Sweet Simplicity

Groundhog Day, 2012 Edition

2012-02-02T09:19:00.001-05:00

I am really, truly working on a blog post or two all about Carrie's 16th birthday.

Really I am.

I've just been a little sentimental about it all, so I'm taking it slowly.

Very slowly.

So...maybe by July I will be able to post pictures and tell what we did. :)

Until then, I decided that I better blog about our life right now.

If the rest of the year flies by like January did, then it will be 2013 before I get around to posting anything.

February!

This is one of my most favorite months of the year!

It seems to be a bright month.

Maybe because the sun is in just the right position to shine brightly and warmly through the back windows of our home.

Maybe because there are no leaves on the trees, so the sun reaches the corners in our home that it doesn't during other times of the year.

Maybe because there are so many really fun holidays!

In all honesty, Groundhog Day is one of my favorites!

I tune in early in the morning to watch the fun happening at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

I love all the celebration and hope that one day I can be there to be a part of it all.

Seriously! It's on my Bucket List!

Until then, we celebrate here in our home several thousand miles away...

Matthew is mimicking our groundhogs.

And here is the 2012 Gaggle of Groundhogs!

Gaggle just sounds good.

I actually googled it and found out that groundhogs are loners, so they don't have a name for what a group of groundhogs would actually be called.

Come to think of it, I never have seen two groundhogs running around together.

Breakfast time!

This year, we also made a Groundhog Mix.

We are going to the ice rink this afternoon to play Broom Ball with our homeschool group.

Since we are supposed to take a snack to share, we decided to make something that goes along with our Groundhog Day celebration.

Peanut Butter Cap'n. Crunch, M&M's, and Chocolate Groundhog Cookies (a.k.a. Teddy Grahams).

Funny thing.

As a kid, I was scared pretty badly by a groundhog.

I wrote about it last year in my Groundhog Day post.

I just have to wonder when my attitude and affections changed, because now when I see Phil come out of his oaken stump, I just ooooohhhhhhh and aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

The kids do too.

We're an oooooohhhhhhhing, aaaaaaaahhhhhhhing bunch sitting there by the computer.

Enjoying six more weeks of winter,

Noodle-Making Day

2012-01-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

I find myself behind again.
If I don't make a conscious effort and decision to blog, then the days just go by without a single picture or word posted.
I don't like waiting until "on down the road" to blog about what we're doing, because there is a good chance that I will forget the sweet things that were said...the funny things that happened...all the stuff that this brain really wants to remember but doesn't.

But then, sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Here are pictures from Noodle-Making Day 2011 (the day before Thanksgiving) at Grandma's house.
I won't even venture to guess how many years we have been doing this.
Lots!

"What's the first thing we do?" asks Grandma.

"Wash hands!"

This is Matthew's first year of being a noodle-maker.

He needs a button or a hat or something.

William is the flour-sifter.

Carrie and William just jump right in and begin making the noodles...

while the little boys wait for their turns at rolling and cutting.

It would be really interesting--and overwhelming--to know how many noodles GG has made in her lifetime!

Matty is anxious to get his hands into the flour and the dough.

Warming up the rolling pin while Grandma gets the flour ready...

Josh and his rolling pin...

Matthew did a great job of rolling out the dough!

Josh has been at this for a few years now.

He is very confident in his noodle-making ability.

William LOVES knives.

It doesn't matter what kind...pocket or kitchen...he just loves knives.

I think that GG is telling Josh that he needs more flour...

and checking on Matthew' progress.

Ooohhhhhh...knives!

Now for cutting the dough into noodles!

Demonstration

Guided Practice

Oh, the concentration!

"Check out this longest noodle!"

"How 'bout this one?!"

"Mine's the winner!"

Off goes Matty with the Noodle Bowl to the Noodle Bed...

I think the noodle-making is getting to him...

There are some thick noodles in there!

Grandma calls them dumplings.

Tic Tac Toe in the flour?

With knives?

I had to make the last picture of this post one from Thanksgiving Day.
William walked right into Grandma's house and began stirring the noodles.

Enjoying noodles...thick and thin,

Cookie-Making Day

2012-01-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

There are some things that I just didn't get around to blogging about during the holidays.
This is one of those times that I don't want to slip by and become a non-memory.

I think that this might be the last Christmas in which everything is all brand new for Matthew.
He doesn't remember any Christmas celebrations from the past, so every time we did something, it was all brand new to Matthew. I love that!

Making Christmas cookies was one of

those brand new activities.

Look at that concentration.

You can tell he's concentrating because his tongue is hanging out...just like his Papa B and his Grandpa Pete.

I think that what Carrie captured in this photograph is Matthew poking a piece of cookie dough

into his mouth.

Once he tasted it, he wouldn't stop eating it.

I think that he liked the dough better than the baked cookies.

William would also tell you that the dough is his favorite part of Christmas cookies.

Josh is carefully observing everything before jumping in and cutting his own cookies.

That is so Joshua.

He is a very cautious little guy.

Although, I don't think that I can call him

a little guy anymore.

Just look at him!

He doesn't need a stool anymore

to reach the top of the island!

I must direct your attention to Matthew's sneaky
"under William's arm"
reach for a hunk of cookie dough.

Is it possible that this is William's fourteenth Christmas?

This is my Grandma Bellman's cookie recipe.

She used to make the cookies and then frost them in yellow, green, blue, and red frosting.

More rolling, cutting, baking...

...and eating!

You better stop eating that dough, Mister!

"Dough? What dough?!"

Oh, what a happy day Cookie-Making Day is!

Until the cookie dough becomes Play-Doh!

"Stop playing with the cookie dough, Mister!"

(No Williams were hurt in the making of these cookies.)

I'll just bet you that Josh is thinking, "If I can't play with the dough, then I'll play with the powdered sugar."

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Speaking of monkeys...

Ahhhh...the finished product.

Here is one that William made especially

in honor of Pastor John.

It's all decked out in Purdue colors.

Another year of cookie-making in the books.

