It seems like it’s been a long winter here on the Knolltop.  With the snow earlier and last week the tremendous ice storm, the folks in this neck of the woods have had enough winter.  The kids were off the entire week last week because of ice! Thankfully we didn’t lose power at all, oh my such a blessing from God!

Having a farm is truly a test of patience on a regular basis.  With so much equipment to keep running and livestock to keep healthy, some days you just think what else can go wrong?

A couple of Sunday’s ago, we were finishing up chores and like he’s been doing since he was in fifth grade, Luke backed the tractor and manure spreader under the gutter cleaner….well, almost.

I was milking at the time when I heard the tractor making noises that weren’t normal to just backing it down the hill.  No, I heard it making sounds like it was trying to get out of a bad situation.  And when a disgusted Luke walked into the barn (I could tell by his walk) I knew he got the tractor stuck.

My curiosity got the best of me and I had to go look to see just how bad it was.  And because of my handy camera on my phone, I was able to snap this picture while they weren’t looking.  I don’t think they appreciate my picture taking of all of their mishaps!

The tractor spent the night there, in it’s little hole until the neighbor came down the next morning with his heroic John Deere and saved the day.

Some days your patience is truly tested.

It’s been a very icy week here on the Knolltop!  The kids had the week off from school simply because a bunch of frozen water…who would’ve thought?

I had the privilege of speaking last week at the Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmers group in a session called, Roles of Women in Agriculture.  Needless to say, I had a ball sharing with these ladies and getting to know a few more women in agriculture. 

While I was away from the farm, I had my own young lady in agriculture filling my shoes at home.  My daughter Sarah took over my role to make sure everyone had something to eat and then headed to the barn to milk the cows.  When I pulled in the driveway, I hurried out to the barn to help Sarah finish the chores.  While milking, she asked how my day went and then began asking what I shared with women.  I told her that women in agriculture are a very unique group.  They are determined, hard working and tenacious.  Then she asked what tenacious meant.  I told her it was someone who doesn’t give up, who works hard at getting something accomplished and won’t stop until it’s done. 

Then, like a light bulb turning on in my head I realized Sarah was a part of this unique group.  So I shared that with her and began telling her how impressive she is and how she displays all the wonderful qualities of this group of women. 

Then she said something that epitomized exactly what I had been saying, exactly what Women in Agriculture are all about; she said, “Whatever it takes to get the job done.”

I looked at her and said, “Wow, Sarah, do you realize that not every 15 year old girl has that kind of an attitude? You are one of a kind and I’m so glad that God gave you to me!”

Sarah continues to amaze me with her initiative to get things done and to work up to the level that is expected.  Not hearing any complaints when I ask her to do one more thing before she leaves the barn is so very satisfying for this mom. She is like a cool drink of water on a hot desert like day.  She is awesome!

Good Morning from a cold Knolltop.  It was 5 out this morning….but NO WIND!  YEEHAW!

I just wanted to alert you to another Knolltop Blog that is now available for your reading pleasure.  My son JW has created a blog called Knolltop Farm Kid. I’ve listed it on the right of this page.

While I’m here, let me give a Christmas update…..no tree…no fudge….no cards sent…..YET!  We will get the tree this weekend, I hope and then shopping next week.  Tonight the kids have their Christmas concert and tomorrow night Luke will have a basketball game. Sarah’s birthday is Sunday and I’ve yet to get her present.  I know what it will be, just haven’t gotten it yet. 

I hear the tractor so I’d better head out to bed the barn!

Good afternoon from a cold, windy Knolltop. 

Let me get this off my chest first; it’s cold outside and I don’t like it. I belong in the south. Actually, I think I was mis-born.  I should have been born in the south where you stay warm all the time and in the heat of the day you sit on the wrap around porch sipping iced tea or a Coke with the gentle breeze blowing, listening to the heat permeate the world around you feeling the humidity creep down your neck and trickle down your spine.

