Peaceful Living???

So, you think it is suppose to be peaceful out in the country??  For the most part, living on 9 acres in the middle of nowhere [ok, so it's not exactly nowhere, I am ACTUALLY closer to a Walmart now than I was when living in Concord NC LOL but does that really say much when you live 2 hours from Walmart HQ? ;-) ] is pretty nice and peaceful, however, there are moments when it is just not so.  For the past several weeks the coyotes have been stirring up a storm at night - they are quite noisy. The coyotes cause the good neighbors dog, a  Great Pyrenees, (a dog that can weigh up to 120lbs and this one is very close) to get a little restless and he goes into protective mode, which is good but that mode causes a lot of barking while patrolling his and our property. Added to this were our dogs deciding they needed to go on a non stop bark fest along with one of our horses constantly neighing for her colt which was taken to his new home.

The other thing to consider are the neighbors next to us.  I know, "next to" is relative.  There is enough property to build 4 or 5 houses, in a typical neighborhood, between us.  For the past week or so they have been in need of some cash, (beer fund is running low) so they have been trying to take down by hand a wood framed metal building.  This has caused a great deal of hammering on their part which has been quite noisy. Now I have to say this - after meeting the 2 sons (probably in their 20's, mid to late) who live there, I do not think a GED exists between them.  In their quest to get the metal from the building to recycle and turn into beer money, they came up with what they thought would be a great idea.  Since nearly a week had gone by without much success, they needed an easier and quicker way. Remember I said the building had a wood frame?  Yep, the great idea was to burn it down.  How did that turn out you ask, NOT TO GOOD! LOL. So, the fire interrupted the "peace" of the country.  OK, you need to also remember we live out in the country so it takes a while for a fire truck to arrive.  They did, in time to save the house but the siding did melt on the back corner closest to the fire and the building. The sad part, the building is still standing LOL  the roof did collapse but the sides are still up.  Now for the big kicker - the house that now has melted siding - brand new as of last April. Brand new because in November of 2009, the old house burned down.  Seems the 6 year old decided to play with matches while the adults were napping. Now one last thing to give you some insight to them, evidently in August of 2009 one of the guys shot himself and had to have the rescue helicopter dispatched.

Melted Siding - NOTE - when building a large fire, do it WELL away from your vinyl sided house

House Fire Nov '09 - Note the metal building AND the fact that the fire department is NOT present

Life Flight Rescue

So, while most days are quite peaceful, there are days when the city might be more so.

I need to say this - our other neighbors are fantastic!  Great people, very nice and always willing to help out. She even has the kids over every Thursday evening for craft night and the kids get to make something fun! And for and hour or so - it's very peaceful in our house. LOL ;-)

Just Us!

Cherilyn and I would like to thank Simple Moments Photography and Sabrina Lewis (owner and our friend) for taking some great pictures.  She is recommended to anyone who would like to have pictures taken for their special occasion.

Simple Moments

I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life

Someone who'll stand by my side
And give me support

And when it rains 

You're shining down for me

I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly

Just like a rainbow

You know you set me free

You're like an angel

And you give me your love

 

And I just can't seem to get enough of

*Lyrical references - Words by Martin L Gore - Somebody, Vince Clarke - Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode

Listen to Just Can't Get Enough Listen to Somebody

Krystene's Visit

So, the most awesome daughter a dad could ask for came for a visit!  Krystene came for a few days before Christmas and it was FANTASTIC!  I really enjoyed it.  I do miss her a great deal, can't wait to see her again.

It seemed like she had a good time with everyone and enjoyed the activities while she was here.  I think though, I might have come in second to playing with the puppies. :) We enjoyed some fun around the house and property as we played with the horses and puppies.  We also go to go to Silver Dollar City and have some fun on the rides.

Here are some pics of the visit - Miss you kiddo!!

Cherilyn teaching Krystene to drive

Krystene, Topper and Me

Krystene Driving Topper

K and I on the big swing - notice K is laughing and I am NOT

After K and I rode the big swing - There is a fine line between fun and fear LOL :)

Me & Carissa, Krystene & Brittney

All of us @ SDC

Krystene gets the complete Gilmore Girls DVD collection

It's Not All Hard Work :-)

Working hard is very good for the body and soul but so is taking a time out for a little fun! Because life is to be enjoyed, NOT endured! ;-)

Cherilyn made an awesome chocolate cheesecake

We made a snowman cake for a neighbor (white cake with cinnamon/vanilla filling)

Fun with FIRE! :) The burn pile was really large this time

Getting ready for Christmas :)

Life in MO

So life in southwest MO is a little different than in the big metropolis of Charlotte, NC.  Cherilyn has a house on 9 acres that includes a small orchard (apple, apricot, cherry, peach and pear trees, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry bushes and a grape vine), a large garden, 11 horses (miniatures), 2 cats and ........ 30 dogs. :)  Cherilyn's business is http://impressivepom.com/

