Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Today was blissful- I didn't go anywhere! Having our own little Christmas was a lot of fun.

Shannon came over last night for dinner- we had fajitas! Traditional holiday meals seem to be a challenge for us, so we eat whatever sounds yummy. For Christmas dinner we had bacon, hash-browns, and pancakes!

We decided not to put up decorations this year because of Winter. We knew if we put up a tree, she would knock it over, probably daily. We have lights in the window and she has pulled those down multiple times. But it still didn't feel like Christmas. Last week, I found a little tree and star ornament. On Christmas Eve, I set it up along with part of our nativity as a surprise for Randy.

We spent the day eating Christmas goodies, I got to Skype with my family (they are in Dubai), watching White Christmas, and talking the day away. For breakfast, I stuck with a Sheets family tradition- something with a lot cinnamon. Growing up we either had cinnamon rolls or sticky buns for breakfast along with the fruit we got in our stockings. This year I made sticky buns and since Randy got a bag of clementines we enjoyed those as well.

My parents sent us a Christmas package which included a gingerbread house kit. Part of the afternoon we dedicated to making this piece of art. Mitch and Winter were determined to help, but their lack of opposable thumbs and their strong desire to eat everything in sight was counter productive.

My favorite gift this year was from Randy. When we decided to start this blog it was with the intent to print it off and bind it at the end of each year. That did not happen. I worked on trying to get the formatting right, but I kept getting frustrated. Randy was able to figure it out and got the first year bound in lovely book. I was not expecting it at all. Randy is incredible.

Winter worked hard getting her blanket bed just perfect. It was hilarious to watch 

I am grateful for this time of year as a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. More importantly, it is a reminder of the love our Heavenly Father has for all of us. He gave us the gift of His perfect son so that we can return home to Him. Because of Jesus Christ, our lives have meaning and purpose. We were sent to earth from the presence of God to learn how to love, how to serve, how to have faith, how to trust in God, to learn to be like God. Jesus Christ is an essential part of our journey here on earth. Because of His suffering in Gethsemane, we can repent of our mistakes and given another chance to be better. Not only can we be forgiven of our sins, but Christ can carry our burdens and understands each of us perfectly. He knows what we need and knows how best to help us each of in our particular circumstances. I know this to be true from my own experience. 

Merry Christmas!

Finally- Time to Breath

I made it through Fall semester of second year! I passed all of my classes so I can continue to move forward in school. I am half way down with the classwork part of my schooling- YIKES!

 Last month I went to the west side of Washington for an alpaca castration trip. It was a blast. The veterinarians at the clinic were wonderful. We stayed the night at their house. Our group castrated about 15 alpacas. We got to do the entire procedure- it was awesome! We also filled down their fighting teeth (these teeth can get very sharp).

During Thanksgiving break, I went down to Utah for a few days. My amazing little sister Ashley had one of the leads in Guys and Dolls. She was fantastic! I also got to spend some time with couple of my best friends. I didn't realize just how  much I missed them. Brittany made me laugh continuously for two hours. That was a wonderful stress release. I saw Maria one evening and we had a much needed thought provoking conversation.

I have a four week break from school! I have been using the break to deep clean the house, bake, watch movies, make an attempt to work on my senior paper, and read. It has been just lovely to read and not worry about learning something from the book. I have read a series called Divergent and I am rereading the Harry Potter series for the first time in ages. Being able to spend time with Randy and not worrying about how much more I need to study has been wonderful.

Two weeks ago, Randy and I went up to Spokane to go to the temple. It was the perfect way to end this crazy semester- surround by peace. We also met up with some friends, Natalie and Brandon at Red Robin for lunch. We had a good time wandering around the mall looking at very expensive house wares"just for ideas" as Natalie put it.


Last weekend, Randy and I went up to my in-laws. We cleaned goats pens, and dewormed goats, moved furniture around, played with all the animals, and ate lots of yummy food.  We took Mitch and Winter with us. There were three little dogs running around and Winter did just fine with them. She had a great time exploring the house and watching the dogs. Mitch enjoyed running around in the snow. He seemed to have a permeant bit of snow on the top of his nose.



