3/31/09

Tuesday March 31 Subbed at OA for junior high science. Howard and Anabel joined us for supper. Missy had fixed yummy chicken.Evan and Anabel went for a drive while we finished supper. Plans for Awana girl's tea party take shape. Weather caused home school testing to be postponed.

3/30/09

Monday March 30 Nice healthy pigs at the unit!! That's a praise!! Denny worked all day at the computer, leaving the office only to eat with the Jensens at noon. Plus he got some afternoon exercise while he and Phillip moved the rest of the furniture up to the garage. The basement is empty...The garage is full...The cats are locked out...(Well, it's my job to keep the cats out so they don't scratch the furniture-or worse.)The Penzey moving truck is scheduled to be loaded April 10 and Phillip will drive it to Parkersburg on the 11th. Until then the family will be living in Alan and Laurie's home in Ames. Phillip's folks are in India for 3 weeks. Phillip will commute from Ames to Parkersburg starting April 1. Nice Bible study group of gals tonight. Laura, Lynn, Missy, Steph, Emily, Danielle, & me. Thank you,Lord for so many blessings!!

3/29/09

Sunday March 29 Last day for donuts...on a regular basis... I can still do it when Evan (or other grand kids) come to visit. Pastor said technically the service today wasn't a commissioning because Missy and Phillip aren't members of Arthur E Free ...But it was a commissioning service (basically because we are behind them with our love and prayers as they go into full time ministry at Parkersburg. Praying that God, who is able, will do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work...to Him be glory for ever and ever.) The music was great. Phillip's grandparents from Rohlf, Betty and Phillip Brinkman, came to the service.

3/28/09

Saturday March 28 Denny had planned to get some book work done...but more fun to help Missy get some pictures printed for framing and play with E&A. I did plant some seeds for this summer, but some were from 2006 and so I don't suppose they will grow. Just felt good to get in the dirt. Actually Friday I jumped the gun and put some of my dalhia plants outside. I forgot about taking them in until after the families from Bible study left and the plants had frozen...I think they will come back. Sure hope so...It looks like Anabel likes to eat them.

3/27/09

Friday March 27 Worked at the unit til 3. It was Neil Lerrson's 3rd day learning the ropes. He will be taking Phillip's spot the days we need him, especially the 3 days we wean 1000 pigs, move 133 sows , and spray 6 farrowing rooms. At 5:30 nine families from Bible study came for a potluck. 15 adults and 9 kids. It was really fun to have them all here.

3/26/09

Thursday March 26 I subbed at BCIG for Kurt Brown. We picked up Howard and Anabel and drove to Blair to see Eric in the Musical...The Wiz. It was very good. They had him grow his red hair long for his mane.

3/25/09

Wed. March 25 Wean,ship,spray,move 5:30 am til 4:30 pm...to rec center 4 miles on elliptical 5-6pm...pick up kids for Awana 6-8:30 take home...Sing at church til 10:15...Visit with Denny and neighbors til after 11:15pm Good full day

3/24/09

Tuesday March 24 At the rec center Farm Bureau was having a health screening. It looked to me like I was pretty healthy. I substituted for Mrs. Bryan this afternoon...good kids...Sure, I got to watch 2 videos on reproductive body parts and contraception...for 2 class periods. The next class was on budget. I wish I had just brought along a Dave Ramsey CD for them to listen to. I may give the set to Kay to hear. We went to Great grandma and G'pa's for supper with Jensens. YUM!!! roast beef, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, relishes, tossed salad, and to top it off...banana cream pie. It was so fun to watch the little ones play there. Plus most of us did the exercise CD with Howard. She's quite a great granny!!!

3/23/09

Monday March 23 On the way home from our pork PQA meeting is started to rain...very heavy...and Denny was glad because it would wash off the winter salt from the roads. Bring on the summer.

