2014 in Review

Abraham Lincoln said, "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Well, I for one can say that 2014 has been one of those 'full life' years....

One of those years that you always have dreamed of but sneaks up on you unexpectedly, and even while it's happening, you're quite sure you must be dreaming.... It's been one of those years... To put it simply, it just hasn't been that simple. :D But then, at the same time, it has.

January found me serving the Belizean people for 2 weeks with a mission team from our church--how incredible that was!!! Only to come home to a spin of activity when I helped my childhood best friend of 15 years marry my cousin!! (What an awesome way to keep her for keepers!!) :)

February was the craziest month... Kinda funny when you find yourself talking to a guy (okay, not just any guy ;p) about how many kids you want (on Valentines), with no idea that he's been talking to your dad for weeks about you...and then to be told while skiing together the next week that he's interested in you, and searching that out together for a few days before saying goodbye for a month while you travel Europe with your family. With an unspoken 'Let's not communicate' rule between you for most of the trip.

Tasha took the balloon pictures on Valentines of us, and that black and white photo (thanks to Kellie?), is unfortunately the only photo I have of Alex and I on February 21st. :)

March was memorable--flying half-way around the world (not even sure if you're going to make your flights), and visiting 9 countries, seeing 10: a layover in Holland; visiting the Pinkerton valley in Scotland; walking the Putney Commons in England (my maternal grandmother's name); 12 hours in Paris, where you try to fit all the sight seeing in you possibly can, and then minutes from the time your train leaves, you snap a group picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, only to have the 2 taxis get separated, and no form of communication (or payment) with the other taxi to figure out where everyone is, and then on top of that, having to grab your baggage and run to a different train station--all with minutes left before you're stranded;
experiencing a sleeping car on the way to Germany, where you walk the ghastly remains of Dachau, and visit the quaint, gorgeous countryside of old-time Bavaria; driving through the edge of Austria; and seeing the palace lights of Liechtenstein; arriving in Switzerland and beholding the incredible mountain beauty and breathing the fresh air, and skiing the alps of Zermatt (what an opportunity of a lifetime!), receiving a 2nd degree burn to remember it by, not to mention calling your sweetheart long-distance and his enjoying trying to make out what you're saying because the connection is bad (all because he asked you too--weeks before);
traveling through the Italian countryside and exploring Venice, Italy and all the amazing canals, architecture, and gelato (mmm!!!); traveling to Monaco and hiking the 7+ miles of it's borders in 5 hours, all the time wishing that your sweetie was there with you...your Man-Monaco; day trips back to French villages where you explored and zip lined; all the while trying to remember the many different courtesies you learned for each country you visited, and using them correctly with the correct people; missing Alex so much that his sister gives it away and he emails you the sweetest poem ever, and you start communicating again.
And...serving on your first Jury Duty (a domestic battery case) all the way to the end!!
That was March. And it was beautiful.

Top Row: Little Pinkerton & Pinkerton Barony, Scotland; Windsor Castle, and Lincoln Statue
2nd Row: Girls in Paris; (2) Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany; Austria
3rd Row: Zermatt, Switzerland; Venecian Gelato and 2nd Degree Sunburns; Monacoan Inlet
4th Row: Overlooking Monaco, Monaco ;); Biking & Ziplining in France

Oh...one more photo.. (It's SO weird thinking I can post all of these photos now!!!) :D

This was Alex and my first ever official photo...priceless moments. :)

April was full of readjusted to home life, babysitting my siblings while my parents visited China, babysitting a few times overnight for friends, getting back into the work routine, figuring out how a relationship works and still trying to keep it quiet,  while slowing down your decisive heads so that your father can finish his heart-searching of your young man.

It was getting alpacas ready to market, and correcting and sewing up a friends's ewe's prolapsed uterus with the best helper in the world - Alex ;), and volunteering as a victim with the Coeur d'Alene Disaster Drill with your bestie as a young, hysterical 32-wk. pregnant woman with multiple injuries.
It was taking a road trip down to Texas with your family and friends for a homeschool conference (by way Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, and Zion National Park), where you led 6 girls, ages 12-15 in crafts and heart-searching on what it means to be a daughter of the King, where you don't have to believe the lies and fears Satan tries to feed you. It was wonderful catching up with dear friends there too!

