“So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.” Psalm 90:12 (NET)
Greetings to you in 2010!
This decade has swept by. Another year is complete. God is good!
Since December 2007 we continue to gather weekly with several of our friends and their families for Sunday meetings.
At the end of January our son, Greg, fulfilled a long-term goal by having his artwork made into high quality prints at North 7 Studios in Brandon, Vermont.
Stephen turned 21 in February. He has continued to work at the UVM Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge, doing general maintenance, lawn care and chores, etc. In August Stephen had the opportunity to lead the raffle foal, UVM Rosette, in the outdoor show arena for Vermont Day. He also raised eggs & vegetables here at home to sell at the market. This autumn he purchased a hoop house/cold frame where he is wintering his bunching onions.
In March our friend and neighbor, Mat Oxford, passed away very suddenly. She was a special part of our lives. Mat allowed Ben the use of her pasture for his Scottish Highlanders. She occasionally opened up her "camp" on Lake George, and her sledding hill for us (and some of our friends) to enjoy. One Christmas Mat, our sons, and a couple of their friends presented Dickens Christmas Carol with her antique puppets and set. Three years ago Mat was a "costume judge" for our 1st Live Nativity. She made & decorated a cake for my 50th birthday celebration last year. She is dearly missed.Stephen boiled and made some maple syrup for the family. Also, some of our friends & us began meeting for a study on Wednesday nights for “Answers Academy” (A biblical apologetics course produced by Answers in Genesis). We have been learning about biblical authority and the origins debate. This has been a wonderful study which has greatly strengthened our faith in God’s word.
Our daughter-in-law, Beth, turned 30 at the end of April. Nicholas’ dental business is prospering; the Lord has supplied several dentists from Glens Falls, N.Y. who keep him busy. Both he and Beth continue to raise Golden Retriever puppies and many other farm animals. They make hay in the summer and home school Audrie. Nicholas joined a group of local coyote hunters this year. He often rides his horse, Casey, while scouting for coyotes before a hunt. Nicholas also harvested a small deer this year.
In May Gordy and I began our 5th year as members of the Middlebury Farmers’ Market. During hot summer days our “Citrus Slush” continues to be a favorite. This year, along with rolls, breads, Greek Baklava, pies, etc., we added pie-squares to our baked goods, which seemed to sell very well. My brother, Dan, and his wife, Dani, from Michigan came for a visit in May. It was great having them here for a few days.
Greg gave tours, etc., again for the historic UVM Morgan Horse Farm from May - October. He also worked at the local cemeteries doing lawn care, along with digging graves and filling graves. In the meantime, he pursued his interest in art, finishing eleven oil paintings this year.Our neighbors, the Isenbergs, allowed Gordy and I to borrow their tandem bicycle this spring and summer. We enjoyed taking 5 - 6 mile rides together about three mornings per week.
Both Ben and Greg were accepted for participation in the 23rd Annual Reflections on Basin Harbor Art Show in August, and spent two days and two nights (the first part of June), at the Basin Harbor resort on Lake Champlain taking pictures and collecting ideas for paintings of the lake and harbor. The resort gave them free meals and lodging in their own private cottages and allowed them to bring two guests of their choice as well. The first night, Gordy and I were their guests, and the second night Stephen and their friend Kurt were their guests. This was a fun and unique opportunity for us all.
Mid-June Stephen contracted a persistent cough. Several days later, his illness was officially confirmed to be pertussis or whooping cough (although he had been immunized as a child). Because this was the first case in Addison County, the health department asked our family to take prescribed antibiotics. Whooping cough is extremely contagious, and we were thankful that none of the rest of us got the sickness. It took several weeks for his cough to subside.
July 4th marked 8 full years that we have lived in the state of Vermont. Now we have lived here as a family longer than in any other single location. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
In mid-July, on our way to visit family in the mid-west, we were able to stop and see some friends in Newville, PA, then we headed directly to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. This was our second trip to the museum. It was a beautiful sunny summer day. This time, we were able to walk through the gardens and visit the petting zoo. We always receive lots of encouragement when we visit this state-of -the-art museum.
