no birthdays for leaplings....

my Dad.....

This is going to be the hardest story to write..my Dad, my hero, my "everything" in many ways...went home to be with God at 10:30 last evening. My heart aches more than I ever thought it could, and even though I know that he had gone onto heaven and his pain here on earth has ended.. I am not ready for this goodbye.

It was a check in day at neads yesterday..I sort of felt like I shouldn't go, but when I checked in with Dad and Mom, things were about the same. So, I decided I could go for a quick check in..telling the girls that I could be called home. Dad had encouraged us to continue with life and not put things on hold because of him..so I tried to do just that.

We had been there a few hours, and Mom called saying Dad had been taken back to the hospital..I had a feeling I needed to get home, so we left.

I had the girls drop me at the hospital, and take my jeep home. I knew the family would be coming..Mom had just left to get so e things at home, so when I arrived, I was the only one there. Dad seemed so happy to see me, and even though he was in and out of sleep..we had a nice one on one visit. I knew that he would not be returning home, and I took this time to cherish what ever time he had still here on earth.

He was ready to go...I could see it..there was just something different that I can't explain. He was peaceful, and the time all of us had leading up to this was a real blessing. As the afternoon went on, the family returned...Mom first, then Becky and Rachel...our hubbies, and in the evening..all the grands, and even the great grands. He knew we were all there and talked and slept...and talked some more. As the evening went on..he began to smoke and suddenly say " hello"  in a voice tone that one would use when they haven't seen someone in a long time. Then it seemed like he'd come back around to us....and then drift off again.

A bit later, he began to say...I've got to go. At first we thought he might mean to use the bathroom...but now that I look and think back on all this ..I feel he was telling us that he needed to leave for heaven.

The nurses felt that we should head home, and let everyone rest. We all said goodbye, and that we would be back in the morning...but I knew that wasn't going to be. I knew he was waiting and wanting us to go...so that he could as well. And sure enough..as nearly were back on the farm and the call came.

I love these old photos of Dad in the clock shop...he loved the clocks, and along with being a wonderful husband, an amazing Dad, the fire department..his dogs...and his clocks...this is my Dad....


The days ahead are going to be very different..though he had much planned, there is still much to do. We will pull together..we will muddle threw...we will be there for each other, just as we promised.

And the day will come when we will be together again in house of our Lord. Dad has been reunited with loved ones that have gone on ahead and though I already miss him, he's always going to be close by...

one... and nearly four.....

and more big snows....

lots of snow

If there's any doubt, winter is truly here and the shows we are getting are true New England style. But the thing I'm not so impressed with is the ice. Just look at the coating on the trees. I will certainly be wearing my "grippies" on my boots, and if walking to the barn gets too bad..I'll move the gator to the house and drive up.

Were slowly introducing the boys to each other. I'm probably doing this way slower than some would but since they're ours..I can do this any way I choose.

I think they like each other. Tonka has been so sad without duke and Abraham left a team mate..so I feel like they need each other and want to be together.

They sometimes race about and get silly but mostly I find them just standing together.

They have good thick costs and like to be outside...


Things seem to be settling down here on the farm.

a new member of the family......

Road trip on this extremely cold winter day....and if you look in the background of this photo...you'll see there's a horse trailer...

Yup, were going to check out a new horse. Butch called the other night saying he was pretty sure he found just what we've been looking for...so we met up with them and are checking it out.

As it turns out, this horse is with the same broker who we got duke from. His operation is much bigger than it was when we bought duke and he now deals mostly with riding horses, but now and again he gets drafts..and this is what he had. I feel sad that we'll break up a team...but I don't need two more horses 

This boy is way bigger than I thought and when I first saw him I really wasn't sure . But Burch brought him out and began to check him over for us. I trust his instincts and just watched and listened closely.

I would have liked to see him hitched but the day was so bitter cold, it almost wasn't safe to be outside. Fortunately there was an indoor area to work in, so I was able to ground drive him. He's really big, but seemed gentle...

And after a bit of time and being with him...decided we would take him. I'm not so sure if he likes this idea..he seemed pretty bonded to his grey team mate and I really felt awful about splitting them. For a half second I consisted taking both but then knew I didn't want to take on more than I can handle.

I went to do paperwork and pay while ed and butch got him ready to leave. I couldn't bear to watch him leaving his pal...I had a lot of questions about him, which they couldn't really answer. I guess they came in for auction..so were buying an unknown. 

He loaded beautifully and butch has confidence in him and us.. So well give it a go..

He certainly takes up the trailer....and like duke ..whinned as we pulled away from the farm. I wish I could tell him what his life with us will be like...but he's just going to have to see for himself.

The ride home was uneventful. We stopped a few times to make sure he wasn't too cold, all was good. He unloaded...in the dark...like a gentleman. And of course caused quite the excitement when we brought him in. Hewas cross tied while we set up a stall.

And settled in quite nicely...

Everyone was excited to come and see him. They can't get over his size. I'm beginning to wonder how the neck I'm going to harness him. Guess I'll be working on upper body strength!!! 

And ....we need to come up with a name... Because he was just horse number 134....

And as special as all of this is...Dad wanted to come see him. He was so sad for me when we lost duke and even though Dad is feeling really awful right now..he had Becky drive him up so he could see this boy. I brought him out to show Dad ...it was too cold for him to get out of the car....and Dad took these photos ..

And then we came up with his name....Abraham!!! 

So,our newest member of the family......

ground hog's day!!!!

Just because I think it's fun.. I always like to remember Groundhog's Day and try to catch the "great events" on TV... 

and this year's predication.... another six weeks of winter.... as Ed says... We'll know for sure by April....

so.. happy "continue" with winter day!!!!

