never :~)

Our new house has a family room and a living room.
We have always had two trees, but never been able to use them both.
Now we can :~)

I can't seem to get an unblurry picture of the tree with lights on.

Patrick got me a new (to me) stove for Christmas.
I love it! It works great!

Our Advent candles and story.

Christmas cookies!

Sadie also made yummy fudge.

Here is our family room tree and Emilie's bicycle.

I think she likes it!

We wrapped our gifts in plain paper and decorated them ourselves.

The kids gave me a couple pair of reading
glasses since I'm always loosing mine.

Then we had Christmas with my parents
after they returned from New York.

I think Emilie likes the Lucy DVD Mimi & Drandad gave her.

Emilie presenting our present to Mimi & Drandad.

Our Christmas card wall.

Modern Woodmen of America Event Booths

2011-02-02T19:42:00.007-05:00

We have put on several event booths at community events over the past several months. The first was a First Responder Appreciation Day in Sebring on September 11th.

Patrick designed this sign for our game.

All players walked away with a prize by "plucking" a duck from our "pond".

We also have two door prizes.
One for a child and one for an adult.

I think it's a very nice looking booth :~)

Being silly!

Here is our second booth.
This was also in Sebring at the First Annual Family Day on November 6th.

It was very windy that day.

There were a lot of really fun booths at this event.
Next to us the lady had crafts for the kids.
They got to paint and make beaded bracelets.

Our friend Donna and her son, Carsen stopped by to see us.
We actually met them at our first event.
Here is a clown helping Carsen pick his duck.

Carsen & Emilie got to make silly hats at another booth.

It was a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed being able to go down by Lake Jackson.

Carsen & Emilie pretending to be stranded in the desert.

Gasping, "Water!"

Oh, this can't be good.

Here is our third event.
This was held in Lake Wales on November 13th.

A friend of ours was the event coordinator and she asked if Daniel
would be willing to dress as Zorro for their dog show costume contest.

More This & That

2011-02-01T22:15:00.005-05:00

Still trying to get caught up what's been happening with us the past few months. We have added a new camera and transferred files to another computer and I'm getting lost trying to find everything. Please bare with me :~)

We attended Dan & Bonnie Frodge's anniversary party.
We took the opportunity to dress up.

We hauled out our fall decorations from storage.

I found these leaves online and the kids cut a bunch out to decorate the house with.

Sadie made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for Thanksgiving dinner.

The kids worked hard making the house festive with fall colors for our Thanksgiving dinner. The Stricklen family went to Missouri and so we invited Chris's mother and also our new friends, Stu & MaryRose Cassell over for dinner. We had a wonderful time, but yet again, no pictures of the dinner or the guests.

Our pig, Pumba on his last day.
He now resides in our freezer.

This and That

2011-02-01T21:20:00.006-05:00

Guavas!
Back in September Patrick brought home a cooler full of guavas.

A friend shared his puree gadget and we processed a ton of guavas.
Okay, it wasn't a ton, but it felt never ending.

There are a LOT of seeds in that little piece of fruit.

Everybody helped out.

The final product.

I have also started baking more breads.
Here are my hamburger buns.

an interesting bug (moth?)
The kids took this picture

The Stricklen family hosted a Reformation Party at their house.
Here is Emilie modeling one of the many costumes she tried on that evening.

William must be convinced that Roy Rogers
is one of the Fathers of the Reformation :~)

Amanda holding little Nathaniel

Here is the costume Emilie settled on.
I guess she's Esmeralda the Gypsy.

The Stricklen Sisters
Abby, Callie & Mary

Sadie and I made a cheesecake with blueberry topping one evening when
Glen & Madeleine McLean joined us for dinner in early November.
Unfortunately, these are the only pictures we took. Sorry Glen & Madeleine.

Love the Church Conference

2011-01-31T21:01:00.013-05:00

Back before Christmas we had the opportunity to attend a

conference with others from our church in North Carolina.
Here are some pictures of that trip.

Emilie coloring to pass the time away.

Daniel hanging out on the ride up.

During a break at the conference.

We were blessed with Kitty & Grace Discher being able to join us.
Here they are enjoying seeing their cousin Nathaniel.

