Sweethearts

Ashlyn and Gabriel

Daily Happenings...

Some things happening around here....

I know for sure...summer is coming to end. I can tell by our little pool. It's cold and leafy and ripples in the wind. Good-bye summer, Hello Autumn.

I know for sure...work is awaiting. Lots of work. Harvest time is approaching on the farm, corn will be combined, the last of the hay will be baled, wood will be stacked, and fields will be plowed.

I know for sure....I can grow things. Live, green things. I planted chinese lanterns in the spring, and they grew and now show their pretty orange lanterns. Little as they may be, I grew them.

I know for sure....I can cook. I made these delicious Italian roasted potatoes yesterday. They bubbled and hissed in the glass dish then slowly melted in my mouth. Mmmmm.

I know for sure.....my daughter will soon be walking. She can march behind her cart now. She likes to hit things, she aims for cats. She is so positively adorable.

An Ode to Student Housing...

I thought it was over. Apparently not.

Student housing has been a rough couple of years that has made us work like dogs and left us with very little gratification. The phone calls....oh ..the phone calls. There were moments where I felt like walking into those houses, tearing a strip off every one of those tenants and just screaming 'GROW UP!!!!'. But alas I did not, rather, I sucked it up and put their cheques in the bank.

The hubs and I decided to sell Money pit (Salisbury) and Betty Hen (Sterling) because they seemed to have a hold on us that we couldn't shake. I found it hard when the hubs was going into 'the big city' nearly every night just to help them with light bulbs and beeping smoke detectors, and he was nearly in tears when we would get those blasted calls.

We desperately wanted our simple life back. No more phone calling, pot growing, fuse blowing, smoke detecting, tap dripping, toilet flowing, dryer breaking students. Gabe is an easier tenant than them. Even with the diaper changes.

So, there we were at a crossroads this past Spring, knowing we could fill them and sell them, sell them as-is, or do it all over again. And as we had just had 2 students skip out on us we decided to NEVER do it again. Enough with the headaches already.

We filled them and found the lucky buyers....Dwight's sister and our John Deere Salesman. So far Betty Hen is supposedly sold, gone, finito. Well ....almost. The closing date for that house was August 3rd (a lovely birthday present) but so far it hasn't felt like we've sold it at all. We're still getting phone calls because the students have our contact information from when we filled it, and somehow think we are the ones to bother...apparently they are unaware that we no longer OWN the house.

Money Pit closes on the 31st.......tomorrow in fact. Dwight also has to go there this morning and tonight to clean out the stuff that students decide they no longer want anymore. Gee thanks, we were looking forward to aquiring some stained couches, old dishes, street signs, and bottles, lots of bottles. Hello Amity.

I hope to tell you tomorrow that the houses are cleaned out, we're studentless, and our phones are quiet.

Party people in the house...

Here are some pics from the lovely Birthday party. It turned out to be an overcast day with blazing hot sunny periods that made everyone break out in a sweat, but cool and breezy for the most part.

The food was delicious (at least I talked about the weather first this time!) and everyone couldn't say enough about the beef....good ol' Jersey beef.

{Sidenote- I never thought I would talk about cows like that....Mmmm tasty.....but it's actually true...beef is good, and Jersey beef just so happens to taste the best, sorry to my girls in the barn, but dang...you look good on the bbq)


Anyway back to the partaay, we were entertained by the 3 little ones (Gabriel, Ashlyn and Owen)and Ashy and Owen were able to share toys and play a bit, unlike the last time they were together and Owen couldn't stand the sight of Ashlyn without crying. Isn't he such a beautiful boy?

Gabe just sort of ran around doing his own thing and his favourite part of the night was when Oma asked him to sit on her knee while everyone sang 'happy birthday' to her. He loved it!!! Kept singing Happy Birthday over and over and blew out Oma's candles (they smoked and sizzled from his saliva I'm sure ...but don't tell the guests that's why Oma's chocolate cake is sooo moist!)

Great Oma and Ashlyn played a good game of something like 'If you're happy and you know it ' (in dutch...I can't spell the real name), and Ashlyn enjoyed it so much!

