Harvest 2009

We have wrapped up our first full week of harvest! Today is Sunday and I am so glad we shut everything down for some rest and family time. Both are desperately needed after a week of working long hours and the kids being shuffled to grandma's house everyday.
I'm nursing a nasty sore throat and generally feeling really sickish so I'm hoping some rest (and lots of hot lemon and honey) will have me back in working form tomorrow.

The kids usually join us in the field at dinner time which is brought to us by my mom...who is also babysitting my three kids. Auntie Odette was around this week and my kids loved hanging out with her. She was a great help on the home front while her husband helped in the field. Harvest on this farm is a family affair, usually involving three generations. A few years ago we had 4 generations out in the field eating dinner together. That's farm life. The kids have all had a turn riding in the combine with mom or dad.

Here is the view out the front window of my combine. We've been harvesting red lentils, green lentils and dry yellow peas this week. That's a lot of soup! As semi loads of lentils role out of the field its fun to think of all the people who will have dinner on the table somewhere in a foreign country. Its neat to be part of that process.

It was hot this week. Its been beautiful warm dry weather which is perfect for getting a crop off. Next weeks forecast looks good too.

Dinner in the field is a tradition that goes back as far as harvest itself I think. My mom brings us out one hot meal and we pack a lunch in a little cooler for the rest of the day. Its my one chance to stretch my legs and get the blood flowing again. I usually opt to stand and eat :) Sitting in one place for 10 or more hours a day can really be hard on a body...especially one that's used to movement. I enjoy the work though and its a fun change from housework. The work I accomplish in the field actually stays done for a year!...unlike housework which is never done. I enjoy listening to my satellite radio. My hands are always busy, steering with one hand and the lever and buttons in the other. I don't really get bored because there is always something to be paying attention to....besides I'm totally OK with boredom :)

Dumping some green lentils into the semi.

Tomorrow is Aili's 8th birthday! I don't know what she was thinking being born in the middle of harvest. ;)
I need to get my body in gear today and make a birthday cake, put up decorations, wrap a present, stuff a pinata, and get ready for tomorrows party. She's having 5 girls over for a "High school Musical" party after school. Tomorrow is their first day of school. What a way to celebrate a new school year. I need to remember to get all their school stuff gathered and packed for tomorrow morning too.

I will be out in the field most of the day while the kids are in school ,but will leave work early to party with my girl.
My plate is a little bit more full than normal right now....so I'm a little frustrated that I'm feeling less than my usual healthy self.
This is the nature of harvest on the prairies though....a crazy busy pace.

Kid Talk

I admit, I am really bad at recording all those wacky , adorable things kids say. I have posted them on occasion here but I'm usually stuck with..."I know she said something funny but I can't remember what it was".
So in an effort to record ,for posterity sake, some of the cute things my kids say:

Here are a few recent Romanism's

"Mom, if I was out playing at the tree house and a war broke out ,I think the best thing to do would be hide...but it would be really dumb to hide in the canons. "


" Mom, if you ever find food at an antique store, don't eat it".


I'm so glad someone in our family thinks of these things. I for one would be completely without a strategy if a canon battle broke out in Hickville. If I ever come across an eighty year old twinkie (probably the only thing that would last eighty years) at an antique store I will definately follow his advice.

Last night we were driving home from the lake. It was our church's annual day at the beach. We were looking out our car windows and commenting on the beautiful prairie sunset. A couple minutes later Roman very softly and seriously said

Roman: "Hey mom? Could you open my window for a second please?"

Mom:" why do you need your window open honey?"

Roman:" I want to put my face out the window so I know what the sunset feels and smells like."

Mom:(opening window and smiling)

Roman: "aaahhh...thanks mom"


You know, in all my days I have never wondered what a sunset felt or smelled like.
That's something I love about this boy...he always looks at things just a little differently and notices things we overlook.

