Rhya's VOICE!

Miss Rhya Faith has found her voice this past week! It is overwhelming sometimes but I am so happy for the interaction!!! She squeaks and squeals all the time and sometimes for no good reason! She has learned that when she "yells" someone comes running! I'm pretty sure she has her mommy and daddy wrapped abound her little finger!!!!!!! I have been practicing my self control and to not run to her every time she speaks her mind... Its hard but I know I have to do it!!!

She is still working on perfecting her hand-eye coordination and it is rather funny to watch!
We went to the grocery store today with grammy Gerlach, and Rhya decided she didn't want her pacifier anymore! It was the most humorous thing to watch her try to figure out how to get it back into her mouth!!! She would concentrate really hard and get the pacifier to her mouth... only to pull it out again when she didn't let go! When she finally gave up, she looked at me with those precious eyes and I gave in and gave it to her! I'll give her credit... she tried!
Back to Rhya's lovely singing voice! The little munchkin decided to scream at her pacifier the other day... it was a happy, I'm soooooo excited I see my pacifier, kind of scream! I had to laugh... even though she gave me a head ache!
Rhya is growing so fast and I'm loving the time I can spend with her! Even though I have to work, I'm very lucky that I don't have to work full time! I'm on my way to being a full time mommy! Yeah! I think a few more years and we should be on our feet enough that I can work around the farm! Maybe there will be more munchkins by then! Its all in Gods hands!

New Beginnings/ past memories

A new beginning! I started working at another local dairy today and am so glad to be back in the parlor! I missed working with the cows and being able to get out of the house! So far so good! Only a few of the cows didnt like me very much! The cows came into the double 8 parlor very nicely and I was suprised at how calm they were, seeing that I was new to them! I have never used an "Iodine sprayer" before! All you do is hole a tube thing up to the cows teat and press a button! There are 5 steps to milking a cow...
1: Spray the cows teats with iodine
2: Wipe the cows teats with a rag to remove all the dirt and manure! We dont want that in our milk!!!
3: Strip out each quarter 3-4 times. This helps the cow to let her milk down and also removes any bacteria that might have made its way into her quarter.
4: Attach the milker
5: When the milker comes off we dip the teats with a sealer... this helps to keep the bacteria out.

Easy right??? NOT!!!!! Milking a cow is alot harder than most people think! You dont just stick a milker on a cow... Her health is also a BIG factor! Noticing the signs of a sick cow can be tricky and not just anyone can tell... It takes someone whos truely passionate about their animals to notice.
You also get to know the cows when your working with them! They become part of your family! I had become attached to many cows over the years that I had been working on a dairy! One i will always remember... she was a friendly heifer. My prevous boss had bought her at a sale and she wasn't the prettiest cow in the barn. We all called her "pontiac"... Thats what her name tag said... otherwise I think she would have had a different name!!! When we would bed her pen with straw, she would follow us around and sometimes rest her chin on our shoulders! She would even throw an ocasional head butt in there as if to say "Hello, Im right hear and you NEED to pet me!!!" The memories...

I have no idea if my previous bosses read this blog or not... if they do I want them to know that I am glad that I worked there for 2 1/2 years. I value their friendship and wish, only wish that they could see what I am going through. I don't understand where things went wrong... I was hurt, very hurt... but I am moving on. In the bible, Jesus says to forgive and thats what I am doing...Maybe someday we can be neighbors/friends again...

AWKWARD...

Do you ever have one of those moments where your stuck in a hole and are trying desperately to dig yourself out??? In one of my previous blogs I have mentioned the unemployment hearing that I needed to attend in order to keep receiving my unemployment benefits...

Well... that hearing was today...

Picture this: Your sitting around a table... unemployment hearing referee at the head of the table, your previous bosses sitting right across from you and their human resources counsler sitting at the end of the table... AWKWARD...

Thank goodness my wonderful husband was there for support... even though he didn't say a word throughout the hearing, he definitely helped me with my confidence. Its something about having your best friend with you through a rough moment that makes it feel like the every things going to be okay, even though the outcome is unknown. The hardest part was that I felt that I was being thrown under the buss... I had planned to work until I had my daughter but God had other plans. I was "Layed off" or "fired" when I was six months pregnant. I talked to serveral employers in the area but sadly couldn't find another job... I don't blame anyone for not wanting to hire someone who's pregnant and going to be taking leave in 3 months anyway.

My last resort was to file for unemployment benefits... I guess my previous bosses didn't think I deserved it. I am proud of myself... I feel that I handled myself with dignity and poise. I tried to be respectful and hold my emotions inside.

The referee was very kind and kept the hearing moving at a good pace. Not allowing us to ramble on about useless information. I noticed when your under alot of stress you tend to ramble or say things you shouldn't. Thats where I kept my mouth shut and ears open (yeah amazing, right??) Proverbs 10: 19 "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."

