Great Weather

These pictures were taken today-November 18th! Can you believe how green our yard is? Our yard wasn't this green all summer long and now it just looks great and is growing like crazy. This means more mowing for me, but it also means our cattle can finally get a taste of fresh grass this year-so I guess it's a good trade-off. We played outside today-drew on the sidewalk with chalk, played in the sandbox, fed the cats & cows, and swung in the swing.

Kelly & the cat enjoying the nice sunshine.

It was WAY too warm for Molly to be wearing mittens, but we had gone through her winter wear earlier today to see what still fit, and she was determined to wear her mittens.

Checking Cows

This is Molly's style when it comes to checking cows. She's got her tractor & her baby & she's ready to go.

Tractor Driving

Normally I would oppose, I just don't think it's the safest thing, but Molly had so much fun feeding cows with Dad. It was a fairly warm day & Luke wanted to take her with him, so she got to ride the tractor and pretend to drive. She even cried when they were done feeding and had to get off the tractor. What a little country girl!

Going out to feed the cows!

Molly (20 months) and Daddy on the tractor.

The 2012 calving season has begun and although we don't have any heifers to calve this year, it is still keeping Molly & I a little busier. We like to go out and check the cows first thing in the morning (while the ground is still frozen) and also feed the horses.We had one cow calve on a cold morning and she claimed the wrong calf, leaving her's shivering by it's lonesome. It took a couple days in the barn but Luke finally got them paired up & the cow is now very fond of her calf.

#8020, after she decided she liked her own calf instead of another.

Molly has grown very fond of feeding Cody (Luke's horse) and saying "Hi" to him. She is quite the little helper. She also enjoys chasing the cats-so she's pretty busy while I'm doing chores-ha!

Molly & Cody

Pickin' Out Cows

A couple weekends ago we went to the Gerloff Cattle Sale and picked out a couple cows to bring home with us. Luke does the nutrition work for this farm and we were really pleased with the cattle we bought there last year, so we came back for a second year. Molly had fun looking at all the cows and then spent most of the afternoon playing in the dirt or with the ice in the coolers. Grandma Debbie went with us and was so much help entertaining Molly! Luke is going back down there this week to pick up our new cows and bring them home. Hopefully they will fit with our herd & be a great new addition.

Looking at the pen of heifers from a safe distance.

Molly liked the little calves the best--just her size!

 Molly is definitely a country girl-"cow" was one of the first words she said! Guess she gets that from both her Mom & Dad!

We Miss You Grandma Leila!

Newsflash--Molly loves attention and she's wearing Luke & I out now that Grandma is gone! She doesn't sit still for even a moment!! She is crawling like crazy and pulls up on everything--nothing is safe. We are so thankful that Grandma was able to come stay with us while we calved our heifers so that we were able to spend more time outside without worrying about Molly. Now that it has warmed up considerably, Molly is able to come outside with us more and it's not such a big deal. But...we were just thinking about Grandma today and missing her--and wishing she could feel the 79 degree weather we had today!!

Hello 57

So we finally had a heifer that calved just fine on her own-in the barn-and everything was great when I checked them at 6 a.m. Well, we went back at about 9 a.m. to check on them and the calf had somehow fallen into the water trough and was just about frozen. We had to get the calf warmed up, so into the basement it came. Once it was next to the furnace and dried off with my hair dryer, it was doing WAY better. Molly had to come downstairs and say hello to little Miss 57.She just loved the calf. She was able to pet it without being barked at (like Kelly's reaction to her petting) and Molly just kept grabbing it's hoof and smiling.

#57 went back to Mama in the barn and is now doing just fine.

First Calf

Yesterday we officially started calving season when #8020 had a nice little heifer calf. #8020 is the cow we bought last fall at the Gerloff Sale. She had it just fine-right in the middle of the day, so it was a good way to start off!

The Heifers Are Home

It has been really cold and snowy lately--can you tell? Well, we finally got our new heifers home and officially doubled our cow herd. They are due to start calving the end of February, so they have a few weeks to settle in before the real work continues (for us anyhow).



