Pictures from the last couple of weeks...

I uploaded my pictures, finally, and have several to share. Enjoy~

Jacob's bottle calf, Tyler, soaking up some fresh air in his little barn bubble:
Here is a picture of Mom (in her barn gear) standing by the newly repaired and restickered mailbox..... (I don't remember if I told you all about the mailbox getting knocked over a while back by the disc when Mom was done with the field? Well, she's grateful that the guys fixed it for her, as she doesn't have any desire to learn how to weld).....

Lady and I, after morning chores were nearly finished...Our little house on the prairie---and a (prairie?) chicken: :)

Here is one of our 2 grown tom turkeys:

...and here is what our little turkeys look like now,

...compared to what they looked like about 10 days ago!

The following are pictures from about a week ago when we had our friends, Jared H. and Karen E. here and we were showing them around the farm...

They thought it was neat to be so close to the heifers/cows...

Andrew, getting his cow, Sally in...

Andrew, showing Jared how to milk his cow, Sally....

...and Andrew, watching as Jared milks his cow, yes, Sally. :)

Karen thought it was fun to feed little Tyler his bottle...

Then we spent a lot of time on the swings, merry-go-round, and trampoline...Fun times!

Today was busy, again. The boys worked in the shop most of the time, although we did work on taking some boards off the greenhouse and wrapping up some of the old plastic. Hopefully we can get the new plastic on there soon and get the ground "Fertilized" and worked up so we can plant!!!

Well, I hope you all liked the peek into our lives... I'll try to do better about posting pictures as they're taken. ;)

Blessings~

Praise the Lord, it's raining!!!

We need the rain badly, as I know I've mentioned before... What a wonderful thing it is to listen to the chorus of raindrops falling to the ground and splashing outside my windows!

I had a very nice, peaceful day today. Slept in; played piano; listened to a sermon with my family; jumped on the trampoline with my brothers; went gopher hunting with the same people; then ate supper and watched a nice, long movie. :) Mother took a nice long nap this afternoon and Dad spent a good portion of the day up in Bismarck. His Mom had called and asked if he'd come help make sure Grandpa got in and out of their vehicle safely, as he's not very strong right now (he was actually in the hospital for a couple days) and needed to go for Dialysis again today, so, Dad went. He got home around 4:00PM.

Our turkeys are having fun escaping now at the rate of about 4 a day. By escaping, I mean flying out of their box. When Mom and I got in from morning chores, I walked into the bathroom and Mom told me then that I had a little follower----a baby turkey that had flown out. :) I guess it's time to find some kind of netting or metal grill to put over the top of the box!

I have several pictures to post one of these days....

Please, have a wonderful new week.~

Golden 10...

That's the name of the game we were just playing for nearly 2 hours.... We play it with Rook cards and the object of the game is to not get points (which you get whenever you get a red card in a trick) and also to capture the yellow (or golden) #10 card, as that will deduct 10 points from your score! I thought it was pretty fun, but Mom didn't like it so well and finally went to bed. :) The remaining 4 of us ended the game with pretty close scores. Fun times!

This was a busy day.... Dad went to Napoleon for supplies and he and the boys spent most of the day working on fixing my car! Hooray!!! We also played the literal game of "Who owes who what?" and tried to get squared up again.

Mom and I cleaned the house (and the turkeys' house/box) and also doctored our first kid of the year, although he ended up not making it. :( In a way, we're glad as we will have more milk this way. Also, 2 of my turkeys that were runty and didn't seem to get going died, but the 15 others are looking very well and are now doing their best to discover what is on the other side of the box!

I did quite a bit of cooking/baking today. I made a cherry cheesecake (first mixed up a batch of graham crackers for the crust and also made sweetened condensed milk); a batch of buns; and a double batch of tortillas for the tacos we had for supper. Yummy!

It was so nice to all be on the farm together today. Tomorrow, we invited 2 families to come over for the afternoon/supper, but it sounds like only 1 will be able to make it now.

I will close with a quote we read today:

"Aspire to inspire before you expire!"

Interesting tidbits of information...

Tonight, I have several things of possible interest that I'd like to share with you all. As it is not early and I need to get to bed soonish, I'll just post them as facts and not write a lot about each issue.

