Trials, Transitions, and Trust

I think after the last few weeks of truly living out these three words, they have become three of my least favorite.  My silence has partly been due to computer problems again, but mostly because life has been heavy for us lately.  I told myself I would never use this blog as a sob session and I don't plan to start now.  Instead I'd rather be an inspiration and an encouragement to others.  I don't know that I have anything inspiring to share from the last several months, but I hope this may be encouraging to some.

It's difficult to sit here and encourage others to trust God, to say that He will carry you through whatever storm you may be experiencing...difficult because I wasn't such a great example of this myself many times throughout the last few months.  It's easy to trust when everything seems right, but it's a different story when life seems to be changing from minute to minute.  In the past two weeks, my life has literally changed from minute to minute at times and thank heaven for our family and friends who have graciously supported us and religiously prayed for us.  I'm still not sure what lesson God has wanted me to learn throughout all of this, but I do know that in His time He will show me and I will some day understand why.

The transition part of my life seems to be never-ending lately and just as we transitioned to moving to Montana six months ago, we find ourselves transitioning and moving once again.  Jamie and I both felt that the Lord was leading us somewhere else.  We weren't sure where, but we looked into several opportunities and finally, through many tears and disappointments, He has lead us to another ranch.  Things have slowly...and I do mean very slowly...fallen into place for us.  My prayer is that we are finally starting to see some real light at the end of this tunnel.  It's been difficult to be so far away from my family and friends through all of this.  I never imagined how a simple hug can change your day and boy, do I ever miss the hugs!  But I do know that through the difficult times God has always been there and as much as I've wanted to be angry at God and stomp my feet, I still knew in my heart that my God was standing there beside, ever faithful.

I came across this song a few years ago when Jamie and I first learned of our infertility and it has brought my great comfort through tough times.  I'm reminded of the love God has for me and how sometimes He allows difficult times to happen to improve on the person that I am.  I hope and pray that I will walk away from this experience as a better person, not a bitter person.  It may take some time, but maybe someday my experiences will help others in ways I never dreamed possible.

To the friends and family who have loved, supported, encouraged, prayed, and even cried with us from miles away, our deepest thanks goes out to you!  It may not have felt like much, but to us it meant the world.  May the Lord richly bless you for acts of friendship, kindness and love. 

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/He_Will_Carry_Me/2415555

I Challenge You....

...to a snowball fight!!!!!!!  Any takers?

So the first week of October brought with it our first snowstorm of the season.  Unfortunately we didn't get as much snow as they did in town on Sunday night, but trust me when I say, everything was white!  I also did not enjoy that snow as I had to experience first hand how horrible the gravel roads can be in the winter.  I was exhausted till I got home but I'm proud to say that the truck never slide off the road at any point...and I personally think that's worth bragging about!

Today, though, I am thoroughly enjoying the snow because I know that I don't have anywhere to be until Sunday night.  So this morning when I looked out the window, this is what I saw.  Sorry, the pictures are a little dark...it's really quite bright here right now.  The snow was coming down so heavy that I couldn't see up the road.  That didn't last for very long, but it made for some very pretty scenery.  Anyone who is in the mood for a snowball fight and willing to take Jamie on, I'll brave the roads to come pick you up the airport...I'd love some good company about now.

Cow Work

Harvest has ended for this year but there is still plenty of work here on the ranch.  The ranch hands recently rounded up each group of cows and brought them into the corral.  The cows and calves are seperated once again and the cows are given shots and this year they also received a special ear tag that sends information electronically.  Papa Smurf will be disappointed that I don't know all the specks on the ear tags, but I do know it has GPS capability.  They can tell exactly which cow they need to cut out if there is a problem...I think.  The picture above I think are the calves they seperated from the cows.  They do not like to be seperated.  The picture below are cows that are waiting to be herded down the shoot.

The cows travel down through this shoot...

(Sometimes they need a little persuasion.)

 

(Hmmm, wasn't expecting to see this at the bottom of the shoot.)

...where they are then stopped at the hydraulic shoot and recieve their shots and new ear tag.

The electronic ear tags look like this and are about the size of a quarter.  (OK, give me credit for something here, Papa Smurf)

The cow is then released from the shoot....

...and returns to mingling with her other cow friends.

And sometimes the cows don't cooperate the way they are supposed to.  I'm not sure where they put the ear tag on this one cause there certainly wasn't an ear on that end!

This is a picture of the operation from the back of the shoot.  The walkway allows them to keep the cows moving and also spray the cows with mineral....I think.  (I can't remember all the details Papa Smurf...next time I'll take notes...just for you.)

Well, there you have it, Papa Smurf.  This post is especially for you.  It doesn't come without much agrivation and hard work, but nevertheless, it's dedicated to you.  Hope you enjoy it.  Love ya, PS!