Adventures at Dawn

Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

The alarm clock rang at 6:00 a.m. I opened my eyes and thought to myself “should I really do this?” 
I knew that I needed to, cause if I didn't do it now… I would never know what it was like, and if I never knew what it was like… I would never know if I was missing something or not!

So I put on my gear (my jogging clothes and running shoes), said hello and bye to mom (who was feeding Jaden) and headed out the door.

I noticed that the stars were still shining and that it was still pretty dark… a little windy, but it was now or never.

I started running.

I found that it was hard to breathe in the cold of the early morning… in Manitoba… in late September.

I found that there are still creatures running about in the twilight. 
When I saw a little one running across the road I immediately though... hmm... should I turn around? What if it was a skunk or a badger? Would I surprise it to much if I came running by and would it come back out to meet me?
I wished that Teddy (our dog) would have come along with me (she was no doubt doing what I was thinking maybe I should be doing... sleeping).
I decided to keep going, running just a tad a lot faster till I had passed the area where the offender had been spotted.
Never saw it... and to tell you the truth, I was kinda disappointed. Would have given me a truly interesting story to tell.
Like.... "Jennifer gets bit by a badger and lives to tell about it" or "skunk gets away, but Jennifer gets sprayed".
Wouldn't that be fun! :)


Anyway... back to the run,

I found that wind doesn't make your ears feel very nice when you are running in it. Wind is... well, wind is cold... especially in the morning.

I was also disappointed to find that if I was going to see any HINT of a sunrise, I was going to have to run at least 1/2 hour later then I did.
Who runs that early in the morning except to watch the sunrise???

But I also found that it was quiet.

Not a bird cheeping, not a sound… except that of the wind blowing and rustling through the grass and trees.
God's creation was sleeping. Made me feel so alive. 
It's not very often that I get up early enough to "hear" the quiet, was so peaceful and refreshing.

Upon arriving home I felt like I had gotten a jump start to my day. Even my clothes smelled like a breath of fresh air!
I was READY TO GO.

So I decided then and there that this was the best time to run. And that I’m going to do it as often as I can. 
At least that is what I was thinking while I was already out there :) I've found that most things are easier said then done :P

So what if it is hard to breathe? I hear that the colder it is… the more your body has to work and the more calories you burn! AND I found that there isn’t as much sweat involved either!

So what if the little creatures decided to freak me out… what is life without a little adventure involved?

So what if my ears didn't enjoy the ride… the wind doesn’t blow EVERY morning... and, what are toques for anyway???

So what if there isn't any sunrise… dawn is a beauty in itself.

Psalm 59:16

    But I will sing of your strength, 

       in the morning I will sing of your love; 

       for you are my fortress, 

       my refuge in times of trouble.

❀ Jennifer

Wordless Wednesday... with words :)

I was going to do a Wordless Wednesday... but as some of you may know.... I'm not a very "wordless" person.
So I'm adding a few words K?


These pictures are for Lizzy I had promised her some time ago for some pictures of our new kittens.
Well they are not quite as "new" as they used to be.... but better late then never right?

There are actually 6 little kitties... (yup they are orange too) but two of them had yucky eyes so we left them out of the pictures.

Don't you just LOVE the blue eyes?

My favorite kitten

Lizzy, do you remember the kittens that were in the barn when you visited last? Well... here is one of them!

Remember your favourite one 

Liz? Here she is!

Love you Lizzy, hope you enjoyed the pictures!

❀ Jennifer

Every morning, and every evening

"Lonnie"

"Sally"

"Clover"

Every morning and every evening at 7:30 I go out to the barn with one of my two faithful partners (aka... Meg or Kerri). 

I dump feed into a bucket and let the first cow come in.

I wash the cow and put the milk machine on her.

I set up the straining cloth and label the pails that I am going to use.

When the cow is empty I take the milk machine off, strain the milk and fill (Sally's calf) Clover's bottle while my milking partner lets the first cow out.

I dump more feed into the bucket and let the second cow in.

My milking partner goes to feed Clover.

I wash the second cow and put the milk machine on her.

I dump the milk into the pails and put them in the fridge.

When the second cow is empty I take the milk machine off of her, strain the milk and half fill Clover's bottle.

My milking partner again goes to feed Clover.

I sweep the floor where the cows were standing.

I dump the milk into the pails and put them in the fridge.

I wash the milk machine.

I hang up the milk machine in the exact place it is supposed to be.

This is what I do every single morning and every single evening.

