Friday, February 28, 2014
A storm trooper
I was Hunter's best friend after I sat with him at the kitchen table and helped him make this mask. He was such a sweet boy! He even did a happy clap when we were done which no one in the house does except me! And he snuggled up to me all night long telling me I was the best mom that ever lived.
We are planning on making a lot more masks together.
Not good
I was so excited to go and get a pedicure with a friend! It would be the first time that sort of thing happened in Utah!
It was so bizarre!
First of all, the gal who was going to give me my pedicure came in with a bucket of warm water. And I was not sure if I was just going to soak my feet in that or what? That is not really what I am used to. Or anyone for that matter. Right!? When you go get a pedicure, you sit down and you put your feet into a hot tub of water which is a permanent fixture!
So my friend and I are sitting there with our feet in a plastic tub of water on a vibrating mobile rolling cart. Later my friend told me that her one wheel kept on unlocking and the whole cart kept slipping away!
Then, both of the girls giving the pedicures put on rubber gloves. Maybe it has been a really long time since my last pedicure and this is the new way of doing it, but it was kind of weird to watch her put her rubber gloves on before she touched my feet!
So not to be too critical, I suppose it was an OK pedicure. Actually, I cannot even say that!
Normally, there is a ton of nail polish to pick from. The give you a bunch of samples colors that are painted on a little nail polish swatch. They had a plastic box of nail polish to pick from. And a brand I had never heard of before.
The girl who gave me my pedicure spent so much time getting the nail polish off my toe skin that I thought it would actually be an OK pedicure.
They did not have any disposable flip flops. Luckily, I had brought my own which I do not normally do. But my friend had to walk to her car barefoot in February!
By the time I got home, mind you it was a 30 minute drive, my toes were so tacky it was like gum! And I had already smudged two toes.
I sent my friend a text message and said I had already ruined my pedicure. I truly did laugh my ass off when she sent me a text message back with a picture of her demolished big toenail! Asking what kind of nail polish that was!?
I waited 3 hours for that nail polish to dry. And by that time my feet were freezing! So by the time I got into bed I had to put on a pair of socks! So by the morning not only was all the nail polish smudged - it was kind of furry!
So, needless to say, I did have to stop at the dollar store the next day and buy some nail polish remover. I really do want my $35 back!
And then the other really bizarre thing was that the girls giving the pedicures asked us if we knew anyone who gave massages. I said no. Then I went on to tell about the one and only, very strange massage I got in a nearby town .
Normally, I think this is pretty normal everywhere, you fill out some paperwork. That paper work includes any kind of area you want focused on, any aches or pains you have, your history, if you have ever had a massage before, things of this nature.
Well, at this place I went to, 1 of the additional questions was if I understood that this massage was not a sexual service. I didn't know if I should start laughing or leave or what! And usually when I am uncomfortable, I make a joke so that is what I did. I looked up with the lady and I said that the massage was certainly not sexual for me and I just wanted to clarify that was not for her because obviously that something someone is thinking about here!
She told me that she had to add that because in some areas it is assumed you might be able to get a little something extra.
So, here I am getting one of the worst pedicures of my life, telling this story. And one of the girls says to me that they actually had a woman drop off a resume. On her resume, it stated that for a little extra money she offered special services to men. It was actually on her resume! Can you believe that!? I mean who are these people!
I mean I just have to laugh! I guess when I am so totally exhausted and overwhelmed and all I want to do is sleep, I will just have to get Scott a massage somewhere!
Just kidding!
New places
I love how there are just all these dirt roads of the main road that you can take and go exploring. There have been a couple that have been calling to me, so one afternoon we went exploring.
It was one of those days that the weather was beautiful, the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining and we just needed to get out of the house.
Hunter had had a pretty bad day and not really want to participate in anything. He just said he wanted to go home and play Star Wars. Which, by the way, is what he would prefer to do all the time. So he had a pretty negative attitude the whole way up this dirt road.
When we got up there it really was absolutely breathtaking. We all got out and just stood and looked around. And Hunter seemed to have forgotten all about Star Wars and drink in the beauty all around us.
