My W's

So here it is...the end to another busy year!!!

I can not believe how the time passes!

Our little Wyndel Sarah-Jane is already 6 1/2 months old! She is growing up too fast...well not really growing, but getting older! She is still ever so tiny and sweet! She has quite the personality! Her smile and dimples can make one smile from ear to ear...she is so cute!!!

Winston has officially hit the terrible 2's!!! He is so ornery, but sweet as pie when he wants to be! And boy can that kid talk...His vocabulary is unreal!!!

Wylee has a long way to go before she is a teenager, but she can sure act like one sometimes! She sometimes gets lost amongst all of these brothers! She is so funny too. Christmas Eve, Santa came to Grandma and Grandpa Ulrich's house to visit...she told Santa that she wanted her very own SNAKE for Christmas! WHAT? What happened to Polly Pockets and the 'girly' stuff? Ugh...I fear she might be a little more tom-boy than I had thought! What a silly girl!

Will is going to be 10 in a few more months and boy is it evident! He is discovering he has a voice and he wants it to be heard...He knows that it's OK to NOT like everything that everybody else likes! He has his own idea of what is cool and what is not! He still tries very hard to choose the right and does a pretty good job trying! A few months ago, while reading scriptures, he stumbled across the word "Jack Ass" in the verse he was reading...He stopped, looked up at me and said..."I'm NOT reading that word!" I reassured him that it was OK because it was in the scriptures and it was referring to a donkey. He stood his ground and stated again, "I'm NOT reading it!" Ha...I am proud of him for wanting so much to choose the right!

Wyatt...Well, wrestling is over for a few months. He loves the sport...and I think that he is pretty good at it too! He tries, like usual, to do everything asked of him...unless it has to do with the "SCHOOL" word! He HATES school work or anything of the sort! We are working on that though!

Wesley, is becoming more and more his own person. I can't believe how much he is maturing! He will be 13 on Friday! Is it the age, or is he recognizing the need to grow up and take on more responsibility? He is really trying hard to help out more around the house and with his little brother and sister! He has always been a great help with the two little ones, but now even more so. I know that I can leave and trust that he is in control! I love the little bit of freedom I get every so often.

Oh how blessed I really am! I love these dear little ones that Heavenly Father has given to me! He has trusted me with some of the most choice little spirits and I love them dearly!

Amongst other things, today and yesterday have been rather difficult...Not sure why. A lot on my mind I guess.



I decided yesterday that I am not sure that I like Halloween much. I like the fall colors, leaves, pumpkins and things, but I don't like the way the cemetery and such is viewed as something scary! What I too once thought was a spooky place, I've discovered that it is not that at all. It is scared, holy ground. It is a place of healing for those who have lost dear ones....Peaceful...beautiful...a place that brings the passed to life again.

Yesterday, I thought after the boy's wrestling tournament, that I would drive by the cemetery with the kids. A few of them asked where I was going...I told them..."Waylon's house". I'm not sure where that comment came from...it just came. As I pulled into the cemetery, I was overwhelmed with thoughts of how, to so many, that special place means nothing or is a "scary" place. It is not a place that was intended to be "scary". It was intended to be a place where loved ones could come to feel peace...to reminisce and ponder...to shed tears and heal. It is a place that houses mortal bodies waiting to be reunited with their spirits again.

My heart ached as I drove by and thought about what Halloween, to so many, represents.

It is my calling to put together our Ward Halloween party. We decorated today. We had the typical decor...black, headstones, spooky house mummies, bats, even skeletons...and How I Wish That I Would Have Thought About the Decor...I was trying to create something that would appeal to everyone else something scary and fun...and yet it took away from what I really felt.

Needless to say, I found myself asking Ed to drive with me back to the church building to take down some of what we had worked so hard and many hours on that afternoon! It was MID NIGHT when I made him go with me!!! I couldn't ignore the silly feeling I kept having any longer!

