Here are a few pictures from this week.

Working on the truck, Blake is helping his friend put a cummins in his GMC.


Hooking the chain to the loader.

Pulling the truck out of the shop.

Logan coming back from hauling manure.

This is really a hard job for a little boy!!!!


Picking some sour cherries

It is a bit hard for him to put the safety bar down.

There, got it!!!

It is 9:22 PM as I begin typing this. I just heard the tractor with the cattle trailer go out the raceway nearest the house. It is headed for the pig field to load pigs for the trip to the butcher for tomorrow morning's appointment. Paul had wanted Logan to load these earlier tonight while Paul milked, but Logan was helping friend Steve do something else.

Anyhow. So it goes on the farm in the summertime, I guess.

Earlier today Audrey, Maria, Garth, and Trent helped Paul and I dress about 160 chickens. After that we enjoyed a lunch prepared completely by Shannah.

I took Maria to town to get a new temporary driver's permit. Her nervousness was unwarranted. She passed the test! I let her drive the Cummins part of the way home on some country backroads. You can trace our way home by the black marks on the road as she learned to properly coordinate gas pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, and gear shifter. I think it will be awhile until she is ready for town driving with a stick! LOL.

Garth separated milk/cream for a very long while this afternoon and evening.

We topped a few more berries tonight.

~Colleen

It's times like this we remember Daniel the most

It is when we are doing some tedious task at an hour that it should never be done that we sit and muse about Daniel. He used to be here at odd hours doing some monumental task, adding his sleep deprived comments to the rest of the sleep deprived comments....We all decided we miss that.

Tonight it is topping strawberries at midnight. Why midnight? Well, why not? Other tasks filled up the time we might've spent doing it earlier. So, as today slips into tomorrow, we laugh at each other's silly stories or even at each other's laughter....which becomes increasingly more infectious as the night wares on.

At least we're home. Blake and Paul are on the road delivering a tractor about an hour distant. Now *that* would be tiring!

Playing volley ball last night


And here are a few random pictures from these past few days:
Dad and Logan digging post holes.

the post hole digger coming back out...



playing four square in the basement. :)

And we topped MORE strawberries.....we still have more coming!

The other day we had an accident with Clark*. His leg hurts him some, but he seems to be doing pretty good.

*down below the picture of Clark smiling with his cows is the story of the accident.

I think he's enjoying all the attention!! ;)

This smiling boy above is our little miracle baby! On Wednesday Paul and Logan were cleaning out the barn with the skid steer. Both Paul and Logan saw Clark in the vacinity and both judged him to be a safe distance away. Clark's safety assured, they turned their attention to a gate in the barn.

Paul saw that Logan could handle the gate himself, so he jumped back onto the loader and proceeded to take up a scoop of manure and back up so he could load the spreader with it.

Suddenly, Paul was seeing Logan waving his arms in an effort to stop the loader. Logan saw that Clark had been hit....yes, with the loader.

Paul was sick when he saw what happened. He saw Clark lying there and he had NO IDEA what he'd find when he got down there to find out. Our precious little sonny was plastered in manure and crying. Paul probably broke a safety rule by scooping him up, but he did and took him to the house.

The only thing we can figure is that the loader went over his foot and his hand. It is utterly amazing that he escaped this entire episode with a couple of bruises. That's it. No broken bones. No lasting damage.

Mommy and Clark spent Wednesday night propped in the recliner in an effort to make Clark as comfy as possible. (Mommy wasn't exactly comfortable, but thanked God MANY times that Clark was alive to be held!)

During the night Clark said the same three words a couple of times, "Brum-brum" (loader), "Uh-oh" and "Ow". That's the story from his point of view!

The smiling picture above was taken probably 24 hours later.



some friends came to help out.

Dad cutting the tree. We made some locus post out of them.


The children playing in the sand.

These are from the other day.....
Toppin' Strawberries!!!


Baggin' them

Resting a while...

Dad loading manure to spread on the fields

"It's hot out here!!"