All this means there is a great deal of work to be done.  Two weeks ago I hauled 3000lbs of gravel to the house in the truck and then placed it all where it needed to go by hand! One shovel full at a time! Last week I moved an 800lb hay round bail into the barn. NOT an easy thing to do by the way, and it was not like the bail was really close to where it was needed. LOL  Today, we went and picked up 2 cords of wood. We loaded up the truck and the horse trailer. (I have not unloaded yet) The wood is for the wood furnace (http://www.hardyheater.com/Products/products.html) The furnace has to be filled with wood twice a day, which is not bad at night, it's the morning fill that is usually not so fun because, well, it's first thing in the morning! LOL and that is when it is at it's coldest! The upside to all this work is that the heat is really nice and it also heats the water in the house so you can pretty much take an endless hot shower when you come in from the cold. :)  Other things on the daily to do list would be the caring for the horses each morning. Lately that has meant dealing with their water situation.  When it freezes, you have to break it up. We do have heaters for the water containers but the past several days we have been having issues with them, we finally have 3 of the 4 we need working. The 3 horses that do not have access to the barn need hay brought out to them each day.

I have also had fun repairing fence line. The barbed wire fence on the back side had to be fixed the other day because one of the horses got through and had some fun on the neighbors field.  I have also reset some of the electrical fence and next week will run the new wire to power it up.


Here are some pics  -

The Orchard on Thanksgiving morning after a small ice storm

Carissa playing in the gravel before I shoveled it out

 

about a cord and a half of wood in the horse trailer - the rest was in the back of the truck

Looking across the garden out to the back of the property

12/14/10

early September

early September

 

Sunset 12/14/10

SlangsFamily II - A New Beginning

Who would have thought there would have been a need for a sequel, certainly not me but one cannot always predict what life will toss one's way.   Part 2 has a new setting along with some new characters. Fortunately, one very important role from SlangsFamily will be carried over in SlangsFamily II, although, circumstances have limited her appearances.  Krystene will still be played by Krystene, unlike the role of Harry Potter, which Daniel Radcliff said he was done with; Krystene does not think herself to be above continuing her role in the sequel. I think that is fantastic, because NOBODY and I do mean NOBODY could or EVER will replace her! However, due to her new life as an adult and aspiring elementary teacher in college, she will be unable to make as frequent appearances as would be wanted by myself. I will try to have as many as humanly possible as circumstances allow though. :-)

Most of you know the storyline in part one so no need to dwell on that here.  Send me a personal email if you have any questions or need a recap.  :)

So, how did SlangsFamily II begin?

In a galaxy far, far, away, cyberspace can be pretty big you know, there was a small planet known as www.ldsplanet.com. On a Summer Sunday morning I found myself reading a message from a pretty woman who had a comment to share.

“You sound like a very interesting person. Cake, love it.  Although I've never taken a class I like to play around with frosting.  You must be a very confident secure man to showcase such a talent.  I like that.  I too enjoy time spent outside in nature, it's the best place to be :)”

Now, I did not answer right away because I was headed to church myself and had much to do that Sunday and my services began later than hers so it would be a while before I was able to respond. Later in the afternoon when I had not answered, I received another message:

“I was in a hurry to head off to church this morning when I sent you the first message.  I also wanted to tell you I think you have incredible eyes, very piercing. Is your personality the same? Got some depth? Also, with your baking, how are you at cheese cake? I'll have chocolate with strawberries.”

After some investigating of her profile, I decided to respond and the interaction quickly progressed. :-)  The IMing was as often as we were both around the computer and soon phone numbers were exchanged and texting began to fill the space between times on the computer.  By Wednesday I had sent a text asking how crazy she was feeling. You see, Cherilyn was visiting her sister just outside of Columbus, Ohio this week and that was MUCH closer than where she lived.  I suggested a date for Friday; we would meet in Charleston, WV which would be about a 3 hour drive for her and just over 4 for me. She agreed! :-)  I do not know what came over me.  This was a crazy idea and so not like me but she had intrigued me; there was just something about her, I wanted to know more. 

The next day, Thursday, we had our first real conversation – 4 hours I think.  We arranged to meet at a restaurant just off the freeway in Charleston (exit 95 off I-77). We met and had a nice 2 hour lunch then we drove to a little park by the river and talked for 5 hours! WOW!! It was absolutely wonderful. She was prettier than her pictures made her out to be and we never ran out of things to say. We covered so many topics as we began to get to know one another. At one point, I clearly remember getting the distinct impression that I could have a spiritual relationship with her, something I knew I wanted and needed. Neither of us wanted to have the date end but since her sister was watching her children, and had called more than once to see how things were going, we had to part. :( 

What followed was a great deal of driving on my part and some flying on her part. We began a seeing each other on a regular basis, which for us, was every couple of weeks due to the distance. In between visits we used every means of communication technology.  We texted, talked, emailed and did a LOT of Skyping.  It seemed Skype was always on.  So, between actually seeing each other and all the other communicating we did, we got to know each other pretty well and it was not long before we knew where things were headed. :)   We were married in Columbus, Ohio on the 29^th of October and on the 8^th of November, we moved me from NC to MO.

Scott and Cherilyn get married
PICS

Scott & Cherilyn Photo Shoot
PICS

Scott and Cherilyn go to the Temple (9-29-2012) - the (Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple)
PICS of the sealing day