Anyone Have a Soapbox I Can Borrow?

After taking the kids to yet another stupid movie, I can now say that I am officially dumber than I was BEFORE we partook of Hollywood's idiotic splendor. This is, seriously, the third dumb movie in a row that we have subjected ourselves to. The kids are always more forgiving and easier to please, but I, on the other hand, feel jipped, and depending on the movie... violated! ;P
The movie we watched tonight, actually, did not tick me off in the way that the previous two did, but did leave me with regrets over time wasted and brain cells sacrificed...

I remember one of my good friend's mothers being such a killjoy after every movie their family saw, and I recall thinking that she was such a scroogey stoogey... either the acting was poor, the effects completely unbelievable, the language coarse, or the content offensive. Pooh pooh! She simply sucked the fun out of ANY movie they saw. Well, I can now say that I completely understand her scroogey stoogey little old heart and either owe her a great apology (if even only in my mind... she never knew I thought she was the fun-sucker of all time) or owe myself a good kick in the pants for becoming the spitting image of Senorita Killjoy.

I'll take that soapbox now, if you please... Can everyone see me? Does my voice carry sufficiently? Emmm hmmm hmmm.... Attention Hollywood:

We the people of the van Uitert family wish to voice our grievances over your gross misrepresentation of any form or likeness of comedic entertainment, and formally hold you responsible for the early demise of several potentially successful brain cells, lost in the process of viewing many of your productions and condemn you for the rape and pillage of our wallets, time and intelligence! Okay, we the people is really just ME, but I am certainly capable of expressing myself adequately enough FOR the whole family. Ha ha... me longwinded? Never....

(Am I sucking the fun in an efficient and impressive manner? I'm doing my darnedest...)

Signing off...

Senorita Killjoy
Master Fun-Sucker

Simply the Sabbath

Sundays are a little tough for me, lately. I want to keep the commandments and "keep the Sabbath Day holy" but am not ever really sure about just how to do that, other than attending church and possibly visiting neighbors and/or family. We are fairly consistent about not watching tv and listening to music other than the Sunday variety, but since our church block ends at noon (for the rest of our lives), we are left with a HUGE chunk of Sunday time to do... WHAT?! I'm starting to think we need to invite family and friends up to OUR house each Sunday for dinner, just so I can have something to plan on. I just cannot sit still for too long, and my preference would be to work outside with the animals, gardening, etc., which I am trying not to do on Sunday, since we do that EVERY day of the week. However, if I stay inside, I find myself washing dishes, laundry, sorting through junk, and all sorts of WORK... only difference is the interior location. I seriously can't see how doing the interior work is any better than doing the exterior work.

This afternoon, I really made an effort to bypass the work; I read an article out of the New Era and a couple out of the Friend, to the kids; I read from a book called "American Folklore and Legends"; I tried to fall asleep in the front room for even just a few minutes... seemed the thing to do, since Gerrit AND Kevin were passed out. The kids watched Gandhi, which I just didn't have the attention span to do, today. We walked almost a mile down to the neighbor's house to see all of his baby goats, especially the two that we witnessed being born, yesterday, and to wish his son a Happy Birthday. That killed a little time...

Pitiful, isn't it? I should LOVE Sundays, for the rest and peace that it affords, but all I truly find myself being is bored out of my mind. I find that there is only SO much reading and studying and visiting to do on Sunday. Laziness can't be anymore righteous than keeping busy... Aack!

I caved in to the lesser part, today, and moved the horses around to switch up pasture time; pulled a few weeds out of the flowerbed and fed them to the goat; and told Kev we ought to cut down the big dead tree in front of the house, which he did. We, then, set up our little fire pit/grill thing-a-majigger and roasted marshmallows, sang camp songs, and enjoyed the clear night sky. This last effort seems perfectly appropriate for the Sabbath, but I'm not so sure I could say the same for pulling weeds, moving panels, and felling a huge birch tree. The scripture that says, "The natural man is an enemy to God," or something similar to that, kept popping into my mind during Relief Society today, and again nags at my conscience this evening. I truly want to choose the better part and have some kind of enjoyable, peaceful, and Sabbath appropriate plans in the future. Suggestions, anyone?

A Few More Pics...

Earlier today, we attended the ward auction and activity day, where Dayton got to take part in the trap shoot competition. They shot clay pigeons and goose eggs above the river - what a blast! Here's a few more photos of Brad's visit, as well.

The "Almost" Rattlesnake Round-up

Kevin's brother, Brad, and his darling children came up for a visit this afternoon. While Vanessa and Marin entertained the kids on the trampoline, Kevin and I took Brad on a tour of the thriving metropolis of Beaver Dam.

Our first stop was to a neighbor's house to show Brad their huge draft horse... one of the biggest horses I've ever seen. Next, we thought we'd show him Cutler Dam Power Station, the Bear River, and some of the beautiful countryside along the way. Halfway there, another neighbor waved us down and we pulled over and hopped out. Turns out, he had been trying to call us, because his goat doe was delivering her twins, the first of which was stuck with one leg and the head sticking out. Somehow, he thought we could be of assistance... his wife said, "Call Donna... I bet she'll know what to do." Prayer and instinct would have been my only solutions, having never delivered goat kids before. We stopped by just AFTER he pulled the first one out, but he was afraid he had broken it's neck and/or legs in the process. The poor little thing was pretty worn out, but didn't appear to have any broken body parts, seeing as it could still hold it's head up and was attempting to stand. It's sluggishness, however, brought it very limited attention from it's mother, so it may turn out to be a bummer kid, anyway. (Bummer means that the mother rejects it and it will be necessary to bottle feed and hand raise the kid until it is weaned.) I proceeded to check out the baby, testing it's legs for reflex responses, cleaning off a little of the snot-like, yellow mucous hanging all over it, and listening to it breathe to see if there was possibly some esophageal damage. All in all, I'd say he was in good shape for being pulled out with the intensity and strength that was required to do the job. I helped a neighbor, last year, deliver her two puppies, and the first didn't make it through the delivery. She died because we couldn't get her out fast enough, and when the doctor made it over to help, he ended up breaking the neck pulling her out. Very distressing. I fully understood the stress this fine neighbor had in delivering that first kid. Complications are no fun and we all hope we don't have any in delivering babies! Kevin and Brad were standing by while our neighbor's son tried to help the mama deliver kid #2, and were able to witness the whole process. I think Kevin was trying to distract the mother, and even joked that he offered her some ice chips to suck on during the delivery. Funny guy! Not a bad Beaver Dam country tour, by any means...

