God made a farmer

My grandparents are about the greatest people you'll ever meet, and they are farmers.  I think the two kind of go hand-in-hand.  I mean, have you ever met a lazy, greedy, selfish farmer?!  I'm not sure it's possible.

My grandparents work their little fingers to the bone.  They raised six amazing children, built their own home, vehicles, and tractors, and ran their own dairy.  They still grow their own food.  They pretty much know all there is to know about working the land and being self-sufficient.  I love that.

(Cutest farming couple in the entire world.) 

I didn't grow up on a farm; I grew up in the huge, busy cities of Mexico.

But when I was nearly 13 years old, my family moved back to Alaska and with my grandparents right down the road, we learned how to garden and how to raise sheep, goats, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and cows. 

I loved it. 

FFA (Future Farmers of America) became my life in high school and I traveled around the state and country in the name of agriculture.  

(With my Grand Champion market lamb.  FYI: Raising market lambs is a labor of love, not the most profitable, sometimes a pain in the butt, and totally worth every hour of work.....which is why I may force my girls to raise their own someday.)

Then I went off to college, became a nurse, got married, moved around the country, and have pretty much lived the city life........

but I still have a dream of owning my own land, growing my own vegetables, milking my own cow (or goat), having my own laying hens, keeping my own honey bees, and teaching my children the value of hard, rewarding work and responsibility as we work together side-by-side to raise and grow our own food.  

I can't think of a more perfect setting in which to raise a family, and hopefully we will be able to realize this dream somewhere down the road.

(Plus, I kind of want to grow up to be like my grandparents.)

This commercial was definitely the highlight of the Super Bowl for me this year and moved me to tears (which really isn't that hard to do.  I also may or may not have squealed when I saw the FFA emblem at the end of the commercial):

God bless the farmer who makes America so great.