So...until next Christmas...unless, of course, we pull out the recipe for Valentine's Day.

Cookies dressed in pink frosting and red hots are mighty pretty!

Enjoying cookies,

Clean White Boxes

2012-01-02T09:06:00.001-05:00

Ahhhh.

The New Year.

I love the New Year.

I love taking the old calendar off the wall, putting it on the table next to the new calendar, grabbing several colors of Sharpie markers, and filling in the clean white boxes on the new calendar with birthdays and anniversaries and the handful of activities that are already scheduled.

It always looks so fresh and new.

So colorfully exciting.

So full of grace and mercy.

Clean white boxes with no black Sharpie lines running through my mistakes.

Yet.

Oh, it will happen.

There will end up being black lines and imperfect handwriting.

There will be times when I over-schedule and double-book.
There will be times when I grab the red marker rather than the blue one.

There will be times when I look at my calendar and the word "Simplify" that hangs over it and want to cry.

But then I remember...
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Oh, what good news that is!

Enjoying the freshness and mercy of a New Year,

Ridiculous!

2011-12-31T12:55:00.001-05:00

It started out so innocently.

I sat down this week and watched the recording I had of "The Pioneer Woman's Christmas."

The next thing I knew I was making plans for her cinnamon rolls.

I decided that they would be made on New Year's Day instead of our traditional waffles.

Waffles are a tradition, because my Grandma Bellman always made waffles on New Year's Day for breakfast. My brother and I would stay the night with Grandma and Grandpa so that Mom and Dad could go to their Sunday School Class party each year. Rob and I would argue about who was going to get the coveted "behind Grandpa's chair" sleeping place. Then, in the morning, Mom and Dad would come over for breakfast.

Grandma's waffles.

Second thoughts.

How can I take all that time to make cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning when we have to have Carrie to church for praise team practice by 9:00?

How can I even think of replacing waffles when I got a new waffle maker from Ron and Judy for Christmas?

And give up a tradition that has been in place for almost 40 years?

Oh!

New tradition!

(I love starting up new traditions!)

Cinnamon rolls on New Year's Eve!

Boy! Am I glad that this is a New Year's Eve tradition!

I don't think that I could ever start out the New Year with all of the butter and sugar that are enveloped in these things! I really would like to leave that guilt behind in the old year.

Isn't the dough beautiful?

Adding the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and the last cup of flour before rolling them out...

You cannot even imagine how much butter and sugar are inside this log.

Well...maybe after a closer inspection of the picture,

you can.

Adding insult to injury.

The frosting was made with two pounds of powdered sugar, whole milk, maple extract, and...

strongly brewed coffee!

This is my guilt-reducing photo.

As I was elbow deep in butter and sugar, I looked over in my kitchen sink

and saw the apples and pears that I bought yesterday.

The plan for the New Year is to begin again.

Healthier eating.

Exercise.

But that's the New Year.

This is the old.

Quit feeling guilty and enjoy
the extravagance of these rolls!

These rolls that we have renamed...

"Once-A-Year Rolls."

It's no joke. The first word out of my mouth after taking a bite was, "Ridiculous!"

What is even more ridiculous is that this recipe
made 3-9X13 glass pans

and one 9-inch glass pan FULL of rolls!

Again...RIDICULOUS!

It's not too late!
If you would like to give these rolls a try before the New Year comes rushing in, here is a link to The Pioneer Woman's website where you will find her amazing cinnamon rolls. Just click on "amazing cinnamon rolls."

Enjoying the sweetness of the old year--and the guilt that is left behind,

Let Them Come

2011-12-27T16:55:00.001-05:00

I love our Nativity.

It is special for so many reasons.

My cousin and her husband gave it to us back in 2001.

Len made the stable, and they included Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus in the manger.

For several years after that, we added important people and animals...the Angel, the Wise Men and a camel, a Shepherd, Shepherdess, and sheep, a donkey.

Even a rooster, hen, goose, duck, and turkey.

And a Water Boy.

Several years went by without an addition.

The two little shops that sold them went out of business.

This year, I decided that I would like to add someone...

or something.

After looking online, I decided that I really didn't want anymore townspeople.

And the animals were so expensive.

Then Judy, my mother-in-law, told me the story of her good friend, Carol.

Carol shops all year round for

animals to add to her Nativity.

Animals that aren't part of the original set.

Animals that aren't to scale with the rest of the Nativity.

Animals that probably didn't get a front row seat for the Birth of Jesus.

Then I found them.

Animals of good quality.

Beautiful animals that were inexpensive but durable.

The first animal we brought home this month was the little raccoon.

He looks as though he's praying.

Joshua likes him because he looks like the raccoon that Buddy the Elf meets in the movie "Elf."

"Hi! What's your name?"

And then...

I couldn't help myself.

When I saw this kneeling giraffe, I had to have him.

A new tradition with endless possibilities!

I love to think that ALL of creation yearned to welcome the Newborn King.

In our Nativity, they will get the chance.

Who knows what animal/s might join us next year...
maybe a hedgehog...a grizzly bear...an ostrich...maybe even a flamingo.

O.K.
Maybe not a flamingo.

Enjoying the Birth of our Savior,

What Does Autumn Taste Like?

2011-11-20T13:25:00.001-05:00

Candy Corn and Peanuts

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Homemade Applesauce

I've had this recipe hanging on the inside of my cupboard door since Carrie and William were teeny tinies.

The inside of my cupboard doors tell a story.

The recipe at the bottom is Aunt Norma's
apple butter recipe.

The recipe right above that is for "Mom's Biscuits."
It was hanging right there when we moved in...
something left from Mrs. Franklin.
The tape around it is yellowed now.

Beside it, to the right, is my good friend Debbie's recipe for dressing, dated July 12, 2006...in her handwriting.

I remember sitting at her kitchen table when she wrote it out for me.

Right above Debbie's recipe is the apple list from our local orchard.

It tells when each variety of apple is ripe.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Matthew is eye-balling
the muffin that has his name on it.

My gourd candles before they rotted.

