Helping

January 24th-30th:

This week has been so crazy with the weather. Lots and lots of snow. Ace has been very stressed out just trying to get out to his cows. The snow is so deep that they can't get to any feed, except for the rabbit weeds, which make them lose their calves. He thinks at least 6 cows have slinked their calves since he couldn't get to them in time. Their bodies go into starvation mode and some mommas just leave their newborn babies as well. Ace has been taking the backhoe and clearing paths to get the fees trailer in. This kind of weather has not been seen in this area, Jerry says, in about 20 yrs. Therefore, we are not set up in anyway for it. We are quickly trying to compensate though. I got the rest of the baby stuff ready and out this week. I had an appointment in Socorro. The doctor said I was dilated to a two and 50% effaced. "See you on Friday," she said. Well I was at the ballgame in Quemado on Friday so it didn't happen this week, which was a blessing with the weather and how busy Ace has been. Nelda took the kids and I to my appointment and then to Albuquerque. We picked up our ranch truck; the transmission was fixed and ready to be picked up. We also got tires and parts for Ace. Will and Nacona helped a lot getting the truck ready and helping with errands. They are all real life savers. On the way home we picked up to beefs that Nelda and Jerry got butchered. Granny let the kids pick a movie each to watch since they sat in the truck most of the day. They loved it. Ace fixed his backhoe and was glad to get the ranch truck back. Our trucks are so muddy it isn't even funny.

Church was cancelled on Sunday because no one could get in or out. Me enjoying a little time in bed.

Blazen snuggling with mom.

On Sunday we went and followed Ace in the backhoe to get the cows fed. We were in the truck for a solid 9 hours. We did get everything fed, but it was slow going. I got stuck a lot and Ace would have to pull me out to keep going. The kids and I did church in the truck (The Friend, stories, and singing). Then they watched a lot of movies and we played a little. I had to get out and run the feed trailer, some of the snow was piled up to my thighs.

You can watch only so many movies. This is Denim being a cheese ball. Guess who she is acting like?

The kids went out several times this week, but only stayed for about 20 min. The snow is hard and deep and their little legs get stuck and their boots get pulled off. We hauled in the play kitchen from the playhouse and set it up in the mudroom. They loved that. We also brought in the bikes and scooters and cars and they zoom around the kitchen. I made a rules chart. The kids thought it was funny. I was SERIOUS. Ace laughed. My mom said I had to many rules and should have stopped at 3. We will see. I think I need to add one. LEAVE THE CUSHIONS ON THE COUCH!!

One day the kids and I were driving home from taking Ace to the Z slash pasture. Denim said, "Mom, you know how one of our rules is -kindness-." Me, "Yes." Denim, "Well sometimes (pause), sometimes you are not very kind to your daughter and you yell." I almost started to argue and tell her that mommy's have different rights, but I knew that that was wrong and in reality I did have opportunity for growth in that area. I said, "Denim, you are right. The rules are not just for you and Blazen, but for all of us. I need to work on being kinder." That put a smile on her face. She said, "Yes, you do." I said, "OK, I will try harder to be kind. We all need to try."

Wow I didn't realize I was going to have to change with my rules. This may be harder than I thought. Maybe I need to drop a few.


Before the game in Quemado, we went and ate at the Largo. Food always taste so good when you are not the one cooking it.

Curtis got here at the end of the week. I was so grateful I could have just kissed him. Ace called him to help with the feeding, so that he can help me when I have the baby. Boy I have sure missed Curtis. He is also so nice to my kids and so reliable.

Denim has been carrying around a potato or two now for a few days. The people in the Largo were guessing why she had a potato. Can you guess? She has been practicing juggling, like Uncle Trujillo. She is pretty good with one. I showed her how you have to go under then up, instead of just back and forth. Her little hands are getting pretty coordinated.

They pass out pom pom's at the game for the kids to cheer. Denim was quite the little cheerleader. It was fun to see people in the community and visit. My kids enjoyed the interaction too.