• I spent all day caring for Johanna and Tracy Jo---the 2 little girls I nanny for
• Andrew bought another car yesterday---a Stratus that needs a new motor
• Dad and Andrew have several days of grain cleaning left
• Our 15 Bronze baby turkeys are coming tomorrow!
• Mom and Jacob went gopher hunting today
• MaryAnna Balyeat is my new Prairie-Days-website-host-partner.........Visit the new website HERE and see if you can find all the members of our family in the header photo (there are also many new pictures in the album to scroll through).
• I have several political links I'd like to share---having to do with what took place at the Republican convention this last weekend:
• http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/356057/----Protests don’t affect outcome of delegate slate at ND GOP convention
• http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/video-former-ndgop-chairman-calls-national-delegate-selection-favoring-mitt-romney-a-railroad-job/---Video: Former NDGOP Chairman Calls National Delegate Selection Favoring Mitt Romney “A Railroad Job”
• http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/national-delegate-nomination-process-dissolves-into-chaos-at-ndgop-convention/---National Delegate Nomination Process Dissolves Into Chaos At NDGOP Convention
• The following video is a short interview done with the young woman who wished to voice some unfinished business way at the end of the convention. She was not given the floor to speak and had her microphone promptly cut... How unfair is that? (As a side note, you can see me in the background---in the blue top and cream skirt. :) )

• Finally, here's a photo to help with the stress that I may have just inflicted on anyone who just read the above articles and listened to the interview: ;)
• 

In God, we can still trust. Of course, with that trust comes the responsibility on our part to act according to what we believe is right in God's eyes.

So, let's not get discouraged or be worried about where our once (very) great, republic Country is now headed, but instead, concentrate on the good----in this case, the very many more active, fighting-for-freedom, honor, love, and truth type of delegates that showed up this year than showed up 4 years ago!

....and the Revolution keeps growing!

I was just 'sittin all day...

...for the 2 little neighbor girls, that is. I enjoyed it! I decided to log-in to my G-mail account while the girls were napping, so as to send Andrew an e-mail to see how his grain-cleaning job was going in all this wind. The e-mail took quite some time to write, however, as I was holding sleeping baby Tracey Jo in one arm and typing with only one hand. :)

Dad hauled 3 loads of hay home.

Mom wasn't feeling well, so took it easy.

Andrew cleaned grain all day.

Jacob fixed fence and fed cows. He and Dad also went down to Titan in Kintyre for their annual appreciation meal....

'twas a busy day!

We dug out the Bocce balls...

This afternoon was so pleasantly warm and sunny (in the 70s!), it's hard to believe there's a chance of snow on Tuesday! This certainly has been an odd year already, temperature wise.

My brothers and I played several games of Bocce and then just enjoyed swinging on the swings for a while and talking.

We had hoped to have company today, but they weren't able to make it, so we had plenty of food for supper!

It was a very nice, relaxed day. Just what we needed before the "Storm" of the following busy weeks hits.... This coming weekend is the annual homeschool conference, which we plan to attend and help with. Then, the following week is the GOP convention, which we also plan to go to. :) Oh, we had some very good news today! Our district chairman called and talked to Dad and told him that someone decided not to go to the convention, so now Dad can be/will be a delegate!!!!!!! Hooray!

"Thank you, Father in Heaven!"

So, yes, it was a good day.

It's been lovely weather...

...for hanging clothes out on the line! I also spent a while in the garden, clearing off the stubble and putting it in a big pile to burn on a less windy day. (I had to put a couple old tires on top of the pile to make sure they stayed put.)

The guys were busy in the shop all day (except Dad did go over and load another load of hay to be sold). Jacob has his pickup fixed now (with some help from Andrew and maybe Dad?)! It is really nice and Jacob likes the fact that it is loud......a guy thing. :) Andrew fixed the problem on his Stratus, so I get to test-drive it again tomorrow. He said they put my car in the shop today!!!!! I don't think I said that Andrew bought a white truck last Friday, so Dad will be using that to pull his cleaner with while Andrew uses Dad's semi to pull his larger rig. :) It's so nice that we can all work together like this to make things work!

