We Are Here!!!!!!!

We Are Here! We Are Here!

We really are alive. I think people are probably wondering. We have just been so busy the past few months. Things are starting to slow down now. Let's go all the way back to August...

August:

• Justin rode in the Weippe Rodeo and WON!!
• Justin started coaching football again
• Worked with the horses as much as possible
• I just kept on working at the daycare

September:

• Justin's Birthday----the big 24!!
• Went and watched the horse pulls at Lumberjack Days in Orofino! Those horses are amazing!
• More football...4-5 nights a week. I sure felt like a widow for a while

October:

• Justin rode in the ICA Finals Rodeo in Boise
• I drove down to Boise and surprised my mom
• While on the way to Boise, my car died in the middle of construction, on a 1 lane road, with no cell phone service! It was horrible...
• Luckily my dad was in Boise and was able to get my car fixed. Thanks DAD!!
• Lewis County Fair....nothing like the fairs in Southern Idaho
• Wes came up and visited for 6 days and shot a deer
• Football ended!! YEAH!! Justin was really worn out by the this time

November:

• Went to Boise for Thanksgiving. Amber was the only one not to make it! We sure missed her.
• It snowed!! I love it!
• Put up the Christmas decorations

December:

• WNFR!! 10 days of rodeo!
• Rain...it melts the snow and makes me sad.
• We will be going south for Christmas. Can't wait to see everybody
• MY birthday

As you can see, October was our busy month. It sure has been fun though. We are enjoying our time up here and loving life. We still have our 3 horses and love them. Dunder is doing awesome. We are wondering if we are going to become Grandparents!! He has a HUGE crush on the neighbor dog. He stayed there over Thanksgiving and for the few days after, he would run over there. Mind you it is about 3 miles away. Well, we think he did his business and are just going to wait and see. They would be cute puppies though.

 I will try and update more. I just have to wait for something interesting to happen

Oh my goodness!! Where has the time gone? I feel like it should still be June. We have had quite the summer so far.

• Abbey was the Girls Camp Director...Went to Camp...Glad that's over
• Abbey started working at the Day Care again...I sure missed those little kids
• Planted my Garden...It's starting to grow...Hopefully Grandpa Cecil would be proud

• Justin has been busy with horses...They sure are fun though
• Justin is going to ride in the Weippe rodeo...Wish him luck!
• Dunder got his dew claws removed...he was so sad...he's doing much better now

That's about all that's been happening here lately. Just enjoying the sunshine. Hope everyone is having a good summer.

2 Years!!!

Happy Anniversay to Justin yesterday. I can't believe that it's been two years. It seems like just yesterday we were planning our wedding. I have learned so much from you and hope that I can continue to learn more.

I LOVE YOU!!!

And now to the update of what we have been doing....We have been really busy! We have still been helping out 1 of our neighbors because he is still having health problems. Luckily, all of his animals are eating grass so we don't have to go over to his house everyday.

Justin is doing good. We don't have the crazy horse that was in the previous pictures. We were finally able to get rid of him. That made me happy :) Justin is riding in the Kamiah rodeo next Saturday. He is trying to get back into rodeoing. He has been working out trying to get in shape for the big day.

I'm still unemployed. I'm actually working on getting my health/life insurance license so I can sell that through a company out of Spokane. We were able to work in our yard for a few days last week. We have this place looking good. We sprayed  and I was finally able to get my garden planted. I'm starting to see a little sprouts coming up. It makes me pretty happy.

All of the animals are doing good. The horses are pretty fat from eating all the grass. I can barely get my saddle done up around Chill. I have to make him suck in! I took Dunder to the vet the other day and found out that he is blind in his left eye. Turns out, when he was little (before we got him) he punctured it. The vet said there is nothing we can do now. She said that if it starts to bother him, we will have to have it removed. He is still pretty cute though. It doesn't make us love him any less.

I just wanted to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the wonderful dad's out there. Hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday!!

Much Needed Update!!

Well, I decided that I should give an update as to what is going on in our lives. It seems that lately, we have been busy, busy! The weather has not been very co-operative and so it is hard to work outside. I have a lot of yard work that needs to be done. Hard to do when it is raining and snowing!

