Experiencing a New Normal

After stopping at my Grandpa's, since we weren't too far from Des Moines, Jon decided to take us shopping.  We went to Jordan Creek Mall - but of course I had my usual luck - NONE!  So we decided to head home.  We thought it would be fun to have a hot dog roast with the kids in the new fire pit.  This is how it went down:   Jon told the boys to break up these sticks into smaller sticks.     Then he added a seed sack to the bottom of the pit.   Then we added our little sticks and paper to start it.     When nothing else works - get the diesel fuel!     Because of all the rain our fire pit had water in it.  We tried our best to get a fire going but had no such luck.  We had to resort to the grill.  Not quite as fun as cooking your own hotdog over the fire, but it sure did taste good!   We also played  h-o-r-s-e and a little one-on-one basketball....

Well, there are a couple of reasons I haven't blogged in awhile.  One, I've been sick.  And two, it has been crazy busy around here.  School is now over!!  I'm looking forward to having the boys home, spending time together and "making memories."  We were almost done with planting before all the rain happened.  And we are working on gutting the basement.  Our basement walls need to be fixed and in order to do that we have to gut the whole entire basement.  So we have been working on going through things, packing them up and getting them out of the basement.  So since it has been raining we've got Jon around to start working on that.  It's amazing the things you find and how different a room can look when you take out some carpet and tear up some walls and ceilings!  Here are a couple pictures of some of the progress we've made so far.    The boys REALLY enjoyed this part!! I must admit I did...

While we were traveling to cemeteries on Monday we ran into some flooding.  Mostly when we were around Union Mills.  We drove past the cemetery to the bridge - the North Skunk and found the following:         Well on the west side of this river is my Dad and Uncle Joe's field and pasture.  So we drove around the long way because the road that normally leads you to this field looked like this:       We finally got around to the other side to see the highest waters I've ever seen (in my lifetime) in this field.  It has flooded before, but never this high.  Thankfully my Dad, Uncles and cousin were able to move all the cows and calves before the water got too high.  My Dad has told the two people that live by there that their property value has just increased since now they have lake side property next to Lake Ferguson!  Way to be optimistic Dad!!  Here are some pictures of "Lake Ferg...

Jon and I had talked about taking the boys around to the different cemeteries where most of our relatives are buried.  We both remember going around with our parents doing the same thing and thought it would be a good idea to take the boys.  I know that they had been to most of the places, but also know that they had never been up to where my grandparents are buried.  I always liked doing this as a kid - it made me ask questions about those people that I never knew - questions I may never would have asked had we never been taken there.  I was hoping this would help our kids to ask those questions to learn more about their great grandparents.  We started off at Union Mills Cemetery.  Here we were able to "visit" TJ, Uncle Todd and many Ferguson relatives.  It was raining - so we didn't stay long.  Next was Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa.  While there we saw Grandpa Boender, Aunt Delores and some other non relatives.  We grabbed a bite to ea...

This morning started off a little better than usual mornings - all in the sense that I woke up before the kids and was able to shower before it was time to wake them up!  I got them all up, showered, fed and off to school and then it all went downhill from there.  I should rewind just a little bit.  Last night our small group went to the Serenity House (where TJ was for six weeks) to help do a service project.  We swept and power washed the decks, cleaned patio furniture, planted pots and washed screens.  I so desperately wanted to go and help.  The Serenity House had done so much for our family and I really wanted to give back - I just knew it was going to be hard.  It wasn't like this was the first time we had gone back there - I just had never gotten past the front desk when we have visited.  I wasn't sure beforehand all what we were going to do and where we might end up - it made me a little nervous.  I was thankful it...

So, Sunday when we were over at my parent's house, Charlie found a baby kitty.  That's not a rare thing to find, however it was odd that he could catch it and carry it around with him.  Of course he asked if he could keep it - I was quick to answer "I don't think so, it looks pretty little and it might need it's mommy."  Well, he kept carrying the thing wherever we went.  Both my Mom and Dad were quick to tell him he could take it home - you see I gave them one of our puppies, so they were more than ready to pass along a kitty to us!  I should rewind here just a bit - I'm not the biggest cat lover.  First off, I'm allergic to them.  Second, they can be so annoying - walking right under your feet at the most inappropriate times.  Plus I really didn't want this kitty - I knew it was going to require some extra doing on my part.  We tried feeding it in a little saucer while we were over there - which she didn't have figured out.  ...

In the summer of 2011 my Uncle Steve had a cow that had twins.  We were asked if we wanted a bottle calf - to which we answered YES!  We thought the boys were old enough to help take care of her.  So we cleaned up the cattle shed and made room for our new calf.  Of course we had to decide on a name - Hawkeye!  I guess the boys must have decided it was TJ's calf because he was the one that basically took care of her!  He did a pretty good job.  In fact for his 10th birthday he asked for a rope halter, scotch comb and pitch fork.  I do believe he thought about making her a 4-H project for the next year.  However, TJ got sick and Hawkeye quickly became everyone else's project.  We couldn't bear the thought of getting rid of her, so last summer we turned her out to pasture with my Dad's (Grandpa and uncles) cows and bull.  We made sure to put a green ear tag in her with her name on it!  This is not quite how Ferguson Angus do ...