Show stock

In the past week I have had the chance to share to non livestock friends what is involved in showing livestock. Pigs in particular in these conversations.
It started about the weather, and my wish for sun to tan the pigs we have. Tan? You tan pigs??
Yes we do. A hogs skin is a lot like a humans. We show several different breeds, and any that have color need sun to darken that color. If left inside the pigs that are black end up staying a gray color. Red ones need sun to so they get to a red color rather than a dull redish gray color. White hogs, will get pink in the sun so they stay inside out of the sun. We walk them early, or late. Interesting thing, they can get third degree burns very quickly. So we start slow, limited exposure and then build it up.
Sometimes being successful is as much about doing the little things, than spending the most money. It's about being willing to sacrifice time in bed, to get up and work animals before it gets hot. Sometimes it is missing an event with friends because you have responsibilities with your livestock.
All the time hard work and sacrifice pay dividends.

Good day

It has ended up being a good day. Sunshine finally found us after a week of pretty crappy weather. Didnt feel well to start the day, but got better as the day wore on. Helped Paola make lunch, and then moved outside to help kids catch calves to walk. Eby, Jayme and Matthew each took one, and P and I each took one. Walked two laps around the house and they actually did walk pretty well. Which should make taking them to weigh in much easier. Also helped the two Polands get to the sand lot to catch some sun. Goal is to get them pitch black by fair. Also worked the garden some as well, going to try to lift and move some perennials, rearrange things to make it more enjoyable from the swing by the apple trees.
The difference between last year and this year is night and day. So much lighter and better this year. What a wonderful awesome day!

I'm back

Back to more than just my blog. Life is more normal than its been in over a year. This time last year was kind of a blur. With trying to figure out what med combination was the right one, the one that was going to get me where I needed to be without making me zone out. I spent last spring a summer, just trying to function, to keep moving. 4 H season was a blur. Just wanted to get through it all. I didn't have the drive or enthusiasm that I usually do.
Feels so much different this year more normal.
Been shopping for showpigs, have a nice set of feeder calves, picking up more show pigs in a week or so.
Working at planning a vegetable garden with Paola. Some flowers, some cleaning up of the yard, washing show pigs, being at the fair, all things I'm looking forward to this spring and summer.
Now if it would just warm up....

My kids

Has been a while since I have posted. Life takes over and things fall to the side for a while. This blog was never to be about pressure to post every day or every week, but about something concrete I could print someday for my kids to hang on to. Kids are what I'm thinking on today. My biological kids, and my "adopted" kids.
God has a good sense of humor. I can remember growing up saying I didn't want any kids at all, and IF I ever did have kids, I'd want all boys because in my young mind, men had it easier in life than women.
What makes God so funny, is not only do I have 5 kids, three of them are girls. Beautiful smart young men and women in my house. Yes I'm biased, it is my right after all. Perfect? No. But they are mine and I think they are all amazing.
Over time I have also picked up some adopted kids, mostly young women who God has placed in my path to love on. It is interesting to me that there have been several places, none of which are really connected where I have picked up the name Mama Yontz Had you told me that would happen when I was in high school,  I'd have laughed in your face. Now I wear that tag with pride. Maybe that is part of what God wants me to do, to find these young people that He places in my path, and just love and encourage them. He has sent me a young gal recently, that I have come to love like my own daughters. Comes from a much different place than my other kids, but I consider her one of my own and love her as such. She is headed to the mission field in Puerto Rico in January. I'm so very proud of who she has become, a strong wonderful woman who God has touched and will work through.

Opportunities

Tom Crean

I'm always amazed at the opportunities that arise. Michael being in Bloomington right now as the basketball team is exceeding expectations. Crean has done a wonderful job turning a bankrupt program into something pretty special. This team with all that they have been through, are so much fun to watch succeed this year. Class guys it seems, on and off the court.

