New House is getting a top!

The crane is placing the trusses as Darrell, Ben, and David place them and secure them to the top plates.

Back door and kitchen window that look to the west and open to the patio.

More Mechanic at Work

I'll try once more to upload this clip of our little video camera. Those little eyes and ears don't miss a thing!

Mechanic at Work

(Well, I just proved that I still don't know what I'm doing in the blogworld. I posted the wrong movie clip, but it is still pretty cute. I'm still working on the cutest clip!)

A little one's powers of observation are absolutely amazing. I hope you enjoy this precious little boy in his make-believe world as much as we did!

And the two became one.......

Last night was a very special time as we celebrated Papa & Nina's 58th Anniversary. Theirs is the epitome of a Godly marriage. Each of them always striving to put each other first. Of course in the important things, they each put the other first, but the hilarious part is that whether it is fishing or dominoes, I always know that which ever one I am talking to is going to be complaining loudly that the other one is just beating the socks off of them. If I talk to Papa while they are in Mexico, "Oh, this woman is catching the biggest fish and the most. All I do is get the net to help her catch her big fish!" Of course, when I talk to Nina (even during the same call), "Oh, Papa is just catching all the fish, his are always bigger than mine. He is just always dragging one in!" If I call during their nightly after supper domino game, I can always count on that the other one is just beating their socks off! Now just so you don't get the wrong idea, this is just all in fun, but boy do they enjoy it!

The other day, Papa had quite a smirk on his face. Well, he had busted Nina in trying to surprise him with a gift from BassPro. Nina was so excited that she had found something that she could secretly order for Papa, only problem, the girl had to call and check on something before completing the order. Unfortunately, he answered the phone. Nope he didn't know anything about an order, but he figured the 'little woman' did and gave her the phone. He sure got a kick out of spoiling her surprise!

Now back to our party....... First of all I have to tell you what a wonderful blessing that my new sister-in-law is to, not only Ed, but our whole family. She wanted to have a party at their house for Papa & Nina. She & Ed grilled steak that was delicious. The hospitality was one of the best blessings of the evening. Ed has always loved to invite people over and share his home. Now he has someone who enjoys that as much as he does and makes sure that everything is just right. The house has the feel of home when you walk in the door. All the little things that a loving wife does to make a house a home have been done. It is such a pleasure to see Ed & Jeanette so happy and making a loving home for Jordan and Mikey, and soon for Keiffer,too.

Now back to our party again.......Papa & Nina, Virgil & me, Jason & Candice, Ed & Jeanette, Mikey & Jordan, Joe & Jean Briggs, and Ernie & Eunice & Kathy White all celebrated! It was extra special to have the White's with us. They came to AZ shortly after Papa & Nina came. They also came to farm and were among the early chili producers in Cochise county. Kathy has always been one of my special friends. We actually started first grade together in good ole McNeal and then graduated from Valley Union together. Getting together with friends from long ago is always so special! And to make it even more special, Ernie and Eunice are Candice's grandparents!

All in all, it was a very special celebration and evening! Thank you Ed & Jette for opening your home and making such a special time. Papa & Nina, Thank you for setting the example and showing your love to each other and to us for all these years.

Jerry and Dusty

We have a complete dog family again. Jerry came to us out of the clear blue and very unexpectedly, but what a blessing. Jerry is a Golden Pyrenees, that is half Pyrenees and half Golden Retreiver, truly the best of both breeds. He is our first Pyrenees that will listen and follow directions! As those of you who have experienced Pyrenees know, they are wonderful dogs but have very selective hearing and are going to do what they choose, no matter what! It is just a good thing that their protective qualities are in their nature, because obedience is just not their forte! I don't know much about Golden Retreivers except that they are extreme people pleasers. So little Jerry is protective and loves the sheep, yet also wants to please us and will actually listen and try to do what he is told. So far, he is a 'dream dog!' His only bad habits involve pulling out any and everything that is loose and dragging it up to the back door, including the scoop shovel. Other than that, which I know he will outgrow, he is just unbelievable. At almost 4 months and as big as he is, he can still go through the squares of the panels, but those days are just about over. He spends a lot of time with the sheep, just hanging out, just like he knows caring for them is his main job description. However, he already knows that his second priority is to take care of me. Not only does he bark if anything is out of the ordinary, he keeps Dusty from walking under my feet and tripping me, too. He is just a super sweet, big ole teddy bear of a dog that is always eager to please and take care of me and the sheep. We have this special little guy because our dear friends, Sandy and JC McDonald knew that I needed him. to learn more about their operation and his parents and siblings, check out their website. nvrsheep.com. Thank you JC and Sandy!!!

