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2007 in Review

Dec 31, 2007

In the last few days of 2006 we received our 17'x26' Canvas Deck Tent. What a blessing it would turn out to be in 2007! It changed our life dramatically.

The tent held up exceptionally well through the ice storm test.

We got our internet satellite system installed ~ internet-in-a-tent!

Started working on designing The Journal of Plymouth Rock Ranch website.

The Journal of Plymouth Rock Ranch was launched in June 2007.

Since the tent had passed the ice storm test, God decided to show us how well it could withstand the 40 Days and 40 Nights flooding test.

One of the perks of the record setting rains of 2007 was swimming in the river that crossed our road.

19 flat tires, 16 of which were on our dump trailer, most of which were brand new tires.

Milked a goat, butchered a goat, bred 2 does for 2008 babies, ate lots of goats milk ice cream in the hot summer months : )

Found a free shed for the taking down on Craig's List.

Oodles of broody hens hatched out chicks.

Ryker trapped several wild hogs. He took a few to market, butchered one and tried raising 6 or 7 piglets that he trapped which escaped out an unlatched gate.

God in His graciousness, provided us with our very own God-Planted, God-Watered and God-Grown Watermelon when we couldn't plant a garden of our own due to hauling our water.

In 2007 we raised 50 meat chickens from chicks. We brooded, fed out, butchered, froze, cooked and ate these birds.

We also got one set of stitches.

Ashley, Callan, Skylar & Ryker cared for a WWII Veteran to help bring in fund for orthodontic needs. Ryker had oral surgery. Ryker and Callan got their braces.

The boys started putting out flyers in Bandera and Pipe Creek looking for yard and/or construction work to help fund the continuing orthodontic work and 2 more oral surgeries that we need to do in addition to the many improvements we need to accomplish on our property. God has blessed this effort and has brought in some yard/ranch work, roofing work, fencing jobs and others. We are thankful for God's provision.

THE Truck, which we needed to be able to both tow and do the work the boys were bringing in.

God miraculously showed us that marble-in-a-tin-can sound coming from THE Truck was the flexplate and not the torque converter (which was a much more expensive fix than the flexplate!) We're researching how to make THE Truck be able to use bio-diesel and cut down on our fuel cost in 2008.

Marshall Foster seminars in San Antonio in October, November and December of 2007. The Spradling Family has graciously hosted us for dinner and a tank of water before each of the history seminars as they live very close to the venue. We are thankful for their ministry in our life.

On October 4, 2007, while eating at the Spradling's before the history seminar, Jackson announced he had his first loose tooth. In fact, loose enough to pluck right out of his mouth. Jackson gleefully posed for his first pulled tooth picture with Mr. & Mrs. Spradling.

San Antonio Independent Christian Film Academy and Festival.

On November 4, 2007, our friend, Michael Billings, went to be with His Lord and Savior at the age of 19. The car crash that claimed his life struck a blow to his family and friends causing us all to consider Michael's sermon "Life is But a Vapor." We are rejoicing for Michael who is now with his beloved Heavenly Father and his beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray for Michael's family as they adjust to this sudden change in their lives. We look to our own lives to consider our eternal destiny, our relationship with God and His Son, and the things we are doing with our time that God has given to us on this earth. May we all remember that life is but a vapor and to redeem the time with which God has blessed us.

Trip to Missouri to attend Michael's funeral and support his family in their time of loss. In God's providence, the town where Michael had grown up and was buried, was the birthplace of Rick's great grandmother. It was also close to the town where Rick's mother was born. It was a blessing to be able to see some family history on our trip. We were blessed to be able to meet and stay with the McMinn family while in Missouri. Thank you, McMinn's for your generous hospitality.

At 12:35 a.m. the morning we were leaving for our trip to Missouri, our first ever calf was born. God answered my prayers that Maia would deliver before we had to leave for a few days.

A huge blessing this November was getting our electric stove/oven plugged in under the power pole and housed in a hog trap covered with plywood. Doesn't sound like something to be thankful for? Then try cooking and baking for a family of 11 in an 18 quart roaster oven for 2 years. THEN get your electric stove/oven plugged in under the power pole and housed in a hog trap covered with plywood and you'll be in hog heaven!

Another learning opportunity has been participating in the 4 part harmony hymn singing night with several other families from church.