Then he turned to me and said, " Mom, I just love it up here. I can actuallys just feel free here". He says actuallys inside instead of actually!
He spent the rest of the time we were up there widdling using his new knife Katie gave him for Christmas.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
It's official
At the new school the kids will be attending next year, there is a place on all the paperwork for the kids to sign that they agree to all of their new responsibilities. There are different things such as a green to follow the rules and be respectful and always be kind.
So I made a big deal about it. We all read them together and I had the kids give some examples of what they thought it meant and then they signed.
I, for one, am feeling really good about this decision. Although it has not been an easy one to make overall, there are certainly parts that have made it quite easy.
I can see that Katie really needs to have a lot of time away from her brothers! And to be honest, so do I! Not in a bad way, just some time away. That's it. I can also send that Katie just needs to hear these academic lessons and messages from someone else. They are playing too much on me being mom which makes it that much harder for me being teacher.
I can see Hunter needs to learn to hold himself in more. And hasn't that always been Hunter's problem! I think we swaddled him until he was about 7 months because he could not hold himself together. And the same is true now. When he gets frustrated, he acts out, is verbally obnoxious and just is not able to hold himself in. So he will have a quiet struggle while learning to hold himself in next year. So I am well aware that after school we will need to do a lot of out-breath activities!
The struggle between me and Hunter has gotten to be exhausting for me. He fights me on just about everything and it is really starting to show up now in his academics. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be fine and will catch up to where he needs to be when he cannot argue so much with his teacher! And doing the work simply becomes what everyone else is doing and the expectation given from someone other than a parent.
And then there is my sweet little Benjamin! He works hard and wants to please. But when I look at Benjamin I know he needs to have some time away from his brother and from me. He needs to find his own person in there. I think that is hard to do when he continues to do what he thinks I want him to do or what his brother wants to do. So I'm very excited to see the person that emerges from Benjamin with this new found sense of freedom he will get at school next year.
When we have good days, I would not exchange them for anything. But certainly the bad ones can be pretty bad. I am excited for them to have something of their own without me. I thought about getting a job at the school next year because they are hiring and then concluded that I think for their first year there it will be best that we all find our own way and where we fit all on our own. I don't feel it is that much about letting go, but rather about encouraging them to find themselves in a new place. And I truly believe that the time I have shared with them for these last two years has solidified their ability to be able to still be true to themselves and know who they are and fit no matter what new place they end up in.
Everyone is just ready.
It is also time for us to be part of some type of community here. Not that we are completely isolated living in the mountains. We are not! The kids have many friends. We get together and play quite often with friends. However, it will be nice to just volunteer in the classroom instead of having to be responsible for the entire classroom myself. I can just help with homework instead of designing what the homework will be. So I am excited to be part of an already established community versus having to create a school community in my own home.
Overall, these changes will be big. But with big change comes many beautiful outcomes and opportunities that would not arrive otherwise without the shift that comes with that change.
Yikes!
I hope this is not an indication of what is to come in his teenage years! It is amazing what you can do with a few magnetic cubes!
Scott had some of the magnetic cubes under the kitchen table and left one on top of the table. Then he pretended he was using "the force." The force is something Hunter is using on a regular basis! When we are driving and the light turns green and we do not have to stop, he says he used to force. That is just one example of many!
Scott had the magnetic cube hopping all over the kitchen table. As he did he had his hand held out like he was transmitting the force. Ben fell for it and Hunter started laughing and just looked under the table and told Scott he knew exactly what he was doing!
Great times
My dad had some things to get done in Salt Lake City, so when he was done he came down for a visit. We all just love hanging out with him! There are such good laughs we all have, enjoy each others company, good meals, good drinks and just the timeshare together. I am so grateful that he comes to visit so often.