Now for our newest addition, Dusty. Like Jerry, she just kind of showed up with her owners and all of a sudden she was mine. She is half Australian Shepherd and half BlueHeeler. She is very hard to describe colorwise, but I guess you would say she is a quad-color. She has a lot of the blue merle markings that are light gray with dark spots, quite a lot of white background, a big solid black saddle and brown feet and legs and brown peanuts over her eyes. Now part of the reason, she is hard to describe is that she is so fast, most of the time I just see a blur. I don't have any good pictures yet, because like R, she is so fast that the camera can't focus fast enough!
We have tried a lot of names on her, but until last night none had stuck. Candice said she thought we should call her Texas Tornado-T for short. Then Dad after going out to pen her before we left, said that he thought she should be Dusty-short for Dust Devil. I do believe that is a super good name for her. She seems to like it also! She seems to be really sweet, too, but is a live wire! Just like Cocoa in her younger days, she can bonk you on the nose with a kiss faster than you can even know what was coming! She sure gets aggravated at Jerry for trying to keep her away from me. At one point, she had my jeans leg in her mouth playing tug-of-war, when here comes Jerry and he gets the back of her neck and pulls her off of me! One thing for sure, both Jerry and Dusty make me smile and laugh and help me to not be so sad over Cocoa. If I can ever teach her to stay in the back of the pickup, she will be a really great pickup dog. Thank you to Corky, Cindy, Angel, Quirt, Larimer and Stella for Dusty!!!

Jacie is so happy to have playmates, too, even tho sometimes she reminds them that she is the oldest and still boss!

I can't wait for Christmas to get here so that A & R get to meet Mimi's new dogs and grow to love them, too. I expect R to call Dusty, Cocoa and I am totally okay with that.

I fully expect and trust that both Jerry and Dusty live up to the legacy of all the special dogs that went on before them.

A Tribute to Cocoa (Don't read unless you have some tissues in hand)

Our lives are defined in many different ways. First of all our lives are defined by our parents, and more importantly, how they know, love and serve God. Then our lives are further defined by our siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. As we grow and choose our own friends, they further impact our lives. Unfortunately, about the time we get old enough to choose our own friends, we begin to encounter those people who tease us, make fun of us, bully us or in other ways make our lives miserable. The love of God, our family and friends definitely help us through the tough times, yet there is something about the love and adoration from a dog that comforts both kids and adults through the bumps of life, relieving stress in their own very special ways, always giving us love, acceptance and importance. Yes, our favorite dogs define who we are. The best ones probably impact our lives in a positive way as much or more than some people. (Now, I can hear some of you saying, "Whoa, wait a minute, Nawwww, they are just dogs, Aww, come on!")

As I think of some of those most memorable dogs in our lives, I have to begin with a beautiful collie that was my first puppy. I can remember him being so diligent to stay by my side and protect me. I can even remember him taking my little hand in his mouth to lead me around. Unfortunately, he was not so good with 18 month old Ed who still bears the scars of the imprint of his teeth on his cheek and under his jaw.
Oddly enough, the little dog that replaced my beloved collie, ended up giving his life, but saving Ed's life as Ed fell from the top of the silage pit onto the dog, a drop of probably 15 feet. (I was still just a little girl so that 15 feet could be more or less very easily:)
Another one of our favorite dogs was a little chihuahua cross that we got when I was 10. He was so small that he could fit in the palm of our hands. He was our first and only 'house dog.' He was my baby that I dressed in my doll clothes. He would sleep, all dressed up, in my little doll bed. He was truly my little 'Friend' at a time when this little country girl was not dealing very well with living in town.
Taffy, with the bullet in his shoulder, and Shasta the German Shepherd were the dogs during my later years of childhood, providing us with lots of love and loyalty. One time, I was walking amongst the cows as usual, when a new Mama cow decided she did not like us in the pen with her. Shasta took the brunt of her butting and chasing while I climbed the fence. Unfortunately, Shasta was about 2 weeks from having her puppies, most of which did not survive, because of her loyalty to me. After I left home and was on my own, Ace and then Heidi were the ones who kept Papa and Nina entertained. Even though Heidi was Papa and Nina's, she was very much mine, too, especially after we moved here, or maybe I should say that I was very much hers, too. It about broke my heart when I was the one that ran over her.