Justice Foundation Dinner.

Ryker "successfully" roped Maia's horns leading to her get tangled in the rope, break her horn, call a rancher to tranquilize her, take off the rope, fix her broken horn, stop the bleeding, and try to bottle feed her week and a half old calf due to big drop in milk production due to trauma.

Little Boys helping Daddy.

Our first affiliate sale ~ proceeds going into a well fund.

Katheryn Lee, our 2nd granddaughter was born.

Camera broke ~ visually unstimulating posts began.

Wonderful year of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ at our local assembly.

Worked through the book of Ephesians.

Men's monthly Bible Study on the Minor Prophets.

Joshua to Psalms read in morning Bible Times.

Proverbs read in evening Bible Times.

Many Sunday evenings of fellowship (and midweek visits too) while filling our water tank at so many generous family's homes. We give a very special Thank You of gratitude to the: Torres, Smithe, DeLadurantey, Stewart, Manteuful, Rugloski, Hawley, Spradling, Jaax, Coghlan, Cousins, Gill, Sangalli, and Ehlinger families. Your generous and sweet contribution of water to our foundational time at Plymouth Rock Ranch is beyond thanks.

Looking back over the year 2007, we made some substantial progress. Looking back over the year 2007, we didn't accomplish near as much as we had hoped to accomplish. And in some ways, the flood damage caused us to go backwards this year. The floods kept us in emergency clean up mode for several months of the year 2007 making it so we could only work at cleaning up water and mud messes and then swim in the river for fun. God's plans are not our plans and so we adjust our plans to align with His. While the flooding kept us from moving forward on many of our plans, we learned volumes about what lots of water does to our property, probably saving us from making some serious mistakes in developing our property. So, while we did not accomplish as much as WE had wanted to accomplish, we learned volumes that will serve us well in the future.

Looking back on the year 2007, the tent has been a tremendous blessing. I shudder to think of having to have lived through the floods of 2007 in just the 5th wheel ~ days, weeks & months on end of 11 people living in the very small space of the 5th wheel surrounded by water and mud! God KNEW what we could and could not handle. I am so very grateful for His provision of a tent right when we needed it!

Looking back on the year 2007, we are so very thankful for "The Faithfulness and Provision of God" that we can proclaim to ourselves, to you and to future generations. God has faithfully provided in many, many ways, for which we are so very grateful!

Vision Forum
Overstock Liquidation Sale

Dec 29, 2007

Only two more days to save 25%-50% during Vision Forum’s Overstock Liquidation Sale! Sale prices are only good on new online orders, and while supplies last, until midnight, December 31 (CST).

For the complete list of over 200 discounted products, plus more details and stock availability information, click here.

We have about 30 items on our wish list! This is our most favorite sale of the year. Now to decide which of those 30 items.......

Fellowship & Target Practice

Dec 28, 2007

We had the privilege of hosting the Gobart Family at Plymouth Rock Ranch this week. They came prepared with cowboy boots and all : ) Michaella had fun feeding the cow pineapple scraps and helping Delaney milk the goat. Our girls had fun mothering both Malachi and Michaella. Michael brought his rifle and two pistols for an afternoon of target practice. Ashley, Callan and I all had our first attempt at shooting a pistol which was fun. As always, our guests were acquainted with our chickens who try, and sometimes succeed, to come into the tent to lay their eggs - or just visit : )

Callan made a Mexican dinner of turkey tamales, rice, beans, salsa and albondigas soup (Mexican Meatball Soup.) Grace's green salad with Feta Cheese was the perfect addition to the meal. Ashley made an apple pie which evidently didn't receive its fair share of thickener : ( and a pumpkin pecan pie which was great : )

Our time together was too short, but that leaves us looking forward to their next visit! Thank you, Gobart Family, for making the trek out to Plymouth Rock Ranch.

Beautiful Burrito

Dec 22, 2007

A Baby Katheryn Burrito

A Busy Week

Dec 22, 2007

This has been a busy, busy week. And, we didn't attend everything we could have attended! Being as our camera is still not cooperating and unlocking, you'll have to envision what our photos would have communicated.