Daniel with his pals Andrew & CJ

Emilie with Mrs. Frodge aka Grandmother

Molly Stricklen, Bonnie Frodge, me, & Kelly Stevens

Emilie with her best friend Margaret

Daddy with his girls

My sneaky way of getting the kids picture with Paul Washer & Doug Phillips.
Daniel, Andrew Stevens, CJ Stricklen,
Emilie & Margaret Stricklen

Emilie reading to William

Daniel and his twin

It was so good to at least see some of the Dischers
Kitty, Sadie, Grace
Emilie

Apples of their daddy's eyes
Amanda, Mary & Sadie

Emilie & Mrs. Stevens

Having a good time together.

Sunday morning we woke up to snow!

Patrick went out early and got some terrific shots before the snow was disturbed.

Then the kids had a snowball fight with Matthew Stevens.

Amanda & Mary

Emilie thoroughly enjoyed the snow.

Amanda sledding down the hill on a cafeteria tray.

I think she enjoyed the ride.

Adorable Nathaniel

Emilie warming in the chipmunk bunk on the trip home.

Amanda, Sadie & Mary talking and resting in the back of the RV.

Daniel & CJ wrestling on the trip home.

Life Around the House

2010-11-20T20:57:00.005-05:00

New shelves in the garage

homemade hamburger buns

Sabbath dinner

The full extent of our fall decorations
My mother-in-law made these many years ago

Sadie's flower arrangement

Goofy Cam

2010-11-20T20:15:00.006-05:00

Sadie got a hold of the camera and the following silly pictures are the result.

"Are you lookin' at me?"

Playing dress up

Princess Emmiletta

I think she's outgrown her bike

Handsome guy :~)

Making silly faces

Extreme close up

"Hey! I want my picture taken."

Goofy girl

"I hope Mom doesn't put these silly pictures on the blog."

That's more like it.

She's growing up

Being Silly

2010-11-20T20:06:00.002-05:00

"What's that?"

"Roar!"

"Got it!"

And so we begin farming...

2010-11-04T22:45:00.010-04:00

Emilie has been praying for us to have our own farm animals and to do more things from scratch. Patrick was looking into getting some chicks so we could have our own eggs. He was just about ready to place an order when a lady from church came up and asked him if he wanted some chickens. She as a friend who rescues all sorts of animals and she had more chickens than she could handle and wanted to find a good home for them. The result is that we are now the proud owners of six hens and one rooster!

Our first eggs!

Emilie helping her daddy build a chicken tractor (movable chicken coop).

Taking shape

Painting

The kids really enjoyed being a part of the project.

Fowler

Emilie loves her chickens. Her sweet prayers answered right before her eyes.

Patrick did quite a bit of research online looking at many different chicken tractors and then came up with a plan using the different elements he wanted to have. It is great for the small number of birds that we have. We are able to move it daily and give them fresh grass and bugs to feed on as well as letting the chickens fertilize our future garden areas.

Checking for eggs.

Easy access to the nesting boxes and the water reservoir.

The kids named the birds for the "Chicken Run" characters.
Fowler, Ginger, Doll Face, Babs, Mac, Bunty & Edwina.

We have also been blessed with a pig. Pumba is a wild hog that was rooting in our yard for several weeks. A neighbor came up one day and offered to catch him for us. We mentioned we'd love to cage him and fatten him up and the guy offered to hold him a couple of days while we arranged a pen. So we asked some friends of ours if we could borrow their dog kennel that they weren't using at the moment. The blessings keep abounding!

That's some pig!

Patrick had to make some adjustments to the chicken coop, so he let the birds wander around the yard one day. Boy did they have a great day. I was nervous as could be that we would never get them back in, but they returned with just a little persuading.

Surveying the cement pond!

Elly Mae Franklin?

The Lord has truly blessed us.

Sadie's Sweet Sixteen: Part II

2010-09-06T22:13:00.013-04:00

After church on Sunday, we brought Amanda McAuley, and Mary & Abby Stricklen home with us for a slumber party to celebrate Sadie's birthday. The Stricklen's graciously invited Emilie to spend the night with Margaret. Immediately after lunch, the girls headed straight for the pool.

Amanda & Abby

The birthday girl!

They were kind enough to allow Daniel and me to join them.

Playing Scatergories

Acting all nice and calm, trust me, it's just a front :~)

Daniel & Amanda watching Sadie open her presents.

