Happy 16th Wedding Anniversary to my Favorite Farmer!

16 years ago I married Farmer Chris... of course he wasn't a farmer then and I am pretty sure he didn't tell me that his intentions were to marry me, have four kids and become a farmer and feed thousand's good food!  I met him at Ball State University...

Chris and Michelle visiting his sister in Boston!

...he was a nerd (although he disagrees) and wanted to become a teacher...and guess what he has.  His classroom is our kids, me, customers and pretty much anyone that will listen to him.  It has always amazed me how much knowledge he has...he does a lot of reading, something I don't enjoy much of, but he has passed that wonderful gift on to a couple of our children.  After college we moved to Chicago (for the city girl in me)...and had a ball getting around town and enjoying the sites...and once we started talking about kids we knew we had to move back home to be around our families!

We lived in Chicago for 6 years before moving back to Indiana/Michigan...and my kids pointed out that he is wearing farm gloves in the picture...haha -- they said I should have known!

July 1, 1995
I married my best friend....

(1991)
Chris outside the barn at the farm he now goes to daily....I guess the clues were there!

The Hebron's today!!!

Everyday is an adventure with you Chris...and your mom warned me about that 20 years ago...but I always knew she saw us together forever...she just wanted to some day tell me "I told you sooo"!  I love you and thank God everyday I have you in my life and that you are such a loving husband and father to our kids....and the several hundred animals on the farm!  I can't wait to see what this year brings us...I don't dare try to imagine!

Happy Anniversary!

Mother's Day...

Mother's day was great in our house this year, but really everyday is mother's day...I thank God every day I have little monkeys yelling "MOM"!  Last Year we went and picked out this dog....

Jones!

And this year....this dog

is HUGE and still my puppy!  This year Farmer Chris packed a picnic and we went to a park!

and I got to hang out with all of the kids!

My little farmers...

Playing in the creek!

And of course the day ended doing the evening chores...because we have many mama pigs that need to know they are appreciated also!

Sorry the posts have been lacking but I am hoping once the kids get out of school, posts will pick up!

The Spring Activities race has begun and what is a mom to cook?

The race has begun... I feel like I am constantly running and late, and I am the kind of person that has to be 5 minutes early to feel like I am on time.  Jackson is playing baseball and Trap Shooting and Cyrus is playing baseball.  Jorja May (4) is constantly running and luckily doesn't mind being shuttled back and forth with the boys and Kyra (12) is recovering from foot surgery but a huge help even though she has a boot on her foot, so no sports for her this summer.  We are nearing the end of school like everyone, so our schedules are very full and with the Farm in the busiest season with the gardens and now pigs going to camp every week I needed something easy to cook.  We just started having smaller Ham Roasts cut out and they are awesome - they fit right in the crock pot, I even put this one in frozen, with chicken broth, carrots, potato's and onions and cooked it on low all day!

And of course I forgot to take a picture after...but everyone was very happy and we got everywhere we needed to be even if we ate at 8:00!

Have a great weekend!

Corned Beef Brisket...recipe handed down from Chris's Mom Carol...

Every St. Patrick's day I get excited to make Corned Beef Brisket...it was a recipe Chris's mom (Carol) gave to me...and I love to cook anything she used to make so it gives him another awesome memory of her.  She could take anything she had in the cupboards and make something awesome and usually with little time, something I have not been gifted with, but she gifted me with a husband that can do the same!

While it has been almost 12 years since she passed...she is in our thoughts daily.  I laugh to think what she thinks about Chris, Richard and her husband Tony (Grandpa T) and what they have created on the farm.  Tony and Carol bought the land together many years ago and built a cabin hoping to one day live in it.  I know she would be proud and I am pretty sure she has been behind them every step of the way!  So since I live with a farmer we don't always do things on the right day but we usually try to do them with in a couple of days that we are suppose to. 

This past week our son Jackson (10) has been taking Hunter Safety Classes so he can do Trap shooting...which required transporting him three days up to Dowagiac and thank you to Mom, Dad and Grandpa T and the smarts of Jackson he got his license.  Yay for Jackson and now he can follow in his cousins awesome foot steps and go trap shooting weekly! 

So today....Chris took my five little piggies (Kyra, Jackson, Cyrus, Jorja May & Jones (dog)) to the farm so I can have some alone time and as I thank you I am making Corned Beef Brisket!

Here is the awesome recipe...and as I always promise...it is easy!

CORNED BEEF BRISKET

Ingredients:
1 Corn Beef Brisket
1 Cooking Bag
BBQ Sauce
Garlic
Pepper
Carrots
Potato’s

Put the corned beef in the bag (fat up – I have to put that because I had no
idea it mattered J),sprinkle the beef with pepper and about 2 TBL spoons of garlic, cover with your
favorite BBQ sauce, cut up potato’s (usually three or four for us) and carrott’s
put in the bag and add a ½ can of beer.

Cook at 300 degrees for about 2 ½ hours

Hope you enjoy it!

Flip flop wearing Farmers Wife!

Oh it is hard not to get excited!  I pulled out my flip flops yesterday... well they weren't ever put away, but I got to wear them outside.  Yes, have you ever seen a flip flop wearing farmer's wife?  It is really the only way this lady rolls in the spring/summer/fall (or no snow weather) -- they are easy to clean, although they sometimes get stuck in the mud, but really comfortable feet make me a Happy Farmer's Wife!  And as we were loading to get into the truck to head to the farm, my 4 year old also made me find hers...because after all if mom has to wear them, she does!

Jorja May and I have been going to Kyra's school (middle school) and help teach skating, or in some cases pick up some of the kids.  It has been a great two weeks, I guess you take some things for granted!  I used to skate home from work in Chicago from the loop to Lincoln Park - it was faster then the "L" or driving, and it felt great!   Some how we always have stakes around our house --- people hand them down to us so the kids have followed in my skates and enjoy it....now we have to find some to fit a four year that will probably whoop our butts once she gets going.  It has been great watching several of the kids who have never been on skates and two weeks later they are skating around the gym!  It is exhausting, and I am grateful the gym teacher fought hard to get this program for the kids.  We have been going for two classes every two days, I can't imagine teaching it everyday all day long, but it confirms why I am so grateful for the teachers that love their jobs, we have been blessed at both of our kids schools with teachers who love what they are doing and have really become a part of our family!

I found these flip flops, they might be too dangerous to wear while doing the chores... I am pretty sure if I had a wedding renewal I would wear flip flops this time, although I wore ballet slippers the first time I got married and everyone thought I was crazy, but that confirms how much I dislike shoes!!!

I hope you get to go out and wear your flip flops soon!!