Monday, October 26, 2009

The birthday celebrations are over for another year.

No, we didn't plan our boys having their birthdays only a week apart when we were having children. We had our families over for desserts yesterday to celebrate. It was fun to watch 4 generations playing around together. Brock had a great time bouncing on the exercise ball then bouncing the exercise ball on the stuffed rabbit. Adrianna enjoyed all the attention she got. Phoebe enjoyed eating ice cream cake, skittles and kit kats then tried to figure out how to burn off all the sugar she ingested. Sabine and Tia enjoyed thier Rock Band tutorial given by Chris and Jesse. Not sure if I mentioned we got Jesse the Rock Band game for the Play Station for his birthday. It has been fun for everyone. Of course, my head may not agree when they have friends over to play it this weekend. LOL.

Now that the birthdays have passed I'm turning my attention to the next items on the list.....a cattle show and sale, Thanksgiving and another cattle sale. We start and end the month of November with sales and throw in a Thanksgiving celebration here for Mike's family in the middle of it.

Today Mike discovered the bananas that I had gotten last week. Three were left and just a tick beyond their prime. I turned them into banana muffins for them to enjoy tonight. I have no idea what I'm fixing for supper, but I know they're going to have good dessert. LOL.

Friday, October 23, 2009

My little baby boy.

It's been 15 years ago since I had this wonderful "little" boy. I was at the hospital at this time hearing that I wasn't contracting (they didn't know yet that I was having gall stone attacks that had been happening since June) but they would go ahead and hook me up to pitocin since I was 14 days overdue. Dr. Jones joking asked me if I could deliver this baby in time for him to make it to his church picnic. The nurses got me hooked up to the pit at 8 am and at 8:05 Mike reminded them we needed an epidural. Dr. Jones came back in at 8:15 just as I was having a contraction and ordered it for me. Sometimes in the face of extreme danger, men just give in. Jesse was born at 11:30 am just as our pastor, Fred Branco, was praying for us in church. Jesse entered the world at a whopping 8# 14oz and 21 1/2 inches long. Dr. Jones assured me that by going over his due date he had actually lost weight. For that, I was thankful. I don't remember if there was a full moon or just what the issue was (maybe we had a really cold January) but the nursery was full of babies. Since Jesse was my 2nd baby and I hadn't had any complications, the nurses asked that I keep him in my room as much as possible. He was such a good baby that it really wasn't an issue. Maybe the fact that we were watching the Chicago Bears pregame on TV while I was in labor is why he loves the Bears so much. The nurses kept trying to wrap him in this little recieving blanket and his feet kept popping out the end. I think you can see his feet in every one of the pictures of everyone holding him at the hospital. Chris got to hold him at the hospital sitting in a bean bag chair. It was so amazing to watch them bond and become brothers and friends in that instant. And to watch my Daddy hold him brought so much joy. My Dad just doesn't like to hold babies. They're too small for him to feel comfortable with. Not Jesse, he was big enough for Daddy's comfort zone and they shared the same outer foot bone curve. And, as Jesse pointed out when he was about 6, they were born on the same day. Not the same date but the 23rd is both of their birthdays.

Today, Jesse is the tallest member of our family. His feet still stick out from the blankets. He's quickly becoming the man of God that He had planned all along. He went on a mission trip this summer to North Dakota and worked with Kindergarteners. I have to think of the movie "Kindergarten Cop" when I imagine that scene. He had a great time and hopefully was a good influence on those kiddos. Jesse is a sophomore in high school and will have his mandatory classes finished this year. I don't know which direction his future will pull him, but I do know it's a bright one.

Happy birthday, Jesse.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Time flys....

I know when I was little it seemed like the years would just drag along taking forever to roll around to the next great event in my life. Maybe that's why time seems to fly now....I'm blessed with one great event after another. Let's see how I can do on an update...
Mike's still laid off. Mixed rumors about possible return dates or IF he will return at all. We're starting to look for some other options at this point. We've broke and sold more calves this year than ever, so that's definately a plus. The fat cattle market is down though and that's a minus. God does wonderfully at keeping us balanced.
Chris turned 17 yesterday. THUD. When he and Mike are outside walking across the yard it's hard to tell the difference. Mike commented last night that it seems like it was just yesterday that we were going to the North Callaway Homecoming Game. Yes, I know, it's been 22 years since that first homecoming. Chris has babysat my great niece a couple of times (less than 1/2 an hour each time) and it is so fun to watch him talk to her and feed her. He's gonna make a great dad someday in the future. He and Jesse are very much best friends. They get along so well and can have so much fun in even the most boring situation. Yes, it does make school interesting at times. Chris in going to the vo tech for an ag class this year. He seems to enjoy it and is doing awesome in there. They've switched from studying FFA to beef animals. Can you say cruising?
Jesse will be 15 next Friday. He's studying for his learner's permit and is so ready to drive us where ever we desire. Never thought I'd have one chauffeur much less two. Last weekend there was a Jason Aldean concert in Columbia that Jesse desperately wanted to go to. I checked early on and couldn't find any good seats at a decent price. Turned out he got some great seats on Friday for himself, Chris, and two friends for the same money I would've had to spend on nosebleed seats. Go figure. They all had an awesome time. I'm glad they were able to do and treat each other as a birthday gift.
Me...hmm....I now have a part time job at the children's library in Mexico. I get about 8 hours one week and about 15 the other. It's enough to cover the cell phone bill and groceries so that's good. I spent a lot of hours this August trying to get our website for the cattle up and going. Now it looks like I may actually be able to enjoy web design. I'm considering picking up a class or two here and there so that I might be able to turn that into a career in the future. We'll just have to see. I'm also working at trying to figure out what to make everyone for Christmas. And I need to work at the flowers for my parents 50th anniversary this coming January.
Life's an adventure here. We never know what the next day is going to hold and I feel as if God gets a good chuckle out of my plans each day. His are so much better if I'll just let go of what I want or think I need.