New Country but No Animals

The month of October has been a workout for Jason. He has been up at the crack of dawn and sometimes even before dawn, to run to the hills in pursuit of big game. He has yet to pull the trigger, but has seen a few elk. He has gotten on the horses and given them a workout they haven't had this summer.


Jason and his friend John Willert, stayed in a camper over the weekend. Jason and his trusty mountains horse Saber. John on my trusty mount, Emma. He rode some fat off of her.









Last weekend, Jason and his buddy Quin, went for hunting every day for 5 days in a row. They did come home and sleep in between, but didn't see much of anything where ever they went.
Surprising he had cell service in the mountains.








Emma, the pack horse. She plays multiple roles. And again, she came home thinner than when she left. This is a good thing, since I haven't ridden her all summer. Let's just say that she's "an easy keeper". Although she looks like a mustang with all of that hair.

Helping a Brother

Around here, a man needs a gun! Especially if he wants to hunt. He can't go around for the rest of his life borrowing everyone else's guns. Lately, Jason has had it on his heart to help out a friend of ours that has been wanting and needing a gun of his very own. So while, Jon and Sheila were in Pennsylvania this last week, he went around to a number of Jon's friends and asked if they would be willing to donate to this worthy cause. We were pleasantly surprised at how many people were willing to chip in $25, $50 or $100. I'll bet there were at least 15 people or couples that helped out. So this last weekend, we went to Billings with our friends Quin and Tracy, for a chance for the guys to go look at guns. With all the money we raised, they could get a really nice .270 Savage. Exactly what Jon was wanting. We were also able to get a case, scope, scope covers, a sling, ammo, targets, and a gun cleaning kit and oil. Jason and Quin had a great time thinking up things that Jon would need to make hunting easier and to care for the gun.

So last night, a few people from the list of donors, were able to make it to our place to present Jon with his new toy. We also thought that it was pretty fitting of a gift for pastor appreciation month. Yes, Jon is a pastor of a small congregation here in Powell. Jason and Jerry, an elder in Jon's church, came up with the story that since Jon had been away, questions and possible problems may have arisen in the church. So they had called a meeting to discuss with Jon, brother to brother, about what has happened. Jerry fed him a straight faced LIE, but Jon was hook, line and sinker. His heart was in his throat and his mind was racing as to what he could have done. Jerry turned it over to Jason to let Jon know what the problem was. Jason told him that since it was Pastor Appreciation month, we had all gotten together and bought him a few things. This was his reaction.



Jon was taking to long opening the gun cleaning kit, so I cut the film. I so wish I could have gotten Jerry's story on it, but I didn't get to it fast enough.

So here is the second part of the "presentation." Jon has been borrowing our pastor's .243 caliber rifle, but we got him a .270. So we bought him the ammo that he would need for his new gun, but tried to make him believe that we got it wrong. We were somewhat convincing.



Lately, Jason and I and our Wednesday night homegroup have been talking about giving. Probverbs 11:24-25 says, "One man give freely, yet gains even more; another witholds unduly but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." I'm so proud of the way Jason wanted to do this for Jon and that he also got other involved. Not only is Jon blessed, but you just get a good feeling giving to people when they need help with things. It was also an example to me of getting a bunch of people together and it doesn't take much to get something done. Sure it took maybe 15 people to raise the amount for a gun, but it didn't cost eachone a lot. Thankgoodness that God's economy doesn't run on the worlds. He blesses us when we give of ourselves. There doesn't always have to be a dollar sign. Okay, I'll get off my soap box.

I hope you enjoy your new gun Jon, but we'll make sure we stand behind you when you take it out :)

5 1/2 Months Old!

I can't believe that Katelyn is now 5 1/2 months old! In two weeks it will be 6 months. Our friends, Austin and Garret, who we met at our birthing classes, had a boy 2 weeks before we did. Chase and his mom came over on Tuesday to spend some time with us and it ended up being the rest of the day. Both Daddies went to Bible Study Fellowship for men, in Cody that night. So I invited Austin to stay for Fajitas and "The Proposal".
The kids just hanging out on the floor on their boppies. Katelyn liked Chase's red star. Made for some prime chewing/sucking time. Chase was a bit fussy which made Austin think that maybe he was teething. She would find out at his 6 month appointment. Then we marvelled that it had been 6 months since both of us were in the hospital. Time sure has flown. I would have to say that the last 2 months have been the most fun with Katelyn. She smiles so much and she scrunches up her nose when she smiles. You just can't help but laugh and smile when she does it. We moved her into her own room in her crib which she does pretty good in. When she wakes up in the morning, she will lay there and talk to herself. But most of the time, she has been waking up between 4-5:30 am and I'll take her to our bed and feed her. We both end up falling asleep but wake up about 9ish! I have to say that staying home with her has it's perks. Since yesterday was such a beautiful fall day, after all the snow we've had, I put her in the stroller and we walked to main street. She just sat there and was so quiet. She did fall asleep on the way home which was good. She was probably so warm, since I bundle her up pretty good. I can't stand to have her cold. With all the snow we've had and the cold temps, she's been bundled up more than once already and doesn't mind it. I stopped by the sewing store and bought some polar fleece to attempt to make some sort of mittens for her and maybe a scarf. We'll see how that turns out.

