Treasure Hunt

Every year my siblings look forward to participating in the town of Intercourse's annual Treasure Hunt.  Local buisnesses and shoppes around town give away cookies, candy, coloring books, and all sorts of Christmas goodies to children ages 1-12 in the first weekend in December.  It begins at the Best Western Motel where they decorate their bags to fill with treasures.  There's also a wagon ride then it's on to the shoppes!

 



 

 

 

Watching the train display in Ken's Gardens.

 

 

God bless the generous stores!  :)



A Quick Update...

Wow!!  I hadn't realized how long it's been since I posted!!!  We seem to be so busy these days and with the holiday season approaching and family get togethers I'm sure we will be even busier!! Here's a little update on what we've been up to for the past few weeks...
 

We've enjoyed having many visitors...

...some from Canada...
We enjoyed having the Naber family over for breakfast one morning.
Johanna, Jessica, and their mom, Sis. Leah.

...and some from Arizona...
The Wallaces & Phillips came in to visit relatives for Thanksgiving so we had them over for dinner one evening along with Uncle Jon's family and our neighbors, the Riehls.

 

We sure had a houseful that night (around 35) but it was a house full of fun!!!

An elderly Amish man in our community passed away and the funeral procession went by our house.
I took some pictures out my window so they aren't the best quality.

Unfortunately I didn't have the camera out in time to get a picture of the hearse.  Basically its a regular looking Amish buggy with an extended cab.  When Amish arrive at a funeral, a few designated teenage boys write a chalk number on the side of the buggy as well as on the horse.  After the 3 hour church service held in the deceased home, the boys then hitch up the teams for the people attending the graveside.  So #23 buggy is hitched to #23 horse.  They all chronologically drove slowly by our house.  Approximately 400 people attended the funeral.

We also had the first snowfall of the season!

 Everything looks so clean and white after a fresh snow!

 Joshua got Diamond out and hooked up sleds to pull the girls around on

Snowball fight!!! :)

We also enjoyed having the McLards and Buckmans over for lunch one afternoon.

Sis. Dorothy taught Hope how to knit.

 

 

 Watching the Swimming Video...

Lillia was the flower girl in Matt and Dorothy's wedding seven years ago!
And for those of you who know Dorothy, this isn't her baby, it's her nephew... :)

 

 

Giving Thanks Banquet

On Friday afternoon we headed up to the Bomberger Farm to prepare for our first Giving Thanks Banquet.  At this banquet we wanted to let the elderly in our church know how much we appreciate them and their Christian examples to us young people.  So the Keepers Girls and The Youth Group all came together and in a group effort hosted a Giving Thanks Banquet!  The Farmer's Wife was so kind and offered to baby sit David for us...click here to see pictures of his visit to the farm.  :)

 Joanna, Danielle, and I arranged flowers, pumpkins, and ferns outside the door...

 Busy preparing the food!

 Each table had rolls, butter, cranberry sauce, and a pickle dish.
The younger Keepers girls were very helpful!

 Mommy wood burned "Give Thanks" into this box which we used as a centerpiece on the stage.

 When the guests arrived we took their coats and asked if they would like some fresh apple cider.

 Servers!  :)

 Delicious desserts!!!

 Hymns played on the keyboard by Samantha softly drifted throughout the room creating a beautiful atmosphere with the dim lights and candles.

 Kitchen workers...

After the meal we sang a few songs;
God Is Good, I Love You Lord, and Give Thanks

 The older Keepers girls sang "I Found It All"
Zoe, Joanna, and Emily played it is well on their violins accomplanied by Abigail on the keyboard.

The guys (those old enough to drive :) offered valet services.

Taking down the decorations


Thank you to everyone who helped to prepare the food, decorate, and clean up.
A special thanks to Bro. David and Sis. Linda for graciously allowing us to use their garage!
And thank you to all those who attended!! We appreciate you and your Godly example to us!
God bless you!