Kasey Wayne and Blazen.

Cassara was the kindergarten princess. She and Denim are friends. Denim enjoyed watching her give roses all dressed up.

Watching the homecoming royalty.

* Blazen uses the F sound for S. Fox=Socks, Fun=Sun. Or he just drops the F like no=Snow. We have been trying to work on his pronunciation. He can make the S sound with effort, but when he says the words, it is harder. I was telling him the stories of when Denim was little and how we had to work on her pronunciation. Like wabbit for rabbit. Both the kids just loved that story. When Blazen found out that Denim had to work at pronouncing he tried harder. He wants sooooo much to be a big boy. He has been trying so hard lately to be independent. He has been going to the potty all by himself this week-no help wiping-good thing they make baths. If he has accidents often he will undress himself and put the bottoms in the dirty clothes. I know he has had an accident because all of the sudden I have a naked bottom running around. Blazen LOVES Dora and Strawberry Shortcake. This sometimes worries Ace, so Ace ordered Batman, Superman, and Spiderman from Netflicks. He loves these too, but nothing replaces the oldies. Ace asked him, "Blazen are you going to marry Strawberry Shortcake." "NO, Dora." He said. I guess she is the favorite. When he went out in the snow this week he just had to wear Denim's Strawberry shortcake hat though.

One night Blazen went to sleep early and Denim wanted a snack. We went to the kitchen and ate yogurt together. She talked my leg off. It was nice to have a special moment with her. This was the conversation. Denim, "Mom, my heart goes beep, beep, when I do things nice (she grasps her heart dramatically) and I feel like (she looks up to heaven) Angels in heaven and the Holy Ghost comes into my heart--like when I give my toys that I don't like to kids with no money, like, (pause) well I like my strawberry shortcake toy and my dolls and this and that ect. ect. (thinking) I guess that my dress that the zipper is broken in I could give away and that would make my heart feel so SWEET--sweet means fills with so much love you know mom. Wouldn't that be nice. And it makes me feel good when you share with me my yogurt and tomorrow we could do something really special after special time like invite the princess and queen (from the homecoming court) and decorate the whole house and put yogurt and water in a bowl and then cook it in the oven and it would taste sooooo yummy." Me, "That sounds great."
Me eating sour cream banana bread, "Denim would you like some of my banana bread." Denim, "No thank you mom. Remember last time I ate it--well, it gave me a headache and I didn't want to tell you because I thought it would hurt your feelings and I didn't want to hurt your feelings, but it did give me a headache." Me, "That's OK, you don't have to eat any and I'm sorry that it gave you a headache." She smiled and hugged me.

My children are my absolute jewels. They are the most precious things that I have. They are what I live my life for. I can see their little souls coming out, growing, teaching me. I want to do what is right and teach them well. Lord please help me to know what is best for them. Give me courage, understanding, and strength. I feel I am here in Pie Town married to Ace for a very important reason. I feel this is where the Lord has placed me to become the best that I can. This is my time, my season, my place. Give me the courage to LOVE these moments given to me and to learn the lessons that I am asked to learn.

Story

This is a little out of the ordinary for me. I got sent a forward and just to let everyone know, I do not read or send forwards on. This time for who knows what reason I decided to read it. It really touched my heart and so I decided to post it. Thank you to our good friend and relative, Thelma, for sending it to me.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him..
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.'
They really should get lives.
' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football

with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
' He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends..
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never
be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship..
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd..
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
' Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story..'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the

first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
'Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable..'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions..
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.

Although I have never been this low in my life, I am grateful to have had wonderful family members, friends, and strangers do simple yet powerful acts of kindness for me. I appreciate a call, a smile, a thought. Thanks to all. I hope that I can take a moment out of my busy life to do that for another, willingly.
Love Tim

pancakes

January 17th-23rd:

This week it snowed a lot. We had to stay indoors mostly all week. We went to Socorro, celebrated Ace's birthday, and I did normal mommy/wife chores.

