No School!

The kids have the day off of school today since it warmed up and then cooled down just enough to ice the roads over. As of this morning we have very little snow...most of the ground is bare and it's very warm...41! I like this! But it's supposed to get cold and nasty tonight.

I don't care...I'm just glad to have the kids home. In fact, I found out that in all the craziness of teenagehood, they still are human...sometimes. When I came in last evening early from chores so I could go grocery shopping because I was working on a story most of the day yesterday, JW was standing there in the kitchen. I looked at him and I must have looked really stressed or something...even though I wasn't anymore stressed than any other day. He looked at me, reached out and gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. Wow....I kept waiting to hear the request....the confession...the other shoe to drop....but it didn't. He just wanted to hug me and tell me I was a great mom. Now we all know those moments are fleeting....so that's why I'm writing them here to tell you and I also wrote it down in my daily journal. That way I can look back and see that at one point, they are still human and somewhere I did something right as a parent. And some day, when I'm dead and gone, he may pick up my journal and read about his kindness and remember that he is a good person...and then he'll go read it to his wife in order to convince her that he's not the awful husband that she thinks he is! HA!

Well, I'd better get...but before I do...I have a prayer request from a reader named Sara...not my daughter...just Sara. She emailed it to me and because I know some of you who read this are wonderful prayer warriors....you'll want to stand in the gap for her. I'm seriously considering starting up a prayer blog...we could call it "knolltop prayer circuit" or "God's hotline"....or "You pray, He answers." Anyway...if and when I do that, I'll let you know! Here's Sara's situation.:

Let me just say right off how much I enjoy your blog. It just great... Finally someone who understands dairying and farming. It's just so refreshing.

Anyway my family (mother, grandmother, aunt and myself) are in need of much prayer at this time. We of course dairy which at times is its own prayer category, but this at present is more needed. :) This is the situation... after years of looking and much prayer we decided to get a new home. A modular or a stick built. It would be much faster than a stick built. ANYWAY all was going well... We had found a contractor for the basement, the loan was having a hard time going through or so she said because of the housing market troubles. In the beginning it was just supposed to be 30 acres with the other 130 free and clear. Well for it to go to construction loan it had to be the full 160. It was just going to be for 6 months and then the 130 would be free.

Well things happened. The contractor wouldn't give receipts or lien waivers. And now the 6 months are almost up. The house isn't on the basement as the contractor didn't give us the right height in the basement walls, there is no rebar to speak of and we've had to hire a lawyer since he has money that hasn't even been spent. The mortgage company says it's our fault for signing the draw forms but they didn't even get receipts and he (the contractor) wouldn't give them to them. All in all it's a royal mess.

The lawyer has sent out letters to all parties in this thing. I could go on but at the present time I will stop. At this point I don't know how to pray or what to ask for. All I know is the farm is in jeopardy (even though the lawyer says don't worry) I trust God and that he can work through our lawyer. We should have been moved in before Thanksgiving... Not being cold or having cats fall in thru the bedroom ceiling.

Thanks so much--Sara, Little Brown Cow Dairy