Cotton Farmers Wife

FAST RECAP OF 2010

2011-07-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have written on this blog. For those friends who are far away, here is a quick recap of the last year. After the Ice storm and making a t-shirt blanket for our friend Roger, and me making it through softball season with some back problems, I just forgot to keep writing. My friend Kristi from Florida came to visit in May. I spent a lot of days in Amarillo trying to get my back to feel better. It didn't work.
I painted the dining room in the house that Shane swore didn't think would look good, but he really liked it. He actually wants me to paint the living room next.

I had my 2 neices come stay with me for almost a week and we had a blast. We drove the Gator, played in mud, made pillow cases, and 200 cookies. I am a GREAT AUNT TIA!!

We moved our old camper under the barn only as "Rednecks" can - with a tractor. It was the easiest and most entertaining for me.

I did help with Vacation Bible School as the activity director, even though I have not been to church in forever. I had a fun time with the kids. I would have done a better job if my back did not hurt the whole time.

We actually had a 4th of July fireworks show so we drove to town and watched. It was gorgeous.

We decided in July, right before my volleyball was to start. We decided to start to fix (rip out) the whole bathroom and fix the floor. It always ends up being more than what you bargained for. Started with fixing the walls, ended up being ripping the flooring and bathtub out and pretty much starting all over. It was so fun. I am so pleased that we did it. It is wonderful. Thankfully I have In-laws who live so close so that we could shower.

Also during this time, lost my Aussie, Balee and it took some time but we decided it was time to look at getting another. Shane talked to a man who had Border Collies. He was told that I would come and look at them. Shane knew that if I went to "look" that I would come home with one. And he was right. How can you leave without taking the cutest one.

So now we have Marlee!!

Volleyball started and my year begins. During our tournament Shane walks in and with a very SERIOUS look on his face he had to tell me that he had run over Marlee and took her to the vet. Broke both of her back legs and told the vet to do whatever he had to do to fix her. And thankfully we have a wonderful, wonderful vet. She did just fine with surgery, but had to stay another week because she had a big hole where the incision was and they wanted to watch her. When we got her home it took her about 2 weeks for her to walk on her legs. She crawled by pulling herself with the front legs. It was heart-breaking. Finally she was up and got the pins out. She was a brand new puppy. It took her time to get strength and trust in her legs. Here she is today looking a little dirty but healthy.

In August, we had the Annual Harris reunion right before volleyball started. I enjoy trying to remember who everyone is. I just don't see many of them but once a year. I wish my parents side of the family would meet once every 5 years or something.

After volleyball I went and visited my brother's family in Austin while I was down for the State Volleyball Tournament. He was on leave from being gone on his 2nd tour in Iraq. So I got to spend time a little time with Chet, kids and his wife, Kelley. It was a short trip but it was very nice.

This year I am coaching 9th grade basketball. I haven't coached BB in about 4 years. It was fun getting "into" it again. I forgot how much I liked basketball. The group of kids I had was a fun group. And of course the group of coaches I worked with made it fun as well. Thanks guys.

The year went by so fast and now it is Christmas time. We spent it at my brothers house in Canyon. The kids make it so fun. I decorated the house with lights and the men got guns! What else can you ask for??

This was a very short expression of what 2010 held for me but I will be better in the future.....?

Ronnie Millsap

2010-06-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

I always like going to a good concert, but when I was told that we all would be going to a Ronnie Millsap concert I was a little skeptical (OK A LOT!) We get to Amarillo early to take me to my Doctor visit and take my Jeep to the Dr.

While I was in my visit Shane took my Jeep to get 4 new tires and the front-end aligned, which wasn't done correctly the first time and we were sold a bad tire which made it drive funny for the last several months. I won't name any names to protect the innocent.

At 6:00 we meet up with the rest of the Harris family and we are off to the concert. Of course we get there 1 1/2 hours early because we have to have front row parking and get snacks. The doors weren't even open yet so we had time to stand around and talk. Once the doors were open the auditorium filled up quickly. It was amazing to see the wide variety of people and the broad range of ages that enjoyed his music.

Before the concert I sure couldn't remember more than 2 songs that he might be performing. I ended up enjoying the whole show. I knew all but 1 song during his country, gospel and "oldies" part of the show. I was reminded by my sister-in-law that most were written or produced while I was still in diapers. :) Afterwards, we ate well and went home.

Summer Time -Summer Time- Summer Time!!

2010-06-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of random things going on this summer so it is!!

I made it through the last weeks of school alive. To those of you who teach know exactly what I mean. Growing up I never understood why my mother was so worn out when school was over. Now I apologize to her regularly for giving her fits. And I praise her daily because she rarely lost her "cool" with us 4 kids when I am sure we needed it the most. The only one's who got in trouble were my brothers (of course).

Summer begins - I had my projects lined out for me so I get started the first week. I got the kitchen painted and the dining room painted in the first week. I wasn't sure how Shane would react to the new color since he always said he likes the "old" wood paneling. I of course didn't paint the trim in the dining room and after coming in from work, he said he liked it and when was I painting the living room. SHOCKER!! I just need him to move my big armoure to paint behind. For now that corner will be left alone.

