My Little Life On The Prairie

Happy Heart

2012-02-14T20:32:00.005-07:00

I wasn't sure how Valentine's Day would go this year. The Prairie Daddy left town yesterday morning for ultrasounding cattle and he'll be gone for almost 2 weeks. I wasn't really looking forward to having Valentine's without him but I figured The Prairie Kid and I would do something fun. I asked him if he would be my "date" and he said yes.

It turned out to be a fantastic day! : )

It started off with a special heart-shaped banana caramel pancake breakfast with The Prairie Kid. While we were getting ready to go The Prairie Daddy called and told us to look in the back of a filing cabinet drawer in the office. Lo and behold, there were two cards and a wrapped box of chocolates!

We had a sweet time together driving to school/work. And while I was at work a delivery came for me...flowers!!! Prairie Daddy, you have swept me off my feet!

My "date" and I went to the movie store and then came home. After homework we sat down to a dinner of crab, shrimp, avocados and Caesar salad. It was heavenly.

Isn't my date cute???

Then he got a couple more presents

Look! Seaweed! (He was excited!)

We topped the day off with Happy Feet. Oh, and some chocolate mousse. : )

What A Hoot

2012-02-11T14:23:00.005-07:00

There are not very many things I love in this world more than getting to surprise and treat someone. This last week my friend gave perfect opportunity for these treasured activities...she had a birthday. : )

We surprised her with a dinner party at my home. It was so much fun to decorate and prepare and think of her all throughout the week. She is a wonderful lady and I am blessed to be friends with her and work with her on the Moms Together leadership team. We've been friends for 8 or 9 years now. We worked together at the Meeteetse Rec District years ago. We've shared many laughs and many tears together. We've gone through 4 pregnancies and births together (she has 3 beautiful boys). We've gone on day-long road trips, horseback rides, shopping adventures, and a couple over-nighters to Billings for Beth Moore and also the Lipizzaner stallions. We've both opened our homes to kids in need of "temporary parents" and a place to live.

And we both love the Lord more than anything.

Happy Birthday, Friend! It was so much fun celebrating with you!

The theme was owls.

Her husband was in on the surprise and helped us pull it off without a hitch. It was great!

We had a fun dinner

She is an avid reader and we figured she'll need another birthday party next week because she will have finished reading up these new books already!

The birthday girl's youngest cutie and another friend

None of us objected to having her favorite dessert...creme brulee

We laughed our hearts out and had a great time celebrating our dear friend.

Giggling Mom

2012-02-09T08:04:00.002-07:00

The other day I received a Facebook message from the mom of a girl in The Prairie Kid's class. She was letting me know that her daughter told her that my son LOVES something from her daughter's lunch.

The Prairie Daddy and I were thinking, "huh, maybe he's not eating much of his own lunch because he's eating from everyone else's lunch." So we decided we'd better ask him about it.

In the car this morning I asked The Prairie Kid, "So, do you ever eat anything out of your friends' lunches?" He had a horribly sheepish look on his face..."no...except I really like these things out of (aforementioned little girl's name here) lunch. They're really good and I want you to get them for my lunch."

"Well, we'll talk about that but do you eat from anyone else's lunch?" (I looked back to see his little face panicked and red with embarrassment). "Oh, honey, what's wrong? Did you think you were going to be in trouble?" (Huge release of breath and tears now pouring out) "You're not in trouble! I am just curious! Take a deep breath, it's okay, you're not in trouble." (Deep breath, sigh of relief). "I don't eat anything from anyone else's lunch."

We then talked about how he doesn't always like what's in his lunch and how some kids get pop and lots of junk food. We talked about healthy lunches and growing brains and lifetime habits.

Now for what makes this story...

What is this tantalizing food that my son cannot stop eating out of a little girl's lunch? Is it soda pop? Candy? Chips? Cookies?

Why no, it is Kim Nori...a Korean seaweed snack!

This mom thinks it is pretty darn cute and funny that her six year-old son got "caught" sneaking seaweed from a classmate's lunch. : )

¡Sorpresa!

2012-01-30T12:12:00.007-07:00

On December 31st we took off to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico (aka...a piece of heaven on earth!). We met up with my mom and her husband and my sister and her family. We excitedly planned for our older sister to arrive the next day so we could surprise her for her 50th birthday.

My family, thankfully, doesn't do anything without adding a little (or a lot of) flavor. We couldn't just have an "ordinary" surprise. We had to have a GRAND surprise! (As if Mexico was not grand enough!) We spent weeks discussing options.

We came up with this...

My husband (aka. Creeper) went over to my sister and her partner as they walked into the main plaza for lunch. Creeper went over to my sister's partner and said, "will you take my family's picture? " He hurried her over our direction. I could see the look on my sister's face. It said something like "who is this weirdo? " She hung back waiting for this "weird moment" to end. And as she looked our direction and saw this "weirdo family" all dressed in funny felt and wigs she recognized The Prairie Kid! And she was in SHOCK that this weirdo family was HER family! In Mexico! Surprise! Happy Birthday!

Oh my gosh, he's SO creepy! And SUCH a trooper!

I just don't know why she thought we were weird! Especially my step dad, in the platinum wig. Or my soon-to-be brother-in-law in the sandy blond mullet. Or my Creeper hubby. Or my son, the mad scientist. Weird? What???

From this point on we had a great week in Mexico enjoying each other, the beach, the food, tennis, the food, each other, and did I mention we enjoyed the food??? The weather wasn't the best but we still had a great time!

Our villa was the 2nd floor

The stairway view up to our patio

Inside the villa

There were these big rodents in the trees as we walked to the plaza called Sereque

Poolside Nap

My guys enjoying the water

One of my favorite beaches in the world!

Our last dinner out...

Anyone hungry for some fish?

I didn't want to leave my beloved Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. But I will be back! And I am thankful we were able to celebrate my dear sister together as a family in such a great place!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-30T11:19:00.003-07:00

We had a great Christmas. We enjoyed Christmas Eve with dear friends but I don't have any pictures of it because I let my friend take all the pics with her camera and I haven't confiscated them from her yet. : )

Christmas morning was fun. We enjoyed our "tree" with lots of presents together. We went to church to celebrate Jesus' birthday and then to The Prairie Dad's parent's house to celebrate with the whole family.

These were found in The Prairie Kid's stocking...he was THRILLED! I'm so thankful he is so easy to please.

And he had never had spaghetti-o's before!

Checking out Dad's loot

This was the "grand finale"...the remote helicopter he REALLY wanted

What a fun morning!

Ready for church.

Patiently waiting to dive into the next round of presents at Grandma's house!

New Sight

2012-01-30T11:12:00.004-07:00

Oh goodness! What happened? It's almost February and I haven't blogged since December 9th!

