A Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, and happy birthday to Jesus! We have had a wonderful Christmas at our house! Hope yours is merry and bright and filled with God's love too!

 There were uniquely wrapped gifts

 We always give a lot of practical, usable gifts.

Had to share the Double H Photography mugs I got!

Fun gifts.

 The latest in sleepwear fashion.

 Sadly the one of all three of us was blurry.

My sister makes sure each dog gets a Christmas present too. Emmie thinks hers will be nice to nap on rather than rip apart.

My sister got a wii, and it was a big hit. We looked like this for hours today.

and like this...

and even like this.
Merry Christmas to everyone! May you all enjoy the blessings you have, and remember the true reason for this holiday.

Cattle & Snow

Hope everyone is ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior this weekend : )

A Heartwarming Trucking Tale

My dad and brother have a trucking business, and haul a lot of hay this time of year. A few weeks ago, on a cold, windy, nasty day when the temperature was around 0 degrees and the wind was making it feel much colder, my brother pulled into the Belle Inn, in Belle Fourche, SD, where he often parks overnight and/or eats on his hay runs.
As he got out of his truck, another trucker pulled in, and my brother heard his airline break. He flagged the guy down, and told him about his airline. He said the guy was tired and a little grumpy, and doggedly told my brother thanks for letting him know. My brother went on inside to eat.
Partway through his meal, this same guy came in, practically blue from the cold. After warming up a little, he asked the restaurant patrons, of which a large percentage were truckers, if any of them had a particular tool he needed to get his air hose off. Nappa was right next door, but didn't sell them. My brother had the tool, and piped up that he would help him.
Outside they both went, and upon seeing what had happened to the air hose, my brother realized he had all the parts necessary to repair it right there. He is very mechanical, and prepared to make any number of minor truck-related repairs in any situation. So, my brother rooted around in his stash of parts he keeps on-hand in his truck, found all the necessary parts and tools, and helped the guy fix his air hose right there in the parking lot. This prevented a lot of rooting around in the frigid temperatures to get to the other end of the air hose, and saved the time it would take to wait for it to be fixed, and the guy was very grateful.
The next morning, there was a gift card on my brother's semi windshield to the Belle Inn for his breakfast, and a thank you for his help the night before.
: )

Happy

I am having a fantastic, wonderful Monday! Here are the reasons why:
One article completed and emailed off, two additional interviews done, and the Internet cooperated.

My sister and I rearranged the gifts under the tree, and now it looks pretty and balanced. Every year I "organize" gifts, so they're evenly distributed around the entire tree. Yes, I'm a perfectionist. Yes it puts me in a great mood, and reminds me how blessed we are to have so many gifts.

I ran out to my "storage unit" a.k.a. an old enclosed semi trailer, and ended up bringing in a box of my own Christmas decorations, and putting them up.

The mail arrived, with not one, not two, but three wonderful surprises for me. First was a handmade, and baked, gift from the editor of one of the publications.

How cool is this? And kind and thoughtful!

 She included a note that said this is great over cream cheese with crackers, or on a sandwich.  Can't wait to try it.

I love homemade, crafty cards! 

and baked goods : )  I am eating one of these guys right now and drinking tea.

Second was the Tri-State Livestock News 2012 Horse Edition, sporting one of my photos on the cover! It was so exciting to see it! I'll look into finding a full size version of the image to show you. I am so blessed to have so much success in my work life these days. This was another cover I have been super excited to see on the actual magazine, and they didn't disappoint as it looks great!

The Tri-State is a regional, weekly newspaper I freelance for. They cover a big area, and the people are fantastic to work with. In fact, the editor, who I primarily deal with, is who sent that wonderful gift! If you are interested in what happens in ag in Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, or parts of Nebraska, Montana and Colorado, they reach into all those areas. They also have all the markets for those areas.

Third in the mail was my prize from winning fourth in the American Angus Association's Holiday Photo Contest, which I forgot to take a picture of. Thank you everyone who voted! The prize include a koozie, knife, magnet, notepad, key chain and calendar all sporting Angus logos. Lots of useful stuff, and I do like the breed!

I had another order on my purchasing website today for a large print, which is always nice.

I read a couple blogs that did a great job putting what this season is really all about, which is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

I'm linking this up with Miscellany Monday over at lowercase letters.