Days go by.

Reed played Burns and won 47-0. After so many heartbreaks to Burns this was so good. This years team makes it look easy. A powerful quarterback is a game changer. Reed makes a hole and the quarterb ack sends a runner or himself and makes yards or touchdowns. Reed is a dynamic determined player. The quarterback is trained and confident. There's a lot of depth to this team. I couldn't find my town cold weather clothes but I  knew my farm ones would keep me warm. So farm style we went to watch a nice win from my favorite team. 

Means a lot to this guy who struggles watching the line not work like they should. Oh the many years of watching my guys play football has been a nice hobby. Love them and love the confidence they gain in uniform. 

At the local pumpkin patch corn maize. Jake wasn't sure what to do. 

Millie took him for a ride on the slide. She had never been she said it was fun. 

Livy was captivated by the big celery. It was delicious so sweet and crunchy. 

We are committed to daily reading and phonics practice any place. 

Jake saw Andrea on Greg's shoulders and demanded he get a turn too. 

We caught the last day of beet harvest. Andrea rode a while with Anna & Elle her dog. Andrea insisted she get a beet. She ate a measurable portion with a spoon throughout the day. She's such an interesting little person.  

First quarter awards. Honor roll and iready lessons passed. Bruce is getting the hang of middle school expectations. We are learning to use our time wisely. Thankful for teachers who put the time into awards. Kids work harder when recognized. 

Each day is full to the brim. We are thankful for the energy and health to carry on. We are thankful for each of these kiddos who keep our hands full and our minds moving. We are so blessed and grateful for the many who help them to grow up. Life is so good. 
 

Livy

Livy participated in Cross Country. She was asked to come be a companion runner for the shortest girl in the picture. She found she could do harder things than she imagined. And she found a sport that supports ice cream cones after practice. She also really enjoyed the shared friendship with a group also doing hard things enjoying then enjoying ice cream. There might be some good life lessons in that. 

She got some press space on the local sports page on Facebook. 

She ends her school day singing with these kids, then changes clothes and runs with the cross country team. This has been the best start to a school year I could have hoped for. I definitely prayed for divine intervention that something could be good for her in high school. A local school has everything cooking, a strong art and music program among other desirable school day offerings. Our school does not. Last year they didn't have any music. Through some rethinking and shuffling the teacher found room in her full day to teach high school choir. How blessed we have been through the years by teachers willing to give more. To spend extra time on the arts. How frustrating it is to watch post after facebook post on teachers who give lots of time to their hobbies and express frustration over what they are asked to do during the school days. 

The motto that was guiding the beginning of the cross country year was "choices were made." That has rung in my ears this fall. Yes they are and consequences come. Sometimes that's winning, sometimes that's boredom, sometimes its a lot left on the table, and sometimes its a feast. Watching the young men who are senior runners accomplish great times this year it's so exciting because it takes years to be a state qualifier and winner. And it's so great when they don't give up and they get to that point after years, not days but years of not quiet making the cut. That takes a lot of determination and support from family and coaches and peers to keep going through injuries, set backs, falling short, and enduring the hot and cold continued practice. (writing is so good for the soul to put into life what you know and have witnessed but is roaming fragmented in my brain). 

And all this good expenditure of time has led to this friend and others which is so exciting. It's good to be known. For a long time we have been watching Livy take the world on her terms and this year she is letting the world know her and fitting just fine into this high school experience. She is getting good grades, managing all the time constraints, and happily going along. 

This is a great opening of a beautiful butterfly Livy. I am so thankful God has her in His hands perfectly orchestrating opportunities that she can grow and fulfilling her potential. Its hard to put into words the many years of prayers for each kiddo. The wondering who they are, working with them on their level with their personalities and struggles. Each has a different area that needs help and that comes easy. Each has different talents. When I panicked at the thought of helping develop talents in my kids when the oldest were very young, a wise friend said "the things they won't leave alone are their talents you will know and opportunities will open to develop them." Now about twenty years later that is what we have seen happen. Is everything superb? Nope. Do we have to stretch to find opportunities? yes. Do we pass on somethings? Yes. Do I still worry about it yep? Do kids resist, absolutely! But this has been a profound example of God showing me He is aware, and He makes things happen. So that's the reason for another Livy update. God has us, we just trust and keep putting in the preparation. 

This picture with friends made me smile. So many perks to team sports. 

With Reed at the FFA pumpkin carving. They said we don't smile for pictures. Then I found proof they do. Funny Kids. She won most creative. Reed won quickest carved. 

Next up leg surgery. She has gotten stronger and that will help her recover and give her a purpose to work toward as it will be painful but that will pass and she will be ready for more sporting adventures. Life is good. 
 

farm kids cont.

