Yesterday, Ladger came home just before supper - sick! He finished seeding the spring wheat but just couldn't hang in there any longer to start durum - poor guy. And then later we heard that his dad got sick a couple of hours later that same evening. And I also fell victim to the nasty bug! So Ladger and I weren't into eating supper but I had two hungry boys on my hands. I managed to cook up some rice and put it on the table and left the boys to manage on their own. Rory was great - filled Paxton's bowl and his own; put on some soy sauce; and the two of them were standing on chairs at the table eating away! Yes, Paxton now climbs on top of the kitchen chairs by himself (and can get down on his own too).
I couldn't hang around too much because even the smell of cooked rice was making me ill. But we all survived to tell about it. Ladger is feeling better this morning and off to the field he went. The boys are pretty much back to normal and I'm much better although sticking close to the washroom and still not willing to eat anything. It's beautiful outside so I may see if I can get up the energy to do some work in my flowerbeds later. A little fresh air surely wouldn't hurt the bunch of us!

Today is going to be a 'house' day (at least this morning) because it's gray and cloudy outside and I wouldn't want to be outside. Besides my house needs some TLC right about now. I started a load of laundry and now it's time to tackle the kitchen and bathrooms. Paxton and Rory have some bug that causes them to throw up once in awhile. It's a pretty mild case though - both seem to be feeling fairly normal otherwise.
Paxton is sitting here with me. He likes shaking his head back and forth. When I do it, he laughs.
Yesterday, I bought three tomato plants, one basil, two cantaloupe, and two watermelon from the nursery and it came to $17.00. Wow, I've been used to starting my own seed - much cheaper for many more plants.
Ladger and I left the boys with his parents yesterday when we went to town. I took advantage of the 'freedom' to buy four summer tops - my summer wardrobe always seems to be lacking. Then Ladger suggested we go for dinner - and I thought that was a great idea. We tried out the new chinese restaurant in town. They had a smorg and both of us were stuffed to the gills by the time we were done - Really good!!

Yesterday I mowed my lawn for the first time this spring. I waited until both boys were asleep and then went as fast as I could to try and get as much done as possible. Rory woke up, put on his boots and came running out the door to get a ride with me. So I got his ear muffs on and away we went until Paxton woke up and then I got him all dressed up for outside and by the time I was ready to start again - it started to rain and so now I have a lawn that is nicely mowed on the outside but there's a center section that ruins the look of the whole thing. This afternoon I have to go to town so maybe I can go outside now for a bit and try to get it done before the cut grass gets longer.
I'm so glad my garden is finished - with all that rain and now as it starts to warm up - everything should have a great start!
Hopefully Ladger can get started seeding again tomorrow although they're calling for more rain on Saturday.

We have had a lot of rain in the last couple of days and seeding has come to a grinding halt!! Oh well it's better than the snow we had the week before.

Rory had his AWANA closing a couple of weeks ago and here he is with Ladger, roasting some wieners.
And here is Paxton having his own picnic.

Today was Sunday and I agreed to play piano. It was also baptism Sunday and three teenagers got baptized and it was really great! Before the service started, Ladger let Rory out of the nursery (where he was with Paxton) to go find a toy he had left in the pew by me - not realizing I had put the toy in the diaper bag and he had it with him. So Rory was standing right in front of the pulpit talking to me very loudly about his toy just as our pastor started to speak to open up the service. I beckoned wildly for him to come to me but he just said (loudly again) that he was going to Sunday School. At this point the pastor said, "Andrea, where are you? Rory wants to preach". Everyone got a laugh as I got out of my seat and went to fetch my little monkey. I took him to the nursery in a big rush hoping the pastor had a enough announcements so I could get back before I was supposed to play piano. My question to Ladger: "What were you thinking?!!!"

Today was Rory's first prayer (on his own). We were giving thanks for our food and he says: "Heavenly Father, Daddy loves me and Jesus loves me too. Amen"

The going away party for our friends was fun - lots of young couples with kids. Rory had a good time with a bunch of boys. They were a little older but they were getting a kick out of his antics. He was pretending to be a sprayer and was zipping around with his arms out and had quite the audience for awhile. Paxton was good too but I could barely eat trying to keep the two of them out of 'trouble'.
I started my garden - my potatoes are planted and next are my peas, beans, onions and carrots. I think I'll plant the corn last as it likes warmer temps then we're getting right now. Rory just loves it when I rotor-till. He goes behind me in the fresh dirt. My biggest job is to make sure he stays back far enough and he's been pretty good about that.
Tomorrow, I'm taking Ladger's mom to town for a physiotherapy appointment and then Thursday I'm taking her to her appointment with a specialist in Medicine Hat (2 hour drive). I hope we'll have a good trip with the boys.

