Happy End to October...

Beet Crew (Minus Chuck) 2008

October 25

10 PM

Tollefson Farms Shop

Chili Feed

Bring your appetites :)

I told Rob that having it out in the shop was going to be a great new tradition :)

I normally bring all of this out to the field they are on, but this year it was 10 pm and windy along with mud, yeah, not a good time for all.

Plus, the kids were all tucked away in bed and I figured 100 yards wasn't too far.

This is the only pic I took of Micah in his Indiana Jones costume.

Emma was a traffic light this year.

Here she is going thru the costume parade.

This year I hosted the fall party for the 1st and 2nd graders. It was a great time. I brought in one of our big pumpkins from our garden for the boys to weigh and measure. We played a game "Boo am I" it is basically charades with a halloween twist and the for a snack we made

"boo cups" I highly recommend this recipe for you to try with your kids.

3 1/4 cup milk

2 pkgs of chocolate instant pudding

8 oz of thawed whipped topping

20 crumbled oreo cookies

30 mini chocolate chips

Mix up milk and pudding; stir 1/2 of the whipped topping into the pudding.

Placed the crumbled oreos down in the cup first, layer the pudding mix on top, then another layer of oreo, sprinkle with chocolate chips and dab with a spoonful of whipped topping. Enjoy!

It is a good thing Halloween isn't in November or Creed wouldn't have fit in his costume, it was a struggle to put on .

He sure looked cute tho.

Goodbye October *waving*

Creed's a Walker

Can you even believe it! He has been doing this more consistanly the last day or so.

Creed walking at 10 1/2 months old.

Emma's a PRO

People Respecting Others, that is.

This highly coveted reward is given once a month to students that show "exceptional Christian character and a positive attitude toward others at school both in and out of the class room."

The teachers nominate the child and so E had no idea she had won this reward until we told her. We had no idea until we got a letter in the mail with the certificate and an invite for Emma to dine with Miss Trittin the school Principal on Wednesday to a resturant of her choice, within Crookston.

We are so proud of our girl!

Practice makes Perfect

Our Night Time Routine

Playing with dad before bed
Cuddles before bed

Getting ready to lay Creed down. Here the three of us are praying together, Awww

Never ThinkYou Are Done

I created a new blogspot for my 12 week Eating For Life Challenge. This way I can keep this as a family update blog. The link is www.neverthinkyouaredone.blogspot.com I plan on logging in everyday's menu and workout schedule, my ups and downs and my weigh in's plus the hard to post before, mid way thru and after pictures.

Eating For Life 12 Week Challenge

Ok, so, I am not going to use my blog to get on a weight loss ego frenzy or anything like that, but I have come across something very interesting and I want to share with you from beginning to end so that if you feel like you are looking for a change you can have a reference.

For the past 14 weeks I have worked very hard to get my baby weight off, and with much success. Today I am down 24 lbs and have released 16 total inches off of my body! However, I am sitting with about 26% total body fat; the healthy total for a woman is 17-20%. This is something I would like to change for my over all health and well being.


I came across the book Eating for life by Bill Phillips and his non-dieting philosophy has me hook line and sinker, because it is practical, it is family friendly (baby friendly), so I will not be making 4 different meals every day ( that is important to me!). The "right recipe" for this challenge is 4 basic steps: 1. Right Foods 2. Right Amounts 3. Right Combos 4. Right Times.

Up to this point I have been following the "balanced" meal plan so the "right combos" is not a new concept for me, I am also used to eating smaller meals 5 times a day so eating 6 times a day isn't going to be inconvenient either. That is it! Easy! Oh, and did I mention the "cheat day"?


I encourage you to check this book out or go to his website at www.eatingforlife.com and let me know if you are with me. I will give monthly updates to let you know how it goes. My end date is the 17th of January a day after my 10th anniversary and I think health and wellness is the greatest gift to give to my husband and my family.

