Eggciting News!

Duane's dad has been in the hospital for over two weeks now due to a stroke and let me tell you, I have sure missed his presence around the farm. I would hear him drive in sometimes as early as 5:00 a.m. to let the chickens out, fill their feeding trays, get them fresh water and maintain the roost. Next visit would be around noon when he'd bring the first collection of eggs for the day and on special occasions I'd get a funny little story about the animals. I'd see him again in the afternoon tending to the vegetable garden or mowing our lawn... the incredible generosity of his time is truly a gift. It's been quiet without him around and the farm feels somewhat lonely.

As we have been eagerly anticipating his recovery and return to the farm, I have taken on caring for the chickens and goats. This has included overcoming a phobia of being attacked by a chicken (ok, not a phobia but those things creep me out sometimes) only to have one attack my hand while collecting an egg. I now wear gloves. I've cleaned the eggs of yummy sticky chicken poop and have developed a little muscle (much needed) from carrying 4 gallon water pales to and from the well. I've chased the goats either out of the chicken coop or off its roof and have inhaled far too many spider webs.

Chickens, I have discovered, are very punctual. If ever I'm not at the chicken coop by 7:00 am to let them out, they are all pooled around the little door in anticipation of their daily freedom and it is a madhouse as they all try to get out simultaneously!

The funniest was this morning... One chicken has decided to create a little nest between two straw bales as you walk into the coop. Three of our kittens decided this was the best place to sleep at night. This morning they were too slow in getting out of the little haven and found themselves sat on by the chicken!! We had to pick up the pecking chicken to free the kittens who somehow didn't seem bothered by the whole affair. Really, though... a chicken hatching kittens??? No wonder dad loved doing this every day!

Just before dad went into the hospital, our Muscovy ducks had laid nearly 18 eggs. We weren't sure if they were fertilized or not (although Duane claims he witnessed the awkward "special hug" from afar one time). The mother duck left her eggs in random places and we feared her instincts weren't kicking in. Dad found a roosting chicken, stuck her in a cage with the collected duck eggs in hopes we could keep them from getting cold and dying. Eventually, by the time the mama duck layed her last eight eggs, she had created a nest and was protecting it diligently. Last week she wouldn't even leave the nest so we knew it must be getting close to hatching time. We put the other eggs that were with the roosting chicken back with the mama duck and her nest... hoping for the best. All we needed were ducklings being hatched by a chicken... but hey, with hatching kittens, maybe this isn't too unrealistic?

Even dad's been asking about the duck eggs.

Tonight, my regular routine of collecting the 6:00 pm round brought me face to face with the mama duck out and about in the yard! Could it be?? I got to the chicken coop where she's nested and before I even opened the door, I could hear a little "peep, peep." I opened the door and hidden down by the trough was a tiny little duckling head staring at me. I picked it up and said "welcome, little one!" and pet it as it closed its little eyes. When I began to quack (what a sight this would be for a stranger) it quacked back excitedly. Hopefully I didn't quack "tonight's menu is duckling"...

The other eggs are still in the nest but considering the mama laid one a day for two weeks, I'm guessing they will hatch one day at a time, too. How exciting! It's like a new present every day for two weeks straight! You can see in this picture the remaining eggs in the nest in the back. Let's hope they all hatch ok. I didn't like the way the rooster was eyeing up the duckling before I left, especially with the mama duck out in the yard. And of course there's the cats... Oh nature, don't be morbid this time around, ok??? But I guess that's why they lay 18 eggs?

I went and got Anika to introduce her to our newest farm addition. She was actually gentle with it!

Before I left, little Duckie decided to hang out by my rubber boots. I mean, who doesn't want to hang out by yucky, chicken-poop-filled rubber boots, right? As you can see from this picture, one would have to pay close attention to where they are stepping. This little guy is just tiny!

I know my last farm posting was rather morbid about dying cats and that I was feeling rather down about farm life at that moment, but this just puts it all back up there with "Farm life ROCKS!"

When I went to put the chickens in for the night just now, mama duck was back on her nest but I couldn't see Duckie anywhere. I quacked and sure enough a tiny "peep, peep" replied but not from the nest. I couldn't figure out where this duckling was. Finally, I looked down at the pail of water sitting in an old tire and sure enough a little "peep, peep" came from it. I moved the bucket and there was Duckie hiding inside the tire. I put him back near his mama and she snatched him up with her beak so fast, I thought she was going to eat him! Let's hope Duckie is still there tomorrow morning... Maybe I did quack "tonight's menu is duckling". (sigh)

So there you have it, our newest member... Duckie. Now to think of original names for the remaining 17 that will hatch. Any suggestions?

