Happy Mother's Day and....zzzzzzz

Happy Mother's Day Mama! We love you! :) Thanks for being the best Mama of 8 children that there ever was and ever will be! :) I can't wait for our little tea-time this afternoon!

Even though I am sure that everyone of you are tired of hearing about the ball, be at ease, because now it is over! ;) We had a really great time, and, because we got home at 12:49 a.m., I am now dozing over the keys. (not really) It was so much fun dancing with a neatly organized group! It was one of the best dances I've been to, and my first real ball! :) Thank you God for the gorgeous weather! The Boyer family did a great job of calling the dances and providing music. Thank you Foster family for hosting! We had a great time! It was also really cool seeing all you bloggy people! (This is Rachel) Abigail and I had a nice tete-tete in the starlight after the dance. And, according to her strange traditions, we did fall into a ditch! :) Well, I won't keep you all reading a post written by a sleepy-headed person! ;) Thanks to everyone who contributed to making it a lovely evening, including everyone we danced with who cooperated with our hoops! :) -Rachel

About You Know What. Told Ya' I'm Excited! :)

I am too excited about the ball to write a coherent post, so this won't be long. Go ahead and laugh all you gents who don't understand a maiden's thrill over preparing for her first ball! :) I don't think that any viscountess on preparing for her coming out could be more excited than I. When it comes to this sort of a thing, I am quite a little girl still, and can't help becoming distracted and happy. :) Daniel will be in full Al Capone or "Vinnie" attire. He decided to dress sort of 50's instead of Civil War, since it was already put together! He looks rather the gangster, but very dashing! :) We girls have made our dance cards. Don't worry Oliver. If you dance with me, don't sign it if it will inconvinience you! ;) I just like being able to remember who I danced with, and which dance I did with them. I am treading out the few more hours till it is time to leave! :) :) :) I just made almond toffee bars. Mmmm! :) Well, I told you this wouldn't be long, and so it isn't! Hope you guys have a great day! Think of us tonight and imagine us enjoying the delights of a Harper's Ferry or Gay Gorden! :) -Rachel

Squeaky Clean On The Wrong Day

So...We are doing Saturday chores today, (Friday) so that tomorrow we can leave on time for the ball!!!!! We are super excited! Poor Abby wasn't feeling well yesterday or this morning. You could also pray for our van- there is some noise that could be something trivial, or something really bad, and so Dad is taking it in today. If it is the bad thing, then we can't fit all the people we were going to bring, (from several other families) and that would complicate matters alot. Anyway....so just to give you all an idea of what preparing for church in this household of 21 is like, here is what we do:

Dust all furniture, bookcases, bar, etc.
Organize all bookshelves
Clean all bathrooms
Clean out fridge
Sweep and organize pantry
Sweep, organize, and mop laundry room
Mop kitchen and hardwood floor (where needed on the latter)
Wipe all walls and baseboards for dirt
Clean all glass doors and where needed on front windows
Wash kitchen garbage cans
Set up lost and found
Bring down hymnals
Set up serving utensils
Wipe all counters super well
Declutter all downstairs
Clean and vacuum all bedrooms
Vacuum all carpeted areas downstairs
Set up plates, cups, and utensils
Make multiple gallons of iced tea
And anything else that needs doing! :)

The power went out mysteriously while I was writing this, but thank goodness that most of this was already saved! I have begun a new story. Shh...*ducks while Sarah throws something at my head* I promise I'll finish Riverly Manor, and then I shall publicly swear that I shall never write another mystery!!!!!!! :[ But even Sir Walter Scott worked on two books at a time! He set them up on stands, and paced around. Then, when he had an idea for one, he'd race over, pen it down, and set to pacing again. I'm not that bad! But I will not let you, (Sarah) read this till it is finished. Then I will deliver it to your lap in all the golden glory of a peace offering, and let you read it. Hmph! :) I can't help myself in a writing fit! All right. I had better get going! I can't wait to see all of you guys at the ball! (Meredith, Elliott, Oliver, Abigail, Shaina, Hannah, Leanna, Melissa, Micah, Beth-Nell...."allva" you guys! :) -Rachel

But Where's The Fruit?

This is that time of year....we've been working in the garden. It is planted. It is weeded. The peas are, (to put it in a slightly criminal sounding way) "Strung up". ;) The potato bugs are marching in columns to make war on our plants. We keep them at bay by squishing their offspring (eggs) and squishing them. I try to leave that to Benjamin though! :) We are moving on to less important things such as mulching with straw around our plants. And now we wait. I am in a spot where I feel like, "Hey! We've done all this work! Where is the fruit?" I watch with a disparaging eye the little cucumber plants and mentally count how many more weeks till I will get to do a pickle-making marathon again. (I canned 120 quarts last year and they are all gone! :) I am getting an itch to can something! Strawberries are almost ready in the fields. I can't wait! I meant to make this a general gardening post, but after writing my thoughts up there, I realized something: Isn't that how we sometimes feel in life? We see the Lord working on us. He pulls and prods and pokes, and stretches us, with gentle, but very firm hands. As He trims yet another branch off of our flesh we whimper, "We've done all this work- Now where's the fruit?" And the Lord must laugh at our foolishness. I can imagine Him trying not to laugh and saying, "My little one, don't you know that He who has begun a good work in you is able to complete it?" and I might squirm a bit and try not to mutter something about "Sure is taking awhile", but in my heart of hearts, just as I know that the garden will give us vegetables, I have faith that the work the Lord is doing in my life will come to fruition. James 1:2-4 says, " My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."
Lacking nothing....not lacking wisdom, not lacking strength, not lacking fruit. I find it immensely interesting and comforting to read that patience comes before completeness. He may have us wait a bit to begin showing fruit of patience before He gives us the luscious, shimmery fruit we may desire. For some reason meekness and humility, or self-control seem to be more showy fruits than patience....at least, to those of us who feel sick and tired of waiting. Often times I am sick of waiting for more than fruit. I am waiting for the unveiling of the Lord's plan for an area of my life, or I am waiting for the big "Ta-da!" and a grandiose commission from God, when perhaps what He is trying to teach me is the lesson of patience. Never forget to look at your "trials" from all angles. You may be reaching for the apples in the tree when you are entirely disregarding the blueberries growing waist-high. Just remember that Jesus won't leave you hanging, and He is fully able to take all our meager strivings and ambitions, and turn them into a masterpiece. -Rachel

Fromage de Chevre que Je Fait Aujourd'hui

Also translated as: "I made goat cheese today"!!!!:D

We have just starting getting enough goat milk to actually benefit from having a dairy goat. The kids are almost weaned and Daisy is giving alot of milk, so today,as I stared at ALL the jars of milk in the fridge, I thought I'd try my luck at making cheese. Rachel had found a really easy recipe online so I used that. It's really simple:

1 gallon of goat milk

3/4 cup lemon juice

salt

herbs

First you heat the milk up to 185 degrees Farenheit. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice for several minutes till the milk curdles enough. Strain through cheesecloth and then add herbs and spices. Keep cheese in the cloth hanging on a spoon over a bowl (in the fridge) so it can keep straining. Bon appetite! That's how easy it is!

So it turned out well, except I think I messed with it a bit too much, because it has a sort of rubbery texture to it. But for a first-timer I'd say it was a job well done! Oh! I also found a really cool website about dance cards right here :) Well, that's all!
-Sarah