Heifer Update

I haven't said anything about Suzanna's heifer, Fancy, that tried to tear her eyelid off a couple weeks ago. It has healed up beautifully. I suspect that when it heals completely, it will be hard to tell anything ever happened to it.

Dr. Fish was out yesterday to pregnancy check her and confirmed that she is indeed pregnant. He also took the stitches out for us. The vet that put them in told me we could take them out ourselves, but I am glad I waited for somebody else. She put up quite a fuss over having those taken out and I could picture me putting out her eyeball with my sewing scissors while I was trying to cut those things.

One last Christmas celebration

Today is our final Christmas celebration. Hubby's family waits until the Saturday after Christmas to do their celebrating. With 6 kids, 4 of which are married, 17 grand kids and add to that 4 great grandchildren....that is a lot of people to get together. It is rare that all end up in the same place at the same time, but since everyone who lives away from the area wanted to build their Christmas memories around their own trees, it made a lot of sense to move it away from the actual day.

The dynamics are changing though. The older grand kids are now bringing spouses and girlfriends. When they were little, each one got a gift from each of the families. When they graduate from high school, they join the older group. That actually has most of them pretty excited. They have watched all of us do the gift exchange where you can choose an unopened gift off the table or a gift someone else has already opened. I enjoy this exchange, and plot finding the perfect gift that will be "hot" and one that gets stolen a lot. I think we have a couple fun ones this year and will wait to see what happens.

Not your average MaryKay Lady....

My neighbor up the road is my MaryKay Lady. I have to say she is not a typical one though. This morning she called to say my order was in and she was going to run them up to my house. Now one of the things most people know about Mary Kay Ladies is that they drive pink cars when they reach certain levels in the system. Well, Melissa is just getting started, but I'll guarantee she is the only one who makes deliveries on a John Deere tractor. What a sight she was coming up my driveway riding on the fender with her son at the wheel. The image was completed as she came into my house in her barn clothes. Thanks for the good chuckle this morning, Melissa!!!

Our Christmas present came early.....

My dad had a major health scare on Saturday. Anything that happens with dad when it comes to his health scary for us. He is a bone marrow transplant survivor, so when it comes to his health, he doesn't mess around.

So, Saturday afternoon, mom called to say that dad thought he had better go to the emergency room. He had a funny feeling is his chest and it wasn't easing up. My brother and his wife were home for the holidays, so he drove them in, while I stayed home, anxious for a phone call which would say everything was just fine.

About two hours later, mom called to say that his EKG and early blood tests looked fine, but his pain was increasing in his chest. At that point, I headed in to be with mom and my brother. A short while later, the doctor came in to let us know that he was admitting dad, so that they could monitor his heart closely. In the meantime, he wanted a second EKG to see if anything had changed. The EKG was done and soon the doctor let us know that there were some changed on the second one, and that dad was heading to Kalamazoo by helicopter.

Okay.....now it was officially scary stuff. The helicopter crew arrived within 30 minutes of the call and they quickly worked to get dad ready for a ride. He didn't feel good, I know he was hurting, but amazingly he was still making jokes with all of us and trying to make us feel better. Our Pastor and his wife got there and prayed with us. What a comfort that provided for all of us. Finally the moment came to say goodbye and watch him head to the roof of the hospital where the helicopter was waiting.

My brother and his wife were took mom to the hospital in Kalamazoo and I went home to settle down the family there. It was interesting to see the differing reactions from the kids. Thomas was worried enough that he left three messages on my cell phone. Suzanna was nearly as concerned for grandma as she was for grandpa. Kathryn in the meantime was already a puddle of tears over an injured barn kitty, so her emotions were obvious as she shed a few more tears over her grandpa.

I marvel though at the power of prayer. Many people, friends and family were all praying. Not just for dad, but for our family as well. There is such comfort in the knowledge that God is in control and he knows all of our fears and will be there with us through it all.

Within three short hours of his flight away from the local hospital, a call came from my brother to say that the doctors had already determined what the problem was and had fixed it. Dad would sleep the night in the hospital and return home on Sunday.

