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| Cody Farrall Photography |
James' 30th Birthday
James only wanted one thing for his birthday - to take the boat out. We hit up Calamus and the kids loved playing in the sand. I hopped on the tube with the kids for a couple laps and definitely felt it the next day. Maybe I'm actually the 30-year-old.
James and the kids caught dozens of minnows with the net on the shore and Macklin snoozed the afternoon away. I'm already missing those hot summer days.
Someone asked me this week about James' homeschooling experience. They wondered what sports he played. I replied, "Oh just farming. And fishing. That was his life." And here he is, decades later, still farming and fishing every chance he gets. He just has a few more tagalongs now. We love this curly-haired, gentle soul. He seems to just get better with age. Happy 30th, James. You're still cool even if you're old.
Farm
We seeded cover crop, wrapped up irrigation, and went charging into harvest. This growing season has flown by. We were able to start harvest in September which seems so early to me. We knocked beans out quickly. While we waited for the corn to dry down, bean fields were disked up, fertilizer was spread, and wheat was drilled. We got in several days of popcorn harvest early but we were down to the final day for 3 weeks, just waiting on the moisture to drop. But everything is out of the field now and we're done! It's been an incredibly smooth farming season this year. I guess something in 2020 deserves to be smooth, right?
The kids have logged some serious tractor hours this fall. Maybe Mack will join the crew next spring.
It's common for Grandpa Paul to stop and see the baby when we're out in the yard. He also shuttles kids to the combine every now and then. It's so sweet being on this family farm.
The combine accommodates five of us easier than any other machinery. So that's the best time to get in our family rides. It did get a little overwhelming for Macklin. He wasn't too sure about it.
Illinois
You might remember the Amish farm show that James and I went to last year for Thermal Edge. James had plans to go back this year. Since we're homeschooling, I figured the kids and I might as well tag along. We packed our school books and swim suits and hit the road.
The kids and I hunkered down at the hotel, but we did get the chance to have a meal at the farm show with James. Otherwise, the rain kept us inside. A hotel room wasn't the most ideal bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and schoolroom for five people, but we managed. Macklin slept in a pack-n-play and was a champ.
James had a solid two days set up at the farm show. I spent the first couple hours of each days with the kids doing a little bit of school work. I really loved being able to go and feel like we didn't even miss a beat at home.
The area had a large thunderstorm roll through one day and the hotel pool closed for awhile due to lightning. I panicked and wondered what on earth I would do with three kids in a hotel room all day, but thankfully it opened up after a few hours.
The pool helped us break up the day and get out of the hotel room. Macklin loved kicking and splashing in the water and then promptly fell asleep in my arms every time. Myla never seemed to tire of the pool and hopped in Macklin's "boat" anytime he wasn't using it. Trevin has really mastered swimming in the last year and spent the majority of his time diving for toys and swimming laps after his sister.
It was a quick trip packed full of sweet memories with the kids. But Macklin was sure glad to get out of his carseat when we finally arrived home. He'd prefer we stick close to home for awhile.
Other Highlights
I helped host a 30th birthday party for my sweet friend, Emily. It came together beautifully and we had a ball celebrating her! So lucky to have these farmer wives friends.
Expect to see me break out this jumpsuit again soon, because I am obsessed.
We can't keep these babies apart for very long because they're growing like weeds and we have to document their every stage. The moms and kiddos get together to play while the dads farm.
Some of the coolest kids you'll ever meet. One of our favorite days of the summer is our lake day with them. Next summer will be interesting with 4 one-year-olds running around. I think there will be a lot less sitting going on for the parents.
I also spent a morning at the bakery helping prepare an order of 300 lunches. It was fun to get back in on the action. I'm not on the A-Team, or even the B-Team, but sometimes it's all hands on-deck.
We ended the summer with even more fun, like this slip-n-slide and a cornhole tournament. I got paired with my brother-in-law, JT, for the tournament and we dominated... one round. After that, not so much.
