The Essary Family Daily News

Driveby, April 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:38:00 +0000

Oh my! My lack of posting is horrible! But there is so much going on, I seldom get to turn on my computer at home. I've literally gone weeks without starting it up. There is just no time!

So, here's what's been going on.

Puppies In January, our golden retriever, Scarlett, surprised us with a litter of puppies. Unknown who the daddy is, but judging by the pups, something large and black. She had NINE of the little darlings. 5 girls, 4 boys (or was it the other way around?), and two were black, two very light tan, the rest a bit darker. Some had slick fur, some very fuzzy fur. When they were old enough we (the kids and I) loaded them up and sat for three days in front of the local Walmarts (that's plural, not redneck. The one in Pville and the one in Clovis). And managed to get rid of all but three. Of these, we are keeping two (a boy and girl that we fell in love with). And still have one that needs a good home. She's black and fuzzy and so sweet! Hit me up if you would like her!
Sports My last post showed that basketball was just getting started (or should have been anyway). Well, it's come and gone. We are at the end of track season for the girls, district meet is tomorrow, Shelby hopes to qualify for State. And this week the boys have had their first baseball games. State cheer was fun, although we didn't place. I was very proud of the girls for not dropping any stunts or making any huge mistakes. We know what to work on for next year. My Mom, Wayne and Aunt Jan got to come out for it and spend a few short days with us at home.
School We are quickly approaching the end of the school year! May is promising to be a CRAZY month with baseball games, end of the year awards and banquets for the kids, etc. I've got to finish up the yearbook, work on three different slideshows, bug seniors to get their pictures to me ASAP! It's literally so crazy, I would just love an entire day to work at school with none of the kids (mine or other peoples) to disturb me, with the school's high speed internet. Because what we have here at the house won't let me do squat. But then I can't stand a day away from the family, so it goes.
weather It's been dry. And hot for spring. The wheat headed out sooner than expected, the grass is already up in most parts of my yard. I'm working on putting in a few plants and more trees this year. We didn't have a very wet winter, although we had more than last year (which isn't saying much). A couple inches of rain would do wonders for so many farmers here.
Poop Ah, yes. There is always poop. Jeff is in the works of getting a manure trailer and will be in the poop hauling business. And it looks like there is alot of it. He's also breaking out some CRP land that wasn't renewed this year, so he'll be farming more, too. Good, he needs something to stay out of trouble, right? LOL!
A new driver Well, almost. In exactly two weeks from today, Shelby will head down to the DMV and get her learners permit. Jeff got her a truck this winter. A 1979 Ford Supercab pickup. It's just two wheel drive, but she loves it already. I can't believe my baby will be 15.
the other kids they are all fine. Shelby is about 5'10" tall now. She used to hate it when people said, wow, you're tall! Now I think she enjoys it, especially when she is standing next to my 5'7" frame. Chance's foot is the same size as mine, which saved me some money this year when I didn't have to buy him baseball cleats. He can just wear mine! LOL! Ch'ree is fixing to hit a growth spurt as well. And Drew, well, he's just as cute as a button!
Cancer Cancer sucks. No, no one in our immediate family has it. But we lost two teachers within 10 days of each other to it. When your school only has 50 or less total staff members, and just 229 kids, it takes a toll. Mrs. Lang was our music teacher who also taught history and creative writing, and was also Shelby's class sponsor. And Mrs. Ashley was our reading specialist. Last fall our football coach also lost his wife. so it's been a rough year for our school family.

There tons more going on. Like, I want to start exercising but can't find the time or energy for it. Yes, I realize I could have gotten in part of a workout instead of typing this post. But then it would have been another 6 months before I posted here. Or I could be cleaning the house which is in disarray. I still haven't found the balance to keeping the house clean with four children and a full time job. School will be out soon enough (4 week! Or 16 days!), and maybe then I can get the house and exercise done. But until then, I'm lucky to keep my head above water. Or the mountain of laundry. :o)

So, until summer, have a wonderful spring! Maybe soon I can post some pictures!

Hunting widow

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:41:00 +0000

When our marriage was young and we had one very young child, deer hunting meant a good house cleaning. It was amazing how much I could accomplish around the house without it being undone right behind me. Counters were not only cleaned off, but scrubbed with a toothbrush and bleach in every crack and crevice, around all faucets, and polished til everything shone.