She surprises easily or she's practicing for the dentist?

Abby made her a pretty bracelet.

She got stationary from Amanda, just what she was wanting.

Mary & Abby made her the cutest card.

Mary made her an apron.

So cute!

Cheesecake :~)

Almost set off the smoke alarm!

"Sixteen Candles"

Well, actually there were only 14, but they were in the shape of a 16.

The gangs all here (I think this is Abby's Nixon impersonation).

me, Mary, Amanda,

Daniel, Sadie & Abby

Okay, this was taken after the sane people went to bed.

If you don't have any 3D glasses, you can always use LifeSavers???

"Help, I've fallen and..."

Gummy LifeSaver earrings. Interesting!

Nose ring?

Time to check the expiration dates on our fire extinguishers.

Okay, I'm glad I wasn't in the room for this one.

Insert your own caption here. I just came up with question marks.

Of course, I'm checking up on them.

She's coming down from the sugar rush.

Gotta get the sugar free LifeSavers next time!

"I'm so tired I can barely lift this camera and if someone were to ..."

Who could they have been texting at that time of night?
(probably one of the other girls in the room)

Very little slumber to this slumber party.

Rise and Shine :~)

Well, maybe not.

The Stricklen's brought Emilie home and picked up the girls.

Here's Callie, apparently waiting to ask a question.

Five month old Super Baby, Nathaniel.

Emilie and Nathaniel

She really enjoyed her special time with Margaret and company.

A great time was had by all. Thank you all for making Sadie's birthday so very special.

Sadie's Sweet Sixteen: Part I

2010-09-05T01:15:00.002-04:00

Happy 16th Birthday, Sadie!

Smiling around the dinner table

Sadie's birthday is Sunday and this year she is having a slumber party, so we had our family dinner with my parents (Mimi & Drandad) on Saturday evening.

Sheppard's pie, apple sauce and Challah.

We have started celebrating Sabbath (on Saturday evenings).

Patrick braided this loaf. Pretty! And yummy too!

She got a really big surprise. Can you tell?

She couldn't believe it!

Drandad is our family genealogist. He gave her a book he printed
listing her ancestry, some going back eight or ten generations.
She and Daniel were very intrigued by it.

"Genealogy Report for Sadie Marie Franklin"

Sadie needed a new storage box for her correspondence.
Patrick & I found these nesting boxes at the Avon Park ARC store. Just perfect!

There were a few goodies inside the final box...

Fabric that her daddy hopes she will use to
make a shirt for him for the next Highland Games...

a DVD set of 20 old musicals...

and Billy Bees honey mustard :~)

Here is the big surprise. Mimi & Drandad gave her a sewing machine in a beautiful cabinet. My mom searched all over for one. She found one at the ARC store in Wauchula, took it home but it didn't work. She called and had to bring it back, but to the Avon Park ARC store. They were willing to let her exchange the machines, but they didn't have one that would function properly, so they gave her a credit. Mom struck up a conversation with a couple in the store who offered to give her the sewing machine the man inherited from his grandmother. He felt giving it for Sadie's 16th birthday would be just the right thing to do with it since neither he nor his wife sewed.

Well, Mom took it home, but it was frozen stuck. They couldn't get it out of the cabinet to take it to the shop. Then Mom remembered her old machine she had in a storage shed. She put it in the shop for repair. The repairman said that her machine is one of the best old machines and that if Sadie takes care of it, she will be able to pass it along to her granddaughter one day. Well, they brought both machines and the cabinet and Patrick was able to exchange the machines.

While the kids and my mom were out in the pool, Patrick and my dad brought it in the house and did the exchange. We put it in the family room and had closed the blinds so she couldn't see it from the pool. When they came in from the pool, Sadie helped finish dinner prep, set the table, but never noticed the sewing machine and cabinet in the family room.

She was so surprised and we were so surprised that she never noticed it the entire afternoon :~)

Looking over all the gadgets.

Mimi even included some old patterns.

Sadie requested apple pie for her family dinner. She and I enjoyed our time in the kitchen preparing all the special treats for her birthday weekend extravaganza!

Part II "The Slumber Party" coming soon

Emilie Turns Seven Years Old

2010-08-17T17:42:00.009-04:00

It is hard to believe our Emilie is seven years old. Here are a few pictures of when she was a baby followed by her special birthday celebration.

