Legacy

I was working on our emergency preparedness binder earlier this week when a friend asked what it was. I explained to him that it was a binder that I could grab if something were to happen (flood, fire, tornado, evacuation) and all of our important information, papers and copies of photos are contained in that binder. He said 'photos? That sounds like a waste of time and energy. I lived through it and don't need a photo to remind me. What could you possible want to remember so badly?'

I tried to explain that not only did this binder contain our important papers but it would one day, when complete, hold our legacy and the legacy of our families. As for photos, we want to remember. We want to remember family members that came before, C's niece & father, our grandparents, our childhoods. We want to remember, together. Someday we will add another chapter to our binder for our Birth mom and her family. When our binder is complete, we will know our legacy as will our child. Our child and all of our posterity to come will know of their heritage, their history and their legacy. Needless to say, my friend just didn't get it, even after my explanation.

Every life is a story like a thread the interweaves with myriads of others to form the tapestry of humanity.

Anyhow, I am almost done with the paperwork portion and have the past 5 years of photos on CD. Since I am going to be off for a bit longer, I am going to start organizing photos and moving them to CD.

I also need some help. I am trying to figure out how to copy our wedding video onto DVD. We have a VHS player and my computer can burn DVDs. Anyone have any ideas? It is an old video and there is only one copy so I am pretty nervous about taking it in to someone.

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P.S. Rachel - Thanks for the tip on tying Nephi! Works like a charm and he stands like a gentleman. I am so glad breeding season is almost over and he will start acting like a goat again.

Carriage Horses from 1918

R & I have a good friend, Bob, who has been into carriage horses for about 35 years - I say friend, which he is but he is also my boss! Bob owns a carriage making business near where we live. Keep in mind that we don't live in town, so I use the word 'near' loosely! Bob makes and refurbishes carriages and has trained many horses and people to drive. He used to do weddings, funerals, prom, etc. Bob is a Morgan horse lover, of which I am not, but he is one heck of a carriage man!

Anyhow, he has offered to help me start Gunner using some basic driving techniques. Did you know that horses that learn to drive first often make better saddle horses? I didn't either but its true. I have done a lot of training in my days and ridden a lot of types of riding. I have not ever driven a carriage let alone trained a carriage horse. So in spring, when my neck is healed and Bob's back is healed (he just had surgery also), we will get together to start working with Gunner.

Bob sent me the following article from The Washington Post, December 22, 1918:
Arrangements have been completed for the Christmas dinner for horses to be given by the Washington Animal Rescue League at Twelfth and Little B streets northwest on Tuesday, the day before Christmas. The Haymarket space has been devoted to the equine holiday, and there will be a tree loaded with such delicacies as hay, corn, carrots, and apples. Each horse will get a substantial feed of oats. The drivers will be served with free hot coffee, and there will be music.
The Christmas dinner for horses originated in Washington four years ago, and is now a feature of the holiday in several American cities. The Animal Rescue League works solely for the welfare of animals and has been very successful in enlisting the sympathy of horse owners and drivers in the work of relieving unnecessary suffering.
Tuesday has been fixed for the horses dinner because of the fact that on Christmas day they have done their work and are resting in the stable. The league, therefore, has chosen a busy day to reward the horses that have been active in delivering holiday packages. Every driver is invited to get a cup of coffee while his horse is feasting.

This article is also from The Washington Post, three days later, on December 25, 1918:
The Haymarket, at Twelfth and B streets northwest, was an animated scene yesterday, when market horses were made the guests of a bountiful Christmas dinner. Motion picture photographers were there, and they secured views of the horses helping themselves from a Christmas tree on which were strung corn, carrots, apples, lumps of sugar, and other delicacies. Horses have been hard at work delivering Christmas packages and were given a chance to pose while partaking of a hearty dinner of oats. Every driver got a cup of hot coffee, but the horses were the real guests of honor.

Several ladies of the Washington Animal Rescue League were in charge of the dinner. They were ably assisted by Boy Scout Christen Davis, of Troop 59, and by Scouts Newman and Atkinson. The two latter furnished music. Portable troughs were carried to the horses in some cases, and they enjoyed their oats in spite of the rain and the busy hauling of trees and turkeys. One or two automobiles were also used in carrying oats to horses at the other markets. In all, it is estimated that several hundred horses received a reward for faithful work they had done to make Christmas happy for humans.

Look to the Light

At Christmastime and always, Jesus Christ is the Light of the World for all who seek Him.

Bad news and good news

The surgeon kindly informed C on Friday that her anterior cervical fusion (broken neck) has officially failed to fuse. Apparently 10% of people have this problem and she is one of the lucky few. That is the bad news.

The good news is that they can fix it by doing a posterior cervical fusion (PCF)! Instead of going in the front, they go through the back of her neck and instead of using bones to fuse, they will put in two more metal clamps. The recovery is a bit more extensive since they cut 6 layers of muscle, but C is happy to do whatever it takes to get healthy and pain free. 

Her cervical rhizotomy is set for December 23, then they can fix her shoulder. We are hoping to have everything done and have C in physical therapy by late February.

We are so blessed to have such great doctors that have been able to narrow down the issues and find the correct procedures to fix each issue. C is getting blessings for each procedure and has the utmost confidence that she will make a full recovery by June!

She is off work and at home. She is filling her days resting, doing simple crafts, reading and cooking. She is starting to organize all of our photos and spends an hour each day cleaning. She is also making a trip to the temple every week! My wife is a trooper and I am such a blessed man to be married to such a patient, kind and resilient woman.

Breeding success!

The goat mating dance is so funny to watch; bucks are gross and obnoxious! If you have never seen a buck acting like a buck and are not easily offended, I encourage you to visit a farm and ask to see their bucks. They make funny faces, goofy sounds and run around like fools (much like teen boys that I remember from my childhood and some grow men I know presently)  - I love it! And our Nephi is so persistent...

We purchased Nephi and Miss P from a ranch in Eastern Nebraska. A huge goat ranch, she had 86 does, 23 bucks and had already rebred most of them. We got a gigantic discount on both our goats by buying 'off season' and doing a package deal. It never hurts to negotiate - the worst they can say is no, right?!

Anyhow, both Nephi and Miss P were dam raised and when we brought them home, almost completely wild. All of our goats are dehorned and Nephi was descented as a kid, so he isn't super smelly. Both are getting better at being handled, Miss P is hard to catch and Nephi is hard to get to stand still.  Both did very well for vaccinations and hoof trimming but I can tell that we will need to start thinking about building another structure to restrain Nephi for shots and trimming as he is already almost too big for our stand. If you have any big bucks or have seen any buck restraints, please let me know - I am having a bugger of a time finding something that will hold a 200 pound buck!

