Pictures At Last!

Well, we finally figured out how to post pictures on our blog with the laptop! I know it has been a week since Philip's graduation, but we still wanted to share about his special day since it was definitely one to remember. :)

We could not have asked for a better day to celebrate for Phil's graduation. Our family and church family gathered under our oak tree for Sunday worship, and we had a small graduation ceremony afterwards. We were so thankful to have our family come and worship with us! It made the day even more special! After worship, Dad and Mom stepped forward to say a few words about their graduating son. Also, Dad had asked Mr. Donahue and Philip's good friend Eli to say a few words as well. The ceremony was very moving and contained much encouragement and advice for Philip as he begins his new journey in life. After Eli, Mr. Donahue, and Dad had shared, Philip came forward and thanked everyone who had invested in his life during his years growing up. The speech was beautiful and caused many to tear up. :) Once he had finished and Dad had given him his diploma, he threw his hat in the air. It was official...he had graduated from home school!
Once the ceremony came to a close, the women immediately began to busily prepare for the banquet lunch. We were also extremely blessed to be able to visit with the Girotti family! They drove all the way from the beautiful mountains of VA to join us for worship and fellowship. Here I am with Meredith, Hannah, and Sarah. The lovely Girotti family!

Here are some of the ladies as they enjoy sweet conversation with each other. Mom and I could not have managed without the hospitable hands of these girls! Here I am pictured with (left to right) Ashley, Nicole, Hannah, Meredith, and Sarah.
Philip and Eli

Dad, Mr. Jones, Eli, and Jonathan enjoyed picking some tunes after the meal.

The ladies oohed and ahhed over both Sarah's and Hannah's quilting projects. Sarah brought the quilt that she had just finished, and Hannah showed us her sweet baby quilt that she had made. Meredith and I were so encouraged to see their projects because we are currently still working on our quilts. Thank you Hannah and Sarah for sharing with us!
Here are some very proud parents! We had such a wonderful time of celebrating and visiting last Sunday. Congratulations Philip for graduating into a new season of your life! We are very excited to see what the Lord has done already and what He is going to do through you! ~Alli

Blogging Difficulties

Hello everyone! In case you are wondering why we havn't posted in a few deys...we are experiencing some technical problems with our computer! For now, we are on the family laptop which doesn't allow us to post pictures from our camera card. :( It's such a shame because we have so much to share about our busy weekend. On Sunday, we were able to celebrate Philip's graduation with our family and friends. Hopefully, we will be posting many pictures soon! Please stay tuned...

~The Trent family

HAPPY GRADUATION PHILIP

A happy graduation to our middle child Philip. He has worked very hard over the years to reach this point. We are so proud of him. Not only with his academic success but most importantly, his character. He is a joy to our family. We love you Philip and congratulations! ~Mom

Tony's Garden

Here is a picture of Tony's garden. We thought our Papa in GA would like to see. HI PAPA AND SHERRI! Tony has been working very hard on it this year. In the past, due to our schedules, it was a little over grown with weeds. This year we have purposed to keep the weeds down. So far so good. It can however, get away from you quickly :)


These are beans ready to go up the trellis. Hopefully the rabbits will only eat the first plant. We are going to try our hats at canning squash and zucchinis. Recipes anyone? I prefer something really easy. I've made zucchini relish is the past and that was yummy. We'll keep you posted. ~Julie p.s. thank goodness for spellcheck for zucchini:)

My Weekend

This weekend was such a blessing because I was able to attend the Jamestown Quadricentinnial celebration with the Alexander family! On Saturday, they picked me up and we all travelled to Jamestown together in our colonial attire, of course. :) The event was sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries, and it was so neat to be with so many like-minded families there.

I especially enjoyed being able to see the different speakers that I've only listened to on tapes in real life! My friend Meredith and I were excited to see many "famous" people such as the Botkin sisters, the Bradricks, Kelly Brown (now Kelly Bradrick), Jenny Chancey, the Brown family, the Philips family, the Hendrys, and so many more! We were a little star-struck. :)

Here, Meredith and I are surrounded by beautiful scenery at Fort Pocahontas. This was our first attempt at making dresses like these! It definitely took a lot of patience! Meredith and I just loved wearing our puffy dressed during the weekend. It's funny how wearing a dress like that will make you feel even more feminine, cause you to stand up straighter, and walk more gracefully. Well, I had to walk gracefully because I was afraid that I would step on my dress on accident and cause it to unravel. :) Besides that, I loved walking around Jamestown in a fancy dress! This is the closest we came to the Philip's family! The top picture is of Mr. Philips' lovely wife and children, and the bottom is of himself . On Saturday, we enjoyed listening to the messages of many different speakers, including Doug Philips and Paul Jehle. We also saw the firing of muskets, colonial dancing, fifers, sword fighting, fireworks, and so much more. The Alexander's and I were so excited when we heard that my family and the church family were going to meet us there for the church service on Sunday morning. The service was beautiful but very hot! Afterwards, we all followed each other to the home of a family from our church for lunch. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend! Thank you so much Alexander family for taking me along on this exciting experience! It was definitely one to remember. :) ~Alli

Family Fun

This week Tony has been on vacation, hence the no posting on the blog...So in my quest to find fun family activities, I found this puzzle in Gloucester, VA. Boy has it been a doozie. Everyone puts a piece or two in as they go by. Lot's of fun. It is a picture called "Soda Fountain" and is 1000 pieces. Updates to follow.... ~Julie

Eggs in a Basket

We have been noticing some commotion on the front deck for a couple of days. The cats have brought it to our attention. They have been very interested in one of our ferns so upon closer inspection....Eggs!!!

They belong to a pair of purple finches. The eggs are about the size of a dime. Yesterday morning there were only two and this morning there are three.

The only problem is how to keep the kitties away! They like to sit on the rail directly under the fern. It's going to drive me crazy :) ~Julie

"Moving In"

Ever since I can remember, Dad has always been painting scenes from nature. As a boy, he was greatly inspired by his grandmother, Nellie, to draw and paint the beauty of God's creation. Ever since then, Dad has continued to do what he loves to do- draw and paint the outdoors! I guess he's painted pretty much everything in nature- from deer, creeks, and flowers, to birds, meadows, and trees.

Recently, Dad has gone through a "bird phase" and has painted at least a dozen Virginian birds in watercolor. The above picture is one of his prints called "Moving In." This one is one of Mom's favorites. :) Please take a look at some of his other work in our Etsy shop! ~Alli

My First Pound Cake!

Yesterday, I decided to try making a pound cake! I was shocked when it actually came out of the bundt pan in one piece. :) Usually when I flip the cake out of its pan, the good part of the cake is left stuck where it shouldn't be. :)

The recipe I used came from one of Paula Deen's cookbooks, Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics, and it is definitely NOT fat-free (but it's really yummy). The recipe was for just a plain vanilla pound cake but I decided to add some fresh blueberries to the batter for a nice summertime touch.

Mama's Pound Cake

2 sticks butter

1/2 C. Crisco shortening

3 C. sugar

5 eggs

3 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Sift together dry ingredients and add to mixture alternately with milk, starting with flour and ending with flour. Add vanilla. Pour into greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

- Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics

(If you want to, add 1-2 cups of blueberries to the batter. You can also add a dusting of powdered sugar over the top of the cooled cake for a finishing touch.)

Enjoy! ~Alli

Yard Work

Yesterday, my sister Rhonda and niece Emily came over to help me do some work in the yard. I have always wanted to plant a flower bed at the base of our oak tree, so R and I pulled out the shovels and our landscaping juices started flowing! We had a great visit yesterday with lots of planting, chatting, and lunch. Today, the boys helped by adding the finishing touches. It's nice when the men come along and do the mulching :) ~Julie

Take the Quiz here!

I took this quiz and found out that I am Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! Give it a try! ~Alli