I am glad God put me in this situation today... Even though it was emotionally straining and stressful, I learned a lot about character. I learned how some people will say things to hurt or belittle someone just to make themselves look good. I also learned that body language can sometimes speak louder than words and your tone can be like a dagger.

This lead me to dig into the bible and see what God could tell me.

Proverbs 12:18 " Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing"

Healing... what an amazing word... so easy to say, but hard to feel. Once you've been torn, its hard to sew back together. I know my healing process is going to take time, dedication and constant prayer. I also must remember to be wise with what I say. I do not want to do to others what has been done to me.

Proverbs 12:19 "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment"

I know in my heart that I told the truth today and can only hope that my employers can sleep tonight... It hurts to think that I would have thought better of them. Even though we don't know what impact we have on people I can only hope that I am thought of as a truthful young women of God. We all make mistakes, we all have lied at some point in our lives. Even though it is hard to forgive someone who has lied or cheated, it is also very important to remember that we need to forgive, push past and move on....

I'm going to try to be the bigger person and forgive but I need prayer... It is going to be hard but I know it has to happen in order for me to begin the healing process...

Baby Dedication...

Well... Rhya is 4 months old and I have been thinking a lot about a baby dedication... I feel that right now is not the right time for our family to have one... but I also feel the need to do one ASAP!!! Why the rush????? The way we are raising Rhya isn't going to change just because we don't have a dedication right now. I have promised to myself that I would raise my children in the presence of the lord... nothing will change that. I know it is an important tradition in the church and a part of me wants to know why??? Not a bad thing but, I am the kind of girl that likes to do research!!!!

Right now I feel that God is pushing for me to put together a service that is suitable for a baby dedication. Maybe its practice for the plans he has for me, or maybe he trying to get my attention.

I am not sure...

What do I do when I'm not sure??? Well... the first thing I did was pray and meditate on it... Then I called my grandparents. The people who "know" everything!!!!! My grandmother gave me some comforting advice and encouraged me to keep praying. She also helped me to understand why we have baby dedications. Its like a marriage... the parents are making a promise to God in front of their family and friends that they are going to raise their child in a Christian home. Also the grandparents and congregation promise to help and encourage the parents as they raise their child.

I have heard from many sources that it takes a community to raise a child and I couldn't agree more!

On a lighter note... picture this... Alan stretched across the floor with Rhya... both facing each other and having a conversation! Yes I know Rhya cant talk yet but she definitely likes to make her point known! She is smiling, giggling, and talking to her daddy! What a beautiful sight! There is no question of where God is in this house.

My past 5 years...

This upcoming year I would love to lose 15, even 20 lbs! I know I'm going to have to work really hard, but I think I can do it! I have alot of goals I want to accomplish! Keeping the house clean, cooking more, and maybe making Rhya's clothing! Ambitious right?

I didn't have much time to adjust from single high school graduate, wife and now mother. I am trying my hardest even though times get hard. Being a 21 year old wife and mother is not where I expected to be 5 years ago...

2005 was my sophomore/junior year in highschool. That year was the year of my grandchampion FFA market steer, first boyfriend and a horse judging trip to Massachusetts. The memories!!! I had planned to be a vet tech or collage for dairy science.

I had been working at a tie stall dairy for a long time and in the fall of 2006 I started working at another dairy closer to home. My knees had started bothering me so the carousel parlor was a better fit. My senior year, in 2007, I had plans to run for a position on the state FFA officer team. It was a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I had my application submitted and was ready for the interviews. I was approached by one of my bosses and they said that if I became an officer, they would have to switch back to 2 milking a day because they couldnt handle 3! that made me feel good and bad all at they same time. The good part was that I was appreciated, the bad was that I felt bad for leaving. I felt that bad that I stayed... I stayed where I was promised to learn everything that I needed to know about becoming a dairy herdsman!! Everything I wanted plus the fact that I didn't need to pay schooling!!! Yeah!!! Or so I thought...

I continued to work there believing that I would actually get somewhere in life....

The dairy expanded from about 200 cows to 550 and from an 8 cow carousel to a double 16 haring bone parlor. Much to my dreams!!! But sadly I was "laid off" early in june when i was six months pregnant. I was starting to see specialist because the baby was small. I also had my health insurance through the dairy. I was told that they were laying me off because they wanted to hire a full time person from another local dairy that was bought out by the government. I asked if I did anything wrong and was told "no, your a great worker and we're going to miss you." I was not offered a job back and being 6 months pregnant, no one would hire me.

Paying the bills became harder and my husband couldn't cover all of my bills.

After much thought I decided to file for unemployment benefits. I was approved and was beginning to catch up on my bills when I got a letter saying that my benefits were appealed and the reasoning was that I was pregnant. Wow! DISCRIMINATION!!!!!!! I was shocked... and speechless!!!

I was still granted my benefits but in October I received another appeal letter. This time I was told that I had "falsified" information and that I was fired, not laid off like I was told... I now have a hearing for these benefits and I need prayer...