Seevers Family Blog

Gemma Overlooking Downtown Chicago.

2011-12-11T22:16:00.000-06:00

Brunching at The Metropolitan Club in the Willis (Sears) Tower

2011-12-11T22:01:00.000-06:00

Visiting Santa in Chicago

2011-12-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

Santa on the Square

2011-12-04T22:11:00.000-06:00

After waiting in line for almost 2 hours in freezing temperatures, we got to see Santa. I think their noses are as red as Rudolph's!

His Name is "Rango!"-No wait....It's "Denver"!

2011-11-19T18:30:00.001-06:00

After 11 long weeks, our family has finally chosen a name for our new puppy! His name is "Denver"! Daddy couldn't live with "Rango" and Mommy's favorite ("Dash") was eliminated out of fears he would get called "Dasher", like the reindeer! The poor guy has no idea WHO he is right now, so I just hope we can quickly acclimate him to his new name!

Puppies Ready To Leave For Ohio!

2011-11-08T22:22:00.000-06:00

Puppies For Sale!!

2011-10-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

The puppies are now 6 weeks old and sadly, it's time to begin the marketing campaign to find their forever homes. I'm a little late in posting my "sales pitch" because we've had such a difficult time picking out our own puppy-a testimony to the wonderfulness of the entire litter! As of this moment, there are 6 boys left and the price is $300.00 each. Puppies are not AKC registered. Please pass this along to anyone you know who might be searching for a family pet or hunting dog! This highly desirable mix goes for $500 and up so grab one while you can!

1/2 Golden Retriever-1/2 Yellow Lab Puppies For Sale! "Golden Labradors"-Seward, Nebraska

Our dog, Daisy, is the best family dog EVER! She's a very calm, loving, tolerant and easily trained animal. She is the very essence of the Golden Retriever breed. She is submissive, but not fearful. She is confident, but not dominant. We have five children (11, 9, 7, 3.5 and 18mo.) so she and her puppies are exceptionally well socialized! The father is Hunter, a Yellow Lab owned by our friends and neighbor two doors down. Hunter is an incredibly athletic animal who loves to play fetch, swim and dock jump! Also an amazing family dog, Hunter is easily trained and eager to learn new tricks! With these genetics you are guaranteed a very special pet. Daisy and her puppies have only been fed a 100% all-natural diet free of corn, wheat, soy, rice, potato, tapioca and gluten! Nature's Logic is also free of preservatives, artificial flavorings and colorings and has no man-made, chemically synthesized vitamins, minerals or amino acids. A PERFECT START FOR YOUR PERFECT PET! The puppies are ready to leave on or after November 1st and will have all shots, de-worming and dew claws removed. Call 402-643-9803 or email danna@theseevers.com for more pictures or to set up a visit.

Clicking on the name below will take you to a gallery of just that puppy.

"Lime"-SOLD Brecksville, Ohio-"Ernie"

"Black Paws"-SOLD Kent,Ohio-"Brady"

"Blue" SOLD-Columbus, OH-"Gabe"

"Red Paws" SOLD-Columbus, OH-"Bailey"

"Black"-We're Keeping- "Denver"

"Big Red" SOLD-Suffern, NY "Biscuit"

"Pink"SOLD-Mansfield, Ohio "Rosemary"

"Camo" SOLD-Fairlawn, Ohio-"Buddy"

School Picture Day

2011-08-24T23:47:00.001-05:00

Couldn't resist taking a few of my own on school picture day!

County Fair

2011-08-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

We just completed the horse riding portion of this year's county fair. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a blast! Seward's county fair only offers two English riding classes so both girls decided to don some Western riding gear and participate in the Western classes and games. Both horses and girls were a "bit" confused at times, but overall they were really glad they participated. The most complicated part of switching back and forth is the steering because in Western you "neck rein" (one handed) and in English you "direct rein"(two handed). Gracie and Gemma earned ribbons of all colors throughout 14 different classes so while they didn't take all blues and purples, both kids and horses learned a lot! Here are a few of my favorite shots or click HERE for all of Day 1 and HERE for all of Day 2!

Peanut Butter Girl

2011-07-27T20:06:00.002-05:00

Storm Chasers

2011-07-24T23:07:00.002-05:00

My little storm chasers camped out on Grandma and Grandpa's lawn this evening to witness quite an amazing storm cloud display. We kept checking our phones but there were no tornado warnings so we hopped in the car with Uncle John to get a closer view. Before we knew it, the mountain of clouds was right on top of us!

Nyla's First Bite of Sweet Corn!

2011-07-24T22:48:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Mark and Liz Owens for sharing their delicious sweet corn! This was Nyla's first time to try it and she absolutely loved it! After we pried Grandma's piece out of her hands, she enjoyed two more of her own. Oh, and that's her new bike helmet. She wouldn't take it off so I just left it on her all afternoon! The way she climbs, I'm thinking we might just make it part of her daily attire.

We Bought Nyla A Horse Today!!

2011-07-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

Aunt Karen, Patty and I traveled all the way to Lincoln with the horse trailer today to buy Nyla a new horse! Haha!!! Well, we actually went to look at a real horse but first stopped off to pick up a "Today's Kids Rock-n-Bounce Pony" I purchased for Nyla on Craig's List. Couldn't pass pass up the photo op!