We were so blessed to have a home birth.

Here she is just moments old.

A little out of sequence :~) She's almost two months old here.

Daddy and Emilie sharing time together

I think she's only a day or so old here.
Proud big brother and big sister, before they thought she was annoying.

So sweet!

She loved to wrestle with her daddy.

Sadie waited a long time for a little sister.

Precious!

This was taken just before Emilie was born.

They were so excited. Look how young they were!

You lookin' at me?

about 6 months old

Sadie helping Emilie lick the icing off the candle from her second birthday.

Her first birthday was intruded upon by a certain Mr. Charley who none of us Floridians will ever forget.

Just after her first birthday.

Cookies anyone?

And now here she is helping in the kitchen again.

Cracking an egg for her birthday cake.

She did a great job!

(please ignore the bleach bottle on the counter)
Wearing the bracelet made by the Stricklen girls.

Yum!

"I can almost taste it!"

We set the table with the fancy china for such a special occasion.

I think she's having a good birthday.

Baked chicken, green beans, and baked apples.

Sadie made the dress Emilie's wearing as a very special gift. It matches a skirt Sadie had made for herself. They wore their matching outfits to church on Sunday.

Licking icing off candles is "tradition".

(Fiddler on the Roof reference)

Present time!

Hugging "Drandad"

(the name Sadie gave him when she was wee little)

Hugging Mimi

"What is it?"

Can you tell she's excited?

Thank you, brother.

Believe it or not this reaction is over Vienna sausages!

"Shoes just like Sadie!"

The big surprise!

I think she's happy.

My mom made a Raggedy Ann doll for her.

I couldn't choose between these pictures.

She had a really good birthday and felt very special.

Daniel and Sadie gave her this pioneer outfit (sans kettle). The outfit was originally Sadie's given by our dear friend, Mr. Razey.

Emilie has truly been a blessing to our family and we continually praise the Lord for her.

A family visit

2010-08-17T16:20:00.006-04:00

My Uncle Ben passed away this past week and so we headed to Brooksville for the funeral and a little family reunion. I asked Sadie to go around and take pictures and here is the result of her efforts :~)

Emilie with my cousin Lori and her daughter Hannah.

My mom and I conversing with someone. I don't think Sadie captured our best side.

My dad, my cousin Mike and me with a fingerprint on the lens.

Daniel

It took Emilie and Hannah a while to warm up to each other. We ended up staying quite late so the girls could have time to play together.

I should have brought the kids' swimsuits so they could swim instead of just sit on the side of the pool. Poor Hannah really wanted to get in the pool and ended up getting her shorts wet.

Sitting around visiting with my cousins and their grown children.

Boy does time fly!

My cousin Sharon was a gracious hostess.

It was so nice meeting and getting to know my cousin Darlene's son, John and his wife, Sheena.

John just returned from his second tour in Iraq.

This concludes the pictures of people.

Sadie then proceeded to the garden. I'm grateful for the pictures because I never ventured to the backyard and so I would never have seen Sharon's beautiful landscaping :~)

I wish I had taken the time to visit this serene garden.

Okay, she did take one other picture of a person... herself :~)

Sadie's adventure!

2010-08-17T15:44:00.003-04:00

Many of you have already heard about Sadie's traumatic adventure, but I realize not all of you are on Facebook, so I'll share here as well.

I went grocery shopping this past Wednesday morning. Sadie has been dutifully working at completing her school requirements for this year, but came into the kitchen to help me put the groceries away. The pantry in our kitchen has two doors. I had opened the upper door and Sadie was putting things away in the lower. When she was finished she got up abruptly and banged her head on the corner of the cabinet door and then immediately hit the floor. Man, it hurt! We inspected her head where she was holding it and saw no cut. "Sit down for a minute. You'll be okay," and I left the room to put more things away.

When I came back to the kitchen she was standing in the kitchen and her daddy was dabbing her head with a paper towel. "Is she alright?" I asked. "Yeah, she has a little blood," he said. I took a little closer look to see a thick line of blood trickle down her forehead. I don't remember my exact words, but I did gasp! "She's fine," assured her daddy, trying to calm me down so I wouldn't alarm her unnecessarily.

