What, you might ask?
Ranching...farming...taking care of animals. It's what we do here, day in and day out. We also color and read and play outside, but essentially, all the "inside" toys we have here are to build ranches.
Friends come over to play, and all the boys are on the floor setting up pens, laying out hay bales, filling pens with cows, horses, pigs, and sheep. They divvy everything out - some to one rancher and some to the others.
My favorite part about listening in on their conversations is this:
Gruff Old Man Voice for all boys...
"Hey, you got any heifers to sell?"
"No, not right now."
"Do you think we should butcher some steers?"
"Can I buy that cow from you?"
"No, I like this one...how about you buy this one?"
"Oh, this one's got a broken leg. I'm bringing her to Dr. Mattson."
"Should we haul some hay today?"
"That's not how you're supposed to load bales!"
"Stack the bales over there."
"Let's work cows today."
"What kind of shots should we give them?"
And on and on...ha. I love listening. They're grown men in little boys' bodies. From the biggest boys who come and build elaborate pens, to the littles who push pickups with trailers around the floor, it's what they know, in and out. How cool that we can live this life and teach them so much without even knowing it. They soak up all the information they learn outside in real life - working cows, feeding cows, watching their dads, fencing, etc. and come inside to play it over and over again.
Thank you, Lord, for this life we live, that we can teach our children to love and take care of our land and animals, and for all the time we can spend together in the process.
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