Ladybug Farm

Moving my Blog!!

2010-03-11T08:42:00.001-07:00

Since we are no longer a farm and have started our new lives here in Ennis, with a new job and everything, I decided to start a New Blog! From now on my posts will be at

http://ladybugfamily.wordpress.com

To visit us, please go there! Thank you!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T07:06:00.002-07:00

Boys

2010-03-09T15:42:00.003-07:00

We are all sick.

Yep, we have the flu.

I thought we were better.

But we are not.

Little L is good, but Big B and I are not.

Walking home from school today, Big B did NOT feel well. When I glanced up, I saw that Little L was holding Big B's hand...

Little L sang him songs all the way home and even carried his backpack some of the way. ( I went and got it to carry. I mean Little L was already doing SO much...)

Pretty sweet right? It's these moments that I think of when they are screaming at each other and trying to tear each other to pieces. I just think back to days like today and comfort myself with this picture. They really do love each other.

Women

2010-03-04T07:45:00.001-07:00

I got this in an email today. I just HAD to share. (Please forgive the obscenity...)

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.

She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T08:07:00.003-07:00

Sunshine

2010-03-02T14:26:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I sat on my back porch and BASKED in the warm spring sun shine. I soaked it up. I couldn't get enough.

A fat, lazy fly buzzed me on the cheek, as I rested my head back against the house. That sun felt so GOOD.

There was a cool breeze brushing against my skin, reminding me that I do live in Montana. I better not remove my sweat pants and sweat shirt... yet =)

Today it's slightly more breezy and the sun is NOT shining. But the memory of yesterday is fresh and I know that spring has sprung!!

Blog Parade!

2010-03-01T20:06:00.006-07:00

The lovely and talented Abigail Craft is hosting a Blog Party! To learn more click here.

1. What's your favorite time of the day, and why?
Well, I've never before been a morning person, but for the last 4 or 5 months, I've become one! I LOVE the early morning, watching the sun come up and turn the mountains a soft, hazy pink. It makes me want to reach out, pluck it and eat it, like cotton candy!

2. If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?
What? You mean that I can't live off of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream now!?? Great! I have a lot to think about...

3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?
I wish that I could wake up skinny (like I was before I had kids) and not HAVE to eat right and exercise to stay that way!

4. What is one thing that you get teased about a lot?
Talking. Some people think that I talk to much... I mean I have SO MUCH to share. I have so many wonderful ideas that I think people should hear. If I didn't talk, then who would be the life of the party!? W H A T E V E R!

5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?
Anne of Green Gables. I LOVE that movie. The scenery is gorgeous, the time period is my favorite, I love the way they talk, they way they dress, and they way the interact with each other. I would be Anne (with an "e")... Of Course!

6. If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?
Patience. I consider that a talent and I DEFINITELY don't have it!!

7. If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?
Absolutely, no question, Greece. I want to LIVE there. Or maybe the South of France. I want to LIVE there too =)

8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?
Country music, definitely.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?
Probably Amazon.com. I LOVE books and can't get enough. I'm wondering... would $10,000 buy me enough books??

10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?
The Victorian era. I love the idea of living without electricity, candle light everywhere. I love the idea of horse and carriage for transportation, either that or walking. It's so romantic.

11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?
Probably brown. It doesn't show dirt and I look nice in it =)

12. If you were one of the 7 dwarves, which one would you be?
If you asked my kids, they would say Grumpy... But I think I would be Sleepy...

13. What was the last album you listened to?
Sugarland

14. What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?
I am addicted to dog collars and leashes. I shop for them all the time (BUT I don't buy them and that is KEY!) And I do have two dogs, so it's not totally weird or anything =)

Whew! So that's me! In all my beautiful glory =) Thanks Abigail! That was FUN!

More Puppies!

2010-02-28T16:40:00.003-07:00

Okay... I think you can handle it now =)

These are the Shih Tzu puppies. Sooooo adorable!!

Little Boy Eli..

Little Girl, Molly...

Sweet Little Jake...

Aren't puppies the best!? So cute and sweet and cuddly.

Bozeman

2010-02-26T19:39:00.005-07:00

We went to Bozeman today, the boys and me. We went to the book store and had a GREAT time. I got The Daily Coyote. I'm so excited!!

BEFORE that we made a stop at my Auntie D's house to hold, cuddle and photograph the CUTEST puppies EVER!

What a fun day we had!!

This one is named Liam.

And this one is Quinn... He is spoken for!
(No not by me... but I will admit it was tempting. See puppy below.)

This one is Gigi and the puppy that stole all three of our hearts.
Not only is she named after my Gramms, but she is ADORABLE!!

This sweet little one is Lola. She is so quiet and snuggly!

And last but certainly not least is Hannah. I loved her little white toes!!

To see more about these adorable puppies go to
Royal Haven Shorkies.

I'll share more puppies tomorrow. I don't want you to die of cuteness!!!

Peace

2010-02-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

One Goal:

Peace of Mind

Sounds good!

Exercise

2010-02-23T13:40:00.003-07:00

Exercise... for the last... oh.... 9 years that has been a BAD word in my house.

BUT, I've recently learned how wonderful exercise can be! I'm not talking about aerobics, weight lifting, riding a stationary bike, ect.

I'm talking about getting out and moving your body, smelling the fresh air, looking at the trees, the animals, the clouds, the blue sky, the river. Moving in a loose, relaxed way. Relaxing your hips, your shoulders, your arms and just moving through the world.

It's so amazing!

THEN, get your kids out there! My Boys complain and complain almost the whole time we are walking, but they also laugh, and find "walking" sticks, and dig in the dirt and play at the playground that we walk to after school. I think deep, deep down, they LOVE it. At least that's what I tell myself =)

When they ask me why I make them walk everyday. I answer them that school doesn't allow for enough exercise and I want my boys to be happy, healthy kids. With the nation struggling with obesity especially in our children I think a nice brisk walk every day is a GREAT habit to get our kids into.

Police Academy

2010-02-22T10:11:00.001-07:00

Well Hubby has 5 weeks left of the academy.

Neither one of us is handling it well.

I'm lonely.

He's stressed.

The boys seem to be doing alright. They act up a little more on the weekends, but at least they aren't too bad during the week.

I. can't. wait. for. these. 5. weeks. to. be. DONE.

The Boys

2010-02-20T16:42:00.001-07:00

The Dog Whisperer

2010-02-17T19:47:00.004-07:00

We have a new Dog Whisperer in our family. My cousin has a 2 year old daughter, Little M. She is adorable!!! (Of course, how could she be any different, after all she IS related to ME!)

Okay, so she doesn't look A THING like me. But look at those EYES!!

She and Gentry enjoyed some cuddle time on the bean bag while they watched Shrek 3. I swear I LOVE this dog!! (and the baby too of course!)

Little M LOVED Angus's dog food bowl. She very carefully carried it all over the house (the dogs were hunting down dog food pieces all evening yesterday! lol) and then she would put it down and take a piece out, feed it to Angus then reach in for another piece, feed it to Angus, and on and on. I don't think Angus has EVER eaten so much at one sitting!

There is NO question as to who the "Pack Leader" is in these pictures!

And I know it looks like Angus is very intently watching the food, but actually he is focused on the blue ball that Little M is almost sitting on =) He is ever hopeful that SOMEONE will throw it for him. Of course Little M obliged him all afternoon. Along with hand feeding him...

Annnnd the movie became VERY interesting!

THE END

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2010-02-10T12:09:00.005-07:00

Monday was Hubby's birthday, but we celebrated it on Sunday. Not a big party, just us, a Mud Pie and a home made card =) Yum!

Thinking up a wish...

And blowing out the candles!

Last year I made Hubby a notebook. Every year I write him a birthday letter in that notebook. It's wonderful gift and didn't cost me much! I used a composition notebook and covered it with neat paper to make it more "Him". It's a great memory book! Onto the letter...

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Fishing Nets!

2010-02-08T10:04:00.002-07:00

My Dad sells the most beautiful fishing nets. Take a look at his website and enjoy!

Blue Ribbon Nets

Shooting??

2010-02-07T20:43:00.004-07:00

Shooting? Us? Yep, we went shooting this weekend. Talk about weird! This is what we will be doing as a family on the weekends. Hubby needs to practice handling his hand gun and it's a good time to do a little hiking. I just have to be aware of where Hubby is =)

Gentry handled the shooting great! He jumped around a little after the first one or two shots, but after that he didn't even bat an eye. Angus was another story, but was tucked away safely in my jacket. All warm and safe.

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon! Onto the pictures...

Gentry posing so nicely!

Gentry being silly! Angus keeping up nicely.

The Boys climbing up an icy, slippery hill. I did not climb this. Instead I walked up the perfectly nice, snowy road and found the state land we were looking for.

The boys coming down the hill towards me. Hubby went back for the truck.

I love this shot.

My Boys.

Little L climbing a tree.

Big B made a snow elephant =)

And Hubby shooting!

Kneeling and shooting. I think they start shooting in school this week. They have to do all sorts of things like, shoot kneeling, from the hip, one handed, shoot with their weak hand, load the gun one handed, ect. So he was practicing some of these things.

That was our outing!

New Book!

2010-02-04T21:47:00.002-07:00

I am editing a new book written by my Aunt Sara about using Essential Oils on animals. It lists different health issues and then gives solutions using Essential Oils and other natural remedies. It's going to be great! Keep your eyes peeled! It's coming soon...

Friday

2010-01-29T12:23:00.003-07:00

Today is Friday. Hubby comes home today. Thank God! We miss him all week and REALLY look forward to Fridays!

Tomorrow will be Gentry's first week anniversary. It seems like we've always had him. I can't believe it's only been one week.

I've been thinking about How to Live My Life. What am I doing with myself? Do I have to DO something with my life? Hmmm... What will I BE when I grow up!?

Questions, questions...

Maybe a photographer??

It is what I LOVE to do. I also LOVE to write...
Sorry about the randomness of my post. I've been feeling a bit random myself lately.

Edited to Add:

We've had Gentry for two weeks, tomorrow! Geesh!

This reminds me when I turned 23. I sent my BF a birthday card (we are the same age) and said "Happy 23rd Birthday!!"

She called me and said, "How old are you?"

I said "22"

She said, "No, you're 23."

What!!?? Yep, I did that. I forgot how old I was. That was me.

Sweetness

2010-01-25T13:37:00.003-07:00

Little L and Gentry feelin tired after a long hard Sunday. Sunday's are the hardest for us right now because that means that Hubby is off to school for the week =( All of us take it pretty hard. Having a giant, fluffy, snuggler has helped!

The many faces of Angus...

2010-01-21T21:01:00.005-07:00

Angus is adjusting well to Gentry. I thought I would share a few pictures of him doin' his "thang"...

Angus protecting his ball from me... I have to keep it up because I don't want Gentry to choke on it. He found where I had it hidden and then laid down on the bean bag with it.
(I bought a bigger one today so they could share.)

Peek-A-Boo!

We Welcome to our Family....

2010-01-20T10:20:00.004-07:00

Gentry!

He is a Standard Poodle. He is BIG. He barks loud when he feels he needs to. He LOVES Little L and Big B and gets along great with Angus. He is very soft and fluffy. He is WONDERFUL! One of the best parts is he is 10 months old, housebroke and has all his grown up teeth so he doesn't chew on everything.

