Double digits already

How can it be? Thomas and Kathryn are 10 today. I am still trying to figure out where those 10 years went. Fast....that is for sure.

They were off to school this morning with cupcakes for their class. We have prayer meeting tonight, so they are taking along more cupcakes for their Kids Club friends. We will have tacos for supper and cake when we get home. Birthday celebrations with grandparents will have to wait until later in the week.

I am so thankful for both these children. Kathryn had a rocky start, to say she scared us would be an understatement. But the prayers offered from all of us were answered and within just a few short days, we were all under the same roof and learning how to parent a 2 year old and a set of twins.

Kathryn's quiet ways are a pleasure for all around her. Her love of animals is a joy to see. She is a charmer. Thomas' thoughts are deep and his enthusiasm is catching. He is a whirlwind of energy and never short on questions. Both kids love God and that is the greatest attribute either could have.

On this special day.....Happy Birthday to both Thomas and Kathryn!!!!!!!

Some things never change

As a kid, mom always hid chocolate covered eggs for my brother, dad and I to hunt on Easter morning. These were the flat ones that were always wrapped in foil and were flavored. It never failed, I was always the last to finish, since my dad and brother got their share first. One year I looked and looked and looked, but never found my last egg. Part of the problem was that mom could never remember where she hid all the eggs, and the frenzy that ensued when we all started searching made it pretty hard to keep track of what egg came from what hiding spot. That last egg was never found.....until several years later.

When putting up the Christmas tree about 4 years later, I got the bright idea that the tree would look better without the four pictures that usually hung on the wall behind the tree. When we took one of the pictures down, what should be stuck to the wall behind the picture?? The missing egg, of course. Mom had put it on the top of the picture frame and it had slipped behind and no one ever saw it. My dad was very generous, and told me I could have it, since it was mine. Thanks dad!!

Fast forward to 2009. My mom likes to hide Cadbury eggs for the kids. She hid them on Saturday, thinking that she would be ready whenever we had a chance to get there. We went over this afternoon after school and the kids started searching. Each had to find four. Thomas got his first, then Kathryn, but Suzanna wasn't so lucky. It was a flashback to when I was her age. She looked and looked and looked......and never found it. In mom's defense, she had a medical procedure done yesterday which required sedation. It has left her with lapses in memory, and she could not remember where she hid the last egg. The kids suggested that she make a map next year so she doesn't forget. Suzanna ended up with one of Grandpa's. He called a few minutes ago to hassle her for taking one of his eggs. She told him he was welcome to the missing one, when and if he found it.

Some kind of birthday!!!

Today is my birthday, and it certainly hasn't gone as planned.

Yesterday, my sister-in-law and I made plans to go workout after I dropped the kids off, then we would take my mom to Jackson for a trip to Kohl's and out for lunch.

My first clue that plans might need to be changed was when I let the dog out last night at 11pm. There was at least 2 inches of snow on the ground and more on the way. The next clue that this was no ordinary day came with the ringing of the telephone at 12:45. Hubby was needed on a service call to the village sewer pumps. The power was out and the generator wasn't running. When he returned a couple hours later, he told me there was no way we were going to get to school at our usual time, since there was at least 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground. A quick listen to the local radio station at 6 am confirmed that every school in the county was closed. BUT.....our kids go to school one county over and there were NO closings over there. We decided to have them stay home for a couple hours to see what the roads were like once hubby got out on them.

The kids got around and we were ready to head out the door by 9am. Just then the phone rang with a distress call from daddy. He needed us to bring a log chain and pull him out of his sister's front yard. He had gone over to drive up and down her driveway to cut a path so she could get out and go to work. It didn't go so well and he ended up stuck. Thankfully, with good instructions, I managed to get him unstuck. But by then it was getting late and the school day would be half over by the time we got there. So I made a quick phone call to the school and the kids were officially on a three-day weekend. I still managed to meet my sister-in-law and mom for lunch, but we stayed much closer to home.

So it looks like I got two things for my birthday so far. 6.8 inches of snow and Michigan State playing in the NCAA finals tonight. GO STATE!!!!!

Where do I start

This has been a typical crazy week. We survived the Great Lakes Holstein Show. Suzanna placed 3rd in a class of 10 in showmanship, which was great. Especially since she ended up showing Penny. Penny has a reputation. She has been the obstinate heifer on the farm. She is the one that hubby tried to catch last summer and she ran him from one end of the pasture to the other. To say she has been difficult would be an understatement. But, pregnancy must agree with her, since she is much more cooperative now. She sedately walked everywhere she was led for the weekend and I told Suzanna she was the one for showmanship.

On the other hand, Sami, who has always been easy to work with was a BRAT! She thought she was boss every time I had to lead her to the wash rack. She was even worse in the show ring. Suzanna stuck with her, despite needing some assistance from the neighbor up the road. (thanks JW!!!!) She acted so horrible, I began to wonder if she was bred or not. So, since the vet needed to be out for other stuff on Tuesday, I had him recheck her. Thankfully, the ultrasound showed a calf. I guess being pregnant isn't such a happy time for her.

