Horsin' Around

It's not that I don't know what to do around our "live" horses... or that I'm incapable of saddling them properly... well, maybe that's a HUGE part of it.... anyway, this version of horseback riding is currently one of Mason's favorite things to do. He seems to have no fear of riding as hard as he can and I'm thankful that it's not very far to the ground "when", not "if", he gets bucked off.

Weekend Fun

Just when I thought that the snow was gone and spring was on it's way...

my mom asks me to help her make a "snowman" cake!

My parent's church does a dinner that celebrates birthdays. Each table is marked with a month and someone agrees to bring a "birthday" cake for that table. The table is filled with people who were born in that month, and they get to share a meal and dessert with others from the church. Well, my mom signed up for the January cake, so here is what we came up with...

Our weekend in Central Oregon was fun, fun, fun! Mason went to Papa's school's carnival, I had birthday dinner and cake with Kirsten, Steve and many of their friends, Mason got a new pair of shoes called RALPH for his big, thick feet, and new clothes too, and everyone that interacted with our sweet boy was thoroughly entertained!

Thanks for the fun road trip Ang, Dylan & Sophie!! It couldn't have gone smoother - Jesus was watching over us for sure!

GREEN

Corned Beef
Cabbage
Red Potatoes
Beer Bread
GREAT FOOD...
SMILING FACES...
and LOTS OF GREEN!




We enjoyed dinner together a day early and what a taste treat it was!!

Happy weekend to all of you...

and Happy Birthday Aunt Loanne!

(loved this little guy)

Spring Blossom

The apricot tree is a beautiful sight this time of year. I hope it isn't blooming too soon, but on the other hand...well, let's just say that it is a HUGE apricot tree ...that produceds LARGE amounts of fruit... and with all that fruit comes an ENORMOUS swarm of bees/wasps/flies!

So, am I looking forward to the summer and all the stuff that comes with the tasty fruit? Yes and no... but for now I'll just enjoy the blossoms!




Happy Birthday to my sweet sister today!!

What a blessing she is to everyone around her as a nurse, sister, daughter, wife, friend, and much, much more!

We Love You Kirsten!!

Life

How does this thing work?


Oh,I get it now! Thanks Daddy!


Last night was a spaghetti feed/pie auction at church to raise money for the youth. What fun we had - good food, great friends, and a lot of laughs!

Here is Pastor Dave enjoying every minute of the pie throw!







and here's the parting shot....
Mason can't seem to get enough of life "outside"
Have a great week everyone!

Windy

Well - I think this picture proves why we started calling our place the Windy M. We're not sure what the mph of the gusts were... but we found the roof of this feeder in the field... which means that it blew over the big barn and then landed in the field. Gotta love it! Happy weekend to all of you... and here's the Crock-Pot Pizza recipe.

1 lb of hamburger, sasauge or turkey browned
1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce
1 can mushrooms
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pkg pepperoni
1 pkg egg noodles

Brown meat, drain, and mix with sauce and mushrooms. Cook egg noodles. Spray crock-pot with non-stick spray. Layer ingredients, starting with meat mixture, then noodles, pepperoni, and cheese (1.5 cups of each kind). Repeat layers, ending with cheese on top. Turn crock-pot on low and it should be ready in a few hours.


Is it spring already? This was taken this morning in one of my whiskey barrels.

Haircut

Some people may wonder what I do on my days off… but, almost everyone knows that I find plenty to do each and every minute of every hour, and rarely have a lazy day.

Yesterday was a day to do laundry, sweep & mop the kitchen, work on my bible study book and play with Mason as much as possible. I found myself watching the minute hand on the clock tick slowly by and felt “exhausted” by 9:00. I had played with Mason, swept the kitchen & bathroom, done 2 loads of laundry, worked on my workbook, and put Mason down for a nap about 9:45…phew!.. and the day wasn’t even halfway over!