I got to celebrate another 30th birthday for a dear friend by a quick trip to IKEA. (Apparently everyone I know turned 30 this year.) This (usually) annual excursion holds some of my favorite moments. The elevator selfie is a tradition. We'll always know what year this picture was taken because 2020=masks. Someone almost hit a stop sign, I won't say who or how, but I'll chalk it up for another memory cemented in my brain by gut-busting laughter.
We've never been park people. I've just never made it a priority and didn't often take the time for it. That is, until this year. Now that the kids are home full-time, we've spent many hours at the park. We hit the splash pad while it was still open, but mostly, Trev wants to ripstik and Myla wants to ride her bike. So I push Mack in the stroller and we make laps, stopping to play whenever we feel like it.
We took a Saturday to check out the Art Walk in Aurora and stopped at the park after. We just stumbled upon the Math Walk and, surprisingly, Trevin was all about it. We spent a couple hours walking the path, doing Math along the way. Trevin ended up winning a raffle from it and he was pumped. I felt like I nailed the homeschool thing that day.
Something you might not know about me: I love to ride my bike. My windows of opportunity are infrequent, but when I get to ride (without the kid trailer!) I love it. So when these gals suggested we bike Dark Island Trail into Central City to the winery, I was all in. It was fun for about 20 minutes, and then I got a flat tire. Like really flat. We were only about half-way to town, and still had the ride back after supper.. The rest of the ride to town was brutal. I was panting like a dog and sweatier than I had ever planned to get. (Plus side- I probably burned a heck of a lot more calories.) Thankfully, a friend that lived in town let me borrow her bike to use for the way back. She saved the day! The trip back to the vehicles was much more enjoyable.
We watched the homecoming parade with friends and I helped put together this charcuterie board for my cousin's wedding. I have realized that this is my culinary gift. (Because I don't have real cooking/baking talent.) This was so fun and it turned out really beautiful.
The kids and I spent a couple evenings at my nephew's football games this fall. Somehow they get older and taller every year. I also get older, but not taller. I used to get annoyed when people would say to me, "I remember when you were born." But this is different. I REMEMBER WHEN THEY WERE BORN!
And then, one day, I hopped on a plane with my friend, Jacqueline. She bought a car in Houston and was flying down to drive it back. Last minute, I decided to go along to keep her company.
Our flight out of Grand Island was delayed because of ice and engine troubles. So our short layover in Dallas was cut even shorter. We missed our connecting flight to Houston, so we had to wait until the next one flew out a couple hours later. This pushed our whole day back a bit. We had planned to make a pitstop in Waco at Magnolia on the drive back, but with the delay, we didn't get to Waco until after 4:00, giving us less than an hour at Magnolia. We sprinted through as fast as we could, grabbed some cupcakes, and took a photo. That was it. A lot of the grounds are under construction right now, so not everything was open, and we ran out of time to see some of the new stops. I guess we'll just have to go back. We grabbed supper on the way out of town and hit the road.
We stopped in Wichita a little after midnight to catch a couple hours of sleep since we'd left our houses that morning at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately, I had a dentist appointment the next day, so we got up at 5:00 AM the next morning and finished the last leg of the trip.
It was a quick trip, but loads of fun and a special time away. Next time we'll do Waco right, sleep a little bit more, and laugh just as much.
School
Well, it happened. We started homeschooling. My expectations were incredibly low, and overall, it's gone well. I didn't know what to expect, but decided that we would figure it out as we went.
It's a big year! Trevin started 3rd grade, Myla is tackling pre-school, and I'm in my first year of teaching. I spent several hours in the weeks leading up to our first day prepping curriculum and getting a feel for it. We submitted our school exemption paperwork in July. James and I had to sit down to "name" our homeschool, which is required on the submissions. We landed on Edge Schoolhouse. "Edge" plays on our Thermal Edge Ag business, but we liked the meaning it brought to the idea of homeschooling. We hope to be giving Trevin an edge this year as he learns and grows. And in typical homeschool fashion, we made an acronym for it to help guide us in our purpose this year.
E - Edification
D - Discipline
G - Grace
E - Eternal
We wanted to focus on these principles in our homeschooling. I also wanted to set apart a verse to meditate on this year and we chose Romans 12:12. Really all of Romans 12, but especially this verse."Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, faithful in prayer." Sweet, simple truth that reminds me to refocus my heart.
