Will it work? That is the question!

We're trying to spike one of the twin calves onto a cow that had a dead calf today. Will it work? We're sure hoping so! Andrew and I pinned the twin calf to the ground while Dad rubbed the dead calf over the top of the live one, hopefully getting the live one to smell like the mothers' calf. We also sprinkled "Oh-No-Mo" on the calf, which has helped in times past with getting a mother to accept another cows' baby. When we put the calf in the barn with the cow, the mama mooed at it and sniffed it, so we're hopeful that they'll take a liking to each other! I'll let you know what the morning brings... I babysat for most of the day and was happy to find out that Amelia (3) is a good dishwasher. :) She actually got the dishes clean, although it took a good deal longer than it would have taken me to do it, but that allowed time for me to wash off the table, stove and counter. Of course, by the time dishes were done, there were 2 little boys who also had their hands in the dishwater, splashing bubbles around to their hearts content. :) Mom and Jacob went to Bismarck today, after placing the Azure order and packing a lunch. They drove my van as they needed to get the 3 bookcases Mom found/bought (for her office library) on BisManOnline inside a vehicle, and they thought my van would work best for that purpose. While in town, they also stopped at the animal store and bought me some more fish, now bringing my grand total to 18. Andrew's going to, hopefully, start grain cleaning with his rig tomorrow at our neighbors' place. If you think of him, please pray that all goes well as he gets the bugs worked out and as he gets everything set again the way it's supposed to be. I think Dad's going to go over and help him start up..... Let the BUSY season begin! We separated milk/cream again tonight, so ice cream is on the menu tomorrow night. Want to come join us for a sampling? :)

The short shift...

It is sometimes nice to work the short shift at the nursing home, as I get home at 10:00 rather than 11:00 and am then just in time to join my family for prayers and to say good night. Actually, everyone was busy yet tonight when I got in the house, (Dad: reading "Weeds and why they grow"; Mom: typing an e-mail to a client; Andrew: working on his computer; and Jacob: working/playing on his computer) so I went through Azures' sales catalog and wrote down some items I know we'll order, as we need to place that order in the morning if we're going to get our healthy food/supplies this month.....

My dad hauled some large square straw-bales home today to use in making a windbreak for the cows and their calves. I hear tell that my cow and the twins' mother are both rather on the protective side when it comes to letting you tag their babies! Thankfully, everyone was kept safe and the calves are now sporting shiny new ear tags. One of Jacobs' cows also had a calf today, so he's happy tonight. Spring is such a wonderful, wonderful t-i-m-e, of the year!

I'd best get to bed now though, as I want to get up on time to help with chores, then need to change quick and head over to our neighbors' at 9:00 to babysit their 3 little ones for the day. I love babysitting, and Spring, and babysitting in the Spring.... :)

My baby didn't make it through the night. :(

My poor baby...

When I got home from working in town a little over an hour ago, I found one of my calves in the kitchen! This sounds bad, but actually it was a very good thing, as my baby is not doing very well and needs some warming up and some TLC! The guys found him in a mud pile, so cold that he couldn't move. They brought him inside and Dad took him in the SHOWER to get him cleaned off and to start to warm him up. Now he's on the kitchen floor and I'm camping down on the floor with him tonight (on a mattress though) so I can keep an eye on him and give him some more milk in an hour...... This calf is a couple days old already, so I'm not sure why he got so down and out, but he is how he is and now I'm/we're just trying to revive him... Prayers would be appreciated if you are up this late and are reading this.

Oh, good news: He just let out a squeaky, pathetic little bawl, so there's hope yet. It's time to go and rub my baby some more. He still isn't quite dry and is very cold.....

(Here are our slumber party accommodations:)

It's amazing what God made the human body capable of!

Yesterday found my family and I attending a rather unusual event, for us to be at, that is... We went to the . :) We've always talked about going when it was in Bismarck, but just never have, but this year, we finally went! My mom was the only one of us who had ever been to a circus before, and she went when she was pretty young, so we were all amazed.

It was neat to see the abilities of the human performers, no doubt, but the highlight of the afternoon for me was when the animals were in the spotlight, especially the 3 elephants! Watching their choreography was just thrilling and then seeing the best trained elephant stepping off of a platform onto a big round ball with all 4 feet, and balancing there for a minute before stepping off the other side onto a platform again (all the while, having a lady on his back) was the greatest part of the day, in my opinion. :) It was pretty cute too when they exited, the back 2 each wrapping their trunk around the tail of the elephant in front of them to form one long line of elephant!

