Just a letter...

As we start the school year T is a Senior and K is now in 7th grade.  As all parents will say where has the time gone?    For me as the Mom of two wonderful girls, I would say that about Tressa, but as the Mother of Kennedy, the time for her to graduate cannot come soon enough.  It is hard to admit and only within the last year have I been able to admit that Kennedy is Autistic.   It is a daily struggle, not only as a parent, but also as a sister.  I do appreciate her as she is a loving, caring spirit - that is what we gain from Autism - a girl who is blunt and honest, gives hugs, loves pets, knows that God is the answer.  The negatives are many and some days its hard not to think of them, but I am reminded that she is not bothered by it, she does not know different, she is so happy, why should I question God?  I am PROUD of her we are BLESSED to have a girl that loves her parents so much, she does what we ask (we only have to ask once), looks up to her sister and has a great attitude as a 13 year old.

I asked her tonight what advice she would give someone if they asked "what would you do different or is there anything you would do different in your life?" Her answer is "do what you love, volunteer to help others."  She recently started a "job" helping at PAWS every other week for 4 hours on Saturday, she is so excited.  I am happy for her, it should help with social skills.  That is my advice as well to both of my children, do what you love.  Once you find a job you love, stay with it, no matter what others may suggest, you know what is best for yourself not others.  Girls, so many things will come up and you have to make a decision, your soul will tell you what to do, I hope that you will listen.

Advice from a TREE...

• stand tall and proud
• Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
• Think long term
• Go out on a limb
• Remember your place among all living beings
• Embrace with joy the changing seasons
• For each yields its own abundance

Fletcher Avenue, Indianapolis

We did some sight seeing on Sunday to scout out locations for Senior pictures.  We enjoyed the frozen yogurt ice cream where would could swing and enjoy our ice cream.  We ended the day at the Indpls Museum of Art.

New adventures coming this Fall, updates later...

Its about time...

Yes it is about time in so many ways.  It is about time for another Triple Crown Winner, its about time to catch up on the blog, its about the need for more time to get things done so I can catch up on the blog!

Well since March 5th (Mom that is terrible, its been that long?) Tressa has gone to Costa Rica, Kennedy has acquired goats, we now have 8 pigs, we have almost completed our resort patio, Tressa went to the prom, Kennedy now has braces, Chris has stayed up for 25 hours to haul pigs for his daughter, Chris has brought me Leinenkugal, Tressa has texted Olivia 500 million times, Tressa has not listened to a thing I have said, but Kennedy has listened to me and LAST but not least we are a healthy, happy family who in the long run enjoy each other and love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A long time ago I started this blog, the 2nd or 3rd blog was about us watching the Kentucky Derby, today we are watching the Belmont and hoping that California Chrome wins the Triple Crown. 

It is pig show season and we have attended some open shows, Tressa did get Reserve Showman at the Hancock Open Show.  We are also working with the Dairy cows and Kennedy has improved so much!  Love watching both of them work together. 

School has ended and I cant believe what I am about to say...Tressa is a Senior!  What?  How can that happen?  Kennedy is ready to move on to 7th grade as we are too, that was a rough year.  We have already toured our alma maters with Purdue now in the lead for the college of choice.  I cry everyday that she is leaving and I still have over a year before she leaves.  When we were at Purdue I broke down in the parking lot, pathetic (according to Chris and Tressa).  Tressa is trying her best to make me grateful that she is leaving by not listening, putting things away and yelling at us, so far it is not working. 

I wish we had more time to get things done, but it looks like that will happen in  13 years when I hopefully retire.  Below are some pictures that we thought you might enjoy.

Pig Season begins...

That time of year again, it comes too quickly.  I wish the weather would warm up before we put the pigs in a barn with no heat.  Chris has been traveling the last 3 weeks and we are ready for him to be home!  This is how much Tressa misses him...




Tressa:  When is Dad coming home?
Mom:  Thursday, why do you miss him?
Tressa:  No, I just need someone to start my car in the morning and drive it around to the garage.


Chris texted back:  Tell Tressa her Butler will be home soon, we will catch up then.  


At least he knows he is missed!


Well, I was going to post a picture of Kennedy with a baby pig, but the blogspot will not download the picture.  This website is getting more difficult to use.  I think it is time to change to a new blog site.  My next post may be the new address to our family blog.  Thanks for your patience.

Another day off...

Well, the snow has caused a power outage where I work which means I will not be going back to work after having 6 weeks off.  This has caused me to have another nap, play cards with Kennedy, yell at Tressa, listen to Kennedy scream because Tressa won't hand over the Kindle.    You ask, "what you were off for 6 weeks, what happened?"  Finally Chris paid for me to have plastic surgery, thank goodness!  My next blog will give you the before and after, I'm sure you can't wait. 

It is so cold outside and I want to report that I am so tired of WTHR preempting the evening shows because they want to cover the "snow emergency" for 24 hours, enough already!  How many times do we have to see the empty bread isle or the reporter in the snow bank, really?

