A Wounded Rooster....

When a Rooster get into a fight......

He ends up looking like this.....

The Fight was with the side of the bus......

There was a lot of blood.....

Cousin Loly and PreShie took care of the Rooster until he stopped bleeding....

We went to the hospital for X-Rays.....

Saw the same Dr. that takes care of The Boy and his nose.....

He laughed when he saw us....

Nothing was broken....thankfully.....

Just alot of pain and a big brusie to show for the whole event.

Messages From The Chalkboard.....

Dear Rooster.....

Dear Rooster.....

Happy 13th Birthday!

Roostie...you have been the best boy ever! A Mom could not have asked for anything

more than you. Thank you for being our "baby" and letting us baby you for a little

longer than usual. Thank you for being so willing to be at home....not always wanting

to be away. You have been a "home body" since you were a little man,

and I love that about you!!!


Thanks for always keeping us smiling. You have such a special gift with people.

They instantly love you....

You are thoughtful......

You are kind.....

You never want anyone to feel sad.....

You are a great cook....

You are great a getting broken things to work....

You are a joy! You have been since you were

born. You enjoy life....

You always make sure everyone has a snack...

You are a great fisherman.....

and now you are loving to golf.....

Roostie...your smile lights up any room that you enter....

Thank you for being a part of our family....

Happy Birthday

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Time To Fly.....

This week has been filled with activities....actually most every night....all leading up to graduation It was a wonderful day!

It was overwhelming to see our cousin Ben walking down the isle with his cap and gown on.

I found myself thinking back to the day he was born....driving to Utah to see him....all the while not knowing that I was expecting The Boy. This group of cousins decided to "come" together....they are all 9 months apart or less. They are more like siblings than cousins....anyway.....Ben started the process that we will all be going through too soon!

We cried....and cried....this family beamed with pride!!!

We all sat together...and decided to wear lei's, so that we would all be connected to each other. The graduate wore one too!

Graduation at the JSA is a very solemn experience. The traditional talks are given...but always a spiritual message is delivered. This year is was by Elder Brown who is our Area Authority, who also happens to be the current Director of the school. He offered such great wisdom on standing strong when our beliefs are challenged. He has been a great director, and has really loved the kids and helped them see their potential.


The proud parents.....The Father of the graduate...was the guest speaker, chosen by the Senior class. He did a great job too!

The Boy is worried....next year.....it will be his turn.

His Mom cried and cried just thinking about what the future holds;)

The Rooster and his cousins...had a little fun when the ceremony was over....


We started a few new traditions this year that we will repeat for our upcoming graduates.

The lei's to begin with....

After the ceremony was over, we all met on the campus where each person was given a balloon,

and as a group on the count of three, we released the balloons to

symbolize his departure from us.


It was fun to watch the balloons rise high into the air.....

Which is what we expect from the Graduate....he will most certainly achieve many great things.


And then.....the group hug...

That was the best of all! Everyone gathered arm in arm with The Graduate in the center,

and we hugged him tight!

Symbolizing that, even though we will let him go for a moment.....we really will have our

arms wrapped around him, no matter where he will be.

To finish the afternoon, we attended the traditional dinner that is served after each

graduation. It was yummy!

It was an emotional day....it was a great day!

I Was Just Thinking.....

This weekend was full of cleaning.....

It was a good thing!

PreShie got to earn a little $$$ and I was able to get some things done that had been bothering me. I have a little OCD with the house being clean. I know that I must be totally behind the "times" but I recently came across the Magic Eraser....which had changed my life! REALLY!

I have alot of white wood work in my home and this has really helped. It has, in fact, been a great help on many other things within the house as well.

I love it!

Okay.....again....another thing that I am behind on.......

I knew that it cleaned clothes....but who knew that it does grout too!
My grout in my entry and my kitchen too....has been bothering me for a long time. I even purchased "The Shark" (steamer) to clean it up....NO.......it didn't work like I thought it would, nor as it was advertised that it would. So after a little research online....and with R2 (my dear sister-in-law) it seemed like this product would be worth a try. I applied the mixture of Oxiclean and water......scrubbed.......let it sit awhile......scrubbed again.....and rinsed (mulitple times) and at first the grout didn't seem much different....but as it dried it became beautifully white! HORRAY! When I pointed it out to The Farmer he said...."I didn't think it looked bad to begin with." Oh, wow, that didn't make me feel too good.....but then....PreShie came through the door and said..."Mom, your floors are so bright!" (with her hands held up over her eyes to sheild the brightness). I am not sure if she really thought they were bright, or that she had watched me cleaning all day on my hands and knees.....I don't really care what the reason was.....I was just so glad she said it!! I like her;) Anyway, just a little tip...if you need a great grout cleaner...this is the one for you!


