The Re-Arrangement

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“Mom! I can’t believe this! How could you?”
I hear my daughter’s panicked questions coming from the other room.
“What happened? Why did you do this? You’ve got to put it back!”
Rolling my eyes and laying down my laptop, I get up and go into the kitchen, knowing what the problem is before I even walk into the room. There I see my 16 year-old daughter standing with all the kitchen cabinet doors flung open. The bewildered look on her face and the hands flailing about her head, tell me she is not happy with what she sees.
When she notices that she has my attention, the shrills begin again, “What have you done? This is no good, no good at all! You can’t keep changing the cabinets. The cups don’t go near the plastic bowls, and all the plates are suppose to be on the same shelf! Please tell me you haven’t changed the stuff in the drawers. Aagh! You moved the silverware! Change it back! Change it back!”
Oh, brother, I think to myself, and then reassuring her I say, “It’s fine. I just moved around some things to make it more convenient for me.” Rolling her eyes, she takes her Oreo and leaves the room. This is a familiar episode we go through any time I decide to rearrange the cabinets, or the furniture, or if I turn the kitchen table in a different direction. My kids act like I have committed some heinous crime. What’s that about?
Is their childhood so unstable that they have to hold on to every steady fixture or utensil that has ever crossed their paths? I don’t believe it is. We have lived in the same place for 25 years, we’ve been going to the same church for 10 years, their Dad has had the same job for 35 years, and they’ve attended home school all of their life with me, their stay-at-home mom, as their teacher. How much more steady could their lives be?
Regardless, this is my kitchen; I do all of the cooking and most of the cleaning. The only time my kids like to come into the kitchen is when I am fixing them something to eat and they are waiting on me to fill their plates.
I used to be more sympathetic. I didn’t want to damage them in some way that would cause them to fail in life. But now seven of my nine kids are grown, and I decided it really doesn’t matter how careful you are with their psyche, they all turn out a little screwy anyway. (hee, hee… oh wait, maybe I am the problem)
I’m just kidding on that point. I know that parents are responsible for some of their children’s idiosyncrasies (hopefully, we are their biggest influence, after all). And I think it’s obvious to this self-proclaimed doctor of psychology, that children are affected by change. However, when that change is done in my domain, they need to be able to accept it.
I do not go into their bedrooms and make them change them to suit me. There are some requirements of keeping a half-decent room, but other than that, they are free to arrange and rearrange their rooms any way they would like.

Maybe I should inform them that if they want to help more in the kitchen, then I would allow them to have an input into the way it’s arranged or not rearranged. But since that’s not going to happen, I will continue to move things around the way I like them. And I’m sure they will continue to complain about where things are…or aren’t. 

Smartphone Plans Starting At $5 Per Month

Sensible Savings, ,

Has the high cost of living made an indention into your budget lately? It has ours. We have had to plan a budget, re-plan that budget, and then tighten it up just a little bit more.

Between Dishnet, Apple, Nintendo, and Sony, our budget had just about become unbudgeted!

So I had to get busy and find some way to save some money. One of our greatest expenses is the cell phone. When we first got a cell phone, I was the only one that needed it. We got rid of our home phone, which we couldn’t seem to get below the $30 mark (for local calling only), and used my cell phone instead.

But alas, as a frog being boiled, I got used to the convenience of the cell phone, and the luxury of became an expected need. It wasn’t long until I was lured into the seductive power of the Apple iPhone. What style! What ease! What power! I went from talking to family and friends on the phone to being able to map out a long trip, or look up an elusive meaning to any word I came across, not to mention when Siri came along. With these smartphones, we hold the world in the palm of our hands. (Ahh…I digress.)

However, as the kids became teens, they thought they needed phones too. Son #4 was able to purchase his own phone. He too started out with a nice convenient cell phone, but was quickly caught up with the whole fandomhood of Apple I-Phone-itus. Looking at the family plan, he could get an iPhone fairly reasonably, as long as he gave them two years of his life. And we soon found that two-year commitment had become very costly with purchasing the data plan, paying overage costs, and a little mishap with a river excursion. Fortunately, he was financially independent from us. 🙂

Daughter #4 was next. For a short while, she was satisfied with a $20 phone and that cost us $10 per month. But she quickly found that wasn’t sufficient for her. She now has Virgin Mobile prepaid, but it’s still quite a bit more than our budget likes.

