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.

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!!

Thankful For My Country Bike

For the past week and a half our car has been in the shop as we mentioned our breakdown and God's provision in our last post. I am so thankful for my bike, as it has been my way of transportation and hauling cargo. The Amish in our area ride bikes alot. There are many Amish owned bike shops and there is one right over the hill from the Hasseman House. You'll notice on the picture my bright orange milk cart attached on the back. I bought this from my Amish neighbor's bike shop. This is what they do to carry groceries. etc. It works really well. Just the other day I carried 4 gallons of milk plus books and produce home from Winesburg.

I also worked out a pannier set from some luggage duffel bags that works really well and I can carry alot of laundry and supplies for the Bed and Breakfast. Still, I will be glad to get the car back. But it's good to know I can get by with my bike if I need to. Plus it's good exercise :)

Piano Music at Amish Door Restaurant

I like to let our guests know that I play piano twice a month at the Amish Door Restaurant http://www.amishdoor.com/. I play the 2nd and 4th Saturday every month from about 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Amish Door has an 8 0z. sirloin special on the 2nd Saturday and a 10 oz. prime rib special on the 4th Saturday. So you are sure to get good food while I trust you listen to good music :) I really enjoy doing this and play a lot of my own arrangements. I have arranged many of the older Christian hymns into my own style. I also play classical, some jazz (Charlie Brown!), waltzes, show tunes, and many other well known songs. The piano is positioned in the front of the restaurant so ask for a seat that is close enough to hear.

I am always getting requests for a CD, so this is a project that I plan to undertake in the near future. Also requested, I like to play for our guests here at the Hasseman House Bed and Breakfast http://amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php.

I wanted to share a testimony of God's faithfulness this past week. On Tuesday all four of us were heading to a Dr. appointment, when in Kidron the car broke down. We were just able to get into the Lehman's Hardware parking lot. Since AAA only takes one person, we prayed that God would provide a way to get the girls home. Amazingly, when I was on the phone at Lehman's calling AAA, our only guests staying with us walk up to us and ask us what is going on. We told them about the car situation and it turns out they were on there way to Sugarcreek which means that our home at the B&B is on the way. What are the odds? They could have been anywhere in Amish Country. They could even have been at Lehman's - but it is such a big store they could have missed us. But they come right to where we are. God is good!!! Our guests were also encouraged to see God moving them in answer to our prayer and need. Be encouraged that when bad things happen, God is still working.

A Little About the Innkeepers

This is my first blog for the Hasseman House Bed and Breakfast we have run the past 6 1/2 years, which is a 1900 historical B&B located in the largest Amish Country settlement in the world (Holmes County, Ohio. You can check out our website at: amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php

My name is Jason Fawks, the Blogger. :) My wife is Jenny. We have been married 13 years and have two girls, Joy & Faith. Joy is 9 this coming week and Faith is 7. They are such a blessing from the Lord! We are followers of Jesus Christ and see what we do as innkeepers as not just a job, but a ministry of hospitality (Hebrews 13:2).

I have a lot of interests and hobbies. I am a pianist and I play regularly at the Amish Door Restaurant ( http://www.amishdoor.com/ ) which we are owned by (every 2nd and 4th Saturday in the after noon 4:00 - 7:30 pm). I enjoy anything outdoors like biking hiking fishing, archery, camping, etc. I also enjoy RC planes and have been having fun flying my new Super Cub around the big back yard.

Jenny is an avid reader and enjoys home life with the girls and me! She is a gifted teacher for the girls and we enjoy many of the same interests. She has a talent for ballet and for the past two years has taught a small home school group for local girls.

We feel truly blessed to be innkeepers. This blog will not just be an attempt to market the B&B, although I do hope it creates exposure for us. My focus will be to share stories from the life of an Innkeeper in Amish Country and also just share about our lives. God will always be a part of our story, because He is the Author of our story, but we're just people like everyone and want to share some of our journey with others, hoping it might be a blessing.

Yesterday my girls planted their first garden. It's not a huge plot. Maybe 10 by 4, but it's theirs. We planted it on the back patio that is down from the house and faces the alfalfa fields. The Amish "flower ladies" have been hard at work putting in gorgeous flowers around the house. I mentioned we would like this spot for the girls to work at. We home school, so this is a great opportunity for them to learn.

They did great. They planted four tomato plants, some herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, catnip) and two rows of beans. An added bonus is that the garden is right next to a sprinkler head, so there you have it. More to come and thanks for reading...................:L)