A day out...

On day Matt and I took a drive looking for a sewing repair shop. Driving through a little town we noticed a western store that was closing down. So we popped in. They were closing because of the economy.( We have now had three major stores close here because it. Circuit City, Linen and Things and also this store.)

Anyway Matt found a Stetson hat that was 1/2 it's original price. So we bought it. They also had had steamers there so he decided to use their steamers to start to shape his hat.

It is really hard for him to stand for very long so he sat on a stool but it was hard and hurt so he did some shaping and then we popped to Walmart and bought a kettle so he could finish reshaping it at home.

Finished product. Notice the smiling model. I just love her smile. It just lights up the whole world, room, and our lives.

He still needs to fine tune this part of the hat!! But he is almost there.

There is that cute smile again!!

My husband...

The many sides of my husband!! He is sure a good man!! and boy does he love to take naps!!! Must be because he is always in HIGH STRESS mode. Except when he is on the ranch puttsin in the yard or feeding the horse, or 4 wheeling.

Tumbleweeds...

A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, separates from the root and tumbles (rolls) away in the wind.
And of course the wind blows here so there are tumbleweeds everywhere. Actually the above picture and the below picture were taken on the ranch that our son worked on this past summer. We were driving from the main town out to the head quarters of the ranch and came across this long row of tumbleweeds. If you could walk out into the middle of them I am sure they would be up to my waist based upon where they are on the fence line. BUT of course I wouldn't be walking out there because there is probably a snake right where I would walk. Then it would scare me, I would faint, and the snake would bite me, I would die right there on the spot from either the snake bite or fright. So I just looked at the tumbleweed from the road!!!

A couple of days ago a wind storm came through. It was blowing everything everywhere. It even picked up a pickup and F350 and slammed it against the guardrail. Or so the hairdressers husband said!! But it was blowing like crazy. Most people said the worst they had seen in 25 years. There was huge red cloud that huge over the area. It was the dirt that had been stirred up from the farm ground that hasn't been planted yet. This tumble weed was rolling across the road. I thought they maybe had better post a sign... TUMBLEWEED CROSSING!!!

Have a great Valentines day!!

Which way is up?!?...

For some crazy reason Rooster loves to sleep on his back with his feet either curled up like you see in the photos or else with them straight in the air. He is such a crazy dog and we love him! As a matter of fact everyone loves him. When we go to the horse barn everyone is so excited to see Rooster!!

Everything seems to be rolling along. We have finally gotten everything I think negotiated on the house. Now we just have to wait. The family is having a home that was almost built finished so we are going to have to stay in temporary housing until the latter part of March. We have lived without so many things now it will seem like Christmas when we finally get our stuff unpacked.

Our daughter is just loving school. She has made some good friends, loves her classes, was asked yesterday to go with the basketball team to the State tournament, attended a Priest and Laurel Mystery Murder dinner for the Stake and made some new friends there.

Our son is getting more and more mobile. We head back to the Doctor on Thursday so we will keep you posted.

The husband is so busy, but what else is new!!

I am just plugging along loving watching my children step out of their boxes, face the challenges that are a part of their lives right now, and hoping that the stress of everything will be gone soon so I can get a good night's sleep!!

2 People I Greately admire...

As a parent you watch your children go through many ups and downs in their lives. You watch them make choices and pray alot for them.
But every once in a while your children experience something that is of great magnitude and it causes you to really take a look at them and see the strong character and strength that they have. I have had a chance to do this with both of my children in just the last few weeks.

Because of the horse riding accident our son has had to wake up everyday to needing help with just some of the basic things in life. He wakes up to much discomfort and sometimes pain. But as his mother this is what I have seen and greatly admire about him. He has (with exception of just a couple of times) been very appreciative of what we do for him. He has talked in a very kind voice. He has used the words please and thank you constantly. He has caused us to laugh. He has given us sound advise about praying about a house. He has teased his sister so lovingly. He has come up with ideas of creating things( wild rags, working leather, ideas for making more chaps) to keep himself busy and to make each of his days pass more quickly. Yesterday as he came from showering he said "this is getting really old", and yet not once has he showed any anger, no throwing of crutches, walker or taking off in his wheel chair. So what do I admire most about this situation and Matt. The patience that he is showing with himself, us and the whole situation. I admire the kindness that he is showing to all of us. I admire his gratitude for what is being done for him. But the thing I admire the most is his positive look on his life right now and the strength that he shows. You can truly tell that he knows that "this too shall pass".