 These are my days and these are the kids who fill them. We are thankful for a lifestyle that allows for the kids to be part of what we do. Is it harder one handed? Yep. Is it doable yep? Is it the same everyday? Never. 
I convinced Merle to come ride with me. He prefers the tractor. He knows how things are suppose to go in the tractor after many hours riding he is a good helper. 

Jake has outgrown this but it keeps him contained when needs be. 

He enjoyed some hours sleeping in the truck. I woke him up and let him look around before a helper came and got him. He likes to know what I'm doing and where I'm at. 

Harvest fest happened. Many of the moms I started with are gone and the rest are done this year. I am working to get to know the new families. I will greatly miss my older friends. They are so talented and have given so much. The kids are always so excited for Bingo. The big item this year was a crockpot. The kids Millie and a friend named Cooper wanted it badly. Cooper won it so he has another way to cook the game he shoots. Millie, Afton, and I worked on food prep on Friday then helped on Saturday with the carnival, clean-up, and the final bingo game. Such an engaging evening there is truly something for everyone. Carrying Jake on my back was a true test of strength and endurance but we got through.

Cousin Monroe won animals on his bingo card Merle was impressed. Monroe loves to watch the farming out the window. 

Jake watching the cows as he eats breakfast. He is getting so inquisitive. 

Andrea and mom in the truck singing songs like she'll be coming around the mountain- I remember singing this with my mom. Chickeree chick- my grandma sang this. Sweet violets- my grandma. Tiny Turtle- my sister Ruth. Do your ears hang low- my mom. Down by the banks- my mom, ruth. Way down yonder in the paw paw patch- my grandma. It's a sweet blending of my family. Old Mcdonald. I'm realizing these songs are so great for strengthening the tongue muscles which are weak on kids who struggle with speaking clearly. So more singing for stronger speaking! We also sing church songs but the silly songs remind me of the women who sang them for me. The singing helped ease the worry and stress of missing so much that others were demanding like homework, reading time, church preparedness, the falling commodity market. Singing is a great prescription for what ails you. And as I sang songs that reminded me of these influential women I remembered they too might have been overwhelmed or defeated,  and yet they spread good and made memories I cherish. So we tried harder to make harvest good for them. 

Jake with dad loving being a big man. 

Those good long days made sweet with our little ones enjoying the time outside with us. We adapt, we endure, we make memories. Life is good. 
 

Buddy & Flowers

At first I left Jake home with a sitter. But as harvest drug on we could not keep having them miss school. Our district is gaining awards for attendance. That means kids have to go. Mostly I agree but sometimes there are more important things than sitting in school. As society becomes less responsible the school system becomes more controlling. I continue to  not like the interference in my family. Long story short Jake came and rode at the end of harvest. He did really well buckled into the tractor buddy seat. Thank goodness for seatbelts that are enough restraint and support that little people can be safe. 

The flashlight helped him balance and be entertained. 

He also likes to look out the window and see what is going on outside. He is getting stronger at climbing. 

My favorite dahlia plant so many pretty blossoms that lasted a long time. The bees were grateful for so much pollen too. These were grown in my composted leaves. This plant did really well. We are of course composting more leaves they make great soil. 

My gardener friend let us come pick in her garden. We harvested buckets of flowers to share. Oh I love the colors of flowers. And I love the opportunity for my girls to also make arrangements.

Flowers on top of life. There is always so much going on. I sure miss sending Addie out with the girls to deliver flowers its hard for me to leave. But we did and it was delightful to stop and visit with friends for a few minutes. 

Harvest is always long. A friend said we should celebrate the harvest. It is such an emotional physical process. The marketing aspect is not for the feint of heart or listening ears. Two years now I have listened to older wiser people and have regretted it. From now on I'm trusting myself and selling when I think best. The work is the same the payment varies greatly. I'm trying to move forward from mistakes. The flowers were/are more than just beautiful. They are a diversion. A reliable way of reaching outside of the worry at home on my dirt. A way of doing something different. A way to connect with my kids. Others are so kind and generous to them here we are task masters always demanding more. Read more, do your homework, bath, clean up your messes, get the fences built. For those small moments we go share people are delightful, grateful, some share a piece of candy or popcorn. The kids share a hug it is peaceful for a few minutes. We come home relieved and back to the ever present work of farm/large family life. That gets heavy. But the breaks bring air. Fresh air that revitalizes the spirit and allows enough change to recommit and settle in for another long pull. 

We are blessed. We have abundance we have so much to be thankful for and so much work to do each day. That is good. Purpose is motivating. Nothing is always nothing I'm teaching Merle as we drill math facts 2+0 is only 2. We added nothing. So in our days of overwhelm and so much we have everything. Life is good. 

Reed football

In between long hours of farming and the required school hours Reed has been playing football. He is a tough young man. He shared today he doesn't like school lunch so he only eats a bit of that. He works until well after dark when he comes home and he maintains a high 3.5 GPA. He is pretty awesome. On the field and off he is serious, listens and completes tasks as instructed, and he is strong. 

