Silly me, I had thought since we weren't having family visit for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it would be a slower time for us. Wrong...
November's calendar is full, and December is filling up fast. It's time to plan my annual cookie swap, so I pulled out the calendar....whew! Busy, busy, busy! But, each year when January rolls around, life always slows down a bit. So, we soak up the extra activity now and will have some slower days later.
Rebecca's trip to Cozumel is coming soon. She's so very excited! We're excited for her return...and she hasn't even left yet!
We sold 4 steers and 2 heifer calves last night!!!! WAHOO!!!! A friend of ours and his friend came to pick out which animals they wanted...and ended up taking all of our young ones. They brought corral panels and loaded them up themselves. It was nice to see our animals go to someone who appreciates the grass fed way we raise our cows, as well as the ease of the sale. We have one cow slated for processing next month...then I believe we are finished with our down-sizing for this year. Next year will bring another dozen or so calves to sell. We need to reduce our input costs....the hay we feed costs too much. With the increased pasture we will have after the logging is finished, we should have enough land for the cows...now to figure out what to plant, how to plant it, and when to plant it. If we could grow enough grasses during each part of the year, we could get away from the feeding of hay...
The Mama cows are not happy that we sold their offspring. But, such is life for a cow. They've been a bit loud all night..and all morning too...
Next week holds dental cleanings for the children and a dental crown appmt for my Honey. Not to mention Thanksgiving! A friend of ours whom we haven't seen in several years is coming to visit for Thanksgiving!! There's also Black Friday shopping to be done next week! I can't believe it's only a week and a day away!
Okay, so my driver's license needed to be renewed by my birthday.
Course, in that week was Veteran's Day, that was the day I had planned to stop by the office to renew my license. They were obviously closed.
Next day, we ride all the way over to the license office. Only to find that my birth certificate...which is the only birth certificate I have ever had....and was issued by the health department and had sufficed for ID for 39.99999 years of my life...was no longer valid for ID purposes. WHAT??!
I have to have a state issued birth certificate. Who came up with this craziness?? Why is my birth certificate no longer valid?? I looked at my bc versus my children's (issued by the State of FL)...the only thing missing from mine versus theirs? A certificate number! Actually, mine contains more info, such as day and time of birth.
So, I go to the State of NY's website. Something is wrong when NYC has its own website for vital statistics versus the rest of the state. As a former NY'er, I say cut off NYC from NY State and let it be its own state for crying out loud! Anyhow, there is no local vital statistics office that my Mom could visit and get me a copy. There's ONE vital statistics office for the whole state (minus NYC of course) and it's nowhere near my folks. Okay, plan b....order one and have it expedited to me. Nope, ordering takes 5-10 business days, then it will be sent out. WHAT?!
Called the driver's license office to see if there's anything they can do....perhaps put a note on my license that I am waiting for this ridiculous piece of paper or something. Nope...nothing...expired license is an expired license....
I wait....and will have to continue to wait...until my birth certificate finally arrives and I make the trip back to the driver's license office to renew it. This is soooo not cool.
It's Monday...a day I usually like....but not today. Today's Monday means vacation is over and Honey had to go back to work. Not cool, not cool at all!
We had a wonderful week. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just really enjoyed being together, all of us....
Today, it's back to work for Honey and back to school for us. A busy week, with quite a few busy weeks ahead.
We'll be having company for Thanksgiving. We had thought we wouldn't...but a friend we haven't seen in several years is coming to visit! How cool is that??
We had a busy weekend....Thomas did a job for a friend and cleaned a piece of equipment. Since we had rented a pressure washer for that job, we used it to clean the house too. It looks so much better!!
Guess I'm not in a chatty, bloggy mood right now....sure do miss my Honey. And I sure miss the extra sleep I have been getting! Thomas came downstairs about an hour ago. Yes, my son, up at 6am!! How cool is that?!
Time to start the day..Natalie and Mary are up now too....just need to rouse the sleeping Miss Rebecca....
Today marks one of the greatest events in world history....the birthdate of my beloved wife. Our children and I are infinitely blessed and continually encouraged by her positive,bright outlook.
As a mother she sees to our children's every need all the while working to form them into independent, self sufficient, confident adults.
As a teacher she works diligently to provide our children with the intellectual tools necessary to navigate whichever path in life they should choose.
On our first post-introduction in-depth conversation I learned that while she possessed all she needed to pursue a truly professional occupational career, her desire was the higher calling of wife/mother done right.
She never disappoints, always satisfies, and often surprises. We are all spoiled I tell you.
As a wife, well folks.... to say that I am satisfied, spoiled and sometimes overwhelmed in every dimension would not begin to adequately describe my life with this woman.
