Images from the Ranch

Images from the Ranch

Monday, May 21, 2012

Guest Blog.....May is Pregnancy Awareness Month

Did you know that May is Pregnancy Awareness Month?  I did not, but was made aware of it by a fellow blogger, Katie Moore.  Katie writes a blog called "Moore from Katie" which covers everything from motherhood, DIY projects, fashion, baking and healthy living.  One thing that Katie is passionate about is new life, I love that, because I too am passionate about life and especially when it comes to that  miraculous gift of new life.  So I was honored when Katie found my blog and asked if she could be a guest contributor on "The Courageous Mommy".  Of course I jumped at the offer because the first step in that courageous journey of motherhood is pregnancy.  If you are currently expecting or have recently made the decision to begin the process of starting a family, or even if you are like me and are through with having babies but like to reminisce about that amazing time of your life, you will enjoy this article.  And be sure and check out Katie's Blog, she's got a lot of really great stuff on it!

Preparing for the Big Delivery Day.....Guest Blog by Katie Moore

Labor and delivery can be a highly anticipated time for expectant mothers. A variety of emotions, ranging from a few nerves too much excitement to confidence, can be present. The truth is no matter how prepared a mother feels going into labor and delivery; she should be open to the idea that inevitably something will surprise her. To better help prepare for the experience consider these suggestions.

Attend Classes
A mom-to-be can find some solace in her preparations for the unpredictable experience by educating herself; one way to do so is to attend a childbirth class. There are several different birthing methods, some considered more natural than others. Talk to your ob/gyn too about birthing options. He or she can help choose a method and birthing plan that is right for you.
Many new moms assume that breastfeeding is natural and easy, but many obstacles early on can cause physical and emotional stress to both mom and her newborn. Taking a class can help clear up any questions that you have and give you some good tricks to help. The Internet also provides education through pregnancy websites on topics you’d cover in a class.

Pack for the Hospital
Packing your hospital bag early can prevent new mothers from forgetting essential items, like a change of clothes, a "take home" outfit for the newborn. Other items to consider packing are toiletries, a book or movie for entertainment or to relax during down time, or any additional items that will help you feel comfortable during your stay.
There are also several decisions to be made before the newborn arrives. Selecting a pediatrician is an important one. Hospitals will have the pediatrician perform all of the necessary tests and screenings before they go home to make sure they’re not at risk for certain infant diseases. In trying to plan for the future health of your baby, an option to consider is cord blood banking. With cord blood banking families choose the collect and save the umbilical cord blood that remains after birth. The cord blood is then stored at a facility for potential use to treat future medical disease.

Although the labor and delivery experience can’t be mapped out, an expectant mother can educate herself in order to prepare for the decisions she’ll need to make and the exciting moments that will bring her newborn into the world.


"This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche.  If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26."

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Roots and Wings

My Aunt Linda has a sign that has hung in her bathroom for as long as I can remember, it says something like this: "Two of the greatest gifts that we can give to our children are roots and wings." As a kid growing up and visiting my Aunt and Uncle I didn't get it.  Roots and wings?  What was the significance of giving your kids roots and wings?  I really didn't think that I would be too thrilled if my parents gave me a gift wrapped tree root for my birthday or an eagle feather in my Christmas stocking! When Mike and I got married we moved closer to my Aunt Linda and when Hannah was born it was my Aunt who watched her when I went back to work.  By that time I realized that the sign wasn't referring to literal roots and wings, but figurative ones because these are the gifts that my Mom & Dad gave to me!  If  parents raise their kids with the deep roots of faith, love, family, moral and ethical values that give children the foundation and courage they need then when the time is right they can give their children the gift of wings as they prepare to "fly the coop" and venture out on their own.  The reality of these words have never meant more to me than they have in the past year.

 Two and a half weeks ago Mike, Kade and I kissed Hannah goodbye and sent her on a bus with 19 other classmates and two teachers. They were headed to Denver and then getting on a plane and heading to Costa Rica. My 14-year-old daughter was leaving the country - without her father or I!  Trust me when I say that it took me two years to get used to the idea of her going so far away without us.  This is a trip that the Junior High 8th grade class has been doing for years.  Up to 20 kids are selected in the spring of their 7th grade year, spend a year raising the money to go and then spend about 10 days in this beautiful country studying the environment, ecology and the people.  It's an amazing opportunity for these kids, most of whom have never left the United States.  But as a parent of a 6th and even 7th grader, the idea of it is just a tad overwhelming!  Last spring we found out that Hannah had been one of the 20 kids selected to go on this huge trip.  She was beyond excited, I was beyond terrified!  Every possible scenario that had a horrible ending went through my mind; everything from the plane going down over the ocean, to her contracting some horrible sickness from the bugs and critters over there!  I even got my passport right alongside her on the off chance that she was going to need her mother to fly to Costa Rica and bring her home because she was so homesick! (ok, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration; I did get my passport just in case there was an accident or an illness that would require me to bring her home, but I knew without a doubt that she was not going to be homesick!).

