We started off our year by acquiring Lot 1 and Lot 2 from my In-Laws. FINALLY. These are two lots I DREAMED OF OWNING FOREVER!!! It brought our total property to 7.2 acres. It did come with a price tag. We paid full price of $35,000 for the 5 acres using a Home Equity Line of Credit. In other words, we took a temporary place of no longer being completely debt free.
Thankfully the farm animal restriction was removed as well as a modification to the fencing restriction. Barbed wire is still forbidden but I could otherwise add livestock fencing. We were able to combine the properties to my main property and create one solid piece of property. Because we purchased from James' father we were able to keep our SEV capped AND it was included in the primary homestead exemption so our property taxes only went up $20 a year!! HUGE SAVINGS!!
In February Sarah got her first job. She was hired in at Tractor Supply AKA discount time for this hobby farmer!
In March after the land was closed and we otherwise had no further real need to speak with my inlaws again I once again tried to fix things with them. James really did not want to but I had learned that James' mother was again having some issues with cancer. As a genealogist and not to mention just a sappy woman, I tried to get my kids the ability to know their Grandparents, just in case.
It did not go over very well. My FIL demanded restitution of sorts, claiming I was guilty of slander and libel against him and if I wanted to reconcile with him I would have to do this that and another thing. Basically a type of penance or something. He also would not speak to me on the matter without speaking to James. James did not want to speak to him but I really ramped him up. I thought James was suffering a lot and that his relationship with his family was bothering after losing Grandpa last year.
Boy was I ever wrong. He finally did speak to his father but it just did not go over very well. He told me he finally had peace and closure because he knew he never could know them again. It was like a switch went off in his head and he was never again the same.
April and May flew by quickly. We began our 4H meetings here at home as 1st year club leaders. We were in charge of Poultry and Rabbits. We had a very nice large group for our first year! Memorial Day was not the same. Grandpa was gone. No longer was he present for the parade at all. The kids and I went and we cried quite a few times. At the end of the service a woman handed me $20 and told me to go take the kids out for ice cream. I suspect she knew Denzil and wanted to cheer the kids up! The boys had made a little small talk with her about how their Great Grandpa Denzil had been in the war. Denzil is not a common name so I just think, you know, in this small town, that she knew :) she made our day!
I honestly do not remember much of our summer. It wasn't a typically happy year like years past. Life was hard this year. I know we had a lot of 4H meetings between home and Ludington. I know we spent a lot of time at our neighbors house training their beef calf. I know I cut quite a few trees down and split firewood and burned brush. But so many details are faded.
August 1st life changed forever... James left us. That is all for another blog. Life was a blur from then until December.
But through it all, we made some wonderful friendships. We confirmed that Hepworths are unnecessary for us to function.
Sarah found a boyfriend, started dating in July and she moved in with him in October. She has continued working at Tractor Supply the whole year. She is now 18 years old. She still does not drive :) She took 1st place for Rabbit showmanship in Mason County even beating some of the big names who have been placing well for years. She did very well at dairy showmanship and Fern did good too. I cannot remember Oceana County. Fair weeks were in August and life was hard in August.
Mikayla is now known as Tay. She ended up doing Grand Slam in both Mason and Oceana County. She took Grand Reserve Showmanship in Poultry in Oceana County as a 1st year participant! HUGE honor! Laura got third place overall showman. She is now 15 years old. The year she really discovers boys. She has a lot of them with a crush on her! She took home a lot of trophies between the two fairs. Rosie took Grand Reserve for Jersey cows too! She is also now an owner of a Lowline (a type of mini) Black Angus heifer calf named Bella!
At the end of the year she started working for a neighboring dairy farm. She aspires to own a big man truck some day and to go to college for a good career.
Tyler turned 14 years old this year. He has really become a good young man! He works hard. He took over milking the cow all by himself. He does all of the tinkering on everything and has REALLY grown up. I am very proud of the young man he is becoming. He is very interested in welding and workin with wood. No great placings at fair except in Hogs. He got third place heavy weight pig!
