Prairie Peace

 When we are low God gives us a glimpse of beautiful moments.

    I was up early gathering water samples. I stopped the quad by a slough and was hit by how much sound there was. Birds chirping back and forth, the cows peacefully grazing, the sound of the water, and the beauty of the fog rising from it. There was noise all around but it is the most peaceful place I have been in a while! It does my heart good to be in the country. I have dark moments where I feel like I can't handle what has been placed in front of me but moments like this... I know God brought me right here to see all this when I needed it most! 

    I wrote those words back in July of 2018. In the last 4 years of married life, we have lived in two small towns and on three farmyards. I find that farms are always more peaceful. No car doors or squealing tires. Just the birds, gophers, coyotes, cows, and the humming of farm equipment in the distance. 

    

    However, the yard in the pictures above was the quietest of all and I feel so blessed to have spent over a year on that property. There was no other farm for miles and all you heard was nature. I am very happy where we live now and this new house fits our family needs much better. However, I do find myself thinking fondly of those early sunrises and late sunsets, standing and listening to God's creation chattering all around.

God Made The Sunset

    The wind was strong all day which makes spraying the crops difficult. It wastes liquid and we would never want to damage another crop by letting it drift on the wind. There was no plan to spray and I was secretly hoping Carrington would be home a little early so I could shower. My momma friends know how it is hehe. But, when the wind dies down suddenly you go go go. 

    Talk about perfect timing. Rhett had been in bed for over an hour but woke up just as I got the spraying update. Since he was up I decided it would be supper in the field. I snapped this as we headed for home. God's paint strokes were stunning tonight!

Stay safe to all the farmers pulling these long hours.

You Are Unique

    I love the beautiful depth of colour in our eggs. 

No two are the same. 

   They are different eggs from different chickens who ate different combinations of feed. They are complex and simple all at the same time. 

    It reminds me that God makes us all different on purpose! Some of us are lighter and some are darker. Some are tall and others short. Each of us is unique and important. 

Today God taught me a lesson with the help of Chickens...

and they don't even know it! 

   

9 Months On The Outside

I am a day late with my 9-month update and it is all mommy’s fault. She took me to the beach for the first time and totally tuckered me out. However, she assured me you would all still want to hear how this last month has gone.

I have really been working on my smile! You all look so funny with your wide-tooth grins that I tried to give it a go. I did it a lot at the beginning of the month but a few days ago suddenly stopped. Mom is a bit sad because she called it the horsy face and she said it was so cute it made everyone chuckle when they saw it. *pic at the bottom

We have been doing lots around the yard and I love being outside. I love pulling up the grass to eat it and I just recently realized that even though it is prickly it is safe to crawl on so now mommy can’t leave me in one spot to do her gardening. We have gone gopher and raccoon hunting, outdoor swimming, deck building, cow tagging, baby animal pickups, and I even got to ride on the lawnmower with my own hearing protection!

My favourite indoor chores are moping or sweeping the floor, checking to see if the fridge is still cold inside, sneakily spreading my toys around and playing ‘Trip up Mom’, as well as emptying the bottom cupboards of everything, pots and pans, cutting boards and my all-time favourite… the basket of Tupperware lids.

I have always enjoyed water but have started really expressing it. I like swimming at the neighbour's house in their cattle trough pool and handle cold water better then mom does! Bath time is a blast and I do a good job of splashing away and seeing how much of mom I can soak. I had a good time at the beach but the big open water and the extra cold temperature made me a little nervous. I did spend some time in a little pool they made for me but the real fun was scrunching my hands in the sand and seeing how fast I could shovel it into my mouth before someone stopped me. That really got me giggling.

I pull myself up to standing on anything that can handle my weight… and of course, some things that can’t however, I am pretty good at bouncing back after a fall. I still prefer crawling to trying to walk but I know that will come soon. I didn’t cut any teeth this month!! Surprise surprise. I’m still sitting at 6 teeth but was working hard at it and am frustrated the next two are popping up and down which is new for me. I have been in size 4 diapers since 7 months old but I am trying the new pull-on style! I move around so much and my legs are so hefty that they can get sores from the other ones. Mom wanted me to mention it because she thinks there may be other moms that could really benefit from knowing pull-on styles start as small as size 4.

