Has It Really Been Two Years?

Can you believe it has been two years since I started this blog?I really hadn't given it much thought until one of my readers sent me an email and asked for an update on our four boys. I realized the information I had on them under the little "about me" paragraph on the blog was entirely out of date.

So, let's start with the oldest, Nick. Nick ended his tour of duty in Japan last year. Is that the right wording, "tour of duty" or does that only refer to times at war? Well, in any case, he was stationed in Japan at Yakota Air Force Base for two years and we were lucky enough to be able to go to Japan over Christmas in 2009. I wrote several posts while we were in Japan and if you wnat to read them, just go to the "Blog Archive" on the left hand side of the blog and click on "2010" and then "December."

In July of 2010 Nick was then stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico and remains there today. Nick was also deployed to Germany for 6 weeks in the beginning of the year. We praise God for keeping him safe.AND... Nick has recently married!! How exciting for me to have a girl in the family!! We love Sarah! Sarah "passed the test" when they came for a visit in June and she volunteered to help process chickens! LOL! Who can't help but love their daughter-in-law when she volunteers to help with the worst job in the world?

Nick & Sarah

Photo taken by Sarahs' mom, Rita.

We also had another test for Sarah that she passed with flying colors. That test is known as the "Can You Handle A Manville Holiday Test?" I went through the same test when Danny and I were engaged. The test involves spending a holiday with Dan the Man's family at his parents cabin in the middle of nowhere in the Colorado mountains.Here is a recount of one of those holidays. Manville Family Christmas, Part One. Sarah fit in perfectly with this fun loving, crazy, loud and lovable family. I think Sarah's mom, Rita, will also fit in just fine! I hope to get her to the cabin for one of our holidays!

(Side note: Nick just wrote on my Facebook wall and said "You need to update your blog, I'm no longer in Japan...." How funny is that?

Nick & Sarah's wedding was in Clovis on October 15th. We all went down for it and it was so special having all the boys together. I am sure I will blog about it, but I must share this picture from the wedding in this post. All our boys, so grown up... now I'll have to find a picture of when they were little to post at the end.

Handsome group of men, if I do say so myself!

(Left to Right: Skyler, Nick, Chris and Colton)

Here we are at our wedding in July of 1996!

(Left to Right: Nick, me, Chris, Colton, Danny and pouty Skyler!)

So keeping in chronological order, that would bring us to Colton. Colton is in his senior year at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota. He will graduate this coming spring with a degree in uh... ummm... something that has to do with computers! I don't know exactly what his degree is in, but I DO know it is some technical thingy concerning computers. Geez... you'd think I'd know, but what Colton does is completely over my head. He is very intelligent and his understanding of how things work is amazing. I can't even begin to imagine what the little hamsters in his brain look like when they are busy processing data.

Colton has held internships with Microsoft in Washington State for the last two summers and more than likely will do another this coming summer. He just got back from flying to Seattle for his interview. He will continue his schooling at SDSM&T and work towards his masters.

Colton is also very active with SDSM&T InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a student-led Christian organization on campus. He is one of the small group leaders.

Colton is going to India 2nd semester. His senior design team is working with a company in India and they are going to go visit the company. Wow! Colton as been very fortunate in visiting many places because of his chosen field. I know at Microsoft, they plan GREAT trips for their interns and give them lots of FREE stuff. A computer geeks paradise!

I stole this picture of Colton off his Facebook page!

Let's see, that brings us to Chris. Chris has since graduated from Western Nebraska Community College in Alliance with a degree in Powerline Maintenance & Construction. He is currently living in Kearney, NE where his girlfriend, Katy is attending nursing school at UNK (University of Nebraska - Kearney).

Chris & Katy at a hockey game in Kearney.

(Also stolen from Facebook.)

Chris works for Charter Communications as a locator. He is patiently waiting for a job opening as a lineman. Remember this old song by Glen Campbell? I think of it every time I talk about Chris being a lineman! LOL

Chris is enjoying his life and keeps busy with softball, working out, fishing, garage sale shopping and spending time with Katy. Chris also gets brownie points for being the child who calls his mother the most often.


Last, but not least, Skyler... Skyler is a senior this year at Morrill High School. The last one to fly the coop. He plans on going to college but is undecided as to where. He would like to get a degree in business and has been looking at the Colorado State University, the University of Wyoming and the University of Nebraska (both the Lincoln and Kearney campuses.) Dan the Man and Skyler are going to Lincoln this weekend to tour UNL. That's kind of a scarey thought... Dan the Man in Lincoln without me there to navigate... I will stay home and tend to the livestock.

