It's Fall?

We still take walks at night even in the cold. We just bundle her up well.


We just got home from a walk. Rosy cheeks!

Can ya'll believe it is fall? One day it was warm and the next it was chilly! Personally fall is my very favorite season. I love the crispness and fall activities -especially football. It is such a peaceful time of year.

Last Saturday we had our new neighbors up for brunch- Shelli, Jerad and Karma. They are a couple that is the same age as us and they have a girl that is 6 months old. They both grew up in this area but moved to eastern NE for college and just moved back here to be close to their families. It just so happens that they are renting a home on our ranch. Yippee! It was great getting to know them better and I think we shall be fast friends. It is fabulous to have friends our age again. We have so many mentors here and we are so glad to have a couple that is in our stage of life with a babe.

On Sunday afternoon we hung out with another family that is north of our home- Jeff, Tracey and Johanna. They are a terrific mentoring Christian couple that have a 23 year old daughter that is married and lives in WY and then they have a 6th grade daughter that they home school. They work for a neighboring ranch. Besides ranching they milk goats everyday and throughout the year they grow a enormous garden which they can and freeze. They've been busy bees so we were glad we caught them at a good time. Talk about a couple that has a ton of life and horse wisdom. It is wonderful to learn from them and ask them questions. We just found out this week that they would like to take Daraby while we work. They felt a prompting from the Lord to ask me if they could take her. We never thought they would have time to watch her. It is an answer to prayer as Daraby was set to go to daycare. I like the daycare in town but I like that Daraby is going to get personal attention from this family instead of going to daycare. It makes me feel so much better about returning to work next week. I can't believe it. Bison works starts Tuesday! It will be crazy hectic busy!

Today we are leaving for Estes Park to be with Andrew's family. We are pumped and I'm frazzled trying to make sure I get all the things we need. Daraby has more stuff to take than Andrew and I combined. :) I better get going. Thanks for keeping up with us. We appreciate it!

Cute Video

11 weeks this week!

We took these pictures last night on the northern end of the ranch.

You can tell that Daraby is taken with Abby. Abby just doesn't hang around long enough for Dara.






Daraby lounges on our bed while Andrew folds laundry.
She likes watching all the colored laundry.
She also likes to eat her fist and often gags herself on her fingers.

We've been really busy and that is good. I finally feel like myself again which is a blessing. I've gotten her into a great routine and she is having the best happy awake times. She is completely on soy milk and she is feeling so much better. I wish I would have known that she was allergic from the beginning. Last night she slept for 8 hours in a row. She loves her crib and is so smiley with the dog on her mobile. He is white with gray spots. She just hit the stage where she is so fascinated with her fingers and toes. Her fingers are always wet with drool and she leaves wet spots on my shoulders. Then when she is drooling she will blow air and create lots of bubbles. In the midst of all of this she coos and laughs. I will post a video on the next post of her chatting with us. I think she will be a vocal child.

This last weekend was homecoming in our small town and it is a huge event. All day Friday and Saturday were jam packed with activities. I shared a booth with my friend Shelia. Shelia sells western bling (jewelry, purses, belts) etc. I brought my cards and the night before I made western cards which were a hit. Everything took place downtown so we had our booth right on main street. I had a great seat for the parade. I had a lot of fun but missed Daraby- it was our first time apart without family watching her. The parade was really nice and that night Andrew got to come to town for the football game which was a huge victory.

On Saturday we bundled up Daraby in 4 layers- it was really chilly then we rode out to check windmills with Andrew. We (Dara and I) rode the 4-wheeler and Andrew rode Dutch. The wind hasn't really been blowing so the water levels have dropped and that makes us nervous. The buffalo drink so much and we need to be careful that we don't let them dehydrate. Thankfully the solars do well but we want to make sure the buffalo don't park it next to a tank that is dry. Slowly the wind started that morning and the windmills started to turn. The only issue is the pasture on the southern end of the ranch that was really short of water so they hooked up a generator to keep the water coming. We also checked on the generator and filled it with gas. After we checked on the divisor pasture about 2.5 hours later Dara and I were covered in dirt. She got a midday bath and went down for a nap.

On Sunday we went to church, out to eat and then home to catch up on chores. I mowed the lawn and Andrew worked on laundry. Later on I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed the floors while Andrew fixed a water pipe break in our arena. It was about 5 feet deep so he had a workout. Afterwards he fixed many sprinkler heads. Then after a snack we took a long walk on one of the northern pastures. The meadow up there is beautiful so we got some photos. Daraby loves being outside and when she gets super cranky we just take her outside and her mood drastically changes. After we put Daraby to bed we enjoyed some time together by watching a movie. It was a great end to the day. We feel like we are settling into parenting. I've started to make cards again and am working on the dining room curtains. I even get my make-up on and wear jeans. Things are really looking up! Make sure you check out the 2 new posts below! ~darcy

Sandhill Photos

I hoofed up this hill carrying Daraby to get this photo. This is our home and barns from a distance.


This is the road sign by our home. I thought many of you would get a kick out of it.


Many people have been asking about our nursing dog. Once again here is the lastest photo. The cats are getting so big.


Abby is such a good dog with Daraby. She often licks her and sniffs her over which makes Dara laugh and squeal. Additionally, Abby believes in sharing so she regularly takes Daraby's toys and spreads them throughout the house. She loves the plush ones and anything that squeaks. Our toys spend a lot of time in the washer with the diapers. :)

Sandhillers!

Windmill Country!


The meadow beside our home!


The hills around our home.


The valley on the backside of our home.


We walk this road next to our home every night.

I took these photos when Daraby and I walked the other night. I will post some more above.