Hope life is as fascinating for all of you out there. It's a good reminder that while we are preoccupied with our own lives, there are countless miracles happening around us without our knowing. Remember that the next time your car won't start in the middle of rush hour... just maybe there's a duckling peeping around nearby... and not getting run over by a vehicle!

Take care, everyone! Please keep Duane's dad in your prayers. And God bless!

What a cruel, cruel world for a cat

Farm life can be so very cruel…

Growing up on a farm, my absolute favourite animals were cats. If I had a dollar for every hour of my childhood I spent playing with cats, taunting cats, pretending to be a cat, forcing my little friends to be my kittens, and chasing cats, I would be a millionaire! This common knowledge earned me the name of “Cat Woman” in my hometown of Ste-Anne, Manitoba until I moved away at the age of seven. Needless to say, I have worked tremendously hard not to get attached to the twenty wild farm cats we now have.

But every now and again, one of the new kittens becomes brave and friendly and you can’t help but open your heart! I’ve told Mélina not to name them, but before we know it, we are referring to them as Oreo, Shivers, Panda, Stickers, etc…

My first lesson happened this time last year. A litter of three female kittens had been found: Stickers and Chloe were the good ones, particularly Chloe. She would run up to me and jump up on my shoulder as I walked around the farm. What a charmer! To my horror, Duane’s dad who comes into the yard several times a day to feed the cats leftovers and to feed the chickens, accidentally ran over Chloe who had been running towards his truck. This was hard to take and I reminded myself not to get attached.

Next we found Shivers, a tiny runt. We tamed him and often giggled at his small yet stocky figure and bulging blue eyes. He got some strange eye infection and we found him dead not to long afterwards. Same story with a few more kittens. Even Mina said “any kitten I play with dies.”




Chloe and Sticker’s mom had another litter this spring, Oreo and Panda. Oreo outshone all the cats to-date. Kids could pick him up by the tail, by the whiskers and he wouldn’t falter. He kept purring and smiling. Yes, smiling! He became my greeter as he always hung out by the door in hopes I’d slip him a little goat’s milk. Anika loved the way Oreo would climb on her lap when we’d sit outside. He followed me everywhere around the farm. Last I saw him, he was on the deck purring away yesterday afternoon as I headed back into the house.

Finally, Sticker (Chloe’s sister) stood out among the rest. She was the most tamed and she’d always greet me at the door, particularly because she wanted food! She got pregnant this spring and had her first litter last week. Surely her genetics would mean not-so-wild kittens?? I found them yesterday morning: four of them. But they were mewing like crazy. I kept an eye on them the rest of the day in hopes that Sticker would show her face. Had she abandoned them? Surprisingly, I didn’t see Sticker at all the rest of the day. This morning, I headed back to discover two of the kittens dead, one at death’s door and the other mewing with all its strength. My heart broke! How dare Sticker abandon her kittens! I picked up the stronger one and brought it to another litter of three week-old kittens in hopes they could keep the little one warm and hopeful until I put Anika down so I could tend to it properly. An hour later, Anika finally went down for her nap and I pumped a bit of milk and put it in a syringe in hopes I would be able to get the kitten to drink something. I went out to the litter and my heart stopped… it was gone! I searched frantically but could only find the five 3 week-old kittens. Could the mother have come back in that little time and taken the kitten somewhere else? Would she have killed it?

Truly upset, I came back to the house. Duane’s dad knocked on the door and said “I found two cats in the water barrel by the deck… drowned. Better get rid of them before they stink up the place.” (Always practical)

I froze. Please don’t let it be one of my favourites…

I went with Duane and discovered it was Sticker and her little brother, Oreo. They must have tried to get a drink and fell in. She hadn’t abandoned her babies… she’d died!

This was all too much in one day. I bawled my eyes out with no sympathy. “I warned you not to get attached.” Much appreciated words of wisdom from my husband… NOT! I know they’re just animals, but you can’t help but love the ones that stand out. I don’t try to love them, I just do! I don’t like any of the other gazillion wild cats! Why can’t they be the ones that die?? Why is it ALWAYS the good ones??

