11.19.19 Meanwhile back at home

When I get worried I'm not contributing enough or I should be doing something more than just my meager mother manager attempts more comes along in a big way.  So I relish sweet moments when my two raspberry jam lovers enjoy a snack before bed. Lia was just licking the jam and butter off the bread. There is no bread consumption just jam. John is a master jam eater and appreciated this talent. 

Some close friends had a hard trial where their grandbaby died within days of birth. I offered to make a blanket for the baby to be buried in. At the time I thought it would be a simple offering. The end process was not because of my lack of practice but this was the end result, a super soft white blanket.
I was honored to be part of the grieving process. These experiences are becoming very sacred memories for me. And I keep thanking God it is not my turn yet to hurt that bad.

The kids continue to work on the leaves. This lady is the most fastidious of the rakers. I love her willingness to work. Her sister Livy also raked a lot and told me "See I don't just sit around..." She is growing up so much right now it's literally mind-boggling.

And me and my latest ride. I learned to drive trucks on the oldest truck on the farm. This one is comparable. I'm proud I can manage and am helping. I can see through the floorboard and it would only go into second gear the first few days. On a dark and lonely road, I jammed the gears and had to have them realigned by my husband. Then I found third gear and thought I was flying!! Mark and I cut a solid half-hour off our water time with jus that simple discovery.

Where we stand and fill the truck with 2100 gallons of water. This takes about half an hour to accomplish. I'm thankful mark will start the pump as that has always been tricky to me. We visit with the neighbor, we talk about life, we pet the neighbor's dog, we walk back and forth on the road. Mark is never at a loss for conversation and it's been pleasant to get to know and work with this son of mine. I'm always thankful and impressed when I get to see my sons in their true color, not just the boxed in frustrated and bored at home guys that drive me crazy.

During the day I have the three younger ones. They get so bored with mom. This day Bruce opened 6 boxes of dry mac and cheese and dumped it all around the downstairs room. So he and Afton had to clean it up.

Lia is a cleaner at heart. She loves to pick up, wipe up, scope up and put in order our chaos. Afton was trying a new hairdo this day finally managing a ponytail. She did a great job sticking with the task and getting the floor clean.

So live changes and gets more involved. That's ok. I often wonder if we are doing enough, if we are doing the right things and had several discussions this weekend with my kids promising them this always working life is going to help them be successful in their future endeavors. That's hard to see for them and for me. Of course my philosopher Aliza challenged if it's hard in heaven? I told her there is lots of work to do there too. I love when my kids are around, I love the life they bring into my home and the diversity they bring into my life. I am thankful for the inspiration and strength and health we are given. I was struck again this weekend as two kids Millie and Alia a few days apart had a small bout of the flu. We just don't get sick that often. That is a blessing. I'm trying to be more mindful of those this month and daily. It's easy to get bogged down in the normalcy but hard times like the families that have lost loved ones this year zing me back into immense gratitude for the boring life I live. Healthy energetic kids and husband, enough to go around, safety we take so for granted and the opportunity to live and complain as we choose. Life is good.

11.18.19 End or the Season

Ah the last game, the end of the road and lots to look back on. The team lost to a fast team on the other side of the state but made a lot of memories along the way. The week before when they won their opening game, Harold watched patiently from the sideline. A coach apparently in charge of rotation was gone supporting his family in another state, thus the coaches "lost track" of who had played and who had not. This was bittersweet as we have intense work hours these days with 400 + cows under our care and responsibility on top of the already loaded work schedule at the mechanic shop. Thus roles are being shifted and all hands are being put to work and missing this very helpful knowledgeable set of hands was really hard. But he learned how to cheer and support and watched a good game. He also had a great time with teammates and just added to his collection of high school memories. 

Photos thanks to Angie Aldred

The next week he worked doubly hard to prove he should not be forgotten. he won the bull int he ring or a strength challenge against all but 2 of the other linemen starters and all. He worked hard to be attentive and aggressive. And so when it came to game time he got to play. We, of course, were at home watching cows in between sneaking off to a baby funeral of a friend. We were however anxiously checking facebook for any updates and praying for our player. 

I love how these pictures show him always taking on two guys. He is strong and he wants to take on the world. Football has been a good place to grow that desire and develop that skill. He is relatively unknown so when he goes in he shakes up the other team's players. Case in point this time the guy across from him on the line had a beard. Harold complimented him on it the guy got distracted and jumped offsides. The next time Harold asked him how to grow a beard again distracting him. He plays as a nice guy not a trash talker bully. He helps people up and he talks to the refs. I love that.

