2011 Christmas Newsletter

The Family's 2011 Revision of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Once upon a now-a-days, deep in the acreage of Pennsylvania, lives a family.  The family has a tradition of writing a newsletter at Christmas time each year to let friends know what life was like the past 12 months.  This duty usually rests on the shoulders of Papa, but one thing the family learned this past year is that the word “should” can seem like a cuss word.  It dampens our ability to make a choice and creates pressure on us. “We should do this, or we should do that.  We should’ve made that decision, or we shouldn’t have made that decision…”.  Replace the “should” with “could” and the pressure is removed.  So, Papa said that he will not “should” on himself with writing the newsletter this year.  He said that mama could if she wants to.  

 

The past year has been somewhat eventful for the family and like life seems to be for the majority of families, it had it’s share of ups, as well as downs.   They have celebrated many times, and also had times where the words “why, Lord?” was the #1 question of the day.  It is a good thing that Papa has a large set of shoulders for he carried a big load and has cried that his porridge was too hot many times.  He was very busy with his masonry business, where he is the sole owner, operator and laborer, with occasional help of a friend.   He has found relief from heartburn by eliminating all wheat from his diet and is wondering how he could find relief from the responsibility of meeting deadlines, especially the “payment due date” deadlines, which by the way, are definitely shoulds!  :)   Mama has had the feeling like her porridge has been too cold.  That cuss word “should” has effected her, also.  She should keep the house cleaner, have better meals, provide the boys with a better education, and should never hear the words “do I have any clean clothes, mama?”  However, she has reached a point (most times) that it is ok that her porridge is not “just right”,  God knows her heart and papa would rather see her smile and her cubs would rather have a kind word spoken than have her stressed out trying to have the “perfect” den. She has realized that it is unwise to try to live by someone else’s standard.  Papa and mama happily celebrated 25 yrs. together this fall.  Ben has taken over much of the responsibilities on the farm and still works part time at the butcher shop.   He is such a nice soon-to-be-23 young fella, and puts up with the rest of the family harassing him about finding a nice young gal to share his porridge with.  The Our daughter's den has moved 2 miles from our home in June and we are lovin’ having them so close.  A smiley little female named Morgan Dixie was born in July and don’t-miss-a-thing 2 yr. old Oakley, is such a loving big sister to her .  Mama, who turned 21 this year, and Papa do a fabulous job of taking care of their den.  Solomon stills has his dangerous job of moving houses, turned the big 18 this year and always has a hug for mama.  We are excited that he was baptized this month.  George became a teenager, is very responsible on the farm, and shot his first buck, which was a 10 pt.!  He felt his porridge was just perfect at that time!  Uriah has many ambitions.  He turned 10, is a big help in the kitchen and is happy if he has “techie” stuff to work on.  Oliver will be 9 in Feb. and has to be busy at all times.   He will tackle any competition - he loves challenges. The boys never complain about their porridge whether it is too hot or too cold and work hard together at keeping the farm functioning.  The family is composing a song titled “I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas”, for they realize that hibernation is not going to happen for them, for either the bed is too hard or too soft for them to sleep the cold winter away.  They have not stored up enough “fat” and those dreadful deadlines!  Some of them say “January, February, and March”!   One thing that was glaringly evident this year was that God IS in control!  In control of the temperatures, the times of rain, the times of drought, the times of equipment working, the times of equipment not working, times of rejoicing,  times of sorrow.   He has never walked ahead of us, nor behind us, but beside us.  His “porridge” is just right and brings deep satisfaction, His “chair” is the perfect place for us to sit and commune with Him, and the place of rest He offers brings the most refreshment.

 And with this realization, the family will live happily ever after!

May you and your family find His porridge “just right” in the coming year of 2012!

“Come let us worship the King, Jesus the Savior is born 

Until next time.........(maybe next year)

Baptism of Solomon

What a wonderful day it was!  This morning we heard a message on "words".  Wow!  My toes are black & blue, but I love hearing messages that are convicting,challenging, and motivating, without condemnation.  Thanks Bro. Dan!  This afternoon family & friends gathered at a pond to witness the baptism of Solomon.  I am finding a hard time putting words to all my thoughts - it was one of those days that I want to remember for a long time!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow..........  May Solomon's life have a positive rippling effect on other's lives as the ripples on this picture....

This picture turned out so beautiful and meaningful.  I love it!

Until next time..............

This Day in Review

Give us this day . . . . . .  an extra dose of grace & patience.  Did you ever have a day when you knew right away in the morning that it was going to be "one of those days?"  Today was one of those for me.  Got up later than I wanted to because I had spilled water on my alarm clock, now it doesn't work.  Then Dave reminded me that the laundry never got hung up from yesterday and is probably smelly.  Ebay questions needed to be answered, items needed to be packaged to be sent, lady who bought organ bench wants UPS to pick it up here.  How do you package an organ bench?  Other internet business needed attention, boys needed help with school, dishes are a mess and 3 baskets of laundry waiting to be folded and put away.  George decided to "European mount" his deer head and thought today would be a good day.  He and his brothers get a fire going under the butcher kettle and put head in to boil.  I told them I can't help, but after a long while they all came running in to inform me that they just could not do "that" anymore.  George had removed the hide and nose, but stopped at that.  He said that if he has to pick the meat off the deer head he would throw up.  I asked what would happen if I throw up?  "But, mom, can't you just try?"  So, off I trudge to the butcher shop to see if I could pick meat off of this.....