He experiences the world intensly through both his imagination and through his senses. Two usually contradictory ways of experiencing the world .
He hasn't fully appreciated something until he's caressed it, smelt it, and maybe even tasted it.
Take for example new paint on our wall or our new basement bathroom ceiling tiles.
"Hey Dad? Can you lift me up to feel the ceiling?....oooh they are really nice."
"Hey Dad? can I feel the new paint on the wall?...wow that's a really nice color"

Physical touch has DEFINITELY always been his love language too. He's an expert at giving it out but I have to make sure he gets enough coming his way too.
He gets off balance so easily. Sometimes it just takes upping the amount of snuggles, head caresses or back rubs to get him back to his pleasant enjoyable self.

He's a complex little boy full of extremes and full of paradox. Life is never dull with my little Romeo around.


Last night when we got home from the lake late and dirty. The main floor bathroom door had blown open which is usually firmly shut to keep in the construction mess( it was torn apart this spring but has yet to be reconstructed). I muttered to myself while hauling my brood to the basement for a shower that 'it will be nice to have a main bathroom again". Silas exclaimed ,with a shake of his head and his hands in the air.
"Daddy broke it!....it not my fault!."
Can you tell he has older siblings? :)

Country Kids the Sequel

The boys, their Dad and their Grandpa were burning up some old wooden grain bins that had piled up. What a show that was for the boys (Aili was having some one on one girl time with Grandma that day.) They both asked if we were going to have marshmallows. :)

Nathanael's former firefighting skills still come in handy every now and then :) The fire was getting too hot too fast so they kept it burning a little more slowly with some water.
They would never burn without the farms water truck near by.

Roman having fun on one of the "new-school" grain bins. Out with the old...in with the new.
Who needs monkey bars when you have stuff like this to monkey on?

I've been reading the book "Wild Things. The art of nurturing boys" and it is SO good. I love how it really helps me (as someone who has never been a little boy) understand how they are wired and what makes them tick. It sure helps me as a parent understand what they need from me and truly appreciate how God made them.
One of my favorite quotes in the book so far is:
"boys bear a unique image of our wild, playful and imaginative Creator"
I love that!
I think boys in their element doing what God wired them to do makes God's heart happy.

I think this one has an extra charge of voltage running through that wiring! :)

Future farmer? This boy has always been crazy over trucks and tractors. Roman is more likely to run off into the field in search of an adventure or find something to climb. Silas will run straight for something he can "drive".

Country kid pictures

Her shirt says "Total Girl".
I love this age when being all girl still means building tree forts.

He is proudly showing off his new "bench". He gathers sticks and props them up all over making shelters and spots to sit.
He looks like a little beaver with all his piled up sticks.

I love this picture of Roman. This is so him. Lost in his own imagination, unaware of anyone or anything. No end to the adventures and possibilities. I love the way God made little boys! Nature is his favorite playground and school right now. He learns and discovers so much.

All three kids having some old fashioned outside fun.
I wish I could post more than 4 photos at a time but with my slow speed it just doesn't work. I will post another batch. Country Kids the Sequel. :)

Family Time

One of our favorite things to do together as a family is go for after supper bike rides. It does take a bit of effort to get our lazy parental butts out of the house after a long day of work (at home and outside the home) but we really enjoy it once we get out there. Being active as a family is important to us. Like everything else involved in parenting; kids learn best by their parents setting the example.
Its so nice that the "big kids" are now old enough to have bikes (and bike riding skills) to keep up on a real family bike ride. (In case you are counting there is a neighbor girl along for the ride).
Its fun time spent together and its great exercise....which is important for us "30 something" parents :)

Yes, Roman is wearing his spider man pajamas. I can't remember why , but for some reason he had showered and got ready for bed early that evening. We decided afterwards to go for a bike ride and it wasn't worth having him change. The gravel road and the trees don't really care anyway.
We got him his first training- wheel- free bike this spring. He was ready for it years ago but keeping him on a little slow bike had its benefits...less trips to the ER. He's been riding since shortly after his 2nd birthday. Keep in mind we only have a few months out of the year to ride bikes up here.
This spring it took about 3 seconds to show him how to mount and balance on his big kid bike and he was off. He hasn't looked back since. Within a couple days he was building jumps and within a week he was doing this!
What a stunt boy.
Roman LOVES his bike.

