Best Pals

Calum and Armin always seem to find their way to our bed between the hours of 3:30am and 6:30am!! Depending on what time they come up I will either stay and put up with the cramped space or I'll leave and seek refuge in one of their empty less crowded beds!! Well this particular morning I left because there were just too many hours left of good sleep to have it disrupted by little feet in the back!!! Jared came to tell me to look at the pictures on my iPad when he left for work, so grumpily I got up and took a look! I couldn't be angry with them any longer for kicking me out of my bed after I saw the pictures!!!!  They truly are precious little boys, especially when they are sleeping ;) I love how they are best pals and are always making up games to play with each other! I look forward to watching their relationship grow and develop.

I Was So Worried.....

My very favourite cow finally calved!!! I was so worried that she may have been one of the ones that aborted just as we started calving this year and that would result in her untimely demise :( being sold at next years auction!!!

We were down to the final 6 cows left to calve and still she hadn't...Jared came in Saturday afternoon and said I needed to come check cows with him?  I thought that request was a little odd since it was usually Emry who got to go out with him...so I quickly put my shoes on and off we went!!  He was not able to contain his excitement for me any longer and burst out with "Number 2 finally calved!"  Oh did my heart soar!  Jared told me that earlier in the afternoon she had gooey stuff coming out of her back end but he wasn't very hopeful since that can be a common occurrence for cows, then he went out a little later to check again and sure enough there was a new little guy laying beside her being licked off!!!!

She is my favourite because she still has the look of a Galloway cow, a blackish red colour around her eyes and down around her nose and a very beautiful tail, the hair hanging in ringlets, quite a distinctive look!!!  Our cows were bred to a Galloway bull their second year of being bred and she was the calf of one of our cows, we have had her ever since and she has always calved so I wasn't about to give up hope for her!!!  She made me proud and will be around to see another year on our farm!!

After watching her with her new little guy for awhile we went for a drive through the rest of the herd! My favourite calf this year is number 3, it looks like she is wearing eyeliner and her nose is black!! For a red calf she really stands out!!!  Since she is a heifer and we will most likely be keeping her to increase the size of our herd I am excited to see if these distinguishing features will stay with her as she grows!

Garden

On Victoria Day we decided to plant a garden!  I LOVE the idea of gardening and that's about as far as I get!!!  So this year Jared rota-tilled a spot in the garden plot behind Myrna's house and the five of us went out with a shovel, a rake and a hoe.  Jared found stakes and twine and I brought the seeds!  Emry got right in there and helped us plant the seeds and cover them with dirt.  The boys explored in the trees and played real life minecraft!!  It took hours to do it and it really isn't even that big of a garden!!  We planted some corn, beans, peas, potatoes, beets, carrots, lettuce, dill, chives, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, strawberries, raspberries and mint!!! We did a row of sunflowers and marigolds around the edge to make it look pretty and keep those pesky bugs away!!

Now I hope I will have the ambition I need to weed it regularly and it just might survive!!!

Excuse Me....

Jared went out to check and feed cows the other day and as he was headed over to the bales he noticed two little hooves sticking out of a cow, so he kept a close eye on her as he moved wires to give the cows fresh bales.  The next time he looked over at her the calf was hanging halfway out!! Upon looking closer Jared was sure the calf might be dead, it just looked so limp and the cow had made her way over to the bales and started eating. Jared went a little closer and as he came up to her back end the calf arched his back and was squinting his little eyes looking at the other cows!! Not dead, YAY!!!!! Jared went back to moving wires and the next time he looked the calf was lying on the ground covered in goo!!!!!  

Calving is such a special experience!! Witnessing new life truly is a miracle!!!!

Mother's Day

Being a mom is one of the toughest jobs I could ever have imagined. At 5:00pm you don't get to leave the drama at work. You deal with the petty arguments from the time the sun comes up till it sets and all is finally quiet in the house! You get to kiss boo boos and wipe tears, you clean up mess after mess after mess and again 10 minutes later. You get to wipe bums and wash hair, do the dishes and the laundry.  You get asked what is for supper then an instant "gross" when you answer. It's your fault when they can't find something.

 But after all that is said nothing can melt your heart more when you hear a little squeaky voice say "I love you mom!" And as much as I hate prolonging bedtime I love the quiet time when little dirt caked fingers entwine themselves in my hair and their breathing becomes slower and deeper and I know they have finally fallen asleep!! The innocence returns to their gleaming little faces and I am reminded of what it truly means to be a mother! And I am grateful Heavenly Father entrusted me to care for and guide these sweet little spirits in this rough and tumble world. Yes on a daily basis I feel extremely inadequate but I know I have the tools I need to press forward.

I have examples in two very amazing women...my mom and my mother in law (though I don't like the in law part since I truly consider her my mother in every sense of the word!!) they have shown me unconditional love and have supported decisions I have made without judgement. My mother in law has raised a son to be the perfect companion to me. Without Jared by my side I wouldn't be the woman I am today, we are still learning and may never totally get it right but we are doing it together. 

