Hail Wars

Interesting title eh?? Stick with me and you'll find out why. I want to thank BFFE for the suggestions. They are great and I have them printed out so when i get a blogger block I can refer to it. Since she did suggest farm stories that's what today is about.

Last night @ 1230AM i woke up to loud thunder, bright lightening and lots of rain. Oh and who could forget the rain. I turned the TV on to see about weather warnings and wondered if i should wake everyone up and seek shelter. No tornado warnings BUT we were in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning which means tornado's COULD happen with little to no warning. Yeah.....I came downstairs to find DH down here and he said that the storm was almost done based on radar. Back upstairs I went. Did I mention I was quite cross. I was so stinken tired from Bible School that being woken up was NOT what I wanted. Back to sleep I went only to be awoken again 1 1/2 later by hail pelting the windows. It was SO loud!!! All I could think of was the crops.

I thought back while growing up how hail storms just meant damage to cars, roof, etc now hail has an entire new dimension. Our life!! As in our crops!!!! How many of you watched Little House On the Prairie and watched Charles try as his crops were diminished to just a stalk, by a hail storm. That's all that was running thru my mind. No lie, it hailed non stop for 30 min!! Once again I came downstairs, this time to find DH ASLEEP on the couch. I think he knew there was nothing he could do. The hail was hitting on 3 sides of the house.

Once again, back up to bed feeling quite cross and nervous. But then BAHM I swear lightening struck the tree right outside our house. It was so loud i hit the floor!! OK maybe I hit the bottom of the bed with the sheets.

Woke up this AM to the sun out, we must have lost power b/c my clock was flashing, and a mess of leaves, branches all over the place. DH set out with the kids to survey damage. All while i was cutting beans to freeze. What a process. Anyway, the garbage truck came and I asked him what kind of damage he saw and he said south of Hwy 20 was pretty bad. EEKS I told him where we have a farm there and he said we'd best check it. Called DH and he was surprised thinking that farm was spared. He brought the kids back home and headed out.

DH just came home and said there was about a 4 mile stretch that got hit pretty hard. Literally 3/4 mile north of our place nothing. Are crops aren't stripped by any means but there probably is some damage. He will have to get the insurance adjuster out. That being said, yes we do carry insurance for hail BUT when prices are where they are at you will never get what you fully have invested in your crops back from an insurance claim.

It's nervous for me b/c the selling of our crops IS our income. We don't have full time jobs that supplement our income. We have a hail storm, strong winds, tornado's, etc that wipe us out, we are going to be hurtin. It's a tough field (haha) to be in. Farming requires a lot of work and timing. Have to have crops in by a certain time, out by a certain time (weather) you pay so much money upfront like fertilizer, seed, gas, time, etc before you see any return. Depending on when the farmer sells his crops, he could go 9 + months before he reaps what he sewed.

So much more I could say about this but really I think DH should do a guest post as Farmer Brown. (any of you know that book??) For right now it looks like we've been spared the brunt of it but in the days to come will know for sure. I did just look at my garden from the window here, and it's not looking to well. I guess I'll go survey my own damage right here.

Off the subject, FIL is back in the hospital and no time as to when he'll be released.

You Tell Me

OK so you tell ME what you would like me to blog about!! How's that. Wait, that would be assuming I have readers, which I know there are a few, AND that you are brave enough to post a comment. Or go ahead and email me:)

Appreciating the comments you are posting and hope they continue. Again respecting everyone's point of view but grateful for the challenges you may have in reading someone elses. I think that's great and I'll be the first to admit, getting someone else's point of view can only broaden your view (good or bad).

DH thought I should blog about the weather. Are you kidding me? You know you're in trouble in a conversation when you discuss the weather.

I wish I could say things are calming down on my FIL's side of things, but I can't. Just a quick update would be:
-MIL is out in Seattle staying with her sister for a couple of weeks
-FIL is getting injections of medicine
-He keeps having these 'revelations'
-Recently he has taken to coming HERE. Not sure if he comes over to vent, he's lonely, hungry, or what but I have to repeatedly remind him please do NOT discuss your issues in this house OR in front of the kids.

I still would welcome anyone that has experience to please email me or leave me a comment and I'll email you. Experience with dealing with mental illness yourself, aging parents, or counseling background. We are getting so frustrated with no progress and we worry about the outcome if things don't start taking shape. Although with his mind the way it is, I'm not sure progress is even possible.

If you would take just a quick moment and let me know what you'd like me to blog about that would make me feel like a million bucks LOL!!

Tractor For ???

DH has been talking about getting a newer, note NEWER, tractor. Just now he said he's really thinking about it as his friend said 'it's a good deal.' His friend is a salesman for John Deere. Wanna see what he's looking at??