Matt Roth

Mo Creek

Michael is loving it there, the excitement and thrill of watching this program recover has been awesome. Each of the guys he has met have been really good about talking with him, posing for pictures etc. So much fun to watch your kids have opportunities like that. Classy guys all the way around!!

Victor Oladipo

Cody Zeller

sports

Well it has been too long since I have posted. Not much to say I suppose, or maybe too much to say...
Watched the Colts dismantle the team today. I'm not a Colts fan, but would be a Manning fan, classy guy, great player. I know it's a business, but it's sad to me to see players treated as a commodity. Maybe I'm losing any love I had for pro sports. I have watched a lot of college sports over the last two years since Michael is at IU. Have to say it is hard to watch the pros play for money and be all about the money (not all I know, but too many). The college players play with a passion that is contagious. They give it all especially this time of year.
Watched IU lose to WI today. Have to say WI played an awesome game. Easy when you are passionate about a team, to try to find some reason why the other team cheated, blame the refs, etc. Senior today for WI averages 3 points a game, 3! And today in the Big Ten tourney he scored 30!!  Good game by both teams, WI just played better. Haven't always been able to look at it that way. I got WAY to caught up in wins and losses with my favorite teams. Still do some especially against certain teams, but I'm working on it. Just not worth getting so wound up over things that I can't control, and in all reality mean nothing on the grand scheme of things....

why so angry

Why is it that people get so angry over things they can't control? Been there done that, trying oh so hard to stop. I know a person that goes off the deep end in regard to politics. The evil rich right, does everything wrong, lies, can't be trusted and will crush anyone who disagrees. And everyone on the left is out to save the world, but can't because  Such hate and anger come through in status updates. Deep down a decent person, but I think so full of jealousy and envy that all that is buried. Why is it someone with  a lack of motivation feels entitled to be given assets from a person that has worked hard?
We don't have much, really not much at all, but I am pretty content, do I wish we had more, who doesn't, but don't wish it to come FROM anyone else. Maybe that is the key, being content where we are, do what we can, be happy with what we have.
I have always taught my kids that they can be anything that they want to be, don't pick a career based on potential income, but because it is your passion. If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. BUT, if you choose a $40k career, be prepared for a $35k lifestyle. Live within your means, work for what you need, don't expect a hand out, and help others along your way.
Life's too short to get so angry over something that we have so very little control over, and I m going to work hard at no going there anymore...

Response

The older my kids get, the harder Christmas gets. This year Elizabeth didn't have a list. Didn't want to give me one, said there wasn't anything she really needed. While this brings great satisfaction in me, that she is content with what she has already, it also made me worry that she would be disappointed in Christmas, not much to open. But then that is always a worry for me, even though it isn't about the gifts, I want to see that joy on my kids faces, that they are happy. Even though we have taught them early on, that whatever they are given today, is more than they had the day before. Even though I have historically grateful kids, it weighs on me. The last thing I wanted this Christmas, was to focus on the potential disappointment. I don't know that I have ever actually seen them be disappointed, but the fear always seems to be there. The enemy's way of distracting me from the real meaning of Christmas. That Jesus came to save the world. That He left the glories of Heaven to become like us, to know the pain and temptations we face. That He came to get dirty, the King of Kings, born in the humblest of places, came to do the hard stuff. To be with people considered "unworthy" by society. To talk and eat with tax collectors and prostitutes. He didn't seek out religious leaders of the day, they were too busy keeping the law and making sure others knew they were keeping the law, worried about appearances, how they looked.  How often are we turned away because of the way someone looks or acts? Are we willing to get dirty too? We were part of a group that went to Hope Mission about two weeks ago, to work in the shelter, feeding people that had no place to go, to provide worship to those same people. Two days later, a homeless man was found dying on the streets,and later died in the hospital, we very possibly served him one of his last meals. Did we do enough? Did we reach him? What else could we have done? I worry about gifts for my kids, he worried about his next meal. I worry that my kids are have stuff, he worried about staying warm. There are people that would say it was somehow this guys own fault that he ended up there on the streets. Maybe, maybe he did make poor choices...but just maybe he didn't, maybe through circumstances beyond his control he ended up without a home, without a family to turn to, with nothing. Does that mean we show him less compassion? That somehow the REASON he is there, dictates how we respond? That isn't how Jesus responded, it was with grace, and mercy each and every time He encountered someone in need regardless of how they came into that need. We are called to respond with grace, and mercy, it isn't easy, but He didn't promise easy.

