Wordless Wednesday - My Catch Cart Buddies Through the Years

Fall is always a busy time of year.  We've been thankful to have been able to harvest almost daily since we started on September 22nd.  If things keep up, we should have everything out of the field sometime next week!  I've been wanting to blog but since things have been so busy I just didn't know where to start!  So I thought sharing photos of my catch cart buddies through the years would be a fun way to get back into the blogging groove. :)

Can you tell they are all siblings?  Each first fall for our kids I have taken a photo of them on my tractor's steering wheel while waiting for the combine.  (Everyone needs to get out and stretch a bit during the day, and I know the kids enjoy getting out of their car seats to get a different view.)  Too bad MP was a little too young to sit up on her own (she was 4 months old in her photo), but nonetheless, it is still fun to see each of them during their first fall as my tractor buddies. :)  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Everything Will Be Okay

Okay, so today won't be exactly wordless but I'll keep it short and sweet:

On Monday, My Farmer and I, along with an estimated 1200 people over the course of the visitation and funeral, laid one of our friends, Jen, to rest.  Jen was battling cancer for the 5th time over the last six and a half years and became the ultimate survivor thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ a week ago.  Going to any funeral is hard, but saying goodbye or even see you later to a friend who had so much drive and compassion is really hard.  Driving home from the funeral it sank in a little more to me that Jen wasn't going to be here on Earth anymore.  I wouldn't be getting text messages from her, or wouldn't be sitting next to her at meetings, or going to one of her parties.  I thought about how beautiful the weather was and how it was days like today that Jen would want to get home as soon as her kids got home from school, sit on her patio with her husband and enjoy life.

Then we got home and the first thing I noticed - my first tulips of the year had bloomed.  Right then I knew it was Jen telling me that she was okay and that everything will be okay.  Over the last couple of days I've turned to a saying that I have turned to a lot when things in life aren't going to way you wish, that I'd like to share with you:

"Everything will be okay in the end.  If it's not okay, it's not the end." 

- John Lennon

What quotes or bible verses do you turn to when life isn't going as planned or imagined.  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Sisterly Love

On Sunday, we had our baby daughter JP's baptism.  (We must have been taking too many photos because both girls MP and JP were asleep for our family photo after church.)

We invited all of our family to our house after church for dinner and our son LP's birthday party.  While we were waiting for the homemade ice cream my Mom captured a couple photos of my girls' sisterly love that I am blessed to see everyday.  And I just had to share with you today.

You might be a little worried if you see a pre-toddler or a toddler 

hunched over a baby rocker...

But I know that it means there are plenty of hugs and kisses 

being exchanged between two sisters. ❤

What are some blessings in your life?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Peace in Chaos

"When I stopped being stressed about the situation,

the situation stopped being stressful."

- Cynthia Occelli

How do you find peace in the midst of chaos?  (Please tell me my house isn't the only one that can look like this...  I'm just glad JP can sleep through/in it!)  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Let's Play!

MP wanted to play dolls with JP...

What was your favorite thing to play with your siblings?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

10 Things I Love About This Photo

1. This is our first family of five photo.
2. This photo was taken at 8:26 pm on Friday, January 9th, about an hour after our daughter JP was born.
3. LP was so excited to hold his new baby sister once they arrived at the hospital.
4. MP didn't want to be left out of the action and I think hugged or kissed JP the whole time they were at the hospital.  Correction, she is still doing that, so needless to say say she loves her little sister too.
5. Hospital beds are not very big and My Farmer obviously had to hold MP up so she wouldn't fall off the bed!
6. Every person is this photo has a look of relief on their face since we battled snow, wind and a blizzard during the week leading up to JP's birth.  She made being a week overdue an adventure for our family!
7. I believe the more kids you have, the less you worry over taking nice family photos.
8. Maybe the more kids you have, the less your remember to take nice family photos.
9. I love that My Farmer has a fresh hair cut in this photo.  A birth tradition I guess you could say, that I might have share about in a future blog post...
10. I love my family and feel so blessed!

