The S Word

Ugh. I am totally in denial. There is white stuff falling down from the sky. It must be rain 'cause I'm not ready for... the "s" word.

Our son has a toy combine that opens up into a book and in the book "Corey Combine" says you have to get all the corn in before the *#@! flies. Its been our joke this year since Marshall farms is rarely ever done harvesting before then. However, just because I've joked about it does not mean I'm ready! Icy roads, frosted windshields, slick sidewalk. I am so moving to Florida. NO! Cozumel.

But I guess they don't grow a lot of soybeans in Cozumel...

Wonder how my husband would feel about growing bananas?

With Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving! It seems to get overlooked by the excitement of Halloween and the coming of the Christmas season. And even though I will get out our tree and such tonight, I love the idea that our country has set aside a day just to be thankful. So to celebrate today I'm posting (in random order) things my family is thankful for.

each other

our home

kitties

pizza and a movie

rides in the combine together

parents

chai tea

talk radio

Internet access

grandparents

Scriptures

good health

my dishwasher

toddler's new words

the Grand Prix

food on our table

hand-me-downs

new camera

good books

hugs

scrapbooking

sisters

job

new recipes

playing outside

kisses

bountiful harvest

God's protection

peanut butter cookies

Veggie Tales

vacations

lower gas prices

new clothes

funny faces

brothers

Wal-Mart

chocolate milk

shoes

1st Steps

Sunday School

Parents as Teachers

disposable diapers

dump truck, loader, and bulldozer toys

dry days

helping hands

family dinners

quilts

testimonies

baby's Lammie

2 working trucks

church family

sales

and the Love of God

Visitors

Its been a busy time on the farm lately. (But when is it not...) Recently the farm played host to a father/son group Brian's best friend from college is a part of. Though I was away, I greatly enjoyed hearing the stories of a dad plus two squashed into the single buddy seat on the combine and an unbelieving kindergartner rolling off the edge of the semi's sleeper mattress. (He'll listen next time!) Having visitors is a family favorite around here. And showing them a corn harvest is the best! I'm just sad we didn't get any pictures to post. Better luck next time...

Today's the Day!

I hope. My sister and sister-in-law and I are off to see Twilight! Provided we're okay on tickets. Our tiny theater doesn't seem to sell in advance. How quaint. I hope we don't have to read the words printed on the bottom of the screen... Wish me luck!

I Get a Brownie

... as my friend Janna would say :). Today I made a good decision. A hard decision. I said no to something I really wanted. Really. And not just some small little thing that I can go back to the store and pick up whenever I feel like it. NOPE. When I said "no" I kissed it good-bye. Forever. :( But-- it was a good decision.

And I know it was the right decision because it would not have been helpful to our financial plan.

It was the right decision because it would have interfered with a responsibility at church.

It was the right decision because the little guy will appreciate the... lack thereof.

And it was the right decision because now I have peace.

And a brownie.

Sounds of Fall

The sounds of fall are like music to my ears. The russel of leaves in the trees. The cry of the geese as they pass by. The gentle murmur of deer rifles continuously causing me to startle from dawn until dusk. Ahh. Life in the quiet country.

Seriously. You'd think I'd get used to it.

But nope. Each time someone takes a shot at anything without a bright orange vest I jump three feet in the air and look frantically for my baby. Because I wouldn't know if a bullet broke through the window and came careening into our home? Because the hunter friend staying at our house is tired of the dinner tantrum routine? Because I am a paranoid freak?

Or because I am a Mom.

Yep. That's probably it.

Thankful

I’m starting Thanksgiving early this year! (Not that there is a time limit on being thankful or anything!) Yesterday we took our little guy to the children’s hospital to be re-evaluated for his muscle condition. He was born with cramped muscles on one side of his neck and at nineteen months old he has been in therapy for most of his life. Some children face physical deformations, surgery, and various other trying medical procedures. So far our son has had therapy, taping, a special collar, and Botox injections (who knew?), which have not been fun, but could be much worse. Well, yesterday we got good news! He still tips his head more than he should, but it is now habit and not a muscle condition!!! Yea!!!

More good news is that the Doctor could find no sign of physical deformation in his face or jaws (bad for dental work!) and only a little bit of a flat head where he sleeps. The doc informs us that this should continue to round out as he grows and hair will soon (we hope—he’s been bald for a while now!) cover whatever remains.

