Anna at 22

Months! 22 months, not years. She's growing up fast, and probably wishes she was 22 years old already, but Anna is still our little baby.

She's brave, a worker, extremely clingy to mama, shares with Jonathan, extremely perceptive and seems to understand everything. Stringing words into sentences is not yet worth the effort. Yet she's pretty clear about what she needs/wants, especially when it's to get out of bed at 5.00am.

She sleeps and eats well, is healthy, and we couldn't ask for more than what she is.


[Except that she not stir the terere.]

New wheels: Part 19 (this is a fairly common post title for us)

Jonathan practically lives on his tricycle now in summer - and also in the basement in winter. We (and he) generally think of it as an extension of his body. Today a bit of new excitement got thrown into the mix, thanks to this sweet loan from some friends: a bike! with training wheels!

Not sure where he learned about training wheels, but he's been talking on and on about them the last few weeks. I was getting a little worried that they wouldn't live up to his expectations, but oh boy, do they ever. He jumped on that bike the moment it got here and didn't do much else (well, his most favorite person in the world, Lexi, was here to play so he did do a bit else for awhile).

It's been really fun to just sit and watch him discover all the new things he can do with these wheels.

And oh yes, maybe I should buckle on this sweet little thing from Care and Share.

 I will not be left behind.

Does it suit me, you think?

It's been a gloriously beautiful week (and month) so far: crisp, sunny, not windy, even some moisture.

 The lovely Clematis (is that right?) up close.

Anna working away. This morning three girls came to play, and while their mom was packing up to leave, I found the youngest (age 2) with one end of this chain tied around her waist and the other to the railing. The older ones had been playing puppy-on-a-leash and kind of forgot about her. It happens.

It's sweet corn season (in my folks' field), which our kids loove.

And small places to hide in (or, if you're Jonathan, drive like a truck) never get old.

So those are just a few scenes from around our place these nice late summer days.

One year ago

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, so the kids and I made little cards and a cake to bring her for afternoon terere - largely for the excitement value of sprinkles! and candles! and singing the birthday song!

Last year was the big 60th birthday, which entailed more of a party. I don't think I ever posted photos of it then, so here they are now - one year the wiser.

It was held at our new home, about two weeks after we moved here. The weather was nice, though a bit windy.

Lots of visiting on a Sunday afternoon.

 Mom at 60.

Mom with her two Canadian sisters, Lena and Greta, and sister-in-law, Louella.

Jonathan, wondering if he should've just stayed in Bolivia...

The evening before the party, my brother David grilled us some delish steaks at my folks' house, together with the just-arrived Canadian relatives.

And so it went, one year ago. Happy birthday, mom!

Our newest addition

After much, much, much thought and research, Ramont believes he has found the perfect cow for us. And so, last Saturday Suzy Q joined our family!

She is half Lowline Angus and half Jersey. Ramont likes this mix because it would ideally be a good balance of milker and beef cow. She's already been bred to a full Lowline Angus bull, and is due to give birth in early September. At that time we'll begin to see whether her modest milk production will meet our grandiose plans for milk, butter, cheeses, puddings, etc, etc, and etc. We're really very excited.

Here Suzy begins to explore her new pasture, with both her old owners (the Quirings) and new owners looking on.

Ramont is very pleased with how calm she is. Here she frisks around her new environs a bit, probably just happy to be out of doors again after a few weeks in the barn.

Mr. Farmer pitches in.

Suzy joins our nine chickens (not sure yet of hen/rooster balance), who are starting to feel quite good about going outside. Not quite free range, but freer.

And from the other end of the farm, rather unrelated, comes this pool happiness.

Wisconsin welcomes the Schrocks

Last weekend was the annual Leroy and Esther Schrock - Ramont's paternal grandparents - reunion, held this time at their homeplace near Jump River, Wisconsin. I don't yet have the photo with everyone on it, but above is Ramont's family with (Great) Grandma Schrock; his dad, Elwood, is the eldest in the family. We were around 30 people altogether.

Most of us stayed in the house or yard of (Great) Grandma Schrock, while the rest stayed just down the road at daughter Rita and Alvin's home. Rita and her daughter, Maria, did ALL the cooking, hosting, and general logistics - truly extraordinary hosts! Ravonn's family and ours stayed in two campers on the yard. The one we stayed in is in the background above, beside the barn and beyond the trampoline. Since we knew this ahead of time, our kids were soooo excited before and during (and after) the event to sleep in a CAMPER!! It was pretty cold the first few days, so we enjoyed having our mate around the campfire each morning, waiting for the others to stumble out of their beds. Here are Ranene, Joseph and Josiah with Ramont and Anna. Ranene's family is on its way from Alberta to Harrisonburg, VA where they are moving onto a farmstead and beginning their new life this weekend!

We also spent the days in various activities. My favorite was just sitting and visiting, while the kids played around the yard on Jonathan's dream machines - here a real, live four-wheeler, with cousin Noelle. Also in this photo are Ramont's cousin Verlyn, his wife Lisa and their baby, Claire.

Ramont gave some of the rides, here with Josiah running behind.

Grandma Schrock plays cards with Greta and Noelle.

The trampoline was a gigantic hit with the kids (the "rules" of only one kid jumping at a time, not so much). Jonathan and Anna were the youngest cousins (except baby Claire), so they mainly got bounced around. Thankfully they have some extremely solicitous bigger girl cousin that took great care of them.

We ate three super square meals a day in this garage, and also had morning and evening singing and sharing times in here. Let me tell you, the Schrocks can SING. And tell long stories :)

The food was amazing and (too) plentiful!

Here are the hosts, Rita and Maria. I've seriously never (with the exception of Ramont's mom and his sister, Ravonn) seen such relaxed hosts as they were.

Rita made this amazing cake with the names of everyone who attended the reunion. If you know the family, you can see it follows family tree lines in the leaves.

Cousin Greta high-fives Anna before pictures.

Jonathan enjoys some watermelon.

There was even an organized kickball game. No, Anna was not a participating member.

The first and second cousins line up for family pictures.

This is as good as the family photo-ing goes at this stage in life. [Yikes.]

Entertainment while family pics happen in the background.

Esther Schrock with three of her children: Betty, Elwood, and Rita; Arlan lives in Virginia and wasn't at the reunion.

(Great) Grandma Schrock, age 93, pioneer, pastor's wife, handiworker, and much, much more.