Now for some of the other dogs who have made us feel warm and fuzzy, made us laugh, looked adoringly into our eyes, and gave us true unconditional love. Y'all help me out, if I leave any out. Happy, our Irish Setter. Sparkles-oh, our Sparkles. JJ, who taught our little girls that doctors cannot always restore health. By the way, Sparkles and JJ knew exactly how to set up and brace like showlambs. Jada, our first, best and most loving and beautiful Pyrenees. Finally, Jethro, Jolene, and Josie who have loved and protected us and the sheep. Jacie is doing her best to step up to her full responsibility since she is now the only dog, but she says she just can't be a pick-up dog:)
Now, there are my 'grand-dogs'--Gracie, Maizy, Cody, Milo and Cash. Unfortunately, before I even finished writing this tribute to Cocoa, Cash had to leave us, so this is a tribute to him also. Cash came to Jason just after he lost his little dog, Babe, who was his faithful companion while living in Texas. He had just moved back to AZ to begin farming on his own, was absolutely broke, so he named this little Border Collie cross, 'Cash' so he would have 'a little cash!' For a few weeks, Jason was living at home until he found his own place. Needless, to say, Cash very quicky became my dog, too. I have been told many times that his bad manners were due to my spoiling!

Yes, they all are just dogs, but they each have impacted us in their own ways. Each one who is gone, gave a special meaning to our lives and helped shape us during their lives. I truly believe that children learn so many positive character attributes by loving and caring for animals, and by watching how we, as parents and adults, love and care for these animals.

Cocoa came into our lives about a year after we moved to Arizona when she was about a year old. Now her purpose was to work and exercise the sheep. One little problem. Jada, Jolene, and Jethro very quickly taught her to love the sheep, wash their faces, etc. and that chasing them was definitely not appropriate! Cocoa, quickly became a pet who adored us and the sheep. Especially after everyone was off to college, Cocoa became my shadow. In spite of the fact that she could jump straight into the air and bonk noses with us at the most unexpected times, she could not jump into the back of the pick-up, or at least so she led us to believe. If I was in a hurry and did not lift her into the back, she would just run along side of me where ever I went on the farm, usually barking and doing her special talking:) If I went on to town where she could not follow me, she would go to Nina's and tattle on me that I left. Yes, she was my dog, however, both Nina and Papa were known to spoil her on occasion, too, and she watched over and loved them almost as carefully as she did me. One day, not too long before she got sick, I got a call from Nina, "Helen, where are you? Are you okay?" Nina couldn't imagine what had happened, but Cocoa was at her door, just carrying on something awful, yipping and jumping and everything but saying something is wrong with Helen! Well, it turned out, I had gone on past the shop where Papa was helping someone get a piece of equipment. Somehow, Cocoa had missed my last turn and couldn't find me, and she thought Nina needed to know:) I am convinced that Nina thought if something were to happen to me that Cocoa would have told her! Riding in the pick up was definitely her most favorite thing to do. We always went 'round and 'round because she would hang her front feet over the edge just as far as she could and visciously bark at every vehicle that went around us or that we met. Fearing that she would fall out, I always tried to watch to see that she kept her feet inside, but she watched me in the rearview mirror carefully, to see when I stopped looking at her so she could slip them back over the edge. I would tap the back glass or tap the brakes, she would pull her feet back in and the game would start all over again. She could aggravate the daylights out of me because she would not do what I told her to do, or begging and whining to get me to lift her into the bed of the pick-up, or running right down the middle of the driveway to greet me. (I was quite certain that someone was going to run over her.) If I was stubborn and told her she just had to walk, she would take off running ahead of my just yipping and barking, and then really start carrying on if I got up enough speed to go around her.
She was loyal to a fault. Her loyalty was so strong even until the very end, as she stood so wobbly barking at some guests.
She was a mess! She made me laugh and smile as she 'talked' to me anytime I looked out the window or stepped onto the porch. Our patio door has many scratches on it where she so excitedly greeted me first thing in the morning, impatiently jumping on the door until I could get it open. (Dad was quite sure he could break her of that bad habit, but no!) Listening for my footsteps, she always knew exactly where I was in the house even though she was outside. She couldn't wait for me to come outside so she could go with me. It didn't matter where we were going or what we were doing, all that mattered to her was that she was with me. If you see me and think that I don't look quite right, you will know that it is because I am missing my shadow.

