Sad Update

 It was only 3 degrees this morning and below zero wind chill so the walk was cancelled. That gave Mark and I plenty of time to haul in 5 loads of wood for the wood burner today.  Yesterday's loads kept that fire going all day yesterday and all night tonight so the house was comfortable this morning. I also had time to check the charges on the discover card and found an unauthorized charge of $172.00 on it from a vet clinic in North Carolina dated Jan 18th, 2023.  As that state is on Eastern time I called a couple minutes after 8:00 am our time (9:03 am their time) and asked about the charges.  It was a mistake and they were glad to reverse the charge. It really was an honest mistake but taught me how important it is to check. Karin helped mom into her car today when it was time to leave for the Berean office. We arrived there at 8:50 am. If you would like to read about Berean click HERE. We stopped at the Hanna City post office on the way home to drop off the Bibles and studies going out today.  As we had a pretty good size piece of apple pie at Berean mom didn't want lunch today.  I decided to skip lunch and eat a late lunch at home after Karin got back to relieve me. Mark beat me home today from work so we just heated up pizza at 2:30 pm. The picture below was posted as a memory on Facebook from 10 years ago today.

They were 3 year olds in that picture. This was of Evan and Valiant when they were still best friends. Rhoda was riding Evan and Steven was riding Valiant.

We got some sad news yesterday that Zalena died.  She had a wonderful retirement home with Kres these last 3 years and gave Kres a beautiful filly she named Marra. The picture below of Zalena was taken in November. 

Kres sent the picture that day and wrote that Zalena is the queen of the farm. Below is her daughter Marra by Evan at 2 years of age.

Cold Moves In

 Single digits today and really cold with a brisk wind so this morning after breakfast Mark and I brought in a few loads of wood for the wood burner. That was kept burning all day.   Diane and Mike got off the cruise yesterday so this morning sent us some pictures to encourage us on our walk. But just so she understood what she was missing here I sent the selfie below.

Her pictures were much more interesting.

The perfect trip to do during the last week of January. They visited Costa Maya, Roatan, Norwegian's private Island off Belize and Cozumel. Sounds like a really nice cruise.  The first job today was to pick up the Berean mail at the Peoria post office then to Sam's to pick up some needed groceries and finally to the Berean office to drop off the mail.  Rick from Zane's called about the wheelchair van brakes. It wasn't an easy fix and the estimate for the first part was over $700.00. Dan was called and he got more information and decided to order the part and fix it himself. When Mark got home we picked up the van and parked it in mom's garage. Zane's didn't charge anything for looking at it so we appreciate that. It is currently 9 degrees and should drop down to 5 before starting to climb into the teens. The good news is we are expecting sunshine tomorrow.  

Another Amazing

I drove the wheelchair van to Zanes this morning while Mark followed with my car. Zane's is going to check the brakes tomorrow morning. Mark filled in the paper work while I parked the van. 

We still made it to church plenty early.  Joan was bringing Nancy and I was supposed to take her but when Joan got to her home, she wasn't ready so Joan sent a message she was going to be late. That meant I could sit up front and I was very glad to do so. David had the message this morning starting with Psalm 47 then expounding on Luke. IF you would like to watch and listen click HERE.  Craig Stickling had the afternoon service on Philemon 1. After church I wanted to pick up more carrots for the dinner tonight so stopped at Aldi but Aldi had no carrots, none at all. We stopped at Kroger and got a bag.  Dan left a message that Abram was bringing is new fiancé to meet mom. The carrots were started then Mark and I went over to meet Addy.

Dan shared Abram's proposal video and we all had to laugh.  This fall Addy Ulrich will be come Addy Meister.  Dan and Susan also brought dinner for mom, Karin and Nancy.

Phil and  Anna were first to arrive at our house. Anna, Kensley and Taegan had to play a little basketball first.

Those girls are both on basketball teams and both of their teams are doing great.

 Ben and Taunya's family couldn't come tonight and Sarah was at a birthday party but Nolan brought the 3 girls so we still ended up with 18 for dinner.  After dinner Nolan, Phil, Rhoda and Braelyn left for volley ball. The grandkids that were left had a wonderful time playing doctor, playing with the horses, making treats then building forts. We adults were listening and laughing as they played doctor. Zion was the doctor and would check the hurts then Elisabet would be the nurse and chart it.  Taegan went in for treatment of a hurt leg and Zion the doctor told her they were going to have to cut it off.  Not sure we want to go to doctors anymore, well those that are 5 years of age and under. Below is a video of some of the activities of the afternoon and evening.

The volleyball players came back about 7:40 pm and reported the games were good. Everyone had a good time and so did we. Another amazing Sunday.

Another Work Day

 It was snowing this morning and we were glad it wasn't the freezing rain that had been predicted.

Right after breakfast Mark wanted to get the front porch stacked with more wood as we used more than expected at that last cold spell. Below is the before we started picture. 

