With 2013 just a memory now,
this is what our family has to look back on…
Places we went:
We spent some of spring break in
Colorado skiing Wolf Creek. We took our friend Galen Yoder with us and
ran into the Todd and Dana Smith on the slopes also. The weather and snow were perfect—great skiing,
as always. Wolf Creek has yet to
disappoint us.
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| Skiing Wolf Creek-- good times! |
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| Rayne at the lake over the 4th of July with the Gouchers |
Over the 4th of
July, we went to Steve and Lisa’s place in Texas
and spent a couple days on the lake,
which were our only lake days for the year.
I hope the drought is over and we can get enough moisture soon to fill
our lakes again.
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| Steer wrestling was our favorite event |
Just before school started, we
spent a week in Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas.
We set out for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo
and saw 3 rodeos, the parade, and a Luke Bryan concert (in the rain). The girls loved every minute of it and want
to go back for the whole week this year.
We met one of my oldest friends, Nancy, for lunch in Denver both coming
and going (once at Casa Bonita) and went out to Evergreen to spend an afternoon
with Rodney’s cousin John and his wife Dawn.
On the way home, we stayed a couple nights in Kansas with Lee, our
harvester for so many years. He’s like
family to us and since we sold the farm and changed our lives, we have missed
out on our harvest time with him and his crew.
Every time I think about this I just want to boohoo, so moving on… While there, the girls played music with Lee
and his neighbor, they learned to ride dirt bikes, they swam in a pond with a
huge slide built on one side of the shore, and of course, they shot
things. Big thanks for Kristi (Rodney’s
sister in Dodge City) for giving us a bed on the way; it’s nice to wake up with
4-5 hours behind you already when traveling.
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| Kate, (Lee's daughter) Rosalind and Regan coming down the slide at the pond |
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| All three girls learned to ride dirt bikes this summer. Rayne even had one on her Christmas list. |
What’s new with….
Rodney—He
spent more time riding motorcycles with my dad and my brother this year. He’s riding a Harley now- a black 2012 street
glider. And quite simply, he’s loving
it. I’m glad, too. Those guys work hard and need some time to
get away and do what they like to do.
Granted, riding isn’t my favorite thing; I can do it for a few hours at
a time when it’s warm… really warm, but he doesn’t need me to have a good time. Rodney still enjoys his work in the oilfield
and doesn’t miss the farming.
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| Wayne, Dad and Rodney getting ready for a long weekend ride |
Rosalind—She
now has braces like Regan. Just
yesterday the dentist removed her palate expanders (upper and lower) and she
can talk again. Actually, it must not
have been too terrible as she made Western Oklahoma honor choir when the
tryouts were just 3 days after getting her braces and expanders. Her musical talent is starting to shine. She’s still in piano lessons and is a little songbird. For Christmas, Rodney and I bought the girls
a keyboard workstation, an amplifier, microphones, and an interface (piece of
hardware that mixes and records). The possibilities
are endless with this equipment… definitely something they will use a lot and
won’t ever outgrow. Rosalind just turned
14 this week and is an 8th grader.
She’s playing basketball and earned a starting position on the junior
high team. We’re very proud of this
girl.
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| Regan and Rosalind |
Regan—Bless her heart, she turned 16 this summer and loves driving her blue pickup-truck everywhere and anywhere. Like all teenagers, she’s growing and maturing and learning life lessons—some are easy where others have been quite life-altering experiences. Going into the 11th grade, she set her mind to giving her best effort to her school work and to making the most of her two years left in high school. She took the ACT for the first time and scored well. Her musical ability is truly a gift from God, and at this point she’s thinking of pursuing some form of music after graduation. When she’s singing and playing her guitar, I am so humbled; it makes my heart happy. She is so much like me that it is scary. Actually, she’s a much better version of my young-self. Still, I wish I could protect her from herself until she gets her feet under her and the world by the tail.
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| Rayne Elise |
Rayne—Her
biggest change this year is being at school with the rest of us. She is 12 years old and in the 7th
grade; and she is loving it at CBA. Rayne’s
playing a little basketball, taking piano lessons, and making friends with
everyone at school… 11th graders, 12th graders… pretty
much everyone. She picked the flute this
year for band and loves it. She whistles
all the time… to the point of being annoying with it sometimes. She likes to sing, to laugh, to be involved
with what’s going on. She has a fashion
sense that is very different from most.
She has a lot of confidence and pretty much doesn’t have a bad day. She smiles all the time; she is the bright
spot in my day, and I don’t think I’m the only one who feels like this. She is definitely one of a kind.
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| Backsplash this fall brings our remodel full circle |
Roshelle—Me? I’m into my second year teaching high school
English at CBA, and just as I predicted, it is much easier. I’m still tweaking and re-evaluating my plans
and procedures and policies, but really, do we ever stop doing that? I hope not, for when I do get to that point,
I know I’ll be done. But really what’s
new with me? I do the same routine every
day, except most Saturdays… I get in the
car and drive to Corn. I have three
daughters, so I say the same things day after day… Do you have homework? Who
needs a shower? Whose stuff is in the washer? Get everything out of the back
seat (of the car).... etc. So, after
racking my brain to find something new, I came up with—backsplash. I know, right? But, you see, this IS a BIG DEAL because it
means that my house has come full circle.
The day after we took possession of our house in October of 2005, I tore
the canary yellow formica off the backsplash in the kitchen, and it has been
ugly, unfinished sheetrock, dating back to the early days of sheetrock (just
after plaster and lathe) with big tears in the paper and splotchy, hard glue
residue, and holes the size my fist would fit through. Yes, in other words, it’s been lovely to look
at for 8 long years. But this fall,
beautiful glass subway tile in the color rust with hand chipped edges was laid,
and I couldn’t be happier.
Where do we go from here?
Forward. Not much will change this year, but next year
(2015) will be a completely different story.
I like my family how it is right now… intact. Under my roof where I (actually, we) call the
shots. I’m not looking forward to having
a college student in ‘15. I think I’ll
just bask in the moment and savor each day I have left. God has been so faithful and I have no
fear.