Both Lacey and Lilly are bred to Nephi for 2011 kids. Lacey is due in March and Lilly in April. Miss P gets to wait until next year for her turn, I want to make sure she is big enough to handle kidding and she is still on the small side right now.

We brought in a doe (Twila) for Nephi to 'date' over Thanksgiving weekend and she was bred this week. Twila will be headed home next week and should kid in early May. We brought in another visitor (Daisy) today. She is actually currently cycling so Nephi is being diligent about being amorous. Since she was brought mid-cycle, she may not settle this cycle, so she will be staying through January 2nd to ensure that her breeding takes. That makes 2 outsider does for our first season of being official Nubian breeders offering buck services. With the savings from not having to send our does out and these two visitors, Nephi has now paid for himself and MissP!

I have several reservations for doelings our of our 2011 crop and we will retain one buck as a companion for Nephi. I have yet to decide if the retained male will remain a buck that we might rent out or will be a wether. I probably won't be able to decide until we see what he looks like and if he would make a good breeder. I hope to get a good selection of kids this year and am excited to see what they look like.

We have the buck house "love shack" finished and the horse barn almost done. As soon as we finish the new horse barn, we can move the horse out of the buck pen and start buying fencing for Nephi. Then... We can move Nephi into his love shack and will have the kidding pen ready to go! We have always had late April kids, so having kids in early March and early April will be a challenge since March is our coldest month. Yikes! However, having bred a bit early, it will help our kids to be bigger towards the end of summer and sell better since they will be breedable in Fall.

Three years ago I never imagined that we would be hip deep in the Nubian breeding business. Never thought that we would have top bloodlines in our barn and be making enough money to have a self sufficient herd! What a blessing.

I added a bunch of goat info to our website on the Homesteading page - eventually, once our web designer has time and we have money we will move it over to the goat section. It contains basic information on our practices for goat care. Everything we do is done at the direction of our vet, who specializes in goats and only goats.

If you have questions or thoughts, please leave a comment or shoot us an email! We love the questions we are getting and enjoy getting to know so many of you from all around the world.

I believe...

The following message was shared through a Relief Society letter and I was touched and thought I would share.

"The Christmas hymn, “Angels We Have Heard On High”, is a favorite at this time of year as reminders come to mind of that extraordinary night when heavenly visitors were both seen and heard by an assembly of simple shepherds. One can’t help but wonder what it might have been like to be among those humble men who witnessed the sights and sounds of such an incredible event. Surely, in that time of need, hearts were lifted, lives were blessed and troubles were comforted.


Christmas always brings extra angels to the earth, I believe.. each and every year. Perhaps they aren’t seen descending from heaven.. nor heard singing from on high.. but if we watch and listen carefully enough we can see and hear them. They walk among us as family and friends… and sometimes as strangers, ….whose hearts are more focused in the season of giving and peace, comfort and joy.

One recent example was shared by young woman last week. For the fourth time in seven years a private airplane crash-landed in their neighborhood. Miraculously, no lives were lost, but the homes of several families were destroyed. In minutes church phone trees sprang put into action quickly assembling local wards to gather and assist. As one of those responding that night, this young woman witnessed earthly angels working the miracles of comfort and peace among the frightened and homeless.

It is not emergencies alone that cause angels to be audible and visible. The miracle of the season is often seen in the generous and thoughtful actions of those who pause to consider more seriously the needs of others. In the most obvious ways it is manifested by those who donate gifts of clothing, food, money and time to those without homes, jobs, health and/or family. By no lesser means it is witnessed in acts of consideration, love and kindness as more and more of us reach out to make life easier and joyful for one another.

Often it is simply and sweetly experienced in the gratitude of our hearts.
Again, my example comes from a recent family event, proving that angels and their blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Having miraculously experienced a peaceful shopping trip with their two young children, a young couple had just buckled the children into their car seats and were headed home. Quietly the young wife and mother whispered a soft , “Thank you, Lord,” as their car pulled into traffic. There was a moment’s pause. Then, jubilantly from the seat behind her came an angelic voice: …”Your welcome, Mom!”
In whatever your holiday may hold…may the miracle of angels be in you and around you as Christmas approaches.. May you see them and hear them, may you speak and act with them… so others may see and hear as well.".

Sideways At the Bar

We have so many friends that are neck deep into scrapbooking and organizing photo albums that I feel like I am being left behind! After complaining to my Sister and explaining that I just plain do not have time to make photo albums, she shared a website called ‘Shutterfly’. On Shutterfly, one can upload digital photos, choose designs and captions and they do all of the hard work for you in making an album, which you receive in the mail about 5 days later. Not expensive at all and for someone with a ton of photos and no idea where to start, this is a great idea!

I wanted to test it out but since most of our photos are still from the old days before CDs and digital cameras, I needed a subject that is very recent in origins. Hence the "Sideways At The Bar (Gunner)" album. Yes, I realize he is a horse but he is also the youngest member of our family and has fewer photos that everyone else and he is all digital! So I think he deserves his own album! I even let blank pages at the end for future photos!

Click here to view this photo book larger

My Mom's got chords!

Just had to toot the family horn...
The Stake is putting on an Easter Program called Savior of the World. They had actual auditions and 180 people tried out for singing and speaking parts! Rehearsals start in January and go until Easter when they will perform 5 times.
Mom Stout felt the promptings to try out for the choir and chickened out the first week... and the second week... and the third week... by the fourth week she was in tears by the promptings of the Spirit to try out. After a little pep talk from me with consisted mainly of  "If you just go and try out, Heavenly Father will leave you alone. He can hold out longer than you, so you might as well get it over with. You will be fantastic and even having the courage to get up and audition may be the lesson he wants you to learn."
Anyhow, she went, tried out and... Guess what?! She made it!
We will keep you posted on the progress and if they will let me, I'll try to get a video or a few photos of the performance.

Eli - Adoption Placement Success

One of my childhood friends from California, we will call her  CC, was recently matched with her birth mother. She has given permission to share her story here, although some things will be generalized, some will be left out and the agency name will not be shared, everything else is her story.

From CC
"I feel almost self conscious about sharing our joy when I know it can be agonizing waiting for something to happen when you are trying to have a baby or waiting to adopt. Please know that we love you and are praying for all of you that you will be reunited with your birth mother and child soon.

We knew that it would be next to impossible for me to conceive and after confirming that with the specialists we opted for adoption rather than going the route of an egg donor and surrogate. I did a lot of research online about adoption agencies, facilitators, attorneys, etc and we eventually ended up with Adoption Agency XYZ (an adoption facilitator). We chose them because they limit the number of couples they work with to 10-15 at a time and are located within a series of women’s health clinics where abortions are performed and adoption is offered as an alternative to all patients. Their fees were also the most reasonable. We just felt that it was the right “fit” for us.

