It’s often when I feel sorrow or pain that I turn to writing. And as I just received some unwelcome, yet not surprising news, I feel the the need to put my feelings into writing.

2010 was a tough year emotionally.  The Farmer and I lost people very close to us. It started with the loss of a great-uncle. Someone who hadn’t really been sick and so his death was surprising.

And then the man who was like my second dad during my childhood passed away very unexpectedly. This guy was my Dad’s best friend, worked on the farm for us, and treated my children like his own grandchildren. I shed so many tears on his passing, but he was a man of great faith. So I know he now rests in a much better place.

Shortly after, The Farmer and I lost a friend to brain cancer. Just a year earlier, she had been diagnosed with the rapid spreading cancer. We watched her fight to stay around for her three young kids. Her husband also works for us and is someone I’ve known since I was a baby. And yet this past fall her battle her on earth finished. Also a woman of great faith, I have no doubt she’s sitting in Heaven now. But her loss is still one that hurts.

And the wounds opened again today as we lost another friend to cancer.  A dad to two very small children, the husband to a lovely, devoted wife, and a guy people just loved to be around.  He and his wife just had a baby a few months ago. Shortly after, he asked me to tell him that my Lion Cub and his son would be friends when they got older. It’s a promise I intend to keep.

I Corinthians 15:55 says “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”  I know that the sting is only for those of us who remain to mourn the loss.  But the victory is won for my friends who have moved on to take their place with Jesus. And as we get ready to go through another visitation and pay our respects for a life taken much to soon, we go knowing the promise laid out for all believers.  Knowing they are all in Heaven is the only way I can make any sense of the loss, as the loss stings for so many.

I’d love to just post this picture and skip the explanation, however I know I’ll leave a few of you scratching your heads.

Bottom line – you should not put your Ipad in the washing machine.

Longer version – Saturday afternoon, while attempting to do laundry, cook a meal, empty the dishwasher and carry a baby around the house I put my Ipad in the washing machine.  Sounds impossible right? Not really. 

We have a 3-story old farmhouse.  I go up and down those stairs alot throughout the day. In an attempt to make one less trip, I took the laundry basket of dirty clothes and piled in a few other non-laundry items that needed to go downstairs, including my Ipad. I picked up my Lion Cub in my left arm, laundry basket in the right and headed downstairs. 

I got distracted fairly quickly. So I put down the laundry basket and tended to whatever distracted me.  I  came back to place Lion Cub in his exersaucer and do a load of laundry. I filled the washer with water and just dumped the basket in the machine. I walked away to start another project.  And then five minutes later I had that “DUH” moment when I realized what I had done.

I found my Ipad at the bottom of the washer. It’s been resting in a 9×13 pan of rice since Saturday. I read somewhere that would help it dry out. However, it still won’t turn on.

My Monkey told The Farmer that my “ipot” was dirty and it needed washed. Thankfully The Farmer laughed and said go buy a new one.  I think he is secretly hoping it will turn back on eventually and then he can have it.

My lesson learned, quit multi-tasking so much!!

My Dad has told me on numerous occasions that I cook like my Mom. I consider that a huge compliment. My Mom is a great cook. She had me in the kitchen at a very young age helping mix cookies, peeling potatoes and other basics. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the best gift she has given me was a cookbook of every recipe she has!  These are the foods I grew up eating, arranged neatly in a 3-ring binder.  This picture should give you an idea of how many recipes I have!

I remember January 28, 1986 like it was yesterday. I was 11 years old and in Mrs. Smith’s science class.  Anticipation had built for weeks as Mrs. Smith talked about outer space, planets, space exploration and how science experiments could be done in those situations.

Shortly before lunch Mrs. Smith turned on the televisions that had been placed in the classroom for the special event. She was excited. Her excitement bubbled over into her students.  And we watched with awe as the Space Shuttle Challenger launched into a wide blue sky.  And then our little faces watched in horror as dreams exploded in front of our eyes. 

