The Whole Kitsteiner Krew Together

For the first time since 2007, the entire Kitsteiner family came together. The last time all six kids and their families were together was in 2007 -- before any of my kiddos were even born. 

We got these pictures taken by DALTON LANE PORTRAIT COMPANY as a gift to the grandparents. Six children. Four spouses. And ten grandchildren. Twenty-two people in total. 

It was an insane week but definitely worth it. I can't imagine getting to see all my kiddos together as adults like we were able to do.

I haven't gotten the "official" pictures yet. There will be more. But for now, a huge thank you to a fantastic photographer who came to the farm to capture our group. 

So wonderful!

Wee-wind Wednesday

February 2017. Almost three years ago. The pups were just under a year old. Our house had not faced the famous flood yet. So many changes. So much happiness. I always want to remember these special moments that made up my life.

We Bought a Farm: Life on a farm means ...

Life on the farm means conversations over breakfast about mushrooms -- of which the most exciting moment is when I recognize the word hirsutism and say "That must mean the mushroom has something to do with hair." 

It's eating a meal of your own cauliflower and thinking, "I'm pretty sure that's the best cauliflower I have ever eaten." That's our other volunteer (and surrogate family member) Jacob, who has done the majority of the work in our garden this year and was super proud of this harvest. 

Living on a farm means meeting new people. Like Jake. (Not to be confused with Jacob who is already here.) Jake is a new volunteer that joined us on Monday. He's from Boston but has gotten interested in homesteading and asked if he could come out here and glean some information from us for a few weeks. 

A homestead in the country means a conversation late at night with a neighbor whose hunting dogs have jumped over the fence and are on your property. And you can hear gun shots and dogs and see flashlights and you just aren't sure what to do. Until you call them and they say they are sorry and you say that's okay. 

My life here is so different from how I dreamed my life would be. And it's a life I can't imagine not living, 

Tuesday Truth

We Bought a Farm: Darn blackberries!

Our favorite sheep, Snowball, greeting one of our goats over a blackberry bush.

I know why blackberry bushes must have thorns. I know that these thorns help protect the bush from grazing animals and birds. 

But oh do I hate those darn thorns. Or prickles as I have learned they are actually called. 

It isn't even about how hard those thorns make picking blackberries. I don't even care about picking them. What I really loathe is just happening upon one out in the field.

I'm minding my own business when one of those buggers catches my thigh or my hand and just tears it to shreds. Pants help. But they can't protect all of you. And even if you have pants on they can snag you something fierce.

I'll have a lot of questions for God when I get to heaven. I suppose if I ask him why he had to put those prickles on blackberries, he will tell me that it was the only way to keep the predators and birds off of them. And I'll have to concede that he is God after all and probably knew best.

But right now I don't like them at all.

(Oh and when I talk to God someday about the things that cause the farmer a lot of grief, I am pretty sure he won't have any reason at all for creating ticks!!)

 

We Bought a Farm: Burying a chicken

Our almost eleven-year-old, Sidge, handles the chicken chores on our farm. Every morning he walks to wherever our approximately 150 chickens are living (based on where our egg-mobile is parked) and let's them out for the day. He gives them food and water. He returns later in the day to give them more food, check their water, and collect eggs before we put them to bed at dusk.

Yesterday he found a sick chicken. This happens now and then. Sometimes we know what happened. Sometimes we don't. I often will just leave the chicken be, but Sidge's heart is always pricked. He's super sweet. Super sensitive. Just a kind soul. Not only with animals but with people too. 

So he picked up that sick chicken and carried her back to the house. He was planning to put her in our "hospital" where we can give her some time to not be bothered by other chickens and recover.

Only she died on their walk to our house.

Sidge poked his head in the front door and asked JB to come outside and talk to him. They spoke in the mudroom. Sidge was crying, and he told JB that he didn't want to just give this chicken to the scavengers. This is our typical practice. We try to let deceased animals be food for birds and animals who are okay with carrion. 

But Sidge was adamant that this chicken needed to be buried. I'm not sure why this one affected him like it did. It wasn't even one of his named chickens. But he felt sure that he wanted it to not be carrion. 

