News---good and sad....

 

Today was a very busy day, what with my dad hauling grain; my mom and I cooking and baking for this weekend; my brothers and I doing some landscaping work outside in the rain; and my brothers cutting hay and digging out rocks up at Andrew's place...

 

We also heard some news...

 

First, we learned from my mom's brother that his step-son (age 29) got tired of his life and ended it. He was the father of two children.  :(

 

Then my dad told us that the sweet elderly lady who we bought this farm from almost 11 years ago passed away very recently too.  We really enjoyed her during the little time we had to get to know her before she moved away, and would keep in touch yearly when we sent out our newsletters.

 

Please join us in praying for the families of these two in their time of mourning!

 

There was good news too! 

 

Some friends of ours had a baby girl today!  YAY!!!!  :)  I can hardly wait to see and hold her!

 

AND-----there's some news I'd like to share with you that it's been hard not to tell for a while already.  :)  Johanna and Tracy Jo (the girls I regularily babysit) are going to be big sisters!!!!!  Zach and Paula are expecting a little BOY to arrive in early November.  :)  I'm SOOOOO excited!!  This is the picture Paula shared with everyone tonight and she said I could share it with you all too. 

Aren't they precious?

 

 

That little boy is going to be SO loved!!! 

 





Today...

 

 

We worked,

We played,

We also prayed.

 

 

We drank,

We ate,

We stayed up late.

 

 

We typed,

We talked,

Of course, we walked.

 

We drove,

We breathed,

And we visited with a former hired man (who we haven't seen for years and who we had to let go one year when we had a terrible drought) who stopped in to buy some tractor parts from my dad.  :)

 

 

 

 



Lovely...

 

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

  I personally think that Andrew's red house, tucked behind these tall and full trees is a very beautiful sight!  Hopefully it's a sight to behold (in a good way) for some of you too.  :)

 



 This afternoon, while it was misting, then sprinkling outside, some of us went up to Andrew's place for a while.  My mom walked all the way up before it started to RAIN and Millie followed her, so Millie was having fun exploring the newness of everything. 

 

As those of you who know my brother well will know, he really likes Dodge vehicles, so this picture of Dodge cars parked at his place seems very fitting somehow.

It was a beautiful, relaxing day of rest for my family and I. 

 

Rest is a wonderful part of life (work is too of course, once you're all rested up again)...

 

 

Have a great new week everybody and God bless whatever you set your hands to do!



Additions...to make life easier...

Working together to help the farm/ranch grow is an exciting thing!  :) 

 

My mom and I were busy cooking and cleaning all day.

 

Meanwhile, the guys were at the ORR consignment auction in Jamestown-----and they found some "Treasures", as we like to call them.

 

I'd asked Andrew to bid on a 4-wheeler for me if there was one there that he thought was a reasonable price and that was in good condition.   It's nice to be able to buy something to help with the cattle operation (thanks to great cattle prices this year)!   

 

Well, Andrew sent me a picture later in the day of what he bought for me to buy later, if I want to.... 

 

 Andrew bought a pile of 2x4s that he'll use to fix up his place

and my dad bought a rock-scooping bucket for the Bobcat....  That will come in really handy when we break up a bit of pasture here by the farm that is FULL of rocks!

 I turned the burner back on the stove(so the boiling potatoes wouldn't bubble over)

and went out to see the new "treasures".

 ...

 Andrew took me for a ride, then I drove it myself too.  I liked it quite well and, yes, I'll buy it from my brother now...  It happens to be the same age as my Bobcat, so it seems just right.  :)

  (Sorry it's not the best picture, but it's the best I have to share for the time being!)

 They loaded up the Bobcat and took it up to Andrew's place to unload the lumber there.

 It's great seeing how the guys work so well together!

 But wait!  I have more exciting news to tell!

 

Jacob bought something too!!!

 My dad drove it home though... 

 While it's not in the best condition and needs a really good cleaning job inside, Jacob got it for a very reasonable price (same price I'm paying for the 4-wheeler!)  He's planning for the future...  

 

Lady doesn't know what to think of all the new things on the farm!

 

So, that's our exciting news of the day. 

 

We feel so very blessed to live in the country----to live the life we live.  God's blessings are indeed without number!  He has seen us through so many hard times---physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, weather-wise..... 

He is so good!  We put our trust in HIM!

 

 Prosperity: "a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition."

We had a wonderful feast and are very happy to welcome in the Sabbath rest!!!

 

~May your weekend be blessed,

and may you prosper in all ways and may you have "hope and a future"!~

 

 

Fresh mown lawn...

....smells WONDERFUL!  But, I'm sure you all knew that already.  :)

 

My dad and I were the only ones home today.  We spent almost 4 hours this afternoon mowing all of the lawn (including the range and up at Andrew's place).  It's been such a blessing to get rain here lately---and the grass really grows with water!

 

My mom and brothers went to Bismarck. Jacob needed to get a chiropractic adjustment after his rollover experience...and Andrew got some more things for his home. 

 

This morning, my dad asked me to go along with him to a farmer's field and bring the pickup back while he drove the tractor and drill home.  While he was driving, I took some pictures of the things we saw...

