Prom

Shipwrecked In Paradise was the theme of the night. The girls looked very beautiful and the guys were looking mighty handsome. Nikia and Kale made their way to each of their high school friends to get a picture with them. (click on the pictures to see the finer details in the dresses - they were soooo pretty)


Nikia and Lee - he's a really nice guy and so sweet to Nikia!!



















Kale and Jade - her dress was gorgeous, so was she!! Oooo, he's touching her bare shoulder.



















Is he blushing? She's always been so nice and kind to him. He's going to miss her next year.













Kale, Cassie and Nikia - loved her dress and her hair was fixed so cute too!










LaRae and Kale - pretty as always!
















Kale and Dani - she's beautiful and a nut!

Nikia and Travis - looking good big guy!

Kale, Megan and Nikia - she's a beautiful girl inside and out!

















Kale and Kasey - She was ready for the dance by the time we finally caught up to her. She's another one that has a
beauty on the inside and out.










Nikia and Kari Anne - She is the sweetest foreign exchange student our school has ever had.










Nikia and Jenny - This girl is a cowgirl and was a rodeo queen last year. She's a really gorgeous girl too!!!













It was a lot of fun to see all the different styles and colors of dresses. I have no idea what they pay for those now days - lots more than I did way back when.

Helping on the Farm...

I've been helping on the farm quite a bit this week. Shane and I tagged 19 calves on Monday. There were quite a few since we didn't tag any over the weekend. It went pretty well since we didn't have any mean mama cows to mess with. However, yesterday we encountered one mean ol girl. Shane is very brave (sometimes too brave) when it comes to these feisty beasts, and the worst part about that is that I'm riding with him on the same 4-wheeler so I have no choice but to get close to these cows.

The way we tag the calves is Shane and I are both on the same 4-wheeler and as we drive around the pasture we look for the new calves with no tags. We find their mamma's, who each have a tag with a number on it. We than make out a tag for the calf with the same number as the cow. Then the little rodeo begins. We drive up and get as close as we can and when the calf is right next to us I reach out and grab its tail and hang on for dear life. Now, as you can imagine, some of these calves can be pretty darn fast, especially if they're more than a day old. So, this little race can carry on for quite some time. Shane reaches over and tags the calf in the ear, left ear if its a heifer and right ear if it's a bull calf. It really is a lot of fun, but at times very frightening, depending on the cow.

Today, Shane and I hauled 3 cows to the sale barn and we fixed fence. It was a beautiful day and one of the pastures that we were working on is right next to a big slough. I could hear ducks, geese, and other birds constantly. Shane had to wade out into the water (it was up to his waist) to fix one part of the fence. He said it was still plenty cold. Of course I sat on the 4-wheeler and just snickered at him. He even got a shock once while he was in the water. It was kind of my fault - but funny nonetheless!

At the end of the day we tagged more calves and then had to give a sick cow a shot. We were going to chase her up to the barn but after a long time of her not cooperating with us we decided to rope her. This would have been so much easier to do while riding a horse but instead we stuck to our 4-wheelers. If anybody would have been watching us I'm sure they would have been laughing. It took us awhile to get her roped and then to give her the shot was yet another challenge. But-we got it done and neither of us got hurt.

I absolutely love being able to help out and be with my brother. It's always fun and never seems like work.

Last Tuesday started out like any other day, until about 2:15 in the afternoon. My brother Shane, and I had just chased a cow up to the barn with the two 4 wheelers and we both saw Grandpa backing out of his garage and heading down our long driveway. We both knew he was heading into town for his afternoon coffee and thought nothing of it. Shane and I went back down the pasture to get the calf and then brought it back up to the barn. We were in the barn trying to get the calf to drink when Shane's pager went off (he's a volunteer fireman). He tossed it to me so I could turn it down so the cow wouldn't get startled. I listened to hear what was coming across the pager when I realized that the address that was being reported was only about two miles from the farm. They said there was a vehicle that had gone off the road and the person inside was unconscious, and that they couldn't get the doors open and needed something to break the windows. I told Shane that he needed to go right away, that we'd probably be the closest to the accident. Neither of us even considered it to be Grandpa, because over the pager they were saying it was a female. Shane took off in his pick-up and sped down the road to the scene. I ran to Mom's house because I realized I still had Shane's pager and thought if I got the address wrong I needed to be by one of our business band radios to let Shane know. I was standing by my Mom's door and we were both listening to what was coming across the pager when the phone rang. Immediately I had a gut feeling it was Grandpa. My Mom answered the phone and she couldn't hear anything but beeping noise. She hung up and the phone rang again immediately. It was Shane and all he said was - "It's Grandpa!" She hung up and told me and we (Mom, Nikia and I) got in my suburban and speeded to the scene. I told Nikia "Do not get out of this vehicle, you have to stay in here!" and then Mom and I jumped out and ran out to where the pick up was (out in a field about 35 yards). As we were running out there, Shane and another guy were just pulling Grandpa out of the pickup and laying him down in the field.