Here is a few pictures of the end of Mom, and Trujillo and Charlottes stay. They left very early on Monday morning, which was good because they beat a big snow storm. I thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Family is so important to me. I am glad I have a great relationship with both mine and Ace's family.

This picture is blurry, but I really liked it because it shows how much fun my brother and husband have together. Until I was married I didn't realize how import it would be to me that they were friends. Two totally important men in my life.

Mom taking a little snoozer on the couch. In the winter the warm fire really puts a person out, not to mention dealing with 5 grandchildren all at once.

Trujillo just wanted to be outside in the middle of nowhere. He loved the feel of freedom being away from work.

Charlotte fixing Ralayna's hair. She is such a good mommy.

The kids all ready for church. Denim and Blazen were very excited to have Ralayna and Abraham in primary. Denim told Ralayna, "Our church is different than yours, it is small." When we went in to sing songs for primary, Ralayna looked around and asked where the other kids were. We told her it was just us, and now we had double the kids with her and Abe.

Denim and Ralayna were comparing dresses and shoes all morning. Whose was prettier, ect. What a nightmare-little girls. Ralayana wanted a long dress like Denim; Denim wanted pretty shoes like Ralayna. The boys could care less about that stuff--well maybe not---they both needed their cowboy hats. I guess all kids compare.

Denim and Blazen enjoying some outside time. They like to climb the hill. Sassy is kind of a pain in the butt to them.

It was Ace's birthday this week. 34 yrs old. Crazy. I can't believe how time flies. We went to the doctor this day. All is well. Then we stopped in Datil on the way home and ate at the Eagle Guest Cafe. Ace had a steak, I had chicken fried steak, the kids had chicken fingers and fries. We got Ace a new shaving kit and all the inside stuff, since his got stolen in Albuquerque before Christmas. I was normally going to go to the doctor the day before, but the roads were horrible and Ace couldn't go with me, so we changed it. The kids were able to go and listen to the heartbeat.

Daddy loves his little girl.

We sat at the table by the fire, so nice.

Denim was very sweet this week and tried hard to help mom. She is cleaning dishes voluntarily. She was in the doctors appointment and picked up a lot. She told me, "Mom I have to help you, the doctor said you need to rest. I will be your helper." She was very serious and dedicated in this endeavor.

Ace clearing off the windshield.

Lots of fluffy snow.

Feeding the horses hay cubes. They are grateful!

The mud under the snow has not made life easy to drive in and get to the cows.

Our ranch truck is getting fixed in Albuquerque, so we just have our blue truck. It gets so muddy on the ranch. We have to feed the cows though.

With the cold weather the kids have gotten creative in the house. After watching Barney, they decided to dress up like mice. They have my black tanks on and then we made them noses out of egg cartons. They were mice ALL day long.

We have been pretty consistent with school. One day a week we write letters. This is Blazen's letter. Last week Denim wrote Santa, this week Blazen wanted to write him. Normally this happens BEFORE Christmas, but nothing is normal around here.

Denim drew a picture of me. I thought it was so beautiful, I even have eyelashes. She is signing her own name. The lowercase E has been difficult, but she is doing good.

On Saturday we don't do school, so this week we made it special by making special pancakes. We used food coloring and candy sprinkels. LOTS of sprinkels. I then made little bity pancakes because they wanted to eat a lot like "Little Black Sambo," a classic children's book that I have read since I was a little kid at my great-grandma Lola's house.

While we were cooking the kids found a fabulous secret hiding place.
GUESS WHERE THEY ARE?

PEEKABOO! They unloaded all the pots inside and had a blast. The silver wear drawers misteriously went in and out, in and out above them. I have NO idea how that happened.

The little pancakes cooking. Purple and blue.

When they were done, I stacked them with peanut butter in between to make them stick. The kids thought it was fabulous to have a tall stack.

Ok, so I must say I was impressed with my pancakes, thus so many pictures. YUMMY!

I alternated mine.

