NEW COFFEE CUP

This is my new, pretty and extra large coffee cup that I bought on super clearance at Michaels. This cup holds ALOT of coffee! My thoughts were that with the pretty colors, and the "B" for Beth, no one in my household would try to steal THIS cup...Ha, Ha! The first thing out of both of my sons mouths as they looked at it with huge, admiring eyes was: "Oh! "B" for Boyd!! It's a FAMILY cup!"

Today is the first Saturday since Thanksgiving that we don't really have anything to do, so we're just going to take it easy. Tomorrow our church will be singing at a local nursing home. What a blessing it is to see the light in the faces and eyes of those dear elderly people while they listen!

We hope that you have a wonderful and blessed Saturday!

Beth :-)

NEW ADDITION TO SAMUEL'S ROOM

Here is the new addition to Samuel's bedroom. Samuel got the doe and my husband got the buck.
It's been a long week for me. I was sick the first part of the week. Then Samuel has been having a few challenges in school. Prayers are really appreciated!
Next weekend will be full and busy. There is a spaghetti fund raiser next Saturday for one of our girls in the church who had a stroke. Then Sunday following is Youth Sunday. I can't wait. I love having the youth involved in our church.
Have a great day!
The Boyds :-)

PRAYERS AND COLDS

Nathan and Samuel both have the nasty cold that's been going around, although not as intense as I have seen others have, so for that I am so very grateful!
This mommy is at the point of exhaustion, however, as nights of broken sleep are catching up with me. Prayers are greatly appreciated!
James 5:16 says that, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Well, last night, when I heard Samuel start coughing, I was too exhausted to lift my head from the pillow, let alone fervently pray. So, I prayed, "Lord, you know how tired I am, too tired to even pray like I want to. Please hear and quiet Samuel's cough." You know what?? Yes, you guessed it! Samuel's cough quieted down.
We have an awesome God! I give Him all honor and praise!
Have a wonderful day!
The Boyds :-)

GOOD SUNDAY MORNING!

I slowly opened my eyes this morning, only to see this staring back at me:



Samuel had put his giraffe on my pillow because he thought I needed a little company. :-)
Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday. I can't wait to get back to church!
The Boyds :-)

SUMMER-WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?

Oh, where has the summer gone? At first, it seemed to go slowly, but now it's time for school to start again next Friday!
Let's see....
We FINALLY got to go away for a WHOLE week, which we haven't been able to do for a couple of years because it's so very hard to coordinate between my work schedule and happenings at the church (deaths, births, weddings, etc). We went to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. Awsome, awsome times!
Then, we had our VBS last Saturday. This year, I decided to go "Script-less". We built a replica of the Tabernacle in the wildnerness. We also learned about how the Israelites were divided into 4 camps, within which were 3 tribes each. As I studied for this VBS, I realized how much God wants everything done decently and in order. He is NOT the author of confusion! The children visited the camp of DAN specifically. Here, they visited each tribe, where they learned about food in the Bible, clothing and leather.
Of course, we have had lots of summer fun along the way-swimming, playing, etc.
I hope you all have enjoyed your summer as well. Now it's time to start thinking about, yes! Christmas!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
The Boyds

THE END OF ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR

Well, we made it to the end of another school year. Where is the time going? I know it's definitely going WAY TOO FAST!
Nathan is now officially a 5th grader and Samuel is now a 2nd grader.
I was very proud as Nathan made the Honor Roll and Samuel made Principal's List AND Perfect Attendance. Perfect attendance is a very hard thing to obtain throughout the school year as I'm sure you all know. I am just so very thankful to the Lord that we didn't have the health issues with Samuel that we had last year. That was a scary and worrisome time!











HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!