Mush Brain

2011-07-19T23:44:00.000-05:00

I am wondering if in 10 years I will have a brain left to ponder life with 5 children at this stage. I was solo at bedtime tonight because Scott had to help put up hay at the farm. Within a 5 minute period, Nyla needed a diaper change, jammies on, bottle made, story read and put to bed, Marshall needed a bath and stories, Gemma wanted a cut on her finger boiled out with hydrogen peroxide (which had me worried because a farm cat scratched her pretty deep), Gracie was waiting for me to get her some Mucinex(she has me worried with a wet cough), and Luke comes into the room screaming at the top of his lungs that his eyes are burning and he can't see! Seriously??? What could be in his eyes that could be burning so bad?? Oh but wait! He and Marshall just finished playing with two slimy tree frogs on the back deck! As the burning became worse instead of better, I started to wonder if I should take him to the ER or first try to Google whether the slime on a tree frog would irritate your eyes. For a moment I thought my head would surely explode! But in the end, Luke's eyes stopped stinging, Gemma's finger got rinsed, Gracie got her Mucinex, and Nyla and Marshall got to bed with no stories. I just don't remember how!

Good Dog!!

2011-07-16T02:19:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I love our dog, Daisy?? She is the BEST dog a family could ask for and Nyla loves her very much!

Luke's Last Baseball Game

2011-06-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

Grandma's Garden

2011-06-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

Aunt Mary

2011-06-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

A quick visit with Aunt Mary while in Ohio.

Crazy Cousins

2011-06-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

Hanging out with cousin Maddie in Ohio!

Nyla Catching Rays

2011-06-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

Gemma's Tooth Extraction

2011-06-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

Aunt Sarah pulls out Gemma's tooth at the JCC swimming pool in Akron, OH.

My Parents

2011-06-09T13:51:00.000-05:00

Had a nice visit with my parents in Ashtabula, Ohio in June

Lake Shore Park

2011-06-07T16:44:00.001-05:00

Kids enjoying Lake Erie in my home town of Ashtabula,OH

Aunt Cindy's in Columbus, Ohio

2011-06-05T13:49:00.001-05:00

Enjoying some fresh berries at Aunt Cindy"s in Columbus

Quick Stop

2011-06-04T21:06:00.001-05:00

At the St. Louis zoo.

First stop

2011-06-03T22:17:00.002-05:00

Enjoying our first stop in St. Louis, MO!

Happy Nyla

2011-06-03T22:17:00.001-05:00

Still happy after 8 hours on the road to Ohio!

Quick Stop in St. Louis

2011-06-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

Kids were lovin' the accommodations in the family suite.

Bella's Injury

2011-05-30T13:09:00.000-05:00

Another serious injury at the farm. Ketta's baby, Bella, laid down for a nap and got caught under the arena fencing. Luckily we found her right away and were able to save her. Erika Rolf, Kara Einspahr and I teamed up for a safe rescue, then Dr. Stava came for stitches and bandaging. Erika will take the lead on wound dressings this time.

Kindergarten Graduation!

2011-05-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

Luke graduates from Kindergarten today!

Gracie's 11th Birthday

2011-05-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

Our beautiful Gracie is 11 years old today!

Time To Go Back To Work!!!

2011-05-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

Scott and I often joke about how while cleaning one area of the house, the children are actively messing up another. Well today while cleaning my kitchen, I began to smell FUMES!! Marshall found Gracie's black nail polish from Halloween and decided to paint his toes, Nyla's toes, our brand new carpet and lots more! Today is one of those days I feel like we would ALL be better off if I got a job and put the kids in daycare!

Gracie's New Horse!!

2011-05-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

After nearly a year-long search, we finally found Gracie's special horse. "Magic Moment" is a 6 year old Morgan gelding from the Grunden Ranch Morgans in Curtis, Nebraska. He's broke to ride but doesn't have any dressage or jumping skills. We decided to invest in good temperament, good confirmation and good movement. It will be up to Gracie to put all the buttons on him!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T06:59:00.000-05:00

Today I want to wish all the special mothers in my life a very Happy Mother's Day!! I hope you are all able to have some rest and pampering on this special day! To my own mother I just want to say, "I love you and miss you more than you can imagine!"

Dreamzz

2011-05-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Gracie and Jessie taking Aunt Karen's new horse, Dreamzz, for a test drive at Dana Kesslering's ranch.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

2011-04-24T18:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter from the Seevers Family! After attending St. John Lutheran Church with Scott's parents we enjoyed a wonderful meal out at the farm, followed by an Easter egg hunt and lots of naps and card playing. After church we stopped over to Concordia for an Easter photo shoot!You can view it HERE!

Spring Project At The Farm

2011-04-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

Ketta's New Baby

2011-04-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

Ketta gave birth to "Bella" in the early morning the day of Luke's Kindergarten class field trip to the farm! It was quite a treat for all the kids to see a fresh new foal.

Luke's Soccer Game

2011-04-09T14:29:00.000-05:00

Our Baby Is One!

2011-04-07T22:09:00.002-05:00

Today is Nyla Nicole's first birthday! My sweet, "bonus baby" is such an incredible blessing. These are a few of my favorites from today but if you must, you can view the whole reel HERE.

