The Baurer Blog

Kitchen Help

2012-01-31T15:02:00.000-06:00

This is what David and I have been doing each week on some of his off days of school. We help in the kitchen at the Rescue Mission.

New Horse

2012-01-30T17:07:00.000-06:00

This is our new horse --- Dakota. He is a 21yr old Missouri Foxtrotter. We picked him up Saturday and so far he and Cowboy have gotten alot well. Dakota hasn't been mean or kept Cowboy away from the food. And Cowboy sure appreciates having a buddy nearby.

mini snowman

2012-01-30T14:56:00.000-06:00

We didn't get alot of snow the other night, but there was enough on the deck for Abi to build a 'mini' snowman. He was only about 12in tall. But, very cute :-)

Basketball season

2012-01-28T13:08:00.000-06:00

Abi's basketball season is ending tomorrow. But she's not worried about getting bored.....volleyball starts on Monday. It appears volleyball is going to be alot different than basketball. There were only 5 girls who signed up for basketball, but at least 18 signed up for volleyball. Abi got lots of playing time in basketball....but she may see more bench time in volleyball.

New Business?

2012-01-26T13:51:00.000-06:00

Abi has been making these duct tape flower pens and using them at school. In the past week she has had two different kids offer her cash to make on for them. Pretty easy money for her.....she loves making them.

This is what happens.....

2012-01-23T19:13:00.000-06:00

.......when you are late for supper. The dog takes your spot and eats your food.

Sold!

2012-01-18T20:15:00.000-06:00

After putting alot of time and effort into his Trans Am, David put it up for sale. The project came to a halt when he found the engine had a cracked block and needed to be replaced. He did not have enough funds to buy a new engine, so he ended up selling the car. Fortunately, he was able to resell it for almost as much as he paid for it.

Poor Cowboy

2012-01-18T14:02:00.000-06:00

Right after my last post about Cowboy, we had a cold snap. This sent him spiraling downwards healthwise. He has always had trouble with arthritis, but we've been able to keep him going w/out much pain with different meds. But, when the cold front hit this time his joints 'locked up'. Now he is barely able to move. He also has alot of pain and it takes him 15 minutes to walk from his feed bowl to the hay ring. I've upped his meds and we are trying some Bute, but if that doesn't work we'll probably have to put him down. I sure hope it doesn't come to that......but, am also preparing myself in case it does. These past few days I've been calling around to see how you can put a horse down and bury them at your farm.

On a positive note I've been offered a free horse from a local family. A 21yr old Missouri Foxtrotter gelding. His rider left home and he is not being used. Her dad wants to get cattle and doesn't want a horse in the lot with them. I'm pretty sure I'll get him, but have not picked him up. I've never owed or ridden a gaited horse, so I'm pretty excited to see what he's like. He hasn't been ridden in a few years, so he may or may not work out. But, the price is right --- and if I don't like him I can always give him away. For now I'm waiting to see if Cowboy can recover enough to handle another horse. At this point he would not be able to fight off another horse for food or shelter. Or for his own protection. But, it would be best for his arthritis if he has a companion to keep him moving. Otherwise he just stands around......and in cold weather, that makes his joints lock up.

who is this girl???

2012-01-18T13:47:00.000-06:00

It's what Abi would look like if she always wore pigtails and glasses. She dressed up like her best friend for 'twin day' at school.

Riding in Jan

2012-01-13T11:32:00.002-06:00

The weather was beautiful on Mon-Wed (in the 40's and 50's) the Abi came out with me to get Cowboy and rode him up to the barn.

Wacky Wednesday

2012-01-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

The Jr Hi had Wacky Wednesday today, so Abi dressed up 'backwards'. Her front is her back and her back is the front.

Abi's lunch bag

2012-01-11T11:13:00.000-06:00

Abi needed a new lunch bag, so she made one out of duct tape.

Meet Ellie

2012-01-10T14:52:00.003-06:00

Ellie is our replacement for Phil's Lincoln Towncar. She is a Hyundi Elantra with a manual transmission (stick shift). A little go-getter, but nothing like the luxury Phil's used to. At first (after Phil's car died) we decided we're going to downsize and just keep 2 vehicles. But, we soon realized that with 4 drivers that probably wasn't going to work.....not with 3 boys working, Jonathan and Abi in activities, and David and I volunteering. Phil probably could get by with riding his dirtbike to work, but not in the winter. So, we scraped together some cash and bought a used gas saver. Ellie gets somewhere between 30-40mpg and comfortably seats 5 passengers. She has high mileage for her age, but we're hoping she'll be able to save us about $1000/yr in gas. Unfortunately, we just found out today that by adding a 2nd teen driver to our insurance, we are going to add $1000/yr for premiums. So, I guess the money saved is money lost.....

Birthday photos

2012-01-10T14:40:00.000-06:00

These are some photos of Joshua opening his gifts.

Happy 15th Birthday, Joshua

2012-01-09T12:24:00.001-06:00

Happy 15th to the tallest memeber in our family.......who will soon be able to start driving.

License & Braces

2012-01-05T22:07:00.000-06:00

New Year......new changes

2012-01-05T09:23:00.000-06:00

As 2012 rolled in, our family experienced some new things. I will try to post photos later (our main computer is broken and I don't have photos on the other ones).

1) Abi got braces. She has been wearing a retainer to widen her mouth for over 2yrs now .....preparing her for braces..... and we finally moved on to phase 2. In the modern world, when kids get braces they get to pick colors to add to braces to make them more stylish (which you can change each time you go in). She picked teal and green --- alternating every other one. She got lots of surprise looks when she went back to school, but seems to be adjusting well to them. She did have pain at first but it seems to be less as the days go by.

2) Jonathan got his driver's license. He passed the test with flying colors and is now the 4th driver in our family. It a little difficult to find a free car, tho --- we only have 2 that work. The younger kids are hoping he'll buy his own and take them to school on the days David doesn't drive. He's trying to work out a deal with them to get them to help buy the car and then they can have it after he graduates.

3) Joshua is taking Driver's Ed this semester and will soon become the 5th driver in our family. Wow! Know anyone giving away free vehicles (running)? I think the Baurer drivers are multiplying quicker than the cars.