When we arrived, I asked Ed what he thought...thank goodness... he felt exactly what I had been feeling! I had thought that maybe I might be over reacting because of the experience I had at the cemetery just a few days before, but indeed, he was feeling the same way. I love him for that!

So, we took down the head stones, skeletons and anything portraying a cemetery.

Wow...what a difference...Silly, I know!!!

The rest of the Story....

The next day was the Ward Halloween party...A real hit I might add....and boy am I grateful that the spirit prompts the way it does.

I really don't know if the decorations would have made a difference to anyone else, but the spirit prompted, and I listened...and that was what mattered most!

I am learning a lot since I have made the decision to home-school my children. Some of the amazing things that have happened, have happened because I GET to have my children around me ALL of the time! However, I will admit, this has been one of the greater challenges in my life...physically, mentally and SPIRITUALLY!

Let me step back a few years...

I have said before that my desire to be a mother was there since I was just a small child. So marrying and choosing to create a family was not a hard choice for me to make. I've always known it was what wanted!

Wanting to be a great mother...everybody who wants to be a mother, wants to be a GREAT mother! There is no disputing that. But, I want to be more than that! I want to be a CHOICE mother...an "Elite" one. One that is talked about for her kind, gentle, and loving attributes...
I know one of those mothers personally. It is MY mother!

I have been studying a bit about home-schooling and in my studying I have come across a book that talks about MENTORS, and how they are what help build and make great people who they are. Some mentors come in the form of a teacher from school, or a bishop or leader from church. Some are great inventors, or heroes from the bible or other scripture stories. Some are past presidents and some are 'just' mothers or fathers.

As I look back on my life, I recognize that I have many mentors...some better than others...but my two of my greatest mentors are my mother and father.
They have left their mark in my life like no other. They, my mother especially, have been there through thick and thin for me.

As I was changing my baby girl this morning, there was a look in her little blue eyes that seem to say..."Thanks mom, for changing me...it was a simple task, yet one that was important and needed to be taken care of....And, you did it because you love me."
All mom's and dad's DO for their children what is best for them, out of love. They might tend their small child's wounds, hug the tears away, kiss their child's tear-streaked cheek, and send them on their way again. A father might scold a child that needs to be corrected. Sometimes one can find a GOOD mother/father laughing at a silly story/joke that her 9 year old learns from the other children at school...but as dull as the story/joke might be she still laughs and makes her child feel like it's the best story/joke she has ever heard! BUT...GREAT mothers/fathers...they might understand, but instead of trying to relate, they comfort and listen, and comfort and listen, and listen some more. GREAT mothers/fathers LISTEN.

I am a far cry from a GREAT mother. Even far from the good mother that I want to be. I am learning however. I understand and know that it takes a lot of patience to sit and listen to the silly joke and then laugh...I did that once...I took the time to listen to one of Will's silly jokes and then I laughed...the joy that came from that little boy was exciting! He quickly ran into the family room and reported to his siblings that "...Mom laughed at my joke!" How sad I thought. My kids don't even know that mom knows how to laugh! That scenario has replayed in my mind, over and over. The crazy thing is, it felt so good to laugh...Do I laugh? Do I really listen?

One thing that bothers me about other people are the things that they say about their parents. I can honestly say that I don't recall much negativism (unless I caused it) coming from my parents. Both my father and mother are quiet people.

Most of my friends, growing up, were afraid of my dad, but I think it was because of his quiet demeanor and piercing eyes that seem to search a persons soul, that frightened them. There weren't very many occasions in my life that I could get away with something without him already knowing. It was as if he could look right through me, and see my mistake...however, he never accused me, he waited for me to come to him and admit my error. I was, from a very young age, afraid of disappointing my father. I never recall him laying a hand on me, but I recall his face after disappointing him being enough for me to not want to make a mistake again. (Often times, I can't help but wonder if the respect that I had and learned for my earthly father, didn't help me respect and 'fear' my Father in Heaven...or maybe it was the other way around.)
I have always feared the wrong choice...not because I was afraid of the consequence as much as I was afraid of the disappointment from the ones that I loved.