They pretty much only do “open” adoptions and I’m told that most are open these days. We were told that the typical wait time to be matched through our agency is roughly 7 months if you’re not too specific on the criteria of what you are willing to accept in an infant/situation. I can also say that after we signed with them I personally learned of two other couples here in our town that also used XYZ and they had good experiences with them. XYZ doesn’t normally work with out of state couples, but they do have one out of state couple right now. The most important choice is finding the agency that is right for you. You will know when you find it and it will feel right. We knew right away that this agency was right for us and that we would be chosen and our child placed with us.

We did a lot of research on what other couple used in their photo profile books and Dear Birth mother Letters as well as looked at hundreds of websites to help design our photo profile and narrative (questionnaire responses). Most of their couples don’t use websites and only have very informal homemade photo profiles or photo books from an online photo site like Shutterfly.com, etc. The Birth mother letter is the hardest thing to try to write.

We “joined” as “members” in early July of this year and got “the call” that we had been chosen by a birth couple roughly six weeks later. We met with the birth mother on August 30th. We all decided it was a good “match” on September 3rd. We were fortunate that our match was a birth couple with the father present and cooperative. The baby was due November 20th. Our couple was a boyfriend/girlfriend that were both 19 and college students, both living at home with their respective parents, no drug use or major health issues. I know you believe in God and are very faithful, but we’re not really religious but had “put it out there to the universe” that we would really like a couple of healthy Caucasian college students. But we had also told the adoption facilitator that we would take almost any situation and would be fine with a biracial baby - which we were told kept the doors much wider open for us.

Being a type A personality there were many times that I wished things were more certain along the way but also realized that I had to just go with the flow if I wanted things to work out. Our birth father had no phone and birth mother was not very good about returning calls to the facilitator but was somewhat good about returning texts to me. I attended one Dr’s appointment after we met initially with the birth mother and then I met with the mother and father once just me and then once all of us to go over the “hospital plan” and post placement plan for future contact, etc. I also arranged for the birth parents and me to attend a private childbirth class the same day. I did have minimal phone contact with the mother every couple of weeks until near the end and then weekly contact.

We got the call at 11 pm on Friday, November 12th that her water had broken and we hurried to pack our bags and make the 3 hour drive to Grass Valley. She was in labor for 29 hrs. It was exhausting as we had no sleep for four days. After Eli was born the hospital gave us a room so we could stay with him. I didn’t let him out of my sight. The hospital was great. According to the adoption facilitator our situation was not “typical” with how little contact the birth mother maintained with the facilitator and that we spent considerable time with the birth parents and the birth mother's family including her parents, sister and aunt while we were at the hospital. They also spent hours in our room with us and the baby. We really feel that we have probably adopted an entire family, not just Eli.

I’m not sure how the process works in your state, but in California going with a facilitator is very different than using an agency. If you use an agency you do the “Home Study” before you can be put on the list to be considered for placement. If you use a facilitator and do an Independent Adoption, the baby is placed with you and then the “Home Study” process starts. Also with a facilitator and an Independent Adoption the birth mother has 30 days to change her mind and take the baby back.

We have been very fortunate from the very start and I am often afraid that something will go bad as it’s been so amazingly perfect, but I just hope that this is our miracle and everything will work out just fine. Baby Eli is perfect - He is eating well and growing fast. I’m not getting much sleep, but I know that comes with the whole package. Our 30 days wont be up until December 20th so I just keep my fingers crossed and pray it all goes well. Our “Home Study” and Court process should take 6 months to a year to complete.
I know that some couples wait years and I know we have been very lucky. I have spoken with other adoptive couples and have faith that your time will come. Some don’t ever get matched and just get the call once the baby’s been born. You may have some notice or none at all. Just be as open as you can and continue to spread the word and your miracle is surely on its way.  You two are wonderful and your child and birth mother is out there somewhere, be patient and know that in time it will all happen"

We are so happy for CC and look forward to visiting her new boy in January!

The 7-ups

We met with our new Ward today and it was awesome! They are so very nice and welcoming. Of course they read our records and got our names wrong, but who cares?! Heavenly Father knows who we are. We are the furthest north in our Ward - at least they (our home teachers and visiting teachers) will have an adventure every month when they come to visit us! I don't think they have any idea what they are in for - it makes me laugh.

The 7-ups; a way to remind ourselves to live well, be worthy and love & serve the Lord.

1. Wake up - choose to greet each day with enthusiasm and decide to have a good day
2. Dress up - dress appropriately as a child of God and dress for success
3. Shut up - be quiet and listen to the soft promptings of the Lord
4. Stand up - stand up for your beliefs and the virtues that you have been taught
5. Look up - look to the Prophets and the Lord for direction in all aspects of your life
6. Reach up - reach for something higher; you are destined to be more than you currently are
7. Lift up - lift up your voice to the Lord through prayer

An invitation from our Stake President that is a great idea for all members:
"Dear Brothers, Sisters and Youth (ages 8 to 105 years old),
I invite you to read and ponder from cover to cover, every word given in the October 2010 Ensign before Christmas, December 25, 2010. As you do, you will feel the Spirit of the Lord more in your lives, and your love for His Temples here on earth will grow. You will strive harder to keep yourself worthy to go to the Temple. Those of you old enough to hold a temple recommend will strive to obtain a recommend and go more regularly and worthily to the Temple of the Lord. I give you my blessing that if you are obedient in this invitation, to read and ponder every word of the October Ensign, you will be blessed and will draw closer to your Savior and feel His tender mercies in your life. You will point your life towards His Temple, which is towards Him whose house it is."

Goat Stuff

We have had a lot of goat questions coming in lately. I have been trying to email replies to everyone as I can and will continue to do so! Since many of the questions are the same, I will start posting some of the information here on our blog and on our website on the Country Life page under Homesteading. Not quite the right place for it, but until I can get a Goat care page set up it will have to do.

Happy Goating!


Wedding and Ward changes

We went to the wedding of one of dear friend's this weekend; JP Chavez and Monica Edwin. We are so happy for JP and Monica, they have waited so long!

The wedding was beautiful and had an autumn theme throughout and was quite spectacular with live music and singing through the ceremony. They had a pianist, harpist, guitarist, flutist and two singers. The bridesmaid dresses were light brown, which when I heard about it I thought it would be less than nice to say the least. I pictured paper bags and burlap sacks - silly I know, but I really had nothing to go on. The dresses were light gauze with satin slips - very classy! You can see one of the dresses on the far left of the photo. The brides dress was very pretty and strapless. She didn't have a long train or veil but her brilliant red hair was curled and done up with bling clips.





