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| Random sheep pic I found |
1) There's no need to rush. I should have gotten a picture of this! The other day while driving into town (Ronan) I was stopped by a herd of cattle crossing the road. A few miles later, I saw a small burgundy Toyota Corolla herding a bunch of sheep. The farmer was in his car and the sheep were crowding around and following his car. Who knew sheep would follow a car? It wasn't even a farm truck.
Living out in the country is making me more aware of how I am constantly rushing the kids. Why do I have ZERO patience in the mornings? Rushing out the door, rushing to church, rushing everywhere. I tend to leave closer to the time I'm actually supposed to be there and conveniently forget about travel time! Not so good for first impressions.
Looking back, all of my most treasured memories were captured in moments when time seemed to stand still. I was not rushed or pressured to perform. I was creatively, meticulously, making a Christmas ornament or wrapping a present. I have so many memories "making" with my Grandma Trudy during this time of year. She was so crafty and planned Christmas projects & ornaments for her grandkids to make every year. She was a perfectionist, for sure, but never rushing our creativity.
I'm focusing on slowing down this Christmas season and really living in the moment and actually enjoying it instead of just trying to cross things off of my To Do List. Instead of being upset that the farmer has made me late, once again, I just smile and laugh at how the sheep are following his car.
Maybe that's my lesson for today. Follow the shepherd! This verse really touched my heart today, Zephaniah 3:17.
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| This calligraphy was hand done by a friend of a friend & then made into vinyl. Here's the blog where I found this pic: http://oldbarnrescue.blogspot.com/2011/12/our-windows-decorate-local-pottery-barn.html |
2) In this area, our reputation preceded us! Mike's dad and lots of his cousins grew up here so when I signed the kids up for school, they actually knew how to spell "Normandeau". I could not believe it! It's even hard for me to spell sometimes.
3) People take you at your word. You don't have to show your paperwork trail to prove who you are or where you live. People believe what you say and trust you, I guess, until proven otherwise. I have a feelin' in this small town, I better be careful what I say because everyone knows everyone and everyone is related!
4) Plan ahead for a trip to town, even though a trip to Ronan is only 15 minutes! In Ronan, we have a Ford dealership, a gift store/pharmacy, a True Value, Western wear and Farm Feed stores, grocery store and some small shops. I can travel 15 mins. to Polson for Wally World (Walmart). And that's about it for shopping around here. I was told if you say you are going to town, that's Ronan and if you say you are going shopping, that's Missoula (about an hour away). It's so strange not being close to my favorite strip mall. I especially miss Target!
3) A little chaos named "Lacy" is a good thing! Here's our new pup. She's now about 5 months. She's so cute and has tried to eat all of our fave shoes. So far, she hasn't done too much damage because she's still got her puppy teeth.
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| Our Springer Spaniel, Nickname: "Lacy Lu" - Full Name per James & Corina: Lacy Nora Normandeau |
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| Our Brittany Spaniel, old dog or old man "Pete", I think he's around 11-1/2 years. Registered Name: Sweet Pete II |
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| Our Golden Retriever - Nicknames: BellyBoo, Bellion (like Hellion), Princess Belle - Full name: Belle Normandeau |
4) Goats are not only funny looking but they are fun to watch too! We don't know much about goats but we do know they like grain! Mike feeds them a handful or two a day and they beg for it all day long! They are super friendly and will eat right out of your hand. We bought the goats from the young couple who rented this house before us and they spoiled those goats. Their names are Hope & Ike. The female is older and can be used for milking, if we get her pregnant. The male is younger and called a "Wether", that's a castrated male goat. He keeps Hope company and sometimes he runs around all crazy-like and shows off for her. It's hilarious!
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| Mike does well with all of the animals. This is Mike & our Momma Goat "Hope" |
5) Our new hobby is chasing voles! Mike, the kids & dogs all are having fun catching or smashing or eating these mice like rodents. The locals call them Pocket Gofers. Luckily, the kids & Mike haven't stooped so low as to eating them yet, but the dogs & cats love the chase. Our puppy Lacy has eaten so many of them whole, it's amazing she hasn't gotten sick. We'll be investing in lots of De-Wormer. The hawks & owls have thousands of choice meat running around through our land. We were told that every 3-5 years there's a huge influx in the population of voles but then the birds of prey move in and the population goes back down. I heard that we even get those gorgeous white, snowy owls. They come down from Canada and also help take care of the vole overpopulation problem. Bring your BB gun & come on over!
God bless you, and bless you indeed this coming year. I can't believe it's almost 2012! I think I'm still stuck somewhere in 2010!
