Ruby Slippers and Georgia Peaches

Sno-well, Oh Well

The snow. We literally went from one nice fall afternoon to winter in about twelve hours. We’ve had nothing but cold and snow since then. We had two or three weeks there were the temps were above freezing and things were melting. But then we were hit with 6.5 inches over Christmas then more negative temps.

(bald eagle at the top of the tree)

(buck is chasing doe at the left of the picture as Ruby and Matt play over on the right)

(Photo: Julie Peterson)

(photo: Katy-Jane Angwin)

(photo: Katy-Jane Angwin)

(photo: Katy-Jane Angwin)

(photo: Katy-Jane Angwin)

Snow is everywhere. We’ve had a few breaks in the snow storms, but recently the air hasn’t gotten above freezing to melt the snow very much.

There’s a good bit of hay being fed, cows being moved around so they can get to food, ice broken for water, etc.

(photo: Ruby Wooster)

(photo: Katy-Jane Angwin)

It’s January. It’s cold. I know. It takes us a good 20 minutes to get dressed to go outside. All the layers. Layers upon layers. Then the snow bibs, snow boots, hats and mittens. Then mama has to get bundled up. Clara isn’t that great on the snow and ice so she usually goes on my back in the Tula carrier. My walking stick from Georgia helps keep my balance.

Ruby loves it. Clara tolerates it until her hands get cold, and then she’s done. Mama and Papa are ready for it to melt.

Sno-well.

Leading up to Christmas Eve and day we had went to a night parade, gotten a tree, played with a nativity set each night, read Christ centered children books and did a 24 day advent countdown with scriptures and a craft every evening.

By December 24^th, we were ready for Jesus’ birthday!

On Christmas Eve night, after Matt got home from work and supper was eaten, we did our final Truth in the Tinsel lesson and the girls got to open up one gift.

(It was previously wrapped. Papa B started before I could get the camera ready)

(This is what happens when you don’t have the right shutter speed set…blur.)

Every year, the girls get new pajamas, a little movie, some popcorn and hot chocolate as a present to open on Christmas Eve night.

It has become a nice little tradition that Ruby enjoys and Clara will learn to enjoy. Ruby got her first official night gown this year. She was excited because it didn’t have pants. J

(The only time that this little one even sits to watch anything on a screen…when she has food in front of her.)

After everything was finished for the evening we decided we would camp out in the living room, under the tree. Everyone was pretty excited. Of course, Clara and Matt fell asleep first.

(Sleeping face down. How does that work?)

Ruby was so excited to sleep on the air mattresses in the living room. She would doze off, then wake up and sit straight up. The air mattress that we were sharing kept deflating. (Thanks to many World Changer trips, lock-ins, and youth functions, they have seen better days).

She knew that if ours went completely flat we would have to abort the mission and return to our actual beds.

We made it about three hours.

She was a little sad, but quickly settled into her own bed. Clara didn’t even know we moved her. She was out!

The next morning was full of ripping paper, giggles and excitement.

Thank you to everyone that took time, effort and money to send us and the girl’s gifts. We KNOW it’s not an easy task and we greatly appreciate all the thought and work it takes to get them to us. They loved every single one of the gifts, even the boxes!

Most importantly we are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our Savior’s birth as a human baby. He was and is the gift to the world. We show His love by giving gifts to each other on His celebrated birthday. Thank you for showing love to us and helping us to remember Him and why He came to the world.

Don’t worry…he survived the explosion.

*The next three or four posts will be about Christmas 2014 and the activities we did leading up to the big day.*

We do a good bit during the month of December to talk about Jesus’ birthday. One of those activities is getting a tree.

In years past, matt and I only had an artificial tree. We even had a few Christmas’ in there that we didn’t even put up a tree. It worked for us. Really. The whole thing isn’t about a tree. But I digress.

Last year we went up the mountain and got a tree and planned on doing it again for 2014.

(Turtle Dome. Do you see it?)