I left the kitchen to put something else away and returned just in time to see my child melt. Patrick had just showed her the paper towel, "See, it's not so bad." But the combination of the adrenaline from hitting her head, my gasp, and seeing the blood caused her to black out! This didn't help me to stay calm. It was quite a frightening moment.

We watched her like a hawk the rest of the day, but fortunately, she was perfectly fine. Thank you, Lord! I am also grateful that her daddy was home to handle things, including catching her when she fainted and keeping a level head when mine was out of control.

WARNING! Not for the faint at heart...

Graduation & Friends

2010-07-24T22:25:00.009-04:00

The Discher family came down this past weekend for a quick visit. The purpose of the visit was the graduation of Grace Discher, Callie Stricklen and Matthew Stevens.

Congratulations to these three fine graduates and to their parents.

Markie on the harp.

Dr. Frodge, a proud grandfather and pastor.

Ed and Beth Discher telling Grace how proud they are of her hard work and accomplishments.
Grace earned a 2120 out of 2400 on her SAT!

Virginia Grace Discher

"Commit they works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

Proverbs 16:3

Kelly & Rob Stevens present Matthew with his diploma.

With Highest Honors Summa Cum Laude

Matthew Ryan Stevens

"For I am convinced... that he who began a good work

in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6

Chris and Molly Stricklen remembering the joys of Callie's education.

Caroline Susannah Stricklen

"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor and life."

Proverbs 22:4

The Dischers stayed until Tuesday morning and so Monday afternoon we drove over to Alturas to spend a little more time with them.

Paul had his 1st birthday on Saturday.

We were still in Oklahoma when he was born!

Markie and Sadie ~ precious friends.

CJ and Emilie

Emma and Emilie with uncooperative Paul.

He just wants to be free.

She captured him again.

"FREEDOM!!!"

Molly with William and Emma

Callie with Nathaniel

He has gotten so big!

Paul "driving" the girls around in the golf cart.

Smiling Nathaniel

Paul finally able to get some sleep.

Bubbles

Beth with CJ, Paul & William

Kitty obliges me for a picture.

It was so good to visit with the Dischers.

I suppose we can handle their absence if they come for a visit every few months :~)

One can dream, can't one?

Peter and Jordan set up the ping pong table.

Is Emma about to churn some butter?

Emilie did a fine job of feeding Paul.

Preparing dinner

Emma, Emilie, William & Paul

Cheerful and diligent workers.

Mary and Grace

We Franklins are very thankful to the Frodges for allowing us to barge in and eat supper with them on Monday. Thank you for sharing your time with the Dischers with us.

Pool Party

2010-07-24T20:31:00.003-04:00

The long awaited day when the Stricklen family came over to swim in the pool finally arrived. Here are some pictures from that wonderful fun day. There had been a threat of rain, but it was a perfect day the whole time they were here. It actually started to rain just as they drove out of our driveway.

Hey, CJ!

Margaret had just gotten the cast off her arm and this was her first swim. Woohoo!

She made me a bit nervous with her daredevil jumps in the pool.
Notice I caught her completely in the air!

Splash!

They had so much fun.

Callie doing a handstand.

Even though Emilie got in the way of this shot, I still thought it was an interesting action shot. Margaret is caught suspended in air balanced on just her toes with her head just hovering over the water.

I'm so glad the kids got to have this wonderful day and look forward to others in the future. I, of course, enjoyed my visit with their mother, Molly.

Look What We Found in Our Garage!

2010-07-24T20:09:00.002-04:00

Patrick found a black widow spider in our garage! Before he permanently removed it from the premises, he of course had to take pictures of it. As he worked at capturing the perfect picture I thought of Mary Stricklen and her wonderful collection of pictures of all things creepy and crawly.

Just hanging around.

Can a widow be a spinster?

Get it? Spin ~ ster!

I crack myself up :~)

Not bad for a widow... still has her hour glass figure.

Thank you. Thank you. Yes, I'll be here all week.

See ya next time on the web!

Funny Faces and Other Things

2010-07-24T12:27:00.009-04:00

June 8th was my dear husband's birthday.

Sadie and I prepared this yummy strawberry trifle for him.

I think he and Emilie were pleased :~)

Posing with our creation.

We went wild blackberry picking one Sunday after church (somehow I ended up with no pictures even though I thought we took pictures). Anyway, we used some as topping for waffles.

