Most of my life I have been the daughter celebrating my mother on Mother’s Day.
I am lucky to say that I’ve always gotten along with my mom and she’s always been supportive of me. She has taught me more than anyone in my life and has shaped me into the person I am today. Her unconditional love, understanding, and listening ear have taught me how love should be and I’m lucky enough to still have her here to call on whenever I need her. It is a love that can never be duplicated and I can’t imagine life without her. She is one of my richest blessings and I love her dearly!
There are a few other ladies in my life that I’ve come to think of as my “moms”. These ladies have shown me that mothering can come in many forms of love.
Through these relationships I’ve been continuously encouraged and, as a result: I’ve shown more love to others; I’ve learned how to do things better and learned how to be better; I’ve shared my successes and failures and my feelings of joy and inadequacy; and in all of this I’ve been shown love and grace and mercy time and time again. I’ve been mothered from all directions, in all areas, in every season of my life. I’ve been richly blessed by these relationships and I’m a better person thanks to the love they have shown me.
Now that I’ve had a few years of being a mother myself, I wonder if I’ve made a difference in the lives of my kids like these wonderful ladies have made in my life? Have I been that person for them?
I can’t answer for them but I know that I have felt the rewards of being a mother to all four of my kids. We have celebrated together; We have laughed through the tears; We have hugged through the hard times; And we have come to understand each other a little better every day. It has been confusing and hard and happy and fun and I have loved them through it all.
Today I am so thankful.
Thankful for having a mother, being a mother, and looking forward to being a grandmother. I hope you have as many blessings as I have to count today.
Today is one of those days. It’s chilly and raining outside and all plans for putting in new fence were put on hold for a job that could be done inside.
These decisions are always ultimately left up to the hubby, because if he really wants to get something done, the weather won’t stop him.
Well, today he decided it was time to make jam, Rhubarb Jam. YUM!
But this made me feel a little sad, ya see, I work part time from home for a small business, updating their website and social media sites.
Today happened to be a day I needed to work, so I wasn’t going to get in on the yearly jam making, except for drooling over the mouthwatering sweetness that would waft down the stairs.
I had already pulled some of our rhubarb just after Mother’s Day and made a few little cobblers to deliver to my mom and some others on the way.
Kayla pulled the majority of the rest of ours last night, and Chelsey picked some of our neighbors’ this morning.
At lunch time I came up from the basement to make Fajitas. I had taken a Beef flank steak out of the freezer and settled on a Pinterest recipe from one of my favorite cooks, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.
I whipped up the marinade and sliced the peppers and onions last night and combined them with the flank steak to marinate overnight.
I cranked the stove to high, added the peppers and onions to the pan and in 5 minutes flat I had the house smelling like a Steakhouse! Man it smelled good!
While I was cooking, Chelsey washed and trimmed the Rhubarb. Dan set the table and shredded the cheese and we called Reed for lunch and sat down to try the new recipe.
It was pretty good and I think this recipe is a keeper.
As we put the leftovers away I dreaded leaving the kitchen. I absolutely hate days like this when I would rather be doing what the rest of my family is, especially when they’re in the kitchen!
Uhhh… to the basement I went.
I could hear the progress upstairs as I clicked on the keyboard below.
Chelsey chopped the Rhubarb while Dan did the cooking at the stove. After it was cooked down, he added sugar, pie filling and jello, and Chelsey pureed it and poured it into the jars.
Kayla got home in the middle of the afternoon and jumped in to help.
By 5 I couldn’t wait any longer for a taste. I headed up the stairs to see what progress they had made. I noticed that the sweetness of the jam cleared up all signs of the Fajitas I had made for lunch.
Cherry, Strawberry and Blueberry flavors had been created and I couldn’t wait to try my favorite, the Strawberry Rhubarb!
There were quite a few jars on the table and they had set a few of the big jars aside for the neighbor who had shared their rhubarb.