He smiles =)

He's Handsome.

He's a Goof!

And he's "Just one of the Boys"!

This one is a Classic!

2010-01-14T08:19:00.002-07:00

Okay, so maybe it's not a classic... but it's a very funny read! My boys were laughing EVERY time I read it to them. They would beg me to read it as soon as they got home from school. BOTH boys would sit by me and listen enraptured while I read. (Usually Little L can't sit still for very long... he is just too busy.)

Sir Fartsalot demands attention!! I highly recommend this book! Bring your sense of humor and cuddle up with the kidos. Enjoy!

The Importance of Exercise

2010-01-09T12:44:00.002-07:00

I know, that dreaded word.... EXERCISE! It makes me cringe to say it, or even think it. I HATE exercising. It's exhausting and though they say it's supposed to release endorphins, that doesn't happen to me. After I exercise I find myself lying on the floor in a puddle of sweat wondering what just happened!

BUT, walking, now that's the way to do it! I go out my front door and walk around my neighborhood a few times. Sometimes I walk the loop twice just because it feels so good! I look up and see the mountains. In the mornings they are often touched with a pink tinge from the sun rising. The air is actually pink! It's the most beautiful thing to see. Even if I'm freezing, slipping and sliding around, seeing those gorgeous pink mountains puts everything into prospective for me.

Taken from the Unicity Newsletter this week:

"Walking requires little time and no equipment, and research has shown that walking (brisk or power walking) can be beneficial and effective to overall health.

The benefits of exercise vary from burning excess body fat to preventing conditions that are likely to diminish functional capacity, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. In addition, recent studies have shown that a regular exercise program significantly improves mental capacity.

In fact, walking and other exercise leads to the release of the body’s natural happy drugs—endorphins. Many physicians recommend adding regular walking and exercise as a natural treatment to relieve a bout of depression."

So get out and walk! I promise, this will get those endorphins going and you'll feel better than ever!!

Ponderings

2010-01-06T08:43:00.005-07:00

I sit and ponder...

Should I get a Standard Poodle? They make great watch dogs...

Should we move out of town? Then I wouldn't have to pay board for Destino and he would be with me... He is very depressed and not happy in his current location...

Should I go to Bozeman today? It's windy and snowy and below zero... I think, Not.

Should I sell Destino? Then what would I ride in the mountains?

Hmmm... I sit and ponder...

Handsome Boys

2010-01-03T10:05:00.004-07:00

My Boys are so handsome! Sometimes when I sit and watch them play, or read, or watch a movie, I can't believe how big they've gotten! Little L isn't so little any more. He doesn't look like the little boy that I remember just one short year ago. He now resembles a BIG boy...

And Big B... he is so tall! His FEET are HUGE! I can't believe how fast he grows out of pants and shoes...

Here he is typing his first email to his Grandma and Grandpa Schroder =)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:34:00.004-07:00

I'm really looking forward to this New Year! I know it has great things in store for our family. I can just FEEL it...

One great thing is that our little farm has had people looking and one offer to buy! We are selling as a short sale however, so we won't see a single penny and are just crossing our fingers that we won't have to write a check, to sell our property. Mostly we will just be relieved to be out from under it's smothering weight... Whew!

And for a nice surprise... Hubby picked up a local paper the other day and... Big B was in there! How exciting! He won first prize with his Christmas Story, "A Christmasaur Story".

"A long time ago, over 150 million years ago, in the world of dinosaurs there was a dinosaur named Santasaurus. Santasaurus lived at the North Pole. At the North Pole lived all kinds of creatures big and little. The most tiny creatures were the Elfasaurs. They were as big as a school folder.

The North Pole is the most busiest place in Dinoworld. Now Santasaurus was busy too. He works very hard making a list of good and bad little dinosaurs.

Oh no! It's Christmas Eve nad there is one dinosaur on the Bad List! His name is Scar. Now Scar is not just a bad dinosaur, he is a very bad dinosaur. He is a bad dinosaur because he is a bully at school. He does all kinds of mean stuff like pulling other dinosaur's tails, punching dinosaurs, pushing dinosaurs and calling them names.

Back at the North Pole, Santasaurus is flying around Dinoworld. Santasaurus forgot his good and bad list. So Santasaurus gave presents to every dinosaur in the Dinoworld, the good and the bad ones.

The next day when all the dinosaurs came out to play, Scar surprised everyone by being the nicest dinosaur on the playground. It was the first year that Scar had ever got a Christmas present."

A Day at the River

2009-12-26T21:09:00.005-07:00

My beloved cousin came over on Christmas Day with her two Girlies, they spent the night. We had a sleepover! These girls are as close as I'm going to get to having girls around, to dressing girls and playing with girl things, watching girl movies. My house is full to the TOP with BOYS, so I REALLY enjoy my girl time lol =)

We went down to the river so Cuz could see the Gorging for herself. It's so amazing! And I couldn't help myself. I HAD to bring my camera. I'm sure glad I did!!

Enjoy!

First, this is Little D. Apparently this is how girls dress up like Bumblebee...
(the mask is upside down LOL... I would never tell her that though! this is MUCH cuter!)

This is Big K at the pond that is beside the river... Brrr...

Big B looking out across the pond.

Little L RUNNING to her Momma. Sooo cute! Her feet aren't even touching the ground!

Big B contemplating a snow ball fight =)

Little L smiling for the camera....

Big K thinking about climbing this tire... but her Wizard of Oz shoes made her think twice ;)

Little L and Big K reading the sign by the river... bookends =)

Caught it!

Little D, a bright ray of sunshine!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:56:00.004-07:00

With Etsy!!

I went shopping online this year and hit the JACKPOT with Etsy. I had a VERY limited budget and there was an unlimited supply of affordable gifts on Etsy. I absolutely recommend everyone shop there!

Here are a few gifts I got =)

I got this adorable magnet set complete with tin from Bell Design. Talk about Cute! My Aunt loved them...

I got these wonderful tins to use as gift boxes from MaJentaDesigns!

I got these adorable magnets for my other Aunt and Cousin from Silly Dog Magnets =) Aren't they so cute! I also got my friend a set... she has a Hairless Chinese Crested and Brianna had a set of Hairless Chinese Crested magnets!! WOW!!
And she made me a special magnet of my own little Shorkie, Angus...
This is the actual art! Isn't it cute! It looks just like him =)

I highly recommend these wonderful ladies for your shopping needs. And if you remember... I also get my makeup on Etsy! From The All Natural Face. Wonderful, wonderful makeup. I LOVE it! I have very sensitive skin and this is the only kind of mineral makeup, eye shadow and mascara that I can use.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of Family and Fun!!

River Gorging

2009-12-17T07:32:00.003-07:00

The Madison River is an interesting river. It does something that no other river in the US does. It gorges. Gorging is awesome and beautiful and a little scary. When I was walking around down there it felt absolutely prehistoric, glacier-like. The ice shifts and moves and grinds and squeals. It's really amazing.

Gorging is when the river doesn't freeze. Instead it fills up with ice. The ice backs up into Ennis lake which in turn causes the river to overflow it's banks. And I mean OVERFLOW. The water goes everywhere! The ice builds up along the banks of the river and freezes where ever the river has left it's banks as well. I hear that the river is prime for fishing at this time of year. You wouldn't catch me in a boat with all that ice around! No way.

But I'll go down and take pictures =)

This is shot northeast of Ennis. Right at the edge of town and the bank of the river. Look at all that ice!!

This is how thick it is! I wonder if there are fish in that hole... or maybe ducks?

This is a shot of the bridge that goes out the east side of Ennis, towards Yellowstone National Park. I guess sometimes the ice comes up over the bridge!

A close up of the ice. I love close ups...

Bird foot prints. The look so perfect in the fresh sprinkle of snow.

Tricks!

2009-12-16T13:30:00.003-07:00

Angus has a few new tricks up his sleeve. Enjoy!

Angus has this cute trick of "tossing" you the ball. Here is Hubby playing "catch" with him.
If you tell him that you can't reach it, he'll run, get it and throw it to you. It sure does make playing fetch easier!

Jingle Bells!

2009-12-14T11:45:00.002-07:00

Jingle Bells,

Jingle All The Way!

Oh how cute he is! Too bad he's not big enough to pull a sleigh =)

Happy Birthday Big B!!

2009-12-05T17:30:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to Big B....
Happy Birthday to yououououou!

Today is Big B's birthday. His first here, in Ennis. The weather isn't great. We are having a winter storm watch with lots of wind and snow falling. The roads were VERY exciting =) We braved the 40 miles into Bozeman so we could go to the Museum. It was a blast!

Big B's Grandma and Grandpa Westfall met us there as did his Uncle Bob. We walked around and learned about World War II, Native Americans, and Dinosaurs!! Big B even got to go to the gift shop and pick out a book and a movie. Then both boys got to pick out two dinosaur key chains and there were these wonderful colorful dinosaur t-shirts on sale for $5!! Who could pass that up... not me??

Little L got a purple one.

Big B got a red one. Cool right!?

We are watching the dinosaur movie as I type and it's very interesting. The boys are glued to it and asking me tons of questions. (Apparently I am the go to gal about dinosaurs... who knew? Not me!!)

I think it was a wonderful birthday today. Big B got lots of presents in the mail. He loves getting mail, so that was exciting. All in all it was a very productive day.

Happy Birthday Big B!!

It's Festive in here!

2009-12-04T15:59:00.004-07:00

We just put up our tree and boy is it festive in here!! We got a real tree this year and it smells so good!! The boys hung up all the ornaments and the tree looks great.

We hung our stockings on the banister. (We've never had a banister before...) My Grandma made both of the boys stockings and mine too. They are beautiful

I also wanted to share one of my birthday presents. I just got them today and I LOVE them! They are so comfy and soft and warm. My very own Uggs! Thanks so much to Teresa!!

Aren't they cute!?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:53:00.002-07:00

Oh this is so exciting! Our first Thanksgiving in Ennis. Hubby has to work, so we are going to celebrate with just our little family. I'm cooking dinner this morning, so he will have time for a nap before he heads out to keep our county safe for the night!

Last night I woke up and realized that Hubby wasn't home yet. He is usually home around 3 in the morning =0 I know! So late... or maybe it's early? But it was 5am and he wasn't here. Of course I couldn't fall asleep again so I called to see where he was. He was just driving home. It was a busy night in the Madison Valley last night. I definitely sleep better knowing he's out there protecting us.

So, our Thanksgiving dinner is going to be, turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and a green salad. Then I'm making hot fudge sundaes for dessert. I have a busy day ahead!

I'm wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Snow Pictures!

2009-11-17T09:47:00.003-07:00

Little L enjoying himself!

Big B flat out in the snow. They were eating a lot of it!

Angus! Look how deep the snow is!

He was loving it! Racing all around like a lunatic =)

Then he stopped and looked at me. LOL

A little less snowy.

Big B looking so handsome!

Wearing Daddy's sunglasses.
"The future's so bright he has to wear shades!"

TaDa!!

Holy Deer! And Snow!!

