A Happy Ending

Some of you might have been wondering why our blog is called Farm Kids In Crocs.

Right???


Well here it is

We all where the Croc brand shoe


It's as simple as that.




We were all wondering what to name our blog

and Ryan said

"Well what about Farm Kids In Crocs?"



You know like Farmgirl In Flipflops Photography


We all thought about it for a moment and then said:

"Okay!"


Do you like the header???

We have intended to do that for a header ever since we started the blog

But never did

I just finished it

and put it up there

That is done!!!

We have a header and everyone knows why our blog is called:


Farm Kids In Crocs


A happy ending!!!





~T~H~E ~ ~E~N~D~

Jessica's Tag

1. High heels or boots? Boots. If I had to choose. I really like my clogs or my Crocs

2. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 am

3. What was the last movie you saw in the cinema? The Mysterious Islands. That was the first time since Chicken Run came out. I had more fun (watching the Mysterious Islands) than I did watching Chicken Run

4. What is your name? Jess. Before my Granddad died he always called me "J.P". The babies call me Gaga (Don't ask).

5. What is your favorite TV show? Andy Griffith, but we watch it on DVD. Does that count?

6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Drop Biscuits or cinnamon Rolls

7.What is your middle name? Merrel

8.What food do you dislike? Brussel Sprouts (No offense to Mrs. Travers!) I am just not a big fan of most cooked veggies, I will eat them raw however.

9.What is your favorite CD at the moment? The Twelve Most Common Mistakes of Beginning Directors by Mr. Geoff Botkin.

10.What characteristic do you despise? Well, I love it when young adults love babies and little kids and want to talk to them. What is the opposite of that?

11.Favorite clothing? My brown work skirt and my red shirt

12.Anywhere in the world on vacation? HMMM? Canada?

13. Are you organized? Nope.

14. Where would you retire to? I love the way my sweet sister said it... "Well before you can retire you must have a job and I want to be a wife and mother someday and that is a job I would be happy to NEVER retire from". Amen?

15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? In a good way? My 15th when we had the Crawfords over. In a bad way? My 13th when Mommy miscarried one of my siblings I never met. Talk about a bad memory.

16. What are you going to do when you finish? Um... Read, go outside and run, or hmmm

17. What is your birthstone? Opal

18.Person you expect to publish this first? What does that mean?

19. When is your birthday? October 29th 1993 I will be 17. Yikes!

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Well, once I am up in the morning I have more energy than at night.

21. What is your shoe size? 10

22. Do you own any animals? One annoying toothless Border Collie and one grouchy half blind calico cat. Both are 10 years old this year... but who's counting?

23. Any news you'd like to share? Well, I have a big recital coming up.

24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A Mommy.

25. What is your favorite flower? A zinnia

26.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Sunday and the Masquerade Ball if we decide to go!

27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? No idea.

28. How is the weather right now? Windy and Rainy!

29. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Daddy

30. Favorite drink? Water or Sprite!!!

31.Favorite restaurant? Chilies (But I don't really like to eat out.)

32. Hair color? Blond. Very blond

33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Baby and 'Nother one Baby... long story

34. Summer or winter? I don't know.

35. Chocolate or vanilla? CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE!!!

36. Coffee or tea? Tea. I prefer cold sweet tea, but the Lees make some REALLY good hot tea!

37. Wish you were still young? Are you calling me old?

38. Do you want your friends to publish this? Depends on who to... horrible Grammar I know!

39. When was the last time you cried? Last week

40. What is under your bed? Books, Books, and um Books!

41.What did you do last night? Read and went to bed at 9:00


42.What are you afraid of? Guess.

43.Salty or sweet? Sweet

44.Best quality you have? I honestly don't know. Maybe my mom does?

45.How many years at your current job? 16 years of being the oldest daughter, oldest child, and playmate to 7 wonderful younger siblings. And I ma still going strong, but they are trying to marry me off!

46.Favorite day of the week? Sunday or Wednesday if we have piano lessons

47.What four people will you tag? Rachel, Daddy, Bria, and HMMM

ERIN'S BEEN TAGGED!!!

1. High heels or boots? Boots to be sure! I've never owned a pair of high heels and I never will. And to tell the truth I wear my galoshes everywhere.

2. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00 a.m. O.k. fine and then I went back to sleep and slept until 6:45a.m.

3. What was the last movie you saw in the cinema? The Mysterious Islands which was the first time I'd been in a theater since Chicken Run. Whenever that came out. I loved the music and the way the whole place vibrated when they played the Bach Cello Suite, Now that was fun!!!

4. What is your name? Uh... OK don't rush me. Erin Taylor Won'tputmylastname. But I've always wanted to nick~name and be called Maestro or E.T.

5. What is your favorite TV show? Well I don't watch T.V. I do remember watching The Andy Griffith Show with my Granddad when I was little but now we have it on DVD and there are WAY TOO MANY commercials on T.V. now so we didn't even really watch the Olympics. Gasp!!!

6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Pancakes or some creation called drop biscuits

7.What is your middle name? Taylor

8.What food do you dislike? Lunch meat.

9.What is your favorite CD at the moment? Well it's not really a C.D. just
Lovestory Meets Viva La Vida By Jon Schmidt as well as
And The Glory Of The Lord By G.F.Handel

10.What characteristic do you despise? I will not say

11.Favorite clothing?My brown skirt and black shirt with the collar

12.Anywhere in the world on vacation? Good question.

13. Are you organized? Oh yeah! Well kind of.

14. Where would you retire to? Well before you can retire you must have a job and I want to be a wife and mother someday and that is a job I would be happy to NEVER retire from.

15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Uh... Hmmm... I'll think on that one and get back to you later.

16. What are you going to do when you finish? Play violin! Is there anything else to do in the world???

17. What is your birthstone? My word I don't know! I was born in November what does that make me?

18.Person you expect to publish this first? What does that mean?

19. When is your birthday? November 10th '95 and I will 15 this year.

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night to be sure. I always have a ton of energy right before bed and I will go to bed at 9:00 and not fall asleep until like 10:30 to 11:00.

21. What is your shoe size? 11

22. Do you own any animals? I by myself own 1 dog and as a family we own 4 dogs and 4 cats and want to get all sorts of farm animals.

23. Any news you'd like to share? Oh sure! Well come to think of it, no not really. Let me think... O.K. Here goes I have started training to run a 5k by the middle of April and I have a piano recital in June that I am freaked out about so I would like to request prayer that I will be able to memorize my piece and that I will be able to play it well and to the glory of God.

24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A singer of all the ideas I grew out of that real quick!

25. What is your favorite flower? The Rose

26.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Sunday! I REALLY love Sunday!

27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Bright Red

28. How is the weather right now? Gorgeous. Windy and Rainy! :)

29. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My brother Ryan who was upstairs and I called to tell him to come down and eat.

30. Favorite drink? Water!!!

31.Favorite restaurant? Chilies even though I don't really eat out.

32. Hair color? Blond

33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Dollhouse! And I still love to play dollhouse!

34. Summer or winter? SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMER!!!

35. Chocolate or vanilla? CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE!!!

36. Coffee or tea? Tea! Hot, cold, sweet, plain, with milk, without milk, anything will do.

37. Wish you were still young? NO WAY JOSE! I like bein' old!

38. Do you want your friends to publish this? What ever in the world does THAT mean?

39. When was the last time you cried? Oh I NEVER cry! Well o.k. sometimes

40. What is under your bed? A plastic keyboard and shoes.

41.What did you do last night? Went to bed.


42.What are you afraid of? Guess.

43.Salty or sweet? Sweet

44.Best quality you have? Oh let me tell you just how humble I am!

45.How many years at your current job? For 14 years I ain't been doin' nothin'

46.Favorite day of the week? Sunday!

47.What four people will you tag? Jessica, Mommy, All our followers, and Seeds To Sew

This Is My Pa

This is what he sent us as a e~mail this afternoon.
We thought it just might be worth sharing.

God is the Ruler yet...

As the government tries desperately to break the Constitution in every possible way remember...

"This is my Father's world.
I rest me in the thought
That though the wrong seems oft' so strong
God is the ruler yet."

A Lost History

Yesterday we went to our great grandmother's house for lunch. While we were there Daddy found the old 8mm film reels and projector. WOW. Years of family history in black and white with no sound are recorded on these reels.

Her small cramped writing has neatly labeled them for years and years as her family grew.

