Knolltop Farm Wife

Fourteen months ago, JW's girlfriend, Leah Ward was taken from this earth in an unfortunate car accident. Although we miss Leah greatly and her death was so tragic at the time, we know that she is spending her boundless time in a mansion built just for her in heaven. Wanting to make things just a little easier for Leah's mom, JW decided he would make a quilt out of Leah's t-shirts. This was a big undertaking, especially for a 19 year old who had barely cut a piece of fabric, much less any other kind of sewing. JW enlisted the help of his brave grandma, who also had never really made a whole quilt from start to finish and his great Aunt Sande who was proficient in quilt making. They put the top together and then it was time for JW to quilt it. JW brought it home and I couldn't wait to see it. He unfolded it and as he spread it out on the floor, my reaction suprised me; I began to cry. You see, I saw Leah in those shirts. It was as if she had somehow come to lif...

The baby of the family has a lot of advantages but on the farm, if the baby is a boy this can work to his disadvantage, especially if he likes to run equipment but has older brothers who never vacate the tractor seat long enough for the youngest to get a chance to do anything. Luke and JW have their strengths when it comes to the farm scene.  JW is good with the cows and seems to enjoy working with them while Luke is the tractor man. He would rather load, unload, drive or wrench on anything that moves on wheels. Jake on the other hand would love to drive stuff, but gets the leftovers of the farm.  He does everything from mowing the lawn to folding the laundry.  His duties range from feeding calves and helping mix feed to making hot chocolate and keeping us from ever hearing silence. But yesterday he got a chance to be pure farmboy. While normally on a Sunday everyone does what they want....anything but work, the neighbor had a different plan in mind which included ...

While I reminisced about football yesterday, the North Adams JV volleyball team was on the brink of an undefeated season and when the left Hillsdale Academy they left undefeated!  This is a great accomplishment but unfortunately because they are "Just JV" they will stand in the shadows of a really great varsity team--which also left the floor last evening as league champions. This awesome JV team also worked hard and came home tournament champions two weeks in a row. Beating some great teams, these girls pushed through and played like winners. This varsity team, much like their male counterparts are used to winning and have proven that this season. Next week they will begin district play and should go deep into the play-offs!  I look forward to watching this team of girls play with heart and come out on top!

If was finished last Friday night. They didn't want it to be done, in fact, they thought there may have been a chance they could keep going but mistakes, overconfidence, anger and apathy were the leading cast of characters that determined their destiny that ended their hopes of ever going any futher.  Instead they will turn their uniforms in today for the last time. It was parent's night last week at North Adams-Jerome on the gridiron. The boys lined up in numerical order and waited as their parents were introduced taking their place in a line across the field. With roses in hand, some mothers were crying while proud fathers held in their emotion as the senior boys walked up the 50 yard line flanked by the two people who supported them, loved them and watched them succeed and fail over the years. I took my pink rose, hugged Lukie and we held hands as we stood and cheered for the other boys. While I wasn't nearly as emotional about this evening as other ...

It's a cool, blustery, kind of rainy day on the Knolltop.  The chores are done for the morning and now Bobby is hauling manure....an endless job it seems. It's a strange Friday, we have no games tonight which is kind of nice. After chores we can just come in and relax instead of changing quick and heading to a school like we've done for the last three nights.  While Bobby was at Sarah's game and Jake was working the chain gang and JW was at class, Luke and I milked the cows and reconnected. Although I don't always enjoy getting up early every morning or stopping everything I'm doing at 4:30 in the afternoon to go milk cows, when I get to spend an hour with one of my kids and we can carry on an unterrupted conversation about the Tigers, college plans, the ACT, the football season or whether Walmart spagettios are as good as Franco-American, then it makes it all worth it. Many life decisions are made inbetween dipping, wiping and milking.

It happens every night they are home together. The quiet conversation between two brothers as they meet in the kitchen to catch up on each other's lives.  They are as opposite as day and night. One is focused, the other is not. One is quiet, the other is not. One is endearing, the other is direct. But over the years they have followed each other around through good and bad and have cultivated a unbreakable bond. Last night as I lay in bed I could hear them. One was doing dishes and the other eating spagettios out of a pan. Snickering and laughing their conversation could not be detected. It's too hushed, too quiet, too private. On one hand I would love to hear what they talk about, but on the other I realize it's just meant for brothers to hear, not for moms. So I will continue to lay in my bed and listen to the brothers giggle and laugh knowing that as they share each other's lives they continue to add a layer of strength onto their already solid friendship and thank...

Needless to say it's a busy place around the Knolltop with beautiful weather now hanging on for about three weeks.  I've gotten zilch done because this is the first week I've been home or without some major event happening in three weeks. First I went to Harrisburg, PA for the All American Dairy Show with Danielle Nauman and had a great, but quick time.  We drove all night, not recommended for two middle aged women, got to the show and began our show coverage which didn't quit until we left after the show.  Then we had two days to get ready for the county fair. This wasn't too bad since the kids are older and I've limited how many projects they take.  Plus the kids can take care of the cattle without me, which is sooooo nice.  Then I left the next week for World Dairy Expo.  I had a great time there too, but I think I'm too old for this kind of schedule.  I feel like I'm still recovering. I drove all night from Madison to get home at 5 am Frida...