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.

Graduation 3

Jacob with all his parents
Jacob, Allissa, Kaylee and Hunter

Ok really can I not get a picture with our eyes open

My brother and I

Nana, Papa, Uncle Bob and the kids

Graduation 2

Uncle Bob and Alex
My family

Jacob picking on Nana (love this pic)

Who is the creeper in the back??

Jake's personal cake, everything was edible

Graduation

Ok these are backwards but you get the point.

Look they signed it!!

In the recieving line afterwards wanting to leave

The mess the Seniors left behind

Walking across the stage

Walking in about to graduate

My Coffee Cup

This coffee cup.........ROCKS!!!! Not only is it mine, but it was made especially for me by the most amazing kid, mine.

This is the top look how much coffee that will hold

The front with my name in special letters so no one can steal it.

Should I have stopped them?

OK I am officially a grown-up, yesterday the girls where pulling the heads off the dandelions that are in the "puff" ball state and blowing them. I panicked, I wanted to scream, "oh my gosh stop doing that, don't you know if you blow those things they will create more of those ugly little flowers?" I know that I did this as a kid even now I would love to pluck them and blow the little feathers off but the "grown-up" in me knows that if I do this then what little grass that is still in my yard will turn into dandelions.
Just so you know I didn't yell at my girls I turned and went back into the house, kids should be kids they should be allowed to blow the stupid flowers apart, I did. Did my parents and grandparents go back into the house when I did that?

Thanks Grandma!!

I believe there are miracles every where you just have to be open to them. I believe the flowers below have been helped out by my grandma who passed this year...let me explain. I have lived in this house for four years and I have done everything she taught me about Iris's to get them to bloom, remove some to make room, weed, fertilize everything..... and yet one or two and nothing more. This year almost everyone bloomed.....

so thanks Grandma!!!

Prom 2010

The tunnel into the dance

The fake waterfall

The ceiling and the dance floor

My family

We have to show off the rides

Jake and Cassie

Travis and Allissa

Not sure what Jacob is doing

Prom 2010

The whole group that went to eat together and then to prom

Travis and Allissa

Jacob,Kaylee and Allissa

Jacob and Allissa

Jacob and Cassie

What is going on

25 days left until school is out for the summer. Ask me and I might be able to tell you hours, minutes and seconds until we are released. The last couple weeks have not been great as school, we get to the end of the year and the teachers are out of energy but the kids are not out of problems. I don't know if this is why the issues seem worse of if they really are worse this time of year. Soooo to say that I am ready for school to be out is an understatement.....I AM ready.

We are almost done with all the baby lambs at our house, most have been sold except for a few little ones and the sold ones are almost all delivered, soon all the ewes will be out to grass, that in itself is a nice break, fewer chores. We add a couple show goats and 3 pigs to the mix but all in all not much to do.

We are gearing up for prom in our house, dress, tux, flowers, hair, where to eat, what time they are going all that stuff. Allissa and Jacob are both going to prom this year and it is really fun to listen to them talk with Jake telling Allissa what to expect.

Keep the Pace

I take a step
You take two,
I hurry to catch up with you

Do you know that I am falling behind?
Does it matter? Have you lost your mind?
Lost in thought you don’t see,
The person I clearly need to be.

I take a step
You take two
I hurry to catch up with you.

I have no strength to keep this pace
I am clearly locked in second place
Running a race that can never be
Then……………….
You stop and wait for me!

Censorship

The teacher that I talked about on here before about the inappropriate items posted in the hall has now had two books removed from his classroom and even though I haven't agreed with some of the teaching strategies I do NOT support censorship so I wrote the following letter to the administration: (I did remove the teachers name because if you know who I am talking about fine but otherwise that is their business)


I would like to express my frustration with the removal of the books from Mr. ??? classroom. The author of Flight is an award winning author with repeated publication that has won numerous awards. Caged Bird was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970 and it has been used in educational settings from high schools to universities, the book has been celebrated for creating new literary avenues for the American memoir and it was on the schools approved reading list.
Mr. ??? and I have not seen eye to eye on every subject area but he has pushed my two children to grow in their thoughts and feelings on different subjects. Mr. ??? has created an environment that allows them to think outside the box and feel that they have valued opinions. He encourages them to believe in their thoughts and not to allow others to sway them from what they believe in. I understand that some of the material that he teaches pushes the envelope but isn’t that what we want our educators to do? We want them to push the envelope and we want them to make our children aware of the world around them and we want this to be done in a safe environment that allows for open honest discussion, discussion with leadership. Potter Stewart said “Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime” Do we lack confidence in our students at Riley County High School? I for one believe that we have raised great kids here at Riley County but if we only allow them to see what is inside the box we create for them and never introduce different subjects and criteria then we are stifling the possible creativity and their ability to grow. I am concerned that if we continue to approve material and then not support the teachers when people make it uncomfortable then we will lose teachers that could make a difference in our children’s lives and education. The books that had been chosen contained material that is relevant to students within the walls of Riley County High School, it contained material that would allow students to discuss topics like discrimination, poverty, achievement, foster care, and history. In approving the material and then pulling it because of complaints we are allowing the general public to control our children’s education instead the school board that we elected to make those decisions.
I would like to thank you for you listening to my concerns and I would encourage you to take a stand that will allow our children to grow and learn. This cannot be done if we allow fear to rule our actions.