We went out to lunch with gal that worked with Randy this last summer, Lindsay, at a place called Hu Hot. It was excellent- you fill up your plate with raw meats and veggies and sauces. Then you take it to a large circle grill and the cooks grill it up right there for you.

Sunday evening we had Christmas together. Mitch was very excited about the chews he got, but Winter was more excited about the wrapping paper then any of the gifts.

This is our first year to spend Christmas just the two of us since we got married. I am excited to just spend time with my Randall, watch Christmas movies, make more Christmas goodies, and start making our own traditions for our family.

 Merry Christmas!

Fall Paradise

It has been another crazy week with two exams and learning how to live with an extremely energetic, but adorable kitten.


Last weekend I and other students drove over to Richmond WA for a horse castration clinic. There is an all equine clinic that invites vet students over to help with a low cost castration day. It was fantastic! I learned so much and was engaged in all aspects of the castrations including calculating drug dosages, giving injections, physical exams, and of course the castration procedure itself. The vets over there are wonderful! They were excited about us being there and were willing share their wisdom.

Randy is doing pretty good. He got a part time job at WADDL last week. He is working in a department called Central Processing working with bacteria. This is his first experience working in a lab and will be helpful later in his career as a wildlife biologist to understand how tests are run and what are the best samples to submit for the most accurate results. We are waiting to hear back from a graduate professor about a graduate position Randy applied for. Prayers are appreciated!

On Friday, we went out with friends from WADDL this to an amazing steak place called the Brass Lantern. Its a teeny tiny place in the back of a bar in a little town called Genesee. This place only serves HUGE servings. I got a top sirloin that was 16 oz! That was the only size they had and most entrees were even bigger.

Saturday was spent studying, but I also placed a catheter for the first time ever! The equine club had a lab first thing the morning to practice putting catheters into horses. It was a great way to get excited and reminded about why I came to vet school and why it really is important to study. That night, Randy, Mitch, and I went over to Becky's for a relaxing evening.

Winter and Mitch are doing well. Winter has more then doubled in size since we brought her inside. She loves to play (Mitch's tail and my backpack are favorite toys, even though the floor is always covered in cat toys). She rips around the house often carrying a pair of socks or a toy. Another favorite game is hide under the bed and attack your feet as you walk by. Her favorite place to sleep is curled up next to Mitch. He is really good with her, although he often gives us the 'will you please take her away, she won't leave me alone' look.

On Halloween, Sara L., Becky, and Sara S. came over to carve pumpkins. We learned that regular orange pumpkins really are the best ones to carve. Randy's mom brought down a truck load of pumpkins last week including this pink one. It looked like a pumpkin, but it was THICK. I struggled for a while and ended up sending pumpkin flying everywhere! I never did get the top off, and the triangles was the best I could get.  I tried again with a regular pumpkin... that worked much better.

  

Sara S. brought her pup Olive over to play with Mitch. They had a great time rolling in the grass and racing around the yard.

I only have one exam this week! Is it sad that when I found out we had an ENTIRE week between exams it felt like Christmas had come early? The following week is round two for Diagnostic Challenge and our classmates from Utah will be coming up to join us. We haven't seen them in person since COLE at the beginning of our vet school career. It should be lots of fun. Then Thanksgiving, then finals then I will be done with another semester of school! I will be halfway done with the classwork part of vet school! AH! 

Don't forget to count your blessings :D 

Introducing Winter!

Well, we are now a well balanced family, according to my boss. This is due to the fact that a kitten has decided to move in. We really didn't have much say in the matter.

But seriously who could say no to that face? 

Over the last few weeks Randy and I have heard kittens under our house periodically. Last Saturday evening we heard kittens crying and we didn't think much of it. At one point Randy looked under the house and he didn't see any kittens but he heard them move around. When we were getting ready for bed the kittens were still crying. The next morning they were still crying and we decided that if they were still crying when we got home from church we see what we could do to help. I was really hoping momma cat would come back and take care of the kittens since we really didn't want a cat. 

