Paint Time!

Joe got the boys started.  Each day they worked, it was a race against the wind.  Here

in the valley, the wind comes sailing through about noon each day, so the race was

on to get the primer coat on before the wind hit!

These boys are naturals!  Using the paint sprayer came easily to them!

It was a great learning "first experience" paint project!

The next day, the silver paint went on and once again Isaac and Joshua did

a great job!

Joe's become the Tin Man!

The boys, ALL THREE OF THEM, thought this was great fun!

They were messy, hot, sweaty, and got the job done - that's a win in their books!

Next up...........a new floor in the bottom of the trailer!

Sanding the Old Trailer

This old stock trailer originally belonged to Joe's dad, and after it became ours, it has seen

many trips, both local and long distance, filled with "stuff"!

It was in dire need of a new paint job, and Joe decided this was a good project

for the boys to practice on.

They did a GREAT job!

Great job, guys!  Now on to the primer and the spray paint!

Guess Who's 13?

And just like that, this young man turned thirteen years old!

Isaac is : happy, motivated, athletic, Jesus-loving, obedient, sometimes goofy,

very helpful around the house, has tremendous hand-eye coordination, a vegetable lover,

an incredible salad eater, loves all things orange and red, is very patriotic, and an all around great son, brother, and uncle!!

Psalm 119:9

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your Word.

A hearty breakfast started the day!

Joshua, the family artist, made his brother a fabulous card!

He was very blessed on his special day and received special phone 

calls from his siblings!

A new library bag........for when the libraries open back up!!

We will be looking for a new LEGO set for you and Joshua once
we are back up in Nebraska!

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY, ISAAC!
YOU ARE MUCH LOVED!!

Covid 19 - Part 3: Taking Long Walks in the Country!

The weather has been so lovely over the last month, and with the social distancing

requirements,  and not going anywhere except for 

the rare grocery store visit, Joe and I have been doing a lot more walking.

We live on 140 acres at the end of a dirt road, so there are not many people out and

about at all!  Just the occasional farmer and his tractor, or a remote neighbor.

The skies have been quite beautiful with all the different cloud formations.

The signs of spring are among us also!

Our fruit trees have been flowering out, and the bees love them!

So this is the beauty we see on a daily basis, and we are eternally grateful for our 

secluded little neck in the woods!

Covid19: Part 2: What the Boys Have Been Up To

Being homeschoolers, we haven't experienced the drastic changes that some families have.

The boys definitely miss going to church and AWANA, going out to the occasional

restaurant, and just being out in public doing errands!

WE ALL DO!!!

School continues just the same.

They've had lots of outdoor time with the weather being so nice and warm!

Isaac and Joshua have kept up their creativity with LEGOS and other

 building activities, both inside and out!

Then, the LEGOS were added to the battle plan.

They have also enjoyed having time with Willie here at the farm!

Willie continues to enjoy long naps in the warmth!

So we will keep on keeping on until this nasty virus disappears!

Hope all of you are doing well!

"Safe-at-Home" Covid19 - Part 1: Cooking and Baking!

My goodness, how things can change in just a month.

Last time I posted, Beth and I had just had our fabulous Girls Weekend, and our family

was beginning to think about heading back up to Nebraska.

With all of the terrifying news out there, we decided to stay put in Arizona for the

foreseeable future.   Enjoying the warm temperatures and sunny skies, and not traveling

seems to be the safest measure to take at this point.  It could all change, however.

We are all really wanting to head back north to the land of green and where the majority

of our comfort items are.  But we are grateful and content to be enjoying life

here on the farm.

So, for this blog post I am going to focus on the thousands of meals I seem to be cooking!

I would LOVE to go out to a restaurant.....but not now.

So this was Joe and me the other day at our local Safeway during "Senior Shopping Hours"!!

I am so glad we are considered seniors!!

We load up for several weeks at a time so we don't have to repeat this rather 

stressful shopping experience.

Isaac and Joshua are eating a TON these days - major growth spurts!

Once we get home we have the new-and-not-so-delightful job of now sanitizing everything

before we put it away in the cabinets.

Life used to be so easy!!

Joshua helped me to soap up all of our produce.

I decided to make my famous cheese braid for a special treat for the family.

My rolling pin is in Nebraska, so I had to improvise with an empty bottle that I filled

with water - it worked great!

Fresh baked bread smells so amazing, and this recipe is fabulous!

This recipe makes two loaves, and the first one was devoured before it even cooled down!

Joshua requested banana bread, and fortunately I had a bread pan here.

Joe requested chocolate chip pecan muffins!

Sugar free, of course!

Isaac has turned into the Bacon Man at our house!  

I have a limited number of pans and dishes here in Arizona, so our meals have not been

overly creative.  I only have one cookbook here, but we are doing well enough.

I just feel as if I have cooked about 5,000 meals so far this month!