The Hummingbirds are back....they make me really happy!
PreShie tried to cut back on the sugar to water ratio, on their food.....
they didn't like it at all! Now everything has been adjusted, and they are happy again!



Kitty Meow Meow, has resumed his position and is anxiously awaiting the
opportunity to get himself a little bird.....I spend the day chasing him away!

This weekend the celebrations began for a dear nephew who will be graduating this week. It is a time full of many emotions for our family. He is the first....of the second generation.....to graduate and it will mean that my kids are not far behind. It should be a fun full week...and I am sure that many tears will be shed.



We had a very strange week last week....it involved these (above)
I have said that I would not write about the sad events in our area....what is the point??
We choose to look forward with faith.
This was very close to home....
These kind of events really make you think.....
We are blessed because we are safe.....

Messages From The Chalkboard....

by.....

The Farmer

Farm Livin' Is The Life We Love!

Saturday evening we all met at The Farm. The whole family! It was another opportunity to celebrate the homecoming of Auntie Beth. Tradition for the family is to kick off the beginning of Summer....and the end of Summer with a hamburger fry. We have been doing it for years.

So what better place to do that....than The Farm. Everyone brought their fishing poles.......

several people made a catch or two......fishing occupied The Boy for a very long time!


PreShie and Auntie sat on the edge of the pond....watching....and chatting.


The rest of the family sat nearby, waiting for Unlce D. to cook up the hamburgers.

It was a great afternoon....not too hot...not too windy....just right!


The trees are loaded with peaches....HORRAY!

Now we pray that we will be able to get the crop off without any major disasters;)

Our prayer most every year.


Auntie Beth took the camera, and she, PreShie and the grandparents took off on a walk.

It was fun to find the pictures that she had taken.


Who knew that she could get the grandparents to pose like this!

It was an exceptional afternoon/evening. The night ended with roasting marshmallows over the fire. It was great to be together as a family, laughing, talking and eating.....it is what we do best!

The Farm is special place for me. Years ago it was the home to many different families. Through the years each of the small homesteads were purchased to make one farm. I have often told The Farmer that I can feel the goodness of the people who were there before us. The were people who tried their best to do what was right and worked so hard to carve out a life for their families in that place that we call The Farm. Their goodness still lingers. The Farmer says that we never really "own" anything in a lifetime....we are just caretakers for moment in time. We are blest to be the caretakers of this place that has taken care of so many good people through the years.

Farm livin' really is the life we love!

Mission Accompished!!

She found her way home!!!....YEA!!!

Her plane was.....EARLY!!!!......seriously..when has a plane been early???

We arrived 10 minutes before the plane was to arrive and yes.....

she had already arrived!!! Luckily our parents had gotten there in time.

So Auntie Beth was greeted with screams....posters...balloons and alot of tears....

as she was exiting the bathroom!

Not like we had pictured it...but it worked!

Funny thing....the same thing happened to The Farmer when he came home from his mission....only his family got lost on the way to the airport....

Some very, very happy parents, greeting their baby girl!

We made quite a scene....many stopped to watch....

we cried, we laughed....we cried some more and we hugged a whole lot!

The Darlings were beyond excited to get their Auntie Beth/more like a sister,

back home. They had so much to tell her and spent the weekend catching her up on their lives. She patiently listened....offered a little advice and alot of love....those Darlings listen to her

when they had blocked the rest of the world out. I love her for that!

This Dad was the happiest Dad in town when his little girl arrived home.

The Mom cried alot....remembering scenes from past missionary arrivals...that involved myself and Auntie Beth....and then she just cried some more.

When he thought no one was looking....The Rooster found the perfect opportunity to ride the baggage conveyors....why not??? And the balloons added the perfect touch!

It made sense to him and provided some good laughs for the rest of the group!

After a yummy lunch in El Paso....we headed home.....

and thanks to Aunt Kelly.....Auntie was welcomed back to town with signs that were strung across the street, yellow ballons tied to the fences and the trees tied with yellow ribbons!

What a welcome!!! We spent the weekend eating....chatting....picnicing......eating some more....

sharing experiences.....chatting about the future.....and just catching up!

We are soooo proud of Aunite....we are grateful for her example....

We are glad that she is home!!!!

Tomorrow Is The Day......

Tomorrow is the day....she comes home!

Sis. Bethany

Has 18 months really passed by??? Some days it has seemed terribly slow and other days it has passed so fast. But tomorrow we will welcome her home~


Just a random picture that Cousin Niki took of The Boy and his Caballero.

It was taken just a few days ago, while The Boy "worked" his beloved horse. That Boy was meant to be on a horse! With a simple whistle his horses come running to him.

He treats them with love and respect......and they in turn love him.

When he is troubled....they comfort and heal his soul. It is a joy to watch them together!

(fantastic picture Niko.....I love it!!!)