March 2008

October 2008

Update

I have been so bad about keeping this blog updated. I don't have any pictures, so this might be a bit boring for some; anyhow...
Last weekend Lisa and I took the kids to Bemidiji. She had a Cookie Lee Jewelry show on Friday night, so I tended the kids. Looking back on that, we concluded that our kids have no idea how spoiled they are, they got their own room...at 3, 5, and 6! For spacious sake we reserved adjoining rooms, Creed stayed in our room while the 2 boys and 2 girls had the other. It was a great time, swimming, pizza, staying up late & listening to Ella talk to herself while the others were sawing logs-fun times. Creed did pretty well, he was catching a bit of a cold and was awake from about 2-4 in the a.m. only to wake up for the day at 6, but he fell asleep for the whole ride home.
Friday night around 11:30 Rob called to tell me that they were shut down for rain. We were already saturated so the total rain for the weekend sent us over the edge, there were flood warnings and the whole bit, it was pretty apparent that beets were not going to be hauled for the next whole week.
So, watching Rob wait for the fields to dry out was torture for me, I mean he is a pretty patient guy, but it is tough especially when Wednesday came along and neighbors were starting up again. Our field was just too wet. We lost most of our crew due to the fact that harvest usually last 2 weeks that is what most take off from their regular jobs. We started up again today the 20th and we are going only about 15-16 hour shifts rather than 24, just for lack of help.
Now, you are up to date on the farming bit...is that clear as mud? Good :)

2008 Beet Campaign

It is very hard for me to believe that we are in October, let alone Beet harvest! But, with the 1st of October comes the 1st day of campaign. They started at 8 a.m. yesterday and will run now for 24 hours until there is either a heat shut down or rain (like hard continuous rain) they work through sprinkles and, believe it or not, snow. If they get "sticky" with rain they pull the trucks through the field with a tractor. We pray against that :)

This is the beet lifter.
The beet lifter dumps the beets into a truck that takes it to the beet piler where they store all the beets till Spring.
It is quite the production. Alot of long hours riding in a truck or a tractor, but we so appreciate everyone that comes back to help us out year after year. This year Rob is actually behind the equipment, he is driving the Semi from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. He usually is the maintenance/supervisor/fill in guy. I think he likes the change this year. Of course, if something breaks down he has to stop driving and fix whatever needs fixing, so that is the risk. I am praying for an uneventful campaign, please join me!

Sunday Afternoon Snippet...

Wide eyed and bushy tailed...

Rob and I don't take many pics together. I don't know why; I need to change this!

Micah took the pictures, we had him stand on a chair for the one above :)
What a little cutie putie!

E telling me a very interesting story, sound effects and everything...
I miss you Mom and Dad! Happy Birthday MOM ♥

9 Months

It has been a while since I updated about Creed; so here are a few new things he has begun doing since becoming 9 months old.

1. He can now stand without holding on to anything.

2. Claps

3. Give 5

4. Says Dada

5. He has mastered climbing the stairs this week, we are now working on going down.

6. Can sign "More"

(I have heard him on more than one occasion say "all done" but, he never repeats it so that I can know for sure.)

7. Started watching Little Einstien (his very own "t.v. time")

He has his two bottom teeth and within the last week or so has pushed out 3 more on top.
He started "school" last week. He loves it. Right now he is the only mobile one, but he is fast making friends with the other 3 month old boy that goes as well. I was told today that another mother with an 8 month old will be joining us soon. That will be fun.
He gets to explore the whole room with so many toys and books. Francine reads stories and sings songs and plays with them while the mom's do some fun crafts. Today we painted little shirts for them and made photo books for them to look at with zip lock bags. It cuts right into his morning nap but he cat naps when we get home and then is back on track for the rest of the day.

He has really mellowed (except for when he is ready to eat). I have really been enjoying my time with him here at home. He is growing way too fast, as they always do when you don't want them to. He is so cuddly and smiley, but is very busy. He doesn't have time to sit still, there is too much to do and see.

The love that continues to grow with the siblings is so wonderful to see. They can't wait to play with him when they get home from school and he has certainly missed them.

I love it!

If For Just ONE Reason...

NOT to feed you children ( or anyone for that matter) boxed mash potatoes...

Micah: " Mom, don't be jealous, but the school's potatoes are better than yours."