We got creative with toys and games to stay entertained, cooped up. We got out the baseball game Nacona gave Blazen for Christmas. Denim just loves standing on her head on the couch. This is an every hour accurance.

Well, with my blog, I have been a major slacker lately. For Christmas Ace gave me a camera and video camera. I have been in the process of figuring out the new media and switching from the old ones. Therefore I have taken hardly any pictures from these past weeks. I have also been trying to get all the baby stuff ready. Getting out the tubs, going through old stuff, washing, having Ace haul in stuff for me. I have been doing last bits and pieces of shopping. Also on top of all of that I think I have been nesting for several weeks. I have been feeling major needs to finish and accomplish several projects before the baby comes. Finally I decided that even if I had hardly any pictures or stories written down, I needed to get my blog up to date and continue before the baby comes. So here is a very general idea of what has been going on these past weeks.

December 27th-January 2nd:

We finished the week celebrating with the McPhauls. On Monday we packed our things and moved back in to our house. I spent a few days cleaning, organizing, and resting. I was not ready to take down the tree. I just love the Christmas season. I wanted it to last as long as possible. Really cold, snowy weather came in. Ace had to get the backhoe out and make paths to even be able to get to his cattle and feed them. The snow was so deep that the cattle couldn't get any feed. Good thing we contracted hay cubes this winter. We are definitely going to need them. The kids and I have gone out almost every day and played in the snow. I hook up a sled behind the 4 wheeler and drive on Ace's snow plowing tracks. Blazen lasts about 1 ride. Denim this year really got into it and goes for an hour. She loves it. Hot chocolate and a nice fire have been life savers coming in. On New Year's Eve we went over to good family friends of ours; Randy and Cindy's. They have a little girl and a little boy just a bit older than Denim and Blazen. They live about 45 miles away, but the roads were pretty icy, so we had to go slow. We had a very nice visit, the kids had a blast. Cindy has been homeschooling her kids, so we got to visit about that. On the way home, it was very cold for Pie Town. Our truck thermometer said -15 below zero. We were all tired and asleep by 10:30pm. I guess we were big party poopers. New Years Day was crazy. I invited my friend Marlena over to make homeade doughnuts. I got the dough ready in the morning. Ace called me on the radio (we have CB's in our houses and trucks to be able to comunicate when we are out on the ranch.) His ranch truck front steering went out, driving in the snow while feeding. It was basically on the ground. We had to go up and get the backhoe. (Then I ran into Pie Town to pick up Marlena; the roads were to bad for her car.) We then went down to help Ace, the truck was coming up from Long Lake. Marlena drove mine with the kids in it. Ace was in the backhoe, and I was steering the ranch truck. Ace chained the backhoe to the back end of the ranch truck and pulled me backwards. It was a little bit scary at times because I only had control of one wheel and it would swerve and then jerk a bit. It was so slick and muddy that at times Ace couldn't pull me-especially up the hills. He would have to put the digger legs down, his backhoe bucket out as far as it would go, chain it short, and then pull me forward with the bucket. Then again and again-inch by inch-until we were up the hills. It took us nearly 3 hours to go 1 mile. We did end up making it. Luckily for me, probably not so much for Marlena, she was there to help with the kids. When we got back I had promised to take the kids sledding, so we did that for about and hour. To finish feeding, Ace took my truck. He called on the radio a few hours later and guess what--just before he reached Pie Town, coming from the Z slash pasture, my drive line went out. I had to go pick him up in the old ranch truck that has no reverse. So we were pretty much truckless. Good thing that I did not go into labor that day. Then Marlena and I made doughnuts. They turned out really well. I ate so many that I almost got sick. So I figured out the magic trick for perfect doughnuts---A CRAZY DAY!! The next day-Miracle of miracles: Will Cline and Ace were able to fix both trucks. One part they were able to get cut to the perfect measure and the other part they found randomly in a junk pile. It was the exact part they needed and didn't have to wait a week to order it. Both trucks were up and running within a day. It really was a blessing.


