Harvest time

It is harvest time at the Seagraves Farm.

We have been getting up before dawn and working our fingers to the bone to harvest all the food that will sustain us for the next year.

Here is a picture of today's bounty:

Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little ~ this took us all of 2 minutes to pick from the garden. It should feed us until... tomorrow. But I can't tell you how much fun it is to go out to the garden and pick fresh fruits and vegetables.

This was our first year to have a garden. Most people start in the spring but NO~ not us, no sire-e. We are still considered "city folk" around here and we didn't get our garden into the ground until all our neighbors were picking their harvest!

We even had a joy-robbing-bandit tell us not to bother planting our seeds because they wouldn't grow. (gasp!) Encouragement is obviously not his spiritual gift!

I heard about a gardening method called square foot gardening. A method which allows you to grow more food in less space AND, this is the best part, without weeds. So it took me from spring to summertime to read, investigate and BEG Wes to let me invest money into the square foot garden. Why Lord? Why couldn't you just make me normal?

We had to buy untreated lumber to make the boxes. Then it took about 20 trips to try and find the 1 inch pieces of wood to make a square foot grid to lay on top of the garden boxes. We never did find those by the way, so poor Wes had to cut pieces of wood into 1 inch strips.

Then we bought the soil. It had to be a perfect blend of 1/3 part compost, 1/3 part peat moss and 1/3 part soil. This is where Wes' confusion came in. He would wonder (loudly) about why we were buying dirt when we have 8 acres of it that we could use for FREE! No, no, no... we must have the perfect blend, my love!

Finally, we had it all ready and LauraLee and I planted all the seeds. We didn't know what we were doing so we pushed those seeds WAY down into the soil. Until Wes, the know-it-all, came along and told us we were doing it all wrong.

It took a few months and an excessive amount of water since we were growing our produce during the hottest part of the year! But finally... it started to grow.

We have basil, cucumbers, banana peppers, watermelon, green bell peppers, corn and cantaloupe growing. We planted a larger variety but some things didn't grow. I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we shoved those seeds 100 feet into the ground!!

It is such an amazing feeling to know that we are eating produce from our own garden. Free from pesticides, preservatives and WEEDS! I am able to send one of my farmhands out to the garden for a fresh watermelon for snack time. AMAZING...

I am so inspired.

I think I will change my name to Rachel Yoder and begin sewing us Amish dresses and prayer caps tomorrow. We might even deliver some fresh cucumbers to our nay-saying neighbor!

and maybe, just maybe, enter this cucumber in the county fair...

Exercising is dangerous!

We have started exercising... AGAIN.

No ~really. This time we are going to keep it up. (Stop laughing, please)

We have to get up at 5:15 so we can start walking at 5:30. What were we doing all summer while Wes was off? We had allllllllll day to walk but somehow never found time. Now we only have 30 minutes to fit it in and we do it! We seem to always go about things the hard way.

This got me thinking... Why do we sometimes take the rocky, overgrown path when God's path is so much easier? He tries to guide us down the well-traveled road but sometimes we insist on plowing through the overgrown trail. We stumble around blindly~ twisting our ankles and hacking at all the weeds trying to figure out which way to go!

Wow, that was deep.

Anyway~ Back to the walk.

Since we live in the country we have no street lights. It's an ideal situation for star gazing but not for trying to see rabid raccoons in the woods.

There we are ~walking along our road, enjoying the peaceful quiet of the country when all of a sudden we hear a dog barking. Not in the distance, this was like 5 feet in front of us. This was a warning bark. A don't-come-any-closer bark. This dog is obviously not a "morning dog" because he was quite grumpy when we woke him up. He was barking, charging and SNARLING at us. I could hear his teeth snapping together.

He kept running off and then charging at us again.

The problem was ~ We couldn't see him. It was pitch black outside. All we could see was a flash of white as he was running around us.

I was scared to death. Wes told me to remain calm.

I thought, "WHAT? STAY CALM? Like you CHOOSE to panic. Help me, Lord, I want to lose weight but not by having my leg chewed off!"