Piano Lessons and the Healing Touch...

I am amazed at how well M has healed up. I seriously can not see it. I doubt if he will even have a scar. I am so thankful, a parent always worries when it is a wound on the face. I haven't taken a close up of M in a while, I will have to do that soon so that you can all see.

"Loving a music man" has been very good for me. I love the sound of Rob playing the piano in the evening while keeping Creed happy during the older kids bed time routine. I believe that it is because of that special time with Dad that Creed feels comfortable with the sound of the piano and wants to make music of his own.

Micah will begin his piano lessons tomorrow. I don't know which one of us is more excited. I know that on some days it will be stressful hearing the same notes over and over again for 30 minutes, but it will be worth it in the end.

Friday Night Trip to the ER

I was upstairs when I heard screaming, yelling and crying from both Micah and Emma, so needless to say I freaked and ran down to the basement remembering to latch the gate so that Creed didn't follow and tumble down the unrailed stairs that leads down the basement. Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of blood that was streaming from Micah's mouth. He was on his knees crying and screaming; Emma was on the phone talking to Reise crying and screaming. I was not getting any help as to what happened so I grabbed a towel and started to clean the area where all the blood was, not knowing if M had busted out all his teeth or what. Finally I got a very unclear explanation of what happened - bottom line M had a hole on the side of his mouth that needed to be closed up before he ended up looking like the Joker with a crooked smile.

This picture is of M in the ER just about ready to get stitched up. You can't really tell how deep or bad this hole really is, but it was really bad. He was soooo brave, you guys. I know that I wouldn't have been nearly so brave. I was with him during the whole thing this time and I had a hard time afterwards. When M was about 3 we took a trip to the ER one Sunday after Church because he had gashed his head open right between his eyes. Rob was with him during those stitches and I was with Emma. So I didn't realize how it was going to effect me.

I watched them put on the 3 stitches. Crazy!

This is the Dr. that stitched him up. He is numbed up so that is why the smiles.
This is Lacy his nurse. She could relate to M because when she was about his age she was mauled by a dog that took off her jaw and bottom lip. YIKES! You couldn't even see her scars.
The Doc did a fantastic job and hopefully will heal up well enough to not even notice.
Trying to get to the ER was nuts. E was a mess, she couldn't handle all of the blood and the knowledge that her brother was in a lot of pain was definitely not helping, so I was calling around to the Aunties to take her and Creed, but it was Friday night and the boys had games, I am sure. I couldn't get a hold of Rob to even tell him we were on our way to the ER. Then there was Creed, did I mention that it was supper time. I had pizza in the oven, a hungry baby and two screaming children and I had to be calm. Poor M had to just stand in the entryway with ice on his wound til I got organized enough to head out the door. I was able to see Rob in the yard once I pulled out of the garage, so he took Emma. We live 15 miles away from the hospital, so I am pulling about 80 miles an hour, hoping no cops are out and then we have to stop for a train. I told M it was a good thing his life wasn't on the line. Finally we reached the hospital and from there some one else took over and I was thankful.

As you can tell I am no good at drama and this was enough for me. When I got home I didn't have an appetite and I was every edgy. I like my life without the wrinkles, but I have this one under my belt and hopefully next time ( and there will be a next time) I will be better equipped.

Hit the Ground RUNNING!!!

And they are off! NOT like a turd of hurdles...I mean, a herd of turtles! School is IN; and just like that I have a Kindergartner and a 1st grader.

They are just a little excited!
E looks so grown up with her long hair flipped out.
M is getting so tall.
This is E's "2nd" teacher Mrs. Halos, she will be helping Mrs. Luckow while she is with the preschoolers on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Emma is the only girl in her class this year.
This is a glimpse into M's room. He didn't even look back to take a pic. His is the desk top that is open in the front. His teacher is Mrs. Bohler and she is the only girl in her class this year.

