MISSOURI ozarks Family

          My how time flies......

One moment the earth is bare and brown , next time you look...  grass is growing, tress have budded and you are picking flowers and planting gardens. 

Enjoy your Spring Happenings...Enjoy Life......

Keep your mind thinking on Good Things...

Whatever is true, honest, just  pure, lovely,good reports..

virtue, and praise... think on these things.

Keep the Faith!!

LaVonne

Enjoy  the Sights of Our Wonderland  !

A late February Blizzard stacked up about 8 inches of snow.

In a few days , it's predicted that we will have 70* weather!

Our snowman lasted till almost dark, we had so much fun!!!

I think this will be the last snow for this year here .

God Bless... Keep the Faith!

LaVonne

The old saying goes....

"If it thunders in February , it will frost in May ! "

Here in the Missouri ozarks...it thundered February the 10th.   I will be watching my soon-to-be garden when May the 10th rolls around. 

Some old timers here, like my mother-in-law, she's almost 90 yrs. old always had her leaf lettuce and radishes planted by Valentines day. I don't think she made it this year because of all the ice storms we've been having.  But if I know her, she'll have them in the ground by March 17th. St. Patrick's' Day. When she was younger she always had her big crop of potatoes planted by the 17th as well. 

We are a little slower than we used to be about getting the garden in the ground.  It will probably depend upon the weather. if it rains a lot in April we will not plant till first of May. If it greens up and gets warmer in March ...then we plant first of April.  Anyway , I hope everyone that can, will put in a garden this year.  Not only is it a good thing to garden your own fresh produce, it will be a comfort to you in the future to know you've got some canned goods on a shelf somewhere to enjoy .

Our garden favorites are:  Potatoes, Tomatoes, Onions, Snap Peas, "Blue Lake" Bush Green Beans, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Cucumbers and Turnips.  These are all standbys for us.  The reason we don't plant Lettuce, Carrots, Radishes, is because my folks and my mother-in-law always grow too much and we get the surplus!

I'm thinking about finding a spot for some Broccoli and Cauliflower.  Who knows my husband may even want to plant our own Peanuts this year. 

For Heaven Sakes !!!!!   With the peanut butter scare here in the US ...who knows what will be next !

It just makes us feel better knowing where our food comes from. 

I hope to hear from a lot of gardening posters this year.  Successes  and/or  Problems.  

Praying for good gardening weather and a

BUMPER CROP!!!

Keep the Faith !

LaVonne

            GREETINGS  EVERYONE  !!!!

Trust your New year is being Blessed .

I have a beautiful Psalms that  keeps going over and over in my head, it goes like this.......

"The name of the Lord is  a strong tower , the righteous run in and they are safe. "

Just want to encourage  you all to find your peace and safety in the one ,true , most high GOD!

This year  here in the U.S.  we may see a lot of changes, but we know nothing catches our God by surprise. We can run to Him for every situation we face.

The Bible says, " Occupy Till I Come !.... so lets do that!....

I'm going to get out my seed catalogs and start making out an order soon.  Heirloom seeds are my favorite .  I.m planning on ordering from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds . They are on the web, too. You may want to look around on their site.

We are still trying to find a jersey milk cow.  Our laying hens are providing more than we can eat..so I sell them back to the feed store (helps to pay for feed).

Ben is beginning his Bladesmith journey. It  has been a long time in coming. Maybe he will use all those designs he  has in his  folders.  In a little over a year he wants to go to Taxidermy School. We have a good one picked out. There is just so much that young man wants to do. Did I mention Auctioneering.....

Our Danielle is busy with her new baby doll she got for Christmas. We also got her several pieces of doll furniture to go with her doll(s).  She will play for hours being a little mommy.  I like That !

Let's Keep The Faith!    and

Pray for Israel

Your Friend,

LaVonne54

Greetings!!!

Figured I had better get a head start on my Christmas page.  Time is really passing quickly.

The old house is decked out in her Christmas Glory! 

Greenery strung across the wrap around porch. With bright RED BOWS for color.  Wreaths hung on every door, and Danielle hung her string of jingle bells on the front door knob. We picked out ONE spruce tree in the front yard and hung 8 strings of old fashion colored lights on it. Wow! does it glow...