Tuesday night found most of us (some of us are fighting a cold/cough virus) in San Antonio at Ruth Willing and Regina Fulmer's Graduation Celebration. We were blessed to be able to help with the Mango Tango Salad makings and serving as well as keeping other food items stocked on the buffet line. We were honored to be able to attend their celebration of Godly Womanhood and enjoy their gifts of music and testimonies.

Wednesday we actually were able to stay home and prepare for the rest of the week. Thursday the older boys and I went to Pipe Creek to do some yard work for a VietNam Veteran Helicopter Pilot. He has a woodworking shop set up where he builds heirloom furniture for his children and grandchildren, which is inspiring. We look forward to serving this gentleman more in the future.

Friday I took the boys to the Manteufel's house to help with a concrete pour of a backyard patio and front yard stairs and walkway. When we got there, their yard was teeming with dads and boys who were there to both help and learn. The girls and I took the opportunity to run grocery errands and visit Vision Forum's Retail Center and Clearance Outlet while the guys "played in the mud". Then we were back to the Manteufels to heat up our lasagna and pick up the boys, who enjoyed a "real" shower with lots of room and hot water to boot! We then headed over to the Sangalli's home a few blocks away for a lasagna dinner, a 4 part harmony hymn singing night and a tank of water. Thank you Sangalli Family for your hospitality and tank of water!

Saturday morning had Rick and Skylar up and out early to work on Mrs. Hawley's roof in San Antonio. The remainder of the well people headed to Boerne a little later to make a quick trip through WalMart and Tractor Supply, grab a tank of water at the Smithe's under construction home in Comfort and then head to the church for Grandpa Ringer's Surprise 60th Birthday Party.

When we first arrived in San Antonio, Harrison had just turned a year old and was not very social outside of his family. Grandpa Ringer spent our first year in San Antonio winning Harrison's trust and friendship. He (and we) have grown to love Grandpa Ringer (and Grandma Ringer too : ) and were blessed to be able to attend his birthday celebration and wish him a very Happy Birthday. We enjoyed finger food, fellowship and a photo presentation of David's life. Mr. Ringer's son, Steven, presented him with a lambskin Geneva Bible, the Bible brought over by the Pilgrims. What a special gift! We had another busy, but blessed day.

Tomorrow is The Lord's Day so tonight we are preparing for the Worship of our Lord. It has been a full, busy, blessed week. We look forward to having 2 whole days at home on Monday and Tuesday! Yeah!

More Pictures of Katheryn

Dec 20, 2007

Mariah, Naomi and Katheryn

Katheryn

Naomi and Katheryn

Naomi and Katheryn

Grani and Pop with their great grand daughters

Mark, Naomi and Katheryn

And the winner is....

Dec 20, 2007

Congratulations to Joseph Manion the winner of Vision Forum's Doll Carrier Giveaway!

Please send us your shipping and email address and we will get that package sent your way.

Thank you to all that entered our giveaway. Keep watching for more chances to win Vision Forum products.

The Faithfulness
and
Provision of God!

Dec 17, 2007

Remember, THE Truck? The 1997, Ford F-350, Crew Cab Diesel Truck we purchased about 4 months ago?

About 2 months ago, I was driving home with a load of water and started to hear a funny rattley noise. Rick did some investigating, like putting a stick on different parts of the running engine and putting the stick to his ear to listen. Sounds wierd, at least to a non-mechanic like me. But, doing this can tell you where the strange noise is coming from. Kind of like putting your ear to the ground to see if you can hear footsteps or hoofsteps or stampedes or posses a comin'.

I did some research on www.DieselStop.com and www.DieselDoctor.com trying to figure out what this noise could possibly be. It ran fine, shifted fine, accelerated fine and had lots of power. It just had this "can of marbles sound" as Rick put it. Rick decided that I must have heated up the transmission and torque converter while doing some difficult backing that afternoon and that the noise was coming from the torque converter.

We parked THE Truck and started investigating the transmission and torque converter that is on THE Truck. What we discovered is what we already knew. They are VERY expensive to replace. We were praying that it would only be the torque converter that would need replacing as we worked side jobs to be able to save for this unexpected fix. So, THE Truck sat.

Remember the flat tires last week? "ALL things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose" ~ Romans 8:28. Including flat tires.