All in all it was a wonderful time had by all, I have many more pics including the family one, but seem to be having some troubles loading them, perhaps they'll work on the next post.

Today is a special day. Happy BirthdayMomma. I love you.

Beef on a Bun..

We're off to momma's birthday party today. Her actual birthday isn't until the 29th but she's having it early so the working folk can enjoy on the weekend.

It's going to be a grand event in the backyard, beef-on-a-bun and many salads, side dishes and desserts. All made by the birthday girl herself I might add. Why I always mention the food first, I don't know. Lie. I do know. I love food, and food loves me. Firstly, I really should have mentioned that there will be lots of my favourite people there, and we'll get to see cousin Owen again and it's my momma's part-aay!(and there's beef on a bun and salads, and desserts...Oh and birthday cake, can't forget the birthdy cake.)

Anyway we're hoping to get an updated family photo today, which I will post as soon as I get it.

Hope you like the changes to the blog....hope to hear some crickets chirping!! (it's good for my self-esteem)

Only on a farm...

Oh. my. goodness. What is going on in the neither regions of my intestinal tract. What in the world did I eat....(to be banished from entering my mouth ever again). Hopefully it's over.....pleeease let it be over....

Well, while I'm waiting for the next attack, I figure I may as well write about my interesting experience from earlier this evening. Only on a farm .....

Picture it....our home 5:45 pm....steaks on the bbq, potatoes boiling, baby crying, toddler needs to pee....
I have Gabe on the step, peeing in the potty and Ashlyn is trying to splash her hands in the toilet. (not successfully btw)
I hear the hubs open the door and he yells ' Leanne....can this little girl use the potty??" ...(hear little girl in background...)
thinking~WHHAAATT??? little girl?
Yell - "Just a minute..." Get Gabe dressed, throw mountainous laundry pile into back hall, and pick up Ashy
Yell - "Okay..."
Strange woman, smallish child appear in front hall and again ask if she can use the washroom...
"No problem! it 's right in there..." (I say,with a smile that would look slightly crazed to the trained eye)
Strange woman follows me into the kitchen and begins to unravel a story involving: relief milkers, Jersey farming, day tripping, ...then to ...armoir buying, decorating, children, ...then to...eczema, bathing, chicken pox (up the child's bum I might add) ...then to...cats, allergies, and non-allergenic detergents.... and finally to ....."May my child play in your toy room while I continue talking"... (to your husband, who's supper is ready and who has a meeting he needs to get to)??
"Oh for sure...go ahead" (smile becoming crazed to the un-trained eye)

REMINDER~ I have NO idea who these people are and am assuming Dwight knows them from farming relations ..somehow.

The girl child then proceeds to play with the toys whilst her mother returns to converse with the adults, outdoors. I guess I looked like the babysitter.

I have to admit, the girl child turned out to be kinda cute and once Gabe un-locked himself from the office they played quite nicely.
She proceeded to tell us that Gabe was older than her because she is 8 and he is 2. Uh-huh, like I said she was kinda cute. She also has a cat named fuzzy and fuzzy is black you-know, and she built fuzzy a house and fuzzy was her best friend and fuzzy this and fuzzy that. Kinda cute. She thought our fat cat was soooo funny she couldn't stop giggling (over the top cute, high pitched giggle) at his purring. Fat Cat just lapped it up. Cute. Gabriel also informed her that Caleb is a Puma and Puma's make noises like this.
My child turns into 'boy genius' when he is around other children...it never ceases to amaze me.
When the girl child's mom finally had enough 'adult converation' she picked her up and said a short good-bye to the baby-sitter and Gabe was upset to see his new-found friend leave. Ahh, the simplicity of friendship in children.

You think this didn't happen ....well well, I thought you might say that and I took a picture to prove it.

Strange isn't it, I don't think I would leave my child in a strangers house to play with a strangers toys and children ...... Only on a farm I guess.

Good news....I think the worst is over, no further disturbances to report of...guess I'll hit the hay.
G'night.

link

Just thought I'd post a link to a blog I read and thought the post on conversion was a good read, when you have time....

http://noreligionjustjesus.blogspot.com/

Some of her writings are pretty deep, but all in all on the mark.