My mother, she disciplined with a gentle hand...in fact, I can only recall a couple of times having a 'spank'....and even when she did spank, it wasn't enough to bring a tear to one's eye because of physical pain, more because of embarrassment or the idea that I disappointed her. My mothers idea of raising her voice was using our middle names! "Sarah Elaine" she would say....and then I knew I was in trouble. Now, I do recall being 'grounded' frequently! I even remember having to be inside before the street lights came on....for a long time it was that way!

My mother and father are the best example of what a mother and father should be. The proof is in the pot...I believe that they are now reaping their rewards for being great parents too. I think that my brothers, sisters and I have become strong, good and happy people with great values instilled in them from "goodly parents".

I know that I make lots of mistakes still...especially where raising my own children are concerned, but I know that I am closer to that Iron Rod, The Straight and Narrow, The Path of Righteousness, whatever you want to call it, more so now than I ever was before. And that is because of the things that I learned from them, my parents!!!

Back to my desire to be a GREAT mother...it is because of their simple and quiet ways of teaching me to be a better mother, that I know I can do it. And it is through my Heavenly Father and my desire to be better, that I know it will happen.

Almost 3 years ago, I spent a lot of quiet, tearful moments on my knees, asking Heavenly Father "to please help me be a better mother." It was after Waylon died that I realized what a rude awakening I had before me. I had/have a long way to go before I can obtain the title of an ' Elite Mother'...worthy of having a Celestial child. I know what it is that I want...less yelling, more prayer in my home, a knowledge of the scriptures, peaceful feeling, and a kinder, softer tone....a 'temple' feeling if you will. I recognize now that I can ask all day long for it and not receive it, because that is all I am doing...I am just asking for it. We all know that work, hard work, is a huge part of receiving our answers...and somehow, it just didn't click...even though I already knew this principle. Maybe I didn't think that it applied to motherhood? Maybe I imagined that it would just magically come because I was doing most of all of what I was taught was right? I don't know why I thought that it would be easily obtainable, I just did. I expected after asking that I would receive. It wasn't until after speaking with my father for a while this morning, that I was reminded of some things.
#1. Faith without works is dead!...How could I expect my Father in Heavens help when I wasn't willing to "Do the work"? He was answering...He was guiding...I just wasn't listening, or was too caught up in my fit to recognize/care about fixing the problem the kind and gentle way that He was prompting me to do.
#2. We all have made goals in life to help get us to a certain point that we desire to be. Did I think that after marriage and having children that I didn't need to set goals and try to achieve them anymore?
#3. We all have desires/weaknesses that we occasionally give into. One of mine happens to be lack of patience and yelling...loudly! Just like an alcoholic, I will have to overcome this trial/weakness through lots and lots of self control and prayer.
#4. We are given weakness from God to make us humble, and then teachable.
I think that is the most profound thing that I have learned in a while...That we are each given weaknesses to make us humble and then teachable!
Oh how I love my Dad. What a wise man!
His comment to me..."I have been wanting to talk to you about this for some time now, I just was waiting for the proper time...and here it is..." Once again, I went to him with my error and he helped me through...
My mother...she is a wonderful example of a Christ-like person. She was given the talent, I think, to be calm, patient, and kind. While the rest of us work for these things, she is well on her way to mastering these Christ-like traits. I love her dearly.
I pray that my children, when they reflect on their parents that they will speak with respect and kindness towards them. I pray that I will be the kind of mother that they will be able to say, "My mother was a woman of faith, she was kind and gentle and that she could laugh and have fun with us." "She knew about Jesus and she taught us well".
Every GREAT mother hopes for these things...but not just hopes, they strive to obtain them and make them a reality!
I know that I can become a GREAT mother. It requires Heavenly Fathers help, a WHOLE LOT of PRAYER and a TON of WORK on my part.

