Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Women in Ag


Last week on Friday, my mom and I went to the annual Women in Ag Conference for the 3rd straight year. It is held in Rock Island, IL. We went the 1st year to support my cousin, one of the IL Farm Bureau managers there to run the conference, the 2nd year because I was thinking that I was going to be more involved in Ag with the bank I work at, and this year because I want to find something in Ag. If I want to be in that field, I need to not let myself get out of the loop; keep learning; the right time to apply that knowledge will present itself and when it does, I'll have went to those conferences for a reason!
One thing that I learned, from a popular blogger, Dairy Carrie, is that we need to advocate, or as she calls it, Agvocate for Ag. We need to be the ones speaking for Agriculture to get our voices heard. How else are the consumers going to hear from the producers?? She suggested that we try using our social media sites to Agvocate at least once a week. While the majority of our friends on Facebook/Twitter, etc. know us well enough to know what we do, what we are about, and what we are likely to advocate for, why not educate the others that may not have that direct contact with Agriculture? Give them facts. Nothing to complex but, I like just a little "fun fact". I read a blog post the next night after the conference and there were lots of Ag facts that I plan to take from to post to my Facebook and twitter pages. It may go unnoticed by many but,
it may teach a few.
Those few need the info too!


"Farmers produce 262% more food with 2% fewer inputs compared to 1950. Biotechnology also saves the equivalent of 521,000 pounds of pesticides each year and helps cut herbicide runoff by nearly 70%. Today it takes less than half as much land to produce our meat, dairy and poultry supply compared to 45 years ago."
 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Ag in the Bible

Cody and I went to an Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader Conference, held annually in Bloomington, IL last week. The conference offers different speakers with different topics (4 separate sessions  in the morning, offered twice (so that you can hear about more than 1 topic you might favor); 4 separate sessions after lunch, offered twice; and 4 separate sessions before dinner, offered once.) We listened to Katie Pratt, a women I have heard speak at a Women in Ag Conference 3 years ago. She and her husband farm in Northern Illinois (and blogs at illinoisfarmgirl.wordpress.com.) We actually attended an afternoon session of her's and one from the final session.
During the first session, Katie talked about "Telling our story". She says that while it is important that we advocate for agriculture, it isn't our responsibility to promote, advocate, defend, or condemn other's ag practices. She says that rather than supporting conventional farming and condeming organic (or visa versa) we rather need to support our own practices, keeping opinions of other's practices, to ourself. We, as farmers, farm in the way that works best for us, as they (other farmers in general, regardless of their practices) farm in the way that best works for them.
As a closing for our "Telling our story", Katie shared a few blogs that she follows and I have since began to follow some of them too. One is called, slowmoneyfarm.wordpress.com. This farm practices things that I have not often grown up knowing much about. Their income comes from their animals mostly, but not from selling their meat, but rather their waste....as compost. They raise chickens and rabbits, which make good additions to gardens. They sell compost/manure, manure tea, feathers, angora felting fiber, yard waste, earth worms, started plants and tree seedlings. (they have an interesting story!!)
Anyway, to make my point for my title of this blog, Ag in the Bible, the writer of slowmoneyfarm.wordpress.com often posts in reference to this very title. I myself am a Christian and involved in Ag, so I was naturally drawn to such a topic. I found this exerpt from the book, Wisdom for Everyday Living by Ron Hindt, Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel, Houston Texas.

God often refers to his children as sheep. Psalm 95:7 reads, “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.“ Sheep have several unique characteristics. First they cannot protect themselves. They are defenseless animals. Second, they easily wander from the shepherd’s path, so they must be watched over constantly. Third they must be led to food and water.Unlike most animals,they have no natural sense of what is good or bad for them. Fourth, they must be constantly cleaned. Their skin is naturally greasy, which causes their wool to pick up everything in their environment, such as burrs, seeds, dirt and bugs. Without constant tending, sheep make a mess of themselves. Fifth, because of their natural tendency to pick up all kinds of parasites and diseases, the shepherd must look over each of his sheep daily to make sure that none is infested.

When we mull it over, it seems as though God created sheep specifically to be a spiritual example for his people.

What a thought. I have always looked at sheep in the bible as a reference of purity, not vulnerability. We are but sheep in his world of a pasture.


Saturday, July 28, 2012

July!

We have changes! We finally got new carpet! While that isn't extremely exciting for others, it is big here. It feels like something so new. Aside from getting to get rid of things we didn't really want or need and may have forgotten about, Clay's crib was not put back up so he is sleeping in the single bed that has always been in his room for guests. He is growing up! He doesn't like to fall asleep in there alone. He says he is scared. That makes me feel bad because we are his protectors and I want him to feel that. He sometimes wakes up and comes to sleep with us too. As much as we don't want this to become the norm, we are dealing with it and hoping it gets better, which it slowly is. I just feel like maybe he wasn't ready for the big bed but I am unwilling to put his bed back up!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Copying from another blogger but, I love it and wanted to share......