Justin is going strong. He has been working hard and been working with the horses. Our crazy horse is finally starting to calm down. He was actually able to get on him yesterday (with help from me and Chill!) We have still been taking care of our neighbor. Not ALL of the animals as in the previous post. He just has a few cows and horses. Our neighbor had surgery on his hand and so he can't do too much with it. We go over there about every night to make sure that he is doing ok. Justin has been going bear hunting and hasn't seen anything. Just a few deer and their cute babies!

I am doing ok. My boss at State Farm decided that it would be a good idea to lay me off, and so now I am looking for another job. Options up here are few and far between. You have to know somebody to be able to get a good job. I may just be working at the grocery store! Anything is better than nothing! I try to help Justin with the horses as much as possible. Sometimes I'm not very much help. I can hold stuff though!

Dunder is getting bigger and bigger. I need to get some current pictures of him. He is super hyper!! He has learned about the horses. He hasn't got kicked yet. He has just learned to stay away. He does like to eat their grain with them! Most of the horses are ok with him. Chill is still having a hard time. If Dunder is in the field with them, Chill will pin his ears back until we yell at him. I just don't think Chill likes us paying attention to somebody other than him!!

Like I said, the weather has not been very good. The day will start out nice, so we think that we are going to get a lot done, and then it starts blowing and raining. Not fun! Hopefully this afternoon will be nice because we have some fence that we need to fix.

Hope everything is going good with everyone down south. We miss and love you all!!

These Wonderful Days!!

We have had some of the most fantastic days lately. The weather has been in the 70s and has been so lovely. I worked outside on Saturday and got a little red. For me, I barely have to be outside and it looks like I got a sunburn. My skin is still a little pink and so it is nice to finally have some color after the winter. Our lives are going strong and crazy! As of today, we have to take care of 2 different neighbors animals. This all consists of feeding 2 dogs, 2 cats, 7 cows, 5 horses, 7+ rabbits, and feeding and gathering eggs for 60+ chickens. I'm pretty sure that it will take us a while to get all of it done. The animals are all spread out and so Justin and I have figured out a plan to try and get it done the quickest.

Dunder is doing awesome. He is so hyper! You can't even walk without him tripping you. He does really good to stay around the house. He is starting to venture out into the pasture a little bit more everyday. He also likes to hang out in the driveway. That is usually where he is when we come home. We have a tree stump in our front yard that he learned that he likes. Well, needless to say, he has started digging around it.

The dirt used to be level with the edge of the tree. He has dug holes all the way around it, and has been chewing off the bottom parts of it. You can see the lovely holes that he has created. At least he's not digging up my flowers!

He gets really excited when Justin and I get home from work. He knows that it means we are going to be outside with the horses and that we'll play with him. The horses are getting to know him too. Chill still doesn't like him, but Charlie doesn't seem to mind. Luckily, he hasn't got kicked.....yet! Here are some pictures I took this morning after he had been digging in the dirt. He was pouting because I wouldn't let him jump up on me when I was trying to get to the car!

Can't wait to get home to that ;) Luckily, I bought a brush today so he is going to get a good brushing when I get to him.

Our Baby!!!!!!

Meet DUNDER!!  He is our puppy that we went and picked up on Friday. Isn't he so cute? Many people are wondering about the name. If you have ever seen "The Office" you know exactly where the name comes from. We thought it sounded like a good dog name. It's original. He is only about 8 weeks old. Yesterday he figured out how to climb our steps, so now when we are going in the house he is right behind you. He is starting to like us more and more everyday. He doesn't venture very far from our house, which we are extremely grateful for. He hasn't figured out the horses yet. I'm hoping he won't until he gets a little bit bigger. Whenever he gets excited, he does this little jump that cracks us up. He does get sad when we leave him. I didn't want to come to work today because he was so sad.  He is just starting to figure out his growl and his bark. He was wrestling with an old apple that he found outside and he just kept growling at it.

Justin had a lady bring a horse yesterday for him to break. He decided that he might as well work with him a little bit since we had some daylight. He's a little jumpy. I thought I would post a few pics so everyone can see the fun we were having. Oh, and the other day there was a pheasant and 2 hens in our yard so I took a picture. Enjoy!

Our Weekend!