Reed, the official taste tester, sampled some of the Blueberry and his eyes got big and he “Mmmmmm’d” how good it was.
Chelsey and Dan told me that Reed had wanted to try a chunk of rhubarb earlier. He popped it in his mouth, made quite a face, and ran to the trash to spit it out! Ha ha!
Here are some pictures of them working on one of the last batches.
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This is where, “Food, Family, Farmin’ and Fun” come together on rainy, Spring days in the kitchen… Jammin’
I have a feeling I’m gonna need to ask for forgiveness at the end of this post. But don’t give up on me yet… just keep reading 🙂
It’s been a few days since I’ve shared anything about life here on the farm. And I’m trying to narrow down all the thoughts and directions this post could take.
It’s been a flurry of activity, mixed with cold and wind, just like outside today. A lot can happen in ten days around here.
Heck. A lot can happen in ONE day!
Since my last post, Valentine’s Day came and went. We had a special delivery at our house and this time the flowers weren’t for me.
See, usually it’s a toss-up between which daughter Dan can coerce to run to the nearest flower shop to pick up a beautiful bouquet for me. It’s become a bit of a family joke, and one I look forward to hearing about each year after the delivery.
However, this year proved to be a little different.
A bouquet of twelve RED roses arrived without a daughter’s assistance! In fact, it turned out to be FOR one of our daughters… and for the single one, too!
Hmmmm…. now, what do you think ol’ dad thought about that?!?
When I got home from work and saw those beautiful roses, I had a big smile on my face! And Dan… Well, he just shook his head.
First, he had to break the news that they weren’t for me, which I imagine had him feeling a little guilty.
So, assuming they were for Kayla, our youngest daughter, I asked who were the roses FROM then?
“Cody”, he answered, “her…. ‘friend‘.”
Hmm… I could just imagine how the thoughts had rolled through his head when those roses had arrived…
Roses?
RED roses?!?!?
AND a box of chocolates!!!
AND A TEDDY BEAR?!?!?
WHO IS THIS GUY?????????
CODY????????
CODY WHO?!?!?!
Kayla’s voice rose up when she said over and over… “Dad!!! We’re just friends!!!” to which dad replied, “Well, I can’t remember the last time I got RED roses from a ‘FRIEND!'”
Ha ha. I just laughed and shook my head, all the while smiling. And I imagine Kayla had turned just a shade redder than those roses!
She had escaped to work that day and later left for a trip with one of her best buddies.
While she was gone that weekend, I enjoyed the treat of fresh flowers in the house, even if they weren’t mine!
When she got home later that weekend, we all teased her pretty good. Dan wanted to know a little more about this “friend” and Kayla got the message that maybe it was time we meet this “friend” of hers.
A few days went by and we were talking during chores about the upcoming rodeo in Waterloo. Usually we all get to go, alternating chores with the girls so that some of us go on Friday night, and some go on Saturday.
Kayla nonchalantly mentioned that Cody would be coming over Friday night. She tried not to smile while she looked at the ground.
We looked at each other and all busted out laughing!
Ohhhh, Kayla. She was trying so hard not to smile but her face just couldn’t contain it!
She laughed too and looked at us all and said “Stop. Just stop. We’re just friends!” And we just laughed some more!
Dan and Chelsey tried winning tickets on the radio over and over that week for the rodeo, but with no luck. One morning, they heard the winner’s name come over the radio… “KEVIN FROM FAYETTE!”
Later that morning, our neighbor Kevin called to tell Dan the news. Last year we won tickets so we figured it was his turn.
The week went on, and Thursday night Kevin stopped over at Chelsey’s. He offered them the tickets to the rodeo, which she happily accepted.
However, by morning she had decided that meeting Kayla’s new “friend” would be more fun than the rodeo, so she passed them on to Cozie and Chase, who took Reed with them that night.
Must’ve been dark at the rodeo! Chase, Reed and Cozie
After chores, I worked on frying catfish while the girls helped me get the homemade garlic fries made. The brownies were fresh out of the oven and the sweet corn went in.
