Christmas 2017

Our college graduate

We're very proud that Brent graduated from Muscatine Community College with an Associates in Science degree in agriculture. He works for BT Farms, where he did several of his internships. He also had had his own baling business this summer. When I saw his billing system I realized my boy is all grown up and doesn't need his mom anymore (for that!)

Good-bye to Grandma Brenneman

In December, Doug's mom Marie fell and broke her ankle. After stays in the hospital and local rehab she was just ready to discharge to the next stage when we got the call that she had died in her sleep. February 24, 2017. Good for her- sad for us. No good-byes. Leah Kileny, long-time friends from Israel, came to be with us. Here she helps Maureen tie Dad and Brent's ties.

It's very quiet around the farm. I sure miss stopping by to chat and catch her up with what we're doing. Very hard to get used to - not having 3 generations together here.

A fun little outing mid-winter to a Journey concert. "Don't stop believin!"

                                                                          So this happened this summer... ask Brent about it. 

Get-away between planting and making hay

Doug and I took a quick trip to Dyersville to see the tractor museum and the Field of Dreams. Here we are at the baseball field. You can imagine which Doug liked best.

The cool thing about young adult kids is that they can do the chores!

                    

Empty Nest!

A few months after Marie died, Doug suggested we fix it up a bit so the kids could move out of our basement.

The kids like being more on their own and we like the empty nest!

They are near enough to help with cows and pigs but everyone also has space. Win-win!


Brent's accident
I decided to spare you the graphic pictures. End of July Brent called us about suppertime to say he'd been in an accident, he was okay but the truck was t-boned. We jumped in the car to go to the scene (it wasn't far away) and Brent called again and said the same thing. He didn't remember calling us. When he called again in 2 minutes, we knew we would be going to the ER. We were not prepared to arrive to see Vickie's beloved white pickup upside down. Brent was hit by a drunk driver who left the scene. He crawled out a back window and called us. There were witnesses and the driver was soon caught. He doesn't remember anything before the ambulance ride. We are so grateful he wasn't seriously hurt. He's been doctoring for his back some, and it sounds like the drivers insurance should cover everything. We are so grateful for Brent's life.              

Family Peer Support Specialist Training

A big project this year at my work was overseeing curriculum development for training new family members to become peer support (or Family Navigators). My job was to get the online curriculum up and running, and then participate as one of the trainers for the in-person part. Here some colleagues and I have finished Day 4- pretty excited!

In addition to training work-force peers, another team at work led a second round of training for family leaders to advocate for change for children with special needs.

It's been good to use some of my teaching training again.

Love the women I work with!

Employee Van Pool
Parking is so bad near the hospital where I work, employee vans are provided for a fee of course. After following the Wellman one to work numerous times, and realizing they drop off at my very building, I decided to be green and sign on. Now they actually swing into our circle drive and pick me up. At the very spot where middle school Brent waited with Grandma for the bus, I now wait (in the kids' house) for my ride. Ironic.


Our agronomist is published 
Click on this link to read a post Mo wrote for her work. Very proud! If you have weed issues or want your soil amended, she's your woman!            Clean Beans: are we dreamin?

Crops and Critters

It was a banner year for corn and soy beans. No one can believe the high yields, especially since the rains were spotty. Wish we had good prices for our crops but at least there were a lot of bushels. With a lot of fall rain, we were still at it in November this year.

Cattle prices have come down quite a bit in the last year.

We are grateful that we raise pigs for an integrator so don't have to worry about the price of pigs!

We get them at about 19 days old and finish to nearly 300 pounds in 6 months. So we sort and load pigs twice a year. The kids have decided they are better at sorting with their dad than I am. :) So I no longer have to do that job. Not sad about that!

        Crack!

