Brittany drove down from Colorado Springs to visit with us for the weekend. She got in late on Thursday and left after dinner Sunday. Thursday night was a bust for me as far as visiting was concerned. I went to bed a little after 10 p.m. The rest of the household stayed up past midnight talking. Mama was really feeling it the next morning when she had to get up to take Chase to work at 5:30 a.m. Chick-fil-A was providing breakfast and lunch for volunteers at a free dental clinic organized by the city of Amarillo. Chase was very impressed by the idea and the execution.
Mama, Brittany and I worked on the garage on Saturday. Brittany left with a carload of stuff we had been keeping for her and I got to empty several totes and boxes from long term storage. Mama has been giving out the beanie babies as special incentives to our little ones in primary church. The kids love it. When I walked in on Sunday morning they were all playing with the ones they had been given. It was happy chaos – just like we like it.
Brittany made it home safe last night. It is about a six hour drive for her; a little more than Mama and I make to Bowie every month or so. I do know that it is a much more beautiful drive – at least for the last hundred miles. While she was here she found her wedding dress at David’s Bridal and got a job offer to boot. She is taking a business card from the owner here to her local store to apply for a part time job there. She was excited.
We are praying for Cori who is sick with what appears to be a stomach virus. She called Sunday morning to ask our help in prayer. Mama got an update Sunday evening and she was better but not good. I know she is still stressed out over organizing the Mission’s Conference at her church. It begins on Wednesday and goes through Sunday. There is a lot to take care of as well as the three full time charges she usually attends to. Keep her in your prayers.
Chase has done fairly well in keeping up with his room so he and Mama are going to go Tuesday morning – Lord willing - so he can take his driving test again. He is much better prepared now than he was the first time. I think he will be a good driver. It will just take him some time to get the experience to make wise decisions as he learns.
He is attempting to cool things off with the girl he has been paying attention to. Statistically, those suggestions fall on deaf ears and I feel his will remain statistically unimpressive. He spent the day with her family painting an apartment being rented by an older sister who is having a shotgun wedding in December. That evening the family and Chase ate pizza and started a movie before I picked him up. Way too cool things off Chase.
I asked him if he was ready to get married. His stuttered answer was, “Not financially.” When I relayed that to Mama she choked. I only smiled and continued a conversation we were having about what he should be looking for given the fact that we have not eliminated the possibility of a pastoral calling on his life; whether or not I did any good remains to be seen. Brittany thought the whole thing about Chase having a girlfriend was pretty cute.
Today is one of those days when I would rather not have come to work. I was off Friday, sort of. I did not go to the office but I might as well have. I spent a lot of time answering emails and taking phone calls. But I was not at the office. Having taken that time off, it is always anticlimactic to have to go back. I have about five little battles I am fighting through right now and though none are life changing in their scope, they are distracting none the less. They are like mosquitoes pestering you as you try to take a nap, until they get enough blood or you kill them, they re not going away. So today is swatting day.
My goal is to not injure myself as I put down these little pests.
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Snow, dental work, truth
The forecast was for one to two inches of snow. The actual will be over three inches. It really is beautiful to see; not so much fun to drive in, but beautiful to see. I ended up leaving for work about two hours later than usual. The roads were not bad but it was a slower drive than usual. The melting snow will soak in slowly and get deeper into the soil than rain would have, so it’s all good.
Mama is none too excited about it but by the time she has to get up and going it should be clearing up. Temperatures are above freezing and the precipitation is now all rain so the roads should be clearing but wet. The wind is still brutal. I have not heard a wind speed announced but the gusts last night were near forty miles per hour. With what I drove in this morning I imagine we are not too far from that. That is what makes the cold so unpleasant.
Mama goes to the dentist this morning. Neither of us is excited about that; her for the physical discomfort, me for the financial discomfort. It is one of those things that we just have to grin and bear. I have some little cavities, but nothing the scope of what Mama needs now. We are going to begin with a repair of an old filling and fill a new cavity. There are several other repairs on the docket for her but we are going to be forced to go slowly with all of them. Chase and Victoria also have some needs bringing the total to over $4000. Insurance will pay part, but since this dentist is out of network, our part will be about $2200. Ouch!
Mama and Victoria went to the library to get some books on dogs. I am told we have two appointments in Fritch on Saturday to look at dogs. The two of them seem determined to get another puppy – for the farm, you understand. The problem is that the dogs they are looking at range in price from $600 to $1200. That is not going to happen. If that much money it to be spent it will go toward animals we can raise to eat. After all, this is not the Philippines. Speaking of the Philippines…
At church last night we had a Philippino national preach. He was delightful. He related one instance of a funeral where he was asked to speak. Before it was his turn a local Deputy Major spoke and attempted to be inclusive of all the religious groups present. He related getting to Heaven to taking a trip to Manila, their capitol city, saying that just as there are many roads and many forms of transportation to get to Manila, there are many ways to get to Heaven.
This Baptist preacher, knowing he was next began to pray for wisdom. He got up and offered that there were indeed many ways to get to Manila, “but what if we keep traveling?” he asked. What if we go to America? Are there many ways to get there? Can you go by burro, or car? No there are only two ways to get to America; by plane or by boat. What if we keep traveling, let’s say, to the moon. There is only one way to get to the moon, by rocket ship, so too, there is only one way to get to Heaven, by the Lord Jesus Christ. He added that there is only one accurate map that will get us to Heaven, the Word of God. His speech was not applauded as was that of the Deputy Mayor, but he left the assembly a joyful man.
I wonder if I would have done the same.
Mama is none too excited about it but by the time she has to get up and going it should be clearing up. Temperatures are above freezing and the precipitation is now all rain so the roads should be clearing but wet. The wind is still brutal. I have not heard a wind speed announced but the gusts last night were near forty miles per hour. With what I drove in this morning I imagine we are not too far from that. That is what makes the cold so unpleasant.
Mama goes to the dentist this morning. Neither of us is excited about that; her for the physical discomfort, me for the financial discomfort. It is one of those things that we just have to grin and bear. I have some little cavities, but nothing the scope of what Mama needs now. We are going to begin with a repair of an old filling and fill a new cavity. There are several other repairs on the docket for her but we are going to be forced to go slowly with all of them. Chase and Victoria also have some needs bringing the total to over $4000. Insurance will pay part, but since this dentist is out of network, our part will be about $2200. Ouch!
Mama and Victoria went to the library to get some books on dogs. I am told we have two appointments in Fritch on Saturday to look at dogs. The two of them seem determined to get another puppy – for the farm, you understand. The problem is that the dogs they are looking at range in price from $600 to $1200. That is not going to happen. If that much money it to be spent it will go toward animals we can raise to eat. After all, this is not the Philippines. Speaking of the Philippines…
At church last night we had a Philippino national preach. He was delightful. He related one instance of a funeral where he was asked to speak. Before it was his turn a local Deputy Major spoke and attempted to be inclusive of all the religious groups present. He related getting to Heaven to taking a trip to Manila, their capitol city, saying that just as there are many roads and many forms of transportation to get to Manila, there are many ways to get to Heaven.
This Baptist preacher, knowing he was next began to pray for wisdom. He got up and offered that there were indeed many ways to get to Manila, “but what if we keep traveling?” he asked. What if we go to America? Are there many ways to get there? Can you go by burro, or car? No there are only two ways to get to America; by plane or by boat. What if we keep traveling, let’s say, to the moon. There is only one way to get to the moon, by rocket ship, so too, there is only one way to get to Heaven, by the Lord Jesus Christ. He added that there is only one accurate map that will get us to Heaven, the Word of God. His speech was not applauded as was that of the Deputy Mayor, but he left the assembly a joyful man.
I wonder if I would have done the same.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Work, farm updates, Chase driving
My meeting with my boss went fairly well yesterday. He is the kind of person that is always looking for more detail, more numbers. As long as he is willing to instruct me on how to do the calculations he needs I am willing to do the math. He seems pleased overall and I am happy with that.
We talked for a little more than an hour before both of us drove to Guymon to attend a farewell lunch for one of my peers – his direct report. It was a pleasant lunch with about fifty people. A local barbeque place catered the event and it was very good. Several people gave a brief story about something that Eric had done and everyone seemed to enjoy the time together. It gave me time to talk with the people that work for me in that area and access some needs that I will address today.
One of the persons I spoke with was the employee that had been causing some difficulties in the staff there. She and I had spoken early in the a.m. and had cleared the air about what needed to be done in the future to avoid a repeat of the situation, so the face time was good. She responded well and I hope things will be better even though I had to knock her down a peg or two.
Wise Electric will be coming to the farm today to talk with Grandpa about a pole I have asked them to set so we can have power for the well we are drilling. Rain in the area has held everything up which is okay with me. I need the extra time to get the finances together. If the cost of them doing the work is higher than the cost of running the electric over from the house, then we will know what to do. In the short run I will have to take the cheaper of the two options. It is not like we will not use the wire we would run for the well for something else when we make the permanent power drop for the new house.
Chase drove for most of the time we were out on visitation last night. It was his first time driving at night and he did well. He told me he liked it better than driving during the day because it was easier to see where other drivers were – especially during lane changes. He, Mama and Victoria stayed up late watching Captain America. I was in bed not too long after we got home. These 4 a.m. mornings take their toll.
So far Chase has kept up with his room and the plans are for him to repeat his driving test on Tuesday next week. I think even Mama is ready. She told me that they just talked on the way home from getting Chase at the mall yesterday afternoon. According to Chase, he was driving in some pretty heavy traffic and Mama did not panic or even suck in her breath one time. For those of you who have driven with Mama, you can understand the miraculous nature of that comment.
The guesstimate for rain today is 60%; a little less tomorrow, mixed with snow and ice. No one here is going to complain since we are about thirty inches behind on our seventeen inch annual rainfall.
No one but Mama – she hates ice on the roads.
We talked for a little more than an hour before both of us drove to Guymon to attend a farewell lunch for one of my peers – his direct report. It was a pleasant lunch with about fifty people. A local barbeque place catered the event and it was very good. Several people gave a brief story about something that Eric had done and everyone seemed to enjoy the time together. It gave me time to talk with the people that work for me in that area and access some needs that I will address today.
One of the persons I spoke with was the employee that had been causing some difficulties in the staff there. She and I had spoken early in the a.m. and had cleared the air about what needed to be done in the future to avoid a repeat of the situation, so the face time was good. She responded well and I hope things will be better even though I had to knock her down a peg or two.
Wise Electric will be coming to the farm today to talk with Grandpa about a pole I have asked them to set so we can have power for the well we are drilling. Rain in the area has held everything up which is okay with me. I need the extra time to get the finances together. If the cost of them doing the work is higher than the cost of running the electric over from the house, then we will know what to do. In the short run I will have to take the cheaper of the two options. It is not like we will not use the wire we would run for the well for something else when we make the permanent power drop for the new house.
Chase drove for most of the time we were out on visitation last night. It was his first time driving at night and he did well. He told me he liked it better than driving during the day because it was easier to see where other drivers were – especially during lane changes. He, Mama and Victoria stayed up late watching Captain America. I was in bed not too long after we got home. These 4 a.m. mornings take their toll.
So far Chase has kept up with his room and the plans are for him to repeat his driving test on Tuesday next week. I think even Mama is ready. She told me that they just talked on the way home from getting Chase at the mall yesterday afternoon. According to Chase, he was driving in some pretty heavy traffic and Mama did not panic or even suck in her breath one time. For those of you who have driven with Mama, you can understand the miraculous nature of that comment.
The guesstimate for rain today is 60%; a little less tomorrow, mixed with snow and ice. No one here is going to complain since we are about thirty inches behind on our seventeen inch annual rainfall.