3/22/09

Sunday March 22 Phillip, Michael Ward, Cody Cooper, Ryan Rydberg, and Kate Bergman were the praise team for church. It was such a blessing. Sarah Ward was so thrilled to have her son and brother Cody in the team. Many thanks to Phillip for the time invested in their lives. We went to Pizza Hut afterwards. Long naps in the afternoon. Donuts in am with Evan. Denny lead the parenting SS class with pastor (and 7 other couples) being gone to Weekend to Remember. Denny had written a Iowa motorcycle magazine "Throttler" to tell about our club's challenge to visit places in Iowa. Teri Meyer,one gal in Ida Grove's club, visited 47 of the 50 places in the challenge. She has pictures to document it and lots of stories to tell. They were interested in the story and asked him to e mail some pictures of us seeing the sights in Iowa...WHY ELSE WOULD YOU HAVE A PICTURE TAKE WITH A HUGE BULL IN AUDUBON IOWA???

3/21/09

Saturday March 21 Bridal shower for Shyla and Micah Schmidt at 2. Missy did a good job on the devotional. Yellow was such a fun color to decorate with...daffodils and daisies. Denny cut up 4 bobcat loads of fire wood for the coop. Watched big screen movie Band of Brothers with the neighboors.

3/20/09

Friday March 20  Spring is here!!!  Just got home from supper with Carol and Curt Raasch and dessert at their home with Rick V. 7:30-10:20 discussing pigs.  I picked up stray wood around the coop this afternoon with the bobcat.  It's the first time I've ever used it.  3 big loads of junk to the burn pile. I spray painted the deck chairs.   We decorated for a bridal shower at church.  Missy got home from Minneapolis.  Mandy and Morgan live in an apartment with Rikki in Denver.  Mandy spent the last few days in Los Vegas.

3/19/09

Thursday March 19 I watched kids at 6 am while Phillip went in work out at the rec center. After the unit I finished making new covers for the deck chairs. We left to go get the motorcycle in Algona about 2:30. The mechanics worked on it even more closely than Torren and Haley's inspection last June in Atlantic. It should be ready to go as soon as the salt gets off the highways. Stopped at Walmart to get paint for the deck chairs...and a whole lot more. Denny decided his hair color is...CHROME.

3/18/09

March 18, Wednesday I subbed for Mr. Hesse...art...at the high school. Missy went to see Torgrudes in Minneapolis. I brought home Deandra, Patrick and Chance for pizza supper. We took little ones to Awana. Anabel loves to be in game time with the girls. Evan loved the kitty that Elsie Smith brought. 5 miles on the elliptical after Awana.

3/17/09

Tuesday March 17 TOP OF THE MORNING TO YOU!! Working at the rec center this am came really early after a really short night. This picture is from Dunning Springs, too. August 2007 Worked out after work. Motorcycle meeting at 5:30, then to Idabowl for supper. Started to recover deck chairs.

3/16/09

Monday March 16 The vet and Curt came at 7am. They thought the pigs looked okay. I went to Atlantic to visit recuperating Gail. Todd was there, so it was good to see him. Mostly Gail had medical people visiting her...the man with the automatic knee bending machine...the home health care nurse...the physical therapist. Home for Bible study at 6:30. Our neighboors had us down for Phillip's spiced up V 8. The picture is from Dunning Springs in Decorah, Iowa.

3/15/09

Sunday March15 Luke and Karen made it to Brownsville 4 Seasons about 4:30 today. I think we're a little jealous. This pictures was taken at Cody Smith's wedding when the flash on my camera wasn't working. Denny, Evan, and I went for donuts before SS. Naps in afternoon. I did run the section before church at 6. Nice lazy day. I heard from my sisters that Jane fell while she and Keith were skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and broke her shoulder and knee. I can't imagine how much that would hurt and change your life. 7 screws to put the joint back together.

3/14/09

Sat. March 14 It doesn't happen very often but today the girls won the Awana Olympics. Pretty exciting for 13 girls. Someone asked me how long I'd been doing the Awana Games. I looked back in my picture album and found a pix from 1989 of Matt and Todd Henderson doing the 3 legged run. 20 years...I haven't missed very many (a couple I was gone to Texas). The big SC churches weren't there...don't tell the girls that competition wasn't that tough. We had 10 first place finishs out of 20 possible. After we got home we went to Denny's folks for coffee. The neighbors brought up supper and we watched the kids while they went a Walmart run. Anabel wasn't feeling the best. I also did 5 miles on the elliptical. I rode up with Paul Bennett and Chris Clark and home with Julie Leed and Rachel Masters. Nice visits.

