Apples/ cider - children's sermon

This children's sermon was a little bit different, but it is what I was led to talk to the children about.  I took in my bag with a hand crank apple peeler, an apple, a cutting board and a picture of a cider press.

After greeting the children I began by pulling an apple from the bag and asking how many liked to eat apples- which most of them, of course, liked apples. But I asked if there was something that was made from apples that they might like better than just a plain apple. To this the children answered- apple pie, apple juice.... I had 1 little one who said "no- I just like apples." Well I then asked the adults if any of them liked apple pies, apple cider, apple crisp or apple dumplings better than a plain apple. As I mentioned the items the adults were raising their hands and agreeing that these other apple items were better than a plain apple. I then explained that we don't just get an apple pie from a whole apple. The apple needed to change a little bit. So I pulled out the apple peeler and asked if any of them knew what this thing even was- few had ever seen such a contraption. I set it up on a stool and showed them how to place the apple on the peeler and had 1 little boy come and peel the apple for me. As he was peeling, I asked what the apple was feeling. The kids answered -"ouchy",  and "pain", but I explained that it might be feeling pressure. The pressure of the sharp edge cutting off the skin- it takes pressure to take that skin off.

Then I pulled out my picture of the cider press. And I explained that when this machine worked that the apples would feel the pressure of the chopper when it was cut or ground into little pieces, but then it felt the pressure of the plate when it was squeezed.

But what do apples under pressure have to do with anything? Well here is what I shared, that in James 1:2 it says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of you faith develops perseverance."

So what does that mean? What is a trial? Well a trial is a problem - so the Bible is saying "Be happy if you have problems?" Yep "Because God is making you better once the problems are over." This is much like the apple- The plain apple is good, but after pressure or some trouble- most would look at an apple pie or apple cider as much better than a plain apple.

This is much like things at school. Maybe you are having problems with spelling and you are feeling the pressure of trying to learn those words. Well that pressure will make you a much better speller and will save you time from having to look up those words. OR maybe you are learning you math facts- the pressure to learn those will make a world of difference when you are adding or figure numbers out.  Not all pressure is good- sometimes we have pressure to do things that are wrong, and this is pressure that we want to stay away from. But the good pressure is where God will work to make us more like he wants us to be. And we closed in prayer.

Upromise - FREE MONEY!

Shortly after Robert was born Upromise came out (or at least that's when I heard about it). I signed up and haven't really touched the account on a regular basis. okay I probably haven't touched it in 7 years since Garrett wasn't even registered until recently. But what an opportunity for saving money for college or furthering your education.

All you need to do is set up an account, then register your shopping discount cards, credit cards, etc. and they will give you money!!! A percentage of your purchases. You can also shop through Upromise, and get additional store credits to your account. It's just about as close to free money as you are going to get!! Check it out- https://lty.s.upromise.com/secure/login.do

Corn Silage Season- ag minute

The corn has grown very well this summer and now it is time to get it harvested and into the silos. Since we are making corn silage, we will be chopping the corn stalks and corn cobs into small pieces and blowing it into the wagon. When the wagon is unloaded it is again blown into the top of the silo, where it is stored until it is ready to be used as feed for the cows.

PA Jr. Dairy Show and All American Showmanship Show

Last weekend, we traveled to Harrisburg for Robert to show is red and white Holstein heifer one more time.  okay 2 more times. Robert qualified to take her in July and has been working with her all summer. On Saturday morning into the ring he went and there were 18 other heifer against his. He started out in 5th, but the judge did notice her faults, and she dropped to 9th. But to be in the top 10 in the state in the 4-H program is AWESOME!!!!  More importantly, he received a Master Showman- which is where they are judging his ability to show his animal. 

Sunday morning he entered the ring against 150 other intermediate youth from 14 states, in the All American Jr. Showmanship contest. There were 9 heats in his age bracket and unfortunately he didn't move up to the 2nd round, but he did do a fabulous job - there were just others that did better.

Robert in 9th place

Robert & Endear

Robert and Endear in the showmanship contest

 

My nephew Andrew also qualified for the state show with his Guernsey heifer. He also showed in both shows. Andrew received 8th place in his 4-H class and then he was in the Jr division on Sunday morning and competed against about 150 other youth. He didn't move up in the heat either, but both boys did a good job and were willing to step up and take on a National Show and that is pretty cool all by itself!