30 days of thankful

Going to catch up here, then try everyday for a new one
I'm thankful for
Novemeber 1st, a family tree deeply rooted in faith in God
November 2nd for my family, just the way they are
November 3rd for a text from Michael telling me how much he loved being in Bloomington this year, and listing all the good things that he has going for him. That is an answer to prayer, he was exactly the opposite this time last year and had me worried. LOVE that he is in a better place, and will give God the credit for that one.

Choice

Been a while since I have posted, I guess I'm looking to be profound, so many good great blogs out there and I feel a little intimidated. But when I set out to do a blog it was more about writing my thoughts down so that someday I could print a blog book for my kids, maybe even grand kids, that they would have something concrete that they could read about what their mom/mammaw thought, what life was like for her.
I'd like to think that I will pass things on to my kids, my faith being one of the most important things. And maybe it's time I think less of what anyone that reads my blog thinks, which is hard for me as I'm often driven by what people think, and just let this place be a place where I can write what I think, and it is what it is.
There has been a thought that has popped up many times over the last several days. Often times when that happens I think God is trying to get my attention. Repetition works for me. It is the thought that you can chose your attitude. Heard it in a sermon, read it in a blog, and have seen it a couple other places. It's all about choosing joy, choosing to be happy. I can choose to be negative, focus on the bad things, or I can find the positive in it. Man is that hard.
I have lived my life reacting, and letting my feelings control me. Who said they get to be in charge? Usually gets my into trouble when that happens.I stumbled upon a blog that had my attention quick, Sara's story  is a great blog, but take kleenex when you go to read. It stuns me she can go through what she is going through, and yet remain joyful. I have a friend whose testimony I have heard once, because it is too hard for me to listen to more than that, yet is one of the most joy filled people I know. I am certain she has her bad days, but she chooses joy. It amazes me that they can do that, I know why they can, or Who helps them through the bad stuff. Just not there yet for me, will keep working at it, one step at a time.
Today, I choose Joy, tomorrow I'll have to make that choice again, with God's help I will.

Jumping in

Misha, Scooter, and Cali

We have a dog, actually three dogs, two by design, third one adopted us. Cali is bully-beagle. Love her dearly, she is people dog, the best kind. Loves to be with people. She has a habit when food is near or offered, she will without even a sniff grab it into her mouth and go to work on it. Now that's all well and good if it ends up being something she likes, but there are times, she is committed, has it in her mouth and finds out she doesn't like it, or it wasn't what she thought it would be.

Got me to thinking today, aren't we at times like that? That we will jump into things without prayer or forethought, and then realize it just isn't what we thought it would be? Now what? Often times we are stuck, and just have to swallow it. Rare occasions we can get out, and no one gets hurt or disappointed. Other times we are miserable or we leave others short handed or disappointed when we back out.
I tend to be  am a people pleaser, hate to disappoint others even if it means inconveniencing myself (often that is the case, better me than someone else). Have to learn that not everything I'm offered is something I should jump into, wait, pray and listen FIRST, then give the right answer, even if it may be no.

She makes it look easy

Fair is over, was my intent to blog during fair, didn't happen as I'd liked it to. Far too busy, or tired by the time I got back to the camper.
We showed feeder calves on Tuesday, didn't do to bad considering I really didn't sift through calves this spring like I normally do, so it tells me our feeding program is on the right track. Next year we will start with really good calves and that should make a difference.
Wednesday was swine showmanship and the barrow show. Elizabeth was in senior showmanship, the judge worked the kids hard. She made it out of her group and into the honor group. He had them drive, tried to trip them up by walking around their pigs, he put bedding on the pig to see if they had their brushes to clean them up. At one point he had all the kids left, try to get their pigs to stand in one spot, Elizabeth's could stand all day as long as she is scratching him. She looked so relaxed and smooth out there, and ended up winning Senior showman!