 

A gravel road and beautiful sky...

 

 A maintainer working on the gravel road under the beautiful blue sky...

 A trail, rather than a gravel road, but still an artistically beautiful "sky" blue sky...

 Then, we were there. 

AND, since I had to drive home and I don't text or take pictures while I'm driving, that's the end of the picture story for today.  :)

Projects...

My mom and I have been busy in the garden the past couple of days. 

 I also hoed around the bushes in front of the house again. 

These flowers are tucked between the bushes and are looking so cute now!

 

 Yesterday, Jacob and I took apart that old wreck-of-a-deck wooden part that was covering the cement there.  It was falling apart and not even safe anymore. 

We now have some wood for future campfires!

 My mom has been reading about how swimming is some of the best exercise there is (especially for people with aching joints and things).  Sooooooo, we pooled our money and bought something big and blue!!!  :)  When Andrew and I returned home on Sunday, we were surprised to see it all assembled and filling!   After working in the garden all morning, I decided to take a swim.  It was a very quick swim though, as the water was still pretty freezing cold!

 I feel so behind with the garden this year, but it is really starting to grow now.  My mom and I got the last of the transplants out of the greenhouse tonight.  It's looking and sounding like God may water all the little plants tonight too!

My dad and Andrew have been doing some farming work (seeding and cultivating) for other farmers the past few days, and today, Jacob went back to work for the first time since the accident.  He made it there and back, safe and sound.   He was driving my trusty little car.  ;)

 

Well, it's been a very long and busy day and I feel thoroughly exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep while listening to the thunderstorm raging outside and smelling the scent of freshly baked bread coming from the kitchen. 

 

~May God keep us all in His perfect peace.~

 



~Family Fun Days--2014~

Andrew and I had fun at the Sips' farm last weekend! 

I thought I'd share lots of pictures with you all here, as they say much more than words...

 

 Nearing MN...

 This is a random picture I took---thrown in for those of you who may be interested in seeing machinery like this!

 We visited with many friends all weekend!  This is mostly the same group of fun people that we are with at the Crystal Springs camps, with a few more MN people and a few less MT/SD people.

 

We made a new friend too...  She liked playing ping-pong too, so we got started talking to her this way, and soon found out we had many other things in common and I left camp with her e-mail address in my phone and her with mine.  :)

 Volleyball was, as usual, very popular!

 The Sips' new shop was SO nice!!  Up in the loft area, besides having the ping-pong table there,

they had this nice place to rest, along with restrooms (with showers)!

 It's a HUGE shop!

 My brother, with our tent in the background....

 I really enjoyed visiting with the mother and daughter of one NE family who we'd met at one previous camp.  They had brought some friends along with them 

( pictured, walking back by the obstacle course, with Andrew leading the way).

 These swings are, in my opinion, the best part of the obstacle course! 

They're lots of fun to swing on!!  Andrew and I stayed back there for a while, as there were only a bunch of little kids there at the time and we wanted them to be able to swing, yet be safe.

 We should find some big belts like these and add them to our swing-set assortment of swings!

 Parts of the obstacle course were VERY wet and muddy!

 Christopher S. went and got a load of dirt to make this part of the course more passable...

 Wheeee....

 Watching the race...

 

 Our friend, Hannah K...

 Ben U. going across the log quickly!

 More speedy guys...

 Rebecca S...

 There was a special time for the little ones to run/walk through the course...

 Hannah and Rose----and I think it's a tie!

 The water-cup holder...

 Music by the K. ladies; Jordan B; and Jubilee G.

 There were pony rides at certain times of the day for the little folks...

Picking teams for a lot more speed-volleyball at the outdoor court...

 Oops, somebody got stuck!  Oh well, the guys just pushed them out.

 Mrs. Sip (far left) and some other ladies by the house...

 Andrew, playing with his team...

 Getting eggs for the egg-toss...   Tearza was my partner, but of course, I don't have pictures of myself, as I was taking them when I wasn't tossing eggs at Tearza.  ;)

 This little girl was my little friend during one of the Bible sessions

and showed me her books and toys, and whispered things in my ear....

 The start of the egg-toss.  After each successful throw, one side or the other took a step back to make things more challenging.

 This was very popular with the children!

 Yes, Andrew caught it!

 Ready, set, throw!

 It rained on Saturday a couple of times, but Sunday was very hot and sunny...

 Next was a tug-o-war!  First, the little guys pulled...

 The girls pulled too...

 Then the ladies...

 ...and finally, the guys.

 You could hear the rope stretching, truly!

 

 I don't know who this little girl is, but she looked so cute standing there in her bare feet...

 Besides the activities, it was great to visit

and also to hear the messages from several of the fathers there.

 

We left after supper and some cleanup Sunday evening. 

 

Minnesota sure has lovely trees!

Andrew and I returned home shortly after 10:00pm and were just in time to tell the rest of our family a bit about our trip before heading for bed.

 

We're so grateful that the Sip family has these events and for all the hard work they put into hosting-- preparing all of the food and, well, just everything!!!!!  God, please bless them greatly!