Hiding in the grass.

The chicken bus

sunset


Coming back from gathering eggs.

More progress in the basement. The left is the bathroom and the right is the furnace room.



Blake getting back from mowing for somone.

We have a camera now!!!!Some pictures are coming soon!!!
Enjoy your evening!!!!

A funny thing happened on the way to the nursing home...

It'll probably make them blush (but not more than the MOM post does to me....), but I had to share a funny thing I observed last evening as the children were getting ready to go to the nursing home to sing.

Paul and I weren't going and neither was Clark who was asleep nor Logan who had to milk. (Oh, let me say I really appreciate that Logan sacrificed going and having a good time with the rest all because "the milk must flow on!". I am sure there are many stories of ruined plans and disappointments behind many a gallon of milk produced by family farms!)

Anyhow, back to the funny thing.

Miles (who is 3) wanted to go with them, which was trying big brother Blake's patience badly because Miles was still standing in his unders when it was time to go. Blake suddenly thought of an idea to speed things along. I heard him open the door and call for Audrey, who had already gone to the van.

Audrey soon came in. Blake and she got their heads together. After not much time at all, Blake swung the front door open and Audrey led Miles by the hand through the door (still clad only in unders) with his clothes bunched under her arm. As the door banged shut I heard Blake tell Audrey, "You'll make a fine mother someday, Aud."

~Colleen

Baby Eggs

It is Garth's job to gather and wash the eggs every day. It is a big job for a ten year old, but he does well with it (most days!).

As Garth is washing the eggs, he generally sits on the floor with the crate of eggs, the cartons, and the pan of water all around him. Must be hereditary. All his older siblings did it this same way as each of them took their turn at this job. I should compile a photo essay of each of them at this age at this same job....I might if I can find the pictures...

Anyway when Garth washes the eggs, Miles is often right there with him keeping his eye on the crate hoping to spot what he calls "Baby Eggs". These are eggs that are extra small, often without a yoke. It's just something that happens with chickens and eggs sometimes.

If he spots one, Miles takes it----his Baby Egg----and tenderly carries it around in his little hand. Usually until it is hopelessly broken. If it cracks only just a little, he puts a bandaid on it. He often has the older children draw faces on them and give them a marker drawn tuft of hair at the top.

Well, looks like the neighbor is here with some strawberries. Later today we'll go get more berries at a few of the other neighbors.

~Colleen

MOM

I know there was a post about mom's birthday already, but I thought I'd add a little bit more...

Five of Mom's favorite things:
1.Favorite food: Chocolate (of course!!!)
2.Favorite color: rich fall-ish looking colors
3.Favorite book: a tie between Cristy and Uncle Tom's Cabin
4.Favorite website to go to: a home school chat board
5.Favorite movie: Andy Griffith Show reruns (the black and white ones)

Five things a lot of people don't know about mom:
1.She is an artist and was voted 'most artistic' in high school
2.She loves driving a Cummins powered Chevy ;-)
3.She is not photogenic. Most pictures of her make her look...uh... (She looks fine in real life though)
4.She is part American Indian (which makes us kids part Indian too. :-))
5.She has the best looking kids ever!!! lol (of course, everybody already knew that.) lol


~Maria, Aud and Shan

Who really needs toys when you can have a........toaster?????

Yesterday I finally broke down and bought what we haven't had for YEARS: a toaster. I mean, it's been so many years since we've had a toaster that some of my children have never really seen one up close.

This morning Trent and the twins sat huddled around the thing marveling as each freshly toasted piece of bread popped up, "All by itself!!!"

And, did you know that a toaster handle (at least ours) will NOT stay down if it isn't plugged in? That was just one of many very interesting things my children learned today, watching a measly dollar store toaster! HA.

Logan, Maria, and I painted up the last room of the basement today (if you don't count the "cellar" part which may never get painted). Took all day, but it's now DONE!

Colleen

Happy Birthday Mom!!! (Colleen, that is)