Lohrenz Family Website

Two steps forward, one step back.

Jason — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:28:58 +0000

Sorry for the lack of updates to the site. Things have been busy with spring planting, adjusting to a night shift, working on the house, and getting ready for the move.
We’ve spent the past two months working on the old farmhouse only to come upon a significant roadblock this past week. For some reason much of the sub-structure (floor support) has completely rotted away. Fortunately we discovered this before much work was done on the addition. In fact it was when they were digging the basement that we found this out.
So we had to make a tough decision. This Friday they will be knocking down much of the old farmhouse except for the garage and the porch. After discussion with a home mover it was told to us that we would have to spend a significant amount of money to fix the problems with the structure and he wasn’t sure what else would be discovered once he started working.
As such there’s a bit of frustration as we were hoping to remodel / restore / and enjoy this old house, but it wasn’t in the books. We’re packing feverishly and getting ready to move by the end of this month. Everyone has mixed emotions about the move, however we’re trusting in God for His direction in the upcoming weeks with our move, progress on the house, and all kinds of other things.
As I have time I’ll post pictures of the farmhouse, and our progress.

God bless and have a good weekend!

Jason

Farming!?

Jason — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:05:13 +0000

Yes. That’s right. The Lohrenz family is moving back to my ‘home’ grounds this summer. After much prayer and deliberation we’ve decided to switch gears and get back to the basics. My dad has been farming most of his life, much like his dad and some day in the future I’ll be taking over the reins.
In the mean time I’ll be helping him on the farm and also working at the local Ethanol Plant near by.

How does one go from Computers to Farming? I don’t know. Probably the same way I went from Music to Computers many years ago. We know God has a plan for us and we’re taking a leap of faith on this career change for me, and cultural change for the family. We’re going through a wide range of emotions from excitement to fear to sadness to worry and back again. Such fun stuff! Anyway, we’re going to use this area to blog about our transition to the farm and our experiences of farm life.

Over the next few months our main focus will be getting the old (Early 1900′s) farm house ready for our family and working on an addition to give us a bit more room. We’ll also be adjusting to new schedules, new schools, and new jobs. Keep Steph in your prayers as she looks for the right job down where we’ll be at.

And yes, I’m very excited that I’ll get to put my MBA to use. What’s that you say? Farming can’t be THAT difficult! Well it is a business with a lot of inputs and outputs, marketing, managing, finances, etc… I’m grateful I went through the MBA program at Bethel as I feel much more comfortable taking on such an operation now than I would have had I not gone through the program.

Finally for those of you that know how technically ‘geeky’ I am, there is plenty of technology on the farm… In fact I’m quite amazed at how technical it has become since when I was growing up. Once things settle down in the next year or so, and depending on how much time I have I’m also considering offering technical service consulting down there. While there are some options for people who need help with their gadgets, it looks to potentially be an opportunity where I can fully utilize my past ~ 18 years of experience.

Thanks for checking in, stay tuned for hopefully more frequent updates, and have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Jason

Changes are a comin…….

Jason — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:52:10 +0000

In life we’re given different opportunities each step we take. How we respond to them is the key to everything. Stay tuned for changes to the website and hopefully more frequent updates in the future.

-Jason

New additions to the family…Vroom Vroom

Jason — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:53:24 +0000

Steph and I went to Stillwater a few weeks ago and the strangest thing happened… I came home on this thing!

Then, a few days later we ventured over to Chaska and Steph wondered back on this thing!

Too bad the season is ending so quickly. Last weekend we enjoyed a quick jaunt down to Welch Village and Northfield. The flooding was crazy!

Weather permitting we’re off to the Mississippi this weekend to see the beautiful colors and visit Wabasha!

Farming time!

Jason — Sat, 01 May 2010 23:49:34 +0000

This past weekend we went out to the family farm and helped out for a bit. Here are a couple videos from that day.

And another:

And Christian tried his hand at mowing too! (Click the picture to see the full size image)