We have a good system, he fills the wheel barrow then brings it from the wood shed to the porch where I stack it.

Below is after we finished that job.

Mark also brings in dimension wood left overs from the barn. That is stacked near the splitting log. He splits that into kindling which helps start the fire quickly in the wood burners.

Ben arrived as we were stacking the wood. He drove to the barn to help Phil and Anna. Lee and Iris were the next to arrive. Iris was glad to help with the cooking. We found an onion that was sprouting.

She didn't like the smell of it but was fascinated when I told her we could cut the top off and plant it and more onions would grow.

Phil and Anna's girls were next to arrive. Right away Taegan and Iris started playing hide and seek.

They soon got the craft box out.

I love watching how they invent things to do together.

Taegan and I went out to the barn to let the workers know when lunch would be done. Ben was installing cable for the foaling cameras. 

Lee was holding the wood up while Anna used the nail gun to nail it in position.

Below Phil and Ben are discussing where to put the cameras and at what angle.

They all came in for lunch at 12:30 pm. After lunch they went back out to work while Mark and I went out to move hay.  We are expecting some pretty cold temps for the next 3 days. Sunday it is supposed to drop down to 8 degrees then Monday the high is predicted to be 13 with a low of 1. Tuesday should be the last cold day before the warm up. This has been a mild winter so far.  As the bad weather is moving in and we have a winter weather advisory starting tonight I wanted to move a new bale in for the weanlings. They were given grain first to keep them up at the fence while the net wrap was removed from the shelter from their last bale.

All 3 are now eating grain out of their own buckets. When Mark brought the bale they acted like they were scared, went running down to the other end of the paddock but then ran right back up to finish their grain.

The hay is beautiful, it is fine stemmed and still very green. 

The was very little waste from the last bale. When we came back in Mark cut up an orange and the girls were having fun pretending the sections were teeth. The same thing we used to do when young. Some things never change.

Then it was time for hairdos.

Kensley was busy putting chairs and stools around so she could go all the way from one side of the house to the other without touching the floor. 

After Phil and Anna left I ran over to the barn to see some of the progress.

Two roasts were taken out of the freezer this evening and put in the crock pot for tomorrow's meal. Supper was left overs and Mark has been busy putting the house back in order while I work on the blog.

Earthquake or Not

 Another cold morning. Just Ruth and I and 3 dogs walked Fedi's dog, Ryan's dog and Sarah's dog, Joan had Co-Op. I was due at mom's this morning so both Ruth and I quit after 1 round.  Once mom was set watching the eagles the bird feeder was filled. There was a big flock of geese hunkered down on the frozen lake near the only open water. 

The picture reminded me of the time we were walking and Ruth saw the geese on the frozen lake and thought we needed to go help them get out. She thought they had frozen in place. 

The bird feeder was very popular today.

Beth called from Gulf Shores. She was with Rhonda so both shared news.  Gulf Shores may have had a small earthquake. Beth was sitting at her pool when the water started dancing, Rhonda and Spark were at the boat pictured below (That is Rachel's husband David in the picture) When she saw the water start to moved.

No idea if it was an earthquake but it was noticeable. Beth shared some wonderful news. When she was in Gulf Shores in November the minister of the church they are going to asked if he could pray for her health and anointed her with oil.  When she came home last November for her iron treatment for the first time since the chemo for breast cancer the number was above that 20 number. The lab work was performed 3 times and each time it came back above. She is feeling so much better that today she walked to the lagoon and back. I think that is around 4 miles. Before this she was only able to walk a couple of blocks. She is praising God and thanking him for this new feeling of health. The only problem with Beth and Rhonda telling us how nice it was in Gulf Shores is now mom wants to head back down. 

When Karin arrived Anna was already hard at work at the barn.

Her girls had a half day of school today so Taegan and Kensly came with her and were having fun on the hill. I really should have looked for sleds last year. Sleds should be something to stock up on.

They came inside to warm up then when Mark came home we left for Avanti's for dinner.

Braelyn wasn't feeling well so just Taegan and Kensley got to come tonight.  We finally heard from Mike and Diane. They sent back the picture below with the text Roatan yesterday.

They also sent back a zip lining video but it is not clear enough to share here.  So glad they are having beautiful weather and lots of fun. We had a high of 41 today and the snow is melting.  Phil and Anna worked on putting together the heating system this evening for the barn. Heat will be needed. We are expecting freezing rain to start tomorrow afternoon then the temperature drops like a stone until it bottoms out about zero.  Hope the weather man is wrong. Ice makes everything hard. We will need to move a bale in for the weanlings before the rain starts.