On a fine late October Sunday afternoon, on a high from leading a successful worship workshop at First Mennonite of Iowa City, I decided to stand on the couch to adjust the drapery back to its winter position. (The sun gets in Doug's eyes in the summer). Doug was sitting on his chair right next to me and said, "You're going to fall." And just like that, I lost my balance and fell backwards, catching my back on the STRONG wooden coffee table. Cracked some ribs. Wow- that's painful. Had to be off work a week and still cringing along 5 weeks later. Some potential solid questions to ask:

 1) Why didn't I ask Doug to assist? 2) Why didn't I get a ladder? 3) Is it truly Doug's fault because he requires so much maintenance? 4) Will I ever learn my lesson? All valid questions. None of which make it feel better any faster. 

Preaching back east
In November, I was pleased to be asked to preach for part of Salford Mennonite Church's 300th anniversary, celebrating women in ministry. I attended this congregation right out of college when I taught school at Penn View Christian School. I was well hosted by the congregation, and had reunions with friends while there. Even got in on the 30 year cookie bake tradition of some of my teacher friends from the 1980s!

Mini First Mennonite of Iowa City reunion with Joy Sutter, Sonya and Roger Stauffer-Kurtz.

Me, Carol and Tim Martin Johnson, Monica and Dave Schroeder

Christmas Around the World
December 5-10, I went with Mom on a bus tour from Archbold to Omaha, NE. We visited a variety of ethnic traditions around Christmas. Here we are after our Medieval Feast. Also on the itinerary were treats from Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark. We also saw a Lewis & Clark national park presentation, Union Station's giant Christmas tree, a poinsettia tree at an arboretum, and a few other historic markers. Finished off with a marvelous Christmas pops concert with the Omaha symphonic orchestra. It was fun to be with mom and some folks from Archbold. 

Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas!

March 11, 2016, we were married 15 years. Since we didn't have a honeymoon, a trip seemed to be in order. For you who know non-traveler Doug, this was quite an accomplishment. I didn't ask him if he wanted to go on a trip, I simply asked him if he preferred a cruise or a train trip. He said, "Well, I guess we've already been on a ship." I booked an Amtrak train trip to the Grand Canyon the next day. 

Even on a honeymoon trip, Doug has to examine
the farm equipment. This is a donkey trailer.

       
Once in Arizona, we took the restored Grand Canyon Railway to the park. The Bright Angel Trail was still ice-y but the days were warm and we hiked along the south rim. Next time we'll take along walking sticks and crampons and walk to the bottom! You heard that right: "next time!"

     

We had a nice dinner at the historic lodge at the South Rim, complete
with a lone diner man on my head. 

Work

I continue working as a family navigator for the University of Iowa Hospital division of Pediatrics, helping families of kids with special needs find support and the resources they need for a good life.

This past year, I was the family representative for a LEND fellowship (Leadership Development in Neurological Development) with grad students preparing to be doctors for children with special needs. The culmination of our year was a trip to Washington, D.C., to speak with Congress legislators about laws that benefit children.

I also was one of 10 winners of a government sponsored contest to bridge the word gap in young children. Children of low income families are likely to hear 3 million less words before kindergarten than their peers. My idea to create a story-telling app where families tell the baby about their lives won $10,000. I'm not an entrepreneur, however, and although the app got made, it didn't win the second round and likely won't be mass produced unless I can convince Story Corps to do something like it. 

Farm
Doug continues with the 2400 head of hogs, 100 cow/calf pairs and fat cattle he finishes out. With both kids at home, there's usually help for his tendency to move animals from one farm to another. Both helped us with the harvest, which brought in record yields. The prices, sadly, are NOT setting any records. 

The Kids

Our empty nest days were short-lived. Maureen moved back home after college (she's all about saving money!) and took a job at Wellman Farm Center as an Agronomist. She likes her job. Her first sales visit was to her dad and then to our friend and neighbor Donovan!

Both kids got their Commercial Driving License (CDL). Maybe we should start a trucking company.

Brent continues his second year at Muscatine Community College in agricultural studies. During classes he stays with a friend's family nearby. During his internships he lives at home. And yes, actually, he sometimes does dishes under duress!

Mo's boyfriend Troy Slaubaugh can also been seen at our table often. Come to think of it, I have yet to see him do dishes, however!

