Adventures in Virginia - Part 1

By: Erin

Last week, we went to Virginia for our family's annual vacation.  We enjoyed a lot of outdoor activities, river rapid adventures, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, visiting friends and family, and more!  The more time we spend in God's incredible creation, the more we become thankful for it!  We are so grateful to our kind friends who let us stay in their home while we were visiting and for the amazing friends who faithfully watched our farm.  To give you an idea of what we did, the days we spent in VA are listed below with the activities:

Sunday- after church we drove the seven hours to our destination.
Monday- visited some friends and drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at the creeks.
Tuesday- kayaked 9 miles on the James River, then had dinner with Mom's sister.
Wednesday- visited some more friends and had dinner with our wonderful host family.
Thursday- hiked a small trail, visited the creeks again, visited Peaks of Otter, one of our favorite places in the Blue Ridge Parkway, and had pizza with our host family
Friday- hiked a longer trail (complete with rock climbing!), went back to Peaks of Otter, then had dinner with Dad's brother.
Saturday- drove back home, visiting another of Dad's brothers along the way.

A gorgeous view from the car

Monday: 

Breakfast/Lunch with a long-time friend.

Benjamin and Joseph almost forgot just how slippery the rocks are!

The creeks are a perfect place for pictures!

Dual photo shoot going on here (Morgan in the background)!

Notice the smile on the rock!

Luke took some time to study in the peaceful scenery.

Tuesday:

Set off!

Talking on the phone to a friend.

Almost to the close of a peaceful, yet exciting day.

Aunt Elizabeth surprised us with a mini 2019 birthday party for everyone!!

Wednesday:

Playing an exciting game of Settlers of Catan!

*Thursday, Friday, & Saturday will be in Part 2!

"Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul."

Psalm 103:22

Joyful Acres' Newest Arrival!

By: Erin

This past week, we welcomed a new little kitten, Shade (named after the flower, Night Shade), to our farm!  She will serve as a barn cat, but for now, we are enjoying having her inside during her kitten stage.  Due to the loss of our big black cat, Sluggo (you can read more about him here), we got Shade since we were originally planning on moving Sluggo to the barn.  Like all kittens, she has a very fun and outgoing personality!

On a humorous note, we were told that she was black, but upon bringing her home, we noticed that she looks rather brown in the sunlight!

 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, 

and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: 

and God saw that it was good.

(Genesis 1:25)

Independence Day Recap

By: Erin

We had an exciting, blessed, and fun time on Independence Day!  Since everyone was free from their normal duties, we decided to spend the day outside working on our barn.  That evening we enjoyed a delicious meal and incredible fireworks with friends.  It had called for rain all day, and towards evening it began to rain.  Thankfully, the rain soon stopped!  Then, when we began the fireworks, it started to thunder threateningly in the distance, but it never rained heavier than a drizzle.

Since the United States of America was founded on Biblical Principles, our family remembers this day and we thank God for the freedom to worship Him.  We do not take this for granted, thus, we celebrate God's blessings!

Prepping areas for concrete.  The section above was poured on Saturday!

We spent some time after dinner to praise God for the freedom and liberty He has given our country and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Fireworks (& Sparklers!)!

Isaac lighting the firework

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; 

and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

(Psalm 33:12)

Happy 22nd Birthday, Isaac!

Isaac Phillips

Happy Birthday, Isaac!  We are so thankful to have you as our brother/son!  Your hard work, cheerfulness, humor, and love for others and the Lord are a blessing to us.  We appreciate your work ethic and organizing and completing so many projects around our farm.  We love you and thank God for you always!

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 

nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

(Psalm 1:1)

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!

We are so grateful for all those over the past centuries who have fought for the freedom of our country and given their lives for our sake.  This day is special to us, because we not only enjoy time spent celebrating with family, but remembering the price many have paid for our freedom and all that God has done for us and our nation.  Click the link to watch a song we sang this past Sunday.  

In God We Trust, In God Alone

"Happy is that people, that is in such a case: 

yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."

(Psalm 144:15)