4 inches

We awoke to 4 inches of snow on top of the ice that fell yesterday. It was 22 degrees out so Diane sent a text to us all that we were walking. We needed Mark to plow the way first though.

Mark had kind of a rough morning. He shoveled our patio and a path to the garage so he could take the golf cart up to the barn to get the skid steer out for plowing. Well the golf cart got stuck on the hill. The new golf cart does not have snow tires like the old one. He got the plowing done but found the skid steer was leaking hydrolic oil through one of the connections. He got back to the barn only to find his work van wouldn't start. He charged it enough to drive down to the house but didn't leave it on the charger long enough and when he came back out it wouldn't start again. At least the drives were plowed so the golf cart could be taken back up to the barn to pick up the charger. He got the charger attached, started the van, stepped out of the van, shut the door and removed the charger only to discover the doors locked. The van kept running while he had to search for another key and after trying a couple found one that fit.
My morning went well, Anna was turned out, the stalls cleaned and the automatic waterers all checked and all working. Sarah borrowed the car (her's is still at the dealership getting fixed) so I took the truck to Sams for dog food and a few groceries then Walmart for a new purse and a swim suit cover-up for the cruise we are taking in 12 days. Once back the pregnant mares were all checked.

 Above left to right is Anna, Eliza and Indy while below is Anna. Her belly is so huge.

 Her udder has filled out more but still shows no sign of waxing over. I took the picture below to have something to compare it to the next few days. 

  Karin arrived later this afternoon to work the mares. Above left to right are Indy, Eliza, Zalena and Jenis all waiting for Karin to bring in Ribbon and below she is doing round pen reasoning with all 5 at once. 

 Zalena was the first mare worked. Karin is asking her to side pass in the picture below, check out those leg crosses!

Below Indy is just waiting patently for her turn. Indy is due in 2 months and just huge. 

The temperature has been dropping all day and is suppose to bottom out below zero again. Emily and Mike went to Middle Grove and picked up Sheena and Ripper. They will be put on the best hay possible and grained each day. Mark, Spark, Mike and Diane drove to Hanna City tonight to go to a town meeting. It was well attended, there are many in the area who would like to annex in to Hanna City and out of Peoria including ME!

High Maintenance Thoroughbreds

We had another really wonderful day in church. Mike and Diane served lunch so the morning was spent preparing the trays and tables. Tim Funk had a shortened service then the yearling business meeting. It truly is amazing how many ministries we are all involved in. Lunch was easy, Diane had plenty of food to feed everyone. David Obgerfel had the afternoon service. He has a way of making the scriptures come alive. He opened to 2nd Samuel 24 where King David decides he wants to number his people, Joab tries to warn him not to do this but pride won and because of that David had to choose between 3 different punishments.

After church we were suppose to head to Walmart to pick up my blood pressure pills but when they were ordered the soonest they would be ready was 5:00 pm. I will have to pick them up tomorrow. It was sleeting and the driveways here at the farm were slick. The sleet turned to snow later. Anna's udder was checked and is much more swollen today. Still no sign of waxing so we may still have a few days.  Emily checked all the horses at Middle Grove yesterday and there were 2 that need to come home. Sheena and Ripper have both lost weight. Sheena is bred to Valiant due in April, thankfully she is still obviously pregnant. Thoroughbreds are just not easy keepers.

The owner of Lily's colt by Valiant sent this updated picture of  him:

She lives in Louisiana, just check out that lush green grass he is eating on in JANUARY! Why do we live here again? And just one more thing, check out the latest post on Rebekah's blog. It's on how to put on a show by clicking on the link below

charminginperfections

43 Bales

Diane and Mike are serving lunch tomorrow at church. Rhoda, mom, Sarah and I drove in to Peoria to help Diane with the set up. Diane left at 8:30 am to visit 4 different stores to buy the goodies then met us at 11:00 am. By noon we had finished the set up. Many hands really do make light work.
Rhoda had to be at the Emergency Vet Clinic where she works at noon so Diane took us all home. This afternoon Mark and I had to move wood from the lean to onto the front porch to prepare for the next two weeks of winter. Once the porch was full Mark replaced the bucket on the skid steer with the bale spear and moved 2 new bales in, one for Ribbon and one in the middle paddock.
Chuck, Mike and Emily worked on moving bales over to the Middle Grove pasture. We now have 43 bales left there. We had 66 were down to 8 and moved 35 today. We have been going through a bale a day there. Emily check all of the horses today, all are in good condition with plenty of fat covering their ribs. We still need to move Ayanna and Star back here soon. Star is due in February and Ayanna may be needed for the March show.
Anna is a bit more bagged up than yesterday and seemed more nervous today but no waxing over.
Today was the pancake supper at the fellowship hall, as always it was well attended.

