Pillowcase Casual...

 My sis-in-law began her new job as a stay-at-home mom about a year or so ago.  She has purchased a sewing machine but has yet to use it.  I can understand the angst of starting such a new venture.  It is a bit intimidating.  After gorging on Thanksgiving dinner she and I were perusing some different websites and simple dress patterns and we came across some really fab pillowcase dresses.  I decided I would do this tutorial for her.  There are others out there to be sure, but none that were written just for you.  Can’t wait to see what you come up with, Miss!  No pressure...

My niece, Kate, turned 4 on Sunday.  My sister-in-law had the nerve to deliver her on my baby’s due date!  My little bundle of joy made her grand entrance 5 days later.  We are still working on her drama queen issues 4 years later.  Kate loves dresses and I already had a pair of boots and leggings for her, so we searched the stash for something to match.  My motto is the more color, pattern, and texture the better!  The “dress” turned out more of a tunic in length.  I will put the measurements for a dress in parenthesis.  

You will need-

2/3 yard fabric A (blue sun and moon)

1/3 yard fabric B (green polka dot)

1/4 yard fabric C (pink)

1.Cut a rectangle 15’’ (20”) by the width of fabric A.  Most cotton quilter fabric is 45’’ wide.

2.Cut fabric B 4” by the width of fabric (figured at 45”)

3.Cut two pieces of fabric C 4” by the width of fabric.  Sew together the narrow ends. Fold in half lengthwise wrong sides together and iron flat. This will be the bottom ruffle.

4. Run a basting stitch the length of the ruffle on the rough edges.  A basting stitch is achieved by setting your stitch length to the longest position.  It is a “5” on my machine.  By pulling on one of the basting threads the fabric will gather or “ruffle”.

5. Sew the ruffle to the bottom edge of fabric B.

6. Sew the top edge of fabric B to fabric A.

This photo shows top stitching the seams of the large rectangle.  It isn't necessary, but makes the garment look more finished.  

7. You now have a large rectangle. Fold it in half, right sides together, and sew a seam down the long edge making sure that the different stripes of fabric line up on the edges.

8. To make armholes put a mark at the top 2’’ in from the side and another 6’’ down on the side edge. Make a gentle “J” curve to connect the marks.  You can use a plate to help you make the curve if you desire. Cut the armhole.

9. Starting at the 2’’ mark at the top cut a gentle curve from each side to the middle ending 1’’ below the top edge.

I made the armcyes (dressmakers term for armholes) by folding the dress in half. I used a disappearing sewing marker to make my lines.  I also have a stub of chalk in my pin box I use if my kids haven't absconded with it.

10. Make a narrow hem on the armholes by folding over the fabric twice to the inside and ironing flat.  Sew the armhole hem.

 11. Fold over the neck line 1/2’’ iron flat.  Fold in again 1 1/2’’ wide and iron.  This will be the drawstring casing.  Sew the neck seam being sure to not stitch across ends where you will pull through the tie.

This photo shows the neck casing.

12. To make the tie sew together the short ends of two pieces of fabric B that are 4’’ by 45’’ to make a 90’’.  

 13. Fold in half right sides together and sew across one end and down the side. Turn right side out, tuck in unfinished end and sew. Iron.

14. Feed tie through neck casing using a safety pin.

Add caption

15. Tie a big bow and smile because you are done!

16. Go start some onions sauteing because your husband will be home soon and when he smells the onions he’ll think you have started the supper prep...

My "model" by default.  The girl it would fit was napping.

Here he is proudly displaying his artwork he likes to call, "Monkeys With Balls".

Sew Free!

I'm not sure if it a genetic predisposition or due my encouragement, but my kids love to create.  I try to offer them many different mediums.  We seem to especially gravitate towards art that makes a mess.  And we seem to crave this activity in the cooler months coordinated with whatever subject we are studying at the time- picture a Shetland pony sized paper mache horse complete with internal wire armature.  I didn't really think this one through.  Do you know how many layers it takes, added one day at a time, of flour and water sodden newspaper to complete a horse?!