Shaggy Horse Show

2011-04-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

Gracie competed in The Shaggy Horse Show with Teddy while mom worked in the show office. Gemma was sick this weekend and couldn't ride.

My Little Laundry Helper

2011-04-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

Bath Time With Marshall & Nyla

2011-03-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

Gracie Trials Benita

2011-03-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

The search for Gracie's new horse continues. This week we begin a 2 week trial of Arab mare, Benita.

Gemma's Birthday Sleepover

2011-03-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

From John and Karen In Tokyo

2011-03-11T09:49:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone,

After watching CNN the last hour I thought I needed to let everyone know that we are OK and give you a few details.

It was quite a afternoon here as the earthquake hit about 2:50 PM, shortly before school was out. I was teaching a class outside on the field when I thought I was getting dizzy, thought maybe I was going to have a heart attack or something...wobbly knees, things moving around, and then I saw the windows shaking in one of the buildings on campus and then the kids started pouring out of school and running to the field which is the meeting place for them in the case of a earthquake.

I ran back inside the school to check on my colleagues who were in the gym and the pool. Both were empty but the pool had about 1 1/2 feet of water outside of it on the deck and the water was still splashing 6 feet high off the walls. We had to run a class of middle school kids out to the field in their swim suits.

The building shook like I have never seen before but thanks to a earthquake retrofitting in 1998, be had no damage to any buildings other than things falling off shelves. Our old house even survived with minimal damage which I did not expect.

We got 90 % of the kids on the buses to go back down town, and the rest who ride trains stayed with friends or teachers out here by school. I was at school until 11:00 PM and 19 of the 26 buses had not dropped the kids off downtown yet. They got on the buses at 4:30!

Since the trains were shutdown and the major freeways were closed for inspections, travel within the city was almost at a standstill.

Thousands of people are still trying to walk home.

Tokyo which is a long way from Sendai where the epicenter was got off quite easy. Unfortunately, Sendai and some other areas not only got hit with the earthquake, but the tsunami as well. This will be a devastating event that is going to take a long time to recover.

We were extremely fortunate that today was a parent teacher conference day, so virtually no elementary kids were on campus, which made for extra room for the rest of the kids in the school to ride the buses.

Karen had just finished a conference with some parents in her office when the earthquake hit.

All school activities are cancelled for the weekend, including our first baseball game at Kinnick which is the naval base right on the water. Hard telling how long we will be out of school although I heard some of the trains are starting to run again.

That is my update from Tokyo, hope all is well with you.

John and Karen

Nyla Walking

2011-03-03T09:20:00.001-06:00

Nyla took her first independent steps just before turning 10 months but I just got around to filming her. Shown here just shy of 11 months......what I can say? She's the 5th kid! Better late than never.

Daddy/Daughter Date Night

2011-02-19T18:56:00.000-06:00

This is Gemma getting her hair done for the Daddy/Daughter Date Night event held annually in Seward. Gracie decided not to attend and instead scheduled a separate, one-on-one night out with Daddy. No complaints from Gemma! Scott and Gemma had a great evening of dining and dancing!

Marshall Turns 3!

2011-02-15T18:31:00.000-06:00

Marshall turned 3 today so we celebrated with a cake baked by Grandma and decorated by Gracie! The morning after the party Marshall said, "Mommy, can we have another birthday for me today?" Thank goodness he doesn't understand how long a year is!

2nd Floor Water Mess

2011-01-13T09:32:00.002-06:00

It all started with a damp spot. We thought Marshall had spilled a glass of water. The next morning at 5:30am Scott found two wet spots and thought our dog had peed on the carpet. In a half sleep, I reminded him to be sure and rinse out the "Spot Shot" with a wet rag when he was done. He left the towels on top of the wet spots and I found them later, sopping wet! I was furious thinking he must have dumped a gallon of water on the carpet! I grabbed more towels and soaked up the excess water. When he got home from work last night, I asked him about it and he said he never dumped any water on the carpet. We just looked at each other and then sprinted to the 2nd floor furnace closet. Our furnace has a water line to the humidifier and something went wrong with the drain and water had been backing up into the furnace room (and elsewhere) for over 24 hours!

By the time we made the discovery, the water had seeped out into the playroom, the girl's and boy's bedrooms and the hallway. The only good news is that those rooms are over our garage, so as the water made it's way down through the ceiling, the only thing that got wet was the garage floor. So while we'll have a lot of padding (and maybe some carpet) to replace and a little ceiling repair, it could have been a lot worse!

The first thing we noticed was a small spot, but eventually it became wet wherever you stepped!

Playroom Carpet

Playroom, hallway and girl's room are the worst.

Padding and sub-floor are soaked.

Campbell's Cleaning & Restoration is determining how far the water went.

Girl's bedroom.

Boy's room. Water continued to seep as fast as we could pull the padding.

Snow Day At The Farm!

2011-01-10T09:36:00.000-06:00

Hot Date

2011-01-08T11:48:00.000-06:00

Scott and I ready for our first date of 2011!