So I got on the WWW and began to search “cheap smartphone plans”. I just couldn’t go back to a dumb phone. I tried to use The Farmer’s phone and didn’t even know how to operate it anymore. It didn’t do anything when I touched the screen. And all those push buttons just had numbers on them…it was so confusing!

Fortunately Daughter #1 lives very frugal and she told me about a site called mrmoneymustache (highly recommend you check him out). On his site I found a company called Republic Wireless.

Republic Wireless is a company that started a beta phone service in 2011. The way I understand it is that their phones use existing free wifi service to make calls. Unlike the big boys who use the cell towers and charge you an arm and leg, this company makes use of free wifi hotspots that you find everywhere. I have used free wifi from McDonalds, Lowes, Starbucks, Target, and my favorite car dealer, Chris Auffenberg Ford, in Washington. And of course I use the wifi I have here at home.

However, Republic Wireless doesn’t only rely on free wifi, their phones also use the cell towers. The default setting for their phones are free wifi, and the backup for the cell phones are the cell towers.

When I first began to look into it, the only phone they had was their beta phone—Motorola Defy XT. And the only plan they had was $19 a month for unlimited text, data, and talk (a lot cheaper then I was paying for that same service). So using Daughter #5 as a guinea pig, we purchased the phone for her and I tracked her activity for that first month.

She got great reception, always had service, and never missed a call (well, except when I would be calling her to check to see if she had finished her chores while I was away—not the fault of the phone). So when my servitude, I mean contract, with AT&T ended I switched to Republic Wireless.

Unfortunately the beta Motorola Defy XT was not available, but fortunately they offered an awesome Android phone, the Motorola X (and I could purchase the white color for the same price as the black-can’t do that with the iPhone). I love it! With a little bit of a learning curve, I find the Moto X as appealing to me as the iPhone.

Now here’s the best part (well another best part), Republic Wireless offers smartphone plans starting at $5 a month! The plans range between unlimited talk, text, and data (wifi only) for $5/month up to unlimited talk, text, and data (wifi and 4G) for $40/month. There are other plans for $10 and $25 per month.

I have had Republic Wireless for 1 ½ months, (Daughter #5 has been with them for 4 months) and I highly recommend their company. If you would like to look into what they have to offer, here is my affiliate link. Just link on the image.

Seriously, I will be saving $480 a year using Republic Wireless instead of AT&T.

That’s just enough money to go on a 7-day Caribbean cruise!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

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Wintertime has been very hard on the cattle this year. Missouri weather is very unpredictable. No matter how hard the weathermen try to figure it out, it often eludes their best predictions. The most constant thing about our weather is that if you hang around long enough you will definitely see it change.
The fall started out very nice and colorful, but quickly faded into 50 shades of brown as the grasses and leaves began to die. Although we did have some nice weather through the fall, when winter decided to hit, it hit hard! When the high for the day is a negative, that’s too cold for anybody, and this past week we had about 8 inches of snow on top of the coldness.
As you can imagine, this weather begins to take a toll on the animals, if they are not properly cared for. When the weather gets this bad, The Farmer feeds the cows a little grain with their hay. This especially helps the lactating cows, because a nursing mama’s body is working especially hard when it’s nourishing herself and her baby. Sometimes hay alone often lacks the necessary nutrition.
I took some pictures of the snow from the warmth of the house. With my new camera The Farmer bought me for Christmas, I’ll be able to stay in the house this year and take all the pictures of the farm. Well, maybe not when the weather gets nice, but as you can see there was no way I was going to stomp through this storm to take a few pics for our blog.
In case it’s not clear, those black things under the snow are our cattle waiting to be fed.
I hope it’s warmer where you are.
Have a Blessed New Year for 2014!