25 Rules for Mothers of Sons

Inspired by a Pin I've recently seen about "rules for dads with daughters," I went searching for a similar list for moms with sons. This search was mostly fruitless, so I was inspired to write my own Rules for Moms with Sons. Granted, my list will not be conclusive and may not be entirely uncontroversial. So agree, or disagree, or take with a grain of salt - but I hope to inspire other moms who are loving, and struggling, and tired, and proud, and eager to support the boys in their lives. You are the most important woman in his life, his first teacher, and the one he will look to for permission for the rest of his life. From "Can I go play with them?" to "Should I ask her to marry me?" Its a big job, but as the mumma, we're up for it.

25 Rules for Moms with Sons


1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He'll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.


2. Be a cheerleader for his life
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to "stop, mom" when you sing along to his garage band's lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you've been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he's embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.


4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, "Children become readers on the laps of their parents." Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading...reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.


5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet - they have some form of the three. It doesn't have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.


9. Teach him to have manners
because its nice. and it will make the world a little better of a place.


10. Give him something to believe in
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won't be able to be there. Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.

11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle
like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people's feelings.


12. Let him ruin his clothes
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You'll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don't waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.


13. Learn how to throw a football
or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.


14. Go outside with him
turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It's like magic.

15. Let him lose
Losing sucks. Everybody isn't always a winner. Even if you want to say, "You're a winner because you tried," don't. He doesn't feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that's a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again.....) Instead make sure he understands that - sometimes you win - sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean you ever give up.

Source: None via Emma on Pinterest

16. Give him opportunities to help others
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.
17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn't just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks - they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, "Why?"
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he's too embarrassed to ask you - he'll know where to go to find the right answers.


19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
especially the wipes.


20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
...without interrupting about how to do it the 'right way.' If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.


21. Give him something to release his energy
drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with - or he will use your stuff. and then you'll be sorry.


22. Build him forts
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he'll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.


Source: None via Tabitha on Pinterest

23. Take him to new places
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.


Source: None via Anne on Pinterest

24. Kiss him
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, 'what happens in between that made you lose that?' Let's try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they're loving and kissing them even more when they're wild. Kissing them when they're 2 months and kissing them when they're 16 years old. You're the mom - you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets - and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dad's too).


25. Be home base
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year!

We are glad to see the new year is here. Welcome to 2012. We had a great year last year. We laid to rest some loved ones and welcomed new ones into the world. God giveth, and then he taketh away. We know that is just the way but, it doesn't make it easy when it is happening.
We had our 1st Christmas this year when we didn't go to Knoxville. Everyone in the Sanford family was still able to be there and although we squeezed into the Murmann household, we were together, and happy! Here is our 2011 grandchildren and great-grandchildren group picture:
It is funny that we had to go outside to get all of us in the picture but, that is where it is headed as others are now marrying and eventually will be having babies, or more with the families already started. The more, the merrier!

Clay went and saw Santa. He wasn't too excited about sitting on his lap at first but, he talked to him and shook his hand so that he would feel better about it.
We all had a great Christmas. I took down our tree today. I like to keep it up until January 6, Epiphany, but after seeing it all for a week before Christmas, the long Christmas weekend, and the long New Year's weekend, I was really ready to change it back. I keep up the snowmen but I was ready to try out some of the things or ideas I have seen on www.pintrest.com . I didn't do any of the ideas exactly but they gave me ideas and I really like that!
I also took a picture of Cody, Clay and I so that we could have a family picture. I just set up a blanket to the closet and I sat on the back of a chair. The camera was on the tri-pod on the bed. Inventive, huh?
Here's to a new and wonderful. We hope that we are blessed with expanding our little family and that others in our family do as well. Children are the greatest gift God can give us!



Saturday, September 17, 2011

Busy Summer 2011

We have been busy this summer!
We headed to Tennessee to see my cousin Kevin marry Debbie. We stopped in Metropolis, IL along the way!






Cody turned 33 this year and we met with some family to have dinner at Marios' in Springfield:


We went to Champaign to celebrate Ben turning 2.

For Labor Day weekend, we left town right after I got off work to go see our friends, the Barrons'.
we got to ride 4-wheelers. Clay was so comfortable on it, he took a nap while we were riding!

We also got to go and see the newest member of our family. Evan VanHise was born, making this our 8th nephew!


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Grandma

As you all know, my Grandma, Frances Sanford, passed away May 10. She will be sadly missed but her memory will continue on as well as the traditions she has taught us.