A weekend at the Farm

A week ago my little family got to spend the weekend at my grandparents farm just outside Stewartville MN. We periodically go down there just to visit with family and get away for a day or so. This place was a second home to me as I was growing up. I would spend my summers working, playing and growing up. Now that I have a family of my own I love bringing them here and letting them experience some of the things from my childhood. 

Vienna's first ride on the old tractor

Regardless of the noise, Vienna loved riding on the tractor. She would just look around and all the new things while riding on her daddy's lap. As her mind took in all the new things, I was busy enjoying the time with my beautiful daughter. 

A funny thing happens when I start up the tractor, a peace comes over me as I pull the clutch and enter the fields. My mind races as I ponder my future farming endeavors. I'm constantly getting ideas, setting goals and just trying to figure out how to make it all happen. (more on this later)

There seems to be a common love in our family for farming and farm equipment. My beautiful bride already loves farm animals, most of all pigs, but now I think her love for farming is rapidly expanding. 

Why? you ask.

Thats right, she drove it. And looked hot doing it. 

Welcoming the New Year

Every year we have an opportunity for new beginnings. A chance to start over and do things differently. However, as I look at this past year and what I see coming, there's not a whole lot I want to do differently. Naturally I always find room for improvement. But the overall trajectory of our life is full of God's blessings, making it easy to find our joy in him.

My wife and I have gotten plugged into a great church this year and we intend to continue to grow with this community and the friends we've made there. I enjoy the spirit of leadership I've seen in the men of Grace Church and I believe the overall congregation has a heart for God's call on their lives and a willingness to submit to that call. So after almost a year of seeking a church that has a balance of both gospel and community, Elise and I agree that we have finally found "Home".

My job is moving in a positive direction and I plan to continue my employment there and see where it takes me. I am so grateful for this job because without it my family and I would not be where we are at today.

Regarding our farming ambitions, this year is going to be another small stepping year as we plan, plant and grow a garden in the back yard. More than anything I just want the experience. With every student loan payment I make to the bank, I see us taking one step closer to being legitimate farmers. So as things move slowly, I will continue to read everything I can get my hands on so I am mentally equipped for life on the farm.

So as we enter this new year, looking back on how far we have come, and the journey we still have ahead of us, our new beginnings of this year are simply a continuation of the year gone past, for everyday has its own new beginning.

Christmas 2011

This year I am having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit. My guess is, it has to do with the lack of snow. For crying in the mud, we live in Minnesota! We should have multiple feet of snow on the ground, children riding on the backs of snowmobiles, frozen lakes and warm homes to retreat to.

But here we are, snowless, wrapping gifts, creating gifts, and doing what it takes to get in the Christmas spirit. I'm trying to change our mindsets to dwell on our savior, who came for the purpose of redemption. The Christmas season is full of "stuff" to get us off track. I am trying to change my mindset from the picturesque Christmas to the Christmas that point to the birth of Jesus.

As the head of my home it is my responsibility to show the importance of Jesus' birth and the tree he died on, not the tree in our living room with the lights on it. As a father this is my first Christmas, as a husband, it is my second. So, on this Christmas eve, we are looking to the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.