The dogs love running in the snow until the snow gets in their paws and wont come out until they are back in the barn under the heat lamp. Lots of bones and marshmallows for those two tonight.

Well, I am off to get under the covers and watch some TCM...

Snow Day 2014

Just the beginning of 2014 and we are we are supposed to receive 10 inches or more of snow.  The girls made a snowman or I should say Tressa did, Kennedy was busy with the dogs.

We also made cupcakes, took a nap and went to the Wilkinson Mall, twice.  What an exciting day!  Girls go back to school Tuesday, maybe....

Christmas Day filled with good memories for the girls.  Clothes, jewelry and headsets were the highlight of the day. 

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

I love the Christmas songs...I love the Christmas movies on TCM...I love that there is snow on the ground in December only...I love watching the girls get excited about the Holiday.

Today we were watching TCM and they had a special about Christmas movies, I kept saying "Ohhhh that one is my favorite!"  Chris and Tressa said "Mom every one of the movies has been your favorite!"  Hey it is hard to choose, but when the Gremlins came on I did not say that was my favorite!  Who can't make it through Christmas without watching the "Bishops Wife," "Christmas in Connecticut," "Holiday Affair," "Shop Around the Corner," or MY FAVORITE....REALLY... "Remember the Night."  I think I did a blog on that movie a couple of years ago, but if you grew up in Wabash County you must watch that movie! 

Praise the Lord I am able to say, we have had an awesome year and we have been blessed by God with a healthy family, great friends and neighbors and wonderful opportunities to travel and see Gods splendor.  We wish you the best  in 2014, look forward to the memories to be made.  Here are some of our favorite memories from 2013...

Louisville 2013 Showmanship



Kentucky Derby 2x Champion Calvin Borel

Kennedy showing Dairy 2013

Me and Tim...

Well, where do I start?  I call it the Tim McGraw effect, think positive and it will happen.  I think the pictures tell it all and it is such a long story I can't tell you all of it, so here it is in a shorten version.

God is good, all the time, all the time God is good! 

Well that's part of it, okay let me try this again...

Trip to Vegas to see Tim and Faith in concert, stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Venetian, had spa day on the morning of the concert, AWESOME spa (134,000 sq ft, 98 massage rooms) it was so relaxing!  On my way back to the room I met Tim in the hall and briefly talked to him, he was leaving the gym and he looked great, reminded me of Chris.  I told him I was going to his concert and it was my birthday, I was so star struck that I did not ask for a picture or autograph, I couldn't believe it!  That night at the concert when he walked down our aisle I yelled out to him and he remembered me and shook my hand, I mean could it get any better?  Yes, it could...
Half way through the concert Tim ended a song by announcing that he wanted to wish a young lady a "Happy 25th Birthday!"  I was thinking "crap someone else has a birthday," but when he started coming down our aisle I chanced it and stood up and yelled (of course I did).  That's when he said "there she is I met her today as we were leaving the gym," the rest is history...I received a signed guitar from Tim and as you can see I took the microphone and informed the crowd how wonderful Tim was (Faith too) and how I couldn't believe this was happening.
To be honest I have told this story to some people and it makes them smile, laugh and I thought to myself how wonderful it must be to affects peoples lives, to make a difference in someone's life as Mr. McGraw did.  It makes me want to give more to help others, I hope that I do...

Show time for Tressa

From March to November we had pigs in the barn and Tressa worked every night to train each group.  The weekend of her 17th birthday we finished the year in Louisville, KY.  The top photo is from the Open Show at the State Fair where we placed 1st, the other photo is of Tressa and Holly where they placed 9th in her Division overall for showmanship.   Great year Tressa, look forward to 2014, but at this point we look forward to the break as I know you do too.

Picture this...

Last night we were watching "The Voice," and for 10 minutes the girls sat on the couch and did not argue or fight.  They even looked angelic as I watched them. Kennedy leaning in towards Tressa and without either one of them knowing that I was watching them, heaven forbid that I might say something for it would ruin the moment.  What a special time...

The weather has turned cold and the leaves are starting to fall, my favorite time of the season, but I could do without the cold weather.  We are busy with our jobs, homework and pig work.  One last show for the season and we are off for 4 months, YES!  Tressa loves showing pigs but it has been a long year. 

Labor Day 2013

With this lovely day off I am going to try and catch up on the blog.  State Fair went well and we enjoyed so many things this year...

• Fried cookie dough, do this on the last day or you will be having it everyday.
• Blue ribbon with honors for 4H photography
• Watching the 6 pull team of Belgium horses. 
• 1st place in class for Crossbreed Classic
• Riding the Fair Train and the log ride!
• Seeing friends from college!

We vacationed at Hocking Hills in Ohio, beautiful pictures from the trails.  Pomeroy, OH we visited with friends and enjoyed the views from the Ohio River.