My precious I thank God for you, I ask God to bless you. And I wish you a Happy Birthday!!!! I know I am glad you were born.
We LOVE vacation time!!! It means Honey is home with us...no giving him to Home Depot for 10 hours a day...he's just home with us. Oh, how I'd love to win the Publisher's Clearing House giveaway or the lottery. The ultimate dream has always been to have Honey home....dare to dream....
We haven't done anything super special...just done what we normally do, but all together. Today, we went for eye exams for Honey and me. Even that is more fun when Daddy's with us!
This Friday marks a birthday....mine.....I'm not feeling too chipper about it. This is my 40th...and it is not the age I see myself being. But, the alternative is not my first choice, so I'll take it. I know it's just a number. I know 40 is not old. I know, I know, I know. I just also know that me being 40 is so not cool.
This year will be odd for us, holiday wise. Rebecca will be gone with my family to Cozumel for the week of Thanksgiving. Not having her here with us is going to be sooooooo odd. Not sure I like it already!
Also this year will be another first...no family with us for Christmas. That has NEVER happened before...I've never not had some family around me for Christmas. I'm not too sure I'm happy about this...but it is what it is.
While we were eating today, I posed the question....would you rather go away for Christmas for a couple of days....or stay home with gifts and a tree? Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE decorating for Christmas. But, if we didn't have a tree and all that jazz....and didn't buy gifts...we could instead spend that money on a memory making trip. I was promptly and totally voted down. My children want to stay home, want a tree, and yes, even want gifts. Imagine that....
So, home we will stay. No clue where we will put our tree. With our new living room furniture, there's not any room left over. Perhaps if we were successful at selling our piano, we could put the tree where it currently is...and put up bookshelves after Christmas there.
Planning a trip to Nashville with friends next week. Always love going to Nashville!!! :)
I'm ready to turn in....it's been a long day. A fun day...but a day of being gone from home for over 10 hours.... ;)
Today is a special day....it was my Aunt Di's birthday.
I miss her today...I missed her yesterday....I've missed her for the last 14 years since she went home to Jesus. She made a huge impact on my life. I'll be missing her until I get to Glory myself and am reunited with her.
Di was my second Mom. She was only 16 when I was born, so she was a large part of my life. I loved spending weekends with her.
Yes, she was married...and I used to speak well of my Uncle Randy. That is, until after her death and I saw how little he must have regarded her. That's not the focus of this post, so I won't give him any more blog space.
Di had juvenile diabetes. She suffered many, many complications from this disease. But, she faced every obstacle with grace. Always optimistic and sunny.
When we lost our babe to miscarriage in 2007, I so longed to be able to talk with her. You see, my sweet Aunt Di lost 6 babes herself to miscarriage, along with one who was stillborn. How she endured such loss and yet maintained her joy and happiness, I'd love to know. It was so hard for me to walk through the loss of one babe...yet I had been blessed with four babes to raise. She had none. She had no babe to focus on. They did adopt a babe a few years later. He was the light of her life.
So much was he the light of her life that she clung onto life until she could see him and tell him she loved him. She had been visiting us in Florida when the end became apparent. It was incredibly hard to see her wrapped up and wheeled out of the hospital room, headed to a LifeFlight plane to take her home to New York. She was so full of painkillers, yet could still tell us she loved us. She still could tell my Honey to take care of me. She lived until she got to the hospital in NY, saw my cousin and told him she loved him. Before they got out of the hospital from seeing her, she had died.
What strength, determination and love she had.
Alot of who I am today, I saw in her. If she called someone an idiot, that was harsh for her to say! She was always happy. Always ready to help. Always a friend.
I miss Di more than I can say...and I'm thinking of her today. She's been dancing at the feet of Jesus for 14-1/2 years now. Reunited with her babes she didn't get to meet, with her parents and last year, her brother.
A person who touches your life to this degree is NEVER forgotten. They remain in your heart and thoughts forever. That's where Di will stay until I join her reunion....
Has it really been that long since I last blogged?
OOPS!!
Life has a way of keeping you busy, eh?!
We lost our computer for almost 3 weeks. It's nice to have it back. I missed being able to be online. I found that I missed it most for school items. I also found that I didn't miss the distraction that the computer is. It was kinda nice not having it as an option. Kinda like when we first moved to Tennessee. No computer and no tv. There was so much work to be done then, that we really didn't have time for it anyway. But, slowly, those things crept into our lives again. They've taken up residence in our world. Not either of them are bad things...they just are things that ask for our attention...and we seem to all too willingly give it to them.
Honey's birthday was Monday. It was the 20th time I've been able to spend his special day with him. 20 years. And my love for him grows stronger and deeper with each passing day.