We got back from church and sure enough the crying was still going on. We suited up with gloves, big coats, long sleeves and towels at the ready to wrap up the little ones. There are lots of cats both with owners and feral cats all over our park. I was positive that the kittens would be feral and crazy. Unknown to us there is a pipe about a foot in diameter that is about 2 feet deep under our trailer that goes to nowhere. We have no idea what its purpose is. Randy crawled under the house and found one kitten in the pipe. We thought for sure there had to be more then one because the crying was so loud, but this kitten had a strong will to live and a good set of lungs. As my arms fit the best inside the pipe I was the lucky one to pull her out. I was positive that she would try to eat my hand off when I touched her, but she didn't make a sound or try to attack me. 

We got her inside wrapped up in towels get her warmed her up. Within 10 minutes she did not want to sit still, but I didn't want to let this strange kitten loose in the house. We put her in this box with a heating pad thinking for sure she would be exhausted. 

However she had no interest in sleeping and did everything she could to climb out of the box. Within the next few hours she wiggled her way into our hearts and decided she wanted to stay. Our original plan was to send her to Spokane to be a barn cat at my in-laws. My mother-in-law was coming down on Friday and could take her then. She turned out to be such a nice kitten that gets along really well with Mitch that we decided she could stay.

Sleeping with Mitch is her favorite way to sleep

Monday I took her to the vet to get her checked out. The Doc determined that she was about 4 weeks old. She also got a bath and this was the first time I have ever given a cat a bath. 

She is growing fast and gets spunkier every day. 

She loves her toys and is already getting spoiled 

Oh dear.... our house is already getting run over by this 1 pound kitten named Winter 

Its Autumn Time

Its Fall! I think this is the first time in my life I am excited about this time of year. I am a lover of all things summer - hot sun, blue skies, the one time of the year I don't need a jacket, watermelon, fresh fruits and veggies... I could go on and on. But for some reason this year I am excited about this cool day, leaves changing, hot chocolate, sweater wearing, apple cider, pumpkin everything time.

It could possibly be because I knew this was coming! Yes a it is a pellet stove that yes actually keep the house warm! Finally this winter I will not have to survive moving through the house in sweatshirts, thick pjs, and a pile of blankets to keep from freezing to death. (I am only slightly exaggerating) We turned it on last night and the house was 70 degrees on the lowest setting! Finally a decent temperature to pass the winter with. Oh and Mitch loves it too. He is already laying in front of it soaking up the heat waves.






This week was much better then the last few. Partly because I only had one test and it was on Monday, so there was not any frantic studying this week or this weekend and partly because Randy and I finally went on a date for the first time in weeks!
Yesterday I went to my first ever conference. I felt like a real grown up. I got on a bus with some friends at 7:30 am for a 3.5 hour drive over to Yakima for the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association annual conference. This was my first opportunity to interact with my future colleagues and attend lectures pertaining to all aspects of veterinary medicine. I attended 3 different lectures about lameness in horses, creating a work life balance, and how to retain clients. I wish there were more hours in the day as there were many other topics from beef nutrition to viral infections of cats that I wanted to attend.

Today Randy and I listened to General Conference. Twice a year the leaders of the Church speak to the entire world.  It was such a blessing to be able to sit by my sweet husband and listen to the words of the apostles and the prophet. I was reminded of the importance of keeping things in proper order- put God first then things will fall into place and also to use my time wisely among many other messages. If you would like to learn more about General Conference click here.

Today was one of the few beautiful fall days we have had so far. It has been quite rainy here the last few weeks. I sure do love the rain, but it was lovely to see the sun and feel its warm rays on my face.

We found this little guy while walking down the lane. He was not to happy with Randy's attempts to save his life by chasing him off the road. 

I sure do love these two! 

To round out this lovely relaxing day, we had pot roast for dinner! Growing up we had pot roast almost every Sunday for dinner. This is the first time since we have been married to enjoy this Sheets family tradition. I am proud to say it was quite tasty. 

