Lady's not tired....

When Lady's in the house, she usually crawls in her bed or stretches out on the carpet and takes a nap, but right now she's not very anxious to sleep, as she hears Millie barking outside--probably at some coyotes. It's hard to believe that I've had her a month already!!!



It was a good and busy day for our family. Here's a quick update before I head off to dream-land...

My dad was able to haul two loads of hay home and loaded grain for a farmer down by Strasburg besides.

This afternoon, Mother had a booth for her business at the Napoleon benefit get-together (the money went to the nursing home) and came home with an angel food cake that a friend had given her. :)

The boys helped me get the house back in some kind of order and we played a few of the new games we got from Grandma yesterday. Andrew also tried to get Mom's sewing machine working so I could try it to see if it sews 4 layers of fabric and 2 layers of Velcro together any better than my machine does, but it didn't... Thankfully, I have all the long pieces of Velcro sewn on and just have the ends to finish now. ........And I've only broken one needle!

The adventures of yesterday~

As you know, we travelled to Eureka, SD yesterday to visit my grandparents...



First, we went to my dad's folks' house to visit with them for a while. They've found out recently that grandpa Earl needs to go on Dialysis and, consequently, they're planning to move to Mandan so they're close to the hospital that grandpa will need to go to every other day or so. Grandma's trying to go through all their belongings and decide which things they will need and which they'll have to get rid of when they move... The place they've looked at is about the third of the size as the house they're living in now! Grandma took us downstairs and asked us if we'd like this or that, ("This or that" being things like games and puzzles for the boys and sewing supplies for mom and I.)



Once we returned upstairs, Grandpa gave the boys each a really nice belt buckle and me a wooden plate that he had gotten over the years when he was a Keltgen seed representative. Then Grandma brought out a small box and handed it to Grandpa. Inside were all of the buttons and badges that Grandpa had had in the army..... He wanted us children to each have one of his buttons and a couple of his badges and he told us what they were each for..... At first, I picked out the button he got for being a sharpshooter, but then Jacob decided he really wished to have that one, so I let him have it and then choose another button--the one that has the medical sign on it from when Grandpa was a medic during the war.



At 3:00, we headed over to the assisted living building to visit grandpa Harvey. Uncle Rick and his son, Benny were there too and Aunt Sharel also stopped in for a little while, so we had a small family reunion.




Grandpa is doing so well where he is now and only complains about putting on 8 pounds since he's been eating such good cooking. :) He walks so much better than he used to and seems more cheerful too.



We visited for a while, then the boys got out a game and we cousins played it for a while. While we were playing, Mom dug out some hymns and sang with Grandpa and another old friend who's living there...



I thought it was really funny when cousin Ben asked me how old I was, as he couldn't remember, and he was shocked when I told him my age (lots of people think I look younger than I really am...) He said he thought I was just a little older than him--the truth of the matter being that I remember holding him as a baby when I was 8 years old. :)



This "Old friend" of my moms used to be my parents' neighbor when they were newly-weds and she is such an inspiration to many! Mary taught my mom a lot about gardening and taught her how to save seeds. She's been a Sabbath-keeper for years and now that we rest on Saturdays too, Mom has even more in common with this dear lady... I only remember meeting Mary once before and that was many years ago, but she remembers me from when I was a baby. When Mom asked her if she remembered her (my mom's) children's' names, Mary replied without hesitating, "Cora, Andrew and Jacob." Then Grandpa said that she also knows where we live, so Mother asked her where we live and she answered correctly, "Kintyre." Mary lost her husband a few years ago, but she is still being a blessing to others and lives with only a little assistant from the nurses there! Even though Mary's sight isn't very good anymore, she spends her time learning scripture verses and words to hymns by listening to them on tapes. She's also got a streak of match-making in her, and I'm beginning to wonder if every woman does? She said she has a really nice grand nephew who's single and who's a Sabbath-keeper....... :)



And now, do you want to guess how old dear Mary is? Here's a picture of her (with my mom) so you can have a better chance of guessing her age...