A week ago, Friday, the boys finished a roof job in Medina. I was trying to avoid going to San Antonio for a new trailer tire, so we went to a small tire store in Bandera. By this time, Rick was with us so he went in to see if they had a trailer tire that would work for us. We didn't find a trailer tire, but what we did discovere was a pulled engine from an identical 1997, Ford F-350, Crew Cab Diesel Truck. The boys were thrilled to see an engine just like their engine out where they could get a good look at it. The guys started asking questions about what they were doing with the engine, etc.

Turns out, this truck also had a rattley noise that they just couldn't figure out. They did several expensive fixes that didn't fix anything ~ until they took it all the way apart ~ which is when they discovered the broken flexplate that goes between the transmission and torque converter. (You'll have to create your own image of a broken flexplate here since our disobedient camera won't unlock to take a photo of our broken flexplate : ) The flexplate is a large round, flat, metal gear with a smaller circle with holes in the middle. On a table near the engine was a broken flexplate out of which the smaller circle had just broken free.

The guys talked and the more they talked and the more Rick looked at the broken flexplate, he became convinced that this was the problem with THE Truck. Fast forward one week later to Stewart Automotive who installed a new flexplate in THE Truck and made it run without a loud rattley noise!

God's mercy is new every morning! God took us to a little tiny tire store in the little town of Bandera to see an identical engine to ours with the same broken flexplate sitting on the table where we could see it and picture what that broken part might sound like in a running engine, solving our puzzle for us. We were then able to get the flexplate fixed for about half the cost of what we were saving for a new torque converter.

Isn't God so good to us? We were barking up a close tree, but it was the wrong tree. And, He so graciously lead us to the right tree, saving us lots of time and money, and gave us back the use of THE Truck sooner than we expected. God cares about our needs and provides in such miraculous ways.

Have You Noticed
Anything Missing?

Dec 17, 2007

Have you noticed anything missed from our blogposts lately? Have you noticed that our posts are a lot less visible lately?

This is not because we've misplaced our camera again. It's not because the camera is hiding in a laundry hamper again. It's not because someone put the camera under a pillow on their bed and conveniently forgot that's where they'd put it to keep it from getting into little ones' hands again. This would be because our digital camera has decided to lock itself up and not let us use it anymore. I think its on strike : )

So, I guess we're in the market for a new digital camera. If anyone knows of any great cameras on sale for great prices, would y'all please email us and let us know who, when, where and how much? If y'all have any recommendations on great cameras, we'd appreciate hearing that info as well.

If we can't find a great deal soon, y'all will have to put up with our boring visually unstimulating posts caused by a very disobedient camera.

Announcing.....

Dec 13, 2007

the birth of our 2nd grandchild:

Katheryn was a week late making her appearance. I'm a thinkin' she gets this trait from the Seargeant side of the family : ) She tried to make her appearance sunnyside up, making delivery a little more difficult, not to mention that she is a couple of pounds larger than her older sister, Naomi.

With a planned induction today, Mariah was relieved when her Wednesday evening contractions finally turned into being the real deal. And, going in shortly after midnight, the Dr. didn't want to start pitocin since he would rather get his sleep. So, happily she was able to labor without pitocin this time around.

Katheryn shares her Great-Aunt Dariann's birthday. More photos will follow at a later date.

Our Very First
GIVEAWAY!

Dec 12, 2007

We are excited to announce our very first GIVEAWAY here at The Journal of Plymouth Rock Ranch! All you have to do is send us an email asking to be entered in the contest. If you have a blog or website, we would greatly appreciate it if you would link to this GIVEAWAY as well. If you link to us, please note that in your email entry.

So, what do we have to give away? AVision Forum D oll Carrier, perfect for the little girl in your life!

Giveaway entry must be received by next Tuesday, December 18, 2007. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, December 19, 2007.

God, in His sovereign providence, has a Vision Forum D oll Carrier in Someone Special's future! Could it be you?

Nine Volume
Gill Commentaries
$100 Off!

Dec 12, 2007

Vision Forum has announced their Nine Volume Set of Gill Commentaries are $100 off! That means you can purchase this great resource for only $250 minus the Instant Rebate of $50 which makes them $200. Or you can add $25 more to your purchase and get a $100 instant rebate for 1 more day!

Normal Uneventful
Never Lasts For Long
Around Here!

