I bet you think I'm running out of stories!Not yet...
One summer we met up with our friend and song leader, Jesse Liese and his family in the midwest. Several small churches had joined together as dad came to preach...
One of the families in the church had gone to Europe for a trip, and invited all of us to stay in their victorian farmhouse, on the family farm. Oh was this exciting for all of us kids (now 5 of us as we have joined with our friends)...
First thing we discovered was a chamber pot under each beautifully furnished antique 4 poster bed. You had to climb onto a stool to get into the bed, but... there was NO toilet in the home! ... there was a large outhouse as you made your way onto the farm land... that was a brand new adventure for city kids!
There was a water pump out in the back, and while we were staying there, a 'band of gypsies' came through, about 25 of them, kids and all, and primed the pump and took a rest on the farm. To this day I have never seen any more gypsies, but that's what they were, men women and lots of children playing. After they had spent an hour resting, they picked everything up and moved on down the road as we peeked around the curtains from inside the house...
One morning a bat got into the house. It flew around and swooped down close to where we were, so all of the kids and the 2 wives climbed into a huge 4 poster bed and pullled the covers up over our heads. Each time that bat flew into the room, we all screamed and hid under the blankets. The bat was probably scared to death! I think the screaming stunned him... My dad and Jesse tried to capture it every time it flew into the bedroom. Finally, they got it contained in a big jar and put the lid on and later released it way down the road.
It's no wonder that I still love farms... some of my favorite memories of childhood happened as we visited those farms. No traffic, very little noise, lots of land as far as you could see, huge stars lip up the night sky, and we NEVER ran out of new places to explore!
Even though I've never owned a farm, I am sure that since "He owns the cattle on 1000 hills"... in some way they are mine as well, after all, He IS my Father!
(photo courtesy of Google)
26 comments:
This just sounds like WONDERFUL fun!! Can't think of anything much better for a kid...My daughter once she got in high school becames best friends with several kids who lived on dairy farms..(including the guy she ended up marrying) and how they all loved (even in high school) to go and "play" on those dairy's. Hide and seek, and playing in the cotton piles, and with the animals in the barns...great fun...I love these stories. Have a good day. HUGS
what a grand adventure for city kids! maybe not the
chamber post so much . . .
we worked a ranch not far from our city, so i had a
big taste of country life, too. i remember it fondly,
but don't think i was too fond of it then. hauling
hay, counting and branding cows, snakes . . . no
gypsies, darn it!
SO happy to be back in the city. :)
oops."chamber pot"
Dear Sonja,
I think your daddy was a wise man to bring his family along in your summer vacations. He must have been often away from home during the year, but he made his summer work an adventure for you children.
I doubt that many children have had the opportunity to experience their vast homeland from the inside the way the way you got to do.
What a blessing to be a member of such a family. An everlasting blessing actually, I can feel the thrill as you are sharing your adventures with us.
Thanks,
From Felisol
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us. You made me smile!
Hugs,
andrea
Ahh....I could smell the fresh clean air as I read this. Hee hee..wait a minute..farm air... fresh. ?? Well, you know what I mean! Crisp Country air! A wonderful place! It's amazing how we can remember certain special moments in our lives, and even in the process of remembering, our Lord has allowed us to even associate smells or hearing songs, and even certain emotions with all of these memories tucked away in our brains. Wow! This story just made me smile!! Thanks so much!
P.S. Been missing checking in---I'm on spring break, so I had a moment to drop by. :) Yippee!
Oh you do have wonderful stories...makes my life seem so dull. I did have my grandfather's farm and I still cling to those memories...the house was so old you could see the ground through the cracks in the wooden floor. The verse I sent you today really does hold true with each of your post!
This was great...I can just see everyone on the bed with the covers over their heads while the men chased the bat! God does create such adventures.
What a very nice story. I hope you never run out of stories! I love reading about them. What a nice place to get to go visit.
