Life In The Country ~

2008-02-21T09:33:00.002-06:00

So what is the deal with colds, croup, congestion and coughs this year? I feel like as soon as one of the members of my household gets all mended a few days later another one comes down with some sort of ill symptoms. Nikia woke up yesterday barely able to breath because she was extremely congested. All she could manage to do was squeek out a croupy cough. I was already feeling lousy the night before as I could feel a sore throat and the body aches coming on. So Nikia and I spent the day together being lazy and laying in bed watching cartoons and reading books. It's hard to build up an immune system when it's right back in the same household within a few days. I have bought more medicine this winter than I ever remember doing before.

Nikia is back in school today and feeling much better. I'm feeling better too. I'm praying this is the last of the winter colds and sick days.

2008-02-15T09:44:00.002-06:00

A little of this and that.....

This morning Trevor and I over slept - talk about a panic to get the kids up and out the door to catch the bus. Nothing like shoving food in their mouths and throwing their coats/hats/mittens on. Thank goodness the bookbags get all packed the night before. I think I remembered to comb Nikia's hair - I hope I did!

Trevor left a little later this morning for what has become his annual snowmobile trip with the guys. I'm still trying to think of what I can make an annaul trip for me and the girls. I just know it needs to involve sunshine and a lounge chair - and not snow and a jacket!

Over the last couple of weeks I've been babysitting my little 2 1/2 year old niece, Shayne, for my sister. She is such a little angel and so fun and easy to watch. I don't know a little kid that says "please" and "thank you" or is more polite than her.

This weekend Kale has a basketball tournement. Should be fun! He takes his games very seriously - sometimes a little too intense. We've had a little talk about learning from the mistakes and letting them go and not dwelling on them - cause if he doesn't it just makes the rest of the game no fun for him and more mistakes will happen. We'll see how much he remembers about that conversation. :)

On Sunday our local fire department has their annual fund raiser. I love going to these events not only to help raise money but some of the elderly people who don't get out as much usually find a way to make it to these events and it's always good to visit with them and other friends and neighbors in the community.

I don't know about you, but I love going to our tax appointment. We got that all taken care of last week and the deposit should be made to our account today. YAY!! I wonder if Trevor remembers the exact amount? You know..... if I should happen to go on a little shopping spree while he's out of town if he'll even notice..hmmm.

The school conferences were last week. They went really well. I have to say that I LOVE the teachers my kids have.

The neighbors dog won't go away. Obviously our female dog is a big attraction to him. Let's just say that if she has little black mutt puppies this spring - Trevor will be very upset. In trying to avoid that - I've been letting her stay in the house. If you know me very well then you know this is not something that will become a habbit. I can't stand animal hair clinging to stuff. Ick! She has strict orders to stay in the entryway, however, this morning we discovered a very warm spot on the livingroom carpet where she ventured onto during the night and slept comfortably. Naughty girl! (I could put up with puppies more than dog hair flying around in my house)

I really, really hope winter wraps up soon. I want to go places without a jacket. I want to step outside and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. I want to see farmers out in the fields. I want to see green shades of spring. I want to hear birds chirpping in the mornings. I could go on but I'll stop with those. I just really want the snow and cold to be over.

2008-02-04T09:22:00.000-06:00

Home!...and back to reality! Can I just get back on the plane and head South?

Before I begin I have to say I did a quick read through Heidi's journal of her trip and I could literally just insert our names and faces into her journal and photos. So, I've decided not to post many photos or go into a lot of detail.

We had an AMAZING time and the weather couldn't have been any better. I have the tan to prove it :) .

On the first day when Trevor and I had just arrived at the Omni Hotel in Orlando, we were literally grabbing our luggage and heading into the hotel when his phone beeped (he has the weather forecast on it). It said "windchill advisory for xxxxx, SD". We both looked at each other and started to snicker which quickly turned into a full fledge laugh. Yep....we were definately in the right place. The hotel was gorgeous and so was our room.

Trevor was supposed to have a meeting Tuesday morning but they cancelled it and so it left the whole day wide open for us to do whatever we chose. After my very delightful, relaxing, can't-wait-to-have-another-one morning in the spa.... a group of us decided to go to Sea World. Our way was paid and so it left us with only food and souveniers to pay for (very NICE). It was really alot of fun and the shows were great.

Wednesday..... let's see....I sat by the pool all day and soaked in the warmth of the rays!!!!

Thursday....we headed to Ft. Lauderdale and boarded the ship. Our room had a balcony!!! We left the sliding doors open the entire trip. Nothing like good fresh air 24/7. At night we laid in bed and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean waves - awesome!!!

Friday.....let's see....we laid out and did absolutely nothing! Well, we did get up off our lounge chairs long enough to eat and fetch a few drinks from time to time.

Saturday.....we had one stop on our cruise at Cozumel and left the ship for our mini jeep excursion. Our tour was amazing. We drove along a beautiful beach which our group had totally to ourselves, Trevor went snorkeling (I would have given it a try but as soon as the they were done our guide said we were leaving the beach - which ment no laying-out time???!!!!) Trevor snorkelled about a mile! He loved it, except his float vest wouldn't hold air (which of course he didn't realize till he was way out away from the beach) so he had to work extra hard to stay floating (NO touching/standing on the coral reef!!). Next we headed to a very old lighthouse and ate some tacos -spicy, spice hot - but very good. Then we headed to the saltwater crocodiles. Three of them came right up to us - YIKES! Then off to the ruins - very interesting! Our tour guides were very funny but took great care of us and gave us a lot of information at each stop. All together we were gone five hours - it went by so quickly. We did a little shopping and then back to the ship we headed.

Sunday.....it sprinkled very lightly in the morning - perfect day to sleep in! The sun came out so we headed to the lounge chairs and settled in for the rest of the day.

Monday....arrived back at Ft. Lauderdale and headed to the Miami airport, which we sat for SEVEN hours. It was in the 80's when we left Miami and by the time we arrived back at Watertown, SD the temp was windy and below zero. UGHHH!!! That first step off the plane was a hard one to make (very small airport - you get off the plane outside and walk into the airport). I didn't want the trip to end and I really didn't want frost bite - we didn't have any coats along!!

Every evening on the ship we took in various entertainment but the best was just sitting in a corner of a nightclub and doing a little "people watching". There are some people who think they can dance and can't, quite obviously!!!! Then, there were some who were really fun to watch. We never went to bed before midnight and had so much fun with all the ship had to offer. I'm quite thankful I forgot to weigh myself before we left for the trip. I ate like a pig. The food was really good and it' like never ending and always available - YUMM!

Between laying out and all the airplane/airport time I managed to get through two books and three magazines. I really couldn't have had a more relaxing time.

We were treated to such luxury the whole trip. The company that took us on the trip could not have made it any more perfect for us. Everything was paid for - everything!!! Except the souveniers we bought, our excursion and my spa treatment, but heck, I think we can cover that much!. For our first cruise we were spoiled tremendously. The ship we were on was one of the largest out there - Royal Carribbean - Navigator of the Seas. I would highly recommend this ship if your thinking of a cruise. When we docked in Cozumel there was another ship right beside ours - it was about 1/3 the size of ours. We then realized just how good we had it.

It is good to be back - kind of! We missed the kids but we called them often so we knew they were doing fine. Would it be bad if I told you I've already been on Trevor's case to get selling to meet the requirements (which they increased) for next years trip (a different hotel on the beach in Miami and a longer cruise). Chop, chop honey, Sell! Sell! Sell!!!

2008-01-19T10:59:00.000-06:00

Since you asked......

This trip is for Trevor and I. He earned it through work (sold enough stuff), so it's also a free trip. The best kind, right?!!! Well, free except for the morning at the spa Trevor booked for me and the jeep ride/snorkeling excursion I booked in Cozumel. We also get a $100 credit on the ship to put towards whatever. Couldn't get much better, huh?! I know, we're blessed! Times like this I love that my husband is in sales and welcome the perks that come with it.

Even if the weather isn't hot or even if it rains a little, so be it. It can't be any worse than negative degree weather like here. I'll try to bring the sunshine back with me to unthaw everyone - no promises though!! See you when I'm back!!

We've done a lot of talking about taking the kids to Disney this year also but then got to thinking about a Disney cruise. If you've been to/on either maybe you could give me some feed back on the pros and cons of each. Which is better?

2008-01-13T23:22:00.000-06:00

I'm back..... for a few days anyway!

Wow, were to begin. I'm not going to go in to much detail about our Christmas/New Year break since it seems like so long ago now and such old news. We did have a great holiday. We were actually home for Christmas and Christmas Eve - it was great!! It didn't seem like such a rushed holiday for once. We stayed home and just enjoyed our family time. Even New Years Eve we were home - but that's because I was sick.

Remember Trevor and the kids were both sick right before Christmas, well, guess who got hit hard during Christmas. I was sick from the weekend before Christmas till about five days ago. For about four of those days I hardly had a voice. The doctor said that it was viral and of course just needed to run its course. However, the day I went in I was really feeling terrible and I think he took one look at me and had pitty because he still gave me some antibiotics just in case they might help. Needless to say, I was completely miserable (healthwise) for the majority of the holidays. I even missed two different basketball games (if you know me at all - you know that means I was VERY sick).

Last week Nikia started to come down with the same thing I had. She even lost her voice for a couple days too. Yuck! Finally, we are all better now!!!!!

Trevor's gone this week for three days at meetings and then next week we leave for our vacation. 3 days in Florida and then a 4 day cruise. I'm already dreaming of soaking up some sunshine. I can't wait!

Before I started this I went through and caught up on everyones blogs - I haven't been on the computer since.....well, I can't remember...but pretty much since before Christmas. I thought about a lot of you and wondered what you'd been up to and how your holidays went but I just had no desire to sit down at the computer to find out til now.

Soooooo...... I am alive and doing fine and it sounds like all of you are too. It's good to be back and I look forward to reading your posts again.

2007-12-17T08:14:00.000-06:00

Tis The Season........for the flu, and the croup that is. Yes, those nasty bugs have been visiting our house for the last two weeks. Last week it was Trevor and Nikia with the flu and now it's Kale with the croup. Ugh!!!!

Christmas break officially begins on Friday at 2:31 pm. Needless to say the kids are excited! We'll be having our Christmas with my family this Saturday. My brother and his wife will be just back from their vacation in Mexico so it will be exciting to hear all about that. They've never taken a trip like that before so I can't wait to hear the stories. I love hanging out with my family. We all live so close by and see each other often but I still enjoy being with them whenever possible. Family is so important to me!

Kale has already guessed three of his gifts under the tree (little stinker) and I lied right to his face and told him that's not what the present was. I know, I know, really bad of me for lying, but I couldn't ruin the suprise, right??!!

I'm going to do a little baking this week. I stress LITTLE because I'm just not one who does this often. As I've said before, those goodies always find a good nesting place right on my body and never leave with out a fight. I hate fighting! :)

Remember Trevor and I agreed our gifts to each other were going to be the tv and entertainment center....yep, I found out he bought me another gift. Grrrrrr !!!!! Now what am I going to get him????? Maybe underwear and socks...that'll teach him to stick to our deal!!! :)

I still haven't taken the time to write out a Christmas letter, it's probably not going to happen this year. Hopefully, I'll get a picture out! Don't be offended if you don't get one... I probably just didn't get any sent..

The kids are all done with their Christmas programs (church and school). YAY!!! They were good but between program practices and basketball practices it really makes for some long days for the kids and sure drains the gas tank.

Trevor and I are going on a trip the end of January which means one thing....I should be getting real nice and friendly with the treadmill NOW! Why does it have to seem like such a chore to lose weight? It just figures that the time of year when the calories are higher than normal and the sugar intake is rocketing I need to trim down.

I'm ready to just settle in for winter and not leave the house except for an occasional basketball game. Yes, I know...pathetic and lazy, but it would be nice! I love to admire the snow and cold from the warmth of my home.

Well, I need to go. I kept Kale home from school today. That croupy cough is a nasty bugger. How long do you let the croup go before taking them to the doctor anyway? I'm going to go get a good book and let my big boy cuddle up with me in the rocking chair and read him a story. Then maybe we'll play a good competitive game of Connect Four. Even though he's miserable I love having him here with me.

