The Many Faces of the Little Boy on the Prairie

Lesson learned...by trying to fix a typo in the original version of this post with my iPhone, I accidently deleted the entire thing!  So I'm going to try to re-create the original, because I was quite pleased with all but that one misspelling :)

Here we go, again...

The little boy on the prairie will be 10 months old next week.  He is a joy. He is a lot of work. He is many miracles rolled into one little human.

He has red hair. This means the Bedgar genes are strong with this one.

He is getting teeth...see...all the better to bite me with, my dear.

He is inquisitive.  So am I. Where did he get that scratch on his cheek anyway?

He is determined.

So much so that he found a loose piece of trim in the hallway and ripped it off.

Then he tried to eat it.

All.

Boy.

This face? This is the "I'm gonna change your world, Mama" face.

He has.
For the better.

I love him so.


"...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10, King James Version

The Wee Wilson's- Foolin' Around on April Fools

Has it really been this long since I put up a post!? Gee, I wonder why...maybe it's because we've been scrambling to get ready to plant our crop, or yet another round of the flu bug came through, or we took some time to celebrate the Easter season and that our risen Lord has freed us from sin, or perhaps, it was because I decided that the piles of laundry and dishes just HAD to go...I think it was a little of all of these, but either way, I'm putting up a few fun posts of our family being just us these past few weeks.

Here are a few fun pics of the Wee Wilson's fooling around on April Fools!  April Fools isn't just any day around here, it is my dear Grandpa Thomas' birthday, and although we miss him dearly, I know he is getting such a kick out of watching these little hooligans from heaven :)

Retro 80's boy.

Yep, that lasted about three seconds.

C.W.  jumped in for a kiss. That didn't go so well.  Oh, and my children are walking billboards on any given day. Want your business advertised? Just give them temporary tattoos! Fun Fact: Bobcat's are made in Gwinner, North Dakota. See www.bobcat.com :) 

I think he enjoys conversation from a bit of a distance instead of being covered in girl germs :)

This is the "I can't believe you made me wear polka dot GIRL sunglasses, Mama!" face.

The wee redhead couldn't bear the sound of sister and brother having so much fun without her, so she decided to join the party :)

 Did you get fooled on April Fools Day? I did: C.W. told me, "Mama, today you get a nap!...APRIL FOOLS!"  She was right. No nap, but lots of laughs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wilson Family Halloween

It was the wee-ist Wilson's first Halloween! Our little guy (4 months old now!) went as Curious George.  I made this costume with a $6 brown sweatsuit, a printout of George's face from pbskids.com that I laminated and some plastic bananas from the girls' play kitchen.  I put C.W.'s old brown gloves on his feet, and we strapped the bananas to them.  The bananas kept him entertained him the whole evening!

...and I was "The Ma'am in the Yellow Hat".  If you're not up on your Curious George facts, the "Man in the Yellow Hat" is who takes care of George :)

The wee redhead was "a pwincess wid uh cwown an uh wand".  If you don't speak two  year old, that's "a princess with a crown and a wand".  Earlier in the week she kept saying she wanted to "cawwy a WASP", but indeed, she meant WAND :)

C.W. was "Wonder Woman".  Yes, after much deliberation, this frugal farm wife coughed up 20 bucks for a few bits of shiny material held together with velcro.  In the past I have always made the girls' costumes, or used hand-me-downs, but this year precious sleep won out over what would have inevitably been a costume making all-nighter.

The big hit of the night was Wonder Woman's super hero partner..."Super Papa".  Straight out of the field, he donned a cape, mask, and T-shirt with iron-on logo, along with his Wheatgrower's stocking cap, Carhartt pants and muddy work boots, and was a REAL super hero to our little girl that night :)

Halloween would be MUCH more convenient for us if it was in, oh, maybe March, instead of smack in the middle of corn harvest, but all in all, it was a GREAT night for the Wilson family!

THANKS to Grandma E. for being our "official photographer" :)

 For a fun walk down Wilson Family Halloween memory lane, check out this blog post from last year.  I had just returned home from 21 days in Germany...what a difference a year makes :)

 http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2010/11/hello-again-readers-happy-belated.html

Thankful Thursday: I sure hope that's my husband!

