Good Morning from a much warmer Knolltop. It’s sunny and the temps are climbing, this mild weather is a welcome reprieve from the subzero wind chills in recent days.

We travelled to Tekonsha the other night for Luke’s game and he got to start again! I realize that’s not a big deal to some, but for this mom, it’s big. I love watching my kids excel, what mom doesn’t? He also scored 13 pts…but they lost. Afterward we met Doug and Angie Myers for coffee and McDonalds, it was fun to catch up with them and laugh a little.

Tonight we will head to Bellevue for his game. JW and Sarah will finish up chores for us. They are so good to help us out like that, we are so blessed to have kids who are willing to give their time and energy for us and their siblings.

Okay, now I have a prayer request: I need a new dryer. My old one died. So, please put that on your prayer list and we will see how God decides to provide! I can’t wait to see what He has in store!

Now I have a column to write…..later!

Good Monday Morning from a cold Knolltop! We had a slight dusting of snow over night but nothing major. It’s 16 with a slight breeze…but nothing frozen in the barn! And I hear we are in for a heatwave later this week….our January thaw, perhaps?

Over the weekend, Sarah and I attended our county DHIA awards banquet. We garnered some pretty good door prizes..which is one of the things that keeps me going, other than I have to go to report on the event! Sarah picked out some lip gloss, shower gel and a water bottle. Yes, we had three chances at a door prize because a very generous Mark Adam gave us his number…..he always does….and that’s why I sit by him! No, not really, I love to catch up on what the world traveler is doing and of course we do a little gossiping along the way…nothing major, just who changed jobs, who’s working for who and who got married, etc. and a few other observations along the way.

Well, now it’s time to head back out into the cold and bed the cows!

Good afternoon from a snowy Knolltop! It snowed at least 5 inches since yesterday! The kids went to bed thinking there would be no school today but a 7 am, I delivered the unwelcomed news hearing groans of “NO!!!” right back at me.

The snow has quit now and it’s a pretty sunny winter day. Apparently we are in for some cold weather this weekend, stuff the plains states have been dealing with all week.

A buddy from Oklahoma, Robert Yeoman likes to send me his daily weather report. His weather sounds like Michigan. Yesterday morning he had 11 degrees and 30 mph wind. Yesterday afternoon he texted 25, sunny and still. I had visions of Oklahoma being warm and sunny this time of year, guess my visions were only dreams!

Our Hillsdale County DHIA banquet is this weekend, that’s always a nice dinner out with friends from around the county. And great door prizes. Honestly, it’s the unending ice cream sundae bar and door prizes that keep me coming back every year!

Timer’s going off…my granola is done!

Good Morning from a balmy Knolltop. It’s 28 out this morning! I took my sock hat off in the barn, I was so warm! And i know when I go back out to bed, I will be sweating! This is good, very good because I think we are in for a cold snap this weekend!

Last night the kids did chores so Bobby could go with me to a meeting in Lansing. This was actually my meeting but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay awake on the way home, so I asked if he would go and much to my surprise he said yes! It was a Purebred Dairy Cattle Association meeting, so he just took the Agriview with him and read it while we discussed the matters at hand.

It was a very profitable meeting, they fed us pizza and then I brought home some of the leftovers! Guess what we’re having for dinner tonight?

Better get out to the barn…I’m a little late….

Good Morning from a warmer Knolltop. It was 20 this morning when we walked across the road to milk the cows. Sooooo much better than single digits!

Luke called me at 6 am to make sure Jake and Sarah would have a ride to school if he went in with JW to pitch. Well, actually JW pitches and Luke catches. I was amazed that this 16 year old would care enough to call me to make sure he didn’t have to come home and get them….wow.

Jake had to take his oven into school today. He came home yesterday and informed me he had to make an oven out of a box, foil and a light bulb. An hour later he was bringing a warmed up piece of pizza to me that he had warmed in his new oven. It worked and he was beaming! The old Easy Bake Oven has nothin‘ on ol Jake!

The fire is warm, the coffee is hot, the weather is snowy, it’s a good day to stay inside and enjoy the warmth!

Christmas has come and gone and we are embarking on a new year and I haven’t once said Merry Christmas from a snowy Knolltop! So….Merry Christmas from the Knolltop!

It’s been a great holiday so far. I think I have spent more time enjoying the holiday this year than in years past. I spent Christmas Eve in the shopping malls doing all of my buying and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Actually, it was very nice. There were bargains galore and not that many people. Three of my kids when with me and we had a great time.

Then after Christmas I went shopping again for the extended family Christmas and we again, had a great time shopping. We even had lunch out….that was so much fun!

On Christmas day we had no trouble in the barn at all. We got in, opened presents, visited with each other and then I went to the kitchen and began cooking. We had a wonderful meal together stuffing ourselves to the gills and then layed around for a little while longer before we headed back out to the barn to work it off.

Christmas with my extended family was a total riot. We did a gift exhange this year where we picked a gift and then traded if we wanted to. I was afraid it wasn’t going to work and the kids would hate it, but it was quite the opposite, they loved it! And the one gift I bought that I thought was going to be the reject was the most beloved gift of my nephew Adam. He loved the hot chocolate kit!

In celebration of Sarah’s birthday, Grandma took Sarah and me to a nail salon and we got pedicures and manicures and then went out to lunch! Now that was sooooo much fun! We have beautiful hands and toes and a great day of memories. I think I could get hooked on pedicures!

Now today, I’m trying to get organized, but it’s not going well. I guess I can do that tomorrow…I wouldn’t want to ruin my perfect year of chaos!