Being a farm wife is a hectic job.  Being married to a farmer often means that I find myself eating meals in a tractor, because that is the only way Brady and I get to sit down together.  It also means that there is no "set schedule" and plans often get rearranged, because we are often at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Being a farm wife also means that I always kiss my husband when he gets home from work but am very careful not to touch him anywhere else because he is covered in a mixture of oil, diesel, dirt, and hog manure.  The farm is where we work, where we live, and where we will one day raise our children.  I love the farm and I love being a farm wife, but many women who are in the same position as me do not feel the same way. 

I am so thankful to be married to a man who has his priorities straight.  It is obvious to everyone who knows Brady that his relationship with Jesus is number 1, his relationship with me is number 2, and his career as a farmer is number 3.  Many farm wives find themselves married to a man who has his numbers 2 and 3 flip flopped and number 1 isn't even part of the equation.  Having Jesus as head of our household and marriage really helps to make sure everything else stays in its proper order.  I have heard first hand from multiple farm wives that they often feel like the farm is the other woman or the mistress in their marriage.  This becomes very obvious in those cases when date nights, kids baseball games, and church functions are often missed because the work on a farm is never done. 

The farm has been around in Brady's life for a lot longer than I have, and there is a lot of pressure to work hard and manage it well.  But it is the best feeling knowing that he cares about me and my best interests before those of the farm.  Our marriage is more important than the farm, even during the busy seasons of planting and harvest. 

This past weekend Brady and I attended a marriage conference that our church held in Indianapolis.  We stayed in a hotel downtown and listened to Rob Rienow impart Godly wisdom to all the married couples.  It was a great weekend and I am so thankful that we attended.  I expressed my excitement about attending the conference on Facebook and someone commented, "How are you getting him (Brady) away from the field?"  I was so happy to reply that even though we were still right in the middle of planting, I have a husband who puts his wife ahead of the farm!

Am I saying things are always sunshine and rainbows? Heck no!  Being a farm wife means that sometimes I go to bed alone because Brady is going to be in the field all night.  It also means that I have to wash all Brady's work clothes with a splash of bleach to get the smell out and sometimes I accidently ruin my clothes in the process.  Being married to a farmer also means that I worry about Brady a lot because farming can be a very dangerous job.  Lots of times us spending time together often means we are in a truck, tractor, field, or hog barn.  All those things are totally worth it though, because it is so rare for someone to love their career as much as Brady loves farming.  He loves the farm so much, but he loves me even more! 

This is the devotional that Brady and I are reading during 2013.  I am a huge fan of the "I am Second" movement and I love watching the videos on their website. 

In 2012 Brady and I didn't read any devotional, we just read our Bibles every day.  A few weeks before Christmas as Brady and I were driving to church with JR and Dustin we asked them if they had been reading their Bibles lately...JR replied no, and he didn't even know where his BIble was at the moment.  When asked why he wasn't reading, he simply replied that he didn't even know what to read or where to start. 

I can definitely relate to the feeling.  After that conversation I really felt like we (Brady and I and the boys) needed something to supplement our Bible reading in 2013.  One day while I was traveling for work, I sneakly swung by the Christian book store and picked up three copies of this bad boy...one for Brady and I to share...and one for each of the boys.  Even though they are twins and they live together...I figured I would be nice and not make them share =)

We are really liking this devotional so far.  Since we have been on vacation we have been reading it at all different times of the day, but we are going to start reading it in the morning, which I am pumped for, because I can't think of any better way to start our day.

Through 365 daily readings, the book challenges readers to imagine what thier life would be like if they put Jesus first.  The book has some really neat features that aren't offered by any other devotionals that I know of?  It is split into 12 sections, and each of those sections is split into 4 or 5 weeks that dig deeper.  So every month there is a main topic, and every week there is a sub topic that helps you dig in deep.  I love it!  The overall topic for Janurary is Discover God and the 5 subtopics are; Perfect Ruin, Abraham, Coming Hero, Firstborn, and Death and Life.  Each day's reading is centered around a key Bible verse, but the book promts you to read the whole passage from your own Bible.  The book also leads readers through talking with God, practicing what you have learned, and even sharing what you have learned through social media.  

If you want to purchase "Live Second" you may do so by clicking on the picture of the book cover.  If you want to learn more about the I am Second movement, then click here.

Are you using a devotional to supplement your Bible reading in 2013?  If yes, what one are you reading? 

2012 was a wonderful year where Brady and I really got settled into our marriage and learned what it means to "do life" together.  Some of the 2012 highlights include...

