Last Saturday we had the opportunity of visiting Grandma and Grandpa at their home.  We were really excited when, after finishing a few things around their house (turning their garden, cutting up branches, weed-eating, etc.), Grandpa went to the old charcoal barbecue and lit it.  Grandpa's barbecuing is famous among all his grandchildren.

Once it was running nicely, he put the sausages on.

Everyone stood around to watch the barbecue.  Well, I guess it really didn't take that many people, but we had a great time talking and listening to Grandpa tell stories about when our father was a child.  Meanwhile, Mommy and Grandma were inside doing the other preparations.  

Before long, the sausages were done and we took them inside to eat.

We had a great time around the supper table and afterwards we talked in the living room while a few of us did the cleanup.  It is always a privilege to go to our grandparents' place and enjoy their company and hear stories from past years.  

Proverbs 16:31 "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness."

"I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me." - Psalm 13:6

How I have longed for and awaited this day!  Ten years ago, the Lord worked in my heart to give Him my desires and aspirations and to start praying daily for my future life partner.  Five years ago the Lord brought someone into my life who would, in time, become more dear to me than anyone I have yet known.

In the years I have spent among groups of godly young people, I have met thousands who are seeking God and His ways.  One internationally renowned preacher described these groups as “the Godliest of the Godly young people” he has ever met.  Nevertheless, I have not found even in these circles anyone I can look in the eye and see that their heart is truly and fully dedicated to the Lord and His ways.  To see the fear of God exemplified in the same life, to discover an unshakable faith and a godly love that overflows onto all those around, to find responsibility, determination and endurance has been far above my expectations.  To know and be known of such a person is a privilege and an honour beyond my merit.  I believe that only God could have worked such a wonder.

It is my immense pleasure and honour to announce that I have now been officially granted by Mr. Taylor a courtship with his daughter, Erica Ashley Taylor.

This has been long in coming, and we have already spent much time with each other's families.  Perhaps I will make another post soon with more details.

Some noteable posts from our blog: be sure to read between the lines; you may find some interesting statements and/or pictures.  
http://www.createdinchrist.com/Blog/post/More-concerts.aspx
http://www.createdinchrist.com/Blog/post/Friends-and-Fellowship.aspx
http://www.createdinchrist.com/Blog/post/Bicycling.aspx
http://www.createdinchrist.com/Blog/post/Hiking-the-White-Mountains.aspx
http://www.createdinchrist.com/Blog/post/Friends-Photographs-Valentines-Day.aspx

Erica, I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your fellowship from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart and you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

March around here generally means time to tap trees.  I hadn't really expected to do so so soon, though.  It wasn't much more than a week before that we took these winter bird pictures.

oh, and some non-bird pictures.

Almost every spring, we get outside to tap a few trees.  Last Saturday I did 16, I think.  I tend to lose track of how many I have actually done, as I generally skip any trees that still have more than one unclosed hole, resulting in most trees being tapped about every other year.

I guess it is more of a hobby than anything; we generally turn about half of the sap we get into syrup and the other half into maple sugar on snow.  Yum!    

I am very grateful to Elizabeth for assisting me by carrying all the buckets.  She also carried a large pair of pruning shears - something I always mean to do, but never actually end up doing.  

We tapped a couple of trees inside the cow's fence, so we shall see what the inspector thinks.

Psalm 119:103-104 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way."

We haven't had much in the winter this year.  Up until recently, we probably had a total of about a foot or two of snow.  But although there hadn't been much snow to shovel  most of us do like to have at least one or two big snowfalls.  We finally did get some snow last Thursday, and it was just the right consistency to roll into large snowballs...

So, we made two large snowmen.  We had to get creative to lift the snow balls (they were quite heavy), but we did finally do it with just our own muscle power - and some old pallets that happened to be not far away.

The taller of the two snowmen stood 10 1/2 feet tall including his hat.

The snow melted a little after that, so they both tumbled.  All we have now is one big ball and two smaller balls stacked beside it.  But it was a lot of exercise.

Isaiah 55:9-11 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

A lot has happened since we last made a blog post.  I guess I shall start where we left off, but I will not write everything we have done since then, because I don't have time and neither do you.  Instead, I will just pull the highlights of the past couple of weeks and leave the rest for other to write.  (Or perhaps for me to write on a later date.)  A few days after the events of the last post, we were invited to lunch and to spend some time in fellowship with a godly family.  After lunch, we all got our instruments out and played some hymns.

It seems inevitable that where there is music being played by a group like this, there will also be an audience.

After playing, we went outside to the barn.  Most of us had as yet not seen either their new robotic milker nor their new brown cows.  Certain people were more keen on watching the machine, while others were more interested in the animals.  I will let my readers guess which gender generally prefered which.

After visiting the cows, several people went to visit the horses.  Elizabeth even got to go bareback riding for a little while.

One thing I like about winter is the combination of snow, ice, and moonlight.  Here are a few pictures we have taken of this kind of combination.  The road in the picture is not our road, but a road not far from ours.  I love the way the moon's light is reflected on the icy road.

On Friday the 10th we had several people over for a Valentines Day supper. Evelyn worked very hard to make lots of little gum-drop roses.

We had several birthdays to celebrate as well, so when dessert was about to be served we brought each of the birthday people a dessert with a candle on top.  After supper, the men had a men's meeting and the ladies and children talked upstairs - and washed dishes.  I am very grateful for those who do those tasks that are rarely noticed.  It is always good to get together and share with godly people.

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant." - 1 Corinthians 13:4