Nyla at 9 Months

2011-01-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

2010 Wrap Up

2010-12-31T12:00:00.134-06:00

Wow, what a year it has been! In many ways I am so glad to put 2010 behind me and move forward into a new year. I will remember 2010 as a humbling year in which I reached all the limits of my mind, body and spirit. As I become laser-focused on rebuilding and restoring I have made a decision to change the scope of this blog. Since we have my blog published into a full color, hardcover book at the end of each year, I've decided to move my health and nutrition rantings to a new blog at www.goodlifenaturals.blogspot.com. That will allow this blog to be a true "family diary" documenting our escapades and adventures and still give me an occasional outlet to document my nutrition research and hopefully help others trying to avoid disease and achieve optimal health. My life's goal is to bridge the gap between the average person and the nutrition "experts" by documenting and discussing our healthy lifestyle and revealing how we apply sound dietary principles on a daily basis in our busy household. This is the legacy I hope will positively affect each of my children and all the children after them.

We wish you all the best of happiness and health in 2011!

Quiet Moment w/Nyla

2010-12-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

Nyla and I are all alone in the house listening to Christmas music together.

Luke and Marshall Visit Santa

2010-12-18T09:48:00.000-06:00

Luke and Marshall are waiting for their turn to visit Santa on the square in Seward. Notice the older two are not with them. :<(

Saying Goodbye

2010-11-29T20:35:00.003-06:00

Today, the children and I said "good bye" to a treasured friend and pet. Our old guy, "Rocky" passed away peacefully at The Good Life Farm. Rocky was a "one-in-a-million" kind of horse that we were blessed to call "bomb proof", "kid safe", "honest", "trustworthy" and "dead broke". All the things you hope to call a horse when you have small children.....he was all of those and more.

When we got Rocky three years ago the vet estimated him to be "25-28 years old". We went with the younger end of that range and decided he would age every year on Gemma's birthday, making him "28" last March when Gemma turned "8". He was probably a bit older than that.

The most notable memory I will keep of Rocky is watching Gemma as a tiny child, literally climbing up his leg to mount him. He would stand perfectly still while she shimmied and wiggled until she finally reached the top of him. Sometimes it was a painfully slow process to watch (especially during competitions) but his patience with her was everlasting and in time, they formed a most unique bond.

To most people, Rocky was just an old, "dead belly" slow horse that had no "go", but under Gemma he would offer her the wind! Gemma loved to hop on and show him off to guests and we would often see her cantering him bareback around the farm. Gemma and Luke have taken the news the hardest, but we are all so grateful he didn't suffer and we never had to make any tough decisions about his care. Even in death, he was a "good 'ole boy" for us. He will be sorely missed.

All he wants for Christmas.....

2010-11-27T13:00:00.001-06:00

.....is his two front teeth!

Thanksgiving Day

2010-11-26T16:47:00.003-06:00

Click on the slide below for a slide show of Thanksgiving day at Uncle Vernon's and Aunt Ruby's house!

From

7 Months, 7 Teeth

2010-11-20T23:33:00.001-06:00

If you look close you can see Nyla's 8th tooth about to break through on her top right!

Nyla and Gemma

Light At The End Of A Dark Tunnel

2010-11-20T21:03:00.000-06:00

Found this tonight while cleaning my office. The book literally fell open to this page in my hands….how could I not share it?

“Any kind of “death” is an invitation to resurrection life for the believer. Thank goodness, the loss of something or someone dear never has to mean the end of abundant, effective, or even joyful life for any Christian. Joy and effectiveness may seem to pause for a while as grief takes its course, but those who allow their broken heart to be bound by Christ will experience them again. Our Savior is the God of resurrection life, no matter what kind of death has occurred in the life of any believer!

Nothing is more natural than grief after a devastating loss, but those of us in Christ can experience satisfying life again. When our hearts have been shattered by loss, we have an opportunity to welcome a supernatural power to our lives. The power to live again on this earth when we’d really rather die. Perhaps the most profound miracle of all is living through something we thought would kill us. And not just living, but living abundantly and effectively—raised from living death to a new life. A life indeed absent of something or someone dear but filled with the presence of the Resurrection and the Life.

No, my life will never be the same..........But the life of a Christian is never about sameness. It’s always about change. That’s why we must learn to survive and once again thrive when change involves heartbreaking loss. We’re being conformed to the image of Christ. When our hearts are hemorrhaging with grief and loss, never forget that Christ binds and compresses them with a nail-scarred hand. Life will never be the same, but I have the invitation from Christ to rise to a new life----a more compassionate life, a wiser life, a more productive life. And yes, even a better life. Sound impossible? It is without Christ.

I can almost hear Christ calling out a name. Is it yours? By any chance, have you been among the living dead? The stone’s been rolled away. Resurrection life awaits you. Will you continue to sit in a dark tomb, or will you walk into the light of resurrection life? Lazarus, come forth! “ ….from the book Breaking Free, by Beth Moore

Trick-or-Treat

2010-11-04T18:03:00.004-05:00

Our Trick-or-Treaters: a lamb, a cave girl, a hobo, a werewolf and Tigger too! (Thanks Christina! Would not have pulled it off without you!) The kids got to trick-or-treat at David dorm on Concordia's campus Saturday night. Three floors, four wings each! Next night, trick-or-treat in the neighborhoods. Total candy collected?? Almost 20 pounds (only reason it was less was because Marshall didn't go along the second night!) The three older kids got to keep whatever they could stuff into a quart size zip lock bag (about 1.5 lbs.) and the rest was left out tonight on the front porch for the "Halloween Witch!" She usually brings some pretty cool stuff to trade for the candy.