Daughters and Sons

 We had a cold morning and a cold day today. The temps were only in the teens for our walk with a brisk wind.  We all came dressed for the weather though so had a good walk. Breakfast was made after the walk as Mark had a late start today.  Today was a good day to stay inside keep the wood burner going and get a lot of cooking done. Mark brought home a nice big spiral sliced ham from Kroger reduced to 99 cents a pound so of course ham and bean soup was on the menu. But first 4 cans of tuna was made up into a tuna salad for Mark for his lunches. For dinner a spinach, ham and cheese omelet, then the soup was started. Phil and Anna came to work on the barn so the girls came too and played outside in the snow for a while but soon came inside to warm up. They were put to work cutting up ham for the soup.

Below is a short video of some of their work.

We also cut up celery, onions, and carrots to add to the beans and ham and of course had to taste it. The girls pronounced it good so a quart was sent home with them. 

I'm so thankful for these girls and my girls. Daughters are so very precious.  When Mark and I were expecting our 4th I was asked if I wanted an ultrasound to determine sex. Well after 3 boys, and good boys at that, I was sure it was another boy and turned them down. Imagine our surprise when out came Rhoda and having Sarah was a bonus. TWO of those precious daughters and now we have 9 grand daughters and 5 grand sons.  We are rich beyond measure. 

A Pregnant Woman to her husband:

What you are expecting, will it be a boy or girl?

Husband- "If we have a boy, I'll teach him maths, we will go for sports, I will teach him fishing and so on."

Wife - "Ha.. Ha.. And what if its a girl?

Husband - If we have a girl.. I'll not have to teach her anything.

Because she will be the one who will teach me all the things,

like how to dress, how to eat, what to say, what not to say..

In short, she will be my second mom and She will consider me as her hero even if I do not do anything special, she'll always understand when I'll refuse her for something.

She'll always compare her husband to be me.. No matter how old she will be, she'll always want that I should treat her like my baby doll.. She'll fight with the world for me and if someone will hurt me, she will never forgive that person.

Wife - "So you mean to say that your daughter will do all those things but your son will not?"

Husband - "No.. no! May be he will do the same but he will learn to do them. But daughters are born with it. Being the father of a daughter is the pride for any man."

Wife - "But, she will not be with us forever."

Husband - "Yes, but we will be with her, in her heart, forever. So it really doesn't make a difference where she goes."

Daughters are Angels... Born with Unconditional Love & Care...Forever.

Dedicated to all lucky fathers blessed with daughters.

Author Unknown

Of course we also need a poem for our amazing sons and wonderful grandsons:

I never want this to go unsaid, So here in this poem is for it to be said.

There are no words to express how much you mean to me, A son like you, I thought could never be. Because the day you were born, I just knew, God sent me a blessing-and that was you.

For this I thank Him every day. You are the true definition of a son, in every way.

It is because of you that my life has meaning. Becoming a mom has show me a new sense of being.

I want you to know that you were the purpose of my life,

Out of everything I did, it was you that I did right.

I can tell by the relationship that we share. For a son like you there could be no other,

And whether we are together or apart, Please do not ever forget,

You will always have a piece of my heart.

Written by Valerie Capasso

Snow

 We awoke to snow and it snowed most of the day. At 6:00 am Mark went out to shovel. It was still pitch dark out but our patio light lit up the area just fine.

I took a few pictures at that time.

The line is our close line completely covered by thick wet snow.

Below is the patio table. The light made the snow sparkle likes hundreds of diamonds.

Below is Mark shoveling.

Sarah sent the picture below just before 7:00 am. Her girls were so excited to get out to play in it they had that snowman built as soon as it was light enough to see.

We met a little later for the walk, about 7:20 am.  After the walk I went right up to feed the weanlings and had to marvel at how this snow just piled up on the fences.

It was at least 4 inches by this time.

The weanlings saw me coming and came running for their grain.

Check out the bucket in the picture below. Each bucket needed to be cleaned off, turned upside down and shaken to get the snow out.  Amazing how the snow even piled up on the thin metal handle of the bucket.

I took a couple pictures of the big pine tree around 8:30 am.

My cousin Sarah posted the picture below of her mom, Aunt Sandra with Aunt Jinnie.  Both of mom's sisters together.

Aunt Sandra lives in Florida and Aunt Jinnie lives in New Jersey and mom lives here in Illinois. All three are now widows so it would be great if we could get them all in the same state sometime. Today was a stay at home day so the fridge was cleaned out, 4 loads of laundry done, the kitchen given a good cleaning and all the floors swept. Of course AC Central was on almost all day and I got to hear lots of great teaching. What a wonderful service that is. Some of the churches now have video and I'm a little partial to video but even the audio is great. Mark came home from work willing to leave for church a little early and eat supper at Hy-Vee first. The singing was really nice tonight, Tim Funk and David started out leading at the front of church, they were joined by a couple other brothers then Tim Funk had the message. When we left church tonight it is still snowing. The temps have held steady around 32 or 33 all day so the roads are pretty good but by tonight some were starting to drift over. We may be shoveling again tomorrow. One more picture, today a picture of Darcy came up. I think this was taken on her 9th birthday. She was 189 pounds of pure love.