No one but Mama – she hates ice on the roads.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Rain! Work issues, sleep issues
The weather service is predicting snow and ice for us here in Amarillo Thursday morning. That ought to delight Mama. I am pretty sure by the time she gets up and going that it will have cleared up but that is way too hard to forecast. For the first time since I have been paying attention there is also a 90% chance of rain forecast for tomorrow. That is almost unheard of here on the high plains. Praise the Lord! For those of you who are not nearly as interested in rain, it is a real blessing for us.
Bowie has a 50-60% chance of rain over the next several days and Grandpa told me last night that we may need to get some cattle to start eating down the pasture; the grass is really taking off! That is an answer to prayer for us. Tanks are filling up and the grass is growing, just like it is supposed to when there is sufficient rain. Maybe the hurricane in the Gulf is pulling this wetness down on us, but whatever it is we thank the Lord.
I have to drive to Guymon, OK today for a going away lunch for one of my peers. He has been a great help to me and I am sorry to see him go. His daughter has a medical condition that requires more help than he is able to get in Guymon – where they have been living – so relocation to Houston is a tremendous blessing to him.
I go through my goals review with my new boss today. I am a little nervous about it, not because I am not a good performer, but because the things I do are rarely ever noticed – until they are not done. The less I am noticed, the better job I am doing. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in his mind. I know I will not get a promotion while I stay in this job since I am already at the top of the range for this position, but a good raise would be appreciated.
I also have to fuss at one of my direct reports about her bad conduct. Of course, it all came to light after too long a period of time; after it had gone on too long and feelings were raw. But that is the way things usually happen. Most of us will suffer through bad experiences until we blow up when the situation could have been resolved much sooner. Dealing with these things in my group is one of the blessings of management.
I have been taught that it is better to have a good group of individuals working together than an exceptional group of individuals that cannot get along. Creating a hostile working environment is never productive regardless of the amount of output from a given group. Having good or average people work together is very often more productive that having great people fight each other. And it is my job to make sure everyone gets along so the work can get done.
Mama and I need to get our bed back. We are sleeping on a couple of twin mattresses as we look for a bed frame to put our king size bed on. We had to give up our sleigh bed because it is just too big to fit in the small bedroom at the Jennie house and I would like to find a way to have some storage under the bed if possible. For the moment it looks line we will have to go with a regular metal frame because everything else is far too expensive. She was awake as I left this morning and had been since about 2 a.m. I have to deal with that before the “unhappy” hits.
The song lyrics, when Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, is very true.
Bowie has a 50-60% chance of rain over the next several days and Grandpa told me last night that we may need to get some cattle to start eating down the pasture; the grass is really taking off! That is an answer to prayer for us. Tanks are filling up and the grass is growing, just like it is supposed to when there is sufficient rain. Maybe the hurricane in the Gulf is pulling this wetness down on us, but whatever it is we thank the Lord.
I have to drive to Guymon, OK today for a going away lunch for one of my peers. He has been a great help to me and I am sorry to see him go. His daughter has a medical condition that requires more help than he is able to get in Guymon – where they have been living – so relocation to Houston is a tremendous blessing to him.
I go through my goals review with my new boss today. I am a little nervous about it, not because I am not a good performer, but because the things I do are rarely ever noticed – until they are not done. The less I am noticed, the better job I am doing. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in his mind. I know I will not get a promotion while I stay in this job since I am already at the top of the range for this position, but a good raise would be appreciated.
I also have to fuss at one of my direct reports about her bad conduct. Of course, it all came to light after too long a period of time; after it had gone on too long and feelings were raw. But that is the way things usually happen. Most of us will suffer through bad experiences until we blow up when the situation could have been resolved much sooner. Dealing with these things in my group is one of the blessings of management.
I have been taught that it is better to have a good group of individuals working together than an exceptional group of individuals that cannot get along. Creating a hostile working environment is never productive regardless of the amount of output from a given group. Having good or average people work together is very often more productive that having great people fight each other. And it is my job to make sure everyone gets along so the work can get done.
Mama and I need to get our bed back. We are sleeping on a couple of twin mattresses as we look for a bed frame to put our king size bed on. We had to give up our sleigh bed because it is just too big to fit in the small bedroom at the Jennie house and I would like to find a way to have some storage under the bed if possible. For the moment it looks line we will have to go with a regular metal frame because everything else is far too expensive. She was awake as I left this morning and had been since about 2 a.m. I have to deal with that before the “unhappy” hits.
The song lyrics, when Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, is very true.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Let there be light! Revival, Chase, Becky
Lights are on at the farm house. Power was restored to the house on Friday, I think. Grandpa was pretty proud of the feat because he had to do quite a bit of prep work on the connections we needed outside to have the power we needed in the outbuildings. We are still not sure if the wiring in the house is safe to leave powered up all the time. We will have to tear out a lot of sheetrock to do a thorough investigation and rewire where needed, but having power back on is a big step forward.
The well is the next major step in getting the property back to working conditions. For now it has rained enough to begin filling the tanks to the brim so any animals we have on the pasture will have plenty of water. Grandpa will still have to haul water for the confined animals – for right now that is the chickens but a hog building is under construction. When the smaller tanks are spilling into their overflows it will start to fill the large tank, which is more like a lake. That will thrill Grandpa. The only image we have of the lake when full is one on Google maps. To see it in real time will be exciting.
Revival is over at our church and it was a good one. The evangelist was from Louisiana; Baton Rouge to be exact and he had a delightful sense of humor. Most of his humor was given in one liners and it was nearly impossible to keep up with him in my notes. He had been saved in his twenties, poorly educated, raised on the bad side of town, hard to the core as a teen. The fight he learned as a youth served him well for the Lord. He has not backed down from anything and has spoken his mind freely and it has led him before some great men. Those in his state legislature know him well and he has met several presidents. His life’s verse is Proverbs 18:16 “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” It certainly has proved true in his life.
I laid down a challenge for Chase this weekend. I told him I would not allow him to retake his driving test until he has kept his room neat and clean for seven consecutive days. (It is actually only half a room since he shares with Victoria.) I have tried every lecture I know to get the point across. I know he understands because such attention to neatness is a requirement at his work – and he is doing quite well in that area of his life. So the mess he leaves on the floor, the mess that he sleeps with, is driven by rebellious spirit and I cannot allow it to go unchallenged. I wish it was more fun but that is what makes parenting such a joy.
Since he is going to New Jersey in a few weeks, I would like to have that one detail brought to light in his mind. I know that whomever he lives with will understand that his sloppiness is a reflection on his character more than it is my parenting skills, but it still comes back to me and Mama and I would like to avoid the embarrassment if possible. I hope that is not too selfish.
Chase is a really good kid and I get to feeling like I am harping on the one outward fault that I see in his life. It seems like a battle worth taking on because I have seen men who treat their wives like cooks and maids, and I do not want Chase to have such a fine delineation of duties in his mind that he falls prey to those stereotypes. If that happens, I can honestly say that I was not the root cause of it. My love for my wife and children has expressed itself in meeting every need in the home, from the work I have done to support it financially to cooking and washing dishes often, mopping and sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms, etc. My kids have often laughed as I teased my wife by telling her as soon as I finished washing dishes I needed to change the oil in the car. It was always in jest. I love to serve and I would love for my children to adopt that life attitude, rather than loving to be served. I see Chase straddling the fence and it worries me.
Becky is home. She seems to be enjoying the pup Charles got for them while she was gone. I know she is enjoying the liberty of life as a civilian again. Charles has her enrolled in several classes but I forgot the projected outcome of those studies. I know she will be looking for work and I am praying she will find that – she seems to always be able to succeed there. We are hoping they will be able to come down for either Thanksgiving or Christmas; time will tell.
The well is the next major step in getting the property back to working conditions. For now it has rained enough to begin filling the tanks to the brim so any animals we have on the pasture will have plenty of water. Grandpa will still have to haul water for the confined animals – for right now that is the chickens but a hog building is under construction. When the smaller tanks are spilling into their overflows it will start to fill the large tank, which is more like a lake. That will thrill Grandpa. The only image we have of the lake when full is one on Google maps. To see it in real time will be exciting.
Revival is over at our church and it was a good one. The evangelist was from Louisiana; Baton Rouge to be exact and he had a delightful sense of humor. Most of his humor was given in one liners and it was nearly impossible to keep up with him in my notes. He had been saved in his twenties, poorly educated, raised on the bad side of town, hard to the core as a teen. The fight he learned as a youth served him well for the Lord. He has not backed down from anything and has spoken his mind freely and it has led him before some great men. Those in his state legislature know him well and he has met several presidents. His life’s verse is Proverbs 18:16 “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” It certainly has proved true in his life.
I laid down a challenge for Chase this weekend. I told him I would not allow him to retake his driving test until he has kept his room neat and clean for seven consecutive days. (It is actually only half a room since he shares with Victoria.) I have tried every lecture I know to get the point across. I know he understands because such attention to neatness is a requirement at his work – and he is doing quite well in that area of his life. So the mess he leaves on the floor, the mess that he sleeps with, is driven by rebellious spirit and I cannot allow it to go unchallenged. I wish it was more fun but that is what makes parenting such a joy.
Since he is going to New Jersey in a few weeks, I would like to have that one detail brought to light in his mind. I know that whomever he lives with will understand that his sloppiness is a reflection on his character more than it is my parenting skills, but it still comes back to me and Mama and I would like to avoid the embarrassment if possible. I hope that is not too selfish.
Chase is a really good kid and I get to feeling like I am harping on the one outward fault that I see in his life. It seems like a battle worth taking on because I have seen men who treat their wives like cooks and maids, and I do not want Chase to have such a fine delineation of duties in his mind that he falls prey to those stereotypes. If that happens, I can honestly say that I was not the root cause of it. My love for my wife and children has expressed itself in meeting every need in the home, from the work I have done to support it financially to cooking and washing dishes often, mopping and sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms, etc. My kids have often laughed as I teased my wife by telling her as soon as I finished washing dishes I needed to change the oil in the car. It was always in jest. I love to serve and I would love for my children to adopt that life attitude, rather than loving to be served. I see Chase straddling the fence and it worries me.
Becky is home. She seems to be enjoying the pup Charles got for them while she was gone. I know she is enjoying the liberty of life as a civilian again. Charles has her enrolled in several classes but I forgot the projected outcome of those studies. I know she will be looking for work and I am praying she will find that – she seems to always be able to succeed there. We are hoping they will be able to come down for either Thanksgiving or Christmas; time will tell.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Sleeping in, proper focus
It will be a relief to sleep in tomorrow morning. We still have Soul winning in the morning and services in the evening but it will be nice to catch up on a few hours of sleep before it all starts. I have a lot to do to get Mama and I on a proper bed, but we are making do with what we were able to set up quickly the day of the move, so there is no desperation in the desire, only the need to be finished with one more project in putting this house in order.
I have been hammered this month financially with final bills, transfers of service fees and deposits to begin service at two locations. The Lord has been good in providing all the needs we have but there is not much left over. I can remember praying as I drove from the interstate to the farm in West Virginia, if I could make $25, 000 per year, Mama and I could make it. At the time I did not have a steady job. The kids were still young. Victoria was just out of diapers. It would not have taken much. Those days are long gone. There was nothing left over then (speaking strictly of money) and we had just a little more than nothing. There is nothing left over now and we have quite a lot.
Fortunately we have always been happy. Most times we have been thankful. Sometimes we have wondered if we missed God as we muddled through. Never did we question our faith to the point of despair - only our faithfulness. Looking back now we can see how God was always good beyond our ability to understand; carrying that forward, for God never changes, we can rest in the fact that He will always work to our good and His glory.
