My Daughter

My daughter has been pretty busy lately.  She just finished up her sophomore year with some pretty neat events at school. 

Alex is in the Top 10% of her class academically, and our school hosts the annual "Top Ten Banquet" to recognize those kids. So proud of her, and glad that some of our family got to come and enjoy the evening.   Isn't she just beautiful???

My mom and dad.  I am so glad they got to be there.

Alex and the other Top 10% students.

And, we had our annual FFA Banquet.  Alex was recognized for being on the "meats" team, and for being selected as one of the Top 30 students in the State of Missouri to attend the Missouri AgriBusiness Academy (MABA).  Cole was selected for this honor when he was in high school.  Alex will get to tour agricultural businesses and facilities in Columbia, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri.  She will get to hear some fantastic speakers talk about the future of agriculture, and get to meet 29 other kids just like her.  Kids from a farming background with an interesting in pursuing agriculture as a profession.  MABA shows these kids that there are lots of ways to be involved in agriculture without actually owning a farm.  Fantastic opportunities out there!!!

Don't you just LOVE that blue corduroy!!!

Speaking of Alex, she has been on a trip with our local FFA.  Every year the Top 30 most active members get to go on a trip at the end of the school year.  This year they headed to Texas.  They toured the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) bull training facility.  They toured the Ft. Worth Stockyards.  Yesterday they toured Cowboy Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.  Today they are in Oklahoma City touring the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and then will head back to Missouri.  She should be home tonight about 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.  Please pray for a safe trip for everyone.

As you can tell, it's pretty busy here Down On The Farm.  I can't believe it's already the end of May, and Memorial Weekend is just around the corner.  Be safe everyone, and remember to give thanks to the Lord for everything!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning . . . .

Yep, the mornings have been BEAUTIFUL here in Missouri lately.  We are having just PERFECT weather.  Lows in the 50s, highs around 80.  I would take 365 days just like these. 

But you know what . . . I need to smile on the days when it is 100 degrees too.  And on the days when it is 10 degrees.

God sends every day.  Some days are nice and sunny.  Some days are stormy and rainy.  Some days are cold and snowy. 

But the Lord sent every one of those days.  And I think He wants us to be happy no matter what the weather.  No matter what kind of day we have at work.  No matter what is going on in our lives.

The Word tells us in John 10:10 that He came so that we might have life, and that more abundantly.  I think abundantly means He wants us to enjoy every single day.

Sometimes we have bad things happen during the day.  (Our dog ate rat poison yesterday.  What's up with that??)  Sometimes we don't feel good.  Sometimes we are STRESSED OUT.

But that doesn't mean we can't keep our trust in the Lord and be happy even when things aren't going our way.

Don't you think the Lord wants us to enjoy our life???  I sure do!!  So get out there and shake off whatever it is that keeps you from enjoying every single day.

Stop waiting on (INSERT WHATEVER) to happen.  Stop waiting for more money, a different house, the kids to grow up, your retirement.  DO IT NOW!!  And I'm saying this to myself as much as to you, 'cause sometimes we all need to be reminded just how blessed we really are. 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???  BE HAPPY!!!!!!!!!

Bull Fight

When you have a cow/calf operation like we have, you have to have several bulls.  If you don't have bulls, you won't have calves.  Well, we actually do some artificial insemination, but that's another post for another day.

When you have bulls together in the same pasture they fight. And this is how they fight.

They push on each other.

They butt heads.

Ouch!!!  Watching them do that gives me a headache!!!

This goes on, and on, and on.

See the dust flying?  They push and push and it gets pretty wild sometimes!  

They can keep going like this forever.

And then, all of a sudden, it's over and they just walk away.

And then they become best friends again.

Weird, huh?

Our Garden

We planted our garden a little over a week ago.  As you may know, we had a VERY early spring this year, followed by some pretty cold (a/k/a normal) temperatures.  Lots of folks planted their gardens early.  But my hubby was paranoid that the frost would get the garden, so we planted just last week.

We had tilled the garden using the big tiller on the tracker awhile back.  So now we just had to go over it with the Troy-Bilt tiller.  We always wanted a Troy-Bilt tiller.  They are fantastic.  But very pricey.  My husband bought our tiller used at an auction several years ago.  He didn't pay much for it, because the owner said he didn't think it worked.  We (he) brought it home, cleaned it up, and we have used it ever since.  What a deal!  Using a tiller is a lot less work than a hoe!!  Much easier on the back too!!

The tiller makes the ground ready for the seeds.

We planted potatoes!

We planted green onions!

We planted green beans and corn too!

We will wait a couple of weeks, and then go back and plant more green beans and corn.  Don't want it all ready at the same time so we can space out our canning and freezing activities! 

A few days after these pictures were taken, we also planted our tomato plants, and some pepper plants.

Having a garden is work.  A lot of work.  But, we think the vegetables we grow taste great!  We can green beans, we freeze corn, we can homemade salsa.  If you've never planted a garden before, I would really urge you to give it a try.  It doesn't take much space at all.  And for us, it is definitely worth the effort.

I'll take more pictures of the garden as the weeks go by so you can see our progress.  We have had a lot of rain the last couple of days (3.25"), and temperatures are supposed to be near 90 degrees this week.  THAT MAKES THE GARDEN GROW!!!!!

Rain

It's raining, it's pouring the old man is snoring!!!

Do you remember that little childhood song?  Well, that's what it is doing here today.  Raining and pouring!  It rained Saturday, it poured yesterday, it poured and stormed last night, and it's raining right now.

It has even washed a gully in our garden (BOO!).  Oh well, the Lord sends the rain, so I am thankful for it today.

And when I think of rain, I think of showers of blessings!  What a beautiful old hymn, and a precious reminder that our blessings do come from above.  And I believe that God does want to bless us.  He never promised everything would be easy, but He did promise to be with us, especially when the rain falls and the storms of life rage. 

Cast all your cares on Him.  No matter WHAT is going on in your life (and right now I have something going on in my family) TRUST HIM to be BIGGER than the problem.  Do it today!  Don't hold on to something you have no control over.  Lay it at His feet and then give him PRAISE for sending His answer.

This post began about a rainy day, so I don't know why it turned into a small devotional.  But somebody out there in blog land needed to be reminded of this today.  And maybe I just needed to write down what is in my heart.  Maybe I am the one that needed the reminder.

So right now I am laying down the storm in my life.  And I am praising God that in Him, we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS!!!

Let the storms rage.  I belong to Him!!!

Prom 2012

Here are some pictures of our son, Cole and his beautiful girlfriend, Megan, at Prom this past Saturday night.  I know I am probably a little bit prejudiced, but I sure think they were the best lookin' couple at the Prom!

They had a great time.  Dinner at Bentley's at the Lake before Prom.  Prom at the Lodge of the Four Seasons, then back to Project Prom at Eldon Middle School.  Then back to the Lake for breakfast at Denny's.  Needless to say it was a late night.

So glad they had a wonderful evening! 

Praise Report!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all who prayed for my sister.  And a great big PRAISE THE LORD to our awesome God.  My sister's test results all came back that everything is FINE!

I am praising the Lord, and so thankful that He heard our prayers and He answered in the way we asked.

God is soooooooooooooooo good!!!!!