There’s my rant for today. I’m exhausted from tearing the place apart looking for that baby kitten. I’m exhausted from bawling and I’m whooped from missing my two good cats. It’s just not fair. What a cruel, cruel world.

Anika 6 months old!

Anika’s wedding was beautiful this weekend and next week, she and her husband are flying off to New Zealand to startup a new organic farm of wild buffalo… Well, with time flying as quickly as it has these past six months, it feels like it won’t be long before I’m sending out that very message. Ok, maybe it will be wild goats instead. J

Can you imagine if we learned new things and grew as much as our little ones do their first six months? From being helplessly tiny, grey-eyed and sleepy to rolling around, giggling, grabbing everything in sight, fighting naptimes, and discovering tantrums, and doubling in size. Hmmm, maybe this isn’t so different from adulthood.

These last couple of months, Anika has delighted in discovering her world. Two days ago she rolled over from her back unto her tummy for the first time and just like every other milestone to-date, she suddenly decides to try it once and is suddenly a pro. You can’t push her, though. Only when she’s good and ready. She is quite pleased with herself and kicks away in delight.

Her feet… she’s a little monkey in disguise! Never have I seen a child so expressive with their feet. Forget sign language, I can tell her mood by the way she moves and dances her little twinkle feet around. Jumping in the jolly jumper has provided hours of entertainment, and Anika seems to enjoy it, too! Seriously, I don’t know of a funnier sight than a little mini-person strapped in a contraption (which makes them look like they’re
parachuting) discovering freedom in bouncing around like an Easter bunny on catnip! It didn’t take her long to discover how to turn 180 degrees in mid-air, how to stop suddenly with poise or to leap at heights which challenge even the sturdiest spring. Attempting to take her out of it is just as amusing because as you lift the contraption off the ground to lie her down and take her out, she figures that if she tries to bounce furiously in the air, her feet might find some form of leverage. At least she gradually relaxed enough to ease the death grip she would get on the strings at either side of her head (this is what gave the impression she was parachuting). Those are some mighty hands she’s got!

Hair… not only is hers growing blonder and blonder but she has discovered the tiny hairs on the back of one’s neck and the funny sounds mommy can make when she pulls on them very hard. This is a classic Anika greeting: smile and pick her up, her little innocent hands outstretched to touch your face then suddenly they are around your neck as she attempts to take you down with some baby wrestling move! Not only can those little hands grab anything and everything in sight but she is learning basic sign language. "Milk" is a hand opening and closing as though milking a cow and lately she has finally figured this out. Her idea of yelling at me was putting her hand in my face while doing the milk sign in very quick succession. I was impressed. Tiny, cute fingers can also pinch. Tante Linda was left with a few greeting marks on her neck from holding Anika. We have yet to discover the sign for "GENTLE!"

Tonight, we brought in a litter of 3 week old kittens for her to explore. I sat her on the floor in front of me as her busy little hands reached every which way towards all five kittens. One shrieked and I quickly rescued it from her death grip while another was being lifted by its tail. Perhaps exploring farm animals will have to wait a while yet.

She LOVES the goats and the goats love her! All three kids come right up to her and her hands reach out (gently) and they sniff her as she giggles. This is right about the same time I discover one is nibbling on my pants!
Chickens are a creature of intrigue for Anika. She understands when I point to look in that direction so when we go walking by the chicken pen, I point out the free-ranging chickens and she spots each one. I make the "buck buck buck" sound and sign for chicken and she keeps staring at them with those permanently stunned blue eyes. The outdoors is by far her favourite place to be.

Vocabulary has expanded from opera singing to actual sounds like Ba-ba-ba-ba and now her favourite word "Da-da-da-da". Tonight she actually said "dad" a few times. Perhaps she thinks this is funny because it is immediately followed by mama saying "no, no, no Anika… say Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma." I can hear when she wakes up because she whispers "da-da-da-da".

She is definitely daddy’s little girl. Regardless of how long she’s been napping, she somehow knows when Duane has come into the house because she wakes up! Either that or he’s always too loud. J Perhaps a combination of the two. We call him "papa" and it’s become habit that when I call out to him for something, it isn’t "Duane!" or "Honey!" it is now "Papa!" Anika has recognized this and understands my calling out to him usually means he appears a few moments later so if I’m nursing her and call out to Duane, she whips her head around (owwww) to look for Papa. And when she spots him, her little feet start kicking.