I have a Google image of the farm hung up in my office along with the recent tax bill we got, a prayer list that goes along with the development of the farm, and a prayer list for my wife and children. Rarely would anyone come in close enough to inspect them so I can keep them close enough to keep things on my mind. I am mostly thankful at what God is doing. I have to admit to some degree of worry because His time is not my time and my time is the only time I can reason through. Since I am not ahead of this looking back I have to remember I have been here before and God always exceeded my expectations.
Today is Friday, Maggie and Aaron’s day. Maggie and Aaron have some very specific needs; some of those needs feel quite urgent. I do not write them on the prayer list because they are too personal for just anyone to see, but when I do not write them down I struggle to remember to pray for them as though they were urgent to me - personally. I am too caught up in the things I can see rather than the things I cannot see. I struggle to remember that what I see will pass away. It will die. It will rot. It will rust. What I cannot see is eternal and deserves the focus of my attention. Boy, have I been off on that.
Leading up to Matt 6:33 is a long list of things we think about too much; food, clothing, shelter, savings accounts, etc. We are admonished to seek first the kingdom of God and let Him add all these things to our lives.
God knows that is difficult but He expects us to do it anyway.
I have been hammered this month financially with final bills, transfers of service fees and deposits to begin service at two locations. The Lord has been good in providing all the needs we have but there is not much left over. I can remember praying as I drove from the interstate to the farm in West Virginia, if I could make $25, 000 per year, Mama and I could make it. At the time I did not have a steady job. The kids were still young. Victoria was just out of diapers. It would not have taken much. Those days are long gone. There was nothing left over then (speaking strictly of money) and we had just a little more than nothing. There is nothing left over now and we have quite a lot.
Fortunately we have always been happy. Most times we have been thankful. Sometimes we have wondered if we missed God as we muddled through. Never did we question our faith to the point of despair - only our faithfulness. Looking back now we can see how God was always good beyond our ability to understand; carrying that forward, for God never changes, we can rest in the fact that He will always work to our good and His glory.
I have a Google image of the farm hung up in my office along with the recent tax bill we got, a prayer list that goes along with the development of the farm, and a prayer list for my wife and children. Rarely would anyone come in close enough to inspect them so I can keep them close enough to keep things on my mind. I am mostly thankful at what God is doing. I have to admit to some degree of worry because His time is not my time and my time is the only time I can reason through. Since I am not ahead of this looking back I have to remember I have been here before and God always exceeded my expectations.
Today is Friday, Maggie and Aaron’s day. Maggie and Aaron have some very specific needs; some of those needs feel quite urgent. I do not write them on the prayer list because they are too personal for just anyone to see, but when I do not write them down I struggle to remember to pray for them as though they were urgent to me - personally. I am too caught up in the things I can see rather than the things I cannot see. I struggle to remember that what I see will pass away. It will die. It will rot. It will rust. What I cannot see is eternal and deserves the focus of my attention. Boy, have I been off on that.
Leading up to Matt 6:33 is a long list of things we think about too much; food, clothing, shelter, savings accounts, etc. We are admonished to seek first the kingdom of God and let Him add all these things to our lives.
God knows that is difficult but He expects us to do it anyway.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Farming foes, revival, snow
For the past several mornings Grandpa has found fresh footprints around the chicken coup. On the first morning they were the prints of coyotes and on subsequent mornings those of a skunk or possum were added to the mix. No chickens have been taken yet, but my worry and that of Grandpa is of snakes and weasels which can get through a much smaller opening.
Grandpa told Mama he was going to stay over there late one night to see what he could shoot and I may do that one night when we are up there, but I am not sure if I could stay awake long enough to be any good. When we get the donkeys on the property – hopefully this weekend - they will at least discourage the coyotes. We can deal with the skunks and other smaller vermin. Grandma is still convinced she can sell them for big money, but I am not so sure. I am still seeing horses, mules and donkeys being given away on Craigslist.
We are in revival this week. It will last through Sunday night. The evangelist is very good and his sermons are direct and short. He uses lots of scripture to make his points and the weaving of thoughts through his delivery it very effective. Tonight is the only difficult night I will face since I can sleep in on Saturday morning. These conferences become an endurance contest for me and others, but they serve a great purpose in our growth, besides, God always gives a special strength to keep those of us going who have to work on less sleep through these events.
As Mama worked with help yesterday, I looked at the ten day forecast and discovered that rain and snow are predicted to blow in early next week. I called Mama to let her know that putting things on the covered patio is probably not the best idea in the short term to address the clutter in the house; I just assumed that is what was happening and it was. The thought of snow alone threw her into a tailspin.
She immediately stared to make plans for Chase to drive himself to work if it does snow. “Really”, I countered, “how much sense does that make to have the most inexperienced drive take our only good vehicle for a drive in the snow?” The panic was on then. Remember we are talking about the possibility of snow a week away. Mama put me in mind of Maggie worrying about and planning for the possibility of events months, even years away. Don’t get me wrong, such preoccupation can have its advantages, but it is more often a futile expenditure of emotional energy. So far I have discovered that snow and ice are the only things that instantly do that to Mama. I have not broached the idea of weather condition should she and Victoria take Chase to New Jersey – in late December – which is an idea I threw out yesterday. Mama is excited about the thought of visiting there, not so much about the idea of getting there…and back.
I have told my children my theory that we are only given a finite amount of emotional energy for a lifetime, so I council that it is best not to waste it on things that are of no real consequence. Deciding what is of value and what is not comes with experience and maturity – not that one always leads to the other.
Grandpa told Mama he was going to stay over there late one night to see what he could shoot and I may do that one night when we are up there, but I am not sure if I could stay awake long enough to be any good. When we get the donkeys on the property – hopefully this weekend - they will at least discourage the coyotes. We can deal with the skunks and other smaller vermin. Grandma is still convinced she can sell them for big money, but I am not so sure. I am still seeing horses, mules and donkeys being given away on Craigslist.
We are in revival this week. It will last through Sunday night. The evangelist is very good and his sermons are direct and short. He uses lots of scripture to make his points and the weaving of thoughts through his delivery it very effective. Tonight is the only difficult night I will face since I can sleep in on Saturday morning. These conferences become an endurance contest for me and others, but they serve a great purpose in our growth, besides, God always gives a special strength to keep those of us going who have to work on less sleep through these events.
As Mama worked with help yesterday, I looked at the ten day forecast and discovered that rain and snow are predicted to blow in early next week. I called Mama to let her know that putting things on the covered patio is probably not the best idea in the short term to address the clutter in the house; I just assumed that is what was happening and it was. The thought of snow alone threw her into a tailspin.
She immediately stared to make plans for Chase to drive himself to work if it does snow. “Really”, I countered, “how much sense does that make to have the most inexperienced drive take our only good vehicle for a drive in the snow?” The panic was on then. Remember we are talking about the possibility of snow a week away. Mama put me in mind of Maggie worrying about and planning for the possibility of events months, even years away. Don’t get me wrong, such preoccupation can have its advantages, but it is more often a futile expenditure of emotional energy. So far I have discovered that snow and ice are the only things that instantly do that to Mama. I have not broached the idea of weather condition should she and Victoria take Chase to New Jersey – in late December – which is an idea I threw out yesterday. Mama is excited about the thought of visiting there, not so much about the idea of getting there…and back.
I have told my children my theory that we are only given a finite amount of emotional energy for a lifetime, so I council that it is best not to waste it on things that are of no real consequence. Deciding what is of value and what is not comes with experience and maturity – not that one always leads to the other.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Chase, Victoria, Becky
Mama called me yesterday about 9 a.m. to tell me she and Chase were at the DPS for him to get his learner’s permit. That in itself is frightening enough, but when I called her back about an hour later she told me he was still in line to get his paperwork turned in and he was considering going ahead and taking the driving test to get his license. At that point I was really uncertain what to pray.
Chase called me about an hour later to tell me he was done but that he had not been able to get his license. He thought everything was going well on the driving test when the instructor asked him how fast he was going, to which he sheepishly answered, “Forty three miles an hour.” The tester then informed him that they were driving in a thirty mile an hour zone. Speeding, it seems, is an automatic failure. At least she did not give him a ticket.
His excuse had some merit although it would not impress a police officer. After years of driving with Mama he thought ten miles an hour over the speed limit was the customary rate of travel. His lack of experience cost him the additional three miles per hour that blew the test. He drove home that evening from the mall with Mama as passenger. When they got home she had to take two Nutri-Calm and Chase crashed on the couch for a couple hours; good thing it was only four miles.
Victoria had lunch yesterday with a very nice young man who has recently joined our church. Lest you get the wrong impression, Mama was there also. When they dropped Chase off at his work, Chick-fil-A in the mall, they had coupons for some free items and you know Mama, never eat at home when you can eat out. When they got their food and sat in the food court Andrew Fie saw them and invited himself over to join them. He had been dropped off at the mall by the company doing a repair on his car – unusual service. I told Mama I was going to tease Victoria about her lunch date but I was asleep long before she got home. With Victoria, that is pretty close to a date. Mama said she left them alone for a few minutes and I am trying hard to imagine the conversation.
Andrew - Do you come here often?
Victoria – My brother works here.
Andrew – Is Chase the youngest of your siblings?
Victoria – Yeah
I told Mama a long time back that I would know Victoria was interested in a young man when she actually talked to and about him. She did not inherit either her Mama’s or her Grandma’s need for the spoken language. Although I know there is a latent potential for such expressiveness, she has not yielded to it in years; when she does it will be a tell tale sign. I still wonder about the moment or the event that changed her from a happy, effusive child into a sullen, withdrawn young lady.
God knows and I await the day when we get her back.
If all went according to plan, Becky should be home. She left me a voice mail saying she was boarding a bus headed for Little Rock with an expected arrival time of about 6 pm. If I remember right, it has been a little over two months since she left. I know she will be happy to be home. Charles indicated he is ready for her to come home also. (Actually he told me he is quite anxious to get her back.) Now we need to pray for her to find work.
Chase called me about an hour later to tell me he was done but that he had not been able to get his license. He thought everything was going well on the driving test when the instructor asked him how fast he was going, to which he sheepishly answered, “Forty three miles an hour.” The tester then informed him that they were driving in a thirty mile an hour zone. Speeding, it seems, is an automatic failure. At least she did not give him a ticket.
His excuse had some merit although it would not impress a police officer. After years of driving with Mama he thought ten miles an hour over the speed limit was the customary rate of travel. His lack of experience cost him the additional three miles per hour that blew the test. He drove home that evening from the mall with Mama as passenger. When they got home she had to take two Nutri-Calm and Chase crashed on the couch for a couple hours; good thing it was only four miles.
Victoria had lunch yesterday with a very nice young man who has recently joined our church. Lest you get the wrong impression, Mama was there also. When they dropped Chase off at his work, Chick-fil-A in the mall, they had coupons for some free items and you know Mama, never eat at home when you can eat out. When they got their food and sat in the food court Andrew Fie saw them and invited himself over to join them. He had been dropped off at the mall by the company doing a repair on his car – unusual service. I told Mama I was going to tease Victoria about her lunch date but I was asleep long before she got home. With Victoria, that is pretty close to a date. Mama said she left them alone for a few minutes and I am trying hard to imagine the conversation.
Andrew - Do you come here often?
Victoria – My brother works here.
Andrew – Is Chase the youngest of your siblings?