Rebecca has been working for a friend of ours. What an answer to prayer this job is! She's close to home, in a safe environment and making good money. All while still being able to do her schoolwork. What a blessing!!!
Thomas is gearing up for hunting season. My boy is sooooo all boy. Yet, he still will sit with me and let me rub his head. He's such a blessing to his family. He's also taken out several ground hogs lately. Quite the "shot" he is!
Natalie is helping me get ready for the craft sale that is coming up this weekend at our local rec center. She and I did the craft sale two years ago and she's been telling me for the past 5 months she'd like to do it again. So, we made soap and are now making other items to sell. I look forward to the day with her!
Mary is blazing through her school work. For her age, she's supposed to be in 1st grade. However, 1st grade work doesn't really challenge her. So, she's in 2nd grade...and sometimes, I don't see the challenge there either. What a little genius! :) Nah, she's just gifted and the 4th child in our family. She's been "in school" for a long time now!
The logging is going nicely...now that the rain has finally taken a break. What a difference it's making up top. We didn't want the front to change in appearance, but the back sure is changing! We walked through the woods for awhile this past weekend. What a beautiful farm the Lord has blessed us with!
I love the time change! It's now so much easier to get to bed on time!!! I wish the time would now stay the same. No more changing.... ;)
I'm off now to get some cookies started. I'm making them up now and will bake them on Friday. It will be so easy to pull them out Friday to bake once they are already formed into cookies and frozen. Lots to do before the sale on Saturday...best get to it! :)
1. He's mine :)
2. He loves his family more than life itself
3. He belongs to Christ
4. He works hard
5. His smile
6. His hugs
7. His kisses... ;)
8. His ability to see things I cannot
9. His protection of his family
10. He makes me laugh
11. He holds me close when I need it
12. He likes to snuggle
13. He loves babies
14. He helps me be the best person I can be
15. He grounds me
16. He teaches our children all sorts of life skills
17. His beard
18. He's my "mountain man" :)
19. He's always made sure we had enough..most times, more than enough
20. His harmonica playing
21. He is all man
22. He likes my cooking
23. He tells me he loves me...frequently
24. He loves to talk....and does so most frequently..no clammed up man here!
25. He prays with me each morning
26. He has a true heart for God
27. He gives me 5 blinks each morning
28. He calls me at lunch every day
29. He calls me to say he's on his way home every day
30. He's home 30 minutes after he gets off work..no stopping off for him
31. He knows what truly matters
32. He wants the best for us
33. And tries his best to give it to us
34. He talks to the cows..and they listen!
35. He is truly gifted in many areas
36. He's the handyman, fix it man, vehicle repair guy, woodworker..just all around talent!
37. He's my perfect counterpart
38. He completes me
39. He loves me
40. He fulfills my every wish
41. He is so handsome
42. He spends his time taking care of us
43. He gladly gives of himself to us
44. He sings to us
45. He loves my Penny Pie :)
46. He makes sure we are safe
47. He would lay down his life for us..both literally and figuratively
48. He speaks highly of us
49. He's ALL MINE!!!!
Happy Birthday, Honey!!! You are the best husband, father and friend the world has ever been blessed to know!
Busy days....but then, aren't they all busy? You know time is flying when your six old daughter tells you that time is passing quickly.
Exciting things are happening around here. Selling some of our cows has been a blessing. It seemed to jumpstart changes around here. I love watching the Lord bring things together for us.
A friend is a logger and he'll be moving equipment here soon to begin logging the top pastures. Honey is so happy to know he'll soon have more acres for pasture. Trees, we have plenty of....pasture land, not so much. Out of our 83 acres, I believe about 35 of it is open and pasture. Honey feels we'll gain about 12 acres of pasture.
We also had someone here who told us about no till seed drilling and how that could be used for planting winter feed for our cows. It would be wonderful to not spend big bucks every year for hay. We do have a haybine, but no baler...and really, not enough land to keep out of the rotation of grazing to cut for hay.
We have lived here for five years. Alot of work and effort..not to mention money...has gone into our farm. It's neat to start seeing real improvements...and perhaps the animals paying for themselves...and more?! :)
Fall is on its way. Next week is supposed to bring cooler temperatures....like 70's for the high and 50's for the low. I'm so ready for this!! I've been waiting for it since summer began....I'm so not a fan of summer.... !!!
School is finished for the week. I like the changes we've made this year. Though we do need to work on getting back on a schedule soon....
Musings from the me.... I am married to my very best friend, who happens to be perfect (for me!!) and am honored to be the Mama to the best four children in the world. The Lord has surely blessed me most abundantly!!!
You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life.
You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up.
The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.
