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!

My van now has a new home...

The man from Driscoll came and picked it up tonight (and paid for it too). I was so glad Andrew had taken the time to clean everything out of it for me while I was away for most of the day at the Daycare. Speaking of which, I just have one more day there (on Monday) before Helen returns. I think this was the best day so far, as everyone got along with everyone else pretty well and most everybody took naps when they were supposed to.... :) 4 days down, 1 more to go.

This day started out on an extremely sad note when I read about a friend of mines' siblings being in a car accident yesterday----4 of them being in the hospital, and 1 more sister died as a result of injuries!! I can not imagine what they're going through right now. Please pray for the L. family from ND. They're also planning a wedding for their oldest (my friend) for March 3rd. What a difficult time this must be for them............ I just can't imagine.........................

A bit of a Jonah day...

...You know the kind---when things just seem to go wrong right from the break of dawn---or even before it, as it was in my case...

Here is my sad tale:

I was driving my van along in the dark (going the speed limit) and was about a mile West of Napoleon when a deer suddenly ran across the road a little ways ahead of me. I slammed on the breaks, knowing that, where there's one deer, there's often two, but the second deer was too quick and ended up running right immediately in front of me! I smacked into it very hard (right in the front on the passenger side) and literally saw the deer sail up into the air 10+ feet, doing somersaults as it went. (My dad and brother looked for it later and couldn't see it, so they think it is still alive?) I stopped right away and pulled over, getting out to see what damage had been done. When I saw the huge mess and smelled something hot, I knew I'd better turn the motor off and call for help.

I called my dad (it was about 7:10AM at this time) and asked his advice and if he could look up Helen's phone # so I could call her and let her know what happened and to see if she or her husband could pick me up, as they needed to get going for appointments in Bismarck and I was supposed to be there at 7:15... To make a long story short, I called #911 to report what had happened, the Sheriff came out and took down the information (I think that's the first time I've ever been inside a police vehicle, but he asked me in because it was SO cold out); Helen's husband came and picked me up and they left as soon as we got to their place; then Dad and Andrew brought me Andrew's car to drive home and towed my van home.

The verdict on my van? My dad said he'd advise me to try and sell it for parts or scrap and buy something else, as it's going to cost a lot to repair and it already has 203,000+ miles on it...

The part to be glad about? That I was not hurt at all, outside of having a very high pulse rate there for a few minutes! Also, as the guys pointed out, I can be glad the air-bags did not get set off, as that could have hurt and it also would make the vehicle very much unsellable. One more thing to be thankful for is that this happened while Helen and her husband were not gone on vacation yet so that one of them could come pick me up. It still was sad though. We've had some great family times in that van (I think we've had it 8 years)!

I have been battling a cold for a couple days and today I started loosing my voice along with it. Jacob says I sound like he did while his voice was changing. :) It's frustrating to want to say something, but also to not want to say it, as your voice sounds so silly.

Outside of those sad details, my day went fairly smoothly with the 10 small (4 and under) children I cared for all day. Shortly after I got home, Mom took off with the car Andrew let me use, as Andrew had someone very interested in buying it and needed it delivered to Bismarck. He and Dad had gone to Minot (I'll let him tell you what for later), so then Mom rode home with them, after Andrew's car was sold!

Andrew commented that, within 3 days time, we've gone down 4 drivable vehicles (3 were sold and 1 was demolished). It's a good thing that Andrew brought home a----oh, I said I wasn't going to tell you!

Prayers would be appreciated, as I try to get well in a super big hurry and as I now need to decide on what vehicle to buy? Life can take so many unexpected turns sometimes!

A hard night....

One of my very favorite residents (she's been at the nursing home ever since I started there and we've talked about many, many things) is getting very close to passing into glory land... This evening was hard. Although I was working on the other wing, my coworker and I did go visit this lady and helped to try and make her more comfortable. She was in a lot of pain and it was hard to understand what she was saying. She did know that I was there though, so I was glad of that. I don't think I'll ever see her again.