2009-11-12T09:11:00.004-07:00

The deer here are crazy! They walk around in people's yards and are not too afraid of us as we walk around and go about our days. They aren't tame. You can't walk up and pet them or anything. (I had visions of 6 or so of them hitched to a sleigh this winter... just like Santa!) They are wild, just accustomed to people and town life!

A young buck walking through. I tried to get him to look, but he wouldn't.

A couple of does. They were more alert. This picture was taken in our side yard...

A close up. Isn't she pretty??

Then we woke up this morning to THIS!!!
This is the very same side yard that the does are standing in. I took the picture of the does LAST NIGHT!!

Our front door with the snow falling down through the tree...

The end of main street. All snowy!

The boys and I walked to school this morning. Well I walked anyway. They spent a lot of time on their knees or rolling around in the snow =) My eyelashes were plastered with snow and ice by the time I got back home. Brrrrrrrrrr!

Deputy Schroder... As Promised!

2009-11-07T09:33:00.003-07:00

Pictures, as promised! He wore his uniform to work yesterday, so I took the opportunity to take some pictures ;) Just for you!

Just look at how tall he is!

Another shot ;)

A Close Up!

He got certified to carry a firearm yesterday. He shot 50 rounds and hit the target 47 times, in the dark! They didn't get to the target range until 4:30 and shot some practice rounds, so by the time he did the test it was fairly dusky. He passed with flying colors. As I knew he would. It sounds like he is having a really fun time so far.

The boys and I are having a blast riding our bikes all over town. Well I am at least. The boys are party poopers right now and complain about how much their legs hurt all the time. Sheesh... The farthest we ride is a 1/2 mile from the house. You'd think I'm making them ride up hill both ways in a snow storm!

Well I'm off to the post office to try to get a phone book. Have a great day!

The New House!!

2009-11-03T09:37:00.007-07:00

Okay you guys! Here ya go! Pictures of the new house. We LOVE it. Even Hubby said he thinks he likes it more than the house we built =) It's just so cute and with the upstairs it gets the boys toys out of the living room. They have the bed room for sleeping and then the "Great Room" for their toys. It's AWESOME!

On to the pictures!

The front of the house, with my Dad standing on the porch.

The back of the house, with Angus sniffing around in the grass.

The sidewalk out to the garage. We get one stall in the garage and then a little storage alcove. There is an apartment above the garage that they rent out as well.

A shot of the living room from the front door. You can see Hubby in the kitchen...

Here is the living room shot from the kitchen.

A shot of the hallway. On the left is the main bathroom, the next door is the office, then a closet and around the corner to the right is our bedroom.

Our bedroom. Sorry about the mess! We are still putting everything together...

A shot up the stairs from the front door. Big B is standing at the top, with his paper airplane. (The ONLY thing they can throw down the stairs...)

A shot of the Boy's bedroom, taken before we set up the beds.

A shot of the "Great Room". The boys have all their toys, books and desks in this room. It makes it nicer when we tuck them in at night. I don't step on legos stuck in the carpet! Yea!

This is the laundry room. There is a sink and a toilet in here! It's awesome and sooo big.

So that's it! The new place.

Ennis is such a friendly town. When we went to the bank yesterday to open an account, the bank lady was so excited to meet us, she went and got other people to introduce us to. It was pretty fun listening to Hubby talk about being a Deputy Sheriff and see people's reactions to that. They are very happy and supportive of him. The propane ladies were hysterical. They were very chatty and funny. We had a great time getting our propane!

Today we want to go up to the school and meet the boy's teachers. I was thinking the boys wouldn't start school until Monday, but it may be sooner. They are pretty wild and starting school may help settle them in faster. Little L is very nervous and worried about school, but I think he'll like it. The bank lady's son is in his class and she was so welcoming and sweet. She told him that she would talk with her son about helping Little L around on his first day. I think that made him feel a little better.

Hopefully we'll get our phone/internet figured out today. I'm sitting at the little local Coffee Shop writing this (they don't have a plug that accommodates my computer plug in so I'm running off my battery) having internet at home would be nice =) It's been really busy here this morning!

Thanks for all your kind words and for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers!! We really appreciate you guys!

News

2009-10-29T09:00:00.002-06:00

Okay, so here's what's up!

I rented a cute little house in the town of Ennis on Tuesday. When we went around and looked at houses before, we couldn't get into this one. So I waited to make my choice until I saw it and it's perfect! It's three years old and VERY clean. It's got two bedrooms downstairs, a full bathroom and then a toilet in the HUGE laundry room. Then upstairs there is a little bedroom (there isn't a closet so technically it's not considered a bedroom) and a "great" room. The boys will be up there.

The boys were thrilled to hear that the house has stairs... they have a thing about stairs, I don't know why, but they LOVE them.

Hubby had some orientation on Tuesday, filled out important paper work and was issued a badge, a car and a hand gun! He says it's starting to feel real.

And ladies!!! Boy oh boy does Hubby look Handsome in his uniform!! I can't wait to post some pictures for you!! Whew, I'm feeling light headed ;)

We stayed the night in Ennis this time. I rented a cute little cabin along the river, it was only $60 and we could have Angus there! Neither one of us could sleep with all the excitement and talking about what we need to do. They would like Hubby over there on Wednesday Nov. 4th. His schedule will be Wed - Sat, 4 10 hour days and then have Sun, Mon, and Tues off.

Oh this is all so exciting!! We will be living in town and can WALK EVERYWHERE! I can walk the boys to school and then walk wherever I need to go in town. The grocery store is a little farther away, but Hubby said I can get a bike and then I'll really be mobile. (I'm so tired of having to drive everywhere. I plan to mostly just park the car and be active... I'm also planning on losing A LOT of weight!!)

I have a friend in Sheridan (that's about 45 minutes from Ennis) that is going to let me take Destino and Annabelle to her house for the winter. Meantime I'll look for a place to board them closer to Ennis (hopefully within biking distance.)

That's what's happening in our neck of the woods!! I'll post pictures when we get there...

Deputy Schroder

2009-10-23T20:13:00.004-06:00

Oh My Gosh!! My Hubby is now known as "Deputy" Schroder!!!! We are so excited!!

We will be moving to Ennis Montana SOON... VERY SOON....

Oh My Gosh!!! We are literally jumping for joy over here!!!

To Whom It May Concern:

2009-10-20T07:10:00.002-06:00

It is a hard thing, to lose one's home. It is something that we have been going through for almost a year now.

Last October we knew that we were in for a hard winter. Work was scarce and not paying well. Some people would have my Husband complete a job and then refuse to pay or pay just enough to cover material cost. We knew we were in trouble. I called you (Chase Bank, the loan sharks for Fanny Mae) and let you know that we were going to be missing a payment. I asked if there was anything we could do, send a partial payment, lower our interest rate, you said "NO." December rolled around and it was either Christmas and food or house payment. We have two small kids so no Christmas wasn't an option. (Our kids get only one Christmas present from us a year and it's not a big one. We do fill their stockings however, so I suppose you could call us irresponsible.)

I called you in January and asked again if we could send a partial payment? You answered, "NO." I was informed that if we only sent a partial payment the house could still go up for Foreclosure. So I chose to save the partial payment that I had. I called you again for the next 3 months and every time I asked for help, I was told "NO."

Finally after we had missed our 5th payment a very nice Gentleman named Todd helped us out. He informed us that President Obama was "bailing" out home owners just as he had so graciously bailed out the Big Buisnesses and we may qualify for some Home Owners Assistance Plans. We started the arduous paper work phase. I filled out so many forms in the next month, hopeful that we would qualify for some kind of assistance. But we did not. Either we didn't make enough money, or we made too much money (in the last year) or our house wasn't worth enought, or whatever. For whatever reason we were told that we didn't qualify for ANY assistance.

I would like to add here that we had put the house up on the market that October, when we saw how difficult it was going to be. But with the economy so bad, what once was an asset for our family turned into a prison. What once would have been a boon for our bank account turned into a sucking hole. We were drowning and there was no life boat in sight.

My Husband managed to get some odd jobs over the winter and into the spring. They kept us eating and clothes on the boys. We managed to put some money into savings for the time when we could start making house payments again.

Then Finally we qualified for a Home Assistance Program. Finally. You lowered our payment $200. I called and said that we couldn't manage that payment for more than a few months. You informed me that we only had to pay it for 3 months, then you would re-do our trial and lower the payment even more.

After the 3 months was up, and our savings was GONE, you informed me that we hadn't sent in some paperwork that was needed to complete the next trial period. It's been 2 months and I have recieved about 4 letters telling the same thing. I send in paperwork after paperwork and keep getting a letter saying that you don't have the proper paperwork and will I please send in "A, B and C so we can help you save your home from forclosure." I have sent in the paperwork 4 times. I am starting to get concerned that you guys aren't very organized.

Really, I think that you are pulling my leg until you decide to put the house into foreclosure and then all that savings money that we paid you, well, I should have just flushed it down the toilet.

And our Esteemed President and all his "Bail Out Plans"... I have no nice words. Some say that it's only the bad stories that we hear and that those are blown out of porportion. Well, this is my bad story, you are hearing it, and it's not blown out of porportion.

My Husbands credit was Good and mine was Excellent before this happened. Now because of this it's been hard for my Husband to get a job. Because we have had some hard times, and there is no assistance for people like us, we struggle to get a job. This is all so very frustrating.

And there is no one to listen. Or care. It feels very much like we don't have a say in anything our Government is doing. They want to bail out the Big Boys (That's YOU Fanny Mae) and the American people stand up and say NO! and they go ahead and do it anyway. Then, low and behold, in the news we see those very same "poor executives" who couldn't buy toilet paper out sunning themselves on beaches, having lavish parties and still living in their huge mansions. And still raking in the big bucks. America the free my @$$. It's the little guy that is paying for all that. It's the little guy who always pays. It's the little guy who pays for the people on welfare, but then when they get into a bind there is no welfare for them. No help for them.

So we are sitting here in a house that is going to go into forecloser, still getting letters "Your Modification is at Risk - Urgent Response Needed!" You need

Income Documentation
Proof I occupy my home as primary residence
Signed IRS Form 4506-T
Signed Hardship Affidavit

All things I have sent to you 4 times in the last month.

Well we will no longer be living in our home. We are going were the work is. My Husband is making a career change and we are leaving our life and home to start fresh somewhere new. So you can have the house, the farm land. Good luck with it. And Thanks For Everything.

Sincerely,

Mindy Schroder

A Huge Thank You....

2009-10-18T17:52:00.000-06:00

To our Auntie Teresa!! She sent us a box filled with Halloween treats, costumes, face paint, Applebee's Gift cards, and.... drum roll please..... $500!!! HOLY MOLY!! How totally wonderful is that?? Talk about Heaven sent. Just in our time of need.

(We have been going through some really tough times here on the farm. It's been touch and go as far as eating and paying the bills. We haven't been able to make a house payment for some time now. The bank is not really interested in working with us, so we are looking at losing the farm. That is something that we have accepted and we are ready to move on.

It looks like we are going to be moving soon...Hubby has been trying to get on with the Police Department, somewhere, anywhere, and it looks like we are close! We are very happy about this and are looking forward to starting a new life soon, so please keep us in your prayers and happy thoughts!)

Anyway, our Auntie Teresa knew about our troubles and felt compelled to help us out in our time of need. We are so thankful to her and can not say it enough!

Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You!

Now onto the pictures of the boys in their new costumes =) Enjoy!!

Little L in his Monster Costume.

Big B in his Skeleton Monster Costume.

Nice Teeth!

I LOVE this one. Bumble Bee? Or Little L? Hard to say!

Big B? Or Batman??

All my Boys! Don't they look Great!?

Another Big Thank You to Auntie Teresa!! XOXOXOXOX

Big B

2009-09-23T08:13:00.003-06:00

Seriously, if I posted everything that happens to that boy you would NOT believe me! Every Day. Every Day. Something. Happens. To. Him.

"Did you wet the bed tonight?" I ask Little L (it's an ongoing problem, but he is getting way better.)

"No." he answers tiredly.

"But Big B pooped his pants."

What!? He said it so matter of factly. In that sleepy gravely morning voice.

"What? No. You're kidding right?" I say.

"Big B did you poop your pants?"

"Yep." Big B answers, matter of factly.

"I Hatchooed and pooped at the same time."

Seriously. This really happened.

Watch This!

2009-09-22T07:49:00.002-06:00

This is adorable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS93Q4jQAOo

I'm going to have to learn how to put the actual video up here....

Soakin' up the sun...

2009-09-11T08:12:00.001-06:00

Montana Style!

The World

2009-09-10T14:35:00.001-06:00

I snapped these today.

I thought it would ease your mind to know that Angus has the world in his paws.

And that he has the world on his mind...

XOXOX!

Seriously!!

2009-09-03T14:39:00.003-06:00

Okay, Big B swallowed a magnate, night before last. We have been waiting for it to 'show itself'. This is the conversation I was just in...

"I pooped!" Big B says. (by the way he is 9!! What in the heck is he doing putting a magnet in his mouth!?)

"Oh great!" I say. "Hubby! Big B pooped!" (sharing the news)

"What?" Hubby says. Yea right...

"It's diarrhea." Big B says.

"It's diarrhea!" I call to Hubby.

Ok, so he is the one that had this great idea to put on a rubber glove and squeeze the poop between his fingers to try to find the magnet. I figure, he's the one with the idea, he should be the one to DO it.

"What?" Hubby says again. "I'm writing."

"I'm writing too." I say.

A HUGE sigh comes from the office and Hubby drags himself past me to the bathroom.

"I can't BELIEVE you swallowed a magnet!" Hubby says to Big B.

"I'm going to my happy place, I'm NOT touching poop right now. Uggggggg, fhewwwt, shhhhhh, mmmmmmm, hrumpf." Hubby groans.

"Found the magnet! We found the magnet!" Many boy voices call from the bathroom.

THANK GOD! (especially Thank God that I didn't have to put my hand in the poop to find the slippery little devil...)

Thankfully!

2009-09-03T09:49:00.003-06:00

Thankfully it seems that everything is going to be alright! The hay looks remarkably good. It's green and drying well. It even smells good! Whew!

Xena is also doing well. She is very sore and doesn't move around much, but at least she is still alive. Her wound is rather yucky, but she keeps it tucked away under her wing, so I don't imagine it's getting much air. In my opinion that is a good and bad thing. If it was out in the air, the flies would be difficult to manage. As it is they are always hovering near her. She keeps a sharp eye out and when one lands, SNAP! She eats it.

Here is she all snuggly in the little hen house. We are trying to decide how to get the big hen house over to the circle drive. It's heavy and won't be easy to move, but I think we MUST. Right now the other three hens roost on the roof of the little hen house. It's not big enough for them all to fit inside. I have it penned off just for Xena right now anyway. I don't want any chickies in there bossing her around. Mostly they are very kind to her, but they do encourage her to move a lot. In my opinion she needs rest. And lots of it!

Thanks for all your kind thoughts!

Sigh...

2009-09-01T19:51:00.003-06:00

It's been quite a day here on the farm.

This morning I stepped out to start my chores (which aren't hard anymore... I only have the one horse now!). My Mom called me from her yard and started over to my side of the farm. She didn't look happy. She wasn't. She had found pieces and parts of one of my chickens (her's were all still in her chicken coop) around her farm yard. We both headed off to see what we could find. She had seen one of my red chickens wounded, hiding in some grass under some stored irrigation pipe. We couldn't find her. We COULD find black feathers, some with pieces of chicken still attached. Not good.

We looked and looked and finally found the black chicken. She was mostly eaten and most definitely DEAD. Sigh... It was my Henrietta. She has been a favorite for the boys. She was always so friendly.

The missing red chicken was Xena, Warrior Princes. We looked and looked but couldn't find her.

I put the rest of my chickens in the fenced middle part of our driveway, with the ducks and two other chickies. Then we went to town. We were there for a couple of hours.

Then I went out to do my evening chores (again, they aren't hard... only one horse!) and looked around again for Xena. I have a small hay stack over beside Destino's pen, so I don't have to haul hay around when I feed him. It's covered with a tarp. I started remembering how Xena liked startle me, when I reached under there to get hay for Destino , she would pop out at me! ACK!

I walked around and around the little stack and noticed that one side, at the back, was moving around. Hmmmm.... I undid the front of the tarp and flipped it back and THERE SHE WAS!! Sitting under there all warm and dark trying to take care of herself. I picked her up (she has a LARGE wound under her wing and won't walk on that leg) and took her over to where I had put the other chickens today. I put her in the little house Hubby built for the ducks, which they never use. She sat in there for a few minutes, then hopped out on one foot and got a drink. When I fed the other chickens on the other side of the enclosure, she watched me carefully. I brought her food and she snarfed it right up.

Hubby and I talked about what to do with her injury... should we leave her outside (this was Hubbys vote... no chickens in the house), clean the wound, banadage it? Oh what to do!

I came inside and did a search and found a whole forum for people with back yard chickens! Cool! BackYardChickens Forum They had lots of helpful info.

I went outside to see what kind of wound treatments I have for the horses. On my way over to the horse trailer and shed, BIG HUGE RAINDROPS started falling... (Our hay was cut yesterday... it is a VERY BAD THING to have your freshly cut hay rained on... just great. Bring it on!)

I made it to my shed and the torrential rain storm hit. I rummaged around and found some iodine, looked out the shed door and saw Xena huddled up against the fence of the enclosure.

Sigh... great... one of the things the forum said was, "Keep them in a dark, warm place to help with the shock."

The middle of a rain storm in September is not a good place to be. Sooooo, I RAN across the farm yard and the driveway, reached over the fence and grabbed Xena, she was shivering and her eyes were closed, and headed for the house. Hubby and the boys were in the doorway... "Are you getting wet?" Ha ha...

I had water running down my face and dripping from my hair. My clothes were stuck to my body. I ran in, put Xena in the bathroom, and headed for the other bathroom, where I toweled off and changed my clothes... Wet??

So much for Hubby's vote of no chickens in the house! Xena is wrapped in a towel huddling in the warm, dark bathroom as I type. We are preparing to clean and medicate her wounds. Poor girlie! Good thoughts her way would be appreciated! She lays me an egg every day. Not always where I want her to, but oh well. She has always been my favorite chickie!

And what about the hay??? Only time will tell! He is suppose to bale it on Friday... Fingers crossed that it will dry out enough!

Farming

2009-08-30T17:51:00.003-06:00

Farming is hard work. It's hard work all the time. If you have animals, it's hard work in the winter too. You have to break ice in their water tanks, haul hay around, make sure they are healthy and well. In the summer time you have to water the hay, then have it cut, or cut it yourself, if you have the equipment. (We've watched our neighbor this summer and last. His equipment breaks down more than it runs!) You have to worry about weeds, storms, GRASSHOPPERS! Sigh...

But it is a pretty life! Life on a farm is full of baby animals, chickens following you around, horses talking to you when you go outside... (or if you have a pony in the back yard, if the door is left open, the pony comes in to see you!) Fun!

Alfalfa comes in such pretty colors. And it smells good too. It makes for a pretty field...

Hubby "farming" =) Though he comes from a farming family... he doesn't love it LOL

The Pony in the back yard!

A book review... Just for Fun!

2009-08-23T20:04:00.002-06:00

I was directed to a new-to-me author last weekend and LOVE her! Her name is Francine Rivers. I started with her book, "Redeeming Love" and just finished up "Scarlet Thread". These two books were refreshing in the way that she handles love scenes and describes her female characters. They really do ring true to life. At least for me! I would highly recommend this author. I can't wait to get my hands on more of her books =)

A summer day in Montana

2009-08-13T12:13:00.005-06:00

We went out and explored yesterday. There is a lot to see fairly close to home! We drove down south of Darby up to Painted Rocks Lake and then went on to Sula and drove around. Then we met family at the Rocky Knob and had dinner! It was a fun day! I thought I would share it in picurtes, of course =)

We found little tiny frog babies... they were everywhere!

Angus was forced to pose...

Then the boys were forced to pose....

I don't think they minded much =)

I wanted a serious shot too... that was harder!

Walking around I found a BUNCH of butterflies. They were fluttering everywhere and pretty shy. It was hard to get a good shot of them.

Then I found some dragonflies. It must be mating season. There were male and female dragonflies EVERYWHERE!
Then we found where the little tiny frogs came from! There was a muddy flat area that was home to hundreds of tadpoles.

When we drove over to Sula, there were Big Horn Sheep right along the road! This one came walking right up to my car window. So Cool...

They were licking and licking the dirt. I imagine they were getting some salt and minerals from it.

I think this one looks like she's smiling!

Captured at the restaurant...
This is my brother in law and his little baby. I LOVE this picture!

Gardening

2009-08-10T18:54:00.002-06:00

It's a farm life! I love looking out the window and seeing this....

Big B was out picking lettuce for our dinner and getting a little help from our "lawn mower" =)

Happy Birthday Little L!!

2009-08-09T16:43:00.003-06:00

Actually Little L's birthday was on the 7th of August. I'm just now getting around to posting about it! Bad Mama!!

He had a wonderful birthday. His Uncle Bob, my little brother, came up from Bozeman to celebrate this birthday with us. We were all so excited! Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperative and it POURED rain most of the day. So, we spent the day at Currents, an indoor water park in Missoula. Lucky us!

Then in the evening we had a little family get together with cake and ice cream. Hubby is usually in charge of the birthday cakes. He like to make them and decorate them himself. This year's takes the award for the most imaginative!! I've never seen anything like it =) I was calling it "The Heap". I think it really resembles one!

"The Heap"
It's actually supposed to be an asteroid that is being mined by the lego people. Can you see it??

Little L getting into his presents. He could hardly stand the waiting... all.... day..... long.....

I think he got everything he wanted! That is so important when you have your Golden Birthday... 7 Years old on the 7th!!

Happy Birthday Little L!! We love you =)

Summer is a Busy Time!

2009-08-04T18:07:00.005-06:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating my blog lately. Summer is a VERY busy time on the farm =)

We have Miniature Horses for sale. Chickens that we are raising. Little L's birthday is coming up. I've been learning to sew and loving it!

Hubby has been trying to get onto the Missoula Police Force, but he didn't manage to get on in this hiring spree. We are crossing our fingers and praying that something comes up to get us through the winter. Hopefully he will get on in March of 2010. Sigh... We've been living in limbo for a year now and it can get very exhausting. Although my Gramms used to say, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

Anyway, I thought I would share with you a few pictures from the miniature horse photo shoots we've been doing. I snapped a few of my Andalusian as well! Enjoy...