We did our usual first days of school big breakfast and then "went" to school downstairs. The kids were eager and excited. I was shocked how much Myla wanted to do. I didn't have near enough prepared for her. I've found several things now that she can do independently and that helps keep her attention for awhile.
Independent reading was a crucial part of our day when we started. It really fostered a love of reading for Trevin. I never require reading time from him anymore because he's often got a book in his hand and is flying through chapter books like I've never seen from him before. He's currently fixed on the animal adventure series by Thornton W. Burgess. These books were written over 100 years ago, so the vocabulary is more advanced, but they've been great for him.
I've been known to sing Jack Black's math song from School of Rock. "Math is a wonderful thing. Math is a really cool thing." Math is a really cool thing. Trevin doesn't think I'm very cool, though. Some day he will. Some day.
I've decided that we usually have 1 bad day to every 9 good days. So about once every other week we throw up our hands and wonder why on earth we chose to do this. There are aspects that we have loved, though. The extra time together has been so precious. The flexibility and opportunities we've had already have made the last two months priceless. We've got a couple different trips planned for the next several months, and it's been freeing to just be able to say yes without worrying about a school calendar or absent days.
I feel pretty good about where we're at in our curriculum. We've hit it really hard and been diligent to get the work done. I'm in the mindset that the harder we work now, the more vacation days we get later and the earlier we'll be done in the spring. Plus, Macklin isn't mobile yet, so the more we can do before that happens the better.
We typically start school around 8:30 each morning; this allows us the opportunity to finish by noon. There have been several days where we've needed to break for lunch and then finish up a project or two in the afternoon, but that's rare. Myla usually has about an hour worth of preschool (half of it independent) and then she's happy to run off and play for the rest of the morning. She does love to serve us from her "bakery" while Trevin and I finish up.
There have definitely been some challenges to overcome. Splitting time and attention between three children is difficult. Especially when some require more than others. The balancing act has been a challenging task. Probably the hardest out of anything.
The other thing that I've struggled with has been science. Why do I despise it so much? I want no part of it. None. Does it even matter?? I mean, I guess.. but count me out. This has been our weakest area by far, but I'm finding a few things that work for us and lots of things that don't. Thankfully, I feel like we're making huge strides in everything else, so I should be able to be a little more intentional with science now and find a groove.
My mom has been a huge help in this transition! She's been helping me out with the kids and the house once a week and it's kept us above water. I'm so grateful for her. The kids love their time with her; Wednesdays don't come often enough in their opinion. Every morning is taken up by school and most afternoons are filled with errands, church work, or food prep, so it's been a huge blessing to have my mom take some of the house cleaning off of my plate. She's incredible.
Have you forgotten that Macklin was here? Because he is here. He's such a champ and makes homeschooling with a baby feel like a breeze. He typically takes a decent morning nap and I make sure to get Trevin's English and Math in during that time so it's uninterrupted. Otherwise, he hangs out on my hip, in his exersaucer, on the floor with toys, or in the jolly jumper. Some days he competes with the noise and makes sure we know he's here. He's the best distraction and can make any of us smile in an instant.
Myla has been busy plugging away at her workbook. She finished the entire first book already. I went ahead and ordered the Pre-K book for the second semester, but I guess we'll start it early. She knows all of her letters, missing a couple every once in awhile. She knows most of their sounds, too. She's mastered putting capital letters in alphabetical order, we'll give lowercase letters a shot next week. I think we may try some beginner reading soon because she's eager to learn.
Now that harvest is wrapping up, I'm sure our school days might look a little different with James around more. He "sat in" on school a couple weeks ago for the first time. I'm thinking it will happen more often in the coming months.
Pumpkin Patch
We took a day and went to the pumpkin patch while it was still acting like summer. This was the first time to a pumpkin patch for James and Macklin. It might be another 30 years before James goes again.
Trevin loved the ropes course, Myla loved the train, and Macklin loved his bottle.
Trevin and Myla also had the chance to go to another pumpkin patch with Aunt Bethany and Caleb. They came home dirty and tired. A sign of a really really great day.