Chocolate Chip-Banana-Pecan Bread

Autumn tastes even better when there are little snowflakes flying around in the sky...

Why is it that when the cold weather blows in
and the leaves begin turning color,
I go into hibernation mode?

Just watch out for spring.

Until then...
Enjoying warm, tasty treat,

Punkin' Faces

2011-11-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

(Photo credit goes to Brandy. Thank you so much for capturing this in pictures!)

After our gorgeous trip to the pumpkin patch, we brought our pumpkins back home and dug in.

Josh is all smiles, because this is his really truly first pumpkin carving.

The kids promise me that we haven't carved pumpkins for two or three years.

If that's true, then Josh wouldn't remember carving...mainly because he wouldn't have been carving.

He would have just been watching.

Not this year!

He was involved with him pumpkin turned Jack O' Lantern up to his elbow!

Carrie is an old pro at carving pumpkins.

It has been a long time since she has needed any help.

First-Timer and Old-Timer

No Guts...No Glory

This Jack O' Lantern should be very glorious!

Because he wasn't too fond of cleaning out the pumpkin, his decision was to sit back and relax awhile until the dirty work was done.

Another carving pro in action...

Josh was fully involved in creating his Jack O' Lantern.

This girl knows how to clean out a pumpkin!

This is one of the most patient teachers
you will ever meet.

He talked Josh through the carving of his pumpkin,
step-by-step.

Checking it out from the inside...

A little guidance...

Oh, the concentration!

And oh, the guts!

Time out for Matthew.

Tired from all of the pumpkin carving,
he decided to play burrito.

A smiley kind of goofy face
emerges from Carrie's pumpkin...

William's pumpkin and tribute to Steve Jobs.

He also ended up carving a power cord at the bottom of the pumpkin...

My guy...

Josh's finished pumpkin...complete with fangs...

Paul's Pumpkin Pie-rate...

I've never carved a gourd before.

Aren't they cute?!

Now, several weeks later, I can tell you that if you want cute little gourd candle-holders for Thanksgiving, carve them the week before Thanksgiving.

After a couple weeks, they start rotting.

The line-up:

Josh, William, Paul, Matthew, Jodi, and Carrie.

What a beautiful, sunny day!

Ride bikes and swing while you have the chance!

Some serious deliberating going on here.

My friend, Peggy, gave me a little oak tree that she found growing at the back of her property.

We're trying to decide where to plant it...

Paul has an idea.

And William wields his shovel!

Charlie is right in the middle of everything.

It's surprising that the little tree got planted.

And some nighttime viewing...

Enjoying all things autumn,

Hay!

2011-11-05T05:24:00.001-04:00

The Fall Bucket List has really kept me hopping!
I love it!

We already had four pumpkins ready and waiting on our front porch to carve last weekend, but we needed two more if we were all going to carve a pumpkin.
I was going to opt out. I usually do. My pumpkin-carving consists of hollowing out pumpkins and keeping a handle on the mess.
But this year, I wanted to carve!
I wanted a Jack 0' Lantern to call my own!

So...we decided to "kill two birds with one stone."
Yuck.
I don't like that saying, but it seems to get the point across.

On Saturday, while my brother Rob and my sister-in-law Brandy were visiting, we went to the local garden and mulch store. They were offering free hay ride trips to their pumpkin patch!

Fall Bucket List Hay Ride...Check!

Matthew is giving us one of his growly smiles.

That faux hawk is quickly becoming his trademark.

Joshua's sweet smile and Hollywood hairstyle.

Pretty girl smile from behind the mirrored aviators!

My sweetie relaxing under a beautiful sky.

Can you believe those clouds?!

Sissy-in-Law Brandy!

Are we almost there?

Speaking of trademark...

William has completely embraced his shorts and crocks.

He claims to be taking cold showers just so he can condition his body to wear shorts and crocks during Indiana's winter months.

Hello Pumpkins!

We were surprised to see so many good pumpkins left in the pumpkin patch this late in the season.

Sorry Mr. Scarecrow.

You ain't got nothin' on my Phil.

Just look at the color in this picture!

Brandy shared her pictures from the weekend with me.

The colors in her pictures were so vibrant...just like they were in real-life!

Buddies

My Feet

Hey Kids!

Everyone on a pumpkin!

Josh didn't want his picture taken.

And because of that, he got more than just one picture taken...

It would have been so much easier to just pose like that when I asked.

But not as much fun, I guess.

Punkin' Head Matthew

And Punkin' Head Carrie

William's idea for a series of pictures...

It's time to finish up our pumpkin selections and our photo shoot.

You should have heard this donkey!

It began its completely obnoxious braying at the horse in the next field.

Then, when it saw us coming its way, it walked over to the fence to greet us.

Here comes the wagon to pick us up!

Hold still, Carrie, while I take a picture of myself.

The hay ride back...

Can you see my find for the day?

Three little gourds!

Garden Center ahead!

Everybody gets a turn in the driver's seat!

Josh seems pretty excited about his chance to drive.

No-handed.

While Carrie is doing a Brady Bunch kind of thing.

So, not everybody made it into the driver's seat.

Matthew took Shotgun.

And so did Carrie at first.

But she quickly moved over.

Those driver's ed classes are really paying off!

I would really like to know what is running through Josh's head in this picture.

It's funny how when you're in your early teens, you just want to drive.

Then, when you've driven for years...and years...you really are pretty content to just let someone else do the driving.

Josh and Matthew found the jumpy houses...

The rest of the gang was hanging out

at the picnic table nearby.

Carrie appears to be trying to convince Uncle Robbie of something while Brandy takes a picture of the beautiful autumn Indiana sky.

You're at the pumpkin patch!

Smile!

O.K.

The last picture makes it look as if you were at the

PUMI PATCH.

Josh and Matthew...move to the sides.

Oh, the joy of cattails!

Just look how fuzzy wuzzy they are!

So much fun in one cattail stalk.

Ah, yes, William.

The cattail is edible...just not this part of it.

