Friday Photos from the Farm

Several weeks ago we got away to Rucker Canyon. We hadn't been away as a family for a quite a while. Farming isn't a 9-5 job, but a lifestyle. It's not something you can turn off at the end of the day. At least farming with irrigation. When you dry land farm, you plant and let the rain water your crops. With irrigation, you have pivots to make sure are running and aren't getting stuck and flooding a field.

We had received a decent amount of rainfall so that most of our pivots were off, so we escaped up into the mountains. It's hard to believe this is only about 45 minutes or so from home..... 

Anne chowing down on watermelon

feeling like a big girl

watermelon is so good. especially in the mountains!

someone wasn't feeling so social

It was beautiful. There was water flowing, so the kids could splash in the little stream. It was quiet. All you could hear was the wind in the trees, and kids squealing with delight. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs, chips and watermelon. The kids played and splashed. They sketched trees and looked up woodland creatures in their nature guide book. Dad even cat-napped on the blanket. It was lovely.

Photo Friday from the Farm.....

I thought it would be fun to add a weekly post...perhaps to make it me more disciplined in writing? or not....but photos from the farm....which of course would happen on Friday so I have the perfect alliteration going on!!! My language arts teacher, Ms. Fetterolf would be so happy...her name even begins with an F! 

So here we go...pictures from the farm.....

sunset over the mountains

corn

and more corn!

grain bins up

beautiful view

So this is a little bit of my world.....through my husband's camera phone!! He does a great job.
Life has been crazy the month of June. I am glad that we decided to take a break from homeschooling for the month. Both my sisters were out and we had a great time....making nutella fudge, canning peaches, watching BBC shows on Netflix, and reading. So.much.fun. And VBS was thrown in there and the kiddos were sick for like two weeks and we were MIA in general. So glad that's over! :)

Hope you had a great 4th of July. Maybe next week I'll have more to say....

the newest member of the family....

Meet the newest member of our family.....

This is Autumn. She is a pony that a friend of ours blessed us with. The kids are beyond over the moon. She receives lots of attention...brushing, petting, feeding, and leading around the pen. This is a total learning experience for us. The kids seem really into it right now, and I hope it will continue.

Here is our little almost ten month old....eating corn and mashed potatoes!

She is growing so fast and is so much fun. She is trying to crawl. She inches around like a worm. She babbles at you and looks at you like you should know exactly what she just said. It's so sweet.

Yesterday I took a Sunday afternoon walk up the cemetery up the road from our house. I haven't been up there yet. It might sound a little crazy, but I enjoy walking around the cemetery reading the stones, imagining the lives and stories buried there. There were quite a few little ones resting there. It makes my heart tender to think of the sorrow of those parents, and to imagine how that would feel. How could you even try to memorialize your child in so few words?

We had a winter storm over the weekend. I caught the sunset Friday night. It was breathtaking....

With the wide open spaces and the mountains in the background, God has a huge canvas to paint our evening sunsets and sunrises on. I am so thankful to be able to witness it.

That was our weekend in a nutshell.....hopefully off to a good week!!

Yes, I am still here!!!

