The flowers on the table all month have been from my own yard. They vary week by week and on Sundays when I plan my meals for the week I switch out the flowers. The lilacs were my favorite because they smell so good but this week I have a peony and it's white and so pretty.
Also when we moved I brought some of my lily bulbs from my old house and planted them here and this year one is blooming. Reminds me of so many happy springs from years past.
Jeff and some of his buds have been busy being boys and playing with chain saws. They fell this tree this month to offer our orchard we are starting more sunlight. Also, the existing apple trees will be happy this tree is no longer shading them for most of the day.
Gage and I watched this whole thing go down and it was amazing.
Braxton got the Good Citizenship award at school this month. Adelle and Emmett recieved the award earlier in the year and were all excited for me to come eat lunch with them to celebrate. Braxton told me I didn't have to come. Then he asked if Kamal, who is one of Jeff's employees could come instead of me! It was a laugh out loud. I wasn't offended, just thought it was funny that he wanted a 19 year old kid who he barely knows to go to his recognition lunch instead of me. I got to go in the end and of course my sidekick, Gage, tagged along. He loved being surrounded by the big boys.
The tractor is coming in handy as the coops are way out in seperate pastures. Jeff or I usually use the tractor with the pallet on the end to carry the eggs back. Here Braxton and Emmett are catching a ride back as well after collecting. We are getting around 700 eggs these days.
Gage is Mr. Social and always asking me who is coming over to play with him. When cousin Corbin came over he had a good time watching Gage use the bathroom.
All the kids played soccer this spring season and it was so wonderful. I helped coach these cute girls on Adelle's team which was really fun and they had an awesome season.
Adelle also participated in the district Talent Show and her and her friends made it to the finals to win the best group musical number.
Adelle and her friend sang, "The Perfect Nanny," and another friend accompanied them. It was adorable. Adelle's voice is spot on.
Emmett is still the child that wakes up early and right away starts on his chores and responsibilities. He is always reading without me telling him to, doing his eye therapy and taking care of the bathroom garbages. I will also often find him in his sisters room helping her clean up. He is so self motivating.
Spring has brought more chores and longer days to get them done. Working together as a family continues to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my life right now. I love the skills my kids are learning and the fun we have while working together. There are rings around my tub every time the dirty kids bathe.
Braxton and I ran the Haggen to Haggen 5k this month together. Well, sort of together. We took bets on who would win and all the kids voted for Braxton. Jeff was true and faithful and voted for me. I really thought I would outrun him. I knew he would start out faster but I didn't think he would be able to maintain his pace. Originally I told Braxton we would stay together. Then he talked me into just being able to see each other. Finally on the day of the race we decided he could go ahead and I would just make sure I could see him at all times.
That didn't even happen. He was so fast and endured so well. I chased him the whole way until the last bend when I lost him. He ran at a 7 min pace and I ran a personal best of 7.49 minute pace. It was a beautiful day and we both had a blast. He was so proud of himself he got 4th place in his age division and wants to run the next 5k.
For my mom's birthday and Mother's Day this year my sister and I organized to go to dinner at Thai Food and then to see the movie, "Mother's Day." It was so wonderful to be with my sister and my mom and my aunt and my Gramy. We laughed so hard and had a great time together.
Emmett and his buddy Cayson at one of their soccer games. Emmett had such a great season, being his first year, and scored 4-5 goals this season. He was our only soccer played to score. All the parents who know Emmett couldn't believe how aggressive he was on the field for being such a nice boy.
One of our recent projects is building a bigger coop for our little personal chicken flock that we brought with us from Ferndale. They have been free range until now and I am tired of them pooing on the patio and scratching through my garden and plants so we are giving them a nice big, grassy area to roam but they will be contained. All the kids have helped to build it.
A couple weeks ago we threw a big surprise party for one of our good friends. The kids loved the lights that we set up for it and now in the evenings you can sometimes find us with the lights on and dancing. Adelle took a picture of us doing just that. It's the little things.
Jeff is my best friend. I'm sad because this past year really tried us. The farmer and the farmers wife were sometimes just that and we have to work, harder than ever now, to not just be co-workers. We get so tired and so burnt out. We get frustrated and impatient and sometimes it all feels so heavy. In those moments I would often wake up early to write my feelings. To release as I would call it.
I was writing a memoir about our farm, our marriage and our faith. I was writing my blessings of blueberries and the funny mishaps of poop. It's all gone now though. The tears and the trials and the hammer flying through the air in anger are no longer recorded. Neither are the huge accomplishments and triumphs. The feeding our first 500 chicks or the first time we found an egg. The rain that ceased when I said a prayers and the all nighters we spent, together, transporting hundreds of chickens to their new coops. All while other couples were doing what other couples do at night.
I will start over now and though the stories will be different, they will still be stories.
It's Sunday night and there is an amazing sunset. I walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and one for Jeff and I told him how amazing the sky was outside. He got up and came and stood with me and we just gazed out the front window. Pink and red and purple and blue. Orange. It was amazing and I'm glad we took the time to enjoy it.
My journal that I've kept for the past 5 years died with my hard drive a couple weeks ago. After multiple attempts it's been concluded that nothing from the drive can be retrieved. I am grieving. I feel broken and sad and lost without those words. Two thousand plus pages, typed, single spaced, of words.
I've spent since Wednesday laughing at how saddened I am. Crying about how unfair it is. Curious about how pioneers traveled through snow and rivers with their journals and yet they still have them and here I am, in a warm house at a nice computer starting over at page one.
Life goes on. Life is so good and full and although I will never again be able to read the reaction I had to Gage being rushed to the ER, shortly after a beautiful home delivery, or Emmett's first day of Kindergarten or Braxton's feelings about moving to a new school or Adelle's first time riding a bike... I have some of them in my head and I will start again. There is so much more life to live. More stories to be told. More memories to make. More treasures to behold. I lost a part of my heart in those lost words and pictures, but not all. Oh how life goes on.
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