When Life Hits You Full Throttle In the Face

Life.. ah, where to begin? It has been especially hectic over here for some odd reason. The oddest thing, though, is that one really can't put an exact finger on what we've been doing. We've just been busy.

Actually, I suppose I could recount a few things... For one thing, last Tuesday my brothers and I went swing dancing in Albuquerque. This group meets every Tuesday night. They do a lesson beforehand, and then free dancing time afterwards. It was a lot of fun and we learned some good basic steps. =) It was also really cool to watch those who have been doing it for a while really get into the dance. Some pretty good dancers out there! And the best part? My brothers enjoy doing it! =D Which means we got to come home and practice!

Friday I nannied all day, then went putt-putting with a local young adult group. We went out for some frozen yogurt afterwards and had a good time all around. Made some good memories and had lots of laughs.. =)

Saturday night we went to another dance, though this was an English country dance, so quite a bit different than the swing dancing, but still loads of fun! There were only a handful of guys, so I got to dance the guys part a couple times. Its really fun to exercise your acting skills by playing up the role. While I danced the virginia reel with a friend of mine, we had a very extended conversation about my recent 'hunting trip to Africa' and all that. She did marvelously to play along and I had a blast playing a posh old gentleman. =)

Other than that, we started landscaping our yard this weekend. Our poor front yard is so hard that it refuses to grow grass. So we finally gave up this year and decided to just do gravel and pretty rock. I think it will be much better this way.. more low maintenance, too, and since we already have about 6 acres around the house to keep up, it will be nice to not worry about the yard, too. We will grow some grass around the side of the house where our 'sitting area' is, just to add something green and soft and cool.

This Sunday, for father's day, dad decided he wanted to work more on the landscape. So we did that, then headed into town in the afternoon to go watch The Amazing Spider Man 2. It was pretty good, but I'll tell ya something... modern movies seem to focus more on filming cool action sequences and forget to do some character development. Not totally bad, but not totally awesome either, on that scale.
We went went to Rudys for supper, so really, it was a good day. Although, I was so tired this morning I really couldn't keep my eyes open for several hours after getting up... yikes. However, it was a great day to celebrate an amazing person. My dad is just... awesome. There's no other way to put it. He stays up until the wee hours of the morning talking with me if I have some big problem to figure out.. He jokes and teases with me. He gives the best hugs and shoulder rubs. He works really, really hard for our family. He is just amazing!

This week we have quite a bit planned, too. Busy, busy week. Most notably, though, are probably Monday and Wednesday. Monday I get to go to lunch with a dear friend of mine, and then on Wednesday we have our last filming day! Well, what should be our last! If all goes well, we will officially be done filming our movie and I can get on with the editing. Should be a fun, but crazy day. Going from 8AM to 8PM... yup. =) At least we'll feel like real actors... hah!

So what's been going on with your life lately? Anything new and exciting going on in your life?

Quick Update From The Long Lost Girl

I feel as if I haven't blogged in forever... oh wait, I haven't. =P

Well, I'm back again. Glad to see me? Maybe... maybe not. Who knows? In any case, I'm back again. Hopefully I'll keep up with promises of all these fun posts. My life has been slightly out of order lately.

For one thing, we just arrived home last night from a week long trip up to California. Our dear friends (aka adopted cousins!) were celebrating the graduation of their eldest daughter. It was so much fun to be able to go up for a mini vacation and enjoy spending some time with them. =) Many, many memories were made. For the graduation party, my siblings and I sang, along with a few others, as part of Kara's 'graduation choir', so to speak. We sang several songs, including one from Celtic Thunder called 'Place in the Choir'. It was LOTS of fun!! =) I got to play guitar for a couple songs, so that was double score. After a wonderful speech from both parents and the graduate we made room for dancing! Calling English Contra dancing is something that I've enjoyed for a while now. I had offered to call dances at Kara's graduation, so that was a lot of fun. Everyone really seemed to have a good time, too. =)

While we were up there, we got to meet one of their real cousins from Texas. That was loads of fun and we all decided we fit in as one big crazy group. We made several 'scenic' ventures and got to go to the coast, Burney Falls (a BEAUTIFUL waterfall that Becca and I got to see last time we went up), saw the Redwood forest, and got to eat at the 'mess hall' that was used for loggers way back in the 80's/90s. That was really neat. Basically the set up was a bunch of long tables and then your server just brought out plates and bowls of all sorts of yummy goodness. Orange juice, coffee, bacon, toast, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and potatoes. If we ran out of something, we just asked for more and she brought it out. It was really cool. Perfect place for hungry boys, methinks. =) It set us up perfectly for a long day looking at the redwood forest and the ocean.