Well, let's get caught up!

In December, The Prairie Kid told us that he had to squint to see things far away. I took him bowling and noticed he was REALLY squinting. The next week we had an appointment for him and 2 days later he was in new glasses.

I felt bad that we didn't know he couldn't see! His vision was pretty bad! Thankfully we got on top of this and he can see again. : )

I was also really thankful that they let us bring home different glasses to decide which ones we wanted. We took these pictures:

It was NO contest for me! HANDS DOWN, 150% these pictures showed me THE pair that we were going to pick out. Thankfully, The Prairie Daddy agreed and The Prairie Kid accepted the choice.

And, in 30 seconds flat my 6 year-old turned into a 30 year-old business man (in pjs).

I thought I would have a really hard time adjusting to my "new son" but after a day or two I was over it and we're normalized again. Although, I do have to say those glasses REALLY get in the way when I am trying to kiss his face off.

Christmas Galore

2011-12-09T19:17:00.006-07:00

Besides thinking about the amazing gift of Jesus Christ, my favorite parts of this Season are baking and watching my son enjoy the Season. : ) I am not working as much these days and I have had time to get a "jump start" on the Season. In fact, here we are the 9th of December and I am done shopping! I am almost done wrapping! The Christmas cards are mailed, the packages are sent, and the baking is done! (Okay, I admit that I will probably create more baking needs!) I have been working on decorating here and there. I think I am going to leave some of the decorations in the closet this year. I can only handle so much clutter!

This is some of the baking that has taken place...

A couple of the pies went for the bake sale we have each year for Moms Together

Hoards of cream cheese mints...

And for some of the baking I had a little helper who was excited about gingerbread men

We got our first artificial Christmas tree. I've been wanting a slim tree and last January when all-things-Christmas went on sale I found this one online. I got it all ready for my little helper to come home to finish it off.

He loved opening the new ornament that my mom sent. She sends one every year. : ) This year he got Garfield!

And his best buddy was over for a sleepover so he joined in the ornament fun

It was a great time together!

And ta-da...the finished product!

K/1 Christmas Program

2011-12-09T12:30:00.003-07:00

The Prairie Kid had a part in his Kindergarten/1st Grade Christmas play last night. Although there were only 2 lines it was so much fun to see him in this program.

Here is a little snapshot for you to enjoy:

The Farm

2011-11-22T19:54:00.007-07:00

We spent 4 days at the farm. Our plan was to finish building a shelter for hay. We learned quite quickly that things don't ~~always~~ usually go as planned in West Africa. : ) The blessing in this "plan gone out the window" is that the shelter DID get put up! It just wasn't us who put it up. Our trip was encouragement enough for the dairy farmer and her workers to get this shelter up! They were working diligently on finishing it while we were there.

Here is a feed storage area on the farm

A great contrast between old cart and new tractor (in the background)

The old tractor is shot and the new is being borrowed

Corrals

Milking stanchion

Milking machine

Vet vaccinating

I love this...the vet's cell phone : )

View across farm

Rice fields

City America

2011-11-22T17:24:00.008-07:00

We set up camp early in the morning the first full day in West Africa after driving to the farm. We left the capital city at about 5:30am to miss the traffic and that gave us the ability to set up camp before the heat of the day struck.

There were a couple of workers on the ranch that could speak a little English. They called our camp "City America." It was fun the way they said it with an accent. : )

There were 3 couples in City America: our friends that we went with, the host missionaries, and us. Each couple had their own tent.

The host missionaries were very good to us and brought some mattresses for us to sleep on. It made all the difference for me. They also brought a solar panel to run 12 volt fans to help keep us all cooler at night. Another blessing! It was HOT and HUMID to say the least (like 90 degrees with 60-80% humidity) . I think I sweat BUCKETS while there!

Now let me warn you...City America was HIGH TECH! Try not to be jealous of all our amenities!

The "bathroom"
(that is a toilet seat on a wood frame on a cement slab over a hole in the ground)

We decided to put a sheet over the doorway when we realized that we didn't have privacy Day 2. Our "signal" that someone was in the bathroom was that the toilet paper roll you see on the doorway branch would be gone. We shared our bathroom with lots of ants, other bugs and even some lizards!

And the "shower"

Our "plumbing" (spit bath, anyone?)

"Clean water" (We used this for everything but drinking!!! That is called SURRENDER! It had leaves, dirt, and sometimes bugs in it)

The "dish washer" (and we used the "clean water" to wash dishes!)

Our "garbage disposal"
The "laundry room"
The "stove"

"Fridge" and "pantry"...the bucket with the hanging cup was our "sink"

Here is what part of our lunch looked like one day
(and guess what? They don't refrigerate mayo!)

We collected some of our trash for the local kids and families...
some people's trash is another's treasure

Taking It All In

2011-11-21T19:33:00.008-07:00

We left for the farm early in the morning. It was an hour and a half drive. All I did was watch and try to take in everything that my eyes were seeing. You cannot just take pictures of everything you want to in West Africa. You need to have a relationship (aka. permission) to take pictures of people. So, for the drive to the farm I just soaked up the sites with my eyes. I was able to take pictures on the way back though. This is what part of the drive was like:

There is a constant "clash" of societies...here you can see the big house in the back with shanty's directly in front of it

Many buildings are not finished. This is on the outskirts of the capital city:

There are many mosques

Ever been to a furniture store like this?

This is an unusual site...
All along the roads in the city there are shacks (aka. homes/stores) that people are living in and/or selling from
This is in the city...it is the livestock sale area

A kiln...randomly placed along a road
There is trash all over. Here they are burning it along the street:
Out of town a ways we saw this pothole

The river by the farm
A main country road

The bush
Some beautiful mountains

Stepping Through Faith

2011-11-21T18:04:00.003-07:00

Our flight to West Africa was uneventful but as a team we talked about how our nerves had really kicked in and we were just about to embark on everything unknown. We had been told many things about the airport and the country that didn't leave us at ease. We really wondered what we would experience when we stepped out of the plane. On our flight I sat next to a man from the UK and he had been to West Africa once before on business. He travels all over the world and he shared with me that the country we were visiting is one of his least favorite places. Yikes!

We all looked at each other with wide-eyes and deep breaths as we stepped off the plane and walked the corridor into The Unknown. The air was hot and humid. My heart was beating fast and I wondered what in the world I was doing. I had to push through fear and keep going step after step.

We were pleasantly surprised by the order and ease of the customs lines. We had been told the opposite. And as we stood their and waited our turn we saw a man walk into the customs area holding our picture. The host missionaries knew this mans mother and he works at the airport. This man sweetly took us through the rest of the process. We were hassled a bit leaving the airport with our luggage. The woman was harsh and questioned me before letting us go. And then we were off for the rest of our adventure.

