This is my first blog entry and I wanted to share about our recent visit to Holmes County, Ohio, the largest Amish population in the world. We stayed on a working Amish farm with Kathy and Willis Miller and their children, Diane 15, Krista 12, and Timmy 7.
We stayed in a suite attached to their house, complete with a little kitchen and bath. Lydia was so happy to learn that we had lights and heat, powered of course, by gas.
The children were very friendly and welcomed our girls to help with the evening chores. They fed the horses, the chickens, calves, cows, and milked the cows as well. This family is fortunate to have a milking system so it's not all done by hand. Because they have so many cows, their church district allows this.
Speaking of the church district, it was so interesting to learn about all of their rules and how each district decides the rules for their families. The other interesting thing was how they get around some of the rules! For instance, they are not allowed to have a phone in their houses, but if they have a business or a need for a phone, they can build a "phone shed" (see picture in slide show) and have it on their property! Just as long as it's not in the house.
One morning Mike and I watched out our window as the girls were walking down the road with Kathy. When they returned, they told us they had gone to the neighbor's house (not Amish) where there is a shed in the backyard which has 7 freezers belonging to 7 Amish families! How clever!
The Miller's were very warm and friendly and we all played cards (Dutch Blitz~ a favorite Amish game) each night.
The girls learned to drive a tractor, which was probably the highlight of the farm stay.
Mallory and Krista have been writing to each other and look forward to being pen pals for a long time to come. It will be fun to keep in touch with these special friends we've made in Ohio.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
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