Andrew and Orion

Andrew in the ring for showmanship

Sorting simple colors

I am currently babysitting my niece who is 3 years old. She and I have been doing all sorts of activities together. But today she requested playing a simple game that I had given her 2 weeks ago.  So since she asked for it, I decided to share it here. I have a large jar of glass beads of all different colors. We took 4 plastic cups from the cupboard and assigned a glass bead color to each cup just by laying them in front. Then we took a handful and let her sort those shiny glass beads into the cups. Nothing fancy and nothing expensive, but tons of learning. The hand-eye coordination, the color and shape matching and it was SO simple and quick.

After she had everything sorted we did check each cup to make sure that the colors were all the same. We also counted how many beads were in each cup. Next time maybe we will count and talk about which one has more...  This kept her busy for 10-15 minutes, not bad for no prep time.

50th Anniversary

We had the opportunity to recently celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. We had a small gathering at Laura Ann's home in Irwin and family and very close friends were invited. It turned out to be a great afternoon. Brian and Tammy were able to make it for the weekend, much to Ed & Joan's surprise. But our family is so blessed to have that sort of example set before us and for our children to see that marriages really can make it through thick and thin. Hoping that Gary and I might see 50 years, but at this point we'll celebrate our 13 years and each day together!

Happy 50th Ed & Joan!!!

1963

Brian's surprise arrival

Tammy's surprise arrival

Best man, groom, bride and maid of honor (wearing her dress from 1963)

Celebrating 50 years
2013



Threshing Saturday

Saturday morning, my Dad called and said that today was the day! He was so excited, he would be over to get the boys. The Landers Farm was threshing!! This is a family that Dad was raised with and he remembers threshing days and was so excited to share it with the grandsons.  Mom and I went up a little later. For those that don't know- threshing is how they use to harvest the grain crops, but instead of a combine going through the fields, the grain plant had to come to the machine. This involved a lot of people,  several pieces of equipment and lots of hard work and sweat.

First there is the binder that went and tied the bundles of oats and left them in the field to dry.
Then there was the tractor and wagon that went through the field and picked up all the bundles, by forking them onto the wagon

Then the threshing machine is attached to a tractor with a belt drive. This tractor runs the threshing machine. Then you have an other wagon to collect the grain and a pile of straw blows out the other side.

 

The boys had a great day watching and helping with the threshing day and my Dad got to share something special with the boys! 

First Marching Band Performance

Robert has joined the Keystone Marching Band and he has now marched in 2 parades and his first half time show.  The band marched at Kennywood before school started and then again at the Horsethief Parade at Knox. But Friday night, I got to watch him march in his first field show.  It was so cool to watch him march. He was confident that he knew where he was going!

Horsethief Parade, Knox

First field performance

First Day of School

Well yesterday was the first day of school and it was a bit different as Robert started Jr. high and was on the early bus. This will be the first year that Garrett gets on the bus by himself. Both were ready to start and all seemed to have a good day! I ended up with all the homework last night!:(

August Summary

Well, almost a month has past and we did manage to get everything ready and to the Venango County Fair. Robert & Garrett showed their meat goats on Monday, Andrew showed his pig on Tuesday (while Robert was at band camp) and Andrew showed his dairy beef, then they were all busy getting ready for the Dairy Show on Thursday. As for placings well they all did well, Robert was 4th place 4-H show for Meat Goats, but Garrett beat him in the Open Show and took 4th while Robert was in 5th. Robert was the reserve Jr. Goat Showman and that was quite the competition. The judge had 2 kids in the ring for a good 15 minutes(or at least it seemed like it) for the Jr. Showman. Andrew showed well on Tuesday but I don't remember his exact placing. Then the Dairy Show, let's see- Garrett & HAylee participated in the Pee Wee Showmanship contest and received blue ribbons. Then Robert and Andrew were in the same age group, Robert was 3rd and I think, Andrew was 5th. Then Andrew had his Guernsey, which ended up Grand Champion Guernsey. Both had Holsteins and they did OK, but not great. And then Robert had his Red & White which ended up as 4-H Jr. Champion and Reserve Champion. Now this was only the animals. Robert had a 1st on his small engine project& Foresty, a 2nd on his Embryology & Arts and Crafts Project. Garrett had first on his Shoebox Float, Rocket, and decorated bowling pin, 2nd on his Farm Display, his candy bar creation and a third on his painting on fabric. The 4-H Auction was where the boys did indeed shine, thank you to all the buyers that came to bid on their animals and a special thank you to Knox Country Farm Supply for purchasing Robert's Goat and Andrew's Hog!!It was a good fair with only 1 really wet day!

