I thought I smelled rain!  It hasn't rained since about a week before the wedding.  It is now.  A slow, gentle rain.  One of those rains where you want to sit out on the porch and feel the wind and watch the birds fly for cover.  Tom and I have always been rain/storm lovers.  We used to take drives in the middle of storms.  Now we just enjoy them from home. 

This picture is of Jamin and Tom heading out to the bee hives.  Around Labor Day is the time you want to harvest the honey, although we have a friend who said he has been harvesting all through the summer!  We have so much to learn.

This week has been pretty busy.  I went to Bethany and Joel's apartment to get a book from her.  They have been working hard at finding a place for all their wedding gifts.  They are so blessed to have so many people who love them!  We have a dear family and dear friends who are family to us. The newlyweds are supposed to come over after they eat dinner tonight so Bethany can dig through her hope chest.  Pitch a little, save a little.  They have a spot for it at their place.  It will fit in very nicely with a pretty, big wallhanging of iron flowers just above it.  Josiah will be glad to get it moved out from his bedroom; he has started to remodel and spread out a bit since his sister has moved out.  Bethany's hope chest was my grandma's.  Grandma has been gone since 1990.  She was in her middle 80's then.  My dad inherited it and gave it to Bethany for a graduation present.  It is a beautiful piece.

Jamin and Josiah are playing on a coed softball team with my brother, cousin, and niece.  They have a game tonight but I wonder if they will be home early since it's raining.  Oh my gosh, last week I went to one of their games.  It is deep in Amish country so when I found the baseball diamond I had to park next to this huge barn.  When I shut off the jeep I heard all this "Mooing."  I mean it was loud! I had to laugh, but I really let out a hoot when I saw where Jamin and Celia had parked.  It was closer to the ball diamond but right beside Jamin's van door was the biggest pile of cow poop I've ever seen!!!!  :)  Not sure how he missed that one! Yep, this is where we live folks, and I wouldn't trade it for love nor money! (o.k., so maybe I wouldn't mind a second home somewhere where it's a bit warmer than here in the winter.)

Blessings on discovering your rich, homespun heritage!

janele ;)

P.S. I forgot something very important!  I want to introduce a new topic on our site.  Tom's Wit and Wisdom. This will be a place where Tom will answer your questions on anything from carpentry, gardening, and bees to chickens and family life.  Tom and I are so EXCITED about this interaction with you all!