Fun and Frustration!

The last few days have been filled with fun and frustration. 

 

Those aren't two words that are normally used together are they?

Do you think you would be anxious or eager to attend a family reunion or other gathering with the invite reading something like;

"Come join us for a few days of fun and frustration!"?

 

Well, that wasn't the way our invite read, but that is the feel of the gathering we are having....

 

It began with fun Monday when everyone gathered for a sleepover in preparation for baling ..., it continued with fun celebrating Terry's birthday Tuesday, beginning with cake and ice cream for breakfast ..., and it is continuing with fun ...,

but,
there was a bit of frustration in the middle of the night when the rain started to come down just as the crew was going to bale.

 

... they went back to bed ...

 

and this morning it started to hail ....

WhAt's Up wiTH that?

 

 

 

Very Frustrating!!!!

 

But, we had a good night the night before and got one field harvested nicely.

 

We are still having fun together!

 

Fun and Frustration do sometimes exist at the same time ..., but we'll get over the frustration ..., and continue having fun.

 

 

Hay Days

 Our hay harvest began as soon as it could after the rains stopped. 

The men wanted a couple more balers in the field, so they started thinking of who could help them.  The help was right here in the family, but I wasn't one of the volunteers - I just don't do well staying up all night and wasn't too excited about the whole idea at this age.   But I wasn't useless - I helped out, just in a different way.

 

Of Course Terry, Thomas, and Michael were each on balers.  New to the crew this year was Dana, who baled every night with the guys.  I kept the grandkids here so she could go bale.

One night I added another grandchild to the party so Tawnee could go bale. 

I know ..., I had the easiest job and the most fun!

Anthony helped bale two nights and BrittanyJo baled one night.  (It's a little harder when you have to get up for school the next day.  Sometimes you don't get up, you just come in from the field and get ready for school.)

This was the first year for the girls.  Now that they all have learned how to bale, we have extra people.  That's a good thing.

 

Here is the fun part - grandchildren at the house.

Auger and Akleigh spent a lot of time with us while Dana was helping throughout parts of the day and being here other parts of the day, and we had everyone here for most of the meals.  We had a great week.

 

We had a lot of toys being used and enjoyed, like this train Auger is playing with.

 

Babies received love from Akleigh.

 

 

 I did the cooking, and the cleaning, except for one day when Dana and BrittanyJo had some time in the kitchen making pizza and desserts.   We were a farm family at it's best, working, eating, playing, and sleeping in the same house.  (Except the baler work wasn't in the house of course.)  There were several meals where we would have 11 people around our dining table again.  It's a fun thing!

One morning while everyone was trying to catch up on some much needed sleep, the two kids and I made some cowboy cookies.  We had a lot of fun.  When their mommy asked them what they wanted for breakfast they told her they already had it - cookie dough and cookies.  Um!  Isn't that what gramma's are for?   I tried to give them cereal, but they were not interested.  Akleigh did have a piece of bread!  Oatmeal for breakfast isn't bad right?  There is oatmeal in cowboy cookies. ;)

 

I love having the grandkids around, and enjoy seeing their advancements.  Elsie is scooting around and loving life.  She is a happy and pleasant little gal.  We love her, and Akleigh wants to be with her all the time when we are together.

 

 

I LOVE FAMILY!

 

Oh, the hay got baled and the kids returned to their own homes ...,  and ..., yip, at times I feel like I'm going thru withdrawals. 

 

Funny thing -  I have been quite tired even though I didn't bale.  I did stay up later than normal, and I never sleep well when Terry is gone, and I feel like I was up all night with them.    I am always tired when the guys bale.   I can only imagine how tired they are, because they were the ones working.  Silly thing huh!  I'm tired because they baled! 

Must be Sympathy Pains!

 

Oh Bother!

 

Checking Things Off One by One - But Adding them Just as Fast!

4 batches of freezer jam - done! (We'll add it to the 11 quarts we made last Saturday.)

Another night of bailing - done!

Harrowbedding - getting done today!

As the list dwindles on the top, it lengthens at the bottom. 

I suppose that is Life at it's Best!  It's what keeps us going, and going, ..., ...!

Look out Life ... Here we Come!

Here's What's Happening!

Out the back door we find:

All night work ... and it doesn't stop there ....

The guys bailed and harrow bedded last night, and continue raking and completing other farm work today, ... maybe a bit of napping too.   

Field North of Our House

Field South of Our House

I'll try to be quiet when the napping takes place, but ...

Inside the house: 

continue laundry, make strawberry jam, help BJo make cakes for YW Father's Day Project,
cleaning, organizing, and whatever else I can do to cross something off of my To Do list.

