Pictures of MaKenzie's day with Jaelin!

Autumn was nice enough to babysit my daughter for me one day these are just snaps she took! She is a great friend and an Awesome photographer! I just love how MaKenzie looks so sweet and thoughtful in some of these!!
PS you can check out more of Autumns pictures at atwitchell.smugmug.com!

Test

1. When you go to Wowmart, what one thing do you get every single time, besides a funky-wheeled squeaking cart full of frustration?
Usually orange juice, milk, and bread!

2. What is something that people are currently "into" that you just don't get or appreciate?
Twitter? WTF

3. What is something that really hoists your sail that other people might feel "ho-hum" about?
Painting!!! Not like artist painting, painting my house or other stuff is therapeutic for me

4. Favorite song to sing in the shower or car?
Simple Man or oh geeze there are so many (music is my motivation)

5. A really great salad must have this ingredient:
Anything to do with a taco salad I am game

6. Advice in a nutshell to new bloggers (one or two sentences):
I pretty much suck at it so don't ask me

7. What was the alternate name that your parents almost named you? Do you wish they had chosen it instead of the one they gave you?
Michael

8. What in your life are you waiting for?
Stability (mental and in general LOL)

9. You get a package in the mail. What is it, and who is it from?
E-bay my husband is an E bay Junky

10. Today--what song represents you?
Second Chance- shinedown

11. What is one thing that blogging has taught you about yourself?
That I should have paid more attention in school I am not a great writer

12. How are you going to (or how did you) choose the clothes you're wearing today? What do they say about you in general or specifically how you're feeling today?
I have a slight hangover from the Bachelorette party and I am wearing sweats and a tshirt

Here's to you, Blake!! Rest in Peace

This 4th of July a friend of mine and my husband's was struck by Lightning and killed while at a Celebrate Freedom carnival in a park in Billings. He was running to his car pulling a wagon of toys and picnic stuff, while his family including his two little girls were running in front of him to get out of the storm!



We met Blake through his brother Fred who worked with us at United Glass in Billings. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with MaKenzie and we needed someone to help the guys in the shop and do part of my job while I was on maternity leave. It just so happened that Blake was looking for a job. He jumped into whole heartedly and was eager to learn everything, it only took me a couple of days to train him on my end, and he fit right in with everyone. He had a wonderful personality and was a joy to be around. After Harold and I moved back to the ranch Fred and Blake came out hunting, and if there was anything at all we needed help with while they were here, he was more than happy to help! I would cook them all lunch and dinner and before I could finish eating he would be up doing the dishes. He was just a Good Guy.
He was just starting to pick up the pieces of his life after his wife left him and their two little girls!
Please pray for the Harmon family as they lay their son, brother and father to rest tomorrow!
So Here's to you Blake, we were blessed to have had you in our lives!

When I finally stop procrastinating, everyone else is on VACATION!!

Janelle from Dr Damron's office called me back yesterday. Nancy Meyer the Genetics lady we worked with is on Vacation til next Monday! Since the test for DiGeorge for already born people is a fairly new test called FISH (don't ask me why) she has to find out if we have to go somewhere special to have it done. So we have to wait another week. I will keep ya posted!!

I will finally Stop putting this off!!!

I Finally made the call to set up an appointment for the tests we need done to find out if we will or will not try for another baby! I have been putting this off for... well really since Landon was diagnosed with Trisomy 22 (DiGeorge Syndrome)! I did make the call but they are out of the office until Monday!
Now it is not the test itself that makes me so nervous because I believe it is a simple Blood test. But it is the part of possibly finding out that either Harold or I have DiGeorge Syndrome and never knew it. Now the chances of that are slim, but I have met a few people over the internet who also have Children with DiGeorge and one lady and her husband just found out that he had DiGeorge. For those who don't know DiGeorge or trisomy 22 or VCFS has like 180 different symptoms, problems that can range anywhere from severe mental defects, heart defects, to not even knowing you have it. It mostly affects the Thymus Gland which controls your immune system. They tell me that in 90% of the cases it just happens, but it is that 10% that really worries me. If neither Harold or I have it, there is still a chance that it could be a defect in my eggs and that is the part they don't really want to test, they know there are some good ones because MaKenzie was a good egg (that makes me laugh now) so if they take an egg to test and it is fine then it would just be a waste of a good egg!
So I guess I will wait for their call on Monday and we will go from there! It will be the deciding factor in wheter or not we try for another little blessing!
So please throw in a little prayer for us!

Just one of those days

When I had originally started this Blog I had every intention of making it more geared toward a loss and grieving sort of Blog, for some reason I have a horrible time sharing any of that with anyone even my Husband so you haven't seen much about Landon and his story on here.
But sometimes when I am having a rough day and I have my head stuck up my own ass, I forget that I am not the only one that lost my son,.... but my Husband did to! I think this one is true in any sort of grieving situation! My Aunt Shannon found this on the internet and I am not sure who wrote it.

