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Live a lover’s life,

circumspect and exemplary,

a life Jesus will be proud of:

bountiful in fruits from the soul,

making Jesus Christ attractive to all,

getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:10,11 The Message

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to Our Oldest Grandchild

 

 

Our favorite Elizabeth in the whole world!

 

 

 

 

Josiah Goes Home

 

Our grandson Josiah’s plan was to spend the month of June with us (following his graduation from high school) then find a ride back to his home in Maine.  Most available rides seemed to be three or four weeks away, until Saturday night…

 

 

…that is when we discovered his parent’s friend, Christine, and her daughter were just a few miles away, and would be heading to Maine in the morning.  In the picture:  Christine, Josiah, Cerwin, and Christine’s mother Priscilla.

 

 

Consequently, Josiah was on his way home by 7:30 on Sunday morning.

 

 

Sunday Lunch

 

 

It was the first time I used my Pampered Chef grilling basket.  (Diane, I thought you would be glad to know that I love it!)

 

 

Josiah, the table seemed empty without you  – and there were three pork chops!

 

 

 

God can do anything, you know—

far more than you could ever imagine

or guess or request in your wildest dreams!

He does it not by pushing us around

but by working within us,

his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Ephesians 3:20 MSG

 

 

 

Fireworks

 

 

Our sons enjoy entertaining the children at our July 4th celebration each year.

 

 

Our grandchildren love it – even though it is just small ground stuff.

 

 

Jesse wasn’t sure about all the noise at first, but he eventually learned that it was fun.

 

 

Jake never did get used to them.  He came unglued each time one went off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was good to celebrate life in our fabulous country.

 

 

 

My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,

says the Lord.

And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 

Isaiah 55:8  NLT

 

 

 

Jesse’s First Birthday

 

 

Our family celebrated Jesse’s first birthday on July 4 – a rainy, festive evening.

 

 

A neat sign designed by Jana

 

 

 

 

Our patriotic girls with red, white, and blue fingernails!

 

 

Nathan

Despite a constant drizzle, the boys enjoyed some friendly competition at the basketball net.

 

 

Josh

 

 

Nathan, Josh, Jordan, and Josiah

 

 

Jared was happy when Jenna and Jana proclaimed him “king” and carried him everywhere he wanted to go.

 

 

The only one who wasn’t in a festive mood was Jake, because he was tied (not a normal experience for him) to keep him out of trouble until after supper.

 

 

Flowers and shrubs are always extra pretty when covered with droplets of rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the first projects of the evening was guessing the number of items in these containers.

 

 

I helped Jared and Ian (to my left) put their ideas on paper, while Gloria and Jana did their own writing.

 

 

Our daughter-in-law, Chris, and Kristen’s mother Betty.

 

 

Mary Jane (Jeff and Chris’ adopted mother), and Jesse.

 

 

Meanwhile, Jere was grilling hamburgers and hot dogs.

 

 

The drizzle did not deter Ian and Gloria from riding bike…

 

 

…or Jared from dashing around on his new scooter.

 

 

We waited until the rain stopped before letting Jesse ride his “Harley.”

 

 

Mary Jane, Jeff, Cerwin, Diana, Chris, and Betty waiting on supper.

 

 

Jenna filling her plate with some of the delicious food.

 

 

Jesse’s birthday cake was our dessert.

 

 

 

 

Kristen always makes her children a small cake for their first birthday – one that they can mess up.

 

 

The next few pictures need no captions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you tell that he had a bath before it was time to open his presents?

 

 

A shirt from Uncle Jeff, Aunt Chris, and their family.

 

 

 

 

~~~

Stay tuned for Part II of the evening – when the men and older boys thrilled us with fireworks.

~~~

 

 

 

 

I love you, Lord;

you are my strength.

Psalm 18:1 NLT

 

 

 

Repairing the Old Barn Roof

 

On Thursday morning, when my brother Clair stopped in to borrow something, we learned that this was the day a roofing crew was removing shingles from the old barn and replacing them with a steel roof.

 

 

The roof of the old, Hershey family barn was in need of repair, and those of us who have wonderful memories of it are pleased to see it being restored.

 

 

By lunch time, the shingles had been removed from part of the roof.

 

 

 

 

I went there (a quarter mile away) to make sure Josiah had plenty for lunch.  The photo is of my nephew Tristan and Josiah having lunch at a picnic table next to the farmhouse.  When Clair realized that Josiah was available today, he was pleased to have him help with cleanup on the ground.

 

~~~

(Insert for slmret)

Those white things in the background of the previous photo are calf pens.  The following is a photo of Tristan one year ago when he was watering the calves.

 ~~~

 

 

Josiah at his job for the day.

 

 

One of the workmen and my youngest brother Steve discuss the job.  The newer, dairy barn (built in 1992) is behind Steve.  I understand there are currently 350 cows, heifers, and calves on the home farm, and another 150 heifers in rented barns. 

 

 

I did a bit of research in my Grandpa Hershey’s book to find out how old this barn is.

 

 

My Great Great Grandpa Hershey bought the farm in 1875.  I couldn’t find the date, but a short time later the original barn burnt down when the renter’s children were playing with matches.  This is the barn that replaced it.   

My Great Grandpa Hershey’s moved here in 1888. 

 

 

There are great stories in the book, of activities that happened on the farm in the early 1900’s, and I suppose there would be wonderful stories from the 1800’s if someone had taken time to write them.

 

 

There have been several additions and changes to this barn throughout the years.

 

 

When I went to the post office at 3:00 p.m., someone had just delivered ice cream sandwiches…

 

 

…and old, broken lumber was being repaired and replaced.

 

 

By evening Josiah was ready to relax, and asked if he could invite some guys to watch a video.

 

 

Grandson Josiah, and his friends, Tim and Joram. 

It’s fun watching these three together, because they are all part of the Hershey family – with ties to the old farm.  Tim’s grandma and Joram’s grandpa are my dad’s siblings.

 

 

This part of the roof was looking better by noon on Friday.

 

 

It will be nice when the entire roof looks like this.  Daddy and Grandpa (and Great Grandpa and Great Great Grandpa) would be pleased to observe this project.

 

 

 

The sky and the earth won’t last forever,

but my words will.

Matthew 24:35  CEV