Busy, Busy Today!!!!

Yea!!!! The guys made it home yesterday afternoon. Done with that job!!!! Anna made a special dessert, we had a meal together, and then we enjoyed the evening doing different things outside. Terry had to thin the corn, we did some clean up, unloaded the truck and enjoyed being all together!!!

Today is gonna be major busy!!!! We have a few that have to go do a small job in the city. And today is the dreaded day for the chickens!!!! So some of us will be doing that. We are getting started around 9:30 am. We are waiting on Elijah to get back with a rented tractor as he is going to seed the pasture. Bethany has to make a quick dash to the vet to get 6 goats health papers for the dairy show and then Terry, Andrew, Daniel and her will head out after we butcher the chickens. This season, (our 5th or 6th time) of raising the meat chickens has been challenging. We had two major catastrophes, one was a heavy rain and many drowned and the other a wild dog got in the pen and destroyed many. It has been very disappointing. We'll butcher whats left and we are having to cut the orders we had because of the loss. You learn as you go I guess.

In these two years since Joel has not been here with us, I have probably only had one or two dreams about him. This morning I awoke and I was so profoundly sad. I had dreamed of him. He was at someones house, like maybe my grandmothers and she was taking care of him. I was trying to be so careful with him. I was playing with him and then I was on the phone telling my friend Allison about him. I know it does not all make sense, the bits and pieces but for the first time he felt so near as to touch and then I woke and the sadness was so big. Maybe the Lord knows I do not need to dream about him. I do not know if I could handle having dreams and them being so real and having a sense of "loss" every time I dream. Its a continuing process of laying the sorrow at his feet as it is just too big for me to handle.

Well, better go. I"ll post some "blood and gut" pictures later........

Weather Pictures....

Look at these pictures Anna captured.....a storm came through.......all is calm now......that can remind us of our journeying's upon this earth, huh?





To Jessica who has a little boy, Caleb that just turned 2, I can not post a comment on your blog for some reason, would you mind e-mailing me at 13 blessings@sbcglobal.net I would love to visit with you!!

Truth and Dirt .....

**** I keep forgetting this.....you know our newlywed neighbors David/ alas "The Mav", and Kate/alas "The Mavette", well they are expecting a baby/alas "Mavie." We are so excited for them. They are due in Dec. Its going to be fun watching them grow!!**********

I did not hear from the Lord this morning as I sat on my bed, in the stillness, in the quiet, although that is a place that you can. I heard Him as I was out in the garden. This morning as I stepped out on the front porch and felt the wind gusts billowing and blowing, I knew there was a job to do. Our corn is about a foot high and the wind was beating it up! I headed up to the garden, grabbed a a tool and started pulling the dirt up around the vulnerable plants. I had some other strong helpers, Micah, Andrew and Josh. I sought to convey the truths below to my helpers! We had twelve, 100 foot rows to gird up with dirt that would carry them through the "tempestuous" winds, storm. The dirt was to the corn as the truth of scripture is to our hearts. We will face the tempestuous winds and storms in this life. I know, we have faced one of the greatest "winds" in our lives with our little Joel. What this dirt did for the corn, truth will do to our hearts. You see the corn was getting whacked, tossed, and some of it had all been bent to the ground. The truths of scripture will "carry" us through if we gird it unto and into our hearts, if we allow the truth to be girt about our necks. As we pulled the dirt around the necks of the corn, it strengthened it and the corn stood straight instead of falling over as the tempestuous winds beat upon it. The Lord brought to my mind how we need truth in our heart, we need truth in our minds, we need truth on our lips, we need truth penetrating the very depths of our being and then we can endure come what may. Truths of scripture are our meat to our souls and spirit. Truth sets us free, truth comforts us, it guides us, it convicts us, it keeps us from evil, we can use it to encourage others, it gives us hope, it never changes, fades or diminishes in power. It is vital to our beings as Christians, as believers. This morning was a clear illustration that we will have winds, storms, trials but we must with all diligence, exercise and fortitude "do" something! If we had not gone out there, the corn would have been damaged, it would have become fruitless. I must do unto my heart as we did unto the corn, bring the truth about it, by reading, meditating, speaking it to the children and to others as opportunities arise....then Lord willing, we will be adorned with fruit as the corn come harvest time. It was hard work, we were breathing hard, arms aching, sweat on our brow,blisters on my hands, but desire accomplished is sweet to the soul!! Its incredible how nature lets us hear from the Creator.