Resolutions for 2014

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It’s time again to consider if there is anything in my life that needs to be improved, changed, or even eliminated. Last year I resolved to consider my ways and allow my paths to be directed. So, getting out my list from last year, I see that a lot of the things on that list will be on this year’s list also: lose weight, be more consistent in Bible study and prayer life, be more punctual (just to name a few).
It’s kind of frustrating. This whole set-goals-and-don’t-meet them deal is quite discouraging. I’m not usually a Debbie Downer, but looking at last year’s list put me in the dumps. But as I’m writing this, my Positive Polly side begins

to react. J 

If I compare myself to last year, there has been some improvement. Not as much as I would like, and I haven’t completed all my goals, but there have been significant changes. In the area of weight loss I started a program (The Fast Metabolism Diet), stuck with it, and found that my metabolism began to change, which caused me to lose weight. I plan to start that again this year. 
In the area of Bible study and prayer, my goals were to get up every morning and read and pray before starting my day. Although most days I have been able to accomplish that, sometimes Bible study gets put off until later in the day or before going to bed; but later is better than never…right?
Timeliness has always been a daunting factor for me. Some people who love me and can get away with such statements (uhhum) have told me that I will be late for my own funeral (not sure that would be my fault), but I have surprised these same loved ones and been on time quite a bit this past year. I think this year I’m going to keep track of the times I’m on time or early for an event, just to keep for evidence (and bragging rights).
Other areas in my life need improving (nobody’s perfect, right?), so I’m going to go back over last year’s list and probably add to it. But this time I’m going in with a prayerful heart and asking the One who knows me best what He would have me change. Too often we can’t see the forest because of the trees, and when we take a good hard look at ourselves we may be looking through rose colored glasses. (wow, I used two clichés in this sentence…too much?).
I’d be interested in your resolutions, too. Do you remember them from last year? Were you able to accomplish them? What are some new ones you are implementing this year? Please let us all know by commenting below.
May 2014 find you safe, happy, and at peace.

“For it pleased the Father that in him [Jesus] should all fullness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself…” Colossians 1:19-20

500 Words a Day Challenge

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One of my resolutions for 2014 is to write more. To help keep me accountable, I’ve joined a writer’s group that has proposed a challenge of writing 500 words per day until the end of January. So for the rest of the month I will be writing about random things in order to fulfill that challenge. I hope you find them interesting and not too random. (wow! 66 words already…hee, hee)
Okay for the first topic, I have decided to try and express why I write a blog. One reason is because I love my life here on the farm. The Farmer is sometimes uncomfortable with all the attention he gets through my blogging. And he does get highlighted a lot, but it’s because my world revolves around him, and Life With A Farmer is all about, well…living life with a farmer—and he is THAT farmer.
I also wanted to start recording my memories of things that happened in my childhood or in the past (mostly to keep them safe for future generations, because I’ve found my head is not the safest place on the planet for such things). These are a little harder, because I usually have to wait for someone to remind me of something that happened earlier in life.
Poetry is another love of mine. I find myself sing-saying things as I look out the window at the snow or take walks through the woods. Even when I’m outside watching The Farmer work, I sometimes begin to hum a poem. My Mother writes poetry also, so I’m sure I got the love of it from her. But I also contribute my love for rhyming to Dr. Suess and (oh it’s right on the tip of my tongue)…It’s a children’s show about a mannequin that would come to life when the store closed, and there was a talking mouse that talked in rhyme all the thyme J
Politics and religion are something that all bloggers are warned to stay away from because it could kill your blog faster than anything could. Therefore, I don’t usually discuss my political views—it’s not going to make a difference what I think anyway. The government has many problems on all sides—Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and whatever other party there is out there. Okay, I will say this—I think we need a complete overhaul and get back to the Constitution being our guiding factor. I’ll stop there because I feel a whole rant coming on.
However, I do write about my faith. If you have read any of my posts, you will notice that there is a defining factor of my faith in the God of the Bible. I believe in the Trinity, the miraculous birth of Christ, His sinless life, and torturous death on the cross. I believe my sins (and the sins of everyone else) were placed upon Him. I believe Jesus took my place of punishment (because I am a sinner and undeserving of Heaven), and had the power to overcome death and defeat Satan by His miraculous resurrection. And I believe that one day I will stand before God and He will say to me, “Enter into the place which My Son has prepared for you.”  
All this is found in 2 Corinthians 13:14; Luke 1:26-35; Mark 15:1-39; John 3:1-21; John 14
Okay…well there it is—556 words! I would love to hear from all who stop by and visit my blog. Please leave a comment. Also, if you have any ideas on a subject I can write on in January, write it in the comment section below and I’ll try to accommodate. Have a blessed day!