The ride to the guest house was overwhelming with sites to take in. There were people EVERYWHERE along the streets. We went to the host missionaries home to eat before going to our guest house at the CMA church compound. I don't remember sleeping that night we were so exhausted. We woke up early the next day to leave for the farm.

Chocolate And Architecture

2011-11-21T11:38:00.005-07:00

We "planned" to race into Brussels on the express train from the airport on our long layover on the way home from West Africa . Well, we learned from DAY ONE on our trip that if you want to make God laugh, make plans! The only thing we could plan on for our 10 days of adventure was the unexpected!

So, we embraced the opportunity to be flexible and went through each day with the expectation to be surprised!

SURPRISE! You're staying in Brussels for the night!

We spruced up a bit, used our lunch vouchers in the Sheraton restaurant and made sure our checked bags were secure for the night.

One of the really good choices we made was to pack our essentials in our carry-on so that in the case of a layover or lost luggage, we would have what we NEEDED and some of what we wanted.

We got on the express train and headed to the heart of Brussels. It was exciting. It was a BEAUTIFUL evening, and since it was Saturday there was much going on.

We wandered around with big eyes and took it all in. There was live music, dancing, and a street market going on. We watched the sunset behind the gorgeous detailed buildings. We smelled Belgian waffles and French fries. We didn't eat any though and I think we all regret it. We did sample and buy some Belgian chocolate. HEAVENLY. And some got some ice cream.

This is the Grand Place

When we returned to the hotel we found out they were having a buffet at 8pm for all of the guests that were there due to flight issues. We enjoyed the feast which included smoked salmon and (this is a glimpse into HOW MUCH Jesus loves me...) CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!

We slept great and got up at 4:00am to make our flight to Paris.

In Paris we were held on our plane to West Africa for 2 extra hours. There was a man who had an epileptic seizure and it took awhile to get that taken care of before we left.

And We're Off

2011-11-21T11:28:00.004-07:00

On November 10th I tearfully and hesitantly said goodbye to The Prairie Kid. That evening I went home and finished up the final packing for our big adventure to West Africa. It was not any easy evening. My fears and anxiety were in full throttle and I had to push back many apprehensions.

The next morning we rose early and loaded up. I took my "last shower" (or so I thought) for awhile. My excitement took over most of my anxiety. This was it. We were really doing this. Crazy.

We met up with our "partners in crime" at the airport and checked in. A woman from our church was dropping her son off that morning. She has been to Africa and has been supporting us with encouragement this past couple of months. What a treat to have her there and then "see us off" as well.

Our flights went smooth from Cody to Denver and then Denver to DC.

And then in DC we loaded up on the plane for Brussels. And then we heard an announcement that there was an electrical problem. And then another and another and another.

Two hours later we were taken off the plane. We waited two more before settling onto the next one. And we prayed and prayed that we would not miss our flight from Brussels to West Africa . We watched on the flight map the arrival time get pushed farther and farther and we realized that it would take a miracle to make our flight.

When we arrived in Brussels we rushed to see where to go. The departures board still had our flight listed and it said "FINAL BOARDING." The United personnel were very unhelpful and we were not sure where to go or what to do. We wandered around and tried to find our transfer area. The next thing we realized was it was too late. Our flight was gone and there we were in Brussels.

It took hours for us to figure out what was next. We ended up getting rooms and meal vouchers for the Sheraton Hotel from United and they re-routed us through Paris to West Africa the next morning.

We accepted it without too much disappointment and decided to make an adventure out of it. I'll keep that for the next post.

Half Bull

2011-10-19T12:24:00.002-06:00

I think The Prairie Daddy must be part elk. I thought it was awesome how this bull responded to him.

Ranch Kid At School

2011-10-17T13:41:00.003-06:00

In The Prairie Kid's 1st grade class they write a lot of stories. We're sent home these stories each week. I laughed at one that came home last week. I wondered what his dear teacher thought. I'm sure she's used to ranch kids since she does teach in Cody, Wyoming. I hope she got a good giggle out of "page 1" like I did:

Title Page

Page 1

Page 2

Here is another story from our outdoors-loving ranch kid:

Yellowstone

2011-10-17T12:56:00.003-06:00

The one big request The Nephew had for his trip was to go to Yellowstone. We had a great family adventure on Saturday. The trees were peak and it was BEAUTIFUL. We got to see a grizzly mom and her 2 cubs for awhile in Hayden Valley. She was too far to get pictures of though.

We took a nice walk around the Mammoth Hot Springs Upper Terrace. At the end The Prairie Kid hitched a ride.

The elk at Mammoth were awesome.

There were wolves in the Lamar Valley. These nice people let us view them through their scope and even lowered it for The Prairie Kid. And then we watched mountain goats with thick white coats through the binoculars as we neared the Northeast gate.

We were hoping to spot a moose on the way home but they are just not around anymore since the wolves have been reintroduced and increasing in number.

Happy Birthday, Nephew

2011-10-17T12:47:00.001-06:00

My nephew is visiting for 2 weeks. He turned 19 on Friday. It was fun to celebrate with him. We went to a movie and the Chinese buffet. Then we had some presents and, well, two days later we were ready for cake. : )

That Time Again

2011-10-17T12:03:00.004-06:00

Last week it was branding again. My nephew is in town and some friends from church also joined in to help. It was a long but good day.

The Prairie Kid

The Nephew loading taggers for The Prairie Daddy

The Prairie Kid thinking he is the boss

Where's my mama???

Lunch...every one's favorite part of the day

Too Cute Not To Share

2011-10-08T17:41:00.002-06:00

I was going through old video today and I found this from last Spring at the Denver Zoo. It was too precious not to share! And check out the hair-do!

Live Footage

2011-10-08T17:12:00.002-06:00

Nerf War

2011-10-08T12:06:00.002-06:00

Our nephew came in last night to visit us for two weeks. He'll turn 19 while he's here. It was fun to watch he and The Prairie Kid build a house this morning and then have a nerf gun war. : )

Non, Merci

2011-10-03T10:24:00.006-06:00

I am looking forward to many aspects of another culture, landscape, country. And some aspects, not so much. Here are some things I am not so excited about...

Snakes. There will be snakes in the bush that we are working/sleeping in. The only time I will be okay with getting close to one of these guys is if they're on the end of my fork...

Western Bush Viper

Seriously, we may grill up snake for dinner while we're in the bush. : )
Black Mamba

Speaking of eating...there are lots of BATS! Our American friend in West Africa sent these first two pictures...

She teased, "grilled or roasted?"

Little did she know that this next picture of the bat on a plate is from my sister's fiance. He is Congolese and ate bat on his last trip to Congo...