4) David is recovering nicely from his surgery and the biggest challenge he faces now is abiding by the Dr's restrictions.........don't lift anything heavier than 1# and no dirtbiking. We've been having some mild Jan days that are sunny and dry and he's been lamenting that the bike is still sitting in the garage. A bunch of friends/neighbors came to ride here over Christmas break and he did sneak some rides on the 4-wheeler. David also has a light load at school this semester (only 1/2 day every other day), and we're hoping to do some volunteer work together. And possibly an oversees mission trip this Spring. Anyone want to come with us? David also has been accepted at several colleges and we hope to take a trip down south this Spring to visit them. He's been accepted at OSU (OK State), Baylor (Waco TX), Texas A&M (College Station TX), and LaTourneau (Longview, TX).

5) I (Linda) decided not to work this Spring. It was a tough decision because my job is my main source of income for my horse account. Which means I will not be able to finish fixing up our paddock, take riding lessons, or purchase another horse to replace Onyx. But I really wanted to have time to do some volunteer and mission work this Spring, so I'm willing to give up my horse wish list for a fun Spring with David. Plus, we're hoping to travel to OK and TX this spring to visit his colleges and I don't know how I'd do that while working.

Don't get in line behind us

2011-12-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

Joshua and I went to Walmart today and he picked up some items of his own. We decided to use the self check out because we were in a hurry and didn't want to wait in the long lines at the regular checkouts. Joshua went first and his total came up to $49. What I didn't know was he had a $10 bill and 39 one dollar bills to pay with. It took a loooooong time to feed 40 bills into that machine. So much for getting thru quick!

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T08:46:00.000-06:00

The tree lit up (Christmas Eve)

David's favorite gift....$$

One of Jonathan's gifts

Abi reading Calvin and Hobbes

making cookies

2011-12-22T19:50:00.000-06:00

Abi and friend......making cut out cookies

Drugs and Statistics

2011-12-17T22:02:00.001-06:00

On the way home from David's shoulder surgery, we stopped at Walmart to pick up his prescription pain pills. As I (Phil) was standing in line at the Pharmacy, I noticed that Walmart sells a series of Do-It-Yourself drug testing kits. Pretty cool! For only $13 I can test myself (or my kids, I suppose) for Marijuana in the privacy of my own bathroom. Or, for $48 I can test myself for 12 different drugs including cocaine, meth, and a bunch of others I didn't recognize. I realize this is real stuff to many families, but it made me chuckle to think that all I need to do is just meander over to the friendly neighborhood Walmart to ensure that I am indeed drug free.

Ironically, the very next morning I was sitting innocently at my desk when our Human Resources department called and told me to report to our main office for a "random" drug test. I put that in quotes since this is the 3rd or 4th time I have been "randomly" selected! Maybe they stack the selection to names starting with A, B or C.

So, if you hear that I've been fired in the next week or so, it just may be a result of me *not* using those handy drug test kits to ensure I test negative.

David's shoulder surgery

2011-12-16T09:53:00.002-06:00

Yesterday David had his shoulder surgery. It was done at an outpatient facility, so he got to come home the same day (around 6pm). The Dr said the ligament tear was worse than what he thought, so instead of drilling 3-4 holes in his shoulder bone to attach the ligament to, he had to drill 7. (On a normal repair, he only does 3 or 4 holes.) This was good and bad news --- good because we knew we made the right decision to do surgery (it would not have healed on it's own with therapy) and bad because that means more pain for David. When he got home, we set him up in his own 'hospital bed' --- which was a Lazy-Boy chair in his room with a remote to turn on the light at the 'nurse's station'. Phil had rigged a remote that hooks onto an outlet in our room (which we plugged in a lamp), so when David clicks the remote, it turns on our lamp. The nurses had told us that even tho David was not in any pain when he came home, he would be in the middle of the night. The nerve block they gave him to do the surgery was going to wear off around 2-3am. Since it was very difficult for him to get up, we wanted to give him a way to call us without waking up the other kids. He is home from school for the rest of the year. Yesterday was his last day, so it worked out good that he only had to miss one day. The other kids have school until next Wed, but Seniors get out early because they don't have to take finals. David also has a box called an 'Polar cube' which you fill with ice and let some tubes run the cold water thru ice packs that are on his shoulder. It is suppose to be a continual ice pack that you don't have to change (just add more ice). He does have significant pain --- even with pain pills, but the nurses said that would be normal. So, if you think of it, say a prayer for him......that much pain can make for some long days.

David's surgery photos

2011-12-16T09:35:00.002-06:00

view of his 'hospital bed' --- which is really a Lazy Boy chair -- and his Polar cube

(All these photos were taken before the nerve block wore off.....which is why he's smiling with thumbs up!)

A Sad, Sad Day

2011-12-15T14:54:00.004-06:00

(Phil as Guest Blogger)

They say all good things must come to an end.

Here is the automotive love of my life back in her prime, in all her luxurious glory.

One morning last week Joshua urgently pleaded with me to stop at the library, check out a particular book, and drop it off at the High School before 11:30 am before his Reading Lab class started. I grudgingly agreed that I *might* do it. (I fully planned to get the book for him, but parental pride kept me from admitting it and letting him think I was his slave)

Around 11:25 I realized that I had forgotten about it and was not going to make it to the HS in time. As I ran to my car, I dialed the school secretary and frantically told her to "hold on! I'm coming with a book for Joshua! I'll be there in 10 minutes."

I arrived at the library 8 minutes later and ran to the Christian Fiction section. Actually, I didn't run. I hobbled rapidly. I was still wearing my walking boot from the bad ankle sprain on Thanksgiving.

After checking out the book I hobbled rapidly back to my car and discovered it would not start. As I opened the door to get out and look around, an incredibly loud and piercing horn started blaring. I have set off my car alarm before, but this was like nothing I have ever heard. It was a siren, an ice cream truck, up & down the scales - all at an ear splitting volume. I honestly thought someone was messing with me and had put some gag device under my hood as a joke.

I frantically tried everything I could think of. Lock/Unlock with the key, use the remote entry, open & close the door. Nothing worked and the piercing horn had to be bothering the entire Tremont up-town district. Finally, in utter desperation I opened the hood and cut one of the wires going to the horn.

As I was cutting the wire, a gentlemen from a nearby office was walking up to me and asking how I was doing. I sighed and tried to explain, but was also sliding back into the driver's seat - knowing I was already *way* late for getting Joshua's book to the High School.

