More gift opening!

And now we finally eat....this is the kids table...with Aunt Amy as the chaperone! HA!

Christmas dinner and you know they all hate it when I make them take a minute to pose for the camera!

Can you see the "J" for Jesus in my apple pie? I thought it was picture worthy....???

Doing dishes at moms....nothing's changed over the years....yes feel sorry for me now..please...

Opening gifts at moms....Sarah peeks into Gramps gift.

Here are a few scenes from Christmas 09 at the Knolltop and at Gramps and Grandmas


Our tree all lit up on Christmas eve....I'm no photographer!

Bobby read the Christmas story from his grandfather's Bible. You can see the weathered pages and if you look real close you can see the sermon notes--he was a pastor.

Jake loves his new Javon Ringer jersey...the old one was skin tight on him and he still wore it!

Luke got a new tool box....he spent Christmas day organizing it...so much fun!

Holidays are almost over

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!

Proud Mom!

Good Friday Morning from a cloudy but mild Knolltop!

Okay, I just have to do a little bragging here.....for those who don't care...I'm sorry, but I am so proud!

Last night, Luke had a basketball game at Jackson Christian. Now he's a sophomore playing Varsity. He and three other sophomores were moved up because....it was just a good idea.

Anyway, because one of the seniors had been sick, Luke got to start! And although they lost, he was also the high scorer! I'm proud...yes, I am proud. Okay, now that's done.

Jake is home on the couch today with a hurt ankle. Well, at least that's what the school nurse said. I think he'll be okay.....he was asking if we were going shopping today, so unless he's planning on getting a motorized cart in Walmart, I think he's on the mend.

Tomorrow is Sarah's birthday, so I've got to go get her things today, because from here on out, any shopping trip that I make, she will be glued to my hip.....so I've got to get her gifts today!

Better get!

JW the Christmas Elf

Good Morning from a sunny Knolltop!

It's been busy around here with getting ready for Christmas. We put our tree up Monday evening because the kids didn't have school due to the ice. So I took full advantage of all the help. The bad news was Luke didn't have a basketball game that night either.

But Luke will play tomorrow night in Jackson.

JW is busy taking orders for Christmas goodies. He's selling to his teachers and I think the big draw is that HE has promised to make the, not is mother. I like this! This month this was a no brainer.....now we are busy trying to come up with a January holiday to sell goodies for!

Better head to the barn!

Nothing Frozen!

Good Morning from a COLD WINDY but NOT FROZEN YET Knolltop.

It was 9 degrees last night with a 25 mph wind. Our barn should've been frozen from one end to the other, but when we went in this morning we only found one frozen drinking cup!

Yesterday morning Bobby asked if I would find a couple of heaters to borrow for the night since we were going to have a killer windchill. So, as soon as I came in from the barn, I made a phone call and nabbed one heater but I still needed another one. Several things occupied my day like my dad coming down to fix our cornstove so we had some source of heat since the day before the furnace man informed us we needed a new furnace!

I kept thinking about getting another heater, but it kept slipping my mind. The day was getting late and I still hadn't come up with another heater and I found myself dreading the night. So I kept praying that God would put someone in my mind who would have a heater we could borrow.

One of the boys best buddies, Dewey, came home from school with them and I knew his dad was one of these industrial types that had one of everything, so I asked if they had a heater. He said Yes! Then of course I asked, "Does it work?" Another Yes! "So, can we borrow it?" He called his dad and he said YES!

Sarah and I milked while Bobby, Luke and Jake fed and closed up the barn and set up one of the heaters in the south end of the barn...the end that is prone to freezing.

Coming in from chores, we enjoyed Sarah's delicious eggnog and some popcorn then everyone went to bed while I waited up for JW who hadn't come home from working for Mr. Kyser yet. Finally at 10pm, he walked in the back door and I breathed a sigh of relief!

