Beauty in the eye of the beholder...

 

 

 

Beautiful Springtime !

It is a beautiful day in Southern Saskatchewan and the tractors are humming..or droning..or whatever sound they make. There is a meadowlark on top of every road sign and the first dandilions are smiling. What a great day. Isn't it funny how fast we forget snow? Even the endless clouds and drizzle have faded from my memory and I'm just in the mood to enjoy the beauty of now. Have a great day everyone.

It just got better! A robin is building her nest right outside my living room window in my Thunderchild. I'll be able to watch her from the deck. Nice!

Floyd Jacobs

 

Another special man in my life has gone Home. I recall being with Uncle Floyd and Aunt Marion in their home in Willen, Manitoba and spending time with them in their home after they relocated to North Weyburn to work for Western Christian College. To be with them was such a joy! Each of my kids had their after grad party in their house in Dauphin, Manitoba and we have always been an extension of their family. I will miss the little twinkle in his eye and hugs. Another lesson in appreciating those we love and regrets about too few visits too far apart. Thanks for your love for all these years, Uncle Floyd. I miss you.

Gianna and the sheep dog!

 

It is March!

It has been such a long time since I wrote on the blog. I welcome the days getting longer. Last evening was my first after supper walk and it felt so familiar. Ahh. This morning is one of the few that hasn't been foggy! The soft glow of sunrise on the snow makes a pretty picture. We were away for a week from Feb.7th through Feb.14th. We were at Negril which is on the west end of Jamaica. We had a wonderful time or relaxing and taking in scenery we haven't seen before. We enjoyed the snorkeling and hobie craft sailing. It does my heart good to see such green leaves and beautiful flowers in the winter! It feels like a different world. You know that somewhere there is still snow. Somewhere there is a list of things to be done to get ready for seeding. We got home in time for me to attend Ladies Retreat at Kenosee Lake. What a wonderful weekend of being with old friends and meeting new ones. The theme was about letting God Lead Us. It is always a blessing to be there. I love the times of singing and enjoying the snowy park. Jamaica is excited about their sunset but I must say, our "living skies" of Saskatchewan seem to me of equal or greater beauty :-) Good to be home. I am now anxiously waiting for family home at Easter. That makes my heart sing.

Happy New Year from the Bells

Hi there. I'll not post too much tonight except to wish you all a happy and healthy new year. We have been blessed by having our family home with us and we enjoyed a wonderful time together. We appreciated Robert and Melissa bringing home their photography equipment to update our family photos. We are happy to show you how much all the little ones have grown. They were sweet last year and even sweeter now :-)

How things have changed!

I had written my yearly news letter a couple of weeks ago with full intentions of getting my usual batch of Christmas cards in the mail. I had baking in the freezer and plans to head up to Saskatoon for a week to look after two little grand daughters. Within the course of an hour on Dec. 2nd, I heard that something was wrong with my father-in-law, Elford Bell, and then that he was gone! Life certainly changes in a moment. We will miss his visits to the farm. It was great that he was still so very interested in what was going on our here and loved to show up for a little visit or a combine ride. I'll miss telling him about the kids and how everyone is doing. I will miss getting a hug on Sunday mornings and having him over for a meal. He was a wonderful part of my life for 35 years and I don't let go of him easily. He has been my other "Dad" for all my married life and am grateful for his love and support of our marriage and our family. His strength and gentleness made him such a wonderful example of a Godly man!

Casey At Bat

Casey At Bat

"There is no joy in Mudville! The mighty Casey has struck out!" Okay, so it's a different game and Riderville is not Mudville, but I see a parallel here! Check out the last verse...

Post harvest

Well, it has been noted that we have not been updating the blog. That's a good sign I think that life has been busy and productive and pretty normal. We are thankful to have put the last of the chickpeas in bins and now is time for other fall projects. If you're not a farmer you will think we are all done now until seeding :-) Not quite.

This week is Gianna's 1st birthday. She shares the birthday of my Mom, Grace Jacobs. It makes a difference to me that instead of a sad day of missing my Mom, it is also a joyful day of thanking God for a special little life that blesses us again! My Mom loved children and I'm always sorry that she never got to cuddle these sweet great-grandchildren of hers. I still have a stash of her fabric and each manages to get a little piece of Grandma Jacobs stash!