The kids also like to paint.  In the warmer months, and when they were young enough to get away with it, I would let them strip down to nature and paint outside at their plastic picnic table.  When they were finished I hosed down the table and filled the wading pool with dish soap and water.  They were happy and I was happy.  Now that we have learned about modesty, and since the dog water is frozen over they have set up a studio of sorts in our unfinished basement.  It is a great space for them to spill paint and practice cleaning it up without me having to come behind them and complete the task.  The only problem being that they tend to spill paint all over their clothes.  This even after the younger set were told to strip off their outer layer.  I guess I should have checked up on them if I really expected them to follow instructions. They were subsequently banned from the studio after the last session.

For my own sanity I needed to figure out a way for them to regain their basement privileges.  Turns out I like it when they are underfoot, one floor underfoot that is.  My sewing machines are right above the studio space and I can keep tabs on them by listening through the HVAC registers.

Today as I was sorting through some unused clothing I got a bright idea.  Easy no sew smocks! Everyone is happy once again...

I will not incriminate our household by indicating how many denim shirts we have or how long we have had them.  Two of the shirts were missing all their buttons as I dug them out of the discard bag. I sewed the front of them back together before I started cutting. We scalp all buttons before clothes are thrown out.  Yes, one day I will be that crazy old lady with the mason jars full of buttons!

Cut the back off the shirt.  If you are lucky enough to have a loop on the bottom of the yoke seam leave it intact so your progeny can throw the smock on the floor and you can remind them to hang it up.

Cut away the sleeve leaving it intact at the armpit.

The strip you have left becomes the tie.

2 minutes after you started you have a smock!

My adorable model in what looks like a dress...

From the look of his pants I just might have to make him an outdoor smock as well...

Proof I Did Get Something Accomplished Last Summer...

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just spinning my wheels.  I have to continually remind myself that my husband and 6 dear children are daily on the top of my to do list.  Those of you who know me best know that I occasionally obsess over a project idea.  There is even an acquaintance of mine, with whom I shared many years of lodging even letting her use the same womb in which I was nourished for 9 months, who declares subjects taboo after I have dwelled on them overlong. One of the reasons I take so many photographs is that I need to review where I have been visually.

Upon reviewing the over 1,000 pictures I took over the summer months I came across a project that I especially enjoyed creating.  It is a quilt I made for a friend's new baby.  Those of you who have recently reproduced know that in my heart your sweet babe is already wrapped in something I have created just for them.  My mind is so far ahead of my hands!  If it makes you feel any better I put this particular project on the front burner as this was my dear friend's 9th baby!!  I think that number nine deserves something especially fine!

For Fletcher Kale.

His name and some blocks are in brown and green minkee on the herd of turtles.  The mint green blocks are ribbed minkee.  The brown blocks are dot minkee.

Psalm 145:3 is quilted in the sashing around the herd of turtles block in the middle.

Here is the quilt from the back. I like to use a dark color fabric so I can see the quilting.

Side view of the pinwheel blocks.

I had such fun making the pinwheels!  To make them I took the same 6'' blocks I used throughout and folded them in half diagonally to make a triangle and then folded them in half again to make a smaller triangle.  I then cut a 6'' block in half horizontally and vertically to make four squares.  I sewed the triangles (I think they are called prairie points when all folded up) to the squares and the squares back together again.  Then I was rebellious and randomly placed them throughout the quilt.

 With some coordinating fabric I made him some little tie shirts.

I ironed wonder under to the back of the tie then ironed the tie to the shirt.

If you don't have any commercial stabilizer on hand use a coffee filter to keep the fabric from stretching.

Tear off your improvised stabilizer.

Here is the finished product!  My friend uses cloth diapers and I've found all my old standby snap crotch onesies  don't work as well as shirts with cloth diapers.  Just in case you were wondering why I didn't use snap crotch onesies :)

Welcome to the planet Fletcher!!

I Cannot Come To You, But You Can One Day Join Me!

This is how I remember my dad, sitting at the table teaching.

