Quotes of the Week

The family is one of nature's masterpieces. ~George Santayana, The Life of Reason

The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born. ~Pearl S. Buck

Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted. ~Paul Pearshall

Remembering Dad

January twenty sixth is my Dad’s birthday. He would have been eighty years old today. This is the second January twenty sixth since his death. I was working in town on the twenty fifth and it was a cool, clear day. I went by the bakery at break time and went in and bought a donut, just like I did dozens of times when Dad was in the nursing home. I drove the same route over to the nursing home that I always did. Dad’s hearing was almost gone, and his confusion so bad, that food was the one form of communion that I could count on. Dad almost always would eat a donut or cinnamon roll with some coffee or milk.

On days like this I would take Dad outside to the east end of the building and we would sit in the sunshine. I would make small talk, and every now and then, Dad would say something. It might not make any sense, but it was good to just hear his voice. I’m thankful that he is not suffering any more, I sure wouldn’t wish him back on this earth, but I do miss him. I am thankful that I have the assurance that I will see him again, healthy and well and sound of mind. I suppose that on every January twenty sixth for the rest of my life, I will think of him and ask God to help me be at least half the man my dad was.

One day after I visited Dad, I hugged him and said, “I love you Dad.” He just looked at me with that confused expression. I turned and walked toward the door, and he said, “hey!” I stopped, thinking that it was going to be one of those difficult times when he wanted to leave with me. I turned back toward him and he said, “Now what’s your name again?” “It’s Ronnie” I said, a little loud so that he could hear me. “I love you too, Ronnie” he said.

Bradley Scores

Bradley scores 2 points for the Eagles. Basketball season is a fun time around here. Caleb and Bradley play for JV and Junior High while the younger kids play on the youth league that will be starting next week. They all have a lot of fun and we love it!!

Poor little "Oreo"

We had a lot of rain in the last week, some of it freezing. I was on call and had a busy time last Sunday evening when the power went out in one of our small communities. Luckily, I had help from Greg, a co-worker and we worked until after midnight. It was still cold and the roads slick on Monday. On Tuesday morning the ground which had been saturated was frozen and I decided to put out a roll of hay for the cows. When I tried to leave the roll where I wanted it I found that it was stuck to my hay fork. Every time I tried to drive away, the bale would drag along the ground. After several tries in various locations I gave up, and decided to leave my truck in the pasture with the hay roll lowered to the ground. I tried to take the net wrap off the roll but it was wet and frozen to the bale. I figured that the cows could eat the hay from the back of the bale and I would get the tractor and pull the truck loose from the bale when I got home from work.

I had to work a little late that evening and got home after dark. I carried the tractor battery which had been on the charger in the garage out to the barn and connected it to the tractor. When I hit the starter, fire flew and a cable that went to the starter burned up at the terminal. I didn’t want to start hunting parts in the dark so I decided to drive our other truck out to the hay truck and see if I could get loose from the hay bale. I knew that if the ground thawed out my truck would really be stuck.

I walked back to the house wondering if Murphy’s law was starting to operate. I got in the truck and drove out through the partially frozen pasture to the hay truck, leaving the lights on to check out the hay truck situation. I walked around the hay truck and almost ran into a calf right beside the truck. It was Oreo, a black-whiteface born in late August last year. He weighs about 450 pounds. I wondered why he was out here all alone and why he let me get so close. When he still didn’t offer to move away, I shined the flashlight on him and realized that he was stuck. His head was inside the back fender well of the truck between the tire and the fender and he was convinced that he couldn’t get it out. Yes, now I was sure, Murphy’s law was in full operation. Whatever could go wrong today probably would.

I poked Oreo trying to encourage him to twist his head and pull out. He danced around struggling, nearly bowling me over in the process but he was still stuck. I decided not to push him anymore, figuring the way my luck was running that he would cut his throat on the fender. I started the hay truck engine and lowered the hay fork as much as possible trying to lift the rear end of the truck in the process. It did rise, but only about an inch and Oreo remained stuck. I drove the other truck back to the house, realizing that I had left the hay truck engine running and wondered how much exhaust the calf could breathe before he passed out. By now, all dire contingencies were not only possible, but likely. I guess Becky could tell things weren’t good when I walked in the door. “How’s it going” she asked? “Well, you’re not going to believe this.” I said. I’ll bet she gets tired of hearing me say that.