After that, we visited our relatives in Michigan. We were blessed to spend some time with our family and friends again. We enjoyed seeing the golden wheat fields, which is a rare sight in Vermont.
When we returned home, we noticed a male Indigo Bunting that fluttered and sang daily outside our picture window. This was a rare treat for our family.
In August, Stephen opened his sheep shed doors to three Katahdin sheep. It had been several years since he had his last flock. He decided that this sheep breed would benefit our Live Nativity presentation. They have hair instead of wool, longer tails and look sort of mid-eastern.
Our two mother cats had nine kittens this year, which we enjoyed and happily found homes for. Unfortunately, these mama kitties soon got into a fight with a rabid raccoon and had to be put down because they hadn’t been immunized for rabies. That was our neglect. It was a very sad day. I guess our kitty days are over until another stray wanders in.
We had a booth at Addison County Fair and Field Days for a couple of days this year. Both Greg and Ben exhibited and displayed their artwork and each took a turn demonstrating their painting skills.
As mentioned earlier, our two artist sons participated in the 23rd Annual Reflections on Basin Harbor Art Show that ran August 21st-31st. Greg’s painting, “The Lodge at Basin Harbor” was the 2009 choice for the Basin Harbor Club art collection.
Greg and Ben also had opportunities to exhibit their artwork in downtown Middlebury at Belladonna, The Gilded Cage and Sama’s Café. They got a good deal of promotion and advertisement from these displays.Greg continues to work on our family genealogy, and this summer he found out some interesting news. Twelve generations ago (in the 17th century) there lived a man in Massachusetts named Sergeant-Major Simon Willard and his wife Mary Sharpe. They had several children, including a son, Josiah Willard, and a daughter, Elizabeth Willard. The remarkable thing about this information is that Gordy is a descendant of Elizabeth Willard and I am a descendant of Josiah Willard. We're related! This was fun news for us after almost 30 years of marriage.
After Labor Day since motel rates were reasonable, we were able to spend two days and two nights at Old Orchard Beach, Maine. While in Maine, some of us visited the Nubble Light at York beach, the Portland Head Light, the town of Camden, L.L. Bean, Cabelas in Scarborough, and Kennebunkport. We all enjoyed walking on the beach together, and seeing the first rays of the sunrise both mornings.
Thanks to Nicholas and Beth telling us about an area farmer with young pigs for sale, we were able to buy a couple to raise this fall. At the present, we are attempting to raise some pork for our freezer. These young pigs are a Gloucestershire/Tamworth cross. This is a new adventure for us, so we hope it works out well. Ben has been faithfully tending the chores twice a day.
For our birthdays, Gordy and I splurged and took a ride on the “Carillon”, a 60 ft., 1920’s replica of a Thousand Island cruise boat. The cost was fairly reasonable at $14 per person. We toured the lake for about 2 hours and heard many stories of Lake Champlain’s history. The Captain and his wife were our hosts and they showed us sonar images of artifacts and wrecks along the way, plus pointed out some immature bald eagles overhead. The landing for this cruise boat and the N.Y. ferry to Ticonderoga is less than a mile from Champlain Orchards were Gordy presently works as Carpentry Manager.
Gordy reached the ripe old age of fifty in September. He experienced a surprise party when we visited Michigan in July at the Swartzes home in Lake Odessa. We had never been able to pull off a surprise for him in the past, so this was the first time ever. A milestone! It was fun for us. Also, we had a family/neighborhood gathering here on September 26th, the day of his birthday. Between these two celebrations, Gordy had 128 of his loving family and friends gather for his 50th birthday. Pretty special, huh? Thanks to all of you who helped us celebrate. 