Speaking of tomorrow though... I'm excited as I'll be starting a new part-time job, babysitting at least 1 day a week for a family who live about 12 miles NW of us. They have 2 young girls and I can hardly wait to spend time with them! The baby is just 11 weeks old. :) (Thanks so much, Kristi and Stacey for the referral!)

In a couple days, Dad and Andrew will start in on the grain-cleaning season, which means we won't be seeing much of them for the next 3 or so weeks! They'll come home late at night, dusty, hoarse and exhausted, but with nice checks in their billfolds. Jacob will be in charge of taking care of the cattle while they're gone. If you would pray for safety and for all to go well during this very busy season, that would be wonderful!

Meanwhile, Mom and I will be planning our garden while enjoying the feel of a cool breeze coming in the open windows and the sound of geese honking their cheery greetings to the countryside.

"Thank you, Lord, for Spring!" :)

A post on red, Ron Paul, and buttermilk pancakes...

Mother commented the other day that my brothers and I matched----and she had to get our picture. Here we are, all decked out in red and blue denim (we all had white socks on too, but sadly they don't show in the picture). :) Don't I just look tiny in-between those two giants?




The following pictures are ones that Andrew took with his new, high-quality camera.

I mentioned about a week ago how Mom and Andrew went to see and hear Ron Paul speak (they helped greet people too and passed out stickers and the like) at the Bismarck endorsing convention... Here are a few pictures for those who are interested:

Mr. Paul----one of my heroes! Don't you just love his country look? :)



This gentleman (posing with his wife) is another to whom I give my whole-hearted support:
His name is Mr. Paul Sorum and he is running to be Governor of our great state. As a side note, he and his wife home educate(d) their children! :) He is a man of integrity and believes in many of the same things Ron Paul does, (things like: God; adhering to the constitution of our country; and the like).

The smiling lady in the middle of this photo is also a Ron Paul supporter---aka: my mom!

The gentleman in the black hat in this picture is a huge Ron Paul supporter...

...as is this young man in the white hat. :) These are the two friends Andrew went with yesterday and who he may go with again out to the eastern part of the state later this week....

Mother, Andrew and I spent our afternoon calling people from District #28, seeking out Ron Paul supporters. Our endorsing convention is this Tuesday evening in Wishek and we're trying to find people to come along and vote for us to be delegates or to be delegates themselves.....

But, that's enough politic talk for the time being! :)

I'll leave you with the picture Andrew took of me this afternoon as I mixed up a double-batch of buttermilk pancakes (minus the buttermilk, as we're out. I just put a little vinegar in the milk and it turned out fine).

I had decided to try out one of the hairstyles on a website my friend, MaryAnna sent me a link to (for Prairie Days ideas)... What do you think?

And now, I will wish you all a good night!

Foosball fun!

It's been quite a long time since we've played Foosball, so we were a bit out of practice this afternoon when we headed down to the basement for at least an hour of fun! Dad, the boys and I played several games and were starting to get the hang of it again by the time we were nearly tired out. :) Then we went upstairs and played Rook with Mother, plus a bit of Rummy too.

We listened to a couple of Mr. Kevin Swanson's radio messages today and appreciated his thoughts. We also sang several hymns, which was much more pleasant this week than last, as this time I have my voice back---a useful instrument when it comes to singing. :)

My parents and Jacob did the evening chores tonight, so Andrew and I made our supper and looked through pictures he's taken with his new camera.

And that was our day----in a nut shell.

Oh, here's the new Prairie Day flier that a friend shared with me the other day. Can you find my family on the picture? How about George Washington?

Learning the rest of the ropes...

This morning, I went to Helen's house (Daycare) so we could go over some menus and so she could show me where absolutely everything I might ever need was at. :) The reason? She and her husband will be leaving on vacation soon and I will be in charge of her daycare for a few days... If she did forget to show me where something is (and I forgot to ask), then I'm pretty sure the children can help me find it, as they know the ins and outs of the place (and all the rules) better than I do. :)

I got a phone call while at Helen's from one of my coworkers at the nursing home who was wondering if I could come in a couple hours early and take over for her, as she had an appointment to keep, so I agreed to do that as I was going to be going there to work the rest of the day anyway. It ended up being a rather long day.