My parents were finally able to come up and see us this past weekend. They brought Elija and his friend, Logan. We had a fun time. It was very relaxed and easy-going. We weren't in a hurry to do anything. We just went with the flow of things. It was cold and windy and even ended up snowing. I wish that the weather would have been nicer. On Friday when they arrived, they were all happy to be out of the car. Elija and Logan tried to build a fire in the burn-barrel. We ended up just hanging out and took my parents on a small drive when we had to go and do chores. On Saturday, Elija wanted to ride the horses. Logan had never been on a horse so we broke him in. He seemed to like it.

We went to the fish hatchery and the dam as well. Overall, we had a fun weekend, although it was short and sweet. Thanks mom and dad for coming to see us!

Activities

Our lives seem to be getting busier and busier. Ever since the time changed, we have been getting home with some daylight left. It has been super nice. We are just starting to get in a routine with the horses. One of our neighbors has a few horses that he wants Justin to work with. It's going to be interesting because you can't even get close to them, let alone get on them. It is going to be interesting when we actually start working with them. I told Justin that he's not allowed to go and work with them until I can go with him. I'm not much help, but at least if something does happen, there will be somebody to help him.

My running is going good. I've only ran 2 days, but I sure sleep good at night. The 2nd day was really hard. April keeps telling me that it is going to get easier. Justin marked the road for me and so at least I have a way to gauge how far I've gone. Yesterday I ran 1 mile and only walked for about 20 seconds. Our road has small hills in it and so that creates some good resistance. I'm just proud of myself for running that far. I can't tell you the last time I ran...Yes, I can. It was in High School! At least I have something to look forward to.

My parents are coming up tomorrow! They haven't been up here since the day they moved us over a year ago. They saw it when it was snow-covered and a blizzard. Hopefully this time it will be better. They are bringing Elija up with them because he has wanted to come since we moved. I can't wait for them to come. The visit is going to be short, but I'm sure we will have tons of fun.

Until then.....

Let the fun begin.....

This is what I'm going to look like in 6 weeks. I was talking to Amber this morning and she was telling me about a 10k that her and April are doing. For some reason, I got excited and said that I wanted to do it too. I have found a training program on-line and Amber and I are going to follow it and work out together. I'm really excited about it. I know that 10k isn't as far as a full marathon or anything, but it's a start. Justin said that he will help me and so I'm going to make him be my trainer. Wish us luck!

FuN PiCtUrEs!!

I was cleaning out some drawers this weekend and found some c.d's of pictures. I don't think I have ever looked at them because the sleeve was still sealed with the sticker. Anyway, the disks had some really fun pictures. There were our engagement pictures, my bridal showers, the day I went through the temple, and other randoms! I thought I would put up a few of the entertaining ones so that everybody could share in the joy and laughter!

We were trying to have fun while Amber was taking our photos. The picture of the bull is too funny. I giggle at it everytime I see or even think about it!

These are obviously from a while ago. Eli was so cute. If you are wondering what's going on with Jordan's hair, well....Angie and I thought it would be funny to put his hair in a pony-tail! According to the look on his face, he thought it was pretty cool!

Justin said my blog was still not good enough. I asked him what he wanted me to put and this was his answer:

JUSTIN

is

Awesome!!

I decided I better tell people why Justin is awesome:

• He sings in the morning while he is getting ready. This tends to wake me up...FIGARRO!!
• Every now-and-then he'll get me a surprise. Like a candy bar or a Pepsi
• He fixed our dryer last night after it decided to stop heating
• When I got home from helping Angie, he had the house clean and the laundry going! It was amazing!

Justin has been mad at me the last couple of posts because he says that they are going down-hill. I'm going to try and make a HAPPY post!

The weather up here is finally starting to look like spring/summer. Everything is getting green and it's looking so pretty. It has been cold at night. It's been in the 20's the past few mornings. It gets nice during the days. It's supposed to rain this weekend. Can't complain about the moisture though!

Our cute horses are having fun. I thought I would show some pics of Chill and Charlie. That way maybe you can put the name with the horse...

Thay are so much fun. I know they are just horses, but their personalities are so much fun! I just laugh at Chill all the time. He's part-human, I'm sure!

This is one tasty treat that I got to enjoy while I was visiting...

