AREN'T THEY PRETTY?!

Table decorations for the graduation party that is *3 weeks away*.  I. will. not. panic.  Will.  NOT.  :-) Today was M'Lynn and Erica's LAST Friday of High School.  How is that possible, exactly?  Did the calendar go into hyper drive and not tell me??

While I've definitely been pre-occupied with graduation preparations, there have been some other fun things going on.  Brody's final 6th grade band concert - with jazz band also - and, brace yourself - his JUNIOR HIGH physical.   Again with the hyper-drive, calendar.  No breaks for this Momma.

There's Brody and his good buddy Russ.  They are *the bomb* at tuba.  Honestly!

Erica had Senior Recognition night for Track... and I didn't even cry.  Aren't you proud?  I am!!

I'm soooo glad we decided to have the party at the 4-H building instead of our home AND so glad that I took the week between graduation and the party as vaction.  I know that week will be crazy, but knowing I have that week is keeping me sane right now - and allowing me to enjoy all these fun (but time consuming) year-end activities!

The count down has begun

May will mark the final days of M'Lynn & Erica's High School career and then, of course, there is the celebration.  June 4, 5- ? pm at the 4-H building.  I'm sooooo glad we decided to do it later.  Spring is such a busy time on the farm - 11 calves on the ground so far, corn is all planted, soybeans are almost all in - that it would have been just insanity to do their party in the next couple of weeks.

We have decided on cupcake recipe and frosting recipe (white chocolate, and it's seriously yummy).  I have tried my hand at potato salad... that still makes me nervous.  Chris is in charge of the burgers and coordinating all that with the Cattlemen.  Next for taste testing at home is choosing the punch recipe.  Think we'll go for simple there, though I have gotten some fabulous recipes from friends.  Final piece of the puzzle will be a giant Sam's Club run and then it will be down to actual execution.

So, I'm a bit distracted at the moment.  Random preparation thoughts popping into my head at odd times.  But, we are having a great time planning and preparing.  And we're managing to get all the important stuff done too - attending to the cows, calves, pigs, chickens and the soil!  :-)

A Sweet Walk...

Down Memory Lane!

I am nearing 1,000 more photos scanned in this week.  Graduation photo slide show is just a great excuse to finish my project of having ALL our photos stored digitally and then labeled, tagged, un-red-eyed and enhanced.  So excited to be nearing completion of at least stage one!

Here are a few of my favorites from the last few day's work.

Really, just an amazingly beautiful day in our life....

Wasn't Sunday beautiful?  I put aside all my "to-do" lists that included ANYTHING indoors and went outside to work and play alongside my family.  What an ordinary, extraordinarily wonderful day.

I worked with M'Lynn & Alecia to build a new fence to create a pasture for the bull....

and helped (and then watched) my kids work together with M'Lynn's new orphan calves

such patience they showed with these bewildered little sweethearts

I rode with my 12 year old son as he operated our biggest tractor and plowed to be ready for Grandpa to plant the corn

We all - humans and animals alike - enjoyed the beauty and promise of the day.  God has blessed us well.

Just Down the Road...

I'm not very good at estimating distance, but it's not very far down the road from our driveway.
A new roadside cross.

 

M'Lynn & Erica's senior classmate's life cut short.  Silence throughout the High School on Monday.  The strange site of cars lined up and down our gravel road as the Senior class came to stand vigil on Monday evening.  Class schedules adjusted for grief, teachers and students unable to think, and a funeral so devastating classes are cancelled at the Senior High.  Our hearts ache for all the kids, and they break thinking about the grief of the parents.  We pray for understanding and for the right words as we talk with our children.  This one moment will speak so loudly in its silence.  The programs, the officers, the parents, the teachers - they were not lying.  Wear your seatbelt.  If you drink, don't drive.  It's as simple and as important as that.

May God hold us all in the palm of his hand.

Lists

It is a time of lists for me.  That's my geeky way of handling life's stresses.  I've always been a list person, and at this time in my life, I find I'm waking up thinking in lists.  So, I think I'll share a list or two... aren't you excited?!


Excitement:
1.  Twin Hereford heifers.  Healthy.  Adorable.
2.  District FFA contest accomplishments for Erica and Alecia
3.  College found for M'Lynn.  We were sweating this one.  Iowa State it will be!
4.  Erica and Dustin begin dating.  After years and years of friendship.  
5.  Brody's "Highly Superior" mark for his Tuba solo at 6th grade contest. 
6.  Stacy & Kai & Raelynn hoping to move back to the U.S. yet this year!
7.  Two of three prom dresses purchased and girl's happy!


Challenges:
1.  Chris' sprained/torn (?) MCL and coming Mayo check on his R leg.
2.  Complacency in my good habits has set me back several pounds.  Time to start anew.
3.  That graduation thing.  Planning, paying, letting go.
4.  Keeping Brody focused on *school* when he wants to *work* (on the farm)


There, see, listing is good for me.  Much longer excitement list than challenge list.  And less than half of the challenge list items that my actions can affect.  All of it can be addressed in prayer.  I'm odd in this, I know, but listing has always been good for my soul, and my perspective.  

Beautify babies

Experience the Action

and 

Parliamentary Procedure

... and signs of SPRING make me giddy

Winter Wonderland

Baby, it's cold outside...

I've stopped looking at our handy dandy digital thermometer with the remote outside sensor. The number is big, and it's been continually negative for days on end. We're all excited about the prospect of a zero degree day in the forecast.

Beyond the weather, I've got some random stuff on my brain this afternoon...

I'm impressed by the toughness and resilience of my children in taking on the weather twice every day to go out and take care of their cows and calves, the horse and chickens. Lots of days the dogs won't even go out with them! They stay in the house, safe and warm, while my four determined kiddos head out into the tundra and take care of those that rely on them for food and water. I shouldn't leave out the hubby, because he is out there longer than the rest and does all the other maintenance items - grinding corn for feed, hauling hay, moving snow - so that chores can be as quick and painless as possible.

Chris and I spent some time with his grandparents this morning. It's made me a little melancholy. Grandma has been the rock in their marriage, and very healthy. Just before Christmas, aggressive cancer was found to be the cause of her stomach problems. She has lost about 50 pounds and is fighting a tough battle at her 88 years. Grandpa is not dealing well with her illness and has decided he'd rather not eat, thank you very much. They are both in the care center for the time being, where there are people to help with daily needs for Grandpa and keep an eye on Grandma. She starts round two of chemo this week, and she's not really recovered from round one. I pray for them so many times a day...

Speaking of melancholy, M'Lynn and Erica are just about done with the first semester of their Senior year. I have not quite kept up with my timeline for getting ready for their graduation celebration, but am being mindful of enjoying these last few months of our whole family being 'intact'. Mostly, I had hoped to be done scanning in their photos by now, so its not one of those deadlines that will cause too much trouble that I've missed it. Quite frankly, I now have enough photos to do a slideshow, I'm just working to get all the printed photos scanned in because I want them scanned. We had a few get wet in the basement last spring, so that motivated me to preserve them more permanently.

On a more positive note, I spent some quality time outside with my camera yesterday. It was therapeutic. I am one of the few, crazy people who really appreciates the beauty of snow. I really love it. Which is good, when you live where it snows. a lot. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to live somewhere and hate the weather 3 months out of the year!!

My last 'me' thought for this entry - I finally stepped back on the scale last weekend and then again this weekend. It was a pleasant surprise to have only gained 5 lbs over the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years eating extravaganza. And this week I took two of those back off.