We have introduced bananas and egg yolks this week… her first non-mommy food. And she LOVES it! Her appetite has grown considerably these last couple of weeks. I can barely keep up milk-production-wise. Sometimes she gets impatient with this and will smack my chest as she’s nursing! I don’t know if she figures this will stimulate more flow or if this is her made up sign for "hurry up, mom!" Either way, I’m not too keen on it. At least she doesn’t have any teeth yet!

She is certainly a busy body and refuses to be "trapped" on the floor or in her exersaucer. She wants to be held and walking around. Forget cuddling, she wants to be busy exploring. Sometimes I feel like her horse and buggy. She can’t quite sit on her own yet but no doubt we’re only days away from her deciding she wants to do it and will.
Mélina continues to be the best big sister anyone could ask for. She makes Anika giggle effortlessly. When the girls spend the week at their dad's, I often sit at the computer and show Anika pictures of Mina and Izzy. She stares in amazement. And whenever I bring her to see Isabel, she always reaches out her little hand and Izzy responds by putting hers out, too. The two stare at each other and when one smiles, the other follows immediately. It warms my heart!

We continue to delight in our precious daughter and thank God for every moment we have with her. We celebrated with loved ones her Baby Dedication back in June and we realize how incredibly blessed we are to have all of you in our lives as we stumble our way through parenthood. It is a humbling process and one that leaves us so vulnerable in our desire to raise our precious children in God’s light and love for His children. I could not imagine tackling life without knowing we had each of you at our side along the way. You are precious and dear to us.

Thank you for this and so much more.

Kiddin' around

We've got two new additions!
Maggie finally had her kids just a couple of hours ago. They look identical but one is a boy and the other a girl. Maggie has been busy grooming and fussing over them. The little ones have been wobbling around and exploring their world trying to figure out where to get this whole "milk" thing. I was taking pictures and ooing and awing over the whole thing when suddenly Molly came away from hiding in the corner with little Mabel and head butted one of the babies. which went flying! I nearly dropped the camera from sheer horror as I yelled, "MOLLY!!!" To my horror, she headed (pardon the
pun) to the next one and did the same thing.
Okay, in retrospect maybe it's a little funny now, but I was horrified at the time. I'm not used to seeing cute little goats getting head butted and flying across a pen followed by a distressed "BAAAAA!!"
We have since separated Molly along with her little Mabel. What a rude welcoming! Thank goodness we don't throw each others' kids across the room when they're born! Sheesh!

Anika 4 months old!

My, my, my... Yet another month comes and goes! Anika turned 4 months old a week ago today. It seems that with Anika, as soon as she hovers around another anniversary date, she seems to awake that morning with new skills pulled out of thin air.
A couple of days before her 4 mth anniversary, she lifted her feet and rather than just move them around, she deliberatly reached out and grabbed one foot. Suddenly the next morning, she has become a pro at this! Both feet now come up with both hands pulling them and she leans over to one side then back to the middle. A couple of days after that, she decided to attempt new sound waves with her voice.
Her usual deep and loud coos have, on occasion, become high pitched singing as though she were a dainty little songbird. Quite funny considering her size and strength. She nearly tears her entire floor gym off the floor when she grabs it as I pick her up.
Her hair continues to amaze us. No matter how long it grows, her little alfalfa tuft near the back grows higher and higher although these last few days, she is developing a curl to it. Now it reminds me of a peacock tail!
Her favourite blanket is the colourful quilt that Grandma Vaags made for her. She has been insisting on pulling it over her head when it's naptime and waits patiently for me to play peekaboo when she awakes from her nap. I giggle every time! Especially when she is moving around under the blanket still pulled over her face until she hears that I've entered the room... Then she goes still and it's like she holds her breath in anticipation of the "Peek-a-boo, Anika!" I am then greeted with a huge smile, a few excited kicks and her amused giggle.
Ah... The sound of her giggles... Truly a gift from God himself! Is there any better sound in this world that that of your children laughing? It's wonderful when she is in one of her moods where you just have to say a funny word like "pikatee-KA" and she giggles. And giggling is effortless when Mina is around!
When big sister Mina is around, she can't take her eyes off her. There is sheer delight between those two. And when sitting or lying next to big sister, Izzy, Anika always reaches out a hand to touch Izzy's face or her hand. It is beautiful what those two seem to share in a world without language as we seem to know it. The way they look into each other's eyes nearly brings tears to my own. Sometimes they've stared at eachother for as long as two minutes without wavering. Then Izzy smiles, sings her little coo, looks up at me, looks back at Anika to smile once more and resumes watching her movie. Truly special.
Here are some pics including pic# Anika016 where she has found her papa and beamed her smile of love at him; pic# Anika007 where she'd fallen asleep playing with her toy and slept an hour and a half still holding it in her hand and a few others that warmed my heart.
Mable, the baby goat, is now half the size of her mom yet still insists on jumping onto poor Molly's back. Duane has got milking Molly down to an art but my first attempt yesterday proved rather disastrous. Perhaps it's from sheer sympathy... I cannot pull on her without cringing. After all, I am now dealing with a daughter who sometimes pulls away from her feedings in rather unnatural and painful ways! Wish me luck in mastering the art of milking a dwarf goat. If Duane's massive hands can milk her (despite looking like he's milking a cat) then I should be able to learn this, too! Our regular sized Toggenburg goat should be kidding any day now. (I am resisting the urge to say "just kidding"). :)
We love our life, we love our family, we love our journey of faith and thank God almighty for the gifts each day presents us with!
May your lives be richly blessed in knowing you are in our prayers.