I ended the conversation with the gentleman and turned the key. Nothing. The car alarm system had disabled my starter. Now I was really sunk. I pounded my head against the steering wheel in frustration (kinda...).

The gentleman was still there, and when I explained my predicament he quietly handed me a set of keys and said "Here. Take my car." I didn't know this guy from Adam! Only in Tremont. He then commented that he liked the book on my front seat (the Bible). I guess that convinced him I was honest?

Only then did he stop and think and asked "Ummm, this is *your* car, isn't it?".

Instead of my usual honesty, I wish I would have responded: "Nope. And its not my Bible either. I was just trying to steal it."

He really did let me take his car to school to drop off the book. Turns out he is the head of the Mennonite (Something) Association of Illinois, which has its office across from the Tremont library. I had no idea.

Anyway, I have spent the last 9 days trying against hope to resurrect my dear Lincoln. I have messed with the battery, installed a new computer module purchased on eBay, talked to mechanics, and paid $27 to get "expert advice" online. All to no avail.

Oh - did I mention that my car still sits parked across from the libary? I have even talked to the Police Department, trying to convince them not to tow it and that I really will get it off of the street very soon.

At this point, the plan is to get $325 from a junk yard tomorrow. So, I guess this blog entry is a bit of an obituary for my dear old friend. She served me faithfully for nearly 6 years and 80,000 miles. Sigh.

Old photos

2011-12-14T15:04:00.000-06:00

These are some old photos I ran across recently and thought it would be fun to post. They were taken by Rosie when C and B were alot younger. It is fun to see their expressions while feeding and riding Missy.

2011-12-09T15:29:00.000-06:00

When the boys were little they said the day would come......

2011-12-04T22:34:00.000-06:00

......when they would 'eat me out of house and home'. Well, I believe the time is here. Tonight we were having biscuits and gravy (#1 meal choice at the Baurer house) for supper. I had cooked 40 biscuits thinking that was alot --- and hoping the leftovers would get eaten. 1/2 way thru the meal, all the biscuits were gone --- and only 5 of us were eating them (I prefer bread with my gravy). I was a bit surprised because I thought I'd made more than enough (I had quadrupled the recipe). After laughing and asking how many biscuits each person had, 2 boys admitted they ate more than 10 (they didn't say how MANY over ten) and the other boy said he had 9. Wow! Teen boys really do eat alot! I HAVE noticed my grocery bill getting higher and how we run out of supplies sooner, but what a privilege to have 3 boys with a healthy appetite. Soon they will be gone and I'll be wishing I was cooking for more than 2.

Weekend Turkey Day injury

2011-12-01T08:23:00.000-06:00

Phil injured his ankle playing basketball this weekend and ended up in a walking cast. Good thing there was a Dr in the house and we just 'happened' to have a walking cast laying around.

but the cast.......

2011-12-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

.........didn't stop him from climbing on a chair to change a lightbulb!

photo from years ago

2011-11-24T16:18:00.000-06:00

Abi and Cassie 2007

Helicopter ride

2011-11-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

A friend of ours has a son who is a helicopter pilot. He was flying near our home yesterday and landed a few miles away. He gave rides to several people and David was one of them. It was a fun opportunity for David. And makes him wonder which he'd like better -- flying helicopters or planes. OR both!

Watch Dog

2011-11-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

Watch Dog = watching dog

Buddy likes to sit on the desk chair in the office and watch everything from our front window.....just to make sure he doesn't miss anything. He truly is our watch dog.

playing ball

2011-11-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

These are photos from Abi's game tonight. It was very close and went into overtime. Unfortunately, they lost by 3 points.

Happy Sweet 16, Jonathan!

2011-11-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos of the birthday boy. We had a fun time teasing him ahead of time that he probably was just getting socks and underwear as gifts. And then hiding his real gifts in some clothes boxes that had socks and underwear laying inside.

Update

2011-11-11T09:31:00.000-06:00

Some things our family has been doing lately:

David ended up in Iowa City College of Medicine for his hearing loss. The Dr there was a specialists in this type of hearing/ear problems. Unfortunately he did not have any more answers than the previous Dr's and was unsure how or why this occurred. He did not think it was likely to happen again so he didn't restrict him on any activities. But, he did stress that David should always wear hearing protection to save what hearing he had left. He also said it's possible to fit him with a hearing aid that may help -- so, our next step is to try that. David also has a shoulder injury (from dirtbiking this summer.....it's never healed completely and keeps 'popping' out.) and saw an orthopedic Dr last week for that. The Dr thinks it's torn cartilage and wants to do a dye MRI this coming week. IF it's true, he will need surgery (with a 4 month recovery). So........we may soon be taking up a collection called 'David's Medical Expense From Unfortunate and Accidental Happenings'

Jonathan finished football and is very happy to have his evenings and weekends back. He did start Robotics, but that is only 2 nights a week --- a BIG difference from the 6 days/week football practices. Jonathan is looking forward to his 16th birthday this weekend. Wow! Hard to believe we'll have another driver soon! Something the insurance company is looking forward to, too --- and us parents are scratching our heads wondering how parents afford this. And the same scenario will happen again next year when Joshua gets his license. 3 teen boys! A big boom for Mr. Insurance! But, it will be exciting for Jonathan --- turning 16 and getting your license is something I vividly remember as a kid.

Joshua still goes 3 days/ week to his afterschool job. This is such a blessing for him. He has a steady income to feed his collection hobby AND to save (for car and college). Work is only 1/4 mile away and he is able to ride the 4-wheeler. Since the time changed, tho -- it's been a bit harder. The light on the 4-wheeler does not work, so he has to leave before it gets dark. That really limits his time at work. We will either have to fix the light or start driving him --- otherwise he will only be staying for 1 hr when Dec hits. Joshua also is having alot of fun with his coin collection. He has been researching what is valuable and what is not. One thing he does is ask to see everyone's change and if he finds something worth collecting, he 'buys' it from us. David is his main jackpot. David does not use his change --- he just lets it collect in the truck cupholders until they are full. Joshua loves going thru all those coins --- picking out what states (quarters) he needs and trying to find a buffalo or wheat penny. One unfortunate thing that has sprung up for Joshua is his body's development of asthma last month. He had a common cold that just turned into wheezing and difficulty breathing. That has never happened to him before. He had to go get breathing treatments and was sent home with asthma meds and more treatments. Ugh! It makes me wonder if this house/woods/tree pollens/etc we're living in are causing this. None of our kids ever had trouble with asthma before we moved here and since then 2 of them come down with it.

