The Muench Bunch

I love to catch a beautiful sky on camera. This was my view when taking meals to the field. Without Cory working for us, we are short of help this harvest. We had Mike in the combine, Mark in the grain cart and Tony in the semi. A 3 man team to start the season. We had been combining beans and have 4 fields out so far. We have been on and off again in between rains. The yields are phenomenal. Mark said the best he has ever seen, 80's and some even got to the 90's! The yields are awesome, but the prices are low. Because of the Tariffs Trump put on soybeans, prices are low and things dont look so good. The boys like to be in the field as much as they can. I am making meals and taking them out many nights. October 1st... We are half done combining beans and haven't started in on corn. It has rained almost 2 1/2 inches over the last couple days. We really need dry during harvest. each day later is a day closer to snow. The later it gets, push comes to shove. The farmers all g

Luke is such a little sponge. he remembers things really well and pays attention to what is going on around him. He is up on current events and catches bits and pieces of the news and knows more about what is going on than I do. He follows politics and knew all about the Kavanaugh trial. He is really something. The past two weeks I have gotten to see Jayden more than I would have imagined. She has called me on Wednesdays and ends up going out to eat when I am in Ames with the boys going to taekwondo and youth group. Then she heads home on Thursday and spends the weekend at home. She tells me college is like a prison and she feels a little trapped. She gets her homework done easily and has way too much free time. She just doesnt know what to do with herself. Her roommate is generally in bed and sleeping at 8:30 at night and she keeps their room at 60 degrees. Jayden hangs out in her friends rooms for that very reason. ICCC Rodeo Jayden got up early, loaded her horses and was at the

Terji and Elaine Walthinsen came for a visit and stayed with karen and orrie. They came to our house for lunch way day to visit and see the kids. They are so interested in peoples lives and genuinely care. Terji went for a ride with Jake in his Ford around the section. Jake was excited to show it off and take it for a spin. Luke played his guitar with Elaine and she sang while he played. They sang "Bless the Lord" AKA "10,000 reasons". She also sang and played a little for Luke. It was fun to see Luke play while someone sang and they sounded great together.

This time of year I tend to get pretty overwhelmed and feel like I can barely keep my head above water. Each morning I get up by 7 and feed the horses, all 7 of them by pitchfork and round bale. I get the boys up, get breakfast and start school at 8. I feel like part time teacher and part time referee. The boys bicker with one another almost continuous. We go until lunch, I fix a hot meal and take it to Mark in the field along with a Yoli drink and a jug of tea. My afternoon seems to be catching up from morning, doing dishes, laundry, checking papers and getting school material ready for the next day. And then it's time to start supper , the boys and I eat, then take meals out to the field for 3 to 5 men. After running out to the field, I hay and grain all the horses. This is on days when I don't have to be anywhere. Throw in taekwondo and youth group nights and I am wiped out. I know that God never gives us more than we can handle. Sometimes I just need a little extra push to

Jake has a knack and desire to fix up old things and get them in working and running order. His latest project, the 1989 Ford pick-up with a flat bed. Back in  March Jake had it on his mind and wouldn't stop until his Dad helped him. Mark hooked up the truck and pulled it out of the old barn. The brakes were completely locked up. Then it sat for a couple months waiting on Nate the mechanic. Later they got it hauled up to his shop.  It sat at his place for weeks before Nate had time to work on it. Once he got started, we let Jake spend time working alongide Nate helping and learning. Jake loved every minute of it. He would come home telling me all about his afternoon with the guys. He liked hanging out with the guys as much as he did working on the truck. He took so much pride in that truck. The seats were trashed, torn and in bad shape. The dash, ceiling, and radio were in perfect condition. Lots of work was done on all the lines. I don't know my engine and truck parts and wh

