Date Day!

October 29, 2011

I played hooky from school yesterday. :)

My husband surprised me on Thursday night with the news that he had to take off for the eastern part of the state in the morning to pick up some parts for work.

And he asked me to go along.

I think I actually squealed! An entire day with my husband! Whee!

Even the 6:00 AM departure didn’t lessen my excitement – it just meant sharing an amazing sunrise with him as we traveled east.

I didn’t even mind the almost 2 hour wait while Jan had the parts cut and loaded. I got to sit in the quiet van and read. What a treat!

While our kids were home eating left-overs for lunch  – we were sitting on a park bench by the river shared a sub sandwich and soaking up the sunshine.

Things just got better and better!

Our first stop of the afternoon was at the famous Dutchman’s Store in Cantril. Think an Amish Wal-Mart. It takes almost an entire city-block and sells everything from food to quilting supplies. It’s like our little Amish store on steroids.

StoreWe obviously found some things we just couldn’t live without!

My favorite purchase was the carton of fresh chocolate/peanut butter. We ate it by the spoonful all afternoon!

Our next stop was the Milton Dairy where we had to sample every variety before finally choosing a package of tomato/garlic cheese curds.

Amazing!

We stopped at several thrift stores before heading back west as the sun was setting.

The weather was perfect.

The autumn landscape beautiful.

The company ideal.

Jan said it was the best day of work he’s had all week.

Yeah, me too! :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Autumn, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Fun, Food and Family

September 30, 2011

My mom and dad are here! :)

You know what that means – lots of laughter, lots of food, and lots of projects!

Pedro and Dad were carrying in a door frame for the boys closet within 2 hours of his arrival yesterday. That frame now has a really cool vintage bead board door in it! He worked himself out of projects this afternoon which gave him time to enjoy some fishing with Buddy.

Today our morning began with the annoying sound of the Amish neighbor’s train whistle at 5:45 AM and ended with an archeological dig in the dishwasher to see why it wasn’t cleaning my dishes. (I’m just glad it wasn’t an autopsy!)

We hit 2 Amish stores, 2 garage sales, 2 grocery stores and 2 thrift stores.

We enjoyed a decadent mocha cream brownie, a spicy rich apple crisp, and a pan of super hot poppers.

We took walks, picked vegetables, and sang along with The Music Man.

And we laughed.

Trust me – grocery shopping is much more fun when Nana is pushing the cart! Who knew she felt so strongly about protecting my lettuce?! She even held it in her lap all the way home! You should have seen her jump when Dagmar pretended to put the ice cream on top of it!

Then there was the Amish woman who sideswiped us at the grocery store in her effort to get to the sale flour before we did. We stared in astonishment as she used her cart and ample back side to block us until she had all the flour she wanted.

When she had backed off a little, I slid in and grabbed 2 bags. I would have taken more – but I was more than a little scared of her!

Couldn’t you just see the headlines?!  “Local Woman Accosted by Amish Grandmother in the Baking Aisle of Neighborhood Grocery Store”.

I’m sure Dagmar, Angel Girl and Nana would have protected me with the bag of sale bananas! :)

And the fun’s not over yet! Tomorrow’s agenda includes 2 estate sales, another garage sale, a couple projects, and more time at the pond fishing.

Happy weekend everybody!

By Country Gal | Posted in Family Traditions, Memories | Tagged , | Comments (2)

A Labor Day Tribute

September 5, 2011

a labor day tributeWe said good-bye to a friend and neighbor this weekend.

As I sat in her memorial service and watched slide after slide of her life flash by on the screen and listened to friends and family share stories – I remembered again why I respected Kathy so much.

She did the right thing – even when it was hard.

Years ago she saw that her only granddaughter was in an abusive situation and she stepped in.

She voluntarily took on a very needy 3 year old and loved her.

While other ladies her age were taking trips – she was potty training.

