Farm Wife Duties

Living on a working farm has been a huge blessing to me. I feel so needed ALL THE TIME! I have MANY duties as a farm wife other than my normal motherly duties like homeschooling, cooking, cleaning and breaking up fights.

I'm not the most mechanically inclined gal out there so I know when The Captain calls for my help, its serious OR he's desperate. The Captain called & I could hear tension in his voice. The grain truck had stopped running on the side of the road a few miles from the house. I shoved 6 popsicles at the 6 littles and had them play outside and OFF I WENT.... There the grain truck was OUT STANDING IN THE FIELD.I parked the 4 wheeler next to the grain truck and remained silent (that's what I knew I had to do-ANY EQUIPMENT BREAK DOWNS during harvest are sure to get any farmers blood boiling.)Being the dweeb that I am, I couldn't resist bringing my camera and taking a picture of this Milo as it clicked in the breeze. Isn't it lovely?

Then I got in the truck and turned it over and tried to start it while The Captain worked with some starter fluid and trying to unplug the gas line.

DANG I'M GOOD! Next thing I knew he was OFF to the elevator with his load of beans.

Living on the farm-I've learned how to drive lots of stuff. Today we "MOVED FARMS." We are all done cutting soybeans and planting wheat on our home place so it was time to move all our equipment to our other farm 9.1 miles away. I loaded the littles & a Dora video in the DVD player in the bus & started the big kids off on their homeschool math and headed out.

We moved the grain truck first. I follow The Captain while he takes each piece of equipment to our new farm all the while the 2 boys are SCREAMING their brains out that they want to be with him-OH JOY!Next was the tractor and grain cart which takes a while following at 20mph. The last thing to go was the combine & since it's last, I dont have to follow. I peeled the boys off The Captains legs gave him his carefully packed lunch with a LOVE NOTE INSIDE and came in to get started with the rest of my day. I won't see him until late but I do love harvest time and all the buzz around the community.I put the kids initials in their pot pies last night-they thought that was just the most awesome thing-another farm wife duty-THINKING UP BIZARRE STUFF TO DO WITH the 6 littles food so they will eat!I'm hoping and praying that as the 6 littles see The Captain and I working together as a team on the farm-they will learn how important it is to help when needed. I already have one little sweet one "in training" that always volunteers her help.

Thank you Lord for trusting us with these sweet ones & helping us "HARVEST THESE SWEET LITTLE HEARTS!"

Bored? Rainy Day Activities...

We've had a couple good storms at the farm lately...... Can you see it BREWING?

Can you see the tree bending in this picture? We were on the porch seconds earlier THINKING we were going to watch a little shower from our log rockers and then BAM-out of nowhere 60 mph winds, rain and hail. The littles and I RAN in the house. Even Tinkybell-our dog ran in (and she NEVER goes inside). It was scary for a moment.

All the while, The Captain was trapped in the barn painting something. He waved at us right when it started and he said he actually thought that may have been our last vision of him alive. He said the barn was shaking so bad, he thought it was going to blow over.

We got 3 inches of rain out of the deal. Praise God-no hail damage to the wheat.

With a boat load of kids & homeschool done for the year-I MUST have some structured activities for rainy days or we'll all go BONKERS!!!

This morning, Bean and T made a crockpot cake. All by themselves. There are only 2 ingredients. A cake mix and can of pop.

First-put your cake mix in bowl.Next, your 12 ounces of pop.Then you mix, spray crockpot with cooking spray, poor batter in and put something small (we used a kabob skewer) in to vent so the condensation doesn't build and you have a soggy cake.

Cook on low 2-3 hours and VOILA!

Add cool whip to the top when done-SUPER YUM! NEXT ACTIVITY...TIE DYING!I bought a little kit at Wal-Mart & some RIT dye also. We used both. The kit came with everything you needed. Rubberbands & dye-very easy-just add water.After we dyed (WHICH WAS PSYCHO!!) My nail beds are still permanently rainbow. We wrapped our creations in plastic wrap for 8 hours.And VOILA again....
Here's BIT BUTWyWyAW-BELLMyMy"T""Bean"I tried to tell T and Bean that the shirts had to be tied tightly or they would be mostly white-they didn't listen and just tied theirs on randomly. T cried when she saw hers-that's how we learn...

They are all pretty COOL HUH?

Then we made play doh...Heres MyMy stirring the ingredients.

3 cups flour

1.5 cups salt

6 tsp cream of tarter

3 tbsp oil

3 cups water

Dissolve salt in the water.
Pour all ingredients into a large pot.
Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms by pulling away from the sides.
Knead the dough mixture until the texture matches playdoh (1-2 minutes).
Store in plastic container.

Should last for at least 3 months.

Happy with his JOHN DEERE GREEN Play doh!

This recipe made enough for all 6 littles to have a big "WAD."

Seeing the shirts & the play doh, all so different in color, shape, pattern and style made me think of all of us. Down here on earth, we are different, molded by God, just the way he wants us, all with our own personalities, looks, gifts and talents. All of us God BREATHED.

Are you feeling down today? Just remember,

GOD DID NOT make a mistake when he made you.

• There is ONE who will never leave nor forsake you.
• There is ONE that forgives YOU and everything you've ever done,
• There is ONE that will lift you up when the world lets you down.
• There is ONE that is JUST WAITING FOR YOU to knock at HIS door and he will open it WIDE-JUST FOR YOU!
• There is ONLY ONE that you need to please in this life...ONLY ONE.
• There is ONE way to eternal life-through Jesus Christ.

Do you have Christ in your life? If not, your world and life will be changed forever by taking 3 simple ABC steps.

1. Admit your a sinner and need to be saved
2. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
3. Confess your sins to GOD and TURN FROM THEM.

Once you've taken those 3 easy steps-there is GOOD NEWS... YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN WITH HIM!

ENJOY THE RAINY DAYS WITH YOUR LITTLE ONES!

Farm Randomness....

Don't you know waffles taste better with a DO RAG, flame swim trunks and a Helmet on?Our wheat looks phenomenal this year! It is done heading out and is now in the flowering stage.

As I gaze at this wheat in my hand-I am amazed at God's goodness & intricate design of all living things.A view from the field to our house-nothing like WHEAT in your backyard!The Captain got himself a new farm vehicle. This will come in handy for spraying chemicals and getting back and forth from the field to home.
He can drive/fly ANYTHING! The Captain & Wy Wy getting ready to race. Anything for another good reason to HOLD ON TIGHT to The Captain.SUMMER (black) and RAINBOW (white) our chickens have been relocated outside to the kids play house! Not NEARLY as cute as when they were chicks huh?
They should be producing eggs in 2-3 months THAT IS IF the dogs don't figure out how to break in to their new house & do away with them before then. I can tell they are already formulating a plan.

We placed flowers on the graves of The Captains uncles and grandparents yesterday. Bean is touched that his birthday is the same as The Cap's uncle Clif-the uncle who lived here on the farm before us. God knew what he was doing-Clif would have loved all the kids & been amazed at the addition of his house. The cemetery is in a beautiful location. Surrounded by fields full of crops, a gravel road in the middle of the country. The place where The Captain and I's earthly bodies will also be laid to rest one day.
The Captain LOVES the name "OTTO." His grandfather's name..Aw-Bell-our sweet animal lover! Karmy-our Saint Bernard is WONDERFUL with the 6 littles.Mr. Pitto our first cat on the farm 7 years ago-9 lives and then some. He LOVES the new table by the front door. He is the ONLY cat our dogs allow to run freely on the farm-they terrorize the rest. Mr. Pitto-terrorizes them.

Guess whats on his mind?

"Those chickens are MINE!!"