Saturday, July 31, 2010

Praise to the Lord - A Mid Year Report

It seems like the month of July has flown by! Even in the midst of the preparation for the wedding and life settling down afterwards, God has been faithful and blessed us tremendously. It has been three weeks since the day that Adam and Sarah joined their lives together for life. What a gorgeous day filled with an overflow of love, smiles and seeing God's hand at work throughout the whole day from last minute details to the beautiful weather.

Now that the farm is a bit quieter, I thought I might give an update on the summer happenings. Sarah, a new happy bride, has now left the Bentley Farm Gazette and has made a new home in Wichita, Kansas. We could not be happier for the newly married couple even though it is not the same with Sarah being gone. Isaac has spent this summer in Ithaca as he continues with clinical rotations and he also participated in the Summer Dairy Institute. Allie is also at Cornell for the summer taking classes. Between their academic obligations, the two are very much enjoying planning their wedding for December 27th.

It has been an unexpected blessing to have Nate home for the most of the summer. He came home from Reynosa, Mexico, earlier this summer and thereupon asked his company for a domestic placement. Due to breaking his hand while waiting to be placed, he had been delayed in going back to work. This has lead to him being able to finish much work on the exterior of our house, and even an unexpected vacation to LA for the weekend with me. With Nate being home, we had one of his friends, Mike, from Princeton join our family for the summer while he prepares to return to Princeton this fall to work with a Christian campus ministry. He has been dubbed the “summer intern” and has graced our house with a great attitude and the willingness to do anything. But today Nate left for Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he is going for training and then eventually onto his final destination: Weston, West Virginia.

Luke and I have both been grateful for the opportunity to be home this summer. Luke, being interested in the medical field, decided to take an EMT class and has been learning how to respond to any sort of emergency. He has been busy volunteering at the local hospitals and riding in ambulances. I, too, have been taking classes but in a different field – accounting. Instead of learning how to take a person’s pulse and listen to their heart, I am happy when the numbers sum up to the correct total. But even more than that, it has been wonderful to be home to be with Sarah and the family in the weeks of preparation for Sister’s wedding.

Jacob loves his summer job. He and his boss travel down to Westchester County whereupon they spend the whole day cleaning swimming pools. One day, he arrived home with the back of his pants torn off due to a client’s guard dogs not realizing that he was not a criminal suspect. Now he is more than certain to be cautious when he sees “Beware Guard Dogs” sign. Rebecca and Caleb have been busy caring for the heifers and calves that have returned to Bentley Farm for the summer and are very excited about the upcoming fair. The only dilemma is catching the heifers to train them for the show ring. One of Rebecca’s heifers, Speeddarling, is more than determined not be caught in the field and just when you think you may be able to put a halter on, she will either go through the fence or jump the gate and then give you that look that says, “I am impossible to catch.”

It is hard to believe that the youngest member of the family is now a teenager. Caleb turned thirteen today and celebrated the day just like a typical teenager by receiving a stereo as his birthday gift and going to the movies! We continue to marvel at Caleb’s intellectual thoughts and admire his sensitive spirit towards others.

I so appreciate Grandma Farmer’s determined spirit and positive attitude on life. She had a bit of a setback this summer having fallen and injured her shoulder. Even though she had this injury, she had been able to continue to make her famous oatmeal bread and keep up with the busyness of the past month. She recently had surgery and we have been praying for a speedy recovery. She has already shown great improvement and we know she will be sure to recover in short order.

It has been a year now since my uncle Mark and I traveled to Chicago to pick up our Cousin Maryella to come back East and live with us. She continues to humor us since we never quite know what her next verbiages might be. The other day at lunch she said, “Bless this food that is so good. Give us appetites to justify this good food.” Every day, I continue to learn from her. She teaches me a slower pace of life and to appreciate every moment of life.

And Mom and Dad are what hold all of us together. I have valued my walks with Mom in the morning and am hoping that one day I might be half of good a mom as she is. Dad has taken on the responsibility of the caretaker of Bentley Farm. When he is not at work, you can find him in his garden weeding and gathering fresh produce.

---
Praise to the Lord!
O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath,
come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Saint Patrick's Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Shingle by Shingle...