It was quite the adventure hauling the heifers home. The place we bought them from is about 40 miles from here, so we borrowed a 24' trailer from some friends and figured we could make it in two trips home. We were planning on hauling them last Friday, but we were supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow, so we figured we better try to get them before the snow set in. We went for one load after Luke got off work one evening and everything was fine until we got about a mile from home. We had to turn a sharp corner and then head up a pretty steep hill--we got about 10 feet from the top of the hill and spun out. The trailer (and us) went sliding backwards until it hit the snowbank on the side of the road. Thank goodness there wasn't more of a ditch or we would of really been in trouble. But...we were stuck, and it was dark and cold and the heifers were all at the back of the trailer kind of piled up on each other. Let's just say it was a REALLY bad situation. To make a long story short, we are SO thankful for our friends that were able to back another trailer up to the trailer that was stuck and unload half the heifers into it. That way, the trailer was light enough to be pulled up over the hill and home. Somehow the truck, trailer and all the heifers seem to be fine...whew!

Unfortunately, we still had to make another trip first thing in the morning. Luke salted and sanded the hill before we left and we only hauled half as many cattle and thankfully made it fine. What an ordeal! We had planned on trying to actually purchase some more, but after that situation...I think we will be fine with what we have now!

Since we've had the heifers home it has been cold and snowy every single day, so we have been pretty busy keeping everything fed and happy.

Cow Sale

A couple weekends ago we took a trip down to Bland, Missouri to go to one of Luke's customer's Bull & Cow Sale. Luke had done the nutrition work for all the yearling bulls that the Gerloff's were selling and he was curious to see how they would do. We are also culling out some of our late calving cows this year so we thought it might be a good opportunity to purchase some replacements. Molly was a good baby and did really well in the stroller for the most part. She enjoyed all the "sounds" of the auction and walking around looking at cattle.

Well, it turns out we did buy a heifer & a cow to add to our herd. This meant that we had to wait in this line to load out:Needless to say, we got a little bored waiting in line and Luke decided to teach Molly how to drive:

Don't worry, we were not moving at this time:

The bulls sold pretty well and they were really happy with the way they looked, so I think they were pleased with Luke's work. Our new replacements have settled in and are enjoying their new home.

Luke's Birthday

October 21st was Luke's 29th birthday! It was the first time Molly got to celebrate a birthday also. Luke worked in the morning and then we got to spend the afternoon together at home.

Opening presents first thing in the morning:
We worked on the fence a little--it was gorgeous weather, and then weaned our calves. They were pretty upset this morning:

Missing their moms:
Luke finished up the day with a little bow hunting and then dinner & birthday cake with Molly & I. It wasn't too much of a "party" but we had a nice, laid back day together.

Happy Baby

After having a really bad week with Molly's colic, we're having a great day today. My Mom's hairdresser and a friend of mine from college both suggested that we try using gripe water for Molly's colic. The first day I didn't think it was helping, but last night Molly slept great, woke up happy and has cried very little today. It has definitely been the happiest day she has had since she has been born. So I'm giving the gripe water credit and hoping that she stays this way. Thank you so much to Diane & Alison for helping out!

Luke & his friend AJ have been hauling hay all day, so we now hopefully have all the hay our cows will need to get us through the winter. Molly and I went for a walk this morning, fixed lunch for the guys, baked cookies and now we're listening to Country Gold and getting ready to fix dinner.

Here's a picture I took of Molly a couple days ago when she was rockin' her headband:

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Another Busy Weekend

As the due date gets closer and closer and closer we continue to be very busy on the weekends trying to get everything prepped for the baby's arrival while still just keeping up with the typical stuff around here. I'm now at 37 weeks:

My main goal for the weekend was to get the baby's dresser & changing table painted. A girl that I work with gave me a free changing table and we decided to use Luke's old dresser for the baby. Both needed a little paint job and I've been waiting until we had a weekend without rain so that I could paint outdoors and not have to worry about fumes or anything. Well, I would not recommend painting at 37 weeks pregnant, but I did get it done & they look SO much better. I wish I would of taken some "before" pictures, but I will post some later of the final result.

Something else that has really been bothering me is that my strawberries are producing like crazy (and they're so delicious) but it's really hard to pick strawberries at 37 weeks. If you don't pick them daily something either eats them or they mold...so it's kind of a daily task. After painting all morning I took a break and picked strawberries Saturday afternoon. These babies are now in our freezer until I have a little more time to do something with them:

Although I did get alot done Saturday I paid for it that night and today. I think I might of pulled a muscle because every time I move my left leg I have horrible shooting pains in my belly. This includes every time I try to walk, turn, get dressed, get out of bed, pretty much every movement hurts and hurts bad. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning so I'll have to see what they say.

