Three little words that mean so much.

Photo courtesy of the Jamestown Sun.  Team Wilson in the 2010 4th of July Parade. It takes a strong man to push a stroller.

We (and I mean, Jeremy, myself, all three kiddos, and a partridge in a pear tree) recently returned from a 12 day jaunt to the east coast to visit family and friends for the holidays.  It was wonderful, crazy, joyful and stressful, but overall an incredible blessing. 

I'm grateful we could swing this, afterall, for the first half of 2011 we wondered if we'd even have a crop to sell. God has been so good to us, and so has Delta's frequent flier miles program. 

I am glad that we achieved what we had set out to accomplish- to catch up with friends and family we hadn't seen in ages, to introduce them to our baby boy and to help my Mom go through some of my childhood belongings and "downsize". 

Baby Boy Wilson is already six months old!

The downsizing process was quite the blast from the past.  Did you know that around 1985, I got a Pound Puppies watch? Did you know that little girls (including my daughter) are still drawn to Pound Puppy watches? ("Hey Mom...w..w...what's that? Can I have it?"- C.W.) Some items just HAD to be passed on and packed for the return trip to North Dakota :)

Pound Puppies!

Even Santa somehow knew that we'd be at Mom and Dad's for the holidays and dropped off gifts under the tree and stuffed the stockings that were hung by the chimney with care.

It was such a joy and a comfort to sit and visit with our loved ones.  They all asked what we were up to and Jeremy would always answer them with "Sarah and I farm..." 

So here are the three little words that mean so much to me.  Yes, "I love you" coming from my dear husband means a lot, but even more than that "Sarah and I", reinforcing that our farm business is a team effort and we're in this thing together.

Those three words, "Sarah and I", warmed my heart more than Grandma Joan's famous baked pineapple.

Grandma Joan and C.W.  Love you, Grandma Joan!

I recall sitting at a milk marketing meeting that I had set up when I was working as a dairy extension educator in Minnesota in 2004.  A very successful young dairyman and his wife were part of the group and when we got around the table to their place in the introductions, he said "Rachelle and I"...as he continued to describe their farm..."and, well, without her I wouldn't be able to do what I do".  He continued his introduction with compliments on how well she handles the bookkeeping for the farm (and she really is GREAT at that) and how they work together on so many things in their business.
I remember thinking to my (single at the time) self how rare it was to hear a farmer so forthright with compliments for his wife, and I silently hoped that someday I could be part of a marriage and a farm business partnership like theirs.

And now here I am, "Jeremy and I", farming and raising a family together.

Praise be to God for bringing us together.  Praise be to God for friends and family, especially Kraig and Rachelle, for the joy the Christmas season brings, for safe travels and for time to reconnect with my little family, even if it was over something as simple as Pound Puppies :)