Kansas Wheat Harvest - Our first as a family

Hey there! I have to apologize for taking so long to get this blog post up. I meant to do this the day after harvest was over but that obviously didn't happen. Considering we finished up harvest a couple of days before the 4th of July. Ha! Oops...

This was our first harvest together as a family. My husband grew up on this farm so this wasn't anything new for him. It was, however, a first for me and our girls. I grew up in a small farm town and each summer I would see all of the wheat trucks waiting in line at the elevator as I walked by on my way to the pool. But that was really the only harvest "experience" I had ever had until this year. Here's how our first harvest went...

My husband ran the grain cart just as he did all those years ago when he was still just a boy. We ran two combines and had about 5 other crew members who drove the trucks that were loaded down with the grain. My job was to provide supper each evening for all of the guys. (If anyone is interested in the meals I cooked and the recipes just let me know! I'd be happy to write up a blog post for ya!)

I was a bit nervous. I hadn't really ever cooked for this many people before and I wasn't sure what to really expect since I hadn't ever worked a harvest before. First night I was the most nervous. So, I made a meal that I had made thousands of times. Spaghetti bake. Making a very familiar meal helped me feel a bit more comfortable and less nervous about the whole thing. After that, it was all downhill and I really started having some fun!

Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of work. Making homemade meals each night with sides and desserts while also taking care of the girls, house hold chores and any other thing that the guys needed or anything else that needed taken care of. Each evening I would have our oldest daughter, Annaleigh (7), watch our youngest daughter, Kayleigh (8 months) while I loaded everything into the truck. The drinks, plates, utensils, the coolers full of food etc. We had gotten a pretty good rhythm down by the 3rd night. Once I had everything loaded up I'd just leave the mess in the kitchen, grab the girls and we'd rush the food out to whichever field they were in all while keeping my fingers crossed that the food wouldn't be cold by the time I got there. Thankfully, that never happened! And the guys were always so appreciative to get a home cooked meal each night.

The girls loved watching the combines and I loved watching the girls take it all in for the first time.

Annaleigh loved helping and riding along whenever she got the chance!

Miss Mae (Kayleigh) was fascinated by the all the big implements and she was always so excited to see her daddy in the evening. :)

And daddy was always happy to see his girls. I love this picture! Annaleigh holding onto her daddy's leg, Miss Mae with her tongue hanging out, as usual, and Jerrod's beard flowing majestically in the Kansas wind. ;)

In the picture below Jerrod is cleaning up his tractor after it getting coated with the fine dust from working in the field.

And then the sun was setting and the rains came to help settle all of the dust that was stirred up after almost 2 weeks of long days and lots of hard work. We had completed our very first wheat harvest as a family. :)

I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure how it would all make me feel. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull off making yummy, homemade meals each night. I knew it would be different to see it all first hand as a woman, mother and wife of a farmer instead of just being a child on her way to the pool and seeing all the wheat trucks lined up waiting for their turn at the elevator. But, I didn't realize how much of a humbling experience it would be and how full my heart would feel. It was such an amazing feeling to work together as a family on such a big and important task. Even though it was a very busy and exhausting 2 weeks I was SO very thankful to have my husband home each night. Which is something that just didn't happen when he was working in the oil field. Moving to this little town and living in this little farmhouse has been such a blessing to my little family. I've decided that wheat harvest might just be my favorite.

If you ate today, be sure to thank a farmer. :)

XOXO,

Heather