barley and alfalfa

The only thing more exciting than a tractor in our field?

Two tractors in our field.

Rory and I haven't been on this little hobby farm for even a year. And we are learning so much. We talk about this a lot late at night. There is a lot of trial and error and questions and research and phone calls and patience required for this sort of life shift. But we're learning and we're grateful to be here.

The biggest challenge for us so far has been our field.

We knew we didn't want to rent our four acres out again this year. Mostly because we're not sure what we want to do with it. But if we want to turn it into orchard, or if we want to ever graze animals out there then we wanted to start a few years of not using pesticides and planting something that can help replenish the nitrogen back into the soil.

So we researched tractors, but they are expensive. And we weren't confident enough in what we should buy in order to put that sort of money down. It's just too early to buy something.

Then we asked around to see if anyone in the area could be hired to plant our field. But this was a crazy-terrible year for all planting. Lots of fields in our area still aren't planted. There was snow in May and rain all throughout May and June. Any contacts that might have possibly been able to help us out on a normal year were trying their hardest to get their own fields planted on the rare sunny day when the fields might be dry enough.

It wasn't looking good for our field. I kept telling Rory that we could go out there and scatter seed Bible-style with bags over our shoulders, tossing it gently down the rows.

Finally one of the phone calls Rory had made returned our call. Two brothers from the area had all the equipment. We were overjoyed. This was a few weeks ago, and since then it rained every time they were scheduled to come out. But on July 3rd they came.

This might be the latest planting ever. It might mean our barley and alfalfa might not germinate. But we had to try. You can tell the field is dry, but it is supposed to rain this weekend. That would help.

But no matter how this first year turns out we 1)have our field planted! and 2)our country boys got to drive a tractor.

And Rory has found a tractor he really loves. He might have to get rid of his green cap though.

the landing

When trying to decide how to spend our 4th of July, we realized two things: 1) Ivar doesn't like parades (loud sirens) and 2) Our kids go to bed at 7. And again, they don't like loud noises.

So my mom made a plan to go to The Landing, the same place we went and learned how to make maple syrup. Today they were Haying, had a parade that we got to be in and most of the houses were open for visits. We brought a picnic and met Mark and baby Isaac, Uncle Don and Mom and Dad for an awesome day.

...That picture in the lower left is a favorite. Uncle Don and Ivar switched hats and Ivar thought it was so silly.

verna and velma's big adventure

Velma and Verna went back to hang out with their own mama cat a little longer. Here's what I imagine they told her when they had their sweet reunion:

Mom. You're not going to believe the week we just had. It was so crazy. These people put us in a big plastic tub and thought we wouldn't get out. Ha! They put us in the garage and we waited until they went to bed and then ran around doing our business on their things. So then they put a wire lid on the box with a board on top. But mom, obviously we're stronger than that. We waited until nighttime again and busted back out.

One time they left us in their garage and went to run errands. And when they came back we were so hot. That garage is like a sauna when the garage door is closed. So they brought us into their bathroom. It was awesome in there. We loved it. And we made it our own by marking every bit of territory. You would have been so proud of us Mom.

One day we went out on the blanket it the yard with the family. We did this a lot and loved jumping around. But then these huge birds started circling the yard. They wanted to eat us!

Well, apparently the mom and dad didn't know what to do with us. You know, they didn't really love that we were doing our business all over the bathroom. And we're supposed to be outdoor cats, but they don't have a barn or anyplace we can actually survive outside. So they called and talked it over and then tonight they brought us back! To you! And our brothers and sisters! And when we're a little older and can live outside and birds won't swoop down for us, we're going to go back. But for now, lets just snuggle and purr for a while.

***

There's a new post over on The Soul Sisterhood. Today we're talking about our Loves and Loathes.

wake up call

One of Ivar's cousins taught him how to smile like this. To use his fingers to push his cheeks way up. It was funny for a good week or two, but now its sort of overpowering each picture I take of the boy.

But I'm going to take it as a good reminder that we get to choose our mood and attitude. I probably could use two fingers shoving my cheeks up once in a while to help change my expression too.

Last night Rory and I prayed before we went to bed. It's been a long, long time since we have done this and it feels like we found our footing again in one heartfelt prayer time.

While praying, I started asking God to help me with my mood in the morning. I asked that I would wake up with a spirit of joy instead of exhaustion. My days sometimes feel like I'm just trying to get to the next nap or bedtime.

So I asked God for a new attitude come Monday morning.

We went to bed. And at 6:15 am I heard the roosters. As of this morning, they had finally cleared the last of the phlegm from their throats and were celebrating their perfect cock-a-doodle-doos. I woke to this sound and it made me laugh.  Sort of a what-on-earth-are-we-doing-on-a-farm-with-roosters kind of laugh. I lay there while Rory rolled over and decided that this was my wake up call. God woke me up amused and with a grin on my face and I took it to mean my day should begin. So I got up. And the very first thing I did was read Psalm 51. It's my favorite.

Then I went out and fed the chickens telling them to pipe down. I warmed some milk for the kittens and gave them a snuggle. I started a load of laundry, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. I made myself a cup of coffee, read a few blogs and then I made muffins.

It was the best morning of the summer. Because I woke up for it.

When Ivar came downstairs he was so excited to see me and I told him I had made him muffins for breakfast. He was in the living room when I said this and his response was, "pretend ones?!!" Which gives you a little clue as to how often I make actual, edible muffins.

The thing that blew my mind this morning is that I prayed for this just last night. And I am sure that part of it was my own participation in the attitude shift. But I've been trying with my own might for an attitude shift for a long, long time now. This was so clearly not by my own strength. This was God's Spirit coming along side of me, helping me feel ready for the day ahead. And it made me feel very loved.

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:12

And it was a lovely day.

strawberry pickin' and bloglovin'

Last night babysitter had a conflict, so we decided to take the family strawberry picking. We strategically strapped both of the kids in strollers while feeding them berries to keep them happy.

All those strawberries I am holding were only five bucks, but I think we may have ruined about twenty dollars worth of kids clothes. On the plus side, both kids now have designated "berry picking outfits."

***
So here's something to work on this weekend: If you read multiple blogs via Google Reader, it's closing up shop on Monday. Today I finally looked into other blog readers and I have a thing for Bloglovin.

It took me four minutes to set up, (it will transfer all of your google reader blogs over for you...easy peasy!) and I really love the layout (sort of like pinterest).

So if you follow this blog, be sure to head over to Bloglovin and add joyfullybecca.com to your list of blogs. Or don't add me if you don't want to. I actually took some time to pair down my list of blogs that I read, added a few new ones and it sort of felt like a little room makeover. Some new voices and ideas for the summer which feels fresh and good. (But I would miss you if you gave me the boot.)

And if you don't use a reader, I think you would love it (...mom). It's a WAY easier way to check multiple blogs and will update for you when a new post has gone up. It's like having a magazine that updates every minute with new articles and recipes to read.

Happy weekend everybody!