Family Time

     I first must apologize for not writing for the last several months. I made the horrible mistake of not keeping my routine and allowed life to take over. I have had some health issues, thankfully learning that it's nothing serious but having tests and visiting several doctors really added to my already busy days. Hopefully now that I have a few weeks off from my day job I can work on my writing routine again! 

     Christmas is only a few days away and I've yet to purchase one gift for our family. It's become a tradition of mine since I began working at a college bookstore, to wait until I'm on Christmas break to begin my shopping. Those first two weeks of December I work 10 - 11 hour days and I definitely don't want to shop when I leave the store and my weekends are spent catching up on chores at home or on the farm.
     Saturday, I went into town for feed and groceries and never thought about gifts. This year all I can think about is spending the holiday with my family and how precious our time is together. This weekend my husband and future son-in-law brought our daughter home from grad school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. We moved her down there in a whirlwind weekend in August of 2011, leaving home on a Saturday afternoon following a livestock show, arriving in Lubbock at 4:00 pm Sunday. We cleaned the apartment, unloaded all of her belongings from our two SUV's, then set out to find a good steak.  That was easy in Texas! We then made a Walmart run to stock the apartment and I think were asleep by 10:00 and back on the road by 5:30 am the next morning and home that evening. I did say whirlwind weekend!!
     They made another turn around trip this weekend. They left here at midnight Thursday night and arrived home around 4:00 am Sunday morning. This trip was full of fun and laughter and after hearing some of their stories I've laughed so hard I've cried at times over their 'moments'.  Ashley thought she had only one load of belongings left, however apparently they realized that everything was not going back into her SUV. I believe a few items were sacrificed for a seat for someone to sit in the back!!
     Following the tragedy of Newtown, CT, I'm more thankful than ever for all the moments we've shared as a family, including those on the farm working together setting tobacco or working cattle, and all the many road trips we've had going to livestock shows and sales. It's a very special time for our family, Ashley and Adam's engagement at Thanksgiving, Blake's first year as an FFA member and being together at Christmas. I'll get the shopping done and cook many meals over the next few weeks, while we enjoy our time together and have conversations concerning synchronizing and breeding cattle, which bulls to use, and goats kidding. Definitely not topics heard in the majority of American homes, I'm thankful for my farming family and the families that understand these conversations. God Bless everyone in Newtown, CT and God Bless America.