House Guests in Nebraska!

We were so excited when the Frehners said they were coming to MO and wanted to stop and stay a couple nights with us!!  They were very brave considering the condition of the house and its lack of central heat.  But we did the best we could and plugged in a space heater for the room that they stayed in and tried to keep things as warm as we could!

Once again, I'm shy the photographs from this great visit!  But I did manage to get this cute one of Sam, Gracie Anne and Blaine!

The boys thought Sam was hilarious and had a lot of fun with Jakob, but Gracie Anne was thrilled and was at Blaine's side the whole time!!

The Frehners attended church with us on Sunday and were able to witness our records being read into our new little ward.  This was also Callan's first Sunday to pass the sacrament and he passed like a pro, even though he was nervous!

I was so glad to see Jessica again!  And I was thrilled to finally meet Annabeth for the first time!    The Frehners had a great time back in MO. and signed papers for the sell of their home - just a few days after we signed on papers selling the north 100 acres of our farm! 

Callan's Ordination to the Office of a Deacon

I wish we had more pictures from this special weekend!  I think with the chaos of living our 'double life' I some how managed to forget to take pictures of Callan's special day.  I suppose that means that this is one of the extra special time where the images will sweeten through the ages in our memories! 

Papa Jim was able to make it out for the weekend!  It was such a treat to have that time with him!  But like all wonderful things, they soon have to end.  This weekend was one of the shortest weekends of the year!

You know Papa is here when things like this show up in the house!

We took Papa up the road to our favorite IA state park!  He and Callan are looking for Hickory nuts!

I really love the photograph of Tim with his Dad.  It is obvious that they are enjoying the perfectly beautiful day and great conversation!

Probably one of the last times in the water before summer comes  next year.

She loves playing in the sand.

Bedtime and scripture study!  It was fun to have Papa be a part of it all!

I think Gracie Anne enjoyed it most!  She started all cozied up under Papa's arm and before we knew it she managed to wrap herself around his neck!

I'm guessing Papa doesn't really mind at all!

Callan was set apart on the morning of the 9th of Oct.  President Meals had some very nice things to say about him and the choice he has made and the duties he has accepted as a Deacon.  I think Callan was aware of how much his Mom and Dad love him, too!

June Through July! My, Does Time Ever Fly!

June started off with me already up at girl's camp!  This year I was asked to help with camp by serving as a stake first level specialist.  It was a great learning experience!  And as usual, it was great to get home.... and get some sleep! 

Camping in Missouri is so different than what I grew up knowing to be camping.  First, there isn't any green grass where I've camped... and especially, there is no such thing as mowed grass!!  Even though it isn't rugged, surrounded by evergreens, with the air lacking in oxygen, it is really pretty!  The girls opted to try cooking turkeys in our reflector ovens, and everyone cooked biscuits and muffins in the reflector oven boxes next to the fire. 

I had wonderful youth leaders who managed everything sooo well!! 

It was a wonderful experience!

All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl.  It also makes Jack rather boring too.  One Monday evening in June, we packed up hambugers and ran up to Nine Eagles on an impulse.  It was a good impulse and we had a great time!  The burgers were great, the water was fun, and the sunlight was perfect for pictures!



By the end of June we managed to complete the downstairs bathroom in our Nebraska house.  Just in time to show it of to my parents, and Grandma!  We hadn't seen Grandma in six years and this was Gracie Anne's first time meeting her.  After she warmed up she had so much fun talking to Grandma and showing her all of her toys!



This is a bloom from the old rose bush next to the front yard gate.  They do have some charm to them!!



Here is a shot from the gate up the road.  Tim is getting the mail.  Our wonderful neighbors, Ruth Ann and BW are so sweet to think of us and mow the strip of grass next to the road!



While the Grandparents and Great Grandma were here to visit, we squeezed in a quick trip to Nauvoo.  It was a beautiful day along the Mississippi!

We also had an amazing experience to rescue this little puppy from off the middle of the highway.  He was starving to death and couldn't stand for more than a few seconds at a time.

We cleaned him up, fed him and named him Gilligan.



However, within two weeks it became apparent that Gracie Anne was not yet ready to be a dog owner.  A strange "sibling rivalry" came to be and the two were at each other constantly.