My husband told him that if he wanted to bury him, he'd need to do it himself. Sidge said he would. Mr. Jacob gave him a shovel, and Sidge picked that chicken up and headed down to a place his Dad had picked out to bury this chicken.

I think often about the things we learn on the farm. The moments. The memories. I hope I never forget my little boy tearing up with the loss of that chicken. I hope the loss of an animal never stops impacting his heart. I hope he continues to be kind and generous and sensitive as he grows on our land. 

The lessons we are learning on these 96-acres are too numerous for me to possibly list. 

But I will keep trying to Blog and keep up with the moments that makes this life the only one I can imagine living,

 

Wee-wind Wednesday

Abigail was demonstrating her talent for ballet. Hannah decided to join in and simply ran laps in the living room. I caught the giggles.

I can hear both Tijmen and Veronica in the background.

Little moments that make up life.

So fun.

Our New Year's Tradition

If you know me well, you know I am NOT a night person. Either is my husband. I am rarely up past 10pm. And past midnight? Outside of being forced to when traveling, I'm pretty sure I haven't been up past midnight by choice in yearsssss.

But my kids want to "celebrate" New Years. So we decided a few years back to buy some sparkling grape juice and watch the "ball drop" in Dubai and London. This happens hours before the midnight deadline here in the USA which is much more reasonable for an old fogie like me to watch.

Now it's 8pm on December 31. And I'm off to sleep. It's "New Years Day" somewhere -- which is good enough for me.

Tuesday Truth

Random Pics from our Week with the Kitsteiners

Abigail and cousin Peyton

A very fun game cousin Rob introduced us to! Click here to purchase it and help us earn money for Because of Isaac. 

We had a bonfire. This is Grace and cousin Ethan.

Aunt Danielle snuggling with Aunt Danielle

With both girls

Katie bought all of us an ugly sweater. We took a picture with everyone! Ray's was my favorite.

John and I. John's tie plays a song.

Two of my favorite girls

Two more of my favorite girls

Daddy and daughter

Aunt Danielle with Grace and her own two daughters: Peyton and Cami

It's 74 degrees here. Normally I'd be sad it was that warm in December but with all these people here, being able to be outside has been a GODSEND! I love this picture of Abigail moving the sheep.

Cousin Nate with Ritter

With both dogs

Playing some hymns

The church that John’s parents attend is right around the corner from our house. It is very small — just a few dozen older folks that have grown up and raised their children there ... children who have now moved away. 

The piano player has to rotate between two churches so she is only there half the month. They asked Isaac if he would work on some hymns so he could play weeks when the piano player isn’t there. They gave him a hymn book, and he’s been working with his piano teacher. 

Seeing this brings me such joy. I pray the Lord uses this boy’s innate musical talents for HIS glory. Isaac has musicians on his birth father’s side of the family and his birth mother Bri is a great lover of music as well. You can tell this is something he was born with, and I pray it blesses others!!

GLOW KIDS Recommendation

I have heard some GREAT things about this book and am planning to buy it for my family. If ya'll want to purchase it, please use the link below and our adoption organization will get 3-5% of your purchase price!

Merry Christmas from the Kitsteiner Cousins

The first time that all ten Kitsteiner cousins have EVER been together in one place at one time. 

Font row from left: Ethan (6), Nate (14), Abigail (8), Cami (20 month), Sidge (almost 11), Grace (17), Peyton (3)
Back row: Isaac (11), Ethan (6), Hannah (6)

Elizabeth (Oldest sister) has the twins: Ethan and Eli
John (2nd oldest) has our four
Ray (3rd oldest) has Grace and Nate
Matt (5th oldest) has the two little girls in matching pajamas

A silly picture

A fun picture this morning of Abigail and little Peyton

Wee-Wind Wednesday

She's two and a half. Oh man. I love how happy she is. And her face. And her chubbiness. Man. I'm so glad I can look back and see this again.

Christmases (way back)

Christmas 2002

Our last Christmas in Kentucky. I wasn't blogging then but found some pictures in my scrapbook and have scanned them. Here they are. Our niece Grace was just three months old this Christmas. 