I think that I need to open one up here. I love it so much and was so excited when Adam brought me home one! Thanks Ad!!! It was um...um...tasty!

I always enjoyed a bit of heaven...

Haven't had that in a while and I forgot how delicious it was! The rolls are to die for! I really shouldn't order anything else! Just rolls! (Adam should find this funny!)

I hope this has been a happy post! It's made me giggle while I've been typing it. Hopefully it's a little bit more upbeat than the previous post!

This Past Week!

This past week has been very interesting. It has definitely been a challenge. It all started on February 26...I was at work by myself and the missionaries came in to see what was going on. My mom tried to call my cell phone and I didn't answer. I thought she was just calling to say "We made it to Disneyland! Don't you wish you were here?" I didn't want to hear that. So I continued talking to the missionaries. About 5 minutes later, Justin called and said, "Abbey, your mom left me a message and you need to call her ASAP!" I called her right away and got the most devastating news. My brother-in-law Adam had lost his dad! Nobody was expecting this! It was so sudden!

In the meantime, my parents & Amber and her family were at Disneyland trying to have the time of their lives. I called Angie to see what was going on. It's never fun to hear somebody you care so much about, so upset. Grandpa Dave Hadley had, in fact, passed away! He was only 62! He was too young! My mom wasn't sure what to do because she wanted to be home with Angie. I took on the mom role and told my mom to stay in Disneyland and I would drive home to help Angie. Angie had a baby that was only 3 weeks old and now had this to deal with. I hopped in my car Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. and headed to Arimo. It was a long drive. About 8 1/2 hours. It was really sad when I got there. You could tell Adam was sad and it made me feel awful. Adam has always been like a brother to me. He and Angie started dating when I was about 6 or 7. When they were living at my parent's house with me, he and I would have talks that you only tell your best friend!

 I was there to help Angie take care of her kids and help her so she could be there for Adam. It was the first time I got to see Ella Grace and she looks just like Sophie. I got to spend some quality time with her kids. Me and Eli have mastered Call of Duty and we would play that.

Friday was a very emotional day for all of us, as that was the day of the funeral. My parents re-arranged their flight so they could be back for it. The funeral home said that they had never seen that many people at a funeral. They were putting extra chairs up and people were standing in the doorways. Adam and Amanda both spoke, and they did amazing.

 I drove to Boise and stayed at April's house Saturday night, and then drove the rest of the way yesterday. It was fun to be able to see everyone, even though the events were not very exciting. We love you Adam and Angie!

Dave Hadley

1947-2010

Trials

Do you ever wonder why you have so many trials? I do. I was just talking to a lady who is having some major trials in her life. Her son has a terminal illness and is not doing well. It seems like she has had a lot of trials in her life. Then I look at my life; I know I'm only 23, but it seems like Justin and I have had some trials. I'm sure they are small compared to some people. I've not lost a husband, parent, sibling, or child. I've not been divorced. Haven't had any life-threatening illnesses among us. Yet, I still find myself looking at my life and wondering why it is so hard? Talking to this sweet lady made me realize how small my trials were. I'm sure that they are just preparing me for trials to come. It seems like some people have so many hard trials and others have small trials, but yet they are equally suffering. If I were to lose someone so close to me, I don't know if I would be able to continue on. I'm sure that I would. I just look at people who have lost their husbands and wonder how they go on. I know that trials are just a test of our faith, but why do we have to have so many? This sweet lady has lost 2 husbands and I can't even fathom losing Justin! It would be the hardest thing in my life. Losing my grandmother was hard enough. I can't even imagine losing a parent, yet alone a child. You aren't supposed to bury your own children! Isn't that what every parent thinks?

I look at my cousin's wife whose brother has had a life changing accident. Losing your eyesight? I can't even imagine. I try to type with my eyes closed and get disoriented. I look at Michael's blog every day to see his progress. I don't know him personally, yet I feel like I do. His story is amazing. If you get a chance, look at his blog.

If anybody can answer why we have so many trials...that would be great. Why do some people have large trials while some have small trials?

What A Week!