With my glasses...

and without :~)

My handsome husband heading off to work.

One day we had a pretty windy rainstorm. Daniel said, "Tomorrow I want to go over and help Mrs. Hicks (our neighbor) clean up her yard." Well, the next day, there she was cleaning up the fallen debris and so Daniel and Emilie headed over to be of help. What a treasure they are.

We had the special privilege of a visit from Amanda.

I love her ability to be silly.

"I'm bored. What can we do?" asks Emilie.

"I have an idea!" thinks Amanda.

"We'll read Green Eggs & Ham."

"Sam wants him to eat what!!!???"

"Oh no! Not on a train in the rain or with a fox in a box!"

What a blessing to have Amanda as a friend.

Well, maybe I spoke too soon :~)

Just kidding Amanda.

Modeling the newest hats.

I think the girls are going to kill me.

I guess they should have thought of that before they took these pictures with my camera :~)

Another Hair Donation

2010-07-24T00:37:00.006-04:00

Our dear daughter Sadie loves her beautiful long hair. However with swimming in the pool on a regular basis we encouraged her to make her third donation to Locks of Love. Daniel was also looking a bit shaggy, so he got a hair cut as well.

Before pictures

Having fun with the lock of hair.

Bye, bye hair

He has never liked getting his hair cut, but dislikes long, shaggy hair even more.

Sweet sisters

Fresh new look!

Sweet little lady.

Handsome young man.

About the House

2010-07-24T00:30:00.000-04:00

Emilie sweeping the garage.

Daniel hauling yard debris.

Our little wood stove is now an outdoor fireplace.
Break out the marshmallows!

Yep, it still works!
Can't even see where it plugs in, can ya?

That almost looks like real smoke.
Finally, a little bit of rustic to make our new house feel like home.

Catching Up

2010-07-23T23:27:00.009-04:00

Back in April, Dr. & Mrs. Frodge hosted a meeting where David Zanotti from American Policy Roundtable and ivoters.com was our special guest speaker. Mrs. Frodge was unable to be there and so several of us gathered together to prepare the house and food for the event. We greatly missed her leadership, but did accomplish the task.

Thanks to Jess's leadership and organizational skills we were able to get it all done.

Silly Emilie making faces at Amanda.

Josh and Sam Doolin had been there that day working in the grove.

It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know Jessica Graves.

She and I had fun working together.

Hamming for the camera as usual.

Hard at work? Are you girls texting each other?

We can always find time for serious discussions.

I hope I wasn't boring Mary.

Sweet friends ~ Margaret and Emilie.

Sadie, taking a picture of herself.

Abby being... Abby.

Amanda

The final touches on the food table. It looks as if Sam Doolin approves.

The young ladies made a lovely presentation of the food.

David Zanotti speaks of voters being "Free Agents" which is also the title of his book.

Don't just vote for a party. Vote for the character of the man.

We had a really good turn out.

Patrick and Jay McClendon

Amanda & Callie, lovely hostesses.

Daniel's 12th Birthday

2010-06-21T21:22:00.007-04:00

Our Daniel celebrated his 12th birthday back in April. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to acknowledge this momentous occasion here on our blog. He requested chicken pot pie for dinner and German chocolate cake, both of which I made from scratch (except the pie crust :~) His grandparents joined us for dinner and gave him a new clock radio CD player for his room. This was a great compliment to the Jonathan Park CD's he also got from Mom & Dad.

Homemade German chocolate cake

With his favorite present ~ Jonathan Park CD's!

These are wonderful CD's. We all have thoroughly enjoyed listening and learning so much about Creation Science from them.

Emilie and Friends

2010-05-17T20:06:00.002-04:00

Emilie has lost six teeth since her birthday last August.

The two bottom teeth are her new permanent teeth.

Friday, our friends the Friends came over to play. Here they had just finished lunch and were watching "Pistachio" the latest Veggie Tale adventure.

Little Johnny

Julie Mae

Emilie really loves having her friends over.