Hey Dad...while making the spare-bedroom bed yesterday, I found a used white handkerchief. Thanks!

And Kenyon...I found your red and white sport shorts!

Just more things to add to my "lucky-finds-after-everyone's-gone-home- again" list!

I AM BLESSED!

it's a lost art.

Why is most everything that we do in life so complicated lately?

Wyatt and Will Jaye have been taking a Hunters Safety class with their dad every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the past few weeks. They all seem to enjoy it and have learned a lot.
I decided this last Thursday, that I would drive the 45 minutes to Lakeside with Ed and the kids, drop the boys off at their class, and then Ed and I could, with the younger kids, run a few errands (I will admit we went to my LEAST favorite store in the world, WAL-MART...I hate that place). Anyhow, after completing our shopping, and getting dinner, we went to pick the boys up from class. We were a little early and so Ed and Wylee went in for the last 45 min of the class to listen and sit with the boys. Winston, Wyndel and I sat in the car. As I fed the baby, Winston and I talked about monsters, sang songs, and listened to the quiet nothing going on around us. We watched bugs fly around, through the windows of the Suburban. He snuggled up next to me and rubbed my arm (just like Waylon used to) and listened to me sing some of my favorite primary songs. It was like the world around us had stopped long enough for us to just enjoy the quiet, beauty around us. How I miss that feeling...it's been so long.

I have noticed, in the last few days, that feeling trying to sneak back into my life.
The feeling that life needs to slow down and be simplified!

It's as if Heavenly Father is trying to tell me that the chaos the world offers is not at all what He had in mind and that my family and I need to slow down, turn away from the things in the world, and find happiness in the SIMPLE things. I am not suggesting that my family and I have become worldly...but that more now than before, we need to stop and take a breath of the simple freshness that is still here, but forgotten by so many.

He is still here. Amongst all of the trails and challenges we all face, HE IS STILL HERE!

He is in the still, darkness of the night, where things are quiet and peaceful. He is in the wondrous smell of pine trees and cool evening air. He is in the simple touch of a tired, two-year-old boy. He is in the pleasant sound of a mothers song to her tiny children. He is in the comfort of good memories...the ones that take you back to the happiest moments in ones life..., He's often found in the smallest bug, and the twinkle in a young boys eyes after discovering that small bug. He is still here.

I have been so busy, trying to do all of the things a mother does, and often times, MORE! Ed and I have been trying to get things in order for the "rainy days"...that we know unfortunately come. Ed's been working diligently to prepare us for the winter...collecting wood, working side jobs with the horses for extra money, etc. He is going to school to finish his bachelors degree in all of the "spare" time that he DOESN'T have, and still he tries to make the time for his church calling's and fatherly duties. It is like clock work...monotnous...everyday...all of the time.

I think that these reminders from our Heavenly Father are necessary. We like to stay busy...it keeps us from being idle. But, often times I think that we allow ourselves to "Run faster, than we have strength" and forget that there are more important things to do. He wants us to find happiness...we are meant to find joy and be happy! If we do..do...do, and never stop for that important breather, we become burnt out, overwhelmed, and sometimes give up. What good are we then? ~ I think of a light under a bushel...

Stop...Stop world...long enough to let me think~remember~and see the good that is still here.

I have a beautiful house on a beautiful piece of earth. I have trees that have provided sweet fruit and a garden that has provided for us, good food to eat. I have 7 beautiful children...one of which is cheering each of us on, even in the toughest times to just keep, keeping on, so that we can see him again. I have a wonderful husband that has good health and can provide for us...not because he has to, but because he wants to. I have good health. My kids have good health. We have the basic necessities of life and even some of the finer things in life. I have the gospel and the knowledge that a Loving Heavenly Father has given me all of these things not because He had to, but because he wanted to...to see me smile!