Halloween
This year the vote was for Mario. I was sold as soon as we decided Mack would be toadstool. We started off the festivities at Scare the Square in Aurora.
Mario, Princess Peach, and Toadstool
Macklin tolerated his hat and enjoyed chewing on the glitter on his vest. Trevin despised his mustache and Myla loved everything about the day.
We also took the kids around in Stockham to hit the regular spots. James hit the jackpot when he found my mom's stash. It's no secret where I get my need for a candy stockpile.
Trevin
• He's adjusted to homeschooling quite well. He's becoming more independent and is making huge improvements. It's been fun for me to have a front row seat to witness his growth. His favorite subject is math, and if he could go the rest of the year without a writing assignment, he'd be thrilled.
•He's as goofy as ever and is always trying to crack jokes. I was the funniest person in this house for a long time, but he is stiff competition. I think I've been dethroned.
T: "Mom, can I drink my pop out of this wine glass?"
Me: "How do you know that's a wine glass?"
T: "Uh... Jesus."
• He loves having a brother and can usually get the best smiles from Macklin. He also has the funniest baby talk and calls Mack cute all the time. His favorite nickname for Macklin is Macky.
• Trevin's found a love for reading and we've played a lot of cards and board games. He's improving in big ways with his guitar. He's learning new chords each month and can already match my playing. (Which doesn't actually take much, but I've got my work cut out for me if I want to keep up with him.)
• If he's outside, he can be found playing with the kittens or riding his dirt bike and ripstik. He's always challenging me to a game of horse, but my intramural basketball career was pretty solid, so he doesn't stand a chance. The only way he can beat me is if he takes trick shots while riding his ripstik. I can't ride a ripstik, so he's found my weakness.
Myla
• This cutie girl is acting more and more like a big kid every day. She rides the pedal bike now with no training wheels. We attempted this spring, but after a small fall she didn't want to try again. I convinced her to give it another chance this fall and she took off with no problem. She rides it around often, beaming with pride.
• One day, while grocery shopping, Myla started saying "Yes, Master." every time I asked her to do something. I'm not sure where it came from, but the more I tried not to laugh and ask her to stop, the more she replied with a straight face, "Yes, Master."
"Myla, could you put this in the cart?" "Yes, Master."
"Have you ever tried these before?" "Yes, Master."
"Do you need to use the bathroom?" "Yes, Master."
I was worried someone would hear her and I would certainly get reported to CPS.
• Myla and I have a weekly card game during Trevin's guitar lesson every Tuesday afternoon. We play garbage and she beats me most of the time. It's probably one of the highlights of her week. Cards will become more difficult as Macklin becomes more mobile. He's already a threat to the game.
• He loves bath time! It's probably his favorite. If he's ever super fussy, a bath will buy me some smiles and giggles. He's starting to try to crawl out of his bath seat, though. So the days of precious, easy baby baths are all but gone.
• She's the best sister and is always willing to feed Macklin his bottle or sit and play with him. She loves playing peek-a-boo with him. She'll stand behind him pop out on each side faster than he can turn. She giggles hysterically when he can't seem to find her.
• She's so sweet-natured. Last night, she set the table for supper without being asked. When I thanked her she replied, "This pleases the Lord!" I don't know if I've personally ever had that attitude about setting the dinner table. I have so much to learn from her.
• We were having a conversation the other day and she said, "They were isolated. Do you know what isolated means, Mom?" She was genuinely asking; she wanted to make sure I understood what she meant. I couldn't help but laugh, because it was adorable. Her sweet, brilliant mind blows me away.
Macklin
And then there's this butterball.
I don't know if you can tell, but we just adore him.
• He loves bath time! It's probably his favorite. If he's ever super fussy, a bath will buy me some smiles and giggles. He's starting to try to crawl out of his bath seat, though. So the days of precious, easy baby baths are all but gone.
• He loves to swing, so sometimes I set him up in the hallways while I'm making supper. The big kids usually give him a little push as they run by.
