The New Look...

Round Two

Paxton broke out with the chicken pox yesterday - two weeks to the day that Rory had them. And it looks like he's getting more of them. Poor guy! So this morning, Ladger and Rory went to church and Paxton and I watched cartoons. And I'm in serious need of a cartoon break so here I am.



I received two new books this Christmas - Max Lucado's "Cure for the Common Life" and Joanna Weaver's "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World". Few things are so exciting to me as a couple of new books to read. I just started reading Lucado's book and came across the quote I found on a decorative tile that's hanging right beside my sink.

"God sanctifies each day. He conducts holy business at all hours and in all
places. He uncommons the common by turning kitchen sinks into shrines, cafes
into convents, and nine-to-five workdays into spiritual adventures."

What a thought - today can be all about doing God's business as I care for my itchy, sometimes cranky three year old. I think I'm even ready to go sit in on a few more cartoons. *grin*

Color: One of Life's Richest Blessings!

It was so pretty yesterday! We had hoarfrost which formed lacy crystal ice on everything and the sky was the softest pink as the sun was heading down for the day. Pastel blues, pinks and white made it a beautiful view in every direction.
One of Ladger's gifts to me was a haircut and color. He watched the boys as I headed off to town by myself - that was a treat in itself. And then I went to a new hairdresser and enjoyed myself thoroughly. I now have blond highlights and a very new look. How fun!!
So today it's time to get those accounting books done and I'll be all set to enjoy the new year! 

Boxing Day

It's the day after Christmas and all through the house...all my creatures are stirring. Rory and Paxton were tiptoeing through the dark kitchen at 8 am. Yes, Ladger and I slept in. That is one thing about grain farming - we tend to rise with the sun. I know that cattle business is quite different because winter means chores. Anyhow, the sun doesn't really show up until closer to 9 am so the weeks around Christmas are lazy days for us.

Before we know it, the days will be longer and spring will be in the air. I wonder what will happen in the Maritimes where they haven't even had winter yet. Mom was telling me the grass was still green. Well on this side of the world we've had a white Christmas even though there isn't a terrible amount of snow. We've had some nasty weather though - several blizzards already along with plummeting temperatures at times.

So now that Christmas is over....I'm ready for spring!! In fact I should start thinking about what seedlings I want to start. Some need to start as early as February and I'd better get ready or I'll miss my window of opportunity with some of them.

But will my holidays be long and boring....Certainly not! It's year end for the farm which means I have to do some serious office time and get it done before my 'regular life' starts up again in January.

So have a great boxing day and stay out of the malls *grin* At least that's the last place I'd want to be!

Wrong season!

Most of the gifts under our tree this year have a bright orange pumpkin on them courtesy of Paxton who thought these really made the gifts special! And they do! 

New Furniture

We did a big switch in town (our car for our in-laws' half-ton) and were able to bring home our new furniture! Yesterday we set up the chair and ottoman and are enjoying it and we moved the big armchair that had been there to our bedroom (perfect for cuddling up with a good book). And today is the day we're going to get rid of the old bed and by tonight, our new bed - Hurray!

So I was in a big hurry this morning to topple Ladger out of bed so I could start washing up the sheets and get the mattress ready to go. I think I'm a little like my mom that way. Once I start a project - look out for things flying!

And today will also be the adventure of finding 'who knows what' that's been hiding under our bed for awhile. *grin*

I woke up at 6am this morning and not a creature was stirring. Aha! I could cozy up on the couch and do a little reading. But there on the couch I just about sat on my three year old. He's fast asleep, curled up in a ball. I hope he's feeling OK but I'm half expecting he could break out with chicken pox any day. I'm almost hoping he does before Christmas so we'll have a clear answer as to whether we ought to go to Ladger's parents place for part of the day as we usually do.

Rory's chicken pox is healing up nicely - I was happy with how it went. He didn't have too much discomfort and that was a blessing. Yesterday, Ladger stayed with the boys while I went to the school to give music lessons. It was the last full day of school for the kids and there was definitely excitment in the air.

Speaking of excitement - our order from IKEA just came in. We finally are upgrading to a queen size bed! I don't know why it took us so long but the double size was tolerable and we got used to it - but I can't wait for the extra room!!!! Plus a new leather chair and ottoman for either our bedroom or living room - depending on where it works out best.

Unfortunately, I think Ladger's parents are planning on going to town in the half ton today leaving us only the car. And this is the last day we can pick it up before Christmas. Oh well. We've been married for ten years - I guess we can manage for another few days.