Christmas 2003

This was in pre-blog days. This would have also been the first year we lived in Rochester, Minnesota. I think I wrote our first family Christmas card that year, but I can't find it anywhere. Here is a picture of us though in the snow of Minnesota that year.

Christmas 2004

We still lived in Minnesota this year, but like every year that we had been married, we made it home to South Florida for Christmas. Here is my Christmas letter from that year. (I think you'll be able to click on it to make it better and read it?)

Christmas 2005

We continued to spend each and every Christmas in South Florida with both of our families. 

Here is a link to pictures from that Christmas. 

And here is my Christmas letter from that year:

And here is the photo I included with our Christmas letter:

Christmas 2006

Here are some pictures of another Christmas spent in South Florida. Once again, we managed to get away from the snow for Christmas and a WEDDING! The biggest news of that holiday season was my brother's wedding. He and the awesome AD wed just a few days after Christmas! Here is a picture of AD and I at her bachelorette party:

Pretty sure I did a Christmas letter that year, but I can't find it!

Christmas 2007

Christmas of 2007, we were anxiously awaiting Isaac's birth the following year. We spent the holiday in South Florida with both of our families. Here are some pictures of the Kitsteiner extravaganza. Here I am with a half-way-through-her-pregnancy Bri. 

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 was our first Christmas as parents. Isaac was nearing 8 months old, and I was within a month of going into labor with Sidge. Here was our Christmas card from that year:

Because I was so very pregnant, this was the first year, ever, that JB and I did not spend Christmas with our family in South Florida. Instead, my parents joined us up at Eglin AFB. Here are some pictures from our Christmas morning. And here are some pictures of our Christmas evening spent with the Dooley family. 

Christmas 2009

Here was the Christmas letter for 2009 -- Christmas with TWO little boys:

Christmas was spent at our home on Eglin AFB, FL. We were so blessed that year to be joined by Grandparents from Michigan. Unfortunately, the boys were both nursing double ear infections so that part wasn't good. But having them there with us at the holiday was wonderful. Here is a link to some Christmas snaps from that wonderful time with my parents and grandparents. 

Christmas 2010

2010 was our first Christmas out of the USA. We were in Turkey for the holiday. Here was our 2010 Christmas card attempts:

We spent Christmas of 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey with our friends the Yerringtons and Stebbins. Here was a picture we managed to snap of the five children in attendance (Sidge, Isaac, Rowan, William, and Noah):

One of my favorite Christmas moments EVER took place in Istanbul during that trip. We were in a country that did not celebrate Christmas, but we found a Catholic church that we could attend mass at. After we left the church, we found a group of Christian turks playing Christmas music outside and passing out Bibles. Check out the video here.

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was spent in Turkey again. Christmas Eve we made cookies for Santa and put them out for Santa. It remains one of my funniest motherhood moments ever. You have to watch the video and keep your eye on Sidge during the entire thing:

It was a very bitter sweet year that year. We were spending the holiday far away from family in a country that didn't even celebrate Christmas. In addition, our wonderful Veronica, who had spent 10 months in our home, was preparing to head back to America in just a few days:

 

We had a wonderful Christmas in Turkey with our friends Dan and Angelica (and her family from Spain who were in visiting) as well as Shane and Linda and Patty & Yamil:

But our Christmas card that year did not go well at all:

Christmas 2012

On Christmas Eve 2012, we were returning from Rochester, Minnesota where I just had a little Hannah transferred to my womb. I was obviously pregnant but had no idea! It was the first Christmas Day that we had spent with our family in South Florida since 2007. What a great time of celebration. We even managed a picture with the entire Huisman side of the family which included five kids under five! No small feat!

Christmas 2013

Azores, Portugal (we lived in the Azores, Portugal)

Christmas 2014

Spring Hill, TN (we lived here for one year)

Christmas 2015

First farm Christmas (Home forever!)

Christmas 2016

Second farm Christmas (Home forever!)

Christmas 2017

Christmas 2018

Last year's Christmas was a hard one. We had had a family member leave and there was lots of grief. But it was beautiful and wonderful to have 8 of the 10 cousins together. 

Christmas 2019