Yes, I am still here. It feels like I can hardly find the time to check off items on my "to do" list, let alone sit down and try to compose a somewhat coherent post. And to be honest, I don't even know why life feels so busy right now. We are just doing life. School, cleaning, eating, cleaning, sleeping, reading lots of books. Not my books, but toddler books. The boy has decided he loves books. Which is so awesome, yet after the fourth book, I am feeling tired and he is just getting started. And we must read "Goodnight Moon" at naptime and bed time and he must practically punch the book out of my hand as he looks for the "mou". That's mouse for those of you who may not know Landonese! :) He has this habit of not finishing his words.
I took the tribe back to Pennsylvania in January. We were there for three weeks. My sister flew in and drove back with me. Bless her. The trip in went amazingly well. Even baby girl did awesome. Unfortunately Alaina came down with the flu on the second to last day and then Larissa got it once we got to PA which meant we were down for like a week. Then baby girl decided to push through a tooth and kept me up all hours of the night and would only sleep if she were next to me. Did I ever mention that her nickname around here is "Roo" because she kicks like a kangaroo? Seriously. I'd just fall asleep and be awoken by a kick to the gut.  And to wrap it up I got sick the last week we were in. So needless to say, we didn't run around a whole lot. Which is actually okay. We spent lots of time with just my family, which is so nice. My family are some of my most favorite people in the whole world. And I don't say that lightly, because I know there are lots of families who can hardly stand to be in the same room with each other. I know it's a rare gift, and I am so thankful for it.
The trip back didn't go as smooth. It's funny how everyone is just so excited to get to the destination, but once it's time to go home, the novelty has worn off. Plus we had to drive through snow/sleet/slush in Virginia and Tennessee, till we reached Nashville. Landon probably did the best the whole trip. He never complained. He couldn't fight with anyone because he didn't have a sister right next to him. He was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. My sweet mom volunteered to drive home with us....bless her heart. She still loves her grandkids, and that's all I have to say about that! :)
So now we are home and I am still unpacking boxes from our move the week before Christmas. Yes, who moves the week before Christmas????  And I want to take pictures of the house so I can post them, but I haven't got around to it yet.
As soon as I posted that I felt the Lord was telling my word for the year was ABIDE, I was feeling a little leery. Because I am thinking the only way I will learn how to ABIDE is by going through circumstances that require me to ABIDE. It's like saying you will never ever do something and then 10 years later God completely humbles you when you do it! And I must say there have been incidents in my life recently that cause me to step back and ask God, "where are you in this? Are you here?" So with the move comes new routine, and I am struggling here. I just can't seem to find a daily rhythm that is working for us. I used to make meal plans and for some reason lately, everything inside of my revolts at the making of a meal plan. Yet I panic the next day if I don't know what's for lunch. (We eat our main meal at lunch because I know the farmer will be in between noon and 12:30....after that it could be anywhere from 6-9 in the evening!) I don't know why I do this to myself. Making a meal plan for the week only takes 10 minutes at the most, but I just.don't.want.to.
I am also struggling with the whole media thing. For the kids. They want to play games on the ipad. They want to watch Brady Brunch reruns on Hallmark. How much is too much? I'd rather they not at all, yet at the same time technology is part of our lives and you can't just ignore it. They have to learn how to use the computer. I am at a loss. Suggestions welcomed......
One thing I just started doing, like it's the second time, so it's still totally new....is having coffee dates with my girls.  Everyone goes down for naps except the one whose turn it is, and we brew some decaf coffee and sit on the sofa and talk. About anything they want. If they want to play a game, we play a game. I actually got the idea from my sister who took each of my older girls out when we were in Pennsylvania. Today was an extra special day because our darling second daughter, prayed , confessed she was a sinner and asked Jesus to be her Savior! Praise His Name. I am so completely humbled and baffled that I got the privilege to witness that.
Sooo, that's a little of what's going on 'round here. How about you?

Ramblings

I know it's been a while since I have written....it's not as if there hasn't been anything going on. I just haven't had the time to sit down and write anything. That's not really true....there's a lot of times where I feel as though I don't have anything to say....
But I did want to share a really neat thing from over at A Holy Experience. Ann Voskamp is offering a Thanksgiving Tree. You can download the pdf and cut out your leaves. The leaves have bible verses on one side and you can write what you are thankful for on the other....

It's a great way to get the kids thinking about things they are thankful for and the bountiful way God blesses us each and every day. The link is http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/11/a-christian-family-thanksgiving-activity-the-thanks-giving-tree-free-printable/

In other news....the boy is potty training! And praise the Lord he is so much easier than his sisters! I am so thankful. This is one of my least favorite parts of toddlerdom. But he is making it a breeze. And running me out of M&Ms! But hey, whatever works, right?

My baby girl is just growing like a weed. She will be six months this month. Half a year old. I can still remember every detail of her birth like it was yesterday. It seems unreal how time is just flying by.

I got bored the other night and cut my bangs. I have inherited expressive face lines. That's a fancy way of saying I've got lotsa lines on my forehead. I thought it might be nice to hide them, hence the bangs. Now I need to get my hair highlighted to cover up all my grays. Not that I am stressed or anything....

The house is moving along S L O W L Y. We are ready for carpet except we have been waiting on closet doors for the last two months. Yes, TWO months!!!! I won't say from where, but now it looks as though they should be in Black Friday. Who wants to go pick up closet doors on Black Friday? Not this girl. You couldn't get me within five miles of a store on Black Friday. Guess it's good I live at least 30 miles from any store!!! :)

I think the reason I haven't had anything to write about is because I haven't been reading any mind stretching books lately. That could be because I have all my books packed up because I thought we'd be moved by now!!! Of course, I have been trying to read my Bible everyday, although I totally missed the last week of October. My mind should be stretched by reading that alone, however I think my approach to my Bible reading is wrong. I rarely pray before getting into the Word and ask God to show me something new. I need to start doing that. God's Word is alive and I need to approach it that way. Not in a familiar, nonchalant, indifferent way.