A Lost History of family memories and loved ones. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Jessica

P.S.

More photos and sentimentality tomorrow :)

DINNER WITH FRIENDS

n

The other night we went to have dinner with some wonderful friends we know.
We played soccer, capture the flag, dressed up, played a board game, and all in all had more fun then I've had in years.
It was a ton of fun!
Thank you L. family!

Insert Name Here

My brother just asked me, "When are you going to get married? Anytime soon?"

To which I replied, "Dearest, I am ONLY 16!".


He then proceeded to say..."well blank is only blank years old and he is pretty nice."

No, did not name anyone. He said it just as I wrote it. However I did quell any further speeches.


Jessica

I am speechless

Rachel and Riley swing together a lot. He rides in the baby swing and she rides beside him. She also flips upside down and scares me to DEATH!!! Just kidding. Although, it is a mite nerve racking to watch her!!

The Vanishing World

In God we trust... How much longer will it remain?

Something to ponder... do we still trust in God for our nation?

Jessica

Who can identify this?

The Photographer in our family did I don't know what to the camera and so you have THIS!

Bragging just a Bit!

Okay, I am going to brag a tiny bit!! Just kidding!!

Recently Franklin Springs Media did a give away for the new DVD by the West Ladies: The Art of Sewing.

(BTW if you have not seen it or the others in the series you should)

Anyway, the contest was you had to write about how the West ladies have impacted your life. I (Jessica) entered and won!!! To read it visit HERE

We are now eagerly awaiting for the new DVD!! Thank you Franklin Springs!!

Warm Milk Down My Sleeve

Last week we went to a friend's house for dinner.

While we were there their oldest daughter invited myself and Rachel to go milk with her. We jumped at the chance. I have only gotten to milk once before and I loved it!!

We went out talking merrily and thinking all was right with the world!

Well, the cow did not want to be milked.

(Whatever happened to a swollen milk bag and her desperately wanting to be milked?)

She briskly stepped over the fence and "headed west"! After some pleading, hitting, and laughing the three of us got her into the pen. She walked back out.

More pleading, hitting, and laughing.

This time we took her down to the fort and tied her. We then proceeded to milk her. I got to milk a lot and while we milked we talked.

While we talked we strengthened a friendship that is to precious to lose.

I am not a pro at this and so I squirted milk down my sleeve.

Warm milk. Creamy Milk. Milk with no added hormones. Milk from a grass fed Momma cow. Milk that is sweet and fat. Milk that people used to live off of.

Now, a lot of you city slickers probably think milk is not something you want down your sleeve and it's not. If you are talking of the cold white 2% stuff we call milk.

I am not. I am speaking of the warm rich fatty milk. Milk that smells good and is warm on your skin when it goes down your sleeve. That stuff is GOOD!!

After the milking the cow wouldn't go into the pen, she stood on my foot, her baby attacked me, they got in a tussle (baby and momma) and I was attached to the lead rope, and the dog escaped. (What ever happened to the "romance of farm life)?

All in all, I came back to their warm house cold, smelling like a cow and an Anatolian Shepard, sticky with milk, and with a sore foot. But I had LOVED it!!!

I love animals and I love that kind of stuff!! I love being stood on by a cow!! (to a point) It was fun.

If you ever have the chance to walk a cow down a hill. Or to feed her clover from your hand. Or to really milk. Or to pet a baby calf. Or to play with a dog that is almost as tall as you. Jump at the chance!! Grab it and take it because it is a wonderful experience!

Jessica

Jamie's Birthday!!!

Yesterday Jamie turned 8.
So today we have posted 8 lovely photos of Jamie through the years.
The most recent being at the top.

The Chance of a Lifetime

Here in the South we just don't get snow. Maybe once a year, but rarely. Friday we had one of the biggest snows I remember (16yrs!!) and last night we had another smaller snow.

Well as we are in the middle of producing a film, (more on that HERE) we can never miss the opportunity to film! So, last night at 8:30 we are outside in the wind, snow, and freezing temperatures FILMING!!

I was in a 19th century dress, coat, and shawl. Ryan is dressed in a costume. Rachel is filming. And Daddy and Emily are holding a sheet over a lamp. And did I mention that I was holding a Y2K lamp, our hands are freezing, we had NOT practiced this scene, and Daddy had spilled lamp fuel on his shoe. Not to mention Erin is banging out piano scales for all she is worth and Mommy is canning chili sauce.