Gracie Rates Up To D-2

2010-10-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

Gracie and 4 of her friends from Cornhusker Pony Club took their D-2 test last weekend. All the girls not only passed, but the tester said they were "more prepared than any group she ever tested"! Way to go girls! Click on the blue screen to see slide show.

From 2010-D2 Testing

Posted by MommyD at 6:08 AM

Luke's Birthday Present

2010-10-08T20:48:00.002-05:00

So...this is the Gator I wanted....but Scott didn't want to spend the money so I got Luke the battery operated version for his birthday instead! This thing is awesome!! There is a "governor" blocking the boys from second gear because it goes too fast! It has a real lift-up dump bed so after we break it in here at Wildwood, we'll put the boys to work picking up sticks for Grandma at the farm. Marshall wakes up asking to drive it. I had to pull him out of it kicking and screaming today as he was insisting he could drive it to the farm! (5.8 miles from here!) So far, Luke is being a very safe driver just like his Daddy....although Daisy does exceed the dump bed weight limit.

Luke Is 6 Today!

2010-10-05T03:08:00.001-05:00

Our baby Luke is 6 today! Happy Birthday to our special Puppy! We all love you sooooo much!

Heart Breaking Tragedy

2010-10-03T23:43:00.000-05:00

Many of you know my cousin Renee Whitaker-Buhl (She was class of '85 from Ashtabula). I was informed today that she has lost her only two sons in a tragic twist of events this past week. Mark, her oldest son was in a car accident last weekend which left him brain injured with little chance of recovery. Her younger son Matthew was so deeply grief stricken over his brother's condition that he recklessly, but accidentally died of a drug overdose on Friday night. The next day, yesterday, the decision was made to remove the life support from her older son, Mark.

One son has a two year old child and the other is expecting a baby in May. Please keep Renee and her family, and the families of Mark and Matthew in your prayers.

Of course neither boy (in their early twenties) had any life insurance, so if you know Renee and would be inclined to send flowers....PLEASE don't! Instead, please direct cards and memorial funds to:
Renee Buhl
123 Phillips Lane
Clinton, TN 37716

I don't now how a mother even begins to grieve the loss of a child, a son....let alone two sons....in the same week. Please, just stop and pray.....

Games Rally Review

2010-09-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

Games Rally weekend was full of heartbreaks and triumphs again this year! Gracie's team came in 1st place for "Horse and Stable Management" (only the top score of all teams receives an award), but 3rd place in the actual games. We had two "rookie ponies" that got so charged up they could not be controlled-one even had to be removed from the games for the safety of the rider!
Gemma's team came in 2nd place for the games! I was very proud of both Gracie and Gemma as they exhibited excellent teamwork, sportsmanship, control, and games strategy. The US Pony Club Games are a very difficult discipline for kids this age but a great way to learn and grow with your horse. Check out the slide show below the photos!

Gracie and Joe in the warm-up arena.

Gemma and Happy in the "Bottle Race".

Gemma makes the hand-off in the "Flag Race"!

Broken arm? What broken arm?

Gemma makes a basket in "Hi-Lo"

Gracie in "Hi-Lo"

Gracie's team-Amanda Traphagan, Jessie Juergensen and Anna Baack

Gemma's team: Dani Drbal, Sierra Wilson and Abby Baack

Gracie maneuvering cones on the "Flag Race".

Gracie, reaching for a flag.

Here is a quick slide show of the weekend:

Nyla 5 1/2 Months

2010-09-20T17:01:00.001-05:00

Nyla cut a new tooth this weekend bringing her total to 4. The third bottom tooth actually beat her
second top tooth through, but it is very close behind. No more gummy smiles at the Seevers house.

Loaded and ready to leave for US Pony Club Games Rally!

2010-09-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Nyla-5 Months and Crawling

2010-09-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

Nyla has been "commando crawling" since about 4 months (which was freaky enough) but now she's up on her knees and on the move at 5 months! She also has three teeth (two bottom, one top)! Will someone please tell this child she's the 5th kid?! She's supposed to stay immobile in my sling and nurse until she's three! haha.

Happy Birthday Brian!

2010-09-09T22:27:00.001-05:00

My baby brother and only sibling, Brian Michael Cochran, would have been 35 years old today. I can't believe it's been 13 years since he died. When I let myself stop and think about it, my heart aches like it happened just yesterday. For me, this grief never gets any easier. It just gets placed neatly in a box and put away while I tend to the business of life. I like to think of him more on his birthday, as opposed to the anniversary of his death. I still miss him very much. I wish my kids could have known him. I know they would have adored him. I often see him in their faces, especially when they are silly or tired. Happy birthday little brother!

Gemma's Broken Arm

2010-08-21T17:37:00.003-05:00

Gemma is resting on the couch this afternoon after falling off her horse and breaking her left arm in two places. She was trail riding around the farm on Rocky, when he was suddenly spooked by something and did a 180 degree turn at the canter (there is some dirtwork going on out there so we think he might have been caught off guard by a big bulldozer parked on his normal route.) Gemma went flying off and landed on her hand, breaking her radius and ulna bone. In the x-ray below, you can see the ulna bone has a crush injury and has actually "buckled". The radius is more of a clean break. She was casted clear up above her elbow in an effort to stabilize these "unstable" fractures. She will be x-rayed again in a week and if the bones have not begun to heal properly, or have shifted at all, we may be making a visit to an orthopedic surgeon to discuss having pins put in.