I think that the ocean might have been my favorite spot we went to. Mainly because no one else was there but us and well, quite frankly, it is just beautiful. I'd love to get a little beach house and just go and write. Mom said she'd tag along and cook and clean for me... hmm... thinking that might be a pretty awesome deal. (both photos were taken with my cell)







Hanging out, though, was truly the best. Fun to just visit, laugh, visit, laugh, play music, laugh, dance, laugh, swim, laugh. Yeah, basically a lot of laughing. However, the awesome thing is that we also had many wonderful discussions. But, our lifesaver was the pool. Their house, which is just beautiful, has an awesome backyard with an awesome pool. We pretty much spent a lot of time in there.. It was just SO hot! =)

Also, another neat thing was that, two days after the graduation party, was Meri's birthday! So we got to stick around for that as well! (Meri is the second daughter). Naturally, we had lots of fun. That morning, we got up and Josh and Dad fixed her their famous biscuits and gravy. Then, we opened gifts... she received a recurve bow and arrows to go with it from the men in her family, so she spent a good portion of the morning shooting. Then, while her cousin Abigail and uncle took her off to go buy some targets, the rest of us girls went out and decorated the deck in Hawaiian fashion, then surprised her with it when she got back. =) We did some dancing until about 8ish, and then we decided that it would be fun to just go for a late night swim. So we did! It was the most impromptu, silliest (in a good way!) thing I have ever done! Ok... actually not. But it was still fun! We swam until around 10:30. It was crazy fun! Definitely helped us cool down after the intense heat from the day!

However, despite the heat, we really enjoyed our time there. It was a big bummer when we had to leave. Hopefully I can steal some pictures from my sister so I can post some later.

Yet, it is also really nice to be home again. There is so much to do and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work again! We've got some landscaping in the yard coming up (finally gave up on trying to grow grass in the yard, so we'll just be bringing in some pretty gravel), putting in our volleyball court, and cleaning out the shop and such for Joshua's graduation party!

On that subject... wow. I can't believe he's this old already! Makes me feel.. super old.. lol!

Also, before I close, I'd like to make mention of a friend of mine who is working on getting his book published. The awesome news? You can help! He's currently entered in a contest and all he needs are lots of votes. Go visit HIS SITE to check out a synopsis of the book and to vote. If he gets enough votes, he could be up and running for a publishing grant. Also, check out his blog!

Alright! Off to my crazy life! Hope to see you all around here again soon!

Just Your Typical Day on the Ranch ~#4

Hey y'all! Another Typical Day on the Ranch post!

Yesterday afternoon my brothers and I were charged with a task: To run all the cows through the chute, get hair samples, put patches on them, and give them their dose of bug medicine.

No problemo. The cows are really quite gentle and work fairly easily. So when Dad gave us this task Sunday night, we were ready to go. The plan was to get up early and get started right away to get it done. We had two set of corrals that we were working cows: headquarters and 'up top' corrals. Thankfully, the guys had gathered all the cows that night, so we didn't need to worry about that in the morning (that seems to be the hardest part sometimes). Deciding we would work the house first, then come in for lunch, and head up top, we went to bed, figuring we'd want a good rest before the next day.

The day started out slightly later than we had hoped (as one of us, ahem, wasn't able to get to sleep until about 2am)... However, we decided we wouldn't let that stop us. Dad had headed into work already, and mom was getting ready to leave for her day in town to do some things. Josh fixed us egg burritos while I went over the plans again to make sure everything looked right. So far so good. I was rather excited about getting the hair samples. =)

As we were about to head out, a friend who leases some pasture with us came by to pick up some of his cows. So Josh and Mr. S went up top to get his cows while Caleb and I prepped everything for working the cows at headquarters. After making several runs back the house then out to the corrals, we finally had everything (not that there was a whole lot but we just kept forgetting things...) Josh got back right as we were about to start. Glad to see our third cowpoke, we met him half way to see how his morning had gone so far. He brought us bad tidings. The cows had either knocked open a gate, or one of them didn't closed properly and they were now scattered in two pastures.

