As a child it was normal to get a live colored chick at Easter time. One time I even got a duck! Of course these little creatures would end up at one of Grandparents houses in the country after just a few days or weeks.
This year as I was strolling through Bucheits, our local farm store, I could hear their rooster crowing, and had to go see if they had their little colored chicks yet. I was just going to watch them for a while because they are so cute! And I did! But as Easter got closer and closer, I couldn't fight the temptation any longer, and at 5:00 pm on Easter Eve, I came home with 3 little chicks. One for Olivia, one for Andrew, and an extra, just in case something happened to one in the night. I had purchased chicks for the other grandchildren on other years, but Andrew and Oli hadn't got to experience getting hold and love on a baby chick.
They loved their little chicks and we told them we would take care of them for them and they could visit them anytime.
This is all fine and good, but the story doesn't end there..... Grandpa said, "If we're going to care for 3 chicks, we might as well have more." So we went back and bought another dozen. Paw decided he needed to build a chicken pen, so this led to fencing, lumber, and yes....more expense!
We also had been looking for a couple of hens who were already laying. A friend called and said her mom would part with a couple of her laying hens but we had to take the rooster. Then we found two more laying hens at another farm. Wow! We're in the egg business!
Neither of the first hens ever laid an egg. In fact, one of the hens must have been old, because on morning Sidney went out to the shed and she had keeled over! We assume it was old age!
But the rooster....He is broken! He walks around with his beautiful feathers just glistening in the sunlight. He is a happy rooster with all of those hens and he tries to prove it by crowing. But his crow is broken! If you can imagine what a hoarse rooster might sound like you would be close. He tries and tries. He kind of sounds like someone who starts a song with a powerful note, but soon falls off key! My rooster makes me laugh! If I am in the house and he begins to crow, I will find myself giggling to myself. I will say, "My poor rooster. He's broken."
Have you ever heard of a blessing in disguise? I think that is what you would call my rooster. We were a little concerned that the neighbors might not appreciate his morning wake-up call, but we don't have to worry about that since the problem was solved before he arrived. His crow is broken!
As for the eggs: We get two to three per day. That's not a bad return on the several hundred dollars we spent is it? But that's okay, since Sidney and I enjoy sharing them with others. It's just another example of our simple living. I like watching my little chickens, but even more, I enjoy the crowing of my broken rooster.
I hope you are enjoying a peaceful and simple life too.
GrandmaB
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Dad's Garden
This spring Sidney decided that he wanted to plant a garden. He looked at all the seed catalogs, made trips to the local farm store, and finally chose the seeds that would make the best plants and produce anyone could grow!
Finally a warm sunny day arrived and he donned his blue denim bibbed coveralls and his worn straw hat and went to work. I watched as he trudged behind the tiller. He found his dad's old stick with the string attached and began to lay out the rows. I don't know why I didn't get my camera and take his picture because for just a moment I thought that it might be his dad out in that garden.
Some of my fondest memories of Sidney's dad were the ones when he was making his garden. He donned his denim blue bibbed coveralls, his worn straw hat, and went to work in the warm fertile soil. It seemed like he was happiest when he was working in his garden. Sidney's dad passed away a little over a year ago. Of course we miss him, but as time goes by, I see him in his son. I'm sure that Sid Sr. is working in God's garden and is as happy as can be. I'm sure that he smiles as he looks down from heaven and watches his son happy working the land.
Finally a warm sunny day arrived and he donned his blue denim bibbed coveralls and his worn straw hat and went to work. I watched as he trudged behind the tiller. He found his dad's old stick with the string attached and began to lay out the rows. I don't know why I didn't get my camera and take his picture because for just a moment I thought that it might be his dad out in that garden.
