http://aranchlifeondreamsandprayers.blogspot.com/

Here is my blog. this is the one I will be posting to. I love blogspot and have had great luck with it but my good friend elkfarmer couldn’t post comments to my blog:( So I started this one to but I can’t seem to keep up with them both so I am just going to post to the other blog from now on. Sorry if this messes anyone up:(

So Wednesday Eric finally got a full day off for the first time in 10 weeks. He just wanted to get away from the ranch and see some scenery. So we took a drive to Silverton, co which was stinkin amazing. But however red mountain pass was SCARY!!!!!!!!! Very narrow, sharp curves and only one guard rail and it was beat up bad. I can see why it is know as one of the deadliest drives. But I will say the weather was awesome and the scenery breathtaking is an understatement. From there we drove back and went up to Telluride. What an awesome little town. It has such beauty and atmosphere. I have to say I thought it would be extremely expensive and uppity but really found it to be nice. We also took the free gondola up to mountain village which is awesome but Eric did not find it beautiful or amusing he wanted out!!! Poor Cowboy guess he likes horses. He said if he was meant to fly he would have been born with wings:) Silly cowboy!!! But it was just awesome to get out and enjoy some time together in this awesome state. We also took little duke and he was VERY popular:) Well here are some pics.

drive towards Silverton, CO.

ya that is the edge of the road right out my window and that is going towards the bottom

looking back towards home and see the road on the side of the mountain to the right. It is built just on the side of the mountain no much room.

sooooooo stunning!!!

Me and Duke on the streets of Telluride

They had these everywhere but he wanted nothing to do with it!!! I would never have left him there but cute pic!!

Eric at mountain village right after gondola ride you can see he isn’t very happy:)

Happy again after awesome pizza. Just not realizing he has to get back on that thing to get down:)

Do you think I have a bunch of mamma’s boys??? Imagine when duke is bigger than Kohanna?? He grows by the second I swear:) I love my boys they make my life soooo much better:)

So this year I really want to change some things. One of the main things is I want to learn to not be afraid of people. Yes this will probably come as a surprise to a lot of people, but I am utterly scared to death of people. Yes it is true!! To pick up the phone and call someone about makes me throw up. I know that sounds weird but when you have been violated emotionally, physically and sexually by people throughout your life it really causes a lot of pain and distrust. I am sooooo very blessed to be free of all that now but the hurt and the pattern is still there. I know it is a defense mechanism and it did keep me safe in the past but it has also kept me from building relationships and allowing good people in. I want to change that this year. I want to be able to pick up the phone and have a chat with those I love and care about. I want to be able to go out in public without feeling so stressed out. I know a lot of that has to do with self image to and I don’t have a good one of those especially not with all the extra weight(which I want to change this year also) but I want to enjoy life and not worry so much!!!

To be honest with all the things that I have went through in life I can’t believe I am as normal as I am:) But really without GOD I wouldn’t have made it through. So I am going to rely on him to help me with this, this year:)

So this morning I got a surprise when on facebook my friend Sarah from between you me and the fence post http://sarahsthoughtsandpictures.blogspot.com/ told me on facebook she was in Colorado and not only Colorado in Montrose which is only like 13 miles from us. I was so excited so I jumped in the truck, stopped by Starbucks and got there just in time to visit for a little while:) It was so awesome to meet Sarah and Malcolm and their “girls”:) Which by the way are way to stinkin adorable:) It was so great to get to meet in person. We have missed each other here and there for like a year so it was well way overdue:)

Sarah is as sweet as she seems in her blog and sooooo easy to talk to. It was like visiting a friend I had known for years. I have to say it was definitely a blessing and started out my year good:) I look forward to more visits.

Not the best picture of me. But Sarah is beautiful:) Oh and she has the best southern accent. All I can say is “I want one….” Don’t think Eric would move there just so I can have a cute southern accent:)

I see the blogs bursting with New Years resolutions and goals and I wonder what is wrong with me. I don’t really have any. I mean of course I want to get unfat:) But that is a given. But other than that I really don’t have any want to write some resolutions. I think I have been so intent on thinking my life should go a certain way or that by this age I should be doing certain things that I am going to let go and let GOD this year!!!! Hey I think that sounds like an awesome idea:) I know it will be easier said than done. But I want to see what GOD has for us this 2011. I am sure I will be surprised and I am sure he will help me to grow in him in whatever we do this year. May every ones year and resolutions be blessed this year!!!

