Category Archives: Scrapbook

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™‚

Celery + Cabbage + Broccoli = Colossians

Since it’s been so dry here, we’ve been faithfully watering our little plants twice a day. It was kinda funny to see the little green halo of weeds starting to grow around the plants…

Thought I should work the ground up around each plant & pull out the weeds while they were still tiny.

As I pondered how to keep my mind occupied with Godly thoughts as I worked, I decided on listening to the book of Colossians on my phone. There is this cool Bible app, called YouVersion, which was FREE to download to my phone. Here’s the link: http://www.youversion.com/mobile

I like to listen to the audio Bible – NIV 1984. It is read by Max McLean. ๐Ÿ™‚

It was a WONDERFUL way to pass the time as I weeded. Such a great Book!! ๐Ÿ™‚ I got through the whole Book four times before I was done. I think I’ll keep that as my habit this season: Celery+Cabbage+Broccoli=Colossians.

Any suggestions for the other veggies?? ๐Ÿ™‚

the miracle of Peekaboo

A long story…

One of our “veteran” cows is named Pax. She came with the original herd of dairy cows we purchased back in 2007. She did/does NOT have a desirable personality – in fact, she is downright cranky – especially toward men. So, let’s just say she is not one of our “favorite” cows, hence the name category chosen for her line was “superhero villians”…

Each year, though, Pax has given us a bull (click here for more on how we name our bulls…) – so we haven’t been able to utilize that name category… (We’ve had a name all picked out, though – PoisonIvy!)

This year, as we’ve been watching Pax get bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER. We thought perhaps she might have twins growing inside… Here’s a pic of her from last week:

Tuesday morning, we went up to bring down the girls for milking and sadly, found Pax near a deceased calf. We searched and searched for a second one, but to no avail. While we were disappointed, we tried to focus on the other 9 healthy calves we have been blessed with this year – plus, Pax seemed ok, so we would still be able to milk her. She filed down with the rest of the herd & it was a normal milking.

Mike went up and checked on Pax several times throughout the day on Tuesday – both to make sure she was ok, and to make sure there wasn’t another calf stashed in the tall grass. There wasn’t… at least he didn’t SEE one…

Fast forward to Wednesday morning… Boys went up to bring down the cows and low & behold, there’s a calf with Pax, lol! ๐Ÿ™‚

After all this drama, I thought it appropriate to change her name category. I had the name of Miracle in mind for her, but the boys really wanted to name her Peekaboo, lol. Sounded like a pretty appropriate name, too, so Peekaboo it is! ๐Ÿ™‚ Guess Pax’s name category is “games”. Kinda funny, isn’t it?

Lord, we thank You for the blessing of yet another calf – and for the game of peekaboo she put us through. While it was a bit frustrating & sad as we experienced it, we see now how You can redeem all circumstances and continue teaching us life lessons through Your Creation. It is neat to see how Peekaboo’s story has redeemed Pax’s lineage – from “villians” to “second chances”. May that serve as a reminder to us that while we still have breath, it’s never too late to repent & humble ourselves before You. What a comfort to know that the mistakes of those before us do not eliminate the possibility of Your Saving Hand on our lives. In this game called “life”, keep us from being distracted by worldly, little things & keep our focus on things of critical, Eternal importance. May we overflow with Your Love which binds us all together. 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

Hay Prayer

Heavenly Father, as today marks the beginning of hay season here on our farm, I come before You and lay down our burdens. It’s so easy to become uptight as we fight the urge to dwell on all the unknowns. Help us to change our perspective to how You see things. Prepare us for handling the unexpected breakdowns or sudden rain showers. May we not condemn ourselves when we realize in retrospect we should have done something different. Instead, allow us to add that lesson to our walk – so that we can remember it in the future. Lord, I especially pray for my aging body in this season. Daily, I am reminded that You have not created this body to last here on earth forever. I accept that, and look forward to my new body in Heaven when You are done with me here. Until then, strengthen me physically to be able to help where I can, and strengthen me MENTALLY to know when I need to step aside and accept help. And Lord, when exhaustion sets in as this season progresses, and our patience wears thin, bring kind words to our tongues. May we be able to practice the grace You so perfectly have shown to us. We thank You for our hay harvest this year and pray for the animals who will receive it. May it richly bless them for whatever function they perform on our farm. I’m so grateful You love me & will listen to my pleas. Amen.