I have examples in my grandmothers, my aunts, my sisters and sisters in law and I have learned from the ladies in our church. This is a tough job, one I've wanted to give up on many times...but because I haven't and perservered I have been made stronger! 

My Mother's Day was a beautiful day!! I got to spend it with four of my favourite people!! Jared made me a smoothie and brought it to me in bed, he let me sleep in while he got the boys ready for church! After church he and Emry made a very yummy dinner, bbq hamburgers and fruit and veggies!! They also cleaned up after while I read my book!!! I had made dessert the day before and it turned out to be super delicious...a key lime cheesecake!!!!  Later in the evening we went over to Grandma Puzey's and shared dessert with them too, super yummy chocolate dessert!!!!! We finished the day off watching our favourite family show " Heartland!"

Despite the hardships that come with being a mother I am grateful for the three children I have who call me mom!!

Stake Activity Day

At the end of April Myrna and I and the rest of the Stake Primary Presidency put on an activity for the 8-11 year old girls!  Our theme was "Happy to Be Me!"  Myrna had a great vision of how she wanted the day to play out and I think it came together absolutely perfectly!

We had three stations the girls would rotate through:

1) Happy to Give Service
The girls each made cards of encouragement to give to patients suffering in the hospital and thank you cards to give to Police and Firefighters for all they do to keep us safe!

2) Happy to Be Creative
The girls were given 6 cupcakes already baked and they were taught how to ice them!  They were also able to put sprinkles on them...I couldn't believe how many sprinkles some of the girls managed to put on top of their iced cupcake!

3) Happy to Be A Child of God
The girls were given a short spiritual message of how important it is to know they truly are a child of God.  After the message they each decorated a plaque to hang in their rooms that said "Happy to Be Me"!!

We provided lunch for each of the girls and their leaders!  We had the tables set in all pastel colours with a box filled with their lunch at each place setting!  We fed them ham croissants, a juice box, cookies, grapes and chips!!  They were also given a baggie of salt water taffy!!  All the colours made the gym really pop!! Myrna had spent countless hours making tissue paper flowers to decorate with and Cora willingly put them all up for us!

I know Emry had so much fun and she said she really did feel like a child of God!!  This was probably her last Stake Activity Day...depending on when we have it next year!  I am thankful for the opportunity I have to work so closely with Myrna in this calling!  I can truly tell how much she loves each of these precious children, this really has been a great experience for me and has helped me step out of my comfort zone!

More than 2 Hands Old!!!!

Emry turned 11 yesterday....WHAT?  I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how much things change in such a short time!  All Emry wanted for her birthday was to have all her Aunts, Uncles, cousins and Grandparents home to celebrate!  And as it turned out everyone was able to come with the exception of Grandpa!! But he had a good reason...being out of the country!  She requested Salmon for dinner but we steered her to a less expensive choice so she decided on Spaghetti!!  I have a really amazing spaghetti sauce recipe that I have a made once before and everyone who came pitched in with the side dishes!! We had jello pretzel salad, veggies and dip, a caesar salad and watermelon!  And for dessert Emry asked for her very favourite...Cheesecake!  I also tried a mint lemonade slush and it turned out to be quite a hit!!!  The blog I got the recipe from said people will be asking "What is that?"  And I got that very response from my mom!!!  She came up to me and asked "What is that?" I told her how I made it and how easy it was to get that oh so refreshing taste!!!  Because Emry loves the color lime green I tried to decorate using that colour!  I found lime green straws and bought all green coloured candies to fill my candy jar with! I tied green ribbon around some of the milk bottles I have and attached a "happy birthday" banner!!  I think she appreciated it!  She instantly knew why I had all green stuff!!

Despite our best efforts to tell everyone all Emry wanted was to have everyone together each family still brought her a gift...to say she was spoiled is an understatement!  She was thrilled with all the gifts she received!  I think her most prized possession is her new art set from Grandma Puzey, she has been drawing non stop!

I am so grateful for the amazing girl she is...she is so helpful with the boys and around the house and if we can't find her right away we know to look in the barn or the shed where the cats and kittens are hiding.  She is always right beside her Dad when he is working on the farm, I think her favourite pastime is checking the cows!  I think we have a true farm girl on our hands...she has just informed me that she really does want to do beef 4H next year and take care of her very own calf!!  She could do it too!!!  I still have a hard time believing she is 11, this is her last year in Primary...YIKES!!  She is growing up too fast but I like seeing the changes in her and watching her as she grows and matures...she is over 5 foot tall and doesn't seem to be slowing down.  I look forward to what the years ahead bring!  She truly is my favourite girl and I am grateful to have been blessed with such a strong willed and determined daughter!!  I love you Emry!!