The part you are about to eat is highly flammable.

Great tinder for a fire.

So, watch out around open flames while wearing that sweatshirt covered in cattail seeds.

A seed of another kind...

Sorry, Buddy.

It really is time to go.

What a beautiful autumn Indiana has enjoyed...and there's more to come!

With November comes basketball games and robotics tournaments.

Each season has its own specialness about it.

Enjoying the season,

Phil

2011-11-02T07:21:00.000-04:00

I love every other Wednesday.

Every other Wednesday afternoon, Grandma comes to our house for "Art With Grandma."

Joshua and Matthew look forward to this day so much!

I do too.

After all these years of knowing her

and spending time with her,

I should no longer be amazed at her creativity.

But I am.

Each and every time.

Last Wednesday, Grandma came over with one of the little boys' (and Carrie and William's) favorite books...

I was busy in the house when Grandma and GG came, so I didn't realize they were here.

The kids did though.

And this is where I found everyone when the house became too quiet.

Grandma was hoping for a rain-free day and a good place to read the story.

She was blessed with both!

Look at Charlie.

Even a dog enjoys a good book every now and then.

Everyone is waiting on their cue...

GG enjoys watching the kids listen to a story.

She enjoys watching the kids to anything.

One pair of shoes goes...

Clomp! Clomp!

One pair of pants goes...

Wiggle! Wiggle!

One shirt goes...

Shake! Shake!

One pair of gloves goes...

Clap! Clap!

One hat goes...

Nod! Nod!

One pumpkin goes...

Boo! Boo!

And one black dog goes...

Play with me! Play with me!

Do you want the ball?

Do you?!

And what do you get when you put one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one shirt, one pair of gloves, one hat, and one pumpkin together?

You get Phil (because he's filled with leaves),

the Scarecrow...

And here is Matthew with the finishing touches...

the extension cord that will make Phil's face light up!

William says that he really isn't a Scarecrow at all.

He's really a ScareJodi.

Just look at him!

You would jump too if you walked out of the house and had that in your peripheral vision!

And don't think that he couldn't

be called a ScareWilliam too.

I've heard William jump and utter too

as he leaves the house.

All kidding aside, when Phil is replaced in December with Christmas lights,

I might cry a little bit.

He is a pretty cool Scarecrow.

Where has Carrie been this entire time?

Ah...working on her research paper.

Now for the finishing touch.

Would you like to go inside and see what that is?

Grandma thinks of everything!

Sorry Phil.

"No cupcakes for you!"

(Said with the Soup Nazi accent.)

Judy, sometimes events and days go by so quickly that I don't say how thankful I am that you are my kids' Grandma...and my Mother-in-Law (that sounds so cold...you truly have become a Mom to me). Thank you for making memories with us and for loving us so much.

God blessed me with you.

Enjoying Grandma and her creativity,

Happy Birthday, Mom

2011-10-30T08:18:00.000-04:00

It could be very possible that I love the fall of the year because that was the time of year that my mom celebrated her birthday.

October 30.

She used to tease that it was an appropriate

birthday for her, since she was so witchy.

She only teased.

I knew better.

My mom wasn't witchy at all.

She was lovely and beautiful and warm and kind.

She gave her hugs freely and gave my brother and me every reason to believe that there were no two children as loved in the world as we were.

She made our house a real home...

full of love and tradition.

It could also be very possible that traditions are so important to me because of my mom.

Several months ago, I borrowed two big boxes of family pictures from Dad.

My mission was to start scanning pictures

onto my computer.

Finally, this morning, I opened the first of those boxes hoping to find a picture to post in honor

of Mom's 69th birthday.

I wasn't disappointed.

Here is what I think is a high school picture of Mom...

maybe her junior or senior year...1959 or 1960.

I love this picture of Mom.

This is her first year of teaching...1964.

She taught the third grade for four years.

Skip ahead several years.

Mom was now a stay-at-home mom with two little ones.

I am forever thankful that my dad took on the responsibility of supporting our family so that Mom could be home with us....where her heart was.

As a farmer working at a grain elevator,

my dad worked long hard hours.

But he always came home with a smile and a song.

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho!

It's back to teaching Mom goes!

Mom waited until Rob and I were in high school and then started working her way back into teaching.

She taught the fourth grade for several years before she died in May 1993 at the age of 50.

I don't know what year this was taken, but it was one of her last school pictures.

I can look in her eyes now and can tell that she wasn't feeling good.

Oh, Mom.

I miss you today.

I wonder what you would

have looked like at 69 years old.

Nineteen years have passed since

you turned 50 years old.

There will not be a day that I don't miss you and wonder what you would have been like.

And yet I know what you would have been like.

Now...check this out!

My dad's senior picture from 1959.

I love this picture too!

And I love you, Dad!

Enjoying family,

Fall Bucket List

2011-10-27T19:13:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite finds this month?

The Fall Bucket List

I love it because it has made me more intentional.

I love it because it is so pretty.

I love it because I can check off what we have done.

I love it because it includes several things that I forget to do every fall.

One of the things that I seem to forget about each fall is taking the time to jump in the leaves.

It seems like we either mulch the leaves up or hook up the leaf picker-upper.

Not this year!

Paul and William raked up a pretty good pile for the little boys to jump in.

And for the little boy at heart...

Look at that crazy dog heading toward the pile!

A homemade bridge and a good use for one of the many sticks found around our yard.

Reraking.

Good buddies.

Matthew's jumps made me laugh!

He would take this great big running start, and then he would take this little bitty mini jump into the edge of the leaf pile.

And was so proud!

Check out that jump!!

Run...run...

...plop.

"No, Matthew! Like this!"

Plop.

Pretty good Sunday afternoon entertainment.

Plop.

"Goooooood Charrrrrrrlie."

Just sittin' around in a leaf pile.

Matthew loves the lawn mower.

William is always very happy to take the little boys for rides around the yard on the mower.

I think that Matthew is making plans for how he will one day drive the mower himself.

In fact, I know that he dreams of such things.

