3-20-11 Cookie Monsters

I was home again today with five kids who had coughs, runny noses, etc… I’m thankful for online streaming so I could listen live. TakeAway for the day was a word picture of a table set for two people, and just one person sitting there…much like when God is ready for me, waiting for me to open His book, waiting for me to speak with Him.  Morning time in the Word is so important, but sometimes for us Moms it just doesn’t happen that easy…when little ones wake up before we’re ready for them, or we’re up during the night with sick children and they finally settle down, so we finally get some much-needed rest, only to wake up behind before we even get out of bed… of course we should spend time with the Lord first, but often it doesn’t happen that way. Rather, our day is greeted with a chorus of “MOM” and the baby crying for us, and the phone ringing… and we’re off…without our morning breakfast with the Lord. BUT… God also gives us His utmost understanding and mercy; He knows EXACTLY why we skip that time, and He gives us His help, grace, and strength anyway…which we KNOW we need but sometimes it’s so hard to stop mid–task or mid-discipline and ask for it. So if we can’t stop and ask…we should just keep going, and keep asking as we go. He shall…gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11.  I need that promise…and I suspect all Moms do from time to time; we don’t want it to be a pattern, no, far from it. Our normal schedule should have our spiritual breakfast with the Lord at the top.  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2. How thankful I am for my morning breakfast with my Lord…and also for His promises when I miss breakfast.

Enjoyed a beautiful walk with Dad after the usual rowdy home-coming from church…and a fun walkabout the farm…and oh, the kids had a ball outside, as it was about 65 and sunny!!! Love it!!!

:)

  Dessert for supper was a rare favorite ... I didn’t think Jacob would eat all this…but  he did!!!!!!

This was Jesse’s.

These two shared…

…and there were no leftovers from anyone!

Good-night!

3-19-11 Woodchopping

Today we all got in on the fun of cleaning up a HUGE sprawling old (57 years, I was told) hedge tree at Uncle Harley’s cabin. A tree company had cut it down, so we just had to chop it into smaller pieces. In case you don’t know much about hedge trees, the thicker branches are very thorny, so tonight our troops have many battle scratches from the day. Thankfully though there were no major accidents. AND, it was a BEAUTIFUL day!

My first view of the site – looking east from our road. The stump is visible slightly to the lower right of the center of the picture, and the branches are to the left of the stump. Rascal was so funny—we decided she has some shepherd in her, as she very capably rounded up the steers in the corner of the pasture.

Beautiful sky – looking west.

Jesse’s nice little fire.

Dad ran the chain saw, with Levi pulling the branches away from him.

Many hands took branches to Jesse’s fire…

Levi took a turn with the chainsaw.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day?!!!!!

 

Littles did some helping at  first, but with branches flying everywhere and things moving pretty fast, they were soon happy to watch.

About the time littles got bored it was time for lunch which as everyone knows always tastes better outside!!!

Just resting!

Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. James 3:5

 

Lunch break!!

 

 

Much progress made!!

 

Taking a load of wood to Dave’s woodpile.

 

When Dave joined the crew, they let the fire spread to burn off the weeds and tall grasses.

 

“Hi, Mom!”

 

Heading back home with Jewel & Josh.

 

Wood for the winter. Actually it won’t be for several winters yet, as it was completely green. Everyone got a good dose of sap by the end of this job!

 

So ended the woodcutting part of the day – and fencing comprised most of the rest of the day for the men, with girls doing some cleaning and odd jobs in the house for me (and Levi milked).

And then we thoroughly enjoyed our supper at Bob Evans! No wait, good food, reasonably priced, and best of all – great atmosphere. No alcohol, loud music, blaring televisions, or lights flashing. Mostly older people, although we did see some folks we knew – but definitely a notch above other restaurants to which we’ve gone.

That’s it!

3-18-11 Swing ‘n’ Spring

Yesterday was so nice out – high of 70 or so we heard. It certainly felt like it. Oh the fun of swinging in spring!

 

Guess who?

Tori and Jacob were hard at work stake-ing while the rest of us were swinging.

This was taken today. Looks like the yard is a little greener.

The blue sky was beautiful beyond words.

Josh thought he was pretty cool ‘driving’ the four-wheeler.

For the record – the tiling company has been out putting markers in the field, and the report was that there is tilling equipment in the south grove. Maybe soon we’ll see some action here…

3-17-11 Hey Kids…

Today is March 17. Know what that means? (Probably not.) Well, it means that it’s been exactly 2 months since we signed Jesse up for his first college class.