:D 

Forget Me Not

This semester has been tough. Not only are the classes and work involved difficult, but a feeling of inadaquency has also been present. This has been brought on my no one but myself. I have fallen into the trap of COMPARISON. Comparing myself to my classmates- I am not as smart, or work as hard, to understand enough, or dedicate enough time to school. I don't have enough experience to get a job in a few years. I don't have enough leadership positions or enough connections. I don't work out every single day. I can't stay on top of everything. I am behind everyone else. 

These thoughts beat me down almost every day, leaving me discouraged and depressed. However I have been able to pull myself out of this dark place. One important part of my climb out was an address given a few years ago by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf who is a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is entitled "Forget Me Not". It was delivered at the annual Relief Society Broadcast.(I have taken the liberty of slightly condensing the address. The entire address can be found here) 

Forget Me Not

"A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of God’s creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it. The flower is called forget-me-not.

I’m not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies—perhaps this is one reason why I like it so much.

And there is the haunting plea of its name. There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, “Forget me not, O Lord!” And God replied that this would be its name.

Tonight I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget.

First, forget not to be patient with yourself.

I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
It’s wonderful that you have strengths.
And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths,¹ but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect,² and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.
...

Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey.

Second, forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.

An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.

Giving up a little sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. We all know this. Staying up all night, jeopardizing our own health, to make the perfect accessory for a daughter’s Sunday outfit may not be such a good sacrifice. Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be.

...

How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective. Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms.

Third, forget not to be happy now.

In the beloved children’s story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the mysterious candy maker Willy Wonka hides a golden ticket in five of his candy bars and announces that whoever finds one of the tickets wins a tour of his factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Written on each golden ticket is this message: “Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket … ! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you! … Mystic and marvelous surprises … will … delight, … astonish, and perplex you.”³

In this classic children’s story, people all over the world desperately yearn to find a golden ticket. Some feel that their entire future happiness depends on whether or not a golden ticket falls into their hands. In their anxiousness, people begin to forget the simple joy they used to find in a candy bar. The candy bar itself becomes an utter disappointment if it does not contain a golden ticket.

So many people today are waiting for their own golden ticket—the ticket that they believe holds the key to the happiness they have always dreamed about. For some, the golden ticket may be a perfect marriage; for others, a magazine-cover home or perhaps freedom from stress or worry.

There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings—we hope and seek after things that are “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.”⁴ The problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future event—our golden ticket—to appear.

... 

The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us.

This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper our goals. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.

The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.

Fourth, forget not the “why” of the gospel.

Sometimes, in the routine of our lives, we unintentionally overlook a vital aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ, much as one might overlook a beautiful, delicate forget-me-not. In our diligent efforts to fulfill all of the duties and obligations we take on as members of the Church, we sometimes see the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must add to our already impossibly long to-do list, as a block of time that we must somehow fit into our busy schedules. We focus on what the Lord wants us to do and how we might do it, but we sometimes forget why....

While understanding the “what” and the “how” of the gospel is necessary, the eternal fire and majesty of the gospel springs from the “why.” When we understand why our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living, when we remember why we committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead, becomes a joy and a delight. It becomes precious and sweet.

Let us not walk the path of discipleship with our eyes on the ground, thinking only of the tasks and obligations before us. Let us not walk unaware of the beauty of the glorious earthly and spiritual landscapes that surround us.

My dear sisters, seek out the majesty, the beauty, and the exhilarating joy of the “why” of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The “what” and “how” of obedience mark the way and keep us on the right path. The “why” of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration.

Fifth, forget not that the Lord loves you.

As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.
Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.

And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!

You are not forgotten.

Sisters, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.

Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!

He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name—you are the daughters of His kingdom. The Psalmist wrote:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? …
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”⁵

God loves you because you are His child. He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes.

The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.
My dear Relief Society sisters, you are closer to heaven than you suppose. You are destined for more than you can possibly imagine. ...

