Glorious Christmas Chaos

"Apunzel" Escorted by her Grandfather Ralph to Michael Martin Murphy's Christmas Ball

Oh What Fun It Is To...

Perform 8 hours of holiday house cleaning THEN watch it "kid"destruct in 7 minutes

Watch 9 little faces, mouths watering, wait patiently for "Grandma's Crepes"

Clean up spilled milk, mac and cheese, juice, puppy chow (human and puppy), and Grog

Find an appropriate "potato replacement" for the potato guns Santa dropped off ---w/0 the potatoes. FYI according to five year old boys an onion, an apple or hard provolone works just

fine

Forgo sitting down, visiting with adults, eating at the table, or participating in the adult gift exchange in order to protect my home from the "In-House 9 Demolition Crew"

Forgo sitting down, visiting with adults, eating at the table, or participating in the adult gift exchange in order to savor the antics (good and bad) of the same 9

Savor the flavor of each person's food speciality: Stromboli, Maryland Cream of Crab Soup, Cinnamon Rolls, Russian Tea Cakes, Spiced Tea, Cranberry Gorgonzola Cheese Balls and Grog

Suppress the guilt of consuming it all

Kick yourself when your jeans leave "2 hour button indention's" in your belly

Give rather than receive

Wake up next to a warm little body snuggling next to you

Wake up next to a warm, MOIST little body snuggling next to you

Return the little body to the rightful parents

Question the sanity of your husband-"Every five year old boy needs a pocket knife"

Question my own sanity: PERIOD

Receive...rather than give...just sometimes...especially when the receiving includes homemade Fire Roasted Green Tomato Relish and Cranberry Almond Biscotti and...Grog

Witness the effort put forth by two 4-year old princesses in an attempt to brush their patient aunt's hair to the length of "Apunzel's" (Rapunzel's). After an hour long brushing the exasperating conclusion by one---"You tan dust be Apunzel's mother, otay?"

Watch, listen, soak in, savor, absorb, inhale, video tape, capture in pictures this brief, precious moment in time.

For My Crazy, Chaotic, Glorious Christmas Blessings...and Grog

I Say Thank You Lord!

GROG RECIPE

8 cups cranberry juice

2 cups golden raisins

1/2 cup sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

8 cardamon

12 cloves

This recipe did call for 4 cups of ruby port. It's great without it. Simmer for 15 minutes, strain spices, serve and enjoy!

Miracle on Foster Pond

This WAS a miracle. Do you realize how hard it was to get everyone together-smile- not pick their noses- stick out their tongues - scratch a body part? Thanks to our patient saint of a photographer Ashlea Parker from Weatherford, Oklahoma; and help from the Lord, we have a family photo...Hurray!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Wunda Woman

We have several Super Heroes on the ranch. This is "Wunda Woman" saver of kitties, baby goats, baby brothers, puppies and fallen bird's nest. If you're needing help through the holidays call 1-800 Wunda.

YUM

Lenne Leah took this pie to the Lenora Church Auction. It is to die for. OH MY!

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
3/4 cups butter, melted
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the cranberries, walnuts and 1/2 cup sugar in the bottom of a buttered 9″ or 10″ cake or pie pan. Mix the flour, 1 cup sugar, butter, eggs, and almond extract in a separate bowl to form a batter. Pour the batter over the cranberry mixture and bake for around 40 – 50 minutes. Cool a bit in the pan, and enjoy.

Fall In Love With Family Farmers

Another Typical Day

A day in the life...

8:00 a.m. Walk over to our office next door. Linda our secretary is having a root canal so I'm on my own today. Linda has worked for us for over 19 years and is the glue that holds our ranch together, without her I'm convinced we would literally fall apart.

8:15 My dad comes in with a stack of bills- his daily routine. The phone rings several times. My brother brings in a new Mr. Coffee and starts to brew a pot in the kitchen (our office has a kitchen which we use during harvest and working cattle).

8:20 An anonymous (the name has been omitted to protect the embarrassed) person announces their visiting relative, a vet, is neutering the family dog on their dining room table. Astonished? Me? Not much...it's a typical day.

8:25 Three more males make their way into the room and a group discussion begins on the complex maneuvering of cattle, people, and trucks-from one pasture to the other; from grass to wheat; from wheat to grass; from one state to the other.