A two year old miniature horse gelding. He is so handsome! We've raised him from a baby.

A miniature horse yearling. We also raised him from a baby! He is such a sweetheart.

My Andalusian gelding, Destino. He is just so handsome! I never get tired of looking at him =)

This is a three year old gelding that we sold last year. We raised him from a baby as well! He is back learning to pull a cart. He's all grown up now!

Angus was a HUGE help with the photo session =)

This is a weanling stud colt born here this year. He is such a cutie pie!

He thought he was the MOST handsome!

I love this picture!

I'm a Winner!!

2009-07-28T07:59:00.002-06:00

Oh MY Goodness! I've WON!! I'm a winner!

My Bloggy friend and fellow horsewomen over at Dark Horse Farm Designs was having a giveaway and I'm the lucky winner. Please go check out her blog to see what wonderful thing I am now the proud owner of =) And please do leave her a comment about her wonderful products!

I found her in Mary Jane's Farm magazine (I LOVE this magazine it is chalk full of the most inspiring things, articles, pictures...). They did an article on Nancy's "Entre-manure" nature. She has two horses which produce up to 80 pounds of manure a day and she thriftily uses that manure to make compost. She then bags up the compost and shares it with friends and family! What a wonderful idea =) Lord knows we have enough manure here on the farm to share with EVERYONE!

If you have a few moments, please do go check out My Horse Blog to see what I was up to last week. I have posted some really fun pictures!

Bumble Bee and Mega Tron

2009-06-26T18:20:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would share a few pictures. Sorry I haven't kept up on my blog lately. Summer is a busy time on the farm! Lots to do when the grass is growing and the days are sunny =)

Onto the show!

Here is Bumble Bee, otherwise known as Little L.

Full body shot! I love the shoes =)

Herrrrrre's Mega Tron!

The boys love to make costumes out of cardboard. We have had to put a temporary stop to it however, because they do NOT love to clean up the resulting messes. And neither do I! LOL... I sure do love their imaginations though!

Don't Ya Just LOVE...

2009-06-04T19:49:00.003-06:00

Garage Sales!!??

I do. Boy have I made some fantastic finds at the local garage sales. I also like hunting them down when I'm visiting places. It's fun to see what other people buy and then don't want. It's especially fun when it's something that I've been needing ;)

The chair I sit in every night is a garage sale find. It's a victorian style chair and I LOVE it!

I've found some beautiful picture frames at garage sales.

Some of my favorite books were garage sale finds.

Last week I found a Beijo purse and matching wallet at a garage sale for $2! They sell for $65-$95 dollars and this one looks almost brand new! WOW!

Here is a wonderful website that can help you find a garage sale in your area AND it's a great place to advertise if you are having a garage sale... Garage Sales Tracker.

What are some of the finds you've uncovered at a garage sale??

It's all in the Family!

2009-05-30T22:28:00.005-06:00

My In Laws have a pretty little farm down south of us a ways. I went there the other day to take some photos of my Father-In-Law's sheep, called Soay Sheep. They are an interesting breed of sheep and he has quite a herd going now! He started with just 10 and now has close to 30 head. He wants to sell a few, so I took some pictures so I could advertise them for him. Beware... this is going to be picture heavy! I couldn't decide which ones to post, so I'm posting them all!

These are the Soay sheep. I told Angus to STAY OUT while I went in to take pictures. Did he listen to me?? NO! He couldn't imagine that I was safe without him hiding between my feet, barking his fool head off at the sheep. There is safety in numbers and they advanced on me to check out Angus... REALLY? A few of the rams got pretty close, but when I would stand up they would high tail it out of there! I was amazed at how brave they were though!

Here they are wondering what I'm doing...

They are advancing a bit... but not too close.... yet...

Wooop! Here he is! All man and very handsome with those impressive horns...

A young ram. He was right there, guarding the girls too!

One of the many ewes.

Mama and baby. You should see these babies when they are born. They are so tiny! About the same size as 7 pound Angus!

I just love this one's face. She is so pretty!

My Father-In-Law has a lot going on around his little farm. He has ducks, chickens, geese, dogs, the sheep and I'm sure something else up his sleeve ;) He also has a big garden with lots of yummy veggies and berries.

Here is a mama chicken with her brood. I love that one little yellow chickie! Mama Chicken takes her job very seriously. Angus thought he might take a look at the babies. Afterall he gets to look at our baby ducks and chicks. This mama said NO WAY as she flew at him squaking and screeching. Angus ran to me for safety. I told him he was on his own.

Here is the little Duck family. You can just barely see the little yellow duckling. This mama duck kept it on the move...

Isn't she a pretty mama duck though? And if you look very closely at the left hand side of this photo you can see the baby.

And here is the extremely handsome Daddy duck. I just love the colors they have on their heads! Now I'm hoping that we have at least one boy duck in our little bunch =)

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the animal life on my Father-In-Law's farm! I sure had a good time snapping photos =)

Angus Update!

2009-05-24T10:38:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile since there has been an Angus Update! He is just as cute as ever and sooo smart. He is constantly thinking up ways to get us to play with him. He LOVES to play fetch and will play for hours. He wears me out before I wear him out!

He is also an avid little hiker. He even goes along with me when I take Destino out hiking in the mountains. He stays close to us and is very conscious of Destino's big feet. It's pretty cute to see him with us. A tiny little dog and a big huge horse =) He is constantly proving to be the best dog we've ever had!!!

And this is the sunset we had last night! WOW! It was just before the thunder and lightning storm hit. I LOVE thunder and lightning storms. They can be so exciting!

Everythings Duckie!

2009-05-21T13:59:00.002-06:00

I finally got my duckies! I have wanted few for the last two years and Hubby said "NO". Soooo I decided, with the help of Little L and Big B, to just go to Quality Supply and get a couple, when Hubby was at work =) Pretty tricky right!?

These little fuzzies are so cute! I just want to carry them around in my pocket, but I think they might get squished, so instead I look at them all the time. We've had them for about a week and they are starting to not be so scared when we peek in at them. I also got two chickies because I thought two ducks would be lonely =) These little chickies will lay green and blue eggs! So I'll have my beautiful brown eggs with a few green and blue eggs tossed in. Yum!

We don't know if the ducks are girls or boys, but it really doesn't matter. They will be well loved either way!

A Day In Montana

2009-05-18T14:10:00.005-06:00

I thought I would share a day in Montana with you!

We went hiking yesterday waaaayyyyy up high in the mountains. It was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. WOW. We all had a great time, even though the boys whined a lot on the way up. I like to think they enjoyed themselves in spite of that =)

On with the show!

This is a picture of the city of Hamilton, from WAAAAAAYYYY up on top of the mountain =)

A little "wild life"... LOL

"We have to go up where? How much farther is it?"
(This was at the beginning of the hike... It was only a mile and a half up, so three miles round trip. Geesh you would have thought we were making them climb Mount Everest!)

Halfway up, this is what we saw. WOW...

A quiet moment, resting.

Trying not to fall off the trail. It was pretty steep.

Finally we got to the top! Whew!

All my boys, well except for Angus who was sitting by me...

because of this cute little guy!! He was a pretty friendly little chipmunk. It would come almost right up to us and wasn't afraid at all! I think people hand feed it a lot.

Heading back down the trail. Here is Angus waiting for us slow pokes to catch up.

And this is what you do when you get home from a long day of hiking. You curl up in the hammock with your Daddy and read to him. Big B and Hubby snuggling =)

I hope you enjoyed our hike! At least you didn't get TICKS on you!! Yep, we came home and Hubby and Little L both had ticks on them. Little L had three, but only one attached and Hubby had two and they were both attached. Big B and I got off lucky, neither one of us had any. And neither did Angus, which is just AMAZING to me! Apparently the area we were in is knows for having a huge tick problem. We will find other places to hike this summer ;)

Amazing Woman...

2009-05-13T10:42:00.002-06:00

I ran across this while surfing the Share Parelli site. I am awed by this woman's vision. She is a remarkable woman! Please take some time to look over her website and keep her in your thoughts. This is a true "Horse Woman" and she is from Montana! I'm so proud =)

Lady Long Rider

2009-05-12T12:23:00.002-06:00

We have been sick... AGAIN... since Friday. Mother's Day was spent inside monitoring Big B and Little L as they both had fevers. Big B's fever went as high as 103.8! Whew! We watched them closely, pouring Vitamin Water and regular water down them as much as we could. Luckily they LOVE Vitamin Water so they never complained. Both did complain about body aches, sore throats, stuffy noses, head aches and both were extremely tired. Poor babies!

I would like to ask you to pray for my cousin Adriann. She has been in the hospital in Arizona for a few weeks with vasculitis. She is on dialysis, a plasma exchange and they brushed and cleaned her lungs as the vasculitis is in them as well. Her kidneys are trying to shut down, due to the vasculitis and she is in extreme pain. My Aunt Sara is down there with her to help care for Adriann's 15 month old daughter Baby M. My Uncle is flying down tomorrow and my Mom heads down sometime this week as well. Vasculitis is a lifetime of pain and management. Adriann will have to learn to live with it, change her diet to accomodate it and change her life because of it. It will be a very painful year for her until they can help her body manage it. Please keep her in your prayers!

Thank you =)

Little L sleeping, with Angus keeping watch.

Grass

2009-05-06T18:34:00.002-06:00

Today I got to mow my grass! I love to mow my grass. The farm looks so nice when it's all cleaned up with the grass nice and short. I have A LOT of grass to mow. Yesterday Hubby got me a new lawn mower and I LOVE it!

It doesn't have a motor, so it doesn't need gas, it doesn't need to be pull started, it doesn't sputter and die (for no apparent reason) and is pretty easy to push around the yard. I am thrilled with it! Also I get MAJOR exercise. I should be in GREAT shape by the end of the summer =) Maybe that's Hubby's plan.... Hmmm...

More Baby Pictures!

2009-05-02T10:03:00.004-06:00

He's awake! He's a bouncing baby boy and boy oh boy is he a handful! But we all love him, our Little Boy Bloo =)

Onto the show!

Taking a breakfast break!

Auntie watching the baby. She is soooo jealous and due to have her baby any day!!

The "Bloo" eye =)

He just itched an itch and looks ready to take off!

Just walking down the fence line with Mama.

Here's the Take Off!

All four feet are off the ground!

The End

Amazing Artwork!

2009-04-30T09:23:00.003-06:00

My boys are truly artists. They amaze me with their abilities! I am constantly in awe of their talents.

Ben is amazing on a computer. I can't believe the things he just KNOWS! He doesn't get to do much at home on the computer, but at school they do some. It's awe inspiring that he can pick up what he does in that small amount of time.

Logan is so athletic. He could ride a two wheel bike when he was just 3 years old. He practically ran before he walked. He runs everywhere and can climb like a cat. He gets up on top of one of our sheds and struts around up there, just like Batman. I HAVE to get a picture of him up there in his full costume one of these days =) You would LOVE it!

Here is a sampling of Logan's artistic abilities. He drew these yesterday at school. He is 6 years old and in Kindergarten. He drew these without looking at a picture. They came straight from his own mind! Amazing!!