Today, I still have the anticipation and want to get it all clean like that. But the children out number me x4. I have a huge list of things to get accomplished, but doubt shadows my mind of when I will have time to get it done.

For example, today is nearly shot and it's not 9am. A run to Wal-mart to get the latest and last Harry Potter movie that goes on sale today, use a credit at same store for a brand new set of dishes (since Thanksgiving is here this year, I want all my dishes to match and be in one piece in my new home). The girls both have eye appointments at 10am, followed by 3 hours of cheer practice from noon to 3. Chance has invited a friend to spend the night. They THINK they are going to sneak up at 3am and watch a rated R movie (Zombieland). They have another thing coming. But the evening will be spent making pizza, caramel popcorn, and other goodies and watching our movies; things that come from it being deer hunting and no daddy.

I hope to accomplish something tomorrow. I have pansies to plant and horses that are neglected after sitting unridden for many months. But of course, the wind is supposed to blow all weekend. Not to mention yet another trip to town, this time for Chance's football team's end of the season pizza party. Sunday is back to town for church, Monday and Tuesday work. The latter two, however, won't have the usual 6am basketball practice for Ch'ree. Instead, it has basketball games for their first tourney in Melrose.

But hopefully by Tuesday night, I will have accomplished SOMETHING. Maybe the house will be cleaner than usual. Maybe not. But in the meantime, I hope to make some special memories with the kiddos, as we are all widowed and orphaned for a few days.

Stupid cat

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:37:00 +0000

We have a mama cat that's always having kittens. We don't spay or neuter because farm cats are hard to keep around with the coyote population. She has had 6 litters in the last 14 months; of those this last litter is the only ones to make it 6 weeks.

She's really a horrible mother. Most of the litters we never saw, we would just notice she was fat one day and skinny the next. But never saw any kittens. Two litters we did see when we lived in the rental, but she would hide them in the dumbest places. Like in the hitch of the camper. Or the bed of a pickup.

This spring I noticed a blob laying on the back patio. Upon further inspection I discovered it was a newly born kitten. She was in the dog kennel cleaning herself up, so I scooped it up and put it in there with her. I walked around the house and found another one on the other side of the patio, another by the garage. I put them all in their with her along with some food and water and locked it up. The next time I came to check on them, there was a mama and NO kittens. So, I drew the conclusion that she has been EATING her kittens all this time! EWWWW!!

The end of June I noticed she was fat once again. The next day she started having the kittens in the back of my old Bronco. It literally took her all day long. But I kept checking and the litter didn't appear to decrease in size, just increase to finally four kittens. For the next couple weeks I kept an eye out. She moved them from the back to the front of the vehicle, I kept bringing her food out there hoping she would stay. But soon she decided to move them to the burned out shell of an old pickup. After a couple weeks, she would move them to an unknown location, then again to the old work pickup that Jeff unknowlingly left the windows rolled down on.

But by now they are mobile. Jeff needed the truck and caught them all and moved them, but the dog got a hold of one. She didn't mean to hurt it, I think Scarlett just loved it to death, literally. Down to three. One went back into the work truck, I caught and put it back in the Bronco.

Yesterday, mama put one on the spare tire of my good pickup. And I can't reach it. This morning we heard another one crying by the side of the barn. Turns out one was stuck in an old muffler from a semi truck laying out there. Jeff put the fire rescue skills to use and cut it open to extracate the poor kitty. So two are accounted for.

But, we've come to the conclusion that this mama cat must be the stupidest cat to walk the face of the earth. If she doesn't eat the darn things, then she doesn't know a good safe spot to put them, though we show her plenty of good places. I used to think cats were natural mamas, but not so much anymore.