I'm happy to be back blogging and getting back into my groove.  Thank you everyone for staying with me as I took a couple week hiatus.  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Overdue + Snow Storm =

Overdue + Snow Storm = Spend the Night in a Hotel

When you're overdue with baby #3 and there is bad winter weather expected you have to ask yourself, do I risk staying 25 miles away from the hospital or do we pack up the family and spend the night in the town next to our hospital.  Well, for the last two nights my family opted for the latter option!

6+ inches of snow fell in our area Monday night and last night there were 35-40+ mph winds blowing that new snow.  My Farmer and I talked it through and decided if we would stay home, the baby would want to come and we'd be at risk of having baby #3 in the car and if we stayed in a hotel close the hospital the baby probably would decide to stay in the womb to stay warm but we'd have some family fun during our final days as a family of four.

Maybe we should have stayed at home though because I am now five days overdue...  Oh well, better to be safe than sorry and the kids have had a lot of fun staying in a hotel and taking full advantage of the pool and all the continental breakfast options.  But now we are headed home with hopes of returning to town soon and welcoming baby #3 into this world!

Do you have any memorable birth stories because of weather?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Cookie Thief

I asked my Facebook fans and Instagram followers how'd they caption this photo from earlier today.  How would you caption it?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Harvest Sky

On this final Wordless Wednesday post as part of my 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series I thought what better picture to show you than a view from my tractor seat at dusk!  It is one of my favorite times of the day.  Aren't the colors beautiful?

What is your favorite part of the fall?  Mine has got to be the vibrant colors - from the leaves to the sky.  Simply beautiful!  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

(This post is a part of a 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.  The best way to keep up with this series is to follow via email on the right sidebar of this post or by following on Bloglovin.  Also be sure to like the Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Facebook page for daily updates from the field.)

Wordless Wednesday - My Favorite Buddy Seat Riders Through the Years

Earlier this week I took this picture of MP riding with me in the tractor:

And it made me think back a lot to this photo I took back in 2012 of LP and I when he was just a few months older:

I love having these two as my buddy seat riders!

LP & MP taking a break with Mom
hanging out on the tractor tire earlier this week

We have one more Wordless Wednesday post this month as part of my "31 Days from a Tractor Seat" blog series.  What photos would you like to see next week?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

(This post is a part of a 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.  The best way to keep up with this series is to follow via email on the right sidebar of this post or by following on Bloglovin.  Also be sure to like the Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Facebook page for daily updates from the field.)

Wordless Wednesday - Sometimes You've got to Stay Up for a Homecoming

Harvest creates a lot of long hours and long days, but earlier this week I was more than happy to add hours to my day.  After nearly a year from being away from home, my youngest sister and her unit returned back to Iowa this week!  I left my house at 10:30 pm so I could see her when she stepped off the plane at 1 am on "Monday night".

My sister walking off of the airplane

Our first hug since her leave at Christmas

I'm very proud to be a solider's sister and am so happy for her to be at home.  It was great to see many soldiers from her unit step off the airplane earlier this week.  I'm happy and honored that I got to be apart of this military homecoming!  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

(This post is a part of a 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.  The best way to keep up with this series is to follow via email on the right sidebar of this post or by following on Bloglovin.  Also be sure to like the Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Facebook page for daily updates from the field.)

Wordless Wednesday - Views from my Tractor Seat

Combining Soybeans at Sunset

Making a new pass in a corn field

LP having fun with Mom in the tractor and catch cart 

MP taking an afternoon nap while working with Mom

(This post is a part of a 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.  The best way to keep up with this series is to follow via email on the right sidebar of this post or by following on Bloglovin.  Also be sure to like the Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Facebook page for daily updates from the field.)

