Category Archives: Fun

Michael & “Nanner”

It’s official:ย  Banana is Michael’s calf! ๐Ÿ™‚

I know, I know – he could easily say he has 10 calves, because WE have 10 calves…

But that just wasn’t the same for him.ย  I think it’s cute that he just wanted one he could call his own… (don’t tell him I said “cute”, lol)

It was a good reminder that in my “adultness”, I too often gloss over those little, “easy” gifts, like giving responsibility & quality time.ย  We get so bogged down trying to figure out what we can afford to “buy” the boys for gifts, that we can lose sight of the gifts around us.ย ย  Thank You, Lord, for using children (even teenagers) to remind us to slow down and just practice “being”.ย  Continue to open our eyes to Your Gifts which surround us each day.ย  And as our boys grow, may there be a part of them that is able to retain this beautiful, innocent “childlike faith”.ย  Perhaps children in their future will remind them of it, just as You use them for me.ย  AMEN

Michael’s excitement was a joy to watch when Mike told him Banana could be his – guess there’s nothin’ like having one of your very own. ๐Ÿ™‚

They bonded immediately – she is especially loving the extra attention…

Goatsitting…

We are helping some friends by watching their goats as they leave town for a couple days for a medical procedure. 2 mamas + 5 babies… They arrived at sundown, so these pics aren’t the best. I’m sure there’ll be better ones tomorrow!

We pray for the success of Brittany’s oral surgery – for the safety of their travel, for the medical staff as they help her, and for her family who travels beside her – may they be supportive & compassionate caregivers as Brittany recovers. And Lord, we pray that while these goats are here, they remain safe & enjoy our grass – may the fences keep them in, and our lives be entertained by their playful antics. Amen.

My (our) 3 precious nieces…

Have enjoyed a visit with 2 of my (our) 3 nieces this week.ย  ๐Ÿ™‚

We don’t get many opportunities to see them, so it makes these visits, extra special! ๐Ÿ™‚

Pulled the boys’ old Thomas The Train tracks out to play with Alyssa & Addisyn, who live in Nebraska. ๐Ÿ™‚

And here I am with Abbi in February 2011.ย  She lives in Arizona. ๐Ÿ™‚

Lord, I thank you for blessing our lives with these girls.ย  Though we live many miles apart, may that not be a deterrent for building a relationship with one another.ย  Thank You, Lord, for this day of technology that we live in.ย  May we be able to take advantage of all the modes of communication that you have inspired for this time period.ย  Help me to be a Godly aunt, Lord – may these girls see You, in me.ย  AMEN ๐Ÿ™‚

Baby Shower

What a great day!

Mike’s sister & I had baby shower (party) hereย  for our future nephew on Sunday. ๐Ÿ™‚ย  We had fun preparing for it, and I especially appreciated her willingness to help me tidy up our house for the big event…

Ben, Kristin, Alyssa, & Addisyn are in from Nebraska for the week, so we enjoyed an afternoon of food, fellowship, & fun.

[Click here to see where I got the inspiration for this “diaper cake”…]

Gotta say, originally, my boys were NOT very excited at participating in a girl party “baby shower”, hence our naming it a FAMILY PARTY, lol…

It became more fun for them, though,ย  when they were put in charge of “games”…

No typical party games here…

What did they do?ย  Well, potato gun shooting contest, of course! ๐Ÿ™‚

By the end of the day, they were EASILY clearing this oak tree! ๐Ÿ™‚

Lord, we thank You for this wonderful day full of laughter & sharing.ย  We praise You for the miracle of NEW BIRTH.ย  As our family grows, use us to reflect Your Light everywhere we go.ย  AMEN

Mud boot planter – step by step

My weed patch flower gardens look like this (click here to read more on that…)ย  :

(Isn’t it amazing that any flowers can still bloom in there, lol?!)

…when I received this beautiful Gerber Daisy from Mike’s sister & her husband for Mother’s Day, an alarm bell went off in my brain…

“Now I will EITHER have to weed my weed patch flower garden, OR COME UP WITH A ‘PLAN B’…”

Still fresh in my memory banks was the inspiration I received from Jill about my mud boot dilemma.

OBVIOUSLY, that’s the direction I went… ๐Ÿ™‚

Here’s where I wanted the planter to go.ย  I thought it would be nice & easy to attach it to the gate.

So, I took my broken boot, marked it with chalk, & and started cutting.

Next, I poked drainage holes through the bottom of the boot.ย  I knew better than to use a hammer to pound a screwdriver through the boot (I had made that mistake once before…), so I THOUGHT I was being ever-so-wise as I dug through Mike’s toolbox… and found this…

WRONG AGAIN.ย  ๐Ÿ˜ฆ I was informed I used a tool incorrectly AGAIN, and was graciously forgiven for (slightly) denting the tip of Mike’s punch tool.

Mike decided to offer help with my project now (wonder why??), and drilled some drainage holes for me. ๐Ÿ™‚

He also said he didn’t think the gate was a good place to hang it.

With all the “action” it gets, he thought the rubbery boot would not be sturdy enough & the flower could fall out.

So, a more stationary position was sought.

Next, I had the boys collect some rocks to put in before the dirt.

Once I planted the flower, I realized something was needed to hide the emptiness of the tall part of the boot.

I’ve had this bag of moss in my craft corner for YEARS – thought it might work for this…ย  (So glad I never threw it away, lol!)

Next, came the tricky part.ย  Attaching the boot to our porch railing.

I decided to use braided twine.

About 3 baseball seasons ago, I braided a big crate of used twine that came off our hay bales as I sat & watched the boys play.

(No, I’m not kidding.ย  I love to create or do things with my hands while I’m sitting!)

My original intention was to use the braids as Christmas roping to decorate our picket fence.ย  That didn’t pan out, so I have a stash of pretty, braided twine in my craft corner, too. ๐Ÿ™‚

I must tell you, though, I am NOT an accomplished “tie-er”.ย  You’ll see in this pic from the backside, that I basically just kept wrapping & knotting until the boot seemed sturdy.

Here’s a pic for Susy over at Chiotsrun – I finally got to use my Ethel gloves for this project! ๐Ÿ™‚

I knew right away what I wanted the tag to say.ย  I am always praying this for myself, so it is fun to apply it creatively in something I can visually see.

A remade remnant, just like me! ๐Ÿ™‚

A night out-dinner & a concert

A Mother’s Day gift from my 3 boys…
1st, a fun dinner in Akron. A friend recommended we eat at Luigi’s.(Thanks, Kellen!)

Next stop, Hudson – Christ Community Chapel – for a Fernando Ortega concert! I love his simple, melodic voice & that he writes/plays/arranges songs that are a witness to his walk with Jesus. ๐Ÿ™‚ We were blessed with a front row pew – got to watch his fingers playing on the grand piano… I’m so grateful for being able to share this evening with my family. Thank You, Lord. ๐Ÿ™‚

Hooray – kittens at last!

With only 2 female barn cats left to be “fixed”, there have been less kittens on the farm this year (much to the boys’ dismay)…

Our boys LOVE all the cats. And yes, each cat has (at least) one name + a story, lol! ๐Ÿ™‚

Just this morning at milking, the boys said they thought it looked like Cloudy might have been nursing babies. So, once their schoolwork was done this afternoon, they went on a “kitten hunt”. ๐Ÿ™‚

It didn’t take long & they found them! They were in a hay hole all the way at the top of the stack. One boy and one girl. Names are currently being brainstormed…