The Gift of Giving

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The Gift of Giving


 I can’t believe we’re down to the last days of December! As I’m posting this, there are only 15 shopping days left for me to buy all the presents needed for all the special people on the “Nice” list this year.

The Farmer and I have decided that we are not going to spend as much as we have in the past. With nine children, their spouses, our eleven grandchildren, his mom, my parents, siblings, secret sisters, missions, charities, and random strangers—the spending had gotten so out of control, it looked like the national deficit! (Before 2007)

Although we have never had a need that has gone unmet, we are far from having untold riches within our reach. Every year, with Christmas looming near, our financial belts always seem stretched to the point of snapping. Nevertheless, each year, as we watched our children rush to their stockings and then to the tree to unwrap their gifts, the financial sacrifices we made seemed all worth the strain…but then came the aftermath. And I’m not talking about the mounds of wrapping paper and mountain of boxes that had to be cleaned up and taken to the burn barrel (after closely examining for any stray “important” piece of someone’s toy). Or the assembling of the Barbie house, or the new bicycle, or the new whatever electronic contraption was popular that year. No…the aftermath was the financial devastation that our monthly budget suffered until the spring thaw. I guess that is one way to make the Christmas season last longer!

However, overspending, stretching the budget, or strapping our finances does not only cause us a hardship, but it also makes us careless stewards of God’s rich blessings. God has called us to be stewards, or caretakers, of what he has given to us, so he can use them for his glory. Our material possessions are not eternal, but what we do with our money and time here on earth will someday be taken into account in Heaven. As Christians, we are responsible for what has been entrusted to us.
 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen”. Romans 11:36
Everything belongs to God, and if you are a Christian, He has entrusted you with earthly possessions that He desires for you to use to share His love. And in this world of entitlement, there are lots of opportunities. Nevertheless, here is a list of things I consider (and hope) are legitimate.
Goodwill is all about putting people to work. Every item sold and donation made to Goodwill helps fund job training programs and employment placing services for people with disabilities or employment challenges. Find out how you can make a difference >>Here<<
I just went shopping there and found 2 blouses for $3.00 each.
Ronald McDonald House 
I donate often to The Ronald McDonald House, mainly because I give them my loose change every time I stop by McDonalds to get a burger. My granddaughter spent the first seven weeks of her life in ICU, and I saw what a hardship it was on her mom and dad traveling back and forth to be with her each day. This charity makes it possible for families to stay close by, often at no charge, while their most precious possession is getting the care they need.
Salvation Army 
It’s super easy to donate to this charity, they are the ones standing outside WalMart and other retailers, ringing their bells and making it impossible for you to walk by without feeling a little guilty. I always make sure I have $1.00 ready when I walk out, just to quiet my conscience.
Red Cross
Give the gift of life…donate blood through the American Red Cross. And I saw on their website that when you donate your blood, the Keebler Elves will bake a cookie just for you!
U.S. Marine Corp Reserve Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots collects new toys from October through December, and distributes them to the worthy children in the local communities in which a Marine Corp Reserve Unit is located. These are easy to donate to, also. Just buy a new toy in a store that supports Toys for Tots and drop it in their box on the way out.
More personal ideas on giving:
·        Give a secret gift to a less fortunate family who you are associated with
·        Help an elderly neighbor with yard work or household duties
·        Spend time with someone who has no close family nearby
·        Encourage your kids to donate their toys (especially before Christmas)
·        Bake goodies for special people in your life
·        Give your words through cards, phone calls, and personal visits.
Got any ideas on other ways we can share God’s gifts?
Leave a comment and share them with us all. 

Being Thankful

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It’s here again! Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, so now I need to get busy preparing for it. We have almost 50 people at our house each year for Thanksgiving (actually the day after). I kept telling myself that it was November, and reminding myself that Thanksgiving was coming, but I guess it never really sunk in. Fortunately, I began receiving phone calls and texts from my (grown) daughters about preparations for the meal; otherwise, I would have procrastinated to the last minute (which is a bit redundant).

