It's been so long since I've wrote on here that I've forgotten about my blog. Until today, when I was looking for a recipe and thought I might have shared it on here a while ago. It wasn't here, but I realized how much I miss sharing about my sweet family. Whether anyone reads this or not, it's still here and something my kids can come back and look at in years to come. I was also saddened to realize I haven't written a post since last October. They've changed so much since then!
Our 2016 has been full. We try and savor our time with just our family and the times we can just be home, doing our work and improving things around the farm. With all the rain we've had lately, we've done a few things. Matt made me a sidewalk last week, and is working on a new cement pad because he's moving in some hopper bins later on. We haven't hayed much because of all the rain. The quality won't be very good at all once we get into the fields, but I just pray that we will be able to get into them and make hay for our animals for the winter. Matt has stayed optimistic and does not dwell on the fact that it's almost late summer and we've hardly made any bales for winter. He knows this is out of our control and trusts God's plan for us.
I'll just share a little about each kid to catch up for myself. I want to remember how they are right now - they're so fun!
Clarence is great. He works almost like a man...he's been so helpful for Matt for cattle work, fencing, and just any sort of farm life. This spring, we were busy sorting out about 50 or so pairs so that we could work them and put them in another pasture. A bull got out and mixed everything back up again - not a huge deal, just more work. That day, Clarence came home from school and just went outside for a while. When he came in before bed, I asked what he'd been up to. He had brought up over 25 pairs by himself to help Matt out. His heart is so big and just loves to serve others. He's been busy with tball this summer, but that's complete now. He also planted a big garden - corn, over 60 tomato plants (I think) ...he just kept finding more and more and planting them wherever. His plan was to grow oodles and sell them at the Farmer's Market in town now later on, but he's finding out what too much rain will do to his garden. It grows weeds better than tomatoes. He's also hatched out about 25-30 chickens from his own incubator this spring. He and Matt built a little portable chicken coop for them one weekend, which really made him a happy boy. He's very dedicated to feeding and watering them and getting them to new grass.
Adina's been a gem this summer, too. She has learned to be content with very little tv, and plays with and entertains her brothers so well these days. They just find things to do outside all day long. She's such a huge help in this way - I don't have to worry about trying to help find things for them to do because she's busy doing it. She loves swimming, riding bike, drawing pictures for people, playing with her friends, camping, and she's really enjoyed trying to learn how to read better this summer. I guess as long as it's a princess story, it's all good.
Clifford is such a hoot. He's always smiling and happy. He just goes with the flow and wants friends to play with, no matter who it is. Clothes are probably our biggest struggle right now - he'll only wear fast clothes. Yes, you read that right. Fast. Fast underwear, fast t-shirts, and fast shorts. And then he demonstrates how fast he is. I just cheer him on and he goes faster. Last week, we bought new shorts and he showed me the tag before he put them on and said, "See, Mom, that says fast." I just told him he was right and to show me how fast they were. :) He's fun. He's also kind - maybe it's his age, or maybe it's just his personality, but he's the one of my children who tells me I'm pretty and he tells me he loves me most often. He also likes to give me hugs and kisses most often.
Clancy is wild and fun, too. He doesn't miss a beat following the big kids around. He wants to be in on everything. If he knows someone's leaving, he's so sad if he's left behind. He loves to be part of anything, from playing, to ranger rides, to working cows in the barn, to just playing farm by himself in the house. He won't give kisses often during the day, but when I put him to bed, he's ready to pray, then he'll kiss me over and over. I love bedtime with him. He's been sleeping in a big bed with Clarence since about Easter, and they both love it.
Cliff's showing off one of Clarence's first batches of chicks. His incubator holds 9 eggs, and I think he did 3 or 4 batches. It was a fun project for him.
Adina loves to help with Clancy...all the time.
I found Clancy like this one day when the bigger kids were outside playing. I guess he felt a little left out. :)
Adina graduated from Kindergarten this spring. She's getting so old!
Clarence and the calf - it's his registered heifer that he bought from Polson Creek Ranch by Wannaska. He's really proud of her and very concerned about which bull she's going to be bred to for her calf next spring.
The pictures are a few months old, but show what has gone on here at our farm since winter-time. We've got lots of great cow-hands and chick-hatchers and bottle-calf feeders. I hope to write again soon! We have VBS this week out at Galilee, so we're all excited about that!