What a week!!!

Today, I feel as light as a feather. This week has been a heavy one for me. Let me share my week with you. Our worship team was going to be on Dec 17 and so I chose seven songs and did up lead sheets for each of them - rearranging the chording on most of them to update them a little - mostly Christmas carols. And then I wrote out parts for two saxophones, a flute and violin for all the songs. I figured that each song took about an hour and a half to complete. And when have I found that time? I was up late almost every evening finding that my best time was after the kids and Ladger went to bed so that I would have uninterrupted time to be creative.

And then our practice was set for Saturday and I had to adjust the time to work around a wedding and the reception that was taking place at the church. And then the worry kicked in as Friday we had freezing rain and then on Saturday was calling for a blizzard! I was on the road Friday and it was like a skating rink - any little bump on the road and the car started heading for the ditch and it wasn't easy keeping it on the road.

Thankfully, most of that melted away and dried up during the day because the next day was calling for snow and a lot of wind. And it was just like they said - white-out conditions.

I would have cancelled the practice but Rory's musical was supposed to be going to a senior's apartment that afternoon as well and they didn't cancel that. So Ladger agreed to drive us in and I was thankful to at least be able to set up all the microphones and gear and then realized the reception was set up and we wouldn't have access to some things. So we did the best we could do with what we could find and I was thankful that we were able to do that much but it was still not totally ready for Sunday morning. Plus less than half our team made it to the practice. Not only that but I was part of three numbers for Sunday evening's concert and we were also supposed to practice Saturday - and we only got to practice one of those and the other two hadn't come together yet and were definitely needing work.

The long and short of it was: knowing we weren't prepared and not knowing how the weather would be Sunday and how many or who would make it to church is not something I enjoy.

And then, I noticed Sunday morning I noticed a couple of spots on Rory and didn't think much of it.

We got to church - managed to switch around gear and finish setting up, and quickly run through the music in 40 min. And then, I sat down with Rory and noticed the spots had increased.... Chicken Pox!! Ladger was nowhere to be found and when I finally located him found out that he was sick too - a stomach flu!

Well we got through it all and finally got home.

Ladger was not doing well but I had no choice but to leave the boys with him while I went to the evening concert. I left as soon as my part in it was finished. Meanwhile I knew I was quickly coming down with the same flu Ladger had. And so I didn't eat any supper. And I was feeling nauseous half the night.

So why am I feeling so great today? Physically I feel fine - and that's a blessing! Ladger's also back on his feet. The worship team did a great job and many people were blessed by it! And I knew every second I invested in writing those parts out to involve those precious young people was well worth a little less sleep *grin* Rory's spirits are good and he is handling the chicken pox well - hasn't even had a fever yet. The sun is shining and the storm is over. It's a good day and we are blessed! Plus now we are living with a self-imposed quarantine this week which means we're staying home right up 'til Christmas! So I'll clean up the house...make some chocolate amaretto cheesecake and in between oatmeal baths and calamine lotion, we'll do as many fun things as we can with the boys. Truly, we are blessed!

Rory brought home his classroom friend the other day - a furry little bear called Mozart. He drew a picture and I took these pictures when he took him to AWANA. 

Back Home!

Here are a couple of pictures that Rory took on our trip. The first is at the Royal Tyrell museum in Drumheller. We all really enjoyed our day there yesterday! The boys got to see lots of dinosaur bones and even watched the short documentary films a couple of times each. They're doing lots of work this winter opening up some new exhibits and we definitely plan to include it in our travels another time.

Rory took lots of pictures of the mountains. It was really fun to see them through his eyes. He was asking if they were as big as Egyptian pyramids before we got there. We told him that they were a lot bigger. He kept calling the mountains 'pyramids' for the rest of the days there. This is one of our favorites - Cascade Mountain. He was quite impressed that God made bigger pyramids than the Egyptians did.


And then as we drove into our home town, Rory sighed with contentment "Back in Canada". I'm glad he was happy to be home but I guess we need to work on geography - we never left Canada. *grin* 

Family Trip

Just dropping a note from the front lobby of the hotel we're staying at in Banff which also happens to be the hotel I worked at for four years before I was married. My former boss and his wife are gone and it's a little strange without them (or any of the former staff) but it's been a real treat to be here. We bought a portable DVD player for the trip not really thinking of how handy it is to plug into any TV to play DVD's. So tonight we're doing a family movie night in our room with some movies we rented this afternoon. - Cool! Tomorrow we head to Drumheller and the dinosaur museum there.