When I sat down to prepare my to-do list, I began thinking of Thanksgiving—it’s meaning, family time, past memories, and of course, a post for my blog. And instead of finishing my grocery list, I began writing (I would rather write than shop).

Thanksgiving

Since the beginning of November, I have seen people all across social media making lists of what they are thankful for. Most are doing one a day, so in 30 days they will have listed 30 blessings they personally recognize. This is a great idea, and we should all be numbering our blessings continually. However, yesterday at church, the preacher (who happens to be my nephew) [wow! That makes me sound too old or him sound too young…] Anyway…back to the point… he brought up the idea that Thanksgiving wasn’t about the things that we should be thankful for, but Who we should be thankful for. He brought up the idea that Thanksgiving should be less about the things we have and more about the Provider of these things.

The Bible tells us that all things were made by God, and that every perfect gift comes from the Father of lights. If you have health, wealth, and affluence, you should be thankful for God. If you’re sick, poor, or friendless, you should be thankful for God. No matter what state our finances, our family, or our influence is, we should be thankful for God.

It’s easy to be satisfied and happy when all is going well, rather than when we are facing trials and tribulations. However, there are many examples of people throughout history who have had the integrity to stand when all is lost, and probably the most familiar example in the Bible is Job.

Job lived the life of health, wealth, and prosperity. He had it all according to everyone’s standard. He was a successful farmer, a great father, a loving husband, and a faithful friend. He also had a testimony of one that worshiped God and avoided evil. But one tragic day he lost everything. His animals were all stolen, his children were all killed, and he even lost his health to the point that his wife begged him to “curse God and die”. Even his friends were condescending and critical, falsely judging Job because they perceived his devastation was due to some deep, dark sin.

But Job did not waver in his faithfulness to God. He didn’t base his thankfulness upon his possessions, his family’s health, nor his well-being. In the first chapter of the book of Job, he clearly shows what he’s made of: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

He had gut-wrenching sorrow from his losses, but through it all he never blamed God nor accused God of being unfair. He continued to praise God for Who He is. No matter what we as Christians go through, our first reaction to all situations should be “blessed be the name of the Lord”.

Give Thanks

Give thanks for His Power— God has the power to give eternal life. “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”. (John 17:2)

Give thanks for His Person— The Father creates (Isaiah 44:24), the Son redeems (Gal. 3:13), and the Holy Spirit sanctifies (Rom. 15:16).  “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord”.

Give thanks for His Provision— “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matt. 6:25-26)

So this Thanksgiving, amid the turkey and the pumpkin pie, I encourage you to count your blessings, but more importantly, meditate on the greatness and holiness of God.

Being A Sister

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I find it therapeutic to write anything and everything that comes into my head. If it interests me, I will save it and at times go back through my random notes and reread them. I always mark my original works, because often when I reread what I’ve written, it all seems new to me again.
Recently I was going through a list labeled, “Things I know Something About”—very original, I know. The list included things like being a mom, being a wife, being a daughter, being a Christian, but one label was glaringly missing—being a sister. Was it because I didn’t remember that I was a sister, (which could happen) or has that been a relationship that had not been cultivated in too many years? This needed some pondering.

I am a sister in more than one way. I am a Christian sister to all who share my faith. I also have two sisters from my husband’s side of the family. We are sisters by law. And for a time, a dear cousin lived with my family through some rough teenage years and she became my sister by choice. But there is one sister that I didn’t choose, and she isn’t a part of a family of religious friends, nor did she come with a package in a legal covenant.

This sister is the sister that God chose for me. She is the one that was there before I was a glimmer in my momma’s eye. My first friend, my first playmate, and probably my first antagonist (although I, being the youngest, was most likely the antagonizer). Being the only two sisters, we shared many things including a bed, a room, and a brother.

Growing up, we were very different in our personalities and appearance. She was the pretty little blond girl with blue eyes, and I had brown hair and green eyes. She was more serious, I was a goof off. She was older, I was younger (still am and always will be—there I go antagonizing again!). But we had a lot of similarities, too. We both enjoyed spending vacations with our grandparents; we both know how important family is; and we both love sweets! J However, as time would dictate, we drifted apart over the years; busy with our own families, being responsible to our own duties as wife and mother, setting and accomplishing our separate goals. Nevertheless, as it should be with sisters, no matter how much time we spend apart, whenever we get together, it’s like time has stood still. Those first bonds we made together will last forever. I love you, Sister!