We settled back in to our school routine. We are starting the countdown. As of today, we have 6 short weeks of school left! The twins are beginning to anticipate their birthdays, which will be in a couple weeks. I am thinking about a garden, once spring truly arrives. I was pleased last night to take a stroll through the yard and discover my currant bushes survived the winter. I also had to stop and admire my pussy willow bush. The bush started from branches I cut and rooted from my great-grandma's bush. i remember each spring, my mom would stop by great grandma's a pick a bunch of branches to decorate each spring. My bush has to be at least 18 years old, and was moved from our first home to our current place back 15 years ago this spring. The bush at great grandma's was pulled out a number of years ago, but mine survives!!

Today, I finish up prep work for a Ladies Fellowship mom and I are hostessing tomorrow. I have made six quiche, and am putting together Citrus Sherbet Tortes yet today. Tomorrow I will mix up a Spinach and Strawberry salad with Poppy Seed dressing and bake up a couple batches of mini muffins. Remember, I fancy myself a Martha Stewart wannabe, minus the time done in jail.

Back to school.....

We have been on Spring Break for the last week and a half. The kids actually had some nice weather days, which usually doesn't happen this time of year. We stayed home, which is a vacation to us. Not having to be on the road each morning at the crack of dawn was nice. We still managed to go somewhere each day. The kids hadn't had JC Penney-type pictures done for about three years, so we got pictures taken. We got some cleaning jobs done, went to the dentist, and Thomas got his pesky ear tube removed. Don't worry, they had a lot of down time too.

We head to MSU this weekend for the Michigan Holstein Jackpot Show. The weather will be better than last year, when it snowed about 4 inches, so we are taking the camper up. It is easier to stay in it, rather than the Red Roof up the road. We can eat our meals there, and the two kiddos that aren't showing cattle don't have to get up before the sun to head to the Pavilion and wash heifers. I am flying solo tomorrow night, and will managed to clip all three heifers by myself. That way, nobody has to miss school on Friday. The rest of the family will join me after school Friday afternoon.

I had better get packing......

Latest arrivals at the zoo

Meet the newest residents up here on the hill. These are my future egg layers. We picked them up on Sunday afternoon at the main post office. It was about a half-hour drive, and hubby decided it was wise to pick them up last. I had to agree. The longer they were in the car, the louder their peeping grew.

It reminded me of a ride I took many, many years ago. We lived in West Virginia for about three years when I was a kid. My brother and I had spent part of the summer with both sets of grandparents in Michigan, but it was time to head for home. My mom's folks took us home. Besides my grandparents, my great grandma and my brother, we had a few more riders for the trip. Grandma Phil was bringing a batch of young chicks to my mom.

The family was cruisin' down the highway, and I would suspect all the windows were down in the car. Wouldn't you know, we had a flat tire. Did I mention that grandpa had gone to the Saturday sale in Hillsdale to get my brother and I $5 bikes???? Well, the only way to get them to West Virginia was to take them completely apart and stuff them in the trunk. Which was no big deal until the spare tire was needed. I can still see my grandpa pulling piece after piece of bike out of that truck to get to that tire.

Once the tire was changed, we were back on the road. By now, the chicks were getting hungry....and noisy. Every mile they got louder until my grandpa finally told grandma to find something to feed them, because they were really getting on his nerves. She dug around in the picnic basket and discovered fig newtons. Well, those chicks just loved those newtons, and they did get quiet for a while. But then the newtons hit them and they got the "runs". Grandpa had a name for such things....he called them "Phyllis' follies". He would give her a pretty hard time about the stuff she involved him in, but he was a good sport about them most of the time.

Funny the things that you never forget. I can still see that whole day in my mind, as if it had just happened.

Not on my corner......

That is what I am struggling with right now.

The state of Michigan has to have a balanced budget each year. Unlike the federal government, we can't print money when we don't have enough, so "somethin' has gotta give". The budget was released last month and it looks like the Department of Agriculture is on the chopping block to give a lot. To the tune of about 20% in cuts.

This gets personal, when you dig further into what programs the cuts will hit. 4-H and county fairs, two of my favorite things. But there are a lot more things that come under the banner of the Department of Ag. Food inspectors are in that department, the state veterinarians are in there, along with a ton of others. But I am not clueless, I know there is a lot of stuff in that department that could be done away with. Heck, 21 years ago this summer, I went to work for the Department of Agriculture. I was a summer intern, and made close to $10 an hour. Mind you, minimum wage was about $3.45 back then. There was waste then and I am sure it has only gotten worse.

I went on a drought tour across the state that summer, and spent two days taking pictures of the Director standing in the middle of fields of hay and corn, soybeans, sugar beets and navy beans, agreeing that it was dry. Can you say photo op and feel good moments??? You Bet!! The Director of Agriculture standing there wasn't gonna make it rain. And taking an entourage of a state car and an 18 passenger van cost money. The director and five staff members then flew by private plane late on the second day to visit the Traverse City area to observe the drought damaged orchards.

Yes there is waste, and somethings can be cut. But nobody wants to cut their "baby". That special project that means everything to them! So who decides??? If they ask me, I am going to tell them not on my corner. And everyone else will have the same defense for their baby. I don't have any good answers, but I do know that 4-H has done a lot for many generations of my family and a lot of other families. There has to be a compromise somewhere, and hopefully it will be reached soon.