Harvest In April?

Well I meant to post about our harvest way back in September, but that just didn't happen! And since my amazing daughter-in-law gave me all these harvest photos I figured they shan't go to waste so....I will post about harvest...in April!!!! Since we still have lots of snow here and are experiencing major spring fever I thought this might be good therapy....to remind us that there is hope....nice weather WILL come!!!!

As I have mentioned before, harvest is a team effort around here. Every person from the oldest to the youngest has a special part to play. It's times like this that we are especially grateful for many hands....for they do make lighter work!

Harvest is a very busy time for us. A time where we put in long days and a few hours of sleep is a luxury. The weather largely dictates what we will be doing in a day. If it is raining, harvest is on hold, but that doesn't mean we get much of a break because this is the time that all the work that has been put off is done :) For the men this time is usually used for fixing, fixing, fixing, and for the ladies it is yard work, garden work and house work.

Here's what a typical harvest day would look like for us. Now I say that very loosely because no two harvest days are alike :)

We wake up anywhere from 5-8 depending on how late our night was and what we have to accomplish before getting to the field. An average wake up time would probably be around 6:30-7:00. From the time we wake up until around 11:00 or 12:00 we basically run around madly trying to do the things that need to be done in the house, on the machinery and in the yard. For the ladies it is often laundry, house cleaning, gardening and running after kids :) For the guys it's unloading grain, moving grain, testing grain, fixing and anything else that needs their desperate attention!

Then we head out to the field when we think things might be dry and we test the grain. We use a moisture tester. I wish I had pictures to show you how we do it...but I don't. Maybe someday :) Anyway every grain has their own "dry" point. If the grain is not dry enough when we put it in the bin it could mean spoilage. That's why we test it :)

If it's dry enough, then we go go go!!!! And keep on going until we can't anymore....or until we need some sleep!!! And then we go to bed, wake up and repeat :) Except on Sundays.....God sure knew what He was doing when He gave us that day of rest!

So just to give you a visual here are a few pictures (thanks Becca) of us out in the field and those left at home to feed us :)

Let's start with the food :) And the wonderful people who bring it out to us. There is nothing more wonderful, after being in a combine cab all day, than seeing the meal truck come into the field! Yummy :)

Here is Kerri making sure everything is packed.

 Every once in awhile someone ends up without a fork or something like that....but not very often :)

They do a great job packing an average of 

10 or 11 suppers every day. 

And here is the wonderful duo working hard to feed the crew

And they are still smiling :)

Everything labeled with sweet little notes :)

The notes don't happen every day, but it's a treat when it does :)

A tradition started a few years ago to make perogies 

and send them out to the field.

It's something we all look forward to 

All the meals are delicious but not too many beat this one!

Kerri putting the potato filling in.

Frying them up

(the reason we only have them once in awhile!)

This just makes my mouth water!!!

This is Caleb and I and another passenger (not sure who:)

We have a schedule for which kiddos come out to the field. 

We rotate who they go with every day. 

This lightens the load at home and gives some great bonding time for those in the field. 

How can you not bond when you are in a small cab together for hours on end!!!

The kiddos usually bring something along to play with, read or even school work. 

They also love to listen to stories that we have downloaded on our phones.

And they even get to play on the iPad once in awhile (if they come with mom:)

The combines unloading into the grain cart. 

The grain cart then empties into the grain truck.

And the trucker brings the grain to the bins.

Unloading the precious cargo into the bin.

This is canola.

The grain cart driver, Jen....reading I think :) 

And her little sidekick for the day...Brooke

Jen sometimes gets to have a bit of downtime during the day 

while waiting for the combines to fill (depending on the type of crop it is), 

but I don't envy her because she is the only one without air conditioning :(

The trucker, Josh, and his side kick for the day (Zach I believe).

We keep him pretty busy most days :)

And then there's the cute little helpers 

ready to be taken home from the field!

And who could forget these little sweeties, 

Makayla and Elijah.

I can't believe how much they have both grown over the winter!!!

Ahhhh.....I feel much better now!!! 

Warm weather will come....it has to!!! 

And for now we will try to enjoy the slower pace of life :)

For once it gets warmer and the snow melts and the land dries.....

life will get busy because....

That's life on the farm :)

Snowy Times

Yesterday we got another dump of snow! 

This has been quite a snowy winter for us! 