Some of my fondest memories of Sidney's dad were the ones when he was making his garden. He donned his denim blue bibbed coveralls, his worn straw hat, and went to work in the warm fertile soil. It seemed like he was happiest when he was working in his garden. Sidney's dad passed away a little over a year ago. Of course we miss him, but as time goes by, I see him in his son. I'm sure that Sid Sr. is working in God's garden and is as happy as can be. I'm sure that he smiles as he looks down from heaven and watches his son happy working the land.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Facebook Fun
About a month ago my daughter-in-law introduced me to Facebook, an online place where friends can connect. Since that time I have visited the site at least once a day. At first it was just one or two friends that I connected with, and then a few more, and then things just began to mushroom and I have connected with soooo many people that I have known and been friends with in my past.
Years ago, when I was just 17, I spent an entire summer at a place known as "Winona Lake Bible Conference" in Indiana. I made many friends with one common thread, "we were all there to serve the Lord". There were missionaries children, kids who wanted to become missionaries, and kids who just wanted to work at a place where the gospel was preached everyday. There was one special friend that I had lost track of and had mentioned so many times over the years that I would like to find her. While on facebook one night I typed in her name, Naomi, and to my surprise, there she appeared! I could hardly wait to talk to her again! It had been 42 years since I had seen her. We had both married, had children, continued to serve the Lord and found out that our lives had many similarities.
Naomi called me and asked if we could meet her and her husband in St. Louis this week as they would be traveling through for a convention. We set up a time, a place, and then I began to get a little nervous. I realized people change a lot in 42 years. What if we didn't have anything in common and it became an akward evening? When Naomi walked through the door we had an immediate reconnection; almost as though we had been friends all these years. Most of all I think we both realized why we became friends in the first place; Our heart for God.
Naomi and her husband live in an inner-city area in Chicago. This is their choice and they work with ex-offenders when they come out of prison. She is a nurse, he is an engineer....they could be living anyplace they want, but this is where God has placed them and they are obeying. I look forward to talking to them more and learning more of their ministry. I think it is exciting that a friendship founded with God can last a lifetime.
Facebook has let me reconnect with friends from all over the United States. I am amazed that I have so many friends. Sometimes we feel that we have no friends and that our lives don't matter much, but facebook has shown me and others that we have many friends and all of our lives are important. It feels good to know that our friends are willing to open themselves up to let us in to their daily lives. Thank you facebook. But most of all, thank you God. When a man has friends, he is rich!
TIP OF THE WEEK
I read that if you start saving your banana peels about now then place them in the rows that you are going to plant your tomatoes in that the tomatoes will be larger and sweeter. I've never tried it, but maybe this year I will. Also, don't forget about composting your food scraps and using in your garden or flowers.
Years ago, when I was just 17, I spent an entire summer at a place known as "Winona Lake Bible Conference" in Indiana. I made many friends with one common thread, "we were all there to serve the Lord". There were missionaries children, kids who wanted to become missionaries, and kids who just wanted to work at a place where the gospel was preached everyday. There was one special friend that I had lost track of and had mentioned so many times over the years that I would like to find her. While on facebook one night I typed in her name, Naomi, and to my surprise, there she appeared! I could hardly wait to talk to her again! It had been 42 years since I had seen her. We had both married, had children, continued to serve the Lord and found out that our lives had many similarities.
Naomi called me and asked if we could meet her and her husband in St. Louis this week as they would be traveling through for a convention. We set up a time, a place, and then I began to get a little nervous. I realized people change a lot in 42 years. What if we didn't have anything in common and it became an akward evening? When Naomi walked through the door we had an immediate reconnection; almost as though we had been friends all these years. Most of all I think we both realized why we became friends in the first place; Our heart for God.
Naomi and her husband live in an inner-city area in Chicago. This is their choice and they work with ex-offenders when they come out of prison. She is a nurse, he is an engineer....they could be living anyplace they want, but this is where God has placed them and they are obeying. I look forward to talking to them more and learning more of their ministry. I think it is exciting that a friendship founded with God can last a lifetime.