When I got home just a bit ago, I rolled up the garden-hose that was in the milk cows' tank yet and took it in the house, locking the door behind me. All was still in the house. I figured everyone was in bed already. I had just taken my shoes and coat off when I heard the dogs bark and then, a little later, the entryway door opened up. I turned the light on out there and peeked out the door into the entry---and there---was my dad, coming up the stairs! I let him in. :)

Apparently, they had posted an ad on Bis-Man to try and sell our old car (one that we've had for almost as long as I can remember). Within 3 hours time, they had a call from a man in Bismarck who wanted to buy it. His car broke down this morning (for the last time, I think) and he said he'd willingly pay the full price my dad was asking (in cash) if he'd deliver it to Bismarck. SOOOOO, at 8:00 this evening, he and Andrew took off with the old car and Andrews' car. After making the delivery, while filling gas in Bismarck, they ran into (not literally) some friends from Edgeley, so that was neat.

And that, my dear friends, was our day. ~

We went to Bis(y)marck!

Our morning started early, with my parents and I getting things together to go to Bismarck. Our first stop was in Dawson, as we needed to pick up our Azure order at 8:45AM. We saw a friend from SD there and Mom asked her to hop in our vehicle and visit while we waited for the truck (which ended up only being about a 5 minute wait).

After getting our healthy food and cleaning products loaded, we headed for the city (about an hours' drive from our farm). Mother had a pretty full days worth of sessions to do, so we dropped her off at her little office first thing.

Then, Dad and I drove here and there, getting paperwork together for taxes; renewing the semi license; mailing the cream separator we sold to a man in Canada; looking for machine parts; and then going to the dentist, as Dad had an appointment there. I knew it was going to take a while, so I sat out in the Pacifica (in the bright sunshine, with a warm quilt on my lap) and wrote 2 letters. Once my letters were completed, I started looking through the Azure Standard sales catalog and was busily reading there when someone knocked on my window! I looked up, a bit startled as my dad would have gone to the other door and knocked if I'd not noticed him, and here, it was one of my coworkers from Napoleon!!! :) We visited for a few minutes until Dad was done and came out. What a surprise!

Dad put some gas in the vehicle, then we noticed a Goodwill store that we'd never been in before, so (as we needed to "Kill" some time anyway) we stopped there and looked around. Can you believe that we didn't buy a thing there??? :)

At 2:00, we went and picked Mother up, as she had a couple-hour lull in her sessions and we all headed over to the ND Ron Paul headquarters to see if there was anything we could do to help there. We'd never been there before (the boys had, but not the rest of us) so Jared and Trevor gave us a quick tour. We visited for most of the time we were there, as they didn't have their newest calling lists in yet, although Mother did call 2 numbers and found 1 willing delegate in the process. :)

After taking Mom back to her office, Dad and I spent the rest of the afternoon driving around town, putting up posters for the next (John Birch Society) informational constitution meeting to be held next Tuesday evening at the public library. We put the posters up in both malls; a couple gas stations; the library; and a few grocery stores. While searching for the bulletin board in one grocery store, a couple walked up behind us and the woman said, "Hi Cora". Turning around, here I saw ANOTHER of my coworkers (another Napoleonite)!! What are the chances of that? I guess God just wanted to give us all a smile. :)

We went to Mom's office one last time at 6:00 and picked her up, then took her to a friend who does massage. While Mom got her relaxing treat, Dad and I headed for Menards to look at what kinds of clear materials they have for putting on the top of greenhouses (something sturdier than thick, flexible plastic like we used last year). We found some plexi-material that would work really well, but it is quite expensive, so we're not sure if we want to go that way or not? Hmmmmm.......

The boys, meanwhile, were at home, doing chores and fixing cars (and Jacob did some schoolwork too, so I hear). They're such a blessing.

I guess I really didn't do much while in Bismarck, other than keeping my dad company, but it was nice to get away for a change. I still like the farm scenery better than the city though! :)

"My" child....