Hiking with Katie and Snorty
Katie had it pretty easy, but Snorty and I were really puffing! But when we got up to the gate, there was a herd of 150 elk. We were not sure why Snorty was snorting until we got there and saw the elk. He really lived up to his name! He does snort at new things.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Katie decorating Scott's cake
I got Katie this frosting decorator for Valentine's day and this was the first time she used it.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Luke Skywalker
It is amazing what you can do with one of your dads t shirts! And yes, Hunter has been wearing this outfit for days. He wakes up each morning and asks if we think he should be Luke or Han.
Only 18 months
When we first moved here, I spent a day and made the rounds. One of the stops I made was at the public library. Now I would certainly think that most anyone could get a library card, but that is not the case here! And was told I could not get a library card.
Now I know it sounds ridiculous when I say it, but it actually just brought me to tears. It had been a long day and place after please pretty much the answer I always received was a no in some shape or another. And this was the last stop!
But I am happy to report that it only took 18 months, but we officially have a library card in the town of Nephi!! We can only check out one book for a person for the next 3 months, but we will take it! Its weird, but the other two library cards I have in different cities, it is the same thing. There must be some sort of epidemic of people not returning library books.
Fun little projects
Just using up stuff we have packed up and moved with us for about the last three houses! This is Ben's hand print with some sea glass from PR for the finishing touch!
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Yikes!
You have to love mud to live here! The kids and I always joke that there are still four seasons here....
dust, mud, snow and fly season!!!
This is even the area that the county worked on! Of course, they did not finish... not even half way! Their plan was to bring in a bunch of material and build up the road base and create an area along side where the water could run.
Obviously, THAT is not what the water decided to do!
And it's only February!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Looking like home
There are definitely two ways of doing things at our house. One would be MY way and the other would be Scott's way. Neither of us is right, just the way we prefer to do things.
So when I went to hang all these family pictures, Scott's suggestion was to lay them all out before I start hanging them. He's much more of a stud finder/tape measure kind of guy.
But that's not really MY way. So I nodded and said that was a good idea, but that's not what I did. ;)
MY way was to just start hanging them! Just stand back, get a feeling for it and go for it. Now sometimes that way does not always work out, but it did this time!
Whew!
Letting Go- pouring it out
So, I suppose in a way this blog is becoming more like a journal and have decided, in the New Year, to use it more like one. I mean, maybe not posting all my personal thoughts and feelings, but doing a little more writing here than before.
I have to be honest and say that probably one of the reasons I have not written much and have merely posted pictures for so long is because who really wants to read about my struggling to settle in here. Plus, it opens a whole can of worms for other people to think and judge and conclude that maybe THIS big of a life change was not a good one and it all was a mistake. I have never felt as though moving here was a mistake, but rather more like I struggled so deeply with feeling settled, feeling like I (and all of us really) were part of a community - that we mattered to anyone who lived here, that we were part of something greater than just our little family.
There certainly are a lot of ways in which we do not fit. And I can embrace that, however, there is a fine line of then just not fitting - and a huge difference between not fitting in as an adult and not fitting in as a child. And I would hate to think that we ever caused some sort of disservice to our children by wanting to create this unique childhood that backfired on us!
For a very long time I have felt like I have been hovering over my life - not really living deeply into anything, let alone myself, and just going through the motions. (which is actually quite ironic because that, in itself, defeats our original motivation to move here in the first place!) Over Christmas break, I had two experiences that solidified that and ultimately, have deeply motivated me to change.
I have to see my GI doctor once a year to renew my prescription for reflux. He's always asking about how things are going, etc. typically doctor stuff. I was not completely honest - I was not going to pour my heart out to him with what I have been struggling with....he's not THAT kind of doctor! But when I finally got done talking (with all my long winded answers) he just looked at me and said that I sound very complacent about my life here in Utah and that I am really good at creating a mask. I have to admit, I was a bit dumbfounded, yet grateful someone finally just called me out on it! Because what a terrible thing to be about your life....complacent!!
The other situation was with the woman that did all that energy work. She said to me (without much information from me) that she sensed I had this cord attached to the front of me and was living my life "out here" (and then waved her hand out in front of her face back and forward). And I just sat there thinking about how long I had been telling Scott that I don't feel "in" my life, like I am hovering over it. And she could "sense" that, almost immediately. She continued by saying that it has been a very long time since I have been "in" my body. (actually then later when she was working on me and guiding me back into my body - I actually felt sick to my stomach. She said that was probably because it has been a long time since I have been there and that now it's uncomfortable, like being lost in a foreign country).
