Last week I shot up the road to visit with my long lost cousin Marj 🙂 it has been years since I visited their farm, this was long overdue. We solved a few of the worlds problems, took a stroll to the barn, drank a few gallons of coffee and I was treated royally- Marj is a wonderful cook, and her lively family is so much fun! So thankful for the progress Mr Kaiden has made over the journey with his heart challenge… what an adorable chubby fellow 💞

Our evening project was a candy tractor assembly line. I grabbed a few bags of candy on a whim and then wasn’t quite sure how to proceed with putting them together with hot glue guns and children ranging from 2-10. 😅 I worry too much.

We manufactured the tractors quite easily. And then as I watched, they plowed another of my worries straight into the dirt. My little, 2 year old buddy, Korwin led the parade, because his tractor was the first off the assembly line. I heard him start the candy bar motor with a low roar. He drove back and forth across the table until all of his siblings tractors were completed, and they could join him. Mikayla’s tractor was apparently a 2-cylinder because her tractor started with a “put-put-put” and I laughed at how quickly those other tractors converted to put-putting as well. Such simple delight! Admittedly I spent a few miles en route talking myself into even going through with this little lame project. 🙈

The older children soon carefully took their tractors and parked them away for the night. But not Korwin. He drove his tractor on towards bedtime. He switched into PJ’s and continued to farm. (Somewhere along the line, the 2- cylinder switched back into the strong roar of a diesel.) He belly-laughed when the snowman tractor operator collapsed from exhaustion and had to be reglued. He roared up the steps at bedtime and carefully parked his tractor behind the door.

Early the next morning, he roared down the steps and farmed relentlessly around breakfast. And once a wheel fell off, and he received the green light from his parents, he ate his tractor one piece at a time, and belly-laughed with chocolate smeared on his face.

And my heart melted into a puddle. 😍

As I watched the Groff children’s react to my little project, I couldn’t help but analyze me and my Christmas expectations:

Pure delight over the simple. Complete joy-filled mirth, regardless of circumstances, it was wonderful to behold.

A friend summed this up completely: “If we all could see the world through the eyes of a child, we would see the magic in everything”

Thank you, Korwin and family for reminding me to feel deeply the simple things of this season.

Blessings,

Kendra

Bonus Pics:

I spent a weekend in the Finger Lake region recently. Such a beautiful world!

And we woke up the most magical frosty kingdom here in the Valley last week…

Hoarfrost doesn’t happen often around here, and when it does it’s something to behold!

And lastly… My friends have the most adorable families 💞 Here my dad is entertaining the Rohrer brothers with the latest Farmer Stan book. The original order of books have all found their new homes ☺️ but there are more on the way-so if you’re interested in this version on my dad’s poetry- email me your request kdh.farmersdaughter@gmail.com