Drama Queen

Here are a few of the final pics from Bronners...in Santas Workshop. Gabe and Dwight had to pose in the frosty cut out. I just love that one of Gabriel, he's so sweet. As for the one of Dwight...man would I run if Frosty looked like that.
Did you know you only have 125 days until Christmas!!!

Next we were off to Birch Run. This is a Shoppaholics dream come true. There are about 100 stores all together in one complex and Dwight and I walked around the ENTIRE complex. No, we weren't shopping as you might imagine....we were enjoying blissfull silence as both youngins were finally asleep in the stroller. We would have walked all day just to keep them sleeping and enjoy some time to 'ourselves'. It was relaxing and I think I bought about 25$ worth. Pants for Dwight and a little french hat for Ashlyn (which I have to duct tape her hands down in order to see her in it).

It's funny how a couple years ago I would have been buying up all kinds of stuff and would have found joy in it. Not anymore....I enjoy simplicity and less clutter, I don't find the same joy in stuff anymore, but rather in people, relationships, fellowship, and Good memories.
This is Miss Ashy Poo, we turned her forward facing for the trip, it was much nicer. We were off again, this time to Wheels Inn.
This involved crossing the border back into good ol' Ontario and this time it seemed as though the hubs could handle the stress... until.......well ,this pic of Ashlyn was the last smile we saw until Ontario. She decided it was time to turn the drama up a notch and so she went ahead and vomitted .....okay fine, baby puke, I can handle that. I cleaned it up (while moving I might add) and thought we'd just get over the border and I could change her.
'Oh no Mommy...that wouldn't be dramatic enough' says my little queen.

Just as we were approaching the border crossing and officials (next car in line to go to booth) she decided to vomit again ...... but this time she choked on it. So I reached back and held her head forward while the hubs jumped out of the car in Mission Impossible fashion and expertly got her out and held her upsidedown on his arm. She threw up 3 times and I had to jump in the drivers side and pull our car out of line. The people around us were aghast. The border official came out and asked if everything was alright ....and then said I could hold Ashlyn on my lap to get through and that there was a McDonalds just across the way. It was nice to see that even they have feelings.

Once we stopped at McD's and got her cleaned up, she seemed like her old self. Chirping away and saying 'Hi" every 30 seconds...(she says 'hi' by the way) So we decided to proceed to Wheels Inn.

When I was a kid I went to Wheels with my cousin Bianca and we had a blast...you don't really care where you are when you're with your best friend and you're having fun, but Wheels Inn was a kids dream.
As an adult you have a slightly different perspective....well at least I did. It was much different than how I saw it as a child. It was older, smaller, and much noisier. I'm getting old aren't I?
The hubs on the other hand was having wayyy too much fun. Gabe wasn't allowed to ride any of the indoor rides on his own as he is too little so Dwight Haaaad to go with him. It's unfortunate though, 'cause as you can see from the pics, Dwight really didn't enjoy himself. Whaaatever....he was enjoying MORE than Gabe ....he pressured poor little Gabriel to go on the roller coaster. It's funny though, if we had been at Canada's Wonderland, Dwight couldn't have handled any ride, but lucky for him, these were just his size.

We checked out of Wheels by 10 in the morning and were ready to get home. We slowly puttered our way back and found ourselves home by about 2 in the afternoon.

Ahhhhhhhh, Home Sweet Home.

Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jog

We're home, alive and in one piece, and perhaps a little more rested. I had this great idea that my 'after-trip' blog post would be some ridiculously dreamy version of our wonderfully magical holiday....but now that I have PMS....I'm gonna give it to y'all straight up.