Fair prep week

We are moving a day closer to being ready for the Venango County Fair. We know have 2 goats clipped and 1 washed(the other one needs a few more hands to help with- it doesn't like bathes) But Garrett decided that if Robert has to clip his goat then he wanted to try too. For 7, he did a good job and was he intense!!!

We also got part of the goat pens ready at the fairgrounds tonight. Tomorrow maybe we'll get the calves ready!!

Robert at District Dairy Show

This summer has flown by and it hardly seems like it has begun. But 4-H is in full swing and last weekend, was Robert's weekend to show his calf at the District 4-H show. He has 2 calves this year. A black and white Holstein and a red & white Holstein. He washed and clipped both and had them all ready for show, but the black and white one is a little over conditioned and didn't do so well, but Robert received a Master Showman ribbon for his part. Then the red & white one went into the ring, he received first in his class and a master showman. Then he had to go back into the ring and won Jr. Reserve Champion. So He is headed for the State Show in September with her. Very proud of his accomplishments.

US Flag Children's Sermon

I presented this children's sermon on Memorial Day Weekend, but I think it could be presented at any time especially near a patriotic holiday, but it was most appropriate for Memorial day. The idea here can be used but maybe not all of it for other American holidays.  At the front of our church there are 2 flags- the US Flag and the Christian Flag- these were key elements for this children's sermon.

Once the children were seated, I asked them if they knew what was special about the weekend. I got a few going "we're almost out of school." But I did have an older child know that it was Memorial Day weekend. So I asked what should we do on Memorial Day? Some said "camp", "picnic", but I had one that said "remember." Now this young person I challenged little bit more, "what are we to remember?" He replied " Those men and woman that fought for our country."  I asked "You mean people were fighting over land?" to which others answered "No, our freedom!" Oh, ok! I get it, but let's look at something here for a minute. I asked 2 children to go up to the flags and pull them up a little bit so the congregation and children could see them.

Can you tell me what is the same about these flags?

 

The children told me that they both had red, white and blue on them.  "You're right!" Anything else? Do you know the names of these flags? well of course they knew the United States flag, but not a one knew the Christian Flag.  "Well, let's do some comparing of these flags, because if they are at the front of our church, they must be important.

 

The United States Flag, the red stands for valor and hardiness.  on the Christian Flag the red represents blood.

 

In the United States flag, the blue stands for perseverance & justice, where in the Christian Flag it stands for faithfulness, truth and sincerity.

 

In the United States Flag, the white stands for purity and on the Christian Flag it represents purity and peace.

 

So each of the colors represents something and they are very similar. The United States Flag has 13 stripes to represent the 13 colonies and currently it has 50 stars to represent the 50 states. The Christian Flag has a cross on it to represent the cross that Christ died on.  So they are similar, but here is something kind of cool!

The Christian Flag can be flown and pledged to in any country in the World. It could be flying in Asia, Africa and even right here. As long as you are a Christian and believe in Christ, you can pledge to the Christian Flag. But the united States Flag - only those that live in the United States would pledge to that flag. Canada has it's own flag, England has it's own Flag, Russia has it's own flag.

 

The Christian Flag is a "World Flag" where the United States Flag, is a "Country Flag."  But we were talking about Memorial Day and we know that we have had soldiers die for the US Flag, but who should we remember when we look at the Christian Flag? Yes Jesus, who died for our freedom, but not our right to do as we like but our freedom from Sin and Hell. So when you look at the front of our church, which flag to you think should be the most important?  "Yes the Christian Flag."  So this weekend, take time to remember all of those who have given their lives for you- our soldiers and Jesus himself- and if you get a chance thank a Veteran.

 

Before we close, would all the veterans stand(applaud the veterans) We want to thank you for serving our country and being examples of a Christian. Let's close in prayer.