"But do not let this one {fact} escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

2 Peter 3:8-9

One year ago today my dad went to heaven.  Seeing as how God is not constrained by time, those worshiping in His presence have no need of a wristwatch.  The last year has not moved ploddingly forward or raced onward by turns for Dad as it has those he beat to the finish line.  There has not been one day in the last 365 that I have not wondered with whom Dad was spending his time surrounded by the glory of God. I'm sure  Dad has spoken to Barnabas to confirm his part in writing Hebrews.  Maybe he chatted up Elijah concerning what it was like to ride in a fiery chariot.  Perhaps he even spoke to Peter about Christ’s  imminent return to take up in the clouds all who believe and the amount  of earthly time our patient heavenly father has waited until this point to allow for more of His creation to come to repentance.  

All I know for sure is what God’s word, the Bible, has told me.  I know my dad’s eternal address is heaven because he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the propitiation for his sin. (Hebrews 2:17)  I also know that Dad was prepared to be there.  

Dad sharing the gospel at an Ericksen Christmas gathering.

Dad enjoyed learning.  Both my parents were/are avid readers.  After he came to know Jesus as his saviour Dad became a student of the word. In his free time he didn’t peruse newspapers, magazines, or even much fiction in my recollection.  He could be found reading the Bible or some commentary on the Bible.  

My folks love of reading has worn off on their children.  I was tickled when I found out in college that I could get a degree in “reading stuff”.  It was actually my responsibility to sit around reading all day!  I especially enjoyed fiction.  Since Dad’s death I have had a hard time getting caught up in made up stories and have turned instead to nonfiction.  Reading for me used to be mainly for my own enjoyment, although it is also the way I learn best.  Now I am convicted more than ever to consider what my reading is doing for me from an eternal perspective.  Dad was prepared for heaven because he’d dutifully studied the manual.  His learning curve would be short and he looked forward to having questions answered that were almost 4 decades in the pondering. I don’t want to get where I know I’m going and not have done my homework.  

Dad giving a devotional a couple years back.  He and Mom had taken all the kids and grandkids to Honey Creek Resort on Lake Rathbun for Christmas.

Here he is that same trip playing with a bunch of the grandsons.

It took me the most part of a year to come to this conclusion.  That is just like Dad to let me ruminate.  When approached with a question his way of answering was to see that you had all the information you needed, and then to begin speaking in the interrogative until you came up with the answer seemingly on your own.  

Upon speaking with my siblings he never had any last words of wisdom to impart upon any of us.  I’m pretty sure he figured he’d given us all the information we would need to carry out God’s will for each of our lives and to arrive at the finish line ready to hold our own as part of heavenly discussion.

Studying the word

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”  

2 Timothy 2:15

Things Seldom Go As Planned...

Ten years ago today we welcomed our sweet Maliah Joy into our lives.  Last year on her birthday my dad fell into a coma and we mourned our loss a day later.  I had hopes that this year the weekend would be less stressful as we celebrated Dad's first year in his true home.  But things seldom go according to plan.

On Friday Rosie's calf was 10 days overdue.  We weren't overly concerned as she looked great.  Huge but great.  Jersey cows are susceptible to milk fever so we had been feeding her a special additive as a precautionary measure for a month or so.  Milk fever can happen before or after a Jersey calves.  Their milk is very high in butterfat.  When their milk comes in calcium is drawn so quickly from their system that it pretty much renders their muscles useless.  The classic milk fever symptom is staggering.  If treated a Jersey quickly recovers.  Breadwinner had done much research on the subject.  We had gone to great lengths to find the correct additive to feed Rosie preventatively.  We thought we had sidestepped that landmine.  Our greatest concern was problems birthing the calf. 


On Friday Rosie seemed to be contracting.  Starting at about 11:30 I checked on her every 20 minutes or so.  She lay in the pasture where we thought she was laboring.  I took pictures hoping to catch her in the stages of her labor.  We all eagerly waited to see whether she would deliver a bull or a heifer.  When Matt got home about 3:00 we started to suspect something wasn't right.  Soon after this she began to vomit.  Apparently cows don't vomit.  Our 2 Johns, "retired" farmer neighbors who both raised beef cattle had no idea what was wrong with her.  They had never seen a cow vomit.  Upon later research I found that the milk fever effected the ability of Rosie's rumen to work.  