Farm Progress Show Wordless Wednesday

Today My Farmer and I loaded up our van with LP, MP, my Father-in-law and one of our neighbors and we headed to the Farm Progress Show, the nation's largest outdoor agriculture show featuring the world's best seed genetics, equipment and in-field practices.  AKA a one-stop show for a farmer to look at the best of the best and get their questions answered by experts.  Before calling it a night I just had share a couple photos of our adventures today!

I enjoyed some GMO sweet corn at the Farm Progress Show today.
It was sweet, juicy and delicious!

Both of the kids had a lot of fun checking everything out
Here is LP checking out some drainage tile

I also took some time to attend a #FPS14 Tweet Up
It was a lot of fun to meet other Tweeters, including @JPlovesCOTTON
(Also, thanks Janice for letting me borrow your photo)

We had a great day and got to see a lot of great things and visit with a lot of great people.  Did you go to the Farm Progress Show?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Latimer, Iowa Little Free Library

If you are ever around Latimer, Iowa be sure to check out our Little Free Library in Downtown.  We have a large selection of books for babies to adults - check out some of the titles circulating through the Library on my blog's new Little Free Library tab.

What is your favorite book of all-time?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Enjoying Today

Some days you've got to leave the laundry...

Forget your dirty house...

And just enjoy a nice day and play with your kids.

I hope you all had as great of a day as I did today.  (And how in the world did it get to be Wednesday already?!)  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Signs that Spring FINALLY arrived!

We finally have been able to plant corn this week

Our corn planter and tractor

I got all of my garden plants and flowers picked up
Now I just need to get them planted!

Tulip in bloom

What is your favorite sign of spring?  Is spring delayed where you live?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Farm Kids

Heading to the field!  Is lunch ready for us?

Thank you to my Facebook Fans that helped me caption this photo for today.  If you haven't liked my blog's Facebook page yet you should like it today!

What caption do you have for this photo?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - North Iowa Baconfest

On Sunday, My Farmer and I attended the 1st North Iowa Baconfest at the iconic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake.  My favorite bacon samples were the Cookies BBQ Infused Bacon from Fareway Grocery Stores and Webster City Meats and the Peanut Butter Banana Bacon Cupcakes from Grandma Sugar's Cupcakery of Mason City.  We had a great time and look forward to seeing the event get bigger and better for next year!

Enjoying some BACON!

Got Bacon???
My Farmer and I made sure to wear our bacon/pork shirts to the Baconfest

Do you want to learn more about Bacon?  Be sure to check out these other posts on bacon then:

• Impress your friends at Baconfest
• Benefits of Bacon
• Blue Ribbon Baconfest in Des Moines

Have you ever been to a "Baconfest" before?  Do you have a favorite bacon treat?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Crazy Family Traditions

For the last 11 years my extended family had decided it was a good idea to jump in my uncle and aunt's farm pond on the Saturday closest to April 1st.  This year LP became the youngest person ever to participate in the April Fools' Pond Plunge with 36 degree water and 45 degree outside temperature!  LP said it was cold and a lot of fun!

The "plungers" getting ready to go in
Costumes have become a growing tradition over the years

The "plungers" calling all of the observers whips
(My Farmer "volunteered" to take photos and hold MP...)

LP and I are going in!

LP & I all warmed up after taking the April Fools' Pond Plunge!

Does your family have any unique or even crazy family traditions?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - You Just Have to Smile

Have you ever had that feeling that the silence coming from the living room isn't a good thing?  Well the other day when I was making supper the living room went silent.  After about five minutes of silence I walked into the living room, looked over the couch and found both kids laying on the floor with ink all over their faces, feet and legs.  I had left a pen on one of our side tables and LP decided to give MP and himself tattoos I guess.  MP had in mainly on her face which you can see somewhat well in the photo.  LP mainly had it on his legs and feet.  But it was just one of those times you had to take a breath, smile and take a photo before educating your kids about how we don't play with pens.  I was just happy it wasn't marker!

Have you ever had one of these moments?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!