4-3-10 Happy Birthday Kaitlyn

Kitten Lover

Always smiling

Interesting

Tomboy

Loving big sister

Youthful enthusiasm

Nice

“Even a child is known by his [her] doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Proverbs 20:11).

We love you Kate and are so glad God gave you to us to be a precious part of our family…our one and only middle child. You’re special!

It rained overnight and some into the morning too. We girls worked like crazy in the kitchen on food prep; we made breakfast casserole (forgetting we’re not having breakfast here tomorrow because we’ll be in Bloomington), chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, Paula’s Potatoes, Potato Salad, and sausage rice casserole. Whew. We got a lot done in a short time, even though my Kate tends to get sidetracked quite a bit. She tends to stop moving when she’s talking, which is quite often. Funny how that malady doesn’t affect her when she’s working outside. Hmmm… think we have work to do there… “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little…” Our last kitchen project was Mud and Feathers (known to most of the world as Chocolate Trifle), which Kate picked for her birthday dessert.

Sarah and Jewel helped cut up potatoes for the potato salad, and Josh rearranged cupboards until his naptime. When the kitchen work was done, little girls went outside, and Kate and Tori helped me finish deep cleaning the family room. Another room done!

Dad took Jacob and Ben with him to Menards while Levi and Jesse dug out a trench for a tile in the ditch across the road. When Dad got back, a cattle buyer was here to pick up 15 steers. Then Dad and all the boys went back to Morton to get Uncle Jerry’s skidsteer and do other errands. Then Dad went back to Morton again to do payroll and another errand! Back home, the sun came out after lunch and all the kids went to inspect the boys’ work. It looks good, but then I’m really not one to judge because I know little about tiling. I guess we’ll find out if it works soon enough…

Ben and Lovey (what a BEAUTIFUL sky)

Inspecting crew. Kate didn’t want to be left out, but her book was pretty fascinating. When we cleaned out the family room bookshelves, she found some 20 books that looked good (imagine that) and is spending every possible moment reading. She was even reading while she was walking over there. Funny girl!

Jacob and Joshua (machine was NOT running at this time)

[smile]

I finally got a good pic of a cow standing in the mud/manure…that’s frequently what the kids have to work in when they chore. NOT fun!

Back on our side again, these 3 littles had a good time on the trailer.

Tiling project completed, Jacob hitched a ride with Jesse to the next project…

…moving dirt in the old calf pen…

…while Levi and Jesse, with Grandpa advising, got the gutters hooked up to the big rainwater tank for the summer.

I saw this ladder setting here and asked Tori to photograph it…I’ll look at the picture but I’m never excited about taking the picture of a fall. Yikes. (And just look at that GORGEOUS sky…)(“All things bright and beautiful…the Lord God made them all”)

Grandma Kaiser came out with Grandpa to bring Kate a birthday gift. She helped me with some patching then…which I greatly appreciated, and then read to the girls for awhile.

A couple more farm pictures that somebody took…Jacob and Ben.

Beautiful. I often think of the song I Give You Freedom: “I own the cattle on a thousand hills; I write the music for the whippoorwills; control the planets with their rocks and rills; but give you freedom to choose your own will…and if you want me to I’ll make you whole; I’ll only do it though if you say so; I’ll never force you, for I love you so; I give you freedom, is it yes or no?” How great is our God; oh that no one would refuse him.

A couple of Levi’s pigeons in the orchard.

A full Saturday, ending with a late supper and Kate’s birthday dessert and gifts (note the green grass…almost as pretty as the blue sky…)

Baths and showers, a little time in the family room while Levi ran to Walmart, then Bibletime and beds.

Quote of the day by Jacob: "I am dirted out." [smile]

And now our Kate is ten.