By now Breadwinner was frantically trying to locate a vet that would be willing to come treat our cow.  At this point we hypothesized that perhaps the calf was positioned incorrectly and that was why she was in distress.  We stood around the yard talking with John about making applesauce avoiding looking at Rosie out in the pasture as there wasn't anything we could do for her but wait for the vet.  After a search calling around the nearest towns we finally found a vet in a town 20 miles away.  We greatfully welcomed Doc Stickley, even though his right arm was in a sling from recent rotator cuff surgery.  


He confirmed that she had milk fever and was pretty far along.  He gave her a couple bottles of CMPK intravenously.  He then checked her and told us she was only about 3cm dilated and to expect a calf in the next 12 hours.  It was bout 5:30 P.M.


The prognosis was not good.  It took Rosie a few hours to get back to her feet.  Usually when Jersey's get the CMPK they get to their feet presently.  When Breadwinner checked her at 8:00 P.M. she finally got to her feet and we had hope.  Breadwinner had spoken to Eric Lyon where we purchased Rosie and he suggested she had a 50/50 chance.  Breadwinner spent the night on the couch so he could check on her.  We hoped that if Rosie wasn't to make it she could at least deliver the calves feet, so we could pull and save the calf.  
 
From the initial sign of Rosie's distress I had begun to pray for her.  Cows are very resilient.  I prayed God would preserve her life if it be His will.  When I awoke in the morning I found Breadwinner on the couch.  He just sadly shook his head.  We lost both Rosie and the calf.  She wasn't strong enough after her ordeal to endure labor. 


Lyon's Dairy told us to come back on down to get a replacement if we lost her.  Breadwinner is questioning his ability and what business he has as a bovine farmer.  I'm questioning whether the benefits outweigh the time and inconvenience of a family cow....

Flowing Seas and Lofty Skies

I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise,

That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

-Isaac Watts

Breadwinner was in charge of one thing on the occasion of our wedding.  The honeymoon.  I supplied my opinion that the local should be one that was warm and involved water and sand.  I might even have mentioned South Carolina.  I love surprises and so didn't dig for info. about where we would spend the dreamy first week of the rest of our lives together.  I had not a clue where we were headed when we flew out of Ohare Airport.  When we arrived at our destination we rented a zippy little red Neon, picked up keys at the local Spanish moss festooned realty, and found our cozy cottage-for-the-week about a block from the beach.  Breadwinner had even arranged for a beautiful vase of red roses to await me upon our arrival?  He had carried out his end of the operation to perfection!  


As we sat on the beach feasting on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and gazing upon the towering beach homes, we declared that we would one day return and stay where graceful porches provided entrance directly to the sand and salt spray.  This seemed all the more a miraculous hazy dream as the very thing that provided the funds for our vacation was an act of God.  Shortly before our wedding a major hailstorm rained down on Breadwinner's fully insured '89 Bonneville.  Breadwinner gladly received a check and left his newly "textured" sweet ride as is.  It served us for many years as a "stone of remembrance" of how our loving God had provided one of our wants simply to give us joy.


15 years later we drove across country in our red 15 passenger van, dodged the Spanish moss hanging from the ancient oaks to pick up another set of keys, passed through the security gate to the end of Inlet Point where we delighted in our grand beachside-for-the-week residence.  


It was the most relaxing vacation I have ever enjoyed.  There were 14 in residence and it never felt crowded.  The one member of our wedding party that was not family and his wife and 4 kids joined us in our adventure.  They were gracious companions and after a week together, about 46 of those hours spent with our collective 10 children in the van, we remain fast friends!  

I think this was the one sunrise that wasn't overcast.  I couldn't help but praise the Creator as the waves crashed upon the shore and the sun swelled over the clouds that marked the horizon.

   

In front of "our" beach house.  I did have a fabulous swim suit refashion to sport until I had to cover my sunburn...