Abi started basketball a few weeks ago and has her first game tonight. Her team is a bit limited on numbers (only 5 5th graders went out) and has to draw some girls from the 6th grade team to help. But, even with the 6th graders I don't think they'll be winning any major tournaments. This travel team they are on really needs to be just an inter-mural team --- one where they play other teams from the same community....and just for fun, not anything that counts. Most of the girls have never played before and need time to develop skills. But, there are just not enough kids who go out in this community to do an inter-mural so the park district (who runs this) makes it into a travel team. The teams they will be playing against are teams where the girls are a level above inter-mural and have to try out to even be on the team. So they are much more advanced. Hopefully it will not discourage the girls-- that they will be able to see this as fun and even if they are out- matched. And hopefully they will end up still enjoying basketball at the end of the season. Abi is having fun at the practices, tho......and learning alot. Abi did decide to put her ferret up for sale (anyone want to buy her? Julia??? Daniel???). Suzi Q likes to chew on our projector cords in the basement and we either have to keep her in her cage all the time, or make sure someone is watching her if we let her out. If not, she will probably ruin some very expensive equipment (and possibly kill herself in the process!). She has been very entertaining, tho --- we all like to sit around and watch her play. She really likes Buddy and tries to play with him but he is indifferent and won't really interact. We do have to watch what things she tries to 'steal'. She's quite the thief! It is especially funny to find her walking thru the house dragging a heavy item (ie--- the remote control) to her stash. Anything with rubber is a favorite (which is why she's so fascinated by the electrical cords).

Things slowed down at work and I have been 'laid off' for several weeks. I am soooo glad for this! With all of David's Dr appointments I'm not sure how I would have handled the running if I was still working. I'm also helping with Abi's basketball team. The coach had asked at the beginning if any parents would help him and Phil/I volunteered. Phil hasn't been able to do alot, but I've been helping at one or two practices a week. And may even coach some of the games when the main coach can't be there. This is fun for me -- but a bit nerve racking, too --- I've never coached before and have to learn all the official ways to interact with the referees. I am hoping Phil will be able to help at those games if needed.

Phil's work has NOT slowed down, so he stays quite busy. But, I am so thankful for his job --- he has the flexibility to take off when needed or work at home if he can get more accomplished there vs at his office. He is leading his men's Bible study this year, so he's gone every Thursday night. He is really enjoying the video series they are doing this season --- one by Chip Ingrim.

creative imagination

2011-11-07T19:11:00.000-06:00

Joshua's class was studying the story about the Trogan Horse and they were given the option of building a model of it for extra credit.
This was his horse.

Goodby, Onyx

2011-11-06T21:22:00.000-06:00

Today Onyx went to his new home. He was quite a handful these past few months, so saying good by was not as sad as I thought it would be --- but actually a relief. I'm sure I will miss him in the future, tho --- he was a funny guy.

Dress Up

2011-11-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

This week Abi and Joshua went to 2 different Harvest/Dress Up parties. Abi dressed up like a clown at one and a car accident victim in the other. She was so convincing at the accident victim that several people believed it was real and wanted to know what happened. Joshua went along to help work at the games -- and just hang out. Besides getting alot of little prizes and candy, Joshua, Abi, and Abi's friend all won a cake at the cake walk

Jonathan's Pictures

2011-10-31T17:39:00.000-05:00

Senior Photos

2011-10-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

more of David's Senior photos

2011-10-29T11:34:00.001-05:00

2011-10-29T11:32:00.000-05:00

2011-10-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

More photos from WLPP

2011-10-26T12:07:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Decorating

2011-10-21T11:44:00.000-05:00

It is a long standing tradition at Abi's school for the 5th grade class to do a Pumpkin Decorating day in Oct. Abi chose to do Angry Bird characters. She made one large red bird plus 3 small blue ones. The parents (or grandparents) come to school to help out --- and can stay afterwards for some fun pumpkin games. Painting 4 pumpkins was fun, but a little rushed. We only had 1hr to get it all done. But, it turned out cute! The rest of the photos are ones other kids did.

other pumpkins

2011-10-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

more pumpkins

2011-10-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

Another Fall photo

2011-10-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

Onyx

David's new car?

2011-10-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

.......well, he WISHES it was, but it's not. A former co-worker of Phil's came over and this Porche was what he drove. It was fun to check it out.

Mr Fredrickson?

2011-10-16T20:28:00.001-05:00

For Homecoming week the kids were asked to dress up like a character from a Pixar movie. Joshua chose to dress up like Mr. Fredrickson from the movie 'Up'

David's Dr appointment

2011-10-13T14:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a follow- up appointment with David's ENT Dr. He did not find anything abnormal on the MRI or the CT scan. He plans to have one other Dr re-read the CT scan to make sure, but as of now he does not know what caused the hearing loss. They did another hearing test while David was there -- and it is the same as last time. It did not improve or get worse in the last 10 days. The Dr did not put any restrictions on him --- but I'm not sure I want him going out for track this year! I think the bottom line is it's a mystery to them what happened or why he lost hearing.

Joshua's photos

2011-10-11T07:46:00.000-05:00

Wildlife Prairie Park with cousins

2011-10-10T18:51:00.000-05:00

2011-10-10T18:46:00.001-05:00

Abi's Fall photos

2011-10-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Outlaw

2011-10-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

I recently finished John Eldredge's new book 'Beautiful Outlaw' and would highly recommend it. If you've read any of John's other books, you know each one is eye-opening. This is a book you'll want to keep by the nightstand to read and re-read. Not a book you finish in a day or two, but one you want to savor as you go. . The whole book is describing the personality of Jesus.....taking you thru the scriptures and letting you see different sides of him. But, not in a dry theological way. He writes to the common man in a fun, practical way. It's definitely challenged my thinking --- what does Jesus think of me? Answer this and you get to the root of what you really think of him. Is he safe? Is he for me? Is he harsh? Can you trust him? Is he demanding? Is he cold? Is he distant? Is he playful? Is he extravagant? Is he human AND God? Is he cunning? Is he a trickster? Is he fierce? Is he really inside me?