Victoria – Yeah
I told Mama a long time back that I would know Victoria was interested in a young man when she actually talked to and about him. She did not inherit either her Mama’s or her Grandma’s need for the spoken language. Although I know there is a latent potential for such expressiveness, she has not yielded to it in years; when she does it will be a tell tale sign. I still wonder about the moment or the event that changed her from a happy, effusive child into a sullen, withdrawn young lady.
God knows and I await the day when we get her back.
If all went according to plan, Becky should be home. She left me a voice mail saying she was boarding a bus headed for Little Rock with an expected arrival time of about 6 pm. If I remember right, it has been a little over two months since she left. I know she will be happy to be home. Charles indicated he is ready for her to come home also. (Actually he told me he is quite anxious to get her back.) Now we need to pray for her to find work.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
What a mess!
Mama and Victoria did some rearranging in the house yesterday and it looks much better. Most of what I have to do will have to wait until Saturday and from there into next week. This week, starting on Wednesday, is revival at our church. With my early mornings it will be difficult to get enough sleep, much less tackle any projects. Both garages are still full and three vehicles have various items stuffed in them, but the house is looking better.
Mama will be getting some help on Wednesday and Thursday as two young ladies from the church spend the day with her to arrange things and unpack boxes. I warned her that if she is asking for help she better have a plan in mind. It would be overwhelming to have several people asking “Where do you want this?, Is this what you were looking for?, This is so cute, where did you get it?”, etc. Mama is not the most focused person I know and distractions like those would only add to her frustration at the daunting task of actually throwing stuff out.
I am assuming the yard sale is going to be announced soon. The weather is getting cooler and the garages are full. There is the smell of money in the wind and it can only be made if you are willing to sacrifice your best junk at ridiculously low prices. Having worked in the cleanup of the farm house has anchored the thoughts of getting rid of all clutter in Mama’s mind; not storing it off site, but getting rid of it altogether.
There have been some great little finds in the five dumpster loads of trash removed from the house. They are few and far between and a through cleaning has been needed to restore them to service, but they have made the digging worthwhile for Grandma. I look around at what we have sitting on shelves and stacked on bookcases and I wonder at the drive that compels us to keep these items. Most could sit in boxes, packed away for years and we would never miss them. So the question is. “Why do we have them? Why are they taking up room in our home and in our lives?”
A case in point is Beanie Babies. I still have five totes and twelve boxes of them. I have moved them in four different relocations and we never take them out and play with them, never share them with anyone, never think about why we are still keeping them. They were fun while the kids were collecting them and we spent a small fortune on them, but they serve no purpose and have almost no value to us now. They take up space in our garage, nothing else. Don’t get me wrong, I love memories. I just like them to take up less space.
My garage and my life are full of things that are too nice to throw away and too expensive to sell at a yard sale yet serve no useful purpose. It is like building a house for a grand piano that no one plays. So we pack them away with every move until we can decide what to do with them. We forget about them until the next move and wonder why we still have them. They move from the corner of one garage to another or from the back of one attic to another until someone comes along, like Grandma, and puts them in the trash.
I am working hard at not leaving a mess for my wife and children to clean up when I die. I am not sure I will succeed. There is some pretty strong opposition to that goal.
Mama will be getting some help on Wednesday and Thursday as two young ladies from the church spend the day with her to arrange things and unpack boxes. I warned her that if she is asking for help she better have a plan in mind. It would be overwhelming to have several people asking “Where do you want this?, Is this what you were looking for?, This is so cute, where did you get it?”, etc. Mama is not the most focused person I know and distractions like those would only add to her frustration at the daunting task of actually throwing stuff out.
I am assuming the yard sale is going to be announced soon. The weather is getting cooler and the garages are full. There is the smell of money in the wind and it can only be made if you are willing to sacrifice your best junk at ridiculously low prices. Having worked in the cleanup of the farm house has anchored the thoughts of getting rid of all clutter in Mama’s mind; not storing it off site, but getting rid of it altogether.
There have been some great little finds in the five dumpster loads of trash removed from the house. They are few and far between and a through cleaning has been needed to restore them to service, but they have made the digging worthwhile for Grandma. I look around at what we have sitting on shelves and stacked on bookcases and I wonder at the drive that compels us to keep these items. Most could sit in boxes, packed away for years and we would never miss them. So the question is. “Why do we have them? Why are they taking up room in our home and in our lives?”
A case in point is Beanie Babies. I still have five totes and twelve boxes of them. I have moved them in four different relocations and we never take them out and play with them, never share them with anyone, never think about why we are still keeping them. They were fun while the kids were collecting them and we spent a small fortune on them, but they serve no purpose and have almost no value to us now. They take up space in our garage, nothing else. Don’t get me wrong, I love memories. I just like them to take up less space.
My garage and my life are full of things that are too nice to throw away and too expensive to sell at a yard sale yet serve no useful purpose. It is like building a house for a grand piano that no one plays. So we pack them away with every move until we can decide what to do with them. We forget about them until the next move and wonder why we still have them. They move from the corner of one garage to another or from the back of one attic to another until someone comes along, like Grandma, and puts them in the trash.
I am working hard at not leaving a mess for my wife and children to clean up when I die. I am not sure I will succeed. There is some pretty strong opposition to that goal.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mama’s babies, other babies, our mess
Grandma could not get over the way Mama addressed the chicks. As she would approach the cage she would sweetly say, “Hi, my babies.” In response the chickens would double their volume knowing that food was about to be put in their feeders – which are getting too small for the growing brood. We almost left them too long in the large cage that has been their home for almost a month. Now they are in a coop that is going to be expanded again this week or next. It amazed me that as we put them into the building Grandpa and I repaired and reinforced for their protection, they actually looked small again. They are in Grandpa’s care now and I am not sure he understands the magnitude of that responsibility.
Grandma fretted for several days over whether or not we were going to get the donkeys she had asked about. It turns out we really are going to get all three and it appears they are also someone’s babies. Grandma called the lady who has been talking to her about the transfer and found out that she and her sister had been to the farm to look over the pasture to see if it would suit the needs of their little herd and it was deemed adequate. Saturday should be the date for the new arrivals.
Grandma was even more excited when Norman told her of a recent sale of a Jerusalem donkey for $2500. I have no idea of the circumstances of that particular sale was but I do not think that it is an automatic repeat – which is what is going on in Grandma’s mind. I remember a friend of ours buying a pot bellied pig for $6000; now I see them advertized to be given away. Are the two equal in value just because they are the same species? I doubt it, but who knows?
One of the reasons we are excited about the donkeys coming is that as we worked Friday night filling up the dumpster again, we could hear the coyotes yelping to each other as they tracked some prey. It is an eerie sound that was all too close to suit Mama and Grandma. Even the Brahma bull in the neighbor’s pasture was noticeable concerned. I am told they like their chickens raw but they prefer domestic cat to any other animal. The donkeys are great guardians of the farm and coyotes know it well. Mama hopes these three will adopt her little ones.
Mama was dreading going back to the Jennie house for several reasons. First because Ketsia was not going to be there – she and Victoria are still in mourning. Second, because the house is a piled up wreck. We worked for about an hour after we got home to throw out some of the clutter and it will be very livable by the end of this week, but we have a long way to go before we get rid of enough to take care of the clutter without having off site storage – to which I am opposed. The good news is that there are five dumpsters in the alley immediately behind our house; plenty of room to throw things out. Also, a young couple at our church is going to be buying a house for which they will need lots of furniture items – some of which we can supply.
After hearing about the time Chase is spending with one particular girl I asked him if he had singled her out to give his attention to. He stammered an answer of ‘Maybe” which, for Chase could be roughly equal to a marriage proposal. At any rate he is less desperate to go to New Jersey to graduate: that fact alone strengthens Mama’s and my resolve to see that he does go. I know the young lady’s name but I have no idea how to spell it, so I will not embarrass myself with that for now.
Grandma fretted for several days over whether or not we were going to get the donkeys she had asked about. It turns out we really are going to get all three and it appears they are also someone’s babies. Grandma called the lady who has been talking to her about the transfer and found out that she and her sister had been to the farm to look over the pasture to see if it would suit the needs of their little herd and it was deemed adequate. Saturday should be the date for the new arrivals.
Grandma was even more excited when Norman told her of a recent sale of a Jerusalem donkey for $2500. I have no idea of the circumstances of that particular sale was but I do not think that it is an automatic repeat – which is what is going on in Grandma’s mind. I remember a friend of ours buying a pot bellied pig for $6000; now I see them advertized to be given away. Are the two equal in value just because they are the same species? I doubt it, but who knows?
One of the reasons we are excited about the donkeys coming is that as we worked Friday night filling up the dumpster again, we could hear the coyotes yelping to each other as they tracked some prey. It is an eerie sound that was all too close to suit Mama and Grandma. Even the Brahma bull in the neighbor’s pasture was noticeable concerned. I am told they like their chickens raw but they prefer domestic cat to any other animal. The donkeys are great guardians of the farm and coyotes know it well. Mama hopes these three will adopt her little ones.
Mama was dreading going back to the Jennie house for several reasons. First because Ketsia was not going to be there – she and Victoria are still in mourning. Second, because the house is a piled up wreck. We worked for about an hour after we got home to throw out some of the clutter and it will be very livable by the end of this week, but we have a long way to go before we get rid of enough to take care of the clutter without having off site storage – to which I am opposed. The good news is that there are five dumpsters in the alley immediately behind our house; plenty of room to throw things out. Also, a young couple at our church is going to be buying a house for which they will need lots of furniture items – some of which we can supply.
After hearing about the time Chase is spending with one particular girl I asked him if he had singled her out to give his attention to. He stammered an answer of ‘Maybe” which, for Chase could be roughly equal to a marriage proposal. At any rate he is less desperate to go to New Jersey to graduate: that fact alone strengthens Mama’s and my resolve to see that he does go. I know the young lady’s name but I have no idea how to spell it, so I will not embarrass myself with that for now.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Loss of Ketsia, gain of others
Victoria has been through a lot lately. We relied on her for most of the move and she handled it very well. We relied on her for most of the final cleanup and turning in of the keys to the Fairfield house and she handled that well also. We relied on her to begin unpacking at the new location - the Jennie house – and she has done well handling that. Ketsia got sick and had to be taken to the vet for evaluation. That, she had trouble with.
After a $30 office visit charge and a $60 x-ray it was determined that she had eaten something that was blocking her bowels. Surgery was estimated to cost $900. When she and I talked I told her, “No way.” Ketsia was a fine dog, but I am not going there. After Mama got involved the bill was cut to “bare bones” charges of $400. I still said “No.” Of course the vet hated to put down such a young dog, a dog obviously loved by this owner, but to put her down, the cost was covered by the money already spent so far.
I talked with Victoria again and explained that I thought it was very unwise to spend several hundred dollars on surgery for a dog and that we should go ahead and put her down. She said she could not do it so I called the vet and made the request. Turned out that the dog was registered to her and she had to approve the euthanizing anyway. It was a sad night in north Texas.
At the same time we were working with the vet in Amarillo, Grandma was talking with the pig farmer we have gotten to know and asked about something he said in passing when we were at his place the other night. He had mentioned having three burrows – actually Jerusalem donkeys – at another location that he was looking to find a home for. Grandma asked about the price involved and he said as far as he knew they were to be given away.
After Grandma conferred with Grandpa that we did want them the arrangements were made to herd them up and deliver them to the farm. The final answer will come this morning so I do not know if it is a sure thing but it appears to be settled. The pig farmer’s wife said she had several cowboys in the family that would love to wrangle up the burros and transport them to us; so we will see how that works out.