I know this was a big hodge-podge of a post but I just wanted to give you an update and let you know I'll be back after the new year. Take care my friends and be safe.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Enjoying December!

2007-12-04T13:10:00.000-06:00

It's not even Christmas yet and I've already been enjoying some new things.

I took some of the money I got for my birthday and went and bought myself a Braun Tassimo. What's a Tassimo you ask? It's simply God's creation of the perfect Latte, Cappaccino, Tea, Espresso, or Hot Chocolate maker. Trust me, it's divine!!!

Trevor and I decided that our gifts to each other this year would be a new entertainment center and tv. We bought a 42" HDTV flatscreen and a smaller corner entertainment center. I could stand out in our garage and watch tv now if I had to (just kiddin). The tv is huge, but very cool and the entertainment center gives us more space in the living room (especially with the Wii).

Trevor has been wanting a PlayStation or Xbox for years now and I've talked him out of it...... up til now. I finally gave in and he went and stood in line at Shopko at 6 am the other day to get a Wii. So guess what our whole family has been doing in the evenings?! Last night Nikia and I were playing tennis....what a hoot to watch her get into the game. I've decided it was a good purchase as far as getting some excerise. Each game really gives you a workout (at least the ones we have so far).

And of course, I'm still loving my iPod Nano. I think I have around 300 songs so far. I've been downloading Christmas songs on it now. It's such a cool little techno-gadget!!!

2007-11-19T20:10:00.000-06:00

I don't think I'll be back on here until next week. I've been busy deer hunting and working at the farm and just haven't had time to post anything lately. Thursday morning we're heading to Minneapolis and either coming back Saturday night late or Sunday morning.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones.

DON'T EAT TOO MUCH!!!

2007-11-14T19:30:00.000-06:00

New Do............

Some of you may think that it really doesnt' look much different from my profile picture but it is. I have been trying to grow it back out because when I asked Trevor what he wanted me to do, that's what he said. Well, I gave up trying to grow it back out. I couldn't stand that in-between stage of long and short. It was right below my shoulders and looked ridiculous. I dreaded everytime I had to fix my hair. I couldn't do anything with it.

So here are a few pictures and my idea of a video blog (since I'm uneducated in that area). I love photo opps (it's a great way to show you just how much of a NUT I am), so much so, that to risk any embarassment I went upstairs into my bathroom to hide from the kids. I'd hate to have them walk in and ask what the heck I was doing.

Side view.

Front right.

Ugh...phone call.....

it's Trevor....blah, blah, blah.....obviously he doesn't know that he's interrupting my photo session of my new hairdo....blah, blah, blah....

Oh, it's serious.....he has a flat tire.....he's in the middle of nowhere....he can't get the spare out from under his truck....he's been out in the cold for over an hour...no flashlight...can't see a thing.....he's freezing....he finally reached some farmer to come help him...

he'll be fine....now....what was I doing.... oh yeah...new do, photos...

Front left.

Straight on.

However, I think tomorrow i'm going back to have her take a little more off the back. I'm also getting it colored darker tomorrow. So you just may have to sit through another video/ photo session! Totally kidding!!! I think this one was ridiculous enough!!

2007-11-14T11:55:00.000-06:00

UPDATE..the guy showed up at 12:30 and I had to leave at 1:00. The original appointment was 11:00. I rescheduled for tomorrow at 10:00am. We're still living in a messy kitchen. So what's a Mom to do... I brought home Kentucky Fried Chicken and we had a picnic in the living room.

Grrrrrr..........

Today I get a free carpet cleaning for my livingroom, stairs and hallway. Trevor helped me move everything into my kitchen (complete mess) before he left this morning.

I get a phone call saying their car broke down (yeah right) and will be at least a half hour late. They are now, one hour late. I have to leave here in one hour for a hair appointment that i'm not rescheduling.

Grrrrr........

2007-11-12T09:51:00.000-06:00

Sorry this has taken so long. This is the last of my story. It was typed with many tears and emotions and took longer than I thought it would.

......continuation and finale.

October 2002

Let me tell you a little about Dr. Rieber, an orthopedic doctor. Out of all our local Dr’s, I wouldn’t have wanted any other one on call that night. It was the other Dr’s that were pushing for me to be sent to Minneapolis. Dr. Rieber was new to our area but had been working with some specialists in a Minneapolis practice prior to coming to South Dakota, so he had excellent training under his belt.

Dr. Rieber decided to admit me into a room for the night and send my ex-rays and MRI to some of his previous colleagues in Minneapolis for advice on the next step for me. They finally moved me off that stinkin hard board and onto a soft bed, however, a lot of sand and dirt moved with me. Again, the pain was there but lessened by the meds. His last words that I remember that night to the staff was “Do not move her!” I remember getting settled into my new room which would actually turn out to be my home for the next fourteen days. Trevor stayed in my room for quite a few of those days, so a portable bed was also wheeled in for him. They set me up with a morphine pump so I could regulate when I could get a better shot of pain medicine then they already had pumping into me.

Shane had come into my room feeling so bad and responsible for what had happened. He apologized so many times to me. I tried to get him to understand that in no way whatsoever did I blame him. It was such a fluke accident; there was no way he could have known it would happen. I promised him I would get back on a horse again someday. However, I never dreamed it would be as hard as it actually was.

I can still remember so clearly my Dad coming in my room that night too. He walked up to my bed and with tears in his eyes and told me he wished it was him laying there instead of me. It meant so much to me to hear him say such kind words. Dad and I have always been close and have had a great relationship. I knew he honestly meant that.

A close friend of my sister had found out about the accident and being such a kind and thoughtful person that she is, she quickly made up ham sandwiches and hot chocolate and coffee and brought it all to the hospital for my family.

I remember lying there that first night so scared to go to sleep. What if I moved in my sleep? I never sleep lying on my back. I’m more of a sleep-on-my-side-or tummy kind of girl so this was not comfy at all. The nurses had to come in every couple of hours and wake me up to check my vitals and check my blood count.

The next morning my family all came and were in my room visiting when in walked Stephanie, a physical therapist. She said that she needed to turn me on my side so that I wouldn’t get any bed sores and to get my circulation going in my body. What? Are you kidding me? Bed sores? I haven’t even been on this bed for 24 hours yet! I told her Dr. Rieber said no one is to move me. My whole family pleaded with her to not move me. She kept insisting that this needed to be done. She said she’d have a nurse sent to talk to Dr. Rieber about it. We found out later he was actually in surgery at the time. In the mean time she was gathering nurses into my room to help move me. I was getting very nervous and very mad because she wouldn’t listen to us. (While I’m typing this my hands are shaking because I can remember this moment so clearly). She placed the nurses all around my bed so that they all held a part of the bed sheet I was laying on instead of actually touching me. Without waiting for the nurse to come back with the information from Dr. Rieber they lifted the sheet so that my body would begin to turn onto my side. As they did this my whole midsection totally collapsed due to the bones not being attached. Naturally, the pain was there and I screamed out loud. They set me down quickly and one nurse went running out of the room crying and Stephanie ran out of the room too.

To say that my family and I were mad would be an understatement. About a minute later, the nurse came back and said Dr. Rieber said not to move me. TOO LATE!! On the back side of the pelvis there are three little holes where the nerves come through the bone. On my pelvis, all those holes had cracks running through them. I was already very, very close to nerve damage and being paralyzed. Also, my pubic bone was free floating; it wasn’t attached to anything. I didn’t need these particular bones being damaged anymore than they already were. Later, Stephanie came in and apologized. Her apology meant nothing to me. We all told her not to do it. I don’t know what she was trying to prove. This was probably more traumatic for me than when the horse fell on me. I didn’t remember what all happened in those few seconds with the horse but with Stephanie I knew the situation with my bones and the pain it would cause. To this day, it still makes me furious what she did. Dr. Rieber was very upset with her as well. Of course since my body and bones moved this meant they had to, yet again, move me back on that board and take me down for another MRI to make sure my bones didn’t get messed up even more. This time, before they moved me they made sure I had plenty of pain medicine to make it easier on me. Thank the Lord my bones weren’t really messed up more than what they had been.

When we got our bills from the hospital, Trevor made sure that we didn’t have to pay for that MRI. I really wanted to sue her butt for the extra pain and everything else I went through because of her, but we didn’t. I still wish we would have tried to do something more about her – like get her fired! I still harbor bad feelings toward her?

The accident happened on Wednesday, the first ordeal with Stephanie happened on Thursday and by Saturday morning it all finally hit me. I woke up that morning crying. I think the whole reality of everything became real to me. My emotions overcame me and I cried most of the day. It was so hard not to be able to hold and barely hug my little 1 ½ year old girl. It was so hard to know what Kale witnessed and not be able to hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright, simply because I didn’t know if everything would be okay. I knew this was all still a big burden on my brother. I knew my husband was going through a lot of stress and agony worrying about me and about our kids. The doctors were still discussing surgery and how to go about everything but no plan was set yet.

My room started to overfill with so many bouquets from friends. Pictures that the kids would color when they came to visit we hung on the walls. The nurses said they’d never seen a room with so many flowers. When someone would walk into my room they’d say it smelled and looked like a flower shop. I loved it! It meant so much to me that so many people cared about me. Trevor brought a little tv that had a vcr built right into it so I could watch movies and someone gave me a tape player to listen to books on tape. It was so wonderful to have these items to help pass the time. I’m not sure of the number of visitors I had over the two weeks but it was amazing.

Finally, on the following Wednesday morning, seven days of laying flat (and NO bed sores I might add) Dr. Rieber walked into my room and announced to me that he was going to do surgery in about a ½ hour. He explained what he was going to do but none of it really made sense to me. It was either this or they would send me to Minneapolis for the procedure to be done. There I was all alone. My family was actually moving cattle that day and Trevor was at work. I didn’t want to go to surgery without anyone knowing or being with me so I desperately made phone calls to everyone’s cell phones. I finally reached my Mom and Trevor and they came up immediately.

When I woke up from surgery I looked down to my waist area and there were these metal rods sticking up about a foot above my body and crossways across my waist. They were all attached to four screws that were drilled down into my pelvis. I began to cry. It still makes me very emotional today. It was so terrible to look at. Dr. Rieber said that this would allow me to be able to move better without my pelvis collapsing every time and allow the bones to heal in the correct place. The whole contraption was called an Exterior Fixator. There was no way to cover it up or hide it.

I had received a card that had a scripture on it that caught my attention.
Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. It goes on to say vs. 31 those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. I knew these scriptures were just for me. I began to confess them every day and claim my healing. I also began to confess 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. Once I began to say these scriptures every day I never had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to walk or run again normally. I knew God had healed me and took care of everything when he died on the cross for me. I just kept claiming my healing every day.

When they had taken me down for surgery they moved me to a different bed (when I was put under) which was wonderful since I still had a bunch of sand and dirt under me from the riding arena. I hadn’t been able to wash my hair for a week so it was terribly dirty. It still had the sand and dirt from the arena as well. Since I still had to lye flat this was not an easy task. The gal who did it did a terrible job but at least she got it cleaner than it was.

When I found out that Stephanie was going to be my physical therapist again I told the doctor making rounds (Dr. Rieber was gone a few days) that I really didn’t want her. He basically told me to suck it up and that she was very good at what she does. He’s been known for having no bed side manners. I could have choked him for the way he talked to me.

In the days to follow Stephanie taught me how to place my hands and elbows to assist myself in sitting up. I felt like such a child having to learn all this but I new it was necessary if I wanted to get around. I had one of those bars attached to my bed that had another bar that hung over me that I could grab on to. Can’t recall what they’re called. I was also taught different exercises using that bar and a little elastic band that could help increase the muscle tone and strength in my legs and arms that I had lost from not moving for so long. What ever the physical therapist told me to do a day I at least doubled it. I was determined to move again.

My occupational therapist told me that if I couldn’t sit on the edge of my bed and brush my hair I couldn’t go home. This meant that I would have to be able to use one hand to balance myself and hold myself in place on the bed while the other hand held the brush. Sounds simple enough but it was very hard for me.