 He also has other skills. I got a text late on Thursday night reporting the bus had broken down but Harold was working on it. I love that he could and even tried. The bus had more problems than he could fix on the side of the road with no supplies and limited tools but he did get it to go a little farther.  I'm thankful he has multiple skill sets and confidence in almost any situation.

We all survived the season we all grew a lot and learned we are capable of more than we thought. The younger group had to shift up in responsibility and work and that was really good! They all are old enough to be doing more than they were. It drug me out of the house to go mingle with the community I had no idea how much of a social event sports games are in our town. It was good to visit and it was good to support. Even though Harold had more than a few weeks playing the part of Rudy just preparing the guys to do well at their weekend game he gained from that as well. It's good to learn humility and to learn to be part of a team even if you are not the star. He had some humble fellow teammates that were such great examples of being the water boys for the JV team even though they are all-state players. He also had teammates who took the initiative to read the Bible before bed, so Harold did too.
Though this was a pretty big trial of faith and prayer it has turned out surprisingly well. I think the biggest blessing is knowing the prompting was real and then following through to the end and letting the lessons happen. This was another testament to me that God is in the details of our Life and he cares about our hearts sincere desires and helps us if we just trust Him. At least I saw that for Harold these past 6 months.  Life is good and now we find a new normal and prepare for next season.

11.14.19 Normal days

I'm always amazed at my children's creativity. This evening Addie was working to create towers out of geometric shapes. She was showing the younger kids how to achieve height with different stacking techniques. The older three are always doing homework when they are in the house. Hours and hours of homework. 

I enjoy this kind of homework much more. Millie and Livy each read two books a night on ideal nights. Afton is eager to share and learn and joins us.

And it's for sure cold here because hot chocolate is an almost daily occurrence. Bruce being the resourceful little brother was not about to be left out and decided a straw was the best way to get what he wanted.

Alia was so happy to find Anna in her bed after a long week away. She loves the big kids and loves to spend time snuggling with them. I'm thankful she is the kind of baby that allows us all to love on her.

Lots of bodies, lots of activity and needs. We truly live day to day as each is full and the unexpected are always with us. I'm working hard to stick to my guns and make sure I let the natural consequences that are happening fully play out so the lessons are learned. I've had a afew of those expereinces personalyl too. I'm diligently working to daily be in my scriptures and to be learning so I can teach my children truth and light. I'm trying to keep the peace and instill love and learning in my children's hearts. Often I'm overwhelmed and under powered but all in all we endure on and that might be the best we can do today. We are blessed.

11.13.19 My Sons

My sons are usually outside working. It is the one way to keep my house standing and preserve the semi-peace within. There is also a plethora of chores and activities that need to be completed that are beyond my scope, ability, and or desire to complete outside thus the boys go to work every day. I occasionally join them either to check-up on what they are doing or not, and or to be the adult needed to get the job done. They are not big on having their pictures taken and thus I have few to no pictures of them in their natural or resting home state. Last night while driving the water truck and watering the various herds of cows I took the opportunity and snapped some shots. 

I do enjoy working with these guys. They know the procedures and even when they fail to mention important warnings or instructions until after I have learned the hard way they are pretty good at not mentioning my mistakes. They definitely take care of their mom in their own way. It's interesting to listen to them and try to keep up with what they know.

Face mask is so helpful when you spend the day outside. This one has become a fought-over part of outside winter wear.

Oh how thankful we are for a few necessary farm accessories
1.the Dewalt flashlight is so powerful and long-lasting. We LOVE them and use them daily. Rechargeable battery that lasts for weeks on end and the ability to see long distances and clearly in the dark short winter days.
2. Carhart outerwear. It is the best!! You don't get wet from snow and rain, it is strong enough to hold off the chill when riding the four-wheeler and it doesn't tear easily. We have a pile of these thanks to eBay and craigslist and we love the brand. Again a big part of why I don't hesitate to send those energetic guys out to get the work done.

This guy is quickly growing up and wants to be with the boys. His sisters are dismayed that he wears pink snow pants but they fit and as fast as he grows he might as well no one else has really used them they will also be destroyed in farm work so he will be colorful this season. The hat is another must have on the farm. The wind in the ears is painful these hats are what we all wear when we are outside more than half an hour. 

And my guys at home waiting for our family study time. I am blessed with these talented, funny, strong, young men in my home. Mostly they are nice- sometimes that takes some reminding and firm encouragement. They make me laugh and are who I mostly depend on to do the ehavy lifting and outside problem solving here. They are friends and wrestling buddies. 

Life is good I am blessed to have both sides of the coin the girls and the boys both of which keep me on my toes and fill my heart to the brim. 