Thank you Heavenly Father, for reminding me to slow down and see the beauty in my newborn, baby girls, eyes and tiny features...the single rose on my rose bush and the sunflowers outside my bedroom window. Thank you for the sunrise that I get to witness every morning first because there are no other houses that obstruct my view...the magnificent horses that carry us to and fro in a well built wagon that my husband, brother, friends and community built for us to enjoy... for the fantastic red barn that makes me smile...for the opportunity to teach my children at home and learn right along with them...for the joy that comes when we learn together...for the pleasant sounds I still can hear and sights I still can see. Thank you for allowing me to grow old even though the wrinkles and dimples are unsightly, I am still thankful for the reminder that I have lived and continue to live a good life.

I am grateful for the reminder...that simplicity is the way and that it is so important to just be happy with the simple things in life. Life is not going to become any easier. It is only going to become more challenging and difficult. The world has made it's point very clear~that it's ways are not the Lords ways. The worlds idea's of "simple", I believe, are actually becoming more complicated.

I am blessed.

This free scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

(Wyndel Sarah-Jane 1 1/2 months old...dress, booties, and blanket made by Sister Marie Hancock)

(Wylee Elisabeth...Wendell Idaho...after fishing and picnic...enjoying the cool, green grass)

This last weekend, as a family, we enjoyed Wylee's baptism and Wyndel's blessing. This is the second time that we have had the opportunity to baptise one of our children and bless another all in the same weekend. Wesley and Waylon shared the same day for their baptism and blessing, about 5 years ago.

Wylee, and Wyndel September 2010

The first two of "My Three White Dresses"

As always, we received so much support from our families. I say as always, because we (ED and I) have two of the very best families in this world~Both of our families have supported us through happy times and sad, stressful times and joyous ones.

We often receive compliments about our families and the support that each offers...and since this last weekend, I have received and continue to receive many great compliments about our families.


During Testimony meeting, our friend and Bishopric member, bore his testimony about families and recognized ours in his remarks. Later, during Sunday School, a few of the nursery leaders and primary teachers recognized that our primary had doubled, thanks to the support of our families. Then in Relief Society, each of my sisters (in laws included) and mother were recognized for their support...in fact, since most everyone already knew each of them because of their frequent visits, they were accepted as members of our Taylor 8th Ward Family...NOT visitors!


Oh how I love my family...If they only knew how precious they are to me!


I am often asked the same questions over and over..."How do you handle all of them?", "Have you recovered from ALL of your guests?", "Do you enjoy ALL of the chaos?"

My response to the latter...I LOVE THE CHAOS!...And no...I never recover from my family leaving! In fact, lately, I find myself looking for things left undone, behind, or unorganized because of them. It feels safe and comforting to me to find "pieces" of them left here...weird, I know!


I still look for "pieces" of Waylon~ left here for me to discover in the most difficult times...how then would it be any different...(except for the fact that I know most of my family is just a few hours away and I can see them if I get in my car and drive to them.) They are just as important to me as Waylon is.

Thanks.....
Mom...for leaving me cards to mail
Lily...a tiny shoe under my desk
Kenyon and Luke...loads of dirty socks
Dad...the dirty towel and wash rag on my closet door handle

I love you guys!

I have always had this special love for my family. I can't remember a moment in my life when my family wasn't important to me.

Now I have my own family...7 children, and a husband...and with my husband came another set of parents, more siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. I love them just the same. I didn't know it was possible to love so many...

So, I home school my kids...
I imagined it, in my mind, being much easier!
Just like when I was a kid, I imagined motherhood and how easy IT (playing mommy) would be. In my mind, motherhood was "Yellow Balloons", and "Milk and Cookies"...boy, was I sorely mistaken. However, I wouldn't not change a single moment of "playing mommy" and the roller coaster ride of emotion and physical exhaustion it brings upon me for anything!
This new title I have taken on..."Teacher"...has become more of a learning experience for ME. I am discovering that the "mean mother" (I feel like this often) actually can be a "fun mother" and that learning/teaching experiences come in all sorts of settings/moments with the simplest forms of books, and tools...not just a classroom setting with a set curriculum!!!