Have you noticed that the basement looks much better these past couple of days? We can actually use our ping pong table again. These last few weeks it has been overtaken…by Political Science 115.

When we signed Jesse up for this class, nowhere in the course description was there any hint that it required a research project with its accompanying endnotes plus reference synopses plus a full bibliography. We didn’t know what we were getting Jesse into. But. Forty references (several 200+ page reports, like the ones from the CBO and OMB) and countless hours later, a well-written 46-page paper resulted. We survived.

So what did we learn?

First, Jesse learned how to write a research paper. It rivaled any of Dad’s college research projects in his four year career and quite handily surpassed anything Mom ever attempted at U of I. What Jesse learned these past weeks will serve him a lifetime as he continues his college career and beyond. Whether used for an academic, political, professional, social, personal, Biblical or any other reason, the skill of written communication is a powerful tool.

Second, we learned that parents can teach their own kid how to write a 46-page research paper. Sure it was hard, but Dad & Mom wouldn’t trade those teaching moments for anything. Teaching moments…like when Dad lost his cool and used a household forbidden word one late night. Dad learned (again) how to apologize and ask forgiveness. Teaching moments… like Mom just being in the room and available, giving Jesse the confidence and support to keep plugging away when he was ready to quit. She was the cheerleader from start to finish. Mom learned (again) to just be there. Teaching moments…like when Jesse would get so tired of our editing and discouraged that this paper was never going to get done. He learned it takes perseverance and hard work to write 46 pages. He did it, and he did it well.

Third lesson. Life isn’t always fair. During this last two months, Dad & Mom spent a lot of time with Jesse, teaching, researching, reviewing, editing, proof-reading, and cheerleading. The rest of you got slighted on time with Dad & Mom, but hey, sometimes that’s how it goes. There are many times when life isn’t fair between you kids. Like when we spent $5,000 on Tori’s braces. And when Mom spent extra hours teaching Jacob to read. And when Levi had heart surgery. And when Joshua is sick and needs Mom. And this fall when we built Levi’s pigeon coop.

But you know what?

That’s what makes us a family. We pull together, buck up, and get ‘er done. Regardless of whose turn it is. Or what it takes. Through thick and thin, rain and sun, we’re there for each other.

Saturday night - you kids pick the place. The Kaisers are going out.

Keep on keepin’ on.

Dad & Mom

3-16-11 SUN!!!

Yep – all day long, starting with this beautiful sunrise.

Lovin’ to be outside.

Brownies for snack on the Oregon Trail. Jacob and Ben weren’t ready for the picture.

Ben was the teacher. They had school and church at one of their camps. Too much fun :)

I really don’t know why this turned out so odd, with the barn looking like it’s going to topple over, but it’s a pretty picture anyway. The sky was beautiful.

We’ve seen predictions of 60 degrees for the next week or so, so we’re going to take a picture every day and watch the meadow turn green.

 

Potholders by Kate.

After supper and k.p., Dad and I took a wonderful walk, and then Dad helped get the kids set up for stake production tomorrow.

So fun to be outside after supper.  Then… all in for Bibletime, baths, and beds for littles. Levi & Jesse have been working a late shift at PP and got home around 9:30 or so. It was good to catch up with them (and Tori) with the rest of the house quiet. Love our times with our young adults.

Thank you Lord for another beautiful day - - especially for the sunshine. Surrounded by such peace and beauty, it’s difficult to imagine the unfolding catastrophic threat of a nuclear meltdown on the other side of the world. Be with the Japanese, Lord, as they desperately strive to prevent this tragedy. Be with their country as they still reel from the earthquake, its aftershocks, the tsunami, and this nuclear crisis. Draw them to You, O God.

3-15-11 Gray Tuesday

We here at this house are ready for a few days of warmth and SUN. Come on, spring.

Not much is happening lately, just life as it happens… school, work, and play, hopefully with the proper balance of it all.

Duplos once again.

Weaving pot holders has been a fad around here lately. Josh even gets in on the action.

Tori worked on pruning this afternoon while Jacob, Kate, and Ben hauled manure out of the chicken pen. Someone thought we needed a picture of this, so I better post it.

Joshua’s attempts to help didn’t go the best.

Rat trapping continues. Total count now (carefully monitored) is 31.

Kate took this picture for me…just beautiful.

The heavens declare the glory of God… Psalm 19:1