My little beach bums.

On My Calling...

How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the Universe? 

How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone?  

No; a woman's function is laborious, because it it gigantic, not because it is minute.

-G.K. Chesterton

What's New on Sunny Toad Farm...

Today is the 6th of October.  I write this and have to check the calendar to make sure I am correct.  How can it be fall already?  I have to admit it catches me by surprise most years.  It is my usual to forget to put out Autumn decorations until the Thanksgiving turkey is in the oven.  It seems we move 100 miles a minute all summer doing what we have been dreaming done while laying all slugabed in winter.

I have another admission, that the first frost often comes just in time to save my sanity.  In early spring we eagerly press seeds beneath soil and await their emergence.  When they appear they need the care of a newborn to survive the chill.  All summer we carefully nurture them keeping weeds and pests clear and adding a cool drink when the clouds fail.  In their maturity they supply us with an abundance of much longed for nourishment.  And more...and more...and more!  While I am greatful I soon become overwhelmed with the amount of food available for my stewardship.  We press on and preserve what we cannot eat.  By the time a killing frost blankets the gardens and orchard the gardener in me is exhausted and ready to let it rest.

You would laugh if you knew before I blathered on so that I just yesterday arrived home refreshed from a week at the beach!  We took a long awaited trip to the beach that Breadwinner and I honeymooned on 15 years ago.  Up until the day before we left I was in the kitchen processing our garden bounty.  We came back refreshed and ready to tackle our to do lists.

This was The View From the Throne Room earlier this summer

First on the list was to sand and stain our new wrap around porch. check and check.  Next thing this week is to harvest our pumpkin and squash garden.  Autumn decorations. check!

Breadwinner used the lift to tear off a most-recent-in-history add on.  He found a squirrel nest and the momma safely relocated when left alone.  

Here is the front of the house sans the concrete porch and peonies.  Take a good look at the last picture.  My hundred year old peonies may not have survived the move.  Although I survived having to prep new locals and digging them out of the hard unforgiving ground.  It would be in poor form for them to die on me!

The porch being added.  I have never understood why they call them wrap around.  It only goes half way around the house...  

Knowing When To Say When contd...

 Wanting good government in their states, they first established order in their own families; wanting order in their home, they first disciplined themselves.

Confucius

Soon after our fourth baby was born we had planned to surgically insure that we would have no more children.  We had 2 girls then 2 boys-  the perfect family.  

Before we could take this step the Lord intervened and we were relieved of part of our business which made it economically unfeasible to carry out our plan.  At least one person offered to make us a loan to pay for Breadwinner's procedure.  But the hole in our bank account served to encourage us to reconsider our plans and decide if they were truly in line with the Lord's will for our family. 

I clearly remember one night when #4 was about 2 months.  He was an ornery baby.  He cried easily and wanted to nurse constantly, especially in the evening.  I thought perhaps he had colic or some other health related issue.  Turns out babies often display parts of their coming personalities early on.  Even as he cried, Breadwinner and I looked at each other and declared we could not stop with this one.  Even through his orneriness he was a great blessing.

There were other encouragements around this time that helped us form our philosophy of family.  My dear friend Deb lent me a CD of a preacher named Voddie Baucham.   I was truly convicted by his message.  God calls children a blessing.  Why would I want to limit the blessings God had for me?  It made me question all my preconceived (hah!) notions about "family planning".  If God can do anything, including allowing me to conceive while on any attempt at birth control, why do I think that I should be the one that is making that decision?  