The results of the trial would be a game changer. If Kavanaugh is tried as guilty, the results and implications would have devastating. How can they possibly take something that happened 30 years ago with no evidence, no witnesses and claim a man guilty of something that never happened? My prayer is for the trial, for the results and for our country.  Copied: The court trial of Kavanaugh vs. Ford  The confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been delayed due to recent allegations that when Kavanaugh was in high school in the early 1980s, he allegedly sexually assaulted another teenager, Christine Blasey Ford, at a party. On Sunday, a second woman came forward to make an allegation against Kavanaugh, which dates back to 1983-84, when the woman and Kavanaugh were students at Yale University. Prior to this development, lawmakers spent four days asking questions about the professional background of Kavanaugh, including prior court rulings he made throughout his ca

Ali had her wedding dress shopping day with Blake's mom, Grammer, my mom, cousins, Torrie and Jossie, myself and Jayden. It was great that everyone was able to be there on a Saturday. The plan was to start in Boone and then head to Ankeny and Ames. We arrived in Boone to a very nice wedding shop. We slipped off our shoes and all started picking out dresses that we thought Ali might like. Her consultant did the same. The first dress she tried on, she liked. We all ooh and aww and gave her thumbs up. The second dress she tried on she liked even more. The third dress she really liked and whispered to me,"this is the one". She knew it was the dress and loved it. She didnt want to try on another dress and was so happy she found, "Th Dress." all of this took place in about 45 minutes! It was a fun and special time and I am so glad I got to share that special moment with Ali. Next, we browsed the bridesmaid dresses. It didnt take long for the girls to pick out the dr

Fear is a liar.... I love this song written by Zach Williams. The song has been playing in my head over and over as I remind myself not to be fearful. Fear has crept in over this past week. Fear for my daughter, fear for college girls, fear for women, fear for myself, fear of attackers. I fear safety. On Monday morning in broad daylight an ISU golfer was attacked, stabbed, and murdered. Celia Barquin Arozamena was from Spain majoring in Civil Engineering at ISU. She was the ISU 2018 female student athlete of the year. She was an NCAA conference champion golfer with a long list of accomplishments. She was on the golf course  Monday morning practicing when a 22 year old homeless man cam out of his wooded living area, assaulted and killed her. Horrific. Just a month ago the body of college student Mollie was discovered, who also was attacked and killed. The killing of Kathlynn in Dayton Iowa 5 years ago was a similar ruthless, evil, attack.  Our justice system is lacking, these attackers

Mark woke up Friday with a migraine. He gets so stressed over the markets. Corn was down 15 cents. His headache made him sick to the point of throwing up several times. That plus maybe a bug, he was sick all weekend. He had stomach stuff going on. He wanted all the lights off in the house. I cant stay inside like that very long. By Saturday I had to get out. Luke and I went to the Woodard dairy and then on to Des Moines. He has been saving all his money for roller blades. We looked at a few then decided it would be good to see if he really likes rollerblades enough to buy them. I took him to a skating rink and he rented a pair and rolled around. We ended up back at a store and he bought a pair. He was so excited when we got home he rolled all around the house. The next morning they were back on his feet again. Sunday Mark was still recovering from the weekend stomach bug. Jayden was travelling home from her Nebraska rodeo. The boys and I went to church then headed on to my parents 5

Wednesday Mark asked me to go along with him to the Western Dubuque biodeisel annual meeting. It was a long 3+ hour drive and I told him I would only go if we stayed. We drove, ate dinner, went to the meeting, then stayed the night at a hotel. The meeting was a little over an hour with logistics and information. Biodeisel is doing well, really well!! Mark had gotten several surprise checks dividend  in the mail over the year. Some very large sums of money. I keep reminding him that God has blessed him with the money and we should bless others because of it. Over the weekend Jayden and I rode three horses. I was the warm up and cool down rider and she did all the fine tuning and loping barrels. She also insisted I take a photo of her "family". She is a crazy horse lovin girl! On Friday, I took Jake to his youth group Lock in. He enjoyed his one on one time with mom for dinner before I took him.  He talked the entire way. The two of us ate supper in town before I dropped h