Let me tell you a bit about him:


...and here's Dinesh's picture:

I have prayed about sponsoring a child for some time and it is now finally official! :) My family (my parents, really) sponsored a little girl many years ago through Compassion International. Her name was Tabita and we wrote her letters and heard from her for about 10 years time. We were blessed by her prayers and it was such a wonderful feeling to know that, because of our help, a little girl in Indonesia was receiving an education; a good meal every day; clothing; medical care if needed; and most importantly, she was being taught about the Lord and we rejoiced when she talked about her love of Him! We still pray for her when she comes to mind.

I am now very much looking forward to getting to know this young lad in India through the years and praying for him as he grows in the Lord. I plan to write my first letter to him tomorrow. :)

We have sent most of our tithe money to Gospel For Asia for years, and really believe in the work they're doing there. "Bridge Of Hope" is a division of Gospel For Asia, bringing needy children together with sponsors who want to help them... I look forward to the years ahead, knowing that I'm helping a little boy in Chhattisgarh to grow big and strong. Who knows, he may one day be a missionary and we can help support him together? :)


I baked bread today and made mozzarella cheese...
Mother had 2 clients come out this morning and, as their sessions were pretty lengthy, we invited them to join us for lunch too, which they did happily. :)

This next picture is for all the farmers out there: How would you like to have this seat to sit on as you go about your chores?

(Thankfully, it is a lot more drivable now that Dad fixed it!)

Here are our two sleepy heads in their favorite spot in the whole wide world at this time of year----right behind the wood stove in the shop!

Brother Andrew, searching for the perfect diagram...

This is Andrew's most recent project:

Mother likes this car so much, she's talking about buying it from him for summer driving...... :)

Andrew replaced the wiring-harness (I think that's what it was called?) on this car for a customer/friend recently:

OH, and here's one last picture that I found on my camera when I uploaded my pictures:

This is the collage I put together from last years' events.... Enjoy~

PS. Does anyone recognize the man Andrew's standing by in the far left, middle photo?

Above Rubies...

A dear friend at Family Camp asked me if I'd ever heard of/read "Above Rubies". When I replied in the negative, she said she highly recommended it to all women/young ladies. She had even gone and stayed a couple months to help with everything that needs doing in order to publish a magazine!

So, a few days back, I subscribed (I was very surprised to learn that there was no charge) and also ordered all the back issues that are still in print. I was very glad to see that the back-issues had arrived in the mail today, as I actually had some time for reading this afternoon. :) From what I've read and seen so far, I also would highly recommend this magazine to others! You can find out more at ABOVE RUBIES. I especially love all the pictures of families and reading about what the Lord has done in their lives....

It was indeed a peaceful day at home. We listened to one of Mr. Kevin Swansons' messages and sang several songs for our worship service today. In the later part of the afternoon, (after Mother napped, the guys did various things, and I played piano) all of us--except for Jacob--watched "Pamela's Prayer", which I had also ordered from the Above Rubies website. The movie's main message was very good, but we wondered at a couple of the scenes which didn't quite seem to fit with the moral of the story? Has anyone else ever watched this movie? If so, what did you think of it?

They're back....

My parents arrived home this evening and we are now just waiting for Andrew to get back from Minot. He should be back any minute.

Things went really well here at home for Jacob and I. PTL! There was even a little fruit pizza leftover for Dad's supper. :)

Busy day.

That it was.

Jacob helped me clean the house. Andrew worked out in the shop most of the day (Jacob helped him out there too.) I made chicken; stuffing; and fruit pizza for supper.

I talked to Mom a little bit ago on the phone and she said they're having a marvelous time. They are just now watching the "White elephant auction", one where all the funds on the donated items goes to NPSAS. Someone just bid $350 on a 20lb bag of garlic! :)

Jacob and I helped Andrew get ready to go this evening by packing him his lunch and supper. He plans to leave at 6:00AM. OH, the phone is ringing.... It's probably Mom again. Jacob just got it.

Well all, have a wonderful weekend! May God bless you REEEEEAL good.~ :)

They're leaving early....