It was also around this time that while researching forms of birth control we found that birth control pills can cause abortions.  We felt shocked, saddened, let down, and embarrassed.  Before we had decided to use the pill in the first few years of our marriage we had discussed it with our Pastor in marriage counseling and my trusted gynecologist.  As we both have degrees in biology we thought we had all our bases covered and knew what we were doing.  No one had ever even hinted that by using the pill we could have killed our own baby.  Randy Alcorn wrote a book called Does The Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion.  You can find it here in a condensed form.http://www.emmerich1.com/Does%20the%20Birth%20Control%20Pill%20Cause%20Abortions%207th%20edition.pdf


Breadwinner was all for having a passel more kids.  I, although convicted at heart, was a bit reticent.  What about all my plans and dreams and projects?  More kids would definitely cramp my style.  Didn't kids cost a lot?  Would we have the money to bankroll my plans and dreams and projects?  If we had more kids we wouldn't fit into our truck that pulled our 5th wheel travel trailer.  Each new baby meant about 4 months of all day sickness for me at the outset.  My grumblings to myself went on and on.  Then my friend Linda lent me a book called Be Fruitful and Multiply by Nancy Campbell.  I took a good hard look at myself and finally saw my self-centeredness.  I wasn't thinking about loving the Lord and considering His plan for my life, I was thinking about what would cause me the greatest pleasure and ease.  I realized that on my current trajectory I would never have been a consideration for the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.  If I truly believed that God was in control of all the universe then I needed to live that way.  By faith.


Opening our bedroom to the Lord was very freeing.  We are open to the "rewards" God has for us.  I no longer have to consider if the time is right or whether we are "ready" to have another baby.  

Since we made this decision in faith we have seen God's hand on our lives more than ever.  He truly provides all our needs.  Faith in one area of ones life tends to radiate outward like the ripple from a pebble in a pond.  It hasn't ensured our lives are trouble free, it just reminds us we have reason to sing His praise as we tread the rocky road.

God has allowed us to be involved in His plan for His creation.  He has given us warriors to train up to follow Him.  Can there be any greater joy? (3 John 1:4)

Our quiver holds potential arrows for God's army awaiting being loosed on targets we could never reach.

How Do You Know When To Say When?

When I was in junior high my dad's mom had a stroke that paralyzed the right side of her body.  She and my legally blind and pretty deaf grandpa came to live with us to be cared for by their daughter-in-law.  The fact that we had to give up 1/3 of our living space which contained our "rumpus room" was of little concern to me.  Two things about this situation made life changing impacts on me.  


1. I convinced my friend, Ellie, that we needed to take all our science notes with our left hands on the occasion that we ever had a stroke and would not be able to use our right.  We needed to be prepared and since we had to take the most notes in science class we would get the most practice there. 


2. Even though I didn't want to get married or have children I decided it would be a necessity.  It was obvious to me that I would need to create someone to take care of me in the event that I was ever incapacitated.  Incidentally, I also convinced Ellie of this and she has duly given me credit for the existence of her two darling dear boys...


From this you can pretty much surmise my feelings about birth control.  I was recently asked how many children Breadwinner and I plan on having.  When we married my answer would have been four sounds about right.  With that number at least one should end up liking me enough to take care of me in my old age and we would fit comfortably into society's expectations.   I also wanted to wait a few years after marriage before adding to our family, but I wanted to be done by the time I was 30.  That way I could teach school for a couple years, take some time off to have my kids, and get one with my life by the time I was 40.  As I write this I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry at my self-centered thought process!


Our first baby fit the plan to perfection.  I went off birth control pills one month and got pregnant the next.  She was born a month after I resigned my teaching position when school let out for the year.  I was 26.  Sixteen months later her sister was born.  Our next baby took a little longer to arrive and ironically I was upset as we tried for over a year to get pregnant.  I was closing in on 30 when he was born, but since it had taken so long with him I decided it was okay to have another baby even as I had passed my self-imposed age limit.  Number 4 arrived a year and a half later.  Now we had 2 boys and 2 girls.  All had worked out according to plan.  Now was the appointed time for Breadwinner to take permanent measures to end our 6 year baby making run.  


When I was in kindergarten I failed my hearing test possibly the result of chronic ear infections.  I still miss out on things I need to know, once-in-awhile, if I am not paying attention.  The Lord used a unique dial to turn up the volume of His plan for our family with what happened next...


-to be continued...

Where Has The Summer Gone?

I finally successfully downloaded photos from my camera from the beginning of May or so.  There were close to 900.  It took awhile...  It also reminded my why I haven't had a lot of time for blogging.  