It all began with the border crossing to the ...duh duh duh (think drama...)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA..., the hubs was quite nervous and I was beginning to think he was hiding some fresh fruit and vegetables, or perhaps some small fuzzy wildlife in our suitcase. Several times I had to tell him to breathe and remind him that he was not on trial, but rather travelling with 2 children and his wife to Frankenmuth, Michigan, to spend a night on holidays and that we be be returning tomorrow. His nervousness was consuming him and I thought he would blurt out: 'My 2 wives and child are going to Frankenstein and we'll be spending the night ...tomorrow and returning today (with lots of fruits and vegetables and little fuzzy wildlife)'.
But the wait was long enough for him to finally regain his composure, until I told him I was going to ask the border official how long ago 'September 11' was ...2 years or 5 years ....he told me to "keep quiet ..and TAKE those sunglasses off, you look suspicious..." Welllll then...happy holidays to you too Mister merry pants.
Turns out we were only at the toll booth.

The border man was a large southern gentleman who was very kind and let us weirdos through without any delay....ahhhhh, Dwight was back his usual self.

We got our mapquest map out and took the I-69 as directed .....or did we? I decided to snuggle down for a nap as this portion of the trip was the longest stretch and after the first few Big Boy's, Bob Evans and Applebees', the thrill of being in a different country wore off. So there we were cruising down the interstate at a good clip and we'd driven for about an hour when I awoke and found that we were nowhere I'd been before. I looked at Dwight and asked him where we were and he said we hadn't yet reached the turn off. Wow this IS the long stretch.

Well as you are imagining already ...we had indeed gone about an hour into the heart of Michigan when we really should have headed to Northern Michigan. The kids were still asleep and The hubs decided to pull into a bp gas station (I thought bp stood for Blood Pressure.....and man, mine was elevating). A couple of Truckers going into the store, stopped Dwight when they knew he was looking for directions and said "Well, What the Heck are Ya's Doin Waaay out Here???" mmm hhmmm. Thanks. Rub it in.

Then they told Dwight that there was a Black convention in Frankenmuth right now and we were gonna stick out like a sore thumb. Then he slapped Dwight on the shoulder with a big " I'm just kiddin' with ya man!!!" Ooookay then.Bu-bye.

We were on our way the Right way and it only took us an hour and a half MORE to get there.....arrrgg. Once we arrived everything was great....people were very friendly, place was big and clean and food was Dee-licious.


This was our room at the Bavarian Inn and as you can see the kids and the hubs would have been content to stay in the room all night and forget the rest, but with enough persistance I was able to get them up and going to the beautiful town of Frankenmuth.



It's very scenic there and the gardens were in full bloom. There are so many quaint shops to spend hours (and lots of money) in. We mozied around for a while and went in and out of a majority of the town's offerings. We settled on Zehnders World Famous Chicken dinner for our eats and enjoyed a family style spread with 4 salads, soup, bread, german buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, gravy and of course southern Fried Chicken. It was SO delectable. Why oh why we thought it would be a good idea to bring the leftovers "home" I still can't figure out.....but alas...we did. and they ended up in the bin at the Wheels Inn anyway....
Frankenmuth also offers horse drawn carriage rides, which we didn't do, mainly because I could just picture Ashlyn reaching over and yanking on some of the horsies tail hairs and us going for a bucking and then being barred from ever returning to the town. We did get to pet the sweet horses though.

The next day we were off to Bronners - Woo Hoo! this is the Christmas store that is open 364 days of the year and is equivalent to 7 football fields of decorations, trees, lights, nativity scenes and everything Christmas.
As we strolled through the aisles, it was just overwhleming for Gabriel. So cute, he saw 100's of santas and the lights were so brilliant! Even Ashlyn woke up wide - eyed when we entered the building. This is one of about 20 large nativity scenes.. This next picture is of ashlyn and the singing reindeer. She was so intrigued by him.

Mmmm, My babies

A couple Pics..

Let me introduce you to.....mister and missy fuzzy chair.

Ashlyn (it's always Ashlyn isn't it....?) decided she must always have Gabe's yellow fuzzy chair ...and always when he was in it. So I went to good ol' Wal-mart and found this pink one...on for $5 I might add :) Ahhh.....peace.

Gabriel was VERY thirsty.

Stratford...

