For 2-1/2 hours we all labored – scooping and shoveling and hauling. Thankfully temps were only in the 70’s and there was no wind to blow it back in our faces. Oh, but we were all so dirty!
Here is the finished clean barn! To me it’s beautiful! We kept telling the kids that many hands make light work. They worked like troopers and have earned lots of golf cart time.
Many small pens make it lots of work but when I close the doors at night I know my chickens are safe. Oh, the stories I could tell about dangerous critters in my barn over the years prior to my extensive indoor fencing.
So, thank you, Sam, Aidan, Lucy and Owen! What a gift you gave me today!
Glad you had help and such good friends.
How is Rick doing?
Take care.
Shirley of OR
Shirley – he’s doing great! Much more comfortable with his walker now.
God bless them all for helping youth😊🥰💕
Was supposed to say
Helping you out… but sometimes autocorrect knows best! Haha
So thankful for your friends!
You are a blessed woman. What a great memory and character builder for these children!
You are truly blessed and the barn looks great
What a wonderful family! Thank them for us too.
I glad Rick is doing so well. You will rest easy knowing the barn chore is over.
Tomorrow I mow again so the lawn guy can reseed. The gutters should start being installed. The roof is done on the house and garage. Next is the barn and arbor. Then windows.
It got hot today…into the 90’s. Not like Texas, but hot for us.
Cute, cute kids and mom. Hard workers, too. The barn looks great! Happy to hear Rick is doing so well.
What a blessing these kids are! So glad you excepted their help! The barn looks great! And so glad Rick is doing so well, too! Sweet picture of Rick & Hazel.
Hi Mary, great to see the children helping you and Rick, Don’t over do the work, it will still be there tomorrow! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
What a blessing to have great friends to help you out. The barn looks great. Woke up to thunder and lightning and then the rain. So needed. Maybe no watering will need to be donee today.
Spend the day in town yesterday. Went to eleven different places. The last was to Red Lobster.
Hope to get some quilting down today!
That looks so good! I’ll bet they had fun and you all made some great memories together. Hope your hubby is being a good patient and his healing is going well!
What a blessing you received from all their help. And they will be blessed in return!
I LOVE this! Truly, the very best of gifts not to mention the awesome role modeling exhibited here, your young friends are learning first hand the value of pitching in to help. What a blessing!
i was thinking the exact same thing. Not only a big help to Mary, but a great life lesson for the three young helpers. This just warms my heart!
Mrs. Goodneedle – yes, this was a huge gift to me and I won’t forget it. They like to drive my golf cart on the wilderness trail and I told them they’ve got lots of time credit earned! Haha! Their dogs were here, too – I’m sure you remember them – Finn and Ivy – a Bernadoodle and a golden doodle- that I keep often. They had a great time running free while we worked.
It is wonderful to see young children helping with such a project. It is a great lesson in life for them, and they will remember it. When our children were in college in Kansas, we were told many times that the kids from Iowa had the best work ethics of any there. It begins just like you witnessed yesterday. God bless Sam and her beautiful children. What a huge blessing for you. And so happy to hear that Rick is doing well. Have a wonderful day. No rain here in south central Iowa. 🙁
Farm kids are great. They don’t realize how truly wonderful their time and effort was worth.
Sandra – I should have added that these kids aren’t farm kids – this was totally foreign to them. These are my pastor kids and they were such good sports and great help!
Exhausting but wonderful feeling to have it done!
What a great blessing to have the wonderful help in cleaning the barn!! Looks real good!!
Cal had his second cataract surgery this am and all went well. I’ll need a nap today as we were up at 5:30am.
Happy that Rick’s recovery is going well!
Sally J. in Michigan
Sally – glad his cataract surgery went well – he’ll be so happy he did it! Yes, that’s too early for me, too. I’d need a nap!
Gosh how fast those kids are growing up! I remember they could barely see over your porch table to sip the orange Julius you would make them. I was so hoping some of your church folks would lend a hand when you are shuffling a lot on your plate right now as our church membership comes through even when a widow needs a couch moved. Thank you Sam and your amazing children who got a good lesson in barns and animals and the kindness of helping others.
What a wonderful thing to do for you! I’m happy to see Rick is doing well and getting his walker figured out! Jay said I had a racetrack from my recliner to the bathroom with the walker Haahaa.
It sure is a relief to not have the 90 degree stuff!
Take care and enjoy your clean barn!
What a lovely, great family to help you out so much!! That’s a lot of work to do. They must be super neat kids:)
It is so nice when a job is finished. I cleaned most of the pantry today—top shelves are too high for me even with the step stool. The tall one can do those!
I should have some quilts/table toppers to share soon.
As always, thanks for keeping us up to date on the “doin”s” at the Etherington farm:)
I had to go to Columbus today and the traffic was crowded. It is not usually so bad, but whew!
Nice here today–about 72 right now.
Rest up Mary and Sam, Aiden, Lucy, and Owen:) Their initials spell SALO!
Diane – SALO! Very cool! They are very super neat kids and yes, this was a lesson learned of so many things. I kept saying that I takes different things to make each person happy and THIS made me very happy. You probably recognize their dogs – Finn and Ivy – who come here often. They, too, had a great time yesterday – running free on the farm.
Giving thanks for your blessing of friends with helping hands of all sizes! What a relief it must be to have the barn taken care of for now. Also adding thanks that Rick is navigating his recovery (and his walker) so well.
No rain yet (So. Cen. WI), but maybe tonight. Very cloudy skies with visibility today down to 2 miles due to the wildfire smoke. We’re staying inside, so it must be time to sew! Kris
Your helpers may not be farm kids but, they sure worked like farm kids. I remember that, no matter your size or age, there was a chore assigned to you on the farm.
What wonderful kids to do the work and, what wonderful parents to teach their children the lessons of helping others. Thanks for sharing the story.
We got some much needed rain this last week and, more predicted for tonight.
The garden is finally growing and, the weeds even faster. I spent time weeding today but, we are experiencing terrible air quality because of the Canadian fires. Not recommended to stay outside long. I weeded with a mask on.
Connie – yes, these are great kids and greater parents to be teaching them the value of hard work just to help someone else – and no money involved! I know you realize how much I appreciated it! Thank God for this family!
Sam and her children are both kind and adorable! It is great to have friends like them. Like all kids, they are growing up way too quickly; before long, Aiden will want to borrow Little Red. 😂
It is so good to hear Rick is doing well. 🥰
An early birthday present of the best kind!! That is awesome!