Pause for great big sigh.

We decided the boys would go ahead and go regather the cows before the spread out much further and I would wait down at the house. They left and I decided that, instead of wasting time, I'd go start working the cows on my own. There wasn't a whole lot to do per cow, so I figured it would be fairly easy. Slow, but easy. I headed out, intent on my mission and getting at least a couple handfuls of cows done before the boys got back.

Lesson learned.

When I got out to the corral, I realized that the cows needed to be pushed from a holding pen into the alley so I could push them into the chute. May not seem like a big deal, but when you're trying to push a bunch of bovine, you need at least two people else they just run past you in all directions. I attempted to push them from behind, but that ended rather quickly when I realized I was fighting a losing battle. So, racking my brain for ideas, I finally came up with a brilliant idea that, amazingly, worked quite well. I then began the process of gathering them into the chute (much easier now that I was in a narrower alley!).

I had done three cows by the time the boys got back. Not quite the handfuls I wanted, but hey, it was a start. Once they got there, we all jumped in and got to the task at hand. Josh dosed them, Caleb put on patches, and I collected hair samples.

I will go into a bit of detail on how we did the samples.. It was really cool. I simply had to grab their tail, take a section of the longer hair at the tip, and pull upwards, against the 'grain' of the hair. This pulled the hair, roots and all, out in neat form. I then placed the roots in a clear sticky pad. These will be sent into a lab for testing so that we make sure the cows don't have any illnesses or some other genetic defect that will affect their calves.

As we were working cows, we enjoyed joking around with each other, laughing about 'inside jokes' (none of which needed explaining because we were all on the 'inside'), and liking how smoothly things were going... Guess we thought that too soon. Before we knew it, a heifer had decided she didn't want to go forward and had succeeded in turning herself completely around inside the little alley leading up to the chute. Lovely. Thankfully, though, we didn't need her to go head first, since none of the things we were doing required her head to be caught. However, it's always a little scary when they are in the process of turning around as they can get stuck... Not to mention that you simple stand there looking at her helplessly, knowing you can't do anything to stop her. Getting near only makes her more frantic. So we backed off, silently praying she wouldn't get stuck. She didn't and must have had an interesting time going through the line backward.

Another cow later on almost broke her leg in an escape attempt by trying to jump up and out of the chute. Brilliant idea, cow. What was I saying about our cows being quite gentle? ;-)

Other than those little incidents here and there, everything really did go smoothly. A couple times, when reaching to get the tail for samples, my hand met with 'wet stuff'... *sigh*. All I could imagine was Adrian Monk doing that... (if you've ever seen "Monk", you know what I'm talking about).
But then, I suppose that's why I live on a ranch. It didn't bother me too much (or maybe it's because of living on a ranch that it doesn't bother me... hmm...) You just have to keep going. No stopping to 'get it off! get it off!'... =) Yup, bonafide country right thar. =)  Anyway, back to my story...

So, we finished the cows at the house and went inside for lunch at about 2:30. Finished eating and checking a few things for mom, then got ready to head back out. We took all our gear with us, drove up to the top corrals (takes about 5-10 mins to get up there). As we went to gather the cows, poor Caleb walked right into a metal pole/bar that is sticking out horizontal to the ground. It is part of a fence, but we haven't finished building that fence yet, so it sticks out... he's not the only one that has done that. Poor guy. He really hit it hard. After he recovered a bit, though, we joked about him 'walking into a bar' and tried to put on shocked faces... Yeah, that helped a little. He's such a trooper, though, and got right back to work.

We had done about 5 cows when Josh realized he was out of the meds he was giving the cows and had forgotten to grab the new container from the barn. So, we paused operation and headed back down. Worked out fairly well, actually, as the boys wanted to grab some protein bars from the house (don't know why they were hungry, though. It's not as if they were working really hard....). =)

On our way up, I had taken off my jacket, as it was getting a little warm. When I hopped out, I guess I knocked over my water cup and later, then it got a little windy and I needed my jacket, I realized it was soaked and wouldn't do a whole lot of good for keeping me warm. =P So my new routine of getting hair samples went from 'get them and stand in the open while I'm putting them in their sticker' to 'get the hair as fast as you can, rush back and hop in the truck to stay warm while you now put the hair in the sticker'. =)

During all this, we did have a couple times that some cows got out and we had to chase them around the pasture a bit... or sometimes we'd actually analyze the situation to see how we could outsmart the cows to get them back in. Usually that worked better.. lol!