After falling, Gemma got up, lengthened her stirrup so she could re-mount with one hand, and returned to the barn. She dismounted, tied up her horse and then came to me with tear-filled eyes to explain what had happened. I knew immediately it was serious because very little brings Gemma to tears, or off of her horse for that matter. On the way to the ER she had these comments: "I know I wouldn't have fallen off if I were riding bareback, Mommy. That saddle just doesn't fit him right!"....and "I reached out with my hand so I wouldn't hit my head!" .....and "Rocky was so good Mom, he just stood there with me, waiting for me to get back on (as opposed to taking off back to the barn)!"

We are so grateful that Gemma was wearing a helmet and for our barn rule of wearing helmets "EVERY RIDE, EVERY TIME"!

Lincoln Journal Star Article About John and Karen

2010-08-19T08:34:00.002-05:00

Scott's brother and sister-in-law, John and Karen, were recently the topic of a newspaper article in the Lincoln Journal Star. Click the "share" button below to see the article.
share

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-17T22:41:00.003-05:00

Gracie-5th grade, Gemma-3rd grade, Luke-Kindergarten

First Farmer's Market

2010-07-31T17:56:00.002-05:00

Farmer's Market was so much fun today! We were set up by 7:30am and sold out of eggs by 10:45am. We got off to a slow start so I was a little nervous for the kids. I sat them down and explained it was possible we wouldn't sell many eggs this first time, especially considering the competition at $1.50/dz!! But a child's optimism is so refreshing as it didn't even occur to the children we wouldn't sell them ALL. While I was reverting into "sales mode", worrying about the table presentation, reviewing "features and benefits" and what they should say in the "first 30 seconds".....the kids just happily played, greeted the customers and visited other producers to get honey and banana bread samples! I had to chuckle at myself as I settled into the realization that Farmer's Market is not a trade show and the eggs are not medical equipment! They practically sell themselves! LOL

Happy Chickens

2010-07-30T08:34:00.000-05:00

Even with all this heat, the chickens seem to be doing really well and production is ramping up daily. We are so grateful to have the shade and bugs that Grandma's fruit trees provide! Now if we can just figure out what to do with the extra roosters! Out of the four, three have to go but we are having trouble getting our courage up to "process" them. Maybe YOU would like a pet rooster? Did you know there doesn't have to be a rooster in the flock for chickens to lay eggs?

Keeping the water jugs clean is quite a chore in this heat.

The fallen fruit attracts many yummy bugs!

They're running toward the camera because they think we have food!

Time to lay an egg!

Keeping the feed up off the ground is better for the grass. 6 of our 9 breeds are shown here.

Good Life Naturals, Inc.-It's Official!

2010-07-27T15:26:00.002-05:00

Good Life Naturals, Inc. is officially open for business! Below is the sign that you will see at the farm, at farmer's market and on our cartons! Gracie helped me carefully design the label to tell as much of our story as possible right on the sign. Yes! We have green/blue and brown eggs! Yes! The chickens are foraging on green grass! No! we don't use antibiotics or hormones! And yes! The hens are fed organic chicken feed! The labels are hot off the printer so the kids and I are on the way to the farm to label the cartons. Production continues to ramp up so maybe we'll see YOU at farmer's market this Saturday. Call us if you want a weekly standing order!

Helping In The Garden

2010-07-23T00:13:00.006-05:00

The kids are shown here taking a break from the horses to help Grandma a little bit in the garden! Marshall just loves it out there and really enjoyed getting some bean picking tips from Gracie today. Gemma and Luke were a little distracted by the heat and the bugs but learned a good lesson on proper "garden attire"! Long sleeves, long pants and something other than flip-flops make for a much more pleasant "picking experience"!

Seevers Family Photo

2010-07-06T21:08:00.001-05:00

It's not too often we get the whole gang together so this weekend was a great opportunity to get a Seevers family photo!

Early Risers??

2010-07-02T06:28:00.001-05:00

Gemma and Luke had some friends over last night for a camp out. Surprisingly, this brave group of 5, 6, 7 & 8 year-olds stayed outside all night long. But what had them up at the crack of dawn?? THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM!!! Oops......

From left: Noah Ruegg, Anna Royuk, Luke, Gemma & Lizzy Schultz

The First Two Eggs!

2010-06-25T15:47:00.002-05:00

Gracie was thrilled to find our first two eggs inside the mobile chicken coop today! After 5 long months of caring for the chickens and waiting for the coop to be built we will now begin to finally enjoy the fruits of our labor! They are tiny pullet eggs right now (about half the size of a normal egg) but within just a few weeks we'll have full size eggs to eat and sell!

This egg scale belonged to our kids' Great-grandmother, Frieda Beckmann. The tiny egg is not even registering yet. (shown with the bottle of beer for comparison)

Luke and "Butler"

2010-06-24T11:29:00.001-05:00

Luke is shown here with one of our roosters, "Butler". Amazingly, he can still catch him and Butler shows no aggression. In fact, after putting him down, Butler continues to follow Luke around.