We went to Stratford yesterday (forgot the camera of course!!!), and we brought along some of our stale old wonder bread to feed the swans. The ducks there are starving for affection (or at least bread) and would come right up and take the bread from our hand! I was too scared to feed the swans that way, perhaps from watching too many 'America's Funniest Videos' where people always seem to get bitten in the crotch.
We then made our way up to the main st., and I mean up.....I didn't realize Stratford had so many hills. We had our 'Double bus' with us and my man got a good work-out! whew. I had this idea in my head that we'd be going to some shops after enjoying a nice lunch....well not so.
Ashlyn thought it would be fun to start up the old 'watch mommy pick up toys' game. So all the way up the 'mountain' she was wildly throwing her lamby and balls on the sidewalk just to get the pure enjoyment of feeling the bump when we would unknowingly run over poor lamby's head. And as you may well know.....balls roll. So there I was running up and down catching balls on the 'mountain'.
As we crested the mount, we realized we had made a major error in pushing the blasted 'double bus' anyway.....we were in Stratford people....have you seen the stores/restaraunts here?? Very charming, very LITTLE. So at that point the Tim Hortons was seemingly our only option....Until ....hooray ...a patio!
On the main street there is a pub called the 'Boar's Head' and lucky for us it had a large patio that was accomodating of our stroller. So we enjoyed some 'pubby style' food there and rested a bit from our up-hill adventure.
We decided not to venture into the shops as we would be virtually begging Ashlyn to break something if we did go in. (she has long arms you know....)So we meandered our way back to the ducks and watched a few more sea gulls get attacked (go ducks go!). With a lovely quiet drive home....ahhh, both babes in dreamland.

Lastnight I finally booked our 'mini-vacation' for next week, we 've decided to go to Frankenmuth for one night (Bavarian Inn Lodge - 5 pools, woo-hoo!) and hit Bronners (Christmas store...my FAVOURITE!) as well as the shops. Then next day we'll head out to Chatham to Wheels Inn for another night. And we'll be home Wednesday night. Should be a fun-filled, happy time. (I can dream can't I??)

Over dressed...

Well the hubs decided to remain at the 'oh so entertaining' Holstein show tonight...and yes by that I mean cows. As mentioned on a previous post, He is a member of the 'Dairy Farmers of Ontario Association' as well as the 'Dairy Herd Improvement Association' and both of these "clubs" shall we say, involve Dwight spending time raising awareness on issues facing dairy farmers today by having meetings and as well by being community involved.
Tonight was a 'community involved' night and it meant us going to the Holstein show (even though we're a Jersey farm......yes I know..) and we were to hand out ice cream and chocolate milk.
How nice, I had thought to myself when he told me we'd be doing this. I could picture myself handing out the cold cups of ice cream and cartons of milk to the show attendees .... how nice it would be to see the smiles on their faces as we gave away the cool treats.
So I got dressed up quite nicely for the event, being that many people would be seeing me and I was thinking this would be similar to a parade....weaving through the crowds with treats in hand, smiling and waving to the crowds. (hmmm, in retrospect I think I may have run away with the idea, perhaps (okay fine)...definitely got carried away) I also had the kids looking squeaky clean and we hopped in the car.
Well, well, well.....either my hubs was mis-informed OR he was 'inflating' the event(wanting so desperately to have company), because once we were pulling up to the building I knew it wasn't what I was expecting.
It was in a barn, and everyone was in overalls or sweats, or shorts.....except Leanne. I was wearing my pretty new 'lacy-ish' tank top (no not revealing - just pretty, far too pretty for cows) my hair was nicely done and I had a exceptionally sparkling necklace and bracelet on.
We got out our big old double bus and loaded my clean and spiffy children in and went in the barn only to tromp over the dirt, poop, and cow hair (and I mean clumps of, they apparently do the 'primping' of the cows right there before they walk them in circles...for hours...)to try to find a seat to sit in the stands and watch those big black and whites walk in circles.....for hours. Wheeeeewy, good thing I dressed up.
Ashlyn of course decided it was time to practice her 'head-butting' skills and proceeded to bash the back of her head into my now, very uncomfortable sparkling necklace, over and over again. Why oh why did I dress up????
Ooooh wait ...the ice cream hadn't arrived yet and I would still be able to look pretty whilst I handed out cups of the cool treats. Right, that's why I did it. ahem.
The icecream eventually arrived and the hubs says ....' okay, so you stay here in the stands so I know where you and the kids are, and I'll be back as soon as I can...."
PARDON ME?
Soooooo... you're telling me I could have come to watch these cows go round and round in circles .... for hours, while wearing my oldest, most comfortable maternity clothes (yes I'm guilty of still wearing them) and I could have been the one smiling while stuffing myself with the cool icecream and chocolate milk??? or better yet I could have stayed home??? Grrrrrrrr.

