Christmas

Christmas went well....fun ..fun...The boys ..Levi and Dylan ...got muzzle loaders!! Isaiah got a bow and arrow and other things and the little ones got a lot of toys and stuff!! Right now we have two tents set up in our living room!! The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins and we enjoyed a couple of great meals !! We are now enjoying the rest of our week and Hope to work on our addition..Talk to you ...Steph

D- Deer and pheasant hunting- Levi, Dylan and dad went on the big hunt this year. Our hunting party ended up with three deer. Levi, Dylan and Isaiah have enjoyed pheasant hunting with their new Beagle puppy - Bailey. .......
E- Early riser - Clay is awake at the crack of dawn most mornings - usually in a great mood and ready to play... his sister on the other hand likes to sleep in. They have become great friends and love to spend time together.
R- Roping- Levi, Dylan and Isaiah did a lot of roping this year. They competed in the regional event in August and Levi went to the state event and placed fourth in breakaway roping. This was also Levi’s first year to do team roping.
U- Undertaken - We undertaken another house project. We are building on a large living room and the lower level will be a schoolroom / rec room for the kids!! We are excited about the project and have done all the work so far ourselves
Y- Youngsters and Youth - Sierra is five years old and started kindergarten and is a Cloverbud in 4-H. (this was a big deal for her - she has been waiting a long time to join 4- H) Clay turned three in August and is our little farmer. He loves to play with farm stuff and loves animals. Levi is thirteen, Dylan is twelve and Isaiah just turned eleven in December. They are active in their various hobbies and activities. We still participate in music lessons, 4- H and the area homeschool group.
T- Teaching - We are in our sixth year of home educating our children. Rich and I attended the annual homeschool convention and were encouraged by the speakers we heard and the people we met. We have encountered good days and bad days with having the kids home everyday - but we have seen the Lord’s desire for us to teach our children. It has been such a blessing to get to know each of our children and to develop a close relationship and to watch them grow in the Lord !!
E- Entertainers- We have had the pleasure of watching our children share their gifts with other people. Levi plays the electric and acoustic guitar and piano. Sierra has an interest in the piano, guitar and violin. She plays her guitar everyday after lunch and has played a few songs at the local nursing home. Dylan is taking piano lessons and hopes to learn another instrument in the future. Isaiah enjoys playing the piano, bongo drums, and violin. He performed many times this summer with the SD Old Time Fiddlers and even competed in the SD Fiddle Contest. The Lord has given him an amazing gift and we have appreciated his willingness to share his music with others.
R- Richly Blessed - We have had another amazing year. We have experienced good times and have had our struggles but through it all we have seen the Lord’s hand in the plan for our family. We are very thankful for the Lord’s blessing on our farming operation and for His Protection of all of our family members. If you get in our area stop in for a visit.... The DeRuyter’s.. Rich, Steph, Levi, Dylan, Isaiah, Sierra, and Clay

Deer Hunting

Dylan , Levi , my dad , my mom , and Richwent deer hunting this year. ... We ended up hunting with our neighbor and his wife ....we ended up with three deer ..so we were satified ..we shot at a lot of deer ..but couldn't hit any ..Levi did shot a nice buck but we were unable to find it ...so that was disappointing..but we had a fun weekend and enjoyed the fellowship with our neighbor and his new wife...

Levi's injury

What happens when a cow head butts you? As you can see - it is not a pretty site ..Levi ended up with a hole through his chin area - so we had stitches in side the mouth an on the outside...

Hunting

Pheasant hunting - The boys have enjoyed hunting pheasants this year . Levi was able to get a couple of birds in our corn field ....

Wow - what a weekend !!

Last weekend was just a little too exciting !!! My mom , Dylan and Sierra were involved in a four wheeler accident . We ended up taking them to the Tyler Hospital and everyone checked out ok -NO BROKEN BONES!! Dylan has a severe muscle contusion and a bone bruise . My mom had several areas of bruising and her shoulder is pretty banged up . She might have torn her rotary cuff - which would not be good . Sierra ended up with a bruised chin and chest but overall she ended up the best - she is up and about like nothing happened !! We thank the Lord for His protection over them and for the great people HE has put into our lives!!

family picture 2008

The Kids had their picture taken in Marshall at Photoworks- and as you can see - they did a great job!! We decided to do the "cowboy look" - Rich and I love the picture- Enjoy !!

Silly times

As you can see - we never have a dull moment at home - Sierra and Clay are always entertaining us!! Sierra loves to "play" her guitar for us !! Clay found out that the coffee table had a drawer - so he had a blast with his farm animals.

Pictures- Harvest Time

Harvest Time

The harvest has begun !!! Dylan took some pictures of dad and Levi chopping corn silage . We pray for a safe season for our family and all the other farm families out there !! We are finished chopping and are now combining the corn . Enjoy the pictures .