David's MRI

2011-10-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

David had his MRI yesterday. He is not claustrophobic, so he did fine. After a long wait in the waiting room he finally got in. Even tho he had a scheduled appointment if any emergencies come up from inpatients at the hospital, they get to go before him. Once he got in it took about 50 minutes to complete. We asked for a CD to take home and were able to look at the images on our computer. Hopefully we will get the Dr's opinion in the next few days.

fall colors at our house

2011-10-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hearing concerns

2011-09-30T15:15:00.000-05:00

This past May, David was running at track practice and felt something 'pop' in his ear. Then his ear had some ringing and felt plugged up. He could not hear right out of it. Since he had struggled with allergies (they are always bad in the spring/fall), we assumed it was sinus related. We first had him take over the counter allergy meds and when that didn't clear up, took him to the family Dr. The family Dr thought it was related to sinuses, too and had us try several different prescriptions in the following months. Nothing seemed to make it clear up. Finally, the had us go to an ENT Dr. This Dr did a hearing test and found that he has lost hearing in the higher pitches of that ear. He does not believe it is related to sinuses, but is not sure what it is. He is having us do a MRI next week and said that the hearing loss could be permanent. If the MRI is clear, he'll do a CT scan. So, if you could join us in praying for wisdom for the Drs and healing of his ear, we'd appreciate it.

Onyx on 'vacation'

2011-09-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

.....well, it's not really a vacation for him. He had to work all week. This is a photo of him at the training facility.

See you at the Pole

2011-09-28T07:36:00.001-05:00

Today the kids left early for school to participate in the 'See You At The Pole' prayer rally. I'm so thankful for the kids who organize this!

(these are not photos from the kids' school --- just ones taken off the web)

End of the week

2011-09-23T08:04:00.001-05:00

It's Friday and the first day of fall. The kids are adjusting to being back in school. These are some things we've been up to:

A couple of weeks ago David and Phil went up to Chicago so David could take a Career Assessment test. It was 2 days of testing and then a lady went over the results with them. They both found it very interesting and we're hoping to do some more research on the computer these next few weeks. David has considered being a pilot as his career, but we want to research if there are any other careers he would enjoy more (that we hadn't thought of). David also continues to fly --- and now can do it on his own since he successfully passed his solo flight. He just has to build enough hours in the air to qualify for his pilot's license. He also has to pass a written test (which he's been studying for). He is very busy this school year --- taking a college class, working part time, flying, restoring his car, riding dirtbikes, and trying to figure out careers and what college to go to. It is no wonder we don't see him around home anymore!

Jonathan has been busy this fall with football. He has practice every day after school and games on Monday and Friday. He does enjoy it, tho. He and Joshua also work on Saturdays doing janitor-type jobs at Phil's company. This gives them some college/car savings plus a little spending money. Jonathan recently used his spending money to buy a touch pad. Now we have 2 in the house (Joshua owns one, too). They have alot of fun with them, but we do have to limit how much time they spend playing computer games. They are very addicting --- just ask Phil! He loves playing them as much as the boys.

Joshua keeps busy with his after school job (3 days/week) and helping Jonathan do janitor work on the weekends. He is still working at balancing homework, job, and social life. High School is a big change for him --- lots more homework and studying. One of the things he enjoys about being a Freshman is going to Cabin --- the church youth group. David and Jonathan have gone for several years and now he gets to join them. Joshua is very social, so getting to go to these activities (plus taking friends) is something he likes. He also has started going to the gym to work out with Phil and David (Jonathan does it at school). We are trying out a family pass for 4 months. If the majority of us use it regularly, it will pay for itself. If not, then Phil will just do an individual membership and we'll pay extra per time if the boys go. They lift weights and run on the indoor track. It's a big deal for them because they have to get up at 5:45am! They go before school/work. But, he's been enjoying it so far. Phil is the expert weight training teacher --- he got great training at his last gym. Now he teaches the rest of us.

Abigail just turned 11 last week. She got to host AND attend her first slumber party (see former post). She had alot of fun, but wasn't ready to do it again real soon. She said it was alot of work to clean up. Going thru 7 rolls of toilet paper does make for alot of clean up! She likes middle school and fits right into the social part --- focusing on clothes and hair. Yikes! As a 5th grader, there are not many school sports she can do, but I am hoping to sign her up for a tennis team later this fall. This is something new thru the park district. They got some grant money to start a tennis team. Abigail has alot of athletic talent, but we haven't pushed her to pursue any team sports (besides softball last year.....which she didn't like). She does piano and music, but not much sports.

I got called into work last week, so I'm adjusting to my new schedule. This is very early to be back at work (I usually don't go until Dec/Jan), but they have been very busy and need extra people. I am also taking Onyx to a trainer for the next couple of weeks to determine if he's going to end up staying at our farm or being sold. Even before he bucked me off Labor Day weekend, I had been talking to the trainer about bringing him in. I feel like he's at a training level above my ability. And I don't quite know what to do or if he's even the right horse to keep. I really do like him, but I have to have a horse that is safe on trails. And he must have the potential to be safe for other riders in future years. So, having the extra income from working early will help pay for this training.

arm bracelets

2011-09-23T07:07:00.000-05:00

When Abi was at a friend's house, she learned how to make these bracelets. You can do them in different color combinations.

Sleepover

2011-09-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Guest Blogger: Abi

On Friday night, my friends and I had a sleepover at my house! I invited 9 people, but only 7 could come. Before we went to my house, we went to the football game. I don't even know what the score was, we didn't even watch the game; we ran around behind the bleachers. There's a big open field behind there where the football players practice. After the game, we all crammed into the van and drove to our house. First (this was my friends' choice), we went up to my room to see Susie-Q (my ferret; see last post). They loved her, and I don't think Susie-Q minded them being there. By then it was 10:30, and we all hustled downstairs to play some games or just to talk. We ended up doing some karaoke using Mo (my friend) 's iPod. Katy totally rocked at singing!!! She was the best, she sounded like a famous singer! Next we talked and I opened my presents from my friends. I got some finger nail polish, a kit for making friendship bracelets, a lot of string for making bracelets, some candy, a Clair's gift card, and an Itunes gift card! After that we got about 7 rolls of toilet paper, wrapped each other with it, making ourselves mummies, breaking out of them, and then trashing the place (such as hanging toilet paper around the room making a spider web, and then making the strings holding the toilet paper up collapse from their weight, and then not being able to see the carpet because of the toilet paper all around). Basically, we T-P ed the basement. We had a blast. We videotaped the whole thing, and you could see everything. Soon it was midnight, and we threw toilet paper around and had a pillow fight. We then talked and giggled and played games until about 2:00, and then we went to bed.
We woke up about 7:00 and ate breakfast (my mom made us eggs and hot chocolate), and then we took turns riding Cowboy (our horse). Afterwards, I took people for rides on my 4-wheeler and taught them how to drive it, and they took other people on rides behind them. Then the parents started rolling in to pick up my friends. (Groan.....) After they left I was left to do the job of cleaning up the basement. (*sigh*) That took about an hour, and then, to catch up on my sleep, I took a long nap. I had a great time! Sorry there's no pictures yet. Hope to get them on here soon.