Where did summer go?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0000

It's August, and back to school is just about here. Teachers start back on Monday and the kids officially start classes the following week.
Summer flew by. It was a busy, but fairly uneventful, season. We spent a weekend in Lubbock with Jeff's sister, we managed one lake trip in Logan, NM at Ute Lake. We did lots of work around the house as we found long lost treasures that were packed away in storage last year, planted trees (some apple trees, a wind break, and a few in the yard), planted grass (seed in the front, then the back breaking work of desodding Jeff's parents yard to replant the sod in our back yard). The girls, Shelby especially, was busy all the month of June with basketball practices and camps. Then in July with volleyball practice/camp. And both girls busy all summer long with cheer practice and camp.
We've watched the sky for rain, and the horizon for fires. We have received a total of three inches of rain since October last year. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to plant a crop and the field lays brown and empty. However, Jeff has found a solution to the problem of not planting a crop, by harvesting CRP grass and baling it. None of it was renewed for the CRP program, and dairies are actually wanting it, not having much choice in the way of feed.
Not only has it been an exceptionally dry year, but exceptionally hot as well. And of course, our brand new air conditioner in this brand new house has already gone out in the hottest weeks of the year. Temps are in the 100s, but we are waiting on a part to arrive so it can be fixed.
But its with excitement and anticipation that we are starting this school year. Shelby is now a freshman and moves on up to JV, Ch'ree is in 7th grade and starts her first year playing junior high sports. Chance can't wait to start tackle football now that he's in 3rd grade, and Drew starts kindergarten.
As for me, it's a new school year as well. I will only be taking one class at ENMU, because I won't have time for anymore due to my new FULL TIME JOB!!! That's right, after 14 years of being a stay-at-home mom, I have been hired on at the kids' school to do a variety of jobs. I'll be an aide in the preschool most of the morning. Then I will do some office work for part of the afternoon. Finally I'm also the new yearbook sponsor and will teach one class dedicated to this. I'm also still the asst cheer coach. I'm really looking forward to my new duties at the school, and sure that the children are thrilled as well at the thought of seeing their mother every. single. day at school. bwahahaha!!!!

State Cheer videos

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Videos of Shelby on the Varsity cheer squad at the NMAA State Spirit Comp. We placed 4th in the 1A division! One day they had to do a crowd incorperated cheer that included specific elements (such as two jumps performed by all girls at the same time, no running tumbles but a standing tumble). The other day was a cheer and dance. It was alot of fun, and as my first year as a real coach along with Coach Lee, the girls did a great job! We had many challenges along the way this year with girls having to quit due to circumstances beyond their control and the fact that the entire cheerleading program changed when cheer was made an official sport in this state. But these four girls rose to the challenge and did an awesome job!!

Some house pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:14:00 +0000

Ok, so I don't have many pictures of the house yet. I've been busy! LOL! But I did take a few rooms. Maybe I'll take more when we have things up on walls. All our decorative stuff is in storage still and will be a few more weeks til we can get to it. In the meantime, here are a few:

Ch'ree's room

Shelby's room

Living room fire place

part of the kitchen

more kitchen, and Jeff cooking breakfast

Catching up, Part 1 and The Boat

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:28:00 +0000

I know, I know. I promised pictures about a month ago of the new house. Then we were busy with state cheer competition, and unpacking, and company, and school, and spring break, then state FFA, and more unpacking and schoolwork. Not to mention real working. Oh, and a quick overnight trip to the lake to see if the boat Jeff bought floats (and it does). So now I have TONS of pictures to organize and upload for you, my couple of readers. Maybe I'll get them all done today, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll use the post date and time feature, or maybe I'll just give them to you all at once. Up first: How about some lake pictures? (disclaimer: having technical difficulties with Blogger. Won't let me move photos around, so nothing is in order. Anyone know an easier way to do this?)

Hard to believe that we do have lakes in New Mexico. In fact, Ft. Sumner State Park is just about an hour from here. So we loaded up the camper and boat and took a quick overnight trip over there. The water was too cold for me, but the kids waded in from the shore. We tried fishing but no luck. That's ok, we have all summer!

Jeff, the captain of this ship

Some silly girls

And a silly boy, Drew

The boat put Drew to sleep.

Shelby's Jaws imitation

All the kids on the "beach"

Girls on their first boat ride I'm the navigator. LOL!

Launching the new boat

House update: we moved!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:40:00 +0000

Just a quick post to let y'all know that we have finally moved into our new house!! Sunday we moved in, and yesterday I finally got the computer hooked up.

I'll post pictures as soon as I take some. But for now, way too busy unpacking, schoolwork, and hanging out with my mom and aunt and stepfather who came out to help us.