...progress is being made! All this summer, the boys have been working hard on residing the house and now are busy staining it.

Sheep Update


Becca just loves caring for her sheep. She always makes sure that they have green grass to eat and that their pen is clean. They are quick to greet her with friendly "bahs" as soon as she walks out the door and starts calling, "Sheepies, sheepies!"

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Honeymoon Pictures and a Cyberspace Move

Someone told Adam and me that we would have to write a book about how to plan a wedding in a month! We both agreed that the book would have one sentence! I think it would be something like, "Have the best and most helpful friends and family in the world!" Thanks to everyone for making our wedding day so absolutely memorable! Thanks to all for the well wishes and congratulations! We are so fantastically blessed!

Adam and I have some pictures of the honeymoon to share (and eventually pictures of the wedding too!). Starting a new life in Wichita involved a move from Bentley Farm, and with my physical move, my cyberspace blogging has also moved! I will be joining my husband at his blog (now our blog!). Visit us from time to time: http://www.adammonaghan.blogspot.com/!

And for now, you can check our small assortment of honeymoon pictures from Norway Island!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Creating a Home in Wichita!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Saranac Lake Camping Trip

On Friday, our friends, the Blues, Dad, Jake, and I left for Middle Saranac Lake in the beautiful Adirondack State Park. We had a wonderful time, canoeing, swimming, hiking a small mountain, camping, fishing, and eating good camp food. We spent two nights on Norway Island and had it all to ourselves. Then we left before the lake got too choppy on Sunday. Overall we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the majestic scenery.


















Sunday, July 18, 2010

Weekend in LA: Torrance Edition




Highlights:

- Visiting Wayfarer's Chapel.

- Meeting up with Donna, a family friend.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Weekend in LA: Hermosa & Venice Beach Edition

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Highlights:

- Watching the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalists play beach volleyball.

- 3 of the 8 Princeton roommates together.

- Eating delicious food on the Redondo Beach Pier.

- Tandem biking from Venice Beach to Santa Monica.

Adam & Sarah's Wedding Pictures

Click here! Then click on photograph at bottom left and next click on {sarah & adam}.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Weekend in LA: Palos Verdes & Anaheim Edition

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Highlights:

- Hiking down the bluff to the ocean.

- Watching the qualifying matches for the Hermosa Beach Open.

- Attending our first baseball game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Weekend in LA: Hollywood Edition

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Highlights:

- Touring the Getty Center and its beautiful gardens.

- Star-watching with Nate.

- Attending a Joshua Bell concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

- Eating birthday cake at midnight.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

There's a Loud Sort of Clatter From the Stock in the Barn

The Angell Siblings' Farewell to Sarah -
There's a loud sort of clatter from the stock in the barn,
and the sheep in the meadow too,
and out in the pasture an absurd little cow is jumping out to say,
"MOO, MOO."

Regretfully they tell us,
but firmly they compel us,
to say good-bye to you.

Refrain: So long, farewell, our dear sister good-bye.

Nate: I am glad for you; you found a Quaker guy.
Isaac: I'd like to give this wedding thing a try.
Hannah: I'd like to go and join your honeymoon. Yes?!
Jacob: Now don't tell me, gosh darn it and good-bye. Gosh darn it!
Luke: I have to go and work on my John Deere.
Rebecca: I'll drive, you shift and we'll both shed a tear.
Caleb: The hens have gone to roost and so must I.

Good-bye. Good-bye. Good-bye.


Thanks to Mike (our Uncle Max) and Mr. Rubin for video-recording.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Today Was A Fairytale

(A few early nonofficial pictures of the big day - thanks to Eric.)

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Monaghan!

Our God is mighty to save!

Sunday, July 04, 2010

America the Beautiful

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Today the family went down to Pleasantville for the annual 4th of July picnic with our extended family. We had a great time of fun, food, swimming, talking, and laughing.

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Hot Air Balloons and Birthday Dinners

The eight kids also with Mike, our summer guest, went to Shadows on the Hudson River for dinner to celebrate Jacob's birthday. The food was good, the scenery was beautiful, and the hot air balloon was awesome.