While others had extra spending money – Kathy was paying for new shoes, new glasses and new clothes.

While others enjoyed Bingo and club meetings – she was helping with 4H projects and figuring out how to home school.

She took that little girl from a neglected toddler, through childhood, adolescence and the teen years.

She invested her time, her resources, her life into that young child.

I saw that little girl at the service. Becky is now in her twenties and finishing up college – a poised, mature and beautiful young lady with a strong faith,  her grandma’s big smile, her love of life and that same mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Kathy invested her life in what was most important and the dividends are eternal.

It makes me wonder if I’m that willing to do the hard thing?  I want to labor for the Lord – but am I willing to get my hands dirty? Am I willing to give up my time? My home? My money? My plans?

I’d like to honor Kathy’s memory this Labor Day.

Her task was not easy, but she was faithful and her work was not in vain.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:58

 

By Country Gal | Posted in Deep Thoughts, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

August 19, 2011

My kids had the thrill of a lifetime yesterday – thanks to Jimmy!

Jimmy is a home schooled kid who worked with my husband over the summer. Summer’s over and he’s ready to head off to college.

He also has his pilot’s license – and a plane.

He offered to take Jan up for a flight – and said the kids could come, too.

the planeJan – of course – said yes.

I – of course – started hyperventilating at the thought. You all know how I feel about heights.

Seriously – does that plane look big enough to fly?

terrifiedThe kids -of course – were very excited! They had never been in a small plane – actually – three of them had never been in any plane.

in the air

I have to admit that I could not watch.  I didn’t to totally humiliate my children with another melt-down,  so I dropped them off at the airport and went shopping. :)

I hoped that a little retail therapy would keep me from thinking about my babies thousands of feet in the sky with a kid who is barely older than my oldest in a plane that looks as small as the models my brother used to put together!

coming back to earth

It worked. I stayed relatively calm and composed – until I learned that Jimmy even Matt fly the plane for a little while.

landingI breathed a sigh of relief when they were all safely on the ground.

At least their feet were – their heads were still floating in the sky!

Thanks Jimmy – my kids will never forgot this flight! You’re a good guy.

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Memories | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Mom’s Vacation

August 8, 2011

I’m heading out in a few minutes to pick up all five of my kiddos after their week with cousins.

Yes – all five. All week.

I had a 8 days at home without kids.

I’m still in awe of the wonder of it.

Jan’s dad and 2 brothers took all the guy cousins on a three day canoe trip into the Superior National Forest.

Canoe tripThat’s 11 Shervheim men aged 10 – 81 for three days camping in the wilderness. They loved it.

Meanwhile the girls all stayed back at the cabins with the aunts and Nana and yes- they loved it, too.

On the way home they spent a few days in the Twin Cities.

I loved getting daily Facebook updates on their activities – but had to laugh when Dagmar posted this on my wall,

” You don’t update your status very often. Does nothing exciting happen without us there?”

Exciting? Define exciting.

cousin timeWhile the kids were canoeing, exploring the wilderness and the Twin Cities, learning front flips, and making homemade pizza with Aunt Karen… I was on vacation.

I only used my china plates.

I read 2 entire books.

I did one teeny load of laundry every day.

It took me less than 10 minutes to do the dishes after a meal.

I had long talks with the Lord.

I ate out twice with my husband and had a special lunch with a dear friend.

Sometimes I listened to music as loud as I wanted; other times I relished the sound of silence.

I watched the Walton’s every day at lunch and enjoyed a leisurely, quiet meal with my husband every night at supper.

I rested.

It was a sweet time – a peaceful oasis in the midst of a crazy summer.

Exciting? Well – maybe not by my children’s definition.

Needed and cherished? Oh yes!

Refreshing? Definitely!

But all vacations must end – and I can’t wait to hear about all their adventures!

This house is ready for some laughter.

A special thanks to my brother-in-law Lee for the pictures and hosting my kiddos!

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (3)