So there it is....our family Christmas present. To have dad sitting at my dining room table last evening for Christmas eve dinner. To know that he is at home right now, impatiently waiting for the family to arrive so that we can open presents. Just knowing that he is fine, that was enough Christmas for all of us. Thank you Lord......and Merry Christmas!!!!!!

That tell-tale bark.....

at 4am this morning let me know Thomas had another case of croup. This is typical for him. He seems to have at least a couple bouts of it each winter. He went to see the ped and got a dose of orapred. Doctor says he can head back to school tomorrow if he has a good night. Meanwhile his sister, Kathryn, had that "can't get very far from the bathroom" syndrome. So she stayed home too. Suzanna was fine and headed off for a normal day at school. She came home with lots of homework for the twins, which they got finished up before heading to bed.

Hopefully this will be the end of the sickies, with Christmas coming, we need it over and done!

Heifer update: I haven't mentioned anymore about Fancy since her accident last Friday. Everything is looking good. Her eye is healing up, the skin looks healthy and the swelling has gone down a lot. I suspect when it has healed completely, the only time the scar will show is when she gets trimmed up for showing.

Christmas shopping is nearly done, the kids only have two days of school left and can't wait to be on their break.

Another Snow Day

The kids are off for another snow day. They had two "ice days" last week. I am not sure they had more than three days off for weather all last year. Wonder what kind of year we are heading into????

Yesterday was spent cozy in the house. The wind was bitter, but finally calmed a bit in the afternoon and the kids had some good old fashioned fun outside. We all remember digging through drifts to make trails. They had a ball.

Hubby spent an hour with the snow blower and got the driveway opened up. It doesn't look like it blew enough in the night to fill it all in.

Thomas got the Steiner out yesterday before his dad got up. Daddy slept in after getting up rather early to get his sister to work. Anyway, he came back in the house and proudly declared that he had been all the way to the end of the driveway and back and only got stuck twice. And he managed to get it unstuck all by himself. He was told not to get the lawn tractor out again without permission. He came back with "mom told us not to wake you up dad". He was told then you don't take it out at all until you can ask. Never dull with that boy around.

Snowed In

Wow.....for the third week in a row, we have bad weather on the weekend. That means no church, which is a bummer. I miss the fellowship with our friends at church when we don't get to have church. Plus, we have a kids Christmas program and a choir program that really aren't ready for viewing and have missed numerous practices due to the bad roads. It will all come together. We might just end up with winter programs, rather than Christmas programs.

Our phone rang VERY early this morning. At about 4:40am to be precise. Mikes sister Becky works at the County Medical Care facility and couldn't get out her driveway and in to work. She is in the dietary department and they start cooking at 5:30. Mike headed out and picked her up along with one other worker. He made it there and back in one piece. Thank you Lord.

Chores are a lot of work in this weather. Pushing your way through drifts up to your knees or higher isn't much fun. We shut the foals, one broodmare and the two heifers up in the barn last night. Keeps everything warmer and the snow out of the stalls. The other two mares were out with their three-sided shelter. Lots of hay to keep their bellies full and their bodies warm.

We did manage to get the Christmas tree yesterday, and it is in the house half decorated. Hoping to finish it up this morning. Feels good to have the decorating done now.

Had a crazy report on Copper, the coming three-year old gelding that is in training now. Seems he was turned out in the indoor arena last evening for a little exercise. To the shock of Trainer Mike, Copper trotted up to the exit gate and jumped over it without hurting himself or the gates. Maybe Copper has a future as a Jumper. Time will tell.

Try to make plans and see what happens

This weekend was all planned out. Scheduling is my speciality. I do much better to have a game plan and get after stuff, rather than just flying into 20 different directions. Hubby is that way too. He always has a plan in his head of what needs to happen and when. Sometimes I get lucky and he shares it with me. The rest of the time, I get just a little information here and there to keep me up to date.

So my plans were all made. Last night, when the kids got home from school, it was off to the tree farm to get our Christmas tree. Then this morning I was heading to MSU for the Holstein Top Ten sale. This is a high level cow sale and in the 20 years it has been held, this was the first time in Michigan. Worth going to so you could say you had been there. Everything selling would be out of our budget, but still I wanted to get up there.