And so, after a day that we had hoped would be a morning/part of the afternoon project, we finally got home at 8pm. However, dad was really sweet and went and got us Taco Bell so we didn't have to cook anything. =)

So that, my friends, is just another typical day on the ranch. Do your days look similar to this? (I've found most people's do, whether they live on a ranch or not).=D

Sincerely,
Your Ranching Friend Out in the Middle of Nowhere

P.S. Keep an eye out! I'm planning on doing a blog post of our recent trip to Montana (pics included!)

Escapades of Josh and Sarah ~Ep. 1

Josh and I are siblings, yes.. but we like to call each other P.I.C (Partners In Crime). Ever since we were little, we got into a lot of scrapes together. Or, as we both say to one another, "... and most of it was your fault..." lol.

Well, I figured it would be kind of fun to share a few of those as they happen. I have my other 'series' called "Just Your Typical Day on the Ranch" but this won't always have to do with ranch stuff.

So, today I got to do something super scary and super exciting. I had my first 'solo' drive in Albuquerque. If you know the area, it's a pretty busy town. Not like L.A. or Denver or anything, but still busy for a New Mexico girl. Especially when you've only driven through it once (staying on the freeway the entire time). This time I actually had to get *into* town... Driving with a bunch of other crazy drivers.. yeah. Josh and I needed to go to voice lessons. Usually Becca drives us (as she's taking too) but this week she was gone. Anyway, point is, I had to drive into town without any other experienced driver in the car...


Josh is, however, really good at remembering streets. In fact, he's often times guided my sis around town (one a few, rare occasions when she needed it). He's got awesome memory. Well, I knew where we needed to go. Had the directions. Really simple. We needed to go to voice lessons, then go get lunch at Panda Express, then head home. Simple, right?

Wrong. We got to voice lessons, da da da da, finished up, and began to head back. First thing to go wrong? I turned left when I should have turned right. So we ended up going the wrong way on a main road. No prob. Just turn around. We turned around and got to the next street we needed to go to. I turned left again and Josh began saying, "Oh wait, we're going the wrong way. We need to turn around again." We laughed about it, and I turned around. Then, we got confused which way I would turn next so we called mom and found out that we were actually going the wrong way. The first way I had turned was correct. Of course, I teased Josh about that (and said, "That was your fault, I'll have you know!"), turned around, and headed back South again... We were laughing about it and all that, finally got to our destination, got lunch, and began to head home.

When we got back on the road again, this car decided to merge into my lane... unfortunately, the nose of my car was past it's bumper... another car on my other side was right next to me, so I was sandwiched in the middle.. Thankfully, nothing happened (Praise the Lord), but it was *very* scary. However, as we passed, we noticed it was two teenaged girls just chatting away... *sigh*.... People! Pay attention on the road! =P

So we made it back on the freeway to head back home. As we were driving along, I glanced back in my rear view and noticed the trunk was sort of... flapping or something. So I was able to pull off the highway and, as soon as I stopped, it popped open all the way. Josh hopped out and shut it.

As soon as he hopped back into the car he just looked at me. Then, with a very serious face he said, "By the way, that was your fault.." lol! Ah, gotta love brothers with a sense of humor. So we laughed about it again. I mean, it was quite a hilarious day. What else could have happened? Thankfully those were not 'famous last words' and we got back safely.

But, we both decided that, even though we were older, our escapades are far from over. :-)

Finding Out My Calling in Life

Yesterday afternoon we were at a birthday party for a friend. We played volleyball in the rain, chatted, had cake and ice cream, etc, etc. The normal birthday party setting. I didn't think it would be the time or place for me to find out my calling in life, though. That sort of thing seems more appropriate in a garden setting, or early morning sunrise, or up in the mountains looking down upon creation. However, I've learned in the past that my "romantic" notions are usually chilled in the refrigerator of reality. ;-)
    So, my 'inspirational moment' happened whilst I was washing my hands in the bathroom after playing some muddy volleyball. I happened to look up in the mirror and saw a reflection of a girl with a few dots of mud on her face, hair wet from the rain, and an otherwise normal appearance on her face. There was only one thing that wasn't so normal in that reflection. When I saw this, I knew what I was meant to be. I knew that I had the potential for a particular job that so many also enjoy. The type of calling that requires diligence, patience, loving kindness, and patience (yes, I mention that twice on purpose). What is this wonderful, glorious job, you ask? What was it that inspired me to realize that this was my calling? Well, the job is called Motherhood. More particularly, mother of more than 2 children. How did I figure this out? Well, in the flurry of getting out the door on time, I quickly grabbed up a pair of earrings and put them in as I ran out the door. It wasn't until I was washing my hands in that inspiring bathroom that I realized I had put in two different earrings. One was a pink flower, the other a red and black.......... *pause for laughter*