One morning, the first thing he said

when he woke up was,

"Will I get a lawn mower ride today?"

Here's one of those running starts that I was talking about earlier...

Now for that Bucket List "Photoshoot in a leaf pile!"

This one is my Christmas card picture!

Alright.

Go ahead and laugh.

And enjoy the picture here since it has been years since I sent out Christmas cards.

I love these sweet, dirty Josh toes.

I think that Matthew is doing some kind of

simple country boy jig.

He breaks into a little jig quite often.

Quite suddenly.

Watch this progression.

As Matthew continues his little jig in the background,

Joshua finds out that his foot has landed on a stick that was hidden in the leaf pile.

Ah!

Finally!

A truly big, truly deep jump into the leaf pile!

And more photos!

Stink Eye

And lost Nerf darts.

I really love this ditch.

It was around this time of year that Paul and I first saw this ditch 18 years ago.

On that day, there was water flowing down the ditch...it was making a gurgling, bubbling sound.

I fell in love with it, just as I had already fallen in love with the house.

Over the years, the ditch has become more shallow and grass-filled, so Paul & Co. have been digging it out. There is still a bit more to go, but I have really enjoyed the prettiness of what is done.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love rocks?

I do.

Raining leaves!

Look at Charlie trying to catch the leaves that Josh has thrown into the air!

I kept trying to capture the golden leaves falling from the neighbor's tree.

It was so beautiful. And so silent.

I just couldn't capture it on film.

I absolutely love the colors of fall.

Enjoying leaf piles and the color orange,

For the Love of Green

2011-10-11T17:25:00.000-04:00

My dad noticed the red tractors.

I asked him on the phone last night if he had been reading my blog posts, and he said, "Yes I have. That last one had a lot of red in it."

So, I decided that in honor of my dad...who has loved green for many, many years...I would post a little less red in this post.

I say "a little less," because one of his loves

just happens to be red.

You'll see.

As I was looking through pictures from this summer, I found the ones from back in June...from his retirement party...and I remembered that the party took place during one of my dry spells in blogging, so I never wrote about it.

It was a long time getting to that retirement party...

Dad decided that he would retire last December, right around the time that he turned 70 years old.

But his retirement date was decided for him.

In October, he had a heart catheterization that found

several blockages.

Dad had open heart surgery--a quadruple bypass--

on November 2.

Then back to the hospital for two blood clots in his lungs.

Then back again with pneumonia.

Carotid artery surgery in February.

Prostate surgery in July.

When I was a little girl, Dad worked at the grain elevator in town. It was a tough job, being that he was a farmer himself. He would work late at the elevator while the local farmers brought in their grain, and then he would come home and farm late to get his own crops in. I remember when Mom would pack a supper picnic for him, and we would take it to him at the elevator.

In 1987, Dad changed jobs.

He went to work at an oil company in town.

It was neat, because it was owned by a cousin, so the last name of the oil company was the same as our last name. Being a small town, Dad worked here with family and friends. I think that Dad would tell you that it was a great place to work.

The town cemetery is right across from the oil company.

When Mom died in 1993, she was buried in a new section, down drive 7.

Drive 7 is right across from the drive into the oil company.

I always thought that was neat too.

So, twenty-three years after he started working at the oil company, he retired.

Because of Dad's health, the retirement party was postponed until June.

The party was on a Wednesday afternoon at the oil company.

William, Josh, Matthew, and I made the trip north.

Dad and Gilda

Dad, Gilda, William,

Matthew, and Joshua

Gilda and I traded places...

Josh found these Spiderman gloves at Dad and Gilda's house before we came into town.

He is doing some Spiderman/Darth Vader hand thingy...

This was a retirement party for Dad and two other employees.

Dad and Jerry not only worked here together for those 23 years,

but they were also friends in high school.

Again with the Darth Vader chokey thing?

"Bring it on!"

This is Dad's cousin and boss, Jim.

Sitting down is his oldest son, Jamie.

Jamie and I went to school together...all thirteen years...

and we walked down the graduation aisle together.

That happens when you have the same last name.

And live in a small town.

This is Jamie's mom and daughter.

His daughter sang "Amazing Grace."

Remember that face.

I wouldn't be too surprised if you see her
on American Idol one day.

Cute cake!

And ice cream!

My baby brother, Rob.

Jim took lots of time talking about each of the employees and his history with them...

not only as boss, but as friend.
I was so surprised by my emotions at the end of the afternoon.
I was saying goodbye to and thanking Jim...and noticing how everyone had aged since I had last seen them. These are people that I've known since I was a little girl.
And here was my dad retiring.
It hit me suddenly that we are all moving into
another season of life.
And then I thought of the cemetery across the street where Mom's body is buried.
I took the boys over to see the stone, and we talked about Mom.

Dad doesn't really mind the color red.

In fact, he likes it quite a bit.

This is the first tractor that Dad ever drove...he was pretty young.

Twenty years ago, he became the owner of it.

After much restoration, it now looks like this...and it is one of my kids' favorite tractors to take rides on.

Carl just died of cancer this summer.

He asked that Dad would bring it to the funeral home

to sit in the parking lot during his viewing.

Ahhh...there's a bit of green.

Matthew loves riding on tractors and the lawn mowers, but he always holds his ears.

I love that my little boys, too, have been able to ride green tractors with my Dad.

After Grandpa's farm auction...can it possibly be that it was five years ago already?...I saw tractor after tractor being auctioned off, and I sadly thought that an era was over.

But Dad couldn't let go completely.

I'm glad.

That's who my Dad is...Farmer.

Whether it be on a lawnmower or pulling weights at a tractor pull with a friend's tractor or just meandering down the lane on his little B, my dad should always have a tractor.

Brave Uncle Robbie.
He gave in to William's requests to let him drive his truck down the lane.

Uncle Robbie even has his head about him enough to wave at me...

or could that be a sign that he is in immediate danger and needs help?

You know what this really is, don't you?

Bragging rights.

I'm sure the first person he told was Carrie...our soon-to-be-driver.