So while I plan to write a whole Thanksgiving blog in a few weeks, I just had to post this blessing a little early.

Praise God!

Happiness

We love movies.

For Christmas a few years ago we bought one of those DVD holders and we chose a big one so we could "grow into it." Well, we also got each other enough DVDs that the shelves were nearly full by New Year's.

But I have no idea about any movie filmed within the last four years. No clue. At all.

We don't have any TV channels; cable is expensive and mind numbing and none of the public channels reach our rural home without an extensive antenna system. So we rarely see commericals. And to see previews you'd have to go to the theater. I think we see the inside of the AMC 12 about once a year. So like I said-- I have no idea about any movie filmed after 2004.

BUT! There were plenty of great movies filmed before
then :-). And while the average person could rent one at the local Movie Gallery or grocery store, us country bumpkins don't like to drive all the way into town to pick one out only to have to drive all the way in again to return it. The solution? Buy movies at Wal-Mart. From the $5.00 bin. Which means the selection is limited, but hey.

Last night we enjoyed our raining holiday by dropping by one of our farm landlord's with a check and stopping at Wal-Mart to check out the amazing array of cheap films.

And honestly, I can't tell you how much fun it was.

See, for $5. 27 money really can buy happiness after all.

More of the Same... Weather

.04 inches of rain. That is what the digital gauge is reading, but it is apparently enough to bring harvest to a grinding halt. And within just a few hours of finishing the beans. Aargh. NOAA has big predictions for rain tonight (90%), so I doubt it'll be back to the fields for a while.

On the bright side it is not snow! Some forecaster was predicting just such weather. After I hunt him down and let him know exactly what I think about bringing THAT word into our vocabulary, I plan on being glad of it.

And as I read back it seems a lot of my posts are about the weather. Funny enough it seems as if my life might revolve around rainfall, temperature, and wind. For my next blog I'll just link ya'll directly to the day's forecast...

Brrr!

Whoa! Yesterday it was fall and today it is... well, I guess it is still fall,but now its COLD! And windy too. Poor hubby. Weather like this is very bad for working outside. Fixing combines. Hitching up head wagons. Transporting soybeans.

But it is perfect weather for hot chocolate and a chick flick. Watching bits of corn stock fly by. Snuggling with the little guy. Baking pumpkin muffins. There is no where to be, no place to go. I can stare out at the falling leaves and enjoy the scenery from our hilltop house. Its a great day to be a farm wife.

Just maybe not a farmer.

Undecided

Do you ever find yourself in a position where you don't know what to think? Not, unable to think, which does seem to vex me more often than it should considering I'm still in my 20s. But pulled in two directions, feeling that to root for either side would be okay-- but should you?

No, this is not about the election.

Its about the weather.

Ironically, no matter what I think, I have very little (okay, no) control over the weather. So why the worry? Well, I guess its just the life of a farm family. Brian has been in the combine for almost two weeks straight.

Which is good. We are getting near the finish line for harvesting soybeans. Just a few more days and we could have them all in the bin. Then we'll start back on corn. And there is a lot of that to harvest. And it needs to be in the bins before a storm can knock it over or the deer eat it or snow stops our progress in the field. And all of these are very good reasons for wanting the weather be fair and sunny.

On the other hand-- I miss my husband. Its amazing how many things I need to tell him, but I feel as if I've hardly seen him. A quick phone call here or there to discuss the most important stuff. A few rides around the field to talk about how harvest is going. A speedy kiss before he runs out the door in the morning. I miss my husband.

So... what to wish for? Rain, sun, sleet, hail-- oops, not hail. Just get the harvest over with as quickly as possible and then he can come home, or a small break in the chaos to spend an evening with us? Ugh. I just don't know.

God knew what he was doing when He did not bequeath me power over the weather. Wth my whirling thoughts we'd probably have a tornado.

Confession

I'm rereading Twilight. Again.

What does that say about me? I dunno. I'm not usually the kind of person to go in for vampire books, movies, etc. In fact the last scary movie I remember watching was Arachnophobia in second grade. And I still look for spiders in my bed.

But, in my defense, Twilight is not like that. These are good vampires. Really.

And my sister called the other day and we made plans to see the movie for her birthday (which is the 20th). Girl time, fun movie, toddler-less time. Needless to say I'm really looking forward to that!

However, I'm still not sure what it says about me that I'm rereading them. For the fourth time.