He also ate these bugs! I would MUCH rather have grilled bat!

Funny, though, I will GLADLY put a snail in my mouth. Escargot, S'il vous plait.

Péripétie

2011-10-03T09:50:00.007-06:00

Next month my husband, myself, and two of our very dear friends (a husband/wife) will embark on the most risky, wild, surrendered adventure of our lives (besides marriage and parenting!) We will board a plane and travel 27 hours to the "other" side of the world. We will cross multiple time zones, the equator, a couple of continents, and step into a culture that we do not yet know but have a hunger to not only understand but love quickly and deeply.

We are heading to West Africa to meet a lady and help her on her dairy farm.

Here is the dairy farmer and some helpers in a field they will clear for us to create a hay storage corral and shed:

Getting prepared for our project...

They made these poles for the corral from the trees in the bush on the dairy farm

As we make lists of supplies to pick up, correspond with many questions for the American couple that invited us to come to West Africa , where they now live, and finalize our plans, it dawns on me that we really cannot prepare ourselves for many aspects of this trip.

I do not know what I will see. I expect my eyes to weep at some of the sights I will witness.

I do not know how much my heart will break. I expect it to be broken.

I do not know how tired, sore, homesick, vulnerable I will feel. I expect to long and ache for what is familiar and comfortable.

I do know that this is a trip designed by a Great Designer. A trip that ties with the Providence that only a Master Trip Planner can put together. It is a privilege and an honor to be able to partner with the One and Only, who does not need a partner but chooses to partner with those that He had to redeem with a great sacrifice.

I do know that if I spend sweet time with my Bridegroom then I will be prepared for this trip.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Oh, and péripétie means "adventure" in French. : )

What About A Snout?

2011-09-24T18:02:00.000-06:00

The Prairie Kid brings home his work from the school week on Fridays. This week they were working on short i sounds. He wrote a story and drew a picture. I thought it was worth sharing : )

Addition ToThe Yard

2011-09-24T18:00:00.002-06:00

We recently were given a hand-me-down play set. The Prairie Kid thinks he has died and gone to heaven! He plays on it so much...sometimes even before we leave for school in the mornings.
He already broke in both hands for the monkey bars...big blisters that are now turning into callouses.

A couple of weekends ago The Prairie Daddy was making a roof for the top with some old feed bags. There was enough left over for a flag. The Prairie Kid told me what to paint and away we went.

Today the flag got hung up.

As it was being put up with a piece of wire, The Prairie Daddy said, "We might need to get a dowel."

The Prairie Kid asked, "A towel?"

"No, a D-owel."

Smile.

About-Face

2011-09-22T08:43:00.003-06:00

Funny, but not-so-funny story...

As previously posted, The Prairie Kid is in soccer. I started playing soccer when I was in 2nd grade and played through the beginning of high school. Soccer in our family became an obsession growing up; we were on the field year-round (yep, indoor in the winter) and played competetive soccer for many years. No doubt, my dad would have loved to see us head to college on a soccer scholarship.

I stood on the sidelines Monday evening hollering for my son to get after the ball. He had shared with me before the game that he was afraid to get kicked. He stayed back and watched the mobs of little feet desperately trying to make contact with the ball. I coached from the sidelines.

After the game we hung out for awhile and then, (sigh), we got in the car. I think the first words out of my mouth were "You've got to get brave and go after the ball! You need to get that ball away from the other team!"

"But I'm scared!"

"You've got to get over that!"

And then, I remembered. That horrible feeling of getting "the lecture" in the car after the game. And I stopped. I turned around and said, "I'm sorry. Sometimes moms and dads get too excited about their kid's sports and I just want you to have fun. You did a great job and you scored a goal! Way to go! I love you, Buddy."

Whew...that was close.

And later, I called up my sister and laughed, "I've turned into our father!" I am thankful for the support and time my dad ALWAYS gave to our sports. However, sometimes as parents we all-too-quickly have unreasonable expectations or goals for our kids and don't always think about the purpose and affect. I am thankful that God reminded me how that felt and that He allowed me to change course and head on a different path with my son.

I still hollered from the sidelines at the next game...but this time it was more like "WAY TO GO! GREAT JOB!" And we laughed and enjoyed our little ones as they buzzed around the field like a herd of bumble bees.

Eeeewwww!

2011-09-20T17:52:00.003-06:00

There are Cat Face Spiders on our deck. Thank God I've been told they're not poisonous or I wouldn't be so okay with them hanging around our house, literally. They are a strange and creepy creature.

Here is the back...

And here is the belly. This one was actually working on eating a fly when we took this picture...

Strikers

2011-09-20T17:38:00.005-06:00

The Prairie Kid is playing soccer! We're excited...this is his first organized sport (other than summer units at the rec). He is playing on a K-2nd grade team. They have games twice a week for about 5 weeks. He's played the same team both games so far and I think they lost the first and they tied the 2nd game 8 to 8. He scored a goal in each game.

The Prairie Daddy's aunt and cousins were in town and they joined his mom at the first game

I was proud of my little striker

Out My Office Window

2011-09-20T17:21:00.003-06:00

The other day I had visitors out my office window. We enjoyed watching them long enough to take their pictures and then scared them off since they were eating the church bushes.

This mama must be giving her kid ALL of her nutrition because she is too skinny... : (

Celebrating 10 Years

2011-09-18T21:05:00.004-06:00

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary on September 1st. We went to Jackson for a nice 2 1/2 day getaway. The weather was beautiful and it was a great time to relax and celebrate in the midst of our crazy-busy lives.

We stayed at the Snow King Resort Hotel at the base of the ski hill. Here we are before heading out for a special dinner.

We enjoyed a sunset drive after dinner

And before we headed home we decided to try out the alpine slide on the ski hill...here is the view of our resort on the way up the mountain on the chair lift

A quick pic before embarking on our "sleds"

We left the top at the same time. I was so slow that The Prairie Daddy had time to put his sled away and get ready to take my picture before I arrived...

I feel extremely blessed to say that I am more in love with my husband now than I even was on our wedding day. Prairie Daddy, thank you for being such a wonderful partner.

Bart

2011-09-18T20:43:00.005-06:00

The Prairie Kid wanted to go riding a few weeks ago. It worked out on a Saturday that I had time to take him down to the barn. It was good because I was really able to work with him on what the tack was called, how to hold it, grooming, etc. We have a pony/horse cross named "Bart." He is no Jed but he is a good size for The Prairie Kid albeit stubborn.

On our way through the pens to the horses we stopped to say "hi" to the bum calves in the pen. They were hoping to find a bottle of milk in The Prairie Kid's back pocket. : )

Coaxing Bart out of the corral

My kiddo looked so small in the middle of all of these guys...