The phone rang and with it came the highlight of the day! Angela was bringing lunch out to the house and my cleaning /work load was put on hold!!
McDonalds was wonderful, the boys had a blast “playing” and somehow in the middle of the visit we decided that it was time to give Dylan a haircut. My haircutting abilities are not exceptional, but they seem to be good enough to satisfy my husband and son, so why not Dylan too?! Not knowing how he would react or what to expect, we sat him in the chair, told him that it might tickle a little and coaxed him with a piece of candy, some toys and finally a sucker (which was covered with hair by the end)… and in 15 minutes the curls were gone. Dylan was now a clean-cut, handsome 2 year old with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face!
I don’t think I’m ready to go professional, and I’m sure that it wasn’t salon quality… but I do think I should invest in a “cape.”

Thanks for trusting me Dylan (and Angela)! I think it turned out better than we could have hoped for! Here’s to you little man – you look GREAT!

Branding 2006

Branding can be fun, but it can be a little stressful too. I have taken on the task of preparing the meal for the crew and I always worry that there won't be enough or that it won't taste good or that something will burn... but this year... well... read on!

I felt so good Saturday morning when I woke up and knew that the majority of the meal was prepared. I had fixed the crock-pot pizza (2 large pots) the night before and all I had to do was plug them in... WRONG! Ian had assured me that they would keep overnight in the back of the pick-up just fine... WRONG again! As I reached over the pick-up bed to get the crock pots, I realized the horrible truth... the dogs or cats or some other animal had eaten one of the pots and there was nothing left! My hard work the night before was for nothing! Was I going to cry or scream?! Well you'll all be happy to know that I calmly went in the house, washed out the pot that was empty, sighed very loudly several times, called my friend Susan to tell her of the BAD news and get some sympathy, laughed at myself and decided that it must have tasted good if it was all gone! Praise God that I had enough ingredients to remake the meal because we don't exactly live "close" to town... and bless Ian's heart - he had gone to the store the night before to pick up a few things and had brought home an extra jar of sauce.

Well - enough about the meal and the "drama" of the day!

Everything turned out great - everyone seemed to have a good time and they left with smiles on their faces and new shirts on their backs!

Maybe the "HELP WANTED" sign in the kitchen window had something do with it?!

Hungry

Mason is always on the go
and ALWAYS hungry!
He's had a great appetite since birth and still opens his mouth like a little bird waiting for something good to eat.

We've been trying to teach him that the fiber comes from the inside of the box - not the outside - but as you can see, he doesn't always listen!

33 Years

33 years ago a young woman at the age of 22 walked down the aisle on the arm of her father at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Seattle, Washington. She was greeted by the sparkling eyes of her husband to be... and their adventure together began!

I'm sure their marriage had its ups and downs and I know that there were challenges - just as there are with EVERY marriage... But even with the "challenges" their marriage has been such a "pillar" for my sister and I to base our own own marriages on!
We are blessed beyond measure with their love and support and I know our entire family feels the same way.

Thanks mom & dad for guiding us in truth, honesty, and perseverance.
You are such a testimony of true, unconditional, and giving love.

Here's to you and the many years to come!

May your love continue to mold and shape what God has created you to be together!

Shadow

A faithful companion for 16 years, Shadow lived a great life in the care of the entire Murdock family (but mostly Ian). He was treated like royalty - riding in the front seat of the pickup, no matter how muddy he was, or how many other people were needing to ride in the pickup too. Shadow loved riding in the tractor, trucks and combines, watching the other dogs drool with envy. He attended almost all family functions and could always be found under the kitchen table by Ian's feet. Shadow was an appropriate name for this loyal dog because wherever Ian was, Shadow was too! He could spot Ian a mile away (literally) but sometimes seemed to think that every power-stroke diesel belonged to his owner and would chase them for miles.

Shadow lived a great life and was loved by everyone!

Thank you Oregon Trail Vet. Clinic (especially Steven) for taking good care of our "family" - your support and friendship helped Ian through a very rough day!