The Porch Light

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Coming home to a cold, dark, empty house is such a sad feeling. I’ve never liked it. Even if all of us were coming home together, I wanted a light to be burning some place in the house to welcome us home. When my children began to go places without me, I would always leave the front porch light on and the door unlocked. As they began driving, I would leave the front porch light on, the door unlocked, and wait up for them. Now that some of them have moved out and have their own homes, if they leave after dark, I stand by the door and wait until their tail lights go up and over the big hill and go out of sight before I turn off the porch light,

Fortunately for me, as each one grew up and moved away (as it should be J), there would be another teenager to leave the porch light on for. But with the passing of time and my increasing age, I found I couldn’t keep the same hours as my last teenager (son #4), and would sometimes go to bed before he got home. But during the night some time, I would wake up, see the porch light was off, know the door was locked, and he was home safely.
Recently, son #4 was married. After we got home from the wedding celebration, I began to lock up the house and turn off the lights, walking over to the front door, I reached up to turn on the front porch light and realized I didn’t need to leave it on.
“Leave it on,” I said to Myself.
“There’s no reason to”, Myself answered. “He’s on his honeymoon, I don’t think he’ll be coming in tonight.”
“But just in case there’s an emergency”, replied I, knowing that there wouldn’t be.
“Well, maybe just for a little while”, Myself gave in.
But eventually, I had to go back and turn off the light and lock the door. I was surprised at the sudden feeling of loneliness that was brought about by this simple ritual of turning off the porch light. Although this signifies another chapter closing on Enloe Farms, there are still lots of stories to be lived out, talked about, and retold around our dinner table.

Just a note, I still have 2 teenagers at home, but they have to be home before dark! J


The Porch Light
The porch light shining through the night
Reminds me of God’s shining Light
That brings about some wayward soul
Who is lost in the world so dark and cold.
I leave the light burning on the porch
So none of my children will be caught in the lurch
The light breaks through the darkness dim
And guides them home to me again.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

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The Farmer had one week of vacation left for this year, so he decided to take off and spend it with the girls and me. What could be more fun than spending a week here on the farm enjoying the sights and sounds of the blessings God has given us here on the farm?
 
So we wake up the first morning and The Farmer says to me, “Are you ready?”
 
“Ready for what?” I ask expectantly.
 
“Ready to start on the shed!” he exclaims.
Oh, right…I had forgotten this was a working vacation.

“Well of course I’m ready,” I say, “but I’m not sure we’ll be able to do that without help. The sidewalls are too high.”
 
“We’ll figure something out”, he assures me.
 
“Maybe we should call the boys over and see if they can help”, I comment.
 
“Everybody’s busy. We can do it ourselves,” he says dismissively.

We walked out to the shed and sure enough, those walls were high. The sidewalls, which we had planned to cover with tin, were 13’ high. I’m 5’2” fully stretched out and shamefully afraid of heights. The only thing I could think about was if The Farmer was going to be the one screwing in the screws, then that left me to be the one climbing and holding. I don’t do either one of those well.

So putting on a brave front, I climbed up on a 5-gallon bucket to hold up the first piece of tin, which had to be held up 4’ from the floor. I made sure my end was straight and secure, and waited (and waited) for The Farmer to screw it onto the wall.

Okay, this isn’t so bad, I tell myself, the first minute or two. It’s not as heavy as I thought. All I have to do is hold this up and he’ll have it done in no time. Wow, my muscles are starting to ache—still speaking to myself—and I think I let my end slip a little (and said as much to The Farmer, who waited patiently for me to tug it back into place).
“Can I let go, yet?” I ask.
“Well, can you hold it until I get a screw in it?” He inquires.
“How many?”
“A couple at least,” he says, as he picks up the level to mark where the screws are going to go.

Oh my gosh! I’m not going to be able to hold this much longer! Breathe, breathe…

About the time I think I’m going to drop it I hear The Farmer say, “Okay, that’s good. You can let go.”