Wes, my knight in shining armor, broke a stick trying to defend us. He was ready to fight. He was scanning and assessing the situation. He was like a matador ready to fight the bull. All those years of watching "I Survived" had finally paid off!

I, on the other hand, was no help. I was too busy holding onto Wes' shirt and looking around for a tree to climb. I think at one moment, in an act of total self-preservation, I may or may not have pushed Wes toward the attacking dog.

Ok, who am I kidding here. Like I could climb a tree. But in my defense, I have heard of mothers lifting cars off their children in emergency situations. Adrenalin is a powerful thing. So maybe... hopefully...

The dog clearly realized that Wes could take him because he ran off in FEAR! I am sure the other neighborhood dogs will never let him live this one down. What a wimp!

Against my better judgment, we continued our walk. I am sure all the wild animals hiding in the woods could smell my fear. We finally made it back home after 30 very long dark minutes.

We survived AND we still have all of our appendages. Wes' back is a little scratched up but that will heal.

Wes is planning on bringing the BB gun tomorrow.

I might sleep in. I have decided that exercise could be dangerous to my safety and well-being!

Hen or no hen...That is the question.

We have 6 hens.

We are anxiously waiting for them to make us eggs.

They are really sweet hens ~ they don't even mind sharing their food with the dogs.

Weird, I know.

Then there is the neighboring rooster, the stalker, that has been bothering our hens. (Previous blog~ if you haven't read it yet, please do!)

We haven't seen him in a few days. Maybe, we hurt his feelings. I don't know what we could have done. Surly it couldn't be the sticks, dog toys, wood pieces, foam pipe covers or grill-cleaning brush that we threw at him whenever he was trying to sneak onto our property.

Gosh, some roosters are so sensitive...

Anyway, I thought I heard him this morning. I heard a cock-a-doodle-do. But it was different then the "normal" rooster crow we have been hearing the last few weeks.

I ran to the window to see if he was back. (Some roosters are slow learners)

I didn't see a rooster, just our sweet hens laying there.

Phew, no rooster. I must be hearing things.

Cock-a-doodle-dooooooooooooo... That sneaky devil!

I ran back to the window and sloooow-ly peeked around the edge. Could it be the same rooster that left the golf ball? Was he hiding?

Again, no rooster... just the hens. Now they were looking at me like I was crazy.

That is when I saw it, one of our hens, skittles~ the beautiful one, threw back her head and cock-a-doodle-dooed with everything she had in her.

WHAT??? How can that be?

Is Kennedy's hen a ROOSTER? Is skittles a, a, a...boy?

How will I break this to my girlie-girl Kennedy? She will be devastated.

Is it possible? How can you tell?

I am not lifting her or him up to look, if that's even the way to decipher in the rooster/hen world.

I feel like such a rookie farmer! I think I will stop writing and go google it now.

We might be eating fried chicken for dinner tonight.

Ok, that was just a threat ~ we are not anywhere near being that self-sufficient yet. BUT it sounded good. I hope the stalker heard me!

McLaine~ my baby

McLaine ~ my compassionate girl.

She is my baby.

She is the triplet that I named and oddly enough, she is the child most like me when I was a child.

She loves to help me do things around the house. She will do anything, she just loves to be needed.

When she was little~ she said words like bikit for biscuit. Oh, how I miss those days...

She is funny.

She is extremely passionate.

When one of the other kids upsets her, she turns into the Incredible Hulk! One time she and Kennedy were riding in the backseat of Wes' truck. Kennedy apparently made her mad and Wes heard all these noises coming from the back seat. He looked in the rear view mirror and all he could see was Kennedy crying and her hair was all disheveled. He looked over at McLaine and she was leaning on her elbow just looking out the window enjoying the view. When she knew Wes was looking at her she looked over at Kennedy with a confused look on her face and just shrugged her shoulders like she had NO IDEA why Kennedy was crying. She is like a ninja.

She loves to read.

She is a great singer.

