What We Learned in July

Can you believe it's August already? Time to give our monthly update,  proving that we have an awesome God who loves us greatly and provides all our needs.... and then some.

The other day, Facebook reminded me of a post I made a year ago, just before our lives turned upside down. I am in awe of a God who cares enough to prepare us for what is ahead. He is an amazing God and our strength comes from Him.

Now, we shall look back over the month and share how God has given us joy and taught us many things.

Brian had a chance to travel out to Oklahoma to visit friends. He shared this when he returned ...

There's still natural wonder and beauty in the world, even if it's flowing from a pipe.

Off the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma, there's a well flowing with ice cold, crystal clear water. A gentleman named Edward Brickman dug this well. Many others like it have been bought by businesses, the water bottled and sold. But, in his will, Mr. Brickman dictated that this well should always remain free and open to the public. Gotta say, the sight was touching and inspiring, and I've never tasted water quite that good.

The rest of us have been visiting the west too .... via the television. Robert Redford is producing "The American West" on AMC. It's all about the wild west like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Crazy Horse, and Custer. He has really shed some light on things we never knew. One of the things we never knew was about the buffalo.

 Now we all probably know that at one time there were over 50 million buffalo grazing the west in the late 1800s.

The Yellowstone herd is both genetically and behaviorally unique, being the only herd with continuously wild ancestry from the days when 50 million buffalo migrated freely across the Great Plains. At the end of the 19th century, after tens of millions had been slaughtered, only 23 wild buffalo survived. Taking refuge in Yellowstone's remote Pelican Valley, this remnant herd ensured the survival of the species in the wild. Today there are a little more than 3,000 buffalo living in and around Yellowstone, comprising America's only free-roaming and unfenced population.

 What is conveniently left out of the history books is the fact that the killing of the buffalo was mainly orchestrated by our government. Buffalo were the life source for the American Indians, then the U.S. government forced the Lakotas unto reservations. But wait ...  gold was found in the Black Hills which was within the boundaries of the indian reservation. So the U.S. government decided to take back that which they had given to the Lakota. The Lakota fought back so the government decided they would kill off the buffalo stating "every dead buffalo is a dead indian". They encouraged the people to go in and kill the buffalo, even at times, providing the resources and guides to do so.

Today, there are only 4,000 buffalo in the United States and apparently, we are still killing off any excess of that. Read more at Buffalo Field Campaign and Bison Basics

A blogging friend of mine, at Praying on the Prairie,  Tara Ulrich lives in the Dakotas and shared her pictures with me. When I was looking through them for buffalo, I learned another fact ...

Did you know there is a mountain sculpture of Crazy Horse, similar to Mount Rushmore? 

After sharing about the buffalo, it almost pains me to say that we celebrated two birthdays this month with some awesome smoked pork and steaks! Daniel continues to deliver the most delectable meats on this side of the state. And we certainly have been enjoying the  family time together!

So yes, our boys keep getting older. 

Daniel is now 42 and believe it or not, Brett is 25!

Mikaela adds her two bits this month as well.

"Musician-ing is exhausting.

Being a musician and planning, practicing for, and playing shows all week is very tiring, but so worth playing in a band with fellow musicians/friends."

The "youth" at church offered a Back to School Revival for the church. They did all the planning and leading. The Worship team was awesome. Due to copyright laws, for now, I can't share the sound. :(  But it looked like this ...

Tina, Daniel's wife gave a word for us, too ...

...  I realized that my family moving home and the other stuff in life probably saved my life.
 I had lived for others, besides family, for so long I couldn't remember who I was.
I learned friends will come and go, but you can't ever leave yourself... so you better like you. I love me!
I continue to see God working on the prayers prayed. He continues to show me how He has answered my prayers in round-a-bout ways.
I welcome to our family Livi Claire Stricklen. Babies never cease to amaze me. God makes all perfect.

Alrighty, since we have no steps or halves in this family, I get to claim her as my great-granddaughter! Can you believe that? Mike and Mandy are great-grandparents, which make my parents, great-great grandparents. Of, course we've always known that we were great! ha!

Well just to prove I'm proud of these great grandbabies, I "stole" a few pictures off Facebook from Cody 'n Liz, and Loran 'n Justin ...

Livi Claire

Lacey and Cody

CodynLizz w/Caiden & Lacey

Loran 'n Justin w/ Cooper

Caiden, Lacey, & Livi

I guess I shouldn't leave out the grand CATS. 

Apparently, they didn't like Brian going off without them, so A.J. decided to get a little attention and fall sick. It seems that cats know when you are going to take them to the vet. Brian's living room got turned around a bit while trying to place him in the carrier. Brian says, "You can lead a cat to medicine, but you can't make him take it." I'm not sure you can even lead it to medicine. :)

We also learned that MMA wrestling can get a little brutal. We've been following my nephew, Grant "The Prophet" Dawson, who is working his way to fame with an outstanding record of 10-1. He lost his fight in April, but returned to the cage this month with vengeance. He won in the second round. TKO.

Speaking of nephews and nieces, I have 30 of them. I've been taking a day to pray for each one by name. I usually post a scripture for them on their day. This past month, I learned how to make my own images. So I started going to the FB page and finding a picture, then adding a verse and posting it back. Here are a few of the top favorites according the "likes".

We've got some beautiful nieces and nephews, don't you think?

Alright then, we end with this little tip.

• Always use restaurant apps and e-clubs. We have eaten 2 for 1 several times this month.

See you in September!

The Farmers