We quickly learned terms like “O-ring” and “rocket boosters.” We learned how their failure led to the loss of seven lives. And even as middle school kids we realized that the nation had suffered a great loss.  It was the first national disaster that I remember. And when the scene replayed in 2003 with the explosion of the Discovery, we all wept again. 

It was later in the afternoon that we took comfort in our parent’s explanations of tragedies. And we turned to President Reagan for an explanation. He reassured us saying, “The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”

25 years later and it it still feels like yesterday.

I’m never really good at deleting pictures from my camera.  I am very good at downloading them, but inevitably forget to delete them after. So during Christmas celelbrations my memory card was getting very full. 

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions.  Why set myself up for failure? No need to say I’m going to lose “x” amount of pounds only to be hit by a chocolate craving in a month.  Or to promise myself I’m going to read a good book every night when I know I spend my evenings reading Green Eggs and Ham and It’s Hard to Be Five. (Both very good reads, even for a grownup!)

However, I think this year will be different.  Like most Mom’s, I spend way more time on my family than on myself.  I cook, clean, wash clothes, feed animals, wipe butts, noses and whatever else might be dripping and manage to work full-time with a 3 hour daily commute. There is very little to no time left for me.  And I don’t want much time.  Just a few minutes at the end of the day to call mine.

So here is a list of my resolutions.

1.  Read the Bible daily.  It has been a few years since I have read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  I downloaded the Bible app to my ipad and I intend to read my electronic Bible daily. Reading it on my ipad is not the same as reading my actual Bible, the one with pages and room for notes, but this will have to do this year.  The app has a One Year Bible built in and that’s the way I want to read.

2.  Sleep. This is a big area I’m missing.  There is no time for sleep.  Note the three children pictured below and you’ll understand why I don’t sleep.  They are ages 7,4 and 4 months.  I am constantly on the go.  And my Lion Cub doesn’t sleep through the night.  My Farmer doesn’t seem to wake up when the baby cries so it’s up to me. I wouldn’t trade those early morning little talks I have with my Lion Cub. There is nothing as soothing as rocking a baby when the rest of the house is quiet.  But middle-of-the-night feedings will require me to start going to bed earlier.

3.  Live in the Moment. OK, this sounds a bit lalalaish, but has a good intent.  When I’m at work I think about the kids. When I’m home I am constantly checking email or fretting about a work project. Work goes with me everywhere.  When I’m with the family I need to really be with the family.  Simple enough, hard to implement.

3.  Blog. Easy enough. FenceRow to FenceRow was very neglected in 2010.  I will blog once a week.  At least.  I hope!  Then maybe I’ll get some actual followers!

4.  Shed the Excess.  (weight, stuff)  Everyone wants to lose weight. I have babyweight to lose. And I’d like to do it before my Lion Cub starts college!  As for stuff, I can’t stand stuff.  I think as a society we have too much stuff. I don’t like knick-knacks that I have to dust or move around. I’m not a fan of having stuff just to have it. I want to be more of a minimalist. I keep important stuff; homemade items from the kids, family heirlooms and treasurers and the like. But I don’t need 50 different candles or the stack of magazines my Farmer keeps but never reads! You get the picture. Just need to pare down.

Simply, 2011 will be a great year. Just need to make a few tweaks along the way!

I am a week late posting this. I hope my fellow blogger buddies will forgive my tardiness. I love to blog, but I also enjoy sleep. And since I’ve gone back to work again after having Lion Cub, I am tired. So if it’s a choice between blogging and sleeping, sleep wins.

Because my Farmer had to sell 5 loads of pigs the morning of our Freeze-O-Ram I had to join my friends later in the afternoon. He was in charge of the kids for the few hours I’d be gone as I had decided I needed a few hours to myself!

I made Chicken Pot Pie. This is so very simple and freezes well! This recipe will make two pies.