True Life: Farmer's Wife

There was an article circulating around Facebook a while back that talked about being married to a farmer. It was pretty much spot on.  It talked about appreciating mother nature, knowing to never plan for things, and constantly seeing the glass half full. Heath and I will be married 7 years this year (11 years, counting our dating years), and I'd have to say it's been rare for me to meet someone outside of the farming community that is truly "team FARMER". One of our local news stations posted a story on the farm bill a while back, and you should've seen the "West Texans" who were ranting about farm subsidies on there. I think Dwight Eisenhower said it best when he said, "Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from a corn field."

This year has been the most trying year yet for me. Yes, even tougher than 2009 when I had a new born, and Heath left the hospital to sand fight and gear up to replant when Luke was a day old. Tougher than 2011 when I had a 2 year old and a 6 week old during harvest. Even tougher than 2012 when we took on land at Olton in June because our tenant bailed on us and didn't harvest an acre of the crop up there that year. I think some of the struggle this year has been because the kids are old enough to try and take advantage of Daddy not being around. Sometimes, I feel like we get to the point where my voice is like white noise to them. Heath can come in after a 15 hour day, and say, "Luke, quit." -- and he does! What? Just like that! No threats with a belt or anything. (To which, depending on the day, my response may be "Hm. Must be nice!" or "Thank goodness you're here, babe.")

Some people might say, "But it's raining! Just what all these farmers have been wanting!" And yeah, it is raining.. and YES.. We. Are. Thankful. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are for the rain. When we came home from Kerrville over Spring Break, I can remember the tension in the pickup from Heath the closer we got to Levelland. It wasn't raining, but it was time to go back to work. He had no motivation, no vision for the crop this year. Heath loves what he does. I love that he leaves here every morning pursuing his dream. I think it's so unfortunate for a man to have to work outside of his passion. But the drought had him in a huge funk. The day after we got that first rain in May, Heath's phone was ringing off the wall (haha.. I just typed that and thought.. we don't have wall phones anymore). Everyone he talked to, he said, "This gives us something to swing at, but it doesn't have to do it again." -- I think one of the craziest things was back in the Spring during the drought, and people almost expected us to waiver in our faith because of the lack of rain. And no, we didn't know if it would rain again. We were even starting to lose hope that it ever would... but even if it never did, He was still sovereign in our lives. (There's a biblical story much like this in Daniel 3!)

And the WEEDS. Oh my gosh, the weeds. They're unreal. But plentiful water and no weeds is just too good to be true. This is just a perfect reflection of all of creation being in need of a Savior. Of course the weeds are going to get resistant to the weed killer. There's not an endless amount of water for farmers to access when it doesn't rain, either. Ever since the fall, the ground was cursed. There's no chemical cure for it. (See, how easy it is to reflect back on biblical things when it comes to farming?? That's why faith and farming go hand-in-hand, friends!) Are we dumfounded about round-up not working? No. It was promised to be this way in Genesis 3.

So, I say all of this, not to rant.. not for sympathy.. but more for myself, to acknowledge the valleys of my life. If our lives were all peaks, we wouldn't know to appreciate them. And I think the peaks are sometimes the only things we see on social media.
There's not a day that goes by that I regret marrying a farmer. I love that Heath can make it to most of the activities the kids are involved in... There's nothing like a stroll around the farms in the evenings when the crop looks healthy and a beautiful sunset to top it all off. I LOVE when fall is in the air, and the fields turn white. And I love having a husband that has the drive and determination to provide for us like Heath does. Even through the seasons when it throws us off for him to be home early (early, as in 5:30) and we can never plan a weekend away, much less, a date night.. I wouldn't trade it for anything... Not even a salary, paid vacations, and benefits. :)

Happy #5, Luke!

I officially have my first 5 year old. I'm so proud and so sad at the same time! Luke is truly everything I need to be. He was so happy to be 5! When he woke up on the morning of his birthday, he came into my bathroom and danced around saying, "I'm five! I'm five!"

I think everyone, to some extent, has goals and standards for parenting and raising kids. Luke took this vision I had and fine tuned it for me. He got here and showed me that we'd be figuring this parenting thing out together. He's taught me how to love deeper, have more patience, and to see the world has God's creation, even more so than I did before. 

To celebrate Luke's birthday this year, we had a swimming party at Heath's parents' pool. We had about 25 kids come and swim... It was a good, hot day for it! We are so blessed with friends and family with such sweet kids that all play so well together. 

And to keep up with the tradition, here are Luke's favorites from 3, 4, and now 5! It's fun to see these from year to year. 

(3 years old)

1.     Color? Red

2.     Toy? Buzz, and nother buzz. Two buzzes.

3.     Fruit? Strawvries

4.     Movie? Store Story

5.     Thing to eat for lunch? Spiderman cupcakes

6.     Shirt? Store story shirt

7.     Game? Store Story (wii game)

8.     Snack? Fee Fer Yogurt (Phineas and Ferb)

9.     Animal? I love horseys.

10.  Song? Twinkle Little Star

11.  Book? Store Story book.. It was big. It was square.

12.  Best Friend? My befriend Jaxon

13.  Cereal? Cinn toast crunch

14.  Thing to do outside? Paint

15.  Drink? Chockat Milk

16.  Holiday? Nope

17.  Thing to take to bed? Daddy. Daddy’s big. And I’m big too. Daddy’s bigger.

18.  Breakfast food? Cereal

19.  What was on your birthday cake? Mike the Knight

20.  What do you want to be when you grow up? I be lightning queen.

(4 years old)

1.     Color? Blue

2.     Toy? Batman

3.     Fruit? Grapes

4.     Movie? Wreck it Ralph

5.     Thing to eat for lunch? Sandwich

6.     Shirt? Blue shirt

7.     Game? Monster trucks

8.     Snack? Oatmeal

9.     Animal? Cow

10.  Song? Old McDonald

11.  Book? Store Story

12.  Best Friend? Jaxon

13.  Cereal? Cimmon Toast Crunch

14.  Thing to do outside? Do my spray rig

15.  Drink? Coke

16.  Holiday? Christmas

17.  Thing to take to bed? Buzz

18.  Breakfast food? Oatmeal

19.  What was on your birthday cake? Spiderman and cupcakes spiderman

20.  What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanna be a Firefire (Firefighter).

(5 Years Old)

1.     Color? Orange

2.     Toy? My Danica haule

3.     Fruit? Watermelon (Rawmelon)

4.     Movie? How to Train Your Dragon 2

5.     Thing to eat for lunch? Sandwich

6.     Shirt? Orange Ummerarmour

7.     Game? Nascar

8.     Snack? Vanilla wafers

9.     Animal? Giraffe

10.  Song? Roar

11.  Book? Cars Playset and Disney Infinity

12.  Best Friend? Jaxon and Kegan

13.  Cereal? The same as Daddy – Cimmon Toast Crunch

14.  Thing to do outside? Play with my friends

15.  Drink? Chocolate milk

16.  Holiday? Easter

17.  Thing to take to bed? Jake

18.  Breakfast food? Sausage biscuit

19.  What was on your birthday cake? Nascar

20.  What do you want to be when you grow up? A farmer