Seriously?!?!

Katie came home with the stomach virus Friday morning around 9:00. I took care of her and kept her quarantined all weekend. I thought that things were pretty safe Sunday evening, so she ate her first "regular" meal.....and it came up around 10:00 pm. :( Also, to make things even more interesting around here, my 8 year old flooded the bathroom and part of the hallway while he was "cleaning" the bathtub to help me out.....Gee, thanks, sweetheart!!! :) Terry started coming down with the flu last night, and this morning around 10:00, Kyle called from school and said that he had an upset stomach and couldn't stay out of the bathroom for longer than 15 minutes at a time.......This was right after I had just screwed up both hydraulic cylinders on the tractor while hurrying to unroll a bale of hay this morning......So now I have a sick husband, 2 sick kiddos, a broken tractor AND I'm still trying to get the carpet dry in the hallway. If anyone needs me, I'll be hunting for a bottle of Crown (and I don't even DRINK.....Normally!). :)

Happy (late) birthday, baby girl!*

*My sweet daughter, Katie, turned 12 last weekend. I tried to post pics that day, but my computer & I were having issues.

She is such an awesome sister and cousin. Caroline (my niece) ADORES Katie.....and truth be told, her brothers think she's pretty great too (most of the time)! :)

This is Katie making contact during an All-Star game. I had the privilege of coaching her regular season team and her All-Star team. She's such a wonderful athlete. I love watching her play, and she LOVES softball.

This pic is from our pre-tournament practice against the parents. She was actually getting to pitch to my Mom. That was quite a treat! It was a pretty special time for all of us. Katie pitching to my Mom and me coaching.....Pretty cool! :)

This is Katie and her BFF, Bailey. They had to do a dance at school, and I made their whole group (6) matching shirts and bows.

This is last year's Halloween pic.....I just love it for some reason. :)

I love you, sweet girl! I am so very proud of you. You are such a joy in our lives.

A birthday and a hospital visit

I've been in a bit of a "funk" the past few days....My baby girl turned 12 on Sunday. She's turning into such an awesome young lady, but she's also growing up :( There are times that I look at my children and think, "Where has the time gone?" Honestly....when I was pregnant, I don't know how many people told me to cherish every moment because they would be grown before I knew it. I got SO tired of hearing that, and now I find myself saying it to people all of the time. I miss diaper days. I miss bottles and snuggles in my rocking chair. I miss the time that we got to spend together. I miss it all.....AND to top it off, a guy that I went to high school with is in the hospital and having a really hard time. Katie and I went to visit him on Monday, and he's trying to be strong about it, but I can't imagine how he must feel. He has trouble with his intestines, and he's had 3 surgeries since high school because of it. Now he's bleeding internally and because of all of the surgeries that he's had already, the doctors really don't want to (or can't) take any more of his intestines. So, they are hoping that it will stop on its own. He's probably looking at being in a long term care facility for at least 3 weeks, if not longer. I just can't imagine being 31 and stuck in a hospital long term. I've put him on our church's prayer list, and I stay in contact daily......I just wish that I could do more. :(

A first for me....

Today the kids & I worked cows by ourselves.....It was quite an experience, to say the least. Terry is working nights, and we had some things that had to be done, so I penned the cows and then Kyle and Katie (Korey is at his dad's) sorted them and worked them. I take my husband for granted....When it's just us working cows, I know what he's going to do, he knows what I'm going to do.......Everything runs pretty smooth. When it's me and the kids, all hell breaks loose. :) It took us about twice the time that it would have taken Terry and I, but after we got "in the swing of things", everything really went pretty well. I consider this a major accomplishment (mainly because I didn't end up killing either of my children, which I was scared was a pretty big possibility first thing this morning)! ;) Considering that our hot shots and working sticks were in Terry's work truck at the plant so we had to work and sort everything with a quirt, whip and one working stick that I found in the barn, I thought we really ended up having a pretty good day.....I did pop Kyle one time with the quirt trying to get a cow down the chute, and I got a gate kicked into my wrist....but other than that, no injuries to be reported. :) I was going to try to get a few pics today, but there was no way....Maybe next time....

I love this man!!!!

During Christmas break, we traveled to Bryan to see Big Caitie, our old neighbor, play in a basketball tournament. My dear sweet hubby was working, but took off for the occasion. We hadn't seen Big Caitie in a long time, and he wanted to be able to see her play. On the way, he fell asleep....12 hour shifts and switching from night to day will do that to you, ya know? Anyway, I snagged this pic driving down the road.....BUT

the one below is my favorite! He is such an awesome husband and father to my children. He and Katie are so close. It makes me so happy that she has a bond with him like I had with my Daddy....There's just something about having your Daddy wrapped around your finger that I can identify with! ;)

I love you, sweetheart! You are such an amazing man, and we are so lucky to have you in our lives.



Thank you for each and every minute!!!

Random photos :)

These are actually a few random photos from last year that I just ran across. I haven't synched my Palm with my computer in FOREVER, and I had forgotten about these photos. :) But I loved them when I took them.....of course, I only had my phone with me, so they're really not good images, but the moments were priceless.

This mama couldn't even be bothered to stand up for this hungry baby....I feel her pain. There are days that I don't want to get out of bed either!!! ;)

This is my goofy sidekick, Rio. She goes with me everywhere, and she's got the best personality EVER! (Except with anyone not in our immediate family....She HATES everyone but us!)

You see, she's kinda in a bind here and looking for help.

She went under this pile of posts chasing a rabbit....Then realized that when she wanted out.....Her shoulders couldn't get through.....

My awesome hubby and I were working cows, and at first just thought that she was whining because she couldn't get to the rabbit.....Then I went to check on her and realized that she was stuck.....SO....while I was busy laughing my butt off (Sorry, Rio), my husband dug her out as I took pictures.

See what I have to put up with around here?!?! :)

We had Katie's birthday party Saturday....I still can't believe she's turning 12!!! This was the first birthday that we haven't done a slumber party, etc.....and it was quite different.....On one hand, I didn't have to clean up after it (awesome), but on the other hand I really wish that I could have been more involved in the planning and executing....Oh, well! You can't win them all, I guess!

Katie and her buddies....They weren't really sure what to think at this point....Our hostess was trying to make a bunch of 12 year olds do the bunny hop to the buffet.....Not such a great idea, especially when you have boys included!

Jordan putting Katie into the wall!

My adorable husband (in last) and my step-dad, RT, racing go-carts....RT and Terry got stuck at the back and couldn't pass..... :)

Terry and Katie racing the only bikes that I will let Terry get on anymore! :) *

Jordan and Katie racing motorcycles.....Katie won! :)

*When I met Terry he had a motorcycle....not a "cruising" bike, but a "crotch rocket". He rode it to & from work on pretty days, but he also raced it at different tracks on weekend track days when he was on his 7 days off. I loved his bike. I loved the way that he looked on it....I loved everything about it.....UNTIL 2 days before our wedding, he went to town to get cigarettes and about 2 miles from our house a car turned left in front of him as he was passing. The only choice that he had was to lay down the bike and hope for the best. The bike ended up under the Jeep Cherokee, my husband clipped the back tires with his legs....and broke both legs multiple times in the process. Needless to say, we got married a few weeks later at the JP's office with him in a wheelchair wearing shorts. :) THEN being the horrible wife that I am, I grounded him from bikes, sky diving, bull riding.....Anything remotely dangerous.....Hell, I'd keep him with me 24/7 if I could in order to keep from losing him.