International Guests Staying at Hasseman House

People often ask us where most of our guests come from. The answer is that most do come from Ohio and neigboring states. Many looking for a vacation in a beautiful country setting such as Amish Coutnry, but who don't want to drive to far and spend a huge amount, end up staying with us.
But we do have guests from farther away. This past few weeks have been very international for us.
One night we had some walk-ins who were two Geologists. Giuseppe was from Rome, Italy and was an really good self taught pianist. After breakfast he played some Bach pieces very well for not being able to read music.
The other scientist was from Germany and his wife from Vietnam.
I enjoy using my limited German and speaking Deutsche with a real native.
This past week we had Cornelius and Dorothee stay with us (picture above). They were traveling in the States and are from Holland. I asked them if there really are a lot of tulips and they said there are and they are very impressive.
They had heard of Corrie Ten Boom, a true follower of Christ, who was from Amsterdam and who helped many Jews escape from the holocaust. Her autobiography, The Hiding Place, is a great book and was also made into a movie. The Boom house in which many Jews were hidden is not far from where Cornelius and Dorothee live.
Having international guests is one of the blessings of running a bed and breakfast. We meet so many people from so many walks of life and from so many places in the world!

Bluegrass at the Hasseman House!!

We were really blessed last week to have the Burkholder brothers stay with us here at the Hasseman House. I had met them and their wives this past summer while playing piano at the Amish Door Restaurant (I play every Saturday from 4-7 p.m.).

Because of our common interest in music they decided to stay a few days with us and bring their guitars. On the second night we had a bluegrass session in the parlor. We sing a lot of our favorite hymns and standards. Then, Wayne Miller, from the local music group, Holmes county Bluegrass, showed up with his wife. He was invited by the Burkholder's who are some of his biggest fans :) We had a great time and played a lot of fun music together. Having opportunities like this is just one of the many blessings of running the Hasseman House B&B.

It's hard to believe its nearing the end of November and that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. May this be a time for all of us to give thanks to the Lord for all He is and the great gift of His Son, Jesus Christ!

First Fish Caught at Hasseman House Pond!

Wow, do bluegill grow fast! We just had our new pond stocked a few months ago, so I had not planned on doing any fishing until next year. Well, last night a couple came, Judy & Charles. Judy had seen on our website that we have a new pond, so she came prepared. Fishing pole and gear, along with meal worms for bait :) So we went out and within minutes she caught the first fish to be caught in our pond. Above is a picture of her bluegill. So, it's official, we now have fishing available to our guests here at the Hasseman House. Of course we threw back the fish and we will have a catch and release policy so that we do not over-fish the pond.
I decided to get into the action and grabbed my pole. I was catching small large-mouth bass right away on my Rooster Tail spinner!
We had a great time and even Joy & Faith got their poles out and caught some. Judy plans on fishing again during her three night stay with us.

We are also so excited about all that has been going on at the Hasseman House Property. This year an active Amish Farm, Wholesome Valley Farms, started up. It has been great having fresh chemical free produce available right next door. They also sell a whole line of natural foods, like Maple Syrup, local honey, and fresh ground grains. Many of our guests stop in and have really been impressed!

Last week they had the first Family Fun day which was a big success. Local vendors were making goat soap, baskets, apple butter, and other fun items. The all natural fresh potato chips cooked on the spot in a fire heated kettle were awesome. The stew and chili, also cooked on an open fire were also extremely tasty. The children also enjoyed pony rides and a jump house. We are looking forward to next year's Family Fun Day.
October is in full swing here and we are keeping busy. The leaves are turning and the weather this past week has been beautiful.

We are so thankful to God, who gives such blessings!

New Guests and New Friends - Plus Goats:)

Moshe & Rivka with Joy & Faith

Wow! It's been a while since we blogged. So much has been happening here at the Hasseman House and the new Wholesome Valley Farms started here this Spring on the Amish farm. In the last blog I shared how we had 300 chickens arrive. Well, now there are also 10 goats to add to the mix. We've had a lot of fun feeding them and one of them, Sassy, you have to watch out for :)





Joy chasing the goats








Our pond has filled up the the brim and we are enjoying the new aspect it gives to the Hasseman House property. I really enjoy flying my RC Super Cub on floats and landing/taking off on it. Many of our Guests receive an RC show in the evening when I'm out flying.





