Choosing To Be Thankful

Surely we don't work on the house ALL the time. No, we don't. We have periods of time where we are waiting to work on the house. Especially when we are dealing with various delays. Like now. We still haven't got the underlay for the floor. It's out there somewhere. Probably sitting in a warehouse, our order lost in cyberspace. Every time the truck arrives that it is supposed to be on, we phone but sadly no, it's not there. I don't think I need to say that this is seriously impeding progress. For the last 2 and a half weeks. Somewhat irritating to say the least. There are other things to keep us busy though. While we wait.

Like the oven breaking down. What timing. I have a beautiful oven sitting in the garage waiting to be installed up at the house so it was a tough sell to convince Phil that we need a new one for the trailer. I didn't really want a new one anyway but having an oven surely does make life easier. The answer?

A freebie from the classifieds. I was assured it worked but it was free so there are no guarantees. It did work. Everything except the oven. But it wasn't a complete loss. Hannah had the great idea to take some parts from the non-working oven and put them into the other non-working oven. (Thankfully, they didn't work for different reasons). And voila! We're back in business.

Hannah also got a pretty good understanding of how an oven works. Problem solved and homeschooling for the win!

We had a new baby join our farm this week who will help pass the time for sure. He's a 2 week old jersey X bull calf.

He will need to be bottle fed for the next couple months but thankfully, there is no shortage of willing, helpful hands.

He is always happy to see the bottle, no matter who is holding it.

Not everyone, however, enjoys the mess he makes.I love Joey's expression! !

His new neighbours come over to see what all the fuss is about.

So what else do we do to pass the time? Well....

Steven likes to draw. He is working on faces right now.

He's really starting to capture life like characteristics.

Can you guess who they are? 

Joey likes to draw too but he tends to stick with his favourite. Dinosaurs!!

He also likes to create his own breeds by altering their DNA.

We seem to have been in dinosaur mode for quite some time. 

(20 years so far and still going strong!)

One of Abby's favourite things to do is to play dinosaurs.

Many hours are passed setting up different scenarios.

Lydia's passion right now is babies.

It is so much fun to watch her practicing her mommy skills!

Hannah enjoys needlework of all sorts.

And the occasional paint by number. 

(Not to mention all the yummy snacks she makes for us!)

We like to go for walks too. Even if the weather doesn't always co-operate. All the more puddles to jump in.

Matt likes to take a non-working project like this...

...and do this to it...

...and have this as the result. I have to say, it comes in very handy at times.

Ben enjoys woodwork. He bought the plans for a pantograph and built his own. 

He has also been practicing with the router and making signs. He's managed to get some orders and is selling them too.

He always seems to find a way to combine the things he enjoys.  :-)

And Phil? Phil is a reader. He always has been. If he has a spare minute, you'll find him reading. Really any printed material will do but his favourites are the latest homesteading magazines. He is always finding lots of ideas he's anxious to try.

Are you wondering what I like to do in my "spare time"? Well, mostly, you're reading it. I like to write and journal our experiences of life and house building and blog about them. I also enjoy scrapbooking and sewing too but lately, during this season of busyness, I have been sticking to writing. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm shamelessly trying to distract you from the fact that I don't really have anything, house wise, to blog about. We were told the underlay would arrive today, tomorrow or yesterday. Hmmm, well today and yesterday are out so maybe tomorrow? Possibly but I won't be holding my breathe. I look around and I am tempted to be irritated. Life can be just be like that. 

Irritating. 

Stoves break down. So do vans (ours is in the shop as I write this. Again.). Children disobey and in general, make a lot of noise (I may or may not have just reminded everyone, yet again, to bring the noise level down. In a nice way, of course). ;-) There are also various ways that communication can break down between spouses and we find ourselves, irritated.

But life also has a way of putting things into perspective. We recently attended the funeral of a two year old girl who died in a tragic accident on the family's farm. I cannot begin to fathom their grief. What they would do to bring her back. What they would give for just a bit more time. But time is also something to be put into perspective. You might have a whole lifetime to truly know someone or you might have to fit a whole lifetime into a couple of years. The problem is, we don't know exactly how much we will have. Maybe 60 or 70 years? Or maybe 2. 

So tonight, I am choosing to be thankful instead of irritated. Thankful for each day. For each moment. Each breath. I have no way of knowing which one will be the last. 

And I want to savour them. 

All of them.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:1-6

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4