Park time, Selah & I  as victims, Open Arms Fundraiser, my Southern girl pose in TX, Zion Natn'l Park, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon, & my COMMIT girls

May was greeted by alpacas being born, shearing day, birthdays to celebrate, relatives visiting, watching another friend get married, and starting to sell more alpacas from our herd of 50+, and of course lots of working at the Firm too. We broke ground for our very own PRS office (We've rented all these years), and are looking forward to moving in sometime in mid-2015. A bunch of us 'older people' went and watched The Lego Movie (hilarious, but not for kids), and what fun memories that made! Alex also painted his car, and so my brothers and I went over to help...and of course, when asked to dress like a minion, who can resist?? ;)

Gru and Minion (aka painting Alex's car), 33 days worth of shredding at work, Lego Movie with friends, our first cria for the year-Ballad, Esther's hair, Shearing, Breaking ground for PRS' New Office, & Wedding memories (with Tasha and Hank!)

June was full of company....really a blur: my grandma, aunt, and cousin stayed for a couple weeks at our home (and more cousins after that), leaving just before we incorporated 5 missionary kids for a jolly month's stay while their parents traveled. We had lots of fun outings, and Alex and I tried to 'unfriend eachother' at church for a {terrible} month, while he wrapped up what he needed to finish before becoming 'official'. Rachel and I traveled to western Washington for a friends' graduation, visiting the amazing Thorp's Fruit Stand and Antique Mall on the way.

Park Visits, First Hair cut given, visiting his parents and relatives, detailing his car (unknown to me, that was the day he asked my dad to court me officially =D), more park visits and Father's Day, our visit to the Pattersons in WA, Alex likes doing my hair, Murillo and cousins' visit, and adorable Hank and Tasha. :D

July was a turning point in my life for many reasons: I turned 21 on the 1st, and was thoroughly surprised by a huge surprise princess birthday party (thanks to Alex's distractions ;P). On July 11th, my dad and Alex planned an outing where Alex officially asked to court me at the Melting Pot, which officially began/continued a wild, amazing ride that we're still on. :D

We had a wonderful family reunion in late July (where almost everyone pitched in to work on securing my quilt, which I embroidered in my teens, so I can quilt it). It was so wonderful seeing family members again that I haven't seen in ages! :) Also, Alex, David, and I went to help video a wedding up north - it was gorgeous and made more wonderful memories. I love how easily Alex and I work together as a team.

Family Photos, Officially courting, My surprise birthday party, July 4th, stabilizing my quilt, wedding video team, our Family Reunion

August was started pretty quick with our annual Client Appreciation Banquet, where Samuel and Rebekah sang a patriotic song, and I played piano for a majority of the time as background music. I also made a record on how many alpacas I've ever sold, and by September, had downscaled our herd of 50+, down to 26. It was a slower month for me, with at one point me being the only one home with mom, as everyone else was either traveling, or as was Daniel's case- in college (as he moved to WSU to finish his last 2 years of pre-med).

Client Appreciation Banquet, the boys' Alert Cadet fishing trip in Hells' Canyon,  helping Daniel settle into WSU, and a photo David took of Eagle River, Alaska where he and Rachel were born.

