9.23.20 Family Reunion

It's been over three weeks since we had a large family reunion at our house. As far as I know no one was sick after and I'm so thankful we braved the warnings and got together. My family looks forward to this weekend every year! I walked out of my house Sunday morning to this sight. That is pretty awesome to have church with those you love right in your own yard. 

Many of the pictures show eating. We had three square meals a day. It felt like we were stuffed from morning till late at night and peanut butter sandwiches were only one meal. Along with corn and  melons. All that eating provided lots of time to visit with different relations and to enjoy just relaxing. 

The kids were free to roam and play. The adults mostly trusted they were safe and ok. These two were intent on cleaning the outside toys. 

Uncle Don brought safe water activities and kids had a ball getting very very wet. 

There were tractor rides and this balance activity. Just tow ropes between two trees, yet very hard to keep your balance on. John just took a tumble. 

Volleyball all abilities are welcome. The talented cousins are kind to teach the ones lesser experienced. There were two nets one fort the older stronger kids and one for teaching the younger set. 

The days were spent simply just visiting, enjoying being outside and breathing easier away from the cares of home. 

Saturday morning was our big breakfast. These boys and some others not pictures were my work crew. They are shown cracking dozens of eggs. On the counter not shown they were mixing pancake mix. 

Aliza cooked bacon and sausage for over an hour in our ovens. Of course all was eaten that was offered. 10 lbs of sausage and about 10 lbs of bacon. 

Addie headed up the outside grill cooking pancakes and potato hashbrowns. Aunt Lexine brought her special syrups: real maple, chokecherry, spiced apple juice. Oh it was so delicious!

The opening meal is hamburgers and hotdogs Addie grilled all those on our Traeger. The individual chips were a special treat for all the kids in attendance. Smores rounded out the evening with a live fire. 

The tractor was pulled out to give city cousins rides up and down the hay field thanks to far away cousin Paul from Washington D.C. 

Aunt Shauna cooked beans for two days in preparation for the burrito bowls. We had plenty of beans and not enough rice. Again Aunt Lexine made three kinds of salsas. Oh man this was delicious. The best part of all this cooking and eating is the time spent visiting preparing, eating, and cleaning up. 

The kids made new friends and deepened friendships that are just developing. I loved that they had such a great time. 

This is a picture of a great conversation. I stayed up very late with Greg talking/listening to this cousin I took away some lessons I really needed at this time in my life. 

Another reunion down! Another year checking up on how people are doing, learning and being strengthened. Enjoying some R & R and the reassurance that we are not alone in our goals, hopes, and faith. Life is good and family is a true blessing. 
 

9.22.20 Harvest Festival

I love watching the kids read. I was asked recently if my sons ever got a chance to read. The answer is most definitely yes!! Every second they can spare their nose is in a book. I'm working to guide that hoping to add to their education and life understanding with good books that teach them. Here Reed is returning for the garden but the book was too good to put down for even ten minutes. 

These mammoth tomatoes are called Phoenix. There is just something delicious about garden tomatoes on bread with some mayo spread and anything else. Oh my yum! And those red beauties weigh over 1.5 lbs a piece one feeds all of us. 

We had a lot of cottage cheese in the fridge so we made an old family recipe lime jello with cottage cheese. My grandma made this special treat often when I would visit. So many memories are tied to food. My kids thought it was ok. 

As I have mentioned I work all day to be teaching these kiddos, from responsibility and follow through to history, science, world events, literature etc. Here they are enacting having small pox introduced in a video of libertys kids about alexander Hamilton- which led to a ted talk about vaccinations.

One day when the school I hoped for was not going so well and I was loosing my mind I had to nurse the screaming baby and had the thought that maybe they should do some art. So they drew then colored the pictures uniquely while I read to them about the Boston Massacre and we talked about the intolerable acts- which coincided with what Addie was learning in her school class that day as well. I was so thankful for the instruction to regroup and try a different way! God speaks if we are still and quiet enough to listen. 

A neighbors corn field went for silage but a lot of corn was left on the ground along with spilled silage. We went one empty evening and scooped the insilling silage it smelled so sweet. Livy is packing it down. 

The other kids were picking up ears of corn. The chickens were thrilled to have corn on the cob. 

We also were able to go pick raspberries one morning. So many raspberries probably 5 ice cream buckets full. The berries were so nice Aliza made pie with a helper. Heaven on a fork! No pictures because it was prepared and devoured so quickly. 
 
Another day a friend asked us to come pick her white grapes. So we had a lovely visit and came home with grapes for 15 half gallons of juice. 

The Lord provides and watches over our needs. I was struck as we read his sermon on the mount of his admonition to the newly called disciples not to worry about food and or raiment. These pictures attest that there is plenty to spare. Not pictured are the potatoes we were generously given. The abundant produce our garden is still pumping out. The onions and wheat we are receiving. Yes there is peace in having all safely gathered in. We are thankful for those that think of us and for opportunities to learn to do hard jobs. Picking berries is not easy but sure is tasty. I'm thankful for the time we have to take care of our needs and to take the time it requires to train new workers. Life is good, even with a back ache from carrying baby and bending to pick every full vine of berries. We are so blessed! 