11.12.19 Another Lia post

Lia is learning to kiss. She will pucker up and put her lips on yours. She is also learning to enjoy being kissed and puts her face to your lips to receive that caress. This night she was loving on her dad. She was so cute and persistent. We are a family that kisses their babies a lot. 

Another day I found eggs on sale and stocked up. I have the younger kids rebox them when I get home. Bruce had done the first 5 dozen then moved on. Alia had studied his work and was determined she could do it too.

I don't usually let the baby play with the eggs but she did very well and had an expert supervisor in Afton. Alia was mad when the eggs ran out. I did not, however, let her carry the full cartoons to the fridge. Oh her determination is good and hard to channel. She is a delight and dear to work with everyday. Life is good. And my blogging time is up as she is awake and is insistent that she type too. Oh the strong will of my children!

11.12.19 Leaves & Lia

I love our tree coverage in the summer months. The shade is glorious and allows my fair-skinned crew to play outside worry-free for hours on end. However, in the fall I really wish we would have cut more limbs off or reduced the tree number by half. The leaf clean up is required they are too thick to allow lawn to survive and so hours and hours are spent raking and hauling leaves. A few years ago we learned that leaves are a good soil amendment so we diligently dump them about a foot deep on our garden spots. We still have a lot leftover! This crew is getting initiated into leaf removal. 

They are getting older and stronger and more capable and I am learning to call different names when I need a job done. We are going through some growing pains as we shift responsibilities around forcing the younger yet old enough kids to also pull their weight and take care of what needs to be done.

Aliza brought this leaf back from Indiana it is truly as big as half a full-size newspaper.

Millie and Aliza had raked piles so all we had to do was pick them up. The crew was willing and worked well. Lia was intently studying what the process was.

Adding her handful of leaves. It was so cute.

 Taking leaves to the field to dump. The kids did pretty well staying on task and getting the job done. Some are more focused than others but all in all we accomplished what was necessary and it was fun to be with them on such a pleasant evening.

After the first few loads she wandered off, I remembered she was out there and started to hear her struggling wondering what she was into I went to find her carrying this basket to use for her container to haul leaves. 

I helped her bring the basket to the pile and she got the rake to pick up like I was doing a few seconds before. 

We got her basket full but realizing it was too big for her to carry I carried both to the field.

The kids helped her a fill her basket a few more times, then carried her to the field to empty it. She is intent on doing what they do! She also lets us know when she doesn't want help and when it is ok.

As the sun was setting the temperature was dropping. Her hands got cold, so I sent her inside with a sister to warm up. When I came in she seemed hungry so we got her some food, she took a few bites as her eyes got heavier and heavier. In about 30 seconds she was asleep. My hard worker needed a break.

In some ways she is reminding me of Addie who has always insisted she can do whatever the big kids are doing. Lia replaces lids on the milk jug, she puts things back in their place, she sees what needs to be done and does it. That's rare! One of the best parts of motherhood is getting to know each individaul child for their talents, desires, like and dislikes and then learning how to parent them and most important remembering who is who, and how to work with each. Life is good.

11.8.19 Awards Assembly

It is always with great trepidation I head to the marathon evening of parent-teacher conferences. This year I heard some great results, maybe there was a district-wide memo to teachers just say nice things? I'm not sure but I cam away breathing easier and hopeful some big gains were on the horizon. The awards assembly the next week was a real haul of awards. I was so thankful for the additional recognition of students who completed a lot of lessons on the school testing program. This allowed more kids to be recognized. Recognition is SO important to motivating students. Love this handsome, hardworking, book-loving group of mine. I really appreciate that they all got an award. It is hard to see their disappointment when they are the one that did not earn recognition.

Of course, that success all comes from starting young. I love that her tongue is stuck out as she concentrates on being big like the other kids here.

Livy has insisted that she grow her bangs out. This is another attempt at keeping them out of her eyes. She is a beautiful lady and is growing so much right now.

Addie spent many hours finding this carpet. This is our catch-all room. It gets very deep as we all toss stuff in there, dig for what we need right now, and the little kids enjoy finding the treasures that are hidden within. Addie would love to toss most of it but I can't let her as we use most things annually or more often. Some things are leftover from my past like material and tin cans for food storage, but I'm not ready to give up. She patiently organizes this quarterly and I thank her for her determined digging. She's so good to me.

Harold with the two cousins Alia and Evander. Evander is at least 6 months older weighed in at 22 lbs, which was big for him and Alia is now 28lbs. She's a big strong lady who has lately developed a fierce determination to do things herself her way.