Celebrating Christmas with Significance

Maybe it is just where I am at in my personal journey but Christmas just seems so much more significant this year then I ever experienced before. I had wonderful Christmases as a child, so much so that there would be a huge letdown after Christmas. Then as a young bride it was a bit hard to recreate, seems like I was always too busy to pause much. But this year is amazing. We are on our dream farm, literally living our dream all year round. And this time of the year is our “off-season” where we are very protective of our family time since we are so busy the rest of the year. But what makes it so wonderful, I think it is the pausing.

We did our Christmas shopping early, often opting for on-line versions so I didn’t have to navigate crowds. And we kept it minimal. Proeun and I were noticing a case of the “galloping gimmes” (from the Berenstein Bears) and were trying to figure ways to give the children a joy of giving, so we decided to do mostly homemade gifts and get the children involved. They are not as involved as I would like but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

This spring we bought a piano but I haven’t had much chance to play. Now that the Christmas season is here we are focusing on learning Christmas carols.

We started with 2 carols for the girls to sing in the choir at church. Since Mavis doesn’t read yet and Avril is not proficient enough to read and sing (though once she knows the song the words help her remember) they had to memorize all the verses for “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Once is Royal David’s City.” It was a fun exercise for all of us. And they loved singing in the choir.

I didn’t do as much crafting this year, other than the presents. I wanted to spend the month working on it but instead am focusing on Christmas stories and music to make the time significant, though Avril did make a lovely table runner with her aunt that really dresses up the table.

The children have been asking for a gingerbread house though, so when I saw a kit for a gingerbread barn I thought it would be perfect. However 4 adults and five children couldn’t figure out how to make it stay erect so it became a cookie decorating party.

The younger ones thought this was a much better idea anyway.

And so did grandpa. I had to remind myself that Christmas memories don’t need to be perfect.

I will post after Christmas about some of our projects but here are some resources for making the season more significant.

The Nativity Story, we kicked off the season with this and loved it, I hadn’t seen it before but it was perfect for setting the mood.

Advent and Christmas is Family Worship, our first year using this. I love it though it took some getting used to, also incorporates songs, better for older children but younger ones love the songs and repeating the verses.

Truth in Tinsel, we used this more last year and it is wonderful. Takes a bit more prep because there are crafts involved, but the younger ones get it more. Also has prompts to add to an advent calendar (I really want to do that next year and make an advent wreath).

And don’t forget to sing, sing all day long. We have Christmas CDs going all day long. And bake, and talk and love and just be. Merry Christmas!

Baby It’s Cold Outside

It sure is. This morning our thermostat said -10 degrees. Yes that is the temperature. We are pretty sheltered here by the woods but I have heard that the wind chill today is expected to reach -30. So what would make a 32 year old mother of 5 children want to leave a nice comfortable bed and house to go out into weather like that? Chores. I have to admit when reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and she would talk about chores I had no idea what that meant. Now I do. We currently have 12 goats, 35 chickens, 3 barn cats, 2 rabbits and 1 donkey, plus there are the 2 dogs and 2 indoor cats (but the children normally take care them). I have to admit, yesterday I was thinking that if we didn’t have all these animals that I would be able to sleep in and I wouldn’t have to chores on days like today.

But then I would be missing out on a very important truth, “caring for animals makes us better people.” See when the weather is like this it is not just feed and water they need. I have to monitor body condition to ensure that they are getting enough calories to heat their body in a addition to normal body functions. I have to watch activity and make sure that they are not getting lethargic. I have to listen to their breathing and make sure it is not too labored. I might even have to check the condition of their poo if I expect a problem. The thing with animals is that they can’t tell you when things are going bad, you just have to know.

I was thinking about the comparison with my children. For the most part they let me know when something is wrong. But not always right away. I can use my observation skills learned caring for the animals and apply it to my children. Even adult relationships often could use a little tender loving care and observation to catch a potential problem before it turns deadly.

The truth of the matter is everyone wants to feel needed. But many do not understand that in serving and caring for others (animal or human) that is where we are really needed. I hope to teach these skills of observation and care to my children so that they will never question their worth. And there is a huge sense of empowerment when you do difficult tasks many are not willing to do. When I was outside this morning in 3 plus layers of clothes laboring so hard I was actually too warm at -10 I felt so strong, “Baby I got this.”

I remember reading in Farmer Boy about temperatures dipping below -40 at night. Almanzo’s family was so wealthy they didn’t have room in the barns for all their animals so some of the yearlings were in the barn yard. At that temperature apparently sleeping animals can freeze solid without even knowing they were in danger in the first place. So Almanzo’s father would have to wake in the middle of the night, dress and go out with a whip to get the animals moving and blood pumping just to save them from freezing to death. I hope it doesn’t get to that but if it does I like to think I got that to.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been ages since I posted but one of the things that we are learning about farm life is the work literally never ends. So if we do not consciously take time for family and relaxation it doesn’t happen. Even though we have been farming for 5 years we are still working on our schedule and living seasonally. So November and December are our much needed breaks from farm life. Of course there are chores that still need to be done and quite a bit of dreaming happens, we also prioritize family time. Here are some pictures I snapped last weekend to give you a taste of what we have been up to.