Did you guess?



Mary is 99 years old!!! What a wonderful example of a joyful Christian woman she is.



After saying our goodbyes to Grandpa, we went over to his house to take back some kettles that we'd cleaned out earlier and to clean out the rest of the items in his fridge, as he asked us to take care of that. Once fnished, we went to the Lyric Lanes restaurant to eat supper with Uncle Rick, Ben, and Ricks' friend Robin and her granddaughter. Grandpa Harvey had insisted we take some money and go out to eat before heading home, but we couldn't talk him into coming with us because he was scared of falling on the ice... We had a tasty supper of traditional, unhealthy American food and then headed home late to do our chores.



And today------we get to find room in our house for all the things we brought home yesterday! :)

Tomorrow--

--I will fill you in on the events of this day,

but for now,

I'm so very tired and am headed for bed!

~Goodnight~

"Out of Order"......

Recently, a blogging friend told me how her family enjoys Mr. Lansing's cartoons, so I did a search on "Ben Lansing" and found his website. I'm not sure how you all feel about some of these issues, (Healthcare Reform; Major Disaster Frights; Global Warming....) but know that others of you will agree 100 percent with what these comics are talking about and will be blessed by them, so I share them with you all as food for thought. :)

With that being said, here's just a small sampling of the cartoons that are available for your viewing on the website...

I'd like to ask for prayer as we're heading for Eureka tomorrow to visit my grandparents... Both the Bornemanns and my Delzer grandpa are dealing with a lot of tough issues currently. We hope to be a blessing to them somehow and to let God's love shine brightly through us in the things we do and say...

A puzzle...

...for you!

I saw this on a friends' blog tonight and thought I'd pass it on to you. I'm having trouble finding all of them and only have 17, so far... How many books of the Bible can you see in this: ?


"There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph.
Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle.
It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket,
on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours.
He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends.
One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat.
Another friend studied it while playing his banjo.
Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend,
was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column.
Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves.
There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact.
Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized.
Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst.
Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph.
During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record.
The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen.
As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight."
Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown.
One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers.
Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal.
A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers.
Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless. "

People are...

"People are like stained glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within."

~Elizabeth Kobler-Ross

Meal preparation pictures~

*Note* I wanted to post these pictures last night, but then my camera batteries were dead and I couldn't get them transferred to the computer. :)

I always like seeing what my friends are doing in their kitchens, so decided to take these pictures of what I prepared yesterday.

Frozen beets from our garden, being thawed on the stove...

Jacob's favorite kind of pizza--ready to go into the oven. It's a very easy one to make actually, consisting of a thick white-sauce, to which has been added a can of tuna fish and a top layer of cheddar cheese...

Six loaves of bread rising on the counter top...

I tried a new recipe that was on a friends' blog. This is called "Soft Gingerbread Cake"--very tasty!

We topped the gingerbread cake with freshly whipped cream from our dairy...

This afternoon, I was reading another friends' blog and saw a couple of really neat links to sites that show pictures of creative ways to decorate your pie crusts and I wanted to share them with you here--in case you don't read Rachels' blog. :) You can visit this place and this place for some great ideas!

I'll share one last picture with you before diving under my covers to warm up. (It's really windy and cold here in ND again!)

It is of: my guard-dog, Lady, on duty. (I don't think she'd hurt a fly, actually!) ~

A great quote~

I just read this in a cookbook and had to share it with you here! :)

"I find television very educating.

Every time somebody turns on the set,

I go into the other room and read a book."

~Groucho Marx

Granola Bar and Herbal Salve recipes~

A while back, I got requests for a couple recipes, and am now finally getting around to sharing them with you! Better late than never, so they say... :)

CHEWY GRANOLA BARS
*Note* This is not the recipe I used the other time I made granola bars, (that recipe made very crumbly granola bars!) but this is our favorite recipe--so far.