Playdate with Braelyn, Taegan and Kensley

For some reason the cold doesn't seem so depressing when there are grand children around, happy girls that want to play. Dress up is always fun at grandma's house especially when they find the costumes from the horse shows. Taegan found one head dress of one the horsemeister dancing maids and it just matched her shirt.

 Braelyn found lots of pretty Christmas bows and the sparkly horse shirt. 

 Baby Kensley just cooed and smiled at her big sisters. 

 Braelyn found baby Jesus and the basket and made sure he was covered well but then thought baby Kensley would fit too.

 Baby Kensley is so patient with her big sisters, happy where ever she is put.

Mom came over and had to play with the baby, then Karin came for a short visit before heading out into the cold to work the mares. Emily had to drive to Bloomington for her final doctor visit for her arm and was given the good news that it is healed and ready for work. When she got home we put her right to work plowing the drives again. Sarah Reinhard got stuck today trying to get out to the main road. The winds caused the snow to pile up in drifts across the roads. Once that was done Emily was sent to Big R to pick up grain, 12 bags of 50 pounds each bring them home and  unload them into 2 different barns. Mom invited her over for dinner but after dinner she was right back at work bringing Anna in and doing the night time feeding. We are SO glad she is back to work. Killian was worked today. Emily reports he is so much like a naughty young boy. He knows he is not allowed to bite but will put his muzzle on her arm, if she doesn't react his lips move until she does react. Kind of reminds me of how Spark use to tease us girls. Boys will be boys! We bought a mane tamer for Killian in hopes it will stop him from rubbing his mane off. Emily needed to braid his mane and forelock up before putting it on and expected him to stand quietly in the middle of the arena with no halter or bridle while she did this. Each time he would decide to move she made him work. It didn't take long for him to realize standing still was much better than moving away.

Wedding Shower for Rhoda and Lee

Diane and I had a very nice surprise this morning. Rachel and her 2 boys Logan and Luke along with Karin came in to help at Berean.

We finished up just before 1:00 pm. We ran out of postage for the  Bibles but got out another 6 boxes with probably 4 more that will have to wait until Tuesday. All of the letters and studies were processed. It is getting harder and harder to keep up with this program and if it wasn't for volunteers we would for sure not be able to finish the job each week.
This evening was the wedding shower for Rhoda and Lee. Below are the hosts of this shower plus Rhoda. They did an excellent job. Rhonda was in charge of decorating the food table while Stephanie, Taunya, Anna, Sarah and Emily prepared the food.

 I thought the picture below was interesting with Rhoda and Lee but behind them the reflection of the shower guests in the window.

 Joan had us all laughing. Below is Diane's gift to Rhoda and Lee, Joan wrote on the front of the gift, missing one lid. As the gift slid down the tables we were all in on the joke until it reached Diane. Her reaction was priceless!

 Joan got mom good too. She wrote on the card of mom's gift "I hope your first baby looks like me"

Yep, we all laughed at that. Below Jordan is learning how to climb the steps. 

 The clean up crew was busy in the kitchen. What a fun evening and a wonderful shower.

A special thanks to Rhonda, Stephanie, Anna, Taunya, Sarah and Emily!

How Low Will it Go

Yesterday we awoke to negative 1 degrees and it didn't get much warmer. I think the high out here might have been 3 above. Karin, mom,  Rhoda, Sarah and I went in to finish up the Berean work we couldn't quite get done on Tuesday. Each one knew exactly what they needed to do and got right to work. Rhoda and Sarah got the Bibles all loaded into Philip's truck and hauled to the post office getting back just as Karin, mom and I finished stuffing the hundreds of studies. We ran out of first class stamps so the studies will go out today, if we can make it back in to Peoria. The thermometer has been dropping like a stone and is suppose to bottom at -14, not sure if the cars will start. Church was cancelled last night along with about every other church in Peoria. Even though it was so terribly cold in the afternoon Karin still got 4 of the mares worked. Eliza has always been a bit barn sour and never wants to leave the gate. Monday each time that would happen Karin would make her work, well yesterday Karin reported Eliza didn't want to go any where near the gate.

Rhoda talked Karin into riding Jenis last stating,"if you ride her first you are disappointed with the other mares but by riding Jenis last you end on a wonderful ride." Karin admitted yesterday it worked. She said, "I find myself with a big smile as I ride Jenis, what a talented mare."

The pictures were taken during warmer weather there was no way I was going to be out there in below zero weather standing around taking pictures. Zalena and Indy were the other 2 mares worked. Anna was brought inside again for the night. There is no sign of her delivering soon thank goodness but we are not taking the chance of her delivering outside in this cold. 3 new foaling predictor kits were ordered and should be here soon.

Brr Brrr Brrrr!

We woke up to only 5 inches of light fluffy snow and luckily no wind to blow it around. Mark got busy shoveling before it was light.