The boys really liked the cannon that shot out the human into a net many feet away... The tightrope walker was a general favorite, as well as the clown's balloon act...... And then there were the white Bengal tigers, jumping through the fire ring.... And the quick-change act...... It was a lot of fun! Oh yes, and before the circus started, Dad took us all out to eat at the "Golden Corral" as an added treat! It was a great day!

Today was spent in many different ways: school work; book reading; cooking; the guys worked on the semi; I started some bread using Sarah's recipe and also planted some sweet potatoes, as this site suggested; doing dishes; etc.....

Oh yes, I have a praise to share! My dad's eye is feeling much better today and he wasn't even squinting during supper. :) I think it's so amazing how God made the body capable of healing itself!

Helping out--and a prayer request...

Before I write about my time with our friends, I would like to ask for prayer for my dad, as he got poked in the eye with some wire while working on the grain cleaner today and his eye is, obviously, hurting tonight. I hope it's not real serious, but it is definitely uncomfortable and Dad's eye is watering a lot, so please pray for that to heal quickly! Thank you so much.


The weather was mostly decent yesterday morning at 7:30AM, so I ventured out on the road, driving the 60+ miles to the K. family's home. The following day and a half found me busy, helping Lane and Sarah (mostly Sarah, I should say) and their young children with different projects that needed doing around the house...

You see, not so long ago (3+ weeks it is now,) the K. family received a sweet, new bundle of joy, but with that bundle came some sleepless nights, and with those sleepless nights came some tired parents, and when a person's tired, it's hard to get all the things done that need doing...... And so the story goes.

~Sarah and baby Arianwyn~

With Spring coming on, there are always many things to do! These 3 were great helpers in the kitchen, plus they helped me shovel away snow that was in the way and then set up Sarah's greenhouse in the back yard. Oh yes, they also were very eager to help with filling peat-pots with potting soil and then picking and planting their own special flowers. Sarah also planted some vegetables and I planted a tray full of Impatiens for her...

~Ila, James and Edmund, building a large train-track~
In between meals and washing dishes, Sarah and I made bread and buns; dough for pizza crusts; beef enchiladas to put in the freezer (first, we made stock to use in the sauce for the enchiladas, and shredded a bunch of cheese...); banana bread; and apricot bars. Oh yes, and Sarah made some sour cream too! I learned several cooking tips and tricks from Sarah, and want to try her bread recipe here soon to see how my family likes it.

Last night after supper, Lane read a story to the children and then read some in Proverbs. I got to hold the baby for a while and relax while Lane and Sarah tucked the other children in bed. When they returned, we played a fun word game (it's called Quiddler) that Lane had just bought that day when he was in town. We had fun thinking up possible words and then looking through dictionaries... :) How many of you have played "Quiddler" and did you enjoy it?

Before crawling into the K's guest-bed last night, I called my family to say goodnight (even though it was late....) and learned then that I had had my first calf of the year that day. :)

After our noon meal today, Lane and I headed for the music room for a lesson in piano and voice, he being the teacher, and I the student... It's been a long time since I've taken lessons from Lane, probably 5 or 6 years have passed, so it was hard to know where to pick up at, but he gave me some new pieces to work on for next time, whenever that works out to be... Then he played some of his favorite songs that he's been working on or writing-----very hard songs, ones that I only dream of ever being able to play. He certainly is very talented in that area! Sadly, he's the only K. I didn't get a picture of, as I only thought to dig out my camera way at the end of my time there, when Sarah said she was going to get out hers... By that time, Lane was back at the church, studying and preparing his next sermon I imagine.

Sarah did snap this picture of me holding their sweet baby girl. She is wearing the jumper that I sewed and gave to her as my baby gift... :) (You may remember seeing pictures of this little dress when I made it a while back.)

After saying goodbye to one and all, I headed for the Linton grocery store to get some supplies, and then I high-tailed it home. Once I got all of my things in the house and took my snow boots off, I made tortilla shells and helped assemble Chicken Enchiladas for supper and made some quick dessert. Mom and Jacob did some major rearranging of the bookcases today, so the living room looks much more organized tonight.