Blend:
1 cup brown sugar (we use 1/2 cup honey instead)
2/3 cup peanut butter

Then add:
1/3 cup wheat germ
2 Tbls. sesame seeds
6 ozs. chocolate or carob chips
2 Tbls. vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup coconut (shredded)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
--This is a very flexible recipe, meaning if you like coconut better than sesame seeds, you can adjust the amount of coconut up and sesame seeds down. In other words, add your favorite ingredients and subtract the ones you don't have on hand!

Stir well. Press into 9x13" pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!


HERBAL SALVE
*Note* This is another flexible recipe, in which you add what herbs you like and then just add enough oil to make it be above the herbs by an inch.

One of our favorite herbal combinations is as follows... It makes a salve that's good for moisturizing your skin and for relieving itches and skin irritations (and this is the salve we use on our cows too.) The salve is oil-based though, so be careful not to touch your clothing right after putting some on your hands or it will stain your clothes.

Put in a large kettle or a ceramic crock-pot 1 1/2 cups of each of the following herbs:
gumweed (we find this in our pasture--it helps you if dealing with poison ivy)
chamomile
comfrey leaf (good for wounds)
chickweed
plantain (good for skin)
calendula
chapparal (antibiotic--helps with tumors)

Also add:
3 Tbsp. bee propolis (bee-keepers can provide you with this)
1/4 cup beeswax (also a bee-keeper item--although I imagine you can find these items elsewhere too?)

Then, poor oil over the herbs and add enough so that there's about an inch above the top of the herbs. This big of a recipe requires about a gallon of oil. You can use many different kinds of oils in this salve, so experiment with what you like. We generally just use vegetable oil, as it's the cheapest and we go through a lot of salve everyday at milking time!

Allow this mixture to "Cook" at about 225 degrees for 4 hours. If you see that it starts to boil, you'll need to turn the heat back. Stir occasionally. When the 4 hours are up, it's time to do the salve test! Dip a clean knife into the mixture and then place the knife on a plate in the refrigerator for a few minutes until it sets up. Then scrape it off the knife and see if the salve is at the consistency you desire. If it's too thick, then add some more oil to your pot and let the salve cook a while longer before testing again. If too thin, add more beeswax (just a little bit goes a long ways.)

Now comes the messy part! When the salve consistency is to your liking, then you need to strain off the liquid--which becomes your salve--and throw away the herbs. I've seen this part of the process done in different ways... You can put a dishcloth (one you don't mind being stained) over the top of a glass bowl and strain the mixture into it and then poor the salve into smaller containers. Or, the recipe says you can use a coffee filter. Or, you can take a soup ladle and scoop off as much liquid as you can and strain through the old toe-end of a nylon directly into the jars or containers you've chosen for your salve.

Which ever way you choose to do it, you'll want to add to the liquid while still hot:

approx. 20 vitamin E capsules--they work as a preservative
OR: several drops of grapefruit seed extract--for the same purpose

Once you have the liquid in jars, just let it be for a couple hours and it should set up nicely!

Then, all that's left is to enjoy your salve!

Warning: Our fellas do not like the strong smell the herbs give off while cooking, (they say they can smell it even before they walk in the front door!) so you may wish to make this while your menfolk are planning to be out of doors for a while. :) Mother and I like the smell of the salve though, so it's a matter of personal preference I guess.

If you have questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them!

Fellowshipping....and wills~

After chores this morning, we headed west to visit our friends, the Dagleys. They were having a day of fellowshipping and learning at their home--they even had a lawyer friend of theirs speak on how to write up your own will... (Something my parents have been wanting to do for quite some time now.) Mr. L helped everyone who wished to write up a simple will to do it and printed the pages off; then everyone had to get 3 people to be witness to their signing and to also sign.

Here Andrew's signing as witness to David & Susanna's will...

One of the main themes of the day was discussing winter-survival tips and things you should have along in your vehicle during these cold months. Steve S. is showing some of the things he likes to have around in case of disaster:

My parents--watching.....

...Mrs. Dagley talk about what she has in her first-aid kit.