Mummification

Last year's history book had a project that suggested actually mummifying a real chicken. I wasn't up for that. Today we pretended to mummify Ernie (from Sesame Street) and the boys enjoyed it and I was happy with that project. *grin* 

My little archaeologists

We've been studying dinosaurs a little in our history class. The boys really enjoyed excavating dinosaur bones from this block. Our family is planning a trip in a couple of weeks to Banff and Calgary and decided we just had to add on an extra day to head to Drumheller and the dinosaur museum there. Also another homeschooling mom is married to a paleontologist and loaned us some resources.
 

Christmas is coming....

I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming. Rory's in his first "musical drama" and has one line as well as all the songs and actions to go along with them. Rory's big line is "I just saw them". And both he and Paxton have other parts in another program.

And I've been getting some of my shopping done on eBay this year. I just finished Rory's shopping today - all online.

And I'm starting to write some arrangements for familiar Christmas carols as our team is scheduled for the Christmas week and one week prior. I'm hoping to have lots of instruments involved like saxopone, trumpet, flute, violin, etc. So that'll keep me busy for awhile.

just testing

eggy "f"

I've heard of different mediums for writing and learning lettes...but I'll bet not too many kids are using eggs. I came out to the kitchen and this is what was on my floor. Paxton's been learning the letter F and Rory helped him make this one. 

Intent!

The guys are using water color pencils on a black and white copied pictures of their play-doh creations earlier today. They get to color and then use a paintbrush and water to 'bring it alive'. They look quite intent, don't they? 

Rory's school picture

 

Who was he talking to?

We were at McDonald's one evening and Rory and Paxton like to pretend they're talking to someone on the pay phone. Rory says "Hi Grandma.......goodbye" and hangs up. Paxton picks up the phone and no one can make out a word of what he is saying until just before he hangs up with a loud, clear "AMEN".

Homeschool is fun?!!

I can't believe the difference in Rory this year. A year ago, I had a very unmotivated young lad. He didn't want to 'do school' and he could waste time with the best of them. It was a special challenge for this mom who loves to read, loved school and still loves to learn. I had such visions of fun, eager learning....

Mind you, it wasn't all bad...not at all...but I was wishing it could be less of an effort... for both of us. This year, Rory's in Kindergarten for two days a week and I work with him on the other days. It was just the thing we needed to break the intensity. And now he's thriving. He's even telling others that he loves 'homeschooling'. This year he really likes some of his subjects (like cursive writing) and even wants to do more than I ask him to. He likes math. And he is gaining a lot in reading (even though it still isn't his favorite). And I can't believe how he gets the work done so that we really do have time for extras like art projects, science, piano lessons, etc without adding extra hours on to our day.

Nice shot, Rory

Here's my favorite shot that Rory has taken with his new camera. It's his birthday cake! The party was a little busy as we had to stay indoors as we were having a cold, snowy day. And it's a little scary trying to keep some semblance of order with a number of rambunctious boys and a very brave little girl who came despite being outnumbered by the boys. But we survived and I hope they had a good time.  

Rory's birthday....

Rory turns six tomorrow! We think he's such an amazing little boy and we love him to bits. We bought him a digital camera from eBay because he loves taking picture and we wanted something that would work well for him without costing an arm and a leg. So we got him a used Canon a410. It's in very nice condition and he'll be thrilled. We also got him a game from the makers of Cranium - the DVD version of Hullabaloo. He gets to open those gifts today as Grandma and Grandpa come over for supper. And then tomorrow is his birthday party. I couldn't bear to leave anyone out (there's fifteen in his class) and so we invited them all. It'll be interesting to see how it goes if they all come.

So I'll be sure to post a couple of pictures.

Odds and Ends

WE ARE COMPLETELY DONE HARVEST! I thought it would never end. And as harvest overlapped with my music lessons starting up again, I was feeling lots of pressure over the last couple of weeks. (Plus I was leading worship). So now, harvest is done; lessons have started and I'm finally feeling like life is getting back to a pace that can be handled.

Tomorrow, I'm teaching Rory's Sunday School Class and I have to slip out to play the piano for the offertory (piano/violin duet). We're playing "His Eye is on the Sparrow".

The boys are in the tub. It's really funny listening to them. Paxton makes such a good audience for Rory - willingly laughing at all his goofing around.