Dessert Hour Entertainment

Rob's sister Valerie will be leaving within the next few weeks for a long term (2-3 years) mission to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to be an English teacher. So she asked that I and her sister Susan would help host a Dessert Hour for family and close friends up in this area so that they can hear about her calling and for a last goodbye for the extended time. I was excited to do this, it is right up my alley. We held it at our church and she had a great turn out. We had way too much for our desserts, but I would rather have a plethora than not enough to go around. I myself made 5 dessert, just because there were so many I wanted to make I couldn't make a choice :) I have to say the Lemon Pudding Dessert was the fav (I will post the recipe at the end).

So before she had her power point the nephews and nieces put a few songs together; Katie (will be leaving for AFLB bible college tomorrow) sang On My Knees, then Micah and Emma sang Jesus Be A Fence, and Isaac and Jacob sang My All In All.

Here is M and E singing their song:

While we were practicing E came up with a great line: "Jesus I want you to protect my Antie as she travels on her way." M struggled with it for a bit, but I told him to go over it in his head a couple of times and during all their practices that day they got it every time. Emma was too excited/nervous that she forgot her line and M was surprised and just kinda quite for a bit. But other than that they did a great job.

It was a fun night and Creed held up well too, he was doing a bit of his own singing at times :)

So if you are interested here is that recipe, you will not be sorry you at least tried it out:

Lemon Pudding Dessert from the kitchen of Lisa Kiel

1 C Cold butter or margarine

2 C All-Purpose flour

1 Pkg. (8oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 C Confectioner's sugar

1 Carton (8oz.) Frozen whipped topping, thawed

3 C Cold milk

2 Pkg. (3.4 oz each) Instant lemon pudding mix

In a bowl, cut butter into the flour until crumbly. Press into a non greased 13x 9 x 2 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping. Spread over crust.

In a mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low for 2 minutes. Carefully spread over the cream cheese layer.

Top with the remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Yum yum! And it is pretty too!

Job Jar

For those of you that have 5-8 year olds I have a suggestion for you, if you are struggling to get them to do a little extra around the house. This came to me by way of my friend Danell, she has a 5 year old daughter and a 4 year old son, this has worked like a charm for her.

Take a jar and put a few pieces of paper with jobs on it such as: dust the living room table and t.v., wash entryway windows, throw the bathrooms garbage, or for some older ones, clean the bathroom toilet (Micah was so excited about this one). I am amazed; my kids have had a chore all summer, but this has made them excited to do more. They have to finish their chore before they get to pick from the job jar and they act like it is a treat!

I'm So Big :)

This post isn't about Creed; it is about me! I am so grown up! Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize that you can do things all on your own? I know I am 30 years old and I have been doing many things on my own, but today I am so proud of me :) So, I have had a garden with my SIL for the past 3 years or so and I have to be honest, I am not the best gardener. I didn't have a garden growing up and I can't even keep a real plant alive in my own house, so defiantly not a green thumb! But, this year I have taken it a bit more serious, other than the weeding :( I have gone out and checked on it at least 2 x a week, which is good for me. Finally the corn is ready...what we have been waiting for. So, I, having my "grown up Moment" froze corn for the first time in my life. I do realize that I might get laughed at on this blog, but I don't care, I am so excited that my family will have real garden grown corn in the dead of winter and it is all because of me! The recipe that I used came from a great friend of mine that is more "city girl" than me and she now is the wife of a farmer and is doing all these "farmer wife" things too. If you would want to copy it down and use it yourself here it is:

4 Quarts of cut corn

1 Quart water

1 Cup sugar

4 Tsp. salt

Bring to a boil and than simmer for 10 minutes. Have icy cold water ready and place corn in a bowl inside the icy cold water to cool down quickly. Place in ziplock bags and freeze.

So easy and so fun and you will love having the corn in the winter! Yay, for me!!!

Three's Company

I wonder if Creed really knows what he has coming to him in his life here with M and E.

It will be great fun-whether he wants it or not :)

Emma finally has someone who will dance with her.

P.S. Note to self, don't rotate the camera ;)

~I'm Feeling Fall~

I can't believe how over nite the weather can just have that feeling of leaving the one season behind and beginning the next. Yesterday and today have been so completely different from the last few days. I actually have a light cardigan on today and when we went out I put a hoodie on Creed. Rob did remind me that we are on the 23rd of August, I just wasn't expecting it so quickly. I am excited tho, we are entering into my favorite time of year; yes, it will be busy but a fun busy and I love the cooler weather, I am not a hot weather person.