Who hadn't been behind the wheel yet.

He did a great job behind the wheel and was a pretty happy guy.

Take a look over his left shoulder.

That is my history.

My background.

I think that in some way or other, I miss the farm every day.

It could be that I see a soy bean field. Or hear the roar of a combine going past our house.

(Which I am hearing right now...right on cue!)

Memories of Mom remind me of the farm.

I have to tell you, though.

I'm pretty happy and content right here where I am.

One-Acre Jodi.

The amazing thing is that I have been here for almost 18 years.

In just a few years, I will have lived here longer than I lived on the farm.

This has become my past, present, and future.

And I love this home of mine.

Here is a video of some things that Jim said about Dad.

It doesn't look like it wants to play, but I am keeping it on here just in case it will.

I don't have everything that Jim said recorded,

because my camera's batteries went dead.

Enjoying contentment...and the color green,

The Ultimate "Yes!"

2011-10-06T19:17:00.001-04:00

I quit.

Goodbye 31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"

Now I'm saying, "Yes!" to returning to my common, ordinary blog posts written for and about my husband and kids and saying, "No" to continuing the 31 Days Challenge.

Go ahead...call me a quitter.

I don't mind.

It wasn't a bad thing.

It's just that I take things like that too seriously.

Can I tell you, though, that I did say "Yes!" to going on a field trip that I wasn't even sure I should sign us up for?

I debated on whether to take only the little boys and leave the big kids at home with their schoolwork...

or for none of us to go at all.

Then I decided to take all the kids and ask Grandma if she would like to go along too.

When Workaholic Jodi gets too overbearing, Sentimental Jodi has to step in and remind her that one of our top homeschooling goals is to do things as a family so that we will be close as a family...always.

And what a beautiful day for a field trip!

The sunshine, the colors of the trees, the beautiful blue sky freckled with clouds.

Kelsay Farms is a sixth generation working farm...

crops and dairy.

Bale Mountain...complete with tunnels and slides!

The tunnels scared me...not Top 10 scary...but scary.

No regrets whatsoever in taking my big kids.
English and math were right where we left them.

I think that Josh went down this roller slide 25 times as least.

Matthew was tempted, but not enough to actually go through with it.

One of the aforementioned tunnels.

Scary, right?!

I love, love, love these pictures!

It was probably about 9:00 in the morning when the kids reached the peak of Bale Mountain.

Tractor!

Several of the pictures I took were under the direction of Matthew.

I think that you will be able to tell which ones.

Just remember...Tractor!

Our tour guide, Amy...

Amy is married to a sixth generation Kelsay who is in charge of the dairy production on the farm.

She was an excellent tour guide.

I loved the story she told of her first Thanksgiving dinner with her husband and their family.

They had all just sat down at the table after her mother-in-law had gone to much preparation when one of the "boys" yelled, "THE COWS ARE OUT!"

Everyone jumped up from dinner to go chase cows back into their pens.

I loved this story, because I grew up on a pig farm and can remember the pigs getting out and running down the road. You learn how fast you can move when the livestock escape!

The Moo Choo Express

Smile!

Try to ignore the cows standing behind you smacking their lips...

and any other sound that you might hear coming from them.

The Standoff

Oh so sweet!

These babies are only 12 days old.

Can you believe that there are at least two babies born everyday on this farm?

Sometimes as many as seven!

Ev...er...y day!

Josh passed on petting them.

Here it comes, Matthew.

Face-to-face and a quick little scratch on the head.

This is one that I took for Matthew.

Can you guess why?

He tells me that we really need one of these yellow tractors at our house.

And one of these too.

I have no idea where we would park it.

Sitting here on the farm, it doesn't look all that big, but I cannot imagine it in our yard.

Kind of like the big screen TV we bought all those years ago.

It really didn't look all that big in the Best Buy showroom...but once we got it into our family room?

Humongous.

Bigger than humongous.

I love the reflection of the clouds and the sun in the windshield.

I could not call Matthew back to me.

We were supposed to be admiring the baby cows, but Matthew was drawn to the tractor.

I called him back, but it was like he couldn't look back at me...
or even really hear me.

"Look at those tires, Mommy!"

Matthew was a little distracted here.

Another tractor was moving close, and he was afraid that it would run over us.

Here is one of the semis that take the milk down to Louisville.

The milk that comes from this farm goes to Dean's and is used for milk, cottage cheese and sour cream.

The milk that leaves today will be on the
store shelves in two days!

"Mommy! Take a picture of that truck!
It's like my Hot Wheels!"

I noticed that there was an awful lot of red on this farm.

William said that he did see one green tractor.

Personally, the green ones are my favorite.

From the farm to the store...

The Milking Parlor

Shhhhhhhh...

Be very, very quiet.

After the tour and a cheese stick (don't forget to have at least 3 servings of dairy a day!), we got to play again.

Unbelievable!

My kids all chose this over Bale Mountain!

This is the Corn Crib.

Can you even believe this?!

Awesome, right?!

Corn Kernel Angel

Grandma says, "Why not?!"

I'm sorry.

I couldn't help but wonder if there were any furry friends buried in there somewhere.

You know that this is a mouse's paradise.

Carrie was drawn back out to the calves.

U241 was her favorite.

U251 is vying for her attention.

U241 is sucking on U251's ear.

Ear of Corn

He didn't even know they were there!

William and Matthew worked hard to bury Josh in the corn.

Lunch time!

Right before it was time to go, Josh warmed up to the babies.

I think because nobody was watching.

Bale Mountain, Hop Dots, and Pumpkin Bowling

Josh thinks that Matthew looks like a Super Hero in this picture.

I love this picture.

Grandma pulled Matthew's pockets out to make sure that all of the corn kernels were cleaned out.

We laughed when we found that they were still hanging out.

One of the tunnels that goes through
the middle of Bale Mountain.

The King of Bale Mountain!

One last slide...

And an "After the Field Trip" treat...