Compost bins Proeun designed and built after going to the State Fair.

A donkey named Jack joined our farm family–yes the same name as the dog. We didn’t feel it would be fair to rename one so we have 2 Jacks now, both characters.

The barn is stocked with hay for the winter and is currently one of the children’s favorite places to play.

Avril has been practicing reading and now loves to read to her little sisters. I am such a book worm so this does my momma’s heart good.

Although the weather has turned there are still some warm days perfect for playing outside. The children are still enjoying the playhouse we built this spring.

So as you can see that we have a whole lot to be thankful for. We started going around the table at breakfast asking what the children were thankful for. All of them said for their family and the love they have except for Effie who is thankful for her “mommy T-rex.” I am thankful for children that “get” what we are trying to do. And for the privilege of sharing my life with my soul mate and for the journey and the people and animals that make our life great and so much more. And yes if you are reading this blog I am thankful for you.

The season ends

Last week we made our last delivery for the season. It is always a weird feeling when we get to this point. For four months our schedule has been pretty “regular” you could say with cycles of harvesting, washing, packing and delivering. Before that there was the planting, set up projects and scrambling to get everything ready. But now there is just peace. One farmer friend I know said “the good thing about farming in California is that you can farm all year. The bad thing about farming in California is that you can farm all year.”

So now we are moving into new territory for us. For the past several years our falls have been pretty busy. Our last 3 children were born in the fall. Then there was the big move a few years ago. But now we are relatively settled. No babies are expected and the farming is done for the season. Our season will not be one of idleness but rather relaxation.

To kick off this new season we went to Ely, Minnesota, on the borders of the Boundary Waters for a little family getaway to recharge and remind ourselves we are moving to a new season.

Canoeing was a hit. At first the older ones weren’t sure if they would like it but they were pros by the end of the trip.

Bear Head Lake in the morning.

Fishing was a big part of the weekend though we didn’t catch much.

Two kissing the one catch of the weekend.

I have never been in the presence of beavers. I did see an otter but no live beavers, plenty of evidence though. We thought it would be funny to get a picture of our little beaver next to a beaver tree. Note I haven’t had time to knit him his own woolens, so he is borrowing his sisters for the trip. He probably will be made one day. All in all though it was a pretty great trip. On the way home we ran into snow and arrived home to 2 inches on our deck! Talk about a change of seasons.

Vacations, Weddings and New Beginnings

Parents, you know how hard it is to leave your baby. Even if you know your baby is in capable hands making that break is so hard. It is especially hard for parents who have waited a long time for children or struggled to conceive. Well I am realizing this farm is our baby. It was a struggle to get here and to keep it going and we love love love it. But sometimes breaks are nice. That said Proeun still had to encourage me and remind me, “it will be fine, it won’t fall apart, and you will love it even more when you get back.” I have such a wise husband.

Back in the beginning of the year when my sister and my new brother-in-law announced their engagement and started talking about venues I had another realization–family traditions are real and multigenerational. I always loved the family trips to the North Shore of Lake Superior growing up. We went other places to, but I have many many really fond memories of Duluth and points north. I just didn’t realize how much my sister loved it to. So when she said she was planning a fall wedding at a resort on the North Shore I couldn’t wait.

So this last weekend we headed north to celebrate with my sister and a host of combined family and just have some good old fun.

Proeun and the older children prepare for a bike trip to Gooseberry Falls using the resort’s bikes.

Later we all went to the falls for some preliminary pictures. We clean up pretty good. I was hoping to get some really amazing pictures at the falls but it was raining so we took the children back to wait for the ceremony.

Even though we had to work around the rain we had a beautiful and intensely personal ceremony on the shores of the lake. When the new bride and groom kissed for the first time as husband and wife the sun broke through and shone on them. The girls were the flower girls, Proeun and Two ushers and I did a reading. What a blessing to be able to be part of the day for my baby sister!

The next day was beautiful and perfect for exploring.

And playing.

We stopped in Duluth and saw a ship leaving harbor. That never gets old. I love when they blow their horns to the lift bridge and it answers back! We took a bike ride that all of us fit in but unfortunately the pictures all turned out blurry. The memory I will have of that is Pray and Effie sitting in the front basket and as we started up turning and looking at each other and getting big old grins on their faces. Love how they love each other and communicate.

Once we actually got away we found vacation can be kind of addicting. All of us would have loved a couple more days, but duty calls. And today when I delivered boxes to the city and got to drive back home to our farm, where we live, I realized how amazing our everyday life actually is.