One of the first sets was from the purchase and retrieval of our milk cow Rosie.  We purchased her from Lyon's Jersey Dairy.  She is pregnant due in October with her 4th calf.  They were selling her because her production was down this freshening.  She should give around 3 gallons a day and we could only coax 1 out of her.  Don't get me wrong, that is quite all right with me!  It was the gentle way to enter the world of owning a dairy cow.  At times this summer we have had an excess of 4 gallons that we turned into mozzarella cheese.   We enjoy the fresh milk, but it is a lot of work.  It is safe to say I have harbored unkind thoughts against Rosie this summer as I have had to make time in my schedule twice daily to milk her. There were times that gained me greater understanding into why Grandpa Ed used such profane superlatives when working with livestock.  I have 6 kids to ride herd on and I'm chasing a cow around the pasture to gain teat squeezing position to extract what seems like not enough milk to lighten my coffee?!

Most days Breadwinner and I tandem milk.  A lot of days he works dawn to dusk then I play solo.  You may wonder why our freshly, in July, crowned 11 year old doesn't draw barn duty.  It took Rosie a long time to accept her new surroundings.  She came from a herd of around 300 living in a barn on sand to our wide open pasture with only the chickens for company.  For the first week she sat in the barn with her nose in a corner.  She was so stressed out that her milk tasted very salty for a few days.  -For the record my weanling loved this particular milk.  What does that say for his experience with my lactation?-  Rosie didn't cooperate well in the stanchion for a long time and still has fits that upset the milk pail if one does not have a quick hand.  We are hoping that after her calf is born we will be able to introduce the girls to the joy of being a milkmaid.

Our first glimpse of Rosie.

An explanation of why Rosie likes to lay with her nose in a corner.

Rosie's old digs.

Eric took the kids into the pit as they hooked up the cows at milking time.  He let them try to milk the cows by hand and feel the suction of the milking machine.

Eric (in black) and Joe Lyon mugging with the fam.  

  

Eric Lyon graciously gave us a tour of the dairy.  He is dedicated and excited about breeding quality Jersey calves.  We were there at the right time of year to see all the cute baby calves and he explained what qualities he prizes in a Jersey calf.

The Lyon Dairy may ring a bell to those of you familiar with the Iowa State Fair.  Duffy Lyon aka The Butter Cow Lady, was Joe's wife.  Sadly, she passed away a few weeks after we brought Rosie home.  Joe shared with us while we were there that she was to be grandmaster of the Iowa State Fair parade as the Butter Cow celebrates 100 years at the fair this year.  

We Interrupt These Excuses...

Yesterday my baby brother and my brother-in-law (who I've known longer than my baby brother) came home safely from war.  The day before that it was my oldest nephew Adam.  It was baby Barn and Adam's second deployment.  My other little brother faces his second deploy in December.  My brother-in-law on the other side has already been twice.  My big brother has seen a tour.  We are no strangers to praying for soldiers around here.  While we have been to more send-offs and homecomings than a lot of Americans it never gets old hat.  The more times I see them go makes me all the more thankful to God that he has brought them back to us safely.  We are very proud of them and the service they choose to perform for their country.

We studied Flying Creatures of the Third Day (of creation) last year.  As insects grow to maturity they  molt to shed their exoskeleton and make room for their enlarging innards.  When the new shell is still pliable the insect fills its lungs with air to stretch and make room for itself as it grows.

We welcome our soldiers home and consciously or not  expect them to slip back into their old skins.  But much like a molting insect their old skins are no longer sufficient.  They inhaled deeply, girded their loins, and with steps of great courage shed who they once were to become who they were called to be.  War, while it causes the adrenaline to rush, is not a moving picture to excite and be turned off at the end of a Friday night before falling into a soft bed.  As a life experience of any magnitude our soldiers are returned to us changed.

If I were to continue with the life cycle of the insect I might write here of metamorphosis.  Giving up who you once were to become something better, more beautiful.  This is not always the case in matters of war.  Which is why our prayers do not cease for our soldiers and those that love them.  We do not only learn in moments of comfort and ease.  God has much to teach us through tribulation.

