Most moving moment of wedding...

This is Grandma Crawford. She has been in a wheel chair for some time. As we were all standing in the parking lot it was realized the wheelchair couldn't make it up the steep rocky path. Grandma said she would wait for all of us to come back down.

But many members of the families decided it there was a will there was a way. The next picture you see brought tears to my eyes as I was shooting the picture. It still brings tears to my eyes each time I look at the pictures. It shows, love, compassion, charity, strength and an incredible group of caring people. Grandma Crawford was going to come to the wedding.

They decided the only way she could come to the wedding and be part of it was to be carried in.

There were many that helped and many that followed waiting to take their turn. It was a very moving procession.

Once the steep part was made they tried to push the wheelchair but it didn't work.

So they turned her around and pulled her up to the great spot where she could view the wedding of her Grand daughter.

Here she is with her husband, her son and her grand daughter. There are many things I will remember about the wedding day. But the labor of love shown in getting Grandma Crawford there will always hold a very special place in my heart. Thank you to all of you who helped to make it possible for Grandma Crawford to be a part of that special time.

My niece's Wedding some fun highlights...

This is John and Candice with John's parents.

Candice and John and Candice Grandparents. I hope you are looking at the beautiful view behind them!!

The couple before the wedding!!

Not sure what they are thinking about, but I am sure it is about the great and wonderful things that are head of them in a few short minutes and years and years to come.

This picture is very special to me because... This shows John's parents, brothers and sisters, and niece and nephew. They all traveled from back east to be here to share this special day with John and Candice. What a sacrifice they had to have made to come all this way. Not only that it was sure fun for me to get to know them.

Candice pinning on John's groom flowers. I think the expression on his face is saying Candice ouch!!! you just stuck me!! The evidence is the deadly weapon she is holding in her mouth.

John and his mom.

Here is John trying to pin the Mom's flowers on his mom. He looks pretty intense trying to get the job done!! I think she might be doing some coaching!!!

Here is both Candice and John with their moms.

Candice pinning the flowers on her Dad. Check out the look on Brayden's face I think he is trying to figure out why she handed him the flowers, what the heck it is made of and what is he supposed to do with it. Or Maybe he is worried he is going to have to wear it!! Who knows!!

It was such a great day. In looking through the pictures tonight I have decided I am going to have to do some more blogs in the next few days!!

Steve's Dad's 80th Birthday...

It was Steve's Dad's 80th Birthday this year. His wife Dottie started planning in January for the big event that would take place in March. It was a big surprise party weekend. She did an incredible job. Here she is standing by Dad to cut his cake. We all secretly meet for dinner on Friday night at his favorite restaurant which was the first surprise

This was the second big surprise. The boys took him for breakfast Sunday morning after church all the girls rushed over to the place for the bigger party. This is dad walking in. He thought he was looking for a place that Greg wanted to buy. When he walked in a realized what was going on this was the expression on his face.

The big birthday cake with all the things that Dad loves to do as decorations.

Here he is with his three boys. David, Steve and Greg.

The last surprise was put together by Robin. She had written letters to everyone that she knew and asked them to write a letter, send a picture or a card. Then she put it altogether into a big picture book. She made it with love. He spent many hours just looking at it, shedding some tears, and remembering so many things. It was truly a very blessed weekend for all of us.

All in a Year or maybe a little more...

It has now been almost 18 months on this journey of recovery. I am sitting here looking out at this beautiful place where our ranch is and reflecting on what an amazing 18 months is has been. There has been so many wonderful, fun, memorable things happen. Thanks heavens I took tons of pictures probably around 5000 or more so I could remember it!! Since this blog serves as my journal I am going to try and post some of the things before I publish my book into a hard back journal. I hope that each of you enjoy viewing these things as much I as have enjoy them being a part of life.

Our Thanksgiving day...

My family gathered around our kitchen table for thanksgiving dinner. My kids and husband, my niece and husband, my brother and his wife. The biggest thing that all of us have to be thankful for today is that Loraine my brother's wife is with us being a part of all of our lives.

My niece and husband that was married this summer. He has received the name Harry Potter because he now has a scar on his forehead after a truck incident and with those glasses Alex just renamed him Harry Potter

After dinner it was relaxing and playing game time. There is Harry with Rooster keeping watch.

Matt examining his snowboard, Dan and Candice in a fierce checker game with Alex, Loraine and Brayden keeping watch.

Another fierce Chinese checker game going on. We really had to watch Steve and John they kept trying to jumping crazy ways. We decided they were really trying to cheat!! Not sure if Loraine is chuckling because we were catching her cheating or if she just thought the whole thing was crazy and funny.

Dessert Time!!

Matt tried to keep the whole pumpkin pie to himself, but Candice wouldn't let him. Others did get a small piece. There was 1/2 a pie left and this morning when I got up there wasn't any pumpkin pie left, only an empty pie dish. Wonder who the pie thief was in the night.

Dessert was pumpkin pie, apple pie, cherry pie, homemade ice cream, whip cream,. But the grande prize was a chocolate chip cake shipping all the was from New Jersey from John's mom. Dinner was delayed because ham and Turkey took longer to bake. But all turn out great.

What I was was most thankful for was to have my small family and extended family gathered around me on this very special day. I have many many things to be thankful for.

workin day on the ranch...

Alex out in the middle of all of it trying to herd the cows into a pen.

Today was a preg test day at the ranch to help determine which cows to hold over and which ones to sell.Steve was a gate worker opening gates and sending the open cows ones not pregnant one way and the pregnant ones another direction.

Yes, those cows are finally getting which gate it is that they are supposed to go into to.

Matt trudging across the mucky manurey corral with Loraine in the background watch him make the move.

Loraine standing watch over those pesky cows.

Dan in the mist of them trying to figure out how to get those darn cows moving and not just milling around.

Dan with his apron and rubber sleeve on for preg checking the cows.

Brayden and Matt standing watch in the corral.

Thanksgiving snowmobile adventure...

My Daughter and Nephew. He always takes her with him. Usually he has her in front and he is standing behind. They are headed to get her a helmet and knee pads because he loves to jump and it scares her. So much she usually screams!!

Equipment check.

Alex in Red, Brayden Nephew in yellow, Loraine sister in law bundled up, Dan my brother in Blue.

Dare Devil Dan.

This is so funny Brayden was out in my field and was trying to tip the snowmobile on its side and go for a long as he could.

But guess what happened!! I told him he was messin up my alfalfa hay field!!

Now he is trying to get Rooster to hop on and go for a ride. Rooster kept looking back at me as if he was asking do I really have to.

There is always so much work to do on the ranch. But when the work is done its time to play!!