Shine On

Just as I headed out the door to feed calves in the December monsoon weather,

 I received the phone call that was cancelling our church service this morning at 

Vaughn  Presbyterian Church due to flooding roads and hazardous conditions in our county. 

I was all geared to continue celebrating the Christmas season in music 

but since that isn't happening, I thought it might be fun to include the

 words of  Star of Bethlehem and give you one verse and chorus in piano. 

Regardless of the weather, Jesus love shines on.

Star of Bethlehem

O beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shining afar through shadows dim,

Giving a light for those who long have gone,

And guiding the wise men on their way,

unto the place where Jesus lay,

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

O beautiful Star, the hope of light,

guiding the pilgrim through the night,

Over the mountain 'til the break of dawn,

And into the light of perfect day

it will give out a lovely ray,

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

O beautiful Star, the hope of rest

for the redeemed, the good and blest,

Yonder in glory when the crown is won,

For Jesus is now that Star divine, 

brighter and brighter He will shine;

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

Chorus:

O beautiful Star of Bethlehem,

Shine upon us until the glory dawns,

O give us Thy light to light the way

 into the land of perfect day;

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on. 

         --Adger M. Pace

Happy Christmas Birthday

New babies are always special on the dairy farm

 but having a Christmas baby  is a great gift for a dairy farmer.

Having two is even better!

                                                                    Merry Christmas
                                                                               from
                                                      down on the Arkansas dairy farm!
                     

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Getting ready for Christmas down on the dairy farm includes

 making sure we have plenty of feed for our calves and cows.

I'm thankful for the feed truck driver that works long hours

 before holidays to make sure feed is available for our animals

and 

                                                           for the unexpected delivery
                                                                          of a
                                                             herd of Christmas cheer!                                                                

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Cows just love to mother a new calf and often try to take

 over another cow's mothering job  before delivering a calf of their own.

Some mamas allow this behavior and others will work to stop this invasion  of their space.

I'm thankful for the natural  God-given mothering instinct 

that protects and  insures a healthy  start in life.

Dairy Delight

Sweet memories are made in the kitchen and shared through generations especially during the Christmas holiday.  One of our family favorites is   Raspberry Delight also known as  "Purple Puddin". Ryan's mother made such sweet memories for us,  spoiled us rotten with great holiday meals and established a Christmas family tradition  that always brings delight down on the dairy farm.


Raspberry Delight

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 pint whipping cream,whipped
4 Tablespoons Seedless Black Raspberry Jam
1 box vanilla wafers
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:

Mix together sweetened condensed milk and the juice of 2 lemons; set aside. In a separate bowl, whip cream and gently fold in raspberry jam. Stir mixtures together.
Place a layer of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch dish. Cover wafers with pudding mixture,sprinkle with nuts if desired. Repeat layers ending with wafers on top. Chill.

 You can find more #DairyChristmas at these sites:

• Posset-ively Eggnog Is Ice Cream by Farmer Bright
• #DairyChristmas: Peanut Butter Balls by Messy Kennedy
• Winter Iowa Corn Chowder (as featured on Cheeserank) by Little House on the Dairy
• #DairyChristmas Farm Barbie
• The best Christmas cookies in the world by Truth or Dairy
• Recipes for a Dairy Christmas by Cow Spots and Tales
• #DairyChristmas: Cherry Mint Sugar Cookies by Kimmi's Dairyland
• Perfect for a Party – Cheddar Olive Bites by DairyCarrie
• Dairy Christmas Traditions by Knolltop Farm Wife
• #DairyChristmas: Love and Latkes by New Moon Dairy
• Family at the Table by The Deere Milkmaid
• French Onion Soup – Our Family Christmas Tradition by Eat Farm Love
• Dairy Delight by Spotted Cow Review
• Christmas Cookies and Holiday Hearts by My Barnyard View
• Italian Soup by So She Married A Farmer
• Christmas Tapioca Pudding by Guernsey Dairy Mama
• #DairyChristmas: Festive Parmesan Frico by Dairy Good Life

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

This new baby was all snuggled in the  bed of straw at the back of the 

calf hutch when it was time for her afternoon  bottle of warm milk.

It took a little persuasion to move her towards the bottle

 but  in a short time she drank every drop.

I'm thankful for a healthy calf that grows up to become the cow

 that produce milk for my family and yours.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Carving the Thanksgiving turkey is serious business but when I pulled

 out the ancient electric knife, the challenge began for Casey.

I'm thankful for these memories that are made with my family  in the kitchen 

and 

the holidays that bring us together around the table

                                                     
                                           after a day working together down on the dairy farm.