And thus I sat watching cows go round and round while stuffing my face with icecream, guzzling chocolate milk and all the while my chest was being repeatedley pummelled by a small child's head.... but hey, at least I looked good.

Standing for Truth at any cost...

I took this quote from another blog I've been reading and I thought it was so well put that I decided to post it here.

The Truth

"Why do people think that to judge sin is judging the person? It is not! Sin is sin! Right is right and wrong is wrong! There is truth and there is everything else. God will judge the people, but they must be aware of their sin and need for a Savior. The church has fallen for the lie that we have to be careful not to offend, that we have to be a friend of the world. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Peace that is obtained by compromising the truth is in fact not peace at all, it is a false peace. The disciples were not popular. They did not compromise. They stood for truth at any cost...their heads...their lives. Becoming a Christian is not a membership to an elite social club, it is an enlistment in the Army of the Lord! God would not have chosen to call it that if we were not supposed to fight! God is a God of love, He loves His people. If you are not one of His, not Born Again, you are under His wrath! ...and that is the truth!!!!"

I'm at a point in my life where I'm ready to do whatever it takes for Christ to live through me....no compromise.

Official Results...

I am overwhelmed at the response to the 'Farm Trivia' game...... it was just insane to see all the comments come flying up....I thought I would have to begin comment control. Here I thought I would have to persuade many of you to leave your answers, but that wasn't the case at all, now was it? (Cough...mom...ahem....Jen)

So as promised I will now award the prizes that you all so eagerly sought after.

First Response - Christin - yahoo, you go Girl.
Most Correct - Momma - 2 correct, and most creative and funny answer
Slowest Response - Jen - it's okay you have 4 children, but at least your humour is still intact.
Made up Prize - Bianca - I couldn't leave you out buddy. ( I could have said booby prize but I'm the one who needs that)

And for the long awaited answers:

Picture A - An old tractor tire
Picture B - Moss on a tree trunk, y'all got that one.
Picture C - Holly Hock, leave it to the senior citizen/green thumb of the group to get that one!

Well it's been a dish my friends, some good ol' fashioned trivia. Ahhh gotta love it. Stay posted in the near future for yet another installment of 'Farm Trivia'....(say with loud, celebrity voice echo)

It has brought a smile to my otherwise mundane day. Other than the event my my darling Ashy - poo had planned(and yes this is why we call her that) She decided to poop in her crib this morning, but instead of pulling off her diaper like last time, she decided to dig through the sides of her diaper and create a masterpiece on herself as well as the crib. Here's how it went:

Mommy- laying in bed, blissfully unaware of the abhorrent game being played in the next room.

Ashlyn- hmmmmm.....what's this, oooooo, warm, soft AND squishy...perfect for my latest creation...

M- Ahhh, what a lovely dream, perhaps next time I'll have the pork rather than the poo....HUH? ...what IS that smell? dream or reality....?? sniff, sniff gag..oh no ......the fat cat must have pooped in my bed. oh please no. I bolt up and search the sheets... nope...nope..hmmm..nope. Well perhaps the hubs had gas and it's lingering.

A- la dee da. ho hum...giggle, giggle. on my nose, on my toes, where it goes nobody knows!!

M- awwww, listen to my little baby giggling in there, what a complete sweetheart, so precious, I'll sneak in there and snuggle her up!

A- Here bunny- your turn ...and lamby, don't miss all the fun...

M- opens door with loving smile on her face... 'dun dun dun!' .......speechless, mouth open aghast, quickly shuts and coughs

A- MMOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!!!! yahoo, come to join me? (opens arms, stands up)

M - Finds voice.....'oooh sick'.

