"Fall"....On The Farm.....

I personally think that "The Farms" are beautiful at any time of the year..they change dramatically from

season to season...their purpose is different in each season...I guess it is really like each

of us...(that was really deep and meaningful wasn't it!)...anyway...I love the Winter months...

the rest that both the ground and The Farmer need so much...I love the begining of Spring, when

the ground has awoken and is being prepared for another crop..certainly the late Spring

and Summer season...the harvest season...when all that was planted is breaking through the

ground and the production of the different "fruits" begins...and finally the harvest....it is a beautiful and

rewarding time of year...most of the time;)  Any finally...Fall...the harvest is finishing up and

preparations are starting to allow the ground to rest again.  It is a lovely cycle....one that is really

fun to photograph.  Sometimes living this cycle is hard.  Sometimes it is fantastic!

Farming makes humble men....yes it does!

A dear friend shared a familiar story with me yesterday and substituted a farmer as the

character of interest....the summary of the story went like this...

"God isn't in the business of farming....He is in the business of the farmer...."

Somtimes that means hard experiences....this year it meant just that for many in our area.

It is hard to understand why we have to watch a year's worth of money and work be lost

in a momentary act of nature.....trust me...it is very hard to watch.

"...He is in the business of the farmer...."  farming make for very humble men.

The above picture is of The Farmer...cleaning out one of the pumps...he sure got wet...

but it made for some great pictures!

This group of people come from the most southern part of Mexico...they come to work during the

harvest season....they are colorful...happy...and simple.

The Farmer insisted that The Rooster have his picture taken in the middle of a dry field of corn....

as you can see...he was not at all happy about it...he complained ALOT!!!

Most of the time he was scratching...he said the corn was really itchy...

It turned out to be a great picture..capturing The Rooster perfectly!!

Letters To The Missionary Boy....

(From The Rooster...)

For FHE we decided to draw "letter" pictures for The Missionary Boy...

some of us are great artists...and some are just not!

I would be one of those who is ...just not...an artist!

I sure do appreciate the artistic ability of others...yes I do!

We laughed and laughed...it was great fun....I hope it bring a smile to the face

of our Missionary Boy!

Cousin Loly....

The Farmer...

and finally....PreShie...

Messages From The Chalkboard....

Our First Look....

We finally have our first look at the Missionary Boy!  Horray!!!

After very little communication...and no photos...we were DELIGHTED..to finally

see how the Missionary Boy looks!

This is the photo that was taken when he arrived at the Preston England MTC...

He looks very tired....

They fly the flags of the countries of the missionaries that are in the MTC

at that time...so yes...they flew the Mexican flag!

Every picture is beautiful and green...

This is the entire group at the MTC...

The official picture!

Pres. and Sis. Walker..Pres. Hinckley's daughter...are the presidents of the MTC...

The Missionary Boy really connected with them...he and Pres. Walker have plans to ride

horses in Provo Canyon when their missions are over.

The Missionary Boy's district.

He was called to be the District Leader...his stay at the MTC was a great experience

and he made some great friends.  He has now been assigned to Reading, England and is

doing very well!  He has a great trainer and is off to a great start!

The Temple...

On August 16, The Boy attended the temple for the first time...he had been many times before

with the youth of our ward...but this time it was his experience.  A sweet friend who was

there that night whispered in my ear..."it doesn't get better than this...does it?!"  And she was right!

It was a wonderful experiencef to be there with many of our family memebers to celebrate this

next step in The Boy's life.  It was a great experience for us all....especially The Boy!

PreShie and The Rooster met us outside the temple when we were done...that was pretty special too!

On the way out of the temple...Grandpa S. noticed a VERY large beetle outside the door,

and promptly picked it up and examined it very carefully...that is the scientist in him...

At one point it was put into a glass to be taken home...truthfully I am not too sure

what happened to it...but it was fun to look at!

On our way home...we all met at the Hacienda...a favorite place to eat...to have a little

dinner and visit more.  More cousins showed up to show their love and supoort for

The Boy.  It was a very special evening!

We're Not Supposed To Call It A "Farwell"......I Know....

What a week!

It has been full of "stuff"...accidents at the plant....broken pumps at the farms...

things that would only make sense to The Farmer...and those who live with him;) ....

actually most of the time they don't make sense to us...but we pretend like they do....;)

The week ended with Stake Conference, complete with a special visitor.

After meetings...and dinners...and more meetings...the event was done...and the week

was over.  The Farmer was able to rest a little...mentally and physically...which was a good thing!

Conference was great!  Many were in attendance...the messages were uplifting and full of

encouragement.  He mentioned the Missionary Boy...that he is doing well...is very, very, happy...and is having great luck dominating the language
 he is learing in the MTC...(that would be English...)
The Farmer gave a very nice talk, filled with personal experiences

and emotion.  I like it when he shares like that..it was sincere and genuine.

We enjoyed having our home filled with guests for a physical feast after conference

was over...it is always fun to make new friends and enjoy the company of old friends.

This week we celebrate a BIG holiday in Mexico...the 16th of September....

and have a couple of days off from school....YEA!!!  We have big plans...yes we do!!