Abi's new pet ---- Suzi

2011-09-16T07:05:00.003-05:00

She bought her with her Birthday money. She found a seller on Craigslist who sold the ferret, cage, food, litter, and all accessories in a package deal.

Joshua's photo of Abi

2011-09-15T06:18:00.002-05:00

Joshua took this picture with his Zoom

Happy Birthday, Abi!

2011-09-13T06:56:00.000-05:00

Mud day photos

2011-09-09T07:04:00.000-05:00

One of David's friends took these photos. It was the day they came to our house, dug out a pit in the back meadow, and went mudding with the ATV's. The kids ended up 'swimming' in the mud themselves. These give you an idea of what they looked like at the end of the day.

Football season!

2011-09-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of Jonathan in his uniform. Last Friday night was Mom's night and all the varsity player's mothers wore their sons' jerseys

Trail riding

2011-09-05T16:26:00.000-05:00

David and I met Greg, Trista, and Carmen (Trista's friend) at Jubilee for trail riding today. Most of us had fun, but it was not my best ride --- Onyx bucked me off. Thankfully nothing was broken and I didn't get any serious injuries.

Yeah, David!

2011-09-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

David and I went to Elevate Church this morning and the pastor read the passage that tells where Peter preaches to the jailer. The jailer and his family believe and are immediately baptized. The pastor then asked if any believers who were not baptized already wanted to do it today. David wanted to and was given a change of clothes and towel. It was very touching to watch! When he came up from being immersed, the crowd of people cheered. Yeah, David! I'm so excited for you!! (the only thing about it was Phil and the younger kids missed it --- they were out in IN. Of course, we had no idea a baptism was going to happen today :-)

Abigail and the mud pit

2011-09-01T06:47:00.000-05:00

My girl likes mud!

Muddin'

2011-08-28T07:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday David and several friends/neighbors built a mud pit in the back meadow. They dug out a strip of dirt, filled it with water and rode their 4 wheelers thru. Then they invited all their friends over for a muddin' party. Not only did their friends bring more 4 wheelers, but they brought surf board-type sleds. And those who didn't ride ATVs thru it, went 'surfing' on the sleds. I couldn't find the camera by the end of the day, but would have added another photo if I could. It would have been one with 15 teens standing around the pit covered head to toe in mud.

Football scrimmage game

2011-08-22T08:54:00.000-05:00

Jonathan is playing football this year. Last Friday was a scrimmage game and this Friday they'll have their first real game. It's both exciting (for the dad and boys) and scary (for the mom) at the same time. Any mother with a boy in football knows what I mean.

1st Day of School

2011-08-18T07:58:00.000-05:00

5th grade

Sophomore

Freshman

Senior

Drat.

2011-08-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

Lest you think David leads too boring a life, I'll quickly mention that we (David, Phil, and 2 friends) drove 2 hours to Joliet Saturday night (he solo'ed on Thursday, raced at the State Fair on Friday) for another Motocross race. We arrived, attended "Moto Church" and the rider's meeting, and were ready to go. Then it started raining. Hard.

Fortunately we had a popup canopy over the bike so we all hunkered down hoping it would pass. The problem was that the ground we were standing on was starting to flood and our feet were getting soaked.

We finally grabbed the insides of the canopy and slowly moved it up and over the pickup so we could load David's bike into the truck.

Here we are trying to get his bike in the truck without drowning in the process. You can't see it, but it is POURING outside and we are becoming sopping wet.

The whole soggy lot of us then drove 2 hours home, not having even started David's bike.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you don't even get into the race. :)

World's Fair of Money

2011-08-16T21:39:00.001-05:00

Joshua and I (Phil) drove to Chicago Monday morning to see the Shedd Aquarium and attend the World's Fair of Money. Linda & I have tried to maintain a tradition of an overnight trip with each child alone after their 8th grade graduation. Joshua's choice was to attend a large coin show. Since school starts Wednesday, we had to act quickly. (Not that I have ever procrastinated away opportunities in the past...)

The World's Fair of Money is hosted by the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and was at the Rosemont Convention Center near Chicago. (I'll give a coupon for a free night at the Baurer Bed-n-Breakfast if any of you know what a Numismatist is without looking it up.) However, the show didn't start until Tuesday, and Joshua needed to be back home Tuesday night so we drove to Chicago a day early to visit the Shedd Aquarium as a bit of a bonus.

Here is Joshua and "Sue", the largest, most complete, T-Rex ever found.

However, we really didn't want to see Sue. We wanted to penguins, dolphins, sharks and sting rays.

Unfortunately, there was a HUGE outdoor line at Shedd when we arrived at 1 pm Monday. Not wanting to spend our afternoon in the hot Chicago sun, we decided to try the Field Museum of Natural History instead.

There was absolutely NO line a the Field Museum. At first I thought this was a wonderful blessing. I commented about the museum being so much less populated than the Aquarium to the 3 somewhat underworked ladies at the ticket counter. One girl at the far counter muttered "It's cuz this place is BORING!". The lady selling me the tickets quickly interjected that it was NOT boring and that I shouldn't listen to her.

I probably should have listened to her.

It really wasn't all that bad. I could have enjoyed the mummies and some of the dinosaurs, I think. But poor Joshua really didn't have much interest in a bunch of dead animals and people. We had been syched up for LIVE creatures.

One redeeming aspect of the museum was the 25 minute 3D movie of "Sue", the T-Rex. That was pretty cool.

Here is Joshua in front of the Field Museum. We never did figure out what the "Whales" exhibit was. Maybe we just didn't look hard enough?

We left around 3 pm and drove back to the hotel so I could check my work email and he could veg and watch TV. After a couple hours of laziness we drove to Giordano's for some authentic Chicago-Style pizza. Wow. That was fantastic! I think you gain 3 or 4 pounds just walking through the doors.

