Prayer request

My family needs some prayer today. My dad is going to have major back surgery today in Winnipeg. He has stenosis of the spine and hopefully this surgery will help repair that, but the doctors aren't sure if it will help the pain or repair the nerve damage he has to his right leg. Right now it's been numb for a while. Just pray for a speedy recovery, as the recovery time could be 6 months -2 yrs possibly from what I was told. He can't work for 4-6 months at his job and living on the farm also has its challenges. He's hopefully gotten rid of his cows or has someone looking after them for him. With winter coming too, the snow really can be a pain to clear the driveway. I just really covet your prayers for my mom, dad and sister Janesa as they help him through this tough time.

Boys Will Be Boys

There are just times in my life where I just have to thank God for making me a woman. There are things about guys that are funny but strange at the same time. The things they do just don't sound like a lot of fun to me, but boys will be boys.

For Example...

This last May, my husband Jason and his buddy Jason Miller, decided to drive into the mountains and go black bear hunting. They chose a back road that was covered in snow. Along the way, they came upon some fallen trees that were over the road. This did not dampen their spirits, as they merely got out and pulled, pushed and moved the trees out of the way.

Along their way, they stopped to admire a herd of elk that were grazing. Too bad they weren't in season.
With the apparent thaw of the land, it wasn't long before the boys found themselves in a little predicament. My excitement level would have been on the rise at this point. But being the boys they are, they egged each other on and thought they could make it through the big mud puddle. Obviously, the land won that match. After a few hours of digging in the mud with their hands and feet trying to get unstuck, they had to walk a couple of miles to get to the highway. Who should be passing by but a game and fish officer. He brought them to the nearest restaurant and phoned his superior, who turned out to be a nephew of a friend of ours. He took the guys up to where they were, but even with his truck he couldn't get them out. So they had to leave Miller's truck in the mountains until it dried up enough that they could get it out. The game and fish guy took them down the road only to get stuck himself. Again, it took a while to dig him out but they did it. But along came a little beaver pond that they had to cross. He miss judged where the road was and ended up... sinking half the truck in the pond. They also had to keep the truck running because the exhaust was under water. The started to strap the truck to trees hoping this would help keep the truck up and hopefully pull them out. What they couldn't see was that they were caught on a sunken log and no amount of straps would get them out. So the had to call up a level and call the Feds. They came out with a truck and after much pulling, they pulled the wedged truck out of the water. But now it was dark and very late. The game and fish was even nice enough to drive them into Cody to Miller's house. Jason called me after midnight to come and get him. I'd already been wondering where they were. Well, what a story I had waiting for me.

Now, to me, that just wouldn't have been fun, and at times it wasn't fun for them either. They did come out of it alive and with only some wet clothes and an adventure to tell their friends.

Boys, gotta love 'em but thank God I'm a girl!

For my Peeps in MB!

Thought my friends and family back home in Manitoba would appreciate some images that have been removed from their familiar landscape.

This was always a familiar site for me, having lived on the "beet loader road" as we affectionatley called our turn-off from the highway. This was a true sign of fall when we could see the lights that lit up the whole sugar beet dump area. Plum Coulee was known as the sugar beet capital of Manitoba. Since moving to Powell, I know of 4 or 5 dumps within a couple of miles along the highway. I think the title may have moved south. Definitely a staple crop here.

As far a pregnancy update, not much to update. The news has definitely made it around the planet and we're getting a very good response. No real noticable bump yet, even though I've passed the 13 week mark. So I'm almost to the end of the first trimester, hard to believe. I've been busy this weekend though. I cleaned out the garden, cleaned the house pretty thoroughly, washed my windows and made a batch of salsa. I'm impressed with myself. My body was aching yesterday but it has recovered.

The Latest News

I'm snug and warm in my little house while my husband and two other guys are traipsing in the mountains trying to fill their deer and elk tags. The weather is not exactly ideal to be outside in. There has been a snow storm settling in over Wyoming for the weekend. It was kind of unexpected and the weather channel says we're supposed to accumulate up to 12"! But it will melt next week as the temps rise into the 50's again. I haven't cleaned out my garden but I did pick all the produce I wanted and cleaned it out that way. Just the plants are left.
Here's the latest addition to our herd. Saber is a big boy and hides my little fat mare, Emma. He's boss of the pen and lets Emma know it.

I've been busy making salsa, canning peaches, shredding zucchini, and making spaghetti sauce. I'm quite tired of tomatoes but I have a big bag left over of tomatoes that aren't quite ripe yet. So I'll have to get some more jars and make one last batch of salsa. Last weekend we went up into the mountains with some friends and brought some along. They just loved the homemade stuff.


Some views of the changing leaves that we saw in the mountains. Jason had planned on staying in a tent. Thankfully we didn't have to and could stay in Tracy and Quin's trailer. It turned out to be a really cold and wet weekend. I would have been miserable.

And Finally....

Yes, I'm pregnant!!! It's hard to believe and a bit surreal that it's happening. I've had 2 appointments already and was able to hear the heartbeat for the first time on Tuesday. It just made it so real that there is a baby inside of me and it's not just an "idea" that I'm pregnant. So they've pegged my due date at April 26th. I've got a really nice female doctor and her assistant was really great as well, which makes me feel more comfortable. Some of our friends were joking if they had to draw us a picture. I guess not. So to answer the many burning questions people have about others pregnancies. I haven't been sick which has been a big blessing at work. I have been tired though most days when I get home. Jason has been a really big help around the house. He sees something that needs to be done and he does it. I've also been more hungry at school and at home, so I've been taking more snacks to school to compensate. Not too much to report. Right now, it hasn't been all that bad. Hopefully it continues.