My first day at school was neat - Rory popped in to say 'hi' a couple of times during the day. As I was bringing in my guitars I was stopped by a student who stopped me to tell me that Rory was a 'crazy guy'. I think he meant it as a compliment. And then as I picked up one girl from her class - I heard several say "That's Rory's Mom".

Last night it rained again and so we're still waiting for things to dry up enough to finish harvest. The sun just broke through the heavy clouds as I wrote the last line.

Yesterday, I met up with a friend for coffee and we had a really great chat. And today is our homeschooling support group. And then it's groceries and then after supper, AWANA. And frankly, I know I'll be exhausted because I'm feeling tired already :-)

It was my turn to lead worship for this Sunday and all week I struggled with not feeling ready to get back into it. I didn't even start putting my team together until Wednesday (which is very unusual for me). Partly it's because harvest is still not over. That snow disappeared but the days have been overcast and wet - and so far harvest is still at a standstill. And my mood seemd to match the days.

So this past Wednesday, I decided I really needed to get out and get together with our homeschooling moms group. It was such a blessing! Once I finally got going, my passion for it kicked in and I really enjoyed preparing for the week (even if I did find out on Friday that I was also responsible for a special music number as well!)

So last night's practice was going well until we got to the hymn "Are You Washed in the Blood" which I'd done a different arrangement for (throwing in some blues chords, etc). Our poor pastor was in his study working on his sermon and had to come out to tell us it sounded all wrong. He was sweet about it. But I was wishing he could explain in better detail what exactly was wrong with it. So we made some changes and hoped for the best.

But here's what was special - it was awesome to get the criticism and honestly not feel bad about it. This morning we were cracking some jokes about it and it felt good - really good. By the way, the service went awesome and that song....well it may not have been anyone's favorite but we had fun singing it anyway! And we worshipped.

I'm so not ready for this....

This is the view from my front door this morning! It's hard to believe we were harvesting a crop just a few days ago in the heat. The boys couldn't wait to get all their winter gear on and head outside - it's perfect snowman building snow. Unfortunately, it's hard to enjoy knowing that this is covering approx. 300 acres of our wheat crop. 

I forgot how much I like to draw...

I took a little walk down memory lane with my boys this afternoon. No, not pictures....drawings. I took a couple of art classes in drawing and watercolor when I was working in Banff National Park and just have laid it to rest since getting married. It was fun to show them some of the drawings I'd done years ago. This one is one sitting at the Banff Spring Hotel looking at Rundle Mountain. I was with a friend who also enjoyed drawing...it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

I've always thought it would be fun to get back into it. And so I've been on the look-out for something for homeschooling for the boys. But most everything I saw was more arts and crafts rather than drawing technique for kids.

And then a homeschooling mom brought some books she wasn't using to the park where we met one day, and there was the book to get us started. So thanks to this fellow prairie girl, we've started art with the book "ArtThrough Children's Literature". Did I mention I love homeschooling.....

Who know what I'll be doing today....

I've become the fall guy this harvest...especially these last couple of days. We're on our last crop which is Durum wheat and it is yielding better than expected. Two trucks are having a hard time keeping up to the combine and so I've been doing what's needed to keep it going.

One day that meant unloading Jake's truck while he took another truck to the field. Then he'd come back with another full truck which I'd unload while he switched trucks and went to the field. He was constantly driving... I was constantly unloading with very little break for two hours. And the last half an hour I was standing holding my freezing three year old who was constantly yawning. I ended up wrapping him up in a pair of Grandpa's dirty coveralls that were in the truck because it was the only thing I could find. And I was tied to the conveyor - it really needs constant attention or else it can easily be overloaded and then I'm back to emptying it into 20 ten gallon pails again....

It was a good thing Ladger hadn't asked me to do that all day - I don't know if I could have kept it up much longer.

So the next day was better... I just had to take the third truck out to the field for one dump. But that is the truck no one expected to be using...it's not been tuned up and is a beast to drive. I think Ladger's dad is surprised I can get it to the field and back. And today, I have no idea what I may be called on to do. I find it difficult managing the uncertainty of my day along with figuring out in minutes what to do with the boys so that they're safe and reasonably content. Because when the phone rings....I don't have time...I have to go.

Cemetery: A place where people go to die

According to Rory.

Precious boys....precious rocks

The boys were outside playing and I couldn't quite see what they were up to. After they'd been out awhile, I called out to ask what they were doing and the answer was 'just playing'. So I went back to cleaning up the kitchen. And then I saw them both pulling this little wagon filled with rocks. They wanted to help me add the rocks around my plants in this flowerbed. What could I do but drop my dishtowel and head outside to put every single one of those precious rocks in a spot in that bed?