Happy Mothers Day! I've already gotten my gifts and cards (the boys and my husband aren't very good at waiting!). They gave me a flowering plant for our back yard which will attract butterflies and hopefully more humming birds, Samuel gave me a necklace that he made in school, and, of course, lots of hugs and kisses all around! I love it!
Spring Revival at church has come and gone once again. Nathan sang the song that he learned for his Easter Program at school called "The Three Nails". It is an awsome song. Samuel quoted scripture. I am very proud of my two boys, and I pray that they continue on for the Lord.
School will be out in two weeks. Can you believe it? I sure can't! The boys are so excited. They are looking forward to fishing trips, hopefully a vacation trip to the mountains, and just plain, good ol' summer time fun.
I'm working on getting VBS together. I think we'll do something completely different this year. Instead of going with a program, we are going to build a Tabernacle. What do you think? I think it will be fun and very educational for both the children and the adults. Everyone is looking forward to it. Our VBS is usually done on a Saturday, so I think we can do it.
Field Day at school was fun. Nathan said that the best part for him was the water balloon fight. I got to slip over on my lunch hour and spend some time with them and help out with lunch for Samuel's class.
I have finally set up an online shop to sell the bags, burp cloths and baby blankets that I make. I'm both excited and scared at the same time, but I have given it to the Lord, and I know He will guide me.
Tomorrow night our church is having a Welcome Home party for one of our members. He is a marine and has just come back from Afghanistan. Ice cream and cake-YUM!
Well, the house is all asleep (except for me!), so I'll sign off for now.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
The Boyds :-)

LAUGHING, LAUGHING

Last night, Nathan, Samuel and I laughed so hard I actually got dizzy. Life doesn't get much better!
Don't forget that you will NEVER regret the time that you spend with your kids!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!
From our nest to yours,
The Boyds :-)

DRAWING ON THE SIDEWALK

When the weather is pretty and warm, there is nothing like pulling out some chalk and writing on the sidewalk (if you have a sidewalk)! :-) I even still like to do some drawing myself.

MY SIGNATURE AND NATHAN DRAWING.

SAMUEL WRITING.

SAMUEL'S NOTE TO ME. :-)!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

From our nest to your,

The Boyds :-)

TEETH AND BREAD

The Boyd nest is all "a-twitter" this week as Nathan and Samuel have been losing teeth like crazy!
Nathan is at the point where he is losing molars and canines. The molars seem to be giving him a little more trouble than his other teeth, I guess because they are so much larger and have more roots. He also asked for a little more payment for them because they are bigger and a little bit more trouble. Hmmmm.....  :-)!
Samuel is still working on his smaller teeth. We have been reading the book, "Wiggly Tooth", a lot more lately! He likes to read it every time he has a loose tooth. Poor Samuel looks like a little hillbilly because he is so gap-toothed! Ha!
My Amish Friendship Bread starter mix is just about ready to divide and give away. I started it last Saturday. I'll be baking bread tomorrow night. I love this bread and there are so many ways to make it up. You can also bake smaller loaves to give away to teachers, elderly people, etc. It's a good lesson in charity for the boys!
Well, the weather has been up and down. It's beautiful, warm and sunny one day, then cold and rainy the next! Oh, well! Atleast we have warm days in between the cold. Where I come from, it is constantly cold and grey for atleast four months!
Scrabble was on the list for our family game time this past Thursday night. It's funny how new words are invented when people get down to their last, desparate letters! ;-)! It's a good thing we keep a dictionary handy!
Well, time to go. Have a wonderful and blessed day!
From our nest to yours,
The Boyds :-)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Happy Valentine's Day from our nest to yours to all of our wonderful readers! Don't forget your husband or wife, children, parents or grandparents!

This is the greatest Valentine that we could ever receive:

           For God so loVed the world,

 that He gAve

                                            His onLy

BegottEn

    SoN

                            That whosover

Believeth In Him

         should Not perish,

                but have Everlasting life."

JOHN 3:16



Have a wonderful and blessed day!!

