November 2020

 November was a very nice month! We took a Sunday afternoon to visit the ranch.

Playing with cousins and ice on the ditch.

One last walk through the trees before winter.

At the farm the pigs gorged themselves on pumpkins throughout November.  They were so sad when they ate the last one

I found someone to take off River's shoes and trim his feet.  She did a great job and with frequent trimmings for the next few months he should be just fine!  He was not even tender after the trimming at all which was a really good sign.

The animals enjoyed the leaf cleanup we did.

Mark added really awesome lights to the tractor! So nice!

Sometimes the boys still play in imaginative ways together.  One day they became scientists, donning their masks and "lab coats," they dissected and graphed some "morbus", whatever that is. I do know that it was originally a piece of candy.

I have no idea if the words on this page are made up or they really know what they're talking about. I thought it funny all the same.

We filled our trailer full of leaves from cleaning up the neighborhood as a young women's activity.

We then dumped the leaves in our garden.  The pigs dove right in trying to find food and would not move even for the tractor.

Then we tried out the new tiller and and tilled those leaves into the dirt.  The tiller is amazing!  I also got amazingly dirty!

The boys keep asking to go to the movie theater.  Mark and I keep saying no. So we busted out the movie popcorn maker and had our own movie nights.  I prefer this way!

Mark got the tractor all ready for snow in anticipation of a storm.

It did snow, but not enough for the tractor.

Brian got braces!  Poor kid was pretty sore for a week.

He did get to eat his favorite pork before the braces were put on.

But he was pretty sad when we found our new favorite Chinese place on the day he was most sore and couldn't eat much. We promised him we would be back and we have!

One Sunday afternoon we took the minis for a drive and the boys rode River.  It was super fun.

Brian did such a good job with River and River did such a good job with Brian! We are so happy with River.

The next day Mark took me in for surgery!  I had a total hysterectomy.  All went well and recovery has been smooth.  

I got lots of nice attention from friends and family. Thank you all!

I was particularly grateful for Mark during this time.  He is amazing.  He took care of everything and me perfeclty.

He made the boy's dreams come true with the food he made and plated up for them. He has successfully turned them into Bok Choy lovers, which makes me super happy!

He made all kinds of stuff that I had no idea he knew how to make.  This was an egg custard seafood thing that hit the spot for me one night during recovery.

Mark also had the boys practicing their instruments and finishing homework and working on farm projects. Man, he is amazing.  He taught them how to weld and they built a contraption to kill the gophers by asphyxiation. 

They helped the neighbors out with their gopher problem too.

Then Thanksgiving break arrived.  And we took some good time to relax. Oh, I also put up my Christmas decorations before I had surgery. So nice to get it done early and enjoy longer.

The boys could not wait for Thanksgiving break to play Monopoly with Mark. They LOVE it!

We had Thanksgiving with just the four of us this year because of COVID-19 numbers.  We made the food super easy and bought it all premade, but it didn't taste great.  Next year we will be back to making the real good stuff no matter how much work it is. It was nice to spend the time together as a family.  We talked about the year 2020 and what we were most grateful for in this year particularly.  Both boys said they are most grateful to be in school instead of online.  Timmy also said he was grateful we could still go outside.  Mark is grateful for the tractor and I am grateful for the farm.

Pip was grateful that we didn't love the turkey so she got to enjoy more of it.

As we finished up Thanksgiving dinner the boys decided to climb the brick walls.

No one wanted the pumpkin pie except for me, so I shared with the pigs.

Then we just enjoyed our holiday.  We had time online with Mark's family as his dad just had surgery.  We also got into the Christmas spirit here with books and music and movies. And antlers apparently.

One day we took food to Mark's parents and Luke and Sunny who are staying there and then stopped at Mark's office for a bit.  We had some great family games of shuffle board.  It was super fun.

We made up for the lack luster Thanksgiving food by getting more good Korean and Chinese food and making some delicious hot pot over the next few days.  

November ended with me busily getting some things out to my young women for December.  I love December and am looking forward to the focus on Christ and doing good!

October 2020

October started with the pumpkin harvest! We grew over 100 pumpkins!

I finally finished my petting farm area!

The young women came to test it out for me and decorate the ponies.

More little friends came to visit.

Then we opened to the public two weekends in a row.  It was a fun success!  However, I am worried about causing a crowd so didn't do it this last weekend.

Pip started sleeping on piles of pillows in the basement so we moved her bed down there.

I sold Pepper the little goat.  I still have too many goats.

We visited with the pigs a lot.

Still getting beautiful eggs. I thought the new hens had started laying, but I think it was just a small egg that day.

I traded Cowboy for a welsh pony gelding we named River.

He is wonderful!

Brian took some funny pictures of the animals.

My sister Mandy visited!

 The boys played football on some beautiful sunset nights and then finished their season.

We visited our friends, Kathrin and Jim.

I took a quick afternoon trip up to the ranch to see the golden Fall beauty before it disappeared.  I LOVE this time up there, but it is very short, so I don't always make it up there.

Mark got the backhoe attachment to the tractor which then started the crazy busy few weeks of changes on the farm!

It started with the chicken run and went from there! 

We moved the animal waterer.  Huge project!

The boys learned how to use the tractor and became experts at digging trenches.

The dug all the way to the back so Mark could run water and power to the back of the property.

We got that waterline covered back up as the record freeze set in and snow fell.

Then the snow melted and it was time for Mark to pound many many posts in for me.

We redid so much fencing to separate the goats and pigs and horses and make it all more functional.

It has been very busy and we still aren't done, but I am soooo excited to have a huge garden with water in the back and perfect pens for all my little critters!

Mark recorded the boys for their piano and cello virtual recital.

Halloween came, but we didn't even dress up.  We worked out on the farm and had a movie night.  The pigs LOVE all the pumpkins though!