Noah turned 13 years old. He did not manage to quite turn into a young man this year. He decided to finish off the year still being an oversized boy. He went through a lot this year. There was a lot of stuff he needed to work through emotionally and mentally. I watched him grow up a lot in those areas. He enjoyed working for the neighbors but I am hoping next year he figures out that being a young man is good thing to :)
Laura made me a very proud Mama this year. She turned 11 but you would think she was 16. She is going to be a WONDERFUL young woman! She is cute, sassy but a sweet tender heart! She KICKED MAJOR ASS at both fairs this year. She placed well in everything she did. She put her heart into it all! She said she did it for her Daddy but truth is, that girl is a powerhouse when it comes to putting her knowledge into motion. I AM SO SO SO PROUD OF HER! not just in 4H but in everything. She is going to do well in life!
Jenna turned 9 years old this year. She has sort of taken over the role of Mini Mom. Bossy, Snippy.. OH its like having a 9 yr old Sarah all over again! She did great at 4H this year. She has taken her Daddys disappearance very hard. She loved her Daddy very much and she really could use some closure. She is going to do well in life but she certainly needs a lot of growing up yet!
Josiah turned 6 years old. He is coming out of his shy shell a lot but he is still quite shy this year. He did not participate in 4H this year. He was going to but he never ended up showing anything. 4h is just not his thing at this time. He shuffled around a lot during the year because of his quietness and he isnt too needy. I hope next year he blossoms!
Emma turned 3 years old. She is a spitfire! I LOVE My Emma! She loves saying "Dont Worry" and believes she sees Daddy here and there and everywhere. She loves helping me cook, clean and just snuggling with me.
We enjoyed a quick trip the Upper Peninsula in October. We passed out flyers with James' information on them and otherwise quickly enjoyed some of our favorite places to go in the UP!! It was quick but it was good for our hearts! very good
We visited Muskallonge, Straits State Park (and camped at our favorite spot) Taquanemon Falls, Bypassed Mouth of Two Hearted River and Paradise. It was beautiful weather!
My sister got married in September...
I forgot to say it, but Laura got her mini horse that she has always dreamed about. We traded one of our Jersey bull calves for Cinco! A true mini horse gelding! It is a cute little thing!
I have to say that this probably, over all, was one of the best years of my life. It was wild, crazy, full of drama and heartache. I saw the lowest of lows this year. I even broke blood vessels in my eye from crying so hard. People probably thought i spent most of my fall drunk beause I always had red eyes.
But the funniest thing happened. Circumstances were such that my high school sweetheart came back into my life. James had asked me to defriend him earlier in the Spring when he realized that Tim was an old boyfriend. In late July I re-friended him. A week or so later James disappeared. When James van was found it was about 15 miles from where Tim lives. He ended up coming out to the Woods to help me look for James' body. He did not want me to be the one to find it and obviously there was not much stopping me from going out there. He wanted to protect me. We even encountered a Black Bear the first night we were out there together and he really did believe he was going to protect me if he could. He checked on me all day and night long. Always worried about how I was doing. Always wanting to make me feel better. I have never felt so much love and compassion from anyone before in my whole life.
Being with him again reminds me of the old days. His scent was so comforting... It was exactly what I needed. When I saw him that first time I felt my heart burst with a flame. I was immediately attached again to his heart. It was like reuniting with my soul mate.
Initially he was still married but it was an odd situation. It was even his wifes idea of sorts for us to be together. I fell a little hard a little fast for Tim which was on the disrespectful side BUT it worked out... I have fallen HARD for him. In fact I predict 2017 will lead to us living together... He wants and needs me in his life... full time.. and I NEED and want him the same. I want to be the wife that I know I enjoy being... and this time it will be with a man who really appreciates it back.. and loves me.. I finally feel loved and cherished. I am very happy... I hope that this second time around will be the final time around.. .and that , if I am still alive in 50 years, that we will celebrate 50 years together :) I want to fulfill his needs in life... and pamper him, love him... and be his partner and companion for ever .....
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