Dec 12, 2007

Last week, I blogged about our life getting back to "normal" or if not "normal," at least "uneventful." Well, I'm here to tell you life has been "eventful" again! I pondered in blogland what was around the next corner. Well, it didn't take too long to find out. Here's the chain of events/comedy of errors:

Last Thursday Night: We had a wonderful hamburger dinner at our dear friends the Spradling's. They graciously allowed us to fill our water tank, and then we headed over to hear Marshall Foster's History Seminar.

Mr. Foster spoke on the Reformation and Reformation key players such as John Wycliffe, John Calvin, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Knox, and the Kings and Queens of the time. He showed how ungodly leaders were used to further the spread of God's Word, in spite of themselves. He showed how the faithful walk of a godly man will accomplish more than that man can fathom while living that sometimes difficult walk of faith ~ including martyrdom. What a powerful message of hope it was!

As we were getting into the van Rick handed me his phone and asked me to charge it for him on the drive home. He had come into town separately in the S-10 pickup that doesn't have a port for charging phones. We proceeded onto the freeway and headed home. As I was hauling a heavy load of water, my travel was a little slower than Rick's and he was slightly ahead of us. A car pulled up beside us and through sign language communicated we had a tow chain dragging. We pulled off the freeway, headed for a gas station and lights and Ryker checked it out. He noticed a low trailer tire so we pulled over to the air pump, filled the tire and heard "phshshshshshshshshshshs......"

Oh great. It's about 10:30 p.m. Rick is now miles ahead of us merrily on his way home and I have his phone. It now occurs to me that he didn't get another phone when he handed his phone to me for charging. I ask who has Ashley's phone and discover that it's in Skylar's pocket, who is with me. Oh great!

Ryker is convinced that we must leave the trailer in the gas station parking lot for the night. But, where is the trailer lock to deter someone else from hooking up to our trailer and water tank and taking off into no-man's land? Of course, NOT where it's supposed to be ~ in the toolbox on the trailer. Ugh! We're in a not-so-nice neighborhood and I am picturing coming back to a missing trailer, or at the very least a stripped trailer ~ though if they took these tires, they would get the curse they would deserve!! I watch the rate of descent on the tire and decide to make a run for Castroville where I could make an air stop.

So, we head back onto the freeway, wondering if Rick has missed us yet. All the while, I'm praying for wisdom for emergency plans should my tire go flat and praying that I won't need those emergency plans if God will just allow my tire to stay inflated. Then I remembered the Horn's and the Torres' homes were about half way to our house and if I could make it that far I'd have a safe place to leave the trailer. We called and got ahold of Carmen and asked if we could make an emergency landing at her house. She's all too familiar with our emergency landings since we made a few of them when she lived 10 miles down the road from us in Hondo. So, we started praying that God would get us to the Torres' home without any more eventful happenings.

Thankfully, we pulled into the Torres' driveway safely where Carmen met us with a huge bag of pumpkin, banana and carrot breads. : ) Yum : ) Thank you, Carmen, for that ray of hope! We unhitched the trailer and headed out for a 40 minute drive home. We got home about 11:45 only to discover that Rick and Callan are not home. Now I'm wondering how far back to San Antonio they've gone and which route would they have taken to try and find us. Then my phone rings with a voice message and I discover that they have gone to Hondo and are trying to get ahold of me via a payphone, but I'd been out of signal's reach when he called. Finally, he called again and I was able to inform him that we were safely home and the trailer was safely housed at the Torres' home. Twenty minutes later they were home and we finally got to bed.

Friday: The boys had to finish their roofing job and I'd hoped to make it into town to get a tire for to rescue the trailer. As it was later when the boys successfully finished their roof job, Rick decided we'd go to town for a date night and get a tire together instead of the boys and I going in after their job. Great plan, until we were 6 minutes late to the tire store. Ugh! We had a fun date night, but we went home without our trailer full of water - Again.

Saturday: I find myself heading b a c k to San Antonio ~ again ~ to get a tire. Thankfully I got to Discount Tire before they closed since they were closing a half day early for their Christmas Party. I SURE wouldn't have liked driving all the way to SA only to find them closed ~ AGAIN!!! But, as it was, they couldn't find me the right trailer tire and couldn't find anyone else who had it in stock. So, we ordered the tire, and redeemed the time and gas by going to Costco.