I then grabbed Ashy under her armpits and ran downstairs to put her in the tub. Gooood Morrrning. The best part was when Gabe finally woke up and walked to Ashlyn's room wanting to be the first to wake her, he opened the door and threw his 'baby' into her crib hoping to hit her to wake her up.....then I heard him through the monitor gagging and saying 'oooo, Ashy pooped in her crib'..poor guy, plan foiled.

Are you there?...

Picture A
I've decided to play a little farm trivia game with you ...whoever you are.

It's a guessing game of sorts...I will post 3 pictures and you have to guess what they are. Here goes:


Picture B
And more specifically - what KIND of flower is pic C?

The prize will be awarded to the person with the most correct answers and as well the first person to reply. The prize will be... the unbelievable fame brought upon you by being mentioned in my next blog post. Enjoy!!

Picture C

Don't Waste your Life...

I'm reading a book called 'Don't Waste your Life' by John Piper and found an inspiring quote in it. He talks about a man named Jonathon Edwards who was a pastor and theologian in New England......way back when. Anyway, John Piper goes on to say how Edwards wrote resolutions to abide by in his life as a Christian.
Here are some:

"#5 Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can
#6 Resolved to live with all my might, while I do live
#17 Resolved that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
#22 Resolved, to endeavour to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world (heaven), as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of."
It goes on to say " this last resolution (#22) may strike us as blatantly self-centered, even dangerous, if we do not understand the deep connection in Edwards's mind between the glory of God and the happiness of Christians. The violence he had in mind was what Jesus meant when he said in essence, "Better to gourge out your own eye to kill lust and go to heaven, than to make peace with sin and go to hell" (Matthew 5:29). And with regard to seeking his own happiness, keep in mind that Edwards was absolutely convinced that being happy in God was the way we glorify him. This was the reason we were created - to glorify God. Delighting in God is NOT a mere preference or option in life; it is our joyful duty and should be THE SINGLE PASSION OF OUR LIVES."

I like that part - 'the single passion of our lives'.

This is it folks.....One life.....One Passion. Don't waste your life.

Little Red Wagon....

Well we've dug out and washed the wagon that we bought for Gabe last year. Turns out I've really been missing out this summer by not having it ready to go. The kids are loving it! I hosed it down, as it was pretty dirty from all my gardening supplies, then washed the padding (yes it's really quite cozy), and dusted off the old canopy. Once it was together the babes couldn't wait to get in. Here are a few of the pictures of the first wagon ride of the summer:

Ashlyn thinks she is invincible and like to pretend she's surfing while in the wagon. I have a play by play of the activity that was keeping her the most happy, "Watch mommy pick up toys":

"Look at my Flamingo" .....................Oooohhh...I dropped it...

Oooopsie! (hee hee) ...........................and now for the book!

After playing a reallllllly grrrrreat game of "watch mommy pick up toys", Ashlyn decided she was up for some milk and she fit perfectly in wagon for a little siesta........okay so she didn't really sleep, but it would have been nice.

I then found Gabe's walker ...which Ashlyn has now adopted as her own, and so many memories came flooding back from when Gabe was still learning to walk at 22 months. He was so cautious about every little stone on the laneway and held onto his little walker for dear life. His little boots, clip-clopping along. So precious. Ashy on the other hand would prefer the 'dive-right-in' approach and will likely go head over heels on this walker a few times before actually realizing that it's for balance..not for climbing. O, have I ever got some 'fun' times ahead with her.....hmmm, makes me smile already.

After our wagon/walker activities, we decided to go and see how Daddy was doing with the Hay baling. Dwight had mentioned earlier that he, his dad and his crew of neighbourhood and church boys had just baled and mowed (put the bales in the top of the barn) 5000 bales in 3 days !!!! That's a record here on the Farm. He was pretty happy. As we ventured behind the house we noticed a storm cloud brewing over the barn, this of course would not be good for the hay. We walked a little further and found Dwight pushing to get the remainder of the load into the barn. Go Daddy Go!

We also made a detour to the calf barn, to visit the little baby cows (Ashlyn surfing all the while). Here is a picture of the some of the newest calves in the barn.

