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As life spins in all
directions at once, this letter gets harder to put together each year. We
really thought about sending out a duplicate of last year to see if anyone
would notice, but figured we’ve gone too far for that to suffice. Our apologies
if you receive this after Christmas. As much as we’d like to place blame on the
postal system, the truth is we have too many irons in the fire. If you’re short
on time like us here’s the summary: Casey still travels and works steadily,
Pecos predominantly enjoys showing livestock, Brazos remains highly spirited,
and Erin serves as everything to everyone at all times.
All kidding aside, we
are truly blessed to have so many wonderful things going on in our lives.
Living the rural life may lack in nearby conveniences and amenities, but life
in the country allows our boys to experience the responsibility of raising
livestock, gain a sense of work ethic, and encounter life lessons they can’t
learn anywhere else. Saying goodbye to our show pig last spring had everyone in
tears. But we filled that hole in our hearts with a newborn calf. Our funny
farm has been home to just about every livestock species except maybe a goat,
although that is not from a lack of Brazos trying to adopt one. He’s been known
to eagerly volunteer to take a bottle baby. So far our goat-raising friends
have been apologetic to him by saying they just don’t have one for him yet.
Probably because they want to remain our friends!
Pecos is coasting
through fourth grade and schoolwork still comes easy for him. That’s certainly
a good thing since he devotes a great deal of time to his stock show projects.
The older he gets the more responsibility he is able to handle and we are definitely
enjoying that. The light bulb went off for him this year that the more he is
able to contribute to the projects, the more stock shows we are able to attend.
So with laser focus he set out this summer to work harder and handle a bit more
of the day-to-day tasks. He transitioned that into a very rational
justification for getting a show steer next year. Some parents have to worry
about what their kids are streaming on the Internet. We know our kid is burning
up our data allowance watching every sale video available looking for his next
project. He has experienced success in the showring and improved tremendously
in showmanship. Although he sometimes measures his achievements in ribbons and
buckles, we realize it is things like learning to accept defeat, improving in
showmanship, overcoming obstacles and developing friendships that will last
longer than the sheen of a ribbon or the shine on a buckle. Whenever he gets a
chance he tinkers with mechanical projects and builds unique inventions. He has
his eye on Casey’s welding machine...probably to make something strong enough
to withstand his brother’s attempts at destruction. He still enjoys baseball,
track and golf even though finding time to participate in them gets tougher
every time we add another heifer to the show string. He looks and acts more
like Casey every day and we think everyone would agree that’s not such a bad
thing.
Brazos is holding
his own as the self-appointed leader of the pack at school, and feels very much
like the authority figure in his second year of kindergarten. His teacher has
accepted the challenge of helping him understand that he can’t rely on his cute
little curly-headed, blue-eyed, freckled face to keep him out of trouble. It’s
a work in progress that has Erin anxious anytime the school shows up on caller
ID. He’s got a rather vivid imagination and tends to make up stories –
sometimes to embellish his behavior report from school. Like the time he said, “That’s
not yellow; it’s just really light green – kinda like a neon.” He’s always
thinking a step ahead of what he’s doing and will change course to whatever
works in his favor. You might say he’s an opportunist, but we believe it will
serve him well if he pursues entrepreneurship. After a few ladies at church
raved about his curls and kept touching them he decided to charge them a
dollar. The piggy bank is not yet full but he has a good start on his next Lego
purchase. He loves climbing trees and gives us quite the scare every time he
ventures higher. One of these days our outrageous health insurance premiums
will be worth it when he lands in the emergency room from falling out of a
tree. He’s trying to convince Casey to build a tree house with a zip line and
Tarzan-style rope swing. He doesn’t entirely comprehend that he’ll have to wait
until construction of the chicken house is complete...his mind moves faster than
his dad’s construction speed. He slowed down long enough to spend time in the
kitchen baking and canning for the fair. We thought he was excited to win a
trophy but the smile on his face while taking newspaper photos with the fair
queens told a different story. He has asked Santa for more chickens this year
and has decided to show a Mini-Hereford next year. You may laugh at the thought
of Casey fitting a Mini-Hereford but he says it will be worth it not to have
broilers or turkeys...stay tuned to see how that all shakes out. Brazos dressed
as a Spanish matador for Halloween and we pray he never attempts it in real
life, but we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he attempts the Running of
the Bulls.
As you can imagine, Erin
keeps very busy managing everyone’s activities along with her own work and
interests. She loves photography more than ever and although she couldn’t
manage to find a formal photography workshop to fit somewhere into her schedule
this year, she did manage to get out on a few photography-focused trips. The wide-open
spaces of the Big Bend region were exciting to explore. She also had a memorable
trip with new photographer friends standing before the stunning landscape of
the Grand Teton mountain range. A photo she took there earned the Best of the
Bunch award at the Ag Media Summit this year. If only things at home would slow
down a bit so she could get out on the road with Casey to photograph the
spectacular ranches he visits. Her career in ag communications continues and
she is blessed to work with a group who values her skills and contributions, yet
recognizes her need for flexibility with schedules and responsibilities. She
was elected to the Harper School Board and looks forward to her role in shaping
the vision, structure and future of our school.
Casey spends most of
his days on the road ultrasounding cattle and we cannot express how much we
value not just our customers but also the friendships that have grown throughout
the years. He puts in plenty of windshield time thinking of everything back
home that needs his attention. Expansion of the show barn made a bit of
progress this year. It may appear to be the skeleton of a barn for now, but we
are a bit closer to looking like we have our act together. It is all in good
time, but that is something we just never seem to have enough of to go around.
If you see Casey eyeing your heifer calves it is because he’s always looking
for the next great one. Erin says don’t offer to sell him any. He must think
she and the boys are pretty good at halter breaking because as soon as they get
one broke and ready another one shows up. Or maybe he thinks they aren’t good
enough yet and need to keep working at it. Either way, everyone pitches in to
get the work done and we enjoy the memories and time together. Being raised in
a barn is not just a cliché, it’s what happens here and we wouldn’t have it any
other way.
We thank you for
being part of our lives and pray that you rejoice in celebrating the birth of
our Savior this Christmas. Wishing you a Happy New Year with the hope of abundant
blessings in the months to come.
Merry Christmas and
Happy Blessed New Year,
The Worrells
Casey, Erin and the
RiverBoys