I'm off to a ladies bible class this afternoon. It is called "Giving For All It's Worth" What a wonderful book to study, wonderful ladies to fellowship with and wonderful lessons to shake me up and inspire me to do more! Last week was about money and the widow's mite, this week is about looking for talents we can use and share as illustrated by Dorcas. You have talent you know! Just think about what you enjoy doing. Must go. I'll think on this and write more and maybe add pictures next time.

Before and after flower shots. Can you tell the difference??

 
 
 
 

Uncle Stephen is home and Josiah's first combine.

 
 
 
 

It was so great to have Stephen back to the farm. The visit was too short and the days were full of harvest activity. It was still a special time for him to be in Canada to reaquaint with the nieces, Linaya, Gianna and Abby and the nephew, Josiah! They all love Uncle Stephen. It won't be long until Christmas and hopefully we can all be together at the same location for a new family picture.

Harvest is going well. We have been stopped only twice for repairs. It feels like we're a couple of weeks into harvest. You reach a point that a nap is not enough. It is exciting to be see all the progress around us. Sometimes at night, the fields in the neighborhood look like there are fireflies. Combines and trucks. On a repair run to John Deere I happened to find a combine for Josiah. He loves the combine SO much and was very excited when Grandpa gave it to him. The next time he rode on the combine, he had it sitting on the combine floor beside him pointing out the window. We have also rewritten the song to "the reel on the combine goes round and round" (There are MANY verses :-) )

My combine buddies

 
 
 
 

Ahh, before the grasshoppers moved in!

 
 
 
 

It's August already

Well, here we are. It's August and the machines are ready for action. Are we? I am realistic about energy levels and the unpredicability or weather ahead of us, but also excited to see the wheels in motion as we head into the fields. God has always provided us with what we need and I'm sure He has his eye on us this harvest, too. Along with the sparrows :-) It is an interesting year. We have Canola in two stages. Some had been hit by frost and survived, while Stan reseeded some parts of the fields that weren't coming back! We have Duram that was touched by drought, some rallied after rain and some stayed shorter and affected. Then we have chickpeas. As long as they get water, they keep green and growing. They really need to shut down and ripen before the frost comes knocking and locks in the green color. See what I mean about intersting?? Hmmm All in all, I'm still excited to get back out to the combine as that is one of my favorite things to do. We'll keep you posted.

Summer fun

WEll, here we are in the middle of July. We have had a busy summer with family around. We were happy to get to visit Stan's sister Karen and most of her family. They came for a week and we bounced them between houses and backyards for meals. There was even a Canada Day celebration over at Shamrock Park. Our Canada kids got to celebrate with our little US kids, Victoria and Alexandra. We have fun pictures of time together. The "kid table" tradition lives on. There were 12 kids around! We had Melissa and Monica here with their little ones at the same time that week. In addition to the mini family reunion, it has also been Vacation Bible School. Monica, Roy and the girls were here again as Roy was helping out with Teen activites. Now, we regroup and get things in place for harvest, which will approach quickly. The July heat has finally turned on!

Heavenly sunlight!

Well, maybe not "heavenly", but it's sure great to see the sun and feel a little heat! I has been nice to have a few days inside but now that the sun has decided to return the outside work is calling. I'm excited to go see what has grown in the garden. I look forward to picking the fresh veggies this summer!

Stan's Dad did not end up having surgery. We are so grateful that he got feeling better. Stan's sister, Karen, and some of her family are headed up from Nebraska later this month. I will be wonderful to have family together and let the next generation of kids get aquainted and bond!

We got a mini visit in Saskatoon last weekend. Robert and Melissa's house addition is progressing well. They are drywalling their new upstairs rooms. All the "little people" are thriving. Their personalities are so unique to each of them and what a fun time to get to know them all better. We are thankful for a healthy family. I am excited that they will all show up here sometime through the summer and look forward to the fun ahead. I've added a picture of our fun pack! God is good!

