Family Photos From a Talented Friend

I consider myself very fortunate to have such great friends in my life, especially Mrs. Tonya Perkins of Pauly James Photography (www.paulyjamesphotography.com)

Twice a year she comes on over to our home or travels out to our farm fields where she captures the most amazing images of my family. She has a knack for wrangling wiggling kiddos and has even teetered on our pickup tailgate to get just the right shot.

Now of course I think my kids are cute and my husband is a handsome feller, but Tonya has this great eye and I am always pleasantly surprised at the photographs that are the result of her sharing her talents with us and how good she makes us look!

If you're looking for a GREAT photographer in the Jamestown, North Dakota area- CALL TONYA!

Here are the some of the most recent fruits of her labor.

Our baby boy surprised us by arriving a month early, so these were taken ONE day before he arrived. Yes, I had to pause between shots for contractions :)

Our "C.W.", age 4 1/2. Always the professional.

"The wee red head", age 2 1/2. Sweet and stubborn, all in one package :)

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..." (from White Christmas, one of our favorite family movies!)

The Farmer's Daughters. I hope and pray they each get to marry a man that is as much of a prince to them as their Papa is to me.

My big girl. Oh how time flies.

The whole crew!

...And there's the belly! Wowzers!

Now that our baby boy is 6 weeks old, I guess it's about time I get some baby pics on here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah :)

Wordless Wednesday: Moose!

This is an appropriate post for Wordless Wednesday because I cannot put into words how excited I was when Jeremy called to tell me that our Assistant Farm Manager, Ben, had spotted two young moose on some land we farm!

When I moved to North Dakota in 2002, there were two things I wanted to see that I have waited my ENTIRE life to see:

1. Moose in the wild.

2. Elk in the wild.

I loaded up the girls as quickly as I could and Jeremy gave us a sprayer ride out across one of our fields just north of Eldridge, North Dakota. (FYI- Eldridge is a few miles west of Jamestown).

I can now check "moose" off my list :)

And so can the little girls on the prairie :)

Dear Driver

Dear Driver,

If you see this please SLOW DOWN.

Inside this sprayer is a very special person.

He's our Papa and is on his way to take care of our crops. He has worked some long hours lately trying to keep our crops protected. He does this because he loves us and is trying to provide for our family and raise food for yours.

Please help keep him safe by staying a safe distance behind him and not trying to pass until he pulls over and gives you the opportunity to.

From way up there in the cab he has a really good view of what's coming down the road.

We understand that you might be in a hurry, but remember, he may just be hogging the road to keep you from passing and hitting an oncoming vehicle that is just over the next hill.

Sincerely,

The farmer's daughters:

And his new baby boy:

THANK YOU!

Wordless Wednesday: Tea for Two and Two for Tea

Here the wee red head (age 2) prepares and serves "hot tea" (a.k.a. the fleece scraps from the Peter Pan Halloween costume I sewed for Jeremy). These scraps are amazingly versatile. Some days they are scarves for stuffed animals and other days they are "spinach soup"...and they make this really fun sound when vacuumed up...."foomp"!

Meet Moose...

And Mouse...

And White Puppy...

Hope you enjoyed stopping by our little tea party :)

Sarah :)

The Farmer's Daughters

This weekend C.W. got to spend some time "working" on the farm with her Papa. We carefully analyzed this situation and sent her on the safest of missions. She was to sit in the pick-up (securely strapped in her car seat) and color while he greased the tractor, then they went to town for parts. I'm told she measured just about every bolt in the bolt section of our local hardware store.

She looked so darned cute on the way out the door, I couldn't help but snap a picture. It's out of focus (I blame it on the wee red head squirming in my other arm), but I don't care. It was a priceless vision. One moment, she is the most elegant tiny ballerina and the next she's sporting her farming gear and a blaze orange hunting vest. Jeremy insisted on the orange vest. I agreed with him that she should wear it, but I thought to myself, if there is a hunter out there that shoots at something blue, with pink princess boots on, that hunter has got some serious problems. She was terribly embarrassed to wear the thing, but we erred on the side of caution.

So off she went with her pink Dora the Explorer bag of coloring supplies, and they had a grand afternoon.



C.W. came back at supper time and reported that she had "driven" Papa's pick-up. Uh-huh. So much for Mr. Safety :) I guess there are just certain things farmer's daughters have to experience when they're growing up. I remember driving my Dad's pickup (solo) around the farm when I was just seven.

I couldn't post about C.W.'s afternoon with her Papa without throwing in a pic of our dear wee red head. So here Davey...er Jeremy... trying on the "coon skin caps" with her at a sporting goods store in Fargo.



Oh what a joy it is to be raising two little farmer's daughters.