Sincerely
Angela Toews

Opossum or Dog

OK this is for all the times I share things about my family, this ones on me!!
I let the dogs out this morning, it is pitch black dark, 5 a.m. I have my head light on that allows me to see fairly well for things that are close, to far away and I can see a little but not great.
The dogs are doing their business I holler at them to come back the husky comes back I let her inside the wiener dog does not come back so I walk out to look for him. I yell and yell and here he comes waddling along taking his own sweet time, I yell again and walk closer towards him. We get within 15 feet of each other and I realize Holy Crap that is not my dog but a opossum. This sends me into a fit of laughter I can hardly stand up from laughing because all I can think of is that commercial with the lady and the raccoon and the fact that maybe I need glasses.
My dog picks this moment to show-up from wherever he has been and decides he is going to protect me from the opossum, I scream the opossum runs and my dog looks like I just whipped him, this starts the laughing all over again.
Yes it really happened!!

Blog material

Ok maybe my kids are the source of this blog a little to often. Yesterday I had the camera out and the youngest goes "look out your about to be blog material" to the people standing around her. After the total mortification passed it really was funny.....still is, so even without pictures she became "blog material"

A Day with my Girls

We went to Lincoln on Monday for the start of spring break, had an awesome day with my girls we shopped and ate and laughed (the only thing missing was the guys Duane and Jake) but great day.



We had afternoon snacks. Allissa had a Carmel apple her all time favorite and Kaylee had a peanut butter cup that was huge.

We ate at the mall and I found my all time new favorite restaurant, Charlies. I had a BBQ steak sandwich they grilled the steak right in front of me....it was amazing!!

This is Kaylee shopping, I am sitting in a chair waiting, they can out do me shopping anymore

Allissa found a chair in Justice and was waiting on Kaylee to finish.

Funny Conversation

Sometimes I just put things on here that I want to remember when my kids are older this would be one of those conversations, it went like this:

We are driving by the high school track after school and track practice is going on.

Allissa: There goes Stacy she is one crazy girl

Me: Why do you say that?

Allissa: She is doing Pole Vault

Me: I don't think that makes her crazy, I wish I had done it in high school

Allissa: Maybe I just think it is crazy because if I was doing it I would be the pole vaulter with the "SPECIAL" helmet.

Me: Why cause you think you have coordination issues?

Allissa: You know it there is no way I would ever be able to run and stick that pole in the hole, it would miss and I would fly somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.

I love my daughter and she so makes me laugh, and if you know Allissa right now your picturing her in her "SPECIAL" helmet trying to pole vault.

Heaven

Anyone that knows me knows that when Easter comes around I stock up on these little eggs simply because they are amazing, I love them and they are seasonal but....

I found Heaven in a bag that might help me to survive the rest of the year when the eggs go into hiding. Chocolate coved mini marshmallows, can you hear the angels singing when I open the bag....shhhhh listen very carefully

Do you know where they went??

Reward:

Missing

House Fairies

These are the fairies responsible for day to day activities - laundry, dishes, general pick up and put away. Rarely seen but greatly appreciated these little creatures bring smiles to faces and take the stress off housewives every where. They need to be found........ASAP!!!!

I am putting out this flyer because in talking to my friends it seems that I am not the only one missing my house fairy. It used to be that someone besides myself would occasionally do a load of laundry or even wash some of the dishes but lately there seems to be a problem and the only thing my friends and I could come up with is that our house fairies have been taken hostage. So please friends tell everyone you know to stay alert for the sprinkle of magic fairy dust left behind by those rare but so needed magic fairies. If you see anything or would like to leave an anonymous tip please call 1-800-fairy-finder, you do not have to leave your name but you could receive a cash prize if your tip leads to the finding of the fairies.