I felt sad about those two things. I felt like not only do I owe myself more than that, but also the people closest to me, who are watching and learning how to step forth into their own lives. What a terrible example that is! And for a long time, this fear - like this small demon festering deep in me- that tells me I am not good enough, I am not being the kind of mother I dreamed I would be- simply that I was not enough, was all I could hear. And then the days would get to be like just another failure, just another way to prove I was not enough.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and just stood there and said to yourself, " I have enough. I do enough. I AM enough." and truly believe it! It's harder than you think! And when the spiritual assignment is to do it 50-100 times a day - well, at first that just seemed crazy! But the more you tell yourself something, the more real it truly does become....which is why we should all be VERY CAREFUL about what we tell ourselves!
So, I am making some conscious changes in my life.
I find that I NEED to exercise. I have to get away from the house and burn off some steam. There is nothing I cannot accomplish with Dance Cardio on Pandora!! I have found a new love for yoga. What a great way to land deeply into your body! And I can feel myself in there....in warrior three, while I am balancing on one leg, the other outstretched behind me, with arm outstretched in front, flat back...and I focus on pulling my arms and leg as far apart as I can - well, I cannot help but be present in myself. And I truly do feel like as I am stretching my body, I am making room for more good - like opening a space for love and light to come in.
I have gone back to being 100% gluten free....well, maybe 95%. But my whole body feels better. Even the energy lady commented about how all my "dis- ease" is settled into my stomach "your stomach is on fire. you just cannot stomach anymore". So, this is just a great way for me to get back on track of just physically feeling well.
Those are really those physically things a person can do to feel better, but I also feel there is a lot of inner work I need to focus on as well.
BIG DECISION- this will be my last year of home schooling. I will tell more about that later, however, the resistance I am getting from the kids (well, Kate and Hunter) is just not worth it. And I just want to be mom - not teacher (in that way) any more. It's like labor...when you are pregnant and asking how will you know you are in labor and the answer is always the same "OH- you'll know!". Moving on from home schooling is the same....you know. I'll expand more later, but in short, that will lead to many inner transformations for me.
#1 ranch woman - while the kids and Scott were gone, I really was the #1 ranch woman. After Scott got back, I told him that THAT was really the first time I truly felt like things were how they were suppose to be for me here. It was beautiful. The elk were up on the hill behind me, just hanging out and I just sat there for a moment and watch their majestic movements. And I felt this warm wave of peacefulness wash over me. It was as though just being totally present in that moment made me totally present in my life and it really did feel great! I felt connected to the Earth and all that was around me and for that moment- could feel its beauty and serenity as if we were one.
In conclusion, I suppose it is true that we never know what lies ahead. And certainly, as a parent, we do the best with what we think at the time, which I guess is really the case with everything. What is it- at the end- that makes us happy? I don't know. But what I have started to feel is myself opening and being able to forgive myself for my mistakes and downfalls and just step into my life with gratitude for my life itself. And that feels good.
In the end, we all end up on our death beds, right? What will my very last thought in this life be?
I think it will be love - love of those special people in my life, of all the wonderful life experiences I had while living and a love of myself. If "God" is everywhere and there is nowhere he is not, then "God" is in me and that means by loving myself as best I can, I am in turn loving all things. There is a connectedness in all things I have been overlooking for a long time. And to overlook that and not live in that connectedness is a rather lonely place to be.
This is from an unknown author:
"A monk was being chased by a tiger. He came to the edge of a cliff. He looked back-the tiger was almost upon him. Noticing a vine leading over the cliff, he quickly crawled over the edge and began to let himself down, then as he checked below, he saw two tigers waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and observed that two mice were gnawing away at the vine. Just then he saw a beautiful strawberry within arm's reach. He picked it and enjoyed the best tasting strawberry of his whole life."