When she was just a few months old she had a strangulated toe. A string from her jammies got wrapped around her toe as she was sleeping. When I got her up to feed her, her toe looked like a cheery was stuck to the end of it. We had to rush her to the hospital and Wes was so worried he ran into the emergency room DEMANDING that they see her IMMEDIATELY. "She is a triplet", he said urgently, "if she loses her toe she will never be able to wear flip flops like her sisters!!!!" The nurses were either compassionate or scared of him because they took us right back. I am proud to report, she wears flip flops and has all 10 toes. (thanks to her dad!)

She has taught herself how to play the piano and will practice for hours.

She says the most beautiful heart-felt prayers. She will being tears to your eyes.

She loves this blue blanket that her Aunt LauraLee made for her. I don't think she has ever slept a night without it. It is now a small, frayed piece of fabric but she loves it and it brings her comfort. I love this about her.

She is really fast. I am talking Olympic gold medal fast or quite possibly multiple police-car-chase-fast.

She is kind... When she was in school during 1st grade she used to carry a girls lunch tray because the girl used a walker and couldn't do it herself. Then McLaine would get back in line to get her own lunch. She never told me she did this, she just did it because she is compassionate.

She will forever be my baby. I love her...

I think I will keep her here with me...FOREVER!

The love story begins

The summer is over, Wes has gone back to work. We are missing him... A LOT.

Summer is our favorite time of the year. Wes is off for 2 1/2 months. We sleep in, we watch movies. We go to the pool. We cook, we eat. We laugh. I was sitting here thinking about our life and I realized that summers have always been our thing. It started with a summer 22 years ago.

Every couple has a story ~and this is ours...

I met Wes in high school. We were on the track team together. We were both dating other people and we became friends. We talked about everything. I used him to do my math homework (just kidding). He is really good in math though!

In 1988, the night my brother graduated from high school, my friend Andreea and I snuck off to the beach with Wes and all his rowdy friends for a weekend away. I lied to my mother! Ugh, I still hear about this one on a yearly basis.

Mother, I am sorry...I have repented. I am a good girl now.

I knew I could get in trouble. I knew lying wasn't right. I knew my grandparents were here for my brother's graduation and they would distract my mother. I didn't care. I wanted to go and hang out with my friends and not think about my life.

In my defense, my dad had died the month before, I had just turned 16 and I wasn't processing things correctly. I justified it, I rationalized it. Wes always made me laugh and I wanted to laugh again.

We left as soon as they called my brother's name. "Yeahhhhh, Sean! Ok, RUN before my mother changes her mind!" I lied and told her I was going with a friend and her parents.

I know, I know. I am a heathen.

We drove to the beach in Wes' dad's Toyota Corolla. There were 7 of us in a car made for 5. We looked like clowns in a circus car. AC/DC was blaring on the radio. A truck almost hit us on the right. Wes had to swerve to the left... towards the wall. He turned the wheel at just the right time and our tire bounced off the wall and sent us back onto the highway. We all cheered and high-fived each other and kept driving~ We were young and dumb.

We stayed at the beach house for several days. We laughed, we jumped off the pier into the water. I got stung by a jellyfish ON THE FACE! We laughed hysterically! We drove around town. We laughed. We sang songs at the top of our lungs. We spent a lot of time on the beach. We got sunburns. We played cards. We ate Subway...a lot. We drank out of the Subway soda fountain without cups. (Sorry Subway, we were young and immature and not familiar with the heath codes.) We were 16 and 17 year old kids without a care in the world.

Wes and I had been friends for a while. We talked about things that I didn't share with everyone. I told him all my thoughts, fears, feelings and hopes for the future. We held hands, we shared our first kiss. We had a song, "The Flame" by cheap trick. The Toyota Corolla was a standard and he gave me a quick kiss every time he had to shift. I think sometimes he took the back roads instead of the highway on purpose!

We finally went home. I was sad it was over but happy because Wes and I were officially dating.

My mom found out that I had gone with Wes. I was grounded~ for a while.