We didn’t make it all the way up to the top this year. There was just too much snow. Along the way, some friends came up behind us to get their tree too. They were great help when Matt had to drag the tree and load it, so we stuck around and help drag and load the one they picked out.

Up nine miles, putting chains on, picking a tree, cutting it, loading it, making our way down, taking chains off and back at the house took at total of four hours.

We had a total of three trees. One was for advent, the big tree and a small fake tree for the girls to play with.

We had the little play tree last year to help Ruby not touch or pull on the big one and it was great. This year, we helped teach Clara about not pulling on the big tree. The little tree had unbreakable ornaments on it. They could take them off, play with them, and put them back on. They did really well and left the big tree alone.

Our tree lasted a really long time and with very, very minimal needle drops. Everyone has greatly enjoyed all three trees and the meaningful ornaments on them. We can’t wait to head up the mountain for next year!

*The next three or four posts will be about Christmas 2014 and the activities we did leading up to the big day.*

Some people celebrate or “countdown” in many ways. In the past few years we’ve been doing The Names of Jesus. This year we’ve went a little different route with Truth in the Tinsel.

http://truthinthetinsel.com

I had heard or read about Truth in the Tinsel for the past two years and quite honestly didn’t want to put the effort and time into doing the whole thing. Crafts. There are a lot of crafts. 24 days of ’em.

Don’t get me wrong. I like a good craft project. A creative outlet of sewing, cooking, making something, working out, painting, photography,… something. For myself.

But with kids? Not so much. Glitter? Rarely use it.

Ruby used to do a good bit of painting while I did something else. She was painting about twice a week. But introduce kid #2 and that went downhill fast. Clara is much, much, much more messy and inquisitive about painting, paints, sensory activities than Ruby ever was. Saying she gets it everywhere is an understatement. Painting with finger paints, messy paints has quickly been replaced with water coloring. Not so messy.

Now, we have to schedule it in, take clothes off of kids, have wet wipes handy, wash hands immediately and take deep, long, long, deep breaths. Or wait until Papa B comes home and we have extra hands to help. That’s right. We don’t do that much of it anymore. Maybe twice a month?

So, you have to understand my apprehension of doing 24 days of crafts with the little people here.

But we did, lived, learned and actually really, really enjoyed it.

(Ruby’s Bethlehem…no glitter)

(Clara’s Zechariah…no glitter)

(Light of the World…no glitter)

(Jesus name plate…no glitter)

(Table top advent tree where crafts were displayed, played with, and reviewed. Glitter…but controlled glitter glue.)

After eating supper every evening, Matt would read a passage from the bible. We would talk about it, explain the passage and do a corresponding craft. Once we had a few days under our belt, we would review the days prior by looking at a growing tower on the wall of pictures and the crafts. After doing the craft we would cut a link off a chain and tape up that day’s reminder.

(Yes, Ruby is yawning and Clara is a mess. Typical)

There were only two days where I looked at the craft and said “NOPE”. I either didn’t have time that day to get the supplies together or I just didn’t like the craft. We did a color sheet and a sticker book (that I found on clearance, super clearance earlier in the year) on those days instead.

The girls also got to spend about 20 minutes each night playing with Fisher Price’s Little People Nativity set.

Clara really enjoyed the set, little book read before playing with it and the music it made.

I really liked Truth in the Tinsel. Ruby really started understanding the time right before Jesus was born, the nativity and the time after His birth. It helped keep the true focus of what Christmas is about, why we give gifts and the reason for the season. The total time in the evenings took about 20 minutes. It was a good time to sit, talk, focus, and to learn. We will definitely be doing it again next year.

*The next three or four posts will be about Christmas 2014 and the activities we did leading up to the big day.*

It’s on my “Wyoming To Do List”.

A Wyoming Night parade.

All the towns are brightly lit and have pretty bulbs and lights on display.

The day after Thanksgiving we went down to Worland and went to the night parade.