Sisters, there is something inspiring and sublime about the little forget-me-not flower. I hope it will be a symbol of the little things that make your lives joyful and sweet. Please never forget that you must be patient and compassionate with yourselves, that some sacrifices are better than others, that you need not wait for a golden ticket to be happy. Please never forget that the “why” of the gospel of Jesus Christ will inspire and uplift you. And never forget that your Heavenly Father knows, loves, and cherishes you.

Thank you for who you are. Thank you for the countless acts of love and service you offer up to so many. Thank you for all that you will yet do to bring the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ to families, to the Church, to your communities, and to the nations of the world.
Sisters, we love you. It is my prayer and blessing that you will never forget that you are truly precious daughters in God’s kingdom, in the sacred name of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, amen."

My constant battle is to remind myself that I am not like everyone else and that is a GOOD thing! Everyone has different struggles, and often we can not see them. I have responsibilities that some of my classmates do not which changes the way I utilize my time. And that is OKAY. How God sees me and what He thinks of me ought to have the most influence on how I see myself. I know that the things Elder Uchtdorf taught are true, I can feel it within my soul. 

You are enough and I am enough. 

Another Week

First-last weekend my husband, the self proclaimed NON-baker, made the most delicious cinnamon rolls! I mean these bad boys not only had the perfect cinnamon roll taste with cream cheese frosting, but they were super soft! And when they reheated they were still super soft. My husband is amazing.

This weekend, Randy's dad and a family friend Ben Robinson came down to build us a new porch. They did a fantastic job! Thank you so much! Its pretty much done minus a handrail and it needs to be stained. 

 Before

During 

After

School is just plugging along. The tests have started to come and there isn't an end in sight until Christmas. It has been an amazing blessing to have Randy home. I don't know if I could have survived this long in the semester without his constant support. He takes care of Mitch, the yard, the house, does the dishes, makes dinner, encourages me to study and go to extra labs/learning opportunities, and doesn't complain that I have to give so much time to school. This semester has taken a lot of out of me, and he has been there to fill in the holes. He is my personal guardian angel. 

Picture Update

School started 3 weeks ago and is going full blast. This year has already been crazy busy. Some of that is due the fact that I am still working two jobs- WADDL and with the big horns. Randy is still home (YAY!). I absolutely love having him home! He is such a good man. He has applied to a job in Clarkston but we are still waiting to hear back.

Our friends Natalie and Brandon came down the weekend after my first week of school. We had a blast. Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market in Moscow. There seemed to be more vendors then other times this summer and there were lots of people. We bought the BEST blueberries I have ever had. Even Randy thought they were awesome. The boys bought mini doughnuts for breakfast. Afterwards all of us plus Mitch went to Kamiak Butte for a hike and Mitch got to try out his new backpack.

That night we made a yummy pasta bake and played games. Even though I didn't leave Pullman, it felt like a real vacation. It also made me feel like a 'real' grown up to have friends stay at our house. 

School is just crazy and the second week started to get to me. I was pretty stressed out and had a lot to get done. My sweet Randy knew what some of the best medicine for my stress is - riding- and decided to make it happen. So on Friday evening, we went to an opening social for church and then drove up to Spokane to spend the weekend at Randy's parents' place. The next morning, my incredible mother in law gave me a riding lesson on Tag. I have had very few formal riding lessons, and I love picking the brain of this great rider. My Tag is a well trained horse and has to work hard to make me into a decently trained rider. Its just going to take some time. Once dismounting and putting him away I felt much refreshed and ready to hit the books again. The agreement was I could ride in the morning, but would be 'locked' in the bedroom with my mountain of books and notes while Randy helped out with some home improvement projects. Amazingly I was actually really productive. 

Sunday, we went to church, I ate wayyy toooo many pancakes for lunch,  and enjoyed each other's company. 

Monday the four of us went shopping and went out to breakfast at this cool place called Frank's Diner. Its this refurbished dining train car. After we got home, I got another riding lesson and Randy rode his horse Montana. Soon after lunch, I headed back down to Pullman to meet with a study group and finish my homework.  