The girls started school on July 31st, summer goes too fast.  Kennedy had to have her spike shoes (see below).  She is letting hair grow out and some days it overtakes her head!  Thick hair from her moms side, but as she gets older she will appreciate it.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Dad, Kennedy at Hocking Hills!

4H Awards plus the puppies 2013

First day of 6th grade and Junior Year!

2013 County Fair

 

Congrats to the girls for our best fair ever!  We could not be prouder!  Tressa won State Fair with a black and white salon print.  She was Supreme Showman winner overall, Reserve Swine Showman and Reserve Dairy Showman. We placed the best ever with our pigs! 

Supreme Showman Winner

I think they just said I won!

 

That's right they did!  Congrats to Tressa winning Supreme Showmanship in the Round Robin last night.  Now we know when you put your mind to you there is no stopping you!

Whats in a Name....a new family member!

Recently, a new member of the Family Tree arrived, a beautiful baby girl.

She arrived on a special day for Tressa, the day she received her drivers license.  Now this baby girl has something in common with her father, for her father was born the day I was driving around Wabash County for my drivers training.  When I pulled up with my drivers education teacher I saw Ashton at the back door with toys all over the floor and I knew my sister was at the hospital having the baby.

Well, you say what is the babys name?  Well as it goes with most names they start out as the proper full name and then eventually get shorten or changed.  When I became an Aunt in 1979, I thought I would be "Aunt Leah," nope.  Ashton for some reason called me Dee Dee, which then became Deedy, then eventually ended up as Deed.  Tressa was born Tressa Ann then eventually became T-Bird, Kennedy became Boo-Boo or Marge (according to Andon). 

This lovely girl has the beautiful name of Cadley Mae, I love the name and look forward to what nickname we will come up with down the road.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Today we celebrate Fathers Day, which consisted of going to Church, gym, lunch and a nap.  The evening consisted of working with the Dairy calves and pigs.  The above picture is of Chis and his Dad who he calls "Chub."  As long as I have known Chris he has always told me that Chub is his hero, the one that he has always looked up to and tries to model himself after.  As you can see Chris enjoys hearing the stories, life lessons and jokes from his Dad as they sit around the barn. 

My girls are very fortunate to have Chub and Grandma in their life, they never think of themselves it is always about how they can help others.  Grandma is the best cook, just ask the girls and Chub just keeps them laughing. 

Chris is right about many things and this is one of them..."I couldn't ask for better parents or role models." 

The two new puppies

We recently brought home 2 puppies, their names are Hershey and Chocolate.  We have found out that they like to chew on shoes, leashes, collars etc.  We have learned to keep the patio cushions inside the house.  Marley has taught them that she runs the house around here.   They are very cute and I would of had a better picture, but we are having a difficult downloading pictures from the Iphones. 

Tressa goes to the prom

The boots make the dress!



Kennedy and Tressa

Tressa has grown up too fast, in just 2 weeks she will get her license and today she went to the prom.  She looked beautiful and was excited to go.  We hope she is wide awake tomorrow, its our first pig show.  We have all of the pigs for the season, total of seven.  New barn and trailer have helped us obtain this goal of showing in the swine circuit.  Looking forward to the memories.

 

These boots are made for walking!

 

After a morning fight over some of these boots we managed to switch boots around so everyone was happy and head off to church and then to Walmart.  Chris thought he should take this picture to show off our boots!  This picture reminds me of a time when I was little, my sister was still living at home with us so I had to be about 8 years old, which would have been 1974 (yes, I am that old).  I specifically remember that it was a Sunday because we were all in the car dressed up for church, my brother in the front with Dad and my sister, me and Mom in the back.  I remember looking down at the boots we were wearing realizing that us girls all had on patten leather boots and we looked so cool.  Mine were white with the lace up the front, I thought we were the coolest family driving down 114!  Okay, I take that back the coolest women on 114, who knows what my brother was wearing and from the pictures I have it wasnt pretty!

 

Well, styles may change, but the boots are always  a must in the winter no matter what the dress. I must say we do look good, I think we are the "coolest" gals walking into Walmart....at least in Greenfield!

"Mama Leah's Boy"

We dedicate our blog to our boy Jack!  Our neighbor Lindsay was the proud owner of Jack and gave him the life of a prince.  Jack was saved one rainy day down by the church only because she thought he was Midnight (our black dog) but soon realized that he was a lost puppy.  Jack moved in with Lindsay and came to visit us during the day so he could play with his best friend Midnight.  Lindsay always called me Mama Leah when talking to Jack and I was very honored, for he was such a good dog.  Today Jack passed away and is now very busy in Heaven playing ball with Midnight.  They have so much to catch up on and so many ponds to swim in, cars to chase and fields to run in.  We will miss his deep bark that always scared the solicitors and his sweet smile.  My favorite memory of Jack was watching him as Lindsay drove off in the Mercedes and his ears flapping in the wind as he stuck his head out the sunroof.  Chris always said if I die and come back as an animal I want to be Lindsays dog or Leahs cat.  So loved and so missed you are Jackie, we love ya!