Preg Testing

Saturday we did our annual preg testing of our cows.  This year we had 81 to test!  The vet was scheduled to come at 9:30am on what turned out to be a beautiful day!  Jared started getting everything ready early in the week.  He had to set up panels to make a makeshift alley, he had to fix fence, he had to divide the pen for cull cows and the main herd, he had to sort the numbers out and decide which ones should be culled and on top of all that he still had to feed the calves and cows!  It was a busy week for him!  But thank goodness he did it all before hand so we weren't rushing that morning. 

Saturday morning came and Dave, Char, Blake, Emry and I helped get the cows out of the their pen and into the alley, so much better having the new alley so all the cows can fit at once and we don't have to go back and get another group out of the pen.  It would take up so much of the vets time and he'd just be standing around waiting for us. Now things run so much more smoothly.

We were expecting Dirk to come preg test but his son, Stephen, came instead!! We were happy with the change as we really like working with Stephen.  Dave herded a group of cows into the squeeze and on we went! Char, Blake and Emry kept the cows moving through the shoot thingy, I recorded whether they were pregnant or not and wrote out new tags if they were needed, Jared ran the squeeze and gave ivomec, tagged them if needed and gave them a shot if needed too, and Stephen did his checking! 

We had 6 open (not pregnant) cows, only one of those being a heifer (a first year calver) and then we got rid of 8 others because of their attitude and behavior!  Some are a little aggressive which we don't like to keep if we can help it! We finally got rid of my favourite cow, she likes to jump while in the shoot and she could really hurt herself or someone on the cat walk.  She did it last year too and I convinced Jared to keep her telling him she was just spooked, but when she did it again this year he had to make a decision :(

This is similar to what my favourite cow looked like, I love the dark on their faces.

It was a crisp day with the wind but once the sun came out it was turned into a beautiful day.  After all the cows were run through we went to our house for some lunch!  I'm glad it turned out to be a successful day and all the preparation Jared did before hand sure made things run a lot smoother. 

What's Up

We have been pretty busy with basketball this past month.  Emry is loving it!!  She feels like one of the girls, and that is saying a lot since she doesn't go to school with them.  They haven't won any of their games, or even come close, but they are developing their skills and becoming more confident.  I can't believe how much Emry has come out of her shell.  In the last tournament we were at she stole the ball and made a fast break.  I was so proud of her!  She has even taken a few shots, missed, but she is trying.

Cows have been keeping us busy as usual.  Dave and Jared switch off weeks for feeding which is really nice.  We are getting ready to preg test for Saturday, I always enjoy doing this with the cows.

Calum is still doing karate and seems to be really enjoying it.  Armin had a playdate with his friend from Kindergarten on Monday and had loads of fun.  We were hardly in the car leaving their house when he was asking when he gets to go again!

I have been busy driving the girls basketball team to and from games and tournaments, so we have really been putting on the miles, thank goodness for a newer, more reliable vehicle to do this! Our house has taken a toll as I haven't been home as much as I'd like to keep it organized.  I still have the storage room to put together!!

Overall, as busy as we've been I wouldn't change it for anything.  I love spending this extra time with Emry while driving her everywhere, and Calum too after Karate, he is so chatty! I look forward to what will fill our time once basketball is done, or maybe I'll just enjoy being home more with my sweet little family!!

Starting Anew!

This year I have made the decision to get myself healthy, to lose some much added weight and to be happier with all I have.  So far, I have not succeeded in any of those categories :(  But I recently found a quote that made me reset my frame of mind...

NEPHI

Didn't give up

ESTHER

Didn't give up

JOSEPH

Didn't give up

YOU
Shouldn't give up

Follow in the footsteps of the courageous one who never gave up.

 



"Don't give up. Seek God with all your heart.  Exercise faith. Walk in righteousness.

I promise that if you will do this you will find faith.

And one day you will be filled with light that grows 'brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf-

 

So starting from this point forward my goals are back on track!  To get myself healthier I plan on eating better and exercising!  To be happier I plan on continuing to look for something I am thankful for each day.  I may not post it on Facebook but I'll still take that time to acknowledge what it is.  I will also take the time to say more meaningful prayers and be more accepting of others regardless of my previous attitude about them.

 

I look forward to all this year has to offer me.  2016 was a great year, I really enjoyed writing down something I was thankful for each day.  It helped me be more aware of my surroundings and those in it.  I didn't seem to get down on myself like I can because I was too busy looking for the positive in my day.  It was a great experience for me, one I won't soon forget!



Christmas 2016

This was a very quiet, yet fun filled Christmas!!!  Jared took the two days before Christmas off which was a nice start to the holidays!  While the kids were in school Thursday, he and I went into Lethbridge to pick up our Prime rib roast for Christmas day and some other groceries.  Boy am I ever glad we only had a couple of days to wait with the kids before Christmas came!  They were wired!  We set up a puzzle and a car model making station, so that kept everyone relatively busy.  I also had the kids decorate sugar cookies and make a gingerbread house. 

Christmas Eve we had Myrna over, we had appetizer foods, watched a movie and read "T'was the Night Before Christmas" before the kids sprinkled their reindeer food outside and put cookies and milk out for Santa.  Then it was time for bed.  They all went to sleep fast so Jared, Myrna and I visited for awhile before we too went to sleep.  All day it had been snowing big white fluffy flakes, so picturesque, a beautiful white Christmas!