• He found his toes at 4 months, and hasn't let go of them since. He loves pulling off his socks. I've also caught him many times sleeping on his tummy, holding onto his right toes while sucking his left thumb. He contorts his body to make it happen. It's impressive.
• His giggling is contagious. Is there anything better than a baby giggle? Because I can't think of anything. At 6 months he started a cackle and it's weird and hilarious. I did the same raspy cackle when I was a baby, so I guess it's genetic? Cool. There's a good chance you'll hear him do it if you spend more than 5 minutes with him. He does it to talk, laugh, show excitement or to get your attention. It's his own little language.
• He hits and grabs everything. He's spilled a plate or two of our food. He's quick on the draw.
{5 Months}
18 lbs
• Macklin got to try his first food at 5 months. He was begging for food, going berserk at every meal. I finally gave him some and he flashed the biggest grin. Since then, it's been up and down. He really struggled with the texture for several weeks. He's had all sorts of new foods now and his favorite by far has been plums. He still relies heavily on his bottle for substance, but he is enjoying the new flavors he's experiencing.
• Sadly, I am done nursing. Poor buddy was just so so hungry. (I know, look at the kid. He obviously starved.) I could not keep up with this big eater. Every time I would have to leave him, he would drink double the amount that I would be able to pump. My body just dried up. I was not ready and it was sad, but the exact same thing happened with Trevin at the exact same age. Myla I nursed for 10 months and weaned her when I was ready with no problem. I guess these boys just have big appetites. I desperately wanted to keep the morning and night feedings, but he was so frustrated and I had so little milk. It was so far gone that I didn't even feel it the first day I didn't nurse him. It's sad, but I'm happy that he's happy.
• Macklin is learning all sorts of new tricks like holding his own bottle. He also loves his Jolly Jumper and is really getting the hang of it.
• He started sitting right before 6 months. I had always thrown the boppy around him, and then one day didn't, just to see how long he could go. Five minutes later, he was still sitting there. And just like that, he hit another milestone. And found his tongue.
{6 Months}
19.5 lbs
• 1/2 a year! How can that be?? Oh this bubbly boy of mine manages to get sweeter every day.
• Macklin is a tummy sleeper. When he's not twisted up to suck his thumb and hold his toes, he's usually got his rump in the air. Can't possibly get any cuter. He still goes to bed at 7 PM and usually wakes up around 7 AM. He started sleeping through the night at six months and then teething happened and now he's consistently up at 4 AM for a bottle, but then right back to bed. It's totally manageable. Do I long for 8 hours straight for myself? Absolutely. But I'm not losing sleep over it. Well, I am. But.. you know..
• His thumb-sucking has decreased a lot the last couple of months. He only sucks his thumb now when he's falling asleep. He doesn't rely on it for entertainment anymore. But he has started hitting his mouth with the back of his hand while he makes noise. That's his new entertainment.
• The spit up has slowed down, unless Ashton's holding him. She's his favorite target.
• Mack got his first tooth on November 2. I had no idea he was teething. The only tell was that he wasn't finishing his bottles like he usually would and next thing I know, a tooth popped through! A week later, on November 9, he was super fussy and didn't sleep well, so I was a lot less shocked when a second tooth popped through that day.
{7 Months}
20.5 lbs
• He's right on the verge of crawling. He figured out how to scoot a little bit by pushing up on his hands and knees and then rocketing himself forward. He can go little distances that way, but never tries going very far. He has been getting up on all fours and rocking forwards and backwards, which means he's getting really close. He still rolls, but not to get himself places. He mostly just rolls to his tummy to play with a toy or be able to see what's going on. I set the Christmas tree up already, so hopefully I'll get a couple weeks of peace before I'll be trying to keep a baby out of it.
• His favorite thing to do is to crawl all over people. If you're sitting on the floor next to him, he'll end up on top of you at some point. He also loves to be held so much that as soon as I go to set him down on the floor, he flips his body back and turns to me as fast as he can before I can let go of him.
We took another round of family pictures. Babies change so fast, so I really wanted to document him at this stage.
Pictures by Cody Farrall Photography:
Looking forward to this winter season at home by the fireplace with all of my favorites.
And GBR.
Schooling on the go, growing on the farm...
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