9.21.20 Educated at home

I started school this year on August 17, to see if I could actually teach all 7 kids. That's a lot! I bought some cool markers and invested in some math curriculum. The kids did well. I learned white boards bring much less resistance. I like writing on the white board too, we use it everyday with almost every lesson. 

I want my kids to understand what is going on in America we watched the Republican National convention it was inspiring and educational the stories about being held hostage, overcoming communism, service and life as an American were eye opening. 

These are pictures of the kids on zoom. Don't they look super engaged? I was trying to make it work hoping going against my gut and my heart. The experience did not get better it got worse as the teacher worked to keep and gets on the same page, make the technology work, and still try to teach the kids new information. 

We tried for 6 days of school Everyday I was mad, disappointed, and frustrated. Finally enough was aenough and I pulled the Reed, Livy, & Millie fromt he zoom classroom. Mark never attended and had no intention of participating. Thus I became the boss of our life again- more or less with kid resistance, farm emergencies and necessities. So each day I work to add education to the day we work through our text books and read, sing, memorize, pray etc to learn about the world around us nad ot stretch our mind and understanding of the country we live. 

A big part of school is dealing with everyone always together. Bruce got these awesome magnets for his birthday he plays with them everyday. Merle has learned to grab his toes he studies them and will bounce for an hour or so while I teach the other kids. 

The two brudders. Merle sporting some mean mosquito bites after raspberry picking. Bruce just loves being the big brother. 

Afton is coming along she is the kindergartener. We have had some fun lessons with the number ten as she is our number ten. She is eager and so kind. She is very quick to share and notices the needs of others. I love getting to know the kids as the mature. 

 There's more than one way to skin a cat. We are working to learn, we are working to be nice, we are just plain working. That's what life takes is work and effort. Life is good!

9.16.20 It's the load

One of my favorite conference talks refers to a story about a husband buying a four wheel drive pickup and then taking it to get wood for his family. The pickup gets stuck in the snow. The man decides to do his work and loads the pickup with wood. When the pickup is loaded the pickup easily gets out of the snow and the man returns home. It was the load that allows the man to get out, without the load the man would have remained stuck unable to move.

 This year we added more to our load. We had baby 13, we took over the day to day on the farm, we moved into homeschooling because our governor forced it and now we have chosen to continue. All of these choices added to our load. 

Most days I feel like the flat tire pictured here. Covered in mud/baby spit up mom stuff, flat and worn out. Yet, I am amazed at how much my kiddos have grown and how capable they are and how much energy they have even with all the load. I cannot fathom what I would do with them without a lot to do. 

A blessing/curse of the farm are the pivots. One day I got to go out to the break down to deliver water. This was a while ago, but I have not been into the corn field to  see a flat tire on a pivot and took the opportunity to take some pictures. 

Greg is placing broken concrete in the track to help provide a stable base for the tire to move through. these are tracks we had not added gravel to this spring. 

I think Reed is placing the cement. That mud was so slimy. 

The usual canning for the year is also happening. Poor Lia so tired of the day fell asleep while working. The notebooks in the background are for each kid doing homeschool. 

These girls are big helpers washing jars, peeling fruit, carrying jars, picking fruit. They are getting a taste of being bigger kids and thus having more expected of them. 

Unfortunately, the ripening timing was a bit off and some of our fruit was ready when the family reunion started.  Aliza and I dutifully worked through 50 jars or so while people assembled for the fun weekend. 

Oh be still my heart these sweet boys. Just a random shot one night. Bruce won't go to bed alone so if his brothers are out working, like they were this night fixing the combine, he sleeps on me or in my bed. 

 

The harvest is here. I have been having nightmares and worry about this event for months. But here we are and it is going well. Greg has a relieved attitude and the acres are getting done. The first night he came home at 11 that was the earliest in months. Unfortunately since then it has been much later but like I said the corn is getting harvested and each day is one day closer to done. 

So we increased our load and while I think we might be getting crushed like grapes we are also stretching and gaining confidence and courage. The guys at the shop are holding their own and getting work done. They are working through school and managing. They are learning to be more thorough, to follow the rules they were taught like use a torque wrench not just guess, to read the manual and to keep going. Mark & Reed worked all summer on repairing the tractor and then the combine. They have learned a lot about farm mechanics. They walk tall and proud. The girls hold the fort down here. I honestly don't have much to do as my Super Addie has swooped in cleaning, organizing, and cooking with energy I just marvel at. Aliza and Anna work elsewhere and are working on a  few college classes. 

They are all capable, confident, and tired. That's not bad. John related when we discussed the birth of Christ how it would be his worst nightmare to have no time to sleep with the sun blaring for two straight days. We are tired but tired is good when you have had a day of necessity. Being needed, being part of the team and stretching is good for us all. Not that we won't relish some slow days when this is all done, just lazily building fence and watering 500 cows everyday, so nice to just back off. Ha ha. 

I sincerely hope this path of lots to do all the time teaches the lessons we hope to impart and we survive the extremeness of it all. So far it's ok, the homeschooling is ok. My little nature lover with a empty husk at the cornfield. Life is good we will survive!