So hubby came in the house at 4pm last evening to say I needed to get out to the pasture and have a look at Fancy's eye, and that I had better bring my cell phone, cause we were gonna need the vet. Well, upon inspection, it seems Fancy caught her lower eyelid on something and ripped it open. YUCK!!!! Her eye seemed fine, but all around it looked mighty nasty. I put a call into the vet clinic and was told they would get someone out ASAP to treat her. So much for getting the Christmas tree.

Vet came out and stitched her back together. There is no way of knowing yet if that flap of skin was viable, but we will know within a few days. Even if it doesn't survive, it will still heal up enough to show her. Suzanna was pretty upset, and escaped before the stitching began. Not such a national holiday this time when the vet arrived. This one was a little too gross for the crew to stick around. We are thankful that it happened in the winter. The cold stopped the bleeding and we won't have to deal with flies either. That will aid in her healing.

So we were off this morning, bright and early, to get ourselves a tree. And then it began to snow. Not soft, gentle snow, but more like dumping. As it started greasing up the roads, I put a call into the neighbors, who were already at the sale to find out the weather up in East Lansing. No snow up there. Did I mention we are under a Winter Weather Warning. The weatherman claims we are getting 12 to 18 inches. We don't trust them, because they are so rarely correct, but it sure seemed like they were right when it started dumping at 9:00am.

We went ahead and got our tree. I decided to stay put. It quit snowing, for now. Harts will let me know if there is something at the sale Suzanna can afford.....not happening. They also promised to "network" with a few of the people I had planned to talk to today and see if anyone has a September or December calf for Suzanna to buy.

Plans are made to be changed. The tree will be in the house this afternoon and I will get the lights on it so the kids can decorate this afternoon and evening. If all the snow they are claiming that is coming......we will be tucked inside tomorrow instead of going to church. Don't make any plans just yet!

On the board.....

Well, the election took place last night, and I am officially a Hillsdale County Fair Board member. I am excited about this new venture and look forward to working with the other board members. I am going to be working with the current Youth Department superintendent this year and then will take over for him upon his retirement after the 2008 fair.

In other news, we have more ice today, so the kids are home from school again today. They were getting bored by the middle of the afternoon yesterday. I shudder to think what they will be like by the end of the day today. It is raining right now, so it isn't like they can go outside and have fun.

Project Costume is going well. I only have three more outfits to sew. That will take no time at all. I have been working on a few ornaments for the last tree, which should come in this weekend.

Correction.....

It has come to my attention that I made a mistake on a previous blog. In an effort to be right, I will now correct that mistake.

My dad has informed me that he did not wear suspenders prior to my wedding, but added them to his wardrobe as a result of the problem pants he wore at my wedding.

Also, the comment about his pants was made at the rehearsal, rather than at the wedding ceremony.

I regret any problems this may have caused my dad. Love ya dad!!!

Iced In...

We have no school today due to ice rinks. The call came from the kids principal at 6:15 this morning that they had cancelled school. We get a personal call because the school is a half hour away and for some reason, the radio & TV stations they put the announcement on aren't always reliable to get to come in at our house. So he is kind enough to call and let us know. And early enough that I could roll over and get a few more minutes of sleep. Actually, based on the ice in the driveway last night while we were doing chores, I was on a self-imposed 2 hour delay even if it had been fine in Adrian.

I was sleeping good until the phone rang again. This time it was one of our employees letting us know that he was going home to wait out the ice, since he had slid into a field about a mile from his house. Our other employee reported in shortly after that to say he couldn't get out of his driveway. Yes, it is rather a mess around here this morning.

My dad had a doctors appointment in Detroit sometime this morning. I called them with the road reports I was getting and they were leaving ASAP. I received a call from mom that it wasn't bad once they got outside our county. That's nothing new!!!

So the kids all received their morning assignments. Rooms cleaned and house picked up before they get to do anything fun. They seemed to think it was a national holiday from any hard labor. I fixed that notion quickly.

By the way, the weather forecast is calling for more freezing rain late tonight. Sounds like we may get another day off!

Tonight is the Fair Board election. The suspense will be over and I will know if I am on the board or not. Nerve racking!!!!

On a date that never ends....

Most days, that is what life is like for hubby and I. We celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary today, and I think life with him is outstanding!!!!!