Dropping my heavy, aching arms to my sides, I watch as he screws in several more screws, checking to make sure my end was held straight. We hang up a couple more pieces at that level, me counting down the minutes I have to hold the tin up and he diligently measuring and screwing in all the screws. At last, we stand back and look at the next row to hang.

“Well, we’re never going to be able to hang that row without help”, I summarize.

But The Farmer wasn’t so easily put off. “Oh, we can do it.”

I was sure he couldn’t see the height difference between my arm’s reach and where the tin needed to be held, so I stretched out my arm, as high as I could and said, “Look, this is as high as I can reach”.

“You can use the stepladder,”  he instructs, “and I’ll get the wagon and climb up in it ”.

Okay, that was a quick fix, and I’ve never seen anyone fall off of a stepladder, I assured myself, I’m sure I’ll be fine. We picked up the next piece of tin, held it against the wall, and I began climbing up the ladder. The first two steps weren’t so bad, but when I began to put the tin into place, I wasn’t high enough. So I stepped up one more rung. Still can’t reach.
 
“You’re going to have to go to the top step,” The Farmer stated as he patiently held his end of the tin.
 
“I can’t.”
 
“Why not?”
 
“Have you never read the instructions on this ladder? It says not to stand on the top rung.”
 
“You’ll be fine”, he assures once again. “Just be careful and don’t lean against the wall too much.”
So as I begin to precariously climb to the top of the ladder, I consider my fall route, just in case. It shouldn’t be too bad, I tell myself, I’ve seen my boys jump from heights higher than this 6’ stepladder. I’ll just jump away from the ladder, and hopefully miss the 5-gallon bucket I left underneath the ladder. And I need to fall away from the wall, or should I try to catch myself against the wall? Securing the tin to the wall and getting it lined up with the first row, I begin to lose my grip on the tin.
 
“Lean into it”, calls out The Farmer.
 
“You told me not to lean!”
 
“Well, lean in a little to help you hold the tin. But be careful not to kick the ladder out from under you”, he states obviously.

Securing my position, as much as possible, I successfully held the tin until he got enough screws in that I could let go. We hung the next few pieces without incident, and my confidence grew as each piece of tin was firmly fixed into place.

Wow! I was impressed. We hung all this tin up without injury. Looking at the third row that needed to be hung, reality set in once again. “We make a great team,” I encouraged, “but we’ll never be able to do the third row without help. I can barely reach the bottom of the third row even if I stood on the tiptop of the stepladder. You’ll have to wait until one of the boys can come over to help you.”

But The Farmer isn’t so easily discouraged. “Let’s sit down here and consider our options. I’m sure we can figure out something.”
This unwavering ability The Farmer has to look at a situation and conquer it comes from the encouragement of his Father who often told him, “There’s always a way to accomplish a thing, you just have to figure out the answer.”

I, on the other hand, am not so gullible; there are many things in life that I can’t accomplish. But I sat down with him anyway, to contemplate the situation (and to drink a cup of coffee).

We tossed around some ideas and decided to use the stock trailer to climb on top of, which seemed like a great idea because we would be able to stand on a large, flat surface. But when he pulled the trailer into the shed, and I began to climb the stepladder to discover that the trailer was still a large step away from the very tip top of the ladder, my confidence began to waver. “Maybe we should have the girls come out and help,” I suggest.

“I think we’ll be okay.” His confidence in his own abilities is so frustrating at times.

Wow…this is really high (back to talking to myself). I’ll be okay, I can hang off a rafter if I start to fall, except I’m not sure how long I could support my weight, since the tin proved to get too heavy for me at times. If I do fall, I need to tuck and roll, I’ve seen that done when people jump from rooftop to rooftop on action films. Be real that’s not going to work. If I fall, it’s going to be a splat! not a roll. Maybe I can catch myself between the trailer and the wall…

“Hey! Can you grab this piece of tin?” I hear The Farmer urge.

“Uh, no.” I can’t quite reach it.”

“Try harder.”

So I do and I did. I managed to get the first piece up on top of the trailer. Climbing up the ladder, The Farmer noticed he forgot the drill. So he climbed back down and started up again, going back down to get the level, oh, and the saw. He gives into my idea of having the girls come out to help, which was fortunate, because it ended up that we needed one of them on top to help me hold as he cut around the rafters.

