More pics for the visually needy

From dormant to semi-dormant

Every blog should be posted to on a regular basis.....once a year is regular.

What has happened since I last posted:

First of all God is still faithful, good and worthy of praise.

Our granddaughter, YiYa, has now been in the U.S. for a year. She is a barrel of energy who loves to rough-house. It is strange how a child from such a different background can drop into our life and run away with our hearts. She has been a delight. Her language skills still have some work to do but since she knows "Papa", that's me, everyhting else is can wait.

KB is 8. He plays a mean piano, helps me around the farm, loves baseball and his new sister. YiYa is getting a lesson in how big brothers express their love. You probably know that bugging her until she screams is real love to a brother. He is really good to her in all the right ways also.

Finally, Syby, is 22 months old. Since he lives next door we get daily hugs and are some of his favorite playmates by default. He and I get to grow up together. What a joy. Mury and I were talking the other day about how little he will remember of these times and how much we will remember. It just goes to prove that grandchildren were made for grandparents. He now helps feed the chickens and the cats. The outdoors are his most favorite place. I am so glad he is growing up in the country. I get to live some of my dreams through him.

Chocolate birthday cake at 4:00 AM is so good.

Okay, back to posting on this blog thingy.

Our church is looking for a pastor and I am on the search commttee. I also had two teeth surgically removed yesterday. You can use your imagination about what these have in common. If you know of someone who is a gifted preacher/speaker, perfectly fullfils the Titus and Timothy mandate, has impeccable people skills, experience, a wife who will sacrifice her life to be everything we want her to be and a secret desire to be trampled by his "sheep" from time to time then I have just the place for him. Sounds appealing doesn't it

We now have 11 chickens. There were 12 but the rooster became such a Nazi we had to take him down the road and give him his freedom. I wanted chicken and dumplings but was overruled. Our peacock, Jerry, now has a peahen friend, Katy. They make beautiful and unusual noises together. I think that means they are happy. Our two cats are the best cats ever. That's a lot said by a guy who used to think they were only good as moving targets. A farm without mice is quite nice(poetry for free). The pond is very swim friendly and the 12' floating trampoline comes in handy. We stocked bass, bluegill and catfish last year. I caught a 10 inch bass this week so they seem to be prospering. Our builder friend cut a hiking/4 wheeler trial around the property this spring and it is a delight. We got a total of 53 round bales of hay from the field. The guy who baled it got half and I am keeping half. There is a breed of cows called Highland Cattle and I think they may be my next project. Since they are Scottish, easy to care for, hardy(menaing not easily killed by novice cattlemen like me), gentle and cute in a hairy kind of way, I think they would fit right in at Dun Croft. Don't you? Both houses are heated via an outdoor Hardy wood burning furnace. It does the hot water along with the heat. My daily exercise includes cutting a small trailer load of wood most days in preparation for winter. Last year we burned about 40,000 pounds of wood. I do have muscles under this fat layer! Yes, I am still a Financial Advisor. I usually work a couple hours a day via phone and internet in addition to meeting with clients in Arkansas about 3 days each month. I have the best job in the world. Most of my clients are friends!

Mury is still my best friend and cares for me so well. How God has allowed her to put up with me these many years is such a wonder. How can it be???? Many of you who know us probably have asked the same question.

We still like emails over blogs for information about you all so don't forget us. Blog checking is not on our daily list of to dos.

I hope this hasn't been too painful to get through. There are many other things of importance to be telling that I have left off. Please consider visiting us at Dun Croft. It is the best way to stay in touch. I miss seeing and hearing from so many of you.

As you can tell, God has been gentle with us. Our lives here are blessed beyond our dreams but still we long for that place with no more tears or sorrows. May God richly bless you!

Pictures are included if I can find some and figure out how to post them.

Dave