The others were eager to greet Bart and The Prairie Kid when we got back

Well done, Kiddo

First Day of First Grade

2011-09-17T17:08:00.001-06:00

Bum Calves

2011-09-17T16:57:00.003-06:00

We've had a good crop of calves this year. We've had to bottle feed a few because we've had so many twins and momma cows don't always take both calves if she has twins. Sometimes we go out and help The Prairie Daddy.

Do you think he liked his dinner?

Creepy Fun

2011-09-17T16:40:00.006-06:00

Our brother and sister-in-law are in a Creation Club. Their group brought in an animal guy with his "collection" to the ranch for a presentation the day after The Prairie Kid's birthday. We got to go as well and it was fun to see his "friends" up close.

It took some "mom bravery" to watch my kiddo pet this python

And our nephew was REALLY brave by getting THIS up close and personal!

Birthdays

2011-09-17T16:11:00.005-06:00

I am amazed that almost a month has gone by and I haven't been able to sit down and blog. I really miss it and hope that someday in the future I will be able to document our lives better again.

For now, I will see what events took place via my camera and go from there.

We did celebrate The Prairie Kid's 6th birthday and The Prairie Daddy's 37th birthday in August!

Miniature Golf

We had a family birthday party at an Auntie's house

The Birthday Boy and Grandpa

Presents!
Cake!
And the rodeo to top it all off
The Prairie Daddy had to work on his birthday. But we celebrated with friends that night and he got lots of treats

He got a Sour Cream Raisin Pie as a surprise too. : )

Wildlife Fun

2011-08-24T20:10:00.004-06:00

Instead of wanting a "kid's birthday party" this year, The Prairie Kid wanted to spend time with his best buddy and go to Red Lodge, Montana to the Beartooth Nature Center. We'd never been there but knew that there were wild, native animals in captivity.

The mountain lion growled and snarled at us. It was creepy!

Fun and curious crane

Couldn't get everyone to look at the same time : )

It was such a fun day! The Best Buddy's mom is one of my dear friends and we all had a great time. After the nature center, we took the boys to a great park and then to the infamous Red Lodge Candy Store.

Calving

2011-08-19T14:00:00.006-06:00

We're calving. It is demanding much of The Prairie Daddy's time but it is also the time of year where we see our future falling fresh on the green prairie grass. This is our livelihood. This is our bread and butter; black, fluffy Angus calves.

We went out together as a family to check, vaccinate and tag calves the other night. What a sweet time together.

After a calf gets vaccinated and tagged, the mom often makes sure her babe is okay.

We had to help this mom remember she had twins...

She was mothering one well and we needed to watch to make sure she wandered off with both of her kids.

Team work.

Contemplating...

You always keep one eye on the mom...good moms protect their young

And that can mean trouble for Cowboy (although he's never had too much trouble. We try to keep only cows that are good moms but not crazy toward us!)

Brand new calf...we'll wait until tomorrow to tag this little one

What a good mama.

Beautiful dusk on the prairie

Oh how much I love that face!

Cake Madness

2011-08-19T11:48:00.003-06:00

I have a DEFINITE love/hate relationship with making cakes.

I didn't get as many pics this year but it wasn't pretty. Here is a snap shot:

Last Friday:
Made two milk chocolate cake mixes and put them in a big pan.
Baked them.
Let them cool.
Turned it over.
Banged on the bottom of the pan.
Lifted it up.
ALL four corners of the cake stayed in the pan.
The middle didn't.

Oops...forgot to run a butter knife around the sides first. NICE.

Wednesday:
Made another cake mix.
Baked it.
Let it cool.
Loosened the edge with a butter knife.
Turned it over.
Only lost a tiny layer of the middle top.

Mashed up all of the extra cake and made the ugliest cake balls you've ever seen.

Thursday:
Researched stable chocolate whipped cream frosting.
Attempted to make stable chocolate whipped cream frosting.
Attempt failed.

Friday: The Day of Redemption
Tried again.
Succeeded.

Attempted to make a camouflage decorated cake.
Partially succeeded.

Called it a year. Will hopefully not attempt to make another birthday cake until next August.

Here it is...not quite how I desired but glad that it is done!

Consumed

2011-08-19T11:41:00.003-06:00

VBS prep consumed my summer. And the first week of August we had the program. It was a great week! 5 days, 80 volunteers (and that doesn't include all of the cookie makers!), 135 kids, 6 new friends of Jesus, 750 snacks, live dramas, crafts, games, music, object lessons, and so much more!

It was a fun week. Many people said "now you'll get to take a break!" And I laughed. As soon as VBS ended, fall planning began. And the race is on again!

School starts next week. The Prairie Kid's birthday is today. We're calving on the ranch. Could we pack any more onto our already full plate? (I hope not to try!)

Whew! I'm ready for...a nap!

Mom And Son Day

2011-07-23T18:54:00.007-06:00

July seems to be a CRAZY month for our family. The Prairie Daddy eats, sleeps and breaths getting hay up. I eat, sleep and breath VBS prep. The Prairie Kid, well, he gets a little lost in the action.

This week I could tell it was getting to The Prairie Kid. He needed some good time together. He started to melt down on Wednesday night. I was leaving for Bozeman to pick up kids from camp Thursday and wouldn't be home until Friday. After he started melting down, I started melting down. We needed some uninterrupted, quality one-on-one time. I made him a chart of the week and Saturday was designated "HOME" and I told him I would bring home some fun things to do together from my trip.

We started our day with a breakfast picnic on the deck. Then we got out the first "fun thing" I brought home from Bozeman. Window Art!

He was making a volcano...

I asked him what he wanted to do next. He said, "Cuddle on the couch with you and watch The Cosby Show!" What a treat for me...he rarely wants to cuddle anymore but I knew we both were needing that this morning. : )

And then, we adventured out toward the mountains to Joe Moss head gate where we hunted for driftwood sticks and rocks (which are for VBS...and I needed about 100 of each for craft projects!).

He and the dog enjoyed the creek being slower and lower. They both got in and explored.

When we ransacked as much driftwood as we could there, we decided to head to Meeteetse Creek down by our barn. So we drove back through the ranch where we found The Prairie Daddy swathing hay. I had fun taking pictures of the beautiful day and the hay crop.

The Prairie Daddy's brother was baling in another field. I love how this picture shows the windrows of pre-baled hay next to the bales.

The kids got in the creek again. : )

Rough view, eh?

Next we got out the other "fun thing" that I brought home and we painted a T-rex!

I can tell we're both feeling much better having had our time together. Our kiddo is such a trooper and I am so thankful that he's able to maintain as well as he does with our busy life.

