Time goes by....

A month since my last post and it brings tears to my eyes to read it. Time has just continued to carry on and we are running so quickly to not get left in the dust. Ryder is now in Kindergarten, so excited to learn. Kinsley is in dance and loving it every time, she is such a little performer. She is just like her dad after a few beers!

A friend of mine that I have recently reconnected with after her mom's cancer battle and my family's loss posted on Facebook last night a very heart felt message and part of that message said, her mom was the one that "taught her that sitting on the floor reading a book to your kids is more important than laundry." Of course that hit me hard since my kids see their daycare lady more than they see me. That is my fault, I chose this path, to work outside the home, I truly believe that is what I was meant to do. It is a choice that stabs me every once in a while. And as they grow bigger and faster it stabs a little more often and a little harder. Am I missing out? I don't know, I used to know. I also read an article about a mom that realized how often she told her kids to "hurry." Now I catch myself several times a day during the 3 or 4 hours I see them, rushing them out the door, get your shoes on, get your teeth brushed, get buckled, hurry we have to go.

Times have changed since I was young. I can't say they have changed for the better or the worse.

Breathing deeply and slowly seems like a luxury sometimes. A small vacation between phone calls.

Priorities.

Loss

2015 has been a year to remember so far. We started the year by losing our beloved dog of 12 years, Zoey. Really we were so blessed to have her for 12 years, her breed is only supposed to live 8 to 10 years, but still that did not make the loss hurt any less.

Oh yes, then the weather, what in the world was I doing in my garden in February and March? Don't really know, but it was wonderful! But then I worried about the grass and water for the cows for the summer.....and then the rain came. It rained and rained and the grass grew and grew. I have never seen anything like the grass on the range in May and June. It was well past your waist in some spots, there was even grass over my dad's head at Miner Creek and water, there has been water all summer. Cooler temperatures, what a blessing, I don't really care for temperatures over about 70 or 75 anyways!

Should I mention the high cattle market and the low hay prices? This is a double edged sword in my world, because I work with a lot of area farmers, they struggled with all the rain and lower temperatures. In agriculture one crop has to suffer for another to do well, that is the cycle and the cold, hard reality.

Our niece, has had a turbulent summer. I often wonder why things happen and what lessons are to be learned. The turbulence from her life and spilled over in to everyone that love's her life as well, supporting and standing strong for her to keep her spirits high.

And then our sudden loss of Bill. There are no words to describe the confusion felt by his passing. I find myself consoling my son, but how hard it is to explain something that you don't even begin to understand yourself.

And now we have welcomed our new puppy, Mesa. An eight week old bull mastiff! She is exhausting and kind of like having a newborn around except with no diaper! She is so much fun and the kids adore her. She was meant to come in to our lives as a ray of sunshine and happiness.

There's a song that says, "the world didn't stop for my broken heart," never have those words made so much sense as they do now at this point in 2015. I look forward to the last 5 months of 2015, maybe with a little hesitation. There is so much to be thankful for, we just can't dwell on those things that we aren't thankful for that have made us the maddest, saddest and unhappiest, life does go on. I have a quote in my kitchen my mom gave me a few years back:

"Happiness is a Choice."

 

I choose to be happy. I choose to love life and be thankful for all those around me. I choose to hold my family close. I choose to work hard but live my life. I choose to be happy.

 



December!

We went to Las Vegas for a week and had an awesome time. Took the kids to see tons of stuff, shopped, went to the rodeo and hung out.

Kinsley in her Christmas dress and cowgirl boots. Grandma Kathy gets all the granddaughters Christmas dresses. Kinsley basically lived in hers for a week before and after Christmas. Can you believe how big she is getting?

Santa Claus made a special appearance at our house to bring Ryder a new "turtle blanket" and Kinsley a pair of dress shoes. Ryder's Aunt Tiffany and cousins made him a turtle blanket when he was born and he has packed it around since then. He left it in a motel room in Salt Lake and we were not able to get it back. Somehow Santa knew all about it and had an identical one made, just a little bit bigger! It seems to have the same stitching and homemade touch Aunt Tiffany's did! Thanks to that tall, blonde'ish elf for making Ryder's Christmas!

Then we have Todd showing Kinsley the correct way to shoot her "Brave" bow and arrow in grandma Kathy's house and boy does it fly and stick to everything!!

This is what I feel like most days about 5 pm!

Wade and Ryder watching the buckin' bull sale in Vegas, love this picture - two peas in a pod!

If you look really closely at the center of the photo there are two big black cowboy hats cheering on their favorite Nascar!!

We had a great Christmas. Lots of fun in Vegas. We are excited to start a brand new year and see what it has in store for us. I try to post some words that describe the last year, and there is usually a lot of them. So here's to 2014, goodbye, farewell and Welcome 2015, we are ready:

Cattle business
Growth
Promotion
Health
Good Loss
Endings
Beginnings
Rain
Commitment
Crafts
Derbies
Friends
Enemies
Activities
Oh, I could be here all day, better get going. In short, it was an eventful year.

Take care. Best wishes to all. What a great start to 2015, there are only better things to come.