To back up just a little bit...when Shane got to the scene he had it in his head that it was a female and never even thought twice about what the vehicle looked like. He ran to the vehicle and another guy was there talking to 911 and handed Shane a big 'ol bar to try to break the window. This other guy had already tried to hit the window about 20 times and couldn't get it to break. So Shane grabbed the bar and went to swing it and that's when he first noticed it was Grandpa. It totally startled him. He had to hit the window 3 times before he could get it to break. He unlocked the doors, ran around to the drivers side, opened the door and started to holler and shake Grandpa. He was still unconscious. He tried for a pulse and couldn't get one. Then they pulled him out of the pick-up.

Mom and I stood two feet from Grandpa and watched as they hooked up the defibrillator and as my brother tried to do CPR on him. The defibrillator shocked him once but still no heart beat. They continued to try CPR until the ambulance arrived, which seemed like forever, but I was told later it got there pretty quickly. They rolled him onto a flat board and carried him to the ambulance where they continued to do CPR all the way to town.

By the time I got back to my Suburban Nikia was screaming terribly. She had sat in the vehicle and watched everything. My Mom just held and hugged her trying to calm her down as I was driving trying to catch up to the ambulance. Shane had also jumped in my vehicle too. Nikia just kept on repeating "Grandpa's dead, Grandpa's dead." I figured I had probably just ruined my daughters life for what she had just witnessed. While I was in the field I was trying to call Trevor but couldn't reach him. My sister finally reached him and he caught up behind us. We pulled over so he could take Nikia - I didn't want to take her to the hospital. Trevor said she just kept repeating the same thing over and over. He asked her what she all saw and she described everything very specifically. It took her a long time before she finally settled down.

When we all finally got to the hospital, they informed us that they never did get a heart beat and that he was gone. It was so hard to accept. He wasn't sick or anything. His morning had been just like every other morning. I had just seen his pick-up leave the farm.

This has been so hard for me not only because I constantly see flashes in my head of them pulling him from the truck, my own brother breathing into his mouth, - just everything!

I grew up seeing Grandpa literally everyday. He only lived about 150 yards from my house. I have countless memories of my Grandpa and now, just like that, he's gone. My Grandpa was a real cowboy. He lived and breathed the cowboy life. It wasn't an act or for show, it's who he was. Anybody can wear a cowboy hat, but it doesn't make them a cowboy. He was the only true cowboy I've ever known. I miss him so much and every day is still really hard for me.

I want to thank you all for your very kind thoughts and prayers. It really means more than you'll ever know. You are all so very special to me.

Sorry gals, I don't mean to leave my ridiculous hair post up forever, but I just can't find any creative skills or reason to post right now. My Grandpa passed away very unexpected and it's been really hard for me. I've just felt kind of numb and empty. I was one of the first ones to the scene and saw everything. It's been a rough couple of days. Maybe I'll try to explain it all next week.

I will probably be back to posting on Monday. I hope all is well for you gals and you're having a good week.

New Look

A few weeks ago I made an appointment to get my hair highlighted and cut off because I was so sick of my perm. Wouldn't ya know it, a few days later I kind of started to like it again. Well, the day of my appointment was coming up and I kept going back and forth on what to do. I had kind of decided to just leave it long but go ahead with the highlights. The thought of not being able to pull it back into a pony tail, or up in a messy bun worried me. I called my sister for advice - she told me to just shave it all off. She was joking of course, but nevertheless, no help. I asked Trevor what his opinion was and he said to cut it off short and add the highlights. HELP!!!

Well, today was my appointment and I kid you not, I probably changed my mind every mile on my way into town on what I was going to have done. I even wanted to cancel but I knew I couldn't do that to my stylist. I had several pictures of short hair cuts that I thought were so cute - but would they look that way on me???? So I got to the salon and we talked it all over, about still having some curl left, what length would be best, what highlight shade would be okay. You name it - we covered it. I'm sure my stylist was wishing she'd called in sick today after all my questions.

Anyway...this is what we came up with and how it turned out.




BEFORE:










AFTER:











I took this as soon as I got back home - I hadn't even tried to work with it yet, so no snickering. It's a little too light and will take some time to get used to, but I'm glad I cut it off. I got 5 inches cut off but I can still get it in a pony tail if I want. I think I might go back soon and have her razor the back a little more yet. So, anyway, that's the new look I'm sporting. What do y'all think. Don't be shy, I can take the criticism.

Weekend Happenings.....