This one is wonderful. I laughed as I pictured you all hunkered down in the bed with the bat flying by. LOL!
I also liked that you mentioned the thousand cattle on the hill reference. As one who has longed for years to move to the country (that is, even more to the country than I already live) I loved the image.
Your "Dad Preached" stories are my favorites. I hope that someday you get enough of them and make a book. It would be a treasure.
Very nice Sonja. Thank you for sharing.
I just love these stories. I hope you never run out!
I'm a farm girl at heart, too. I love the connotations associated wtih them: a simpler (though more rugged) life; homemade PIE :) ; family bonds; baby chicks; early wakenings. Come to think of it, I might even like the Chamber Pot thingy. Might.
Maybe our eternal home will be farmlike, ya' think? I'd love a porch, if that be so.
Love,
Kathleen
I love the chamber pot!!!! How funny the things that make an impression on kids!! Hope you're having a great day, sweet friend!
Hugs!
Susan
Oh, such fun memories!
Sometimes I wish I lived on a farm - but perhaps, not have to keep farmer's hours!!
And I just loved the Scripture you used at the end!! He does indeed own the cattle, and I am SO glad that I belong to Him!
GOD BLESS!
This is a great story. Do you have any more? Do your siblings read your blog?
The closest I got to a bat was on my honeymoon in Jamaica. It got into our hotel suite but my knight in shining armor came to the rescue!
Love,
Mary
Sonja, I enjoy every one of your stories. Keep them coming! I've never spent time on a farm. I've always been a city girl. But I used to love to watch TV shows like the Waltons and imagine life on a farm. That's the closest I've come; lol.
Love you sis,
Debbie
Sonja, thank you so much for your encouraging words to me. Blessings to you dear one.
Sounds very nice, thank you!
He owns it all! And I am glad He gave us you! I so enjoy hearing all your wonderful stories and laughed so to hear about the chamber pots today and the outhouse! I haven't forgotten those things!
precious memories!
Being the 'cowgirl' that I am - I have always wanted to live on a ranch.
I loved your last lines about the cattle on a thousand hills... haha He also owns all the money in the world :)
I'm familiar with those farms. Daddy was a small country preacher. Loved those farming families. Nice friendly people.
Sunday dinner around their big family tables was always high on my list. Huge bowls of homemade whipped potatoes loaded with chunks of fresh butter!
My dad had to rid one of his churches of a whole brood of bats in the attic. It was a nasty ordeal. They'd been hiding up there for years. YIKES!
have a blessed weekend
Patrina <")>><
Hi!!
One of your bloggers asked if your siblings read your blogs.....YES YES YES!!!! And we love them!!!
(Also wanted to just say that I think all of you who comment sound like just the nicest people!)Seems we're all on the same page!
Sonja's sis,
Carol Joy
You've had such an interesting life! It's always fun to visit :)
Would you believe we have a chamber pot in the cabin in our back yard?! Guests just bring it inside to dispose of the contents and it's returned to its place...No one complains.
Only once have I had an encounter with a bat. It flew around our bedroom one night; I shut the door when it went into the hall. My husband came back to bed admitting he'd not killed it. I was seriously ready to move out of the house the next morning! As we sat in the living room discussing what to do, I saw it hanging in a window! My husband was able to drop the window and somehow the bad flew outside. (I obviously can't remember all the details--just the important part!)
thank you . . .
for the fabulous . . .
100 calorie recipe!
What fun it is to share in your childhood experiences with you. As I read the bat story, I pictured it all and am still smiling. I for one, am so thankful that you never run out of stories to share with us. I find them all so interesting, and I do agree with you, that your childhood was not one that I would classify as "normal".
I for one, am so thankful that you never run out of stories to share with us. This one took me back to days visiting the farms that I was fortunate enough to visit. The chamber pots played a part in a few of my visits too, and like you that was a new concept for me. I like your bat story and could picture it all as you shared it. What fun it is to share in your experien
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