The first time I was able to sit up I was very week and nauseous. My body was not used to being in the upright position. I could only stay up for a few minutes at a time. After a couple of days of just sitting on the edge of my bed (with help) Stephanie decided that I should sit in a chair. Again she had a bunch of nurses come in and slide me onto the chair. She said she would be back to check on me in a bit. I sat there for two hours! They had taken out the catheter to put me in the chair so after this amount of time I had to pee. My body was getting week and I desperately needed to lay down. The nurses couldn’t find Stephanie (turns out she had left the building and forgot about me). They had to get the doctor’s approval before my nurse could put the catheter back in. My nurse was an angel. She was so concerned for me and did all she could for me. Since Stephanie wasn’t there, nobody knew exactly how to get me back into my bed. I was so stressed and had to go pee so bad. I was getting nauseous and my body began to shake uncontrollably. Finally, they reached the doctor and were allowed to put the catheter in. What a relief! I don’t recall how they got me back into bed.

I wasn’t going to mention it but it was part of the whole ordeal. The whole situation with going to the “bathroom” from the very beginning was so terrible. I felt bad for my nurses and what they had to do for me. It was more than embarrassing for me. The catheter was a good thing, however, using a bed pan is an experience I NEVER want to go through again. Even when I finally got home, it became my mom’s job to aid me with this. After a while I was able to use a commode, but that was still disgusting. Someone else always had to empty it for me.

It came time that my insurance wanted to get me out of the hospital. I wasn’t ready. They talked about putting me in a nursing home. NO WAY!! I laid the law down and told them I would never go to one of those. I worked even harder on my exercises so I could maneuver my self better. I finally was able to get my self up and slide onto a wheelchair. Finding a wheelchair that was big enough so that the screws and bars sticking out of me didn’t hit the sides was a task. Dr. Rieber decided that I could probably go home since my mom would be there with me. I was taught how to give myself shots (blood thinner). I was given a good prescription of Vicodin (pain meds). I would have to get a hospital bed along with one of those bars that helped me lift myself up. Trevor had to build a wheelchair ramp, which, was not an easy task. He’d never done such a thing before so he had lots of questions like, what degree of an incline should it have? How wide? He miraculously was able to get the lumber from his work – which they just happened to have lying around. He built it and it worked!

When I was finally able to go home the fresh air felt like heaven. My family had my room all set up for me. I almost didn’t get the wheelchair through the door frame because the chair was so big. I couldn’t get it through the bathroom door. I still couldn’t spend much time in the wheelchair because it was pretty painful to put any pressure on my pelvis. I laid in my at-home hospital bed most of the time. I continued to work on my exercises and get stronger.

Finally I was able to use the wheelchair all the time. Once I had that mastered I moved on to a walker. This wasn’t easy with the bars and screws sticking out of my pelvis. Finally I was able to use crutches, which again, was not an easy task with screws and bars sticking out.

When the day finally came that I had the Exterior Fixator removed I had gone in for a simple check up and Dr. Rieber decided that it could come off. There are no words for the joy that I felt that day. It was basically another surgery and I was put under because they had to take the screws out of my bones. When I came to, I looked down to my pelvis and it was flat. No bars or screws. I cried. It was such an emotional time for me. No more odd looks from people. I could finally hold my kids on my lap and give them a real hug. I could get around without worrying about people bumping into me. I finally looked normal again.

This is a picture of the actuall screws that were screwed into my pelvis. Two on each side. About two inches of the screw is what stuck out of my body and then the bars were attached to that. They stuck out about a foot from my waist. Dr. Rieber let me keep these as a momento. I put the paperclip on there just to give an idea of the size.

I continued to use the crutches for quite awhile. It was still very painful to put too much pressure on my pelvis. For years I couldn’t sit for very long at all. My pelvis became very sore after such a short periods of time. Going to basketball games or softball games, or sitting in a tractor was difficult.

Throughout this whole time not any of Trevor’s family came to visit me. This hurt Trevor too. He and the kids could have used them for support. Thank God my family was there for us. When we finally went to visit his family, Trevor’s sister in law, who never even saw the Exterior Fixator, made a comment about how I should have hung tinsel and Christmas balls from it for Christmas. They all thought it was so funny. This hurt me so bad! How could she make such an awful comment about something she knew nothing about. This was something that was painful enough to deal with. I really found out just how much they all didn’t care about me or my family.

I don’t recall the length of time all this took. Someone told me I should be writing all of it down and taking pictures but I didn’t want to have any memories of it. It was a time in my life I just wanted to forget and move on and never look back. I know now I really should have documented things better. Throughout many years it was so hard for me to go through a day with out visioning the horse falling on me and the whole ordeal with Stephanie. I went at least three years with this going through my mind everyday. After that it was at least every week. Now, it’s a few times a month, but I still get extremely emotional over it all.

I know that God was very active in this whole ordeal. I healed so quickly and I know it was because of Him. After five years, I am finally back to my self. However, if I sit on a hard surface very long, I still get very sore. I give God and Dr. Rieber all the credit for mending and healing me. I am so happy I can walk, crawl, run, jump, play basketball and softball. It’s amazing how I used to take for granted all the simple movements my body could do – not anymore!

2007-11-08T09:30:00.000-06:00

~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~

to me!

What could be a better present than being done with harvest?...... How about an iPod Nano?!!!! Trevor and the kids gave me one for my birthday this morning.

YAY!!!!

2007-10-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

~ TRICK OR TREAT ~

Found the camera - YAY!!!

Here are the two munchkens in their costumes. Thanks to Rose for giving us the great pirate idea. Kale loved it! I think they had fun running around town. I know they got enough candy so that when I steal some out of their buckets they'll never know. Ha Ha!! Heck yeah I do that! Don't you?

Thought I 'd show you pictures from a few years back... wow, the kids have really grown up fast!!!

2004

2006

~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~

2007-10-31T09:22:00.000-05:00

I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA! UGH!

I WANTED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF MY LITTLE TRICK OR TREATER'S THIS MORNING BEFORE THEY HEADED OFF TO SCHOOL. YA NEVER KNOW IF THEY'LL COME HOME LOOKING AS GOOD AS WHEN THEY LEFT. I GAVE STRICT INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF THE COSTUMES . HOPEFULLY, BY THEN I'LL HAVE LOCATED THE CAMERA.

MAN, I'M BUMMED!

2007-10-25T08:28:00.000-05:00

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening!!! ....depending on when you read this.

I thought it would be nice to have a little chat over a cup of coffee. Ha ha, get it?

I've been up to my eyeballs in corn kernals and calf poop. Not literally, of course. We've been very busy combining and sorting off the calves from the cows.

So, how you been? How are the kids? Kale had a terrible ear ache yesterday. The teacher tried to call us but when you're working in the boonies there is nothing for service around here.

Do you have big plans for the weekend? I'll probably be in a corn field somewhere.

Do you have Halloween costumes for the kids picked out? Nikia is going to be a leopard and I have no idea what Kale is going to be. He's getting too old for those store bought costumes so it has to be something that we can put together at home. I could really use some good ideas. Last year he was a hunter - camo from head to toe along with a duck call and a deer grunt hanging around his neck.

I know this was a really short visit, but my coffee cup is empty and I really need to get going. I need to get the combine fueled up and greased and empty a couple of grain carts before we get started this morning I'm sure you're very busy as well. It was nice chatting with you. We should really do this again sometime. Take care!

2007-10-21T21:58:00.000-05:00

Please know that I may go into a lot of detail that may seem a little repetitive at times, but to me, this is how I remember what had happened. I need to get this out for me, so if you find the writing a little weird or dragging at times, it's just how it needs to be.

continuation .........

October, 2002

The horse was still loose in the arena and Kale was still screaming and crying. I told Shane to get the horse so I wouldn’t be in danger of it coming near me again. He said it would be fine but I insisted he do something with it. Knowing I couldn’t move made me very nervous to have the animal running free so close to me. After Shane grabbed the horse and tied it up he came back to me and asked if I could move. I told him no but he thought I just had the wind knocked out of me. I said no it’s more than that. You need to get me help. He told me to just try to relax, catch my breath and then try to sit up. I said “No, Shane, you need to get me an ambulance.” Once I finally made him understand that I knew I was hurt he told Kale to run to Grandma’s house and tell her what happened and to have an ambulance sent right away.

Thinking back, I can’t even imagine what my little four year old boy went through and what he was thinking as he ran about a quarter of a mile all by himself to the house.

I should point out that Trevor and I and the kids had moved to South Dakota from Minnesota and we were having a hard time finding a place to buy or build. Mom and Dad were kind enough to let us move in with them until we got settled in a place of our own. With the events that unfolded, it couldn’t have been a better situation.

When Kale reached the house Trevor could tell that Kale sounded like he was in a very traumatic state and ran up the stairs to ask what was wrong. About all Kale could get out was that Mommy was hurt by a horse. Trevor told him to go tell Grandma and he jumped in his truck and raced to the barn. Kale relayed the message to my Mom and she called for an ambulance.

In the mean time, back at the barn, I laid on the fine layer of sand in an enormous amount of pain lying partly on my side. It was so painful lying like I was but I couldn’t move to get more comfortable. I wasn’t allowing myself to cry because I knew it would have only made things worse for Kale and Shane. Shane is a volunteer fireman and so while we waited in the arena we heard the ambulance being dispatched on his pager. This was a big help for me knowing help was on its way and listening to everything that was being said. I tried to keep my sense of humor to help relax Shane because I knew he was feeling so responsible and awful for what happened. So, I said to him, “I really hope my underwear is clean.” Of course he didn’t realize I was joking with him at first and he told me that’s nothing I should be worried about right now. I told him I was just kidding and he did get a little smirk on his face, however, I don’t think he thought it was very funny at the time. We did laugh more about it later.

When Trevor arrived at the riding barn he stayed by my side while Shane took the horse back to the other barn and moved his truck to make room for the ambulance. When Shane returned we listened to his pager and heard the ambulance driver state they were almost on site. Other area volunteer firemen, who are neighbors, overheard the page and went to the end of our driveway to make sure the ambulance didn’t miss the driveway and got to us quickly.

When the EMT’s arrived they put a neck brace on me, which I new wasn’t necessary but was required anyway. When they put it around my neck they also inadvertently scooped in a bunch of sand, horse hair, and whatever else had landed on that ground over the years. Like my body wasn’t uncomfortable enough, I now had that stuff irritating me too. They cut off my cowboy boots and part way up my pants. Next they wanted to get me on a flat board so they could lift me up and on the stretcher. The thought of someone moving me scared me because of all the pain I was in and because I knew I couldn’t move. I told them to let me try to slide onto the board first, but when I tried I couldn’t get my body to move correctly. Since I was unable to do it they had to move me unto the board. Someone grabbed up by my shoulders and someone down by my feet. When they slid me unto the board and laid me completely on my back, my whole bone midsection kind of collapsed. The pain was so intense but I still refused to cry. They lifted the board unto the stretcher and off to the ambulance we went. The stretcher going across the bumpy ground was so terrible, I could hardly stand it. Trevor jumped in the front of the ambulance with the driver and off we went.

Shane quickly ran to the barn to let the horses out so they wouldn’t be locked in all night and when he came out Mom and Dad and my kids had left without him. Of course they didn’t realize it till later what they did. Shane drove in to the hospital all by himself. This is about a 20 minute drive so I’m sure he had so many feelings and thoughts running around in his head of what had just unfolded. Since it was Wednesday night, he stopped by our church to tell my sister what had happened and to have people begin praying for me and then he went directly to the hospital.

In the ambulance, I had never felt so uncomfortable and in so much pain in my life. Every little tiny bump that we went over was so incredibly awful. That board was so hard that the whole way I held on to one of the EMT’s hands and squeezed as hard as I could. I was actually trying to hold pressure off my waist by pushing or lifting my body up with my elbows. It was the only way I could find that gave me any relief from that board. I don’t remember how many times they poked me trying to start an IV but failed to get the needle in my vein. I’m sure it was at least four times. Of all the needles I despise those the most. Since they couldn’t get an IV I couldn’t get any pain medicine either. Literally, right before we pulled up to the emergency room, they finally got the IV needle in. Thank goodness!

Again, all the movement and bumps of getting me out of the ambulance and into the ER about made me pass out from the pain that the hard board caused me. Right away they took ex-rays and then got me some morphine. I could feel the morphine go all the way through my body. It at least helped me to be able to relax from trying to hold myself up off the board. By now my arms were shaking from getting week from the pressure.