Although I am sorry that I lied to my mother, I have never been sorry that I went. I needed that trip. I needed the laughs. I needed to start healing. It was the beginning of our love story...

We dated all summer. There were good times and not so good times. We broke up... he dated my friend... GASP! I became friends with his ex-girlfriends.

We dated again.

We broke up, I dated somebody else... I got engaged to somebody else.

He dated other people, he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the Air Force.

I almost got married to somebody else ~until... the summer of 1991

To be continued...

Triplet Frog Hunt

Once upon a time there were 3 princesses.

They lived in a castle on Summer Hill Lane.

They spend their days doing what all little girls do ~ playing dress-up, painting their nails and....

Frog hunting.

Hey Kennedy~Do you want to look for frogs? Yeah McLaine, good idea!

Andie, Grab a barrel to collect our frogs in.

Hold on... I think I see one over here~

MOM~ DON'T TAKE MY PICTURE... I AM IN MY PANTY LOOMS!

All modesty is forgotten. They see one!

Look, Mom. He has a huge chin!

Look Mom~ I found one too! (It must have been her lucky boots and polka dot looms!)

I just can't decide which one is cuter. (Notice they have their loyal hunting dog with them)

Look Kennedy~ Your frog has a spot on his head.

I know, he is sooo cute. I think I shall call you squishy and you shall be mine!

Can we keep them Mom? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee? (Andie, Kennedy, McLaine)

Me: Ewwwwwwwwwww! Gross!!!

Put those frogs down. You're going to get warts all over your hands!

By the way, before you ask...none of you are helping me cook tonight.

I am going inside to call your dad ~we are moving back to the city...

Jake ~ aka Jakey Man

Jake is our only son. Our boy. Our only child to carry on the Seagraves name.

He has such a sweet and loving spirit.

He has a kind heart and other kids always love him.

He loves the Lord and people. He always remembers to pray for those who are sick or need help. I love this about him.

He loves his sisters and worries about them wherever we go.

His best friend is Madison, his older sister, and he loves spending time with her.

He was only 16 months when I was put on bed rest with the triplets. He was 20 months old when they were born. 3 babies born at once is all he has ever known. I remember when a friend of ours had a baby he said, "Mom, they only had one baby." Like there was something wrong!

I will always have a bit of guilt because he was pushed to the side when the triplets were born. We didn't mean to but they were so much work that he had to learn to wait for things.

Because of us neglecting him he learned to play by himself and learned patience!

He loves to be home with us. He even asked if he could home school college. I truly believe Online classes were invented for children like him!

He loves to play outside.

He is funny. Really funny. He says and does some of the funniest things. I would like to share a few of those stories with you below:

One night Wes and I were sitting in the living room. Jake came downstairs from his bath wearing only his pajama bottoms. We couldn't help but notice the water glistening off his shoulders. Then we noticed his stomach and back were all wet. AND there was shampoo in his hair A LOT of shampoo...I am talking bubbles dripping off his head.

I said, "Jake, why are you all wet?" He stares at me... blankly (we could hear crickets chirping) "Jake, you still have shampoo in your hair!" He slowly brings his hand up to his head and with a shocked look on his face said, "OH, I forgot to rinse my hair!!!" I still don't understand how that happened. How did he not feel the water dripping down his forehead?

A few days later he again walks past us and announces that he is going across the street to see if his friend, TJ, wanted to play. Being the experienced mother that I am, I noticed right away that he didn't have any pants on. (It might have been the reflection of the light off his lilly white legs.) I said, "Jake, where are your pants?"

Again, the sound of crickets could be heard...He looks down and goes, "OH no! I forgot to put on my pants after I went to the bathroom!" I couldn't figure out what was more disturbing ~ the fact that he didn't notice he had NO PANTS on or that he takes all of his clothes off to go to the bathroom!

Because of this, we are not sure if he will ever be able to drive a car or live on his own!

But that is ok, I love him and can't imagine a day without him. I think I will keep him...forever!