We are supposed to get really cold this weekend and possibly get snow up in the mountains. I put flannel sheets on all the beds in anticipation. I heart flannel sheets. They are so cozy and comfy. Too bad I live in the high desert where we hardly ever get snow. I love all the cold weather clothes but by lunchtime out here you are ready to break out the tank tops.

One of my oldest friends, we've known each other since 3rd grade (her) , fourth grade (me) is coming to visit me tomorrow! She's expecting her 4th in February and I can't wait to see her in all her pregnancy glory. I miss these things because we don't live near each other. I wish Pennsylvania was New Mexico. Life would be so much more convenient.

Well, my baby is starting to stir, so I must go. Have a great weekend!

Alaina turns 7

Time is just flying by this fall. I had every intention of getting birthday pics and a birthday tribute done LAST weekend, but here it is, over a week later!

Our sweet Alaina turned 7 last Saturday, the 13th. I can't believe it. I was pregnant with her when we moved into this house, and in the next few weeks we will be moving. It's kinda bittersweet. Lots of good memories here...four babies born here. But Alaina was our first and oh, what a time it was. She was and is our only baby born without our midwife present! She talked dad through everything on her cell phone as she was flying down Davis Road to get here! You can read more here. But everything went perfectly and we have had the privilege of having Alaina in our family these last seven years.....

Our  birthday girl requested spice cupcakes with nutella buttercream frosting. For those of you who pinterest, you may have seen the recipe floating around. Well, we tried it, and it was good!

spice cupcakes with nutella frosting

Our sweet birthday girl!

He's just here for the cake!

Happy Birthday to you!

Singing to the birthday girl

Grandpa teasing her with blowing out the match

She got it!

We had a fun evening with Grandpa & Grandma Zuck. Life has been crazy around here with harvest, house and everything else going on. It was nice to just hang out and be silly. :)
Alaina got an adventure backpack for her birthday which includes a sketchbook, magnifying glass, binoculars, flower press, butterfly net, and field books for identifying birds, insects and wildflowers. She and her sisters have been out catching bugs and butterflies to examine more closely. She also received a butterfly pavilion which we now have 12 caterpillars in which we are watching. They will turn into Painted Lady butterflies.

We love you sweet Alaina. You are so fun, very laid back, and we couldn't imagine life without you. Happy Birthday!!!!

The Farmer's Favorite Time of Year....

Yes, we have begun the most favorite time of year around here.....HARVEST!!!

My father in law is running the combine, my husband is driving the tractor and cart

My father in law is retiring this year....so I am sure it's somewhat bittersweet.

Landon waiting his turn to ride

Big sister just got done with her turn

Love this picture of him watching

Landon has become very attached to his "mammer". It goes everywhere with him...even to bed!

Here they come!

Love that picture of the harvest with the mountains in the background.

Filling up

Like father, like son.

Harvest is probably one of the most anticipated times of the year for a farmer. You get to bring in all that hard work and see how you've done. All those hours of working ground, planting, fertilizing, watering, and babysitting pivots is finally over! The kids look forward to combine and tractor rides. I look forward to being able to see again and not be enclosed by corn on all sides! :)  Plus it means the winding down of another year. The morning starts aren't as early, and the work day isn't as long. I especially like that!

But that's what's going on 'round here....for probably the next month or so. Then it's the holiday season. All ready!!! Time is just a flyin' by.....

And the boy turns TWO!

Earlier this month, August 5th to be exact, our lone boy in the bunch turned the big TWO! Time is just a flyin' by! I did manage to get a few photos to memorialize the day....

Tools! He was so excited to have his own hammer and drill and measuring tape....instead of trying to sneak off with daddy's!

Lighting the candles.....

Getting too excited and blowing out the one before we were done singing!

Lets try again!

He did it! Be still my heart, how his smile melts me!

Landon is two. Already. What a bundle of fun he is! He is very hardheaded, literally and figuratively. He can do a pretty good headbutt. He can also be VERY stubborn. But, according to Dr. Dobson, that means he will be a leader in the future.....right?!?!?! He's very quick to help. I love the way he leans down or squats and watches everything you do so as soon as you turn your back, he can do it himself.  When Landon's in trouble he will come over and hug you and say "sorry." And when he asks you something, he usually ends it with "K?" 

We love you so much Landon Boy, and are so glad you are a part of our family!!!!