The Boyds :-)

BIRTHDAY PARTIES AND CORNBREAD

Ah, Monday again! What a busy weekend for the Boyd house!
Saturday morning, Dwayne and the boys went hunting while I hung around the house catching up on laundry, a little housework and some blogging.
Saturday afternoon, we headed on over to a birthday party for one of our church members. He is in the end stage of his cancer, and hospice has said that he may not be with us much longer. But we know that God is in control of that decision! This dear brother in Christ was not supposed to live past Thanksgiving, but here he is, celebrating his 16th wedding anniversary on Friday and his 54th birthday on Saturday. He is ready to go, though. He knows that when he closes his eyes in death, he will be in the presence of the Lord.
We ended up eating out Saturday night as the party was a little later in the afternoon and we hadn't had time to fix any supper at home. We have tried very hard to set Saturdays aside as our "Family Day", as things are so busy during the week between church, work and school.
Sunday afternoon held a surprise for me as both boys went home with their Granny and Pa after church. Samuel doesn't usually go as he is only six years old, and still likes to go home. But he was in a "I'll do whatever Nathan is doing" mood yesterday, so he went. Let me tell you, the house yesterday afternoon was quiet, TOO QUIET! Since we don't believe in doing unnecessary work on Sundays, as it is set aside as our day of rest, I decided to lay down for a nap. I slept all afternoon! I must have needed it. :-)!
Nathan and Samuel found out something new that they like to eat. I made cornbread in a skillet on Sunday. As they were eating their hot-fresh-out-of-the-oven piece and yumming over it, I told them about how I used to eat cornbread in a bowl with milk over it. Of course, they wanted to try it! Guess what? This is their new favorite breakfast (atleast until the next thing comes along. ha!).
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
The Boyds :-)

DECEMBER 26, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Nathan. He is now ten years old and in the "double digits". Almost a teenager (gasp!).
Christmas was wonderful. We had some family over for Christmas Eve. One of my brothers and I surprised my Mom with a Kindle. She was surprised and excited.
Nathan kept saying thank you over and over. He told us that it was the best Christmas and birthday EVER. So, you see, children don't need a lot of presents to make them happy.
Nathan wanted to do Japanese for his birthday dinner, so we went to a local restaurant here in town. When we started to head out the door from home, Samuel started complaining about his stomach hurting. I was somewhat concerned, but wasn't sure if he was getting sick with the virus that's going around or not because he normally has stomach problems that can mimic a virus and he wasn't running a fever. I really got concerned when he started dozing off, which is SO not typical of my youngest son who is a very active child. Needless to say, when I noticed that not even the "show" that the Japanese cook puts on while preparing the food didn't faze him, I took him out to our van. He promptly got sick, everywhere. I am seriously thankful to the Lord that I got him out of the restaurant before it hit poor Samuel. On the upside, he felt much better and wanted to go back in and eat. But by the time my mom and I got him and my van cleaned up (thanks, Mom!!), everyone in our group was coming out. My husband made sure that he got our plates "to go" (after he picked out some of my steak and shrimp!), which made Samuel happy.
But, all's well that ends well. Samuel is much better today.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I enjoyed my family time to the max. I'm looking forward to this next coming up weekend, which is another three-day weekend for me! Whoo-Hoo!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
The Boyds :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!



What a busy, busy month December has been! Between sickness, school and church, it's been a whirlwind.
The boys are now out of school for Christmas break. The school Christmas program was awsome. It only included K-4 through third grade, so Nathan got to sit with us in the audience this year since he's a "grown" fourth grader. :-)! Although I thoroughly enjoyed all of the songs, my favorite one was "Isaiah 9:6". Their music teacher put the verse to song. It was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of seeing all of those children singing their hearts out!
Then it was time for our church play, which was this past Sunday night. A lady in our church wrote it. It followed Jesus from the time that He was in a manger through the point where He called His first two disciples. She entitled the play "Where He leads I Will Follow".
This Mom couldn't have been more proud as Nathan sang a solo, "Silent Night" and also portrayed Jesus when He was twelve years old in the temple. Samuel sang with the "angel choir". OK, I have to tell a little something about Samuel. As you know, things often happen when children are involved in a play. Well, Samuel was supposed to sing the last verse of "We Three Kings" by himself. When his turn came, the two little girls next to him started to sing the verse as well. He stopped singing and frowned at them. Now, mind you, I am leading this little angelic group in their songs (how I got to be the leader, I really don't know, since I seriously CAN NOT sing!). I sternly looked at him and whispered for him to keep singing. He turned to them, puts his finger to his lips, shushing them. I whisper, a little louder, for him to KEEP SINGING (picture, if you can, this very loud whispering while trying to keep the other children on time with the music). He turns back to his page and sings, but the expression on his face was not very "angel-like".  It was definitely not humorous to me, as a mom, at the time, and I have had a talk with my child. But now as I look back at it, I chuckle, JUST a little.
Well, now we are preparing for our Lord and Saviour's birthday. Then Nathan's birthday is the day after. I can not believe it, but he will be ten years old!
My husband and I finished our Christmas shopping Monday. As we started having children, we really wanted to keep the focus of Christmas where it should be-on the birth of Christ. So we decided that we would only buy three presents for each. This reminds them of the three presents that Jesus received. We also encourage them to clean out their toys each year and give them to children who are in need.
We had a chance to visit a local Mennonite church Tuesday night for their school Christmas program. They do not use instruments in their worship when they sing, so I was wondering how it would sound. It was BEAUTIFUL. The harmonizing was awsome. The program was God-centered and lifted up our Lord and Saviour. The church members were so very friendly and welcoming. You were not a stranger there. We have definitely made some new friends!
Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Christmas is on a Sunday this year. Don't forget to to to church and celebrate the real reason for the season-Jesus Christ!
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!
The Boyds :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE BOYD HOUSEHOLD