Celebrating with the family after a game. 

He earned player of the week for being conscious of the support efforts needed before and after the game. The one time he missed the locker room was a disaster and other stuff was left in disarray. Reed takes care of people and things. The coaches told me the other teams discount him because he isn't huge on film, but ont he field he keeps his guy or guys contained and makes the paths he is suppose to. 

It was a great reunion to see cousin Megan and have Addie home for a few days. She and teammate Dylan recharged at our house one weekend. 

We are grateful for all the support. 

Winning the Nyssa game for the 9th straight year in a row. Its very generous of Dr. Munk to financially support both schools during this game. 

We were so thankfuls he could see one game. She is still one of his biggest supporters. It means a lot to him that she cares. I believe he plays right tackle. He is the one of my sons who scored a touchdown when he noticed the ball was stripped from a running back he jumped on it in the endzone so he scored. He has had three fumble recoveries, many quarter back sacks, and at least one tackle per game. It's unfortunate that so many of their games have been away this year. 

The photographer moms have moved on. I don't know who if any do take pictures. So no super cool action photos of him yet. Football is a privilege and one that Reed has earned. He's a great young man and we are so grateful to watch him mature. Life is good. 
 

Harvest Epic

 We have completed harvest. I think this may have been the hardest yet most blessed one yet. These two cuties were so game for any farm time we felt was safe for them. 

We were gifted a large pack of high visibility vests and gave the kids strict instructions they were to wear them whenever on the farm- with the exception of when they were working in the weeds. Weeds love polyester. They don't adhere as much to cotton but man anything plastic based is garbage after the water weeds. The kids had to remove the handlines from the corn rows and at the ends the weeds are tall.

After school we had the full crew on deck. It is such a relief when they come home. School was a major trial this season. From kids falling behind to the new administration interpretations of whats important it was frustrating. 

Andrea asked me to sing to her. This is what my grandmother did for me. So I obliged I have about 20 minutes of songs to work through then we are quiet, or we talk, or we sing some more. Singing is such a magical reliable anti depressant. The days get long the market fell to pieces and the breakdowns are disheartening but singing silly songs with this little one was helpful to brighten the days and remind me life will be ok. 

The corn looked nice. We were handshelling it to take in samples to test the moisture content of the kernels. Wet corn is harder to shell. This corn was wet. 

Andrea was especially vigilant about her safety vest. I modified it a bit to make it smaller. They were helpful in noticing where kids were at. 

We bought a combine this year. A long held dream for Greg and I both is complete. It took some significant repairs but nothing major. It was particularly helpful to be able to get parts we needed from the old combine but we also were able to gather parts as needed quicker than years past. We weren't sure about the new 4 tires in the front but they really reduced tracks in the field leaving more to graze so that's a win. 

I drove grain cart occasionally, I mostly drive my truck back and forth. Lloyd combines, Greg does the grain cart, and I drive up and down the dirty roads. The dirt was worse than usual I have great empathy for early settlers that dust is just choking, blinding, demoralizing messy. I like that part of modern life that we can  be clean. 

Jake loved the tractor. He did so well riding. 

We work so hard to grow the crop we don't want to leave it on the ground. I was walking back to the grain cart after a problem. Up hill farmer carry for the workout that day. 

At the feedlot the corn is ground and piled up then smooshed down with a large tractor this compaction removes the oxygen and the corn ferments into a quicker digestable protein for the cows. 

The last planted corn was too wet to process through our combine thus we called the choppers to come cut it. It was such a relief to see the corn disappear. And when we go to the end and needed to be done, after cleaning out a plug up due to wet corn for two days it was even better to not have to face that hardship. 

The corn was tall and abundant. We have a large lady bug population. I'm thankful for natural predators. We work to support the different micro and macro biology cycles trying to work with nature.

I don't ride often but figured I should once to see what we had both in the machine and the crop. I was happy to get out it made me claustrophobic and slightly sick to watch all the wiggly plants come at you continuously. I prefer the road and the breeze. 

We were able to catch problems before they were catastrophes. We were safe, we were healthy, we survived, and we made it to the nearby feedlot. And we have been partially paid. All great feelings of accomplishment. It is hard. I question every year if the hard is worth it. I give up and then keep going. And I'm so proud of my family for making this happen. 

I am tired and emotionally drained. I am humble walking into parent teacher conferences knowing I am part of my children's problem not meeting all the teacher expectations. I have different goals and objectives. I am playing the long game and constantly question if we are moving correctly day by day to get the results we want most. I hope so. I can look to the older 6 and think they are pretty great, things will work out for the younger 9. 

So I work on different projects now and say prayers of thanks for a farming opportunity that fuels other dreams and goals. That teach my children to keep going, the reality of the life cycle, working together, responsibility and accountability, and so much more. We have been very blessed life is good.