The Tale of Pigs

Growing up on a hog farm, I had this love hate relationship with pigs. When having friends over, some would remark about how smelly our pigs were. 'Well,' I would think to myself, 'I haven't been to one pig farm yet that has smelled like a bed of roses.' I think it is common knowledge that pigs are not one of the best smelling animals on this planet, not even close, but that is how God made them. Over the years, my nose has been trained to not notice the smell as much anymore. When I go home to visit, that smell makes me smile because it means family, life, and love. It means MY family. It reminds me of the 21 years of MY life that I spent there, and best of all it was the place where I was taught to love and where I was most loved. Life without Love would be absolutely worthless. Without Christ's love for us, we would have no hope. As 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 

One year, my family must have been exceedingly desperate for a good backdrop for our Christmas picture, because early one Sunday morning we marched out to the closest hog building and snapped a Kodak moment that got plenty of interesting comments that December. I think that was the only Christmas picture where us girls might have complained a little more than the boys for once. Wow, so much has changed since that picture was taken. We have gone from a family of 7 to a family of 24, from peaceful to chaotic family gatherings. Ohhh, but we would not change that for anything. The additions haven't just made our family better looking, but each new family member has allowed us to open our hearts and let some of that love spill out. God is so faithful, providing plenty of love in our hearts that there is always room for another.

Off the topic, but relevant to the PIG topic, my dear cousins Krista A and Brooke F gifted me some lovely pig accessories for my kitchen. As I opened their gift at my miscellaneous shower, the letter read 'Hannah, some things you can just never leave behind.' I love the cute little pigs in my kitchen. A taste of home without the smell. Perfect!

Looking at those pigs must have inspired me because the wheels in my head started spinning. I was asked to bring dessert  to a gathering that we had been invited to this past Saturday, and I wanted to make something special for the kids. Next thing I knew, even more pigs graced their presence in my kitchen. Pinterest gets the credit, but cupcake making is so much more fun when you have cute results. The kids loved them!

I praise and thank God that he has provided my family with provision. Hard to believe that it all started with a farmer and his wife several years back, and now the farm provides for multiple families. I may be married to an accountant and live in the middle of town, but the country living is still near and dear to my heart. LIFE + LOVE, whether living in Ohio, Indiana, or Timbuktu, LIFE sure is a whole lot sweeter with lots of LOVE sprinkled on top, and I mean LOTS of it.