Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of some of the things that I have been thankful for this year.

I am thankful for (in no specific order):

A loving God who always knows what is best for us even when we think we do.
A motel that provides our family with everything we could ever need.
Kids that make me laugh every day.
A husband that gets my weird sense of humor.
A house that got re-sided and re-roofed right before we bought it.
Family that has supported our crazy adventure here in Crookston. Even if the support was after a bit of, "Huh? You're doing what?".
Kids who are very well behaved, smart, independent, creative, loving, funny, caring, generous. . . . . I could go on forever.
My dogs.
Plumbing that works and great water pressure in our old house.
A husband who can fix above said plumbing.
Radiators that keep our old house warm.
The snow falling outside right now (it is beautiful!).
Old friends, new friends, and future friends.
Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Light. I know that is a weird thing to be thankful for but I really am.
A dry basement.
Thunderstorms.
Faith. Without faith I would have nothing.

My Sister, My Therapist, My Friend

I have been blessed to have one of the most beautiful, talented, fun, caring sisters. If not for her advice to "stay calm" I would be in a hospital right now curled up in a ball crying (that's where her therapist side comes in).

My sister and I did not always get along. She was the older sister who I looked up to and wanted to be just like. I was the little sister who annoyed her by using the phone in her room and stealing her sweaters.

We only shared a room until I was 3 and then after that our parents made sure that we had our own space. However, when we had guests spend the night (grandparents or friends staying from out of town) then we were forced to share a room for the weekend. One of the things that my sister loved to do to me during our sleep overs was scare me. As soon as mom tucked us in and turned out the lights Missy would whisper, "Debbie, there's someone at the window." Now, had I thought for just a second I would realize that would not be possible. Our bedrooms were on the second floor. However, it scared me to death

Having our own rooms was very helpful in keeping the peace at our house. Unless Missy would come into my room. I was the youngest and quite territorial. When I would tell her to leave my room she would drop to the floor and say, "I can't move. You'll have to carry me out." Did I mention I am 6 years younger than her? Carrying her out was not an option at that age.

I don't know at what point we realized that we had much more in common than stealing clothes and trying to scare each other.

I am happy to say that today she is truly one of my best friends. She talked me through the first few days of being a new mom. She talked me through helping Ada deal with a bully on the bus in kindergarten. She let me know ahead of time that my kids were going to ask questions that I was not ready to answer and I just needed to stay calm. And it worked.

Have I Mentioned We Do Alot Of Laundry Here?

Well, the last few weeks here have been crazy busy! The harvest is done so all of the beet drivers are gone. We will now stop being full all week and begin our weekend hockey tournaments and traveling Canadians. Hopefully we will have some time to breath and do some maintenance on the motel and at home and I will have some more time to update my blog.

We are so thankful that we were so busy this summer and have had an amazing time learning the motel business. I was very skeptical when Kelly brought this whole crazy idea to me last year and I am so glad that I let him lead us here. We have met some very interesting and fun people and have experienced so many new things that we never would have before.

I am also so grateful to God for seeing us through this adventure. Without Him we would have never been able to do this.

Happy Birthday Chicken

Nine years ago today Ada made me a mommy for the first time. She is so much fun to have as a member of our family and I am so thankful for her and her humor.

Ada is always looking for an audience and has such an innocent take on life. I have started calling her our "free-range child" due to her free-spirit and crazy attitude. I love this little girl so much and can not wait to see what she comes up with in the next year.

Below are a couple of what I call "Ada-isms".

"When I grow up I want to be a single. I will not drive a car. I will ride my bike everywhere. Not because I care about the environment, just because bikes are cool."

The other day Ada's teacher was reprimanding a boy in class for goofing off. She then asked the rhetorical question, "who thinks he's funny?" Ada was the only one to raise her hand.

Radi Sugar Beet Harvest

This week Kelly was able to participate in one of the most touching things I have ever seen in my life.

Last month, just as the wheat harvest was ending, a local farmer died of cancer. He was only 36 years old and left behind a wife and three daughters.

The pre-pile for sugar beets starts several weeks before the actual sugar beet harvest. The farmers harvest several rows of beets around each field and bring them to the plant (the actual sugar beet harvest starts October 1). Each farmer has only 4-5 trucks to bring the beets to the plant and 1 lifter to get the beets from the ground to the truck. The pre-pile usually takes 3-4 days, depending on the weather. The entire Radi harvest was done in a matter of hours.

Below are some pictures that Kelly was able to take with his cell phone during the harvest and 2 links to local articles that have all the details and some pictures of the harvest. Grab a tissue, click on the link and be prepared to have a good cry.

http://www.crookstontimes.com/features/x191999923/Friends-family-and-farmers-rally-to-harvest-Radi-beets-in-a-few-hours

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/291900/

FOOD!

Most people who know me know that I love to eat. I mean LOVE to eat. Gooey, greasy, fatty foods. I don't care for veggies or fruit and have to force myself to eat them. I am always planning the next meal. If we go on a road trip I have to know when, where and how often we will be eating. If Kelly and I share a pizza I will eat half. Easy!

Now on the other hand, one thing that I don't like is getting my picture taken. There are very few pictures of me that I actually like and almost none that I love. The funny thing about these two things is that one of the few pictures I do like of me is of me, you guessed it, eating.

These pictures were taken by my sister when we were shooting a wedding together. She needed a model (and I use that term loosely) to help set up some shots. I was in the middle of eating and, of course, was not about to put down my food.

WHAT?! No Apple Orchards?

I was shocked when I found out that we do not have apple orchards up here. Something about the growing season being too short or something. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the fall without my apple orchard and hay ride fix.

So, here is what we do in the Red River Valley in the fall. We visit the Polk County Museum and the Sugar Beet Museum. I didn't get my bag of apples but I did get a ride on a trailer pulled by a tractor (kind of like a hay ride) to watch a demonstration of beet harvesting. It actually was pretty cool.

Me, Kelly and the kids on the "Beet Harvest Demo Ride". No, Ada does not have allergies or anything. She was just being Ada.

At the Sugar Beet Museum they also had a threshing show. They had an old steam tractor that ran the thresher to demonstrate how they did it many years ago. I did not get any pictures of that but Emily was kind enough to give us a little demonstration of her own.