This is one of the times that I don't like working at the nursing home. I get so attached to a resident and then they're gone..... I pray that I am a blessing to them though, in what I do and say, and then I can always pray for them too, to not have so much pain in their passing, and to turn to God in those last few moments if they haven't already accepted Him into their hearts and lives......

Please pray for Judy tonight, if you are still up and reading this. She's one lady I'm going to really miss, as are many of my coworkers!

Disheartening news....

Dad just informed us of the disappointing news he heard on the radio today, that being that our government has now allowed Monsanto to plant 100 acres of G.M. (genetically modified) wheat in ND and it is currently growing somewhere in this state at this very minute! My family and I personally battled G.M. wheat for a long time, testifying at the capitol and such. You can click HERE to read an old article about what GM wheat will mean to us North Dakotans. (We had the Mr. Fry quoted in this article in our home for supper once even...) And HERE is another good article... One last article, where my dad is quoted can be read HERE. (We were just getting started with Organic farming at that time...)

We were all so pleased when "They" (Monsanto) gave up their efforts to get their seeds into North Dakota---one of the (if not THEE) biggest wheat growing states in the country. How disappointing it is to learn that "They" have now gone behind people's backs and gotten their product into our state---no matter what we think of it. Arggggh! What is to be done?

I had intended this to be a pleasant post about Mom, Andrew and my trip to Bismarck this afternoon, but I no longer feel like writing about that.

May God save America! May His people stand up and fight for what is right and good, and may the good win in the end.... (just like in Louisa May Alcott's books, right Lane? ;) )

Disheartened,
~Cora

S-N-O-W-!

Yes, when I went out to check the cows this afternoon, the misty rain we were having when I walked out the front door quickly turned into huge snowflakes! These cows weren't expecting snow either, obviously, as they weren't over with the rest in the protection of the shelter-belt....


While the wind blasted and blew the snow all over outside of our house, inside we were having a lovely family day. :) Mother and I realized we were wearing similar outfits and asked the guys to take our picture. It doesn't show here as well as in real life, but my skirt does have gold in it, and Mom and I were wearing our matching necklaces even!

Next, we realized that Jacob's shirt also matched our color theme--black and gold! Mom wanted a picture of the 3 of us children together, now that Jacob's taller than I am, so we searched Andrew's closet for something black and gold for him to wear, but all to no avail. So, here he is, looking a bit disappointed that he's "Just" dressed in black and green. :) (We're all a bit blurry in this picture for some reason...? Must have been laughing too hard!)

Of course, we couldn't leave our camera man out of the fun! Here he is, with 3 extra heads. :)
Mother and her little boys...

The following pictures are older, from days gone by.

I received a big package in the mail yesterday (the one bright spot in the day!), and it contained a dream come true for me:

A Kitchen-Aid mixer of my very own! :) :) :) I've wanted to get one for a long time, especially for making smooth icing for my cakes and for whipping cream, etc... Now that our Dimension Bread Maker broke though, I had incentive to go ahead with my plan of "Buying one some day." This is the heaviest duty mixer that Kitchen-Aid makes (with a 6 qt. bowl), so I'm hoping it will be able to handle a full batch of bread, but if not, we'll just knead it in 2 batches I guess. Does anyone else have experience with mixing up bread in a Kitchen-Aid and, if so, how much dough can it handle well at one time??? I made one dessert already with my mixer, following a recipe for Lemon Cream-Cheese Bars that Jacob requested and, those of us who like lemon desserts, really liked how it turned out!

This piece of paper came in the mail the other day and, though it was no surprise to me, it still is nice to see it written down on official paper, don't you think? :)

As I imported the pictures onto Mother's computer today, I found some of the greenhouse that I didn't know we had. This one was taken right after the guys and my mom put the plastic on...

...and this one is of the inside of our greenhouse, right after we finished planting the rest of it. We now have peas, beets, broccoli and lettuce coming up and the plants that I transplanted in the ground are doing well. You can see the door(s) the boys built on the other end of the greenhouse a few days back. Dad designed it so we can either open the 2 foot door for a slight breeze, the 3 foot one for more air, or open both for the best ventilation, depending on the needs of the day.