One of the hospital employees saw how hard this was for Kale and gave him a stuffed bear. Kale has slept with that bear every night for almost five years. Just this summer he finally said that he didn’t need it anymore. He said it was something he could cuddle with and a special thing for him that helped him know Mommy was going to be okay.

Out in the waiting room my family sat patiently along with some people from church that had heard about what happened. Needless to say they were praying for me.

The doctors reviewed the ex-rays and counted the breaks and fractures in my bones. There were six in all. I had parts of bone that weren’t attached to anything anymore which is why when they put me on that board my pelvis basically collapsed. The Dr.'s were shocked that I didn't have any internal bleeding (usually this kind of bone breakage has a lot of bleeding involved) and only one little bruise on my leg which I think came from the saddle hitting me. After the Dr.'s sent me in for an MRI and reviewed it, they were thinking of having me sent to Minneapolis because they were unsure of what the next step should be. The thought of that brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t want to be sent away from my family. This, of all times, was a time I needed them to be right with me.

to be continued again.......

Sorry, to keep doing this to you, but this is all I have wrote so far. Wait till I tell you what happens next. Yes, it gets worse. I'll try not to make you wait so long this time!

2007-10-19T08:04:00.000-05:00

Pheasant hunting season opens tomorrow! I have to be honest with you though - if this weather doesn't start shaping up, I'm not leaving the house! I'll wait till we're combining corn and stand at the end of the field and wait for my colorful feathered victim to fly over.

Kaboom!! Got him!!

2007-10-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

IF YOU WANT THE RAINBOW YOU GOTTA PUT UP WITH THE RAIN

darn it.

2007-10-16T08:10:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, October 16th, 2002

What I thought was going to be just another Fall day at the farm turned quickly into the most traumatic days of my life.

I had been out chisel plowing in the field all day and brought my tractor into the farm yard to park it and call it a day. I happened to notice the door to the indoor riding barn was opened. Of course I knew it meant that my brother was once again working with Sensation, a two-year old horse, training it to become broke to ride. I decided to see how it was going and made my way to the arena. Upon entering I noticed my son was already there observing and admiring his uncle and the work he was doing with the horse. The saddle was still on and I could tell by the sweat on the horse that he had already ridden him awhile. My brother, Shane, asked if I wanted to get on Sensation. He said he’s nice and smooth and that he was probably wore down enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I told him no, as I’ve never been one to enjoy getting on a young horse with very little riding time on it. Nevertheless, when Shane said that Sensation had never bucked, ever, and he would guarantee that he wouldn’t this time either, I began to entertain the thought of getting on. Then, when Shane made the comment about being the only brave one I knew I had to give it a shot.

We led the horse out to the middle of the arena. Kale stayed back by the front of the barn, but still in perfect sight. Shane said he would hold the horse up by the bridle as I got on. With the reins in my left hand I lifted my left boot up to the stirrup. I began to swing my right foot up and over...... and that’s all I remember about what actually happened.

Shane and I later discussed what we both remembered and came up with this. As I was about to swing my leg over Sensation took two steps back and then stumbled. This made me lose my balance and go right up and over. Since I still had the reins in my hand I basically pulled the off-balance horse right down on top of me. I didn’t land flat on my back though. I was a little on my side which is possibly why so much damage happened.

I do remember the horse falling down on me, right at my waist level. The feeling I felt inside is indescribable. I knew something happened inside my body. The horse tried to get up but being all four of its legs were sticking straight out it basically rolled right back down on me again to re-position its legs to get leverage. Again, I had that indescribable feeling inside. This time the horse was able to stand up and trot away.

As I laid there with horrible pain I could hear Kale screaming at what he had just witnessed. My brother was right by my side immediately. The first thing I did was wiggle my toes to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. I was able to do that but I couldn’t move my legs or any lower part of my body. I knew something was seriously wrong.

to be continued till next week............

2007-10-09T09:31:00.000-05:00

See ya tonight!!

2007-10-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

Friday means football! Kale has been the ball-boy on the sidelines of the varsity football games. He LOVES it! After almost every play he runs out or throws out a new football to the referee. There was even a picture in the local paper last week of him running off the field after handing a ball to the ref. He has the best view of the game cause he's always at the line of scrimmage. I keep telling him that I'm going to take his job or at least come stand by him and act like I'm helping him. He just says "No way!" I would'nt rain on his parade but I am jealous of his job. I love that he has to pay close attention to what's happening on the field and gets to be close to the players. I know he's heard a few choice words that he can't repeat but I guess that just might come with being so close to the action.

Tonight at half-time his flag football team plays a scrimmage and then Saturday morning they play a REAL game against a neighboring town. Should be fun and exciting. I really hope the rain holds off.

I LOVE this picture! It was actually taken by his school teacher. She takes a LOT of pictures of the school activities and is a great photographer.

2007-10-03T23:05:00.001-05:00

I made a quick trip over to see Shayne this morning before I headed to the field. I wanted to run to town to get a bunch of balloons for her first but ran out of time. So before I left the house I grabbed a sucker so I could put a little smile on her face when I saw her. I got to her house and she had just woke up. You know that feeling that runs through your body when you see something that is just so heart wrenching - yeah, that one. There she was with her arm taped and her little bed head hair and a sweet little look on her face. I wanted to hug her but didn't want to hurt her so I gave her a kiss instead.

Shayne~ Hi Amy!
Me~ Hi sweetie! How are you doing?
Shayne~Ouch! (as she points to her shoulder)
Me~I know. I brought you a surprise! Guess what it is?
Shayne~A puppy?!!
Me~Nope, just a sucker! (my ego went right down the drain)

Boy did that make me feel like my dumb little sucker was a pitiful attempt of being her favorite aunt. Of course she ate it and loved it and made a big sticky mess that I left for her mom to clean up. :) Did I mention that I had her eat it before breakfast? That was my other attempt of reminding her I'm her favorite aunt.

Since I didn't get to bring her balloons I had Trevor pick her up a bunch in town and bring them out. He also found a little pet carrier (like a purse) that had a little stuffed kitty in it. When he gave her the balloons and kitty guess what she said?

PUPPY????

Strike out again! Oh well, she still loved it all and played with it today. Too bad we don't have puppies instead of kitties all over our yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you ladies for all your prayers. She has to have her arm taped for 3-4 weeks, so your prayers are still welcomed and appreciated.

2007-10-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

~Prayer Request~

Please say a prayer for my little 2 year old niece that was playing and fell off a bed and broke her collar bone last night. Her arm is now taped to her body so she can't move it around - allowing it to heal correctly.

This isn't a very good picture of her. It was from this summer at a parade. Isn't she sooooo cute!!!

2007-09-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

FARMING ~ need I say more

If you need me - I'll be in my office.

Apple Crisp Please !

2007-09-25T08:40:00.000-05:00

After eating a bowl of apple crisp flavored oatmeal this morning Trevor turns to me and says.....

You should get a good apple crisp recipe.

Hello! I have a good recipe and I've made it several times before. Maybe not for quite awhile - like..... maybe two..... or three.... years ago. But I have a good recipe. At least I thought it was good.

My thought about baking sweets is that it than has to be eaten. And, being I'm the one who is at home guess whose butt it attaches itself to. So, I very rarely make desserts that are going to be sitting around calling my name all day.

I suppose after taking a couple years off, a pan of apple crisp might actually be okay. Now, if I can just find that recipe. Hmmmm.

Oh, wouldn't you know it - I'm out of apples!!!

2007-09-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

I KID YOU NOT !!!!!

I went into Shopko today and guess what I saw. You're never going to believe it or guess it. I saw Christmas bulbs and ornaments adorning the shelves. AAHHHHH!!! Didn't Fall just get here????

2007-09-20T14:31:00.000-05:00

We have a wonderful family that has taken some of our kitties off our hands this summer. Due to a few mishaps they were requesting a few more. You can see how helpful this has been, as there is no more room at the milk dish. And it just so happens I refuse to get a bigger dish. :)

So, a few days back when I noticed that our mama calico cat's belly was beginning to get large and lumpy, I talked to our friend about the opportunity of taking a cat that was pregnant. She thought this would be a good idea. I talked to Trevor about it and of course he said "get rid of it". So, yesterday I gave our friend a jingle to see if I could bring Patches over and she said that I could any time today. Imagine my excitement of getting rid of a whole batch of kitties, although, not as thrilled about getting rid of Patches. She's been a really good cat - just a little too fertile.

Yesterday afternoon I realized I hadn't seen Patches much and this made me very nervous. Last night when we got home from church I see Patches and I immediately start to inspect her because she does NOT look nearly as poochy as she had. I even asked Kale for a second opinion - in case my eyes were playing tricks on me. He agreed and thought she looked pretty skinny. We proceeded to carry all the groceries in the house and put them away, making me forget about investigating it further.

This morning before the kids headed down the driveway to wait for the bus I asked Kale to make a quick run-through of the barn to look for a litter of kitties. To the pain of my ears, he came running out shouting "she had them, there's five baby kitties".

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me??? Could her timing be any worse! Ridiculously, I knew I believed Kale but for some reason I had to see it for myself. Yep, there was Patches, the good mama that she is nursing not five but SIX kitties. 3 black, 1 calico, 1 orange, and 1 white.

Look at her - she's looking at me like "WHAT? What did I do wrong?"

Knowing that there's no way I'm going to move brand new kitties to a brand new home I grudgingly made the call to our friend. I told her the news and told her the number in the litter - of course I had my fingers crossed hoping she'd still want all of them. It sounds like she will still take them all, which is so nice since they have other kitties already. We decided that in about 5 weeks we'd try to make the transfer again.

So, for the time being, Patches and her new family still call this place home sweet home.

2007-09-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Lord, watch over and protect them. Keep them safe. Help them to be good friends. Help them to listen carefully to their teachers. Lord, give them wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Help their teachers to teach in a manner that is easy for the kids to understand. And Lord, I ask that they have fun today. Help them to put a smile on someone elses face today. ~Thank you!

Silage 101

2007-09-14T11:05:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd give you the low-down, the scoop, the 411 on the art of Silage. Since I just happen to have by camera with me yesterday I took some pictures to help capture the whole process. Now, I realize some of you already know how this works, but I'm sure there are a few of you that don't. Also, I'm posting on this subject because I have nothing else to write about and so this is all you're going to get out of me today. So, turn back now or hang with me for a couple of minutes.

Where do I begin...

First of all we start with corn stalks that have matured fully and are just beginning to dry down.

Second, we have the tractor which is pulling the cutter which is pulling the wagon.

The cutter feeds in two rows of corn at a time and basically slices and dices the whole corn plant into tiny pieces about the size of a kernal. You can see in the picture above just how clean of a cut it makes. There's only about six inches of the stalk left on the ground.

The cutter than blows the choppings into the wagon.

Once the wagon is full, the truck pulls up right next to the wagon. Literally, it is within inches of the wagon. The wagon lifts up and dumps the load onto the truck.

The truck then races through the field and heads to the pile where it unloads. It is necessary to go quickly so that the cutter doesn't have to wait to dump its next load. There is no sluffing off when you're driving the truck. (except when you're taking pictures for blogging purposes, despite the cross looks you may get from the boss)

When the truck reaches the pile the box is raised up and the silage pours out the back.

After the box is empty and lowered back down, the truck heads back through the field for the next load.

At the pile, the silage is pushed up on the pile and then drove over back and forth several, SEVERAL times with a loader tractor to pack it all down. It must be packed hard otherwise it will spoil and rot.

We cut 85 loads this year and finished in two days. With the bountifull hay crop we're hoping it'll be enough to keep the cows full all winter. My Dad drives the tractor pulling the cutter and wagon and my brother drives the tractor packing at the pile. I'm the truck driver that's rushing back and forth constantly from the field to the pile. It definately makes for a LONG couple of days.

So, now you know the whole process as it happens on our farm. Yes, for tens of thousands of dollars we could upgrade and get newer cutters and wagons - but for the two days out of the year that we use them, our 35 year old cutter and 20 year old wagon will do. Some day, some year, they'll probably get too old and tired for the job, but for now it all seems to work just fine.

2007-09-11T08:27:00.000-05:00

Before she headed off for college, Jade gave Kale and Nikia t-shirts from the college she will be attending. How cool is that?!! I told you she was a great person didn't I. It was a few weeks ago that she actually gave them the shirts, but I finally caught them wearing them the same day.