Now after doing all that painting my back still is hurting and I realize that I need to do something about it because there is no way that I can start school and volleyball in August and hurt the way I do in the middle back. I can deal with the headaches and hipaches like I have for the last 4-6 years. I remember a friend telling me about a place in Amarillo that helped her husband so I called that day. I got an appointment the very next. I went to Dr. West at Spinal Aid in Amarillo, had my free consultation and decided to committ to helping my back. This committment meant 4 appointments a week and $$$$$$$$. Shane wasn't very happy about the decision that I had made but he knows that my back has to get better. I wish there was a $$ back gaurantee. They have a 90% success rate so my chances are pretty good. I have had 6 visits so far. This last week I had to drive each day and come back for VBS at church. I w

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL week at Calvary Baptist Church. I really don't know how I got myself into doing the activities. OH wait I think I volunteered. It was really a good week and was a lot of fun. I do praise all the elementary school teacher who have to deal with those ages every day of the school year.

In the middle of all the cray driving back and forth, money spent and VBS activities, my Jeep decided not to start one morning on my way to Amarillo so I had to drive the Ford p-up for the next 3 days wich only gets 16mpg on the highway. YIKES. It got put in the shop and was out by Saturday - who has ever heard of a crank sensor? I sure haven't. What timing.

Friday the 18th we finally got our carport delivered. YEA. We can park our vehicles by the house instead of a the barn for protection.

FATHER'S DAY!! - I was a little prankster so I wrapped Shane's gift in a white paper sack and A LOT of orange duck tape. It took him a minute to even open it up. It was funny for the both of us. We both realized that we hadn't got anything for his Dad or mine. I drove to Altus Sunday afternoon and went shopping. I went to Atwoods where I can always find something good and it isn't from Walmart. The Dad's got two shirts which they will love. And of course I got me something as well. I believe a hamock is well deserved. I can spend time swinging away under our trees and enjoy the peace and quiet until they start up the engines at the barn. :)

On the drive home from Altus I was driving down the back roads traveling roads I had never been on before just enjoying the scenery and when I turned a corner my Jeep sounded and felt like I hit a large pot hole. I even got out to check the tires. Nothing. I turned to last turn to head home and it did it again but now in the front. Felt like the front end was going to fall out. I called Shane wondering if I needed to drive it. I drove about 40 mph for the next 20 miles. Shane drove it for awhile and never could hear or feel anything out of the ordinary. We pulled it into the barn and both Shane and Ken looked all underneath it. They couldn't find anything except front end out of line(he hadn't believed my the last few months) and that one of the back tired was "out of round". I was sold a tire that was a bad mold. So that means that this next week we get front end aligned in Amarillo and 4 new tires. WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS and it rains some cats and dogs too.

Last night I made a statement to Shane saying that I can't wait for him to slow down so we can have time to do something for vacation. You want to know what he did in response? He just laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. WHEN HE SLOWS DOWN he said. He is the fastest pace worker I have ever seen. He just buzzes around everyone knowing that there is ALWAYS something to do.

We do get the chance to do something tonight - We are all going to the Ronnie Millsap concert in Amarillo. Everyone - I mean all of Shane's family - Mom, Dad, Kolton, and Ronda and probably her daughters.

ERROR ON PAGE is all I have been getting this morning while trying to add pictures.

Spring Break

2010-03-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

My Spring Break was quit interesting. I didn't do much but I also didn't get much done around the house as I had planned. We had our softball district opener on Saturday and won. It was a good start to some time off.
Shane surprised me Sunday afternoon for a quick trip to Amarillo for our Anniversary where we stayed the night and spent some time away from home together. He took Monday off and we enjoyed our day together. He can't do any work if we are away from home.

Spent a couple days at the Chiropractors office here in town since I had to fire my other one because he was an egotistical, condescending man. I do not like negative people who think they can talk down to me. He is the worst Chiropractor I have run across in my life.

I spent Wednesday playing golf with a friend who came into town. She played a full 18 holes, all I could do was chip and putt due to my back. I enjoyed the company and the beautiful day. Funny thing about her is that she was my basketball coach in High School (I didn't like her then) and I ended up coaching with her in Cleburne, where we became really good friends.

Friday I tried something new. "ACUPUNCTURE". Never thought I would do this but back pain will make you crazy. Only 3 needles hurt all the other hundred I couldn't even feel. I will have to go back for another session or two to really tell a difference. We are so isolated from these practitioners that it makes it hard to make trips to Amarillo or Lubbock.

Afterwards, I drove to my parents house and I was there only 3 hours when my father said I should go on home since it was predicted to snow 3-5 inches that night and he didn't think I wanted to stay there 2-3 days. I enjoyed my 3 hours with my family. My mom helped me sew up some pants and make them capri pants. When you gain weight on your back side, it makes your pants too short

I didn't get a chance to travel to Austin to see my (baby)brother who is deploying for his 2nd tour to Iraq in April. He has been gone for several training missions in Virginia and Utah the last 2 months. They had to dress like the Taliban and live in caves for a week. I guess if you know how they think and live you will be better equipped in battle. So please pray for him and all the other service men who are protecting our freedom. And for his wife who will be left home with 3 kids for 400 days.