Other than that, the only news I have is that Luke sold his old horse trailer today. A family from Nebraska saw it on Craig's List and drove on over and bought it! Although we had to meet them and there was some confusion as to where we were supposed to meet them, it all worked out and Luke actually sold the trailer for more than he paid for it. Success.

Oh--and Bella--my cow finally calved, the cat had kittens (in the chicken coop of all places), now it's my turn to have a baby!

Springtime in Missouri

Spring has definitely sprung in Missouri. For awhile there we went straight from winter to summer...but now we are back to more springlike temperatures and I am very thankful for that.

I worked my butt off planting bulbs last fall when I was first pregnant and it finally paid off!

The trees & lilacs are also blooming:

And of course, it's just not spring without baby calves:

It's even better when the cows & calves get to be turned out to grass for the year. The alfalfa field:

It sounds like spring has finally made it to Montana after one last (hopefully) snow storm, so I hope everyone is enjoying the weather & spending time outside!

Baby News

Friday was my 27 week checkup (only 13 weeks to go!). I was really looking forward to this appointment because the doctor offered to do a quick ultrasound to once again check the sex of the baby. It has been 8 weeks since my last ultrasound & the baby is moving so much more these days that I was just sure they would be able to tell. However, the doctor said the "baby is in the worst position possible to determine the sex" and once again we left without any answers. They said that even with all the technology that we have these days there are still some babies that are in positions where you just cannot see well enough to determine the sex, and ours just happens to be one of the few. The good news is the baby weighs 2 lbs 3 oz. which is right on average for 27 weeks. It is still laying in the "head up" position though, so they will do another ultrasound at 34 weeks to make sure it has flipped into a better birthing position.

I also had to take the glucose tolerance test which screens for gestational diabetes. Basically it amounts to drinking some special fluid and then having your blood drawn 1 hour later. The blood is then tested for sugar levels. Within 10 minutes of drinking the fluids I felt really sick and barely even made the drive to the Dr.'s office. They did not warn me that this was a possibility so I was just sure that it meant I have gestational diabetes. However, they said it is fairly common to get sick from the test and they wont know anything for a couple days.

In other baby news, our most recent calving adventure has been quite the struggle. The heifer calved during the day while Luke & I were both at work. When Luke got home she was just up with the rest of the cows like nothing had happened but he could tell she had had a calf. So he spent about an hour looking for the calf in the dark and finally found it trying to nurse off the other cows. The heifer does not care one bit for the calf and knocks it down every time it comes near her. Its a good thing she had such a strong little calf because he just never gave up trying to nurse. We've been putting her in the chute several times a day and then she stands and lets the calf nurse. He just goes running right up to her and nurses her dry every time. This is fine except Luke & I have other obligations rather than being home to put the cow in the chute so the calf can nurse all the time. I'm not sure what we're going to end up doing with this pair. The calf is a really nice AI bull calf out of Big Eye so we want to keep him healthy & fed!

In other news...we are dealing with the most mud that I have ever seen! In Montana we may complain about having rocky soil but at least we don't have to deal with mud like this. The "gravel road" a.k.a. mud path to our house is basically only driveable in 4 wheel drive. I haven't even been driving my Explorer because I think the running boards would drag on all the ruts. It's really bad and with all the rain I don't see it improving anytime in the near future. The corral is really deep in mud as you can see--here is Luke feeding the bulls a bale of hay yesterday morning:

Snowing & Snowing

This has been a really snowy & cold winter for Missouri! Yesterday it was pretty much a blizzard when we went out to feed the cows.

The bulls:

#275 had our first calf last Wednesday and we've kept them up in the barn ever since. It's just been so cold and snowy and there isn't much cover for them out in the pasture, so they get to stay in the corral & barn. He's a cute little Yield Grade calf so we want to take good care of him. The poor little guy looked pretty cold yesterday when it was really snowing & his mom had him outside:

Working Cows

Two weekends ago Luke's parents came to stay with us and help work the cows. Luke has finished the inside of the barn now so we can work the cows without having to be out in the mud/snow or the dark. It worked really well and since I'm not much help these days, it was really nice of Steve & Debbie to come and help Luke.