Think of it like this:
The tigers are not outside of us, they are not something that happens to us.
They are us.
These tigers are the thoughts and thinking that back us into a corner. The thoughts that hinder us from reaching our greatest potential in all we do. It is not about what others do to us, but rather what we do to ourselves. The mice chewing away at that vine is our own Self sabotaging itself and its capacity for happiness. So that leaves us with the strawberry. How often do we overlook the sweetness of life - the joy within any given moment because we are too caught up in something else.
So - here's to the very best tasting strawberry - every day!
I have to be honest and say that probably one of the reasons I have not written much and have merely posted pictures for so long is because who really wants to read about my struggling to settle in here. Plus, it opens a whole can of worms for other people to think and judge and conclude that maybe THIS big of a life change was not a good one and it all was a mistake. I have never felt as though moving here was a mistake, but rather more like I struggled so deeply with feeling settled, feeling like I (and all of us really) were part of a community - that we mattered to anyone who lived here, that we were part of something greater than just our little family.
There certainly are a lot of ways in which we do not fit. And I can embrace that, however, there is a fine line of then just not fitting - and a huge difference between not fitting in as an adult and not fitting in as a child. And I would hate to think that we ever caused some sort of disservice to our children by wanting to create this unique childhood that backfired on us!
For a very long time I have felt like I have been hovering over my life - not really living deeply into anything, let alone myself, and just going through the motions. (which is actually quite ironic because that, in itself, defeats our original motivation to move here in the first place!) Over Christmas break, I had two experiences that solidified that and ultimately, have deeply motivated me to change.
I have to see my GI doctor once a year to renew my prescription for reflux. He's always asking about how things are going, etc. typically doctor stuff. I was not completely honest - I was not going to pour my heart out to him with what I have been struggling with....he's not THAT kind of doctor! But when I finally got done talking (with all my long winded answers) he just looked at me and said that I sound very complacent about my life here in Utah and that I am really good at creating a mask. I have to admit, I was a bit dumbfounded, yet grateful someone finally just called me out on it! Because what a terrible thing to be about your life....complacent!!
The other situation was with the woman that did all that energy work. She said to me (without much information from me) that she sensed I had this cord attached to the front of me and was living my life "out here" (and then waved her hand out in front of her face back and forward). And I just sat there thinking about how long I had been telling Scott that I don't feel "in" my life, like I am hovering over it. And she could "sense" that, almost immediately. She continued by saying that it has been a very long time since I have been "in" my body. (actually then later when she was working on me and guiding me back into my body - I actually felt sick to my stomach. She said that was probably because it has been a long time since I have been there and that now it's uncomfortable, like being lost in a foreign country).
I felt sad about those two things. I felt like not only do I owe myself more than that, but also the people closest to me, who are watching and learning how to step forth into their own lives. What a terrible example that is! And for a long time, this fear - like this small demon festering deep in me- that tells me I am not good enough, I am not being the kind of mother I dreamed I would be- simply that I was not enough, was all I could hear. And then the days would get to be like just another failure, just another way to prove I was not enough.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and just stood there and said to yourself, " I have enough. I do enough. I AM enough." and truly believe it! It's harder than you think! And when the spiritual assignment is to do it 50-100 times a day - well, at first that just seemed crazy! But the more you tell yourself something, the more real it truly does become....which is why we should all be VERY CAREFUL about what we tell ourselves!
So, I am making some conscious changes in my life.
I find that I NEED to exercise. I have to get away from the house and burn off some steam. There is nothing I cannot accomplish with Dance Cardio on Pandora!! I have found a new love for yoga. What a great way to land deeply into your body! And I can feel myself in there....in warrior three, while I am balancing on one leg, the other outstretched behind me, with arm outstretched in front, flat back...and I focus on pulling my arms and leg as far apart as I can - well, I cannot help but be present in myself. And I truly do feel like as I am stretching my body, I am making room for more good - like opening a space for love and light to come in.