Our daughter has come from living in the European culture for 8 1/2 years to moving to a small area of West Texas in America. She has changed school during her Junior year. She has had to make all new friends and re establish herself among a church group. So what do I admire about all of this. She has done it all with a smile on her face and such a positive attitude. At her school each day most of the 11th graders leave campus for lunch. Because she doesn't drive (at least not yet) she has been invited by many of her classmates to join them for lunch. As each day has gone by she has experiences situations where kids are talking about using drugs, to having sex, to the list could do on and on... But she has also had some great experiences with kids that want to take about things of substance. Alex has used such good judgement in quickly seeing those classmates that are of the standards that she has and keeps and has chosen to seek them out. On the basketball team one teammate is constantly being picked on by the other players, but Alex has chosen to befriend her and to build her up rather than tear her down. She has jumped out of the pickup everyday and very cheerfully walked into a new environment gladly accepting the trials that her day may bring. So what I admire about her the most is the example that she has been to all of us with her positive attitude, her desire to seek out those students that have high morals and principals, to see this whole moving thing as an adventure, to say "I am so thankful for Sunday when I can go and be spiritually feed so that I can make it through the week." What I admire the very most is she really gets it. She gets that she is here on this earth to go through her trials and through these trials get closer to her Heavenly Father.

It may have sounded as though I have been bragging about my children. But please know that I am not. I just wanted you to know and them to know how much I admire them.

What I like...

Ok I am not getting as much blogging done as I usually like to do because... I seem to be going the exact same places everyday and doing the exact same things everyday. So I haven't been taking my camera which I have regretted this past couple of days. I could have taken a picture of a coyote, a roadrunner bird, and let see I can't remember what else. So yesterday I grabbed my camera as we were leaving the house for the horse run.
And just as we were finishing up the horse run I was able to catch this beautiful sunset. A couple of minutes earlier and the buildings would have been a little bit lighter. But it is still a thing of beauty.

There are many things about being here that are different. Here is just a couple of things that I like...

1. The sunshine. I love waking up in the morning to the sun and it shinning all day long.

2. Going to the gas pump to fill up my vehicle and having the little thing that leaves the pump on then you can wash the windows, talk to the person next to you, or just hop back in and wait for it to click off. (But my biggest fear with that is it will get stuck and gas will continue to flow even when the tank is full, yes I am paranoid so I watch it carefully from the comfort of my truck.)
3. With Matt's accident being able to pop to Walmart quickly and pick up some softer sheets so that it doesn't rub on his skin, grab some crutches, and other supplies.

BUT what I don't like is...

1. TOO much to choose from. There is way too many things to choose from here.

2. The Unhealthy food that is available. I bought a loaf of bread 10 days ago and it is still good. The only way it is still good is that it is loaded with preservatives. I went to the grocery store and for the first time since we have been here really took my time to see what was out there. I would guess that there is 3/4 of the food that is prepared and only about 1/4 of good wholesome foods. Maybe not quite that much but it just amazes me. I have decided that I am really going to have to read labels if I am going to keep up with my healthy eating here.

Well we are off looking at two more houses today. The man who who gave us some ideas about remodeling came in yesterday and he started just saying about how much things would be and before you know it we probably would be at about the same prices as a new home being built to remodel the old one. So we are rethinking this today.

All in a day...

Everyday we head out to the stable to doctor the White Guy. Rooster loves it because there is all kinds of treasures to nibble on. Horse Poop, Horse hooves, sticks, left over horse feed. He gets to run and run and everyone that comes along loves him and throws sticks to him. He always looks at me with the saddest eyes when I tell him to load up(meaning get in the truck)

We also head out to where the other two horses are kept and feed them!!

We have to hydro therapy White Guy 2 times a day. He knows as soon as I show up that it is torture him. We have decided that he is getting so much attention now that he is going to turn into a whimp on us. Next thing you know we will be starting to feed him carrots!! He will be so pampered he might not be able to go back to the rough and tough life of being a ranch horse.

This seems to be what my life entails lately. Horse feed, bales of hay, a step stool, a walker and wheel chair. I am truly enjoying taking care of the horses, but enjoying even more being able to serve my son.

It is really fun where we have White Guy. Our son has made some good friends and everyone that comes along takes time to visit with him and wish him luck in his recovery.

We are getting really close to putting a bid on a house. It is an older home that will need to have alot redone to it. It sits on 2.3 acres, has a swimming pool, a great garden spot, a pecan grove, two horse and storage barns, two horse pastures all of which will require alot of work. But the great part is we can stay in the Ward we are in now, it is close to town, and when finish could really be fun and neat. Our daughter is already planning to have some chickens, the kids are working on their Dad to start a puppy raising business. We start to negotiate tomorrow so I will let you know what happens!!!
Daughter is settle into school. She has switched up some classes. One of which she has switched to band (jazz band and she is hoping they need a piano player instead of clairnet). One of their songs is from Ozzie Osborn.