There was also time for visiting and I was SOOO glad that my friend Susanna (from SD) was able to be there (and that she let me hold her darling, Clementine!) :)

Susanna's younger sister, Rose (from MT) was there too, so that was another unexpected treat! Here she's showing me the pattern she's following to crochet a pocket for an apron she's making for Prairie Days...

I have several other pictures I could share, but I'm so very tired tonight, so I think I'll let my mom share more pictures when she has time!

Sweet dreams to one and all~

I'm thrilled...

...to have received so many guesses on this picture!!! What great imaginations you all have--in seeing so many things in that one picture--things that all made sense to me once looking at it from another angle. :)

But, alas, nobody guessed what the mystery picture really is of, so I shall tell you now...

"It" is:

A giant, 50 yard roll of the loop-side of Velcro!

Yes, I agree, that one was hard!

Why do we need 50 yards of Velcro, you may be asking? Well, Andrew needed to replace the thick material that went around his gravity cleaner on his grain cleaning rig. This piece of fabric is held on by Velcro, so when he purchased some new, heavy material (it's kind of like cover-all material), he also needed to buy a lot of Velcro to go around the edges.

As he helped me by hauling my calves into town, I've agreed to help him by sewing the 48 or so yards of Velcro onto the fabric. I have the piece in this picture mostly finished now, (I also sewed Velcro onto the opposite side of the fabric) but have another just like it to go yet, plus another smaller piece. My machine was giving me a little trouble until Andrew adjusted the tension way down and now it doesn't break the thread any more. :) It does take an awful lot of bobbin-refills though!

This job also required very heavy thread, which Andrew bought a large spool of...

In order for us to fill the bobbins and a smaller, empty spool that would fit in my machine, Andrew designed some Lego contraptions to aid us. But, it's late once again, so I'll have to talk about that more another time.

For the present, I'd like to thank each of you who guessed on this mystery picture! It was so fun to see your ideas and to share them with my family...

Blessings~
Cora

Guessing time extended!

Dear friends~

Thank you for your guesses! So far though, nobody has guessed correctly what the last mystery picture is, SO, I've decided to give you another day to guess and will post the answer tomorrow night...

I've added a picture here of the same item--taken from further back, to make it, perhaps, a little easier?
I'll give you a hint too:
"This is not something that most people would have on hand in this quantity, but is something that anyone can purchase at their local Mac's store if desired."


Outside of that, would you please pray for us, as certain members of my family are going to bed with upset stomachs tonight... Never fun! Thanks so much~

Once again--a mystery picture!

Warning: This one might be a stumper, so to speak. :)

It has something to do with a project my brother, Andrew and I are working on......

Have any ideas?

I'm planning to post the answer tomorrow night and will post any comments with guesses in them at that time. Have fun!

Hannah tagged me...

A couple days ago, Hannah tagged me again, so I've been working on doing this one in my spare time ever since then. Here are the questions and my answers:

• BIOLOGY
  
  Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right handed.
  Have you ever had anything removed from your body? My baby teeth--and a wood-tick or two!
  What is the last heavy item you lifted? I wonder what the definition of heavy is?... Is it anything that's not light? Well, if that's the definition, then I would have to say the heavy item(s) I lifted last were the water pails I carried to the calves this morning.
  
  


• FOOD-OLGY
  
  What is your salad dressing of choice? Homemade poppy-seed dressing. Yum!
  What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? We don't go out to eat often, but when we do, I'd have to say the Golden Corral is my favorite place to go to!
  What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Tacos...
  What are your pizza toppings of choice? Homemade tomato sauce with turkey pepperoni and cheese on top of that--plus some black olives! What do you like to put on your toast? Butter and honey... or apple butter...
  
  


• RANDOM-OLOGY
  
  If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? In a way, this would be nice, as it would give you motivation to accomplish all of what God has for you to do before that time, but I know that if God wants us to know this, He will reveal it to us! If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I like my name, so would only wish to change my last name--if I got married. :)
  Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Is there a time limit on getting it down or a limit on how much milk you can drink with it? If not, then, absolutely!
  