Monday: Off to SA ~ Again ~ to pick up the trailer tire. After several errands, Ryker and I finally made it to the Torres' home, got the tire on, picked up Skylar from his ride to work, conveniently around the corner from the Torres' home, and headed home ~ WITH the trailer and a tank of much needed water! Yeah!!

About a half mile from home I hear this thump thump thump and Skylar says, "What is that noise?" I don't know for sure, but I can give a pretty good guess and I don't like my guess. It's very dark out with a cloud cover but soon Skylar discovers another flat. But, this time it's one of the 4 month old tires on the van which has a rock wedged into the rubber. Thankfully, we had just pulled back into shaky cell phone coverage and I was able to get my point across to Rick that we need the spare tire (which was at home) and some help ~ not to mention that I had to go potty and needed transportation to the house in pretty short order!

Trying to make this very long story just a little bit shorter : ) Rick got the truck to me, I made it back to the house in time and the guys were able to get the spare tire on and get our van, trailer and water home.

Tuesday: Since we were getting low on water, I already had
a n o t h e r trip to SA planned to get water at the Smithe's home, spend the day, and go to a children's orchestra and choir performance in the evening, I added into the day a trip to Costco to get the tire replaced. We opted to purchase All Terrain tires for the back of the van, move the remaining All Season 4 month old tire to the front, and move the spare which was almost new onto the other front position, retire one front tire that was on it's way out, and move the other low tread front tire to the spare position. Now we have four new or almost new tires on the van.

If you've made it to the end of this post, I'm sure you're glad that this story is finished. At least my prayer is that it is finished and that it will be quite awhile before I need to post on more flat tires!

Elsie Dinsmore 4
MP3 Audio
Now Available!

Dec 11, 2007

How many of your girls love the Elsie Dinsmore Book Series? I know they have been a favorite in our house with all of our girls. Well, we have NEWS for you!

Our dear, sweet friend, Laurie Manteufel, has been "laboring" to deliver Els ie's Womanhood which is the fourth book in the Elsie Dinsmore Series in an MP3 audio format. This is perfect for redeeming the time while driving in the car (no more "Are we there yet?") Or its perfect when you need the children safely occupied while you accomplish a necessary task. They are not just being entertained, they're also learning history and character in a memorable way!

We are proud to announce that Els ie's Womanhood in audio MP3 format has now arrived and is available at Vision Forum.

B ooks 1-3 narrated by Bill Potter in CD format are also available at Vision Forum.

We're so proud of you, Laurie, for your entrepreneurial spirit and your perseverance through technical trials! Congratulations on the "birth" of your first Elsie "child." We look forward to welcoming and hearing many more!

Vision Forum
Instant Rebates!

Dec 11, 2007

Vision Forum has announced a sale with HUGE Instant Rebates upon checkout for 4 days only! Here's how it works:

Purchase $275 or more = Get $100 FREE!!!
Purchase $150-$274 = Get $50 FREE!!
Purchase $75-$149 = Get $25 FREE!

You can't beat that! Remember, there are 6 days left to use Standard Shipping to guarantee delivery by December 24th.

Some larger items on our wish list include:

R.M. Ballantyne Library currently priced at $175.00. With the $50 instant rebate, that comes out to $125.00 for this great library of historical books.

Puritan Fathers Classic Library currently priced at $135. With the $25 instant rebate, that comes out to $110.

History of the World Mega-Conference Complete Audio Collection (40 Compact Discs) currently priced at $198.00. With the $50 instant rebate, that comes out to $148.00 for this tremendous history set.

I could go on, but I'd better stop here. Suffice it to say, if there's something on your Vision Forum Wish List, now's the time to click on through!

Science Experiment 2
for the Day

Dec 11, 2007

Leah S. read our post on a certain child's experiment with a magnet and our computer screen and the resulting black haze halo left behind. She very kindly emailed us a link to this page (just in case there are others of you out there who wonder what their child was thinking when they place a magnet on an electronic screen) saying there was a link at the bottom of this page with info on how to fix this magnetic problem with tv and computer screens.

I followed this link and then remembered how unscientific my mind is : ) (thankfully, I'm married to a scientifically-minded husband) as their explanation on how to fix it might as well have been written in Swahili. Though they did tell you where you could purchase some demagnetizing something-or-other. Then I looked at our computer screen and realized that most of the black haze halo had already disappeared. Yeah!! I must have flicked that magnet out of said child's hand fast enough that we didn't disrupt the magnetic color forces in the screen too terribly bad.