Luke preg checked all the cows and sorted off the few that were open. On Sunday we hauled them to Kirksville for the sale on Monday. The REALLY good news was that we were finally able to sell the crazy longhorn cow that we have hated for SO long. This is the cow that jumped over the hood of Luke's pickup the last time we tried to sort her off by herself. She then jumped at least 3 fences on her was out to the far corner of our land. Needless to say we didn't see her for a few days (maybe even weeks) and we really didn't care! So, we finally got to sell her and she was almost 1600 lbs so I'm glad that we finally got some money out of her.

The Millers brought their 6 month old puppy, Baxter, with them too. Baxter is already as tall as Kelly and much stockier. They had a good time keeping each other company, chasing cows & playing with sticks.

2009 In Review

2009 was a big year of change & a big year of travel for us! Here's a review of some of the highlights of 2009:

2009 started with us hosting a New Year's Party at our house. Luke's parents, Amanda & Tol & Matt & Emily came and stayed with us & The James' & Glasgows joined us also. It was a great time--maybe not as rowdy as our many New Year's in Billings, but a great way to start the year.

Calving started in February and it was especially neat to see the AI calves out of our heifers. I always really enjoy calving season--we don't have enough cows to make it super stressful--it's mostly just exciting.

March brought a new adventure for me & Lynmarie. We went on a cruise from Florida to the Bahamas and had a fabulous time. It was full of gorgeous beaches, warm weather, fruity drinks & much needed "catch-up" time!

In May, I saw my first tornado & the damage that it brings. NOT COOL!

Starting in June I had quite the fiasco with my job which resulted in me quitting. It was a really rough couple months after that as I tried to get over what had happened & started to look for a new job. But, the upside of being out of work was that I had more time to spend with Luke & to travel to see friends & family.

In June, Luke & I went to Branson for the Berry Family Reunion & spent lots of time visiting with family, fishing, swimming & relaxing in general. It was a really nice break.

In July we flew to Billings and stayed with Mandy, Tim & Tucker for a few days, while traveling to Wisdom for Erik & Courtney's wedding. The wedding was so pretty and so much fun. We are so happy for them!!

In August I started a new job as a graphic designer for a print shop in Kirksville. It's taken some adjusting to, as I have a 40 minute drive each way, but I'm very thankful for it. Also in August I was able to spend some time in Kalispell with my family for the first time since the previous Thanksgiving. There is nothing like spending a couple days horseback, moving cows on the ranch to make me feel better about myself & more grounded. It was a much needed boost to my spirits.

September brought another wedding--this time it was Mariah & Lyle. Once again, we got to spend time with Mandy, Tim & Tucker as they were gracious enough to let us crash their house once again. It was so fun to see how much Tucker has changed since we had seen him in July! Mariah's wedding was absolutely gorgeous & it was such an honor to be a part of it.

2009 also brought changes for Kelly Jo. She hasn't enjoyed my new job and the amount of time she is alone because of it. She had a rough December after she had some "extra parts" removed. This led to having to wear a cone for several days--which she despised (and smashed). Unfortunately, the incision still hasn't healed and we are still dealing with this...but she seems to be doing okay with it.

Another big change for us was that my body went from being normal to this in 18 weeks:



Which also resulted in me being extremely ill for most of October, all November & much of December--NOT FUN. But, I'm starting off the new year feeling much better & in much better spirits!

This also led to the decision to trade in the Neon. After over 8 years & 80,000 miles I traded my car in for a bigger, more "family friendly" vehicle, with 4 wheel drive.

It's a 2004 Explorer & it has already been really nice to have (although I still miss my car sometimes--just so many memories)!

We ended 2009 with another trip to Montana. This time to Kalispell to spend Christmas with my family. It was exciting to show everyone my "belly" and really nice to catch up with family & friends. On New Year's Eve we hosted a get together again with the James' & Glasgow's and had a really nice night playing cards, eating & drinking (well, water for some of us).

I'm really looking forward to 2010 and the many more changes that the year will bring. The baby is due June 11th & I'm pretty sure life as we know it will also change forever once the baby is here!