Happy Birthday, Tony!

Birthdays of my kids always remind me of past years, memories of the day they were born, favorite memories throughout the years.  Today has been no different.  Twenty-six years ago we changed from a couple to a family.  What a fun, sometimes challenging, adventure our lives have become since then!

We have loved watching Tony grow up, from preschool days spent playing with his brother Craig "fixing" things and playing with toys pretending to farm like Daddy, to new adventures as he got older.  

School years brought plays, programs, room parties, spelling lists, homework, AWANA, and later on music concerts, basketball, track and many more activities. 

In recent years we have been priviledged to have Tony come home from college to join us on the family farm.  We are happy to see his dedication to his family, his love of the land and farming, and most importantly, his love for the Lord. 

Happy Birthday, Tony!  As you celebrate your special day, may you know how much we love you.  We pray the coming year will be one of love and much happiness and blessings for your growing family.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!  Last night I couldn't find the words to say what was in my heart.  I was touched by what my friend Rachel said on FB this morning and thought I would share it here.

It sure is hard to be down when you look around and start seeing all of the things you are thankful for.....even the smallest things. It's pretty much impossible to be negative when you let your brain remind your heart to be filled with gratitude.
                    ~Rachel

Thank You God for all the people in my life. You have blessed me beyond compare. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Family, Friends and Loved Ones. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving today!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  We are blessed to have a great family and friends who mean so much to us.  God has supplied our every need, and given us a good year.  We have enjoyed spending time with friends and family, whether in person or phone calls with those far away.  We have much to be thankful for.

Happy 1st Birthday, Natalie!

This morning I was in the office and Warren's computer was running through a slideshow of our photos.  There was little Miss Natalie, the day she came home from the hospital.  Today she is one year old, and the time has flown by.  We all know how kids grow so fast, change almost daily, but its different when its your own child or grandchild.  We are so blessed to have Tony and Amy live nearby so we can share in their lives, and see Natalie often.  We are so thankful.  I often think how much we will miss when Craig and Lindsay have a family some day. 

This photo was taken when Natalie was 5 hours old.  With H1N1 in the hospital, we weren't able to visit her, but had to see her through the window.  My heart melted, seeing our baby holding his baby.   Once they were released from the hospital, we were finally able to hold her.

It is so much harder to get photos of  Natalie these days - she moves too fast!   She does take time to give some cuddles and loves,  but they don't last long.    She is definitely imitating things that people say.  We can understand Dada (lots of things besides Tony are dada.) and cracker.  She likes to watch the birdies and doggies, and loves her ducky blanket and toys.  She is doing well with stairs, most of the time remembering to turn over and slide down them on her belly.   Its fun to see her head for the toys, and the first things she grabs are stuffed animals.  :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Natalie!  We have loved watching you grow in the past year, and look forward to a fun and adventure filled second year too!  Love you!

Happy Birthday, Don!

Happy Birthday to a very special big brother.  Don and his family live in Iowa, far from Montana, so we don't get to spend nearly as much time together as I wish we could.  Last summer Don came home for the Heidner reunion and we had a great time.  Precious.  Here is a pic of Don with Judy and me from the reunion. 

Don, thanks for putting up with your pesky little sister growing up, and for being such a great big brother to me.  Love ya lots!  Have a great day and year to come.

Asters and Snaps

It has been an amazing fall here in Lustre.  After one hard freeze and snow in September, we had a couple of weeks of cool and damp weather, slowing down harvest.  The past 2 weeks have been what we should have had in September.  The weather has been beautiful!  Most years my asters freeze before they bloom nicely.  I may get some nice flowers, but not for long.  This year they are loaded and blooming like crazy.  I picked a bouquet this morning to bring inside and enjoy.  Here are a couple of shots of the flowers this morning.

Happy Birthday, Judy!

Happy Birthday to the best sister ever!  Poor Judy.  She was just about to start high school when Mom & Dad blessed our family with Me!  Judy and I bonded right from the start, and have been close ever since.  Don't get me wrong, I love all my brothers and sisters, and wouldn't trade any of them for the world.   Judy has been sister, babysitter, friend and fill-in Mom in my life, and I love her to pieces. 

Warren and I have enjoyed many trips to visit Dave & Judy and have also traveled with them.   This picture was taken on a trip to Branson a few years ago.  Dave & Judy live in Kansas City, so we don't get to visit very often, but do talk on the phone and skype regularly.   Thank goodness for modern technology.  :) 

Have a great day, Sis.  Love ya.

We're done!

We finished our own harvest last Thursday around noon, then moved up to Opheim Saturday morning to do some custom cutting.  They finished that on Monday night and moved all the equipment home yesterday.  Now its just the cleanup and we are officiall done with a very long, but successful harvest.   :)

Time Lapse

This year we stored some grain in a building on Ray's yard.  Tony cut a hole in the roof, so they were able to fill it from outside.  Here is the progression from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM of filling it.

2 Corinthians 9:10

Thank you to my friend, Jen Reddig, for this gorgeous photo with a very special and meaningful Bible verse.  Thanks for letting me share it, Jen.  God has blessed us with with beautiful crops this year, safety in sowing, caring for and harvesting the bounty. 

Thank you, Lord, for your love and provision. 