Daddy

It must be very difficult
To be a man in grief,
Since "men don't cry" and "men are strong"
No tears can bring relief.

It must be very difficult
To stand up to the test
And field calls and visitors
So she can get some rest.

They always ask if she's all right
And what she's going through
But seldom take his hand and ask,
"My friend, but how are you?"

He hears her crying in the night
And thinks his heart will break
And dries her tears and comforts her
But "stays strong" for her sake.

It must be very difficult
To start each day anew
And try to be so very brave ~
He lost his baby too. . .

PRO's & CONS of living in the country

PROS

1. In the evening when my husband remembers he left something on in the shop and he takes off outside in his tighty whities, I don't have to be embarrased!

2. My daughter can look like Orphan Annie outside playing in her Minnie Mouse nightgown and no one is here to be judgemental!

3. I can wear a tank top that makes me look completely trashy and shows every "curve" aka FAT ROLL when I want to get a little tan! (my husband already knows what I look like!

4.When I am doing yard work listening to my I pod I can sing along as loud as I want to and it is only my daughter telling me "mom that is not very pretty"

5. I don't have to worry about my child getting abducted if I leave her alone outside for 5 minutes!

6. There is just nothing like the smell of the freshly worked dirt when they are summer fallowing!

7. I really never have to wash my car cause it just gets extremely dirty again right away!

8. Unless they pave all of these roads I will never have to drive one of those ugly ass Toyota Prius's

9. I am able to teach my daughter what it is to work hard to earn what you get!

10. (this one is a true story from just the other evening) when I am mowing and I feel something crawling down my back and I flip out strip off all of my clothing (and I do mean all) and run screaming into the shower,leaving all of my clothing and shoes in the yard. It is just my husband and my daughter left there shaking their heads and thinking I am in fact crazy!


CONS

1. After living in Billings I got really used to just running to any store I wanted when I was out of something, I have a hard time planning meals in advance so I never have what I need when I need it. I always forget something!

2. Snakes- I don't care if they aren't poisonous they are still CREEPY and I am terrified!

3. DUST- I know everyone has dust but we will talk at the end of the summer during harvest and the combines and trucks are driving through my yard, that is an entirely different sort of dusting problem!!

4. The Dog refuses to wear a collar of any sort, be it flea or anything! And it takes a couple of us to coax him into any vehicle because he just knows we are gonna make him go back to that fenced in yard in Billings!

5. I almost refuse to drive home from town by myself after dark because I am terrified of the dark! I mean TERRIFIED! Always have been, and then the movie The Hills Have Eyes had a horrible effect on my mental stability!

6. Sitting on an The Navy Base in Everett Wa, waiting for my Brothers ship to come in. My daughter has to go to the bathroom so I go to take her to the porta potties and she loudly exclaims " I WANT TO POOP OUTSIDE"!!! NICE Not embarrassing at all.

7. My 3 year old daughter's best friend is a stick! She named.... stick! Because she really doesn't have anyone her age to play with! The dog and the girl constantly fight over "stick" the dog wants you to throw it and the girl gets all defensive yelling at the dog because it is her Best Friend and she loves him!

8. The ROADS- But I get to yell at my dad about that, so it makes it almost worth it!

Ok so just a quick post! I am in Everett WA i am having a wonderful time despite the half sick kid sleeping beside me! I get to bring my brother home for a couple of weeks, I got to see my good friend Sherina, and I may have had one to many cocktails in the Hotel Bar! TEEHEE! Anywho it is gorgeous country out here and I will hopefull post some pictures and Blog some more later! Have I mentioned I LOVE to travel!!

Top Ten rules of being a ranch wife!!

This is super funny and very true!!


by Gina Curry of Working Ranch magazine

1. Always load your horse last in the trailer so it is the first one to jump out. By the time he's got his horse unloaded you will have your cinch pulled and be mounted up ready to go - lessening the chance of him riding off without you with your horse trying to follow while you are still trying to get your foot in the stirrup.

2. Never - and I repeat - ever believe the phrase "We'll be right back," when he has asked you to help him do something out on the ranch. The echoing words, "this will only take a little while" have filtered through the willing ears of generations of ranch wives and still today should invoke sincere distrust in the woman who hears them.

3. Always know there is NO romantic intention when he pleadingly asks you to take a ride in the pckup with him around the ranch while he checks water tanks and looks at cattle. What that sweet request really means is he wants someone to open the gates.

4. He will always expect you to quickly be able to find one stray in a four-section brush-covered pasture, but he will never be able to find the mayonnaise jar in four-square feet of refrigerator.

