The Grain is in the Bins!!

Yes, it's true. As of yesterday, we are finished the harvest of 2008. We are thankful for our good health and safety through it all and were able to complete harvest without running for any major repairs for the combine :-) Some of the grain has already been delivered to the elevator but Stan will have some trucking days ahead of him. We were blessed with a good crop, even after the hail storm. Don't think we're on vacation yet. We still have some fall work to complete before we're relaxing too much. I think our near travel plans will include a weekend to Saskatoon for Oct. 5th (Linaya will be 2!) and Thanksgiving weekend in Regina at Lectureship.

September has arrived

Well, where did the summer go? It smells like fall, doesn't it? We haven't had frost yet which is a good thing. Roy, Monica and Linaya were home last weekend and we got a lovely visit because the weather was holding us back from full day combining. It was fun to have Linaya for a combine ride, too, as well as letting her help bring in veggies from the garden. She would show up in the kitchen and want to be picked up. Monica took a picture of what I was calling "The Cooking With Grandma Show" She would watch so carefully. We also had a very loud Roughriders game in our living room on Sunday afternoon. Linaya and Daddy got all decked out in their "Go Riders!" shirts. We're back to longer days in the field. I'm planning on being done so we can get in on Linaya's birthday cake on Oct. 5th! Harvest has been going well. Stan has been busy moving grain around to different bins to accomodate what is being dried and what is incoming dry already on the grain trucks. He is working hard and pleased with the crop that survived the hail storm. Onward we go!

August 31st update

Well, here I sit on a drizzly Sunday afternoon. The house is quiet with everyone catching up on well deserved sleep. Harvest has been going well. We have enjoyed Robert, Melissa and Josiah home the last few days. Robert has given me a break from the combine and they stayed over so I could help my "second born" to celebrate her birthday! We are off to an evening of singing in our church building and I look forward to spending a nice evening with friends. I can't believe it is the last day of August. We are just over half done harvest, kids are back in school for another year and we are about 2 months away from out next grandchild being born. I will be excited to go spend time in Saskatoon with Linaya as Monica has the new baby in October. Melissa has been feeling a little better but still thinks February could be a long time away as they wait for their new baby. Josiah and Linaya are such fun. They have both stolen our hearts and entertain us with their rapid change from baby to walking, talking toddlers! We are very blessed by our family. Stephen was in Saskatchewan for a week and we shared him between home and Saskatoon. As always, it is wonderful to have the family together and we look forward to Christmas.

Harvest has begun!

Last night Stan took the combine a couple of laps around the Canola field. It wasn't quite ready, but so near. It is hot and windy today so it will be "all systems go" by Monday for sure, and maybe even later this afternoon. We had our last lunch at the kitchen table for a while as I eat before I go out to the combine and he eats when he brings grain back to the yard. I have the oven working today to stockpile a few basics like buns and cabbage rolls etc. so if I don't have something ready in the fridge, there will always be something for backup in the freezer. It is such an exciting time of the year! I look forward to the beginning and later I will be just as happy to see the conclusion. God has been good. We have some good looking crops and even the stuff the had hail as come back the best it could.

Concerning my recent health problem? I am without pain and ready to go! I am SO thankful this kidney stone is gone in time for the harvest.

Almost there.......

I woke up this moring feeling like "I'm back". I have spent that last couple of weeks feeling some kind of pain or haze from some kind of medications. I woke up this morning and stretched and thought, "Hey! nothing hurts" Good sign, The stent is still irritating and it still stings if I flex where the IV enters the top of my hand, but other than that, I think I'll be quite mobile tomorrow when the stent comes out. They will let me know if I continue with once a day trips for one kind of antibiotic while I take pills at home now for the other kind for another week. Stan and I don't have a good batting average for infections. I guess we just better stay out of trouble. Excuse me while I go get a LARGE glass of water and go back to bed for a while. Stan is off to the swather later than usual as he stayed up a little later last night and visited Stephen, Robert and Melissa and Josiah. They have been here since Sunday afternoon and leave today. It has been great to see them and I hadn't seen our Stephen since Christmas. He's looking great and we had some really nice visits as he did some trips to town with me. Robert learned the fine art of swathing yesterday and let Stan catch up on a nap. Melissa is looking good but still not having a real easy pregnancy and little Josiah? Well!! He just spreads sunshine where he goes!! He makes me smile!!

Continuing saga......

Well, I woke up on Sat. am with a temp of 104 and have been back in the hospital with infection. Once the fever broke I convinced the Dr. to let me live at home and drive in every 6 hours for continuing antibiotics. Please keep us in your prayers. I'm STILL trying to be in shape for harvest.

Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy...

a new way to say ZAP! I just got home from Regina General Hospital and Dr. Tse is again my hero for using modern technology to rid me off my latest frustration,a one cm. kidney stone. It just wasn't about to go away by itself. The procedure took 49 minutes and I'll need at least 5 days recovery time. I think I'm back in the harvest business. Hurray!!!

Quiet before the Harvest Rush

Well, we're poised on the edge of leaping into harvest. I've been busy trying to put some food in the freezer ready to pop in the microwave between loads of grain. I did a couple of days in the "all inclusive" Gravelbourg hospital with a kidney stone attack. It is still with me, but hopefully relocated so it won't bother me through harvest. Stan has been busy getting machinery and grainbins ready. This is such and exiting time of the year. The hail took away our "elusions of grandeur". It had looked like a really great crop before he storm. Now it's a tribute to nature's desire to come back! There is more crop than anticipated, but very close to the ground. Please say a little prayer for our health and stamina as we go into this busy time. Stan has been feeling well but it will be a hard time to keep up with needed rest. God is good and we'll keep relying on Him to meet our needs. We wish our other farmer friends a boutiful and safe harvest.

Elkhorn revisited

Well, I finally returned to Elkhorn and stopped just before sunset in the little cemetary where Mom and Dad were laid to rest. I wasn't sure how I would feel as I hadn't been there since before Dad passed away. I have a sense of calm. The cemetary itself is so well kept and respected. Dad had taken his scooter downtown in Virden one day and picked out the headstone himself. He had spent much time thinking of what to write for Mom and came up with a etched picture of a rose and the statement "Always Kindly Remembered" That could be read two ways and is appropriate either way. For himself, he had chosen an etched picture of the Bible and before he passed away we told him we had chosen "Blessed are the peacemakers" which ended up shortened to "Peacemaker" and he had been pleased. Their little house in town still boasts a big garden, Mom would have liked that. The chaos of the rest of the yard just restated to me that Manley and Grace don't live here anymore. As we wandered around the cemetary I was reminded of old friends and familiar names and of life being brief with many paths that cross perhaps only once. In comparing headstones I could see that Dad had chosen well. They are memorialized in simplicity and dignity with the polished headstone but remembered so large in our hearts and memories that it takes all of us to do it. Thankyou God for the chance to go back and for your gift to me of such loving parents.

Summer Days!

We just returned from camping with family and friends at Palliser Provincial Park, Riverhurst. We had connecting campsites and a family size table in the middle. It came complete with bunnies and squirrels to amuse the kids and cute kids to amuse the adults! We were missing Stephen, but he comes north to visit for a week in August. We enjoyed the sandy shore of Lake Deifenbaker and spent hot days cooling off wading in the water. Here are a few fun pictures of the family. We were joined by Lynn and Emma Orr and Rob and Diane Waddell and their kids. We used the deisel truck to pack up all the gear we believed necessary. We had retired Warren's 1.4million kilometer truck to the farm and decided it was time to take it on vacation :-)

Sunny days

Here we are, July 2nd! Time has been flying by and it will be harvest before we know. It has been an eventful summer already. We have had beautiful rain to make the crop and countryside a lovely shade of green! The heat has come now so we're hoping it doesn't dry up this crop before it's ready. We're not spraying chickpeas every 7-10 days this summer so it had feels like we actually have a "little breather" between seeding and harvest.

We have been to Saskatoon a couple of times to check on our family. We are waiting on two new babies. Monica and Roy in Oct and Melissa and Robert in February. We are enjoying Linaya and Josiah SO much. They just make us smile!!! Josiah is among the small percentage of kids who gets seizures with a sudden fever so we just hate it for him when that happens. The good news is that he has had the tests to assure everyone that it's nothing serious that he won't grow out of, but it's still not pleasant.

Our family is going camping this week so that should be a good "photo opp". We're meeting on the shores of Lake Deifenbaker and will have a family group of about 6 tents for a few days. Stephen doesn't get in on it this time as he's arriving home for a visit in August.

We have seen two fireworks displays. Good ol' Shamrock park still is our favorite! We are so grateful to live in Canada. It is worth celebrating!!!

Mountain top experiences!