January 3rd-January 9th:

We finally took down our tree this week. It was sad. I put on that song from Micheal McClain, "I cry the day that I take the tree down." I had a doctors appointment. All is well. The baby is doing well. A few more weeks. At the end of the week I started getting water retention in my hands and feet. It wasn't too bad. Just a little bit swollen. I started cleaning out the back long room. What a horrific project. I really need it all cleaned out to have a guest room and toy room. It is coming along. More sledding. My kids both had colds. We got over them with VSC and silver shield from Nature Sunshine, along with probiotic and garlic oil for their ears. The humidifier is a must with the dry heat of the wood stove. Ace helped me get the plastic tubs where the baby clothes were stored. Some were here and some were over at his parents house in the old boxcar. I went through a ton and organized by the months. I have a ton of girl baby blankets. Lots of washing to do. Ace also helped me bring in the cradle and changing table. I am trying to be more organized this time. For the past year every time I have found the long sleeve onesies or button under shirts with mittens already on them I have bought them. They are ultra hard to find, but are my favorite for newborns. I have quite a few of those now. Denim just loved helping me go through the girl clothes. Blazen was distraught that there was no blue. The morning that I had all the tubs, Denim could hardly wait until I was ready. I had to clean a prior mess before I got into that one. Her favorite part was the little bitty shoes. Blazen just keeps talking about how he is going to give the baby a bottle. He doesn't quite understand that our baby won't need a bottle. I am pretty blunt too. "The baby will get milk from mommy's boobies." I think he may have to see it before he gets it. I started doing school again with the kids this week. I made a schedule and have been trying really hard to stick with it. 9-11:30 am is school/special time. I try not to answer the phone or get distracted. It helps. It has been a little bit hard getting back into it, but I think just being scheduled helps so much. Getting to bed at a decent time, ect. I also made a meal month chart like my Aunt JoAnn. It has been great, and so easy to do too. My dad had surgery on his knee. He hasn't been doing very well. He isn't healing very well. He says he feels like he is going through hell. We sent him two excercize machines that Ace used. Hopefully that will help. Mom hasn't got much sleep because Dad is getting none. The medicine, apparently the doctors said, isn't doing anything for him. We all hope things will start getting better.


January 10th-16th:

