Bang-Up Job

So we are trying to leave on our vacation, but it is taking a little longer then we wanted, so I will put a quick update about our most recent vehicle problemo's! (BUT! We will soon be on our way to Wisco!)

Thought I would take a minute to post a little note about the truck. Sam was hit on Thursday night. He is okay!!! That is the good news. The other good news is that our car wasn't totalled- the tow bar saved this beast's life! Yeah! The bad news is that we have had so much junk to deal with in order to get ready to leave today to make sure the vehicle was safe to drive cross country! More good news...it is (safe that is). So see you later Wyoming, Wisonsin here we come! (And hello hot, humid heat wave from what I hear!) I hopefully will be able to blog while I am gone, so stay tuned! I brought all my photo's to catch up with!

Life Is Too Short

My Mom has a habit of sending me cute little forwards with inspirational messages. I usually find them pretty delightful, but this morning I opened one from her that she sent before leaving for their Alaskan Cruise and I was saddened. Why? Well, while in California my Pop's and I were driving along the road and were near a little lake/ pond near their neighborhood and I shockingly saw some cute little ducks (about 9) wandering in the busy road without their momma! We were stopped at a traffic light and they started out in the median, then as we were waiting for the light to turn green they went underneath an SUV- the SUV didn't see them in the road. I witnessed these scared little duckling being murdered by vehicles and I was horrified!!! One little guy got run over by the SUV and my Dad started yelling at me to stop watching and started talking about something else so I wouldn't think about it. I hated that experience and this cute little photo in my Mom's inspirational message reminded me of that terrible event. Lesson learned: We all need mentors and loved ones to look out for us, when we try to go at the world on our own we will fail. We will be squished like an adorable duckling under the tire of a big bad SUV.

Hendrickson Farm Photo's

I have been trying since yesterday to get photo's on the blog. I don't know if something is wrong with blog or my computer. I have LOTS to update that I tried to do last night with no avail, so I will try again tonight. Let's really hope it isn't MY COMPUTER!!!!! Ok, so the photo's below show the progress that has occured on the Hendrickson farm (article below).

This is the barren land they put the barn on.

Here you see Neal and Andy standing in the barn before the cows came in.
Cow's in the barn! :)

Hendrickson Dairy Farm

How cool is this?! My Aunt Pam- Sam's side- sent this to me today. They have built on a HUGE addition to their farm and it is going to pay off! Look at what is already happening! (And by the way, we are leaving for WI next week to go to Andy's wedding- the eldest son in the family. Here is a little snippit about the wedding that is in the same article... "That family is poised to grow soon, as they all count the days to Andrew's Aug. 5 marriage to Mackenzie Douma of Cambria. And while having four sons to help with milking normally means shifts get covered, in this case the family is hiring help so they can all have the day off.") **I can't get the photo's on this, but hopefully it will work later.)

Hendricksons to be Dairy Herd Family of the Year
By Ann Marie Ames

It's taken 27 years for Neal Hendrickson to groom his business partners. But after years of guidance, training and, probably, the occasional fatherly lecture, the Hendrickson family farm on Highway B south of Cambria is poised to go far with the next generation.
Hendrickson isn't the only one pleased with the way his sons are helping him steer his business. The Columbia County Dairy Herd Improvement Association will recognize the family Friday morning as the 2006 Outstanding Farm Family of the Year.

The award, according to Robert Curtis of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, is a means of recognizing area milk producers for their efforts to improve the industry and a way to educate the public.

"We tried to pick a dairy farm because that's what we work with," Curtis said. "I've known the family for a long time, and they're great to work with."

Neal and Pam Hendrickson's four sons, Andrew, 27, Dan, 24, Tim, 21, and Mike, 19, have been learning about dairy farming since they were old enough to toddle behind their dad in the barn. And with Andrew and Dan working full-time on the farm with Neal, Tim hauling the family's milk as part of his route for L & R DeVries of Randolph, Mike working weekends between classes at UW-Oshkosh and Pam doing the accounting, the farm is truly a family operation.

While Neal is happy being a part of the dairy industry, he is sometimes frustrated by the perceptions outsiders have of dairy farmers. As an example, Neal remembers two summers ago when milk prices shot up to around $17 per hundredweight. At the time, the Hendricksons were paying about $7 for their favorite ice-cream. Today, milk is bringing in about $11 per hundredweight, and the Hendrickson's are still paying the same price for the ice-cream.
"When milk prices were up, everyone complained about the price of butter and ice-cream," Neal said. "Now milk prices have dropped, but we're not making any more money. Now they're blaming it on gas."

To read the whole article click this sentence!

New Post Coming Soon...

I haven't forgotten about my blog. Things have been crazy around here. Some things that have happened in the last week:

1. Went to California for the weekend. Had an AWESOME time- too short though...
2. Sam's crew partner- Justin's, mother passed away very unexpectedly on Friday. You are in our thoughts and prayers!
3. Sam's Grandmother Jennie (Sam's father Larry's mother) passed away on Saturday. Daane family- you are all in our thoughts and prayers.
4. Sam went to Wisconsin for the funeral.
5. More MD apts, but all is good! :)

So, with the good and not so good news being said, I am going to stay focused on the positive in my post later today and talk the good things. We will miss Sam's Grandma Jennie, but know that she is in a much better place now and so happy to be reunited with her husband.

Pink Blue Pink Blue

So, to all of you that I made wait, wait no longer...well, okay just a bit longer! Only one babe Tammi, sorry! I would have LOVED TWO healthy babies, but there is just one and we are thrilled! :) Sam has helped me write this message, and he has decided that you must leave a post, (or at least read the posts) and upon doing so you will see if we are having pink accents or blue accents to our babe's room.

Can you tell?

Well, I know all my girls here are going to be surprised, because they didn't know I was heading to get a new ultrasound, (and they always keep track of me) but Sam and I went to Denver yesterday and had an ultrasound and we know that little Cletus is a HEALTHY BOY or a HEALTHY GIRL! So I guess I could let everyone know, but I am really wondering if anyone is very curious? What was so important to us yesterday was to make sure Cletus is healthy- the FANTASTIC news is that Cletus's heart, lungs, brain and bone growth- everything looks "perfect" as the Doctor and Sonographer put it. So why don't you let Sam and I know if you think this precious little babe is a BOY or a GIRL??? (Oh yea, and I am in a conference all day, so you can't bug me by phone or text about it until after 5...hee hee!)

Guess How Much I Love You

Sam and I finally were able to commit to the "first" gift for our dear little baby. We struggled with what we would buy first... why? I don't know, but we decided today- a book that has a lot of sentimental meaning to both of us. Guess How Much I Love You, by Anita Jeram. (Now to get this room in order!)

No Photo, New Post

Yes, I WILL update everything soon. There has been alot going on with Sam and I, from yucky VW problems, enjoyable family trips, local family visits and of course getting ready for Cletus. We have been b-u-s-y! Yesterday Sam came home from alert and was gearing up to go out and do, would you guess, more yardwork and gardening "because it HAS to get done!" But I was able to convince him (because he kept saying he was tired and didn't want to do it...) that is is OKAY to take a day off and just RELAX! So, we both took a 1 1/2 hour nap, ate dinner and watched some movies that were running on tv. It was pretty relaxing- oh, until I went into my art room and discovered that when we were gone on our trip with the family to South Dakota, that the terrible rainstorm we had in Cheyenne ended up flooding out my room. Luckily I caught it now, but the new carpet has been sitting wet for about 5 days. You couldn't tell by looking at it, but my feet could tell! So, this leads us to a busy evening when we both get home tonight, Oh fun...