Work is so rewarding, isn't it? Of course, it is always nice to be at the end of a busy week and to just rest from your labors too. ;)

Back home and gone again...

Well, due to the kind of roads you can see on the map at Mrs. Bartlett's blog (HERE), I stayed in town last night at the house of one of my coworker/friends. I ventured home around 11:00AM today and made it home just in time for lunch (I had to go 25-30 MPH, as the roads were icy!)

I spent the rest of the day helping around the house and getting ready to go again tomorrow to visit and help our friends, the K. family, who had their baby girl a few weeks ago. I haven't seen the baby yet, so I am really excited about going---Lord willing that the roads are safe and all.......

But, as I want to get an early start tomorrow and it's already late tonight, I'd best post this a be off. If I go to Hull tomorrow, you won't be hearing from me tomorrow night, as I'll be spending the night there.

So, good night all! Stay warm and drive safe during these blustery days of Spring in ND.

Mariah's cake~

Here is the finished product:


...and in this picture, you can see the curious kitty a little better. :)
"Look out, Mr. Mouse!"

It is very, VERY windy here tonight and there's a lot of talk about another bad blizzard tomorrow. While helping the residents (at the nursing home) with their supper tonight, the power went out and the electricity stayed off for about an hour and a half. We were very glad that it came on when it did, as the sun was nearly down at that time and it was getting hard to see in the residents' rooms! There were lights in the hallways (run by a generator), but that's all.....

By the way, since I forgot to say it yesterday, "HAPPY SPRING!" Oh, and be careful in the bad weather tonight/tomorrow, fellow Northerners.

Kitty cake pictures coming soon...

I started working on a cake for our little (not so little) neighbor girl who's turning 6, but then I had to head in to work in town, so I'll have to finish it up in the morning, as the party is tomorrow....

We discussed greenhouse plans this morning too, so that was exciting!

And now I'm very tired and just want to fall asleep, so I think I'll read some in my Bible and then do just that.

Until next time,
~Cora

A quite day~

...except for the noisy wind, that is!

We enjoyed our day of rest tremendously and are rejuvenated for another busy week. :) I hope this finds you the same!

Let the calving season begin!

It was a bright, beautiful day for a black bull calf to be born on. My brother was busy when Dad broke the news to him, but he soon saw his baby bovine, partaking of its mothers' milk----after being tagged with a bright yellow tag. Bring on the babies!

My brothers assembled the contents of a box that arrived for "Cora B Bornemann", and when they were done, Jacob banged the drywall plastic pieces into my bedroom wall so as to be able to screw in the shelves I'd bought. I wanted a place to set my belongings so they'd be out of the way, and shelves seemed to be the best solution. I'll try to post some photos before too long......

By and by, we got the house back to an orderly state, just in time for a delicious supper at the end of a busy week.

May your weekend be blessed~

What went on around here today?

To be honest, I don't really know. :)

This morning, I rode along with our neighbors, Kristi and her 3 children (the little ones I babysit for every once in a while) to watch Amelia "Tumble" with some of her little daycare friends at the nursing home. However, when we got to the daycare, Kristi was informed that the Tumbling had been canceled, due to some sickness that's been going around. So instead of heading for the nursing home, we went to the drug store, which Kristi's sister owns.... There are a lot of neat toys there, and the children had a blast looking at them all. It was a fun outing!

After Kristi dropped me off back at our farm, I changed into my work clothes and helped get lunch ready, then we ate and I helped clean up the kitchen and then took off again for town to work the PM shift. I just got home.

I do know that my dad went grain cleaning today, and I assume Andrew took the sand blaster back to Bismarck, but I don't know that for sure. Everyone was in bed sleeping when I got home, which is exactly what I plan to do now!

~Good night~

Less calves, same number of cows...

Weeeeeeeeeelllllll, my dad took the last 2 Holstein steers to Mandan this morning and then spent the afternoon at the sale, looking for some quality cows to buy at not such an outrageous price, but alas, the price is very high right now, so he came home empty trailered. The good part is that we got a good price (for Holsteins) for our calves....

Andrew and Jacob spent most of the day working on sand-blasting the drum of Andrew's grain cleaner. They said that it's working well, but they still have a ways to go before Andrew takes the machine back tomorrow afternoon.

I worked the shorter shift at the nursing home this afternoon/evening, so was home in time for family prayer tonight. :)

I have a fun morning planned, so I'd best some rest now. Sweet dreams!

