Fri April 23 3529

4/23/10 Denny set the live trap last night and we caught a stray gold cat. At the unit I didn't get to spraying. Just worked on hanging cards, heat lamps and getting ready for the 93 ( instead of 133) to farrow. Anabel didn't have her shot yesterday. They are going to do a pet scan next week and see what to do next. We are headed to St. Joseph when Denny gets home from the bank (about 6:20). NO WAIT!! WE CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL DENNY TRIES TO DROWND OUT THE MOLE HE HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET RID OF ALL THIS WEEK. THe great hunter still remains. Gotta love him :)

Thurs. April 22

4/22/10 Quick coffee at the folks before starting to spray another 2 rooms. At 4:30 I quit and met Denny in IG to get some Awana store items. PLUS pizza. He had given OABCIG 8th graders a ride in the Prius for Earth day. Kent N. set it up as part of a TAG project. I am so thankful Denny said he would go work at the unit after we ate our pizza in the Bomgaars parking lot. (How's that for romance?) He worked for 2 hours while I went to the track meet, met with a HS student, sat like a bump on a log, just watching runners go by, listening to others visit, not engaging my mind or body, just observing. I don't know where this picture of Torren was taken. Maybe he's thinking he would like to spray someone. He could use mine.

Wed. April 21

4/21/10 Well, It is "load out" time for pigs again. 28 days since the last time we did it. Shipped out 1200 pigs weighing 13.98#. Jon helped until 10 am. Then I was on my own to spray out 2 rooms ... at 3 hours per room. I was not having as much fun with the water as Matt was spraying his friend. I was pretty shot by the time I made it to our last regular Awana meeting. We have really had nice girls to work with this year. 2 clubbers finished their books. Amelia M. and Grace H.

Tues April 20 3385

4/20/10 Coffee at the folks. After feeding I came home and transplanted / moved a peonie, and 4 Russian sage plants. Denny called at noon and said we were having visitors at the unit at 4. Good visit with Barb and Jim. When we got home we just walked outside around the farm. Denny has been wanting a fire pit. UBI is offering a free one this spring ... if you open a checking account. That wasn't quite what Denny had in mind. When we went to Nicole Stewart's wedding, the nursery (where the reception was) had a big 9 foot one made with landscape stones. Now that was a fire pit. We found some huge limestone rocks half buried in the grove and brought them up to the concrete with the bobcat. Presto! Now we can clean up the grove of wood and enjoy the out of doors while watching the fire. We ate an outside supper of turkey sandwiches and fresh asparagus. Come join us around the fire, any time. Working together with the stones made me think of Becky's Grandma H. She used the tractor loader (I think) brought up lots of great river rock to her home to use. What fun she must have had. We sure enjoyed gathering and using what we had.

Mon April 20

4/20/10 Vet and owners came to the unit by 7. I did all recording of info on wean cards. Denny came about 4 and we gave shots to all 1200 pigs that are going to be weaned Wed. Mark joined us on room 3 Great to have the 6 rooms done. I hurried down to Bible study afterward, 5 gals here. Emily, Elizabeth, Danielle (it was her birthday today!) Stephanie and Ranae. Just good to see them. They had not been here since December. I got 2 phone calls while we were meeting, Mandy was one of them :) When the third call came I think I just rolled my eyes or some thing and didn't run and answer it. The gals laughed. Emily had called me from her cell phone. It was so funny. They got me goood! Great to see Luke and Karen at Evan's 4th BD. I called and the teaching position had been filled with some one with "current" experience. They had a lot of applicants and were able to be "picky". Good thing God knows our dreams, plans and future. He knows best.

Sun April 18

4/18/10 Do you think Great Grandma was happy to hold Brooks? This am we went to the unit early. Picked some daffodils for church bouquets. I was in the nursery with Carrie S. Denny and I left about 12:30 for a court house road trip. The IG motorcycle club has a challange to visit CH in the State. We saw the Cherokee CH in Cherokee, The O'brien CH in Primgaar, The Osceola County CH in Sibley, The Lyon CH in Rock Rapids, and Sioux CH in Orange City. We got back to Arthur about 6:30. It was brisk, but great to be on the bike.

Sat April 17

4/17/10 EVAN IS FOUR!!! We went to the unit early so we could pick up G GMa and GGpa at 8:30 am to go to a birthday party at Parkersburg. 6 Great grandparents ... 4 grand parents ... and Luke and Karen. You are loved, Evan! Pizza and fruit and a veg. platter. Every one got a chance to hold Brooks, too. We got home about 7:30 and went to a movie in Denison. The Last Song.