The next day was the *real* show. I even bought Joshua a year's membership in ANA. He is considered a YN - Young Numismatist, and they gave all sorts of goodies to him since he was an interested beginner.

Joshua had brought along $70 to spend on collectible coins. We stopped at the first booth and inquired as to their wares. Joshua immediately recognized some of the coins, including an "S-VDB penny". The price tag? $5500. This seemed to be par for the course. These coins were unbelievably expensive!

The show really was neat. They had a "treasure hunt" program for kids where you took a sheet of 19 questions to 19 different (specially marked) booths and had to find the answer. Typically the attendant at the booth would be excited to have a youngster ask questions and would then give him all sorts of goodies - coins, books, coin holders, etc.

In one case, we were trying to figure out what President was on the $100,000 bill. (Did you know there really is a $100,000 bill?) We went over to the glass cases housing the bills on display and an armed policeman kept stepping in front of me as I tried to approach the glass case. It kind of annoyed me, until I realized that another customer was actually taking the bill out of the case and examining it! Apparently the guy was authorized to do it, and the guard didn't want me anywhere close. (It was probably because I hadn't shaved that morning)

Here is Joshua happily "collecting" all sorts of collectors paraphernalia - quarter books, penny books, coin cases, etc.

SOLO!

2011-08-16T21:37:00.001-05:00

David piloted his first solo flight last Thursday!

Here is the Eagle preparing for takeoff.

Apparently it is pilot tradition to cut off your shirt after your first solo flight.

Here is David's memorial keepsake.

We decided this was too big an occasion to just let pass by without celebration, so we chowed down at Buffalo Wild Wings later Thursday evening.

David's solo flight --- landing

2011-08-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

The Lazy Days of Summer........

2011-08-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

......are about to end. School starts tomorrow.
(Wow --- where did the time go?)

MX at State Fair

2011-08-13T19:06:00.000-05:00

Last night there were Motocross races at the State Fair, so David and his friend entered. The kids and I spent the day at the fair and then joined him at the race that evening. Phil met us there, too.

Starting gate

Relaxing in the stands after his first race

The arena where he raced (I was trying to get a photo of the whole thing......track, grandstands, etc. This photo doesn't do justice to it, tho....it really is a BIG arena)

First race (he got 2nd place)

Last Days of Summer Vacation

2011-08-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

Abi and Joshua enjoyed some time at a friends lake today. School starts next week, so they need to enjoy these last few days of break.

Abi and friends

Abi going off the high dive

Joshua and friends (Joshua's in the innertube)

Interesting quotes and stats (copied)

2011-08-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinborough , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
The Obituary follows:
Born 1776, Died 2012
It doesn't hurt to read this several times.
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the last Presidential election:
Number of States won by:

Obama: 19 McCain: 29

Square miles of land won by:

Obama: 580,000 McCain: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:

Obama: 127 million McCain: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:

Obama: 13.2 McCain: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was
mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.
Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living inlow income
tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the"complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million invaders called illegal's - and they vote - then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

This is truly scary! Of course we are not a democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic . Someone should point this out to Obama. Of course we know he and too many others pay little attention to The Constitution. There couldn't be more at stake than on Nov 2012.

Roller Skating With the Baxters

2011-08-10T08:39:00.001-05:00

Hannah and Leah

Phil following Rule #1 -- don't text and skate

The Baxter Bunch

2011-08-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

Guest blogger: Abi

The Baxters came from Canada to visit us this past week. Us kids really enjoyed being with them. Let me tell you, they LOVE to swim! We probably spent at least 7 hours or more in the pool during their stay. Their favorite game is 'fishies fishies'. One person is 'it', and has to close his or her eyes and say,"fishies, fishies, come into my sea" as the rest of the people try to swim to the other side of the pool without being caught by whoever is 'it'.
Canadians have a really funny way of bowling; they have tiny balls and only five pins. We didn't get to show them the real way to bowl in America, but we did go to a roller rink. We went to Planet X, and we liked doing some of the games they had, such as Four Corners. The rink used to have the Limbo, but they have Wipe-out now. When the music stops, you have to fall down as quickly as you can. It's boys against girls. If the boys win, they get to skate to the next song without the girls, and vice versa. We skated for two hours, and by then I had some bad blisters on my feet from the roller blades. They hurt bad, but it's worth it to roller skate.
While we were roller skating, David and Andrew were with Uncle Greg boating. I heard they had a lot of fun.
My mom, Aunt Laura, Hannah, and Leah shopped a lot of the time. Uncle Jim loved Farm'n'Fleet; they don't have it in Canada. I don't understand how he can spend so much time there.
The Baxter brought their dog, a mini Dashund, Charlotte. She was a hit. I think Buddy (our dog) was a little jealous. She was allowed upstairs and he wasn't. Charlotte got attention wherever she went.
On Sunday morning we went to church, and in the afternoon we went to a Chinese buffet. The kids had a separate table from the adults, and once, we got a slice of strawberry cake, poured some sweet and sour sauce on it (it really looks like strawberry syrup!!), and I gave it to my dad to eat. He didn't know it was sweet and sour sauce, I told him that this cake with strawberry syrup on it was very good and he had to try it. I had told the other kids not to look my dad's way and not to laugh until he tried it. As my dad brought the fork to his mouth, he stopped, and just licked at it, and made a face. Afterwards, he told us that when the fork was in his mouth, the other kids started giggling. That caused him to pause. Everyone had saw my dad try it, so we couldn't trick anyone else :) We had a great time and were sorry when they left this morninig.

Water Skiing

2011-08-07T08:24:00.000-05:00

David and Andrew went water skiing with Greg and his kids.

Threshing

2011-08-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Phil was asked to 'interview' some guests at a local Threshing Days event. He interviewed a blacksmith, a sheepshear-er, and a weaver. The blacksmith showed how to melt and forge iron into different tools. The sheepshear-er showed how to shear sheep. The weaver showed how to take the wool and make it into thread --- which then can be used to make yarn for nitting or weaving rugs/cloth. They had other tents set up where you could learn horseshoeing, how they used to thresh wheat, how they baled hay, and other ways farmers used to work. Phil and I really enjoyed it, but the kids got a little bored. It probably didn't help that it was a very HOT day and standing in the sun to watch made it less fun.

