6.29.16 favorite things

One of the questions my midwives asked at my appointment was if i was craving things. Not much more than mint oreos...but these last few days baked potatoes make my mouth water. 

Weird! I usually just endure potatoes. But there must be something in them I need right now. Thank goodness for this handy machine, we are eating them a lot more often. This has been one of my best gifts ever! 

 A electric pressure cooker!!! Love this tool. I admit it sat in the box for almost 4 months after Christmas. I wasn't sold on its worth in my kitchen. After some prodding by Greg I finally gave it a go and have been love ever since.

Fully cooked dry beans 45 min. Frozen chicken ready to shred 30 min. Adding about 10 minutes to each cook time to each to get up to pressure and then release pressure.  Soft baked potatoes for the whole family total 25 minutes, or less if you use reds or yukon golds!! It is super easy to clean, way better than the dreaded crock pot, and very easy to use. And no hot house. Seriously if you cook much you should investigate this miracle machine. It has saved our dinner plans more than once. And it has a warm function which keeps food warm for hours. So if you eat in shifts like we do here or don't know when you will return its a meal saver that way too.
Hope you have a great day.

One mans junk is anothers treasure

Last week was the annual fathers and sons camp out. This is an annual tradition that is highly anticipated from one year to the next. This year the highlight was watching Star Wars 7 under the stars. Along with the waterslide, dutch oven, 4 wheeler rides and being away from home sleeping in a tent it was AWESOME! 

The stake provides a hearty man breakfast of pancakes, sausages, eggs, hash browns, and juice. This year they had lots leftover which they were about to toss when the cook stopped and asked Greg if he wanted to take it home.

Being a Saunders and recognizing the potential of leftovers he said yes. So we made breakfast burritos for the week. I have to say I was a bit shocked at how much was just going to be tossed.

 Is this pre-dumpster diving? Or just big family survival skills? One brother in-law, from a large family,  remembers dumpster diving with his savvy grandfather behind the grocery stores. They would glean all the dented cans- these experiences are now family legend and the thriftiness is a family trait. We didn't go that far, and we were sure thankful for the burrito fixin's because they are a favorite family breakfast.

6.28.16 Eyes Won't close

Livy is such a funny duck.

 She told Greg a few nights ago she couldn't go to sleep because she didn't know how to make her eyes close.

She had however, shown me a few days before that she knew how to blink each eye. Grandma Corn had taught her this by having her close both eyes then opening one.

Now if we could just get her to do it together...

She's our resident non-nap taker. She sleeps her 10-12 at night but nothing else. And she loves to make sure the other little girls stay up to play with her, even though they need more shut eye or end up crying their eyes out or resting them during dinner time.

And one other random ditty. Harold was walking down the stairs holding the banister and punctured his hand with this sliver. I could only see a bloody patch on his hand and my tweezers wouldn't grab it. He had to go to grandma's house who being much more practiced removed this chunk from his hand with a needle. Wowzers! Slivers are sure not fun. This one went straight down into his hand. I am sure glad she got it out. 

6.27.16 an eagle and a rock pile

We got a call to come help a friend with his eagle project. He just asked for Harold and a shovel.  I asked if his brothers could come too, knowing how many hands make lighter work. I was not sure what the project was but Harold is quickly approaching his time for eagle and we need all the good will we can get for the projects he is considering. I dropped the boys off at a large pile of rocks with a shovel a piece and left to run errands. When we got back I went to inspect the progress and was taken back in time to my childhood.

Being an experienced rock mover I told the kids they could almost go as fast with hands and a bucket as with shovels. I also wanted Livy to get a feel for moving some rocks.

Rock hauling was a big part of my childhood. It was the punishment for most offenses and one that worked wonders on attitudes. It is a hard job to move rock. This size doesn't shovel well. They are heavy and that pile seemed to never shrink. On this day or as a kid. The boys were explaining their tiredness and taking a break from working. To be fair they had worked all day before this outside so they really weren't just lazing around. However, they revived quickly upon entering the swimming pool on the other side of the rock border.

All in all they moved about 2/3 of the pile. I'm glad to say they were industrious rock haulers and got a good feel for the labor of rocks! It made me want to order a truckload or two of rocks to landscape around my house and instill some though provoking discipline. Greg however refuses to buy rocks when we live very near a lot of gravel pit grade rock piles... we have spent a lot of hours picking rocks out of fields. Not nearly so many hours as he has but way more than I had previous to our life here on the farm. The kids cutely say "oh mom there's no more rocks we got them all."

 On this bench ground there will always be more rocks. Which is a good because there are always more kids needing that experience. And thank goodness there are always more eagle projects too. We have learned a lot working with these different boy scouts that have climbed to that rank. It's always inspiring to see how much a group of people can accomplish in a given amount of time.

6.25.16 on our farm we have

Kids that are cute.

Free range non-welfare chickens. We don't feed them much, they roam free and they provide us with eggs. They are self-sustaining and I get a real kick out of watching them drink from the hose connections like little outdoor water fountains.