Skyler did not go out for football this year so this marks the first year in the past 8 years that we did not attend a football game. That was weird. I actually missed the Friday night games, but I think I really missed the grilled hamburgers at the Morrill home games the most! Skyler is the student council president this year and is also a member of the National Honor Society. He is definitely ready to be done with high school and move on to college.

Skyler also has a girlfriend, Sara. I noticed on Facebook this morning that it's "official", Skyler changed his status from "single" to "in a relationship." Before, they were just "talking." I guess that's what they say now-a-days. I guess you are friends, then you start "talking" which includes dating and then you advance to "in a relationship" on Facebook. LOL My how times have changed.

Skyler and Sara

(once again, picture stolen from Facebook!)

 Dug these pictures out of an old photo album.

I taken up at Dan the Man's mom and dad's place,

more loving known as "the cabin."

This is also where we got married.

Beautiful Autumn colors in the aspen trees.

 Skyler 1996

Chris 1996

 Colton 1996

 Nick 1996

So, there you have it.  The kids are growing up and becoming adults.  We are so proud of each one of them.  Dan the Man and this Country Chicken Girl have been truly blessed in the department of children.  So glad God has a plan for each and everyone of us and I am so grateful that His plan for me was to married my man, Dan, and join us all together as a family in Christ.

Update on Victory Hill Farm

Congratulations are in order today for Sarah and Lee Pinet over at the Victory Hill Farm!

One of Sarah's pigs had 4 little piglets yesterday!

Awww, piglets are so stinkin' cute.  I will HAVE to get over there and get some pictures.

Here are the pigs laying around without a single worry in the world during the "VICTOBERFEST" on Sunday.

They were all suppose to go to market, but Sarah discovered that one was pregnant!  Lucky pig!

...and this little piggy along with her four cute, cuddly, adorable, "oh I want one so bad" babies got to stay home!

PS, Sarah, Hope you don't mind that I snagged your picture off Facebook!

"Victoberfest" - Don't Miss It Next Year!

On October 23rd my friends, Lee & Sarah Pinet, hosted their first annual "Victoberfest" at their goat dairy, Victory Hill Farm.  WOW, WOW, WOW, was it ever a success!  I am extremely sad for you if you did not make it to the festival.  You really did miss out on a FUN event.  Victory Hill Farm is the only dairy goat dairy located in Western Nebraska.

The fall weather was absolutely perfect with temperatures in the mid 70's and just a slight breeze and a few small gusts of wind at times.  We were so blessed with the weather, especially since Fall in Western Nebraska can often mean snow and huge amounts of wind!

The festivities started at 11am and continued until 4pm.  In essence, it was an open house plus more!  There were "penny carnival" (farm style) activities for children to do, lunch was offered, live music and a farmers' market.  We, the Open A Bar 2 Ranch, participated in the farmers' market.

Allow me to tell you more about the festival through my pictures.  (Remember you can click on a picture to see a full-screen view of it and then just hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.)

First I'll start the vendors of the farmers' market.  I am missing one picture of one of the vendors who was there.  He left a little early and I neglected to snap his picture.  So sorry.  I am not even sure what his name is, but he was selling some gourds and zucchini.

  

Dan the Man with Open A Bar 2 Ranch

 

Ernie Griffith with Ebee Honey

Nancy Butcher with Jam & Jellies Just For You

Farmer Dan Weitzel with Mitchell Valley Farm

Jane Sedman with Mama Jane's Artisan Breads

 

Kethera Moran with My Friend Kethera  

Nick Gompert with Spotted Tail Farm

 Laura Whelchel with Double L Country Store

Laura was also manning the Victory Hill Farm store and 

selling tickets for the activities.

She was busy, Busy, BUSY!

 

And now for some of the kids, animals and activities.

Group of kids having a great time.

Check out those smiles!

People enjoying lunch.

A young man enjoying the company of this bunny!

Face painting!



Bill Snocker providing some live music
on his guitar and harmonica! 

CHICKENS!

Bales of hay to climb on!

A big black horse, of course!

A goat resting amongst all the commotion!

Love this kid's hair!!

More goats!

What personalities they have.

That's what makes goats so fun, they are so animated and entertaining.

Lazy pigs!

This piggy wanted to know what I was doing.

 

 Cute!

