Christmas tree cutting and some more scenery of the Bridger Mtns

Kadence being a big helper and helping me shut the gate so that the cows didnt get out.

This was shortly after we had finished looking for Elk and he was holding on so tight to his little Elk while he drove around with us.

The most beautiful tree ever hauled out by the cutest two boys.

Searching for the perfect tree. Kadence was having a hard time walking in the deep snow so he hitched a ride on daddys back.

Angela's Elk hunt that turned into a Deer Hunt.

A few Doe's running after I shot the Buck. At first they ran straight for us and were so close i could have tossed a rock and hit them.

Iam sure that you are wondering a little about this but let me just say that this Buck was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I shot him in the back(yes a little too high dad) and then someone else finished him off. I will let you guess who that was? I would like to state that i did assist in gutting him out and actually remembered most of the info. I was such a beautiful day hiking around the Bridger Mtns with Joel. So i did , while hunting mind you, squeeze in a few scenery shots. We did come accross a herd of Elk that were running obviously spooked by another hunter and didnt have time to get a shot off at them.

Still this Mule deer isn't that bad and hopefully Jennifer is in the mood for Venision as she is getting alot of this meat. :)

A time for hunting the meat...

Kadence and Joel beside the Cow Elk. This wasnt as exciting as the deer for him and he had a hard time understanding why we kept calling the Elk a "cow". :) Especially when he had just got to pet one of the real cows on the ranch earlier in the day. He told me, "No mommy those are cows(pointing at the ranch cows) this is an mommy Elk". Pretty cute, I really tried hard to explain but iam still not so sure he understood.
The Whitetail deer that Joel shot. Kadence was sooo excited and proud of his daddy and getting to see the deer. He kept running in cirlces clapping his hands saying"yah yah daddy shooting".

Another Whitetail deer pic near the kill site.

This is during mid day looking up the mtn scouting for Elk on the ridgeline.

My little man

I haven't posted a nice photo of Kadence and I for a while so I thought that since we both got our hair cut today it would be a good opportunity. He is growing so big and learning so many things very fast.
At 2 1/2 years old Kadence enjoys his play animals and trucks. He still likes to read alot and is very interested about vehicles and most recently books about Dinosaurs. Since the weather has turned cold lately playing outside in the snow has also been a new excitement. i have been teaching him shapes and he has memorized them very quickly this week.
He is very affectionate and very much my little buddy and helper. Whatever task or chore I am working on he is always ready to help and saying "I try mommy, I try".
Iam reminded to thank the Lord every day for giving me the gift of Kadence and the light he is to me and others. It is so touching to me how he already is learning to talk to Jesus and watching his tender heart toward others.
Children really are such a blessing from God and I think I am only starting to realize how very special.

A time for chopping and grinding Elk meat.

I know this sounds very redneck but in keeping with my title themes i couldn't resist. Joel's friend Garrin recently shot a large Elk in western Montana. I have been so eager to try out my new Kitchen Aid attachment so we decided to try a sample batch and ended up with about 15lbs of yummy tasting burger. We used fresh bacon as the fat addition which also lends a nice natural flavor to the ground burger. Now that we are pros at the grinding we are excited for Joel to get his big Elk. (cross your fingers !)

The scenery pictures were taken on the way up to our friends house by the base on the Bridger Mtns. The sun was just setting so i was a little late on lighting but wanted to share them anyway.(i did photo shop the first one trying to lighten it up a little)

"A time for Snow.." (LOTS OF IT )

We were blessed with over two feet of snow in the mtns and about a foot at our house, all in one day. Kadence and i had so much fun building a snowman and running around playing in the snow. He had so much fun finding the rocks for the buttons and puttting the arms on his"sman". You can see the very proud look on his face as he is standing next to our sculpture. Of yes he did start out with gloves on but they just wouldnt stay on his hands. :)

"To everything there is a season..."

"To everyting there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant And a time to pluck what is planted..."

Ecc.3:1-2
For this weeks Photo Friday through "Renaissance Blog" the challenge was some photos of leaves. We haven't had much of a fall in western Montana however i was able to get a few shots this week of Kadence playing in the leaves. He was giggling hysterically in most of them as Abby(dog) was chasing him and licking his face. I suppose they add character to the shots !

This time of year always reminds me of the verse above and how things are constantly changing in our lives as well as the seasons (unless you live in Singapore like my parents). Fall is such a good time to be reminded that God is in control of change in our lives and what is happening.

Fashionistas

This is my first 'Foto Friday' attempt at posting. My wonderful sister Jennifer has shared with me the link to Rennaissance Blog. I have enjoyed seeing the different ideas and pictures there. This last weekend some girlfriends and I went out on the town dressed as different decades in fashion history. I am the girl in the bright teal dress with white boots. The following pics are a few shots of our costumes, with some beautiful photoshopping effects by none other than my talented sister Jennifer to add a vintage look to the photos.

(Left to Right)

Pin-up Girl from the 1940's; Flapper from the 1920's; Housewife from the 1950's and Go-Go Girl from the 1960's.

Some dancing fun with an Indian and a Housewife. Don't the white gloves just add the final perfect touch to this costume and photo ?