Lotsa Updates! :-)

Wheehoow, how time flies! September already?!?! What happened to summer, sunshine, warm weather and swimming? Didn't we just put away the snow shovels? We are getting frosts here already! However, we were able to sneak in one last swim on Tue, even though it meant swimming in the rain. Anyway, my apologies toward the negligence I have shown this blog, if it weren't for my siblings pestering me to keep up on it, I may have forgotten all together!

So, the updates... gulp, where to begin? When I sat down to make an entry and checked the photos that the kids have taken for me over the past two weeks, I was rather intimidated at the amount of subjects that I had to post about. So, relax, take a deep breath and kick your feet up if you plan to take on the challenge of reading this whole thing!

-We got an 8' by 8' grain bin built in under a week for the grain crop that came in a few weeks ago. It was a 'Daddy down to Johnny' project.





-The men folk got the shakes done on the gable ends! Another 'before winter' project checked off. What a relief! And it looks so nice too.
 


- We've been stuffing logs (another 'before winter' project) around the outside of the house. It was understood that the cob mortar shrinks in the first year (as well as the logs) and would need to be patched and then refaced. I don't think we'll be able to finish this whole project before winter though!




- Mom and I have been getting hooves trimmed on the whole horse herd. We usually get one horse done a day... takes a while but it's very satisfying to see the hooves come away looking so much neater.

"Mommy, twim my toes too!"


- We had to cut down and peel more trees for the cabin, as we've come up short on those. Andrew's nearly finished with the walls on the cabin, too. He'll mount his bike and ride off every morning, shortly followed by the hum of the chain saw from that side of the property where he spends his day creating a grand new structure!

This corner will be the (sunny ) dinning room.
These pictures are a little old. The tops of the walls have all been leveled off and some more of the west wall is done. (Note: the framed in porch in front.)



- I've been skirting, washing and carding fleeces. I have two more to do plus one ready for washing and one ready for carding. I have Stephen's new socks on my knitting needles right now.

- We're back to school this week. I went through all the boxes labeled: 'School Books' in storage until I had decent curriculums for the different kiddo's. Johnny and Lizzy have unofficially become my students (by the way they come to me with their problems), but Theresa and Michael prefer Annie, whereas Stephen doesn't trust anyone but Mom.

- The harvest has been coming in steady. Every day we're getting a basket (or two!) of huge gorgeous ripe tomatoes. Surprisingly, we haven't been putting up any sauces, soups or pastes. We snack on them throughout the day and we've never gotten more than we could eat. They're so yummy when they're fresh! Mom says she would have to grow acres if she were to get enough produce to keep through the winter. *blush*



- Our nine ft. sunflower blew over in a storm last week! It had a huge foot print in the garden, so now that it's gone, there is a hole where it once stood. It took down a couple stalks of corn with it! I think we would have had to chop it down with an axe, had it not blown down itself.




- The boys finished their filming for Indiana John last week! Andrew allows us to preview pieces as he's editing it and I can tell ya folks, (tho, I might get in trouble for doing so! ): this one is going to be loads of fun to watch! Johnny has changed in his acting abilities in the past year. In this movie, he had lots of lines to memorize and some pretty physical action sequences, that (I think), he pulled off amazingly! I'll be sure to let you all know when the movie is released for your viewing on our website. Until then, you can keep up to date with the progress on our production blog at: http://lundfamilyproductions.co.nr

(Filming last Sunday.)


- We had four families visit us within the last two or three weeks. One of them camped on our land for two nights. We had so much fun with each of them! Theresa proudly gave pony rides to anyone who wanted one. The kids played game after game until I had no idea what they were playing anymore, except that they were running around with huge smiles on their faces and that's the important part, right? :-D Even though their friends left, they still play every night until they can no longer see (or until Mom calls them in for prayers, which ever comes first).

Beginning to play:

After playing:


- Sister or brother number nine is growing perfectly every day. He/she(hopefully!!) has been very active and we already love him/her so much! Our favorite thing to do is to lay our hands on Mom's stomach during the rosary in the evenings to feel him/her doing his/her nightly acrobats. Momma is doing great too, even better than previous pregnancies.

- We're picking blackberries and actually getting some bags in the freezer! I know it's amazing, but the trick is that the kids are very defensive of their blackberries after they've had to fight the thorns to collect them. You wouldn't want to be caught dead with your hand in one of their buckets!



- Theresa bred her momma rabbits and is preparing for babies! The calendar is marked and the hutches are being created.



- I have several quilts to recover before winter. They are starting to get pulled out now, as I'm trying to evenly distribute my attention on all the projects I have going. Lizzy and I are going to put together her quilt top within the next day or two. Then I can pass that one on to the girls to tie while I get back to my plans for the living room curtains, (I'm planning on quilting them), couch cushions and living room rag rug. Oh, and my own quilt, too! (Yikes!)

- The apples are coming in and the kids are already brushing up on their tree climbing abilities. We've had three, large, wonderful apple pies already and have eaten... phew, we won't even go there! This is the animals' favorite time of year, too, as we are always walking around the farm munchin' apples and they get the cores.

Well, I think that's about it. Sorry for the long post! I'll try to keep you on top of things a little better around here from now on.

Sending a sunny smile your way!