So much to tell...

We sent Rory off on the school bus this morning. It felt a little funny. Even Ladger waited until the bus came to see him off (usually he's off to work by then). So I just had to go check my picture box to find this picture that I remembered from years ago. And sure enough it was there. Here I am running off the bus...oh so long ago. I remember Mom trying to take that picture and wishing I would slow down so she would have time to focus. But I was in such a hurry...so much to tell... I've just edited this post to add the picture
of Rory's first day at school. He doesn't look quite as excited as I did, does he now?

We rent some land and when we combine it, the owner likes to help us with the trucking. Yesterday, I took out the grill and barbecued out on the field. Rory had always called this guy "Uncle Bill" but for some reason he started calling him by his last name. And without a Mr. in front either. It sounded so funny. Like he was a teammate....which I guess he was that day....part of our farming team.

Beautiful to be part of a bigger picture...

Ladger is a bona fide introvert. We were having a community church service, barbecue and afternoon of entertainment (games) and that is about the last thing that appeals to him. And since we had broken down Saturday, it didn't take much for him to decide to get that header back up and running as we still have a good portion of harvest to go (and lots of others are finished already...the pressure's on!).

So the question became...what was I going to do? It was either pack up the boys and go feeling a little overwhelmed with managing them on my own or miss out altogether. I went. And I was blessed!

Fourteen churches hosted this event and they included Mennonites, Evangelicals, Charismatics, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, etc I felt I had a little taste of what heaven will be like. And then I came home to find out that the whole service had been aired on the radio that morning and Ladger had listened to it. It was evident that he had been touched by the service as we talked about it and I felt blessed that we could share the experience...even though separately.

I'm on a roll...

No one ever told me that cleaning my closets could be fun. But I'm actually enjoying it...the sense of accomplishment is pretty great! Yesterday, after finishing the master bedroom closet, I started on the linen closet. Today, I went to town and bought out Wal-mart's stock of storage cubes (plus some other closet storage accessories) and picked up a trunk I had ordered a couple of weeks ago. The boys had fun 'helping' me put the trunk together and that is now holding blankets and throws that I like to keep handy in the living room (but it's so great to have them off the arms of the couch now).

And then I finished the linen closet while the boys watched "Scooby Doo". And then it was time to tackle the boys room. We gutted it. Everything got reorganized..starting with the closet and then moving furniture around. The boys love their 'new room'. I love it too. In fact I'm becoming a little nuts I'm afraid....I keep opening the doors to rooms and closets and enjoying the view!

Even as I was waiting for the computer to load some pages, I started organizing my desk. This room's next. I'm on a roll....can I keep it up until the house is completely re-organized and cleaned from top to bottom?

Making the best of Kindergarten...

On Rory's first day of school, I did something that I've been wanting to try since...well, since we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Quebec that served fresh, homemade croissants for breakfast. I actually did it and was quite pleased with the results. I really had a hard time believing that 'kneading' butter in ice cold water would soften it at all...but lo and behold it worked just like the recipe said it would.

Ladger says he's going to miss harvest because I've been feeding him so well. Isn't the nicest thing for him to say?

Today was Rory's second day of school and I spent the day completely cleaning out the master bedroom and closet. I was thinking I needed more drawer space but I decided that before I would take up more floor space with furniture it was time to be sure my closet was utilized as efficiently as possible. The reward for my hard work is going to be a sitting area in our room instead of an armoire or chest of drawers. Woohoo! I never imagined we would have the space to have that luxury.

Ready for school!

School is bringing some new things to this homeschooling family. I never had to worry about shoes for school before. He's been wearing sandals (or rubber boots) all summer and his spring runners are too small so we had to get two new pairs this fall. Rory is rather attached to them as you can see. His favorites are the ones on his hands...American chopper with blinking lights. He really wanted the blinking lights... I really didn't want Superman or Spiderman. So when we found these, we were both happy. *grin* 

Out of sync.....

I mentioned that we were having problems with our header. Here's how I understand it. There are two drives pushing knives - one drive on the left and the other on the right side of the header. It's hard to get two drives synchonized but when they are, the whole thing is smooth. The engineers thought it was better to design it to fluctuate in and out of sync (rather than be always out of sync). So one drive was designed to be a little faster than the other.