It has been some time since we attended a wedding and this one was so special. JP and Monica are devout Christians, although not LDS, and through their belief in Christ, they saved themselves for marriage. An unusual thing in these days and even more so since they are both in their 30s. The ceremony was prayerful and devoted to the Lord. We feel honored to have been part. It is with bitter sweet feelings that I recount the wedding ceremony. It was very obvious to me, having been sealed for eternity, when the preacher said 'til death do you part or Christ returns.' I have never heard the Christ returns part before but it was said several times during the ceremony. They are so in love and have such faith that it makes me cry to think that they are not sealed for eternity. I am so sad for them. I wish they could have all of the blessings that the Gospel can offer. SO... We have decided that as soon as they return from their honeymoon we will invite them to church with us.

You can see the love in their faces! They are such a wonderful couple and we are honored to know them. Their faith in Christ has carried to the to their wedding day and will carry them through many years to come. We wish them the best for a long and happy future.

Speaking of church...
They diced up our Ward like a pie last night. We and 5 other families are now members of the Windsor Ward, which if you look at a map of the Stake and Ward boundaries, it does not make sense. Our dear neighbors and newly baptized members, the Carters, are struggling with the change. Sandee hasn't stopped crying for two days. I shared some of the following with her in an effort to comfort her.

I was shocked at first because we loved our Ward, the people, my calling was perfect and we had great activities that made us not feel out of place because we live in the boondocks. We all know that once we start to feel comfortable, the Lord gives us changes and challenges to stretch us. I guess I should have acted a bit more uncomfortable!

We met the Stake President when we renewed our recommends this past February and we found him to be a wonderful and caring man. I have a sense of comfort that Windsor Ward (our new Ward) will be very well organized since it is his home ward! Since Windsor was not cut, I anticipate it will take them a bit to find us callings and get used to having members in the boondocks! We will find our place, all will be well.
After speaking to one of the brethren it was made clear to me through his words and prayer that we are a very important part of the Windsor Ward. You see, they have property to build a new church in Windsor but do not have the membership to support it. They added us to help their Ward grow to the north so that we may be able to build a new building for the Lord. We have been chosen!
I have been praying since last night and I feel strongly that this move is mean to make us stronger in some way. This is an opportunity to learn and grow. There is a lesson waiting for us in Windsor Ward, a lesson that will help us to grow in faith, strengthen our testimonies, become more self-sufficient and to allow us to participate in a great work for the Lord. I miss so dearly my friends, seeing them every Sunday and visiting each month but the Lord knows that we need someone in Windsor Ward and someone in Windsor Ward is needing us. it is our jobs to be faithful and of good cheer so that we can recognize it when the Spirit prompts us.

The best part, the part that puts my heart at ease is this - the time may change, the people may change but the Gospel is always the same no matter the building, time, people or Ward; the Gospel is always the same. We will find our home in the Windsor Ward.

Recipe run and a night out



We are doing our own Thanksgiving this year. Not that we don't usually do Thanksgiving but we usually spend the entire day and weekend with family and for the last few years we have spent it trying to recover from a loss of one of more of our children and missing family that has gone on before us (Dad, Grandpa S, Grandma P, Grandpa P), you get the idea. We have not really had the energy or will to enjoy the holiday and while we are always thankful, we were never really into the spirit of celebration.

So this year, instead of mourning our second set of twins that we lost in early September, we are going to celebrate how thankful we are. Thankful for our lives, togetherness, home, animals, jobs, friends, our bond as husband and wife, our temple marriage, the gospel, the time we have had with loved ones and the time in the future when we will see them all again and the miracle of adoption that we hope will someday bless our lives.

As part of our Thanksgiving, we are doing a recipe run. We have our standard fare of food that we make but we are expanding it to include new recipes from around the world and old family traditions. We have a fruit salad recipe from R's great great Granddad and while it contains more sugar than fruit, we are going to give it a shot! We have a recipe from R's great Grandma and one from his Mom. We also have 2 from my Mom. I am looking for a great cranberry sauce recipe and a new vegetable side dish if you happen to have one. BUT we are not limiting ourselves to those two. We have loyal readers in South Korea, Belgium, Canada and Netherlands in addition to our USA readers. Please send us your favorites!

We are starting to post some recipes on our website, so if you have something to share, please leave us a comment or shoot us an email. Remember to title your recipe or give us your last name so we can give credit where credit is due!
 
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We went to our first Hockey game last night. We have the pleasure of watching the Colorado Eagles play the Mississippi River Kings. Having never been to a hockey game before we had no idea what to expect. We had great padded seats in the adults only section in row 11 which is just high enough to see the entire ring but close enough to see their faces and hear them yelling. What a night!
 
There are only 3 periods in hockey which last only 20 minutes each. So you can make it through a whole game without really needing to get up and stretch. In hindsight, we should have done some research to figure out what all of the terms were (power play, hooking, etc.) but even being oblivious it was a lot of fun - there are some real die-hard hockey fans in Colorado! It is funny to watch grown men race around chasing a little black puck. They fall down and bounce back up as if they have springs in their knees and smash each other into the wall. Sometimes they get too rough and have to sit in the penalty box which is just like a time out! It cracks me us; they look so disappointed in themselves and contrite while in the box, but when they come back out, they are back to their same old tricks!
 
The announcer said a few times to the audience 'Keep your eye on the puck at all times. Under certain circumstances it may become airborne and enter the seating area.' I thought, yeah right. Four times the puck flew into the audience. Luckily no one was injured and it always went into first few rows and never above row 8, so I figure when we get tickets again in the future, they will not be below row 9!
 
I have never been to a sporting event before and was surprised at the enthusiasm from the crowd. Thankfully there was not a lot of drinking and they strongly discourage cursing (by kicking offenders out of the stadium). It was a great time. Not necessarily a kid sport since there were a LOT of penalties and two pretty good sized fights, but entertaining once the men started acting like men.

  On our drive home we hit the county line and noticed that is was just barely snowing (this was around 10 pm). We noticed that as we got closer to home it started snowing harder and harder. I am so glad R was driving! by time we made it 8 miles from home it was a whiteout and we could hardly see at all. 40 minutes later, we made it home. Yes, 40 minutes to go 8 miles; it was snowing a LOT! We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and are not really looking forward to driving to church. However, we know that once we get there it will be worth it! Winter has arrived!

Thanksgiving Daily

The more often we see the things around us, the more they become invisible to us. Learn how you can live in thanksgiving daily by noticing the wonders and beauties of this world. Watch and share a new Mormon Message, "Thanksgiving Daily." Read Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's full address, "Live in Thanksgiving Daily."