September, I threw a bridal shower for Tasha (Alex's sister), with the help of some awesome people! It was a wonderful, rich time of fellowship and fun, followed a few weeks later by a girls' party her sisters-in-law-to-be threw. I also got to hang out with Tasha and prepare the BBQ with Alex later in the month while all the guys threw a surprise party for Hank and did some shooting... :) So much fun.
I kept really busy with work, helping out at the Henkoski's, and sewing Alex's and my matching outfits for Tasha's wedding too...plus, I took Esther to babysit some friend's kids over the weekend too (and was able to bring my sewing machine to get some work done too! :D)

October was wonderful, glorious, crazy, but amazing. Not only did I get to watch Tasha and Hank's marriage, but I got to assist Alex with his directing, MC'ing, and filming it too. It was so much fun spending time & getting to know most of their relatives too, and even got a couple of them to our place! I was also glad to be home to be a support during all of life's transitions too.
Alex and I also got to film the last 2 shows of Rockin B' Ranch's 20th Anniversary Dinner Shows. What an honor that was!! (And we got to spend our courtship anniversary together, for the first time up to date). Alex also got a new winter vehicle, and we got to celebrate much venison put into our freezer, thanks to my siblings! :)
I also started working 4 days a week at the end of the month, which actually was a crazy idea, but I survived (praise God!). :) Actually, work is to blame for my falling behind on all of life and blogging...sorry guys!

November, God reminded me again (though it took a while), that His grace is sufficient..actually, that was the theme of my Autumn and Winter. In some ways, it was a little more relaxed than the previous couple months, yet, in other ways, it was just as crazy--especially work-wise. Thanksgiving week was amazing, with Alex spending a few days and relatives coming here for the holidays. It was nice to have Daniel home for a bit too.
My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, and Alex and I - our 4th official courtship anniversary. Also, we had a father/daughter / mother/son weekend after Thanksgiving-awesome memories!

December didn't have enough snow, but even so, we got some good sledding in, and even had a skiff for Christmas. I took an extended time off from work over the holidays to recoup and get my brain on straight again (it's a pretty mentally taxing job, though incredible atmosphere!!!), and enjoyed spending more time with family and friends than I had in a good while. We enjoyed lots of festivities and company too. The Hogans came at the end of December, and of course, with a household of 23, there's bound to be fun!

Looking back over the year, it was a year of transition (even with my blog). At times it was really rough--mentally, emotionally, even physically (especially with my arm injury in the Spring)...however, God proved to be faithful, and above all else, was and is everything I need. I'm so not perfect, and I've made a lot of mistakes and had to make a lot of attitude adjustments, but through  all that, I learned so much--about me, about God, about what a blessing it is to have parents like mine, and how blessed I am to have Alex (though I've known how special he is for years--even before I really knew him).

I'm looking forward to 2015, and all that it will hold for me. I'm looking forward to posting hopefully a little more regularly, and getting back into some of the old habits I used to have with posting, and maybe adding some new ones too...

Above all, I have learned more this last year what Psalms 4, 5, & 7a mean:

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for....him." ;)

October Originals

Well, well, well!! Hello October (and almost November!!) Did you know that between the last of October and the first of November is a very special day?! THE FIRST OF OCTEMBER!!! But better beware!! If you're not very, very careful, in a blink of a flash, you will have missed it.
In fact, it is so hard NOT to miss, that most people I know have never been able to slip inside it's joys!
(For those of you who don't know...it's cousin is Sleep Day--the day between Saturday and Sunday). A lot of people miss that one too.

Onto other such things, this month has been a blur of yet more activity.. The week after Tasha and Hank's wedding, we got to spend some more time with all the relatives and especially these awesome cousins!!

We got to show them around our place and they got to meet their first alpaca!! :)

I love this photo Alex captured (thanks to Alex for most of the photos on this post.) :)

That next weekend, Alex and I had the joy of video graphing the last 2 shows of Rockin' B Ranch's 20th Celebratory Dinner Shows!! What an honor that was, and it brought back memories for both of us..

And, for the first time, we were able to actually spend our courtship anniversary together...that was a LOT of fun! I am so blessed...

Alex got his winter vehicle, and his ole' pal Matthew and I had a lot of fun testing it out with him on the logging trails... Isn't the color glorious?! I have to say, I love Land Rover Discoverys.... (1994 is the best!) ;)

Of course, we had to take opportunity of a handy photographer in this landscape! (Courtesy of this lot to Matthew)

On another note, I've been working on downsizing the ranch, and we have now gone from over 50 head of alpacas to a mere 24 (and sliding) in the last 5 months! Praise God!

