Change

It's a good thing!

Ok. So, hopefully you have noticed the new background.

There are a few more changes...

* the children's sidebar pics

(except for Hudson and Caleb - waiting for the weather to cooperate)

* the info "About Me"

* our family pics on the sidebar

* AND followers!

I added that a few weeks ago. I was amazed that I actually had 14 followers (really 13 b/c Rachel is following me twice :) thanks Rach!)  I am glad to know there are at least 13 people that care about what I write and the pictures I share of our family. I love knowing that you are there. Thanks for following!!

SURPRISE!!!

A New Look!!!
(finally)

The Earth is Shaking...

the ground is moving!!!

Any guesses?

How about now?

The "barn raising" has begun!
Well, in actuality, the "raising" begins in the ground.
They have brought in loads and loads of soil. Dug for the footers and are almost done building them. Hopefully, next week they will be poured.

This building is getting built just south of our home. It will actually be our barn on one end. A big garage for all the machinery - backhoe, dump truck, snow plows etc. in the middle. And then an office for Big Canyon on the other end. We are excited for it to be done but meanwhile, we are enjoying watching it get built. :)

We Miss You!

Jeremiah
Our Little Lamb

Stillborn May 24th, 2008 (at 19 wks)
Due Date - October 2008

This is the little box Brian and the boys built for his little body to rest in. We also tucked each of our letters and a small token of love in there.

He would be turning "1" and we would be celebrating BIG- Time with him.
He is in our thoughts and conversations often and has been throughout this past year. Definitely not forgotten around here.
We all love and miss that little guy!
We know Heaven is just that much sweeter with him there.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5

I am so thankful for this journey even though it has been difficult.

(our family memorial service for him)

It has not been as painful as of late. I do still carry the scar (on my broken heart) of losing my son. However, it is a scar that reminds me, I am not the same person I was before Jeremiah entered my life (womb).
Jesus, through Jeremiah, changed me.
Thank You! Thank You, Lord!

Since We are on the Subject...

Hudson got his first-ever buck on Deer Opener Day.
The antlers were not much to "write home about" but he was a good size in body. We have processed the meat into jerky and sausage.

It was dark and they had no camera when Hudson shot him, so there are no "field" photos of Hudson and his buck. Hanging in the garage will have to do for those of you who really want to see it. (sorry Shan)

The 2009 Hunting season for our family is officially over.
I am so proud of my guys!

Caleb has a few more hunts to guide and he LOVES doing that. He has been scouting for the hunters every morning and evening. Very excited to help them get their elk.

I am back! (kinda)

I am back in action again! Surely, you didn't think a little computer glitch would put me out of the blogging business? ( I sure DID - with much frustration!!) My smart and very techno hubby figured out the problem of why I could not post pictures.

My file on picasa web was full. My Blogger file would take no more data. Filled up! Maxed out! No more! Are you kidding me?!?!!?? Have I really posted that much!? So, my hubby (without consulting me first) deleted pictures from past posts :-( to buy me more time space.

Has this happened to anyone else? All to say, if I want more space, I must now pay for it. Hmmmm....

What should I do?

It only seems appropriate...

OR NOT! For this to be my next post.

But here it goes anyway...

I am always excited when one of "my men" bring home a big kill. (elk and deer)

However, if I were to be honest, (AND I am an honest person) the thought of processing the animal looms over me. I know what is to come and it is unavoidable!

OK...so, we let the elk hang in the garage for 5 days to cure.

(I will spare you the pics of that scene)

Then it was time to "process" it! Oh joy.

(yes, there is a tinge of sarcasm in that statement.)

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that we have organic elk meat and that the processing is something our family does together and that we save tons of money by doing it ourselves.

It's just the process. It's time consuming. It makes for a long day.

But it is all good. Because in the end - - we have yummy eats in our freezer to last us a year. So, really, who am I to complain?

Abbi and Hudson then cleaned off the bones and cut the meat in small chunks.

Weston ground the small chunks. Elizabeth weighed and bagged the meat.

Maggie and I used this handy dandy little machine. We sealed and dated the goods. Then out to the freezer it went. Without this, this task would be extremely difficult. It is a Foodsaver Air Vac sealer. LOVE IT!!

fyi- Dani and Tessa took naps. The lucky ones! :)

The other necessity for processing meat (for us) is the Bosch Universal. We actually use it for bread, baked goods and fruit shakes but with an extra attachment we are able to grind meat.

P.S. I have not been able to get my pictures to post. I think the problem is with Blogger and I am looking into it. So, for now, there are no pictures. This is probably a good post to NOT have pictures. 