All that to say, we filmed a great scene last night...

If you want to see photos I suggest you visit HERE


Have a great day,

Jess

Hymns

All Creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Christ has triumphed. Jesus reigneth
Christ by a road before untrod
ascends unto the throne of God
Alleluia
Alleluia Alleluia
Alleluia Alleluia ALLELUIA



Crown him the Lord of Love
Behold his hands and sides
Rich wounds yet visible above
In beauty glorified
No angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight
But downwards bends his burning
on mysteries so bright

Crown him the Lord of Peace
whose power a scepter sways
from pole to pole that wars may cease
absorbed in prayer and praise
his Reign shall know no end
and round His pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance
ever sweet


When I survey the wondrous cross
on which my Prince of Glory died
my richest gain I count but loss
and pour contempt on all my pride

Were that whole realm of Nature mine
it would a gift be FAR to small
Love so Amazing
Love so Divine
demands my Soul
My Life
My All



Though I may speak with bravest fire
and have the gift to all inspire
bu have not love my words are vain as sounding brass
and hopeless gain

Though I may give all I posses
and striving so
my love profess
but be not given by Love within
the profit soon turns strangely thin.

I have committed most of these hymns to memory...

who can name them?
Jessica

The Film Festival of 2010

You and your family are invited to join us in the

The
Plants and Pillars Film Festival
of 2010!




What?
A Film Festival is basically a film contest. You make a film and the judges decide who qualifies for which prizes.

Why?
First, because it is so much fun to make a film of any kind. Second, because you should never miss the opportunity to enter a contest!

When?
The Contest starts now and the Plants and Pillars Film Festival (that is the Award Ceremony) will be held later in the year.

Who?
Anybody! Be creative with what you make!! (We are even excepting slideshows) And have fun!

How?
To join and read more visit our website... www.plantsandpillarsproductions.com

Hope to see you there,

Jessica and film crew!


Additions: When you enter you receive free tickets for you and your whole family.

Awards!

I got this award from Jenna over a Feminine Farmgirl. Her rules were as follows...

1) Jesus Christ is your personal Savior and Lord
2) You are committed to staying pure for your future spouse
3) you LOVE babies and believe that they are a gift from the Lord, then please accept this award from me to you:)


As that fit me like a glove I picked it up. I pass it on to anyone who wants it. Please follow the three guidelines. I would however like to award it to three blogs I love...

1) Ebenezer Forrest Farm
2) Safely to Arrive at Home
3) Just a Family

The three blogs are run by families that mean a lot to me.

Have fun!

Jessica

Respect and Thought

These two characteristics are lacking on today's culture. Especially where the elderly are concerned.

Yesterday we all went to my great-grandmother's and spent about a hour cleaning her yard up... we raked, picked up sticks and trimmed. That was it, but it meant so much to her.

From a young age we have been instilled with the desire to respect the elderly around us. They are still humans and without them we wouldn't have the heritage we have.

Robert E. Lee Quotes

1. Fame which does not result from good actions and achievements, for the good of the whole people, is not to be desired. Nero had fame, who envies him?
2. Hold to your purity and virtue. They will sustain you in every calamity.
3. A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me.
4. (Of the Capitol Building) That beautiful feature of our landscape has ceased to charm me as much as formerly. I now fear the mischief that is brewing there.
5. It is well that war is terrible-or we should grow too fond of it.
6. We may be annihilated, but we can not be conquered.
7. We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.
8. No man can be so important in the world that he does not need the goodwill and approval of others.
9. There is always a hazard in military movements, nut we must decide between the positions of inaction and the risk of action.
10. Do your duty in all things... you can not do more and you should not desire to do less.
11. Gods will aught to be our aim, and I ma quite content that his design be accomplished and not mine.
12. My experience with men has neither disposed me to think worse of them nor indisposed to serve them.
13. Those who oppose our services are not always to be regarded as our enemies.
14. I am of the opinion that all who can should vote for the most intelligent, honest, and conscientious men eligible for office.
15. I feat the liberties of our country will be buried in the tomb of a great nation.
16. The dominant party can not reign forever, and truth and justice will prevail at last.

Jess