Three little pigs who like to prove they can get out of fences...not a fun chore to get them back in.

4 lovely bovine ladies who are enjoying a green pasture and apples galore as they fall off the trees. Corn season is around the corner and they will get much more skilled at sniffy fresh corn husk and silk. YUM!

And 1 dead skunk!! YAY Harold! 2 more eggs today after the demise of the skunk! And no one got skunked!!

This morning Harold came running in "I need a gun there's a skunk outside..." He got the gun while I got the correct shells and he hurried back out.

I wasn't sure what was going on, morning is my slow time. And I was unsure how he was going to get it- as skunks are fast and STINKY! When the guys went out to do chores they found a juvenile skunk in a sunken pipe right under the water faucet. Greg got a hose to try to drown it but the darn thing floated to the top and crawled out. Thus Harold hunted it out and proceeded to shoot it completely, positively, thoroughly dead! That is important as a skunk is STINKY! I was so proud of my hunting crew.

The skunks are thick out here, Mark has come upon one 2x now while irrigating, thank goodness he was aware of the skunk before he got skunked. Now the boys think they need to pack protection while they work. I told them absolutely not. Hopefully they will get another opportunity soon to thin the population.
And the final resting place of the skunk. It did not move until buried so we are convinced it was dead as no one was willing to get close after it's lead introduction this morning. It did spray before it died so we had strong skunk smell for a few hours- thank goodness fro the stronger wind. God is Good!

6.22.16 full bench

This is our family. The what I do with my time and they are my mission on earth.
I had my 20 year class reunion this weekend. I was so nervous to go. Who goes 7 months pregnant? How do I a most likely to succeed candidate say oh I just stay home and have 10 almost 11 kids? I live a very different life than I ever imagined way back when I knew everything and could do anything.

(I wasn't alone Greg said one of his favorite parts was watching people come through the door at the opening social. He said you could immediately spot the classmate as they were the ones who looked like they were about to be shot by a firing squad! But after coming in and mingling it was fun.)

YET- this is my choice and my happiness and my peace and my university! These are my life, my heart, and my testimony of what's important, what's good, and what I know and cherish most!
I just stood snapping pictures as they moved and squished and hammed it up thanks to my super fun sisters also hamming it up to make the kids smile! - I have some super silly sisters when needed.

The reunion turned out pleasant. I was so happy to see that everyone seemed to be doing well. The angry kids, the drunk kids, the ones smoking pot- have grown. They are married, they have children they are teaching and loving, they are successful job holders and leaders! It gave me perspective to not freak so much on the little things like C's and D's and unfinished work, and realize there are MANY paths to success. Some like Greg and I, and some through work, experience, TVCC and hard knocks.  The girl who professed to have changed the most told me her reason: "I found Jesus and that has made all the difference..."

I hope we are leading our kids to find and walk with Jesus too. I told her that's why I do what I do. I love this family of mine. Even when we don't fit on a single pew in church, and we barely fit on this long beam at a family function. I'm thankful we have been able to have each one of these unique people in our home, and I need to be more quick to count the blessing of this person we are eagerly awaiting that is sharing my body at this time.
So I survived the reunion, I'm glad Greg supported me in going. I was not the only pregnant one there. Phew! I was surprised so many of my classmates just married in the last 5 years. I was the only one with 10 kids.
A friend commented while we  were showing off our families at the park-
"Man there are so many kids it's like everyone brought 10...."
I said "Uhm no, just me. I have ten kids."
 He replied "no really,"
 I said "Yes, really I have 10 almost 11."
To his unbelief I asked Addie and she affirmed we have 10 kids!
All good.  And one more stressful life milestone checked off the list.

6.21.16 4wheeler girl

Afton has found a true love, riding the four wheeler. The big kids are all too happy to oblige with short rides to the mail box and to check water and such. She has started to talk saying "Go, go" and last night "light on, light off" as she flipped the light switch. But she doesn't need words to express her displeasure with being left from a ride as she throws big fits if not included. She loves to hold the key and the handle bars making sure she is the boss! Being a younger sibling is a good place to be!

The other kids aren't far behind on insisting they get turns too. The four wheeler has been such a pleasant necessary part of our farm life. We recently got this one back from the shop again, I think it's time to get rid of it and move on but whatever. This was the first one we bought many years ago and many happy family memories have been made with it. This group is getting ready to go to chores. Mark and Addie both are proving to be very capable operators these days. It's becoming more of an issue of who's driving than who can drive. So far no serious accidents and only one kid grounded for a few days.

A rare capture of Harold actually wanting a picture taken. I love the good will of Sunday evening. There is something special about spending the day a little more restful, a little more mindful of God, and a little less focused on work.