Well by 700 acres, it was out of sync far more often than in sync and it was starting to break down because of the intense vibration being out of sync causes. Meanwhile the company has been working on an electrical control to automatically adjust and keep the drives in sync. That's what I went for on my road trip.

All day Wednesday, Ladger worked at getting that set up on the header and it wasn't working. And by noon yesterday and many phone calls back and forth, Ladger was as discouraged as I've ever seen him. So we started to plan to invest in another header to do the job and start the process of requesting our money back for a header that has never worked the way we need it to. (Although, when it does work, it can do a terrific job). And I prayed.

Finally, Ladger just went to the field and started combining with a header that was in danger of breaking apart. But it worked. This morning there is hope again.

As I was praying about it, it occurred to me how much that is just like our lives. So many times we have so many things driving us and it can put our lives out of sync. The ride is a bumpy one and things start falling apart. And it's then we need to get back in sync with our main drive....and that's the one way that Jesus talks about. After all He is our Chief Engineer.

The Day I Hung Out with Rob Bell

Our header for our combine (the part on the front that cuts and pulls the crop into the combine) hasn't been working well. In fact it's been vibrating and breaking apart and we're hoping it lasts the season. So the company has been engineering some new things to make it work better and I knew it was likely that I'd be the one driving there to pick it up as it would take too long to get it shipped from the US (customs).

So yesterday, I got a phone call that a guy was driving the parts to the US border and was leaving in half an hour. Yikes!!! I quickly called Ladger and then his mom to look after the boys and then as soon as I figured out where I was going, off I went. Road trip. 10 hours return trip. Luckily, I had just received my audio book "Velvet Elvis" read by the author, Rob Bell. It was awesome. A spiritually rejuvenating day...almost as good as a retreat. I'm glad no one could hear me because I had a great time belting it out with some of my favorite praise and worship CD's. An unexpected kind of day....a blessing....tiring but good.

"It's both of ours..."

Here's why I have a few minutes to myself this morning. He's been tuckered out with four trips to town this week. Yesterday was really cute because he got a new tractor and everywhere he went he marched in carrying it and so obviously proud of it. But what made me proud: Ladger was telling Rory to remember that the tractor was Paxton's when Rory was playing with it and Paxton piped up: "It's both of ours". 

In the end I had to give in......I frequently mess up when entering those letters for verification on comments. The other day, I had to re-do them at least three times to finally post my comment. I held out for awhile on putting them on comments to this blog but I had to give in because the amount of junk coming in was getting ridiculous.....and it does help. I hope you have an easier time of it than me - maybe I'm going blind...maybe I'm in too big of a hurry to decipher the letters properly but I do love the comments that come in....so thanks!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

There must be a hole in our house. We've had such a massive invasion of little black flying insects...the infamous house fly.

I hate the feeling of walking into a room and stirring up a bzzzzzing.
I hate looking at light fixtures and walls and seeing fly crap everywhere.
I hate spending so much time out of my day swatting flies (no matter how nicely the electric fly zapper works).
I love the silence in a room finally rid of bzzzzzzzzzzzing.
I hate the constant vacuuming to remove the carpets of the dead creatures.

So I declared war on the flies in my house. I set out poison in strategic locations on our yard. I bought a large bug zapper that I plug in every evening and leave all night. And then I started washing down walls and started my fall cleaning.

But do you think I've won the war?

Oh No!! Now, I've got the biggest, healthiest, juiciest flies I've ever seen. I mean big, meaty creatures. These little miniature airplanes zoom by my head and I just know they're laughing at me as I cavort around my house to catch every single one. The boys laughed at my antics last night and the only way I could get them to bed was to promise them a similar show tomorrow. Because one thing I'm becoming sure of .....is that tomorrow will continue to provide more of these huge, evasive, scary flies!

Oh and did you want to come over for a cup of coffee? Oh yeah I guess I understand why you wouldn't dare!!

Getting Ready for School...

Ladger and I decided to send Rory to Kindergarten this year which may come as a surprise to those of you who know how highly we think of homeschooling. But this is the one year that he gets to go two days a week and get to the know some of the kids in the area as well as reinforce what he learned last year. We'll continue with some extra subjects on the alternate days and so I'm really looking forward to it. And so is Rory. Today we bought a backpack, lunch bag and various items for school. This is the binder he needs to have and we had fun finding some LarryBoy pictures to color and decorate it with. Rory did almost all of the coloring on his own and he even looked at the real LarryBoy to make sure he used the right colors. I've never seen him color that carefully.