 
During harvest, every night, and sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, this dark figure appears in my bedroom long after I finally call it a day. He stumbles in all grubby, smelling of grease, fuel, dirt soil and whatever else he's had a run-in with that day. (Hopefully, not a skunk).  I would request that he shower, but I know he is so tired that he is capable of falling asleep standing up at this point. 

I do his laundry, so even in the dark, I know that he probably looks like he rolled around on the floor of the farm shop or was dragged behind a truck and that his pants may very well stand up on their own from being caked with mud. I also know I could likely plant a few acres with the soybeans, corn kernels, or grains of wheat that have accumulated in his pockets. Cleaning the lint filter in our clothes dryer is always interesting.

I have gotten used to this nightly routine, out of necessity.  You see, an infant will wake me long before dawn.  Soon thereafter the wee Wilson gals will stumble out of their bunk beds and expect "bekfest".  I have to try to force my brain to turn off and get some shut eye, or I will be Zombie Mama the next day, and believe me, she is NOT pretty.

As I'm lying in bed and this nearly unidentifiable creature enters my room, practically falls into bed, and puts a rough, calloused hand on my shoulder, the only thing that goes through my mind is, "I sure hope that's my husband!" :-)

After I put my hand on his, confirming that it is indeed my dear Jeremy, I say a little prayer that goes something like this: "Lord, I thank you for giving me a husband who works so hard to provide for my little family. I am so grateful you got him home safe and sound. In Jesus' name. Amen."

When harvest is complete, Jeremy and I will get a babysitter, go out to dinner, give ourselves a few hours to celebrate that another year of feeding families around the world is behind us, relish the fact that we have a lot to look forward to, and we will fall in love all over again :)

Thankful Thursday: Mama's View of Wheat Harvest

Oh how I long to be behind the wheel of one of those big machines, be it the combine which collects the grain, or the tractor trailer (aka "semi") hauling grain to the storage bin or the grain elevator.  I only get to be a farm equipment operator on rare occasions these days. 

You see, as the only child in my family, I was expected to help on the farm and be son my father never had. 

No problem for me, I was quite the tomboy, so I grew up running farm equipment, helping Dad repair equipment, sand blasting, etc.  Even in our dating days and early marriage, Jeremy was teaching me to be an official farm hand.  I loved it, but it seemed that God had other plans, because we were only 5 weeks into our marriage when we got pregnant with C.W., which was such an answer to prayer :) 

So today, having been blessed with three little ones ages four, two, and three months, and two jobs off the farm, one with a farm organization, the other as a professional speaker, I'm not only booked up, but it isn't a safe situation to have such little ones around such large equipment with Mama's attention divided. 

 

I know my time will come, when the kids are a little older, and I will wait patiently for the "equipment operator" chapter of my life.  Okay, those of you who know me, know that, in reality, I wait patiently for NOTHING, but I'm hoping the good Lord will help me "embrace my place" and enjoy these precious moments with my little ones for the precious gift that they are. 

 

So here's a little glimpse into the view from Mama's seat, not the one high up in the combine or the semi, but from the driver's seat of the family pick-up that the children named "Hi Ho Silver".  I'm the official "go-fer"...I "go-fer" supper...I "go-fer" parts...you get my drift :) 

The day I snapped these pics, we were working on wheat harvest. Yields were disappointing due to the goofy weather we had this spring/summer, but I always say something is better than nothing to harvest.

I had parked on an approach (little driveway across the ditch) into the field. I knew that a truck would be arriving soon to get filled with grain, but I stayed there because I didn't want to leave the pickup running in the tall wheat stubble (can we say fire hazard?) and we needed some air circulation and the Curious George story on CD to keep playing :)

So there I was sitting, when the baby got hungry. Sure enough, as soon as he'd settled into nursing, I had to move the pickup. So I put it into drive and got out of the way of the truck. I think this earns me a gold medal in multi-tasking :)  Of course, I would NEVER do this on a road, but in a smooth field, for a short distance, it worked. And it made me laugh. Being a farmwife and mother, I am constantly doing things that I'd never imagined doing in a million years. 

I love my life :)

- Sarah