 

A little hesitant!

Milk A Goat!

 

Can't tell who is having more fun, Sarah or the girl milking!

The "Corn Dig".  Candy surprises were buried in the corn!

Free picture taking station complete with wagon and pumpkins!

Gramps "hanging out" with his little man!

There was even a LIVE TURKEY Raffle!!

I wonder how many children were "allowed" to enter that one?

AND... who is going to butcher that turkey?

Check out this little girl's face...

right after the turkey did a very impressive...

gobble, gobble, gobble!

The "tomato toss".

The child with the highest score receive two ticket

to the "Spooktacular"!

Such concentration!

Ahhh... the pony rides!

Ahhh...

the pony ride clean-up crew!

So, if you missed it this year,

I hope that you will make a point of

attending next year!

THE END

The Scoop On The Gourd

Some of my Facebook friends are probably wondering what the post on Facebook was about the gourd that I painted. I was going to add "with chickens" at the end of the previous sentence... but that just seemed silly... sounded like I painted the gourd using chickens! Hee, hee!

Anyway... one of our local museums is having a fundraiser which involves people decorating gourds for a contest and auction. The museum is the North Platte Valley Museum in Gering, Nebraska. What? You've never been there? Well... I hadn't either until a friend of mine, Katie Bradshaw, was named the executive director and invited Dan the Man and I to a "Business After Hours" party at the museum last month. Wow-wee, were we in for surprise! What a great museum full of many, many interesting exhibits. There was way too much for us to look at so we will be planning a trip, actually it'll probably be several, to see all the neat stuff. I LOVE that kind of stuff and all the stories that go along with the artifacts. I think I should have been a pioneer... I always loved "Little House on the Prairie" and wished many a times that Laura Ingalls Wilder was my friend while I was growing up and I was on the prairie sharing in all her adventures.

So anyway, back to the contest. This is the info I received on the contest.

"The North Platte Valley Museum will be hosting a contest for area artists that will serve as a fundraiser for the Museum. This contest involves creating an original work of art from a birdhouse gourd, which have been donated by Gene Koenig. The gourds will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Gourds can be picked up beginning on Tuesday, August 16 at the NPVM. Hours of the Museum are Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm.

Artist can decorate their gourd and return it to the Museum by September 26th, where they will be a display through October 21. The community will be invited to vote on their favorite gourd. Votes cost $1 each, and people can vote on as many as they like, beginning on September 29. The winner will be announced on Sunday, October 23, at the kick off 50th Anniversary Celebration of the North Platte Valley Museum."

So, that is the scoop on the gourd. I decided to join in on the fun and pictures of my gourd are posted below. When I turned my gourd in on Monday I got to see some of the other ones that people had done. There are some really cool ones and if you want to see them you HAVE to go to the Museum and check them out for yourself. I know several of the artists and hope you do take a few minutes to run over and see them and cast your vote.

Remember you can vote as many times as you like! Let's raise some money for the Museum. And don't cop-out on me by saying you can't because you live out of town. What nonsense... I already took care of that. When I was dropping off my gourd with Katie at the Museum, I asked her if people from out of town could vote by sending a check made out the Museum and enclosing a little note saying that they were voting for a specific gourd (like mine!) and she said that would be wonderful. So family and friends from out of town... I am counting on you to send a little donation. Please and thank you!!!

Send your donation and vote to:

North Platte Valley Museum
P.O. Box 435
Gering, NE 69341

Be sure to include a note that you are voting for the gourd fundraiser! And if you want to vote for mine, you'll have to specify that you are voting on Kathi Manville's gourd. Although you could probably say the "Country Chicken Girl's" gourd and they would know it was me!


PS... I know I say this all the time, but if you want to see a larger view of the picture, simply click on it! Hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

The Gourd BEFORE.

Top of the gourd with a painted vine with berries.

The Museum is located in Gering at 11th & J Street!

You can also "like" the museum on Facebook.
Search for "North Platte Valley Historical Association"




Oh...
and Sammi says...

The END.

Perhaps Mother WAS Right...

Do you remember your mother telling you things as a child that you thought were ridiculous. Things that she warned you not to do because it would result in some disastrous outcome?

I am talking about warnings like:

Don't run with scissors, you could fall and stab yourself.
Stop looking cross-eyed or your could permanently become cross-eyed.
If you drink coffee as a child it will stunt your growth.
We won't buy you a BB gun because you'll shot your eye out.