He began explaining why he was so late. After they got done working for Mr. Kyser they went and helped a guy who's chimney fell down in the windstorm. He said it was mighty cold standing in the bucket of the loader tractor helping with that chimney with 30 mph winds whipping around!

When they finished helping him, he took Dewey home, got the heater from Dewey's dad, filled it with fuel and set it up in north end of the barn. And this morning when we went to the barn, the heaters were humming, the barn was warm and everything was aces!

Now it's time to head back out in this awful weather to finish up chores!

Turkeys times two

It's another cool, cloudy morning here on the Knolltop!

I've been waiting to share this story for a week now, but every time I sit down, it slips my mind!

A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed a man from southern Hillsdale County named Jim Gier(shown above). The purpose of the story was to write about his hobby, building horse drawn wagons. I found out about him from his daughter Penny who asked me if I was interested in the story and by the way, it was his birthday in November. So of course, because I think the world of Penny, I have ever since she and I worked together at The Farmers' Advance, I agreed to write the story.

While interviewing Jim, I was drawn to him. He was just one of those folks you didn't want to leave. He was so kind, full of great stories and had a deep compassion for dairy farmers since he had milked cows himself.

I wrote the story and hoped everyone liked it. The day after Thanksgiving I was sitting at my computer writing while the washer was going and folded laundry sat on the table and I heard a knock on the door. I looked and it was Jim and his wife Ruth!

Jim said he had something for me in the trunk of his car, so I followed him out and Ruth and he pulled out two 20 pound turkeys! He said he had just gotten them on sale and thought our family could use them!

I invited them in and we sat and visited about our respective Thanksgivings, he told a few stories and then they got up to leave. Before he left, he looked at me and said, "Just hang in there, I know the dairy business is tough right now, but the Man upstairs will take good care of you."

A lump swelled in my throat as tears came to my eyes and I gave him a hug and said, thanks. They left and I just marveled at God's grace and love. Sending this retired couple to give me just the boost I needed proves just how much God loves each one of us!

Table Linens

Good Morning from a cool and kind of cloudy Knolltop!

Wasn't that elf thing funny? I had a friend from PA send that to me and I laughed for at least 10 minutes. Then when I collected myself, I made one with my kids and me. You can only have five elves, so I didn't stick Bobby in...I should have! What a hoot!

When the kids got home they watched it and we all laughed together! Then while we were milking we were trying to do the dance moves...of course we weren't nearly as good in our barn clothes as we are in our elf outfits!

I said I would share a little more of thanksgiving, so I will now. Today's topic is simple. Linen. More specifically, linen tableclothes. My mom and I love linens and she has a boatload of old linens her mom gave to her. She loves to starch and iron them and hang them up to admire. I have to admit, there is nothing better than a freshly starched tablecloth.

Then it was time to set the table for Thanksgiving we practially had a tablecloth unveiling. She brought them down and we pleasingly spread them on the table, placed the Haviland china around and admired how beautiful the linens were.

Then she said something I hadn't thought of. She said she likes to think about all the people who sat down to dinner with these tablecloths. Who they were, what they were like, what their dinner conversation was like. I had never thought about that aspect of a tablecloth.

Then she brought out another tablecloth for the kids table.

It was equally as beautiful, but it had one interesting mark, it had been patched. Some woman who cared enough about her linens sat down with a needle and thread and took time to carefully patch her tablecloth. It's quite amazing when you think about it. In our world of throw away everything, this wonderful piece of history had been preserved and knowing how much she cared for her linen spurs us onto making sure we treat it with care.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Beautiful Morning!

Good Morning from a beautiful sunny Knolltop! It may be chilly, but it's pretty!

It's been busy here, obviously with no posting for so long. I guess if you want to keep up with me when I'm not here, you'll have to go to Dairy Agenda Today. But I will try to give this blog more attention.

I'm headed out to the barn, I've been waiting for my overalls to dry. I just had to wash them this morning after chores, they just get so icky!

I've got thanksgiving pics to show you...but I'll leave you with one now.