Growing on the Farm: Llama Love

Goodbye fall, hello winter! Harvest is wrapped up and Christmas decorations are up. We've got a couple fun trips to look forward to this winter as well as a new sliding glass door and deck off of our living room. I'm officially caught up on our farm books for the year and this will be the first time in, ever, that my entire December won't be spent in the office. That alone, is reason to celebrate. Let me catch you up on our last few months...

Arkansas Wedding

Our sweet friends, Julius and Jacqueline, got married back in September. James and I opted to leave the kids home and slowly make our way to Searcy, AR for the celebration. We stopped for the night in Springfield, MO because that's where the huge Bass Pro Shop is... I have to admit it was fairly impressive. We dined at Hemingway's restaurant, located in the store. It did feel a little wrong to be eating fish while I watched the fish swimming in the aquarium. But I got over it.

The next morning we reached Arkansas; it was our first time in the state. It was beautiful, but the winding roads really started to get to us. The curve in I-80 is about all we're used to, so the dramatic and constant turns getting into Searcy about did us in. Thankfully, we made it early enough to catch a quick nap in our hotel room to sleep off the motion sickness.

The wedding was beautiful, the vows were ridiculously sweet, and the charcuterie board was on point. On the way home, we stopped to see some friends in Missouri and stayed one more night in Kansas City. I'd probably have many more stories if I'd written this months ago, but the few I have are priceless. I just remember thinking a lot about the cute guy sitting next to me. Too gushy? Well, too bad.

Road trips with James sounds like, "Let's look for roadkill and see what we can find."

Church

I'm still working for Stockham Church. It's been such a good fit. I get to design graphics and keep things organized. It's like a dream come true. I'm helping run the social media platforms, streamlining communication, making bulletins, brainstorming new ideas, keeping track of our attenders, and providing information. I truly love it. James is serving on the trustee board and is busy improving our facilities and meeting the needs of our attenders. It's been a season of pouring into our little body of believers at Stockham and it's been so fulfilling.

Our missions conference hosted a meal packing event this year. It was great to see so many people come out and even the kids got involved!

Farming

This harvest left me strangely emotional. Three years ago, we purchased our first piece of land. Conventional farm ground must go through transitional cycles before it can be used to produce organic crops. This was the first year we could produce a certified organic crop. We grew popcorn and God was gracious enough to provide us with a successful harvest.

Another exciting thing happened this year... a new combine! With the growth of our farm, it became more clear that it was time to invest in some new equipment. It made for such a smooth harvest and it was fun to see Paul and James enjoying something they'd worked so hard for.

Typically I would spend at least one day helping with harvest each year. Usually the last day, when the workers have scattered and we're so close to being done it's almost torturous. James started me on the combine my first year and that's what I had ran every year since. That is, until this year. Suddenly with a new combine, I got kicked to the grain cart. Probably for eternity. I didn't mind the grain cart, but there's a lot more things I had to try and remember. Thankfully, James always takes a dry erase marker in the tractor to make notes for me on the window. Kind of like a "Grain Cart for Dummies" book. I depended on that list pretty heavily the first few days, but eventually, like most things, I got the hang of it and managed to not spill any grain. James said I'm hired. And I said I quit (until next year). I really love helping with harvest, and I even liked doing hay, but last year we changed our crop rotation and are no longer putting up hay (which we are all celebrating). It's the disking that I just can't even handle. After Trevin fractured my tailbone in birth, I can't take the roughness of disking. I can hang for about an hour and then I start screaming, "Get me outta here!!" Disking is a pain in the butt. So much pun intended.

This harvest I saw James more than most. I was able to get more sitters for the kids when I was needed on the farm, and that naturally led to more time riding together while the cart was parked, or working a wrench beside him when something inevitably broke down.

We did a few meals in the tractor/combine as a family, but the days of that are nearing an end. The cab is getting too full and the kids are getting too busy. I think next season, we may join the people using camping chairs in the field for mealtime. Or maybe we just won't eat. I'm calling it now, next year we're fasting all harvest long.

As if harvest wasn't busy enough, the guys were rushing to get a bin up that was needed to store crops this year. Thankfully, they finished it just in time.

Since harvest is over, Thermal Edge Ag season is under way. James has been ordering parts, confirming sales, and reworking some equipment designs. We're trying out some new hood options and if you don't think these are awesome, I don't know why you're still reading my blog.