Emily got on the skid steer to start plowing the driveways. Diane and I left at 7:30 am for work, after vacationing last week we were pretty sure we would be buried with mail. The roads weren't plowed yet so the drive in to Peoria was slow but we arrived safely. Ellen had not picked up today's mail but felt with what came in since last Tuesday was more than enough to keep us busy.

 Diane got right to work trying to make copies and of course the copier wouldn't work. She gave up and called Wayne Printing to see if we could get a rush job done but it wasn't to be, they were not able to produce the 9000 copies needed by tomorrow morning. Philip came in to see if he could work on our copier and wouldn't you know it started working and kept working until all 9000 copies were finished. Diane's next job was to start opening mail. We got a unique Christmas card in the mail today all hand drawn and colored.

 When it was opened it had a pop up message. Amazing to think the work that went into this card and the time it took to create.

 Our usual workers couldn't make it in, Eva Jean was scheduled to have surgery this morning and Shirley's roads weren't plowed. We were thankful when Kathy and David arrived to start reading letters.

 Rhoda came in and was able to finish boxes and boxes of Bibles, then loaded them all in Diane's van. Lisa donated 3 of her kids today. We put Shelby to work opening mail while the other 2 stamped 1500 envelopes. We were still opening mail at noon so weren't able to leave for lunch until after 1:00 pm.

 After lunch we worked a couple more hours then decided to quit for the day. Tomorrow mom is going to help me get caught up. Mom provided dinner for us tonight, a nourishing tasty beef barley soup, thick enough to be considered a stew. After dinner Anna needed to be brought in for the night. The picture below shows just how saggy she is becoming but she is just about as wide. We are praying for a safe delivery and a healthy foal, although I hope she holds off for a couple weeks, it is SO cold.

 The weather report is 16 below zero tonight and only a high of 3 below zero tomorrow. Karin's school was called off today and again for tomorrow. She spent the night at mom's last night and worked 4 mares today. She was pleased with all of them but feels we'd better bring Ayanna in from Middle Grove to take Indy's place at the fair just in case Indy does not deliver before the fair. We had a beautiful sunset, the sky was all pink, purple, red and gold. Too bad it was too cold outside to stay out and admire it.

 The waterers were all checked tonight and thank goodness all are working. Mike has the automatic waterer working at Middle Grove, this is much needed, after this cold spell the lakes and creeks will be frozen solid.

Winter Storm Warning

We are in the midst of a winter storm. The cold temperatures of barely above 0 arrived this morning and the snow started this afternoon. It was such a shock to everyone that just made it back from Gulf Shores. Rachel sent through a text that she just couldn't make herself go on the walk it was just too awful leaving the 72 degrees Sunday in Gulf Shores and facing 3 degrees. All of us were more than happy to skip the walk this morning once we got that text. The snow is predicted to end up between 5 and 7 inches in our area with BITTER cold temperature and wind tomorrow arriving tomorrow. We have had the fire going in the wood burner now for 24 hours and will not allow it to burn out probably for the next 72 hours.

Sure hope we don't run out of wood. I'm actually praying Anna does not deliver for a while. Now I'm regretting not installing a furnace for the stall area. This morning Killian's automatic waterer was frozen and this afternoon Evan's was. Emily arrived back and had to immediately go to work installing hair dryers to defrost the lines.

A New Beginning

Yesterday Willis had the morning sermon, the very first sermon of 2015, opening first to Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 "In the beginning" then he went to St. John 1 and again read "In the beginning was the Word"  Willis told of his first sermon in Japan, not knowing the language well he emphasized the words with motions and jumped around a lot. Not a lot has changed now that he is 89 years old and yet he told us this he is just beginning. Willis is a powerful speaker with great insight, it was good to be there. Before we knew who was to speak mom had just remembered that she forgot to put her hearing aids in, then Willis stood up and she said, "never mind I won't need them!" and she didn't.
Cherly Grassi sat with me at lunch and pulled Longhorn gift cards out of her purse that needed to be used, then asked if we would like to go to dinner there. Mom and I took her up on that. Cheryl brought Janelle and Eva Jean and Marilyn joined us. Eva Jean is having surgery on her wrist on Tuesday so she brought a gift for Rhoda and Lee and asked if I would take it to the shower on Thursday. We had the gift sitting on a chair next to our table when the hostess sat Ron and Carol Christ right next to us. Carol saw the gift and offered to take it to the fellowship hall. Talk about convenient.  We are having an all church, family shower for Rhoda and Lee on Thursday Jan 8th, at 6:00 pm. Anna, Stephanie, Taunya, Sarah and Emily are cooking the meal and there will be plenty so please feel free to come.
It is really cold today, we are in single digits and have been since last evening. Emily is in Forrest and sent a text to remind me to check the waterers and make sure none are frozen. What is sad about that is I needed the reminder. It didn't take long to become dependent on someone else doing the work around here. Anna is stalled and waiting for her breakfast, so I'll step away from the computer and get busy.

