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!

Merry Christmas from the Janes Family

It is Christmas Eve and we just returned from Grandma and Papa Janes home celebrating Christmas.  Now the girls are picking songs to buy with their Itunes card (Tressa) and playing with legos and watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3 (Kennedy).  Chris just finished listening to his new Ray Wylie Hubbard CD and of course I am in the living room watching TCM.   We will soon retire for the night and get ready to celebrate with Grandpa Karl and then drive to Aunt Lisa's to see the rest of the family.  It may be the same routine every year, but we love it!  Every year I hope that we will be as happy as we are right now and that God will continue to Bless us as he has every year. 

What a year 2012 has been, if someone would have told me what I would be doing a year ago, I would not have believed them.  I still pinch myself knowing how fortunate I am!  Chris has been so wonderful during this transition and as he says "there is a new Sheriff in town."  I have gone back to work full time as a Property Manager, which I used to do until K was born.  I love it and am very fortunate to be working for a great company. 

Tressa and her new Sperrys, disco ball!

Aunt Julie, Kennedy and Katie

 

Due to this job, I will be unable to keep up with the blog.  I am turning this over to Chris and Tressa as well as all of the cooking and cleaning.  You will hear from me every once in awhile.  Thank you for checking in on us, we wish you the best in 2013!  Healthy Happy New Year!

2012 North American International Livestock Expo

This past weekend we took our two pigs, Tater and Tot to NAILE, in Louisville, KY.  This was the first year we have purchased pigs to take to this show, but Tressa has done so well in showmanship that we thought it would be better for her to train the pigs at home.  Well her hard work paid off again and she came in 8th place in the Nation, Intermediate Divsion.  With an average number of  kids per class, this means she placed 8th out of 120.  We were very blessed and proud! 

We also learned that a future showman will be born next May!  Very exciting weekend!

A Gift for My Siblings...from Deed

Below is a letter I gave to my brother and sister, just last week as we were celebrating Nannys 75th birthday (don't tell anyone).  Along with this letter I gave them a CD of my favorite music. 

A while ago you made a CD for me of some miscellaneous songs, I played it over and over, but alas I lost the CD.  I always wanted to repay the favor and I finally have accomplished it.  I hope you enjoy it. 

There are times in my life where I can step back and say that God did Bless me with a sister and brother, for without them I would not be who I am today.  They support me when I need them most and let me know (without any hesitation) when I am wrong.  I may be bruised and battered (from all those times you hit me with the boxing gloves) but I have come out stronger than before, mainly from listening to these songs.  Some are funny, some are serious and some give me energy to dance.

My style of music has changed over the years.  It used to be that I would listen to 80’s when I would travel home; this transpired to Van Morrison and now it is a mix of Rock-a-Billy Gospel.  Not only has my music changed, but my definition of “HOME” has as well.  For the word “home” to me is meeting my Savior and seeing everyone again.  But for the time being be encouraged to know that in the future when I drive up to see you and Lisa at Peabody Retirement Home I will be playing the following songs.  Maybe if you are lucky I will bring you a Cheeseburger and Cherry Coke from Mr. Daves! 

Love you very much and I will always keep you in my prayers! 

1.       Me n Opie                           BR549                    “the lost episode of the Andy Griffith Show”

      2.       She Left Me for Jesus    Hayes Carll         
                                                      “she says I should find him and I would know peace at last!”

      3.       Lights in the Valley          The Carolina Chocolate Drops     My tribute to Grandpa Messmore
      4.       Honey Bee                          Lucinda Williams                              
                                  The queen of modern rockabilly as I like to say, love her distinctive voice!
      5.       Tear the Woodpile Down             Marty Stuart     
                        I love his guitar style and true love for Bluegrass and Rockabilly
      6.       Little Lion Man                                  Mumford and Sons                        
      7.       The Winner                                        Kris Kristofferson
      8.       Pilgrim                                                  Steve Earle w/ the Del McCoury Band   
                        “the road was rocky along the way, but I was never traveling alone”
9.       I Ain’t Never Satisfied                    Steve Earle                         Makes me run faster on the treadmill
     10.   Waymore’s Blues                             Waylon Jennings             
          I still have the picture from Christmas 1981 when I opened the new Waylon Album, longtime
             fan of OUTLAW!
     11.   Six White Horse                                   Gillian Welch
     12.   If I Had My Way                                   Elizabeth Cook             These are true GOSPEL songs 12-17

13.   Gospel Plow

14.   Every Humble Knee Must Bow

15.   The Other Side of Life

16.   Hear Jerusalem Calling

17.   These Men of God

18.   Jesus

      19.   I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before               Paul Williams     
                                                   “this world has been a wilderness, I'm ready for deliverance”

Tressa Said...

Tressa said I should update the blog and when she says to do something we must do it!  Thats what she does when we ask her to do chores, right?  I really don't know what to write about other then I recently came in 1st Place in Overall Womens Walking Race in Madison, IN at the Ribberfest.  Yes, that's right 1st place and there was more then just me participating!  Chris and I had a great time participating and enjoying Madison Winerys, Ribberfest and just all the shops.  We were able to visit with Cousin Larry and tour the Janes cemetary and Janes Homestead. 

We are taking Labor Day Weekend to enjoy John Wayne movies, make granola and peanut butter cookies and ride out the storm of what is left of Hurricane Isaac!  The rabbits had to be moved to the barn!  Poor things...

I have attached a picture of Chris and Cousin Larry, he was very nice and I enjoyed taking pictures as he told the stories.  Thanks again for checking in on the family...

That was so funny Mom!

Just another day of driving with Tressa at the wheel and Marley in the middle. We decided to take a short drive to get pictures for my camera class, when I was able to click a pic of Marley and Tressa laughing at my recent joke!  Had to post, too good to pass up!  Hope you enjoy, think of us after Chris sees this and goes over a long list of why cats should not ride in the car.  I write this as the other wonderful cat Richey sleeps beside me on Chris's pillow.  Payback!

4H Fair 2012

Well, what a year!  As you can see Tressa did well in what we have always strived to achieve.  This was her first year in Senior Showmanship and she won the whole thing!!  Sorry, we really don't like to brag, but we are going to take advantage of this time!  For a Freshman this is AWESOME! Words cannot describe how thrilled we are and we know she worked very hard with her pig, Moose to meet this goal.  Now we must also include Pam and Andon in this as well, they really work with her and Kennedy to improve their showmanship and I don't think we could have done it without them.  As soon as the judge said she was the winner I dropped the camera and all you can hear is me crying, that made everyone mad!  Hey, next year we will have someone else video.  Since she won this that qualified her to be in the Round Robin event which is showing pigs, sheep, cattle and dairy.  She did a great job and this allowed me to finally see one of my kids show cattle (which she did an awesome job at).  Great job Tressa...now we are off to the State Fair for the first time!  Yikes! 
Also, Kennedy had a busy year with her animals of Dairy, Chickens, Rabbits and Pigs...she got Blue Ribbons in all except third place with her pig.  She wants that "Gold Trophy" in Dairy and I know one day she will!