Q: What's black and white and red all over?

A: The view from the "Cat walk" at Kists' Livestock auction.....black cows, white cows, and red ones. :)

After baking bread this morning, I took an unexpected outing with my brother, Andrew!

First, Dad, Andrew, Jacob & I loaded up 9 of our Holstein steers, then the boys helped me assemble a veggie pizza quickly and Andrew and I grabbed several pieces of it and ate on the run. After fueling up at the Coffee Cup in Steele, we made the slow journey West to Mandan. After unloading our babies (only they aren't babies anymore, as they're over a year old!), and after unhooking the stock trailer, Andrew and I climbed the old wooden steps to the "Cat Walk"---a narrow bridge with railings on either side so people can walk over the pens of cattle and have a look without getting in the way of the workers there AND without getting your boots full of, well, you know what. It was fun being so high up and looking down at the cows and calves that were returning our stares! Some of us are looking to buy a few more head of bred cows, so Andrew had his camcorder along to take some footage of what was there....

After we had walked all the way to the end of the little bridge and back (it really is quite long), we went to Eagers Electric to pick up something for Dad; then we stopped at a Rent All place to look at the sand-blaster Andrew was going to rent (more on that later), to see if we needed any more parts to make it work with our set-up here at home; then we went to Menards and bought the needed supplies, plus some safety articles for Andrew to wear while he's blasting, and the "Sand" to blast with; after that we stopped at KT Animal Supply and we picked out 5 more fish for my tank (just in case you're all wondering, I now have 12 fish, as I lost most of them when a certain snail died and am now slowly building up again); then we returned to the Rent All store and loaded the blaster and a huge air compressor that will run it; and to finish our day off with, we met Mom at Sam's club (she had been working in her office all day, but had an hour between sessions for shopping) and then took our groceries home.

Meanwhile, back at the farm....

Jacob kept busy with the list I left him, while Dad went to Linton to do some business. When he returned, they both shoveled off the bit of snow that was on the storage-shed flooring, again.
Then, Dad started work on a project that I'm very excited about!!! He used the loader tractor to push away the tons of snow that were on the South side of our storage shed, so the sun can thaw the garden soil out sooner so we can build a greenhouse on the side of the shed so I/we can use it this year! :)

It's been a great day!

It feels like Spring!

The weather was balmy (Winter balmy, that is) outside today and it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, we were in the middle of one of the worst blizzards possible! There was even MUD on the gravel road as I drove home from work in town today. Spring must be around the corner, mustn't it?

We're debating about selling some/all of our yearling Holstein steers in Bismarck this Wednesday. If we do decide to (the market is very good still, so it is tempting!), then we'll be loading and hauling them tomorrow. Mom is going up to her office in the morning for the first time in a couple weeks... I have bread to bake, and some laundry to do, and perhaps calves to help load. The guys are busy getting their grain cleaners ready for another busy season.......

Life is so interesting!

Prayer request...

I just found out tonight at work about a little 6 year old girl (Katelyn G.) who died today, as the result of a vehicle roll-over on Friday that happened during that terrible blizzard..............

*Note: The following picture is just one I found on-line and is not actually of the little girl I'm writing about*

I'd seen this little girl and her brothers several times at the nursing home when her mom brought them over to see her grandma, who is one of my coworkers...... Please just join me in praying for some good to come out of this: for souls to be saved and lives to be changed for the better, and that this family would feel the Lords' loving hands around them and be comforted.

If you don't live in ND and want to know more about what happens when bad blizzards come, you can visit the Bismarck Tribune and read THIS ARTICLE. That was a bad one!

I do have a praise also, that being that we are all back together again under the same roof. Some of the roads weren't so good for our travelers, but they made it home in time to help Andrew with the evening chores, so that was a good thing.

Now we just need to get used to the time change again!

Tomorrow...

...our Minnesotans are planning to return to North Dakota. :) Andrew and I've been doing plenty well in their absence, but it will be nice to all be back together again!

My brother and I spent the day very lazily, (outside of taking care of all the animals) I must say!

We watched a Dr. Davis message ("What God Expects From a 20 Year Old") and then spent the afternoon watching some movies we hadn't seen in a long time, ("Flywheel", "Ever After", & "David Copperfield").

Thankfully, the blizzard has died down and all is peaceful once more.