A minor setback, a lesson and a blessing

I went to the doctor in tears on Monday morning. When my neck gets bad is causes a cascade of other issues like migraine headaches, numb arms, swollen hands, aching back, trouble sleeping and a bad case of the grumpies. Each of those issues cause more issues like lack of enthusiasm and a worse case of the grumpies.

So, I got there at 7:15 in tears and sat in the parking lot crying until they opened the door at 7:50. I saw the Doctor, who I might mention is wonderful, compassionate, understanding and very, very, very good at whatt she does. She gave me an anti-inflammatory medicine shot and sent me over to therapy for some massage and stretching.

Two things I would lie to share with you 1. the anti-inflammatory shot is wonderful and kicks in in 20 minutes. 2. it stings like nothing I have ever felt before - mind boggling stinging. 3. it is a shot in the butt. Not the hip, they do it square on the smooshy part of your bottom. Did I mention that it stings?! Yeah, now you get the idea!

Anyhow, I took 2 pain pills and sat in the Jacuzzi at the Senior Center for an hour. No, I am not a senior, not even close, but it is the only place that one can completely relax when in severe pain because there is a lifeguard on duty. It was wonderful. I drove home for the first time since March 3rd without any pain at all. Amazing!

At my follow-up this morning, she put me on the same medicine as yesterday only in pill form. You only have to poke me once to convince me that waiting 45 minutes for it to kick in instead of 20 is not such a bad deal! I return to work tomorrow and hopefully this is the last setback on the long road to recovery.

I recently ad someone ask - 'knowing what you know now, would you have surgery again?' My answer 'YES!' The pain before was from nerve damage and impingement, which if you have never experienced, I hope you never have to. If you have had it (say a root canal) multiply that by 20. If affected my arm and hand movement, coordination and strength and right before surgery was starting to affect my legs. I still have a numb place on my hip/thigh that I can't feel. Nerve pain and the affects of that are awful, muscle pain and inflammation - easy peasy. This will pass, it is all a part of getting better and I know that. Before, I was getting worse and there was no possible way to get better.

____________________________________________________

On to something more fun. Goats!

We purchased Nephi to breed to our does and possibly to offer breeding to others in our area. The interest has been outstanding and lucky for us, he likes his job. He has already paid for himself, which is the whole idea. We make a little money each year off the kids but for the most part, the sale of the kids pays for the hay and vaccines for the adults. Milk is an extra bonus.

We have had Lacey in with him for a month and she just cycled last week, we will know by the end of this month if it took or not. I left her in with him because he is still a baby (11 months) and he has become very attached to her. I know that at some point in the next month or two he will have to move over to the 'Love Shack' alone - ah, the sad, sad life of a bachelor! I just put Lilly in with him and hope that she will cycle this month. That would allow us to have staggered kidding, which would be nice for a change. This whole breeding this is new to me and I hope to figure it all out in the next year!

A lesson and a blessing
We just found out that one of our kids from this year, Midnight, has been given away to a new home. I know, given away?! I freaked out. What if she is abused or worse - eaten!

No need to panic, I am such a fool. She has been given to a home with a small child with Downs Syndrome. He loves Midnight and she is doing very well. Animals can bring such joy and healing, even healing that is inexplicable to doctors. They are more in tune with the subtle changes and delicate spirits of those with disabilities. Will I miss Midnight, yes without a doubt. Does she belong to this small boy, yes - it was destined to be before she was even born. It humbles me to know that my sweet little goat may help this dear child. What a blessing for us both.

How arrogant was I to be upset?! How arrogant to think she was mine?! Lesson learned. I was merely a vessel to get this little goat to this little boy. Heavenly Father's hand is so entwined in my life and I must learn to trust Him, He will not lead me astray. Thank you Lori for helping me learn this lesson!

Pumpkins

I was talking to a co-worker this morning about Halloween, weekend plans, weird costumes and weirder people. During our conversation I mentioned that at a training I presented last week, one of the guys came in with homemade Cajun spiced pumpkins seeds.I was surprised that people still do that kind of thing. I remember my Mother making pumpkin seeds once or twice - actually I remember eating them and not the making at all. So, in talking to my friend, I decided that I was going to make pumpkin seeds tonight. Being the adventurous cook that I know her to be, she agreed that it was a good idea and helped me find recipes.

The recipes (posted at the very bottom of this post) call for 1 cup of seeds. Do you have any idea how many cups you get from one pumpkin? Me either, not a clue! So I got 4, just to be safe. I am happy to report that 4 pumpkins is plenty.

So here we go...

I arrived home to find Max munching on leaves.He had a snotty nose and was coughing. It was a 'boogie' nose and was worth calling the vet. We decided that he did not need to make the trip in, but should probably be put on antibiotics. I grained everyone (horses get grain at night in winter), gave Max his antibiotics and went back to the house.

Feeling industrious and wanting to assert my independence now that my neck is doing moderately better, I decided to change the recessed halogen light bulbs in the kitchen. I have no idea how they do it, but flies and moths crawl in there and die. Very small space and not a lot of room - you would think they would be smarter than that. Anyhow, I got that done and cleaned up all of the little bodies and decided that it was time to tackle my next project. Either fix the milking stand or harvest pumpkin seeds. The milk stand weighs about 100 pounds and I can only lift 17, so that was out. Harvesting pumpkin seeds only requires a knife and happen to have several of those!

I set them up on the tailgate and started. I carved two. Not bad at the carving but the harvesting seed part is awful! Have you looked at the inside of a pumpkin recently? It is stringy, sticky, slimy, orange and smells a bit off.  Bleck!

I took the carved face pieces out to the goats to see if they would eat it. Lilly, as usual, picked at it and nibbled a little. Portugal ate a few pieces and decided that she likes grain better. Nephi ate as much as he could but Lacey, the pig kept pushing him out of the way because she loves pumpkin! She loves everything but especially pumpkins! At least I have something to do with the jack-o-lanterns when we are done. R met me at the house and we finished carving and harvesting seeds from the final two pumpkins. I think they turned out very well! What do you think?

I took the seeds inside to start the 'making' process. If there is a simple way to get the seeds cleaned and detached from the gross stringy stuff, I would like to know. That was the hardest part of the whole endeavor and the point at which I almost gave up. If you have an idea, please leave me a comment or email me!

The dogs of course wanted to play and be obnoxious. I am trying to learn to use the video feature on my phone, so here goes:

I set the seeds to soaking while we went to ride. Of course I couldn't ride Max because I am concerned he is getting sick. I am thinking maybe he is allergic to some of the leaves and wood chips that we had delivered last wee and not sick, but we will have to wait until tomorrow. 

