Hunting ...and all.

I forgot to mention all of the hunting stuff in my last post so I figure I'd better not leave that part out. ;)

Soooo... as you know all the guys went out opening day at 6:30 in the morning. After that first day some of them went out and sat in a field or some wood but nobody saw any deer. Later we heard that our neighbor saw numerous deer at different times but I guess either the guys just weren't patient enough or they just weren't out there at the right times. Apparently not very many people shot or even saw deer. We think that because of all the rain we had this fall and all the corn that is still standing it the problem. :/

Anyway... finally this last weekend (Saturday) four of my brothers and a two neighbors with their sons came out and did a drive. My brother Jed shot a turdy point... errr.. I mean a doe. =) Whooohoo! There are some pictures but I think I'll spare you... ;) They're a bit gruesome. lol

Then Sunday I got in from milking the cows that morning and the guys were about to go for a drive so I grabbed a blaze orange hat and sweatshirt and went with them. I figured it was a beautiful day and the exercise would be good at least. We scared out 3 deer ...unfortunately the one guy's safety wasn't working right so his gun wouldn't shoot and Jed took a shot at them but he was too far away.
Then Channing scared up a deer which was to fast for him to get a shot at but luckily he warned Daniel who luckily killed it with the first shot. =) It turned out to be a buck without horns. lol

I think in a week or two the guys will be hunting during the T-zone. Who knows what will happen then. ;)

Anyway.... I'm looking forward to the jerky.

What Will Tomorrow Hold?

Thanksgiving is over... unfortunately. What a great time I had with all of my family. There was so much food and my Uncle brought some of his home brewed Stout beer (the best he's ever made everyone agreed) and cider. We had probably 15 pies (no joke). We made two "real" cherry pies which were amazing. We used the cherries that my parents had brought home from their vacation to Door County a couple months ago. My brother-in-law brought his brother along (their family had gone away to visit other relatives and he wasn't able to go along because of work) which was a nice surprise. My grandpa (my Dad's dad) was here for a holiday for the first time ever in my life. Of course him being a cook and all the ham he brought and green bean casserole was to die for. +D

Anyway... I'm quite sure I gained a couple extra pounds. lol And by the time the new year comes I'll be quite "stocked up" enough for the winter!! ;)

So.... now everyone is getting stoked for the next exciting holiday. Just a few weeks and it will be Christmas Day. Ridiculous, huh? Who decided to have all these holidays in a row? And the time really knows how to fly too! So little time, and yet so much to do and see.

Needless to say, I have this terrible urge to wake up in the morning to a foot of snow on the ground! ...To go sledding down a hill with some friends or get all dressed up at 10 p.m. with my brothers and sisters and go cross-country skiing by the light of the moon.
Then of course there are those beautiful relaxing nights, that I quite often look forward to all day long, when I can cuddle up in a blanket, drink hot cocoa or eggnog, and sit with the Christmas tree's lights twinkling happily at you.
It's that whole yuletide thing, you know? =)
Being jolly and all the presents to prepare.

I am convinced that these folks who are always waiting for the excitement to begin really miss out. See... I believe that every moment is our own, to make it into whatever we decide it shall be. So why wait for someone else to do all the work or to make ups happy? That attitude could make anyone happy. We should always be full of joy and living for the moment... because we do not know what tomorrow may hold.

Thanksgiving, Hunting & Tuesday

In six days we'll all be celebrating Thanksgiving. The most neglected, most taken for granted and most important holiday of the year. For as much as we all love putting Christ back in the cradle every season... there's nothing better than a special time like this coming Thursday to gather around with all your beloved family and sincerely thank the Lord for all of the innumerable blessings he's bestowed on us.

Tomorrow the "firearm" hunting season starts. All my brothers (except Paddy because he's still to little) and a friend, will be waking up really early, before light, and trudging out into the woods in hopes of shooting a thirty point buck. =) Hopefully between all five of them someone will come home with something because there's nothing like deeply marinated venison jerky. Mmmmmm...
That irresistible, spicy flavor.... that seriously will keep you going back for more and more if you're not careful.
Sooooo.... in the spirit of the hunting season everyone has to listen to these hilarious hunting songs. ;)





This coming Tuesday is another day I'm looking forward too, as well. I guess you could call it a "girls day out" but really it will be a mission for the perfect brides maid's dress. Sandy (the bride-to-be) and Stacy, Sarah, Kay Lee and I are all going to E.C. together. I guess we're just going to spend quality time together... shop, go out to eat, and decide on a brides maid's dress. I have a suspicion that Sandy already has the dresses picked out.... I guess we'll see.
NONETHELESS... in short... I'M VERY EXCITED!!

November has been a good month. =)

Got Milk? lol

Distance from God

I have come to some serious conclusions and realizations in the past few weeks. They're a bit of a break through or simply running into the same wall over and over and finally I've gotten sick of hitting my head.

This last Saturday my parents held our monthly church "get-together" at our house and I was blessed to have my dear friend Courtney stay over the weekend. It was very refreshing to be edified by her company (we stayed up way too late one night just reading the Bible and discussing the like). In the past 12 months my life has been so busy and has taken so many turns and twists that my spiritual growth has slowly dwindled down 'til in all reality it was next to nothing. Needless to say I've had to deal with some pretty serious mountains that I wasn't expecting and it wasn't that I turned away from God but I didn't trust in his guidance to help me through my struggles as much as I should and could have.
Therefore recently as I noticed my lack of spiritual growth I decided I'd had enough and I wasn't going to continue in this pattern (which was only making my struggles worse).
Sooooo... when Courtney spent the weekend with me it was like God just happened to bring her to me to encourage me challenge me to "fight the good fight" (1 Timothy 6:12).

Also some really good friends that I hadn't seen in a long time came to the party. It was four guys who've been attending a Bible College in South Dakota and they happened to be in the area and came. Anyways there was a large group of us young adults playing Apples to Apples when they arrived and of course they joined in the game. But throughout the course of the game there were some jokes now and then about one of the cards that could be view with a double perspective. Sure they were "harmless" enough, and none of us meant anything by it. But when these guys didn't join in and actually maintained and defended a pure attitude it really got my attention.
That's when I realized how immature and unholy my thoughts have been as well as the attitude of some of my good friends that I hang out with on a regular basis. It's because we have allowed each other as a group to slowly progress into towards a more vulgar way of thinking which comes out, naturally, in our speech.

So I have made a decision to stop allowing myself to compromise my relationship with God for a few cheap laughs and momentarily gratifying and cheap, worldly amusements. I know it will be a fight back to a closer walk with God but it will be well worth the struggle.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Work....

I've been busy lately. It seems like there is never a moment of rest. My Mom and Dad were gone in St. Louis, Missouri and I was in charge of running the household from Sept. 30th to Nov. 4th (and in case you didn't know they were planning getting home on the 2nd). Then this last weekend I house sat for some neighbors... which conflicted with my normal milking job.
Soooo... I had to trade with my brother Daniel and I ended up milking Saturday night, both milkings on Monday and then this morning as well since my sister Emily had to work at another job last minute. So needless to say my whole week has been a bit out of order.
Needless to say there is something planned for each day for the rest of the week. I won't know what to do with myself once things settle down (if they ever do).

Midnight-Thrity

Yes, it is in fact, the middle of the night, and oddly enough, the beginning of tomorrow. It's rather interesting how much a day can be just like a year with all it's seasons. Then of course a year is, simply, a smaller picture of life itself... with all it's ups and downs.
The clock ticks... and ticks... and minutes pass.
But here I am sitting at my computer in the dead of night contemplating the great mysteries in life.
Enigma is another word for it.
There is such puzzlement over this race of life. Puzzlement in that we keep trying to reinvent the wheel, and yet somehow though the plans are all drawn up in front of us we have no choice but to start again.
Why is it that we can't learn from the mistakes of others and therefore move ahead with a better understanding and footing to do things right? Even with the understanding of 'Cause and Effect' and that there are always consequences for the things that we do, we do it anyway. What is so insecure in us that we must determine to be 'brave' and willful? Somehow I am rather confused by it all. Take one man who is strong and confident and it turns out that he has such major faults as to be baffled over. Then there are those who's faults and insecurities are blatantly obvious that it would make a body cringe.
So what is the lesser of two evils? Which is the better and which is the worst?
It's like a dizzying circle, all the reason we might give to explain ourselves. The truth is, neither is the better. That is because they both serve a purpose under God. We find our answer in the Lord. "...for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) therefore, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)
But then we come back to learning from our mistakes.... and God has the perfect path laid out for us. And still yet, we must try it on our own... and blaze a new path... because somehow it will give us confidence? This world has a stunning way of completely leading us to believe that we really want what it has to offer... when all it has to offer is death.
I have a sneaking suspicion that when I am old and wise I will still not understand completely. It is all vanity anyway, right?