More Rodeo

This Is What Friendship Looks Like...

A group of men who have known each other for most of thier lives. Several,
since childhood. Many years have passed and they have all taken different paths,
and those paths don't cross too often for some of them. One of the friends
is suffering from an illness that will take his life. He has a wonderful son
who has somewhat given up his youth to help care for his family. And so one
friend suggests they all meet, and why not meet at the National Finals Rodeo
in Las Vegas.

And so the plan is set in motion. The friends all come from different directions
to meet. The drive is long, but worth it for everyone.

Lots of laughs, lots of memories.

Lots of eating. Friendships renewed. A son (of the ill friend) more grateful
than words could express (although he repeated his gratitude over and over).
This is what friendship looks like!


p.s. They all enjoyed the rodeo too!

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part 1

Over the next several days I am going to post a few of my favorite Christmas things.
Mostly for my personal documentation. Traditions are a wonderful thing, and it seems
that Christmas is full of the. I love advent calendars! Love them! Here are some darling
and creative ways to countdown for Christmas.



This is from my ever creative sister-in-law Kim. She always has the best ideas.

This is from Kim's friend....I love it!

I love this one most of all! Perfectly wrapped little presents. How fun to
open each one!

And finally....Our family Advent Calendar. This was made for me by a dear
friend. We have enjoyed it since the kids were very little. They look forward to
turning each number over, as if they didn't know what it will say when completed;)
Chirstmas just wouldn't be the same for us if we didn't have this calendar out!

Can I Just Say.........

This will be a very random post....just a little warning;)

The Boy has injured his knee, in a basketball game last night... becasue he has such a high tolerance of pain, and is extreemly MACHO, we will be visiting the Dr. to see how much damage has really been done. He has a tournament coming up, and so we are hoping that it isn't too bad.
I LOVE enchiladas! Don't know what I am feeling so strongly about that right now, well.....actually I do, I had them for breakfast;) but seriously, they have to be the best food on planet earth.

Cheer tryouts are OVER!! Thankfully!!! And thanks to some dear friends for helping me out yesterday as judges. And P.S. my dear friends, when the Mother's start to call, I will be sure to tell them that it was all the "judges" decision and I had nothing at all to do with the outcome! Did I say...Thanks again for your help??;)

*Yesterday, I reconnected with a friend from my childhood. I don't know that she visits this blog....but if she does....I just want her to know that I love her and think she is wonderful just as she is. I admire her passion for life, I hope we will stay connected for a very long time!

*Last night, The Farmer and I attended the Temple Christmas devotional and it was wonderful. What I would like to say is Christy W. you are amazing! Your voice is fantastic! Your version of O Holy Night was the perfect begining to this wonderful Christmas season...Thank you!

And thus ends my randomness!

Beautiful Christmas Ideas

Because this is the focus of my life at the moment....I thought I would share some beautiful ideas that I found.

I am such a fan of garland! I have it around my windows, around my door, around my entertainment center and if i can find anyhere else to put it...I will! I thought this garland, above, was just beautiful.

And finally, a great way to show off Christmas cards! I loved this idea!

Happy decorating to you!

Thrashing

Okay....so I am having a thing with dried corn right now....I think it is amazlingly beautiful! So would I miss this photo opportunity....Noooooooooooooo! The Rooster was free from school today...and yes that is just how he felt...FREE! And what would he like to do most of all on this day of FREEDOM????? Well, ride on the combine while the men are thrashing the corn, of course. I mean really....what else is there to do??!!

The Rooster in his personal "Field of Dreams."

Yes, I worried, and I repeatedly asked The Farmer to please get The Rooster off the combine, or at the very least, inside the combine...but...Nooooooooooooo, said The Farmer, "this is an experience that all young boys should have." Spoken like a true Farmer, don't you think? "He will be fine...he will be just fine." And he was....just fine. Did I mention that it was just beautiful to watch? It really was.

A wonderful Fall afternoon!

Thanksgiving.....Mexico Style!

This year was a "Mexico" Thanksgiving! Some years we go to Mesa and other years, we have been known to escape to the beautiful mountains of New Mexico to a little hotel that we love.

This year was Thanksgiving....Mexico style. And it was great!

Mexico doesn't celebreate Thanksgiving...but then again I am sure you already knew that;) The weather is still very mild, not too cool and the tress are fantastically beautiful with changing leaves. We have not had Thanksgiving dinner as an entire extended family, for several years. So our very brave cousins invited the whole family to their home to enjoy dinner together. It totaled 67 people, and it was great fun! The food was wonderful. The tables were beautiful and the company was the best! Just what Thanksgiving should be! So while the rest of our little neck of the woods was "business as ususal" we were enjoying Thanksgiving together as a very large family, feeling very blessed. Thanks to those very brave cousins for giving this great gift to our family!

The Ugly Mantle

*thanks Rachelle...this is darling!