I know Kale thinks about her often. This is how I know.... For Jade's high school graduation Kale burned a cd of some songs that he picked out and gave it to her. Jade wrote a really sweet Thank You note just to Kale. Of course he was in la la land when he received that. Well, anyways..... I find it right next to his bed every night. That's right, he reads it before he goes to sleep every night. Cute huh!

2007-09-07T09:01:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY? Already!

Where did this week go? Trevor gets home tomorrow from fishing in Canada. I suppose I better get busy and get this house cleaned or he'll wonder what I did all week. Which, really wasn't a heck of a lot. I did manage to get the lawn mowed before it down poured yesterday. Wow, it came hard for awhile. Trevor, my Dad and Kale re-shingled the garage last weekend. Guess they did it right because after yesterdays rain - NO PUDDLES in the garage. YAY!!

I've got my LimeWire fired up and the 80's a blasting. Let the cleaning begin.

Have a great weekend ladies!

2007-09-04T23:46:00.000-05:00

It's official, SUMMER is over.

The kids are in school, football has started, leaves are beginning to turn, Tracy Ferber has put out her Fall decorations, Mums are the only flower in the greenhouses, it's time to cut silage, crops are beginning to lose their healthy green appearance, deer license application deadlines have passed, the swimming pools are closed, and I've taken the highlights out of my hair and colored it dark again.

Yes, AUTUMN is here.

2007-09-03T00:39:00.000-05:00

I'm a happy girl again, I got a new coffee maker! Yes, I know, it doesn't take much to get on my good side. However, I will say this. If you are ever in the need for a new appliance or whatever it may be, and it's something that your husband uses or likes, make sure he's along when you make the new purchase. Men like to get the better quality and are willing to pay more for things that are of "necessity" to them. Ever tag along when he decides it's time for a new gun or a new lawn mower, chair recliner, chain saw or whatever? They look at things like quality, horsepower, range, accuracy and what it's all made up of first and don't even think twice about the price. You see, the first coffee maker I bought I had reservations about how much to spend and what it looked like, so I was a little hesitant on my choice. I went with a little cheaper selection because I basically talked myself into believing that I didn't need such a nice coffee maker and they all basically do the same thing. Right??? WRONG!!!! And I knew that, but I still hesitated on spending so much money. So, when I made the return of the first coffee maker, because of it's look and the dumb filter type, and began my search for a different one I made the call. "Honey, want to come help me pick out a new coffee maker?" That's right, we stood in that aisle for about 20 minutes looking over the various kinds and discussed the programmable option, cleaner option, number of cups, stainless steel carafe or glass pot, brew strength and yes indeed, the filter type. Guess what? I walked up to that check-out and payed twice as much as I did when I made the first choice myself. Yessiree, if you want to make an expensive purchase without feeling guilty, just make sure he's along and let him do the investigating. You can't go wrong.

This is the one that we got. No it's not a BUNN - we did look at those, but even I know we don't need to spend THAT much money. It's a Kitchenaide and it makes the most delicious coffee.

2007-08-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!

I hope you have a great day today! That's really all I have to say today.

Actually, I was tired of seeing that little photography guy below everytime I opened my site. So, I had to put something on here to move him down a bit. Sorry, this is all I came up with today.

Oops, my mistake. I do have a little more. My coffee maker went on the "kaputz" yesterday. So, last night I bought a new one - different kind. I get it out of the box this morning to use and I'm all excited to have a nice, freshly brewed, soothing, wake-me-up cup of coffee and I find out it takes the CONE filters. AGHHHHH!!!! Of course that's not the kind of filters I have on hand. Why didn't it say that on the outside of the box??? Well, it bugged me enough that I'm packing it back up and going to look for another coffee maker today. Not just because of the cone filters, but also because I didn't really like the platinum look and because Trevor said I should look for a different one. Good enough reasons for me.

Say Cheese !!

2007-08-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Well, today are school pictures and for some reason this day always makes me worried. I'm not sure I can pin point exactly what makes it so nerve racking. Lets see.......

It could be all the options that you get to make up your photo "package". You know, like how many pictures and what sizes of each. "Package B1" sounds real nice for $27.00, but for $22.00 I can get the same sizes for just a few less of the 2X3's. And, oh, do I want to add $3.00 for a few more of the wallets or another selected size for a bigger fee yet?

It could be the background color options that twist my stomach. Hmmmm, do I want emerald, blue, red, or steel? What could possibly look the best with the paint on the wall where I intend to hang these glorious pictures? Should I get the same background for each kid or let them be their own individual self and have a different color?

It could be the new option this year. The choice of pose!! Would I like my kids standing, a close-up head shot, the leaning-in head-in-hands, or the traditional pose?

It could be the decision of adding another $3.oo to my "package" to have their names printed right on the front of the photo.

It could be the choice of the perfect outfit to wear. What color will look the best with the above chosen background? But then, really, all you ever see is the top half of the shirt. Well, unless I was to go with that standing pose. That just might include a little more portion of the shirt - you never know. Oh, how about the mere fact that they better not spill anything on that shirt. You know, like chocolate milk, spaghetti sauce, paint, marker, ink, mud.....

Or could it be the hair styles. Do I fix an up do or leave it down. Should we apply gel and go for the controlled bed head look - but what if it rains at recess and it turns to a sticky mess? Should we put cute little curls in, but then it's sure to be humid and they'll be gone in no time. What if we straighten it - yep, there's that humidity problem again and any natural curl is sure to arise.

And last but not least, maybe it's at that final moment when it's their turn to say cheese and put on the perfect smile and it's the simple reason that I'm not there to say "Ummm, better take another one, he/she can smile nicer than that".

Yep, I'm not sure which one it is. I just hope that they turn out okay the first time and we won't have to go through this again on re-take day.

Now, how many weeks till we get them back????????????????? It's never soon enough, is it? The class picture takes twice as long to get back, and I totally rely on that one when I haven't a clue about who in the world "Johnny or Susie" might be.

Of course I really don't get THAT worked up about the pictures. Really, I don't. I mean isn't it down the road when I'm getting all their pictures lined up for the high school graduation open house that I'll look back and find the humor about Kale's teeth missing or Nikia's fake smile or that one hair that just wouldn't lay flat.

I guess there's really no need to get too worried about these silly little pictures. After all, the kids are on the bus and headed for the school already and it's out of my hands.

2007-08-28T10:27:00.000-05:00

Music to my ears....

2007-08-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

After Kale arrived home from the first day of school there was just nothing better to hear than,

"I love my new teacher, she is so cool and really funny!"

Oh, thank goodness for that.

Nikia on the other hand, is still in awe that she gets to go to school every day - all day and that she has a real locker.

I think we're off to a good start!!

1st Day of School

2007-08-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

As members of the class of 2017 and 2019 boarded the bus this morning I had tears in my eyes. For some reason it seems like when the first day of school comes around its the day that the kids actually get older. Never mind when their birthday is, it's this day that makes them seem more grown up than any other. The day they're expected to be more independent and more responsible. Yeah, I'm okay with it - I guess I have to be. It's just the reality of it all hits me on this day. Like the years before, I will pray over them both everyday before they leave. I will ask God to watch over and protect them on the bus and at the school. I will ask God to help Kale to be a good friend, a nice gentlemen, and a great student. I will ask God to help Nikia to be a good friend, a nice young lady, and a great student. They may not be under my roof where I can watch over them, but God will be there with them and for them.

It's this time of year when.... I'm looking forward to seeing the big yellow bus roll into the driveway and seeing the kids run up the driveway at the end of the day. I'm not looking forward to sending the kids to bed early on school nights, or the time spent sitting at the table doing homework. I am looking forward to decorating my fridge with the drawings, artwork, and paintings. I'm not looking forward to my little helpers being gone all day. I am looking forward to the trips to town by myself. I'm not looking forward to the money I'll need to fork out for lunches, activity tickets, pictures, and milk tickets. I am looking forward to seeing the progress the kids make throughout the year. I'm not looking forward to seeing some of the influences of other kids that rub off on mine. I am looking forward to being the one that sends them off in the morning and welcomes them home every day.

Family Vacation

2007-08-20T14:08:00.001-05:00

Family Vacation

2007-08-20T03:00:00.000-05:00

Off to the Black Hills - again. This time, we were tourists. We took the kids to some of the major sites like Mount Rushmore, drove past Crazy Horse, drove through Bear Country, walked through Jewel Cave, saw the Wild Horses Sanctuary, walked around Keystone and purchased souveniers, drove through the needles and wound around on the Pigtails, visited the Mammoth Site (very interesting) and hung out at our campground's pool and slide. It was so much fun and the weather was great. We stayed at Beaver Lake Campground. We've stayed here before and just love this place. (I highly recommend it) Of course the best part is the heated pool and the super fast slide. It rained twice in the evening but during the days it was perfect temps. Miniature golf was a blast. We went towards evening and while we were playing some deer came down in the meadow next to the course. They stayed about 30 yards from us. Very cool! It was such a great time. We're looking forward to next year's trip already.

Sorry about the slide show. It's my first time setting one up - obviously I have a lot to learn yet. It took me three tries to get it to look like this - good grief!! Any advice is soooo welcomed. Why can't I get the slide show to copy into my other post? How do I get the "Family Vacation 2007" off of every photo? So much to learn and not enough time to sit and experiment with this. Anyway - hope you enjoyed the pictures.

2007-08-09T11:18:00.000-05:00

Apparently, this is the hair style you get when you take a dip in the hot tub and then go for a 4-wheeler ride.

Or, maybe it's just a sign that his Mother should get his hair trimmed. Hmmmm.

2007-08-08T01:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Kale's 9th birthday. We really didn't do too much to celebrate since we're going to have a party at the pool another day. Nevertheless, I just have to say......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KALE

I LOVE YOU BUNCHES!

Step Inside My Office....

2007-08-05T22:55:00.000-05:00

Welcome! I know I've been MIA lately but I've been a little busy at the office. Let me give you a little tour around the place......

This is the outside view of my office.....

Just another view with a little different background. Pretty huh!!!

This is the inside view of my office.......
(obviously a man decorated it, I would have chosen a different color scheme)

This is my employers office......

(once in awhile he lets me sit at his desk and run the thing)

This is the view from my office.....

Nothing like an office with a view...........

This is a co-worker of mine.....

(sorry, bad picture, it's a semi)

Sometimes I get "ride alongs".....

Sometimes I sit and think about how big my butt is getting from sitting in my office all day.....

Oh, got to go, the boss man needs me. Tour has to come to an end.

I'd love to come see your office someday.....

Rockhound Champs!!!

2007-07-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

Kale with his team's trophy and his individual trophy.

Sunday was the big PeeWee and Midget tournament to end the baseball season. The boys look forward to this big day all season long. All the teams are from local towns and so the players pretty much know all the other players because they all go to school together. You can imagine the competitiveness this day brings to the boys.

Both teams played very well and provided some great games to watch. The other highlight of this tournament is that there is a swimming pool about 250 yards from the baseball field. Between games the boys head over to swim and play around to cool off while their sisters pretty much stay in the pool the whole day. It really couldn't be any better of a situation!

Both our teams came out the Champs and took home two HUGE trophies and also individual trophies as well. Very Cool!! I was so proud of the boys and their coach for all their hard work all summer.

PeeWee's
(Kale is standing in the back, the third player from the right)

Midget's
(Trevor helped coach, he has on the white shirt)

Tonight the boys and the girls teams head to the pool to celebrate the end of yet another good year of ball games.

The kids are all done but my ladies team is in the second week of our tournament and Trevor's team will be starting their tournament this week. So, just a few more days of ball diamonds and then in a short while it will be football fields and volleyball courts.

My Personal Sanctuary

2007-07-26T01:45:00.000-05:00

Girls...you have to get yourself one of these!! I absolutely love my little gazebo. It's not the biggest one they sell but not the smallest one either. It is so nice to go and just sit and look at a magazine, read a book, take a nap, or just sit and do nothing but have a cold beverage or a hot coffee. There's something so quaint about it that makes it very relaxing. The screen keeps the bugs out and it stays nice and shady (which is a huge necessity with the 90+ weather temps we've been having).

