Not such a good morning anymore

Wow. I am amazed at how fast my day went from happy, working on moving pipe, to stinky, broke the riser right off. Holy geiser batman. I was singing, texting kids and Julie, even jogging at times between pipe, and making the line of pipe as straight as I ever have. It was a work of art, I thought. I walked back down the line and simply stepped on the pipe to help me get over the fence, (big no no found out) when the whole top blew off. Von saw the geiser from another field, how could he not, it reached the ozone layer, and came racing over. Not happy with the wife anymore.
I don't know what is worse, not helping him when I can, or disappointing him when I do. It breaks my heart when I see that look in his eyes, the one that says how busy he is, that he has so much to do, and now I have just added to the work load substantially. Not to mention, the lines will be off for a few days until the riser gets fixed.

Really?? Is it time already for kids to go back to school? I blinked, and the summer is gone like a cold mtn dew on a blistering hot day. (According to Von and Zack.) Where did the time go? Oh yeah, moving pipe, mowing lawn, housework, family reunion, green canyon, yard work, garden, cooking, making delicious treats, haying..... The list goes on forever it seems. We did start the summer out driving to St. George to look at a ranch work truck. It was so fun and relaxing. We were all together, and it was perfect. That was my best calgone moment this whole summer. After that, Spencer stayed in Utah to work so he could get his Utah residency, and Katie was able to move home for the summer. It was so nice to have Katie here, especially since she stayed in Utah last summer for residency. Spencer came home for the last three weeks to help Von with the haying, so for a few short weeks, we were all together again. Wonderful.
So, the kids are ready to be in school. With this being the first year of the four day school week, it will be interesting. I plan on Baylor falling asleep on the bus on the way home from school evey day. Poor thing.
We are excited to watch Rebecca play volleyball, and hope she doesn't forget how to do the dishes since she won't be home any more. This makes me sad that the kids will be gone so much of the day. I guess it is time for the big girl panties to go on. I might need to have a few projects to work on to take my mind off of it.
Fall is in the air. We have had three nights of frost already. It makes me crave pumpkin desserts, soups, and a good book. I love this time of the year. Hopefullly my handlines will be turned off soon. Hope, hope, hope.

Beautiful Easter Morning

What a beautiful day to celebrate Easter! After having snow, rain and cold for the longest time, we have had two beautiful days in a row. The sunshine is a boon to my soul. We are supposed to have cold wet weather again all this next week, so I will enjoy the sunshine as long as it wants to shine.
We were able to go to stake conference today, and the theme was happiness. Wonderful talks were given and I realized that happiness in my life truly comes from my Savior. As I strive to live the gospel, each good choice increases my love for the Lord and my family, which increases my happiness. When I think of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I am so grateful for His willingness to suffer for my sins. I try to think of how much He loves each of us to finish the terrible task that was asked of Him. I see news headlines of people being hung on the cross at Easter time, and I wonder if they think they could do the same thing Jesus did. They don't realize the actual anguishing suffering that He endured in the Garden.
I am so thankful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful that He died that I can live again, that He made it possible for our family to live together forever. Like our stake president said today, the happy news is that the tomb is empty. He was truly resurrected. He lives! This is where my happiness comes from.

Primary

Each week after church, I come home with such a grateful heart, just waiting to jump in bed, whilst Von comes home and heads straight to work. I sleep; he goes to work. What a wonderful life I get to lead! (Thanks Von for finishing my thought.) Anyway, I am amazed at the quality of people I get to work with in Primary, from the sweet children, to the great, dependable teachers and music leaders, to my wonderful presidency. I love them all. It is so easy to feel the spirit in primary. It is such a strength to my testimony. I was visiting with my chorister yesterday, and we were talking about how the Lord orchestrates things. She was teaching the kids about the 4th article of faith song, and it went along perfectly with what we talked about in our Baptism Preview that we had after church for the children who are going to be baptized this year. I have never been to a baptism preview before, so I am really glad my secretary suggested it. We introduced the kids to the scout, and achievement day leaders, had a wonderful talk on the importance of baptism by Natalie, and had the Bishop talk about the interview, and the baptism clothing. Then the bishop had the kids go look at the font and he talked about how we walk into the font that is filled with warm water, cold if they wanted it :), and answered any questions they had. It was fun, and I think the kids really enjoyed it. Our whole purpose was to help the kids get excited about their baptism and relieve any anxiety they might have. It turned out really great thanks to so many people.
I am so grateful for my life, my family, the gospel, and most of all, my Savior, Jesus Christ. What a blessing He is in my life.

Random thoughts

What a busy and speedy month this has been. Tomorrow we begin March, and I find myself really looking forward to going to a bull sale with Von. I am excited to spend some quality time with him as we drive to southern Utah. Our short snatches of trying to catch up only work for so long. During calving, it seems that we both go our separate ways with Von trying to keep calves alive at all hours of the day or night, while I try to take care of kids and house as much as I can to try to do anything I can to reduce Von's stress. I pretty much feel helpless when Von is discouraged or beyond exhausted, so I tried to muck out the barn when I could, take down food for him when I could, and encourage him as often as I could. He works so hard, and I am always so proud of him. He is wonderful. His skills with the cows and calves always amazes me. This is such a tough time of year since our livelihood depends on a few short months. Each calf born alive and kept alive is so important. Von doesn't count the money loss as much as he just feels bad when a calf dies. He takes it personally when any calf dies.

I heard Von laugh today during a movie, and it struck me that I haven't heard him laugh for a while. (Probably since calving started.) It was such a treat to hear. I love him so much.

So, Spencer is winding down his senior year. I can't believe it. He will be at USU with Katie next fall, which will be fun for them. Then in the spring, he will leave on his mission. He doesn't know whether to live in Utah this summer or the summer after his mission to work on residency. This is such a hard time in life because of all the decisions that need to be made.

Rebecca will think she is picked on between Von and I both needing her to help. As the oldest child in the home, she will be the chief cook, the house cleaner, the babysitter, the runner for Von, and tons of other things. : ) Hope she is up for it. I can't imagine what it will be like when Rebecca leaves, so maybe I won't let her. I hope be then, that Baylor's energy will have been contained a bit, and that he and Camia will enjoy being together more.

I am ready for spring, though. Warm weather and sunshine will be a boon to my soul. I can't wait for the garage to be warm enough to work on a wood project again. I also can't wait to see which yard projects need done. Hopefully, they don't require Von's help since he is always so busy. I keep telling him to teach me how to run the backhoe. : ) He just looks at me like I lost my marbles. He doesn't know I am completely serious. I have rocks that need moved. Bye for now.