Growing Pains

I think the toughest thing about being a parent sometimes is learning when not to be one or in other words letting go so they can grow. I really wish that our kids came with manuals so that when they did something you knew exactly what to do to fix it or how to correct it. The last couple weeks have been trying as a parent to say the least. Our oldest is an adult still living at home, yes in this day and age with the cost of everything this makes sense. He gets his college degree and saves money while living at home. They forget to tell you how hard this will be. Someone forgot to include in my imaginary "How to Raise my Child" manual what you do with an adult child living at home. Do your old rules still apply? Do you make new rules? Then if you make new rules do they get a say in the rules?
You see his friends all moved out to apartments, houses or dorms. They get to drag themselves in at 3 a.m. or not come home at all without their parents having heart attacks, mainly because their parents don't know...unfortunately when you still live at home you don't get this privilege. We are struggling to give our child wings without giving ourselves ulcers. The conclusion that we have come to is that above anything you must respect each other if respect starts to slip then it is not two adults discussing what will be going on Friday night but parent/child discussing what will happen.
We have come to find that at this point if respect is present then the rules are created by both parties as we go, not having a manual kind of makes this the way it has to be. I would really have to say that to be the oldest child really sucks when your the pioneer for what is right and wrong.
Then their is the middle child she is struggling to figure out who she is and how to get the attention that she wants on her terms. She is growing and wanting more freedom but still wants to be the little kid at times, this is hard for parents at which time do I hug you and at which time does your moody outburst mean you need left alone...so confusing.
The youngest sits and watches she sees the other two make mistakes get in trouble and is wise enough to file that away as not to make the same mistake they made. This makes her more dangerous then the other two in the fact that she now has ammunition in store like what to say or what to do to get out of certain situations.
I just wish that they understood that every time they leave the house it is like having my heart walk around outside my body without being able to make sure it is safe at all times. So I ask that God give me strength to survive their growing years, allow me the ability to find humor in whatever happens and the ability to remember that being a good parent doesn't always make me the popular parent.

Life

Life has a way of getting away from me I can't believe that it is almost the middle of March. Allissa turns "16" the 18th of March, it is so hard to think of her being gone to college in just a couple of years. I would love to tell you that amazing things have been happening in our house but honestly we have just been trying to survive illness, Kaylee has had it the worst and just can't seem to shake it. I think we have seen the people at the doctors office more this winter then we have in three years. Then this is the first year that my dogs have had the flu also nothing better then kids throwing up and dogs with diarrhea, worst experience ever!!!
I am looking forward to Spring Break I am getting together with some of my girlfriends from high school we invited about 15-20 people and I think we are at about 10 for those coming it should be a great time. We all have incredibly busy lives and we have all had our bumps in the road over the last year so we thought it would be good to get together for a little girl time, decompress and just spend time laughing and reminiscing. I know I have things to share as my kids get older they do so many things that we did when we where there age. I know they have to make their own mistakes but I have sent my mother multiple e-mails telling her how sorry I was for giving her gray hair.
It is time to shop for livestock super excited to go find the next great one! It also gives Duane and I time on our own for some of the trips, I love spending time with my kids but I am a true believer that every marriage needs some date time ours just happens to not be over candlelight but with one of us saying what do you think of the but on that one. Yes I am sure someone out their thinks we need counseling :)

February can we skip it next year

Well to say February was dull would be far from the truth, we survived that is what I will say....Yay us. We have had 3 rounds of strep throat, Influenza B, and my dad had double bi-pass heart surgery and this would be one year without my grandma. My mom wants to skip February next year wonder if that is possible?
I had to face some things this month with my dad having heart surgery mainly that my parents are human. It was kinda scary to realize that people that you thought would always be there could be snapped away in an instant. Yes I am old enough to know that we all came with an expiration date stamped on us but it is another thing to think about that fact or to have it pushed in your face. I also realized that as much as I empathize with my husband or my mom over the loss of their parents, I don't have a clue what it is like to not be able to pick up the phone and call them or ask stupid questions just to reassure yourself that your right and that they will be in your court. My dad is fine and hopefully I won't have to hang my toes off that bridge anytime soon a little scare was enough for now.