Chasing the Ball

This is the last post today, I promise!  Yesterday Natalie found a way to entertain herself and still be close to me.  She threw her ball into the under part of the end table in the living room, then crawled to get it.  She went back and forth several times and had great fun.

Nummmm

I had to video Natalie having her lunch.  She is a great eater.  She eats table food, and they haven't found anything that she doesn't like yet.  She enjoys her food, as you will see.

Nana and Natalie

Natalie and I got to spend quite a bit of time together this week while Amy drove the grain cart.  I had so much fun!  I'm not sure how I got anything done when my two kids were toddlers, but it started coming back to me by the third day - just open the tupperware drawer and let 'em go to it!

It did the trick.  I was able to get the dough rolled out, and pizza pockets made for a field supper last night. 

I'm often reminded of how different she is than my boys.  They never gave a stuffed animal a second look, but Natalie loves them.  A dear friend, Connie D, gave me a bunch of little beanie baby type zoo animals.  She loves them!  As soon as she comes over, she takes off fo the toys and pulls them out, one by one, and gives each one a love before tossing it aside and reaching for the next one. 

The toys aren't the only thing she gives hugs to.  This week I got my first hugs from her.  Talk about melting my heart.....  so sweet.

This is so cute! Must see!

Tony and Amy's blog has a couple of adorable videos of Natalie's newest things.  Thought you might want to see.  :)

http://montanasfastfamily.blogspot.com/2010/09/lets-play-ball.html

Natalie has started walking!

Last week Natalie started taking her first steps.  She is now 9 months old, and will be 10 months old this week, on the 16th.  We were able to see her taking some shaky, tottering steps on Saturday night, and thought we would share.  Such fun to see, and everyone is so proud, especially Natalie.  One of our little neighbor girls, Aubrey, is tempting Natalie with a teddy bear.

Harvest continues...

It's September 7, and harvest is ongoing.  We have had quite a few rain delays this year.  We hope to get cutting again today, but rain is in the forecast again.  Hopefully they can finish up in a few days.  Meanwhile, here are a few favorite pictures from wheat harvest.

Amy & Natalie rode along with Tony in the truck on a run to the elevator.

cutting at Ray's Place

unloading "on the go"

"we've got company!"

Summer Fun

There is nothing like a day out on the lake!   It is definitely one of my most favorite things to do with family and friends.  Summer always seems to fly by with too few days we can get away to go boating.  This summer we have only been able to get out on the water a few times, but they were great.  We took the camp kids boating and Amy and Natalie joined us for Natalie's first boat ride earlier in the summer.   We were able to go out with Tony, Amy and Natalie a couple of times, and also with our friends the Lelands and Youngs. 

A couple of time we have been out and the weather was cold and even rainy one time.  It didn't matter.  It was still fun!  One of our favorite things to do is go tubing.  Warren's goal is always to dump the rider, but we have a different rope now than we used to, and it seems to be just the right length that he can't get the tube into really rough water anymore.  He still tries to dump people, and sometimes he succeeds.  Over the years, with different tubes, there have been some pretty fun and spectacular spills.  Nobody was hurt, though, and fun was had by all.  :) 

Connie Leland's tube ride

Jordan Young on the tube and Aaron on the jet ski

Tom Leland on the tube

Tony wakeboarding

As much fun as it is to go tubing, wake boarding, knee boarding and skiiing, my favorite times come in the evening, just as the sun is setting and the lake gets glass smooth.  Bliss!  I love sitting in the bow as we drive along, and enjoying the sunset reflected on the water.  So calming and beautiful.

Birthday Bash

Another birthday for this harvest baby has come and gone.   The day I was born my dad went home from the hospital and finished combining.  Growing up on a farm, then marrying a farmer means that each birthday I've had has been during the busy harvest time.  Depending on where the guys are cutting, my birthday dinner is either here at home, or out in the field somewhere, unless they get rained out.  :)   This year Amy planned a special surprise for me.  The day before, she called when I was in town, wondering if I had a couple of ingredients.  I had a couple of clues to the mystery dinner!  All I knew ahead of time were Sprite, white wine and strawberry jello.  hmmmm.....!!!

I was made to feel very special with many posts from Face Book friends, calls, cards and gifts.  Thank you to you all.  I spent the morning with Natalie while Amy ran to town.  What fun!  My first birthday as a Nana!  Of course every time I grabbed the camera to take a pic of her standing under the table (so cute) she saw me and crawled over before I could take the picture.  We had a fun time playing and reading her favorite books.

When I headed across the yard for supper, I was surprised to see Warren's parents, Harvey & Gladys, were out from Glasgow for the occasion!  Soon the guys were in from the field, and the mystery menu was revealed.  The Sprite and strawberry jello were for a yummy rhubarb slush punch - a bit tart and very tasty.  The white wine was for one of my favorites - shrimp scampi!  She also had pasta and green beans.  Gladys made me a lemon birthday cake.

 Natalie & Amy made a special card for my fridge.

Speaking of that birthday cake, Warren was Warren.  Need I say more?

Good thing the fire truck is nearby!

 Natalie enjoyed the cake too.

After supper it was back to harvest and I went out to ride in the combine with Warren for a while - a birthday tradition.