So just to give you a glimpse of what our part of the world is looking like right now 

I took a few pictures for you :) 

These are some of our hay bales for the cows.....under snow :)

This is where the chickens play in the spring/summer/fall.

 Looks like they are going to have to wait awhile to get their beaks outside :)

This is how deep it was when I was taking pictures. 

This is our pond area

This is what is looks like in summer. 

Wow it's weird to seem green!

Can't wait :)

Can you see the deck? And the rock? 

Today the rock is completely covered!

Our front door

The kids play area.

A couple of weeks ago Mikaya, Josiah and Jaden 

tried to play there.

Jaden ended up losing his boot in the snow :)

The skinny path to the garage

Our trampoline frame is under that big snow bank!

Do you see why we take the canvas off for the winter?

The back door with the puppy 

who is begging to come in!

Snow as far as the eye can see!

Sad puppy!

Actually she loves the snow....

she's just trying to get me to let her inside :)

The sad puppy face doesn't usually work with me, 

but it does with the kids!

And just cause I had the camera in my hand 

and because this boy is so cute :)

I think we all have spring fever around here but it looks like green grass is a long time away!

So for now we will make the best of it and try not to get lost in the snow banks :)

Cute at it's Finest!

I realize that I haven't give many updates on our grandchildren lately! So here's a quick one.
Andy has been doing really well and we are just thrilled how far he has come so far after his very rocky start in life! It really is a miracle and we praise God often for the gift that he is to us! Even though he is still quite tiny....he is growing up! He struggles a bit to talk but we know that there is lots going on in his mind all of the time!!! Just in the past month his vocabulary and pronunciation has really improved so I am sure it won't be long and he will be talking non-stop! He loves anything that has to do with tractors or bales :) He is a true farm boy, just like his daddy was at that age! He is a loving, polite little guy and we are so thankful for him!

Makayla is already over a year old ( I know I say it all the time....but where does time go?) She is the complete opposite of Andy...out going, adventurous, and a little bit mischievous :) She is a fun loving girl and reminds me a lot of her Auntie Jen when she was little....and now too :) It's really interesting how history repeated itself. Andy and Makayla relationship reminds me so much of Josh and Jen's when they were little (not so much anymore! Jen doesn't get Josh in trouble as much!!!) Again, we feel so blessed to have this little sweetie as our grand-daughter! What a blessing she is!

And it won't be much longer before a new little bundle will be added to our grandchildren!

Becca is due with baby #3 on May 2nd! We are excited to have another little baby around again :) 

On a completely different not.....but not really....

Last Saturday we witnessed the marriage between a lovely young couple (Rebecca's sister).

Rebecca was a bridesmaid. 

She looked so sweet in her glowing pregnant self!

Isn't she beautiful!

The cutest part was this.....

Andy and Makayla were flower girl and ring bearer.

They looked so adorable!!!!

But the best part was when Andy pulled Makayla all the way up to the front 

while she just took in the adoring stares around her! 

It was so typical of their personalities. 

Andy...the focused one. 

Makayla just wants to enjoy life at her pace!

It was the cutest thing ever!!!!

And that about does is for the "grandchildren" update :)
Thanks Megan and Rebecca for all the pictures I stole off your blog :)

Time

This school year I have been going through the devotional "Christian Manhood" with Caleb and Zachary. In our study a couple of weeks ago, we were studying about time. Don't you love it when you are teaching your children a spiritual truth and it seems to hit you more than them?  I never thought this lesson would impact me the way it did....but I won't think of time the same anymore!

Time is such a precious thing, a valuable gift, yet we tend to take it for granted. Our time here on earth has been measured out by God. We don't know how much time we have here on earth. We don't know if we will even wake up tomorrow morning. We don't know how many breaths we have left in us. I find that to be a very sobering thought. Not because I am scared of dying, because I know where I will spend eternity, but because I want to know that I know that I have accomplished all God has put me on earth for.

Once time is gone....it's gone!! We can never get last year, last week, yesterday, or even the last minute back! It's gone, forever!

I think about my free time and how I use it.  I look forward to those times where I can just relax for a few minutes in the evening. Those times where all the littles are tucked into bed and I can just sit and do nothing if I want! But lately I have been asking myself....what would God want me to do with this free time? Now, don't get me wrong. I am not against relaxing....we need rest and relaxation to be refreshed. But I think that even in my relaxing moments I can use my time wisely or unwisely. What do I spend those moments doing? Fulfilling the lust of the flesh or renewing my mind and spirit?

