StillwatersIowa

School has started. Summer will soon be over. I had a goal earlier this year that I would hire and keep busy as many grandkids as wanted to and were willing to work for Grandpa. Those that helped out ranged in age from 5 to 16. Not only did they do the fun jobs, they had to precede or follow up with the tougher and dirtier jobs as well. I've always believed giving kids responsibility, teaching them to enjoy work, and showing them to care about each other, gives them confidence and helps them prepare for being assets in society and honoring God. Well, hopefully it doesn't give them too much confidence. 😊 Kurt and Emily's five year old Lane is sitting at the desk with his cup of black coffee hanging out with the grownups. Thanks for the picture Mike. Last Sunday we got together as an extended family for lunch. Many of the smaller kids went swimming. Cassia, Rachel, Adi, and Natalie worked together with Jan to can salsa one morning. Thanks for the tomatoes Kristin. We were bl...

Last week my friend and classmate, Dale, commented on his Bible reading about the Israelite's struggles while exiled in Babylon. And God's promises to the captives spoken through Jeremiah.                                   In a nutshell Jeremiah basically says while in captivity, plant gardens and have grandkids. What strikes me this morning is even though God determines the outcome, we are still to plan and plant. And that holds true in both gardens and grandkids. Corn heads seem to wear out often in our operation. We generally overhaul them every two years. This past week we ran them through the shop. Getting ready for another harvest season starting in a couple of weeks. There is a business in our area that needs more yard space for storage. So we spent a couple of days hauling clay from a new pond site. And leveling and packing the clay in the new location. While Mark loaded it was enjoyable fo...

Sometimes when we are busy with the up close details of life and relationships, we lose focus of the big picture. And we need to take a step back, or up, to get a birds eye view. It will remind us of our blessings, our accomplishments, and our purpose. The linemen working on the electric transmission line through our property finished their updates and repairs this past week in our section. When we look at the picture below we see a helicopter and poles. But if you look close you see Tony and Max hanging from a rope working on the 70 foot structure. If you look really close you see Daniel, the pilot, with a birds eye view, watching out his door as he gently lowers his co-workers to their job at hand. It was fun to get to know these fellows from all over the country as we often had meals together. Friday afternoon Jan and I were invited to go for a ride to get a birds eye view of crops and farmsteads. Mike worked on filling in an old 60 year old pond that was no longer serving a purpose...

  August is a month of relationships. Vacations. Fairs. Visiting about plans and crop inputs for next year. Back to school. And a time to catch up, reflect, and reach out. Daniel is a helicopter pilot. He grew up in England and currently lives in Alaska. He works closely with his mechanic that fuels him up every two hours.  Daniel works for a company that services electric transmission lines. He carries linemen and supplies to the top of electric poles with a 50 foot rope. His company asked if they could headquarter on our yard while they install a fiber-optics wire on a transmission line down along the railroad tracks. Two Sundays ago the Pella Christian Shooting Team, coaches, and parents, just home from Nationals in Ohio, met here at the cabin for root beer floats, to congratulate kids for awards received at National week, and to reflect on the past season. Last Sunday Jan and I drove from Pennsylvania to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend a two day dealer get-together with Be...