Welcoming a Wounded Soldier Home

2010-05-15T21:52:00.006-04:00

Patrick came home Thursday afternoon and told us that on Friday a wounded soldier was returning home to Avon Park and he wanted to do something to welcome him home. He had purchased a poster board and some flags and asked that the kids and I make a sign. Friday morning Patrick and his manager, John, had an appointment together. We had already made plans for John's wife and children to come over to play while the men were working together. I knew that Sasha was talented in the craft department (of which I am sadly lacking). I asked her if she would be willing to help and she enthusiastically agreed. What a providential blessing :~)

Sasha is very creative and talented and the task was not daunting at all for her. She and Sadie basically came up with the whole design and I helped color in the the stripes.

The final product.

Daniel, me, Sasha Friend & Sadie
Daniel was a big help keeping the little ones occupied while we worked on the sign.

Patrick & John Friend

Modern Woodmen of America is all about community service and involvement. I am very proud that we are a part of this fine society.

No, Daniel is not hiding :~)

We went downtown and tied yellow ribbons on trees to welcome Cpl. Lyons home.

Patrick heard about Cpl. Lyons return because he had been up to the Chamber of Commerce that day. Then shortly before his arrival we got a memo that the motorcade escorting him home would drive through downtown. We ran to the store and purchased several rolls of yellow ribbon and quickly adorned as many trees as we could.

Emilie helping her daddy.

Because of the last minute change in route, most people welcoming him home were only on Hwy 27. We ended up being the only people downtown as he was driven past escorted by police cars and a veteran motorcycle club. It wasn't easy standing there so conspicuously, but when that motorcade came down the street, sirens wailing... and then when we saw him it made my heart swell with pride. Cpl. Lyons returned the smart salute that Patrick offered him and all of us choked up.

I'm submitting the following article to Modern Woodmen Magazine. I hope you like it.

Cpl. Corey Lyons (24) returned to his hometown of Avon Park, Florida on Friday, May 14, 2010. He was seriously injured on February 5, 2008, while serving his country in Iraq. State side surgery still could not save his right leg, which was ultimately amputated below the knee. Lyons has spent the past twenty-seven months in rehab at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Learning of Cpl. Lyons' return less than a day before his arrival, representatives from two Modern Woodmen Camps (16046 of Wauchula and 16072 of Bartow) came together to welcome Highlands County's youngest veteran to become a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart back home. Camp members worked together to create a beautiful welcome home and thank you sign, tied yellow ribbons on trees throughout Main Street, proudly waved American flags and saluted Lyons motorcade when he passed by.

Camp Secretary Patrick Franklin said, "It is an honor and a privilege to welcome home this brave soldier. He offered his life, sacrificed his leg, served his country with honor, and this, well, this is the least that we could do. We just want Cpl. Lyons and his family to know our gratitude. We can't take away the horrors of war. We can't replace what has been lost, but we can, and we will honor our brave men and women for their selfless courage and sacrifice."

Cpl. Lyons is home and has plans for college in order to provide a future for his wife Danielle and their two children Corey Jr. and Decorian.

A Visit from the Harris Family

2010-05-13T20:18:00.025-04:00

I first met Karalee Cosper while working in Manitou Springs, CO at Summit Ministries back in 1991. She took me to Tse Bonita, NM when I interviewed to work as a teacher for Hilltop Christian School there. Her grandaddy was born on property his family homesteaded on near Gallup, NM called McGaffey (not sure if McGaffey is the name of the property or the area of NM where the property is) and Karalee's family still lived on and worked the land. They took me in like family and helped me get settled while I lived out west.

In 1994, I sent them a Christmas letter telling about my marriage the year before and that I had had a baby girl. Karalee wrote back and updated me as well. She had good news and bad news. She had also gotten married, she was now Karalee Harris, and had a baby boy, but her mother, who had battled with Leukemia for years had gone home to be with the Lord.

One year (2000 or 2001), Karalee, her husband, John and their three children came to Florida on vacation and stopped by to see us for a few hours. It was a wonderful, although short, visit. They admired Patrick's tile work and when they decided to tile their master bathroom, they invited us out for a working vacation to their home in Albuquerque, NM. Of course, we took them up on the offer. That was the spring of 2002.

Spring 2004, brought the Harris family back to Florida for another vacation and another visit with us. This time they had four children and we had three. They were in the process of moving to Payson, AZ and somehow we lost track of each other for a while after that. We did all of our moving around and I thought we may have lost them forever, but thanks to Facebook, John found us :~) They now have six children and are living in Texas.