Eby and Tuck

Winning senior showman meant she would get to show against the master showman in the club, the best of the best. Showmanship runs oldest to youngest, with senior first, and master last so that the senior winner can let their pig rest before going again. Her partner rested in the pen, while she watched her siblings show. Sara made honor group in Juniors, so happy for her, I think it may be the best she has done in that barn. Jay just missed, had a miscommunication with the judge, thought he was going to talk to her, he wasn't and she cut between him and her pig. Major no no. She will get there I'm sure, just has to wait another year.

Elizabeth's turn to run master showman against two other kids. She was so slow and easy, her partner really worked well with her, did what she needed to do and ended up with this

Senior and Master showmanship winner

 

None of this comes easy. It is work at home that does it. Doesn't matter what your pig looks like or how much money you spend on it, it won't help you win showmanship if you haven't done the work at home. She went on to represent swine club in round robin competition and did so very well. She had to demonstrate showing a pig, and then show a horse, lamb, goat, beef steer, feeder calf, and dairy heifer. She didn't win this time, but now knows what it is like and wants to go do it again.
Proud of all my kids, hard work has paid off!!

2011 Gilt show

Girls in the Grand Gilt drive

Gilt show was Friday, was going to post but WiFi is spotty here, and I wanted to put up a picture that had all four kids that showed but my memory card is acting weird.
It was a great day, Elizabeth had Champion Hamp gilt, Champion Poland gilt, Sara had Champion Hereford gilt, Jayme had Champion Chester Gilt, and Matthew had Champion Berk gilt, so 5 breeds in the Grand Champion gilt drive, had to find a kid to show one of our girls. Cool thing is, the Poland and the Berk are both out of gilts we showed last year, so much fun to see second and even third generations from the same line do well, the Poland last year was out of the Poland we had the year before, she is actually a third generation to be shown by us.  Ended the day with the overall Reserve grand gilt, with Eby's hamp, the belted pig in the picture. She is a great gilt, only got beat by a crossbred, so very close!!!
So very proud of the kids and to see their efforts rewarded!!

Friday's the day

Our county fair starts Friday, gonna be a hot one too. Hoping it subsides before to much of the fair comes to past. It is a stressful situation to begin with, months of hard work by the kids coming to an end, waiting for one mans opinion that day. Heat adds to the discomfort of all involved. Looking forward to watching them show their projects, regardless of outcome I'm proud of them. Want to try to blog through the fair, daily posts, well maybe several times through the week. Gonng be makin' memories with my kiddos!!

the ant and the grasshopper

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER  This one is a little different .....  Two Different Versions ....  Two Different Morals  OL D VERSION  The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.  The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself! MODERN VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.  CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America  is stunned by the sharp contrast.  How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?  Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not EasyBeing Green...' ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, We shall overcome. Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright  has the group kneel down to pray for thegrasshopper's sake, while he damns the ants. President Obama condems the ant  and blames  President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope  for the grasshopper's plight.  Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid  exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.  Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number  of green bugs and,  having  nothing left to  pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government GreenCzar and given  to the grasshopper. The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading  friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is  in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't  maintain it. The ant has  disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper  is found  dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over  by a gang of spiders  who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous  and peaceful, neighborhood.  The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest  of the free world with it.  MORAL OF THE STORY:  Be careful how you vote in 2012.

