On the Banks of Nettle Creek: A Slam-Bang Week on the Farm

When our children were small one of their favorite books was a little Golden book called "The Train to Timbuctoo". It was the perfect book for reading aloud with it's train-like rhythm, words to capture the imagination, sounds and repetitions. One of our favorite lines from the book was "Slam-bang, grease the engine, throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun!" We always read that line with great gusto. It became a family saying and anytime something had to be done in a hurry we'd just say, "Slam-bang, grease the engine...!" and everyone knew it was time to "throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun."

The past seven days have been real "Throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun" kind of days. Joel, Tee and the boys arrived from California a week ago. It's been inexpressibly wonderful having them here with us and seeing the boys explore and discover the joys of life on the farm. Joel and Tee grabbed weed-eater, chainsaw and shovels and have accomplished about 6 months of work (for me and Pete) in 6 days. It's been so amazing to see the changes they've wrought. The boys were given work gloves and major lessons in the art and joy of hard work. They've had plenty of time to ride bikes, play in the creek, explore buildings and play with all the baby animals and have become great egg gatherers for Oma. They've also enjoyed getting reacquainted with Auntie Mei-Mei (Anne) and Uncle Kenji.

On Thursday evening I was out in the garage roasting coffee beans (to avoid setting off all the smoke alarms in the house). A car pulled in and parked like the driver knew where he was going, which was a little strange because I didn't recognize the car. The door opened and out stepped Becca who had flown in from LA as a birthday surprise (thanks to donated miles from a dear friend). I was so surprised I was speechless! Everyone but Stephen (who couldn't get time off work) was here with us for my birthday - what an incredible blessing. My dad always used to say, "Oh, it's wonderful to have all the feet under the table again!" Stephen sent us a picture of his feet so we put it under the table and he was "virtually" here, although we missed him greatly.

In addition to having 9 people in the house, we had a small family reunion here on Sunday with 17 of us for dinner - so wonderful to be together again here on the farm after many, many years.

Becca left to fly back to LA today, Joel and Tee and the boys fly back to LA tomorrow. I'm already experiencing the pain of their leaving but am soooo thankful for what we've been sharing through these visits. Things will certainly seem quiet here after such a "slam-bang" week of fun.