Our last and final hay cut of the season was the golden one. The best hay, the perfect conditions and we put up some excellent hay. Mark and Tony baled 3 flat racks of small squares. One of those I was the driver. Mark gave me a 30 second how to and turned me lose. Use the clutch and the brake, ease the clutch, put it in drive, park when you stop, throttle up to a certain rpm, keep it in this gear at this speed, turn this button to turn the PTO for the baler, and on and on. Wow, I was feeling a bit nervous. I didn't have time to be. He put Luke in the buddy seat to help me watch the rack and he jumped on to start stacking and went to baling. I think I handled it well. I kind of impressed myself. After we finished a rack, Jayden came home and the rodeo team picked her and her horse up  to head to North Platte, NE. I wanted to go watch, but 7+ hours is just too far to drive alone. Back to the hay field I went and for hours Jake and I hauled square bales. We hired a guy to bale 1600

Labor Day weekend was pretty quiet, well except for thunder and lightning. On Friday Jake went to spend a couple nights with grandparents Mawgee and Peepaw. Jayden came back from college and must have been missing me because she wanted me to go on a 4 wheeler ride with her. She was in a silly mood, put on a pair of ski goggles and tore through the hay field with me on the back. That girl can make anyone's day and always spreads some joy.   Jayden, Luke and I decided to go to the Dayton PRCA rodeo. It was a low spectator night. I was surprised to see the parking lot so empty, and no line to get in. We had plenty of spots left on bleachers and hardly any people on the grass hill. Jayden went with her friends after the first event and Luke and I sat on a blanket on the hill. One of my favorite parts of the rodeo is hearing rodeo announcer Boyd Polhamus give the prayer. Each year for as far back as I can remember, he shares a strong prayer about having respect for many faiths, but his

The things we do for our kids!!!.... I sure hope they appreciate all the thing we do for them. This entry pertains to Jayden and all her horses. This week, just like every other time we have had to haul a horse somewhere major, we are scrambling to get all the last minute stuff figured out. Jayden got a text Monday evening from the rodeo club coordinator with expectations. They have a student run rodeo club and nobody to oversee. There are no coaches, no advisor, no adult. The text informed Jayden that they need her horse trailer to haul, she needed health certificates and coggins for horses. Mark took the truck and trailer, black featherlite and white Chevy and he got the trailer checked over,  tires ready, lights checked, stall slants put back in, and cleaned up. On Wednesday she had to take her horses to the vet to get health papers and Ace's injections between classes. She had a game plan to hurry back from class and take the horses to the vet in a 2 hour window. My job was to

I waited until after Labor to start school. I feel that is when all kids should start back for the year. I guess that is another perk to homeschool. Jake had been going to Nates weekly to work on his Ford. It was hard for him to make the transition to having to do school rather than go help the mechanics.Unfortunately our week back to school was also the same date our flooring installers came to put in new kitchen flooring. I was replacing my vinyl flooring. It made for a very difficult first day of school. We started out in the basement, but day two they were working on the steps. It was noisy and distracting and the installers ended up taking an extra day. I took some back to school mug shots of the boys. I also have some photos of our new floor. It doesn't seem as durable as the old. I am hoping that it will hold up as well as the old. I am learning more and more all the time that nothing is made as heavy, strong, and as high of quality as things from the past. I really do

Birthday party.... We celebrated Blake's birthday by having him over for dinner. Karen and Orrie came and Karen made cinnamon rolls. Brigdett and Andrew are always excited to come to our house. We are getting to know Blake and are really impressed with him. He is so good to Ali and his kids. Working in the shop....Two days before harvest one of Mark's Salford clients wanted a machine fixed and ready to go with new coulters. Most of the time his clients want something from him at the most inconvenient time. It was a lot of work, but he got it done. Quite a kid ....September was back to taekwondo for Luke. Now that he is a black belt, he will have to train for an entire year before he can test up to a second degree black belt. Luke gave his instructor his 4H display that he took to the fair. It was pretty cool and I think his instructor really appreciated it. He posted it on the wall and told us the kids and parents really enjoy it and read the information. It tells about eac