Nyla Nicole 11 Weeks

2010-06-24T11:11:00.001-05:00

A Bittersweet Father's Day

2010-06-20T18:01:00.001-05:00

While I celebrate today to honor the amazing father of my five beautiful children, my heart aches for my own father. So I pray.......

Lord, Your ways are higher than mine. How do You see this person? Show me the good things You see that I'm not seeing right now. Help me keep sight of Your heavenly and eternal perspective instead of my own earthly, limited ones.

God, give me insight into Your purposes so I can better cooperate with You in what You're doing in this relationship. Give me Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation so I can know You better through this and can relate to the situation from Your perspective.

Give me the confidence, God, that You work all things together for good for those who love You. Help me to trust that You will bring good things out of this situation and restoration to the relationship.

Search my heart, Holy Spirit, and expose my sinful reactions to this hurt. I repent of damaging attitudes such as bitterness and anger.

Father, let Your life-giving Spirit flow through me and wash away my anger and pain, replacing them with Your selfless love. I remember the richness of Your kindness to me, Lord, as I am still a sinner. Now help me to extend that same quality of mercy and kindness to another.

Father, I trust you to deal with this broken relationship. I resist the desire to control, manipulate, or fix this situation. Instead, I choose to entrust it to You. With Your help, I won't allow anger to remain in my heart, God. I resist all efforts of the enemy to gain a foothold in my life through it. Fill me with the fruit of Your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.

God, if it is Your Will, please break down these dividing walls and build bridges of reconciliation. In Your Son's precious name I pray. Amen.

Gracie and "Bill"

2010-06-08T20:00:00.001-05:00

Sadly, Gracie's horse Shadow is too lame to ride this spring so this is her new horse "Billy", or "William" or "Welhelm", depending on which discipline she's riding! Bill is a versatile Western or English horse. He's a 12 year-old Paint with two blue eyes. Gracie also came home with two ribbons from the Colby Creek Hunter/Jumper show, a pretty impressive feat considering the competition and the fact that she's only had him about two weeks! Bill is a big boy and Gracie had her first "ground test" on him (fell off) this weekend. She swears the big bruise on her butt doesn't hurt a bit! Yeah...right.

Gemma's New Pony

2010-06-08T19:52:00.001-05:00

Gemma and her new 10 year-old POA (Pony Of The Americas) Pony, "Happy"! I think he's so ugly he's cute....but he's just her size and full of "GO"...but also has a good "WHOA". Gemma came home with two ribbons from the Hunter/Jumper show last weekend after only two weeks on Happy! Looks like they're going to make a great team!

Nyla at 8 Weeks

2010-06-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

I could not get her big gummy smile for anything! Guess I need to have the camera ready when I'm changing her diaper!

Chickens In The Yard!

2010-06-08T18:50:00.001-05:00

The girls are rangin' all over the place!

Relaxing At The Farm

2010-06-08T18:37:00.003-05:00

With summer here, we spend alot of the time at the farm riding horses, playing with chickens, swimming in the lake etc....Grandma's couch is a welcoming place to rest out of the heat!

Marshall???

2010-06-08T18:31:00.001-05:00

Marshall with Grandpa's mud boots, fishing hat and newspaper reader (magnifying glass). The boots are taller than his inseam!

Chicken Update!

2010-06-02T23:37:00.002-05:00

So whatever happened with those chickens you ask?? Yes, with the birth of Nyla the chickens took a bit of a back seat, so here we are now with the flock at almost 16 weeks old! We ended up brooding them in our basement until they were about 8 weeks and then moved the entire operation to the garage (got too stinky for the basement!) Scott and the kids built a pen with high, cardboard walls to contain them until their new home was ready. The "egg mobile", built by our friend Stefan Penas, was delivered to us in early May and we moved the chickens out to the farm on May 13. The egg mobile has been moving around the farm every 5-7 days since then and the chickens are thrilled to be foraging on pastures with real, live bugs! We should have eggs by the end of July so stayed tuned for news on that! Let's get caught up with some photos.....

Gracie with the chickens in our garage!

The coop arrives at our house.

Gracie is checking out the inside. There are 8 nesting boxes and 4 roosts.

Gracie is sanding the windows (they are from the old hog house at the farm)

Windows get a fresh coat of white paint.

Coop is complete and ready to move to the farm!

Chickens are loaded and ready to leave. Check out those nice windows!

Egg Mobile arrives at the farm!

Chickens aren't too sure yet.

Luke helps some find their way outside. The rest quickly follow.

Nyla's Baptism

2010-05-13T00:52:00.005-05:00

I hope you enjoy this slide show of Nyla's baptism. Our good friends Brian and Laurie Friedrich are her new Godparents. Aunt Ruby Beckmann knitted her a precious gown and she was wrapped in an embroidered shawl from her Grandma Seevers. It was an emotional but perfect day! You can also view the individual images HERE.

My Girls!

2010-05-01T00:43:00.001-05:00

Click HERE to see more pics from this shoot.

Maria Yoder

2010-05-01T00:30:00.003-05:00

I'm finally getting to the subject of Maria! Maria Yoder is 18 years old and the second oldest of 12 children! I met her family in the fall of 2001 when we purchased our first side of grass-fed beef from her parents, Paul and Colleen. That was the beginning of a most interesting relationship..... one that would change my life forever! Shortly after the beef, we tried their fresh raw milk. After making the hour drive once about every six weeks (and freezing the milk), I convinced about five other families to share the drive and bring fresh milk back every week. The next thing you know I was coordinating a "Farm-To-You" co-op with over 150 families picking up farm fresh foods at 7 different locations around Akron and Cleveland! Oh and did I mention all of this was illegal?

