I'm sure most of you heard about the storms that went through North Central Florida on February 2. One of the tornadoes did a lot of damage in the town of Lady Lake. Many homes and businesses were destroyed. One of the places that was totally destroyed was the Lady Lake Church of God. Not far away from that church is the Lady Lake Allegheny Wesleyan Church. The tornado went down the road that the Lady Lake AWC church is on and damaged the properties on either side of the church but no damage was done on the property of the Lady Lake AWC church. It was like God picked up the tornado on one side of the property and set it down on the other side of the church property. We had wondered if there had been any damage from the storm at the church and when I heard the good news I said, " That shows God's hand at work!" To view pictures of the storm click here.
Sir Loin 1/20/2007
Stanley Fink, Andrew, Hannah and David
Hannah and Andrew
David gets used to the ice!
Hannah and Andy get used to the ice.
Skating conference?
We had a good Christmas and New Year's. Aunt Esther, Cheryl Dyer and her mom, Sis. Horseley, Tom & Phebe Bickert and Frank, from church were at our house for Christmas dinner. Grace, Rachel, Jenny and I went up to Summerfield Tuesday evening to help Cheryl and her mom get ready for a yard sale on Wednesday and help out with the sale on Thursday. Cheryl and her mom flew out Saturday morning. Sis. Horseley is moving to Colorado and will be greatly missed. Aunt Esther took them to the airport and then came by our house. Hannah flew in on Saturday morning. We have had a lot of fun so far this week. We went back to school yesterday (Wednesday). Hannah flies home Saturday evening and then it is 5 months and 3 days until the wedding.
Friday Evening 11/24/06
Grace watches David hold Aunt Esther's Christmas Tree up while Andy checks out the base to see what is wrong with it. It is supposed to rotate but for some reason it would only rotate the tree part way and stop. If we would turn the tree to a certain spot it would continue rotating about 3/4 of the way around and then stop again.
Aunt Rhoda and Grace look on as Andy works on the Christmas tree base. He took it completely apart and we regreased the bearings.
Becky and David hold Aunt Esther's tree while Dale looks on.
Happy 6th Anniversary to Bill & Marilyn French! This is a little early but in Taiwan it's already the 24th so we'll go ahead and wish them Happy Anniversary anyway.
When we got ready to leave for work around 6:00 this morning we heard that there was breaking news: Gatorland was on fire! Gatorland is one of the oldest, if not the oldest attraction in Central Florida. Located on US 17-92 between Orlando and Kissimmee is Gatorland with the famous gator mouth entrance. After 2 hours of fighting the fire it was determined that the fire was basically contained in the gift shop. The owners plan to reopen with in a few weeks.
A lady demonstrates spining Angora yarn from an Angora rabbit
The family at Barberville
Andrew and Hannah, David and Suzanne behind the old church at Barberville
We had a nice time this past weekend. School was out on Thursday and Friday since it was the end of the nine-weeks. Dad took off his last two vacation days as well. I house/dog-sat for a friend from Wednesday evening to Saturday afternoon. Thursday, Grandpa Miller came up from Hobe Sound and visited for a few minutes. He had come up for a memorial service for Luis Stence in Kissimmee and had stopped to see Sister Smart on the way from Hobe Sound to Kissimmee. Friday night, everyone but me went to Seffner to the Fall Retreat that Brother Smalley was having. Brother James Bates spoke in the service. After I got home on Saturday, we all went down to Seffner again. Our pastor, Richard Holliday, was to speak at the service that evening and our church was to provide the music. David, Andrew and Grace along with Warren Fink sang two specials: "Power in His Name" and "The Cross Road". Dad, David, Andrew and Warren all took their instruments and the "Orlando Strings" as Brother Smalley calls them performed. Brother Kready was unable to attend as he had a previous commitment. Bro. Plank says that our church is "the Spanish church with the Nashville sound" since our church is a Spanish style building and the guys all play string instruments every service. Bro. Smalley requested prayer for the Smarts as Sis. Smart was very low. Sunday morning Bro. Holliday announced that Sis. Smart had gone home to Heaven. He told us that the Sweitzer's had been with them Saturday evening and that when they would sing hymns and different songs, then Sis. Smart would brighten up, smile and raise her hand.
Saturday, October 7, 2006 we moved Sir Loin and Buster from Summerfield to Groveland. They joined Bandit in the fattening pen and will stay there until the end of January most likely. I'll try to post pics of them soon. Our baby, Frisky, is growing fast. He likes to run around with the other calf in the field that is about 2 months younger than him.
This farm was originally my Great-Great-Great-Grandfather's (Andrew Heintzelman) farm. It is now a restaurant and bed and breakfast. When we were in Pennsylvania about 12 summers ago we stopped by and Daddy took a picture of the five of us kids in front of the barn (restaurant). While we were there the owners came out and when they heard that Andrew Heintzelman was a relative of ours they let us go in and look around. We had seen pictures of the inside after my Great-Grandfather's 90th birthday party and it was neat to really see it in person. I can remember my Great-Grandfather talking about playing in the hayloft when he was a kid. He died in 1998 at the age of 101 1/2.