This is what I learned today...

Wylee celebrated her 8th birthday with a party of about 13 girls yesterday. One of her presents was the all classic...jump rope! This morning when I took the toy out of its package, she came in and explained to me..."I don't know how to jump rope mom. What will I do with that?" I told her that she could learn and I would teach her.

Wesley thought that it was hilarious that his mother knew how to jump rope! He could hardly quit laughing. In fact when the other kids heard the commotion, they all came down stairs to see mom jumping rope...and doing quite well at it I might add...and they laughed too. I proceeded to let them know that in my 'younger years', I was QUEEN of the Double Dutch contests! I could do all sorts of tricks while jumping rope! They couldn't believe that mom would ever do anything of the sort!
After a good laugh from my children, I taught them all (except for Will Jaye...he was born gifted when it comes to anything sport related) how to jump rope.
They all have been practicing and challenging each other. Even better is the fact that they all have to work together while two twist the rope and the other jumps! I love it! Not only did I show them that mom isn't such a "bump-on-a-log" mother and that she CAN be cool sometimes, I taught them some coordination skills, and how to work together!
I learned today that even though math, spelling and reading are important, so are the simple lessons in life...the ones that often are so trivial and complicated for people...like learning to cooperate with each other, learning how to play together, learning about each other, having fun while you learn and work, TRY, TRY and TRY Again...and when you mess up, or just don't get it, DON'T GIVE UP!!!
Sometimes, "playing mommy" IS "Yellow Balloons and Milk and Cookies"...and boy do I love those moments!

But...Wylee wants to know why I haven't showered yet?!

To my wonderful husband...A wonderful reminder that a loving Heavenly Father IS keeping a watchful eye on each and every one of us. We just have to hold on and endure!!! Life is good...

Looking forward to another bounteous season! It's been at least 4 years since we have been able to experience this...Look at all of those apples...if you look very close they are literally falling off of the apple tree.
We rented a 'cherry picker' to finish the siding on our house that year and decided to use it to pick the apples too...4-6/50 gallon totes, a few milk crates, and a loaded truck bed later, we still hadn't picked everything that was on each of those trees! Thunderpants, our little grey miniature horse devoured all that would fall off of the branches and onto the ground, and the kids took totes full to the Valley to sell to my mom and dads neighbors.


We made apple juice, apple butter, apple sauce and dehydrated some...it was a very busy summer/fall. We just barely finished the last of the apple sauce last week while my brother and his wife and kids were here...we made some yummy 'Apple Sauce Doughnuts'...YUM!!!

In the spring of 2006, while building our home in Taylor, we lived in a tiny, 2 bedroom, single-wide trailer towards the front of our property. We had planned to live in the home that existed on the property, but found it to be a horrible mess once we began digging into it, and decided otherwise...so we bought a temporary trailer to live in while we built. It was definitely an adventure!

While building, we met and worked with so many good people. Some touched our hearts and became some of our dearest friends.

When we first purchased the 5 irrigated acres of land, it was so overgrown with tall grass, it was almost scary to walk through for fear of what might be crawling, lurking, slithering, what every you want to call it, under your feet. And yes...there were a lot of snakes slithering about!!!


So, when Ed met Burnard, (the man that would be digging our septic tank) for the first time, they became fast friends. Burnard was excited to have a place to pasture his half dozen Percheron's for the winter, and Ed was excited to have the "lawn" mowed for free...(well, the idea of having all of the "big horses" and the opportunity to learn how to "DRIVE" these massive animals was, I am sure, a bit exciting as well.)

Burnard showing Ed how to harness a draft horse.

A "handshake" deal was made...Burnard would be allowed to pasture his horses for free in trade for some driving lessons for Ed. Ed was like a giddy little school boy...he was so excited!!