It started at 6pm and was over by 6:45pm. The high was around 20 degrees, with wind and snow on the ground. We are not in Georgia anymore, peaches.

There were about 6 floats and walking groups total.

We had a really good time in our snow suits, catching candy and seeing all the lights.

Wyoming Christmas night parade…check!

Goodness, there are a lot of December birthdays. Pretty much the whole month of December we talk about someone’s birthday. Ruby’s is first, then Matt’s, cousins, aunts, then our sponsored kid-Dina, more family birthdays, Jesus’ birthday, grandparents, a new cousin, more family, and an aunt.

Our oldest kid is four years old. FOUR. She’s not so little anymore. At times, her legs seem to stretch to the sky. She still reminds us that she’s little…but “not so little”. Sometimes she’ll talk about going back to being a baby and we have to talk about that it’s not possible to do that.

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes we would like to have her as a baby again, but quite honestly we are enjoying each stage.

There’s a lot less of this:

And more of this:

She can also dress herself, go to the potty, not have very many accidents or hardly any at all, feed herself, separate from adults easily, drink out of a cup, kick a moving ball, throw a football, hit a ball on a tee, run, hop, skip, and jump off of objects without fear . She also knows all her letters, letter sounds, counts to 20, knows numerals 1-20, all her shapes and colors. She’s also working on sounding out simple CVC words (i.e. dog, cat, sat, sit, box, etc.), getting a good grasp on money and base 10 counting. That list isn’t a big deal to many people, but for us we’ve been working on it for a steady four years.

Nowadays she is almost a full time horse and her calf ears have evolved into horse ears. She would wear them 24/7 if we let her, but we have to give her hair a break every two days. She even has a halter that Matt made her a few weeks ago out of lacing strings. “Mama, is it alright I be a horse right now?”

She likes the snow and dislikes the heat of summer.

She does not get cold easily but gets hot and sweaty on a 70 degree day.

Her favorite toys are the ones that help her act like a horse, act out horse activities, ranch toys, her scooter that lives at the shop and a good stuffed animal.

She’s been working hard on learning about the money system. She has the option of earning money when she goes above and beyond her regular chores. After dividing the money out to spending, saving and tithes/giving jars, her dime for folding clothes doesn’t go too far. Some weeks she rakes in the dough. Other weeks, well, I don’t think any money gets exchanged. Her first purchase was at the Dollar Tree. A new crown, some accessories and a horse figurine was the total price of $3.20. Her next big purchase of a $5 horse has been her favorite. It takes her a long time to get to those five dollars and it almost burns a hole in her pocket. She’s learning though.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are still the norm, but she loves Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry more and more.

She itches to go out for a good walk at least three times a week and requests to go to work with Papa B at least twice a week, if not more. (Not surprisingly that our walks usually end up at the shop, corrals, or in the fields with Papa B)

She’s a good worker while with Papa B. She stays close, isn’t a too much of a risk taker, is easily entertained by watching bugs, finding wrenches, playing in the dirt, jumping in puddles, riding in a tractor for hours or just watching and learning.

Her legs are getting so long and she reminds us frequently throughout the day that she is getting bigger and bigger. “But not so big, Mama”.

She has a sweet spirit and is always inquisitive about what is going on around her; the sounds, the smell, the emotions and the workings of things. “Mama, talk about….” Is the usual phrase I hear from the backseat. She asks questions about anything from blood vessels, how trees go dormant in the winter to how a septic tank system works.

God. She has been very interested in creation, how God works, how he wants people to “be”, the choices people make and how He made things. She is also starting to develop a sweet, discerning spirit. “Is he nice, Mama?”

We love this little girl and pray for her future and the big things to come for her.

Four.

“I’m little but not so little, Mama.”

Yes, Ruby, you are little but not so little.

With the colder temperatures, the deer have been sticking closer to the house, erm…the creek. Our house is right next to the creek, so they are everywhere.

Usually how the sun is reflecting off of the window, the deer can’t see inside but they can hear us. Ruby had a great shapes and color lesson with this one doe.