We would like to tell all of our readers "Happy Thanksgiving"! Don't forget to thank the Lord for all of the blessings that He has given you.
Have a blessed day!
The Boyds :-)

ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS

You know, when the weather cools off, there's nothing like building a fire in your backyard (or using the grill) and roasting marshmallows! Yum, yum!

Our cats joined in on the fun.



Have a wonderful and blessed day!

The Boyds :-)

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY! 11/11/11



My family and I would like to take the time to say THANK YOU! to all of our veterans, past and present, for all of the sacrifices that they made and make so that we may have the freedoms that we enjoy here in America. God bless all of you!
The Boyds :-)

OH, NO! SLINGSHOTS!

My mother and father-in-law went on their annual trip to Mount Airy, NC a couple of weeks ago. If you remember the last time they went, they brought my two boys back some chocolate rocks:

Very cute, very tasty, very SAFE. Hmmmmm.........

Well, this time, they brought back these:



Yes, slingshots!

Very cute, very "boy", but, safe? Now, I have to tell you, I really do think that these are kind of cool. I mean, come on! How many kids have slingshots that look like these? But the rules were laid down VERY quickly for Nathan and Samuel. They are absolutely NOT to go out and use these without adult supervision and they are definitely not allowed to aim them at any animal or person. Pssst! Guess what? I even shot them a couple of times. It was pretty fun! You might want to try it sometime. :-)

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

The Boyds :-)

NATHAN'S FIRST BUCK!

Well, Nathan was one excited boy Saturday! He shot his first buck. It was what we call a "cow horn", which is a deer whose antlers are just spikes. One shot brought it down on the spot. His daddy and I are proud of him. Samuel's reaction to the news was, "Oh, boy! More meat for the freezer!"
We have found many ways to cook deer meat. My husband likes to make jerky, hamburger and cube steak. He really IS a very good cook and I am SO very blessed! :-)!



Have a wonderful and blessed day!
The Boyds :-)

CHOCOLATE CHERRY MICE

This past Sunday was our annual Homecoming at our church. I tried something new in the dessert line. It's called "Chocolate cherry mice". They were the CUTEST things.
At first, I had my doubts about how they would turn out, but when I put the first mouse together, he was, well, cute! I went around to everyone in the house showing them my mouse. I was pretty excited about it.
Samuel was my helper. He helped to unwrap all of the Hershey's Kisses (a few missed the plate and made it to his mouth!). Then he got bored and ran off to play.
I have to tell you, they were very easy and fun to make. The children at church loved them. They even had the adults playing with their food!
I will post the recipe later. But if you want it now, just Google "chocolate cherry mice". There are a lot of websites out there with the recipe, and all are basically the same.
If you make them, let me know how they turned out. Pictures would be great! :-)!

 All arranged on my favorite glass plate.

They were excited about going to church, until they found out why.

This is "Mr. Angry Eyes". I made him for my brother.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

The Boyds :-)