Pictures Coming...

Last evening we had youth group at the Welshymer's house! After our Bible time we goofed around in their backyard and played numerous rounds of an interesting (and rather dangerous, I might add) game called "Buck-Buck".
Brandon had the forethought to bring his camera, and has kindly offered to share the pictures that we took of the event. So hopefully within the next couple of days I will have posted some photos of our youth group craziness!

You Know You Live in the Country...

... When there are turkeys purched on your swimming pool.

We were enjoying a party at the cousins' house and I happened to look out the window to their backyard. It made me laugh! A lot. :)

The turkeys are actually extremely friendly (the female has let me hold her in my arms and stroke her like a cat!), and Clara is quite proud of her unique pets.

I like living in the country. It's just so... interesting.

Papa's New Toy

The Kubota.
The Cadillac of the tractor world.
Yup, I got to drive it.

Sweet.

English Country Line Dance!

My Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am very glad to say our long summer break is over!

Our next dance shall be August 9th, in Rolla, at the Redeemer Lutheran, on HWY 72, just south of "O" HWY, on the left. We'll start at 6:30pm and dance until 10. We'll be in the gym behind the church.

Calling by the Hall girls, music by the Hibernia Station Band.

If you are bringing beginners, or are a new dancer, please come at 6 and I will teach you the steps.

The cost will be $4 per person, and $20 per family.

Dress in Nice Casual. Ladies please wear modest clothing, and long flowy skirts are so much fun!

Please bring refreshments for the break.

I hope to see you all and others there!

God Bless,

The Jovial Beggar

jovialbeggars@gmail.com

(573) 674-9212

Scrapbooking ~ page 3

All of these pictures were taken while the farm families were still living in trailers.

I always forget how tiny Jenny was when we first moved here!

Sweet little Meggy.

Oh my goodness... that was a long time ago. Funny how sometimes it can seem like it was just yesterday!

Megan, Jenny, and Grace enjoying a birthday party.

My brother, sporting the rugged farm-boy look.

That's Megan and me, with Connor in the backround.

Jenny, getting to know the kittes better.

Here we have the Third Day Farm's first annual Fall Costume Party!

LtoR: back row: Megan, Connor, Colin, and Caleb (one of the second cousins)

front row: Jenny, Joshua, Grace, Clara, Alyssa, Drew, and Me

That's Josh and Stephy, having some special time together.

Ohhh... so cute!

LtoR: Jenny, Kelsey, Grace, and Megan

This picture really doesn't fit in with the time frame of the rest, but I thought it'd be nice to post it anyway. After all, it is pretty precious... Daddy and his little oldest girl!

Photos from the St. Louis Trip

So sorry it took me this long to post these! Megan is the photographer who receives all credit for these pictures. Many thanks to her for sharing. :) Also, a huge thanks goes to Mrs. Hickle for letting us come along in her van!

Trip to St. Louis

My dear friends,
Megan, Jenny, and I had the privilege of taking a trip in the Hickle van today to see the performance of "Little Women -- the Musical" in St. Louis! Those who went along with us included: Mrs. Hall, Becky, Abby, Eddie (the Hickle's cousin), David Strautmann, and the Hickle girls. Thank you to Mrs. Hickle for being our driver and for giving us a free ride and sharing her food! We all had a wonderful time, and I hope to post some pictures by tomorrow evening.
Friends are such a blessing! The Lord is so good to us, isn't He?
Always,
Ashley Louise

Hairstyling from the Back Seat

Last week on the way home from church, I was teaching Jenny how to French-braid. It was a bit awkward, considering that I was in the middle seat, and she was in the back seat, and Jen doesn't have very long arms! By the time the hairstyling session was over, my neck was awfully sore from leaning way back over the seat so she could reach. But it was well worth it for how she learned! I was amazed - her first time attempting a French-braid (on my incredibly unruly hair!), in a moving vehicle, reaching over a car seat! Not bad... not bad at all. :)

Just look at the hair, please, not the face.

Birthday Celebration

Five years ago, a sweet baby girl was added to the gang of grandkids living on the Third Day Farm.
Happy birthday to Cassia Lauren McCluskey!

p.s. Doesn't Mama look extremely young in this picture? I love her with the new glasses. Not that I didn't before, though. :)

This year she had a flamingo/princess themed party. She's every inch a girl, that's for sure!

Guys. More specifically, Josh and Connor.

Girls. These two in particular are called Ashley and Clara.

I think she's happy. That's good, because it was supposed to be a "happy birthday" party.