5. Count every head of everything you see - cattle, especially, but sometimes horses, deer, quail or whatever moves. Count it in the gate, out the gate or on the horizon. The first time you don't count is when he will have expected that you did. That blank eyelash-batting look you give him when he asks "How many?" will not be acceptable.

6. Know that you will never be able to ride a horse or drive a pickup to suit him. Given the choice of jobs, choose throwing the feed off the back of the pickup. If he is on the back and you are driving, the opportunity for constant criticism of speed, ability and your eyesight will be utilized to the full extent. "How in the dickens could you NOT see that hole?"

7. Never let yourself be on foot in the alley when he is sorting cattle horseback. When he has shoved 20 head of running, bucking, kicking yearlings at you and then hollers "Hold 'em, hold 'em" at the top of his lungs, don't think that you really can do it without loss of life or limb. Contrary to what he will lead you to believe, walking back to the house is always an option that has been used quite successfully by ranch wives throughout time.

8. Don't expect him to correctly close the snap-on tops on the plastic refrigerator containers, but know he will expect you to always close every gate. His reasoning, the cows wll get out; the food will not.

9. Always praise him when he helps in the kitchen - the very same way he does when you help with the ranch work - or not.

10. Know that when you step out of the house you move from the "wife" department to "hired hand" status. Although the word "hired" indicates there will be a paycheck that you will never see, rest assured you will have job security. The price is just right. And most of the time you will be "the best help he has" even if it is because you are the ONLY help he has.

Mayonaise Jar & Two Beers

Mayonnaise Jar &Two Beers...
 
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
 
When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
  He then asked the students if the jar was full.
  They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
  He asked once more if the jar was full.
  The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
  The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
 
  The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.
 
 
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
 
  The same goes for life.
  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.  

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
 
 
Spend time with your children.
  Spend time with your parents.
  Visit with grandparents.
  T ake time to get medical checkups.
  Take your spouse out to dinner.
  Play another 18..
  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
  Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.
  Set your priorities.
 
  The rest is just sand.
 
  One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.
  The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.


 
LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS...
...IT'S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN
 

His High Blood Pressure is going to kill ME

So yesterday my wonderful husband hauled wheat to Pompeys Pillar (I know, we wait until the price goes completely to crap and then we sell it) Anyhow on the way back he stopped by walmart to pick up a few things. He stopped by the Blood Pressure chair thingy they have there and his Blood Pressure was a touch high, just a touch not yet to Hypertension or anything like that! But Harold being the big fat Hypocondriac he is, gets home hauls in like 5 or 6 5 gallon jugs of water, checks his blood pressure again and of course it is even higher! So this gets his very parpanoid mind a workin, and he starts "researching" High Blood Pressure online. (never a good idea for a hypocondriac)! He does stumble onto the Prilosec (for indegestion, which he takes every other day) site, and it says right there in Big letters that it may cause High Blood Pressure, Heart Palpatations and something else... oh yeah anal seepage LOL I am totally kidding on that last part.
So to the point of this story he calls me at work just convinced that the makers of Prilosec are on a mission to give him High B.P and he just knows he is gonna die. So he does what any rational person would do he decides to stop taking it! A OK. So now he checks his Blood Pressure at least once an hour and it is all over the place of course after working outside, after taking a nap, or wrestling with MaKenzie, IT IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT! All in all it is averaging on the High side of NORMAL. So what does he do he goes through every type of food we have and checks sodium levels on everything and decides we won't buy this stuff anymore.
So I get home from work this morning and he makes me check my Blood Pressure (I always run on the very low side of Normal) and i did again today only today it is quite a bit lower than my normal B.P. within reason of Normal. So I did tell him since mine is so low, if I gave up all the salt, the smoking, and all the fun stuff I might just Die cause then my B.P would drop drasticly. LOL. I CAN find the bright side of any situation!!!

Sweet Little Girl? Not in this house

Can any of you please please tell me, at what point exactly did my daughter go from sweet little baby girl, to such a mean little kid? Now don't get me wrong, my daughter is not Horrible by any sense of the word! She just went from very nice, quite shy and quiet. To telling old ladies to "SHUT UP YOUR SO ANNOYING" in the store. (the sad part was is it took everything I had not to laugh because this certain old Lady is not very.... oh how do I say this nicely, well she is a BITCH!!!) Well at least Carol Williams thought this was funny and I think it made her whole day!
I was all prepared for the terrible 2's and was surprised to find out they are not that bad, it is the horrible awful 3's nobody ever told me about! Thanks friends much appreciation for the heads up!!!
So yesterday she decided she was the mamma and she was feeding me some pretzels a few into it she pats me on the head and says "GOOD COW"! Let's just say I was kinda speechless! Oh Lord i could go on for hours about some of the "GREAT THINGS" my daughter does and says now but I would be here for Hours! Feel free to offer any advice, or stories from your children.