R rode Bella and worked on loping around the field. I started Molly and tried to show Mom how to sit the trot with out bouncing around too much. She did a fantastic job and had a great time. She and Molly are a great pair and work very well together. I am constantly amazed at how far they have both come in the last 3 years. I'll try to get some photos next time.

  

When it got dark, we lit the jack-o-lanterns; what do you think?! Success?

 

 

After an few hours I went back in to finish my seeds. I did one Sweet and Spicy and one Garlic and Onion. R really likes the Garlic and Onion! I am planning to take a sampling to the Ward Halloween party tomorrow. The recipe for the Sweet & Spicy is below, for the others I used a bit of oil and the Garlic & Onion seasoning for burgers.

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients
1 cup raw cleaned whole pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet, and spread them out into a single layer. Roast until brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Set the seeds aside in a large bowl.
Place the cinnamon, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a bowl, and set aside.
Place olive oil and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, and heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar turns a light golden brown color. Watch it carefully to avoid burning.
Pour the caramelized sugar mixture over the roasted pumpkin seeds, and stir to coat. Pour the cinnamon-chili powder mixture over the seeds, and toss to coat the seeds with the spices.

Winter is coming!

Winter is coming, it is well on its way! We had our first frost last week and all of the leaves on our trees have changes color and most have already fallen. It even got so cold that the crack in my windshield completed its trek all the way over to the other side.

'They' are saying that we will have colder than average temperatures this year. I am not sure who 'they' are, but at this point I am starting to believe them. We still have two barns to build before the snow flies. One horse barn for Molly and a stud barn for Nephi. I am thinking that this weekend is the weekend for building.

Since we don't have a fireplace, our furnaces run on propane. Yes, furnaces, plural... One for the house and one for the garage. I am not sure if the one in the garage is more for the dogs, Robert or me. The dogs because their kennel is out there, Robert because part of the garage is his man cave or me because without a man cave, Robert would be in the house and underfoot!!Anyhow, back on track. Propane is pricey and last winter with our furnace set at 65-70 it ran about $250 per month. I know; that is a lot of money. So this year, we are committed to not turing the furnace on until the end of November. As I sit here looking out the window at this:

I am reconsidering my firm position on not turning the furnace on!



 

In the spirit of winter, we got Dozer a new sweater. He doesn't ever get much hair and he gets so cold. Isn't he a cutie?! They had teal, grass green, yellow, pink and orange. Orange was the least offensive, so Bubba got orange. It fits well, but getting it on him is like wrestling with an oiled pig. Whew!

Our Ward is having their annual Spooktacular Halloween party this Saturday from 1-3. I volunteered us to bring firewood for the bonfire, which means we have to go and cannot flake out at the last minute. It will be at the Walpole's ranch, so there will be hay rides a petting zoo, fire, trunk-or-treat and some other fun stuff. This will be our first real Ward activity in almost 2 years. 2 years?! We spent most of 2009 trying to get pregnant and stay pregnant and most of 2010 recovering from neck surgery and yet another miscarriage. Now that we are on the road to recovery and working on getting our lives back, we are excited to get back into it. If only they would make the pews in the chapel more comfortable - then I could sit for longer than 30 minutes and would be able to attend sacrament more often. It has been quite some time since we tried to make it through the whole hour, and this Sunday is time to try again!

We are pretty excited about the Holidays this year. We were talking our plans and decided to do Thanksgiving at our place. We have invited Mom, if she chooses to come, but even if she doesn't, we will be planning and hopefully carrying out a feast! Christmas is going to be spent much like last year, at home with each other enjoying the true meaning of the season. New Year's Eve will be spent celebrating until midnight... or at least 9:30!

A Debt Paid

In Jerry Bridges' book The Gospel for Real Life it states the following:

“The purpose of this book is to explore those unsearchable riches. To appreciate them, however, we need to look briefly at our sinful condition. Though we live in a time when people don’t like to talk about sin, only those who understand to some degree the enormity of their spiritual debt can begin to appreciate what Christ did for them at the cross. Without some heartfelt conviction of our sin, we can have no serious feeling of personal interest in the gospel. What’s more, this conviction should actually grow throughout our Christian lives. In fact, one sign of spiritual growth is an increased awareness of our sinfulness.”

I recently met an elderly man who would cry whenever he would hear the name of Jesus. I have been thinking about that a lot lately; mainly because I am not there, not even close. It strikes me that perhaps one of the reasons he would cry upon hearing our Lords name is that he had a great understanding of his own sinfulness and therefore a greater appreciation for what Jesus did for him. As I was reflecting upon that this morning God brought to my mind the story found in Luke 7:36-49. I encourage you to read the entire story and associated parable but it is summarized by Jesus in 44-47:

Luke 7:44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
7:45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
7:46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

The fact is that I not been “forgiven little” I have been forgiven much – all of us have! Unlike this woman I do not yet comprehend the enormity of my spiritual debt that Jesus paid for me.

John Piper states that we will never fully comprehend the depth of our sinfulness but as we grow spiritually we can gain a greater understanding of it. By God’s grace may he reveal to us more and more how great a debt He paid for us and thereby causing us to truly treasure Jesus above all things!

The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ paid our debt, but it also tells us far more. It tells us that we are not enemies or objects of His wrath. We are His sons and daughters, heirs with Jesus Christ of all His unsearchable riches. This is the good news of the gospel. This is why the women in the story wept and the elderly man cried. We need to remember this every day.

_____________________________________________________


A few weeks ago we got an email from someone we do not know but her words touched our hearts and we feel compelled to share.

We will call her E, we consider her a new friend and she has a dear and sweet spirit. I feel as though I have known her for a long time, her words and the spirit in which they were delivered feel so familiar.

She read our blog and said "Sometimes you don’t realize how far you have come until someone points out that progress, or perhaps you see that progress in another." To know that someone reads this blog makes me smile. To know that this blog touches some one's heart makes me cry and increases my faith that we are indeed on the correct path. I find great peace in the fact that there are others who fins our story to be similar to their own, who struggle our struggles and tread our same path.

I wrote back to E something along these lines: It has been a long hard road and we are still traveling; but each day, week, month and year we grow a bit more, learn a bit more and find our way down the path just a bit more. We get so caught up in how far we have to go that we don’t take the time to look back to see how far we have come. On our blog at one point earlier this year, (February maybe) I remember talking about the road and two different feelings; having come so far on a quiet road vs. not being able to see the path through the mist.