House update, 2/24

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Wow, I can't believe the house is finally almost done! We were hoping to be moving next week, but looks like it will be another week after that. There are just too many little things to get done!

plumber is supposed to be there today, will be installing all the toilets, sinks, and working on the bathtub, hot water heater.
The electrictian has all the switches and plugs in, all the lights (and there are alot of lights!) and got the heat pumps installed. We now have heat!! His job is about done out there.
Septic tank is in, power is on, phone line hooked up.
cement has been poured for my front and back porch and the driveway. Still need to do the posts and rails for the porches
Boys were grouting floor tile last night. They still need to finish the kitchen counter tile and backsplash, then sealing it.
carpet, appliances, mantle and stove pipe on the fireplace, a few more baseboards, crown moulding on the kitchen cabinets are about all that's left.

Jeff and I have been doing most of the painting of the trimwork and doors. I painted 17 doors, two coats on each. Still one more to do that was just installed yesterday (in the garage for the hot water heater closet. I'm not too terribly worried about having it done, there is time). We still have a few more baseboards to paint, then some cutting in the color paint. I think we can get it done this weekend. Fingers crossed we pass the occupancy inspection and can move in March 7th!!

Family Picture update

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:20:00 +0000

It's only been...3 years since we had a family picture done. Really? Dang, then guess it was time!

House update 2/9/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:04:00 +0000

House update:
We are in the homestretch! I think.

The cabinets are installed (yay!). All except the oven one, which hasn't come in yet. But not a big deal, it goes on the end so it's not holding anything up.
Sears just called and all the appliances came in today. We will pick up tomorrow.
The paint crew hasn't been showing up, so Jeff and I took it upon ourselves to get the painting done. There is ALOT of trim work to be painted, twice. And doors. And shelves. We've got two of the kids bedrooms and closets finished. Still need to touch up the walls and cut out.
Electrician is busy putting in outlets and switches, ceiling fans and light fixtures.
The fireplace hearth and surround is done.
tile is in, but not all grouted.
Carpet guy is meeting us tomorrow afternoon to measure for that.

Our goal is to be in March 1st. I don't know if we will make that goal or not. We still have to pour concrete for the porches, driveway, and AC units.

Speaking of pouring concrete, we hope to do that next week when the weather is supposed to warm up. It has been bitterly cold here the last couple weeks. I mean, COOOOLD! Talking about one day the high was like 5 I think. Wind chills have been -20 or -30. Schools have been cancelled not because of snow or roads (there has been very little snow), but because pipes froze or busted at both the kids' school AND at the university in town. Though I have appreciated the break so I can work on the house. And appreciated not going to aerobics, so now I'm not too sore to paint.

January school events

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:48:00 +0000

January is half over, but we've managed to stay so busy we haven't noticed much.
Shelby plays basketball on our school's Junior High team. She also has been moved up to Varsity cheerleader. The latter made her eligible to walk in Basketball Homecoming this past weekend.

Shelby escorted by her best friend's brother, Terral

All my kiddos

Four of the Varsity Cheerleaders (there's actually five, but one was in the ER due to a concussion she received while playing in the earlier basketball game)

My tall girl

Playing defense against the Ft. Sumner Vixens

Cheering at ENMU Arena during EPAC against Logan Longhorns

The next few months will be a whirlwind with everyone's activities. In addition to us moving to our NEW house at the end of February or maybe first of March, my semester at ENMU starts this week. I'm taking 15 hours this semester (5 classes). Shelby will be playing basketball for another month, cheering Varsity games we hope into March (hopefully we make it to State), two cheer competitions in Albuquerque, then starts track. Ch'ree and Chance are both on Little Dribbler basketball teams. Jeff is coaching Ch'ree's (and I'll be helping). Ch'ree also cheers at Junior High games. Whew, I'm already looking forward to May! LOL!

House update, January 16, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:22:00 +0000

The house continues to move along. Drywall is up, textured and painted. Jeff and I have been busy picking out appliances, cabinets, tile and light fixtures. These should be coming in throught the next few weeks. In the meantime, see what has been done!

living room with drywall

Garage doors (North side of house)

Tiling the kitchen

front and dormers

Dining room

Christmas Letter, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:57:00 +0000

Once again, I ran out of time to do Christmas cards. So for your reading pleasure, here is the Christmas Letter that would have been in all of the cards.