Then Friday night it snowed so we all got to sleep in because nobody was working when the snow was blowing so hard you couldn't see the roads. Of course I had to drive Kolton into town at noon. The highway wasn't too bad but our Farm Road was a little crazy in places. Then Saturday afternoon I built a snow man which my dogs help me build. Who makes a snow man during Spring Break??

This is Balee "helping" me build the snowman

Balee and Max wanted inside so bad, but they were dirty and stinky wet dogs...Their poor puppy dog eyes almost got them let in by me.

She actually stood still long enough to pose for this picture.

It has been crazy winter weather this year. I am ready for the warm temperatures to stay for a while.

Softball has started

2010-02-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, has time flown by. Not too long ago it was the beginning of volleyball season and I woke up the next and had to begin softball season. What a great year! We have had a trying softball season so far. We were not able to get on our field to practice before we had our first game due to snow, ice, and some rain. We did our very best. I know most teams were in the same situation.
We had our first tournament last Friday and Saturday. Two 20 hour days does a number on your body and mind for the next few days while recuperating. I finally felt better after 3 days. It wouldn't have been so bad if the weather would have cooperated. It didn't get much above freezing either day. It was foggy, soggy, and cold on Saturday. The sun never came out. I had to drive home in the fog, rain, hail, and some lightening. I was not able to drive more than 50 mph and at times 40mph. All weekend the girls were either playing, huddled up under their blankets or on the bus thawing out. We had a long but good weekend. I think I did more whining than they did about the cold weather.
Thank goodness for "hot hands" and heated insoles. I think I am a tough person until it comes to cold weather. Hopefully we will have a season that will warm up quickly. I love the sport, but absolutely HATE standing out in the cold.
I have a group of 13 freshmen that have very little experience as a whole playing softball. I thought at first that it would be a horrible experience and we would get beat every game. It goes to show you that I am WRONG sometimes and reminds me that I need to have a positive attitude every day. These girls have come out and tried everything we have told them and have worked so hard. We beat 3 teams at the tournament, tied with 1, and lost to 2 teams. I was so proud of the girls for not giving up. Granted we have a long way to go, but they are a joy to be around and I know we will do a great job this year.

MORE ICE

2010-02-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

Balee enjoyed fetching ice too!!

My porch was covered because it faces the North.

This is a road covered with the trees falling

Even weeds were cool on this day.

T-post are cool covered in ice!!

ICE ICE BABY!!

2010-02-09T11:32:00.001-08:00

We had two days of school canceled due to ice and loss of electricity Jan. 28, 29th. Many people were out of power for a week or more. We were only out for 4 days and had a generator to help keep us warm. Of course we drove around and took pictures when the roads were a little slick. FUN The boys wanted to be out on 4-wheelers, but it was WAY too cold.

WHAT A COOL FENCE IN OUR BACK LOT!!

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?? It looked really cool covered with ice. I guess there will not be any hay being raked this week.

What a neat windmill down the road from our house.

This is what cotton stalk looks like coated in 1/2" of ice

This was just a fun looking fence.

Beginning of a new decade

2010-01-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the things that have happened in just a few short days of a new year. I had been promising a friend of mine for years that I would make him a t-shirt blanket with his old paramedic t-shirts. They found the sack of them over Christmas, so now I had to do it. New Year's Eve his wife and I went to Walmart to purchase all the supplies. Thankfully we were not the only people at Walmart 11:30 pm. We are getting OLD :) The next day we worked 7 solid hours and up past my bed time. Roger's daughter was making a pillow with the extra fabric. She had fun putting it together.

Addie sewing her pillow up for her Daddie. That was so much fun.

On January 2nd we finished the whole blanket. The funny thing is that I had 2 men help me finish it. Roger sewed on his own patches and when I was tacking the back onto the front I had both Roger and Shane on the floor helping. It made it go by so fast. I was a fun evening.

FINISHED PRODUCT!!!

Christmas

2010-01-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

What do I say about Christmas Break? I will try to make it short. The first few days were very peaceful and restful and then I got a second shot in my back.I spent the next 10 days VERY sore, never thinking it would ease up. That evening I drove to spend a couple days with my family. Shane was going to come up the next day but he got snowed in at home and pulled people out of the ditches with a tractor. I missed seeing all the 4 foot drifts. There was no snow at my parents house. We had a gigantic sleepover with all the nieces and nephews while we all waited for Santa Claus. We had so much fun opening gifts with 3 year old's hands in everything. They made it so enjoyable along with the older kids faces lighting up too.

Everyone enjoyed holding baby

Jenna's first Christmas

Proud Grandpa!!

Little one's enjoying looking at the presents under the tree!!

After Christmas we just enjoyed our time off. Shane even had several "half days" off to enjoy because of the snow. My dogs, Kolton and Shane enjoyed the snow so much that they had to play in it and eat snow balls. When will Kolton learn that throwing snow balls at his dad just gets him in trouble even when he thinks he is getting bigger than him. :)

The dogs wanted to help with Kolton getting wet and cold....