Crazy Boy Farm Youtube channel

For those of you who may have missed it, Crazy Boy Farm has a youtube channel. Admittedly there are not a lot of videos on there yet but I was reading about encouraging your children’s interests. Like most moms of preteen boys with a video game systems I was feeling kind of down. Where did I go wrong? How do you break the hold of gaming over our children? I didn’t want him to be totally without but seriously it was getting ridiculous and for a moment I couldn’t think of anything else he liked. Then I remembered how much he loves to shoot videos on my camera. So I am hoping to add more videos of our daily life and farm tours soon featuring the directing skills of our son. But for now here are a couple sampler videos shot by yours truly.

Finally we were able to fix the fence so more climbing goat.

Avril’s riding lessons. So proud of the progress she has made in only a couple months.

Hopefully Two will be adding some nice videos over the next couple of weeks. So keep checking back.

Haymaking

Last year the children and I read all the way through the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. After moving to a farm the stories had a special meaning to us as we compared our life with hers. One section that really struck me was the depiction of haymaking with her father. Charles Ingalls had no sons that lived so his work was especially hard but Laura was more then willing to step in and help.

When we purchased our farm I was desperate to get on something, anything, but Proeun wanted at least 20 tillable acres. We held out and got luckily. But last year getting cover crop on all that bare land was pretty expensive. And that was a necessary expense we had not counted on. But this year it paid off. Originally we planned on purchasing our own equipment and making our own hay. It couldn’t be as bad as what Laura experienced right? Well luckily reason won out and we decided to list our hay field on Craigslist with payment in hay. It wasn’t long before we started getting calls. So we made arrangements for a local farmer to manage our fields and pay us in hay.

It was baled just in time. It was a little drizzly the next morning when we went out to count the bales and figure our cut. Looks like we will have enough hay to feed the goats all the way through the winter and maybe a horse, not this year but we are hoping next. So yeah the cost last year really paid off. And I love the look of all those bales in our field.

Camp Sunrise Visitor Day

I did not grow up loving the outdoors. It wasn’t until meeting Proeun and having my children that I discovered the amazing restorative power of being outdoors. It is an incredibly amazing thing to dream a dream, work hard for it and achieve it even when it often seemed impossible. It is also amazing to push yourself. That is how we feel about our farm. A year and a half after our move it still feels new to us. But what is even more amazing about having one dream come true is it gives you faith to move on, to dream more and know that it is possible.

I am still on some community forums from our old neighborhood in St. Paul. Recently there has been much talk about senseless crimes, including murders perpetrated by youth. I think the missing component in these youth’s lives is dreams and the belief that hard work will bring them to reality.

But Youthcare knows how to give young people dreams and the ability to achieve them. Camp Sunrise has been bringing campers to our farm throughout the summer. It is great to meet all the young people and work alongside them, but we didn’t really get a chance to see what it was all about until Visitor’s Day.

The camp alternates between boy’s and girl’s week. The youth are often from the inner city and spend a whole week living in tents and pushing themselves. Including a canoe trip for 3 days! Honestly it would push me to the limits and once I visited I was really more impressed.

It was leader week where some of the summer’s campers were invited back for extra fun and leadership training.

While camping the youth get up close and personal with the river. Here they share about how to ensure high water quality for years to come.

Tents the youth stay in.

Family and friends gather to celebrate the summer with campers.

Keep up the great work Camp Sunrise, giving kids dreams and the skills and confidence to achieve them! Look forward to next year.

Meet Susan and Sophie

I promised that my next post would focus on the really great parts of farming. I have to admit one of the highlights in my opinion is sharing my life with animals. I have always loved animals. My family always had at least a cat or two while I was growing up. Later we added a dog to the mix and one of the first things Proeun and I did when we got married was get a puppy. So yes I have always shared my life with animals and loved it.

We were advised to take it easy when we moved to the farm and not jump right into animals but getting more animals is something that we really looked forward to when we had more space.

I also really love hand crafts and the beauty of natural fibers. So a couple years ago when we went to the Shepherd’s Harvest Festival I started dreaming of fiber animals. At the time we didn’t have the farm yet so sheep, alpaca or anything large was out. Then I saw the angora rabbits. I wanted one so bad but with commuting to our farm and living in the city it just didn’t seem like the right time.

Then a couple weeks ago I got an email from a friend about angora bunnies that needed a new home and. . .

Susan and Sophie joined the family.

Sophie is the one with the black face and Susan the “blue.” The lady we got them from was also a fiber artist and she said she doesn’t even have to pluck them they just pull out their extra hair on their own once a month a make a nest. Then you just gather it up.

They are litter mates and get along with each other very well. I have to say the thing I hate the most about buying animals is taking them away from their homes and moms. But since we got them together they are adjusting well. Now I just need to get a drop spindle and start spinning. Can’t wait. They are still babies so no shedding yet but they are so cute, they are totally worth it.

Farm Walk

Even though it feels like fall is coming sooner rather then later nature keeps plugging away and growing even if it is a bit delayed from the spring. Talk now is of the summer that never was. I think we only had about 5 days of over 85 degree weather. But maybe it will surprise us and summer will return. I know that I am forever surprised by the goodness of the land even if it doesn’t do what I want it to all the time.