My family

God, I am thankful that you have given Amanda and me these six lives to celebrate, love and shepherd.  I am thankful that you give us grace when we so often fail them.  Please protect them from their Mom and Dad.  Please hold them in your unfailing hand and draw them ever closer to yourself.

Virtual Discipline

The other day Amanda FaceTimed me at work.  Nathan was having a complete meltdown and needed some intervention.  This is very unlike Nathan.  It may be the only time in his two years that he really had an all out, big tears, red eyes, boo hoo, meltdown.  I think Amanda partially just wanted me to see it for myself.  But I talked to him through the phone.  He settled down and we were okay. This is the world we live in.  Where a dad is able to discipline his young son from miles way over the video chat.  Hilarious!

The Difference of a Few Days

With little kids, a few days can make a world of difference in their countenance.  This was just a few days ago.  We had been missing our favorite spatula.  Lucy was thrilled to death that she found it in the play room.  (Playroom?  Nathan?) 

This morning she woke up early feeling just terrible.  She threw up all morning.  The winds of change blow in gusts at the Gammons house these days.

One of my joys

One of the things that brings me joy in my life right now is to work along side my boys.  When God gifted me with three boys, I remember thinking what it would be like to work with them.  I thought to myself, just think about all of the things we could get done when we are working together.  When we began to work together years ago, when it was just Daddy working and the boys happily "helping out," that time seemed a long way off.  Then we really began to get some stuff done as the boys became great runners and really dug in as helpers.  Now though, the boys are coming into their own.  It is exciting and fun to watch.  It is great to hear them pray at the end of the night, "Thank you God that we were able to get some work done today."

This is not a completely rosy picture.  There are still plenty of moans and groans as I announce the project list for the evening or weekend.  At the beginning, no one is volunteering or running up to get their work clothes on.  But once we put some good music on and the project gets started, everyone gets on board.

Last night we worked on painting the chicken barn.  The boys dug in and we got a lot done.  I love working with these guys.

Only in Minnesota

Mom is here this week.  For all of the boys' birthdays, she gave us Twins tickets.  Only in Minnesota do you have to wear a down coat and bring a blanket to a baseball game in September.  We had a great time though.  The Tigers (Mom's team) beat us with two back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth inning.  Fun was had by all.

Ben and I go to Chicago

For Benjamin's 12th birthday, he and I took a trip to Chicago.  We had a great time.  Guardians of the Galaxy, Chicago dogs, the Train, Sears (Willis) Tower, Buddy Guy's Legends blues club, Bucky Fount (Buckingham Fountain), the Bean, Lake Michigan,  Magnificent Mile, Gino's East, The "L", "roller dogs" (hotdogs from a gas station: one of Ben's requests for the trip), and lots of great conversations for a dad and his boy.  The blues club for lunch was a high light for both of us.  What could be better than sitting just in front of a dude working his blues guitar for an hour while you eat some hot and spicy food?

It made me super thankful to God for Benjamin and the young man that he is becoming.  It made me thankful for my dad and the way that he loved me and brought me up.  It made me thankful for Amanda and her support of our trip, staying home with the other five by herself.

Here are some pictures of two dudes having a great weekend.

A tradition has begun at the Gammons house.  Caleb and I have already begun talking about where we will go for his 12th birthday trip.  Thanks, Ben, for a great weekend.  I'm glad I'm your daddy.

A video from our last camping trip

Gammons kids meet the governor

Yesterday we went to the fair.  While we were getting our $1 all you can drink milk, we saw a sign that said that the governor was going to be there soon to toast the milk booth's 60th anniversary.  We stuck around and got to meet Governor Mark Dayton.  We forgot our phone at home so we had to rely on the governor's twitter feed.  Unfortunately, only Ben and Molly got in the picture.

Nathan turns 2

Tomorrow Nathan turns 2-years-old.  We enjoy him so much.  He is such a pleasant little person.  The thing he loves most in the world is music.  He loves to play his fake guitar and loves to sing.  He is always singing.  His favorite song is "All the people said Amen."  He makes us play that at least once a day and would have it on repeat if we let him.

He recently has been singing the song "Three In One."  This is a song that the kids learned at their choir camp this summer.  First listen to the song below, especially the chorus at 0:46.


Now get a load of Nathan John's rendition.  What a sweetie!  Happy Birthday, buddy boy.

Lucy the prizefighter

Lucy got stung by a wasp or hornet yesterday.  This is what she woke up looking like this morning.  Like a trooper though, she takes it all in stride. 

Nathan on the farm

Sometimes playing in the sand is just more fun without your clothes on.

Another great camping trip

This past weekend we joined a number of church friends in Red Wing, Minnesota (home of Red Wing Boots) along the Mississippi River for a weekend of camping.  Any time I get to be outside with my family is great.  The kids also loved the addition of a number of their friends.  It was a good time had by all. 

 

 

 

Thanks to Dan and Abigail for many of the great photos.

Vacation Video

Molly turns 7!

Our little Molly turned 7-years-old this weekend.  It has been amazing to watch this baby, turned toddler, turned little girl, turn into a girl with her own personality, opinions and character.  I love her so much and look forward to how God will continue to grow her into the young woman that he wants her to be.

As you can see from the second picture, for her birthday, a new kitty named Pearl joined our family.  

Look at these two!

Wildlife on the Farm

We have seen a lot of wildlife on the farm.  

• Herrons
• Egrets
• Turkey
• Deer
• Raccoon
• Possum
• Hawks

Last week we spotted two fawns.  The other day they apparently discovered our honey crisp apple trees.  Luckily, we have put up 8 foot tall fences around each tree, but they have still nibbled around the edges.  Hopefully they don't figure out how to get in there.

On the not so wild side, we have gotten a number of new chicks this spring.  We ordered 10 new chicks from a hatchery: two white egg laying breeds, California Whites and Leghorns.  They are both supposed to be very prolific layers.  We also borrowed a rooster from a neighbor and then incubated about 20 fertilized eggs.  They took about 21 days to incubate and then we began to hear very faint cheeping from the incubator.  Amanda didn't believe me at first.  Then, sure enough, a day or so later the first one began to breaks its way out.  Over the next few days 6 others joined it.  We now have 7 other chicks that are hybrids of our various breeds.

We are excited to have a total of 31 chickens soon at our house.

Higher Call house concert

Shirley has lots of family in town right now.  Last night we were treated to a house concert by her quartet, Higher Call.  They were great.  The rain even held off long enough for them to get all of their songs in.  We sure appreciated their coming out and entertaining our family and friends for an evening.  You can catch a couple of their songs from last night below.

Another Amazing Up North Camping Trip

While the weather was not ideal, the scenery and company were wonderful.  We spent the first few days on Madeline Island in the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior.  My highlights from that part of the trip:

1. spending time with our camping friends
2. canoeing with the kids in the island lagoon
3. seeing Matthew swim the channel and freeze his pants off
4. spending moments alone with many of the kids
5. finding the cliffs on a great walk
6. watching Amanda put her feet into Lake Superior and wailing at the cold

 

From there we went north to Minnesota's North Shore.  We camped at Temperance River State Park.  This is my favorite North Shore state park.  If the weather had been better we would have loved our time there.  My highlights:

1. World's Best Donuts
2. A great walk on the Lake Superior shore
3. Grand Marais
4. An amazing pie (or three) at The Pie Place Cafe in GM

 

So thankful for the beauty of God's creation.  So thankful for my family and the opportunity to spend an uninterrupted week with them.  I'm already thinking about the next time we can get out in the woods.