Back to school

The kids haven't even been in school for two weeks, and it feels like we never left. This is the first day of school they are delighted to be back resting every day. The farm is still in full force. The last few years we have wound down and relaxed of sorts when school started. This year due to the track experience and spring work taking forever the crops are not mature and we continue slugging through the mud and breakdowns. So these kids who weren't working on a problem and were happily leaving for the day. Livy had just been told she would indeed be working with Greg after school She was not happy with that. 

Addie came in and got ready quickly leaving Mark and Reed to finish fixing the centerdrives. She had a recruiting responsibility the first day of school.

Finally, the guys came in. I had already emailed the office to excuse them. This break into high school has been harder on Reed. The other two are experts now and understand how to work the system, he is taking it in stride. We are all looking forward to the water turning off. 

At home, we worked on school and wrote a letter to Aliza. 

She is advanced from the rest of my kindergartners. It's a joy to teach her. 

Football has high expectations this year. The seniors had a dinner party. Mark had been out chasing cows and arrived just in time.

I spend at least an hour each day cleaning moss, resetting tubes, and restarting the pivots. That's between the laundry, dishes, and cooking for the family. The days are busy. It's good to get outside and exercise a bit but mostly I just miss my kids. 

August has been a bit of a heartbreak month. With John gone and now most of the kids gone the sense of loss is very real. The return to the workforce of women my age leaves very little social interaction during the day. The major changes combined with continued very hard farm work, and very low commodity prices leave life looking pretty bleak. I marvel at the faith-filled women in history who serenely accept their lives and plod on hopeful and filling their lives with prayer and faith. Looking back after a month of plodding through and checking off activity after activity I'm sure we are blessed. We just keep moving forward. 
 

Elder John

First Zone conference. I got these pictures from he mission president's wife. Oh how I miss that handsome young red haired guy. 

I loved the perfect shot of him visiting with the sisters. That is my John. 

Our phone call he shared his recent thrift store finds. This great shirt! It really looked good on him. 

And these silly shoes. Those are slides. They are terrible I encouraged him to trade them. His mission companion likewise said maybe $5.00 was too much money for such treasures. 

Displayed on his feet. One thing about John he likes to be unique in a quiet loud way. He's got a sense of humor and fun. 

 He continues to learn the work and enjoy the companionship. I think that is a huge blessing of missionary work developing working relationships with others. He's doing well and time is passing. I'm so thankful to be able to talk with them and watch them grow from a distance. I know it is important to back off and let them find their way. That is a hard lesson to swallow. We are blessed. 

Cousin spend the night

Another end of summer tradition is the annual rodeo and spend the night at grandma and papa's. This was the first time in the new house with all the cousins. The kids had a great time. GIrls playing cards with my dad. 

A car load of ladies ready to go to the rodeo. 

The morning walk with grandma the kids went on new roads this year. 

Deluxe pancake breakfast outside in the nice morning sunshine after a giggle night of not much sleeping. 

Breakfast prep with lots of helpers. 

Back at home I went to the garden with Merle and Andrea to see what was happening there. What a difference a few weeks make and more water. Those zinnias have turned into large bushes these days and the pepper plants are literally falling over with weight of peppers. 

I love sunflowers and am so happy these look so healthy. The bugs love them too. I worked to plant more pollinator flowers this year and love the blooms that have finally come. 

I also adore the armful of produce with each trip home. We have been blessed with an abundance of cucumbers definitely worth the $4.00 price stage for the plant. 

In the winter months I paint the flowers in my head and in the summer I have grown them. A nice change of seasons. So much of our farm life is seasonal. A time to plant a time to harvest and a time to rest from that. Important lessons life moves on and hard times don't last and good times change too. So be in the moment with faith something new is around the corner. I'm just thankful to repeat the process again and again. We are blessed. 
 

Corn and Watermelon

The annual corn and watermelon feed is hosted by the elder's quorum. Greg got pretty sick about this same time and was not up to helping. With so many helping hands this wasn't a huge problem. I had sourced the corn and got it picked up earlier in the day. Later I asked the kids to shuck the 55 dozen ears of corn. We then cooked about half of those ears and sent them to town in various cars. After all that work we realized there was more than enough for the party so we took hot cooked corn around to the neighbors who wouldn't be attending. We like to be random neighbors you never know what we will show up with to share. When we finally got to the party they were cleaning up we helped with that then shared some more corn and watermelon with people who didn't come. The opportunity to visit and show people you are aware of them is good. 

Our cows were very thankful for all the husks. They come running when people are corn shucking. Like I said a quicker composting method.  

