TIME!

WOW!  It has been 2 years since I have blogged.  I have really missed it...  I miss my blogging community...  I am getting a great blog going in my mind of the last two years stories from the Sturza's.    I can NOT wait to get started again....   

Seasons!

Here we sit and Fall is upon us. The mornings are cool and crisp. The animals are all fluffy with there new winter attire.. The goats are drying up, which is good for me... Seeing how I am not that interested in milking in the cold!!! The children all want to snuggle like when they were babies.. But the best thing about the Fall is the beautiful pictures that GOD gives us to enjoy. The changing color of the tree's. Even as a child I can remember driving from Capitan to Roswell and actually realizing that HE had given us this beauty for a reason. HE gave us this for us to remember the things from summer.. The beautiful green tree's, grass and all the fun we had in the warm season. Then we get the enjoy the beautiful colors of Fall. By the middle of the winter we can really appreciate those hot summer days.. What great things that God has given us to make us appreciate our life and the things to come.. As holidays approach we will get to enjoy family and friends... I can see God in everything that goes on in my life...

break

Well, I took a break from blogging... Not really sure why.. Probably the fact that I am completely every minute of everyday.. It is good to be back and be able to write my thoughts!! I have been so blessed and in the next few weeks I will be writing about Adam leaving, the kids growing and summer fun.... BUT for now, I AM BUSY.... SO, it will have to wait... God Bless EVERYONE..

Snow

Well we got our first snow finally. The kids have been waiting an eternity it seems for it. It was so beautiful when we woke up and watched the flakes fall from the heavens. Of course, doing chores in it wasn't so much fun.... But after chores we played and played. I did have to drag the kids aways from the maneur pile... It is the only slope we have around. So I could see where it could have been fun. But still it is horse/goat poop. Icky. I do have to draw the line somewhere, even in the snow.. We enjoyed it until it all melted. Which wasn't very long. Maybe an hour.. But it was fun while it lasted.. I was trying to explain to the children that you just don't order up the snow. You can pray for it but God and ONLY God will send it when it is time. Of course they response is "It IS time"... I told them the reason we don't get snow often is because God wants us to enjoy it. If we had it all the time we wouldn't know how to appreciate it. Just like with other things in our lives.. We eat 3 + meals a day. How many of us are actually THANKFUL for every morsel of food. Although we should be. SO I think God lets us see his beauty so we will always appreciate it. Same as the sun. We love the sun. It gives out great vitamins. It keeps us warm. But we don't really appreciate it until it is gone for a few days. God has given us so many blessings each day. It just so happens that yesterday he blessed us with the beauty of snow. God Bless!

Too many

Too many!!! What does that mean?? People tell us "you have to many kids", "too many animals", "too many issues".... Well, I sure have something to say about that. God gave us TOO MANY kids... Not because he wanted people to be annoyed by us, but because he wanted to shine his light through us.. He has blessed John and I with 8 children, 3 grandchildren, 1daughter in law and 1 son in law. When we go to town some people give us dirty looks when the kids are thrilled to just go somewhere (kinda crazy kids).. They watch us load and unload the kids from the van or pick up.. They watch us wrestle through the stores with a little spanking here or there and a little don't touch this or don't touch that. But what they are missing is the fact that we love them very much and believe that they are truely a blessing from God. I mean who else could have made the twins.... Yes they are wild and crazy most of the time.... But in reality they are just normal kids. Try going to a school and sitting there for an hour and you will see. God has great things planned for each and everyone of our kids. The people that are stubbing there nose at us and talking behind our backs obviously doesn't know what it means to be given the gift of raising children...
Now on the animal thing... Yes we do have several critters. And yes they are spendy... But what more joy do we see when the kids are riding the horses for hours and just happy as can be. How about the dogs. They are happy no matter what we do. They always listen to me whine and complain. Usually giving me a sympathy lick with a really wet tongue. The kids love the dogs. They say a mans best friend is a dog... The cats now..... They are hunters, which keeps the mouse population down. They also snuggle with the kids at night to keep them cozy and calm. They are cheap keepers for sure... The goats... Well they give us milk back. So in itself they are worth keeping. Also having the kids watch the babies being born and helping to raise them is giving them responsibility and also teaching them about how critters have babies... What a lesson in itself.. So I say THE ANIMALS STAY... No matter who says what....
Everyone has issues, but it really isn't anyone else's problem. Don't others have enough issues of there own to worry about, rather than worrying about mine..... If they are Godly people then why not be praying for us and not gossiping... Makes total sense to me... Life is too short to have this behavior..
I may sound a bit irritated but I am not... I just feel compelled to let this out. And heck, no one will probably even read this, but at least I have it off my chest. I do feel much better now... :~}

Fall

I do believe that fall is in the air. Most of my plants are starting to turn colors. A wet dew is on the grass in the mornings. I am so excited I can hardly wait. I love the change of seasons. God has given us such a beautiful gift. Just think in the fall what beautiful colors we have to look at. The break from the heat is a welcoming feeling. Then the winter comes. Nice cold mornings and hopefully this year snow... Everything is crisp and the air seems clean. Up next is Spring. How beautiful that is. The new growth and the beautiful green grass and trees. Not to mention all the beautiful flowers in bloom. All the bee's a buzzn' and butterflys gracefully flying by. Then summer. Although hot in this area, it is great. So many outside things to do and accomplish. I am amazed at how many things I can think of to do outside. I love my seasons and I do love the New Mexico sunsets. God is blessing me daily in sometimes the smallest ways and others in the biggest ways. It may be while I am hanging the laundry on the line that I realize I am thankful for so many things. It may be while I am schooling the kids. Sometimes it is even when I am cleaning pens....... Enough said there... LOL... I am a blessed woman and I want to urge each one of you to be in the WORD everyday. I can not believe how much I grow in the Lord when I am relying on him daily. He is my rock and shield. Always be thankful, even when you do't want to. I had a friend once tell me that when I have a bad attitude look back on the day and see if I can come up with 5 things to be thankful for. I always come up with 5 and about 25 more. I am blessed... Thanks to Jesus Christ. When you look outside just remember the God created it all for us to enjoy.

When Love Blooms

I have just read the best book. Since I am a simple woman, whom loves the pioneer days, it was right up my alley. The name of the book is "When Love Blooms" A Novel by Robin Lee Hatcher. It is written so well that I could easily be distracted by the children and pick it back up and start right in again. Not only that but I find it hard to read books that aren't Christ Like.. This one has biblical values. I could hardly put it down. I could imagine the story in my mind. It was absolutely great. I joined a Zondervan blogger review and got the book for free. The only catch was to post it on my blog. I would definately purchase this book. I can't wait for the next one to come out. I just have to have it... The other two books by Robin Hatcher that I know of are called "A vote of confidence" and "Fit to be tied". I can't wait to read them soon. This is a must read. She is a great Author!