Harvest is Complete

It's a Celebration!
I love it when our harvest is complete before Thanksgiving - it just feels more like Thanksgiving (and I missed it this year).

We got a late start with the harvest this year ... mostly due to the weather not drying the crop out fast enough. However, we are grateful that the weather remained as good as it has been this winter, allowing us to finally get the corn out of the field. We didn't want to see snow or rain, and even fog would deter us. We didn't get much of it, and we are grateful for that. Maybe now we can say "Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!" Actually we see that others have corn still in the field, so maybe we'll just let it snow ... later.

In years past we have celebrated the end of harvest with a harvest dinner. In fact, we celebrated this year on Feb. 14th with an end of harvest dinner ... end of last year's crop. So, we've done a bit better with this years crop ... at least it's in the same year, and it is before Christmas. Not sure if we'll have a harvest dinner anytime soon ... maybe during the Christmas break. We'll see!

I'm feeling kinda slow and not prepared for Christmas like I wish I was at this point, so being able to concentrate on that more now will be a great blessing.
(I should have taken my own picture of our own harvest, but I didn't do that, and it's too late now. I grabbed this one from google.)

another reason to celebrate this day

It is strange to celebrate a completed harvest in February, but this year that is the case. Thomas and Terry harvested the last of the corn and are feeling good about it. It's been a constant concern for them and they are happy to be relieved of that concern. Thomas began the harvesting as days would permit, then the last couple weeks Terry has run the combine and Thomas ran the trucks. We all worried about Terry's health, but he seemed to do well. He was worn out and ready for bed each evening, but he was able to continue the next day. I think sometimes it's the fact that he is up and doing something that makes him feel good. Certainly getting his crop harvested makes him feel good. Though I think that, I also know that it is because of blessings from a loving Heavenly Father that he is able to do anything and everything that he does do. I know that Heavenly Father was also helping Thomas as he was a one man show for awhile.
Now, just around the corner is preparing the ground and planting the crop. We are praying for as successful of a beginning to planting as there was to the end of the harvest.
Anyone ready for another Thanksgiving dinner? We do give thanks that our corn is finally harvested. What a relief it is! It may have even turned out better than we thought! We do have much to be grateful for!

RE-CAP

So sorry we have not kept you updated - our internet has not been working for the past 10 days and we have really missed it. We've heard that many of you have missed it too, as you have been watching for updates. We apologize! They fixed our internet today, so we are back on line!!!!!
WARNING! Lotsa words coming up! There has been a lot left unsaid, and now we can say it, so BEWARE - it's a long read.

- We missed two letters to Michael - The worst part of the internet not working! We did get to read one from him today, and found that he didn't get to email last week anyway. He is still at the hospital with his companion (who will be going home sometime in the next couple weeks. He is finding it tricky to find things to keep him busy there. He gets to have an occasional shower, and has a hand towel to wash up with and "no water needed" shampoo for the other days. He is getting to know the nurses and plays "war games" with them with his companions crutches. I guess one male nurse gets into it pretty good. Some crazy fun to keep him occupied.

- We finally got our school shopping done on the 11th. Yip, late was better than never in this case. Terry and I had done some shopping for the kids while still in Seattle and brought things home to them and Dana took the kids here a time or two, but there were just a few things that needed more attention and we finally got that done. YEAH!

- Stake Conference meetings were so wonderful. It was good to be there with family and friends to hear the messages that were presented, and what wonderful messages they were.

- Last Monday we went to Moses Lake for parts and then I went again Thursday for Terry's meds. It doesn't seem like it's as far as it used to be :). Too many trips to Seattle lately :). It's all about perspective isn't it!?!

- The guys started the silage harvest and things went well for a few days, but ended up having to stop because it was too wet. Our truck drivers this year were Adelfo (our hired man), Chase, Darryl (my brother) and Dustin (our nephew). Thomas was the chopper driver. Terry was moral support and helped with a few repairs. Hard as we try, we just can't keep him away. Darryl and Dustin got to go home for the weekend and longer, until the moisture dries out and the harvest can continue. We hope it does dry out, cause our beans need harvested too. The rain has been beautiful, but it's very pour timing for our farm needs.

- We celebrated two birthdays this week. Those birthdays were posted because I had previously written and post-dated them to come up on the right days. I'm glad I had already done that since our internet was not working properly at the time they were needed.

- It has been fun to see Auger walking all over - he is one year old and looking like the cutest little toddler around.

