Tragedy Strikes

First of all...I have lost my sunglasses!!! I am in the depths of despair!!! I've had them for YEARS!!! They are my all-time favorite sunglasses!!! I'm hoping I left them at the Church last night. AND I'm hoping like crazy that there is a lost and found at the Church. AND that some gracious soul has put my sunglasses in it where I can hopefully happily find them on Sunday!!! I am a little worried that they might have slipped out of my purse in the Church parking lot. They have a black case...some unsuspecting motorist may have run them over and crushed them to bits...I'm trying to only think positive thoughts so I'll move on...

Yesterday started with a bang! I took Son #5 to the Church to help with the Young Women's girls camp fund-raiser. Someone had come up with the idea of making and selling tamales for a fund-raiser...let me just tell you now folks...if anyone you know ever comes up with this idea...DO NOT FALL FOR IT!!! AND if you happen to see a lady selling tamales...BUY THEM!!! She has literally worked her fanny off making them!!!

SO - we arrive at the Church to find the janitor with a contorted face asking what we are doing...we tell the janitor only to be met with an angry face who says "but this is my day to clean." Sorry, Charlie, it was our day to learn that we never want to make tamales again.

See Tuesday night a wonderful crew of ladies went to the Church to make the meat for the tamales and they tucked it safely in the fridge. Unbeknownst to them, the fridge WAS NOT working!!! ALL of the meat they had worked so hard to prepare was RUINED!!!This brings us to yesterday morning...and Son #5 who was more than willing to help us start over at square one...

Our heroes...Angela and Saundra...they were not only our teachers but our source of determination. We were ready to chuck the entire tamale idea but they were relentless...they wouldn't let us give up! (Someday we'll all start speaking to them again...ha!)

Miss Laurie...isn't she beautiful?

Son #5 is trying to figure out how to take Laurie's food from her without any of us noticing...

The talented and lovely Jenn along with the most fun person ever, Kaylyn.

The tamale ordeal went on and on and on! Merlene is such a good gal...she stayed till LATE to help...she told me this morning that she got home a little before one THIS morning!

Son #5 and I did manage to sneak away from the tamale action to resume our duty as fertilizer haulers...he was pooped.

Little did I know that the stomach flu was about to hit. Poor little guy was up most of the night puking! He has puked in nearly every room of the house today and has the WORST diarrhea!!! I'm off to switch my loads of laundry!!!

My preferred lot in life...

is being the grunt for our farm! Seriously...once you get important enough to have titles like 'irrigator' or 'tractor driver' you have to be more committed to one thing. I prefer my grunt status because I get to do a little bit of everything!

Son #5 and I have been hauling fertilizer lately. Here's the view of the LaPlata mountains from our family's Foster Place...

If you click on this picture and make it bigger, you'll be able to see this beautiful canyon over at the Foster Place. I love the rugged beauty of this canyon. However...guess what lives in this canyon??? This same predator also lives in the canyon immediately north of our family's orchard. Can you guess yet...MOUNTAIN LIONS...somehow knowing this has taken a little of the romance from it!


I bring the fertilizer carts to my husband who then hooks them up to this tractor and takes off spreading the fertilizer.

If you chance to meet this rig on the road...watch out...I've got a tired and impatient three year old issuing commands from the backseat!

Life as the official boss of the fertilizer hauler is hard...wore this precious guy clean out!

OK - my real 'boss' a.k.a. husband just called to inform me my break is over and I must head Over East for my next fertilizer cart!

Hope you're having a great day!!!

D is not for diploma...

This picture has nothing to do with this post...here's Son #5 with my niece at Bahama Buck's during our Christmas break 2008...

In law school a popular saying when someone was worrying about a class was "D is for diploma."

My brain has finally healed enough that I am back in school (just in time for the farming season...nothing like hitting the ground running). Given my rampant lack of computer literacy I have been putting off taking ACC542 - Computers for Accountants - HELLO! Can't we just call someone if we have a computer problem...why do we need this class...BUREAUCRACY if you ask me...

SO - I decided I would just approach this class with the attitude "D is for diploma."

CONFESSION: I CANNOT DO IT!!! I HAVE TO DO MY BEST AND GET GOOD GRADES...IT'S MY O.C.D. surfacing in a big way.

Last week was the first week of the class...after the first 'U' (meaning Unsatisfactory) next to one of my participation answers I was literally sick to my stomach. I developed a migraine from the self-disappointment and disgust I felt.

I am applying myself in a big way and surprisingly...I'm picking up some useful knowledge along the way! How is this possible for someone so totally computer illiterate???

Simple...I pray several times a day for help. I have faith that God will help me and He certainly has! I am blessed! I am thankful, so very thankful!!!

Trampoline Time

The Easter Bunny brought a new trampoline pad to our house...please excuse our yard...we are working on it. Notice how the dryland field of wheat our house sits in looks really good while our yard is the shambles??? Welcome to my world...filled with happy trampoline tykes...Here's Son #4 and Son #5...

Mo loves country life...always something to gnaw on...I have no idea what this thing is at his feet and I really don't think I want to investigate to find out!

The boys, posing patiently...

An action shot...

Hey, Wrangler Jeans...here's your next poster...

I love this boy...

Miss Daizy sits and waits for Son #5 every time he jumps. One day she was trying to get up there with him...hilarious!

Son #5 growing tired of posing!

Happy to be jumping...

I promised them this was the last pose...Son #4 was very patient...the same cannot be said for Son #5!!!

