Another year has passed us by. As we start 2014, I want to take a second to capture this moment and record this time in our lives, if only for me.
Tim is working at Land 'O Lakes/Purina Nutrition. He is a Mechanical Manager. He seems to enjoy his job but hasn't figured out how to get free feed out of the deal. ;-) He also took on a side job at a local garage. He has enjoyed getting back to some hands-on work. Tim enjoyed helping out as an assistant coach for Drew's T-ball team. He likes playing around with the kids and dogs and is our handy-man around the farm.
I'm still enjoying my role as a stay-at-home mom. I have not been subbing this year, but have been home-schooling Drew and Macy. Between the kids and animals, I stay very busy. I am a dog trainer in the local 4H program and give private lessons at my house now and then. While we didn't have a litter this year, I stayed plenty busy training and traveling to shows. I achieved some great goals this year by qualifying in MVA at Nationals, as well as having 5 dogs in various Finals, not including juniors. Glory and I finished her MACH and I finished several conformation Champions.
Madie is 11, with a birthday coming up very soon. She got straight A's in 5th grade and is now in 6th grade. She sings in the choir, is in Math Bowl, and enjoys participating in Youth Group at church. She had a busy year with her two dogs, Ellie and Quinn. She finished Ellie's Altered Championship and she and Quinn competed in Junior Handling, achieving the ASCA 500 club as well as going on to rank #1 Junior in her 8-12 age category. They also won Reserve Grand in Showmanship at the County Fair and 2nd at the State Fair in Intermediate showmanship as a move up. Madie showed her goat, Candy to a showmanship placement at the County Fair, and her rabbits to some Best of Breed wins at County and placements at State. Madie was also bitten by the horse bug this year and showed 27 year old Rocky in the County fair, earning placements. She ended 2013 by getting her own horse, Romeo. Madie loves to read and play with her animals. Madie wants to be a mom, horse trainer, and dog breeder when she grows up.
Emma is 9 years old. She also got straight A's last year and is now in 4th grade. She sings in the choir and has been doing gymnastics for a little over a year now. She enjoyed her first year in ASCA and 4H, and aged into AKC. She and Nicki won Novice Champion in Showmanship at the County Fair, and 1st in their huge class at the State Fair. They also earned the 2nd Degree of Excellence in ASCA and made the cut to top 6 in the Nationals Finals. Emma also showed her goat Cherry, placing in showmanship at the State Fair. She shows rabbits too. Emma wants to be a mom, teacher, and dog trainer when she grows up.
Drew is 5 years old. He's all boy. He loves to play with trucks, trains, army men, and dirt. He played T-ball in the spring and really loved that. He graduated from pre-school but we decided to wait one more year for kindergarten due to his age. He loves to help around the farm and shadows his daddy everywhere. He went to two dog shows and loves 'teaching' dogs in the agility yard. His favorite stuffed animal is his "Blue" that he's had since he was a baby. He loves school and is learning to read and is really good at math. I know it must be hard being the only boy with 3 sisters, but he's a very good brother to them all! He says he wants to be a doctor and farmer when he grows up.
Macy is 3. Her days consist of following around big brother Drew and playing with the animals. She likes My Little Ponies and stuffed animals. She loves to draw and color and read books. She is a big talker and is never shy about giving her opinion. She's a picky eater and has enough attitude and spunk to hold her own as the baby of the family. Macy says she wants to be a mom when she grows up, but without holes in her ears. (NO earrings!)
With the exception of some illnesses in 2013, we had a great year. We took a family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells with my parents. Madie, Emma, and I traveled to the Colorado ASCA Nationals with my dad. We did our annual weekend in a Brown County cabin to celebrate Madie's birthday in January, as well as enjoyed several local camping trips to Raccoon Lake. We raised our first litter of rabbits and hatched some ducklings.
We're looking forward to 2014 with family and friends and all the new adventures and memories this year will bring.