I believe it will be mostly mothers who can laugh and understand exactly what this is like. I almost died laughing when I saw that reflection. In any case, I now know that I am quite prepared for that side of motherhood. ;-)  White hairs, forgetful memory, and unmatched articles of clothing (yes, all of those apply to me).

On other newsworthy notes, I am happy to say that costumes are coming along and I am hoping to share some pictures in the near future. Drama is also going well. We are into our 4th week this Wednesday. We've begun memorizing lines and are doing rigorous practices each week. The director and assitant director have done a wonderful job of splitting up scenes so that only a few thespians need to be present at practices each week. This means that we go over 3-4 scenes several times and really work on them, as opposed to just going over as many scenes as we can during practice. It also helps with distraction because since not everyone is there, only those who need to be up on 'stage' are there to work (so no worries about whispered conversations on the side getting a little too loud.. ;-) ) It works quite well and means that everyone has more time to focus and really work on their parts. That probably made no sense, but oh well. I did a get a few pictures of two practices ago, and I hope to get more a little later, then share them on the ABC Drama Blog.

Otherwise, life has been the normal, hectic, crazy life that we live. ;-) How have y'all been? Anything new and exciting going on? I'd love to hear about! So, drop a comment! =D

Daylight Savings Time

Ah! Don't we all just love Daylight Savings time? I wouldn't have minded it so much if I had remembered to get to bed an hour earlier... whoops! I got my dates mixed up and thought it was tonight that we 'sprang forward'. In any case, this little picture was too funny not to share..... (course, you have to be Princess Bride fans, or least have seen the movie, to really get it! =D)

2012: A Year in Review

Hello! I thought it would be fun to put a few of my favorite things about last year down on 'paper', per se. It's kind of fun to look back and see what you've accomplished (also not fun to see what you DIDN'T accomplish...)

2012:

I turned 19. Kind of a big deal, and kind not....

Officially Graduated and Celebrated (hopefully I'll post pictures of it sometime this year... :-) 

 

I co-hosted a fun fashion show with a dear friend

I finally began the process of getting my books published (after much prodding from the Lord!, I finally took action... ;-)

I have made many mistakes and learned from them.

I have read 12 books... hehe, yes, that's a lot for me. 

Our family had a vacation after 6 years. It was such a wonderful time to get away from the ranch, the stress, and everything else and just relax and enjoy family time!!! 

I got to call and talk on the phone with a friend who lives really far away

I accomplished a few things off of my huge bucket list.. yeah, I'm not a big one for actually finishing things.. or perhaps I just overload myself. Hmm... 

I reached over 100 followers on my blog- you guys are awesome!! 

I worked at the State Fair as an Assistant Superintendent in the Creative Arts building

I took on a house cleaning job to help make money for my book publishing

Participated in two drama plays (I got the play the villain in the last one!!) You can go check out a video over here

I started teaching fiddle to three wonderful students

Called my first dance (that was fun, but also boring because I didn't get to dance!)

Started working on the Secret Project

Did Some posting on my Writing Blog

 

Made a scrap quilt top with some dear friends (we all have quilts-lap size- made out of scrap fabric from our own stashes)

Learned more in my walk with the Lord, though I had many failings

What I'm planning to do/what will happen in 2013:

Buy a laptop

Finish the Secret Project and reveal it to all of y'all

Do another Bible reading challenge

Memorize Scripture more

Get my books published and sell them at the New Mexico Home school Convention

Possibly go up to the Colorado Convention and sell my books there as well

Continue to grow in my walk with the Lord and learn to trust Him for absolutely everything

Hopefully visit some long distance friends

Finish the quilt top I made last year (still have to quilt and bind it)

Do some hair tutorials or post a Vlog

Possibly host another Fashion Show

Participate in Drama 

Do a Writing Series on my Writing Blog

Maybe Make Another long list of things I'd like to do! ;-) And then hopefully get them all done... 

