Not your typical Christmas Wish List!

I feel that I have been blessed with 3 beautiful, wonderful, self-less children.  Each year when asked what they want for their birthdays and Christmas, you would tend to think that they would give you the typical list which usually is a mile long.  But not my kids!  They only ask for one or two things and that is it!  I love them so much and I am so thankful that they aren't caught up in all the "give me, give me... or what's next."

Brayden has taken it one step further.  When you ask him what he wants for Christmas, he replies in a very serious manner.  " I have a blanket (to better understand this one.. I am making blankets for Christmas gifts and I ask him if he would like one and this is his answer every time), I have a pillow, I have a shirt... I don't need anything for Christmas.  He is very honest and serious about it.

So when Ross took the kids to the Ward Christmas Party last Friday... it was Brayden's turn to sit on Santa's lap which is a HUGE improvement from last year( he didn't want to have anything to do with him).  Naturally Santa asks what do you want for Christmas this year.  And naturally Brayden replied with the same 3 things.  I am sure that Santa wasn't used to hearing a little boy reply like that. 

I am so thankful that my Children understand the true meaning of Christmas.  This year will be exceptionally small due to finances and honestly I am very excited about it!  We decided to get the kids one nice gift each and then 1 or 2 smaller ones.   I have also made most of the gifts this year and I absolutely love it!!  It is very rewarding for me and to know that I can make something with my hands that turns out pretty good and that I can bless other's lives with them.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a special New Year!

Love you all!

Here are a couple of gifts I am making for Christmas...

I love making gifts!  I have had so much fun making these... I am still in the process of making others yet not completed.. but here is a sampler of what I have done so far.  Hope you enjoy looking!!

This is a table runner I made....

Please don't look too closely... they aren't perfect.. I have never made anything like this before and especially without someone teaching me how!!  Thanks!

Snow days and decorating the tree

The kids were so excited to have their first snow days ever!  The last time we had this much snow was 8 years ago and I love it!  I love how pretty it is, I just wish it would stay off the roads, I don't think that is too much to ask do you?

Jerry had a couple friends over the other day on the one snow day and they and Rae had so much fun!  I even played for a couple minutes and then just had fun taking pictures.

One of my favorite parts about this wonderful Season is watching the kids decorate the tree.


But I have to tell a quick story about our tree and leading up to it.  I experienced a lot of firsts while up there this year.  First, this was Mom and Dad's first Thanksgiving at their house.  We enjoyed all those who were there and missed those who couldn't make it.  Then we went to Donnely on Friday to round up the horses and bring them to Mom and Dad's.  When we got there I really had to use the bathroom... and we looked at the out house and Sondra and I found animal tracks leading up to it and a hole in it so we decided that definitely I would not go there!  So I had to go outside in the snow for my first time!!


Then Ross got on Shadow and helped his dad try to round up the horses to put them in the corral along with Bryce and it was neat to see the grandkids and Tammy, Craig, Sondra, Christine and others block off the way so the horses won't go that direction.  When the horses did come the beautiful sight of them running in the snow reminded me of the scene in The Man From Snowy River when the horses were running in the snow.  It was almost magical!  When they finally decided to cooperate (Ross,Craig and Calvin lead them with hay in their hands to the corral with Dad on horseback making sure they made it.) I was in the truck with Mom and Brayden asleep on my lap, Dad loaded up the first round and I have never been in a vehicle that had horses in it.  It was interesting driving home with them moving all around! 


Now to the tree.... Ross said he rode on horseback (Shadow) for about a mile in thesnow looking for the perfect tree for me.. how romantic!!  And he did find the perfect one!!  It is so big, and full and beautiful with pinecones on it!!!

