The Joy of Hard Work!

The Land of Tumble Weeds

    
  We just love this time of the year. January is a time for new dreams for the homestead, planning and prepping for the work that comes quickly. The great thing about where we live in Wyoming is that the wind drives all the snow over to the Nebraska line. This allows us to keep working outside when most other places in the Midwest are waiting due to to much snow to work around. The down side is without good rain this spring we are looking at a drought this summer. Our goal this year is to put in a greenhouse to have a longer growing season along with added protection

Rand Helping his Papa

from the winds and hail. Our indoor planting starts in a few short weeks for half the garden. My kitchen will be over run with sweet smelling dirt and plants! I have never had a green thumb for indoor plants, but I have found that I have a knack and enjoyment for starting seedlings for the garden. My husband is planning a root cellar and I am preparing to get us through next winter on as much homegrown food as possible through canning, drying and storing. Lots of work with so much return! The satisfaction in all the hard work is wonderful! Knowing that all of this is for the benefit of our family, our boys will learn to take joy in work well done. At four and three years old our boys help there Dad with everything, including cleaning out tumble weeds out of the goat pins (a never ending job here) or helping did put some recycled lumber to good use. We live on little money, lots of Faith and tons of joy! We are richly blessed to have such a life!

Rand and Jubal

Proverbs 13:4

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

 

List #2: 2013

Picture found on Picdrome,Public domain Pictures

   My wise mother directed me in the path of writing to organize my life at an early age. Without 'lists' and the confidence she instilled to 'go and do' I seriously doubt I would have ever accomplished much in my life. To date my first List of 50 things to do is finished. The idea behind doing this is to have goals to work towards and see productivity in life. These are not New Year resolutions! Rather a Vision for your life, a starting place for your dreams to be accomplished.  No matter how large the dream or simple, if it's long term or short term it does not matter. This is a written account of projects to be mastered, places to see or things to accomplish.  There is no specific order of importance to my list, I just put it on there. Through the course of the year I will be writing articles on each one to explain the importance or reasoning behind them in our lives.

List #2: 2013

#1. That our family would be able to work full time on the farm without my husband having an outside job.

#2. Teach our boys to read before the age of five.

#3. See all of our children accept the Lord Jesus as their Personal Saviour

#4. Have a more portable way to write (passably a iPad?)

#5. Do Shows as a family

#6. Have a more self reliant way of living.

#7. Become Debt Free.

#8. Stay Debt Free!!

#9. Go to the Pearl's Texas Shindig in October.

#10. See my nephew Danial.

#11. Successfully grow mushrooms.

#12. Grow and put away enough food to make it through a entire year without buying food from the grocery store.

#13. Sell my Art...to someone other then family! :)

#14. Run a 5K Marathon

#15. Be a good friend

#16. Teach my Sons to be Sloppy Sowers.

#17. Publish a book

#18. Become proficient in Guitar

#19. Have the boys learn to be proficient in (at least one) string instrument.

#20. Learn Spanish....

#21. Memorize a Book of the Bible.

#22. Learn to make hard Cheese.

#23. Eat ten different foods that I have never tried.

#24. Teach the boys a trade.

#25. Build a COB play house.

#26. Build a Greenhouse.

#27. Try Hydroponic gardening.

#28. Learn to tan hides and make something with them.

#29. Build a good looking Rocket Stove.

#30. Paint murals in the hallways at Church

#31. Honor my Father and Mother

#32. Host youth group activities

#33. Pass out 500 Chick Tracks in our area

#34. Now Pass out 1,000 Chick Tracks!

#35. Dig our own Well.

#36. Build a COB Hybrid Guest House.

#37. Teach our kids confidence and determination.

#38. Build COB fences around a flower garden...oooo so pretty!

#39. Maintain a healthy Spiritual Life

#40. Maintain a healthy physical body.

#41. Teach the boys to LOVE the Lord!

#42. Honor my Husband

#43. Paint a mural in the guest bathroom

#44. Memorize 100 new verses (not including #21)

#45. Play my guitar in Church

#46. Sing with my husband in Church.

#47. Raise meat goats

#48. Go on a family missions trip.