His class will be interesting. There are 12 boys and only two girls. Those poor girls... The poor teacher.... 

That man of mine...

If you read a few entries previously, you may have noticed that harvest got in the way of going out with my husband for my birthday...that man of mine! But I realize I'm starting to learn. I actually didn't complain and get in a huff about it. I just accepted it and was willing that it be 'another time'. And then out of the blue on Saturday evening, Ladger came in and asked if I'd like to go out for dinner and a movie. That man of mine had already arranged care for the boys. And so we went out for a really fun evening! I wouldn't trade that man of mine!

A Quick Update!

I just got in from mowing the lawn - possible the last time this summer as the grass isn't growing like it did before. I miss the smell of fresh green grass while I'm mowing. Our grass is still green but you know what I mean...that vibrant fresh green of spring.

Now, I'm doing lunch for the bunch and I found out I have to have it at least half an hour earlier than normal so I really have to make my time count this morning. I'll take the grill out to fry up some pork kebobs (I marinated the meat last night) and some rice at the same time. I also have some cheese muffins to take along and some cucumbers to slice up and salt. The only question is dessert. Maybe some chocolate chip cookies would be as easy as anything.

There now, I guess I'm ready to get started.

What's a guinea geeb?

That's what Paxton calls the guinea pigs and it sounds so cute! We had two and now we have one. Sadly, they made an escape in their outside pen and we were only able to find one. And we're all missing that cute little guinea geeb!

Thank goodness for crazy people!

The boys are playing hockey while I write. I may not be here too long before I have to go rescue my house or one of the boys!

Last night it rained - we're thankful there was no hail or strong winds. The crop is fragile right now - ripe and ready to go which means even the smallest hail would shell out the seeds and that would be that! It's a vulnerable feeling to have know you have a decent crop that could disappear in one storm. It really is true that we can't count our chickens until they're hatched...in our case, count on a crop until it's in the bin!

On the bright side, yesterday I had a conversation about Wal-mart and how it's driving small local businesses out of business. I thought afterwards how we don't have to worry about that one! Any big business like Wal-mart wouldn't touch farming with a ten foot pole - at least not grain farming in the Canadian prairies!!! Can you see it now? Returns on equity are so poor that we're just about crazy to do what we do. It's a good thing there a few crazy people left to keep it up.

Harvest has begun!

One of the things that I find challenging about farming is having no clear cut dates for anything. Usually harvest doesn't begin until well into August if at all. But this year some farmers have already put in a good week or more.

So I knew harvest was right around the corner but it's hard to know just when. And then my birthday was just a couple of days ago. At first I wanted to have a mini family vacation to Calgary and Calaway Park (amusement park) for the weekend. But as harvest looked imminent, I figured more realistically Ladger and I could go out for a movie so we were planning that until the evening before, Ladger went checking on the fields and came in to announce that we were starting harvest the next morning. So the movie never did happen....yet!!

But all was not lost. Almost all my family called me and I spent hours catching up with everyone. And then last night some girlfriends treated me to a birthday dinner which was really special!

But I came home to find out that Rory had taken off on his bicycle for the field when he was supposed to be at home with the babysitter. His grandma saw him through the window and went with the half-ton to pick him up and drove him out there and so he didn't get home until 10:30 pm. One person described Rory as intense and I thought that was a perfect description. He has a one-track mind and even though he was so excited that the babysitter was coming - he was even more determined to be part of the harvest. That kind of focus and determination may get him far in life.... one can only hope so.

Just a glimpse of what I've been enjoying in my yard these days! 

I think I've got the solution for us!!!

Rory is perfect for the stereotype of a little guy with tons of energy but very little ability to focus and concentrate on his school work and get it done. Every morning is spent at the table with him and my house work was really suffering.

He dawdles. He drops his pencil. He squirms. He drops his pencil. He stares out the window. He can't find the next word in the sentence he's reading. He drops his pencil. He picks it up and sticks it his pants. He guesses what the next word might be. It's not even close to being right. He drops his pencil. And my patience gets worn rather thin.

I've tried rewarding him with stickers (if he gets enough, he gets a new bike) but that just wasn't doing the trick. I've threatened him with all kinds of 'creative' punishments....to no avail. I've explained, begged, threatened, pleaded and explained some more. And then I got it.

Since it's my housework time that's being eaten up... I now keep track of how long it takes him to do a page of work. And then we get up and do that amount of time in housework. And then we do the next page. If he does a page on his own and I get to work during that time, he's off the hook.

