Stone Hill Homestead

Being Thankful

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Lisl

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Being Thankful

I spent two hours on the phone Monday with my mom. I asked her, how do you know when  something is a non-negotiable you need to factor into a decision making process, or when that thing is something you just give up to the Lord with open hands? How does one deal with the reality of what you know about yourself in the face of making a decision that you aren’t sure is going to accommodate your own sanity?

Rian’s pigs had piglets this past fall. It was a new experience and we learned a lot and enjoyed the process.

She said the answer is to petition with thanksgiving. “God, thank you for making me this way and allowing me to live in such a way that I can use these gifts and enjoy life in this season.” And then lay it before him. Cut it to him straight as well. He can handle it. But be thankful.

My Freyja cow got a nice new patio of her own before snow flew. I’m so excited to see how well it helps with the mud control next spring. And she’s due to calve the beginning of April. I’m really excited to have a calf on the farm again!

So I did those things, and peace came flooding back like I haven’t had for a while. Because it’s in his hands now and I can stop turmoiling about the decisions at hand. God doesn’t seem to be opening doors right now so I may as well stop fretting next steps and live in the now. “Be where my feet are.” Like Porters Gate people sing. And be thankful.

I tell Dru about what nice kids we have so often. Man! I love them! They are the best thing that ever happened to us.

I am thankful. We’ve had our share of hard. But man! We have had a load of happy here on our 4 acres of StoneHill.

The Admiral is the soul of the kitchen… actually maybe the house this winter. She keeps us warm and does at least some of the cooking. In my mind she is a she and her name is “The Admiral.” I’m done fighting this. Not everything has to sound right. She is an Admiral Windsor. I am ever so thankful for her services.

This is where my feet are today. On my farm, in my home, with my family. I am thankful for everything about it and will live it full and happy. Thank you Jesus. Maybe there wasn’t so much that needed fixing after all?

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Hello,

I’m Lisl

Herein lie the events, ponderings, people, and animals that make up the cacophony of our life.

Pictures of farm and family

Just happy things. First pic is Rennie helping his dad with opening an old floppy desk using Rennie's raspberry pi computer. The next one was last night while Dru took the rest of the kids skating Rian and I watched Ruthanne Zimmerman make egg noodles while we ate soup in mugs. It's been a very full and happy Christmas season. I didn't take pictures consistently. I miss doing that and want to try harder. I don't have any pictures of my own family's gatherings. But here is a smattering of photos from our busy holiday. My favorite is of Ray sneaking ham to the cat in the kitchen at my Mother in law's house. No, actually it's my boys playing together. The giraffe at the mall, wondering why he is sharing this little bench with a grown man, also cracks me up. I feel like I've learned how to burn coal in my cookstove. There was the day I was rather discouraged about it and put the project on hold for a weekend--it was a warm weekend anyway. It's a different animal than burning wood and I'm still figuring it out. How big I had planned for Freyja's "patio" versus how big it became when too much concrete was ordered. Nobody heard me complaining about it. Somewhere Dru has more pictures of the concrete operation but I was busy running circles that morning. Super thankful for Havilah and Jube helping me hold down the fort while we babysat and did projects all weekend. The men in my life are distracted by a new game. So much so that when we took the male pigs to the vet for castration (I won't do it myself when Dr. Metcalf will do it for 25 dollars and some odd cents) Rian brought the instructions along to read. And Jube had to be planted next to the cookstove to study because sitting in Dru's chair was way too close to his brothers playing the new game and was very distracted. And then Dru came home with intentions to turn in school evidences to Hacil but they had the game set up and here we are. Gleanings from the flower beds. Picked yesterday. Tonight I think we will have a killing frost. Big week on the farm. Two new pig families. And that's me after pulling an all nighter with one of the new mammas. And that's my hill billy barn there. Someday I will do better than cardboard. But for now I embrace hill billy. And I still have flowers ... Not complaining. Tonight it freezes. I picked flowers til I couldn't see anymore. The cats were not helpful. Clingy with a side of zoomies. Daliahs are happy and frost comes soon.