My Impatien

These pictures are for Mrs. Hickle, although I hope that the rest of you enjoy them as well.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." ~Psalm 37:4

VBS Pictures, Second Round

Hairstyling before the program.
Hi, Rachel! :)

Wow... I love this little man.

The oldest class performed a skit (which the came up with all on their own!) telling the story of Adam and Eve.

Grace, as "Eve", about to go for the forbidden fruit!

VBS Pictures, First Round!

Bestest buddies... David and Braden.

I know that as a VBS helper, I'm not supposed to pick favorites, but if I did pick favorites - which, of course, I didn't - this cute little guy (the one on the left) would definitely be one of them!

Some really good-looking helper guy...
I happen to have the privilege of claiming him as my big brother. :)


Ben and his class of 1st-3rd graders. I wish I could have had him for my teacher when I was in vacation Bible school!

Pictures on the Way

Dear friends,
The ending program for VBS went very well this evening, and I did get some more neat pictures! I leave for work pretty early tomorrow, and won't get back until late afternoon. But... maybe I'll find some time for blogging between my nap and Josh's baseball game. :) So hold on a little while longer, won't you please? Thanks. You all are so great.
Always,
Me

Vacation Bible School

This week I (along with Josh and Gabe) have had the privilege of being a helper in Mrs. Q's large class of 4 and 5 year olds at VBS! It has been a tiring experience, but worth every minute!! Since today is the last day, I have finally decided to take a camera along. We have a closing program on Sunday evening, and I hope to take pictures then too. So... if you all will be patient with me for a few more days, you may expect a whole slew of photos - as well as some pretty cute stories. :) It's been a delightful adventure.
Off to finish prepping today's craft...

Always,
Me

The Work of His Hands

"But Thou art making me, I thank Thee, sire.
What Thou hast done and doest Thou knowes't well.
And I will help Thee; gently in Thy fire
I will lie burning; on Thy potter's wheel
I will whirl patient, though my brain should reel.
Thy grace shall be enough the grief to quell,
And growing strength perfect through weakness dire."

~ George Macdonald

Blueberry Picking with Friends

Early Saturday morning, Alyssa and I drove in to meet some friends and go blueberry picking! Matthew, Brandon, Kristin, Alyssa and I were assigned rows together, and for two and a half hours we talked, laughed, and (of course!) picked blueberries. I owe a huge thanks to Brandon for helping me to fill my buckets. :) The Lord really blessed us with beautiful weather for our once-a-year special outing.
In the above picture it kind of looks like Alyssa is saluting, doesn't it? She was taking a picture of me, actually. Since you'll all probably end up seeing it when she posts on her blog (and Matthew already has pics of this trip posted on his), I'll warn you ahead of time. My morning up to the time that the pictures were taken went something like this...
I got up at 5:30, grabbed some clothes from the dirty laundry pile, brushed through my hair, threw on a little makeup, packed a GF breakfast for the two of us, and met Alyssa in the driveway by 6:05. *Quick side note to Alyssa: I'm sorry you had to deal with my early-morning crabbiness on the car ride there... What a friend! Love you, girl.* Then I went and stood in line, shivering, for half an hour. By the time we started picking, I was fully awake and excited to be out on such a beautiful morning! The bushes were wet with dew, and you kind of have to reach in to get to the good berries (at least the people with short arms do), which meant that I got pretty damp. I'm not complaining, though! It was very refreshing, and made the experience that much more tangible. But then after a while it started warming up a bit, and I developed that hot, tired, sticky feel. Quite tangible, yet part of the experience I could do without, and definitely not refreshing! You know how it is when you just know your face must look like you're having a severe allergic reaction?! Maybe that's a girl thing only... is it, guys?? Please, be honest here, I really want to know! Maybe it's just me. Anyway, so you get the idea. I wasn't feeling terribly attractive by the time we were making our way to the check-out line! And I'm sure it wasn't just me and the way I happened to be feeling at the time... believe me, it was real.
So, don't say you weren't given a fair warning. And please, try not to laugh too hard. :)

Matthew tried very hard for quite some time to get a blueberry to land in Alyssa's mouth... but, alas! His efforts were all in vain.

Just thought you all might like to know that I got it in on the first try. :) I think Matthew was rather in awe of my talent... it was a glorious moment, my friends.

The champion blueberry picker of our group, Brandon Beaty.

Scrapbooking ~ page 2 "Baby Me"

As you can see, I've had many years of experience working in the kitchen.

This has always been one of Mama's favorite pictures of me... I really can't claim to know why. It must have something to do with "a face only a mother could love".

Glamour picture of the baby...

Just one of the many benefits to being the firstborn. :)

Swinging with Alyssa...

... and making a mess with Clara.