In early October, Greg and Ben made a trip to Petersburg, KY. They had been invited by the museum’s exhibit director to come out for a behind the scenes tour at the Creation Museum. This indeed was a very special privilege for both of them. While there, they received many words of encouragement about their artwork and met several new Christian friends.Ben’s donated painting, Star Barn, that was sold at the Brandon Art Auction brought the guild three thousand one hundred dollars. This year marked the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s discovery of the lake. Ben had the privilege of having his painting “View of Lake Champlain from Mt. Defiance” published in two books: At Lake Between: The Great Council Fire and the European Discovery of Lake Champlain, by Frederick Wiseman, and The Art of Lake Champlain: Inspiring Landscape, by Verve Editions. His painting was on exhibit at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum for a few weeks in August. All total, Ben finished 7 new paintings this year, and as I write Ben is close to completing a commissioned piece.
Our grand-daughter, Audrie (age 5 ½) asked Christ into her life on October 18th. This is a direct answer to our prayers ever since her conception. We praise the Lord for drawing her to Himself at such a young age.
On that same day, Gordy and I had our first bear sighting here in Vermont. We were driving down a country road that Sunday afternoon and saw the black bear running along a hedge line in a plowed field. We were thrilled to finally see one for ourselves, plus have the camera with us.
Our family had the privilege of attending a friend’s wedding in Garland, Maine at the end of October. Our sons, Greg, Ben and Stephen were ushers. It was a beautiful, but very simple wedding.
Three dear saints went on to their heavenly home this year: Ellsworth Crockett (faithful brother in Christ), Dean Parrott (my uncle), and Georgianna Miller (Beth's grandmother). God used each of these special people to make an impact for His kingdom within their families and communities. All of these precious folks were married to their loving spouses for 62, 67 & 66 years. We praise God for how these individuals have touched our lives and blessed our hearts. Though it’s hard to say goodbye, we thank God that they are now at home eternally with Him.
We retired our old brown truck in November. This ‘91 Ford crew cab had faithfully served us for over twelve years and had over 365,000 miles on it. We say, “Rust in peace, dear truck“!
Stephen bought a donkey at the end of November to use in our Live Nativity. We now have experienced raising all the basic farm animals on our little farm…cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, cats, dogs, and now a donkey.
Speaking of our nativity, we had two beautiful evenings for our Live Nativity in early December. We had fifty-nine people attend on the first night, and one hundred and sixty-one come on the second night. We had over fifty cars crammed into our yard, which was simply amazing. Both nights the temperatures were in the high 20’s, and that was a blessing. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to help us be a “light” to the lost.
Gordy and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on December 21st. Our loving sons, family and friends gave us a nice potluck Italian dinner and then surprised us with a trip to Acadia National Park (in place of the honeymoon we never had). That was amazing! Now, we both are looking forward to spending a few days up in Maine in this new year, thanks especially to the Hardt family, our sons and you dear folks who gave so lovingly.
On Christmas Eve we made a trip back to Michigan. We had not been there for Christmas in nine years, so this trip was very special. Through a gift from my folks, the Lord graciously provided for us to go back. While there we had the opportunity to visit many Aunts, Uncles and cousins that we haven’t seen in a long time. Of course, it was great to spend Christmas Day, etc., with our parents, some of our siblings, nieces & nephews.
For the past 47 years, my parents have made it tradition to put up this nativity scene in front of their home. It is a wonderful reminder of Who Christmas is all about.
On the way back to Vermont we again took a detour down to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, K.Y., and had the privilege to partake in their Bethlehem Blessings live nativity production. It was wonderful! God is using this ministry for His glory. We, personally, feel that every family needs to visit this wonderful place. Don’t forget, we still have the 4 passes to loan out. This past year, 6 different families used these free passes and saved paying the museum admission fee. One couple was from Minnesota, 2 families were from Michigan, one family was from New York, one family was from Maine, and one family was from Vermont. Two of these families we had not met personally, yet they still borrowed the passes. So, please don’t feel shy. Just give us a jingle, and we’ll send them your way.
May God bless you and yours in the coming year.Lovingly,
Gordy, Valerie and sons