This is my second one. Last year I had one too but a nasty wind storm pretty much destroyed it. I was working in the field driving the tractor and it was heavy on my mind that my gazebo may be in jeopardy with such strong gusts of wind, but farmers just don't understand that harvest should be shut down for awhile to run home and tie down the gazebo. When I did get home that night I found my gazebo toppled over in a pile. I sat and cried because I knew it was ruined. I know - what a baby! But I loved my quiet times in my sanctuary. I had it tied down and staked down but the wind was just too much. This year it's tied even better and that baby isn't going anywhere.

I didn't know if Trevor was going to "let" me have another one or not but when I found this one on clearance I gave him my best "puppy dog eyes" and begged. Last year I set it up all on my own - how? I still have no idea how I managed to do it by myself. I guess I was just determined. This year Trevor helped me, which was good, I don't think I could have done this one on my own.

A little outdoor furniture and some plants to make it comfy cozy and your set. Awwwh....RELAXATION. I have a grape vine and a new perrenial flowerbed that I started last year behind it that makes for a pretty view. I admit though, I definitely haven't spent enough time in it yet this year. After this week both kids will be done with ball games and hopefully I'll have more evenings to spend at home. Of course then there's wheat harvest which we started yesterday......... Oh, sooner or later I'll find some quality time to hang out in my sanctuary.

What Have We Been Up To You Ask ?????

2007-07-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

A little of this and a little of that......

Both kids qualified for State in the pedal tractor pull...

Triathlon!!

At the starting line....

heading out around the buoy....

(Kale has on the white shirt)

running hard to the finish line ....

Second Place!!!

A job well done.

Gave three of these to a nice family...YAY!!!

PARADE!

Waiting patiently for the candy...

Here come the boys...finally.

Swing hard Slugger!!

Swimming lessons test.....

Both kids passed - YAHOO!!

Went to Mpls to visit the in-laws....

played a little put-put...

shot some trap....

Kale shot trap for the first time and hit one...Atta Boy!!

Miss You Much!

2007-07-14T09:32:00.001-05:00

My blogging break needs to continue another week. The kids have one more week of swimming lessons - which I don't get home until noon. When we get home it's off to the farm or catch up on things at home before heading out to ball games in the evening. My head is spinning in circles (more than usual) and I just haven't made the time to sit at the computer lately. I miss you all so much and can't wait for a rainy day to catch up. Speaking of rain - the crops could sure use some. The fields still look really good but a nice inch or two would really help the plants produce a bountiful crop.

How about this - school starts in about six weeks. YIKES!!! Oh, where did this summer go to? School supplies are out already too. I'm thinking of letting my kids just skip this whole year - think the State would mind? Just kidding! The other day, I was ready to send them to summer school! It turned out to be nothing that a spanking spoon couldn't handle.

Ever get to that point during the summer when the flower beds get a little neglected? I'm there. I feel like those stupid weeds just start reproducing the moment I pull one of their dear friends. Thank the Lord for my little roto-tiller. Trevor bought me one of these little buggers that I can get in and around my plants after my accident a few years ago. It's been a real help. I'm so far behind in pinching off the dead blooms on some of my flowers - do they make a tool that does that for ya? I've learned that really helps the plants bloom longer. Oh, and if that dog digs one more hole, and kills one more plant in my flower beds....well, I don't know what I'll do....I guess I'll just go buy more to replace them (the family would kill me if I killed that dog).....dumb dog!!!(actually it's a really good hunting dog and I am the one that bought it for Trevor so it's my own fault).

We moved the calves over to our place since we have the "perfect" little pasture for them. These are the calves that for some reason or another had to be taken from their moms and bottle fed. We have six of them. They are all eating on their own now except one that is still on a bottle. Kale's a BIG help with these buggers. He's pretty responsible with feeding them grain and making sure they have water.

Okay, now I'm just babbling on and I really need to get off this thing and get busy. I'll try to get pictures down-loaded off the camera and post some of the happenings in our lives lately. Oh, did I mention Kale and Danny got 2nd place in the Triathalon!!!!(more later on that).

I hope you are all having a great summer, getting some sunshine and enjoying family times. I miss you all so much - more than you know. You have all been such a great inspiration to me and have kept me going in life in ways you'll never know. It hasn't been an easy year for me - but thanks for the kind words you all share. They help me keep my head above the water.

2007-07-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope you all have a great week and weekend. Enjoy some fireworks, take in a parade, catch a ballgame, have a picnic, splash in some water and enjoy time with family and friends. We'll be doing these things and a little more.

While the Husbands Away......

2007-06-28T23:03:00.000-05:00

Why is it that when my husband is out of town I just can't come up with anything fun to do? Kale is going camping with the boys and Trevor is leaving for a fishing tournament, so Nikia and I are going to be home by ourselves.

I want to do something fun, but what???

Girls night out - I can be ready in 10 minutes.
Shopping - maybe.
Pool - possibility.
Movie - perhaps.
Just sit at home - probably.

I have such a boring life!!!

Girlfriend and Boyfriend

2007-06-26T23:37:00.000-05:00

Remember Jade? Kale's "girlfriend" (she just graduated this year from high school). He's been wanting to ask her to come to one of his baseball games but just hadn't got the chance to yet. Well, last Friday he made his move. Now, this is really cool that he wanted to invite her, BUT.... I had no idea when he was going to do it.
I was taking a shower when he comes in my room and says, "I just called Jade and she said she might come to my game."
Ummmm, what did you just say? (as I'm getting the soap out of my ears because I thought he just said he called a girl)
"She might come to my game!"
"You called her?"
"Yes"
"Well, okay, but it's an away game" (45 minutes away, to be exact, in another town, and it starts in 2 hours. In the back of my mind I'm thinking there's no way she'll come that far) "How did you get her number?"
"I already had it marked in the phone book!" (dah! Mom)
"You did?"

So.... we're sitting at the game, waiting for the Wee-Wee's (5-6 yr. old) game to finish and the Pee-Wee's to begin when up walks Jade. I looked at Kale and he got the biggest smile on his face and started to blush. Could she be any nicer? A beautiful teenage girl, on a Friday night, could have made plans to do anything and she chose to make my little 8 1/2 year old boy's night. She drove all that way just for Kale. Isn't she wonderful?

The other highlight of the night was.....

As the games went on Jade and I were chatting about Nikia and Jade asks if Nikia has a little boyfriend. I told her I didn't think so, she thinks boys have germs (a little thing I may have made her believe). It was no more than 3 minutes later and up walks Nikia crying her eyes out. Sobbing!!

"What's the matter honey?"
"Aaron, my boyfriend, just broke up with me!"
"What did you just say?"
"He broke up with me, and now he's playing with another girl!"

As Jade was doing all she could not to laugh out loud, I was trying to comprehend that my 6 yr. old just said the words "broke up" and actually new what it ment, and that it was referring to her and a boy.

OH THE DRAMA !!!!!!!

Black and Blue and Red

2007-06-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

I've taken such a beating the last couple of days. On Tuesday I was scooping manure out of the barn and I went to toss the "crap" off of my pitchfork into the wagon but "it" didn't come off. The pitchfork kind of fell out of my hand and the handle went right to my right eye. OUCH!! Now I have a black and blue mark on my eyelid. I've tried to cover it up with eyeshadow but it must not be working. My Mom told me it looked like my makeup was smeared. NICE!!

Tonight at my softball game I was playing catcher and the pitch came in and took a nasty bounce right at my mouth. OUCH!! I had to leave the game because it wouldn't quit bleeding. I now have a big ol' fat lip on the top and a little hamburger on the bottom lip, plus a nice RED mark on the outside. Oh yeah, and my front big tooth hurts too. I sure hope I didn't hurt a nerve to my tooth. That would be real great to have my tooth turn black. I'd have to change my blog site to The Redneck Hillbilly. NICE!!

So, yeah. I'm looking just peachy!! Wish I could just stay home and hide out for a few days. Nope. I have softball practice with the beautiful teenage girls at 8:00 am. YAY!! :(

Pets, Pets, and More Pets!!

2007-06-19T23:21:00.000-05:00

I know I have posted pictures of our goats before, but I have to show you our new set of twins. They are so adorable. I wanted to name them Bert and Ernie but it turns out one of them is a girl. So, I have yet to come up with their names. (any ideas Kerrie? I thought of the first letter of all our names and came up with TANK or KNAT. I'm thinking no to both) They were born while we were on our trip. I knew the mama was close and I was really hoping she could wait till we got back, but no such luck. They're only about 5 inches tall.

Guess what else we came home to. Another litter of kitties. She had 6 kitties to be exact. So now the count is 11 baby kitties. NICE!!!
Okay, now make sure your children are looking at the screen and read the following out loud to them.
Anyone want a free kitty? Pick a color, any color. We've got black, grey, white, and orange. Nikia plays with with the older litter everyday so they're nice and tame - very kid friendly. I'm sure you kids would love to have one - or you can even have two. That way one kitty won't get lonely all by itself.

These are two from the first litter and they're about big enough to start giving them away. They wouldn't cost any money. They're free!!! They'd probably be such good kitties you could let them sleep in your room with you or just follow you around wherever you go. You can even pick out a name for them. Except, Nikia has already named the orange one Peaches. Just tell your mom that you really want one.

Now moms, don't break your kid's heart. Give in and let them have a kitty - or two. Remember, they're free!!!

Father's Day Trip to the Black Hills

2007-06-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

It was a great trip and we're all ready to go back again next year. The location Dad had picked out was beautiful. We were very secluded from seeing or hearing a lot of vehicles so there was hardly any noise except what we made. Every day we went on horse rides and 4-wheeler rides so we put on something like 200 miles on each of the 4-wheelers and I'm not sure how many on the horses. We saw so many deer, elk, turkeys, antelope and of course we heard the coyotes howling at night. It was such a relaxing and enjoyable trip for everyone.

One of the gorgeous views!

Tylor letting the horses eat some grass.

Kale being a goofball!

Nikia and Lexy slept in the front of the trailer each night.

Playing the "washer" game.

Heading out for a ride.

We had just gone through a very beautiful long canyon with rocks and trees on both sides of us and it came out to this open range.

Kale letting Storm graze a little.

Saddle is on and now for the bridle.

My brother and Dad deciding which way we should go to see more elk.

The first day we had the horses tied up like this. They could move around quite a bit but they ate the grass pretty quickly so we changed it a little the next day.

The next day we made a corral for the horses to stay in.

Grandpa having some fun with the kids.

Trevor and Nikia hanging out.

For those of you wondering: our "biffy". The blue tarp for some privacy, the white towel to let others know someone was using the biffy, the toilet paper on a stick for a holder. This "seat" really came in handy for the kids to use. I didn't have to worry about the kids getting "any" on their pants while squatting. The bucket with a bag for easy disposal. I would prefer using this biffy over any other biffy any day - it didn't stink and it had a beautiful view! :)

It really was a great time. I wish we could have stayed longer - lord knows we had enough food along to stay longer. The weather was perfect except the last night we got about 1/4 inch of rain. We didn't mind it though - it washed all the dust and pollen off of everything. I can't wait till next year!!

2007-06-12T05:05:00.000-05:00

This is just going to be a quick post as it is 4:00 in the morning (I can't sleep and what else is there better to do than blog). I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to lately since I haven't posted in a while. We've been so busy around here lately. Last weekend I worked here at home and finally got caught up on some things that have been neglected (mowing, flower beds, garden, cleaning house, etc..).

Every night of the week someone in our family has a ballgame. It pans out kinda like this:

Monday - Kale baseball
Tuesday - Nikia softball, and I help coach a 16-under girls softball team
Wednesday - Amy softball
Thursday - Nikia softball, and Trevor softball
Friday - Kale baseball

Busy? YES!! But I love watching the kids play and it's a good time to chat with the other parents from the community.

We've been getting ready for our Father's Day vacation. In past years we've gone out fishing to the Missouri River with my Dad and Mom and one year my brother's family came too. This year Dad decided we should all (except my sister and her family because they're being party-poopers and don't want to) go to the Black Hills. We're taking 4 horses and 6 4-wheelers. We're staying in tents and Mom and Dad are bringing their camper. We're not going to a campground.....no, no, no, we're staying out in the woods and "roughing it". It should be a lot of fun if the weather cooperates.

I'll be sure to let you all know how the trip went and post some pictures when we return. Have a great weekend.

Just Horsing Around!!!

