I’m Blessed

I love Fall.

I know Knut will be harvesting soon, but I have to admit, I just love this season.  I love the smell of Fall, and seeing the landscape change color in a matter of days.  Did you know that leaves don’t actually turn colors, but the green chlorophyll that is saturating the leaves drains into storage for the winter, reveling the true colors of the leaves.  Silje and I learned that in our botany book.

I love having any excuse to wear sweaters.  I love corduroys, boots, and all things wool.  I love soups and the constant fresh foods in the garden and full to the brim freezers.

We have some new creatures on the farm.  We had a bit of a tragic end to our litter of kittens we got earlier this year.  It was too tough to write about, so I didn’t.  We knew right away we wanted to try again, but this time with some gained wisdom from our previous failure.  Then it was just a matter of finding some of the right age, and from a good family.  We tried the humane society first, but they made it plain that they don’t have mousers.  They have pets.  They want homes for their cats where they will sit around inside.  The cats they have aren’t meant to be outside.  They said if we want mousers, we need to get some cats from a farm.

I felt the need to hurry in our pursuit of getting some farm cats when the mice started showing up at our doorstep.  It’s the one part of Fall that I can’t stand.  Mice love finding their spots for the winter this time of year.  Since we live next to some big grain bins, that doesn’t really help in the mice/rat department.  I really thought we needed a team of mousers to help keep all of those critters away.

So now we have cats…or kittens.  Well, actually a mix of ages.  There’s a mom and babies again, but the babies at least have their eyes open.  Then there’s a few teenage kitties.  All of them are incredibly social, and the kids who raised them did a stellar job of it.  In fact, I’ve never considered myself a cat person, mostly because cats haven’t always liked me.  I love these ones though.  I’ve spent so much time petting and cuddling them this last weekend, it’s a bit silly.

(David and Elias are really into ties.  I really should make some because I bet they’re simple.  I don’t ever make them wear ties, but they beg me to let them wear them every Sunday for church.  I don’t always let them because I don’t think it’s necessary to wear ties every Sunday.  I usually just strive for something clean.  I just found some new ties for David so he could pass his down to Elias.  That’s why they’re so dressed up in these pictures.  I took them after church.)

This time we’re not putting them in the barn, at least not now.  We’ve set them up in the “summer kitchen” which is a small building next to the house that used to be where the original owners cooked their food in the summer, but we use it to store most of the kids’ outside toys, as well as some odds and ends.  It basically looks like a playhouse, and that’s what it is.

It’s so perfect, because the cats can go outside to do their thing by going through the little opening in the door.  Then when they want to hang out or sleep or get away from the dogs, they can just go back through their little hole.  It appears they like this system.

This way the cats can be closer to the house.  The kids will be able to go outside and play with them easier.  I don’t like them going down to the barn by themselves as they’re just too much in there that they can’t touch.

Ingrid is delighted by the cats.  Solveig is terrified of them.  Silje is in heaven.  Both the boys have found their favorites.  We’re all pretty much in love.

So we’re all happy.

For blessings this week:

-I’m so thankful for some women who have really been a prayerful encouragement to me this last week.

-I’m thankful for my in-laws, who out of the blue called us up this weekend to see if Knut and I could go out on a date while they watch the kids.  How often does that happen?  It was awesome!

-I’m thankful Knut and I have been able to spend some much needed time just hanging out before the craziness of harvest begins.

-I’m so, so thankful that our bedroom projects for the kids are now done.  It’s one more piece of normal in place.  No more living out of piles of clothes everywhere!

-I’m thankful for being able to meet a friend of a cousin who provided us with these cats.  Their oldest daughter is just a bit older than Silje and raises rabbits, and their oldest son is just a bit older than David and raises pigs.  I feel very strongly that we will have to get to know this family in coming years as Silje and David have been begging for those 2 animals in particular.

-I’m thankful Silje got to go to a Bible camp retreat this last weekend.  I had so much fun talking with her yesterday as we petted the cats, and her just pouring out all that she had learned over the weekend.  I love her heart.

-I’m thankful for the rain.  We sure needed it.

-I’m so thankful for my kids.  Each and every one of them.

How have you been blessed this last week?