My prayer is that through the struggle of finding who they now are that God will be praised, we will be graceful, and they will draw ever close to He who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy!(Jude 24)

Back At The Keyboard

First off thanks to Alicia and Mom for encouraging me to get back to work!  It has been a long break from the keyboard and not because I haven't written about 37 blogs in my head.  Since my last post we have been pretty swamped here on Sunny Toad Farm.

I April I broached the subject with Breadwinner of us having a shared hobby.  It is not very reasonable, considering the size of our brood and our distance from any cultural metropolis, that we have outings alone together as in "dates".  I thought it would be fun to learn to weld together.  The couple that plays together stays together, right?!  I would like to make lawn statuary and he could learn to fix his own equipment.  We already have a couple welders that were parts of machinery crucial to specific business ventures.  They aren't presently being used.  Because they are already in our possession I thought it would make it easy to make this hobby happen.  In May he decided to get a milk cow...

We were both raised on farms.  He on a hog and row crop farm.  I on a hog, cow/calf, row crop farm.  Neither of us on a dairy farm.  We bought Rosie from a dairy with 300 or so cows.  She was used to living in a barn and being milked by a machine surrounded by hundreds of her friends.  She spent her first few weeks here with her nose stuck in the corner of the barn.  She was so stressed out her milk was salty!  The kids refused to drink it and we wondered what we had done.  It wasn't a huge deal because she only gave a gallon of milk a day.  That is about 2 gallons short what she will after she calves in October!

So Breadwinner and I have our new hobby together.  We get up and milk the cow at 6:00 A.M., he sitting on one side and I on the other.  Up until last week this was repeated again in the evening.  Now we are down to once a day in the morning until we let her dry up at the end of this month.

We make our own butter and mozzarella cheese.  Our food is getting more fresh and the days seem to be getting more long!  This is one of my excuses for not having enough time to sit and record the happenings of Sunny Toad Farm.  Stay tuned and I will provide you with more!

Music Fills The House...

Spring is a very busy time around here.  We are wrapping up our more formal school session and moving on to work outdoors.  We spend a part of every day weeding and caring for our garden.  One day a week is devoted to mowing.  It usually takes about 3 1/2 hours to mow it all.  I make the kids stay inside when I mow because there is always something hidden in the grass that the mower ends up throwing from one side of the yard to the other.  This courtesy of the dog and the kids.  It is getting easier than it used to be.  Since I have kids old enough to watch the babies I don't have to coordinate everyone's nap schedules while I mow as much.  We have a no t.v. on weekdays policy around here that is usually broken when I need the kids to stay inside on beautiful summer afternoons.  They don't seem to mind.

Spring also seems to be a busy time musically as it is a season of recitals.  We were fortunate to be involved in two last week.  My sister invited us to participate as guest musicians in a recital for Mollie's Music Studio.  A couple days later our violinists enjoyed an afternoon of chamber music as they got to play with all their teacher's students.  To round things out the kids played and sang Sunday morning during church.

It was Max's first recital.  He awoke that morning very excited.  When his brother proclaimed to him it was his big day I think what was about to happen sunk in.  He became a bit reticent.  He is the sort to worry that people will laugh at him.  It was a teachable moment to focus on the reason he is learning to play violin.  He is honing his skills to bring glory to God.  If he is doing his best for the Lord it doesn't matter what others think.  He did a fantastic job!  When he was done he came up to me and said, "I kind of like everyone watching me!"  We've got another humble one on our hands...

After their guest appearance for Mollie's Music Studio recital

Max and his buddy Cole

Maliah and her piano teacher-Nana

Madigan and Big D.  Born to sisters 3 weeks apart. For a long time these two thought they were twins.

Mollie of Mollie's Music Studio and her biggest fan.

Chamber music violinists.  Holly (right back corner) is their awesome teacher.

They looked a bit uptight so I told them all to jump for this picture. 

Have you seen The Alamo with Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett?  We caught it on youtube...Davy Crockett violinist