I have gone back to being 100% gluten free....well, maybe 95%. But my whole body feels better. Even the energy lady commented about how all my "dis- ease" is settled into my stomach "your stomach is on fire. you just cannot stomach anymore". So, this is just a great way for me to get back on track of just physically feeling well.
Those are really those physically things a person can do to feel better, but I also feel there is a lot of inner work I need to focus on as well.
BIG DECISION- this will be my last year of home schooling. I will tell more about that later, however, the resistance I am getting from the kids (well, Kate and Hunter) is just not worth it. And I just want to be mom - not teacher (in that way) any more. It's like labor...when you are pregnant and asking how will you know you are in labor and the answer is always the same "OH- you'll know!". Moving on from home schooling is the same....you know. I'll expand more later, but in short, that will lead to many inner transformations for me.
#1 ranch woman - while the kids and Scott were gone, I really was the #1 ranch woman. After Scott got back, I told him that THAT was really the first time I truly felt like things were how they were suppose to be for me here. It was beautiful. The elk were up on the hill behind me, just hanging out and I just sat there for a moment and watch their majestic movements. And I felt this warm wave of peacefulness wash over me. It was as though just being totally present in that moment made me totally present in my life and it really did feel great! I felt connected to the Earth and all that was around me and for that moment- could feel its beauty and serenity as if we were one.
In conclusion, I suppose it is true that we never know what lies ahead. And certainly, as a parent, we do the best with what we think at the time, which I guess is really the case with everything. What is it- at the end- that makes us happy? I don't know. But what I have started to feel is myself opening and being able to forgive myself for my mistakes and downfalls and just step into my life with gratitude for my life itself. And that feels good.
In the end, we all end up on our death beds, right? What will my very last thought in this life be?
I think it will be love - love of those special people in my life, of all the wonderful life experiences I had while living and a love of myself. If "God" is everywhere and there is nowhere he is not, then "God" is in me and that means by loving myself as best I can, I am in turn loving all things. There is a connectedness in all things I have been overlooking for a long time. And to overlook that and not live in that connectedness is a rather lonely place to be.
This is from an unknown author:
"A monk was being chased by a tiger. He came to the edge of a cliff. He looked back-the tiger was almost upon him. Noticing a vine leading over the cliff, he quickly crawled over the edge and began to let himself down, then as he checked below, he saw two tigers waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and observed that two mice were gnawing away at the vine. Just then he saw a beautiful strawberry within arm's reach. He picked it and enjoyed the best tasting strawberry of his whole life."
Think of it like this:
The tigers are not outside of us, they are not something that happens to us.
They are us.
These tigers are the thoughts and thinking that back us into a corner. The thoughts that hinder us from reaching our greatest potential in all we do. It is not about what others do to us, but rather what we do to ourselves. The mice chewing away at that vine is our own Self sabotaging itself and its capacity for happiness. So that leaves us with the strawberry. How often do we overlook the sweetness of life - the joy within any given moment because we are too caught up in something else.
So - here's to the very best tasting strawberry - every day!
The last morning of quiet
Scott and I are headed down to Beaver - yes, there really is a town called Beaver- to pick up the kids this morning. They have been with the Noll's for about 10 days and it has been so quiet here! It's also been pretty darn clean....although had to smile to myself when Scott got back and the very next morning his cereal bowl was sitting there on the counter!
Our main focus this week has been the basement - painting and tiling. Neither one of us are looking forward to grouting, so we have procrastinated that. It really does look great. We did not tile the entire basement. The areas we did tile are the space where the wood burning stove will sit (which by the way should arrive this week!) and whole area in front of the double doors which flows into the bar area and then there is another whole area that is tiled in the far corner where we eventually plan to put a pool table. The bar area is going to ROCK! We are thinking the top of the bar will be a giant piece of wood we have specifically cut from a lumber yard and the under part of the bar will be something like barn board or old weathered cedar. It will be a great space when we are done!
I am just sitting here having coffee. Scott already left and is hoping to barrel through the foot of slush on the road to go and feed cows. Guess we will see if he makes it. We were just talking about how when the kids are gone for so long and then when they come back how much they seem to have changed! They just seem so much older!