Here's a quote from the devotional book that really made me think. "Will what you are going to do with your time affect your affections? Will it in any way block your sense of the presence of God? Will it take away your desire for spiritual things? Will the way you use your time cause you to become more materialistic? Is your first concern for lost people or for the things money can buy? If what you plan to do with your time will in any way cause you to be less interested in spiritual things, then don't do it! Many people have set their affections on things, and they have little time or interest for those who are unsaved or for helping other Christians. Are you seeking only pleasure throughout the way you use your time?"

Then there is how I manage my time. As the years went by and we had more and more children, I realized the importance of using my time wisely in our home. I found that if I didn't have some kind of a schedule in my day I would tend to waste too much time and things just wouldn't get done! There are so many things that can steal my time. Internet, books, videos, visiting friends, texting or talking on the phone....not that these things are bad, but it is too easy to get lost in them and loose all sense of time. I have a responsibility to God and to my family to manage my time wisely. If day after day the laundry isn't getting washed/folded, if we are eating too much fast food, if my house is always in a state of chaos, if my kids are undisciplined....I need to re-evaluate the way I am spending my time because more often than not, my energies have been put into the wrong places.

It takes self-control to manage my time wisely. It would be easier many days to sit on the couch and read a book rather than doing laundry, cleaning house or making meals. It would be easier to spend time on the internet and ignore the children who are running wild around me. It would be easier to watch a movie and get lost in the moment rather than address what needs to be done around me. But if I choose to do these things, I am not using my time wisely. I am being a time waster. Of course there are some days where there are just not enough hours in the day and I just have to ignore the work around me and do some relaxing but this isn't what I am talking about. I am talking about being characterized by wasting time.

So these days I have been finding myself thinking a little bit more of how I use my time. I want to use my spare time to do something that will not just be chaffed burnt up one day, but will things that will affect my eternity in heaven. I only have a short time here on earth for my life is but a vapour, it's here today but it could be gone tomorrow.

How are you spending your time?

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time because the days are evil. Eph.5:15-16

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25 Years

This fall marks 25 years that Mark and I will be married. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that we said our vows to each other, and then I look around at all of our children and realize it's obviously been a few years :)

Getting married to my husband was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I feel so blessed that God brought us together. I never dreamed that we would be where we are in life 25 years later! The journey we have been on has been an exciting one. And I can say with all my heart that I hope we will be together AT LEAST another 25 years!

So since this year marks a very special milestone I thought it might be a good time to do a series on marriage from the perspective of me, a wife.  I would like to do 25 posts on this subject, but realistically I don't think I will get there! But I will try! And because I am a wife, I am going to talk to the wives paticularily. But I believe that many of these principles can apply to both husband and wife.

So here's where you come in. Are there any particular subjects you would like me to cover? Is there a question about us (marriage related) that you have been wondering? Leave me a comment and tell me what it is :) I can't promise that I will answer every one, but I will try my bestest!

When Mark and I got married I was 18 years old. People thought we were too young.....we thought we were mature, responsible and ready for marriage. I have never regretted getting married at 18, although I wish that I had been taught a few more things about being a wife. My mom was an amazing wife to my dad, but there were many principles that she had never learned, therefore she wasn't able to pass down to me. So I had to learn as I went along and am so grateful to God for teaching me how He did. In those early years there was no one to mentor me to be a Godly wife.  No one to take me under their wing and teach me what it meant to be a help meet to my husband. That's why it's so important for me today to be that woman to other wives who are searching. I know what it's like to struggle, fail, pick myself up and cry out to God for answers. I don't regret those days, for I know that I drew closer to God while I searched my heart and His word for answers. And I am thankful that after a few years God did bring someone into my life to mentor me. Someone who took the time to listen and give advice. (thanks Helen!!!)

God has taught me many things over the last 25 years. And it is only by His grace that I am the wife that I am today. And even though I look back and see how far I have come, I look forward and see how much I can improve. I am so grateful for His constant teaching, nudging, and pruning in my life. I always want my heart to be pliable so 'He who has begun a good work in me can complete it'!