-an awesome trip to Arizona for our 1 year anniversary
-getting a young marrieds small group off the ground
-spending many fun weekends at the lake
-2 weekends in Batesville visiting Ertel Cellars
-feeling much less green and much more confident in my job as a crop insurance agent
-getting some new blood into the Tipton County Young Farmers Group
-becoming members of Rock Prairie
-even with the horrible drought, the farm had one of its most successful years ever
-a fun trip to the Smoky Mountains with some great friends
-watching JR and Dustin get baptized
-remodeling our guest bathroom
-being a guest at the Great Banquet
-joining 'The Best Book Club Ever'

2012 wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though, and this is something that I struggle with when it comes to social media.  Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or on Blogs...it just seems like everyone has this perfect life, when in fact that just isn't true.  I am guility of painting the perfect picture on the internet also, because who wants to share the bad stuff?  That is also my number one reason for not blogging as much as I would like to...I don't want my blog to be a "brag rag", but I also don't want it to be "Debbie Downer Down on the Farm".  It is tough finding a good balance.  Some of the harder parts of 2012 have been...staying strong in my faith no matter what the circumstance, shining the love of Christ towards the boys even when I just want to give up on them, some days of our marriage definitely aren't ideal, and our dogs are constantly destroying things.

I made some resolutions in 2012 that I blogged about here.  Overall, I did a really good job keeping them.  Brady and I did read the Bible in a year, we followed a Chronological reading plan and it worked really well for us.  We would read together in bed every evening, sometimes out loud, sometimes to ourselves, or sometimes we would listen it together.  I did mail at least two cards a month...I love getting mail, therefore I like to share the love!  (and I got some really cute Vera Bradley greeting cards that just begged me to mail them).  I did not blog twice a week...so many excuses, but they are all excuses...and excuses are like buttholes...we all have  them and they all stink.  I also did not research one topic a month, I feel like I was constantly learning in 2012, but it wasn't in an organized fashion.

I do have one main goal for 2013...get more organized in our personal finances!  Ever since we have been married, Brady and I have tried lived on one income.  Right now we are DINKS (double income no kids) but it is not going to stay that way forever.  In the future when I am a stay at home mama we will have 3+ people and half the money.  We have always tried to live well below our two incomes in preparation for that day.  We did an okay job at this in 2012...there were definitely times when we were poor planners and we had to dip into our second income.  We also majorly flopped when it came to our budget.  We spent hours setting up our budget, but then we just  tracked our spending and never became disciplined about it.  Things are going to be different in 2013...I have revamped the budget and we are going to stick to it!  We operate on a "zero" budget, meaning that all the money that comes in, has a designated place to go.  The first thing that happens with our paychecks is tithe, 401k, and taxes...and after that we use the money for our monthly expenses, having allocated amounts designated for things such as; mortgage, groceries, pet supplies, clothes, entertainment, etc.  I used to have our budget on an excel spreadsheet..today I converted it onto my Google Drive so that Brady and I can both access it from any computer. 

1 goal this year...that's it.  Pray for us =)

I mentioned our laundry room in an earlier post and I promised I would share, just put the finishing touches on it today and I hope you all like it. 

This is what our laundry room used to look like...

Gross...I know.

One night last week after too much sweet tea too late at night I could NOT fall asleep.  I was just hanging out it bed, trying to get Brady to wake to keep me company, but he was having none of that.  So obviously I take out my handy dandy, can't live without it iPhone and started creepin'.  As I looked browed Pinterest and looked at all the wonderful pins before I came to the shocking realization that I had a BUTT UGLY laundry room. 

So naturally the next day Brady and I tore out the disguisting cabinet and started to brainstorm what to do.  A hundred bucks, some mudding, painting, shelf hanging, and hobby lobbying later...we have this...

Isn't it so wonderul!?  The project was easy, cheap, and I personally think that it now looks a million times better!  And my favorite little detail (in case you didn't notice) is that the vase holding the flowers has clothes pins in it!  I mean, come on...I'm not trying to trick anyone by putting water in the vase with the silk flowers, so obviously if you aren't going to fill a vase with water then you might as well fill it with clothespins!

Sorry I kind of suck at taking pictures...I feel like the pictures don't really do justice to how amazing the transformation is in real life, so you will all just have to come over and see for yourselves!  Just remember how ugly it used to be =)

This Saturday was the perfect day.  We didn't do anything extraordinary or special, but it was just completely wonderful.  Brady and I woke up early because we were signed up for a 5k.  On Friday night we were both less than excited for the 5k the following morning because it was early, it was cold, and we were lazy.  I struggled to get out of bed, but having Brady bring me my favorite breakfast (english muffin with peanut butter, honey, and banana slices) immediately put a smile on my face and was a great start to the day.