I could not help but conclude three things while they were gone - I really do value having (and maintaining) a clean house...it makes my brain feel in order to have things on the outside also in order, I would be much more fit (I went to the gym almost every day!) and I would not nearly have to buy so much food! Although maybe when I think about it, I would not be more fit because one night we really did have cake for dinner....just because we could (and I did not have to make anything for anyone!)
We certainly appreciate Bob and Deb having the kids for this little vacation! I know how special their relationship is with each one of the kids and am glad it works out that they can have this time together. I never really had a relationship with my grandparents the way our kids do with the Noll's. They really are those awesome grandparents! And our kids will grow up with wonderful memories of their shared time together. They'll also probably have a few things they will forever associate with them as well, such as strawberries and cream for breakfast and coffee cake! But what tender memories they will have of time shared, of laughs and just the truth of living deeply into being a grandparent and drinking it all in and truly loving every moment shared.
Our main focus this week has been the basement - painting and tiling. Neither one of us are looking forward to grouting, so we have procrastinated that. It really does look great. We did not tile the entire basement. The areas we did tile are the space where the wood burning stove will sit (which by the way should arrive this week!) and whole area in front of the double doors which flows into the bar area and then there is another whole area that is tiled in the far corner where we eventually plan to put a pool table. The bar area is going to ROCK! We are thinking the top of the bar will be a giant piece of wood we have specifically cut from a lumber yard and the under part of the bar will be something like barn board or old weathered cedar. It will be a great space when we are done!
I am just sitting here having coffee. Scott already left and is hoping to barrel through the foot of slush on the road to go and feed cows. Guess we will see if he makes it. We were just talking about how when the kids are gone for so long and then when they come back how much they seem to have changed! They just seem so much older!
I could not help but conclude three things while they were gone - I really do value having (and maintaining) a clean house...it makes my brain feel in order to have things on the outside also in order, I would be much more fit (I went to the gym almost every day!) and I would not nearly have to buy so much food! Although maybe when I think about it, I would not be more fit because one night we really did have cake for dinner....just because we could (and I did not have to make anything for anyone!)
We certainly appreciate Bob and Deb having the kids for this little vacation! I know how special their relationship is with each one of the kids and am glad it works out that they can have this time together. I never really had a relationship with my grandparents the way our kids do with the Noll's. They really are those awesome grandparents! And our kids will grow up with wonderful memories of their shared time together. They'll also probably have a few things they will forever associate with them as well, such as strawberries and cream for breakfast and coffee cake! But what tender memories they will have of time shared, of laughs and just the truth of living deeply into being a grandparent and drinking it all in and truly loving every moment shared.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Relieved
Yes! I have to admit I did feel a lot of relief after I got all my jobs done.
This is me, another selfie, in front of the diesel truck. At first, I was pretty sure it was not going to start. And there was a pretty terrible sound as I was starting it and I thought I was going to be out of luck. But I called Scott, he talked me through it, & I got her started.
I got the tractor started by myself. Even got the generator started to start the tractor. I said 3 bales of hay to each group of cows. I got the diesel truck started, thawed out the water line and gave all the cows water.
Yes! It is true. Today, I am the number one ranch woman! It only took me four and a half hours. And I am exhausted. But I am still going to go and get my hair done!
Everybody's thirsty!
The heifers ran out of water yesterday. Scott said they would be fine and they are. We got some snow yesterday, about 8 inches, and that helps. But when they saw me pull in with the water truck, they all came walking over like they could not be happier to see me.
This worked!
This is my solution to not having to use the torch. I found ladies glove in the back of the car and I put it on the lock. Today, when I went to unlock the gate, it worked! I did not have to use the torch to heat up the lock.
You see! Every lock needs a little glove to keep it warm at night.
I did it!
So, these are the cows. They are good girls and do not go outside of the gate, but rather follow the tractor wherever it goes. Not only did I feed them this bale of hay, I also then cut the line and scattered the hay all around so they did not have to eat off the bail. Otherwise, there are some that get to eat all the food and others that don't get very much. And I did it!
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