Merry Christmas 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas! Hope you all had a wonderful year and plan on spending the holidays with those you love.
As usual, it has been a busy year for us. We were able to sell our ranch this summer and are currently in the process of building a new home for us on our 240 acres of farmland. It still has a couple more months before being completed, the sheetrock should be in by the end of the year. The new house is just 1 ½ miles from Jeff’s parents house, and the kids are already having fun riding bikes or walking back and forth. We hope to be moved in by the end of February. In the meantime, we are renting a house between Floyd and town.
The children won’t stop growing.
Shelby is 13, in the 8th grade, and now taller than her mother. She has hit 5’8”. She is on the Junior Varsity cheer squad, plays on the Junior High volleyball, basketball and will probably run track again in the spring. She was selected for National Junior Honor Society for the 2nd year in a row and continues to be on the Honor Roll. She was also went through Confirmation at our church this spring. She’s grown into a beautiful young lady and makes us very proud.
Ch’ree is 11 and in 6th grade. She is on the Junior High and Elementary cheer squads and lately has been singing the National Anthem at the local ball games along with her best friend Gabby. She is also on the Honor Roll and will play her last year of Little Dribbler basketball this winter before going on to Junior high next year.
Chance is 8 and in 2nd grade. He is still the tallest in his class, and his feet have caught up to mine; we wear the same size boot! This year he played Flag Football and will play Little Dribbler basketball as well. He loves to play Legos and video games, and is also on Honor Roll.
Drew was 5 last month and in his 2nd year of preschool. He loves that he is one of the “big kids” this year in his class. He loves Legos and Transformers. He’s still my little “snuggle-bug” and is growing up fast.

Jeff still enjoys his job with the Portales Fire Department. He is still on the Floyd School Board and we will be coaching Ch’ree’s basketball team together. We were blessed with more rain than usual this year and had an awesome crop of hay grazer. Doubly blessed with the fact that we were able to sell it all as well.
I’ve been busy working as a substitute teacher and was hired as assistant cheer coach at Floyd, too. On top of that I decided to go back to school and work on my teaching degree; I took four classes this fall and made all As and Bs. I haven’t had time for any hobbies this year, plus it’s all packed up into a semi trailer we bought for storage, since we didn’t know what our living accommodations would be until the house was built. Jeff and I both got to play on a softball team this year. The Portales Fire Department participated in a co-ed adult city league, Jeff played right field and I played 1st base. I can’t wait for next summer to play again!
We took a couple small trips with our family this year. In June, Jenny’s mom and Wayne and some friends of theirs rented a place in Ruidoso for a few days. We met them there in our camper and went to see the historic town of Lincoln, and to White Sands Monument by Alamogordo. We also camped in Mora over Labor Day for the annual Essary Family reunion, and in June went to Littlefield, Texas for the revived McCarty family reunion.
We’ve had new family members join us, but lost a couple as well. I became an aunt two more times this year! My little brother and Nancy had their first child, a baby girl named Somi. Jeff’s sister also had a baby, a boy named Brogan. Both were born in July. Of course we have seen Brogan several times since they just live in Lubbock. But Somi is all the way in Atlanta, we hope to see her this coming year. We lost my Gram in March, and Jeff lost his Aunt Jerrie in August
Our family hopes you all have a wonderful Christmas, we look forward to seeing many of you in the coming year.
Love,
Jeff, Jenny, Shelby, Ch’ree, Chance, and Drew

House and life update, December 8th 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:02:00 +0000

As of today I am done with this semester of college! I completed 13 hours (four classes) and am confident I did well in all.
And now that is finally over, I can actually put some new(er) house pictures up and update you!

Our Texas Star front door. I love my door, even though we don't live in Texas)
The whole house all bricked in

The back door. The blinds are IN the door! Very cool!!

Now that most of the outside is done (still have the porches and some more siding to finish), the slow inside part is next. The electricians have been there running wires (lots and lots of wires). There are actually TWO heating/cooling units. One for the kids rooms, and one bigger one for the rest of the house. Someday in the distant future when the kids are all grown and gone, we can shut the smaller one off and shut the doors, saving some energy.

Today I got to pick out cabinets and get them ordered. They are a beautiful maple, I can't wait til they come in (but I must, they won't be ready until mid-January). We hope to have the drywall and fireplace (or heater) done by Christmas, we want to spend Christmas morning there.

Now that the semester of college is behind me (until January 19th, that is), I have a lot of things to catch up on around here. Like laundry and more attention to housework. And cleaning out the car I feel I have been living in. Cooking more meals for my family. Subbing at school. Getting the little cheerleaders going for this year. Christmas cards. Playing with the kids (and playing with the kids' video games. Indiana Jones Legos for Wii!!). Next semester will start before I know it, so I better get all that done!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:57:00 +0000

I know, I've been bad about posting pictures on here. I'm good at putting them on facebook because I'm taking them with my phone, easy to just upload there. But from phone to computer to here, it's another story. LOL!

