In Response

Well as you could tell by Megan's last post, my girls can hardly stand it when I leave my blog neglected. I am glad they keep me on my toes! Lately time has been hours turned into minutes turned into hours turned into days and before I know it a whole week is over! How time flies!


Let's start with the chicken pox. Wow, where do I start? Really, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I felt bad for the youngins' and there was really not much I could do besides smother them in anti-itch stuff.  It hurt them even to be touched, so looks of sympathy were about all I could give. They really were troopers through it all! I am so proud of them. Even Joey, though he was a very miserable boy for a few days, did really well. I have never seen a child so covered in anything! Literally from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Finally the spots are starting to disappear. And the noisy household is back! I like quiet sometimes, but if it means my kids have to be sick to get it, I would rather not!!!

Ok, now onto life on the farm. The guys have been working at getting lots and lots of grain hauled into the elevators. The drive is about an hour one way. Three loads a day x 2 hours a load = lots and lots of driving in a week. But the prices we are getting for the grain make it all worth it! Joshua has been doing most of the hauling while Mark keeps things organized here at home. What a blessing to have such a capable and hard working son!

On another farm note, calving has begun on a sad note. We have had one calf so far, and that calf didn't survive. We think it was probably premature. There should be more calves to follow real soon. I love this time of year. There is just something so beautiful about new life.

Talking about new life, we are not seeing anything new in the weather. We are still living in a deep freeze and I think that most Manitobans would agree with me when I say, I WANT SPRING!!!!! There, I said it, I want spring, I really do!!!! There is one thing I can be thankful for when it comes to the freezing cold.....NO MUD!!!! On kind of another note, since it has been so cold for so long we have almost run out of wood to keep our house warm, so we get to have some more bonding time soon and will be going to the bush and getting more wood! Should be fun! Memories.

Because it has still been cold we have still been playing lots of hockey. I wish we would have counted the hours we spent on the ice this winter....for it was many many! What a great motivation to get some fresh air and exercise! So thankful for a husband who has put so much time and effort into doing something like this for our family to enjoy together!

We hauled in 2 loads of cattle this week. Another long drive, 2 hours one way. Every year around this time we sell our 2 year old fattened cattle. Soon someone will be enjoying some really yummy beef! We also filled our freezers right full with hamburger, steak, roasts, and farmer sausage a week ago. I am so thankful to be able to grow and enjoy our own beef! The kiddos take turns coming with us. They come in pairs. It is a highlight of the year for them. When we came home the other night Mikaya knew it was Brooke's and her turn next so she came to me right after supper and asked when we were leaving. I clearly explained that we wouldn't be going again for a lot of sleeps. She seemed to understand and went running off to play. Then a few minutes later she came back and asked if we were going right now!!!! Silly girl :)

The other day I was holding Jaden and he was gnawing on my hand and all of a sudden I felt something sharp! Sure enough I felt his little gums and he has a tooth on the bottom! Not sure why I am so surprised? He is over 7 months old! He just seems so much bigger now! Of course the way he pulls himself all over the floor helps him seem bigger too!

I always have to chuckle at how I teach and teach and teach our toddlers to share and then they share half of their potty treat with their 7 month old sibling and I freak out!!! That's what Joey did to Jaden the other day, just popped it right in his mouth. Thankfully Brooke was there watching the whole thing, so we took it away quickly. Then I had to go on to explain to Joey, who was so proud of himself, that he must not share his food with Jaden! I guess we'll find out if he got the picture. It is so sweet to see the special bond that these two brothers have. They communicate in their own little way. For all I know they could be making plans of mischief to be carried out a year from now. Maybe I should learn their language! ;)

Since Megan wanted me to update the blog I must tell you a couple of things about her. She got braces. This is something that dentists have been wanting to give her for years but we never felt it was the right time. Then a few weeks ago, a very sweet dentist friend offered them to her at no cost! We were so blown away by this couple's generosity! What a blessing they have been. Her mouth was very sore for a few days, but now she can eat well again! Oh, I should tell you why she has braces. She has a tooth on the top that is way up in her gum, so the top braces are to pull that tooth down into place.  Also I need to tell you that Megan got a different camera plus a lense she has been wanting. She found a great deal on a used one and after lots of research and pondering she decided to get it. I was very proud of her and the way she didn't just jump at the first camera she saw and liked. Instead she looked carefully at her options and made a great choice. She is looking forward to doing  a photo shoot of 2 adorable twin girls soon. And of course she has already done a photo shoot with Jaden. Apparently he really did not co-operate though. I guess he thinks it's his job to challenge her on her baby taking skills!!!!

Jen cut all the boys hair this week. They really needed it a couple of weeks ago but they got the chicken pox and it has taken until now for enough of them to be scabbed over so it wouldn't be painful. They look like different boys!!! It's amazing what a simple haircut can do!

Kerri took over my recipe blog since I wasn't doing much with that either. She likes to cook and bake so I am sure she will keep it up much better than me. She is also working on organizing all of our recipes! Mark got me this Demy for my birthday last year so we have been working at getting all of our recipes in there. Slow process, but it will be great when it is finished!

I have been working really hard this school year on getting the boys to memorize more scripture verses. Lately I have given them a little extra incentive. After we are finished our devotions I ask them to recite a verse and the reference from the list that we have been learning. For each verse they say they get a animal cookie and if they can say the verse and reference they get 2 animal crackers. They each take turns and each verse can only be recited once each morning! So far it's worked really well. I am so excited to have them hide these verses in their hearts for the times when they need to draw from them. We have covered topics like obedience, truth, wholesome talk, diligence, Godly thoughts....and more that I can't think of right now. Megan laminated them all and we hung them on the wall. It was great until Joey figured out that sticky tac has the consistency of gum and proceeded to take them down and remove the sticky tac and chew on it!!!! So now over half of them are down, waiting for me to buy more sticky tac!!! I wonder, with all the people we have in this house, how he can get away with this and not be caught! I think he is sneaky!!!

If you have read Jen's blog you know that Mark and I are on a little get-away. We usually go away for a couple of get-aways in a year. Nowhere far, just time away to focus on our relationship. We go for Mark's birthday and then again for my birthday/our anniversary which are 5 days apart. But this one here is a bonus, a calm before the busy. When we get home calving will be in full swing and before we know it, it will be seeding and then things stay busy until fall. So I am thankful for this time away, I am thankful for wonderful, responsible (don't let Jen's posts fool you :) children at home, who are taking good care of things! What a blessing they all are!

Well, by now I am sure that you are sorry I even attempted to update this blog!!!! Talk about random, ramblings!!!! I'm scared to even scroll to the top and see how long this is!!!! And unlike Megan, I did all words and NO PICTURES....sorry Meg!!!  So until next time...whenever that may be :)