Cowboy Church

 These men are amazing. Daphne, Victoria and I walked in to Wasatch Cowboy Church last November for Daphne's model horse show and walked out completely on fire. We have started Cache Cowboy Church in Cache Valley with the help of these men. So of course, Kirk is here because he pretty much went along with my crazy idea. Though this one is completely Spirit led. Marty is the next one over. I ran in to him just by chance in Smithfield looking for a place to meet. It ends up that he owns the whole block including the old theater built in the late 1800's. We have been meeting there since January. He is an amazing person, born again Christian as well. We grew up in the same area in California. Crazy! Then we have Pastor Larry. He is the neatest man. So Spirit filled and loves Jesus above all. He wears an awesome cowboy hat too. And boy can he just walk up to anyone and talk. He has a gift. And then Jerry is on the far right. This guy plays the guitar like no one else. He is an amazing musician and so kind hearted. 

Victoria was at 4H Winter Retreat and felt really out of place. She texted me that she felt really uncomfortable. I told these men and they all huddled around and we prayed for Victoria on the spot. It was powerful. She went on to have an incredible time and didn't feel the least bit out of place after that. It's because these guys prayed for her asking for God's hand to be on her. It was amazing. 

Cowboy Church has changed my life. I have never felt so accepted in a church before. These are our kind of people. And what better way to grow in loving God than to do it beside people you love.

4H Prom

Oooooh, Victoria went to prom with Toooommmmmy. They make such a cute couple. They both are non-comforming homeschoolers. He wore jeans and she wore a denim jacket and sparkly dress with boots. Her style. They had a pretty good time. Of course she couldn't have met someone in our own town. She had to meet someone from 4H Camp that lives 4 hours away. 
 

MerkTavitch

MerkTavitch. This skinny guy is SO Kaleb's dog. He is so funny and quirky, just like his owner. And boy can he cover ground when he runs. He fluffs every rug to curl up on. He gives hugs and cuddles. He goes absolutely crazy when Kaleb comes home from work. He plays some awesome frisbee and catch. He plays with Brody (pony) along the fence line. We invested in Bark Box for heavy chewers. All of the chew toys are worth every cent. They even last longer than Kongs. He has a way of smiling. He holds his front lips up so you can see his teeth. He is quite the character. 

Accupuncture

So, what do you do when you are starting an Ulcerative Colitis Flare-up? You get accupuncture. It worked instantly. She may never have to go on the biological med injections, ever!  Thank you Dr. Lindsey for changing her mode of treatment. He also prescribed her with chinese medicine to help her hair grow back and heal her gut. She lost almost all of her hair last summer. 

 

Mud

 This is why I feel like my house is never clean. Not because we have dogs, or cats, but because we have muddy boots in the laundry room. Hmmmm....I wonder who belongs to these boots?

Snowshoeing Tony's Grove

The girls and I went snowshoeing in Tony's Grove in February.

Even with snowshoes, we sunk about a foot with each step so Daphne and I saved our energy and made Victoria go first. The bad part was that we had to follow her wherever she went even if it was zigzagged or in deeper areas over pockets around tall bushes.

The past couple years after her head injury, Victoria will just drop when she is tired. Her heart rate goes sky high with dysautonomia and she just gives up and drops. Here she got tired and just flopped into the snow and then just rested where she fell.

I refused to follow her there. She sunk up to her waist. I was afraid that if I fell that far I wouldn't be able to crawl out of where I was. There really wasn't anything to grab on to where she was so I tromped over to where there were a row of trees. I sunk in and got my snowshoe stuck under a branch. But I was able to pull myself out because I had a tree to hang on to. It was kind of funny. 

What are the odds of finding a heart hanging in a tree.

 

Random Events

We were posting Cache Cowboy Church flyers up on USU campus and came across these twig structures. They are so sturdy. I wonder what it would be like to live in something like this.

Black Light Agility is a highlight to our 4H year. The kids add glow in the dark tape to all the equipment and we point about 10 black lights towards all the dog agility equipment. One of the families brought glow in the dark face paint. I hadn't realized that Victoria had put some on Jasper. It actually looked pretty neat. The kids really enjoy this event. Whatever makes them happy.

It's kind of hard to see this but Sammy is curled up on clean clothes and in Victoria's backpackers chair. Notice his bed is in the background....empty. I was looking for him, knowing that he was in the room because I did see him go into her room. I had to turn on the light. I still couldn't see him at first and then I see these old, tired eyes watching me. Sammy is 14 1/2 years old.

This is a monumental occasion. Victoria asked for me to drive her to the store to buy white nail polish. She is wearing nail polish! We were all shocked. Which is why she is giving me "the face".

Cousin Rich has started a new job. He started his adult life as a plumber, then he did Handyman work for quite a while and now after having shoulder surgery he has started driving Trucks. It was awesome that he was in Logan and we got to see him on the spur of the moment. I love him. We are always so happy to see him.

It always amazes me what you find sticking into the ceiling of the ice rink. Notice the two hockey pucks stuck to the ceiling. I think they are on screw ends that are poking through the roof. I've never seen them stuck to the ceiling. I usually see them sitting up on the rafters but never stuck to the ceiling.

Can you see them?

The other morning I pulled open the freezer and found this sitting in there. I questioned the people in the kitchen. Jared has a knack for melting butter beyond recognition.

 

Kaleb

To know Kaleb is to know that there is never a dull moment. 

This hoodie says it all.

Over the years I have empowered our kids to stand up for themselves and speak their mind.

I had no idea that Covid would bring out a part of people that would create opportunities for my kids to speak their mind.

Kaleb invested in a new sleeping bag and of course he had to test it out. Camping in the snow is one of his favorite things to do. He takes Scouts every year to do snow camping. He twists Jared's arm to go along as well. He does it but doesn't like it like Kaleb does.

Kaleb reminds me of an elf. Every winter, both the boys grow their hair long for the purpose of staying warm. So they always look scruffy every winter. This guy turned 22 this year. I think the monsters on his German Chocolate Chip cake represent him and the spunk that he brings our lives very well.