Pretty snazzy eh?? or rather then ? I should use $$. I do trust DH to make a wise financial decision and he is NOT very compulsive so I'm not to worried. But at the same time I think man we could pay off our house & van by the time he pays for this.

BUT his sales pitch? It works/drives just like our lawn mower which means I can drive it. Or rather as he says 'you can help me' oh yes dear that sounds like such a great idea. Me driving a tractor worth more then me.

Really?? You think that's a good idea??

I told him I was going to blog about this tractor and he wanted me to wait till he finalized things as he 'may change his mind'. I'm like who cares? It's something to blog about:) BTW I had a picture of Miss A on this tractor but after uploading it I noticed she was na*ked. Oops deleted that from here:)

Conservative Family Picnic

As a family we are heading to this shortly!!

I'm quite excited for a couple reasons,

-We are doing something as a family

-Congressman King who is a GREAT guy but yes, he does get long winded so I'm wondering how much he'll have to say:) Some people think while he's a good politician he gets off his rocker sometimes. LOL

-Food and fellowship

-making of connections, some new and some re-introducing (important b/c this is where/what I'll need for jobs in the future)

-meeting Rep Mike Pence and asking him a couple questions and yes one of them will be in regards to yesterdays 'amendment' but also what it was like being in the same room as Dr Dobson AND being interviewed by him. For those that don't know, Dr Dobson is my #1 person I'd like to meet IRL!! (President Bush being #2!)

So yeah, I'd love to blog 'live' but pretty sure my few followers (SIL and niece Megs being my #1 visitors)wouldn't be to crazy about it. I guess too that's what twitter is for.

Watch for pictures!! My kids are sporting there 'Future President' and 'Wee-publican' t-shirts!!

Planned Parenthood-Good or Bad

Those of you who follow me on my facebook may have briefly seen my status saying this:
Great News! U.S. House Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) has submitted an amendment to the Health and Human Services appropriations bill to make Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest abortion provider - ineligible to receive Title X funds for "family planning" services. PP has received $3.9 BILLION in taxpayer funds since 1987. Please call your representative TODAY and ask him/her to support the Pence Amendment!
Unfortunately it was short lived, both the amendment and my status. I happen to tune in to CSPAN and saw that the bill did not pass. But in response to this someone had written that they believe Planned Parenthood does more the just abortions. They are critical in giving women the proper health care they could not otherwise afford. (this was NOT word for word) Basically she was saying don't mess with the money they get, they do more good then harm.

Of course I respectfully disagree.

I see some of the point about PP helping those in need, but i feel that PP does more harm then good. I think we as parents, schools need to educate children on sex, unprotected sex, etc. There was someone on the AFA (American Family Association) page that said maybe a lot of the money the Gov't gives to PP should be directed towards educating.While I think I should educate my own children on sex, etc I realize that there are far more children/kids/young adults that only are educated by schools. Anyway, i don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill but all in all the entire PP upsets me b/c they make it to easy for abortions. I feel it's the thought process of go ahead and have sex, we've got abortions to take care of unwanted pregnancies, we have vaccinations for unwanted diseases, so don't worry about it.
While i think 'back in the day' PP may have had a lot to offer as far as educating , it just seems that the more money they get the more lack of a child's life they've lost.I also think that if this Gov't health care system gets going, the ladies that would normally go to PP will have no problem seeing a reg. physician and even now, they can go to reg. health care providers b/c chances are the tax payers are picking up the tab anyway.

On another note, this Mike Pence is who I'm going to meet on Saturday night. I'm so excited. Our Congressman is having a Family Conservative Picnic that we as a family are attending. I'm stoked! I'm sure I'll be posting pictures!

Interesting week on my blog. Maybe some pot stirring?? Got from SAHM's, to mental illness, to politics. Just goes to show there is always something you can either relate to, or make you want to spit cotton in frustration. Oh and who could forget chicken talk, BTW they are fenced in now. I had enough of chasing them out of my garden with a plastic hockey stick and them squawking back at me like I was in THERE territory.

