Good Morning from a partly cloudy, breezy, cool day here on the Knolltop.

Last night Luke’s team beat Mason 22-6! They did a great job the first half, but they didn’t play so well the second half. Luke was disgusted with himself….but he didn’ t throw any interceptions…so I’d say he had a great game!

For those of you who don’t get Dairy Agenda Today, let me copy what I posted there, then you will get the gist of my day yesterday.

Yesterday was game day for my son’s football team. Invariably he will bring home extra boys who don’t have anywhere to go between school and game time. So they come to our house to eat a good meal before the game.

At 1 pm yesterday I began to cook what I thought was a meal that would take no time at all. But as I finished preparing one dish, I would think of something else I should cook. Two hours later I had a table full of boys chowing down on a hot meal of baked pork chops, homemade stuffing, sweet potato casserole, cheesy potatoes, steamed broccoli, baked apples and homemade rolls with warm cookies for dessert.

After dinner the race to the game was on. I stacked the dishes in the kitchen, sat down at the computer to edit my son’s essay. A couple of phone calls later I found I was late to the barn so I changed my clothes while talking on my cell and headed to the barn where I got everything ready to milk. I made a quick phone call to JW to make sure he was taking the boys into the school for the game and picking Sarah up from volleyball practice. Once I started milking I called to remind the calf feeder he had better get his chores done pronto if he wanted to go to the game with Daddy and me. Forty five minutes later I was handing off my dipper to my relief milkers, JW and Sarah, so I could head to the football game with Bobby who was on the chain gang.

Arriving 15 minutes early to the game, which is unheard of for me, I had time to edit more of JW’s essay before I had to get bundled up to sit in the bleachers with the other 10 parents who braved the wind and drizzle to watch our boys rack up 22 points to lead a Class A school team at the half.

Hopping back in the truck I ran home to get JW and Sarah so they could come watch the girls volleyball game that was being played in the gym. Back in the bleachers and getting kind of cold, I watched as our boys won the game 22-6. Gathering up all six of us, we headed back home where we analyzed the game and relaxed before bed. I edited the rest of JW’s essay and gathered the news for another day and was happy to lay my head on my pillow.

And so goes another game day on a dairy farm where family has to be willing to pull together so everyone can get where they need to be and others can go where they want to go.

As you can see it was a busy day, the morning was filled with errands! Now I’ve got to polish up a column and be done with the writing for the week.

Good chilly morning from the Knolltop!

I know, I know, I’ve been neglecting this blog….again!

Monday night Sarah had a VB game and they remain undefeated! They will play Litchfield tonight and I think they should do well. Tomorrow night Luke plays an non-league game against Mason. He called his uncle Rex last night for some scouting tips since Rex used to be the athletic trainer there….a long time ago. From what I heard they had a great conversation…and Rex offered his scouting tips. Let’s see if they work.

We had another bull calf the other morning…boy he is big. It’s nice to have another fresh cow. The manure spreader broke Monday, so last night when Luke got home from football practice he had to help his dad get that fixed…they were all glad to be in for the night. Jake and I were snacking on caramel corn when they got in. I made regular popcorn too, so Bobby sat with his bowl of popcorn and I had my caramel corn and we were livin‘ it up!

I just filled the truck up and I bought a donut while I was in there so….it’s time for a fresh cup of coffee before I head back out to bed the barn!

Good Morning from a rainy knolltop!

Harvest may never get done a this rate, this rain needs to cease!

Last night we didn’t get to go to Luke’s game. Things kind of mounted up here and it was just not feasible. The game was 90 minutes away and so even if we had gotten all the chores done, we still would not have gotten there to see any of it, so we had to stay home. Poor Luke, I’ve been bombarding him with questions since he walked through the door to see what went wrong with this 38-14 loss. (or something like that). It was a tough team and they have a great program, so I really didn’t expect them to win anyway…but you never know.

JW painted his face up and went to the varsity girls volleyball game against Camden. We won, we are fourth in the state! Those girls are great! JW looked so funny.

Okay, an update on Heath, the guy who fell off the silo. I didn’t hear anything yesterday but since I posted on this blog, the swelling was going down on his brain, which is an answer to prayer and his vitals are stable and he’s breathing on his own. The doctor said the first 72 hours were critical and we’ve passed that now. So keep praying! God is answering prayer!

Time to go bed the barn!

The sun is trying to peek through on this windy morning from the Knolltop!

