Surprises!!!

There were two highlights to this day, well, maybe more, but for sure two!

Mom and Andrew went to Bismarck, Mom to do sessions for clients and Andrew to run around and get some supplies (seed, the Quonset door spring that the guys had special made, ammunition for the Appleseed shoot at Dagleys, computer parts at State Surplus and a thrift store, etc...).

Meanwhile, Dad and Jacob spent the day working on making sure the farm machinery is ready to roll. They had to go to Kintyre and Napoleon for parts/supplies also...

I kept the home fires burning, so to speak, (made "Indian Fried Bread" to go with our vegetable soup at lunch and then tried a new recipe which produced a very dense chocolate cake...) and also took a nap (thank you for your prayers for my quick recovery from this nasty bug!) Then I went out to the greenhouse and weeded and watered for an hour before supper.

While out there, I found one of the two surprises----an Indian arrow head! This is a pretty small one, so I'm guessing it was used for small game, perhaps gophers? :) This is the first time I've ever found one, so I was excited and had to go show the guys. (For those of you who may not know, this rock was probably fashioned by a native American many years ago for the purpose of inserting in the end of an arrow--a stick--binding it there, and using it to hunt with.)

At chores tonight, we caught ourselves another bottle calf! That sounds funny, I know, but that's what we did. To explain, there's been a little calf (we're not sure who the mother is) who keeps crawling in with the milk cows and it drinks from Andrew's young milk cow, Suzie. We caught it the other day and put it back out with the main cattle herd, only to have it be back in with Suzie the next morning, stealing milk. So, we've decided to put it in the barn with our other bottle calf and raise it that way.

I checked on the kittens tonight. Their eyes are open now and they are so roly-poly! So cute!

While Jacob was out feeding Lydia some grain and Dad was still feeding the cows their hay, I played with my kids. The girls fell asleep in my lap while one of the boys drank from its mother and the other one chewed on my finger and jacket. :)

When Mom and Andrew returned, we learned that Andrew had a surprise for Jacob and I. Of course, he hauled in everything else from the vehicle before the "Surprise", which only served to make us more curious! Finally, he said he was bringing it/them in....


He told Jacob and I that he wanted to give us something in appreciation for all the times we do chores for him while he's out grain cleaning (and also for when we'll be doing them all the time when he's gone for a week helping our organic farming friend get his crops in soon....)

He walked in with:

2 gun cases! He said, smirkingly, that he thought we'd like to have something to store our guns in. As he handed us the cases... (thank you, Mom, for taking pictures!)

we were suspicious, as they were quite heavy for just being cases! Upon further investigation...

...we each found a brand new, 10/22 semi-automatic Ruger rifle, with a scope and everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Andrew's 22' is pretty similar to these and he really likes it, so he knew we would too! Jacob was hoping to buy a semi-automatic before the Appleseed event, but his brother did it for him. Pretty nice, eh? :)

As Mom noted when she saw the smile on Andrew's face, "It truly is better to give than receive"...
I must say that receiving is pretty nice too though! ;)

"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. "
Acts 20:35

Thank you again Andrew, ever and ever so much!!!