Rural Babies

Today was one of those fleeting, perfect days that you just cannot soak up enough.  Minimal wind, temperature in the high 40's, bright sunshine... absolute perfection.  Thank you, Lord.  

Today was also a constant reminder of our rural life.  

The 'baby' recently moved from a crib into a big girl bed.  She does well most of the time, but last night woke up multiple times crying and needing her mother.  Alas, this required me to be awake multiple times, rocking her and providing encouraging pep talks to her.  After waking up at 4:30 I just decided to officially start my day which really isn't all bad.  It means I get to have quiet coffee - my very favorite kind.  

Whilst attempting to enjoy my peace and quiet I heard rustling outside several times.  I attributed this to raccoons and silently cussed them while I continued to read the news on my phone, sip my heavenly goodness and relish in the quiet.  

At daylight I walked outside to find that the boys' 4-H calves had gotten out of the pen last night and traveled the 100 yards up to our house where they decided to shit on our porch.  Obviously this wasn't' the end of the world, but something that made me cuss under my breath. Oh, who are we really kidding? I cussed out loud and asked the kids to get shovels to clean up their calves' manure.  I was immensely proud; however, when I asked the kids if they needed help.  "Nope.  Dad says if we make mistakes in life we need to take care of them ourselves."  Cannot love this enough.  

We ate lunch down at the shop today, during which Kathryn decided that the dogs were hungry and also in need of a meaty lunch.  She promptly trotted down the road several yards and found a dead rabbit laying on the side of the road that she carried back to them.  

Later that afternoon as I was cleaning in the shop I looked over to see Reese carrying handfuls of food to the dogs who were more than willing to lay on their dog beds as she handfed them eat tasty morsel.  

In between all these antics the children checked their traps, rode bikes, climbed all over equipment, worked with their animals and capped off their evening by hunting racoons with our neighbor.  Days like today make our hearts full and remind us just how lucky we are to raise our babies in this environment. 

Sometimes

Sometimes, well, all the time, I worry about our children.  I think that's normal for most parents, of course.  We lie awake at night and strategize about what went wrong, what went right and what we need to do better the next day.  My husband and I often remind ourselves that our mission is to make good kiddos right now because 'it's easier to raise a good kid than to fix a broken adult'.  Amen.  This is no lie.  Cannot stress this shit enough.  

We have unique concerns about each of ours, but then sometimes I'm reminded that maybe they'll be okay (at least for the near future).  

Kiddo #1: 

He used to make such sweeping generalizations that drove us absolutely insane. 

    Everyone does it.  It's always like that.  This always happens every time.

Now I often feel as if we live with a lawyer.  

    Mom, I hate to tell you but technically, that's not correct.  Not EVERYONE actually does that.  

I secretly love it when he corrects me like this.  It gives me hope for the future.  

Kiddo #2:

We ask him questions that make him utilize his mental math skills and he struggles.  

    And then we ask him to play blackjack and suddenly he knows his mental math like a genius. 

Kiddo #3: 

She likes pink.  She has beautiful blonde hair.  When asked a hard question she tends to giggle and deflect with her good looks.  We worry about her becoming a superficial girl that uses her good looks to gain attention and not put in actual work.  

    Last week I was standing at the sink washing dishes and gazing out at the yard and pasture.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small blonde child bouncing down the middle of the road.  I could see that she was lugging something along but couldn't tell exactly what it was.  As she got closer and started to march through the yard I could finally tell what it was.  She had a fresh, bloody deer leg slung over her shoulder that she had found and was dragging home for the dogs to snack on.  Kind to her animals and a country kid okay with blood.  We breathed a sigh of relief.  

Kiddo #4:

    We simply worry about her.  She's the last child and at this moment is very advanced for her age in the language department.  We carry on long, full conversations with deep meaning versus simple yes/no questions.  We've made the mistake of carrying on adult conversations in front of her more than once, thinking we were in the clear only to find out hours later that she absorbed every. single. word.  Sigh. 

Pray for us and prayers that we raise good kiddos!