Silas likes his new seat too. He sits in a child seat in front of Dad and feels like he is really riding a bike. He even fights with Daddy for control of the handle bars. :)

Its that time of year again. We are gearing up for another harvest. We could be harvesting lentils within the next few days. We have had SO much rain and cool weather lately that we are pretty late getting started. I'm picturing a muddy harvest!
Considering our tendency for drought we hate to complain about moisture but some dry weather would be ideal for getting this crop off.

I must admit I feel a little unfocused this year. We've been thinking so much about our post harvest move to Mexico that its hard to focus on what needs to get done first. I have been filling my freezer with baking (buns, muffins, cookies) in preparation for packing field lunches and back to school lunches though so I guess I haven't lost focus completely (I just run mental packing lists through my head while doing it :)

Its been SO nice to have some chill time at home to recover from our slightly hectic summer and prepare for the next season. A couple weeks ago all the kids were burnt out and grumpy. This week they are back to their normal cheerful cooperative selves. Its amazing what a bit of routine, some decent sleep and some quantity (not just quality) time with mom will do for a kid!

I miss and think about "Cub" a lot , but I must admit I am enjoying how much more time I have in the day and how much more energy I have to pour into my own kids right now.
Considering the major life changes that lie ahead I think God knew we needed that time to re-group as a family.

A Positively Peculiar Post.

I had begun making Pizza for supper last night when our party girl Aili had an idea. "Let's have a "p" party since Pizza starts with "P"! Our perky party planner was persuasive and persistent. She then proceeded to demonstrate her party planning prowess. "Are there peppers on the pizza? do we have pepperoni? Do we have any peas? What about pop?"
Peppers definitely, pop no, pepperoni...well I have turkey sausage , close enough.
Our supper, provided by the lovely kitchen personnel, was both punctual and palatable.

Much to our pleasure we were seated on pillows, dressed as princesses and princes, used place mats, wore our pajamas , drank punch and ate pizza. The party was positively perfect.

I can assure you there were no "p" jokes happening at this table. That would be preposterous.

What "p" party programme would be complete without after dinner entertainment?

What a performance.
Applause please.


p.s I presume you found your peek into our peculiar and playful family particularly pleasant.

13 years!

Thirteen years of living life together.
We began as two young people, taking our first step into the world of adults, full of hopes and dreams. Thirteen years later we have laughed and cried, shared sunshine and storms. We've celebrated carefree days and helped each other through long troubled nights. Your support and love has made my blessings more meaningful and my heartaches easier to bear.
We have been through so much together.

Two kids began a journey together, no money, no education, and no idea what what it meant to be married. That long haired mountain boy and that wide eyed farm girl had everything going against them. According to statistics they should have gone their separate ways years ago.
Thirteen years later we are still hand in hand waiting to see what God brings around the next corner.

It hasn't all been easy. We've had our share of hard times and disappointment along the way.
There were days and years when it seemed it would be easier to cut our losses and walk away from the life we had begun.
With God's help, and because of our enduring commitment to each other ,we have made something beautiful.
Two imperfect people in love with a perfect God.
Two imperfect people learning a little more every day how to love each other as God intented.

In 13 years we have lived in 3 different countries, 5 houses (not including camping trailers) and have had many different jobs. We have made 5 children, 3 of which we have the privilege of loving here on earth. We have opened our hearts to 5 other children for various lengths of time as well. Life has never been dull but there is no one I'd rather share this adventure with!

One of the greatest gifts of our relationship is the comfort of always knowing I can be myself with you.
I can be silly, serious, spazzy, spontaneous or sad and I know when I need a friend ... I never have to be alone.
You accept me for who I am but encourage me to be the woman God intended for me to be.
You have taught me what loving unconditionally means.
True love is a choice..we have chosen to love even when love gets hard.
The beauty of our love ,that was founded on commitment and established by effort, is that it has been freed to grow into something pure and passionate.
We left behind all false expectations and selfish ambitions long ago.
Our marriage has been refined in fire and has come out pure and lasting.

You are my best friend and my one and only.