6.20.16 A tree coming down

We don't spend the weekend in a lawn chair or in the water but rather pursuing new and challenging work projects. This weekend did not fail that quest. As part of Greg's father's day gift (the other part was lots of pie) we helped in taking down an enormous tree behind his shop. The pesky weed had grown as close as possible to a small shed in the back corner of his lot, and has now began raising the wall that it is rooted under. To prevent the loss of this shed Greg contracted with my talented brother in-law Justin to come work his chainsaw skill on this big tree. Harold was recruited as helper #1, with the later addition of the rest of the family. 

I'm really glad we got to watch Justin work. It is an interesting marvel to watch such a behemoth come down. There were power lines, cars, buildings, fences and people all littering the scene making it very difficult and time consuming to 'cut this baby down to size' but like I said Justin has skill and training, learned from years of working with his dad and was very much up to the task. 

Justin making one of his many cuts with rope to help direct and manage the fall of the piece. The secret to this process was lots of study and thinking on how the limb would fall and then controlling the fall  to the desired location with a rope, the angle and size of cut. I'm kind of surprised Justin doesn't hurt himself in this process. He must have some guardian angels protecting him, because a few times he really took my breath away. He just laughs and says he's got it all under control. He is a great guy to work with, and one I'm thankful my kids are able to get to know better.

The kids, with some help from mom it's so nice to be able to move again, loaded this truck completely full with that tree. Having learned and found that by tramping the branches more would fit they got it all in, then had fun scraping it out at the rubbish pile out side of town. Justin being the understanding compassionate soul he is encouraged the boys along in the completion of the work with fountain drinks at the local gas station and some other replenishment. Our kids haven't had much exposure to self-serve pop stations, so this was a new challenge for them. I think they may have figured out less ice and more pop would go farther. However, maybe I should be thankful they had more watery pop and less carbonated sugar water. The fun of new experiences.

Harold found out when he came home later that night, that he had to speak on Sunday. Of course he could not find his talk he painstakingly prepared the week before. So we spent Sunday morning writing a talk. We used this experience, relating the many cuts and studying approach to building a testimony. That our faith grows by many small steps, help, and study. This was a great day and another big project checked off the list!

Next up repairing my broken washing machine!! It's been limping along for over a month. The final spin does not work and we hand wring all the clothes that passes through it. Not a fun process. I would have cherished a wringer in these past days. Hopefully the new part will arrive today and Greg will find time to put it in. The repair man was not so keen on the project although he assured me it could be done as do the websites so hopefully as per the online instructions we are on the right track.  It has been a real test of patience and muscle to keep enough clean clothes around on these dirty summer days. I guess I should be more appreciative I have many members of the crew who want to wear the same clothes everyday no matter how dirty.... picky mom just making more work!

6.14.16 Preparing a talk

I was reading Greg the blog posts as we drove home from a wedding Saturday and his only comment was "You do put a positive spin on things..."

So for another real not so "spun" post here goes. We got caught unaware that Anna had a youth talk on Sunday. This happened with Harold last week, and all too often with the kids in primary. So we decided that we would have the kids prepare a talk to tuck in their scriptures to be prepared. This went along with an experience Greg had on his mission of his mission president requiring the elders to prepare a talk just in case every month. It is a good idea to be prepared and learn to prepare talks.

However, as life ALWAYS does on the farm it was not pretty and quick. What really happened was this.

The girls got their talks done before dinner. That wasn’t hard because dinner did not happen until 8:30. We NEVER sit down as a complete family to say prayer on the food, no matter how long I wait. There are always lingering chores and catastrophes to be addressed. Tonight with a “I’ll be home quickly”- dinner was almost done at this point- we said goodbye to the boys and dad. Well 2.5 hours later they meandered back home.

Addie spoke on prayer

Come to find out they had found a smoldering manure fire that was close to the barn and had to spend time digging a huge hole of manure then filling the hole with water to hopefully quench the smolder. This problem was started by a not understanding curious 10 year old at our house!!! GRRR!!! Of course no mention was made by the 10 year old yesterday that he had been playing/burning weeds with matches. Then having to get the perpetually cold animal fence hot, and the other sundry chores it took forever. Little kids were starving, mom was boiling mad, and it was the usual frustrating Sunday dinner. 

MArk spoke on hens gathering their chickens

From there we heard the prepared talks. The non-writers meaning hate-physically-forming-letters on paper boys were the usual challenge. Those boys have great ideas and content it just takes hours on end of pencil dragging and corralling the wandering  thoughts scribbled on paper to get a coherent story. Stress really irritates my hip thing. I find when I get really worked up it flares up too. This did not help.  But after repeated elongated attempts they managed cohesive, spiritual and doctrinally sound talks and all in all the event was worthwhile. It’s now past 11 and we are striving for bed. I can’t say I want to snuggle with them tonight, I mostly want it quiet and to have some peace from the crying of the last hour. 

Aliza spoke on going to the temple.

Harold spoke on prayer and the ability to make your life better. Anna spoke on the power of priesthood blessings.

John spoke on the symbolism of dragons in the scriptures.

So preparing talks was a good idea, an intense struggle, and a mission accomplished, and that’s the real way it happened. Until next time.