So, I've missed a couple of steps with the framing process, but these first few pictures are from a week ago.

back porch (nevermind the shadow of silly lady holding the phone up high to get the trailer out of the way)

from the top of the baler, view of the back and side of the garage

front

These are as of Sunday.

fireplace in the living room

the breakfast bar

a bugs eye view of the house

And these are from yesterday

two of the many pallets of bricks

windows sitting in the garage

Ch'ree's window in her bedroom

The next items up are getting the windows and doors in (the doors haven't arrived yet, though), then the brick. Also the tub and showers came in yesterday and will also be going in soon. We've already had to pick out fixtures for those, which was way fun shopping in Lowe's. Soon the electrical will be going in as well. And my big decision looming is: where am I putting my appliances in the kitchen? Stay tuned!!

New House, Week Two

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:36:00 +0000

The Slab of the house was poured yesterday morning. They were going to pour on Wednesday but with the threat of rain (that turned into a full 24 hour heavy drizzle), they put it off til Friday. Billy (the builder) said his crew was out here at 6am and using headlights from their trucks to see to get it all ready for the concrete.

I guess it looks like we are going to have alot of water faucets! LOL! Well, the finished house will have 2 full baths. The kids bathroom will have double sinks, as does the master bath. The master bath also has a seperate shower and tub. There is also a half bath, and the utility room has a sink. Plus the kitchen obviously has a sink and water for the ice maker. The garage will house the hot water heater and a water softener.

The garage will be poured on Monday, the framer will begin framing on Tuesday. Soon it will look like a house!

A fireman's funeral

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 03:18:00 +0000

Today Jeff and I got to be a part of a funeral. A local man bravely fought but lost his battle with cancer. He had been a part of the Floyd Fire Department for the last 50 years, including serving as the fire chief a number of years ago. In recognition of his service, his funeral was with full fireman's honors, and the FFD were the pall bearers.
All Floyd Fire department volunteers got to wear class A shirts (Jeff chose to wear his Class A uniform from Portales FD). The services were in Portales, so we took nearly all of our fire trucks into town, one was draped in black bunting. Every volunteer dept in Roosevelt County, and even one from Curry, brought at least one truck and/or ambulance to the service. During the service one of our officers recited a fireman's prayer, and another one talked of the significance of the bell and it was rung. PFD also had an honor guard there with the casket.
Then the pall bearers carried the casket out to where all fire personel were lined up saluting and they loaded into the back of the truck with bunting, while a man with bagpipes played. We then drove "code 3" (lights and sirens) til we got outside of the city limits a few miles out of town.
We drove out to the Floyd cemetary where we lined up and saluted again as the family drove in, then again as the pall bearers unloaded the casket. The officers then took the flag off the casket and folded it, then the current chief presented it to the widow. As soon as he was done with that, the police/fire dispatcher did "Last Call" over the radio, the bagpipes played "Amazing Grace".
It was such a heartbreaking, touching and emotional service. I didn't know the man very well, but he was a well known farmer and wonderful man in the community. I'm so honored that Jeff and I got to be a part of the services.

Week One

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:31:00 +0000

We are so excited, we finally get to build the house!!!

Digging the footings

More digging the footings

Pouring the footings

Vacation, June 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:55:00 +0000

This year we took the camper down to the mountains in Ruidoso, New Mexico. My mom and some friends had a condo down there for a few days so we met them there.

For a quick day trip we went to the White Sands State Park in Alamogordo. The kids had fun rolling, running, and attempting to sled down the huge sand dunes.

Drew running down a sand dune

Shelby

Back in Lincoln County, looking out from a rock tower the Conservation Corp had built in the 1930s. It was a long and winding gravel road up there and an additional hike, but the views were worth it.

Ch'ree, Judy, and Shelby

Another day we drove around the local area. We went to Lincoln and saw all the history there. Of course the most famous history there was Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War stuff. The kids were already familiar with the basics of the events thanks to movies like Young Guns, and Shelby had studied it in her New Mexico history class last year.