Pictures from the Fiddle Contest

Here are some pictures from the SD Fiddle Contest - I hope you enjoy them -

article from the paper

Isaiah DeRuyter , age ten , competed in the South Dakota Fiddle Contest in Yankton this past weekend. Isaiah is the son of Rich and Stephanie DeRuyter. Isaiah lives south of Ruthton on a farm with his four siblings . Isaiah has many interests besides fiddling. He plays the piano , participates in the MACHEA Home school group , is an active 4-H and Western Heritage member. He started playing the violin in May 2006 and has continued to take lessons in Sioux Falls with Mary Jewell. He plays with the South Dakota Old Time Fiddlers on the weekends during the summer. He has performed in Lake Benton, Flandreau , Brandon , Pipestone and Sioux Falls . He was ask to compete in the fiddle contest and decided he was up for the challenge. Isaiah had to prepare two numbers , a waltz and a tune of choice. The fiddle contest started on Friday evenings with a fiddle jam session. A jam session is when a bunch of players get-together and play tunes , someone starts with a song and everyone else joins in . Isaiah was able to meet and play with some of the top fiddlers in the country. Saturday consisted of the contest -Isaiah competed in the JR-JR Division. Isaiah played "Amazing Grace" and "Boil Them Cabbage Down " . He placed 3rd in his division and was the youngest fiddler at the competition. The contest continued all day Saturday until the evening when it was time to hear the Invitational Fiddlers - Ten fiddlers in the country are invited to the contest to compete against each other- theses fiddlers are the best in the country!! They put on a great night of fiddle music. All the fiddlers ended up at the Fryin Pan restaurant in Yankton after the contest Saturday evening . They ended up having a another Jam Session right in the restaurant. Isaiah played two numbers there and ended up playing with one of the top youth fiddlers in the country. On Sunday morning the Fiddlers put on a Gospel Sing and church service ,Isaiah played "Amazing Grace" in memory of his great uncle Carl Petersen . Carl was a long time supporter of the SD Old Time Fiddlers and Isaiah plays Carl's fiddle . Isaiah had a great time and is already making plans for attending next year!! Isaiah has one more performance with the Old Time Fiddlers this year. They will be in Flandreau the end of Oct.

OFF TO THE FIDDLE CONTEST

We are leaving for the SD Fiddle Contest on Friday. Isaiah is competing and performing several times over the weekend !! He has been working hard the last two months to get ready for it . I will post pictures and information next week- we will get home Sunday evening !!

State Horse Show

We just got back home Sunday evening from the State Horse show - Dylan and Levi did a nice job . Levi finished 4Th in roping - He thinks he should of done better. I think he did an awesome job!! We were gone for 4 days. We had a great time and enjoyed having Brad with us for the weekend . He was a great help when it came to unloading and loading all our gear up!! Thanks a bunch Brad!! I will post a few pics - I have more coming this week !!

Recent trip with the Hick's family

Some of the Hick's family

GOOD FRIENDS!!

Go Isaiah go!!

Here are some pictures from a recent trip with the Hick's family!! Thank the Lord for Great friends!!

Summer is fading fast

Summer ..... it is starting to slow down around here .... The boys went to the MN State fair for their projects - they did a great job. Levi went back to the State Fair for Dairy Judging .. He placed 33 rd out of 88 ..so we were happy with that ...esp since it is his first year!! And Levi and Rich attended the State Shoot .. Levi was a little disappointed in his performance but he did good considering it was his first year. And now we are off tot the State Horse Show for 4 days ..Isaiah and Rich will stay home and keep everything under control on the home front. My parents, Levi , Dylan ,Sierra , Clay , Friend of Levi's and I will be leaving Thursday and returning Sunday !! They have a busy schedule this week .. but I am sure they will do fine and hopefully have alot of fun!! I will update everyone when we get home !! Oh also ..Isaiah is getting ready to perform at the SD fiddle contest Sept 21- 23 !!

summer

well summer is here - and the boys have poison ivy!!! :( Levi and Isaiah have it terrible - they are really miserable !! We think they got it at the fishing hole . So today they are taking it easy and hopefully it will be gone soon!! We are getting ready to lay our foundation for our new addition!! I think that will happen next week sometime. But I better run -we have friends coming over later to visit and I have a Pampered Chef party to attend tonight!! Steph

DeRuyter Family Happenings

HI Friends and family -Summer is here - we are finished with school and the kids are LOVING it!I think they have been fishing everyday!! The little ones (Sierra and Clay) love to play out side with their new puppy - Bailey . She is so cute - full Beagle !! Other than that - life is busy - I will update more soon !! Steph