January

So January has been the LONGEST, COLDEST, CRAZIEST weather month.  I will be so glad to flip the calendar...  We have a few crazy things this month.  We started off first with Joey getting hurt. He is all good now.  Just another checkup in March for his eye.  Jacob has been struggling with wheezing since he has pneumonia.  So they have decided to some kind of test on his lungs next week.  Justin has a 102 temp one day but he was perfect the next.  Then Jeremy and I have managed to get miserable colds.  Oh and to top it off Jeremy's cyclones have not won many games in 2014!!!  This was the UGLY of the month!!!!

The good of the month was:  We celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday!!  we went to Incredible pizza and then went out to eat with him on his birthday.  Joey and I decorated the store so he had a big surprise on his birthday!!!!  I am pretty sure he loved every minute of it!!!  Jacob had A's on his report card.  He started playing basketball  (he would rather go farming!!)  I was finally taken off of Blood pressure medicine.  The first time in 8 years.  No one know why because nothing has changed with me.  That is ok I am so glad not to have to take it anymore!!! 


Well there is 1 more ugly thing.  Jeremy was hauling fuel today and it started freezing rain.   He was driving and the back end of the truck spun and put him in a ditch.  He then ramped a driveway and somehow got stopped.  He said he was inches from taking out a shed.  The positive  no scratches on ANYTHING!!  Even his truck was good.   So even though we are to get snow tomorrow on the last day January and I ready to say good bye to it!!!!  Hoping we are done with sickness and accidents and Enjoy the rest of our year!!!!! 

The boys have spend most of the time in the basement playing with their FARM toys!!! 

THE UGLY

So I think we started out 2014 with the Ugly.  So hopefully that means we won't have any more excitement for awhile.  Jacob has Pneumonia but is much better.  Then there is Joey.  POOR JOEY!!!  Jacob was carrying Joey to help get him in the car( so we could go unfreeze grandmas pipes) and he tripped on his pants and fell with Joey.  Joey whacked his head on the wood floor.  So after about 4 hours in the Er and leaving the Diesel Excursion running.  We finally went home.  They did a CT and said everything was fine.  To just watch him since he had a concussion.  Well the next morning we were woke up by a phone call from the ER Dr. that the radiologist went and read the ct on a big screen instead of on his phone and found  a fracture.  So after a call the pediatrician we took off to Des Moines.  The sent us to a pediatric eye Dr. first and then the pediatrician.  Joey got all checked out again and back home.  Then on Thursday Joey's forehead was swollen very big again so he got another CT scan.  Finally joey eye is opened back up and he is feeling much better.  We have to go back to the Eye Dr. and get another CT scan Tues.  Joey has had more CT scans than anyone out of all my family members!!!  I will have to say he is a very good patient lays there and does everything just like they want.

So then we also woke up to a dead calf this week (which is a loss of over a $1000.), Jeremy somehow manage to get the tractor and haybuster sliding down the hill into a tree.  So it has just been crazy here!!!  But like I said you always have the good, bad  and the UGLY.  LIFE GOES ON!!!  We are very thankful Joey is healing and hoping for a good eye report.   

2013 Year end review

2013 has been like any year.  The good, the bad, and then there is always the ugly.  Life is not perfect or easy, but we manage to survive.  Here are just a few things that we accomplished...

1.  Jeremy, Jacob and I took our first airplane ride to New Orleans to pick up our Excursion.

2.  We had lots of fun in Branson many times this year.  I guess the timeshare was worth it!!!

3.  I was able to buy my Grandpa Don's tractor

4.  Jacob attended the State pedal pull in Marshalltown and won many pedal pulls this year.

5.  Jacob had the highest math score on the ITBS in his class. (about 60 kids)

6.  Joey started preschool.  It was hard for mom and him both but now he LOVES it!!!

7.  Then there is Justin who turned 3 and has became a wild man!!!  He is a hoot!

8.  We always enjoy our time we spend with all of our relatives.  The boys love to go to all the grandma's houses.  We are very thankful that Grandma Kathryn is still with us.  Very thankful for that one special phone call that night.

9.  Jacob has grown ALOT in 2013.  He loves to go with Uncle Dick and go to Bob and Kayrns every Sunday for lunch.  He was also in his first Sunday school Christmas program.  Jacob is 9 going on 25!!!! 

10.  The boys and I enjoyed our summer hanging out at the Mt. Ayr pool. 

2014 is going to be a  bit different around here.  Jeremy has rented our crop ground.  We will still have our cows and all that good stuff but we won't have to worry about the weather as much.  Plus he stays very busy hauling fuel on the tank wagon.  We love overtime pay!!!!  I am sure we will face many challenges but life just keeps going on.  So we will just keep on trucking through and hope for the best.   

Grandpa Don's tractor.

I am so glad to have this tractor parked in our shed.  My grandpa bought this tractor brand new.  Then my Uncle Steve Graham had it and then my cousin Daniel had it.  After we heard it was for sale at Vetter's in Mt. Ayr, I told Jeremy I wanted it.  Of course Jeremy couldn't tell me no!!!  The main reason for that is he bought his grandpa's tractor a few years ago.  So Jeremy was finally able to deal with them.  We went and brought it home on a Saturday and the only kid that new was Justin.  Jacob finally figured out on Monday that we had got it.  Justin tell people that we have 2 red tractors now.   Even though it is "MY" tractor, Jeremy is getting a lot of good use out of it!!! 

More Christmas pictures

Joey LOVES the little mermaid!!!!!

Jacob made Jeremy and tractor pulling a planter

Jacob's helicopter...

Christmas 2013

As Justin has been telling us Christmas is OVER!!!  I will say I am very glad it is.  Even though we don't travel for Christmas.  We didn't even go out of Southwest Iowa, I was ready for it to be over!  That is very bad for me to say because I use to LOVE it. Sometimes I think being simple is much easier.  The boys received so many wonderful gifts from all of the relatives.  They loved everything.  I will have to say Jeremy's favorite gift was his homemade candy from his "little" sister Tracy.  He was so excited to get a gift from her.  Our family is very thankful for all the people that think of us and our children over the holidays.  Santa did come and find the boys.  Jacob got a telescope(he loves history and science!!), Joey got a cow puzzle, Justin received a farm toy that lifts up hay and they all got a new big red barn with  pen and feed bunks and all the extras.  I will say if you ask them who got the barn it is Joey's!!!!

Now that is it all over we have been putting all the gadgets away and putting the decorations  away.  Justin has been trying to cut our tree down with new chainsaw!!!!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Graham Christmas Eve in Benton

Justin helping Aunt Shirley open the "Fred Hoiberg" package!!!!

The kids with Uncle Dick and their new Graham polled Hereford hats

Joey's 4th Birthday!!!

Joey has been so excited about his Birthday!!!  We were able to have his party on his Birthday, which is way more fun!!!  We spent the day by going to see Santa at the Coop, then we went and tried to buy Mommy and him Grandpa Don's old 1086 at Vetter's.  The salesman was gone for the day, so we will being going back tomorrow!!  Then we had his party.  My mom made him a Mickey Mouse Cake.  Joey loved EVERY present he opened.  He has the biggest smile on his face every time.  No matter what the present was he LOVED it.  He really liked his new go cart from my parents.  It has cause a few fights but the new will wear off.   I will have to say  turning 4 wore Joey out. 

His boots that look just like Daddy's!!!!