I have been running 4 days a week for the last 4 months.  Brady has not run one mile since I have known him.  I thought I would have pity on my husband and leave my running legs at home and walk the 3.2 miles with Brady.  When we toed the start line he said to me "Let's just run for a little bit until we get tired".  3.2 miles later we had run the whole way and I went way faster than I would have if I were running solo.  Brady was a great coach and he really got me to push my limit and increase my pace.  We finished the race in 32 minutes and both got 2nd place in our age group!  A wonderful couple from our church organized the 1st annual "5k to the Cross" and all the proceeds went to Samaritan's Purse and their Operation Christmas Child ministry.  Brady and I both had a blast at the race. 

We then went home and hung some shelves in our laundry room, thus finishing our impromptu laundry room redo.  Okay, when I said "we" hung shelves, I actually meant Brady hung shelves and I barked orders from the nearby master bathroom shower where I was rinsing off all my post-race grime.  Brady is such a great handyman!  I would share more about the laundry room but I'll save it for an upcoming post.

Then we took a little ride down to the library to get a couple movies. If you read this post then you will know how much I love the library and will understand why this made me so happy.  But seriously...Blockbusters are virtually no more, RedBoxes have a super limited selection and usually only have new movies.  The library has tons of movies, new and old, and best part...it is FREE!  Oh mother hell! 

The afternoon was spent watching college football and taking glorious naps!  Then for dinner I made Monica's fiesta chicken, it was delicious.  After dinner we read and discussed "The Story" together.  I am so blessed to have a husband who reads to me from God's word and teaches me so much about what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Then we had bloody marys, with tomato juice that we canned ourselves from Brady's garden.  Brady made a fire in the fireplace (first one of the year!) and we ate popcorn and watched a movie together. 

It was such a wonderful day and I hope we can have another just like it really soon!

A few weeks ago our church held a challenge that people could participate in to spread the love of Jesus.  30 people from the church each got an envelope with $40 in it from the church general fund.  They were supposed to take this money and bless someone else with it to show them the love of Christ.  Many more people in the church pledged to do the same thing, only not with Rock Prairie's money but with their own.

Brady and I took that challenge almost a month ago and at the beginning of this week we still hadn't spent our $40.  We prayed and looked for opportunities to bless someone with this money but nothing ever came up.  On Monday I was traveling for work and I stopped at Panera for lunch.  There were a couple of elderly ladies in line behind me, I overhead them talking and I could tell from their conversation that they were having a hard time reading the menu. 

I felt the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart and I knew I was supposed to buy lunch for these ladies.  My heart started beating really fast and I got really nervous!  When I got done ordering my meal, I handed my credit card to the cashier and told her that I would like to purchase lunch for those two women.  It made me sad to watch the one lady order, the cashier had to repeat herself about three times when she asked "would you like a pastry item for 99 cents?"  Then she told the lady her total but told her that I had already paid for it.  The woman looked at me and gave me a big hug.  I told her that my husband and I feel so blessed and we just want to share that blessing with others.

I then got my food and proceeded to sit down by myself with a smile on my face.  One of the ladies then came to my table and asked if I was eating all alone, when I told her yes, she insisted that I come over and eat lunch with them. 

Turns out their names are Fiona and Wanda, they are both over 80 years old, and they are both widows.  We had a wonderful lunch together.  They told me all about their children and their church.  They asked me about my job, faith, and family.  We also prayed before sharing our meal together. 

When it was obvious to me that they were Christians, I felt like I kind of failed the challenge because it was supposed to shine the light of Christ to unbelievers.  But Brady reminded me of all the Bible verses where we are called as Christians to take special care of widows! 

I am not writing this post to toot my own horn; in fact I rarely ever do things like this.  But I am going to start.  I have witnessed a great example in Billy and Vonda of blessing others in monetary ways and I wish I would have started earlier.  As Americans we are so attached to our money, but it's just money!  Also it isn't even ours, everything belongs to our Father in heaven, He has just blessed us with certain things and we are giving the responsibility to be good stewards.  The $22 I spent on their lunch was worth so much more than that. 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:27

Any time Brady and I are around my friends we have to watch ourselves, because if we ever kiss, hug, or bascially even touch then one of my friends yells, "Take a shot!"  Yep...this is a game that my girlfriends made up as revenge for our "annoying love".  When we gross them out with our PDA they think it is only fair that we should get hammered as a result of it. 

The big difference between Brady's friends and my friends is that most of Brady's friends are married, engaged, or in serious relationships.  Most of my friends are single and ready to mingle...which explains why our old married folk PDA utterly grosses them out. 

