I wish I had a picture for this post.....

but unfortunately, getting one would have likely ended up with me having a head injury. Mike needed some help yesterday getting up a cow who is due to calve soon. I went out on the tractor with him and Abby, our Aussie. Mike was in the driver's seat, Abby sat on the ledge behind him and I sat on one arm of the seat. Yeah, we're all about togetherness. Anyway, I hadn't realized just how deep the ruts have already gotten. You see, we got 2 inches of rain BEFORE it froze and snowed. The ground is still quite soft in spots. As we were driving along I was reminded of a trip to Worlds of Fun. I must've been about 12 or 13 when my parents took me and two friends to Worlds of Fun for a vacation one summer. There was a ride where you drove this miniture car around a track. The track had a rail in it so that you couldn't get too far off to one side or the other. That's exactly what the ruts are like in our pasture. You can't forge a new path, because the mud will keep you going where it wills. Mike did get out of the ruts at a low spot, but that's just the time that the tought of a serious head injury entered my mind. I wonder just whose idea the car at Worlds of Fun was? Could it be a former farm kid who had to help his dad one too many times?

Then today, I was happily cleaning the house and getting ready for a party the boys are having even as I type this. I was actually running a bit ahead of schedule when Mike came to the house. "Could I get your help for a second?" Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? Yeah, well, let me warn you....it never is. He wanted to get a bull out of one pasture and put him in another. He also wanted to turn several cow calf pairs out with said bull. Still sounds easy enough, doesn't it? The cows aren't used to coming to the lot for corn. Thus, when Mike walked out to the pasture with a pail of corn, they just looked at him. One or two even turned and walked the opposite direction. They certainly weren't the brightest ones and so we felt the need to tell them so. We finally got everyone headed the right direction and through the first gate. We didn't think we'd have to close that gate. We were wrong. And we were wrong because of one little rebellious calf who decided he'd go the opposite direction of everyone else, then cry loudly because he couldn't find his mommy. Yes, I told the calf just how stupid he was too. We finally get tehm all in and that's when I realize what our biggest problem is going to be. Quite a few of the calves don't have tags. Without a tag, it's very hard to match momma to baby. LOVELY. We finally finished our work and I came back to the house. Just how long did this "second" last? I figured it out. It lasted 7200 seconds or 120 minutes or 2 hours. Hmm....who exactly needs to learn the lesson here? Is it that my husband has no sense of how long a second is or is it that I feel the need to drop whatever it is I'm doing and go off on these adventures with him? I'll let you decide.

The latest debate at our house....

I LOVE the view out our living room windows. I despise curtains. Thus, to this point, we've not had any curtains, much to the dismay of the rest of my family. So, I have finally come to a solution that should satisfy all of us. I just need the guys to build me a cornice board to hide the ugly hardware for the window treatments. And now to the latest debate. I took the paint swatch to the store with me and went through every curtain available. Keep in mind our living room (as is much of the rest of the house) is rather rustic feeling. I found a lovely rust color that plays off the cedar ceiling and trimwork and then I found a rather humdrum wheat color. You obviously know which way I'm leaning. I have hung both colors up for a vote tonight. I have a feeling hum drum is going to win out. Hmphf....We shall see.

I did something tonight I didn't want to....

a lady who used to be in my Sunday school class lost her little girl this week to complications from leukemia. Tonight was her visitation. I cannot begin to put into words how desperately I wish there were not the need for a visitation or funeral service for a sweet little 5 year old girl. My heart is literally broken for this family. I cannot imagine the pain this loss has caused them. And yet....

We know that Maddie is in Heaven now playing and singing with Jesus. No more chemo, no more hospital visits, no more painful sticks. How wonderful it must be for her.

I was reminded of two other funerals as I was waiting in the line to give her mom a hug. One was a flashback of just a couple of years ago to Mike's sister's funeral. I still miss Liz terribly at times. I still don't know what God's plan is there but I still trust that He has one and that it's a good one. He doesn't need my input to make a good plan. Trust me, He's reminded me of that more often than not. The other funeral took me back several more years to my freshman year in high school, 1986. A good friend of mine died from leukemia that spring. We had gone to school together from Kindergarten on. Our little community was rocked and left hurting. I didn't understand what Heather had done that God would punish her so. You see, I didn'thave a faith in Christ at that point and didn't realize that she wasn't being punished, but rewarded.

God certainly knows the number of our days. He also knows the good plans He has for those who love Him. I just pray He has easier plans for me.

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.

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.

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.

The fairs are behind us as is the summer.

This has definately been a different summer than normal for us. Mike got laid off work April 24th and hasn't been called back. We don't know when, or if, he will be called back. We looked at it as a great summer vacation for all of us at first. Now that it's time to get back to normal fall stuff, it's a bit odd. LOL. In May we moved into the house, finished up some school work, worked with the calves and got ready for Jr Nationals. In June we went to Murfreesboro, TN for a week for the Chi and Maine Jr. Nationals. Both of the boys had a great time. They finished 4th in the grooming contest and were quite proud of that. Jesse also finished 2nd in the judging, 7th in photography and 9th in stockman's challenge. All in all, a pretty good time. The boys and I took off one afternoon and went to a go cart track near our hotel. We probably shouldn't have spent as much money as we did there, but man did we have an awesome time. One of the go carts I got had the governor off it. BAHAHAHA. I LOVED it as I went speeding by the boys and even ended up lapping them. They were not as amused and decided we had to race again. In the end everyone won one race. Just so you know, I won by the most though. I think I missed my true calling and should have been a racer. The rest of June was spent doing hay when it wasn't raining. July came and the boys headed to North Dakota (Bismark area) for a mission trip with our youth group and 3 other youth groups. Jesse taught 5 and 6 year olds in VBS and Chris did rec. Both had a great time and arrived home the morning of our county fair's beef show. We worked them hard there and they crashed into bed that night. August brought a county fair and the state fair and a first for Chris. He went today for his first ever class in a public school. He's taking Ag Science I at the vo-tech in town.

So, I don't know where the summer went, but I do know where we went over the summer.