We have our 7ft. tree up and decorated with keep sake ornaments we've had thru the years , plus some new ones,and Bubble Lights!  Our nativity sets are all over the house. We did our first night of Advent last Thursday.  Jesus is our main reason we celebrate.We've heard all the pros and cons of what to do and what not to do for our Christmas. Its a personal family time for us. We do all for HIS glory and to share the love of God with others.   Enjoy Christmas whatever you do, we just like the opportunity it brings for our family to show Christ's Love.

Every Tuesday is filled with things to do . The next one coming up is Candy making day! I enjoy teaching my 7 yr. old daughter how to make some of our families favorite holiday candies to give to friends and neighbors. Next Tues after that will be Cookie making day! My Grand-daughters will be coming over to help make Christmas Cookies. I think its going to become a tradition. We have a lot of fun!  The last Tues. before Christmas our immediate family is going to Branson/Silver Dollar City for a fun evening.  We will arrive after lunch sometime. Plan to enjoy the Old Fashion Silver Dollar City and all it has to offer.It is one of the most festive events around. LOTS of Christmas Lights , Caroling and Christmas Family Shows.

Let me know what ya'll are doing  for the Christmas Season.

Most importantly   remember --Emanuel-God With Us--

Keep The Faith!

LaVonne

We've been scurrying around trying to get all the oak leaves raked up before snow flies. The kids' sleds work much better too. Our yard has a slight slope to it.  Makes for fun sledding especially for  Danielle and my Granddaughters.

We are about through putting in our new outside wood furnace. Its really going to heat our home nicely this Winter. Cheaply too.

The new layers we purchased the middle of June are beginning to lay those nice brown eggs.  We have Brown Leghorns, Black Australorps, and Golden Comets. Ben's white Turkeys are just about ready for the freezer. I believe we will have our First one for Thanksgiving next week.

Benjamin got his first deer for this season. It was a 9 point Buck. He works a lot on his food plot for them and it paid off!

Since the weather has cooled off here, I've began to grind our wheat berries to make our Whole Wheat Bread again. I've been spoiled to bake it only in our wood cook-stove. With a pot of Veggie Soup on top and Wheat Bread in the oven, our old home smells so inviting . Now if we could make a candle of that aroma !  

I LOVE WINTER !!

Until next time ..Keep the Faith

LaVonne

Hello Friends !

Now that the numbness has had a chance to wear off,I believe we all know what we need to do now.

I Timothy  2: 1&2

In short it says that :First of all we must pray for kings and all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

We CAN trust God , He has a plan. He is mindful of us. Our duty as Christians is to listen to Him and be quick to obey.

Keep looking up, and Keep the Faith!

LaVonne

I really can't explain how I feel right now....

I guess we should have seen it coming.

I do believe--"the handwriting is on the wall."

Keep the Faith!

Lavonne

Greetings!

Just want to encourage everyone that will to Pray and Fast for this upcoming Presidential Election. (12 days away)

So many factors....

Remember, no matter what, God is still on the throne!!

Keep the Faith!

LaVonne

Greetings!

We are so happy to be back in the country !

San Antonio, Tx. is full of wonderful folks, but oh, how we missed our beautiful homestead.  Especially the slower pace of life. Truly enjoyed our time at the International Bible College there. Met a lot of dedicated missionarys.

Gardening's over, canning done. Chickens in freezer, others beginning to lay. House is getting a fresh coat of paint. Prayers are being said.

Children ( 2 younger ones at home ) are doing homeschooling once again.  Thank You, Lord for keeping this possible.

Keep the Faith !

LaVonne

Greetings!

June is beautiful here in the Ozarks. My bird feeders are visited morning, noon and night.( well, late evening)  :) 

Finches, Bluejays, Cardinals,Wood Peckers,Blue Birds,etc. I could never tire of watching them swoop and eat and fly into the blue sky.

All the summer flowers are blooming. the yard is full of color!  Raining quite a bit for June but thats O.K. July will be greener longer. Mowed grass  is a favorite scent of mine.

Our children and grandchildren are enjoying the swimming pool.Lots of splashes and laughter.

B-B-Q's are great get-to-gathers for friends and neighbors. We had 53 gathered here for Memorial weekend. Our daughter Lacy was leaving for Canada to be a music pastor there.She is single and waiting for the one the Lord chooses for her.  All wanted to see her off !