You would have thought that Chelsey had a new suitor arriving, as much as she checked out the window for Kayla’s new “friend” to drive in!
The dogs barking sent Chelsey to the window once more as she announced in an excited voice that Cody was finally here!
It was a busy day for us! Chores went smooth this morning with Chelsey and Kayla both here to help.
We headed to Starmont School after chores to serve frozen yogurt. Today’s flavors were Strawberry and Chocolate Mint. I loved the Chocolate Mint but many of the students went for the Strawberry.
We had a great group of volunteers show up to help and enjoyed lunch with them afterwards. We got to hear about our friends trip to Alaska, which was entertaining. Some day we hope to go there with our family.
We got home and got the big ice cream machine all cleaned up and headed right out for chores.
Our friend stopped by to help get our baler set up for next year. The timing got messed up on it when we were replacing a part last fall and luckily we were done with it for the year.
Brrrrr! That wind sure was a killer tonight! Dan didn’t put on his coveralls before he ground 2 loads of feed and boy was he cold in that wind!
When we got back we scraped, hauled manure and bedded the freestalls so the cows are nice and comfy tonight. Hopefully the wind dies down by morning!
Reed’s Valentine Party is tomorrow at Preschool. It’s our turn to take treats so tonight after we got in from chores Reed and I whipped up some homemade Brownie cupcakes.
He could hardly wait for his “Taster’s Bite” of the brownie batter, ha ha. We got all the ones needed for school in the oven before he dipped his teaspoon in for a try.
Mmmmmm, he said, with big eyes!
While they were in the oven, Dan and I went to work tracing and cutting out Reed’s little hand for his Valentine Cards for his classmates.
And Reed worked on signing his name to them all.
He will give each friend a valentine with a string cheese treat that we picked up at our creamery today.
Did you know that our creamery, AMPI, has a retail store where anyone can shop for cheese, butter and milk?
This is where our milk is taken when it leaves our farm. Stop in if you are in the area.
It’s just down the road from Starmont School and not far from the newly famous home of the Bachelor, Arlington, IA. 🙂
Family is pretty important to us, and we’ve always tried to support our girls in whatever they are a part of.
Whether it was 4-H, church, sports, FFA… You name it and we were there. (Maybe a little late, but we were there, ha ha)
Last Fall, Chelsey joined the Fair Board. We have been hearing how they are working hard to get everything planned and booked for the upcoming fair in August. Sounds like she’s been attending lots of meetings and doing her part to help where she can.
She mentioned to her dad during milking the other morning that she was working at BINGO this Sunday and that we should come.
So yesterday he told me about their conversation and he said he was like “Yeah, right. BINGO isn’t my thing.” (I can just see him shaking his head like “No. Way.”)
Besides, I’m sure he already had made his own plans… a Sunday afternoon nap!
And knowing that’s not the kind of thing he would get excited about, I asked him if we were going… and he says “I guess so!”
I couldn’t help but laugh!
And so he asks me if I was going too? And I said “I guess I’ll have to take one for the team too.” 🙂
We rounded up the troops… Cozie, Reed, Kayla (and a friend), Chelsey’s husband Jason, Dan and I… and we headed to the fairgrounds to play BINGO!
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Well, we didn’t win. But we did support Chelsey and the Fayette County Fair!
And we know that THEY win when all of us do our part!
Hubby has one solid complaint about farming. There’s always something that needs fixin’!
Get one thing fixed and something else breaks down. It’s always something. Now some things are higher priority than others, and many times our plans for the day are changed by something that needs fixed.
One job that’s needed done for awhile, is changing some knives in the TMR. We have been waiting for a warmer day (so we didn’t have to freeze our fingers off!) to check this one off the list.
Well, that day came this week.
We’ve had our TMR since the year Kayla was born. Dan bought it new back in ’95.