Since we were already out and about...and it was a beautiful day...and it was lunch time...

we decided to get some McDonalds and go to the park.

I still wasn't ready to go home and get serious.

So...let's go to the apple orchard!

Hmmm...

Pretty cool, huh?

Enjoying days full of autumn fun,

31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"...Day 3

2011-10-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

31 Days Challenge

Saying, "Yes!" to a Starbucks coffee with my daughter.

Saying, "No" to extra get-ready time before church.

It's about time that I say "Yes" to Carrie.

She asks me almost every week if she can buy me a Starbucks on the way to church, but every week, I tell her

"No. There's just not enough time."

This week, because of this challenge, I thought twice.

And here's what's funny.

I thought that I really needed those extra

"coffee minutes" to get ready for church.

But I don't.

I realized something that I think I already knew.

I'm a procrastinator.

Big time.

Another coin with two sides...I think that I don't have time for something, but in reality, I am deciding to give that time to something else.

It's all about choices.

Why is this just now making sense to me?

Here's my pretty girl with her Pumpkin Spice Latte.

And here's a picture of my pretty Salted Caramel Mocha.

Yummy!

And this has nothing to do with saying "Yes" except that I stopped in the middle of the road to take this picture on the way home from dropping Carrie off at church.

I'm a sucker for farm scenery.

Breathtaking...

Saying, "Yes!" to driving the speed limit and paying attention to my gas light.

Saying, "No" to getting pulled over for speeding and running out of gas.

Not only did I have time to stop for a coffee with my daughter, but I also had time to drive the speed limit and stop for gas!

AND...I even had time to clean up

a couple of card tables that I had forgotten that I had promised to take to church later that morning.

Saying, "Yes!" to eating out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Saying, "No" to our budget.

What's a budget?

I don't know.

Normally, we don't go out to eat after church because of the expense, but today we all decided that it would be a good thing.

And it was.

Matthew practiced his snapping while we waited for our drinks.

Josh caught us up on what he learned in Sunday School.

And on what hand Luke Skywalker lost in the fifth Star Wars.

We all enjoyed our time out together.

I even got to enjoy watching the littles share their dinners.

I have been realizing these past few days just how many "Yes" and "No" moments there are in a day.

Hundreds!

Enjoying more intentional living,

31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"...Day 2

2011-10-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

31 Days Challenge

Saying, "Yes!" to an afternoon of go-karts at the park.

Saying, "No" to an afternoon of yard work...namely picking up sticks.

The go-kart races come our town's park every October, but we have never, ever gone to watch them.

You can even hear the engines roaring all the way across town.

On Saturday afternoon, when Paul got home from work, we all packed up into the truck and headed for the park. One of the really neat blessings from that day was seeing Alex.

Alex was just a little boy when we moved into our home. He lived right next door and was just about Matthew's age.

Life stuff happened, and he moved away.

He is now 19 years old!

It has been years since we have seen him.

Had we said yes to stick-picking-upping, we would not have seen Alex.

And we would not have enjoyed a really fun day at the park!

Matthew and Josh enjoyed playing, "Kick the Can."

Isn't it fun to watch little guys make their own fun?

Because of the sun's brilliance,

the shadows were absolutely sharp.

So defined.

Another example of a little guy making his own fun...

The kids decided that they want to drive go-karts.

I decided that I want to be the flag guy.

What a cool position!

Notice the glove below.

Something else that I finally said "Yes" to on this day was getting out the hats and gloves box from the garage so that Josh could find my black gloves.

Can you guess why?

He wanted to be Luke Skywalker.

He realized later that Luke actually lost his right hand...so he has retired the left-hand glove

to his Lucky Drawer and is now wearing the right-hand glove.

My man.

Because he is my man and I know him so well,

I know that he is secretly wishing he were racing

one of those go-karts around the track too.

And here's my swirling, whirling, Joshua Skywalker playing "chase" with his shadow.

I am so happy that we didn't spend the afternoon

picking up sticks.

Enjoying the "yeses" of life,

31 Days Challenge

2011-10-01T22:00:00.001-04:00

31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"...Day 3
31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"...Day 2

I am working on linking up to the 31 Days Series
over at The Nesting Place.
I'm having a little trouble with the linky.
Hopefully there will be more later...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
O.K.
I think I've figured out the Linky.

Last night I was catching up with Flower Patch Farmgirl and read that she is participating in a 31 Days Challenge. I followed her 31 Days link and decided that I wanted to give it a try.

The first challenge was to find something that I would be able to blog about every single day for 31 days. I wanted to be creative, and I wanted it to have meaning. I also wanted for it to be something different...something that would stretch my imagination.

I threw around several different ideas about simplicity, traditions, and organization...but none of those seemed like something that I would stick with.

After spending some time thinking and praying, the idea of "Saying Yes" presented itself to me.

At first, it seemed so simple and one-dimensional.
I say "No" so much easier than I say "Yes."

"Mom, can I go outside?"
"No."

"Mommy, will you play light sabers with me?"
"Not right now."

"Mom, will you get the glove box out?"
"Maybe later."

I thought of all the ways that I say "No"
to the people around me.
How I put-off until tomorrow...how I procrastinate.

Maybe I say "No" too often and too easily.

I know that there are times when the only answer is "No."

"Mom, can eat some Peanut M&M's right before supper?"
"No."

"Mom, can I skip this assignment on adverbs?"
"No."

"Mom, can I go straight to bed without brushing my teeth?"
"No."

But that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about all those times that I say "No" without really thinking.
All the times that I say "No" because it is easier than saying yes.

Here's what's funny.
As I was thinking about this, I began to realize that there are two sides to the coin.

To every "Yes," there is a "No."
To every "No," there is a "Yes."

So...for the next 31 Days, I am going to be more intentional in saying "Yes."
Especially to the ones I love.
I am also going to be very aware that every time I say "Yes" to something, I am also saying "No" to something else.
And I'm going to try to remember the words of Christ in Matthew 5:37...

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

So...here's to 31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"

Enjoying the discipline of blogging everyday,

Staying Camping

2011-10-01T19:54:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago, we were going to go camping.