Mama is working on a free Great Pyrenees that I found in Wichita Falls. I am not sure I want another dog at this point and I am sure I do not want another dog raised with Rosie, but Mama is determined to check this out. I explained that this is not a lap dog and we have no way to haul it back to Amarillo properly; no kennel or cage in the van. The answer seemed easy to her, “just put it in the back of the van.” Not a good answer for me.
So she came up with the idea that Grandma and Grandpa could follow us to Wichita Falls with Grandpa’s little ranger and take the dog back to Bowie in that truck; after all, that is how we are going to transport the pigs we are planning to buy. I am okay with that if the dog is free, but I am burned out on buying and raising dogs. I am going to stay away from buying things that cannot be eaten. If an animal eats the food I provide and poops on my property, I had better be able to either make money off of them or eat them.
Mama and I head back to Amarillo tomorrow. It has been a good week here – for the most part. We look forward to coming back in two weeks.
After a $30 office visit charge and a $60 x-ray it was determined that she had eaten something that was blocking her bowels. Surgery was estimated to cost $900. When she and I talked I told her, “No way.” Ketsia was a fine dog, but I am not going there. After Mama got involved the bill was cut to “bare bones” charges of $400. I still said “No.” Of course the vet hated to put down such a young dog, a dog obviously loved by this owner, but to put her down, the cost was covered by the money already spent so far.
I talked with Victoria again and explained that I thought it was very unwise to spend several hundred dollars on surgery for a dog and that we should go ahead and put her down. She said she could not do it so I called the vet and made the request. Turned out that the dog was registered to her and she had to approve the euthanizing anyway. It was a sad night in north Texas.
At the same time we were working with the vet in Amarillo, Grandma was talking with the pig farmer we have gotten to know and asked about something he said in passing when we were at his place the other night. He had mentioned having three burrows – actually Jerusalem donkeys – at another location that he was looking to find a home for. Grandma asked about the price involved and he said as far as he knew they were to be given away.
After Grandma conferred with Grandpa that we did want them the arrangements were made to herd them up and deliver them to the farm. The final answer will come this morning so I do not know if it is a sure thing but it appears to be settled. The pig farmer’s wife said she had several cowboys in the family that would love to wrangle up the burros and transport them to us; so we will see how that works out.
Mama is working on a free Great Pyrenees that I found in Wichita Falls. I am not sure I want another dog at this point and I am sure I do not want another dog raised with Rosie, but Mama is determined to check this out. I explained that this is not a lap dog and we have no way to haul it back to Amarillo properly; no kennel or cage in the van. The answer seemed easy to her, “just put it in the back of the van.” Not a good answer for me.
So she came up with the idea that Grandma and Grandpa could follow us to Wichita Falls with Grandpa’s little ranger and take the dog back to Bowie in that truck; after all, that is how we are going to transport the pigs we are planning to buy. I am okay with that if the dog is free, but I am burned out on buying and raising dogs. I am going to stay away from buying things that cannot be eaten. If an animal eats the food I provide and poops on my property, I had better be able to either make money off of them or eat them.
Mama and I head back to Amarillo tomorrow. It has been a good week here – for the most part. We look forward to coming back in two weeks.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Farm living, pigs and chickens
Mama and I were talking last night as we were waiting to leave for church and she remarked that she was not anxious to go back to the Jennie house because of the work that will be required to clean it up and get thing arranged. It made me realize that, for her, this is a vacation; not so much for me. In our present financial condition, it may be the best vacation I can give her. Besides, her little brood of chickens is here now and she is still worrying over them and those fears are getting more intense as the nights cool down. It is a wonder that chickens ever survived without her.
Grandma made potato soup last night out of only two potatoes and after all of us ate there was still enough for me to take for lunch as well as feed lunch to Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow. That’s how big these potatoes are. The peels are going to start a compost pile so nothing will go to waste. Mama is really getting into this farm living.
The other day Grandma uncovered a very nice steamer trunk among the piles of waste in the little farm house. It is well worth keeping. I wish the heirs had left the antique sewing machine for us but they took it just before closing. We were planning on making it into a table for the entry to our home. We saw one retrofitted with a mesquite wood top and it was beautiful. The trunk that was found will become the base for a living room table. We just happen to have a large glass tabletop that would do nicely for the project.
There has been very little else that has been salvageable out of the four or five dumpster loads we have taken out of the house – mostly Grandma. Grandpa has reused a lot of tin and lumber salvaged from the garage we tore down to repair and re-service several little buildings on the farm. We now have a tool shed/garage, two chicken houses, two loafing sheds, a calf lot complete with loafing shed and the start of a pig lot. We also stripped the tin off of the large steel frame that will become our main shop for the farm.
As we talked about buying a couple chicken feeders Grandpa remembered seeing some in a pile of scrap along one fence line. So we walked down to find it and sure enough there were two metal troughs that would work very nicely for the feeders we wanted; at least that is what Grandpa and I thought. Mama was not happy about putting feed for her chickens in scrap feeders, but I think she will get over it.
When I said she is really getting into this farm life, that mostly had to do with planting a garden and trees and raising animals. I was not referring to Grandpa’s and my practice of reusing well used items we can make do with until they can be replaced with nicer looking items. Salvaging boards from the garage to be reused on the buildings and salvaging scrap metal pieces to serve as feeders is not in her vision of farm life.
She comes by it honestly though. We visited a pig farmer to look at his purebred Hamps and Durocks. It turned out that his wife also raises chickens and sells fresh eggs for $1.50 per dozen. Mama and I bought two dozen, more to support them than any other reason. Grandma will not eat the eggs because there were so many flies in the pig barn which was on the other side of the farm. Go figure. We will probably end up buying two of his hogs, but I am sure that on our farm there will be far fewer flies.
The people at church got a huge kick out of us transporting thirty one chickens from Amarillo to Bowie in the back of our minivan. I am not sure how they pictured it in their minds, but it would be interesting to find out. Mama only added to the humor when she explained that the longest stop we made in the five hour trip was to feed the chickens because they were being too loud for her to nap. They were hungry and wanted us to know it.
I drove home with all the windows open yesterday to let the stray feathers blow out of the car. I’m still not sure I got them all.
Grandma made potato soup last night out of only two potatoes and after all of us ate there was still enough for me to take for lunch as well as feed lunch to Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow. That’s how big these potatoes are. The peels are going to start a compost pile so nothing will go to waste. Mama is really getting into this farm living.
The other day Grandma uncovered a very nice steamer trunk among the piles of waste in the little farm house. It is well worth keeping. I wish the heirs had left the antique sewing machine for us but they took it just before closing. We were planning on making it into a table for the entry to our home. We saw one retrofitted with a mesquite wood top and it was beautiful. The trunk that was found will become the base for a living room table. We just happen to have a large glass tabletop that would do nicely for the project.
There has been very little else that has been salvageable out of the four or five dumpster loads we have taken out of the house – mostly Grandma. Grandpa has reused a lot of tin and lumber salvaged from the garage we tore down to repair and re-service several little buildings on the farm. We now have a tool shed/garage, two chicken houses, two loafing sheds, a calf lot complete with loafing shed and the start of a pig lot. We also stripped the tin off of the large steel frame that will become our main shop for the farm.
As we talked about buying a couple chicken feeders Grandpa remembered seeing some in a pile of scrap along one fence line. So we walked down to find it and sure enough there were two metal troughs that would work very nicely for the feeders we wanted; at least that is what Grandpa and I thought. Mama was not happy about putting feed for her chickens in scrap feeders, but I think she will get over it.
When I said she is really getting into this farm life, that mostly had to do with planting a garden and trees and raising animals. I was not referring to Grandpa’s and my practice of reusing well used items we can make do with until they can be replaced with nicer looking items. Salvaging boards from the garage to be reused on the buildings and salvaging scrap metal pieces to serve as feeders is not in her vision of farm life.
She comes by it honestly though. We visited a pig farmer to look at his purebred Hamps and Durocks. It turned out that his wife also raises chickens and sells fresh eggs for $1.50 per dozen. Mama and I bought two dozen, more to support them than any other reason. Grandma will not eat the eggs because there were so many flies in the pig barn which was on the other side of the farm. Go figure. We will probably end up buying two of his hogs, but I am sure that on our farm there will be far fewer flies.
The people at church got a huge kick out of us transporting thirty one chickens from Amarillo to Bowie in the back of our minivan. I am not sure how they pictured it in their minds, but it would be interesting to find out. Mama only added to the humor when she explained that the longest stop we made in the five hour trip was to feed the chickens because they were being too loud for her to nap. They were hungry and wanted us to know it.
I drove home with all the windows open yesterday to let the stray feathers blow out of the car. I’m still not sure I got them all.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
More rain, two homes, two offices
Another storm blew in last night and it looks like it dumped a lot more rain on the area. Praise the Lord! It will keep Mama and Grandpa from working on the farm but they still may work on the house. Grandma has been busy getting the trash thrown out and it looks like a workable project now. We are still clearing a path in the back bedroom so Grandpa can get to the electrical panel but the house is cleaning up pretty nicely.
Last night we had a little trouble with Chase – one of those teenage moments where the attention of friends is more important the attention to parents and their rules. It emphasizes the difficulty in living in two places at the same time. All of our current family responsibilities are tied to Amarillo while our focus is turned toward the farm in Bowie. It is a difficult balancing act and it will require some extensive prayer to come to terms with the balance to make it work.
Financially it is more difficult than I anticipated and it became even more difficult as we got the tax bill for the farm - $2400, due by January 2012. It appears the heirs did not maintain the agricultural exemption and the taxes more than quadrupled as a result. Unfortunately we are fully responsible for the entire tax burden for 2011 even though we have only owned the farm for a couple months. That was very upsetting to discover.
We can reapply for the exemption in January but we have no recourse to apply it to this year. On the upside it will lower my income taxes by the same amount so we will get it back after a fashion. In the mean time it will slow us down financially so I have to decide what will have to wait. At this point we will not borrow any more money so I am not sure if we will even be able to plant our meadow next spring – which is where the income will eventually come from. God knows. I’m still trying to figure it out.
It is difficult to work out of two offices also. I enjoy being in Bowie but the office in Decatur is not nearly as pleasant a place to work as is the office in Borger. There are several people here who have some measure of authority and they are quick to let it be known. Since my boss insisted that I be involved in the moving of personnel within the office, the person who has handled all such requests now routes every office request through me – regardless of how small that request may be. I guess my boss offended him so he is being quite a stinker about it. I put up with it so Mama and I can be here but it is not pleasant.
It is one of those situations where a believer must decide if his witness is more important that his pride and work the conflict so that it brings glory to the Lord. I have not figured out how to do that just yet but it is still early in the game and the victory always goes to the Lord. If I stay on the side of God, I get to share in that victory and right now I could use a victory.
It is still quite early as I write this so I am praying for and working on having a positive attitude. I read a marquee outside a chiropractor’s office that said, “Having a positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Last night we had a little trouble with Chase – one of those teenage moments where the attention of friends is more important the attention to parents and their rules. It emphasizes the difficulty in living in two places at the same time. All of our current family responsibilities are tied to Amarillo while our focus is turned toward the farm in Bowie. It is a difficult balancing act and it will require some extensive prayer to come to terms with the balance to make it work.
Financially it is more difficult than I anticipated and it became even more difficult as we got the tax bill for the farm - $2400, due by January 2012. It appears the heirs did not maintain the agricultural exemption and the taxes more than quadrupled as a result. Unfortunately we are fully responsible for the entire tax burden for 2011 even though we have only owned the farm for a couple months. That was very upsetting to discover.