"Don't let a bump in the road, be the end to your journey."

Reflections

I don't often think about things too deeply because it usually seems to add stress or other "stuff" to my plate, BUT I was at a convention about a month ago and the new president of the association (Carl Lufkin) said,

"How rich is the man who gets up every morning and does what he loves and always dreamed about doing?"

 

This statement has stuck with me for the last month and I just can't seem to shake it. Think about it. Think back to when you were a kid, laying in your bed, playing dolls, fighting dragons, etc. What did dream of being when you grew up? Are you living that dream? Kudos to you if your answer is yes. Are there some of you that cannot remember clearly what the dream was, has it changed so many times that you can't remember? That's me, that's what I remember. It seems like my dream changed as often as the weather. I don't remember having one clear dream that stuck with me, EXCEPT horses.

 

I love horses. I love being with them, I love being around them. I love the quiet time (usually) when you are brushing them in the early morning hours or late evening, getting ready for a day of riding. First brush their backs where the saddle will lay, then their rump and down their back legs to make sure they look good. Then I grab the mane brush and comb out snarls in his mane and tail. His mane stands straight up in the spots where he reaches through the fence to get the most tender grass. This quiet time is priceless, I slip him a horse cookie. He never ever talks back, he may pitch his head or something minor, but he never judges me, just goes WITH me. We are a team, no one else clicks with him or me quite like he does, he is a good friend. He is so kind and gentle with the kids, a gentle nudge and a sniff and a glance with his big, kind eyes. My dream has always included a horse.

 

So I AM living a variation of my dream. And better yet, I am living it with my kids and their horses and Wade and his horse. And we are blessed enough to raise beef and provide food for others. I have also realized that Agriculture is a passion that I hold very close to my heart. And my job allows me to work closely with many aspects of the ag industry. I work for the farmers and ranchers of Southeast Idaho to provide financing for their operations, to provide food for others. I can't say that I dreamed of working in the lending industry and busting butt in my "free" time to try to get our cattle taken care of, but I love agriculture, I love ranching so how much closer can I get to living my dream than what I am doing right now?

 

Who knows? I guess I will be "rich" every day and not look for the pot of gold each day.

 

How rich are you? Don't waste any of your money, pay attention to the things you have, not the dollars you don't.

 

 

So much going on!

Saw these three in Mackay a few weeks ago, love my office view!

Is there anything better than the cattle business right now? Fall colors, cattle, mountains and green grass, sounds like heaven to me!

Another view from my office. I love my road trips when the weather is nice. This was in Challis, what a great day.

This girl is amazing. She is a beast, and has her own personality.

Ninja Ryder, Halloween is a 3 day celebration at our house. Lots of candy, parties and fun. We carved pumpkins, decorated the house and had a great time. We were exhausted by the time Halloween finally got here.

And then we have Princess Merida (from Brave). She wouldn't wear the red wig, but oh well, she still looked adorable.

Ryder just had to make a leaf angel at the church. Too bad snow is on it's way, we were really enjoying fall.

There Are Days

I attended a training last week that was all about teamwork, improving yourself and generational differences. It was very eye-opening and made me think about several situations both at work and at home.

There are people in this world have claim to have made "life changes," improved themselves, their lives and are better people for it. My question is, what if only 10-15% of the population commits to making these changes? Do they really live a more fulfilled life, are they really happy since they have to deal with the other 85-90% of the population that are not "happy?" Happiness is a habit, isn't it? What if those around you don't have the same habits, can you still be happy? Is this all too confusing, just ramblings that only make sense to me or do these thoughts cross others minds? One might not ever know and that may be how it is supposed to be. Maybe this is where that life lesson of "worry about yourself," comes in to play? If you are happy and live what you consider to be a fulfilled life then who cares about the people you are acquainted with that have not chosen the same path......

As the leaves change and the air starts to have that cool feel to it in the morning as I am locking the horses in the corral for the day, it is a refreshing start to a day filled with new expectations and goals. It is nearing the time to wean calves, sell yearlings and put the garden to bed for the winter - what a great time of year. Maybe a little less stress not worrying about having sick calves, heifers in the neighbors or if the garden is too dry? Probably not, with each season comes new concerns, new obstacles, new challenges. I am ready. Welcome fall and all your adventures
.

"The path we choose to follow, will help us write our own story."

Making a Change

I am a firm believer at this point in my life that 90% of being able to make a significant change in your life involves a new mind set and way of thinking. I found a great quote that I find inspiring and true in several aspects of my life:

"THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING ANYWHERE IS DECIDING YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO STAY WHERE YOU ARE."

 

I love this because it can be applied to lots of different situations. Decide that you don't want to continue down the road you are on either emotionally, physically, etc. and get off that road, tell yourself that you are done with it and plan your new route. Once you make the change it is empowering and will motivate you to change other things in your life that may have seemed too difficult.

 

FATE ~ a power that is believed to control what happens in the future. : the things that will happen to a person or thing : the future that someone or something will have

 

Do you believe we control our own destiny or IS their a "power" that controls our future? Think about it.