Thankful for blessings!

 ~ Be Thankful ~

 

Be thankful that you don't already have
everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be
to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

 

Be thankful for your limitations,
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes,

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
Because it means you've made an effort.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they will become your blessings.

Author Unknown

 

 

You can listen to a beautiful song about finding the blessings in troubles here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ&list=RDl6eDvl4Xbh8 .

 

When life gives you lemons...

 

...REJOICE!

 

Those of you who've read this blog for a while may recall that I started growing some dwarf fruit trees 2 springs ago (yes, here in North Dakota).  Well, as of yesterday, I now have a lemon from one of those trees!  I'm not sure if I want to save it to look at until it's all shrivelled to nothingness, or slice it open and smell and taste it?  I think I'll do the latter.  :)

I took a picture of some of our (happy-to-be-alive-today?) turkeys this morning.  We're planning to sell a few of the Bronze toms (maybe one of the Black Spanish toms too), as we really don't need so many.   (They're not ideal for butchering, as they're 2 years old already.)

My family and I had a very busy Friday.  My dad hauled grain again.  My brothers pulled up the well pump, only to discover they did not have the right part, so closed it all back up again.  They also worked in the shop.   Mom and I cleaned, and cooked, and cleaned, and cooked, and....   

I hope and pray that you all have an enjoyable, refreshing weekend!

~Thanks giving~

 

I hope that you all had a wonderful day spent with those you love!  I sure did have just such a day...

 

I spent the first half of the day with my second family (where I babysit) ;)

and the rest of the afternoon playing ping-pong with my family,

then ended the day with a delicious (mostly) traditional Thanksgiving feast. 

 

 

The Lord is INDEED good.

His love endures forever!

 

I feel truly blessed!!!

The house smells like pumpkin pie!

....And for good reason too, as there are 4 of them sitting on the kitchen counter tonight.  I may be babysitting tomorrow, so I made the rice stuffing today as well so mom won't have to do that in preparation for the feast tomorrow evening!

My dad loaded and hauled sunflowers to Enderlin for a farmer.   Andrew went to Bismarck for business purposes and also picked up some cranberry sauce and other things for tomorrow.   Jacob fed the cows this morning, then changed the oil in the one tractor and worked on some schoolwork.  My brothers worked on other vehicle/snowmobile projects in the afternoon. 

Mom and I did dishes throughout the day when we had the water to do so...  Now that the cows are home again, they drink water all day long and we have little to no water-pressure in the house once again.  We do laundry/dishes/showers early in the morning or late at night.  It's worse this year than last (ever since the new pump was put in), so Andrew also bought a part (a pressure valve?) today that should make the pump have more gusto.  The guys hope to get the pump pulled up and that part changed tomorrow so we will have at least a little water in the house at all times!  We'll be SO thankful!  We've been filling bottles and pails with water to use through the day, but just having water at the faucet would be so much nicer.

Yesterday, my dad figured out what was wrong with the furnace and put that new part in.  It had been out for 2 days already, (and there was still propane in the tank) so we were using electric heaters to stay warm.   Andrew picked up another spare part (no, I really don't know what it was called!) in town today as well for the future----just in case.  

Well, here's wishing you all a WONDERFUL day of giving thanks for the blessings God has showered down on you in your lives!!!  May we all be truly thankful each and every day of the year. 

The cows are home, off the range...

It was a blustery day and the cows were very ready to come home!  Thankfully, all went well.

 

 That's Jacob on his dirt-bike...

 Mom in the black pickup (we ladies got to drive pickups and stay warm! :) )...

 "Yippy ti yi yo, get along little doggies..."

 My dad...

 Once we got them all rounded up in the pastures, moving the whole herd down the road went pretty well.  I got my usual job of swerving side to side in front of the herd, trying to hold them back a little bit so they didn't string out for miles.  This cow (mine) was very stubborn and kept sneaking by in the ditch, where I couldn't really drive without loosing the rest of the herd.  Andrew came up front and helped me when he wasn't needed on the sidelines.  :)

 My "Followers"...

 You can see Andrew on his dirt-bike in this picture, if you look closely...

 Home again, home again!   Andrew helped my dad feed the cows some hay (they used both loader tractors), then played with Millie and Lady for a while until my dad was done...

 It was late in the afternoon already by this time, so Dad decided to wait with the sorting and just let the cows settle down after their approx. 4 mile walk.

All is surprisingly still now, so the cattle must be content.  :)

Gettin' ready...

Tomorrow, the plan is to bring the cows home.  Depending on how well that all goes, we'll probably be doing some sorting too (we need to sell some and keep others separate for other reasons).  Prayers for safety for all would be greatly appreciated!

The guys got some fences fixed and things ready for tomorrow.

Very cold!

That's what it was this morning when I went out to do my part of the barn chores...  Andrew said it got down to -12F degrees.  I know that, come February, that won't seem so cold, but for today, it seemed very cold!  My fingers were so cold by the time I was done.  It was very nice to get back in the house where it's cozy warm!!