Anyway, what I am going to share is something that I think is a real important principle for a wife to practice. NEVER SPEAK BADLY, NEGATIVELY OR COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND BEHIND HIS BACK OR TO HIS FACE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE.  I cringe when I hear wives put their husbands down, or complain about them in a group of people or even just one on one. And if a wife comes and starts to do this to me, I quickly shut down the conversation, change the subject, or encourage them to honour their husbands by their words. And sadly, do you know where I have seen this happen the most? In a woman's bible study or get together. I know....I've been there....I've participated.  Really ladies, this is cheap and I don't believe it is honoring to God. Your husband has been place by God as your head. Respect that!

God's word tells us in Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." I quote this verse often to our children because  it is often needed. But  I realize how I also need to live this every day in our marriage. What purpose does putting my husband down serve? NONE!!!

 I know there are some woman who will say, "But it's just in fun!" Well....find another way to have fun....and don't let it be at the expense of your husband.

I have made sure to teach this truth to my children as well. I am very careful not to talk negatively about their Dad to them. Not that I have never done it, I am human, I have slipped. But this is something that I have been very diligent to try and live every day. I have told my girls that one day when they are married (Lord willing) if they call me up and start complaining about their husband, I will hang up on them!!!! And I mean it!!! I will not be a third party to something that should be between a husband and a wife. Not that I don't want to be there for them....I do! But all they have to say is, "Please pray." That's all I need to hear! And if they need advice on how to work on their own hearts, I will gladly give that to them to. But that's where it will end!

So I just want to encourage you ladies, speak positively about your husband....to his face and behind his back. If you have a complaint about him, don't announce it to the world. First check your own heart and then pray for his. And if we are ever talking together and you complain about me to your husband......you know what I'll do :)

Family Pictures 2012

 I thought I better post our christmas family pictures 

because come April/May they are going to be out of date!!!!!

But, getting family pictures done with this CRAZY family 

is quite a challenge!!!

For there are SOME who never seem to co-operate.

 

Some who never seem to be paying ATTENTION!!!

And they seem to think that taking a family is just a big JOKE!!!! 

 Ya, you know who you are...

trying to act all INNOCENT like!!!!

Our beautiful GIRLS

And our handsome BOYS

And here's the reason why we are getting GRAY hair!!!

And the reason why we feel so INCREDIBLY blessed!

Mark and I and our precious GRANDCHILDREN

The WELL BEHAVED married couple :)

My HONEY and I

And finally.... a picture where everyone CO-OPERATED !!!!

(Actually if the truth be told, this was one of the very FIRST pictures we took!!! 

Would have save us a lot of SMILING if we would have know that :)

 “Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, 

and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. 

Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. 

Be a person in whom they can have faith. 

When you are old, 

nothing else you've done will have mattered as much.” 

― Lisa Wingate

A Walk Of Their Own

We sometimes have to chuckle at the questions that people will ask us concerning our children. Are you ever going to let them leave home? Are you going to make them all have as many children as you? Once they are married are you going to get them to all live together on your farm (I wish!). Or are you ever going to let them get married? As if we are going to dictate what they do and say for the rest of their lives!!!

We know that some people think we shelter our children too much. We also know that they think we are often a little "radical" in the way we raise our children. So we are not surprised when we get questions like this.

We would be the first to admit that we shelter our children...and we don't see as a bad thing. We would also be the first to admit that we hope that our children will take on the beliefs and standards that we live by. We feel that is what our calling as parents is all about!

Every day we deposit things into our child's lives. Some are positive and unfortunately some are negative.  Every day we share our faith/beliefs with them....sometimes with words....mostly without. Every day our children's personality, character and beliefs are formed.

We have always made a point that our children would know why we have the standards that we do. We don't just have a bunch of rules that they need to abide by, rather we have standards that we believe God has called us to uphold.  We teach them things like contentment, love, purity, trust, submission, leadership, servanthood, generosity.  All of these things are taught knowing that it will equip them for the path that God has for them. We don't know all of the things our children are going to face in life. But we know the tools they there comes a time in their life where it all clicks. Sometimes it happens over a period of years, sometimes it is an "ah ha" moment. A time where God reveal Himself to them personally. These times are so exciting for us as parents.

I make it a point to tell my children often that God placed them in this family for a specific purpose. To equip them for the life that He has for them. He could have chosen to place them in a family with one or two siblings, but He didn't, He chose them to be born into this family. And every time their character is tested, every time things seem overwhelming or unfair, they need to remind themselves that this is exactly where God wants them to be and to know in their hearts that His ways are perfect.