Here Jacob is assembling the little red tractor planter that we now have sitting out by our mailbox with some tulips planted inside, for the time being.

Oh, and here the guys are testing out their 2 street bikes that they fixed up and are now trying to sell. We don't have much use for motorcycles out here!

The beautiful bouquet Mom bought last week to cheer us up:

And this last picture is of Andrew, getting ready to leave with his grain cleaning rig:

Please join us in praying for all the people who lost their homes and/or loved ones in the recent storms down South farther! Reading about their struggles and losses makes me feel guilty for feeling bad about the loss of a few animals in this weather! There are so many people hurting far more than we are...

I'm going to post this right now and go talk to our Father above! Good night~

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!

Remember on Memorial Day~

Freedom isn't Free - by Kelly Strong~

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
~No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
~No, freedom isn't free.

Freedom truly isn't free--not that much in this life is. Even salvation wasn't free, as Jesus had to die on the cross in order for us to receive it, so it cost a great deal! Remember to thank the Lord for His wonderful gift today, and remember all of our soldiers (especially the ones so far from home) on this day. My family and I will also be remembering Grandma... Please pray for Grandpa, as this will be a hard day for him...

We got the grass planted!

There was still wind today, but not as much, so Mother, Jacob & I picked rocks; planted the grass; and raked over the area--and now we're really praying for rain! It sprinkled a little during chores tonight, but not enough to really count as rain.


We also had some visitors to our farm today... The first was our elderly neighbor lady, Gladys. She brought over some useful items she didn't need anymore; had tea with Mom and I; and I trimmed her hair, (which I've been cutting for her occasionally for about a year now). She wanted to see our baby goats, so we went down to the barn for a little while. Then I rode in her pickup with her across the road to our rhubarb patch, as she asked if she could have 2 cups worth for making a fresh rhubarb cake. :) We have lots of rhubarb (about 30 plants), so we were happy to oblige her.


Our second visitor was Benjamin Dagley who came to buy some oats and screenings for his animals. He and Dad filled the totes while the rest of us did chores, then we had a few minutes together to visit before he had to head home.

His sister had sent along some tomato, cabbage, and Black-Eyed-Susan plants for us to enjoy, so that was really nice! (Thanks Amanda!!!)


While Ben was here, he mentioned that some cows were out on the road to the North and it sounded like it was up far enough to be our cows. After Ben left, Dad and Andrew got on their dirt-bikes and drove up a few miles until they found some cows. It turns out that they were our neighbors' cows, so Dad called our neighbor and he came. Our guys helped him get the cows in, seeing as they were up there already. I'm glad that our cows are still satisfied with their grass!


Andrew hauled more manure out to the fields today, this time using the 1486! He said it worked great, so that's a relief. Andrew did hear some bad news on the radio though... A 13-year-old boy that we know (he was a triplet!) died yesterday as a result of a 4-wheeler accident. This boy's name was Jacob and he was my brother, Jacob's friend from the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society conventions. Both boys had similar interests (guitar, animals, hunting...) and last year, Jacob L. even gave Jacob B. one of his guitar picks, as my Jacob had lost his. Now that gift seems even more precious to Jacob... You can visit my brother or mothers' blog to learn more (they're both on my side-bar.) Please, if you would, keep this family in your prayers for a while, as I'm sure they are greatly grieving their kind-hearted son!


Well, it's family prayer time, so I need to end this.

Sweet dreams~

Pictures of my grandma's funeral...

We were SO glad that Rev. Steve Kyner (our pastor) from Alfred, ND came for the funeral and was there for moral support and to pray for us! He is pictured here with my dad and brother, Andrew.

Here is Jacob and our cousin, Benjamin from Bismarck.

My grandpa with his daughter-in-law Sharel, sister Delores, sister Frances and his brother-in-law, (Frances' husband) David.