We just returned from Banff where we watched our niece, Leanne, marry Jason in the meadow on Tunnel Mountain. It had been raining but our bride was blessed as the weather took a little turn and the wedding continued as she had believed it would!
This is the picture of"Leanne the Welder" who works with Allan, her Dad and "Leanne the Bride"! Here's the picture of Allan and Jeanette followed by the picture of Alvan and Trisha as we went hiking. (Yes, they're still identical twins!!)
It was wonderful linger in Banff an extra day and hike Johnson Canyon with Alvan and Tisha. The picture of Stan on this blog had been taken there and it was wonderful to be back there again. We also took the gondola up the mountain in Banff and spent a little time in the hot pool on Sulpur Mountain before the rain came again.
It was great to be able to spend some time with family and celebrate with them!

My favorite "little people"

Here are a couple of pics of time spent with Linaya and Josiah. They are so sweet and so much fun as they are busy learning how to talk and express themselves. You can't tease me about being a grandma! I love the word and love the honor!

Taking things to another level!

Well, we spent a couple of days in Saskatoon while Stan was involved in helping Melissa and Robert take a roof off their house and add a second floor. What an amazing thing to watch. Robert and his Dad spent a lot of time working out the fine details of retrofitting their house to make it warmer with thicker walls etc. for better heat control and hatched the plan of stretching the house up a floor. I got to spend wonderful Grandma time with Linaya and Josiah as well as time with my girls. I also saw what happens when a lot of friends and family come over to help and get fed in the backyard! Good job, Melissa. Again, quite a lot of planning required and executed beautifully! Here are a couple of interesting shots!

Pool Party!

Well, we had a wonderful weekend full of kids and fun! Monica and Melissa brought Linaya and Josiah along with Diane and baby Patience. We were visited by Nicole and daughter, Becca as well as little cousin, Ariana from next door and her Mom and Dad. The deck turned into a splash zone around the wading pool with two toddlers swings and bubbles moving through the air. It was great to have all those fun sounds of babies. Today, a heavy silence! I put the toys back and the extra chairs away and look forward to the next visit :-)
On the farming side, Stan finished seeding on Saturday night, so we are so pleased to have the crop in the ground. Now we're ready for some rain.

Wonders and miracles

Yesterday was a special day for the family of Aunt Muriel Jacobs as her ashes were returned from B.C. to be placed by her husand, Earl, in Moose Jaw. It seems like we have all been together a lot lately. The truth is, from now on, I know that life will be a series of goodbyes and it is a wonderful thing to know that God is real and heaven is our destination. In the setting of sharing memories and saying goodbye to someone we all love, there was little miracle among us. I got to hold baby Becca! If God could hand you a smile to make your day, it is on this little girl. Baby Becca has quite a story. She was born 15 weeks early weighing about a pound! and is such a beautiful little girl. God wants her here. Every little inch of her has fought for the right and she is now 9 months old and 10 pounds of wonder! NeoIntensive care in Saskatoon does good work. Seeing a baby at a time of mourning always lifts my heart. It says to me that there is a season for each of us and that life continues. Here is another little life looking for her path. May God bless Mom and baby and may I always remember to enourage them!

Reflections on Mother's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I am thinking about my special Mom, Grace Jacobs and my mother-in-law, Margaret Bell. What wonderful women and I was so blessed by them. My Mom was always there for me and a wonderful example of service to her family and her church and community. She especially had a heart for children and the elderly. I was always unconditionally loved by her and one of my greatest achievements will be to have earned her trust and her desire to have me with her in her final days of facing her illness. My mother-in-law welcomed me into her family and her heart and was also a wonderful example to me of faithfulness to her family and to God. She taught me a lot of finepoints about being a farmer's wife that I hadn't learned at my home because I was still busy being a kid! Whether it was gardening or raising babies, she was always a source if information if asked but always an example to me of a tactful mother-in-law who gave us love and space. Thankyou God for my mothers. It is now my on going delight to be mother and mother-in-law and grandma! I have joy and pride as I watch my daughters mothering their children and wish them and you a Happy Mother's Day.

First Sunday in new addition!

Well, I took a few pictures as people were arriving this morning. Please be aware that the color is not true. The chairs are really green and not blue and the walls are not yellow or gold, but rather a color closer to milk chocolate (not to be confused with dark chocolate) All this to tell you "Y'all come by and see us!" :-)

All is well

Well, it has been a busy week. It contained seeding, rain (smile!) and today was back to spraying out the little weeds that also like the rain. The canola plants are amost through the ground and the grass in the yard is greening up along with the dandilions. Here are a few seeding time pictures. There's a whole lot of setup before Stan gets to sit in his tractor. I'm glad he has tomorrow off. He's earned a little rest from all the busyness!

Tomorrow is the first Sunday we get to be in the new addition to our church building! The chairs came this week and it's time to move into our new space. It looks great thanks to a lot of hard work from a lot of people. The offical date of a grand opening hasn't been announced.We'll keep you posted.