  


• DUMB-OLOGY
  
  
  How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Zero. I really don't care for them, as I like to wear something a bit more substantial while walking around the farmyard...
  Last time you had a run-in with the cops? In a bad way? Never! I saw and talked to several of them last year when we found that lost, sick man in our pasture though...
  Last person you talked to in person? Andrew.
  Favorite Month? I like all the months of the year, but if I had to pick, I'd probably say March--my birthday month and the time of year where it usually becomes apparent that Spring is on it's way...
  


• CURRENT-OLOGY
  
  
  Mood? Contented. What are you listening to? Lady breathing heavily, as she's in a deep sleep.
  Watching? The words come up on the screen as I type them. :)
  Worrying about? Nothing at the moment.
  
  


• RANDOM-OLOGY
  
  
  What’s the last movie you watched? I think it was an Andy Griffith show--if you can call that a movie.
  Do you smile often? Yes. :)
  Do you always answer your phone? No, not if there's something important going on... That's what answering machines are for. If you could change your eye color what would it be? I like my hazel eyes so wouldn't wish to change them.
  What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I don't even know what Sonic is.
  Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes, a couple Goldfish many years ago.
  Favorite Christmas song? It would be hard to choose, but I really like "O Holy Night."
  What’s on your wish list for your birthday? A Goldfish. :) Can you do push-ups? A few... Can you do a chin up? I haven't tried in a long time, but I used to be able to do ONE.
  Do you have any saved texts? Nope.
  Ever been in a car wreck? Thankfully, no. I was in a car when it went in the ditch once (no damage done), but that's all. Do you have an accent? I'm sure to someones' ears, it would sound as if I do!
  What is the last song to make you cry? I don't remember exactly, but it could have been one of my favorites, "Trust His heart". I usually try to listen to happy music though!
  Plans tonight? Milking and then perhaps watch some more of the Olympics?
  Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Can't say as I have.
  Name 2 things you bought yesterday: Yesterday? Well, I ah, paid my dad for some fuel that he used when hauling my calves to town and for some medicine for my animals...
  You ever been given roses? I can't honestly remember a time when I was, so if I was, it was a while ago.
  Current hate right now? Sin. (This was Hannah's answer, but I whole-heartidly agree!)
  Met someone who changed your life? Yes, my Savior--and some dear friends!
  What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping.
  What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I'd best let Lady outside...
  
  


• TECHNOLOGY
  
  How many televisions are in your house? Zero, although Andrew did set up his computer to work as a TV for this week while the Olympics are on.
  What color cell phone do you have? I haven't had a real need of a cell phone yet, so don't have one. My family let's me borrow their phones if necessary.
  What does the first text message in your inbox say and who sent it? We don't have a texting plan on our cell phones, so we don't text! Who was the last person to call you? Ryan--a guy my family is meeting in town today to sell him some of our farm products.
  
  And that's the END!
  I tag whoever wants to do this!

A few random photos~

Tonight, I was looking through my February on-line photo album and found some pictures I'd never posted but took with the intentions of doing so. I'll share them with you now..............

Do you remember a mystery picture from a while back, in which I showed a long, skinny, rolled-up leaf that was red? Well, that has now turned into this:
(with another red leaf-curl on it's way to maturity.)

Here's Millie, waiting patiently for the goat milking to be through.....

Jacob playing with my Lady while the sun shines in through the patio door...

The orange cake I baked today... (My mom liked it so well she said I can make it for her birthday next year!)

Mother made a large batch of herbal salve yesterday--for our own personal use and for using on our cow's udders in place of Bag Balm....

Testing the salve for the right consistency...

And this is a picture of Andrew loading up the tip-scale that he bought for his grain cleaner a while back...

There! Now I'm caught up again. That's always a good feeling. :)

~Goodnight!

"Night by night I will lie down and sleep in the thought of God."

~quote by William Mountford

My sleepy Lady~

Here's a short video clip of my cute puppy:

I took this video a few nights ago and can't remember or make out what I said to Lady after I called her and she woke up? Hmmmmm.....