Weeds and people

I was out in the garden this morning, running a rake over it to knock out the weeds. So far so good, and it looks really nice, a record for me, usually it is starting to pay the price of neglect as I have helped the kids more in the past with 4H animals. This year they are doing much more, and I have been able to stay ahead of the weeds.
While I was out this morning, I found a plant that looked to be weed free, started to move on when I looked a little closer. Up through the plant were a couple of pig weeds, blended in quite nicely with the flower, easy to miss at first glance. It was then when it hit me, it's just like church. At first glance, things look good, on the surface everyone is as they seem. But get a little deeper, start to get a closer look and you start to see things you hadn't before. Works that way with people, none of us are perfect, but that surface level often turns out to be different once you get a little deeper. Sometimes for the better, but unfortunately sometimes for the worse.  

girls vs guys

Michael used to have a group of friends over often. Just a few more guys than gals, but a nice mix. And while I try to be somewhat scarce, I can't help but hear what is going on, may not understand much of it, but I hear the chatter, and laughter. I didn't realize just how different the dynamics could be when you switch the ratio of guys to gals. Elizabeth has had a group of friends over a couple of times now, tonight they are here and it is fascinating to listen to the difference. When they say that females say about 20k words compared to the guys at around 7k I believe it. Have a house full of teenage girls, and you will quickly know it to be true. They aren't loud or obnoxious about it, but they all talk a LOT and they often all talk at once! Makes my head spin even thinking about trying to keep up. It is a good group of kids, and I'm glad to have them here. I'm going to enjoy the quiet for a bit as they have made a run to wally world, soon they will be back filling the house with laughter which is a joy as well. I am very thankful that my kids have good friends to hang with. Love these girls!!

Just a job?

I recently was asked to visit another school that was having some personnel issues, and behavior issues during lunch. It was an eye opening experience. Behavior was about as bad as I have seen during my 6 years working in the schools. I watched the monitor that was there working, she was short with the kids, grouchy in your face type. Looked like she really didn't like her job, no positive interactions with the kids at all. She acted like she hated her job, and didn't like kids at all. Granted we all tend to get a little shorter on patience as year end draws closer, but this was more than that.
When I initially was thinking about what makes me good at my job, I had thought it was school make up, the majority of kids at my school have involved parents, don't want to go to the office or have mom called about behavior, that their fear of getting in trouble was my leverage. And in a small way that may help. But when I went to the cafeteria that was out of control and had some positive interaction with kids that didn't know me at all, I saw the kids respond. Light bulb moment for me, I realized that it is my willingness to interact with the kids in a positive manner. To talk to them, rather than yell at them. To listen to their stories, get on their level, receive their hugs, high fives and silly jokes like it's the first time I've ever heard it. To correct their poor choices, and offer them a clean slate the next day. Do I get along with all the kids? Honestly no, there are some that rub me the wrong way, but I'd like to think that they can't tell it. Guess to sum it up, I try to treat them like my own kids, and I know I'm doing my job right, when they see me out and about after school hours and they approach me wanting to say hi, talk or even give me a hug. It may not be the most glamorous job in the world, one that people look down on, but I really do love my job.

Living He loved me...

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

Thankful

I'm glad God gives us instincts that just kick in when you need them. No thought needed, adrenalin hits you and you just do what needs to be done. Had just that kind of moment Friday.
My favorite part of my job is being out in the dining room with my kids. Yes, for about 20 minutes everyday, each one of those kids are mine. I was there Friday watching kids, making sure they do what they are supposed to, and not what they aren't. We were having cheese filled breaksticks. Soft bread wrapped around mozzarella cheese. Kids were eating, talking doing just what they should. Next thing I know I have Jeremiah near me, and he is choking. I yell for Lisa, my boss, as she heads my way, I grab him around his middle and give him a couple of thrusts under his rib cage to get the breadstick unstuck. Thankfully it came out and he was ok, little sore he said but ok. Good thing, as Jeremiah is one of my favorites. Sometimes he doesn't make the best choices, but neither do I. Cool thing is, God gives us a second chance, time and time again.

The secreatary went to check on Jeremiah in the nurses office, she asked him how he was, he said he was ok, and "Thank God I didn't choke to death, and thank God for Mrs. Yontz." I thank God for you Jeremiah!