Butler Snapshots: October 2011

Monday, October 24, 2011

The Grasshoppers Take Over

I don't know why it seems like there are so many more grasshoppers this fall than usual. They are EVERYWHERE -- on trees, posts, fence, the road, the grill of the van.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Harvest 2011

cutting beans

Matthew hauling with the auger wagon. Actually, I think he was coming to the road to pick up his lunch in this photo. : )

Megan -- off for an afternoon of work with Daddy!

There's my favorite farmer!

Jeffrey -- unloading on the auger wagon.

Emily gets her turn to ride with Daddy! What special times they have with their dad. He never minds the company, and they get quality one-on-one time!

Here is Eli, getting ready for his first turn in the combine with Daddy!

Eli was captivated by the corn stalks as they were sucked into the head of the combine. It was fun to watch him experience harvest for the first time, his little head scanning back and forth. I have a feeling next year, Emily and Megan will have even more competition for Daddy time in the field!

Thankfully, despite all the equipment repairs this year, our harvest is finished. The weather has been perfect for a speedy harvest. When it is all finished, I praise God for full bins and safety. God is good and his blessings are beyond abundance! The things we treasure most are not bought with money.

Tour of the Macomb Fire Department

Recently we toured the Macomb Fire Department and learned fire safety. It was so educational, and the girls enjoyed getting an up-close view of the engines. Emily liked the beds in the firefighters' living quarters because they fold into the wall. Oooh, if the girls could have beds that fold into the walls they wouldn't have to make them each morning!! I was impressed with the automatic exhaust removal system (the yellow and black hose in the first photo). Megan's favorite part of the tour was the fire safety movie that we watched. Each family received a copy of the dvd so we can share fire safety with others! It has been a great safety tool to us!

The "Jaws of Life"

A "hide-a-bed!"

One of the moms dressed in full gear to demonstrate how much protective clothing these everyday heroes wear! Impressive that they can get so much equipment on in such a short period of time.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

My Sister, and One of my BESTEST Friends!!

This is me and my (baby) sister, Mary. I love her SOOOOOOO much. Next to Matthew and our children, she is the best friend I have. She is so beautiful! The crazy thing is that she doesn't realize how wonderful she is! My girls LOVE their Aunt Mary. She is creative, kind, caring, compassionate, giving, thoughtful and hard working. I love you, Mary!

Mad Libs

This is one of the fun grammar games that we play to learn parts of speech. We have four gift bags labeled with: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. I write words on small cards and they each take turns putting the cards in the correct bag. After we're done, I print out a mad lib and they take turns pulling cards out of the bags to fill in the blanks on the mad lib. They learn, while having fun. And, we always end up giggling over our stories!!

We took off for a day of fun in Jacksonville, and when we had planned the day trip, we didn't realize how much was going on in Jacksonville that day! After eating lunch and playing at Community Park, we stopped by Old Threshers, where you can see old steam engines, tractors and farming equipment. It was so much fun, and we recommend the homemade ice cream! What a treat! Cruise night was also going on that evening, so we saw a lot of neat cars in town, but didn't stick around to watch them cruise Morton Avenue. Maybe next year we will!