Seven children~

Reverend Mother: " There's seven children, Maria..."

Maria: "SEVEN!!!!"

Reverend Mother: "But Maria, you like children!"

Maria: "Yes, I know, but,----SEVEN!!"

Today, I had charge of seven children, age 5 and under--and all went well! :) The Daycare lady I help needed to go to town all day with her husband for doctors' appointments and asked me to come care for the children. We had a great time, reading; playing games; doing puzzles; eating; napping (they did, not I); singing; and just living.

Here I am with 2 of the little girls--Jada in pink and Lily--who's trying to get me to stand up and swing her around again: (A 4 year old boy took this picture and I thought he did a pretty good job...)

I thought I'd mention that my family and I weren't able to go to the movie (No Greater Love) after all, as the pastor's wife called us and told us they had to postpone it, due to getting 7 inches of snow the day before and not being able to get in the little town of Alfred. We were disappointed, but then spent the day together watching the Olympics, so that was really neat. I hope we're still able to see the movie when they play it, but until then, I guess I can't give you my opinion on it. :)

Be blessed and have a good rest,

~Cora

Wishing you and yours...

...a lovely time spent with loved ones today!

The Olympics~

I was a little girl the last time we watched the Olympics, so none of us children really remembered what it was like, but our parents thought we'd find it interesting...

So, Andrew got up early this morning to do some wiring so he could hook up his computer/TV screen to an antenna cable thing and get TV coverage of the Olympics. We won't normally have TV in our house (and we turn it off every time the commercials come on!), but this way we can watch the parts of the Olympics that we wish to see without having to wait for much slower Internet streaming. :) What we watched today was pretty amazing... Now I'm especially looking forward to the team figure-skating!

Are any of you watching the Olympics this year?

Yes, it is indeed...

Very good guessing everyone! You ALL guessed correctly what the mystery picture was--our potatoes that are prepared to grow, already... I guess I'll have to find a harder picture to post next time. :)

It was a pretty usual Friday here... My dad hauled a load of organic grain to Casselton; my mom cleaned and cooked and did odd and end type jobs that don't get done during the rest of the week; Andrew worked on his grain cleaner and had to run to town for parts; Jacob did some schoolwork and helped around the house; and I helped clean and made tortillas for our chicken enchiladas and a crumb cake for dessert. Now we're all ready for a restful weekend!

Andrew read this joke to our family tonight and I thought I'd pass it along to bring a smile to your face too... Enjoy!

Elmer says, "First, I got tonsillitis, followed by appendicitis and pneumonia. After that I got erysipelas with hemachromatosis. Following that I got poliomyelitis and finally ended up with neuritis. Then they gave me hypodermics and inoculations."

Calvin says, "Boy, you had quite a time!"

Elmer replies, "I'll say! I thought I'd never pull through
that spelling test."

A gift--and a mystery picture!

I was working on something in my bedroom this afternoon when I heard a knock on the entryway door... It was a neighbor (well, they live about 8 miles from us, but we still call them neighbors!) with a gift for me from his wife: 2 pretty dresses that she'd outgrown; a blue blouse and some books she thought I might enjoy. I was so very pleased--mostly about the dresses!!!

Here's a picture of the embroidery and the soft, velvety collar on the blue dress:

And here's a picture of my favorite of the two--the pretty green dress.

I've read in Fascinating Womanhood that denims and corduroy are not considered very feminine fabrics, (the blue dress happens to be a light denim and the green is corduroy,) but I'm hoping that the embroidered flowers will help to negate the more masculine type of fabric... :) What do you think?

Before I head for bed tonight, I want to share another mystery picture that I took today... It's probably going to be an easy one for most of you, but I thought I'd give it a try.

What is---this?

I'll wait to post your comments until tomorrow evening if they contain guesses. :)

Sweet dreams~ and may God bless you all as you daily seek out His will for your lives!

Have you watched "No Greater Love?"