I know, that was way back before air conditioning.  Now everyone sits in the house and doesn’t go out until late at night when it cools off.  Nonetheless, I think my parents were supposed to be living down in Dixie but defiantly they chose to live in Michigan instead and have sentenced me to a life of bone chilling winters!  How’s that for blaming my parents for the weather?  HA!  Just joking mom!  Please don’t send my Christmas slippers back!!!!!

Here on the Knolltop, we are busy getting the barn ready for winter.  All the dry cows and heifers are now tied in the comfort stalls to keep the barn warm.  We have a bunch of dry cows that are due over the next few months.  I like looking at the heifers in the barn, to watch them grow and develop, up close and personal.  Usually they are put out in the steer barn for the winter and I only see them when they come up to eat the leftover cow feed in the bunk.  But now they are inside where I can keep track of their growth!

We got our Christmas ham delivered yesterday.  Some friends from Oklahoma generously sent us a ham for Christmas!  Although Robert continually takes jabs at the Big 10 and the lack of a football power, I listen to the poor, misguided soul.  Hey, I figure when you’re from Oklahoma, you need all the friends you can get! JOKE!  Please, don’t stop sending my heavenly ham!

Okay, now that I’ve offended two people, I’d better get off this computer and finish putting getting supper ready!  Have a great day!

Driving through rush hour traffic in Chicago, on our way home from World Dairy Expo, my phone rang, it was my son. He was calling to tell me his girlfriend had just been in a car accident and it was bad. I comforted him as well as I could from 150 miles away and told him we were coming home as quick as we could. But the most important thing he needed to do was pray.

Much to my dismay, my son called back and told me she had died. It was a shock for all of us to absorb that this young, vibrant, freshman nursing student at U of M was gone. She had just posted on Facebook that she was going to the fair with JW. She was home for the weekend and was looking forward to hanging with her friends. She was on her way to pick up her best friend but would never arrive that afternoon.

When I finally arrived home that evening, I sat down with my son and we both cried. I felt like the mother of a young boy again, like I could fix it all, but this time there was nothing I could do. No words would make him feel better; no actions could bring her back. This was the final chapter on earth for Leah and we had to close the book and move on.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, JW and I prayed together. I kissed him, told him I loved him and when I got up to leave I heard him crying quietly. At that moment, I realized nothing will ever prepare a mother to hear her 19 year old son quietly sobbing in pain. Nothing.

Sitting in the silence of my room, I began to sob as well. Why did we have to face days like this? Why do we have to hurt so much? Where did I sign my name to having my heart yanked out of my chest from a child’s pain?

The next few days were filled with waves of grief. Laughing about a situation one minute led to silent staring and a teary eyed glance the next. Each of my kids cried at different times and for different reasons. Unbelief was still staring us in the face as each night Leah didn’t show up at the door with her laptop and book bag ready to do homework.

Questions were asked, thoughts were pondered, stories were told and prayers were prayed.

In the high school gym, where three months earlier she had graduated as the salutatorian, we were sitting in the third row on the right staring at the flowers surrounding her casket. Poems were read, songs were sung and a message was preached. Having been through this before, I was prepared for the sentiments that washed over me and handled them with dry eyes. But when I looked to my left and saw my 17 year old with his jaw clenched and tears running down his face and then watched my 13 and 15 year old wiping their wet cheeks I began to stretch out my arms like a mother hen with her chicks offering a warm, comforting touch.

As I rubbed and patted and offered tissues, I listened to the sniffling teenagers behind me and wondered how I could offer them comfort as well. Then I looked into the bleachers and saw the hundreds of young, sorrowful faces and their pain was overwhelming to this mom.

When the service was over and we walked down the hallways of the school, lined with crying teenagers with seemingly no hope at all. I wanted to reach out to each one and tell them it was going to be okay. I wanted to let them know they could see Leah again, if they had a relationship with Jesus.

Honestly, I wanted to bring them all home, give them a cup of hot chocolate, some cookies and kiss and hug each one of them. But I couldn’t.