Read at least 18 books- hey, that is a lot for me... hehe! :-)   

Maybe do some photo shoots...  

What are some things that you are looking forward to in 2013?? What are some things that you're glad you did/accomplished in 2012?

Happy Independence Day!

Hello! I just wanted to drop in to wish everyone a very happy 4th of July!! (even though we should technically be celebrating on the 3rd!)

Today's plans include going over to my Great-Aunt and Uncles to have hamburgers and play some games. It is tradition, actually. :-)  Unfortunately we won't be able to have any fireworks because of the drought that we are in, but that's alright. It isn't about the fireworks anyway, right? ;-)

Another tradition that we seemed to have started was getting together with another family on the 3rd. We were laughing that we always get together on the 3rd (since both the dads are off from work so they can stay super late!), so we decided that we should just make it tradition. ;-)  My friend and I had a photo shoot (I might share some pictures with y'all.... ;-), then we learned some new dances for a dance that's coming up (my sister and I are calling it, so we were trying to learn some new ones!), and then did our own "America's Got Talent" show! It was lots of fun.  After that, we got our cardio workout by sneaking around in the dark trying to find the other team before they find you. (yes, our hearts were pounding through the entire thing!) Whew, it gets kind of creepy out there! especially when the coyotes start howling (and they were very close last night!). In any case, we had lots of laughs and good fellowship. :-)

Any way, We had a blast, enjoyed sleeping in after our late night, and are looking forward to the evening with family!

Do you any of you have any fun traditions for the holiday?

Also, thanks so much to those who voted on the poll I had up. The results were kind of surprising, but I am looking forward to putting up some of those posts for y'all. :-)

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

In Need of a Post and a Laugh

I know it hasn't been that long since I've posted, but it has certainly felt that way!  We have been pretty busy around here, thus why I haven't posted. :-)

We recently cleaned out our very large tool/work shop. It is very large and can get messy rather easily. Part of the problem was that we had 2 different kinds of 'messes' out there, and that wasn't very fun. The people who lived here before us ended up leaving a bunch of their stuff in the shop, and then we have our stuff out there. Thus the two messes. However, it was absolutely wonderful to just get it cleaned out! How nice to have the space to work on vehicles, know where all the tools are, etc. And, it's rather exciting (to me, anyway), because I will be having my graduation party there. So, that will be nice.  We're also hoping to possibly host a dance or two this summer.... any one interested? ;-)
     The cleaning took up our memorial weekend, but that's why we did it then. 3 days of Dad home being able to help us and tell us where he wanted things etc (not to mention the help of all the muscles. =D)
How did everyone else's Memorial weekend go?

I do have a "good" post in the works, it's just going through final editing. ;-) In the meantime, I thought that I would post a few pictures that I have found on Pinterest. These gave me a few laughs, so maybe y'all will chuckle at them, too.  No, I'm not on Pinterest (though I'd like to be!), but I can't help looking on there every so often... ;-)

 Wonderful advice! I've heard a similar one, except its with a vacuum. Leave a vacuum in the middle of your floor so when people stop by un-expectantly, they'll think you were just starting to clean... ;-)

That one is SO me. Math and have always been enemies...

I hope that everyone is doing well! I've got a busy (but fun!) weekend ahead of me. Tomorrow I'm going into town to teach my fiddle students. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before... Yes, I'm teaching fiddle to 3 wonderful young ladies! It has been quite fun. Dad takes me into town with him on his way to work, drops me off at their house, I do a lesson, and then we hang out until someone picks me up.  This weekend, however, I have the honor of watching the kids for the night. It will be loads of fun. :-) I'll spend the night, and then the guys will take me home since they are coming over for a Top Shot competition that my Dad and few other guys have helped put together. I don't know if anyone has seen that show on TV before. It's pretty neat. There are 14 contestants (I think) divided into two teams. The teams compete in different competitions with knives, rifles, pistols, bows, machine guns, military guns, etc. If a team loses, they have to eliminate one of their players. It continues on until there are only a few left, then it's every man for himself. It's pretty neat/interesting to watch. Some of the guys are SUPER good.
   My Dad and brothers thought it would be neat to do our own out here on the ranch. So, they've got it all set up. This will be the second one. It's going to be fun because I plan on competing (possibly!). Watch out guys! Annie Oakley is comin' fer a visit!  Ok, just kidding. I'm not very good, but I do enjoy shooting. In any case, wish me luck! ;-)

Does anyone have some fun plans for the weekend?