The Shark

The Whale

WOW!

It's Spring On The Farm!!

2009-04-29T19:00:00.004-06:00

Spring is here, even though the weather doesn't think so... It's been snowing and blowing here. Yuck!

But we have a baby! I love spring, when the babies start coming. It's the BEST!

Here is the proud Mama... Sky.

Here is the sweet baby. Pictured here with a totally 'thrilled' Angus. Just to give you an idea of size! In case you're confused... this is a Miniature Horse baby =)

He is so tired! It's so hard to be born into this cold, windy world! What a sweet heart he is...

Here is a shot of his little lips. It looks like his lower lip has lipstick =)

And a close up of his little tiny face...

He has one blue eye and one partial blue eye. He was too tired to open his eyes for this photo shoot. I'll have to wait for a warm day! He also has 4 tall white stockings, from his little feet all the way up to his knees. He's going to be a knock out!

I think my Mom is going to name him, "Sky's Little Boy Blue".

Whew!

2009-04-23T20:25:00.003-06:00

Showers around here are quite the dramatic event. First Big B went in. He can start his own shower, then in a few minutes I hear "MOM!!!" I drag myself into the bathroom so I can tell him if all the soap is rinsed out of his hair. Then I have to tell him to rinse his face because you never heard someone scream so loud when he had soap in his eyes. (Or maybe that was me..... hmmmm...)

Then it's Little L's turn. He gets in, only after carefully putting his costume up so it won't get wet. I have to help him wash his hair. He thinks he is incapable of washing his own hair. He thinks that if he washes his own hair, he will surely get soap in his eyes. Sometimes he gets soap in his eyes when I wash his hair... he seems to forget that if he just keeps his eyes closed, the soap will. not. get. in. So during this process one whole side of my body gets a shower. My sleeve is still wet as I type.

But the bright side of all this is that while I waited for Logan to get done washing up, I plucked my eyebrows! Last summer I decided that it was silly to pay someone $15 to wax my fluffy eyebrows, so I paid $15 for a fancy pair of of tweezers (and man do they work! They yank the WHOLE thing out, root and all!! Yeeeouch!) and I tweeze them myself.

Here's my handy work!
(I would never put up a before picture... so don't even ask!)

Sorry about the zombie eyes. It's REALLY hard to take a picture of yourself!!

Oh Beautiful Day!

2009-04-22T19:45:00.005-06:00

Today was so warm, sunny and WINDY! Holy Moly was it windy! I still found myself outside, unable to tear myself away from the warmth of the Sun.

I felt like a little chat, so I called my girlfriends....

They came running...

This is Xena, Warrior Princess =)

Miss Henrietta, she is so friendly, Big B carries her around all the time and hand feeds her often.

Then I couldn't resist a few of Destino...

Look at that sky!
And his soft, kind eye.
Whew! That's all for today!

Stuff

2009-04-20T11:56:00.003-06:00

Well I've been very busy so far this spring. Every day I must make time to play with Destino and my two boys, and remember to NOT leave out Hubby!! Whew!

Little L all dressed up... Batman!

Big B taking a break.

Also in the last week or so I've finished up my book, "Step By Step Guide to Training Your Miniature Horse to Drive." I took all the photographs last summer, then drew the drawings I needed just last week. I've labeled everything, read it a couple of times and now I'm ready to take it to the printer! I'm going to have about 50 books printed up at Staples, then I'll bring the pages home and bind then into books myself. I'm so excited to get this out there!! I think it will help a lot of people and their horses =)

I've started a horsey type blog over at Ladybug Farm Enterprises. I've only just started it, so there are only 3 posts there now. I hope to get a lot more posted this summer as I spend time learning and playing with Destino. My idea is that the blog will be a kind of diary, logging my journey with Destino. Maybe I can eventually bind all the memories together into a helpful book!

I have so many dreams. I will have to live to be at least 120 to see them all come true =) It's a good goal anyway...

Easter Egg Hunt!!

2009-04-15T20:39:00.008-06:00

Every year my Mom and Step Dad have a BIG Easter Egg hunt over at their house. This year was no disappointment!! There were TONS and HEAPS of eggs to be found! You should have seen the HUGE bowl of candy that we had on the counter... most of it's gone and I can raise my hand and say that I ate most of the M & M's... What can I say!? They are my favorite. Luckily only Little L shares my chocolate passion. Hubby and Big B like the jelly beans =) More for meeeeee!

Onto the show! This is going to be fun! You had better get your cup of coffee to drink while you look... there are A LOT of pictures coming!

Here's Big B waiting for the Hunt to Begin!

Little L waiting... He was trying to be patient =)

And it begins!!

Big B is striding around, trying to get to the eggs first! He is so serious...

Angus was no about to be left out of the fun! He tried so hard to keep up his "brothers".

"I think you have more than me."

"The Easter Bunny was tricky this year..."

Can you spot the egg??

He's looking up, but doesn't see it.

Darn! Brother spotted it first!

Can you spot the egg?

There it is!!

Can you spot the egg?

Hmmm, where could it be??

Man! This Easter Bunny is tricky!

Ah Ha!

It seems like it's a bit of a race. Notice that Big B lost an egg... Angus had serious thoughts that it should be his. But he couldn't pick it up!

Angus found his treat... a little piece of rope. He is still carrying it around!

WOW this is only one basket! They had so many eggs that when we walked home they were falling out of their baskets the whole way! Total JACKPOT!!

I hope you enjoyed our Easter day! We sure did. It was a BLAST!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T10:30:00.002-06:00

Our family would like to wish yours a Happy Easter! I hope it's full of wonderful things, shared with family, topped off with lots of smiles and laughter.

Hmmmm...

2009-04-07T12:16:00.002-06:00

"When I was in Mommies tummy I could see out." Little L says.

"How could you see?" Hubby asked.

"Through her belly button." Little L answered.

A Walk

2009-04-05T08:26:00.004-06:00

The weather here has been pretty crazy this last week. We've had warm, sunny weather and then in the next minute it's raining, then it turns to snow. Some places, here in Montana, have had as much as 6 inches of snow in just a few hours. Sigh... Here it is April 5th and we are still having a little winter...

BUT today the sun is shining and it's supposed to be WARM!! I'm so excited!

The boys and I were so excited for this break in the weather that we took a walk yesterday. The early evening was fairly nice yesterday, just a little breeze, just a little chill in the air. We had a great time down by the creek.

Big B climbing a tree. The trees down there are so perfect for climbing on.

Little L walking across the new "bridge". They were so excited to see this. The bridge they made years ago, was washed away last year when the creek flooded. This bridge is much heavier duty then the other was.

Little L contemplating the bridge... will it hold? The other one was kind of saggy in the middle and not very sturdy. He really doesn't want to fall in the creek =)

Big B fishing. He asked, "Are there fish in this creek?" I said Yes. Then he asked "They why aren't they biting on my stick?" Oh to be a little boy!

Angus stalking around. There is A LOT to smell down there. It's a full time job.

Big B telling me something VERY important.

This is the neighbor mule. She came over for a visit Friday afternoon. There was much excitement here on the farm. Destino was beside himself with desire for this beauty.

"Move over, I want this hay pile!"

Days and Days

2009-03-31T14:27:00.002-06:00

My Loving Cousin brought it to my attention that I have been neglecting my Blog, thereby neglecting you! The email that I got this morning started with, "Are you dead?" LOL

Well I'm not dead! Maybe one day closer, but not gone yet =) I have been very busy here on the farm, cleaning, tearing down old, saggy fences, brushing the shedding horse, cleaning up the piles and piles of manure that accumulated all winter. Now I need to clean out my chicken house, clean up more manure, plant a little garden (since we aren't sure how long we'll be here on the farm, we might as well settle in for the summer and that includes some planting!) I need to do some major spring cleaning. Then the farm will be ready for people to come look! Hopefully they show up in HOARDS!! Maybe so many people will want it, there will be a bidding war and we'll get twice the asking price!

Okay, so I live in my own little "Mindy" world. It's really nice here, always sunny and warm, I have lots of chocolate, frappes and cookies, and I NEVER gain a pound! Yep, it's pretty nice here in Mindy World. Stop by anytime! I always enjoy company =)

Thank You!

2009-03-22T17:01:00.004-06:00

The people that came to look at our place liked it. They are just starting their search for their new home however. With this being a buyers market I doubt that they will buy our place, but at least someone came and looked! Thanks so much for your prayers and good thoughts. We really appreciate it!

Through all this, I knew that I was going to have to sell all my horses and livestock. Everything has sold or been re-homed except for my chickies and my Andalusian horse, Destino. We haven't had much interest in him, and everyone wants him for next to nothing. So with Hubby's blessing we have decided to go ahead and keep him. We will have him gelded in the coming weeks and then if we end up having to board him out, if our place sells, God willing, it will be more affordable to do so. I am very happy and very excited about this. He is my absolute DREAM horse and I've had a hard time letting him go. The fact that I don't have to now is a blessing in itself!

I thought I would share a picture of him with his bridle on. He will be a two year old in June and his 'official' training starts now!

Here he is with my youngest. It was drizzling out and Logan 'needed' his umbrella. I think Destino would have liked to have it as well as he HATES the rain =)

Prayer Request

2009-03-18T19:35:00.002-06:00

We are in need of some prayer today and tomorrow. FINALLY someone wants to see our house! I'm so excited and nervous. I know it's the first showing, and it's not likely that the first people to look will actually buy, but I also know that prayers NEVER hurt.

Please pray that the people like our place and please pray that this is just the first of many showings, to these same people, or new ones!!

Thank you so much =)

Writing, writing, writing...

2009-03-17T14:35:00.004-06:00

Today has been a quiet day, just me and the computer. I have been in a writing fog for most of afternoon. It seems like I just sat down to work on my book and already 3 hours have gone by! I guess the old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun" is really true! I have really enjoyed getting back into my novel and re-learning about Jo. She is such a fun-loving character with a dry sense of humor and a definite dream.

Even Angus has dreams and goals...

He is just certain that he can open this and get Ben's bug out...

If only he could get the lid off!

It reminds me that we all need to dream. If we stop dreaming we stop living. Having dreams and goals is very important in our day to day life. Sometimes dreaming is the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. I feel driven to get up and get on with it! There is work to be done, if the dreams and goals that I have are going to be met!

What is one of your big dreams?

Quiet

2009-03-13T12:43:00.004-06:00

My youngest had a temperature at school yesterday, so I kept him home today. He is such a sweet little guy. All morning it has been so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, or the whisper of an angels wings.

I'm sure we had some angels hanging around, it was just so peaceful. Logan was busy drawing and writing his "book" and I was reading. I love mornings like these. They fill me up and help me through the rest of the day.

Thursday

2009-03-12T14:07:00.002-06:00

I took this picture this morning while the boys were eating breakfast. It's a jar of raw and natural honey. Isn't it beautiful?? And taste!! WOW it's soooo good.

Eating healthy is something that we take seriously here at Ladybug Farm. We eat natural and organic whenever we can. We NEVER eat fast food, we don't drink pop, or allow our kids to, I make our bread, we eat eggs from our own chickies, we don't eat meat. The list could go on and on. We feel it's very important to eat as healthy as we can afford to. And eating healthy tops our list of things to do, budget wise. Also there is just something wonderful about eating food grown locally, that you KNOW isn't covered with pesticides. There isn't anything better than a freshly picked tomato.