Okay, before we go any further, I need to ask for more prayer. Heath Penick, a dairy farmer from Orland, Indiana, fell off a silo last weekend and is laying in the hospital in a coma. He’s got numerous broken bones, facial damage, swelling on the brain, but his vitals are stable and he is breathing on his own. He is a young husband and father and the whole family could use your prayer!

Things are a little more “normal” here. No games last night except for watching the Tigers lose to the Twins….bummer. Jake, Sarah and I played cards and ate popcorn while we watched the tigers. Jake tried to cheat, but I wouldn’t let him. He’s slick.

I’m supposed to be in the barn bedding the cows but I haven’t even had my second cup of coffee yet and I was going to wash my overalls before I went back out and I just remembered they are still laying on the laundry room floor!

Yes, …it’s time for more coffee!

It’s a cool, rainy, breezy day here on the Knolltop. We’ve had a hard freeze and the crops are turning brown, but the grass doesn’t seem to stop growing!

My mower is in the show again and the grass needs attention! So on this cold day, I’m staying inside and not looking out.

Last week we had our county fair and I have to say it was the easiest one ever. Jake and Sarah had their calves, Sarah entered an apple pie, for which she received an A award and a creative writing piece, which I didn’t fix….too much…. and she received a B award. Yes, we were both bummed. Guess I need to edit a little more next time.

They had average calves this year and did just that, average! Sarah won showmanship, Jake just had fun. The victory in the medocre week was that I didn’t have to harp and hound them to get the job done. They knew what to do and did it. Luke took them out, bedded the pack while they washed the calves and in no time they were finished with chores. I actually didn’t get too worn out, kept a handle on the laundry and wasn’t irritable.

Older kids are a whole lot easier to take to the fair than younger ones!

I’ve been gone from this blog so long I almost forgot my password to post!

I’m sorry for neglecting it, but after I got home from Harrisburg we jumped head first into the county fair and the Agenda was also covering World Dairy Expo, so I was trying to make sure that was going smoothly from 500 miles away.

Anyway, the fair is over WDE is history, everyone is back under one roof and I can hear my family watching the Packers and the Vikings in the background. So instead of posting on this blog, I’m going to go join them!

See you in the Morning!

Good morning from a soggy Knolltop! It’s been raining off and on since last night.

Okay, here’s an update on the family who I asked you to pray for. Jessica Wier and Jackie Wier were in a car accident in Idaho. Jessica was killed while Jackie was treated and release from the hospital. Please continue to pray for this family.

Also, I could use some prayer too. My mom and I are headed for Harrisburg, PA tomorrow for three days for the All-American Dairy show to cover it for Dairy Agenda Today. So, yes, that’s how I can go, certainly wouldn’t be going if I were footing the bill! So please pray for my family here while I’m gone. I know they can handle things without me, but I don’t want any major things going wrong while I’m gone.

Then as soon as I come home we will be doing last minute preps for the fair. Oh, I am so not ready for the fair!

Now it’s time to bed the barn and get the cows back in. Later!

For those of you who are inclined to, I ask that you stand in the gap for a local family who have experienced tragedy. I just heard on the radio that, Jessica Wier, a 19 year old local gal was killed in an auto accident while out west. The family lives on a farm in the southern part of the county. She was apparently riding in a vechicle with some others, including her twin sister, who is in intensive care in a hospital out west.

Please pray for her parents, they homeschooled these twin girls and they are one of the nicest families I know. I’m sure the family would appreciate your prayers at such a difficult time.

Thank you!

It is another wonderful day here on the Knolltop. It’s sunny but cool, I wore a turtleneck to the barn this morning and didn’t get any too warm!

There are so many things to do and now I”m feeling the fair crunch. I was good until I began thinking about the projects that still aren’t done. I really wanted to get them done before now, but I’m not that organized yet. I heard on Randy Carlson talk about doing one thing each day that is intentional. And if you continue to do that one thing soon it will be a habit and then you do another thing that’s intentional. Pretty soon you’re living an intentional life and that’s the goal.

So my intentional thing is to do things NOW, not later. I’m trying, but obviously it didn’t work with the 4-H projects.

Last night Luke’s football team beat Pittsford, 40-22 or something like that. It was a great game….for us. Luke had two touchdowns, two interceptions and ran for a 2 point conversion. He had a good night even though there were a couple of parents at the game who took it upon themselves to tell Luke what he was doing wrong. Yes, this mama bear came out and all I can say is next time a parent in the stands feels the desire to take on the coaching responsibilities for my child……I will be opening my mouth and it ain’t gonna be pretty!

More of the Rummage Sale!

Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

The men’s section.

And here is the women’s section.