Also, as of this week, it has been ten years since we moved onto our ranch.... Looking back, I am so thankful my parents decided to move--first from Anchorage, and then from the Coeur d'Alene suburbia...what memories we have to cherish and are still making!!

Like.......

Introducing: the newest meat bringer of the family:

Thanks to Esther, we now have fresh deer meat in the freezer!! :)

 We sure had fun watching Hank and Tasha open their wedding presents too!! They sure got some fun and useful keepers!

(They even got their height right! :D)

 On the way up there, a couple of my men decided to have some fun....

Mmm...oh, do I love this time of year with the scrumptious cups of tea and cider, good books, warms scarves and tights, gloves and ear muffs! And crocheting... You know?! As my family can attest you used to NEVER find me without cross stitch, embroidery, or crocheting in my hands, but after the Philippines and medical studies, life changed so much, that it really has only been in the last year or so that I've taken my handwork and sewing back out!! And, boy am I glad I have!!
With life so busy and full, I'm not quite as fast at getting projects whipped out, but they're coming slowly but surely! Maybe I'll post pictures of a few in a while... :)

One of Alex and my favorite verses has been I Thessalonians 4:11-12, and I think it is quite appropriate this post:

"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye many walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may lack of nothing."

FirePowerPens

My brothers - David and Samuel, have an amazing pen-making business - FIREPOWER PENS. They have their first gun show today, and just got their website up. The Coeur d'Alene Press wrote an article about it, and I wanted to share it with ya'll, and encourage you to look into this 100% North Idahoan affair.

They are truly one-in-a-kind, and worth every penny you spend on it.

One proud big sister....

Why We SHOOT Deer

DISCLAIMER: THIS DID NOT HAPPEN TO ME!! =)
Read, Laugh, and Learn:

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.  The first step in this adventure was getting a deer.  I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it, and transport it home.

So, I filled the cattle feeder, and then hid down at the end with my rope.  The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.  After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up - 3 of them.  I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out  from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope.

The deer just stood there and stared at me.  I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.  The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.  I took a step towards it, and it took a step away.  I put a little tension on the rope, and then received an education.

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED.  The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt.  A cow or a colt in that weight range, I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.  A deer -- no chance.  That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled.

There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it.  As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rop was not nearly as good an ideas as I had originally imagined.  The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up.  It took me a few minutes to realized this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head.  At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison.  I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slowly and painfully somewhere.  At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer.  At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture to guess that the feeling was mutual.

Despite the gash in my head and several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognized that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in.  I didn't want the deer to have to suffere a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...  kind of like a squeeze chute.  I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? 

They do!  I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ....... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.  Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go.  A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull.  They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly..  I tried screaming and shaking instead.  My method was ineffective.

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.  I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it.  While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprising sharp ... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal - like a horse - strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is to try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards an animal.  This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.

This was not a horse.  This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work.  In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy.  I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.  The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there isa good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.

Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down..

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave.  I suspect it does not recognized that the danger has passed.  What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

So, now I know why when people go deer hunting, they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!!

All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer.

Supposedly this story is true, though Snopes sites it as "undetermined" (they have the 'rest of the story' at the very end...which is quite worth the read). ;)
Either which way, I think the moral to this story, is:

Creativity is a good thing ... but sometimes, maybe efficiency is more worth the story!

As they say, 'learn from those who come before you!'

Hunting Update

The Hunt is over. In all, Papa and David brought home 6,000 lbs of meat to be shared with many as well as be our food stock for....quite a while. :)

Papa bagged: A Desert Tan Dahl Sheep and A Watusi (their story is shared in my last post.

 David bagged: A Jacob's Sheep 

David tracked this four horn Jacob's sheep to the top of a ridge and finally got a view at 85 yards. With only one shot with the 30.06 through the lungs at 85 yards, the sheep went down instantly. (At this time, they had already been tracking the water buffalo for 3 hours.)