The only thing I ever do different is in the morning I wash the outside of the milk machine and sweep the floors.

Every morning and every evening, it all remains the same.

Am I complaining... umm...NO!

Let me tell you a secret... I LOVE routine.

In fact, my sisters tell me that I'm almost as bad as the jersey cows. 

Let me explain...

Jersey cows get very upset if their routine gets changed. 

Each cow knows EXACTLY what she is supposed to do and when she is supposed to do it.

Both of my girls know if they are first or last to be milked and to only come when they are called.

They know EXACTLY how many people there are usually in the barn and what the lighting is like.

They know which things are usually where and which person is milking them.

If I tried to bring Lonnie first instead of Sally... they would both get very confused and upset.

If I turned on a fan so that the light bulb casts different shadows then they are used to then my cows become very jumpy and frightened.

If I move some bags or boxes around they have to Smell them before they will take another step.

If a different person other then me milks the cows they will usually give less milk then they are supposed to.

Jersey cows DON'T like to get messed up.

And neither do I.

If someone comes in "my barn" and puts something in an improper place, I won't be able to continue milking until I set it right.

If someone other then me milks and they put the milk machine in the wrong spot or in the wrong way... I get kind of upset inside.

I don't usually let anyone else sweep the floor cause it has got to be swept just so. (I know, I know... I'm working on it!)

Everything has to be done right, and done in order.

That is just the way I am... in the milking barn.

ROUTINE FREAK is what I am :)

But I like my job. I love it that I can help my family out in this way.

Even if I do do exactly the same thing....

Every morning and every evening.

❀ Jennifer

Sunday with the family

We like to spend Sundays together as a family.

We believe that in life God comes first, then family, then friends. So we don't go our seperate ways on Sundays. Rather we use the time to grow closer and learn together.


When I was younger, I used to be able to go to friend's house on my own on Sundays. 
I remember one Sunday my family was going to be going to the beach with our grandparents and one of my friends had asked me to come over.
Mom and Dad said that the choice was up to me whether I would rather spend time with them or go to my friends house. Sadly I chose my friend over my family.
I remember feeling REALLY guilty about it but justifying it by the fact that Mom and Dad HAD said that the choice was up to me.
Upon coming home, everyone was telling me stories about all the fun that they had... and I really wished that I had chosen to spend time with my family. I wished that I could change my selfish choice and "do the day over" but it was to late.

Mom and Dad eventually decided that we needed to spend more time together because time away from the family was having a negative effect on me and my siblings. 
I remember being quite upset about it all. I didn't think it was fair and I hated it when Mom and Dad kept telling me that my sisters were my best friends (seriously??? How could that be???), but now I am SO thankful for the choice that they made to bring our family closer together.
My sisters ARE my best friends, actually I can't imagine life without them. They are always there for me and (even if they wanted to :) they will never desert or leave me. Because sisters really are forever.

Now I LOVE it that we spend time together as much as we can.
When we get together with friends we do it as a family. Family friends are so much more special, because EVERYONE has a good time.

I'm learning to LOVE family time more and more as I get older.
When I realize that I may be spending my last years in this AMAZING family it makes me want to cry. I don't want to miss a single second.

And all that brings us to yesterday... we decided to go to the zoo... together :)
Here are some pictures of our day...

Praire Dogs were one of my fav. who could not love the sweet little faces :)

Everyone loved the Monkeys!

The zebra's were DEFIANTLY a favourite :)

When you look at them one can't help being amazed at how creative God is.

Jaden had LOTS of smiles for us and entertained us the whole way home! (well almost :)

LOVE my baby brother!

One last picture.... 2 of my sweet little sisters :)

If you want to see more pictures of our day go to Megan's blog she is going to post them sometime within the next couple of days.

❀ Jennifer

Bragging Rights

Hey Everyone!


I always wanted to do this one day when I had a blog... well, now I have a blog, so I'm gonna do this! :)


I figure that since my youngest sibling is 19 years younger then me.... and that I am now an Aunty.... that I would have some right to brag. So get ready :)

Left to right: Nephew Andy, Brothers Josiah and Jaden

These three "babies" in my opinion are the sweetest, cutest and most adorable babies in the world.

Stopping right there I think that you can tell that I LOVE babies.

I was THRILLED when I found out that this little sweetheart....

      

Was going to be born right around the time of my birthday. Turned out that he was born 1 day before.