Jason did not get his elusive elk just yet. He has seen a lot of them in the same spot, but has had a few of them shot out from under them. Someone always gets there first. He was supposed to go camping and hunting with a friend this weekend but that didn't work out. So instead, they are doing day trips. They went in yesterday and didn't get anything. Today they took horses and are headed towards Yellowstone and hopefully find something. Deer is also open so they could shoot either. He wants me to get a cow tag and go shoot a cow elk. We'll see.

The garden has been cleaned out, garage has been sided and painted along with the shed, the leaves have frozen and are falling, so if the snow comes we're almost ready. The sprinklers need to be blown out yet and we'll be set. Just gotta pray for some elk meat.

Keeping busy as a Hunting Widow

Yep, I'm home, semi-alone, a hunting widow as I've been told. Tis the season for big game hunters to be in the hills, doing things that men do, providing for the fam. Jason left yesterday with our friend, John Willert, to ride into the hills and find the prized wild game called elk. Or deer, whatever jumps out at them. It was kind of a late start for the boys. Jason had to finish a job in the morning, only to find that he needed to replace his alternator on the pick-up. With all the money we've stuck into that thing, it should pretty much be a new engine with everything we've replaced. He still had to hook up the trailer, gather up our ponies and drive into his coveted "hills". John had the job of pulling a small camper they borrowed from a friend. No tent camping for them in bear country, good thing. So, we will have to wait and see what the outcome of this trip is for both of them.

What am I keeping myself busy with? Well, yesterday, I took Katelyn to a little photoshoot that I signed up for. $20 buck got me a time slot and an 8x10. There were quite a few people that had also signed up and the photographer was behind schedule. There were some uncooperative children when I got there and were still being photographed as I waited for the next 1/2 hour. He had a little antique backdrop with baskets, trunks and the like to give it an antique feel. He also brought older looking clothes you could use or you could bring your own. I opted for a cute outfit a friend had bought. Having waited and watched how some parents have to bribe their kids to smile, I was hoping for a quick and happy girl. She delivered. We had to prop her up in a suitcase with blankets and the 5 month old smile fest started. He snapped and I made sounds, faces and shook her toys. I didn't care how stupid I looked, she was doing great and getting some good smiles. We were probably done in 10 minutes which was a breeze compared to some of the others that were ahead of us. I'll get to see the outcome of the shots on the 12th. The prices on picture packages are outrages! I'll claim my 8x10 and make my own copies.

Last night, Jason's dad stayed over since he was working on texturing a house Jason has been working on all year. Much to my surprise and delight, our friends Jon and Sheila and their son Micah came over and brought pizza for supper. I was happy to have them since it would mean more people to talk to and it would be so awkward for me and Bruce. That was an answer to prayer.

This morning there was a book sale at the local library. Stuff a bag for $1! All I really wanted were some books for Katelyn. I haven't been reading to her like I should be, and thought I should check it out. I was there pretty close to opening time and the small room was packed! Good thing I had put Katelyn in the front carrier because there would have been no room in the car carrier. I got quite a few hard books and books for when she's older. I even found some bible story books, much to my surprise. A lot of them are older and some have scribbles in them, but for a buck you can't go wrong. I also went downstairs where they have a sale on books every first saturday of the month. There were a lot of books down there for 25, 50 cents or $1. So I spent another 80 cents and got a few more for K. $1.80 not bad for a dozen books.

Today could be one of the last nice days that we have in a while. The rumor is tomorrow is supposed to be bad, so I should get out and enjoy the weather. My garden needs to be cleaned out since we've had frost and everything is pretty much done. I picked another bowl of tomatoes and the rest are hitting the garbage since they've had frost and they were all still green. I guess I should hit my sewing machine, since I have projects still sitting there. I've been busy canning tomato soup and apple pie filling for tarts and turnovers. I made one tray of tarts and left them out. I caught myself eating them all in a couple of days. They are pretty close to what my grandma used to make, but somehow nothing can ever match how grandma made it.

Since tonight could be a nice night, I may have to have a fire in the backyard. Even if it's by myself, something about a fire on a cool night under a blanket with some hot chocolate sounds awfully cozy.

Side note: I was pleasantly surprised the other day when Jason called me and said that I had won a smoker at a grand opening of a painter store in Cody. Sherwin Williams is now open in Cody and had a contractors grand opening one night, with a catered dinner. So of course we went and enterd a bunch of drawings. This is quite a shock for me, because I NEVER win anything. So now we've got this nice smoker to try out. Have to scour the internet and food network to get some ideas before the snow flies. Although, I grill year round. Yes, I am the griller of the family.