It is icy and not very nice out today. We have been under an ice storm warning all day and it was just changed to a winter weather advisory. Guess the worst has past. Our wedding was in the evening, and it was very cold, and had been snowing for much of the week as I remember. So many great memories go through my head as I remember the evening. The first that really makes me chuckle is my dad whispering that he hoped his pants stayed up while he walked me down the isle. He had gotten a new suit for the occasion and usually wore suspenders with his pants. For some reason he didn't that night and there was some concern that his belt would fail him. Thankfully it did not and he got me down the aisle with no embarrassing moments.

Another fun moment was the "kiss bet" a bunch of our college and career friends thought up during the rehearsal. The bet was that if we could kiss for 30 seconds, we would win the money in the pot. We did our best, but when someone started whistling I lost it with about 8 seconds to go. At the end of that loooooong kiss, someone in the crowd said AMEN!!! The entire church erupted in laughter. As I remember they still gave us the pot. Came in handy on our skiing honeymoon in Breckenridge, Colorado.

The final moment I will mention for now was as we walked out of the church to head for the reception, the bell in the old steeple began to ring. Now I had attended the church my whole life and had never heard the bell. One of the men in the church decided it was time to have it ring and what better time to use it then at the end of our evening. It was wonderful.

So now, 18 years later, we are older, have three kids, and a love that has stood through thick and thin. He is my best friend and I thank God for putting the two of us together.

Holiday Whirlwind has begun.....

well, every holiday season it seems like we get on a whirlwind of activities and this year is no exception. If you do it right, though, the holiday is enjoyable, not something you approach with dread. I try hard for that balance, but when you are someone who tends not to know how to say "NO", it gets harder.

I find that attempting to spread things out helps. Unfortunately that can lead to procrastination. I do seem to work well under pressure, but that leads to insanity and an intense dislike for whatever you agreed to do.

So last weekend the holiday began. We did the Christmas party for our employees. Last night, Thomas and Kathryn had a Christmas recital. They were wonderful, of course!!!

This afternoon they have a Christmas party/program rehearsal at Church. Tonight they go to Gramma and Grandpa's while daddy and I celebrate our anniversary with a "kidless" dinner (sorry Thomas, another date!!)

Next week will bring more of the same. Tons of stuff to do and pacing myself to get it done.

The bottom line in our lives is what this season is all about. I want my kids to always remember that it is Christ's Birthday First. The rest is wonderful and part of what will make memories for a lifetime, but if we as parents neglect to keep their focus where it should be, then we haven't done the job God put us on when he gave us our kids. I have to keep reminding myself of this, or I get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season.

What is it with cats and Christmas trees???

I have three out of four trees up and decorated and boy does that help get you in the Christmas spirit. One problem I have though, is Butterscotch. He is fascinated with one of the trees. Of course, it is the Hallmark tree, which has the most prized ornaments on it. Yesterday morning, while getting breakfast ready, I heard a clunk from that tree and looked over in time to see him swiping ornaments off the tree. I got after him for it, which brought the dog over to stick her nose in the discipline. See she thinks it is her job to get after the cat if he is scolded for anything. Might have something to do with sicking her on him when he was a kitten and scratching furniture. It worked quite well and now he scratches only when he wants Emma to play with him......I know.......crazy right??? Well, I do claim to live in a zoo.

Anyway back to the tree. He knocked another ornament off, I got after him and Emma attacked him again.....the tree was wobbling and I was getting mad at both of them. Finally, Butterscotch lost interest in the tree and decided just to lay under there. Of course Emma thought he shouldn't be near it and kept trying to get under the tree and after him. I was ready to throw both of them outside. Things finally calmed down and off to school crew went. I wondered if my tree would be standing when I got home.

I have memories of another Christmas tree in my past. I was living on my own, in my first "super cool" working woman apartment. Money was tight, but I managed to get a small tree which I put on a table in my living room and decorated with some garland, lights and about 15 glass ornaments. My cat at the time was Ollie, a tabby adopted from the barn. I went home for the weekend and left her alone. She must have gotten awfully bored by herself. When I arrived home Sunday night, I stepped into my darkened apartment and felt a crunch under my shoe. I switched on my light, only to discover my Christmas tree on the floor and all but 5 Christmas ornaments shattered from one end of my living room to the other. She must have had a blast.....but man was I mad at her!!!! What a mess!!!!! I replaced them with another box of ornaments and for the rest of the season, she stayed in the bedroom when I was away from my place.