The garden is showing promise.  Corn, green beans, tomato's, squash, orka, peppers. Only God knows how to truely water a garden. Thank-You, Lord !

The fruit trees have loads of fruit . Limbs are being propt  for good measure. Apples, peaches, plums, pears. Hope to make lots of jams and jellies. Grapes look hopeful. too.

Our bundle of  baby chicks, turkeys, and guineas arrived  the 12th. All are alive and well. Some will lay, while some will be for the freezer. I can't help but think of the first 13 years of our married life. We had a poultry farm , with 30,000 laying hens to take care of. Once we even raised our own replacements for 10,000 of them.  Chickens are still our  favorite farm critter.  We are still looking for our family milk cow..

All of you have a very good summer.  God Bless!

LaVone 54

Greetings one and all !

Its been  a busy time relocating back to the old homestead. We are settled in  for the most part.

Our garden is going to be late this year, but with the food prices ,we won't mind.

Husband is enjoying his work , with the National Park Service ( beautiful ozark area). He saw the wild horses while eating lunch the other day.

I'm doing my real estate traing now, its so much fun. I really like the way I can be home more than a traditional 9-5. Never did do much of that anyway,just didn't want to start.

Ben our 15 yr.old has really been busy with his deer food plot.  He also has fished /froze enough for a good fish fry over memorial week-end.

Danielle (our 6yr.old) wants to "live" outside. It 's  so wonderful to see her enjoying herself, swinging,playing in her sandbox, or having a picnic on the old quilt under the shade tree with her dog.

You know I saw my mom doing  something the other day and it reminded me that its an" OLD TIMEY" idea I want to pass along to others.  She had a dish of water with 3-4 sweet potato tubers in it just sitting on her kitchen counter.She will let them send up little shootsand they will vine out. Then she will snip off the vines and plant  them in her little garden. Mom has done this for years.She will turn 77 in a few days.

MORE LATER,       Have a Wonderful Mothers Day tomorrow!!      your friend,

LaVonne54

                                      Serenity Prayer

                        God grant me the serenity

                to accept the things I cannot change;

                  courage to change the things I can;

            and the wisdom to know the difference.

                         Living one day at a time;

                 Enjoying one moment at a time;

         Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

                  Taking, as He did, this sinful world

                       as it is, not as I would have it;

         Trusting that He will make all  things right

                       if I surrender to His Will;

          That I may be reasonably happy in this life

                   and supremely happy with Him

                               Forever in the next.

                                     Amen

My favorite poem.....Blessings .........

Its a good thing we let Ben move back home first. We really appreciate his room to put all the packed boxes in. I belive I can get it all ready by the 1st. of April. It truely is amazing how much one can accumulate!I see a yard sale in my future.

Since I have started on my blog I have been making some wonderful friends. This is FUN!  It'll just take some time for me to figure all the blogging capabilities out.  Thanks for your patience.

I have pictures I want to share and recipes for all those who like to do natural and herbal. Also some old-timey almost forgotten ideas.  

Till Next Time

In CHRIST LOVE

Ozark Family ( LaVonne 54 )

Guess the moving day will be around the first week in April.

My husband, James got a job with the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, National Park.

It will start around the 15th of April.  I will be excited to decorate the old home place again.

Our oldest son and family have been living there while they build their new home.'

Our youngest son , Ben is already there helping with the carpenter work .

He is excited , we have ordered chickens and heritage turkeys to arrive from Cackle Hatchery in a week or two. Then he wants us to get a milk cow. :)) Out of the six children we have he is our country boy.

It's lunchtime , gangs hungry,  gotta run

Gods Blessings,

 Lavonne

Happy Easter  2008 ( I know I'm a LITTLE early, I just didn't want to miss greeting everyone!)

I am finally ready to get my blog going. My family and I are still in SA. TX. at  International Bible College.

Our 2 yrs here have been very rewarding. Many  former missionaries come and go. It's wonderful to see

and hear what God is doing all over the world.  We will be moving back to our little ozark town in Mo. in a

few months.  We do miss our country living.   Next visit I will try to get more involved with family history,

life in the ozarks, and making new friends.

Until Then, Keep a Merry Heart

LaVonne