The big bad deer decides to stare at me while working.......

It wasn't too bad, but have to admit by then I was having a hard time being pleasant.   The boys soon ran off to start evening chores and after awhile I put the head back in water to cook some more and went to help boys with chores.  Hey, why don't I run the manure gutter for Dave, that way he does not have to do that when he gets home from work?  I know I can handle that!   So I run the gutter and decide that I can spread the manure as well.  So off I drive to the back field and just know that I can figure it all out, for afterall, I did it once before.  Well.........ummmmm.........it wasn't working, or should I say, I didn't get it.  I was able to empty all the liquid part, but why, oh, why did not the solids come out.  Well, I'll just have to drive back to the farm and tell Dave, who arrived home by now.  He takes one look at it and informs me that I jammed it!  I can imagine his thoughts towards me right then.  It was dark, the tractor does not have lights, he was tired from working all day, but that manure HAS to come out.  So, he drives that tractor and I drive the small JD with lights back to the field and he works and works and works at getting the jammed straw-y manure out of the spreader.  I felt like a loser, even though he did not call me one.  Finally!  he got it and back to the barn we went to help finish up chores.  The bright spot is that when I got into the house, Uriah and Oliver had folded all the laundry!  And they made hotdogs for supper.   Don't know what I would do without them!

I am alway saying that trials and hardships create character, but while escorting the jammed manure spreader, I was seriously wondering what good character building lesson could I learn from this?  Anyway, we had a good laugh about our day while relaying it to Solomon and Dave said he should buy me a t-shirt that says "hiring you is like losing 2 good men".  Oh, he's too funny!  And he is extremely patient and we are still in love!  That makes this day just dandy!

Until next time. . . . . . . .  

George's Big Buck

George got his first deer late this afternoon and it is a BIG buck!

I have learned that men want to know all the details......the weight, how many points, how long, how thick, how did you shoot it......, just like a woman wants to know all about newborn babies........what's the name, the weight, how long, how was the labor........

So, for you men......George and I were sitting out at the edge of the farm lane, George sitting on a chair with gun propped up beside him.  I was standing behind him glancing through a magazine and the dog was roaming all around the area.  We were back there for about 15 min. all the while surveying the hill in front of us and not sitting still at all.  All of a sudden we both saw 6 deer way up on the hill.  He slowly lifted his gun and handed me a pair of binoculars.  He studied them through his scope and me through the horrible pair of binoculars.  He sees horns (I see none) on the first deer, looks at the second deer and sees bigger horns (I think I see little ones) and tells me he is going to shoot!  Shoot he did - 150 yds - and the buck immediately dropped!  We ran/walked/puffed up the hill!  As we approached the deer, he tried to get up.  Who wouldn't if you had a dog nipping at your back end!  George shot him again and finally got a good look at the rack.  A 10 point with a 20" spread!  What a whooping and hollering went on!   His first shot hit the buck in the backbone, his second shot in the chest.  Let's see, any details I missed?  :) 
What a grand experience!   So fun and exciting!

Until next time. . . . . . . .

Resurrection of Mr. Dumpy

Announcing from the Weidenhammer farmstead, and not that lush, sunny island somewhere, that Mr. Dumpy is up and running!  He hated the word "junkyard"!  Hee! Hee!  Something (don't ask me what they call it) was broken - something connected to the clutch.  Should be good for another 100,000 miles!  There is a crew of very happy and relieved men.  We certainly aren't rich farmers, but only in paper money.  We have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings that shower down upon us that have nothing to do with money.  Some of those blessings, or maybe I should say many of those blessings, come to us through hardships like broken down equipment and imperfect circumstances.   So... "Thank you, Lord, for the roses, but thank you more for the thorns." 

Until next time . . . . . . . . . . .

The Squirrel, Pork, and Dump Truck

First of all, for you who have read the post on freezing broccoli without blanching.......don't try it!  It's not worth being a rebel over!  The taste is too strong and with broccoli, that is NOT a good thing! 

The other day I was up in the milk house cleaning up and George comes in from the barn.  He told me that he heard this guy talking about evolution and how we all evolved from squirrels and he (George) believed him, for he is living proof!  What a squirrel!  The resemblance is definitely the blue duster tail! :)

Back in March, we bought 2 "composters" who have been thoroughly enjoying food scraps from our home as well as scraps from my mom and sister.  This Spring, Dave and boys had turned our chicken trailer in a pig hut.  This "hut" was originally up on a flat bed wagon, enclosed in wire with nesting boxes and ramps for the chickens to find their way down to pasture.  We had gotten rid of the chickens and needed something to "graze" the pigs in, so the hut was renovated.  We put the piglets-turning-into-hogs back in a field of turnips and every day they get pulled ahead onto fresh turnip greens.  The end of their lives is fast approaching and we will reap the benefits of pastured pork.  Hungry yet?  Can't you just taste that fresh sausage? 