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

P.S. Sorry about the blog look... I was trying to work on it and totally erased some stuff accidentally. So, it's stuck like that until I figure it out or some techy person can come fix it for me. =P However, do y'all like the header? My wonderful sis took the photo, then I edited it on Picmonkey.

P.P.S. Also please vote on my sidebar pole!

A Little Humor for Mother's Day....

I found these and just couldn't help sharing them.  After hearing stories from mom's childhood, and knowing some from my own, I couldn't resist posting these for y'all.

What I learned From My Mother:

1. My Mother Taught Me to Appreciate a Job Well Done: "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just cleaned this room."

2. My Mother Taught Me Logic:  "Because I said so, that's why..."

3. My Mother Taught Me MORE Logic: "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me..."

4. My Mother Taught Me Foresight: "Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident."

5. My Mother Taught Me Irony: "Keeping crying and I'll give you something to cry about..."

6. My Mother Taught Me About Osmosis: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

7. My Mother Taught Me About Persistence: "You'll sit there until all your spinach is gone."

8. My Mother Taught Me about Weather: "Your room looks like a Tornado just went through here."

9. My Mother Taught Me about Anticipation: "Just wait until we get home..."

10. My Mother Taught Me about Receiving: "You're gonna get it when we get home!" 

11. My Mother Taught Me Medical Science: "If you keep crossing your eyes like that, they'll stay that way."

12. My Mother Taught Me Humor: "If the mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

13. My Mother Taught Me How to Become an Adult: "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

14. My Mother Taught Me Genetics: "You're just like your father."

15. My Mother Taught Me about Roots: "Shut that door behind you. Were you born in a barn?"

16. My Mother Taught Me Wisdom: "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

17. My Mother Taught Me about Justice: "One day you'll have kids.... and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Happy Mother's day!
In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Pictures From Mama's Birthday

Alright!  Here are some pictures from last evening!  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at Drama because I thought I'd left the camera at home.  Then, when it was time to leave, I found the camera sitting happily in my purse. Argh.  Oh well! I'll have to get some next time. :-)

So, the day started like any other birthday.  Whoever is the birthday person gets to do whatever they want in the morning (within reason, of course) while the others fix up a nice breakfast.  We kids usually stay in bed and read or something.  Mom got up and did a few things instead.

We made Banana-Pecan pancakes for breakfast with bacon on the side. YUM! We enjoyed some lovely conversation with breakfast, then got ready to leave for Drama. 

We headed out the door, grabbed lunch on the way, and made it!  Drama practice went well. Lots of laughs and fellowship and encouraging one another. It's great. :-)

After drama, we went shopping. Boring. I don't really care for shopping! We got our groceries for the week and came home to dinner, already prepared, that Dad had brought home from a GREAT BBQ place in town called "Rudys". It. Is. The. Best! SOOOOOO good.  They serve brisket.  Oh. My. Words can't describe!!!  And, since they won't, I'll let the pictures do all the talking! haha!

The birthday girl!



 My yummy food.  Potatoes swimming in butter, creamed corn, and BRISKET!!! with the famous Rudy's BBQ sauce!

 Mom got a Pressure Cooker! She's been wanting one for a while.

 Nana and Caleb

A terrible picture of me.... But, I figured I might as well share it. That way a picture of everyone in the family is in this post! ;-)

After dinner, we each take a turn telling the birthday person, in this case, Mama, what we like about her.  I think it's a wonderful tradition. Often times we forget how many things we like about a person and focus only on the negative.. and sometimes that person forgets what they are worth!  So, that is probably my favorite tradition for birthdays. :-)

Thank you to those who wished Mama a happy birthday here and on her blog. :-)

And! Happy February First!!