*Remember to turn your clocks ahead in the morning. *

It's once again time to get caught up on pictures!!!

Andrew and I got off the phone a little bit ago. We talked to Mother for a few minutes and she said they've made some new friends in class and Dad and Jacob were visiting with one of them at that moment at the hotel. She said they're learning a lot, although their sittin' bones are getting a bit tired!

Here's a picture of when they left on Tuesday:
Oh, and this is one more picture that I wanted to share from the home school convention, as it's one of my favorites. :)

(Just so you know, these 2 are really friends in real life.)


There is a terrible blizzard going on currently in our part of the world... Humongous wet snowflakes were being hurled through the sky and onto the land at great speeds all afternoon and, by the time Andrew and I went out to take care of the animals, there were large snowbanks in places that were nearly bare this morning....

This is what the front of our house looks like now:



Andrew, nearly finished feeding cows...

We felt sorry for these calves, so Andrew let them in the milk barn after he was done milking his cow...

But even inside the barn, the snow and frost has found a resting place...

Here's my Lady, watching a kitty, while Millie...

...eats the grain that I dumped in Sally's trough!

The wind even made slanted icicles!

When my part of chores were through, I gratefully went back in the house and made us some pancakes for supper. :)
Oh, and here's a picture of Andrew working on that difficult puzzle I was telling you about...

...and here's the finished product!

And that's all I have to share here for now. Have a great weekend everyone and, if you live in ND, please be careful if you're traveling anytime soon!

NO PARKING!

Before I tell you what the "No parking" is about, I'll just give you a brief family update:

Robert: Is learning a lot at the farming class
Dawn: Also learning a lot
Jacob: Learnign a lot also :)
Andrew: Kept the farm running smoothly all day, and made some progress on the very challenging puzzle he and I are working on in our spare time...
Cora (me): Spent the whole day in town, attending 3 1/2 hours of meeting, then writing to a friend and reading in my book in my van until it was time to go back inside and work another 8 1/2 hours.
Millie & Lady: Enjoyed the lovliness of the day by romping around the farm, waggin' their tales

And now onto the "No parking" part of my post:

~A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large
city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space
with a meter. Then he put a note under the windshield wiper
that read:

"I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't
park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our
trespasses."

When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer
along with this note:

"I've circled this block for 10 years.
If I don't give you a ticket, I'll lose my job. 'Lead us not
into temptation.'"

(Also from the Good Clean Funnies list)


:) Have a good night~

Have a good night!

It was a busy day here with separating milk/cream (and washing all the parts of the separator); I went to work in town, but got off at 5:00, as a coworker/friend came in and worked the later part of the shift so I could come home and help Andrew with the chores.... Tomorrow I have a full day in town though, as I need to be at the nursing home at 8:30 for a morning full of meetings, and then I work the PM shift, so consequently, Andrew will be on his own with chores. I'm sure he'll survive though, as Dad did them by himself not too long ago and came through it alright. :)

I'd best get some sleep!

Have a good night. ~

PS. For a bit of humor, I thought I'd include the following that arrived in my In-Box this morning: (Before you read it though, what do you think? Can a person be hired and fired in the same day and still have a job???)


"After years of being blasted into a net, the human
cannonball went to the circus owner and told him he was
going to retire.

'But you can't!' shouted the big boss. 'Where am
I going to find a man of your caliber?'

As it turned out, the human cannonball who replaced him was
hired and fired the same night."

Convention videos...

My brother Andrew has been posting several videos he took at the talent night during the convention, so if you'd like to see that, just visit his blog HERE.

It was a quite day here, after 10:30 that is! Before that time, it was actually quite busy, with packing food and tucking in some last minute clothing items, plus Andrew went and got the Azure order in Dawson, and then the mail came with a nice grain check tucked in amongst the bills, so it was a busy morning.

Andrew and I heard from the others around 7:30 this evening, saying that they'd just made it to their hotel in Blue Earth, MN. They went out to eat at the "Country Cottage" cafe across the road from their hotel and, while they were eating, they saw (from the window) several police stop a vehicle and eventually pull the vehicle away and take the driver prisoner, they believe it was for drug dealing. I'm sure Jacob will tell you more about that when they return.....

The drive to Blue Earth took longer than they'd expected, and they've now made the decision to sleep at the hotel the last night of class too, instead of driving home right after a long day of sitting as they'd originally planned to do! That means that they'll be coming home Sunday some time....