This is Duke:) Isn’t he soooooo stinkin adorable. Our guess is a mastiff cross of some kind. His paws are crazy huge for his size. Guessing about 3 months old. The neighbor lady said he just showed up on her porch. That was about 2 weeks ago. We puppy sat him for her and fell in love. Her aunt(also landlord) said she couldn’t keep him. She was leaving him in her house 10-12 hours sometimes not kenneled so he just went to the bathroom wherever and chewed lots of things up so I can completely understand. I mean common he is a puppy!!! But we are excited to have him. He is such a good boy and has a great personality. Him and Bear are meant for each other. They where each other out nicely right before bed so we don’t hear a peep out of them till morning:)

I am sure you will see lots more about this guy:)

Bear and him playing:)

Gotcha Kohanna!!!

Now I am going to eat you!! Which Kohanna the old grump let him know was not ok right away:)

Well Eric had to work Christmas morning from 4:30 till 11:00 and I had to work at 3:00 so he surprised me and brought two of the ranch horses home with him and we drove out a few miles and took a trail ride for Christmas It was such an awesome surprise and such a great way to spend it together. It was sunny, warm and beautiful and the horses were good so it was perfect.

I still can’t believe that it is over already. It really just never seemed like Christmas it was to warm, no snow and we didn’t have big plans for family and friends. I am so lucky to have my awesome husband to spend holidays with. It is hard not to be lonesome though. I grew up with big family and friend get togethers so to be alone is hard. It is just a hard time of the year. but I did receive a few Christmas cards this year so that was really nice and thanks to my grandparents and my mom we had a few gifts even under our tree:) And thanks to my other grandparents they sent some Christmas money I made it into the doctor so that was good.

I hope and pray everyone else had a great Christmas and now it is on to New Years:) May it be a truly, truly blessed new year:)

Mandie came into our lives shortly after she was burned. She is a woman with amazing strength. Her and her 1st husband lived with us for 2 1/2 years. Mandie blended into our family wonderfully. All of my children loved having her live with us. She truly is a kid at heart. While Mandie lived with us, she developed tularemia and it nearly took her life. She really demonstrated her ability to overcome as she battled the disease. Mandie has a love for animals and can not stand to see anyone or any animal hurting. She always found a way to take time and make each person feel special. What I love the most about her is her love for the Lord. I am greatful that Mandie chooses to stay in contact and that she visits when in Oregon.

My first two were much longer.

Every year seems to speed by faster and faster. I guess that is what you get for getting older and older:) I can’t believe how crazy this year has been. From last December to this December we have moved 3 times and lived in 3 different states. Part of me wants to be so frustrated and feel like a failure but what happened to that part of me that use to exist that loved adventure. I guess that part has been told enough that doing that makes us failures and irresponsible. But really looking back I wouldn’t change a thing, we have done some awesome things, met some life long friends and got a lot of experience in different kinds of ranching. It has all in all been a great experience. That is not to say it hasn’t been frustrating and trying that it has!!!
It is just crazy when you look back at things and think how do I get here and I never in a million years would have thought I would be here or doing this. It is amazing what life and GOD can throw at you:) Even as we speak we may make yet another change. This job has been a wreck since we got here and gets worse as it goes so Eric has been just working and I have been looking for other options and we got a surprise one from and email from a ranch in eastern Oregon. Yes OREGON!! I have been wanting to be closer to family and that would put me within a half day drive. So we are praying and seeing what the LORD has for us. But I will miss the Colorado scenery if we move it is amazingly gorgeous here and I was so looking forward to so many awesome adventures here. We will see they may still happen.
This is a week I definitely do a lot of reflecting and a lot of dreaming. There are so many things I would like to do and things that I want to experience with my husband. Everyday should be precious and we shouldn’t let those simple moments slip by without telling someone we love them, appreciate them or just plain miss them. You never know when it may be the last time you get to see them, talk to them or experience even the simplest things with them. I want to remember that this new year that is coming. To take each day as it comes and to cherish even the littlest of moments.