VBS, Canning, and a Birthday...

...that's a pretty good summary of our July!
Our usual 4th of July celebrations were somewhat dampened by the weather-- very cool temps and horizontal rain!


So the first big happening of July was Vacation Bible School.  The kids really enjoyed the theme of "Investigation Destination".






I led the songs and assisted with a class.  Dwayne drove one of the church vans.  And the kids just had fun.

Of course, in spite of all the fun, VBS is exhausting!  Nevertheless, the canning must go on!  (and on... and on...)  So the green beans came in; not as many as we'd hoped due to this cool, damp summer, but we get what we can and can what we get!

 This picture shows the fruits of my labor one day:  4 batches of bread and 14 quarts of green beans.  Now that was a full day, right?  Not busy enough I guess, because that evening Dwayne picked all the corn that was ready in our garden.  The next morning, the kids set to work shucking over 300 ears of corn!!!!!

In the thick of things! 

 

Many hands make light work!

Dwayne took on the awesome chore this year of cutting the kernels off the cobs.  Last year when I did this part, my hands ached for several days afterward, so yea Dwayne!!!






He also loaded the jars and started the pressure canners.
This freed me up to take pictures!!  (ha ha!)  Actually, I helped the kids outside and helped with the canners inside.

Seven quarts in each canner, an hour and a half for every batch!

I lost track of how many quarts were canned that day, but just know it was a lot!  We also put several quarts in the freezer.




So now we move on to the birthday...

Ellie turned lucky number 7!  It couldn't happen to a better girl!  Ellie is cheerful, helpful, and tries her best to be obedient.  She is a sunny presence in our home!  We love you, Ellie Faith!

Sevens!

What a funny bunch!