The only Constant is Change

I was reading a website the other day that had a lot of interesting sayings on it and this one caught my eye.  I think because that is how I have felt lately.  But then what really struck me was that although right now, I may feel like my world is in an out of control tailspin and everything is changing I know the one CONSTANT in life!  I have felt in my soul a peace that I have never known before.  My outside senses and layers closer to the surface of my life may be spinning but the deep down part of me is at peace!  Like my core is in the eye of the storm that seems to be raging around me right now.  It has been interesting.  It is like the "Footprints" poem - I think I know that I am being carried.  Where God can and sometimes does say to the Storm of life - "Peace, be still".  But sometimes he instead calms His Child. "My Peace I give to you."  I am definitely feeling the "Peace on earth"  It is a peace that passes understanding!  This is even in the last month, when life has taken it on the chin.  I have cried more in the last month, than in the last several years.  It does not take much to make me cry either.  It has been rough!  It has been a little hard getting ready for Christmas, but good and fun at the same time.  I didn't decorate much this year, I had already packed my ornaments, but I did get presents wrapped! 

An update on my Dad.  We are all meeting there in Reno, for Christmas.  Should be a fun, but bittersweet time as well.  All my siblings will be there and even my Grandpa.  My Dad was doing very well with the first two weeks of treatments but the third week - apparently typically hard - has been a rough one!  Much weaker, more slurring of words.  I am sure frustrating to him as he is so concise!  My Mom is doing wonderful!  She is a huge support to Dad and has been taking care of herself though as well.  She went to the Chiropractor and was told she should probably be getting a massage at least once a week, something we had been encouraging too! 

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us!  We definitely feel it!  Please pray for the kids. I think that for me, and my brother, right now it is hard to picture our kids growing up without their grandpa in their lives.  So pray for us, and them. 
Merry Christmas!

N F R - National Finals Rodeo!

A big Rodeo. What a production! Vegas is a BIG town. There is a lot going on all the time there. What fun it was to be there though. We took my grandpa - an 86 yr old Cowboy. He had a ball. It was mostly for him that we went as I am learning we need to take these opportunities while they exist. Sometimes life doesn't give second chances. And it sure doesn't last as long and full as I think it should sometimes.  So what fun to take Grandpa and my son to see the Best of the Best in Rodeo. The town is hopping but we really had a ton of fun even if we are definitely not city dwellers! But the fun part is that the majority of the people we were sharing space with are country people as well and so we really had a fun time with everything.  Grandpa tires easy and so we kept a very low key schedule. Went to the rodeo on Sunday afternoon and totally enjoyed it! Cream of the crop cowboys! Incredible show! No wasted time at this rodeo! There was no stopping for any wasted time.  The only time there was any stopping from RODEO was when there were paramedics in the arena.  Then it was very neat - the announcer asked us to pray. No bones about it, but just pray, for the cowboy, the paramedics, the rodeo family. 
No boring explanations about the rodeo and minimal time talking by the announcers although they were good announcers. Pure Rodeo! It was fun! While with everything else that is going on this fall it made for a tight fall, I am glad we went. Life is short so enjoy the ride!

Cows and thier lessons!

A life lesson from a cow
We were out moving some of our cows the other day. The neighbor cows had pushed down our gate and gotten in with our cows. The personality of the two groups of cows was  very obvious from the beginning. Even the cows knew it. They had segregated themselves even though they were all in the same field eating. We were trying to get our neighbor cows out and leave our cows in. My son had the whip and was on the gator. No cows were close to him nor were they going to get close as he was hitting the ground hard with the whip and they wanted no part of that. Mom - me - was glad of that and encouraged him to stand his ground. With that whip and the noise he made the cows wouldn't come anywhere near him.  And they didn't!
We have also learned that our cows take their Mom duties very seriously - like me. They are quite gentle and are fine with us being out there in the field even if we are making them move somewhere else they are fine with us being right by them. Their last owner treated them kind of like pets. But when they have brand new baby calves they become much more watchful. They will still let us come in with them we can even catch calves and give them their shots but mama cows sure watch. We think this is great due to the coyote population  near us being more than we would like.