11 Acre Wood Blog

Well, a lot of Sanderisms originated during supper clean-up. That is usually when all us kids would work together to get things cleaned up. When someone was talking too much (and couldn’t talk and work at the same time J) or was dawdling we’d tell them to “hitch-’em-up”! In a loving tone of voice, of course. J  And if you were sweeping the floors you might ask a little brother to “pop your piles” for ya. Or if someone swept and forgot to clean up their trash piles, someone might remind them, “Hey, you forgot to pop your piles.” 

“It just had a little bit of a ‘wang’ to it.” We seriously had thought this was an actual word until a friend was like, “a what to it?” “You know, it was a little ‘wangy’ “. Yes, we’re strange and we know it. 

But that’s okay, we keep each other entertained. 

Somehow I got off on a completely different subject than the pictures in this entry are about. Leave a comment telling which of the pictures below are your favorite and why.

Just moseying along…

Ya gotta make sure no critters are enjoying your snack…

…Before licking. 

Art.

Eman.

The Gibster.

And Nehi-the-miah.

Brothers.

*Giggles*

“Ya want some?”

Stickiness…

Y’all come ‘back’ ya hear?

Forking straw onto the truck.

Picking up roots and sticks from the field. 

Two of my good helpers.

Dirty feet…..

….and Dirty hands

Dragging the field. 

Eman spreading straw.

The fruit of our morning labors #1.

The fruit of our morning labors #2.

Eating lunch and feeding the fish.

Reflections.

Back to work!

The finished field.

Yaaayyy! It’s done!!

*Cheese*

Working on the orchard area.

Wiping off the sweat.

Time for a swim!

Ahhhhhhh…..

Coolin’ off.

Eman watches.

Sittin’ on the dock.

Have a Blessed Weekend!

Wildflowers.

Daddy.

Ethan.

Gracie.

Noah.

Me.

“Left Behind”

Cool off time.

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.”  Psalm 112:1-2

Pretty reflections.

Even with the high evaporation rate this summer, the pond is staying mostly filled up!

Looking over the cleared area.

Mr. Harold still at work.

Our new garden site.

Look at the dirt!!! Mr. Harold said he believes there’s about 2 feet of top soil. Very nice…

Noah harrowed the other half of the field that Mr. Harold wasn’t working in.

Look, an opening to the “dark woods”. LOL!

Our plans are hopefully to clear out and thin the underbrush around the creek bed. 

A  view from the other side of the field.

Dirt from different spots in the clearing.

Real dirt, not red clay!

Noah will probably be spending many hours at this garden spot in future years. 

We had the big brush pile that had been at the house site, moved. So it looks more cleared out now.

The new level spot for a playing field.

House site.

Burning a big brush pile.

Morning sunlight.

Daddy and I worked that day hanging lots of drywall. Noah had to be down with the bulldozer guy and Ethan was managing the burn pile.

Coming along.

Daddy cut for two windows to let more light in the room.

While we’ve had someone there doing bulldozer work for us, they opened up Noah’s house site some more. Lookin’ good. 

With it more open you get more of a breeze on top of the hill now.

A field that reminds me of ‘Michigan’.

After a lunch break we continue on…

“Sorry little fella, but I can still see you! Ya chose the wrong shade of green.”

Measuring and measuring again.

The room we worked on that day.

The guys had finished this room the week before.

Even though we miss seeing them, we look forward to what God has in store for their family!

Kyle, Nehemiah and Lydia peering out at the chickens.

Our yard rooster.

Buddies playin’ in the closet. We had gotten out our dollhouse to let Lydia play with, but of course, that didn’t keep her attention long and the boys took over. LOL!

In the library.

Big brother hug.

Evening activities.

The Curtis family.

Late night Euchre tournaments with Shawn (we finally found someone who knew how to play!).

On the occasion, I thought I might share with you a few childhood pictures of Daddy.

From L-R: Rose Margaret, Timmy (Daddy), Grandpa Ed and Chris.

Aunt Toody and Daddy-cuties!

Cowboy Tim playin’ with a piglet.

