Welcome....Here's a glimpse of our happenings!

The verses that have REALLY spoken to me (Sarah) lately....



"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25



Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. I Peter 5:8-9



From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:26-28



May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14



So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32-33



God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation. Deuteronomy 29:29 (The Message)

About the Friesen's....

We are Marc, Sarah, Luke, and Kate Friesen. We were married June 5, 2004. We have one son, born July 21, 2008, named Luke Andrew -- now 4 years old. We also have a daughter named Kate Christine -- born June 6, 2012. Marc is working at Cessna as a Senior Accountant, and Sarah stays home full-time with Luke. Sarah also gets to work very part-time at home for Graber Backhoe -- an excavation company AND VERY part-time at our church. We LOVE being a part of Grace Community Church here in Newton, KS. We lead a Community Life Group of other wonderful couples. Marc thoroughly enjoys long-distance running and Taekwondo. Sarah thoroughly enjoys walking -- especially when the weather is nice to take Luke and/or out in the stroller. Thanks for reading our blog!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wheat Harvest, 2013....

I have lived in Kansas all of my life. If you're not a native Kansan, you may or may not know that Kansas is a very large wheat producer in the USA -- as well as other important crops. Admittedly, growing up, I spent very little time paying attention to the wonderful wheat harvest in our state. I did not grow up in a farming type community (to my knowledge -- nobody in my high school class farmed). I had pretty much ZERO interest in farming, though I did realize that if farmers didn't exist, we'd be in a world of hurt, food wise. As a kid, I did "help" with a few summers of wheat harvest -- at my great aunt's & uncle's farm....and when I say "help," we probably went out there a handful of times growing up. I'm talking about one day every few years. I somewhat remember helping my great-aunt take food out to the fields. And, I somewhat remember riding in the grain truck with my great aunt. Obviously, this vague memory of mine did not shape who I am today. My dad actually was on a custom cutting crew in the late 60s/early 70s (before he was married). Honestly, I don't remember him talking about it very much -- maybe a few conversations here and there. After Marc & I were married and "settled" in Newton, KS -- well, we were around a few farmers. We have surrounded ourselves around quite a few people who know A LOT more about farming and such. And, I love that I have had the opportunity to learn a bit. With that in mind, I TRULY want our kids to learn MUCH MORE about farming and agriculture than I ever learned or cared to learn. Sometimes, it takes some simple growing up AND having one's own kids (and figuring out what important things you would at least like to teach them) to realize what all there is in this world with which to be grateful -- in this case, farming and farmers. With that in mind, right now, wheat harvest in our glorious state is happening. For the last two days, after Kate's afternoon nap, I've been very intentional about taking our kids out to a field or two to watch some wheat harvest. What I've done is simple -- I've packed them up in the car and driven out into the country. I've driven until I've found a field where they're harvesting. I've then pulled the car over, and we've all gotten out and watched! On Monday, it took a little bit to find a field where they were cutting (I was later told I should have gone a different way than I did -- I'd have found more -- but, oh well)....
This first stop involved a SUPER nice grain truck driver walking across the street to see what we were doing. I simply explained to him that we were not farmers at all, but I wanted to show my kids (mainly Luke right now) all about wheat harvest. He seemed very pleased, and he offered Luke a chance to climb up on the grain truck to see bushels of wheat in the truck. At first, Luke hesitated, but I think it boiled down to the fact he didn't know what the farmer was talking about. SO, we all walked over there, and once Luke figured it out, he had ZERO issues with climbing up to look! I LOVED the fact that this farmer took time for us. (The combine was still out cutting at this point)....
After our little "tour," the kids & I (at least Luke & I; Kate was busy trying to play with things in the back of my car) continued to watch everything in the field for a bit....I worked HARD at getting Luke & Kate to both look at the camera for a cute brother/sister pic, but that didn't happen. Kate was NOT interested at all in my camera. So, here are some out-takes.
Finally, I told Luke, "Just you pose for me." And, he gladly did! Go Luke!
After watching for just a bit more, the farmer walked over and handed Luke some "souvenir" wheat from the field....which Luke thought was pretty neat!
Tuesday was a different story. It had to be one of the WINDIEST days I've been out in for a long time. Goodness, it was WINDY! Farmers have definitely earned my respect because I know they work in ALL kinds of weather conditions. BUT, the awesome thing was that I drove a different way out of town, and fortunately, I found a field RIGHT on the edge of town where wheat cutting was happening!
We didn't talk with any of the busy farmers this time, but we braved the wind and stayed out for quite awhile....Kate was getting into EVERYTHING in the back of my car. I finally put her in the stroller, praying that she didn't blow away. Luke posed cute for me!
Then, I took this pic of Luke, watching the combines in the field. I personally think, with a little editing, it belongs on a Kansas calendar or something -- Ha! (Photography is not a great skill I have....so, when I get a decent pic, I am excited)!
When driving back into town, we actually made another stop near the grain elevators to see ALL of the grain trucks bringing in their wheat.
Here in our little town, the grain elevators are located right next to a park which has an old steam engine. The steam engine BY FAR trumped Luke's interest (as compared to grain trucks). So, I was unable to keep his attention very long on the grain trucks. But, that's for another post!
I would say I was successful in at least starting to plant a knowledge of Kansas wheat harvest in Luke's little mind! We'll have to probably work a bit harder on Kate someday since she likely (but you never know) will not have quite the interest in machinery as Luke. BUT, I want to end this post by saying that, as I have gotten older, I have become SO VERY grateful for the farming and the farmers in this state (and elsewhere). Farmers do so much for us -- so much of it unnoticed! Farming can be quite dangerous, and it takes a lot of hours. And, by simply watching wheat harvest for a couple of hours, I grew even more grateful! I pray my kids don't take farming or farmers for granted, and I pray they become ever so grateful for farming/farmers!

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