We are thankful

The Thankful Song - by Sarah

Be thankful for the house and blessings in it.
Be thankful for us and our history.
Be thankful for Jesus who came this day.

Thank the Lord for Jesus.
Thank the Lord for goats and dog's protection.
Thank the Lord for learning things I've learned all section.
Thank the Lord for our house, the things in it.

Thank the Lord for pianos and books with good things in it about You.
Thank the Lord for dolls and scarves for them too.
Thank the Lord for summer, spring, winter, fall too.
Thank the Lord for magazines, ones we look at, so good.
Thank the Lord for numbers like one, two, and three.

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Thanksgiving Song - by Leora

Thank you, God, for the blackberries that grow in our yard,
for the birds that sing to You.

Thank you, God, for my Grandma and Grandpa.
Thank you, God, for the cards they gave
and for everything that You are in Your worthiness.

Thank you, God, for the things we have done for you.
Thank you, God, for the blessings You give to us.
Thank you, God, for the things we have and the clothes we wear.

Thank you, God, for what we have in our home made of bricks.
Thank you, God, for everything we have for the computer, for the crafts.
Thank you, God, for everything You give us.

Thank you, God, for school, for our mother who teaches us of You above.
We love You, and we always give thanks to Thee
only if our minds love the Lord, if we praise Him
though we don't sometimes do it.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:" - Psalm 92:1

Lions and tigers and snakes! Oh, my!

Our family drove down to TN and were sitting on the front porch enjoying the fresh air when Sarah told me that she had seen a snake. Now unlike some women, I find snakes interesting. My Dad was a country boy, and it must have rubbed off on me at an early age as I have always enjoyed God's creation. I asked her where it was, and she showed me - under the border around the strawberries and butterfly bush in front of the sunroom. Well, I lifted one of the brick, and lo and behold, there he was. A little, long light gray fellow with dark spots all along him. After getting a look at him, I replaced the brick and let him be. Then LP came and wanted to see too. He thought that he had found him (I was watching carefully. While I find snakes interesting and beautiful, I do not want myself or anyone else to get bit) so I came over, and he showed me a bit of snake sticking out from under one of the bricks. I let him know that he had found the snake and then lifted that brick so that LP could get a better look at him. Then I suggested that we leave him alone as he was resting there, and we did not want to further disturb him. So we did.

Growing greens

Last night we ate greens. Turnip greens with diced turnips. Our first homegrown batch, and they were good. Everyone, even the children, enjoyed them. When we planted our first attempt, we hardly knew what we were doing. Since then we have learned that greens work better in patches than in rows. OBT did know that a good frost will help take the bitterness out of the leaves. We have had more than one of those by now. The turnips were small, but we made the decision to pull the plants anyway. The decision was not so much out of impatience as out of readiness to sample them.

I have cooked greens a few times before and so started with a little water and some salt pork. As the greens cooked down, I stirred and added a bit more water for the little turnips to boil in. After testing them with a fork for tenderness, it was time to turn the heat off. Then to the table they went.

While there were not a lot, there was enough for our family of five, and even enough for us to have more than one serving. I think that everyone had seconds. Next time we will do things differently. Next time we will plant more, but this time we tasted and saw that the Lord is good. He blessed our crop and blessed us with the ability to enjoy that small harvest. We thank His holy name.