Balee enjoyed chasing and eating snow!!

From The Heart

2009-12-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

I am speaking to those women out there that do not have kids of their own. For the longest time (in my twenties) I thought I was Ok with not having kids. I was single and never saw myself as needing to have kids; I had a career and barely had time to take care of myself. I was busy coaching, traveling, playing and being me. Then when I turned 30 and married for the first time I REALLY began to think about my life and the relationship that I have with my mother. How wonderful it would be to share things with someone like we do. Thankfully I didn't have a child with my first husband - that would have been a train wreck.
Now that I am with the most wonderful man, the one that was meant for me, I have really felt the desire to have kids of my own. Having a step son who is a teenager and w been raised by other people is fun because he already knows how to clean dishes and mow the lawn and I love him and love having him around on our weekends. He has a heart the size of Texas; he gets that from his Dad and Grandparents. It still is not the same. When he is with us, he is a perfect kid. I know he is still a teenager giving people fits at times.
There have been people in the past that have said that I would be a better teacher, coach if I had kids of my own because I would understand how the parents feel and would better understand my students. How true is that? Who knows.
Here is where I am going with all of this. I would like to know how one goes through middle age and older life not having a child to share their love and life with. My 5 closest friends do not have kids and we never really talk about this issue. One friend decided a long time ago with her husband that they would never have kids. That is an OK decision for them. But I have NEVER totally made that decision. I feel like I am missing out on something BIG in life that has only been because of the circumstances dealt me in life. How does one figure out what to do with the reality that there is no one to share my past, future, and family history with? I have so much love that I would like to share with a child. Now I am too old to even think about having a child that it would be foolish to even think about it. Who wants to have parents that are almost 60 at graduation? It may be God's plan but I am not liking it right now. So if you are a praying person please pray that I have peace with what ever life gives me and be joyous in it. God does not give us anything we can not handle!!

Does God know better than I do and have a plan for me that I haven't figured out yet?

Winter Is Here

2009-12-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Since my last post we have celebrated MawMaw's 92nd birthday, I have gone to the State Volleyball tournament in San Marcos at the end of November.

MawMaw's 92nd birthday was success. All of her Kids so many of her Grand kids and Great Grandchildren got to attend. The pictures show how everyone enjoyed their time. My parents love having her around.

While in San Marcos, I did some Christmas shopping and watched a lot of good volleyball while visiting with friends. I always learn something new about volleyball or get a great idea for the next year during the times sitting and talking about that sport.

I also got the chance to visit my brother Chet and his new baby Jenna who was born 7 weeks early. She had only been home from the hospital 5 days when I got there. She is so precious. I felt special since I was the first one from our side that has seen her in person. We are blessed to have her home healthy.

On my way home I visited a couple friends in Cleburne. One inparticular, Renee, is a wonderful lady who was always there for me during the fun times and bad times in Cleburne. I wish I had her faith, strength and determination. This fall she underwent a double masectomy and is so full of optimism considering she is still not finished with her procedures. Every year she transforms her home into a Santa Clause - Christmas palace with Christmas trees in every room and there is a Santa sitting on every shelf, door frame, cabinet and wall. She said that she was not going to let this little old thing called breast cancer beat her and keep her from her tradition. That is a person I could learn a few things from. I wish she knew how much I have appreciated her. Words can not do it justice.

While I was on my way home, my wonderful husband told me that I had a surprise waiting for me the next morning. I couldn't think what in the world it could be. Little hints made me think it was a puppy but we had decided (I thought) to wait till Spring to get one. Well I get home Sunday evening and guess what was waiting on me. I little Australian Shepard puppy. Shane said it cost him a bale of cotton so it was fitting to name her BALEE. She is an early Christmas present.

If you know me at all you will know that I absolutely HATE cold weather. So the mornings have been in the 20's and 30's have made me not want to get out of bed and leave before the sun is rising. And I really have hated taking a puppy outside every 10 minutes to "potty". She has done a goo job with the training but she isn't fast enough for me. What were we thinking getting a puppy in the winter. Thankfully she is just too cute, otherwise she might have to stay outside all the time. I have had a wonderful Fall, but am now ready for the Christmas holidays.

October is almost over!!

2009-10-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

WOW. Time has really flown by this fall. It was just yesterday that we were starting volleyball 2-a-days. We are finished with the first round of district and ended on a GREAT note the other day with a win over Friona. That win should carry us into the last round. Right now it is a fight to get a spot in the playoffs. We need to win 2 of our last 3 games. No matter what, I will be very proud of these girls this year. They have overcome some adversity and won games that we were down and have hung in there with me during long practices and travel that took the whole day to get there it seemed. We are a well-traveled group of girls. Our last 3 games are on the road. Tulia, Dimmitt and end with Friona on the 24th.

Through it all Shane and his parents have been there for me and have attended every game possible. I could not do all this without their support. I also appreciate the middle of the week meals that my mother-in-law would have prepared for us. It usually was on a day that I was totally exhausted and I appreciated it even more.