Well... perhaps mothers are right when they tell you not to pull off the tab from your soda can and put it IN your soda can while you are still drinking it... it COULD come back through the hole and you COULD swallow it.

Oh pleaseeeee... really mother? Don't you think I would notice that the tab had come out, into my mouth, BEFORE I swallow?

Well, yesterday morning I was making phone calls to my chicken customers letting them know that their chickens for Batch #4 were going to be ready this weekend. I was sitting in the office/spare bedroom at the desk enjoying a soda while I was making my calls. Sometime during the course of the calls, I pried the tab off the can and mindlessly dropped it into the hole. Something I do, I don't know why. Such a random act of reckless abandonment.

So there I was talking to one of my customers when I took a drink of the pop while they were talking.

EGADS... what was that?

Was THAT the pop tab?

Did the POP TAB actually go into my MOUTH??

Customer: Blah, blah, blah... Don't you think?

Country Chicken Girl: Frantically thinking what to do with the pop tab that is in her mouth, tries to take a tiny swallow and catch the tab between her tongue and the roof of her mouth.

Meanwhile Customer is waiting for a reply.

The Country Chicken Girl panics and swallows a bigger amount of the pop than she had intended to and swallows the pop tab!

Yeppers, down the old hatch it went.

My mother's voice (in my head) says, "Now didn't I tell you that would happen? I don't know why you kids never listen to me."

Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. It was gone, but I could feel it about half way down my throat. I carried on with the conversation on the phone like nothing had happened. I couldn't let the customer know that I had to go because I just swallowed a pop tab. What would they have thought?

They would have thought... "Doesn't she know not to ever do that? You could swallow the tab if you drop it in the can."

I ended the conversation as soon as I could, hung up the phone and sat in my chair stunned.

Now what? Do I try to throw it up? Do I just let it pass on it's own? Do I tell Dan the Man who is in the next room?

As panic sets in, I decide to try to throw it up. I decide to let Dan the Man know what is going on in case something drastic happens and he needs to call an ambulance! Let me tell you... crazy thoughts run through your head when you have a semi-sharp piece of aluminum lodged in your throat!

Country Chicken Girl to Dan the Man: I just swallowed a pop tab.

Dan the Man: You WHAT?

Country Chicken Girl: I just swallowed a pop tab.

Dan the Man: How in the world did you do that?

Country Chicken Girl: I pried it off and dropped it into the can and while I was talking on the phone I accidentally swallowed it.

Dan the Man: You should NEVER put a pop tab in the can. Why didn't you just spit it out?

Country Chicken Girl: Because I was TALKING on the phone and I couldn't just say... excuse me, I have to go spit out a pop tab! Do you think I should throw it up?

Dan the Man: I don't know... I would.

So I go into the bathroom and grab a toothbrush and stick it in my throat to try to make myself throw up. I HATE to vomit. Absolutely HATE IT! First try, nothing. Second try, a little cough. Third try, a little gag and a cough. Fourth try, I am starting to panic that this is NOT going to work and I am going to have to go to the hospital and explain that I have swallowed a pop tab. But, after several tries, I am FINALLY successful! I had never been so happy to vomit before in my entire life! Out came the pop tab! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

I go into the living room and let Dan the Man know that we won't be needing to go to the hospital after all!

Dan the Man: I can't believe you did that.

Country Chicken Girl: Me neither.

Moral of the story... Mother is always right!

Early Morning Confessions from Dan the Man

I know I shared this on Facebook, but I thought it was just too funny that I had to share it with the people who read my blog but are not on Facebook.

Yesterday morning as I was beginning to wake up and wipe the sleep from my eyes, Dan the Man mumbled, "I dreamt about processing chickens all night long."

Me: "What?"

Dan: "I dreamed about processing chickens all night long."

Me: "Are you serious?"

Dan: "yeah, I kept grabbing whatever cat was laying next to me in bed and was feeling their legs thinking this isn't a chicken, it has four legs."

Me: "Where you trying to put the cat in the killing cone?"

Dan: "I don't think so, but I would find myself sitting up in bed feeling the cats legs!"

Both of us: laughing out loud!

Good thing we only have approximately 800 more to process for the season. We should be done by October 5th or so! Thank goodness we don't raise chickens all year round.

Dan the Man has had some pretty wild "action-packed" dreams in the past from chasing wolves while growling at them to setting irrigation tubes off the side of the bed! Hee, hee!

Dan the Man with his co-pilot for the day.