Birthday Remembrances !

Birthday remembrances of our beloved husband and father, Tom. A follower of Christ and devoted husband and father.

Happy birthday, Tom! We miss you so much but we are grateful for the years we had together and for the legacy you left behind.

A trip to Charleston, S.C.
Shooting skeet:)
Always a hard worker:)
Collecting wood for a future house or barn:)
Trip to Polyface Farm in Virginia to learn more about farming techniques.
Your love of working with wood and building things blessed so many:)
So often seen with a little one at your side or sitting on your lap.
May the lessons you taught - reverence for and devotion to God, hard work, respect for others, and sacrificial love - remain and be lived out, by God's grace, in our lives and in the lives of all future generations.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:1

"For we know that if our earthly house, after this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." II Corinthians 5:1

A Puritan Prayer

Fill the garden of my soul with the wind of love,
that the scents of the Christian life may be
wafted to others;
then come and gather fruits to thy glory.
So shall I fulfil the great end of my being -
to glorify thee and be a blessing to men.

June 2, 2011...Happy Birthday to Johnathon !

Dear Johnathon,

I vividly remember the morning of your birth and the joy and relief that came when the labor of love was complete.

Our week had been very busy, and the days leading up to your birth included helping out with a rehearsal dinner by feeding and hosting approximately fifty children belonging to those who were members of the wedding party. We prayed that your birth would come either well in advance of the scheduled evening, or after the happy event. I was very late, as usual, and you didn't make your grand entrance until after the wedding. We helped host on Friday night, attended the wedding on Saturday, and we attended church on Sunday. I hardly had time to think of my *lateness*... you were born early on Monday morning:)

You were another home birthed baby, and I was a bit puzzled as to why I labored longer than was usual for me...I was very eager to finally meet and hold in my arms this little blessing for whom I had long awaited.

Our wonderful midwife and your father decided not to tell me when they saw what was delaying your birth... you had one hand resting on your cheek. They guessed that you were trying to get your thumb to your mouth, and they also realized that your entry into the world might take a bit longer because of it! You were, of course, finally ushered into the world, and you weighed close to ten pounds. Needless to say, you didn't wear the newborn clothes:)

We rejoiced, your brothers and sisters rejoiced, and your father offered up a prayer of thanks.

We love you very much, Johnathon. I thank God for your life, and I'm blessed to be your mother. May God bless you all the days of your life, and may you serve Him with gladness.

Blessings,

Mom