No One Understands

Here I sit at 645AM. My coffee is still brewing, one child is sleeping, the other is laying in bed with DH. SHE decided to wet her bed at 5AM and get in bed with us. Wish it was just that simple. Of course 'I'm HUNGRY' comes out of her mouth every .5 seconds followed by screaming fits b/c DH nor I are getting out of bed. Sick of listening to it, I get out of bed and hop in the shower to drowned out her screaming, fearful of her waking C'man up.
She now is laying quietly upstairs and everyone else is asleep. But my real frustration for today is once again a quick trip to Omaha has to be cancelled due to a Psychologist appt that DH and his brothers are to attend. It's like good GRIEF how much longer will we continue to put our life on hold.
Let me back track. Things are no better then they were 5 weeks?? ago. MIL stayed with us this past weekend, FIL still thinks nothing is wrong with him. He stopped taking his medicine therefore causing the doc to give him injectable. I think that's a great idea, however he doesn't. No surprise there I guess. What is so frustrating is that manic people do not think they have a problem, that's a lot of the problem. But then you throw in a marriage that has been on the brinks for decades, 2 ultra-dependable sons that try to solve all the problems, 2 sons that have removed themselves from the situations, and we get where we are today.
I really am at a loss at what to even suggest or do. I'm to the point where I think it's time the boys tell them that while we love you both it's time for you 2 to sort it out. If that means you separate, so be it. If that means you both live here, then so be it, but we have got to come to some resolution. We will not pick sides, we will not continue to run over here at all hours of the day (yes that means at night too) But something has got to change. We have dealt with this 24/7 for over 6 weeks now with absolutely NO headway accept more frustration in the families left at home. AKA US.
Do I have any readers (haha) that can relate? Offer any form of advice? How long will life continue like this for us all? Last night we ALL went out to eat. Our family, FIL and MIL and 2 nieces. FIL ate and then sat with his hands in his face the rest of the time. He mumbled things here and there and a couple times did smile at comments made by our kids, nieces, etc then he started going off about how the courts want him to get shock therapy and chemo!! Yeah I think there is a slight misreading there on the chemo part.
It makes me so sad to see this, it really does. To see ones family just crumble b/c of mental illness is one tough pill to follow. Then you start to wonder, well does HE have the problem or is it his wife!? As my FIL said last night 'no one understands' to which I replied: 'You are absolutely right!! That's why we have medical professionals that do that tell us what we need to do so that either we can understand, or at least get to the point in our life where we can function'.

Oh Cracks

If you have a chance to read Gems response to my last post, I encourage you to go read it. I was posting a comment to her comment, when it got erased. Therefore the title 'Oh Cracks' as that is what C'man says when something like that happens. (oh crap is what it's supposed to say)
I want to thank Gem for taking the risk of posting a comment. Many times it's easier to just let it go. Or sit and stew letting it fester and fester. I'm glad she didn't, for to long. While I feel that being a stay at home mom is where I belong, I realize it's not where every mom, or women, feels the same way. Hence the beauty of freedom of choice.
Where I have a problem, and really it's not even my problem so I don't want to spend much time on it b/c i can't do anything about it, are families that have the boat, 2 homes, lavish vacations, whatever it may be, while both parents are working. Possibly teaching there children you must work hard to have it all. Seems we have to work hard just to get by these days!
I commend Gem in her views. She is right that going to medical school with Government subsidised loans it's only fair to give back. To bad more people didn't' feel that way with any form of gov't monies. I do not feel that all, or even most kids, suffer from parents working. I know there are people that will say they do, I do not feel that way.
Just like it offends people to be told there children our suffering, it offends me to hear that I'm doing my kids an injustice by not working, or they need the social aspect of daycare, you know all those blah blah's that working and SAHM's hear. (BTW Gem i'm not saying you said this)
I do have a college degree myself and feel fortunate enough that I did have a career for 8 years before leaving it. I have hopes that at some point in my life, I will return to a career. (politics ya think??) Gem I think you ARE wonder women. Seriously, look at you cooking from scratch, attending all your children events, woohooo for you. I mean that seriously and not sarcastically. 20 hours/week is great! If i had a chance to do something like that in a career I enjoyed, I'd do it too. I think that is one way you can have the best of both worlds. Am I going back on my stance? I don't think so.... there needs to be more people that feel that way, or could do it.
Now enlighten us and tell us what kind of medical doctor you are??

Anyone else have comments?? What's the point of a blog if I don't get any comments? Go ahead, come out of lurking.....heck comment about my chickens if you want:)

ps can ya tell that if people are offended, mad, hurt, etc by something I say I freak out?? I can't say i'm constantly worried what people may think, feel, etc otherwise I'd never open my mouth, blog, etc (that could be good LOL) but I don't like people to be hurt by something I said without me letting them know I still appreciate them, there thoughts, feelings, etc. I can't just let things go to easily. Somethings I can, but when it comes to friends whether that be via the internet world or IRL, i hate to make them feel bad, mad, etc

2 Years

It has been just over two years that I have been a SAHM! I had to check back in my blogs to see what the exact date was. It was July 12, 2007 that I made the decision that enough was enough and I was answering the call that I had been putting out of my mind since the day we decided to have children. It was time for me to go home to my babies. To my husband. Time to dedicate myself to my family instead of a career and family. I firmly believe you can NOT have both. Something, or someone, will get the short end of the stick and having done both career and mom, it'll be the kids.