It snowed about 4 inches here today. It was coming down so gently this evening during chores that my brother and I almost didn't want to come back inside.....

And now it's time to get some sleep again.

Thank you all, once again, for your pleasant birthday greetings!!! :)

At 7:37 AM on 03-07-87, I was born. :)

Yes, today was my 24th birthday... I was surprised when my mom told me we wouldn't need to make a cake today, and then was even more surprised when she set an ice cream cake down in front of me! I guess it actually was Dad's idea to get the cake, as he knew we'd be running short on time after just getting back from the convention and then trying to get ready for them to leave again tomorrow...

Here Andrew is cutting the cake for all to enjoy! We had never bought an ice cream cake before, but have had it at friends' houses before. This one was SOOO delicious!!! By the way, does anyone have a recipe for how to make ice cream cake??? I'd love to find out how to do it!

Yes, the cake was so good, and COLD too! :)

I hesitated to share the following picture, as we still don't have everything put back in place after cleaning out our bookshelves and under the hutch and all the school drawers, so our house is a bit of a wreck...... Also, the big sheet is down, which looks funny, but is what we use as a big screen when we project movies.

Anyway, I did decide to post the picture as it is of me when I opened my gift from Jacob: a picture (in a beautiful frame) that a friend of mine took that she was selling copies of at the convention! :) I'll try to get a better picture of it some time in the near future.

It was a busy, special day... Our guys had to be out of doors all afternoon, as the 2 semis that were supposed to come for our corn on Friday decided to come today. Also, Mom and Jacob were busy packing, and Mom and I made chicken enchiladas from scratch (shells and all), so we were busy, but we did take some time to play a couple games together (the Monopoly card game and Foosball), and this evening, we watched a movie... I also had time to play piano for quite a while.

Also, what helped to make this day special was all the kind notes from friends!!! Two of my dear friends (who are sisters) called me from MI and played and sang a version of "Happy Birthday" that they'd made up just for me. :)

It was a lovely day!

The 2011 Christian Home Educators Conference

Thanks to this guy... and to this mother, we have several pictures from the weekend that we will all be sharing some of, I'm sure....

The above picture was of Mom behind her used-book-sale tables... She also took signatures for the Parental Rights cause there and got a couple of pages full.

Below is a picture of when the sale was going on. We were pleased with how many books of ours got sold!

Jacob and I drove over on Friday morning, and arrived just at the end of the main speaker's first session of the day. We were able to go to the (non) evolution talk that morning yet and learned a lot about sea creatures, so that was really neat. (Did you know that when a sharks' front teeth get dull, they just fall out and the back ones push forward to fill the gap, while new teeth are made in the back of their mouths so they're ready for the next move up?)

When we'd just finished our noon meal that day, we were pleasantly surprised to see our neighbors come around the corner! They sat with us...

...and on us for a while. :) (It was good to see you there, Tamera, Olivia, Sophia, Josiah & Mariah!)

Olivia and Sophia sat in with Jacob and I on a workshop by the main speaker and, I think, enjoyed it. The talk was mainly about the beneficial or adverse affects that different types of music has on our brains... Very interesting! (Playing classical music is still the best....) Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in listening to a great teacher, get some of Mr. Andrew Pudewa's lectures to listen to!!!

Andrew took this neat picture before the convention got started, while vendors were just starting to set up their displays...

After the afternoon sessions were over, Mother stayed at the Civic Center (she was still on the Master Cleanse) while my brothers and I, and Mr. Bartlett and his son, Jonathan drove to Jamestown's Pizza Ranch for a delicious supper of, yes, pizza. :) I'd never been to a Pizza Ranch Restaurant before, but the boys had and they've been wanting to go again for some time now. The great thing about going Friday for supper though was that a portion of each of the proceeds for the meals there that evening went to support the ND Home School Association!

We all enjoyed the talent night that was held Friday evening, and once it was over, Mom and Jacob went to visit with our friends, the Saylers, who we stayed with during the convention, while Andrew stayed to practice the choir song and to jam with friends and I stayed to visit with friends I haven't seen in quite some time... We left the Center after 10:00 and drove to the Saylers' house. The boys went to bed not long after that, but Mother and I stayed up and visited with Mr. & Mrs. S. until past midnight! Then we decided we should try to get some sleep. Neither of us slept very well, as we're not used to city noises, but we made up for the lost sleep this morning, which was a blessing.