by: c jane

When first I was called to serve I had but two goals in mind:
1.) Get baptisms.
2.) Don’t gain weight.
And the Lord sent me to Canada to first reside in a suburb of the uber-euro town
which is Quebec City.
And the Lord sent me a first companion who was
(warning! hyperbole rampage!)
the cutest,
thinnest,
hard-working-est,
beloved-est sister
in the whole-wide mission.
***
And the Lord gave us a twenty-something investigator named Denis.
(Except in French you pronounce it “Denny”)
(which happened to be my family’s nickname for special body parts.)
(I’d blush a little when we’d go over to teach the discussions.)
On one very hot day,
outside his very hot apartment,
Denis accepted our invitation to be baptized.
And as we walked home,
I encountered my first run-in with public nudity,
(or shall I say I saw an un-welcomed denny?)
***
But that Sunday at church Denis shyly handed my companion a letter,
(which had a picture of faded red roses in the background)
rolled up with ribbon.
On the car ride home,
she had me sl-ow-ly translate.
Denis could no longer continue the discussions with us.
Because he was in love.
(With me.)
***
So it was that we “passed-off” our Denis to the Elders.
And consoled ourselves in an ice cream shop (called “Bunny.”)
Which is when I decided that it would be ok to gain weight.
I let the Lord make me over.
Less blushy, more serious.
(Maybe my first goal was possible . . .
. . . if I let go of the second.)
So it was that I put on the Ugly Mantle.
And stopped sending pictures home.
Because of this: “Are you feeling okay? You look . . . sick? Should I call your Mission President?”
***
I was transfered.
Transfered again.
(And)
Another time.
A year passed and I found myself back in Quebec City.
Where I ran into Denis
(with newly bleach-tipped hair.)
He didn’t really recognize me.
(I was heavy with mission.)
And he was baptized.
The only one I ever taught

Today Is The Day!

It finally arrived! She entered the MTC today. HORRAY! We are so proud of Beth and

know that she will be an amazing missionary! Today she begins the greatest adventure of

her life so far!

We have loved having Beth live with us for the past few months. She has been a sister,

and a great friend to The Darlings. We shared alot of laughs and alot of tears. She was

a blessing to our family. She is ready to begin this next chapter of her life. And it will

be a good one!

The Stake President (aka The Farmer) and his counselors came to our house to share

things we love about Beth, and then The Stake President gave her a beautiful blessing

assuring her that this will be a great experience for her. It was especially great to have

him set her apart. Our brothers and parents were able to participate in this great

experience through a conference call (thanks Matt!). It was a special experience. Monday

morning we left for El Paso and put her on a plane to Salt Lake City where our parents

picked her up.

PreShie will miss her "sister" I think more than all of us combined! They have shared
alot in the last few months. Beth has set a great example for all of us, and for that
we are very grateful!

I'm Back!

I enjoyed my break...but I am glad to be back! Thanks to you sweet people who emailed to ask how I was. Thanks for still checking on me. It meant! Anyway, our weeks away were full. Track Meets, mission prep. with Auntie Beth, a trip to 3 states in four days, a wedding, some major business changes, as well as many other things. We just returned, last night, from a wedding in Utah. My youngest brother, Stu, began his new life as a husband and a father. It was a fun trip, but home is a beautiful place to be!

Cousins....PreShie and Sage. PreShie with a darling new haircut, thanks to Auntie Beth.

Grandparents, meeting their newest grandson...He is feeling a bit shy;)

It was great to spend a little time with extended family, especially my brothers who I do not get to see enough. We missed our brothers who could not be there. We had a great time! Thanks to The Farmer for being so patient and kind on a long trip filled with many hotel rooms;)

Have You Ever Had One Of These????

The Phone Call -

Ring, Ring, Ring....

Me: Hello

Farmer: Hi Hon, what are you doing?

Me: I am trimming the roses, cutting back plants....it's that time

Farmer: Oh great! So how do you feel about Palm trees?

Me: What do you mean?

Farmer: Like, where would you like them planted?

Me: Are you kidding me? I am not a fan of the palm.

Farmer: I found this guy selling some great trees,.....AND....I am thinking

about where we could plant them.

Me: Seriously???

Farmer: So how many do you want?

Me: Did you hear the part where I said I am not a fan of the Palm?

Farmer: I was thinking a few would be good.

Me: Do we have a lovely swimming pool that I am not aware of?

Farmer: Pool....yea...so how many?

Me: Go ahead and get as many as you would like, I am not sure how they will

work into our landscape, but whatever.

Farmer: Hey! Thanks! That is all I needed....your permission.

Takin' A Break.....

I AM TAKIN' A BLOGGING

BREAK....I'LL BE BACK!!

In a week maybe two....

Happy Birthday PreShie!

This past weekend we celebrated the 14th birthday of PreShie! Oh, and did we ever celebrate.

It all began on our drive home from The Boy's football game, when The Farmer spotted these two men (below) walking along the highway. He quickly turned the truck around....

And asked how much they would charge to sing the traditional Mexican birthday song to PreShie. To which they quickly replied 25 pesos ($2.50 dollars). And so they were hired. And they sang, all the while PreShie grinned. They offered to sing again...another traditional Mexican birthday song..."congratulations it's your birthday" but before they began, the man with the guitar thought it might sound better if he shook out some small rocks that seemed to be in his guitar...and so he did. Seriously he did!

So for $5.00 PreShie was wished a happy birthday, with traditional Mexico style.

Preshie invited just a couple of friends over for her party.....and 15 young ladies later....we carved pumpkins, jumped in the brinca, brinca.........

Yes....she requested a brinca, brinca for her party. I loved that it was the princess castle that arrived. Perfect for a girl who is also known as "Queenie." Oh, who would have known how much that brinca, brinca would be enjoyed. They jump, and jumped!

They puppies really enjoyed the party too! Especially the bones from the yummy steaks The Farmer prepared for the girls.

Everyone carved a pumpkin to take home, and Rooster told The Farmer that this was a complete waste of pumpkins....they could have been sold for $$$

They were all lit with candles, each one unique and darling.

PreShie requested her favorite cake, Pastel de Tres Leches. Yummmmmmm! Good choice PreShie! After eating, jumping, screaming, more jumping, more screaming, a movie, carving, more screaming, lots of popcorn and more jumping. The Farmer ended the evening with fireworks. It was a great celebration for PreShie....Happy Birthday!

WE LOVE YOU PRESHIE!