3 months fly by!

Well, it was this time last year that little Anika Joy's presence would change our lives. Who knew how much could happen in the course of one year??? Her presence continues to fill our hearts with gratitude. We are so blessed!
This home now knows the sound of her laughter and my morning just isn't a good morning until I've walked into her room to be greeted by her patient little self looking up at me with a big smile. I forgot how much you fall in love! I am finding myself reminiscing to when Mélina and Isabel were babies... And now Isabel is turning eight next month and Mina will be twelve this June.
I remember Mina climbing those huge steps to that school bus the very first day of kindergarden and the fear she felt arriving at school to have a teacher ask her what her last name was. "I can't remember, but there's two of them" was all she could say. I remember how much she loved "shusies"
(Shreddies) and her beloved "gwapes" (grapes). And who could forget that priceless frown and her determined "I DO, I DO". I remember the "mommy, can you play with me" and the countless times I said "maybe later" and now she is talking about boys and shopping and my presence isn't as wanted as it once was. The time flies by so quickly despite your deepest desire to make those moments last just a little bit longer.
And Isabel has grown so much in length that carrying her has become quite awkward. Those little feet I used to massage are now big and her little singing voice is much deeper. My little girls are growing so fast.
So I found myself rocking Anika to sleep tonight and praying fervently that I not take a moment for granted. I think of mothers who strive alone to raise their little ones and little ones who have no mothers at all. My arms do not know the feeling of emptiness because God has graced me with my beautiful children. If I could share that joy with all the people of the earth, I would. Perhaps that is my attempt in this letter?
More than anything, I pray for your lives as though I held you in that rocking chair tonight, too. You have visited my prayers no differently than had you been in my arms and I, too, pleaded with the Lord that I not take you for granted. And so with this "update" I hope you are all doing well and living life to its fullest, grasping your own memories in hopes of making them last a lifetime. How precious "time" can be and how magical is its capacity to store an infinte source of memories.
God bless you all on this journey we call "life".

Another kid in our lives

Praise God for the miracle of life and creation! No, we are not expecting another one, but we do have a new kid... Our Nigerian Dwarf goat, Molly, birthed her little baby yesterday.

It's rather funny because my extreme city-girl friend, Allison, was over for dinner last night and she is fascinated by farm life but very quickly creeped out and grossed out. Just mentioning certain things to her make her feel queesy. I told her we had a couple of goats and one would birth any day now so we headed out to see them. When we got there, we looked into the pen and just as I heard the tinest little "baaaa" I saw the little black kid wobbling on her new legs. Then Allison yelled "EWWWWW what is that???!!!!" I looked over and there was Molly eating a dangling red piece of placenta... I can barely type this because I'm laughing so hard!!!

So our dear city girl nearly fainted! She thought Molly was eating her baby. Never a dull moment over here, I tell ya!