Today we received an invitation in the mail to join some friends at the Alfred, ND Church of God 7th Day to watch the movie, "No Greater Love" on Valentines Day. I've heard some good reports about the movie already and am now just wondering if anyone who reads my blog has watched it and what your opinion of the movie was? Also, if any of you (for whom it would be feasible) want to attend the movie viewing, everyone is welcome. The movie starts at 2:00PM, this Sunday. There is no admission fee and there's popcorn being served. I'm hoping we'll be able to go!

My dad is still on the road now (and probably will be for another hour or so), but thankfully the roads are pretty good and it's stopped snowing. :)

Mother went to Bismarck for the whole day, so I got to play the part of substitute teacher (which isn't too difficult, as Jacob can do a lot of his lessons on his own these days.)

Andrew worked on the grain cleaner some more and Jacob helped him some later in the day. A man (a friend of the man Andrew bought the cleaner from) came today to deliver the 3 augers that were promised to Andrew, so that was helpful...

I mixed up a batch of bread and used some of the dough to make a pizza crust; a pan of caramel rolls; fry bread to go with our vegetable soup; plus I had enough dough left over to make 4 loaves of bread.

It was a good day and will be made even better when Dad gets home (Lord willing) in an hour!

A journey~

Andrew and I spent our afternoon travelling--going to Linton (so I could make my loan payment which was due today!); going on from there to our friends, the K's house (to deliver their Azure order to them and to visit for a few minutes); and then proceeding on to a farm near Zeeland (so Andrew could pick up the scale he bought for measuring the grain he cleans with his new machine.) Thankfully, the roads were in pretty fair condition and we only slipped sideways when Andrew was showing me how NOT to drive. :)

We all talked to Dad on the phone a few minutes ago and it sounds like he's really enjoying his time at the convention and is learning a lot once again... He's planning to be home very late tomorrow night, so I'm not sure if we'll even see him until we wake up Thursday morning. Family prayer time just doesn't seem quite complete without Papa here to join us!

Mystery pictures~

Dear friends,

I just thought I'd let you know of two mystery pictures that are currently posted on my friends' blogs, in case you'd like to guess with me what they are... Please visit Grace and Hannah to see the mysterious pictures. :)

(My grandma painted the picture above...

Isn't it lovely and so very appropriate for this time of year in North Dakota?)

~PICTURES OF BARN CHORES~

It was once again a busy day... Are you shocked? :)

Dad and Andrew spent most of their time working on Andrew's grain cleaner. Mom taught Jacob his lessons and then did some sessions for some clients. As everyone else was busy, I got drafted to go to town to run some errands. As it was snowing (we got approximately 4 inches today and it's still snowing!), the visibility wasn't very good and there were pillow drifts across the road in many places. I was glad to finally return home, safe and sound!!!



I cleaned the van out a bit today and my mom ironed some warm shirts, as my dad is leaving early in the morning to go to the Northern Plains Sustainable Agricultural Society's annual convention (what we call the organic convention) in Watertown, SD. He's meeting up with "Dave"--a friend of ours in Wishek and they'll carpool the rest of the way to the convention. Dad originally planned to stay until Thursday, but now he has some trucking he agreed to do on Thursday, so he and Dave will be coming back late Wednesday night. I hope he has a truly wonderful time and learns a lot! We're currently praying for it to quit snowing and for the roads to be good, as it will be about a 4 hour drive...

After returning from town, and after getting a chicken in the oven and making our favorite Apple-Raisin-Cardamom stuffing, I had a little time to work on my quilt again and finished the rest of my heart blocks! Now I just need to figure out how to do a smaller heart block and the middle pattern for the quilt...



Tonight, while out at the barn, I noticed how pretty the back barn door looked with it's snow frosting and ran inside for my camera. :)

I also snapped a few other pictures as long as I had my camera with me:

The boys with their milk cows... (Look out for that tail, Jacob!)

Mom with her cow, Clara...

Millie--peaking out from her hiding place...

And our kid, Cosette, enjoying Andrew's hood string!

Such was life on the farm today!