My Favorite Things Swap!

2009-03-06T14:23:00.005-07:00

I got it! I got it! I'm jumping for joy, inside, because I'm still sick, coughing, runny nose, aching lungs... you get the picture... BUT I got it!!

I got My Favorite Things from my new friend Catrina over at Thoughts From the Fire. I am so excited! Let's see what's in the box, shall we??

Ooooh what a pretty box! I'm thrilled with it already!

Oh man!!

Holy Moly look at all those favorite things! Let's dig it...

A drawstring backpack! Just what I need! Thank you Catrina!!

Music! I LOVE music and I LOVE hearing new Christian bands. I can't wait to give it a listen...

Movies! I LOVE movies! We have over 200 movies, but we don't have this one, and it's always been a favorite of mine ;) In fact I took it out, unwrapped it and it's playing as I type! Thank you!

Candles! I love candles! I haven't had PartyLite candles in FOREVER! My cousin used to sell these and I really enjoyed burning them. I can't wait to smell them.

I haven't EVER had Milk Duds! I opened them and tried them and YUM! Chocolate and caramel what's NOT to like!?

I'll have to give this kind a try. I've never tried this brand, maybe I'll be able to wear it!

I haven't ever read these books and can't WAIT to get started. It's so EXCITING to have a new book to read!

I LOVE this book. It's so funny because I almost sent you a copy of it as well! LOL Wouldn't that have been funny!!

Ooooh I LOVE lip gloss and I've never tried this kind. Yummmy...

And you even thought of my little Angus! How sweet! He is so excited. He was nosing around helping me take stuff out. He must have smelled these ;)

This has been sooo much fun Catrina! I really enjoyed it. Having a package today was JUST the thing I needed. I wasn't having such a good day today, but it surely has brightened up!! A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to you!!

Pfshhhhht

2009-03-05T08:32:00.002-07:00

Darn it. I missed yesterday's walk down memory lane.

I had to go to the clinic, to find out that I have pneumonia, again. I HATE pneumonia. It makes me feel so tired and weak. I also have an ear infection that is wreaking havic and making me feel very dizzy. Fun.

Sorry to be such a whiner. I am just SO sick of being SICK! It seems like every couple of months I'm coming down with something. It has GOT TO STOP!!

Phew! I feel a little better now. Sometimes ranting really does help ;)

10 Things I Like About Me

2009-03-03T08:41:00.004-07:00

Again, I missed Monday! I was feeling pretty sick yesterday. I'm so sorry! But I'm here today and ready to play!

Here is how it works;

1) I will start us off with a list of 10 things that I like about me.
2) Then I want YOU to write 10 things that YOU like about YOU, and post them in My Comments.
3) Then, I take all the people that play, put their names in a hat and my boys draw a winner! I'll post the lucky winner on my blog, the first Monday of NEXT month. Yes! You get a PRIZE for telling me 10 things you like about you!!

10 Things I Like About Me:

1) I like my curvaceous body =) (No really I DO!)
2) I like my sense of humor.
3) I love my family!
4) I like my eyes, they are brown with gold flecks in them.
5) I like my taste in clothing.
6) I like my love for books and learning.
7) I like my ability to type REALLY fast!
8) I like my imagination.
9) I like my legs.
10) I like that I'm a fun person to be around.

Whew! I made it through!

Now it's your turn =)

*********************

Announcing the winner from last month! I only had two players, Annie and Lori. Thank you girls for playing! I put your names in the hat and the winner is.......

Lori!!

Congratulations to you!!

And here is what you've won...

A journal! Hand covered by ME =) I hope you like it! Please email me your address, AGAIN, I wrote it down, but I don't remember where... sigh. Thanks so much for playing!!

Lookie what I made!!

2009-02-27T17:41:00.004-07:00

I am so proud of myself. It is well known in my family that I CAN NOT sew. I have tried and tried in the past. Both my Mom and my Step Mom have tried to teach me... numerous times, but usually I just make a mess!

The sewing machine somehow manages to get away from me and stitch things that aren't supposed to be stitched. I stick and poke myself with the pins, pin things together that don't go together and on and on and on...

BUT suddenly I CAN SEW! I took on this little handbag first, just for fun. I have been knitting for a few years and enjoy designing my own things, like sweaters for my little dog, scarves, washclothes, pretty easy stuff... so I thought "I can design a little hand bag and I'll just sew it by hand!" And I DID it! I am so proud of myself right now, I just had to share =)

This is the front of the little hand bag. I used brown felt for the outside with raspberry embroidery floss to sew it all together. I lined it with a pretty bright blue felt.

Here is a picture of the inside. There is a pocket on each side...

I made this little applique out of other felt and the center of the flower is a button. The handles are just foot long dowels! I think it's so cute and it works well too! I plan on painting the dowels brown to match and then it will be finished!

So after that, I thought I was pretty impressive. I moved onto a drawstring back pack. I've been needing one for when I go on walks and bike rides with the boys, but they are so expensive! I looked one over at the store the other day and thought it couldn't be too hard. Well it wasn't exactly easy, but I did manage it!! Again, no pattern, I just looked at the draw string back pack that my boys have and figured it out as best I could. I had to make up a few things, but it WORKS! I am so excited!!

It's a linen fabric, double up to make it a little stronger. I embroidered the flowers onto the front by hand, then sewed it all up, by hand =)

It's not white, but a nice off white. The cording is natural cotton clothesline cord that I had in the closet! (This is all stuff I had around the house, I didn't have to go buy anything except an embroidery hoop.)

So there you go! I DID it! I have all kinds of ideas in my head now. I can barely cut up t-shirts fast enough to provide myself with fabric! I found an idea in a magazine on how to make grocery bags out of used t-shirts. I've sewed up a few, it would go faster with a sewing machine, but I enjoy doing it by hand.

Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-02-25T10:10:00.003-07:00

"The North Wind and the Sun"

The North Wind and the Sun had an argument one day. They disputed which of them was the stronger. A traveler came along the road at that time, and the Sun suggested a way to resolve the argument. Whoever was able to cause the traveler to remove his coat would be the stronger. The Wind accepted the challenge and the Sun hid himself behind a cloud. The Wind began to blow. Yet the harder he blew, the more the traveler clutched his coat about himself. The Wind sent rain, even hail. The traveler clung even more desperately to his coat. Finally, in despair, the Wind gave up. The Sun came out and began to shine in all his glory upon the traveler. Quite soon the man had removed his coat. "How did you do that?" asked the Wind. "It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."

Aesops Fables

When I was a young gal I used to go up to a ranch outside of Livingston, on the Bridger Mountain side, and participate in a Natural Horsemanship Clinic. I was the youngest to participate, at the age of 11.

I continued to participate through High School, they had it annually, I learned a lot from the clinician, Bill Smith, and had a great time with all the people. The clinic was 4 days long and every day was FUN!

When I turned 22 or 23 I bought my little Arabian mare. Her name was Abby. I trained her from the ground up, myself and thought it would be fun to take her to the clinic up at the ranch.

I had chosen to ride Abby English, instead of Western, she was a small mare and the English saddle look nice on her and she was such a wonderful mover, I wanted to use her for Dressage (this is a French word that means "to train"). Dressage is actually a precise way of training that teaches the horse to be supple and harmonize with it's rider. I LOVE it =)

Anyway, the people that come to this clinic are Cowboys and Cowgirls mostly. Or people that like to trail ride and desire to have a better relationship with their horses. They all had big western saddles on their horses. Most of them, including the clinician gave me a hard time about my little saddle. They ribbed me for all of the 4 days. On the last day we were taken into the big outdoor arena with a big bunch of cattle. They were steer ropin cattle and didn't much like us being in there. Our assignment was to go, cut a steer out of the bunch and take it all the way to the other end of the arena, away from the group. Everyone took their turn, they rode up, cut a steer from the group and tried to chase it up the arena. Working as a team with their horse, of course. No one managed to do it.

Then it was my turn. They all ribbed me, teasing and asking if I needed to put a different saddle on, one with a horn to hang onto. They teased and told me not to fall off, and hooted and hollered at me. I took it well I must say.

Abby hadn't ever seen a steer before. I took her slowly up to the group so she could get a good look. A white steer with black spots caught her eye. She headed directly for him. He stood his ground watching us. Abby walked right up to him, nuzzled him with her nose, then started to lick him! He stood there enjoying the attention. Then I turned Abby and started walking up the arena... and that steer followed us! He followed us all the way to the other end of the arena. And all because Abby made friends =) We didn't use force or try to scare the steer. She just gently went in and made friends.

I will always remember that. Oh! We shut them right up too. No one else teased me about not having a horn to hang onto the rest of the day =) Abby made quite an impression on that group of Cowboys and Cowgirls and on the steer!

2009-02-22T08:39:00.003-07:00

All Things Bright and Beautiful,

All Thing Wise and Wonderful,

All Creatures Great and Small,

The Lord God Made Them All.

Bling

2009-02-20T09:12:00.005-07:00

Angus has grown! He weighed 5.6 pounds just a few months ago. Yesterday I took him in again and he weighs 7.2 pounds! I had just told Hubby that his collar was too small and we needed to get another one. Then he was weighed and in fact he has grown!

So... he got a new collar. It's so cute. It's turquoise with BLING =) It's his first BLING.

And BLING gives me an excuse to do a photo op! So here ya go... I couldn't pick, so am posting a few of him. He is so photogenic =)

Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-02-18T09:03:00.004-07:00

When I was 12 my Grandparents took me to China. It was at once, exciting and terrifying. We went to Hong Kong, and all over China. We flew in big jets and tiny little out board motor planes, the kind with the propellers on the wings. That one was thrilling to me! So loud that if the person next to you turned to say something, you could only see their mouth moving, but couldn't hear the words. We went to Thailand and Nepal. In Nepal there were TONS of red monkeys everywhere. They climbed around on the temples and followed you, hoping for a hand out. In Thailand we were in the city and there were men that drove these little three wheeled vehicles, whiping in and out of traffic at terrifying speeds. But to a 12 year old it was invigorating!

We climbed the Great Wall. I was 12 and could barely manage the "Women's Side" of the wall. At times you would be standing up straight and could darn near reach out in front of you and TOUCH the wall. The going was tough. We had a women with us, she was in her late 70's and her name was Myrtle. She climbed that wall like she was going on a Sunday stroll. Amazing. It was funny because to look at her you never would have guessed at her tenacity!

The "Woman's Side of the Great Wall." The "Man's Side" was amazingly steeper.

That is Myrtle there all the way to the right with her hand on the wall.

We were in the Tiananmen just before the great massacre. We signed autographs for the students. I remember they were so excited to be talking to "Free" Americans. They smiled HUGE smiles and were so talkative. Then the next day, they were dead. They showed it on the TV there. They showed some of the bodies still smoking. I remember my stomache rolled and I thought I would be sick. Coming from America, they don't show that kind of footage on our TV's, well they didn't used to anyway.

The Forbidden City. It's made all of wood, so was closed when we were there because of the demonstrations. This photo is looking out across Tiananmen Square.