Well, needless to say, this past week has been very un-eventful. We haven't done anything too exciting. I woke up with a cold on Friday so I have been nursing that all week. Justin has been doing the norm. Riding horses, working, yadda yadda. It was nice and sunny for a few days. The sun was shining and you would think it would be warm, but it was awfully cold outside. I guess it was just an optical illusion. I can't wait for Spring. We got some vegetables and we are going to try our hand at a small garden this year. I want to get some of these:

Does anybody know if they work well? I get afraid of going out and picking the tomatoes because we have snakes and it gives me the creeps just thinking about it. Could you imagine grabbing onto a snake!?!?!

I'm so ready for spring. I'm ready to pull out the spring skirts and tops. To be able to go on a walk and not have to wear a jacket. And to look at these!

I can't wait!! Hurry Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Valentine!

Justin is the best husband in the world. I hadn't really planned on doing anything special for Valentines Day. Especially since it was on a Sunday. Well, Justin had other plans. On Sunday he went outside to the garage and was messing around. Pretty soon he came in and he had made me a candy bar poster! It was so cute. Then on Monday, we were sitting on the couch and somebody came to the door. It was FedEx with a package!

Aren't they pretty! I was so happy! I felt bad and so I made some heart shaped sugar cookies for him! I LOVE YOU JUSTIN!!!

GO USA!!!

I have been hooked on watching the olympics. I don't even know everybody that is on the USA team, but whenever they are competing, I get so nervous. I was so upset when Lindsey fell on her snowboard the other day. I wanted to start to cry for her. When Team USA won 3 golds yesterday, I was so excited! I can't believe it. Up here, everything is on T.V. so late that I get tired watching everything. I have to stay up until midnight just to watch all the events. If I miss them, I just watch the highlights on the Today Show. I love it!!

GO U.S.A!!!!

Thoughts....

I'm sitting here with many different thoughts running through my mind...

It's almost valentines day...i've never liked that day...even since i've been married...why do we need another day to show our love...i do that everyday...makes me feel obligated to be "that" person who does everything perfectly and never gets in arguments with her husband...i try to be "that" person everyday...i don't need a day to remind me...

I think i'm getting sick....justin was sick last week...now i think i'm getting it...blast!

When are we going to go home again...we have 2 new babies that we need to see...can they come see us...no...it's a long drive...

We could be going to disneyland in 2 weeks...couldn't afford it...time will come...we can't get bummed out about it...next time we have the chance, maybe there will be little ones to accompany us...

Am i going to find a new job...i need one...3 days a weeks isn't paying the bills....anybody have any options...

The days are starting to get longer...that means horse rides after work...hopefully we get some horses to work with this summer...that would be nice...

I have new beginnings for young womens tonight...i have to play the piano...none of the girls can play out of the regular hymn book...only the simplified...no big deal...

The olympics start friday...can't wait...i always wanted to be an ice skater...don't have the right build...can't wait to watch apollo skate...

Final thought...on the friends and families gadget on your blog, how do you get the days to appear under the name...i can't figure it out...

What are your thoughts that you have from time to time...

First Horse Ride Of The Year!

Saturday was a gorgeous day. I was cleaning the house because we finally got our new carpet, and Justin decided he was going to take the opportunity to go on a ride. It had been a while and I was hoping that he wouldn't forget anything :) He decided to ride Charlie so we can get him into shape and see how he's going to work out for us. He also wore the chinks that I got him for Christmas! Don't they look nice??

Jesse James

(I'm a little late with this post, but we just got pictures)

Jodi, Justin's sister, had a little boy on January 3.  She wasn't due until mid-February, but he decided to come early. We just saw her over Christmas and everything seemed fine. One morning we were getting ready for church, and Justin's dad called and gave us the news. We were really happy for Jason and Jodi! He had some complications and they ended up in Salt Lake for a little while. They were able to come home a few weeks ago and everyone is doing well. Conrgrats Jodi & Jason! We can't wait to see him!

BABY GIRL HADLEY!!!

I'm happy to say that Baby Hadley was born this morning! Congratulations to Adam and Angie! I'm so happy for them. She is so cute. They are still deciding on a name, so for now she is just baby! Angie's labor went a lot faster this time than it did last time. I bet she was happy for that. I think she looks like a little cabbage patch doll! So fun! CONGRATULATIONS!

Almost Done!!