This week...my goal is to catch up...on the events that surrounded The Missionary Boy as he

was preparing to leave on his mission.  It was like a whirlwind...so much happened in such a short

time...it was hard to capture..and digest too.  The Missionary Boy's "Farwell"...I know we aren't

supposed to call it that...but I don't have a better word....was on August 14.  His Uncles from

Mesa all arrived...as well as the Grandparents S.  The Uncles and Grandpa sang

Ye Elders of Isarel...and it was great!  It was a treat to have them here with us!  The Farmer

just happened to be assigned to our ward that particular Sunday...something that had been

scheduled since the first of the year....I called that a "Tender Mercy"....he gave a sweet talk,

the cousins all sang.."the cousin song"...which is Army of Heleman.  That was tear jerker for

sure!  They were crying and I was crying...I am pretty sure The Boy shed a few tears too!

The Boy then gave a talk he had prepared.  He did a good job.  He was stressed out about that

talk!  I guess because he has known about it for 18 years;)  His sigh of relief...when his talk was

done....was almost audible...he was pretty happy it was done;)  The above

picture is of The Boy and our current temple president...and dear friend...and The Farmer's cousin..

he has given great service in the church...and was at one time a mission president.  He offered

some advice and counsel to The Boy....The Boy sure does love him!

Many friends came to support The Boy...he is one of the last of his group to leave for his

mission...most of the group had already gone. 

A great group of friends...most of them he as known for his entire life.

Most of them have been together since grade school.

These cousins..(above)...are so sad that The Boy will be gone for two years...but they would also

not want it any other way!  These cousins LOVE each other so much!

Only 18 months apart in age...these two don't know life without the other...

at moments they haven't "liked" each other too much...but they have always

"loved" each other.  PreShie has shed many, many tears over The Boy leaving. 

After church...the whole family came to our home for a dinner in honor of The Boy...complete

with decorations from England;)  The Farmer says that I really enjoy a "theme" and

yes I do!!  We had Brisket...prepared by Uncle Dave...Baked Potatoes...Salad...Jello...

and desserts brought by each of The Boy's Aunts.  It was a yummy feast!!

It was the perfect "farwell" day...

So....We Had A Little Fire....

Last week I was working away in my office...The Farmer was in a meeting in another

room....and one of our employees rushed into my office....out of breath...asking me if I knew

that we had a raging fire going on in our back patio.  No....I had no idea...so I ran for The Farmer...

we all ran from the offices...to the location of the fire.  On the way...which wasn't too far...

we found three employees whose arms had been burned...trying to move equipment and other

items from the area of the fire.  Luckily they were not hurt too bad...but they still needed medical

attention.  Right about then...the poilice...firemen and ambulance arrive.  That is always

a scene in Mexico...because along with any emergency vehicle...arrives the rest of the town to

see what has happened.  Many who arrived were people we knew...asking how they could help.

Again...thanks to great employees...the fire was brought under control very quickly and although

there was damage...the loss could have been much worse.  The burned employees were treated

and released...and back to work the next day. 

The aftermath....

Back To School...Hamburger Fry....

Although school started a couple of weeks ago....we gathered Monday night for our

Back To School Hamburger Fry....that we have had for many years.

I was most likely the last Hamburger of Summer....the last Summer swim in the pool....

It was a celebration of a great school year to come and a celebration of a

wonderful Summer that we all enjoyed so very much.

These two....insisted that I take their picture...complete with a pose;)

Uncle C. was at the grill....and did a fantastic job feeding the group.

The family preparing their hambugers....

The end result....and boy did it taste good!

It is a great thing when the family gathers....It was fun to watch the cousins play...

roll in the grass with the dogs...and soak up the last little bit of Summer.

A Ranch Birthday....

Last Saturday I celebrated another birthday.....

The Farmer took charge...and planned a birthday party for me at "The Ranch"....

also known as Escondida.  The Ranch has been in the family for many many years...and The Farmer

has many great memories of his childhood at this Ranch...

It is a place the family LOVES to gather, especially the kids...at the suggestion of a Ranch trip....

the kids go wild!  They love to ride their 4-wheelers there, fish there, and cook steaks over

an open fire.  They never tire of trips to The Ranch!

The Farmer made all the plans...he prepared all the food...and we loaded the truck and

headed for The Ranch...only when we arrived to the first gate...(there are many gates...)

the keys didn't fit.  They were the only set of keys we had...luckily another set was on the way.

In the meantime some young nephews of mine decided that there was no reason to wait...they

would just take the fence apart enough for the motos to drive through....and so they went to work.

After just a couple of minutes the motos began to pass through the fence....one by one....and

then those nephews rebuilt the fence....climbed on their motos and headed for the next gate.

We were left behind, because the truck wasn't about to fit through the opening in the fence.

Very shortly Uncle Dan...owner of The Ranch....showed up

with another set of keys and off we went.

The Ranch was just beautiful!  Enough rain has fallen that it is green and lovely.

Although the day was very hot...there was just enough water in the stream to keep the kids

cool and occupied.

The Farmer carefully prepared steaks for everyone...he actually prepared the number of steaks of

the birthday I was celebrating...haha!  They all got eaten except for 5...which he brought

home to enjoy later.  He also made quesidillas over the fire...YUM!!

We enjoyed cold watermelon...and some tasty cake that Aunt Shauna was nice enough

to make for the whole gang.

The best part was just sittin and visiting under the shade of a tree...while the kids

played in the water.  The Sun ended up behind a cloud or two...which really helped with the heat

of the day....along with a light breeze.

It was close to the perfect afternoon!

Who knew that such a small amount of water would bring so much

joy to a group of kids;)

It was a wonderful day!  Very well planned by The Farmer himself!

He gave me a very special gift this year...the gift of a Grateful Heart....and a very tender expression

of it.  A gift I won't soon forget!  Thank to The Farmer for a perfect day!!