Dwight has recently implemented a new way of feeding the calves. It's an unlimited access approach that allows the calves to drink whenever they would like. It's called Acidified milk and it has been making some very healthy cows here at the farm. These 2 are about a week old, and are enjoying their newly bedded shavings, snuggling down for an afternoon nap. After our outdoor morning I decided it was time to head in for naps and after the struggle of getting them to bed was sure worth it......2 hours, Aaahhhhhh. It was lovely.

2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Pure faith, pure innocence.

Life's Precious Moments....

Oh Gabriel....what a little turkey. Today he decided that he no longer requires my help when it comes to food (particularly messy food). As you can see he picked chocolate pudding as the snack of choice today.

I was telling Dwights sister today that I wish I had a camera attached to my hip at all times. It seems lately my life is so full of 'Precious moments' that I wish I had the pictures to share with you all. For instance today's pictures would have been:

Ashlyn sitting on a big, fluffy, yellow pile of straw, developing a taste for it and her little round mouth when she learned to say 'Mooooo' like the calves. Then: Gabe in the calf pen with 3 little brown babies. Also Gabe's huge smile after he FINALLY did a #2 in the potty - my smile was just as big!! And: the Lasagna I made for dinner which turned out so bubbly and beautiful ..and DEElicious.

I also had to share a picture of the sunflower Patti bought me for my birthday...it has so many flower buds on it and brightens my day!

'The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.' Isaiah 40:8

Shhhh, I need a quieter keyboard...

I'm writing to you now in my little hide-a-way as Dwight holds his DFO (Dairy Farmers of Ontario) meeting in our dining room. I keep thinking they can hear me clattering away on the computer, hopefully they are too engrossed in their udderly moooving conversation........sorry.

Anyway since I last wrote, lots has happened. Well at least it seems to me, in my little world! On Saturday we attended a wedding of a student that had lived in our rental house in town for a year. Dwight has really gotten to know these boys as they became Christians during their stay at Salisbury house. Although we (ashamedly) cannot say that we were the ones to tell them about the saving love of our Lord and Saviour, Dwight has attended many bible studies with them over the year. These boys are so 'on fire' and their passion for Jesus has become so contagious. At the wedding on Saturday it was really refreshing to see that the gospel was the main focus throughout the entire event. When it came time for speeches, the groom thanked everyone for coming and he then said his main goal in life is to preach the truth to everyone he comes in contact with and he wanted us to know that he will use every platform he could to tell others about Jesus so that they have heard the truth at least once. They also gave everyone a DVD as a 'take home gift' and it too had witnessing on it.

Oma had watched the babies for us that day and took some wonderful pictures. This is my favourite, it reminds me of the photos that were taken when cameras were first invented and people had to sit without moving for minutes, so they wouldn't smile as they couldn't hold it.....
Ahhhh...precious.

Since we've re-arranged the play-room and office, the kids have been happily destroying all of my lovely organizing and have been testing my obsessive compulsive behaviours. Ashlyn now pulls herself up on all the toys ... no matter how sturdy or not. She especially likes to put a toy in her mouth, pull herself up and then proudly growl and shriek as though she has reached the summit of Mount Everest with a drool soaked puppy in her mouth. Gabriel does not find this the least bit amusing and if he can, He'll remove every ounce of her pride by pushing her off the 'mountain' and further disciplines her for being so cocky with a 'No Ashy...No.' Then Big Mama has to step in and take away everyone's pride and fun.

As you can see from the pictures.... they now play so hard that even Caleb gets tired from just watching them. Here he is (below)trying to play along with Gabe's latest 'Thomas the Train' adventure, by pretending to be stuck in the tracks, No need to over-act now Caleb. It took a lot of effort for him to even move his paw into position, poor fat kitty.

I have one more lovely photo to include and I think I may enter it in our local fall fair (to try and win the BIG 5 dollar prize.....it's more for the fame...really). I took it on Alison's (Dwight's sister) camera while Grandpa was combining the barley.
Oh and just to ease your mind.....Grandpa did find that little calf. She had wandered a little to far from her mama, into the corn field. She was all alone for 2 days and was as healthy as ever when they found her. She's now with the other babies in the barn.