- The work continues, even tho the harvest is at a stand still. Terry is going to get tired of me telling him he shouldn't do this or shouldn't do that .... Maybe he already is! I'm trying to be careful and not bug him too much. There are certainly many things calling for his attention. He has fixed our vacuum and our stove, but I have called in some help for the dishwasher and oven. Things are really falling apart around here. The gas pump broke and needed replaced, and the trucks are in need of little repairs, and ..... I am grateful for his knowledge and abilities that allow him to tackle these things, but I wish I felt better about his health. I'm just praying like crazy that he will be alright. He does have a cold right now!!!!! Uh Oh!

- We visited with family this past weekend. Sherri (Terry's sister)and Aunt Carol were here from Idaho Falls. We enjoyed seeing everyone. Family is where it's at!

- We did some yard work Sat. morning. I hadn't been a part of that for a long time and it felt really good. It looks better too. We'll have to do it again sometime. :) Yard work is a never ending process, so I'm sure I'll find another opportunity in the near future.

- I bottled 19 quarts and 2 pints of tomatoes today.

- I have been working on re-organizing my house, room by room, and I'm feeling pretty good with things, even though there is still much to do. I've completed the food storage inventory and will need to get right on to the shopping part of that task. At least I now know what I have and what I need.

- Terry's last appointment (Tues, 14th) went well. The doctors reported that his liver is looking better and things look good. Then we got their call on Friday saying that the chimerism tests were back. The number surprised me though. It was 65. That is down from the last report of 68. When I asked about it, they assured me that it was still within the margin of error and they were not too concerned. I wonder then, why were they so happy when it went up from 67 to 68? I'm guessing that it is because the trend was going down and then finally went up. That was a good sign in itself. We believe they will continue to test chimerisms every couple weeks. By the way, that word is said with a K and long i sound (Kimerisms).
Now, having said all that, there is more - Terry got a couple calls today to tell him about Wednesdays appointment. The simple day of blood draw and clinic visit (with a G shot) has become quite a busy day. They have added the dreaded bone marrow biopsy and a cat scan, a culture, and levels testing. With fasting and other instructions for each procedure it is becoming quite the juggling act. It'll surely be a long day for Terry. One of those days that feel good to have over. We'll post the findings of that day later, as long as our internet continues to work. :)

- Homecoming week is this week. Dress ups have begun. I'm not really getting into that like the kids would like. I hope we can come up with things that will work for them.

- I don't think I've posted about school yet - sorry! Everyone seems to be enjoying their year so far. Anthony is in 7th grade and taking football after school. BrittanyJo is a freshman and is taking volleyball after school. Connor is a junior and is not taking a sport this fall. I am enjoying his company and he can help me with things as needed. He is our "runner" - taking and picking up his siblings for their activities. BrittanyJo usually calls Connor to tell him that the activity bus is only a few minutes away from the drop off point and it's time to come get her and Anthony. Chase will go to BYU-I in January, and is working for Shane Christensen on the days he is not working for his dad. He also tries to fit in mowing lawn for his grandpa. His is quite a juggling act too. He's doing a great job of it though!

- Ethan gets blessed this Sunday. We so wanted to be there. I'm sorry we will miss it, but we know it's the way it has to be right now. The doctor told us we couldn't drive it, so we thought we'd get some plane tickets. We talked and worried and wondered until finally we realized we were both uncomfortable with going, even though we really wanted to. We weren't listening to ourselves very well for awhile. Ethan won't miss us now, but I hope that he won't feel too bad in the future when he learns that we weren't there. We vow to make sure he knows that we love him and will do all we can for him as he continues to grow, just as we will for all of our children and our grandchildren. We have not seen him in person, but we are sure that he is the cutest baby there is.

- We love our family! It's good to be home, even if I sometimes wonder if we should still be in Seattle for Terry to keep away from all this work. :)

Harvest time!

This is what I see as I look out my back door - silage harvest is happening here. That's not all though, down the road a ways there is another harvest taking place - there we will find a combine in the field of beans. Sooooo much to do! The guys are happy to have Skyler here to help drive truck, but Skyler is not fond of that job and feels that he has a bit to learn, though he is willing to give it his best effort to help out in a time of need.

Terry taught seminary, came home and chopped silage while the others drove the trucks, then after lunch he went to harvest the beans and left Thomas to run the chopper and Skyler and Adelfo to drive the trucks. It was a late night, but one small field of beans is complete, with possibly 3 more to go.
It's fun to hear the trucks go by, because it means that all the equipment is working well and the harvest will not drag on. I worry if it gets quiet for too long.

OUR HARVEST IS COMPLETE!

This was a few days ago when I took lunch to Terry in the field while he was harvesting corn.

This is today with his last load of corn. He came home for lunch and then took the corn to dump.

We're done!