Saturday was spent mainly in attending workshops, one of my favorites being Mrs. Heppners' talk about how they keep a large houseful of children in order (she's a mother of 16 biological children and 1 adopted child!). It was also a joy to sit there with the new friends we got to know better at Sams' Club a few weeks ago, the R. family. :) ... And then there was the great session about how to "Study Like A Genius", which I listened to while sitting with Hannah Dagley. :) ...And I got a few minutes to visit with Hannah Kenney, which was also a delight!

That evening, when the convention was all over with, we helped several vendors with packing up their boxes and the boys helped haul the boxes out to the vehicles when needed.

There are many more pictures I could share from our refreshing time, but I'll let my family share some of those with you... I do want to post one more though of myself with two of my dear friends, Crystal L. and Miranda G.~

I praise and thank God that I was home schooled and that he's blessed me with many sweet, Christian friends who share similar views on important issues of life!

Also, I thank my dad who stayed home and did all the chores for us so we could thoroughly enjoy our time in Jamestown!!!

I thank too the Bartlett family, the Kenney family, the Geiger family and all the others who planned and worked so hard to get a convention together for the families of ND (and MN, SD,...) to attend!

Now I can hardly wait for next years' convention to come...... :)

The North Dakota Home School Associations' Annual Convention is over...

;(
'
'
'
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And tomorrow we're off!

There's been a change of plans and now my dad is going to be staying home tomorrow to load up the two semis that are coming to get our organic corn....... That means that he'll miss some of the home school convention, and perhaps all of it, as he offered to just stay home so the rest of us can just stay in Jamestown at our friends, the Saylers' house...... That also means that I'll be driving tomorrow and, as I haven't driven much in bigger towns than Linton, Napoleon, Steele and Hazelton, prayers would be appreciated that I could find the civic center alright. :) Thankfully, Jacob will be along to help me look for it!

That being said, with the change of plans, I'll have some food to make and extra clothes to pack in the morning, so I'd best get to bed..... I won't be posting tomorrow night, but will try to get some pictures to share when I return. I can hardly wait to get to the convention!!!! It is one of the biggest highlights of our year. :)

A wonderful birthday surprise!

My mom had a great early-birthday surprise for me today..... Around 3:30 this afternoon, 2 vehicles pulled in our yard, the 1 being the BekTel guy (he wasn't the surprise, as he'd come to answer some of Andrew's Internet concerns) and the other being: A LADY FROM WISHEK WHO TUNES PIANOS!!! She spent over an hour tuning mine and now it sounds sooooo much better! :) She also tuned Mom's piano while she was here, so we can now enjoy playing music the way it was meant to be played!
"Thanks so much Mother for your very thoughtful gift! I'm sure we all will enjoy the benefits." :)

I did make it to Linton today also and made my loan payment. Then I headed to Napoleon to put my calf check in the bank (it had to be endorsed by FSA before I could do so), and then spent some of my money at Nita's Attic, our local thrift store. :)

This afternoon and evening was spent in getting books priced and boxed up to take to the used book sale at the home school convention tomorrow. Mom and Andrew plan to leave after lunch sometime, and the rest of us will head over that way on Friday. I have to work tomorrow; Dad has a bunch of hay to haul home again; and Jacob's going to milk Sally, so that's why it's just Mom and Andrew going--Mom to sell her books and Andrew to practice the 2 choir songs the young home schooled children and adults are going to be singing.......

That all being said, I'd best get some sleep as there's much to be done tomorrow morning to get the travelers on the road. Also, there's the bread that needs baking; clothes that need ironing and packing; the Azure order that needs placing; the piano-top that needs rearranging; the birthday gift for a friend that needs wrapping; etc... before heading for work in town!

Actually....

I didn't go to Linton at all today. I did start out, but got as far as the Highway and couldn't see the road very well at all (due to the strong wind blowing the snow across the road) so I came back home for a couple hours before heading to work in town....

I do have some happy news though! Our friends, the Keister family (my former music teachers' family) had their baby girl yesterday. :) My parents went to Bismarck today, so were able to stop and visit the happy parents and baby in the hospital. I can hardly wait to meet little Arianwyn Sylvie!

But for now, I'd best get some sleep, as I'm going to try making the 45-minute trip to Linton tomorrow morning after chores.......