3/13/09

Friday March 13...Gail had knee surgery yesterday. The doctor said there was less cartilage left in her knee than he had thought...so the repair was more than he had planned on, but he felt it went well. Bruce was there Thursday and Brad was there today. After working at the unit I got my wish. I ran the section. It was a beautiful day...Missy joined me the last mile. Haircut with Janet at 4. Restful ??evening at home... planning Awana Games tomorrow...Artichoke/spinach dip with the neighbors as Evan played David and Goliath with anyone who would be Goliath. Bring on the summer so we can swim with the kids.

3/12/09

March 12 Thursday I'm thankful for my flexible job. I can get the sows fed early and go about my day. I was in Holstein at 8:15 to meet the Clarks for a home school visit. Then to S.C. to weigh in for WW. At 11 I met with the Roseners and Wieselers at Panera Bread YUM. I got Awana store stuff at Hobby Lobby and hit 5 thrift shops...7, if you include the 2 in IG. Got a big piece of carpet perhaps for a downstairs bedroom. I had to use the bicycle at the rec center for 10 minutes until elliptical came open for 3 miles. I got tired of watching HGTV and was bored...maybe I can be outside tomorrow. Haley looks alot happier on the trike than I was on the stationary bike.

3/11/09

Wed. March 11 Of course, there were breakdowns at the unit before we went to the bank for our annual tongue lashing. Those were Denny's words. He had to go to Storm Lake for parts to fix a feed auger in the am. Missy and I went to the Rec Center. Denny said I should say that Anabel puked and vomited all over the floor (and him) while he was watching her while Missy and I were at the Rec Center and Phillip was practicing for leading worship in 2 weeks. Good, hectic Awana while we tried to get ready for Awana games on Saturday. Nice visit with M&P later tonight.

3/10/09

Tuesday March 10...Early day at the Rec Center. 4 miles on Ellip. Tried to start start doing something with pictures from my folks...but it was more fun to watch Missy and Phillip work on refinishing a bookcase in the garage. Snowy Icey day, but at 6:30 pm we headed to Goodenows to watch a HBO movie Taking Chance and strawberry pie for Gordon's birthday. The ice was awful when I left the rec center at 10am. It was raining when I went to work...then it froze...streets, sidewalks, the windshield...just a thick layer of ice. I was really glad to make it home safely.

3/9/09

Monday March 9 We did a lot of processing baby pigs today. I told the Bible study gals that I should have Bible verses on cards to work on memorization while I take care of the babies. Later at study Missy questioned how the cards would appear after getting the occasional testicle or iron sprayed on them. That sure made every one laugh. Maybe the tails would form a free floating exclamation marks? I did get 4.25 miles in on the elliptical this afternoon. Saturday June 27 is a Royal Run for BCIG scholarship...check out http://www.igroyalrun.com. I will spring for $20 registration fee for family runners. Let me know. It looks like fun. 5K, 10 K, & 1K children's run

3/8/09

Sunday March 8 I got up to the unit early so Evan and I could go for doughnuts before SS. It's a nice way to spend a little extra time with the grandson. After church there was a business meeting and lunch & a meeting for those who help or comprise the worship team. Denny helps run the sound system...so we got lunch. Missy and Phillip asked me if I wanted to go work out later in the afternoon. YES! They let me off at church where Denny was. After pm church I made fruit pizza and asked Howard and Anabel and our neighbors over. The picture is from last night when I gave the kids baths before we went out to eat for JPI. Pretty cute. Tonight I talked to a high school class mate, Dean Nierling...it sounds like we'll try to have a class reunion...class of 1969... July 18th weekend in NE Iowa. Sounds good. Truthfully that sounds old...40 years

3/7/09

Saturday March 7 Merry Christmas to us!! We went out to AK Corral in Ute for Johnson Pork Inc. Christmas meal. YUM!! Missy and Phillip got their first babysitter, but Evan was still awake when we got home. (Should have stayed out a little longer) :0) Yesterday was a beautiful day. After working in the unit we went out to the coop. It was too nice just to be "cooped" up in the house.Then we worked on the budget for 2009. Today was cold-gray-wet. When we got back from the unit today, all Denny's work on the budget had been erased. Oh, my that's not good.