Bull Crazy

a post by Caleb
(our 15 yr old son)

Well, it has been a busy, hard, fun and rewarding week for me.
It all started Saturday morning - the elk opener. As some of you might know, I work for some hunting outfitters. We had three clients from California that came to bag a big one. Before the season opened, I went scouting almost every day. One evening, I called in a very good looking 5x6. He was a very unique bull and he had my name written all over him. Unfortunately, I knew he would have to survive the hunters from California who pay around four grand to come up here and hunt before I could try to harvest him. The morning of the opener, at first light, I spotted "my bull" chasing around a few cow elk. Even though I didn't want to - - but it was what I was getting paid to do, I called the guides and told them I had spotted a dandy bull elk. So, a guide and a hunter came over, but by the time they got to the area where I had spotted him, he had bedded down in some thick brush. So, that night, they went back to the same area where he had been that morning, but some how during the day, the bull must of moved cause I spotted him and another bull about a mile down from where he had been. I called Higgs (one of the guides) and told him that the bull was below them and I told them to hurry. They weren't fast enough and it got dark before they could get within shooting range. This happened for about three days until Higgs and his hunter were tired of chasing "my bull" around and ended up shooting a smaller but a very good looking bull across the canyon. The three hunters all got nice bulls and left Monday afternoon with smiles on their faces.

Now, "my bull" would have to get passed me before he could live through another hunting season.
I went out that night and glassed (used binoculars) all the places we had seen him. I didn't see a single elk so I decided to hike above where I thought "my bull" might be bedded down. I reached my destination and almost immediately I heard cow (female elk) chirps and this time of year all of the bulls have cows with them so I was pretty sure he was probably in the brush with the cows.
I did a couple cow chirps to call him out from hiding, but nothing seemed to be happening. Then I looked behind me and to the right about twenty yards, there was a bull looking right at me, but he spooked before I could get a shot off. I was extremely bummed to have lost that chance. I decided to try and stalk him and see if I could get close enough to shoot him. I got up and started walking when I spotted a bigger bull in the same place. I waited for him to graze out into the open, which he did, and then he smelled me or something and he threw his head up and perfectly broad side at twenty yards he stood there looking at me. He was the bull (my bull) I had been scouting for all those weeks and the bull the other three hunters weren't able to kill.
I didn't even take time to think... I quickly buried the butt of my 270 rifle into my shoulder and BANG!
One shot - one kill :)
I had killed the big one! It was very exciting. My first bull!

CALEB

Gunnar is Released!

Remember our blog friends that were passing through on their way home from a wedding? Remember Gunnar had a tummy ache and ended up having surgery (appendicitis) the night they arrived?
Well, their one-night-stay turned into a 5 night and 5 day stay!
Gunnar was finally released from the hospital on Sunday. They left first thing Monday.

All of the children had a blast (except for Gunnar)...

We rode horses

burned boxes

played games

did crafts (ie: painting, beads, coloring)

played family games

read stories

much playing in the playroom

lots of eating!

Chores: dishes, kitchen prep, animals, clean house, etc.

And then we said Good-bye...

It was a fun (unexpected) time with friends.
And now Gunnar is appendix-less!

Get well - real soon!!

Guys and Doves

September 1st is always a long awaited day for the men of our home. Long awaited with much anticipation! You see, Sept 1st is the opening day of Dove season.
Watch the birds fly and let the shooting begin.
Mr. A and Mr. J and a friend of theirs came out first thing that morning to hunt with Brian and the boys. Everyone bagged a bird that morning. We call that a successful day around here. After Day 1, the 3 boys would go each morning and night until we had a big enough "catch" to feed our family. And then the feasting began!

Caleb and Hudson after Day 2 of hunting.

fyi - this is what a dove looks like (dead)

With Fond Memories...

of my
'03 Subaru Legacy.
Hit- Smashed-Totaled on August 16th
by a drunk driver.
I loved this little car!

Our insurance reimbursed us and
voila...A new (to us) '03 Subaru Outback Wagon

AWD for those wintery drives up the snow-packed road

spacious storage for the big Costco runs

We are thankful and feel blessed to have a "zip-zip" car for those runs to town or to Salt Lake. It makes it much more affordable than driving our big passenger van.
We are also very thankful to have survived the crash with minimal injuries.
God is good!

FYI - still no news on whether they caught the guy that hit us (remember he ran on foot from the scene?). Brian and I are still going to the chiropractor (2-3x/wk) for the whiplash and minor injuries that were caused. We are feeling better.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name."
Psalm 103:1

Blog Friends!

Remember this family?
We met through blogging and we got to meet them IRL!
They came to our home for 2 1/2 days in May. We all had a great time and didn't know when we would be together again.
Who wuda thunk 4 months later?
Their oldest son got married last weekend in Washington State. They stopped for an evening (or so they thought) on their way back home.

They arrived Tuesday afternoon. The children were so excited and the fun began. All except for Gunnar. He was not feeling well. Bad stomach ache since Saturday. Cinnamon decided to take him to the hospital. Surgery at 1:30am! Appendicitis!! The dr. wanted to keep him there another night. So...the children got another full day of play! (at the expense of Gunnar)
He should be released today.

Well, Hello-o October!

This is what greeted us this morning.

And this...
(my poor Honeysuckle)

AND This!
(stay warm little flowers - it will soon go away (i hope))