Facebook has let me reconnect with friends from all over the United States. I am amazed that I have so many friends. Sometimes we feel that we have no friends and that our lives don't matter much, but facebook has shown me and others that we have many friends and all of our lives are important. It feels good to know that our friends are willing to open themselves up to let us in to their daily lives. Thank you facebook. But most of all, thank you God. When a man has friends, he is rich!
TIP OF THE WEEK
I read that if you start saving your banana peels about now then place them in the rows that you are going to plant your tomatoes in that the tomatoes will be larger and sweeter. I've never tried it, but maybe this year I will. Also, don't forget about composting your food scraps and using in your garden or flowers.
Friday, January 2, 2009
I WILL PRAISE HIM
This is a little off my usual subjects, however, I feel that I should write this to possibly help someone else should they be going through something similar.
Sidney and I just returned from an 8 hour trip to try to see our middle son, his wife, and their two beautiful children. We hadn't seen them for over two years and that is the way they have wanted it. They had moved and not left any forwarding address. As parents we have tried and tried to locate them only to come up with dead ends....until October, when an unknown person was able to give us an address. I wrote to them.......no answer. Sometimes mail gets lost doesn't it? So....Sidney wrote them asking them for a short reply.....no answer. So, we decided to make the trip.
I had no expectations of what to expect from J or K. Would they be just a little happy that we had made the effort to contact them, or would we be met and told to leave. Unfortunately, the latter was what we faced. Our son met us at our car with anger. He told us in no uncertain terms to go home, have a funeral for them, that they were dead. No amount of talking would change his mind. His wife, along with their two children, stood there saying nothing. K didn't even say hello or goodbye. She stood a distance away with the children and listened as J laid it all out. Anyone could have seen that he was in total control of his family's every move.
The saddest thing of all is how he told us of how happy they are, but their faces and most of all, their eyes spoke of sadness. We were allowed to give the children some small gifts, and were able to give them a kiss upon their heads, and then left.
I came home to research reasons why people would isolate themselves in the way they have, and found that it is a way people who have had alot of stressors in their lives insulate themselves from more hurt. Many people who do this are very educated and have always been searching for answers, but mostly find themselves comfortable if they don't have to be around people. Sometimes they don't feel adequate and feel they don't amount to much.
Both of these people, both J & K are very smart and can do anything they want to do. They believe that God has told them to live like this, even feeling that they are Martyrs. But there is no one torturing them for Christ, they are doing this to themselves. They both have families that would give their lives for them, but they choose to have no contact with anyone from their past lives. No childhood friends, no cousins, no friends from their old youth groups, no brothers, sisters, neices, nephews......no one. Everyone that knows about this says that they would welcome them with open arms if only the blinders would come off and they could see how much they are loved.
Our prayers will continue. I have buried my son (in a sense) but his memory will always be with me. I will go on with my life and obey God in the way He has instructed me. And until that day that he calls me home, I will remain faithful. If God chooses to bring our son and his wife back into a relationship with us I will be forever grateful. If He doesn't then I will have to trust that He knows what is best for all of us and will continue to Praise Him.
If anyone out there reads this and is going through something similar, I would love to hear from you. Maybe we can encourage each other.
Lovingly,
GrandmaB
Sidney and I just returned from an 8 hour trip to try to see our middle son, his wife, and their two beautiful children. We hadn't seen them for over two years and that is the way they have wanted it. They had moved and not left any forwarding address. As parents we have tried and tried to locate them only to come up with dead ends....until October, when an unknown person was able to give us an address. I wrote to them.......no answer. Sometimes mail gets lost doesn't it? So....Sidney wrote them asking them for a short reply.....no answer. So, we decided to make the trip.
I had no expectations of what to expect from J or K. Would they be just a little happy that we had made the effort to contact them, or would we be met and told to leave. Unfortunately, the latter was what we faced. Our son met us at our car with anger. He told us in no uncertain terms to go home, have a funeral for them, that they were dead. No amount of talking would change his mind. His wife, along with their two children, stood there saying nothing. K didn't even say hello or goodbye. She stood a distance away with the children and listened as J laid it all out. Anyone could have seen that he was in total control of his family's every move.
The saddest thing of all is how he told us of how happy they are, but their faces and most of all, their eyes spoke of sadness. We were allowed to give the children some small gifts, and were able to give them a kiss upon their heads, and then left.
I came home to research reasons why people would isolate themselves in the way they have, and found that it is a way people who have had alot of stressors in their lives insulate themselves from more hurt. Many people who do this are very educated and have always been searching for answers, but mostly find themselves comfortable if they don't have to be around people. Sometimes they don't feel adequate and feel they don't amount to much.
Both of these people, both J & K are very smart and can do anything they want to do. They believe that God has told them to live like this, even feeling that they are Martyrs. But there is no one torturing them for Christ, they are doing this to themselves. They both have families that would give their lives for them, but they choose to have no contact with anyone from their past lives. No childhood friends, no cousins, no friends from their old youth groups, no brothers, sisters, neices, nephews......no one. Everyone that knows about this says that they would welcome them with open arms if only the blinders would come off and they could see how much they are loved.
Our prayers will continue. I have buried my son (in a sense) but his memory will always be with me. I will go on with my life and obey God in the way He has instructed me. And until that day that he calls me home, I will remain faithful. If God chooses to bring our son and his wife back into a relationship with us I will be forever grateful. If He doesn't then I will have to trust that He knows what is best for all of us and will continue to Praise Him.
If anyone out there reads this and is going through something similar, I would love to hear from you. Maybe we can encourage each other.
Lovingly,
GrandmaB
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Change Is Just Part of Life
Christmas has ended and it's time to rest from all the extra activitie that the season brings. We (Sidney and I) spent Christmas Eve with our children and our grandchildren and enjoyed the special time together very much. We always enjoy a time of food and take time to tease the kids about it not being time to open the presents, but usually, it's me that is anxious to see the response from the kids as they tear open the gifts.
As the evening comes to a close we say our goodbyes and the little ones get ready for the visit from the jolly old man called Santa. It's some of the best times of their lives (waiting for Santa); if only these times could last. But nothing lasts forever....
When Sidney and I leave our children's home on Christmas Eve we always take a ride through our home town of Horine, Missouri. Just a tiny speck on the map, but a real town where we both grew up. We drive the streets naming people who lived in each house back when.... We pass by my small, and I mean small, three bedroom home where seven of us lived, and we reminise of our first kiss. It was a simple kiss goodnight, but I got out of the car and fell in the ditch on my way into the house. I received my engagement ring 42 years ago in Sidney's driveway, under the old cedar tree. His old two story house and the cedar tree are gone now, but the memory will remain forever.
We continue down every street talking about the friends we once shared, the bicycles we wore out, our walks to the neighborhood store, and our Christmas's of the past.
While it's true that nothing can last forever and change is part of life, it would be nice to return to the days of the past, if even for a short time, to see if they were really as grand as we remember them. I'm sure we would find that most of the grandeur we remember would soon fade with reality but it's still nice to remember.
Lovingly,
GrandmaB
MONEY SAVING TIP:
People today call it recycling but my Grandma just called it saving money....
Save your plastic lids from coffee, Pringles, butter, etc. and use them for small cutting boards, or use them under your flower pots to catch water drips. They also work for coasters. Let your imagination go to work.
Old panti-hose or knee highs work great for tying garden plants or roses to a stake. They stretch as the plant grows. Start saving them now.
As the evening comes to a close we say our goodbyes and the little ones get ready for the visit from the jolly old man called Santa. It's some of the best times of their lives (waiting for Santa); if only these times could last. But nothing lasts forever....
When Sidney and I leave our children's home on Christmas Eve we always take a ride through our home town of Horine, Missouri. Just a tiny speck on the map, but a real town where we both grew up. We drive the streets naming people who lived in each house back when.... We pass by my small, and I mean small, three bedroom home where seven of us lived, and we reminise of our first kiss. It was a simple kiss goodnight, but I got out of the car and fell in the ditch on my way into the house. I received my engagement ring 42 years ago in Sidney's driveway, under the old cedar tree. His old two story house and the cedar tree are gone now, but the memory will remain forever.
We continue down every street talking about the friends we once shared, the bicycles we wore out, our walks to the neighborhood store, and our Christmas's of the past.
While it's true that nothing can last forever and change is part of life, it would be nice to return to the days of the past, if even for a short time, to see if they were really as grand as we remember them. I'm sure we would find that most of the grandeur we remember would soon fade with reality but it's still nice to remember.
Lovingly,
GrandmaB
MONEY SAVING TIP:
People today call it recycling but my Grandma just called it saving money....
Save your plastic lids from coffee, Pringles, butter, etc. and use them for small cutting boards, or use them under your flower pots to catch water drips. They also work for coasters. Let your imagination go to work.
Old panti-hose or knee highs work great for tying garden plants or roses to a stake. They stretch as the plant grows. Start saving them now.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Another Simple Pleasure
As I have written before, I have seven beautiful grandchildren with the youngest almost three years old. Olivia (know as Oli to those who know her)has always loved candy. Now all children love candy, but Oli LOVES candy! I have never witnessed a child whose whole countenance changes when she sees a piece of candy come out of a cabinet or purse. Her eyes light up, a smile comes to her face and she would follow you anywhere to get her taste of sweet stuff!
This was the first "trick or treating" that Oli really understood what was going on. I'm told by her mother that she eagerly held her bag out at the doors awaiting a sweet treat to be dropped in. I was told that even when the other children got tired Oli still wanted to keep trick or treating.
I got to see her last night and asked her if she had fun trick or treating and a big smile came to her face and she empatically said yes. I really believe for Oli that Halloween might just trump Christmas.
I know it seems insignificant to most that I can get such pleasure from watching a child enjoy a piece of candy but I do. I never tire of watching those eyes light up and that beautiful smile come to her face. Thank goodness that she has a mother who makes sure she eats healthy and gets the right things in her little growing body, because if it was up to Oli, the world would be made of sugar and look just like a gingerbread house!
Enjoying the simple pleasures....
GrandmaB
MONEY SAVING TIP OF THE DAY:
Don't throw away those little bits of leftover vegetables but instead scoop them into a freezer safe container until you have enough to add to your favorite soup. You can also do this will leftover beef roasts or chicken.
I never buy chicken broth either; You can make your own and freeze it or keep granulated or powder chicken boullion in your pantry and just add it to water. It has more salt so be sure you taste before adding too much salt.
This was the first "trick or treating" that Oli really understood what was going on. I'm told by her mother that she eagerly held her bag out at the doors awaiting a sweet treat to be dropped in. I was told that even when the other children got tired Oli still wanted to keep trick or treating.
I got to see her last night and asked her if she had fun trick or treating and a big smile came to her face and she empatically said yes. I really believe for Oli that Halloween might just trump Christmas.
I know it seems insignificant to most that I can get such pleasure from watching a child enjoy a piece of candy but I do. I never tire of watching those eyes light up and that beautiful smile come to her face. Thank goodness that she has a mother who makes sure she eats healthy and gets the right things in her little growing body, because if it was up to Oli, the world would be made of sugar and look just like a gingerbread house!
Enjoying the simple pleasures....
GrandmaB
MONEY SAVING TIP OF THE DAY:
Don't throw away those little bits of leftover vegetables but instead scoop them into a freezer safe container until you have enough to add to your favorite soup. You can also do this will leftover beef roasts or chicken.
I never buy chicken broth either; You can make your own and freeze it or keep granulated or powder chicken boullion in your pantry and just add it to water. It has more salt so be sure you taste before adding too much salt.
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