Christmas morning came early, which was a good thing since we had church to be at by 10am!  We got right into opening presents and eating cinnamon rolls. The kids were all happy with all they got!! Armin had wanted a train lego set and got one.  Jared custom made an electric guitar for Calum which turned out to be so cool.  And Emry got a mini iPad. We all got ready for church and headed in.  The service was so nice, lots of musical numbers, Jared played the guitar while Leah and Emry sang Away in a Manger (so good!) and great speakers too.  It really helped me to remember why we celebrate this special time of year.

 

 

After church we came home and I started to get our dinner ready, Prime rib!! Emry and Myrna watched The Sound of Music while the boys built their lego sets and Jared worked on their model car.  My dad came too and helped where he could!!  Dinner was ready a little later than I had planned but it still turned out so yummy.  Myrna made the gravy, which was to die for.  My mom and Mark also came for dinner, we had a full house but was so fun to have everyone there.

 

 

Jared also had the week off after Christmas, so it was spent doing much of the same, puzzles, lego, and model car building.  He also took the kids "hooding" behind the quad, dealt with cow stuff and just hung out.  We spent a couple days during that week to celebrate Christmas with Myrna and the rest of the Puzey clan.  Again, Jared took the kids "hooding", they all had so much fun even though it was cold!!  We also went into the church to play basketball and had a nerf gun war!  Everyone had so much fun and there were minimal tears!!

 

New Year's Eve Calum woke up with the flu :( not fun.  So our plans to go to the city were put off until Monday!!  But we watched movies at home and rang in the New Year with the kids around 10pm!! They didn't seem to mind too much, they were tired!

Monday we took the kids to the city to go to a movie!  We split up because the boys were too scared to go see anything but Muana!! So Jared, Emry and Myrna went to Rogue One and the boys and I went to Muana!  It turns out both were really good and we were happy we split up!!  Later in the week the kids and Myrna and I went to see Sing with Rachel and her boys.  It too was cute!!! 

So that was our Christmas celebrations!! We are into a New Year, one I am excited about.  I plan on getting myself much healthier so I don't keel over when Jared and I do TREK with the youth in July!

Ward Christmas Party

At our annual Ward Christmas Party this year our kids had lots of parts in the program!  It was so fun to see them up there proud of what they were doing!  Calum and Armin both sang "Gingerbread Christmas", Calum was a baker and Armin was a gingerbread man.  Myrna made him the cutest costume!  Then Calum was in a skit about the ghost of Christmas past, present and future, the Activity Day kids wrote it themselves.  It was cute! The boys also sang "Once There Was a Snowman" with the Nursery kids. Emry was Mary in the Nativity with the rest of the youth.  She played a beautiful Mary!

After the program was finished we sang Christmas carols to call out Santa!  This is always a huge highlight for the kids!  Armin was right up there and sat on Santa's knee, he told him he would like kittens for Christmas!! Hopefully he's not too disappointed, we do have a cat who is pregnant and will likely have her kittens in the next couple of months, maybe we can convince him Santa was a little late!!  Calum wouldn't sit on Santa's knee but he did stand there and talk to him.  He also had to run outside to see if his sleigh was on the roof.  When he didn't see it he told me it wasn't Santa, but one of his helpers.  He noticed one of the dad's in our Ward was missing and had himself convinced he knew who Santa's helper was.

The meal was yummy as usual, the roast beef and gravy were to die for!  We weren't asked as a Ward to bring any desserts, that was a bit of a bummer!  I always love seeing everyone's best desserts spread out on the table!

My dad and my mom, Mark and Owen came to the party.  I was so happy to have them there!  I love spending time with my family and enjoy their company when we are together.  Another Christmas event marked off!  The School Concert is tonight and then we are finished with outings!  Christmas will be here before we know it!  I love this time of year, the busyness of the season.  The songs, the lights, the food!  Such a wonderful time of year to remember the birth of our Savior!

The Sounds of the Season

I just absolutely love this time of year.  The lights, the sounds, the smells!!  Everyone seems a little more kind to one another too!  Just a magical time of year!

Emry and Leah have been singing together a lot lately.  Their voices blend so beautifully together.  Jared has been accompanying them on the guitar and that too sounds so beautiful!  They sang for the Senior's Centre last night as entertainment for their Christmas Party.  There was such a special spirit about them.  They sang "What Child is This", "Silent Night" (my absolute favourite) and "Away in a Manger".  All three gave me goose bumps.  There is something about singing about the birth of our Savior that touches deep within my soul.  Such a wondrous night to have the Savior of the world born to bring us hope and peace.

I look forward to listening to the girls sing, they truly are filled with the Spirit of Christ.  And listening to Jared play the guitar is wonderful, I think it is my favourite instrument to listen to acoustically!

Again, such a magical time of year!  My favourite time of year!

Basketball

Last night Emry had her first Basketball game!  Though they didn't win, or even come close, they had fun and tried their best!

Emry was definitely a little timid but she started to move around and get open more by the end of the game.  She wasn't quite sure what to do with the ball when it was given to her and couldn't get rid of it fast enough!  Her skills will continue to grow as she practices more and her confidence will also increase as she asserts herself more.  It was nail biting to watch my girl out there on the court!  You don't realize just how vicious girls can be until you see elbows flying back and forth landing in someone's face!! OUCH!

Emry is number 15

Emry is having so much fun with these girls, something she just doesn't have in Champion.  She is playing on the Vulcan team because Champion didn't have enough people to make up a team.

I look forward to watching the rest of her games and seeing her grow and mature with each one.