And a BIG thank you to me biggest fan ever AMANDA. She is right there along with them and never failed to attend a home game. She even helped during our tournament when she had bigger and more important things she could have been doing. I am so blessed to have such people in my life.

After volleyball season I will have a few weeks to gather my thoughts before I think about "Little Spiker" in January and Softball begins.

Then during this week a special surprise came to our family early. Jenna Leigh Harbert was brought into this world 7 weeks early due to a cyst on Momma's ovary. Jenna weighing 5lbs on Oct 12 is doing GREAT and so is mom. That makes 6 nieces and nephews on my side of the family. I guess since I will not be having any of my own I can spoil each and every one of them.

Volleyball Has Started

2009-08-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is over!! We started volleyball off with a BANG with a "midnight" run on August 3rd at 12:01 am. We had wonderful numbers. Later that morning we had our first practice in the gym. We had a GREAT week of practice. Everyone worked hard and I hope had a great time. It wouldn't have ran so smooth without the help of all the coaches. A special thanks to them. We had our first scrimmage Saturday at Highland Park. We saw some very good things, bad and some ugly. We are only going to get better in the next few weeks before district play. I am very excited about the year and expect to have a great time.

AFTER THOUGHT

2009-07-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

I forgot these few pictures the other day. I thought these pictures would be fun to share. They are of Shane & I on our rafting trip down the Royal Gorge and we stopped to jump off the cliffs a couple times. We learned last year that wet suites were the way to go. The water is around 45-50 degrees during the month of July.

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The lady that took the picture with our water camera was a Professor from a small Southern California University. She was a blast to get to know. We had all day to get to know the people on our raft. She had a hard time getting us at the right time jumping.

Getting back into the swing of things

2009-07-22T18:41:00.001-07:00

Well, vacation is over. I wouldn't have it any other way but to spend 6 splendid days with my husband away from our stress and worries about work. Shane is a different man when he isn't worried about it raining too much, not enough, too much wind, being too hot, too cold, or something breaking down. He also wears shorts when we leave the state of Texas. It is guaranteed that he will have is "regular" clothes on when we cross the state line.

The week after we get back from Colorado, I leave for Austin to attend TGCA convention.(Texas Girls Coaching Association). It is a long drive no matter what. On the way I found out that my little brother and his wife will be having a girl in November. They already have 2 other boys. So of course I had to stop and shop in Hillsboro (outlet mall) to pick up some GIRL baby clothes. I spent some time at their house Tuesday evening in Leander before making my way into downtown Austin.
My brother works full-time for the National Guard in Austin. We are very proud of him for his service in the military.

The week was GREAT. I attended every volleyball session there was. The All-star games are always fun to watch. I learned a lot and enjoyed the friends that I spent the week with.

The saturday I got back from Austin we headed back to Decatur to trade in for our bigger pick up. Shane has decided to go FORD since they are not government owned. Anyway, we needed a space in the back seat where Kolton could sit for longer than 20 minutes. He has grown about a foot this year.

The next 2 weeks there are about 15-20 girls playing in a Summer Volleyball League in Vernon. I will be traveling there on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to watch them. I am glad that there was enough to make 2 teams to get them ready for 2-A-Day practices starting August 3rd. I am excited about a brand new year. The first year is always the hardest. There are many things that will be done differently.

I don't have much time left to get things ready for the first week of practice!! You may not hear from me for a while. I wish my best to you all & God Bless!!!

Somebody say WHOA! Summer is going by too fast!

2009-07-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well, let's see what has been going on since the last time I posted... Middle of June I stayed a week with my Mother to take care of her after surgery. She didn't need much tending to except to make her sit and rest. I had to be pretty bossy!! I mostly had to care for my wonderful little Grandmother who lives with my parents. She is 92 and forgets everything when you walk out of the room, but she can remember all details from her childhood. It was a surprise and a blessing for her to see me each morning when she woke up. Only if everyone was that happy to see us each day. It was fun to hear her stories of growing up and her going to school even though they were the same old stories we have heard a hundred times. She of all people have turned in to a dog loving woman. She has turned my parent's two dogs into 2 fat happy dogs by feeding them from the table and gets mad at you if you tell her that they have already eaten. She thinks they are so hungry just because they are at the table begging. How can you argue with a Grandmother??? I haven't figured that one out yet. We had some pretty funny things happen. One may not be too funny. My parents have a bullsnake (named Fred) who comes to their yard to drink from the bird waterer and to our amazement can climb trees. I will put on some fascinating pictures later. If there is a bullsnake around then the chances of a rattlesnake being around are less so they let this one alone. Gives my grandmother something to watch out the sliding door each day.

My mom is doing well after her surgery and after 8 days of being away from my wonderful husband I had to go home. Saturday the 27th, before I came home I had to take the stinking ExCet test again. I can't say enough how much I hate that test.

I had a week to recover from that long week at my parents. I slept in a few days and worked around the house, finished 2 blankets I have been working on for the last month. One was for our camper which matches our camouflage decoration. I sure hoped we would get to use it since we are running out of time.

