Stop And Smell The Roses!

I'm linking up with Jen at Almost Gypsy Soul for Soul Food Friday: What Feeds Your Soul. Check it out!

Stop And Smell The Roses!

Let's be real here... Motherhood is always foreign to a new mom, regardless of how many books you've read, babies or kids you've baby sat, how many nieces or nephew's you have, how many classes you've taken, or how many TLC shows you've watched or how well you "think" you're prepared for the way the little life will change your view of pretty much everything.  But there's good news, there's been a ton of women who've been there too, and they learned and they can help you.  The other good news is, it happens pretty fast and it's like something or someone is yanking you by the hand dragging you around showing you what to do; it's called being a natural.  It's not easy in the early days, but you do what comes natural and you figure out how to do things and what should be done next, sometimes you have encouragement (a screaming baby) and you figure it out, sometimes faster than others.

Fast Forward 17 months...

Stop and smell the roses!  When you have a "do it myself" toddler nothing is done very fast.  But it is important for their learning when they want to "do it myself".  Lately I have been trying to get him to hold my hand when we are walking around the yard or if we go on a short walk around the block.  Although it takes longer for him to walk with me than for me to carry him; he is learning about his surroundings, and learning to behave.  And it's not just him learning... I find myself looking around at my surroundings taking in God's beauty, the individual blades of grass, the rocks on the ground, the leaves on the tree, the feathers on a bird, and not just noticing the grass, the ground, the trees or the birds as a whole.  Looking at life through Cooper's eyes is so rewarding, everything is so interesting and beautiful and often taken for granted!  I challenge you to look at life through a toddler's eyes, slow down and enjoy the simple things in life. 

Stop.And.Smell.The.Roses!

Matthew 6:25-34

New International Version (NIV)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Here's To You

My best friend is getting married this weekend. She's my sister. My non sibling sister. My best friend. That's female and not my husband because it should go without saying that he is truly my best friend, but we won't get into that, this is about My Best Friend...... AKA Brianne

Most people call her Bri, and I do too but that's very unusual she'll always be Brianne to me.

From kindergarten playground playing to third grade cursive instructing to matching shoes in fourth grade to sports playing and sleepovers to college roommates for four years to going our separate ways for careers/jobs (as neither of us are currently employed doing something pertaining to our degree which is okay) for a farmer husband and starting a family for almost four years now that's been me, the lifer Kansan farmer/rancher's wife and now that is going to be her title too, I'm so excited to share that title with her! She's going to make an awesome Coloradan farmer's wife. 

(this was my attempt to convert her to country during our college years)

Her soon to be hubby one upped me though and got her into a pair of overalls, classic!

On a visit back home a local lady that I knew quite well had welcomed me into the farmer's wife club, back then I was still green; I smiled nodded and said thank you not knowing what else to do or really what was ment by that.  Now that i'm not so fresh into the scene I understand where she was coming from and it is an honor to be a farmers wife and to be in the farmer's wife club. (Now i'm not saying we pay dues and meet once a month, but it is still a very valid club, one to treasure!)

Remember the commercial from the super bowl, "So God Made A Farmer"?  I saw this poem on facebook so I tracked it down you can read the blog it came from here.

"So God Made A Farmer's Wife" - By Sierra Shea

And on the 9th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, Oh dear, the farmer is going to need help." So God made a farmer's wife.  

God said, "I need somebody who will get up before dawn, make breakfast, work all day in the kitchen, bank, school, or alongside her farmer and then come home to fix supper and wash up the dishes." So God made a farmer's wife.  

God said, " I need somebody willing to sit up all night with their newborn son. And watch him grow. Then pray each morning and teach her children to say, 'please and thank you.' I need somebody who can make a fried-egg sandwich, stretch a paycheck or thicken soup, who can clean her house with vinegar, baking soda and hot water. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish her forty-hour week on Friday, then, join her farmer in the field for another two days, six meals and five loads of laundry." So God made a farmer's wife.  