 

 

After presenting this children's sermon, I realized how many of our children don't know the Christian pledge, so I am including it as a reference here that should you be interested in using it with this idea, please do so. I am also giving 2 websites that had info about both flags.

 

I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag
and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands.
One brotherhood, uniting all mankind,
in service and love."

 

 

http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/chrflag.html- info on the Christian Flag

 

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4759624_meaning-colors-american-flag.html- info on the United States Flag

Frog and Toad Indentification

Tonight the boys found some frogs that we have been listening too for several weeks. They have been around our swimming pool area, so tonight the boys decided it was time to catch them. Garrett started with 1, then I found 1 (Robert caught it) and then Gary found 1. The boys then decided that they would see how many more they could locate. It ended up that we have 5, but their calls were unusual. The chirp for a while and then they sound like a turkey call. So we wanted to know what they were. To the compute we went!!   We checked out this website http://www.paherps.com/ and http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/frogquiz/index.cfm

Both websites were pretty cool as the have sound clips that you can compare the calls to. After listening to a good number of frog/toad calls- we have determined that we have Eastern Gray Tree frogs.  This has been a fun and interesting evening just listening to all the different types of frogs/toads and their songs. But now we can all go to bed now knowing what is outside on our porch in the small aquarium. Tomorrow we will relocate them to the bigger pond!
This is one of the pictures from the website. I'll see if I can get my own tomorrow.

Last Day of School

This year was the last time that my boys will get on the bus together as Robert will be moving to the Jr. High School. Robert had graduation on the last day of school and Garrett decided that if Robert was dressing up then so was he.

Boys ready for the last day

End of 6th grade events

The end of May was very busy around here. Robert being a 6th grader had a few extra events added to the schedule. First was the 6th grade track meet - he participated in the long jump, the discus and the shot put.

Then we went on the Niagara Falls field trip. When leaving Knox, they were calling for rain and thunderstorms all day. Luckily as we got off the bus at Niagara- the rain stopped. We spent the day seeing the sites- The American & Horseshoe Falls, The Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, the trolley and the Aquarium. It was a very nice day and as we were going into the Aquarium, it began to rain again. But we soon were back on the buses and on our way home.

 

And then 6th Grade graduation. Robert received 2 awards.  What a good group of kids in his class. Can't wait to see what they become!

Class of 2019 graduation of 6th grade

Pittsburgh Zoo Field Trip

May is always a very busy month around here. All of the end of the school year events, concerts, field trips, special programs, presentations. And this year has been no exception, with Robert being in 6th grade there has been several extra events. But last week I had the opportunity to accompany the 1st graders to the Pittsburgh Zoo. We had a nearly perfect day weather wise, blue skies, sun shining and it wasn't too hot. We  had the opportunity to see the baby Rhinoceros who was born in September, but we didn't get to see the baby tiger:(  The penguins were very busy swimming right up against the glass and the kids got a kick out of them. But the funniest part was the "Polar Bear Dance."  we watched the polar bear for about 5 minutes and then checked back in on him later, he was doing this kind of dance. He would take about 4 steps forward and then take 4 steps backwards but while moving backwards he would throw his head from left to right. It was quite funny. And when we checked on him 10 minutes or so later, he was still doing the "polar bear dance!"

The kids were amazed by the many colors and kinds of fish in the Aquarium. And they got to touch a stingray- they were in to almost their shoulders trying to touch the stingray! And I think we saw all of the animals that were out and about last week. But what a treat to get to go along.

Garrett going after the Stingray

Elementary Band Concert

Tonight was the Elementary Band concert which will be Robert's last elementary concert, it's hard to believe that he is going to the Jr. High in the Fall. But tonight was beautiful. I remember his first concert and the painful sounds that came out of his trumpet and the night he screamed "I sound like a dead duck!" But there weren't any ducks tonight. I could easily pick up Robert's trumpet. He played with confidence and he played well. He may have made a few mistakes, but they weren't noticeable in the audience.  The director had talked about retiring after this year but has changed his mind. But the band prepared a giant THANK YOU sign which they held up at the end of the concert. IT was a very nice evening listening to a very good elementary and beginning band. Thank you students and Mr. Rembold.

Getting his cue from Mr. Rembold

 

 The students that attended the PMEA Songfest in February also performed 2 of the songs that they sang at the festival between bands. They did a great job too!!