"Are we there yet?"

Waiting, waiting, Waiting. I bought this fridge magnet years ago because the message spoke to me of my impatience. How many time does our life hinge on when a certain day comes or a certain event happens. A birth, a holiday, a graduation, a visit. Sometimes it is an anticipation of something wonderful. Sometimes I think of it as "waiting for the other shoe to drop", a feeling of tension that anticipates, "Oh, what's coming next" The next hours will tell us if Stan's Dad needs to have surgery for a restricted bowel. We have been praying for it not to be necessary, but what if it is necessary. We switch our prayers for success and healing, for courage and strength for a man we love so much. I pray for courage for other families tonight who love and nurture those they love who are so very ill: To Reed and Angie as they hold their little boy for such a short time longer, for Ernie Jacobs' family and friends as they pray for comfort for him, for my sister-in-law, Jeanette Jacobs who just lost her dear Mom on Sunday morning and prepares for her funeral on Wednesday. We are all waiting for something significant. May we wait in the Lord and continue to trust Him to see us through tough situations ahead.

May 16, Spring is shy this year!

Well, we've almost finished seeding. Stan had been hoping to seed the last of the Durum wheat this week, but the weather threw us a few curves. The grass is greening and some of the trees that would have been in full bloom by Mother's day are finally opening their leaves. I haven't planted a garden yet or worked up my flower beds. Seeding and spraying are the priority and my hobby garden will come next. We will appreciate fresh veggies so I look forward to getting those started.

We are two weeks away from the offical dedication/opening of the new addition to our church building in Gravelbourg. We have been using the upgraded facility for several months but have waited for warm weather to be able to welcome people to the indoors while feeding them outdoors :-) We are pleased to have more room and to be able to have one level accessable to our seniors while still enjoying the space downstairs for classrooms. I should post a few pictures! (Note to self!)

It is such a beautiful day that I should have been outside enjoying it. Today is the best I have felt in a week so I needed to turn up the burners and get caught up on house chores. I think my allergies ran away and I finally got some medicine on Thurs. I actually was glad for a couple of slower days to rest up. I'll be glad for seeding to be done so Stan can rest up, too. He's been doing great but this time of year is always a bit of an endurance test. Hope all is well with you!

And we're off! Seeding begins today!

This is an exciting day for us. Stan is off to the field to begin seeding Canola. There is so much preparation time to get to this point where he can sit on the tractor for a few hours at a time and relax. My job description changes a little for the rest of the spring and summer as well. Instead of just keeping the farmer fed, I now get to do seed delivery to the field, general "gopher" (go for ____________)and water truck driver when we begin spraying. It's so exciting! (I guess you'd have to be here to understand) I bought my garden seeds in Saskatoon last week and look forward to getting a few things growing again, too. I must admit to being a hobby gardener and don't rely on it for our winter supply. Rather, it is a joy to eat fresh veggies and put some away if it doesn't conflict with our harvest schedule, at which time I turn into the combine operator (my favorite!) Hope all is well with you,too. Have a great day, the sun's shining and God is good!

Update for the blog

Oh my, where has the time gone? We have just returned from a two week trip south to see our Stephen in Oklahoma and Stan's sister Karen and some of her family in Nebraska. We traveled with Robert, Melissa, Josiah and Abby! What a great trip. Melissa said that was odd that we could say "what a great trip" after experiencing a sick boy the first couple of days, tornados, rain, hail and 8 inches of wet snow! I guess you just had to be there. We were stormed stayed an extra 2 days in Nebraska as we waited out the snow storms and flooding between Nebraska and Canada, but even that had it's up side of spending the extra time with Karen and Terry. The upside was always the companionship of traveling with family, spending time with Stephen and meeting old friends as well as making new ones! We heard some wonderful speakers and singing at the Tulsa Workshop and Robert and Melissa were excited to meet up with some special people who knew Robert from his time with Acappella. We have returned home to the anticipation of Spring and Stan is gearing up to start the planting. Every day the wind blows in warmer temperatures and the geese are beginning to find their way north. Life is good. We thank God for the safety of our travels and the encouragement of all the visits along the way!