After the party there were leftovers. Andrea had some more corn at home. We also brought home extra watermelon. Tasty treats of summer. 

Andrea rubbed my feet after a long day. She is a cute helper. She had got in the way of a swing and took it full on her mouth she was pretty banged up for a few days. 

These two were cutting the excess too large cucumbers and zuchinni for the mother hen and chicks. I love watching the hens teach the chicks. These little girls love having free time cutting and chopping. 

Addie went and worked af ew days for my dad. We miss her but it is so good to go work elsewhere. 

 We are thankful for the many different days we have. This season of harvest is so rewarding. Life is good and we are blessed. 

Full of Beans

With kids at school all day I have more time and space to listen and learn again. One of the subjects I've been wandering around in is different diets or health advice. I started this last year researching longevity practices and have come back to that fascinating topic. I can't totally subscribe to any complete elimination diets, especially in this month when everything is ripening and so delicious to eat. One of the many fresh vegetables are these beauties. I was only going to pick some for super but helped another woman pick and ended up with a bag or two for my own use. Because I am also the main grocery getter and prepper I look for ways to save money. I had the idea to try frozen mixed vegetables. This was so easy to do, especially with my super helper Addie. 

We had some this week and they were so good. The kids didn't miss the lima beans from store-bought at all. I guess I could can some lima beans but why waste money, time, and space, on the most picked out vegetable of all? 

I'm still pondering all the learning Mark and I did about compost and soil microbiology. I still have ingredients to make compost so I'm starting again. Mark argues that cows complete the process in days time versus months with microscopic organisms. So I feed the the grasses and scraps and pile it for the chickens to turn. I add manure sometimes I don't love shoveling manure. Anyway, experiments away I keep trying out things I've learned and studied. 

Part of farming is weed management. One day I took this strong crew and we shoveled out puncher vines. I was very happy with the end result, but now two weeks later you can't tell we did anything. 

It's hard to pick which works better hoeing or shoveling? The road is moderately long so anything is helpful to pick up the long masses of poking vines. These guys did a good job as long as I stood right with them encouraging them to keep on. 

I was really pleased with their efforts. As we change from older highly skilled and responsible laborers, we are challenged to train this next group with their own personalities, confidence, and abilities. Honesty is a major lesson right now. 

Millie shows promise when the work is seen. As usual, the love of reading slows the work down to a standstill. Credit to her though for a major portion of the greenbean picking this year. And helping get them processed at home. We listened to Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years as we worked. No matter how many times I read those stories they are still a delight on the next read-through. 

In my life, thanks to my dad, bean picking is just another summer responsibility I'm so thankful my kids can know and develop love of fresh beans. They learn to toil and work to completion to pick their required amounts. I'm thankful for the traditions that live on and for time together. We are so blessed with sunshine and togetherness. When listening to the various interviews and experts I think we live in a different world. As the kids and I listen to the historical Little House Stories I think we do some of those same things. Mostly through being together, having space to grow, touching the dirt, and eating whole real food. We are so fortunate. 

I try not to take for granted the very abundant life we live. I'm thankful for each that makes it possible. Life is good. 
 

John in the mission field finally

John arrived in Texas almost a month ago. He's been testifying and sharing the Book of Mormon wherever he goes and with whomever he meets. He said sweat acts as a sunscreen and that it is hot! This is trainer Elder Kinsey. He's from Utah and a great cook. 

His mission president is highly communicative. I've been impressed with how much he reaches out to the missionaries. John is a big man and sometimes comments he's too big. But that's just who he is and his strength will be used now and throughout his life. I'm so thankful he is taking time to develop and deepen his spiritual strength as well. 

The new arrivals at the beginning of August. 

Meeting his companion at the mission home. The humidity took care of John's wrinkled clothes. 

These two are good friends and playmates, but Evander has spent enough years at home to go to school. I snapped this picture because the older kids were asking about a size comparison between the two. Someday, they, too, will be serving missions. 

Those same weeks brought Aliza's time in Normal Illinois to a close. Her sweet singing companion stayed and Aliza left. She said the sweet little sister in the middle is a fireball of activity and service. She loved her and the time in Normal so much. This companionship worked hard and enjoyed the short days they spent together.

And at home with the ones still growing and learning. I get to spend time nurturing them and filling their buckets with time on my lap. 

I'm so thankful for the many stages we have here. These little ones help me adjust to physical and literal changes in our family dynamic. It's good to still be in the toddler stage while the others grow up and become independent. Mondays are highlights of the week because I get to hear from the missionaries. It's interesting to hear their successes and stories. I'm so thankful or good companions and wards who truly do the work of finding so the missionaries can teach and testify. Life is so good.