We can reapply for the exemption in January but we have no recourse to apply it to this year. On the upside it will lower my income taxes by the same amount so we will get it back after a fashion. In the mean time it will slow us down financially so I have to decide what will have to wait. At this point we will not borrow any more money so I am not sure if we will even be able to plant our meadow next spring – which is where the income will eventually come from. God knows. I’m still trying to figure it out.
It is difficult to work out of two offices also. I enjoy being in Bowie but the office in Decatur is not nearly as pleasant a place to work as is the office in Borger. There are several people here who have some measure of authority and they are quick to let it be known. Since my boss insisted that I be involved in the moving of personnel within the office, the person who has handled all such requests now routes every office request through me – regardless of how small that request may be. I guess my boss offended him so he is being quite a stinker about it. I put up with it so Mama and I can be here but it is not pleasant.
It is one of those situations where a believer must decide if his witness is more important that his pride and work the conflict so that it brings glory to the Lord. I have not figured out how to do that just yet but it is still early in the game and the victory always goes to the Lord. If I stay on the side of God, I get to share in that victory and right now I could use a victory.
It is still quite early as I write this so I am praying for and working on having a positive attitude. I read a marquee outside a chiropractor’s office that said, “Having a positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fresh dug potatoes, yard sales
As I came through Bowie yesterday on my way to meet Mama at the farm, I spotted a guy selling potatoes. His sign caught my eye. “Taters fresh dug today – bakers”. I didn’t stop since I was focused on getting to the farm but after we finished up looking around I decided to head back to see if he was still there. I thought I missed him because I could not remember exactly where I passed him, but I did find him and pulled into the parking lot to see what he had.
He was almost out of the potatoes he was selling – only about ten bags left. As I got out and started talking to him I got this feeling that I was talking to Jethro Bodine from the Beverly Hillbillies. His accent was so pronounced that I kept him in conversation to see if it was being put on. I am pretty sure it was not. He was from Guthrie, OK and I am sure that not everyone from his home town speaks with the same accent that he does but it would be interesting to see.
I worked with a guy in the plant in Seadrift who was from Orng, TX. To most of the world the town was called Orange, TX, but that did not seem to work for him. If my memory is somewhat accurate, the two had about the same accent and dialect. Anyway, I bought a fifty pound bag of potatoes from him for $15 and they are the best we have had in a long time. Mama made me a fresh one while she ate a recently purchased one. Hers tasted stale.
The Fairfield house will be empty today. Victoria will spend a little time sweeping the carpets and then we will turn in the house keys, mailbox keys and the garage door openers. The roof is still in need of repair so renting the house will have to wait for a time, but we will be done with that house. All of our stuff is packed into the little house on Jennie Avenue – and it looks like a wagon load. Chase said it looked like we were in an episode of “Hoarders”. Even Mama is upset about the clutter and promises to get rid of things. I suppose her idea of getting rid of things and mine are different. I either give things away or I throw things away. Mama sets things aside to put in a yard sale.
In her mind they are as good as gone – out of the inventory, so to speak. The fact that I have to move them several times while we wait for the right weekend is a moot point. The fact that we have to set up things several mornings in a row only to take things down every evening between which we haggle about prices and get treated like we are trying to steal a dollar from some buyer even though we are selling items for pennies on the dollar, does not enter the equation. It’s as good as gone. I hate doing yard sales. I like to look at other people’s yard sales so I can remark about how much they are asking for their junk, I just don’t like having it done to me. (Maybe they feel like they are giving their stuff away too.)
It is a joy to get back into the “make due” mentality of farming. Everything is reused, re-serviced or repaired. Only what cannot be salvaged or saved is bought new. It is the only way to make it on a farm. I like the thought process that invented the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” What was left behind on this farm has given us a good head start. It is fun to put it back into service.
The tanks (which Grandma insists on calling ponds) on the farm (which Grandma insists on calling a ranch) are filling up quickly because of the recent rain, but there is still a long way to go before they are where they should be. After the prolonged drought it was a relief to have to but gum boots to be able to walk on the property. For the first time since we walked on the property the ground was soft and in some places, muddy. I suppose that could get old, as it did in West Virginia, but for now it is a mess we will happily endure.
He was almost out of the potatoes he was selling – only about ten bags left. As I got out and started talking to him I got this feeling that I was talking to Jethro Bodine from the Beverly Hillbillies. His accent was so pronounced that I kept him in conversation to see if it was being put on. I am pretty sure it was not. He was from Guthrie, OK and I am sure that not everyone from his home town speaks with the same accent that he does but it would be interesting to see.
I worked with a guy in the plant in Seadrift who was from Orng, TX. To most of the world the town was called Orange, TX, but that did not seem to work for him. If my memory is somewhat accurate, the two had about the same accent and dialect. Anyway, I bought a fifty pound bag of potatoes from him for $15 and they are the best we have had in a long time. Mama made me a fresh one while she ate a recently purchased one. Hers tasted stale.
The Fairfield house will be empty today. Victoria will spend a little time sweeping the carpets and then we will turn in the house keys, mailbox keys and the garage door openers. The roof is still in need of repair so renting the house will have to wait for a time, but we will be done with that house. All of our stuff is packed into the little house on Jennie Avenue – and it looks like a wagon load. Chase said it looked like we were in an episode of “Hoarders”. Even Mama is upset about the clutter and promises to get rid of things. I suppose her idea of getting rid of things and mine are different. I either give things away or I throw things away. Mama sets things aside to put in a yard sale.
In her mind they are as good as gone – out of the inventory, so to speak. The fact that I have to move them several times while we wait for the right weekend is a moot point. The fact that we have to set up things several mornings in a row only to take things down every evening between which we haggle about prices and get treated like we are trying to steal a dollar from some buyer even though we are selling items for pennies on the dollar, does not enter the equation. It’s as good as gone. I hate doing yard sales. I like to look at other people’s yard sales so I can remark about how much they are asking for their junk, I just don’t like having it done to me. (Maybe they feel like they are giving their stuff away too.)
It is a joy to get back into the “make due” mentality of farming. Everything is reused, re-serviced or repaired. Only what cannot be salvaged or saved is bought new. It is the only way to make it on a farm. I like the thought process that invented the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” What was left behind on this farm has given us a good head start. It is fun to put it back into service.
The tanks (which Grandma insists on calling ponds) on the farm (which Grandma insists on calling a ranch) are filling up quickly because of the recent rain, but there is still a long way to go before they are where they should be. After the prolonged drought it was a relief to have to but gum boots to be able to walk on the property. For the first time since we walked on the property the ground was soft and in some places, muddy. I suppose that could get old, as it did in West Virginia, but for now it is a mess we will happily endure.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Livestock, office moves, Becky, Chase
Yesterday, as soon as Mama and I got out of Children’s Church we hurried to get the things loaded to go to Bowie – among them were the chickens. After we emptied the little van of all but the front two seats we had enough room to put the chicken cage in without having to put the little chickens in other boxes as we had originally planned. I suppose it was better for the livestock but Mama was paranoid about the little feathers that occasionally floated up to the front. She nearly scared me to death by how she reacted to one that she says got up her nose.
We had the rear windows cracked open but we did not want to open any windows too much because the outside temperature was only 55 degrees. Mama and Victoria had struggled to keep the little chicks warm for the last two weeks and we were not about to give them pneumonia now. Besides the cool temperature we actually drove through some areas of rain; in fact for the last hundred miles or we drove in a heavy mist. Grandpa says the tanks are filling up fast and this evening I will get to see for myself.
Though we hurried through loading and lunch, Mama and I got in too late last night to join Grandma and Grandpa at church. The service started at 6 p.m. and we got in to Bowie at almost 7 p.m. We met them at their house and transferred the chicken cage to Grandpa’s little truck, hiding them under the topper, but we could not close the tailgate because the cage was about one inch too long. It really is a big cage! But I checked this morning on my way out to the car and the little ones were huddled together but okay. I did not want to stir them up too much.
Today is a holiday so Mama will have to wait until tomorrow to do some of the business we have to get done this trip. It is too muddy to do much at the farm today either, so I assume they will concentrate on filling the dumpster again with the contents of the farmhouse. Grandma is anxious to show Mama how much they have gotten done in the house. Grandpa is anxious to show us what he has gotten done on the buildings. They both look better for the activity.
The initial office rearrangement in Decatur will happen today and I will oversee it even though the personnel here are not happy about it. My boss insists that I take the lead in order to emphasize the fact that we are all part of the same company – an attitude that is not well received at this site. In ways it is a little bit fun to stir the pot. In other ways it is exasperating to have to cajole and coddle in order to keep everyone from complaining too much.
According to the latest word from Becky, she should be home as early as Wednesday. She has gotten her phone every weekend – boy, do we know it! She has talked non-stop about a puppy that Charles has gotten for her. I should remember the dog’s name but I don’t. I remember smiling at hearing it but that was the extent of attention I gave it. I am sure it will come up again. At any rate, her experience in the National Guard will soon be over and we will see soon how much of an impact it had on her and by extension, Charles. God never lets any experience go to waste.
We let Chase back the car into the driveway a couple times Saturday and he did very well. Other than almost running over the curb on the opposite side of the street, he did alright. He is hoping Victoria will take him to get his official learner’s permit this week. He is also hoping she will teach him how to parallel park so he can take the driving test in a couple of weeks.
The most difficult part for me is having to add him to my insurance.
We had the rear windows cracked open but we did not want to open any windows too much because the outside temperature was only 55 degrees. Mama and Victoria had struggled to keep the little chicks warm for the last two weeks and we were not about to give them pneumonia now. Besides the cool temperature we actually drove through some areas of rain; in fact for the last hundred miles or we drove in a heavy mist. Grandpa says the tanks are filling up fast and this evening I will get to see for myself.
Though we hurried through loading and lunch, Mama and I got in too late last night to join Grandma and Grandpa at church. The service started at 6 p.m. and we got in to Bowie at almost 7 p.m. We met them at their house and transferred the chicken cage to Grandpa’s little truck, hiding them under the topper, but we could not close the tailgate because the cage was about one inch too long. It really is a big cage! But I checked this morning on my way out to the car and the little ones were huddled together but okay. I did not want to stir them up too much.
Today is a holiday so Mama will have to wait until tomorrow to do some of the business we have to get done this trip. It is too muddy to do much at the farm today either, so I assume they will concentrate on filling the dumpster again with the contents of the farmhouse. Grandma is anxious to show Mama how much they have gotten done in the house. Grandpa is anxious to show us what he has gotten done on the buildings. They both look better for the activity.
The initial office rearrangement in Decatur will happen today and I will oversee it even though the personnel here are not happy about it. My boss insists that I take the lead in order to emphasize the fact that we are all part of the same company – an attitude that is not well received at this site. In ways it is a little bit fun to stir the pot. In other ways it is exasperating to have to cajole and coddle in order to keep everyone from complaining too much.
According to the latest word from Becky, she should be home as early as Wednesday. She has gotten her phone every weekend – boy, do we know it! She has talked non-stop about a puppy that Charles has gotten for her. I should remember the dog’s name but I don’t. I remember smiling at hearing it but that was the extent of attention I gave it. I am sure it will come up again. At any rate, her experience in the National Guard will soon be over and we will see soon how much of an impact it had on her and by extension, Charles. God never lets any experience go to waste.
We let Chase back the car into the driveway a couple times Saturday and he did very well. Other than almost running over the curb on the opposite side of the street, he did alright. He is hoping Victoria will take him to get his official learner’s permit this week. He is also hoping she will teach him how to parallel park so he can take the driving test in a couple of weeks.
The most difficult part for me is having to add him to my insurance.