Onward and upward to Cutler Dam... We took the little dirt road that runs along the river and showed him where the scout camp is, the better fishing areas, and a neighbor's property (hundreds of acres) in the river bottoms. On our way back out, Kevin thought he ran over a snake. He stopped the truck and we jumped out to see. Much to our surprise, we missed it completely, and were able to check out this fairly good sized reptile crossing the road. My first thoughts were to pick it up and take it back for the kids to see, but upon closer inspection, the head looked too wide, and it's demeanor, too aggressive. Even though it had no rattler on the tip of it's tail, it did have a decidedly aggressive "coil up and strike" attitude, and I just couldn't be sure that it wasn't a venomous variety. It looked a lot like the bullsnakes and gopher snakes we have caught in the past, but I've never seen one so aggressive. This snake was a good two to three feet in length and about an inch and a half in diameter. If we minus the "rattle"... it was an "almost" Rattlesnake Round-up finale to our Beaver Dam tour. How exciting is that? I was a little disappointed, later this evening, to find that the pictures online really DID resemble just a gopher/bullsnake, and we probably would have been fine to grab it. However, when in doubt, stay a good distance out, right? Right... According to this online source, the gopher/bullsnakes can flatten out their heads and imitate a rattler to scare off predators. It worked :)

The posted pictures are of Max, Sadie and Audra on the trampoline, walking and riding on Banner, and a little interaction between Brad, Sadie and the goat kids. Check out Sadie's face with those goats! She's NOT a fan... However, her brother helped me milk Isabella, brush Banner and even walk him back to his corral. Way to go, Max! And thanks for coming up, Brad... it was great to see you all!

My Life as the Energizer Bunny...

I just keep going and going and going... minus the long ears and fluffy tail! Today was a never-ending sort of day. I am so pooped and yet am afraid to go to bed, because I know that the morning will come too soon and it will start all over again!

Dinner was for twelve tonight (the kids's friends were over) and I made fettucine with meat sauce, corn, brownies w/ice cream for dessert, and cupcakes for the bakesale tomorrow. Dayton and I built another goat pen and two more horse corrals (reconfigured the panels into new locations). I redid the dog run two nights ago and expanded it quite a bit. Now, we just have to cut down the big dead tree in front of the house, till in a few flowerbeds, possibly till up the OLD horse corral for a nice big garden spot, somehow kill the sticker weeds, keep the cats out of the raised garden beds (they keep digging up my strawberry starts), figure out a better sprinkler system, and ready the back of the pasture for post holes to be augered in the morning. Hmm... did I mention the laundry, dishes, and other 3/4 of the house that still needs cleaning? Not enough time in the day, I'm afraid, but I'm doing the best I can. I've even got the sunburn to prove it... (I HAVE to remember to put the sunscreen on! I'll be a raisin in a few years if I don't!)

True Love I Knew At Once

In the wee morning hours, before taking Gerrit to his 6:00 a.m. Driver's Ed class, I was reflecting on the natural order of events involving children separating from their dependence on their parents. In doing so, I felt happiness, because I know it's the way things are supposed to be, and what is parenting and family life for, if not to raise healthy, independent, future adults? On the flip side, I felt a little melancholy at the loss of the parent/child relationship as I've known it thus far, and wrote a little something to encapsulate my emotions.

True Love I Knew At Once
by Donna van Uitert
May 13, 2009 @ 5:41 a.m.

Sixteen years in life's embrace
True love I knew at once
When God extended me His grace
And you, my son, were born.

The face of Heaven's purest light
To you our Lord bestowed
And almost perfect in my sight
My eyes beheld my child.

A tear, a smile, a broken heart
The good amongst the bad
With me you share the smallest part
Our separate lives defined.

Did ever once to me you share
The secrets held within?
It now would seem you do not dare
Perhaps, you never did.

I miss you, oh, my little one
Come back to me in time
You are my moon and midday sun
On others now you shine.

The time is spent for me I fear
No longer I your choice
But you I always will hold dear
Forever, you'll be mine.

Now, I know this may sound a little depressing, but truly, it is an honest depiction of the struggle I feel between happiness and sadness in watching my children grow up and move on. It's a beautiful process, I would say, but nonetheless a real challenge for me. Any of you reading, who have already sent your children off to live their lives on their own, and build their own families, may understand the jumble of mixed emotions I am feeling. My oldest is only sixteen, but in this last year, the gap of separating from the whole and becoming more of an individual has vastly widened. It is very EXCITING to watch it happen, but I think I would be remiss in saying that it has all been smooth sailing for this here Momma Hen, who isn't quite ready to watch the chicks venture out of the coop on their own! Ah well... ready or not... it's happening! Wish me luck... :^)

Saturday with the van Uiterts, Rapps and Madsens

Here are a few pictures that my sweet sister-in-law, Kelli, took from their visit with us last Saturday :)