I often forget how far we have come and yet at times it seems like we are back at the beginning again. *like a yo-yo* I believe this all part of the plan to keep us moving forward, if you think you are getting close to being done, you must be reminded of how long eternity is and how the road can change! And that is how we receive the blessing of new challenges! *The blessing of new challenges; 2 years ago those words would not ever be used in the same sentence. I truly believe that by trials and endurance, we grow and gain faith. It is through that new faith that we are blessed. *

Anyhow, it was nice to know someone reads our blog! E, thank you for your kind words!

Karl Creations

If you don't know Paschal Karl, you should; he is fantastic. He, his wife and dog live in South Dakota and travel to different areas doing photography.

Yes, he will travel to your place, he went all the way down to Kentucky. There is no travel fee, sitting fee or time limit. You only pay for the photos you want and you are NOT buying 'a' photo like most places, you are buying the copyright to the image so you can use it as much as you want. Super deal and great value for the price! Do I sound like a commercial?! No catch, no tricks, just great photography.

How in the world did I find him? Through an endurance riding site for our region. It mentioned that he would be making a trip through Colorado to do photos and to contact him if anyone was interested. Being married for over 13 years with no professional photos, I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some shots and to see what sticks.

He came out and spent about 4 hours at the house, took 118 photos and helped us pick the ones we like best. Here is his website Karl Creations!

Nephi and Portugal

It is once again breeding season and we have been contemplating logistics for this year. We typically spend 2 days traveling (one to take them and one to pick them up), 2 tanks of gas, $35 per doe and 2$ per doe per day boarding at the buck facility in Eastern Wyoming. Granted, he is a wonderful buck but the breeder has been in business for so long that her lines are very inbred and they are all over the area.

Our girls are from Southern Colorado lines and mixing them with Eastern Wyoming lines produces great kids. There are a few issues with this path. 1. Who will the kids be able to breed with? 2. How long can I keep paying ridiculous fees to breed each year? 3. How can I afford to buy one of her bucks - but if I do, I go back to question 1)?

What to do, what to do? I know, lets go to Eastern Nebraska to get a $600 buck at discount, throw in a $350 doeling at discount and save some money. We got both at a deep discount and did not spend over $300 for both! WOOHOO! We got to name both; check them out!

Meet our Buck:
Double Z Karim's Nephi

Meet our new doeling:

Double Z Miss Portugal

We are completely changing the breeding and lines available in Northern Colorado. We are mixing Southern Colorado lines with Eastern Nebraska lines. The kids are going to be fantastic! Check out our website for more information on these new additions, for breeding information and to reserve kids.

We will be offering limited breeding to Nephi this year and Portugal will remain dry until she matures a bit more. We are getting emails for reserving kids already! Here we go!

Post Script: For those wondering, Nephi is de-scented which means he doesn't smell terrible but he is still a buck! Bucks are nasty critters and they have terrible manners - but they are funny as heck!

Continue in Patience

Continue in Patience; patience requires that we obey God's commandments and faithfully wait for His will to be fulfilled. What an appropriate reminder for us as we continue in patience throught our adoption journey.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk he states "Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter. Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace." To learn more, read President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's entire talk, "Continue in Patience."

During this process we are learning to put aside our wants and desires in order to practice patience in this journey. We know without a doubt that Heavenly Father has a plan for our adoption path and that we must follow His path in faith and patience. How I love the gospel and the plan and path we are following. I pray that through our process of continuing in patience, we will become more worthy of the blessing of adoption.

The path to the end

After yet another trial, we seek peace and confidence in the path that the Lord has set before us.

I am reminded by my dear friend S, that we do have children; we have six, they are just not with us here on earth. They wait for us in heaven. The hardest trial is yet to come; being faithful and worthy to the end so that we will be able to see them, love them and be joined with them once again.

What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now forever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering...
~William Wordsworth

I cry for my babies. I cry with gratitude for the opportunity endure to the end and to hold my precious babies again.

It has been 5 years since Dad passed away and while it has gotten easier to bear, the pain can often be sharp and piercing. I am so grateful for our forever family and for the opportunity to be sealed together. The comfort of knowing that we will be together again lessens and pain and dulls the ache.

If tears could build a stairway,
and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you back again.

No farewell words were spoken,
No time to say "Goodbye".
You were gone before I knew it,
and only God knows why.

My heart still aches with sadness,
and secret tears still flow.
What it meant to love you -
No one can ever know.

But now I know you want me
to mourn for you no more;
To remember all the happy times
life still has much in store.

Since you'll never be forgotten,
I pledge to you today~
A hollowed place within my heart
is where you'll always stay.
~Author Unknown

Enduring to the end, or remaining faithful to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout life, is a fundamental requirement for salvation in the kingdom of God. "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Matthew 24:13

LDS.org - Ensign Article - “Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure”

“Refuse to fall down. If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven like a hungry beggar, ask that it be filled and it will be filled. You may be pushed down. You may be kept from rising. But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven-only you. It is in the middle of misery that so much becomes clear. The one who says nothing good came of this is not yet listening.”
~Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Author Anonymous

God didn't promise
days without pain
laughter without sorrow
or sun without rain.
But God did promise
strength for the day,
comfort for the tears
and a light for the way,
And for all who believe
in His kingdom above,
He answers their faith
with everlasting love.

~ Author Anonymous ~

When my life has reached its very end,
And I take that final breath;
I want to know I've left behind,
Some "good" before my death.

I hope that in my final hour,
In all honesty I can say:
That somewhere in my lifetime,
I have brightened someone's day.

That maybe I have brought a smile
To someone else's face,
And made one moment a little sweeter
While they dwelled here in this place.

Lord, please be my reminder
And whisper softly in my ear ...
To be a "giver," not a "taker,"
In the years I have left here.

Give to me the strength I need,
Open up my mind and my soul
That I might show sincere compassion,
And love to others before I go.

For if not a heart be touched by me,
And not a smile was left behind ...
Then the life that I am blessed with,
Will have been a waste of time.

With all my heart, I truly hope
To leave something here on earth ...
That touched another, made them smile
And gave to my life ... worth.

~ Author Anonymous ~

Voice of the Spirit

In a world full of noise and many voices, President James E. Faust invites us to listen to and follow the voice of the Spirit, which is calm and quiet and leads to eternal life.

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

Hear how forgiveness and the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ helped a man to move forward after losing his wife and some of his children in a tragic car accident. See how his willingness to forgive enabled the driver to move forward as well.

Our toddler

My niece came out to visit a few weeks ago to see the horses and goats. My Mom ask her what she thought of the baby (meaning Gunner - the baby horse) and she said 'He isn't a baby anymore, he is a toddler.' How cute is that?!

20 minutes old

2 days

2 weeks

4 months

9 months

1 year

I remember the 80's. Do you?