Anyone that's seen Young Guns knows that Billy the Kid worked for a man named Tunstall, and Tunstall's murder was the shot that started the Lincoln County War. This building was Tunstall's store. It's a museum filled with lots of items one could buy during that era. Shoes, household items, lots of odd looking contraptions that were used in the day. Very interesting stuff. Also has some old buggies and carts, even a water pumper for putting out fires.

For dinner one night we went to the Flying J Wranglers show. One can pan for gold and the little kids can ride a horse, then there is a Wild West comedy shootout in the street. Dinner was BBQ beef or chicken, ranch beans, chunky applesauce, biscuits and spice cake for dessert, then the group performs. It's a combination of comedy and good old western music and was alot of fun.

Drew and Ch'ree panning for gold

The Flying J Wranglers performing

Because I just didn't have enough to do these days...

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:04:00 +0000

I've decided to go back to school. Yeah, in my spare time. LOL!

Seriously, I had been looking for a job that would work around the kids' school schedules. I love subbing, but it's not dependable. Other jobs in town would leave the kids home alone afterschool and Friday's since we have 4 day weeks. And that's something I'm not ready to do. The only solution would be an aide at their school. But there is no position open for that. Soooo, after alot of talking with Jeff and thinking, we decided the best way to spend my time would be to finish getting my teaching degree.

I'm all registered to take 13 hours (4 classes) at ENMU. I'm taking Math, Chemistry, and two education courses. If it all works the way I have planned, I will graduate in December 2012. My classes are on Monday and Wednesday (with one on Friday afternoon, which between Jeff and my gracious mother-in-law, should have the kiddos covered). I can still sub on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The summer has flown by, the kids start school day after tomorrow. We did swim lessons, VBS, a reunion in Littlefield, TX. A small trip to Ruidoso, and quick one to Lubbock to see the newest member of our family, my nephew Brogan Potter. Tonight is our last softball game, and it's a tournament. I've had so much fun playing ball again, hope we have many years of playing ahead of us. Summer will officially close when we go camping in Mora for Labor Day.

Fall has many events coming up. Shelby is playing volleyball on the junior high team and cheering JV. Ch'ree is cheering elem and Junior High. Chance plans on playing flag football.

We are still waiting on a few loose ends so we can start the new house. We are so looking forward to it, renting really sux. LOL! Our crop looks beautiful this year. We've been blessed with more rain than we are used to having (though according to Jeff this is how it used to be before all the drought years).

And that's the update from here. Of course, if you're my facebook friend you get this all the time. LOL!

We've Moved!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:46:00 +0000

Just a quick note to let everyone know we have moved. For now we are renting a house, but will start building our new home soon! We are so excited about this!!!
If your trying to get a hold of us, don't try the home phone. We had it disconnected. The rental is in Portales phone and address district, and since we would have to change it all again in a few months when we are back in Floyd's district, we have opted to do without a landline for now. Besides, we really never use a landline anymore, we usually just use a cell. If you need us, try our cells. If you need those numbers, send an email (because I'm not posting that kind of info on here!).
Ditto for address. We actually already have the address for where our new home will be and are using it rather than the rental's. Why change everything twice, kwim?
For now, we are getting settled in with what we thought was going to be the minimum amount of stuff, but feels like we moved too much. While the rental has decent sized bedrooms and closet space, the kitchen and bath leaves MUCH to be desired. Gone are the spacious bathroom counters and drawers we had at the ranch. Gone too are more than half of my kitchen cabinets, drawers and counters, as well as a decent pantry. LOL! But, we will make do. After all, it's just temporary.
I think the hardest thing to get used to is the swamp cooler. We have truly been spoiled by a central air conditioner. Hopefully the summer won't be too hot and humid.
On the plus side, there is a large back yard for Scarlett to roam. There are also some pens for me to put my horse in. The girls are thrilled to have DishNetwork in their room (I'm stressing that this is a temporary thing). We are a bit closer to town, which is nice for the summer activities we have going on in Pville.
We are hauling cows to the sale today, then our lives as ranchers will be over. Our hay crop is in the ground and now that the move is done, seems like we may finally have a little bit of free time on our hands. Maybe I'll even have time to post some pictures here every now and then. haha!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:52:00 +0000

Just another quick post.
We closed on our ranch and are in the process of moving to a rental between Floyd and Portales. Waiting on some final bank stuff to begin construction on our NEW house! We are so excited about building EXACTLY what we want! It's going to be great, just gotta get it started! We have a floorplan, we have a builder, and we have a good well!
We have had a busy summer so far: cheer practices, packing and moving and loading stuff, a visit from my mother, stepfather and a friend of theirs, camping in Ruidoso, a family reunion in Littlefield, Texas, farming, cutting hay. And still much more to come: volleyball camp/practices, cheer camp/practices, swim lessons, VBS, Eclipse (the Twilight movie), Jeff's sister having a baby, more hay to cut. Not sure how we are going to get everything done before school starts! LOL!
Oh, and anyone commenting here, I've decided to change how to post a comment. I've been getting too many prescription drug links in the comments. So, that's why.