My friend who lives in Florida came down for a visit with her fiance who is from Pennsylvania during the 4th of July weekend. He has ever been to a rodeo, so we took him to the Clarendon Ranch Rodeo. It rained on us for about an hour and made the rodeo last forever. I thought the whole thing was fun.

Sunday afternoon, Shane said let's leave tomorrow for vacation since we just got 2 1/2 inches of rain. So all afternoon we packed up our camper and worked till 3am. We still didn't know where we were going, all we knew is that we were leaving town for the first time in our camper. We finally decided to head to Texas Creek Colorado. It is near Salida Colorado where we went last year.
I will have pictures of vacation later since that is where I am right now........

Here Shane & I are at a river on Mt. Princeton and us in the front of the raft as we are floating down the Royal Gorge. We had a blast!! We spent a few days of activities and the best days were sitting around the camper doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. There won't be very many days of that.

Wasn't summer suppose to be a time of rest?

2009-06-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

The first week of June has been eventful. After one of the tractors went down in the field we had another one that needed a trip to the shop - in Lorenzo. Well, instead of having someone come get it, Shane volunteered us to haul it there. On the way, the pickup blew a fuel injection line. We made it up the hill outside Matador around the Tounge River Ranch. We sat on the side of the road for about 2 hours. I soaked up the sun, read and book. I witnessed a cute little cowboy helping his dad work cattle. He couldn't have been more than 5 years old. He rode off in the Mesquite yelling "YEA HAW". (Of course I didn't have one camera on me today.) I wouldn't have been able to see that if we didn't have trouble. He was so proud that he loped his horse all the way to the fence. Not much anyone could do for us except stop and ask if we were OK. After we got help we rode on into Lubbock to make our appointments. Shane does not like to "sit" very long so he was glad to get on the road again.
The first weekend in June I made a fast trip to Tucumcari to attend a wedding of one of my first students. First, I forgot about the time change and arrived 2 hours early. And there is not much exciting going on in that town. Second, no one said we would be sitting on bales of hay, so my dress got a little alfalfa on it, but the ceremony was short and sweet. She was so cute in her pretty white dress and a pair of boots on underneath. I didn't expect anything less.I am so glad I went to this wedding.
The next week, Shane & I went back to Lorenzo to pick up the tractor that got fixed, thankfully it didn't take too long since they still have cotton to plant. We made it almost home when we blew a tire on the trailor. Well, we thought it would be an easy enough fix. Yea, until Shane found out that someone had put the wrong spare tire on the trailor. So we drove real slow toward Paducah with one tire on that axle hoping it would get us into town to the tire shop. Well, so much for our luck. 5 miles out of town we blew the 2nd tire. We had to wait on the tire shop to send out their man to help us. We spent over an hour sitting and waiting again. I could only think positive about it - I thought it was good quality time with my husband. I don't think we are going to try to haul a tractor again. It sure wouldn't be a day at Harris farms without something exciting happening. That is why planning is so hard for us because anything could happen.

This week we received a small shower so Shane actually had one day off in the middle of the week. I thought relaxation. Yah right!! We have been discussing getting another 4-wheeler for awhile now. We are off to Altus to make us a deal. Thought we were going for a good used one and came home with a brand new one right out of the box. I think Kolton was more excited about it than any of us. Now they can all go hunting, not having to ride double. It is pretty white, but will not stay that way for long. We have named it Blizzard or DQ because we joked that Shane will have to give up having his weekly blizzards to pay for it. :)

Well, of course that night all the guys had to come out to help test out the new one. We cooked out and the "boys" went and played. Our friends daughter had to bring her little 4-wheeler out and she rode all evening long around our place. She was on it for hours. I think she will be their little "speed demon".

Just like tonight the boys had to be boys. It has been raining and they are all out still hunting pigs. Of course I had to go with them for a little while until the sun went down. I don't mind getting wet or muddy, I just don't like not being able to see where I am going past my headlights. Everyone had on their mud suits and looked like they are having fun. Tonight they were all big blue men in their rain suits. They have too much fun because who knows what time they will be coming in tonight.
I know my summer has been eventful so far. It has only been 2 weeks. I am just waiting for vacation!!!

Summer Time

2009-06-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

Can we believe it is really here? The school year went by so fast. I thought the first week would be pretty uneventful. What was I thinking? I went golfing Saturday morning and had a great time again. It is amazing how inconsistent golf is when you only play twice a year. I am suprised that one of my clubs didn't end of wrapped around a tree out of frustration!!
I also finished a blanket that I have been working on for one of my very first girls I coached during the first three years of coaching. She is getting married here in June. It means a lot that she still keeps in touch with me and invites me to such an important time in her life. I hope I get to attend the ceremony. And who knew that I could sew?? I guess my mom rubbed off on me more than I thought. I wish she would have rubbed off on how to sew a straight stitch.:)
The first Sunday of summer was restful. We slept in a little, did stuff around the house and about to start working on getting our camper ready to travel this summer to the mountains. YEA can't wait.
In the middle of the afternoon we get phone call from Shane's dad. He was in the field working. He said he just needed a ride home. We sent Kolton after him and soon discovered that the tractor caught on fire that he was on. YIKES. Glad no one else was on the tractor that day and no one got hurt. We had Rangers, Hardeman County Sheriff, and other on-lookers on the place to see what was going on. It isn't every day you see a tractor burning to the ground. Other than that, summer is a wonderful time. We have had a couple showers and beautiful weather.
I have also spent my mornings up at the gym with about 30 girls for summer workouts. There has been a good turnout. I am very excited about next year.
Last night I spent my time hitting golf balls out in the Pasteur trying not to hit the cows, but with my hook I was hitting the water and module builder. Kolton and I had fun Easter egg hunting for all 40 of the golf balls.

