February was an exciting month for our family. The weather continued to be a roller coaster with freezing rain followed by days of -40 C with a bitterly cold wind. We did a little bit of work on our bull corral, moved quite a bit of snow around and Gregory did quite a bit of mechanical work and maintenance on his truck to make sure we would have a vehicle to go to the hospital with when the time came for the next little one to be born.
On Feb. 15 our good friend Josh was able to come out and spend a couple of days helping us to cut up some beef and setting up our calving facility. We worked in the meat house most of the day while Barb watched Joseph and James and cooked the meals. After supper, our plans were interrupted as my water broke. I wasn’t due until Feb. 24 but the baby had other plans. Gregory drove me to North Battleford on icy roads. Meanwhile, Joseph and James were excited about getting to stay the night at Grandma’s.
Ian Thomas Eppich was born at 4:20 a.m. Feb. 16, weighing seven pounds, one-half ounce.
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Josh was gracious enough to stay over and continue to cut up meat even though Gregory and I weren’t home. Rose and Barney Simon also came over and helped Josh and John in the meat house. We are grateful beyond measure for all the help.
On Feb. 17 we were getting ready to come home from the hospital with our new baby boy when Gregory discovered that our truck had been stolen from the hospital parking lot. Thankfully, we hadn’t been discharged yet and so we were able to stay in our room while Gregory reported the theft and John drove in to pick us up. It was quite a shock to find the truck stolen and a big hit to us as that truck is basically the workhorse pulling trailers and hauling materials and supplies, and it is also one of our only vehicles able to fit our whole family.
When we finally made it home, Joseph and James were very happy to meet their new brother. Joseph had been hoping for a sister since he already had a brother, but once he got to hold Ian, he was quite happy with a brother.
James celebrated his second birthday the next day. Feb. 18. Josh was incredibly helpful again as he volunteered to bring a cake and his friend Hannah made some lasagna for supper. We were able to have a nice birthday party for James without much stress for me at all.
Truck is found
That evening we received some good news that the RCMP had been able to locate our stolen truck. It had been involved in an accident and had ended up in the ditch in a snowbank and had been towed. With the long weekend, Gregory was not able to go look at the truck until Tuesday. He was quite happy to find that the damage was repairable. It will take quite a bit of work to get the old workhorse back in shape but it can be done.
We started calving Feb. 24. It was quite cold still and the wind was almost non-stop. Gregory was able to get the calf under the infrared heater and the cow got the calf licked off and up nursing in no time.
On March 2 we started having two or three calves a day. Between night checks and the boys, Gregory and I haven’t been getting an over-abundance of sleep. Ian is a pretty good baby and he sleeps more than his brothers did at his age, but between the three of them they keep us awake quite a bit. Considering everything, James is doing really well, but he has the hardest time first thing in the morning and when he gets tired in the evening. He is used to having a lot of one-on-one mommy time but now has found that his little brother is stealing some of it.
Even though we are exhausted, we are feeling very blessed and grateful. New life is a precious thing.