 As the summer months filled up with money making activities, I began to settle down a little and really become excited for her.  I knew that the experience of visiting another country was going to be incredible, but even the process of getting there was proving to be filled with invaluable life lessons!  Like when we ordered the Costa Rican coffee that she sold.  When she had to actually pay for the coffee out of the money she had already earned she cried, not understanding why she had to fork over such a large summ of money when the whole idea was to raise it, not spend it!  A few weeks later I informed her that any coffe she sold from that point on was pure profit; that was an "aha moment"!  And she worked her little hiney off raising the $3,000 dollars needed for the trip. She cleaned yards, houses, and doggy doodoo.  She helped with parking at a soccer tournament.  She sold sandwhiches at the local IGA.  She babysat and filed for a law office.  She cleaned her Dad's office.  She cowboyed for her Grandpa.  She sold raffle tickets for a painting and her extra 4-H pig (which, by the way, was the most painful thing she did to raise funds!).  She learned the value of having a goal and making a plan to reach it.

And then there was the planning and the anticipation that consumed an entire year!  One day a few months ago out of the blue, Hannah looked at me and said, "Can you believe how incredibly blessed I am  to be 14-years-old and going out of the country with my best friends!"  Yes Hannah, it is indeed a blessing!  About a month before she left we had a parent meeting where immunizations were given, passports were checked and prescriptions for anti-malaria medication were discussed.  It became very real at that point!!

Hannah will need to share her experiences with a post and pictures sometime real soon; it was a pretty amazing adventure!  The point of my writing today is from the view point of a parent gifting her child with roots and wings.  Both are so important to the growth and maturity of our children, but it's a balance.  You can't give one and not the other, not if we want our kids to become strong members of society who will make their own way on this journey of life, influencing those who they come into contact with for the better.  If we give one without the other we will either end up with children who are strongly tied to their families and homes, but don't have the courage, self assurance and wisdom to venture out on their own.  If we give them their wings too soon then we will have children who will be bombared by a society that will eat them alive.  I think that it's such a temptation to go to the extreme one way or the other.  On one hand to try and keep our kids tied to us for as long as possible, wanting to protect them, keeping them safe from all of the scary stuff out there in the real world.  Sometimes it's with the misconception that if we keep them grounded with strong roots but no wings then we are protecting them from anything that might harm them.  But then we clip their wings and stunt their growth and keep them from all of the wonderful things that God has in store for them.  I read once that our biggest responsiblity to our children is not in keeping them safe, but in preparing them for the life that God has prepared for them, to give them the courage to figure out who they are, where they are going and what kind of an impact they are going to make in our world and for Him and His glory.  On the flip side, I see far too many kids that have been given their wings entirely too soon, before they are ready and have the knowledge and resources needed to know how to use their wings appropriately.  We see kids who are too eager to grow up and leave home and try and tackle life's responsibiities on their own.  That's a train wreck waiting to happen if you ask me.

It's a balance and I'm learning to walk that fine line.  Again, I look to God and His word to give me wisdom in knowing when to gift my children with roots, holding them back until they are ready, and when to go ahead and let them try their wings a little!  James 1:5 tells us to ask Him for wisdom whenever we want, and He will give it and not hold back!  I don't need to worry about lacking in the wisdom department, because God gives it away generously!  I am so thankful for that, and thankful for my children who are continueing to teach me these great lessons.  And thankful for parents who gifted me with roots and wings.  And thankful for the sign that still hangs in my Aunt Linda's bathroom to remind me that some of the greatest gifts that we give our kids have no price tags and require no gift wrapping!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring is in the air, well actually spring is in the air one day and the next wind and rain and snow is in the air. Such is Springtime in Wyoming. The kids and I just spent a wonderful weekend with Mom and Dad on their new place in Lusk. Calving is going full bore on The White Ranch, babies were bounding all over the place. I love calving season, and even helped by taking the early morning heifer check; it brought back lots of memories of being out in the brisk, early morning air with just the stars to keep me company as I made my check of all these first time mamas. I always enjoyed the peace and quiet of this early morning check, but that was back when we raised Hereford cattle and they weren't at all bothered by my intrusion into their maternity ward. Not so much these crossbreed cattle that Dad now has, these girls were not at all impressed with me intruding in on them. Several times I felt the breath of a nervous heifer in my back pocket, not a very comforting feeling! The kids were ecstatic when Grandpa brought a premie calf to the house to bottle feed for a couple of days. Kade called him "Calfee", not real original, but it stuck! They loved my story of all of the babies that Dad has brought into the house over the years to thaw out in the bath tub, and especially the one that stayed for a long enough time that Grandma had to make a diaper out of a large garbage bag for him. It made for great conversation when company stopped by! The only part of calving that I'm not enjoying is night calving for Mike. It's been a long couple of months for all of us and I can't wait for this month to be over so that he'll be home every night! It sure has put some things I perspective for me though, like the fact that I am so unbelievably grateful that I don't do this parenting thing alone. I have such a greater appreciation for what single parents go through. And I have a much greater appreciation for all of the things that my amazing husband does for me. I'm going to try real hard to make sure that I tell him this more often. I am also so appreciative of the fact that my kids get to experience ranch life at it's most real; even if we're not on a ranch full time, we do get to enjoy the lifestyle and that means so much to me. So much of who I am I owe to being brought up as a ranch kid, there really is nothing like it. Our Ag kids learn good work ethics, responsibility, respect for the land and what it produces, what it means to work together as a family to accomplish a common goal, as well as how to play together as a family. Calving season is such a great example of this, along with a couple of months of running on little to no sleep! More than anything calving season is just another wonderful reminder of God's plan for our lives because it means new life. New life is at the heart of what we all are ultimately seeking, and it's found in Jesus; "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even though they die." John 11:25. I love that on the ranch I can see God's fingerprints everywhere!