*Update* With Spring Comes a New Beginning

For almost the last year now our dairy has been under major, and I mean major, construction and reconstruction.  But like all renovation jobs it always takes longer, costs more, and more demanding than ever anticipated.  Some of you may have thought we have fallen off the face of the earth, dairy and all, but I am writing this now because I think we might see the light at the far-end of the tunnel...maybe...but lets start this story at the beginning.

For the last few years our walls, ceiling, and windows in the parlor have started to degrade and rust and like all rust, once it starts it just multiplies.  So we knew last spring it was time to majorly over-haul the parlor.  What started as JUST replacing the walls, went into spray foaming and enclosing the ceiling, replacing all the doors and windows into the parlor and the main rooms off the parlor, and so much more:


New windows and spray foam

Ceiling project in parlor where the spray foam, purlins, and new water-proof panels have been put in

Purlins going in when the cows are still being milked




Ceiling panels going in over the purlins and spray foam



Picture of the "almost finished" ceiling in the parlor



A cow waiting to start milking, watching the process in the parlor.  The construction didn't stop just because it was milking-time so it was extremely difficult to do both in a rotary-style parlor that turns like a big merry-go-round.

 Well then we decided since we are already doing the parlor, we might as well do the bulk-tank room too:


Ripping all the walls and ceilings down in the bank tank room.  Spray-foaming, putting new walls and all brand-new electrical, stainless-steel milk pipes and equipment to completely overhaul the bulk tank room.



Bulk Tank Room coming along with all brand-new walls, ceiling, and equipment



Walls are almost finished!  Now to put up all the electrical, pipes, and all the equipment back in.



The Bulk Tank Room is so nice now!

 But, hey, lets not stop with just a simple renovation project, lets throw some more "fun" into the mix.  On November 30th, at 3 a.m. in the morning (which happens to be my husband's birthday) we got a phone call from our employee that one section of the milking-barn roof had fallen in.  Now to explain, back in 2013 this happened, and we thought this was just a one-time event.  But back in November, we had a blizzard with wet snow but nothing that was considered to be "catastrophic or abnormal for North Dakota" but obviously there was enough snow on the roof that the weight-load was just too much and a full section came down.  ***Disclaimer: no animals or employees were killed during the roof falling.  A few had some cuts and injuries from the metal tin, but we were very fortunate.

Section that fell in our barn




Trying to shovel the snow off the roof of the other sections







The Barn got VERY COLD with no roof and the employees and the cows were less than happy!

 But hey, lets add some more "excitement".  On Christmas Morning at midnight, we received another phone call that ANOTHER section of the milking-barn roof had fallen.  So we spent our Christmas morning hauling debris out of the pen, moving cows around, trying to milk in the disaster, and praying that no more sections would fall.

 

The stalls and barn were completely frozen

You can see one section was "under construction" when the other section fell



Here we go with more construction...in the middle of January, in ND!  We had to stop a lot and just go warm up because we couldn't feel our face or our fingers anymore.



Hopfauf Custom Builders came to the rescue to put the main beam up and reconstruct the roof so the cows could be warm again in our harsh ND winters

 On top of the construction, reconstruction, roof sections falling, horrible weather that was very tough on the cows and calves, labor shortages, equipment failures, broken facility, illnesses, injuries, our family has 4 kids in hockey (yes we are crazy).  But with winter comes spring and with spring comes the promise of a new beginning.  The weather is finally warming up, the animals are more comfortable, the employees are trained, equipment is getting fixed, new parts are arriving daily, and our construction crew is busy trying to do the finishing touches on a project that has been long-overdue.  So as I look around our farm right now, this is what I see:


Parlor with new ceiling installed

Parlor with new walls, doors, and viewing window



New windows, door and walls in the parlor getting finished




New Bulk Tank Room with new walls, ceiling, and equipment




Exterior Windows on the Parlor



New windows and doors on the parlor and office

Cows Enjoying the Sun

But mostly what I see when I look around is happy, smiling faces once again.  As the main projects for the farm start to wind-down, hockey season is also over. We get to do the little things again such as eat supper again together as a family and with that we get to rediscover our family again.  See for the last few month we have spent so much time fixing problems, addressing issues, putting out fires, chasing schedules, and just being "busy" that I felt that we have almost lost part of ourselves and our family has been placed on hold.  In a world where being busy seems to keep us so occupied that we forget to slow-down and breathe that the feeling of suffocating can overtake your life.  Part of me felt like I didn't know who my kids or my husband were anymore.  We spent time together but we didn't spend quality-time together and there is a big difference between the two.  It was time for us to hit the reset button and get back to what is really important in life which when there is a crisis, stress, trauma, that the main focus can get pretty blurry.  I thank all of our family and friends that have been there for not only us, but our farm for the last year.  Without all of your support and love, the strength to power-through may have been lost all together.  From getting kids to their hockey games, to helping at the farm we appreciate it more than I can express.

 

 

 Recently my youngest sons had their birthday parties together and it seems like the parties haven't stopped yet!  Seriously how many times do you need cake?  But I think we all deserve a little bit more cake than usual and a little bit more celebrating.  The last few weeks we have played lots of family games, taking walks, hanging out with friends and family, discovering new restaurants, starting new hobbies, cooking together, reading books together, telling jokes, and enjoying being a family again.  In a few short years my oldest child will be leaving for college and I don't want to look back at the time we spent with him just being "busy".  I want to be able to tell you his favorite color, his dreams, his fears, his favorite vacations, his aspirations, his likes and dislikes because we took the quality-time to not only ask but to really listen.  But on top of that, I want to be a good role model for him and all my children.  I want to instill in them a strong moral compass, a compassion for life, a drive for success, a unrelenting love for their family and friends, a desire to continue to be better, and an unyielding passion to continue to live life to the fullest every day.  If I do that then I have succeeded not only as a mom, but as a person.