A TMR is a type of equipment we use everyday to mix up our feed ration for the cows. (TMR ~ “Total Mixed Ration”)
Now I love to bake, and I really love mixing up for the cows too.
I think of our TMR as my big Kitchenaid mixer! It has a scale on it that helps me get just the right mix to help our cows get all the nutrients they need.
So naturally, it’s really important to me that this particular piece of equipment stays in good, working order.
You see, cows like to eat the same thing EVERY DAY. And that means this machine and I have to work together to get the same feed every time I mix up. I follow the recipe (ration sheet) and I’m careful to mix it long enough without over-mixing it.
It has a series of augers inside that turn and roll all of the ingredients together to mix them up. The first auger that the ingredients make contact with has triangular knives on the edges to cut things up into smaller pieces, like hay.
Over time, these knives get worn and dull, or get weak and break off. An errant flip of the bucket could also shear off a bolt or knife, allowing it to shift so it doesn’t cut anymore.
Well, our warm January day brought this task to the top of the fixin’ list this week. Reed had a day off from school for the holiday so we had a little helper too.
In the magnet tray you can see the triangular knife we were changing out, along with the bolts, lock washers and nuts.
Yep! Looks like it could use a little work!
We changed out many of the knives and straightened up a bunch too.
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I helped put the new knives on too, but of course, no pictures to show for it. !)
It went pretty good, and in about an hour we had her good as new!
Ready to “chew” again
I sure was glad to get this job off the list.
And it’s always good to hear Hubby say “That’s a good job done!”
Winter visited while we were sleeping last night and spread a blanket of heavy, wet snow in our neck of the woods.
The trees that fill the horizon every way you look were a snowy white, with a glittery shine. We had gotten a good 2 to 3 inches on the ground.
As I carried a sleepy boy down our front yard to the barn this morning, who knew that I was secretly training for the next winter Olympics!?! Not even I!!!
Where the grass meets the gravel there’s a slight ledge. And a downhill slope. And that… should be enough information for you to guess what happened.
I hit that sucker like a banana peel and up in the air I went!
I’m pretty sure I landed perfectly horizontal! A perfect 10!
Reed wasn’t so happy with my landing. As I was perfecting my form, I probably squeezed him awake before we even hit the ground! He looked at me like “What the heck just happened?”
And I let out a loud groan…. Crap.
It was too early in the morning for me to ask Kayla, who I had seen over by the condo as I was coming down the yard, to score my landing. She rushed over to help me up, but I convinced her that I was just going to lay there for a couple minutes.
After I rolled over, curled my spine, and listened to see how many vertebrae popped, I thought maybe I could make it to the barn to tell my Olympic tale.
What a way to start the day. Well, at least it got better…
We had great help, which always makes it lots of fun.
We also stopped by the Mennonite School near our house and served the kids and teachers there a dish of frozen yogurt. The appreciation you get from everyone sure makes it worth doing!
We had about an hour to relax when we got home before we had to start chores. We headed outside a little early so we could get to our Dairy Promotion Board Meeting tonight.
While my feed was mixing in the TMR, I had a couple minutes to play with Reed in the snow.
There’s a spot in our yard that has a deep hill and the snow was packed just enough to make it really slippery! I tried not to repeat this morning’s performance as I showed him how to start at the very top to get lots of speed!
He giggled and giggled and had a great time sledding all through chores!
It was funny to see how his sledding progressed… He started sledding on his bottom at first, then drove it down the hill like a chariot, holding the reins. By the time he was done, he was snow surfing!
You’ll have to stop by my Facebook Page to see the video! (Click on the red words)
As the night gets late, I’m starting to get a little stiff from my (Perfect 10!) landing. Ya know, it’s too bad I couldn’t have gotten that on video!
But then again… I like to think there’s a reason for everything !)
It has been quite the year for weddings! From June to November, we had 8 weddings to attend! Now that’s a lot of weddings in 6 month’s time!
New Year’s Day of last year, our oldest daughter, Chelsey got engaged to Jason! We had a great time planning and getting ready for their Labor Day weekend wedding!
