Changes

I have alot of things in the attic that I get to by narrow fold down stairs. That was always "my" area. I keep anything and everything up there. It is difficult to get up there but I usually had someone to help. Since I don't anymore, I decided to make an area in the garage. I never thought about it before because the garage was John's. But I am learning to make changes that work for me. The more I try to keep things the same, the more they change. It is becoming painfully clear to me that I am on my own. Yes, I have friends and family but I no longer have my partner. I am trying to learn how to do things on my own. I know I can ask for help but I am trying to regain that feeling of confidence I used to have. I know it is in here somewhere. It begins with little things like the storage area in the garage.

The Heavens opened up....

And it rained and rained and rained!
In 24 hours we got 5 1/2 inches of rain. Maybe I should be a little more specific with my prayers. I asked for rain, and boy did I get it! It was coming down fast and hard with no time to soak in. As a result, we had a little flooding on the east side of the house. So Kelly and I were in the dark, cold, rain digging trenches. But it worked and the damage was minimal. Thankfully we have concrete floors rather than carpet so the clean up was a snap. John had put 2 french drains in the low area with plans for 1 more. Sometimes plans go undone. So that will be added to my "to do" list.


The pond is not completely full but very close! Yipppeeee




Yogi shared her warm bed with Curly kitty.

Living off a dirt road is now living off a muddy road

4 wheel drive is necessary and the norm.

Cute rain boots a must.

Thankful for cattle guards so no gates have to be opened

Makes it Final

In some ways, 5 months seems like forever and in others it seems like last week. But the reality is-time has gone by one day at a time. 24 hrs a day. 7days a week-normal time passing, except nothing is normal.
John and I had talked about beginning a family cemetery on our own property. Sooner than I expected, but it is here. I must say, I like it. It is passed by all who enter the ranch. The headstone has been placed in the cemetery which makes things seem so final. It is a beautiful headstone. It is so hard to choose a headstone for the man you love and the wording that would be there FOREVER. I wanted it to say something about John so that anyone who saw it would know a little about him. It was a hard task but a decision was finally made and now it is here. Believe me, I know it is not something we want to think about, but the truth is-we are all going to leave this earth someday. The people we love the most will be left with the task of making a lot of touch decisions if we don't take care of it first. I am making plans to have all of those decisions made so that my children will not have to. Ok Ok....that is it. That is it for the doom and gloom talk. I just wanted to pass that valuable insight along. Oh, I also designed the granite oval that now sits on the fireplace. The place that made the headstone also made it.





Sooooo, what do you think of the headstone? Just by what is one it, what would you think about this man, John A. Murphy?

Friends, Family and Fun

I am back at the ranch after a weekend in the big city to celebrate my oldest grandson's 5th birthday and visit friends. The new year is full of promise of the unknown. This is not a new concept but has never before held such a serious impact on me. Every day I am faced with new challenges. I know this is true for all of us. How do we handle them? Rise to them or hide from them? I choose to rise to them. With the help of family and friends and our heavenly Father, I gain strength each day. It is strange how my heart can be full yet empty at the same time, however times like I shared this weekend give me happiness and strength. I am so thankful. So as I look toward this new year, I have a few things that I want to accomplish. A very important challenge (I share with a sweet friend) is the desire to become healthier and eat better. So that is what I want to share first.


Let me start by telling you about my son, Brad. He was always a big boy and as a young man grew to 6ft 6in tall and heavy. He made changes in his own life about 2yrs ago and lost over 100 pounds. He changed his eating habits-exercises-and continues to educates himself on nutrition. With that in mind, I go to him often for advice. He is proof that children can teach the parent. This parent is about to set out on new adventure. I want/correction/will make a change to my eating habits and exercise.


The first thing I am working on is reading ingredients and becoming familiar with what I am putting in my body. If the ingredients contain words that I can't pronounce then chances are I should not eat them. The fewer ingredients the better. Nutrition and exercise are in my future. I want to share the things I am learning and in coming posts I will do just that.

But for now, I am sharing the joy I had this weekend.

2012

The year 2012! I thought we would be riding around in hover crafts like the Jetsons by now.

Some things have changed and some have remained the same. It seems that January is the time to think forward and make plans of bettering ourselves. The holidays are behind us. The decorations all put away. Time to move full force into the new year. For me that means learning to run a house and ranch on my own while working full time. It also means strengthening my relationship with God. I hope and pray that 2012 will be a good year.

Good health and happiness to all.