I feel like I have just woken up from a fairy tale dream! When I saw David getting ready on Saturday, I sobbed tears of joy at the man he has become, and the importance of this day. Russ and I could not stop smiling as we watched our new daughter glow with love for our son! Missy is perfect for David. She completes him. When we walked into church I turned in the pew to see all of our children, beaming with excitement….and I felt like the luckiest person on earth. We did not really know Missy very well while she dated David. We had learned the hard way not to fall in love with a person our children are dating, because when they break up it is heart wrenching! So we kept a guard on our heart until they were engaged! Now we see the wonderful woman she is, and we have fallen head over heels in love! We look forward to many happy years together.

We are so happy and blessed to have a new daughter! Our son David married Missy this week-end! It couldn’t have been more perfect. There is something so powerful about the wedding vows, and promising God and each other to love unconditionally. We had a wonderful time celebrating their new life together!

February has been an unusual month for me. As I have posted in the past, Russ’s step dad has been living with us for about 8 months, after suffering from a few strokes. There have been many medical apts. But he is now stable, and on Monday moved into a wonderful complex in Litchfield for the elderly. John’s apt. is for independent living, and he can go to a dining room for all of his meals. This is a very big adjustment for an 80 year old who has milked cows his entire life! My heart goes out to him as he tries to process all the changes in life. It has been difficult for him to live here, with the phone ringing and process of a family business and all the activities a family our size brings. This photo was taken last spring, with our oldest dog Heidi, who just passed away. There have been a lot of emotions here!! I have put so much energy and time into Grandpa that my responses to some of you may have been delayed. I am sorry. But my first and highest calling is to my family. I hope that you can be patient with me and know that I value each and every one of you as a client, but can not always respond

My father in law is living with us while recovering from a stroke. John was a dairy farmer. His parents came to America from Holland when they were 28 years old. To this day John can speak fluent Dutch! His first marriage was to Russ’s mom, when he was 47 years old! When ever John needed a place to recover, he has come to stay with us. I have come to cherish the time with John. Although the cows are the most important thing in his life, as he lives in our home and sees what a typical family is like, I think he likes it! I see each one of our dogs snuggle up to him, they are all attracted to his kind heart. It has been so good for our family to learn the ways of former times, and appreciate the conviences of running water and electricity.

In John’s day, there was no time for sports, and barely time for school. He has worked hard all his days, and now having a hard time being forced to slow down due to his age. I have gotten so used to having John here, I will really miss him when he leaves. There is a lesson to learn from the elderly. They see things in a clearer light than we do. Sometimes I get worked up about something and John will calm me down with a story from his past and how it all worked out! As I watch him slowly walk around the yard and pick up a stick here and there, snuggle with a puppy or read to Amy, I am blessed to have such a special man in my life.

This is Isaac, our little grandson, with his dog Zoey. When I look at this photo my heart melts seeing a boy and his dog. I know it is a lot of work to raise a child, and a dog, but the two together are about the sweetest thing on earth. When the grandsons come home and Russ and I watch them interact with the dogs…we can’t help but laugh. Maybe it is our age, and we appreciate life the older we get, but it is one of the greatest things to watch a child and a golden. I don’t know of another breed of dog that is so sensitive to the human being. Seems they know when we are happy, hurting, need a friend or a good laugh. I continue to be amazed at how intelligent they are. Okay, I admit I am biased… but who wouldn’t be surrounded by all these wonderful dogs!

Our oldest son David (picture below!) owns a window cleaning business called Russel Williams. The website for his company is http://www.russelwilliams.com. I also added a link to the website in the Links box on the left. They provide full service interior and exterior window cleaning, as well as holiday lighting, chandelier cleaning, gutter cleaning, and other services.

If you have any window clean needs, give him a call! They really do outstanding work.

DAVID AND MISSY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!

David asked Missy Harmon to be his wife and they are getting married March 7, 2009! We are so excited to have Missy join our family. Since David was a little boy I prayed for his wife, where ever she was, that God would watch over her, protect her, draw her close to Jesus. All those years, I didn’t know who I was praying for…now I know it was Missy! She is the perfect woman for David. On their first date he announced to her that he will never quit hunting…so she decided to join him. She gets up bright and early and goes into the blind with him. True love. Life is grand!

These are my helpers, bringing puppies to the van to go to pre-school for a visit today.

This is Diesel and Babe, Daniel’s Belgian horses. They are leaving tomorrow, because Daniel is going to Minnesota State University, Mankato on Wednesday, and won’t be able to work with them when he is in college. This is very emotional for me! Not only because Daniel is leaving, but all the changes that take place when one of your kids leave home. Daniel is our fourth child to go off to college, so it is not new for me, but I still get so sad when the kids leave. Two years before Daniel was born, I was in a tragic car accident and our 18 day old son was killed, along with my 16 year old cousin and the 16 year old driver of the other car. So many young lives taken. I broke my neck, pelvis and leg, but mostly it was my heart that was broken. After my body healed, I ached to hold a baby in my arms again, and when Daniel was born, the Lord replaced all the sorrow with joy and happiness. Daniel was my gift. He has been a blessing since the day he was born, and continues to bring so much joy into our lives. He has always honored us, and been so easy and fun to get along with. It has been such a pleasure to guide him and teach him, and now it is time to let go. I know the Lord has good things in store for Daniel, and I trust Him. My favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your path.

I believe He will direct Daniels path! As for me, I will cling to that same scripture, and continue to trust! I am blessed with one of the best jobs in the world, and I want to thank all of you who have been a part of it! There is a lot of work and commitment to being a good breeder, but so rewarding on that grand day when you hand a little ball of love and fur over to a new family! It is great, and that is what I focus on, not the departing of my sweet son and his two gorgeous horses, but the birth and life of all these pups! Life is good.

We are busy getting ready for Daniel’s graduation party on Sunday. The kids have all been coming home to help get the farm spruced up. David came yesterday with his window cleaning crew and our windows are sparkling! I am so proud of David. He graduated from Bethel and started his own window cleaning business two years ago. He has been very successful. I am not proud because of his success in business, but because of his work ethics. Growing up he observed and participated in how Rolling Oaks is run. Honesty, integrity and giving your best. I see him carry these traits into his adult life, and now his own business. He has an awesome group of young men working for him, and they do a great job. They are proud of their work, and strive to make the clients happy, giving a fair price for a job well done. Can you tell I am his mom? I don’t mean to brag, but it is such a blessing to see all the hard work and prayer you put into your children as they are growing up, turn out to be a dream come true!