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Merry Christmas from the Family - 2016





 
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
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Casey, Erin and the RiverBoys


To the show pig that showed me




There we were, deciding if this was the year we would go with one species for the show year or make ourselves just a bit more frazzled hauling in two sets of tack, hoping show schedules wouldn't overlap and deciding how to divide and conquer two species at the stock show. 

But our county stock show made that decision for us. Sort of. Not really. The premium sale at our county show doesn't allow heifers in the sale. And since that's our main project, we had to decide to stick with cattle and get a show steer, or choose another market animal to raise for the county stock show. 

As much as the exhibitor of these show projects would have loved to have a steer, the mother - and voice of reason - knew this busy family just didn't have the time or budget to do it the right way. At least not this year. At the time the decision was made I was thinking of the competing extra-curricular activities that jeopardized available time after school, a kindergartner adjusting to longer school days and evenings, and a husband that travels for his job to support our family and thus wouldn't be an extra set of hands for the majority of daily chores. Let's face it, I took the easy road and decided we'd get a show pig for the second year in a row rather than overwhelm ourselves with the workload of two show calves. There was no way we were giving up the show heifer.

After all, we'd done this last year. By no means did we think we knew it all, but we were fairly certain we were capable of raising a decent show pig without major catastrophe. And besides that, we had a pen all set up and ready to go. 

And then you showed up here looking nothing like what we expected. You see, we were expecting a smaller pig, but you showed me you would grow and turn out just fine then coast into your final show just a few pounds under the weight limit. We were expecting a dark colored pig because we don't have an indoor barn to protect you from sunburn, but you showed me we'd just have to find a way to provide shade for you.

You really weren't a very cute pig - and yes, there is such a thing, but you showed me I'd soon alter my definition of cute.

And here's another thing: we promised our show pig last year that he was the very best and we'd never get so attached to another one. But you showed me I'm a liar and we broke that promise within a week of your arrival.

I had show pigs of my own when I was growing up and you showed me that I still remember enough to get by but at the same time everything I thought I knew has changed. You showed me how to learn, how to ask for help and how great it is to give my kids the opportunity to gain skills that will benefit them long after your show year was done.

You showed me I really need to work on my patience, especially with my kids on days we were trying to get chores and work done and just didn't seem to have enough time. That's a reality check I wish I didn't need.

Unfortunately, you showed me the not so great things about stock shows. Like how some people are not so friendly when crammed into the chaos of a crowded pig barn. And as much as they want you to believe it, not everyone is in this for their kids - there exists in the stock show world selfish adults that don't always follow the rules. That's a shame and a reality all at the same time. But enough of that negativity. You showed me they don't matter.

You showed me the great things about stock shows too, like how there really are some people that want to help, and how I just have to trust myself to recognize them and thank them for their guidance and support. And that my kids are building friendships and memories that are sure to serve them well in their future.

You showed me that my kid would learn to win and learn to lose when he set out for the show ring. It wasn't easy seeing his hopes crushed when he didn't win a class or make the sale, but you showed me this was a great format to learn those life lessons. You showed me what it meant to build character - for myself and my kids. 

You showed me that teaching my kids about real livestock production and where food comes from is important. This project was a mere micro-slice of what real production is like, yet the end result was the same. And even though we knew your fate of growing to market weight to provide meat, it was more than we could handle when the time came to send you off. But we gave you the best care we knew how. Because we are human and compassionate. You showed me that my kids were not prepared to learn such a tough lesson two years in a row, yet they handled it with much more maturity than I gave them credit for. Me, not so much. 

So thank you, Jordan, the show pig. You showed me that being a stock show mom is tough yet fun, crazy yet fulfilling, and worth every pen-cleaning, feed-mixing, schedule-altering, trailer-loading, stinky clothes-washing, suitcase-packing, belt-finding, picture-taking, family-bonding stressful moment to spend time with my kids caring for an animal that showed me way more than we showed you.

Sincerely,
Stock show mom