Fri April 16 3260

4/16/10 Pretty regular day. To the unit at 5:45- 7 am. To HS in IG 8 - 3:30 pm. The guy I subbed for has 8 PE classes on Fridays. I went outside all 8 periods for flag football or soccer. It was cold in the am, but there was more sun in the pm. About 33 % of students complained (loudly) about circumstances. I had to send only 1 student to the office for foul language and uncalled for behavior. Prom is tomorrow night. Was that why they were
kinda off the wall? It is quite different in IG to have Prom on Sat night. One of the changes of joining with OA. When I got home after school I couldn't keep my eyes open so I took a nap, then up to the unit til 6:45. Denny fixed egg sandwiches for supper and I just laid around. Denny got a different TV in IG this noon at Brenners. Ours was wrecked during the ice storm this Jan. I sure am glad I'm not the one in charge of the tech of setting up the remote. We (HE) sat and diddled with that for almost an hour. Do you know that "sisters are the greatest friends in the world?" Cute video on Sara's blog. E mail from ISU today said I would need 4-8 weeks of student teaching to complete my Elem Ed PE degrees..I would need to sign up now for next fall's teaching. How would I work that into my schedule? ..or not.

Thur April 15

4/15/10 Up to the unit early. We cleaned a little before going to work. Howard and Anabel came home today from a visit to Youslings in Colorado. We had been taking care of their livestock. (Thank you, Lord, that nothing happened to Princess while they were gone.) I subbed for HS PE this afternoon. It went pretty well. He had planned to be outside walking or playing soccer, but it rained so they played kick ball or whiffle ball in the gym. Denny and I ate supper out on the deck ... chips and turkey swiss spinach roll ups. YUM! I really like to mow. First time this year. The freshly cut grass smells so good. Missy is having fun with Brooks . She has liked playing with little babies for a long time. Denny tried to poison the mole in our front yard tonight. While we were outside Curt R. stopped and visited. Denny talked to Lonnie at the bank today.

Wed April 14

4/14/10 I sprayed out room 4 today. Then to Arthur with Bailey R. to get ready for a tea party with the 5th and 6th graders. All 14 girls were there by 5:30. Most came at 3:30. It was a fun afternoon. Della brought tea and made cupcakes and choc chip cookies. I brought pizza and pop. Denny joined us to eat around 5:30. The picture is from last year. It's not downloaded yet from my camera. Della also had nail polish for manicures and we french braided some of the girl's hair.

Tues April 13 3090

4/13/10 When we got home Sun night, I walked into our empty garage and thought "Who would steal my car?". Oh, yeah, we left my car in Arthur and took the pickup to Parkersburg on Friday night. I rode with Denny this am to get my car. It is nice to have flowers blooming in our yard. The dandelions aren't quite as big as they were on this Mother's Day which we spent with Hendersons at a park near Denison.

Mon April 12

4/12/10 Up early to the unit. We ate breakfast about 7 am with Gail and Bruce. Denny left for work. We three headed to Orange City. There was a memorial service for my cousin Dan's 30 year old son (Scott) who got infection after pneumonia and died about 2 weeks ago. So sad. Craig and Marilyn came from Decorah. We left about 11 because Bruce had a track meet at Creston. It was good to see the 3 Meylink cousins, their wives and families. At home I finished processing pigs. I was tempted to be depressed about our hog situation, but kept thinking about those who have really hard things to deal with. Cancer ... having a son die ... Lord be with those who are hurting. No one came for Bible study tonight. We were in bed by 9. All the going wears a person out.

Sun April 11

4/11/10 HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILLIP!! We took A&E to SS and church. Phillips youth band was playing at second service. After church we went and got Casey's pizza. Denny raked the lawn while the rest of us rested. I went out later and got the big pile of leaves back where the tomatoes grow. Nice day to be outside. We left for home about 6. Gail and Bruce were in Storm Lake for a meeting for their Tanzania mission trip. They got to our farm a little after we got home. Good to have them spend the night with us. We went out to the coop, ate snacks, and visited around the wood burning stove.

Sat April 10

4/10/10 Nice lazy day. Just playing with the kids and holding the baby. We took the canoes out to an acreage where they are going to store them. Then to Allison where we watched A&E in the library while Missy fed and Phillip got some groceries. Kids had P&J dinosaur sandwiches for lunch. Naps in afternoon. Pork chops and potatoes for supper. NICE lazy day.

Fri April 9

4/9/10 I went to the unit before heading to IG to sub for PE. 4 classes in the morning at the HS, 3 elementary classes in afternoon in Odebolt. It was nice enough to be outside for all the classes. I sure enjoy that. Then home to feed the second time, pack and meet Denny in Arthur. He had gotten the pickup and canoe trailer ready for the trip to Parkersburg. We got there about 9:30 pm. Little Brooks was still up.

Thurs April 8

4/8/10 It's quiet in the basement. Anabel joined me is the living room about 7 am for my devotions. Evan was with Laurie. She liked my daily Bible from Mo. Johnsons. We all headed to Miracle park about 9:30. One ride down the slide (that had a pool of water on the slide) was all it took before we were headed back home to change into dry clothes. We spent the rest of the am fixing meals to go in the freezer for Jensens at a later date. 2 pans of meat loaf - 2 bags of corn chowder soup - precooked chicken fajita meat - vegetables to go with fajitas - spinach balls - We had left over pizza for lunch and then all of us down for naps. I went to see downtown for a short visit. While I was gone Missy, Brooks, and Phillip came home. We all slept again. Laurie had fixed chicken fried rice for supper. I left for IG about 6. It takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Wed. April 7

4/7/10 HSHS Testing got over about 11. I went home and packed, straightened up (put away cinnamon roll ingredients and kitchen mess) About 2, I went to Arthur then headed to Waterloo hospital. People were generous to cover my assignments at Awana. Grandma Laurie was already at the hospital with Anabel and Evan when I got there. Of course, Brooks is awesome. We had pizza and then back home to Parkersburg. I slept in the basement. Laurie manned the upstairs (with Evan waking up a couple times). Did I mention that Brooks has dimples??

Tues April 6

4/6/10 Up early to work at the unit and finish baking cinnamon rolls for Home School HS ITED test takers. I got done about 12 and met Denny in Arthur. We drove to Lake City for 100 doses of PG to give to the gilts. I think it's a long ways there. It took about 1 1/2 hours round trip. Back to the unit to process. Denny is headed to motorcycle meeting at 5:30. He had said he would not be able to help me after the meeting, but he showed up with left over microwaved hot dogs and chips. about 6:30. I had decided to just leave the rest of the litters until Wed. afternoon. He came anD said that Missy had gone to the hospital. We ate and then worked on the last 24 litters together. It goes so much faster! At home we got a call that Brooks Canaan Jensen arrived at 10:26 pm. 8# 2 oz. Praise the Lord! With the pigs processed I am able to head to Parkersburg after home school testing.

Mon April 5

4/5/10 I went to a PQA meeting at the extension office from 10 until 12. Then to the unit to process until 5:30. Lynn came for Bible Study. Denny went to church to rake up rocks that got pushed on the lawn from Highway 175 with all th snow removal this winter. A guy from BV called with some information on classes available perhaps in Denison or Storm Lake. When we get together with the Johnson family there are always a lot of black olive lovers. Saturday was no exception and Linda had great BIG black olives. YUM!

Sun April 4

4/4/10 HAPPY EASTER!! He is Risen ... HE is RISEN INDEED!! After feeding at the unit I headed to church. I was on the serving committee for the 9 am breakfast. It went really well. After church Denny and I just hung out at home. Kinda of tired from going. It was a beautiful day, warm, not windy. I got dead plants off the flower beds. Denny washed the pickup and the car. I went to Bergmans to sit around the fire for a while. They had called while we were eating microwaved hot dogs and chips out on the front picnic table. They invited us over to roast hot dogs. It sounded lots better than the ones we microwaved. I joined them for s'mores, Denny finished his wash and took a shower. It was a great day. Such nice weather.

Sat April 3 2750

4/3/10 Up to the unit early, so I could be in Carroll by 8 am to get Prius work done. Then I drove to Manson for Johnson get together at Whaleys. Luke brought Denny, Howard and Anabel. He left from there about 2 pm to go back to Burlington. Luke and his boss had to work an a presentation for Monday. It was a great meal and a great time to visit. We skyped with Youslings. At home I mixed up a casserole for Easter breakfast tomorrow. Seems like only yesterday we getting Easter egg with Matt. Denny hasn't changed much.

Fri April 2

4/2/10 Coffee with Anabel. Then to the unit from 8 until 4:30. Lots of litters to even out and process. I did try to get a hold of BV to see what classes they might have to get certification for Elem PE. Luke and Karen came to IG. We met them, Reese & Rose, and Goldsmith's for supper at the Family Table. Then we went to Good Friday services. Rhoze T. was singing there in their worship team. It was really good to see her.

Thur April 1

4/1/10 Some times life gets tilted around. We just try to stay upright. That's kind of the way we feel about work at the unit and bank. I subbed at the HS for PE. Pretty good day. The last 4 afternoon classes walked the track so I got to walk about 2 miles for each class period. I went home to get my more comfortable shoes during the 2nd hour planning period. It was warm, but windy. If there had been no wind it would have been hot while we were walking. Some students still complained. Great day to be outside after all this long cold winter. The motorcycle was ready, so I met Denny in Arthur after school and we drove to Algona to get the trailer and Harley that we left there.