Project Costume is underway

I have got a major project underway here at home. I am making costumes for the church Christmas program. It is based in the 1880s...and orphanage....so the girls will need long dresses with pinafores over top. Older girls playing the two teachers will get long skirts and the boys will be in knickers. The pattern is very simple and will get more simple the more times I make it. I have two dresses done. That leaves 6 more to got, plus the skirts and three pairs of knickers.

I am cutting out and marking all the dresses today. That way I can sit at the sewing machine and just sew. Shouldn't take any time at all.

I also am trying to get Christmas into the house. Due to icy roads, we didn't have church Sunday morning, so the kids and I got started on the first of four trees that will grace our house. Yes, I said four!!!! I kinda like Christmas, can you tell?? I have a smallish tree that is all snowman ornaments. Then I have another smallish tree that is all farm animals and farm stuff. There is also a bigger tree that is nothing but Hallmark collectible ornaments. Hubby and I got married close to Christmas and received several "First Christmas Together" ornaments as gifts. I continued the tradition and added a new Hallmark ornament each year. After 18 years married, that makes for a lot of ornaments. Then when the kids were born, I added an ornament each year for each of them. That is my favorite tree. I do it by myself and reflect as I put each ornament on the tree. I think I will give the kids their ornaments when they are out of the house and have their own trees. Then again, maybe not!!! It will be hard to have the tree so bare after they have those ornaments for their own.

Finally, we get a fresh cut Blue Spruce for the final tree. We have gone to the same place for the past 7 years. The owner remembers us....probably coming with a big long trailer hitched to the truck does make us a bit unforgettable. Or is it the fact that hubby and Thomas cut the tree down each year with a Dewalt cordless sawzall?? Yes, traditions are what make this holiday special and those memories are what we treasure.

That tree is a biggie. We have a high ceiling in our great room, so we manage to pick a tree around 10 feet tall. Hubby goes through the field with his tape measure out. That is to keep me from picking one that is 20 feet tall. I swear, they always look so much shorter in the field, don't they? Anyway, that tree is decorated with mostly handmade stuff. I try hard to do a couple new styles each year. The kids love to decorate, so I let them get it done for me. That tree won't be done until about the 15th. Blue Spruce are pretty, but love to dry out fast and then every time the cat or dog walk by it, the cheerie sound of needles hitting the ornaments as they fall to the floor becomes commonplace.

The last big project will be to get my snow village out. That is another "mommy does it". The kids want to arrange it for me, but I want to do it myself. Still there will be trees that get moved to a different location or a car or person gets put someplace else. They think I don't notice, but I do.

For now, it is back to the cutting table. Goals have to be met, or there will be no costumes.

Eating Barbecue

Last night, we officially got the Christmas season underway. Hubby and I took our employees out for supper. We have gone up to the Outback Steakhouse the past few years, but decided to stay close to home this year. There aren't tons of choices if you want something other than fast food or pizza. Hubby and I are partial to the ChicagoWater Grill, but wanted to save that for next weekend, our wedding anniversary. So we decided to try Saucy Dogs, a local barbecue place. We hadn't been there before, but found it to be a nice place. Very casual dining, which was perfect for our group. You don't sit with tables and chairs, but rather on long benches. Napkins are rolls of paper towels.

Prime rib was the special, and I am always up for that. So were most of the rest of our guests. It arrived and I took my first bite. For those who might not be familiar with prime rib, it is a huge piece of meat that is rubbed with seasonings, slow roasted, and then individual slices are served. I say that because remember, we are eating at a barbecue.......and that isn't necessarily mild Open Pit sauce smeared on some ribs. It also means hot and spicy. And that was what hit me in that first bite. The rub they used was SPICY!! I am not a hot and spicy person, but thankfully I could cut off the outside edge of the meat and enjoy the inside, which had a pleasant, smokey flavor.

Lesson learned about eating at a Barbecue. There is gonna be some spice in that food. Next week, ChicagoWater Grill.