Cats

I'm sure so many of you have been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for me to address our cat dilemma. Creek started showing up with all sorts of wounds - complete patches of hair ripped off, hurt foot to the point of not being able to walk, new scrapes every day. We weren't sure what was happening but determined that he was running off at night and getting in all sorts of fights. Briar has always stayed close to home and has never had an issue. We had an extra Amazon Cam that we hooked up in the shed to see if we could figure out what was after Creek, but it never showed anything convincing. Well, one morning, Creek never came back. After Creek went missing, I noticed a cat that looked just like him on the video feed. We went out several times to see if it was him, but it ended up being a neighbor cat. Trevin was convinced he'd come back, so he continued to fill his food dish every day. And he prayed for him to be safe all the time. It was heartbreaking. So after weeks of uncertainty, we finally called it and said Creek was gone for good. We told Trevin he can get a new kitten in the spring. That seems to have helped with his grief. Meanwhile, Briar bawled for days after Creek went missing. He's gotten over it, and his new favorite spot to hang out is on our window ledges so he can see what we're doing inside. It's a little sweet; it's a little more creepy.

Halloween

A beekeeper and his bee! Scare the Square was another favorite this year. We also took the kids around to trick or treat in Stockham. We still have piles of candy left. And we skipped our dentist appointments last month because of harvest. Mom fail.

Family

Annual Kliewer Bunco Party - Back to the 80's. Ashton and I won best costume and we're really looking forward to next year's Disney Princess Bunco. There's always so much laughter with this crew. So fun that we get to come together once a year for some of the best memories.

Thanksgiving 2018

I don't know if I've told you this yet, but my favorite brother and sis-in-law are having a babe in January! It's a darling little girl and I am fully obsessed. This is my first niece. And my nephews were born when I was in Jr High, so I couldn't spoil them appropriately. Add all that up and I am out of control. We celebrated little miss at a baby shower and then we came back a few days later to help paint the nursery. Myla talks about baby cousin all the time. I've realized that suddenly all my grocery shopping needs to be done in Lincoln. And I need groceries three times a week now. And I want to quit all my jobs and just hold this baby forever.

Speaking of girl cousins, we got to celebrate sweet Mireya's birthday this week. Myla and Mireya are 6 months apart and I'm thrilled they get to grow up so close.

After harvest wrapped up, James was able to spend some time in a deer stand and brought home his first deer in a few years. We are currently enjoying the pounds of summer sausage and deer sticks. You can plan on me not making supper on Sunday nights for the foreseeable future.

Trevin had a random Friday off this month, so we took the kids to the Big Apple Fun Center in Kearney for the day. I think they could have played in the ballocity room for a week.

First snow of the season in October! Trevin said they needed to make a Halloween snowman.

I was able to can applesauce for the year, but I've got some bad news. I waited too long to make jam for Christmas, and now there are no peaches to be found. My trademark strawberry-peach jam will not happen this year. I'm trying to decide if I use a new recipe with fruit in season or if I stick to strawberry jam to make it simple. We'll see, hoping to do some canning next week so they'll be ready for the holidays.

Church got cancelled this week and we had an impromptu sermon at the kitchen table. It's a safe bet that this guy is going to go to Proverbs. I tell him it's because he's so wise.

School

The last couple months has been full of field trips. Trevin's class went to the Stuhr Museum, a llama farm, and the pumpkin patch.

Trevin took a liking to llamas after getting to feed one. And then he drew this picture and you better believe it's going to be displayed in our house for months. It is the single greatest thing I have ever seen.

Myla and I tagged along to the pumpkin patch in October. Myla tried to keep up with the big kids and was exhausted by the end of the day.

Trevin has more fun than should be allowed with his best bud, Braden. And when I ran into Braden in Lincoln I had to take a picture with him to show to Trevin. He was super jealous.

Trevin's reading is really taking off. He flies through Green Eggs and Ham and has started reading his own memory verses when we work on them in the car. He's worked really hard this month to earn his Book It certificate. (I really can't believe that's still a thing.) In some ways his academic improvement has been sweet, like when he decides to read books to Myla.

But sometimes, it's not so sweet. Like when he makes a sign for his door, even though his sister can't read it. It's times like this that I really regret educating him. Jury's still out whether or not it will be worth it.

Trevin

+He is obsessed with making money right now. I'm all for his work-ethic, but anything I ask of him, he asks, "Are you going to pay me to do it?" There's many times I am tempted to pay him just to play. For real, I'd pay a quarter for an hour free of negotiating business agreements with him. That's how twisted we are right now. Send help. (But I'm not going to pay the help. Let me make that clear.)

+His sweet spirit is really coming out, especially when he says things like...