This year is stacking up to be another year of frequent weddings!
Just before Christmas, our middle daughter, Nichole, aka Cozie, got engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Chase! Another wedding in our family this year!
They have set a date for a 10-10-15 wedding (easy to remember, eh?) so the planning has begun!
Nichole & Chase
Twice now I have been invited to go with her and her bridesmaids dress shopping. It’s been lots of fun as she decides what appeals to her and what doesn’t.
The first time we went shopping, she fell in love with the first dress she tried on. And fell in love with the second dress! And the third one she loved more than the first and second!
I thought for sure whichever dress she tried on last was destined to be the one!
One of the dresses she loved. Well, she loved them all! Ha!
She had vowed not to “Say YES to the dress” this round of shopping so we switched gears and the bridesmaids got to try on some of her picks for their dresses.
This one was a favorite among the ones that she saw. (In a different color of course)
Then one night last week we traveled to another nearby dress shop to see what else was available. Road trip! We had all the ladies in the wedding party along and had a great time!
Cozie went down the whole wall of dresses and pulled out several she thought she would try on. Then into the dressing room she went!
The first dress she came out in… well, you could tell she just didn’t love it. The next dress had her so twisted up we thought she’d never come out of the dressing room! She was laughing so hard that she could hardly stand up straight on the pedestal to get a picture!
Another dress she tried on, she couldn’t stop holding onto the top of it! Oh did we laugh!!!!
She was almost to the end of the ones she picked out, when Holly the owner, brought one more in.
And this time when Cozie walked out of the dressing room, we knew it was “the one.” Her eyes welled up and she was biting her lip and she said “This is it! This is the one!”
🙂
She lit up with pride as she turned in the mirror to admire all sides of it. It fit almost perfectly and was a beautiful choice!
Of course, I can’t show you what her dress looks like. But take my word for it, she will be one beautiful bride as she walks down the aisle in that dress!
After Cozie had made her final decision, the girls had a great time trying on all of the bridesmaid dress styles that were available… and ohhhhhhhhh did we laugh!
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Throughout the night I just couldn’t get over how much the dress shop owner and Cozie looked alike! It was like they were mother and daughter!
Cozie’s long, lost mother?!?
She did a great job for us and it was a great experience.
We ended the night sharing a meal at Johnson’s.
What a great time we had picking out dresses! And now… on to decorations 🙂
Ooooooohhhhhh! It’s so exciting! Well, not for ME. For THEM!
Chelsey and Jason, that is. They left this morning for their honeymoon! Thank goodness the snow was finished and they could get on their way.
Their wedding took place Labor Day Weekend and was quite the shin-dig! We had a great time celebrating with family and friends from all over. Here are a few pictures of the newlyweds…
Chelsey and Jason were excited to get their picture taken with our 4230 on their wedding day!Here they are at the reception. Don’t they look happy? I love this picture!
In true farmer fashion they plan on visiting some farms on their trip, haha. I thought that was pretty cool.
And we’ll be missing them while they’re gone. Chelsey helps us with milking most everyday and we like having Jason stop by. He tends to make brownie points with his father-in-law most everytime he comes. See, he likes to fix things. Which is a bonus for us. There’s always something that needs fixing around the farm.
Anyways, I hope they have a great honeymoon! They sure deserve a break. Now, I know what you’re thinking, but I can’t tell you which direction they were heading. I wouldn’t want them to be disturbed 🙂
Do any of you want to share with me where you spent your honeymoon?
I am lucky to say that I’ve always gotten along with my mom and she’s always been supportive of me. She has taught me more than anyone in my life and has shaped me into the person I am today. Her unconditional love, understanding, and listening ear have taught me how love should be and I’m lucky enough to still have her here to call on whenever I need her. It is a love that can never be duplicated and I can’t imagine life without her. She is one of my richest blessings and I love her dearly!
Food, Family, Farmin' and Fun 