.....And---the reason for their hunt---A Gigantic Water Buffalo

 After 6 hours of searching all over the mountains and forests of the the 2,200 acre ranch, trying to find these very fast, massive water buffalo, finally, to our hunters' shock (consisting of my dad, David, and a family friend), 15 of them came right towards them-just 30 yards away-packed tight together. After picking the bull of choice, they realized that with them being only 25 yards away and a number of the buffalo looking directly at them, the buffalo could easily stampede, and though they were in the forest, they weren't close enough to trees to be able to evade possible treachery.

What's more, getting a shot at the buffalo from more than 100 yards away was completely unrealistic because the trees were so close together. While waiting, the Buffalo herd studied the men and then quickly thundered off down the mountainside. After another and a half hour of hiking down and up the mountain trying to stay up with the herd, they found them on the other side of the mountain and had another opportunity at 70 yards, but the herd spotted them and began stampeding away from them (Praise God!), into the thickly forested valley, and NOT towards the men.

Half an hour later found the men watching a giant female water buffalo 100 yards a way with 4 little calves. The wind was towards the guys, and not smelling them, the female headed right toward the men.  David loaded his Elephant Rifle and Papa loaded his 30.06 as a backup, prepared to shoot near here if she got too close, in hopes that it would scare her and her calves away. As she kept heading straight for them, she saw them, and circled them at just 20 yards away. When she got right behind them, she studied them for a while and then kept going up the mountain.

Shortly after, 3 giants--over 2,000 lbs each--came from the same direction as the female-a tan, a black, and a gray water buffalo about 100 yards out. Papa viewed each one in his rifle scope and told David that each one looked like great meat, and so David chose the black one. David stood up and quickly setup his 2-legged, meanwhile the water buffalo continued walking past them at just 65 yards away, still not knowing the men were there. David confidently aimed his 375 Browning and waited until the tan buffalo sped up and was no longer in front of the black buffalo's side, and while the buffalo was walking, David fired a perfect shot right through both lungs. The 2,300 lb behemoth staggered for 10 seconds before dropping to the ground....

DAVID SLEW GOLIATH!!!!!

School, Hunting and Seattle!

A few new updates.....
School started the Tuesday following Labor Day (that would be yesterday ;D), and what a refreshment it was to realize that I'm not included in that anymore, besides helping Mama sometimes with the little ones!!!!

The last 2 afternoons, our ranch hands and I have been busy with "Alpaca Days", where we deworm, ultrasound, draw blood, give shots, and various other tasks to our alpacas. So far, we have only had 4 hours to work with, and so have completed 14 of the 49 alpacas that need to be done. It's so much fun to ultrasound the girls, and find little crias wiggling around inside of them!!! Shots are also always a thrill.... Oh, the fun of ranch life!! It's so nice to be back in it....now if my sinuses will only adapt to it quickly!!  :)

I had my Orthodontist appointment today (for the first time in 3 months) and realized that as of September 10th, I will have had my braces on for 1 year!!! I graduated to the largest wire on my bottom teeth, and will do the same on my upper next time. They took x-rays and moldings, to get an "exact estimate" (if that's possible) of when I'll be able to have my jaw surgery done. It's looking like I'll be ready sometime in January...so, I'm pretty excited!!

This Friday, I'm going to be traveling with my Oma (Papa's mother) to Seattle to visit my Uncle Jim's family (Papa's older brother) and pick up my Grampaw who will be coming home next week from traveling Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize). This will make 96 countries that he has visited and explored. I will come home sometime late next week...probably Friday.

As I wrote in my last post, Papa and David are in the Oregon Mountains hunting on a 2,200 acre ranch. I just got word that today, they bagged a Watusi with a 30.06, and Papa also got a Desert Tan Dahl Sheep with his 7mm...I guess it had a beautifully formed 1 1/2 curl to it's horns....it's going to be SO much fun getting that delicious meat to eat, as well as seeing the heads up on our wall!!!

In the next 2 days, David will be hunting his main goal: the water buffalo which is one of the most dangerous animals to hunt and is approximately 40% larger than the Watusi....

That's all for now folks!!!

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ~