You've heard the saying, "if you don't like the weather in Iowa just wait, it will change." On Monday we were tiling in the mud during snow showers.
By Saturday things had warmed up and dried up some and we were in the field.
Many times I worry about stuff prematurely. For all my years on earth spring has never failed to arrive and we have always gotten a crop in. When Jan and I first started farming I sprayed a 20 foot swath. Today we spray a 120 foot swath.
I didn't have time to find more kid pictures so I'll just embarrass Mark. The kids used to help get the crop in before, after, and sometimes during school. They would help drive two no-till drills on tractors without cabs or front wheel assist.
Times have changed. Today all our children are married. Mark and Stacy just celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary.
Years ago I used to have the kids all pile on a three-wheeler. Today they can join their dad's on a much safer Ranger.
Friday evening we attended a school program. I'm so thankful for Christian education. Our legislators continue to try and throw more money at government education in order to try and change and improve it. They need to follow a model that works. Nothing beats an education that's parent run and sacrificially paid for. Some things shouldn't change. My father, myself, our kids, and our grandkids all attended our local Christian school with excellent results.
24 years ago this past Friday I was planting with this outfit in a field just east of town. The field is now a housing development called Otter Hills. Jan called on the two-way (no cell phones) and said it was about time to go to the hospital. I asked her if I had time to finish planting this field and she said go ahead. What a gal!
That evening we left for Ottumwa under a tornado watch. It had been very dry and we were needing rain. Kurt and Karl were born during a thunderstorm. They were named after and born 100 years and 2 months after their great grandfather, Karl who had a twin brother Kurt. As I drove home by myself early that next morning I was so thankful for two boys and two inches of rain on the same night. I didn't think life could get any better.
Ah but it has. I could not even have begun to dream about the plans and changes God has brought about for Jan and I and our family. God did not always provide an easy road but He was always there for the bumps and the mud holes along the way.
Father in Heaven thank you for your faithfulness in the ever changing seasons. Thank you for family and it's changes. Thank you for a plan and a purpose while we are down here on planet earth. Amen.
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