Last weekend we set up a booth at the John Henry Flea Market out on Leaton Rd in Clare. We discovered Flea Markets aren't for the faint of heart! :) It was a busy week getting ready for it, with all hands on deck as we cleaned, sorted, priced and loaded bins, vehicles and trailers full of.........junk? Or treasures? I suppose it depends on who you ask! LoL. Aaron and Esther spent Thursday over there helping us get our booth set up as we tried to cram as much stuff as we could into a 20 ft by 20 ft space. Needless to say, it was both fun and hectic! 

Friday dawned bright and sunny. David left early in the morning with Keirsten, Bethany and Jeremiah while the rest of the children and myself finished up chores around here before heading over. The children had a blast visiting with friends, meeting new people and shopping all the other vendors that were set up there! We were a bit worried since they were calling for rain that evening and we weren't sure how all that would work out. As it turns out, we got totally rained out Saturday! We woke up to cloudy skies and about the time David was getting to leave the rain started coming down. We decided that I would stay home with some of the children while David took the boys and went to the market. Needless to say, it was a somewhat miserable day for them, but they made the most of it and enjoyed getting to talk with some of the other vendors who were also out there braving the rain. It was a lot of work, and didn't turn out quite like we had hoped, but it was a good learning experience and something to put in our memory book! :)

While I was there Friday I had fun snapping a few pictures of our booth and some of the helpers who were around at the time! :)

Spring may be slow in coming to Michigan this year, but we've already been bit by the spring cleaning bug! We've been making some exciting changes in the store the past couple of weeks and are looking forward to doing even more as time goes on. Esther (Aaron's wife) has started working a couple of days a week and she has been doing an amazing job of giving the store a fresh face! Her eye for color and detail add a lot of "life" to the store that was lacking before and we're so glad that she's willing to share her skills and talents with us! Besides doing some much needed cleaning, and organizing, she also snapped some recent pictures of the store and some of the items we have in there right now. David's been getting around to more auctions and is hoping to add more treasures in the weeks to come! 

Happy Friday Everyone! April is here and that means spring is right around the corner.......well, it's supposed to be anyway! True to fashion, Michigan weather is quite unpredictable and we've been getting more snow the past couple of days. Even though I am quite anxious for sunshine and green grass, I had to admit that the snow covered trees were so beautiful as I looked out the windows this morning! 

It's tapping season in Michigan! The days have slowly been getting warmer and everyone around these parts are heading out to the woods to tap their trees! David, Aaron, Esther and the children went out yesterday and put out about 130 taps in the woods behind our house. We will be putting out a few more taps around the house tomorrow, and then hopefully start boiling down tomorrow or Sunday. It's a lot of work making maple syrup but we are all looking forward to that yummy goodness poured over top of some fresh off the griddle pancakes! :)

In preparation for boiling down the sap, the Guys have been hard at work getting the new porch built off the back of the Store. This summer it will be used for picnics and parties, but in the meantime, we are planning on using it as a temporary syrup shack. With everything else we've had going on, it's been taking a lot longer than we had hoped, but it's getting there. It's going to look amazing when they get it done! 

Hopefully in the next day or two we'll be able to have a roof on the porch, the stoves set up and be boiling down sap!! In another week or so we should have fresh Michigan Maple Syrup to sell in the store! :)

Hi there! It sure has been a while since I last wrote! I've been quite negligent about keeping up with our blog, but David has been encouraging me to start posting on here again, so here I am! :) 

It seems hard to believe that we're already almost half way through the 2nd month of 2018! Where has the time gone? We started out this year by adding another little boy to our family! Josiah Daniel was born January 12th and was welcomed with great excitement by his 8 older brothers and sisters. Once again we were awed and amazed at the goodness of God in giving us another safe delivery and healthy child! He is our tie-breaker baby.....giving the boys the lead with 5 boys and 4 girls. We have all been enjoying making room in our hearts and home for another little one and he is much loved and adored!

 
This winter has been somewhat slow with the Store but David has been working hard at keeping up with Ebay sales and getting new stuff listed. We've changed our format and instead of doing auction style listings, we have switched to doing Buy-It-Now listings. It has been working out a lot better for us but still keeps us pretty busy between shipping, questions, cleaning and listing parts, and trouble shooting problems. If you are ever curious about what we've got listed on Ebay, click on the Ebay tab at the top of the page and it will take you directly to our store. 

Today David took Jonathan, Maria and Jeremiah and went to a consignment auction about an hour south of us. It is a COLD day here, so hopefully they are staying warm! They were hoping to pick up some good deals, so it will be interesting to see what all they come home with. :)

Happy Saturday everyone!! 

David and Aaron spent part of the day setting up for the yard sale. It takes a while sorting through everything, getting tables set up, pricing stuff, etc! Here's a few pictures showing some of what we'll have for sale on the 30th.......

The count down has begun! Only 10 more days until we are scheduled to open! The next couple of weeks are full as we prepare for both the opening of the Store and also a Yard Sale. It's gonna be a big weekend, but we are all looking forward to it! Excited to see how this new dream takes off. : )

Today we got the sign put on the Store door! It looks great! So nice to have one more thing crossed off our "To Do" list.........

Hi there! Looking for something to do the 30th of June or the 1st & 2nd of July? Our dream of getting this little store opened is so close I can taste it. We will be having a big yard sale as well.
 Thanks to all the love, help and support of my wife and friends, we are ready to open on 6-30-16. Come out for a game of checkers, or have a bottle of pop at our small bar. You could even share an icecream float with your sweetie. Thank you Aaron & Esther, Steve & Rachel, Jon & Kristin, & all the many other many volunteers who have helped us get here. Looking forward to seeing you then!
Davey

Hi there! David here. Man, the past few months have been crazy busy as we have been setting up our antique store. It's been a long time coming and has taken much more effort then we thought. I thank God for his provision and blessing on this endeavor. Mary and the kids sure have been a big help in every way. We are still not opened yet but almost! Check back later.