Well this is the CAT on our last field, a short field that outlines our farmstead. Rob credits this years record completion to his purchasing a grain cart and a new bigger auger. I am thankful for the bountiful crop and all though we lost one combine (it was on it's last leg anyway) we had a great run with the equipment, wonderful weather and the best crew. This is my 9th wheat harvest-WOW!

My Manly Man Working

I haven't yet had the chance to go to the field to capture the combines at work, but I stop in and watch Rob put the wheat in the bins on occasion, I try not to disrupt.

For those of you that have no idea what is going on here, this is what I know (which isn't too much). The combines load the trucks with wheat, Rob then dumps the wheat into the auger the auger dumps it into the bin. All I know is that Rob runs around alot working all the equipment. He has been so busy this year, it is a good thing, yet a wife worries when her husband tells her at 11 pm that his only meal for the day was that big breakfast at 7 am.
They should finish soon, as of yesterday they were half done. But, he did say that one of the combines was out for now and of course they don't have time to fix that one, they will just run the other two till it is finished, so that will slow them down a bit.

Dakota;s BFF

Dakota our dog has had this special connection with Creed since we brought him home. She knew that there was something special under that cover and it wan't until Spring that she finally saw what was in there. For the Summer we have been out and whenever Cota has the chance she goes and sits right by Creed and gets a lick whenever she can. Creed loves her. He isn't one bit worried that she is bigger than he is, and he is gentle with her, he actually pets her.

I got his darling shot of them holding eachother.
This is Creed's first time lying in the grass, he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it :)

Creed in Action

Scroll down to the very bottom and turn off the music for this one :)

Sorry this is sideways, I am not sure how to switch it around. It is still cute. I caught Creed dancing to the beat of his own drum while looking out our NEW storm window door. Since we have had this new door, he spends at least 10 minutes there 3 times a day, he absolutely loves sitting on the rug and watching the world outside.

Apparently, it was too dark in the room for the picture to turn out, but you can still hear my poor sleep deprived child. He was sleeping so soundly he was snoring. I can't wait till all this running around is finished, just for his sake.

This is what he looked like sleeping.

Him after waking for that soundful sleep.

Dinner With My Son

I am one lucky lady! To have the first date with Micah J. and is he ever fun! We took off together after a Church softball game on Sunday. M has been wanting to go to Applebee's for a good long time and Rob and Emma just aren't big fans, so I told him that we would go together on a date. He kept reminding me until we got it done. We also got the rest of his school shopping done. It was a great time. I love being his mom! He is enjoying his Sprite and waiting for his Steak! I can't believe how big he is; our conversations were amazing and the whole time I kept reminding myself that he was MINE. I am so proud!
I will always remember his "Firefly" story. At this time I only wished I had a tape recorder so that I could replay his sweet little voice telling me this captured moment in his life.

What an honor to be a Mom. I was there when they took him from my body, worked on him to get him breathing, watched him fight for his life and finally nurse him to health literally. I encouraged him to roll over, get up on all 4's, crawl, walk, talk, run. I made him keep his word when he told me he would read when he turned 5 (caught on tape). I am his sounding board for his new book ideas and his inventions and all the games he will put together when he gets older. I stand in awe at all that he has accomplished this far and he is only 6...Look out world, here comes Micah J.
"Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary. All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege." Elizabeth Elliot
The "ordinary"routines and schedules we keep every day all week long with our little ones isn't just an empty motion, it is a privilege we are gifted to over see the life of another one of God's vessels. Who know what will come of our "duties" at home. May they be EXTRAORDINARY, and for the honor and glory of God!

Weight Gain :)

Today was Creed's weight evalutation and he "passed" he was up a pound and a few ounces. He is moving in the right direction so the Doc is pleased, he said it isn't the numbers that count but the direction the numbers are going that is important. So he sent us home with a return appointment for December when Creed turns a year old. Praise the LORD!