While I am assured hope springs eternal, some of these kids aren’t so sure. You see, without God there is no future with their fallen friend. But those who know Jesus have the promise that Leah is a much bigger part of their future than she ever was in their past. And that is our comfort today and the days to come.

It’s a typical fall Sunday afternoon on the knolltop.  A little cloudy, a little cool and quite lazy!

Normally at this time we would be loaded up and headed into the Hillsdale County Fair for a week of fun, but this year, instead we are going to World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.  We’ve been planning this trip for a year now and to say I’m excited is an understatement.  I have not been to expo since I was pregnant for Sarah! JW was 4 years old and Luke was 2. I can’t imagine what I enjoyed about having two toddlers to keep clean and out of everyone’s way at such a show in addition to having a big belly and an appetite to match.  Let’s just say the cream puffs were my mainstay!

But now Sarah is 14 and Jake is 13 and JW and Luke are old enough to stay home and milk cows!!!! Life just keeps getting better and better!

Right now, JW is in Madison getting ready to participate in the judging contest tomorrow morning.  They left on Friday and will be back sometime on Tuesday.  Then we will leave Wednesday morning….really…..really…..really early!

Now for a football update: Luke’s team is still undefeated!  They beat Colon last Friday night which was a big win for them.  And the Friday before was Homecoming and they beat Lenawee Christian!  Luke was on the Homecoming court with his girlfriend Jessie and I took lots of pictures.  Since I have a couple of minutes before I head out to the barn which is in two minutes, I will post a few pics.

 This is my personal favorite of them!  Love it!!!!

 Then he helps her back in her ride.  I’ve got some others to post but now I’m late for the barn!

It must be the mohawks that are doing the trick!  Good morning from a cool morning here on the Knolltop!

Last night Luke’s team won their third consecutive football game!  Not only did they win, but Luke and his buddy, Dewey both scored touchdowns! In addition, the game was on the radio and so their names were announced over the radio waves! Dewey ran the ball while Luke caught a pass and ran it in for the score.

So I asked myself the question, why are they doing so well?  Is there extreme athleticism?  Is it because they are savvy football players?  Is it because they practice hard and have a great team this year?

Nope.

Although all of those are great thoughts, I’m giving full credit for their football prowess to their stylish haircuts

–the Mohawks!

A couple of weeks ago, our good friend and hair stylist, Sue, came over to walk and brought her trusty scissors with her and ended up giving Luke and Dewey a mohawk.  Now some folks don’t think these haircuts are all that cute, but I have to say, the look has grown on me.  Actually, Luke is so cute in my book that I really don’t care what kind of haircut he has!

So as they venture onto homecoming next week and have to play Lenawee Christian, I wish them good luck because I don’t think it will be the shut out it was against Camden and Battle Creek St. Phil.

Luke and his girlfriend Jessie are also the Junior reps for Homecoming so we will have that wonderful halftime activity and of course the dance.  This morning we are headed to pick out the tux!

But first it’s time for cleaning!

Good Monday morning from the Knolltop. It’s cool and a little overcast but oh so nice!

Yesterday I said I would be back with more about Luke’s baseball showcase, but it’s today now. 

In July, Luke received a letter inviting him to a recruitment baseball came by IPFW. Indiana-Purdue Ft. Wayne University…or something like that.  He was excited and so was everyone else.  Because it was an all day thing, I was the lucky one who got to take him to Indiana!!!!

We arrived and signed in and he went on the field with about 100 other baseball players while all the parents sat around the field and watched.  It was fun to just sit and enjoy the day but honestly, it was like watching a glorified baseball practice. I sat in the sun and got toasted to a crisp.  It was 90 without a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze.  As hot as it was, I so enjoyed being able to just sit and focus entirely on my boy.  I watched him run bases, hit, catch a bunch of pitchers in the bull pen and then at lunch we walked to an auditorium to listen to the IPFW coaches talk about recruitment. 

We learned a bunch to say the least!  And while Luke is only a junior, we learned that this is the most important year of baseball if he wants to go on and play in college.