Heavy Hearted

First of all...where are this kid's parents??? I mean really, what kind of up-bringing is this child having??? Why in tarnation does he think it's not only ok, but actually fun, to be riding the broom and certainly tormenting the nice gentleman pushing it???

Yes, that's Son #5 after his Grandmother's funeral. He's 'helping' clean up! Thank you, Gary, for being so kind to him!!! And thank you, Jenn, for sharing these pictures with me!!!

My favorite duo...they were really good all through the long day!

Son #2 saying 'goodbye' to some of his cousins. He reported to the Missionary Training Center April 1st. We are excited for him and all he will learn during these two years! We also miss him!

Which brings me to my heavy heartedness...every time I catch up with anyone lately I hear tales of woe. Tales of divorce. Tales of people abandoning their faith. I'm just so saddened by all of it!

On the other hand...perhaps I am partially down in the dumps because I've had the stomach flu for the past 48 hours.

Random

Our other computer is back from the Computer Doctor and hopefully virus free! I wanted to make sure I have these pictures so I'm posting a bunch of pictures from our time in Oklahoma...

Here's Miss Cinder impatiently waiting for Cy to throw the ball! Cinder loved playing catch! Cy loved throwing the ball for her. The first time the disappointment on Cinder's face was very apparent when Cy 'threw' the ball with all his might and it rolled about 3 inches!


Hugging Mr. Mo!


Cy pushed this chair over to the phone so he could 'call Guamma'...


Seriously, Mo should win an award for his absolute patience! The only time Mo ever ran from Cy was in Cy's early crawling days...Mo was sitting on the floor and Cy curiously reached for Mo's private!


What's life without a saucer?


Mo is our example of unconditional love!


My friend, Cori, and her two daughters in a Flagstaff snow storm! Cori is one of the rare people in this world who has inner and outer beauty that surpasses nearly everyone!


Fresh from the bath...


Playing with the lotion bottle...



Love this smile...



Life would not have been possible in Oklahoma with out Angie Smith, Janna Skinner, Shyla Dwyer, and this wonderful lady...Jo Hollingsworth!


Love this smile, love this kid, loved our back yard with its 1/2 acre of grass and mature oak trees!


We spent Thanksgiving 2006 in Richmond, Virginia with my brother and his family. Cy and I went there and back in 36 hours because I had to hurry back to prepare outlines for finals! It was insane but totally worth it to be with family!



Trying to keep a very curious boy out of his cake so we could take a few pictures!


The cake...


This smile makes everything worth it...

1.7 miles

In a continued effort to once again look like this...

I have been increasing my jogging. This afternoon I jogged for 1.7 miles and walked for 2.3 miles...slowly I'm making progress. I'm still TTT (Two Ton Tess) but I feel better about it! STRANGEST thing...when my Mom snapped this picture (above) I actually thought I was fat...WHATEVER!!! If I had only known how wide my rear could get!!!

In farming news...we've been fertilizing between snow storms...here's the proud Papa while Son #3 prepares to work!


Proud Papa giving instructions to Son #3...


I read Marley & Me this January...I LOVED it!!! Here's my favorite three year old holding our new movie...as usual...the book is better but I thought the movie was charming!


I just loved his face here...if I were any kind of photographer I would have gotten this with his eyes open...oh well! He's still CUTE as heck to me!

Family pictures

We held the funeral services for my Mother-In-Law this last Sunday and Monday. Friends and family came from far and wide to honor this wonderful lady!

Her youngest sister, Fawn, has 10 children. ALL 10 of them were in attendance!!! Some came from clear across the country! Here they are all together...


Of course Son #5 cannot be left out of any type of action...and Blanche was more than willing to oblige him...


All 10 siblings + 1 cute boy...


The dynamic duo...I get the biggest kick out of watching these two interact!

Here's my husband, his siblings and their Dad who is living bravely with Parkinson's Disease.

The pioneers who brought us here...

The siblings & spouses...from left to right...
Tim & Merlene...who returned from their trip to China with no time to rest prior to beginning the services.
Dave & Colleen...some of the nicest people ever.
Moneta & Doug...Moneta is so beautiful...whenever I'm around her I always just stare at her.
Us.
Sherri & Adam who along with their six children stayed with us! We had a ball with them!

EVERYONE...

Our sparse looking little family...Son #2 is on his mission...Son #1 & his wife stayed at school for finals leaving just us with Sons # 3, 4, & 5!

Just a few reasons why...

I love my dogs so much...

Our computer has a virus so while it's at the computer doctor we hooked up my old computer which has some FABULOUS pictures taken at our house in Oklahoma...

Here's my Cy with Mo on the back porch...


Cy & Mo taking a rest from throwing the ball for Cinder...


More with Mo...


Mo again...


My Cinder...whom Cy called "Dinda"...she was the BEST dog in the history of time. After 14 years of fun in the sun she died last winter. I cried every day for over a month because I missed her so much! Here she is kissing Cy on my unmade bed in Oklahoma...


Cy eating cookie dough with a very patient Mo (who is the world's biggest pig) looking on...


Cy & Mo...


Cy finally sharing his cookie dough with Mo...I think we have another dog lover on our hands...


If you know my Dad...then you'll love this picture and likely try to blackmail him with it! My Dad has a CRUSTY exterior but he loves a few things dearly including but not limited to...my mother...their grandchildren...their farm...Daizy, Mo & Cinder!