8:30 A neighbor and his wife stop. They ask if we're missing a water buffalo; they have an extra in their pasture. I call and check. No missing water buffalo...not that we know of. Shocked? Me? Not much...it's a typical day.

8:45 Crawl into the Mack (a truck) and head north with hubby to haul cattle to the sale.

9:20 Arrive 35 miles north to a remote homestead which we've renovated and lease to hunters. The guys start sorting old-dry (they're not expecting) cows from the young ones. I visit with a hunter's son and a friend about their deer hunting and their show calves which they'd hauled with them (they had taken them to a show on Saturday and had them penned in the corral) The show calves looked really out of place-fat and sassy-next to the thin old dry cows we were hauling

9:30 Deer Hunting Season. Need I say more about the actions of some "packing" men...and women? We arrive with the cattle at the destination pasture greeted by a group of individuals displaying some of the unsavory actions which accompany the overzealous hunter. Remember the movie Deliverance? Remember the movie Open Range? Let's just say the encounter we had with the "packing" individuals hung somewhere in between. Uneasy? Me? YES...this ISN'T typical and it's a relief to unload and drive away.

10:45 We head back north to load another group of cattle. After loading we make the 40 mile trip to Woodward where we unload. After unloading we drive north of town to the "wash out" to clean out the rented cattle trailer. This is a giant "car wash" for manure filled truck trailers. These wash outs are rare jewels in the cattle hauling truck world. If this one had been closed we would have been forced to drive to the next closest 60 miles away.

2:30 So much for eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant; we're stuck at the truck wash out and eat at their little cafe. Queasy? Me?...maybe a little but I'm used to the smell plus it is extremely clean and the chicken fry is excellent.

3:30 We're headed back home, but not before making another trip to return the trailer.

5:00 We drop the trailer off east of Fairview where we visit a while with relatives---I swap recipes and Brad swaps stories and ideas.

7:30 p.m. We're finally home. Brad heads to the family room and I head to the frig where I stare mindlessly at its ingredients. After a few minutes I conjure up a new recipe; Corn Meal Crepes with Broccoli Sausage Cheese Soup.
Tired? Me? Yes...it's a typical day---But I wouldn't trade boots with anyone.

Random Thoughts

Do You Know?

What color your face can turn when your dad tells the hospital receptionist that she resembles one of the homliest national public female figures you know then tries to get you to agree with him---which you don't...reassuring the poor lady you see no resemblance?

How wonderful it is to visit with your adult children one on one, all alone, all day long and reconnect?

How great it feels to have your whole family, all 19, arrive at church at the same time?

How important your small town is to the survival of America?

What a challenge it is to stay girly in a guys world?

The gratitude you owe your dad for insisting you attend church every Sunday (a.m and p.m.-no questions asked)?

What it feels like to let your 3 year old granddaughter paint your nails with hot pink Hello Kitty nail polish (which should be sold in the professional spa section because it won't come off) forget you're wearing it, then realize how tacky it looks while fine dining with friends?

What a blessing daughter-in-laws are?

How good it feels to have a family picture taken and everyone shows up, all 19 of them?

What a blessing son-in-laws are?

How much fun your mother can be?

The satisfaction of pulling a loaf of homemade bread from the oven and covering a slice with your own homemade jam?

How important the 2% of our U.S. farmers and ranchers are to the survival of 100% of America and the world?

How much fun your pastor can be?

How good "catching up" feels-on bookwork, housework, church work, yard work etc.?

The fatigue a farmer and rancher feels at sunset..and sunrise?

That farmers and ranchers (and a certain husband I know) are made of "tough stuff, don't sleep much, can get kicked repeatedly by cows,calves and bulls, yet get back in the pen, fix your heater-faucet and leaky roof, abort their dreams and goals for the good of their families and still appear cheery?

What a blessing sons and daughters are...all 4 of them?

What A Super Duper Blessing Grandchildren are...all 9 of them(thanks to the super kids and their super spouses)?

The importance of rural fire departments?

That microphones can literally suck the brains right out of your head?

How strong the bond between a brother and sister can be?

The importance of listening. Listening to stories of the past; our grandparent's, our nation's, our world's, our creator's, for strength and solidity of strong families and nations.

That finding the "perfect handbag" is futile and costly?

The value of the hidden collective wisdom that can be found at your local nursing home, if you would only take the time to seek it?

That laughter is good medicine and if this made you smile read again every four hours as needed :)