Home Sweet Home

Our trip home was pretty uneventful. We pulled away at 4:30 am drove a couple miles when someone commented how warm it was for so early in the morning causing mom to remember she forgot her coats. We turned around and drove right back to the condo. Diane was sure Spark and Rhonda were probably eating ice cream or something really good now that we left and was hoping to catch them but nope they stayed in bed and didn't even come out to see why we returned. Technology is amazing, Diane brought up the weather alerts on her phone which showed strong storms in Mississippi so we decided to go up Alabama on 65 North. We ran into some rain but no storms and the rain was not hard enough to slow us down. Karin, Jackie, John, in one car while Beth, Tom, Tarah and their 2 sons in the second car left at 4:00 am and did go up through Mississippi. The storms slowed them down but not as much as a broken alternator. Luckily they were the first car load, the second car was able to help them get a new alternator and got them to a hotel so they could wait in comfort for the repair. This set them back about 4 hours. We pulled in just before 7:00 pm and unloaded. Anna is stalled so she was the first horse checked, fed and watered. She is not as bagged up as hoped but we are having a cold 33 degree rain right now so she was left in and her stall cleaned.
Rhoda and Lee arrived right after to give us all the home news. Today is Rhoda's birthday and Lee took her to Scapecci's for dinner. Wish we would have known in advance I have a $25.00 certificate for there.
I'm heading to bed, even though there was no physical work done I'm exhausted.

Our Last Day in Gulf Shores

We are leaving tomorrow morning early and have no internet at Beth and Greg's condo. So this was typed in Joan and Tim's condo while they were out eating.
We had a warm but cloudy day for our last day. We took walks on the beach, watched the volley ball players and spent a lot of the day in the hot tub. Joan took all of her kids plus Nancy to Souvenir City

 mom and Nancy walking on the beach. We found a decorated sand castle Molly was very interested in.

 We walked to Bahama Bob's for lunch. Below is mom's order and it was delicious.

Beth needed new pictures of her condo for the reality company that rents it out. Rachel came over later in the afternoon and had to keep chasing us out of the hot tub. Diane told her, "I'm sure you want pretty girls in their bathing suits to help sell the joint. "We figure that will keep everyone out but US!

 

The rest of the pictures from today were placed on the Facebook page. I need to head back to our condo to pack. We won't have internet now until we get home tomorrow.  It has been a wonderful trip.

Move Out Day at Mom's

Yesterday we woke up early even though it was new years day. The new years eve party was quite a bash. We had tons of food down by the fire served with hot chocolate. Everybody soon moved up to Dan's unit for games. They played all kinds of new years eve games such as charades and electricity. At midnight we went over to the beach for fireworks which were shot off at the public beach close to mom's condo. The older young kids ended up in Beth's hot tub. Diane went to bed at 2:00 am and the party was still going strong. Dan came down to use the hot tub around 4:00 am and by 4:30 am the party started winding down. New Years day mom and I spent the morning cleaning her condo in preparation for moving out. The new renters were moving in on the first which meant we had to move out. Ruth and Fedi had to be out of their condo also on the first. No one wanted the party to quit so Ruth and Fedi booked themselves into a hotel just down the beach. Beth and Greg decided to head for home, Greg wanted to watch the college championship games but that left us a room at their condo so we did not book into the hotel. The only problem with moving is the fact there is no internet at Beth and Greg's so no updating was done yesterday. Below is a picture of their condo from the road. It is so roomy and comfortable.

The day was cool but not cool enough that we cancelled the walk on the beach. Almost everyone ended up at Beth's condo for the afternoon and evening. We were all enjoying the hot tub when this blue heron flew down to watch this strange soup bubbling merrily. I think he was checking out if we were food.

Really he was watching Abram fishing with his net.

 Abram caught 2 good size mullet on his second cast.

 

Spark and Mark were playing horse shoes

 The sun kept trying to peek through and finally did late in the afternoon just about the time it was to set. We started playing Mexican train with about every one that came in and out of the condo. Rhonda happened to notice water dripping from a cupboard in the kitchen. Spark, Dan, Fedi and Mark started looking for what could be leaking and discovered a toilet was not sealed. Fedi got right to work but notice something strange in the picture below. Yes he is doing plumbing but just not quite dressed properly. Plumbers usually have shorter shirts and low hanging pants.

At this point Spark called the plumbers who just happened to be staying in a condo across the street.

But Fedi had the job done before the other 2 could get in position. That was fine they brought their suits and jumped in the hot tub. We played games until 11:00 pm, 2 late nights in a row!
Ruth and Fedi's family pulled out this morning for home. We are staying until tomorrow morning. Sure hate to see this wonderful vacation come to an end.