Daddy is sitting in the lap of Rose Ashton (his great-grandmother). Grandpa Ashton (right) had a big influence in Daddy’s childhood years. He spent many summers camping in “michigan” with his Grandpa. Special memories.  

Nehemiah or Daddy? LOL!

Dressed up for the 1965 fourth of July celebration.

What a pair. I think Daddy has the most precious expression on his face! 

Timothy Van Sanders.

The following is a ‘book’ Daddy wrote probably when he was 6ish (am I correct, Grammy?). He loved frogs when he was little, so this is a special story. Read on…

None could ask for a better husband or Father.

Surrounded by his family.

If you wish, leave a comment with a word of encouragement, blessing, fond memory, funny story, etc… to Daddy. (oh and if you don’t know, in the above picture, he’s the ‘far left boy’.J)  

Nehemiah with his ‘Minko’ and ‘Molly Girl’.

Well, the boys go swimming pretty much every afternoon (we wait until after 3:00pm to go out, when the pool is in the shade). The other day they were out collecting eggs for Noah (who was gone learning/helping out at a nearby family farm. He told us about his first experience shearing sheep and herding them across the road. LOL! Yes I know, another rabbit trail.) and came back with 36 eggs! They had found the few extra eggs in a nest outside the pin. Which is probably where the one hen goes that keeps getting out. LOL!  

The little guys are all growing up so fast and learning so much. Ethan is our hard worker and great big brother-always looking out for the younger ones. Eman or better known as “Noah Jr.”, is always reading and trying out what he reads about. Just the other day he  made a Bola (that he read about in a book) and was out using it to try and lower our large squirrel population. Cutie! Gabriel is always asking questions or telling you a “story”. He keeps us smiling with his “Gibbie Grin”.  Earlier this week he went with Noah and Daddy to work at the property. We’ve seen a few coyotes up there and I guess that was on his mind. So at one point during the day he asked Daddy, “Did you have guns when you were little?” Daddy: “No.” Gabriel: “Did y’all have to shoot any coyote?” Daddy: “We didn’t have any coyotes around where we lived.” *Pause* Gabriel: “So God hadn’t created them yet?” That boy keeps us laughin’! Daddy’s like, “So I see, my son thinks I’ve been around since Creation!” Now for the baby of the family in rank, definitely not in size. Nehemiah is pretty much found wherever his brothers are, doing whatever they are. He may be three in years, but by having to keep up with his older brothers, he can do so much! He can still say cute things though. The other day Momma was serving up ice cream cones for the boys. Nehemiah came in and said, “I want a pinecone like Manuel’s!” LOL!

We girls are doing well. Staying busy around the house. We are learning how to smock and sing together. Those pretty much have been our ventures as of late.   

Below are some pictures of our farmers in the greenhouse.

Getting some sweet potato slips to go plant.

“Hey horsefly, what are you doing in here?”

Ethan’s chives that he started from seed.

Hauling this load of gold down to the garden.

A poor, unpruned pear tree.

       He and I (Rebekah) were taking a walk down to see the garden, the chickens, and such. As we walked, we talked of various things. He told me many interesting stories of adventures he had etc. Well, after we had paid our respects to the chickens and the geese (yes we mustn’t forget them), we sauntered over to the garden area and were looking around. While Nehemiah studied an ant bed, I decided to look around for arrowheads. As I walked slowly, studying the ground, Nehemiah came up and asked me a question and so began our discussion.

Nehemiah: “What are you doing?”

Me: “I’m looking for arrowheads.”

Nehemiah: “Oh, . . . why?”

Me: “Well, Indians used to live here and they would hunt and sometimes lose their arrows. So, we can find the arrowheads now 

          because that is all that is left. It is fun to look for them.” 

*Pause*

Nehemiah: “Are they staying with us?”

Me: “Who? The Indians??? No, they aren’t here anymore.”

Nehemiah: “Are they coming back?”

Me: “Nope, they aren’t coming back.”

Nehemiah: “Why they not coming back to our house?”

Me: “Well, it was a long time ago and actually . . . they’re dead.”

Nehemiah: “Oh, . . . did the Lone Ranger shoot ‘em?”

Yep, I think it’s time to do a little ‘splainin’……

~ Rebekah