A trip that we had all looked forward to with much anticipation...southern Indiana...Lincoln State Park...Holiday World!

The last time we had gone to Holiday World, Josh was just a wee little thirteen-month-old.

(Oh! What is the rule on the dashes in this word?! I cannot remember!)

Josh was so excited about going!

The morning before we were to go, Thursday morning, Matthew crawled into William's bed.

Maybe I should have seen it coming.

On Thursday afternoon, I took a picture of us before we went into our homeschool group classes.

Maybe, just maybe, if I had looked at this picture sooner, I would have seen it coming.

At the beginning of class, this is what I saw.

But by the end of class, Matthew was in my lap, red-cheeked and blood shot-eyed.

We went to the doctor right after homeschool group.

Matthew had a fever and was given a breathing treatment.

The doctor sent us home with instructions to continue the breathing treatments.

Before we left, she said,
"Holiday World probably isn't a good idea."

I agreed.

It's scary enough to be at home in the middle of the night when Matthew has trouble breathing,
but in the camper in the middle of nowhere?

Paul and I agreed...not worth it.

Oh, but Josh's little disappointed face.

The next day, the day we were to leave, the boys were outside riding bikes.

I thought, "Did we make the wrong call?"

And then came Saturday morning.

The weather report was sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine!

The boys began their day with another bike ride.

Even my Travelocity Gnome
was questioning my decision-making skills.

(Sorry, he's so doggone cute that I just had to include his picture and his opinion.)

But it was after this bike ride, while making breakfast, that I noticed Josh's red cheeks and droopy eyes.

His eyes are notorious for telling on him when he is sick.

Fever...101.4 degrees.

The rest of the day was spent on his couch bed
resting and napping.

That evening, we decided to have a campfire to soothe some of the disappointment.

Grandpa, Grandma, and GG joined us to make
for a special evening.

Still smiling.

Campfires are special no matter where they are built.

Our neighbor, Alex, came over to hang out, ride bikes,
and eat with us.

Josh gave it a winning try.

He ate some supper. He rode bikes. He did some swinging.

But in the end, his favorite place to be was in his orange camping chair looking at his ToysRUs catalog.

He just wasn't "up to par."

Isn't this a beautiful thing?

I didn't fall to the flu like the littles did, but I know that I was pretty bleary-eyed from taking care of a couple of sickies.

And, as much as I love camping, I was very happy to drop into my own bed each evening...
rather than my camper bed.

Ohhh yeah.

You know what I mean.

Training in Progress.

See what I mean about his eyes?

Our barn light.

Someday I will tell you about how much I love our barn.

Because Paul built it all with his own two hands.

Charlie got about a half a hot dog and a couple marshmallows out of her camping trip.

My prayers were that I wouldn't have to clean up a mess in her crate the next morning.

Thankfully, my prayers were answered.

We didn't sing any campfire songs.

So, what did we do for entertainment?

We took turns riding William's Monkey Bike down the hill.

You will never see the video of Paul and me riding down.

Let me rephrase that.

You will never see the video of me riding down.

But for now, I will leave you with William's ride.

Enjoying campfires and healthy kids...and runs down the hill on the Monkey Bike,

Special Time with Grandma

2011-10-01T07:38:00.002-04:00

What an awesome Grandma my kids have!

When Carrie and William were younger, Judy would plan special arts and crafts days with them.

She would come all prepared with a lesson and a project.

Some of my favorites were the "My Favorite Things" poster and the string art. I probably have pictures somewhere...

Now that Joshua and Matthew are older (Matthew will tell you in no uncertain terms that he is a "Big Boy" now),

Judy planned their first art lesson!

Last Wednesday, when the big kids were doing their library tour for their research writing class, Grandma came with her special basket ready to teach a lesson on...

TEXTURE!

I left the room so that I would be out of the way a little.

I did have to pop in and out, though, to see what they were doing and to take a few pictures.

Grandma talked with the boys about what texture means and introduced some texture words like

smooth, rough, soft, hard, pointy, fluffy, spiky, sticky...

Here is Josh wearing one of his favorite

texture objects of the day.

He has that whole Super Hero thing going on...

He wore it for most of the lesson.

How does this feel?

And here is a corduroy dress that Carrie wore

when she was four!

The next time I came back into the room,

Grandma was having them close their eyes while she put

a taste of something into their mouths.

They were to describe the texture of the food.

Judy got a kick out of Matthew with the Cheerios in his mouth.

She said that he just chewed and chewed and chewed on them.

She was also impressed with how trusting they were.

They just closed their eyes and opened their mouths.

Well, Matthew would start out with his eyes closed.

Then, just as the bite was coming in for a landing,

he would take a squinty-eyed peek.

Matthew, how does that feel?

"Smooth. Feet (Sweet). Cold!"

It was a bite of pudding.

Good job!

Here, Grandma asked them to close their eyes and hold out their hands so that they could try to guess what she put in their hands.

Matthew held out his hand and opened his mouth.

Smooth little rocks...

After the lesson time at the table, Grandma took the boys outside with paper and crayons.

They were to look for things that had texture so that they could make a "Rubbings Book."

I wish that I had taken my camera out to capture all of the fun!

Josh was so concentrated on finding things to rub!

Matthew started out that way, but I think that I did his last two pages for him...under his direction.

By the end of the day, the boys understood

and remembered the word "Texture,"

and they had a book with labeled pages of their rubbings.

Some of the things in their books were

tree bark, the driveway, the bottom of their shoes,

the tire of the Monkey Bike, the bridge, a swing,

the air conditioner cage, the siding on the house, and a leaf.

Did you boys have fun?!

Are you super-proud of your books?

As Grandma and the boys made their way back into the house to put their books together, Josh looked at Judy and said,

"Please don't go home now.

I like it when you come over and play with me!"

Have I told you what a sweet boy Joshua is?

Matthew is pretty "feet" too.

Silly and sweet.

Enjoying Grandma Love,