Life Down On The Farm

Family-we fight, we laugh, we love, we depend on each other

Sunshine-warms my house in the winter, brightens my day

Friends-gives me someone to talk to, someone to hang out with, someone to love

Dan-my best friend, love of my life, my handyman

Buying gas-means I have a car to drive, somewhere to go and money

My job-means I am helping support my family

Brian-my favorite son, makes me laugh, fixes my window, has become responsible, mature man, makes me proud

My house-keeps rain off of me, keeps me warm, keeps me cool, gives me somewhere to come to at the end of the day, filled with love and laughter

Food-sustains me, satisfies me, brings family together at the table

Becky-makes me laugh, makes me wish she wasn't growing up so fast, keeps me running, makes me proud

Corn and beans-gives our family income, gives Dan satisfaction

News-newspaper gives me a job, television news tells me my life is better than many

Kayla-gives me hugs, makes me laugh, trying new things and succeeding, makes me proud

Life-God gave me parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews and the ability to handle anything that comes my way...life is good.

Be thankful each and every day, not just once a year. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

After buying two things in the store and spending a little time online I am officially done with my Christmas shopping! I was not looking forward to shopping in the stores, the crowds annoy me, so I started looking for a few things and ideas online and spent a good amount of time on Amazon...my new favorite website. I got 90% of the gifts there, and the rest on other websites that Amazon linked to so I feel I can trust them. Now the kids, and Dan, have strict instructions they are not allowed to open any packages that are delivered! It is a good feeling to have everything done and out of the way, now all I have to do is wrap them all...I am thinking Christmas themed bags this year!

We went to see Kayla perform in the Iowa All-State Band last night. Becky, Dan and I went in the afternoon and met Brian for supper, then he joined us and mom and dad at Hilton Coliseum for the performance. There were 276 kids in the band, 600 in the choir and 199 in the orchestra. The band played four songs, plus one with the chorus singing along. It was an awesome performance and I was really impressed with the sound of such a big band. Our seats were really good, we could see Kayla perfectly. I know she had a lot of fun getting ready and performing and as dad said, we will be back to watch her next year!

Sometimes the fuzzers are allowed to come in the house and get spoiled...they gets lots of petting and loving. Sometimes they even get the last few drops of milk left in the glass...but they have to work really, really hard for it!

Kayla is in Ames now at All-State Band. She had to try-out for chair placement tonight and ended up with chair 10 out of 12. Pretty darn good for a sophomore who is there for the first year! She is having a good time, already made a friend who will be sitting beside her in the practices and concert, she was worried about having someone to hang out with, so that problem is solved. I told her she had to buy me a bumper sticker (they say "My kid is an All-Stater") and she found out she gets them for free, so she has extra money now! So far the best part for her is that she has her own hotel room...with a king size bed! I am anxious to talk to her tomorrow night after she has spent an entire day practicing!

The car is not fixable, the engine is seized up. There had been absolutely no warning signs that there was a leak in the oil...never saw oil under the car where it was always parked, oil gauge was always in the safe area. Both Dan and I drove it off and on so we would have seen something had there been a sign. Oh well! Now we are trying to find her another one...she bought this one but we are going to have to buy the replacement and have her pay us back. Such is life I guess!

but the wheels on Kayla's car do not...at least not on their own! I was driving her car to Storm Lake today so that the muffler could be replaced, since she is leaving for Ames this morning she was just riding with Becky to school. I was cruising along, with the cruise control on, when all of a sudden the motor revved way up, so I stepped on the brake to slow it down, the car died and will not start again. I called Dan to come get me but he was over by Newell doing chores, so it would take him quite a bit of time to get to me, and I was already going to be late for work. So I called Kayla and since Becky wasn't ready to leave for school yet I had Kayla drive my car and come get me. She drove 4 miles illegally! When I was taking Kayla back home I noticed there was a "line" on the gravel road that led directly into our driveway and was the exact route I took with Kayla's car, the turn around I made in the driveway and everything. So when I drove past her car on the side of the road again on my way to work, (the second time) I stopped and looked under it...sure enough, there is a small puddle of oil...not a good thing. So now we are deciding if it is fixable or if we have to buy her another car. Not a good day!

Everything that Northwestern needed for Becky's application is now in their sweaty little hands so all we have to do is wait for their decision. They will send her a letter by December 15 but that seems so far away! This is the college that she has her heart set on going to and I really want her to make it in...but the waiting for the decision! Her grades are good, her ACT is good, her extra-curricular activities are good...how can they not want her? Why can't they just tell her today? Oh the waiting!

All-State is coming next week...the excitement is building!

I remember hearing the doctor say "it's a boy!"

I remember hearing a baby crying down the hall at the hospital and knowing he was mine.

I remember the car wouldn't start so Dan had to borrow a friend's to take us home from the hospital.

I remember buckling the car seat between us in the front seat so we could look at him.

I remember sitting the baby seat at the bottom of the steps while I ran upstairs, that way I could see him while I was up there (for less than a minute).