Sidenote - I personally don't think that Brady and I PDA very much at all...if it were up to me we would be all smoochy smoochy in public a lot more!  One thing I still can't figure out is why is it okay for Brady to stick his hand down his pants and scratch his balls in public but I can't touch them at all?  Just kidding he doesn't do that!

Anyways back to the story...a couple of weekends ago I went to U of I for Salute to Ag Day with some of my favorite ACES ladies!  On Friday night we were out and as we were walking from Jupiters to Quality I called Brady to tell him goodnight...this phone call alone made Krista yell "Take a shot!" on the streets of downtown Champaign. 

That night Krista and I slept at Casa de Erica, and good thing the girls didn't find out about what Brady had hidden in my suitcase.  There was a love letter folded neatly inside one of my folded shirts.  It said things such as...I love you so much, have a great time visiting your girlfriends, I can't wait to be the daddy to our babies, etc =)  Oh and the cutest part of the note...at the bottom he wrote "happy one year, one month, and one day."  How freaking cute is my husband?!

I am so happy my friends didn't find this note because they probably would have forced me to drink a fifth of whiskey!

Loving my crazy girlfriends and my sexy hubby!

Brady and I are involved in the Tipton County Young Farmers Group.  As the next generation of agricultural leaders in our area, we strive to serve our community, and to promote policies that are good for society, farm operators, and land owners.

One way we are serving our community this year is "Hoppers for the Hungry".  10% of Hoosiers go to bed hungry every night.  Farmers in Indiana are truly blessed and who better to solve hunger in our state than farmers? 

The program allows farmers to donate all or a portion of a hopper of grain to a local food bank.  Anyone can participate; just tell the elevator that you want the value of those bushels to go towards Hoppers for the Hungry.  The donation is transferred into the charity’s name and is sold at the end of the day for the cash price.  100% of the donation goes directly to the food bank.  Farm operations who participate will get the tax benefit, but more importantly they will make a difference in the lives of some hungry Hoosiers.

Cargill and Co-Alliance in Tipton will be participating in the program; all donations will be going to the Encore Food Bank.

Tell all  your farmer friends!

The past week Brady and I have been doing this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and a little of this...

Thats right people...Brady and I have been married ONE YEAR now so we took ourselves a little vaca to celebrate good times...come on!  Can you tell I am hyper?

We went to Vegas...thumbs down.  I really did not like that city.  It was so skeezy...I won't be planning a trip back there any time soon.  Then we went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon which was amazing...then we went to the North Rim on the Grand Canyon which was DOUBLE AMAZING!  After spending a couple nights at the North Rim we weren't in any hurry to get back to Vegas, so we took a detour into Utah and spent the day at Zion National Park.  Yes I know what you are thinking..."that's odd that Sam did something on vacation that wasn't in the plan"...I know I feel the same way.  The must just show how much I really disliked Vegas...or maybe all those prickly pear margaritas on the North Rim made me a little loopy? 

All in all, we had an amazing trip together!  I love the southwest and cannot wait to take our babies there one day =)

I also love LOVE LOVE my hubby and I am so thankful for the past year of being married to  him! 

With that I will leave you with more pictures =)

Thanks for reading...get excited for my next post where I will reveal where Brady and I will be traveling to next year on our once a year "big vacation"!

This is why I haven't posted in such a long time...

I have been swamped with work lately, because mother nature decided to throw a curveball at midwestern farmers and turn off the faucet for months.  The cornbelt has turned into a desert spotted with sad fields of  rolled up corn.  The top picture shows corn picked from one of my customers fields.  These ears are from Posey County, Indiana.  This picture tells a thousand words of how bad things really are in the fields.  The filled out ears came off of some of his flat black dirt, these ears look pretty well, even though the tipping back indicates poor pollination.  If a field was full of ears that looked like this then he would probably yield 120 bushels to the acre.  But the problem is...the ears on the right.  All the corn planted on sandy hillsides in Posey County is burned up and the ears look like this.  A field full of ears like this will virtually yield nothing.  Even the ears that have 10 - 20 kernels won't amount to anything because those ears will fall right through the corn head on the combine.

The second picure shows a field right off of 41 about ten miles north of Vincennes.  This is pretty much how all the fields in southwestern Indiana look...not good.

The government has finally woken up and declared the drought a natural diaster in 26 states and more than 1000 counties.  You can read more about that by clicking here.  Commodity prices still haven't skyrocketed, but that can be expected during and after harvest.

The United States hasn't seen a drought this bad, or this widespread since 1988.  Farmers who have protected their operations this year with crop insurance will be happy they did so. 

I am off the the Tipton County Fair to work at the Pedal Pull!

Until next time!