Golf Scramble

2009-05-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I played in the faculty golf scramble. We played 9 holes playing the best shot. Everybody had a "best" shot. We ended up with an "even" score which means we "pared". It was the best game I had ever played due to the others GREAT SHOTS!! I have only played twice in the last year and didn't know how I would play, we had a couple experienced players and some beginners playing, we all had a good time laughing and taking pictures.

I played with some ladies who I got the chance to get to know better. We all had a good time. At the end of the evening we all met, ate and won door prizes. I appreciate all the work Coach Gaylor and Wendy put in to making this afternoon such a success. I have a few pictures to prove that we had good form while hitting. We did a little coaching and got better as the afternoon progressed. I want to thank Charla who carried us thru the game with all her great drives and her husband for "taking one for the team". I want to thank Amanda for all the laughs and funny pictures. I want to thank Donna for letting me share her room all year and putting down to play on such a fun team. I want to thank Paige for just being so nice and being able to laugh at our mistakes and yelling at our great putts.

Hopefully we can do this again sometime. It was a GREAT end of the year stress reliever.

Strawberry Planter

2009-04-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Spring time means time to plant a garden. I planted a row of strawberries thinking I was so smart and ahead of the game. Then I was informed that when they start growing they might now make it due to the rabbits loving the plant. So my wonderful father-in-law and Shane had a wonderful idea about moving a huge cement tank over to the house to plant the strawberries off the ground so that they will not become rabbit food and "might" come back next year. I thought this would be a simple task with the equipment they have. Well, it ended up being an almost all afternoon ordeal. It took a tractor, chain, another tractor to pull the tank out of the ground and a lot of dirt. The pictures will tell the story of how much fun we had. (Shane's mom) and I stood and watched laughing about how hard they were working for some silly strawberries. :) We had a good time when it was all done and when we have fresh strawberry shortcake it will all be worth the hassle. Thought you guys would enjoy the pictures.

SPRING TIME-Random

2009-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

This spring has been one busy time of my life. After Little Spiker's volleyball league Softball season was upon us. The beginning of February was our first practices I am coaching JV team. We have not stopped till now. We had 2-3 day tournaments every weekend the first month and games every Tuesday, Saturday. Of course the weather did not cooperate. It was gorgeous during February and then it got COLD just in time to stand out in it for hours. Then the exciting stuff happened, during district we started winning. The Varsity team won District and now we are in the playoffs. And when I say we stopped now, that is because the whole state of Texas has suspended UIL competitions until May 11th. We will not have our play-off game until May 19th. In that amount of time until our playoff game, we will practice and I will have attended Faculty Dinners, Junior High Athletic Banquet, High School Athletic Banquet, Prom, and other High School activities. BUSY BUSY BUSY!!

Last night my assistant and I drove to Bridgeport to attend a volleyball coaching clinic. It started off an eventful evening. First, we thought we might not be able to go due to the SWINE FLUE closures of schools. We headed out about 12:30. Of course it couldn't be that easy; we ran into a storm and got "lost" in Wichita Falls. I know we need to learn our directions. But have any of you ever gotten turned around in Wichita Falls? We slowed down to about 40mph in the heavy down pour so we were already pressed for time we thought. The clinic was short, sweet, and we learned a lot. I hope it will bring us some common ideas and motivate me to do a better job. We left at 8:00 and made it home at 11:00pm. On the way home we ran into more storms around Vernon. I had to pull off for awhile because I couldn't see the road. Final event of the evening was on my FM road I was driving along talking and all the sudden saw water coming over the road. I slammed on the brakes and made it thru at 40mph. It was scary. We had to use the oh sh.. handles in the car. We laughed after our hearts starting beating again. Casey & I decided that we may not want to travel together again for awhile. :)

Last but not least, I knew I married a farmer, and a good man, but sure didn't know I married such a red neck. :) While I was gone last night Shane and his 2 friends were all off work and decided to chase pigs on their 4-wheelers after it had rained 4-6 inches. I can't imagine what craziness went on with those three. When I got home I had a picture left for me in the bathroom of a big pig tied on the 4-wheeler and 2 grown men COVERED with mud head to toe. They never grow up do they?

It has been an eventful SPRING and we still have 4 weeks left of school.