The blacksmith

This 'cart' was made out of a tiller. Not as fast as an ATV -- but looks kinda fun.

The weaver

Garden produce

2011-07-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

Things growning in my garden....

Bell Peppers

Melons

Habanero peppers (for salsa)

Banana peppers (for salsa)

grape tomatoes (regular tomatoes in the background).

Peaches!

2011-07-27T16:18:00.000-05:00

Our 2 peach trees are loaded this year. I picked one today and even tho it was not fully ripe, it was YUMMY! I'm thinking they will be ready next week.

too hot to swim??

2011-07-26T08:33:00.000-05:00

That's what my kids were saying. Last week when the humidty made the 'feel-like' temp reach 115', the pool water got up to 95'. The kids complained it was too hot to swim. So, we filled 5 gal. buckets with water and froze them. Then we placed them in the pool and the kids swam with ice cubes.

More Fair photos

2011-07-23T07:54:00.000-05:00

Waiting for the fashion review to start

more artwork

obedient dog

latchhook project

Abigail's 4-H projects

2011-07-20T21:54:00.000-05:00

Abi had alot of projects --- these are just some of them.

Scratch Art

Drawing

Scrapbooking

This was not Abi's --- but I put it in here because it was so creative. All the 'corn' is made of toothpicks with fuzzy yellow plastic tips and the 'corn stalks' are broken off toothpicks. The whole display is on a styrofoam board. This must have taken a long time to make!

Joshua's

2011-07-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

This is Joshua's woodworking project. He made a gumball machine (yes....it really works). He got 2nd in the woodworking category and Runner Up for State Fair.

This is his candle/wax project. Candles in the shape of grapes on a grapevine. If you look closely you can see 2 pingpong balls in front of the dish. He brought them to show the judge how he made the grapes. He filled the balls with hot wax and when it dried, he peeled off the plastic.

I took a photo of this because I really liked the idea. This was someone else's candle project in Joshua's class. All the 'lemonaide' is really wax/candles.

Dog Show

2011-07-20T14:31:00.002-05:00

Abi and Buddy did well at the Dog Show this morning. They placed 1st in both the grooming and obedience class and 2nd in the showmanship class. She got 2 trophies and qualified for State Fair. She is still too young to go to State Fair, tho. You have to be 10 in 4-H years......and she is only 9. (The 4-H counts what age you are on Sept. 1). Maybe next year :-) Even tho is started at 8:30am, it got very hot by the time it was over (noon). The heat index is 109 today and it feels like it!

Long down and stay. The owners make their dogs lay down and go to the end of the leash. The dog has to stay there for 3 minutes.

2011-07-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

Way to go Abigail and Buddy!!

4-H fair

2011-07-17T18:07:00.001-05:00

This week is the 4-H fair. It will be a big week for Joshua and Abigail (and me!). They have to have their projects in to be judged by 11am Monday morning. Abigail finished hers on Sat and Joshua is still scrambling to finish his. He and Phil did a wood project (I'll post photos later) and he's been sanding and staining/varnishing it this weekend. He's also working on a last minute candle project. I don't know if it will make it to the judges table or not, but we'll see.

Abigail has several visual art projects that she's taking. Most of them were projects she did in school this year, so she didn't have to work terribly hard to get them done by July. They were done throughout the school year and we saved them so she could enter them at the fair. But she does have some new ones she did this summer. A metal etching picture, a couple of pencil drawings, and a cartoon drawing.

Abigail will show Buddy in the dog show Wed morning (8:30am). It is suppose to be HOT, HOT, HOT this week --- so, I'm not sure if that will make it better or worse for the dogs. Since it's in the morning, it should be a bit cooler. The dog show is inside a pavilion, so at least they'll have shade. Abi also has a fashion show review (where she models the dress she made). I can't remember what day that's on, but either Tue or Wed evening. The horse show is on Thursday and even tho none of my kids show there are a few kids I know from around here that show in it. It's fun to watch.

Out with the Old, in with the New

2011-07-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

A mere 18 months ago, Abby, Jonathan and I (Phil) travelled to Decatur with a pocket full of Abi's cash to purchase a nice gentle four wheeler. Here is my lil' darlin' the February night when we returned home.

Since that time, my young Wassel has begun to figure that she's all grown up and needs something more fit for mud and speed. Her main complaint has been that the little quad would get stuck so easily when riding muddy trails with her friends. (There is some truth to it - it was so low to the ground it didn't take much of a muddy rut to overwhelm it)

So, we bade the nice gentle quad farewell last week to Uncle Ryan and Caleb, and tonight we again travelled to Decatur with the proceeds from the lil' quad, to purchase a somewhat larger (but still nice & gentle?) quad for her.

The "new" quad is really quite a bit older than the lil' one, but sits enough higher that she should be able to buzz right through the pesky mud puddles.

Unfortunately, said young'un has siblings equally enamoured with the new toy, and may have to fight off bidders for the rights to ride.

Goodby Gretel

2011-07-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

We said goodby to our little dog, Gretel a few weeks ago. She was a cute little thing to have around, but we never could get her to stop marking her territory (peeing). Even when she was let outdoor several times a day. Unfortunately, this made Buddy jealous and he started peeing around the house, too. He is usually very good about waiting to go outdoors, so this was a backwards step for him. After cleaning up one too many messes, I finally decided one of them had to go. They got to the point where they were having a peeing war in the house. Each trying to mark more things. Gretel ended up going to an organization called 'Pets for Seniors'. They take little house dogs and place them with elderly people who want companions.

Coolin off

2011-07-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

Japanese Beetle Battle --- Ugh!

2011-07-09T10:55:00.001-05:00

Many of you are fighting the Japanese Beetle Battle, too, so you know what I'm talking about. They are ALL OVER my fruit trees and grape vines. They do not eat the fruit, just the leaves. And they don't seem to bother our other trees (in the woods and around the house). It makes the tree struggle and the fruit either goes bad or is not fully developed. Last year I tried the traps. They got so full, I wondered if the bags would burst. Even tho they caught alot, I still had to use SEVIN powder, too. This year I'm skipping the traps and only doing the SEVIN powder. The traps kill alot, but don't keep them off my trees. The SEVIN keeps them off the leaves (until it rains.....and then you have to reapply). I do not like using chemicals on my fruit trees, but I'm desparate to save my peaches and grapes.

My cherry tree was completely eaten up.