As we began to finish that row on the wall, my fear of being on the trailer began to diminish. I was semi-confidently walking back and forth handing The Farmer the drill, or saw, or level. After climbing off the trailer (with much trepidation), I was feeling very proud of what we had accomplished. Between The Farmer, myself, and two teenage daughters, the use of a 5-gallon bucket, a couple of ladders, a wagon, and a stock trailer, we were able to do in eight hours what a crew of capable carpenters could have done in two.

“Looks great! So, what are we doing tomorrow?” I ask expectantly.

“We’ll be closing in the attic over the workshop,” The Farmer replies.

I look up to assess the situation. “You’re kidding, right? We’ll never be able to do that without help.”

The Before…

 The first row

 The second row with the wagon

 The third row using the stock trailer

The cleanup

 

 

The After…

The attic (which we didn’t need help with) 🙂

 

Exercise Is So Over-Rated

Weight Loss,

Because I’m a full size woman, some people think it benefits me for them to tell me ways I can lose weight.


My favorite advice is when some skinny smart-aleck says, “Just stop eating”.

Wow, genius, I wish I had thought about that!

Although, I have had some good and beneficial advice through the years, nothing ever comes easy. If it did, I guess I wouldn’t continue to need it. With all the advice given, the most common denominator is get out and get some exercise.

I’ve been walking 3 miles almost every day for about 6 weeks, and to tell you the truth I don’t see what all the fuss is about exercising. In fact, I agree with the Bible, exercise is so over-rated. Well, the Bible doesn’t say it’s over-rated in those exact words, but it does say it doesn’t profit us much. (1 Timothy 4:8)

Seriously, I start out each morning dreading going on my walk. In the first place, I have to change out of my comfy pajamas before 6:00 and tug on my socks and shoes (although it has been easier since I lost 8 inches off my waist). Then I force some kind of energy food down my throat, so I will have enough strength to make it back to homeschool daughters #4 and #5. I go out into the cold, dark morning (well, so far it’s been pretty nice, but I’m thinking ahead). Then I unleash an over-excited border collie, who runs ahead and then back to me several times as I’m treading up and slipping down TWO long, precarious hills. Finally reaching the blacktop of a busy highway, I must keep the dog and myself out of harm’s way as we dodge and dart between all the cars and trucks (okay that may be a little exaggerated, but sometimes a vehicle does pass by).

Then horror of horrors! I have to come back home over the same two hills I had to climb in the first place, but this time the most dangerous hill is like a mountain standing between me and survival! When I first started walking, I literally had to stop 4, maybe 5, times before reaching the top. And even though I can usually make it to the top with only one stop, my heart begins beating so hard I’m afraid it will burst through my chest and my breath comes in quick, unsteady gasps leaving me barely conscious to make it all the way up the hill. My calves and quads begin to burn and ache (what if they freeze up and I can’t make it home?). My only choice is to stop and rest before my whole body shuts down. Seriously, how can this be good for me?

I finally make it home, stumble into the door (after watering Baxter), grab my water, and take a long, deep drink of it before switching on the ceiling fan and collapsing on the couch, where I’m forced to recover for the next 15 minutes.

And then this brings on a much bigger problem in my life. The people who know that I walk (and are responsible for encouraging me to get exercise) have turned me into a liar. I’m not kidding. The same people responsible for the trauma exercise has brought into my life, have now forced me to lie to them. The conversation usually goes like this:

Them: “So, are you still walking?”

Me: “Yeah”.

Them: “Great! I’m excited for you. Aren’t you glad you started?”

Me: “Yeah”.

Them: “Exercise is really good for you. Don’t you feel better?”

Me: “Yeah”.

Them: “Well keep it up. Don’t you feel like you have more energy?”

Me: “Yeah”.

What I want to say is “No, No, No”, I’m not glad to be exercising, I don’t feel better at 6:00 in the morning, and I don’t have more energy until after I’ve crashed on the couch. However, that would make them feel badly and make me sound like I don’t appreciate the benefits of walking. So, if you have any respect for me at all, the next time you see me please don’t ask.