The dump truck......oh, the wonderful, terrible dump truck......

We do not raise our own silage, but depend on neighboring farmers to supply it for us.  This year,  it is cheaper for us to run and pick some up every other day and since we have a dump truck, we did not think it would be that big of a deal.  Well, I guess the dump truck did, so it decided to be rebellious.  It didn't run right, so Ben replaced air hoses, spark plugs, etc..  Ran for a short time and then stopped starting all together.   After a week of fragmented time trying to find whatever was wrong with it, talking to several different mechanics, installing new battery, new ignition - it still did not start.  A friend of ours came to the rescue and finally discovered that a battery terminal was corroded!  Really!!  So, it worked for a blissful short time.  Then it stopped shifting correctly.  Must be the clutch.  Well, to get at the clutch the transmission must be moved.  The men worked at it for days and could not get the transmission to move.  Gordon, who does this kind of work all the time, came to help yesterday - all day!  After "all day" they finally got new clutch in - dump truck still does not work!  No one knows what is wrong with it.  We thought this morning, that since the men are spending so much time with this truck, maybe it should have a name, but all the names we could think of for it were not very nice ones, so we dropped that idea.  Wonder if the threat of  "junkyard" would scare it into working?  But, we can't afford to send it there, we need it too much and we need it tomorrow!  Last year, we had a pray-over baler.  Wouldn't start unless we prayed over it.  This year we have a dump truck that even prayer isn't helping!  Dave could use a break.  Anyone know of a nice island where we could take a really long vacation, maybe even move to?  Oh, it must be rent free, though, for Mr. Dumpy has sucked all the money out of our pockets.  No, wait, there was no money in our pockets.  Let's see.....Mr. Dumpy has sucked too much of our time, energy and sanity and we now have to pay for a shrink!  There, that is why it must be rent free!  :)

By the way, here is a picture of Mr. Dumpy, who I guess I did name after all!  Wondering why it doesn't want to work?  He thinks he belongs in a antique vehicle museum! :)

Until next time (maybe from that island!). . . . . . . . . . . . .   



I Am Not Dead Yet

No, I am very much alive!  Sad to say!

On Nov. 6th we had a worship service, followed by a full immersion baptism for a dear friend of mine.  Our elder had a wonderful message on repentance and baptism.  I regret not taking notes, however, there was one thing he said (and I don't have it word for word) that has me doing a lot of self examining.....   He said that he will hold her under until no more bubbles come up, then she will be lifted up into a new life. We grinned and softly chuckled, for we knew he would not do that, but we did understand his meaning. 

So what does it mean to live a life in which I has been buried with Christ and is now living a new life?  What does it look like?  Is it a life that would blend in with the surrounding world? 

A person buried with Christ would no longer be an I person.  They would be a person who, in all areas, would reflect Jesus.  They would not pursue their own interests, but those of Christ's.  They would not speak their own words, but those of Christ's.  They would not dress in a way that would draw attention to themselves, but in a way that would honor Christ.  They would not do things to promote themselves.  They would seek other's interest way before theirs.  They would constantly be communicating with the Heavenly Father . . . "Lord, give me the words to speak. Lord, who do You want me to help today?  Lord, how do you want to change me through these circumstances. . . . . "  I have often thought about the life of Jesus and all that He endured here on this earth.  He was ridiculed, mocked, spit upon, called names, let down by His friends.  He never held a huge concert where His followers came out and swooned all over Him! :)  Why on earth did He not go crazy or get severely depressed or get discouraged?  It is because His life was not His own, it belonged to His Father.  There was no I in his life.   Am I content to be a nobody?  Am I happy if nobody notices me, or talks to me?  Am I happy for others if they have more than I do?  Does my family see Jesus in me, or do they see a selfish mom?  Do fellow shoppers see a happy, serene woman, or a miserable impatient grump?  Do I blog to make people think that I have something important to say or do I blog for the glory of God?  Are my facebook stat's to bring attention to me or do they bring life to the readers?  Oh, my friends, I never want to be a hypocrite or a brag or a better-than-you kind of person and these are the questions I have been contemplating the last few weeks.  Am I buried in Christ?  And does my life point to the One who gave His life for me?  I have been sobered with the answer.  It is no, the bubbles are still coming up.  I still lives!   "Lord, no true happiness comes from an I life.  My flesh is so weak, but my spirit is willing.  Help me to live with my eyes constantly focused on You, that it would not be I that people see but You.  Bring strength and contentment to live a hidden, buried life filled with Your Holy Spirit and not a self serving spirit"

You will truly know if you are a servant when you are treated like one.

Until next time...........