Thank you Leah S. for taking the time to send that info on. I'll keep it handy as it's very likely we'll need it in the future!

Science Lesson
of the Day

Dec 10, 2007

Have you ever wondered WHY children do the things they do? Sometimes I stand in amazement and ponder, "What exactly were they thinking?!?"

I just had a child walk up to me while working on a blog post, put a small, round magnet on the monitor screen and say, "WHOA~COOL!" as this round halo of color flickered on my screen. I flicked it out of said child's hand and said, "What ARE you doing?????" Gasp! Incredulous?????

I now have a nice, half circle of black hazing in the lower right hand screen of my monitor - permanently! Of course, said child couldn't explain what he/she was thinking! I'm sure it was just a science experiment. Surely, that was the thinking behind said child's actions. Surely.......

I guess we're one step closer to that flat screened monitor that we've always wanted. But, until we reach that final step, we'll have to get used to this nice, black-hazed, half circle in our monitor view.

Roofing Pictures

Dec 8, 2007

The guys reroofed a park model mobile home (smaller than a single wide) last week. As usual, the job took longer than they expected. We are thankful for cool temperatures and clear skies throughout this job. The job is currently being tested by the last night's light rain, today's rain and the projected rain into tomorrow.

We are thankful for how God has provided just enough work through Seargeant Family Enterprises to pay for orthodontics and other necessary expenses. We are also thankful for the opportunity for the boys to learn some real life business and work skills, such as learning how to bid jobs, interact with customers, deal with legal business issues, perform quality work, learn new work skills and budget their time, among many other things.

We have only advertised by placing flyers around Bandera and Pipe Creek and we're surprised by how many calls we have received from those flyers. We've also been referred by happy customers, which is always a good thing!

It is our prayer that God will grow Seargeant Family Enterprises as the boys' skills grow and their confidence increases. It is our prayer that this will be one of many streams of income that God will use to provide for the development of Plymouth Rock Ranch.

November's Blog Visitors

Dec 5, 2007

Our November Stats on our Plymouth Rock Ranch Blog Visitors recorded 1245 Unique Visitors! That's up from 412 Unique Visitors in October. The increased visitors, are a result of Crystal at Biblical Womanhood and KimC at Life in a Shoe. Both ladies linked their very successful blogs to ours and thus y'all surfed on over and 50+% of y'all bookmarked our page! Wow!

We had new friends come by from the US, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Europe, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Israel, Egypt, Kuwait and Austria! Double Wow!

We made our very first Affiliate Sale !Yeah! in November and now our second in December. Thank you so much to all who are supporting our vision by purchasing through our Affiliate Links.

Now the pressure's on. Are we really that interesting to hold your piqued interest? Well, all I can say is that ya never know what is going to happen here on The Ranch. As a previous post declared, things have been rather "normal" "uneventful" around here the past couple of weeks. But, we like uneventful : ) Makes me wonder what's around the corner!

So, here's a big THANK YOU to Crystal and KimC and all you new friends who surfed on over. It was an exciting month to watch those numbers soar!

So, y'all come back now, ya hear?

Naomi

Dec 5, 2007

Recently, our daughter, Mariah, sent us pictures of our granddaughter, Naomi. Naomi is due to become a big sister any day now.

Naomi and Baby

Naomi

When Mariah was Naomi's age, she had even less hair than Naomi. Rick was an aircraft sheet metal mechanic at the time and had a photo of Mariah on his toolbox at work. She had a bow Karo Syrup glued to her "hair." One of the other mechanics looked at the photo and asked, "What did you do, pop rivet that bow to her head?" It looks like Naomi has enough hair that the daisy was tied on and no pop rivets or Karo Syrup was needed. : )

TheNormal Routine
at
Plymouth Rock Ranch

Dec 5, 2007

After the excitement of Thanksgiving week and the cow's horn incident, it's nice to report that everyday life has been, um, "normal" here at Plymouth Rock Ranch. Whatever "normal" means! At least it's been "normal" for the Seargeant Family living in a tent and 5th wheel trailer at Plymouth Rock Ranch!