Molly is such a good mommy and little Mabel is so very cute. Man, can those things baaaa loud when you pick them up!

Well, baaaaaaack to your day, folks! (yes, another groaner from yours truly)

Anika Joy - 8 weeks old!

Can you believe eight weeks have already come and gone??? It’s official… I am excluded from this “time” concept because it keeps happening without my realizing it.

And what of our darling Anika Joy, you wonder? She has been smiling since a couple of weeks after birth but now she is abundant with those priceless, toothless grins. It begins with her eyes twinkling followed by her beautiful smile. Her eyes are such a brilliant blue bursting from the pupil… sometimes you think you’re looking at a galaxy. Her awareness continues to amaze me. She is interested in everything happening around her. Paintings are among her favourite things to look at. When we are at Tante Diane and Uncle Richard’s house, we have to walk around and look at all the paintings.

She weighed in at 12 lbs 8 oz last Wednesday… a considerable weight gain! Our midwife kept saying “she is such a big girl!”

Anika seldom cries. In fact, instead of getting upset, she just gives short yells. We’ve been blessed with a few solid nights of sleep (from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am) but she still occasionally wakes for a middle of the night feeding. Again, she just gives a couple of little shouts to let me know it’s feeding time… quickly followed by a big grin when she sees me.

She has been batting at her toys for weeks now and she reminds me of a boxer when she swats at her toys! She even gets the rhythm of the toy bouncing back!!! It’s hilarious. She’s discovered her voice and we’re on the verge of hearing her laugh for the first time. Right now, it still sounds like a painful cough… but I know it’s coming soon!

She seldom accepts being held in a lying position – only if it’s almost bedtime. Instead, she wants to be held upright where she can look around at everything and everyone.

My heart can barely contain the joy at times and I find myself bursting out in laughter at her incredible cuteness.

Her presence is such a blessing and I thank God for the miracle of Anika Joy.

Take care, all of you!

Welcome Anika Joy!

Here is our darling little girl born January 18th at 7:52 a.m. weighing 8 lbs 9 oz and measuring 20.5 inches in length. Quite a miracle in every sense of the word…

After having mild contractions every 10-15 minutes from 2:00 pm onwards, my water finally broke at 11:15 pm. We arrived at the hospital near midnight and I was “a good 3-4 cm’s dilated”. After eight hours of labour, they checked again to discover I was only a full 4 cm’s dilated. The lack of progress was so discouraging and then what I feared most… my midwife looked at me and said, “We can’t make this a marathon, not with your water broken and risk of uterine rupture. We’re going to have to do a C-section.”

My greatest fear but at this point I just wanted the baby to be safe in my arms but the memories of the harsh recuperation after my C-section with Isabel left me in tears. I could sense Duane’s heart wrenching desire to spare this next step… and so we prayed. We surrendered and we prayed.

By the grace of God, the anesthesiologist could not come and start my epidural because the hospital was in the middle of their morning rounds. Suddenly, contraction upon contraction began happening and the pain so intense I could barely breathe through them! I could feel the baby being pulled down but dared not say a word in hopes that God would work a miracle before they whipped us off for a C-section.

30 minutes after the dreaded news, I asked my midwife to check again and to her dismay she announced I was 8 cms and ready to have this baby!!!! Within fifteen minutes, Anika Joy was born and her beautiful eyes so alert and her calm demeanor so welcoming.

She nursed beautifully and barely made a peep throughout examinations and pokes. She is perfectly and gloriously made!

Thank you for all of your prayers. The nurses in that room admitted what happened in that delivery room was nothing short of a miracle!

An update for our loved ones

The full moon has risen and lights up this beautiful farm as though God were shining a flashlight right at us! Silence hangs in the air like a morning fog carrying the sounds of the crickets. There is great peace at this moment and rather than send my thankful prayer to find you without you even knowing it, I am sharing this with you directly.

Living in the country again has re-awakened my connection with the earth and nature… I’d nearly forgotten how intense that could be. I have found the beauty and grace of God in His natural sanctuaries that surround us here, in the plants that grow, in the fields that bloom and the harvests reaped by those who sowed with faith. My darling Duane has had an early harvest for his organic oats and flax. I had the benefit of helping on occasion when harvesting would lead into the wee hours of the morning. One of those nights, the sky was on fire with the setting sun to the west and a rising orange moon to the east and a lightning show to the north. I’d spent the day studying seeds in my herbology course so to go from witnessing the miracle of a seed to the magnitude of an endless sky filled with wonder… needless to say all I could whisper to myself was “How Great Thou Art, Lord.” To create such intense beauty affirms for me the beauty in all of our hearts. Anything His hand has touched must contain His beauty, right?