2007-06-07T10:03:00.000-05:00

Almost every day Nikia asks me if she can ride a horse. When we're at the farm she spends a lot of time by the horse pasture talking to the horses and feeding them grass. She LOVES horses. In fact, she wants her own Paint horse someday. I've never been that big of a fan of Paints but maybe for her I'll change my view. Maybe. The other day my niece Lexy went riding and helped Nikia and Kale get all set on some horses.

Nikia riding Zippy.

Kale riding Bo.

Nikia has no fear of horses and Kale is a little more nervous around them. I think Kale's fear stems from seeing my horse accident. When it was time to put the horses away, Nikia cried because she wanted to ride more and Kale had had enough.

2007-06-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

Who Are You, And What Have You Done With My Children?

We've had so much rain lately that it's been hard to keep up with the mowing. The other day we finally had a break from the rain and the sun was shining so I sent Kale out to begin the task of getting the whole yard mowed before the clouds came back. It takes about 3 hours (non-stop) with a riding lawn mower to finish our yard. He was such a trooper and only took two breaks. One for lunch and one for a much deserved popsicle. I was going to take over but he never complained or seemed to get tired of it.

I was so proud of him for getting the job done so quickly. I told him that Pirates of the Caribbean was on t.v. if he wanted to watch it. He loves that movie and hurried into the house to watch it. He only watched about 15 minutes of it and then came and asked me if there was anything else he could do for me outside. WHAT??? He wants more work? Ummm, okay. I told him there was some piles of old straw/hay in the goat pen along with a couple piles of sticks and branches that he could pick up and haul to our dump. He simply said "alright" and got to work. Again, no complaints, and he finished that job too (this time with a little help from his sister). She didn't have any complaints about the task either.

That same morning, Nikia asked if she could dust for me. Ummm, of course you can. She was walking around dusting and singing away. This can't be normal. Kids enjoying work?

Yesterday, I explained to Kale that for one of his summer chores I would like him to clean the toilet in his bathroom once a week. I have shown him how to do this before and he was thrilled to learn (go figure). So yesterday, with no hesitation he got the job done and then came and asked me what I use to clean the mirror in the bathroom. Again, he's wanting to do more work.

Wait just a minute! What is going on here? I promise, I don't threaten them, or bribe them, or run any type of sweat shop. I'm just simply wondering who took my kids and what did they do with them. My kids are usually really good workers but I usually hear some griping and wining about the chores they're having to do. Hmmmm, what are they up to? They must want something. But what? I bet in some way or another their father is involved in this little conspiracy too.

I guess the only things I can do is consider myself extremely blessed to have such willing little workers, and make up a list of things I want done so I'll be ready for the next little volunteer.

I sure hope this lasts all summer. Yeah, right! Who am I kidding.

2007-05-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

A few months back Trevor had bought me a t-shirt that said BRUNETTE'S GO TO HEAVEN BUT BLONDE'S GET LOST ALONG THE WAY. Nikia had asked me what it said the first time I wore it and I told her and thought nothing more about it.

This morning when I was fixing Nikia's hair she was looking in the mirror at my hair with kind of an odd expression and said "So, I guess now, you get lost and you go too."

me: Ummm, what are you talking about?"

nikia: Well, remember that shirt Daddy bought you?

me: Which shirt?

nikia: The one that says you get to go to heaven

me: Oh, yeah

nikia: Well, now it looks like you get lost and you get to go too.

NICE!! I might have caught on sooner, but I wasn't even wearing the shirt. I guess those blonde streaks are a little too prominent!!

2007-05-24T05:53:00.000-05:00

Ladies, I'd like to ask you to all pray for my little girl. Nikia is still having a real hard time with her Great-Grandpa's death. Remember when my Grandpa died and how she was there and saw everything? Almost everyday with tears in her eyes, Nikia tells me how she misses him so much. She's asked me if it's still okay to cry about missing him. Yesterday, she described to me the scene of the accident again. The other day I was taking a shower and when I got done I found a note that she had slid under my door. It was a picture of a little girl with tears rolling down her cheeks and it said "I really miss Grandpa". Today, she told me that she wished she was in heaven so she could see Grandpa. I know being at the farm and seeing his empty house doesn't help (I still have a very hard time with it too). She used to go to his house often just to see him and have a cookie and chat with him. About a month before he died he had slipped and fell and broke a bone in his arm, and Nikia was his "nurse" to make him all better. She brought him water, the paper, a Kleenex, his slippers, etc... She had such a special place in her heart for him and now his death and all the visual memories of the accident are really hard for her. I know God knows how to mend her heart and I just ask that you say an extra prayer for Nikia.

Thank you!!

2007-05-22T04:12:00.000-05:00

Last Days of School

2007-05-21T03:48:00.000-05:00

The last days of school were jammed pack with lots of fun stuff for the kids. Nikia's last day was on Thursday and it started out with her graduation. The kindergartener's program included demonstrating they could count to 100, they said the months and the days of the week, they said nursery rythmes, sang songs and said the alphabet in sign language and they also signed an animal for each letter (that was very cool).

After graduation they traveled to the zoo for the rest of the day and ate their sack lunches in the park. Of course Nikia couldn't resist to touch the snake as it passed by her during the presentation. EWWW!!

On Monday, Kale's class had their "field trip". They went to the the HyVee grocery store for a "behind the scenes" tour and to the Fire Department for another tour and then to the rec. center to swim. Friday, however was his last day of school and they had their "field day". They had various activities to do: three-legged race, dodge-ball, kickball, water balloon toss, 100 yard dash, tug of war, and inflatables to jump in. It was an amazing day and fun to watch all the kids have so much fun.

To celebrate school's end and summer's begin Friday evening, we went to Pizza Hut and then Shreck The Third . The kids and I loved the movie! It was a perfect way to end the school year.

It's The Thought That Counts!

2007-05-16T09:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my little princess decided to make me breakfast. I usually never eat breakfast so this was indeed a sweet treat. Just how much of a SWEET treat you ask...........

I'm not sure if she dropped the jelly jar on the toast or if she just thought I liked a lot of jelly with a little toast. Either way, she made my morning sweet.

2007-05-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

Just a couple pictures from Mother's Day.

It was a beautiful Mother's Day. We went to church and taught a Sunday School class and then out to eat at a delicious buffet. Then we went home changed clothes and headed to the farm. Nikia rode horse with her cousin Lexi. I was going to ride also but I had to help Kale with his homework first. By the time we got finished, the girls were done riding. BUMMER! Trevor helped my Dad work on his boat. Then, we all went driving around looking for carp to spear. (Since we've had so much rain the creeks are full and the carp have made their way to our neighborhood). I really wish I would have had my camera with me. It was a lot of fun. To finish out the evening I went to Spiderman 3 with my Sister-In-Law, my niece and nephew. We went to the late movie, I was so tired I actually found myself falling asleep a couple of times. Oops! It was a good movie - just a little too long.

2007-05-11T08:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms!

I hope you have a very relaxing, and enjoyable day of pampering. May your husband take you out to eat to a delicious buffet with all your favorite foods and may your children clean your house for you.

Okay, Okay.....just make mac n cheese and leave the house looking like it does.

It's your day....don't stress over it... enjoy it!!!! After all - it's those people (husband and kids) that qualified you to partake in the "Mother's Day" holiday in the first place.

Have a fun weekend with your family!!

Hauling Pairs To Pasture

2007-05-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

We bring up pairs from the pasture to these corrals. Sometimes we get two or three pairs at a time, and sometimes just one pair at a time.....

Once we get ten pairs (because that's all the trailer can hold per load) into the corrals then we sort off the calves from the cows. This little rascal snuck back in the pen with his mama...not for long, we shoved him under the panel........

Bringing the calves down the alley to load them into the trailer......

Once the calves are in the trailer we spray on Dectomax - aids in keeping the ticks, fleas, and lice off of them. This is Shane, Dad and my Sister-In-Law Terri, getting the spray set up.....

Oops, no picture of just the cows - but next we load up the cows into the trailer and spray them as well. Then they are hauled to their new pasture for the summer.....

Then, back down to the pasture to get more pairs. We used three 4-wheelers. Notice the mud flying behind Trevor's 4-wheeler - we had to go through this mud hole every time so naturally we (Trevor, Shane and I) would always try to plaster the others with as much mud as possible. Hey, we try to make everything we do fun!!!

Finally, after hauling around 70 pairs out, we're done.....for now. Once more cows have their calves we'll do some more hauling. (click on this picture - you can see just how speckled with mud our faces are)

It was such a beautiful day for working with the cows - not too hot, not too cold. No one got hurt, and only a couple of cows got a little feisty. I was hoping to get a picture of us all when we got done but my camera batteries died - BUMMER!. We were soooooo muddy. My hair literally had clumps of mud in it - thanks to Shane and Trevor. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that they had plenty of mud clumps on them from my 4-wheeler too. Ha Ha!!! All in all - it was a perfect day!!!

Another Day on the Farm......

2007-05-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

Warning! this may not be for those with weak stomachs.

Yesterday I saw something I haven't seen in awhile...... We had a heifer (young cow having her first calf) cow that was having problems having her calf and so after getting her in the barn Dad and Shane tried to pull the calf but it still just wasn't coming so they gave the Vet a call. The Vet (I'm trying not to be too graphic here for those with a weak stomach, just use your imagination on how they do this - it's not just fingers - it the whole hand and arm that goes in) could feel that the calf's head was twisted way back and to the side, also, by now he could tell that the calf was not alive anymore. The doc gave her an epidural to ease the cow a little (even cows get tired of labor pains). After much work trying various things to get the calf's head to the position it should be, a second Vet, with much more experience (whom we would've preferred in the first place) was called in. He tried for a while as well and decided the only next option was a C-section. Now, for those of you ladies that have had one of these, it really is quite similar except they make the incision on the cows side rather than underneath on their tummy. Could you really imagine a cow laying on her back with her feet sticking up in the air? Not going to happen! They shaved the hair on the cows side in the area about the size of a basketball, and gave her a good wash with soap and water (they try to make it as sterile as possible - even for a cow). He numbed her up in that area and then the doc begins with the knife and cuts about a 6 - 8 inch incision. That's all the farther I'll take you on that - it really is the same as surgery on a person. I'd hate to gross you out with the finer details, if I haven't already, but it was simply amazing.

Through all of this the heifer just layed their, wide awake, calm as could be. After they pulled the calf out the Doc dumped an entire bottle (about a quart) of antibiotics into the incision area (don't want a chance of infection). When the Doc was all done stitching her back up (which was about three different layers to stitch), we untied her and she stood up just as perfect as could be (well, she did look a little worn out).

We decided that since her calf was dead that we would put a different calf with her (one that had belonged to a cow that had to be sold the other day). Cows go by the scent of their calf and so to get the heifer to take this other calf we had to make it smell like her calf. Well, the easiest way to do that is to take the "afterbirth" from the dead calf and smear all over the new calf (gross and disgusting -I know - I had to hold down the calf while Shane smeared - EWWWWW). Anyways, it worked like a charm. We put the new "smelly" calf in the pen with the cow and almost 2 minutes later the calf was drinking from it's new mama. YAY! It doesn't always work that smoothly - many times a cow just won't take a different calf.

I've seen C-sections performed on cattle before - but it truly is amazing each time. I guess if you made it through all of that without losing your breakfast or your coffee - you're doing pretty good. I had honestly thought about taking some pictures for you to see, but thought some of you "city" gals just might not appreciate it so much. So, no visuals. I hope I didn't get too detailed for you, but I thought some of you would find it pretty interesting. If not, and you're totally grossed out - Sorry!

Unanswered Questions...

2007-05-03T08:33:00.000-05:00

Thought since I really had nothing else to write about today - unless you're interested in picking rock, fixing fence, tagging calves, loading a huge tank into a truck to haul liquid fertilizer, helping Dad make a few changes to the sprayer, bottle feeding calves, hauling a few more cows to the sale barn (except one who refused to let us chase her up to the barn - don't worry, her day is coming).........I'd answer some of the questions you had about our school's prom.

I really should hand these questions over to Miss Frazzled Farm Wife or even Lurker Lauri as they had kids dressed up for the evening event. But, since Miss Lurker doesn't have her own site up YET... and I'm sure Miss FFW is working hard on her farm today, I'll give it my best attempt.