Fun Finding

2011-07-23T17:21:00.003-06:00

We got quite a bit of rain here last week. The Prairie Daddy and The Prairie Kid found a fun friend in the yard.

The Prairie Kid wanted to keep him. We let him "keep" him in the yard...and funny, he couldn't find him the next day when he went out to look for him. : )

Thursday Morning On The Ranch

2011-07-14T20:03:00.007-06:00

I was disappointed last night when The Prairie Daddy asked me if I wanted to help move cows in the morning. I wasn't up for it because they were starting at 6 in the morning and I have so much going on that I knew I wouldn't be rested enough to keep up with my other stuff.

So, I woke up this morning and realized that they were probably all done moving cows. I was a little depressed but decided to enjoy some "God time" on the deck. As I settled into my chair the phone rang. The Prairie Daddy said that the cows weren't where they were supposed to be and wouldn't gather up and get going easily, and that they had still another hour or so to move them. He invited me to join in! I was thrilled that he even said he could get my horse ready.

So, I put on Wranglers for the first time in a year, pulled on my Fat Baby boots and headed out. I got to the buildings just in time to hop on High Noon and get to helping. It was a GORGEOUS morning to be out. We rode for a few hours and that was enough to make me remember how little I ride, and how badly the cowboys' saddles DON'T fit me.

I love how this picture turned out...

This is High Noon...he looks a little crazier in this picture than he is. : ) He is tall and a little slow but he has great reining training and turned well on the hind quarters.

I love the rows of bales in this picture...

We had two steep draws with water to cross...this picture doesn't do the depth justice.

High Noon doesn't like water and I had to hang on for dear life while he BOLTED over the drainages. Whew!

Quick rest as they got counted out the gate

The Prairie Kid "helping" as dad counts

Little Roper

Wow, the gate man is a hottie! ; )

The only photo of me for the day

Get along lil' doggies

Almost there!

Looking back toward our house...see that little brown speck in the middle-left?

Franc's peak behind our corrals and reservoir

My two amazing guys. I feel so incredibly blessed. And what a blessing to live on this land...

"Staff Meeting"

The Prairie Kid rode back part of the way with Uncle

Sharing the saddle didn't work for Uncle for too long

Another "staff meeting"

Needless to say, it was a treat to get to go help. And to get to sleep in too!

Flag Football

2011-07-14T19:59:00.002-06:00

The Prairie Kid is playing Flag Football this month. It is so cute! I do hope he wants to play football through high school. : )

Oh Yeah, We Went On A Trip!

2011-07-14T19:23:00.008-06:00

I requested another overnight getaway for my birthday again this year. Last year we stayed in Yellowstone. This year The Prairie Daddy suggested that we go up into Montana and drop down to the North Entrance of Yellowstone. We stayed in a town just outside of the park called Gardiner, MT. Then the next day we drove through Yellowstone before hitting Cody for fireworks. We had a beautiful drive...

At the top of Chief Joseph Highway

Here is The Prairie Kid's photo of the hotel we stayed in

Sunset on the Yellowstone River in Gardiner, Montana

Here are the hot springs at Mammoth in Yellowstone

And while on the hiking trails around Mammoth we say this big bull snake

Petrified Tree

Yellow wildflowers covered strips of the mountains

A mama elk and calf

The brink of the lower falls

There was SO much water!

Here is a shot looking at the falls from another trail

Prairie Kid photography
We were a little silly by mid-afternoon...we were goofing off in the Lake General Store

We had a great trip. We didn't see any super-exciting wildlife, like bears or wolves, but it was a fun time to get away from "life" and spend some time together.

Sunday Afternoon On The Ranch

2011-06-26T19:02:00.003-06:00

As we headed off to church this morning The Prairie Daddy didn't like the looks of our heifers and a few bulls pressed up to the fence of the neighbor's fence with cattle on the other side. He declared that we'd have to get them moved in the afternoon.

When we got home from town we got ready and headed out to move them. It was a beautiful day out, although it was breezy and wasn't all that warm.

I haven't helped for awhile. I was a bit nervous. Thankfully, I got the count right (I started gathering on my own) and got them going in the right direction. Unfortunately, at one point I was too busy taking pictures to realize that they started heading off the hill (and they weren't supposed to!) I quickly got the camera pocketed and got back to work. ; ) Here are some of the pics.

Gathering
Out to the road

I really like how this one turned out

Waiting for Dad

Heading into the corrals

Master Sorter...it is awesome to watch him. He got 5 bulls and 1 cow peeled out of this bunch. There were 49 heifers in this bunch too.

Rough view : )

So cute!

Out of the corrals with the heifers

Over the canal

All done!

Family pic with the timer

It was such a treat to get to go help today. I told The Prairie Kid when we got home that he is pretty blessed to get to do this kind of thing...not many kids would ever have the opportunity.

Thank You, Lord, for an amazing blessing of land and life.

Muy Relajante

2011-06-20T16:59:00.003-06:00

Before we knew we were expecting The Prairie Kid we took a trip to Mexico. While we there we went on a great adventure tour. We snorkeled into a cenote (underground river/sinkhole),had lunch in a Mayan village, and sea-kayaked. While in the village we bought one of their hand-crafted hammocks.

I found it while doing some cleaning today and put it out on the deck. The Prairie Kid soon found his way into it. We even did his reading today while resting in it.

Rough view, eh?

Very relaxing. I just can't sway in it...I get seasick! One time in college, I was working at a Young Life camp as a wrangler for a month, and we had a hammock. I got so seasick I almost lost my lunch!

The Eye Of The Beholder

2011-06-20T13:47:00.005-06:00

Let me introduce you to: Plains Larkspur (Delphinium geyeri Greene)

definition (as known by The Prairie Mama): beautiful purple flowers growing in the field behind the house that would make a beautiful bouquet

definition (as known by The Prairie Daddy): a toxic weed known to kill cattle

I asked The Prairie Daddy the other day if I could cut some of these beautiful flowers for the dining room table. He said yes. Not because he thought they would look beautiful on the dining room table, but because the ones I cut could not reproduce.

So today The Prairie Kid and I went out to cut beautiful flowers.

Yep, these are definitely beautiful flowers!

I understand they can kill cattle BUT look how beautiful they are!

I think even the dog thinks they're beautiful flowers!

The Prairie Daddy was working on irrigation and came by to say "hi"

Now what does this look like to you?

Beautiful flowers or toxic weeds?

Thankfully The Prairie Daddy doesn't mind toxic weeds adorning the dining room table. : ) And boy are they wonderfully fragrant too! (Smelly weeds, sheesh.)

Hindsight

2011-06-20T13:38:00.003-06:00

I had a project to do for church this weekend that had a box with Styrofoam boards in it. The Prairie Kid asked if he could play with them. I agreed. Little did I know what would result!