Later that spring, Ed received his first lessons in driving some of Burnard's massive Percheron's. They plowed Burnard's hay fields and mowed hay all summer long. It was so much fun to watch. We attended many outings and draft horse activities with Burnard and his wife Dianne over the next couple of years! We all had a lot of fun and met many wonderful people.




Burnard teaching Ed his first lessons...driving a for cart.


Burnard and Ed mowing the hay field.
Driving these animals has become a neat hobby for Ed. No one could have ever guessed that it would change our lives as well...

Our first ride in an open sleigh was after a winter storm about 4 years ago with Burnard and Dianne. We bundled up the kids and headed over to their ranch. I even took Waylon...he would have been just a tiny baby, but he was easy to bundle inside my big heavy jacket. He, I am sure stayed the warmest of all of the kids, and the movement of the sleigh kept him quiet and content. That was his first ride!

Burnard and Dianne spent a lot of time at the different horse and buggy auctions...some local, some which took them as far as Wisconsin. One day Dianne called (I think we were getting ready for church), "Ed, we found you a draft horse!" "Get here quickly so that we can bid on this prize!" she said! Anyone who knows me well also knows that I don't miss church very often...especially for a "mule" auction! But, this time I could see that it meant a lot to Ed and I was all about spending some time with my kids and husband, so we decided to go and see what Burnard and Dianne had discovered...To our surprise, a ten year old boy, confidently rode "Mattie", a large Belgian draft horse, out into the pen to be auctioned...how this horse ended up in a mule auction is still a mystery to us. She was massive! It was quite the sight to behold...partly because of her beauty and size but also because this little boy sat on her back with no saddle or proper reigns and maneuvered her like she was a friendly little pony! It was amazing. $600 later, Mattie was ours! She has been a joy ever since. I will admit, a first she intimidated me... A LOT...especially when one of the kids went anywhere near her!

Mattie's first hours at her new home...she is huge! Wyatt showing off her size and gentleness.
Mid-sized horses...Mattie...and miniature horses...the little grey horse figured out
that if he stood next to Mattie he had constant shade...he literally could walk underneath her belly!




Burnard and Ed worked with her a great deal. Later they would discover that they actually had seen her work at one of the draft horse conventions that was held at Burnard's house the prior spring. She is a very hard working horse and loves to work and drive...she works and drives with such confidence...head held up high, as though she is proud to do so for Ed!



Not long after, Dianne and Burnard called again...only this time they had found an inexpensive "Fore cart", a small cart which has two seats and is pulled behind the horse...the "hang up" in buying the cart so inexpensively was that it came with two more Belgian draft horses. What were we going to do with 2 more horses...let alone, draft horses!?! At the time we already had 2 miniature horses and a few other mid sized horses. The miniatures were a far cry from expensive to feed! They were easy for the kids to saddle up on their own, and less intimidating to me. So, when Ed asked me what I thought...it was very difficult to step outside of my "comfort zone" and tell Ed that I was OK with it. Burnard and Dianne didn't help any of course...when they told Ed that he could easily sell the horses, make some money and keep the cart, it only heightened the deal for Ed. So, once again, a deal was made, and we drove away with two more horses, Doc and Doll, and a new cart!


Wylee, Daddy, Doc and Doll with new for cart.



Mattie, Doc and Doll plowing back pasture.
Doc and Doll...we didn't know at the time what a very special pair of horses they would become to us and our little family!

Burnard and Ed, as I said before had a very neat friendship. They were two of a kind...always thinking up some new idea for a sleigh, wagon or whatever! Their great idea (because we didn't have any money to buy a wagon of our own), was to build one! This almost put me over the edge with this "New found hobby" of Ed's! When would he ever have time to actually build a wagon with his business, family and life in general? I would find out soon enough how miracles happen.