I now get to put my kids to bed and be here when they wake up in the morning. I get to put them down for naps, or lay beside C'man at nap time. They get to play all day if they want. I feed them all there meals. I monitor the juice intake, which is VERY minimal. We bake cookies, we swim, just get to enjoy the day without being rushed out the door to daycare, rushed home after daycare to hurry up with supper, baths and right to bed.

NOW....as any reader may read, it's not all paradise. Oh boy. We read how Miss A can have such fits and frustrate me to no fricken END!! But lets just leave it at that.

This is where I belong. Personally this is where any mother belongs. HOWEVER, I do fully understand that some times it's just not feasible. But for those that worry about the quality of life they would have if they didn't have that extra income?? Forget it!! This quality of life is way better for all involved.

That being said, I'm reading In Praise Of Stay At Home Moms. I had to stop reading b/c I needed a highlighter. The first part was OK but now that I'm 1/2 way thru I'm enjoying it. I would gladly lend out my copy if anyone would like to borrow it!!

Chickens

Finally I have some pictures uploaded of the new chicken house:) But of course that meant we had to move them in there. Tried to convince my niece to help. She wasn't to fond of the idea. But here we are moving chickens.

Here we are trying to convice JoJo to help:)

C'man talking to the chickens about there new dwelling. Laying the rules down. He's in here all the time talking to them. I just took a video of him doing it.

Friendships

Seems I'm having an abundant topics I could blog about:) Now if I can just remember them all. Topic today is friends! You have them right??? Do you have few but are close to the few you have? Or are you one that has many friends and stay in pretty good contact with them all?? Or how many of you have rekindled friendships via facebook, or met new friends via blogs, facebook, etc.

I'm one of those that has many people I call friends. Some are closer to me then others, but all in all those I consider friends I love getting together with, emailing, and would love to hang out more. I can pretty much go from coast to coast and find some friend to stay with if need be. When I worked, outside the home, I met many friends via my work. Many I have never met IRL (In Real Life) but know well enough I'd feel comfortable staying with them. I've also have a new friendship with Jen via Craigslist!! Who would have thought!? Well those that know me, probably aren't surprise. I love how God brings people in my life via places like Craigslist, Ebay, etc. Or places like Disney World:) Or my friend Laura (lives in NJ) to whom we sold two black labs to about 5 years ago?? We weren't only brought together by our dogs but God must have had a plan b/c she had been thru infertility when I had just started my IVF treatments. With no one to talk thru it all, or anyone I knew personally that knew what I was going thru, it was a God send friendship that blossomed.

OK so getting to the point!! Yeah I know from time to time I do have a point. Friendships with other couples is an entire different story. I know we're not the only couple that deals with this. DH and I were talking (again, on the way home from the lakes) what couples would we enjoy doing something with such as a quick trip to Vegas? or IF we got a camper, what kind of couple could we honestly go camping for a weekend with? (seriously ones that I wouldn't want to poke with my hot dog stick b/c of annoyances)

The girls I'm friends with doesn't necessarily mean DH could hang with there DH. Or vice versa. Probably more the vice versa for us:) What does one do?? How do you find friends where both the wives and husbands enjoy hanging around one another? I say 'enjoy' b/c you really need to enjoy them or hanging out just to do it becomes dreadful for one partner.

This past weekend we thought about going out. But who could we call to go out with us? Are we just at that point in our lives where hanging out as couples just isnt' possible b/c of children, finding sitters, etc? I look at DH's friends and most of them have grown kids.

Do you have friends that you and your DH both enjoy hanging out with? I'm thinking this is a fairly common issue, agree?? disagree?? What does one do?

Shacking Up

I could be opening a big ol' can of worms but my post is in regards to living together before marriage, sex, and whatever comes to my mind while posting. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to. If you want to comment, please do. Agree, or disagree with me, I'd like to read your thoughts. I have done some research on it, statically speaking, which I'm sure we've heard them. What bothers me about this entire thought is what happen to the moral and values of marriage!? Where did we as a country start thinking its OK to live together prior to marriage?
Those that have a religious background, where do they think this is right?
Where are the parents? Are they discouraging this or just thinking/saying 'well everyone else I guess is doing it'.
Or is it that traditional values are gone by the wayside and I'm just going to have to adjust my thoughts to accept it?
DH and I were talking about this on the way home from a day @ the lakes. What are we going to do with our children to make sure they continue to live a life that does not include shacking up?
Then there's sex before marriage. Very unusual I fear, that this day and age you can find someone that is a virgin when they get married. Don't people worry about diseases? Pregnancy?
My niece just recently told me that in her health class the teacher asked: 'How do you know when you're ready for sex?' I thought the answer should have been 'when you're married' or ' when you're ready to accept the responsibilities that come with it'. Instead it was some off the board discussion about when you can put a condom on and when you feel ready. Or my favorite was when she answered about waiting till your married and it was poo poo'd by the teacher. (those that are homeschooling I know this is one of many reasons why you do it)
I'm afraid our culture has accepted shacking up and sex when you feel ready.