3/6/09

Friday March 6 Happy Birthday Karen Goldsmith! Thanks for hanging out with my son.

3/5/09

Thursday March 5 Up to the unit at 5:30... Then home... and for coffee at folks at 8:15...unit til 10...Ida Grove for Home School meeting...Ate 11 lunch with Carol Thomson...Workout at 12 ( 4.5 elliptical miles)...My ab said "No crunches"...Bible study at Sue's at 1:30...They had ice cream cake as a treat for my birthday...Met Denny at Arthur at 3...Rode with him as he did a MOST ESSENTIAL thing. We took the Harley to Algona (where we purchased it) to get it serviced for the up and coming summer season. Before going home we stopped to check mamas...about half have farrowed. A sad thing happened Tues night. Last week at Bible Study we had talked about meeting Whitneys in Missouri Valley on this Tues night. It got canceled and Whitneys didn't get the message. They went to MV and no IG group. BooHoo...Planning at get together the end of the month.

3/4/09

Wed. March 4 The biggest thing I was thankful for today was that Missy asked me if I wanted to go into work out with her while the kids were taking naps and Phillip was watching them. I needed the 4 miles I put on the elliptical. I really needed the ab workout she tried to get me to do. I tried to follow her example...but my abs were going," What's this??? Usually the only motion we do is getting bigger. This exercise is foreign to us. Can't make us do crunches." I called my riders to Awana who weren't there last week when I went to pick them up...and yes, they would like to ride with me. They thought I was still in Texas. Larry Dose was gone from Awana so I lead Sparkie game time ,too. It was fun. I was at the unit at 6am and again after Awana til 9:30 pm. It's good those mamas are having babies. I had a nice visit with my Colorado nurse last night...miss her.

3/3/09

Tuesday March 3. Worked at Rec center 4:30-10 am. I stayed and went on the elliptical for about 4 miles. The pools heater was broken and instead of 86* it was 78*...so I only had 4 hardy takers for the water exercise class. At home I napped and then worked on putting my digital pictures into album pages in Publisher. Denny's working on a hand out for Awana clubbers that are going to the Awana games. Not a very productive day. This picture was taken over Christmas break in the baby pool at the Rec Center...these are NOT the 4 hardy swimmers in 78* water.

3/2/09

Monday March 3 I went to the unit 5-6:45 am so I could be home with the kids during the day. Denny went to a swine seminar in Cherokee. Good day just watching Evan and baby Anabel play in my home. The gals at Bible study loved Great Grandma Anabel's red cake that she baked me for my birthday. Missy and Phillip got home from Colorado about 8 pm.

3/1/09

Sunday March 3 Four of us went for donuts before SS this am. Denny dropped us off at church and went to talk to Mark Wunschel at Sparkies. I kept Anabel with me during church...hoping she would nap in my arms. She started to snuggle in and take the bottle during the sermon ...it looked hopeful...2 ounces...3 ounces...4 ounces...5 ounces...Then she sat up and erped up a good 2 ounces down my leg. Of course...no burp rag...just a soft cuddly taggie for her to snuggle in with while she slept. It now became a soggy taggie. She was awake and pleasant thru the sermon. After church I met with some who were planning a shower for Micah Schmidt's fiancee. I gave A to Denny and the next thing I looked over and she was sound asleep on his shoulder. That's what I was hoping for. We all had naps this afternoon. Denny went to church at night and I gave baths. Noneventful nice day. I was kinda hoping to connect with the Missouri Johnsons again before they headed south, but no such luck this time. E kinda had a melt down after church and it didn't seem like a good idea to head north to Kingsley for lunch.