#49. See the Grand Canyon.

#50. Go to Ireland.

  Some of these goals are character training we would like instilled in our children and these will be through the course of their lives, some are big undertaking and will take years to accomplish, but that's the point of having dreams they should be something that makes you a better person. These goals are here to help remind us and encourage us to finish.  Without goals or a Vision for our lives we go about wandering and before you know it years have gone by and you have not done anything, but watch TV and eat Bon Bon's! Now that's a little extreme, but I have known so many that talk about what they want to do or be and never do anything but talk and regret. And regret is only good for wallowing in! Don't spend your life 'talking' about your dreams, no matter how small, simple or silly they may seem to you, don't worry about it, write them down and do them. You will be surprised at how good you feel when you mark them off your list and watch your dreams grow with every accomplishment!                                                  

                  

Proverbs 29:18                                                                                                         

     Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

                                                                                                             ~ Randi Lynn Boisse'

Our Life!

 Our family is unique to say the least. A little over two years ago we all moved to wyoming together.  The most commonly asked question is "WHY did you move here!!?" The only answere for that is " The Lord brought us here". There is no other way to put it, no other explenation, as taboo as that sounds it's just the way it is. The men in our family got laid off at the same time in different states. And we got talking about living on a farm together. Every detail fell into place and two years later here we are.

   My folks and their two boys are living in the main house, my sister and brother-in-law (and their dog) are building and then there is us. Our band consists of our four year old, Rand, my second son Jubal (two and half yrs) and our newest addition is our third son Riley (eight months). We also have added some milking goats to join all the pigs, ducks, chickens, geese, cows and a single old horse. I'm not sure if you can count dogs as part of the 'farm animals', but we sure have enough of those around here too.



   My Papa holding his oldest son Samuel and youngest grandson Riley. My Momma holder her middle and oldest grandsons, Jubal and Rand (named after his grandpa!) and the handsom little one on the chair is there youngest son Isaac.

  My momma and my two younger brothers come over and we party with five very active and chaoticly happy boys! With them all being under the age of four the suprises just keep coming! "Mom" seems to be more of a word they say just for the fun of it, and "stay out of the toilet" is on the list of most common phrases.

    We love it! Living so close together is great! We get along great because we understand that we are only human and full of flaws. The Lord Jesus loves us despite our many flaws so who am I to put regulations on what I forgive and don't. What an awesome blessing!!

My first time milking a goat! After a few weeks of my hands getting used to it I have come to enjoy the quiet time twice a day.

Taking a 'walk-about'

You know it's 'art' when...

   In my usual spontaneous life the dates for the Creative Arts expo was changed, giving me one day to get something done. I had no idea what to do! No inspiration. So to Pintrest I went, to get some ideas (I Love Pintrest!!). My mom and I have been exploring the ideas of doing art journals. With a family of five I have other priorities in my life other then to work on my art so I needed something simple, fast and fun to get me drawing and being creative again. So that's where I started to look for inspiration in the 'simple, fast and fun' category for my Creative Arts entry. This is how my night went...

 You know its art when you have three coffee cups running around among all the unsuccessful attempts on the floor with no more coffee left. Your on your third attempt to make it perfect, praying to God that he would steady your hand (and help me not misspell something!). With my husband in the other room saying "Don't mess up hunny!", fallowed by a sinister laugh!

 'He thinks its funny!' So I called my mom for sympathy. Wrong move. She laughs too, if she would have been over she would be fallowing suit with my husband. Stupid me, I knew better. They find to much joy in teasing me. My little boy comes in. I ask him what he thinks, and in a typical three year old response he says "What is it?". I laugh! Wow the amount of support in this house is overwhelming! Rand looks at me and says "Your beautiful mom"...

 And that's it. That's all I needed. :)

 I'm just happy it turned out for being so rushed, I just wish I had time to get a frame.

 We will see next friday if I place. If my mom or I can place high enough on one of our entries it will be off to Wyoming State Fair. I have no asperation for such, I just wanted to say I entered somthing in. I don't need someone to 'judge' my work and tell me its good or bad. God made me just as I am and He Loves me just as I am. Even if I'm not the best at everything or anything. I think it is our attitude that matters most. And using the 'talents' He has giving us for His Glory! Even the arts.

 It's not failing that I worry about, It's not trying that bothers me.

Update: Mom and I both won Purple ribbons (Grand Champions) on our Artwork. Mine went on to the State fair. Fun!

Mrs. Day

  
  At eighteen I moved to Boise Idaho to go to school. I moved to a new city (huge to me) all alone and knew no one, living be myself for the first time. Coming from a very close family this was a change to say the least, but also an adventure. The first weekend I was there a wonderful lady invited me in her home thinking I could get to know her girls. I enjoyed her kids, but as it goes I thought Mrs. Day was awesome! We had similar interests. I would stop by just to say 'hi' and we would talk (for sometimes hours) as she would feed me left overs and some of her wonderful tea. Mrs. Day had this ability to make you feel like you were never in the way or a bother. I always felt welcome and cared about. She always fed me no matter when I showed up, and I'm like a boy, the way to my heart is through food. Or maybe its closer to a stray, 'feed me and I won't leave' (oh wait, that's still a boy!).


Our wedding in Mrs. Days yard





     She kept her microwave in the garage so it would be easier to heat your food on the stove (I now have done the same). I never met anyone that used corn tortillas like she does. All leftovers went into them. I now eat more tortillas then I ever have, we have some 'wierd' tacos! (But you would be surprised, it tastes good) There was little she ever wasted, even all the envelopes from junk mail became note paper or reused for letters.  I have learned so much from her that I now have my family practice. She didn't just say she would pray for you and not. She would pray over whatever prayer request you have asked for until she found out to do otherwise. She is a genuinely sweet hearted woman that desires to serve the Lord. What an example for a young lady!



Jubal Rudy Lewis Boisse'

 

    I don't believe Mrs. Day knew the impact she would have on my life. To date this woman (that is thirty years or so older then me) has been the best friend I have ever had the privilege of knowing (outside of my family).  My husband and I got married in her front yard among her beautiful flowers! My second son, Jubal, is named after her first born in her honor (I thought it would be mean to name him Carole).

Because she took the time to take in a lonely teenager and listen when I had no one else, she had an impact on my life!

  It goes to show that you have no idea what it will mean to someone if you take the time to love. Some may not appreciate it or really know what you have done for them. But every once in a while you might find that you helped change and shape the life of a young ladies future... Thank you Mrs. Day.



Me, Mrs. Day, and my oldest son Rand. I was pregnant at the time with Jubal.

    " Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;"              Romans 12:10

# 42 on the "LIST"

   When I was a kid my mom recognized my need for lists and encouraged me to organize my thoughts, and plans, so none the less I became a 'list maker'. One of my most used lists is "50 things I'd like to do" that I wrote when I was 13 or so. Out of all 50 things on my agenda I only have one that is not completed (or at least attempted), "#42 To have a book published". So in attempts to accomplish my goal I was encouraged (by my lovely mom of course) to try blogging to practice public writing.

   I did not finish all the things on my list such as learn Spanish, but I did take it in school, and failed miserably. So I wrote that one off, and I am content that I at least attempted it. Two others on my list I wrote off as stupid ideas. I figure if I can't handle a roller coaster without feeling my insides revolt then there is NO way I'm trying sky diving or bungee jumping. Those two are legitimately bad ideas so they don't count as failures, but rather that I gained some common sense as time went on. Some things on the list are still works in progress, like learn the piano and home school my kiddos.

   I am thinking I need to make a new list of 'grow-up' goals. But to be honest with you I have done or at least tried everything I have ever dreamed of doing. Most of my dreams were and are fulfilled through my growing family. Sense I was five I wanted to be a momma. Now I have three awesome little boys that are going to shake the world, along with my wonderful husband that no one could ever compete with.

  I will need to use my imagination a little for this next list. I do know 'run a marathon' is going to be on the list. I really hate running, but I want to be able to say "ya, I did that too"! Plus my body fat hates running more then my lungs do, so I have an added incentive.  Maybe I will put 'Learn to spell' on there too. I'm not sure maybe I'm to late in life for that one...