I'm telling you, a baby is the BEST birthday present in the WORLD. I actually got to hold him ALL day long :)

Isn't he just the SWEETEST little thing???

And then there is Andy...

Doesn't he just melt your heart?

If you go visit his mommy's blog you can see that he has learned to sit on his own!!! I'm one proud aunty :)

Andy is NEVER short of smiles.... except for maybe right before nap time :)

I thank God over and over for this little miracle baby.

And last but not least, Joey....

Who couldn't just LOVE that little grin!

He loves to give kisses (and get plenty of them too :) and we are TRYING to get him to start talking (it is something he is a little late on I'm afraid :). 

It is so FUN to watch a little baby grow up and start exploring his world. Sure it means that he gets into lots of trouble... be he IS learning :)

So those are my babies,

Sorry for all the bragging, it was just something that I wanted needed to do :)

❀ Jennifer

Skirts or Pants?

I was wondering weather I should do a "deep" post right away or not, but I guess now is as good a time as any!

The skirt/pants issue is one that has been argued about and talked about on blogs SO often. I have often been frustrated by what I've been reading.
You see, I think we are missing the whole point.

First let's look at the argument for "skirts only". People often refer to this scripture...
Deuteronomy 22:5
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

Okay, I have a question... what did men and woman wear in the bible times?
I did some research and found that they wore the same type of clothing, but made alterations so that you could tell the difference between man's clothes and woman's clothing.
I believe that this verse in Deuteronomy isn't saying "though shalt not wear pants" but rather "don't wear the same clothes that guys wear".

I'm TOTALLY not saying that it is wrong for girls to wear only skirts, but rather that they should check their motives and not fall into the trap of legalism.

How do I decide what to wear?
I thought you would never ask :)

Ephesians 6:2-3 says...
Honor thy Father and thy Mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

What does Honor mean? Some may say it means "obey" but it really means more then just that.
Look in the dictionary and you'll see that it means to "highly esteem" or "show respect".
To honor your father or mother would be to go out of your way to see what they want and to do it, to show respect for what they like and what they don't like.

Girls, when is the last time you asked your Daddy what he likes you to wear?
When is the last time you have cared what you are portraying in HIS family? Do you think he may have an opinion? Ask, you might be surprised!

In our family, us girls have learned what Daddy likes and what Daddy doesn't like.
We try to stay away from what he doesn't like, cause... he IS the head of the home, it IS his family... and we try to respect that.
I love it when Dad gives hints here and there about what he likes to see on us. It makes me KNOW that he cares, about every part of my life. And it makes my job easier... also it gives me practice for when I (Lord willing) one day have a husband and will obey him.

It greives me to see all these girls arguing about whether they should wear skirts or if they shouldn't, cause they are missing the big picture.

I guess you could say that what I'm trying to say is...
If DADDY says to wear skirts WEAR THEM.
If DADDY says to wear pants please WEAR THEM.
Don't worry about what other people will think, cause to fear man is not a command in the Bible.
But the bible DOES say to HONOR your father and mother, that it may be WELL with you and you may live LONG on the earth.


❀Jennifer

My First Post!

Hey everyone! I'm REALLY excited about starting a blog, it's something I've been  wanting to do for a while, but I just came up with the courage to actually do it :)


I guess that I should start by telling you a little about myself...

My name is Jennifer Pauls, daughter of Mark and Rosalie Pauls.

I'm 19 years old, born and raised in Manitoba, Canada. I love Canada, even though it may be cold at times, it is part of life and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

As you may have already read, I have 11 siblings... yup, 11 :)

I LOVE living in a large family. Everything from assembly lines for making up plates for supper, to not being able to hear someone talking right beside you cause of all the noise, to baby cuddles, the list could go on... I just love it all :)

I enjoy working with animals, and since we live on a farm... I get to spend alot of time in the barn or riding horses.

Me with my horse "princess"

I also have the responsibility of milking our cows. And in the spring time tagging and keeping records of all the calves that are born on the farm. 
I love my "job" :)

Me with one of our milk cow's calves... Clover

My sisters are my best friends, I can't imagine what life would be like without them all. My big bro married Rebecca and gave us the privilege of being able to call her "big sis", it's great to finally have a big sister!

Top row: Little sis Kerri, Rebecca 

Bottom row: Me, little sis Megan

I'm the hairdresser of our home and I also cut hair for a few family friends. It's great to be able to do something I love without having leave home or go to school to do it!
I also help Mom teach my younger siblings.


So ya, that's me! :)


❀ Jennifer