Little Spikers

2009-01-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

On January 8th I began a new adventure for this year. I started a Little Spikers League, that will meet every Thursday for 6 weeks for young volleyball players who are in the 3rd thru 6th grade. The first day I was not sure how many would be attending. I had about 30 pre-registered. I knew a few more would come the first day. Well, I will say more came!!! I had 30 more sign up. We had 60 little one's ready to learn volleyball that first day. I only had 4 high school girls helping. YIKES!!! I will need more help.

Yesterday was the second day of the league. It went a lot smoother because I had recruited more help. There was at least 2 helpers per age group. It sure was an eye opened for some of them who have never coached younger kids. I know it was an eye opener for me also with the number of girls we were dealing with. It is very encouraging knowing that many parents and girls are interested in the success of the program. It will be exciting to watch these girls grow up and becoming better volleyball players.

In the midst of finishing up Little Spikers in February, softball will have had 2 weeks of practice so I know I will be very busy the first weeks of February through April.

This year has gone by so very fast.

Hunting

2008-12-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here in the picture is Shane and his 2 hunting buddies Roger and Daniel. Amanda & I stay behind in the Gator to watch the craziness. The men love to hunt wild pigs and chase the poor innocent deer out of the field. The "girls" like to take the scenic tour around the fields and pick up pretty rocks around the creek area. Every now and then we will shoot at a rabbit or two.

This trip I followed Roger through some brush to get to another field and ended up with a flat tire due to running over a gigantic log that we couldn't see. We had to get hauled home on a trailer and our night ended early. The men continued hunting and killed several pigs this evening. This is hunting "redneck" style.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of those times that I could not get upset at him for not being able to go with me to my parents house for Thanksgiving. Cotton was more important than time off to drive to my parent's home, since it is what puts bread on our table. Thankfully both sides of our family understood. Even though it would have been much nicer to be together during the holidays we still had a good break. I had to do this holiday by myself while he spent his with his parents (who live right next door).
Friday after Thanksgiving my brother and his family came and stayed the night with us as they traveled home to Austin. We had a good time playing in the dirt with the kids, riding the gator, and playing with our dogs. Unfortunately no one could go hunting because all the places are leased and the hunters were in town. It kept us from going to far on the gator or searching for rocks down by the creek. Hopefully everyone still ha a good time. I know I did. I will put picture of this up later. I wish everyone the best of Holiday Season!!! I hope to see everyone during Christmas.

Cotton pickin' time

2008-12-02T11:50:00.001-08:00

After Shane was so great for during volleyball season and all my long hours on the road or just in the gym; it is now trying times for me to endure Shane's long hours in the field. It is cotton pickin' time.
Shane usually leaves the house at 6:30 in the morning with his lunch and coffee in hand. He has been working as late as 9:00 in the evening. Not all that time is pickin' cotton I have learned. Mornings are spent servicing equipment, fueling up tractors and pickups while they wait on the moisture to drop (with a little coffee drinking and BS'n going on). Who knew "mother nature" controlled so much.
Since they got such a late start this year due to there not being a freeze until almost Thanksgiving, they are working hard to get things done as much as possible before Christmas time. No matter how hard they work this year, they will still be stipping cotton during Christmas. I will have to do the Christmas shopping and decorating myself this year. He did help me make outside Christmas decorations this last weekend when it was too windy. ( Will have a picture of that later).
There are days that they do not strip any cotton and they are like little boys twiddling their thumbs trying to find something to do. I know Shane can not sit still for more than a minute. "Mother nature" has given us days of too much wind, and too much moisture to be able to strip. I know I have been thankful for beautiful, warm days, but they would of liked the freeze a month ago.
Because of all of this that I am learning, I need a lot of patience and understanding so that I can understand what they are trying to do and why. I have tried to not get upset at small things.

Surviving volleyball season

2008-11-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Now that Shane has survived the first season of volleyball with me I believe he can survive a few more years. Throughout the whole season Shane was there for me to support all the trials and tribulations of being a coach. He and his family attended most home games and as many out of town games as they could. It was wonderful having that kind of support.

Now it is my turn to be supportive as he starts stripping cotton and his days are long with 12-16 hour days. I know it will be hard because he will not get time off to do holidays like I will. So I will have to share the time with my family and his work. I might even have to cook a meal or two. Hope I don't burn down the house. haha.

In the beginning

2008-10-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

It all began 2 years ago while each of us were going through a divorce. We traveled each weekend so that we could see each other. We decided that we wanted to spend each and every day together. The weekend were just not enough. We were browsing through a jewelry store in Amarillo and both knew it was meant to be. I found the ring that was perfect for us & me. Once I tried it on, there was not another ring for me.

We didn't waste any time. We married less that 2 months later in March 2008. We have had a wonderful 7 months married. We have had all kinds of experiences in a short amount of time. We have moved in, moved out, built a closet, painted, stored, trashed, left a job, found a new job, selling a house and combined 2 households full of stuff. We have lost a dog and she is now burried in our back yard.

We have killed rattlesnakes on our front porch. Shane has been wonderful through all of this. When I ask why he does what he does or "Thank" him for everything, he says it is "part of the job" or isn't that what I am suppose to do? HE IS WONDERFUL!!!