Our house is almost complete!! YAHOO!! We were able to move back in last Friday with a bathroom. Our bathroom is finished and they are supposed to be installing carpet today! It was interesting when I got to the house on Friday because the kid that was working on the plumbing (who I'm pretty sure was about 10) broke one of the pipes and so whenever we turned the shower on, water sprayed everywhere from the other side of the wall. It was lovely. They came and fixed that on Monday. We've just been waiting for the carpet to be installed and then we will back to our normal lives. Here are some pictures of the finished bathroom.

We were able to get a new vanity out of the deal! So pretty!

Look at the nice floors! It doesn't match the rest of the house now

House Update

Well, here is a quick update on our house. IT'S STILL NOT DONE!! It wasn't really supposed to take this long. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow. It was all only supposed to take about 7-10 days. Well, here we are at day 14 and still nothing good. They were able to put the flooring down in the bathroom. They were supposed to put the tile up on the walls on Monday and they didn't get it done. I still don't think it got done yesterday. Hopefully today!! We can only hope! The carpet that they ordered for the bedroom isn't supposed to be here until Monday! They must have ordered it from China! We are hoping that maybe this weekend we will be able to be back at home. I'm kind of afraid to go home because it is a mess. There are still towels everywhere because I haven't been home long enough to get them all washed. I will have to put the bathroom and bedroom back together, because of right now, my bathroom is in my living room. SCARY! Let's all hope for the best! Wish us luck :)

sLeEpOvEr

I found this picture on my moms shutterfly account. It was from went Justin and I went and saw everybody in July. Most of the kids and I had a sleepover on the tramp. It was fun and everybody slept quite well.

...And the floods came up...

This past week has not been a very fun one. Thursday morning, we woke up to about 3 inches of water on the floor in the bathroom and the room next to the bathroom. Justin was trying to blame it on me, when all of a sudden, we heard water squirting. We looked under the sink, and one of the hoses was so old that it broke and so when the pump would kick on, water would squirt everywhere. Justin called our landlord and he sent a carpet cleaning company up to us to assess the damage. Well, come to find out, the wall behind the sink was full of water; it seeped into the floor, and was dripping into the basement. It filled up some of the duct work and was heading towards the furnace. We spent all morning trying to get the water soaked up and figure out what to do next. The cleaner determined that to get everything completely dried out, we had to pull up the flooring. We were very lucky, because right in the doorway of the bathroom, there was a seam in the linoleum. Otherwise, we would have had to pull the flooring in the kitchen. It was a long and grueling process, but we got it done. Now we are just waiting for the contractor to determine what all needs to be done. None of our stuff got ruined, just all of our towels. Luckily our house is on a bit of a slant, and so the water went away from everything in the closet. On the other hand, it was our only bathroom and so we have been staying at our friends house in Kamiah. We are so thankful for them and for the great friends that they are! Thanks Brandaan & Melissa!!

Well, we made it home. We left Downey last Tuesday and drove all day long. We finally got home at about 4:30, emptied the truck, and collapsed on the couch. Driving really makes you tired. I ended up not having to work the rest of the week, and so I was in charge of taking Christmas down. Our tree was on the verge of death, and I wanted to get it out before I had needles all over. I didn't even cry as I took the tree down! I was ready to have my house back to normal. We also came home with an organ and so I had to find somewhere to put that. I was able to get the house clean and enjoy the holiday. Thursday night we braved the weather and went to Kamiah. We played games at our friends house until about 2:30 and then we decided to drive home. We got home at about 3:30 and fell right asleep. I didn't wake up until noon! The joys of not having kids. I also must have been worn out because all I did Friday was sleep. Saturday I was finally back to my old self.

It has been raining and raining. The roads are a mess, my car is filthy, our pond is filling up, and the horses are all wet! It looks like there is another pond in front of our real pond because the ground is frozen and so the water is not soaking in. It's just sitting on top of the ice.

Everybody has been talking about their Resolutions and I don't have too many. My parents got us a Wii Fit Plus for Christmas and I have been using that everyday. Amber and I have been calling each other every day to make sure that we are getting our exercise in. It's been quite fun.

This morning was a beautiful morning and I just had to take some pictures.

The horses always stand on this side of the shed. It's nice because then we can see them out our windows!

I love when there is frost all over. It makes the plants look so pretty.

I think it is so pretty when the frost sticks like this.