The ol' saying the 'Why buy the cow when the milk is free' couldn't be more true I guess. Commitment to a relationship by living together is no longer that. It's a convenience factor. Or they can save money on rent by living together. Or they want a wedding in the Summer and it's Winter when they move in. Or 'everyone's doing it so why not?' I'm just not getting it??

Are you?? Sorry I have to stop right here. Our internet connection is really flacky and I don't want to loose this post!

Weekend Get Away

As I've previously stated we went to MNPLS a couple weekends ago. Here are some pictures of our weekend:
Childrens Museum:

Swimming @ the water park in the hotel. That was till there was a fire alarm and we all had to get out:)

For pity sakes, I can't figure out how to move these pictures around. I think you can tell what they are without an explantion. The amusment ones were @ the Mall Of America. That's also where we, I mean I, got sucked in to the American Girl store and Miss A got her first American Girl 'Bitty Baby'.

My Children Praising God

I just have to share these videos with all my blog readers. Ahh yeah, plural. I think there's a few of you who check in on a regular basis right???
C'man went to Bible School in my home town back in May. He LOVED the songs. As a matter of fact, so did I!! We are still singing them thanks to the music director emailing me the songs. If you like them as much as we do, feel free to contact me and I'll forward them on to you. There's even actions to do!! I'm sorry you will have to endure listening to my voice both in singing and talking oh and my messy house/kitchen. This was during supper. Oh and why can I not hold the stinken camera STRAIGHT!! oh well who cares, we're all praising God!


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Hope you enjoyed and of course I'd love to hear/read any comments my lovely readers would have to say about my lovely children. (yeah things are going a little better with miss A so she can be lovely)

Kids This Will Be Our Next Trip

When we went to MNPLS a couple weekends ago we came across a tractor ride. Remember the one I told you that went by our house? Well here was another one. ACCEPT this one wasn't so 'cool' b/c we were stuck in the middle of it. There had to been over 300 tractors. We were in the middle of it all. I was rather irritated b/c after all we had places to get too. But I saw a blog opportunity and mine as well laugh about it. Not that the kids understood but I said this is what we're going to start doing:

Hard to see but it's a tractor pulling this wagon of people I can see the sign already: 'RedNeck Transportation'

I kid you not there was a sign on there that said:

1/2 way $1

All the way $3

Now I don't know where they were going but I honestly can't think of a worse way to get there. It was like the entire family woke up and said lets take a tractor ride!? OK yes it was an organized tractor ride, but none the less....

Then there's this picture. Can you see DH and I doing this some day?? I hope the make a big enough seat for my ars. It could get mighty uncomfortable.

Iowa

I was catching up on blogs that I read and I read the following: Flotsam
I just had to respond to maybe dispel some of the myths but found that thru the comments there was a lot of good to say about good ol' Iowa. This was my response:
I'm from Iowa. Sitting in my old, restored, farm house while my kids are out playing with baby kittens and my husband is talking to the farm machinery guy:) our house sits along the beautiful Loess Hills that line the river. We have a creek that runs thru our land and on real quite days I can hear it. Altho with the wind that seems to be constant, it's not a sound i hear to often.I live in n'west Iowa a part of the state that is always overlooked with central (Des Moines) and Eastern Iowa getting all the 'Iowa' news.Farming is our way of life and difficult as it is, it's pretty good right now.I'm glad you got to enjoy a weekend in Iowa where yes we have vehicles, we don't drive tractors everywhere AND news flash we don't grow potato's. That's Idaho:)If anyone wants to experience farm life at it's best (well depending on the latest drama here b/w chickens, mamma drama with the kittens, kids, etc) look me up and come visit. We'd love to have ya:)

That last part about visiting.... I extend that to all you blog readers:) Seriously. I've had people come stay, I've gone and stayed with people I met thru my work, etc. We're a nice family, abet the drama that follows us, but seriously if you're looking for a not frills weekend/week away, come hang here. There really is plenty to do!!