What a beautiful weekend of warm sunshine and snow melting. There are only a few spots on the north sides of buildings where a trace amount of snow is left, otherwise IT'S GONE! We were outside most of the weekend. Here are just a few of the highlights that I can recall....




~ Nikia picked up a cat and it pooped all over her. After a shower and about two hours later she picked up the same cat and the same thing happened again. New rule: don't pick up that cat!!

~ Two bonfires in one weekend. Thank goodness my parents live close and had marshmallows since I can't seem to remember to pick any up at the store. There's nothing like sitting around a fire and looking at all the stars and hearing the birds singing their last songs for the night, hearing a coyote in the distance, an owl hooting, and just enjoying the company.

~ Two more dead snakes! I threw them into the bonfire pit just to make sure they were dead :)

~ The kids played on the swing set, rode their bikes, blew bubbles, practiced batting and played catch.

~ Nikia came home from church and went directly to the goat pen to play- with her good church clothes on. I chewed her little hiney out.

~ Kale running on foot and trying to beat Nikia riding her bike full speed down the driveway. Nikia wiping out and crying like we needed to amputate her leg. Then finally, after much crying and whimpering she decided she should probably get back on her bike to see if her leg would work. It did - quite well actually. They raced several more times. Kale won most of the time - he's fast!

~ I got to see a calf born. I've seen so many born, but every time it still amazes me of just how much of a miracle it is. Within minutes the little bugger was standing up and looking for milk.

~ While trying to fix the electric wire in the goat pen I got shocked. I absolutely hate it when that happens. It's a feeling I will never get used to.


There was more, but that's all that come to mind right now. I hope you all had a great weekend too.

Praise The Lord

The Snow Is Melting!!!!!!!

I just checked the forecast and it looks like it's suppose to get to 54 degrees today and even a little warmer tomorrow. YAY!! You can just imagine the happy dance I'm doing. I may be going to a baseball game this afternoon. My nephew Tylor is playing a doubleheader. First, though, I am going to make some banana bread and then Nikia and I need to do a little house cleaning - the in-laws are coming tomorrow for a very brief visit.

The sun is shining - it's going to be a good day!

I've Been Tagged......

Thanks for the tag Lori B, I'll do my best.

What is a Real Mum?

First of all I just have to ask, why is it spelled that way? Anyway, I thought instead of giving you my opinion I'd ask my kids what they thought a real Mom was. This is all I got out of them:


Kale: She's a person who helps out men. She's a person who stays home. She loves us. She cares about us. She's nice and thoughtful.


Nikia: She's a person who raises her kids until they get married and then she goes to visit them.

Yep, that's it. That's all my children could come up with. I've made that BIG of an impression on their lives.

April Blizzard

I took these pictures of my yard this morning. There is probably around 6 inches and there is supposed to be more on the way. Last night I was on my way home from town and I couldn't go faster than 35 mph or the slush would grab and take me toward the ditch. I live 25 miles from town - it was a long, white-knuckle, ride home.

Dear God,

We really need to have a little chat about this weather. What's going on here? Oh yeah, please excuse Kale's words this morning when he said "cool, I love this weather, I hope it keeps on snowing for days". He's only a child, Lord, and he really doesn't know much.

It's suppose to be Spring. Yesterday was a very nice day, not one of your best, but not as cold as it has been. We like that kind of weather and a little warmer this time of year. So, this morning when I woke up and looked out the window to yet another blanket of snow you understand why I quickly buried my head back into my pillow. I understand that the moisture is good for the ground but if it came in the form of a light sprinkle now and then that would be just as effective.

As you know, the baby animals need to have warmth. They can't keep going back and forth between warm, cool and freezing, it makes them get sick. You know that when calves get sick they sometimes tend to die and that costs the farmers and ranchers money. And God..., well never mind, that's a whole nother subject about the farmers and ranchers needing more money and I'll save that for another chat.

As I look out my window it looks like it could be classified as a blizzard. A BLIZZARD in April Lord? The snow flakes our falling down very fast and heavy and the wind is blowing and tossing them about. You realize that if this is your idea of a lil humor, we're not laughing. I already sent Nikia's winter jacket to good will and she is getting real tired of me putting two layers or more of Spring jackets on her. So please, God, please allow the sun to come out and melt away the snow. I'll even put up with seeing a few snakes (but mind you, I will be carrying my hoe as I can't stand that member of your creation).

I'll wrap this up, as I know you are a busy guy. I think you understand what I am trying to say here: take the snow away and don't bring it back until the season of winter!!!!!

Thank You, AMEN!!!

Happy Easter!

It was a nice weekend (not exactly weather wise). My family got together on Saturday instead of on Sunday due to my Aunt and Uncle being here. We wanted to include them so we switched days. The kids enjoyed hunting for eggs in the house and us adults enjoyed playing games and chatting. Of course the food was yummy good also, too good actually.