First of all, when you attend as many school events as we do, and you attend a smaller size school, you get to know the students pretty well, and they get to know you and your children as well.

Their evening starts out with a banquet and then they have a Grand March and then the dance and then depending on the year (every-other-year trip) they head to Kansas City for a day of fun.

For the Grand March each couple is introduced (as proud parents, grandparents, and people who just go to see what everybody is wearing and how well they all "clean up") and walk down a very beautifully decorated "red carpet", spot light shining on them as they stop and pose for pictures and show off their date and their selected dress and tux for the evening. Only one couple on the "carpet" at a time so you get a good look at them - and so they're nerves are rattled a little too! After each couple has made their entrance the music begins and the boys find their moms and the girls find their dads and they share a very special dance ( I love that part - can't wait till my boy dances with me someday - for now we dance in the kitchen). Then the lights come up a bit (usually- not this year, they stayed dim and it was a little hard to get the best pictures) and the spectators can make their way to the floor and take pictures with whomever. The best part is that the high school kids are so willing to take the pictures with everyone. After that, they make their way into yet another beautifully decorated room and the real music of the evening begins. Except this time, no spectators, just chaperone's and the couples. Then at 1:00 am they get on a bus and the trip begins.

Hope that covered all the questions. If I missed anything or got anything wrong Miss FFW and LL can feel free to correct me or add anything.

2007-05-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

Wahooo!

Only 13 more days of school !!!

....thats all I have to say today.

2007-05-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY

NIKIA SHAE

I just can't imagine life without my little May Day baby. She is a breath of fresh air with a heart so sensitive it melts often. She has a love for people and animals like no other I've known. She probably gives out a hundred hugs a day with a smile that can bring sunshine to anyone.

Over her tiny little lifespan, she has accumulated a nickname from a few family members...(for real, this is what we all call her)

Mom ~ Princess
Dad ~ Sunshine
Kale ~ Squirt
Grandma ~ Sweetheart
Grandpa ~ Fuzzball
Uncle Shane ~ Hairball
Lexi and Tylor ~ Squeekers
Natasha ~ Bummers

Fuzzball and Hairball - don't ask, I can't even remember how that got started but considering who it is that calls her those names there is no telling what the story is.

These last six years have gone by so quickly. Knowing she's my last baby makes it even a little harder to watch her grow out of the baby and toddler years. I know there is no holding this child back though. The other day she was telling me how she would be moving out soon and going to college and then probably getting married. (What??) I told her I wasn't going to let her go but she said I had to. What is she 6 going on 26? That's one of the hard things too - she wants to be a "big girl" and grow up and do the big girl things. Her two older cousins (Lexi and Natasha) have become quite the role models for her. She can't wait to do everything they are doing. I guess since I can't slow her down any I'll just have to try to keep up with her.

We've decided to hold off on a "friends" party until a little later in the summer. I've convinced her that a party at the outdoor pool would be really awesome. So, we'll have just a little family party with cake and a few presents and call it good for now.

Prom

2007-04-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-04-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-04-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-04-19T16:44:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

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.....

2007-04-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-04-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

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......

2007-04-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-04-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-04-08T19:20:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2007-04-06T18:03:00.000-05:00

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?!!

2007-04-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2007-04-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

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?

I Guess I'll Give One Of These A Go.........

2007-03-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

This is one that my husband emailed me. He had some, well, interesting answers and I thought I should maybe just post all of his, but, NOPE! These are mine, however, we do have a couple of the same answers.

1. What is your occupation? SAHM
2. What color are your socks right now? Black
3. What are you listening to right now? Stuart Little (kids are watching it in the living room)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Spaghetti, Garlic Bread w/Cheese, and a Glass of Wine
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Lime Green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My Sister
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes
9. How old are you today? 35
10. Favorite drink? Raspberry Lemonade
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? hard one - I love so many
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, I like a change now and then
13. Pets? Dog: Ice, Cats: Patches, Huskers, Rascal. Fish: Willy, and 8 goats
14. Favorite food? Chinese
15. What was the last movie you watched? Shooter
16. What was the last book you read? Bible
17. What do you do to vent anger? Talk about the problem
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? honestly, I don't know. It was probably a real horse
19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall (hunting and harvest)
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs and Kisses!!
21. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries
22. Do you want your friends to leave you comments? Yes (I edited this one to make it blogger friendly)
23. Who is the most likely to comment? Heidi, Lori B, Tracy, Leigh Ann
24. Who is least likely to comment? Kim
25. Living arrangements? Newly Remodeled Old Farm House
26. When was the last time you cried? Watching “Bridge to Tarabithia” (both times)
27. What's on the floor of your closet? Shoes, Shoes, and Shoes
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Trevor
29. What did you do last night? Went to Kale's year end bb bowling party
30. Favorite smells: Lilacs
31. What inspires you? Nature
32. What are you afraid of? SNAKES
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Plain
34. Favorite dog breed? hmmm, I guess Lab since that's what we have
35. Number of keys on your key ring? 2 (house and Suburban)
36. How many years at your current job? 9
37. Favorite day of the week? Depends on what's going on
38. How many states have you lived in? 3 - SD, MN, MO
39. Favorite holidays? Christmas and Father's Day
40. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? Semi, Tractors, Combine, Grain Trucks, never a motorcycle though

Well, there ya go, a little bit more info on me. I had to laugh at some of my husbands answers. Like on #30, he answered "my wifes purfume and fresh cut alf alfa" - could they be any more different? On #27, he answered "sleeping bag" - that's right honey, keep em close in case you're in the dog house sometime soon :) and #11, he answered "any sport my kid is in" - awwww, what a Dad!

So how about you all....what would your husband's answers be?

2007-03-30T19:13:00.000-05:00

Oh...my.....gosh. I don't even know how to tell you all this..... but.... I just looked at the extended forecast and.....this is really hard for me to say.....but.....it said that there is a chance.........of ..........SNOWWWW...... next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!!!!!

Excuse me now, while I go grab a box of Kleenex and hide in my room till next Thursday. Sniffle, Sniffle

5 Things You Might Find Interesting About Me

2007-03-29T09:46:00.000-05:00

#1. I was in a horse accident and broke my pelvis in six places. I went from being in the hospital for 2 weeks, to using a hospital bed at home, to a wheelchair, to a walker, to crutches, to walking on my own. So when I posted previously about being able to play basketball with the big guys it really was a major thing to me personally. I'll have to write a post about the whole story sometime. It's still hard for me to talk about and makes me very emotional.

#2. My husband buys probably 75% of my clothes. I get a few of my favorite magazines in the mail and I go through them and mark the clothes that I like and then he will go through and pick out from my list the ones he likes and orders them for me. The best part is that I usually have no idea when or what he orders until it shows up at my door step. He's tried to go out on a limb and pick out things totally on his own - but he's learned that it's best to stick to my list. I'm pretty fussy about styles and colors. I've had to remind him more than once that just because it looks good on the model does not mean that's how it's going to look on my body. Anyway, it's something that I love that he does for me, and it's a wonderful surprise when it arrives to see what he picked out.

#3. Since I have moved out of my parents house after high school I have moved a total of 9 times. I don't recommend it. I hate packing and unpacking with a passion. Each time I realize just how much stuff I have and don't need. Where we are at now is where I want to remain. I love it here and can't imagine a better location.

#4. I love to hunt! Growing up I went with my Dad everywhere and did everything with him. His favorite thing to do is hunt, and it doesn't matter what type of animal or bird. I learned so much from him. I have shot four bucks (deer). My brother is a taxidermist and has made me two horn plaques and one head mount and another head mount from last year is in the works. These hang in the entryway of our home. I don't allow that kind of stuff beyond that point, I have a little better taste than that.

#5. My biggest fear is snakes. I HATE any and all sizes of snakes. Poisonous or not, I can't stand them. Dead or alive, picture or real. I despise them. The only kind that lives around here are garter snakes and they're basically harmless but they could just as well be a rattle snake for all I care. I keep my hoe handy in the summertime in case I see one and need to chop it up. Last summer I was working in one of my flower beds when all of a sudden a snake slithered out from under one of the plants I was close to. The worst part was that it was heading in my direction. Naturally, I jumped up screaming and running. Trevor was in the yard and saw the whole thing. He stood there and laughed and laughed thinking it was hilarious. Jerk! I gave him the "look" that only a woman can, and he ran over with the hoe and killed it. Bless his heart! (Okay, he just read this and started laughing again about the whole story. He even began to mimick me how I ran away screaming. Well, no fun for him tonight!!!!!)

Our Freezer Runneth Over!

2007-03-28T15:53:00.000-05:00

Today my Dad stopped by and filled our chest freezer full of beef. I don't mean like ten packages, no, no, I mean like seventy or more. From steaks of all kinds to roasts and ground beef. We didn't have to pay a thing. He does this from time to time for me helping out on the farm. Of course that's not the only payment I get for working on the farm but it sure is a great way to show his appreciation. It's such a blessing to us and a huge money saver. Don't tell him but I would work for free just because I love it so much.

Just a few things that made me smile today......

2007-03-27T21:36:00.000-05:00

~ Another day of sunshine.

~ Nikia outside singing her lungs out while swinging.

~ A big hug from Kale when he came home from school.

~ Pushing the "clean" button on my oven instead of scrubbing it myself.

~ Using up the leftovers in the fridge to make "hash" and the kids loving it.

~ Just out of the blue hearing Nikia say "I love you Mamma".

~ Seeing my husband splattered in mud head to toe from riding the 4-wheeler in the fields.

~ Marking off a few more items on my LIST.

~ Kale reading a story to Nikia.

~ Watching my kids sleeping so peacefully in their beds.

2007-03-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

I love the first Spring rain. It's so refreshing and cleansing. Ever notice how the new green grass spikes show up almost immediately? I love that! I saw some of my flower bulbs are beginning to poke through too. It puts a smile on my face; one that hasn't been there for quite some time. It's going to be a beautiful day today. I heard it could reach into the 70's. Nope, I won't be able to keep myself inside today either. By the way, did I mention I cheated the other day. I went out to do chores and ended up spending 2 hours outside. Sooooo, I still have plenty of cleaning to do. I did, however, manage to check some things off my list of spring cleaning. It's suppose to rain some more this week so those days I'll tackle some more of the LIST (it's almost starting to sound like a bad four letter word to me).

I hope you all have a wonderful Spring day and are able to get outside for some refreshing sunshine!!

2007-03-23T10:32:00.000-05:00

Nikia and I had a great day of shopping together yesterday, but today is all work and no play. We are starting to do a little spring cleaning. Yuck! But, I know it's got to be done and how refreshing the house will be once it's finished. I've had a big list of stuff that needs to be done for every room in the house but I've just kept putting it off. Well, I can't slack off any more because now that the weather is getting nicer I don't want to be stuck inside doing house work. I need to get out and clean up the yard too but I've decided I'm not letting myself until I do the house stuff first. Which isn't easy since I'm not much of an enthusiastic Miss Suzy Homemaker.

I may cheat a little and let the kids start without me on the stuff outside. After the snow melts down it always amazes me what is left. The leaves drive me crazy because I know we bagged our yard three times last fall. Believe me, I remember, we have a huge yard. The branches and sticks I can understand with all the heavy ice and snow, but then there's the garbage bag caught in the tree and some of the stuff the dog dragged into the yard over the last few months, and some of the stuff the dog dropped in the yard - if you know what I mean.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go..... Have a great weekend everyone. I hope it's full of sunshine and family fun.

OUCH!!

2007-03-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this is another email I received. I just had to share it with you all. Poor pooch!

This is obviously not the smartest dog in the world.
I am so not a Pit Bull fan but these pictures are incredibly painful!!! Somewhere in Poland there is a naked Porcupine! This Pit Bull decided he would attack a poor Porcupine; but being brave and stupid, he learned the hard way that you can't always win, no matter how tough you are. The vet sedated the dog and removed 1347 quills...the dog survived and hopefully learned a lesson.

First Day of Spring!

2007-03-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share some photos of our two newest little kids. The white one was born Sunday and the blackish one was born Monday. They were so fun to watch jumping and running around this morning.

It was foggy, no wind, warmer and such a nice refreshing morning. I sat and watched the goats, I listened and watched the geese flying over head, the cats were playing around in the barn, and the dog was already taking another nap for the day. Spring is in the air. Finally!