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June 14, 2017

Farmers in Training

On thing we love about farming is the lifestyle. (Anybody who farms sure knows it's not about the money! :)  There are not many occupations where a family can work together like we do. I love how excited our little guys get when they can tag along with Daddy. It doesn't matter how long they have to sit in a vehicle. It doesn't matter where they go. It doesn't matter how long it takes. They just want to spend some time with their Daddy. It's even more special when they get to take along a lunch. 

Although the boys love to tag along with Dad there are some who do get tired of the hours of sitting and staring out the window. They eat their lunch and then are ready to go home. But the rule has always been, if you go with Daddy, you stay until supper or until Dad comes home (or someone makes a mess in their pants:). But there are some boys who don't get bored, they are the die hard farmers. You can actually tell which ones they are right from when they are young. They play differently, they watch differently and they are entertained differently.  They can sit for hours and can play contentedly with 2 wrenches or nuts and bolts. They watch how machinery works with such intensity and fascination. They love to listen to farm conversations. Everytime they see a tractor they can hardly contain themselves. If Daddy leaves the yard and doesn't take them along it seems like the worst thing in the world. 

We have 8 boys. Out of those 8 only half of them are the die hard farmer type. The other boys still help on the farm, but it just isn't something they are passionate about. And that's good news for us because they wouldn't all be able to farm! So the farm boys? Joshua and his family are farming with us. We could tell by a very young age that Josh had the farmer gene. He spent every waking moment that he could in the field. He would ride along with me in the combine day after day in anticipation of being able to steer! Seems like just yesterday.  Jesse (14) is out there all day,  every day helping out when he can.  He really, really enjoys farming. If I ever have to drive a piece of equipment for the first time I will always call on Jesse to ride with me. Not that he has necessarily driven the machinery, but he has watched every move his dad has made and so he knows!   And then there is Eli and Mikey. They are two peas in a pod. They would go with Mark all day every day if they could. But we have found out lately that potty training really puts a kink into hanging out with daddy, and Mikey's not to happy about that! 

I am so thankful for a husband who takes the time to take his kiddos along with him. It takes a little more patience and putting up with a lot of noise in a small space sometimes but he always does it with a smile! He is a gem! 

Here are some pictures of a day earlier in spring when we were checking the crops.  

Jaden observing how you move a rock that's too big to pick by hand! 

Best way to walk the field. 

My sweet boys! 

Look mom, the seed is growing! 

Amazing! 

Little brother, big brother


Digging to see if the seeds are growing. 

Where are you little seed? 

Mikey's cheese face. 

Daddy showing Jaden how to do it.

Eli the little farmer

Mark, Josh, Jesse and Mikey playing in the dirt (farmers do that a lot!) 

Walking in their Daddy's footsteps.

1 comment:

Jennifer Penner said...

I love these pictures. <3