Married life has taken some adjusting on both of our parts. I apparently generate far too much heat at night, Duane snaps his ankle repeatedly when he can’t sleep, there are some smells on the farm that just can’t be “washed out”, etc… With summer being Duane’s busy time, we seldom see each other except at night when we visit scripture together and thank God for our countless blessings. We laugh often and learn from each other and our humbling moments. He is stubborn as a mule, though! He cut his hand while fixing a combine out in the field during harvest and I was there with the 4-wheeler telling him to get on so we could get back to the house to clean and bandage his hand properly (he was bleeding all over the place). Well apparently taking 5 minutes to tend to a wound is not possible in the middle of harvest… so I nearly had to grab him by the ear to drag him back to the house. I finally told him in sheer frustration “If farming doesn’t kill you, I will!” For some reason, he thought this was funny.

We continue to challenge each other through incredible discussions and philosophical debates. It’s WONDERFUL!!! I can speak my wonky language of imagery and he understands. Even when I can only speak in hand gestures with sound effects, he understands! If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

I am reminded of the first time my father met Duane. It was at my step-brother’s wedding social. Keep in mind that my philosophy is to get on a dance floor and dance such homemade moves as “the dancing cow”, “digging the grave”, “goin’ fishin’” and “the spin cycle”. My theory being that when no one is on the dance floor and I go out and start dancing these moves, within 2 songs the dance floor is filled with people who no doubt thought to themselves “no matter how badly I dance, I won’t look as bad as that poor girl”.

It works every time!

Even though I’d only known Duane a month at this point, I didn’t hold back on the humbling dance moves. My father sat across from Duane and leaned over to him and said “it’s a good thing you don’t scare easily.”

Hmmm, thanks dad!

But here we are, happily married and enjoying a life dedicated to farming ethically, growing our first child together and growing in faith as husband and wife. We are truly, truly blessed!

The wedding was wonderful… a perfect day filled with sunshine for our outdoor ceremony at dad’s farm. We were even blessed with a little shower like a greeting from above. We felt so peaceful and calm as though the moment had always existed. Hard to explain but the beauty remains in the unspoken understanding and knowing.



Mélina and Isabel were such angels as Mélina pushed Isabel down the grass aisle in her wheelchair. I wanted to be married feeling the earth beneath my feet so my girls and I were barefoot. These two have taken to the farm like a fish to water. Mélina has blossomed leaving her uncertainty/sensitivity/timidity behind, exploring the farm, taming the kittens, loading hay with Duane and helping him clean the seed bins, riding the tractors and 4 wheeler, doing laundry and helping with dishes. She is soaring and I have thanked God for the reassurance that we are where we are meant to be. Duane gleams with pride when he talks about his step-daughters and the two of us sit there at the supper table or before going to bed and complain about how much we miss them the weeks they are with James. I have married an insomniac so I have a partner to help care for Isabel on those challenging nights. And some of our best visits occur at 3:00 a.m.

My pregnancy continues to go very well. Other than a few serious bouts of fatigue this past month, I have had no other symptoms except a rapidly growing belly. I am 23 weeks pregnant and this baby kicks to his/her little heart’s content, particularly when papa is reading the bible out loud. I love this rounding belly and the gift of carrying this little one around with me everywhere I go. My hand is slowly becoming permanently attached to my belly. What joy to have life growing within you! What privilege!

So there you have it. A bit of an update which finally excludes not-so-great news about Isabel. We are blessed to report a nice, smooth span of time without any complications. She has doubled her weight and has lost a few more teeth. She has officially starting grade 2 this week and continues to shine like a bright star amidst her peers who love her.

Life is abundant and this multitude of blessings leaves me shaking my head in wonder… how could I ever thank Him enough?

So thank you for touching my life and for sharing with me this moment in time. You are loved and cherished and best of all is the fact that I pray for you all nearly every night without you even realizing it! But alas, I let you in on this because I want you to know that time does not constrain any ties I share with any of you… that you are timeless in my heart and ever present in the pages of my life story.