We have been feeding the cattle hay cubes. We contracted them in from Southern Utah. They are very good quality and reasonable in price. The part that makes feeding them so nice is that we are not having to haul and break hay bales all winter. It takes a fraction of the time that it normally would to feed bales as well. This week Ace's ranch truck broke down again, the transmission this time. He has been going out really early in the morning to feed on the freeze, but by the time he is done, it starts getting muddy. We borrowed the Brutons small flatbed trailer and hauled it to Albuquerque. This summer when Denisse was visiting, we had to get a new transmission in the same truck, so luckily it was still under warranty (barely). Until it is done we are sharing my truck. Good thing we have radios, incase I need to go to the doctor. Our good friend, Carolie Green, delivered her own baby-not by choice- her husband was out in the pasture with the cows. Another friend delivered her baby on the way to the hospital- they nicknamed him Dodge (no joke, everyone still calls him Dodge, he is in high school).
We went to Albuquerque. Ace had to go to a day of real-estate school. Nacona, the saint, watched my rugrats while I ran around getting all of my baby stuff. The kids had a ball. It was pretty warm, so they spent several hours at a park. I was glad they were able to get outside. I got Denim a booster seat, and we are passing all the car seats down. I went to babies r us and had fun. I can't believe how expensive some stuff is. I was going to get a small dress, but couldn't spend the $50. Can you believe that! I mean really, how much fabric does it take, like next to nothing. I finished the back long room this week. That felt soooooo good. In Albuquerque I bought a few heavy duty plastic storage shelves. They are awesome. I also went throught the kids closet. I bought a portable short rack for Denim's clothes. Now there is room in the closet for all three kids hang up clothes. Ace ordered the kids Superman on Netflix. They loved it. Blazen has been playing Superman all week. Ace also got Disney's gummy bears. Denim thought that was awesome. I never watched it as a kid-pretty cute. They have been bouncing around the house saying, "I need more gummy berry juice."
*Denim got in major trouble. I was in the back long room working, and came to check on her in the living room. She had two big bowls of some contraption with water made, heating by the fire. I was at first only a little angry because she is not supposed to bring bowls of water in. Then I started following the trail of contraption on the carpet. (I had a feeling it was bad when she slowly started hiding behind the couch rather than follow me.) The trail led me through the front room, through her bedroom to the bathroom, at which point I totally and completely-am not proud to say-LOST IT. In the bathroom I found my food storage tin cans open. Namely-- Crisco (half used at that point), shortening powder, potato flakes, oatmeal, and flour. It was ALL OVER, and each had been generously used. I do spank my children if you need to know, after which we discuss why they got spanked. Denim got no more T.V. the rest of the day (probably the worst part for her), she had to clean it all up, and help me clean the rest of the day-4 hours worth. She is pretty good at vacuuming now. One sweet thing. Denim had been cleaning for about an hour. Up to this point I had cleaned with her. I left her to a job and started in the backroom again. She came to me sobbing, "Mom I just am not sure if you love me anymore." I stopped what I was doing and went and sat down on the couch and held her for a long time. Then I explained, "Denim I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I will always love you. I love you even when you do naughty things. I am hard on you because I love you and I want you to learn." She was very content and loving after that. She wanted to be by me and help in any way. When Ace came home, I told him the story (after the kids were in bed). He laughed, of course. He asked if I had taken pictures to show him. I said, "Honestly I would still not be ready to take a picture of that, it is not funny to me at all yet."
The next morning I went in to visit the kids before they got out of bed. Denim had a horrified look on her face, "Mom I had a dream." Me, "What was it." Denim, "Mom I don't want to tell you. It will make you sad." Me, "It's ok, you can tell me." After thinking for awhile, "Ok----i was taking a bath and you made me do something that I didn't want to do. I acted like it was ok, but when you left----here's the part that will make you very sad-------I was VERY angry at you. ----------didn't that make you sad mom." Me, "Denim, that's ok if sometimes we feel angry. I still love you very much and you love me too." That made everything better. She smiled and hugged me. It is interesting that our emotions stay with us so long no matter what age we are. She was so angry and frustrated at me the day before for getting in trouble that it came out very dramatically for her in her dream. Even though it was a short dream, I could tell by her eyes how intense the feelings were. I hope I handled everything alright. I do love her so.
Then Blazen listening to the whole conversation said, "I had a dweam too." "My dad weft me to work and I wasn't sad. Then I put a needle in my pillow and did my hammer (boom boom--with actions) PAUSE "the end."
At the end of the week my Mom, Trujillo, Charlotte, Ralayna, Abe, and Nathan came to visit. It was so fun to have them here. They got here on Friday and stayed all weekend. Mom slept with Denim and Blazen. They were ready for that special attention. I had the backroom fixed for Trujillo's family. The kids played and played. Ike was able to come over and play with all the kids a little bit too. I had fun talking about many different things. Mom was interested in the whole hay cube production. Trujillo was glad to just get out and be in the middle of nowhere. Charlotte and I got to talk about mommy issues. She is so sweet. I really think of her as my sister. We made scones. Mom brought a box of grapefruits. That was special. We did not put a dent in the box though. Charlotte also brought some groceries for us. Ralayna is a little princess, she loves the independence of school. Abraham is a little cowboy. When they got here, he wouldn't come in until he had his cowboy boots back on. He ONLY will wear wranglers. He is so cute. Nathan has grown so much since I last saw him. He is very active. A very wiggly baby. I was so glad to visit mom. She really cares for me, I can tell. It means a lot that she makes an effort to be a part of MY life, MY world. She needed a break from caring for dad as well. It has been a hard couple of weeks for both of them.