A friend of ours helped us find a new adoptive home.  She places rescued and abandoned animals.  She interviewed lots of people and we decided that a young couple who lives 1/2 mile from a dog park would be the best dog owners ever!

So we all cried, said our goodbyes and sent our Gilligan on his way.  We were told that the first meeting was beautiful.  He ran right up to his new mama and crawled up into her arms.  We miss him terribly, but we just know that Gilligan is in good hands and is being loved and spoiled rotten! 

Delayed Post

Why the delay, you might be wondering?  I really couldn't tell you.  My guess is that I've put off posting these pictures for  four days because of some deep psychological sense of denial that this last week even happened.  Maybe it is because last week made me so tired that the thought of post pictures would make me remember how tired and sore I was.  Tim is trying to talk me into going back up this weekend and doing some more work.  I think I'd rather do the hard work that completely overwhelms me here at home...  I think I need some ice cream now!  With lots of choclate!

Bedroom upstairs during plaster removal.

Same bedroom, different angle.



Ceiling of that bedroom.  Ceilings are very traumatic for me.  Not so much physically, since we packed the hardhat this time.  Much more psychologically damaging.



Smallest Bedroom ceiling and chimney.



Smallest bedroom closet.

Smallest bedroom wall and ceiling.

Really not bad... considering...



Hallway upstairs, looking into the smallest bedroom.

Left wall came down.  There is a chimney behind that wall and its difficult to see where the plaster on the backside of that chimney (on lath) has buckled.





Ceiling in stairwell.  Was looking for shortcuts here.  Maybe we don't need to insulate the exterior wall.  Then we had a propane leak from the ancient 500 gallon tank that sits beyond this window.  They guy who fixed it told us he used to fill it.  He usually filled it once a month during the winter.  At today's prices, that would be a heating bill of $1000.00 a month.  My new mantra, while I knock plaster off of walls is "$1000.00 a month, $1000.00 a month!"  The only shortcut here will be $1000.00 a month!

Upstairs bathroom.  The thing in the upper corner over the toilet says Ideal Watercloset.  I need to do some more research to find out more.

The Happy Dance after dropping the plaster in the third upstairs bedroom.  This was the first upstairs room that we completed.  We danced after the second bedroom.  After the third one, we didn't dance anymore.  I think we were conserving energy for life preserving functions as we finished knocking plaster down upstairs and cleaned it all up, then went downstairs and knocked most everything that needed to come down downstairs.  Need to finish and clean it up.  Then pretend that it never happened so I can can resume my normal sleeping habits once again.



No more pictures. 



Something Fishy is Going On!

Today was an exhausting day in the garden.  However, we have some great raised rows and plantings to show for it!  This is the new strawberry patch.  We've planted 75 plants.  They will not produce this year because here, we need more growing time.  Spring comes a lot later here than it does in California!  We will pinch off any blooms and allow the plants to get established.  They will also put off runners so we should have a very full patch next June!

Here is the garden plot.  We are raising rows here as well.  Last year I raised a few of my rows and the plants produced so much better than those that were planted on flat parts of the garden.  With all of the rain, we should have planted rice last year, but instead most of our garden drowned!  I think we would have made a killing!!  It'd certainly be a novelty crop here!  The potatoes, peas, lettuce and onions have been planted.  We planted Candy onions and Red Candy Apple onions.  They do really well and are such good onions!  I hope they do well and aren't in too late this year because we are most definitely hungry for some garden food!

So as I'm cleaning things up, I turn around and find that all of my kids have crawled onto the apple cart with their fishing poles.  They think they've earned it!  And I'd sure be a meanie if I said they hadn't!

Upon arriving on the north side of the farm we are greeted by Juliet, our goat who thinks she is a puppy dog!

She wants to get in on the action as well.  She started baaaaing out orders from the moment we arrived and did so until she got bored and went back to the pen that she snuck out of and left poor Uncle Doug crying all by himself.



Sigh!  Getting so sleepy sitting in the sun and listening the birds and the water.  But alas, the catching wasn't great.  Avery's fish wasn't big enough to keep so its time to go home, make some dinner and check everyone for ticks!