Another drive-by post

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Yes, it's been two months. Life isn't slowing down, or even moving at the same pace. It's RACING by!!!
March started with the passing of my last living grandparent. Gram was a great lady, not only that but a great Southern lady. The woman could COOK!
So the month started out with a trip to Georgia and Tennessee for her services. We had been planning to go Spring Break anyway, so we ended up having our vacation just a little bit earlier than planned. Her services were beautiful, and saw so many family members and friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, some since I was a little girl. We also went to Newnan to visit my dad and stepmother, too. So it was a bittersweet trip.
The rest of the last two months has been a blur. Shelby ran track, Ch'ree and Chance played basketball. I've subbed alot, had the Floyd Country Jamboree, Shelby was confirmed at church, we had Easter, my washing machine died (and I got a new front loader that's so SWEET!!! It even plays a song when it's done with a load!). Kids have had field trips, practices, tryouts (Shelby made Junior Varsity Cheer!!!!). The girls and I took a day and went to Albuquerque to watch our varsity cheerleaders at State competition (we won 2nd place!!!). Saw an old friend while we were there. Jeff and I had our first weekend away with no children last weekend when we attended EMS conference in Ruidoso. I went to a casino for the very first time (and lost $3 on penny slots).
The upcoming months should be just as busy. After nearly two years, we may have our ranch sold. We are planning on building a home a little bit closer to town (we are about 25 miles now, soon to be about 15). But so many details to work out (exactly where to put the new home, floorplans, etc). We have branded cattle so we can sell them off. And now faced with the daunting task of packing and moving. Since building a house requires several months, we need a place to go temporarily. Did ya know that Roosevelt County doesn't have many options when it comes to rentals? I looked in the newspaper and there is literally ONE advertised (and it's 2
bedroom, 1 bathroom, no pets. Probably not for a family of 6 with a dog, 3 cats and a horse). So my project for this week are to find ones that are NOT advertised.
Other upcoming events this month are:

Shelby's 13th birthday tomorrow
Drew's Preschool Tea (also tomorrow)
School's Spring music program Tuesday
Middle/High school awards assembly (also Tuesday)
playdays
elem. awards assembly
a sleepover for Shelby
girls have final exams
a wedding next weekend
softball practices (for me and Jeff. The fire department has a team in the city's adult league and I get to be on it!!)
athletic awards assembly (Shelby did 4 sports this year! Volleyball, Basketball, Cheer and track)
graduation (seems like every year I know more and more kids that are graduating!)

At least I'll be too busy and tired to get into much trouble! LOL!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:51:00 +0000

Ok, in case anyone was wondering what those pictures were all about:
Tuesday my grandmother passed away. She was 86 and on her 4th battle with cancer. This time it won, but not without a gallant effort on her part to fight it.
Anyway, my sister-in-law is at my mom's house preparing a slide show for the services and needed some more pictures. But, her mail told her, "nope, I'm not going to work today". So, the only way we could share was to post on my website. And so, there ya go.
Now I'll say a few things about my Gram.

she was an AWESOME cook!! Paula Deen would have taken lessons from my Gram. In fact, I own all of Paula's books and some of her recipes are the very ones my Gram always used! My favorites were her buttermilk biscuits, homemade strawberry jam, country fried steak, apple pie, and chocolate merangue pie.
She sewed some of the cutest dresses for me when I was little. They were always beautiful!
She was a HUGE UT fan (Tennessee, not Texas). She went to UT football games til she couldn't anymore. She made sure we all had a UT shirt, and even got a UT snuggie for Christmas.
We always had summer vacations together. To Disney/Epcot, once to the horse races in Kentucky. Many times to Myrtle Beach, SC and we always stayed at the Swamp Fox Inn.

There is so much to say about my Gram. We will all love and miss her very much!!