In Christ's Service,

Sarah

A brother who can stay sane even after his sister has lost it

Not lost it as in anger, but lost it totally in her sanity.  This evening, I was going around the house humming, "Oh Danny Boy". This is really a very pretty song, though a sad one.  I had recently taken an interest in it and had looked up the lyrics, chords, etc. Well, while I was fixing supper, I guess I began humming it.  After about ten minutes, Josh finally stands up from where he was sitting on the couch and said, "Sarah, can you PLEASE stop singing that?!" 
I looked at him innocently.  "Stop singing what?"
He looked at me. "That song."
"You mean, 'Oh Danny Boy'?" I asked, slightly confused.
He looked at me and smiled slightly, "Or at least finish it."
Now it was my turn to look at him suddenly. "Finish it?"
"Yeah, all evening you have been singing just the first part....Hummm, humm.." and he commenced to showing me what I was doing.  Yes, I was only humming the first part of the song and never got any further.  Don't know how it happened, but when Josh started imitating me, I immediately started laughing.  The thought of me walking about the house humming just one part of a song struck me as being rather silly, wouldn't you agree?  We laughed about it for a little while, then I continued doing dinner and Josh continued in his fire making. (don't worry, he was just lighting a fire in the wood stove)

A few minutes later, he jumps up again, "Sarah!...."
"What?"...........

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas season! Keep up the joy in your house and have a couple of good laughs. It's good medicine. ;-)

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Thankful post #2

I'm afraid I haven't been on the ball with my thanksgiving posts! So sorry about that.  Life got just a little crazy around here..... :-)

I'm thankful for:

~Understanding Mothers
~The comforting hug from your mommy (Yes, I still appreciate those!!)
~A wonderful sister who loves to make me laugh
~A daddy who makes me laugh
~Life lessons (yes, they're painful, but I know I'll look back later and be glad I learned 'em!)
~A "wonderful" conscience that will prick me when I've done something I shouldn't.  Easier to mend your ways when you got a good one working!
~The busy week ahead
~A fun planned Thanksgiving day with family
~The blue sky up above
~Adorable puppies!!!
~A loving God who cares about me
~Inspirations and ideas for books
~Music
~Lovely letters from friends far and near
~All of the lovely comments I receive! You have no idea how much they make my day! :-)

Do you have something you are thankful for that you want to share?  Leave a comment! I'm glad to hear from you. :-)

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 7: Five things I couldn't possibly live without

 am trying the new timer thingy on this blog post.. we'll see if it works! *wink*.  I have it on timer because tomorrow will be extremely busy. Up early to get to some cleaning in the house, shop, barn, corrals, etc.  We have someone who is coming to look at the ranch to possibly buy some acreage. Please pray that God's will be done in this matter and that He will give us peace about the decisions.
Ok, so five things I couldn't possibly live without:
1: The redeeming love of my Saviour, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Without Him, I would still be wallowing in my sin; an ugly, filthy, dirty little sinner.

2: My wonderful family!  They love me so much. They have helped me through my struggles by reminding me of God's Word and His promises.

(Christmas photo several years ago)

I don't know what I would do without them, especially my wonderful parents who have raised me in a Godly home.

(from top-12 o'clock- around clock wise- Caleb, Joshua, Me, Becca -who took pic-, Mom, Dad)

3: My friends!  God has blessed me with so many encouraging, Christian, Godly friends that I truly don't deserve.  So many of them know me inside-out and have loved me through it all. I am truly blessed...

(My friends at my 16th birthday)

4: Music! I LOVE music.  Music helps me get through the day, especially ones that have such wonderful, meaningful words to them that remind me of God's goodness, Mercy, and love!  I also love playing my fiddle.. if I don't play it for a long time, my fingers start itching for that wonderful feel of flying over the strings in a fun jig or reel.

(Photo Courtesy of a very good friend)

5: Laughter.  Laughter is definitely part of me. 

I love laughing, any one who knows me could tell you that right off the bat.  If they think of me, they think of me laughing. It is just who I am, but I love it. I love it because God created that laughter and when it bubbles up inside of me, I feel God smiling along with me.  I love taking walks and laughing with Him over my funny little quirks in life.  Laughter is what definitely helps me throughout the day.  Without laughter, I am sure that I could become one unhappy person.  HOWEVER! Have no fear! My dear brother will make sure that I never go a day without laughing!

(Taken of Josh several years ago)

He can keep me laughing over anything, at any time.  When I am in a grumpy mood, Joshua saves the day! He comes in and makes a funny face while saying something, or tells a joke he made up.. anything.

(I totally love this pic of my "Mr. Big Foot"!!)

He can cheer me up like no other.  Love you Bud!

Ok... guess this post could've been shorter.. oh well!!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah