Smoked Duck

Hello to everyone tonight! How are you? I am well thank you.

Today was a wonderful Lord's Day! Happy Easter to all my friends out there who celebrate Easter!

We got up this morning and my sister-in-law, Tonya, invited everyone over to her house for breakfast this morning. She had an egg casserole with vegetables, baked oatmeal, strawberry cheesecake muffins, hash browns, zucchini bread and sliced fresh fruit salad! What a feast!

We went to church assembly and heard a wonderful message. We came home right after church. My little niece, Aleah (10 months old) needed to come home for her nap. Nathan and I were in charge of smoking a duck today. I made a brine with apple cider, bay leaves, salt and pepper. I brined the duck for 24 hours. So as soon as we got home this afternoon, we stuck the duck in the smoker. I made a plum glaze to smear all over it when it was almost done. We stuck the duck in the oven to crisp the skin at the end. It was really good! I sautéed some asparagus with coconut oil, soy sauce and pepper. We also had salad and some of Anita's yummy bread. We served a sour cream pound cake with sliced strawberries and whipped cream for dessert with a pot of fresh hot coffee! What a way to end a beautiful day.

Thank you Lord for sending your son to die for us and to open a way for us to be with you some day in heaven. You made the ultimate sacrifice by giving your son as an atonement for our sins. Thank you Jesus for loving me so, even when I don't deserve it. You are a wonderful, merciful savior.

Well, everyone...seems like I'm always the LAST one to turn in for the night. I need to sleep tonight. Rest well and may you be blessed tomorrow. God bless!

Whew! I Made It!

Good evening! How are you all tonight? I am doing fine.

I have had a couple of busy, crazy days, but I made it! I did a bunch of baking getting ready for the reception after my students' recital. I baked one loaf of banana bread, two loaves of zucchini bread, two batches of brownies and one batch of oatmeal kitchen sink cookies.

We got to the church building for the recital a few minutes after 5pm. I started practicing some music with several of the students and helped them warm-up their voices. I was really surprised at how many people showed up. What was really cool was that my Sensei and two of his children came!

The recital started off with my student, Lydia Willis, playing one of her original compositions. She entered into a competition and won first place in the state of New Mexico. They have since sent her composition on to be judged at national level! She did a fantastic job!

Next was my nephew, Avery Cogburn. He played three songs and did very well. So proud of him!

Haven Cogburn performed on his guitar and he did a fabulous job! Aaron has started teaching classical guitar and Haven is his first student. He looked so cute with his little guitar!

My niece, Savanah Cogburn, went next. I couldn't have been any prouder of her! She got up there and sang her little heart out! What a cutie! After the concert, one of my older students went to Savanah and told her that she thought she did wonderful and guess what Savanah said, "I was so nervous, my breath ran away!!!!!" She really stole everyone's heart.

The Jungling girls and Levi did fabulous. They all worked so very hard and it paid off.

The Willis girls and Mrs. Willis all performed together. They did beautifully. Mrs. Willis was as nervous as ever, but she made it through! She sounded beautiful and she didn't even pass out! Maybe next time, she might relax enough to enjoy herself! She has made great progress and I am so proud of her!

My son, Aaron, did a fabulous job. He sang "The Least I Could Do." Then he did a duet with Lydia Willis. They sang "The Prayer." It was absolutely stunning.

Lydia Willis and her friend, Kelsey Hoppman, wrote a song together called "The Triumph of the Cross." It was a very moving song. This was the first time they ever performed it. They wrote it specifically for this concert!

I played a song on the piano called "Rustle of Spring." Then I sang a solo while I played on the piano and Aaron played his guitar. I sang "Via Dolarosa."

All of my voice students formed a choir for the last recital and decided to keep it going. They call themselves, For His Glory. The women sang a song called "Trust In The Lord." It has some pretty harmonies and they did very well. Then the entire group sang "Christ The Lord Is Risen Today!" and "Lamb of God!" I think "Lamb of God" was my favorite! The harmonies were unbelievable! They did a super job! Before the night was over, they were already planning for the next recital!

People stayed afterwards and visited for quite a while. Most of them thanked me for my hard work, but I felt pretty funny. Teaching these great group of kids was not hard work for me. I truly enjoy working with them. Well, I don't really see it as work. I have WAY too much fun! THEY do all the hard work!!! All of them have a desire to serve God and honor Him with their lives. I honestly believe God was glorified through their actions.

I was so tired. I guess I still am! Nathan and Aaron left this morning to sell chickens at the poultry swap meet. I actually went back to bed after they left and I fed Jordan and Gabe some breakfast burritos! I got up and did some cooking and prepping for tomorrow's supper. We are brining a duck and we plan on smoking it tomorrow. I hope it turns out alright.

My back has been kind of out of sorts. Please pray it gets straightened out on itself soon. Nathan and I are trying to de-clutter around the house. Today I started in my piano room. I cleaned out the front closet and organized everything and started a pile of things to get rid of. I did hang a bunch of pictures around the house. The next room I plan on tackling is either the living room or the school room.

I am sitting in bed typing this. Nathan is already asleep. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Natalie and little Aleah flew in this afternoon! We are very excited to see them. We had dinner tonight here at our house. Anita (my mother-in-law) marinated some steaks. We grilled them. We cooked some pork ribs in the crockpot, then grilled them right before they were done. Anita and I had a joint effort making bread. It's called Wild Rice Pecan Cranberry Sourdough Bread! Yummy! Tonya fixed salad and made some brownies for dessert. Natalie cooked a bunch of vegetables. It was a very good supper! I felt kid of bad not doing a whole lot to contribute, but they wanted me to take it easy since I worked so hard getting ready for the recital!

Well, good night my dear friends. I hope you have a good night's rest. May you have a blessed Easter Day!

A Major Milestone...

Good evening to everyone out there! How are you tonight? I am doing well. I feel like I'm a spring that is getting wound up and almost pressed to its capacity before exploding!

I have had several extremely busy, crazy appointment-packed days, so I do apologize for not blogging for several days.

I have to tell you about yesterday though! I had a choir practice scheduled here at my house to work with all my voice students for this semester. They call themselves...For His Glory. They are an absolutely fantastic group of young Christian kids (roughly ages 11-19). These kids have truly blessed my life. They have blessed and influenced the lives of the people who have heard them perform before. God is working something special through these kids. I am just fortunate enough to be able to work with them.

Anyways, we had practice and it's the first time I was able to get everyone all together for the first time to practice our choir pieces as a whole. I don't know how they do it, but they do! Most groups must practice together for hours to get the parts to fit together right and to get a proper blend. Like I said, I truly believe God is working through them! They did so well! I am so excited for them! We had so much fun, we totally lost track of time. Hey, time flies when you're having a total blast!!! The kids have picked an Easter theme this semester. It was coincidental, but we ended up scheduling the recital on Good Friday, two days before Easter! I don't think I could've timed it any better. Some of the songs these kids are singing are just amazing. Some of them are performing well beyond their years. I hope anyone in the Albuquerque area comes to watch them. You will be blessed by them. If you listen to their music and their message, you will not leave the same person you were when you came in. I bet you can't tell I'm sooo excited!!!

Well, about that first milestone...

My oldest son, Aaron, is 15 years old. He has a Instructional Driver's Permit. He has been learning to drive with mostly me, but sometimes Nathan. Anyways, today I really realized that my "baby" has grown up without me! :( He bought his first vehicle today! He worked all last summer and has saved for the last two or three years doing odd jobs and working for the Schwebachs. He bought it all with his own hard-earned money. He got a 1995 Honda Passport. It is a dark blue SUV. It is a 4x4 and has a v-6 engine. Auto transmission. Aaron was wanting to get a vehicle that ran, but one that needed a little work so he could learn a little auto mechanics and/or body work. He has some work cut out for him. Someone backed into the front if this vehicle and needs a little work done to it and Aaron can't wait to get started.

I am tired and need to get some rest. I will take some pictures of Aaron with his "baby" and post it tomorrow! May you have a great night's sleep. God bless! Until tomorrow...

They're Here!

Good evening. How are you? I am doing well I suppose!

We did hear from Joe today. He did arrive home safely. Unfortunately, his wound is worse today. I think he's going to try and call his doctor tomorrow. So, a big thank you to all of you who prayed for his safe return home to his family and also for continuing to keep him and his family in your prayers during this trying time for them. You have no idea how much it means to me to know that I have friends who are willing to lift another up in prayer to share a burden. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Duane and Anita (my dear, sweet in-laws!) just drove in this evening. It was about 10:45 when they finally pulled in! Praise The Lord for their safe trip! I am so glad they are here. I go through "withdrawals" if I don't get my "Anita-fix" on a somewhat regular basis!!!

We are revamping the fodder system. We are going to have to get serious and kick it into high production gear. We will run out of alfalfa before this coming season's first cutting. We are going to have to provide our own protein source with the fodder. Chad and Nathan met tonight and talked out some ideas on how to fine-tune this fodder process.

Just to keep everyone updated, our tilapia farm went bust. We tried, but for some reason, they were not healthy and thriving. We ended up selling them to a guy and he picked them all up yesterday. Well, I'm kind of bummed that didn't work out. Oh well, I'm sure we'll probably end up trying something else totally new!

Everyone is in bed asleep except for me. I guess I need to join the ranks! Good night and rest well. God bless!

Prayers For Joe

Good evening. How are you all? It's pretty late, so I don't plan on writing a long blog tonight.

I am doing very well. I am asking for all my readers to please pray for our dear friend Joe that I wrote about last night. He woke up this morning and we think he might be having a little bit of infection setting in on his injury.

He decided to cut his trip short since he began to start not feeling well yesterday and seemed to just feel worse this morning. He got packed up and headed back to home, Sierra Vista, Arizona. Please pray for his safe return to his wife and kids and also for healing for him.

We truly enjoyed his fellowship while he was here. God blessed us greatly by putting him in our lives. Joe has been a huge part of Nathan's life and has become dear to me and also our boys. Joe was there at some of the most important parts of Nathan's and my life. Joe is a blessing to all who know him and also to all who don't know him. He is a living testimony of his faith. The world needs more people like him.

Thank you for praying for him and his family. It means a great deal to me. May God's peace surround you as you sleep tonight. Until tomorrow...

Joe's Here!

Good evening to everyone out there! How are this evening? I am doing fine!

Nathan has a wonderful friend, Joe Casey, who has been one of his best friends since sixth grade! They have kept in touch over the years. Joe is married and they have two beautiful kids. I knew Joe and his wife Laura before they even got married. They live in Arizona with both Nathan's and my parents.

Joe surprised us yesterday and asked if he could stay with us for a day or two, so guess what? He drove in safely this evening. He had a most interesting story of some of his recent life events that totally shocked us. About six weeks ago, Joe was cleaning his hand gun while he was watching tv. He was a little distracted and didn't realize that he had put a fully loaded magazine clip into his gun. He went to take it apart and it went off and he ended up shooting himself in the leg! It went clean through. It missed his femoral artery by 1 mm and completely missed his bone, praise The Lord! He was in the hospital for a while, but has recovered well with a whopper of a story to boot! I am so grateful that it appeared that God had his guardian angels working overtime with Joe!

Anyways, the boys and I had karate tonight. We got home and Joe showed up shortly after we arrived home. I made tacos for dinner. We sat around in the living room and shared some crazy stories of our shared past and some new ones too! We were laughing pretty hard and having a great time. Boy, it sure is good to see Joe again. I wished Laura and the kids could've come. Well, there's always next time...

Everyone was completely exhausted and wouldn't you guess...guess who can't go to sleep??? I am so tired it's not even funny, but my mind just won't quit!

Well, God bless you all. Until tomorrow...

Taxes and Getting Ready

Good morning to everyone out there. How are you? It is still early and dark where I am today.

I decided to wake up a little earlier than usual today since Nathan started doing our taxes last night. This is not a fun time for me. I know I am probably one of the worst organized people God ever created! Well, I had most all of our tax documents all in one place. Thought I had it all together this year...or so I thought! Nathan has decided to do it a little differently and needs quite a few extra documents, so guess what that means? That I must now reap the benefits of not being organized and try to locate all those documents today. I resign myself that one of these years I will just be more organized. I am many things, but organized...I am not!

I am also preparing to get ready for my students' music recital coming up. We have it scheduled for Friday, March 29. I am desperately trying to be ready in this short amount of time. Even my students are feeling the pressure. I usually don't hold my recital this early, but this is how it worked out. We are having an Easter theme and some of this music is just incredible! All of the kids decided last recital to all get together and sing a couple of songs as a collective choir and they were fabulous! I am so proud of them. Well, they wanted to have the choir perform some songs again and I haven't been able to get them all together for a practice yet! I've been working with each of them individually and they are doing great. I can't wait to get them all together! In any case, amid my busy day, I have scheduled a choir rehearsal this morning at 9:30. I hope everyone can come!

Well, I need to get Nathan's breakfast and lunch ready so he can head off to work. Much blessing to you all today! Until tomorrow...

Catching Up Day

Good evening everyone. How are you tonight? I am winding down for the evening!

We slept in this morning! Yippee!!! I got up, made a wonderful pot of coffee and share a cup with Nathan. I made fried eggs and fruity baked oatmeal for breakfast.

We got up from the table and promptly started on chores. I started trying to make a dent in my kitchen! I still had dishes piled up! Bless Aaron's heart...he did a bunch of dishes right before I got home. I started dishes yesterday, but didn't seem to scratch the surface! Nathan butchered three of our male ducks and dressed them for the freezer. Aaron and Jordan set up a pen for the baby goat kids and our orphan lamb in the three sided shelter. They got them all moved over, then Aaron and I moved about 35 of his chickens into the former goat pen. Aaron has been trying to sell his Americanas. He's listed them on Craigslist. He had two people come and they bought a total of 47 chickens!

I had to run some errands, so Aaron drove me. He is still logging in his driving hours to go towards his driver's ed class. We tried to stop by two different feed stores to pick up some chicken feed. Both of them were already closed for the day. We ended up going to Walmart. We did our shopping and went home.

While we were gone, Nathan took Jordan and picked up another load of flagstone. It took them quite a bit longer than they expected, but they made it home with no mishaps!

I was expecting Nathan's cousin, Darin, and his son, Dakota so I was cleaning house all afternoon. I started making a special dinner. Aaron made a special request for spaghetti. I made it with our hamburger, onions, garlic, chopped carrots, chopped mushrooms, bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeño pepper, salt, pepper, and Prego spaghetti sauce. It was so wonderful. I thought it was probably the best sauce I ever made. Nathan fixed our French bread tonight. He sliced it in half horizontally, spread one side with butter, sprinkled it with my French bread seasoning, and put cheese on the other side, closed it up and I baked it until the cheese melted. It was also very yummy! While I was busy making supper, Nathan just informed me that Darin wasn't coming after all! Oh well...

We enjoyed a nice dinner together. We are all pretty tired. We did get a lot accomplished today though. Nathan is really suffering with his allergies tonight. There was something where they went to get flagstone that just made him feel miserable...poor guy! :(

Well, I am glad to be home. Thank you all for your prayers. They are much appreciated. I will pray for a good night's sleep for you all. God bless. Until tomorrow...

Sad Goodbyes

Good evening everyone. How are you this evening. I am just plain tired and worn out. I am good though...thank The Lord.

We ended up staying in grandma's apartment last night instead of the hotel. Uncle Lowell was up all night with his cough due to having pneumonia. He woke everyone up. I was up at 11:45, 2:10, and then pretty much up since 3 am. We tried everything to get him to stop coughing. I tried rubbing the bottoms of his feet with Vicks and putting his socks on. He had already had his dose of cough syrup. I made a concoction of honey with a little bit of lemon juice mixed in and fed that to him by spoonfuls. He was sucking down cough drops like they were going out of style. I got up and made him a hot toddy (without the alcohol of course, however, I would've put that in to help knock him out if that would've helped)! I got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

We all got up. Dad started packing his suitcase. I had all my stuff packed already and loaded in the car. When dad finished packing, I took his suitcase down to the car and loaded it up. We all met up for breakfast. They had a brand new chef cooking for the first time this morning. Poor thing! We had omelets, burnt toast and something that was supposed to be coffee cake. Is it me, or would you think it a little strange to be so cold I wondered if it was partially frozen? What even bothered me more was that it really had the texture of jello. It was really strange!

After breakfast, we started to say our goodbyes. It was a sad, but sweet parting. It always breaks my heart to say goodbye to my grandma. I never know if she will be around until next year when I go again. We all started shedding tears. It was hard since most of the residents were all there gawking at us while I was blubbering like a little baby. Even the staff started crying with us. I think my grandma had a feeling this was going to be our last visit with her. She had some sweet words she whispered to me in my ear before I left...parting words of wisdom. Last year, I thought she wouldn't be around this year, but she sure surprised us all. This year her parting words were purposeful and well thought out. That's what made it seem harder for me this time. I sure will miss seeing grandma and all her lady friends. They are all surely going to miss me (at least that's what they all said)! The director of the facility offered me a job to play music for the residents! I sure enjoyed playing music for them and encouraging them even if it was only for a couple of days.

I drove us to the airport and I was excited to be coming home to my adorably sweet and caring husband and children. Nathan surprised me by meeting me at the gate! What a surprise!

I am home now and got to see Nathan bucket train our four kid goats and baby lamb. My baby lamb and my baby goat girl were the first one to learn! They will totally drink from the bucket without any assistance. All the other kids will only drink from the bucket if you use a nipple as a straw and gradually pull it out of their mouth so that they eventually start sucking the milk out of the bucket. Hope they all remember tomorrow morning!

Well, I am having to readjust my time again. Sleep well and may God bless you tonight. Until tomorrow...

Errands

Hello everyone! How are you this fine evening? I am winding down for this kind of hectic day.

My grandma (bless her little heart) woke me up at 5:45 (need I remind everyone that this is 3:45 Albuquerque time)? She was confused and worried this morning when she woke up. She didn't know whether or not to wake us up, or who she should wake up. She didn't know what to do or how to go about doing it!

We all got up and around and got ready for breakfast. After breakfast, we came back to Grandma's apartment and I start about washing her hair for her. Once that was done, she waited about a half hour, then decided she wanted a shower, so I got her going on that. Almost towards the end of her shower, one of her hospice nurses came and helped her finish up in the shower. I got her all dressed and ready for her doctor's appointment later this afternoon.

In the mean time, I gave Uncle Lowell one of his breathing treatments. Got him all cleaned up and ready to go to his doctor's appointment this morning. I took him to the pain management clinic for his appointment and this is the second time they've turned him away. Dad took him earlier in the week and they found a problem and wouldn't give him his shots. So, we remedied the situation, followed their strict instructions, got him back down to the hospital just for them to find something else they didn't like, so they still didn't give him his shots. It was a little bit frustrating!

I got him back to their facility just in time for lunch. We went back to Grandma's apartment after lunch and I worked on a frilly scarf I am making for her. After a while, I got her wheelchair and got her loaded into the rental car and we were on our way to the hospital for her appointment. Her appointment went extremely well, actually, it went better than I thought it would. I loaded her back in the car, and she asked me to run by Walmart to pick up some throw rugs for her bathroom. I got her back to the facility just as the staff started serving supper.

As soon as supper was over, several of the ladies begged me to play the piano and sing once more before I head home tomorrow. I played some instrumental music by Yiruma and I sang Via Dolarosa. The facility director offered me a job playing music here at Shields House!

Dad, Uncle Lowell and Grandma came back to the apartment and I went back and checked out of the hotel. We are staying in grandma's apartment tonight. Kind of tight quarters, but I'll make the best of it! Everyone's in bed already, so I need to turn in. It's been a memorable time with my Grandma. Thanks honey for letting me come spend time with her! Thanks boys for picking up the slack at home while I've been gone. I want you three to know what a blessing it was to have this week with my sweet grandma. Thank you.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading about some of my adventures back east. Now, back to adventures on our farm! Rest in God's peace tonight. Until tomorrow...

Visiting Day!

Good evening! How is everyone doing? I guess I'm doing the best that I can!

We got up this morning, dressed, left our hotel, and drove over to grandma's apartment. We met up with her and Uncle Lowell for breakfast. I woke up this morning and the room was spinning. I don't know what was causing it or what. I knew it wasn't an earache. I didn't have a fever. I felt all right, except that the room would occasionally start spinning. As I was getting up from the breakfast table, I almost fell. I would've if I hadn't grabbed on to the bannister next to me.

We returned back to grandma's apartment. I tried to lay my head down on the couch, but my head was spinning worse. Just then, we heard an unexpected knock on the door. It was Earle Lacey. He is a long time family friend. He actually went to school with my dad. He's been so good to my Grandma and uncle Lowell. After my pa-paw passed away, he always looked out for both of them. He would check on them and see if they needed anything. He would even mow their lawn before he'd go home and mow his. If any of you have never been in Indiana or Kentucky, everyone has a lawn (abut the size if Texas)!!! Everyone keeps their own yard immaculately manicured. Anyhow, Earle comes and visits with dad and me every year when we come. It was so good to see him.

This time difference is really getting me! We eat breakfast promptly at 7 (5 am Albuquerque time). Then we eat lunch at 11:30 (9:30 am Albuquerque time) and supper is at 4:30 (2:30 Albuquerque time)! I don't now if I'm coming or going! I don't know if I'm eating first breakfast, second breakfast and lunch or what!!! Maybe I'm part hobbit???

Anyways...another very close family friend, Sarah, came to visit us at lunch time. She actually showed up early. She lives in North Vernon (where my Grandma used to live before she moved to this assisted living facility). She lived in the same apartment complex as my Grandma, just three buildings over. She would always check on Grandma and Uncle Lowell to see if they needed anything. She'd drive them to music nights or doctors appointments. She go over just about every night and play dominoes with them or sometimes shed bring her guitar and pick on that guitar. Boy, can she make that guitar sing!!! And she's got a great voice to boot! Well, she stopped at my grandma's favorite restaurant who serves the best fish sandwich I have ever had and pick up lunch for all of us. She drove about 30 minutes and arrived here at 11, so we had an early lunch! After we got done eating and I cleaned up, we played five rounds of Mexican dominoes. The facility here hosted an Easter egg hunt for two head start preschool classes. After they hunted for all their eggs, Sarah got out her guitar and played for about an hour. The old ladies here just thoroughly enjoyed themselves today. The ladies were really happy to see all those little kids! Then to have a music jam session to top it all off just made their day! They were all trying to convince Sarah to move in to this facility so she could sing every night! Lol!

Sarah left around 3:30. Supper was at 4:30, so Grandma and dad didn't want to walk all the way back to her apartment and then turn around and go all the way back for supper, so we just stayed out in the main room until supper time. After supper, Grandma, Uncle Lowell, and dad were all exhausted. We came back to the apartment.

Dad put on his breathing machine and he passed out. Uncle Lowell started feeling worse with his cough and he fell asleep. Grandma was wiped out and she took a nap herself. When she woke up, she really enjoyed looking at pictures on my iPad. She couldn't believe I was able to look at pictures of my boys that were taken just this morning. My boys went on a hike with a great friend of ours, Avram Gooden. He posted pictures he took of the group and my Grandma just couldn't believe those pictures were just taken this morning and we were able to already see them! She has been watching me text a lot. Now she thinks she wants to get an iPad! She's so cute!

The hospice nurse stopped by tonight to check on Grandma and Uncle Lowell. She is pretty positive that Lowell has pneumonia. He's been on antibiotics already for over a week and hasn't gotten any better. He sounds like he's got emphysema. The nurse said he sounds like he's breathing through soup. So she is working on getting him a different medication to get him to feeling better. My grandma is doing much better though.

Well, the facility's nurse just came in to give them their evening meds. They were supposed to get them at 8, but it's 10:52! She had to wake them both up to give them their pills and cough syrup. I hope everyone gets a decent night's rest around here!

I'm about ready to turn in myself. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and everyone here that I'm taking care of. I have needed extra strength and encouragement to get through this week. The words "thank you" cannot begin to express my gratitude. May God bless you all for your love and kindness. Sleep well and may God bless you abundantly tomorrow!

Praise The Lord For Jam Sessions!

Good evening to all! How are you? I am doing pretty well tonight.

I struggled this morning to wake up with the time change...but then again, I always struggle getting up early! I am not much of a morning person. I usually growl at anyone who wakes me up before 7 a.m. I just feel sorry for the person who tries to wake me before 6!!! Lol!

Anyways, I managed to get up at 6:20 this morning with the time change (btw, 6:20 here in Indiana is 4:20 am in New Mexico)! We had breakfast over at Grandma's place.

Grandma has asked me to make a couple of scarves for her since her eyes are bothering her too much for her to see the thread clearly. So I started on that first thing this morning and I ended up finishing it tonight before we left to come back to the hotel.

We had lunch down at the dining room. When things started clearing out, I went and started playing the piano. I started playing some old church hymns. Then I started singing. Then I invited any one that wanted to to come join me in singing. They kept me pretty busy! I sang and played for almost two hours straight. I almost didn't have any voice left! I sure enjoyed singing with all those old women and boy did they enjoy themselves!! They all said they didn't remember the last time they had so much fun and felt like they were "home" again! It really brought tears to my eyes. I had fond memories of my mom and I going to sing at the nursing homes when I was younger. Thanks mom for teaching me how to share God's love with everyone.

We didn't go down to the dining room this evening. We stayed up in grandma's apartment and watched Indiana University basketball team play again Michigan State basketball team and IU won! No one thought that was going to be possible, but they pulled it off in the last 27 seconds. It was a definite nail-biter!

I guess the highlight of my day was singing old gospel hymns with those ladies! They made me promise to play some more with them. May God be praised!

Well, I am going to turn in for the night. Love to all. God bless and may you rest well tonight. Until tomorrow...

A Better Day!

Good evening to all! How are you all tonight? I am doing better today. Thank you so much for your prayers. I felt the results of your prayers all day today.

I ended up having to take my Grandma back to the hospital for a follow-up visit this morning. They did an out-patient minor surgery in the doctor's office. I think Grandma about worried herself sick before the procedure. She was in quite a bit of pain during the procedure, but she felt much better afterwards. I am grateful there is no sign of infection and that there are signs of her healing. She was extremely relieved when the doctor told her that it there was no cancer present. She had been worrying about that a lot since my Pappah died of cancer. It gave her peace of mind and for that I am thankful.

As for my Uncle Lowell, he still has a pretty nasty cough. They started him on cough syrup this morning and he seems to be a little better, but still is having a difficult time shaking it off. His spirits are up though!

Dad is also doing better. He stayed in Grandma's apartment all day today. He was able to get his legs up and catch some much-needed sleep.

While everyone took a nap in the apartment, I took day's rental car and went to Walmart. There was a pretty big list of supplies Grandma needed. I started making a special type of lacy scarf for my Grandma. She really loves purple, so I got the special yarn and started making it today. I hope to finish it tomorrow.

I think tomorrow should be a pretty uneventful day. We don't have anything planned. We hope to play some Mexican Train Dominoes tomorrow after breakfast. Most of you all don't know, but my Uncle Lowell was born with cerebral palsy. He absolutely loves to play games (cards, dominoes, whatever)!!!

Well, I am ready to turn in for the evening. Thanks again for the prayers. They were such a comfort and encouragement for me today. Love to all. Rest well and God bless.

I Made It!

Good evening everyone. How are you? I am doing alright.

My flight left this morning at 7 a.m. and I flew into Chicago. No problems landing. They only got 13" of snow, but the runways were all clear. Caught my connecting flight into Louisville, Kentucky. Dad picked me up in his rental car.

Grandma was not doing so well when I got there and dad ended up driving her to the ER tonight. They weren't able to fix her problem and told her to follow up with her other doctor tomorrow. Hope things can be resolved.

My uncle Lowell isn't feeling too well himself. He has a real nasty cough and can't seem to get rid of it. Dad kind of overdid himself today, but we ended up getting a hotel room to stay in. Hopefully he will rest much better tonight and feel refreshed in the morning.

I am glad I arrived here. I pray that I can witness to people while I'm here. I pray God may give me strength and endurance to provide what care that I can to my loved ones here. I also pray God keeps my family safe and in good health while I am gone.

I pray God's peace to rest on you tonight. Love to all. Until tomorrow...

All Them Cogburns Had A Farm...EIEIO!!!

Good evening! How are you? I am great. I am exhausted, but then again, aren't all good farm wives exhausted every night before they go to bed???

Well, we had a new little addition to our Cogburn Rancho Loco. I got an email from someone we know and she was needing someone to take in her poor little lamb. This adorable baby girl was born three days ago. She had inverted eyelids which caused her not to see very well. The mama knew something was wrong with her baby and instinct told her to ignore her baby (I suppose survival of the fittest)? The lady has been milking the mama and bottle feeding the baby. I believe this lady lives alone and works at the zoo. She can't take care of her during the day while she's at work, so she contacted me to see if we'd take her in. She is the lady we got Solomon from last year. Solomon was an orphaned lamb and we bottle raised him and gave him back to her. We got to see him today! Any ways, we don't have a name for her yet, but will post it as soon as I decide on one.

I am busy getting ready to leave tomorrow to fly to Indiana for a week to visit my Grandma. She just turned 92 about 3 weeks ago. I am excited to see her, but sad to have to leave my family behind. I hope my boys behave themselves and try and make things run smoothly around here for Nathan.

I'm not sure what my status will be with Internet connection, but I hope to keep posting blogs about my trip. Enjoy pics of my new "baby"! Sleep well and God bless!

Busy, But Fun Day

Good evening everyone! How are you tonight? I am doing very well, thank you.

I got up early this morning and made Nathan his vegetable/fruit protein smoothie and packed his lunch. I had a little bit of a hard time waking up. I stayed up late last night. I had a blast cooking with my oldest son, Aaron. He couldn't sleep, so he came out and helped me prepare a meal for a family we know. Please pray for the Raymond family. Mr. Raymond had heart surgery today and it appears to have gone very well, but has a long road of recovery ahead of him. I used to teach his girls piano when they were younger. Very sweet family.

While I am at it, I do have another big prayer request. Please pray for Aaron. He said his eye was bothering him yesterday. He said it felt like he had something in it. He had Nathan check it. Nathan didn't see anything yesterday morning and his eye felt better after Nathan had a look. By the afternoon, his eye was pretty red. By the evening, Nathan noticed a white spot over part of his iris. He's been wearing his glasses. Poor thing, he looked like he felt miserable! He started having a headache this evening and that eye was particularly sensitive to the bright sunlight (as the sun was going down after his guitar lessons were over). I hope whatever it is goes away with no complications and little discomfort. So prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated.

So, I did my morning chores, then I hopped in my car (45 minutes later than I had hoped) and drove to Albuquerque. I stopped by my bank and took care of making deposits and a withdrawal. Then I went by Office Smart and got 150 copies made of our fund raising flyer. Then I met up with my karate Sensei. I've been struggling with chronic back pain for quite some time. He showed me some of his anatomy and physiology books and gave me some strength training exercises to do. I am very excited about doing these so that I can keep as active as I want to be.

Afterwards, I met up with Sensei's wife, Aysha, and had lunch with her and we went shopping at Goodwill! Had a good time. After we finished up there, I had made arrangements to drop off the meal for the Raymonds in Albuquerque. Unfortunately, there was an accident on I-40 and I was stuck in stand-still traffic for 45 minutes! I-40 was shut down to one lane.

I was going to stop by and turn in my official application for my conceal carry, but I couldn't find the stinking building! I had the address, but I couldn't find it! I guess that's another reason I should get an I-phone! I googled it tonight and I don't know how I could've missed it, but I did! I finally gave up and drove home. I didn't even stop the engine or even get out of the vehicle. I just waited for Aaron to come out and hop in. I had to rush him back to Tijeras just in time to catch his guitar lesson. Whew! What a day!

I rushed home and cooked spaghetti for dinner. I haven't made that in forever! Oh, btw, my sweet brother-in-law, Gabe, flew in today. We are so excited that he'll be staying with us till Friday. Unfortunately, he is sick. He started not feeling well today and he thinks he may have a slight touch of the flu. I feel for the guy! I guess we should also pray for him as well!

So, that was my day in a nutshell. Kind of busy, crazy, huh? Well, I'm also trying to get things ready for me to leave by Wednesdy night. I am scheduled to fly out to Indiana on Thursday to go visit my dear Grandma for a week. I'll be curious to see if my allergic reaction clears up while I'm gone. If so, that'll mean that I must be allergic to something here at the house. I can't wait to see my Grandma. I know she is very excited to see me. Oh well, sleep well out there! Much love to all! God bless!

Going To the Firing Range

Good evening everyone! How are you this blessed evening? I am well. I am pretty wiped out though!

Nathan and I got up early today and went into Albuquerque. We grabbed breakfast at McDonald's (yes, that's the only meal of the day we will touch there)! We drove out to the Albuquerque Shooting Range. Nathan and I are training to become certified in a concealed carry weapon class. We did our classroom time last Saturday and today was the actual certification on the gun range. Nathan and I both tested on a .45 semi-auto pistol and a .45 revolver so that I can actually conceal carry pretty much any weapon I choose. We had to shoot 25 rounds of ammo at a target 7 yards away. We had to have a certain percentage of shots that hit the target to pass. I got two perfect scores...100% on BOTH guns!!! Nathan just calls me his little Annie Oakley! He has been teasing me all day since he said I shot even better than he did!

It's been ages since I shot a hand gun. I forgot how much fun it was! I like the smell of gun smoke...yes, I know I'm weird! Nathan and I were one of the first six people to test and we got our certificates and left. We went to the Expo NM to attend a gun show that was in town today. Nathan surprised me and bought me my conceal carry gun...a Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol! I went home and shot one clip worth of ammo through it and I absolutely LOVE it!!! Thanks honey!

Then, as if it wasn't exciting enough, we came home and butchered our steer, Sir Loin. He's now hanging to age for a week before we process all his meat. Thanks to Chad, Nathan, Aaron, Jordan, Haven, Avery, and Nathan James for skinning and butchering him today. Tonya and I did some wrapping of the liver, heart and briskets. Savanah was a great helper too! She ran back and forth carrying things for Tonya and myself. She was also my tape handler. She would hand me tape as I wrapped the meat in freezer paper.

After we got cleaned up, Tonya was gracious and invited us for dinner tonight. She made some pinto beans and cornbread! Yummy, yummy! Anita, Mom and Dad, are you sitting down? Ready...I ate TWO whole bowls of beans!!!! For those of you who haven't known me very long, I used to absolutely HATE beans. When I was a child growing up, my dad would make a wonderful pot of chili and I would spend a good solid 30 minutes and pick out each and every single bean out of my chili before I would eat it! I did not like them at all...I think it had a lot to do with texture. I've been gradually learning how to eat a few beans over the last 1 1/2 years, but never TWO bowls! Tonya did such a great job seasoning the Schwebach beans.

Well, that pretty much sums up our day today! I am getting itchy again tonight. I went o my primary care physician yesterday and he has referred me to an allergist. Not sure when that appointment will be. Thanks for your prayers.

God bless you as you sleep tonight. I look forward to blogging tomorrow! See you then!