Friday

This has got to have been the longest three day week ever, we had two snow days and I did nothing, well I did do a couple loads of laundry but lets just say I didn't throw myself out there and wow the world or even my family for that matter. I think that is why it has felt like I have run a marathon the last couple days.
I think I finally figured my stuff out for my classes this semester with FHSU, still not recommending them to anyone and may not even let my daughters take a college campus visit that is how frustrated I am with them, they may have increased their ability to reach more people but they did not increase their staff numbers. This means that it takes twice as long to get someone to answer questions and you get shuffled to other departments when they don't know the answer only to get sent back there again.
I am trying to save some money but it seems like every time I pull some out of checking to put it in savings I am calling to tell them to put it back, Oh well someday I will become a grown-up and learn to manage money...it is getting slightly better.
I agreed to write curriculum for the zoo this summer I don't know what I was thinking, now that isn't entirely true I was thinking make money ahead of summer then convince the hubby I don't have to have a real job this summer guess we will see how that goes. It will only work if I can stay out of savings not that I mind working during the summer and I have had some really interesting jobs but I want to spend time with my kids before they are all working or gone and it is to late, Jacob being in college and having worked the last two summers has made me realize how fast time flies and how soon none of them will be around excited to see them grow but man will I miss hanging out with no real place to be.
Ok I told you there is not a lot of exciting info right now so this is the latest update, have a great weekend and I will see you soon

Starting to Post again

Ok I have really done a horrible job blogging, my husband has told me, my mother and my kids, so I will try to do a better job. I really have had a hard time blogging because I just don't think anything is exciting lately, but hopefully you all will find my mundane life important enough to read about. We survived Christmas, I say survived but actually it was one of the best, I made my mom this scrap book not only did I have a wonderful time making it, she loved it. It made me feel really good because it was personal and not something that she could buy anywhere. My parents bought us a new grill it is so amazing, the old one is 15 years old and is starting to fall apart, we grill about three times a week, Duane is getting very creative lately even had some fish a few weeks ago from the grill it was so yummy.
The girls are in the middle of cheering for basketball and I am coaching both squads which means we are gone every night of the week, I get to spend plenty of time with the girls which is great but I am so not 20 anymore and I am so tired by the time Friday rolls around. Jacob starts school next Tuesday, he is so excited it is great to see him so fired up about going back to school, I am so proud of him.
Duane and I hadn't really missed the sheep until we started talking to the people we sold the ewes to and they are having babies, this is the part that I really loved so might have to go visit just to get my fix although choring in 6 inches of snow and chopping ice the last two mornings has reminded me of the parts I don't miss at all.
So my goal is to post a little more regular so for those of you that read this check back you never know

Life

Wow time flys I cannot believe that we are almost to November. I was in a store the other day and there was Christmas stuff out already Ok I am sure I have complained about this before but let me restate that I think they need to at least wait until Halloween before putting out Christmas stuff and I like Christmas.
I finally have an assistant cheer coach hired for the High school cheer program such a relief when going into basketball season. If you don't know I am now the head cheer coach for both the Jr. High and the High school yes I am slightly crazy (but most of you know that already) but I love it. I have gone through 3 people so this one better be the right one, I am really not that hard to work for, really I am not. The first potential managed to make the K-State Cheer squad mad within 10 min of being at a stunt camp, the second was a teacher she got a job and moved (dang her) the third had a driving issue that couldn't be worked out, so see not all me.
Jacob is gearing up for college so proud of him. He took his CDL class the other day it is a two day class for the paper testing part of things, then you have to go take a test and if you pass you go back to the college and do five days of driving and then if you pass the driving portion of the test then and only then do you officially have your CDL. He passed all five sections of the paper test portion it took him three hours and alot of rattled nerves but he did it...way to go!!!
Allissa just finished playing volleyball and is on her first ever FFA trip to Indianapolis Indiana. She took a suitcase that would hold a small child and even if we wanted to we couldn't have fit in one more thing, I have know idea how it will all come home because anybody that has ever gone anywhere knows that no matter how well you pack it never goes back into that suitcase the way it came out.
Kaylee is in her element this time of year basketball season has started and practice is in full swing. She can be found avoiding homework by shooting baskets outside before supper, after supper or whenever she thinks she can fit it in.
Duane can be found following all of us from various activities, I thought he would be missing the ewes by now but I think we have been so busy that it has almost been a blessing in some ways that they are not there. I know he misses parts of it but we have also had some freedom to do other things these last few months. Like we went to a hockey game in Wichita this last weekend it was so much fun I could do hockey games every weekend and be a very happy camper.
Well that is life in a nut shell, stay tuned and we will keep you posted

The next chapter

I know I have been away for the summer. I am just not good at posting during the summer. I also think I have been avoiding posting because some of what I need to let my blog family know is that we have had to make a hard decision this summer and although it was the correct one it makes me sad.
You have all followed the sheep biz from the start your have watched me learn and heard my complaints and been with me in total amazement as I delivered my first baby lambs. Now for the next chapter in this story, we had to sale the ewe lambs this summer. I say had to and that is not actually true, we chose to, we have spent 3 years of our lives with everything we doing rotating around the sheep and what they need and we got to a point that Duane and I felt that we needed to decide if what we where doing was the best thing and the decision was no. No financially, no time wise, no for the future. I will never be able to express to my parents how grateful I am for all of the help they gave us along the way, I will never be able to express to the people that trusted us to buy our stock what it meant to sit on the outside and watch our stock turn into winners. I will never be able to express how impressed I have been with my children through this whole experience........Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.