Baby Goats! 

Trick Pony 

The Brothers 

Watching the world go by 

The following week of school was still crazy and busy but went better. Yesterday I studied all morning, but starting at 4 pm - it was date night! Finally! It had been too long since we have gone out just the two of us. We went out to dinner and meet a friend Randy had made while working in Idaho. Afterwards we all headed out to the Lewiston Roundup. This is the first rodeo we have been to since getting married. (in other words it has been far too long) We had a great time and had awesome seats. We sat right behind the chutes. They did a good job keeping everything going smoothly and know one got seriously hurt. There were some good rides on both broncs and bulls. 

There is a little bit about us the last few weeks. Life is still wonderful and God is good to us. 

My Heart is Full

So many wonderful things have happened over the last two months. The best being my incredible husband came home last Friday!!!!!! Once he was home, it felt like he never left.
A quick run down of our lives the last 2 months

• End of May to the 17th of June, I did my Ag animal rotation. It was AMAZING!!! I learned so much! My first patient was a day old baby camel! She stayed for a week, I bottle fed her, put a halter on her, ultrasounded her, completed physical exam twice a day, gave injections, did a ton of paper work, and a bunch of research 
• Other cool things I got to do 
• Delivering piglets (I actually got to pull 2 piglets out into the world)
• learned how to amputate toes from cows
• confidently nerve block a cow for dehorning/debudding and complete the dehorning
• gain confidence doing physical exams on multiple species
• spending hours talking with clinicians about anything and everything
• collected and ran fecals (looking for parasites in poop) 
• gave injections to sheep and drew blood
• Placed the 'holding' (the layer of tissue that has to stay together to prevent the incision site from reopening) sutures on cow that we did an exploratory surgery on 
• My good friend, Brooklin, and I started meeting at 5 am almost every morning for a workout! Right now we are doing Insanity and once we finish we are going to do P90x. I love it! 
• I lost over 15 pounds while Randy was away! I was really proud of myself for this one. I have never been able to consistently stick with a healthy lifestyle. I actually like eating veggies every day. I have more energy and just feel good. 
• I went fly fishing for the first time! Mitch got to come. I caught 6 fish- way more then I thought I would. I went with Lorriane, my boss at WADDL. We drove 3 hours to the most beautiful river I have ever seen - the Selway. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I have strengthened my relationship with my Savior and Heavenly Father. My faith in Their love and concern for me grew. I was never left alone while Randy was gone. I have come to know them better. 
• One of my best friends since 5th grade, Christina Erekson, was married in the St. George temple
• The Monday after Randy got home, he left go to to Spokane to help his parents. I have the best husband. He is always willing to help others. Within a few hours of being home, he mowed the lawn, helped do the dishes, and straighten the house. 
  
• I went up to Spokane Tuesday night for the Stratton (Randy's mother's side) reunion. There were about 40ish people there. We came home last night (Saturday)
• Randy and I went out to dinner with some friends- Natalie and Brandon Piper. While we were visiting, Natalie mentioned she was going to start preparing to go to the temple!!!! And she asked me to be her escort!!!!!!!!!! Can you say happiness!!!! They are planning to be sealed soon afterwards. I screamed in the middle of the Applebee's parking lot. 
• Shannon and I sang at the memorial for Grandpa Merle Stratton. At the end we sang was "How Great Thou Art".  About half way through the first verse, everyone joined in with us without any prompting. It was an incredible experience.
• I rode my horse three times! 
• I banded and vaccinated one of the goat kids
• Vaccinated Mitch
• Gave horse rides to kids
• Made lots of 'salads' (an assortment of concoctions based on Cool whip)
• Played in the creek- it was soo hot
• Mitch had so much fun with all the people and running around outside. We wore him out and hasn't moved much since we got home. 
• As for now, I am working as much as possible with the bighorn sheep (including feeding lambs) and at WADDL and Randy is looking for the next job or HOPEFULLY master's program