Becky put on her coat and hat while I was telling her what had happened and was planning possible extraction strategies for Oreo. I needed either a jack or a long strong pry bar. I went out to the garage looking for ideas. I had three gallons of used peanut oil in a container that I was considering reusing and I picked it up along with a six foot piece of steel pipe. We drove back out to the truck hoping that the calf had managed to get free but no such luck. He was standing still, apparently having given up to his predicament. I placed the pipe on top of the rear tire and pushed up against the fender as hard as I could, the fender would only rise about another inch. Becky pushed the calf from the side while I lifted and Oreo struggled, but to no avail.

Now it was time for extreme measures. I took the peanut oil and poured it liberally over Oreo’s neck, trying to make it flow down over his head. When he looked like he was well lubed I put the pry bar back in place and heaved, telling Becky to poke and push him. Becky got a hand in and pushed his head sideways and the calf pulled back about halfway out. Becky kept pushing while I lifted and the calf popped out. He looked rough, but he wasn’t bleeding anywhere and he headed off to find his mama, just another day on Wolfhill.

Visions of Christmas 2006

A few of my favorite things collected over the years. Many treasures from my Mom who I really miss and my Mother-in -law who we are blessed to live so near. The beaded ornaments were hand made by grandmother Bea and most of my crocheted angels are gifts from my Aunt Jan. The lace ornaments were made by my niece Sarah. The nativity is a gift from my girls, as are our precious grandchildren.

"Sugar Baby" my sweet kitty relaxing under the tree after Christmas.

My Father-in-law built the simple but beautiful stable behind the nativity. It was his last project.You probably noticed that we have three stocking hung on the mantel. My Mother-in-law gave us Ronnie's Dad's stocking for our "little china girl"... three more Christmas Treasures.

OKC Christmas

My sisters and I visited my Stepdad Clayton in Oklahoma the weekend after Christmas. Our brother Billy and his sweet family were also there and we had a wonderful time. Our brothers and their families are a special blessing to Clayton right now. He lost our Mom last year and had major surgery this year and they have been an awesome source of support and help for him.

Pictures of my sisters, Clayton, and my brother Billy's beautiful daughters, son, and future son-in-law. Hey Garrett caught you with your eyes half closed...but the girls just looked soooo cute.

Remember Dixie Barnes?

For those of you haven't heard, Charles Oliver Hill and Dixie Jeannettie Barnes were married October 21,2006 in Amarillo, Texas.-Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple, we are so happy for you!

Quotes for the Week

“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.”
Corrie Ten Boom

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
Corrie Ten Boom

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
C.S. Lewis

"Praesto Sufficio"

I put out a roll of hay for the horses on Saturday evening and I was reminded again of how bad a shape some of our fences are in. I think that the cows are staying in the pasture just out of sympathy for me. The calves get out every now and then, but they are too young to have any sympathy. When Dad was alive and healthy he kept busy trying to keep the fences in decent shape. I can’t seem to get enough spare time to work like Dad did, and to be honest I just don’t have the will to work like he did. So, I will have to hire some fencing done in the near future.

When we moved out to Wolfhill in 1961 there were very few fences standing on the place. The land had been in the “Soil Bank Program” for several years with no grazing or cultivation taking place. Dad worked steadily repairing existing fences and building new ones. He bought two steers and two heifer calves. The names of the steers were Sugarfoot and Dynamite, and the heifers were Elsie and FlopEar. It remains a tradition on Wolfhill that all cattle are named. Dad built a temporary corral and shed for the calves. We used those temporary facilities until they started falling down twelve or fifteen years later. Then it was time to build more “temporary” facilities.

Many was the time that I heard Dad say, after finishing some such temporary project, “well, it don’t look like much but it’ll do.” If you’ve seen the mini-series Lonesome Dove, remember that Gus had a saying in Latin painted on a board that he carried to Montana. It said, “Uva uvam vivenda varia fit”, which I have read means, “the changing vine becomes the living vine”. I guess since we are Texans on a very small cattle ranch we need a Latin motto too, although a somewhat shorter one. So here it is, in the closest translation that we could get into Latin, “Praesto Sufficio”, the English translation; “it’ll do”.

Ronnie

Adoption Update

CCAA has finished the matching for families logged in through September 27, 2005. Although it is wonderful each month when the information comes out we were really hoping they would get through all of September. At the current rate it will probably June or later when they get to December 9,2005. My cousins Ben and Carla have a November 24, 2005 LID so they will probably get matched in May...maybe April. We will post more information on China Hope.

Becky