Fortunately, we are back here in Florida in time for another Harris family vacation. Well, I have told this long history to explain the pictures I have below. We will travel back in time beginning with our visit this week, then their visit here in 2004 and finally our visit out west. I wish I had done it in proper order, but didn't and I'm not going to upload these pictures again to get them in the proper order. Sorry :~}

This picture is out of sequence, but too good to leave out.

I had uploaded it, but somehow it didn't come through the first time.

Daniel with Andrew, Nathan & Matthew Harris

Karalee, Matthew (behind her), Rachel, and John

visiting and catching up

Apparently, I'm saying something very interesting because all eyes are on me :~)

Daniel & Andrew

The newest addition, 11 month old Makayla
(Please forgive me if I misspelled her name. I'll correct it if you'll let me know.)

Makayla, Karalee & Matthew

Sarah & Emilie

The little girls really hit it off.

John & Patrick

Keeping Makayla occupied .

Cutie pie :~)

"While they're busy talking, I'll make my escape."

"Freedom!!!"

Such is Life :~)

We went out for pizza at Zeno's in Sebring. Great food! We'll be going back again. Although, next time, I'll try to remember that my glasses are hanging around my neck and not squint my eyes to look at the menu.

The garlic rolls were yummy!

Rachel inspecting her garlic roll

The pizzas were DELICIOUS!

Rachel & Sadie

me, Karalee (holding Makayla), Emilie & Sarah

"Was that you?!"

The dads

Last breath of freedom before getting locked back in her car seat.

It was wonderful, as always, seeing the Harris family.

I'm so glad they always include a stop by our house when they're down here.

My only regret is that our visits are too short.

Matthew, Nathan, me, Karalee, Makayla, John

Rachel, Emilie, Sarah, Andrew, Daniel & Sadie

2004

Daniel playing with Matthew & Andrew

Back then we had one of those small above ground pools. So the kids had enjoyed a swim just before these pictures were taken.

Karalee holding Emilie (about 9 months old)

John & Patrick

Sadie & Nathan

Rachel holding baby Emilie

2002

We went to McGaffey, NM for Easter weekend.

Here Karalee is helping Matthew & Nathan decorate their eggs.

Karalee's uncle had built a dude ranch with a restaurant and cabins on the family property. The little girl in this picture with Sadie is Shania. Her mom worked there.

Rachel, Shania & Sadie

They were so cute and little.

Seven year old Sadie, man time sure flies.

Daniel & Rachel waiting patiently.

Matthew & Nathan

I think Daniel must have just had a nap

Waiting...

"I'm ready!"

Daniel turned four soon after this trip. Wow!

Cutie pie Rachel

Our Easter service was very private and informal.

Matthew, Nathan, Shania, Sadie, Daniel & Rachel
getting ready for a hay ride.

Thanks for coming along on this journey back in time.

The History of Mother's Day

2010-05-08T15:58:00.003-04:00

Patrick just returned from a week of schooling at the home office in Rock Island, IL and has come back with tons of interesting historical facts about Modern Woodmen of America. Here is one most interesting and little known fact from The Modern Woodmen magazine dated May 2001:

Did you know Modern Woodmen helped establish the formal celebration of Mother's Day?

Mother's Day didn't originate with florists. Instead, the idea for the holiday came from one person with a vision.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis, a Philadelphia teacher, persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death. The anniversary was on the second Sunday in May.

Several months later, Jarvis planted the idea of an annual day to recognize mothers with Modern Woodmen of America's Head Council, Adolphus Talbot. Jarvis was financially unable to promote the Mother's Day idea on a national level and asked for Modern Woodmen's support.

Talbot accepted and formed a committee to publicize the holiday through Modern Woodmen's camps and its then official publication to the membership, The Modern Woodman magazine.

In addition, he issued a formal proclamation to members asking them to observe Mother's Day on May 10th, 1908.

Talbot was the first leader of a large organization to issue a Mother's Day proclamation. Modern Woodmen encouraged members to celebrate Mother's Day until Congress formally dedicated the holiday in 1913.

The acceptance of Mother's Day demonstrates Modern Woodmen's influence as a national and local leader, as more than a million members read about Jarvis and her vision. Today, The Modern Woodmen magazine continues to provide helpful information for families.

We hope you enjoyed the article and found it as interesting as we did. We are so blessed to have Patrick working for such a family oriented society.

We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day!