Day Three at the Fair

FFA Swine Type show was today. Yep, it's about as exciting as the pictures show. Meatwad won a blue and even better we think we have a buyer for the little guy.
I made a sign for his stall- "Lean Pork for Sale".
While Jon and Max showed their pigs I did barn duty in the dairy barn. Scooped a lot of manure and even wiped some heifer bums today!





Later Max got a blue for the Holstein heifer, showing FFA Type.
Then he came home and got sick... heat, exhaustion, nerves etc. etc.
Cool shower, a quick nap and dinner and he went back for barn duty.
Hubby's parents and brother came over today and we had dinner on the patio. Now I just have to iron his show clothes and go to bed.
Another early morning tomorrow. I have a nap planned for the afternoon.

Day Two at the Fair

Day 2 of the Fair.
I watched a bit of 4-H Fit & Show and then met up with my friend, Emilyn. She milked a cow and got the squeeze and pull down pat.

Emilyn won a blue ribbon at the Fair. She entered her tea set collection in the Hobby barn. Her brother's Lego Eiffel Tower also won a blue ribbon.

At this point of the day we were on top of the world.

Not superstitious but we were riding in #13. And the luck did run out...

Em and I went home, had a break and then Hubby and I picked up Emilyn and we went back to the Fair, where she met up with her Dad and brother.
Fitting and Showing for FFA
This is the show where the kids get judged on how well the animal is trained, how clean the animal is and how they show it. Lots of technique etc.
Getting ready is kind of a hurry up and wait thing. Jesse helped Max and Jon. Their animals were clean, pedicured, ears triple checked for being clean, tails ratted, styled and sprayed, guys changed into full uniform, pressed and ready. Kassie came for morale support.

Auntie Shelly keeping Max relaxed before he goes into the ring.

Grandpa and Grandma always come to support Max, Uncle Darryl and Aunt Judy always come too. Max has many fans in the stands every year.

His first place streak is broken, Max placed third this year. The judge told him, "you just didn't catch my fancy."

That's okay. What goes up, must come down.

This leetle Piggy Went NoWhere

Okay, so here is the deal. The heifer with Jersey Flop, is still flopping... Everyone tries to help, they all have ideas, to no avail. She just flops and stays. Aric thought he could do it, he is ten and it's his first 4-H year. We were laughin'. People made calls, adults came out to the ring, but no cure. Thankfully, Max is still smiling.


Not smiling about the pig though...she didn't make weight. This is really bad as now no little piggy going to market, no big bucks for Max and a homeless pig on Saturday evening. Not sure what we are going to do about that yet.

Tuesday is Fitting and Show for Max... the pressure is on. Luckily he is not using Miss Flop for Fit and Show.
See you at the FAIR!

Going for the Blue Ribbons

The fig jam is a hit. I will be posting some recipes that use fig jam after the Fair. In the meantime I just couldn't put the jam in the cupboard, the color is just too pretty. So, a jam vignette in the kitchen.


I am a bit busy this week at the Fair.
I am Max's encourager, laundress and sanity this week.
This is the list of what Max is entering in the Fair:
One Jersey cow.
Two Jersey heifers.
One Holstein heifer.
One pig. Whoa, what were we thinking? Now I have to go to the Swine barn, I like the Dairy barn, thank you very much. A new venture...

This is the list of what I am not entering in the Fair:
One jar of fig jam.
One jar of strawberry fig conserve.

Apparently they have rules against the open kettle/wax seal method of jam making. Becky and I were very disappointed. I may sneak it in and display it anyway. Becky had already spent (in her mind) the possible first place $3 premium. No blue ribbons for us.

We're not bitter or anything...

Pampered Like The Queen I Am

WeIl, this looks like a party now, doesn't it?

Yesterday I mentioned to Becky that I was going to run into Bellingham and have a pedicure.
She had a better idea. She would come with Chelsea, a friend that loves to give pedicures and her sis, Shanda and I would get my pedicure and they would relax and have a drink.
Sounded pretty groovy to me.

Cute sisters with even cuter giggles.

Becky is admiring her toes and new shoes for a mini photo shoot. Did you know that if you lift your feet up and wiggle, the veins are minimized for a great looking photo. True story.

Fun times.

Praying For Our Kids

Sam, Braden, Dan and Max at Christmas.


I like scripture based prayer and loved this guide for when I pray for my guys and nieces, nephews and friends. It pretty much covers everything I've ever wanted for them.

The Christian Reformed Church's publication, The Banner, has an article written by Bob Hostetler in this month's issue. He gives permission to share.

Here is the list I have developed, complete with brief suggestions for prayers from Scripture. Feel free to duplicate it—or improve upon it—to help you pray specifically and purposefully for the children in your life, that they may experience and evidence the following:

Salvation. “Lord, let salvation spring up within them, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Isa. 45:8, 2 Tim. 2:10).

Growth in grace. “I pray that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’” (2 Pet. 3:18).

Love. “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Eph. 5:2, Gal. 5:22).

Honesty and integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Ps. 25:21, NLT).

Self-control. “Father, help them to be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do” (1 Thess. 5:6).

A love for God’s Word. “May they grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb’” (Ps. 19:10).

Justice. “God, help them to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do” (Ps. 11:7, Micah 6:8).

Mercy. “May they always ‘be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful’” (Luke 6:36).

Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that they may ‘show proper respect to everyone,’ as your Word commands” (1 Pet. 2:17a).

Strong, biblical self-esteem. “Help them to develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are ‘God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus’” (Eph. 2:10).

Faithfulness. “‘Let love and faithfulness never leave [them],’ but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Prov. 3:3).

Courage. “May they always ‘be strong and courageous’ in their character and in their actions” (Deut. 31:6).

Purity. “‘Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,’ and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Ps. 51:10).

Kindness. “Lord, may they ‘always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else’”
(1 Thess. 5:15).

Generosity. “Grant that they may ‘be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age’” (1 Tim. 6:18-19).

Peace, peaceability. “Father, may they ‘make every effort to do what leads to peace’” (Rom. 14:19).

Joy. “May they be filled ‘with the joy given by the Holy Spirit’”
(1 Thess. 1:6).

Perseverance. “Lord, teach them perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for [them]’” (Heb. 12:1).

Humility. “God, please cultivate in my children the ability to ‘show true humility toward all’” (Titus 3:2).

Compassion. “Lord, please clothe them with the virtue of compassion” (Col. 3:12).

Responsibility. “Grant that they may learn responsibility, ‘for each of you should carry your own load’” (Gal. 6:5, TNIV).

Contentment. “Father, teach them ‘the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength’” (Phil. 4:12-13).

Faith. “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Luke 17:5-6, Heb. 11:1-40).

A servant heart. “God, please help them develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, ‘as if [they] were serving the Lord, not people’” (Eph. 6:7, TNIV).

Hope. “May the God of hope grant that they may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

The willingness and ability to work hard. “Teach them, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, ‘as working for the Lord, not for human masters’” (Col. 3:23, TNIV).

A passion for God. “Instill in them, Lord, a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee,’ a heart that clings passionately to you (Ps. 63:8, KJV).

Self-discipline. “Father, may they develop self-discipline, that they may acquire ‘a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair’” (Prov. 1:3).

Prayerfulness. “Grant, Lord, that their lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests’” (Eph. 6:18).

Gratitude. “Help them to live lives ‘overflowing with thankfulness’; that they may be ‘always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’” (Col. 2:7, Eph. 5:20).

A heart for missions. “Lord, please develop in them a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3).

Amen!