Things are going well with us and we have finally started getting the rain we so desperately needed. Instead of our summer rains starting in June, they started in August. We have had several afternoons or evenings where we had a thirty minute to an hour or more downpour that left ditches and parking lots flooded. Several things have happened since I blogged last. David started dating a young lady named Suzanne. We are enjoying getting to know her. Andrew is an apprentice electrician and was recommended for a new position at work. His company was looking for an estimator to train and Andrew interviewed for the position. He accepted the job and began last Wednesday. He is learning all about color coding electrical fixtures and wiring, counting the number of parts needed, calling different suppliers and getting prices and then estimating cost so that his company can bid on projects. Even though his hours are a little longer, he is going to enjoy not having to be out in the hot sun during the summer and cold in the winter along with rain on occasions now that he is in the office.
Andrew and Hannah got engaged June 27, 2006. The big day is June 9, 2007. This picture was taken by Marlin Knable at Padua Horse Farm in Summerfield, FL on July 3, 2006.
We've been back in school for a week. Things seem to be going well. Last weekend we went to the funeral of a man from our church who has been sick for years. David, Grace, Mom and I sang "The Eastern Gate" and "It Will be Worth it All" at the funeral and "Another Soldier" at the graveside. Afterwards, Dad and I went straight up to Summerfield to get feed for Sir Loin and Buster. Everyone else but Andrew came up a little later. Andrew has been battling a cold but seems to be feeling a lot better now.
Our heifer Shadow
Bandit has been moved down to our friend's property in Groveland and is doing really well. He is growing fast and will soon be ready to fatten up and put in the freezer! 
Flossie with her bull calf, FriskyWell, summer school is half over - 10 days down and 10 to go. TS Alberto brought some much needed rain to our area. Central Florida got anywhere from 2-4+ inches of rain Monday and Tuesday. When I left for work Monday morning it wasn't even raining, but it switched between sprinkling and pouring all morning. It cleared up for a few hours in the afternoon and then started back in raining again. Tuesday was more of the same. Wednesday and Thursday we didn't get much rain, if any at all. Friday, we got a light to moderate drizzle for about an hour or so. Friday night David, Jenny and I came up to Aunt Esther's. Andrew had to work today, but Mom, Dad, Grace and Rachel came up this morning. On Wednesday, Dad, David and Grace went out to Groveland and picked up the livestock trailer and then went up to Summerfield and got Buster and took him back down to Groveland. They put him in a large holding pen until he gets used to being in a new place. We moved him because he kept trying to get over the fence where he was. Also, it looks as if Flossie is due to calve in the next month or so.
I'm working this month at an elementary school in Apopka doing Extended School Year for Exceptional Education Students. There are 7 preschoolers enrolled in the class but so far only 5 have shown up. The summer school session is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday through Friday for 4 weeks. We have finished 1 week and have 3 more to go. I'm house sitting and dog sitting again this week. God has sent TS Alberto with much needed rain for the area. During the day yesterday there was lots of smoke in the air from a fire down near Disney. It rained last night and when I got up this morning most of the scent of smoke was gone. It poured again this afternoon and the chances of rain are pretty great for tomorrow.
Yesterday was the last day of school. Woo-Hoo!! We had a pretty good year! Grace and I both had to work today but that is it for this school year. I will be working during the month of June at an elementary school in Apopka as an assistant in the Exceptional Education Summer school program as long as they have enough students show up during the first week of school. Pray with me that enough students show that I will be able to work all four weeks, since I really need the job. Two weeks ago I got some Painted Lady Butterfly caterpillers from Earth's Birthday Project that we could watch grow and change into butterflies. We started with 7 caterpillers and had 6 that formed a chrysalis. Sunday morning we woke up to two butterflies and another one emerged before we left for church. When we came home from church Sunday morning we had 4 butterflies. Monday morning the last two butterflies emerged. The wings on the last butterfly that emerged never unfolded correctly all day long. Grace had told us to put Fruit Punch Gatorade in for the butterflies to drink. She learned this at a butterfly encounter place in Oveido, FL. When we released them Monday afternoon, we would dip our finger in the gatorade so that the butterflies would sit on our finger to drink. We then took them out of the box and released them in our front yard. It is amazing to watch God's masterpieces at work in the metamorphosis process.
We had a good weekend. Friday evening, David and Andrew took David's 4-wheeler and met Warren and Stanley Fink in Groveland at the Green Swamp and went exploring on the 4-wheelers. They must have really had a blast because I think that David must have washed 2 inches of mud and muck off of his 4-wheeler. The bed of his pick-up is totally covered in mud and so is our driveway!! Saturday, Andrew had to work, Jenny helped David wash his work truck and 4-wheeler, Dad helped David put the back bumper on his 4-wheeler, I sorted throught some stuff and cleaned and Mom did some yard work. I'm not sure what all Rachel and Grace did but we stayed at home and got some things done. Sunday evening after church we went down to Kissimmee to visit with Daniel McDonald's Parents, Sister-in-Law, niece and nephews. We had a great time. Today it is back to work for a few days.
Things are winding down. We have 2 more days of school left this year and Summer Vacation will be here. We are counting the days!
Grace sent me an email with these pictures showing the 16 baby pandas born during 2005. I'm a bear collector and really enjoyed seeing these babies. I'm also including a link to the National Zoo where you can view the Panda Cam and see the baby panda live! http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/
Shadow
Flossie
Rick's bull - Clarence
FFA members getting ready to show their market steers.
.jpg)