When Ed and Burnard got this wild idea to "build" a wagon for Ed, using an old McCormick Farmall running gear they found, I had already decided that I was no longer apart of the decision making and so I just watched from the side lines...they both were so happy and excited to build this wagon, that it made it very difficult to put in my two cents...which actually might have hurt their feelings if they really knew how I felt at the time...and so I kept these things to myself.
Farmall running gear...Burnard and Ed's "wagon project".

Over the next little while, Ed brought home some wood for the wagon amongst other things...he would work on it in the evenings when he would return home from work, with little Waylon right along side of him. When things were just too stressful at work, he would stay home and work on this project with his "little buddy". Waylon colored with daddy's pencil all over the wood, lost tools for him by packing them off, but all in all kept him company while he worked on his new project.

When I said before that these horses where about to change our lives, I wasn't exaggerating...

On March 13, 2008 our little, two year old son, Waylon passed away.

I could not have imagined then that Ed and Burnard's "project" or that these magnificent horses would carry one or our children to their final resting place! In Waylon's case, it only seemed appropriate...he loved these animals as much as his daddy and loved to help daddy whenever he could with the wagon.


Ed's work on the wagon before the accident didn't amount to a whole lot, so when I made the suggestion to Ed that it would be so much nicer to see Waylon carried home in something that he was familiar with and loved rather than an old hearse, I am sure that it only added more stress for him. But, it would soon turn out to be the one thing that kept his mind free from dwelling too much on the situation and the grief he was experiencing.

The turn out from numerous family members, neighbors, friends and the community to help with the "project" was unbelievable!
Uncle Billy making the box the seat will sit on...
Daddy, boys, and Uncle Billy attaching the pole to the wagon with newly donated tires and wheels from another dear friend... Daddy building the upper part of the wagon...
Before the box was attached to the Farmall running gear.

Primed the box...waiting for the red coat to be applied...
Wagon box painted...trying to figure out how to move the box on top of the running gear...
Sign made by Uncle Bill...

Test drive...Burnard and Wesley test the new wagon out with Doc and Mattie the day befor e the funeral... Waylon's funeral services...on our way to take him to the cemetary...
Burnard driving Doc and Doll to the Taylor Cemetary...
The "wagon" which was nothing more than the old Farmall running gear , and a few pieces of sanded wood before Waylon's death, turned into a beautiful red wagon in less than a week. We literally watched "God's hands" working His miracle before our very eyes.

Doc and Doll would have their first, sacred experience carrying very precious cargo...and it wouldn't be their last.


How does one give thanks for all of the special things that led up to such a magnificent event? We did not recognize many of these things that the Lord had given us as anything more than a "good deal" at the time. Of course we valued our friendships with Burnard and Dianne, but didn't realize that they would become such important people in our lives at that time either.

We all walk a time line if you will...what amazes me, is that the time line we all walk...it isn't ours at all. It is God's time line...and although we may influence it by some of our choices, ultimately, God is in control. Each event from purchasing this property in Taylor AZ so that we could build our home, to meeting Burnard and pasturing his horses, to Ed's love of draft horses and finding "great" deals on horses and wagon parts, would have ever led to a family, and community gathering together to build something that would not only serve our little man, but a handful of other families as well.


It wasn't long after, that "Waylon's Wagon" and Mattie and Doll, carried a mother and then another young child to their final resting places as well!

One of the other funerals Ed drove Doll and Mattie for...
Waylon's Wagon, and these three horses have spent the last few years providing service to our family, friends and our community...and how we love them for it!



One of the many occassions that Ed has driven for the Taylor's Historical Society benefits... Mattie, Doc and Doll getting ready to take the family for a nice Sunday Drive to the Cemetary...
Last year, Mattie and Doll both gave birth to fine, half Percheron, half Belgian babies. They are Ed's "new" project...I suppose that will have to be in the next chapter of "Bring in the Big Horses"....



Hank...( named after Hank Williams the old time country singer) born on Memorial Day last year...2009.