Today I listened to the entire message in church today. Rory is doing so well in Sunday School and Paxton fell asleep in the nursery. The only thing I would have wished for was a Bible. I haven't been bringing it lately because I never get to use it but today I missed having it as well as pen and paper to take notes. The sermon text was Matthew 6 (Sermon on the Mount) and was a very good challenge about living out our faith. One statement our pastor made was that we all look for rewards for what we do but do we look for the rewards God would give as opposed to what we try to establish for ourselves? And also that we are living like pagans if we are anxiously running about trying to look out for ourselves. Anyway, I appreciated the reminder that I need to be living out the 'kingdom' in my day to day living.

After church, Rory, Paxton and I headed to McDonald's again. In a little while we'll be heading to town again for a going away dinner with some friends from church. They are moving to Calgary and I will certainly miss them!

Well it's raining cats and dogs right now! We've had a couple of days of snow and now this big rain. The moisture is awesome but it does bring seeding to a halt. The guys were out yesterday after a four day break and now they'll be having another break. Hopefully it clears enough to get our durum wheat in before the end of May - a good week will do it.

Saturday is my house cleaning day but since Ladger's home, we'll probably work on filling out some paperwork for the farm. I need an office day too to get caught up. So maybe Ladger'll look after the boys for awhile so I can get some of that done too. I'll be happy if I can get the clutter cleaned up in the main rooms today. I have a new film to develop so that'll be fun to get some new pictures up for y'all soon.

The other thing that's keeping me busy is we have our recital coming up on June 4 and now all my students are working hard to get ready for it. And I have to work hard to come up with some arrangements that will make it special for each of them. For some of them I'm going to do an arrangement that they will play along with - so I have lots of music to enter into the computer for those ones.

My favorite part of doing dishes is when I can include the boys.
Paxton sat in the sink for quite awhile this morning. I have a few more to do and then we're all going outside. Our snow is all gone and it feels like spring is here again. By the way, for anyone who saw my mother's day picture, the tulips are mine and they're blooming right now (despite the snow). Be sure to check out my new updated website.

The other night Rory wet his bed. The amazing thing was that he got up, took off his wet clothes, put on some new dry ones, found an extra blanket and took his pillow and went to sleep on the couch.
And we were never the wiser until morning and saw him sleeping there. I was impressed at his initiative and independence.
Paxton is going through a fussy stage - complains quite a bit sometimes and I have a hard time figuring out what he wants. He sure is busy. He's not content to just walk - he has to try to run and as a result he falls lots and seems to be crying often throughout the day with various bumps and bruises.
He and Rory play very well together most of the time. Rory loves getting him laughing. And the antics of the two of them make me laugh.

Paxton falls to sleep each night to classical music. It's great! And then it's Rory's and my 'school' time. He is doing really well. He's counting to 10 easily and knows all the letters of the alphabet really well. He is sitting with me now pointing out all the letters on my keyboard. His favorite letters are R, M, D, P and G (beginning letters of Rory, Mom, Dad, Paxton, Grandma and Grandpa). He's done his phonics lesson (all by himself) and now it's time to go play a letter matching game.
Hopefully he can sleep soon though because I've got a nasty cold and am feeling extremely tired!!

I'm still working on learning how to set up my website. Sorry to anyone who's been there and can't open some picture files. It will no doubt take me quite awhile before I'm really happy with it. Anyway, these days are quite busy and I just got a phone call that our bid was accepted for a another quarter section of land. Ladger doesn't know yet but he'll be pleased.
We're supposed to be getting snow tonight - quite a bit of it!! I'm not looking forward to that and am hoping that it will not get cold enough and will come in the form of rain instead.
Paxton is having a nap right now and Rory is using the hole punch to make 'confetti' all over my office. Oh well, I have to vacuum later today anyway :-)

It has been quite awhile since I've posted. I have been busy trying to figure out how to set up a website so I could share some photos with you. My new site is

The link does not seem to be working so here it is, in case: http://www.t2.net/users/alynn
So I have lots to learn and not much time these days. We're just about done seeding our lentils and then there is only wheat (durum) left (less that a third of our crop this year). Ladger was up this morning at 5 am so he could spray before it got windy and then did it ever get windy. I took lunch out and by the time we got home, everyone was filthy. I could taste the grit of blowing dirt in my mouth - the wind would blow a cloud of dust over us every now and then. So I put both boys in the tub right away and then into bed for a nap. And now I'm catching up here until they wake up and then it'll be time to get the house in order.

I'm so used to getting up at 6 am (or earlier) that it seems like half a day goes by before it's time to go to church (we leave at 9:30 am). Seeding is going well - we're almost done with the peas and next will be the lentils and then finally the durum. Ladger gets home every evening in time for Rory's bedtime so that's really nice. Tonight is the AWANA closing and Rory get his award for finishing his first book. That will be so cute! Our preschool is going well. Rory recognizes the words for most basic colors, easily counts to ten, understands more vs less, knows the alphabet (and the sounds each letter makes) and is doing writing exercises that will soon turn into printing letters. It's cute to see him spotting letters all over the place. Today after church he'll be spotting the big 'M' - his favorite place for lunch :-)