"Normal" here means breakfast is made or planned the night before, everybody gets up at a decent hour and gets their chores done (start a fire in the tent's campstove, milk the goat, feed the animals, get the laundry started, put clean dishes from last night's dinner away, pick up the bedding off the floor in the trailer, teeth, hair, showers, breakfast & cleanup, etc.)

Then we get on to Bible Time and academics. We've been reading through the Bible and are currently in the Psalms. We answer the questions in Balancing the Sword Books 1 & 2 that go with the Psalm we've just read, and then read the supporting Scriptures listed with each question. Then we practice our writing by writing out key verses from said Psalm. I just ordered Truth and Grace (TAG) Memory Books 1, 2 & 3 which give an age progressing memory list of Scriptures, hymns and catechisms from age 2-18.

We received our TAG books in the mail earlier this week. After examining them, we started with the 1st verse, Genesis 1:1. Where else would we start but "In the Beginning!" Of course, the older children all knew Genesis 1:1. I really didn't expect Jackson to know it, but he already had it down pretty well. Harrison was a little unwilling to try reciting the verse, that is, until this morning. This morning I asked Harrison, "What does Genesis 1:1 say?" He proceeded to recite it word perfect! "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." I was amazed since he was so unwilling to even repeat it after me yesterday. I praised him and told him what a GREAT JOB he had done.

Then I discovered why Jackson already knew it so well. Harrison proclaimed, "I'm going to say it like Gator!" because Genesis 1:1 is quoted at the beginning of the infamous movies Bubble Trouble and Heartstrings by Heumoore Productions. So John, if you're reading this, our 5 & 4 year-olds are memorizing Scripture because they heard it in your movies! Actually, I think both he and Jackson know both movies word for word!

On with "normalcy." After the "normal" morning routine, there's lunch and all the other subjects to fill our time, more laundry and dishes, cooking and baking, taming the calf, swatting the army of bees that have been invading our tent, counting the legions of ladybugs that have invaded the queen suite in the 5th wheel, hauling water, building Seargeant Family Enterprises, shooing chickens out of the tent, writing blogposts, cleaning up messes, organizing, keeping the pantry and fridge/freezer stocked (now THAT's a chore!), rebuilding the shed.......I'd better stop here or I'll lose y'all!

Today, so far, in addition to our "normal" morning, Callan has worked on the blog, put the 'lil boys down for their naps and read, Ashley has worked on crocheting an afghan she's been working on for ....ahem....2 years, and is making Tammy's Pumpkin Dinner Rolls (revised to use whole wheat flour), whole wheat bread, and Tammy's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll (revised to use whole wheat flour), and the guys are off roofing a small mobile home roof. The younger girls (can't call them 'lil girls anymore since Larissa is now 13!) have worked on school, dishes, laundry and catching the calf.

To round off the day, prayerfully, the guys will get the small roof done and be home before dark, dinner will be served, cleanup performed, crocheting brought out for the evening, Rick will work on Mr. Four, Harrison's model airplane, we'll do our evening Bible Time, which is currently in Proverbs, and we'll head to bed at a decent hour of about 10 p.m., Lord willing. But, only the Lord knows what the rest of this day holds for us!

Uh oh, Jackson just staggered in from his nap. He's 5 now, so his naps don't generally last as long as us older folks would like. Why is it that the older person who puts them down for their nap sleeps the longest???? Jackson has discovered the bread dough that needs punching down and wants to help. Now that he's washed his hands, he's been given the go-ahead to help punch the dough down and roll it out. Now he's discovered the finished Pumpkin Dinner Rolls and feels the need to sample one. The intrigue of bread making has lost its appeal. Jackson is nowhere to be seen. That spells t r o u b l e!

The rooster is peaking his beak inside the tent flap trying to decide if it's safe to venture in. Ashley's swift kick at the flap makes that decision an easy one for him! Between the schoolbooks and the bread making, you'd think a bomb went off in our tent. Rick's Waikiki Banana Bars are still not made and the bananas destined for that sweet are turning blacker by the day. And dinner has yet to be made. It's now 3:22 pm.

Did I start this blog saying that life here has been "normal?" After writing and proofing this post, I think I should revise it to say that life here has been "uneventful" lately. I don't think "normal" is the appropriate word to describe life here at Plymouth Rock Ranch!