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to plant trees and heave bales, to co-sign a loan for a half a million with steady hands, yet gentle enough to tame show lambs and raise kids and calm the farmer when he's upset over higher rent or lower corn, who will stop her work for an hour to talk on the phone to her neighbor who just found out her mother is sick.  Somebody who could cook and clean and not cut corners. Somebody to wash, dry, iron, tidy, feed, rake, water, drive, check the homework and pack the lunch bags and remember the basketball schedule and replenish the refrigerator and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile ride to church.

 "Somebody who'd sew a family together with the soft strong stitches of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh and then reply, with smiling eyes, when her daughter says she wants to spend her life "doing what mom does." So God made a farmer's wife.

"Here's to you, to everything we've held onto, the secrets that no one else knew." -Eli Young Band

Cheers to you Brianne and Shane! Wishing you 100 years of love and happiness and lots of rain! Rain makes corn, corn makes ..... a lot of things but mostly rain makes for a happy farmer and farmers wife!  Excited for Friday and ecstatic for Saturday!!!

Congrats again and welcome to the Farmer's Wives Club 

So Proud! ! !

So what if you can't understand it all. He's 16 mo old.

He sings his ABC's, George Strait, and the National Anthem...

He throws away his dirty diapers.

He always puts his shoes in his basket.

He grabs the pot holder from his dad in the living room and takes it into the kitchen and puts it away. This one impresses me!

He can sign more and milk.

His words are few and far between but he says: Dally, Tractor, Mom, Dad, What's this, Cow translated to MOOOOOOOO, UtOh, and Cheese.

He has grown from 9lb 9oz. 21 inches to be 29 lb. and 34 inches in those very short 16 months.

He has dimples, bluest of eyes, and the brightest smile.

His hair is blonde and getting blonder.

He has had three hair cuts.

He is not a baby anymore.

He is the sweetest and then at the same time the most strong willed "little boy".

He. Is. Cooper. My. Cooper.

Loves bouncing.

Loves blowing kisses.

Blurry, but that's what you get when you try to snap a picture of a very active boy.

All Smiles. All The Time.

Life As A Ranch Wife #5

Life As A Ranch Wife #5

Life as a ranch wife this time of year is really quite nice.  Cattle are out on grass = cattle are out of the lot which means much less manual work for my Rancher and more time to get the backseat items up to the front seat and out the door!  In normal people terms, it's a great time for catch up!  The end of breeding season is coming to a close so it's time to get all the bulls gathered.  We usually leave them with the cows for 60-70 days.  I love this time of year, cattle are out on grass hopefully fully nourished growing their suckling babies and the babies that are in the making. It is such a pretty sight to see cattle satisfied out grazing.  Rewind to about 30 days ago and other locals were starting early weaning and selling parts of their herds because of the severe drought that we are in.  We are blessed! It finally started raining, it is a little late, but always welcome! The country side is really greening up, and let me tell you EVERYONE is in a much happier mood.  Nothing like a county fair to bring the rain, happens every time! I'm convinced that we need to have county fairs in June, July and August. :)  

I don't have any clever cleaver moments to share this time but man am I thankful for the rain! Keep it comin'! 

Positive attitude

Positive attitude people... PASS IT ON!!!

I'm not the most positive person in the world but man it sure is a kick in the pants when you encounter someone who only acknowledges the negative. You'd be surprised how a smile and as my dad would say an "attitude adjustment" can brighten up life a little bit.  There are so many crazy things happening in this world we need to just get back to simple living.

Simple living at it's best... Rancher and his dogs...

Busy Bee's

We have been busy bee's with helping setting up for the fair, helping the youngsters, and enjoying the awesome activities that the Graham County Fair Board sets up... Including two trips back to L-town. I'll get back on track next week I hope. 

Until then here are some funnies I pulled from the world wide web. Enjoy!

 Speaking of sirloin... Is it supper time yet?

Admit it, you know you do. 

"wel, we're gonna have to breed short-legged cattle or start in fixin' fence"

Interesting perspective... 

I think I'd be willing to try short-legged cattle myself, that's how much I like to fix fence.

Always a favorite of mine.

See you all in a few days.