Our goal as parents is so much more than making sure our children have food, clothes and education for years they live under our roof. No, our goal is to equip them to become all that God has created them to be and to give them the spiritual tools that they need to face whatever it is that God has planned for their lives. What a challenge...what a privilege!!!

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 

You shall teach them diligently to your children, 

and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 

when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, 

and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  Deut:6:6-9

To Complain or Not to Complain

Our family has been very sick over the last little while. We have had many viruses hit our home already this winter, but this one takes the cake!!! This virus is a mega virus! It wiped everyone right out for a few days (and still has some in it's clutches!) Thankfully we are starting to see some improvements. And thankfully I have been saved from this virus....only by the Lord's grace!

As you mom's know, being a caretaker of sick kids can be draining. Being up in the night with the babies and then having to take care of everyone during the day takes a lot out of you. One would find it easy to complain.

I think I have shared this before, but once when we had a newborn and I was up in the night for the upteenth time with him, my flesh wanted to complain. But then God reminded me of a friend of mine who had just had a baby as well and because of various complications, her baby had to stay in the hospital while she went home to her family. She had to drive in to the city to see her baby. As I held my little guy I was filled with such gratefulness that I was able to have my little guy home and had the privilege of cuddling him, even in the wee hours of the morning. My perspective changed.....my circumstances didn't. And that perspective has stayed with me. Every time I am up in the night with a sick child or an unsettled baby, I think of  truly blessed I am to have children to hold and cuddle.

This winter it seems I have had plenty of opportunity to chose to complain or rejoice. Granted it's not easy when our children are sick, but does that really give us an excuse to complain? Well not if we read God's word....the words that I say to my children many times over in their life time. "Do all things without complaining or disputing." Phil. 2:4  I don't see a special clause in there for mother's of sick children...do you? Or how about this one, "Rejoice in The Lord always." Phil. 4:4  And if it wasn't enough to say it once, it goes on to say, "And again I say rejoice!" Again, no special footnotes for a mom who has had a sleepless night!

Really, why do I complain anyway? Complaining makes me feel more crumby and more dissatisfied with my circumstances. It's for my good to folllow God's commands to rejoice and not complain.....this is when I will experience true joy!

Eternity

There's just something about a new year isn't there? It makes people think of a clean slate, a fresh start. This time of year it's common to hear people talk of all the goals they hope to accomplish in the new year, or what their "theme" is for the year.

I find myself thinking of these things too. I also find myself thinking "I wonder what this year will hold?" When I look back on last year, and see all of the events that took place, I wonder how this year could be any more eventful!?!?!

But I know the potential is there! Actually, just every day life is an event around here!

I find it interesting and humbling to think that God knows exactly what this year holds for me. That He know what my next moments hold. He knows what trials I will go through. He knows what victories I will experience. He knows everything about me, past, present and future.

I love to reflect on Psalm 139.

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 
5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. 19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 
21 Do I not hate thosewho hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? 
22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

As I think about my goals for the year I too often catch myself focusing on things that are not eternal. Things that moth and rust will destroy. Things that really will not matter for eternity. 

But I find my flesh fights me, it wants to focus on earthly things. I put it to death everyday. But too many times I let my flesh rule me. I get caught up in my fleshly desires and forget the things that will matter for eternity.

I don't believe it's wrong to set goals. I set goals daily, monthly and even yearly. But I believe it is wrong to let the desires of my flesh be the motivation for the goals I make. 

I need to ask myself....what is going to matter for eternity? Of course obviously and ultimately, it's where I will spend eternity. Have I done everything to insure that I am going to spend eternity in heaven? Do I live my life daily for the One who holds my life in His hands? Do I daily deny my flesh and rather live in and walk in the Spirit? (Galations 5: 24-25 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.) 

So the question I want to ask myself over and over in 2013 is....When all is said and done....When all my earthly possessions are gone....When I stand before my God face to face and give account of my life...will I be able to look back on this year....however many days that I live in it and be able to say, "I lived 2013 with eternity in mind". That's my desire, that's my goal. And I pray it will be yours too.

Beauty of Winter

Here's what we woke up to this morning! 

Even though I don't really like the cold of winter, the beauty of it often takes my breath away! 

Really pictures cannot do the scenery justice, 

but I will try anyway :)

Oh and this post was just for you Meg!!!

The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 24:1