The students were camped out in the Square. They had been living there for awhile. It didn't smell very good...

These were 'tents' they had made for shelters.

We rode Elephants. The man that handled our elephant was very attracted to my blonde hair. He allowed me to ride on the elephants neck, with my legs tucked in behind it's ears. If I squeezed too hard with one or the other leg, the elephant would do things, bow, nod it's head, turn. My Grandmother thought that he allowed me to sit up there so he could better see my hair. I had on short overalls and one of my straps kept slipping down my arm. He would gently reach forward and move the strap back up to my shoulder and then touch my hair. I got to feed the elephant bananas. You put the whole thing directly into their mouth!

We rode camels. At the Great Wall there was a double hump camel that we got to ride around. My Grandmother got stuck up there! She was wedged in between the humps (Mind you she is a little woman.) She was yelling "Jim! Jim!" to my Grandpa and he had to climb up there to get her down. I was standing on the ground laughing and laughing. As my Grandpa pulled her off, the camel opened it's mouth and let out a HUGE yawning groan. It was so funny!!

After the massacre, we had to be shuttled around under the cover of darkness because the Chinese people blamed Americans for the students death. Saying that if it wasn't for American's putting the idea of Freedom into their heads, the massacre would never have happened. If they saw us, riots would start. We were shot at, with real guns. We had to run from our vehicles to the hotels and they would take us to undisclosed airports at night, to fly us around.

I didn't know this at the time, but China had closed it's borders after the massacre. They were not allowing anyone in or out of their country. I hear that it was a terrifying time for my Mom and Dad back here in America. They didn't know if they would see us again. The president stepped in and got us out. And here I thought we were just having so much fun sneaking around that we decided to stay longer!

The best memory that I have of that time is when we were in a small village way out in the middle of nowhere. We had been to a tomb of an emporer and were now in this village to see an art gallery. I was bored, as were a few others in the tour and we headed back out to our bus. We were just standing around chatting, when we noticed that we had drawn quite a crowd. Many of the people in that village had never seen a white person and they were facinated. We figured that we weren't much to look at just standing around talking, so we gave them something to see... We did the Hokey Pokey! They LOVED it, clapping and trying to sing along. We even grabbed some of the elderly out of the crowd to do it with us. I will never forget that. It was amazing.

I also remember in Thailand, I think it was, we were at the airport and I saw one of the people from our group, hiding in a luggage rack, being wheeled out. I turned to my Grandmother and said something about it. She shushed me, then when we got back to the hotel she told me that he had been caught with drugs. They were smuggling him out of the country because if you where caught with drugs there you were executed. He was the second youngest of our group, probably 19 or 20. I was the youngest. I was astonished, as I thought these things only happened in the movies.

Typing about this keeps bringing up more and more memories! I will stop now as I never intended this to become a book. But maybe it should some day... I hope you enjoyed my little trip down Memory Lane!

Footsteps

2009-02-16T09:35:00.002-07:00

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I enjoy reading blogs written by teenagers for Christ. I have also been reading other blogs about women for Christ. I revel in their words. I revel in their desire to follow in Christ's footsteps. I revel in their desire to be more Christ like in their daily behavior and the choices they make. It is so easy to read this and desire it. It is another thing entirely, to LIVE it.

How do you know that the daily choices that you make are what Christ is asking you to do? How do you know that the decisions that you make, big or small, are what Christ wants? This is something that I struggle with, daily. I want to follow him, walk in his footsteps, but how do I know that I am?

It is difficult raising a family in this uncertain world. We don't have a church as we haven't found one that suits us as a family. We talk about God and Jesus all the time in our household, I read Bible stories to my boys. They ask questions and we look up the answers in the Bible. I feel that belonging to a church is not a prerequisite to following in Christ's footsteps. Although I DO understand the idea of having a group of like minded people that are YOUR people. I do crave that sometimes. Then I head out into the Blogishere and find them here.

The women that I find online are so awe-inspiring and filled with Christ's love that I feel that I have my people here. Thank you to all the women that touch my life on a daily basis, either through my blog or through your own. Thank you to all those that I know through my blog and those that don't know me, or that I "stalk" their blogs. Thank you.

I will continue to walk in Christ's footsteps, knowing that if I have a misstep, he will welcome me back with open arms, a warm loving smile, and a twinkle in his eye.

Please Help!

2009-02-15T08:39:00.002-07:00

I sat down to read a few blogs this morning and came across this... I Need A Kidney Now. It touched my heart and so I am putting it on my blog, hoping my friends will help spread the call for help. Maybe you know someone that knows someone that could help this beautiful couple. Please post a link to their web page on your blog and help communicate their need.

Thank you!!

Lost Tooth

2009-02-14T09:15:00.003-07:00

Logan lost his first tooth!! Oh the excitement around here!! He has been waiting and waiting for this day... He was most proud because he didn't even cry. He then listed kids at school that told him they cried when they lost their teeth, and he witnessed his brother becoming a bit hysterical when he lost his first tooth. So he puffed his little chest out and repeatedly told us that he didn't even cry!

My baby is growing up....

The tooth fairy left him $5!! The first tooth is worth the most =)

Sigh... I wish I had some teeth to lose...

Great Prizes, Great Blog!!

2009-02-13T10:01:00.003-07:00

Tara over at kidz is hosting a HUGE party next week and everyone is invited!! Please head on over to see her, read all about it and join in the fun! You REALLY don't want to miss this =)

The really big prizes are:

2nd Runner Up: $50 gift certificate to Zappos (A great online shoe store)
1st Runner Up: $100 gift certificate to IKEA
Grand Prize: $200 gift certificate to Target!!

Go check it out to see the other daily prizes... kidz!

Reading

2009-02-13T08:51:00.002-07:00

I just love the fact that my oldest, Ben, can read to ME. I love the fact that he loves to read. He reads to me, to Hubby, and to Logan. We all enjoy it. He will even act out scenes for us! If there is an exclamation point, you can bet that he will notice and read the sentence appropriately!

Ben loves to read books that are scientific. He loves to learn while he reads. He checks out books about Chameleons, Dinosaurs, (after all he is going to grow up to be a Paleontologist, a fact that he shares with everyone he meets...) Volcanoes, Crocodiles, Cats, ect. He just enjoys these books so much. I think it's great as I happen to find these kinds of books, boring =) I LOVE a good story book. So to me it's doubly fascinating that Ben likes such scientific books.

Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-02-11T08:59:00.006-07:00

This is me and John perched on the side of the mountain. This photo was taken from our driveway!

When I was in High School, we lived in a small neighborhood, way up in the mountains. We were about 20 minutes from town, but tucked away, down a narrow, winding road, snuggled into the mountain. I had horses and rode pretty much every day. When it was nice out in the spring I would skip school, to go home and ride my horse. I was LUCKY!

I had two very good friends, Erin and John. We were inseparable after school. We rode in the afternoons, sometimes well into the evenings, sometimes at night! We rode for hours and hours and never hit a fence, unless it was an old broken fence half buried in the ground.

We raced and played tag through the trees. We saw all kinds of wild life, chased deer, and tried to chase elk. Once when I was by myself I was chased by a bear! Luckily I was on a VERY smart horse and he got us out of there!

This one night will stay in my memory forever. It was a relatively warm fall evening. It was still getting dark early, but we didn't mind. Off we went for an adventure, Erin, John and I. At this time I had my trusty Mustang, Katie, who was the BEST mountain horse EVER! John rode a little Arabian gelding and Erin was riding her Quarter Horse mare.

My Mustang, Katie Garza.

John thought it would be fun to call in some elk. They were in rut and we could hear them bugling all around. John let loose with a very good imitation of their call and we waited, holding our breath waiting for.... something. John let loose another call. We waited. Suddenly, very close by, we heard crashing and grunting. Then from a different direction we heard more crashing and grunting.

John had managed to call in TWO angry bulls.

We spun the horses and took off. You DO NOT want to be in the middle of that!! We ran as fast as the horses could run. By this time it was getting pretty dark. We sprinted across a small meadow, back into the thick trees and burst out across the dirt road that ran through that part of the mountain. We headed across the road and into another meadow just off the road. It was good and dark by now. All I could hear was Katie's breathing. I held my own breath trying to hear John and Erin. All around me was heavy breathing! Just then the moon came out from behind the clouds and I saw eyes glinting at me from the darkness...

We had run smack into the middle of a herd of elk! The cows raised their heads, snorted and took off. The horses moved with them, there was little choice in the matter and we were off again. John and Erin were right in there with me. It was the MOST thrilling thing to be running with an entire herd of elk. The only way to get to do that in the wild, is to surprise them, as we did. They are wiley and quick. It's nearly impossible to sneak up on them. With all the bugling and bulls around they didn't expect the running animals to be US!

We weren't able to keep up with them for long. They hit the trees at top speed and disappeared. The horses were unable to keep up when moving through the trees, plus they were getting worn out. All that running around in the dark!

We walked the horses home, excitedly talking about what had happened. We all knew that we would never experience anything like that ever again in our lifetimes. We were glad that we had had that chance.

What great times we had in those mountains!

10 things I like about Me

2009-02-10T09:31:00.002-07:00

I just want to remind you to head on over to the 10 Things I Like About Me post and write your list in my comments!! Be sure to read the rules so you understand how it works... You will have your name entered into my drawing at the end of the month for a FUN prize =)

I am going to do this on the first Monday of every month, so check back often!

Exercising

2009-02-09T14:58:00.003-07:00

On Saturday I exercised. I HATE exercising. But this day, both my boys did it with me. We were doing kicks and punches, breathing exercises and stretches. Then we moved onto sit ups. We were in the middle of 100 sit ups when Logan announced that he couldn't do any more because his skull hurt.

I thought that was strange. Why on earth would your skull hurt from doing sit ups?

He walked over to the door to let Angus in, and holding his stomach he again said, "My skull really hurts!"

He meant his rib cage hurt! He thought it was called his skull. LOL

I love the things he comes up with!!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2009-02-08T18:38:00.007-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Hubby,
Happy Birthday to yoouououou!!

We had a pretty low key day today. We all laid around this morning, watching August Rush. If you haven't seen this movie, then you really should. It's wonderful!!

Then we headed into town, so Hubby could play his basketball. On the way home we stopped at the Good Food Store and bought a yummy organic pizza and some organic chocolate covered almonds. Yum!!

Now we have eaten and feel fat and quite happy. We are also quite enjoying the movie, The Three Amigos. Funny!!

My Hubby ROCKS!!

2009-02-06T08:54:00.002-07:00

Something that Hubby does for me when I'm feeling sad or even mad is, he brings me home my favorite flowers, daisies. He is very thoughtful this way and knows how much flowers mean to me. What a sweet Hubby!

Sunday is Hubby's 32nd birthday. Finally he will be 32!! (I've been 32 since November and believe me, I hear about how I'm the "older" woman LOL I'm such a cradle robber!)

For his birthday, I covered a composition book with some really cool alligatory paper and then wrote him a letter inside. Every year I will write him a birthday letter inside this book, so he can go back and read them whenever he wants! I thought it was a pretty ingenious idea, since we don't really have extra $$ for a present, I NEVER know what to buy him anyway and we can see what changes our lives go through over the years.

My Hubby Rocks!