I know when they are at windows because Clara will call out “eeerrrss!” She’s gotten better at saying it and the word sounds more like “deeeerrr”.

They are also eating anything they can get. Mostly they are eating the dead, fallen leaves.

They still get up on the porch, that’s 4ft off the ground, to scavenge for leaves to eat. Now that the horses in the pasture, in the corrals near the house, are getting fed hay, they are sticking close to them. At times they still scare me at night when I can hear them moving around on the porch, but then we figure out where each other are and all is well.

We had a very mild fall. It was great. People were starting to worry about not getting any snow or moisture. I wasn’t. We had a great time because of the lack of moisture.

Then one day, Peaches the horse got out. Ruby was in heaven and is now Peaches every time she plays horse.

Clara could have cared less. Peaches is a really sweet horse and went right back in the pasture when Matt opened her gate.

We enjoyed the fall, but the next day…

That was it. Fall was done. The pretty yellow on the trees quickly turned brown and our tempatures went into the negatives. Welcome to winter.

Halloween 2014 started with a little pumpkin carving. Clara LOVED carving. Ruby and I just sit and watch.

This year Ruby wanted to be a horse unicorn. We found the outfit on eBay and she LOVED it. Clara was a bear. It was appropriate.

We originally planned to walk around the little town of Basin with our Library group, stroller-less. When Clara saw all the people, she crawled back up into the stroller and didn’t get back out. The group walked the whole town and visited each business. They got A LOT of candy. We went to the courthouse, post office, gas station, little businesses along the main street, the education board office, the telephone company, the small IGA grocery store, the pharmacy, the newspaper office and finally back to the library. It was a good little walk and we were glad that we used the stroller.

That evening, we went to two other ranch worker’s houses. They had gotten candy specifically for the girls and weren’t going to be home until later. We got them dressed back up and went out again. The girls didn’t mind at all.

(My favorite house in Hyattville. The wife is one of the last original Hyatts)

(His house from the inside. He saves change all year long and gives out candy bags and a handful of change into kid’s bags. Ruby was excited to get it to put in her piggy/saving bank. Kids LOVE going to their house.)

Last stop for the day.

The girls did really well in their costumes and liked going “trick or treating”, even if it was to only two houses.

It’s what the ranch works toward all year long. It’s why there are long hours in the hay field, long hours irrigating, time spent calving, herd health checks, water hauling and lots of meetings. Shipping. It is how each ranch makes their money. The babies are born from February to May, branded, sent up the mountain, brought down, weaned, vaccinated and then shipped off. It means money.

Our shipping days came and went with little trouble. The first of the steers shipped out to Nebraska. The next set of heifers went out to Riverton, Wyoming. Everyone is chipper, happy and works well together at shipping. Then there’s food. Lots of food.

The first day of shipping the menu:

Breakfast: homemade sweet rolls Lunch: Chili, cornbread, broccoli salad, dump cake, cookies

Day two of shipping: Breakfast: biscuits and gravy Lunch: Braised Beef Brisket, hash brown casserole, country lima beans, homemade yeast rolls, chocolate pound cake, sweet potato bars.

I also had snacks, waters and cokes at the scale house for the workers.

After the calves shipped, dealings done, it was time to pregnancy check the cows.

The vet runs his hand in, feels around, and shouts YEP or NO, then brushes a bleach solution on the back of the mama to show if she’s preg or not and she gets some shots. One cow takes less than a minute. The vet checks, someone vaccinates someone records numbers and others are pushing up the rest. With over 400 to do each day, they were working like a machine. Some of the work is done on foot and some on horseback.

I LOVE shipping days. It’s loud, fun, and PEOPLE. It’s nice and refreshing to have people on the ranch that aren’t usually around. The drivers/buyers from Nebraska are always fun. They stay in one of the guest houses on the ranch and treat us to a meal the night before. There’s always fun, food and laughter.