No more Valentine's Day

Ok here is something I bet you didn't know about me I hate Valentines Day, I know hate is a strong word but I really do. I mean it is a Holiday that was started in regards to a Roman Priest that did anything for love and was hanged, really with a start like that does it sound like a great holiday?
I mean I really think that if any holiday should send people into depression it should be Valentines Day. Let me explain I think the holiday takes the one thing that everyone wants and magnifies it...LOVE. If you don't have it then the holiday makes you feel like a looser that can't find that one special person your meant to be with. If you do have a special someone then it is all about what should you get them and if what you got them is appropriate based on where each of you thinks your at in the relationship. Then if your on the receiving end it is what you got from your significant other and what does that mean....way worse then Christmas.
If you think that this just effects teens or adults it doesn't think about all those cute little Valentines cards out there and as a kid the time and effort put into addressing each and everyone of them and making sure that the correct message is sent to the correct person for fear that they take what is on that cute little card with the sucker the wrong way.
If there is one holiday that doesn't make any sense to me and I think it should be taken off the calendar it is Valentines Day.....this is just my opinion

What a year!!

Ok I was wishing that it was February because January just was not good. Now I am wishing it was March, would it be ok if I just wished us into 2011?? 2010 has not been a very good year so far. Yesterday the hubby and I found out that the checking account was short 1000.00 because some looser in California decided to fund his Super Bowl Party with my debit card numbers, gotta love technology. The bank was great they caught it before we did and assured us that we will get our money back.
The year can only get better, the year can only get better...this will be my motto!!

Random stuff

Wow is it really February?? So I either need to take down the Christmas tree or redecorate it with paper hearts, leaning towards the paper hearts. Yes I still have my tree up want to make something of it?? I could really use a personal attendant this time of year. We haven't been home long enough to do anything there except homework, check the sheep, shower, check the sheep, dishes, check the sheep....well I guess you get the picture. I haven't counted lately but I think there is about 55 head of babies out there.
Last night I took the girls to get a very overdue haircut, they both looked amazing (but I thought they did before to) but after the haircut we lost Kaylee twice as she detoured to check out her new look in the nearest mirrors and Allissa kept saying mom she looks like a girl (Kaylee is our resident tomboy) it was really funny.
Well back to work need to get some cheer stuff together for practice, competition this weekend and then things slow down at least with the Jr. High squad, the high school will still have a mini cheer camp to take care of but at least with those I will be home before 9:00. It will be nice to slow down some now if the weather would stop teasing me with a few warm days here and there. Let me know if there are any takers on that personal attendant if not the tree might get strung with fire crackers in July :-)

Grace in small things

Time for a little Grace in my life: 5 things that I am thankful for to remind me that it is the small things that matter

1) I am thankful for full moons (the kind in the sky)
2) Assistant coaches that do their jobs
3) Texting (I know sounds shallow but it allowes me contact with my hubby and kids when they are not home)
4) music - it soothes the soul
5) A good book

Just Do It

Summer Olympics, winter Olympics or Ag the all weather sport??

With the Olympics coming up I got to thinking about some sports and how they can only be done in the summer or winter but Ag is the all weather sport, we have our version of:

1. Athletics - sprints, long jump. I sprint to the house from the barn on a regular basis's to retrieve feeding tubes, pliers, flash lights well you get the point. I have my own version of the long jump I clear giant mud puddles in single bounds, leap over giant snow drifts to get to the feed shed
2. Shot put - This includes throwing hay bales into the barn, into feed racks.
3. Weightlifting - I lift 50 lb bags of feed to haul them from the truck to the feed shed and then to the sheep themselves
4. Shooting - This is protection of the livestock from predators
5. Wrestling - Yes I wrestle come watch when we put markers on bucks or worm ewes or tag babies, I wrestle
6. Gymnastics - This covers all the positions I bend my body into when I am trying to hold one panel with my foot and another with my hand and move livestock into another pen without letting things escape, or the art of balancing the flashlight while handing wire, pliers or other miscellaneous items to the hubby while holding up the board/panel that is being fixed at the time.
7. Hockey - If you have ever watched hockey you know that the purpose of the goalie is to block the net from the defenders and take a hit if needed. When working sheep my job is to block the exit and take a hit when needed...sounds just like the goalie, doesn't it.

So to all you Olympic athletes I say come train in the real world without massage therapist and personal trainers and when they start giving out medals to the "Real World" athletes I will be a top competitor.

Cold weather whining

Wow could the cold weather just leave us alone already?? I so miss my mom and dad's house this time of the year. They have wood heat and nothing compares to that I just cannot get warm. We are about to start lambing I sure wish that we had everything done in the barns, jugs need to be finished, electric needs to be fixed because we blew the power box and foam needs sprayed in a couple spots for drafts. I told Duane that we are not breeding next year if the stuff for lambing is not done I hate doing this stuff in below zero degree weather.
We are getting out at 1 today because of weather I really need to work on the things above but I really want to go home and play the Wii I have never been a video game junky but that thing is addictive, the kids get high score and I find myself having to see if I can beat them. Think it is because I have always had to move when I play stuff like that and this lets me really get into the game.
Well I am just rambling I really didn't have anything amazing to blog about but I do know a few people get on here to see what we have been up to. Stay warm, stay safe and I will keep you posted on the new baby lambs