The Draw of the Tumbleweeds

Rollin', rollin', rollin...

see those tumbleweed rollin'

Rollin', rollin', rollin' on by!

Tis the season of the tumbleweed!

See all those bushy like things out in that field? Well those are the curse of SW Kansas. Russian thistle.

They may look nice and green most of the year, I wouldn't know, drought you know, but this time of year is when they dry up and get blown all over. To give you an example; last weekend I was driving and for about a mile stretch tumbleweeds were constantly blowing across the road. I bet I saw at least 50 blow across the road in that one mile. DR and I have a game we play this time of year when we drive. We try to time it just right to hit the tumbleweeds as they roll across the road. It's quite a sight to see them obliterate! The chain link fence at the high school football field is covered with tumbleweed that has been blown in these last couple weeks!

For my boys tumbleweeds are cool! Of course they are cool to them. They've only seen them the last year and they've associated them with cowboys. I imagine their affection for tumbleweed would be similar to a Kansan's fascination with Indiana Morning Glory. Cool to look at, a pain to deal with.

The locals already think we are strange with our Purdue Boilermaker gear so I'm sure they thought this little scene was hilarious to them. The boys took off for about 30 minutes and came back with a long row of tumbleweeds tied to one of the bikes!

Oh my. And they are coming straight to our house with all those tumbleweeds! I can hear all the neighbors giggling right now,

"Those crazy Hoosiers!"

Yep, you can't see it but Yip there is pushing his bike attached to all those tumbleweeds right into our front yard.

Ha! It took those two silly boys a good half an hour to get the rope and tumbleweeds off their bike. They only work this well together when they are making a mess. Namely spreading a weed all over my front yard.

When I asked them what they were going to do with it they said, "We don't know...maybe we'll make a tumbleweed snowman out of them." Of course, since we don't get snow.

Now wouldn't that be a sight. Maybe I'll get lucky and stiff wind will blow the tumbleweed away before they can get to work on that project!

More Christmas Gift Ideas

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about some of the Christmas shopping I've been doing and shared some links with some of my favorite toy finds.

Sarah commented, "Thanks for sharing! Anymore good ideas? Nothing too exciting that is new in the toy department this year I feel like and I don't want to start the video game thing yet."

I am the oldest of 7 siblings so you can probably imagine the chaos that ensues for my Christmas family get togethers.  A couple of years ago my sister (who has kids around my kids' age) and I asked our siblings not to buy our kids toys because they already had so many. (Great grumbling ensued from said siblings and therefore the request has since been revoked.) There are plenty of gifts my kids have received that weren't toys that they enjoyed very much. 

1. SPROUT  Kid size furniture is nice. My kids never received any Sprout furniture but I found this site and sure wish my boys had some of this furniture when they were smaller! All the furniture snaps together, no hardware and stores flat when taken apart. If that's not cool enough, the different furniture pieces are interchangeable so you can create your own designs. Neat! 

2. Gloves and mittens! It seems my kids are always losing or growing out of winter gloves and hats. I for one enjoy it when they've received these in the past. 

3. Consumable Art supplies! My kids and I go through so many art supplies and I think they are great gifts for all kids. Especially if they receive an art supply Mom and Dad don't usually buy...like glitter glue or play foam...something that's just a little exotic is always a hit. 

4. Magazine subscriptions 

My mother in law buys my kids magazine subscriptions every Christmas. It's great because it saves her shipping big packages to Kansas and the kids get mail. And what kid doesn't enjoy getting mail? In the past we've chosen magazines from National Geographic but my favorites are Ranger Rick and Animal Baby from the National Wildlife Federation.  And these have been great magazines. My kids are always pulling out old copies, even if I can't sit down and read to them there are simple words and great photos they can enjoy on their own. 


It seems like every year it becomes more difficult finding good gifts for my kids that they'll really enjoy, appreciate and won't be broken a week later! 


Do you have any more Christmas gift ideas to add to our list? Christmas will be here before you know it!! 

Flood Irrigation in Kansas

While most fields are watered through circle pivots, but a friend told me when she was little she'd haul pipes to one end of the field at it would flood the field with water. Flood irrigation.

I didn't think anyone did it this way anymore because it was such an inefficient use of water but I found a field just last week utilizing the old irrigation method.

I didn't get up close and personal, it was cold and I had three hungry kids in the car, but I assume it is a field of wheat.

You don't see many fields with pipes anymore but you do see the pipes in a lot of places. I've seen a 7 foot pen for chickens built out of irrigation pipes or just piled up randomly in a pasture.

Marker Monday - New Paintings

This is my latest painting. It measures about 7x7 inches.

The colors are a bit off and it's a bit blurry...still learning to manual focus on my new camera lens.

I started adding the polka dots and could barely contain myself.

They were so fun I almost covered the entire space with polka dots!

What kind of title should I bestow upon my polka dot sun/flower...thingy?

I think it'd make a wonderful quilt....anyone want to quilt it for me? Ha ha!

Sunday Devotions - Crayon Messages

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall. Daniel 5:5

Crayon Messages 

When a message from God

would clear up confusion,

He could write on my wall -

or give the illusion.

But the writing that's there,

it's plain to be seen,

is a simple crayon drawing

that I've yet to clean.

Lord, help me to learn

I won't be receiving

a miraculous sign

wrought through believing;

when each day I can see

and yet don't apply

Your messages looking me

straight in the eye.

by Susan L. Lenzkes,

 When the Handwriting on the Wall is in Brown Crayon.

I love reading Old Testament stories. The fantastic signs and miracles have always captivated my imagination; Elijah's fiery chariot, Samson's superhuman strength, the detached hand writing on the wall. Sometimes it would be nice to get an extreme sign from God. Such a sign would definitely make me feel special. Being a stay at home mom sometimes lack in the "feeling special" department. Sometimes it's hard to remember that staying at home is important and God has trusted me with this special job of raising His children. If God wrote on my wall, it would be exciting...but I'd still have to clean it off.

I'm sure everyone, no matter their profession, at some point feels that they could use a sign from God. But they ARE there...we just have to look for them. Recently a friend's father had been diagnosed with cancer and I've been praying for weeks for his recovery. Just yesterday the doctor could find no sign of cancer. See, God IS listening.

I've been pretty homesick lately and have been looking forward to the time I can get back home to family in Indiana. Last week a cousin of mine from Oklahoma invited us to and early Thanksgiving dinner next weekend. To my surprise there will be family members there I haven't seen for years and years! What a blessing.

God knows my heart and He knows my needs and He will fill those needs in the best way possible. Maybe not through a flamboyant sign...maybe just through a simple phone call.

Dear Lord, Thank You for signs, old and new, that express Your love for us. Thank You for giving us labors on this Earth, no matter how great or small, the work we do is for You. Amen.

Eating Olives

How to Eat an Olive.

Really....

...is there any other way? 

Sunset over Nowhere

The sunset last week out in the middle of nowhere. 

Most of Kansas is the middle of nowhere :)