A picture of "Mary" flying - taken by Moshe






Last month we were super blessed with a couple who came as walk-ins. Moshe & Rivka Katvan are Israeli Sabras who live in New York and work as professional photographers. We really hit if off with them and when they left they were now new friends. This past week our local Bargain Hunter News Paper came out with an article on them and the shots they took of Amish Country while staying with us. Here is a link to the article: http://www.holmesbargainhunter.com/article/20110630/FEATURES/706309977/-1/hbh







This was another reminder of how much we are blessed to do what we do as Innkeepers. We meet so many interesting people and have formed so many friendships through our work here at the Hasseman House B&B. We truly see what we do as a ministry of hospitality and are reminded of the Lord's admonition in Hebrews 13: 2, " Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." We really never know just who might walk in the door when we greet our guests.

The Chickens Have Arrived!!!!!

Exciting things are happening here on the Hasseman House Property! The new Amish Door Farms is being started up this year. Our local Amish neighbors, the Keims, are heading up the venture.

A few days ago a trailer load of 300 full grown chickens was delivered to the movable chicken coop. We helped with moving the chickens from the trailer to the coop and I've never before had the experience of holding in each hand two flapping and upset chickens, upside down :) It was quite an experience!

Joy, Faith & I just got in from the first round-up of catching chickens and putting them in their coop to protect them from predators. It was like a game! The chickens were hiding under the coop, but I had an idea to use the hose I hooked up to scare them into the open. It worked and there was no harm done to the chickens except for a little water ;)

Amazingly, a few months ago we had some guests stay with us who raised chickens and told us how much fun it is. Less than a month later, when visiting the Keims, I was asked if our girls would be interested in a job of herding chickens in each night. Chickens? Yes, and had not only a dozen chickens, but 300! In big and little ways the Lord shows how He knows the desires of our hearts even before we ask Him--Psalm 37:4. Also, Joy & Faith have expressed interest in goats and horse before, and guess what?...they are in the works too. What an opportunity for them to learn elements of the Amish farm lifestyle.

Well, it's about time I blogged. I am not going to make any more statements saying I will blog every few weeks as 3 months have passed instead. But, when I can, I will :-}

Happy New Year 2011 from the Hasseman House!!

Well, Happy New Year to you all in 2011!! I have been so behind in blogging. When I started it up I blogged about every two weeks. Now it's been about 3 months since I last blogged. Isn't that how life goes. I will say though, that I was having some issues with the blogger not letting me type in the content, but finally found our that clearing the cache is the answer. Maybe that will be helpful to you all. Things are going well with us at the Hasseman House Bed & Breakfast http://amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php.

We are pretty slow as usual in January, but this is a down time that allows us to have a winter renewing. In the coming weeks I plan to share some of the special places we visited in the Holmes County in 2010. Places like Peter Dunn's and Wendell August Forge.

Our family is doing well. The picture of us was taken in December. Faith just turned 8 and Joy will be 10 in May. Wow! Does time fly. My latest musical interest is the Irish Penny Whistle. I've experimented making a low D out of PVC pipe and it works great. Plans can be found here and are a lot of fun: http://www.ggwhistles.com/howto/

I have started playing piano most Saturdays at the Amish Door Restaurant from ~ 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. I really enjoy doing this. Say hi to me if you come out sometime.

Well, hopefully my next post will not be months away. Thanks for reading and God bless!!

Super Guests/Friends Staying At Hasseman House

One of the biggest blessings of being Innkeepers is the wonderful people we meet coming into our home on a daily basis. Many come as guests but leave as friends! I wanted to highlight some of the super guests/friends we've had in the past weeks.

We were really glad to have Tina Miley and here family stay with us for four days about 3 weeks ago. They were all the way from Louisiana and biked the whole way. It was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship and left us with a lot of joy about innkeeping :)

Then we had Sam & Jill stay with us. They are international missionaries who have been back in the States for the past year. We spent hours of encouraging and challenging conversation that left us uplifted in the Lord.

Daniel & Sara Adkins had stayed with us earlier this year and then returned with a whole house of family. Daniel and his two brothers, and parents stayed with us a night. It was a great time for Joy and Faith as they had a lot of fun playing with two of the Adkin girls who are about the same age.

Kevin & Alison Lee along with their daughter Lydia stayed with us earlier this year. Lydia had seen our porch kittie, Sweetie, in the window and urged her Mom & Dad to stay:) The girls became fast friends and they returned for two days this past week. We really have enjoyed building a friendship with them. They are also a fellow homeschooling family so we have a lot in common.