+He's learning some Spanish vocab at school right now and Myla is trying to learn colors... in English. Can you see where this is going? She asks him what color something is and he responds with the color in Spanish. She get angry because she knows that's not a color she's been learning. And the cycle continues over and over and over again until we all die. So yeah, still really glad he's using his intelligence for the good of others.

+Even though his blood pumps with 100% orneriness, he does manage to make us laugh. A lot. One day, on the way to school, I was curious what he'd say we did for a living. So I asked him where James worked. He, of course, said on the farm. Then I got brave and asked, "Where do I work?" His response, "In the kitchen." I laughed, agreed, and then added a few other answers for him to think about. I was actually fine with that answer, because he's made it clear how he sees the execution of my responsibilities in the kitchen. A couple months ago, we were praying and he said, " Thank you for my Mom and that she does the dishes, but Dad actually does them, so..." He isn't wrong. I'm actually avoiding a sink-full as I type. That's why this is getting done... so I don't have to do the dishes...

Trevin plays tough, but every now and then we catch him initiating a hug with Myla, helping her out, or telling her he loves her. Siblings are such a sweet thing to witness.

Every week after Wednesday night church the kids are exhausted... Also, don't mind the amount of stuff piled in our car. During the winter, everyone has an extra coat, jacket, shoes, one sock and one glove. Anyone else live out of their car in the winter?

Myla

+This girl cut molars in the last few months and she has shown us what she is capable of in the tantrum department. Whooee. There's somethings you choose to forget after you're past that stage. But it usually doesn't take her long to come around and she's back to grinning and giggling like usual.

+We've discovered she gets carsick. Several mornings, after we drop Trevin off at school, Myla has complained that she doesn't feel good. She doesn't eat breakfast well first thing in the morning, so I always assumed that she was just hungry. But one time she actually threw up in the car. I thought it was a fluke because she had some juice that morning (she usually has milk) and then didn't eat much. Thought maybe the juice was too much for her stomach that early. But then we took the kids to Kearney and Myla complained of a stomach ache the last 20 minutes. She ended up throwing up as we pulled into the parking lot. A quick trip to Target for clean clothes and barf bags... There's no worse thing than driving and hearing a kid throwing up behind you. This is going to be fun. At least we don't have to be in the car very often. Oh wait, no, that's not true, I'm a bus driver.

+One day I gave her a big girl cup and asked, "Are you going to spill it?" She simply replied, "It's possible."

+It doesn't matter where she's at or what she's doing, when the "swim away" part comes on during Baby Shark, she takes off running. Mid-meal, mid-book, mid-sentence... Off she goes...

+Having an older brother, she catches onto things pretty quickly, but being two, she misunderstands things often. "Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, ketchup, mustard."

+Also, by having an older brother, she is fluent in potty humor. The funniest joke she knows is, "poopy mermaid!" A perfect mix of older brother and little sister. Yes, I laugh. You should try hearing a tiny person yell "poopy mermaid!" at any given moment and see how well you hold it together.

"My not even make a mess!!"

+"My have a smile in my teeth!" - M

+Still working on names of body parts. She pointed to her armpit and referred to it as her eyebrow. She also thought her ribs were her ankles. Maybe I should just have Trevin teach her the names in Spanish.

"My fixed it!"

+Myla is officially switched to a big girl bed. She was ready and excited, so we gave it a shot. She's done really well, overall it was a smooth transition. Thankfully, we still had a twin bed from when Ashton lived with us, so we just swapped her crib out for the bed and we were ready to go. She's only tried to get out a few times and she's only fallen out once. I call that a win.

+And the long-awaited topic of potty training. You know, I was really confident going into this. She was showing a lot of interest. She had some successes out of the blue on her own and I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. And maybe it would have been, if I would have just done it. But there's just no part of me that wants to clean up urine. I tried to dig down deep to see if that desire was there, but it wasn't. So I've been lazily leaving her in pull-ups and using a timer, when I remember, and we've just been half-in, half-out for weeks. It's difficult because we'll have really good luck in the morning, but between lunch, nap, bus route to get Trev, snack, supper, clean up, bedtime... That's where we don't do so well. She's got the gist of it figured out and she really loves the marshmallow, chocolate chip, and sprinkles that she gets with every success. (She wrestled me into that agreement and now I can't get out.) Obviously, she's doing just fine with life. One of these days I will put her in undies and I will clean up pee a million times per day and eventually she'll graduate high school and she will not be in pull-ups and I will not be cleaning up her pee. I'm calling it right now.

Aunt Brooke gave Myla a massage and I don't think she moved for 15 minutes..

Family pictures 2018:
You may wonder why there's more pictures with Myla than with Trevin... It's because we have to hold Trevin down to get a picture with him now.