The next thing we knew there were barely any Styrofoam boards left! Oops. But he had a good ol' time and had to help with the clean up.

See how hard he is working to clean up?

He had Styrofoam all over!

The vacuum was the only solution we could figure out to get this stuff off of him!

Eventually it all did get cleaned up but it was quite a feat!

Cowboy'd Up

2011-06-20T13:12:00.004-06:00

After returning from Seattle The Prairie Kid decided to dress from head to toe like a cowboy. And he's been dressed like that (minus p.j.s and church pants) ever since. He's all of the sudden a "die hard" cowboy.

He was going to work with The Prairie Daddy the other day and this is what he decided he needed to wear. With this shirt on I thought he looked just like his uncle who runs the ranch with The Prairie Daddy. : )

Blessing Daddy

2011-06-20T11:57:00.005-06:00

The Prairie Kid and I are so thankful for The Prairie Daddy. He works so hard and is an INCREDIBLE provider for our family. He loves us so much and shows it in the way he works hard, values our family time, prays for us and SO much more!

We had a great time spoiling Daddy for Father's Day.

We started out by serving Daddy a bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs, and blueberry muffin breakfast before church.

Then we showered Daddy with presents.

Dad, we're going mini-golfing!

It's too bad The Prairie Kid doesn't resemble his dad!

He also got some tennis balls, end tables for the family room, a ball pump, Peanut M&M's and The Prairie Kid gave him $0.72. : )

After church we met up with family to have Dairy Queen and then we went to Kung Fu Panda 2. We made Daddy dinner last night and relaxed at home. We also made S'mores!

It was a great day to put extra emphasis on one super-special person in our lives. We love you Prairie Daddy!

In Honor Of My Dad

2011-06-18T19:55:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about my dad today, since Father's Day is tomorrow. He passed away 16 1/2 years ago. It was neat how something happened today the way it did that allowed me to honor him in our home.

I was sitting outside reading and soaking up the sun when a strange truck pulled in the drive this morning. Two guys from out of town that are contractors with the oil field up the road were wondering if they'd be able to fish in our reservoir. We chatted a bit and I called to ask The Prairie Daddy if it was okay. He said yes and the guys went on their way. I did ask them to let me know if they caught anything and with what kind of bait.

This afternoon they stopped back in and brought us this fish. My dad was an AVID, DIE-HARD fisherman. He lived to fish (and eat) : ). I gladly took the fish. I brought it in and told The Prairie Kid to grab a stool so he could watch me gut the fish. Here is a picture of the fish before I "took care" of it.

And for dinner tonight we made the cornmeal-battered trout that my dad used to make. It warmed my heart to get to do this today.
And this week I'm going to buy the same type of flies that the guys caught fish on and go fishing like my dad taught me to do (even though he used a spinning rod only and I will use a fly rod).

I miss you, Dad. Wish we could go fish together.

5 Year Old Phone Call

2011-06-18T13:42:00.003-06:00

The Prairie Kid asked me today if he could call his good friend. I said yes. He called and they chatted about toys, sleep overs, etc. And then, for the first time as a parent (and probably not the last!), I said "okay, it's about time to get off the phone!"

I heard my son wrapping up the conversation. He said he had to go. And then he said "I love you."

Silence.

Again, and with more persistence and a bit of questioning, "I love you."

I heard the voice on the other end slowly respond, "Okay."

"Don't you love me too?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay, Bye!"

"Bye!"

So sweet. But I don't think that he'll want to keep saying that at the end of all his phone conversations with his elementary school friends. It is bittersweet to see our kids grow up. Maybe he'll have a special resistance to caving to culture. : )

Seattle Fun 4- Alki Again!

2011-06-15T19:13:00.006-06:00

On our last full day in Seattle we all got to go to the beach together and enjoy a beautiful day. The boys definitely enjoyed their time in the sand...so much so that they had it EVERYWHERE! : )

Again, I had fun playing around with the new camera. Check out these action shots:

Sandy Somersaults

Jumping Fun

Feeding the Gulls

It looks like it might have been chilly in these pictures, but really it was pretty warm out. I was glad to finish our trip with some time outside.

Uncle buried the boys in the sand

There was some serious sand art taking place

They boys found some beach friends

He loves giving his sister kisses! (I wonder how much sand came out of that head of hair!)

Seattle Fun 3- Sunset at Alki

2011-06-14T20:42:00.008-06:00

After the Georgetown Carnival I surprised The Prairie Kid with a little trip down to Alki Beach for the sunset. He had been so good all day, sitting through a graduation and all, that I really wanted him to get to do something fun to end his day. Plus, he had lots of energy to release! He hasn't gotten to go to the beach much in his little life, so it was fun to get to share this with him. It was a beautiful evening as well!

He played and played. It was so sweet to see him having so much fun!

There was also a street performer who set up to do a performance where we were at. It was fun.He had quite the mark that he showed us on his back after the tire stunt : (

He let the kids mess around with his hula hoops after his little show

And he was nice enough to take a picture of me and my sweet boy

I took a gazillion pictures (I bought a new little point and shoot digital camera on my way to Seattle so I was having fun figuring it out).

Seattle Fun 2

2011-06-12T14:16:00.008-06:00

There was a graduation party for my nephew during the trip. It was nice enough outside for the kids to play for a quite awhile and my sister put on an incredible spread of food. It was nice to see friends and family. My step brother and his family came; I hadn't yet met their daughter.

Here are the two little girl cousins meeting each other

We teamed up with some other family members to give him a trip to Wyoming for graduation and revealed the gift through a homemade I Spy booklet

We got to ride on a ferry boat to his graduation the next day because he went to school on Vashon Island. The Prairie Kid loved riding on a boat.

My nephew is the tall kid walking under the flowers

After the graduation we headed back to Seattle and went to the area where my sister has her cafe. It was the day of the big carnival that happens there annually.

A happy boy at the Georgetown Carnival

My mom and her hubby

Seattle Fun

2011-06-10T10:10:00.005-06:00

The Prairie Kid and I are in Seattle again! We arrived on Tuesday night and it has been a full, eventful trip thus far! We came out here for my Big Nephew's graduation from high school (this is my oldest sister's son). My other sister decided to make it easy for all of us and had a due date to have a baby within 2 weeks of this event! Convenient, eh?

I have a great story about our trip out here but that'll have to wait for another day when I have more time to blog. Today, I'll share a snapshot of some of the things we've been up to.

Everyone is mesmerized with watching The Baby Girl (I may have even been accused of being a "vulture" when it comes to lingering and watching and gawking of The Baby)

She is about the sweetest thing EVER!
An outing to the zoo was a fun adventure for The Prairie Kid, The New Big Brother and myself.

