Circa 1983

The last time this sweater was worn, was at Minnetonka Elementary School.  Molly wasn't real thrilled about wearing it today (see above picture), but Amanda made her.  This was, I'm sure, tre chic when Shube knit it.

I asked for a better picture and got the one below, complete with Caleb's bunny ears from the side and Molly's scrape on her face from an earlier run-in with Lucy.  She wasn't in the mood to pose for pics.

Introducing the chickens

Some of our readers had requested a little more information about the chickens. In the following video, Ben and I do just that.

 

We ordered another 20 chicks that will arrive on March 1. We will write more about them when they get here.

Posted with Blogsy

Ben and Nathan

Ben likes to hold Nathan a lot. Usually they make their way to the piano.

Posted with Blogsy

Don't be a "change jingler" on Sunday

One of the joys of my heart is to go to church and sing with my boys.  I remember singing hymns, especially when I was very little at Waterford Community Church, sitting next to my dad.  I learned what harmony was singing hymns with my dad.  So when I'm at church and I look over and see Matthew, for instance, beginning to sing out his heart to Jesus . . . I love it.  I am thankful to God for the grace to raise at my house, men who sing.

A tool for every man

When we first got the Rhino, I got it stuck in the mud of our back pond.  A neighbor came over and rescued me with what he called a "come along".  It's a cable winch that is able to pull just about anything.  You attach one end to a stationary object (I usually use a tree.) and the other end to what ever you want to pull.  After we pulled the Rhino out of the mud the first time, I knew I wanted to have one of these.

Amanda got it for me for my birthday last year. Since, I have pulled the Rhino out of a number of places.  I also used it to move huge tree that I've cut in the woods. Last night, due to a slippery driveway, Amanda got the van stuck in a snow bank.  I tried to dig it out, rock it out, but nothing worked.  So Ben and I hooked up that come along to a tree, wrapped a chain around the hitch and pulled the van out of the snow bank and onto solid ground.  Whenever I do these things, it makes me feel great.  I especially love doing them with the boys.

If you're a man or you know and love one, then get on Amazon and order yourself a come along.