....My parents are, that is. It's been several years since my mom's had a chance to go with my dad to the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society's annual convention (or, as we call it, "The Organic Convention"). This time, things will be different! Both of my parents are leaving very early in the morning to attend the 2-day convention in Aberdeen. I know they'll have a wonderful time. Dad even arranged for them to have all their meals there with the group (all very healthy food, naturally) as a belated-birthday gift to Mom, so we didn't have to pack them any food except for breakfasts. :)

Meanwhile, back at the farm, my brothers and I will be taking care of the "Critters" and cleaning the house and cooking and playing games and doing some work and......? On Saturday, Andrew will be gone all day, helping his good friend, Jonathan with instructing/supervising an all-day Appleseed Shoot event in Minot. I'm sure glad that Jacob knows how to feed the cows! I'll gladly milk the cow if he'll do that! :)

We had a very good day here at home, Mother and I. Imagine it----both of us home, together, all day! We did a lot of laundry; finished getting our very-belated annual family newsletters ready to be mailed; I made bread, pizza, and buttermilk cookies with icing; we did a kitchen-full of dishes; did some necessary paperwork; chores; and Mom is right now finishing up with their packing.

Our guys were over by Spiritwood all day again today and got the one cleaner all taken apart and brought home. Now they just have the whole other one to do......
I just read this verse in Proverbs (22:29) and thought it was very fitting for our gentleman:

"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men."

Yes, very fitting indeed. Oh, and if there are any mean men reading this, :) , please, won't you just be nice? ~

Pictures I took at camp:

Here are the slightly-belated pictures that I promised from Cabin Fever Family Camp, 2012. Enjoy! :)

We picked room #:

....just a couple rooms down the hallway from a couple sweet families we know.

It was a comfy, yellow room with many beds to choose from. Jacob and I slept on the top bunks and I do believe mine was the noisiest in the room! None of us slept very well the first night, but the second night was much better. Andrew was home doing chores Friday night and then Dad went home and did them Saturday evening... "Thanks again, guys!"After the first talk by Mr. Swanson, all the young people headed for the gym. Here are some people lined up on one end of the building:
...and more people on the other end, all of them just waiting for someone to say "Go" so they could all run to the middle and try to grab a ball for a game of something like freeze-tag, except, if you were tagged, you went in "Jail". You had a chance to escape from jail if one of your team-mates got someone from the other team in "Jail".

My friend, Hayley, all in a blur, with her yellow ball:

During the "Free time" on Saturday and Sunday, there were many games of volleyball being played! (Can you spot Andrew in this picture?)

Saturday night, after Mr. Swanson's last talk, many people went roller skating. Here is a dusty picture of Andrew: He was so kind as to take me for several spins around the room while I was trying to get used to being on wheels. :) I didn't fall even once, although I almost did several times!

This is a picture of the girls' dorm where our family stayed:

The large gym:

The boys' dorm---which also had a fellowship area:

The dining hall:

The chapel:

More volleyball: (If you look closely, you can spot my friend, Miranda in this picture.) :)

We made several new friends and enjoyed the time of fellowshipping with them and with our dear "Old" friends as well!!! Here you can see Mom, watching the volleyball game along with some other ladies:
That's all of my pictures. I know Mother took more pictures than I did this time and Andrew video-taped Mr. Swansons' talks, so we have several things to remember this family camp by.

I think it delights the Lord when His people get to know each other and find encouragement in one anothers' experiences! I praise Him for getting us to camp this year...............

Wet shirts...

I spent a pleasant portion of this day over at our neighbors' house, babysitting 2 of their 3 children. After the noon meal was over, Amelia and James pulled up a chair by the sink and helped me wash the dishes again. :) All 3 of us came away with wet shirts! Children are so precious....

When I got home a little before 5:00, I was set in front of another sink, this time to scrub, no, not dishes, but potatoes and carrots for our supper. :) Then I made a batch of pumpkin bars while Mom cleaned the bathroom; Jacob swept the floor and Andrew scrubbed it. We were quite the busy crew! Mom and Andrew had been gone for most of the day in Bismarck (delivering items that we'd sold on BisManOnline and thrift-shopping, oh, and hanging up some posters about the next informational how-t0-get-back-to-the-constitution meeting being held in Bismarck on Jan. 3rd.) Dad was gone loading out some more hay for buyers, so that left Jacob at home for a while to do some cleaning and schoolwork.

It was a good day----and it is STILL brown outside, mostly!