I thought we could just find a nice senator to sponsor a bill to change the law so I led a state-wide raw milk legislative initiative through the Ohio House and Senate. Silly me....how was I to know that "Big Dairy" powers of Ohio had a much stronger voice than a bunch of farmers and health-conscious mothers? It was not in their best interest for people to start buying milk directly from farmers, especially the kind of milk that caused a person's health to improve! After the bill failed, we were later thrilled to walk away with a court ruling which recognized our right to drink the milk of a cow we own.......and the "herd share" contract was born. Here in Nebraska it is legal to buy fresh milk on the farm but in Ohio farmers and consumers still walk on egg shells waiting for the next attack on their rights to consume the foods they choose.

After moving to Nebraska, I've stayed in touch with the Yoder family (you tend to grow close to people on the "front lines") and that's how we were blessed with the opportunity to have Maria come help us out for five weeks! You can meet the rest of Maria's family at http://www.yoderfarm.blogspot.com/.

Maria's sister Audrey made Nyla this adorable baby gift......a dress to match Maria's!

A Big Surprise!

2010-04-29T21:14:00.001-05:00

Every fall we try to fatten up the horses a bit to better withstand the harsh Nebraska winters. This year was no exception, in fact it was probably the worst winter these horses have ever seen. But come spring, it's time to cut back on their grain and start trimming them back to their ideal body condition.

Since I've been on maternity leave from my horse chores I haven't spent much time with the horses over the past several weeks. On Tuesday of this week I was out at the farm and noticed that one of the horses still seemed way too heavy compared to the others so I became concerned. At first I thought she must be stealing grain from the others, after all, she is the "boss mare". Then I wondered if she was eating too much hay and getting "pasture belly" but since none of the others seemed bloated I started to wonder. I wondered.....could it be?? So I approached the horse and reached under her belly and found two very bagged up teats full of milk!! Unbeknownst to anyone, this horse was about to have a baby!

They say when a horse "bags up" she is very close to delivering but I didn't know just HOW close! This morning as I was helping the farrier trim another horse's hooves, I looked over and noticed a large sac hanging out of the back of Jules! Without a single sound from the mother, this little stud colt had just entered the world!

So we counted back 11 months and recalled one evening when all the horses got out, causing the stallion to jump his fence. No one saw anything....but it had to be the day right? The kids want to call him "Wonder" but Aunt Karen will have the final say in that matter!

So fresh he hasn't even stood yet!

Do You Have a "Pot" in Your House?

2010-04-22T08:52:00.002-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

This morning Luke was trying to get into the bathroom to wash his hands but just as he opened the door Gracie yelled ,"I'm in here!" Seeing that Gracie wasn't actually "on" the toilet, Luke roared, "But you're not even ON THE POT". I had to chuckle when it suddenly occurred to me that referring to the toilet as "the pot" was a reference which had been passed down through several generations and across many states.
My mother grew up with no indoor plumbing so to avoid going to the outhouse in the middle of the night, they literally used a metal stock pot! Then they would replace the lid and some unfortunate soul would have to haul it to the outhouse for emptying the next morning. I actually remember using "the pot" while visiting the home of my great-grandmother in West Virginia during the 70's and 80's!

I guess it will forever be a reminder of my humble roots. Do you have a "pot" in your house?

Nyla-Two Weeks Old

2010-04-22T08:27:00.001-05:00

Nyla turned 2 weeks old yesterday. We're getting lots of little smiles but have yet to catch one in a photo. She continues to be a very easy baby. She even forgot to wake me up last night and slept for 8 1/2 hours! If she were 8 weeks old that would be great news but at 2 weeks it just messes up my milk supply. I think we were both worn out from a busy day.

Nyla-One Week Old!

2010-04-14T21:18:00.001-05:00

Wow! An entire week has just passed? Nyla has been incredibly easy so far. She's even giving me 4 hour stretches of sleep during the night! Some people say you must wake them every two hours to eat at this age....I say after 5 kids...."Let them sleep! You can catch up during the day."

She is a precious girl who loves to be close to her mama and that's great because I've discovered a new baby carrier by "Baby K'Tan" which is incredibly comfortable. It's like a Moby without all the material and fuss to get on. I hope to "wear her" for many months to come!

Tomorrow we take our first step back toward the normal routine as Scott returns to work. Thank God Maria is here.....thank you, God!

Look at that hair!!

We're Dropping The "h" in Nylah

2010-04-11T21:43:00.001-05:00

After 4 days of contemplation, just before leaving the hospital Scott and I decided to drop the "h" off of Nylah. So now, her official name is Nyla Nicole Seevers. Here are some of our early favorite photos:

There's a 9 lb. baby in there!

Home At Last

2010-04-11T08:29:00.001-05:00

Scott picked me up from the hospital on Saturday at about 1:30pm. He dropped me off at home and then rushed over to see Gracie and Gemma recieve their ribbons at Concordia University's "Gathering Of The Talents". Both girls received very high marks on their artwork and piano solos. What great preparation for today's piano recital!