                                                                                   

                                                                               This little wash house finally got renovated! It got a lot of use this year. I tutored 3 kiddos on Wednesdays through the school year and into the summer, and hosted faith exploration class for our church in the fall. The shed is so cozy, complete with heat and air conditioning!

                                                  

Christmas 2016 Part 2

Livestock has moved into the house, according to Doug.

He brought home this Siamese cat from the feed store. In keeping with old lady names (RIP Blanche and Lois), she is named Viola. And Tobias, the abandoned cat Mo bottle-fed, has developed a propensity for the gutter on the garage.

Both cats keep Doug company in the evenings on his chair, where he keeps up a running dialogue with both. I think the man needs some grandchildren.

Duke lives on into his 13th year- my perky little shadow.

I continue raising chickens and provide eggs for my neighbors. And the ducks live on....a few years ago Doug got me a dozen baby Mallards (thinking they'd fly off)... they were the domesticated larger breed, and they and their offspring have been here ever since! The kids keep threatening to shoot them but, no one really has the nerve to cross Momma! Here's a video of the newly hatched last spring, because who doesn't like a baby duck video.

Accidents

In June, Mom (83) decided to try mowing under the grape arbor, got herself tangled up and broke her back and 8 ribs. There were several trips to Ohio for us as she spent two different weeks in the hospital and 6 weeks in rehab. The physical therapist said she's a real fighter, and she'd rather work with mom than a 24 year old!

She is doing great now and feels like she's got her life back. Oh, and she has a lawn mower for sale!

One winter Sunday morning, an accident on the road in front of our farm sent one vehicle into the barn and out the other side. The folks in this car weren't hurt, but the 18 year old neighbor in the first car that caused the accident wasn't expected to live, He eventually surprised everyone and pulled through and is doing fine now.

Mo bought a truck and was looking for a buyer for her car... Naturally, this meant Brent drove it to college (!). One morning on a doughnut run, he had a "failure to maintain assured clear distance" accident. No one was hurt, and the other driver told me I have a very kind and compassionate son. He even offered them a doughnut! And Mo thinks she actually got more from insurance than otherwise!

Doug turned 60 this year in September. Neighbors
helped us celebrate with a small tractor-cade around the neighborhood!

And finally, what Christmas blog is complete without a pic or two of my flowers. This year, the clematis was awful showy, and I had raspberries at the end of November!     

We were grateful for a good year and look forward to another.

May you and your family be blessed with peace and joy in 2017  

Christmas Newsletter 2015

The biggest news of the year....

Maureen is a new graduate of Iowa State University as of December 19, with a major in agronomy. She's looking for work helping farmers figure out weeds and soils and growing conditions (I think that's what she does). If you need an agronomist, call!!                                                                                                                                  

Mo & boyfriend Troy Schlabaugh

Brent went off to college after his gap year of work. He found an ag program at Muscatine Community College that has 6 weeks of class followed by 6 weeks of internship, which suits him just right. He and a friend are living with his friend's family and trades farm work for rent.  

So this is us on the first night alone with an empty nest.  Who will tell us what to do? Where to go? What to wear?

A big venture on the farm this year was the building of the HUGE hay shed. We took down an old machine shed to make room. The neighbor construction company Brent works for built it, so Brent did an internship with them and got to help build part of it. It's 100 x 60, for those of you for whom that means something. To me, it just means, it's big. Machinery is also stored in this shed, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few cows wandered in, too.

Crop yields were outstanding this year, about as good as the weather to harvest was. We continue with growing pigs and cattle.

I started working at the Children's Hospital at University of Iowa in April as  a family navigator. My job is to help families of children with special health care needs: listen, get them connected to resources they need, advocate for themselves, etc. It's part time (but with full time benefits!) so I can still tutor and farm. Usually we don't ride adult trikes, but there was a contest for the opening of a new parking ramp so.... I won my heat of course. And, there's a video.

Had a blast this October returning to Archbold with friends to play in the Bluestreak Marching Alumni Band. Hopefully my sister Rachel will join me next year.