Well since "Pop" gave the right answer for what "rod" was I guess we'll have to fix him a special dessert when they come see us in a few weeks:) Rod was a gun!!! Now the movie that this quote was taken from and Mercy picked it up in was " The Photographer." It is a movie that Vision Forum has on their Behemoth.com website.

The rose bushes are "dripping" with roses, so beautiful!! They offer a picture of hope, promise, reaping.....I need those reminders daily. I am enjoying their beauty.

The guys are hoping to finish today and clean up tomorrow and Lord willing be DONE with this job and be home soon! The blessings of the resources will be great but they did not come with out hard labor, toil, and challenges. We are grateful for His provision!!

Oh, last night David and Kate came over for dinner, gave us something to do and of course we had to give them an "adventure." The fellow came to get the bull and it was a show, I mean a show!! We do not have a squeeze chute so he had to use rope tactics on about a 1500 pound bull. He ropes all over him and finally brought him to the ground, backed the trailer up to him and then tired ropes to the trailer and winched him in little by little. Finally he was in the trailer and hauled off!!! Now we have to give shots to our gals and bring them back into cycle and we will know for sure they have been bred with our bull.

John- Clay has got he Garden DVD in the works. He sent me an idea for the cover and it is so neat and a fun visual. I think you will be thrilled once again with his work!! Put your $ in a piggy bank so you can get one here before long!!

We have a blue sky today.....I am going to enjoy it!!!

Tuesday Stuff

Haven't posted because not much happening around here except "normal stuff." The guys are working away again and hopefully this is the last week!! It has been a very big job and also a challenging one working around and for the company with folks that can cause you to implement rather quickly godly character! They are ready to be finished with this one, to say the least. It has been raining here for 3 weeks at least on and off with very little sun peeking through. That can leave a persons attitude a little squelched of joy, like me! I like happy sunny days, they give me hope. Yesterday several of us had to return a pair of boots for Andrew I just got on Thursday and by Friday they were "broke!" We got that done and stopped in a few more places, the girls found a couple of skirts at an Eddie Bauer store on sale but the price did not seem like a sale! Oh, my Mother's Day was very nice! Anna made a beautiful breakfast, we had church and then later in the evening we cooked out hamburgers and I was blessed to just be together since the guys have been gone sooo much! The "working" sons blessed me with some "cash" for shopping, which they know I love to shop but I rarely have cash other than grocery money so I look forward to my own little shopping spree!! Today is Bethany and Anna's music lesson day in which they have students come in the afternoon. I need to do some school. I have pictures to put in Bethany's Creative Memory book. Figure out what to fix for dinner. Mercy has a bad cough. Jeremiah is anxiously awaiting an arrival of a Playmoblile firetruck he ordered. A fellow that takes care of the land next to us is suppose to come get his bull out of our pasture that has completely destroyed gates and pens and messed up our breeding plan with our new bull. A dairy goat show this weekend, a 3 hour drive, not everyone is going!! And of course I still am missing my little Joel, thinking of him every moment.......

There you have it, I told you it wasn't much!!

I guess this will not be a contest but I have a question for ya. Mercy has obviously been watching too many movies, good ones! The other day she saw Micah on the four wheeler at the front gate and I guess she could not make out who it was. So she told Jeremiah, "sumpins up, get your rod!!!" Now who can tell me what "rod" means and what movie was this quote taken from???? I'll tell ya tomorrow, but go ahead and guess, it'll be fun!!

Mercy is so funny......Anna is fixing lunch and she just asked me, "mom, is this your avo-ta-toe?" Anna is fixing avocodo dip!!!

Mother's Day 2009

Happy Mother's Day!!

I am thankful to be a mother of 13 blessings!!

Caleb, Daniel, Bethany, Elijah, Anna, Micah
Andrew, Joshua, Jeremiah, Hosanna, Joel, Josiah and Mercy