Grandkids! They are Grand!

I have so much that I think I'll write about until I sit down and start to compose......and then as A says, 'My mind just goes blank!' At the ripe old age of 5 years old, I don't think that she even knows the definition of a blank mind:)

A most wonderful and welcome desert phenomenon has just arrived----the first of the thunderstorms of our monsoon season. If you have not lived in the desert and experienced these first hand, you probably won't understand, so I'll try to describe a desert thunderstorm. We have had unseasonably hot weather for the last week. Considering that June is our hottest month of the year, that means it has been HOT, HOT, HOT!
This morning it was quite hazy and as the haze lifted, there were huge, white monsoon-type clouds peaking over the mountains from the south and the east! We worked outside as long as we could handle the heat, but then had to come inside and cool off.
Then, as J & C were delivering some oat hay for the sheep, all of a sudden--thunder, yep that sound that means there might be some rain, and then, most of the topsoil of the field south of us, was upon us. Our hair, ears, and teeth were filled with sand! But the temperature now is 76 cool, breezy degrees. Awwww----the monsoon!
Surprisingly, we even got a few drops of rain, that is an Arizona 10" rain. The raindrops were about 10 inches apart:)

Okay, it has been a long, quiet week. We so enjoyed our kids and grandkids last week! The pitter-patter of R's little barefeet running across the floor, A's eagerness and desire to learn to do whatever it is that we are doing, whether cooking, gardening, picking cherries, feeding sheep & calves, or taking pictures. She has become quite photographer! I will be posting some of her famous photos later.
It is such fun to observe young, enthusiastic life. R could turn most anything into a weedeater, vacuum, tractor, etc. Of course that enthusiasm had his Mimi hunting for him quite often. There is a reason that babies & toddlers are given to young people. At one point, I turned and took just a few steps to get the wheelbarrow, and he was gone. He had seen the tractor and the combine in the shed and he was headed to check them out. I don't know how two little short legs can move so fast! He is crazy about Jason, but I think that he thinks Jason is always with a tractor, because very few times did he say, Jason, without saying, tractor, at the same time:)

Some might say that we didn't do anything exciting, but sitting on the porch and playing with grandkids is just about as good as it gets!
We did go to the Desert Museum and even tho it was blazing hot, we managed to enjoy watching the animals from the tunnels and the shades and when we had to be out in the sun to get from place to place, we hurried as fast as we could. We drank lots of water and really enjoyed the cold, wet melon that Aunt Candi had cut up for us. Of course, we wore out hats, too!

We also got to enjoy the beauty of the Stronghold one last time before it closed for the summer:(
We got our workout chasing R and keeping him from falling down the mountain or into the fire, so we didn't even feel guilty about piggin' out on steak and potatoes fried in the dutch oven over the campfire. Nina's homemade lemon ice cream was out of this world! Cold and Creamy! UMMM! (I won't rub it in anymore!) Of course, we ended with some singing and Papa sharing his wisdom and the Scriptures with us. Can't get much better than that! We are so blessed!

Sunday was a little tough. We all knew that our precious time together was just about over, but we drug out the fun for just as long as we possibly could.

I hope that A & R, and Jen & Chris will have as many happy memories of their trip to Mimi and Pop's house as we do.

One last comment about that and then I'll go. Memories, Precious Memories, are what life is all about. The things we do, or we say, or we see, or we hear, only last a few short moments in time, but the beauty of that memory is ours forever.