Good Morning from a chilly, clear Knolltop! The moon is full and was so bright this morning when we walked across the road to milk. In fact it was bright when we got done with milking last night too. It’s so nice to have that bright light even at night.

Yesterday was a busy day that started out just a tad behind. Our alarm clock decided to quit working and of course we didn’t find out until I woke up at 4:30 am….a time when we are normally a third done with milking! Jolting out of bed and dashing to the barn, it was a welcome relief when we turned the radio up and heard the kids didn’t have school because of the icy roads!

For the rest of the day, we were behind. Every time I thought about posting on this blog, I realized I had something else to do. So I just never got to it causing alarm in the South. Getting a call from my favorite mother -in-law at 9 pm last night was a little disconcerting, I automatically thought something was wrong when I looked at the caller ID. She was just calling to check on us because I hadn’t posted! It’s nice to know we’re being looked out for….actually, I was surprised my mom didn’t call, she always calls when I don’t post. Maybe I’d better call her to make sure everything is okay!

From the comment left yesterday, I see old Pryorvu is getting things ready for Christmas….glad to hear he’s not slacking off out there in the foothills of the Rockies!

Today is the Michigan Holstein Association Holiday sale. JW and I have to sell concessions at it since the Juniors are using that as a fundraiser. This evening the kids have their Christmas concert. So it’s never a dull moment on the Knolltop.

By the way, at the game on Tuesday night, the JV’s beat Climax-Scotts but the varsity lost.

It’s an icy morning here on the Knolltop. We’re getting rain right now and the road is a sheet of ice, I’m assuming the paved roads are fine since the kids had school, but I”m glad I don’t have to leave the comforts of this little farmstead.

Last night we slipped our way to Jonesville to watch the boys basketball game. The JV team won and the varsity lost, but it was close. They were both really good games and it was fun to watch the first game of the season.

This evening Bobby will ride the bus with the boys to Climax. It’s over an hour away so Sarah and I will stay home and milk the cows. I’m good with that, it will be nice to spend the evening with just Sarah.

I think I might try to get some Christmas cards sent today…maybe…who knows. I’ve only had one year when I was on time, I was organized and sent them out the day after Thanksgiving. I haven’t been that organized since. But since I love to get them, I need to send them!

Or maybe I”ll just bake Christmas goodies today. That sounds way better than writing out cards. The taste of an envelope doesn’t even compare to chocolate peanut butter fudge!

Good Monday Morning from the Knolltop!

I don’t have much time this morning, I’m late for coffee and Bible Study with Angie!

It was a fun weekend, Sarah and I decorated the house for Christmas, I made yummy Christmas cookies last night with eggnog…it’s all gone. The boys had an FFA lock-in Saturday night while Jake, Sarah, Bobby and I had a great game of charades.

Tonight is the season opener for the boys at Jonesville. And I might find myself in divorce court over the Capitol One Bowl where Michigan State will take on Georgia. Yes, that is making a major division in our house! The Spartans will take on the Bow Wow Brigade of U of G on New Years Day. It will be one fierce day here on the Knolltop!

Good Friday morning from a cloudy, cold Knolltop. It was 18 when we crossed the road to milk the cows…and boy it felt like it!

Last evening Bobby, Luke and Jake wanted to go to the Hillsdale College mens basketball game. They were playing the Lake Superior State Lakers and Micah Hudson who plays on that team is a boy from our church, so naturally I wanted to go see Micah play. So I told them I was going too. Jake was seriously disappointed that I would even think of horning in on the “Three Amigos” fun time at Jesse Phillips Arena. But I went anyway.

I asked who was going to get the popcorn and I was told that doesn’t happen until half time. When they finally visited the concession stand, I was really looking forward to some good popcorn. They came back with three bags of popcorn and three drinks and I got the message. They were generous enough to share their popcorn, but I still knew I wasn’t a part of the clan.

Sitting on the end, Jake took pity on me and came over to sit down by me. As he was sitting down he said, “Since I know you don’t know diddly about Chargers Basketball, I’ll sit down here and clue you in on what’s going on and who’s who on the team.” Acceptance was all but had at this point. So I proceeded to act like the dumb mom and by the end of the game we were sharing snickers and M&Ms. But I’ll never go again.

I was going to talk about the photo shoot, but now I’ve got to get to the barn and help get the cows in before the water bowls freeze!

Well, after a great day off, the kids are back to school, but it’s still snowy and windy here on the Knolltop. The older boys went in early to pitch…they’ve got to love baseball to get up early on a cold morning just to practice! I hope it pays off.

Last evening while Bobby, Sarah and I were munching on popcorn enjoying the warm house, the boys invited a couple of friends over and were playing airsoft out in the barn. Why would anyone want to be outside in the cold winter when they could be inside eating popcorn?

Jake came in asking for some hot chocolate. I handed him a milk jug and sent him to the milkhouse. When he came back he was so happy to be inside. He said he was glad the older boys had asked him to go get the hot chocolate started. I asked why and he replied that he was cold and wanted to come in. Then I asked him why he didn’t just come in, he replied, “The boys would’ve called me a baby.” Oh, what these youngest boys have to endure!

Off to the barn to check on a cow that may be calving and do the rest of chores.

Good Morning from an icy, snowing, no school today Knolltop!

The kids are elated to think they don’t have school. I am too.

The scrimmage went well last night, we had to divide our attention between the JV and Varsity. Luke was in one gym and JW was in another…so we kept walking back and forth. It was fun.

The ride home was slow, the roads were awful. I don’t know if they were really that bad or we are getting acclamaited to the snow again.

This morning Jake and I cleaned out a spot for the calves, they had to move to make room for other cows. Don’t even ask where those good for nothin’ teenagers were…don’t get me started…just don’t get me started!

Sarah and Jake are out sledding right now, what a great time for pictures but since I just got out of a nice warm shower after being out in the cold, I’m NOT going back out in the cold to snap pictures…sorry, I’m just not that dedicated!

Good Monday morning from the Knolltop! It looks like Christmas at my house! The ground is covered in the white stuff and it’s still coming down. The kids were hoping for a snow day, but as JW and Luke headed in early to pitch, I assured them there was school today.

Tonight the boys have their first basketball scrimmage, so you know what that means. We will be running through chores to get to it. It’s a half hour north of here, so we will have to really speed the milking along.

Over the past few months I’ve written a little bit here and there about the All-American Beef Battalion with commander in chief, Bill Broadie of Ashland, Kansas. If you’ve ever really wondered about what it’s all about you now have a chance to watch it in action. Cowboy Church, a program on RFD-TV, filmed one of their services at a steakfeed in Manhattan, Kansas. They had their normal singing and preaching, but they did it while a bunch of Iraq war troops were eating big, juicy steaks. It is the goal of the AABB to feed every man and woman serving in the United States military a beef steak. So far, they’ve had several steakfeeds with troops either leavning to go to Iraq or coming home. As told from the volunteers who feed the men and women and their families, it’s an amazing event that has made a huge impression, one they’ll remember for a long time.

So, if you want to watch, you can catch it tonight on RFD-TV at 9:30 pm EST. Or tomorrow at 11:30 am EST. And if you feel compelled to donate money for the cause, you can visit http://www.steaksfortroops.com/ It’s a great effort put on by a great group of people and is the creation of one very special, Vietnam War Vet, Bill Broadie.

Gotta go!