The front of the church...

I wish I had a better picture of Pastor Kyle R. but I don't. He was a great blessing to us all and had a wonderfully gentle way of presenting the message of salvation.
All 6 of us grandchildren were the casket-bearers. Though I'm the oldest of the Delzer grandchildren, I'm almost the shortest and the only girl... :)

Thankfully, all of my cousins and brothers are strong young men and two of the guys from the funeral home helped us too!

After the service in the cemetery, there was a meal in the church basement and we had a wonderful time of fellowshipping with all of Mother's relatives, neighbors and friends. So many people knew who I was and I recognized their faces, but the names are all jumbled up in my mind. We all received lots of comforting hugs and smiles, and were blessed.

Here's a picture of mother with her childhood friend, Carol and some of her family.

...And here's another picture of a friend who was like a brother to mother when they were growing up. His wife is now a very dear friend too...

Later on, the immediate family met at Grandpa's house to open the cards and devided them out for everyone to write thank-yous. As soon as Mother's ready, she and I are going to write out our portion of them and get them in the mail right away.

One of the bright spots in the last two days was in getting to meet my mom's uncle David and his wife, Frances. They're from Wisconsin, so I don't remember ever meeting them before, although I know I did when I was real little. Mother has always told us children how much she loved her uncle David and his wife and now we finally got to meet them!!! Here, aunt Frances is showing Mother some of her pictures on her camera...

...And on the far right in this picture you can see "Uncle David". He has a great sense of humor and thinks that I should go into the Rodeo business because I have some cows. :)

Well, I could post even more pictures, but I should probably dig out a pen and start writing our notes of gratitude... Please, if you have time and think of it, could you pray for my grandpa in these next few days? He is taking the loss of Grandma very hard and was not in very good physical condition even before she passed away. We don't know if he'll be able to stay in his home now without her. We're going to invite him to come stay for a few days with us, but I'm not sure if he'll come.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and who has sent us such comforting words of sympathy! God will pull us through with the help of friends like you~

Pictures of the family service...

Here are the pictures I promised... My mom and I have a lot of thank-yous we need to write out this afternoon, but Mother decided to take a nap first, so I thought I'd take a few minutes and post here.


These were some of the pictures that were there for people to look at:


This is my grandpa and grandma on their wedding day--59 years ago...


Here is a picture of their family when my mom was a little girl. Isn't she cute?
And this is a picture of my grandma... She would have loved all the singing at her funeral and all the pretty flowers!
This was the viewing at the funeral home on Tuesday. My grandpa is way on the right of the picture. Please keep him in your prayers, as he is not doing well without Grandma. He depended a great deal on her...

Tired~

I'm too tired to write much now, but I thought I'd let you know that we spent almost the whole day in Eureka as there was a lovely prayer service at the funeral home this afternoon and we spent some time with Grandpa afterwards. My family & I sang a hymn together and my mom sang one of her favorite songs, "Find Us Faithful" during the service. I took several pictures, but haven't transferred them to my computer yet, so I'll add them (hopefully) tomorrow or the next day. When we got home late, we found a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting in our entryway. They were from some of our dear neighbors and are SO pretty!
Thank you everyone for your prayers! I've really been more at peace with this whole thing than I thought I'd be...

Wednesday's the day...

Plans were made today for my grandma's funeral to be held on Wednesday. Please continue to pray for us...

BTW, babysitting went really well this morning and the neighbors' 6-year-old son was there also and helped me find things, (as I wasn't familiar with their house) so that was a blessing!

Please pray for us~

We're stunned...



We found out tonight that my Delzer grandmother died of a massive heart attack just a little bit ago. Please keep us all in your prayers as we try to realize what this all means. This is my first grandparent to have died and it's hard for it to really sink in that she's gone...



This picture was taken at my birthday in March--the last picture that I had with my grandma Erdie. We would have celebrated her 80th birthday in October... Please just pray for us all and especially for my grandpa, Harvey!