And here we are... the last day of January and looking onto another new month. The winter is going by quickly and for the most part has just been an average winter. A good amount of snow, and just everyday life keeping us busy and trekking along. 

I actually got to walk up to the barn this morning... which hasn't been the case for some of the winter.... it has been quite icy under foot and when it gets like that, I run the gator and not walk. I just can't run the risk of taking a fall, and even with my grippies on my shoes, I don't dare try.  I like walking to the barn verses driving up... I like hearing the sounds of the farm and taking those moments just to ponder. 

But, it's also a Tuesday, which means that Livy and I need to get to the school because it's reading dog day. So, I can't fool around too much.... and speaking of fooling around, the horses were in rare form this morning. They were racing about and being so silly, that at first I had wondered if "something" was a muck. Tonka was racing and calling.... which got the little ones going, it was snowing lightly, and turned out to be nothing more than high spirits. 

Tonk's been pretty lonely since the loss of Duke, so, he often spends much of the day hanging out near Denises horses... but with the weather, I really don't like that he does and wish that he would spend more time up at our barn. I guess he knows when he's cold and has had enough, and I could shut the pasture off and keep him there.... however, there is news on the horizon that might change all of this, so for now, I'm just bidding the time. 

Everyone's happy to get their breakfast...

And we say bye bye to January and go on with the next.

a very special weekend...

With Dad's health failing.. there are just some things that he wants to be sure he has the chance to do. And when you can make that happen... you do... and so we did....

Dad has a very good friend, who he met threw the world of clock repair. They haven't been friends for but a few years, but they hit it right off, and so enjoy being together, talking about clocks and many other things. His friend is Noah...and he just happens to be an Amish gentleman. Noah is from an "old order" of Amish, but they know how to "live" in the modern world too.. and though his lifestyle doesn't promote living with  modern world... he can take advantage of it... riding in cars, busses and trains.. using someone's cell phone to make connections... things of that nature. I won't say that Noah visited often, but he did visit and of course Mom and Dad went to see him as well. 

so, when my Dad said that he would like to have some time with Noah while he could.. Ed and I decided that we would make that happen. Ed came home from work early on Friday.. we packed up Livy.. called Astrid to the farm, and headed north to get Noah. I had written to Noah earlier in the week, so he knew that we were coming to get him. He also rearranged many things on his list just to come. It's not easy for him to just leave his farm, family and clock business, but this was important to him as well, and he wanted to be sure he got to see Dad too. It's about a six hour trip one way.. so, we stayed overnight at a motel near Noah's farm...Livy thought all of this was quite grand.. and I have to say, she was a very good traveler... minding her manners, riding nicely in the car, and being a good guest at the motel. (though taking complete advantage of her Dad!!!)

Saturday we were up bright and early.. we wanted to get Noah and get him down to Dad as "fast" as possible so they would have a good visit. The northern part of the state has had it's usual snow amount and it seems so funny to think that there is such a difference.... Noah lives in farm country, so the roads are two lanes, and the wind blows the snow across them... needless to say, having bare paved roads in  the winter like we do here... is not common. 

As early as it was... (before sunrise).. we did pass a few buggies already out on the road. I did not take any pictures, because they Amish do not appreciate being photographed like they're "things to look at"... and I don't have any photos of Noah for the same reason. In fact the more that we have come to actually knowing Noah.. the less I think of him as "amish".. and more just like Noah....

It beautiful country and honestly, if it weren't so far from my family... I would consider living here..... the town has really come to love their Amish neighbors and Noah tells us all kinds of stories of how people are willing to help out in all sorts of ways. He has several neighbors that we can call who will take messages to Noah, or if he needs a modern ride almost anywhere, there always seems to be someone who is happy to take him. We arrived at his farm, the whole family was up.. actually had been up for hours... we stopped a minute to visit with the family before heading south, the house was warm and cozy and everyone seemed happy to see us again. 

We didn't stay too long, we wanted to get on the road, Noah had to be back on Sunday, so basically he was going to have just Saturday afternoon and evening to visit... and then Sunday it was back north again. 

We got to Dad's by noontime, then Ed and I left to head home, giving them the time to visit, they had a great visit. Saturday evening we went back down.. had dinner with Mom, Dad, and Noah.. and then brought Noah to our farm.. so that we could get an early start back on Sunday morning. Noah was able to find another friend that was happy to meet us half way, so we only had to do half the trip to take him back home.. which worked out really well, because we had already planned a family/birthday celebration for Sunday afternoon. I really didn't want to miss out on that, but we were more interested in Noah's visit and thought what ever worked out or not, was just the way it would be. 

Sunday afternoon was a very fun and special time. It was Rachel's 50th birthday celebration and just the chance to be together as one big family. Everyone was there.. (except poor Jessie who was dealing with a bad toothache).... and even though it was sad to think like this, we all wanted to get photos of everyone being together... and so we did.... 

Dad held up threw it all pretty well.. but he really is not feeling well at all..... It's been such a busy weekend, with Noah coming and all sorts of friends and family popping in and out of the house all the time. I find it exhausting, so I can only imagine how it is for him. But he smiled and went along with all our crazy plans, and seemed to really enjoy having everyone around. 

Photos are such precious things.. especially to me, I take hundreds of them. And I recall a saying that goes something like, "never say you don't want to be in a photo because you think you look too fat, or your hair isn't right, or whatever".. because one day, someone will say... "I wish (you) had been in that picture".. and it's so true... and because of my Mom and Dad... this is what (who) are family is today....

And one day... a photo such as this, will be more precious than you would ever know... 

I am treasuring all these days... in fact, everyday, because each one, whether it's amazingly great, or horribly sad... is a gift, and needs to be taken just as that.