It took 5 strands of lights, 6 boxes of tinsel, over 200 ornaments and we still have room for more!  I love it!  I have a humidifier on it to help it from drying out since it is in the room with the woodstove.  I love this time of year!!!  Also, something that I have enjoyed doing since I was a little girl and that is I love to turn off all the lights at night and just sit and enjoy looking at the beautiful tree with the lights reflecting on the ornaments and the walls.  There is something so peaceful and rejuevinating about it!

Riding Amos in the Snow... snow much fun!

We got to ride Amos for the first time in the snow yesterday and Ross got him pretty tired... rode him almost an hour!  But the thing that I most enjoyed was when Ross' Mom got close to him while Ross was taking a picture of me on him and Amos snuggled right up to Mom!!  And then Dad got to ride him for the first time and I absolutely loved it!!  I wanted to share these with you.

Frozen Dog!!

You know you have a dedicated hunter/pointer on your hands when he doesn't mind looking like this from being out in the freezing weather to be able to retrieve birds!!  Just looking at him makes me cold!!

Fun Pillows

I made these for my niece over a week ago.  I used some of the fabric that I am making her quilt out of.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve and bless people's lives!!  I love to sew!!

Thanks Giving

I wanted to wish everyone an early Thanksgiving!  I hope that while your tummies are getting filled with yummy food, that you are also getting filled with the love of your family and friends and also of what you are thankful for.

I am most thankful for my Savior, family who loves me and puts up with me, friends who know me better than I do and love me inspite of it, for wood stoves and free wood to keep us warm especially when it is supposed to be 0 tonight!  I am thankful for our animals who are also good therapy for me, and I love Amos!!  He brings me such great joy to see him and he loves seeing me come every day and misses me when I can't.  I am grateful for cupboards and fridge and freezer filled with food, for my husbands' work both the mill and when he trains dogs, also for all the "honey do's " he does around the house for his (trying to be patient wife)...  I am grateful we get to spend Thanksgiving with sweet family and will miss those who won't be able to spend it with us.  I am thankful my sweet husband and son for finishing the shelter for Amos just in time and for friends who let us borrow the tools to do so...even though you scared me really good Mike!

I am thankful for Doctors who are trying to get me well enough to be able to function better and sleep( which is why I am up so late typing this lol) and to help me be the wife and mother I desire to be.  I am thankful for my sewing/embroidery machine that my dad got me.  I have gotten lots of use out of it!!  I just made Raelene a jean quilt which I started last night and finished the top this morning.. it is a different one than I orginally planned on doing.  I am thankful for family who will help us get it tied.  I am grateful for good health, good memories and the time that I have to be here on this Earth with my dear family whom I love more than anything!

I wish you each a very special thanksgiving this year and may you know how much we love you!

Lucky Dog!

Being in the dog training business has had some real fun benefits!  Well for Ross anyway! He has gotten a dog trailer he was able to trade training for, a really nice computer, printer/scanner/copier, gun and now he is training our Kreitn to be the back up tee dog for Boise State!  Bob got Ross a side line pass for the Fresno State Game this past Friday and Ross took Kreitn to see how he would react to the crowd.  He did awesome!  People kept coming up to him and Kreitn to get their picture taken with him!  How fun!!  I am not sure which one is the lucky dog here... he he!  But they both had a great time!  Ross even got to talk to one of the Football players Byron Hout, the one who got really hurt. 
Now all we need to do is find someone who is a good orthodontist who needs a hunting dog trained...! :)

I am so happy that Ross has this opportunity to train and have fun!  Now if things go as planned, Kreitn might be the Tee Dog for Boise State Broncos next fall!

Fall Family Fotos...

My dear sweet friend from highschool who has been staying in touch with me ( I am so happy that you are!!) took our family pictures almost 2 weeks ago.  I think she did a beautiful job!  What do you think?

Thank you Carla for sharing our precious memories with our family!  We love you guys!

Her website is httpcreativefeetphotography.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoyed sharing our family with you.  We love you all! (Family and friends!)

First time on a Donkey!

Wahoo!  We got to ride our first donkey, Amos!!  He is very smooth, I was quite impressed.  He is such a sweetie!  I go out several times a day to visit him, he even brayed at me one time when I left.  I love visiting him... he is so cute and sweet.  It was fun and alittle nerve racking for me to ride him and yes Ross led him the first time.

Ross looks so good on him.. course he looks good no matter what!  He is such a natural and has such a gift with the animals.  I love him so much!!

Things you might not know about me...

I thought it might be fun to share with you some things you might not know about me.  And if you do then you are pretty good or I am that obvious!

1. When I get nervous I bite my lower lip.
2. I am claustrophobic... very much so
3. I only need to be air tickled.. yes I know it is pretty silly, but true!   have a certain brother in law.. won't mention any names.. Larry!  Who loves to air tickle me.  Pretty sad...
4. I broke our windshield once when Ross wouldn't stop tickling me... I warned him.. so now when he wants to tickle me in the car I have to remind him of what happened before... lol!
5. I only have broken one bone in my life... my little toe.  Right after we got married and at my first reunion I was teased by one of my brother in law's... and I tried to kick him( you would too if he tried to put a spider in your face!) and missed and kicked the bottom of a bench and broke my toe then found out I was pregnant.
6. I have been in a few wrecks in my life but only one was my fault and we didn't even collide. 
7. I have been in 2 house fires where we were watched over by angels and shouldn't have gotten out but did!
8. I have made my guardian angel worn out from trying to protect me and my family.. I am sure they will be relieved when I do make it to the other side... but I can wait!
9. If I am emotional and someone asks me if I am ok, I lose it. I can hold it in till then and I don't mean to cry.
10.  My nick name used to be called Bert... yah.. don't go there.
11.  I really have never had a nick name.. not a good one.. have always wanted one though.
12. I love to sing although I am not very good...
13. I dreamed of being a Marine Biologist so I could play with the dolphins.
14. I always wanted to marry a cowboy or someone who spoke an oriental language and ended up marrying someone who is both!
15.  I love horses but am afraid of them.. I am working on overcoming my fear.
16. Ross teases me alot about how many boyfriends I had... not something I am proud of.
17. I kissed a famous bull rider....
18. I really do have a huge heart but somtimes I am afraid to open it up and let people in... I am trying to get better about that so please don't give up on me.
19. I hiccup once when I am hungry and once when I am full... weird I know!
20 .I am still afraid of the dark...heights, spiders,
21. I won the spelling bee in 3rd grade, 2nd place in 2nd grade and 3rd place in 1st grade.
22. The 2 plates that I china painted when I was 6 years old won first and second place at the county fair.
23. I get told alot that I don't look old enough to have kids.  I have been asked if I am Jerry's sister... lol!
24. I stuck a bobby pin in the light socket when I was 3 and it shot me across the room.. yes that is what is wrong with me.. lol!
25..This you will know... how much I love my family and friends!!!

Hope you found this somewhat entertaining!

Amos the Mammoth Jack...

We are so excited to have Amos here.. well at our neighbors!  He is Ross' parents and ours.. kinda a joint custody thing here.. lol! He will spend the breeding season up at Mom and Dad's house so they can have some Mules to help them with their love of horses and yet be profitable.  He came all the way from Oklahoma and arrived here at 12:45 AM Saturday night/ Sunday morning.

He is so sweet and friendly.  He is beautiful and he brays(sp?) about the same time each morning... around 4 am and again about 8 am.  Thankfully he doesn't go on for hours.. he only does it a couple times each time and then he is done.  I love  going over and seeing him, more so for me right now so I can be more comfortable around him... I am not used to bigger animals like Ross is.  We thought we would share him with you through the pictures.  Ross wants to take some when we are riding him so I will be posting them later.

Randomness...

No rhyme nor reason... just thought it would be fun to post some random pictures.. some I might be able to bribe with when Brayden gets a little older...:)