Friday, October 7, 2011
The first haircut, Kiyosaki’s Five G’s
Maggie was telling me yesterday about giving Aaron a haircut. Now, understand that Aaron’s mom has done the haircutting in the past so this is another task being taken over by the wife that was once common mommy time. Maggie was relating how Aaron was trying to instruct her from the position of the one in the chair, because the way she was doing things did not seem familiar to him. He wanted her to cut his hair the same length all over, but she insisted on having the top a little longer. As it turned out the haircut came out a little lopsided and I am sure they corrected it. Maggie said it looked pretty good after all the fussing and rework was done, but she also said he put on a toboggan before he reported to work.
My dad used to tell me the difference between a good haircut and a bad one was three days. He and my Mom went through the same routine. Nate and I have chosen a different route and do the cutting ourselves – bare clippers, down to the skin. It took some time for Cori and Mama to get used to it but it saves so much frustration. After all, it’s only hair.
As I was listening to GBTV (a very good $10 per month investment) I got to hear Robert Kiyosaki and Glenn talk about all sorts of financial topics mostly dealing with the predicted economic downturn that both men see as eminent. By Kiyosaki’s own admission, he is not a genius but hard times have made him wise as an investor and land owner. Both men are looking at the trends and preparing for times ahead that will differ from anything the world has yet experienced. (It sounds ominously like the Tribulation.)
Kiyosaki outlined his five G’s for the perilous times ahead. What especially caught my attention was his discussion about the real estate part of preparation. He explained that each of us needed a “safe haven” in the times to come. That is one of the names Victoria came up with for our farm and it was my favorite. If it is not taken, we will register it as our business name in the very near future. Below are the five G’s.
Gold – Physical precious metals In the worst of times script, paper money will have no value.
Ground – Real estate (a safe haven where you can live)
Gas – some store of fuel to operate your vehicles and machinery; for us, a tractor or two
Grub – enough food stored to last at least one year or a way to produce you own food
Guns – to protect yourself and what you have developed and stored
Scary but practical and the gas part may be difficult unless we do biodiesel.
I do not think those times are upon us now, but some preparation would be in order for all of us. Mama and I are trying to stock up on some non-perishables, more as a bad weather supply or a hedge against prices going up. I have not gotten into planning very long term because it seems a little paranoid still.
There are still some practical things all of us should do regardless of the state of the world economy; get what you have paid for, get completely out of debt, have enough money set aside to make it through an emergency, stock up to compensate for rising prices, plan trips so driving is minimized, grow some food and learn to preserve/can/freeze your own supplies.
The more we can do for ourselves, the more prepared we will be and the better able to help those in need.
My dad used to tell me the difference between a good haircut and a bad one was three days. He and my Mom went through the same routine. Nate and I have chosen a different route and do the cutting ourselves – bare clippers, down to the skin. It took some time for Cori and Mama to get used to it but it saves so much frustration. After all, it’s only hair.
As I was listening to GBTV (a very good $10 per month investment) I got to hear Robert Kiyosaki and Glenn talk about all sorts of financial topics mostly dealing with the predicted economic downturn that both men see as eminent. By Kiyosaki’s own admission, he is not a genius but hard times have made him wise as an investor and land owner. Both men are looking at the trends and preparing for times ahead that will differ from anything the world has yet experienced. (It sounds ominously like the Tribulation.)
Kiyosaki outlined his five G’s for the perilous times ahead. What especially caught my attention was his discussion about the real estate part of preparation. He explained that each of us needed a “safe haven” in the times to come. That is one of the names Victoria came up with for our farm and it was my favorite. If it is not taken, we will register it as our business name in the very near future. Below are the five G’s.
Gold – Physical precious metals In the worst of times script, paper money will have no value.
Ground – Real estate (a safe haven where you can live)
Gas – some store of fuel to operate your vehicles and machinery; for us, a tractor or two
Grub – enough food stored to last at least one year or a way to produce you own food
Guns – to protect yourself and what you have developed and stored
Scary but practical and the gas part may be difficult unless we do biodiesel.
I do not think those times are upon us now, but some preparation would be in order for all of us. Mama and I are trying to stock up on some non-perishables, more as a bad weather supply or a hedge against prices going up. I have not gotten into planning very long term because it seems a little paranoid still.
There are still some practical things all of us should do regardless of the state of the world economy; get what you have paid for, get completely out of debt, have enough money set aside to make it through an emergency, stock up to compensate for rising prices, plan trips so driving is minimized, grow some food and learn to preserve/can/freeze your own supplies.
The more we can do for ourselves, the more prepared we will be and the better able to help those in need.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Money, Becky, the move
I had to stop and laugh at myself as I talked with Victoria last night. She was lamenting being out of money and I was agreeing with her. It is a discouraging thing to be out of money, but I know she is not out of money nor am I. What is discouraging is that every dollar we have is already spoken for – and a couple of them twice spoken for. We are blessed and we need to realize it.
I am tapped out because we took on $1500 of additional monthly payments to purchase the farm and the equipment we are now using. That is one of the reasons we are moving into a less expensive rental. Victoria is tapped out because of the travel she did for Heather’s wedding a couple months ago. She is still recovering financially. Both of us are looking for ways to draw the financial net a little tighter and there seem to be endless, ever changing obligations for our money.
Case in point, I had to order a replacement radiator for the little van. I will get the money back with the return of the leaking one, but I still had to obligate the money to get the replacement. It will cost about $300 to flush the cooling system and put the new radiator in the car – but it has to be done. Fuel has to be bought for our trip to Bowie. A truck has to be rented for our move. We have signed up for a well to be drilled on the farm; something we cannot do without. Chase’s plane ticked will need to be bought very soon, etc.
The real blessing is that, somehow we will get it all done while paying our tithe, giving to Faith Promise and setting money aside for 2011 taxes to be paid in April 2012. Christmas might be a little lean, but all we need is to be together as a family to make it special. Gifts are nice but they are not the focus. It might be enough to have enough money set aside to help pay for the gas to get everyone who is able to Bowie for Christmas. We are looking forward to just that.
Mama and I will be leaving for Bowie Sunday after church. I will spend the week in the office in Decatur. Monday in that office will be spent in coordinating the moves my boss has requested. Not everyone is happy about it, but that’s the way things are. Evenings, for me, will be spent at the farm unless we are rained out – which would be a real blessing.
For the moment, it looks like we will have enough help in moving. I have been careful to not ask for too much help because it ends up being a fiasco when there are too many people doing such a focused task. The last time we had too much help things really got away from me and I lost complete track of boxes I wanted to set aside and things got put where I could not reach them later. So it is best to move more carefully and have a better focus – especially as badly as both Mama and I are hurting. In this move there will be even more going into storage than there was in our last move and some things will be set aside to go to the farm in the coming months. It is best if I keep close track of things.
According to the latest news from Becky, she could be home next week. I need to call because it has been several days since I have heard from her. The last I did hear from her it was six times in one day, but it has been several days since then.
Pastor’s joke session during our Leadership meeting featured jokes for the educated. One that caught my attention was that the roundest knight at King Arthur’s table was Sir Cumference. He got that way from eating too much pi.
I am tapped out because we took on $1500 of additional monthly payments to purchase the farm and the equipment we are now using. That is one of the reasons we are moving into a less expensive rental. Victoria is tapped out because of the travel she did for Heather’s wedding a couple months ago. She is still recovering financially. Both of us are looking for ways to draw the financial net a little tighter and there seem to be endless, ever changing obligations for our money.
Case in point, I had to order a replacement radiator for the little van. I will get the money back with the return of the leaking one, but I still had to obligate the money to get the replacement. It will cost about $300 to flush the cooling system and put the new radiator in the car – but it has to be done. Fuel has to be bought for our trip to Bowie. A truck has to be rented for our move. We have signed up for a well to be drilled on the farm; something we cannot do without. Chase’s plane ticked will need to be bought very soon, etc.
The real blessing is that, somehow we will get it all done while paying our tithe, giving to Faith Promise and setting money aside for 2011 taxes to be paid in April 2012. Christmas might be a little lean, but all we need is to be together as a family to make it special. Gifts are nice but they are not the focus. It might be enough to have enough money set aside to help pay for the gas to get everyone who is able to Bowie for Christmas. We are looking forward to just that.
Mama and I will be leaving for Bowie Sunday after church. I will spend the week in the office in Decatur. Monday in that office will be spent in coordinating the moves my boss has requested. Not everyone is happy about it, but that’s the way things are. Evenings, for me, will be spent at the farm unless we are rained out – which would be a real blessing.
For the moment, it looks like we will have enough help in moving. I have been careful to not ask for too much help because it ends up being a fiasco when there are too many people doing such a focused task. The last time we had too much help things really got away from me and I lost complete track of boxes I wanted to set aside and things got put where I could not reach them later. So it is best to move more carefully and have a better focus – especially as badly as both Mama and I are hurting. In this move there will be even more going into storage than there was in our last move and some things will be set aside to go to the farm in the coming months. It is best if I keep close track of things.
According to the latest news from Becky, she could be home next week. I need to call because it has been several days since I have heard from her. The last I did hear from her it was six times in one day, but it has been several days since then.
Pastor’s joke session during our Leadership meeting featured jokes for the educated. One that caught my attention was that the roundest knight at King Arthur’s table was Sir Cumference. He got that way from eating too much pi.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Loyalties, bad bear, prison training
Among Cori and Nate’s friends there is about an even divide of those who root for the University of Alabama and those who root for the University of Florida. Cori and Nate are firm University of Florida supporters – Go Gaters! – and they have taught their kids to do likewise. Stewart, a young friend of Mykenzie and Grant would not let Cori’s two kids play unless they said “Go Alabama!” Mykenzie refused and was sitting by while Grant and Stewart played together. When her mother asked why she was not playing too, Mykenzie said, “I won’t say go Alabama but Grant did.” Whereupon Grant turned around and, almost crying, said “I sorry Mommy.” One loyal fan is a start.
Somewhere in the unpacking that is happening in the larger house Cori, Nate and the kids now have, long forgotten items are finding their way out of boxes. One such item is a bear that Mama made for her first granddaughter when Mykenzie was only a few months old. Mama was terrified that Mykenzie would forget her voice so we went to Build-a-Bear and built a keepsake that had her voice recorded so Cori could play it for her new baby to keep Mama’s voice in her ear.
As things turned out it was an unnecessary expenditure and had become a bit of a problem. It was unnecessary because those two are bonded pretty tightly; especially while Grammy’s still full of surprises for Mykenzie. It is a problem because Mama recorded something to the effect of, “Mykenzie, Grandma loves you.” Obviously that was before Mama received her proper mane of Grammy. Since Mykenzie has a Grammy and a Grandma, and it is Grammy’s voice referring to herself as Grandma, it has become a bit if an identity issue. It is one of the first things we will have to work to correct as soon as we get back to Florida – even though the nearest Build-a-Bear is almost two hours away.
Things are starting to shape up for this weekend. Mama and I will not be leaving for Bowie until Sunday after church. The situation at work that would have required me to be there Friday was delayed until Monday which works out very well for us. Mama arranged for us to pick up a truck for moving the big stuff on Friday evening and we have gotten some help lined up so we should be good – even though my back still is not. I keep telling myself that I can recover after this weekend.
I went to a training session at the prison here so I could participate with the Rock of Ages Ministries when they come do a week of services some time in November. It was supposed to last from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. but thankfully it was abbreviated and we got out at a little after 8 p.m. I had to stand the entire time because the chairs immediately put my back into spasms.
Most of the training dealt with setting firm boundaries to keep volunteers out of trouble. There are obviously very strict rules and extremely clear guidelines. It was a little bit frightening in the overtones of how easy it is to get coned by the inmates and how easily a naïve volunteer can get into trouble for doing something as simple as befriending an inmate. All conversations are monitored, all mail is read and sanctioned, all contact is highly regulated and nothing, absolutely nothing, is brought in or out of the prison.
The reality of incarceration was a little overwhelming. Thank God for our freedom.
Somewhere in the unpacking that is happening in the larger house Cori, Nate and the kids now have, long forgotten items are finding their way out of boxes. One such item is a bear that Mama made for her first granddaughter when Mykenzie was only a few months old. Mama was terrified that Mykenzie would forget her voice so we went to Build-a-Bear and built a keepsake that had her voice recorded so Cori could play it for her new baby to keep Mama’s voice in her ear.
As things turned out it was an unnecessary expenditure and had become a bit of a problem. It was unnecessary because those two are bonded pretty tightly; especially while Grammy’s still full of surprises for Mykenzie. It is a problem because Mama recorded something to the effect of, “Mykenzie, Grandma loves you.” Obviously that was before Mama received her proper mane of Grammy. Since Mykenzie has a Grammy and a Grandma, and it is Grammy’s voice referring to herself as Grandma, it has become a bit if an identity issue. It is one of the first things we will have to work to correct as soon as we get back to Florida – even though the nearest Build-a-Bear is almost two hours away.
Things are starting to shape up for this weekend. Mama and I will not be leaving for Bowie until Sunday after church. The situation at work that would have required me to be there Friday was delayed until Monday which works out very well for us. Mama arranged for us to pick up a truck for moving the big stuff on Friday evening and we have gotten some help lined up so we should be good – even though my back still is not. I keep telling myself that I can recover after this weekend.
I went to a training session at the prison here so I could participate with the Rock of Ages Ministries when they come do a week of services some time in November. It was supposed to last from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. but thankfully it was abbreviated and we got out at a little after 8 p.m. I had to stand the entire time because the chairs immediately put my back into spasms.
Most of the training dealt with setting firm boundaries to keep volunteers out of trouble. There are obviously very strict rules and extremely clear guidelines. It was a little bit frightening in the overtones of how easy it is to get coned by the inmates and how easily a naïve volunteer can get into trouble for doing something as simple as befriending an inmate. All conversations are monitored, all mail is read and sanctioned, all contact is highly regulated and nothing, absolutely nothing, is brought in or out of the prison.
The reality of incarceration was a little overwhelming. Thank God for our freedom.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Some positives, Chase’s licensure, lots of travel
I was talking with Mama on Thursday about the fact that I did not make the move to the Jennie house a matter of prayer. I apologized to the Lord and to Mama about that. It seemed to be a good financial decision so I never gave it the proper respect in prayer that I should have. I asked the Lord to please make it obvious that it was according to His Will that we make the move and when we went in to pay our last part of the rent we saw the answer clearly.
Curtis Sinclair, the landlord, had us write a check for $625, one half of the rent for October and he gave us a check for $700 to reimburse us for the rental deposit ($500) and the pet deposit ($200). Quite unexpected! Since Mama and I signed up for our churches “Prove God” offering we will give $100 of the unexpected amount to the Lord. Based on Malachi 3:10 where the Lord says, “Prove me now herewith…”, and promises to open the windows of blessing above us when we are faithful in our tithes, we promised to give 50% of every amount of truly unexpected financial blessing that comes to us during the year… from an unexpected refund to finding a dollar on the street. I am not sure if we will get it all completely right, but it is always fun when God proves Himself to us – especially financially.
Chase is working to complete his online driver’s education hours so he can get his learners permit. He has talked about getting the six hours done multiple times, Sunday afternoon, late Sunday night, etc, but I do not know if he has done it yet. Last night he was calling for a marathon session. After completion he receives a certificate to take to the Texas DPS to get his driving permit. We will then give him some time behind the wheel so he can go on – at some point – and take his driving test to become legally licensed to drive without him Mama telling him what lane to be in, what exit to take and where to park. I guess I’m still operating on my Learner’s Permit.
Mama and I may have to go to Decatur for one night on Thursday. I have some office moves to direct there and it would be better to do them in person. I will know for sure today as I confer with my boss about the ordering of his office furniture – that is the linchpin of the operation. I am not looking forward to the ten hours of driving with my back in the shape it is in, but that is what comes with the job.
Mama and I will head out again on Monday to spend the week in Decatur. Were it not for the move we have planned to finalize our own relocation to the Jennie house on Saturday, I would just stay the weekend in Bowie. That is not to be the case. I am still debating her going with me on Thursday since there is so much happening in Amarillo, but I may need the help just to get there and back. It will be nice to settle all these loose ends and look forward to the fall season, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The chickens will have their third road trip on Thursday as we get them to Bowie. They are growing so quickly it is almost surreal. I had forgotten just how fast they change but by the middle of November some of them will be ready to put in the freezer, if we can keep the dogs from prematurely killing them.
Hopefully we will get a dozen layers out of the batch; time will tell.
Curtis Sinclair, the landlord, had us write a check for $625, one half of the rent for October and he gave us a check for $700 to reimburse us for the rental deposit ($500) and the pet deposit ($200). Quite unexpected! Since Mama and I signed up for our churches “Prove God” offering we will give $100 of the unexpected amount to the Lord. Based on Malachi 3:10 where the Lord says, “Prove me now herewith…”, and promises to open the windows of blessing above us when we are faithful in our tithes, we promised to give 50% of every amount of truly unexpected financial blessing that comes to us during the year… from an unexpected refund to finding a dollar on the street. I am not sure if we will get it all completely right, but it is always fun when God proves Himself to us – especially financially.
Chase is working to complete his online driver’s education hours so he can get his learners permit. He has talked about getting the six hours done multiple times, Sunday afternoon, late Sunday night, etc, but I do not know if he has done it yet. Last night he was calling for a marathon session. After completion he receives a certificate to take to the Texas DPS to get his driving permit. We will then give him some time behind the wheel so he can go on – at some point – and take his driving test to become legally licensed to drive without him Mama telling him what lane to be in, what exit to take and where to park. I guess I’m still operating on my Learner’s Permit.
Mama and I may have to go to Decatur for one night on Thursday. I have some office moves to direct there and it would be better to do them in person. I will know for sure today as I confer with my boss about the ordering of his office furniture – that is the linchpin of the operation. I am not looking forward to the ten hours of driving with my back in the shape it is in, but that is what comes with the job.
Mama and I will head out again on Monday to spend the week in Decatur. Were it not for the move we have planned to finalize our own relocation to the Jennie house on Saturday, I would just stay the weekend in Bowie. That is not to be the case. I am still debating her going with me on Thursday since there is so much happening in Amarillo, but I may need the help just to get there and back. It will be nice to settle all these loose ends and look forward to the fall season, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The chickens will have their third road trip on Thursday as we get them to Bowie. They are growing so quickly it is almost surreal. I had forgotten just how fast they change but by the middle of November some of them will be ready to put in the freezer, if we can keep the dogs from prematurely killing them.
Hopefully we will get a dozen layers out of the batch; time will tell.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Not so fun times, birthdays
We had a couple of incidents over the extended weekend that were not the best memories. I hurt my back pretty badly on Thursday and am still recovering. I got to see the chiropractor on Friday and he adjusted my spine which only intensified the pain for a couple of days, but I should be on the road to recovery soon. The biggest problem is that we still have to complete our move.
As we were unloading boxes at the Jennie house on Saturday the dogs got into the pen we had set up for the chicks and killed three of them before we could stop them. It was a cluster of errors. I did not put up very high walls to pen the little birds not thinking about anything other than them getting out – not realizing I would have to keep my own dogs out. For some reason Victoria insisted on bringing the dogs on that trip over to the house and Mama – even after Rosie had gotten into the pen once – walked off and left the dogs unattended. It was not a happy moment and Ketzie and I had a moment of instruction that I hope left a lasting impression on her. Mama did not let me near Rosie.
Earlier that afternoon we checked the mail at the Fairfield house and we had received a ticket from one of the camera monitored intersections. Mama knew she was “pushing a bit on that light” but the camera shows her running it flat out. The ticket was only for $75 but it is an offence leveled against me since the car is registered in my name. If it counts against my insurance I will be even more upset.
Another thing that happened is that I got a $500 bill from the dentist for work that should not have cost any additional payment after insurance. Mama will be calling to find out the particulars today but it is upsetting to find a good dentist only to discover that we cannot afford them. I will still have to use them to fix a filling Mama is having a problem with – it will probably result in a crown being used at an additional $500.
Lastly, I found out that the radiator Grandpa installed in the car is leaking at a weld in the top. It is a brand new radiator. I hurt my back replacing the hose on Thursday morning only to have the leak I thought I was fixing continue to spill fluid from the radiator as badly as it had been. We took the car to a shop and asked to have the top clamp replaced and they did so. I was hoping the problem was still with the hose or the clamp. Since they had the car they redid the pressure check of the cooling system. That is when they found the leak - another $500 repair.
All in all it added up to a pretty sorry weekend.
On the brighter side, Mama and Chase had birthdays on Thursday and even though my back was killing me we went out for lunch and enjoyed the meal together. Chase, Victoria and I got Mama a ring and a set of earrings that she liked very well. I cannot take credit; it was all done by Chase since he has to spend so much time at the mall. His present from us will be gotten in New Jersey after Christmas. We are giving him to money to buy some new suits; doesn’t seem like much for his 18th birthday but he liked the idea.
We had a surprise party for him on Sunday afternoon. It was a small group but he enjoyed it.
As we were unloading boxes at the Jennie house on Saturday the dogs got into the pen we had set up for the chicks and killed three of them before we could stop them. It was a cluster of errors. I did not put up very high walls to pen the little birds not thinking about anything other than them getting out – not realizing I would have to keep my own dogs out. For some reason Victoria insisted on bringing the dogs on that trip over to the house and Mama – even after Rosie had gotten into the pen once – walked off and left the dogs unattended. It was not a happy moment and Ketzie and I had a moment of instruction that I hope left a lasting impression on her. Mama did not let me near Rosie.
Earlier that afternoon we checked the mail at the Fairfield house and we had received a ticket from one of the camera monitored intersections. Mama knew she was “pushing a bit on that light” but the camera shows her running it flat out. The ticket was only for $75 but it is an offence leveled against me since the car is registered in my name. If it counts against my insurance I will be even more upset.
Another thing that happened is that I got a $500 bill from the dentist for work that should not have cost any additional payment after insurance. Mama will be calling to find out the particulars today but it is upsetting to find a good dentist only to discover that we cannot afford them. I will still have to use them to fix a filling Mama is having a problem with – it will probably result in a crown being used at an additional $500.
Lastly, I found out that the radiator Grandpa installed in the car is leaking at a weld in the top. It is a brand new radiator. I hurt my back replacing the hose on Thursday morning only to have the leak I thought I was fixing continue to spill fluid from the radiator as badly as it had been. We took the car to a shop and asked to have the top clamp replaced and they did so. I was hoping the problem was still with the hose or the clamp. Since they had the car they redid the pressure check of the cooling system. That is when they found the leak - another $500 repair.
All in all it added up to a pretty sorry weekend.
On the brighter side, Mama and Chase had birthdays on Thursday and even though my back was killing me we went out for lunch and enjoyed the meal together. Chase, Victoria and I got Mama a ring and a set of earrings that she liked very well. I cannot take credit; it was all done by Chase since he has to spend so much time at the mall. His present from us will be gotten in New Jersey after Christmas. We are giving him to money to buy some new suits; doesn’t seem like much for his 18th birthday but he liked the idea.
We had a surprise party for him on Sunday afternoon. It was a small group but he enjoyed it.
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