This morning the sun was shining but it was still chilly out. I tried to curl Nikia's hair all over but by the time we got to church it just looked like a few kinks here and there - bummer! Nikia did well and remembered her line and said it very clearly. After church we ate at Minerva's for their Easter Buffet. Mmmm mmmm good.


With all the food I've consumed I should finish the weekend off with a long long run on the treadmill tonight, but let me just be honest - I'll run tomorrow!

Oh by the way, these are pictures of the kids in their Easter attire, as if you couldn't figure it out.

Have a Great Weekend!!!

Does anyone know just how cold is too cold to hide Easter eggs? At what point will they freeze? And how much time should a child be left outside to hunt for these eggs before I should become worried that they have frost bite or are stuck in a snow bank somewhere? Anyone? Anyone?

No. I am totally kidding. I wimped out and bought the plastic eggs and I won't be hiding any outside this year. We will be at my sister's house for Easter (actually on Saturday) and her house is quite big with many good hiding places.

Nikia has a little part for our Easter program at church, so I broke down and bought her an Easter dress. I never buy her an Easter dress because I know it's just still too chilly in this part of the country for frilly little dresses. BUT, I figured since she had a speaking part that she would probably be the only one that didn't have a cute little dress so I went ahead and bought her one. I am soooo kicking myself now because it's suppose to be very chilly. I went to town yesterday to find a little sweater - nope, I couldn't find one, they're all sold out. Well, she'll just have to look adorable in her pretty little Easter dress accessorized with goose bumps!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with family and friends!

Tom-Boy?!!

When Kale outgrows his clothes he simply gives them a big toss across the hallway into his sister's room to see if it is something she would like to wear. Well, the other day he threw over his camouflage clothes. I thought that she might pass on these but boy, was I wrong.

I know, boys clothes for a girl? Hey, when you live in the country and spend a huge portion of your time outside or at the farm, you tend to be some sort of a "tom-boy" anyway.

This has been her choice for clothing around the house lately. The other day I over heard her say "Well, I guess I'm all set to go shoot a bird or something."

She just cracks me up. She even has her brother's brown belt on. Every time I get done washing them, she finds them and puts them right back on. I guess she's going to be a hunter like her Momma!

Under The Weather

Kale had started to get a nasty cough two days ago. It wasn't bad enough to keep him home from school Monday or Tuesday, as he was only coughing once and awhile. BUT, last night he coughed constantly all night long. It turned into more of the croupy cough and his chest got so congested he could hardly breathe. So, at 2:30 am we bundled him up and he and Trevor sat on a chair outside in the cool air to try to loosen up the congestion. It usually takes less than ten minutes and he can breathe better. This is a little trick that my mom always used to do with me and my siblings when we were growing up. I know it sounds ridiculous but it works. The only down side to it was that when they came back in Kale was wide awake. So we watched a few cartoons and then he drifted off to sleep in the rocking chair. I let him sleep there the rest of the night. He didn't cough as much after that.

Soooo, I've got my boy home with me today. Nikia's mission at school is to get his homework for him - we'll see how well that goes. Today will probably be a day of naps, cuddling, medicine, and movies for Kale. I hate it when my kids are sick, but I love to be with them and cater to their every need. With our SPRING BLIZZARD going on - there doesn't seem like anything else to do anyways!!!

Thought I'd share a little bit from my notes on Sunday's sermon. It wasn't a sermon full of new insights but complete reminders. I sat there thinking about my own life and how it's so simple, so plain and boring but how important it is to God, nonetheless.


Do You Want Your Life to Count For Something Now and Forever?

Pastor Steve gave us an example of the number of seconds in a day. What we do with each second is so important. We can't get those seconds back once their gone. We can't bank them to use another day. We have to use them effectively now for Him.

Make sure your eyes are fixed on the eternal things not on the temporal things.

We will spend eternity based on God's judgement!

Are we using our talent and finances for God's kingdom or for our own kingdom?

Make an honest assessment of yourself.
What makes you happy?
- money?
- recognition?

What does God want from us? What is his will?

God is the Judge of the Universe. His decision is final!

Don't get side-tracked in the race for heaven.
Run to win!
Deny yourself anything that would hinder a win.
Do you realize what it takes to win?
The enemy knows it's a real race - do we?

Are you committed to God and His kingdom or to yourself?

This is not our home - our home is in heaven for eternity.


ETERNITY - That word made me sit and think about so many things in my life. Am I living the life of someone that God will judge some day and welcome in to heaven? I really believe I am. However, the things that we do now, here on earth, determine the rewards we get in heaven. What will my rewards be? Am I living the life that God will reward me much or little? I can't be satisfied with just getting to heaven. I want all the rewards that I can get?