I remember rocking the bassinet back and forth in the hopes he would fall back asleep at 2 a.m.

I remember rubbing Baby Orajel on sore, teething gums.

I remember hanging row after row of freshly washed cloth diapers on the clothesline.

I remember standing him up against the couch and trying to get him to walk to me.

I remember hearing how he took his first steps for the babysitter while I was gone to Grandma's funeral.

I remember the first time I heard him say "mama"

I remember trying so hard to get him to walk and talk and then trying so hard to get him to sit down and be quiet.

I remember the red Radio Flyer wagon we gave him for his first birthday.

I remember him holding his new baby sister for the first time...and then again when he held his other new baby sister.

I remember taking him to preschool the first day (he was ready...I wasn't).

I remember his kindergarten teacher telling me he had a problem with sitting down and listening.

I remember hearing that same phrase all through his school years.

I remember he was one of the best readers in first grade so got a big reading part in "The Little Engine That Could".

I remember him asking for the moon for Christmas, sure his daddy could get it for him because daddy could do anything.

I remember days when I thought there wasn't enough patience in the world to deal with him.

I remember days when I thought I would burst with pride for him.

I remember buying paint for the barn and someone commenting on what a big job we had but Dan said we had a teenager at home to do it...first time he was ever referred to as a teenager.

I remember sitting by his bed saying prayers when he had his ankle and knee surgeries.

I remember him getting his school permit and driving to school alone for the first time.

I remember the speeding ticket he got a few days later.

I remember him graduating from high school.

I remember the long, lonely drive home after we helped him move to college.

I remember telling him "I love you" as he walked out the door to go back to college, and him saying "I love you too".

I remember how much a simple phone call means, even when it is late at night and he just wants to talk about nothing.

I remember that at 9:02 a.m. on November 9, 1988 he made me a mom and changed my life forever. He makes me worry, he makes me laugh, he makes me yell, he makes me question why I ever had kids, he makes me thank God I did have kids, he makes me wonder how he grew up so fast. He has gone from a sweet little boy who loved tractors and wanted to be president when he grew up to a handsome, intelligent man who still wants to be in politics. His dreams are big and I truly hope he can achieve every one of them. He has the determination and soul to do whatever he sets his mind to, and the stubbornness to never give up on what he believes in. The past 20 years have been one adventure after another and I wouldn't have missed it for the world...I love my "Big Guy".

Leon rides again!

I was looking through some old papers and found this essay, it made me laugh so I thought I would share it...

The Story of My Life (So Far)
By Kayla Jean Josephson

I was born on August 6, 1993 in the Pocahontas Community Hospital in Pocahontas, IA. I weighed 9 lbs 3 1/4 oz and I was 20 inches long. Now, nine years later, I weigh 58 lbs. and I am 51 inches long, which is 4' 3" tall.

I have a brother named Brian, who is 13 years old and a sister named Becky who is 11 years old. My dad's name is Dan and my mom's name is Kathy, they have been married 14 years. We live on a farm near Albert City.

When I was born, we lived on a farm near Marathon. Before I was born everyone thought I was going to be a boy, they were very surprised when I was a girl! I was a very happy baby. I only cried when I needed something. When I was 5 months old I learned to sit up by myself, and when I was 9 months old I learned to crawl. I was late in learning to walk, I didn't learn until I was 16 months old, but now I can run fast! Just a week after I learned to crawl, I pulled the cord on the iron and when the hot iron fell to the floor I touched it and burnt my hand. It took me awhile to try crawling again.

My very first word was "da-da" at 10 months old, and I said "ma-ma" when I was 11 months old, that is also when I learned to wave "bye-bye". After I started talking, I wouldn't stop, I learned the word kitty at one year, pig and sissy (my name for Becky) at 15 months and cow, cracker, toe, daddy and mommy at 19 months. I could say a lot of words by the time I was two, but I wouldn't talk to anyone but my mom.

When I was two years old I got my first haircut, and when it was done I cried and ran to hide in the corner. I learned to write my name when I was 3 1/2 and to read when I was 5. I have said some pretty funny things, some of which are: "When my tooth falls out I can put it back in all by myself" (age 3), "I want to take some books with me to church because when I am in church I am boring" (age 5), "That's my old man" when seeing a picture of my dad (age 5 1/2) and when listening to the song about the foolish man who built his house on the sand I said "What do you expect, he is a man!" (age 6).

I started preschool when I was 4 years old, and I will graduate high school when I am 17 years old. I have five girl cousins (Keri is my favorite) and seven boy cousins. I have five uncles and five aunts, one grandpa, one great-grandpa and two grandmas. Most of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents live in Iowa, but I have one uncle and aunt and two cousins that live in Ecuador, South America. I am related to four people who are in the Laurens-Marathon school; they are my brother and sister, Mrs. Stewart and Devin Stewart.

I love horses, singing and drawing. When I grow up I want to be an art teacher, a music teacher, a librarian or a regular teacher.