1. Teddy Ruxpin - The first talking stuffed animal.
2. Bengals : Walk like an Egyptian – I had this tape and would rock out while cleaning horse stalls. Yes, I could walk like an Egyptian.
3. Gremlins – Remember the movie with Stripe the ‘bad’ gremlin who would always party. Man that guy could hit it hard! My favorite line from the wise old oriental man “With mogwai comes much responsibility.”
4. Ray Bans – Mine were purple and hot pink.
5. US Hockey team plays Russia at Lake Placid and wins!! Yay!!!
6. Mary Lou Rhetton – Super gymnast, I spent many hours in gyms watching my sister compete, she even had a MLR leotard!
7. Hungry Hippos – Great game, taught us all about greed, until your hippo got stuck!
8. Member’s only jackets – with a neck snap! Need I say more?
9. Break dancing – Yes, I could break it down a little.
10. Wacky wall walkers – Most amazing waste of money ever, kinda creepy and terrible texture but very entertaining!
11. Where’s the beef? – Remember that old lady that would say it on the commercials?
12. Moe town & Michael Jackson – Running in the morning with my Mom to the Thriller album… in the dark… on a ranch with wild animal… Yeah, I was brave.
13. Pac Man & Pac Man Fever – I liked Mrs. Pac Man, she was so cute with the bow. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good.
14. Tetris – you would not blink for a half hour and later on, you are playing it in your head. You would see patterns all over!
15. Nintendo Game Boy – Mobile Tetris, what could be better?!
16. BIG hair & Aqua Net – Wow, I could share some really great pictures. My sister taught me all about teasing hair and spraying the heck out of it!
17. Lee Press on Nails – All the girls wanted these and all of our Moms said NO!
18. Human League: Don’t you Want Me? - Don’t you want me woahooo… Great for those school dances.
19. Rubik’s Cube – Save time, just take the darn stickers off.
20. Whip it by Devo – You must whip it. Whip it good! – Ugh! Not so good for the school dances!
21. Back to the Future - Best movie of the 80s. Had to go exactly 88 mph. Note: this does not work in my truck, the only place it takes you is the side of the road with a ticket.
22. Scratch and sniff stickers - Some were very accurate, some not so much. And Who makes a skunk sticker? Why would you ever do that???
23. Traper Keeper - 1st generation of binders for OCD.
24. Richard Simmons – Not to be confused with Gene Simmons…
25. Cher: If I could turn back time. I encourage you to google the video and check out the outfit. Can I just say - WOW! Way too much skin.
26. Prince Charles and Princess Di - A goober and a... well, princess.
27. Leather pants - ummm, no... not cool... ever! Unless they are chaps over wranglers; then yes, as often and as much as you want. Please?
28. Monster Trucks are born - Redneck heaven. I am still in heaven. Love it!
29. Mcgyver - The man was hot and could do it all.
30. The Mullet....

On that note, I'll close. What do you remember from the 80's?

Case of the mising dish towels

Does anyone else have this problem or is it just an Eastern Colorado Ranching thing?

I regularly purchase dish towels for the kitchen, sometimes they come with hot pads but most of the time I just need the towels. See, my hot pads never disappear; only the towels... I swear last month I had 4, today - none. Not a single dish towel, not even a remnant of a dish towel. No goodbye note or dear john letter; just *poof* gone.

Ah, there they are... In the garage covered in what I will presume to be grease. Nice!

So I ask, 'what is my dish towel doing out here?!' The response you will never guess... 'the picture was faded so I thought it was a rag, and I know how you hate rags in the linen closet.'

. . . *crickets chirping* . . .

'OK. Thanks for trying to help! Maybe next time, ask me before you cover it in grease?'

The power of prayer

Our faith has been building and growing by leaps and bounds over the last 2 years. We had two experiences this past week that I wanted to share with you as a testimony of the power of prayer.

*****
First happened on Thursday. We noticed that we were down to about 50 bales of hay and that we needed to buy more. With hay ranging from $4 - $8, we need to be careful to get good hay at a low price. The last hay we got for $5, while it looked nice, had little nutritional value. Max and Gunner both lost a significant amount of weight over a 1 week period. Both have ribs showing and we have been trying to get weight back on them for 4 weeks. Side note - it is easy for horses to lose weight and very hard to get it back on them.

R and I were discussing our meager money situation in the kitchen and found that we had only $100 extra for hay. At $4 a bale (I found some nice stuff!) we still needed $180 more and another $20 for goat hay. Basically we had $100 and needed $200 more. Not having an abundance of extra cash laying around, we said a prayer. Just a quick, to the point prayer. We need money to buy hay and we don't have it. We have done everything you have asked and are faithful in our callings, tithing and prayers. Please send us help.

I kid you not. 20 minutes later a guy from the railroad pulled down our driveway and offered us $300 cash for an old army trailer we had sitting our by the wood pile. The trailer had not been used in 2 years. Sold! We have horse hay money! We got hay on Saturday.

*****

Our horse trailer is huge. It is a 4 horse slant load goose neck with living quarters in the front and a tack room in the back. It is a steel monster and I love it!

About a year ago I had to take Max to the vet for his arthritis shot. C, you ask, why don't you do the shot. It is an IV shot, which I can do, have done BUT if you miss, you hit the artery and kill the horse in 30 seconds. For some reason, on something that important and routine (not an emergency) I would rather pay $15 to have the vet do it!

Anyhow - I took him down and turned a sharp corner ripping the light plug out of the trailer. I drove home with no lights. R fixed the plug and over the next 3 months, the lights would flicker and sometimes work - sometimes not. About 8 moths ago, the lights quit working all together. We went around and around on whether it was the truck or the trailer, we rewired both (R is NOT an electrician - things usually catch fire when he wires them). Luckily my truck and trailer did not catch fire but I have blown a lot of fuses over the past 9 months!

We have spent countless hours in wind and rain and snow trying to find the problem and fix it. Finally I called a trailer repair place and was told minimum of $500 and up to $1,200 to find and fix the problem. Great, more money - I really hate money.

We invited Janice out to the house on Saturday night for a bonfire and trail ride after church on Sunday. R pulled the trailer over to the house and I ran for cover! If he couldn't find the problem, I would follow him in my truck and act as his lights. If you have never done this for your husband, you are missing out - it really is a marriage strengthener, either you get closer together and work as a team of you kill each other.

R started working on the wiring and I started washing brushes and tack boxes. 10 minutes later, the trailer is fixed. What happened?! R said a short quick to the point prayer. Help me fix this trailer and keep the weather nice while I do it.

Trailer done!! So I of course poke R in the ribs and say 'What?! You couldn't say a prayer 8 months ago?!'

*****