HAPPY NEW YEAR!~

Tell me friends, how has this past year looked for you and yours?

More feast or famine?

Some years are either or, other years are both.

For us, 2014 held both.

Emotionally, physically and financially we experienced feast and famine, as was for many of you, surely?

Did you endure car repairs, dishwasher repairs, farm equipment repairs, broken foot repairs?

Doctor bills, hardship, tough choices?

Have some of your prayers answered,  others not yet.

You’re not alone.

But then… there were the feast filled days and for those

we’ll,  I’d much rather us focus on those days…

 

Our 2014 NEW YEAR’S DAY

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Where better to clear your head and detox from all the Christmas candy intake than a day in the woods with siblings and spouses, seven kids, three chain saws and a few four-wheel drives? (Which is exactly why we chose to spend 2015 New Years day the exact same way!)

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Mid January the bearded cowboy, our boys and I packed and headed south for warmer temperatures and camping with the Maw Maw and Pop.

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Fire starter lessons from Pop for the boys and heavy fog on the beach offered New Year renewal..

 

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February was freezing!

The cowboy says frozen farms are hard.   I say frozen farms are pretty.

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A PILE o’ PIGS

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Both are true.

 Blessings Beyond the Barnyard turned two years old because of YOU, faithful, loyal reader friends. ((((HUG)))))

If I could I would make you all a cake, show up at your house with balloons and smiles to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU  but since that might be a bit too much

Know this –>

I am eternally grateful, humbled and forever over the moon thankful for YOU and the community we have here. It is a privilege to share this journey with you.  You’re encouragement and willingness to connect here matter!

 

March brought warmer days and newcomers to the farm. Lambs and ponies alike.

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Lettuce and pink blossoms let us know spring would not be forgotten.

 

March meant speaking at Ponderosa Bible Camp’s  Spring Retreat. A treat and spring highlight for sure!

April brought fuller days at the store.  (Speaking of the store–> BIG CHANGES are just a few days away.  “LIKE” Fort Payne Feed and Garden on Facebook if you haven’t already.  We want you to stay in the know in 2015 with the latest happenings.)

 

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THANK YOU friends and locals for shopping with us!

For buying your CAT, DOG, BIRD, PIG, HORSE, COW, GOAT & MORE feed, seed, flowers and fertilizer from us! (If you aren’t shopping with us and you’re local we’d LOVE TO HAVE YOUR BUSINESS!)

Our FAMILY is GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!

Tuck turned eight! (and desperately needed a haircut in this picture but oh, look at those freckles!)

What, wait, EIGHT? Yes, eight.

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A herd of friends and family celebrated our tall, skinny fella.

He & his pals shared sweet dreams and crude noises all night in the hay barn.

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Easter was peaceful.

The cowboy and his horse-drawn wagon at a funeral for a friend brought April to a somber close.

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April showers brought pretty May flowers, slithery snakes and forts back to the farm.

 

Late May tee ball wrapped and trading fever set in. Ponies were loaded, hauled and traded for a whole new flock of feathered foul.

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Hay fields and home school graduation for our favorite Kindergartener!

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A couple new batches of piglets joined the summer party! Will we ever get over the cuteness of newborn pigs?  Probably not.

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My book proposal project got really real late May when the She Speaks assignments were sent.

Remind others and myself to DREAM BIG and “fear not.”

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Early June we celebrated our baby turning SIX! Yes, babies are still babies at six!

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The rest of June was full of women, fellowship and wise chatter and as we studies the book Restless by Jennie Allen together.

Afternoons were spent trail riding around the farm, poolside chats and lots of porch time.

July meant the mommas and kids back to the beach for our annual sister+grandmother+kids

FUN IN THE SUN trip 2014.

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Thank you July for the bountiful harvest and some of the sweetest cream corn I ever tasted.

 

Mid month back to the beach with Maw Maw and Pop before flying solo to North Carolina for the She Speaks Conference.

 

How long has it been since you dreamed and BIG dream and did something that scared your socks off?

 

She Speaks was an event that will go down as one of the hardest and best things I’ve ever done.

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The messages, inspiring people, endless opportunities, food and fellowship are five months later, INDESCRIBABLE.

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August and family and a welcome home party ushered in a much-needed slower pace.

 

Back to home school, more comfortable and confident about what school at home looks like.

The boys are reading together! WOOHOO! A mother-teacher dream come true!

 

Our best year yet.

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September days mean less summertime gathering and more structure.

And all the mommas holler,  “BRING BACK BEDTIME!”

The fair awarded blue ribbons and best of show for the boys.

CATALYST, Atlanta to dream and pray = a perfect day for a dear friend and me.

October= pumpkins and mums at Fort Payne Feed and Garden and another shift of our schedule.   If small business ownership has taught us anything it is –> you must be flexible.

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November  means Thanksgiving and the pressures of the holidays are real.

With so much to be thankful for we took this holiday season one day at a time.

We visited more, shopped and stressed less making this holiday season much more peaceful than last.

“One cannot continue doing things the same and expect different results.”

Delightful December, the festive decor and celebration of The ONE that makes it all matter has come and gone.

Leaving some feeling full others less than full.

Dear friends and family, wherever you find yourself on this New Year’s Day know this,

GOD is GREATER THAN…

He is greater than our greatest month and greater than our worst day.

His love is greater than our most epic fail.

He is greater than our very best.

He is the same this January first as He was last January first.

He is greater than this year’s greatest disappointment and greater than your greatest joy.

If you needed Him this past year He wants you to need Him more this upcoming year.

If you drew close, draw closer.

He never tires of hearing from you.

Need Him. Seek Him.

He is all we need.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

much love

karmen

 

 

 

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