Of course I met a few friends while I was sitting around.  One mom from Taylor, Michigan was telling me about her son’s summer of playing 63 games of ball and the coveted letter from the Atlanta Braves asking him to come show off his stuff!  That was so exciting I was elated for the mom and I don’t even know her name!

I also met another mom who hails from my home county.  We laughed at the fact that we all drove to Indiana only to meet someone who knows exactly where you live 3 hours away!  I met a dad who had been married 3 times and who’s son is a superstar and a proud grandfather who was surprised that this 45 year old woman would be able to talk antique tractors with him.

It was a great day with Luke and gave us a glimpse into what his future could hold…but only if he works hard to exploit his God-given talent!

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning here on the Knolltop. Since we were too late for the early service, I’ve got extra time before the late service so I figured I would update this blog.  I’m so neglectful of it.

The past couple of weeks has been fun.  Not only are the kids in full swing with football and volleyball practices and even a football scrimmage last Friday evening….JW had a singing contest and Luke went to Indiana for a recruitment camp.

First, JW–he decided to enter a Kareoke contest at the Jackson County Fair.  We left chores for Sarah and Luke and we headed north to Jackson.  After witnessing two people in a brawl and the arrest of another guy while walking into the fairgrounds, I knew this was going to be a fun night in the city!  I took a picture of the guy getting slammed up against a building with the cops cuffing him and this guy walking by just laughed at me.  I remarked, “This just doesn’t happen back home!”

Then we went and listened to the contest, which was interesting to say the least.  Of course JW was the most handsome contestant…and I’m not saying that cause I’m his mom!  He really was….ask his girlfriend!

He did a great job!  But he didn’t win.  I’m not sure what their criteria was on selecting the winner, but I can tell you it had nothing to do with singing ability or voice quality.  Enough said.

Ok, now I have to change and get ready for church, so I will leave you with a couple of baseball pics and then come back and tell you about them!

Good Monday Morning from a sunny, warm Knolltop!

It’s Dairy Days this week and while we have no cattle going up, the kids will still participate in the contests.  Today is quiz bowl, so Luke, Sarah and Jake will go up for that while JW will be working for Koebels all week. 

Yes, JW is back in our midst, if only for a matter of hours before he leaves again.  I’ve been following him around like a puppy since he got home asking all about is NASCAR adventures.  We have laughed so much, mostly because of his story telling, he’s very good at it, but his view of NASCAR compared to so many others.

JW works for Competition Tire and they will go to a NASCAR race and mount and balance all the tires used by all the race cars.  Some of these cars will go through 15 sets of practice tires and then 20 sets for the actual race.  That is  an amazing number of tires if you ask me, especially at $500 per tire! 

Anyway, JW and the crew work down in the pits doing their tire thing right next to all the racing teams.  Normally this would impress a kid who loves fast moving anything on wheels but apparently we didn’t bring the boy up right, he is just not as impressed with the whole racing thing.  At least he’s not as impressed as the crazy NASCAR fans. He just likes to do his job and leave and could care less about the race. 

But it’s his rendition of the fans who see them at Taco Bell or Subway who spot them in their Goodyear uniforms and mistake them for a pit crew.  The NASCAR fanatics start giving them the thumbs up and yelling, “Yeah, Good Year, you part of the pit crew????”  And when they say no and explain they are just the ones who mount and balance Jr’s,  Jimmy Stewart and Jeff Gordon’s tires, they are even more impressed and then they start pointing at their vehicles and say, “Hey, we have Good Year tires! Yeah, we love Good Year!”

JW returns a smile and the thumbs up and walks away shaking his head.  He said he has never seen so many shirtless, big bellied men yelling, “Whoo! NASCAR! YEAH!” in his life. 

It’s another part of this world I have never been exposed to, even though we live just 30 minutes away from Michigan International Speedway. Although I have no desire to put on my tank top and grab a Bud Lite, I have enjoyed learning about this world through JW.

This week he will go back into the cow world and enjoy working with great cattle in East Lansing.

And now, I’ve got laundry to do, blueberries to fetch and a zillion other things that are patiently waiting for me!