It's been working great because I win either way! Either I get help with some housework or he gets his work done on his own and I get to do the housework during that time. It's made a world of a difference as I don't get upset that he's 'wasting' my whole morning every day. And it's not a punishment...it's simply, if I help him with his work than he helps me with mine.

And he gets to have a break from sitting at the table and be involved in contributing to our household in a practical way that can only be good.

Are your kids' toys keeping cool this summer?

Paxton's are. I never know what I'll find when I open the fridge these days. Today it's the combine staying cool.

Camp

We're back from a great weekend of camp! It's always a treat to spend some time at Westbank Bible Camp every year. Here's a picture of our group taking a bit of a hike to find some crystal rocks they call rosetta stones. We had gorgeous weather all weekend and silly me...I didn't wear sunscreen often enough and burnt my shoulders. But we had a great time with an afternoon devoted to a pedicure and pool time for the ladies, paintball for the men (and ladies if they wished), horseback riding, swimming, late night water volleyball and hot tub, zip line, a banquet and campfires. The staff were awesome and the boys had a great time too. I can't wait for next year :-)

Tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary. And we're doing one of my favorite things in summer - heading off to family camp for the weekend. The boys got new sleeping bags yesterday and last night they wanted to try them out so they slept on the floor in their room. So cute this morning when I took a peek.

So we're all ready to go with new haircuts all around. Yesterday I took Rory in to town for his first professional cut. He enjoyed it so much due to the very nice gal doing his hair. (I'll try to upload a picture later). It was so cute when they put some purple gel in it. And I got mine done. This morning Ladger and Paxton got my best efforts.

Ladger and Rory are off to town this morning in the combine - it's being taken to town to get some warranty work done on it and I have to go in half an hour to pick him up - so no school this morning and I actually have a few minutes here to write while I'm looking up some recipes for fresh strawberries. I'm bringing dessert over to Ladger's parents' place for dinner.

If I were a rich man....dadadadadada!

I felt so rich this morning picking this berries. Money can't buy the things I have in this life. No strawberry bought in a store can rival these for taste and I just get to go out and pick them in my backyard. There are so many that I didn't even touch half my patch and I still have more than enough. Actually, I picked these for a baby shower I'm hosting tonight for a gal at our church who just had a baby boy. We're having a fondue and we'll certainly have lots of strawberries among other things. I can't wait!

Like a rose, trampled on the ground

"Like a rose, trampled on the ground" When planning my powerpoint background this week for the song "Above All" this line stuck out and so I went out and picked a nice full rose, found a patch of ground and literally stepped on it.

Rory was watching this whole process with concern. He finally asked, "Mom, why are you killing your only rose?" I told him about the song and how this is a picture of how we treated Jesus when he was on the earth. The whole song is about how Jesus is above all and you would expect that such a one would be praised and honored. But no, He was

Crucified, laid behind the stone
He lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, trampled on the ground
He took the fall
And thought of me above all.

What a picture of how much Jesus loves each of us and what he was willing to endure so that we might live and have life abundantly. 

Well summer is in full swing with most of my free time spent out in the yard. There's so much to do that it could be a full-time job for me. So I just do the best I can.

The strawberries are ripe. Last year, we had a flash flood that destroyed all chances of strawberries from my patch. But this year all is looking good. Every day I go out and pick a nice bowlful. And the timing is just as I hoped. I'm hosting a baby shower Friday and I'm planning a fondue with lots of fresh strawberries among other things. And strawberries are one thing I have plenty of. I've never planned a baby shower before and I'm finding I'm enjoying it - even the phoning around that I usually don't like to do.

Enough with the 5 am wakeup call!! Ladger's been getting up at this time to go spraying and now I'm finding I'm automatically waking up at this unearthly hour. And even though Ladger isn't spraying tomorrow, he's going to Regina and he's getting up at .... 5 am.

So these days I feel perpetually tired.

Often Ladger will start chatting when he sees my eyes open in the morning. I tell him that doesn't mean I'm awake. What can he be thinking? Do I really want to talk about the issues in farming, politics, or whatever at such an early hour in the morning? Truly, I can be a zombie for a good part of the morning sometimes. And then I really start feeling awake and alive in the evening and I just hate going to bed. Silly, huh? Because then the whole thing starts again.

Maybe I'm just getting to be an old gal with no oomph left!

Maybe I need to quit rambling and get myself off to sleep b3cause morning will be here way too soon.

Here's Rory sporting his Sparkies vest on the night of the closing.