Some of the things I am working on are; swallowing food. I make a great food chopper but would rather let it go into my bib then actually swallow it, respecting gravity when it comes to the stairs. I like sitting right on the very top step and worrying mommy. I think I like going up but only when I am really confident and daddy is on the other side to encourage me. I say Ma-ma really well and mom gets excited until she realizes I am just talking to my toy police car hehe.

So that is all for now. I will see you in another month. I am looking forward to seeing more and more people in person as the world continues to change. My best-behaved days are when I out of the house… mommy really gets boring after a while.

See ya later!

Chicken Run

Late evening joy ride!

Rhett has a funny way of going to sleep. He often goes down and after only an hour wakes again. Well, tonight he got to stay up and go on a chicken run. The extended family already has a few chickens that lay eggs, called layers, but we would like to get a few more to better supply the three families connected with the farm. Carrington and I also wanted to get some cute Americana chicks that will one day lay blue eggs. Right now we do not have any animals on our yard and I have really missed seeing them every day. I am hoping to put the chicks on our yard soon.

Oh my son, you make my heart so happy when I see you look at your Daddy. You already look up to him so much and have him wrapped around your little finger. You want to be everywhere he is, doing whatever he is doing, eating whatever he is eating... and oh the laughs you two already share.

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Side Note: For those who may have been concerned.... this is Carrington's small Ranger truck (not Rhett's normal vehicle) with no proper back seat for a car-seat. There are no airbags on the passenger side and his car-seat was fully strapped in for the 10 miles or so of grid road driving.

But I Wanted A Bath!

I roll over in bed and blink my eyes, fumbling for my glasses on the nightstand.

6:05am

    As my brain clears I hear you babbling to yourself in the crib. I guess this means we are up for the day. Once you start telling stories there is no going back to sleep for you my son. I wonder which parent you take after in that regard. My husband of few words or.... well you get the picture.

    I say a quick prayer of thanksgiving as you did pretty good last night. Still feed a little over every 2h but I count it a win as I got to sleep in my bed.... the whole night... without co-sleeping in the spare room to keep you sleeping. That is a celebration moment already in my day!

    'Good morning my son. It is good to see you' I whisper as I walk into his room. He greats me with a wide toothy grin, a 'hummhuh', and promptly chomps down on the crib rail. He is getting so big. My mom's heart swells with pride.

    I grab the nursing pillow and scoop him out of bed. 'You must be hungry my little man' I softly say as I pat him on the back...

Squish...

Ummmm...

Oh boy!

    My thoughts of getting a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon completely ready before Daddy wakes up goes out the window. This my friends is no small leak. I had just planted my hand in a full back blowout situation... this calls for a bath. 

    While his splashes soaked me and his shouts of glee filled the bathroom I reflected on the previous night. We had been out at the farm later than expected and though I had told him he would get a bath once home I had to go back on my word and skip the bath so he wouldn't become overtired and entirely refuse to sleep. My son may only be 8 months old but often it feels as if he truly knows what I am talking about.... especially when it comes to bath time and anything relating to Daddy. I am almost positive that due to not getting a bath last night he became a bit upset and made CERTAIN he would get one this morning.

My son, my son...
    You are now squeaky clean. I am so soaked you may say I had a bath as well. Breakfast is cooking and Dad is comically smiling at both of us. What will the day hold? No one but God knows... and I am sure He is smiling and chuckling about it too.

Makings of a farm boy?

Carrington had to leave by 6 and Rhett woke at 5:45, just in time to say good-bye. I am starting to seriously wonder if this boy somehow knows when his daddy is leaving, or coming home for that matter.

Now it is 6:30am and he has been sitting at this window listening to the tractor on the other side of the bushes for almost 10 minutes straight. He doesn't often sit still but when it involves a tractor or other loud machinery he makes an exception.

It isn't daddy's tractor otherwise he could go for a ride. Our landlord has been spraying the organic land and baby Rhett has loved the hustle and bustle of it all the last few days. The tractor comes and goes and he almost always crawls to the window to listen in. I hope you never lose your sense of curiosity and discovery!