After her first bath at home...

Okay, I'm going to continue our trip on the next post...

Jehovah Jireh

2011-05-12T12:10:00.000-06:00

I don't post much any more about my health. I still live with deep-rooted issues that no one can figure out. I've worked with 9 different practitioners, both conventional and natural, and there are very few answers. I get up 3-8 times a night to go to the bathroom. I have to take meds and supplements; I struggle with hormone imbalance and chronic fatigue. I go through phases of wanting desperately to find answers and/or have the Lord fully heal. At the same time, I am surrendered to His perfect will and timeline.

17 months ago I was at a place of great suffering with my health. It was then that I was going to start my job at the church. I didn't have a clue how I was going to be able to do this job but I knew God had told me to take it.

He clearly said, "Trust Me." And then I believe He told me what I needed to do for that sustenance.

I have experienced sustaining from the Lord throughout these 17 months. I have not missed one day of work because of my ongoing health issues. My root issues are not gone; I suffer from flares and have ups and downs in my health on a regular basis. However, He sustains. He is faithful and trustworthy.

I have continued to pray for His help with my physical issues. I have recently been asking for specific things. And He provides.

Just this week I was thrown a curve ball when I unexpectedly had to "lose" my entire Monday off. I ended up taking The Prairie Kid to school and spending most of the day at work. I thought, "Oh no! This is not good! I will crash by Thursday." My days of rest have been vital for me to get through the long, demanding duties of both my job and my role as a mom and wife. My schedule is a roller coaster, one day I run hard and the next I take time to rest. Up and down, up and down. And when I have to give up the rest it is really hard and sometimes I feel like I hit bottom.

I figured that would be the case this week. I prayed about it and asked the Lord to provide the energy, sustenance and balance I needed so that I wouldn't crash hard.

It is Thursday. I haven't crashed. : ) I am experiencing Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord will provide" in a very tangible way this week.

Thank You, Father. Thank You.

One Of My Favorite Nights

2011-05-12T11:42:00.000-06:00

This was the 3rd year that I was a part of the mid-week program at our church. Before I became a staff member I was a volunteer leader for this program. It is a ministry that requires much time, commitment, perseverance, and creativity. The program is offered Wednesday evenings from September until sometime in April to 2 year olds through 5th graders. It takes a team of 10-15 people to pull off, not including the dinner crew.

We began at 5:40 every Wednesday with our team meeting. Dinner was at 6 with up to 70 people eating in our church lobby and from 6:30 to 8:00 we offered programs that included music, drama, crafts, games, and much more.

This team becomes close; we go through many experiences together that create a tight bond. And at the end of the year we come together to celebrate what God has done.

The team dinner is one of my favorite nights of the year. It is a time for me to get to bless, pamper, and show love and appreciation to a team that has worked their tails off, faithfully served, and finished well. I know God is saying "well done my good and faithful servant" to each one of these treasured people.

I had a lot of fun getting the meal ready and as I did so was able to treasure up in my heart the blessing each of these team members is.

I wanted to make it a special evening and so I tried to set a very pretty table for them...

The menu was:

Caesar Salad
Ribeye Steak
Baked Potato
Broccoli Blasted
Iced Tea, Coffee, Water

And for dessert...

Amaretto Cheesecake Berry Trifle

garnished with a white chocolate cross and fanned strawberry

It was so neat to think about each of these wonderful people as I put together their dessert!

One of the small groups in our church volunteers to serve our dinner so that I can enjoy the meal with the team and not be running to and from the kitchen. They are a fun group and the men get really into it and put a white towel over their arm when they come to serve. We joked around and laughed. I had a little bit of steak left that I wanted to wrap up and take home. I teased that it'd better be packaged up in a foil swan.

They returned to the table with this...

What a hoot!

These are the times when I sit back and think "this is what the Body of Christ is supposed to be. Together we serve, love, grow, celebrate and give God the glory." Amen.

Scammed

2011-04-25T10:42:00.005-06:00

Our Nephew (who's 24 or 25) showed up a little after the family egg hunt had started. When he arrived someone told him that there was a hundred dollar bill in an egg somewhere. He began searching all throughout the yard.

At one point he asked "Is there really?" or something along those lines. I totally admit that I replied "Yeah, sure there is." It was too easy to tell him this so that we could continue watching him search. Free entertainment.

Hey Will, did you ever find the $100?

Glorious Day

2011-04-25T10:31:00.003-06:00

The Glorious Resurrection Sunday was a super day for our family.

We started out with an Easter basket

Had a great morning at church

Went to a buffet at the Irma with the family

Headed to Auntie's for another egg hunt

Played games and hung out
It was a blessed day

Eggventures

2011-04-25T10:02:00.002-06:00

Yep, it was Saturday morning and time for the annual egg hunt at the local used-to-be golf course. The Prairie Kid was crazy and wore short sleeves in 40 degrees. He seemed to be fine...I don't force the coat cause I'm not the one who has to be cold. I seriously think he has Norwegian genes that insulate.

The kiddos were waiting for the start...

And they're off!

Comparing loot...

Preschool buddies reunite!

More Eggciting Crafts

2011-04-25T09:57:00.001-06:00

After dying eggs we just weren't "Easter crafted out" yet. So, we got on familyfun.com and found some family fun for plastic eggs.

I especially enjoyed making the bunnies...

tail and all.

Eggcellent

2011-04-25T09:32:00.004-06:00

It was a fun time for The Prairie Kid and I to decorate eggs on Good Friday.

I boiled 2 dozen eggs for him this year. I was glad to find a kit that had little buckets for the dye too.

He had a blast...look at this kooky kid...

He dyed 20 in the time I was able to dye 4. I had to "shut him down" because he would have re-dipped every egg over and over and we would have had a bunch of brown eggs...blech. So, I gave him some coffee filters and he colored them for a little while.
I spent much time on mine. Here they are...
I even named my eggs...going from top left clockwise:
"The Simple Flower Egg"
"The Plaid Egg"
"The Drippy Artsy Egg"
and "The Traditional Egg"

Yes, I may have gotten a little carried away but it was fun. And The Prairie Kid appreciated my "named art" because he's asked me to tell him the names more than once.

♫ There's A Hole In Your Mouth ♪

2011-04-19T12:20:00.002-06:00

♪ dear Prairie Kid, dear Prairie Kid. A hole in your mouth, dear Prairie Kid, a hole. ♫

He was eating a quesadilla a little while ago and said "Owe! Mom, I'm bleeding!" And there it was, the loose tooth ready to come out. A minute later as I fumbled for the video camera saying "Don't pull it out yet!" I turned to find my son holding his tooth in his hand.

And there you have it, the first lost tooth.